Hello my loyal audience. It is I, 666SIlvermoon, with another chapter of Key To Redemption! Hope you all liked the last chapter, and that you enjoy this one.
Diana: In this chapter do I get to kick Sif's ass?
Loki: Please do let her. Especially if Sif is as much of a bitch as she normally is.
Silver: *sighs* We'll see, because even I don't know what all is gonna happen during this chapter. And on that note, here Diana with the disclaimer! Oh, and thank you very much to aandm20 for the review! I'll make sure that this story gets as addicting as I can make it.
Diana: 666Silvermoon is in no way, shape or form the owner of anything in the Marvel Universe or Norse Mythology. The only things in here she owns are me, my animals, my family, and any other future OC's or places she makes that are not in the Marvel universe. She is not making any money from writing this story; it is purely for her own amusement and to entertain others. Enjoy Chapter 15 everyone!
Chapter 15
Diana's P.O.V
The next morning as I woke up just as the sun peeked through my window, I couldn't help a groan escaping my throat at the soreness of my body. I cursed my encounter with the S.H.I.E.L.D agents as I tossed the covers from my body and got up. I stretched with a loud yawn before heading to my bathroom.
I stripped off my clothes and unwrapped the bandages around my leg as my shower ran in the background. I hissed in discomfort as some of them stuck to my leg from dried blood and a small amount of pus from the scabbed over but still sticky wounds. I shuddered after I tossed them in the trash then stepped into my shower.
I sighed in bliss as the warm water beat down on my sore body, easing the tension in my muscles as I lather my body with my cinnamon and spice soap, taking care to be gentle with my leg. After washing my hair with my orange ginger shampoo and conditioner and rinsing everything off, I used the warm water to clean out my leg more and healing it up a bit faster. By the time I stepped out of the shower to dry off with a fluffy orange towel, both my body and my leg were feeling a lot better. However, just to be safe I wrapped my leg in new bandages before heading back to my room, still covered in my towel.
I leisurely dressed in a simple black bra and boyshort style panties, before pulling on a pair of olive green cargo pants and a black tank top with a blue and purple dreamcatcher. I debated putting on shoes before I decided on just going downstairs with white socks on my feet. I figured I'd have to muck out the stables after breakfast anyways, so I wouldn't go through the trouble of tying up laces. Plus I needed to see how much damage had been done when the hay loft fell under me. I brushed out my newly dried hair and put it into a tight braid before heading downstairs, intent on starting breakfast.
It wasn't long before the scent of bacon and pancakes wafted throughout the house, causing my current tenants to exit their rooms and convene in the kitchen. Steve came in first, wearing a pair of jogging pants and a grey t-shirt with running shoes on his feet.
"Would there happen to be a trail of yours that would be long enough for me to jog, Ms. Sullivan?" He asked as I flipped a few pancakes on my skillet. I thought for a minute before turning partially towards him while still concentrating on the food.
"Well, the southwest trail should be long enough. It's relatively clear of bushes and fallen debris, and ends near town." I told him as I flipped more pancakes. "And please, call me Diana."
The next person to come down was Agent Coulson, dressed semi casually in black dress pants and a white button up shirt with black leather loafers on his feet.
"Good morning Phil." "Good morning Agent Coulson." Steve and I intoned at the same time. I had put on coffee just for Coulson, since he seemed like a coffee kind of guy. I was glad to see I was right as he poured some of the fresh brew along with a bit of sugar, but no milk, into the simple black mug I had set out for him.
"Good morning Steve, Diana." Coulson told us pleasantly as he sat himself at the dining room table. "And you're more than welcome to simply call me Coulson, Diana." I let him know that I will as I set a glass of orange juice in front of Steve. I got a warm smile in thanks before he took a small sip.
Loki was the next person to enter the kitchen, dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a dark green long sleeved shirt, with his black slippers on his feet. He hesitated in the doorway of the kitchen as he saw Coulson and Steve, but an encouraging smile from me managed to get him into the kitchen. To seemingly cover up any consternation, he started boiling some water with my old copper kettle for tea. I slightly pressed against him to help him relax, and he gave me a tiny smile as I finished making breakfast.
Dr. Banner came in just as I started plating up the food. He was wearing a pair of dark khaki pants and a light blue button up with the sleeves rolled up, and brown moccasins on his feet.
"Would you like tea, coffee, or juice Dr. Banner?" I asked him as Loki got down three mugs.
"Tea is fine." He told me, and soon he, Loki and I had a patterned mug of tea at our place at the table. I served everyone, Steve's plate having a higher stack of pancakes than everyone else's, and we soon dug in.
By the time breakfast was done, I was eager to get outside to check on my horses. So, since Steve and Bruce offered to clean the dishes, Loki and I headed out to the barn, after putting on our muck boots of course.
I hurriedly opened the barn door, and found a startling sight. Not a single bit of broken wood lay on the aisle in the middle of the barn, and as I looked up I saw a hayloft that looked like it hadn't even been broken.
I hurried up its ladder and found it just like the last time I saw it, with bales of hay stacked in the back and my punching bag hanging by its chain. I was confused on who did this until I saw a sticky note attached to the bag.
"Sorry for the broken hayloft, we fixed it free of charge and took care of your horses. –S.H.I.E.L.D" I read out loud as Loki headed up the ladder to join me. I looked at him in confusion, but he seemed just as confused as I was as he shrugged. In the end, we decided against thinking too far into it for now and got to work mucking out the stalls.
After cleaning up the dirty straw and putting down clean bedding, we fed all my horses a little bit of breakfast before heading to my greenhouse. We used the hose attached to the side of the wall to wash off our hands before stepping inside.
"Loki, are you gonna be ok with Coulson, Steve, and Dr. Banner temporarily staying with us?" I asked him. "I know it's not the most ideal situation, but it's better than the alternative."
I saw Loki scowl before he turned from me and started almost savagely pruning my Deep Secret rosebush. "You are right, but that does not mean I am happy with the situation, especially with Thor visiting whenever he wants to." He spat out viciously before he slammed the pruning shears onto the table.
I gently put my own pair down before turning Loki to face me, seeing the blatant amount of hate and anger in his face.
"Loki, I told you that I wouldn't allow any harm to come to you in my house and I meant it. I refuse to let them hurt you." I told him firmly as I cradled his face in my hands. He tightly shut his eyes and sighed, before moving his hands to cover mine.
I smile gently before leaning forward and kissing him on the nose. "And if Thor gives you any trouble just let me know and I'll set his arse on fire." That brought a small smile to his face as he opened his eyes.
"That would be rather entertaining wouldn't it? Maybe we'd be able to toast some of those confections that you call marshmallows as he ran around screaming." Loki said with a wicked gleam in his eye, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"That's the Loki I fell for." I said as I stroked his cheeks with my thumbs before releasing his face. "I was thinking that you had lost faith in me for a moment there."
He smirked before leaning forward to capture my lips in a kiss. Oh, that kiss! It was passionate, and deep, and it sent shivers down my spine. It seemed to go on for ages, before we finally came up for air. It took me a moment to open my eyes again, and when I finally did I saw Loki smiling at me like a cat that caught the canary, though I did notice that his pupils were dilated in lust.
"I'd never lose faith in you, love."
Once Loki and I finished pruning the greenhouse, and once he and I had calmed down, he returned to the house while I started turning out half my horses for the morning. Just as I closed the gate behind Holly, the fourth horse for the morning, and as she ran joyfully around inside the paddock I saw Steve jogging up from the southwest trail.
"Did you have a good run?" I asked cordially as he slowed to a walk and approached me.
"Yeah, I did and I really appreciate you letting me use your trail Diana." He told me as he wiped some sweat from his brow with the end of his t-shirt. I barely seemed to notice his abs.
"My mother taught me to be a gracious hostess." I told him a shrug as I headed to the barn, Steve following behind me. "However, my father did teach me to never take an insult lying down, and give as well as I get."
"Sounds like any normal protective father." Steve said as I lead Phoenix to the Paddock.
"Well, I was his only daughter, though it did take me awhile to put his lessons to fruition." I told him as I released her into the paddock.
"Did he teach you how to control your powers too?" Steve asked as I lead Aztec out into the paddock.
I shook my head as I closed the gate behind Aztec. "No, but he did teach me meditative techniques and the various forms of martial arts that help with channeling my powers." I told him as the two of us headed back to my home. "What I learned from controlling my powers mostly comes from my own experiences and from reading journals of my ancestors."
With that we both entered my house, Steve heading upstairs to no doubt take a shower and change while I went to the attic, where I found Loki going through a few boxes labelled 'Halloween decorations.'
"Ah, I see you're just as anxious to get started on decorating as I am." I told him with a smile as I saw him holding up a few fake spiders on a string in one hand and a skull tea-light candle holder in the other.
"That box and the one next to it have decorations that go inside." I told him before grabbing one of the biggest of the five boxes. "This one and the other two bigger boxes are for outside decorating."
With Loki's help, after he repacked the box he had been looking through; we moved all the boxes over to the attic's trap door and conveniently saw Dr. Banner at the bottom of the stair rungs.
"Ideal timing Dr. Banner! Would you mind helping us with these boxes? I wanna get started on decorating for Halloween today." I told him with a wide grin. After all, Halloween and Christmas are my two favorite holidays.
"Uh-of course Ms. Sullivan. Just pass them down." He almost seemed to stammer as he lifted his arms.
I handed down the boxes to him, and then as Loki and I started carrying them downstairs Bruce, which he asked me to call him, helped us with that as well. By the time we got the boxes downstairs Agent Coulson had joined us, and by the time Steve had come downstairs we had already unpacked the two inside decorations boxes.
Black curtains with bright purple cat silhouettes and spider webs at their corners, ghost salt and pepper shakers, tea-light candle holders in the shape of skulls and jack o lanterns, a black tablecloth with autumn leaves stitched along the edges, a set of 12 wineglasses with painted sugar skulls, the rubber spiders on a string Loki was fiddling with, a haunted house throw blanket, pillows with dancing skeletons, glow in the dark stick on bats, a few 'Nightmare Before Christmas' themed snow globes, and an iron candelabra in the shape of a skeletal tree.
Loki replaced the white and green crotchet blanket and the plain pillows on the couch with the haunted house throw and skeleton pillows.
Bruce stuck the glow in the dark bats along the walls and on the cabinets and hung the spiders to the ceiling.
Steve replaced the curtains in the windows near the front door with the black ones and added the tea-light holders to the coffee table, side table, and the kitchen island.
Coulson helped me replace the tablecloth, the salt and pepper shakers, and set a wine glass in front of each chair at the dining room table.
I carefully arranged the candelabra in the middle of table and set a new white bleeding taper candle in each holder before arranging my 'Nightmare Before Christmas' snow globes along empty places on the mantle and on the movie and Knick knack shelves behind the couch. I smiled happily at the simple but noticeable decorations.
"Thanks for helping you guys." I said with a smile. "But now it's time for the outside decorations."
With that Steve and I moved the remaining three boxes outside with Bruce, Colson, and Loki following behind us.
Over the next few hours, we all hung up multiple decorations until the boxes were empty. Fake cobwebs hung from the corners of my porch's ceilings; complete with fake hairy spiders the size of dinner plates. Rubber bats and fake ghosts hung from the rafters, and two full sized skeletons hung on either side of the porch steps. Fake ravens and owls perched on the roof, placed by me after I climbed up to the roof despite Steve volunteering to. A Halloween flag depicting a werewolf howling at a pale full moon moved in the gentle breeze. During a small break, I called the closest pumpkin patch and asked them to set aside two dozen pumpkins of varying sizes for me. Luckily, the owner was a good friend of my mom's and was very kind. I told her I was gonna pick them up in a week and a half, with cash in hand after she gave me a rough estimate on price.
The final pre-made decoration for the house was a very ornate wreath made of woven twigs and orange, red and yellow silk flowers and a Wiccan pentacle in the center, with a white ribbon woven into the star. My family had made it years ago, to honor our Celtic heritage.
I stepped back to study the decorations with the guys, my head tilted to the side and fingers drumming on my shoulder.
"Well, I think it looks rather festive." Coulson said, sending a small smile towards me.
"We did do a good job, huh?" Bruce said almost nervously but with a slight grin.
"I don't know, it feels like we're not done." Steve said with a shrug.
"As much as I'm loathing agreeing with the good Captain, I agree that something seems to be missing; besides 'jack o lanterns.'" Loki said snidely, and then grunted as I slightly elbowed him in the ribs.
"Loki, be nice." I said almost absently as ideas went through my head almost blindingly fast, until I was hit with inspiration.
"Ah ha, I know what's missing!" I said with an eager smile. "You might want to stand back."
Though they were confused, they did as I warned as I stepped up to my barren yard. I focused, feeling the power building in me before forcing up multiple stones with a few motions of my arms. With a few more movements, I shaped each one into that of an old fashioned headstone, complete with sayings like 'Abandon hope, all ye who enter here', or 'I Will Return', or with names like 'Izzy Dead' or 'Bone Daddy Mac'. I even added carvings of skull and crossbones or angel wings or a raven to each headstone. I wiped away a few beads of sweat from my brow as I stepped back to look at my handiwork, hands on my hips and a large grin on my face.
"Now that's more like it!" I said happily as I surveyed my home before turning to the guys, and as I ignored the slight twinge in my bandaged leg. They were all looking rather impressed.
"Really cool, plus it saves money on fake tombstones." Bruce said, causing Steve and Coulson to nod in agreement. Loki simply winked at me with a proud looking smile.
With the decorating done, we all went inside for lunch. Bruce was gracious enough to help me cook and put together simple chicken fajitas. With his help I made about two dozen, with Coulson, Bruce and Loki eating three apiece and Steve and I polishing off the rest between the two of us.
"Besides Thor, I've never known anyone that could eat as much food as me." Steve told me after Coulson offered to wash the dishes. "Is it because of your powers?"
I nodded as I sipped at a glass of water. "Yeah, they tax up a lot of calories and energy the longer I use them. This one time when I was fourteen I used them up so much that I passed out for almost two days straight, and when I woke up I ate nearly half the food in the kitchen at the time. My parents gained a few grey hairs after that." I said with a slight laugh.
"How come you used them up so much?" Bruce asked in curiosity. I winced slightly as the memories came up. Loki seemed to notice, as he slightly nudged his foot against mine under the table. I used it as an anchor to stabilize me.
"Well, it was in the middle of my freshman year, and this girl and her gang of Barbie dolls kept picking on me. Spreading rumors, calling me names like 'freak', and 'weirdo', and they thought I was really fake because they thought I dyed my hair, saying how no one could have hair as red as mine naturally." I said, before laughing humorlessly. "Funny thing is that she and two of her other cronies had had plastic surgery, and they were calling me fake. Any ways, they tried making my life hell."
"They'd trip me in the halls, stick signs on my locker, spill food on me during lunch, anything they could think of to not get caught." I told them, before sighing. "Then this one day, they did everything they could to antagonize me. It had started raining before school, so they managed to splash muddy water on me as the first bell rang. I didn't have time to change, nor did I have the control to get all the water and mud outta my clothes, so they were still damp and dirty by the time my first class started. Then half way through the day in my English class one of them, Kelly I think her name was, managed to cut a chunk of hair from my head, and I didn't notice until my next class, which was gym. That's when things went from bad to worse."
I had to pause and set down my glass before I broke it, since I was holding it rather tightly. Loki, noticing my distress, stood up and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I smiled in gratitude up at him and leaned back against him. I finally took a breath, and continued my story.
"The main bully, Brittany was her name, pretended to slip on the rock wall in the gym, and kicked me in the face hard enough to give me a bloody nose and make me lose my grip. Luckily, we always wore harnesses to prevent ourselves from falling to the ground. If not, I would have fallen and broken my neck." I almost spat, hands clenching in my lap and pupils turning to slits. "Instead, they managed to corner me in the showers after class. They revved up on the insults, and then somehow a bucket of pig's blood managed to fall on my head, a la Carrie, as I was leaving to get away from them." I told them, ignoring the almost pitying looks from Bruce and Steve. "I couldn't go back to class, I was too upset. Instead, I washed off as much blood as I could; I got dressed, and ran out of the school and into the rain."
My face was calm, but anger and shame seemed to bubble just under the surface from the way my hands were shaking. "I ran right through and out of town; no one was paying attention because of the rain. I ran so fast it was almost like I was flying, with the wind pushing at my back and the rain pounding on the ground in time with my feet. I didn't stop until I made it to my meadow, and when I got there I went haywire. I was screaming, stomping, and almost thrashing in my anger, and the elements followed me, gaining power from my anger. The wind raged, the rain fell harder, the ground shook, and fire burned the earth around me. It felt like forever before the adrenaline went out of me, and when it did I just collapsed in the mud and didn't wake up again till two mornings later. My father told me he found me and took me home, where my mother cleaned me up and put me to bed." I told them, before finishing up my tale. "I went back to school the next week, giving the excuse that I had gotten sick. I got into a fight with Brittany and her four followers after school and off school property, so I wouldn't get suspended or expelled, and gave them a warning that I was sick and tired of their shit and wouldn't take it anymore."
I took a deep breath, and pushed away my anger, calming down my mind and body as I relaxed. Without another word I stood up and fed my dogs and cats before leaving the room. I went outside, and started bringing in the six horses from the paddock. After I finished, I gave them all lunch, went back inside, and locked myself in my art room, with loud music blaring from the speakers inside.
Third P.O.V
Loki knew that Diana was upset, but as much as he would love to punish those hags who had tortured her so, he knew that she would prefer to deal with her demons herself right now. Instead, he resolved to be there if she needed him.
So, he simply went outside about an hour after she locked herself in her art room, and started turning out the other half of her horses, along with Lyse and Mörk, Cinnamon's foals. They and their mother got a small section of fenced off paddock of their own. Just as he finally got the gate closed behind them, he turned and saw Coulson standing a few feet away.
Loki scowled, wearily looking over Coulson as he watched the foals gamboling around the paddock while their mother contently grazed.
"Bet you're wondering how I'm not dead huh?" Coulson asked, not taking his eyes off the horses. "Especially since you tried your hardest to kill me last time you were on Earth."
"It has crossed my mind, despite what you said on the Helicarrier." Loki grudgingly admitted. It had, especially since he had experienced flashes of him stabbing the Agent in the back with the Chitauri scepter.
"Well, I did die for a few minutes there, until the doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D brought me back and stitched me up. I was in a coma for a month, and then I had to have physical therapy for about two months, but I eventually came back to work. I have to thank you though, that was the longest vacation I've ever had since I started working for S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson told him, ending his story with a smile.
"And yet, you do not want revenge on me?" Loki asked him, wearily looking at Coulson.
He in turn saw Loki's defensive stance and the weary look in his eyes. He had also noticed how much thinner Loki was than the last time he was on Earth, and even then he didn't look too healthy. Coulson let Loki stew for a few more moments, before he shook his head.
"Nah, I'm sure you've been punished enough by Asgard." Coulson told him before turning away. "Though you'll excuse me if it takes me awhile before I trust you any more than I can throw you."
"I understand." Loki said as he watched Coulson walk away. "If it is any consolation, I am sorry for stabbing you in the back like I did, even if I had no control over myself."
Coulson turned, gave him a brief smile, and then headed back to the house.
Later that night, as Steve was cooking a beef and potato casserole for dinner, Loki decided to brave Diana's art room and see if she was up to joining them for dinner. He gently knocked at the door to the room, since she had turned off her music about a half hour earlier.
"Come in." He heard from within, and he entered the room. He saw Diana sitting at her stool slightly hunched in front of an 18x24 piece of stretch canvas with a mostly finished painting. He barely paid attention to it; all of it was focused on Diana.
She slightly turned towards him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry for locking myself up in here, handsome. The old memories just got the better of me."
He gently pressed a kiss to her temple, and tried to ignore the slight blush on his cheeks from her compliment. "Hush love. You have nothing to apologize for." He murmured to her. "I am simply sorry you did not get a better revenge on your tormenters."
A slight snort escaped from her, and her eyes seemed to darken. "Oh no, I did actually. After an entire summer working with my father on controlling and amplifying my powers, I came back to school with a vengeance. When the wind blew, I amplified it to make their skirts and homework fly about wildly. When it rained, I would make sure it soaked them to the bone or I'd use it to trip them by wrapping the water around their ankles. In Chemistry I would make their Bunsen burners go wild, though never when dangerous chemicals were over them. I didn't want to kill them after all." She said with a shrug. "My most elaborate bit of revenge was when I anonymously gave each of them a bottle of shampoo spiked with a permanent hair dye. The next day, they each came to school with their hair purple, orange, green, blue, or pink."
Loki let out a deep chuckle as he imagined five screaming harpies with their hair in those colors. "I never knew you could be so deliciously mischievous, dear one." He said to her with a wide grin. "It does my black heart good."
Diana looked up at Loki, her eyes losing the darkness in them as she stared. "Loki, I highly doubt your heart is as black as you say it is." She told him softly before reaching up and stroking the arch of his cheekbone. "Your heart may be many colors, but not black."
Loki's smile slipped off his face. "You don't know what I've done Diana. I nearly killed Thor, and almost destroyed an entire realm because I-" He broke off his sentence and turned away, bile rising in his throat.
"Loki? Because you what?" Diana gently prodded. She wanted to help him, but only if he wanted to help himself.
He was silent for a few moments, debating with himself on if he should tell her, until he heard Sif's voice in his head.
'What makes you think she'd love a monster like you?' The voice sneered, and Loki's resolve was strengthened. He'd rather get the truth out right now instead of hiding away and being hurt later.
"Because I'm a Jotun runt, a frost giant. I'm a monster parents tell their children about at night, to warn them to be good or the frost giants would come and get them." He said softly as he started shaking in self-revulsion.
"Loki, you're not a monster. You may have done a few horrible things, but that does not make you a monster." Diana told him as she stood up and laid a hand on his shoulder. He flinched away from her as he turned to face her.
"But I am! I've killed countless people, I nearly took over Midgard, and I nearly killed Thor! I deserve to be slaughtered like the rest of those creatures!" Loki said hysterically.
A ringing smack sounded through the air. Loki stared in shock at Diana as he held his stinging cheek. Diana, her arm still raised after she backhanded him, was staring at him angrily, a heavy scowl on her face and her eyes glowing slightly. If Loki wasn't in such a precarious position, he would no doubt feel aroused about how dominant and powerful Diana looked.
"Don't you dare say anything like that ever again! I will not have talk like that coming out of your mouth when it is not true, do you hear me?!" Diana almost thundered at him. Loki almost meekly nodded his head, causing her to relax her stance a few moments later and her eyes to go back to normal.
She sighed heavily and brushed her bangs from her face. "A monster is something that has no empathy or guilt Loki. Mutants are called monsters here because regular people think that we want to eradicate them or enslave them. I do admit that there are a few bad mutants who want that, but most of us just want to have a life and the same rights as everyone else. Just like I'm sure there are bad Jotun, but that there are also Jotun who just wish to survive." She told him emphatically.
As Loki mused over that, Diana gently laid a hand on his cheek, using her thumb to stroke the arch of it.
"Loki, have you ever thought that maybe Jotun have the same kind of stories that they tell their children, about Asgardian brutes coming to their home and slaughtering them in their beds if they didn't behave?" Diana asked him softly, before she turned and left the room, leaving Loki speechless in her wake. It wasn't until later that night Loki apologized for his erratic behavior, and Diana had simply kissed him in forgiveness.
Over the next few days, things went pretty smoothly with the house tenants. Everyone did their fair share of chores, and no fights were started as everyone acted relatively civil to everyone else. The peace was shattered when Thor, Tony Stark, and Clint Barton decided to make an unannounced visit on the same day.
It had started out simple enough. Loki had just finished helping Diana with the dishes after Steve and Bruce had made a breakfast of strawberry or blueberry crepes with whipped cream on top. They had gone outside to start turning out some of the horses for the morning, when a bright red Chevy Camaro ZL1 with a black racing stripe came driving up the road and into Diana's driveway.
"What in God's name-" Diana started to say before the car stopped in front of Loki and her, and Tony's head popped out of the sun roof, a wide grin on his face and sunglasses over his eyes.
"Told you I would be visiting, didn't I? And I'm really loving the spooky décor you got going on." He said, before he got out of the car and walked towards us. He seemed to have just gotten out of a meeting or something, since he was dressed in a dark grey suit with a dark blue tie with gold stripes, white dress shirt, with a gold handkerchief in his breast pocket, and black loafers that Diana figured were probably Italian leather.
Clint got out of the passenger side, darker sunglasses over his eyes and dressed in jeans, boots, a maroon t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. Since his face seemed expressionless, Diana and Loki didn't know what he was thinking, but they were weary.
"This is certainly a surprise Mr. Stark." Diana said evenly. "If you're looking for Dr. Banner or Agent Coulson, I believe they're inside watching a documentary on lions. But if you're looking for Steve, you just missed him. He went on his morning run about five minutes ago."
"Well I'm happy with that, but Hawkass is here to make sure that Lokitty is behaving." Tony said as he went past Diana and Loki to the front door of the house, but jumps back from it with a yelp as Taboo jumped up and started barking.
Diana was able to hide her smirk, but Loki had to cover his mouth with a hand in order to suppress a snicker. He didn't notice Barton glaring at him.
Diana finally took pity on Tony and let Taboo outside. "Hush you big brute." She said lovingly to the dog as she ruffled the fur on his neck. She grabbed Tony's wrist and moved his hand near Taboo.
"Hey hey! I'm not gonna lose my hand am I?" Tony asked with a shaky sounding laugh, causing Diana to roll her eyes.
"Be quiet you big baby." She chastised him before Taboo licked his hand. "See? He's not so bad."
Tony wearily looked at Taboo as his tongue hung out the side of his mouth as he panted, showing off his pearly white and sharp teeth. "Sure he's not."
Clint snorted, causing Taboo to turn his head towards him. His hackles rose as a growl rumbled in his throat and he stalked towards Clint with tense muscles. Diana waited a second to let Clint stew, before sighing.
"Taboo, heel!" She sternly said, causing her dog to reluctantly turn and sit next to her legs, though he continued to growl softly.
"Guess he remembers you, huh?" Diana asked Clint with a shrug before turning and heading to the barn, Taboo at her heels. Loki sent a smug smirk to Clint before he too followed after Diana.
"Crazy fuckin' dog…" Clint muttered to himself before he sat down on one of the chair on the porch, swatting at a bit of fake cobweb that hung too close. Tony smirked, but entered the house before Clint could see it.
"I never expected those two to visit so soon. I was actually hoping that they wouldn't visit at all." Loki admitted to Diana as he led Commander and she led Holly out to the paddock.
"Well, Fury did say we would be getting random visits from Barton and Romanoff. I guess she's still on a mission or something." Diana said with a shrug as they released the mare and gelding into the paddock and shut the gate behind them.
"I hate to admit it but I actually respect Romanoff, granted I don't trust her. She's one of the few mortals to have actually outsmarted me, granted I was not under my own mind for the most part." Loki told Diana as they lead Domino and Apollo out to the paddock.
Diana turned to him and smirked after they shut the gate behind the mare and Stallion. "I hope I have nothing to be jealous about Loki."
Loki shook his head with a grin, gently laying a hand against Diana's cheek. "Never in a thousand years would I go after Romanoff, beautiful. You are the only one I desire." He told her before kissing her soundly on the lips. She contently sighed into the kiss before she pulled away, a warm smile upon her face.
"That certainly puts me at ease." She told him warmly before they returned to the barn and put Angus and Goldenrod on the lead ropes to take them to the paddock. Diana led Goldenrod, since the mare was still a bit skittish and Diana was more experienced in handling her. They had just gotten halfway to the paddock when the sunlight started to fade.
Diana and Loki looked up at the sky as dark clouds started swirling and thunder raged. Goldenrod started tossing her head and stamping her hooves as her eyes rolled in fear at the sound. Diana tightened her grip on the lead rope a bit and started speaking calmly to her.
"Shh shh, easy girl. Everything's ok, it's just some loud thunder. You're fine." She crooned to her, trying to calm her down with her animal empathy, but before she could get very far a large column of light and a loud boom happened at the tree line.
The effect was instantaneous. Goldenrod whinnied so loudly it sounded like a scream, and she bucked and reared in fright, her hooves striking out wildly. It was only because of Diana's fast reflexes that she escaped being kicked in the chest. Instead, one of Goldenrod's hooves caught her in the shoulder before the mare turned and fled into the woods.
The light faded and the clouds cleared, leaving two Asgardians in a circle of dead grass, a hovering Loki, and a very pissed off and in pain Diana.
"You fuckin' areseholes are bringing me bad luck!" She yelled at Thor and Volstagg, her Irish accent heavier in her pain and anger as Loki helped her sit up. She yelped and flinched as his fingers lightly ghosted over her shoulder.
"It isn't broken or dislocated; it'll just bruise very heavily over the next few hours." He told her before gently helping Diana up. She groaned and breathed heavily to force herself through the pain.
"Lady Diana, we are sorry that we spooked your horse and caused it to bolt. We didn't mean for this to happen." Thor said with a sorrowful look on his face. Diana turned her eyes onto the Asgardian prince and his companion, and they felt a chill go down their spines at the way they softly glowed in her anger.
"I'll deal with you two later." She said past her clenched teeth before turning back to Loki. "Which way did Goldenrod go?"
"She bolted into one of the east trails, and vanished a few yards in." He told her quickly, pointing out the trail the mare had disappeared into. Diana groaned at that, since the east trails had the most undergrowth in them.
She soon strengthened her resolve though, and hurried back into the barn. She came out carrying a long length of rope before she headed to the paddock. She let out three whistles, one high and two low, causing the five horses in the paddock to lift their heads and canter towards the fence.
Diana attached the rope to her hip before using the fence to climb up onto Holly's back. She was her fastest horse, and she couldn't afford to ride Apollo, as he wouldn't be able to get through the trail like the smaller mare could. "I need to go after her before she gets hurt. If she goes off the trail, there's a chance she'll get her leg stuck in one of the old badger setts between the trees and injure herself. Let the others know what's happened Loki, please." Diana told Loki and the other Asgardians before she turned Holly around and had her canter off in the way Goldenrod went, but not before she called for Taboo and told him to sniff out the wayward mare.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." She called over her shoulder before disappearing down the trail. She silently hoped that she could catch up to Goldenrod before she hit the mountains, if she didn't it would almost be impossible to find her.
Loki watched in worry as Diana disappeared in the trail, before angrily turning to Thor and Volstagg. "You blundering buffoons! You could have gotten Diana killed!" He told them angrily as he stormed towards the house.
"Brother, how could we have known that the horse would be frightened and then rear and bolt?" Thor asked him incredulously as he and Volstagg followed after him.
"You could have sent us a message that you would be visiting instead of storming in here like a trampling herd of bilgesnipe!" Loki raged as he entered the house, ignoring Clint as he stood and followed the Asgardians into the house.
"Thor! Great to see you again, as always. How's Asgard?" Tony asked inquisitively, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Asgard is well, Friend Stark." Thor said with a wide smirk. "The All Father just stamped out a rebellion on Vanaheim, and there is peace in the nine realms once again."
"And so you decided to ruin the peace here instead." Loki sneered as he sat on the newest addition to the living room; an antique styled wingback chair. The soft black upholstery was firm but pliable under Loki's body, making it just right. Diana had come home with it two days before when she went to do a minor amount of grocery shopping. She told Loki that as soon as she saw it for sale she had thought of him, causing warmth to fill his heart since it had been so long since anyone besides his mother had thought to get him a gift like that. Diana and Loki had positioned it next to the stone fireplace so that once it would get colder he would be able to enjoy the log fires Diana promised to light in it.
"What exactly happened?" Coulson inquired evenly from his seat on the sofa as Thor sat at one end of the sofa and Volstagg hesitantly set his bulk down at the other end, putting Bruce, Coulson and Tony between them. Clint stood against one of the back walls instead of sitting in one of the remaining seats on the sofa. Kida softly growled at him from her position lying down on the floor at Bruce's feet, but she didn't move besides turning away from him.
"What happened was that we were turning out Goldenrod and Angus when these two buffoons decided to use the Bifrӧst barely a few yards from us and the horses. Understandably Goldenrod was frightened and she bolted, but not before lashing out at Diana and catching her in the shoulder." Loki said angrily. "If Diana had been any slower she would've been kicked in the chest."
Understandably Bruce flinched as he thought of that. The Hulk may have made him mostly impervious to harm but he still felt pain more often than not, and a horse could pack one hell of a kick. Coulson grimaced slightly, knowing that being kicked by a horse was not pleasant.
"Brother please, we didn't mean to cause any harm in coming today!" Thor said emphatically. "I only wished to visit you and the rest of my friends. And Volstagg hoped to meet Lady Diana."
"What, didn't think she was real?" Loki sneered as he looked at Volstagg.
"Nay, Loki. I just wanted to meet the woman that can apparently make you quail in trepidation, from what Heimdall has told us." Volstagg said with an easy-going smile, causing Loki to scowl more heavily. "Destin was finally able to get through the worst of his flu, so I was able to accompany Thor today."
"Destin was sick?" Loki asked in genuine concern as his face cleared. Before his fall from the Bifrӧst he had met Volstagg's family, as had the rest of Thor's friends. Loki had taken a particular shine to Volstagg's youngest son, who seemed curious about everything around him.
"Yes, but he is almost fully better." Volstagg said with a smile, remembering Loki's fondness for children. "Another day or two of rest and he will be back to exploring the back gardens of the kitchen with Sven like always."
"That is good. Destin is a sweet child." Loki said evenly. "But you two better still hope that Diana is alright and comes home soon." At that moment they heard a distant rumble of thunder, and Loki's scowl deepened. "And you better hope she's back before it starts to rain!"
An hour later, Steve had returned from his run and had been informed about the situation. He then volunteered to help Loki bring in the horses from the field before it rained, after he gave Thor and Volstagg a lecture on announcing a visit ahead of time. Two hours later Loki and Steve brought in the horses from the field as the sky started darkening and the thunder grew more frequent. Three hours later, the rain started gently falling as Loki paced on the porch. He couldn't help but notice that the Halloween decorations were all under the porch roof, sans the tombstones and the ravens and owls on the roof, so they were protected from the rain for the most part. Four hours later, the rain had started falling even harder, and Loki was getting even more worried.
Bruce tried to engage Loki in a chess game, but it was all for naught. Loki would not budge from the front porch until he knew Diana was ok. It wasn't until the fifth hour of Diana being gone neared that he sighed in relief as he saw Diana, the mares, and Taboo trotting up.
Taboo came running, and shook his fur dry as soon as he was under the porch roof. Loki was too relieved to chastise him, and started rubbing him down with one of the towels Coulson held at the ready. The agent had even put them in the dryer for a few minutes, so they were nice and warm.
Loki watched with trepidation as Diana led the mares to the barn, and didn't come out immediately. In the barn, Diana dried off Holly and Goldenrod and then wrapped them up in blankets, hoping that they wouldn't get sick. She shivered slightly as she went back out in the rain, almost running to the porch and into a warm towel that Loki held open.
Loki wrapped the towel tightly around Diana as she shivered gently against him. He kissed her forehead, after pushing her dripping wet hair out of her face that is. The skin under his lips was a bit warmer than usual; though he figured it was from her being soaked to the bone.
"Thank you for waiting for me." She told him softly as he simply held her a few moments longer. "Goldenrod was about half a mile from the mountain range, I never would have found her if it wasn't for Taboo."
"I am just glad that you're safe." He told her softly as he led her inside the house. Almost immediately Diana glared at Thor and Volstagg over the edge of the towel. She was feeling very tempted to throw them out into the rain, but her generosity stopped her. Instead she only growled in frustration before heading upstairs to take a nice hot shower and get into some warm clothes.
Loki watched her as she went upstairs, before facing his audience.
"Well, that went rather well." He said almost sarcastically before turning to finish drying off Taboo.
"Hey, least Red came home safe and sound." Tony said as he leaned back on the couch. He had since discarded his jacket and tie to become more comfortable. "Granted she did leave worse for wear."
"Which she'll probably take care of soon." Loki told them, before heading into the kitchen to prepare a meal for her. He knew that she would be starving once she came back down after healing up her shoulder.
And she was, as she ate every last bit of the two sandwiches, chips, and apple slices he had prepared for her when she finally came to the kitchen. She was dressed in a plain black t-shirt and black and white plaid flannel pants with her hair pulled back into a braid at the base of her neck.
After eating he washed her plate and they both joined the rest of the people on the couch. Tony and Clint had left, though Tony said he'd return in a few days, probably with Natasha, and Steve had taken Tony's place on the couch. Diana seated herself next to Bruce, and Loki had no choice but to seat himself next to Thor as that was the only seat left on the couch. Thor of course grinned as Loki sat next to him.
"I'm glad you and Lady Diana are joining us brother! Friend Bruce was just about to introduce us to Mighty Joe Young on the movie player." Thor told him excitedly after he had introduced Diana to Volstagg. "Apparently it is about a great beast called a 'gorilla' that is taken from his home but then returned!"
"Yes Thor, I know. Diana showed it to me weeks ago." Loki told him dismissively. He was a bit more focused on the fact that Diana was currently curled up on her space of the sofa and leaning against him. He placed a gentle arm around her shoulders, and from the way she didn't flinch she seemed to have healed up the bruise from Goldenrod's kick.
"Stop being so mean to your brother." Diana murmured softly so only he could hear her. She gave a small yawn as she gently poked him in the ribs. "At least he's trying to fix your relationship."
"I do not want our relationship to be fixed." Loki told her stubbornly, voice lowered as he spoke into her ear. "He can go back to Asgard and stay there for all I care."
Diana sighed softly before pressing a subtle kiss to Loki's neck. "Holding on to that hate isn't healthy for you Loki. You have to let it go."
"Like you let go of your hate for Thomas?" It slipped out before Loki could stop it, and he instantly regretted it as Diana stiffened under his arm and turned away from him. "That. Is. Different." She said slowly, and shut down towards talking to him. As soon as the movie was over, and after Bruce and Coulson had answered any questions that Thor, Volstagg and Steve had, Diana excused herself and headed upstairs. Loki really did want to follow her, but he felt like he she would not appreciate his presence and so instead he went to the library. He tried to get himself lost in the books, but he couldn't help but feel the hollowness in his chest after Diana had turned away from him.
You idiot, now why would you go and say something like that? He thought in his head as he closed the book in his lap and leaned back in the plush armchair he was sitting in.
Maybe because no matter how hard you try against being a monster, you will always go back to being one. A tiny voice whispered treacherously in his head.
No! Diana said that I wasn't a monster… Loki thought weakly, before he shook his head at the fact that he was arguing with himself in his head.
Maybe I'm going insane all over again. He thought dejectedly to himself as he once against tried to get back into the books in his hands. It was an hour later when the door of the library slowly opened. He looked up, and there was Diana framed in the doorway. He hastily stood, and his heart gave a pang at her slightly bloodshot eyes.
"Diana, I'm so sorry…" He said before approaching her but he was stunned into silence as she grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug.
"I know you are." She murmured into his neck as he hugged her back. "But you were right, I haven't let go of my hate for Thomas. But Thor is your brother Loki, and he loves you. And I know that deep down you love Thor too, despite all of his flaws."
Loki sighed as he felt his heart give another pang, because she was right. He truly did still love Thor as his brother.
"Maybe, but it will take me a while to truly forgive him for all he's caused." Loki muttered against her clothed shoulder, before he pulled her shirt slightly off her shoulder to reveal her bare skin as he gently kissed the area. He was happy to see that the bruise from Goldenrod's hoof was all but gone, with only a faint reddish hue left over.
"I know, but he is family Loki, and family is important, no matter if they're family by blood or by choice." She told him, before reaching up to kiss the area under his jaw. Loki was glad that he had no need to shave right now, as he loved feeling Diana's soft lips on his skin.
He sighed before softly smiling down at her and leaning forward to capture her lips in a gentle but warm kiss. "I shall try, if only to please you, darling." He told her after reluctantly parting his lips from hers. The smile she gave him made him feel as if it were worth it.
They soon made their way back downstairs where everyone else seemed to have convened in the kitchen. Thor and Volstagg were fiddling with the various kitchen appliances.
"Hey, put that down!" Bruce told Volstagg as the Asgardian held the blender upside down in his hands, looking at it in confusion. Thor seemed to be fascinated by the microwave, and was playing with the buttons on it.
Diana sighed, turning her eyes skyward and muttering a prayer to the gods to give her strength before she entered her kitchen. "Thor, please be careful with that. I only have one microwave. Volstagg, if you would be so kind as to put my blender back where you found it." She said briskly as she started getting food stuffs from the pantry. Volstagg and Thor did as was asked of them, though they were still curious of all the appliances in the kitchen.
It wasn't until after Diana had started dinner that they finally left, and that was only after she had rapped Volstagg on the knuckles with the wooden spoon in her hand to keep him from filching some of the shredded cheese on the counter. She wielded it like a sword towards the Asgardians with a fierce look in her eyes, causing them to back up quickly out of the kitchen, and making Loki to snicker.
However, it was what happened after the dinner of a rather delicious lasagna and garlic bread (which Diana had to make three times as much to compensate for the Asgardian's appetites) that caused Loki great joy. Volstagg had just handed Diana a second batch of dishes to wash, with Loki's help of course, when she paused and her eyes closed.
"Ah ah ah-choo!" She let out a huge sneeze, and in doing so a plume of flames flew out of her mouth and caught Volstagg's beard on fire. He squawked in shock and a slight bit of fear as he tried batting out the flames with his hands, but the fire didn't go out until Diana bended a stream of water at his face.
"Sorry..." She told him sheepishly as Volstagg wiped water from his eyes. "That sometimes happens when I sneeze."
Loki started laughing, a great loud sound straight from his stomach as the look on the rotund Asgardian's face when his beard had caught fire stuck in his mind. He laughed and laughed, causing Bruce, Steve and Coulson to look at him like he was crazy, and Diana to blush almost as red as her hair. Thor grinned widely, for it had been far too long in his opinion since he had heard his brother laugh this loudly and carefree.
On Asgard
Sif waited almost impatiently for Thor and Volstagg to return, though when they finally did after night had fallen she went to meet them at the gates to Asgard.
"The Golden Prince returns. How was it mingling with the mortals?" She asked with a smile real enough to fool Thor.
Volstagg however, seemed to see through that as he slightly narrowed his eyes at Sif, but he didn't say anything as he was still fidgeting with his beard. Diana had been kind enough to trim off most of the burnt hair, but a few strands were still a bit crispy.
"Visiting with my brother and my Midgardian friends was most enjoyable, Sif. Lady Diana was most courteous with us, even when we made a bad entrance and spooked one of her horses." Thor told Sif.
"And then she made a most delicious meal called 'lasagna' for dinner, though I feel in the future I will have to duck for a while once someone sneezes." Volstagg added, holding his beard up to show Sif the shorter length.
Sif bit back a laugh. "She sneezed and caught your beard on fire Volstagg? Well, you did need a trim, according to your wife." She told him with a wide grin. Volstagg merely scoffed and left, heading home to indulge in the second dinner his wife no doubt had ready for him.
Thor turned to Sif with a wide grin on his face. "All in all, it was a rather fun day. Lady Diana had even decorated her house for 'Halloween', which Friend Bruce and Steve explained is very much like our own autumn festivals. Everyone celebrates the coming season on October 31st and dresses in elaborate costumes and has parties or passes out treats to children, and if you don't a child might play a trick on you in retribution." Thor said in excitement. "She invited me and a guest of my choosing back to celebrate Halloween with her and her family to enjoy the special celebration she'll be having in the town square."
"Will you be visiting before then Thor? If so, I would like to join you." Sif said with an easygoing smile, though her mind was turning with ideas.
"Of course. I was actually planning on going back next week, and then maybe visiting Jane in New Mexico for a day or two if Father can spare me." Thor told Sif, seeing nothing wrong with her joining him. "I shall have to send a message with either Huginn or Muninn to them the day before I go though, to make sure Loki and Lady Diana know of my visit. I wouldn't want to make an entrance that would spook another of her horses."
"Of course not. And maybe Lady Diana would indulge me in a small sparring session, if she is up to it." Sif said with a slightly hard edged smile.
"Sif, it would be unwise to engage Lady Diana in a fight. I have read the file the Midgardian S.H.I.E.L.D keeps on her. Her powers in controlling the four elements are great, as are her fighting skills." Thor told the female warrior in warning, but she merely waved it away.
"Oh come now Thor, I did not get to become the warrior I am today by being afraid of a little magic casting." She told him dismissively before heading to her home, leaving Thor at the gates to the palace. The blonde Thunder God sighed in discontent as he watched his friend leave, before he entered the palace and headed to his quarters for the night. He could only hope that Diana and Sif would not tear each other, or Midgard, apart.
And done with chapter 15 of my story! I hope you all enjoyed it and please review and tell me what you think!
Diana: Oh come on, they have to wait till the next chapter to see me kick Sif's ass?
Loki: Diana's right, it does seem unfair. I was hoping to see Sif get put in her place too, as I'm sure everyone else was.
Silver: Yes, yes, I know. But I'm trying to get more chapters put in here, since this story is probably going to be a bit longer than I imagined. So bear with me here, but I promise that the next chapter will hold the faceoff between Sif and Diana, and then will hold the surprise on what happens during Halloween. Now I don't think I need to remind you that I own nothing that involves the Marvel universe. Every original character, including the animals, belongs to me though. Till next time, and please read and review people!