Author's Note: Hello again! I know its been quite a while since I updated, and I'm sorry. I had hoped to have this up sooner, but life got really busy for a while. It also didn't help that I was on a huge Batman kick after watching The Dark Knight Rises. But I'm back now, things are calmer, and I'm refocused on Loki and Rika! Anyway, this chapter pretty directly follows the previous one. Also, as promised, this chapter marks the return of Loki :) I'm much happier with this chapter than I was with the last one, and I really hope you like it too! Thanks to everyone who read, alerted and favourited! And extra thanks to HistoryGeek1993, hidansgirl1234, and DoctorLokiLove for reviewing! Much love!

Disclaimer: Anything recognizable belongs to Marvel; I only own Rika and the plot.

"Very impressive."

A small smile crosses my face as I turn, my magic fading around me. "Good afternoon, Steve."

Steve Rogers, alias Captain America, smiles back. "Care to join me for supper?"

I nod and leave the training room with him, chatting amiably. Ever since Thor and I arrived on Midgard seven months ago, we have been part of a classified government program called the Avengers Initiative along with several other exceptional individuals. They are a good group of people, and I have become particularly good friends with the man next to me. Steve, a super soldier, had been in stasis for seventy years and was awoken shortly before we arrived, only to find the world drastically changed. The woman he loved and everyone he cared about had grown old without him. In many ways he is as lost in this world as I am, and we have grown close because of it.

Thor has been spending much of his time with Jane, and the two of them seem very happy together. I try not to let it get to me, but seeing them together sometimes makes me think of Loki and what we used to have. As a result, I have ended up spending a lot of my time with Steve and the others.

When Steve and I reach the dining hall, we find Thor and Jane already seated at the large table. We sit down with them, and are soon joined by several other members of the Initiative.

I enjoy times like this. When I am surrounded by these people, many of whom I've come to consider friends, it helps me momentarily forget my heartbreak.

After dinner the group separates. Steve and I head outside. We chat as we walk the grounds outside the compound, sitting down on a bench as the sun sets. Silence falls between us. Eventually Steve clears his throat awkwardly; I look curiously at him.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

He nods. "Yes, I'm fine. Rika? There's something I've wanted to do for a while now."

"What is it?"

Before I realize what's happening, his lips are on mine. My eyes widen in surprise. The kiss is soft and brief; he pulls away and looks at me nervously.

I blink several times, slowly, trying to process what just happened and sort out my whirling thoughts. No one has kissed me since I last saw Loki ten months ago, and I still love him. On the other hand, Loki is gone and has been for nearly a year. Plus Steve is a good man, and he cares for me. I care for him too, in a way. I break eye contact with the man next to me and look down at my hands. My gaze falls on my ring - Loki's ring - which still rests on my finger. Oh, gods.

"Rika?" Steve says my name softly. I lift my eyes to meet his.

"Oh, Steve, I am so sorry. I just - I can't do this." His face falls and I feel awful. I reach over and cover his hand with my own. "It's not that I don't care for you. You're a good friend, Steve. In fact, you've helped me more than I can say. But..." I trail off, taking a deep breath. "I'm not ready for this. I'm still - "

He cuts me off, not angrily, but somewhat sadly. "You're still in love with Loki. I understand. I'm sorry if I've crossed a line."

I smile softly. "It's alright. I hope we can still be friends?"

He nods, smiling back. "I'd like that."

On impulse, I lean over and give him a hug. When I pull back we stand up and head back inside.

...

My breath catches in my throat. There she is, her red hair bright and flaming in the setting sun. I am so captivated by her that it is a moment before I notice she is not alone; walking alongside her is a tall, muscular man. They are talking and laughing together. My hands clench into fists at my sides, jealousy bubbling up inside me as I watch them sit down on a bench.

I cannot hear what they are saying to each other, but suddenly the man leans over and kisses her. There is a rushing in my ears and my hands begin to shake. I keep watching as they speak to each other, then she leans over and hugs him. A moment later they get up and go back inside.

I stand there, filled with shock and pain, staring at the door they disappeared behind. Has she truly moved on so quickly? The thought of my Rika with another man hurts me more than I could have imagined.

I can't deal with this right now. I slip away from the compound into the coming night, fighting back tears as I go.

...

I have a strange dream that night. I am sitting in the palace garden back in Asgard, wearing Midgardian clothing. Steve appears beside me, sits down and takes my hand, slipping my engagement ring off my finger. He kisses me passionately, but when he pulls away he has turned into Loki. He sees the ring sitting on the bench between us and his eyes grow hard, a pained and angry expression twisting his handsome face. He picks up the ring and opens his mouth to say something...

And I wake up with a start. My heart is pounding hard in my chest, and I realize my cheeks are wet with tears. I brush them away and roll over, mulling over the dream. I'm certain it was brought on by guilt over what happened with Steve earlier; even though he's gone, my heart still belongs to Loki.

My thoughts and feeling still muddled, I gradually fall back asleep. This time, thankfully, I do not dream.

...

I am relieved to find Jane in her lab without Thor at her side, for once; I feel like I need to talk things over with her, and I don't have it in me to make up an excuse to get rid of my fellow Asgardian at the moment. I've been dwelling on last night's dream all day and I can't take it anymore.

Jane's back is to me as she speaks animatedly with one of her lab assistants; they're both looking intently at a computer monitor, presumably discussing what they see there. I cross the lab to where they're standing and hang back, waiting for them to finish talking. A moment later Jane notices me and dismisses her assistant, turning to face me with a slightly distracted smile.

"Hey Rika, how are you?"

I return her smile. "I'm alright, Jane. I was hoping you'd have a minute to talk?"

"Sure," she replies. "There's actually something I'd like to discuss with you, too. But you first."

"Can we go outside?"

Jane nods and we leave her lab and go out into the compound's garden. We walk in silence for a couple minutes as Jane gazes at me expectantly; I'm having trouble finding a way to phrase exactly what I'm feeling.

"Rika? What's wrong?"

I look down into the concerned face of the shorter woman beside me and suddenly I just blurt out the issue that started this.

"Steve kissed me last night."

Jane stops in her tracks and looks at me, wide-eyed with surprise. "He kissed you! When? Where?" She pauses. "How was it?"

Amusement bubbles inside me at her excited questioning. "After dinner last night we came outside for a walk. Then we sat down on a bench and he kissed me." The expectant look on her face makes me elaborate. "It was just a quick little kiss. It was nice enough, I suppose."

"'Nice enough'? Oh Rika, what's the matter?"

I sigh heavily. "It felt...odd. I couldn't - I had to reject him. I kept thinking about Loki."

Jane takes my hand and squeezes it comfortingly. "You miss him. And you're still in love with him."

"I do. And I am. I know he's gone, but I still feel like I've, I don't know, betrayed him somehow. The guilt brought on the strangest dream last night." I proceed to recount the dream to her. "Jane, I don't know what to do."

"I think you just need more time. It's different for people like you than for people like me." I raise an eyebrow and she smiles softly. "I just mean, it's because you live for so long. You and Loki were together longer than I've been alive."

I nod slowly and she continues. "It hasn't even been a year, Rika. Don't feel bad for not being over him yet. It makes sense that it'll take a long time." She pauses. "Not that that's a very encouraging thought."

"You're right. Thank you, Jane." I reach over and hug her, smiling as I pull away. "Now, you said there was something you wished to discuss?"

Jane nods, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Let's go back to the lab. I'll show you."

Curious, I follow her back inside and over to the computer I found her at earlier. She keys in a few commands before stepping back to look at me.

"We picked up some weird readings about a week ago. At first glance it looks like the readings we get when the Bifröst is used, but it's not the same. Look."

She points to two sets of data side-by-side on the screen; I lean in to look closer.

"What exactly am I looking at here?" I ask, glancing over my shoulder at Jane.

"This on the right is the reading we took when you and Thor arrived here seven months ago; I've compared it to the data from when Thor was first sent here as well as from when he returned to Asgard with Sif and the Warriors Three. They're all identical." She meets my eyes and I nod for her to continue. "On the left here is what my equipment picked up last week. It's similar in nature, but not enough to be the Bifröst."

I gaze at her with raised eyebrows. "Alright. So what do you need from me?"

"Well, I've managed to rule out weather phenomena, low-flying aircraft, military or scientific testing, really anything I can think of that might have caused these fluctuations. I hoped you might have a different perspective."

"Why didn't you ask Thor?"

Jane smirks. "I did. He said, and I quote, 'you should ask Rika, she's much smarter than I am'. Then he rushed out of here to go hit something, I imagine."

I laugh, imagining Thor's reaction at being asked to help with Jane's 'science-y things', as he always calls them. "I wish I could help you, Jane, but it seems like you've covered everything. I don't know what might mimic the Bifröst readings. Or cause variances in them. Though if someone had come from Asgard through the Bifröst I'm sure we would have heard about it."

"That's what I thought, too," Jane agrees. "Well thanks anyway, Rika. If you think of anything let me know."

...

I wrap myself in the shadows of night and slip unnoticed into the compound. Once I'm inside it doesn't take me very long to find my way to the living quarters, which are dark and quiet this late. The names of the occupants are on little plaques on each door. Helpful.

Halfway down the corridor I stop, staring at the name on the door in front of me: Rika Halvorsdóttir. There is no noise coming from inside; either she is not there or she is asleep. At this late hour, I imagine the latter is the case.

Keeping myself cloaked in darkness, I slip through the door and into the dim room. I am in a small sitting room. A door is slightly ajar to my left; I silently cross to it and push it open enough to enter.

The only light in the bedroom is filtering in through the small window from the grounds, which never seem to be dark. The soft light falls across Rika's sleeping face. She is so beautiful.

Standing next to the bed, I reach down and lightly brush my fingers across her cheek. She sighs softly in her sleep, unconsciously nuzzling into my touch. My breath catches in my throat. I lean down and gently kiss her forehead before slipping back out of her quarters.

...

Gentle fingers brush my cheek. I sigh contentedly. Moments later I feel a pair of lips on my forehead, kissing me softly. Slowly rousing from sleep my thoughts linger on the fading dream as I crack my eyes open.

A second later I sit up quickly, my heart hammering in my chest; I could have sworn I saw a tall figure slip out of my bedroom. A figure that I would recognize anywhere, one that I know as well as I know myself.

I get out of bed and switch on the light. Pushing open the bedroom door, I let the light spill into the sitting room and look around; my quarters are deserted.

I sigh heavily, frustrated with myself. Of course he's not here. That would be impossible; it was clearly just my imagination overworking in the wake of a dream.

Wasn't it?

A/N: What did you think? Pretty please drop me a review and let me know!