Thor had all but threatened Loki with brute force to make him shower and change into a presentable outfit, had lain the dark suit and dress shirt on his bed and stood there, arms crossed until Loki had stood up from the couch, shoved him aside and turned on the water in the shower. "Mr. Stark said we all had to be there tonight and that is what we will be, including you." Thor shouted to him over the roar of the running water. "Besides, maybe this will serve to get your mind off of her." "I don't want to get my mind off of her and this will only put me in more foul a mood than I was. Stark is absolutely the last person I need to see." Loki stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist and walking into the bedroom. "I didn't know you still had that scar.." Thor said as Loki toweled off. "I have many scars, perhaps more than you, after all wasn't I the punching bag quite often?" Thor chuckled quietly, "It was all in good fun, brother, I promise you." Loki was buttoning up his white shirt when he looked at Thor, "If that was good fun, I'd like to see your idea of a bad time.." He paused, "And I have." Thor let out a guffaw, "Well met, brother! Now hurry, time is growing short."
Sarah had stepped out into the street in the dusk of a warm evening and she shrugged the lacy wrap she had found in the closet to accompany her dress, off her shoulders. The storm had passed through that afternoon leaving cloudless skies and a glorious sunset was starting to light up the sky. When she'd answered the door for the delivery man, there had been a box with the dress. In it was a note from Pepper and a pair of pale yellow flats in a size 7, her size. The note said, 'Sarah, I had completely forgotten about the shoes, hope these work for you, see you at the party, PP.' She had shaken her head incredulous. Miss Potts really was a girl Friday, the perfect woman for Tony Stark.
Thor, Loki and Dr. Banner had opted to walk to Stark towers. "Can you imagine having all that money at your disposal all the time?" Banner said, craning his neck to look up at the skyscraper bearing the words "Stark" in bright blue letters, except for the A which was red. Loki glanced upwards, then back at the street before him, another reason for his reticence in attending Stark's party. In his mind's eye, he could replay every move, every word, every battle from that day. He was starting to feel a headache coming on. "The two of you look put together tonight," Banner remarked, "I don't really fit into dress suits, besides there's always the bill if they come back ripped." Here Banner gave something between a snort and a chuckle. Thor turned to him, "I think the dress shirt and pants you chose suit you well, doctor." Loki eyed Thor and added, "Yes much easier to replace than a good suit." They arrived at the top floor to find the townhouse full of people, some they knew from the office but mostly people from Stark towers, friends. Stark was in the midst of it all, naturally but when he saw the three of them step off the elevator he excused himself and walked over to them.
"Fellas, make yourself at home, Loki glad you could be persuaded to come to one of my little soirees after all," Tony flashed him a smile, "Doc, I want to introduce you to one of my most esteemed colleagues, she's from the university of Maine and she has Phd in nuclear physics..first though, Thor follow me, big buddy." Loki watched Thor follow Tony to the far side of the room and let out a bellow, "Jane!" as a petite woman with brown hair rushed up to him, he picking her up in a bear hug. Loki skimmed the room, seeing a few people from the office that he knew but cared not to make small talk, cared not to be there at all. Rather he felt Tony had brought him here tonight as payback for their little shoving match in the lab earlier in the week. He walked to the bar alone, Banner had already been snatched up by Tony. When the bartender handed him the beer he'd asked for, he took a long deep swig, nearly draining the bottle by half. 'Not as good as the mead at home but it'll have to do," Loki thought to himself. Curling the bottle against his chest to avoid having it knocked from his hand, he made his way over to the wall of windows leading to the terrace. In the reflection of the glass, he could see Pepper Potts staring at him flatly and he resisted the urge to turn and stare her down. He knew he didn't belong here, he wasn't sure why no one else had gotten it. He opened the door and stepped out onto the terrace into the starless glow of the city beneath him, a light breeze ruffling his hair. He scanned the buildings, trying to remember which one was Sarah's apartment, finally finding it nearly hidden in the midst of the rising skyline. He took another gulp of the beer and put his hands on the terrace railing, thinking staying outside here all night would be preferable to the crowds of people inside, most of whom he didn't know, some of whom knew him and would doubtless prefer to push him over the railing to the street stories below.
Sarah met up with Lily and they walked to Stark's tower together, Lily had found for the party, a sweet little spaghetti strap sundress, pale orange with red piping along the bottom hem and black heels. "I'd like to find a rich husband tonight."She said as they walked. "I'm sure Stark even keeps a few on hand just for emergencies, he's got to be swimming in rich men." Sarah shoved her playfully, "Honestly, if you can do without a man, do it. I did.." Lily cast a sidelong glance at her, "And look at you now…sour grapes, my friend." Sarah looked downcast at the pavement beneath her feet, "Good call…okay let's change the subject now, shall we?" By the time they had arrived at the Tower, it was already 8:10. As soon as they walked into the foyer and stepped into the large elevator waiting for them, Lily had slipped off her shoes and hooked them over her fingers. "Next time, maybe we should take a cab." She groaned. Sarah drew the wrap from off her shoulders and draped it over her arm as the elevator shot skyward.
When they stepped off the elevator, Tony had waved to them from across the room and Sarah had immediately spied Thor with a pretty, smartly dressed, woman on his arm. She had also noticed Dr. Banner in a corner, a drink in his hand which he never looked up from, talking to a tall, leggy blond in a black dress, her hair pulled back in a chignon. Lily pulled Sarah by the arm to a group of office people from the S.H.I.E.L.D. division where they all greeted her with congratulations on what they considered a promotion to better circumstances. She smiled, made small talk for a few minutes then decided she would seek out Stark and perhaps, grabbing a glass of wine to fortify herself, beg Tony to help her see Loki.
The crowd in the townhouse was cluttered and she skimmed around the edge of the room along the glass wall, stopping for a moment to peer through the tinted glass at the city outside when she spotted a man on the terrace with a silhouette at once familiar to her and her heart began to race. She searched for the door to the terrace, finally found it and stepped outside into the night air. Loki, deep in thought, never heard the door open, nor did he hear the rapid footsteps approach until she was a few feet from him. He turned toward the sound of her step and she stopped. "Sarah?" He said, voice cracking, "Loki, oh god," She cried and rushed forward into his embrace, their kisses as intense as they were bittersweet as they sought to say in caresses what they had been unable to tell each other that whole long week apart. She held his face in her hands finally for a long moment. "I tried to come and see you, I asked Lily to take my note to you." Loki patted his pants pocket, "Still have it," he reached up and pressed her hand to his face, closing his eyes. "I don't know what to do, Loki." Sarah whispered, "How can we be together if everyone else is determined to keep us apart?" Loki looked up at the wall of glass leading inside and could just make out Tony on the other side, glass in his hand, speaking to someone but his head turned towards the glass, Loki knew, watching them as they stood locked into each other's arms. "There might be a way, are you willing to trust me?" Sarah looked up into his blue green eyes. "I love you, Loki, and I trust you" Loki grinned, this was a new one on him, he'd never had anyone trust him so completely and it felt exhilarating. He took her by the hand and they stepped from the night air into the warmth of the townhouse, Loki catching Tony's eye and giving a slight bow, eliciting a quick smile from Tony in return before he returned his attention back to the guest he'd been speaking with. As they wove through the crowd, Loki's mind was already working at a fever pitch, his hand gripping Sarah's almost hard enough to hurt, so fearful was he that she was going to be stripped away from him suddenly. As they reached the middle of the room, Thor's booming voice called out to him, "Brother, come here." Loki scanned the room till he saw Thor waving at them from a far corner. Loki was tempted to ignore him but Sarah had already changed direction and he followed her after a slight tug. "Brother," Loki cried, "It seems we have had our prayers answered this evening." He nodded at Sarah who nodded back, "This," He gestured to the petite woman on his arm, "Is Jane Foster." Loki glanced at her to acknowledge the introduction and was startled to see a grim smile and eyes like hard flint as she stared at him. "I've heard all about you Loki." Jane said, her voice clipped, and Loki squeezed Sarah's hand before letting it go. "And I, you, Miss Foster." As he listened to Thor introduce Sarah, he gazed about the room once more and finally found his opportunity.
"Sarah, I'm going to get a drink, would you like one?" Sarah shook her head, "No I'm fine, I'll be right here." Loki leaned and kissed her lightly on the forehead, not missing the turn of Jane's head as she looked away in disgust. Loki reached the bar in seconds and stood next to an agent, his collar and coat unbuttoned, elbows on the bar as he seemed to scan the room. Beside his glass of scotch lay his security badge, taken off as he'd undone the collar of his shirt. When the bartender came up to Loki, he placed his order for a beer and before the bartender could straighten back up to hand it to him, Loki had disappeared back into the crowd. He could feel the hard plastic of the badge against his fingers when he walked up to Sarah who was still talking to Jane, herself looking for all the world as if she wished to pull Sarah aside for a private conversation. Loki took Sarah's hand again, "Brother, If you'll excuse us, I'd like to be alone with Sarah in the short time we have." A sly grin served to make Thor blush red as he clapped Loki hard on the shoulder, "Behave yourself." Thor gave Sarah a nod as Loki led her away from the large crowd towards the elevator, watching Thor's attention turn back to Jane. As a crowd of people filed onto the elevator, he saw his opportunity, looked at Sarah and said, "Don't ask, just follow me" Sarah stepped onto the elevator with Loki who sought the back of the lift in time to avoid Tony's sweeping gaze across the room. As they descended, Sarah peered at Loki's face but he only met eyes with her. When the elevator doors opened, Loki fully expected to see Stark tower security at the entrance, waiting for him but the path to the front doors was clear and they stepped out into the night air and turned towards the offices of S.H.I.E.L.D. a block distant.
They hadn't gone a hundred yards when Sarah let go of Loki's hand and he slowed to a stop. "Loki what are we doing?" "We're going back to the office." Sarah narrowed her eyes at him, "For what, I can't get in without a badge," Her expression softened and she took hold of his hand again, "Why don't we go back to the party and enjoy ourselves, work on Tony's good graces." He whirled around and took hold of her other hand, "No, don't you understand, this is temporary, that's all, then they put me back in my cage and send you on your way." Loki put a hand to her face, "You said you would trust me," Sarah met his intense gaze, all resolve melting away before the face of the man she loved. Loki could see the change in her expression and he smiled.
They stopped just short of the foyer doors. Inside she could see the security guard sitting at the row of computers, staring in the blue glow. Loki looked at her, "Stay still until I tell you to move, alright?" Sarah gave a quick nod, knowing she was about to enter dangerous territory. The air before the desk shimmered and coalesced into images of herself and Loki. She suppressed a cry of surprise as they started to run down the corridor to the left with the guard in pursuit, Loki opened the door and strode to the access door, Sarah nearly pulled off her feet behind him, he fished in his pocket, pulled out the badge and Sarah heard the beep as the door slid open and they were inside. "You don't have a badge Loki…" Her voice trailed off as he turned to her. "Come on, we have to take the stairs." The access stairs were before the elevator at the far end of the corridor and he started off for them at a sprint, "Wait," Sarah cried. She bent over and hooked the heel of one shoe, then the other, picking them up and trotting up to him, "I can't run in these things." He swung the door open to the stairs and held it for her, that was when the klaxon started to sound and Sarah jumped with a shriek. "Loki?" He grabbed her hand and they started down the stairs.
The security guard had returned to his station to alert his superior at the outer station, that he'd lost sight of two intruders that he'd been chasing when he noticed the main foyer monitor playing in a loop and he watched as Sarah and Loki badged into the building in surprise. He hit the alarm hard with his fist.
Tony had sidled up to Thor and touched his arm. "Where did your brother and his girlfriend get off to?" Thor shrugged, "I know not where he went, Mister Stark," Tony gazed across the room finally catching Banner's eye and mouthing the word 'Loki'. Banner started to scan the room when realization suddenly dawned on their faces all at once, "Oh shit, security breach." Tony whispered and they all started for the elevator at once.
Sarah was winded by the seventh floor but spurred on by the red lights and continuous clanging of the klaxon." Loki, I'm going to pass out," She cried, breathless. Loki turned, "Just another few flights I promise. Hurry." As she stepped off the landing at the eighth floor her ankle turned suddenly, flinging her against the wall, pain shooting up her shin, a scream escaping her. Loki was immediately upon her, "Sarah, are you alright?" She took a few deep breaths as he pulled her upwards but when she tried to step on her foot, pain shot up to her knee and she nearly collapsed save for his hold on her. He swiftly picked her up in his arms and took the two flights in bounds, finally arriving at the door to the tenth floor. He set her down, opened the door and looked down the corridor to lab 3.
Fury had jabbed the buttons on the elevator angrily. He knew where Loki was heading, hadn't even taken a second to consider it. He stepped inside the elevator and it shot downward.
As they reached the doors to the lab, the realization hit her of what Loki's intentions were. He slid the badge across the panel and growled in frustration when it wouldn't budge, threw the badge on the floor and said, "Stand back" Sarah limped back until she was touching the wall and Loki laid his hands on the glass in the lab door. Ice began to form across the glass, colder and colder, she could see her breath in the corridor and closed her eyes. As the glass shattered, she heard the door to the elevator slide open and footsteps running down the hall though she couldn't see who it was yet, she was sure they weren't here to give her a warm welcome. Loki grabbed her by the arm and steered her through the door, lifting her over the broken glass and to the table where the scepter sat in its cradle. "When I grab the scepter, you'll only have a few seconds to touch it before it's too late," Loki said turning to her, "Loki, I'm scared," Loki reached out and grabbed the scepter as guards started to step through the broken door. The room filled with an electric blue vapor and she could hear a hum as he swung the scepter and put it end on the floor. In that moment she looked into his eyes, saw the fear there and her hand encircled the scepter above his. The last thing she saw were the guards aiming through the door at her with rifles, the last thing she heard was the order to fire.