A/N: MWAHAHAHA! 'Tis I! The greatest villain of them all: The Author! And I bestow upon you the fruits of my labours, a plan that has taken me YEARS to perfect!

... And I'm going to leave you staring at it in horror and dread as I sod off for a few weeks to grammatically update my previous chapters, lest one of my devoted sidekicks- sosaveme- starts feeling like all their hard work was for naught...

Until then, I leave you guys with this chapter! Enjoy it (if you can)!

Mwahahahahahahahaaaaaaa!

Chapter 18

Goodbye, Loki

Loki quickly makes short work of packing away the camping equipment. With just a wave of his hand, the little patch of forest we're in is clear once again.

"So, back to the cabin?" I ask him as I start walking forwards to the edge of the clearing. With a chuckle, he grabs hold of my shoulders and turns me around almost 180 degrees.

"Yes, we are going to the cabin," he says into my ear. "But that is not the way to the cabin."

"Oh," I say, my body buzzing slightly from the close proximity. "Well, how the fuck would I have possibly known?" I frown, glaring at the trees that all look very much the same.

"My dearest Shana," Loki says in a mock-mournful tone. "You would not do well in the other realms at all!"

"Yeah, well, from what you've been telling me, that's an understatement," I answer honestly as he leads me through the trees. "Though... there is one question I still want answered."

"You may ask, just be aware that I might not answer," he says a little distractedly. Most probably thinking of all the things he really would much rather I didn't decide to talk with him about.

"What's with all the human stuff if you came here around about when I did?" I ask him. It's a little suspicious that Loki hadn't been here long at all, yet had just enough time to buy so much stuff. After all, he can only summon so many things from home before people start wondering where half of Asgard went.

"Evidently, I bought the items I couldn't summon either during my last stay in Midgard, or during some small opportunities over the last couple of months," he answers.

"Fair enough," I say with a slow nod of acceptance. "Does that include all the camping stuff and fireworks? Because it kind of seemed spur of the moment..." No way is he that good at planning ahead! He gives a simple shrug at my question.

"I had been curious at the effectiveness of your fireworks. As for the camping equipment, I already owned all of it in preparation of a longer stay and a harder invasion," he gives me a smirk- obviously thinking that he's outsmarted me while making it known that he's the biggest, smartest fish in this sea.

"But we still kicked your arse," I say with a nod, not taking 'no' for an answer. He glares ahead as we walk through the trees.

Obviously still a sore subject...

We reach the cabin with little more discussion- mostly because Loki's still a bit disappointed about the humiliation that was his defeat. Whether he was totally with it during the invasion or not, it was still Loki who lost to a team of costumed mortals (even if they were super powered). It stings a little, I'm sure.

Flopping down on the couch, I stare blankly up at the ceiling, wondering when my life got so warped.

Wow... I sound like some kind of teenage goth who's just found out they're gay. But I just can't quite get my head around how much everything has changed.

Not that long ago (still barely a couple of months ago, in fact), I was reluctantly studying science, in regular contact with my friends and family while I blindly found my way around life with both hands spread out in front of me to help guide my way.

Now, I haven't got my family, I haven't got the science course, but I do have the heart (I assume) of a royal, magical, alien Viking god and one Hell of a possible future biography.

Well... it's actually a lie that I wonder when it all got so fucked up. It all happened when the night was its darkest.

It's also a lie that I think it's all fucked up. I wanted an unorthodox life, and I got one.

Who would have ever thought that this would have happened?

"Are you contemplating your life again, Shana?" Loki asks, standing near my head. I peer up at him in suspicion.

"And how the fuck did you know I was thinking about that?" I ask him curiously.

"You are easier to read than you think," Loki answers as he moves my feet to sit with me on the couch, before gently placing them on his lap.

I roll my eyes at him. I'm not that easy to read, I think sulkily.

"Am I wrong in thinking that you are making a point to argue against me inside your mind at this moment?" he asks me with a smug brow raised.

"Well, yes, but that ought to be a no brainer by now," I excuse.

"Or that you spend much of your time considering yourself unworthy of me?"

"Yeah, but... not like that. You kind of make me sound like some sort of shallow fangirl, you know?"

"And what of your curiosity with magic? Your desire to learn about foreign cultures? The sarcastic commentary that most surely must be running within your mind as well as from your lips?"

"Fuck, mate!" I gasp dramatically when he pauses for breath. "Can you read minds or something?"

"No," he says with a smirk. "You are just easy to read. But fear not," he leans forwards as his tone drops to a conspiratorial pur. "I am a master at reading people, and you have no qualms with showing your every emotion for all to see."

"What can I say?" I ask with a shrug. "I'm a very emotional kind of girl." A genuine smile crosses his face.

"Indeed," he says, brushing a hand through my hair. "Very much s-"

Crash!

With a startled jump, I whip my legs off of Loki's lap, spinning in my seat to face the source of the noise.

A draft enters the room through the empty door frame- the door that once filled it now lying uselessly on the floor.

In the doorway stands a large, hulking silhouette. Clad in full battle armour, the brute of a man steps in, his eyes quickly scanning the place that once was a sanctuary. My heart sinks a little as I realise what this means.

"Loki," the man says in a deep growl, his eyes shooting towards where Loki sits ridged on the couch.

"How did you find me?" Loki asks, his voice softened by shock.

"The fireworks," Thor (how could I not recognise him when his picture is everywhere?) says. "Heimdall had noticed unusual activity in this area. The mortals of S.H.I.E.L.D had been trying to gain access to this forest, but to no success. Correctly assuming that it must be a magical attack on Midgard- most probably of your doing- Heimdall had sent me to a nearby clearing to investigate." He stands there, staring down at Loki and looking like an immovable boulder. There would be no reasoning with this man.

"Why, brother?" He finally asks, breaking the tense silence that had fallen between the two men. "Why cause so much grief? Our parents taught us to be good, noble men!" Thor steps into the cabin as he tries to reason with Loki. I cringe at his choice of words, thinking back to all the times when Loki had whinged about the evils of his father- the man who had lied to him for centuries.

"They are not my parents," Loki says darkly. "That man lied to me. He lied to us both. He told us tales of the dreaded Frost Giants; of creatures who were nothing more than beasts that deserved to be put down," standing up, he turns to face Thor fully.

"You wanted them destroyed as much as I did," Loki says softly, the old madness beginning to worm its way back into his eyes.

Thor shouldn't be here, I think as I watch events unfold in front of me. He's making Loki riled up.

"I did not wish to kill an entire realm, though, brother!" Thor shouts as emotions start to run high.

"That is not what you said!" Loki hisses at him spitefully. "You had said many times that you wished for their deaths. That the realms would surely not miss such foul monsters- a race of beasts that I am a part of!" Loki rants, his face contorting in his mad rage. Thor opens his mouth to speak.

"No!" Loki shouts before Thor can speak. "Can you truly not see? Are you so blind? They had lied to us both! I am nothing but a monster as the All-father has always said. So chain me up! Imprison me! Put me down if you must-"

"Brother, please," Thor interrupts pleadingly.

"Like the dog I am!" Loki yells at the top of lungs. The tension in the room is thick enough to suffocate. I look between the two gods, both so different from each other. They have their similarities, but only as much as any two royal princes from the same land might have.

"Loki," Thor says softly. "Father will not kill you."

"So you believe," Loki scoffs, turning to sit stiffly on the couch once more.

"It is the truth," Thor insists. "I speak nothing but the truth to you, Loki."

"I killed thousands, Thor," Loki says softly. "Maybe even millions. Not even a loving father- if he is such- could forgive such crimes." Another tense silence between brothers; Loki's head held high and his expression one of stubborn denial.

I don't dare speak up. Not even I am dumb enough to attempt to break through this harsh atmosphere and cheer things up a little. Not when these two gods look like they're one bad word away from killing someone (never mind each other).

"You," Thor suddenly says, his eyes trained on me. I look up at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something else along with 'you'. For a moment, he just stares at me with intense confusion, before he finally speaks. "Why are you here?" And so the spotlight shines on me, and all reasonable thought flees my mind. I raise an unimpressed eyebrow at the man who's most probably about to take Loki to his death.

"First of all," I say, my tone dry. "That was rude. Seriously, mate; even your brother has better manners than you and he's a fucking serial killer!" Turns out I'm really shit in tense situations. Who'da thunk?

"Secondly, I'm here because your serial killer brother saw me and thought he just had to have me. As he didn't have any parents around at the time to warn him about the dangers of picking up random strays off the street, here I am." Thor frowns at me, looking even more confused than before at my reaction.

"Loki imprisoned you?" Thor asks for verification.

"Well... that depends," I say cautiously. "Would it affect his sentence?" I don't want to be the cause of Loki being killed, just because he was 'evil' enough to kidnap a human for long period of time. It wasn't even that long in Asgardian standards! And as far as kidnappers go, Loki was actually pretty accommodating, all things considered...

"No," Thor says. "It should not, unless he had forced himself upon you; harmed you without provocation or mistreated you during captivity." Well that's mighty fine and surprising of them. For some reason, I wouldn't have thought that these medieval brutes had human rights...

"Do you have those little rules set for all prisoners?" I ask him so I could satiate my curiosity, and stall for more time. Who knows? It might help Loki form an escape plan.

Why hasn't he teleported away, yet? I wonder anxiously. After all, shouldn't he be able to apparate at least in short distances? Or is it only Harry Potter and his merry men that can do that?

"Most prisoners do not get the privileges of freedom," Thor admits. "But if you were captured without reason and in weakened state, then the Asgardian High Council will be inclined to grant you a boon." I nod my head slowly in understanding. Well, Loki definitely didn't force himself on me; he only accidentally hurt me once or twice and he treated me well enough, even in the early days of my 'captivity'. Shit... Thor using the word 'captivity' makes me sound like some kind of zoo enclosure.

"Well, he didn't hurt me or rape me, or else I'd screaming for blood at this very second," I tell him. Loki is still watching Thor, but doesn't seem to actually be seeing him.

"Then he wouldn't be punished for your imprisonment, should that be the reason why you are here." I'll give him one thing: at least he's trying to make a point of not jumping to conclusions.

"Were you imprisoned by my brother?" Thor asks carefully. I hesitate, as I don't know these people- this guy especially. What if he's trying to trick me into saying or doing something that could have his brother caught and killed? Sure, Loki said that he barely has two brain cells to rub together, but what is the Asgardian version of idiocy, when they come from an apparently super high-tech immortal civilization who are thousands of years ahead of us?

"Yes?" I say, drawing the word out slowly and uncertainly. If I don't answer honestly after all, then Thor might start jumping to the right conclusion (that Loki and I are 'together') and start questioning how I even got here.

Thor nods his head solemnly. "Stand, Loki," he orders, as he brings forth a couple of shiny metal bracelets inscribed with runes from one of his pockets. "We need not make this any more difficult than it has to be."

Slowly, Loki stands from the couch and walks towards Thor. I wait for him to do something. Anything.

He raises his hands to Thor- palms facing skyward.

"I would not dream of fighting," he says, his body rigid. With a cautious eye on Loki, Thor snaps the bracelets on his slender wrists.

"That's it?" I ask as I finally realise that Loki really isn't planning on running anywhere. "Loki, what about those things you said this morning? Are you really going to let them do this?" For all that I might appear, I'm not some heartless bitch. Loki said that these arse holes will kill him, and yet he's literally just offering himself to them!

"Shana-" Loki says, but an idea quickly worms its way inside my mind.

"Oh..." I say with a nod of my head. Loki would never willingly give himself up like this, surely? He's too proud! "I get it."

"Shana," he says, much quieter now as his eyes fix themselves to the floor.

"Because, they can't really imprison you, can they?" I ask him, because surely they can't? Not Loki- the man who could get out of Hell itself if he had to!

He lifts his eyes from the floor to look at me. They're all wrong. There's no mischief in them; only what looks like defeat.

"Shana," he says once more, with his eyes boring into mine. "I must go with him." The silence returns to the cabin once more. There's nothing for me to say, for what is there to say to that? I know that my eyes- which I know Loki is staring into- say everything for me.

Why?

"In all honesty," Loki says; a self-mocking smile on his face, "I had not planned for this. In my arrogance, I had thought that the barrier surrounding the cabin would be enough. I had not wanted to waste what little Seidr I had remaining after transporting myself to this realm on unneeded wards, barriers and traps. I suppose I am more your brother than I had previously thought," Loki says, turning his eyes on Thor for the last comment. Thor, meanwhile, looks stuck between looking disappointed at Loki, happy at being called 'brother' again, and upset in the manner it was used. Overall, he just looks confused.

Loki returns his sad gaze back to me. "This would most probably be the last that we will see of each other," he says softly.

"I will undoubtedly either be executed, exiled or imprisoned until long after you have died." I don't know whether those are tears in his eyes, or just the light catching them in just the right way. Emotions swirl around inside of me, reaching a swirling crescendo.

"Fine." I say in a snarling hiss. Loki's head shoots up in hurt shock, but my eyes aren't focused on him.

"Fine. You want to take him and imprison him for ever and ever, then go and fucking do it!" I scream tears starting to trail down my cheeks. "I'm only a mortal, after all. Blink and you miss me, how can my feelings mean anything at all, when I'll most probably find someone else in the next couple or so years- just a second to you! Why care about me?!" I shout at both Thor and Loki; Thor for taking away the man I hadn't even gotten around to professing my love to, and Loki for making me care. Loki stares at me in shock, seemingly not knowing what to do. His hands are literally tied, so a kiss and a hug won't make this at all better.

Instead, it's Thor who walks up to me; it's Thor who rests his large hands on my upper arms and it's Thor who says the next words in his deep voice befitting of the God of Thunder.

"Do not ask such questions," he says in a surprisingly gentle voice. "I know not what occurred between you and Loki; but I do know that there must be much to care about, for him to have chosen you as he evidently has done." He smiles down at me; his surprisingly kind eyes crinkling at the edges.

"I sincerely apologise for the trouble this must have caused for you, and I will make it so you can see Loki as often as possible." More tears leak out of my eyes, accumulating under my chin. Raising a shaking hand, I wipe the tears away as best as I can, and give him an unsteady smile.

At least he'll make sure Loki lives, if nothing else.

"Now, say farewell, brother," Thor says as he releases me to return to his previous spot beside Loki.

Loki stands still for a moment, staring at me longingly. There won't be a goodbye hug from him. Not with those bangles that obviously work as some kind of force field/prison chain/doohickey. Taking the initiative, I walk towards him.

There's no fucking way I'm letting him go without saying a proper goodbye!

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I kiss him gently on the lips.

"Goodbye, Loki," I whisper against his lips. Moving my head, I rest it on his shoulder as I hold him tightly.

I'll see him soon...

I'll see him soon...

I'll see him soon...

"We must leave, now," Thor says, his deep voice effectively breaking the silence. I would ask, but I know why he does this- keeping Loki chained and rushing our goodbyes. Loki has most probably already escaped punishment a thousand times in his long and colourful life. Any second longer, and he might do it again.

And boo-fucking-hoo if that were to happen.

Stubborn and rebellious, I hold on for a minute longer; giving him a long and final kiss on the lips.

"Farewell, Shana," he says as we break apart.