The Not So Asgardian and I

Flamboyance of Flamingos

Cautiously walking toward where I heard the sound, I grabbed a gun from one of the cabinets, then turning to face the intruder- I found some random cat sitting in my kitchen sink, "The heck?" I let it back outside and went into my living room. I still had my suspicion but I let it go, for now. I could finally relax in my apartment with ease, knowing that Loki would be taken care of and his temporary reign of madness would be over and through by, hopefully, morning. Turning on a nature channel, I started to watch a documentary on flamingos.

"We'll return to The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos after these commercials." That was my cue to go get some more popcorn and tea

"Hmmm... Earl Grey or Lavender?" I wondered aloud as I turned the corner into the kitchen only to be roughly shoved into the breakfast nook wall. I turned my shoulder, throwing the intruder for a loop and hook kicking them onto the floor- it recovered fast and grabbed the ends of my scarf, pulling tight

"Who are you?" It whispered harshly

I gasped for breath and in a desperate attempt to get it to let go, I tried to flip backwards like my shaolin master taught me several months ago, but I wasn't nearly as good as he and fumbled. Our struggle lasted for several lengthy beats and before long, I had flipped it over on its back, out of breath. It had worked. But then the thing did something puzzling- it started to laugh. That laugh. Loki.

"You're stronger." His laughter died down

"I've had to be prepared for any more out of this world kidnappings."

"For what?" He sat up and looked at me with a childish grin on his face. My knees almost buckled. Almost. It had been so long, I had so many things I wanted to say, talk about, yell at him for- Why did he have to die?! Why did he leave?! Why did he do that!? So many things that I just wish I could yell at him for, but the time wasn't right and I needed to turn him in. Then SHEILD won't think of me as some toddler having to be cared for by the super people of today. And it's not like I enjoyed spending time with them either- Tony Stark was nice, a little arrogant but Pepper Potts? Completely overbearing towards Tony and I. It seemed like she actually thought I would take Tony away from her and that Tony would gladly conspire to be part of it and lead to her downfall. Natasha Romanoff went on a mission with me once and acted like, not only was I not there but, I was a preschooler. She was awesome and bad-a** in the field but not what I would call a great friendship. Bruce Banner was nice, if I wanted peace and quiet in a bustling Indian city-metropolis. I was assigned to chill with him and let some heat die down from a mission I might not have succeeded very well at.... Steve Rogers was my favorite to 'shadow', he- as I stated before- is like an older brother to me. Enough said. And finally Hawkeye, my last mission partner was like Steve, except a meaner always-pulls-pranks-on-you older brother. I didn't mind. At least until Loki made him some sort of minion. That pissed me off.

"Have you forgotten what happened last time? Besides, I'm a SHIELD agent now, I have to know how to protect myself from men like you." I turned to look out the window, "People like you." I whispered, "But that's beside the point, what are you doing here?"

Loki stood, placing a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry...."

"You?" I turned to face him, mad that he had the audacity to apologize now but it took quite a few incidents to apologize in Asgard. Not only that but this apology was a way to shut me up and try to make me even remotely like him again. It wasn't working. "As if. You're not the one to apologize. You're probably just doing it to shut me up and make me help you." I pushed him away but he stood firmly planted, hand on my shoulder, other hand holding my hand, unmovable. "Let go." He stood there motionless, "Let go!"