𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐘 ★彡 ˡ.ˡᵃᵘᶠᵉʸˢᵒⁿ

XXII

LOKI WALKED ONTO THE BALCONY AND LOOKED DOWN AT A SLUMPED-OVER ASTRID. He listened as the sounds of the Chitauri rang out in the air. He looked up at the sky, admiring his soon-to-be kingdom.

But his gloating expression soon turned to soar as Thor landed on the balcony opposite Loki.

"Brother... what have you done?" Thor asked, his tone one of disbelief as he examined Astrid's state from a distance. "She cared for you! I cared for you!"

"Don't deceive me!" Loki shouted. "She doesn't care for me, nor do you!"

Thor tutted. "It seems like you're deceiving yourself, brother-"

"I am not your brother," Loki seethed.

"Even so," Thor stated. "You have to turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!"

Loki laughed. "You can't. There is no stopping it. There is only the war!"

"So be it." Thor and Loki rushed at each other. They and their weapons collided. The two brothers battle. Loki unleashed his pent-up rage and jealousy toward this brother. Thor had no other choice but to defend himself against the anger thrown towards him.

Thor and Loki continue their fight furiously. Unspoken hatred screwed from Loki's movements, while determination and worry oozed from Thor's. The older brother made sure his movements deterred Loki away from the sleeping form of Astrid.

Loki shot a blast of energy from his sceptre into Thor's chest, as he did with Astrid moments before. Thor slid across the floor, landing in front of Astrid. His stance was protective, as his arms stretched out to protect her figure from another attack that she could not protect herself from. Thor looked back at Astrid, still knocked out. His eyes finally caught the blood that oozed from the side of her head.

Thor's nostrils flared in anger. "Are you happy with yourself?!"

The Son of Laufey narrowed his eyes at the sudden spike of anger that radiated from his brother. He then opened his mouth with a pitiful gasp. "Oh, I see now," Loki seethed, his face hardening as his grip on his weapon tightened. "You both have become such amazing liars."

Thor furrowed his brow in confusion. "What are you on about?"

"You love her," Loki scoffed, as he blasted his sceptre at a quintet that held Natasha and Clint, who has thankfully back to his senses. Thor took his opportunity to get to his feet and tackle Loki to the ground.

Thor laughed bitterly as he clenched Loki's jaw in his hand, turning it so Loki was forced to look at Astrid. "And you're saying you do? Look what you've done to her!"

Loki scrunched his face up. "You don't understand-"

"Oh, I understand plenty, you're jealous of the possibility that she's moved on. That she could devote her attention to someone else. To me."

Loki hissed at the thought. "Shut up,"

"No! Admit it! You regret seeing what you've done to Astrid, don't you? Well, stop this! For her!" Thor shouted. He tilted his brother's head up to look up at the ripped-open sky. "Look at her! Look at all this mess you've made!" Thor stated, pulling Loki's head up to look to the city below currently being destroyed. "You think this madness will end with her in your arms and you ruling?"

Loki struggled to rid himself of Thor's painful grip. "It's too late. It's too late to stop it."

"No, we can. Together." Thor said, his tone hopeful. Loki looked to his brother, a similar hopeful glint to his eye. However, the mutual glances were short lived as Loki summoned a dagger in his hand and stabbed Thor in the side.

Thor groaned and knelt over, his grip on Loki's head forgotten. Ignoring the pain, he stood and grabbed Loki and lifted him in the air, kicking him back down the the ground.

Bleeding and bruised, Loki rolled on the ground. He rolled so far he fell off the edge of the balcony. Thor rushed after and looked down to where he expected Loki to be falling. But instead he saw Loki had landed on a flying chariot, with a dozen Chitauri following in his lead.

"I hate him so much," Thor muttered before rushing over to Astrid.

Thor placed a hand on the side of Astrid's face, gently patting it. "Astrid, wake up, please. Please, wake up." Thor gently coaxed her wake. She did not wake up. "Shit," he muttered. Thor looked back down to the city below that was still being destroyed. "I'm sure you'll be fine until I get back." He picked her up and rushed her inside, laying her on the couch in the penthouse. And just as quick as he placed her down, he was off, rushing down to help the other Avengers protect New York City.

The unconscious Astrid slumped on the couch, her body surrendering to gravity as her arm fell from the seat. Her hand landed with a thud on the ground, the scene looked as if she had passed on, however, her breath was still constant yet shallow.

The sight was angelic. The light entered the penthouse elegantly and hit her features gently. Her short blonde hair was scattered around her on the pillow as if it were a halo. Her gold armour shone with a glimmer. Her eyes were decorated with a soft glitter, partially make-up particularly tears. As if an angel had landed on Earth and simply fell asleep.

If you didn't look hard enough you would have missed the peek of white from underneath the cuff of armoured sleeve.

A small handkerchief, decorated with green and gold embroidery.