Always Mine (An MCU Fanfiction)

7: Exactly Where He Wants to Be

Casey's P.O.V.

Eventually, the others came around. It was a relief when Thor pulled Loki away from me. My friends kept giving me concerned looks as we escorted the trickster back into the Quinjet. Loki seemed surprisingly willing to cooperate. Something told me he had several plans in motion, and being taken into custody was one of them. I wondered if Sean had already picked up on it. He had a knack for spotting patterns other people missed.

"Say," I said to Thor, who glanced at me with the same strange look Loki had given me, as though he'd known me from before. "My friends and I saw you back in New Mexico last year. I'm Agent Casey Armstrong."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Casey." Thor's smile faded. "I feel as though I knew you long before coming to Midgard."

A strange feeling settled in my stomach. First Loki. Now Thor. Both of them looked at me as though they recognized me. As though I was somebody else. The disturbing part wasn't that they looked familiar. It was that neither of them looked surprised. They reacted like someone stumbling into an old friend after years apart. Except I'd never met either of them before New Mexico. At least, not that I remembered.

Judging by the looks my friends kept exchanging, they were starting to wonder about the Asgardians' reaction to me too. It wasn't the right time to ask Thor any questions.

Craig looked like he was anxious to ask me about my ordeal, but I had no plans to speak to him. He had emotionally hurt me before, and I wasn't about to let myself get hurt all over again.

Upon arriving on the Helicarrier, the armed guards took Loki away. As that happened, the trickster sent me an affectionate grin. Somehow that bothered me more than if he'd threatened me.

"Agent Armstrong," Fury called me through the ear-com, "Better go. I don't like the way he's staring at you. And stay clear of the detention level."

I nodded. I needed to take off the gown anyway, which looked like it got caught in a catfight or something.

On the way, Peyton handed me my weekender bag and my Sparrow suit, giving me a look that told me we would talk once I got myself cleaned up.

After entering the locker room, I opened my bag and saw that my best friend had thought of everything.

I located an outlet plug and plugged my phone in to charge it.

Before entering one of the shower stalls, I turned on Spotify and selected one of the playlists I had created, which consisted entirely of death metal songs. Ever since I broke up with Craig, I've played a lot of hardcore metal music to tune him out of my head. Plus, it's what I would play whenever I'm honing my fighting moves, getting myself pumped.

I pulled off the gown and tossed it into the wastebasket. It was beyond repair. I got into the shower stall. The hot water stung as it ran over bruises I hadn't noticed before. No matter how hard I tried to relax, my mind kept circling the same questions. 

Loki had kidnapped me, yet he'd treated me more like a guest than a hostage.

None of it made sense.

Villains weren't supposed to be polite.

They weren't supposed to listen when you talked.

They definitely weren't supposed to leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about them.

And the memory of that kiss refused to leave me alone.

After drying off, I changed into my Sparrow uniform. Once I was ready, I turned off the music as the song ended and stashed my bag in one of the lockers, then headed for the bridge, figuring everyone else would meet there.