Heaven Sent (Loki/Asgard Fanfiction - Aislinn's Story)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

By the time Steve came home, Aislinn was near tears. She stood at the sink, heard the slam of the Denali's driver side door, and hurriedly swiped at her cheeks. Damn it. Her timing was terrible.

The front door swung open and he came into the townhouse, dropping his duffle bag in the front hallway as he groaned, "Thank God," and came into the kitchen.

"Rough day?" She winced as her voice cracked, and kept her back to him. The last thing she wanted was him to see her such a wreck.

For all the good it did. "Ash, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

The air behind her stirred and she stiffened as he eased his arms about her waist. Pulling her against him, he said, "Nice try. What is it?"

Her eyes stung worse. Tears flooded them, and that only made her more upset. She hated to cry. Crying was weak and there was no such thing as a weak Asgardian. But it was a losing battle. Her bottom lip trembled. Her cheeks grew damp as her eyes overflowed.

"Aislinn?" Concern deepened Steve's voice and his arms tightened around her. "Baby, what happened?"

She turned to tell him, but as she did, she broke down. She sank into him, her arms about his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. His tee shirt grew damp beneath her, and he didn't press. He just wrapped his arms about her, one hand coming up to stroke her hair as he whispered, "Easy, honey... Shhh... whatever it is, it's okay. Or it will be."

The warmth of his body offered comfort as much as the hand on her hair and the whisper in her ear of, "Shhh, baby... What happened?" as he gently rocked her against him.

"Your ex-girlfriend... She's a horrible... such a bitch..."

The rocking stopped. The hand on her hair went still. "What did she do?"

She lifted her head to meet his gaze. "It's so stupid... I don't even know why I'm upset by it."

His eyes softened, and he leaned to brush his lips across her forehead. "What happened?"

"I went out, to get what I wanted to make for dinner tonight." She glanced at the clock. Almost seven. Her parents would be there within the hour. "And I ran into her at the Stop and Shop and I tried to just walk by her, but she made a great production of saying hello and throwing her arms about me like we were old friends."

As she spoke, she pulled out of Steve's arms. The chicken needed to be basted and she wasn't about the let Jenna ruin tonight as well. It was enough she'd made a miserable dent in the day.

"Yeah? And?" He moved to the refrigerator and tugged open the door to retrieve a bottle of water.

"Well, she just had to tell me all of the things you guys did when you were together."

"Did?" His eyes narrowed. "Did how?"

The oven door squeaked as she tugged it open and a blast of heat felt as if it melted her forehead. She grabbed a potholder and the turkey baster, and set about basting the chicken. "How do you think?"

"Jesus Christ..."

"Yeah." She shoved the rack back and closed the door. Standing up, she glanced over at him. "Seems you two were a bit--ah--adventurous at times."

"What did she tell you?"

"Seems to me you two christened every surface possible. In every position possible, from the sounds of it."

He winced. "Ash, I don't even--"

"It's okay. You two were together for three years. I didn't think you weren't having sex with her. I mean, I really didn't need to hear all about it, but it's nothing I didn't expect." She swiped at the tear streaks along her cheeks and rolled her eyes. "And I don't know why I'm even crying over it, really. She's just... she wanted to upset me and now I'm all aggravated that she did and really, I just want to poof over to her house and let her know just what I think of her 'friendliness'."