Learning To Love

Chapter 2

Sierra climbed out of her bunk with a groan. The concrete floor froze her feet, and she hurried to pull on some clothes and shoes. Yawning as she left the room, Sierra headed for the bridge to see if anyone else was up. Steve and Clint were chatting in hushed voices, and Clint had a cup of coffee clasped between his hands as if it were his most precious possession. They greeted her with smiles, and Clint pulled himself out of his stupor long enough to give her a quick hug.

"How are you?" Sierra asked. He laughed wryly.

"Okay, I guess, all things considered." He glanced at Steve, his eyebrow raised, waiting for an answer. Steve looked like he needed a cup of coffee too; he was pale and the bags under his eyes stood out. Sierra took in his appearance in for a moment and then impulsively she stepped towards him. She opened her arms, albeit awkwardly, silently asking if she could hug him. After a split second of hesitation, he stepped forward and gathered her into his arms. For a moment, they embraced, and Sierra was the first to pull away. As she stepped back, she looked up at Steve.

"Can you help me with something?" she asked, biting her lip.

"With what?" He tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes.

"I want to see Loki." He could only gape at her. It took him a couple of seconds to gather his thoughts.

"Why would you want to see Loki?" he asked furiously, "and besides, that's up to Thor, not me." Sierra's face twisted in annoyance and she almost protested, but he was right. At that moment, Thor walked in, right on cue. She jumped and spun to face him.

"Thor!" He stopped and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, but he clearly seemed confused at her zeal.

"I want to see Loki." The smile faded from his face.

"Why?" he questioned, his voice low.

"To talk to him, about things." She raised her chin defiantly and Thor glared back at her.

"My brother is dangerous. I don't want anyone near him, least of all, you."

"Please? I just want to see him for like two minutes." Thor shook his head and placed his hands on his hips.

"It's not safe."

"Two minutes," Sierra emphasized. "It'll be fine. I'll have you there." She wasn't about to drop this fight. Thor looked apprehensive, but his shoulders dropped as he gave in.

"Well...alright...let us go."

"Thanks, I owe you one," she said, shooting him a grin, and he waved her after him. They weaved through the insides of the helicarrier, until they reached some locked double doors. Thor put his hand on a scanner and the doors opened, revealing a cylindrical glass cell in the middle of a large room. In the cell, Loki sat with his back to them, reclined against the glass.

"Loki?" Thor spoke. Loki didn't move.

"Hey, man, can you wait in the hallway? I'll come out when I'm done," Sierra said. Thor paused, then nodded once and left.

She walked around the cage slowly, coming to a stop when she could see Loki's face. He raised his head, and we made eye contact.

"What brings you here?" he spat. His voice was silky smooth, even when filled with contempt, and he spoke with a heavy accent that could pass for British. Sierra smirked.

"I've kind of been wondering the same thing about you."

"You all know why I'm here. I am a king," he snapped, getting up from the bench and striding over to me. "I tried to take what I deserve." She took a step back, watching him carefully. Maybe it had been a bad idea to come here, but she'd come too far to back down.

"You know, Loki, I'm not thrilled with you right now," she said sarcastically. "You killed a friend of mine and almost killed a couple others, too." He laughed once.

"You think I care? They were necessary casualties for my success." Sierra rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because it worked out so well for you."

"Even failure can reap rewards," he said, his voice calm for the first time. She furrowed her brows but chose to ignore his cryptic words.

"You know, Loki," Sierra said, stepping forward and drawing herself up to her full five-foot-three. She stood right up against the glass, so close she could have pressed her face to it and she continued, her voice laced with malice. "Soon Thor will take you back to Asgard, or wherever, and I'll never see you again. So, I want to tell you this. I will never forgive you for anything. Not for decimating New York City, not for stealing the Tesseract, and never, ever, for what you did to Phil. I feel bad that you think you have to do this to get what you want, Loki."

Sierra turned and stalked away from a slightly surprised Loki. Thor was waiting in the hallway, just like he said he would be. He studied her carefully as she walked right past him.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, hurrying after her. She smiled convincingly.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I said what I wanted."

Back at the bridge, Bruce, Tony, and Natasha had all arrived in her and Thor's absence. Bruce talked with Fury, Natasha and Clint whispered with their heads bowed together, and Tony sat alone at the table sipping a drink. Sierra slipped into a chair next to him, and he smiled half-heartedly and raised his drink before taking another sip.

"How are you, Sierra?" he asked.

"Okay...how are you doing?" Her gaze bounced between him and his drink.

"Never better." They were both silent until she eventually got up to greet Bruce, who made his way over. She hugged him tightly and asked how he was doing.

"That's the burning question, isn't it? I don't think any of us will ever be alright." He followed this with a pointed glance at Tony. Tony didn't notice; he had returned to staring off into space.

Sierra heard Thor's booming voice, calling them all to his attention. Director Fury stood next to him, as intimidating as ever. With everyone watching, Thor spoke up again.

"My friends, I have decided to take Loki to Asgard this morning, and Director Fury is allowing me to take the Tesseract back with me for safekeeping. We will depart from Central Park at noon today." Silence rang out as no one objected.

A few hours later, they all gathered on a pavilion in Central Park. Thor had Loki in handcuffs. Loki watched the Avengers with a pointed glare as Thor said his goodbyes.

When Thor got to Sierra, she hugged him tightly, and when they broke apart he took her right hand and kissed it gently. She smiled, and he returned it sorrowfully before moving on to Tony.

When the brothers were ready, Dr. Selvig, a scientist and friend of Thor's, helped transfer the Tesseract into a tube made of gold and glass with a handle on each end. Thor handed one end to Loki and his younger brother grasped it reluctantly. With one last nod to his friends, Thor twisted his end, and they vanished in a swirl of blue light.

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