Learning To Love

Chapter 3

Alright, is everyone still with us? Hold on to your hats, while we fast-forward two months. In that span of time, all of the Earth-residing Avengers moved into Stark Tower. Bruce spent his time working constantly with Tony in the lab, while the rest of them worked in other parts of the Tower or at S.H.I.E.L.D. Sierra became close friends with the CEO of Stark Industries, and Tony's girlfriend, Pepper Potts. They didn't always see eye to eye, but Sierra tried to keep on good terms with her because she was the only other woman around, due to Natasha's frequent absence.

Sierra drove home one evening after running an errand for Tony in upstate New York. She'd made a day trip out of it and the stretch of road she drove along wound through a secluded forest for miles, with trees boxing her in on both side. She rounded a curve, and when the road straightened out, she noticed something on the ground ahead of her. She squinted, trying to see it in the waning light, but her headlights hadn't reached it yet. Must be a deer, she thought, getting ready to pull around it. However, as she got closer, Sierra saw that it was not brown, nor was it shaped like a deer. She pulled over before she reached it and started to get out of the car, trying to figure out what she was looking at. Now much closer to it, she gasped. It wasn't an animal at all, but a person.

Sierra jumped out of the car and rushed over, already pulling her phone out to call nine-one-one. The figure was tall and pale skinned, wearing a tattered black shirt and pants. They lay on their side, facing away from her, unconscious. Sierra started to raise her phone to dial but she stopped when she saw his face. She knew him.

Loki.

Sierra lowered the hand holding the phone and rocked back on her heels, thinking. She had an intergalactic criminal in front of her. He shouldn't be here; she thought he was locked up on Asgard. But she couldn't leave him here. To consider leaving someone who's injured and vulnerable...she wasn't that terrible of a person, not even to Loki.

Sierra ran her eyes down his body. He appeared thinner than she remembered and what she could see of him was covered in cuts and bruises. She leaned over, examining a particularly ugly scrape on his arm when he stirred. Sierra peered at his face, wondering how he would react to her or if he would even recognize her. The only time they'd spoke was memorable in and of itself, but maybe he brushed it off, moved on. Loki blinked, and let out a small moan.

"Loki? Hey, I'm going to help you." Sierra said gently. He tried to sit up, but he only made it part way, steadying himself with one hand on the ground and pressing the other to his face. She imagined he was lightheaded and still partially out of it.

"Hey," she started again. "Do you think you can stand? I'm going to help you up and take you somewhere safe, okay?" He managed a nod, and Sierra wrapped an arm around his back. Together they stood up and she helped him into the passenger seat of her car, tipping the seat back so he could rest.

Shit. She glanced nervously over at Loki as she started up the car. Sierra figured she could take him to the house that Bruce and her still owned, clean him up, and contact Thor.

Sierra made the rest of the drive home, and parked in the short driveway, immensely glad they never sold this house. Bruce wanted to sell, but she'd convinced him not to, on the basis that they couldn't live at Stark Tower forever. After shutting the car off, she went around to the passenger door, opened it, and helped Loki out.

When Sierra got him inside, she helped him lie down on the couch. In the bathroom, she dug around in the medicine cabinet and grabbed their bottle of ibuprofen. After dumping four pills into her hand, she held them out to Loki.

"Take these, for starters," she said. Loki held them, eyeing them suspiciously, but after a minute he popped them into his mouth.

"Who are you?" he finally asked.

"You don't remember me?" Sierra met his eyes as he took in her face, and his expression turned from confusion to shock. She ducked her head and hid a grin as it dawned on him.

"You're the girl from Shield," he bit out.

"Good job," she said, trying to keep her tone serious. She had questions that only Loki could answer, the most pressing of which was what he was doing on a backroad North of New York City.

"Why are you here on Earth?" Sierra watched him carefully and watched a wave of emotions flood his face before he went blank.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said, his voice flat.

"Just tell me," she insisted, "did they do this to you on Asgard? Hurt you, and then banish you, or something?"

"No, though Odin would have liked to," he said. "Thor wouldn't let him. Someone else did this to me on another realm." Sierra pestered him with follow-up questions, but he refused to tell her more. Finally, she gave up.

"It's late. I'm going to bed. Just yell if you need me."

Without waiting for a reply, Sierra turned and headed upstairs. She made a quick call to Bruce to tell him where she was, and then climbed in bed. She tossed and turned for a while, before drifting off into a restless sleep.

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