When War and Lies Collide

In Return

Loki traveled back to Asgard with his heart shattered into a million pieces.  He had searched for Sif twenty four hours straight without stopping to eat or drink.  He was physically and emotionally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to find her and comfort her, to tell her what really happened.

But life doesn't always work out the way you want it to and he was forced to go back to Asgard empty handed.  It killed him, for days they had been by each other's side and now it was just nothing.  A big blob of nothing to make jokes with, to laugh with, to talk to.  That's what Loki had.

And what hurt him most was the look on her face, the way she looked at him.  Her shocked expression, her tear brimmed eyes that he loved so, the pain that flickered across her face.  It was in that moment that he realized she liked him more than a friend and just wasn't admitting to it, but it was also the moment that he saw just how much he lost.  He lost Sif and anything in the future that had to do with her.

With slouched shoulders he made it back to his bedroom.  The sight of it only reminded him of her, everything did.  His bed that she had slept in, the spot in the middle of the floor that she cleaned her knives, the snow globe he noticed moved upon his return.  Everything went back to her, everything it related to previously seemed not to matter any longer.

He let out a shaky breath as he realized her bag was still here.  That means she hadn't come to collect her things, another thing to stress about.  Either she was too angry to set foot in his room or she was still wandering around in Midgard.

He squeezed his eyes shut promising himself that he would look for her as soon as he got some rest, he would make no progress in the state he was in now.  With a broken heart and a sob stuck in his throat, he crawled into bed without even bothering to change.  He slept where Sif had slept, and it brought him little comfort to be able to vaguely smell the strawberries that now lingered in his nightmares.

"Sif..."  Was the last words he muttered before sleep took him away to a cold, horrible place filled with every monster that could taunt him over his actions.

***********

Sif laid unmoving in that alley for many hours, her feet were numb from the heels and her dress was more than filthy at this point.  She wanted to claw it off for it was just another reminder to how badly she had been betrayed.

She had called Loki every curse word she could think of and imagined around thirty possible ways she could kill him without getting her hands too dirty.  The anger that coursed through her veins were the only thing keeping her awake, and even then her eyelids seemed to weigh at least a ton.

After she could no longer feel her legs and her butt was sore from sitting on pavement for hours, she decided to make it back to the Bifrost.  She never wanted to lay her eyes in this place ever again, let alone walk through it.

With a grimace, she stood on shaky legs.  After she got herself used to standing, she walked towards the Bifrost stamp that would hopefully take her away from this Hell.  Her nerves were going crazy as she was around hundreds and hundreds of people without any comfort.  She wanted to scream and just make it go away, make the people vanish.  At least with Loki she hadn't been alone and she had something to keep her rooted.

The anxiety increased the more she walked and all she could imagine was getting mugged and having to pull out her weapon.  It would be pure chaos.  Feeling a bit out of breath from her nerves, she sat on the edge of a fountain to try to calm herself.  She focused on her breathing and didn't look up to notice someone sit beside her.

"Hey."  The deep voice shook her from her little meditation, her eyes wide.

"Hello."  She responded, taking a good look at the man.  He looked somewhere in his early twenties, a beach tan and shaggy brown hair.  His brown eyes were a little lighter than hers and he was quite tall with a muscular build.  He held a long-board to his side.

"You look a bit lost, can I help you?"  He had a bright smile that seemed to be genuine but she couldn't help but have the suspicion that he was a set up.

"No, I believe I am quite alright, just a bit weary.  It has been an excruciatingly long week."  Her voice shook a little and she chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously.

"Social anxiety?"  He asks, looking around at all the people.  He had noticed her uneasiness.  She nodded, just wanting to get away, to run.  "I know the feeling, I used to have it bad, real bad.  Had to take 'meds for awhile 'cuz I couldn't even go to school.  Where are you from?  I noticed an accent."

Her voice caught in her throat as she desperately was trying to think of an answer.  "I come from a place far from here, very far.  I don't believe you would know of it's existence.  Not many people notice it on the maps."

"Try me."

"It's found in the... Mountains.  It doesn't go by a label, we just know it's location."

"Weird.  I grew up in Alabama, nice place if you like that sort of thing.  Very country in my town, almost everyone rode a horse or owned chickens."  His voice was relaxing to her, it was smooth.  But at the same time it reminded her of Loki, which made her stomach flip.  "I don't think I caught your name, I'm Toby."  He held out his hand which she shook after eyeing it.

"Sif."

"Sif...  I like that, I don't think I have heard it before.  Well, can I walk you to where you are going, Sif?"

"I don't think that is necessary, I can make it.  I just needed to rest is all, the heels have done a number on my feet."  She excused, not wanting him to see the Bifrost.

"Well, okay.  Stay safe, Sif."

"Farewell, Toby."  She got up from her spot, waving goodbye as she wiggled her way into the crowd and speed walked to the Bifrost.  She had escaped the crowd and was finally alone, standing on the Bifrost mark.  "Heimdall, please open the Bifrost!"

A few seconds later she was back in Asgard, sighing from relief.  She was safe.

*******************

Toby had followed her and watched as the colors swirled around her and she was shot up into the sky.  Holding his earpiece he smirked, pulling off the shaggy wig and flattening his hair.

"Agent Coulson?  We have our target.  Sif of Asgard, companion of Loki."

"Well done, Agent Grant.  Looks like this is going to be much easier than we thought."

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Have a lovely day, Asgardians!