Loki's Last Chance: The Chosing of a King

Worries and Accommodations

Loki POV

Mari seemed to return to normal, though I still could not fully understand what had just happened. I had never seen her lose control like that and it looked like it was taking a tole on her.

She was now sitting in the corner with the Avengers, looking worn out and exhausted. I didn't try talking to her again, but I kept my eye on her without her noticing. So many things about her were still a mystery to me, and yet they intrigued me so, that I wanted to know more.

During Mari's recovery time we had been able to talk quite a bit, but most of the time we just enjoyed each others company. She would usually read, crochet, or be resting and I would just take care of her. We had become so comfortable with each other that we didn't need to talk.

I had done some pretty awful things in the past, and I was just starting understand how wrong I was, but there was no denying that I had done them willingly. It was in my nature to be mischievous, but I had taken it too far with my schemes. I had always been the prankster.

Now if only I could gain everyone's trust back.

Mari POV

The Avengers kept talking for a while as I stayed in the corner, calming myself. This had happened before, but I was always by myself and had to let it take its course. I was never able to remember how to stop it, so it could last up to six hours before subsiding. This was the first time it had happened in the company of others and, thanks to Loki, the first time I could stop it in it's tracks.

Agent Romanov approached me after a bit. She offered to lead me to where I'd be staying and I excepted. As we walked she started up the questions I was waiting to here.

"So, why is Loki with you? Shouldn't he be back in Asgard?" she asked, leading me down a metal hallway.

"There has been some occurrences in Asgard and we thought it would be safest if Loki left for a while. This was the only realm that I could keep him safe in. Asgard may just be the only place in the Nine Realms where people respect him enough to not cause trouble, but things may be changing."

"But why you? Are you warrior like Lady Sif?"

"Oh, no." I laugh, I took it as quite the compliment. "Though I know Sif very well, I am not like her. I was not given this task, but offered to do it. Thor and Loki were my good childhood friends and now that things are starting to get complicated, I am helping them out as much as I can."

"So you guys have been close for a long time."

"We used to be anyway..." I didn't elaborate and she didn't ask.

We walked on for a bit longer before reaching a large room that seemed to be a common room. There was a couch and a couple chairs that circled a large flat screen TV.

The other half of the room had a kitchenette and island with a handful of stools. On both sides of the kitchen was a short hallway, each with a couple doors that lead to the individual Avengers' rooms.

"You'll be staying in the room we set up for Thor before he left for Asgard." Romanov told me as she lead me to the farther hallway.

There were eight doors along the walls, each with a tiny name plate identifying each occupant.

The room had a king sized bed and was all combinations of red and blue. There were no windows since we were in an aircraft, but the ceiling lights gave an even glow on the space. The closet contained khakis and t-shirts much too large for an average human, but perfect for an Asgardian warrior.

"We'll have to get you some clothes if you'll be staying long. Settle in and I should be back by this evening. What size are you?" Romanov asked, straight faced as always.

"12-14 or medium." I answered watching her in the doorway.

"Any particular style?"

"T-shirts and yoga pants are fine, thank you."

"You know, it's hard to tell that you're Asgardian by your speech patterns, but every once in a while your manners hint at how old you are. Kind of like Steve." She said in a playful tone as she exited, leaving me in what would have been Thor's room.

She was right of course. In Asgard we speak our language just below Elizabethan in formality. My way of speaking had evolved mostly along with Humans, but my manners and formal words never left me.

Loki speaks a more laid back formal than most; more British sounding than Asgardian. But Thor speaks full blown Asgardian (or medieval human) no matter where he is.

I sat on the bed and pondered where to go from here. There wasn't any way SHIELD was going to let Loki leave without being in Thor's custody and it would be hard to talk to him without being watched through cameras. It also seemed like it'd be a challenge to get on the Avengers good side even without them knowing Loki and I are courting.

I moved to lay on my front with my head at the end of the bed, resting my head on my crossed arms. I could talk to Loki from where I was, but I still was uncomfortable with the fact that he had seen me lose control like that. It seemed likely that that would be all he would want to talk about anyway.

I wondered how Thor was doing with the kingdom's election process and if Loki's absence would effect the outcome at all. There was no telling how the votes would swing considering everything that had happened in the past few years.

I spent the next few hours like this: debating whether to talk to Loki and thinking about the polling in Asgard.

A/N:

I can't believe how long this took me to finish! I have been pretty busy and as it gets closer to summer, I get more work from school. It also doesn't help that I find I need to have a word count of at least a thousand for you guys.

Anyway, after watching The Winter Soldier and all of Agents of SHIELD season one, I have decided not to include the destruction and rebuilding of SHIELD in my stories. It just makes everything more complicated and messy. So I'm just going to pretend that HYDRA was wiped out after world war two like they thought and Agent Coulson is still riding around on the bus with his team, working on tactical cases for SHIELD.

Also, in case you were wondering, Elizabethan is a word for the era when Shakespeare was living and how they spoke. (Think of his plays and how they are spoken... Oooooooooh, and Tom Hiddleston speaking them XD )

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please vote and comment! I love hearing from you guys.