Loki's Last Chance: The Chosing of a King

News From Asgard

Maria POV

Agent Romanov arrived back at the base around six o'clock with my new clothes. I hadn't left the room in that time and still was unwilling to communicate with Loki. When she came to the room to drop off my clothes I had moved to lay on my back across the bed, staring at the ceiling.

She knocked on the door before entering with two shopping bags. "I'm back."

"Thank you, Agent Romanov." I gave her a halfhearted smile.

"You can call me Natasha; only Fury and the other agents really call me that." I nodded my understanding, but she must have noticed something in my face because she frowned. "Something wrong, Mari?"

I sighed, "I was just gathering information on what is happening in Asgard and it seems I have to talk to Loki."

"Other than the obvious reasons; this is a problem, how?" She asked setting the bags at the  end of the bed and moved to sit with me. "May I?"

I waved for her to sit and she made herself comfortable at the end of the bed as I sat up, crossing my legs.

"I am just not ready to talk to Loki after what happened earlier. He will be wanting an explanation on what that was and I don't really want to tell him."

Natasha gave a tiny smile and replied, "Well, why not you come have some dinner with us and wait 'till tomorrow to talk to him. Then you can think it all over for a bit more and prepare yourself."

"That sounds good to me." I agreed, giving her a smile, we both got up and headed for the kitchen.

Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner were already sitting at the island, talking about a movie they were planning on watching tonight. Something about catching Steve up on the seventy years he was under the ice.

"Terminator is a classic!" Tony pointed out as he argued with Bruce about which movie to watch.

"Not really, plus it wasn't a very good movie. I think he should see Casablanca. It's based around World War II and is a real classic." Bruce quipped.

As we joined the men I couldn't help but smirk. I had my own opinion of what Steve should be seeing, but I agreed with Bruce.

The three men all looked at me, so I looked down. I was never one for attention and was always shy and quiet.

"What do you think, Mari?" Steve asked, tilting his head to the side a notch.

"Oh!" I looked up and they waited for an answer. "I agree with Bruce. You should start with the classics. The older the better. Then slowly make your way to the more resent ones. And no, Tony, Terminator is not a classic, nor should it ever be." I finished, giving Tony a pointed look.

"Told you." Bruce smiled.

Tony crossed his arms, grudgingly. "Fine."

The other boys smiled and Steve patted the stool beside him. "Come sit, Mari. You're the only one who's lived as long as I have and won't make fun of me."

I sat next to him and Bruce and Tony started arguing about what determines a classic movie.

"So, Mari... How long have you been visiting Earth?" Steve asked.

"Since the Vikings, actually."

"Wow! That's a long time. Well, to us humans, anyway."

"Yeah, I came down at the same time Thor and Loki did, but I didn't claim to be I god." I smiled.

"Oh, what did you do that whole time? "

"I was a wise woman for a couple centuries. Moving from village to village, culture to culture."

"That's interesting." Steve admired, nodding.

We spent the next hour talking as we ate, both with the whole group and just Steve and I. It was nice. It was the first time on Midgard that I had ever enjoyed myself with people that knew what I was.

After supper, we all moved onto the couch and chairs on the other side of the room, and Tony put in Casablanca.

So when I want to bed, I felt very refreshed. I even forgot about everything happening in Asgard.

Lying in the large bed, wearing my new dark blue pajamas, I finally remembered that Loki was just a floor beneath me. I decided he could wait until morning, and slowly slipped into a calm sleep.

~!~

I stood in front of the steel doors that lead to the cell Loki resided in as I waited for Clint to give me access to the room. I was slightly nervous about talking to him about the situation in Asgard, but I knew if Loki and I didn't talk soon, we could drift apart again. Courting or not.

The door slid open and I stepped through before it closed again behind me. There he was. When He saw me enter, Loki stood to greet me.

Nick had decided that it would be unwise to allow me in the cell with him, so I moved to sit criss-cross in front of the glass. He did the same and I couldn't help but smile. We had decided on the plane ride here that it would be a bad idea to let them know we were courting, so that was all I could do without giving us away.

He smiled back.

"I have some news from Asgard." I started.

"Yes?" He tilted his head slightly, listening.

"Almost half of the population has already voted, so we might be able to return sooner than we thought." He nodded, and I looked down at my hands. The other news made me feel a little embarrassed, so I watched my hands as I whispered, "Also... The news about us has spread. The whole Kingdom knows now that we are courting." I said the last part so quietly that I doubted that he heard me.

"Good."

"What?" I asked, looking back up to meet his eyes.

"I'm glad they know." Loki answered, leaning forward. "They were going to know sooner or later, and now we don't have to tell them."

I blushed. I had never thought about how far we would be able to go with this relationship. I mostly didn't want to get my hopes up.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It was nothing." I insisted, sitting a little straighter.

"Maria, why won't you tell me?" He demanded.

I stood up to leave and he got to his feet.

"It is none of your concern. It is my problem, not yours. Great power comes with great weakness, and I must learn to control my own, on my own." I turned away, fully intending on leaving him there.

"It's my future, too, Maria!" Loki raised his voice at me.

I snapped back around and the anger that must have been in my eyes caused him step back.

"Is that a problem for you?!"

He was shocked by my outburst so remained silent.

"I thought you'd be different. Asgardian or Midgardian, men are all the same! They court for the beauty and body, but when they see the extent of the brains, they run. They can't take the commitment. I should have known history would repeat itself." I said the last part softer, turning to leave.

"Mari, wait! I didn't mean it like that! Please, listen to me! You don't understand!" He pleaded before the door shut behind me.

"What was-" Barton started as I stalked past him.

As I speed-walked away my rage was slowly replaced with sadness and self pity. I didn't know where I was going or when the tears started, but I did know one thing...

Never trust the God of Mischief and Lies, especially with your heart.