Beneath A Moonless Sky: A Thor Fanfic

Avengers Assemble

The light was blinding that morning, as Thor sat glumly at the mead hall in the castle's main chamber. He had searched for Emily all night long, to no avail, and assumed by breakfast that Heimdall must have taken her home. His heart was aching, though he'd never show it as he knocked back mead horn after mead horn with his best friends--the warriors three.

Fandral had been looking on him a long while, worried, though he dare not question his friend's mood. Thor was not a pleasant man when upset, and both Hogun and Volstagg had been exchanging frightened looks with the other Asgardian all morning. They hadn't seen Thor this drunk since the night Loki had attempted suicide off the side of the Bifrost. Fandral cleared his throat loudly, sitting his mead down and glancing at Thor from the corner of his eyes. He dare not look on him directly. "Thor, my friend, maybe we should call it a morning? We have duties to attend, and I am least of all eager to anger the Allfather."

Thor snorted, not even bothering to glance up as he buried his entire face into his alcohol. "Do not fear my father. Come, drink your sorrows away with me Fandral, I will not allow you any punishment."

Fandral didn't look so sure, but Hogun and Volstagg were looking on him if to say "you drink right now before you get us all banished" and ruefully tilted his head back to drown himself in his friend's misery. He didn't know what Loki had done this time, but he sincerely hoped the little shit paid for every ounce of damage Thor was inflicting on their livers.

Little did Fandral know, of course, it wasn't Loki who had broken Thor down beyond the scope of reason. Not this time. Emily's eyes fluttered open slowly, the sheer aggressiveness of Asgard's sun pissing her off as she attempted to block it out with the dark green pillow she'd been sleeping on. Upon this realization, she sat up suddenly, glancing around the room she'd stumbled into the previous night. Everything was colored a dark, hunter green, or a shimmery gold, and a pit of dread knotted in her stomach as she realized whose room it was that she was intruding on. Loki's room was decorated with small keepsakes, and a lot of items were scattered about the room that appeared more than a little witchcrafty, and she was not touching any of that. She'd had enough mishaps with Asgardian magic for one lifetime. She flopped back down, pulling his black comforter over her head and groaning softly. She didn't know where Loki and Lanie had been all night, but she was glad they hadn't come back. She didn't want anyone to see her like this.

He hates me, Loki. She thought to herself, chest constricting in her chest as she thought about the look that had been in his eyes when she'd left. He had never looked so broken, so insecure. What had she done to him? This wasn't your fault, she reminded herself, he's the one that caught feelings. He broke the rules. But that wasn't entirely the issue, was it? She had caught feelings too, if only slightly, but she'd never be able to allow herself his company. Not in that way. He was too good for her; she was every bit the failure Tyler...her ex...had thought her to be.

The very memory of Tyler made her stomach lurch, and she fought the urge to violently vomit in Loki's bed. She burst into loud, gross sobs, gripping Loki's sheets hard in an attempt at controlling herself. She couldn't. Her stomach ached, her heart was broken, and the tears stung her eyes as she burrowed herself deeper and deeper into the bedding. It was then that there was a very gentle knock at the door, and her heart nearly leapt from her chest at the sound of a female voice she didn't recognize.

"Loki, sweetie? Are you home? Is that you?"

Meanwhile, a very angry Nick Fury was pacing back and forth in the expansive bottom foyer of Avengers Tower. All of the Avengers, minus Thor, had been assembled and called to meet, sitting uncomfortably in a circle on one of Stark's long sectional couches. Tony was avoiding eye-contact with the director, who he was still more than pissed off at, and everyone else stared blankly and awkwardly off into the distance. No one wanted to be there. It was Natasha who broke the silence several minutes into the meeting, unable to stand the anxious tension building in the room.