Nine Days Of Loki

Sif had reacted badly to Loki's proclamation. Incensed by his willingness to give up...and to give her up.
She'd stormed away, leaving him to his own destructive devices.
The fact that he did not follow or attempt to stop her as she headed downstairs, spoke volumes to her. He wasn't willing to surrender his freedom, he wasn't willing to face the consequences of his actions..even for her...
And this hurt like hell.

When he did put in an appearance, he was dressed in a dark suit, white open-neck shirt, and with suitcase in hand, as well as carrying a large sports bag over his shoulder.
Watching him deliberately ignoring her as he searched for his car keys, she was torn apart inwardly by her conflicting emotions. Part of her wanted to fly at him in a rage and slap his stupid, handsome face.
Another part of her wanted to ignore him, but the urge to try and plead with him to reconsider was overwhelming, and much to her own irritation she finally cracked...

"Damn it Loki, why are you doing this?"                                                                                  She yelled, her voice close to breaking with emotion.

The sorrowful sound made him feel as though a vice had been clamped around his heart.
"We simply cannot be together, Sif. As much as it pains me to accept it, Lorelei was right...Odin will never allow it-"

"You choose to believe that wanton witch over me, even now?!"
She spat, the malice clear in her voice.

"Childish jealousy does not become you Sif, you're more intelligent than that. Please don't let your past grievances with Lorelei influence your judgement, yes she can be an utter bitch...admittedly most of the time...but her sources are reliable. And as my ally, she has my best interests at heart and would not deceive me-"

"As do I Loki, I also have your best interests at heart, or have you suddenly forgotten?! What has changed since last night? I thought we had....something."
She faltered slightly, unsure of how to put their budding romance into words.

Turning to face her, his expression remorseful, he let out an exasperated sigh,
"That's the problem, we do have 'something'."

Frowning, Sif approached him slowly, clearly bewildered.
"Do not speak so cryptically with me, by now I'm sure we can forgo speaking in riddles!"

"I have already told you, Odin will never consent to our union. We are too much of a risk, there's too much at stake....and your trying to persuade me to return, that is precisely what the old goat was banking on. He orchestrated this from the beginning. He foresaw the outcome. He's exploited my weakness."

"Do not speak so of the Allfather. It is true everything he does has a purpose, but no matter how disapproving he is of our union we can convince him to change his mind. And as for your being brought to justice, I am willing to vouch for you Loki, so your punishment will not be so harsh-"

"It's not enough, Sif!"
He yelled now, his agitation rising and he gesticulated wildly with his hands as he spoke,
"We are nothing more than his puppets. We are the perfect match, yet he purposefully drove a wedge between us...the most notable one being a big, burly blonde wedge, who goes by the name of Thor, ring any bells? All because the great Allfather did not want you to reciprocate the feelings I harboured. He's manipulative, and I won't be controlled by him."

"What are you saying?"
She demanded, her brow furrowing further,
"Loki, are you saying that you have always felt something for me?"

"I did, once. But I forced any such notions from my mind once you'd made it blatantly clear that your heart lay with Thor."
He admitted somewhat begrudgingly, his pale complexion flushing with either embarrassment or anger.
Possibly both.

"You may have put the notion from your mind Loki, but it is not possible to control matters of the heart. The heart wants what it wants!"

"But it cannot have what it wants, Odin always has, and always will, make sure of that!"

Shaking her head in disagreement, Sif took his hands in hers,
"I'm sure there is still hope, circumstances have changed now between us. If we face him together, and once he sees what we mean to each other then he must reconsider. He cannot possibly have foreseen that you would find your way into my heart, even I myself never anticipated such a thing..."

Reluctantly he met her eyes, which shimmered with tears that threatened to spill at any moment.

"...please Loki..."
She pleaded,
"....if you're willing to take this chance, you won't regret it. I'm begging you to trust me now, not Lorelei. Trust me, as I have trusted you."

She could see his resistance beginning to waver, and an agonising few moments passed before he finally responded with a reply that made her want to cry with relief.

"Very well Sif, against my own better judgement I shall trust your questionable optimism with regards to Odin's ability to show compassion. But we shall see....now, if we are to return to Asgard we must go back to the bifrost site as soon as possible. I am not, under any circumstances wiling to surrender myself to S.H.I.E.L.D again."

"Then what are you waiting for?"
She beamed, before suddenly turning and making a run for the door, with Loki hot on her heels.

Once downstairs they headed for the garages.
Loki pointed his key ring in the general direction of his car, and as the lights flashed and the doors unlocked with a click, Sif felt a mixture of apprehension and relief swirling within the pit of her stomach.

What if Odin didn't show leniency? She herself wasn't even immune to punishment.
She had fraternised with Asgard's most wanted man and was now preparing to throw herself on the mercy of the Allfather.
But as uncertain as her own fate was, in contrast she feared more for Loki's.
There were no guarantees that his willing, albeit delayed, surrender would appease Odin. In fact there was even the strong possibility that he might sentence his estranged son to death this time around. The thought of which gripped her with panic. Making her feel nauseated, and her blood run cold

Looking on as he opened the passenger door, she watched him throw his baggage onto the back seat then he gestured for her to get in.
She hurriedly complied and within minutes they were speeding along the westway, heading North of the river.

Speed was the word. Before joining the A40 road, Loki had ran two red lights, failed to stop for pedestrians at a crossing, and almost collided with a motorcycle courier. In stark contrast to his haste and haphazard driving, he himself appeared at ease and surprisingly unruffled given the circumstances. He even sang along nonchalantly to the chorus of the song playing on the radio;

"So it's gonna be forever, or it's gonna go down in flames.
  You can tell me when it's over, if the high was worth the pain.                .         Got a long list of ex lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane.
'Cause you know I love the players, and you love the game..
Cause we're young and we're reckless, we'll take this way too far.
   It'll leave you breathless, or with a nasty scar....."
        

He could feel her eyes fixed on him as his voice rang out animatedly, taking great care to feign a carefree attitude that he did not truly feel.
He knew she was staring at him wide-eyed in wonder, no doubt convinced that he was in fact, completely insane. But his mask of indifference was his war paint, and he made a point of keeping his eyes glued on the road ahead for fear of meeting her gaze. His traitorous eyes might betray the deep concern he was feeling.

When at last they pulled into one of several car parks on the North side of Hampstead Heath, an awkward tension had descended.
Loki had speculated earlier that the bifrost site was somewhere up near Parliament hill, and as Sif wasn't able to offer any argument to the contrary due to having only ever negotiated the Heath in the dark, the pair exited the car in silence and prepared to make the last leg of the journey on foot.

However they'd only taken a few steps when suddenly an all-too familiar figure suddenly crossed their path, which halted them in their tracks.

"Lorelei?!"
Loki gasped, clearly flummoxed, but he soon regained his composure and reacted to her unexpected presence with sarcasm,
"This is becoming a habit. We'll have to stop meeting like this, people might start to talk. What are you doing here?"

Lorelei smiled thinly, squinting in the afternoon sunlight which was fighting it's way through the gloomy clouds, and sauntered over.
"Don't worry, we'll ignore the gossip....now more to the point sly one, what are you doing here?"

"I asked first!"
He shot back, grinning at her crookedly.

"I sensed you might be in danger-"

"By sensed you mean you were spying on me again with that infernal crystal ball. Well as you can see, the only danger I am in is of losing my temper."

"I see my warnings have gone unheeded, you're obviously in denial. And so arrogant and self assured considering you are about to make the biggest mistake of your life. I'm here to help persuade you from doing so. And you know how persuasive I can be."
She continued, choosing to ignore him.

"Biggest mistake, eh?"
He mused,
"Well it'll have to be an absolute monumental catastrophe to surpass the stiff competition from my back catalogue of disasters."

"You may keep jesting, like the pig-headed fool you are Loki, but this is no laughing matter. I cannot allow you to ruin your life..along with everything we have built. Your willingness to throw it all away is alarming, I shan't let you do it...you need to let her go!"

"That is not your decision to make, and your words betray your ulterior motives Lorelei. We both know it is not merely my well being you are concerned for. I'm rather inclined to believe it is you who needs to let me go."

"You're making a big mistake-"

" No Lorelei, my being involved with you is by far my biggest mistake to date, and as you know there's been some shockers..."
He remarked scathingly,
"...now...we're done!"

"But I haven't done with you yet sly one. Our alliance is not yet over."
She argued, her persistence unwavering.

At that, Sif stepped forward. Whilst she wasn't aware of the shady details surrounding their alliance, she'd had more than enough of Lorelei's games now.
"It's over Lorelei. Any alliance between yourself and Loki is now hereby dissolved. You heard him."

"Oh, Sif..."
She taunted, her tone condescending,
"...ignorance is bliss isn't it? Or is your new love so pure that there are no secrets between you both?"

"That's enough!"
Loki interjected sharply, perceptibly bristling at her words,
"We don't have time for this."

Defiantly, he began to walk away hurriedly, Sif rushing to his side,
"What does she speak of Loki? What are you not telling me?"
She demanded in a hushed tone.

But before he could reply, suddenly Lorelei pulled something from inside her coat and hurled it in Loki's direction.
Sensing her movement, with reactions like a cat; the ever-stealthy trickster whipped around and caught the object in his hand.

Startled, Sif's eyes bulged from their sockets when she saw it was a gun. Worryingly, she couldn't help noticing that Loki on the other hand, didn't seem at all fazed by the firearm. He seemed far more indignant that the sorceress had thrown it at him.

"Have you lost your wits, woman? What exactly do you hope to achieve by throwing such a tantrum? I said we're done!"
He waved the gun around angrily as he spoke, not caring that his actions might draw attention,
"...If you wanted to prevent me from leaving, it would've served you better to have taken a shot at me. Not that you'd dare!"

"You're right my dark prince, I wouldn't dare. It's not even as if there's a price on your head like most wanted men have. So why would I shoot you? You can do your own dirty work from now on!"
Lorelei proclaimed with a self satisfied smirk that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

It took a moment for the significance of her words to sink in, but there was nothing either of them could do...
In the next instant, Lorelei had commanded Loki to place the loaded gun to his head.

Sif looked on in horror as the wretched blue stone in his ring glowed tauntingly; shimmering in the light as he held the small, but nonetheless deadly weapon in his long fingers as he removed the safety.

"Well, this escalated quickly."
He quipped calmly with a defiant smile, despite the seriousness of the situation.
He was absolutely furious at himself for falling for Lorelei's trick by having caught hold of the thing in the first place. Agitated, he pressed it unnecessarily forcefully against his temple.

As if reading his thoughts, though it was more likely to be the look of embarrassed frustration visible on his face, Lorelei snickered as she edged towards Loki's car,
"You're slipping Loki....it appears too much shield maiden pussy has made you slow in the head!"

Already frantic by the scene that was unfolding before her, the sadistic sorceress' crude remark was a step too far for Sif. She momentarily forgot herself and lurched forward angrily.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Lady Sif...take another step and your lusty prince here will find out first hand what it is like to no longer be immortal."
She warned, causing her to halt abruptly.

Sif fixed her eyes on her old enemy, impaling her with her glare. And she sensed that Lorelei registered the violence visible in her gaze. Despite having the upper hand, she seemed to shift uneasily.
"You will suffer for this Lorelei....on my honour I swear it!"

"Your honour?! Pfft..."
Lorelei scoffed,
"You've debased yourself by fornicating with a criminal. You said so yourself. There's nothing I don't see-"

"You may see everything Laurel..."
Loki spoke suddenly,
"...but even the best of us can be distracted, we all have our 'Achilles' heel...however it would seem this is my swansong....my number's up. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Confused by his inane rambling and the way in which he'd overemphasised some of his words, Sif had barely paid any attention to what he had just said. Although she couldn't quite see properly because of the light, she could've sworn he winked.

"Shut up and get in the car now!"
Lorelei hissed at him impatiently.

The ring glowed once again, and obediently Loki climbed into the passenger seat, still clutching the gun to his head.

"Do not attempt to follow us Lady Sif, unless you want his interior redecorating in a new shade of Jotun brain!"
She called out callously, before seating herself behind the wheel.

Feeling helpless, Sif had no other choice but to watch her drive away; tyres screeching and throwing up gravel in their wake.

But she wouldn't give up. Because she wasn't, as agent Coulson had once said, a 'quitter.'.
And he would be winging his way to London at this very moment, in search of her.
All she had to do was wait.
S.H.I.E.L.D had offered her their assistance once, she was quietly confident that they'd be willing to help her again...

.....the enemy of her enemy, was her friend.