midnights
"My friends, we are back!" Yelled the god of thunder stepping out of the elevator and into the living room with Cora besides him
"Yeah, point break, we are not blind nor deaf" said Tony without taking his eyes off the TV
"I am kinda deaf, actually" argued Clint pointing to his hearing aid, he too, like everyone else, without breaking his eyes from the screen
"Anyway, what were you guys do- Oh" Steve interrupted himself once he finally looked up at the two figures in the doorway, looking like shit.
The way the captain abruptly ended his question and kept quiet caused the rest of the lounging heroes to turn their heads up and finally look at their friends
"Had a mission, told Fury 'hey man, let me bring goldilocks, he's great'" she said in a high pitched voice, "if I don't get fired it will all be thanks to my cute ass, this man went in without gathering any sort of information and just started sending lightning towards the scientists we had to bring in" explained Cora grumpily, making her way towards Tony's bar in search of Thor's flask and taking a long swig when she finally found it.
"I take it as a win" shrugged a disheveled Thor
"Of course you do" she coughed sourly, "I'm officially done with asgardians" declared the woman, her bloody clothes vanishing and in their place a Led Zeppelin shirt and a pair of mom jeans
"Ouch" said the god of mischief not taking his nose out of his book
"You don't count" dismissed the woman making her way towards her own seat, which was perfectly placed to the left of where the brooding prince was reading
Loki furrowed his brows in confusion, he didn't know whether he should take it as a compliment from Cora, saying that he was an exception to her newly announced asgardian hate, or if she was indirectly telling him she knew he was not fully asgardian, therefore why she hated it him so much, his heritage
"Your thoughts are awfully loud, your majesty" hummed Cora taking out from under her cushion the book she was currently reading
"So you do know then" stated the god, no one was paying attention to them anymore, too preoccupied with their own things
"I know everything Lokes, don't worry I won't tell anyone you are part asgardian part Elsa of Arendelle" joked Cora, slightly easing the fear the prince had about people knowing his true heritage, but forcing him to scowl at her choice of words
"You should take it as a compliment, I always had a thing for real power" Cora told Loki with a flirtatious and teasing tone that did nothing but bring a hint of a blush on the man's cheeks, one she didn't catch since she still had her eyes fixed on her book
"I relate so much to Elsa" said the scarlet witch loudly, having apparently heard a bit of the bookworms conversation
"Merida all the way" argued Clint
"The kids showed me Brave, they were vikings, no choice but to stan" agreed Thor who had been hanging out too much with the twins and Peter
"Cinderella" said Bucky
"Snow White" followed Steve
"Huh, how very revealing, right?" Cora said absentmindedly to the god of thunder, who was now seating in the sofa to her right, earning a few chuckles from the two asgardian princes
"I like Tiana, she's literally me" said Tony
"You're a white man who got his company from his dead daddy, are you fucking kidding me?" Asked the metal armed soldier in disbelief
"Shut up you killed my daddy" replied the billionaire, the same thing he always said to get out of an argument with Bucky, who just rolled his eyes
"Mulan, definitely" said Nat
"I'm gonna go with Tiana as well, plus what Stark said was hella offensive and I'm not gonna let it go unless he dips my wings in gold" announced Sam, who was met with cheers for the good idea
"Really, Sam? Thought you'd say Snow White too" said Cora again and when she was met with confused glances from everyone but the younger avengers and the blushing mess that was Sam she added, in order to save her friend a bit of his dignity "You know... because she talked with birds and all" they bought it and while everyone kept discussing best and worst princesses Cora sent a two thumbs up towards Sam who face palmed at the woman's stupid save.
- - -
"What's that?"
"Peace offering"
The god's peace and quiet had been interrupted by the sound of the library's door opening and closing, rather loudly. His eyebrows forrowed, no one really used the library, the Avengers certainly didn't appreciate the gold in paper they had in these walls, better for him, he had his solitude, until he was so rudely heckled by the woman who finally had made her way to him, a plate with freshly baked cinnamon rolls in her hands, the smell almost capable of being tasted
"What's the catch?" he asked with scepticism
"No catch, just felt like being a friend" she shrugged and set the goods in the coffee table, conjuring as well two cups of tea
"Oh, we are friends now?" he asked mockingly, the woman just nodded like it was obvious, "yesterday you left me to fend for myself against twenty hydra soldiers"
"Well, you're always saying you want a challenge, I was just helping" she said trying to hold in her laughter
"Oh, hilarious, really, wow" he grumbled, clapping his hands slowly
"Accept the peace offering you moron" she said exasperated, trying to swat his hands away to stop him from clapping
He silently grabbed his tea and sipped, "You know how I take it" he said more to himself
"Yeah, bitter and strong, just like you"
"Thank you, darling" he said with a smile, making the woman do a double take
"Hey! No, it wasn't a compliment" she protested, "You better wipe out that smile"
"Or what?" he said, his smile even wider now
She just stood up stiffly and walked away without saying anything else
"Oh, c'mon, you left your tea!" the god tried, even though he was too busy laughing at the glimpse he had gotten to see of a blush before she turned around
- - -
Cora sat on the roof with her feet dangling off the edge of the building, it was saturday night, everyone was asleep and she was gloomily staring into the space with her phone tightly clutched on her left hand against her ear
"... Yes... No, i'll be seeing her group of friends... Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to see you"
"Hey, It's okay, don't worry, you haven't seen any of them in a thousand years, I just didn't want you to be alone tomorrow" replied Lenora trying to reassure the woman, though Cora still sensed the trace of disappointment in her voice, which broke her heart in a million tiny pieces
At the same time, a restless god of mischief wandered around the tower and coincidentally ended up at the roof's door to see, and hear, Cora, the impossibly enthusiastic woman, on the verge of tears and no idea as to why
"I miss you so much, you have no idea, I love you, sunshine" on the other line the girl said her goodbyes and hung up, and as soon as she did that, Cora untied the knot in her throat and let the sobs escape from her mouth and the tears from her eyes, rocking herself back and forth like a lonely little kid waking up from a nightmare
"I know you're there Loki, come on out" she said in a dry chuckle
The god approached her and sat down next to her, both in silence, she, trying to calm herself, and him having a million thoughts swirling through his head
Was this related to the conversation he had heard between her and Fury last wednesday? Does it mean tomorrow would be the anniversary of something? Who was she speaking to? Did she say she loved them? Does she love someone? Does her heart belong to someone else? 'someone else'? What does that 'else' mean? And why would he care? Should he try to comfort her? Should he just leave?
After minutes of both minds going at 200km per hour, Loki finally spoke up
"Why are you letting me see you like this?" He asked in such a hushed voice that if it hadn't been for how closely they were seating, she probably wouldn't have heard it
Cora, who had finally ceased her crying, giggled a bit, looking at the god with slight amusement
"You just found someone crying on the rooftop at 2am after talking with some mystery person on the phone, but you're so self centered that you ask me why I let you see me like that instead of asking about my wellbeing" she ppinted out, "you suck Friggason" what she said was completely true and almost harsh, but the way she said it, so light-heartedly and teasing, it only made Loki roll his eyes
"I'll ask about it after you answer, I promise" he said jokingly earning a friendly shove on his side from the grey eyed woman
Cora sighed in contemplation and defeat, "Because I'm too tired to push you away Loki, that's why, today I just can't" she finally admitted, the god took it as confirmation that the whole thing was, indeed, related to whatever commemoration took place that day (since, well, it was practically sunday)
"Okay, well, if you're that tired to push me away then I can ask you as many questions as i please and maybe you'll answer them" he said, teasingly, he didn't hope for answers at all, at the moment he just supposed that maybe his jesting would bring a smile to the woman, and that, right then and there, was all he hoped to get out of her.
Cora did smile for a second, but it was replaced by a stoic face, Loki could almost see her brain's gears turning as she thought of what she was about to say.
After a minute of contemplation she decided to just go with it
"You wanna know who I was talking with?" She asked him, shifting her gaze from the starry night towards the starstrucked man, they stared at one another for what felt like eternity, Cora waiting for an answer and Loki beginning to question much more than he previously did
He finally broke his hypnotized eyes from hers and answered
"Well, I mean I'm guessing it was your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or you know just an over all significant oth-" his ranting was interrupted by Cora
"Daughter" she saw as the god's eyes were ready to jump out of their sockets, making her have to hold in her laughter
"Daughter?" Asked the man still processing the information
"Yup, Lenora, she's an angel, most of the times, whenever I meditate it's mainly to project to her" confessed the woman with a much more relaxed look, not scared of the possible judgement the raven haired man could send her way, she trusted him
"I have so many questions" muttered the god
"Well, fire away, unlike the rest of my personal life, I can answer a lot about her... I think, depends on the questions, lightning round?"
"I'm not fond of lightning, thank you" grimaced the god
"No, you idiot, it's when you make a lot of questions and the other person answers them super fast and all" explained Cora after laughing
"Oh, okay, yeah, what's her name?"
"Lenora"
"Age?"
"389"
"What is she?"
"Light fairy"
"You're not one though, you don't have the telltales of one"
"That's not a question" she rolled her eyes
"Okay, is her father a light fairy then?"
"No idea"
"One night stand?"
"Adopted"
At that he stopped, looking extremely uncomfortable around that topic, Cora caught that, and of course she wasn't oblivious to his story at all, being who she was granted her access to vast knowledge about pretty much anything she could desire
"I found her in a forest in Vanaheim, I was just passing by when a woman, I'm guessing the mother, left a little casket with a blanket wrapping a newborn baby, I tried catching the woman, but she vanished from thin air, so she was a fairy, she left her there to die. There was a note apologising to whoever found the baby, begging them to care for her in the way she couldn't, so I did" she retold while fiddling with her fingers, "Fairies age so weirdly though, when I was her age I was barely a teenager, but she already looks like a young woman, a grown little fairy" she finished with a fond smile
Loki looked at her with admiration as she recounted the short story, he almost felt envious of Lenora, they both were left to die, but he had - just weeks ago - been casted out from his home by his own 'father', whilst Lenora had Cora breaking down because she missed her little girl. He couldn't wrap his head around it, how much Cora openly showed her love towards a daughter that didn't have her blood coursing through her veins, he knew for sure Odin had never shed a tear for him.
Jealous or not, one thing was clear, and it was that he was in the presence of possibly the most complex woman he had ever met, so complicated yet simple, so silly yet serious, so closed off yet so loving.
"You seem to be an excellent mother and she an excellent daughter, I wholeheartedly hope to one day have the good fortune of meeting her" said the god with a tenderness Cora had never heard coming from him
"Oh, yeah, I bet she'd love that..." said the woman watching two specific stars, which seemed to shine brighter than any others on that special night, the prince watching the woman's eyes shining even brighter than those stars
"I know I always leave for a few days tops, but i'm going back home for a little bit longer this time, there's a lot I have to deal with, I don't feel like staying until the sun rises and the rest wakes up, I need to go back now" Cora started, Loki suspected what she was trying to do by saying that
"Don't worry, darling, I'll tell the team, you go be with your daughter, or whatever it is you have to do" Cora beamed at his words and was about to start thanking him when the prince spoke again
"On condition that..."
"Ugh, of course, how could I forget who I'm speaking with" she sighed, "go ahead, mischief, set your price" grumbled Cora, only half serious, judging by the ghost of a smile on her face
"You help me pull a prank on the whole team when you're back"
"Really? Done, Elsa" she said sealing the deal by spitting on her hand and extending it towards the god
"I'm not shaking it, that's disgusting" he said not taking his eyes from the hand
"Please do" she said with the best puppy eyes she could master
"No"
"C'mon"
"It's extremely unsanitary" he stressed
"I promise i don't have rabies" she smiled
"I hate you", and he went to shake her hand but was stopped by Cora
"You have to spit too" Loki just rolled his eyes and did as she said while also muttering profanities under his breath that Cora chose to disregard as they finally shook hands
"We basically just made out" said the woman giggling the second their hands pulled apart, the giggles turning into full blown laughter when the god instantly stood up away from her
"Goodnight, Coralina" he said ignoring the blush the comment caused, kissing her cheek and disappearing with a puff of green magic
"Goodnight, Loki" sighed Cora to no one, as she went back to observing the infinite midnight blue, her hand acting on its own accord in order to touch the lingering heat on her face, where seconds before, the cold lips of the god of mischief met the tanned skin of the warm woman