SILVER LINING (OR ICING?)
“I TOLD YOU LAST MONTH WHEN I BOOKED THE FLIGHT,” Olivia sighs impatiently, stuffing a folded shirt into her suitcase. Bruce watches her flit about the room, looking mildly concerned.
“Well, I didn’t know you were leaving today— are you hurt?” He suddenly stops her on her way to the closet, pulling her sleeve up to reveal a large, purple bruise on her upper arm. “Where did this come from?”
Her old boss’ stupid spite mission to punish her for daring to leave the country for even two weeks.
“Fell a few feet at the climbing wall, hit my arm on one of the holds,” she lies, pulling her arm back and away from him. “It was really embarrassing; been going since I moved, you’d think I’d have gotten good by now.” Her tone is incredibly casual as she pulls a dress out of the closet.
“Well, let me put some aloe on it or— or get you an ice pack or something,” he frowns. Olivia laughs at him openly as she folds her dress.
“Okay, school nurse, I really don’t think I need you to doctor me. It’s a bruise. I think I’ll survive,” she chuckles. He sighs, trying to force out some of his worry. She’s right; it’s just a bruise. She’s survived worse.
Just the thought makes him a little nauseous with guilt.
“Okay,” she sighs, checking her phone for the time as she zips up her suitcase. “I gotta go if I wanna make it through airport security in time. I’ll be back in two weeks,” she bids, picking up her suitcase.
Halfway to the door, she stops, putting down her suitcase so she can point sternly at him. “Do not break in while I’m gone.” She says it so seriously that Bruce genuinely isn’t sure if she’s joking.
“I’m not going to break in,” he claims, exasperated. She nods once.
“Okay, great. Then I’m off. Lock the door when you leave, and if my milk is going to expire before the 30th, you can have it,” she bids. “Bye.” He waves as she exits the apartment, shutting the door behind her. Sighing for a second, he stands alone in her living room.
Then, he steps over to the fridge and opens it up to check the milk expiration date.
The 26th.
Hell yeah.
***
Olivia stands alone in an abandoned Denny’s. Vines have grown over the tables, and the register is rusted beyond repair. Out the window is a desolate, barren landscape of nothingness, illuminated by a sun harsh enough for Arizona.
“Hello?” she calls, a little confused. Her memory is hazy— how did she get here? What is she doing here? The last thing she remembers is…
“Happy birthday!” her dad’s voice exclaims from behind her. She whirls around to see Denny’s suddenly full of life. The awful world outside the windows has been replaced by the familiar view of her own childhood home, just across the street.
Her family has gathered together at one of the tables— even Bruce is begrudgingly wearing a colorful party hat. Streamers are taped to the sides of the tables, and a few neon gifts are stacked at the end of the booth.
That’s right, she remembers now. She waves to Tony, Natasha, Clint, and Steve at one of the tables, and they wave back cheerfully. It’s her birthday; she’s here to party. Lacey smiles at her from yet another table, also filled with familiar faces.
“Hey!” she greets brightly, sitting down across from her father. “Thank you guys so much for coming!” He smiles even wider.
“Well, it’s not every day my little girl turns 20!” he exclaims. She blinks. Something about that seems wrong. Didn’t she already turn 20?
But she couldn’t have; after all, today is her 20th birthday, and you only get one of those.
“Ooh, look, cake!” Her mother points, and Olivia turns to see a waitress rolling in a cake larger than her. It’s decorated very fancily, with wisps of silver icing and shapes of rock climbing tools pressed into the sides.
“That looks really good,” she comments appreciatively. Before she can so much as blow out the candles, they go out on their own.
For a moment, they seem to take all the light in the world with them, leaving Olivia in pitch black darkness. Then the overheads flicker back on, and Loki is standing where the cake just was.
He hops off the dolly they used to roll in the cake as Olivia looks around, realizing that the Denny’s is desolate and overgrown again.
“This is a terrible party,” he comments gravely, and behind her, Olivia hears a roar. She turns to see the Hulk out in the plains outside. He’s still wearing the same party hat Bruce had on earlier.
Olivia turns back to Loki for a comment, only to find that he’s disappeared. Glancing back behind her again, the Hulk is gone too. The ground shifts beneath her feet.
She looks down as the sand beneath her— (sand? Where did that come from?)— gives way to an open chasm, and she drops.
She wakes suddenly, her eyes snapping open and every muscle in her body tensed.
Olivia looks around, recognizing the familiar scenery of the plane. She must’ve fallen asleep during the flight. Her watch shows that there should only be one hour left until arrival.
She frowns, confused.
…did she just have a dream?
What the fuck?
She hasn’t dreamt in almost a year.
Olivia glances at the news playing on her little TV screen. Astrophysicist Erik Selvig was arrested for streaking across Stonehenge nude and shouting at visitors.
“Shit,” she mutters, still reeling. “I don’t know if that’s convenient or inconvenient.”
The flight attendant stalls by her seat with a polite smile.
“Can I get you anything? Water? In-flight meal?” she offers, prompting a deep sigh from Olivia.
“You know what? Yeah. I’d love some water.”