Chapter 25
Tony dropped into a chair with a dramatic huff, deciding it was too much effort to argue and instead choosing to go on record as being against it.
“Fine, do what you want, I didn’t even want to come here…” he sighed and scrubbed his face, hoping this wouldn’t come back to bite them all in the ass. He had too much to lose this time, “For all our sake’s, I hope I’m wrong for once, just remember if this goes south—”
“We get it Tony, you warned us,” Steve sighed wearily before looking back at Natasha. “So, what now?”
Natasha quirked a half smile, “well, I got the god of cheese wiz out of bed and told him he had a visitor, but he got on my nerves so I didn’t tell him who it was.”
Bruce rumbled a deep laugh, hand clapping over his chest with boisterous entertainment. Tony huffed a laugh, trying not to react but still finding the idea at least a little funny. Steve’s shoulders shook with a quiet chuckle while he attempted and failed to give her a reproachful look.
“Well, he shouldn’t be in any condition for a physical altercation, so hopefully this should stay relatively peaceful,” Steve said calmly, his stern voice ending up only slightly disapproving but mostly amused.
Meanwhile, down the hall the elevator dinged and the doors opened as Thor stepped out. To his credit he had at at least put on a clean shirt, though it still didn’t cover his belly all the way.
Sunglasses over his eyes and sipping at the coffee Natasha had brought him, Thor ambled down the hall counting the numbers on the wall beside the conference rooms until he came to number three. He took a deep breath and plastered on a smile as he turned into the room.
“Who’s ready to mee—!” Thor stopped suddenly, dropping the mug of coffee and swiping the sunglasses from his face. He paled at the sight of his dead brother sitting in a chair whispering quietly to a beautiful blonde woman looking very much alive.
Loki’s head turned suddenly to the sound and he got up from his chair. His face was nervous and he swallowed uncertainly, mouth a tight worried line.
“Hello brother…” Loki said softly.
Thor’s head swayed gently not quite shaking but his eyes never left Loki’s face as he took an unconscious step back in alarm.
“It is not possible, it cannot be…” he murmured, voice tight with emotion, “all those times I thought you dead, this time I was certain it was real…”
“It was,” Loki said softly, eyes filled with sympathy and remorse.
Thor still looked confused and shaken. Suddenly Natasha appeared behind him, hand resting carefully on his shoulder in support.
“It’s him, Thor… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…I… well I sort of thought it would be funnier…” she mumbled the last part, eyes downcast and shifty.
Thor turned to Natasha, eyes wide and brimmed with unshed tears, “how did you do this? Why?” He choked out.
Natasha felt terrible, “I didn’t, Thor…”
Loki stepped forward then, “Brother, it’s really me… just not quite the me that you remember…” he looked Thor over, tilting his head attempting the slightest bit of levity, “looks like you’re not the you I remember either,” he offered a small half smile, brows still drawn with concern.
Thor seemed to ignore the comment entirely, but stepped cautiously forward, eyes hopeful.
“Loki?” he whispered sounding choked up.
Loki nodded, smiling a little wider.
Thor swallowed and returned the smile nervously, then grabbed Loki and pulled him into a tight bear hug knocking the air from Loki’s lungs.
“Oomfph, erhk, Thor, too tight,” he complained hoarsely.
“I do not care if this is a dream, they have been so troubled of late… I could use a good one,” his brother mumbled as he continued to squeeze him.
Behind them Natasha made eye contact with Sylvie and motioned her head toward the door indicating that they leave the room. Sylvie’s eyes narrowed briefly making Natasha roll her eyes but then Sylvie nodded. She stepped close to Loki as Thor slowly released him and she touched his arm and gently.
“I’ll be back,” she whispered to her counterpart, eyes moving to Thor and smiling softly at him, eyes fond.
Loki placed his hand over hers anxiously, afraid to be separated in an unfamiliar place. He opened his mouth to protest but closed it softly as her eyes conveyed a message and she gave small nod of reassurance.
Loki nodded back and stretched his back, holding his ribs tenderly after the tight embrace.
He watched her follow Natasha Romanov out to the hall and sighed. Loki felt ridiculous worrying about Sylvie, fully aware how formidable she was. But he couldn’t help the initial concern at seeing her disappear again.
There was still a tiny part of him that feared she might not come back. He tamped down his fear and looked at his brother, deciding to trust the woman he loved could take care of herself.
“What—where have you been…?” Thor asked, wiping at his nose with the sleeve of his robe.
Loki took a deep breath, “we should sit, it’s a bit of a long story…”
•- — - • - — - • - — - •
Down the hall, Sylvie followed the mysterious redhead to the elevator.
“Coffee?” Natasha asked casually as the doors opened and she stepped inside.
“Never cared for it,” Sylvie replied with an aloof indifference, stepping inside regardless.
“Tony gets the good stuff delivered, along with all kinds of teas,” Natasha said idly pressing the button for the floor with the kitchens.
Sylvie tuned out the woman’s small talk and worried briefly about Loki. He still seemed nervous anytime she was gone for too long. She made a mental note to reassure him the next time they were alone.
When they reached the kitchen Natasha made herself a cup of decaf and offered some to Sylvie who declined. Natasha leaned her elbows on the kitchen island with the hot mug between her hands as she blew on the hot beverage. She studied Sylvie as the imperious woman perched on the edge of the counter, eyes distant and distracted.
“How did you meet Loki?” Natasha asked simply.
Sylvie heaved a sigh, “Look, Agent Romanov was it? I don’t really do girl talk—”
Natasha nodded in understanding looking away, “me neither,” she said honestly.
Sylvie opened the drawer beside her boredly looking at the contents, not really caring.
“It’s Natasha, by the way,” she said patiently as she sipped on her coffee.
“…Sylvie,” the other woman replied hesitantly, aware that Loki had already introduced her but feeling self conscious.
“Where do you come from, Sylvie?”
There was a tense silence as they appraised one another. Sylvie’s jaw twitched, unsure whether or not it was wise to reveal her identity to this woman.
“Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to trust me,” Natasha shrugged.
“Good. I don’t really do trust either,” Sylvie added haughtily.
Natasha smirked, “only with your other half…” she said softly.
Sylvie paled, afraid she’d been discovered, but realized quickly that the woman was merely remarking on the nature of their relationship.
“It’s complicated…” Sylvie said lamely, regretting the remark immediately.
“Isn’t it always?” Natasha shrugged with an easy smile.
There was something disarming about this woman that Sylvie knew could be dangerous. Her undivided attention and patience made Sylvie actually want to confide in someone who might live to remember it for the first time in her life.
“So you don’t drink coffee and you don’t want anything else to eat or drink. What now?” Natasha looked slightly amused.
“Well, we could sit in silence,” Sylvie said flatly.
Natasha smirked at the jab, “or we could go spar in the gym?”
“Oh god yes,” Sylvie exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. She sighed with relief, “I haven’t gotten to hit anything in days and it’s driving me crazy.”
Natasha smiled and inclined her head for Sylvie to follow her as she walked to the elevator.
“Me too,” Natasha said absently, turning in the elevator and pressing the button for the correct floor, “Sometimes I spar with Steve, but his moves have gotten a little predictable, I could use the practice with someone new.”
Sylvie smiled as she watched the floor number change above the doors, “don’t worry, no one has ever called me ‘predictable’.”
Natasha quirked a small smile as she glanced at Sylvie, “we’ll see.”
Sylvie smiled to herself, eager to reach their destination.
Once they reached the gym Natasha gave her some spare workout clothes which Sylvie scoffed at but accepted nonetheless. They both changed and moved to the sparring mats in the middle of the empty room.
They started out slow, dodging each other easily as they sized one another up. Eventually Sylvie got restless and made a risky move which Natasha exploited, using Sylvie’s own weight to throw her over her shoulder as she ducked and knocked her to the ground.
Sylvie grunted as she hit the ground and sprang back up quickly, fists at the ready and eager to retaliate. Natasha watched her carefully, not wanting to underestimate her opponent.
Natasha threw a series of punches which Sylvie countered with a surprising strength and speed. Natasha realized there was something inhuman about her heightened ability which exceeded Steve’s and broached on Thor’s.
It dawned on her then that Sylvie might be from Asgard as well, though Thor hadn’t seemed to pay her any attention when he’d seen her earlier.
“You Asgardian?” Natasha panted when Sylvie feinted deftly past her with a smirk.
“In a sense…” Sylvie breathed back somewhat labored. She straightened up at Natasha’s look of confusion, “I was raised there as a child, until I was stolen by the agency which governed time.”
Sylvie felt a rush of anger thinking of the Time Variance Authority and charged boldly for Natasha opening herself to another takedown but bringing the widow down with her this time.
Natasha arched her back and sprang off the ground effortlessly, “Sounds familiar…” Natasha said under breath and reached out a hand to the other woman.
Sylvie considered batting it away, but panted and took the hand, allowing Natasha to pull her to her feet.
“I was trained to be an assassin from childhood,” Natasha confessed, not sure why she felt comfortable telling her, “raised to be a ‘Widow’, to kill without compunction…”
Sylvie tipped her head slightly, “then I’ll take that as rationale for not making short work of you.”
Natasha huffed a laugh, “high praise from an Asgardian…”
“Well, don’t let it go to your head… it might be a different story if I actually wanted you dead,” Sylvie breathed as she landed a blow against Natasha’s cheek.
Sylvie circled her haughtily as the other woman spit a dash of blood and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“You were pulling your punches…” Natasha said mildly impressed.
“Just wanted to see how much you could take… many humans are quite fragile,” Sylvie said with an air of indifference, “though I’ll admit… you’re stronger than most.”
Natasha laughed a humorless breath, “pain only makes me stronger…”
“That’s cute, did you come up with it yourself?” Sylvie teased good-naturedly as Natasha came close to striking her.
“Something my mother used to say…” Natasha said casually, a trace of something unreadable in her expression.
“I don’t much remember my mother,” Sylvie replied as she blocked two successive strikes.
“She wasn’t really my mother,” Natasha sighed and took a deep breath before managing to land a blow to Sylvie’s back.
“Ahk, mine neither,” Sylvie panted with exertion.
They parted for a few moments, moving idly in a circle keeping their backs away from each other as they each caught their breath.
Sylvie suddenly lunged forward and Natasha countered, but Sylvie’s strength threw Natasha off balance. She used the other woman’s arm to flip herself and narrowly avoided hitting the ground. Sylvie grinned, slightly impressed by the other woman’s resilience despite clearly becoming overtired.
“Something doesn’t track,” Natasha panted, a bead of sweat trickling down her cheek, “you said haven’t gotten into any fights recently?”
Sylvie quirked her head curiously, “not too recently, no,” she struggled to anticipate where this was going, “Why?”
Natasha heaved a breath, “Haven’t you been with Loki all that time…?” A slow smile tugged at her lips, “I mean, how have you not wound up hitting him yet?”
Sylvie huffed a laugh as the other woman made a quick strike for her, “I did a couple times when I first met him, but he doesn’t really fight back anymore which kinda takes the fun out of it,” she shrugged as she ducked under Natasha’s arm and quickly maneuvered behind her to pull her into an arm bar.
Natasha smirked and tipped her head side to side making a show of weighing the idea while still in the hold, “maybe not all the fun,” then hooked a leg around Sylvie’s to trip her and sent them both to the floor where they both began to chuckle.
Sylvie looked over at her and grinned with amusement, “no, maybe not.”