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[UNTIL WE REUNITE]

1.03 || we've talked about this

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Althea chews her thumbnail as she sits in the jet, bouncing her knee idly and Natasha looks over at her. "Thea, I get it, I do. But that is very distracting." Natasha says and Althea looks over at her before her knee stills.

"Sorry." She says before going back to chewing her thumbnail.

"So, you know this, Loki, right?" Steve asks and she looks at him.

"Yeah. Pretty well, I think." She responds.

"Do you think you could get him to stand down without a fight? There could be civilians and I'd like to avoid any collateral damage." Steve says.

"I think so. I can definitely try." Althea says and he nods.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, something about this just feels off." She says.

"In what way?" He asks and she shakes her head.

"I just- I can't figure out a plausible reason he'd be doing this. He-" She pauses slightly. "Some of what they portray in mythology holds some truth. To a certain extent, Loki could be perceived as a trickster god. But I don't understand why he'd do this." Althea says.

"We'll find out when we get him." Steve says and she nods.

"Yeah, I guess. If he tells you." Althea responds.

"Okay, we're here." Natasha says.

"Can you drop us off behind where he is? I'd like the element of surprise." Steve says.

"For who?" Natasha asks.

"Both of us." He responds.

Althea follows Steve towards where Loki was with the crowd of civilians, Steve jumping in front of a blue energy beam from the sceptre in his hand, deflecting it, knocking Loki down. "You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing." Steve says.

"The soldier. A man out of time." Loki says.

"I'm not the one who's out of time." Steve says as Natasha arrives in front of them in the Quinjet.

Althea takes advantage of the moment's distraction that provides her with, stepping towards Loki, gently grabbing his wrist. He turns around sharply at the contact before faltering, his expression immediately softening the second he sees the redhead. "Ally?" 

"Hey." She says softly with a small smile as she takes another step towards him. "What are you doing here?" She asks.

"What are you doing here?" He responds.

"That's complicated." The redhead responds, her hand slipping down to grasp his. "I missed you." She says quietly and he nods.

"I missed you too." He says.

"I need you to back down." She says.

"I can't." Loki responds and she frowns.

"Can't?" She asks.

"Won't." He says, squeezing her hand as he speaks.

She frowns for a moment before she realises what he was doing. She goes to speak but he shakes his head subtly as he looks at her pointedly and she nods a little. 

"Althea?" Steve asks and there's a split second before Althea steps back and Loki fires an energy beam at the Quinjet, Steve using the momentary distraction to throw his shield at Loki before rushing forwards to hit him. Loki fights back using the sceptre, knocking Steve backwards. "Althea!" He says pointedly, looking at the redhead as he gets up.

Althea just watches as Loki and Steve fight as she makes sure the civilians are cleared out of the way. "Kneel." Loki says, pressing the end of his sceptre against the top of Steve's head.

"Not today!" Steve responds, pushing the sceptre before jumping to kick Loki.

"The guy's all over the place." Natasha says over the comms as Loki knocks Steve away before Althea frowns when she hears music playing through her comms.

"No." She says when she realises what song was playing before she hears a familiar voice through the comms that makes her groan.

"Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?" Then, 'Shoot to Thrill' was blasting through the speakers of the Quinjet and Althea rubs her forehead impatiently as Tony arrives, knocking Loki backwards with a blast. "Make your move, Reindeer Games." Tony says, aiming all of the weapons on his suit at Loki who stares at Tony and Steve before making his armour disappear with magic, holding his hands up.

"Mr Stark." Steve says.

"Captain. Frostbite." Tony says.

"Tony, I swear to God." Althea warns before walking over to Loki, holding a hand out. "Come on." She says as Natasha lands the jet and Loki grabs the redhead's hand, letting her help him up.

"Pretty sure we're supposed to cuff him!" Tony calls after them as Althea leads him over to the Quinjet. 

"Yeah, cause that'll stop him! Genius!" Althea responds dryly.

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Once they're in the air on the Quinjet, Althea ducks past Tony and Steve, claiming the seat beside Loki, lightly bumping her fingers against his, waiting for him to look over at her before raising a brow and he rolls his eyes, a hint of an amused smile tugging at his lips as he accepts her offered hand. Althea smiles slightly, resting her head against the side of the jet behind her.

"I don't like it." She glances towards the front of the jet when she hears Steve's voice.

"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony asks and Althea rolls her eyes.

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop." Steve responds.

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing, Pilates?" Tony asks.

"What?" Steve asks.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Tony says and Althea rolls her eyes.

"You really need to learn how to whisper." Althea remarks and Steve glances at her.

"Thanks for the note, Frostbite." Tony says and she narrows her eyes at him before leaning back.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." Steve says suddenly, looking over at Tony.

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Tony says before thunder crashes overhead and Althea glances up before looking over at Loki.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha asks and Tony and Steve look around before Steve spots the two Asgardians looking up at the roof.

"What's the matter? You scared of a little lightning?" Steve asks.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki responds.

"With good reason." Althea chimes in before they hear a thud on the top of the jet as it shakes. "Gods above." She mutters under her breath, both her and Loki shifting slight as Tony puts his helmet on, walking towards the button to open the ramp of the jet. "Tony, wait." Althea says, getting up before sighing when Thor lands on the opened ramp. "Shit." She says when Thor hits Tony with his hammer, sending him backwards into Steve. "Thor, hey."

"Sister!" Thor responds before grabbing both her and Loki.

Next thing, she's stumbling slightly as they land on top of a cliff. "Thor, we've talked about this!" Althea exclaims, grasping his forearm to steady herself.

"Where is the Tesseract?" Thor asks, looking at Loki.

"I missed you too." Loki responds with a laugh and Althea glances down as she presses her lips together to suppress an amused smile.

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" Thor retorts.

"You should thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here to your precious Earth?" Loki asks.

"I'm sorry, with the Bifrost what?" Althea asks, holding a hand out briefly before talking a small step back when Thor drops his hammer with an angry grunt before moving towards Loki. 

"I thought you dead." Thor says and Althea frowns in confusion.

"Did you mourn?" Loki retorts.

"What the hell did I miss?" Althea asks incredulously but both of them ignore her, making her throw her arms up in the air incredulously. 

"Well all did. Our father,"

"Your father." Loki corrects.

"What the hell did I miss?" She repeats, slightly louder.

"He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?" Loki asks, walking past Thor and towards where Althea was standing.

"We were raised together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?" Thor asks.

"I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I, who was, and should be, king!" Loki retorts.

"That didn't sound metaphorical. And that worries me." Althea says.

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?" Thor asks and Althea sighs impatiently at them ignoring her again, rubbing her forehead. "No. The Earth is under my protection, Loki. And Althea's." Thor says.

"No, just yours. I don't care that much." Althea says, shaking her head a little and Thor frowns at her as Loki laughs. "Oh, that you acknowledge? Remarkable. Truly remarkable." Althea says. 

"And you're doing a marvellous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret. I mean to rule them, as why should I not?" Loki says. 

"You think yourself above them?" Thor asks.

"Well, yes." Loki and Althea respond at the same time.

"Sister, you are not helping." Thor says and she shrugs. "But you miss the truth of ruling, brother. A throne would suit you ill." Thor says before Loki pushes him slightly as he walks past him.

"May not have been the best choice of words." Althea whispers to the blond.

"I've seen worlds you've never known about. I have grown, Odinson, in my exile." Loki says.

"You were exiled? Well, I guess that's two-nil to Odin." Althea remarks. 

"I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it,"

"Who showed you this power?" Thor asks.

"I'd actually like to know the answer to that too." Althea says, holding a hand up briefly.

"Who controls the would-be-king?" Thor asks and she sighs.

"Because that's the way to get an answer. Be a dick." Althea mutters, rubbing her face.

"I am a king!" Loki shouts.

"Not here! You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream! You come home. With Thea." Thor says.

"I don't have it." Loki responds and Thor steps back, summoning his hammer. "You need the Cube to bring me home. But I've sent it off, I know not where." Loki says.

"You listen well, brother," Thor starts before Tony appears out of nowhere, knocking Thor off the edge of the cliff.

"Well, shit." Althea says.

"I'm listening." Loki says and the redhead snorts in amusement, drawing his attention back over to her.

Althea sighs softly, frowning at Loki briefly before walking past him and sitting on the edge of the cliff, looking down at where Thor and Tony had landed, briefly glancing up when Loki sits down beside her. "You could have left." She says.

"You're here." Loki responds and she hums softly.

"Who did send you here?" Althea asks.

"I made the decision to come here." Loki responds and she nods.

"Okay. Let's pretend I believe that. I have more questions about pretty much everything the two of you just talked about." She says.

"I assumed as much." Loki responds. "Well?" He prompts when she doesn't speak.

"I'm trying to decide where to start." Althea responds and he nods. "When was the Bifrost destroyed?" She asks.

"About eleven months ago, I believe." Loki responds and she nods.

"Why?" Althea asks.

"Thor destroyed it to stop me from using it to destroy Jotunheim." Loki says and she nods. "Before you ask me why again, I'm going to suggest you ask some of your other questions because chances are, they'll answer that question." Loki says and she huffs.

"You haven't seen me in twenty years. You shouldn't still be able to do that." Althea complains and he hums. "What was with the whole 'true parentage', 'our father, your father' thing?" Althea asks.

"Odin is not my father. Though, I doubt that would come as much a shock." Loki says.

"Why? Because I questioned it one or two,"

"Dozen." Loki interjects and she rolls her eyes.

"I did not question it two dozen times." Althea retorts and he raises a brow. "It was likely more than that." She adds and he nods with a hum. "So,"

"Laufey." Loki responds and she looks over at him. "Odin took me after the war." Loki says and she nods, looking back out towards the woods.

"I'm really glad you didn't say either of my parents' names because that could have been really unfortunate." Althea says and he looks over at her before smiling slightly. "You're not a giant, though. Or, you know, blue." She says, looking back over at him to see him smiling at her. "What?" She asks with a slight frown.

"Your tact hasn't improved has it?" Loki asks.

"Well, how else would you have liked me to ask that question?" Althea asks.

"Any other way." He suggests and she rolls her eyes with a slight smile.

"Would you just answer my terribly worded question?" Althea asks.

"It wasn't a question." Loki responds.

"Loki." She says and he nods.

"Frankly, I don't know. I do have a Frost Giant form but I guess Odin suppressed it with Asgardian magic. It only comes out when I come into contact with something or someone from Jotunheim. Or your magic." Loki says and she frowns slightly before it clicks.

"Your hands." She says and he nods.

"When I grab your hands when you lose control my palms turn blue." He says.

"I really wasn't hurting you?" She asks.

"How many times do I have to answer that?" He asks and she shrugs.

"I always figured you were lying to help me calm down faster." Althea responds and he shakes his head briefly. "So, that was why you were exiled? Because you tried to obliterate Jotunheim because you were angry and you didn't have a voice of reason to tell you how monumentally stupid you were being?" Althea asks.

"I don't know if-" He pauses when she raises a brow. "Yes." Loki responds and she hums.

"I guess that's why Odin was so against us being together." Althea says.

"And likely why he asked you to go on that mission down here." He says and she nods.

"And why, I assume, he stranded me here with no way home." She says and before Loki can respond, someone lands behind them.

"Frostbite, Reindeer Games. Lets go." Tony says and the redhead looks at him dryly. "Yeah, you hate it, I know. Move." Tony responds and Althea rolls her eyes as Loki gets up before offering her a hand.

"Is Nat landing? Because we can't fly and I don't trust you that much." Althea says.

"Yes. Come on." Tony says before starting to walk off and Loki turns Althea to face him.

"What?" She asks.

"Whatever happens, I love you." Loki says and she frowns slightly, scanning his face.

"I love you too." She says and he nods.

"Don't make me come back there!" Tony calls.

"What are you gonna do, Tony? Stare us down?" Althea retorts as she follows him with Loki close behind her.

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