Love is For Fools // Loki Laufeyson

Part 31 - Reunion

"Nobody's dying," Fury's voice announces from below us. Loki and I immediately look down, staring at the water swirling below us in confusion. Before either of us can voice our concern, an airstrip begins to emerge from the water.

Loki shakes his head. "What the hell?"

The airstrip continues rising, revealing multiple turbines along the corners. "Holy shit," I mutter. I realize the pavement is about to collide with my Mandala that Loki and I are standing on, so I dissolve it and allow us to fall a few feet down to the surface. Loki, not being ready for my dissolving the Mandala, falls ungracefully, barely catching himself. Contrastingly, I catch myself and swiftly turn to face the door that is opening towards the middle of the airstrip.

"Dr. Strange!" Nick Fury greets. "I see that you met Tony Stark."

"Yes, would it be an understatement to say that we got off on the wrong foot?"

"More than an understatement," Loki remarks bitterly as he stabilizes himself at my side. He quickly motions past me. "Is nobody going to acknowledge the front half of our boat sitting there?"

All three of us turn to glance at the front half of our boat sitting in the middle of the airstrip. "Well, it seems that we wouldn't have drowned," I remark. I quickly turn to Fury. "Is there a reason that you chose to step in after we were almost blown up?"

He shrugs. "This thing is hard to move. We never would've gotten there in time."

"Well, isn't this quite the reunion," Tony Stark remarks. We all look up to see his mask retracting back into his suit as he lands on the airstrip. "Tell me, Director Fury, why is it that the man who killed off almost half of New York City's population is standing in front of you right now and you don't have a gun to his head?"

"It's great to see you too, Stark," Fury replies casually.

"Tell me, are any more people who I despise going to be showing up to this shindig?" Stark questions.

I suddenly remember our leaving Natasha on the roof of Stark Tower. "Shit, we forgot Natasha."

Stark exasperatedly throws out a hand. "Great."

On cue, a helicopter comes flying towards us from the city. "Good, Barton got her," Fury states. "Now, back to the topic of the intergalactic terrorist standing on my airstrip, Mr. Stark, we happen to need to form a short alliance with this guy."

"Do you really expect me to tolerate this pain in my ass just because you say that we need to?"

"I'm standing right here," Loki speaks up.

Fury points a finger at Loki. "You're on thin ice," he warns.

I speak up. "With all due respect, Director Fury-"

"Dr. Strange, if the next words out of your mouth are going to be defending the actions of the man who kidnapped you, I'm going to have to call Stockholm's syndrome."

I scoff.  "I will admit, our twisted romance has something messed up with it, but it's not Stockholm's syndrome.  Oh, and while we're on the topic of my 'twisted romance,' why don't we bring up your nephew who just happened to think it was such a great idea?"

Fury sighs as he brings his face into his hand.  "I told Nick he was spending too much time on Wattpad."

Stark furrows a brow as he turns to Fury.  "Wait, what?"

"I have completely lost this conversation," Loki inputs.

"You haven't earned the right to talk yet," Stark threatens.