Loki's Endgame

Chapter 38

* Two Weeks Later *

Loki sits in a lounge room of the Palace with Nat and Bruce. They sit quietly reading to themselves, with tea being served by the Palace maids. It was pleasant after a long day of training.

It was pleasant after ten straight days of training with no break. Steve was slowly killing him... his stamina was still unfortunate... sometimes he felt like an old man. The Earthlings seemed to have bounced back almost immediately, their stamina and speed increasing at a rapid rate day by day. In comparison, he and Thor seemed sluggish and uncoordinated.

Midgardians lived such short lives... they didn't have the time to recover slowly... It was one of their few evolutionary advantages.

Loki sits with one foot up on the plush sofa, the other draped lazily on the floor, leaning back against the soft pillows while the grand fireplace flickered in his peripheral vision.

He quickly checks his phone for the time, it was 19:11, at least on Midgard anyway... Asgard seemed to follow a similar pattern of time... but clocks were not something Asgardians had ever needed... they just... knew how much daylight they had left in the day by instinct, and as a result a numerical value was never necessary. It had become more of a habit recently to check the time, and more of an excuse to unlock his phone and see the face of his beloved there.

Nat had shown him how to screenshot images, placing one as his background on his phone. It was wonderful, seeing her smiling face whenever he wished to see it. It was a candid photo taken for a news article before Loki had ever even stepped foot in the Compound, of his dearest Y/N grinning, in full armour as she sparred with Steve, brandishing a large sword.

She looked like an ancient warrior queen, so powerful and beautiful, but still had the same dizzy spark that had attracted him to her in the first place. He smiles lightly to himself, shifting his arm to hide his smile from Bruce and Nat. Despite his best efforts, he was sure all of the team had noticed him constantly scrolling through her images, reading the silly captions and regarding her beauty.

He longed to hold her in his arms more than anything. He would give up everything to have that one more time with her.

Slowly, the door at the end of the room nudges open, and a stressed looking Clint wanders inside. The trio look at him, each putting their books down on seeing his facial expression. He swallows before speaking.

"Umm guys, The Allfather wants to speak to us... it's... I think it's Thanos."

He takes a deep breath at the end of his sentence, resting his chin on his chest. The three of them stand and follow Clint out of the room silently.

Suddenly, despite all of the endless regimented training, he didn't feel ready to face Thanos, not yet. Not now.

They walk down the corridors in silence. He and Nat exchange a quick glance at one another, nodding quickly. She looks strong and proud, but her eyes have the same fear and restlessness as his own. Clint strides quickly in front of them all, clearly not wanting to share his emotions with them. Banner, as always, looked ill with the anticipation of a confrontation.

They walk into the throne room, his mother and father seated in their chairs looking serious. His father looks agitated and angry...

It wasn't unusual. It was his mother whom he feared for most.

Despite the years of battle and war sent upon Asgard, his mother had always remained sangfroid, keeping the soldiers and commoners alike calm and collected as plans went underway. Today was different. She sits with an air of unease, on the edge of her chair with a grave look on her face. Neither his mother nor father could tell the future directly, his father could see into the void of time and the endless possibilities that may have followed... but time was never linear, and likewise his thoughts were never clear. His mother on the other hand could sense absolute feelings of the future.