ONE SHOT - LOKIxREADER

Welcome Back

Time: TWT
Location: Earth, NY, Avenger's Tower
OST: Bastille, Pompeii
Words count: ~ 4100
Published: 11 February 2022

***

But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?

***

Let's face it: there are times when you have a bad day and you just want to go home, grab a drink, and shut the rest of the world out. And that was exactly one of those days.

You hadn't realized of being such a nervous wreck until the black SUV that had picked you up from the airport pulled into the countless stop, making you unwillingly peek between the front seats, see the umpteenth street light turning red, and let out a fairly pathetic groan.

Being stuck in the traffic of the end-of-the-workday heading to Manhattan was rather the contrary of an uncommon thing. Normally, you wouldn't have batted an eye at such a kind of minutia. But that day your mood was already very, very low and even the traffic jam could have been the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

It had to be said that when Director Fury handled the dossier of the black operation you were now coming back from, you already knew it would have been a huge pain in the neck. What no one was prepared for was that it took you extra two months of extenuating, nerve-wracking undercover to get into the German Hydra's base, gain the needed freedom to get access to the right server, and download the data SHIELD needed.

From that point onwards, it had been a long, long walk on eggshells to get through the exit plan. Succeeding in making it out alive and not getting caught for a breath, the ghost of yourself had boarded, 9-or-so hours before, the standard airline's flight to JFK. With the consequent, obvious release of the endless pressure and the physical stress, no wonder you were now worn out and eagerly looking for getting back home.

That was not all, though. If tiredness had been the lion's share of the mixed feelings that had accompanied your travel, hearing the latest news had shot your mind into a whirlwind of bad thoughts that were having your best now, undermining your usually cool head and turning your stomach a tense knot.

Spies don't have the luxury of getting emotional or lonely on a mission. They can't afford to miss home and family because it becomes one more passage into their psyche that an enemy operative can use to exploit them. Is a must until the mission is over. Afterward, it can be much of a different story.

Just to say, you've been chewing your fingernails again and found yourself indulging once more on that bad habit when a friendly, gentled voice spoke up out of nowhere, pulling your racing overthinking to a temporary stop.

"I'm sorry Agent Y/L/N, I'm trying my best but we are not moving..." Dark brown eyes, lighten up just by the dim light of the car's board, peeked into the rearview mirror and meet your gaze in it. You couldn't help to crack a small, polite smile in reply and wave a hand towards the driver.

"No worries Happy, it's not your fault! I am just exhausted from the flight... and by the way, no one is waiting for me at home, right? What did you say was the issue for which they have been called out?" You nonchalantly tested the water, thus not putting any particular hope in it.

"I-... I didn't say it, miss. The team left a couple of hours ago with the Quinjet and that's all I know... I do not have more details. Oh, but I am pretty sure they will be back soon enough, safe and sound..." Harold tried to cheer you up the best he could, a sheepish smile digging cute dimples into his round cheeks as he flicked his eyes toward your stiff frame across the mirror and back again on the street in front of him.