Unexpected

VIII

As they flew through piles and piles of debris, of old pieces of broken ships, Jane opened her eyes.

"Jane," Thor called for her. Instead of turning to Thor, Jane looked up at the sky, at the storm clouds forming above them.

"Malakith," she mumbled. Nina and Loki shared a worried look.

Loki landed the ship, and the four of them walked up a hill, kneeling down on top of it to watch over Malakith and his men in the distance.

"Alright, are you ready?" Thor asked as Malakitth spotted them on top of the hill.

"I am," Loki immediately answered, standing up. Nina and Thor stood up and walked to the edge of the mountain behind him. The second she locked eyes with this Malakith, Nina knew this plan wasn't a good idea.

"You know this plan is gonna get us killed," Nina told the two, her hand holding very tightly the hilt of her sword.

"Probably," was Thor's answer. Thor didn't know much about TimeLords, but Loki had read many books in his lifetime. He knew to trust a TimeLords's instincts, and looking over at Nina, he could see she was terrified.

"No, I'm serious. I have a bad feeling about this," she almost whispered.

Thor had thought over the plan while Jane was still asleep. They knew that Malakith could somehow feel and hear the Aesther, so they decided to keep her in the dark, have sincere reactions from her.

Except, now Nina seemed just as scared as Jane. They couldn't have her strolling down this hill so stressed out. Loki grabbed her hand and pulled her away, far from Thor and Jane. He needed to calm her down.

Loki passed his cuffed hands around Nina's body, holding her close in a tight embrace. Instead of trying to push him away, Nina just leaned in, resting her head on his chest as the two of them held themselves like pieces from a puzzle. She almost forgot everything that had happened between them.

"Everything will be fine," Loki reassured her.

"You don't know that."

"You don't know that something bad will happen," Loki tried. Nina sighed, looking up into his eyes.

"But I do." Loki sighed. He didn't know what to do to calm her down. He just held her tighter, lowering himself so he could rest his face on the crook of her neck.

"I'm sorry that Thor brought you into this," Loki whispered in her ear. "But we have to do this."

"I know. And it's not myself I'm worried about," she told him.

Loki lifted his head, staring directly into her eyes. Nina raised her hand, placing it behind Loki's neck and pulling him to her. As soon as their lips brushed, Loki felt this sense of calm rushing over him. Little did he know that that was Nina's doing. She felt something bad was about to happen, but she didn't want for Loki to worry, even less for him to try and calm her. Their kiss lasted for at least ten seconds, and it was Loki who pulled away. Nina pouted  as soon as he did so, she didn't want it to end. She didn't want to keep on going with the plan, even if she knew she had to. She had promised herself long ago that she would help whoever it was that needed her help, so this is what she was doing.

As soon as they broke the kiss, Nina noticed how Loki's mouth was twisted into a smirk, and she couldn't help but smile at him.

"What was that for?" Loki asked her.

"For luck."