Thor's Daughter: Melting the Ice {2}

Chapter 15: Returning to Asgard

Tyara looked at everyone, each at a time. They were watching her intently, their eyes full of sadness and sorrow. She was leaving and no one knew whether she would ever return.

Tony had his lips pressed together into a grimace. He understantood the necessity of what was happening, of course he did. Still, it was painful to accept that he might never see this kid again. Tyara had managed to awake something in him and he was grateful for that. He felt it was now his duty to protect people, epecially young ones.

Natasha was dressed in a comfortable denim jacket and a pair of brown pants. Her hair was a mess, like she hadn't slept the night before. The expression on her face was neutral, giving Tyara no clue about her thoughts.
In reality, her mind was void of them. Perhaps, she couldn't comprehend what was about to happen.

Bruce felt regret. He didn't get the chance to know Tyara properly. Still, he profoundly admired her courage and her desire to help others. He could relate to that. After all, he was a doctor.

Clint didn't know what to think about the whole situation. He was glad the nightmare had finally ended and the person that caused it was leaving with Tyara. However, seeing Romanoff so apathetic was crushing him. His teammate, the one he trusted the most and aspired to be like, was devastated by Tyara's departure.

As she made eye contact with him, Steve approached. Slowly, he lifted one of her soft hands and turned it so the palm was facing upwards. Placing something onto it, he closed her fingers around the object.

"Keep it close to you." he whispered.

Tyara smiled and stuffed the little gift inside one of her pockets.

Steve kissed the back of her hand courtageously.

"Take care of yourself."

"I will." she promised.

The Captain was an enigma to Tyara. Still, she was thankful for having a friend like him, since Steve was kind and caring.

His eyes were now fixed onto the people behind Tyara. If looks could kill, he would be dead by now. Loki was shooting him an icy glare, though it looked like his anger was not meant for Steve, but rather for someone else.
He was oddly-silent due to the muzzle covering the lower part of his face, yet his eyes harboured a storm.

Not minding his rudeness, Steve turned to Thor. Unexpectedly, the God of Thunder walked up to him and crushed him into a hug. He whispered something into Steve's ear, so that the others couldn't hear.

The Captain stepped back and raised his palm to his forehead in a military salute. It was his way of showing respect, a habit he must've developped during the War.

Tyara was glad to see them getting along well. For once, she knew the Avengers were going to be alright, more so because the three of them were leaving.

Thor handed out the tube containing the Tesseract to her, so that Tyara could grab on it. With her other hand, she tugged on Loki's armour, pulling him closer. He was tense and rigid under her touch.

As Thor turned the handle of the container, harvesting the energy of the Tesseract for their trip, Tyara looked back one more time.

Everyone was smiling.

Then, the blue light engulfed her and in a matter of seconds, she disappeared into the sky.

The Avengers were still gazing up at the noon sky, wondering how Asgard actually looked like.

"What are you gonna do now ?" Tony asked. Steve, who was mounting his motorcycle, looked back at him.

"I don't know. There are still lot of things to learn. Being asleep for so many years has taken its toll."

With that, he sped up into the distance, leaving behind his newfound comrades.