FREYJA
That son of a bitch.
Loki slowly wove his way through the crowd, and the closer he got the more I wanted to snap his spinal cord. I knew exactly what he was planning.
I felt my cheeks burning, but I couldn't comprehend my own anger. The people parted as he walked over and stopped in front of me. His green eyes met mine, and I could see his question before he even opened his mouth.
"Freyja..."
"No."
"Freyja, let me..."
"Go ask one of the five hundred other people here!"
"But I don't want to dance with them."
I fixed him with a glare that could make even the bravest warriors tremble. "Loki Laufeyson, I swear on every dead soul in Valhalla..."
He dropped his gaze to his shoes. I watched transfixed as he delicately wrapped his hands around mine. His hands were warm to the touch, and part of me didn't want him to let go.
I held my breath as he looked up again, pleading in his magnificent emerald eyes. "Please?"
"You don't understand." I didn't pull my hands away, letting him hold them in his gentle grasp. I dropped my voice to an inaudible whisper. "I can't dance."
"I'll show you." He whispered in my ear, his breath hot as it poured down my neck. "Follow my lead."
For a split second I was torn. He didn't seem like he was doing this to embarrass me. Maybe there was poison in that gods awful drink I had, but it seemed like he genuinely wanted me.
My choices became very clear. To dance or not to dance.
I glanced at my hands in his once more. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to trust him one more time.
"Alright."
He grinned and pulled away, instead offering me his elbow. I delicately looped my arm through his and let him lead me out into the middle of the dance floor.
"You may need a wardrobe change." He suggested with a wave of his hand. I sighed dramatically as he turned my red dress dark green but didn't fight him on it.
As we broke through the crowd, I immediately became aware of the fact that I didn't have shoes on. Up until this point I had forgotten that I abandoned my heels on the stage. Not that I would be able to dance in them anyways, but it still felt strange to be barefoot at such a formal moment.
"Okay, what do I do?" I asked, somewhat frantically as we stopped in the middle of the circle. I didn't like feeling this exposed, with people surrounding me.
He tilted his head. "Do you know how to curtsy?"
"Mostly."
"When I bow, you curtsy." He explained quietly.
For a moment we just stood there, him looking down at me and me up at him. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the violinists prepare their bows.
"Now." Loki instructed, falling into an elegant bow from the waist. I did what I hoped was a graceful curtsy, my eyes never leaving his.
I listened carefully as he continued to feed me instructions. "When the music starts, hold my left hand with your right. Keep your elbow up. Put your free hand on my shoulder. When I step, you step in the same direction, but with the opposite foot. So if I step forward, you'll step backwards. If I step to my right, you move to your left. Understood?"
I nodded and paused to push a rebellious strand of hair out of my face. It felt foreign, having it unbound. "Mostly."
"Ladies and gentlemen," Genesis announced. "The first dance."
The whine of a violin and the blare of a trumpet reached my ears and I knew it was time.
Loki moved into position naturally. His left hand was held out to the side whilst his right found my waist.
Don't make a fool of yourself. I internally scolded as I took his hand. My other rested on his shoulder.
Unless sparring counted, very rarely had I been this physically close to someone. There was less than a foot of space between Loki and I. It should've been awkward, yet it wasn't.
It was wonderful.
The music began to pick up, with other instruments joining in. Some in the room recognized the tune, as I quickly learned from a sweep of their minds.
"Follow my lead." Loki murmured. I watched his feet as he stepped forward. With a bit less grace I stepped backwards with the correlating foot. He then made a move to his left and I mirrored him by going to the right. Then he went back and I went forward. We completed a box shape and launched into another of the same patterns.
He was a good dancer. "Stop watching our feet." He instructed.
"What? Why?"
"A good dancer can feel the rhythm and move accordingly." He briefly moved his hand from my waist and tipped my chin up. "Watch me."
And I did. I locked onto his perfect eyes and let myself get lost in them. Somewhere in a different world someone began to sing. But not this one. Here it was just Loki.
"You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you
You'd be like heaven to touch
I wanna hold you so much
At long last love has arrived
And I thank God I'm alive
You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you."
A woman's voice sang, crisp and clear like the song of a bird. It floated through the air and seemed to hypnotize the entire crowd.
Loki smiled, drifting a little closer to me. "You're catching on well."
"I'm just glad I abandoned those horrid shoes when I did." I chuckled. "I'd be better off dancing in stilts."
The tile floor was frigid against the skin of my bare feet, but I ignored it. I lost myself in the repetitive movement. A step back, a step to the side, a step forward then another side step. Over and over again, we followed that pattern.
Loki and I floated over the dance floor. Gracefully. Effortlessly. I couldn't help but appreciate the way we simply fit together. It was as if I were sculpted to match him, and him me.
"Pardon the way that I stare
There's nothing else to compare
The sight of you leaves me weak
There are no words left to speak
But if you feel like I feel
Please let me know that it's real
You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you."
Most things mortals make are atrocious, but this song wasn't terrible. I smiled lightly and readjusted my grip on Loki's shoulder.
He looked at me seriously. "Oh, by the way, I didn't drag you out here just to humiliate you with your lack of dancing skills," He ducked his head so he was speaking directly in my ear. "Based on the fact that Arvid is giving me a death stare, I'd say I stole his intended dance partner."
"Oh really?" Out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed him standing at the front of the crowd, shooting a loathing look at Loki. His brows were furled and a partial snarl was painted on his face. "He looks like he wants to tear your head off."
"If he did intend to dance with me, it was a bold idea." I idly noted.
Loki smirked. "Love has a way of making people bolder."
A solid thirty seconds passed of just us and the music. Neither of us needed to speak.
At least, until I started to wonder if we would be moving in a box shape the entire time. "So now what?"
"Now that you have the basic concept down, you can start getting creative." He raised my arm above my head and twirled me. My dress flared out around my feet. I released an inaudible gasp as he pulled me back in.
I deliberately stepped on his shoe. "Perhaps a warning, next time?"
"But my dear," He purred as he abruptly lowered me into a dip. "That would ruin the fun of it."
"Arvid's not the only one growing bolder." I mocked as he placed a hand on my back and pulled me back upright.
He winked. "I'm merely keeping things interesting." With that we continued to waltz around the room.
"It's difficult to experience a bland moment around you, Butter Knives." I sighed, but there was no heat behind it at all.
He raised an eyebrow. "I've been thinking about claiming a different nickname. Would you ever consider calling me Destroyer of Worlds?"
"No."
"How about Death Bringer?"
"No."
"Could you perhaps be persuaded to call me Better Than Thor?"
I bit back a laugh. "You're Butter Knives. Put up with it."
"There really is no such thing as winning an argument against you, is there?" He twirled me again. "You always have the last laugh."
"Damn right, I do." I declared arrogantly.
I glanced down as Loki's hand glowed momentarily green. Then we began to physically levitate above the event room floor. My feet never got closer than an inch or two away from the ground.
"Was the floor not good enough for you?" I teased as he released my waist and extended out his other arm. I did the same, and for a moment we were both facing the same direction.
He gave my arm a tug and we were both naturally guided to our starting position. "No, it wasn't." He embraced the harassment. "I'm above the floor."
"Ha, ha." I rolled my eyes at the pun. "Very funny."
I corrected my gaze and met his eyes again. They reminded me of my favorite clearing in the forest. They reminded me of The Mountain Hold. Of home.
"I love you, baby,
And if it's quite alright
I need you, baby,
To warm a lonely night
I love you, baby,
Trust in me when I say
Oh, pretty baby
Don't bring me down, I pray
Oh, pretty baby, now that I found you, stay
And let me love you, baby
Let me love you."
The music entered an instrumental portion, the woman's voice replaced by the sounds of the instruments.
"So, after this comes Jotenheim." I shivered at the thought. "We're so, so close."
Loki shook his head. "Yes, but let's not think about Jotenheim now. Just enjoy this moment. Right now, there is nowhere I'd rather be than here."
Then the strangest thing happened. Nothing changed, not physically. We were still dancing to the same song with the same surroundings.
But there was this tension between us. It was almost a tangible thing, thick enough to be cut with a knife and hot enough to make a star seem cold. I could see it in his eyes that he felt it too, but it wasn't awkward in the slightest.
He was close enough for me to see the tiny flecks of gold in his green eyes that I hadn't noticed until then. My heart was hammering in my chest and my eyes ignored everything in the world except him. A soft smile sprang up on his face, and I found myself beaming in return. The tension buzzed, and hummed, and a strange stirring appeared in my stomach.
And just like that, the song ended and it dissipated. Here one moment, gone the next. My feet touched the floor again as the crowd broke out into a round of applause. We stood there, hand in hand and slightly out of breath as the thunderous sound rolled across the room.
"Now end with another curtsy." Loki instructed as his hand left my waist and he stepped back.
I did as he said, slightly lifting the fabric of my skirt in the process. When I finished, he smiled and took my hand one more time, taking me a bit by surprise. As he effortlessly performed an elegant bow from the waist, he gently raised my hand to his lips and pressed a delicate kiss to my bare knuckles.
"Thank you for dancing with me." He said as he stood up again, giving my fingers a light squeeze. I had to focus on keeping the blush from my face as he looped his arm through mine and began to guide me back to where I was standing.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek and smiled. "It is my pleasure."
The people stepped out of the way as he passed. Some gave us smiles and polite nods. Others gave Loki looks of admiration whilst I received many filled with envy. Their judgement felt like a physical weight on my shoulders, a blanket thrown over me.
When we were at roughly the same spot I started in, Loki and I stopped walking. He released my arm just as Gen came over the speakers again. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Loki and Freyja. Feel free to dance as you please. The music will be going all evening."
Some couples began to fill in the open space in the middle of the room, but most just continued to converse with friends and lovers. For a minute or so, Loki and I just stood there, neither of us saying anything. Then a woman with a blue dress nervously shuffled over and asked Loki if she could dance with him.
He flashed one more smile before politely saying yes and following the woman away from me. As I watched his back disappear into the crowd, I found myself gently running my thumb over my knuckles.
"Well isn't he just the picture of eye candy?" I jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice from behind me. A man with a brown mustache in desperate need of trimming stood next to me. He had a thick southern accent that made his voice sound rough to my ears. "All you Asgardians are just gorgeous."
"Eh, thank you?" I wasn't sure how to respond.
He sighed. "Yeah. So, wanna dance?"
"Not really." I made quick work of his frail mind and began to dig up his thoughts and memories. "I doubt your wife, Meredith, would be overly thrilled about you sneaking out to a party for the wealthy then asking otherworldly deities to dance."
His face turned bright red. "How did you...? Never mind." He quickly walked away, glancing nervously at those he passed as if worried they heard our exchange.
Mortals. I thought with disgust. I need some air.
I didn't dare make eye contact with anyone as I wove my way towards the door. I kept my eyes on the ground all the way until I passed the security men guarding the door. They tried to stop me as I left the room, but when I lifted my head to glare at them, they seemed to realize who I was. They didn't fight me further.
I stormed down the hallway and shoved the door open. The night air was cold against my skin and the streets were quieter after dark than during the day. For the middle of a populated city, it was as peaceful as it could get.
I moved so I wasn't in front of the door and leaned my head back against the wall, and I breathed, just breathed, until the early spring air burned cold in my lungs. I already couldn't feel my bare feet, but I didn't want to go back inside. I just wanted to be away from everything and everyone.
I was in the middle of a long, complicated strand of thoughts about Loki, Arvid and how much I hated parties in general when I heard the sound of jets roaring in the distance.
My heart stopped and my blood went cold. I began to panic and my eyes shot to the dark blanket of the sky. My suspicions were confirmed at the sight of a man sized glowing blur of light shooting across the sky.
Iron Man had arrived. And the other Avengers would surely follow closely behind.
How did they find us? The question answered itself. The event room was full of cameras and phones. Pictures were being taken left and right. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that the Avengers had found us out that way.
"Mortals and their disgraceful technology!" I grumbled as two large, armored cars swung around the corner of the road and sped towards me.
I didn't hesitate. I hiked up the skirt of my now green dress, threw the door open and ran. Heart pounding, legs pumping with every ounce of Asgardian strength in me, I ran.
The hallways passed by in a blur as I sprinted toward the event room. I almost bumped into an elderly janitor with a thick, white mustache and spectacles, busy vacuuming the carpet.
"My apologies." I said quickly, hardly daring to break my stride.
Behind me, I heard the elderly man shout after me. "Hey, watch where you're going! Kids these days..."
Please let me not get lost. I thought as I rounded another corner. Very quickly I learned that I wasn't when I barreled into Loki. We both went tumbling to the ground.
"Freyja? What in Valhalla?" He asked with a grimace as he sat up. "Is everything alright?"
"No! Where's Arvid?" I tried to catch my breath. My words were blending together. "The portal. We need to get to the portal. Cameras! They know we're here. They're coming!"
Loki placed his hands on my shoulders. "Slow down, I can't understand you. Who knows we're here?"
I grabbed his hands and dragged him to his feet. My voice was frantic, but not enough to reflect the hysterical fear I felt. "The Avengers. The Avengers know that we're here and they're coming for us."
NATASHA
"Sir," I said as I strode through the sliding glass doors of Stark Tower and handed Director Fury the tablet in my hand. His eyebrows furrowed as he realized what was displayed on the screen. "We found them."
"I have seen a lot of things in my day," He held up the tablet to show Maria Hill, diligently running security a few feet away, the photograph on it. "But this is a whole new level of bullshit."
I peered at the Twitter post I had found, with a photograph clearly depicting Loki in a green suit accompanied by the girl on the rooftop.
My face heated up at the sight of her. I had received a nice, long, scolding from Fury when he saw the footage of how easily she had beaten me. Even now I would still get spontaneous headaches that came and went, likely from her slamming me head first into the roof.
"How long ago was this?" Hill asked, pulling her phone out from her pocket.
I took my tablet back. "About ten minutes ago."
"We can still catch them." Fury got on the radio. "I want every available field agent on the ground in five minutes." He turned to me. "I want the other Avengers ready in three."
"I'll go get them." I turned and pressed a finger to my earpiece as I walked out of the room.
There was a little knob on it, that I turned until I found the radio wave tuned to The Avengers. "Hey guys, suit up. You'll never believe who I just found on Twitter."
"Wait a minute," Bruce Banner's voice crackled over the radio. "Please tell me we didn't catch Loki on social Twitter"
"Why didn't we check for Loki on social media to start with?" Tony butted in.
I felt another headache coming on. "I don't know, I think we did. Regardless, Fury wants us on the scene."
"Wait, I figured it out!" Steve's voice reached my ear. "I think I got this earpiece working. Can you guys hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Capsicle." Tony mocked. "I've got Thor with me. See you all at the garage in two?"
"Make it one." Clint replied. In the background I heard the roar of a car engine. "We can't let Loki and the woman get away again."
"Agreed." I said, reaching down to touch the gun holster strapped to my belt. "Let's go catch a god of mischief."
Song credit: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli