Who: Loki and Sharon What: Reunion after Sharon returns When: June 11th Where: Sharon’s place Warning: No serious warnings Status: Completed via Gdoc
This time it had been different. When Sharon had wanted nothing to do with him, her absence had left a different pain. He had understood her decision, cursed himself and slow acceptance had started to creep in. The story had had an obvious villain: himself. As much as he had hated it, it was a villain he could fight. He could try to disarm himself. But how was he to fight the portal? The red portals were one thing, the Midgardian scientists seemed to have made a breakthrough on the front. But the notifications of people who had been sent back to their own worlds were all too regular. Most of those who had arrived before him were gone now. The time he had spent in the other world and that he had returned to find Sharon gone, had made him feel vulnerable in ways he hadn’t felt before. It had painted a gloomy picture of the future and the longer Sharon was gone, the darker its colors became. He hadn’t been able to shake off the dread that one of them would vanish for good. Or that Sharon might not even return…
Sharon’s text found him in particularly gloomy moment. One in which he had cursed that he had ever lowered his guards. He had honed them for a reason. Loneliness was easier to accept when you were used to it. A rush of emotions swept over him when he saw her text. She seemed fine. She was back. Relief settled in and for this moment, it was all that mattered.
He hadn’t even noticed that he had already kicked off his shoes when he left his house. Her house wasn’t far from his. None of the houses in New Asgard were. His bare feet only drew his attention while he waited at her door.
“I’m not wearing any shoes…” he muttered to his toes, as his gaze drifted upwards to meet Sharon’s face as she opened the door. Nothing about the statement mattered. It fell out off his mouth, his tongue unbridled from the familiarity of the situation. Something they had both worked hard for. It was the part that mattered. “Hi…” A smile stretched his lips. It was worth more than his trademark grin.
—
They came back through--Ikaris cradling Sharon to him and speeding through the air like a bullet--and all Sharon could think of was God, I hope this is home. She’d come to think of this place as home. Not just because she lived there, but because New Asgard had become her family. She spent all day every day with the Asgardians, and she’d become one herself.
The second thing she thought was how much she wanted to see Loki.
After parting with Ikaris for her home, she settled in fast. She was pleased to see that her house was in order--her plants weren’t dead and her place seemed to be in order… maybe they hadn’t been gone for that long? She collected her phone and texted Loki before doing anything else.
Then he was at her door. Sharon answered in a robe with still-damp hair. She hadn’t seen him in a couple of days, but to him it was likely much longer. She brightened at the sight of him on her doorstep. “Hi.” She grinned, then reached forward to pull him into her house.
—
He gladly let himself be dragged into Sharon’s house. It wasn’t the first time. It wouldn’t be the last. By now, he cared not for the appearance. Many Asgardians were not around anyway and the eyes that still remained… they could form whatever opinion they wished to form.
It didn’t take long until the door was shut behind them and his lips met hers. Then finally he pulled away, taking a good look at her. He had changed after he’d been in the other world. It hadn’t been good. “How are you?” he asked as initial excitement made room for the all the worry that had built up.
—
It was the kind of kiss she hadn’t realized she’d been missing. Sharon wrapped her arms around him and practically melted into it, but she didn’t complain when he pulled away. They had things they needed to talk about.
“I’m fine. I wasn’t harmed,” she insisted, taking hold of his hand to lead him to the living room. “I was on this garbage dump of a planet. By the way, The Statesman? You never told me the story of your ship.” Was it the same one she’d heard about on Sakaar? It had to be… didn’t it?
—
There were a few hoops Loki had to jump through to make sense of her words. The most important part was easy. She wasn’t harmed. Good. But that was where the clear communication of ideas ended. Dump of a planet? In Loki’s mind, there were many places that fit that description. Not many of those had a connection to The Statesman though.
“Sakaar? You’ve been on Sakaar?” he asked.
—
Sharon nodded. She wasn’t too surprised that he knew the place… after all, how many dumpster fires of a planet were there in the universe? And the mention of the Statesman probably sealed that line of thought.
“I was on Sakaar. With Ikaris.” She nodded once. “I take it you have a connection to Sakaar?”
—
Had Loki been able to read her thoughts, he would have been relieved. But her question provided a similar reaction. It meant she wasn't aware of what exactly had transpired while he had visited the planet. "Ah, yes, a while. How was it? I hope they treated you well there," he said pleasantly, hoping that the topic of the conversation would remain Sharon.
—
Sharon paused. “Well, they didn’t harm us,” she insisted. “But they certainly wanted us to fight in the gladiator stadium.” She lowered herself onto the sofa, tucking one foot underneath herself. The robe fell open and exposed her thigh. She didn’t bother fixing it.
“I convinced the Grand Master to keep me around by telling him I could mud wrestle to entertain his guests. He didn’t seem too keen on having me there.”
—
His gaze briefly dropped to her exposed skin. It was an instinct which he might have acted on if Sharon’s tale hadn’t continued. There was a brief flinch when Sharon mentioned the Grand Master. Loki himself had used quite a different tactic himself and he was very glad that Sharon hadn’t pursued that route.
“Mud wrestle, hmm?” he tilted his head as she sat down on the sofa. “I’m sure you beat them all.”
—
“Well, it certainly got their attention. And he didn’t do away with me before we had a chance to escape.” Not that they escaped. That’d been Sharon’s plan, but it all fell apart.
“So… The Statesman? It’s from Sakaar?” She asked, though she already knew.
—
Loki, in his mind, heard that they must have escaped. Maybe it was inattention, probably it was wishful thinking. He much preferred the idea that she had escaped over anything else.
"Indeed. It belonged to the Grandmaster but I preferred it in my own hands." The uncomplicated short version. "But how long have you been there?" They could talk about the Statesman once he had satisfied his own concerns and curiosity.
—
Sharon was actually satisfied with the uncomplicated short version. She knew that uncomplicated short versions were probably best when it came to these sorts of things.
“Only a few days,” Sharon responded. “Ikaris spent a good deal of the time unconscious. I met a man made of stone while I was there--he was quite kind. We weren’t forced into anything drastic before the Red Portal came and sucked us back out again.”
—
"You mean Korg," he commented with slight amusement. But before he could follow up on it, a different thought struck him. "Are you hungry? Should I see to it that food will be delivered?" He didn't even consider cooking. He never had. As a prince, the kitchen had not been his place but that of the servants. "I had your fridge cleaned from all things perishable."
—
Sharon was, indeed, hungry. She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please. Food and wine.” Her supplies were low even before she’d been swept away through a Red Portal, and now they seemed drastically low.
“Thank you,” she added, reaching for him. She wanted to touch him again, to ensure herself that he was actually there. “I noticed that my plants aren’t dead. Someone must have been taking care of them, too.”
—
"Now, there you can thank Zari. If my hands would have been involved, I fear their chances of survival would have been slim." While he talked, he quickly projected himself to an Asgardian stall and told them his order. There were a few dishes Sharon chose when she needed comfort, Loki decided to order them all.
"There, done," he said with a wide smile as he conjured a bottle of wine and two glasses.
—
Sharon's heart expanded a bit when he mentioned Zari tending the plants. It meant the world to get that her best friend was there to help keep up her house. "I'll have to thank her when I next talk to her."
He ordered quickly. While he was working on that, she lifted her phone from the endtable, and clicked it on… But then there was wine. The order went in much faster than she'd expected, so she tossed the phone aside and gave him her full attention again.
"Thank you, Loki." She let him pour the wine. "Are you going to tell me about your Red Portal trip?"
–
Loki stretched out on the sofa, glass in hand and arm resting on the sofa in a way that his side was open for Sharon if she wished to rest her body next to his.
"Ah, it was a blast," he said with a wide grin that didn't reach the eyes. Maybe by now she was able to read him well enough to immediately know that he didn't mean a single word of it. "Almost got eaten by hounds and bats with blossom mouths for a face, managed to get Nico home safe and then ended up stranded in a world with nothing to do and even less to eat. But clever man that I am-" Loki could hardly pass up an opportunity to sell himself. "-I managed to leave that realm. There was a fight with a mountain of flesh and then I hitched a ride home with Zari."
—
Sharon slid over beside him and rested her side against his as he spoke. She made sure to keep tight hold on the glass of wine--knowing she’d need it--and sipped as he spoke. …blossom mouths for a face? That didn’t sound remotely pleasant.
“You certainly don’t need to convince me of your cleverness,” she said, smirking the tiniest bit, and turned to look up into his face. “But you were in two different locations? And Zari was there?” Sharon wondered if they’d made advancements on the Red Portal front while she was gone.
—
Loki grinned. It was an automatic response. Of course, he was clever. They both knew it. That didn’t keep him from enjoying the confirmation. There would never be a point when he wouldn’t enjoy that. “I was and she was as well. They were… upside.” There had been a term for that but he couldn’t quite remember. “Upside… something…” He shook his head. “I don’t know, one was awful, one wasn’t.”
—
Sharon leaned in a little closer, and rested her cheek against his shoulder. One hand lowered to adjust the robe around herself, covering her legs as she tucked them underneath herself. “I’m sorry,” she said, softly. “I don’t know what else to say.” This whole Red Portal thing really shook them all. She was exhausted from her trek through Sakaar, not to mention the mind-twisting realization that her three days in Sakaar was more than two months here.
“I’m just glad that we’re both home. That we’re together again.” The words slipped out; a truth that she hadn’t really meant to say. She didn’t want to seem desperate or clingy or codependent. She wasn’t codependent. She just… missed him.
—
It was nothing compared to what awaited him once he was sent back... by now, the ‘if’ had morphed into a ‘once’. He was no fool and his claim for the throne of denial was slowly being revoked. His eyes were more open towards the truth now and the truth in this matter was that almost everyone who had arrived before him was not here anymore. The science team hadn’t made a lot of progress. People were still sent back to their home worlds and for him that only meant one thing: death.
“Let’s hope it stays that way…” Loki said with a gentle smile and wrapped an arm around her.
—
It was hard for Sharon to wrap her head around all of these ideas--she was exhausted from her ordeal and relieved to be back in her own home. It was all a lot to handle. Perhaps after a solid meal and a good night’s sleep she’d be able to think about it again. For now, though? The comfort of his body against hers and the soft cushions of the sofa were all she could really think about.
“Are the Asgardians still on the Statesman?” She asked after a long moment. Her arm wrapped down and around him and her body relaxed a bit more under his arm.
—
“Yes, frankly if it was up to me, I would have made more of the families move up there,” Loki said. “But my brother made a surprisingly sensible case for a compromise.” He left it open whether the surprise was that compromise could be sensible or that his brother was the one laying out a convincing argument. In Loki’s mind it was both. “So now we have established a two person rule. Vulnerable people are supposed to be accompanied by others.”
—
Sharon nodded. Having some sort of Buddy System was probably smart. Even Sharon, who was fully capable of taking care of herself, would have done a lot worse for herself without Ikaris there. And vice-versa, really--she’d stepped in and helped him a lot when he was in trouble, too.
“I guess we’ll just have to stay together, then,” she teased, giving his middle a gentle squeeze with her arm wrapped around him. “Though, I’m not saying which of us is more vulnerable,” she teased. Of course, she knew which of the pair of them would be considered the more vulnerable.
—
“Good thing I can have my meetings from the bedroom,” Loki said with a devious smile. It was no lie. He had used illusions before to keep long-distanced communications the least painless. He much preferred ravens and illusions over staring at a screen.
—
Sharon vividly remembered hiding in his office on the floor, naked and sweaty, as people wandered down the hall just on the other side of his office door. She smirked a little at the memory, turning to press a kiss against his collarbone. “Good thing. I much prefer the softness of either of our beds to the scratchy office carpet.”
Then her stomach gave an audible growl. A big, long gurgle of hunger. Mortified, Sharon went bright pink and buried her face further in his chest, breaking into silent, amused, embarrassed laughter.
—
“Ah, but the excitement of an office carpet cannot be understated,” Loki said as he stretched into the sofa. There was something utterly comfortable about their position. In a way, it was as if she had never been gone.
Loki laughed at the gurgle as much as he laughed at her reaction. “Now that would have made Volstagg proud.”
—
Sharon might argue that they were too comfortable and confident in their relationship now to lose control and shag on the office carpet… but she couldn’t deny that sex in a semi-public place was exciting. Especially now that there was a defiant air about it, rather than only a fear of being caught. Though, she also knew much better now that he could use his power to create an illusion and cover them should it be necessary.
“I suppose we’ll have to give it another shot,” she suggested flirtatiously.
At least he was laughing? This was further evidence of the comfort and security she felt around him--the security she felt in their relationship. “Shut up,” she laughed straight into his chest. “I’m hungry! You can’t judge me for being hungry!”
—
Loki held up his hands in surrender. Laughter was still playing on his face. “I didn’t judge! It was very… ladylike.” He said it to wind her up in a playful way. To amuse himself as much as to amuse her. “But you have to admit it’s quite funny.”
—
When Sharon pulled her face away from his chest she was bright red. It might have been a slight overreaction… after all, it wasn’t a fart, or anything. But still--she was exhausted and emotionally raw, so her reactions were heightened. She shook her head, grinning sheepishly. “Sure it was,” she said sarcastically, lowering a hand to her tummy. “It’s just proof of how desperately hungry I am. When is food getting here?”
—
Having grown up among Asgardians, bodily functions hardly shocked him. Everyone had them. Women and men alike. As someone who was sexually interested in both, he had never had the habit of applying different standards. Didn’t mean that it kept him from utilizing prejudices if the situation called for it, like right now. But nowadays it was mostly for harmless fun.
“Ah, well, we don’t want you to despair now, do we?” he asked. It was spoken with humour but he remembered his own hunger far too well. “I will check.” A few moments passed while he was concentrating on his illusions. “It’s been sent off. So it should be here any minute.”
—
Sharon was quite old-fashioned (by Midgardian standards) when it came to a lot of things. She blamed it on her upbringing--raised by WASPy Episcopalians did that to a person. Still, she was quite forward-thinking on a lot of other fronts. Bodily functions with intimate romantic partners was one of those things she couldn’t wrap her mind around. Partly because bodily functions were never discussed in her house growing up, so she wasn’t used to it… but also partly because her number of true intimate/romantic partners was so few. She hadn’t had much chance to grow accustomed to it.
“No, of course not,” Sharon sat up a little, giving him space to check on the food, and reached for the glass of wine. Maybe that would calm her stomach down. …or get her drunker faster drinking on such a desperate, empty stomach.
“Thank you,” she said with a little sigh. “They didn’t feed us terribly well on Sakaar.”
—
“Ahh, from what I remember, they fed dunkur to the servants, didn’t they?” Servant was a very generous word for how they were treated. The Grandmaster held a more ancient understanding of it. “Horrible stuff.” At least from the looks of it. Of course, Loki had never lowered himself to try and eat it. His plan had involved a different route.
—
“I’m not sure what it was called,” Sharon said, nose crinkling a bit at the memory. She’d had to eat to survive, she knew, so she did what was necessary and hoped for the best. It wasn’t pleasant, but she knew that if she had to fight her way out, she’d need her strength. “And I’m not sure that servants is the appropriate term for what Ikaris and I were there. Slaves, perhaps. Or prisoners. Definitely not servants.” The weight of the idea that she’d been taken prisoner and held captive hadn’t really hit her yet, but using the words was bringing it home.
“Oh shit,” she said softly as she realized a whole different wave of emotions was on the horizon.
—
“Shit?” Loki asked. “Is there something you need to do?” Trauma had never been something that had been addressed in Odin’s family. If bad things happened to you, you moved on. If you couldn’t, you were deemed weak and a failure. No, Odin hadn’t coddled his sons. And Loki, he had seen his fair share of bad things. Had seen war and destruction, had been manipulated and seen his whole world being ripped apart. For him, it was easy to forget that Sharon had had quite a different life. That Sharon was still young.
—
It took Sharon just a brief moment to realize what his words meant. A moment of hesitation, and then she cleared her throat and shook her head. “No. No, it’s nothing. Nevermind.” Though, her nose was starting to burn, and she felt like she was going to fall apart. The last thing in the world she wanted was to fall apart in front of him. Especially after she’d just had a stomach growl in front of him. Talk about embarrassment on top of embarrassment.
She pulled away from him and stood. “I just… need to go to the bathroom.” And in a movement that felt more cowardly than self-preserving, Sharon crossed the room to go hide in the bathroom. Half-way there, tears started pouring down her face.
—
There was something in her tone. Something that was wrong. He was already tense when she got up. A frown settled in soon enough. Had he said something wrong? So he was left behind uncomfortably as Sharon strode for the bathroom. She was definitely emotional. But she also wanted to be alone with her emotions. That one was clear. So he would let her be. He knew very well not wanting to others to see him vulnerable.
—
Sharon was in the bathroom for a long time. She didn't have a watch or a phone to keep track of the time, but she imagined it might be upwards of ten minutes. There were tears. So many tears. She felt too much, and just wanted to crawl into bed to sleep.
When most of the emotion ran its course, she took a moment to look at herself in the mirror and try to make herself look more presentable. Her face was red, her eyes puffy. She splashed water on her face and ran fingers through her hair. Now she felt silly and embarrassed for running away, for breaking down. She knew there would be more, but Loki was still here. she had to put on a strong face.
The bathroom door opened and Sharon came out. She tightened her robe around her as she glanced around for him.
—
Loki wasn’t quite sure what to do. The food arrived and Sharon was still in the bathroom. So he set the table and waited some more. This wasn’t quite how he had expected their reunion to go. When the bathroom door finally opened, Loki shuffled in his seat. He could see the remnants of her tears. Unlike himself, she had nothing to simply cover them up with.
“Uhm, food arrived,” he said. “Do you want me to stay? I can leave if you are not in the mood for company.” If you wish to save your face… She had already reacted so sensitively to her growling stomach. This had to be worse.
—
Sharon almost expected him to be gone when she left the bathroom. It was surprisingly pleasant when she found him there--a comfort to have him in her space. Even though she felt drained and exposed and exhausted from the whole ordeal, there wasn't anyone she would rather be around.
Her eyes roamed the table first, and then came up to his face. "Will you stay? Please."
–
"Of course," he said softly. For a moment, he hesitated and then he did what he would have wanted someone else to do: distract her. "The food arrived. I ordered a feast as you can see. I hope that hunger of yours isn't going to give up soon." He added a smile, probing if his tactic worked.
—
Sharon was probably more in love with him than ever when she heard the soft tone of his voice. She melted just a little as she moved to the table and saw he'd ordered all her favorite comfort foods. A distraction was exactly what she wanted. Don't call attention to those feelings. They'll go away.
"I could eat it all," she chimed in, thankful to have the change of subject. "Where shall we start?"
–
Loki was slowly getting used to Midgardian food. If it were up to him, the table would have been laid with roast, vegetables, bread and gravy. Especially now that his home had been destroyed his people’s food had become more of a comfort. But the taste of Midgardian food was strong, it was built around fat and spices and there was something appealing to it.
“I would recommend the soup for a light start,” Loki said. “Or the chicken if you want to jump into to something heartier.” He smiled with amusement. Of course she could pick what she wanted to eat herself. His advice was unneeded. So he made it sound like the advice of a waiter in a fancy restaurant. Just to keep her distracted from her own thoughts and to stir them both into waters more comfortable for them.
—
Sharon didn’t grow up in the south south, but she grew up in a place where southern comforts were still the rage. Hence the fried chicken, mac and cheese, biscuits and gravy. But then again, she also loved soup. Pho, Ramen, chicken noodle… the sort of thing that reminded her of being sick and cared for by a loving grown-up.
“Soup,” she agreed. It felt good to not have to make a decision. “I hope you’re hungry, too. We’ve got enough food here to feed a whole house full of people.”
—
“Excellent choice!” Loki said. “I’ll have some, don’t worry.” But he wasn’t planning on eating much. Loki didn’t have the stomach of other Asgardians. While he enjoyed food, especially well made food, he had always valued quality over quantity.
With that he served them both. “Guðr will be glad to know you are back. She has been inquiring about you.” His assistant was a young bright Asgardian. One of the ones who seemed more to show prospects where others did not and the longer she had worked for him, the more her colours seemed to shine. There were many areas she still had to learn in. At times, she had blundered in areas of diplomacy and often couldn’t spot more creative solutions. But Loki was sure she would come into her own in a century or two.
—
Sharon was about to open her mouth and respond with I didn’t mean to worry anyone when she remembered that none of this was her fault. She hadn’t asked to go on some Red Portal adventure to Sakaar. She never meant for any of it to happen, so she didn’t have anything to feel guilty for.
But she still felt guilty. Terribly guilty.
“That’s kind of her. How is Guðr? I should like to see her again soon.” Maybe they could have tea together, or something. Drinks. A lot of Sharon’s plans for the next few weeks involved copious amounts of drinks.
—
“Fine,” Loki said as he served them some soup. “Her boss has been keeping her busy. Had her sort through the paperwork. Terribly boring, wouldn’t work for me.” Loki’s grin was wide as he finished his tale. In Loki’s mind, it was a definite privilege to work for him. Who wouldn’t want to work for one of the kings? That didn’t mean he hadn’t seen the pain in Guðr’s eyes as he gave her the task. Besides, Loki knew he was demanding. The position required it.
—
Sharon knew how demanding it was. She'd worked for him early on in the development of New Asgard, and understood how he worked as a boss. A little smirk actually crept onto her face at that. "It's really not so bad," she countered. Then again, she got a lot more out of it than Guðr was likely to get. She found a romantic partner in Loki. Unexpectedly.
"I'll have to invite her around for a drink. If you'll give her enough time away."
–
"You should tell her that," Loki said with a grin. He was relieved to see Sharon’s smirk. It meant that she was dealing with what had happened to her. At least, she was dealing with it in the same way that Loki dealt with things: bury them under a rug and try to never look at them again.
“I’m sure she will love that,” he said with a smile. “And she might find an evening or two where she has nothing to do.”
—
There were a lot of things under Sharon’s rug, so to speak. So much that it was lumpy and misshapen, and probably bound to explode one of these days. Still, she kept pushing things under there and not dealing with them.
“That sounds like it’d work out well for all of us.” She lifted her wine glass to sip from it, then wiped at her face once more with her hand. Thankfully the tears were gone now: nothing to be embarrassed about. But the memory of them was still around.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to work. I’m sure things have fallen apart without me here.”
—
"I haven't had any reports from Ónarr in a while," he said. Ónarr was the Asgardian who helped Sharon with her efforts to have Asgard recognised as a nation on Midgard. This was the first time this planet was faced with refugees from a different world. With capabilities unlike their own. Many things had changed in only a decade for Midgardians. It provided opportunities for Asgard, it provided obstacles. Anyone who had knocked on Odin’s door with a similar plight, would have been expelled. Here they were stuck in limbo instead while the Nations of Earth tried to decide on a course.
"I think he's been facing some tricky situations," Loki said. Ónarr had lost his two partners to Hela. Loki had watched him work for his father all his life. He had been an intelligent friendly man all his life, now he had grown sober and withdrawn.
—
While the last several years been difficult for a lot of Asgardians, for some it’d been impossible. Ónarr had it worse than many. When he arrived on Midgard, he was lost and alone. Sharon had gravitated toward him immediately.
“Oh, of that I’ve no doubt.” Things had been difficult in New Asgard’s plight toward independence. “I’m ready to jump back in. God, I can’t believe that damn portal took so much of my life.” She didn’t want to think about it anymore. She wanted to eat and drink, and then go to bed. The crying and everything else had exhausted her.
—
Loki smiled at her. It wasn’t a smile formed of mirth. But one informed by compassion. He leaned over and squeezed her hand. Then not wanting to draw too much attention to her state of mind, he returned to their dinner. “I am sure they will be resolved soon,” he said, hoping that his words would bring her comfort.