"What if...."Frigga Stayed

Common Ground

The Avengers looked around at the room they would be staying in. Or rather, rooms. There were four bedrooms all connected to a large living area. Since there were only four rooms, Nat and Clint decided to pair up in one. Each bedroom was equipped with a queen-sized bed, a writing desk, a wardrobe, a personal washroom, and a large shared balcony overlooking the city. The ceilings of all the rooms were all decorated with an intricate mural of some kind. As for the living room, there were several large couches around a fireplace, and some shelves with large casks of ale. Not to mention everything in the damn place was covered in gold.

They all started to head towards their room, except for Steve, who started walking towards the door. Tony noticed. "Spangles, where are you going? Rooms are over here."

Steve paused his gait and turned around for a second. "I'm going to talk to Loki. If we are going to be working together it would be better to be on good terms with the guy."

Bruce nodded in agreement before going into his room. Clint just kept walking to his room, trying to figure out how he felt about the god. Nat paused her step for a moment, an turned to face Steve. "Just be careful."

Steve nodded and she followed Clint into their room. Tony had become more interested in the large amount of alcohol at this point, so Steve walked out of the room. He honestly had no idea where he was going, but he thought he was going the right way. Maybe. Okay, probably not.

Just when he realized he was definitely lost, the woman he had seen in the healing rooms earlier walked down the hallway adjacent to the one he was in. The Queen, he remembered.

He sprinted to where she was, and she must have heard his footsteps because she turned to face him as he ran to her. When he reached her, she smiled kindly. "Captain Rogers, what a pleasure to see you again."

"And you as well, your majesty."

" Oh please, call me Frigga. I have to listen to nobles talk to me like that all day. Though I might ask why you are wandering the corridors alone? I know they can be difficult to navigate."

You don't say. "I was actually looking for Loki. I wanted to talk with him so we can try and put our differences aside before we have to work together."

Frigga smiled again, though this time it was laced with a bit of sadness. "Of course. I could show you to him rooms if you wished."

Steve laughed a little. "Yeah, that might be best. I think I've been walking for half an hour now."

She chuckled softly. "That does not surprise me. Even the greatest trackers in the nine realms have trouble traversing here." She started to walk down the hallway she came from, and Steve followed.

They made their way down the hallways, with Frigga telling him of all the rooms that they passed by. They eventually arrived at a set of large ebony doors with intricate gold details and runes. Frigga knocked at the door. Steve could hear something shift on the other side, then after a pause walk towards the door.

The large doors opened to reveal the owner of the rooms in a long pine tunic with black pants and a fur-lined robe that went down to his knees. Loki looked curiously at Steve before turning to his mother, eyebrow raised.

"The captain wished to speak with you before you all start training together, if that is alright."

Loki nodded and let Steve into his rooms.

Steve thanked Frigga for her help before walking into the large chamber. Loki closed the door behind him and gave him a curious look. Steve shifted under his gaze.

After a few seconds of silence, Steve spoke up. "How are you?"

Loki gave him a dead stare. "I don't really see how what I feel is necessary to this conversation."

He's guarding himself. He doesn't want us to see him as weak.

"Sorry, it's just something was say on earth a lot, you're right. I actually came to talk to you about New York-"

"I hold no animosity towards you because of that. You did what you had to do." Loki interrupted, gaze softening a bit. "I would have done the same thing with Thor. Granted, I may have been able to tell if he was lying about his intentions more, but I cannot fault you for failing to see that."

Steve's eye widened a little. He wasn't expecting that. "So, you aren't angry about that?"

"As I said, I have no right to be."

Steve nodded. "That's good to hear. In that case, what will we do about the training situation-"

Loki interrupted again. "Do you mind talking about something less serious. I've had a trying day."

Steve looked more closely at the trickster. He was picking at his hands and his eyes darted every once in a while, like he was expecting someone to be behind him at any moment. There were bruises circling his wrists and ankles and Steve thought back to the thick bands he had seen on them earlier.

"Absolutely. What do you want to talk about?"

Loki furrowed his brows and looked Steve up and down. "You're asking what... I... want to talk about?"

Steve nodded, furrowing his own brows in confusion.

Loki laughed a little. "Sorry, it's just been a while since anyone has asked me what I want." He paused. "Would you mind much if we didn't talk, actually? I wasn't been able to see the stars for a long time and because of... well I couldn't go onto my balcony for a while so I wish to do that now that I am able."

"Of course."

Loki showed him to some doors covered with drapes and lead him outside. The balcony overlooked the entire city along with some of the forests and mountains that bordered the palace. The sky was one of the most beautiful things Steve had seen in a while. The blues and pinks and oranges mixed together in what made the night sky look like a constant sunset, with stars dabbling the entire view.

"This is beautiful, Loki."

The prince looked at the soldier, a glimmer in his eyes. "Quite. I used to practice magic during this time of day. It always made me feel... free almost."

Steve smiled a bit. He understood the feeling. "Can you show me?"

Loki nodded his assent. He held out one of his hands in a fist and when he opened it, fireworks came shooting out.

Steve looked at the fireworks, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. Loki noticed the Captain's look at the sight of his magic. He likes it. Loki smiled, and as soon as the fireworks stopped, he made little green balls of light appear around them. He saw Steve's eyes fill with wonder at the sight of the sky and his magic. Maybe the Captain isn't so bad after all.

Steve looked around at the lights and Loki's blissful face. Maybe Loki isn't so bad after all.