Between the Lines

Let me ask a question ..

"Looks like you could do with a drink Pet." He smiled at her as she sat down on the couch again. She shook her head.

"I shouldn't really, I'm having enough trouble keeping this straight without adding to the issue. " she paused, "so... why? "

"Why am I blue? Why are we here? Why you?"

"Pretty much." She shrugged. He'd summed up her swirling thoughts in a nutshell. Feeling calmer, especially since he'd chosen to sit in a chair opposite, she sat back.  If he'd sat next to her, God alone knew what might have happened.

"Well, I'm having one, you sure?" He stood and walked over to the bookcase behind his desk.  In amongst the volumes, a crystal decanter and glasses nestled. It seemed to be filled with brandy or whisky going by the colour.

As he poured his drink, he looked over at her, and she felt the weight of his gaze. 

"Well, maybe just a small one," she relented, "plenty of ice."  He nodded and took down a second tumbler.  Pouring out a measure, he handed her the glass.

"No ice?" She queried politely, and he winked. Blowing gently on the glass, it frosted over immediately, cooling the liquid inside.  Oddly, it didn't feel cold in her hand.  She couldn't help but let her jaw drop. Looking up at him, if he'd been able to, he would have blushed.

"Sorry, little parlour trick my mother taught me.  Couldn't resist." He raised his glass "to us." He swallowed, and she watched mesmerised as his throat flexed.

Dragging her eyes away, she raised her own glass to her lips. It was spicy yet sweet and unlike anything she'd ever tasted. Instantly, she knew she'd never drink anything else.  "What IS this?" She asked, studying the glass.

"A glass?" He smirked, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Sorry, you seem to bring the naughty boy out in me!" Now, it was her turn to blush.  Just how naughty remained to be seen. "It's Asgardian Mead. My one taste of home."

"Asgard? Your home is Asgard. Do you mean actual ASGARD?" Her voice rose, almost in disbelief, but not quite. She shook her head. There was, she knew, no reason to lie. Not now. "But anyway, I thought you said you were Jotun?"

"Ah, I knew you were a good listener. Yes, I AM a Jotun, a Frost Giant if you will. My home, however, for lack of a better way to describe it, has always been Asgard."

For what seemed to be minutes but turned out to be hours, they talked. Or rather Loki talked, and Kathy listened and asked questions here and there.  He told her about Odin and Frigga. He regaled her with tales of him and Thor, especially losing the bet and having to come to Midgard and steal the money. Then he told her about the tesseract. The foiled plot to allow the Chitauri to rule. His recruitment into SHIELD.

Then he told her about Hydra. While talking, he had been animated and even enthusiastic in places - especially when talking about his mother, Frigga. Now, however, he grew serious.

"Hydra have infiltrated SHIELD. We just don't know who and ultimately why. Just to destroy us is NOT the answer. They could have done that a long time ago. They want something - or someone.  We just have to find the network and find the prize first."

She drained her glass and set it down on a table to her left. "So when do I start? That's why I'm here, isn't it.  All this, all the relentless badgering. The constant pushing to look beyond the obvious. You want me to help track down whatever they're after."

Loki nodded, a mixture of relief and trepidation flooding over him. Thank goodness he didn't have to actually ask her. How do you ask someone to volunteer for a mission that was potential suicide? "Yes, I - we - do." he put down his glass and stood.  As he talked more, his colour drained until he was back to his usual alabaster self.  He looked at his hands , curling and uncurling them a couple of times as he studied them carefully.  "Hmmm, it would seem that I'm back to what everyone else would call normal, eh?" he couldn't keep the tinge of regret out his voice.

Neither could she. "Yes, so it seems.  Shame." she looked at him, into the familiar ocean eyes that she fantasised about more than she cared to admit. "I did - I do - like - the other you. Jotun Loki. I hope I see him again." she smiled, suddenly shy.  A blush crept over her cheeks, and he could have grabbed her and kissed her there and then.  The first woman - the first person - ever to acknowledge his heritage without fear, without scathing distain.

"I'm sure you will," he said softly, knowing now that if she was in the vicinity, it was ALWAYS a possibility.

"So,"  she now stood and walked to him, taking his hand in hers. "Time to brief me on my mission - should I choose to accept it?"  Kathy smiled, "After all, what's the point in having a Rotweiller and barking yourself, eh Boss?" 

"Oh Kathy! You are a breath of fresh air, you know that?  I knew I made the right choice when I hired you!" he walked her to the door.  "Come along, Pet, let's find Maria and the others, we can have a proper discussion in the briefing room.  There are some other people I think you should meet." he dropped her hand casually and walked into the main office.  She felt more than his hand leave her.  She felt her heart go to and slide into his pocket.  Was this how it was destined to be?  An unspoken thing that would never again exist outside these four walls? 

As they walked to the conference room, he knew he had disappointed her.  He had disappointed himself.  He should have kissed her. He should have held her.  He should have... he should NEVER have let himself become involved. 

Let his heart become involved.  This life they led, this one, not the newspaper and the reporting, this one.  It could be hard, relentlessly dangerous, cruelly fatal, and above all?  Entirely secret.  No one could know.  If SHIELD operatives were exposed, they died. Simple as that.  Hydra? Chitauri? Just two in a long line of adversaries out for revenge.  He couldn't run the risk of making her a target any more high profile than she was about to become.  But still, there was the all pervading desire.  The connection. 

With effort, he put his own feelings back where they belonged and opened the door.  The conference room was small but perfectly formed.  A long table in the centre, around which eight chairs were arranged, an electronic display at one end.

Around that table sat several figures, Maria Hill being one of them.  They all turned as the two of them walked in, and Kathy felt her jaw drop for the umpteenth time that day.  Sitting on one of those chairs was someone she had always wanted to interview. Always wanted to see what was behind the mask, the very public, and almost too good to be true mask. Was he really the all-American hero?  Or did he hide something darker?  Something more sinister.  Finally, she was about to find out.

Loki nodded and gestured to the man now standing to greet them,

"Steve Rogers?  Meet Kathy Green."