Shine Again (An Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame Story)

Chapter 21: Rain Delays

    Landing on Vanaheim did not go as smoothly as it had on the other realms. The entire realm had been engulfed in a giant thunderstorm. While they had gotten the ship to the ground in one piece, it had been struck by lightning several times in the process.  The crew of ten had all gathered around the command area, checking the vital stats and trying to come up with a plan of action. Thus far, there had been no course of action other than standing around panicking.

    "You should fix this!" Layla declared loudly, looking pressingly at Thor. "You're the God of Thunder. Can't you make the storm go away or something?"

    "As someone who also can control lightning, you should know that is not how any of this works," Thor commented back to the blonde.

    "But baby!" Layla replied back.

    Anja's eyes went wide at hearing her friend refer to Thor as 'baby,' and she took a step back, accidentally bumping into Loki in the process. "Whoa... and that is my cue to leave," she decided. "I'm going up to the lounge. There's no point in any of us getting off this ship until the storm passes. With that much lightning, we'll just get electrocuted. I say we all get some naps and snacks and once the weather breaks, we depart." When no one said anything, she shrugged and exited the command center, making her way up to the second floor lounge.

    However the rest of the conversation went, Anja didn't care. All she knew was that she was not about to step off the ship and get zapped by lightning. That was not even remotely close to being something she wanted to experience. She chose life. She was going to sit under her blanket and get some rest so she could have a fresh mind for the alliance talks. It was the smart thing to do, and she was hoping the rest of the crew would do the same. It had been a stressful voyage so far, and getting some rest would do them all some good.

    Anja flopped down onto the chaise lounge section of the couch, and pulled the blanket she had left there earlier that day over her. She curled up and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep despite the noisy chatter coming from her friends downstairs. It seemed they were still having a debate on what to do about the ship and the weather. Regardless to what they decided, Anja was going to be selfish for once. She deserved this nap, damn it.

    "So you're just going to nap without me? Rude," Loki's voice jolted her upright. She blinked a few times at him, but said nothing to this comment as she looked him over. "And I thought what we had was special."

    Anja rolled her eyes, and moved over just enough so he could sit down behind her, his legs on either side of hers and his chest tight against her back. She leaned back, and turned slightly into him so her head rested on his shoulder and upper chest before she draped the blanket over them. "Shut up, Loki," she muttered. "I don't have to explicitly invite you to nap. You know you are always more than welcome to bother me."

    He responded by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tighter against him as he leaned back into the cushions. Loki rested his head against hers, and didn't say anything for a moment. Anja took this opportunity to close her eyes again.

    "So do you have any idea as to why your friend referred to my brother with that pet name?" Loki broke the silence. "I was unaware they were on those kinds of terms."

    Anja opened her eyes and shrugged lightly. "Honestly? She's been drooling over Thor since you guys showed up at the tower," she answered, shifting slightly so she was a little more comfortable. "It probably just finally slipped."

    She didn't need to see his face to know he was smirking. "Oh, so not unlike how you were with me then," Loki commented.

    Anja lightly smacked his chest. "Stop it, Loki. If you weren't so attractive I wouldn't have had to drool over you. Plus you purposely did things to fluster me right up until after Jotunheim." She huffed. "And besides, if my memory serves correctly, you are mine now so it worked in my favor."

    "You would be correct on all accounts, min kjære," he purred.

    Anja pulled her head from underneath his so she could look up at him. "What did you just call me?" she questioned, a confused look upon her face. "Min what?"

    "Min kjære," Loki repeated calmly. "My darling."

    Anja couldn't stop herself from smiling, and she knew without a doubt she was blushing. It was the first time he had ever called her anything outside of her name, other than that time before Christmas when he had called her princess. She immediately put her head back on his chest, nuzzling up against his neck as she wrapped her arms around him. "I like that," she said quietly. "Say it again."

    "Min kjære," he reiterated, pulling her closer.

    Anja smiled more, and sighed happily before she spoke again. "Anyhow, back on topic, I wouldn't be surprised if they're a thing sometime soon. Based on what I've observed, I think Thor is pretty fond of her too. I mean... you remember how they were on New Year's."

    "How could I forget? They were all over each other, once he realized no one cared about his terrible dancing."

    "Well, I guess in all fairness, we all were pretty drunk on New Year's and there was plenty of flirting from pretty much everyone," Anja added, "but that's not the point." She paused for a moment, shaking her head a little. "The point is that they have only gotten worse as time has gone on, and- unlike us- they haven't resolved any of the tension. You can cut it with a damn knife."

    "Mm, now that you have mentioned it, there is quite a bit of unresolved sexual tension on this ship," Loki mused quietly.

    "Tell me about it," Anja muttered. "Honestly I hope they just fuck and get it over with already, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. I am not beyond locking the two of them in a room until they ease that tension either. Try me. And I am sure Spencer will help me with that plan."

    Loki laughed quietly. "I don't doubt you, but enough about that. Let us get some rest. We will need it for the alliance talks once this storm breaks."

    Anja sighed and closed her eyes once again, holding him close to her. She took a few deep breaths, feeling much calmer than she had in a long time. Anja knew it was for the best she got some rest. The talks on Vanaheim were the last of their alliance meetings, and they would soon be returning to the new Asgardian settlement on Earth. The young woman knew the fight with Thanos was becoming more and more inevitable, and she was trying to avoid the thoughts of death and destruction that would follow. This magical space adventure was coming to an end, and soon reality would be setting in.

    But for now, Anja had decided to ignore those thoughts. She felt Loki pull her closer to him, her ear pressed tight enough to his chest she could hear his heart beating, and despite all the chaos, she felt as if she was in the safest place in the universe.

******

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay! I've had this done for a while but have struggled to find time to edit it and get it posted. It's been a crazy few weeks. I've been working every weekend, and the one weekend I didn't work, we had my mother-in-law's wedding. The baby had a huge sleep regression too, so sleep has been fleeting. As of recent I have been napping most afternoons instead of writing. She's slept the last few nights pretty well, despite a tooth coming in, so I was able to not sleep this afternoon.

Now that things have sort of calmed down, I was able to get this chapter finished.

I'm heading to Las Vegas tomorrow for a few days to visit my friend, so who knows if I'm going to get any writing done. I'm sure we may take a day for writing, but only time will tell. I may write a bit on the flight too. I've got so many ideas for the rest of this story and I want to try to make some more progress in it! (As well as the other two stories too.)

Also, we've finally crossed 500 reads! I'm not 100% sure when it happened, but I am so happy and grateful that it happened. So thank you all who have helped with that! It means a ton to me!

Anyways, I hope all is well with you guys!

~arty_writes