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

Chapter 26: Eavesdropping

    It was quiet aboard the Guardians' ship, The Benatar. Most of the crew was seemingly asleep, or at the very least, just not talking. Anja was okay with that. She was trying to do her best to relax a bit. Or at least try to, anyway. There was only so much relaxing one could do when they knew they were quite likely about to encounter a being such as Thanos. She rested with the back of her head against the cold metal of the wall, eyes closed as she attempted to get a power nap in. She was stressed, and it was all too apparent to at least Loki and Bruce. She knew Bruce was lying down in the other room, trying his best to not Hulk out from his own stress. Loki had been speaking to the others about the trip, so she was alone for the moment.

    Only for a second though. She felt someone sit down next to her. Anja opened her eyes slightly, just enough to see it was Loki. She smiled and leaned against him as he wrapped one of his arms around her.

    "We're well on our way to Knowhere," he stated. "We still have a bit before we land so you're wise to get some rest."

    "Seemed like it was a good idea," she replied. "Knowing what we may be walking into, I thought I should get some rest. Last time I went into a hellacious battle, dumb me had stayed up partying in Vegas with Spencer and Layla. Not a good idea to fight Ultron on like zero sleep, hungover." Anja sighed. "Not to mention everything else I dealt with when that was over."

    Loki didn't say anything for a few moments. "I'd like to talk to you about that. If that's okay. I know whatever happened is a sensitive subject, so I understand if you don't want to talk about it."

    Anja thought she knew what he was asking about, but decided to play dumb for a second. "What do you mean?"

    "What happened with Barton," Loki answered quietly.

    Anja had almost forgotten that she hadn't exactly told Loki about Clint. It had been brought up, but never by him or at an appropriate time to talk about it. Admittedly she felt a bit guilty about not telling him sooner. It was the single detail she had always excluded from their talks about her powers, the Avengers, and the like. She hated talking about the whole experience. Honestly, it made her feel terrible about herself, even though there was no real way she could have known.

    She sighed, shoulders sinking slightly. "Well, you deserve to know. Do you want the short and sweet version, or the long and depressing version?"

    "All of it would be nice, love," Loki said.

    Anja nodded, debating where the best place to begin for a moment. The very beginning, she supposed.

    "I told you about how Layla and I were placed in the same foster family. Everything was okay. They were planning on adopting us. Turns out it was a lengthy process and the state wasn't helping matters," Anja said. "One night when we were staying with Spencer next door, our house had a carbon monoxide leak. We returned home only to find them dead. After some pleading with the authorities, Spencer's parents ended up taking us in, given Layla's parents' incarceration, and my mother being dead and my sperm donor nowhere to be found."

    Loki was quiet for a moment before he said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

    Anja smiled weakly. "Thanks. If the people I love could stop dying that would be great," she said. "After they took us in, things were normal for a while. Layla and I finished school, and went off to college on scholarships."

    Loki nodded, signaling her to continue. She knew this was a lengthy explanation, but all of it was key in the story with Clint. He needed to know what led her to his arms in the first place. Even if it hurt.

    "Well... soon after I got there, after an incident with my powers, I found out S.H.I.E.L.D. put me on a watchlist for people with dangerous abilities. Actually, all of us girls had been put on the list. I had been interning under Tony for Stark Industries at the time. He had some specialized work that I could use towards my degree. After the incident, Tony got me connected with some folk at S.H.I.E.L.D. and I started to work for them instead. It gave me a way to practice with my abilities and put people in minimal danger," Anja explained. "It was then that I met Natasha and Clint."