Eagle (A Loki love story)

Chapter 162

The flight back to the Compound was painful. Once Thor and Rocket broke out the alcohol, it all went to hell. Thor's tolerance for non-Midgarian grade liquor had all but vanished. Soon, he and Rocket were howling with laugher over the most mundane of topics. I tuned them out less than an hour into the flight. Bruce and I were up in the cockpit making sure autopilot didn't malfunction. The time change was beginning to catch up with me, but I managed to stay awake enough to land the ship at the Compound. Steve and Natasha were there to greet us, but given that it was 3am, everyone else was in bed.

"Did he come?"

"Yeah, but..." I looked back up the ramp, where Thor and Rocket were both passed out on the floor, "It's bad." Natasha nodded sharply.

"We'll make it work."

"How the portal coming along?"

"Good. If Rocket feels up to helping in the morning, the portal and the suits should be ready for a test run by noon." That was the best news I'd gotten all day. Well, since I'd gotten up yesterday morning.

"Where's Dreyma?"

"She's got her own room, the one next to yours. She was great today."

"Good, tomorrow I'll–"

"Sleep in." Steve cut me off, "Get some rest. You've more than earned it, all of you."

Reluctantly, I obeyed Steve's order and crawled into bed after locking my door. I wouldn't be disturbed until I wished it tomorrow. Or until the wards expired, around noon. I laid on my back, looking up at the ceiling. The silence was begging me to rest. It hadn't been silent since I'd gotten up yesterday, with the constant whine of the Milano ever-present even after Thor and Rocket passed out. Now, the lack of noise rung in my ears. In times like these, every now and then I thought I heard someone else breathing. Mira. God, I missed her. I was functional, but it had gotten no easier being without her. But hopefully that wouldn't be the case for much longer. If the test went well later today, we could be leaving as early as tomorrow! I rolled over onto my side, deliberately leaving a hand outstretched and turned up to the empty air. Reaching for her. A gentle air current whispered through my fingers as I finally relinquished consciousness.

The next morning, I was awoken by Steve sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Hey, I know I told you to get rest, but I figured you'd want to be there for the test run." I bolted upright, maneuvering around him, and began to change into clean clothes behind the partially-closed bathroom door.

"The portal is finished? And the suits?"

"Yeah, Rocket really stepped up, got the work done three hours ahead of time. I don't know how he's functioning on that little sleep."

"He and Thor both passed out a solid five hours before we got in." I explained, "How's Thor?"

"Awake and drinking, but not eating. Apparently we need to stock up on junk food."

"If what I saw in New Asgard is any indicator, that's regular behavior. It might be a good idea to buy out the frozen pizza section of the store." I tugged a shirt over my head and flipped my hair out.

"Someone'll make a run as soon as the test is over." I opened the door and stepped out. Steve and I started for the hangar at a brisk pace.

"Good. Will Dreyma be there?"

"No, Tony sat her down on FaceTime with Morgan. She wanted to come see you two hours ago, but we told her no."

"You didn't have to do that."