Return From The Past

The next morning, after breakfast, Fury had Laura and Holly each pack a bag. He had called the Avengers and they all had agreed to meet him at Tony Stark’s tower in New York. Loki had refused to leave Holly’s side and had spent the night sitting in a chair watching her sleep. Now he was watching her pack a suitcase. Thor was standing in the hall, watching his little brother. Fury walked up to him and asked how things were coming along. Thor nodded his head in Loki’s direction and Fury looked over at him. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen him like this,” he told the director. Loki was sitting in the chair by Holly’s desk with his feet propped up on it, watching her as she flitted about the room, grabbing different things and putting them in her suitcase. Every once in a while she would stop and look around like she couldn’t find something. He would flick his hand and the object she had been looking for would float into her reach. She would then toss him a grateful smile, pluck it from the air and put it with the rest of her things. Finally she stopped grabbing things and closed up her suitcase, sliding it off the bed. Loki was on his feet and at her side in an instant, offering to carry it down the stairs for her. All the while, Thor and Fury were standing in the hall, watching, and Nick was amazed at how calm and relaxed Loki looked. “Are you convinced I mean her no harm, Director?” Loki asked with a smirk, not turning around. Holly saw the mischief start dancing in his eyes. “Not now, Loki,” she chided him. Loki chuckled. “Of course, my darling. Shall we join the others?” Holly smiled and took his empty hand. “So,” she said, turning to Fury, noticing the laughter and delight on Thor’s face, “how long is this trip gonna take?” “It’ll take longer, the later we start,” he replied. “Okay,” Holly said, rolling her eyes. “Let’s get going then.”

Notes