justabitoffun | (no subject)

It had been nearly two years since he had set foot in this realm. Practically two years worth of almost non-stop seclusion and isolation. The brief visitations from his mother notwithstanding and the one short adventure with his brother that he used to escape the dungeons of Asgard besides the point. He had spent much of the second half of his isolation hiding in the forests of Alfheim. There had been plenty of time for contemplation and self-searching during the idle days and restless nights spent alone in the remote stretches of the wilderness.

Before that, he tried traveling the stars on his own. There were plenty of places to hide out in the darkness between realms and many breathless sights to distract the mind. But it had quickly lost its appeal ~~with no one to share the cold beauty with~~ and he found himself going in circles, running from an enemy that was only in his mind. (Everyone thought him dead. Why would they search for him?) A part of him must have ached in a way he didn't realize possible for eventually he found himself in an old, familiar place and settled in. When he thought of why he was here or what he was doing with his time he thought he recognized the voice that took shape in his head as it sounded suspiciously like someone he knew in the past. Old conversations seemed to spring to mind as he contemplated what to do next. He never came to a decision.

And then one day the God of Chaos grew restless. He tired of the repetition that was born out of idleness and isolation. He was bored of the nothingness that his life had turned into. It was time to stop hiding.

Finally, he made a quick decision. It was more like a whim.

Two years had past since he set foot in this realm of Midgard. Two years since he had seen the mortals scurrying about on their rock that they called Earth. Two years since he had seen a certain mortal man whom he had grown rather... fond of.

It took him less than two hours to find the man when he finally got down to it. The hardest part, admittedly, had been the casting of the magical story that gave him access to a seat next to the man. The computer had succumbed eventually, however, and one poor unfortunate soul lost his claim to the seat so that Loki could walk aboard the plane and, with an elegance that defied the circumstances, sit calmly next to Phil Coulson in a commercial flight back to the United States.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

sonofcoul

Coulson's smile grew. "I'll do my best. Although I don't know how well 'The Joys of Flying Coach' would fit on any self-respecting entertainment roster."

From:

justabitoffun

Loki glanced around at the spacious plane with all its passengers packed into the cabin. He was ignoring the sounds and smells like a pro before but now he took the time to take them in. His nose wrinkled in disgust.

Then he tilted his head to one side as he glanced back at Coulson. "Well. That can be easily remedied..."

From:

sonofcoul

He paused, looking around slowly. It was a tempting offer. Flying commercial sucked. "Well... I wouldn't mind. If it wasn't noticed and we weren't missed."

From:

justabitoffun

"Of course."

There was a pause as Loki sat back in his seat and closed his eyes for a moment. It only took a few seconds for Loki to write a script and put it into place. When he opened his eyes, the two of them were in a very different set of seats.

It was sunset in Mumbai and the two of them had a perfect view of the effects of the sun's diminishing light as it played along the coastal water.

From:

sonofcoul

Coulson took a deep breath of the fresh air and let out a soft content sigh.

"And nowhere to be for the entire length of a transatlantic flight. I am going to enjoy this."

From:

justabitoffun

"You're welcome."

Being away from the packed crowd also gave the god the confidence to touch Coulson for the first time since they'd been reunited. Tentatively, at first, his fingers trailed lightly over the agent's hand.

From:

sonofcoul

Coulson's response was anything but tentative. He promptly threaded his fingers through Loki's own.

"I missed you. I'm glad you're here."

From:

justabitoffun

Loki sighed in contentment and curled his fingers possessively around Coulson's own. "I spent a lot of time alone in the past two years," he said and then paused, perhaps not quite certain where he was going with the line. But the follow-up seemed inevitable. "It was not as pleasant as the two years before that."

From:

sonofcoul

"I can't say I've spent nearly as much time in solitude. But I can say that having people around was never the same as having you around."

From:

justabitoffun

The god leaned into Coulson affectionately like a cuddly cat, soaking up the warmth and comfort the other provided simply by being close. It was hard to understand just how much the heart ached until it no longer had reason to. He didn't know if it was the right decision to come here like this now, but he knew he didn't care. He would not rather have been anywhere else than here in this moment.

From:

sonofcoul

He smiled, leaning back into Loki as he watched the sunset. So much time and so much stress separated him from the last time he had seen the god, and yet all of that seemed to just melt away in the moment. He was under no illusion that it wouldn't return, but for this once, he would be perfectly happy to just savor the moment.

From:

justabitoffun

Though the moment was precious there was only so much time that could pass in silence. Eventually, Loki broke that silence with a softly spoken observation. "There is a lot of time to make up for being apart..."

From:

sonofcoul

Coulson nodded. "A lot of time, and I'm sure a lot of life lived in it. Making up for all that won't necessarily be simple." He looked over at Loki. "But seeing you here... I know it's doable."

From:

justabitoffun

Loki gave him that half-hearted, half-saddened smile that seemed to be the god's trademark and then glanced away. Such sentiment...

"Yes, well. I was being a lot less romantic than that, truth be told," the Trickster said with a somewhat sheepish laugh.

From:

sonofcoul

Coulson let out a soft laugh himself and just shook his head ruefully. "Well, that's me for you, I guess. Pressing on against all odds and everything."

From:

justabitoffun

The god shifted slightly in his seat and looked at Coulson, truly looked at him, for the first time that evening. Loki had not taken his time in finding the agent of SHIELD, but there were some things that could not go unnoticed in a search. Tentatively, he asked about the most obvious of things he had heard.

"So I am well aware. It is not in your nature. I... have heard some news, also, of fairly recent events in your realm now that I am returned. Thus considering such nature, I wonder... about you... about what you are doing."

From:

sonofcoul

Well, there was absolutely no question what fairly recent events Loki was referring to. "The fall of SHIELD," he murmured, looking back over the water. "Yeah, that would come up." He paused. "As for what I'm doing... well, like I said. Pressing on against all odds."

From:

justabitoffun

Loki pursed his lips, and though he was not angry at Coulson for avoiding the question with a true answer, he was not pleased with the little he received in reply to his fishing statements. He, too, glanced back out towards the water. The surface was calm and peaceful tonight, and only the faintest of waves rippled along its currents in a soothing manner. Loki did his best to mirror that calmness and relaxed his pose even more as he sunk further into the bench next to Coulson. His grip on the agent's hand loosened, but did not falter. He did not need to control his companion, only be with him.

"Your realm has labeled your precious organization a terrorist group," he said, not unkindly but merely matter-of-fact, "and I am merely curious what that means to you. No, I know what it means. I know where your heart lies." He rubbed his thumb soothingly over the back of Phillip's hand. "Yet I do not know what you will do without it. I cannot fathom you as anything else but my little agent."

From:

sonofcoul

He took a deep breath. "It means it's harder. It means we have more obstacles to contend with and fewer resources to use while doing so. But the principles that created SHIELD were pure, and the purpose that made it necessary hasn't changed."

He looked back over at Loki after that. "It means I'm not doing anything without it, because it's still there, if a bit downsized. And I got a bit of a promotion."

From:

justabitoffun

The god returned Coulson's gaze when it fell back to him. He took a moment to take in Coulson's words and then smiled faintly. "I should not even had to ask what you would be doing. You will forever and always be my precious little agent."

But the last words spoken by thus agent were not lost on the god. He frowned slightly, thoughtfully before going on. "Why do I have the feeling that this so-called promotion is going to get in my way of having my way with you?" He said it lightly, an awkward attempt at humor, and yet failing short of his typical enthusiasm for jokes and teasing prods. He wasn't sure yet if he liked this new situation he found himself in, that he found Coulson already deep within.

From:

sonofcoul

"Because to be honest, sometimes it will." He shrugs. "Sometimes it should help, though." Something close to a smile appeared on his face. "Nobody to answer to but myself, so there's that. But I can be a hell of a taskmaster."

From:

justabitoffun

Loki's expression remained neutral. Though it was a hard task it was helped by the fact that Loki wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this information. A part of him was ecstatic, to be sure, but another, more rational side of him whispered that it wasn't as nice as it sounded. That it would get in the way as much as it would make some things easier on their relationship. He may have also been worried what affect it would have on Coulson in a more direct and personal manner.

He told himself to calm down, and that the last thought was overly ridiculous because clearly the agent was glad to see him and so far nothing seemed to be amiss. Things changed with time. Especially in the mortal realm. He would have to get over it. Adapt. It wasn't something the people of Asgard did often but Loki was better than that. He always had to be.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then put on a smile for Coulson. "I see. Quite the promotion."

From:

sonofcoul

Coulson let out a huff that wasn't quite laughter. "Yeah. Kind of blindsided me, to be perfectly honest. What with... with everything that's been going on... there was no way I would have seen it coming."

He was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. Feeling the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders. "But it came, and I accepted it, and it's on me, now. I have to do right by SHIELD."

From:

justabitoffun

"I suppose the head of SHIELD does not take vacations." He said in idle observation. It begged the question: what happened to the former Director of SHIELD? Loki had a hard time imagining such a beast of a man giving up too easily. It also made one wonder how many agents were taken out, or betrayed the organization to join the serpent hiding within it, during all the chaos that made Coulson the most qualified agent to lead the leftovers as a whole.

It was not Loki's concern, he decided. What mattered to him sat beside him and nothing else. If Coulson asked him to do the math and make a decision based upon it then he would do so. But otherwise, it was not his concern to worry over.

"What then, is he doing all the way out here?" Or to be more precise, what was he doing when Loki found and diverted him.

From:

sonofcoul

"He's on a recruiting trip." He shook his head a little, because he was not going to keep talking about himself in the third person. "Tracking down people I can trust. Or... at least trust enough. But it requires face time. So it requires racking up frequent flier miles."