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"I will admit," Loki said as he rubbed his jaw. "I may have deserved that."
Sif was silent as she glared at him with angry eyes. Loki would admit that he had not thought this through when he sought her out. He was only thinking about finding Sif, confirming her presence on the ship, trying to assure himself that she had not been among the fallen. He had not given any thought to his reception. He probably should have.
He made himself stand up straight as he worked his jaw a few times, trying to be sure that all was in order. He placed more levity into his voice than he felt as he said, "You still throw a punch as well as ever."
"You are not funny." Sif said with a growl.
"It was a compliment!" He told her, holding his hands up in supplication. "Let's not fight."
That was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Sif quickly threw another punch. This one, Loki was able to dodge. He would admit, that she was more upset than he expected. Perhaps he had relaxed a bit since Thor seemed to forgive him so easily. That was foolish of him. Thor always forgave him eventually, Sif rarely did.
"Calm down!" He urged.
His words went unheeded as Sif lunged at him. Loki wasn't able to dodge fast enough and he hissed as his head hit the floor painfully hard. Sif was straddling him now and she brought her fists down to the ground beside his head. "Don't you dare tell me to be calm!" She yelled. "Our home is gone! We're drifting aimlessly through space!"
"Not aimless." Loki muttered, trying to rub his aching skull. It was not the best time to be correcting her, but he truly couldn't help himself.
"I thought you were dead! "She screamed, bring her fist down beside his head once more. "Again!"
"Well, I'm not." He stated calmly.
"No, instead you were playing All-Father. Right in front of me and you didn't even say anything!" There was a look in her eyes that he couldn't interpret, but he didn't spend much time attempting to do as he replied.
"What was I supposed to say?" Loki asked. "Don't mind me, just saving Asgard from a mad tyrant." He didn't bother trying to clarify who he was referring to, it didn't matter much in this moment and Loki wasn't interested in explaining (or examining) his motives just now.
"You could have said anything!"
Loki's eyes finally flashed with anger and he began to raise his voice as well. "Last time I was king rightly and you betrayed me. You think I would alert you when I was a true usurper?"
"I thought you could be bothered to say that you lived," She hissed. "I thought you trusted me." Sif's expression was half anger and half sorrow. That simply fueled his own emotions. Loki grabbed Sif's thighs and rolled them over, keeping them tightly pinned to his side.
"I did trust you! Did you think I sent you on all those missions for nothing? For Norn's sake, I trusted you with an infinity stone!"
"Everything but the truth," She countered.
"The truth?" Loki barked out a harsh laugh as he released her legs and stood up. "You all ask for the truth as if that is such an easy thing to give."
"It is, Loki." She said as she picked herself up.
"Not for me," He told her. "You assume the truth is some unchanging constant. Well, I have no constant! I cannot be unchanging like the rest of you."
"Then tell me the truth now." Sif demanded, taking a step toward him.
"What is there to tell that you do not already know?" He questioned.
"Your truth," She insisted. "What truth does silver tongue Loki have right now?"
This was becoming frustrating. If Loki wanted to repeat himself in circles, he could suffer Thor's company. "I just told you," He growled.
"I know what you told me!" Sif exclaimed. "I don't care if it changes two seconds from now. I don't care if it's wicked or unbelievable. I don't care if it's shallow. Tell me one thing, any one true thing about yourself in this moment, Loki. And I'll believe it. I swear to you that I will." Sif's eyes were pleading, exposing all the desperation and vulnerability within her.
That brought Loki up short a moment. There were very few times Loki had seen that expression on her face and he'd never been sure what to do with it. Loki wasn't sure what she wanted from him. He could proclaim a loyalty to Asgard or to Thor. That had always seemed to please her in the past and he saw no reason it wouldn't do so again. On the other hand, he could confess his hatred for both if he wanted to stroke her ire. It wasn't as if both those things had not been true, after all.
He had truths to anger her and to put her at ease, but he didn't want to give either of those. He didn't know what she wanted from him, but he had sought her out. He could perhaps give her a truth more precious than either of those. He didn't speak right away. Instead, he reached out a hand to touch her hair, night black when it was once so golden. A mark that he both cherished and regretted in his time. He spun the lock of hair loosely around his finger.
"I told you the truth once," he said softly. "You didn't believe me." He well remembered the first time she had called him a liar and it wasn't in jest. He was certain that she would, too.
"I will this time," She promised. "Tell me."
Instead of speaking, he tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her to him for a kiss. It was long and languid. Sif stood frozen for a few precious heartbeats, but when Loki slid his tongue across her lip, she opened for him immediately. Her arms came up around his neck and she surged forward, pressing her body tightly against his own.
They were both breathless when they finally broke apart.
"This is my truth," he told her." You can take it or leave it."
Left unspoken between them, but still loud as could be, was the truth that last time she had chosen to leave it. To discard it like so many had done with his words over the years.
Sif stared into his eyes for a long moment, searching for lies and truth in equal measure. His expression didn't falter as he waited for her to reply. It was not as honest as hers was in this moment, but neither did he try to hide his feelings from her. Finally, her lips spread into a smile and she reached out to him.
"I'll take it," she told him, then she tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him in for a kiss.