Chapter Text
“There you go.” The young woman behind the counter smiled widely as she pushed a paper cup towards Astrid. It was the kind of polite smile people serving others often had because they had no choice but to smile if they wanted to go on with their lives without being bothered by the whims of people not understanding or not caring enough about others to think about it. Astrid knew that smile well. She had perfectioned it herself over centuries after all.
“Thank you.” She briefly smiled back at the barista before taking her order from the counter and threw the change the woman had given her into a jar for tips. “Have a nice day.”
The woman noticed the tip and her smile turned a little bit more genuine as she smiled back at Astrid. “You, too!” She nodded one last time as a goodbye before turning to the next customer as Astrid left the store again.
When she stepped out of the door, she stopped again and took in a deep breath of Oslo’s crisp autumn air. She had been in Midgard for a little over two months now, but she had to admit, so far, she liked Norway most. The weather reminded her of Asgard, of long nights by the fire and careless days in the gardens. Or at least of days as careless as they could ever be at Asgard.
She hadn’t expected that when she had left Vanaheim. But then again, she didn’t know what she had expected back then. She only had known that she had to get moving. Loki had sent her a message by sending his brother with a message to her doorstep. He must have had a plan. And she would answer his call.
As long as the night exists, the stars will preserve.
It was a riddle. Vague enough for Thor and Sif to interpret it as a last reassurance of Loki’s undying love to her, but for Astrid, it was a sign. A promise. Loki was alive. If he had wanted her to know that he loved her, he would have told her so. This ... this was different. He was planning something and since Thor thought him dead, this plan didn’t include his brother. But it did include Astrid. Or at least he wanted to spare her the pain of believing him dead as well. She only had to find him wherever had gone into hiding.
For the last three months, Astrid had travelled to every place she could think of where Loki could have been waiting for her. She had visited Sigyn, traveled to Ebony Castle, and even thought about visiting Jotunheim to find Loki, but in the end, she went to Midgard instead. If Loki truly had gone into hiding, Midgard would have been a clever bet. It was peaceful for now and Thor had bigger problems than looking after his favorite world which meant it would be relatively easy to hide there. Especially since Loki knew Midgard as well. He had visited it often enough over the years, sometimes as himself and sometimes in disguise. And, most importantly, Midgard had been the last place where they had been able to meet each other before Thor’s betrayal. It only would have made sense if Loki would wait for Astrid there now.
Sighing, Astrid turned around to slowly walk down the road back towards the small apartment she had rented when she had arrived at Oslo. Or, to be precise, which she had tricked the owner into believing she had rented it. Astrid’s illusions never had been as good as Loki’s, but they were good enough to trick Midgardians who had no clue of magic and powers like hers. That way, she had managed to be left alone while searching for Loki even as she traveled over the whole planet only to find one dead end after another.
A brush of air rushed through the street and with a shudder, Astrid pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders. Winter certainly would be early this year; she could feel it in her bones. It always made her nostalgic. On days like that, she missed Asgard, no matter the pain and betrayal lingering for her there. At this time of the year, back long before she even fell for Loki, she used to be knees deep into the preparations for the midwinter’s ball, setting up the guest list, arranging possible venues and decoration themes, talking to the best tailors in all of Asgard for the Queen’s dress. She would have grumbled about all the work, but in the end, it would have been worth it. It always was. And even later, when the Queen wouldn’t keep her as her lady because of Astrid’s scandalous relationship with Loki, this whole time would have been hectic and filled with preparations and social events. And each night, she would have returned to Loki’s chambers to find him gently joking about her bad mood, knowing that his teasing words always took her mind off things and relaxed her.
Astrid was so deep in thought that she nearly wouldn’t have noticed the man following her. Of course, he was subtle, but still, when Astrid did notice him near her for the third time, she didn’t believe in a coincidence anymore. Not when someone wore casual clothes like him but moved like a warrior, nevertheless.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Astrid sighed and took a turn into a small park, not much more than a bench under a few trees, but it gave her enough cover to quickly duck out of sight for a second. When the man followed her, she already had taken a seat on one of the benches, raising her brows with a smile as he entered the park. “Looking for me?”
Just for a split second, surprise flashed over his face, but then, his professionalism took over and he casually walked closer, his hands buried in his pockets.
“You’re an interesting woman, Lady Astrid,” he said. “More difficult to find than I would have thought.”
Astrid chuckled and took a sip from her coffee. “If you know who I am you cannot be surprised that I’m careful.”
“Point taken.” Slowly, he took a seat next to her. “I have orders to bring you to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. base.”
“Bold of you to believe I would just go and accompany anyone of your organization.”
He shot her a disdainful glance. “May I remind you: You’re on our planet.”
Astrid smiled politely, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I may not understand much about your politics here at Midgard, but I do realize that Oslo isn’t part of your home realm. S.H.I.E.L.D. has no authority here.” She turned her head, her gaze now cold and hard. “In other words: You have no power here either.”
“That might be true, but you’re still subject to the throne of Asgard, are you not?” He shifted in his seat to drape one arm over the back of the bench and slightly tilted his head. “It’s not S.H.I.E.L.D. who has an interest in you, it’s Asgard.”
Astrid’s face immediately hardened, and she rose from her seat. “You can tell Thor that I still have no interest in reconciling with him.”
She turned around just in time to see the man flinch for a split second but apart from that, he remained unmoved. “The God of Thunder didn’t ask us to bring you home.”
Frowning, Astrid tilted her head. “Then who did?”
“The Allfather.”
For a moment, Astrid felt the urge to laugh. The idea was nothing but absurd. Odin hated her. He always had and he always would. There was no way in Hel that he would ask her to return home. No, he probably was glad that she had disappeared after all. Why shouldn’t he be? It must have been what he always had wanted.
“That’s ridiculous,” she said and shook her head. “You should work on your lies and come up with a better one next time.”
“I’m telling you the truth.” He sighed as he slowly rose to his feet. “We got a message from Asgard that Odin is searching for you to reconcile. Apparently, he’s grieving over his wife’s and his son’s death and wishes to make peace.”
Astrid raised her brows. That was the exact opposite from what she would have expected from the old man. In fact, she still was at least half sure that whatever Odin wanted from her, it would lead to a trap. But then again, there was a part of her who was curious what he wanted from her. After years and years of refusing to even acknowledge her, even when she had turned against Asgard, he finally wanted … what? To talk? Her help? Imprison her? At least the last option was impossible. If he truly would have tried that, he would have had to give the rest of the world a very good reason for that. Otherwise, there would have been enough people – Sif for one, same as Sigyn and maybe even Thor himself – who would have protested against a punishment like that. The exact kind of reason he didn’t have.
Astrid narrowed her eyes at the man before her and weighed her options. There was no good decision to make here. If she refused, S.H.I.E.L.D. would hunt her all over Midgard when she actually was here to search for Loki. And if she agreed, she maybe stepped right into Odin’s trap. Both options were risky and both options would make her search more difficult. And yet, she had to make a decision.
“It seems Asgard refuses to let go of me,” she finally said and tilted her head. “Let’s see what it wants from me this time.”
A smile crossed her lips and winked at the man before her. He cursed and finally – just a moment too late – realized what was about to happen.
“Lady Astrid, wait—” He jumped forward to reach out for her and hold her back, but his fingers grazed nothing but the empty air where Astrid had stood only a moment ago. “Fuck!”
As he called his team, barking orders to search for the woman who had just disappeared, Astrid already was on her way leaving Midgard as quietly as she had appeared here. Her next target was elsewhere.
Back at home. Or whatever Asgard was for her these days.