Tony spent another half hour or so in comfortable silence with me, which was somehow more therapeutic than I thought it would be. His very presence was soothing to my nerves in a way that was purely Tony. Eventually he pulled away from the hug, insisting that I needed rest.

"Can't have you missing your beauty sleep," He winked, before heading towards the door.

I quickly reached out for his arm as he rose off the bed, gripping his sleeve gently.

"Hey Tony, can you do me a favor? I'd wager that I have about two minutes after you walk out that door before either Steve or Clint comes barging in to make sure I'm okay. Could you let them know that I'm trying to sleep?" I hesitated for a moment. "I know they're trying to help, but I need some time alone."

Tony put a hand over mine and gave a serious nod.

"I'll pass on the message, sunshine."

He gave me a brilliant grin before heading out of the room, and as he walked through the doorway I caught a brief glimpse of a familiar figure.

"Well, fancy meeting you here, Legolas," I heard Tony drawl out. "Unfortunately our resident celebrity isn't taking interviews at the moment, so-"

His voice cut out as the door clicked shut, and I couldn't help but smile. The knowledge that I had so many people on my side sent a wave of warmth throughout my chest. They really were the best.

The events of today seemed to set in suddenly and I found myself fighting off a yawn. It was nowhere near my usual bedtime, but hey, I was an adult and I could go to sleep as early as I wanted, so there.

My head barely hit the pillow before I was fast asleep.

!@#$%

I knew the dream was different from the very beginning. It was the innate sense of otherness that surrounded me before my eyes even opened, as my mind instinctually felt that I was somewhere that I should not be.

I hesitated for a while on opening my eyes, wondering somewhat childishly if I could make everything stay normal by keeping them shut.

My curiosity quickly won out however, when I felt a warm breeze caress my cheek. The sight in front of me when I opened my eyes was both marvelous and terrifying, a combination that set my heart racing.

I was seated on the wonderfully crafted metal railing of a second story balcony, looking out over busy streets that were certainly not my own. The streets were cobbled and quaint, and townspeople clothed in various robes and older style dresses passed by, creating a pleasant buzz of conversation below me.

Above the humming streets, was a looming golden castle, its spires reaching towards the sky in a sight that took my breath away. It looked like something from a painting, and could only be one place.

Asgard.

Thor had described it well enough, though his words didn't do it justice. This place was gorgeous, and completely unlike anything I had ever seen before.

I found myself leaning forward, careful not to lose my balance on the railing. The setting sun cast light off of the walls of the palace, sending bits of light off that I swear glittered like the stars in the sky. I reached forward without thinking, and caught sight of the fabric around my arm as I did so. For the first time since opening my eyes I glanced down at myself, noticing what I was wearing.

A beautiful green gown draped over my form, long sleeved and made of a fantastic silk that felt like heaven against my skin. Golden jewelry adorned my neck and wrists, and I instantly froze at the sight.

Green and gold.

How cliche.

I let out a deep sigh, and slowly turned away from the magnificent sight before me.

As I expected, Loki stood there, ten feet away and staring at me with the same expression I had wanted to knock off of his face so many times before.

"Long time no see," I drawled, trying to hold back any of my emotions from bleeding into my tone.

Loki simply smirked, his eyes shimmering in the twilight around us.

His hands were clasped behind his back, and he began walking towards me at a casual pace. He was in no hurry to get anywhere, and it gave me more time to study him.

He wasn't wearing his armor.

That was the first thing I noticed. He seemed softer somehow in his casual clothes, a deep green tunic and dark pants. I didn't even realize what he looked like in clothes that weren't meant for battle. It showed a bit of who he could be without all the death and destruction that he sought so viciously, and it was a nice change.

Loki reached the railing and leaned against the metal, staring out at his home world.

"This isn't a kidnapping, right?" I asked after a moment. "I mean, it feels like a dream. A really weird one that I'm not sure is even possible, but still a dream."

Loki turned to look at me with a smile. His gaze burned into me, and I purposely looked anywhere but his eyes.

"Yes, unfortunately. It took me a while to perfect the spell, but it seems as though the connection went through without a problem," He murmured, eyes roaming slowly down my form.

I forced myself to stare out at the castle in order to hide my blush.

"The dress fits you wonderfully, Samantha. You're beautiful," He spoke, his voice far too soft for my liking.

I rolled my eyes, flipping my legs over the railing so that I was facing out towards the city, feet dangling over the streets below. I briefly thought of kicking my gorgeous golden heels off and letting them fall, but thought better of it.

"Yeah, not too thrilled about being forced to play dress up. Or at a forced visit to an alien world, for that matter," I grumbled.

I didn't have to see his face to know that he was smiling, and it infuriated me. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, I could never truly escape him.

"I needed to see you," He said.

I let out a scoff, never looking away from the streets below.

"Well here I am. Good for you. Now, if you really wanted to be useful, you'd tell me who you're working with." I spoke, finally looking down at Loki.

He sighed deeply in annoyance and shut his eyes. He stayed that way for another moment, unmoving, and I felt the urge to cross my arms impatiently.

He peeked through one eye to see that I was still staring, and let out a huff.

"Can't we just enjoy the view, for once? Pretend as though we're simply two lovesick fools that snuck away to catch a glimpse of the sunset?" Loki asked, waving a hand out to the beautiful view in front of us.

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Loki, nothing you've ever done has screamed out 'I want to escape my fate and live a simple life'. All you've done is fight for a role bigger than you already have. You enjoy fighting for the title of 'ruler' despite being the god of chaos," I pointed out.

"So I'm sorry that I can't get behind the whole roleplay thing, but the freaky inception dream shit also isn't helping."

Loki let out another sigh.

"And here I thought you would enjoy seeing Asgard for yourself," He looked back out at the city.

I shrugged.

"Oh it's gorgeous, don't get me wrong. Thor told me tons of stories about this place,"

At the mention of his brother's name, Loki immediately stiffened.

"I assume the oaf tried to poison your feelings towards me with tales of my betrayal," He ground out between gritted teeth.

God, Loki was thick. How he didn't see the depth of his brother's love towards him was absolutely baffling to me. He was forever stuck in the mindset that no one loved him, that he was unwanted. When I had first met him I found it relatable, but now it was just frustrating.

"No, actually," I said. "He told me of all the times you fought together. Stories of you growing up side by side. He spoke of you as though you were everything to him, Loki. He also told me about your mother, that she taught you everything you know about magic."

Loki's shoulders immediately dropped, the tension leaving as soon as it had came. I could instantly see how much she meant to him by the way that the anger left his eyes, replaced instead with something that looked suspiciously like regret.

"Frigga, yes," He breathed out. "She taught me what I know, though she is not truly my mother."

My arm acted of its own accord and shot out at Loki, smacking him harshly on the arm. His brows knit together in confusion, and he looked up at me with an incredulous expression on his face.

"What was that f-"

"That, was for being both an idiot and an asshole," I glared at him. "Your mother is your mother. She raised you, she loved you. She taught you everything she knows about sorcery because she cares about you, not because she pitied the poor blue child her husband brought home,"

"Your brother also loves you. You should have seen him when he spoke about you, Loki. There was so much pride and joy in his voice when he told me about everything you two had done while growing up," I sent him a pointed glance. "And there was so much pain, too. He loves you and you refuse to see that, you continue to act on the premise of your entire family despising you, despite countless evidence that shows how untrue that is. Do you know how much that hurts him?"

I tried to make him understand.

"Doesn't that hurt you too?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Loki didn't answer, but searched through my eyes as though it would help him understand. I wished it could. That somehow he would get it, that he'd realize he could be happy with what he already had instead of always wanting more. Even as I pleaded, I knew inside that his ambition would never let him be satisfied. He was eternally destined to be Icarus, flying desperately towards the sun in hopes that it would stop his pain.

He turned away from me, glancing down.

"There are things you don't understand, Samantha. Things greater than the two of us," He sighed, leaning back off of the railing. "The universe you know is naive and starry-eyed. Always looking to the stars for answers, yet afraid of what you'll find. But answers will come, and you will see exactly how insignificant you all are. A fleck of ash in the face of what is to come."

Well, that was charming.

Despite his crazy ass rant, I could tell by staring at him that Loki was stirred by his own words. He seemed to be genuine, but more than that, some part of him looked scared. I didn't know what to make of that information, so I simply looked at Loki and let him continue.

Loki met my gaze, and shook his head.

"I wish you could understand, but you never will. You'll never see what's coming."

He reached forward, placing a soft hand against my cheek. I found myself leaning into it without intending to, and I let out a small sigh of my own.

"So I guess that means you won't tell me who you're working with, huh?" I quipped.

Loki dropped his hand with a tight smile.

"Were this universe kinder to us, my love, I would tell you everything." He backed away, heading slowly for the door.

He stopped as he made it to the doorway and glanced back towards me. He stared for a long moment, as though taking in a piece of artwork.

"Goodbye, darling," He finally spoke, turning away. "Enjoy your rest. I suspect you'll need it."

As Loki's back faded from view, I turned for once last look at the city beneath me. Even in a dream, Asgard was something I'd never forget.

My eyes sought out the golden spires of the castle, and I found myself wondering what life would have been like had I been born here, instead of some small farming town in Iowa.

The setting sun felt warm against my skin, and I smiled up at the sky.

!@#$%

As I woke in my SHIELD quarters, I instinctively shot upright and looked down at myself to make sure that I wasn't wearing some new freaky outfit.

To my relief, I was in my plain pajamas that SHIELD had given me, and not a silk gown. No ridiculous jewelry either, which was a plus.

I flopped back onto my bed with a groan. Why did all the weird stuff have to happen to me? Loki could hijack dreams? When did that become a thing? Dreams were one escape from reality that now no longer existed for me, it seemed.

Pulling out my phone to check the time, I saw that it was only three in the morning.

Part of me considered rolling over and going back to sleep, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to rest after that dream. My mind was racing far too fast for that, so I simply pulled on some clothes and headed out for a walk.

Or I would have, had I not nearly tripped over my brother's sleeping form on the ground outside of my door. He was leaning up against the wall across from my door, arms crossed and head lolled forward in what looked like the most uncomfortable sleeping position I'd ever seen.

I neatly stepped over his legs, and shook my head in disbelief.

"You're an idiot, you know that Birdy?" I laughed softly to myself.

My words roused him, and he jolted awake with a slight flail of his arms. Part of me wished that I had thought of filming this, but he was already awake. He blinked rapidly, as though trying to remember exactly where he was, relaxing slightly only when noticed me standing above him.

"Sammie," He mumbled, voice still thick with sleep. "I was waiting for you."

I smiled, and held out a hand to help him up.

"Yeah, I noticed, you dork," I grunted slightly as I pulled Clint's heavy form off of the floor. "Why didn't you just come in?"

He shook his body out, trying to force the sleep from his system. At my words he looked sheepish, but shrugged as though the answer was simple.

"Tony said you needed to be alone. I didn't want to get in the way of that."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you were going to sleep on the floor outside my room." I elbowed him in the side.

Clint just stayed silent for a moment, scratching his neck as he searched for the right words to say. I looked up at him with my hands on my hips, wondering when my brother became such a nerd. I also wondered when he became so tall, as part of me genuinely wished for a stepstool in order to be at eye level with him.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," He finally admitted. "That's my job. That's always been my job."

I couldn't keep the smile from forming on my lips. Clint always worried too much about me. It was endearing, though. And he was right, he had always been the one looking out for me, making sure that I had everything I needed.

A flash of guilt went through me as I fully processed the fact that he had been sleeping outside my door just to make sure that I was alright, and I told Tony to turn him away. I should have confided in Clint, I should have let him know that I was okay, instead of making him wait for me.

"I'm okay Birdy, really," I smiled apologetically up at him. "But I got way too much sleep last night and now I'm hungry. Want to go see if SHIELD has any grub at three in the morning?"

I offered my arm to him, and he took it with a roll of his eyes.

"It's SHIELD, Sam. They always have food."

And as we walked towards the cafeteria, I tried suppressing yet another surge of guilt at not telling Clint about the dream. It would only worry him, and there's nothing that we could do about it, right? It's not like Loki told me anything important.

There was no point in stressing him out any more than he already was, I decided.

For now, I'd simply let myself relax and enjoy this time spent with my big brother.

!@#$%

remember when I said there would be more plot in this chapter? haaaa. surprise - there's not, so have some loki instead!

as always, thanks for reading, you guys are the best <3