Layla wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. She had been practicing her weapon work on a dummy in the training room. The others could use this down time for naps or leisure activities, but not her. This was war, after all, and she knew she needed to be prepared. Sure, she was trying her best to maintain her happy-go-lucky personality through this, but at the same time the ever increasing sense of doom was starting to drag her down. Whether she liked it or not, she knew they were becoming ever closer to the inevitable showdown with Thanos. It was only a matter of time really. She didn't want to be the one caught off guard. She only wished the others felt the same.

She sat down on a bench, setting her sword down beside her. She would've preferred using her gun, but she was dumb and forgot to pack blanks for her to practice shooting with. Not that she was overly worried about her marksmanship. Layla had finished top of her class during their S.H.I.E.L.D. training days, much to Anja's dismay. Not that Anja had a bad shot either. Layla made it a point to stay up-to-date on her marksmanship, and she had spent many hours at the range before heading to New York for the holidays. Although if she had known this was going to happen, maybe she would've practiced longer.
Not that she thought bullets were going to do anything against Thanos.

Layla wiped her hands on her pants, just as she heard the door to the room click shut. The young woman looked up to see Thor walking towards her. The two of them hadn't really had any time by themselves since before Jotunheim, so Layla was admittedly a bit nervous about being around him. Something about Thor just put her on edge.

She was just trying to tell herself it wasn't the fact that she found him incredibly attractive.

"You've been practicing, I see," he noted as he came to a stop in front of her. He glanced at the bench next to her and caught a glimpse of her weapon. "Can't say I've ever seen you use a sword before."

Layla shrugged. "There's a first time for everything."

Thor laughed, but Layla didn't hear as much joy in it as she usually did. "I suppose that's true. Not a bad idea to practice with an unfamiliar weapon. You never know what you may end up having to use in battle."

"I think I much prefer these," Layla retorted, raising her hands before igniting them with her powers. The flames danced around her palms, and seeing them put a mischievous smile on her face.

"Fair enough," Thor replied. "You've gotten quite proficient with your abilities since we last fought together during Sokovia. One of the last times I saw you conjure a flame you almost burnt down the tower."

"Psh, no I didn't," Layla laughed, shaking her hands, ridding them of flames. "I had better control than that by then." Thor raised an eyebrow, and Layla corrected her statement. "Okay, so maybe I almost caught the training room on fire, but that wasn't entirely my fault."

"Of course it wasn't," Thor sarcastically agreed. "I suppose it was Anja who burned everything with her ice."

"You never know with that one," Layla muttered, smirking. "She is a bit special."

"That is one word for it," Thor said with a laugh. "She should be in here practicing too instead of napping."
Layla shrugged. "Apparently your brother has been helping her learn her magic better, but I'm not sure how much learning is actually going on given their uh... attraction."

Thor shook his head. "Perhaps it is best we don't know. I am just glad Loki has found someone who can keep up with his shenanigans, although I am a bit shocked it ended up being Anja. I remember her being the quiet and reserved one."

Layla nodded, leaning back against the wall and resting her hand on her sword's hilt. "Anja has come a long way since our last misadventure. After the whole her being the other woman thing came to light, she's been a lot more... feisty, for a lack of better words. She always had a smart mouth, but it's gotten a lot worse. I think her sass and sarcasm is her defense mechanism now."

"Except it backfired," Thor added. "Majorly."

"Exactly!" Layla replied. "A match made in heaven."

Thor smirked. "Or Hel."

Layla shook her head. "Or Hel," she agreed. "Honestly I'm not sure what's going to come out of them being together, but hey. As long as they're happy, that's all that matters."

Thor rubbed the back of his neck, and Layla couldn't help but stare at the strain of his arm muscles. "He seems to be turning over a new leaf. But who knows," he laughed. "Maybe he's just molding your friend into the perfect partner for taking over the world."

"Anja ruling the world in itself is somehow more terrifying than your brother," Layla replied. "I think some of her ideas would probably piss a lot of people off. Not that her ideas are bad; humans are just terrible and don't know what's good for them."

Thor laughed again, shaking his head. "Fair enough."

Layla stared at him for a moment. Not that talking about Loki and Anja wasn't interesting, but she wanted to know more about him. About what they could be. Layla wasn't afraid to admit she was fond of the God of Thunder. She had been eyeing him for some time, but never had an opportunity to say anything. As soon as the battle with Ultron ended, Thor went off to search for the Infinity Stones, leaving Layla and the others on Earth to deal with their own issues. Him showing up at the tower was the first she had seen of him since. It would be nice to finally have some sort of closure.

Layla didn't want to bring this up, but she knew she had to if she wanted some answers. "What about you? Whatever happened with Jane Foster?"

Thor's features were suddenly much more stone-like. Layla touched a sore spot. The man shrugged. "We are just friends," he answered. "It was decided after Ultron things were just not going to work out. Our responsibilities and goals in life did not align, and we decided it was likely they never would." He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "My duties as Princ- er, King of Asgard kept me away from Midgard for long periods of time. Understandably, she didn't care for that much."

Layla nodded slowly. "I'm sorry to hear about that."

"What about you? Weren't you seeing some Dean fellow during my last trip to Midgard?" Thor asked back.

Dean. Layla resisted rolling her eyes as she shrugged. "Yeah, but he was more into the family business and some other guy to give me the time of day," she answered. "We're cool still, but that was going nowhere fast. Plus I feel like he was only really talking to me so his brother, Sam, had a better shot with Anja. But she was too distraught post-Clint that she didn't care about some hot guy talking to her."

Thor mirrored her response to his relationship's demise. "I'm sorry to hear that."

She smiled and shrugged again in response. "It is what it is, you know? Besides, I can't imagine he would've been fond of this whole space ordeal. I need someone who understands this aspect of my life."

"Someone like me," Thor replied.

Layla felt her heart skip a beat. Did he know? She decided to try to play it off. "Well, I mean I guess," she answered sheepishly. "There are plenty of us in the hero business these days. I like to think I have a pretty wide selection of suitors."

Thor laughed. "You guess?"

Layla swallowed, and then laughed nervously. Oh yeah, he definitely knew. "Well I mean, there's you, Steve, Bruce, Sam, Rhodes, Bucky- but Spencer would kill me, T'Challa, Scott- but he has a kid, Fury, and probably some others I'm missing," she listed, counting on her fingers. "And there are some who are in relationships or underaged, but I'm not about that life so they don't count."

"You sure? I thought you and Anthony once were a thing, and he is in a relationship," Thor pointed out.

She knew he was going to bring that up. "We slept together a few times when he and Pepper were on a break. That's it. It was never anything serious. We both knew that."

Thor nodded. "Fair enough."

"Love him dearly, but not like that," Layla insisted. "We clash too much, and a relationship with him would have been a disaster."

"Understandable. You've got plenty of other options."

"Oh yeah. So many," Layla said with a laugh. "Going to go on Avengers Tinder later and find a match. I'm sure there's a good one."

Thor sighed. "Who are you trying to kid? Me, or yourself?" he questioned. "I think I would have to be blind to not notice."

"You mean... more blind than you already are?" Layla pointed out. "I mean, you only have one eye."

"Another good point," Thor said with a laugh. He paused for just a second. "You called me baby, which I have since learned is like a term of endearment on Midgard according to Anthony and Banner."

Layla barely nodded. He got her there. "I suppose that is a fair observation," she sighed. "So you do know. I'm not sure what to say, honestly."

"You don't have to say anything," Thor answered. He shifted his stance a bit, holding his hands awkwardly in front of him. "If you're interested, we can uh... maybe try having a relationship? I mean, we don't have to if yo-"

"-of course we can," Layla cut him off, her voice giving away her excitement. His awkwardness was endearing, and she was finding it very hard to not blush at him. She decided to tone it down a bit, and added, "I mean, obviously we don't have to jump into anything too super serious like uh... some others."

Thor smiled and chuckled. "I would like that."

Layla smiled back at the Asgardian. "Good." She paused, the smile on her face growing. She tried to dial back her excitement and happiness, but she was finding it incredibly difficult. After all, not everyone could say they were dating the God of Thunder. "But I'm totally open to suggestions."

The smile on Thor's face grew as he shook his head. "I'm sure you are," he replied. "You've been practicing a lot; would you like to continue or would you like to grab something to eat? I think Banner may be making dinner."

Layla thought hard about what he had just asked her. On one hand, she knew she desperately needed practice. On the other hand, she had been practicing for a few hours now, and she was starting to get hungry. The girl frowned slightly as her stomach growled, louder than she hoped it would. Okay, maybe she should find some food.

"I know I should get some practice, but I guess my stomach has other plans, so food it is," Layla answered, standing up slowly so she wouldn't accidentally knock her sword to the floor.

Thor offered her an arm, and Layla looped her arm through his as the two started walking to the door. Thor placed his hand on the handle, turning the door knob and pulling to open it. But the door didn't budge.

"Huh, that's strange," Thor muttered. "Pretty sure I didn't lock the door on my way in."

"Try again?" Layla offered, thoroughly confused.

Thor frowned, but tugged on the door handle once again. The door stayed put. He grabbed the handle tighter and shook the door, hoping to loosen it up. His efforts were futile. On the other side of the door, he heard a familiar snicker.

"Dammit, Loki! Open this door!" he yelled.

"Hmmm, I don't think I'll do that," Loki's voice responded between laughs from the other side of the door.

Layla heard some other voices giggle, and knew instantly the girls and Tony were standing on the other side of the door as well. "You guys are immature and childish!" she shouted.

"You know you love us," Tony replied in a singsong voice.

"Ugh! Seriously! Let us out!" Layla demanded, as she kicked the door. She instantly regretted that decision as pain shot through her toes and up into her leg.

She was treated to more laughter. "Not until you two resolve your tension!" Anja's voice retorted.

"Until then, I suggest the two of you get cozy," Loki added. "I'll return in a few hours to lift the magic."

Thor sighed, definitely irritated. "You insufferable ass."

The laughter on the other side of the door resumed, and then slowly faded as their friends moved away from the room. Layla shook her head, not even entirely surprised by the ridiculousness that was occurring. The girls and Tony had always enjoyed playing jokes on each other, and she was sure adding Loki to the mix only made it worse.

"Okay, so now that they're gone, blast the damn door off the hinges with some lightning," she instructed Thor.

"It's certainly tempting," Thor answered, "but I do not wish to cause any additional damage to our ship. It's suffered enough from the elements outside. Blasting the door would just add to our repair list."

Layla sighed. He had a good point. "So since we're trapped, back to practicing we go?"

"Unless you have a better idea?" Thor responded.

Oh, Layla had plenty of better ideas, but not many she dared voiced out loud. "Um, practicing is fine," is what she eventually replied.

"If you insist, milady," Thor said with a smile. "I thought it would be wise to resolve this... tension our friends speak of."

Layla swallowed hard. This practice of hers took a turn she was not anticipating. Maybe she should've taken a nap like Anja had. Maybe then she wouldn't be in this awkward situation. Yet at the same time, this was in some ways better than a nap.

She took a deep breath, readying herself before she answered. "Yeah. Let's do that."

*****
Hi everyone! It's been a bit since I've updated. It's been kind of weird here for a bit and my writing time has been super limited. I feel like I've been working on this chapter for an eternity now. And the last half of it even longer.

I try to write during my baby's nap time, and as of recent her naps have been incredibly unpredictable. Sometimes she'll nap for close to three hours. Other times (and this is the more likely case) she naps for twenty minutes. Most of the time it's somewhere between that. Sometimes I'm just too tired myself to do anything but nap too. I'm trying my best to rectify that.

Work has been crazy too, but once we get past Labor Day, we'll die off until Thanksgiving time and I won't be spending all day at the kennel on the weekends. Speaking of Labor Day, it's weird to think about, but my baby will be turning one on September 1st! So that weekend I'll be busy celebrating when I'm not working.

Only other thing to announce is that at the end of September I will be in Las Vegas for a week. My husband has a work conference to go to, so I will be tagging along while my parents watch the baby. It will be a nice break, and I am hoping while I am in the hotel room, I'm able to get writing done in this story as well as my other two ongoing projects.

Anyways, I hope all is well with you guys! Thank you as always for reading and being patient with me!

~arty_writes