It Rains In Heaven

Sequel to Easy Come, Easy Go.

I highly recommend reading that first. It's ~60K, and the product of six months of turmoil, so please take your time with it, haha.

This is a brief prologue to the second part of the series, which I will estimate again to be novel-length. Please enjoy, and reviews are always welcomed :)

Prologue: Interim Among The Stars

He could have left the Midgardians as they were—the sparse fleet of Chitauri soldiers was nothing the green monster and the man of iron cannot handle, and Jane Foster and her mentor certainly could have closed the portal on their own, given the proper time and equipment. But that would risk the death of civilians, and further disappointment to the good Captain, and Loki supposes he felt charitable in that moment.

He closes his eyes and sighs, feeling his magic coursing through his veins, pooling at his fingertips. The metal and leather of his armor hangs heavily on his shoulder, a solid but welcoming presence, and Loki missed it, missed feeling in control.

The god has taken temporary refuge among a body of floating rocks within Midgard's solar system, distant enough so that the planet is nothing but a bright speck among the sea of stars. Loki has enough energy for the time being, to shield himself from Thanos and Heimdal (whether the guardian is alive or not), but it leaves the god with very little more.

But he supposes it's for the better, closing the portal to Midgard despite the costs, so that neither the Chitauri nor Midgard's heroes could follow him in suite. He simply needs a bit of time now, to rest and regain his strength, before proceeding in his plans. And perhaps, some time to think wouldn't hurt.

Loki still hasn't fully grasped what had happened—what had changed—that would lead to his release from Odin's curse.

Whoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

That had been the spell which sealed Thor's power, binding him to Midgard as a mortal, until he had proved himself worthy in his sacrifice to protect Jane Foster, his friends, lowly Midgard, and the like. And Loki hardly considers himself to have stumbled so low, to such debilitation sentiment, in that moment of near death. Perhaps he had wished the Captain safe, but that is only one man. The god feels nothing more for the rest of Midgard—they could burn to cinder for all he cares—so in that sense, Loki has changed very little to Odin's liking. But the curse is nevertheless broken, just in time to end the travesty, and maybe Loki shouldn't put a good thing to question.

The Captain. Captain Rogers. Loki regrets his impromptu words of farewell, the information he had carelessly revealed in that moment of faltering. The Captain had no right to know of his plans—that his mother is dead as a result of the war in their realm—Asgardian business. But Loki didn't want to leave Midgard in the situation they were in—as he restrains the Captain with his magic and lures him to sleep—because he had seen a glimpse of terror in those lucid blue eyes, as if the Captain had thought that Loki chose to betray them after all. And he didn't want the Captain to believe such a thing, but in retrospect, he decides his decision had been poor. What more could he have hoped for, in revealing his nauseatingly valiant effort to revenge his dead mother? It would certainly drive the good Captain mad, and Loki doesn't know which is worse, to have the human hate him for a false betrayal, or instilling in him some wretched notion that he could help the god, above all else.

And Loki is hardly in need of help now that Odin's chains are broken. And in that moment of liberation, he had felt as if a dam had erupted—the magic sealed within him for what felt like centuries suddenly surging through his veins, overwhelming and uncontainable. And taking out the Chitauri soldiers had been easy—child's play—and the god had managed to take down the main wave before Stark even got his suit ready. Closing the portal had been much more strenuous on his body, but nothing Loki couldn't handle, which only left the monotonous duty of clean up to the Midgardian heroes, and they should be thankful. It was practically a gift.

So possibly, his act could be deemed as compensation to Midgard, to the Captain. As useless as his time had been spent on lowly Midgard, the Captain did offer him kindness, books and conversation, and above all, distraction from his fears and sorrows. And Loki considers repayment in full—keeping damage to the precious city a minimum—which should mean that he owes Midgard nothing, and there is no reason to ever return.

He leans against the stone walls of his momentary shelter—on a barren rock of the asteroid belt—willing himself to rest. He can sleep now, with his magic unbound and uninhibited, but the tirelessness in his bones does nothing for his overactive mind.

His thoughts drift constantly to the good Captain. Their kiss, he can't decide if it's better to be forgotten. It certainly wasn't his first kiss, but perhaps, first rejection—blatant, but not unkind—and the Captain's choice of words were certainly laughable in its irony.

He knew that the Captain would never accept him for what he had done—for the destruction he had caused, and their clashing ideologies in what's true of this world—but Loki surprisingly does not regret his decision. It wasn't a bad decision, for a dying god to flirt with the unobtainable, and he did manage to find satisfaction in the Captain's initial compliance, however brief it might have been. While the Captain's logical mind casted its equitable doubts, his heart, his body—at least—desired the god, and there is some value to that.

But the Captain is of the past, the time spent on Midgard a brief interlude in his true purpose, and Loki should dwell less on useless thoughts and remember the important, the incontrovertible—that mother is dead, and there is no reason, no desire, to ever return to Asgard, or anywhere else. Perhaps the weeks on Midgard weren't so useless after all, since breaking the curse on his own saved him the humiliation of appealing to Odin, to beg for a chance to fight alongside their army, to avenge mother. But now, with his magic intact, he needs no one. He will take on Thanos on his own, and the glory, the bitterness, and the sweetness of revenge, will be his to ravish, alone.