I do not own marvel.

She sighed as she used the back of her hand to block out the oncoming light. For so late in the afternoon it was still so glaringly bright and she couldn't stand it. She looked down to check the soles of her shoes, they had been worn and had melted substantially from her travelling by foot on the hot pavement of what the Midgardians called the 'road'. She had been walking for what felt like months, stopping occasionally to get water and rest at places called truck stops. She knew these places would cater to some of her needs due to Dave telling her to take the time to stop there. Most things she would need Midgardian money for, but they had water fountains which he had taught her to use.

She was grateful for him buying her the reusable water bottle because it had been such a wondrous device that has assisted her on her travels. She sighed as she caught sight of yet another of the rest stops. She turned up her water bottle and frowned as she felt the last few drops hit her tongue. She supposed she were lucky she had stumbled on the rest stop when she had. She looked to see if any traffic were coming and then she rushed across the road. She knew she was almost to her destination judging from the small handheld device that said she was three hours away from Stark Tower travelling on foot. She made her way over to the water fountain and pressed the button, leaning down to take a couple sips before she filled her bottle once more.

A woman and her children were waiting behind her, and once she finished filling her bottle she stepped away and bowed to them softly, apologizing for taking so long. She could see it in their eyes, they were disturbed by her filthy appearance, her matted white hair and dirt smudged skin. She knew she looked horrendous; she had seen her reflection in the shining silver of the water fountain. She had learned a great deal about human culture and traditions during her year travelling around from place to place. They had special holidays where they gifted each other things and she vied for the chance to tell Loki about all the things she had learned. She just hoped that she could find him.

She sat on a bench and sighed, burying her face in her hands as the sun set in the sky. Pretty soon she could take off her sunglasses and put them in her backpack... she couldn't wait for that. She hated wearing anything on her face for long periods of time, but she needed them to see clearly during the day. She looked up to see the woman from before approaching her with a small box in her hands. The woman sat beside her and she bit her lips lightly, she wasn't sure what the woman wanted with her but she was willing to see. She looked over to the woman slowly, only for her to open the box and set a pair of shoes on the bench beside her.

"You must be homeless... I'm so sorry that you have to live this way..." the woman said and Syndra blinked in confusion. Homeless? Technically she was without a home so the woman wasn't wrong in the slightest. "Where are you from?" the woman asked and she wondered briefly if she should even tell her, but the thought of conversation excited her and she smiled softly. "Asgard." She said and the woman's features lit up, she knew she was going to ask about Thor as soon as she smiled as well. "You must be a friend of Thor's." she said and Syndra nodded lightly. "Yes... he is a very good friend of mine but he doesn't know I'm here on earth yet." She said and the woman frowned at this. She could see the sympathy in the woman's eyes.

She hadn't accepted any help from anyone else so she was not going to accept anymore from this woman no matter how much she offered. She had fought with the man with the metal arm twice more since she had separated from Dave and she didn't want to unnecessarily risk anyone's lives that didn't need to be involved in the issues she was having with him. Why he wanted to kill her was beyond her comprehension, but it seemed he was adamant on stopping her altogether. "Would you allow me to drive you anywhere?" the woman asked and she smiled and shook her head. "No, thank you. I am almost to where I am headed anyways, I don't need to be a burden upon you." Syndra said and the woman frowned a little deeper. She doubted the woman would leave it at that, judging from the look on her face.

"Where are you headed?" she asked and Syndra sighed and showed her the app that showed the Stark tower. "I am headed here; Thor was there recently and I hope the man there can help me find him." She said and the woman smiled. "At least let me drop you off there. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you on the walk there. Please let me do this at least." The woman offered once more, and Syndra was tempted to decline once more, but her feet were throbbing and she sighed once more.

She nodded to the woman who smiled at her and rushed over to her car and began rearranging things. The moment she was finished rearranging, the woman rushed back over to her and urged her into the car where her teenage children all stared at her in slight disgust. After a slight scolding they all rolled their eyes and looked away from her. She looked down and began changing the shoes into the ones the woman gave her. she noticed that her socks had become filled with holes and a sadness filled her eyes as she realized she was going to have to get new everything. She had yet to find Frigga's spear and that thought tugged at her heart. She felt as if Odin were disappointed in her because she had lost it.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a slight tugging on her hair. "How long has it been since you brushed that?" the teenage daughter asked and she frowned. "I cant remember honestly... I have been walking for a long time now..." she said and the girl's face scrunched up in disgust as she scooted further away from her. Her saddened eyes found her hands once more, where her fingers fidgeted and she began creating a Rose of ice. She had made many friends with these roses, but she wanted nothing more than to give one to Loki. She wanted to show him she had learned expert control of her ice powers because of him. She gently offered the ice rose to the girl and she looked at it for a moment before she tossed it into the front seat with her mother, who scolded her once more and placed the rose in an empty cup. Syndra's eyes saddened as she stared at the ice Rose sitting discarded in the cup.

She wanted nothing more than to get out of the mechanical beast and continue on foot. She felt so unwelcome in this vehicle, unlike when she had ridden in Dave's truck. She missed her friend and wished to see him once more, but she had to continue on her journey. Nothing had been tugging at her heart more than the urge to find Loki and Thor. The features of Loki's face flickered through her mind and her heart fluttered. She knew he was a married man, but her soul was calling out to him and she wondered if he felt the same. She breathed deeply and pursed her lips as she thought about how ludicrous what had happened was. She had fallen in love with a man through a wall. How pitiful could she be?

She longed for his voice to say her name, longed for his presence to grace hers, and she longed to see what his touch felt like. She was hopelessly in love with him and there was nothing she could do about it anymore. She had fallen in love with a man over a series of questions. She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked out the window. She knew he didn't feel the same, but she couldn't deny how she felt for him. The thought of him dying tormented her and she wanted nothing more than to protect him at all costs. She wasn't trying to ruin his marriage either, she just wanted to be near him.

"Ok dear, we have arrived." The woman called as she pulled up to the imposing tower. Syndra struggled with the seatbelt and eventually was able to hop out of the car. "Thank you..." she said as the woman rolled down the passenger side window. The woman offered her a small smile and lifted the ice Rose out of the cup. "Thank you for this... I will treasure it." she said and Syndra offered the woman a smile as she pulled away. She turned back towards the tower and walked up to the front door, where she jolted in surprise as a red light flashed over her and began scanning her face. A woman appeared on the small screen and looked at her for a moment before the doors slid open and the woman walked out to her.

"Tony isn't here right now, can I help you?" she asked and Syndra blushed and looked down to her fingers once more. "I um... I'm looking for Thor..." she said and the woman smiled at her softly and motioned for her to follow. "Come with me, I can help you get cleaned up." She said and Syndra nodded as she chased after the woman. She couldn't help but be awestruck by all the mechanical things around her. everything was so much more technologically advanced than she was used to. It was neat.

She followed the woman up into what looked like a housing quarter of the tower and into a tiled bathroom with a large shower. She listened as the woman showed her how to turn on the water and where to find everything to wash up with. She left the room and returned moments later with a green shirt and some black pants, to which Syndra thanked her for. "When you are done in here, I can help you get your hair brushed out once more, it looks like it may take a while." She said and Syndra nodded. She couldn't understand how this woman was being so kind to her without even knowing her.

"Why are you so nice to me?" she asked and the woman seemed caught off guard by this question. After a moment she smiled and brought over a flat black object similar to her phone. With a wave of the hand Syndra's own image flashed on screen and her mouth opened in surprise. "We have been looking for you." She said and Syndra rubbed her elbow lightly. "Why?" she asked and the woman just continued to smile softly. Why was this woman looking for her? The question was bothering her now.

"A dear friend of yours has been searching for you for almost a year now. He should be here after a while, I sent him shopping with my husband so he would remove himself from the couch." She mused lightly and Syndra smiled at her, her heart swelling in excitement. "My name is Pepper Potts, most people around here call me Mrs. Potts though." She sighed and Syndra couldn't help the smile that widened over her lips. "I'm Syndra of Asgard." She said and Pepper smiled at her once more and told her it was nice to finally meet her. She turned back to the shower and messed with the handles to turn on the water.

When she had finally gotten it to a temperature she felt comfortable with, she slipped out of her clothes and slipped into the shower, sliding the door shut behind her.

:-:-:-:

Loki sighed as he followed Tony around. They had been out shopping for what felt like hours now and he was ready to get back to the tower and relax once more. Blue eyes landed on the Stark man once more who was trying to decide which box of poptarts to get. He was thoroughly unamused with Tony's antics at this point and he wanted to get back to his tv show. Tony tossed him an unamused look from over his shoulder and he just ignored it. He was bored and walking in circles in the middle of this store was not helping his boredom any.

"How much longer are you going to be?" he grumbled as he watched Tony toss three boxes of poptarts into the cart, along with a thousand other things Mrs. Potts had told them to get. He liked the ginger haired woman, don't get him wrong. She was sassy and had the perfect level of snark to throw right back at him, but when it came to these absurd shopping trips he hated going. He knew it was just because she wanted him out of the place for a while. He sighed as Tony began rifling through the fruits and started tossing blueberries and other berries into the cart, which he expected Loki to push around. The damnable thing was getting heavy and he just wanted to go home.

He figured if he kept thinking about how much he wanted to return to the tower it would happen sooner. He had become quite at home in the stark tower, so much so that he didn't really want to leave. Of course, he didn't want to leave until he had found Syndra and had ensured she was safe. He was worried about her to the point she was all he could think about. He had never thought of Sigyn this way, so he was surprised that this woman was plaguing his mind the way she was. The last time he had seen Sigyn he had told her he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy so he told her she needed to move on and find someone else as their marriage was now null and void.

He wanted to set her free and seemed to have done nothing but piss her off, because she had struck him across the face. He had that effect on women, seeing as Pepper had slapped him before and so had Jane. Wouldn't be the first time and wouldn't be the last time either. He was fully prepared to be hit by every woman he came across because none of them seemed to be able to endure him. A smirk crossed his lips as he thought about the fact the only woman not to hit him was Syndra, and that was because she had never had the opportunity to do so.

He was sure that once she had endured him long enough she would hit him as well. The thought of her hitting him stirred something within him and he quirked a brow at the feeling. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a series of snaps and he looked to see Tony snapping his fingers in his face. He reached up and shoved the hand out of his face with a dirty look. "Look man you were dissociating on me and I figured I needed to bring you back to reality." He said and Loki rolled his eyes.

"We are done here so if you wanna get back in time to watch the game we gotta go." Tony said with a sigh and Loki's eyes lit up as he thought about the interesting game that Tony had showed him. He had never been one for sports but the absolute brutality of hockey had him mesmerized. Without further question he turned the buggy and began rushing up towards the register with Tony right on his heels. It didn't take long for Loki to get everything loaded up on the conveyor in a neat and orderly fashion. He was beyond ready to go, this shopping trip had been miserable.

When all the items were scanned and bagged he swiftly returned them to the cart and began watching Tony expectantly, who rolled his eyes and began digging in his pocket for his wallet. Tony paid and they made their way out to his car and loaded it up. He sat in the passenger seat and tapped his fingers on the door as he waited for Tony to get in the car once more. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to stretch out on the couch with a nice comfortable blanket and watch people beat each other up for a small round disc on ice. It brought a thrill to his otherwise boring days. He wasn't allowed to leave the tower without Tony which was understandable, but if he said he wasn't bored then he would be lying. He did however enjoy talking science and magic with Tony as well, it was riveting to have a fellow intellectual mind to discuss things with.

Once the Stark tower came into view he swiftly got out of the car and began carrying things inside. He made his way to the elevator with bags piled up each arm, leaving only four for Tony to which the man had no complaint as he carried those onto the elevator. When they got to the penthouse they heard Pepper speaking with someone and they assumed she was on the phone once more. They made their way to the kitchen and started putting everything away. However, when a second voice made itself known, Loki almost dropped the blueberries, eliciting a panicked noise from Tony, who scrambled to catch them before they hit the floor.

He rushed out of the kitchen and saw white hair being brushed through ever so softly by Mrs. Potts. He made his way over to the couch and when he saw her, he knelt before her. "Syndra..." he couldn't find anything else to say to her, but the pure joy in her eyes said everything that he needed to know from her. She lunged forwards and hugged him tightly. He sat there in the floor with her arms wrapped around him not knowing what to do. He had no idea she had missed him so much.

"Oh, Loki... I've been searching for you since I got here!" she said and his lips parted slightly. He was stumped for words and he was not used to this feeling. His chest felt light and he slowly wrapped his arms around her as well. She looked up at him and smiled so brilliantly that he felt a slight flutter in his chest. Was this anxiety? He couldn't tell what it was, but he knew no one had ever been this happy to see him in his lifetime. She began telling him about how she had been so worried about him and that she had wondered every day if he were ok.

She told him all about her adventures with all the random humans she had met and about how some of them had treated her so kindly, while others had treated her horribly. He felt for her when she told him about how so many people rejected her when they saw her in her rugged appearance. She also told him all about how the man with the metal arm had tried multiple times to kill her and that she couldn't understand why. The more she spoke the more he was happy to listen to every word that came out of her mouth. Her voice was like a gentle song that you would listen to at night on a cool summer's eve and he couldn't get enough of it.

With every word she said she had curled up more and more into his lap and had gotten more animated with her story telling. She then told him all about how she had seen Thor in a picture of the stark tower and had decided that this was where she needed to go to try and find him. In this moment he was more thankful than ever for his brother because he had led her right to him. He leaned back onto his hands once more and she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly once more. Her presence alone brought peace to his soul and he wondered if this was what love felt like. To be loved by someone so genuinely that all they wanted to do was touch you.

Mind you, this was the first bit of physical contact the two of them had, but she felt like a memory. As if he had been in her embrace a thousand times over and he were no stranger to her touch. He liked this feeling and wanted to feel more of it. she leaned back slightly and continued talking to him. About what his mind had tuned that out, because his gaze was fixated on her eyes. Every expression of her face mirrored in those eyes he had once hated so very much.

His gaze had flickered down to her lips and his brain blanked out. Every movement of those lips drew him in closer and he couldn't contain himself as he leaned forward and placed his against her more supple ones. He was testing the waters now, seeing what she would do. His eyes slipped shut slightly and hers went wide, before they fluttered shut completely and she pressed her lips against his a little harder. He licked her lip lightly and she opened her mouth to him, but before they could go further Tony cleared his throat and threw a pillow at them.

"Hey, guys... I know this is like some long awaited reunion, but this is not the place for this. This is my place... if you wanna do that Loki take her to your room and ensure I cant hear it."

Loki couldn't stand him in that very moment. He was on verge of a breakthrough in what he felt for her and Tony had to go butting into it. He couldn't tell if he just wanted to sleep with her or if it were something more. No that was a lie... sleeping with her honestly hadn't even crossed his mind before now. It had only been the thought of how soft her lips possibly were. He had only thought about kissing her and the feel of her touch before now. He wasn't sure where the thought of sleeping with her had come from, but he decided eventually there was a possibility of entertaining the thought.

Now was not the time for that though, no matter how enticing the idea was. His ears twitched as he heard Tony turn on the tv and the hockey game was on. He glanced over to the tv then back to Syndra, who had crawled away from him and sat with her back against the couch once more. The heated flush on her cheeks as he turned to look at her made him smirk, he didn't know he could have that effect on a woman. This was new to him and he liked the fact she hadn't hit him when he kissed her. It had been obvious she had been trying to figure out if he felt the same way for her back in the prison, but he hadn't been too sure of what he had felt for her then.

Now he was somewhat sure he was attracted to her, and not for her looks. It was her personality and knowledge that he liked about her, her strange beauty was a bonus. He scooted over to her and she patted her lap gently, that blush still adorning her cheeks. He laid his head in her lap and she began running her fingers through his hair ever so gently. He couldn't focus on the game at all, his mind had only thought about their time in the prison together, and the fact he desperately wanted for his lips to connect with hers again. He truly enjoyed the feeling that had risen in his chest the moment their lips had made contact.