The fae lady showed up to another fight with the team. It was getting more and more dangerous as Loki was keeping an eye out for her. It was difficult to get in and out without being caught, especially as he had the habit of dropping everything to confront her the moment she arrived at the battle. He very nearly caught her and would have, had he been trying to hurt her.

If he hadn't been trying to restrain her instead of actually harming her.

She had to be more careful.

*

A few days later, she was leaving the coffee shop with her takeout cup of morning desperation, and admittedly wasn't exactly paying attention to where she was walking. And maybe reading a news article on her phone while she was walking wasn't the best idea ever when walking out of the shop onto the busy street.

Granted, people usually didn't walk that close to the building, not wanting to get hit by the doors of the shops on the street.

So it was a series of unfortunate events that led to her walking into the thin, extremely well-dressed man in the all-black suit. She only barely avoided spilling her coffee on him, and it was battle reflexes and her supernatural abilities that managed that. She knew he was well dressed when she saw his shiny black dress shoes, which were the first thing in her vision since she'd been looking at her phone. His hand reached out to steady her as her face show up to see how angry he was."Oh gods, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" she asked him quickly.

She blanched when she saw the too familiar raven black hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes of Loki. Of course, she recognized him from seeing him every battle she helped out in.

She saw his expression change from the frustrated anger of being bumped into, to recognition, to interest, excitement. He smirked, his hand was still on her arm, over her coat, appearing as if he were supporting her from bumping into him, but there was a slight shift of his hand so he was keeping her from fleeing before he was ready for the conversation to be over. At least it would be more difficult for her to escape without drawing unwanted attention.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise," he told her pleasantly, his too-familiar accent so pleasant to her ears. She felt the strange desire to relax at his purred words. And she had to fight it, fight not to let herself get drawn in to him.

What the Hel? Odin's beard, why was he so familiar?

"What are you doing here, Lady Fae?" He asked pleasantly, still with no intention of letting her go.

She took a nervous step back, but he wasn't being outwardly hostile, so she gave him a very tentative smile and held up her coffee. "Getting coffee, your highness" she replied. She was cautious of him, but she also knew who he was, besides just from the alien attack. She did her research on the team after all. Plus it annoyed her that he was so familiar.

There was so much she had blocked from her memory to keep herself and others safe. She knew that much, but not what those memories contained. She hadn't dared figure out the magic to retrieve them again.

She'd had to lock them away in order to survive.

Loki raised an eyebrow. He clearly wasn't used to being called by his title on Earth. "So you know who I am. Good. That'll make this a bit easier," he told her and seemed to be plotting while his hand moved down her arm to wrap viselike around her wrist, still on top of her coat, but she still wasn't escaping without a fight. He wasn't hurting her, but he wasn't letting her get out of talking with him either.

"That'll make what easier exactly?" she asked him warily. She could break his grip on her wrist if she really wanted to. But she had to admit that she was intrigued about why he seemed so familiar. And they were in public and the last thing she wasn't to do was cause a scene.

"Would you be up to a chat, Lady Fae?" he asked her pleasantly, kindly even. Their postures kept those passing them thinking this was a pleasant conversation. "I have a warning for you. Not from me, but from the organization I am being forced to work for," he explained.

She sighed and checked her watch. She had still had a little time. "Very well," she said warily. She gestured to the coffee shop behind her. "Would you like to get a cup of coffee? Or tea?" She wasn't going anywhere alone with him, not when the team was after her, and he was on said team. He seemed nice enough without the rest of them, but there was no reason to take chances.

He inclined his head regally. "Tea would be appreciated. Thank you," he told her and let go of her wrist once it was clear she wasn't running. At least not until she'd heard him out.

She nodded and turned to head into the coffee shop. He moved to hold the door open for her, a gentleman despite being regal. She gave him a small smile for his courtesy, unused to it on Midgard. She went up to the counter and ordered and bought the tea for him and picked a quiet table in the corner for them to sit and chat. She removed her hat and second-hand coat. Everything she had was second-hand and she looked like a ragamuffin compared to the extremely attractive Loki in his well-tailored suit. She made sure her sidhe red hair fell in such a way that the points of her ears were covered as usual. She didn't want to draw too much attention.

She noticed Loki examining her closely. He took in her second hand-clothes, her too-thin appearance, her fae looks. She could see his curiosity, though his face was a mask that would be at home in the fae courts. Yet, she could read his expression clearly. Like she'd had practice reading him. "So, why hide among the Midgardians? A being as beautiful as you should not have to hide what they are among others so inferior,"

She tried not to huff and roll her eyes at his obviously over the top flattery. "I escaped the fae not so very long ago. I try not to draw too much attention to myself, at least not attention that they'll notice. The easiest way is to hide among the mortals and refrain from as much magic as possible," she explained softly with a shrug, sipping on her coffee.

He furrowed his brows, his court mask slipping that much, giving her that much of an expression. "Why escape the fae? You are one of them, are you not?" he asked, curious and... more? Something seemed off about the question, like he had that same sense of almost-recognition as she had.

She shook her head. "I'm not, actually, not originally. They kidnapped me as a child. The fae don't procreate easily and their numbers were dwindling..." she shrugged at his horrified expression. That was just how the fae were, there was nothing she could do about the past. "Some of their mages thought they could turn non-fae children into fae,"

"So you are actually Midgardian?" he asked, his curiosity overriding his pretense at disinterest and court mask. He was openly curious over her now. Something seemed to be bothering him about her, the same way something about him was still bothering her and she still couldn't quite put her finger on it. It seemed he couldn't either.

She shrugged, a bit embarrassed. "I don't remember actually... It's been... 500 mortal years or so, and I had to repress a lot of memories to keep my family safe from the fae after I was taken..." she admitted softly. She didn't know why she was opening up so much to him, there was no logical reason for it. She tried to convince himself it was because he had cornered her, but that wasn't exactly right.

He nodded in acceptance of her words and didn't press her further, not on that. He sipped on his tea while he gathered his words, to get to the point of this conversation. "I should inform you that Shield plans to hunt you down if you do not come with me. I do not wish for that to happen after what you just told me," a fae who'd been kidnapped once was a dangerous creature at the thought of being kidnapped again. "If you come willingly, the team will do whatever they can to protect you from them, but that is only if you come willingly," he told her, his voice firm, but with a hint of hidden kindness. He didn't want to hurt her. He seemed to want her safe. "This is a courtesy, mind. I could just as easily take you in now. Do you understand?"

Well, that just sounded threatening. Though he would have a hard time taking her in. She could fight and likely win. She'd seen him fight when she was helping the team. She wouldn't bruise the poor boy's ego, especially since she had known for a while that she was running out of time and would have to meet the Avengers eventually.

She sighed. It really had been only a matter of time before they pulled the big guns out. "I accept that you can... probably... take me in," he probably could if he wanted to really fight her for the pleasure, which she didn't think he did. "How about a compromise instead? I'll come to the tower and hear out the team. After I get off of work at 3 this afternoon. I'd rather not compromise my mortal cover if I can help it, just in case. It would be a pain to make a new one," he looked like he was going to protest. He wanted her in and... safe... if she were reading his expression correctly, as soon as possible. It was strange to think a stranger wanted her safe. Before he could protest, she pulled a ring off her finger to hand to him. "A token of my goodwill. That is the only thing I have from before I was kidnapped and I expect it back this afternoon," she told him firmly. The ring was black with a purple jewel and even though she'd looked 7 or so by Midgardian standards when she'd been taken, it had never stopped fitting her, had grown with her. And the fae hadn't been able to take it from her as she was the only one who could remove it.

His eyes widened in surprise and what appeared to be recognition at her ring. "Where did you get this?" he demanded, shocked.

She glared at him before he got any ideas. "It's mine," she told him firmly. "I was wearing it the day I was taken and the fae couldn't take it from me. That and my name were the only things I got to keep," she informed him, though she wondered why he was surprised at her ring, and why he seemed to recognize it.

He slid her ring onto the ring finger of his right hand, and it fit because of magic. She felt a pang at being without it, since it was her only tangible memory of home and had been her only reminder for centuries. But she wouldn't risk the life she'd built, such as it was, just because of a chance meeting with the Avengers. She wasn't going to risk everything for a meeting that might not work out. "I shall return it to you this afternoon and will inform you of its importance then," Loki promised and she could hear the sincerity in his words. He may be the god of lies, but he was capable of telling the truth. Plus no one could successfully lie to a fae, not even him.

She nodded and checked her watch. "Very well," she agreed, no matter how hesitantly. She would get her ring back. Even if she had to tear down the entire Avenger's tower to do so. "I should get to work before I'm late. Until later, Prince Loki of Asgard," she stood and gathered her things before he changed his mind about letting her leave without a fuss. She waved as she headed out of the coffee shop, amused that he hadn't even gotten her name.

He'd been distracted indeed.

*

Loki watched her leave, curiosity obvious in his expression, but he didn't stop her from shrugging on her coat and rushing off to work. He teleported back to the tower; he needed to speak with his brother regarding the ring she'd given him.

Thor looked up from the newspaper he was reading when Loki teleported back into the common room of the tower. "Feeling better?" he asked, knowing Loki had been getting ready to stab someone when he'd stormed out of the tower earlier. He'd been storming through the streets of New York in a fit of emotion when the fae had run into him. Sometimes he just needed fresh air to keep from being stabby.

He gave Thor a hostile glare in reply. Thor shrugged it off, that's just how Loki was. Loki sighed. He really did need to speak with his brother, which meant brushing his manners off for a while longer. He slipped the fae lady's ring off his finger as he walked over to Thor. "Does this look familiar to you?" he asked Thor, holding out his hand with the ring in his palm. She'd entrusted the ring to his care, he wasn't compromising that trust, even with his brother.

Thor stood and examined the ring, careful not to take it, reading that much from Loki's body language. "That looks like an Asgardian noble lady's ring. And I'm sure you haven't been off proposing to noble ladies while you've been out of the tower... where'd you find that? And whose colors are those?" Thor asked confused as he looked over the ring, as if the colors should be familiar. He looked at Loki expectantly.

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes. "How should I know? I did not make a study of the colors of the noble families of Asgard. This belongs to the fae lady I have been tasked with bringing in," he sounded bitter about that task. She was far too intriguing to hunt down like an animal and force in. He was glad that she had agreed to come so he didn't have to force her. "She will be visiting the tower this afternoon and gave me her ring to hold onto as a symbol of goodwill that she would arrive as she promised," he explained.

Thor shrugged. "You know more about all the court politics than I do. Thought you might have an idea. Or her name since she gave you her ring..." Loki flushed at the reminder that he'd been too preoccupied to get her name, which was a massive oversight on his part. It was Thor's turn to roll his eyes. "I best inform Stark and the Captain that she will be arriving. You're sure she won't just run?" he asked, disappointed that Loki hadn't brought her in while he had the chance.

"I informed her of the threat of Shield chasing after her. She does not wish for that. Plus I have her ring and she was quite insistent that she will come to get it back if nothing else," Loki replied overly patiently for his oaf of a brother. He didn't seem to understand that she'd given the ring as a symbol of good faith that she'd come after work. She would keep her word.

Plus she was a fae. She would keep her word.

Thor nodded. "Very well. I will inform the others," he knew that even after months of being here, the team didn't much like or trust Loki yet. It was better if he smoothed things over instead.

*

Around 3:30 that afternoon, as promised, the fae lady entered the lobby of the tower after she'd walked over from her job. She didn't need to look up directions, she only lived a few blocks away and it was really hard to miss the tower. She wasn't surprised that Loki was waiting in the lobby for her. He gave her a smile when she entered the lobby, glad she hadn't flaked on him. "It is good to see you again," he greeted her politely, all court manners and polish. He definitely reminded her of a fae lord. And more.

She stepped closer and gave him a smile. "And you as well," he seemed nice enough and hadn't hurt her. In fact, he'd gone out of his way to help her when he hadn't had to. He could have dragged her straight to Shield if he'd wanted. He'd have had a hell of a fight about it, but he could have done so.

He smirked at her before he spoke again. "It has come to my attention that I have not yet gotten your name, Lady Fae," he told her, making the statement into a question. One that demanded an answer

She hesitated only a moment, tempted to give him her Midgardian alias, but he would be able to hear the... not lie, but not the complete truth. She had a thing about names, but he deserved to know hers. "My name is Sigyn," she finally told him.

His eyes went wide in shock? horror? complete and utter disbelief? when she spoke those words. He grabbed her wrist over her coat again and practically dragged her into the elevator while she yelped in surprise and tugged to get her wrist out of his grip. He gave her a look to stop her from fighting him. He wasn't letting her go no matter what she said or did. For whatever reason, her name had caused this frantic reaction from him. The only explanation he gave was:

"We need to go see my brother. Now."