Loki trudged down the cold sidewalk, the Avengers base slowly disappearing from view. His black trench coat trailed behind him, and his boots crunched over the white powder underneath him. A flurry of snow blew past him with a rush of harsh freezing air. The flakes landed on his green tunic, coat, and hair, but he didn't bother brushing them off. The cold didn't affect him. He breathed out slowly, and watched as his breath formed a cloud in front of him. 

He kept walking.

The only sound he heard was the constant and steady thumping of his heart beating in his chest, reminding him that he was still alive, though it didn't feel that way. Night had fallen, and the only lights came from the full moon overhead and the lamp posts emanating a soft golden glow, illuminating the sidewalk in front of him.

As he walked, he began to process recent events.

Asgard was destroyed.

His father was dead.

Thor wouldn't speak to him.

Brunnhilde had been ignoring him.

He had a son.

He had a son.

Loki didn't even know the name of the child with the same blood as him, but this young boy had lived his life without a father, and that was something that he could not bear to imagine.

Something about the constant repetitiveness of his heart thumping and his legs taking even strides was comforting.

Barely anyone was on the street he was on now, for he had taken many deliberate turns to get as far away from human life as possible. The few who did walk the same sidewalk has him didn't bother to glance in his direction. They all had places to be, appointments to keep, families to look after. Unlike him. Humans were always so busy. He figured that Asgardians weren't much different.

The Asgardians.

He veered down a familiar sidewalk and found himself in front of the warehouse. Stepping inside the surprisingly warm building, he found many eyes focused on him. The main room was mostly silent, the majority of Asgard's population gathered within it, waiting to see what the fallen prince would do or say. He found that he craved isolation more than anything else, so he continued through the warehouse until he reached his and Brunnhilde's room. Stepping over shards of glass from smashed liquor bottles, he made his way over to a small chest in the corner of the room. It was hidden by his magic, and invisible to everyone besides him. He reached inside of it and pulled out a tiny black box. He opened the lid to see the beautiful glimmering necklace, it's pendant a large glittering diamond, rough around the edges, but cut from a solid and impenetrable force. It was meant to symbolize Brunnhilde.

"What's that?"

Startled, Loki slammed the box shut and stuck it back into the chest, placing the layer of invisibility over it once more. He turned to see Sigyn standing in the doorway wearing a dark blue robe covered in small glittering specks, like stars in the night sky.

"Nothing. I really should be going. I'm tracking snow into the warehouse and that's not very helpful...." He said quickly, his silver tongue failing him.

She let out a light and bubbly laugh.

"Darling, if you cared about the snow in the warehouse, you wouldn't have come here in the first place."

She smirked at his flustered expression.

"So what is it then? A token of appreciation for your lover?"

Loki made to leave, but realized that she was blocking the doorway. He slowly pulled the box from behind his back.

"I was going to give it to her back on the Refuge, but I was nervous....and with everything that's happened recently...."

Her mischievous grin faded.

"You told her about him?"

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, sending a hard glare in her direction.

"Sigyn, I don't even know his name!"

She contemplated this for a moment, one finger rubbing her temple while she bit her lip in concentration. He'd seen it a million times before. Some things about his ex wife were not easily forgotten.

"Åsmund. His name is Åsmund. He has curly dark hair and intelligent blue eyes, just like you. He will make quite the warrior when he grows up."

Sigyn's eyes glazed over slightly as she described her son to him. The hint of a smile returning to her features.

"Åsmund."

Loki breathed out the name slowly, letting it roll off of his tongue. He quietly repeated it to himself a few more times before wiping away the tears springing from his eyes.

"You kept him from me all this time? Why?"

His voice had a darker tone to it now, anger seeping into it.

"I wanted him to be safe. You live a dangerous life, Loki. Back then, I didn't know what to expect from you, and we both know that had I not left first, you would have abandoned me."

Loki nodded slowly, taking it all in.

"But I'm different now. I've changed."

She gave him a sympathetic look.

"Not in the way you think."

Still holding onto hope, the trickster to a step towards her.

"May I at least see him?"

The sorceress nodded and led him to a room across the warehouse. The door creaked open and a young boy stood behind it, half hidden from view.

"Åsmund? It's mommy, sweetie. You can open the door. It's okay."

He still wasn't convinced.

"Who's that man behind you? He looks scary. Isn't he the one that you told me to stay away from? Remember, mommy? You stopped to talk him when those guards were taking him somewhere underground. You told me he was bad."

Loki gave Sigyn a dirty look and knelt down in front of the door, which was still only part way open.

"Hi."

Åsmund hid his face in his hands and tried to shut the door.

"Wait!" Sigyn cried, grabbing the edge of the door before it slammed in her face.

"Åsmund, this is Loki, your father. He made some very bad decisions after you were born, so that's why he hasn't seen you yet. But he's here now, baby. He's here."

Tears streamed down the boy's sweet young face as he took one last look at Loki.

"You're not my dad. Uncle Thor told me you weren't when I asked him."

Loki froze.

"He knew?" He seethed, turning to Sigyn.

Åsmund has shut the door on him, but as Loki stood up, he only had eyes for the sorceress in front of him.

"Yes." She replied guiltily.

"That son of a bitch!" Loki yelled, storming out of the warehouse and into the cold, snowy night.

He kept a fast, but steady pace the rest of the way home, breathing heavily and glaring at anyone who made eye contact with him. He reached the Avengers facility in minutes, no longer caring about the looks he was receiving from passerby.

He slammed open the doors and stood face to face with Thor, who was in the middle of drinking a steaming mug of coffee. With one swift motion of his hand, the coffee mug was thrown from Thor's hand and lay shattered on the ground, the boiling liquid spreading across the freshly waxed hardwood floors. Loki moved his hand again and used his magic to pin his brother against the wall, rage clouding his vision.

"You knew!" He screamed, slamming Thor's head against the wall with enough force to give him a concussion.

"Brother...." He begged weakly.

"Shut up!" The god of mischief yelled, his voice never losing its volume.

The others heard the noise and began to file into the lounge, eyeing the two Asgardians curiously.

"You knew that Åsmund was my son! You lied to me! You hid him from me! I was finally starting to trust you! To hope that maybe there could be no more secrets between us! I guess I was wrong! Because nothing is ever revealed to me by choice! First my true parentage, now this?!"

Thor gasped for breath as Loki tightened his hold on his throat, his fingers digging into the thunderer's skin.

"I didn't....know....about your....parentage...." Thor managed to choke out between gasps for air.

Loki showed no sign of intending to release his hold on his brother. In fact, it was gradually killing the blonde.

"I thought I told you to shut up! I don't care about that any more! What I do care about is the lies! I can't do this any more, Thor! I can't do it! Goodbye! Do not come looking for me!"

He released the thunderer and took off again, ignoring the shocked looks of the faces of Thor's friends. He never stopped walking, even when his jotun form took over as the cold weather took effect. People screamed. He didn't care.

He walked long into the night, the frigid air biting into his skin and causing the blood in his veins to turn from red to blue.

It wasn't until he felt something poking into his side that he stopped. He reached inside the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out the black box. Sighing, he opened the lid and traced the glistening diamond. The stunningly beautiful and bold face of Brunnhilde was brought to the surface of his mind. A feeling of utter helplessness overcame him.

He slowly closed the lid and slipped the box back into his pocket before teleporting to Norway, where he stood alone to watch the waves roll gently in the sea, and to privately mourn his mother and father.

He wondered how much longer it would take before his life was free from lies.