✧ ✧ ✧

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ: ɪ'ᴍ ᴡʀᴇᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪs ᴇᴠᴇɴɪɴɢ

❝ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ. ❞

✧ ✧ ✧

"JAMESON?" Aaron offered, holding up the whiskey bottle for your view. When you declined, he asked if he could get you anything else.

"No, thank you. I'm good."

"Just say if you need anything," he said, crossing the room to seat himself on the sofa opposite from the one you were sitting on.

"The only thing I need is your help," you chuckled, shifting backwards into a more comfortable position.

"Of course," he sipped from his whiskey glass before setting it down on the coffee table midway between you two and extending a hand towards you, tilting his head, "Fire away. What do you need?"

"You're an expert on Norse mythology, yes?"

"That I am," he confirmed.

"What can you tell me about Asgard?"

The doctor hummed as he ran a hand over his mouth. "You want the summarised version or the one with all the trimmings?"

"I want to know everything."

His lips twitched upwards. "Very well. So, according to Asgardian legend, in the beginning there was nothing, but in time, two worlds came into being on opposite sides of the void..."

Aaron continued to recount the entire history and lore of Asgard to you, who listened with extreme attentiveness and concentration. He told you about the creation of the first Frost Giant, Ymir, and the birth of Borr, who would later on father the three brothers Odin, Vili and Vé. He spoke of how the brothers slew Ymir, and created a home for themselves, calling it Asgard. And between the two worlds of Asgard and Midgard (earth), they stretched a rainbow bridge and called it Bifröst.

He explained how Odin came to be king, after his father and youngest brother Vé, died in battled, and how he and his only remaining brother Vili, fought as Asgard's greatest warriors. Aaron explained what happened during the battle of Jotunheim, and how Odin came to adopt his son Loki, as well as come into possession of the Tesseract. He told you about the birth of Thor, as well as the appointment of Vili as the Protector of the Tesseract.

It was at that point that you interrupted.

"Vili," you spoke, "what was he the god of?"

"Motivation."

"And he was also the guardian of the Tesseract."

"That's correct."

"And did he..." you drew in shaky breath, nervously wringing your fingers, "have any children? A... daughter, perhaps?"

"It's not believed so, no," was Aaron's reply, and you felt your stomach drop as a vile concoction of relief as well as disappointment coursed through you.

"Although," he continued a moment later, and you straightened up, "for a time, it was believed that when Vili descended to earth in pursuit of the Tesseract and when he decided to remain here, he adopted all the aspects of a regular, human life. Some believed that part of that was marrying a human and having a child."

You swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. "And this child... they would be a demi-god?"

He nodded, taking a sip of his drink before frowning and snapping his fingers. "Hang on," he stood up and crossed the room to one of his bags, "I think I might have something that could hold the answers you're looking for. Ah," he smiled when he found the ivory-coloured book and made his way back to the sofas, opting to sit next to you this time.

You gingerly took the book when he graciously held it out to you, setting it in your lap and running your fingers over the cover as you studied the various intricate designs and wording. You felt a twinge of déja vu; you were feeling the exact same way you had felt when you held your father's journal. Except that this time, your hunger for answers was far more overpowering, and you opened the cover with ease.

Your eyes landed on a handwritten inscription at the top left corner of the title page, and you tilted your head to read the slanted writing.

"To the geekiest person I know,

I found this book extremely boring and stupid, so I knew that meant you would love it.

Happy birthday, Aaron. Stay weird.

From your older, cooler, and much better-looking cousin,

Ryan"

Aaron leaned closer to read it too, and chuckled. "Such a prick. It was a great present, though."

"He sounds lovely," you joked and Aaron gave a short laugh.

"He was, actually. He teased me tremendously, for being such a nerd; he was more into guitars and leather jackets and cigarettes. Typical rockstar stuff. We got along incredibly, though, despite not seeing much of each other. He was my best friend," Aaron explained. As he spoke, you noticed a slight tremor starting to form in his voice, and an unmistakable glint of sadness in his eyes. You knew that look all too well, but didn't comment on it. If he wanted to talk about it, he would.

So, you simply placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly before asking what exactly you were supposed to look for in the book.

"Oh, right," he cleared his throat and shifted closer, close enough for you to see the hint of stubble growing on his face, "Let's see... I think it's page, what was it? 45? 63? Ah, here it is. 57."

Your gaze raked over the page. There wasn't a lot of information, but what was there was definitely substantial.

"Skadi," you read. Your skin broke out into goosebumps as flashes of your conversation with captured assassin crossed your mind. "Goddess of Winter... oh, my God."

"She's also the goddess of Justice, Vengeance, and Righteous Anger," Aaron read from the page. When you didn't respond, he looked up at you, a worrisome frown crossing his face as he took in your state.

You weren't talking, your lips were trembling, and your skin pale, and he could see a semblance of tears forming in your eyes.

"(Y/N)," he reached out to grip your arms softly, "What's wrong?"

Everything. Everything was wrong. The last hour had confirmed everything that The Asset had said to you, and as a result, confirmed that you had in fact been lied to for your entire life, by everyone in it.

Yes, Fury had confirmed it already, but you still held on to the tiniest bit of hope that it wasn't true, that everything was made up. But now, there was no doubt about it.

And it wasn't as if they were minor lies, either. They were lying about your identity. Your heritage. Who you are.

"This Skadi," you croaked out, ignoring the doctor's question regarding your well being, "she has powers, right?"

"That would be the case, yes."

"And these powers..." you sighed, taking a moment to close your eyes and compose yourself. There was no more room left for crying, or feeling sorry for yourself; you needed to familiarise yourself with all of this as much as you could, as fast as you could. You turned to face the doctor, face hard. "Alright, let's assume that all of those rumours were true, and that Vili really did start a family here on earth."

"Okay."

"Vili would want to protect his daughter at all costs, like any parent would. So he'd hide her powers from her. Or at least, turn them dormant."

"Uh huh."

"But let's say that earth is facing a huge threat, and the only way to stop said threat, would be for Skadi to fight... how would she activate her powers?"

"(Y/N)?"

"Yes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," you sighed, slightly aggravated, "It's all hypothetical, Aaron. Please just... indulge me."

Still a bit unsure, Aaron slowly shook his head. "All hypothetical...right. Well, there's not really a textbook answer to your question, (Y/N)."

"Okay, so don't give me a textbook answer. Give me yours. You're the expert here. What do you think?"

Aaron chuckled awkwardly, but upon seeing your stern expression, he knew that you weren't fooling around. You were absolutely serious.

"I think..." he started, his expression turning stern too, "that Vili wouldn't have hidden his daughter's powers without leaving her a clue as to how to find them again. He was one of the greatest warriors the universe had ever seen; he knew how important her abilities would be – how powerful she would become – and he undoubtedly knew that one day she would have to defend. Be it this world, or any other."

You nodded along slowly, taking in every word. "So you think he left her a clue?"

"I'd bet everything on it."

"Huh," you ran your tongue along the inside of your cheek, stretching your hands out to your knees as Aaron continued to study your motions, searching for some kind of enlightenment as to you what exactly you were thinking.

"(Y/N), based on your reaction to what we've been discussing..." he stalled his speech for a moment, taking the opportunity to consider how to go about his question. He wasn't someone who was easily confused, yet this situation left him completely befuddled. "I can't help but feel that your questions are not hypothetical. Is there... What's going on?"

Groaning, you lifted one hand to pinch the bridge of your nose. "Aaron," you muttered, "I'd love to tell you. I really would. But not even I am sure of what's going on. All I know is that it's very, very complicated. Besides, even if I did know, I probably wouldn't tell you. And I mean no offense to you by that, but it's just that there's no one I trust right now."

"I understand that," he nodded, "I apologise; I didn't mean to pry. It's simply that you seem quite upset over this – whatever it is – and I would've liked to have helped you with that."

"You have helped, believe me."

He smiled a warm, genuine smile. "I'm glad. Know that even though you might not trust me, you can. I assure you that I am totally impartial in this situation."

"You have to be," you scoffed in amusement, "You have no idea what's going on."

"Precisely," he beamed, eyes twinkling.

You opened your mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance to, since the door to Aaron's suite swung open, hitting the wall with a deafening bang. And in the doorway stood none other than...

"Brendon?" you asked in disbelief, eyes narrowing as you took in the sight before you.

Your bodyguard stood painfully straight as his cold glare settled itself on you and the doctor. His hair was messy and windswept, telling you that he must've arrived in a chopper. As always, his body language radiated exactly what he was feeling – anger. Lots of it.

The muscles in his jaw twitched as he fixed his eyes on Aaron, and amazingly, his gaze hardened even more.

"What," he started, voice calm but as sharp and cold as an icicle, as he took slow, threatening steps forward, "did I say," he flexed his fingers, "would happen if you ever touched her again?"

Aaron's eyes got bigger and his mouth fell open as he tried to respond, but couldn't; much like Corvey, he faltered under Brendon's aura. It was remarkable, really, how Brendon could do that. Make even a man as charming and influential as Doctor Aaron Ross succumb under his gaze.

"Brendon," you spoke, trying to avert the attention from the man sitting next to you.

"Did you forget?" Brendon pressed, ignoring you as he continued to advance on Aaron, "'Cause I'd be more than happy to refresh your memory."

"Brendon!" you raised your voice and stood up this time, blocking the doctor from your bodyguard's view. "Stop it."

Upon making eye contact with you for the first time in a couple days, the usual layer of ice in his eyes was replaced with a raging fire.

"You. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

You frowned, scoffing at the question. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"Yes! Do you have any idea the amount of panic and disruption you've caused? Fuck, (Y/N). Fury has been worried out of his mind, and I..." he broke his gaze, looking to the side and shaking his head before turning back to you, "I've been looking all over for you. I haven't slept in two days because I've been hopping around the entire fucking country trying to find you."

"Hopping? You should try flying," you sassed, cocking one brow, "It's way faster."

"Fuck, (Y/N)!" he barked, anger building, "This isn't a fucking joke! I thought you were dead, damn it!"

"So what? What would it matter if I were dead? In fact, it would only benefit you – you wouldn't have to babysit me anymore. You don't care about me. You never did. That was proven a long time ago. So don't try and make me feel guilty when I know that you don't even really give a shit."

Next thing you knew, Brendon had pulled you to him, one hand holding your left arm in an iron grip, and the other cupping the right side of your face. You could feel him against you; his breathing was dangerously ragged.

"I..." he started, eyes boring into yours. He drew in a sharp breath. "I'm here now. I found you, and I'm not leaving without you."

"I..." it was your turn to falter and inhale deeply. You closed your eyes and shook your head lightly as you shoved him away. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

His jaw clenched. "Yes, you are."

"She said she's not going with you," Aaron found his courage, steeling his gaze and rising from his seat to move beside you. "I think you should leave."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Brendon chuckled bitterly, taking a step back as he looked between you and the Brit. "(Y/N), you can't actually be serious." He looked at you hopelessly. "You're gonna chose to stay with him rather than come with me? You know nothing about him! He can't be trusted!"

"Neither can you," you retorted. "In fact, Aaron has been more truthful to me in two hours than you have been in almost a year."

"Oh come on!" he groaned, accentuating every word, "I was fucking protecting you!"

"Well maybe I don't need you to protect me!" you yelled back, "Did you ever think about that?"

There was the sound of glass shattering, and a small gas cylinder rolled onto the carpet next to you, releasing an invisible gas.

The last thing you heard before blacking out was Brendon calling out your name.

_______________________________

Thank you for reading x

Note: Don't forget to comment which chapters you want to see from Brendon's POV in the chapter titled
'A/N - Vote Here: Brendon's POV'