Heart of a Mortal (Loki Romance)

Chapter 32

I found my house packed with all my friends. They'd even stopped to pick Mom up before coming down. While New Jersey hadn't even been touched by the invasion, I was glad they had been far away from it. The house erupted into shouts as I walked inside. Everyone rushed me, all of them talking over each other and asking the same questions. I felt Liv hug me from behind and she shushed them all.

"Give her some air, guys. She just survived a war, jeez."

I smiled and patted her arms. "I'm fine. Clean up is starting in the city, the aliens are definitely done for, and Loki is in custody."

There was a general sigh of relief. "So what'll happen to him?" Robby asked. "They can't keep him here."

I shook my head. "No, Thor is taking him to Asgard. He'll face his sentence there." More sighs. They sat me down and listened as I described all that had happened - from Loki taking me and Liv to his surrender, I explained it all. Robby leaned across the couch and squeezed my hand.

"Listen, I know this is hard and I know we fought a lot. But I'm glad you're okay. And this is over."

I smiled. "Yeah. Me too."

Liv clapped once and stood. "Okay! Everyone's fine. Eb needs some rest, so let's start packing up and getting home guys."

"Maybe we should stay with you?" Mom asked, her brows furrowing. I shook my head.

"I have to go back to SHIELD in two days. I'll be fine, honest. But I am really tired." I looked pointedly at Liv and she nodded.

"Yep!" She said. "To bed with you. I'll clean up and we'll be going." There was another round of hugs. Everyone started packing up. Liv followed me to my room. She closed the door. "So why does SHIELD need you back?"

I sighed. "They don't. Thor offered to take me with him. To Asgard."

She sat down slowly, her hands folded in her lap. "Oh. So you're leaving? In two days? Just like that?"

I sat beside her. "I don't know if I can do that."

We were silent for a long time. Everyone else was talking outside, laughing and calling to each other to make sure they had everything. I didn't know if I could bring myself to tell them, much less to actually leave them. Sure, I lived all the way out here and saw them only a few times a year. But that was better than never. That was better than knowing they were a world away rather than a ten hour drive.

"Do you want to stay with him?" Liv asked.

I looked up at her. "I don't know."

She raised unconvinced brows and I couldn't help but smile. "Yes. Yes, I do."

She nodded slowly. "I mean, you can always visit."

I looked away again. "That's the thing." I said softly. "Their transport was destroyed. Thor's father sent him here and they're using the Tesseract to open a portal back. But then it's going in the vault and I'd be stuck there until they rebuild their transport."

"Oh."

"And I don't know how long that takes. What if it's years, decades before I see you again? And it's not so simple as picking up and leaving! I have to sell my house, quit my job, do something with my money and stuff. But... But mostly, I don't know when I'll see you again."

"Oh." She whispered.

"But at the same time, Thor wants me to present Loki's case. And I can't have the baby unless I go with him. And..." I trailed off, shaking my head.

"And Loki needs you." She said. I nodded. "Do you want to go?"

"Yeah, but I want to stay!"

She bit her lip and stood. Going to a large jar I kept full of coins, she fished out a quarter. I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'm not basing a life changing decision on a coin toss."