Agent Mikaelson

Chapter 10: It's Good To Be Home

Hope's POV:

Once Thor shackles Loki we take him back to a holding facility. Once he's there and secured we all head out for shawarma. It's kind of a funny situation. We're all still in our suits and we're seated at a table in the damaged shop. The owner is really sweet and doesn't question us.

A few days pass and it's time to send off Thor who is taking Loki back to Asgard to face punishment there. We all stand together as Bruce and Tony place the Tesseract into a secure container so that Thor and Loki can use it to travel back.

Thor nods to all of us before they are off. Steve turns to look at me. "Where are you off to now? Going back to SHIELD?" He asks me. I nod, deep in though. Thinking about my future with SHIELD.

"Eventually, but for now, I think some quality family time is in order. I spoke with my Aunt Freya on the phone. I'm meeting them in New Orleans tomorrow. Everyone is going to be there Uncle Kol, Aunt Freya, Aunt Rebekah, Uncle Marcel, Aunt Keelin, Aunt Davina, my cousin Nick." I say.

"It's the first family gathering since my dad's funeral seven years ago." He smiles at me. "I'm happy for you Hope." I smile. "Thanks. What about you? What are you planning?" I ask, looking up at him.

"Well I'm going to take a few months to myself, but I think I'm going to be working with SHIELD full time." He says. I smile. "That's great. Maybe we can do missions together sometime." He smiles too. "Yeah, maybe." "Now, mind giving me a lift to the airport?" I ask.

After all, he did give me a lift over here. He laughs and nods, walking over to his bike. I don't go straight there however. I walk over to Nat and Clint, hugging them. "I'll see you two in a few weeks." "Take all the time you need kid, you've earned it." Clint says. I nod.

With one last hug I go over to Tony who is headed over to Bruce. "Hey." I say. He turns to me and smiles. "Hey kid." He says. I'm glad he trusted me to help them. If not, I wonder if he would be here.

"I know when we started this you had your reservations about trusting me, but thank you for trusting me anyways. It's not often I'm not labeled dangerous upon first hearing about what I am." I say. He smiles and nods.

"You saved my life Hope, I owe you one. That warrants respect in my book. In my book respect isn't the same as fear. I trust you." He says. Smiling I pull him into a hug. "Take care of yourself Tony." "You too kid." With that I pull away and head over to Steve.

He offers me a helmet and I scoff. "Really?" I ask. "Hey, safety first." I laugh and slide the helmet onto my head. I climb onto the back of the bike and wrap my arms around him. Once he knows I'm good, he take off in the direction of JFK.

When we get there we both get off and he helps me unhook my duffle from the back the bike. "You sure you'll be ok?" He asks. "Yeah, I'll be fine. And hey, if you ever feel the need, feel free to visit. I can show you all of my favorite places." I tell him. He smiles and nods.

"I'll keep that in mind. Stay safe Hope." He says.  "I will. Thank you Steve, for everything." I say. He smiles at me and pulls me into a warm hug. "Thank you Hope. You had my back and now I have yours." He says. He then pulls away.

"When you get back you'll have to explain to me everything being a tribrid entails." He says. I laugh. "Why of course. Goodbye Steve." "Bye Hope." With that I grab my duffle and walk into the airport. A short plane ride to Atlanta and then another short ride to New Orlean I'm finally home.

When I exit the terminals and grab my back I turn to see them. All of them. Smiling widely I race over and am engulfed in a hug by Aunt Freya. then Aunt Rebekah steals me. From her I'm passed down the line to Kol, then Davina, then Keelin, then Marcel. Even Vincent is here.

I ruffle Nick's a hair a little bit as well. "Now, you have to tell us what happened with those things." Rebekah says, talking about the aliens. I laugh. "Yes darling, it's not everyday you turn on the tv to see your niece fighting an alien army." Kol says. I smile.

"I couldn't do it alone. I had help." I say. "You seem different. A good different. Happy." Freya says. I nod, smiling at the thought of my new family of superheroes. Family. I don't know when the line blurred between family and coworker, but it did.

"Yes well, I met some people who I let it. I learned to not fear letting people in. If I do that then I'm not living. If I'm not living my dad and Uncle Elijah's sacrifice meant nothing. I can't be afraid of losing people forever." I say. They all smile at me.

"I'm proud of you Hope, we all are." Freya says. "Now come on. The three hundred beignets back at the compound won't eat themselves." Marcel says. I smile even wider. "Beignets?" I ask. "Of course. You're getting an official New Orleans welcome home." Vincent says. I laugh.

Arms linked with Rebekah and Freya we all walk out of the airport and head to the compound. Once we're there we all sit around the dining room table as I recount my story of the Battle of New York. They all listen intently while Marcel and Kol brag that they could have done better.

That's when Davina zaps them back into their seats and we all laugh. I've missed this. I avoided coming home to avoid the pain of reliving my parent deaths, but now, sitting her, I know that I'm not reliving it, I'm honoring it, and I will continue to do so until I am unable to.

It's good to be home.