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Also, their anniversary is mentioned, but it might be off. I'm terrible at keeping track of time lol.
••• many, many years later •••
"I actually have a surprise for you."
Summer beamed at his words and sat straighter in his lap. "Do you, now?"
It was nearly their anniversary- 36 years to be exact. They hadn't aged a day and lived life to the fullest. Loki treated her like the queen he always envisioned her to be. She was now blind to all the bad due to the potion, but she never forgot her children.
He grinned widely and instructed her to, "close your eyes and hold your hands out."
She trusted him completely and did as told, a big smile on her face.
"Okay, open."
She swore the world stopped spinning when she opened her eyes. With a lump in her throat, she ran her fingers over the pictures and croaked, "Is that.... How long has it been?"
"Twenty years." He answered, peering over her shoulder and at the pictures of their kids in her hands. Twenty years since they left.....
The first picture was of Siv and her family. She was married with a big family, just like her own. Three kids in the picture and a fat cat held in what Summer assumed was her granddaughter's arms. One girl and two boys, all breathtakingly beautiful.
The next was of Landon. He was nearly a spitting image of his father. He was all grown up, facial hair, and manly features. It was a graduation picture, college, she assumed, so she wasn't sure how old the picture was. Her heart swelled with pride, nonetheless.
Next was little Freyja. She wasn't so little anymore. Her hair that she always persisted was in pigtails were now loose, long, and midnight black like her father's. But other than the hair, she looked identical to Summer. Summer hoped she remembered what she looked like and how much she looked like her mom. Next to her was a kind looking gentleman, no ring on his finger, but one on hers. Must be engagement pictures. Summer silently prayed that Siv and Freya found amazing husbands and they were nothing like what their father used to be.
Summer flinched when a tear fell onto the picture, not realizing until then that she was crying. She sniffled and turned to Loki. "How'd you get these?"
He opened his mouth and hesitated.
She sighed and smiled, sadly. "You're not going to tell me."
He grinned, apologetically. "I just thought you'd like to see them again."
"So they really are all happy and safe?" She whispered and gazed up at him with her big, watery eyes that he adored so much.
He brought her into his chest and kissed the top of her head. "All happy and safe. I promise." He felt her visibly relax in his embrace, his words giving her slight peace. Peace she hasn't been able to feel for the past several years.
She held onto that peace for a few more weeks, incredibly thankful she at least had pictures of her children. She looked at them everyday and said a prayer over them at night before going to bed. Yet the more she studied and appreciated the pictures, the bigger the hole in her heart grew. The more empty she felt. The more she felt like so much was missing.
The right to have pictures of her children shouldn't be a privilege. The right to have them in a safe home with her and her husband should be something she should have. The more she looked at the pictures every day and night, the more her appreciation for Loki's gift turned into heartbreak and resentment.
It was the night of their 36th anniversary. They looked the same as the day the met. Summer shook her head and mentally corrected herself. They looked the same as the day he invaded her home and held her hostage.
They just had a wonderful meal Loki had requested from the finest chef on their planet. A planet she still didn't know the name of.
Loki's eyes flashed when they met hers, both finished with their meals. "Shall we retire to our room for the night?" He hummed, clearly not hinting at sleep, and outstretched a hand to her.
She bit her inner cheek and grinned back at him, taking his hand.
They retreated down the long hallways of the castle, Loki blissfully oblivious at the moment to Summer's change in mood. Or rather, he was ignoring it, hoping to put her in a better mood.
He had her pinned against the bedroom door the moment it closed. He kissed her so intensely, she forgot whose air she was breathing. He needed that breath she was holding. It belonged to him and he needed it back.
She gasped as her hands trailed up his arms and over his broad shoulders. He chuckled into the kiss but he noticed she winced when she pulled away. His lips drew into a frown and he asked, "are you okay, love?"
Her arms slid off his shoulders and she cringed as a sharp pain pinched her chest. "Umm, I think so. Must be heart burn." She cleared her throat and she rubbed her chest.
"Why don't you go relax and take a bath? I'll meet you there in a minute." He suggested.
She nodded and headed towards the bathroom. The farther away she got from him, the more she hurt. He watched her with dark eyes as she cringed and winced, making fear creep into him.
Unknowingly or not, after twenty years.... She was fighting the potion.
•••
Their bath was quiet and tense, neither of them addressing the elephant in the room. Mainly because Summer didn't know Loki was aware of the elephant.
She towel dried her hair and sauntered into the bedroom where Loki already was. She sent him a gentle smile that didn't quite reach her tired eyes.
He lifted the covers, inviting her to lay with him, surprising her. She expected him to pounce on her the moment she got close enough. She sighed and though she wanted to fight it, her physical pain told her to snuggle closer to him.
He cautiously rolled over to face her and gently shifted his grip around her waist as if he were afraid she'd break. She let her eyes drift away from the ceiling and into his. "I want you to know something," he started, softly.
"Hmm?" She hummed and searched his eyes.
His tongue poked out to nervously wet his dry lips and said, "I want you to be happy. I want your life to be as beautiful as you... You know I'll give you anything you ask," -unless it was freedom. "I just want you to be happy."
"I know that." She smiled, but he saw right through it. "Thank you, Loki."
He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Is there anything?"
"Any what?" She hummed as he gently brushed her hair away from her face.
"Anything I can give you. To make you happy."
She went silent, fear secretly torturing her guts.
"Summer...." He drawled with a sigh. "I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to be honest. I promise you I won't be upset."
Anxious tears rose to her eyes, fighting their way out, telling him everything he needed to know. "Okay." She exhaled in a whisper.
"Do you still wish to be free?" He asked with no emotion in his voice.
Was this a test? Was it genuine? Would he really not be upset with her? Does she tell the truth? What is the truth?
He sighed as she hesitated and rolled onto his back.
Fear gripped her heart and she quickly moved closer to him. Her hand rested against his firm chest as she pleaded, "No, Loki, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"I'm not mad, Summer." He told her, gently. He placed his hand over hers and brought it up to his lips to place a kiss on the back of it. "I meant what I said. If you think of anything, ask me for it."
Silently, she nodded.
"I love you." He spoke, softly.
They both remained quiet until they fell asleep in each other's embrace.
•••
She stretched across the bed, her sheets were heavy and made of cotton. Loki liked light and silk sheets.
The room was darker then usual, but she knew it had to be morning. Loki didn't like curtains, he liked the natural sunlight wake him up.
She didn't feel the dip in the bed next to her from Loki's weight. He's never gotten out of bed without at least giving her a kiss on the forehead first.
She cracked an eye open, revealing what she feared to be true. She wasn't in her bedroom.
She shot straight up as her eyes darted around the room. The room seemed eerily familiar, but different all in the same. It's a place she hadn't been in for over twenty years now.
She ripped the blankets off of her and ran out the bedroom door. Once again, in a room so familiar, but different.
It was a lounge room, the walls were made of glass, allowing her to see the city outside. She took careful steps towards the window, placing a hand against it as she peek outside. She was several stories up, the people looking like a bunch of tiny ants below.
People. Humans. She was on earth.
"Don't move." A voice warned from behind her. A voice so familiar, but different.
She raised her trembling hands in the air and rasped, "please, I.... I don't know where I am." She pleaded to the person behind her.
Her voice sent an arrow through his heart. He never expected to hear this voice ever again. "Turn around." He ordered, weakly.
With her eyes glued to the floor, she slowly turned, pulling a gasp from the man. "No... You... Who are you!?" He barked, making her flinch.
"My name is Summer Laufeyson. I'm so sorry if I've intruded, I... I have no idea where I am."
"Holy shit," he breathed and took a hesitant step towards her. "I thought... He's made you immortal, hasn't he?" He exclaimed in disbelief, putting the pieces together.
Her breath caught in her throat at his question. Hesitantly, her eyes trailed up to meet his. "Peter?" She gasped. He was a man now, yet she hadn't aged a day.
So familiar but so different.
He wanted nothing more than to run to her and hug her, but he feared if she was here, Loki couldn't be far. He discreetly pressed a button on his bracelet, signaling for the team to come. "Yes, it's me." He said as joyfully as he could.
She shook her head and took a step back. "I don't understand. Am I in the tower?"
"Yeah, it's been renovated over the years." He laughed in disbelief. Slowly, his smile fell. "Summer, we thought you were dead. How are you here?"
"To be fair, for a long time, I thought you were all dead too. It's a lot to explain." She answered as hot tears filled her eyes. Her lips trembled as she admitted, "I'm so scared, Peter."
"Why?" He knew the rest of the team couldn't be far.
"I don't know why I'm here or how I got here. I was just in bed with Loki and now...." She trailed off.
"Unbelievable." A familiar voice rasped from behind her.
The last time she "saw" him, he had a knife imbedded between his eyes.
A sob escaped past her lips. "Thor?" She blurted as more tears fell.
Thor wasted no time scooping her up into his embrace, holding her tightly to his chest. "I can't believe it's you." He laughed, though his voice was heavy with emotion.
"They're all still alive, Summer. They're still here."
She sniffled and pulled back to look up at him. "You mean...."
He nodded with a smile as his own eyes welled with tears. "I felt it was my duty and honor as uncle to take in the kids. When they came back somehow, I did my best to raise them, and I... I did the best I could." He told her with a sad grin. "They're all grown now, some of them even have families of their own."
She released another sob and hugged him again. "Thank you. Thank you, Thor." She cried and squeezed him tight.
"We searched for you for years, Summer." He told her, not letting her go. "I haven't stopped looking."
They pulled back from the embrace and he gently brushed back her hair from her face. Through thick and thin, Thor had always been there for her, helping her taking care of Siv when Loki was gone all those years ago. And now, he looked out for all of the kids over the past twenty years when she let them go to keep them alive. It was a brotherly love he had for her, and her the same.
"How are you here?" He exasperated.
She held onto his thick arms and shook her head. "I don't know. I'm fearful as to why I'm here."
"Dad? I'm here!" A familiar but different voice called from the elevator.
Summer let out another delighted cry. "They call you dad?"
The sound of glass breaking was the first thing that happened, followed by a gasp. Siv stood in the entryway, the glass she was once holding, shattered to millions of pieces on the floor, long forgotten. "Mom?"
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