A/N: Hi guys! I know I've been awful and haven't updated for months, but as much as I enjoy writing this and reading all of your comments, my exams had to come first. However, now I'm finished! And I'm free for two months! Again, I really do apologise for leaving the story where I did, and for not updating but it was really hard to balance everything at the same time.
Thank you all so much for all of the lovely comments, votes and support throughout this story! I do read all of the comments, I just don't get a chance to reply to all of them, so I'm sorry about that. Enjoy this chapter and I hope, now that I'm free from the prison that is known as school, I can update a lot more often than I have been doing previously.
Love, abbiemca x
Chapter Thirty Four - Welcome Home
Ava's View
Recap:
"Did you miss me?" Loki asked, his voice low in my ear.
"What a stupid question," I stated, and he just laughed as he hugged my body tight to his.
When I fell out of his embrace, I realised that I had warm tears falling down my cheeks and Loki was stood in front of me. Loki was stood in front of me. Loki. Without even thinking about it, my hand flew up and slapped his small smirk straight off his face. When I heard the connection between the palm of my hand and his face, I gasped a little, but I was still furious with him. Loki stared at me in bewilderment, and he brought his hand up to cradle his face.
"Wha... What was that for?!" He asked in complete shock. I leaned forward accusingly, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Don't you ever do that again, Loki. Ever," I snapped, and then I took a deep breath and spoke a little more calmly. "You're okay. You're okay..." I said, and my previous annoyance seemed to ebb away and Loki wrapped his arms around me into another hug. As we hugged this time, the rest of the guests at the banquet erupted into cheers. We jumped from the embrace and turned to look at everyone. I couldn't help but grin.
Little Mari came running up to us, and she hugged both me and Loki at the same time. Loki laughed, and then picked her up, balancing her on the hip of his uninjured side. I smiled at the two of them and I felt a certain warmth in my chest that I don't think I'd felt before. The other guests were all still cheering and clapping; I even saw Sif crack a small smile. The three of us sat down at the table, me in my previous seat, and Loki in Mari's with Mari sitting on his lap.
The remainder of the banquet seemed to pass by in a quick blur. Sondra and Will were chattering away all night, between themselves and to the rest of us. Thor was barely able to speak properly he was so intoxicated. Sif and the warriors three laughed and chanted and drank with Thor. Tom was quite reserved, however he did make conversation with everyone. He gave Loki a small nod, and Loki repsectfully returned it. I assumed that neither of them would be at each other's throats now... Or at least I hoped so.
The banquet went on straight through the night, right until late hours of the morning. I was quite willing and able to stay up until it completely ended, as was Loki, Sondra, Will, definitely Thor... However, Mari wasn't quite up to it. She had fallen asleep on Loki's chest after about an hour or two of his return.
We stayed for around another half an hour, and then we both decided that Mari needed to be put to bed. I stood first, and made sure Loki didn't fall whilst carrying Mari.
"Goodnight guys, don't get too drunk now," I said with a wink. Tom gave me a smile, Thor cheered and held his tankard of mead up to me and Sondra and Will grinned. I then diverted the conversation to those two in particular. "Now, now, no funny business between you two tonight either," I said, wiggling my eyebrows and waving my index finger at them accusingly. Both of them blushed bright scarlet, and Will began to stutter.
"Wh-what? No, no, we-" He began, but Sondra cut him off.
"Shut up, Ava. I could say the same for you and Loki." She snapped, her face now a delightful shade of crimson.
"We're engaged, it's allowed," I retorted, before ruffling both of their hair and walking away with Loki and Mari, after Loki had also said his goodnights to everyone. We walked out of the large hall, I opened the door for him and Mari, and then followed him through the long, carpeted corridors.
"I'm so glad you're back, Loki," I said quietly. He turned to me and gave me a warm smile.
"I'm glad to be back. Being with you is a bonus," He said with another smile.
"I'm so sorry about everything that happened, with Tom, I-"
"Don't. Not now. You don't have to apologise. I believe you, Ava, everything you said. I believe you. I'm sorry for not doing so in the first place," He said, rather calmly. He glanced at me, and then smirked. "I like your dress," he commented. I looked down at my own clothing and laughed. The green dress.
"Why thank you. Mari picked it for me," I said, and Loki laughed. I smiled back at him and we continued walking until we reached my room. I turned the handle and pushed the door open, and Loki stepped through the doorway and set Mari down in the middle of my kingsize bed. He lifted the covers and tucked her in, and he gave her a tiny kiss on her forehead.
"May I ask, how come you have taken Mari in?" He asked quietly, and he sat himself down on the edge of the bed. I sat down beside him, being careful not to wake Mari. I took a deep breath before explaining.
"Both of her parents died in the battle. She had nobody else, and I didn't want her to end up trained and used like Sondra. So I promised that we'd look after her."
"We?"
"Yes, Loki, me and you," I said, and I panicked for a split second. Did he not approve of this or something? However, my mind was put at rest when he nodded in understanding, and then he smiled at me.
"I think you'd be a fantastic mother," Loki said quietly, his green eyes staring softly. "To Mari, I mean," He glanced back at Mari and then to me. I didn't really agree with him, but I also didn't want to argue with him.
"Maybe," I mumbled quietly, "although I think you'd be the better parent," Loki let out a laugh at this, and then had to clutch his injured side as he had clearly laughed a bit too much.
"Me?" He started, "Ava, I tried to take over New York, I killed thousands of people-"
"And what makes me any different? I started a war which resulted in the killing of thousands of people," I stated. Loki placed his cold hand on top of mine and looked at me almost sympathetically.
"When you invaded Jotunheim, did you know it was an invasion?"
"No."
"And did you have any idea what Sondra's true intentions were?"
"No, but-"
"And you also said yourself, that Odin was planning an attack on Jotunheim anyway and you had proof of it. Whereas, my sole aim was to rule over a realm because I wasn't able to rule this one. They're two very different circumstances, Ava, and although you feel incredibly guilty for what you did, your part in it was only tiny. You acted as more of a catalyst than a cause; you did nothing more than quicken the arrival of the war. You did not cause it," Loki said, and he kissed my forehead just as he had kissed Mari's. I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder.
"I've missed you," I said, my voice so quiet it was barely even a whisper. Loki squeezed my hand.
"I'm sorry I took so long," He said, his voice showing a hint of laughter. I chuckled slightly and Loki turned slightly and I lifted my head from his shoulder. He raised my chin ever so slightly with his index finger and he closed the small gap between us with his lips.
*+*+*+*
When I woke up, I was lying on the right hand side of Mari, and when I sat up, I saw Loki was asleep on the other side. The sight made me smile. I carefully stepped from the bed, trying not to wake either of them up, and I quickly dressed into new clothes. Turns out I'd fallen asleep in the green dress I had worn last night. I dressed in my usual Asgardian wear, a tunic with leather pants and a waistcoat. I brushed my hair through and quickly washed my face in the bathroom.
Mari and Loki soon woke up, and Loki departed to retrieve clothes from his room, and Mari found some clothes of her own in my black hole of a wardrobe. When everyone was dressed and ready to face the day, we left our rooms and met up again in the corridor outside.
"Good morning, ladies," Loki said, with a smile to Mari and I. He wore his usaul clothes, just without the armour plates and I was assuming this was due to his injuries.
"Morning," I replied, and soon the three of us went off to breakfast where we met with Thor and Sondra. Will must have been working. Thor clapped Loki on the back, and Sondra gave him a huge grin.
"Welcome back, brother," Thor said, and it was so clear that he was more than happy to have Loki back.
"You're a sight for sore eyes," Sondra began, "I thought I was going to be stuck with these two miserable sods forever," She gestured to Thor and I and we just laughed. "It's good to have you back, Loki."
"Thank you," He said simply. "It's nice to see you all again," He said, and I barely even noticed him lacing his fingers with mine. Mari looked a little bit lost stood in between the four of us, so she spoke up over the booming voice of Thor and the laughter from the rest of us.
"Can I go into town and see Sofia?" She asked.
"Of course you can, I don't see why you can't. Would you like us to walk you there?" I replied.
"Just to the end of the courtyard, please," Mari said with a smile. I held out my free hand to her and tried to tug Loki along behind me. However, he didn't budge.
"Ava, Mari... I don't think that's... the best of ideas," Loki said quietly. I turned to him in confusion but Sondra spoke for me.
"Why not? The town is all clear now, the cleanup operations were actually quite efficient-"
"It's not the town, it's Sofia," Loki responded, his eyes dull and his expression solemn.
"What are you talking about?" Loki turned to me and gave me a grave look. I knew what it meant. I knew what he was trying to say. "No..." I whispered. When I said this, Mari seemed to realise what had gone on.
"Is Sofia okay?" She asked timidly, her bright eyes flitting between Loki and I. I looked at Loki and waited for him to explain himself fully. He took a deep breath and he kneeled down in front of her so that their eyes were level.
"I hate having to be the one to tell you this, Mari, because I know how close you and Sofia were..." He began, but his voice lost its volume and he trailed off. Mari hung onto his every word and waited for him to finish what he was trying to say. He took another deep breath before he spoke again. "Sofia is... she's gone," He said, his voice so quiet it was barely even a whisper. Mari's eyes searched Loki's desperately.
"What do you mean gone?" Mari asked to which the answer was a long pause. Mari seemed to realise what had happened as the brightness in her eyes seemed to fade and she hung her head in distress. "She's gone.... Just like my parents..." Mari mumbled, and she soon started crying into the palms of her hands. I moved to comfort her, but Loki got there first and he cradled the young, sobbing girl in his arms. She wept into his shoulder and he tried to soothe her by rubbing her back and hushing her.
Thor, Sondra and I watched as Loki managed to calm Mari down and stop her sobs. I gave him a weak smile and he struggled to return it.
"Mari, how would you like to see the horses im the stables?" Thor asked her, and Mari's eyes seemed to regain a tiny bit of brightness.
"Really? I can see the horses?" She asked, and Thor nodded. Loki set her down on the floor again and Thor took her small hand in his large one. He led her in the direction of the stables and I smiled at the two figures as they walked away. Sondra turned to Loki and spoke up.
"How did you know that about Sofia?" She enquired. Loki let out a sigh before explaining himself.
"When I was in the infirmary, this is when I had almost healed, I saw Sofia on the bed next to mine. According to Helena she'd been caught up in some kind of explosion. She was badly injured and she wasn't moving so I asked Helena how she was. Helena said she wasn't doing too well at all and that she wasn't sure if she'd make it through the night. The next morning when I woke up, somebody else completely was in her bed so I asked about her again. Helena told me she had passed away in her sleep and they'd taken her body to the mortuary," Loki explained, his voice suddenly very quiet.
Some kind of explosion.
Children should never have been in the firing line of such things. It made me think back to when I had been caught up in an explosion but instead of killing me, it gave me telekinetic powers. I sighed. Wars always end like this. With children and other innocent people dead. It isn't fair. And it made me feel sick knowing that I'd helped this war along.
I snapped out of my thoughts when a familiar voice called my name. Will jogged over to the three of us, and addressed me directly, much to Sondra's dismay.
"Ava, Heimdall has a message for you. He said he would have come and found you himself but he has to stay on duty in the Bifrost. You should probably go and see him," Will said with a smile. He smiled at Loki and then turned to Sondra and they began talking about something neither Loki or I had any idea about. I gave them both a quick goodbye as I walked in the direction of the Bifrost, and Loki followed behind me.
When we arrived at the golden entrance to the Bifrost,Heimdall stood majestically in the raised centre, his large hands clasped around his sword. He didn't have to turn around to know we had arrived.
"Lady Richards, it's nice to see you. And you, Loki. I can only hope you're feeling better now," Heimdall said, as he turned around a focused his amber eyes on both of us.
"It's nice to see you too Heimdall," I said politely. Loki nodded to him.
"I called you here to let you know that your friends on Earth are in a bit of a panic," Hemidall began. Loki muttered something under his breath. I stared at Heimdall in confusion. What are they panicking about now? "In particular Miss Potts seems to be in quite a frenzy. Apparently her bridesmaid has disappeared," Heimdall stated, giving me a knowing look. I gasped and clasped my hands over my mouth. The wedding!
"Oh my God I forgot!" I whispered in shock. How could I forget?!
"I believe Miss Potts' and Mr Stark's wedding takes place tomorrow, Lady Richards. I advise you get a move on," Hemidall said, and I could have sworn he winked at me as he said it.