#giftless

“Stand up straight, darling. You’re a princess,” he reminded you gently. His silver words worked well enough that you were able to stand tall and submit to the embarrassment from your friends.  Loki led you out of the tower after that.

You stared in shock at the horse-drawn carriage waiting for you at the tower’s front door.  

Loki chuckled at your shock before he helped you in to it.

Your first stop of the evening was an excellent dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town. It was Loki’s favorite place to take you, so you weren’t at all surprised. He had a special table reserved for you right in the kitchen.  It was the table of honor and a VIP table and you found it amazing to watch all of the chefs work. You watched them like they were a show, an entertainment. Really, it was just great to see how well they worked together. Everything came out perfectly and you figured that over dessert was the best time to give Loki his gift. You summoned the box and handed it to him. He looked shocked that you had gotten him anything.

“What is it?” he asked as he took the box from you. 

You laughed. “If you take the shiny paper off and open the box you’ll find out,” you replied, giggling.

He opened the box and pulled out your simple gift. It was a silver pocket watch/compass combo. On the top it read ‘For our adventures, love Y/N Kathryn Stark’. Inside the lid was the best picture of the two of you that you could find. You had plenty to choose from.

“It is wonderful, darling. Thank you,” he finally said when he had words again. He carefully put it in his pocket, attaching the chain properly. “Your gift will come later this evening,” he added. You weren’t expecting anything on top of your awesome night out, but you couldn’t honestly say you were terribly surprised either.

The next stop was a park that looked over the gorgeous skyline of the city. It was there that Loki pulled out a small box. He spoke before he handed it to you, before you could get the wrong idea. “This is not an engagement ring, not yet. This is a promise ring. I am beyond honored that you chose to spend the last year as my beloved. My promise to you with this ring is this: I will always love you. I will always care for you. And I promise that I will do my best to be worthy enough of your love that one day you might consent to be my wife.” He opened the ring box and dropped to one knee. “Will you accept my promises, my love?” he asked with all the seriousness of this being a proper engagement.

“Yes!” you told him excitedly, even though as he had said, this wasn’t an engagement ring. He slid the ring on your finger. It could have been confused for an engagement ring. It was a simple single diamond silver ring. Thought the diamond was smaller than a traditional engagement ring. Loki stood again and you wrapped your arms around his neck. He held you to him and you kissed for a long time under the stars.

“One more adventure tonight,” he announced when your kiss finally ended. 

Your last stop was a full-out ball. You don’t know how he arranged it. Balls just weren’t a normal occurrence in this day and age, but you loved every moment of it.  You danced the night away, spinning to waltzes and Loki leading on the other court dances as well. You didn’t fall behind, since you had the knowledge of the steps from the soulbond.

It was a fantastic end to a wonderful evening.

It was after midnight by the time you got back to the compound. Loki was looking more and more distressed the entire ride home. “Loki, what is it?” you asked when you were safely inside the compound. “Something’s been bothering you all week. Please tell me what it is,” you bid him, desperation in your voice. You hated seeing him hurting like this.

“I did not want to ruin our anniversary…” he finally said, hedging.

“Loki, what is it?” you demanded, worried now.  It wasn’t like Loki to keep things from you.

He sighed, but took a deep breath and finally answered. “I have to return home,” he finally said, speaking the words too quickly, forcing them out.

“A visit? That’s not a problem. I can get time off to go with you,” you told him, excited to go back and see your friends and family on Asgard.

He shook his head and your heart dropped. “There is trouble at home. I have been ordered to come home and help deal with it…” that would be harder, but not impossible for you to get time away for.  You could get that much time off.

“I’m sure I can get the time off to come with you-” 

He shook his head again, cutting you off. “You cannot come. Not this time. I don’t know how long this will take. It could be days, weeks, months, even years before the trouble is settled. I can’t take you from your home and your life for that long…”

“No, you can’t go home and just leave me here!” you protested. “We’re soulbound. We’re in this together, whatever is going on.”

“I have to, my darling. There is no choice here. I have to go and you must remain here. Live your life. I will return to you the moment the trouble at home is settled. I will return,” he promised. You looked up at him with tears running down your face. You didn’t even remember when you started to cry. You wrapped your arms around him, desperate to keep him with you, though you knew it was too late. He held you and kissed you and finally, after as much procrastinating as he could, opened the portal behind him. “Goodbye, my love. I will return as soon as I am able.” He promised, somehow disengaging himself from your grip.

“Loki, no!” you cried as the portal shut behind him. You stared at the empty space where he had been standing, with tears running down your cheeks. He was gone. He was really gone. In a daze you went up to Tony’s room and barged in.

“Kat?” he asked. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, wrapping you in his arms as you sobbed into his chest.

“Loki,” you told him. You couldn’t get any other words out that one was hard enough.

“What did that asshole do? I’ll kill him.” 

You shook your head. “He left,” you sobbed. Tony held you while you cried your soul out.

You swore to myself when your tears slowed that you wouldn’t be Bella Swan. You weren’t going to fall into depression over your boyfriend leaving. You weren’t going to become a useless shell of a person. But for tonight, tonight you would allow yourself the tears, allow yourself the heartbreak.

Loki was truly gone and it felt like your soul was bleeding.

“Tradition on Asgard,” Loki answered quickly.  It wasn’t even a lie. “Did anything important happen while we were gone?” He asked the team in general, changing the subject to something safer.

“The Harlequin has been causing problems again. There’s also been some supposed sightings of Balder, but no one’s been able to confirm it,” Nat reported.  As one of the original Avengers, it was one of her jobs to give such updates.  “But there’s nothing urgent for you two today,”

You nodded at that, relieved that you got a reprieve. “Thanks Aunt Nat. Come on, Loki, there’s something we need to do,” you grabbed Loki’s hand and started dragging him with you. You had put this off too long and that needed to be rectified now.

“Darling, where are you dragging me?” Loki asked, laughing.  He didn’t fight you, but did wonder what you were up to. 

“You’ll see,” was the only reply he got. He sighed, but dug in his heels at the door to leave the tower. You stopped and turned to look at him. “What?” you asked, confused as to why he was stopping now.

“Maybe we should be wearing Midgardian clothes?” he asked, calmly and reasonably. You sighed, but used your power to change your dress to a blue sundress and sandals. Loki just gave you an expectant look. You rolled your eyes, since he was perfectly capable of changing his own clothes by magic, but he just continued to look at you expectantly. You closed your eyes and focused. It was harder to change his clothes than your own, but after a moment, he was dressed in a suit, just not the all black one he usually chose for himself. “A suit?” he asked, confused by your choice.

“You want to make a good first impression,” you told him. He nodded, but you saw the confused expression on his face. You led him to your car and summoned your purse and keys. The first place you drove to was the liquor store first, parking far enough from the entrance that they wouldn’t be able to see you from inside the store. “Your ID says you’re at least 21, right?” you asked him when you pulled into the spot. 

Loki nodded warily “Of course.” He didn’t trust where your mind was going.

“Good,” you pulled out some money from your purse and handed it to him. “Go in there and pick something out. Something a man would like,”

“Darling…”

“Please, Loki. It’s important,”

“And you cannot come?” he asked, confused. He knew there was something about Midgardian customs he was missing and wanted to understand before he did this favor.

You shook your head. “I don’t have a fake ID and you have to be 21 to buy alcohol,” you reminded him. You hadn’t bothered getting a fake when you were so well-known.  It would’ve been stupid.  “They won’t sell it to you if they think you’re buying it for a minor, for someone under 21,” you clarified that last point.

“Am I buying it for a minor?” he asked with a look of disapproval.

“Of course not!” you spluttered, indignantly, like you’d ever ask for something like that. Besides, you could always steal booze from Tony if you really wanted some.  “It’s a gift,” 

He nodded and kissed your cheek.  That, he could understand.  “Very well, darling,” he finally answered and went to go complete his task. It took him awhile, but you didn’t mind.  You were just glad he was taking the assignment seriously. He came back with something fancy looking and sounding. You knew nothing about alcohol, but he insisted that the clerk had recommended it for a gift.

“Good! One more stop,” you told him. Your next stop was a florist. They knew you there, of course.  It was the florist you always went to.  

“Kat, we weren’t expecting you. I don’t have your usual order ready,” the nice lady who owned the shop greeted you.  

“Don’t worry, Mary, I didn’t place an order today. Do you have any roses, today? You know they’re her favorite,” Mary gave you a warm, matronly smile.

“Of course, dear. I even have a couple of the purple ones she’s particularly fond of,”

“Will you make something pretty for her?” you asked, trying to smile, though it was hard. It always brought tears to your eyes, even though you knew you shouldn’t cry.

She nodded, understanding in her eyes and voice.  “Of course, dear. It’ll be ready soon,” she got to work on the request right in front of you. “You’re taking your young man to meet them?” she asked while she worked. Loki wasn’t often called a young man, but you weren’t going to quibble over it. 

You nodded. “It was time he was introduced to them,” you replied.

She gave you a knowing smile. “It must be getting serious, then,” you blushed. You weren’t going to answer that. You pulled your phone out. “Sorry for being rude and being on your phone, Mary, there’s one more thing I need,” you texted Tony asking for his help.

-I’ll meet you there- came the reply in an instant.  Uncle Tony would always drop anything to help you.

“Darling, will you be telling me who I am to meet?” Loki asked overly patiently. You gave him a look and he sighed. “Of course you will not,” 

It wasn’t long before Mary gave us the rose bouquet.

You drove to the cemetery after that. You had never made this drive by yourself. Tony always drove you, but you didn’t lose your resolve or your way. Loki was subdued as you parked in front of your parents’ graves. He had realized when you pulled into the cemetery who you were going to see. Tony wasn’t there yet, but that was fine. He was giving you time to do this your way. You took a deep breath. “Ready?” you asked Loki. He gave you his usual smile.

“Of course, my dear. Don’t fear, they will love me,” he told you warmly.  You got out of the car and you took his hand to lead him up to meet your parents.

“Mom, Dad,” you took a breath, this was hard. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” 

You pulled Loki up the last couple of steps to their graves.

“This is Prince Loki of Asgard, my boyfriend,” you announced.  You always spoke as if they were there and could hear you.  It was weird, but thankfully, Loki went along with your eccentricities.  

“It is a pleasure to meet both of you,” Loki added with a bow. He produced the bouquet of roses, which were now in an elegant vase. “Kat mentioned that these are your favorites, Mrs. Stark,” he said as he knelt down to place the flowers in front of her grave. He didn’t think, or at least didn’t say, it was weird that you was talking to your parents like they were still alive. He even played along. “It is not playing along, darling,” Loki told you, gleaning your thoughts. “The spirits of the dead can and do watch over us,” he thought for a moment and summoned a spellbook. “I cannot do this spell often, but for today…” he recited the spell and your parents appeared, standing between their graves. 

You just stood there shocked and starting.

“An illusion?” you asked. He shook his head and that was all you needed.  You ran for them. Ran wasn’t a strong enough word, but it was the only one you had. You wrapped your arms around both of them, holding them too tightly. You’d never gotten to say goodbye and now they were here and they were real.  So very real. “Mom? Dad?” you asked, sobbing as you held them tightly so they couldn’t vanish from you again.

“We’re here. We’re always with you, dear,” mom told you. “Though your father does admittedly spend most of his time looking after that uncle of yours.  The trouble he gets into playing a superhero…”

“How?” was the only word you could get out, refusing to let them go. You hadn’t seen them in years. They were dead. They shouldn’t be there.

“It is just for the afternoon,” Loki repeated firmly.  He wasn’t giving any illusions that the spell was stronger than it was.  “Their spirits remained to watch over you and your uncle when you need them. I simply allowed them to visible and tangible for the afternoon,”

“Then we will have to just make the most of the afternoon,” you replied as Tony pulled up in his car. You somehow disentangled myself from mom’s hug and ran down to help him. You came back up with the blanket and picnic Tony had brought. You set up the blanket quickly while Tony just stared at your parents in disbelief. Soon he had wrapped his arms around his dead brother, much as you had.

You sat and chatted all afternoon. Loki, Tony, and dad shared the bottle of alcohol that Loki had brought as a gift for dad. It was a bittersweet afternoon, but Tony and you got to catch them up on everything. Loki and you got to tell them all about Asgard and your visit there. Tony told them all about his work with the Avengers. They seemed so happy that you and Tony were both doing ok.

It was almost dark when Loki spoke up. “Darling, I cannot hold the spell much longer,” you looked over at him and realized that he was hiding how low on magic he was. He was nearly tapped, which was dangerous. “My love, I’m sorry, but it is time to say your goodbyes,”

You all stood then for hugs, tears, and goodbyes. “Thank you, Loki,” mom said, giving him a hug too, which threw him as he wasn’t expecting it. “You are wonderful for our daughter,” she told him. You saw the tears in his eyes at that. He wasn’t expecting to actually be accepted. Midgardians didn’t much accept him, even now.

“I’ll allow it,” dad added gruffly. That was the best Loki was going to get from him. You hugged each of them one more time, tears streaming down your face.

“I’m going to miss you,” you told them.

“We’re always with you. You can come visit and talk to us anytime. We’re always here to listen. I love you, Kat, Tony. Take care of each other.” mom told you before the magic faded and she started to vanish.

“Yes, mom,” you replied with the same obedient tone you had given her all of your life.

“I love you, kitten,” your dad told you.  He turned to his brother.  “Tony, you know you didn’t tell you enough that I love you, and dad was an ass to both of us, but I’m glad things are turning out so well for you,” dad told him, which was more acknowledgement from Tony’s family than he ever got, besides you of course.

The magic faded completely and they both vanished. You fell to your knees sobbing, staring at the spot where they had been. Tony knelt beside you and wrapped his arms around you . “It’s ok, Kat. They’re proud of us and they’re glad we’re ok, remember?” he asked. “They want us to be happy,” you nodded and rubbed the tears roughly from your face.

“You’re right,” you told Tony and we got back to our feet. you turned to Loki to thank him, but all you saw was that he was too pale. You ran to his side and managed to get your arms around him before he passed out. It was a close thing. “Dummy,” you told him softly, exasperated. He had pushed himself to the breaking point keeping the spell going as long as he physically could.

“What happened?” Tony asked. He came over to us and took Loki from you, hoisting him over his shoulder. It was surprisingly little effort for Tony, but he was surprisingly muscled from his work.

“He used too much magic to make that spell for us,” you told him. 

Tony nodded, accepting that answer. “He was like this the night he saved your life too,” he explained. “He’s good for you, even if I’m still against you dating at all.” Tony grinned at you and carried Loki down to his own car. “I won’t kill him on the drive home, imp,” he told you warmly. “He did us both a huge favor today. I’m not going to forget the kindness, even if he is dating you. Besides, if I kill him you die too,”

You finally relented and let Tony carry Loki. It was easier and better than you struggling to do it. You used magic to clean up our picnic, though you left mom’s flowers and set out a glass of the alcohol for dad. “Goodbye, mommy, daddy. It was good to be able to see you again,”

With that, you headed back to your car. Tony wouldn’t leave until you were safely driving away, even though you were more powerful than he was now. Tony carried Loki back up to Loki’s suite and set him on his bed when you returned. Loki was still unconscious. “Thanks, Uncle Tony,” you told him, grateful for his help.

He nodded his acceptance, then changed the subject.  “We get back to training tomorrow,” he reminded you. 

You nodded with a sigh, not looking forward to that. “I’ll be there.” With that, Tony left you alone. You used magic to change your clothes and Loki’s to pajamas and tucked Loki into his bed.

“Thank you, love,” you whispered and kissed his forehead. You sat on the bed next to him and summoned the tales of Hiccup the Viking. You hadn’t had a chance to finish them while you were visiting his family.

Loki finally stirred a few hours later. “Hello sleepyhead,” you told him with a smile. He looked around confused.

“What happened?”

“You used too much magic with the spell to bring back my parents for the day. You’ve been unconscious for about four hours now,” you told him. He at least had the decency to look sheepish. You pulled up your phone and showed him the picture you had taken of Tony carrying him up to his room. “Uncle Tony carried you to bed. I think he might almost like you. He actually might like you if you weren’t dating me,” you added with a smile.

“Oh dear. How many people have that photograph?” He asked. 

You shrugged. “I haven’t sent it to anyone,” that didn’t mean Tony hadn’t.

Loki sighed. “He better not start acting like Thor. My magic works just fine against your uncle,” he grumbled. 

You just laughed, imagining Tony acting like Thor.  It would never happen.

“Thank you for everything today.” Those words weren’t enough for what he had done for you, no matter how much sincerity you put in the words. You leaned down and kissed him.

“I am glad you thought enough of me to introduce me to your parents,” he answered. He got out of the bed and pulled you up with him. “We should find some dinner,”

“We should. I’m sure Helene has made something delicious,” you replied and you headed downstairs with laughter. You spent your evening as usual, watching movies on the couch with your books. A nice quiet evening was what you both needed after the emotional day.

“Kat, what’s with the matching tattoos?” one of the super teens asked. Some of your friends had come to watch at your TV, since you were finally getting back to watching the DVD of the new Avengers movie that Tom had sent you. You had been interrupted the last time you tried to watch it. 

You blushed. “It was a side effect of the magic Loki used to save my life,” you explained. You didn’t want to tell them about the soulbond if you didn’t have to. They wouldn’t understand. They accepted your answer though. It was so different here, hiding the soulbond after you spent the last week being praised and congratulated for it.

“It’s ok, darling. You’re right that they wouldn’t understand,” Loki whispered in your ear. “We know what it is and that is all that matters.” You nodded and cuddled back up against him. You blushed and hid your face in his chest when you got to the kiss scene while Loki just laughed. The teens looked at him confused, so he paused the movie and pulled you to your feet, changing your clothes in that instant to the ones you had been wearing the day you were filmed. He kissed you, in the exact same pose as you were in in the scene.

“That’s you two?!” exclaimed the crowd. You turned even more shades of red and nodded. You pointed out the scar on your leg that could be seen in the film.

“He is in the next room over. He asked me to sit with you. He was extremely impolite about it, but he refused to stay in his bed otherwise. He will be just fine, so please do not attempt to go find him. You are still very injured, little sister.” Much as you hated hospitals when you were the one being treated, you knew he was right, so you nodded meekly. He gave you a look and you knew he didn’t believe you.  At all.

Well, you had learned from Loki after all.  You couldn’t blame him.

“And Balder?”

“Downstairs in the dungeons. Your uncle is watching over him. I will be taking him back to Asgard with me when I return so he can spend his days in the dungeons.” You nodded your approval of the decisions. Getting Balder out of your world was an excellent idea indeed.

“I should go heal Loki, get him back on his feet…”

“You should stay in that bed and heal,” Thor countered with a smile. you sighed.

“But you can heal him. you can’t heal myself,”

“You are in no shape to heal anyone,” you grumbled at him, but he was right. Your hands were bandaged lightly and hurt like a wicked bitch. You were covered in bandages and you hoped they weren’t letting you heal at human rate. That would suck. Thor handed you a book, which you took carefully and smiled up at him.

“Thanks, Thor,”

He kissed your forehead. “Rest and heal, little sister,” he bid you. So you opened your book and agreed to sit quietly for awhile.

Fury came to check on your a few hours later. “You got her to stay in a hospital bed?” he demanded of Thor indignantly. It was a feat to get you to sit still in the hospital wing, especially when you were the one who was injured..

“I can be quite persuasive,” Thor replied with an innocent smile.

“Why don’t you go check on that brother of yours? I want a word with Kat,” Thor looked at you for approval before he would leave.

“If Loki’s awake-?” you started to ask, but didn’t know what exact message you wanted to send to your love. 

“I will tell him you asked after him,” Thor replied on his way out the door.

“How are you feeling?” Fury asked when Thor was gone.

“Like hell,” you admitted. There were few people you would admit that to, but Fury was one of them. He’d become a surrogate dad over the last few years. You owed him the truth. He nodded, appreciating and accepting the truth.

“Can you give your report?” he asked. 

You nodded and felt for your magic. You had enough for this.  “Even better, I can show you,” you told him. You waved your hand and the illusion appeared before you. Your illusions weren’t as good as Loki’s, but it was good enough for your report. You showed Fury everything that had happened from the moment you saw the two clowns in the alley to the moment you passed out in Loki’s arms.

“You trusted a villain?” he demanded incredulously. “You let The Harlequin go?”

You nodded, reluctantly, knowing you could face a lot of trouble for that decision. “It was the only choice. The rules go out the window during a life or death situation. He was my only ally at the time. Balder would have killed us both and escaped, or somehow forced me to use your powers for his plans, whatever they are. That was his end goal…”

Fury sighed, but finally nodded. “You’re right. Just don’t do it again,” he grumbled.

“How did you find us?” you asked him. You hadn’t been able to call for help.

“Jarvis notified us when your phone was destroyed. It pulled up your last known coordinates and we got there as fast as we could.” Fury replied. That made sense.  Of course Tony had set your phone to notify everyone if it was destroyed.  “You did well, Kat,” he told you before he escaped the room. Lucky him. You were tempted to follow him, but knew that would just end with Thor carrying you back here. Or worse.

Thor came back a moment later. “Loki?” you asked him.

“He is in a healing sleep. He will be fine.” Thor reassured you and sat in the chair next to your bed with his game again.

You had the feeling that the healers really did want you to heal at a human rate, like that would actually make you rest. Unfortunately, emergency calls kept coming in. Thor got pissed after the third gravely injured person was brought to your room so you could heal them, exhausting yourself again to be useful and do something. You couldn’t heal yourself, you could only heal others, or you would’ve been out of here the second you woke up. 

Thor stood and stormed out of the room. 

That couldn’t be a good thing.

He returned a few minutes later with a protesting Loki thrown over his shoulder. “Come, sister. I should have followed Mother’s instructions before now, but I felt you had to give the humans the opportunity to care for you properly first.” He offered you his hand. You took it and let him help you to your feet.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking,” Loki complained when you stumbled and crashed into Thor. Thor nodded and set Loki on his feet, sweeping you up into his arms in the same instant.

“Do not fall, Brother. I shall be quite cross with you if you do,” Thor ordered. You just closed your eyes and laid your head on Thor’s shoulder.

“Kat? Are you ok?” Loki asked, moving to look more closely at you.

You nodded against Thor’s shoulder “I’ll be fine,” you murmured

“Come, Brother,” Thor said and led the way from the room. He went to the common room, where Tony and Balder were waiting. Balder was bound in chains and gagged.

“You swear she’ll be safe with you?” Tony demanded of Thor.

Thor gave him a small bow, working not to jar you as he did. “She cannot rest here. The healers keep demanding her attention to heal the others. They will work her to death. That will not happen in Asgard,”

“Tony, just come with us? You can see the palace for yourself,” you suggested. He nodded. 

Thor smiled at you . “Excellent idea, little sister,” he pushed Loki toward Tony. “Kindly make sure my brother makes it safely.” Loki grumbled that he was perfectly capable on his own.  Everyone ignored him.

“You could just hand over my niece,” Tony replied with a grumble. 

Thor laughed. “Mother?” He asked. The portal flashed open before you. It was faster and easier than the Bifrost and would take you directly to the palace.  You were sure you made a strange procession as we made our way through it. There was a crowd waiting for you and you felt yourself cowering against Thor until you realized who they were. Frigga and Sif were there, so was Odin and a bunch of guards. The guards and Odin took charge of Balder.

“Make room!” Frigga barely had to raise her voice. “The Prince and Princess are injured.” She led you to the healing wing, where you were laid in one of the soft comfortable beds. Loki was allowed to sit in a comfy chair in the room. You reached for him, your hand glowing blue. Sif smacked your hand.

“Enough of that. Our healers will see to your soulbond. You need to rest, Sister dear,” Sif scolded lightly. You sighed, but laid back on the pillows.

“Good luck with her. She hates hospitals.” Tony warned them.

“Who are you?” Frigga demanded of Tony.

“I apologize, Your Majesty,” you usually didn’t have to call Frigga ‘Your Majesty’ anymore, but this was different. “This is your brother Tony. Tony, this is the Queen of Asgard and Loki’s mother, Frigga.” They exchanged pleasantries and Frigga got to work healing you. Some of the other healers went to Loki to do the same. He needed a lot less putting back together than you did.

“Why do you have the queen healing you?” Tony demanded, sounding incredulous that the queen was healing you.

“Because I’m a princess here and it would be an insult to have anyone less than the best healer in the realm attending me,” you replied with a grin over at Loki, who had spoken those words just a few months ago. Tony just stared with his mouth open. You lifted your hand enough to indicate the lines of power there. “Loki and I are soulbound. We’re soulbound, Uncle Tony,” you reminded him tiredly as you felt your body succumbing to the healing magic. “Loki will explain if you have more questions,” you told him, falling victim to the sleep of the healing spells.

You didn’t know how long it was before you woke again. Tony and Loki were sitting by your bedside. You smiled up at them and sat up. You were still weak and sore, but you were healed, even your burned hands. You also realized that you was wearing a light tunic and leggings of a soft material for sleeping. Way better than a hospital gown from Earth. You gaped at Tony, who was wearing a tunic and leggings too. He looked so uncomfortable that you couldn’t help laughing at him.

Loki joined you on the bed and kissed the top of your head. “How are you, darling?” he asked softly.

“I’m fine, love. Your Mother does excellent work.” you replied with a reassuring smile.

“Dinner is starting soon. The people would like to see you there. Are you up to it?” He asked. 

You nodded. “Can we stop by the suite first so you can get a proper shower?” you asked. He nodded.

“We have time for that,”

“Is Uncle Tony staying in my old suite?” you asked. 

Loki nodded again. “Mother set it up for him,”

“Good, let’s go,” you swung your legs out of the bed and Loki and Tony both rushed to help you to your feet. You took both of their hands and they lifted you to your feet. You were a little unsteady, but you’d be ok. Loki let you walk with Tony, who was looking so unsure and lost in Asgard.

“How are you so comfortable here? This place is so strange,” Tony asked you as you walked.

“Everyone is so welcoming. It’s hard to feel uncomfortable here. You’ll see when you meet Thor’s and Loki’s friends,”

It didn’t take you long to get to your suites. You showed Tony to his first, so he could freshen up and dress in something more formal. Loki said he had set something on Tony’s bed for him. Loki led you into your suite where you got a quick shower, finally feeling human again when the hot water eased the soreness you felt. You ran magic through your hair to dry it, loving that Loki had taught you  that trick. You went to go find him, dressed in your robe to see what he was wearing to dinner, so you could summon something to match. He was in your bedroom with his shirt off, getting dressed. You saw the scar on his chest the second you entered the room. It was in the exact spot he had been impaled by the spear. “Loki, I’m sorry…” you told him, going to him and touching the scar. You had healed Tony without a scar, but Loki you hadn’t had time to heal completely.

Loki took your hand and lifted it, kissing your knuckles. “You saved both of our lives, darling. There is nothing to be sorry for,” he gave you a warm smile. “Would you like for me to summon a dress for you?” he asked. You nodded eagerly. That would definitely make picking something to wear easier. It was generally not a good idea to trust one’s boyfriend with picking out an outfit, but Loki appreciated looking good and was great at choosing outfits for you. His green magic flowed over you and you were dressed in a golden halter dress with a blue wrap to go with it. It was elegant, but simple, and of a light material with indoor slippers instead of heels. He took your recent healings into consideration in his choice of clothes and didn’t include heals. He sat you down on the bed so he could braid your hair. You let him without complaint. It made him happy and you loved how it felt. Lastly, he summoned your tiara and placed it gently in your hair.

“I really have to wear this?” you asked him. He laughed.

“Of course. You are their princess, my dear,” he reminded you. You sighed and gave him a well-practiced put upon expression. He laughed again and pulled you to your feet. He finished dressing quickly and you left the suite to go collect your uncle. Tony just gaped at you when he saw you in the elegant dress and tiara.

“Not a word,” you spat at him. “Or I will comment about your tights,” you warned. His formal clothes included tights and they were hilarious. He held up his hands in defeat. You and Loki led the way to the dining hall. All of the servants bowed or curtsied to you, greeting you as ‘prince’ and ‘princess’. Your poor uncle was so very lost and confused. 

You made it to the dining hall just in time for dinner. Thor grinned and raised his mug of beer in a salute when you arrived. Tony was announced as your visiting uncle. You and Loki both received ,greetings from everyone glad that you had healed and were well.

“Kat, why is it looking at me?” Tony asked about one dish, halfway through dinner. 

You couldn’t help laughing. “That’s how you know it’s fresh,” you replied, copying Loki’s words from earlier. “It’s delicious, trust me,” you were devouring your, so he trusted your judgment. You were starving after such intensive healings and were trying very hard to behave and not eat like a heathen, until Thor reached over and dumped another serving on your plate, announcing how you needed to eat up because of the healings. You laughed at his antics, but it took attention off of you, since he was doing the same thing to Loki too.

“Little Sister, we are meeting in the small hall after dinner. Are you and your uncle up to joining us?” Thor asked toward the end of dinner.

“I’ll come for a little while. Tony should get the experience,” you replied.

“Do I not get an opinion?” Loki demanded.

“No,” Thor replied pleasantly. “You would just say ‘no’ and hide in your room with a book.” Loki grumbled at him, but didn’t argue. Thor was right.

After dinner, all of the younger members of the court went to the smaller dining hall. “Why are we here?” Tony asked in a whisper as you entered. You shook your head.  He would have to find out for himself. 

You were given a chair on the sidelines so you could watch the events without being pressured into participating. If you were in the chair, everyone would leave you alone, according to Thor, so you knew it was true, or they would have to answer to him.

Thor held out his hand to you, palm up, once all of the tables had been shoved aside. “May I?” he asked. You placed your hand in his. The second you did, the music started and the rowdy dances began. You laughed when Tony was dragged out onto the floor and taught the moves. You twirled and laughed with Thor, but you were only up for one dance. He settled you in your chair afterwards and you got to enjoy watching Loki and Tony be forced to dance. People stopped by and chatted with you, but no one pressured you to dance again.

You stood late in the evening and made your way out onto the dance floor. The crowd parted for you and Loki was left momentarily without a partner. You touched his arm and he turned to you, expecting the next girl in the dance. He gave you a real smile when he saw it was you instead. You took his hand in one of yours and placed your other hand on his shoulder. Loki smiled and took his position without complaint.

A woman’s desire is law at a dance, even one as unconventional as the ones on Asgard, so the moment you took the position, the music changed to a waltz. Loki led and you spun around the room with grace. Other couples joined, but none of them could hold a candle to Loki’s grace. Since he was leading, and did it well, you didn’t have to look ungraceful either. At some point, people stopped dancing and just watched the pair of you.

The dance ended and Loki took your hand, bowing over it elegantly to kiss the lines of power that started on the back of your hand. The room cheered and applauded. /Ready to head home?/ he asked. You nodded, more worn than you wanted to admit. He offered you his hand in escort manner. You placed your hand on top of his and let him lead you from the room. The second you were safely away from the others, Loki swept you up into his arms, despite your squeak of surprised protest.

“I should have gotten you out of there ages ago. You need rest, darling,” he told you, concern in his voice. You simply laid your head on his shoulder. It was nice and safe and comfortable in his arms. “Don’t worry, there is nothing to distract from your rest tomorrow,” he added. He teleported you to your suite. You both got ready for bed and finally got to relax wrapped in each other’s arms. “Thank you for trusting me, love. You don’t know how much it means that you did not believe Balder’s lies,”

“You’d never betray me,” you murmured. Annoying boyfriend had figured out that you had no filter when you were tired and kept having these deep conversations when you were dead on your feet.

“I don’t know how you found the strength to get us out of there,” he commented, sounding truly in awe of you.

“We would have died.”

“We would have been enslaved,” Loki corrected. You shuddered. He was right and that thought was more terrifying.

“And should be allowed to get a cup of tea when we can’t sleep,” Loki replied logically and grumpily.

“Not according to Mother,” Thor replied, equally grumpily. “It would be so much easier if I just had to give you two Mother’s tonic and go back to bed, but no, I have to go searching the palace for you.” You and Loki both laughed at him and his misfortune, which made him huff and roll his eyes.  He set you on our feet outside of Loki’s suite and handed you each a vial of the potion from Frigga.

Unfortunately, he gave you the wrong ones and you was given the one brewed for Loki. You were unconscious for the whole day because of it, and whining at a very worried Loki at 3am the next morning that you were bored. “It’s time to sleep, darling,” he told you groggily, curled up in his bed with his blankets.

“Fine, I’ll go find someone else to play with me,” you told him with a glint of mischief. He shot up and grabbed your arm before you could climb out of the bed.

“You will do no such thing. We will do something fun in the morning. Rest, darling,” he told you, pulling you back down among the blankets.

“Fine,” you grumbled. You summoned a book and a small light and read for a few hours. Loki kept his word and took you out horseback riding the next day. You had never been before, so it was exciting and terrifying to be on top of the horse.

Your week of rest in Asgard ended far too soon. Loki was still supposed to be on his journey and could only visit home for so long. There were rules to it. You didn’t know what they were yet, but there were rules. You were sure you would find out eventually what they were, since you would be visiting every time he went home.

There was a giant feast of all of the supers when you returned to Midgard, a celebration for capturing Balder. It was a celebration that lasted all night. You were still considered heroes among all of these supers for a long time to come. Your takedown of Balder became legend almost instantly.

You had a week off when you got home and spent your last week before classes playing at the amusement part, water park, malls, movie theaters. Anything and everything fun you could think to do, you did with Loki at your side.

You were nervous to go back to school.  You figured the students would hate you for what you’d done to the football jerk at the end of the previous year.  

*

Classes were boring when they started again as was the school. No one spoke to you, so nothing really changed all that much. They thought excluding you from everything would show their displeasure.  It took a little while before the girls who had been victimized by the stupid jock approached to thank you.  They could sleep at night now, thanks to what you’d done.  It was only the popular crowd who hated you.

The classes themselves were extremely boring. You had all of Loki’s knowledge in your brain from the soulbond, so you breezed through your courses. You were tempted to test out of them, but you also wanted as normal of a senior year of high school as possible. Loki was somehow allowed to be your guard again that year. The only reason you could think of for that was that his infamous silver tongue had made it happen. The stupid preps who had harassed you last year had all graduated, so you could ignore the drama in the school. It wouldn’t affect your future.

You patrolled nearly every night, but things were quiet. The Harlequin was laying low and had since Balder was defeated. The other villains in the city seemed to take that as a hint that they should lay low too. This ended with lots of kisses during patrol. If anyone found out, they didn’t say anything. Even when there were pictures of you in full Loki/Sigyn costume making out in the park one evening. You was surprised you didn’t get in trouble for that one.  You’d been on patrol after all. 

The new Avengers movie came out in theaters, the one you had the preview DVD of. You and Loki went in full costume to the midnight release. You had so much fun signing autographs, taking selfies with fans, and generally pretending to be the characters. You cheered the loudest when we saw Tom and Kelly, the actor and actress who played Loki and Sigyn in the movie, come to the same midnight showing. They were in costume too, but yours were better. Before the airing, the theater begged for you to put on your comic con act for them, since all four of you were there. You agreed with some prodding from Tom, who was always up for some fun. You did the performance for the crowd and you knew it was being posted online moments later, but it was fun and hilarious, especially when the crowd kneeled for Loki during it. You stormed out and recited your lines, fighting hard to keep the anger in your voice that the words called for.

Tom and Kelly also wanted to take pictures of the soulbond lines on your arms, after making you explain what they were. You had a feeling those were going to be showing up in an upcoming movie. You took selfies with them, which you immediately posted to all of your social media. It was fun showing off a little. They sat next to you during the movie and they cheered the loudest in the theater during the kiss scene. You just blushed and tried to hide your face. You had a feeling one of the interviews about the movie was going to include that that was not Tom and Kelly in that scene.

*

You got a fair number of emergency calls for healings during those first couple months at school. Including one during a math test. The teacher tried to tell you that you couldn’t leave the test part of the way through, even though you had permission from the school to leave class for emergencies, and she would only give you credit for the questions you answered before you left the room. You scribbled out the answers and work for the rest of the question in about 30 seconds, slapped the test on her desk and stormed out of the room so you could teleport back to the compound in the privacy of the hallway. You had to report to the principal the next day for that stunt, but when you explained that Clint had gotten injured keeping a bus load of kids on a field trip from going off a bridge, and you had to leave class to go heal him, you were let off immediately and your math teacher got a formal reprimand.

*

“I was teasing, darling. It’s ok,” Loki told you. gently. You looked over at him, still feeling a bit bruised and vulnerable, though you didn’t understand why. “Love, don’t cry,” Loki told you just as softly and gently as tears ran down your face. He pulled you into his arms and you sobbed onto his bare chest. “It’s ok, love. Everything’s ok,” he told you over and over until you could finally get control of your emotions. “Darling, please tell me why you’re crying,” he whispered when your tears finally slowed.

“I-I don’t know,” you whimpered. His teasing had just been one straw too many on your strained emotions. Too much had happened too quickly. 

He nodded and just held you in his arms.“It’s ok, darling,” he told you gently. “Shall we get a cup of tea?” he asked you with a smile in his voice. 

You smiled up at him.  Of course he remembered that tea came after bad dreams and heavy emotions.  “That sounds like an excellent idea,” you replied. He helped you out of the giant bed and had a Cheshire cat grin on his face. 

He took your hand and you left his suite in your pajamas and barefoot and padded through the halls of the palace. He made a game of avoiding the servants and you giggled like children on your adventure to the kitchens to find the tea.

“Prince Loki,” the servants in the kitchen greeted you. They tried to hide their smiles at your childish antics. You made your tea and sat on the floor in the way of all of the servants while you drank it. It was so silly and innocent and fun that you found yourself feeling so much better.

“Brother, have you snuck down to the kitchens again?” came Thor’s booming voice. You looked up from where you and Loki were sitting on the floor in the kitchen with tea and a cake some of the servants had brought over to you when you weren’t paying attention. Quickly, Loki summoned a blanket and handed it to you.  You blushed when you realized you were still wearing the short skimpy silk nightgown. You hadn’t even realized it while Loki and you were on your childish adventure. You wrapped the blanket around yourself before Thor found you.

“Brother, why are you here?” Loki asked grumpily.

“Sorry, Thor. Loki has misplaced his manners somewhere. What he meant was, would you like to join our tea party?” you asked, looking up at Thor.

“I’m here looking for you two. Mother woke me to tell you to get your soulbond back to bed,” he addressed that last part to Loki.

“Why’d she wake you?” you asked, curious.

“Because she knows I’ll make sure baby brother does what he is told. And you need to get back to sleep,” he aimed the last comment at you.

“Any particular reason?” you asked, wondering why this was so important at whatever middle of the night time it was.

He shrugged. “Tomorrow is apparently a big day and she said you will need all your strength for it. Now are you coming, or do I have to carry you there?” Thor asked, holding a hand down to you.  He looked a little too eager to carry you to bed. His tone was light, but you knew he’d do whatever Frigga had told him. You sighed and reached up a hand so he could haul you to your feet. “Ah, being carried, excellent choice!” Thor exclaimed. He had you scooped up in his arms, wrapped securely in the blanket a moment later. You made an indignant noise at him while Loki jumped to his feet spluttering and complaining about Thor’s behavior. “I apologize, kind servants for the trouble my siblings caused you,” Thor told them with a head nod in place of a bow.

“Thor!” Loki whined as Thor took off with you in his arms heading back to your suite.

“Come along little brother,” Thor replied. “I would like to return to bed tonight too and cannot do that until the boon for Mother is completed,”

“Thor! I can walk on my own,” you protested.

“Yes, but this is faster. You two have caused me enough trouble tonight,” Thor replied with a chuckle. “Not that I mind trouble, but Torun will have me up early. Plus, if I have you, Loki will follow without dragging his heels. We have been through this debate a lot over the years. He was always sneaking to the kitchen, or library, or roofs, or all sorts of silly places in the middle of the night and I would have to drag him back to bed kicking and screaming. And do not let him tell you it was just when we were children. Just before he left on his journey, Mother sent me to collect him from the library in the middle of the night and return him to bed.”

“We got new volumes in from the archaeological dig,” Loki protested.

“Which is why I had to carry you to bed after you did not sleep for four days translating the ancient texts,” Thor looked over his shoulder as he addressed Loki. “This is much easier with your presence, little sister,” he told you warmly. He set you down outside of Loki’s suite. He pulled a small vial of liquid from his pocket and handed it to you. “This is from Mother for a dreamless sleep,” he told you while Loki came up to you. You sighed, but you could tell from his expression that he wasn’t going to leave you alone until you had drank it in his presence. So you unstoppered the vial and downed the contents. Thor took the empty vial back from you with a smile. “Get some sleep, little sister. Stay in your suite the rest of the night, Loki. Do not make me come hunting you again,” Thor turned and left you while the warm feeling of the potion filled you.

Though it was nice walking around the city with your boyfriend most nights, relatively unbothered.

When the public saw you on patrol, they started cheering, which didn’t help anything except publicity. Loki encouraged this behavior by wearing the golden horned helmet from the movies if you were going to be patrolling where you might be seen. You joined in his fun, wearing an illusion of Sigyn’s costume from the movies. It was fun, things were fairly quiet, and you didn’t shirk your duty while you were doing it. It was a stupid amount of fun to stop robbers and pickpockets in full costume. Loki always made you call your captures in. He hated talking to the mortals and the cops answered a lot faster when you called than when he did. Even when you gave them your alias of Sigyn, they knew who you were and came running to help Iron Man’s little sister.

When you were assigned patrol, you had been given a work only cell phone. You were the strongest healer in the city, if not the world, since you not only had your own healing powers, but also Loki’s healing magic, so you were always on call for emergency healings.

Those calls didn’t always go well, but they were getting better. The first time you’d been called, you teleported down to the infirmary only to find that your clothes had not teleported with you. Loki had teleported in front of you and acted as a Loki-shaped shield while you summoned yourself some new clothes. You were beet red the entire time you completed that healing, but got it done. Loki wouldn’t stop laughing at you for the entire night, until you hit him with a pillow to shut him up.

They had also had to make a ‘safe teleporting spot’ for you after you had landed on people too many times when you teleported into the infirmary. One time you teleported onto Tony, who just laughed and caught you, holding you bridal style. Healer Julia wasn’t pleased when she got landed on, though, and created a box on the floor with bright blue painting tape. “When we call you, teleport there. I’ll make sure it’s clear of obstacles,” she ordered. About a week later the inside of the box contained the image of a girl with cat ears labelled ‘Sigyn’. You sighed. You loved your super family, but they could be obnoxious sometimes.

Toward the end of summer, you were cuddled up with Loki in your bed after patrol. Loki tensed beside you, his hands going to his temples.  “What is it?” you asked Loki, who looked like he had gotten a sudden migraine.

“My brother. Mother must have helped him with the spell,” Loki groaned, holding his head. “He needs to not talk so loudly if he wants to use it though. Stupid brother. He would like to come visit Midgard.” Loki told you through gritted teeth. 

You smiled up at him. “That’ll be fun!” you told him excitedly.

Loki rolled his eyes. “You are supposed to be on my side, darling,” he reminded you, sounding exasperated and in pain.

“I am,” you replied with a grin. You touched Loki’s arm and tapped politely on his mind with your. It was rude to enter without permission, except in extenuating circumstances.  He let you in, seeming pleased that you were there to help.

/Hi Thor!/ you added to the conversation. /We would love for you to come visit/

/Little Sister! I am glad you are more reasonable than my brother. We will have such fun. Heimdall will send us tomorrow/

“How was that on my side?” Loki grumbled at you when the connection had closed.

“Because you want to see your family even if you don’t want to admit it,” you reminded him. You knew Loki quite well by now and knew that’s what he wanted, even if he wouldn’t admit it.

He sighed and kissed your forehead. “You know me too well, my dear,” he finally replied. 

You grinned up at him and rolled over to get your phone so you could tell Fury that you needed time off for Thor’s visit. “He can stay in your suite for the visit,” you told Loki once you got off the phone. “You can stay here with me while he’s here,”

“Hmm,” Loki purred, considering that and liking the idea of getting to stay with you for however long Thor was visiting. “Maybe I’ll have to convince him to extend his stay,” you laughed at him and cuddled back up against his cool body to go back to sleep.  

The next morning, you and Loki headed down to the common room early. He had explained that he had to mark the spot for the portal for Frigga and wanted it in a neutral location.  They had decided that was a better idea than Heimdall opening the Bifrost and making a spectacle. So you made breakfast while Loki worked on marking the portal spot. You had a pile of pancakes made by the time he was finished. “Any idea when Thor’s getting here?” you asked when he was done.

He shook his head. “No word, yet. We will just have to keep an eye on the portal location,” he replied. You ate your breakfast in peace until Tony decided to join us. Instead of removing Loki from the table, he just pulled up a chair and started eating your pancakes.

“Uncle Tony! Go get your own pancakes,” you yelled at him, threatening to stab him with your fork. He laughed at you and stole a couple of pancakes from the stack in the middle of the table.

“Fury said you two are taking a couple days off?” he asked, curious and concerned.  It wasn’t like you to request time off.  

“Yeah, Thor’s coming to visit,” you explained, since Loki’s mouth was currently full of pancakes. Tony grinned at Loki.

“You know what?  I like him better when he’s quiet. Less mischief that way,” Tony grinned at Loki, who just held up his middle finger at your uncle in reply and proceeded to shove more pancakes in his mouth. Your pancakes were one of Loki’s favorite Midgardians foods. You laughed at their antics. Silly boys. 

You heard a crackling noise coming from the common room and jumped to your feet to go to the portal. Thor stepped out of it a moment later. “Hey Thor,” you greeted him when he had stepped through. He grinned when he saw you and swept you up into a bone crushing hug.

“Little Sister!” he boomed and you couldn’t help laughing at his enthusiasm.  Thor never changed.

“It’s good to see you too, Thor.”

“Where’s Loki?” he asked as he set you down.

“He’s eating breakfast. There’s still plenty if you haven’t eaten,” you told him. You took his hand and led him away from the gawking supers, including some of the girls who were drooling over his muscles. You stopped in the hall and lifted Thor’s left hand so you could get a look. You summoned a gold ring and slipped it on his left hand when you realized he had no wedding ring. 

“What is this?” he asked, confused, but not concerned with your antics.

“It’s the Midgardian symbol that you’re married, that you’re soulbound,” you replied, quickly adding the soulbond explanation so he’d understand. “I would hate for Sif to get mad for not making sure you were protected from admiring ladies while you’re here,” you led him the rest of the way to the dining room.

“Loki!” he exclaimed and lifted Loki bodily from his chair to hug him while Loki spluttered and stabbed Thor.  Tony stood, watching the brothers in amusement.  You rolled your eyes and healed the dagger wound.

“Did you eat, Thor?” you asked, offering him a plate. He took the plate and began serving himself pancakes. Loki growled at him to get his hands off of his pancakes, but Thor just smiled at his brother instead of getting upset.

“If you like them this much, they must be excellent indeed.” He devoured his pancakes with relish. “These are quite delicious,”

“Thank you,” you replied with a grin. He looked shocked when he realized you had made the pancakes. “Would you like to see where you’re staying, or head out on our adventure first?” you asked Thor after all of the pancakes were gone.

“I have to get to work, imp. Be safe on whatever you’re planning today,” Tony told you and gave you a hug.

“Uncle Tony, please remember that I’m the most powerful super at this table,” you grumbled at him. 

He just laughed. “Sure you are, imp,” he replied and waved to the boys before he left for work.

“What adventure have you planned, darling?” Loki asked. He knew of no such plans. 

You looked down at your pajamas. “Well, we should probably get dressed first, but I was going to show Thor around the city,”

Loki nodded, but added after a hesitation. “We should also visit your parents, if only briefly. It is only polite where we come from, and we would hate for Thor to feel inadvertently rude.” 

“We can visit them first,” you agreed easily. “Well first after Midgardian clothes. You’ll take care of Thor?” you asked. Loki nodded and stood. You stood too and vanished the dishes with magic. With another quick use of magic, you were dressed in capris, sandals, and an elegant looking halter top. You left your hair loose as there was no use trying to hide it regardless. Too many people would recognize you. Loki wore jeans and a green shirt while he dressed Thor in jeans and a red shirt. You tossed Loki your keys. “I figured you wanted to show off your driving ability,” you told him with a smile.

“My lady does know you  too well,” he laughed. 

He drove you to the cemetery first.

“What is this place?” Thor asked. He knew your parents were dead, but he didn’t know where they were buried.

You hesitated, so Loki stepped in. “This is where the dead are laid to rest,” he answered. “We are here so you may pay your respects to my lady’s parents.” He slipped back into his native Asgardian when he was speaking with Thor, even here on Midgard. Thor nodded soberly. You gave Loki the directions through the cemetery to find the right spot. He’d only been here once before. You led them up to your parents’ graves after Loki parked.

“Hi Mom, Hi Dad. you know it’s strange that I’m visiting again so soon, but don’t worry, everything’s ok. Loki’s brother Thor came to town to visit us. He wanted to come say hello to you too,” you told them. You didn’t want them to worry over you. Thor dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

“I have come to pay my respects,” you heard his first line clearly, but his voice softened as he spoke the rest of his prayer, so you couldn’t catch the words.  “May you rest peacefully for the rest of your days,” he finally finished and stood.

“Thanks, Thor. I’m sure they appreciate it,” you told him. He wrapped you in a hug.

“Loki was correct. It would have been rude not to pay my respects. Now, you said you have an adventure planned for us?” Thor asked, his arms still around your shoulders. 

You looked back and waved to your parents. “Bye guys, I’ll come visit again soon!” you called, grinning. For a moment, you thought that you could see a glimmer of your mom smiling and waving at you. With Thor on one side of you and Loki on the other, you returned to your car. You got your keys back from Loki. “You don’t know where we’re going,” you reminded him. “This’ll be an adventure for you too,”

You took the boys to the amusement park. It was hilarious riding roller coasters with them and watching them compete with each other on the stupid arcade games. They each won you a stuffed animal and you got a ton of photos of the three of you. You even printed some out so Thor could take them home.

You got an emergency text from the healers right when you were finishing dinner. “Loki, I have to go. Will you two be ok?” you asked.

“Go, darling. I will be home shortly.” You nodded and kissed him before you teleported back to the compound, appearing in your safe box in the infirmary.

“Kat, it’s Tony,” Julia told you the second you appeared. You ran for him, despite that one should not run in the infirmary. You were the exception; if you were running, people jumped out of your way, knowing how much of an emergency it was.

Tony was laying in one of the beds, bleeding, speared through with a huge piece of shrapnel. “Tony!” you yelled and rushed to his side. Both of your hands were already glowing by the time you reached him. “Get that out of him!” you snapped at one of the healers nearby. They ripped the metal piece from Tony’s chest and your work began. It was a grueling healing, even for you. You were lucky the metal piece hadn’t pierced his arc reactor.  You drowned Tony in your healing magic, knowing that he shouldn’t have. Had it been any other healer in charge besides you, he wouldn’t have. He had been ripped open by whatever had done this, cut open like a fillet. You had to rebuild nearly his entire chest.  Had you had time, you’d have removed the shrapnel from the attack in Afghanistan, but you didn’t have the time or energy to do that and save his life. 

Loki arrived just in time to catch you when you collapsed and Tony opened his eyes. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” you snarled at him while your eyes were fluttering shut. You had drained every last drop of power you had. Loki swept you up in his arms, then passed you to Thor, trusting his brother with your safety.

“Thor, keep her safe while I verify she finished,” Thor nodded and took a few steps back, cradling you against his warm safe chest. Loki went to Tony to double check your work.

“Uncle Tony, what happened?” you murmured from Thor’s arms, fighting for consciousness.

“It was Balder. Nat and I were on patrol tonight and we came across Balder.” 

That shook you from your post-healing stupor.

“Where’s Nat?” you demanded, already back in healer mode.

“She’s fine. One of the kids caught up to us and teleported her out of there. Thor just let them go. He only wanted to fight me, for some reason. I don’t know what he’s up to, but it can’t be good. I’m fine now, imp. Go rest,” he ordered from his hospital bed. 

Loki took his side. “You did well, darling. He is completely healed. Or will be after a little rest himself,” Loki collected you from Thor’s arms and the three of you went to the commonroom. you dozed in Loki’s arms while the boys watched the first Avengers movie. Thor had never seen a movie before, so he wasn’t bored while you got some rest.

“We’ll take you to see a movie on the big screen tomorrow, Thor,” you promised sleepily. Thor was so excited by the movie that it would be a real treat for him to see one in the theater.

“You are supposed to be resting, love,” Loki scolded gently.

“I am resting. Eyes are closed and everything,” you replied, snuggling more comfortably against him. 

Loki sighed. “Whatever am I going to do with you, my stubborn little darling?” he asked softly.

“Bind your soul to mine for all of our days?” you asked with a grin. He laughed and kissed your forehead.

It took a couple hours of rest before you got enough magic back to function. You had dinner and then treated Thor to a group showing of Superhero Musical. He was so pleased with it and the group singing that he begged to watch it again. He was so kind that the group relented and turned to movie back on for him and you all sang along to all of the songs again.

You walked upstairs with Thor and showed him to Loki’s suite. “Loki, this is fantastic. It looks just like your rooms back home!”

“Kat made it for me for my birthday,” Loki told him proudly. “She thought I was homesick and that it would make me feel better,”

“Very well done, Sister,” Thor exclaimed. 

You gave him a warm smile.  “My suite is just across the hall if you need us,” you told him.

“You have separate suites?” Thor asked, confused. 

You nodded with a blush.   “Midgardian traditions are a little different,” you reminded him. He accepted that answer, for which you were grateful. You didn’t want to tell him that Loki didn’t officially live with you.  Or was taking things slow with you, especially as you’d been raped. 

The next day, you took Thor and Loki out to the movie theater. Thor was like a little kid the entire time as he watched the big screen. It was beyond adorable. 

You took him to a restaurant, not one of the extra fancy ones Loki preferred, but one where you could wear jeans and be comfortable. You did have to apologize to the boys when you kept getting asked for autographs. It was becoming a bigger issue now that you were a super in your own right.  Though they got asked for their fair share too.

That night you watched one of the Avengers movies with the group and Thor laughed the loudest when they made Loki get up and perform some of the Loki lines. Especially when the group roared at him for not doing it right the first time. “Sig~ make him do it properly!” they whined at you. Not only had they refused to stop calling you Sigyn, they had also decided on a nickname. They had also realized that could convince Loki to do things, especially if they were fun or mischievous. 

You sighed and rolled your eyes, but pulled Loki to his feet. “Loki, darling, your fans await,” you told him and pushed him toward the table. He looked extremely put-upon, but stepped up on the table, changing his outfit at the same time. You sat back on our couch to enjoy the performance as he performed the lines perfectly for the crowd of your friends.

“I have never seen him like this,” Thor told you softly while Loki was showing off. 

You smiled over at him. “Is that a bad thing?” you asked, though you knew it wasn’t.  Loki was happy here; happy with you.

“Not at all. You are wonderful for him, Sister dear. He would never act like this back home. He is having such fun and he is so happy here with you. I am not sure I have ever seen him as happy, except during the soulbond ceremony, of course,”

“Of course,” you replied with a grin.

“Are you satisfied, my Sigyn?” Loki asked when his performance was over, stepping down from his table.

“I am. Are your fans?” you asked him. They roared their approval and Loki took his spot back on the couch.

“Why do they call you Sigyn?” Thor asked you, curiously. 

You sighed. “In the movies, Sigyn is the name of Loki’s wife. We met the actors who play Loki and Sigyn when they came here to make one of the movies, they convinced us to shoot a take of a kiss scene during one of the movies, and the studio used our version in the movie. Some of our friends found out and the name has stuck ever since,” you explained. Thor laughed and Loki glared over at Thor.

“He’s not laughing at you,” you reassured Loki quickly. “He’s laughing at me.”

“Darling, that is not any better,” Loki growled. 

You laughed at your overprotective Loki. “I told him the story of why our friends keep calling me  Sigyn,” you explained. 

He relaxed at that, accepting your answer. “That is an amusing story,” he finally admitted.

You were rather confused, and frankly surprised to be alive, once you remembered what had happened. Your sleep fogged haze began to clear and you looked frantically around for Loki. “Easy, Kat. You nearly died and you’ve been unconscious for two days. Your young men have been quite worried about you,” Julia told you gently.  She took a step back and you could see around her. Loki and Tony were sitting on the couch in the infirmary room. Both of them were asleep and they were sitting as far apart from each other as physically possible on the small couch. You didn’t understand why they weren’t both instantly awake the moment Julia had started talking to you, they were both overprotective. Julia caught your expression. “Don’t worry, I put them to sleep a couple of hours ago. They refused to leave. Or sleep. Your uncle is extra cranky when he hasn’t gotten any sleep…” she complained. You managed to give her a tentative smile at that. “I’ll wake them in a minute. First, you. How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?”

You nodded, but she just looked at you pointedly until you actually answered her. That seemed like too much effort with how bad you felt, but you answered her anyway. “I remember The Harlequin’s clowns broke into the compound and attacked us. I was shot,” you told her simply. It was a lot of effort to talk. You just wanted to sleep. “I feel like I got shot in the chest,” you added, since she was still waiting for an answer to her question.

“You did nearly die,” she reminded you. You nodded. You remembered that part, and how you should have died.  “And you’re still a long way from healed, but it’s good to see you alive and awake. You’ll be ok.” 

You looked down at yourself and saw the bandage peeking out from the top of the hospital gown covering where you had been shot. There were tubes and needles going into your right arm. Your left hand and arm was covered in swirls of black, green, gold, and blue. It was beautiful and elegant. you would have compared it to a tattoo, but it looked more real, more clear than ink could ever achieve. Plus, it was shimmering with magic.  “Any idea what that’s all about?” she asked, noticing your gaze. You shook your head. You had a vague idea when it had happened, but you weren’t sure how or what it meant. “You ready to face them?” she asked, nodding at the sleeping boys.

“Yes,” you replied. You wanted answers and the only way to get those would be to talk to Loki. You remembered the words he had spoken before you had passed out. You needed to know what they meant.

“If they get too annoying or loud, call for me and I will deal with them. You need to heal and they can’t be allowed to interfere with that,” she told you. She was an overprotective healer, as they all were.  She left the room and the boys started to stir. You steeled yourself to face them.

They startled awake at nearly the same moment and looked anxiously at your bed. You smiled at them, they looked so ridiculous that you couldn’t help the grin on your face. They both ran to your bed at the same time when they saw that you were awake. You were afraid they were going to fight over which one got to hug you first, but Loki took a step back before he reached the bed and gestured Tony forward with an elegant bow. “Kat! You’re ok!” Tony exclaimed as he wrapped you in a careful hug.

“So it seems,” you told him. “Though Healer Julia did say I’m still a long way from healed.” You reached up with the hand that wasn’t covered in needles to hug him back.

“You almost died,” he told you, panic in his voice. You heard the pain in his voice and you knew how hard the last two days had been on him. He’d already lost your parents, his brother and sister-in-law. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing you too.

“I didn’t,” you reassured him gently.  You hated seeing him so distraught.  

“You should have. That wound should have killed you.  You were shot through the heart,” Tony told you just as gently. He didn’t want to distress you, but he wanted to impress upon you how lucky you were to be alive.  “There should have been no way for you to survive that. He did something and won’t tell me what it is. He keeps insisting that he needs to tell you first,” Tony grumbled, glaring at Loki.

“Uncle Tony, can’t you just be glad I’m alive?” you demanded. Stupid uncle getting caught up with the details.  You were just glad to be alive.  He should be too.  

“I am glad you’re alive, Kat,” he relented a little.  “I still want to know what the hell he did. It left marks on your skin,” Tony growled.  You looked over him to Loki, who was standing away from you, giving you your space.  He was looking unsure and almost…shy. It was strange for him. You’d never seen him like that. You reached your hand out to him, wondering why your boyfriend hadn’t thrown your uncle aside by now to come see you.  He was acting so strange.

Loki took the steps to reach you quickly and took your hand, the one that was decorated in the swirls of colors. You saw that his left hand was covered in the exact same pattern of swirls and colored magic. He kissed your knuckles, but didn’t hug you.  He still seemed afraid. “I am relieved you are awake, Lady,” he told you too formally. You shifted so you could look at him more easily.

“Loki, what’s wrong? You’re acting all distant and formal,” you asked him tiredly, getting straight to the point. You just wanted to rest, but this needed to be done and it needed to be done now.  You needed to know what had happened. You needed to know why Loki was being so distant and formal.  

“I am…afraid that you will reject me, or worse, for what I had to do to save you,” he explained. Well, that explained why he was being so scared and shy.  

You patted the side of your bed. “Come sit and tell me. It hurts to look up at you. You’re too tall,” you told him with a small smile. You were sure no matter what it was that he’d done, that it couldn’t be that bad. Tony pulled over a chair and sat on the other side of your bed, holding the hand that was covered in tubes and needles. He wasn’t hurting you, so you let him. Loki sat on the edge of your bed, holding your marked hand.

“It was the only way to save you,” he started, looking at you and not daring to look at Tony while he explained. “On my world it is called a soulbinding,” he added as if that explained it.  That sounded like soulmate stuff.  You hadn’t known anything like that was possible.  

“Like a marriage?” Tony demanded, instantly furious.  You could see why he’d be furious over it, but you didn’t think it was a marriage, or Loki would have said so.

“Like a marriage… but more. It is not simply a promise, like human marriages. It a literal tying together of two souls. It is deep, ancient, magic. I have shared my…immortality, for lack a better word, with you, shared my power, my very soul with you,” Loki addressed the last part to you, ignoring your uncle. “But if either of us does die, so will the other,”

You heard what he hadn’t said. “If I hadn’t survived, you wouldn’t have either,” you said softly, horrified by the realization. He’d almost died too.

Loki inclined his head in agreement.

Tony jolted out of his chair so fast it fell over and was on Loki in a second. He grabbed Loki by the throat, again, and held him against the nearest wall. “Uncle Tony!” you yelled. You couldn’t get out of the bed to stop them this time.

“You married her without her consent?” Tony demanded, roaring in his anger. “How dare you?!” He growled, choking Loki, or he would have been had Loki not created a shield to stop Tony from actually crushing his windpipe.  He’d learned from last time.

“Would you kindly stop attempting to kill me?” Loki asked dryly, not struggling against Tony.  He seemed more annoyed than anything. “I did just explain that if you kill me, your niece will also die,” Tony dropped Loki quickly and turned to you to make sure you were still alive. You were very much so and you had to try not to laugh at Tony’s expression. “I did what you had to in order to save her life. It was the only way. She was shot clean through the heart. I used every single ounce of healing magic I had on her body and it was just enough for her to stay alive long enough for me to complete the ritual. Just barely long enough. Another instant and we both would have lost her forever,” Loki told Tony heatedly. Anger and magic sparked around him.  Tony finally seemed to understand the concept then. He glared, but didn’t do anything else. At least he stopped trying to kill Loki.

“Boys, come back,” you bid them softly. It was really hard to watch them where they were, they were out of easy line of sight. Luckily, the wishes of the injured girl took priority over their anger at each other. Tony took his chair again and Loki sat next to you on the bed. You took his hand. “Thank you for saving my life,” you told him. You knew how much he had risked to do it.

“You are not angry about how I had to do it?” he asked. You thought about it and you had the feeling he respected your answer more because you did consider the answer.

“I’m not sure I’m pleased with the method. I can’t say that I’m upset you saved my life. But I have a couple of questions before I can tell you how upset I am,” you finally answered.  You doubted you would be upset with him, but he did still have to answer your questions.

“Ask,” he bid you softly. “Any truth I have is yours.”

You couldn’t help smiling at his openness, at his reassurance that he would do anything for you. “By your world’s standards, we’re married now?” you asked him. He nodded and looked away, afraid again. You saw the fear in his eyes. “What does that change between us?” you asked, unsure of the wording and hoping that would give you the answer you wanted.  

“You are much less breakable now. You will have my powers as well as your own, except for my jotun abilities. Those I cannot share or I would. You have the magic of my world as well, now,” he told you. 

You glared at him. “That’s not what I meant, Loki,” you told him firmly. He wasn’t getting out of this one with his silver tongue.  He knew that wasn’t what you were asking.  

“Apologies, Lady,” he looked chastised. “I fear I do not understand your question.”  He got even more formal when he was upset.  

“What does this change between us?” you repeated, but that wasn’t a clear enough question. You tried to think of how to ask more clearly, when he finally seemed to understand.

“Nothing need change, unless you desire it,” he answered, finally catching onto what you were asking. “However, when we go back to Asgard, you do have to pretend to at least be able to stand my company for the visit. If you no longer wish to be courted by me, I understand. I forced this on you, which is unforgivable. My only excuse is that I could not bear to live in a world where you did not exist,” he paused at that.  “I would ask the favor of you of acting the charade for my family first. They are already upset that I have found my soulbond and have not come home since. After that, you need never see me again if that is what you wish.” 

You couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again. Somehow, you managed to move, to wrap your arms around his neck tightly.  “I don’t want to leave you or lose you,” you told him, distressed over the thought. “I don’t want this to change anything between us,” you heard the tears in your voice and tried to ignore them in your eyes.  

“I will not force you to remain in a relationship, no matter what I had to do to save your life. You need only speak the word and I will step back, allow you to pursue your life without me if that is your desire. I never wanted to force this on you,” Loki said gently.

You clutched onto him tighter. “I don’t want you to leave,” you whimpered. “I don’t want anything to change,”

“Then it shall not, darling,” he told you softly, gently, and you heard the smile in his voice. He held you for a moment longer before he extricated himself from your grip and settled you back among the pillows.

“You’re forgiving him just like that?” Tony growled. 

You glared over at him. “He saved my life. He just promised nothing about our relationship is going to change. We’ll deal with the rest once I feel like a human again,” you grumbled tiredly. You admitted to yourself that you had been concerned that since you were officially ‘married’ by his culture’s standards that he would expect a certain activity that you weren’t ready to do with him yet, if you ever would be.

/I would never force you to be physical, darling. I am not a monster/ you heard his thoughts in your mind

I know, but that knowledge didn’t ease the fear, not until you said it aloud, not until you took the effort to ease my fear It was hard to focus on the thoughts, so you hoped that was a good enough explanation for him.

Tony was still glaring, but dropped it again for the time being. You had a feeling he was just accepting that you were still alive and ignoring everything else for everyone’s safety. He would be pissed about this for awhile. “I have to go report to Fury. I told him I would the moment you woke. Can you two behave yourselves or do I need to find you a babysitter?” he growled.  

“We will be perfectly fine,” Loki replied pleasantly. He seemed to be trying to get a rise out of Tony. At least things were back to normal.  Tony glared, but did leave you alone. Loki reached over and brushed your hair back from your face. “I thought you had lost you,” he told you softly, sorrow in his eyes. 

“I know,” you whispered.  You realized well how close you’d been to death.  

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” he told you firmly. He tried to sound angry, you heard it in his voice, but he just sounded lovingly exasperated. 

You smiled at him. “I’ll do your best never to get shot again. It’s no fun.” you told him, glad to be easing back into our normal wonderful relationship. You did hold up your left hand. “What’s with the pretty swirly colors?” you asked, finally getting back to it.

He gave you a real smile then, sensing that the tension had eased. At least for now. “It is the mark of the soulbound.” He took your hand and traced the green and black lines on your skin. “These represent me and my magic,” you nodded. His magic was green and the lines of magic were in the exact same shade. He traced the gold and blue lines. “And these are you and your magic.” you remembered seeing that shade of blue the day you had healed Loki’s arm. 

You smiled at him, but tiredly. “Can we go home now?” you asked. 

He chuckled at your predictable reaction. “You truly dislike the infirmary,” he commented. You whined at him to go home every time you were there.

“I spent too much time in the hospital after the fire,” you reminded him. You heard the exhaustion in your voice and knew he would too.

“Not yet, darling. You still need to heal a lot more before they will let you leave,” 

You pouted at him. “Can’t you do it?” you whined.

“I cannot, not this time. I am still too low on power from the other night,” he explained. You sighed, heavily, wanting to leave the healing wing. “I know, darling,” he soothed. “Would it make you feel better if I read to you?” he asked. He was trying, really hard to get you to relax and agree to stay here where you would heal.

“A little…” you told him softly. You scooted over on the bed, which was somehow big enough that Loki could lie down beside you. You patted the spot on the bed, inviting him over. He sighed and looked put-upon, which made you giggle at him, but he climbed all the way onto the bed and laid beside you. You curled yourself against him, laying your head on his chest. He summoned the book of children’s tales from Asgard and began to read them to you. 

You looked up at him in surprised about halfway through the first story, when you finally realized that he was reading them in Asgardian and you understood every word to the point where you hadn’t even realized it wasn’t English he was speaking.