a/n: Hey all! So, I had this fanfic up a while ago, but it wasn't going the way I wanted it to. This version feels a lot better to me.

Here's a full summary: Ingrid is the last of the Valkyries. She has grown up close to the family of Odin and especially close to the two sons of Odin. When Schmidt steals the Tesseract, Odin sends Ingrid in to retrieve it. There she meets Steve Rogers, who becomes quite a close friend to her. Ingrid just never expected to fall in love with a mortal. Or for a certain God of Mischief to fall in love with her.

Pairings: Loki/Ingrid/Steve love triangle. She does end up with one of them, and only I know for sure who. *evil laugh* There are other canon pairings too, but they aren't the focus of the story.

This story will cover the movies: CA:TFA, Thor, Avengers, Thor:TDW, Avengers:AoU, Thor: Ragnarok, and possibly Avengers:IW, depending on where this goes, with non-canon compliant parts in between the movies. Part one of this story, "Anywhere I Would Have Followed You", will cover CA:TFA to pre-Thor. Part two, "I'm Giving You All My Love", will cover Thor through Thor:TDW, and part three, "Part of it All", will cover the rest of it.

My face claim for Ingrid is Rose Leslie, btw. You might know her as Ygritte on Game of Thrones. I personally haven't seen the show yet, but it sounds good and Rose Leslie is a talented actress who could portray Ingrid well.

Please do enjoy and please do leave a review! (I don't own Marvel)

I*I*I

Learn To See

"Blackbirds singing in the dead of night,

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see.

All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free."

- Blackbirds by The Beatles

I*I*I

Part I: Anywhere I Would Have Followed You

"And anywhere I would have followed you.

Say something I'm giving up on you."

- Say Something by A Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera

I*I*I

The worst was over. Hela has been inprisoned in Hel where she belonged. Odin, weary and tired, had retired to his palace. Scores of Valkyries lay dead on the ground, surrounded by pools of blood. Their bodies covered the land, all of them with a sword through their chest. All of the Valkyries. Dead.

All except Ingrid. She mournfully wandered among the bodies, searching for her closest friend. Brunhilde. But her body was no where to be found.

Ingrid mourned for the loss of her sisters in arms. She mourned especially for her friend, Brunhilde. But most of all, she mourned for herself. She was the last of her kind. The last of the Valkyries. Odin's last warrior. And the strongest of them all.

I*I*I

"Come on, Ingrid! I'm sure if we ask father, he will let you come hunting with us."

Ingrid smiled at Thor. Physically, he was no longer the young child she had known for the longest time. He was an adult now, in body. He was taller than her, his blond hair had grown much longer than it had been when he was a child. He still had a slight boyishness to him, but he was fully a man now. It made Ingrid feel old because she had been there for his birth. In their long span of life, it wasn't a large age difference, but sometimes it felt like one.

In mind, however, Thor was still very much like a boy. He laughed and joked and thought like a boy. Ingrid didn't really see this as a problem. As time went on, she knew he would mature and grow. He would make a good king some day.

"You know how your father feels about me taking vacations, Thor," Ingrid reminded him. "He likes to keep me close just in case."

"I'm sure father could spare you for one short weekend," Thor said determinedly. "You are the greatest hunter I know, besides me of course-" Ingrid rolled her eyes. Always so humble- "And you must be there! The time is ripe for hunting bilgesnipe! I will talk to father and see if he will not change his mind." With that in mind, Thor marched off determinedly to speak with Odin.

Ingrid shook her head at the prince's retreating figure. When he was younger, Thor had been her biggest admirer. He had wanted to be a Valkyrie himself, until Ingrid had to tell him that only women were Valkyries. Now that he was older, they were close friends, and both warriors of Odin. Perhaps his greatest fighters. Ingrid was better, but that was because she had more experience. Thor was stronger, but not by much. The Valkyrie considered him to be one of her closest friends. It was a tie between him and his brother. Loki.

Ingrid could remember very clearly the day that Loki had been adopted. She had fought with Odin and the einherjar to defeat the frost giants in their rein of terror. After the battle wars over and they were headed back home, Odin was carrying a baby in his arms. Laufey's son. The young frost giant prince.

Time passed and Ingrid waited for Odin to tell Loki what he really was. But he never did. When Ingrid asked him about it, Odin forbade her to ever tell Loki his true heritage. Ingrid didn't like it, but she was sworn to obey and protect the throne and the king. No matter what they said or did.

Ingrid liked Loki just as much as she liked Thor, though the two brothers could not be more different, both physically and mentally. While Thor was very large in stature and full of muscles, Loki was thinner and not quite as filled out. That was not to say that he looked weak or anything. He just didn't quite have the muscle that Thor had. He had dark black hair that he kept neat and slicked back. He was a bit paler but every bit as handsome as his older brother. Thor had more admirers than Loki, but that was because of Loki's personality compared to Thor's. Thor was full of joy and life. He enjoyed the company of others and often spoke merrily with the nobility. Loki was more reserved, content to let Thor lead. He had a sarcastic sense of humor that not many people understood, which made people think he was a disagreeable person. Ingrid didn't find him that way at all. He was actually quite pleasant company, especially when one preferred a bit of peace and quiet.

"Has Thor attempted to convince you to join us in our hunt tomorrow?" Speak of the devil. It was Loki. He had snuck up on her, one of the few who could do so, and was very suddenly at her side. He had done this often enough that Ingrid was used to it and it did not surprise her.

"Yes," she answered with a nod. "But you know how your father is. He likes to keep me close."

"True," Loki agreed. "Though perhaps it is for the best. If you were to come with us, you would scare off the prey with your loud footsteps," he teased her.

Ingrid smiled dryly. "Your sense of humor is as amusing as ever, Loki," she told him. "I would wish you luck tomorrow, but I know you won't need it. No amount of luck could help you to successfully hunt anything," she shot right back.

"Do I detect a bit of jealousy?" Loki hummed, leaning closer to her and putting a hand to his ear, as if to hear her better.

"Shove off," Ingrid told the prince. "The only reason I would ever be jealous of you is because you might have, just slightly better hair than me. Other than that, it is clear I am superior than you in every respect."

"Not so," Loki disagreed. "I am definitely more intelligent than you are."

"'The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool,'" Ingrid quoted to him. Several hundred years ago, she had gone to Midgard to explore and learn about Midgardian culture. Odin has sent her on the mission so that she could blend in if she ever needed to return to Midgard again. She had rather liked Midgard. Despite how superior Asgardians claimed to be, they really weren't much different from Midgardians. On her mission, she had also met one of the wisest men on Midgard. A playwright and bard by the name of William Shakespeare. He had said that quote to her, and she had never forgotten it.

Loki shook his head. "You have spent far too much time on Midgard."

"They're not half bad," Ingrid told him, slightly rebukingly. "They're actually quite enjoyable, really. Unlike someone I know," she raised her eyebrows at him.

He offered her his classic smirk. "I can be quite enjoyable too, you know," he muttered to her suggestively.

Ingrid punched his arm hard, though she was not terribly shocked. He often liked to mess with her like this. "Loki Odinson, do not make me tell Queen Frigga what a dirty mind you have. Norns, you're worse than Fandral, sometimes."

He pretended to be horrified. "You wouldn't," he said.

Ingrid fought back her smile unsuccessfully. While she might have been friends with both princes, she had a different relationship with each. She and Thor would bond over battle, they would laugh and tell stories and fight together. That was their relationship. But Loki was different. She had learned to read through his sarcasm and found a funny and enjoyable companion. They teased and mocked one another, but it was never out of animosity. Two people couldn't be closer.

Their moment was interrupted by an einherjar. "Forgive my intrusion, but King Odin has asked me to fetch you, Ingrid."

Ingrid nodded, back to her usual serious self (she put that aside when it came to the princes, something Frigga had encouraged), and took off after the einherjar.

Ingrid had never known any home other than the palace of Odin, so she was generally used to it's grandeur and beauty. One thing she could never get used to was the view. It took her breath away every time she looked out over the ocean and saw the vast amount of stars that covered the sky. When she wasn't training, fighting, or spending time with Loki and Thor, she was admiring the view from her bedroom window.

Outside, the sun was rising slowly. She was often up this early, and training. Today, she had gotten sidetracked by her conversations with Loki and Thor. Not that it mattered too much. There was only so much a person (or Valkyrie) could do to improve after four thousand years of fighting. That was how old she was. Exactly four thousand nine hundred and forty three years old. About three thousand years older than Thor and Loki. It was interesting since Valkyries aged different than other Asgardians. Valkyries were less born and more created. They were molded into the perfect warrior by Odin himself and then given life. They aged slower too, which was why Ingrid was considered to be in the same age group as Thor and Loki. She looked as old as them, though she was nearly as old as Odin.

Ingrid entered the lengthy hall where the throne stood. Odin sat regally upon it, with Frigga standing nearby. After all the Valkyries died in the fight against Hela, Ingrid never thought she would have a family again. But she was wrong. In a way, she almost felt like she was a part of the royal family. Frigga was like a mother to her, and Thor very much like a brother to her. Odin and Loki were a bit different to her. Given how often Loki messed with her and made suggestive comments (not unlike the one from earlier) she could not consider him to be like a brother. More like a close friend. And Odin was less like a father and more like a commander and king to her. Unfortunately, that was how he was with his children too, Ingrid felt. He was always so busy being a king he hardly had time to be a father. But Ingrid's place was not to criticize how Odin fathered his children. Her job was to be a warrior for him and nothing more.

The Valkyrie knelt before the throne and crossed her right arm over her chest. "You summoned me, my king?"

"Yes," Odin said and Ingrid rose to her feet. "Heimdall has sent me urgent news from Midgard. The Tesseract has been removed from its hiding place. It's in the hands of a man who cannot properly control its power. We need you to return to Midgard, find the Tesseract, and find a safe place for it to remain hidden. Is that understood?"

Ingrid nodded right away, with no hesitation. This was her job. She had been doing it for years. That wasn't going to change now. Not even with a hunting trip on the line. "Yes, my lord," she said respectfully.

"Good. You will head out right away. Heimdall will be waiting for you at the bridge." That was all Odin had left to say and he dismissed her.

Frigga approaches the young Valkyrie she had come to view as a daughter. She wrapped her arms around Ingrid and Ingrid returned the gentle embrace. "Be careful, dear. And be sure to hurry home. I hate to think how much Thor and Loki will miss you."

"I shall do just that, my lady," Ingrid told the queen in a whisper before the two women broke apart. Frigga gave her an encouraging smile and Ingrid returned her smile. She then walked out and headed for the Bifrost bridge.

Thor and Loki were waiting at the end of the hall, though. She shook her head at them. "It's rude to listen in on other people's conversations," Ingrid lectured them both.

"How long will you be gone?" Thor asked, skipping the formalities.

"I don't know," she answered. "It might take me a long time. I'll have to find the Tesseract first. Then I'll have to find a way to get it out safely. Then I have to find a safe place to hide it. I'm thinking it shouldn't take much longer than a year."

Thor clapped a hand on her shoulder before pulling her into a crushing bear hug. "I will miss you, my good friend," he told her.

"And I you," Ingrid told Thor. He broke away and smiled at her, before leaving her and Loki alone.

There was a long silence between the two, neither knowing what to say. "Good luck," Loki finally said, breaking he silence. "And don't stay away too long. I don't know how I'll stand being alone with only Thor for company for an entire year."

Ingrud laughed lightly, knowing that he was joking. Thor and Loki has their differences and arguments but in the end, they would always love one another as brothers. Ingrid didn't hesitate to embrace Loki as she did Thor. "Take care of yourself, Loki. And I'll be as quick as I can."

Loki returned the embrace warmly and they stood that way for a bit before Ingrid had to leave. "Good bye Loki," she said and she gave him a wave as she walked away towards the Bifrost.

Heimdall was waiting for her there. "Ingrid," he greeted in his deep voice. "How are you?"

"Same as always, Heimdall," Ingrid replied. "What other information do you have for me regarding my mission?"

"Midgard is not much different when it comes to its treatment of women. You will not be accepted as a proper warrior. Disguising yourself as a man would benefit you greatly," he advised.

Ingrid nodded curtly. That was one aspect of earth that she had hated. Because she was a woman, she was treated as inferior. Lesser than a man. It infuriated her because she was stronger than any man on earth and yet she was still treated as inferior. At one point, when she had visited what was known as America, she had shown off her strength by fighting off a drunken man who tried to attack her. Instead of punishing the man, the religious leaders of the town accused her of being a witch and seducing the man. She had easily escaped before they could hang her, but still.

Heimdall opened the Bifrost to Midgard and waited for her to say she was ready. She gave him a nod. "Good luck, Ingrid," he murmured to her before sending her through the portal and to earth.

I*I*I

Ingrid appeared in between what appeared to be two very large buildings. She looked around her and saw large blue cubes and pieces of trash lying around her. In the not far distance, she could hear the sound of roaring motors and people shouting. Ingrid examined her clothing. A change of clothes would do her good. She was wearing the custom armor of a Valkyrie, which wasn't common attire when she was last in earth. And she needed to disguise herself as a man.

She retreated out of the space between the buildings and into the busy road. Automobiles honked at her as she crossed the road without a care in the world. Across the street from her was a boutique filled with clothes. Surely they would have some men's clothes.

She matched inside and right up to the clerk behind the desk. "I need a pair of trousers and a blouse suitable for a man about my size. And a hat, she demanded in a polite way that left no room for question about what she wanted.

The clerk looked her up and down, stunned by everything about her, from her attire to the tone of her voice. He had never heard a woman speak as if she owned the place. He had never met a woman quite as bold as she and he wasn't quite sure how to handle her. "I'm sorry?" he asked after a moment of bewildered silence.

"I need men's clothing that would suit a man about my size and a hat to go with it," Ingrid repeated. "Please, good sir. I am in haste. I have much to do."

"I- oh, very well," the clerk said. "This way." He lead her to a back room where he could fit her with an outfit. "Am I correct in assuming that you are willing to try on the outfit yourself?" he asked. She had requested it for a man her size after all. And he saw no man for him to fit it on, anyway. Besides, she was clearly accustomed to wearing male clothing, given her current attire. He was half tempted to turn her away, because of his suspicion of her. But she was a woman. How much harm could she do?

Ingrid nodded in answer to his question. "If you will please stand up here, madame," the clerk requested, gesturing to a stand. Ingrid mounted the stand and waited for him to begin his work. He started to take her measurements, careful to be appropriate around a lady. "So, may I ask whom these clothes are for?"

"For a good friend of mine," Ingrid lied off the top of her head. "He is poor and in desperate need of clothing. As he has never had much to eat, he is about the same size as me."

The clerk hummed in reply, as he moved on to arm measurements. "And what is your name?" he asked next.

"Ingrid Christensen," she answered. It was the name she had used when she last visited Midgard in the late sixteen hundreds. Hopefully last names hadn't changed much since then.

"And are you from England?" he asked curiously, noting her accent.

Ingrid decided to nod in reply. She hadn't thought much about it before, but people sounded different now then they did back then. When Asgardians first learned to speak English (which was spoken commonly on Asgard now, as it was less complicated than Old Norse), they learned from the British folk. That turned their accent into what Midgardians called a British accent. "Yes. Where am I, anyway?" she asked.

The clerk looked up at her in shock. "Well, you're in Brooklyn, ain't you? Brooklyn, New York."

"Yes, of course," Ingrid nodded as if she had known this all along. "And what year is it?"

"Nineteen forty three," the clerk said, his shock and confusion with this lady only growing.

"Right, right. Are you nearly finished?" Ingrid asked impatiently. "I don't mean to be rude, but I do have much to do."

"Just about madame," the clerk said. "Let me just go and see if I have anything with these measurements. If not, this may take a while." He left her standing there alone while he went to the very back room. Ingrid took this chance to look around curiously at everything. If it was 1943, that meant it had been nearly three hundred years since she had last been on earth. She was rather impressed with how much they had advanced over such a short amount of time. Automobiles and large cities. She was sure as time went on, she would see many more technological advances that humans had come up with.

The clerk returned several minutes later. "I guess today is your lucky day, miss. I had a fella in here just the other day looking for something like this. He was a tiny thing. I made this for him but it was too big for him. Should fit your friend just fine." He handed her a white button up shirt and brown trousers with straps attached to them. Fashion had certainly changed over three hundred years. She held them up to herself and nodded.

"This will suffice," she said with a satisfactory nod. "I thank you very much, kind sir, for your service." She then pulled out several gold coins from a small pouch full of Asgardian money. "Have a nice day," she said before walking out of the shop, leaving the clerk in a lot of confusion. She hadn't even gotten the hat.

She took off across the street again, causing more cars to honk at her in annoyance. She ignored them and walked back into the alley way to change clothes. She didn't bother to hide herself as she slipped out of her armor and into the clothes she had just bought. They were slightly uncomfortable, but it was much better than what she had worn back in the very first days of America. It was a horribly scratchy, confining and hot dress. She would never wear something like that again. It was bad enough when she was forced to wear dresses for feasts or balls back on Asgard.

Once she was fully dressed, she realized her next problem. Her hair was far too long. The men she had seen today kept their hair short and well combed. She hated to say it, but she needed a hair cut.

Fully dressed in her new clothes, she walked back out into the streets. She kept out of the roads this time and stayed on the paths with everyone else. She heard a young boy calling out nearby. "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" he shouted, holding out pieces of paper to people who walked by.

"Little boy!" she asked him. "Can you tell me where I might find a place to get my hair trimmed?"

He gawked openly at her, wondering why this woman was wearing boy's clothes and asking where she could get her hair cut. It was really long hair. The red strands of hair reached the small of her back, though it was pulled back into a ponytail. The boy had never seen any women wear her hair like that. It must've been a foreign thing. "There's a barber shop up the street a ways, miss. Just walk down this way and it'll be on your left. You can't miss it."

Ingrid offered him a smile. "Thank you," she said pleasantly and took off down the path once again.

The boy had been right. A large sign not too far away told her that there was a barber shop there. She confidently entered the place, which fell silent rather quickly. She noticed right away that there were only men inside, getting a shave or a haircut.

There was not a long silence, as Ingrid quickly broke it. "Hello. I'd like to get a haircut, please," she asked.

"Perhaps you'd like to try a salon, miss," one of the barbers suggested with a chuckle. "This place is for men."

Ingrid narrowed her eyes sharply at him. "Are you telling me you can't cut my hair?" she asked, trying hard to ignore his sexist comments.

"Well, no miss, but-"

"Then you shall suffice. I'd like my hair cut rather short. Similar to what you're giving this man here." She gestured to the man in the chair nearest her. He had dark brown hair that was combed neatly and seemed to be in style. She looked around for an empty chair and quickly found one next to the man she had pointed out. She sat herself down and waited to get her hair cut.

A few of the barbers deliberated amongst themselves. Should they give this girl a hair cut or not?

While they talked, the man in the chair next to Ingrid looked at her curiously. "Why would a pretty girl like you want a haircut like mine?" he asked her.

She tried to think of an answer for a moment. "The heat of it bothers me," she answered after a while. "It'll also be easier to manage."

The man didn't question this, though he still looked confused. "Is it in style in England now, or something?" he asked.

"Yes," Ingrid lied with a nod.

"I guess it's your hair," he said with a shrug after a while. Then he flashed her a charming smile and Ingrid was reminded of Fandral. "You'd probably look pretty with any kind of hair," he told her sincerely. "I'm Bucky."

"Ingrid," Ingrid replied. She wasn't sure how she felt about this stranger named Bucky.

"Well, Ingrid, how would you feel about accompanying me and my friend tonight at the science fair?" he asked her.

"Science fair?" she echoed, not understanding the phrase.

"Yeah," Bucky nodded. "It's a place where smart men show off different inventions and such," he explained. "And don't worry. You'd like my friend. Super nice. Real gentleman. His name is Steve."

"Thank you, Bucky, for the offer, but I have very urgent matters that I must attend to right away, this very evening," Ingrid told him. "Tell your friend Steve that I am sorry too."

"That's ok," Bucky said. "I knew it was a long shot anyway." He stood up and handed some cash to his barber. "It was nice meeting you, Ingrid. Good luck with your urgent matters tonight." He tipped his hat to her and walked out, leaving her alone.

A barber next approached her. "Are you quite sure this is what you want, miss?" he asked her, looking very serious about this.

"Positive," Ingrid said with a nod.

He gave her a skeptical before shrugging. "Alright," he said and he set to work on cutting her hair.

I*I*I

Once she had finished with her haircut, she moved on to other things. Her breasts, naturally, stood out. She found a way to make her chest appear flatter and less lady like. She never wore make-up, so that was not a problem. She found a place to look at her reflection. She might pass for a man if she made her voice deeper. True, her face did have some feminine qualities, but hopefully any questions would be put to rest after a test of her abilities.

She found a place to sign up for the war at the science fair that Bucky had talked about.

A nurse took her to a place behind a curtain and asked her to fill out a form while she waited for a doctor. Ingrid put in a fake name and other information, not even worrying about whether or not they would find out if she was lying.

Not long after she finished with her papers, a doctor came in the room. He smiled at her and offered his hand. The Midgardian way of greeting. "Hi. My name is Doctor Smith. And you must be John Christensen?" he asked, looking at the form.

Ingrid nodded affirmatively. "Yes."

"Ok, Mr. Christensen. Please remove your shirt and suspenders," he requested. Ingrid froze. She had no problem with stripping. Or she wouldn't if she knew it wouldn't reveal her to be a woman. This was not good. But it wasn't as if she had a choice. An idea entered her head. Loki could shift his shape and the shape of others. If he could somehow help her... She offered a quick prayer to the God of Mischief (not something she often did) and asked him to disguise her for just a bit.

Slowly, hoping desperately that Loki heard her, she removed her suspenders and shirt. To her great delight, Loki has heard her. She looked down to see that she looked like a man. She sighed in relief and offered a quick prayer of thanks to Loki.

Doctor Smith did a bunch of other tests on her, making sure she was healthy enough for battle. He seemed satisfied at the end of it. "Very good, Mr. Christensen. Wait here for just one more minute while we get some things sorted." He gave her a nod and the curtain drew shut behind him.

Every minute was agonizing to Ingrid. The longer she waited, the longer this Schmidt man had the Tesseract. Perhaps she was going about this the wrong way. Maybe she could find a way to get to him faster without using the warriors of Midgard as her previous plan had been.

The curtain opened again and Ingrid looked up eagerly. It was an older looking man in a brown suit. "Thank you," he said to the nurse who had let him in. The nurse nodded in reply and left them alone. "Hello, Mr. Christensen. John Christensen," he started reading the file out loud. "From Brooklyn, New York. Social Security Number is 222-11-5467. A seemingly all American man. There is only one small problem. There is no man with that information that exists."

Ingrid had not thought that they could find that information out so quickly, if at all. When she was filling out the form, she hadn't even understood half of what it was asking her. She swore to herself in Old Norse. This was not good. She thought up a quick lie. "You caught me," she said. "I'm not an American. I'm actually from England. But I live here now."

The man hummed. "Is that right?" he asked. "Then why didn't you sign up for the British army?" he asked.

Ingrid shrugged, not knowing how to reply.

"However," he continued, "you are a rather impressive gentleman. Very strong, extremely healthy. One might even call you a genetic anomaly." Ingrid stayed silent, not sure what was happening. "It's very impressive, Mr. Christensen. Impressive enough to catch the eye of the Strategic Scientific Reserve."

"The what?" Ingrid asked.

"A branch of the army dedicated to making a new breed of super soldiers," the man told her. "And you are already showing signs that a person with super soldier like traits has." He looked intently at her. "Why do you want to join the army?" he asked her next.

Ingrid hesitated before answering. "To help save the earth," she said after a while. "The world shouldn't have to deal with this kind of terror. I just want to help."

The man nodded. "Well then, Mr. Christensen, welcome to the US army."