Guest - Thank you!

Richasa - Thank you, sorry it has been so long since last interview.

Natalie

Ch 2 - Thanks for giving this fic a chance. It has been a fun challenge to work Sigyn into various events. I think she would have to be a strong woman to be a companion to Loki and to survive being married to him. Her calling him Mischief seemed to fit.

Ch 3 - When this bunny first bit, I liked the idea of Loki being a prisoner in his own mind and seeing various events that he was a part of without being in control of it.

Ch 4 - I liked Thor comparing Tony to he and Loki imitating Odin as children. Sometimes Tony is just a big kid.

Ch 5 - She is her own woman - cunning and stubborn. I wanted to show some back story on them.

Ch 6 - Yes, she really should think of her son as well as her husband. She just wants her family together again and it clouds her judgement a bit.

Chapter 10

Odin hoisted Thor by his legs back up over the edge of the ruined rainbow bridge before falling back, Thor collapsing into his arms.

"It is over," Odin murmured, his voice hollow. Thor felt the embrace tighten around him, pulling him closer to his father's chest.

"That's all you can say?" Thor asked numbly. "Loki is gone - my brother - your son - is dead." Thor's breath hitched, his throat tightening as he willed himself to stay composed, reality slowing sinking in and becoming more horribly real by the moment. The physical and emotional exhaustion of fighting his brother had left him already raw, now his mind and heart wanted to deny what his eyes had seen. "What happened after I was banished? What madness consumed my brother? Why would he let go?"

"Those questions are best left to …"

"No, Father," Thor whispered harshly. "I would have the truth now."

Odin sighed wearily before nodding his head. "At the end of the last great war, with the Frost Giants, I found an infant, a runt, Laufey's son, abandoned in their great temple to die. I thought … it does not matter what my thoughts were at the time ... I brought the child to your mother, we named him Loki, and he became my son." Odin's voice trembled, and he took a moment to regain his composure. "When Loki went to Jotunheim with you, the touch of one of the giants revealed this to him. Your brother confronted me. I wanted to explain … I had so much to tell him ... but the Odinsleep overtook me suddenly before I could make him understand."

Thor nodded, jaw clenched tightly. The words of his youth never had haunted him so - 'Do the Frost Giants still live? When I'm a king... I'll hunt the monsters down … slay them all! Just as you did, Father.'

"You should have told …"

"There will time for us to agonize over what we could have or should have done as we mourn in the days ahead. Right now we have a duty," Odin said, looking toward the palace. "You must go and tell your brother's wife that her husband will not be coming home."

"No, Father," Thor begged. "I cannot do that. Please do not ask …"

"Would you rather tell a mother that her son is lost?" Odin choked out, his voice thick with emotion as he contemplated facing his own wife. "These are things that kings must do."

Thor nodded his head in resignation as father and son stood and made their way back to Asgard in silence. His feet grew heavier with each step until they finally and reluctantly brought him to the quarters Loki shared with his wife. His hand trembled as he knocked.

"Come."

Sigyn stood at the window, head held high, posture stiff, straight and regal. There was no doubt she knew something had happened, all of Asgard had to have heard or seen the Bifrost shatter.

"I no longer feel his seidr, Thor. Tell me - is my husband dead?"

When she looked at him, her eyes were dull and hollow. He had never thought about it before, the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at Loki or Loki her. Though their marriage had begun as an arrangement, they truly had been in love.

"Madness overtook him. There was a fight," Thor began, moving closer. "I am … sorry."

"Stay there," Sigyn commanded. An ornate dagger materialized into her hand in a flash of seidr, a skill she had apparently learned from her husband. Though she tried to hide it, fear weighed heavily on her features, and she suddenly reminded him of a desperate wolf he had once cornered on a hunt - terrified and dangerous. "I know not whom I can trust, Thor," she said gravely. "The Allfather had barely been in the Odinsleep a day when Heimdall and your friends, Asgard's finest warriors, turned on their regent. Loki told me that he had been betrayed."

"Sister, you have nothing to fear from me," Thor placated, arms stretched forward in as non threatening a manner as he could manage.

"Don't I?" She choked out a laugh. "My husband learns the truth - that he is a Frost Giant and he is dead within days?" she berated fiercely. "We can't have a Frost Giant with a claim to the throne of Asgard, after all."

"That matters not to me - and you know it," Thor replied, allowing his grief to bleed into his voice. "Loki was my brother. I loved him."

Sigyn slid to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees numbly. "I am carrying his child, Thor - half Frost Giant. What will you do?" she asked, setting the dagger down and pushing it away.

"Protect you and the child with my life, if I must," Thor said without hesitation, rushing forward to embrace her. His hands passed through the distraught woman, an illusion, and he winced at the feel of cold metal pressed against his neck.

"Sigyn …"

"I want to believe you," she murmured, breath hitching. "Turn around."

Thor turned slowly, lest he frighten her. Her eyes were still hollow, filled with grief, but seemed to search him, piercing into his very soul. After decades married to his brother, Thor knew that Sigyn, if anyone, could see truth and lies. Of course she wanted to look him in the eyes.

"I have not been kind to either of you, I know this now," he began in earnest. "I failed my brother in life, but I swear, Sigyn, I will not fail him in death. No harm will come to you or his child."

The knife tumbled from Sigyn's grip, a sob tearing from her throat as she collapsed into Thor's arms. Thor, finally giving into his grief, shared her tears.

"I may have to go find Thor in a moment. Nari, really does need to eat and go to sleep, especially after such a trip."

"Relax, Dear. He is only having fun, a proud uncle showing off his nephew to his new friends."

The voices in the other room were distinct and familiar, melodies that promised warmth and safety - his mother, Sigyn. Loki struggled and failed to open his eyes, groggy and heavy - damn his wife's sleeping spells. Powerful magics swirled around him, and he recognized the signatures of Sigyn, Eir, and his mother. How damaged had he been that he required the ministrations of three healers?

"Do you and Eir truly have to return to Asgard so soon? I thought Loki would wake by now. He will be devastated to find he missed you."

"I need to return the Tesseract to Asgard. Freyr has desperately needed to meet with the Allfather in person and has not been able to due to repairs on the Bifrost - there is only so much that can be communicated through ravens. We will return when the delegation leaves. I worry not - Loki will be in your capable care."

So, he was still on Midgard. Finally, coaxing his eyes open, Loki turned his head in the darkened room to take in his surroundings. The bed was soft, draped in luxurious linens - at least by Midgardian standards - still in Stark's tower, then. An orange glow of magic thrummed around him, the dome of magical energy meant to sustain and support his body. Loki opened his mouth, his parched tongue darting out to lick dry, cracked lips. While the magic had quenched his body's dehydration, he longed for cool, clean water, and the ability to drink his fill instead of lapping at the meager portions, only enough to keep him alive, he had been given for the past year. He turned his heavy head, looking for a cup, pitcher, anything.

"Are you certain that you and Loki should remain here, Sigyn? The mortals don't even have a soul forge."

"I don't think it wise to move him until he is stronger."

"Eir agrees, but I would rather have him home."

There was such longing in his mother's voice. She had mentioned she was leaving … soon. He needed to see her. Loki pushed himself up, groaning at pain and stiffness. It was nothing compared to the constant pain of the titan's hospitality, a time in which he wondered if he would ever know the bliss of living without pain again. Sliding to a sitting position, he planted his bare feet firmly on the floor.

His bare chest was covered with dressings, which meant they knew everything that had happened to him. Already, he could feel that the injuries he had healed poorly on his own were correctly healed and was glad he had been asleep for the rebreaking and setting of bones.

Pushing himself to his feet, he took one step and then two, before collapsing and falling forward. He braced himself for impact that never came, a firm push of seidr righting him before Sigyn gently pushed him down to sit on the bed.

"Careful," she chided gently. "You are likely to be dizzy. My spell has not completely worn off."

"I want to see my mother," Loki rasped out. "I need to …"

"I'm here," Frigga called gently, stepping into the room.

Sigyn pulled pillows into a heap before coaxing him to lie back down, propped up so he could see them. Frigga pulled a chair closer, hand reaching out to cup the side of his face as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"We thought we had lost you," she murmured, tears glistening in her eyes.

"I am sorry …"

"Hush." Frigga quieted him with a finger to his lips before taking a glass of water from Sigyn. "You have been through quite the ordeal, and we will have time later to speak of it."

Frigga brought the glass to his lips and he began to drink greedily, causing her to pull it away. "Sip it slowly or you will choke or worse, vomit it back up." She gave it back and he obeyed, taking small sips. "Let that settle, then you can have more."

Loki settled back against the pillows. Frigga grasped his hand firmly and squeezed it for reassurance. "Eir is checking on the one called Barton. Then, she will see about you and we can get these bindings off of you."

"I think it best to leave them …"

"Nonsense, you will recover more easily if your seidr flows naturally," Frigga insisted.

"Mother … Sigyn ..?" Thor called from the other room.

"In here, Dear," Frigga called gently.

Thor filled the doorway, relaxed, wearing leggings and a loose tunic, carrying a baby like it was the most natural thing in the world to him. Loki felt his heart begin to race in anticipation. In the midst of battle, lost in his mind, fearing for his wife's safety, he had nearly forgotten that he was a father. Now he struggled to control the sour churn of jealousy in his gut at how comfortably Thor carried his son.

"Nari, your father is awake," Thor sang out in delight, hurrying to the bedside, nearly pushing Frigga out of the way. He sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching to place the infant in Loki's waiting arms. Loki half expected Frigga or Sigyn to snatch his son away, citing his weakened state, but they allowed it.

Nari continued to look at Thor's face, then realizing a different set of arms held him, turned his small head and focused on the figure. A frown creased the small chubby face, fists flailing in the air, tiny chest heaving as the child opened up its lungs and began to cry. Thor, in a panic, plucked Nari from his arms and immediately began to soothe him.

"Well, Brother, it seems you've stepped into my role rather adequately," Loki began in a sneer only to be cut off by an abrupt, sharp slap to his cheek. He raised his hand to his face, turning in alarm to look into the seething gaze of his wife.

"Sister ..?" Thor began in bewilderment.

"It's okay, Thor," Loki said softly, still holding his cheek. "I deserved that."

"Frigga, would you do me a favor and start getting Nari ready for bed. I will be there to feed him soon," Sigyn asked. "Thor, could you please wait outside."

Loki stared down at the bed coverings as Thor and Frigga shuffled out of the room. He continued to do so even as the door shut and the side of the bed sunk down, purposely avoiding eye contact with his wife.

"Over the past year, I often dreamed of you returning to me alive even though I never thought it would happen. I dreamed of it so much I thought I was going mad," Sigyn whispered. "In some of those dreams, I held on to you as to never let you go again. In others I screamed at you and beat at your chest in rage for abandoning us. I am not certain which I want to do more now."

"Seeing as you have already stabbed and slapped me, and the beast gave me a more than adequate beating, I am hoping you might have quenched some of your rage," Loki said with a soft smile, still directing his gaze downward as he picked at the blanket. "I have had a lot of time alone with my thoughts, literally. I have no doubt you are very angry at me - and well within your right."

"I cannot fathom what you have been through. I have seen and healed the physical, but to make you whole again is going to be a long recovery, and I know that anger - lashing out - will be a part of that journey." He didn't like when she analyzed him. Almost as though reading his thoughts, she continued. "I know you hate this - being vulnerable and feeling weak, but I swear, Mischief, if you ever again insinuate that I would replace you with Thor of all people, I will stab you a second time."

Loki laughed, wincing at the stab of pain in his ribs. Finally looking up, all he could see was warmth and love in Sigyn's eyes - he had missed this so much, taken it for granted even.

"Now, listen to me. Your son is quite exhausted and hungry. He is in a new place and not likely to sleep well, so it is best for you to stay here with Thor for the night."

"My place is with my wife and son …"

"You need rest," Sigyn scolded lightly, pressing a finger to his lips to quiet him. "Nari will keep you up."

"And you truly think that me staying with Thor will be better for my health?" he asked sarcastically.

"Thor is not the same man that was banished to Midgard - he grew up … some," Sigyn offered. "He has blamed himself for your death. Give him a chance." Sigyn leaned forward, capturing his lips in a gentle, but promising kiss. "I am not far. If you have need of me, speak out loud and ask, our host's technology, named JARVIS, it can find me."

With one last kiss, Sigyn stood and slipped from the room, leaving him alone. It wasn't long before Loki heard an awkward shuffle of feet at the door and a hesitant, "Brother?"

"Come in, Thor," Loki replied.

Thor made haste, quickly dropping down into the chair at his bedside.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to upset you or Nari."

"It is fine," Loki said with a sigh. This was difficult - the last he remembered of Thor, while not under Thanos' control, he was fighting him on the Bifrost bridge, consumed with anger and madness.

"I have done nothing to dishonor you or your wife, if that is what you think," Thor began. "I love my nephew very much."

"Perhaps you should get a baby of your own, then," Loki offered light-heartedly, unable to bear the tension anymore.

"Ah, you sound like most of Asgard now." Thor laughed, and Loki found it was a wonderful sound."They tell me that my younger brother understood his duty in securing the line of succession and scold me for having not even married yet."

"Asgard finally favors me over the mighty Thor, and I missed it."

Thor's face turned somber and he bowed his head slightly. "I am sorry for treating you ill for decades, centuries even. I have been a horrible brother."

"You haven't been …"

"Don't smooth it over with a lie, like you always do," Thor protested. "Father tasked me with telling Sigyn you were gone - he said it was a king's responsibility. Do you know that she thought I was coming to kill her and the baby? She cast illusions, snuck up behind me, and put a dagger to my throat. If I had been a good man, she would never have thought that, and it haunts me."

"Thank you for being there for them," Loki replied with a nod. "You will continue to watch after them?"

"I swore an oath to protect her and Nari with my life … but you will be there for them now."

"Thor, I have no illusions about my fate in Asgard. Even though the invasion of Midgard was not of my design or free will, I committed crimes on Asgard - let the Frost Giants in, sent the Destroyer to Midgard,and tried to kill you. The only thing waiting for me in Asgard is a dungeon or the axe."

"If you think I would allow that, then I have truly been more horrible than I thought," Thor protested. "Father and mother were overjoyed to learn you were alive …"

"Don't be naive, Thor. It does not suit the future king of Asgard," Loki replied sharply. "Father has no choice …"

"And you do not realize the force of nature that you married." Thor smiled, letting out a light chuckle. "Sigyn's grief was great. We thought she might lose the baby for a time. Then, she chose to pour that grief into clearing your name, for her child's sake." Thor shrugged. "You were king regent, sovereign of Asgard, when your supposed crimes occurred. She brought treason charges against Lady Sif, The Warriors Three, and Heimdall for defying your direct order to not seek me out. Then she brought charges against me for returning to Asgard before my banishment was lifted, saying it directly led to your death."

"That had to be awkward if she still lived in the palace," Loki replied, surprised, though he knew he shouldn't be. Sigyn had always know how to carry herself in court.

"It was, especially as Mother was her closest ally. They were working together, and I truly believe Asgard had never before seen a more formidable pair."

"Still, Thor. I turned the Bifrost on Jotunheim and murdered their king."

"I broke the truce - threatened war. Sigyn claimed that no one could judge what you did as regent to avoid war." Thor smiled. "Your only crime was letting Frost Giants into Asgard to ruin my coronation to show me what a fool I was, and Father and I have both absolved you of that. Even if court would complain, you have suffered punishment in excess of what your sentence would have been."

Loki felt tears well up in his eyes, a sense of relief lightening the load on his shoulders. Sigyn was right - a long road of healing lay ahead. He might be absolved of his crimes, but he still had to live with them and reconcile months of torment at Thanos' hand. This was a good beginning.

"Brother?" Thor questioned at his leaned forward, reaching out to gently grasp the back of Loki's neck, as he did when they were much younger. "I am sorry for everything."

"As am I,," Loki whispered, his voice trembling slightly with emotion. "Sigyn was right, you have changed. You remind me of the brother I lost some years ago. I am glad to have him back."