Sif judges Agatha's lack of stamina in training, glaring when the girl begs for another break to play with her pet fox, Ulfhild.
Natasha crouches to address the animal next. And Alex is about to have a heart attack over his mother petting someone else. He runs over from his sleeping position and moves to sit on the redhead, blocking Ulfhild from her love.
Natasha kisses his ear, "You are a butt sometimes."
The fox cries, egging Alex on in a game of chase around the courtyard. Agatha giggles and moves to chase them;
"I'm going to get you!"
Romanoff points and eyes Sif, "There you go; stamina training."
The warrior is unimpressed, "I say we have her murder Ulfhild to prove her loyalty and dedication to Asgard."
Valkyrie snaps, "Absolutely not! Ulfhild is a member of our army now and a part of the royal family."
"We cannot continue to coddle the future Queen of Asgard. She needs to train. Bravery, allegiance, strength-! Being half mortal only means she must work harder. No offense, Lady Natasha."
Romanoff looks up after adjusting Alex's fancy collar, "Hold on, Thor has two of these…Where's Agmundr?"
Valkyrie snaps her fingers and moves to a wide table to fetch herself a drink, "We lost the boy. Too bad…may he rest in one peace."
Sif frowns, "Brunnhilde!"
"What? In my experience, the realm does far better with a woman in charge. To the future Queen Agatha! Long may she reign!"
"I will not be the one to bear the news to Lady Jane. We must find the boy."
"Alright,' Natasha stands, brushing off her Asgardian skirt, 'Let's not overreact. Agmundr visits Bruce and his mother at the science facility multiple times a day. I'm sure that's where we'll find him."
Valkyrie licks her lower lip, "I cast a vote we go to Thor with this dilemma first. He will not call for our beheading in the same way as Lady Jane."
"You should check the prisons," Agatha states matter-of-factly, capturing the attention of the women who surround her.
"Speak up, Princess Agatha," Sif calls with a narrowing focus.
The nine year old pets her fox's ear, "Agmundr goes there sometimes. To see Uncle Loki."
"To see who," Natasha needs the statement repeated, unsure how to respond.
Sif and Valkyrie are already headed back up to the palace to search, in a mad frenzy over hearing Loki's name.
"Uncle Loki,' Agatha repeats, ratting out her twin without a hint of shame, 'Daddy always tells us not to. Mommy would be mad. So I don't go there, ever, but Agmundr likes Uncle Loki and he doesn't like rules."
"I agree with your parents, you should stay away from him. Loki is dangerous. He has a wicked streak and cannot be trusted," Natasha reaches to pull back her much longer hair and follows her fellow warriors, leading Agatha up to some other warriors for supervision.
Romanoff heads for the Science Facility with Valkyrie and Sif moving toward the prisons.
Bruce's new Coworker/Boss is just a tad more organized and collected than what she's used to back at the tower. Jane Foster is focused on progress, leading the department with elegance, organization, and plenty of innovative goals that will most likely turn Asgard into one of the most advanced spaces. Bruce loves it; at least that's what he tells Natasha. She knows better…
Being scolded for a chaotic desk and a structured timesheet isn't the best way to harness his creativity. He's naturally Obsessive Compulsive and easily sent into a mechanically routined response when he's not forced out of a comfort zone.
Bruce Banner is struggling work wise…and thus, purpose wise. He's at the pinnacle among demigods and a genius Jane Foster who can match his creativity and ingenuity.
The physicist is missing the organized chaos of the tower, and the ability to let his brain run wild.
He's outnumbered by females since working for Jane Foster and Natasha is all too excited to throw that fact into his face whenever she gets the opportunity. It's the very least of his concerns, hardly aware until Romanoff brings it up shamelessly.
Right now, she's focused on his presentation. There's a very trusting bird relaxing on his shoulder as Bruce shows off his holographic white board and the heartfelt contents poured into it.
Natasha smirks and settles in the back. She eyes Agmundr in the front row, absorbing every fact and figure like a sponge. She adores watching her husband in 'professor mode'.
Up in her rankings is this idea of being right and today, she's right about Agmundr; he's in the outdoor laboratory watching his mother.
Romanoff checks her nails only momentarily, making eye contact with her husband. She smirks over his soft smile but also over the unpredictability of their life and the song they once found solace in under the night sky.
He's her 'huckleberry friend' despite every twist and turn, her anchor through it all. She would change nothing about their lives as long as he remained a part of it. So gentle, so supportive.
Bruce huffs through that adorable dorky smile once he notices Natasha is staring. She can't hide from him if she wanted to.
"So pretty- I mean! Until it's so perfected," he blushes.
Natasha chuckles over his mishap in a pre approved script- by Jane Foster no doubt. He's beat red, tugging nervously at his fingers for the entirety of the presentation.
The redhead stands upon completion and briefly acknowledges Agmundr with a shoulder grip.
Bruce remains her primary target.
Natasha wraps her arms around his neck once Agmundr takes the bird.
"There's my boy," Jane nuzzles against Agmundr's cheek, excited for their hug.
He laughs over her affection, "Mommy! Don't embarrass me."
"What did you think of the presentation?"
"What's the bird's name?" He asks mid distraction.
"You'll have to give her one," Bruce answers with an arm around Natasha's slender waist.
The boy hacks, irritated by his mother's hundredth kiss. The first two were fine and now he's embarrassed;
"I'll think about it."
Jane stands and frees her son. She addresses her toolbox;
"Are you going to go home and beg daddy to keep the eagle?"
Agmundr shrugs and carefully holds the bird on his fingers, "Ulfhild might eat her."
Jane laughs while Bruce jumps. Natasha rubs at his white lab coat covered arm with a soothing remark half in Russian.
Jane flicks her eyes up and swings a crossbody satchel over shoulder. She addresses the couple, "Have a good night you two…brilliant hypothesis Dr. Banner."
"Thank you," he blushes when Natasha kisses his cheek.
Jane extends a hand she expects Agmundr to take, "Come on my sweet nerd. We need to get you some dinner."
"Goodnight," Natasha holds a smile and her hands over Banner's shoulder as they're left alone in the small outdoor auditorium.
The redhead flicks the tip of her tongue over his neck, enjoying his initial wide eyed reaction;
"Geez! Tasha…"
She leaps up onto the desk, "What? You look so sexy when you're in professor mode. Should I enroll in some of your classes?"
"You!"
She shrugs, "You know I love hearing you talk to me."
He shakes his head with an eye roll, his cheeks throbbing red when he tries to clean his area.
She smiles and that finally elicits the response she wants.
He whispers honestly, "I love you, Tasha."
Romanoff covers her mouth when he clumsily drops a basket onto the stone ground.
"Oh, Vrach," she tries to muffle her laughter.
He looks so disappointed with himself, hands thrown to his own hips and frowning over the basket's contents spilled all over the floor.
She crouches when he does to aide in the clean up.
He laughs, "You're distracting me."
"The work day is over, hurry up and clean this mess so we can make a new one back home."
The moment he freezes, she regrets her verbiage.
'Home'…
Her mind spins along with his as they grow completely silent and their game stops.
Clint, Laura, Riley, Violet…
Tony, Jennifer, Izabella, Lucy…
Bruce seems to flip from his emotional suppression.
Natasha feels like she's on the roller coaster with him when he turns to latch onto her mouth.
She hums over the abrupt kiss.
He rarely dives for her mouth without warning.
The gentle hand over the side of her neck confirms he's himself, in control.
Natasha embraces the action she can read and understand, eager to forget her pain as well.
She wraps her arms around his neck and pushes him against the table, lifting a leg over his hip.
"God Tasha," he catches her knee.
She needs to forget her guilt, and her husband is the perfect escape from reality.
"Nat," he moans through her name, gluing their foreheads with eyes shut tight, "Let's get back to the apartment first? Hulk-Proof- soundproof-. Curtains to close…"
She nods, unrelenting in her kisses, "And then you're mine?"
"All yours," he pants breathlessly.
Natasha dreads the light that cracks through the wide windows. She'd rather stay curled up on his chest for the remainder of the day.
He's warm, so comforting in the way he holds her, the way he kisses her. It's everything she wants.
But coming down from her high feels like a damn free fall, pummeling back into this dark pit of reality.
Natasha quietly pushes away from his warm hold. She hates to leave him but she's far too distracted to stay melted in his embrace.
Her hair falls over her shoulder when she sits up with a somber expression.
Bruce is wide awake, just as stuck in his own mind. She strokes light fingertips over his chest when she finally asks;
"Do you ever question our decision to stay?"
He doesn't answer, looking up at her with darker eyes. He can't seem to settle as he reaches for her hand to leave soft kisses on it.
His shirt is lost from the previous evening's impulsivity, curls a mess from their running to each other for love and acceptance.
Asgard isn't home- it's an escape. A temporary job; A place for two fugitives who still find it a challenge to confront the past. They're tired of running, tired of failing...
Bruce doesn't respond, lazily, stroking her arm with the back of his fingers.
She feels soft- she feels safe.
He can only focus on her, ignoring the conversation he's wishing they were brave enough to have had years ago;
"I don't know, Natasha."
Romanoff nods tearfully. It's not what she wants to hear. She's guilt ridden and she can't remove those meta kids from her mind. Six years apart from their own world is suddenly feeling like forever, immersed with her own achievements and in building up herself...is it selfish?
She bends over her side of the bed to snatch up her shirt and pulls away from him to hide in the other room.
"Nat?" He calls her, sad to see her pull away.
"I need a minute," she calls back, replacing her shirt.
"Tasha?," he moves to follow and replaces his own discarded and stubbornly Midgardian button down and tan pants ensemble.
Thor hasn't held back on giving them the best. They have a large section of the guest area, their own private garden and a big space to call 'home'. It's far larger than the tower apartment back home and yet it continues to feel too empty for just them.
She moves toward the outside bench in her long t-shirt and holding a glass of their processed rain water. He sits, wrapping his arms around her to pull her into his chest and hug her tightly.
Natasha sips from her glass and looks up toward the sunrise, "I still have nightmares about Linda...and Riley."
She's talking about their kids, distraught and he knows it, brushing her hair with his fingertips and sprinkling her forehead with light kisses, "I know."
Natasha takes a breath, comfortable in his embrace, "I shouldn't feel guilty for living. Hell, this is about me living our life. What is wrong with me?! These aren't even my kids."
He lifts a shoulder and looks into her eyes, "...they were Nat, in a way, they were. We loved them like they were ours."
Those late night conversations. The hours of research into potential families, drafting and redrafting some sort of contract for the interested parents. The long hours at the Center, training, rearing, playing...
Natasha is bubbling up with her emotional confession he's yet to hear. She misses them, though, she can't admit it aloud.
Her breath hitches and she exhales disappointedly.
Bruce pulls her into his chest a little tighter;
"It's alright. I've got you, Tasha."
She shrugs, "We failed them. And we would've failed our own biological child if given the opportunity."
"Okay, stop. Stop, stop stop. Tasha, honey; You're not a failure. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. I finalized Linda's adoption," he laughs lightly, suppressing his own emotions on the topic.
She sighs, "Why would I be mad at you? You were busy trying to save me."
He pecks over her mouth affectionately and with purpose, "You're the strongest person I've ever met. I just want you to be happy."
She can tell he's hiding, reaching to shift and take his hand, "I know we need to move on. And I want this; to help Asgard."
He mumbles, "You know there's a way to check in with the kids. There's this strange guy at the...well I guess the 'front desk'? Administration... of sorts. Anyways, Thor acts like he can see everything. If we- if you, wanted to know about the kids?"
Natasha is amused by his attempt at comforting her and in his explanation of Heimdall whose job she's already fully aware of.
She wraps her arms around his waist to hug him in reply. Clearly he's thought about checking in the same as her. Though, never been brave enough to follow through with the idea.
"They'll be fine, Vrach. We have a new purpose here."
He gently urges her head back onto his chest, eager to hide in her hair.
Agmundr knows the tunnels to make his way through the palace after ensuring his family is sound asleep. His primary power relates to thunder and electricity, but a more hidden talent is being able to deceptively sneak around mostly undetected.
He slips through the ceiling as the man he considers his closest confidant greets him;
"Young Agmundr. I had begun to think you'd forgotten about me."
The young boy brushes himself off, "Never. Look what I found Uncle Loki! Will this help your powers?"
Loki grins from behind the glass, eyeing the boy's artifact. His eyes light up;
"Fine work, young one. We are closer to finding all of the Norn Stones."
Agmundr curls up as close as he can be to the dark cell without climbing inside.
"I want to hear the Karnilla story."
"Again?"
"Yeah. And the stories of the Norn Queen."
Loki sighs. Agmundr would seem to be his first realistic ticket out of prison. Amusing the boy seems like such a small price to pay;
"...tell me first how you got into the archives."
Agmundr shrugs, crossing his legs on the floor while his fingers play with the item, "Lady Romanoff leaves the key on her key ring."
Loki smiles, way too satisfied, "She is lacking in creative ingenuity. In focus. We must take advantage."
"Agatha told her about us."
"Your sister would do well to join us."
"She won't. She believes everything that Natasha says and Natasha says you're wicked."
Loki looks offended, shrugging with a huff, "Romanoff has killed far more than I have. She is the wicked one. You should not trust her."
"My mom does. Uncle?"
"What now?!"
"Why won't my dad free you?"
Loki rubs a hand over his face, his mind racing over the same topic they've discussed for years, "Your father does not trust me."
"It's been years-."
"Yes it has."
"That's not fair you can't come out and play with me-."
"Well, life isn't fair! It's gruesome and bitter! Dark and boring. You would do well to learn such things sooner rather than later."
Agmundr jumps in his position, never truly afraid after years of trusting his cryptic uncle.
Loki steps closer with agitation in his stare, "Your father was the one always catered to like your despicably useless twin, Agatha. You and I are unimportant, unloved, pawns in a dangerous game to be discarded when the need arises!"
"What's a pawn?"
Loki's draw drops in a huff, "A pawn…a piece on a large board-."
"Do I have magic?"
He's losing his patience, "Of sorts. Do you not practice your abilities?"
Agmundr rocks back and forth, "Sometimes? It's hard."
"Life is hard, life is hard, learning is hard, becoming the best is hard. You must stop being such a weak thing!"
"I'm strong!"
"Of course,' Loki shakes his head, 'Never mind. You should be off before your father begins to question your disappearance."
"Should I hide this, Uncle Loki?"
"In our spot, yes."
Agmundr lifts his small box, "What should I do next, Uncle Loki?"
He shakes his head tiredly, "Find some way to keep that foolish, Russian, mortal off your trail. If she begins to meddle, she will separate us forever. We do not want that."
"Never," the younger boy frowns.
"Poison her if you must, trip her...break a knee. DosVedanya Romanova …"
Agmundr blinks, "I don't know what that means."
"Send a terrifying loathing beast to shred the green one, the monster, the Hulk…They are dangerous, Agmundr. They already have grown suspicious of you, have they not?"
"She has-."
"Well..they won't stop. The man, Banner, he might. He's gullible. But her? You need to trick her. Distract her. What better distraction is there than to kill her love?! Foolish girl- who once beloved love was for young children- End them! If I am free only to be thrown about and thrashed by that wretched beast once more, I will surely-!"
"..Huh?"
Loki cringes upon realizing he's gone off on a tangent, "Never mind. Keep your father far from knowing our intentions as well. He would not approve."
Agmundr rolls, "He doesn't approve of anything. One time? He punished me for asking about the Dark Elves. He didn't give me dessert!"
"How,' Loki sighs, 'horrible."
"This other time? I wanted to make a joke with my sister and I turned into a turtle-."
He frowns, "A turtle?!"
"Yeah! And-."
"Why would you not choose a reptile? This is fundamental, my dear Agmundr. Our families dread the amphibians of Midgard. Why in the name of Odin would you not choose to become a reptile?! Or a fox your sister adores so much?!"
"Uh,' his nephew scratches his head, 'what?"
"You morph into something they enjoy! Oh for the love of Frigga! Your grandmother would be so disappointed. If you cannot master basic pranks, how will you ever portray the illusion that you've burnt down the palace?! Or fake your own death twenty-seven times over?!"
"You're so weird," he laughs.
Ever since he could walk, the little boy had a newfound tendency to wander off and explore. It was during one of the earliest wanderings that he stumbled upon Loki's cell, who instantly recognized him and formed a bond.
The older man nods toward the door, "You must return before you have lost your opportunity to rest. You have sword training in the morning."
"Who told you?"
"You conveyed the disappointment to me weeks ago, my dear nephew. Now run along and return to me in the evening. We shall continue to discuss the plan for my escape…"
"I'm coming with you Uncle Loki, right?"
He refuses to answer and looks elsewhere, tilting his head, "Run along Agmundr, before your mother begins to question your disappearance. We must move wisely if I am to escape. These fools must never suspect me."
"They won't."