Soon after the entire team had been greeted with the news of their enemy's demise, Thor invited them all to the funeral on Asgard, which would take place in precisely three days' time. He even asked Peri and Jules to attend.

Thus, precisely three days later, the two girls found themselves on Asgard.

Thor's honoured guests stumbled out of the Bi-Frost clutching their stomachs and trying to keep their composure.

"I never want to do that again," Clint grumbled. There were nods of agreement from everyone else.

"Hey," Steve said, a hint of panic in his voice, "Where are the girls?" The team quickly swept the area with their eyes and confirmed that the "twins" were nowhere to be found.

It was at this moment that Thor chose to ride up on a horse, while Tony chose to look in the opposite direction and yell "SHIT!"

"Jules, we can't giggle, it's a crime scene!" Peri said in between her giggles.

"Oh my Gatiss, Peri, stop quoting things!" Jules said as she giggled, "It's not even a crime scene!"

"No, but it is a funeral and it's inappropriate!"

"Oh please, we didn't even know the guy."

"That doesn't mean we're allowed to be rude, love."

"I don't mean to be, it's just that some of these portraits are a level of ridiculous that's just not okay."

"Do you mean like that one?" Peri pointed and giggled again. Jules looked over and burst into uncontrollable giggles. The portrait depicted a man with a beard that reached the floor, and while he had a very regal stance and was holding what appeared to be a spear, he had an eagle perched on his head and was wearing a baby pink skirt. "Where do these people get their ideas of fashion?"

"From Midgardians, mostly," an unfamiliar voice responded. The two girls gasped and spun around to get a face full of stomach and beard. "That is, of course, until we realized we had been taking only trends from the women and forcing them upon the men in this world."

The teenagers took two steps back and looked up. The man had a ruddy sort of face and his eyes twinkled with amusement. He appeared to Jules as the sort of person who would normally have a very cheerful disposition, but at the moment he had a deep sadness hidden behind the amusement in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to laugh," Peri started, "Um, I'm Peri, and this is my friend Jules, might I ask who you are?"

"I am Volstagg. Come with me, children. I assure you, the portraits in this hall become less silly as you continue on your way down." He turned around and started to walk towards the end of the hall. Peri and Jules quickly joined hands and followed him, smiles on both of their faces.

"I'm sure the children are just fine, Steven. Asgard may be big, but it is filled with friendly souls. I doubt anyone would attempt to take advantage of them," Thor tried to soothe Steve. Tony stood on Steve's side, awkwardly patting him on the shoulder.

"Well where could they be? That's my only concern, Thor. I don't know how they got away from us so quickly, but I just need to know where they are, okay? We kind of can't leave them here."

Thor nodded and got back on his horse.

"I shall return with more horses. Afterwards we can start our search at the palace. I only hope they haven't encountered Fandral."

Unfortunately, they just had. Volstagg had lead the girls all the way down the hall and outside into the garden, and while they had admired the flowers surrounding them, Fandral had arrived and taken a liking to a certain redhead.

"Hello, gorgeous," he said as he kissed Jules' knuckles, "I don't believe we've met. I am Fandral, of the Warriors Three. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

Jules looked at Volstagg with confusion. He wore an exasperated look, as if he'd had to deal with this situation far too many times. Peri, however, looked bored.

Just flirt and get it over with, she seemed to be thinking. Jules was torn. On the one hand, she was flattered, on the other; she was kind of grossed out. She decided it was best to just see in which direction this Fandral would take things and then- Never mind, Jules thought. She could see the lust in his eyes.

"Um, no, I haven't-" Fandral cut her off with a gasp.

"No? Well, you must be a traveller, which would be the only way you haven't heard tales of my great bravery. That would also explain your odd clothes and way of speaking. It would be my great pleasure to fill you in on the current events of Asgard, if you would care to hear them."

Jules slipped her hand out of Fandral's grip and gave him a polite smile.

"Yeah, sure, I travel a bit. Of course, it rather depends on the health of my companion here-" She couldn't say anything else before Fandral had moved on to flirting with Peri.

"Such beautiful blue eyes," she heard him say quietly, "like the most delicate fabric-"

"Please let go of my hand," Peri mumbled. Volstagg's attention had been diverted elsewhere, and Fandral ignored Peri's plea and continued to disturb her.

"And your hair, so distinctly you, almost as if the goddess of beauty created a special blessing just for you-"

"Not only is that cheesy to the point of redundancy, it's just hair dye-"

"Pray tell, exquisite creature, what is your name? Surely it must be as sweet as your face-" Fandral was cut off once again, but this time not by Peri. He made a short choking noise and just stopped talking. He gripped his throat as panic settled into his expression, and Peri bit her lip to stop herself from smiling. Jules made no attempt to stop herself as she laughed. Fandral tried to speak a couple more times, but when no sound came out, he simply ran in a random direction, his hands flailing in resemblance to floppy noodles. Peri and Jules exchanged a glance, but Peri's smile melted into confusion. She looked around her wildly, and when she couldn't find whatever it was she was looking for, she stopped and shrugged at Jules. Jules shrugged back and turned to Volstagg to ask a question; but he had disappeared. Jules gulped and raced forwards, grabbing Peri's hand and tugging her into the direction that Fandral hadn't headed.

"You know, all these decorations are quite beautiful, in a way," Peri whispered, afraid to break the silence she would later describe as mystically elegant.

"How so?" Jules asked, equally afraid to disturb the quiet.

"Well, I know it's a bit morbid, but the way everyone, even the servants, is running around in black, without any armour, and how everything is draped in black and even the shine off the walls seems to be dimmer, it's gorgeous. You remember that warrior lady we passed in the antechamber? With the dark hair? I remember reading about her in a mythology book. She's Sif, goddess of war. She hates Loki with every fibre of her being, and yet even she's upset he's dead. It just makes me wonder if he even knew the impact he had on the people he knew, if he knew how much he was loved even by the ones who didn't like him."

"Let me guess, it's also making you wonder who will show up to your funeral, other than me."

"I didn't say that, Jules."

"You didn't have to. I know you better than you know yourself. It gets kind of scary sometimes. And I assure you, I won't be the only person at your funeral."

"The bishop doesn't count."

"I wasn't counting him."

"Yes you were."

"…Okay, maybe." Peri let out a bitter sigh, but she smiled, and Jules smiled with her. "Come on; let's find something that's conventionally pretty."

Peri gasped as she and Jules entered the ornate room before them. They had simply continued down the hall until they had reached a door on the left, and when they pushed it open, they hadn't expected to be greeted by a rather copious amount of glittering jewels. Jules walked over to a tiara cautiously and picked it up with great care.

"You'd think they'd have better protection on these," she said. Peri shrugged.

"From what I've gathered in my mythology books, Asgardians are rather cocky, especially the royalty. They most likely assumed no one would dare attempt to steal from them." Jules shrugged back and put the tiara on her head. Peri giggled.

"What?" Jules asked.

"You look like a pageant princess," Peri replied. Jules stuck her tongue out at her and she only giggled again.

"You're only jealous because I am Asgardian royalty. Bow before me, mortal," Jules said imperiously, gesturing for Peri to kneel. Peri only laughed harder. She laughed so hard she snorted, which she had used to do often, but recently, her snorts had become less and less frequent. Jules smiled. She had missed her friend's snorts. Suddenly, she stood stock still and strained her ears as much as possible.

"Shh!" she hissed, holding a finger to her lips. Peri clapped a hand over her mouth and took deep breaths to calm herself. Finally, she spoke.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"Footsteps, down the hall. I have a bad feeling; we should hide, like, now." Peri nodded and instantly went into survival mode. The only thing she could of was how grateful she was to have a partner like Jules. She'd had Peri's back for twelve years, and she knew Jules would never fake a possible threat, or risk Peri's life. She was even more grateful when she heard the door open right after she had found a place to hide. She had ducked under a particularly large display of necklaces, and as she heard the possibly hostile footsteps enter the room, she listened hard for the signal that Jules was safe.

She waited… And she waited… And she waited… long enough for the footsteps to circle the length of the entire room, for them to pass by her hiding spot twice… Long enough for her heart to stop as she heard an unfamiliar voice shout "You, how dare you?!"

"I'm so terribly sorry, sir, I didn't mean to come in here, I just wanted to go to the bathroom-"

"Nonsense! What are you doing here? What is your purpose? Are you a thief, a gypsy, a-" Peri took a deep breath, and before the strange voice had time to continue, she bolted from her hiding spot, grabbed the first jewel she saw, and ran like hell. The voice yelled after her, and she could hear the footsteps in pursuit of her, but she wasn't frightened of the faceless voice. The only thing she could think was: Man, Jules is going to be so damn pissed at me.

Odin wasn't expecting anyone to come see him that day, everyone in the kingdom knew was busy grieving his son, and Heimdall hadn't warned him of any visits, and yet, when Baldur came into the throne room dragging an odd girl with blue hair, he wasn't the least bit surprised. Perhaps he was secretly hoping it was one of Loki's tricks, but he knew it wasn't. He hid his slight disappointment by feigning anger.

"What is the meaning of this, Baldur? You come here on the day of my son's funeral, bringing with you a girl of no substantial consequence-"

"Um, excuse you, sir, but just because I'm not important to you doesn't mean I'm 'of no substantial consequence.' That was the rudest thing anyone has ever said to me, how would you like if someone called you unsubstantial?" The girl glared. Odin glared back at her, and Baldur stared at her in shock.

"Do you know who I am, insolent child?" he whispered threateningly. She nodded.

"I meant no harm, All-father. I only meant that-"

"I care not what you meant, foolish child! Baldur, why have you brought her?"

Baldur snapped out of his shock and adopted a new, business like sort of manner as he bowed before Odin, placing a fist over his heart.

"I found this child in the Regalia Room, All-father. She was there with an accomplice, yet I did not catch the other. This one here," he punctuated his statement with a harsh glance and a tug on Peri's short hair, making her yell in protest, "actually had the audacity to steal something in front of my very eyes."

He pulled the ring Peri had grabbed out of his pocket and Odin stood in his surprise. When Thor was born, Odin had commissioned the dwarves to manufacture an elaborate ring of ruby, sapphire, and silver. When he had brought Loki back form Jotunheim, he had done the same for him; only this ring was made from emerald, onyx, and gold. Odin had intended the rings be given to the women his sons loved. The blue-haired minx had stolen Loki's ring. Odin's fury knew no bounds. He raised his spear, and aimed it at the girl, whose eyes widened in shock, and prepared to strike her.

The doors burst open with a great sense of urgency.

"NO!" a familiar voice yelled. Odin blinked and looked up at the man in the doorway. No… It couldn't be… "Father, please, she only meant to protect her friend from Baldur's wrath…"

It was.

An uncomfortable silence dragged on for what seemed like days.

"Um," the girl started, "I was under the impression you were deceased. I was forced to comfort your brother when he arrived at Stark Tower, I had to listen to him bawl, I can barely comfort my best friend when she cries, and yet I had to let him soak my shirt with tears because I had no idea what to say to a guy who just lost a family member, and you're alive?!"

Loki grinned sheepishly.

"If it's any consolation," he said, "I didn't think he'd actually be upset." The girl glared at him while Odin and Baldur stared at him in bewilderment.

"You didn't think he'd be upset? He's your brother! I don't care what he's done to you or what you've done to him, you're family!"

"That really depends on your definition of 'family'," he said.

Peri would have continued, if it weren't for the fact she was cut off by Baldur's hand closing over her mouth. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and bit him.

He cried out and Peri pulled an expression of total innocence.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" she asked in the manner of someone who didn't really care but honestly didn't know what was going on.

"Why you-"

Once again the door opened with a great sense of urgency.

"Father! The girl is my companion-" Thor's sentence cut short at the sight of Loki, who refused to give him the satisfaction of eye contact. "Loki?" Thor asked softly.

Loki nodded stiffly.

"All-father I beg of you, she is only a child. Set her free. Please," Loki pleaded. Peri was beyond confused. She had a bit of an obsession with mythology, and from what she'd read; Loki was a trouble-maker. A con artist. He hardly ever did anything without an ulterior motive. And if Loki was trying to save her… She shivered at the thought of what he could possibly have planned for her.

She was so focused on Loki she didn't notice Odin give the order for her release. It wasn't until she had been escorted out into the hall by Baldur she even realized she had moved. That had always been a problem with Peri. Fury used to lecture her for hours on her zoning-out. He said it had to do with her paying too much attention to details. A good agent saw the big picture. A dead agent was the one caught up on details.

"I'll be watching every step you make, mortal," Baldur hissed, making Peri start. He stalked off somewhere and Peri was worried she had been left alone on a foreign planet for a moment.

"Peri!" Jules jumped on her and hugged her ferociously. Peri hugged back on pure instinct, and finally let her attention divert to the big picture. The Avengers were assembled around them, standing awkwardly and wondering vaguely is they should lecture the girls on straying, all with the exception of Steve. Peri furrowed her brow, about to ask where he was, when he came up and pulled her away from her friend. He spun her around and placed his hands on her shoulders and tried very hard to keep his voice on an indoor level. Peri had to give him props, she would have expected him to scream at her, but he didn't.

"Do you have any idea how worried about you, young lady?!" Peri's eyebrows shot up in shock. She wasn't sure she could handle any more surprises that day. "I nearly had a heart attack! You could have died, for all we knew!"

He went on for approximately five minutes and forty-eight seconds. Peri tried to listen, really, she did, but she couldn't help but get angry. He didn't know her, he'd only met her a few days ago, he didn't even know she had cancer, and yet he assumed he had the authority to treat her like his misbehaved child? She had been through situations he couldn't even imagine, lost more friends than she could count, saved the lives of people who didn't even know she existed, and this was her thank you. Feeling the hot rage burn through her, she pushed Steve away and glared at him with as much hatred as she could muster in one look.

"Yes, mother," she said coldly before leading the way back to the bi-frost. She didn't wait for permission, she didn't stop for orders, she just walked. She felt Jules slip beside her and delicately coil her fingers around Peri's wrist.

"So what happened in the court room?" Jules whispered.

"Well, Loki's not dead."

"You're kidding."

"I wish."

Jules cursed.

"What made him think that was okay?"

"Don't know. But I have a feeling he's up to something, Jules."

"Why?"

"He saved my life."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"He only delayed the inevitable."

Jules squeezed Peri's wrist lightly.

"At least he bought us some time. Who knows, Peri? Maybe he just felt like doing something good."

"I don't like you with this personality. Go back to being the pessimist I grew up with."

They exchanged wry smiles before walking through the portal, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Jules returned to being the bitter child she was when Peri first met her.

I keep forgetting to put in a disclaimer. Obviously, I don't own any of the characters in this story except for Peri and Jules... Well… Okay, I only own Peri. I don't own anything I make a reference to in any chapter. Also, I started writing this before I saw Thor 2, so it DOES NOT go off the Thor 2 timeline AT ALL. But hey, moving on. I'm not a professional writer, but I'd very much like to be a novelist one day. If you could kindly give me some tips and pointers on how to improve, I'd be much obliged. Have a great day, and thank you for taking the time out of your life to read my manuscript!