Not long after the battle, Odin felt tired. Far more tired even than an old man who spent most of his time in the library ought. He called his sons to him and told them it was time for him to enter into the Odinsleep from which he would not wake. Loki solomnly accepted this. Thor drank all night and slept most of the next day. Alice took Izzy to spend some time with his great grandfather while Grace and Sif took tea and wondered just how their husbands were going to handle the death of the All-Father.
When the time came, the family gathered around Odin. He gifted them things- the All-Mother's jewels and gowns split between the three women. Weaponry and Sleppnir to Thor. His private library and the Cask of Ancient Winters to Loki, to be kept in the vault, but still his. The nursery full of toys that had belonged to his sons was now Izzy's. And with one last goodbye, with even Loki tearful, he closed his eyes.
Thor invited the others, along with Fandral and Volstagg, to drink with him all night. The next day, they announced the news to the realm and began the ceremonial preparations for the funeral of the All-Father. There would be feasting, the passing of certain artefacts and relics on to his sons in public inheritance rituals, and weeks of mourning after his barge was set alight and the lantern let to fly.
The rituals finished, Loki, Grace, Alice, and Izzy rode to the countryside for a picnic under the weeping tree that, come spring, would be decked in flowers, showering the ground with silken petals. The tree had lost nearly all its fire-orange leaves and they crunched underfoot as they made their way towards the trunk, sheltered from the first few snowflakes by the curtain of branches swaying gently in the breeze. While chilly, it was not a bad day for a picnic, the sun shining between the clouds and the smells of the harvest baked into pies and cakes, or being cooked down for winter storage. The sun shimmered off the City Greenhouse in the distance.
Grace flopped back on the blanket and set Izzy on her chest, "So...I really hope life gets a little more quiet for a while. We've had some crazy times lately."
"I hope so, too, Mom."
Loki was quiet, "Honey? What's on your mind. Your daughter and I are nosey."
He smiled, "Oh, I know you are."
"Speak."
"You were wrong when you said I was free after Thanos died. After Father's death, I am free. There are painful memories I let burn with him. Now it is over."
Grace propped herself up; Izzy giggled and drooled on her shirt, "I have a crazy idea."
"Oh?"
"Let's move out of the palace. I mean, I know we all are really comfortable there, and the library can't come with us...but why don't we build a little place of our own out here so we can just get away from it all? We can still keep quarters there, and I have no doubt we'll be there at least a couple of times a week."
Alice pushed aside branches and looked out over the city and to the palace beyond, "It's not that far of a ride. Do you think we'd be safe?"
He slowly nodded, "Yes. Yes we would be. And yes, let us. Let us leave that shadow so we may rest."
"Do you think Thor will be cool with it?"
"I will ask. Do not worry. If this is what we wish, this what we will do."
"Mom, can we have a garden and grow vegetables? Maybe even get a couple of pets or working animals?"
"Sure. We might need some help getting started, but yeah, why not?"
"And this would suit you, Gracie?"
"I've never lived outside of a city. I know, Stark Tower was really isolated when we needed it to be, but it was still in New York. I think learning to live on our own like this is our next great adventure."
"But a calm adventure, in which we can help our daughter raise our grandson and live quietly. I think I will like this."
Alice poured glasses of wine and raised hers, "Here's to us."
"Here's to love, all the times that we've fucked up," Grace continued.
Loki smiled as they toasted and clinked glasses, "And to finally being free."