Forever

"You can pout all you want, I'm not putting those on."

Loki was definitely pouting, holding out the vambraces as if the longer he annoyed her with them, the more likely she was to crumble. "This is a diplomatic journey, Asta. We need to have a certain impact. Adding these to your ensemble will show them you are no longer a mere mortal they can control the fate of."

Alex took the gold-stitched leather from him and with one last glance at the serpent pattern, tossed them aside. "No, these basically stamp 'property of Loki' on me, which is exactly what you want. Considering this is SHIELD we're talking about, that just ups my chances of getting shot at. I'm not your possession, and neither am I eager to face whatever weapons they've cooked up in case you return. It might not kill me but it'll still bloody hurt."

Loki had already explained that SHIELD's equipment would have alerted the agency to the renewed energy of the Bifrost, putting them on high alert. Chances were that when their little diplomatic mission—sanctioned by Odin—set foot on Earth, they'd be facing SHIELD agents straight away. If she were wearing anything that signalled she was on Loki's side, they'd probably shoot first and ask questions later.

"I will not allow any harm to come to you," he protested.

"Look, we don't have time to discuss this anymore. We have to get going. I'm dressing for comfort, not courtly high fashion, and that's it."

He sulked all the way to the stables, then got even moodier when Thor was waiting for them, all smiles and easy laughter. He had a lot to be happy about—if everything went as it was meant to, he was going to be reunited with the girl he'd once told Alex about. She had her own reunion with the chestnut mare, whose name she'd finally learned: Hrattríða, happy to see there was no evidence of her injury.

Loki's mood improved with the reaction of the crowds lining the boulevard to the Bifrost. The sight of so many people made her nervous, given people's usual reaction to Loki, but for once the crowds were cheering, here to give them a fond send-off. Flowers landed at their feet as they rode by, and to her astonishment most of the chants were of her name, not Thor's. She glanced to the princes for an explanation, and both were staring at her with open pride. She bit her lip to stifle the tears that threatened—happy tears, especially when she saw the wounded warriors at the front of the crowds.

I'm not a hero, she reminded herself, but I saved a lot of lives.

Where once the Bifrost had cut off, jagged edge giving way to the black of space, it now ended in the gold splendour of a spherical building—the rebuilt Observatory, gateway to the other realms. Heimdall waited on guard outside. He nodded to them but did not move aside. Not just yet. They dismounted and handed the care of the horses to the waiting grooms, while the happy murmur of the crowds behind them grew louder. Alex turned to look back on Asgard, shining under a cloudless sky, as the queen rode down the bridge towards them, gathering flowers from her adoring subjects.

It had been Odin's suggestion she come with them. She carried a gravitas that Thor often lacked, and had the authority to make agreements on Odin's behalf that her sons didn't. Besides which, she'd expressed an interest in visiting Earth again after a long absence. Loki had muttered something about it being more interesting now both her sons' lovers came from there.

Now the queen had captured their audience's attention, Loki was relaxed enough to pull Alex into him, tucking her under his chin while they waited. Even the simple act of being close to him in this way made her heart ache; he no longer shied away from showering her in intimacy or affection, even if he was wary of being too open about the way he felt outside those close to them. His scent also reminded her of the chambers they were leaving behind, the rumpled sheets and luxurious bed they'd spent weeks taking advantage of. Thankful though she was that she still had the ability to sleep and dream, the fact she no longer needed to was a bonus on days like this, where Loki had denied her the opportunity to.

When Frigga finally reached them, handing her own mount off the grooms, she took Thor by the hand.

"Guardian," she said in greeting to Heimdall, and he stepped aside to let them pass. "Shall we?" she said to the rest of them.

Alex barely had time to glance around the Observatory as they entered. Plenty of gold and a huge dais in the centre with a small mechanism at the top of it. She'd rebuilt all this and she had no idea how—she didn't have a clue how any of it worked. They walked around to the opposite side, where they looked out over the open water, stretching out to the horizon and the stars. She glanced back when she heard Heimdall's steps. He crossed to the dais, sword aloft, and slid it into the mechanism's shaft.

Lightning flared upwards and the floor shook beneath her feet. She grabbed onto Loki and shut her eyes as the walls began to spin. She could still feel the Bifrost's path, the many forks and turns it took as it stretched out across space, and that connection to it crystallised as one particular route formed. She squinted out, seeing the other half of the Bridge forming in front of them, lightstreams in the dark of infinity, and they were all sucked forward into that light.

Travelling the Bifrost the old fashioned way wasn't any more fun than crossing the universe using the power of the Tesseract. At least she stayed on her feet this time when they landed, even if a stream of colours spun around her head. She groaned, and Loki caught her before she stumbled. Around them a cloud of sand swirled, taking a few minutes to settle before revealing stony desert and shrubby ground.

"I recognise this place," Thor murmured. "This is where I first fell to Midgard."

Alex dusted herself off and stepped out of the circle. She recognised it too. "It's New Mexico. We can't be far from the old SHIELD compound."

The clicking of guns announced how close they were to SHIELD.

Loki dragged her behind him and Thor covered Frigga, the brothers sandwiching the women between them so they could face out and fight if needed. Out of the desert dust a circle of black-clad, heavily armed agents surrounded them. To one side, a figure in a trenchcoat watched, Romanoff by his side.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said.

"Director Fury?" Frigga asked, stepping forward. The circle of agents glanced to Fury, wonder clear on their faces at the regal glamour of the queen. Fury eyeballed her, nodding, though he seemed to be taken aback at her presence too. "I am Frigga, Queen of Asgard and wife of Odin Allfather. I come as his representative to Midgard. May we talk?"

Fury's suspicion lessened and he gave a sharp nod. "Let's take this somewhere private."

Private turned out to be a conference room in a warehouse complex close to the landing site. If Alex, had to guess, she'd say this was built recently, in response to the activity they'd picked up from the Bifrost. It had new car smell, the paintwork still fresh. Most of the agents who'd cornered them stayed outside. Instead, Fury was joined only by Romanoff and to Alex' pleasant surprise, Coulson. He gave her a small nod when he saw her but his face was the same old mask of blankness, giving nothing away. At least Romanoff was being open about her curiosity.

"Forgive me," Fury began, "if I appear confused. As far as we were concerned, he," he pointed to Loki, "was being taken back with Thor and was no longer our problem. Yet here he is."

"Circumstances have changed," Frigga replied calmly.

"Really." Fury was working to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, though Frigga would probably have ignored it even if he'd failed.

"Greatly, in fact. In the time since my sons returned to Asgard, we have fought a war and faced the same invaders who wrought such damage on your own realm. Thanos has been destroyed, the Tesseract along with him, and Loki played no small part in his defeat."

For a moment, Alex was sure Fury was going to smile when heard about Thanos' death. "I beg your pardon for what I'm about to say, but I find it highly probable Loki's involvement was to save his own skin."

Loki smirked at the assessment, but didn't speak. He and Thor were under orders to hold their tongues and let Frigga deal with everything.

"Indeed," Frigga said. She could hardly tell Fury he was wrong. "But it can be equally argued that he was only tangled in Thanos' schemes for this realm to ensure his own survival."

"I don't know about that. He seemed pretty keen on the idea of being a king."

"Perhaps. But you underestimate the effect the Tesseract had on amplifying wishes and desires in those it touched. You have those among your number who can attest to that."

"Then I guess it's a good thing it's gone, though I still don't understand why he's here, even if I appreciate the fact you trekked across the universe to let me know."

"We have a deal to offer you."

Fury sat back, curiosity finally evident.

"Loki must make amends to the people of Midgard. Meanwhile, Thor has come to view this realm with much fondness. In light of those two facts, they wish to spend some time here, repairing some of the damage caused by the attempted invasion. We also offer Asgard's allegiance, should Midgard find itself in need of protection in the future. With the repair of the Bifrost we can easily come to your aid."

Fury's one eye narrowed. "The first part, I get, but not the second. Why would you do that for us?"

Frigga smiled. "I'm aware you are charged with the protection of the realm from external forces, and you are worried what would happen if a more advanced race came along to attempt what the Chitauri failed at. It's why you wanted the Tesseract in the first place. We can help you if such on occasion rises."

"That still doesn't tell me why."

Frigga's shifted her gaze to Alex, and that meant she found herself under Fury's scrutiny.

"Oh, our little fugitive," he said.

"Then you understand our terms," said Frigga. "She will be given free passage to and from this realm to Asgard, just as my sons, without your agency's pursuit. While she is here on Midgard she is free to do as she wishes, go where she pleases. You will no longer consider her a captive or a fugitive."

Fury's expression was inscrutable again, but Alex knew the bargain wasn't one he could pass up. His job was to protect the Earth, and she was just one person. She was only useful as leverage against Loki, and if he was in on the pact they had no more need for her.

"Where do I sign?"

Fury, Frigga and Loki were left alone to iron out the finer details of the agreement, the director becoming much friendlier and deferent to the queen when it was clear they were definitely on the same side.

Thor had a surprise waiting for him when he left the conference room: a quiet brunette lingering in the corridor. From the way his face lit up—and how he ran to meet her—this was his girl. They departed to look for private space, and that left Alex with some time to herself. She exited the building through the nearest door, watched by dozens of pairs of eyes, to stand on the edge of the desert.

Home. Finally.

She didn't care anymore if the SHIELD agents judged her for going back to Loki. Almost a year had passed since they departed for Asgard and none of them understood what had happened there. Few of them had even known her when she'd been their captive, and fewer still knew Loki. She knew what she was getting into.

Quiet steps in the sand alerted her to someone's approach, and she turned her head to see Romanoff by her side.

"You're with him again." The disapproval was clear in her voice.

"I am."

"I don't understand why you chose him. I really don't."

"The man you saw, he's not really like that."

"I see." Romanoff peered out across the desert, arms folded. "I've heard that from other women before. It never ended well for them."

"Yeah, I know how it seems. But I'm not the girl you knew, and Loki's more complex than anyone even knows. He's not a good guy, but he's not evil either. Besides, I have Valkyries looking out for me now."

"Valkyries?" Romanoff raised an eyebrow. "You move in very different circles now. But you know, you also have me."

"I do?"

"He hurts you and I will happily find a way to end him. He and I still have a score to settle, and I'm letting it slide because I believe he'll be if I suspect he's becoming a threat again, I'll try to neutralise him. It's what I do. You're a good kid and you don't deserve to be trapped with him, so if you ever need to get away, you just let me know."

"Thanks, I think. I wish things were so simple, but for what it's worth, I'm going to do my best to make sure you never have a reason to go after him."

Romanoff actually smiled. "Good luck with that."

When Romanoff walked away, Coulson took her place. "I'm glad to see you're well."

"You too." She wasn't sure what else to say. She owed him so much, but at the same time he'd helped keep her captive for so long.

"I'll spare you the discussion about your choice of romantic partners. I'm sure Agent Romanoff has already shared her opinion."

Alex laughed. "That she has."

"I only want to thank you. You saved my life, once."

"I remember. The first time I saw Loki again." Strange to think of all that had happened since then. She'd been an entirely different person, and Loki had been a mystery to her. A terrifying mystery.

"You have your freedom, finally. What are you going to do with it?"

"Go home. Travel. Buy a camera, take lots of photos. Spend some time volunteering—rebuild houses in disaster zones and feed people in refugee camps." The last was something she'd decided on when Odin agreed they should come to Midgard. If she had infinite time, she should use it wisely, and try to find a way to act as a counterbalance to Loki's presence in the universe. If he was being sneaky, or manipulative, or just plain cruel, she needed to be a force of good.

"Then I wish you well. I'm sure our paths will cross again."

"Me too. Goodbye, Coulson." To his surprise, she caught him around the waist, giving him the hug he deserved.

With the terms of the deal struck, Frigga returned to Asgard. SHIELD, for their part, seemed to be honouring their side, offering them accommodation for the night and arranging a flight to England for Alex.

She made the trip alone this time—taking Loki to meet her parents was in no way a good idea. In time, she could warm them up to the idea of him, but for now he was the monster who'd stolen their daughter away from them.

Her return was treated in much the same way as her last: hysterical tears.

"You're different," her mother said immediately. "I don't know how, but you are."

"It's not important," she replied, hugging tightly. "It's nothing bad. I'm sorry I took so long to come back."

"Are you home for good now?"

She had to say no. "I won't always be here, but I will be home more often. And I promise you, wherever I am, I'm happy."

Her ability to go without sleep was even more important while she was home. When the household had settled down for the night, she snuck downstairs and out of the back door, just as she had when she was a child.

She walked the familiar path with a lighter heart than she had the last time she was here. The night held no fear for her, and her skin tingled with anticipation as she entered the woods. There he waited, a shadow among the shadows, eagerly reaching for her when she approached.

"I have missed you," he whispered against her mouth. "The nights will not be enough."

"They will," she promised.

"Tell me you love me and it will aid me to abide the days you are far away."

"I love you."

"Now show me your love," he demanded, and she rolled her eyes, surrendering to his kiss. When she opened her eyes, their location had changed. They were still surrounded by trees but the light quality was different, deeper and darker. "That's cheating," she admonished. "Where are we?"

He unfurled one of those wicked, infuriating smiles and unclipped his cape to lay it on the ground. "Don't you recognise it?"

The cape was a clue. "It's where we first…"

"Indeed. Where you first promised yourself to me, Asta." And he pulled her down onto the cape to fulfil that promise.

A/N: This is it. The very end.

Considering I originally thought this was going to be 10000 words at most and around 10 chapters long, it's come a long way. I mean, it's novel length! It already feels very strange not to be writing this story any more and I will miss these characters, even if I go on to write more Loki in the future (which is very likely).

Thanks to my fantabulous pre-readers Twiggy, Rhi and Lindsey, without who(m?) this would be in much poorer shape, and especially for a quick turnaround the times I sprung a chapter on them and wanted feedback NOW.

And of course, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I loves you all. There will probably be outtakes coming as and when I get an idea, so if there is something in particular you want to see, even in drabble form, let me know. I can't make any promises but I'm sure I'll be drawn back to Alex/Asta and Loki.

/oscar speech