Grace made breakfast and carried it on a large tray down to Loki's cell. She wanted to make sure that his last morning in Midgard, in the Tower, and with her, was at least as pleasant as possible. She found Thor sitting in Loki's cell when she arrived. She ignored the obvious tension in the air and set the table.
"Come have a bite with me, Loki- I made a crapton of eggs. There's more than enough here for Thor to join us, too, if he'd like."
Loki was still in bed, his arm over his eyes, still wearing the clothes he had worn the day before, "Why ought I, Miss Grace? Do you know what is to happen to me when I am returned to Asgard? It does not encorage a hearty appetite."
"Tony told me. It sucks. And for a little while longer, you're here, we're together, and I'm going to keep being your friend whether you like it or not."
"Odin ought to have simply ordered my execution. That would have made you happy, Thor, would it not? To have been rid of me once and for all? To never have had to track me down again, to look for me in the hidden places? To have to defend your precious Midgard from my mere presence?" Despite not moving from the bed, Loki's bitterness was sharp and stinging.
Thor was visibly hurt by the accusations, "Brother, do you not remember what I told you? Father would have handed you to Thanos for an eternity. It was I who asked him to consider Thanos' offer to take you only after he could ponder it for the night. It was I who begged him, as both a gift for my eventual coronation and to honour Mother's last request, to bargain for ten years instead of the rest of your natural life. While your actions have dismayed me, have caused me to, for a brief time, believe you were no longer the brother I watched grow up, I still hold out hope for you. I called off Father's armies when he wanted to send them to Midgard to retrieve you, asking instead to bring you home myself. You have had this week because I did not want to wage war on Midgard and bargained with Father to wait. I do not want this, Brother, but I have done all I can to lessen the punishment and intend to continue to do so as long as I believe you are redeemable."
Loki sighed, "Thor, I have no home. While I may begrudgingly admit that you are family, if only by your persistent insistence, Odin is not. Odin wants me dead."
"Odin wants justice, Loki. The realms are looking to see how he handles every moment of chaos you create, looking to see if you are Asgard's weakness. Jotunheim sends for news of you, Vanaheim looks to Asgard to see if the justice we mete out is the same for our own people as it is for theirs. Heimdall watches you and has seen others doing the same. What Father wants and what Father can show the realms are two different things. Mercy is often seen as a weakness- you know this as well as I. How he treats you will determine how the rest of the realms treat all of Asgard."
Grace sat down on the end of Loki's bed and spoke softly, "Loki, come on. You still need breakfast. Please, for a friend?"
He uncovered his eyes as he remembered that Grace was still sitting at the end of his bed and sat up, ignoring Thor and reaching for her hand, "Yes, for my friend. Quite possibly the only one I have in all the nine realms. I am so sorry I neglected to answer you last night. It was most unkind. Yes, this week has meant a great deal."
"You know, Loki, I know you don't think shit of Odin, but maybe the fact that you did find a friend here would mean something to him. Given what Tony and Phil have told me of your previous adventures on Earth, it seems like going from aiming to conquer the realm by any means necessary to laying low and hanging out with Tony Stark's sister might be a point in your favour."
"One of very few, though, Miss Grace. Given that he thinks so very little of Midgardians, I somehow doubt it would mean more to him than if I had found a pet."
"Yeah, well one point's better than none, eh, even if it's a little point because I have a stupidly short life span? Now come on, the eggs are going to get cold. I can see Thor eyeing them."
Thor watched, amazed, as Loki softened in Grace's company, as she held his hand while they walked the short distance to the table, and how gently she spoke to him. Grace dished them both eggs and sat on the edge of the table since there were only two chairs, balancing her plate on her hand.
Loki spoke very little during their meal, Thor complimenting Grace on her eggs-and-toast making skills. Grace watched the differences between the two men. While both were polite at the table, Loki ate as though he was afraid of doing something wrong, his elbows away from the table's surface, his fork silent, every move calculated. Thor, on the other hand, occasionally rested his elbow or forearm on the table, once in a while clattered his fork, and was generally looser with his etiquette.
"Loki, after breakfast, you're going to go take a shower, you're going to get dressed, and I'm going to do the last of your dirty laundry so you aren't taking anything back home that needs washing. Then we're eating lunch up in my apartment. I've talked to Tony, he'll have food ready for us. Thor's been approved by S.H.I.E.L.D., not that he needs their blessing, to escort you. You're not leaving here without a good lunch. Then comes the part of the day I'm dreading, so we'll just pretend we're not saying goodbye today for now. But we're doing this day right. It's your last day in Midgard, I'm spending as much of it with you as I can."
Loki finished eating and chose his garments for the day, the green shirt Grace had purchased for him with his dark trousers and the blue and gold scarf. He neatly set them on the dresser and went to the shower. Grace sat down in his chair, stacking her plate on his as she continued eating.
"You have been spending most of this week with Loki?"
"Yep. We even went out of town together for a couple of days and watched twenty hours of movies together another day. It's been fun."
"And you never felt as though he was a danger to you or to anyone else?"
"Nah. He's been great. Maybe he's different when he's got his magic and feels like he has some power in a situation, but I think he realises that without it, he's fucked if he tries anything stupid. S.H.I.E.L.D. would lay him flat in a second if they had the chance and you damn well know Tony wouldn't have hesitated to dismember him if he hurt me in any way. And I've chosen to believe he's telling me the truth when he says I'm his friend."
"Do you know what he has done? Have you not heard the stories that would make you hesitate to speak to him, let alone to trust him?"
"Thor, I grew up around pretty terrible people- I'm not really afraid of anyone anymore. And Tony's told me plenty. And I lived in New York during the invasion- Tony dropped one of the beast things on my car- the big ones, not the little dudes on the hover-scooters. Flattened the fuck out of it, that's for sure. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. nearly filled my new car with holes because I drove Loki from downtown Detroit to the airport. Because apparently it's so dangerous to drive him by myself through the 'burbs that they can step back, but the minute we're in a contained aircraft, they draw guns and surround the car. So yes, I've heard stories. And I've seen them. And I still wasn't afraid to get in the car with him."
"You drove him alone?"
"Well Tony was in the air following me the whole time, but yeah, pretty much. He even let me listen to the end of the baseball game without being annoyed. Then we drove from Detroit to Lansing yesterday- spent over two hours in the car without anybody watching, drenched from the rain we were caught in, and sang old rock songs all the way to the city. We had dinner at a 24 hour diner and a picnic on the plane. It was a fantastic way to end the weekend. And I haven't felt afraid for even a second."
"I am sorry that my arrival dampened the mood, but I could not delay any longer. Father was getting impatient and the deal was reached with Thanos two days ago. I could not wait without risking war on Asgard and Midgard both."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the time we've had, but I really wish it didn't have to end. And here he's going to be locked up probably longer than I'll be alive. It just seems like a shitty deal on my end. I'm going to miss the hell out of him."
"You seem to have some kind of influence on him- before you arrived, his speech was dark, biting, and as wicked and hurtful as he could muster."
Grace shrugged, "Eh, it's probably just because he blames you for so much- he's got a lot of family issues. Not things I think you two can't work out if you both want it, but it's going to take a lot of patience. And probably a good mediator and a lot of booze."
Thor laughed and then finished off his eggs, "You are probably quite right."
Loki stepped out of the bathroom and proceeded to dress himself, "Am I to be privy to your little joke, Thor?"
"Your Grace has suggested that we can possibly work things out between us, but that it may take a good mediator and large quantities of good ale. Though it is not so humorous coming from my lips, the way she said it was very amusing."
"Ah. Which of us would need the ale, Miss Grace?"
"Your mediator."
Loki chuckled but tried to muffle it so Thor could not hear, his back turned to them as he smiled, "Quite an astute observation. I would feel sorry for the mediator subjected to our...difficulties."
"Yeah, well if you need me, holler. I think I'd be up for the challenge. I can wrangle the best of 'em."
"And how about the worst, Miss Grace? I do believe it would be more accurate a descriptor of our troubles."
"I've never been afraid of a challenge. Besides, I live with Tony. I can deal with you two. Now go get your laundry and your satchel. Unfortunately, we've got to pack you up."
Loki retrieved the bag and set his few clean garments, fastidiously folded, beside it, the little box with his cufflinks on top of the pile. Grace stood close beside him and handed him one piece at a time for the bag. Loki nearly told her he was fine, there was not much to pack, he could do it on his own, before he realised that this moment was a gift she was giving him- time close together, an intimate moment they were sharing and one of the last they would have. He put each garment in the bag slowly, carefully. He even folded his suit jacket to buy a little more time. The scarves and cufflinks he tucked down along the side, the scarves neatly rolled. When the task was completed, he clipped the flap shut and sighed, thanking her with a hand on her shoulder before he turned to fetch the basket of dirty laundry from the bathroom. Grace went to clean up the dishes from breakfast and found that Pepper had entered while she was occupied and was busy putting the dishes on a cart.
"Oh, hi, Pepper- I didn't see you come in."
"It's OK, Grace. You just do what you need to today? Tony's working on figuring out lunch. I'll get this taken care of for you."
"Thanks. Really. Thanks. Are you coming to lunch with us?"
"No, I've got a meeting with Agent Coulson. I'll see you later."
Pepper left with the cart and Loki picked up his satchel, the laundry basket under one arm. He looked around the cell one more time before the three of them left for the elevator.
They rode upstairs in silence, Grace slipping the laundry basket out of Loki's hands while they were in the elevator. She tried not to think about the fact that he was leaving the safety of the Tower for a decade of torment to pay back the debt he had defaulted on. As the elevator doors opened, she focussed solely on the task ahead- laundry.
As soon as they reached the laundry room, she called out, "JARVIS?"
"Yes, Miss Stark?"
"Can you please play my laundry playlist? I need some music."
"Of course, Miss. You remember where the volume controls are, correct?"
"Yep, haven't forgotten. Thanks."
"Laundry playlist?" Loki asked.
"I prefer to add music to my chores. Makes them more fun." A guitar began playing in the background and a woman's husky voice began singing. Grace hummed along as she started the machine and sorted her laundry, mixing Loki's with hers. On the other side of the room, a mechanical arm was sorting Tony's t-shirts and jeans in to two separate washers. Loki watched it, fascinated.
Grace sang with the chorus, "Here's to us, here's to love, all the times that we fucked up..." as she sorted and poured the soap in to the machine, closing it and starting the second machine with her light coloured clothes in it. Thor sat down in the little living room on the far end of the room, a few couches and armchairs arranged around a low table with a few books and magazines on it.
Tony entered the room, laughing, "Oh my god, Gracie, you are a damn genius. These are brilliant!" He held up a framed poster of two blood drenched unicorns having sex, the text above them reading 'THE AMAZING FUCKING DEATH UNICORNS!' in a glittery playful font with long purple shadows behind the letters, "I can't believe you ordered a dozen of these just for me. You are the best sister ever." He hung the poster up over the couch, "Perfect. Just perfect. I've already put one in the common room and in the board room. I think we need another in the lobby. One's also going in my living room." He turned to Loki, "I doubt Thanos is big on putting posters in the torture chambers, but I'll send one with you guys so you can put it up when you get back to Asgard."
"If, Mr Stark. If I get back to Asgard."
Tony shook his head, "No, you're going to think positive. I doubt Thanos is going to greet you with flowers and puppies, but you are going to make it back to Asgard if for no other reason than my sister needs you to. Not that I can really do anything about this if you don't, but I'm going to say it and keep thinking it until it happens, got it?"
Loki nodded, "Yes, Mr Stark. I will do my best to endure. And thank you for the poster. Miss Grace has a delightfully twisted sense of humour."
She was sitting on the edge of one of the machines with a magazine, humming along to the music, happy that Tony and Loki were getting along, more happy to hear Tony acknowledge that Loki was worth having alive, rather than the goodbye and good riddance she had heard from him in the past, "So...Tony. Next song on the list- dance with me to Gaga?"
He looked with a raised eyebrow, "Er...if it involves twerking, no."
"Since when the fuck have I twerked? Besides, it's not one of the club songs."
"Then which one is it?"
"Say you'll dance with me and you'll find out."
"Fine, fine...but if you trick me into dancing to 'Telephone', I'll change the ringtone on your phone to something by Vanilla Ice."
"There are worse things it could be."
"Jesus, tell me I didn't just agree to dance to 'Telephone'- I'm not Beyonce. I mean, look at this butt. So not Beyonce butt." He shook his hips a little, his lips pushed into a pout.
She was laughing as she hopped down off the washer and dragged him over to the space between the chairs and the laundry machines as the music began and she started singing, "It's been a long time since I came around, been along time but I'm back in town..."
Tony took her hand and found the rhythm quickly, "I still don't know if I should be amused or terrified that you identified this song as one we could foxtrot to. Also, I'm not sure how you talked me into dancing to it."
"Because I'm your sister and I'm awesome like that. And because you want to impress Pepper with your mad dance skills."
"Yes on both counts, but still, I'm amazed you got me to dance to it. It's not exactly my type of music, you know?"
"Well I haven't figured out how to foxtrot or lindy to AC/DC yet so you're just going to have to work with me here."
"No, but I did figure out we could lindy to 'Dude Looks Like A Lady'. That was pretty awesome."
"I was impressed. You came running into the apartment like you'd just hit some kind of jackpot."
"Honey, I was so proud of myself for remembering what a lindy hop was in the first place that I felt like I'd won every game in Vegas."
Loki leaned on a dryer and watched them dance, carefully observing the steps, his curiosity overriding the fact that he would likely not get an opportunity to try the dance in Asgard; Grace noticed him staring, "I'm dancing with you next. Not entirely sure what the song is after this one, but I know it's one you haven't heard."
"And just how am I to know the steps to a dance I likely do not know and a song I have not heard?"
"Make it up. It's what I do most of the time. I remember it's one of the Gaelic Storm ones- it'll be fun. Trust me."
When her dance with Tony ended, she gestured to Loki as Tony went to sit on the couch, wondering just what he was going to see. Grace placed Loki's hands, one at her waist and the other in her hand at shoulder height, and waited for the song to start. When it did, it began with a spoons solo.
"Might I ask just what this song is about?"
"A donkey getting drunk of homemade whiskey and winning a race before dropping dead and then being made into a trophy on the wall of a tavern."
"Is this a common topic for Midgardian music?"
"Nope. I'm pretty sure this is the only song in existence about it."
Loki found the song's beat and began to step side to side, leading Grace in simple dance movements as he felt out the song. A few lines in, he elaborated to four steps sideways and then started the pair rotating. By the time the song reached a chorus, he had spun Grace a few times and she was laughing as she stumbled, trying to follow his steps. At the end of the song she staggered into him, dizzy from the twirls he ended with, still laughing. She cuddled against him and wrapped her arms around him. He embraced her and after her laughter quieted, they stood silently together, holding one another tightly. Tony looked to Thor and jerked his head toward the side door. Thor nodded. They quietly slipped out.
As the piano started for the next song on her playlist, Grace sighed, "Damn it, this song's going to make me feel all sentimental and then I'll probably get stupidly emotional about everything."
"Can you not simply tell JARVIS to skip it?"
"I could, but I'm going to end up stupidly emotional sometime, might as well be now." She sang, "I've been alone, surrounded by darkness. I've seen how heartless the world can be..." Loki listened to her sing, her voice cracking on the chorus as she started crying on his shoulder. He led her to one of the couches and sat down with her. She curled into him and tried to stop crying, the attempt unsuccessful. He was at a loss for what to do for her, so he simply held her until she calmed and sat up, reaching for the box of tissue on the coffee table nearby.
"I'm sorry about that, I should have a better grip...here I am sobbing and we've only known each other a week."
"One does not have to know someone for very long for them to make a mark on one's heart, Miss Grace."
She met his eyes, "Fuck, Loki...how, after so many years of looking for friends who weren't just digging the Stark name, cash, and power and pushing so many people away because that was all they were after, did I end up so goddamned attached to you in just a week? It's like I majorly failed at the keeping-my-distance thing."
"As did I. I tried so hard to make myself the monster and yet you approached me without fear. I do admit, it was disarming. I did not expect anyone who knew who I was to act as you have from the beginning."
"That's just who I am. It's the safest bet- when you show people fear, you give them power. I learned that the hard way. What's the worst someone can do, kill me? I'm going to die eventually anyway, I'm not living in fear until then."
"I wish I had your courage. I still strongly fear death."
"I never said death didn't scare the shit out of me- but it's inevitable. We're fragile little fuckers and we're always inventing new ways to kill each other...or discovering others who are happy to do the job for us. I just don't see the point in wasting what little time I have on fear. There's this line from a musical- 'forget regret or life is yours to miss. No other course, no other way, no day but today' and I've let that stick with me."
"He will break me, Miss Grace, in every way he can. I do not think I can be so brave as to discard fear."
"Then don't, but also remember that we have right now and that's the only moment we're guaranteed."
"And I thank you so much for this moment."
The washing machine beeped and JARVIS asked if he could put the laundry in the dryer for her- Grace told him to go ahead. Loki reclined on the couch and she laid down on his chest, the cool of his skin just beneath the fabric a remarkably calming sensation. Grace dozed off and Loki simply held her and watched her sleep until the dryer dinged and he gently shook her to wake her. They stood and unloaded the dryer, dumping everything into Grace's basket before sorting and folding it together. Even the mundane task of doing laundry gained great meaning as they stood side-by-side matching socks and determining whose clothes were whose. Grace was a little sad when they finished, his satchel packed and her laundry basket nearly full.
"I guess we need to find our brothers and head up to lunch."
"I suppose so...I wonder where they went."
"Eh, probably in the common room next door, watching our every move on the security feed...you know how older brothers are." She winked at him.
"Oh yes, I do. Always quite protective and a bit nosy."
"Just a bit?"
"Perhaps that is an understatement."
They checked the common room and found it empty, so Grace suggested that they go up to her apartment and see if they were already there, waiting. Loki agreed and they took the elevator up, standing close, her head leaning against him, his arm around her shoulders.
Grace stepped into the apartment and did not find their brothers, so she dropped her laundry in her bedroom and came back to find Loki settled onto the couch, his knees tucked to his chest, "You OK, all things considered?"
"No, Miss Grace. While I may show less emotion than you, I am struggling as well."
"You know you can bawl your eyes out with me and I'm not going to judge you for it, right? Be scared, be lonely, be sad. Friends aren't worth much if they can't handle the tough shit together." She opened her arms to him as she sat beside him and this time he curled up against her. She felt him shudder as he breathed, still fighting the urge to let his tears fall. She brushed her fingers through his hair, hoping she could keep herself together long enough to comfort him. A few minutes and a few deep breaths later, he sat up and kissed her cheek, thanking her. She almost asked what he was thanking her for, but Tony knocked and entered with a stack of pizza boxes, Thor behind him carrying bags of breadsticks and a case of Irish beer.
Tony skipped the kitchen table and set everything out on the living room floor, "Picnic at Gracie's place! Let's have some fun, kids. Do we have time for a movie? Preferably something stupid?"
Thor nodded, "I think we have time for one of Midgard's moving pictures, Anthony."
"What do you have, sis?"
"I think Wayne's World would be too esoteric, but Zoolander is pretty straightforward- two absolute idiots in the middle of an international fashion plot...not entirely inaccessible to our off-world friends."
Tony nodded, "Then Zoolander it is. Get the disc started, I'm going to find some napkins in case we spill the beer on your rug."
"Wouldn't be the first time we've spilled beer on it."
Grace popped in the DVD and for two hours the four laughed at the absolute absurdity of the antics in the movie, even though two of them had no context for most of the jokes- the beer helped.
The film ended and Thor looked at the sun, "We had best be heading back before too long. Loki, do you have your belongings packed?" Loki sombrely nodded, "Good. Then we will head to the rooftop to say our goodbyes." He retrieved a framed fucking death unicorns poster from beside the couch and stepped out the door.
Loki reluctantly followed Thor from the room, Grace's hand in his, Tony following behind.
On the roof, Thor advised Loki to say what he must, as he did not know when he would see Grace again, or if he would even be permitted to travel to Midgard within her lifetime.
Loki was at a loss for words as he stood facing her, both his hands holding hers- she broke the silence, "Fuck Thanos, this sucks. If you ever get the chance, please visit me again? I wish I could come visit you, but we just don't have the technology yet." She stepped closer and whispered in his ear, "You're the best damn thing that's happened to me in a long time. I need you- and I hope I can keep you in my life, not just in my memory."
As she stepped back, he stopped her, kissed her lightly on the lips, and said, "In case I do not return, please remember you are as dear to me as I am to you."
She nodded and backed away from Loki as Thor took his arm and called to the sky, "Heimdall, bring us home." In a column of light, they were gone. Grace turned abruptly and hurried back into the building. She tried to avoid everyone else by taking the stairwells down to her floor but passed Steve, who thought about asking her how she was, but saw the look on her face and decided it would not be a good time to ask that particular question.
Up on the roof, Tony sighed and followed Grace into the building, wondering just how much time to give her before following her. He asked JARVIS to let him know when she reached her apartment.
Grace dodged the mess on her living room floor, threw open her bedroom door, and tossed herself face-down in her bed, screaming into her pillow and sobbing even harder than she had in the laundry room. Ten minutes later, Tony stretched out next to her, put his arm on her back, and simply waited for her to cry herself to sleep. When she did not, he offered to get her a beer.
She sat up, "Fuck, sure, why not. Let's get shit drunk until I can't remember any of why I'm crying."
Tony helped her to the living room and they sat down on the floor with the case of beer and the pizza remains in front of them. He turned on a very bad horror science fiction movie from decades before in which a giant iguana walked through a model town, crowds of screaming people superimposed in front of it. The iguana licked its eye. Grace giggled, her beer going up her nose. Tony took that as a sign she might be OK.