They rose late the next morning. Loki finished packing his satchel while Grace made a very late breakfast. While he waited for the waffles to finish cooking, he wandered the apartment, gazing out the large windows at the incredible views and remembering the first time he had visited the Depot. She called him to the table and he remarked that he hated having to leave- her apartment felt more like home than Asgard often did. She smiled and told him of the saying that 'home is where the heart is'.

"Then I suppose I leave my heart with you whenever we part ways and it comes back to me only for one week each year."

"Flirt. Or would this one be 'flatterer' instead?" she jibed.

"Let us simply go with both, as they are both likely true."

She smiled and stabbed at her waffle, her eyes to her plate as she shook her head, blushing slightly, "God, Loki, I love having you here. One of the hardest weeks of my life and you still make me feel like everything's going to be OK. How the hell do you do it?"

"I do not know, Miss Grace. I am hardly the amiable personality."

"You certainly are around me. That or we're both the same kind of jackass, so we get along just fine."

"That is entirely possible."

"I have a favour to ask of you. Nothing for me, actually, but something I want you to try when you go back with Thor."

"Perhaps you would better call it a challenge?"

"Yeah, probably. I want you to try to call Odin 'father' once a day. Just try it on for size. And once a day, I want you to tell him that you need him to listen and not to argue and then tell him one thing you think you need to say to him, positive or negative. And if you can get him to do it, get to the point where by the time our next visit rolls around, you're giving him the same chance- to say one thing to you without you reacting. And it's not because I think you two will ever be best friends or anything, but because I think you both need to figure out how to really listen to each other and this is the best shot either of you has for that."

He looked at her like she was asking him to land Odin's palace on the moon, "I have no idea if he will agree to that. I feel as though you are asking far more than I am capable of."

She reached across the table and took his hand, "You are capable of far more than you will ever give yourself credit for. You can face Odin. You can do so honestly and with that heart of yours on your sleeve. If you need to ask Thor to stand with you the first few times, do it. But try. Try to give yourself the chance to tell Odin what you need to instead of locking all this shit up in your head. It'll only drive you crazy if you never let it out. And he'll never know what he could do differently if you don't tell him."

"Most of Asgard believes I am crazy already. I do not think that he is exempt from that belief."

"Then prove him wrong. Talk to him. Somewhere in his heart, you're still his little boy. You've got to find that, just like you've got to find whatever it is in you that misses him from before. It's going to be hard work, but you can do it."

"And what if he never allows it? What if he does not want me to do this?"

"Then at least you can say you did the best you could and gave it a shot."

Loki sighed and set his fork down, reaching for her other hand; she obliged, "If it were not you asking, I would not even try. But because you have somehow reached under my skin and hold my heart, I will make the attempt. Know this, Miss Grace- you are asking far more of me than I believe I can ever accomplish- it makes me very uncomfortable."

She squeezed his hands, "Good. Sitting where you are comfortable doesn't ever change anything and you need something to change."

"You are infuriatingly right."

"Good. Now finish your waffles- Thor's going to be here far too soon and I don't want to have to cut breakfast short when he gets here."

While they were washing dishes together, there was a knock on the door and Grace greeted Thor while Loki finished drying their plates. He retrieved his satchel and followed Thor to the roof, Grace quickly darting to the bedroom to grab something before joining them.

She stepped out into the warm air and walked through the small garden she had set up with large potted plants and a few very nice benches. Thor was speaking quietly to Loki, whose head was bowed. Thor patted his shoulder and Loki turned to see Grace coming across the roof.

He met her a few paces from Thor and they held each other tightly. She pressed the small stuffed penguin from Chicago to his chest when he released her enough to gain the space between them.

"Take this little guy with you and give him a snuggle when you need a reminder that somebody in Midgard is thinking of you."

He took the toy from her gently, as though it were fragile and precious, "Thank you."

Grace pressed her lips to his. Loki thought there was something different about this particular goodbye kiss. Perhaps it was her sadness, or the fact that they had acknowledged the night before that there was something between them deeper than friendship. The question would, he knew, linger in the back of his mind for at leat the next year.

"Goodbye, Loki- see you in a year."

"Of course. Thor will come for you in one year."

"Just...meet me in the afternoon on the anniversary of the day we buried Tony. I'm going to need the morning to visit his grave. Then I'll come back to the Tower and Thor can whisk me away to Asgard, OK?"

"Yes. And I will be waiting for you when you arrive." She hugged him once again and kissed his cheek, hesitating before stepping back and watching him join Thor. Once they vanished, she retreated to her apartment and dug into the freezer for her pint of French vanilla ice cream before plopping onto the couch in front of her computer to watch movies that would not make her think too much.

When Loki and Thor landed in Asgard, Loki was uncharactaristically quiet to the point that even Heimdall asked if he was feeling well. He tagged behind Thor, his head down, as they entered Odin's hall and approached the throne. Odin stepped down from the dias to greet them.

"Welcome home, my sons."

Thor nodded, "It is good to return, Father."

"And what is your assessment of your brother's behaviour while in Midgard?"

"Loki was solely focussed on Grace and her needs. He travelled with her when she requested time away from Stark Tower and he stayed with her through her grief. He acted quite honourably."

Odin smiled and stepped around Thor to see his younger son, "And Loki, when you were alone with this woman, were your actions as honourable as Thor believes they were?"

"I believe so."

"Good. You have surprised me, Loki. I had Heimdall watch you very closely at a variety of times during your stay in Midgard. You have behaved with dignity. I did not expect this. Nor did I expect that you would maintain it when given the opportunity to do otherwise in her drunken state. And yet you did. Your closeness to her still concerns me, as does Thor's love for Jane, but it seems your feelings for this woman are genuine and have changed you for the better."

"Thank you."

"You are both dismissed. We will speak further on these matters later."

As Odin turned to leave and Thor passed by Loki on his way out, Loki took a deep breath, "All-... Father, I have a request. Something Miss Grace has asked of me. And of you."

Odin stopped and turned back; Thor did as well, not having heard Loki call Odin 'father' in many years, "Yes?"

"She has asked that once a day, for the next year, I ask you to simply listen without responding as I tell you one thing I feel I must say."

"Does this include the way you address me? I have not heard you call me 'father' since before you fell."

"No. She asked that I do that once a day as well- an additional challenge. Will you accept what she has asked of me? Can you simply listen to one statement a day without reacting to it?"

Odin thought for a moment, "And what if I wish the same? That you would listen without responding?"

"She has also challenged me to that, but only after I have had the time to become used to speaking to you so openly. I believe she may have felt that I would give up if I had to also steel myself for whatever you need to say in addition to gathering my courage to speak my own heart."

"Then yes. I accept her terms. Do you wish to start now?"

"Yes."

"Then speak."

Loki's thoughts raced as he tried to figure out just what his first statement to Odin should be, "I... Please... She..." he stammered as he grasped at the different ideas. Suddenly, the most simple statement seemed the right one, "I loved Mother so dearly that I honestly wanted to die when I learned she had. I was unhappily surprised to discover myself alive in Svartalfheim after fighting Malekith." After speaking, he turned and walked from the hall, his knuckles white as he clutched his satchel straps, afraid to turn to see Odin's reaction, the plush penguin pressed to his chest in the other hand.

After he was out of the hall, Thor caught up to him, "That was quite brave, Brother. Grace's challenge may do you both quite a bit of good."

"Perhaps. Or it could drive us farther apart. Speaking so candidly to him is terrifying. I do not know which this will accomplish."

"How much more apart could you grow, Loki? You resent him as though he drove the knife into her back himself."

"I will eventually have to tell him what Miss Grace means to me and I will then request acces to spell books that have been long since restricted from my hands. Eventually I will need to access my magic again. These things could destroy any trust that may be rebuilt."

Thor shrugged, "They could. Or I may be king by the point you need to ask such things and then we will discuss things differently."

"You would allow it?"

"It depends on what you need such magic for."

"I wish to seek a way to extend Miss Grace's life to match mine."

Thor placed a hand on Loki's shoulder, "An admirable aim, but not one I think has ever been accomplished. When you do ask, be sure I know of it. I will do what I can to advocate on your behalf."

"You would trust me with those books?"

"You cannot access your magic while wearing the cuffs. If you prove yourself trustworthy with the books and with them on, I would consider removing them, yes."

"Despite your moments of sheer stupidity, Thor, you will quite possibly be a decent king. Perhaps even a good one, if you do not listen too closely to the council of that oaf Fandral."

"Ah, some things in you have not changed- your distain for Fandral spans the years and is as deep now as it was before your fall."

"I cannot abide in his shallow idiocy." Thor stopped in front of Loki's door, "And yes, if there is one thing about me that has not changed, it is that I utterly cannot stand those who rely on a pretty face and brute strength to survive, rather than engaging their wit. You may not be the sharpest sword in the armory, my brother, but you are not merely shine, either."

Thor smiled, "And you, I suppose, are the sword that sits quietly, unassumingly, in the corner, sharp enough to split a fine hair?"

"Yes, the one that does not scream out with glittering ornaments, but simply sits in wait for the opportune moment to strike."

Thor was chuckling as Loki entered his room, "Just be careful, Brother, that the wrong hands do not weild you."

"Miss Grace will handle me gently, I assure you, and she is the only one I will allow command over me."

"I hope you are right. Others have handled you to the destruction of many lives. I do not wish to see that again."

As he shut the door, Loki replied, "I sincerely hope that I never find myself in the clutches of one such as Thanos again." Once it was closed and he was safely alone, he unpacked his satchel and set the stuffed penguin on his writing desk. He walked to the bed, sat down on the end, looked back over to the penguin, and realised that the little toy was not simply a decoration. He retrieved it from the desk and set it on his pillow instead, curling up on the covers and dozing off with his hand on the fuzzy little toy.