Imitations Carved Deep: Chapter 23
Guys, it's the last chapter! And it's a day early! I want to thank you all for sticking with me on this crazy journey. I'm happy to make you smile, laugh, cry and pitch a fit with my writing.
Please enjoy the final chapter of Imitations Carved Deep.
Disclaimer: I don't own them...so sad.
Warnings: Severe angst. Torture (in the past). Implied rape (in past). Don't read if any of these trigger.
Return
When Kira and Frigga finally stopped laughing at the group of men tangled together on the floor, they sobered and stood. The others eventually made it back to their feet and all of them headed back to the common area together. Kira was flanked on either side by her mother and Thor. She would never admit it, but it did make her relax a bit. Odin raised a brow at Kira's new hairstyle, realizing where they had disappeared to, but didn't comment.
Kira, predictably, ignored the Allfather and instead only had eyes for Calder.
To say it was sad to see Calder go would have been a blatant lie. Though they had once been friends, Kira knew that young, shy, kind man she had known was long gone. In his place was a cruel, twisted villain who would hurt whoever was necessary to get what he wanted. The two of them held eyes for a few moments, but Calder was the first to break and look away. Odin deemed that to be the cue to leave.
"Thor, Loki," Kira knew she would never get him to call her the correct name, "You may return with us or stay. Calder will start his sentence as soon as we return to Asgard." With that, the Allfather turned and the whole entourage started to walk back out to the balcony. Thor felt a bit torn until he noticed Kira making no move to follow.
Odin was not surprised by this but there was another absence that made him stop.
"My Queen?" Frigga met Odin's inquiring gaze head on.
"I would stay here, if Mr. Stark would have me. It has been too long since I have spent time with my children and even longer since I have visited Midgard." All eyes turned to the inventor and he gave Frigga a small, polite smile.
"Of course. You are welcome to stay here as long as you like." Kira bit back a snort. She had never heard Stark speak so formally. Odin appeared rather upset by her declaration, but inclined his head in acknowledgement.
"Very well. I can only trust that you will not leave me to my lonesome for too long." As Odin and Frigga held each others' eyes for a solid minute, Kira knew she was witnessing the great love between them. It was nearly nonexistent to an outsider, but Kira could see the Allfather and the Allmother loved each other very deeply.
She was glad when they finally stopped staring, though; it was getting awkward and uncomfortable.
Odin didn't even have to call out to Heimdall, and in a flash he and the guards and Calder were taken back up to Asgard. The ensuing quiet only lasted for about five seconds. Frigga turned and smiled brightly at her two children.
"Well, I say I've got about five Midgardian days before I start getting desperate requests to return home." Lady Frigga turned to Stark and bowed her head. "I thank you very much for your hospitality. It is a great gift to be able to spend time with my children." Tony gave the Allmother a very genuine smile.
"It is no trouble at all, Your Majesty. But…I wouldn't be against any embarrassing childhood stories of Thor and Kira as repayment." Frigga smirked at Tony's teasing.
"Oh, I think I can spare a few." The identical horrified looks on both Kira and Thor's face almost made Frigga burst out laughing again.
And so, Thor, Kira and Frigga stayed at the Tower. The Allmother shocked both of her children by magicking her Asgardian attire into Midgardian fashion. The Avengers took turns showing the Asgardians around the city. Thor really enjoyed the parks, while Kira and Frigga loved the museums. Dinners were when everyone came together and discussed their adventures. Frigga, true to her word, did share a few embarrassing stories of Kira and Thor's younger years, making them both groan or blush in turn.
Eventually though Frigga did receive a message almost begging for her return, via one of Odin's ravens. They all had been gathered for breakfast; Steve was making pancakes for everyone. Suddenly a raven landed on the balcony railing outside and cawed loudly. The Allmother sighed and glanced at a calendar nearby.
"Five Midgardian days, just as I expected. Your father is nothing if not predictable." Kira felt a twisting in her heart knowing that her mother was going to be leaving. By the look on Thor's face he would either be leaving with her or not far behind. To think that a year ago she would have been thrilled at such a prospect.
The Allmother stood and went to go speak with the bird, leaving the others looking after to her.
"Well, you know what they say. Behind every great man is a great woman," Bruce said over the rim of his tea mug. Natasha lifted a brow as if to say 'Ain't that the truth.' Thor nodded as well.
"That is a very true statement. Mother has aided Father for many centuries and is the only one able to truly change his mind. The Council does not hold a tenth of the Allfather's ear that the Allmother does." Kira snorted.
"I always told you: Odin doesn't rule Asgard; Mother does. Besides, the Council is full of incompetents. They care more for their place in the pecking order than they do for how the realm is run."
"Yeah, they didn't sound very pleasant from that one story you told us." Kira nodded at Stark's comment.
"Yes, well, there wasn't much out of the ordinary with that incident. They feel they must be paid so much respect and homage, and if they are not, you are forever doomed in any matter of justice or basic rights. I never gave them the honor and respect they craved and refused to be cowed by their threats. Though, there wasn't much they could do to me as the Son of Odin." Kira smirked. "You should have seen their faces when I was made king when Odin fell into his Sleep. I fully believe they thought I would smite them where they stood."
Thor laughed heartily.
"Despite your dislike of them and their dislike of you, you would not do such a thing." Kira's lips pinched together.
"I was certainly tempted." Before anyone could say anything else, Lady Frigga returned. She rolled her eyes at her children's questioning gazes.
"Your Father is convinced the realm will collapse if I don't return as soon as possible. However, I refuse to let Captain Roger's lovely breakfast go to waste." Steve blushed slightly at the compliment and dished up the rest of the pancakes.
They ate in comfortable silence, though the moment everyone was done, all eyes turned to the three Asgardians. Lady Frigga gave Tony a bittersweet smile.
"I am in your debt, Mr. Stark, for allowing me the time to spend with my children and to visit Midgard. I am grateful to all of you for what you have done for my children, fighting along side them, protecting them, believing them. I cannot promise that I will be able to return to Midgard in your lifetime, but know you are always welcome on Asgard." She stood and with a shimmer of light, her clothes returned to the regal gowns of royalty. Everyone stood them to escort her out to the balcony.
Once their, Thor turned to the others.
"I believe I should return with my Mother. I left rather suddenly the last time and have yet to be back to my home in a time without turmoil. Rest assured I will return." As Thor embraced his teammates, Frigga turned her attention to Kira.
"Would you…come home, Kira? You face no punishment and your name has been cleared across all of Asgard. You haven't been home in so long." The others heard the tail end of her words and Kira stood there, self-consciously biting her lip.
A part of her was very much still bitter and angry with all of Asgard and Odin, but another part missed the gilded halls greatly. With all eyes on her, it was a tough decision….
3 Months Later
Tony sighed for the umpteenth time and Clint, finally fed up, threw a pillow at his head. The inventor scowled at the archer.
"Would you stop pining?! If I didn't know how much you cared about Pepper, I'd say you were head-over-heels for Kira." Tony scowled.
"I am not pining. I just liked having someone to talk to who could actually keep up." Bruce, sitting in the armchair next to Tony's spot, snorted.
"Gee, thanks." Stark smiled brightly at Dr. Banner.
"You know I love you, Brucie. But don't tell me you don't miss her too." In actual fact, they all missed Kira/Loki in some way or another. She had decided to return to Asgard with her mother and brother months ago. Beyond a weird conversation with a raven to let them know that Thanos had been rather easily taken care of, there hadn't been any contact since they had gone.
"Loki burned a lot of bridges the last time he was in Asgard, and there was a lot of confusion and hurt. It takes a while to make that all relatively okay again, Tony. They'll come back. They promised." Tony rolled his eyes at Steve.
"Forever the optimist, Cap." Steve gave him an unimpressed look.
"Well someone's gotta be on this team." Before Tony and Steve could go at it like an old married couple, Jarvis headed them off.
"Sir, someone is coming up the elevator." Tony furrowed his brows at his AI.
"Way to be vague, Jarv. I take it they're a friendly and you're not letting strangers into my Tower?" Jarvis stayed unusually quiet and they all tensed when the elevator ding echoed from down the hall. They stood as two voices came closer.
After a few moments, Agent Coulson came around the corner laughing at whatever Loki had said.
"Agent! Reindeer Games!" Coulson rolled his eyes at Tony's enthusiasm while Loki only smirked pleasantly. Clint raised a brow at the two.
"So, what? You guys are friends now?" Loki smiled at Agent Coulson.
"I was going to return to the Tower soon, but there was another stop I decided to make first. I had heard what Calder had done to your Agent Coulson while wearing my face and felt the need to meet the man who stood up to an Asgardian in such a manner." At the two assassin's concerned expressions, Loki held up his hand as he reassured them.
"I first appeared as Kira so as not to give him too great of a shock. When everything was explained, he wanted to see me as Loki. Apparently, he could see the difference right away." Coulson nodded.
"It was definitely in the eyes. And yes Stark, Fury was not happy with the impromptu visit. I was told, quite loudly, to escort Mr. Odinson 'back to the damn Tower where those nut jobs can deal with him.'" Tony barked out a laugh and finally stepped forward. He surprised Loki with his hug.
"Yeah, and you totally weren't pining." Tony flipped Clint off without stopping the hug, but he eventually pulled back.
"Aw, Stark, did you miss me?" Tony shrugged, smile still firmly in place.
"Meh, maybe a little. I think Bruce missed you more though. You snarked with me and kept me from poking Bruce with sharp things in boredom." Loki shot Bruce a sympathetic look.
"How did you survive these past three months?" Bruce gave his typical long suffering sigh.
"Lots of deep breathing and picturing beating Tony over the head with an arm from one of his many suits." Loki laughed and Steve finally gestured for Coulson and Loki to come further into the room and sit down.
"So, Loki, are back for a while? Can he help out on the team?" Steve's second question was directed at Coulson.
"We've decided that for now, it's probably a good idea for Loki to only be Kira in public for now. Maybe later we can start slowly introducing him as Loki being part of the team." Loki nodded along.
"And in answer to your first question: indefinitely. Mother sends her regards. Thor will be along in a week or so. Odin is trying to finalize some clean up from the damage done by Thanos and is requiring Thor's presence as he is to be the future king." Tony barked out a laugh.
"Yeah? How is Point Break doing with his kingly studies? I gotta admit, I can't picture him sitting through meetings and listening to peasant complaints day in and day out." So, Loki launched into some amusing tales of Thor's "studies" and seamlessly slid back into his place in the group.
As he grew comfortable and conversation flowed easily, Loki couldn't stop the smile from blooming on his face. He had found a place for himself, one where he could still be Thor's brother and still be Loki…or even Kira. He wasn't judged for his family or his magic, but for who he was.
It was better than anything he had ever dreamed and nothing he had ever expected. It was perfect.
The End
Again, thank you to all of my readers out there! You make it all worth while. There will NOT be a sequel to this story, but any Harry Potter fans out there, keep your eyes peeled! I've been working on a new HP fic behind the scenes of this one and should begin posting soon.
Love to all!
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