AHHH, I was supposed to have this chapter finished and posted February 28th but I ran out of time, and then on March 1st I was having some serious issues that cause me to be reaaaaaaally anxious about something and as a result I couldn't write that day, followed by a few chaotic days at work. But everything is fine now, I FINALLY was able to finish and post chapter 13! I hope you all enjoy it ^_^

By the way, the MAJORITY of this chapter was written on my phone rather than on my computer, and sometimes it's a little harder to type coherently on a phone, so I sincerely apologise if you come across any grammar errors or, more importantly, sentences that are messed up because of stupid autocorrect completely restructuring my goddamn words. I only say that because upon skimming through to fix any accidentally errors, I found a whole word I'd never even heard of before that autocorrect had changed to from a different word I had tried to type and I was so confused lmao. That being said, I think I caught any big errors.

Edelweiss Say I'll Be with You Till the Day You Leave

Chapter Thirteen: Focus, Breathe, Release

The sound of laboured breaths permeated the intimate atmosphere of the room, the heat of it tickling Loki's neck as his fingers dragged across the light layer of perspiration on Amelia's skin. The two of them were coming down from the high of their coupling, basking in the arms of each other as their thumping hearts gradually slowed to a resting pace in their chests.

Amelia let out a deep and satiated sigh, her body relaxed where it lay curled against Loki, legs intertwined. Loki couldn't help but love when a day ended with a passionate tryst between himself and his wife; though they weren't exactly rare to behold, he savoured every last minute he was gifted to look upon Amelia's beautiful face slack with pleasure, and the moments that followed.

When there was nothing but pure ecstasy and oxytocin running through their veins causing them to crave the closeness of each other in the afterglow, they ensured they were touching as much of each other as possible in the most lax and contented way - this was what it meant to feel safe and secure.

The only thing that could've improved it for Loki would be if it was winter, because the room was already warm, and it made cuddling border on the very edge of almost unmanageable. Unfortunately, being so averse to the sticky heat, Loki would have to pull away soon before he melted in a rather unfavourable way.

His wife shifted and sighed again, making a series of little micro movements as if she was struggling to be perfectly comfortable against him, which gave Loki pause. Usually she was out like a light within twenty minutes of their dual climax, unable to resist the call of sleep immediately following their lascivious activities, but today she was very squirmy.

Eventually, Loki let out an exasperated little murmur and nudged her with his hip, "Do you wish to share whatever is plaguing your mind, darling?"

Amelia froze at his inquiry, dead silent for a few moments before clearing her throat and lifting her head back to peer sheepishly up at her husband.

"You sure you're not a mind-reader?" She asked tentatively, one eyebrow arched.

Loki smirked, "No. Your thoughts are just loud."

"Right…" Amelia hummed, a slight fluster in her expression as she licked her lips, "well, I was just thinking… do you think if somebody cast the Cruciatus curse on you, that you could endure the pain?"

Loki stared at his wife.

"Amelia, you can't just throw a Harry Potter-themed hypothetical scenario at me and hope I don't press to find out what you were actually thinking about."

Amelia gulped, her cheeks reddening as she was blatantly caught in her deflection, and sighed in resignation, "Fine. I was, uh… well, I was just thinking, really, about… you know, what if we… uh-"

"Gods above, spit it out," Loki pleaded, letting his eyes fall shut. He loved his wife dearly, but her nerve-induced oscillating thought processes really agitated him when he was feeling particularly impatient.

"I, um, I think we should buy an apartment in Manhattan."

Loki's eyes snapped open again. He took a moment, wondering if his brain had correctly processed what his wife had just said, and then leaned up on his elbow so he could look Amelia in the eyes.

"You want to move out of the tower?" There was a sort of accusation in his tone as he spoke, and an underlying waver he wished hadn't been so obvious.

Amelia laughed and shook her head, "No, no, I don't want to move out of the tower."

Loki relaxed as she clarified, and continued to scrutinise her as he anticipated her explanation.

"So…" Amelia began, "I think we should buy an apartment somewhere nearer the twins' school, a place we can own as a sort of second location. A type of safehouse, I guess? For the purpose of having somewhere that the kids can spend time with their friends without arousing any suspicion about you."

Loki blinked, his gaze flitting over his wife's face in confusion, "The kids already spend time with their friends at school, why would we need to purchase a second home for that?"

Amelia drummed her fingers against Loki's chest rhythmically, "Because enrichment time with their friends is limited and restricted in a school setting. They need a place where they can fully relax and, I don't know, watch movies, read books and play video games together? Everything kids their age do. I don't see any reason why not, and I think the twins would appreciate it very much."

Amelia grew silent, waiting for a reaction from her husband, but he continued to frown at her, no doubt imagining all the reasons it would be a bad idea.

"Please, Loki? They need this. We enforced a rule when we sent them to a Midgardian school that they cannot tell anybody who they are, it's a huge secret to keep and this would be a massive weight off their shoulders if they could have a place to call 'home' to invite their friends to that doesn't immediately give away whose children they are."

Amelia practically crawled onto Loki's chest, clasping her hands before her in a imploring gesture; she batted her eyelashes and puckered her lips, and Loki ultimately rolled his eyes at her display, letting his head fall back against the pillows.

"I have reservations," he admitted.

"Tell me," she poked his chest, "tell me what your reservations are."

"The tower is safe for the children, very little can penetrate its defences. I don't trust the security and protection that a regular Manhattan apartment will offer," Loki protested.

Amelia made a face, "So we renovate it. Add an A.I system that detects threats and alerts us, like F.R.I.D.A.Y. I'm sure Tony would help design something."

Loki scoffed, "Even an A.I is not entirely foolproof. Besides, precisely how far away would this apartment be from the tower? How quickly would I or another Avenger be able to get there in the case of trouble?"

With a shrug, Amelia grumbled, "I don't know, but you're assuming bad things will happen. We can put surveillance in the apartment - not every room, obviously, but the most vulnerable points of entry. We can monitor from afar and ensure the kids know not to open the door to strangers. Come on, babe, this is a good idea. We can make it work!" She was practically begging now, desperate to offer their children a compromise to the more difficult areas of their lives.

Loki looked up at the canopy above their bed, trying to give his wife the benefit of the doubt and consider her proposition.

"If we gave our children a whole apartment, they'd hardly spend time with us ever again," Loki worried aloud, and Amelia tilted her head, looking at her husband with a sad smile.

"I don't think that's true, but as their parents, we could limit the use of this second location to the weekends only. Maybe they can have an occasional sleepover there. Perhaps they can go there after school intermittently with their friends, but we'll always be able to tell them when they're allowed to go there and when they have to stay home, at the tower."

"Yeah…" Loki trailed off, his uncertainty faltering slightly, and Amelia felt the beginnings of victory shifting into her grasp, so she leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to his lips, smiling at him softly.

"We can sleep on it and perfect the idea later. For now, it was just a thought. I'm sure it would do a lot of good for them, y'know?" Amelia suggested.

Loki inhaled and exhaled steadily, "We'll sleep on it."

As far as Amelia was concerned, that was practically a yes. She grinned and nodded in affirmation, "Okay!" With that, she snuggled back up to his side, a little more fulfilled than before.

Another comfortable silence fell over the two, and this time Amelia was beginning to doze when Loki spoke up again.

"Also, by the way, yes, I could absolutely endure the Cruciatus curse if somebody cast it on me. What a silly hypothetical question."

Amelia giggled, letting out a light snort, "Are you sure? I mean, it's supposedly the most painful thing a person can experience in the Harry Potter universe."

"It might be the most physical pain you can experience, but I have experienced physical pain often and in varying degrees. I'm used to it and I could endure it. Nobody's getting information out of me, I'll have you know," Loki responded confidently, "now, if there was a spell that inflicted the worst mental and emotional pain you can experience, then I'd have something challenging to overcome."

Amelia hummed softly, feeling a sudden melancholy at her husband admitting any physical pain was nothing in comparison to mental pain. She knew he had been through some severely trying ordeals that inflicted all kinds of mental torture on him, everything he said was practically from experience, and it was harrowing to be reminded of that.

She leaned up and lightly kissed her husband again.

Loki made a noise of displeasure and pushed Amelia away from him, "Sorry, but it's too hot in here. Can't cuddle anymore."

This time it was Amelia who scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Wow, he can endure the Cruciatus curse but Incendio would have him caving within seconds."

Loki smirked at her grumpy tone, going as far as to poke his tongue out at her before rolling over and facing away from her to try and sleep. Clearly, cuddling time was over. Amelia lamented the fact that it was the middle of summer; she yearned for the season of winter, when they could cuddle all night long without it becoming unbearable for her husband.

Loki progressed with his son's training as the weeks went by, sparing just a couple of hours every day to help the boy hone his inborn abilities, to grow stronger, to become faster, wiser and more knowledgeable in the art of battle.

It wasn't always as simple as hitting an opponent as hard as you could, and Kari had yet to understand that repeatedly rushing his father in an attempt to lay one single strike on him was serving only to fire him out.

Loki was sure Kari would figure it out eventually. He didn't want to tell his son outright that what he was doing would never advance him forwards, he wished to see the boy figure it out on his own. Kari needed to use his brain and find another way, he needed to be smart and come up with a plan, something Loki would not expect.

Of course, in Loki's eyes, there was nothing Kari could do that he did not already expect. Loki was prepared for every possibility; maybe one day Kari would successfully land a punch, but it would not happen in the immediate future.

Loki was more experienced, faster, stronger - some would say it was an unfair challenge, but in truth, Loki did not necessarily wish for his son to successfully land a hit, he merely wanted to see his son's consciousness expand a little. A touch of awareness would do Kari a word of good,

Right now, under the lingering heat of the sun, Kari was growing immensely frustrated.

One hit after the other, a constant barrage destined to fail, Kari had tired himself out, just as he had done every day for two weeks. The boy would yell and shout as his annoyance doubled and tripled by the day.

"What am I supposed to DO?" He'd screamed several days in to his training, after his four-hundredth punch of the day had failed to meet its target.

"Hit me," Loki had responded plainly, with a distinct lack of elucidation that made Kari yell and stomp his foot into the dirt.

Now, Kari was growing hopeless in his venture. Loki could see in his face that he was beginning to see the truth of the matter - that he would never be able to land a hit.

The boy was heaving with exhaustion down on one knee, steadying himself with a palm flat on the ground as he gasped. Sweat dripped from his forehead to the ground, his face was red with exertion. Loki could tell Kari had pushed himself to the limit throughout the session, driven by anger and defeat; that was usually the point where he understood his son to be past the point of logical and strategic reasoning, so to continue was pointless.

"We'll stop here. You've tired yourself out," Loki spoke, watching as his son looked up with a fresh wave of bitter disappointment rolling over his face.

"No, I almost had it!" Kari cried, tired of trying so hard only to be met with dismissal, "I was so close to hitting you, I can do it!"

"No," Loki stated simply, voice calm and level in contrast to Kari's rage-fuelled huffing and puffing, "you'll shower and get changed before lunch so that you are presentable in the food hall."

"Dad!" Kari whined, his exclamation childlike and pitiful.

"I said no," Loki repeated firmly, exercising his authority to show he was not to be negotiated with; Kari sat back on his legs and groaned, wiping his forearm over his face, but did not engage in further verbal protest.

Loki turned and walked towards the exit of the training grounds, his mind turning to the pleasant, cool bath he yearned to take ahead of the banquet at lunch. He had time to relax in the ingested water as he often enjoyed doing during the peak of summertime.

Amelia always took warm baths and showers, even in the summer. She found the idea of cold showers utterly abysmal, but Loki couldn't even fathom submerging himself in heated water when the air too was stifling. In the winter, Amelia bathed in water so hot, Loki was surprised she didn't scald her body in the process. Whenever the two of them bathed together, Amelia would often have to endure water that was a little less searing for the sake of her husband.

Amidst the thought of himself and his wife bathing together, Loki almost didn't hear the sudden hurtle of aggressive footsteps approaching rapidly from behind him. Almost.

He spun around swiftly, catching Kari's fist in his palm before it could connect anywhere on his body, and stopped his son from tumbling due to the momentum he'd built up in his hurried dash.

Kari looked very guilty as he stood, his fist clenched in Loki's grip. The boy bit his lip and looked down shamefully as Loki glared at him; Kari knew he'd attempted a cheap shot, and still he had failed to land the hit. Embarrassing, truly.

"Lesson one, boy, you can't sneak up on me," Loki practically hissed as he released Kari's hand and let him crumple to the ground before him, "what you just did was dishonourable. Attacking your opponent while their back is turned, tch."

Kari winced and deflated with every word Loki spoke, feeling more and more ashamed by the moment. He looked ready to apologise and make up excuses as to why he'd done what he did, but Loki did not let him.

Slowly, Loki's frown turned into a smirk, "Good. You're ready to advance in your training."

Kari's gaze lifted so sharply, he almost gave himself whiplash, and sputtered a nonsensical, "Wha-!?"

"Are you forgetting who I am? I'm the God of Mischief. Do you think I've gotten this far in life by fighting honourably?" Loki barked out a laugh, almost startling his son with the sudden one-eighty of the atmosphere around them.

"I… but what I did was super shady! Aren't heroes supposed to fight fair?" Kari protested.

Loki scoffed, "Lesson two, if you are facing an opponent who is trying to kill you, fuck honour."

Kari's jaw dropped in utter disbelief and in one brief moment, Loki realised he'd gotten far too into his role and forgotten who exactly he'd been speaking those words to. He stared tensely at his son, and then quietly added, "Do not tell your mother that I swore, or your hero training is cancelled."

Kari stifled a smile, nodding his head in affirmation, and then swallowed as he rose slowly to his feet, "So… you're saying that sometimes it's okay to fight without honour?"

Loki looked down at his son with a serious expression on his face; he was proud of his son and understood where the boy's morals lay. Kari was not the time to backstab, he wanted to be like the heroes in the movies. The kid did not hold the experience of a real battle and his naivety reflected that fact.

Being a hero was not always so cut and dried. Sometimes difficult decision had to be made and it was necessary to do things for the greater good, even if it meant doing something some would consider to be 'bad'.

"If the alternative is death, you do whatever it takes to destroy your opponent," Loki told his son calmly; he let the words hang in the air for a few seconds before turning and continuing out of the training area in pursuit of his cold bath.

Kari knocked tentatively upon the door to Signy's workshop, clutching a sketchbook to his chest with a grip so secure in the event that somebody might try to steal it.

He didn't know why he was paranoid that someone might steal his sketchbook, but given the images he had been messily drawing up, he didn't want to take any chances.

"Come in!" Came the melodic and happy voice of his aunt's sister. Kari slipped in through the door and was greeted to the sight of many mannequins dotted about the place, all clothed in beautiful gowns and fancy garb in the signature Asgardian style, rolls upon rolls of fabrics and materials, and a whole load of parchment scrolls that all no doubt contained fashion ideas that he all come from Signy's brilliant mind.

"Oh, well if it isn't Prince Kari! What a delight seeing you here," exclaimed Signy, rising up from her central table where she appeared to be part way through sewing the stitches of another elegant dress. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

She looked radiant as always. The sun shining through the windows was bouncing off of her blonde tresses which were done up in pretty braids, and the light shining in seemed to add a certain liveliness to her verdant eyes.

Kari smiled back, feeling a little more relaxed by the confirmation that only he and Signy were in the room. He cleared throat and nodded his head, electing to get straight to the point.

"Yes. I was wondering actually, could I possibly, um, commission you to make me a costume?" He inquired almost diffidently. It was the first time he had ever come straight to Signy himself to ask for a new outfit, rather than asking his mother or father about getting a new attire made, and there was a good reason for his personal approach.

He had been saving up his Asgardian pocket money all summer thus far. After promising his father that he wouldn't indulge in sweets day in and day out, he didn't really have much else to spend his money on in the market, so he decided to follow in his twin's footsteps and save up his money instead of blowing it. After dreaming endlessly about the day he would be able to try out his new wings for the first time, Kari decided he would need an outfit to disguise his identity as a future superhero.

Signy beamed at the revelation, "You want to commission an outfit? What did you have in mind?" She clasped her fingers together and leaned forward eagerly, seemingly overjoyed that Kari had come to her with the idea of a new attire in mind.

Kari stepped forwards, bringing his sketchbook towards the table where he could open it up and reveal his designs. He flipped to the latest page, revealing a scratchy sketch of a complex tunic and breeches with a multitude of belts and buckles across the waist and hips that were more for the aesthetic than for any sort of practical use.

He peered up at Signy, intent on getting a good look at her initial reaction. He saw her eyebrows go up as she leaned in to get a better look, flattening the page so that the light could hit it probably. She hummed thoughtfully, and then lifted her gaze to the young prince.

"What kind of budget do you have?"

Kari lightly nibbled the inside of his cheek. This was what he had been nervous about, because a complex outfit made by the palace's resident seamstress did not exactly come cheap, and he would be incredibly naive to assume he could afford it even with his effort to save money.

He swallowed, "I have forty-eight gold coins." Kari had briefly contemplated stealing a few coins from his father's coin purse in the hopes of building his finances a tad, but had decided against it. His father had a watchful eye, he would have noticed money missing, and he would have punished Kari by pausing his allowance altogether.

By the slight furrow in Signy's brow that accompanied her smile, he knew that it was nowhere near enough to cover the costs of the project he had proposed, and he deflated slightly as a result.

"I'll tell you what, how about I just charge you for the materials?" She fondly patted Kari's head, and he looked up at her in surprise.

"Just the materials?" Kari parroted.

"I assume you want lightweight but sturdy material for this outfit. I assume it's a sort of leather armour- you're not planning on going out hunting boats, are you? Is this going to be for practical use?" A touch of concern hit her tone and Kari blinked.

"Oh, no, I'm not hunting boars! Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything dangerous like that! It's just- just a costume, really. But it would be better if it was authentic! So, yes, a lightweight armour…" Kari's cheeks turned red as he stumbled over his words a bit, "And also, um, it's kind of a surprise, so could you not tell anyone, please?"

Signy placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed his expression with a pondering look; he twiddled his thumbs under the scrutiny, willing himself to appear innocent.

"Hm, a secret project?" Signy smiled, "Sounds exciting! From the drawings you've given me, I think the overall cost would be closer to sixty gold coins, so how about I take half the payment now, start working on it, and then take the rest of the payment when it's finished. It'll probably take a few months though, since I've got a lot of commissions to get through. Will that be enough time for you to save up the remainder of the payment?"

Kari nodded enthusiastically. Sixty gold coins was absolutely doable, but it seemed as though he would not get the chance to lay his eyes on his outfit until around Christmas when they returned to Asgard for the Yuletide celebrations - and he understood why. Signy was offering to complete the outfit without even charging for her time, which meant she would be creating his outfit in her spare time. 'Beggars can't be choosers', as he once heard his mother say.

"Yes, absolutely!" Kari answered, "Thank you so much, Signy!"

Signy smiled, "Are you happy leaving your sketchbook with me for the time being, so that I can draw up my design with yours as reference?"

Again, Kari nodded.

"Great! In that case, let me go ahead and take your measurements so that I can make this outfit perfectly tailored!" Signy zipped towards a drawer and procured a tape measure of sorts.

Kari was more than happy to assume the correct positions while Signy marked down all the precise measurements of his lanky body, inwardly dreaming about how cool he would look when he was finally donning his armour and his wings simultaneously.

Loki squinted across the archery range at the target on the opposite end of the training yard, a trickle of sweat dripping down his nose thanks to the hot sun and his intense concentration as he nocked an arrow in his bow. His brow furrowed as he lined up his shot, and he distantly bemoaned the fact that there was not even the slightest hint of a breeze that day to put the blame on when his attempt at hitting the target was not utterly perfect.

He hadn't tried archery in many, many years, and for good reason. He was never all that good at it and he hated not being good at things. It wasn't at all his strong point, but he remained secure in his skills with blades and magic - who needed arrows when you could launch sizzling projectiles at your enemy?

Loki released the arrow, listening to the momentary wisp of it dancing through the air, before it struck a solid object. The wooden board behind the target, while not necessarily what he was aiming for, was not the most embarrassing miss.

His nose scrunched up in displeasure. He loathed archery. Loathed it.

"That wasn't too bad!" Kari exclaimed encouragingly from beside him, as if he was there to teach instead of being taught, and Loki had to stifle a cringe at the sound of Thor's laughter from several metres away.

"I'm rusty," Loki stated.

"Sure," Kari replied, smiling knowingly at his father, "practise makes perfect, right?"

Loki's lips curled in agitation and he grunted, nodding his head dutifully while inwardly knowing he would never bother to put the time into practising archery.

"Can I try now?" Kari asked, eagerly holding his bow up.

Loki peered at the boy with a hint of resignation and stepped back, motioning the spot for his son to stand. Before the teen could hurriedly reach for an arrow in the quiver at his side, Loki put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Make sure you're stance is proper. You need to turn your body sideways when you face your target. Lift up your bow, I want to see how you position your arms. Pretend to nock an arrow and aim," Loki demanded, crossing his arms as he once again assumed the role of a strict teacher.

Kari did as he was told, taking the correct position as his father had instructed, and pretended to nock an arrow in his imaginary bow, squeezing his left eye shut as he sought out the target.

"Both eyes open," Loki told the boy, "your depth perception is important when you are aiming. If you shut an eye, your perception declines. You can't be a skilled archer when you're only using one eye."

Across the training grounds, Thor smugly called out, "I bet I'm still a better shot than you!"

Loki harrumphed, grinding his teeth slightly before glaring over his shoulder and snapping back in a vaguely threatening manner, "Want to bet your other eye?"

Kari snickered, grinning at Loki in amusement, always delighted to listen to his father and his uncle shit-talk each other to remind everyone that they were, indeed, regular siblings.

"Your elbow needs to be lifted higher," Loki explained, focusing his attention once again on his son before positioning the boy suitably, "good, that's perfect. Shall we see how you fare using a real bow and arrow then, shall we?"

Kari felt a rush of excitement as Loki picked up a bow that was smaller than his own and handed it over to his teenage son, who was practically already vibrating with eagerness at the thought of being able to use the weapon.

As Kari went to take it, Loki momentarily retracted it, waiting for his son to look him in the eye before declaring, loudly and clearly, "This is not a toy."

"I know, dad!" Kari responded, and Loki relented his hold on the weapon and watched his son gleefully examine it, admiring every aspect of it. It reminded him, in a way, of the first time he was handed a real blade rather than the blunt dagger he'd spent so long swinging and slicing at training dummies with, it was exhilarating and he didn't blame Kari for his giddy reaction.

"Try it out," Loki suggested, holding the quiver of arrows out for the boy. Kari took his position, grabbed an arrow, nocked it, and aimed with the precise positions his father had guided him through.

Kari appeared contemplative and hesitant, re-checking his aim multiple times as though he expected the stationary object to grow legs and run away if he wasn't exact in his accuracy.

Loki stood patiently, watching his son's brow furrow in concentration, the muscles in his face twitching subtly the longer his focus was held. It was probably the longest he'd ever seen his son stand still and quiet.

Then, eventually, Kari released the arrow and it flew, striking the outer ring of the painted target.

Loki's jaw dropped in surprise. He had expected the first arrow to zip straight past the target and embed itself in a tree at the end of the archery range, but here Kari was beaming and looking to him for praise.

He just hoped Thor wasn't about to make a snarky remark about how Kari's first arrow was more accurate than Loki's thousandth arrow.

His brother must have been looking the other way when Kari's arrow struck however, because no such taunt came.

It would have been easy to snort and bluntly point out that it was just 'beginner's luck' to save his own ego, but Loki bit back that wretched thought because he'd made a promise to be better.

Instead, he gave his son's shoulder a pat and smiled, "Good job." He savoured the very genuine smile Kari offered in return.

The two of them proceeded to fire more arrows at targets on the range over the next half hour, and it became clear that although Kari's initial shot had been quite lucky, the boy had a knack for archery and clearly improved with each arrow that left his hand.

At the end of the session, Loki retrieved all the fired arrows and left to return the bows to the weapon vault, leaving Kari to wander over to where Thor was doing one-handed push-ups.

"I saw you firing your bow," Thor remarked, rising to his feet, "you clearly have potential. You were quite determined to hit those targets."

"Yeah," Kari chuckled, "I was pretending the targets were Trevor's face."

"Trevor?"

"He's a bully at school, he always tries to insult me and my friends for no reason. I don't know what his problem is but I'd like to take him down a peg or two…" Kari trailed off, glancing down at his clenched fist, "Maybe I'll greet him with a fist to the face next time I see him."

Thor looked vaguely amused, "Well, I don't condone violence on your classmates, but it sounds like he's quite the thorn in your side."

"You can say that again," Kari huffed, "he never stops. You know Aster punched him once - he deserved it and the school agreed-" he smirked at the memory, "but if I punched him, I'd just get a suspension."

Thor hummed thoughtfully, scratching his beard as he furrowed his brow, "You know, you're smarter and stronger than him, I'm sure there's a way you could get him in trouble without getting in trouble yourself."

"But how?" Kari questioned, eager to cook up some sort of scheme with the help of his uncle if it meant dealing with Trevor.

"Maybe take a page out of your father's books. Manipulation and trickery can go a surprisingly long way," Thor remarked, lifting an eyebrow in the direction of the weapon vault where his little brother was putting things away, "he'd always bait me into attacking him right as mother walked into the room. Guess who always got in trouble despite not being the one to start it?" He crossed his arms, shaking his head slightly at the memories.

Kari laughed, "I suppose if Trevor hit me, it would feel like getting punched by a baby. Perhaps that might work, heh… hey, thanks Uncle Thor."

"Anytime, my favourite nephew."

"I'm your only nephew."

"Well, if I had more nephews, you would be my favourite," the King of Asgard gave a cheeky grin and ruffled Kari's hair with one large hand.

Freshly showered and dressed after his archery training session, Kari made his way from his chambers to the banquet hall, coming to a stop halfway there just as he was walking past the open courtyard that led to the gardens. In one corner of the courtyard, Aster sat on one of the benches predictably with a book in her hands, her back ramrod straight as it usually was, enjoying the shade offered by the overhanging tree.

Kari always wondered how somebody who constantly had her head down in a book could have such perfect posture; he himself was often hunched over or reclined in the most awkward seating positions imaginable, especially when playing video games, but Aster always came across as princessly even when they weren't in Asgard.

She gazed down at her book with a furrowed brow, looking very much like she was judging the contents, and Kari found himself looking around curiously in search of the boy that she liked. Eske. All that Kari knew of him was that he was a palace worker that was roughly their age, he had long, straight hair the colour of moonlight, and was relatively tall. He'd never gotten a good look at the boy's face, not close up at least, but he could at least tell Eske was somewhat handsome from the distant glimpses he had seized.

It was interesting how, despite being a palace worker, Eske never seemed to run into Kari while doing his duties. It wasn't entirely apparent why this was; perhaps Eske's duties were confined to certain areas of the palace that Kari never traversed, or perhaps Aster had tipped the boy off on how to avoid the areas Kari hung about. His sister was incredibly secretive, only telling him tiny little bits of information whenever he pressed for it.

Kari was a curious being. He was especially interested in knowing more about the boy Aster had her eyes on for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, he didn't want his sister spending time with someone who wasn't going to treat her properly, and secondly, he was an incredibly nosy twin brother who wanted all the details.

Seeing as Aster was completely alone and there were no risks of any furtive information befalling the ears of the wrong person, Kari grasped his opportunity and made his way across the courtyard, taking a seat cross legged on the bench beside his sister.

"Sup, half pint," Kari greeted with a smirk, watching the slight twitch at the corner of Aster's eyes as he interrupted her silent reading.

"Don't let your growth spurt get to your head," Aster groused, finally taking her eyes off her book to glare at him.

"Whatcha reading?"

Aster flipped the book over to reveal the title cover, 'Pinchers and Needles', and gave a slight shrug, "It's a mild horror story, for kids I'm guessing. Maybe I'll read it for Daisy. Have you ever read those old Goosebumps books?"

"Uh, like two or three, yeah," Kari responded.

"This is like the Asgardian equivalent of them. This title in particular is about a giant crab that hunts down children on the shore at night."

"Wow," Kari remarked, "sounds… amazing…"

"Okay, why did you actually come over? Because I know you aren't interested in my reading material," Aster lifted an eyebrow as she gazed at her brother, "have you just finished your training for today? First archery lesson, right? How was it?"

Kari squinted his green eyes at his sister's identical ones, catching the casual deflection of any possibility that the conversation might revolve around her, instead putting his morning's activities to the forefront of the discussion.

"It went really well. I hit the target a few times. Dad is so terrible at archery, did you know that?" Kari stifled a laugh, "Do you think he's jealous of Clint's skills?"

A smile pulled at the corner of Aster's lips, "It would certainly explain a lot. Wish I'd been watching so I could see dad frustrate himself with a bow and arrow."

"I think if he missed another shot in my presence, he might have cried."

Aster snickered at the image her brother painted.

"So what have you been doing this morning?" Kari asked, steering the conversation in the direction he wanted. He watched as Aster displayed a subtle reactive twitch at being asked a question about herself, almost like she was allergic to sharing anything about her life, before the initial flicker passed and she gave a soft hum, designed to imply a dismissive response.

"Reading, of course," she told him.

"Of course," he repeated, "by yourself? Or with company?" Kari regarded her with a quirked eyebrow.

Aster harrumphed this time, subconsciously emulating their father's mannerisms whenever he was displeased with anything, "If you must know, I was with-" she gave a cautionary glance around the courtyard to confirm they were alone, and then proceeded much more quietly, "I was with Eske. We were reading together."

That was exactly what Kari had been waiting for, and he smiled, a somewhat expectant expression worming its way onto his face, "So when do I get to meet him?"

Aster frowned, appearing a little defensive and stiff in her seat, "Why?"

Kari chuckled at the almost accusatory tone in her single-word question, "Cause he's my sister's boyfriend? And I want to meet him properly?"

Aster looked down at her book which was now closed and sitting in her lap, her gaze reflecting her worried inner thoughts.

"You know I'm chill, Az. I'm a guy of my word, I'm not gonna go snitching to dad," Kari promised, "you helped me get the keystone, so I'm gonna keep your secret safe, but can you at least tell me about him?"

Aster sighed, lightly running her fingernails over the leather spine of the book in her grasp, and her gaze flashed with resignation upon hearing the rationality in her brother's words, "He's… quiet."

Kari nodded, expecting his sister to go on, but clearly she needed a little prompting.

"Yeah, and?"

"He likes books, he reads a lot. He's said he wants to read every book in the library and I like that idea, so we decided to start working our way through every book… together."

"Huh," Kari hummed, "Isn't it kind of a pain reading the same book at the same time. You gotta wait for him to finish the page you're on every time before you turn it-"

"No," Aster shook her head, and then appeared slightly sheepish, "he… has to wait for me to finish the page before turning it."

This surprised Kari, "What? But you're a fast reader!"

"He's faster," Aster admitted, "and trust me, I thought he was lying at first about already finishing the page we were on. I suspected he was just skimming it rather than reading it properly, but I quizzed him on the book's contents and he got every answer right!"

"Wow. He must have a big brain, huh," Kari stated.

Aster snorted, "Only when it comes to reading books. He has knowledge but lacks wisdom sometimes."

"Hmm," Kari mused, peering at the smile on his sister's lips. He didn't really have a wide basis of understanding romance, but Aster was smiling in a way similar to when their mother smiled at their father. A somewhat lovestruck and wistful expression, almost dreamy.

Eske must have been something special to ensnare his sister in such a way. Kari always saw the way she acted around boys at school, she was always so rigid and short with all of them - except for Louis, but that was because they were friends - and it often made Aster seem like she didn't know how to talk to boys. Maybe the truth was that she just didn't want to talk to those boys because she'd already found someone who ticked all her boxes.

Come to think of it, Kari thought, Aster has seemed less happy throughout the months they'd been in Manhattan, when she couldn't spend time with Eske on a daily basis. She really liked him, that much was clear.

"So how did you meet him?" Kari's curiosity was piqued over this boy, he wanted to know any detail Aster was willing to spare.

"In the library."

"Wow, really?" Kari gasped, his words saturated with sarcasm, "No shit. I mean how did you meet? You don't talk to people you don't know, so what brought you together?"

Aster rolled her eyes at her brother's words, even though he was right. She hardly spoke to anybody she didn't know personally - that was just how she had always been, so it was probably surprising to anybody that she had befriended a boy so easily.

"It was the beginning of last summer. I went to the library in search of new reading material and as I walked around the bookcases, I saw Eske on the floor surrounded by piles of books that he was supposed to be categorising for the librarian, but instead he was crouched over a large tome with his nose buried in the pages," she smiled, gazing off into the distance as she reminisced.

"Yeah? What was it, love at first sight?" Kari teased.

Aster whacked her brother on the arm, "Shut up."

"What? You clearly loooooove him, you don't need to be ashamed about it," Kari laughed, though his glee was cut short as Aster slammed a hand over his mouth, effectively silencing him - though it was only briefly, because Kari promptly stuck his tongue out against her palm which forced her to recoil, shuddering with disgust.

"UGH! You're so disgusting!" Aster snapped, wiping her hand on Kari's shirt, "and keep your voice down, will you!? Dad has sensitive hearing," she proceeded in a hushed, but still very agitated tone that Kari merely snickered at.

"Love is in the aiiiir," Kari sang quietly, earning himself another smack on the arm.

"Well since you want to talk love, have you and Miss Maya Green been keeping in touch over the summer? I'm sure she misses you, given she couldn't spend more than three minutes away from hanging onto your arm while at school," Aster purposefully raised her voice and Kari groaned, all of his humour immediately evaporating the moment his sister matched his energy and turned it on him.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I feel nothing for Maya, she's not even my friend, she's honestly so boring."

"So why did you always let her cling to you?" Aster questioned with a cynical eye.

Kari's mouth opened, "Because I was trying to-"

He cut himself off just as quickly as he'd started talking, mouth shutting quickly, and he cleared his throat, shaking his head dismissively while his face became flushed.

"No reason. She's just annoying. I don't really want to hang out with her anymore."

Aster stared at her brother searchingly, absorbing every minute detail and micro expression in his face before humming, "Good. You can hang out with your real friends again."

"Yeah, yeah," Kari grumbled, rolling his eyes, though he knew she was right. He didn't want to feed her ego by admitting that she was right, however, so he just let the topic fizzle out.

After a few moments of silence, Aster spoke again, "I know he misses you."

"Hm?"

"Louis," she clarified, "you better make up with him day one of ninth grade."

"If he still wants to be my friend," Kari said glumly. Part of him feared that his best friend would never want to talk to him again after the long-winded fight they'd been through, but a more hopeful part of him was sure that things would turn out alright.

Kari looked at his sister, suddenly struck with the thought of whether or not he should tell her about the wings their frost giant uncle had gifted him. He felt he could trust his sister with his little secret, but she was also very cautious and clearly worried whenever he did something that could be considered dangerous. Would her concern outweigh her loyalty as his twin?

Then there was the matter of whether or not Aster would be super crazy jealous that he had the means to literally soar through the air while she had to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. Surely anybody would be jealous.

His mouth opened and then closed, and then opened again, "Az, there's something I want to show you when we get back to Manhattan."

Aster lifted an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Uh, it's not something I can describe. You'd have to see it with your own eyes," he gave a slightly nervous sounding laugh and Aster gave him a synovial look, but nodded her head anyway.

No sooner than the end of their exchange did they hear a voice come from directly above them.

"Boo."

Aster and Kari turned and peered up at where their father was standing on the upper floor that overlooked the courtyard, leaning on the railing as he looked down at them with a smirk.

"You two coming for lunch?" He asked, "Your mother and sister are waiting for us," and then, after a pause and a softened look, he added with a somewhat content tone, "I'm really pleased you two have made up." He beckoned them once to follow him and continued on walking while the twins shared a look and shrugged before rising from the bench and trailing up to meet him.

If only he knew that the twins' reconciliation was born out of securely kept secrets and furtive scheming behind his back, then he probably wouldn't have been so delighted.

Next chapter brings us back to Manhattan! I hope you're all excited for Kari to interact with Louis again. I know you were all hoping for an Eske reveal but that will be coming a little later, and it'll be so worth it when the time comes. At the moment I feel this fic focuses a little TOO heavily on Kari and not enough on Aster so I also want to try and tip that back into balance. There are some aspects of Aster's personality and life (that don't include Eske) that I would like to explore, so that is something that will be coming up too! :)