Loki slid in next to her and wrapped an arms round her waist. He glanced up as Lilian settled in the booth across from them and smiled sweetly “We’ll, it’s been a minute or two since we last saw each other, hasn’t it. God’s last time I saw you two, you just got married!” She shook her head and grinned.
Loki nodded and offered a small smile “and things have certainly changed since then. You’re here!” He said, trying to keep the topic off of them for a long as possible.
Lillian nodded “ after what happens with Thanos, my son was gone. Me and his wife kept the place running his on earth. After a few years we move down gear with the help of a few asgardians that had been on earth. We went back after the five years to find my son and bring him here. Since then I’ve retired and live close but I come back now and then to help out.” She smiled and nodded to Thebes two of them. “But enough of me, what have you two been up to?”
Avalin smiled at Lillian's story, nodding along and settling against Loki. She glanced away at the mention of bringing up what they had been up to, but finally spoke. "When Thanos…snapped, I was gone, like your son. Loki may or may not have gotten into trouble during that time, but I'll let him talk about that. When I returned, Loki defied Thor's orders to get me, and so there was a bit of a fight which led to Loki taking on the punishment of solitary confinement for about a year and a half. I worked as a servant to shorten the time he was stuck in there…and I realized I was pregnant." Her voice got quieter as she continued, glancing up at Lilian every so often, "Our son didn't make it. And today is the seconds day we've been together in over a year."
Loki gently pulled her close, trying to silently reassure her but knowing that even he himself wasn’t sure of the whole situation. To be honestly he wasn’t sure if he fully could comprehend what had happened in the last year yet. It didn’t feel like they lost their son. Just that he was somewhere else where they couldn’t reach yet. He suspected that would change when he and Avalin had the funeral. He pressed his lips to her temple, her saying everything that has happened somehow solidified everything that had gone wrong in the few years.
Lilian’s cheery demeanor significantly dropped when Avalin started telling her about their life in the past few years. She gently reached over and took her hands into her own. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. I won’t pretend that I understand. But I hope that now you both have each other back, you can work through this at your own pace. I imagine you’d want to get away from Asgard for a while, and while id love to keep you both here with me, I get you need your time and space to get through this.” She took a deep breath and whipped tears that were forming “ah, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to cry.” She shook her head and pulled on a sweet smile. “Uhm, is there anything I can get you?”
Avalin could feel the hints of tears forming at her own eyes and she mustered up a bare smile, shaking her head, "It's alright, I just have to thank you for understanding that we have to get through this at our own pace. We're planning on leaving in hopefully a few days, but there was no way we were going away without saying goodbye. I hadn't even known you had come here until today." She looked up at Loki, then pulled up a slightly bigger smile, "I'm in the mood to eat if you are offering food that is."
Loki broke away from his thoughts and smiled softly, seeing that she too was making an effort to keep it together. He took a deep breath nodded “thank you Lillian. You’re one of the first to know actually.” He said softly, a genuine smile on husband features when Avalin asked for food. “Ah yes, this one has been craving chocolate chip pancakes all morning.”
Lillian nodded and stood “don’t you worry, I’ll take care of it. And you’re welcome.” She’s offered a smile beforehand heading to the kitchen to start the breakfast
She settled against Loki even more as Lillian left, closing her eyes and staying silent. "It was painful enough to let one person know, and that was someone we knew personally…the funeral is going to be impossible," She murmured, her voice wavering a tiny bit. It was taking a bit of focus to keep herself together, and even then, she had to quickly wipe away some stray tears that made it out.
He took in a shuddering breath and hugged her close, resting his head on top of hers. “I know my love.” He murmured softly “hopefully there won’t be so many people and we can get through the funeral without having to speak much.” He pressed a kiss to her head and gently rubbed her arms in an attempt to comfort her. “If anything I’m hoping Thor will talk since he he is the king. That isn’t ignorant he decides to attend.” He wasn’t going to put it past Thor not to attend his own nephews wedding out of spite for Loki
"It's not going to matter who speaks…it'll still hurt to remember that Leif isn't here." Her voice still shook but she took comfort in how close he was. For the first time in months, she had a shoulder to cry on besides Magnus' as well as someone to hug, even if she could do neither of those while they were here eating. "But maybe we can convince him to speak…he didn't get to see Leif, and I think it would be nice for him to do something to make up for not seeing his nephew.
Even as she said he could still feel that tug at his heart for his son. That yearning to be a good father and then suddenly get that torn away was devastating, it still is to him. He took in a breath, comforted by the thought that at least he had Avalin back. They’d take a break from being in Asgard for a few months then come back for the funeral. Things would most likely still be rocky with him and Thor but he hoped things would level out by then between them.
“We’ll see. Maybe now isn’t the right time to request such things of his majesty, but I don’t think it could hurt to ask.” He said and bit of tease towards his brother in the tone of his voice.
She nodded, sighing softly and glancing back at him. "Do you think we should have the funeral before we leave? Or should we wait and come back?" Avalin knew either way it would hurt, but she wasn't sure if adding more pain now was going to be smarter than reliving it later. At least, whatever option they chose, she would finally be able to spend time with her husband. For the first time since their marriage and trip to Earth more than five years ago.
“I’m not entirely sure how fast preparation can be made in a short amount of time.” He replied gently, knowing that he at least wanted to put the pain off for as long as possible. But he also knew that the pain would stay forever, whether they harried Leif now or later. “What do you think? Should we do it now or wait until everything has calmed down a bit?”
Happy late holidays to you as well!!!
"I suppose waiting will be the easiest for everyone to plan with," She decided softly, taking a few moments of silence to think, "The last thing I want to do is cause stress over planning everything in such a short time." Avalin shrugged, picking at her sleeve and focusing on the table in front of them, "We should probably start planning soon though…" She wanted to already be out of Asgard and away from the painful memories, but at the same time, she knew they couldn't leave yet. It left her in a predicament she wasn't sure how to handle.
He nodded slightly “I’m sure anyone would understand why more time would be needed.” He added on softly. “We’ll stay for a week.” He decided, taking a deep breath. “We’ll talk to Thor today, plan a day for the funeral to happen, most likely in 3 or 4 months, and then we’ll take The rest of the week to plan out anything else.” He said, glancing down at her “is that alright? I know you wanted to leave after today, but I think stayi for a few more days at least to make sure everything’s isn’t in order would make it a little easier on us for when we get back.” Though he knew a funeral for their son was going to be anything but easy for them to get through, even after the few months away
Avalin nodded, "That's alright." She knew staying here longer was going to make her antsy, but she figured it was an alright tradeoff for a few days of planning. There was also much more of a chance that Thor would be much more lenient to let them leave if he knew they were staying around for a little longer. "As long as we get a break eventually, staying a few more days shouldn't hurt." Looking up at him, she pulled together a tiny smile, "You probably want to spend a little time here now that you're not locked in a cell and you're allowed to see whats changed."
He laughed softly and rested his head on her shoulder “as much as I’d love to rediscover Asgard and all that’s changed, I think I’d rather take a long, well deserved break from this place. But, if we are staying here for another week, the best we can do is put some distance between us and the castle.” He sighed softly and pressed a kiss to her nose, looking up as Lillian came back with their order of pancakes and hot chocolate
She leaned against him gently with his answer, a matching smile on her face, "I haven't seen the rest of Asgard since we got back, I'd love to explore some of it before we leave." Avalin's smile grew when she saw Lillian again, as well as the food she had been looking forward to. "Thank you," She said happily, digging into her food as soon as it was in front of her.
Loki nodded in agreement and detangled himself from her so that they could eat comfortably. He smiled at her as she started eating her pancakes, still finding it a amusing to crave such a breakfast food. He glanced up again when Lillian came back with his order and nodded in thanks as he started eating as well, occasionally trying to sneak a bite of a Avalin’s dish
"Loki," She said with a small laugh as he tried to steal her dish, sticking her tongue out at him, "I love you more than life itself, but if you steal my pancakes, I'll make you sleep alone tonight." Avalin knew the threat didn't hold much weight, mostly since she couldn't see herself kicking him out of bed, but she didn't want her food stolen. To counter his stealing, she tried to sneak occasional bites of his food, between eating her own that was.
He arched an eyebrow in surprise, his smile growing. “I merely wanted to understand what you find so intriguing about a breakfast food that includes something usually used for dessert.” He said, moving his plate away as Avalin tried to take his food while he leaned forwards to try to take hers. He eventually gave up after managing to take a bite, decidedly not really liking the combination. He pressed a kiss to her temple and nudged his plate towards her so she could take a few bites as well
Avalin smiled as he swiped a bite, taking one of his and deciding that though his was good, hers was much better. "I like the idea that it uses the ingredients of a dessert, that means it has to be sweet and delicious." She shifted closer to him as she decided the threat of a food thief was gone, swaying very gently in her seat while she ate. It was a barely visible happy-dance of sorts that seemed to appear as she ate more, even staying by for a few seconds longer once she finished.
Loki eventually finished off his plate of food with the help of Avalin. He glanced down at her and smiled softly, glad to see that she at least was more happy now than before. He wrapped an around her waist and pressed a kiss to her shoulder, joining her in her slight swaying.
“I see you’ve enjoyed your breakfast.” Lillian said with a smile, walking back to their table and taking their empty plates. “Is there anything I can get you to go?”
She nodded as Lillian walked back over, gently smiling at the other woman, "If you wouldn't mind…I was wondering if you could pack up breakfast for one of our friends, he wasn't able to come to eat with us this morning." Avalin pressed a soft kiss to Loki's cheek, satisfied happiness on her face as she realized she was actually back with Loki by her side for good. Or she hoped it would be for good. Any more pain and she wasn't sure if she could handle it without him.
“Of course! Anything in particular for your friend or would the traditional breakfast be alright?” She asked, balancing the plates on her arm as she’s pulled out a notepad to write down the order.
Loki leaned into Avalin a bit when she kissed his cheek. He was honestly done with losing what mattered most to him over Andy over Andy over again. All he wanted now was to take a break and enjoy a life where he and Avalin would live without having to worry about anything.
