"Are you even hearing yourself right now? This is why we believe you're fully competent for this initiative. Whatever you've gone through has been training you for these moments. You don't ever stop fighting, there's always another threat. A threat...
I was in the kitchen, cutting up some of the fresh produce that Thor and I had just picked up this morning. I was making some lunch while Thor was out doing his last rounds around the village. Normally, I would join him but my swollen feet had told me otherwise so I had to sit at home, pretending I was an attentive housewife for the last few months.
Life was going good, smoothly which was something I was glad about after the precarious situations that I had unknowingly got myself into the past week. I didn't regret it though, not at all. I just knew it was something I probably shouldn't have done because all the fighting had definitely contributed to my overwhelming exhaustion this past week.
Wanda had been staying in New Asgard. I had already told her that she could stay here as long as she'd like, permanently if that's what she wished and Thor and I would certainly be more than okay with that. Every day, I have been sure to invite her over for dinner or to go talk her around the village. I was worried about her being alone, not wanting her to fall back into that darkness that came with loneliness, especially after what she had just been through.
I had also been in recent contact with Yelena Belova, taking small steps to help her clear her name so she could start living a normal life but in the meantime, she was staying in Madrid under a fake name.
I sighed thoughtfully, thinking of all the things I still had to do before the baby got here. Thor was adamant on painting the room himself, believing that we should do as much as we could between the two of us to really soak up the experience. As much as I agreed with him, I wasn't going to paint that room, I couldn't even stand up for more than half and hour but Thor was unrelenting and had already bought all the types of paint rollers so I could sit on the floor and do it. I had to admit, it was extremely cute. We didn't know the gender of the baby but that didn't matter, we kept the room décor with the theme of the sea, matching what our child would see as they looked outside the window.
I bent over, holding my back with one hand as I went to grab two plates. I huffed with effort, taking a mental note to tell Thor to rearrange the kitchen slightly, I couldn't be doing this for another three months. I began to arrange the food onto the plates for our lunch when I heard the sound of the door.
"Back so soon, babe?" I called out loudly so that he could hear me from the entryway.
"Yeah," he answered but his voice sounded off, like he was hiding something from me. It was a tone that he never really used with me. I furrowed my eyebrows as I put the plates down on the island and placed the knife into the sink. "You in the kitchen?"
"Yeah," I said, hearing footfalls come my way. "Are you okay, Thor. You sound a bit-"
And I understood exactly why Thor sounded the way that he did.
Standing there beside Thor was Loki.
He was wearing a suit but without the blazer. They wore a sword holster on their back with a long dagger sheathed in it. He had a gash on his left shoulder which already seemed to be healed.
I stared at them, my face motionless. Loki fumbled awkwardly under my gaze while Thor grinned, holding his hands together.
"Is this some kind of cruel trick?" I spoke suddenly, imploring at Loki.
"That's what I said," Thor laughed.
"Shut up, Thor," Loki said, rolling their eyes.
"Well, is it? You died, this doesn't make sense," I said, wanting to believe that they were here but part of me just couldn't. Loki seemed like he were right there, standing by their older brother, just like Thor had always longed for but it just seemed so sudden.
"There is no trick, I assure you, Selene," Loki said, sadly, tucking something deeper into their pocket. "I'm really here."
"How?" I asked, stepping forwards to look at them. "How is this possible?" I glanced at Thor, holding his hand then looking back at Loki, not even being able to imagine how he was feeling. The fact that his brother is still alive? After all these years.
"Believe me when I say, as strange as it sounds, none of what happened was a lie. I-to be honest, I'm not even supposed to be here, and I have no idea what consequences my presence here will cause. But I saw the moment, the opportunity to come back and I took it without hesitation." Loki said, looking down at the ground and just from the way he spoke, so different from the way he used to, I know that he had been through a lot. The fact that despite their hardships, they came back, they came back for their brother and that meant everything to me.
"You should be happy that my gladness to see you is stronger than my urge to throw you into the sea," I said, a smile breaking out onto my face.
"That's what I said!" Thor said again.
"Would you stop saying that." Loki scolded.
Thor shrugged. "That's what happens when you're on the same wavelength as your fiancé."
"Fiancé? What? Oh my God, Selene you're pregnant, when did that happen?!"
"You have been gone a while, Loki." I said softly, pulling them into a hug. Loki seemed taken aback at first but soon returned it, hugging me gently. "I'm glad your back, truly. We've missed you."
"As have I," Loki said.
"You slimy, undying jerk," Thor tutted, embracing Loki tightly and I couldn't help but grin.
"Well, let me grab another plate, then."
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