The Tower: Happily Ever After

Eddie and Clarke

With everything that had been happening, Eddie still hadn't found a moment to come and visit us in Asgard. In the end, he let us know he'd be there for the naming day and organized his arrival a few days before. We were all quite excited. It hadn't even been that long since we'd last seen him, but there was something about the distance and the difficulty in communicating with him that made things that little bit harder.

On the day he arrived most of us waited at the palace while Riley and Tony went to meet with him at Himinbjorg. We planned to have a big family meal, which meant going to the banquet hall. Though it was mostly empty this time. Rather than the usual arrangement of circular tables placed all through the room, there was just one long table running down the middle. Thor and Natasha went to make sure that the food would all be ready for his arrival while the rest of us got ourselves and the younger children ready. It wasn't going to be formal at all, but it was out of the ordinary, so it did take a little more than the usual effort we all put in.

They hadn't returned when I came into the hall with Wanda and the babies. The last of the food was being laid out on the table and everyone was taking their seats. Along with us and the kids, Loki, Sif, and the warriors three would all be in attendance and they had already taken their spots at the table. Pietro was chatting with Magnus who had organized the menu for tonight.

"They're not here yet?" I asked as I placed Nova in a basket lined with blankets by my chair. Inky jumped in beside him and curled up into his side, resting his chin on Nova's tummy. Wanda placed Thour in a basket beside Nova's and Icy mimicked the position of Inky.

"No," Steve answered. "But we did see the Bifrost open, so I'm sure they'll be here soon."

As if they were summoned, Riley strode into the room. "Look what I found," she said and the guards pushed the doors open to reveal not only Eddie and Tony but also Clarke. For the briefest of seconds, I was frozen in shock and then I ran over to her pulling her into a hug. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Jeez, mom," Eddie teased. "Just ran right past your poor prodigal son."

I would have let her go and hugged him but the others had reached us and he was already being pulled into an embrace by Steve. "Eddie called me up and said he was coming to see the babies and go to their naming day. He asked if I wanted to join him."

"I can't believe it," I said, rocking back and forth with her slightly. "I've missed you so much. And I've been thinking about you and Jax a lot."

"I've missed you too," she said, rubbing my back. "Now let me go before you break my ribs."

I let her go and turned to Eddie, hugging him tightly. "You are such a sweet boy," I said. "I've missed you."

"Missed you too, mom," Eddie said.

"Uncle Eddie, Uncle Eddie," Ziggy and Anna chanted, both tugging on his sleeve. "Did you bring us something?"

"Of course I did," he said, pulling away from me, taking their hands, and heading to the table. "But they took my bags to my room. We'll have to go get them after lunch."

"No Rory and Lyra?" Sam asked as we all began taking our seats.

"Not this time," Eddie said. "I figured it might be better to ease them in, and I get the feeling the naming day for an Asgardian Prince and Princess wouldn't exactly be easing them in. When we get the comms working properly I'll bring them for a while. I hope at least six months but if not, we'll do a month and then come back again for your bonding," he finished, gesturing to Billy and Teddy.

"And we're going to get those comms working while you're here," Tony added. "Right, kid?"

"You know it, dad," Eddie said. "It's been frustrating not being able to talk to the computers on your side of things. Won't take long now I'm here."