⇝ Chapter Twenty-One

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"Do you ever want to search for your parents? Or still wonder if they are alive?" Loki asks as you and him hang out in the arcade of The Avengers Tower.

You flick your eyes up before shrugging and continue playing foosball against the God.

"Is that a random question to throw off my game?" you question, knocking the ball farther down to the opposite goal.

"No, I have been wanting to ask for a while but I never found the right time."

"And you thought during an intense foosball match was the right time?"

"Yes."

You sigh. "I don't care to find people or find things out about people who didn't want anything to do with me. It's like holding your breath and wanting the other person to suffocate--either way, you're only hurting yourself."

"That's fair. I was just curious," Loki replies.

"What about you? Do you ever think about going back to Jotunheim and talking to your parents?"

"My mother died during the battle along with my two brothers. That's when Odin took me. As for my father, I killed him in an attempt to make Odin proud. I never had any desire to speak with them because I knew they never wanted me anyway."

Your hands stop on the bars and you look up at Loki's figure not two feet away from you.

"Loki-"

"Don't start with your making me feel better, please. I do not have any remorse for what I did or sadness of the loss of their lives. I simply wanted to make sure you would have no regrets at missing an opportunity to find your parents since you will live for a long time," he replies, turning around and heading toward the door.

You watch his retreating form covered in a navy blue t-shirt and black shorts because of the exceedingly warming weather, even for him. You run after him and grab his arm to make him turn toward you.

"The reason I don't want to find them is because I don't need to. They had their chance and never looked back. Plus, they aren't important in my life now. I'm not some innocent child who never knew what fear or love felt like. No matter what happens, they're not my parents anymore and no place they are will ever be called home.

"My life now, with The Avengers and with you is where I'm meant to be. Trying to drag people back into my life who never wanted to be there in the first place is just digging up a past that's covered with cement. It's pointless and I have no desire to carry the burden.

"I love you and I know you don't want me to miss out on knowing them, but they're ghosts and a figment of a life I never want to live. Here, now, is perfect for me and I want you to know that forever with you and with us is all I'll ever need to be happy."

Loki looks down at you and nods like an obedient child before cupping your face in his large hand and laying a lingering kiss on your lips.

"I love you too," he whispers.

You smile and reach up to take his hair out of the bun that was piled on top of his head now that you can reach it. Loki's hair falls down his back and a small amount lays on his shoulder.

"Now that that weird bun-thing is gone, we should get to the screening room before the movie starts," you say, stepping back and whipping Loki around so you can jump on his back with your legs wrapped around his torso.

"You know I hate when my hair gets in the way," Loki grumbles, holding your thighs as you play with his raven locks.

"But it's so much sexier when it's down."

Loki rolls his eyes and walks through the tower and rides the elevator up to The Avengers' floor, taking the long way instead of teleporting because he still hates being around the group too much and a movie night is definitely something he can go without.

"Hey, guys!" you shout as Loki walks through the curtain with you still on his back.

The Avengers and their significant others are lounging on long bed-like two-person chairs around the room and Loki doesn't hesitate to toss you on the last available one in the back of the room.

"Finally!" Clint exclaims, arm wrapped around his wife who had their third kid not too long ago. "We've been waiting for twenty minutes."

"Shut up, Barton. At least we're here," Loki retorts, laying down next to you.

"Guys, not now. Can we please just watch the movie?" Steve asks, wanting to spend a quiet evening with his friends and Sharon.

"Chill out, Old Man. They can't help but be in each others' pants all the time," Tony chimes in, fast-forwarding through the previews.

"Can anything you say ever be appropriate?" Natasha asks rhetorically.

"Trust me, nothing appropriate ever comes out of his mouth," Pepper responds.

"If we're just going to talk about Tony's behavior, can I leave? I have some stuff I have to do in the lab," Bruce says, already getting up to leave before getting pulled back down by Natasha.

"You let a woman toss you around like that? I expected more," Thor says and Natasha glares at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jane nearly growls, punching Thor's arm.

Everyone's incessant arguing is cut off by your loud laughter.

"Guys, the movie is starting," you say.

The group quiets down and turns their attention to the screen while Loki snuggles you into his side with a smirk.

"What's that look for?" you question him in a low whisper as not to disturb the others.

"I just realized that these people are enough family for the both of us."

You rest your head on his shoulder and think about it all. These people you're with on a daily basis, you fight with them, joke with them, laugh with them, and cry with them. By chance, the events in all of your lives have led you all to this moment together. It was a miracle you found them, well, they found you.

It's not about who you share blood with, no, because at the end of the day, those people could be strangers. The ones who are with you through thick and thin, hold you when you cry, and are there for you in the worst times and share the happiest memories with you are your family.

You never had a real family and Loki thought he did before it collapsed below his feet. In the end, you both found what you needed, not only in each other, but in life. The people who truly care for you.

Real family is who you chose. It's about the people who you want apart of your life always. It's about the ones who want to be apart of your life too and promise to pick you up even when you're stuck on the pavement.

The Avengers are a family and you will hold onto them even after the ends of worlds and galaxies flash before your eyes because family is forever.

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