The Sound of Silence

Chapter 47

  A few years passed in relative peace. Things were never really peaceful around the Avenger's tower; there were always monsters, aliens, and hydra causing trouble, but it was as peaceful as the tower got. More members joined over the years and the population of the tower increased, but it still felt like home.

You rose in the ranks at Stark Industries and loved working with Pepper. It took awhile, but you earned your place there. You'd gotten the lowly entry level position because of Tony, but rose through the ranks on your own skills and abilities, which made you immensely proud.

Your mom still didn't understand or accept your decisions, but she at least seemed to understand you had a good job, your husband treated you like a princess (which you were), and you were happy. So she let you be with only mild displeasure at how you'd gotten to that point.

Sammi visited all the time and was as usual the best friend you could ask for.

It was hard when Loki was gone for missions and you never got to see him as often as you liked, but you enjoyed every moment you got to spend with him. He was always busy with the Avengers, his skills were a great help on pretty much every mission, so they kept dragging him out with them.

The return trips to Asgard got easier over the years. Mama Frigga loved you and she and Thor's friends learned how to sign so they could talk with you. They'd done it as a surprise and it had delighted you when you found out. Thor's friends were silly and rambunctious, but they were decent company and liked you for bringing Loki out of his shell. Mama Frigga loved you because Loki was so happy with you, and then for yourself as she got to know you better.

*

"Pack a bag, darling. We're going on a trip. We both have the next week off, I already took care of the arrangements," he told you.

[Where are we going?] you asked him, excited for the adventure and for getting to spend the entire week with your husband without interruption.

He just grinned mischievously at you. "Pack for warm weather," he told you instead of answering your actual question. You stuck your tongue out at him, but did as you were told and packed a bag for a week, including a variety of clothes, since you never quite knew what the Trickster was going to be up to. Your bag was packed quickly and you hefted it to carry it downstairs, but Loki took it from you and vanished it. You smirked at him and stuck your tongue out, but leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"You're welcome, darling," he replied warmly and kissed the top of your head. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders and led you downstairs. The team wished you well, told you to have fun, and promised not to call for Loki's help unless the situation was dire.

There was a short car ride to the airport, then a harrowing adventure through security, during which Loki growled that you should have stolen one of SHIELD's jets. You were questioned over your scars until you pulled out your Avengers ID and the TSA finally remembered who you were and poor Loki was given the third degree, but you finally made it through and no one was stabbed in the process.

You dozed on Loki through the flight and he kissed the top of your head, not seeming to mind at all, and guarding you while you dozed. The flight was long and the weather was warm when you finally got off the plane. Loki had been right. He drove the rental car to the super fancy hotel, which was surrounded by a gorgeous beach.

You spent days playing with him on the beach, enjoying the relaxation of time in the sun, though you kept your Frost Giant in as much shade as possible so he didn't melt. You toured museums and historical places and found indoor air conditioned things to mix in to your wonderful vacation. Loki was actually interested in Midgard's history and you kept finding fun little things for him to do. He loved the circus museum and spent hours there learning as much as he could about the circus since they didn't have them on Asgard.