Stars Have Fallen - A Loki Love Story (Marvel/Avengers)

6

Estrial closed her door after Tony left to wait outside. Curiously unfolding the clothing he'd given her, she examined it. In all honesty, she'd never removed her own suit. She never even knew that her human form would come with one. It was a part of her in that it would change transparency with her, yet it was easily removable.

Slowly, she slipped out of the suit, letting it pool around her ankles. Estrial's glow flashed brightly in surprise as she caught a glimpse of herself in her mirror. It was the first time she'd seen a naked human body, and it was intriguing. She was thin for a woman, will only subtle curves. Feeling shy, she quickly looked away and pulled on her new suit. It fit to her form perfectly, comfortably tight on her skin and thick in material.

But once she had it fully on, her glow vanished. No longer able to see in the dark room, Estrial let out a shrill scream. Before long, her door burst open; Thor rushed in, followed closely by a much more calm looking Tony. "Estrial?!" He boomed in worry.

Estrial flinched so harshly from the sudden entrance that she tripped backwards and fell onto the floor. Thor's eyes landed on her with relief. "I apologize for startling you," he spoke in a softer voice, reaching down to help Estrial to her feet. Once she was standing, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Where is your glow?"

"Hidden," Tony explained, flicking on the bedroom's light switch. "I took her DNA and reconverted it into a more controllable substance," he explained, then dumbed it down. "Her suit changes with her, right? Now she can decide when she wants to be a star or more..human."

"How..?" Thor wondered.

"It's simple, really," Tony went on in a casual yet cocky tone, "the DNA of her suit matched her own exactly; almost like a removable skin. So I made a new one out of copied DNA...just giving it controls. Figured it'll morph to her body like the other one."

Estrial looked down at herself in disbelief. Even in the light of her room, she was visible. A smile spread across her face, the first smiled she'd ever mustered up. "Thank you," she muttered quietly, her gaze glistening with gratitude.

But Thor looked frustrated. "You should have given her a warning; it scared her," he repremanded the rich man.

"Hey, she's thanking me," Tony reminded, acting offended as he moved to stand beside Estrial. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he replied dramatically, "you're welcome, Estrial."

Her smiled faded as she wiggled out of his touch. Being in the human world was definitely much more adventurous. But she was starting to realize that she was in way over her head. Estrial never could have guessed that her new life would be so scary. Still, she found joy in it.

Walking timidly over to Thor, she poked his arm in order to get his attention. The demigod looked down at her. She looked like a little girl who was about to ask for a cookie. Not that she appeared as a child; Estrial looked to be in her mid twenties. But the expression in her eyes was young, innocent, and pure. "I want to see him," she spoke in a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper.

Thor pursed his lips for a moment. This was probably the fiftieth time she'd asked to see Loki in the past few days. Each time, she would be given a firm no. But Estrial was persistent, and Thor was beginning to consider the possible benefits of letting her talk to him. Perhaps the misguided demigod would listen better to a power so undoubtedly above his own.

Thor sighed. "Okay--"

"-No--" Tony said at the exact same time. He turned to Thor with a look of disbelief. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said okay," Thor confirmed. "Loki has always been fascinated by the stars," he went on, "I believe Estrial could help him become a better man."

"Or, he'll use her," Tony suggested, outraged by Thor's wavering mind, "he just wants power, and Estrial is basically a walking-talking tesseract. Times ten."

Thor shook his head firmly. "Do not act as if you know my brother," he warned.

"I know enough," Tony urged. He paused to sigh before going on, "your a god, I can't stop you. But please, just..think this through."

A look of nervousness on her face, Estrial shrunk back; arguments were definitely not a fun part of this world. Noticing this, Thor lowered his voice and quickly ended the tense conversation. "I have." He then put a hand to Estrial's back and began to lead her out of the room.

• • •

On the left inner-wrist of Estrial's new suit were numerous soft buttons. She played with them on the way to the SHEILD compound, testing out what each did. One made her completely invisible, one made her look fully human. Some made her glow stronger or weaker, and one activated her natural star state.

Once they arrived, Estrial nearly raced to the elevator. Thor had never seen her act so confidently before. She was often very hesitant, even in her new home at the tower. But for some reason, Loki excited her in a completely new way. Thor thought back to what he'd overheard Estrial tell his brother before. You were my favorite. He wondered why that was so.

Chasing after the fallen star, Thor caught up to her as she waited for him at the elevator. He smiled, glad that she could at least contain her excitement enough to not leave him completely. Estrial let him press the down button, then they climbed on.

In the basement, Estrial walked to Loki with haste. He was right where they'd left him, reading a book in his cell. When he looked up to see what the commotion was about, his blue-green eyes flickered with genuine joy for a split second.