Past Friends

Part 160: Twin Terrors

"Ahhh!" you cried, as the two intruders knocked you back down onto your bed, you shouted, "oh no, you got me, I surrender brave warriors, I surrender" as you found yourself unable to fight back. After they dropped their guard you made your move, quickly flipping them over to rest on the bed under you as you began to tickle them, they would not be getting away with this. "No, no, no... please stop!" they shouted, begging you to cease with all the tickling as they continue to laugh with you soon replying, "well that's what you get, my sweet little intruders". You then stopped, letting the little terrors catch their breath, waiting a minute before jumping them, wrapping them in a tight hug and covering both of your children in kisses. 

They were Loki's, you got pregnant sometime after the wedding, before the whole thing with Hela, you didn't realize at first, but you did feel that something was off, and you wouldn't be sure until you got your period, which never happened. You thought at first that it was because you turned into Surtur, you were pretty weak afterwards but after several weeks on Nervaria, missing a second period, your suspicions were confirmed. It was really hard, going through all of it by yourself, without Loki, but you weren't completely alone, the other survivors who found themselves on your planet helped out. You gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, who you named Skylar and Terra, and you wondered for a while if Loki would even like those names, you really hoped he would. You could see him in them as they got older, they had his eyes, the same lovely shade of blue-green but they had your hair, it was bright red and sparkled like gold when it caught the light, yet straight like Loki's. Although their skin colour fell somewhere in between yours and Loki's they had the classic frost giant skin pattern, and a natural ice blue blush all over, as if they were kissed by winter's frost. 

They were part of the reason you kept going, kept fighting to make the universe a better place, you wanted your children to grow up not knowing the hardships that you and others had to face. As far as you knew they were the only piece of Loki you had left, and you couldn't bear to lose him again, not again, so you held on as best you could. They went to school like the other children, starting their education earlier that year, and it was bitter-sweet, making them breakfast and dropping them off to have someone else take care of them for you. You always used to have them nearby, in a separate room across the hall from where you worked so you could take a bunch of little breaks to see them all throughout the day, if they needed anything they would be just a few steps away. But now, you wouldn't see them again until the evening when you made them dinner and played their favourite Earth games for a while, before putting them to bed and then doing the last of the work you had to do that day. 

You dropped them off not too long ago, just finishing up some paperwork before another meeting you would be having in less than an hour when one of your chancellors, Gauxx, arrived with some news. Apparently, there were outsiders here to buy supplies which wasn't unusual as you would approve any and all purchases but according to the criminal database, they were both wanted for one reason or another. You groaned, not wanting to deal with the possibilities of delinquents but as you leaned your head back in your chair, letting out a long exhausted breath you ordered for them to be sent in. "Your majesty," your chancellor protested, insisting that dangerous criminals should not be allowed inside the main facility let alone your personal office, but you countered, "I am one of the most powerful beings in the universe, I can count only a dozen or so individuals who could possibly defeat me, and I've killed one of them and another is still in intensive care last time I checked, so your concerns are acknowledged and appreciated but unnecessary, send them in, please, if you don't mind, I still have lots of things left to do today".  

Perhaps part of you was hoping these so-called criminals would pick a fight, it had been so long since you actually fought anyone, you were itching for a battle or something exciting to happen. I mean you were only able to see your pupils once a month or so, and you rarely had the time to evaluate their individual progress, let alone engage in an actual sparring match. You yearned for the simpler days where you were just another Avenger, heading off to save the day, not the universe, and coming home to your family, making them sweet treats, to laugh, dance, and train, to wake up to your love by your side, whispering sweet nothings to you, making you feel like the most wonderful person in the world. Yet so much time had gone by, how could you go back now, how could you find the words and apologize for staying away for so long, not even having the gall to try and contact them after intergalactic communications were established. 

The chancellor was taking a long time, and you wondered if he was coming at all, but it was unlike him to ignore a direct order, so you got up to go out and investigate. You headed down the hall you knew he'd take, getting more frustrated with each step as you didn't have a lot of time and didn't want to miss dinner with your children, again. You hated when you had to work late, sometimes you weren't even able to see them until after they were in bed and it broke your heart a little as you wanted to be by their side always. You feared as the Empire grew you'd have less time for Terra and Skylar, and although they were likely to be immortal like you and Loki, they wouldn't stay children forever and you didn't want to miss out on their younger years. 

You arrived at the grand staircase to see the chancellor leading two individuals you hadn't seen before along with several of your more experienced pupils and a dozen guards. "I hardly believe that's necessary Chancellor Gauxx, escorting our guests like that", you call down from the balcony above, overlooking the entrance, criminal or not it was overkill in your opinion. The chancellor noticed you at the top of the stairs and went pale, quickly bowing before apologizing to you and properly introducing you to your visitors, "may I present her majesty, Queen Hestia, grand ruler of the Nervarian Empire". "You're majesty", they greeted you with a polite nod of the head and you returned the gesture, wondering how such an odd pairing came to be, a blue robotic woman and a talking raccoon.