Your Hand To Hold

Chapter Forty: A Walk Best Forgotten

          After Tony and Steve made their truce, we were able to enjoy the meal Loki and I had so diligently worked on. Conversation returned to a norm as Sam dominated the discussions, something no one seemed to mind given that he was our guest. While most of this focused on how he knew Nat and Steve, the secret missions he'd been a part of, and his qualifications as a potential Avenger, he did eventually ask questions regarding those of us he was not as familiar with.

    While he was playfully interrogating Wanda and Pietro, I squeezed Loki's hand beneath the table; nodding my head toward the kitchen. He nodded, smiling as we politely excused ourselves.

    "Do you need help, Sweet Sister?"

    "Not unless you wish to begin clearing the empty plates to make room for dessert."

    "There's dessert," Bruce's eyes widened. I smiled nodding at him as he gleefully looked toward Nat, his grin charming like a child's.

    "It would not be a feast crafted by my sister if there was not at least one dessert," Thor beamed proudly.

    "Hold up," Sam said, his face twisting in confusion as he leaned forward. "That's your sister? But I saw her kiss your brother."

    "Adopted."

    "Don't ask, Rocket Man. It's complicated, there are diagrams, family trees; all very complicated."

    I rolled my eyes as I pulled the daimiskake from the icebox and began to slice it. "If you are not careful, Tony, I will deny you cake," I warned as Loki wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and softly asked if I'd like tea.

    "Deny away, I know you made ice cream."

    "Ice cream?"

    "It was used for the cake."

    "You... You made an Asgardian ice cream cake? Oh, this just gets better and better!"

    "I hope y'all didn't go to this trouble for me now."

    I shook my head at Sam. "It was a thank you for the lovely party Tony hosted for my birthday yesterday,"

    "That party was for you?"

    "Part of it. Evie and Reindeer Games here were announced as Avengers too, plus I got to show off the compound; it was multifaceted," Tony admitted with a shrug, putting his arm around Pepper as he passed their plates to Thor. "I have to say, this was really nice, Evie."

    "Yes, Eibhlin, it was a truly fantastic dinner."

    The blush crept over my cheeks before I could stop it. I had never been thanked on Asgard for my cooking. It was strange to hear such compliments now, yet a part of me enjoyed them. Was that selfish? "It was nothing I have not done before."

    "You really weren't raised like these guys, huh?"

    "No," I sighed offering Bruce a gentle smile as Loki glanced worriedly at me. "I loved my life though. I may not have been raised in lessons on culture and diplomacy, and may not have worn fancy clothes or danced at balls, but I was never bored; never unhappy for long. I learned many a splendid thing, from cooking to sewing, reading, and writing, the beautiful history of the gods... Hlíf, Åge, and Thyra always made sure that I was looked after; that I remembered that even in the most difficult of times I was wanted... They were the closest thing to family, as silly and patchwork as they were, that I ever had. And I felt loved..."

    They all smiled in various ways. Loki passed me a cup of tea before he softly cupped my chin and kissed me sweetly. "You always have been loved."

    "He's right, Sweet Sister; you have always been loved." One of Thor's strong arms wrapped around my shoulders as he pulled Loki and me to his chest. I couldn't help but laugh and smile, both growing bigger as Tony and Pepper got up from the table to come and join in on the hug. Tony practically skipping with glee as he did. 

    Before I knew it everyone but Sam and Steve were up and hugging me. Glancing around at all of them, I felt my heart swell with joy and a sense of pride. For so long on Asgard, I had only had those in the kitchens; Thor and Frigga tried of course, yet even they had both acknowledged over the years that ultimately, we had been worlds apart despite living in the same palace. While I would never complain, it had been an existence that I had had to fight for; an existence that had not been without its suffering. Now though, now I felt as though I truly belonged and not just as staff. I had found another family, a bigger perhaps more dysfunctional one and I loved them.