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

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"Don't you want to tell them?" Loki wondered in surprise, "don't you want to say good-bye?"

"This is not a 'good-bye'," the star replied matter-of-factly.

Loki took a moment to let her words soak in. "Where will we go?" He questioned. They couldn't exactly got to Asgard, with Loki being banished.

Estrial smiled. "Everywhere."

Everywhere. The possibilies seemed far less constricted when the single word passed through her lips. Because 'everywhere' was endless.

The demigod felt excitement build up in his core. But when he looked back into the Avengers Tower, he was surprised to feel the excitement twist into longing. Now he understood what Estrial had said, that one day he would cherish his moments on Midguard.

He watched the others beyond the glass doorway, laughing and having a good time. Tony and Bruce seemed to be arguing about something that the others found absolutely hilarious. Loki'd spent so much time trying to avoid them, that he hadn't even considered the fact that he was one of them. A star, without a constellation. Once alone in the world, different, cast out. But brought together with other like beings, to create a very real constellation of sorts.

He would miss this.

• • •

"Tony, it was definitely you!" Natasha shouted with a laugh, "two years ago, I remember exactly."

Tony frowned in frustration, but it was five against one at this point. "Fine, fine," he grumbled, "I still remember it very differently, but fine. Believe what you want."

"I'll believe the truth," Clint teased.

Thor let out a loud laugh as the bickering finally ended. Realizing that his brother and the star had vanished, he looked around the living room curiously. His gaze finally landed on the two of them, standing together outside on the balcony. The God of Thunder was about to get up and see what they were up to, but stopped himself when he saw Estrial removing Loki's cuffs.

"Huh.." Thor muttered to himself as he watched the two talk with very serious expressions. Then, he saw his brother peer back inside. Their eyes locked for a moment, a moment that seemed to last hours. Loki gave a small head nodded, shooting his brother a small mischeivious smile. Then, he and the star simply disappeared, as if they were never there to begin with.

Thor was in shock for a moment, but eventually chuckled lightly as he turned his attention back to the other Avengers. "Hey, where's Estrial?" Steve asked all of a sudden.

"She's right--" Tony began, pointing to where the star and Loki were sitting before. He frowned. "Well, she was right here."

"Off to bed, I'm guessing?" Bruce suggested.

"Wouldn't blame her," Natasha laughed, "I'd be exhausted, too, if I had to watch Loki twenty-four/seven."

Thor remained silent; the others didn't need to know what he'd seen. Loki and Estrial would've told them, if they wanted them to know. But they hadn't, so he kept their disappearance secret.

"We don't need to..worry...do we?" Clint asked a bit anxiously, "I mean, Loki is pretty awful, right? I don't like the idea of him just running off."

"You know..he's actually not so bad anymore," Natasha insisted.

"Yeah, after being with Estrial for so long," Bruce began, "he's really started to become a better guy. Wouldn't you say, Thor? I mean, he's your brother; you'd know best."

Thor smiled crookedly. "Oh..I doubt Loki will be much of a problem any longer," he affirmed with a small laugh, "as you said...he has Estrial now."

It didn't take much longer than a day for the others to figure out that the demigod and the star had left the realm. It all started on the morning of New Year's day, when Steve spotted a pair of gold cuffs shimmering in the sunlight on the balcony outside. This led to a full search of the Avengers tower, which proved pointless.

Nick Fury was appalled when he heard the knews, ordering a city-wide search at once. But in the back of his mind, he knew that was hopeless. Yet no one was weighed down in stress over the disappearance. Once Fury finally gave up the search, he chalked it up to, "let Loki be another realm's problem."

But the Avengers were less accusative; they didn't believe that Loki would be causing any more pointless wars in any world. They'd all witnessed the balance that he and Estrial brought each other. And there was no doubting that, as long as they remained together, that balance would remain.

The first few days without Loki and Estrial seemed like normal; the couple often secluded themselves for days at a time. It was a normal thing, with Loki being antisocial and Estrial enjoying the quiet of her bedroom. So it didn't feel off when their faces were missing from meals and daily run-in's.

Once the days turned to weeks, the Avengers began to feel an odd mix between relief and longing. The demigod and the star were both always a handful to have around. Yet even Loki had grown on them quite a bit, like an awkward family member who rarely showed up to family events.

For months, they thought of their missing friends everyday. Clint, of course, was the first to forget, not having had the pleasure of getting to know the couple well. It was after five months when Thor decided to leave Midguard and quest for his brother.

And by the time it had been over a year, the remaining five had all but forgotten Estrial and Loki all together. But simple things sparked memories.

The apple juice that stayed stocked in the refrigerator, the dictionary that Estrial had left on a forgotten side-table in a corner of the living area. The darkness that seeped out of the cracked doorway of what used to be her and Loki's bedroom; no one had gone in since they first vanished. And every night, when the stars began to appear in the sky, sometimes one would twinkle just a tad brighter than the rest, and the whole meeting of Estrial would replay in their heads.

In this sense, it never truly felt like the Avengers tower was missing two important pieces. Estrial and Loki were always there, in the memories they'd left behind, in the minds of their friends. And every one of them knew one hard fact for certain: they would all unite again...someday.

The End