high hopes [baby avengers and reader]

chapter thirty four

*Warning: This chapter does get a bit... gritty or morbid in some parts. Reader's discretion is advised...*

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Later that day, you sat on a stone bench which overlooked the gorgeous gardens that Queen Frigga had tended to at one time.

"I'd have thought you were a princess if I didn't know better." Thor said kindly as he sat beside you.

Thor had given you a floor length, seafoam green dress, with elegant beading and soft fabric. (In order for you to look more Asgardian-like.) But, his compliments fell on deaf ears, as you were quite unhappy today.

"You're worried about Loki, aren't you?" Thor said softly with a sigh.

"I never stopped worrying really..." You admitted as you noticed the sun droop even further down.

After a few moments had passed, Thor's deep voice said, "You are permitted to come to the trial if you wish."

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes for a moment then breathing out.

"You will have to wait a while however, as it will begin late in the evening." Thor mentioned quietly.

"I'll be there." You said with the strength and weariness of a mother.

. . .

You roamed the palace, then read a book or two, and eventually, the hours had passed; with nature's torch no longer lighting the dark cavern of a sky.

Thor took your arm like a gentleman and lead you away from the library, to the throne room, where the trial would be held.

Stopping at the large golden doors you faltered for a moment, realizing the intesnse pressure you felt to keep Loki safe.

What was it about love that caused such devotion and urged responsibility? It couldn't be of this Earth; this emotion that has the power to evoke such things in people...

Thor glanced at you, and when you seemed ready enough, he opened the doors and allowed you through them.

The first thing you noticed was not the decor or shiny accents but Loki's silver chains wrapped around his feet, ankles, neck, and wrist.

You couldn't believe it. Your little boy was in chains, yet smirking arrogantly as if he were playing a game that only he was apart of.

"Loki Laufeyson." Odin began, while Thor hurried you to a seat.

Loki remained still, staring Odin down with his piercing blue-green eyes.

"You have been charged with treason of the highest order; how do you plead?" Odin asked sternly, not a glimpse of humor to be found.

"Not guilty." Loki said smugly. "On the grounds that, I too was transformed into a child, and therefore I did nothing treasonous."

So he does remember some things! You thought to yourself.

Odin gave an exasperated sigh. "That is not what the evidence suggests."

"I've done nothing of substance. Perhaps attempted treason but nothing more, as my plan did not work." Loki argued.

You leaned towards Thor and whispered, "What happens if he is found guilty of attempted treason?"

"He will spend half of his years in solitary confinement and then he will be set free. But, none that have been sentenced have ever returned in their right mind..." Thor explained quietly to you.

Odin stood up and looked at Loki straight in his eyes. "Are you remorseful for what you've done?"

Loki held his shoulders back and walked foward a bit with a clinking of chains following him. "I'm only remorseful that I failed."

"Stop it Loki." You whimpered softly but he could not hear you.

"Well then, Loki Laufeyson." Odin said, receiving a glare from Loki for mentioning his last name once again. "You have failed every attempt given to you for redemption, and I am not willing to risk more lives on your behalf. I hereby declare that you will be executed before the sun rises tomorrow morning." Odin said.

Upon hearing the words, Loki just stood there, eyes glossed over in numbness.

"No, no!" You yelled and tried to get to Odin to plead your case, but Thor held you back. "I am sorry maiden, there is nothing you can say to change this.. Odin will put you in prision if-"

"Let him! I want to hug my baby!" You said desperately and attempted to yank your arms from Thor's grasp.

Loki looked at you and for an instant you could have sworn you saw your little guy begging to be set free from the bonds of bitterness. Reminding you of the nightmares he had as a child.

"Loki! Loki, you have to let yourself remember!" You begged helplessly, as if you were calling for him as he drowned in a stormy sea...

"Remove her from the courts!" Odin demanded, but you continued.

"Remember George! Please! Your life is at stake! Don't make me have to see you die; I love you! You're my son!"

Loki shone conflict in his eyes and they searched yours, only seeing the purest honesty a person could conjure.

And that was the last look you had gotten from him before Thor was forced to take you out of the room.

"Perhaps you should go home maiden, you shouldn't have to witness Loki's passing like this." Thor said with concerned eyes as he held your hand.

"I want to be there for him. Maybe he can at least remember me before..." You felt yourself falter. "Before..." You whimpered and felt cold tears stream down your face.

"Shh.." Thor tried to comfort and wrapped his strong arms around you. "It'll be alright."

But you knew in your heart that it wouldn't. Not unless you could stop this and of course that wouldn't be possible given Odin's state of mind. And so, Thor held you close while you tried to force all of the agony out of your heart through your tears, while Thor also felt some sort of comfort knowing that there was still someone who cared about Loki as much, if not more, than he did.

* * *

Although Thor had insisted that you get some sleep, you knew that it would be impossible, and asked if you could see Loki again, but Odin had already denied Thor's request when he had asked earlier.

So you walked around the palace, with George in hand, while the gaurds seemed very alert with you around, and constantly surveyed the area for enemies.

The outdoor halls were beautiful, with large, white marbel pillars on either side and ivory marbel floor with a glossy sheen which added to its overall elegance.

Your long floorlength dress seemed to float across the tiles and the sky seemed surreal.

It was midnight, this you knew by a grandfather clock which had chimed.

You stopped walking for a moment and turned to look outside.

With one hand on each side of the railing, you looked up at the stars with a sigh. They would never shine the same without your little guy there...

Of course, he was a man in the eyes of the law and Odin himself, and even Thor perhaps. But you had only known him as the little boy who loved playing with Steve and Thor, who cuddled with his teddy bear, and sometimes envied the attention of his surrogate mother.

This couldn't be the end! Part of you refused to believe it until...

The sound of the grandfather clock chimed once again. An hour had past, and it was now one o'clock.

You'd have to meet Thor in an hour to ride to the center of the city, where people were usually executed.

"I am convinced that there is no stronger person than you, maiden ___." Came Thor's strong yet kind voice, as he walked towards you and stopped by your side.

"I don't feel very strong..." You admitted softly. "Loki must be so frightened."

Thor sighed sadly and put an arm around you. "It's hard to say what Loki is feeling sometimes..."

"Even he was a bit confused as a child, poor dear. I only wanted to comfort him and help him heal, but he doesn't want anything to do with me now..."

Thor nodded in understanding. "He can be stubbon at times; one of the few things we can relate to, unfortunately." Thor said with a sad smile.

You two stood there for quite sometime, just thinking about... about everything. And yet, about nothing at all, it was as if you were on the side of a freeway of thoughts, watching them zoom by, without being apart of the chaos yourself.

The the clock rang it's menacing charm once again and suddenly all of the cars crashed into one another.

"We have to go, I'm afraid..." Thor said with sensitivity, and began to lead you to the front of the palace, where his large brown horse was waiting for the both of you.

When you reached the large courtyard, Thor proptly helped you up the horse then got up on the beast himself infront of you, while your eyes seemed fixed on how the pitch black sky had now faded to a dark blue.

"Dawn symbolized hope at one point." You murmered to yourself while Thor took hold of the reins and you held onto him. "Now it is but a knife digging deeper into my chest."

Thor's blue eyes empathized with your pain. He snapped the reins quickly and the horse neighed loudly, then zoomed off to where its owner decided.

Through the the elegant city of Asgard you trod, past large homes then modest ones, until finally you reached the center. Which looked quite like it sounded coincidentally. It was a large circle with small cottages surrounding the stone area, where there was a wooden structure with a large blade at the top. Loki had seemingly just arrived and surveyed the perimeter with hazy eyes, his jet black hair slicked back and posture upright in strength.

Though, having taken care of him as a lad you saw right past those indifferent eyes and knew that he was afraid.

One might think a nearly immortal being would have little fear of death, having lived so long. But in truth, it is far more terrifying. A fly won't fear death because it was inevitable; a human might fear death because it is the end of a journey, (but also, possibly the beginning of another) but an immortal man, who's strength and cunning has kept him alive for hundreds of years would be hard pressed not to fear death. Since he has been lulled into security for so long, the sudden drop is unwelcome and unbelievable to him. It would be as difficult a concept for him, as eternity would be for a human...

Although you knew not of the specifics of Loki's fear at the time, you did know that you wanted to be near him, somehow.

A crowd had formed at this time, children in tow, and all of the families were very excited to see the death of the prince. It had been so long since anything of interest had happened in their village that this new event was just exhilarating to them. Picnic baskets and food gallore, it was a celebration of the most morbid of sorts.

And it sickened you to the core.

Loki was escorted next to the machine while he remained in chains, posture still upright. While you felt every nerve in your body clentch and sting with pain.

Everything seemed a blur, as if a nightmare of some kind and soon you'd wake up! You'd be in your bed and Loki would come with those sweet blue-green eyes of his and say...

"Time to wake up miss ___, we wanna play!" Loki would say with an innocent smile as he held his blanket in one hand.

Then of course Steve would come and give you that salute that he is most famous for then politely ask, "Could I possibly, maybe, have one little cookie before breakfast. Just a tiny one." He would say and show with his fingers how small. "Maybe. If that's okay. If not then-"

And of course you would agree. "Alright Steve, just this once though."

"Thank you ma'am." He'd reply, while Loki dragged you out of bed to see the fort he and Thor made while Tony had been watching them. "Look!"

You'd smile happily and look very proud of their blanket fort and Thor would hurry you inside.

"Don't worry, this is our bomb shelter." Loki might have assured you as he fussed with imaginary knobs and levers. "No one's gonna hurt us in here."

"Yeah!" Thor would exclaim, as loud as he usually did.

And you would play for hours with them until you were tired and it was time for a na-

"Maiden!" Odin said sternly to you, jolting you out of your dazed and mournful senses.

"Y-Yes?" You stuttered.

"You are not premitted to be this close to him." Odin said with authority.

You looked up and saw that you were not but four feet away from Loki now. You wondered how you got through that crowd without knowing it.

"It's okay..." You heard Loki whisper to you, while Odin stared you down. "It's better this way."

"How could it be better?" You said just as quiet, with eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"The world will be rid of a monster. And so will I." He said strongly, as if he had decided this long ago.

"No Loki." You tried to tell him, but two guards pulled you back by your arms, and kept you immobile.

During this time, the old blade was getting sharpened then replaced back into the machine. While the burly executioner beside it, with the traditional black hood over his face, remained still and ready to act on Odin's word.

"Do not pity me, ___." Loki said, more transparent now upon understanding the weight of the situation. "I should have died long ago when my birth father abonded me. Since then I'd only been a creature, attempting to adopt a new identity but failing. In my efforts to find a purpose and prove to myself that I'm worth more than what Odin had originally kept me for, I have not only failed, but hurt many people. I don't know why I am this way, maiden. Nor will I ever know it seems. But my fate has been decided, and I now know that my destiny..." Loki said, then faltered slightly at the realization of his words. "My purpose, was to die on that slab of ice those many years ago. I had only been delaying the inevitable until then but now, in the dew of the morning, I will finally fufill it..."

You shook your head fervently. "No Loki, don't speak that way, this was not your purpose, you have so much potential, and so much love within your heart-"

You could hear the crowd laugh and snicker at the thought of the Jotun feeling love.

You ignored them, however, for they did not matter now. "I felt it myself, you gave me a flower one day when you went wandering off in the park. You loved cuddling, and playing with your friends. Not only that but you have great leadership qualities and a mind like no other. I-"

"That is enough, maiden." Odin said harshly, standing up from his position on a platform with a throne atop it.

"Father, she merely wants to speak to him. She cared for us as if we were her own!" Thor argued, and Odin seemed to listen to him, and showed it by sitting back down on his throne. "You have five minutes to say your goodbyes."

You wormed your way out of the guards grasp and rushed towards Loki and wrapped your arms around him in a tight hug.

"Please tell me you remember me now." You said timidly while Loki just barely hugged you back.

"Just your name and face are known to me." He replied honestly.

"T-That's... that's it?" You said softly, your voice wavering in fear.

"Yes. I know that I can trust you but... I don't want to. After everything that's happened, I don't want another lie to be how I end my life." He said sternly.

"But I-"

"Get on with it!" Yelled a man in the crowd.

"Get 'er out!" Shrieked a woman angrily.

"Leave her be, or so help me-" Thor began to threaten, but Odin silenced him with a growl.

"They are right. Be gone child." Odin demanded and the guards grabbed you once again and in your struggle you threw George the bear and it landed directly in front of the guillotine.

You fought and moved but again you were unable to free yourself to get to Loki.

Helpess, was the emotion you felt the most, when you saw the executioner force a compliant Loki into the contraption.

"Please, please stop." You begged no one in particular as Thor came near you, ready to shield your eyes from the gory mess that was to come.

The blade rose higher and higher while Loki kept his eyes on George, who was facing up on the dirt below him.

You couldn't take the agony of it, the blade just slowly but steadily getting higher into the sky manually.

You thought nothing in this world could ever even slightly keep your tears at bay now, until you heard a small, barely audible whisper from Loki.

"I remember."

Your eyes lit up and you felt your heart pouding like a drum within your chest.

"I remember." He repeated, louder this time, as if he were trying to tell you this before the blade fell, as he knew it would.

"I remember ___! I remember everything! I remember George, and Thor hating baths, and giving you a flower!" He suddenly exclaimed all at once as the blade neared the top.

"Y-You do?" You said with a mixture of happiness and sorrow, realizing that it was too late.

"I... I'm sorry Thor, and ___. I truly-"

Mid sentence there was a wooshing noise of metal speeding down its course of death, closer and closer to the prince's neck until...



"STOP!"



It halted instantly.


Everything seemed to happen so fast that everyone was in shock. You and Loki especially, since it was Odin's voice who boomed.

It was silent for many moments, just the wind breezing past and the executioner easily holding the blade up, just above where it might have hit.

Then, Odin stood up, and with authority said, "Loki has proved that he is remorseful for his crimes. And as he is prince of Asgard, and brother to my son, I hereby declare a pardon for him."

You heard groans of disappointment in the crowd, but you fell to your knees in overwhelming joy, hot tears rolling down your cheeks with your hands covering your face, then a pair of slender arms wrapped around you.


Loki, your little boy, was alive.