Chapter 12

"Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way." Loki sat beside Pepper, Rhodey, Morgan, and Happy on the couch. Steve stood behind them. All of them gazed tearfully at the holographic Tony before them. Loki's thoughts wandered as he listened to his friend's speech. Tears were pouring out of his eyes like no tomorrow that he made no effort to stop anymore. He was so smart to record this… so caring… Loki stared at the hologram of Tony, his heart aching for him to pull him closer. However, he couldn't. Even if he tried, this was just an old recording. His friend was gone. "And, for better or worse, that's the reality Morgan's gonna have to find a way to grow up in." Loki focused back on what he was saying. "So I thought I'd probably better record a little greeting... In the case of an untimely death on my part. Not that, death in any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it's... it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. But then again, that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end." Loki's face, wet with tears, now decided it needed more tears at that statement. The hologram Tony stood, walking forward. "Uh, what am I even trippin' for?" He sighed. "Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to." The hologram leaned forward with a smile, gazing right at where Morgan was curled up against Pepper. "I love you three thousand." Then the hologram disappeared. Everyone stood up, going separate directions. Not knowing what else to do, Loki forced himself to stand, trailing after Pepper. She grabbed something off the table.

"What do you think?" she murmured. Loki glanced at the wreath. In the middle of it, was an arc reactor with the words 'proof that Tony Stark has a heart' written on it.

"It's perfect," Loki sighed. Pepper forced a smile, then gestured toward Steve, Rhodey, Happy, and Morgan to follow. Pepper held her daughter's hand. Loki placed a hand beneath the wreath, walking by Pepper's side out of the house. Rhodey, Happy, and Steve followed them all the way down to the edge of the dock. Loki and Pepper gently placed the wreath on the water, Loki's finger gently tracing the edge of the arc reactor before it floated out of reach. They stood up, watching it go. Everyone gathered behind them, doing the same. Pepper sat down on a chair, pulling Morgan into her lap to hold her close. People stretched out behind them as far back as the house, all dressed in black and staring out at the lake. Frigga was right. Loki had known this day was coming for a long time, that no matter what, he would outlive Tony. However, it hadn't stopped him from crying his eyes out. He would never stop missing Tony, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep going. After a few hours, people slowly started to leave. The people near the back left first, flying off or walking away, one by one, some still lingering in the clearing. Eventually, only Loki, Pepper, and Morgan were left on the dock. Loki glanced at Pepper.

"Hey," he murmured. Pepper met his gaze. "You're not… mad at me are you?"

She looked confused at first. "Oh, you mean about your feelings for Tony?" she asked. Loki nodded, looking down at the ground. "Nah. I always knew, and that kiss was pretty harmless."

"...did he know?" Loki asked.

Pepper nodded. "I had to tell him though. He was completely clueless."

"Yep, that sounds like him," he mused, cracking a brief smile. Pepper forced a smile as well. Morgan wrapped her arms around her mother's neck.

"Mommy, can we go inside?" she asked. Pepper gazed at her daughter, wrapping her arms around her tightly.

"Of course." She stood up, carrying Morgan with her into the house. Loki glanced back at the lake.

"Hey," a new voice called. Loki glanced back over his shoulder. Quill, Mantis, Rocket, Drax, who was wearing a shirt for once, Rocket, Nebula, and Groot all approached. Loki waved at them weakly.

"If you don't mind me asking… when did you and Stark become so close?" Quill asked. Loki looked away. "I mean, I'm just asking 'cause I'm curious if it's too painful-"

"No, I don't mind," Loki replied, gesturing toward Quill. He came to stand beside him. Mantis stood on Loki's other side while the others hung back. "He, Nebula, and I took the ship and eventually got to Earth. Tony and Pepper took me in since I had nowhere else to go and I lived with them for five years. During that time… Tony and I became very close."

"Did you love him?" Quill asked. Loki glanced at his friend. Love? He thought about Tony, how he confided in him, worried for him, protected him, longed for his physical touch, even teased him when it was appropriate.

"Yes," Loki murmured. "In a way, I believe I did." Quill wrapped an arm around Loki. Mantis copied the act. Loki smiled, pulling his friends closer.

"Loki," a new voice called. The Guardians stepped aside, revealing a brown-haired woman.

"Hello Valkyrie," Loki greeted. "How has Asgard been?"

"Fine," she replied. "They still can't understand why you left. I mean, it's true they didn't really want you as king but they didn't get why you didn't want to at least live among your people."

"They're not my people," Loki replied. He hesitated for a moment before stepping toward her and summoning the casket. His friends stepped back. However, no shot came from the casket, only the familiar blue colour that took over his skin. Valkyrie's eyes widened.

"Huh, how long has that been a thing?" she asked.

"I've always been Jotun," he replied. "Odin found me after the war against them and took me in, enchanting my appearance to look like a typical Asgardian. I found out after a battle on Jotunheim and took the casket before it could be blown up on Asgard."

"Why did Odin's enchantment remain?" Valkyrie asked.

Loki shrugged. "Don't know." He admitted, flicking away the casket. "Don't care either. Odin did many questionable things. He said I was born to be a king but I disagree. I only ever wanted it because I thought it was the only way he could ever be proud of me… the only way he could ever love me."

"That probably worsened when you found out about your heritage," Valkyrie mused.

"Exactly, but now that pressure is gone, leaving no desire for the throne," Loki explained. "And with Thor gone, there's no one left in Asgard that I cared about more than Tony."

"Well, you made the right choice," Valkyrie replied. "The people really do love me as their queen."

"Send them my regards when you return," Loki replied. The two shook hands.

"I should be getting back now." Valkyrie turned away, calling, "But you're free to visit any time you know!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Loki called back. Valkyrie jumped on her pegasus, waving before taking to the skies. His friends stared at the spot where she disappeared.

"Alright, I guess Pegasi are real," Quill deadpanned. Loki cracked a smile. Mantis turned to him.

"Loki, I wanted to ask you something," she informed. Loki gazed at her. "Are you… going to stay on Earth?"

"Oh yeah," Rocket turned to him as well. "If you wanna stay with Tony's family, we won't take it personally."

"We'll understand," Quill added. Nebula and Drax nodded along with him.

"Loki," yet another new voice called. Pepper was rushing toward him. "I just wanted to tell you, you're still welcome to stay with us."

"Oh good," Rocket replied. "I mean, we figured he wanted to stay."

"It's up to you though, dude," Quill added. "I mean, you're always welcome to come with us, too." Loki glanced between Pepper and his friends, his heart tugging overwhelmingly in one obvious direction.

"I appreciate the offer, but if it's alright." Loki stepped between Quill and Mantis. "I want to stay with these guys."

"You do?" Quill asked, glancing at him.

"Of course," Loki replied. "I admit, it sounds like an adventure and right now, I think I might need that."

"Well before you go, there's something I have to give you," Pepper gestured to Loki. He nodded to his friends before following her into the house again. Pepper lead him into the living room. Pulling open one of the drawers, she grabbed a small box, covered in red and yellow wrapping paper. "Here." She handed it to him. Loki pulled off the bow first. Then made the wrapping paper disappear with his magic, as to not make a mess of the carpet. Beneath the wrapping paper, was a box. Summoning a knife, he easily sliced the box open from the top, revealing its contents. Inside, was a framed picture of Tony and Loki. The former was wearing reindeer antlers and the latter had his hair Christmas Tree style with pseudo ornaments adorning it. Loki cracked a smile. He grabbed the locket, pulling it open. The same picture was inside. Closing it, Loki put the necklace on, where it rested against his heart. He pulled the framed picture out of the box, only for something else to fall to the ground. Placing the picture aside, Loki kneeled down to pick it up. It was a piece of paper. However, sloppy handwriting adorned the surface of it. Loki picked up the note.

Dear Loki,

Don't miss me too much, okay? I left you these couple of things so you can look back on them with a smile so please do us both a favor and move on. You know I don't wanna be the cause of your suffering but that's inevitably happened already since you're reading this note. Just know that people care about you. It isn't just me. Your guardian friends were bending over backwards for you on Titan and I know you care about them too. I know you don't think so, but it is possible for people to care about you. So please, for the love of whatever you deem holy, never forget that.

Signed, your friend

Tony Stark

"Loki, are you okay?" Pepper asked. Loki glanced at her, only now noticing that his cheeks were damp with tears. He wiped them away.

"Yes, I'm alright," he sighed. "I just… I wish I could tell him how much this all means to me."

"Don't worry, he knows," Pepper replied. Loki forced a smile. He turned away, taking the picture and the note in his hands. Conjuring up a bag, he placed Quill's mixtape, the framed picture, and the note inside and slung it over his shoulder.

"Thank you, but I should be going now."

Pepper nodded to him. "Just know that you're free to visit anytime."

Loki stopped in the doorway, glancing back at Pepper. "Oh, that reminds me!" Summoning something into his hand, Loki held it out to Pepper. "Here, in case you ever need to contact me." Pepper took the device.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's a communicator," Loki explained. "A way to directly contact me from anywhere in the universe. Let me know what happens, alright?"

"I will, thanks," Pepper replied, pocketing the communicator. Loki turned to leave, making his way back to the Guardians.

"I'm back," he announced. The others turned to him.

"What'd she give you?" Quill asked.

"Some things Tony left for me," Loki sighed, twirling part of the locket around in his fingers. "Oh, Quill, I forgot to give this back to you." Rummaging through his bag, Loki pulled out the mixtape with the headphones. Quill's eyes widened.

"You kept that all this time?" he asked.

"It was one of the few things that kept me going," Loki admitted.

"You should keep it then," Quill insisted, pushing it back to him. "I've got one with more songs on it anyway." Loki chuckled. He glanced at Quill's-no, his mixtape with a smile before putting it back in his bag. He nodded his thanks.

"Alright," Rocket cut in. "If we're all set, let's get going." Everyone nodded, trailing after Rocket as he led them to the ship.

"You got the icebox thing?" Drax asked, gazing right at Loki.

"You mean the casket?" Loki asked. He summoned it into his hands, careful to keep it a safe distance from his friends. "I summon it on command. It's always with me, like all of my weapons."

"Cool! Can you teach me that?" Mantis asked, her toothy smile bright enough to light the whole planet on fire. Loki smiled, flicking the casket away.

"It's not an easy skill to learn," he informed. "It took me hundreds of years of practice to truly perfect it even with my prior magical knowledge." Mantis continued to beam at him. "But if you'd like, I can try teaching you." If it was possible, Mantis smiled even brighter. Loki turned away, still smiling as they all made their way inside the ship. Loki placed his bag down. "Do you know where we're going?" he asked.

"None of us do," Quill replied. "We sort of just go wherever the wind takes us."

"There is no wind in space," Drax corrected. Loki ignored that comment.

"I'm going to fit right in then," he remarked. Quill sat down in the front seat, starting up the ship and with that, they were off.