He bent down with her and smiled softly, glad that at least she was speaking. He looked back up at the incubator and shook his head “You were going’s to be the new prince of Asgard, the first in a while. Now, you’ll be a prince in Valhalla. I would much rather you here with us but if you keep mother happy then there’s nothing more to say. I hope you grow to be as beautiful and intelligent as your mother, if you learn a few tricks along the way, remember, that’s all your grandmothers fault, not ours.” He teased, laughing through some tears. “How I wish I could’ve taught you all that my mother told me.”
"I hope you become as clever as your father, with the stubbornness of your uncle and the determination of them both. With that and your grandmother's willpower, you'll do anything," Avalin whispered, wiping at her face as her smile wobbled, "My little prince, you are loved. Even if you made work hard, I wouldn't trade you for anything, we miss you already." She slowly stood up as she whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat and leaning against Loki heavily as she ever so reluctantly let her tears flow again.
Loki, wrapped her in a secure hug and kissed her head, smiling sadly at the still baby. “We always have, we always will, young prince. May you live forever in Valhalla as well as our hearts.” He whispered, letting his hand drop from the incubator glass. He took in a shakily breath and looked away, glancing back to where Markus was standings and nodding
Avalin slowly dropped her own hand from the glass, wrapping Loki in a tight hug and pressing her face into his chest. Another barely audible sob could be heard from her and she did her best to stop her crying, especially as they started away from the incubator.
Magnus returned the nod that Loki had given, making his way to the incubator and only pausing for a minute to rest a soft hand on Avalin's shoulder. "Your son is at peace in Vahalla, he's safe and in no pain," He said gently before continuing over to the incubator, pressing a surprisingly steady hand to the glass and talking softly.
Loki held her close, even as they walked back towards the room, allowing for Magnus to have some time with the child. He didn’t say anything, not that there was anything to say in times such as these, so he just walked around the infirmary with her, pausing every so often to make sure she was alright or if she’s need anything from the small cafeteria or rest rooms.
It took her a few minues to rein in control over her tears, but when she did, she refused to let them fall again. She looked defeated, and shook her head no whenever Loki asked her if she needed anything. All she wanted to do was hug him until life was back to normal and he didn't have to leave so soon.
He led her to the servant’s quarter, not wanting to be anywhere near the infirmary at the moment. He quietly closed the door behind him and led her to the bed, wanting her to rest. He gently pulled her close, knowing she was still probably in pain from hours before. He kissed her head and wrapped her in his Armani once again, never wanting to let her go ever again
"How long before you have to go?" She asked, murmuring the question against his chest as she pulled herself tightly against him, "How long do we have left to be together?" Avalin let her eyes flick closed, feeling just how incredibly tired she was but forcing herself to stay awake. The last thing she wanted was to fall asleep and miss time with him. Who knew how much longer it would take for her to work off the rest of his sentence.
He took a deep breath, having hoped not to think about just how long he would be apart from his wife. “I’m not sure, probably until morning. Maybe at best 9 more hours.” He glanced down at his beloved wife and shook his head, gently stroking her tear stained face. “We have eternity my love. Don’t worry, this will all be over soon.” He pressed a kiss to the bridge of her nose and tucked her safely in his embrace. “Sleep my angel.”
She shook her head, saying softly, "I don't want to waste any time with you, I'll sleep tomorrow." Avalin looked up at him, pain and sadness still clear in her eyes as she whispered, "How long should we wait to name our child?" She didn't want to think about the tiny still child in the incubator, but it kept her mind off sleeping. It kept her mind going, and all she had to do then was focus on keeping her eyes open.
“My love, you need sleep.” He argued lightly, gently caressing her cheek. He took a deep breath and and pressed a kiss to her cheek, knowing she wouldn’t even consider sleep today. To be honest, he couldn’t either.
“Alright, have you narrowed it down or do you have a set name?” He asked, smiling softly despite the day’s event.
She mustered up a tiny weak smile before shrugging, leaning back against him, "We had decided on Leif or Alaric earlier…but I'm not sure if you still like those names." She let her eyes flick closed for a second, resting a hand over her stomach, almost missing the feeling of being pregnant now that her child was gone.
“Hm, we did, I still like those names. Maybe we could somehow use both?” He suggested, gently stroking her hair. “Or one could be a nickname.” He said, he glanced down at her and gently rested his ha d over hers. “It’s going to be okay, love. Maybe not now but soon.”
"Leif Alaric Odinson?" She suggested, shrugging once more and mustering up the same weak smile from earlier. Avalin looked up at him, sighing and leaning against him, "I hope you're right my love..right now it doesn't feel like anything is going to be ok." Gently she pressed a kiss to his cheek, seeming to relax fully for the first time all day as she softly confessed, "With this, and you in that cell, and my..nightmares from those five years..it has to be alright soon or I don't know how much more I can take."
He nodded liking the name, save for the last name. “Maybe the last name could be changed but other than that, I like it.”
He shook his head and hugged close “my love, please don’t say that. Don’t worry about me, I’m the least of your worries at the moment.” He was surprised to hear about the nightmares, having not really had heard of them since they had finally found each other on Earth. “Have you told anyone else about the nightmares?” He asked softly, brow creasing in concern
She barely shook her head, looking down at her hands rather than meeting his eyes, "No one knows, not even Magnus. I didn't want to worry anyone." Her nightmares weren't things she liked to think of, and so she kept them to herself. "Please don't tell anyone," She added quickly and quietly, "I can handle them for however long they last."
He shook his head again and gently caressed her cheek. “I won’t but love, at least tell Magnus.” He looked around the room for a moment, concentrating on the door before waving a hand, conjuring two thin bracelets. “This should help with the nightmares.” He said, handing one off to Avalin and slipping the other on his wrist. “I probably should have used these sooner.”
Avalin nodded, acceping the bracelet and studying it before slipping it over her wrist, "What does it do?" It was pretty, and though it would get in the way when she was cleaning, she wasn't going to take it off. "I'll tell Magnus in a few days..I don't want to pile more things to worry about onto him."
“You’ll see tonight.” He smiled softly and hugged her, lacing his hands with hers. “It’ll help the nightmares.” He added, leaving the rest to be a mystery.
“Please tell him darling, he worries about you too. If I can’t be there for you, I want him to be at least until the sentence is lifted.”
"He doesn't need to worry about me more than he does though..and I'll make sure your sentence is lifted as son as it can be, I promise," She replied softly, hugging him tightly, "I'm going to work hard for you. You don't deserve to be locked in there, that was supposed to be my punishment." Avalin sighed, forcing away the exhaustion once more as it creeped closer.
“Avalin, you don’t deserve any punishment. It’s not your fault that you were Gods know where for 5 years. I shouldn’t have been so reckless when deciding to go somewhere, especially here.” He reasoned, frustrated with himself once again for not thinking things through. “It probably would have been better for the child too,” He looked away for a moment, wondering if all he had to do to have his son in his arms now was not come to Asgard, preventing them from being separated.
“Love, don’t work yourself to exhaustion, please. I’m alright for now. You don’t deserve to work so hard if at all, especially since what happened today.”
"I asked you if we could come here though," She reasoned, shaking her head and blinking away the tears that were threatening to spill over again, "Who knows what would've happened if I didn't do that." Avalin turned, shaking her head once more and sighing, "I'll take a day off, I need the rest…but then I'm going to start working again." She had no clue if not asking to go home would lead them to have their child in their arms right now, but it was the decision they made, and there was nothing they could do about it."
He would have preferred if she take a few weeks but if she was willing to take even a day, he wouldn’t argue. He pressed a kiss to her head and took a deep breath. “You drive me insane munchies love, you know that right?” He tilted her head up and smiled softly, kissing her nose. “But I love you.” He nudged her head affectionately.
Another weak smile passed across her face and she pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "I married the person whos best at driving me insane, so it's only fair." She kissed him again, snuggling against him and sighing gently. It felt right to be in his arms again, and being so comfortable made it torturous not to fall asleep.
“Hm, true. I wouldn’t have asked for anyone else to be my wife.” He kissed her back, wrapping her in his arms. “My queen, what will I have to do to get you to sleep a few hours?” He asked softly, nudging her head gently and kissing her brow. “Please? Even if it’s just a couple hours, you need rest.” He tucked her under his chin and drew the sheets over them both, wrapping them in warmth.
She thought for a minute, settling in comfortably under the sheets. "I don't want to waste any time with you, love. You know Thor won't let you stay longer…but if you insist that I sleep," She paused for a second, talking softly, "I insist that you wake me up well before you have to go, and that you sleep too." Avalin laced her hand with his, adding on gently, "Gods know how little sleep you get."
“No time will be wasted, my love.” He reassured , lacing their hands together, the bracelets softly clinking against each other. “Barely any, not without you by my side.” He kissed her head and nodded “I’ll wake you before I go.” He promised, shifting slightly so that they were more comfortable. “I love you, My queen. Sleep well.” He kissed her head, waiting for her to drift off before he did
"Sleep well my king," She mumured back, snuggling against him and letting her eyes close. It was incredibly easy to let herself fall asleep and within minutes she was passed out, seeming calm and not stressed for the first time all day. Even in her sleep, she kept his hand laced with hers, using it as a reassuring lifeline that she was safe.
He smiled softly as he watched her for a few more moments, content with having her in his arms after so many months apart. He whispered a few words to the bracelet before slowly drifting off to sleep.
When he opened his eyes, he knew he wasn’t awake but in a dream, was it hers? Was it shred, he didn’t really know. He assumed it was night time in the dream, he saw the familiar landscape of Asgard as he walked around, looking for any sign of life. He stopped near the lake side, reminding him so much of the house they had back on Earth. He stopped low and touched his fingertips to the water, causing small ripples on the water surface
Avalin wasn't sure where she was when she opened her eyes, and for a minute she thought it was another nightmare. It didn't feel like one, but from the lack of people it very well could've been one. Even as she looked around, noting that it was Asgard, she still was on guard, especially as she wandered the streets, heading towards the palace.
