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After Maggie disappeared with Loki and a group of crazily dressed warriors, Peter turned and looked up at the elegantly dressed woman next to him. He was scared of the danger his family was going to be in and confused at the fact that Maggie adopted him as her son and Loki was now his adopted dad. Huh. Two dads, that could be nice, Peter thought, still feeling tingly from the spell she had done and the teleport to Asgard.
"Come, dear," The woman said gently as she placed a hand on his shoulder and directed him towards a wide doorway where guards holding long pikes stood. Before they could get more than a few feet, a clang of metal on stone reverberated across the chamber, silencing the crowd of people gathered in the huge room. The lady paused and turned back towards the huge gold throne with the man (King/Pirate) with an eyepatch, “Yes, My King?”
“I would like to meet my grandson,” The King said. The lady smiled and started guiding Peter back towards the throne.
Softly the woman spoke to him, “Did your mother teach you any court manners?” She slowed her pace towards the throne, “Half bow to the King, three seconds and then stand straight with shoulders back.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Peter said just as softly, looking up at the kind face, “She taught me a few things but I never expected to use them this soon.” Which was true, Maggie had gone over many manners that had seemed strange at the time, including bowing. “You’ll need it if you take over Stark Industries, Peter. You never know when you’ll meet royalty and it would be good to be prepared.” She had made it fun, he had bowed to his whole family for weeks practicing, Dad had laughed and bowed back each time.
“Good. Now deep breaths, we’re almost there,” They slowed and then stopped about twenty feet from the throne and Peter did his bow as directed.
“Peter, this is King Odin Borson, All-Father, Protector of the Nine Realms, King of Asgard. Father of Thor and Loki, my husband and your grandfather,” the woman spoke loudly for everyone to hear.
Peter bowed again, “I am pleased to meet you, Your Majesty.”
It must have been the correct response because the lady squeezed his shoulder in quiet praise. They approached the throne as Odin descended to meet them while he signaled to a man who quickly moved to escort the crowd from the room.
“How old are you boy?” The Pirate King asked him.
“I am ten Earth years,” Peter said, remembering the talk with JARVIS about different planet rotations and how a year is measured. He didn’t know the measurement here so he used the best reference he could. “My birthday is soon.”
The lady smiled at him, “How about some food and you can tell us a little more about yourself. I am Frigga,” she paused, “I realized that you were never told my name, Sigyn was in such a rush. I’m surprised she followed the protocols as much as she did instead of taking a page from Thor’s book.”
Odin chuckled at that, “The Mother always made sure that she followed protocol, even when she was barely past my knee she would do her proper curtsey and address.”
Frigga led them towards a smaller side doorway and they passed through the halls filled with gilded items, several large paintings, and people in armor holding pikes. They turned down a smaller hallway and one side was all windows with a spectacular view of the city below and the other side held paintings of several familiar figures. Peter paused at a painting of a seated Maggie with Loki behind her with his hand on her shoulder. She looked happy, and a little younger than she did now. Her hair was a reddish color with gold pieces mixed in and was up in fancy braids, almost like a crown. She wore a jade-colored dress with gold jewelry similar to what she had magicked at their family dinner and Loki wore a dark green outfit similar to what he had been wearing the first time Peter had met him, just maybe a little fancier.
“That painting was done a year before she disappeared,” Frigga said as she stood behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder again, “It was the painting done for the official announcement of their engagement. It took me ages to get them to come to stay in Asgard to get it painted, Thor had them running around the Nine Realms tracking down some silly object.”
“It was not a silly object, My Queen,” Odin said as he leaned against his spear, “It was Jarnbjorn. Our eldest son lost it and I tasked him to find it, taking his brother, Sigyn, Sif, and The Warriors with him.”
“Ah, Thor always liked to downplay the severity of his mistakes,” Frigga said as she glanced once more at the painting and started guiding them further down the hall. They passed a similar painting of a much younger Odin and Frigga and then a lot of unfamiliar faces. At the end of the hall, they entered a round room with a round table set in the middle with food with four chairs. Frigga guided him to a chair and then sat next to him and Odin sat next to her across from Peter. She started to place things on their plates, things that didn’t look familiar but smelled really good. She poured a hot drink into his teacup (Peter thought it was a teacup) and then she started to take bites of her food while watching him for his reactions. Peter freaked a little as he looked down at the Asgardian eating utensils and remembered when he and Ned laughed at Thor. Who’s laughing now? Peter thought sadly as he picked the utensils up and tried to remember how to use them. He clumsily ate his food and Frigga gave him little tips as Odin continued to eat and observe. The Pirate King was a little scary.
“What do you know of your family, youngling?” Odin asked after several minutes of watching Peter struggle.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Sir,” Peter deflected as he dropped his whatever this was, a fork? A mini-pitchfork!?
“Your mother must have explained about her and your father’s realms and your family,” Odin sounded a little offended. At that moment Peter realized that they thought he was Maggie’s real son and that Loki was his real dad. Huh. Ok, he could do this. Between Thor and Maggie’s tales and his real dad’s lessons in deflection, he had this!
“Mom never really explained much, she would tell me stories and when I met Uncle Thor last year he told me a few more. I met my dad last year too, but I never got a chance to get to know him before he, Ummm died.” Peter was telling the truth, he had only talked to Loki a few times and spent less than a day with the guy. When Loki ‘died’ right after and Maggie lost her memories she hadn’t told him any more stories, it had been a sad and crazy year. Frigga looked a little sad and she continued to sip her tea and contemplate what he had told them.
“Then we will make sure that you are well versed in what your station requires,” Odin said, “I believe the tutor your parents and uncle had as children is still available.”
Whoa, he was going to learn stuff here!? Yes please! Odin and Frigga looked at him shocked. Oh. “Did I say that out loud?” Peter asked meekly as he slumped in his chair and poked at his food.
Frigga laughed, “Yes, dear. You will learn as many things as you want while you stay with us.”
Peter smiled and then remembered the reason why he was here. His real dad and his family were fighting for Earth and he was here eating and enjoying himself when they might be dying. He immediately felt bad and fought back tears.
“It will be alright, dear,” Frigga soothed as she took his hand and squeezed it, “They are strong warriors, your parents. With your Uncle Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three, nothing will stand in their way,” she said confidently.
Peter nodded at her and she stood and looked at Odin, “Peter and I will spend the day together while you meet with your Council. We will see you for late meal.” Odin gestured towards the doorway and continued his lunch (wow that guy could eat!). “Come, Peter. Let us go to the library and see if we can teach you a few things,” She held out her hand and he took it and followed after her.
******
Frigga had been shocked and overjoyed when Sigyn had appeared with a boy and then again with Loki just seconds later. They had appeared in the middle of the throne room while Odin was Holding Court for the Noble Families of Asgard. The interruption had been welcome since both she and Odin despised the tradition that Loki had once referred to as a “farce of duty and compliance”. Then to find that she had a grandson made the despair at the loss of her second son disappear, two gifts of life in one day! She suspected that Peter was not of their blood, but she did not care, nor could she judge. Loki was not of her blood but he was as much her child as Thor or Hela.
With their departure with Thor’s shield brothers and sister, she made her decision that she would bash her husband with Gungnir if he didn’t agree to this. When he readily interrupted her subtle dash for the doorway and asked to meet the boy, her mood brightened even more.
After mid-meal where she observed the child’s clumsiness with his eating utensils, she decided that she would take him to the library. It had been a family favorite and she had spent hours with all her children, together and separately, reading stories and teaching them lessons. Peter’s reaction to the massive room filled with books, scrolls, tablets, and many other tomes of the Seven Realms, encouraged her to lead him to her favorite nook. Pausing to grab a book of legends of Vanaheim, she sat down on the settee and encouraged him to sit next to her, “There are illustrations and it is not the same unless you see them as we read, or so your uncle used to tell me when he was a child.”
Peter approached her and sat next to her, not too close but just enough to be able to see the intricate, gilded illustrations that often moved and shifted as one read the stories. He was fascinated by the drawings and quickly sidled up to her, getting comfortable enough after a few hours to rest his head on her shoulder. They were interrupted by a servant bearing a tray of refreshments. Late meal was often several hours from midday meal and she had a standing request that a tray of small pastries and fruit along with tea be delivered to her location. Peter eagerly approached the small table that sat a few feet away and grabbed a pastry, he must have been hungry since he was still growing, and she settled next to him in a chair. Pouring each of them a cup of tea, she filled his plate with a few more pastries and some fruit, “Here dear, you’re uncle and father were always hungry while they were younglings… I believe they still have that problem,” she laughed and added one more pastry to his plate before she went back to her tea. As she sipped and nibbled at her repast, she observed him hungrily, but politely, eat as swiftly as possible.
“Thank you, Ma’am,” Peter replied after eating three pastries and a slice of apple, “it’s all really good.”
“You are welcome, dear,” she continued to watch him finish off the apple and another two pastries before he stopped to drink some tea.
“I was thinking a tour of the gardens, a change of clothing, and then perhaps then it would be time for late meal, what do you say?” She suggested as he made a face at the slightly bitter drink.
“That sounds good, Ma’am,” he replied as he set the tea down and drank an impressive amount of water.
Sighing she reached for his hand, “Please call me Grandmother, dear, or Frigga.”
He blushed and looked down, “I’m sorry, I’ve never had a grandma before…” He paused before he looked up at her, “but I’d love to call you Grandmother.”
“Good!” She was so elated, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been this overjoyed. Perhaps when Sigyn and Loki officially declared their engagement …? Right before Thor’s coronation…? She was not certain anymore…
“Come, dear, we have a garden to explore!”
***********
Peter enjoyed his time with Frigga (umm his new grandma?) the stories were amazing and he couldn’t believe the pictures that moved with her telling. Then the gardens filled with flowers and plants in unbelievably saturated jewel tones and the stories Grandmother told him were hilarious. His favorite was probably when Thor pushed Loki into the bushes and Maggie refused to talk to him for a whole year or when Maggie shaved Loki bald after he dyed her hair blue and Thor got him a blond wig and called him Balder.
It felt like he had a real family, like Ned’s huge extended family of cousins and grandparents. It’s not like he didn’t love his real dad and his mishmash family of uncles and aunts, but this felt like he was a part of a bigger family now with silly stories and a history. He knew that his dad had a really rough childhood (some of the stories that Uncle Rhodey brushed over hinted at it) and Peter had never missed having a sibling or grandparents (he did wish he had a mom, well Maggie kinda was his mom/aunt), but having now experienced this, he felt like he had been missing something before today. Then he felt bad that he was happy because this whole thing wouldn’t have happened without such tragedy (Earth was being invaded!) and he might lose his dad and Maggie and everyone else whom he loved.
Frigga must have noticed his mood change because she came over and held open her arms, “Come here dear,” she said as she pulled him in and hugged him. It felt nice, she smelt nice and it felt like a little slice of home, like Maggie’s hugs but different. He didn’t realize he was crying until he felt her hand run through his hair and he could hear her singing a lullaby in a different language. After a few minutes she pulled back and cupped his face, “It will be ok, love, your mother is the strongest being in the Universe and nothing can stop her as long as she has your father, uncle, and his friends behind her.”
It took Peter a second to translate that over in his mind, “Wait. What do you mean she’s the most powerful being in the Universe?” Before he could get an answer, there was a huge noise similar to what he remembered in New Mexico when Thor had appeared that night a year ago. It cleared before Maggie stepped out with Loki next to her. He ran into her arms and felt her hug him harder than normal, “Is everyone ok?” He asked eagerly as he looked up at her and she smiled and nodded.
“Yes! Everyone is safe and no major injuries. We won all thanks to JARVIS and his Iron Legion,” she said as she hugged him again.
“What happened?” Peter asked as he stepped back and looked up at her, eager to hear how everything went, “How’s the Tower? What about my Legos?”
She laughed and ruffled his hair, “I’ll tell you late, I promise. Were you good for Frigga?”
“He was an absolute delight. We had mid-meal with Odin, Peter needs to practice using his eating utensils, I won’t have my grandchild eating with just his fingers at the next Court Banquet,” she shook her finger at Maggie, “And then we spent the afternoon reading Legends of Vanaheim in the library. We then had a small meal before coming out into the gardens.” She smiled at him and then turned to Loki, “I expect you both at final meal tonight. Where is your brother?”
“Thor is helping the rest of the Avengers clean up the city, Sigyn insisted on coming to see Peter as soon as the Portal closed and the Chitauri were defeated,” Loki replied as he reached for Maggie’s hand and pulled her closer.
“I want to take Peter home, he’ll want to make sure the rest of our family is safe,” Maggie said to Frigga, “We’ll be back with Thor and the others, the Bifrost bridge needs repairing and I’ll need to absorb the stones...” She appeared to pale and looked afraid for a second before she forced a smile and went to hug Frigga. “Thank you for watching, Peter.”
“He was no trouble and I will be looking forward to many visits from my grandson in the near future,” Frigga said before she hugged Loki and then hugged Peter, “Bring a book for you to read to me next time you come, dear.”
Peter smiled and hugged her back, “I will Grandmother.”
Maggie took his hand and they stepped back and Peter felt himself get yanked off the ground and placed back right in the middle of the road in front of Stark Tower. Debris lay around and then he heard his name shouted. Turning he saw his dad out of his suit running towards him, “Dad!” They hugged and his dad picked him up and spun him around in excitement.
“Did you have fun, bud?” His dad asked as he set him back down.
“Yeah! Grandmother was awesome but Odin is kinda a scary Pirate King,” Peter heard laughter and turned and saw Maggie, Loki, and Thor laughing while the warrior people stood behind them confused, “What?”
“I can’t wait to tell him that,” Maggie said as she leaned into Loki, her arm over his shoulders and his arm around her waist, “Wait! Do you think I’d have to explain to Odin what a pirate is?” She asked the brothers.
“No, he’ll know the term,” Loki replied, a smug smile on his face, “but I want the honor of calling him that first.”
“Not if I beat you both to it,” Thor said as he approached Peter, “Here nephew, hold my Hammer.” He handed Peter Mjölnir and turned to see the reactions of the Sif and the Warriors Three.
“He is worthy!” Volstagg shouted as he ran forward and lifted Peter onto his shoulders and the rest gathered around him patting his legs and back.
*********
Tony turned to Maggie, “What did you do?”
“Umm, nothing,” She wouldn’t make eye contact with him.
“She is now legally his Mother in all the Nine Realms and Peter is now heir to Vanaheim and third in line to the throne of Asgard,” Loki said from behind him, “It also means that we are now both his Father.”
“What?!”