Blood Moon

Eyvor woke up to find herself alone in the bed, which was odd. Usually, she was up first, at the break of dawn, while the boys slept. Today, though, she was left with cold sheets, and she sat up, blinking blearily around the room and trying to find them. She was alone. There was a note written and stuck to the fish tank, though.

Went out. Be back before lunch. –JL

Well, at least he left a note. She rolled her eyes in fond exasperation and fed the fish before curling up on the couch with a mug of tea and thinking. Not about anything in particular, just letting her mind wander. She didn’t have anything planned for the day other than doing things with the boys, so she was left a bit adrift. Eventually she got up and made herself some breakfast, but she just returned to her place on the couch and got lost in thought.

When the door opened, startling her from her thoughts, she turned to see the rare sight of Jake honest-to-Frigga beaming.

“What did you do?” she asked with a smile.

“Un regalo para ti, mi amor,” he replied, holding out a small wrapped parcel to her. 

“For me?”

“Open it,” Jake answered. She set her long-cold mug on the floor and took it, untying the bit of string and pulling apart the paper to reveal a small, leather-bound booklet. It had an emblem emblazoned across the front, along with the words “NORGE NOREG Norway PassPort” in gold lettering.

“What? What is this, Jake?” she asked, tilting her head in confusion and looking up at him.

“Look inside,” he said, still grinning at her. After the blank page inside was a page with a picture of her on a blank wall, her face blank, but she was more interested in what was written beside it.

“Eyvor Lockley.” She blinked. “Did you just marry me without telling me?” she asked, looking up at him in a mixture of shock, joy, and confusion.

“Quizás.” She needed Marc to start teaching her more Spanish again.

“You didn’t even ask?”

“You gave Steven my name already,” he replied with a shrug.

“I don’t have a last name!” she exclaimed, their age-old bickering repetitive by now. “I’m sorry!”

“I don’t mind, gotita, but that’s not what this is.”

“What is it, then?”

“It’s a passport. It lets you travel between countries. I put my name because you’ve already used it once.”

“How did you even get this picture?” He just gave her a mysterious smile. “Jake!”

“Don’t question my methods, rosa de sangre. And pack a bag.”

“Why? Are we going somewhere?” she asked, looking up at him in exasperation.

“Sí. I’m taking you to America.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One, flying in an airplane was the oddest experience she had ever been through, and she much preferred the Bifrost to an airport at four in the morning. However, she enjoyed playing games with Steven on the tiny screen in front of them, and watching movies with Marc and Jake. She missed Jake’s cooking immediately when they got dinner, but Jake promised her amazing food when they landed. She managed to fall asleep sometime during the night, and when she woke up to gentle nudging from Steven, they were getting ready to land. After blinking through the bright sunlight when he encouraged her to open the shade, she peered down at the tiny buildings below them through the clouds. 

“Is New York bigger than London?” she asked.

“London’s got more space, yeah,” Steven replied.

“Have you ever been?”

“Can’t say that I have.” He paused. “Jake and Marc have, though.”

“Well, I’m ready to get out of this flying tube,” she remarked, stretching her legs out into his space before settling again to watch the ground get bigger and bigger.

“Bit of a long flight, innit?” 

“It’s cruel to make me fly this, I hope you know,” she muttered. “Could’ve gotten here in minutes with Heimdall.”

“But you had fun, right?” Steven asked. She smiled and gave him a kiss.

“Always when I’m with you, solskinn.”

Once they were out of the airport, Jake fronted, grabbing her hand and leading her to the right bus, and then through several subways, where she stayed close to him and stared out the window at the huge buildings they were passing. London had tall buildings too, of course, but it still amazed her, when she had only been used to the height of the longhouses in Norway previously. When they finally left the subway, Jake walked her down several streets to a quiet, close neighborhood.

“It’s up here,” Jake said, nodding ahead of them as one hand had his luggage and the other had her hand. It was a sunny day, even though it was cold, and Eyvor looked around at all the houses tucked up next to one another, with small gardens and porches. It made her smile, since they didn’t have a garden back in London. It would be nice to have a bit of space, but she wasn’t about to make Steven pack up all of his books just so she could have a bit of grass. That’s what parks were for.

As they continued down the sidewalk, she heard children playing down one of the alleys between the houses.

Then the shouting began.

“¡Tio Jake! ¡Tio Jake!” 

“¡Mamá, Tío Jake está de vuelta!” They were swarmed by ten children, all of varying ages, grinning up at Jake and reaching for hugs or handshakes or just jumping directly onto him, making him let go of both her hand and his bag to catch them. Eyvor’s eyes widened, and the Spanish flew so quickly from everyone that even her slowly-improving skills with the language weren’t enough to help her understand everything. 

Adults began to appear in doorways and out of windows, shouting down at them, and Jake was smiling, waving and answering them, still with children dangling off of him from all sides, smaller ones latching onto his legs and keeping him in place. He was laughing, speaking to every single person that called out to him. She stood back, watching it all, something shifting inside of her. She’d never seen him like this, so relaxed and carefree, even in all the time that she’d known him. 

It was beautiful, and she loved him even more now than she ever had. More importantly, she liked seeing him with children and that was something to think about another time. 

“Vale, vale,” Jake laughed, shaking off a few of the children, who formed a little crowd around him and stared up at him with excited eyes. The two little ones on his legs remained where they were. “¿Dónde están tus modales, eh?” All eyes snapped over to her, and Eyvor felt herself flush from head to toe at the searching gazes of children who were obviously very important to Jake. “This is Eyvor,” he introduced in English.

“¡Oye! ¿Finalmente traes a alguien para que nos conozcamos?” a woman yelled from where she was watching them from her window, a dish towel in one hand and a dripping pot in the other. Jake smiled.

“Estar allí, abuela,” Jake answered. 

“Más te vale.” She turned back to her work, and that was apparently the signal for all the others to either call out greetings and return to their work or leave their porches and windows to come learn more. Eyvor found herself surrounded by people, some speaking better English than others, asking her questions, and Jake did not help her at all, only stood back and watched or entertained the children, who were all clamoring around him still. They hadn’t even gotten out of the street yet! It was immediately very different from anything that she had experienced, but in the best way. Her limited Spanish seemed to please those who didn’t speak English well, but she was hesitant to use All-Speak, since they would undoubtedly respond in kind, and she really didn’t know it that well yet. Marc and Jake had been working with her on it, but she wasn’t nearly fluent yet. Finally, the woman from before poked her head out of her window again and yelled something that had everyone laughing, and Jake took Eyvor’s hand, leading her away from the crowd, the children scattering back to their play and the adults back to whatever they had been doing before. Jake led her up the short set of stairs and into the door of the house. 

It was a small home, close and compact, but comfortable. Eyvor couldn’t help but look at all the pictures on the walls, and the plants hanging in every available window. It smelled amazing here, spices of all kinds combining into a mouth-watering aroma that permeated everything. It was warm, even though outside was so cold. Eyvor rubbing her hands together, even as Jake walked down the short hallway, calling out to the woman who lived here. 

“Jake, mi hijo,” the woman said, and Eyvor watched her take his face in her hands, turning him this way and that to inspect him. “Look at you, have you been eating at all? Sit, sit, mi hijo.”

“Abuela,” Jake groaned, even as he sat down at the small table underneath a window, ducking to avoid the hanging pots with ferns in them. 

“Sit!”

“I’m trying to introduce you to my wife, abuela!”

“Wife? You got married and didn’t call to tell your abuela?” She whacked him with a spoon, and Jake just did his best to cover his head with his arms. “Well, where is she?” Eyvor waved from where she was still standing in the hallway, watching all of this with a smile. “Don’t just stand there!”

“Abuela, this is Eyvor. Eyvor, Abuela Rosa.” Eyvor focused everything she’d been taught for this one moment.

“Hola Señora. Encantada de conocerte.” The woman looked over at Jake.

“You got married, and that’s the best you’ve taught her?”

“I–”

“Hola, cariña, welcome. Tell me all about yourself. Mi hijo, get the plates down. If you’d have called and told me you were coming, I would’ve made your favorites, but no! Disappear for months, not a word! I had to tell every one of those kids that I didn’t know when Tio Jake was coming home!” She whacked him with another spoon, and Jake just took it, a fond smile on his face that he hid from the old woman. “Now, sit, sit! Talk to me! Tell me how you know our Jake.”

“Oh, we met in London,” Eyvor said. 

“London?” Abuela looked at Jake. “¿Qué estabas haciendo todo el camino hasta allí?”

“Laboral,” Jake replied, even as he tried to swipe some of the meat cooking in the pan out, and she hit him with the spoon again.

“¡Oye!”

“Lo siento.” He wasn’t the least bit sorry. 

“You don’t sound like you’re from London,” Abuela continued.

“I’m not. I’m from Norway,” Eyvor replied. “I live in London now, though.” She nudged Jake’s arm when he sat down next to her. “Mostly, I just go where he goes.” She was given a searching glance by the older woman.

“We’re best friends, Abuela,” Jake said. “Besides, me dijiste que encontrara una chica bonita que me ame.” The woman rolled her eyes a bit, but she turned back to the stove and began pulling things to the table. 

“Well, you’re welcome here, Eyvor. Jake’s apartment is upstairs. Just don’t start making a bunch of noise, mi hijo. There are children around.” Eyvor and Jake laughed, and they spent the rest of the meal talking about how they met (leaving out the Moon Knight things) and carefully skirting around Marc and Steven, since Jake had never told anyone around here about them, before helping clean and going upstairs. “Make sure you’re down at Rico’s tonight, mi hijo!” Abuela called after them. “Gotta welcome you home, don’t we?”

“Si, Abuela,” Jake called down. Jake pushed open the door to the upstairs apartment, and Eyvor was instantly greeted with a small apartment, smaller than they had back in London. It was immediately obvious why, though; Jake didn’t have bookshelves loaded with maps and books like Steven did. He didn’t need all that space. In fact, Jake didn’t have any books at all. But there were pictures. Everywhere. Probably of the people on this street, Abuela Rosa downstairs, people that he knew, friends that he had. A whole life she didn’t know anything about. 

“Who are all these people?” she asked. “You didn’t tell me about any of them.”

“Yeah, well,” Jake shrugged a bit, setting his suitcase down on the ground in front of the couch, “I didn’t tell anyone about them, not just you, rosa de sangre. Not safe, when Marc’s an international hitman.”

“But you’ll tell me? Now?”

“Si.”

“I wanna hear all of it,” she said, putting her suitcase down next to his. The ceiling was low in several places, so she had to watch her head, but it was a small space, with everything in one room, like back in London. The couch was at the foot of the bed, and the kitchen table was right below the television, but it was bright, with windows. It was cold, since no one was living up here when he wasn’t, but Jake turned on the radiators to start warming things up. 

“I’ll tell you. Get cleaned up first, though. Bathroom’s behind that door. Party’s at dinner.”

“Party?” Jake chuckled.

“Oh, mi amor, you aren’t ready for this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was loud. So loud. There were so many people. And so much food. How was all this food ready in the single afternoon they’d been here? Eyvor had been introduced to so many people their names and faces were blurring. There were so many questions, both polite and intrusive. There were so many kids, running underfoot and shouting and playing, and all of them flocked to Jake before their parents shooed them away. But everyone who talked to her wasn’t mean. They were nosy, sure, and a bit rude at times, but Eyvor had been treated a lot worse by people she’d known her whole life back in Asgard. And Jake was smiling, and he answered their questions, and he laughed at their stories, and he kept pressing kisses into her hair and to her cheek, and he kept his arm around her shoulders or waist.

He was happy, happier than she’d ever seen him, and content. It warmed her more than the spicy food she was given ever could. 

Long after the sun had gone down, and even though it was freezing cold outside, there was music and dancing, and Eyvor had never been that good at dancing, but she liked watching it. It was nothing like she’d ever seen before. The movements were so different from anything she knew, and she was mesmerized by them. The music was already wildly new and intriguing, but the dancing? That was something brand new to her, and she wanted to know everything. 

“Qué estás pensando, amor?” Jake asked, having to speak directly into her ear to be heard over everything.

“Not now, but later? Teach me this,” she replied, turning to talk to him. He broke out into a wide smile. 

“I will, amor. I promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eyvor giggled as they both stumbled through the door into the apartment, Jake locking it behind them. “Watch where you’re going, tvillingsjel,” she laughed, dragging Jake further into the apartment, even as he stumbled, one too many shots with the group downstairs.

“‘M fine, amor,” he slurred, and Eyvor giggled more.

“You’re drunk,” she corrected.

“No, no, solo un poco.” He held his fingers up, pinching them together, and she laughed even more. 

“Bed, Lockley.”

“Disgusting.” Eyvor and Jake both stood up straight, and Eyvor pushed him behind her. He was here, in Jake’s home. That wasn’t allowed.

“What do you want?” she sneered. 

“There is a job to do.”

“We’re on vacation.”

“I don’t care about your mortal holidays.”

“Go do it yourself,” Eyvor snapped back. “We’re not going out tonight. It’s late. We’re tired.”

“So the people that–”

“No!” Eyvor snarled. “You don’t need us. You don’t! I watch, you know? I observe. I thought I was the only one. But it was Jake, and Marc, and Steven, too. There are police, and other heroes. Those Avengers? Go see them. Ask them for help. You don’t have to come to us every time.”

“Jake Lockley is my Avatar, and–”

“I can do your shit without you,” Jake snarled, stepping around Eyvor to get into the bird’s face with no trace of the drinks he’d had earlier in his stance or his voice. “‘Protect the travelers of the night,’ ¿sí? I will. I do. But you don’t have to show up all the time.”

“He’s supposed to enact your will, right?” Eyvor chimed in. “We will. But without you breathing down our necks.”

“Insolence!” He slammed his staff on the floor, but it reminded Eyvor of a toddler stamping their foot. “Without me, you would be nothing!”

“I’ve had enough of you bossing me around, pajarito. I’ll do this my own way.”

“You will–”

“Enough!” Marc. That was Marc’s shout. “We don’t need you anymore. Leave us alone.”

“Marc Spector, this has nothing–”

“He’s my brother, so yeah, it does concern me. If you would stop for two seconds and think, this is the better option. We stay Moon Knight, protect the people, and anyone who asks? Well, Moon Knight is Khonshu’s Avatar.” Eyvor noticed that he said “we stay Moon Knight.” She wasn’t certain if she should get her hopes up or not. “You’re already on thin ice with the other gods. You think this will help? Forcing us to work to the bone every night with no rest?.”

“It is by my power that–”

“We. Don’t. Need. You,” Marc snarled, but he switched with Steven and Jake for some of the words. “So you want Avatars? There’s millions of people on this planet, and we’re the only ones willing to work with you. Eyvor’s right. Police, vigilantes, those superheroes in that giant tower: all of them protect the people you want us to. You’ve got plenty of Avatars. You don’t need us, and we don’t need you. So leave us alone.”

The old bird was silent, and Eyvor grabbed onto Marc’s hand. She was proud of him. Even though this was her and Jake’s mess to clean up, he stepped in. With a gust of wind, Khonshu was gone. Neither of them moved. 

“Do you–wanna try the suit?” Eyvor asked cautiously. “It didn’t look like last time, but–”

“No,” Marc answered. “He left it. I know he did. He’s either pouting or thinking. Enjoy your night with Jake.”

“Marc,” Eyvor protested, and he looked over at her. She gave him a kiss. “Thank you, for standing up to him too. And you better keep your promise to show me around tomorrow.”

“I will. Promise. Have fun.” She smiled, and then Jake snagged her in a kiss, pulling her against him.

“Watchin’ you stand up to that pichón was a sight, rosa de sangre.”

“Well, we had plans,” she giggled.

“We still do.” He picked her up, making her squeal, and threw her down onto the bed, where she lay laughing as Jake shrugged off his coat and kicked off his shoes. He laid directly on top of her, and she kept laughing. 

“You’re squishing me!” she giggled, and Jake chuckled before biting at her jawline. 

“Plans, mi amor.”

“I know,” she answered. “Mind helping me get my jumper off?”

“Joder si.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eyvor had actually put effort into her outfit this time. One, it was cold. Well, not really to her, but she liked to be comfortable, so her jumpers she stole from Steven (and had no plan to give back anytime soon) and warm boots were staples. However, she and Marc had planned a whole day together, walking around the city and showing her places he’d liked to go when he had lived here. She loved his enthusiasm as he told her stories about his life in this city. But the best part? He held her hand the whole day, and when they had to sit in a bus or a subway, he would press random kisses to her temple while they waited to get to their stop. It was the easy affection he showered her with that made the day amazing. Jake and Steven had no problems with making sure she knew they loved her, but Marc had taken a long time to warm up to her in the first place. He was so comfortable with her now, and it made her so happy and was the best part of the whole day.

That evening was her and Steven watching movies and talking about all the things they had seen that day, since Steven had never been to New York. They talked long into the night, over one another and interrupting each other in their eagerness to talk about their favorite parts. 

“But the Christmas tree? Did you–what?” Steven turned towards the long-dark screen of the television because they’d stopped watching it a while ago. “Oh, sorry, mate.”

“What’s wrong?” Eyvor asked.

“Jake wants the body for a while.”

“Well, we can always talk tomorrow, or later?” she offered.

“It’s alright. Goodnight, love.” He gave her a kiss, and Eyvor giggled.

“Goodnight, solskinn.” 

When Jake gave her a smile, she raised an eyebrow at him.

“What are you planning, Lockley?”

“You’ll see, rosa de sangre.” She watched in amusement as he got up, moving the coffee table and other things out of the way to make an open space in the middle of his apartment.

“What are you doing, tvillingsjel?” she asked with a laugh.

“Come here, mi amor,” he said, setting his phone down on the table. Music began playing out of it, and her eyes lit up.

“Right now?”

“Abuela is visiting her sister tonight. We won’t bother her.” Eyvor got up eagerly, and Jake held her hands in the correct starting position. “Follow me, si?”

“Si.” Basic steps. Back and forth. She could handle that. Hip movements. Something she was unused to, but she was learning. Spins. Those were fun, even if she was worried she would stomp on his toes. Jake began to pull her in closer as they danced until they were sharing the same air, heads tilted close together while he led her around in the small space. It wasn’t anything fancy like some of the dancers from the night before, but for learning in the tiny area he’d created for them to dance in, it was perfect. She grinned, and he smiled back at her, until she had to focus on her feet again when she stepped on him accidentally.

Gradually, though, they stopped doing actual dancing and just swayed, sharing the same space and air, heads pressed close together. The music was the same, but they weren’t matching it anymore. 

“Amor?” he whispered.

“Hm?”

“We’ve been talking, the three of us.”

“Oh? Should I worry? Call Layla maybe?” He huffed a laugh and smiled.

“No. Got somethin’ for you.”

“For me? Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s Christmas. We did.” They stopped dancing, though Jake didn’t let her get far. He reached into the pocket on his shirt, keeping whatever it was hidden in his palm. “It doesn’t mean much to you, but here on Midgard, we’ve got traditions.”

“And I love those traditions,” she assured him.

“We know. So.” He paused, tilting his head towards the television screen, and he grinned. “Marc and Steven want you to know they helped plan this.” She giggled.

“What did you plan, my loves?” Jake gently took her left hand in his and slid something onto her third finger, and when she looked down, she gasped. It was a simple ring, just a silver band with a red jewel embedded into it. But she knew what that meant. “Eyvor, will you–”

“Yes! Yes! Of course! Oh!” She burst into tears, but she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. “Elsker deg, yes!” Jake laughed, squeezing her waist and picking her up slightly.

“Te amo, rosa de sangre. We love you.” She pulled back enough to kiss him, and she laughed/cried through the kiss.

“You really like it, love?” Steven asked when she pulled back again.

“Oh, solskinn, it’s perfect.” She gave him a kiss and squeezed him in a hug. “Thank you. It’s the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

“Good, that’s good. We thought so.” Eyvor’s feet were on the ground again, but she didn’t let go of the hug, and Marc pressed a kiss to her cheek first.

“We all want this, Eyvor, I promise,” he assured her. “Don’t–I actually suggested it first.”

“I wasn’t worried about that,” she replied. “I’m too excited. I–” She gently knocked their foreheads together. “I’ve loved all of you for so long. This–” She gave him a gentle kiss. “It’s perfect.”

“Really?”

“Really. Every bit of it. I love it. I love you. All of you. I’m so glad I found you.”

“Me too.” She kissed him again, and Jake was back, squeezing her in a tighter hug before slowly swaying again.

“Eyvor Lockley’s got a nice ring to it,” he commented in a smug tone, and she laughed.

“I knew you planned that, but not this well.”

“Trapped you, didn’t I?”

“No,” she replied, bumping noses with him and closing her eyes. “I’m not trapped. I’m happy.”

“Me too, amor. Yo también.”