To Have And To Hold
It had been two weeks since Ophelia's arrival to Asgard and she was enjoying every minute of it. She spent her days with Loki exploring the beautiful city. She often had tea with Jane and Frigga to discuss wedding and baby plans. Jane was very excited to be a mother and to marry Thor. She hadn't really thought about what it might be life to be the wife of a God. Would she remain on Earth or move to Asgard? Ophelia also had these thoughts. Could she leave Earth and live on Asgard if Loki was needed there? Would he even want her to come with him if the issue came up? They hadn't talked about this visit to Asgard as a prelude to moving there permanently. They hadn't talked about how long they would be staying but Loki assured Ophelia it would only be for a few weeks. But she did think on it. Could she leave Earth? Could she leave her friends? Could she leave Wanda?
Ophelia sat in Loki's bedroom, the same bedroom he had slept in since he was just a baby. She loved looking at his things. His collection of books and stationary. All specifically hand crafted for a God. She thought to herself about how his childhood must have been. Through all the turmoil and pain in his life; had he had a happy childhood? Did he miss his time with Thor when they were so young? And did he wish for his own future children to be born and raised on Asgard? And did he even want children? It was customary for princes to have airs but Loki wasn't an ordinary prince. He never saw himself as the married with children type. But with Ophelia he started to feel like he could be that type of person. The only question that remained was: were they ready for that life to begin?
A soft knock came to the door and Jane peeked her head in.
"Lia?" Jane asked and Ophelia waved to her from her perch on Loki's bed.
"Is it dinner already? I'm starved!" Ophelia said hopping up and skipping over to Jane. The two linked arms and made their way to meet the Odinson family for their evening meal.
Upon arriving the feast had already begun and Thor and Loki stood to welcome their women to their seats. This feast was much more extravagant than all the other meals they had dined with the king and queen before. There were trays full of colorful foods Ophelia had never seen before and carts of different types of wines and pastries of all kinds. Ophelia's mouth watered at the sight. She had been so busy exploring the town this day that she hadn't realized she didn't eat much.
"What is the occasion father? Such exquisite tastes are usually meant for your parties." Loki asked.
"A celebration is in order. Thor and Jane have decided to wed in a months time." Odin replied and Ophelia looked to Loki with joy in her eyes.
"How exciting! Where are you planning to have the wedding?" Ophelia asked and Loki laughed. She looked to him confused.
"All Asgardian weddings are to be held on Asgard. The immortality spell shall be cast during the ceremony under the holy light of all Allfathers and Allmothers before us." Odin said. Ophelia nodded and Jane smiled softly.
"We will have a small celebration with the family before." Jane whispered to Ophelia. Thor winked at Ophelia and the table erupted into conversations about tapestries and wedding armor.
A week later the four were off to Earth to celebrate Thor and Jane's union with their Midargian family.
Central park was a beautiful place to get married at the tail end of winter. It was still cold but the trees had begun to regain their color. Tony Stark, the wealthy man that he was, rented out half the park for their event. Just a few rows of white wooden benches carved with patterns of various flower petals lined the slightly snow covered ground. A moss green aisle stretched from the back row of benches to the archway where Thor and Jane would stand. The archway was conjured by Loki as a wedding gift. Branches intertwined with one another with flowers native to Asgard and gold threats pulled through the stems. Thor and Jane stood at the archway holding hands and smiling at one another. No brides maids or groomsmen just Darcy at Jane's side and Loki at Thor's. The officiant being none other than Erik Selvig himself. A dear friend to the both of them. They spoke words of love and adornment to each other as Erik led the ceremony. The onlookers seated in the benches were nonother than their closest friends. Sam, Bucky, Tony, Pepper, Peter, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Vision, Wanda, Stephen, Christine, and even James Rhodes were there. They call came to celebrate their friend's celebration of love and union.
After the vows the newlyweds held a party at the newly renovated Stark Tower to celebrate their special day. The bar and lounge area was decorated with red and white flowers and photos of everyone that had been taken over the years. Ophelia marveled at Pepper's ability to put together such a beautiful scene in just one area. Music was played and everyone danced the night away. Ophelia and Wanda put on a little magic show. They lifted the newly married couple into the air and watches as Jane happily laughed as she floated about. The laughter was contagious and soon everyone joined in.
There was only speech spoken that evening. One Loki Odinson spoke words of well wishes to the couple. He kept it short and sweet, but with a little snark of course. Loki was not one to show deep emotion, especially before those who once despised him. But something about the joyful environment brought him to a tear. Just one tear. It rolled down his cheek at the end of his speech and landed on his perfectly pressed white shirt. Ophelia held him close for a moment to take in the vulnerable presence in Loki's aura.
At the end the night when everyone was either too drunk or too tired to stay up any longer; Loki and Ophelia teleported to their room at the Avengers compound. They sat on their bed and discussed the fun day they had had celebrating Thor and Jane. And just before Ophelia fell asleep Loki whispered in her ear.
"Marry me."