Fic: A Traitor in the House of Odin (14/14)

[bookishwench]

Tony woke so late the next morning that it was nearly afternoon. Stretching and yawning, he stumbled out of bed. Pepper had probably been up for hours, and he found her in the living room, curled up with a book on the couch, a mug of hot tea steaming next to her. The room was still mostly in disarray, with streamers, confetti, noise makers, and the occasional lost glove or hat strewn around.

“Morning,” he said, coming up to her and giving her a kiss.

“Morning,” she said, smiling. “I’m just working on my New Year’s resolution to read more this year.”

“Better work on mine then, too,” Tony said, flopping onto the couch and putting his head in her lap. “I want to relax more. You know, take it easy, less stress, less drama, more making out on the couch. Wanna help?”

Pepper laughed, but put down her book. She stroked his hair affectionately and was just about to lower her head for a kiss when a sudden loud tapping noise made her jerk her whole body so abruptly that Tony landed on the floor. They both looked around the room, but the room was empty aside from them. The tapping continued.

“JARVIS, what’s that noise?” Tony asked.

“I have no idea, sir, but it seems to be coming from the window.”

He and Pepper stared at one another, then at the window onto the helipad. No one was standing on the other side, but weirdly, a shadowy form seemed to be visible on it, like a blurred reflection in the shape of a human.

“Wait, Loki can travel using reflective surfaces, right?” Pepper said.

“Yeah, but do you really think he’d be polite enough to knock before barging in?” Tony said.


“Fair point,” Pepper said, looking closely until the image became clearer. “Isn’t that Frigga? And she’s carrying something.”

“Probably just Peter’s bag,” Tony said, though he looked a little woozy. Frigga always made him inexplicably nervous. “He forgot it up there. I wouldn’t have thought she’d deliver it herself, though. I guess we’d better invite her in.”

“Frigga? You’re welcome to come through,” Pepper called.

She had already stepped closer to the window and was smiling as their visitor stepped gracefully through the glass and into the living room. Tony remained by the couch, still wary.

“It’s wonderful to see you again,” Pepper said. “What brings you by?”

The Aesir queen looked at her for a moment before she said anything, her expression uncomfortable.

“Something wrong?” Tony asked, frowning.

Frigga took a deep, shuddering breath and asked, “Are my sons here, by any chance?”

“Uh, no,” Tony said. “They blasted off last night with that other woman, the one who looks like she could kick my ass while fighting off a whole platoon of Marines simultaneously.”

Pepper surreptitiously elbowed him in the side for swearing in front of their guest, but Frigga didn’t seem to have noticed.

“Oh, I see,” Frigga said, looking rather lost. “I apologize. I don’t mean to disturb you the morning after your holiday.”

“Frigga, something is definitely wrong. What happened?” Pepper asked, concern in her voice as she moved towards her and took her free hand. “Are you okay?”

Frigga appeared to collect herself for a moment, straightening her back and hauling the bag beside her onto her shoulder.

“I have left my husband,” Frigga said, her tone stronger and more decisive. “I am embarrassed to ask, but at the moment, since my sons are unavailable, I do not know where else to go, and the Bifrost is not currently available to me. Would it be possible for me to stay here for a few days?”

“You’re divorcing Odin?” Tony said.

“There is no such thing as divorce on Asgard,” Frigga said, “but in as far as it is possible, yes, that is the general gist of it.”

Tony took a second to process that, then glanced over at Pepper. They both knew there would probably be consequences, but it was obvious from Pepper’s nod that whatever happened, she was down for it.

“Sure,” Tony said. “You can stay here as long as you want. No problem. Pep, can you show her to the guest suite on the fortieth floor? It’s not far from your kids’ apartments.”

“Your hospitality will not be forgotten or go unrewarded, Anthony Stark,” Frigga said. “Nor yours, Virginia Potts. I am most grateful.”

“Don’t mention it,” Tony said.

“Oh! Before I forget,” Frigga said, opening her bag and digging through it quickly until she found what she was looking for. “Peter left this when he had to flee.”

She pulled out Peter’s duffle bag, which didn’t look like it could have possibly fit inside her own much smaller one.

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that, well, as soon as he’s through doing his massive piles of vacation laundry,” Tony said, trying to sound nonchalant, but he was still weirded out by the subtle reminder that Frigga was definitely not human.

“I did that already,” Frigga said with a casual wave of her hand. “The socks might be a little damp still, but the rest is all in order.”

“Right,” Tony said, his tone just a bit unhinged at the idea of the queen of Asgard laundering Peter’s socks. “Great. Okay. All good. Perfectly normal. Everybody does laundry. I bet the fabric softener up there is spectacular.”

Pepper put her arm around Frigga’s shoulders, gently leading her towards the elevator doors. Tony thought he just caught the words “everything will be fine” as they shut.

“Nope, nope, not fine,” Tony said, collapsing on the couch. “My life is so damn weird.”

And with that, he went back to sleep for another three hours.