la vie en rose.

Loki wished that he could've spent the last couple of weeks really back on Midgard with his family because he'd missed them so much. Sadly though Loki had other duties he'd had to deal with here on Asgard where he couldn't even be 'himself', he was stuck looking like Odin. It hadn't been terrible, he just wished that he could've been with his family. He couldn't hold back his smile however he saw his beautiful wife and lovely little children walking up just in time to see the play he'd had written in his honor. Just seeing their little smiling faces was enough to lift his spirits. They were just getting so big and he really didn't want to miss out on anything in their lives. Again though, Loki just had responsibilities as the acting king of Asgard. He really didn't understand why Thor wanted to give all of this up, but he didn't argue either because it made it easier for Loki to kind of get everything he wanted.

---

Ellie sighed and rested her hands on her belly, she was thrilled that she and Thor were expecting a baby, but it honestly felt like the worst time to be pregnant, not that she really had any control over everything happening. When they'd arrived on Asgard only to find Heimdall, not at his usual post, she could feel that something was off, as well, even though she wasn't from Asgard, and she just hoped they could get to the bottom of things and quickly. "Well that's what we're here to figure out," she said honestly just as shocked as he was when she'd found out that Odin wasn't on Asgard anymore. Truthfully, Ellie was still trying to wrap her head around everything Thor had told her before they'd arrived. After all, they had believed Odin to be on Asgard, Loki to be dead, and the nine realms to still be protected.

Sigyn wouldn't lie, she wished that she could actually be with her husband presently on Asgard. She understood why they needed to keep up the facade that he was dead, however, and they really had made things work the last couple of years. They spent a great deal of time on Midgard actually, and within the confines of the palace, they were able to be a family as well. It was the best situation that they could be in honestly, and she knew that they had lucked out and Thor hadn't shown face on the planet since her husband's "death". As she watched the play with her children, she was completely unaware that her husband's brother was about to make an appearance. It wasn't until Kari tugged on her dress, having noticed that a hulking blonde man that resembled the blonde actor up on the stage had arrived with a petite brunette woman, that Sigyn realized her brother-in-law was there. Dark eyes widened in surprise, and she shifted her gaze over to her husband who was under the guise of Odin, and had yet to notice his brother's arrival. This wasn't going to be good at all.

---

"My father has never been this careless, nor would he simply allow the other realms to gear up for a fight without attempting to fix things." Thor said to his wife as they approached the center of Asgard, just outside of the palace grounds. He eyed a statue of his brother for a moment, shooting a look Ellie's way before they reached what appeared to be a gathering of people. They were all focusing their attention on something, and it wasn't until Thor had pushed his way through the crowd a bit that he realized what it was. A play...in honor of his brother. And there, lounging in a silken robe was his father, watching with a pleased expression as a scene regarding his brother's death played out. Something definitely wasn't right here at all. Why would his father sit here, focusing his attention on the arts instead of gearing up for a potential war? What had become of Asgard in his absence?

Loki had rather enjoyed the last couple of years. He'd been to Midgard quite a few times to just enjoy time with his family, and they'd, of course, come to visit him here on Asgard some as well which was nice. He'd even really enjoyed getting to be the king, even if he'd had to do so as Odin rather than Loki. It had been nice. He felt like Asgard was prospering and everyone was happy so what could possibly go wrong. Today was a special day, his family was visiting to finally see the play he'd had put together in his honor, and he was happy about that. It had been awhile since he'd seen Sigyn, Kari, and Vali so getting to see them would be nice. One thing he hadn't expected today, however, was seeing his brother and sister-in-law. It wasn't that he never wanted to see them again, but really he hadn't planned on ever seeing them again given everyone thought he was dead and that was okay with him as long as his wife and children knew the truth. When he happened to glance away from the play for a split second to steal a glance at his family and he saw them looking at something, he of course also looked. "Shit," he said knowing right then and there that his cover was about to be officially blown.

---

While Ellie's first experience with Odin hadn't been the greatest, she knew that Thor was right about this. There was no way Odin the king would neglect his duties. He wasn't the type of man who would let other realms gear up for a war against him and his people. Just like she couldn't picture him as a man who'd sit around watching theater. So yes something was most certainly going on here. Honestly, Ellie had a really good feeling that the man who looked like Odin was actually Loki, and part of her wanted to be wrong, but part of her wanted to be right about that as well. If it were Loki that would mean Thor hadn't actually lost his brother, Sigyn hadn't really lost her husband, and their children hadn't really lost their dad before they were even given a chance to know him. However, if it were Loki that also meant that Thor had grieved for his brother for nothing, that he'd technically stolen the throne, even if Thor didn't want it, and that he'd been lying to the people of Asgard for a good chunk of time now, and so Loki was just letting Asgard fall into ruin. "Whatever is going on here we need to get to the bottom of it. Because the people here deserve the truth. So do whatever you need to do,"

Sigyn knew that this wasn't going to go over well. If Thor and Ellie were here, then they knew that something was up, and it was only a matter of time before they discovered that Loki was actually alive, and that he hadn't died a few years ago. And that certainly wouldn't go over well in the slightest. Sigyn would totally understand if they were both kind of upset about it, but she knew her husband's reason for this whole charade. She knew that he wasn't necessarily doing it just so that he could have the throne. No, he'd done it so that they had the best possible opportunity that they could at being a family, and so far things had been working out really well. They really were a family, and sure they did spend some time apart when Loki couldn't travel with her and the twins to Midgard, but they made it work. And it was all honestly better than him sitting in a prison cell while she was out here raising their children. So, she knew that her husband's brother and sister-in-law likely wouldn't take this all too lightly, but it mattered not to her, because she'd been so damn happy these last few years, as selfish as it might come across.

---

Thor nodded in response to his wife's words, watching Odin closely for a moment before shifting his gaze briefly back over to the actors on the stage. This was certainly a dramatized version of his brother's death, and although he didn't want to believe it, he knew of one person who had always been one for dramatics. "See if you can find Sigyn, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she's here somewhere or not far from here." He told her, brushing his hand over her arm lightly before he took a step closer to where the man who appeared to be his father now stood, applauding along with the rest of the crowd as the play had just ended. "Father." Thor said with a nod of his head once they locked eyes. It was apparent to the blonde Asgardian that his father, or maybe it really was his brother, was extremely surprised to see him.

"Oh, look my son Thor has returned to us," Loki said pretty sure he knew that he was about to have his cover blown. "So now that you've brought us this lovely gift I suppose it'll be back to Midgard for you and your wife?" He asked hoping he could try and avoid drama, and he didn't want his cover to be blown, everything had been working out so well the last few years that he just didn't want it to end. He wanted to just keep on going how things were. He wanted to enjoy more of his freedom with his family. And thinking about it that way, maybe Thor would be willing to just let this all go and they could move on. It wasn't really as likely as Thor being pissed and not so willing to give Loki what he wanted, but he supposed his brother may be full of surprises also.

---

Ellie nodded as she watched Thor walk away to confront 'Odin' before she began searching the crowd for Sigyn. And when she spotted it her honestly it felt a little strange. Ellie couldn't really remember the last time she'd really seen Sigyn, and seeing the two small children next to her broke her heart a little too because she knew it had to be Kari and Vali and Ellie realized she'd never actually met them. After she and Thor fixed things they got married and then Ultron happened, and then she and Thor had headed into space to look for infinity stones, then the nightmares about Ragnarok started, and now here they were. Things had literally gotten so crazy in their lives that Ellie had never met Kari and Vali, it made her a little sad because she'd wanted to, and she hadn't wanted to meet them under these circumstances. "Sigyn, you look well," she said as she approached her old friend not sure how things were about to play out, but Ellie had high hopes that they'd go okay at least.

It had been quite a while since Sigyn had last seen her brother-in-law and his wife. She knew that them showing up on Asgard likely wasn't good. She vaguely knew of what was occurring in other realms, and she knew of the hostility that the other realms had for Asgard, but despite all of that, things hadn't been bad on Asgard. Maybe she was slightly biased being that, behind closed doors obviously, she and her husband had the family that they'd both always wanted. When her old friend approached her and the twins, she plastered a smile onto her face. "Ellie! It's lovely to see you, what a pleasant surprise. I'm assuming Thor is here as well?"

---

Thor could tell that something was off. None of what was occurring was the Asgard that he knew. No, it wasn't in shambles or anything like that, but his father had never once shown such love and admiration for the arts. He knew someone who had always admired the arts though, and that individual was supposed to be dead. "That's a very interesting play...what is it called?" He questioned, completely ignoring the All-father's question regarding his and Ellie's plans and whether they'd be leaving Asgard soon. He wasn't leaving until he figured out what was going on here. Although, he was pretty certain that he knew exactly what was going on. He wanted physical proof that he was right though. He wanted to know that this was all one of his brother's illusions again, and that he'd, yet again, faked his own death.

Ellie returned her friends smile before she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Yes, it's lovely to see you as well," she said wishing things weren't like this. "And yes my husband is here, he's actually going to confront his brother. Since you know he's just been allowing the nine realms to pretty much destroy themselves. Plus Thor and I would like to prevent Ragnarok," she told Sigyn biting her lip. "It is good to see you though. It's nice to finally get to see Kari and Vali as well," she said smiling down at the two small children in front of her as well. Ellie really was happy that Sigyn had been able to be a family with Loki for a while, but she was also slightly hurt that they'd kept this from her. She was sure Thor felt the same way. Ellie didn't hate Loki, she didn't hate Sigyn, she had wanted what was best for them, and she had wanted them to be a family. She just hadn't expected it to happen this way, and it didn't seem right that they could be happy like this.

---

"You know it's just a play honoring your brother, for giving up his life for us," Loki said convinced that his brother knew what was up. He had a really good feeling that this was going to be bad for him. But he didn't plan on giving himself up unless he had to. And he didn't want yet. Surely if he just gave Thor whatever he wanted then his brother wouldn't blow his cover. "So surely something brings you by, I mean you have been gone a while, and by the looks of your wife surely traveling the realms this much isn't good for her, or the baby it looks like she's carrying," he said hoping maybe Thor would give him an idea of why he was there, and a way he could figure out how to help his brother leave without blowing up everything.

[ sorry if this isn't the best. I wanted to reply before I left for work... ]