I'm crying so hard right now. And I keep thinking about what's making me sad and I cry harder.

What does 'UST' mean? While I wait for a reply, I'm gonna devour the next chapter.

But what is really frightening is the look on Max's face. He looks utterly grim.
Memory...
Early onset Alzheimers.
Darn!
And he hears Nari say, "Didn't your elven mother tell you most of Asgard descended from Frost Giants..."
Bitterness of truth.
"Natasha is off talking to the recent winner of the Fire Ettin Death Match thingy - apparently they were suitably impressed by the ferocity of her sex-slave-harem-dinner-in-a-pinch men."
Hilarious.
Tilting his head, he looks thoughtful. "Actually, it's been a long time since you've made that association."
Her memories return?
Good day, good night, and good luck. But remember, immortality is a curse as much as a blessing.

Loki Skywalker sees different realities...
Thor has known for decades Idunn's apples would be lost to him one day - it was part of the bargain he made with the Norns. Today is that day. In a way it is something of a relief.
Darn.
Loki closes his eyes. Eisa does remind him of Helen. And that is evidence this is a dream, right? Because Darcy never knew Helen and wouldn't think that...
Loki has told Darcy about Helen.
He has a plan, a very tentative, probably unworkable plan to reclaim immortality for Thor and Fandral and grant it to Darcy and Jane.
Interesting.
Fandral, don't be an idiot.
Loki bites his lip as though trying to contain his smile and almost bounces on his heels. And then he cackles. Pushing a mug to her he says, "I just single-handedly devalued the currency of Latveria this morning."
Poor Doom...
"They will all die in fire!" Loki screams.
Don't! Don't destroy yourself.
Hogun... Be wiser, more tolerant.

Heimdall sighs. "You do not have to do this, Trickster. You can go back to your mortal plaything and love her before she withers and dies."
She is not a plaything. And if Loki has time, he will bring apples.
Suddenly Sif's face is above his own. "You killed my brother. You will pay, Monster. Don't think for a moment I will let you die."
Sif is an idiot.
"This is Eisa, Your Smallness. She will be your maid," says Vili. One of the guards barks another laugh. But it doesn't sound at all cruel.
Good.
Glancing at Loki, Odin turns to Eir. "You will tell no one of this, not even Frigga, on pain of death."
Eir might tell Frigga, even if she has to die for that.
And then there is another searing blast of light and Sif crumples to the floor, her sword falling just inches from Loki's knees with a clang.
Sif still hasn't given her oath. Sif will tell.
...and they don't know Loki is Lopt, the one responsible for all the recent changes on their world. Changes they want...They only know how he nearly destroyed their world.
Sad.
"Shhhhhhh...we need your help - we have to rescue our father."
Loki's children... Thank you.
"This is from Sif, sealed by our grandmother, Frigga. It can be read by no one but Uncle. Take it to him as soon as you are able."
Good.
"You went to the Norns. You idiot! What did they take from you? Whatever it was, it was not worth it." The words were cutting and caustic even to his own ears.
Loki cares.
Odin and the Diar have taken away Loki's physical freedom and his magic, but unlike Thanos and the Chitauri, they have not restrained his mind. There are no drugs in his system. His mind is his fortress, and his sanctuary.
Good.
Thor planted the seeds of hope in Loki and hope is destroying him.
Thor, come, before it's too late.

...the remnants of the second Chitauri invasion. Pockets of Chitauri mercenaries are scattered across the globe. But if it hadn't been for Loki's intervention, things would be much worse.
Thank you, Loki.
She's under orders to try and get him to eat. Loki has only been a "guest" in the suite a few weeks and he's noticeably lost weight. He declines assistance from the SHIELD medstaff. Fury is concerned.
I wonder why Loki doesn't wish to it. Does he try to kill himself, or is he bored? Most likely, the latter. I don't know what he seeks: better food, or interesting sights, or entertaining people.
"You don't look so different from Mystique and Nightcrawler. Since the invasion, blue people are getting a lot more respect!" He is so obviously caught up in the being blue thing.
Aesir-rased associate blue skin with Frost Giants, monsters.
His teeth are white and flat. Thor said they would be sharp and pointed; Darcy's not sure why.
Thor thinks Frost Giants to be blood-thirsty brutes.
Loki is in his armor, spilled out on his back on the floor. A blue hand shoots forward and grabs her wrist before she's even hit the speed dial for Fury. "Are you alright?" The hand on her wrist shakes ever so slightly. "I am not alright, but I will be."
What is going on? I will take a guess, and say that Loki's magic has recovered enough to call his armour from ...somewhere... but he is exhausted. There is no sign of somebody attacking Loki.
"After my first misadventure with the Chitauris, they managed to find me...they hit me with the same weapon. This time the damage is more extensive; I will recover, but it will take longer and I'd rather not share the scope of my injuries with the world." Her eyes widen. "When you disappeared! You'd lost your powers..." He rolls his eyes again. "Yes." He puts a hand on his face. "Well, not as badly. I was able to maintain my true...my Asgardian form...most of the time."
Interesting. I just hope that the Chitauri will not seek Loki until he recovers fully.
"I had a meeting with Fury and Mr. Stark downstairs this morning. I overexerted myself." "At a meeting?" "It was a long way to walk, and I had to sit up for a long time." And he was wearing his armor which Darcy is beginning to suspect weighs at least a ton.
Ah, so simple...
They have an agreement; he'll let Darcy help him get better if she keeps her mouth shut about just how weak he is. Helping Loki get better at this moment means helping him get some exercise.
Amused.
"Yes, you know, you were always giving the gods their comeuppance. Laying out their hypocrisy at that feast you went to -" "To be fair," Loki says, "I was extremely drunk that night."
Amused.
Darcy's brow furrows. "Yeah...Heimdall. He's the gatekeeper." And in the story Loki kills Heimdall, too. "He's also the creator of classes among men. What good is a gatekeeper if there's no fence?"
Loki is Skywalker, he can move between realms without need for Bifrost. But others, like Thor, either lack the ability, or do not use it.
Darcy's managed to get him to confess that the weapon that ripped his magic from him also rattled through his lungs and left abscesses. He says he'll recover when he gets his magic back.
When will it be?
"Tell father to apologize, and to claim it was a mistake. Humans will know it's a lie...but... It will give both sides a chance to breathe. And maybe it will give Asgard enough time to realize it was a mistake."
Odin the Deceiver.
Patrick is pathetic. Attempting to force a woman to spend time with him because he cannot charm her into voluntary agreement?
"I can hear it in your voice," she says. He smirks, and then whispers. "Maybe."
I haven't seen snow for a long time... A proper, cold snow, at least knee-deep, with crust of ice, with fir trees's boughs groaning under its weight, and sharing it generously with those passing by.
"He just wants me to play my part, of course." Something forced in that chuckle. "Your part?" she says. Loki says, "My part. And part of me really does want to." He's still smiling.
Does Fury attempt to seduce Loki with Darcy, or Darcy with Loki? Or somehow else blackmail Loki? Loki doesn't take well to orders, or threats.
He's not sure if it amuses or saddens him that she finds him attractive in this state. She sees only his hands and his face which are relatively scar free. If she could see the rest of him...
Scars are not sign of ugliness; they are signs of their cruelty, and your bravery, stubbornness and endurance.
Didn't the warrior Volstagg tell Loki and Thor Jotunn have a sense of smell as keen as beasts?
First, Darcy doesn't know you are a Jotuun. Second, she hasn't heard Volstagg's words.
Loki blinks and treads his feet. "You know, it's not bad." He blinks again. "It's actually...invigorating." It's cold but not that cold.
Hilarious.
...but there are battle lines being drawn and Heimdall is watching. Loki knows which side he will fall on. Thor holds out his arm and Loki stares at it. Surely Heimdall will not count this gesture of goodwill against Thor?
Loki will be on the side of Midgardians. I cannot know of Thor's choice.
Loki smirks. "I've only been beaten in one eating contest in over 1,000 years," he says.
Logi.
She has forgiven herself for the crush she had on Loki when she worked for SHIELD. She was adrift and he paid attention to her and well - he was magical, blue and hot; of course she would have a crush.
Darcy... I wish you well. But Loki is better than David.
"Darcy! Listen to me! He needs someone he trusts."
What is happening?
"That the Avengers disappeared. After a few days you got worried; you went and found them in an alternate reality where the alternate version of you had taken over Earth and was burning it to the ground."
Darn.
Loki smirks. "I am sure if I really wanted I could have found a way to turn him over to the other Odin. But apparently I am unable to do that even to my worst enemy."
Not surprised. Loki has always been imaginative. Subduing him would have been too difficult. Redeeming him, even more so.
"Great distinction," says Darcy. "I'm not a child. He knows that; he should trust my judgement."
Agree. David should trust her.
"Father was never going to let me marry Jane, or let her partake of Idunn's apples! It was all a lie!" "I thought Odin had agreed. She is brilliant and strong minded, surely -" "The test was always to be rigged," says Thor.
Odin the Deceiver.
Shaking his head, Thor closes his eyes and wipes his face with his hands. "She says she must pick her battles." Loki blinks. He would have expected Frigga to take Thor's side.
Why? What is more nefarious than breaking Jane, Thor's heart?
How Jane told Darcy she probably wouldn't marry Thor if it weren't for the baby, how she could already see the burden of her and the baby's mortality weighing on him.
Maybe, they will get the apples, with time.
"I'll be happy here, I'll be happy there. I don't think it's what David wants. I think he wants to work at Stark, but he's too stubborn to go back."
I don't feel sympathy for David. Somehow, I am afraid he is a spy against the Avengers.
"David's also frustrated because he can't get clearance to the Vault. He thought it was because he wasn't a citizen...but he is now."
David... You are too curious. I am 99% sure you are a spy.
She has been stressed over her upcoming portrait session with Erik Lehnsherr. He's not known for being an easy man to get along with, especially if you're not a mutant.
An interesting person.
What is David saying about the shuttles? Has somebody sabotaged the project? Heimdall?
The curse of being sane is empathy and pain.
Agree.
She had the nerve to talk to the supposed-destroyer of Thor. He's not a bad fellow, actually. He is more ancient than Odin, I think...mysterious, and he talks in riddles, but good fun.
I like Jor.
"Her magic, her natural magic, was to reveal the truth of people and things - not just of appearances, but what lay in people's hearts. Even I couldn't lie around her."
Beauty of Cassandra...
"She was murdered. Truth is inconvenient, especially in a court. And especially if you have a perfect reputation that is nothing but twisted magical glamour." "Baldur?" whispers Darcy. Loki squeezes her hand. "Always perceptive my dear." Too quickly he says, "I didn't kill him." Which is the truth, but not quite. Loki consulted on the death of Baldur - at Odin's behest. Even the All Father had seen the danger of a prince who was exalted as the purest expression of the beauty and wisdom of the Aesir - and who was a complete lie.
Painful. Twisted.
She smiles. "But it's okay. Loki is a friend of mine. Where are they?" At the word "friend," the body language around her changes subtly, and they all start slowly backing away.
Amused.
"I don't know what the big deal is," Steve says plaintively. Loki heaves a throw cushion at him. "You failed to acknowledge her obvious wisdom and maturity!"
Opposite to Midgardians...
Loki tsks. "Barbaric Midgardians."
Agree. Poor cats...
"Sometime soon you will get the opportunity to travel to Jotunheim. Promise me when you get that opportunity, you will take it."
Remember.
Darcy turned and stared at her sons, too mad to say anything. Loki-Cock Block sat down, wrapped his tail around his feet and purred. It sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
I thought so.
Steve, don't let Darcy create her armour.
More specifically, lead the armies of Hell against Asgard - and kill Heimdall. And be killed by him. She doesn't know how exactly Loki sees it as atonement, but she does know what Loki is doing.
Howl of the wolf amidst barren snow, under black sky and silver stars.

Your story is beautiful. It's got quite a few grammatical and spelling errors but that's just semantics; something easily fixed. Structurally and characteristically; it's a masterpiece - possibly the best fanfiction I have ever read : a class all on its own. Your writing style is perfect. Everything is perfect.
I just wanted to say that your story got me through a really hard time in my life. I spent a whole night reading it and crying like a baby through more than a few chapters because it hit so close to home, thematically. So I just wanted to thank you for writing it from the very bottom of my cold cold heart because it was a life saver. Thank you even more for choosing to share it with the fanfiction community. You are wonderful and glorious and all around, a good person.
Thank you StarTrekFanWriter.

That was amazing. Read the whole thing in a couple of days, I just couldn't stop reading :D

That was quite a story, though I'd love to see a sequel with more of them and happier times. ]

I really liked the ending - it was wrapped up very nicely.

Beautiful!

All right...so it's an AU, which I don't usually enjoy. But it's a brilliantly done AU, with really excellently heartbreaking characterisation and a plot that has kept me intrigued all the way through.

Lovely, lovely, lovely. Now to poke through all of your other work, and check out the original things, as well. :-)

Wonderful! You write so well & truly wisely

This one ranks up there with the best fanfics I've read here. I absolutely love how you defined each character, the plot, and the flow.
Thank you for writing and sharing this wonderful story.

Lovely lovemaking, completely in character & organic with your story *sigh* I want such romance! ;-)