Author's Note: This is the censored version of this fic, since this site doesn't allow explicit content. There is a link in my profile to my AO3 account or you can search 'readbycandlelight' on AO3 if you wish to read the uncensored version. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! Thank you so much for reading!

It was Christmas Eve and Darcy Lewis had just put her five-year-old daughter, Molly, to bed. The 27-year-old single mother was curled up on the couch with her senior dog, Baker, and held the glass of milk and plate of sugar cookies that they'd left out for Santa, but she sat motionless with Santa's treats in her lap as she stared into the fire crackling merrily in her fireplace. Baker, all the while, stared at the cookies.

This year Molly had asked for her Godfather for Christmas.

It was so stupid. Darcy should've never opened her big fat mouth and said that she had a Godfather. It was just that a month ago a boy at kindergarten had been bragging to Molly that he had a Godfather who would take him to places like the ice skating rink and would buy him cool things like Avengers action figures… and after that Molly had been relentless.

She'd been nothing but an endless stream of, 'Do I have a Godfather? Where's my Godfather? Kale has a daddy and a Godfather, that's no fair! Who's my Godfather?!'

Finally, one day after Molly had gotten out of school for winter break, Darcy had cracked under the pressure: "Loki! Your Godfather's name is Loki."

Darcy hadn't known why that particular name had rolled off her tongue. Vaguely, she'd recalled taking some random course in college about Norse mythology… but the flat image of some trickster God wasn't entirely the reason why the name stuck. Lately she'd also been having dreams in black and white. In the dreams she was always in fog, and a name like a whisper would echo on the edges of her mind. Last night she'd finally gotten to the end of the dream and the fog had turned green as the name Loki, Loki, Loki echoed… Finally, she'd been able to place the name in her waking state. And proceeded to use the name in a lie to her young daughter.

Wow, Mom of the Year award.

But Darcy had already faced the horrible shame of telling Molly that she didn't know her father's name - she'd been partying hard in London on winter break back in college, and had ended up stumbling out of a pub with some tall, black-haired, and handsome stranger. She hadn't found out she'd gotten pregnant from the one-night stand until she'd gotten back to the states - so, she'd be damned if her daughter's fictional Godfather went nameless as well! Oh, he was going to have a name, all right. A slightly weird name, but nothing weirder than Kale, for heaven's sake!

Molly had zeroed in on the name, her blue eyes big and round with awe and delight. "Loki? That's my Godfather's name?"

"Yes… Loki." Darcy had felt a stab of guilt at the deception as Molly grinned in happiness. Quickly Darcy had run through a list of male coworkers and volunteers at her job as an animal shelter volunteer coordinator for the Sacramento County in her head, trying to think of one guy that might agree to be nicknamed Loki and take her kid ice skating. Yeah, that one was a head-scratcher. She'd have to think on that. Maybe she was going to have to find Molly a Craigslist Godfather…

"When do I get to meet Loki?" Molly had asked breathlessly in anticipation. "What is he like?"

In for a penny, in for a pound… "He's…foreign. From the North Pole."

"Like Santa!" Molly had squealed.

"Yeah, uh, he's actually Santa's accountant, that's why, you know, he hasn't been around, because he's such a busy guy. He's gotta keep track of every toy and gift in Santa's workshop for tax purposes."

Molly had nodded solemnly, not a flicker of doubt in her features that Santa needed an accountant. "So, when can I meet him? Can he take me to the North Pole?!"

"Uh, no, no! You know your toys are made at the North Pole, so you aren't allowed to go there because you might accidentally see them. No, Loki can, uh, meet you here in Sacramento some time after Christmas. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to meet him. And I can't wait to tell Kale I have a Godfather too!"

And that had been the end of that, for the time being. Darcy had thought she'd have time to figure something out about the whole Godfather thing after Christmas, but on Christmas Eve when Molly had been curled up with her and Baker in front of the twinkling Christmas tree and reading Christmas stories before bed, she'd sleepily said, "I just want my Godfather for Christmas. Santa can keep my presents."

So much for the Moana singing doll Darcy had gotten her.

Feeling deflated, Darcy had put her sleepy daughter to bed and kissed her goodnight.

Now back on the couch with Baker, she pulled the cookie plate out of his reach as she noticed him stealthily inching closer and closer. "Sugar cookies aren't for dapper old gents such as yourself. I don't care how cute you look in your Christmas sweater. Not gonna happen. Don't give me that sad look. Oh, alright, you can have one of your milk bones from your stocking, but only one."

Darcy set the cookies and milk down on the dining room table as she went to get a milk bone for Baker. Once he was happily wagging his tail and crunching on his milk bone on the kitchen floor Darcy went into her bedroom to retrieve Molly's presents. She went about artfully arranging the brightly wrapped boxes beneath the Christmas tree, hoping they would entice her daughter away from the thought of a Godfather come Christmas morning. She'd gotten Molly the aforementioned Moana doll, and some of the other standouts were a child-sized crochet mermaid tail from Etsy, a 'dingle hopper' Molly had begged for after re-watching The Little Mermaid for the millionth time (it was a fancy antique fork Darcy had found at a thrift store), and a large Bulbasaur Pokémon plush doll she'd stuck a large gold bow on and set under the tree as is because it was too large and soft to wrap. Darcy yawned and stretched when she was done, admiring her handiwork.

"Hope you like these, kid," Darcy said softly as she went to turn off the living room light, "because there's not much I can do about getting you a Godfather by tomorrow. Oh!" She'd almost forgotten about Santa's milk and cookies on the dining room table. Dear God, how horrible would that be if come morning Molly had seen Santa hadn't eaten his treat? Get it together, Darcy. She turned to the dining room table… and saw only crumbs on the cookie plate and the glass drained of milk.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd notice."

Darcy froze at the same time that old startled Baker sprang into action. He started barking, a tiny pudgy thing of rage, and barreled at the intruder. There was a slight flick of the intruder's hand and then it was like Baker's snarling was muted. He still went to town chewing aggressively on the man's boot, but poor Baker's efforts didn't seem to do much of anything because the man didn't exude any signs of pain.

"Y-you!" Darcy said in shock, drinking in the sight of the man. He was taller than she remembered, with slightly wavy shoulder length black hair. It was the man from that pub during her winter break in London five years ago: dressed in tight black trousers and a dark green sweater.

"How did you get in here? How did you find me? You broke my dog!"

"I'm here because you wanted me here. Also, your tiny beast isn't broken, I merely silenced him for the time being," said the dark-haired man, grinning as he also drank in the sight of her and took a step forward. "It really has been too long since we last met, hasn't it?" he said with charming delight and opened arms.

Darcy took a few staggering steps back and felt her back press against one side of the brick fireplace. "I- I didn't want you here. I don't even have your phone number. I don't even know your name!"

"It's Loki," he said intimately, taking one long stride and closing the distance between them. "I've been hinting at myself in your dreams, you know. Until the day that I could be here myself."

Darcy felt her stomach do a flip. Oh. Oh God. "Wait, what? Loki? You're… " she gulped, "…Loki?"

"The one and only."

Flashbacks of her night in London suddenly started to make sense. She didn't remember taking a cab but somehow in a green flash they'd ended up in some swanky penthouse suite in tones of black and green, and when she'd woken up from their night of debauchery she'd been back in her hotel room bed alone. Darcy would have thought it had all been a drunken dream if she hadn't ended up pregnant with Molly.

"You're Loki," she repeated.

"That's the ticket, she's got it now," he teased.

She shook her head, trying to absorb what was really happening. She felt lightheaded. "No, it's just I- I told my daughter Molly that she had a Godfather named Loki, and now you're here and your name is Loki. You're, like, the real Loki. Oh God, am I even awake?"

He lightly pinched her flannel pajama-clad hip. A flare of heat went through her at his touch.

"I'm told that mortals like to be pinched when they are unsure if they are dreaming. Satisfied?"

Darcy choked on a breath. "Mortals? Like it doesn't apply to you… Oh God," Darcy looked passed him down the hallway, but not a peep could be seen or heard from Molly's room. She was a heavy sleeper.

Loki followed her gaze. "Calm yourself. Our daughter is sleeping soundly. You needn't worry about finding her a Godfather now. I am a God and her father, ergo, she now has a God father."

"That is so not funny. And, wait, you knew about her the whole time? What the hell?"

"I can see why you would be cross with me, Darcy, but hear me out," he said soothingly. "I was detained." When Darcy waited for him to explain, he added, "Several times." She still just blinked up at him. "Oh, alright. I was imprisoned several times. Detained just sounds better. However, I am free now, and no longer have to make do with checking on your and Molly's doings from afar - and I choose to be here with you both. Will you have me?"

Something about the way he said 'will you have me?' was so sincere that all of her sarcastic retorts died on her tongue. And a huge part of her realized… she now knew way more than just finding out the name of the father of her child. She could now give that missing puzzle piece to her daughter, if he truly was sincere about wanting to be in their lives… and wasn't, like, homicidal.

"So, you served your time in prison. I'm guessing that means it wasn't for anything too horrible?"

"Nothing unusual for the God of Mischief," he said sweetly. Too sweetly.

Darcy narrowed her eyes at him, sizing him up. Jeez he was tall, and as handsome as the day she first laid eyes on him. Baker had fallen asleep next to his boot, defeated and too exhausted to continue harassing him.

Loki met her gaze evenly, and seemed to read her thoughts. "I would never harm either of you. You have my word."

The way he said it, so softly… she felt most of the tension drain out of her. "And there are… no others?"

"Others?" he asked, confused.

"Other random women you knocked up."

"Oh, that. No. You were the only one. I was in that pub searching for my brother, you see, but when I saw you, I just… forgot myself."

Darcy felt her cheeks go pink. "Yeah, ok, um, I had…thoughts. Rules! We need rules. So, Molly hasn't met you yet, so I'm thinking we should go slow with this whole… whatever is happening right now. Maybe we should introduce you to her as her Godfather? Just for now," she added, when she saw the clouded look on his face. "I mean, this is going to change her life. I just want to make sure you're really going to stick around before I drop the father bomb on her."

His clouded look melted away. "I understand. I agree to your rule, Darcy, but know this: I promise I will be here for you both. I've missed too much. I want her to be proud of me. I want both of you to lo—care for me, as I care for you."

Darcy cleared her throat. It was so strange to go from thinking she had just been a one-off to a stranger and then suddenly realizing it was way deeper than that. "You've thought about her a lot?"

"I've thought of both of you, constantly," he confessed.

"Um," Darcy said, breathless. The passion he could put in a single sentence… It was no wonder she'd fallen into bed with him so easily. "Okay, wow. Um, you're gonna need pillows, and a sheet and blanket."

"Whatever for?"

"The couch," Darcy said, pushing past him to busy herself with getting bedding.

"Oh," she heard him say quietly behind her, the disappointment evident. "I thought perhaps we could pick up right where we left off – with us… in a bed… together?"

"Yeah," Darcy whispered as she opened the hall closet and took out the necessary items. "Not gonna happen, buddy. That would confuse Molly too much and too soon." She walked over to the couch and started to tuck the sheet in. There was a flash of green and suddenly the sheet, blanket, and pillows assembled themselves neatly into Loki's makeshift bed.

"Right," Darcy said, blinking in amazement.

She turned to say good night, but her brain died as soon as she was in view of Loki again. He pulled his forest green sweater off over his head and swaggered bare chested to the couch. Darcy wished she could say she looked away from his abs while he sat down and took his boots off, but, no, she didn't look away…her mouth might have even been slightly open.

"Tuck me in?" he asked devilishly as he slowly reclined on the sheet.

Darcy's response was delayed as her brain had to re-launch American English. Buffering…buffering… Ah, finally launched.

"I just saw you magically make your bed. I don't think me tucking you in is necessary." But she was inching closer nonetheless.

He grinned up at her, his gaze slowly raking over her flannel clad form as if he could still freshly recall what she looked like naked. "I didn't want to leave you without a word, you know. But I was living on borrowed time back then. I didn't have the freedom to pursue what I wanted."

Darcy slowly pulled at the edge of the blue blanket, mesmerized as she started to pull it down instead of up. "And what is it that you want?"

He watched her hand eagerly and pressed his hips up to get the blanket off his narrow hips more readily. "You. Every day, in every way, since the moment I saw you."

It was like all those feelings she felt with him on that night five years ago came rushing back. Darcy slowly slipped a thigh over his hips, and straddled him. "Can you turn the lights off?" Darcy whispered. "Just in case Molly wakes up."

Loki nodded, his breathing uneven. There were those green sparks again and then all the lights in the room dimmed except for the faint string of Christmas lights around the tree...

"I'm gonna fall asleep," Darcy slurred.

"Please do, you're a wonderful blanket," Loki said, the grin evident in his voice.

"Can't. Would traumatize kid. Ugh, my legs are noodles."

"Allow me."

"Ooph!"

Loki scooped her up and took her to her room. Instead of depositing her onto her bed he took her to her bathroom and drew her a bath. The most unusually beautiful flowers, the likes of which she had never seen before, gently floated in the water. Candles popped out of nowhere and flickered in the dim and steamy room. She sat cradled against his back in the tub as he murmured in her ear, asking her which of the floating flowers was her favorite as he washed her hair with something silken and amazingly fragrant. She pointed out her favorite flower and he slipped it behind her ear. She smiled and closed her eyes as she relaxed against him, thinking she could get used to this. He kissed her damp neck and grabbed a washcloth, going about the task of languidly washing her body. Her thighs parted as his hands washed ever closer to her more sensitive parts; a hand squeezed her breast while the other slid along her inner thigh. This time she really did fall into blissful sleep.

Darcy woke up freshly bathed and in her bed alone at 5am. Feeling a sense of déjà vu, she felt her stomach plummet at the thought of maybe finding her couch empty. She slipped on her purple robe over her stars and moon pajamas and then tip toed into the living room.

Loki was freshly dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black long sleeve button down top, cradling a cat-shaped mug of tea and stroking Baker's belly, who was snuggled up to him on the couch. "I hope you don't mind, I helped myself to it."

Darcy smiled, relief and joy flooding through her. "Not at all, it's fine."

A little gasp alerted Darcy to a new presence in the room. She looked over to see Molly in her Christmas pajamas staring at Loki with her big blue eyes. Molly was a tall string bean of a little girl. She had her dad's black hair and mischievous smile.

"Is this my Godfather?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, Molly. This is Loki."

"Pleased to meet you," Loki said, setting his mug of tea down and getting off the couch to kneel at her level. He held out his hand for a handshake.

Molly launched herself into his arms in a fierce hug. "Will you take me and my mom to the ice skating rink?"

"I'd love nothing more. After you open your presents, of course," he said, wrapping his daughter in his arms. He met Darcy's gaze and they shared a smile.

The End