The soft pitter patter of raindrops falling on the pavement echoed in Darcy's ears. The weather had been colder than usual in the past week and Darcy's breath created a mist as she huffed a breath out. Her hands balled into fists inside her jacket pockets as Darcy tried to race home as fast as she could.

It was late into the night and Darcy had finally finished a late night at work. SHIELD demanded long hours of hard work, but Darcy loved it. Loki, on the other hand had voiced his concern of Darcy walking home alone so late at night. He had insisted in accompanying her home each night after work, but Darcy refused. She felt that she was tough enough to walk home without somebody holding her hand. Plus, the agents at SHIELD hadn't particularly warmed up to his presence yet, so visiting 'the office' was out of the question for now.

Darcy was almost home, she could see the tall apartment building towering high, and the single glowing window of her own apartment. Her wet shoes slapped upon the ground and Darcy started to walk a little faster. Her gaze was directed to the ground, trying to block out as much of the chill and rain as possible. As she passed by a dark ally, the metal garbage cans suddenly crashed together, causing Darcy to jump and turn her attention to the ominous shadows.

Her eyes strained into the dark night, but the harder she strained, only the more darkness she saw. Darcy took a step towards the garbage can, stepping into the mysterious ally.

Darcy had always been told that she had the unfortunate privilege of having 'horror movie' instincts. All her life, she had always been drawn to the dangerous unknown. It thrilled and teased her at the same time. That's why she fell for Loki.

She took another step, and Darcy's foot landed into a huge puddle, soaking her foot. Darcy peered into the darkness and as if her body were warning her, and her heart started to race in her chest. Suddenly, a large, glowing pair of eyes appeared in the shadows, starting right back at her.

The eyes grew larger and larger as the thing walked with heavy steps towards her. A low groan emitted from behind its bared yellow teeth and Darcy was paralyzed in shock.

The monster was absolutely gigantic and it stood almost twice her height, scraping its sharp claws on the ground and collecting the rain in its dirty, matted fur. Darcy's hands found the taser hidden in her pocket and she brought it out into the open. The monster lowered its stance, meeting Darcy face to face, and just as she was ready to scream and pull the trigger, she looked into its eyes. The deep black orbs had her hauntingly mesmerized, and her fingers wouldn't...couldn't pull the trigger.

It moved its face by her left cheek and sniffed her wet skin. Darcy felt the moist coldness of his nose on her skin and she started to shy away from the sensation. The monster closed his mouth, hiding his teeth. Darcy was calculating her chance of making it out in one piece in when suddenly he rubbed his furry head against Darcy's face. She remained still for a moment to gather her bearings. Darcy looked down at the animal and saw that his eyes were closed, rubbing his head against her affectionately. She smiled and dropped her taser back into her pocket while reaching up with her other hand to pet the top of its head. The thing started to purr loudly beneath her hands.

Well...Darcy had always wanted a pet.

The lock to the front door clicked and Loki's ears perked. Darcy was finally home. One more minute and he would have gone out to look for her himself.

Loki swung his feet off the bed and planted them on the ground. As his feet touched the floor, Loki felt something odd. The ground was...thumping. It was as it Darcy's footsteps were shaking the whole ground.

"Darcy?" Loki called out.

"In here!" was her muffled reply.

"Loki, come here! He's magnificent!" Darcy exclaimed.

Loki had a terrible, terrible feeling in his stomach. As he opened the bedroom door to the living room, he heard a strange sound. Like a low, rumbling motor. The door opened and all the colour in Loki's complexion drained.

"I found him! Or, I suppose he found me...isn't he beautiful? He was just so lonely," Darcy rambled.

Loki took cautious steps towards Darcy and the beast. It was the very same beast from Jotunheim that had made its way to Earth not too long ago. Apparently it had been successful at hiding its colossal form from SHIELD all this time. Of course, it was just Loki's luck that this beast had found Darcy.

Don't move too quickly or it'll scare, he thought.

"Darcy, move away from the beast, immediately," Loki whispered.

The beast turned to Loki, giving him a mean glare and snorted as if he understood.

"You insulted Stan!" Darcy huffed.

"Stan? Stan? You named the beast?" Loki asked, astounded.

Darcy scratched the top of Stan's head and his baritone purr echoed throughout the small apartment. Stan licked her face, leaving a slobbery trail across Darcy's cheek. Darcy laughed loudly and her smile lit up the room.

Loki released the breath he had been holding in.

This was going to be a long night.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I wrote this a while ago on my tumblr and thought I should post it here as well! Please read and review, cheers!