"I hate this weather," Darcy said, pulling her jacket tighter around her and shivering.
"I love this weather," Loki said, slipping an arm around her. "I like it when it's cold like this. It's so clean and fresh."
"It's freezing! How can you stand it?"
He looked at her.
"Oh, right-Frost Giant. Though you're not really a giant, are you? More like a Frost Midget."
"I would never have survived in Jotunheim," he said, stopping at the corner as the light changed. "I know that now. I was lucky to end up in the less brutal realm of Asgard. But my heart still longs for the ice and snow, and winter is my favorite time of year."
"Well, that makes one of us." The WALK sign came on, and they crossed the street. "Listen, I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it?"
"It's about . . . us. I mean, whether or not there is an 'us.' Since your wife came back and all-"
He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "You think Sigyn and I are getting back together?"
"Aren't you? You seemed pretty close when she was here last month."
"And she left with the children, just after New Year's. You are still here."
"So wait a minute. Am I your second choice? 'If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with?' That kind of thing?"
"Should I not care for you any longer?"
"That's not the point! I'm saying . . . if you want to go and be with her, I can live with that. But don't use me as a substitute just because I'm here!"
He stepped off to the side, out of the way of passersby, and held her in his arms. "I would never use you as a substitute for her," he crooned into her ear. "I love her because she is faithful, and she listens to me, and she loves me no matter what I do. I love you because you're impulsive, and exciting, and fascinating-"
"And irritating?"
"At times. You've talked to my parents?"
"I don't know what your problem with them is. They're very nice people."
"It's complicated."
"Anyway, they say it's not unusual for . . . well, people like you . . . to have more than one woman. They weren't upset about it at all. Even Sigyn agreed that it was okay. Down here, that's called cheating. Husbands and wives have done some pretty nasty things to each other over it."
"It is different where I come from."
"Yeah, I guess so. So there's still an 'us,' then?"
"There will always be an 'us,'" he said, kissing the top of her head. "As long as you live."
