Author's Note- I own nothing from Marvel.
At times, living on Asgard, Darcy felt so homesick that it actually physically hurt. She'd like to say that she simply missed her family and friends, but the truth was, it was the little things that got to her. It was the fact that there was no coffee on Asgard (save for what they brought back from Earth), no internet (and by extension, no tumblr), no radio. Darcy missed sitting in front of a television for hours, mindlessly watching bad reality T.V. shows. Asgard had plays for entertainment, but you were lucky if they were performed twice a year.
Darcy missed having privacy. After the initial glee at finding out that she would have servants waiting on her hand and foot, she found their constant presence to be stifling. Loki grew up around a gaggle of servants, but Darcy's family was firmly middle class. She'd just never experienced having someone always underfoot. There was one person to bring a breakfast tray, another to dress her and yet another to clean the bedchamber. It was dizzying. She tried and failed on more than one occasion to remember everyone's rank and responsibilities. She learned that it was a grave insult to ask the kitchen maid to unbutton a dress for her or for a cleaning maid to take back a breakfast tray. Darcy tried to just do things for herself, like she was used to, but Loki quickly disabused her of that idea, pointing out she was taking a job away from someone who needed it. However, with all of the palace intrigue and gossip fueled by the servants who were privy to every single conversation she had with her husband, Darcy felt like she was living in the Asgardian version of "Downton Abbey".
On top of all that, Darcy found herself reeling in frustration at culture shock more than once. She found out, for example, that one of the servants was pregnant. Delighted to be able to share this experience with another person, Darcy had visited the local market and purchased some beautiful hand-knit baby clothes for the woman. She had be so excited to give them to her. However, when the servant opened the package and saw what was inside, she burst into tears and ran away. Afterwards, when Darcy asked Loki about it, she found out that giving someone clothes for their baby was a grave insult on Asgard. It insinuated that they had neither the means nor the desire to look after their own child. Darcy felt horrible and found the young woman to apologize. She said that she forgave Darcy, but Darcy noticed that the woman had her shift changed so that she no longer cleaned their bedchambers.
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The first cracks in her relationship with Loki appeared in late January. In every human relationship, there comes the question some time during that first year as a married couple; Are they going to do that for the next 40 or 50 years? Whether it's leaving the cap off of the toothpaste or the dirty socks on the ground, the question is the same. Unfortunately, for Loki and Darcy, that question morphed into: Will they be doing it for the next 4,000 to 5,000 years? Near immortality leaves a lot of room for pent-up irritation to fester.
Darcy had felt that she had started her marriage to Loki with a pretty clear idea of Loki's faults and foibles. He was a flawed man with a track record of murder, attempted genocide, and that's not even mentioning the invasion of Earth and the havoc he wreaked there. Add on top of that his rather complicated family issues and Darcy knew that Loki would be a challenge to live with.
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Later on, neither of them would be able to pinpoint the exact cause of their original argument. All that they would agree on is that it ended with Darcy storming out of their bedchambers late at night in need of a "walk".
As she stalked the halls of the palace trying to clear her head, a figure stepped out of the shadows and blocked her route.
"Hello, my lovely."
Darcy stopped, clenching her fists. Of course, Fandral. Just icing on the cake of an epically crappy day. Fandral had been a problem for months and Darcy had done her level best to avoid him.
"You are looking particularly fetching this evening."
Darcy rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe he was that popular with the ladies, especially given how hackneyed his lines were.
Emboldened by her silence, he took a step forward, his eyes traveling up and down her form and lickng his lips.
"It's not often I have the pleasure of catching you alone."
Back when Thor first came to Earth, several months before Darcy had even met Loki, Fandral visited Earth, too. And, truth be told, even though he was there for only a few hours, there were more than a few stolen kisses between them, more than a few whispered endearments. Darcy justified it to herself. She was young and lonely and he was hot.
But the second time Darcy met Fandral, she was Loki's bride. She'd expected a few awkward conversations and that things would quickly blow over. He was Asgard's answer to Casanova and he'd have another dozen girls lined up to be with him.
But instead, for months now, Fandral would stare at her from across the room, try to corner her whenever he could, kiss her hand a few seconds too long when greeting her, stand just a few inches too close when speaking to her. And Darcy was just about done with it. She was not putting up with it for the next five thousand years.
"Okay, Don Juan, you and I are gonna have a little conversation."
"I do not know who this Don Juan is that you speak of, but I would enjoy . . . conversing with you," he said, his tone suggestive.
"Stop it. Stop with the looks; stop it with the standing too close; stop it with the innuendo. I am completely finished with trying to be nice to you. I am 100% not interested in dealing with this for the next few millennia. Get your crap together or I'll tell . . . "
"Loki? I am not overly concerned with his feelings," Fandral ground out between clenched teeth.
"Loki? You're not that lucky. I'll tell Queen Frigga. How do you think she'd like the disrespect you've shown not only to her daughter-in-law but also to her son?"
Fandral blanched. "I am sorry, milady. I meant no offense. I will turn my attentions elsewhere. Good evening." He bowed and quickly turned and walked away.
"See that you do," Darcy shouted to his retreating form. She smiled to herself. Score one for the princess-in-training.
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Loki had thought for a moment, trying to calm himself, and then decided to follow Darcy into the hall and try to talk over what was wrong. He saw her stopped up ahead, talking to Fandral. He saw Fandral boldly staring at Darcy, his eyes roving over Loki's wife, and Loki's fists clenched. He could have cloaked himself and gotten in closer to eavesdrop, but since his "official" return to Asgard, Odin had warned him about hiding himself from Heimdall's gaze. After a minute or so, Fandral quickly left after deeply bowing to Darcy. Loki narrowed his eyes. A secret assignation? Loki had heard that Fandral and Darcy had met on Midgard, before, and given Fandral's reputation, he wouldn't be surprised if he had attempted to woo the young Midgardian woman. But that woman was now Loki's wife and he was not about to lose her to a womanizing idiot.
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Darcy finally made her way back to the room a half hour later, her anger spent. Perhaps now, they could talk things over and "make up". Making up afterwards was Darcy's favorite part.
As she opened the door to their bedchambers, she could feel the tension in the air.
"Did you enjoy your . . . walk?" Loki asked, acidly, pacing around their chamber.
"It was fine," Darcy said, quickly. Something was off. Loki was even more angry than when she'd left. He hadn't cooled down at all.
"Did you enjoy your time alone?" he asked, pressing the point as he stopped in front of her.
Something clicked inside of Darcy. Of course, she thought. He'd seen her with Fandral and gotten the exact wrong impression. She shook her head, exasperated. "Fandral cornered me in the hallway," she explained. "I told him off."
"Good; you are mine," Loki said sharply.
"The hell I am," Darcy shot back.
"Are you saying that you are his?" Loki said, his eyes widening, his voice rising.
"No, I'm saying that I'm not anyone else's but my own. Look, I love you absolutely and completely, but I am still my own person. You don't own me, Loki," Darcy said slowly, looking him straight in the eye.
"I did not mean it that way," Loki said, tightly.
"Well, it sure sounded that way," Darcy huffed, crossing her arms and looking away.
"I'm . . . I'm sorry," Loki said, wondering how they were having an argument when it seemed like they were in agreement.
Darcy blew out a long breath and turned back to him. "Me, too. Honey, let's just have a do-over."
"A do-over?" Loki asked.
"Let's just pretend that the last two hours didn't happen. Let's just start over."
Loki smiled. "An excellent suggestion. Does that mean we won't be . . . making up?" he asked rakishly.
"Oh, no, we'll definitely be making up," Darcy said with a wink, pulling her husband in for a kiss.
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Loki woke up the next morning and stretched slowly, cat-like. He looked over to the opposite side of the huge bed and saw Darcy, her back to him, the curtain of her dark hair covering her face. They had fallen asleep in each other's arms, but had migrated to their own sides over the course of the night. Loki blamed his centuries of bachelordom for their sleeping habits. Even Darcy's sweet embrace felt a bit suffocating after a few hours and he eventually ended up near the edge, with at least one limb dangling off the side.
He briefly contemplated waking her, his mischievous side urging him to send a pillow flying her way. However, he had tried it once, in the first days of their marriage, and had bitterly regretted it. Never get into a prank war with someone who shares a bedroom with you, he found out. There was just nowhere to hide, nowhere to relax and let your guard down.
Loki sat up gingerly so as not to disturb Darcy, but she raised her head sleepily at his movement, brushing the tendrils of hair from her face.
"Good morning, my dear," he said, smiling down at her.
"So what's up for you today? Any big diplomatic meetings?" Darcy asked as she stretched.
"Nothing that would concern you. I will be gone most of the day, but I shall return for dinner. I am sure that Jane wanted you to sit in on a meeting she is going to have with Mother concerning royal etiquette for visiting dignitaries," Loki said offhandedly.
"Honey, I was born at night, but it wasn't last night. You're meeting with the Jotuns, aren't you?"
Loki tensed. They had already argued about the Frost Giant situation more than once. After discovering that Darcy was carrying their child, he forbade her from accompanying him on any more diplomatic visits to Jotunheim, which had resulted in an epic fight between the two. Then, Darcy had suggested that the simplest solution to deal with the sparring factions on Jotunheim was for Loki himself to take the throne since, as Laufry's only child, he was the only true heir to the argument had gone on for three days and Loki learned exactly how uncomfortable it was to sleep on the couch in their bedchamber.
"Darcy, I . . . . It is just not safe for you there. If they were ever to find out who I really am and that you are carrying our child, another heir to their throne, who knows what could happen?"
"Loki, I'm not unreasonable. But, you need to be honest. You've spent centuries thinking that trickery and subterfuge are the only way," Darcy said as she quickly dressed.
"I am trying to protect you, my dear," he said, frustrated as he ran a hand through his hair.
"You can protect me better by telling me the truth. Look, I am just not up to having this argument today. I'll see you when you get back," Darcy said tersely as she walked out the door.
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"Good morning, brother!" Thor bellowed heartily at him a few minutes later as Loki passed him in the hallway.
Loki winced and continued on his way. "It may be morning, but it is hardly good."
"And why is that?" Thor asked.
Loki stopped and turned to stare up at Thor. Thor was looking at him so very earnestly. Their relationship was better than it used to be as they rarely tried to out and out kill each other anymore, but it was not as close as it once was. When some things break, they shatter and no matter how you try to put them back together, there are pieces missing.
On the other hand, Loki found it odd how their lives had once again entangled, so soon after falling completely apart. They had married women, best friends in fact, from the same realm. They had even had a double wedding. They both struggled with dealing with a spouse from an alien world.
Loki hesitated. As much as it hurt him to confide in Thor after all that had happened, he might be the only person in the universe to understand what Loki was going through.
"Thor, is it ever difficult for you to understand Jane?"
Thor broke out into a huge grin. "Yes, almost every day. I love her. I have never met anyone like her, but yes, we can such contradictory outlooks on life at times. We have led such different lives. It does cause strain."
Loki let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I love Darcy, but sometimes . . ." His voice trailed off and he felt disloyal even admitting that much.
Thor clapped him on his back. "Even Mother and Father have a hard time understanding each other at times and they are from the same realm and have been married for thousands of years. It is natural that it will take us time to get our footing."
Loki felt oddly reassured. He knew Frigga and Odin loved each other dearly, and yet, on more than one occasion, he'd been witness to their disagreements. Why did he expect any more from him and Darcy?
"Have you begun the preparations for the upcoming festivities?" Thor asked, interrupting Loki's thoughts.
"Festivities?" Loki searched his mind, casting about for what Thor could possibly mean, but could think of no Asgardian feasts or celebrations on the horizon.
"The day of Saint Valentine. The Midgardian holiday. I would thought that you would have already spent weeks preparing."
Loki knit his brow. He vaguely remembered Darcy mentioning something about it when they had returned from Christmas, but she hadn't talked about it again, which was quite unlike her. She usually went on and on about Midgardian holidays and had made them return to Earth to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"No . . . what does the holiday entail again?" Loki rubbed the bridge of his nose. He did remember that Darcy had said they didn't need to go back to Midgard, that they could celebrate it on Asgard. He wondered if there was going to be singing like the last holiday.
"You do not know, brother?" Thor asked, concern written on his face.
"No, of course not; that is why I asked you," Loki snapped, irritation seeping into every word.
"It is a day of love and romance. You bestow gifts on your beloved to show how you feel about them."
Love and romance. Loki winced. No wonder Darcy didn't mention it. Their relationship had been seesawing back and forth lately. One day would be full of tenderness and kindness and the next would be seething from petty arguments.
Loki was loath to ask the next question, "Could you tell me, specifically, what this day consists of?"
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Darcy woke up on Valentine's Day to the heady scent of roses. As she looked around the room, nearly every surface was covered in flowers. There were red rose petals on the bed as well as dozens and dozens of bouquets around the room. She knew that roses were not native to Asgard, which meant that Loki sent for them from Earth.
A few minutes after she awoke, Loki entered the room holding a breakfast tray. Darcy nearly fainted. Loki never even deigned to return the trays that were sometimes left in their room by the servants, calling it "menial labor". The fact that he had evidently brought her a tray from the kitchens himself was unprecedented.
Loki smiled when he saw that she was awake. "Happy Valentine's Day, my dear."
Darcy's eyes widened. She was so caught up in homesickness and nostalgia, she had completely forgotten the day. "Oh, honey, I am so sorry. I totally forgot it was today. I didn't get you anything."
"My dear, you are carrying our child. There is no more precious gift I could ever hope to receive. I wanted to show you how very sorry I am about before."
Darcy blushed. "You always know the right thing to say."
"Centuries of practice, my dear. Now, eat up and then we have presents," he said as he set the tray on a nearby table and pulled out a seat for her.
Darcy uncovered the breakfast tray and shouted for joy. There were Pop-Tarts, a waffle covered in chocolate chips and whipped cream and tater tots. "How did you know?" she asked breathlessly, her mouth watered.
"I asked Jane about your favorite Midgardian breakfast. Heimdall helped with procuring the ingredients."
Darcy just nodded and smiled as her mouth was already stuffed full of chocolate chips and whipped cream.
Once she had finished her breakfast, Loki took the tray away and handed her a large red velvet bag. "Open it, my dear."
She grinned and stuck her hand in the bag. The first thing she took out was a gold, heart-shaped box of Godiva chocolates. Next, was a bag of her favorite brand of coffee. Then, there were a stack of Valentines from her family. There were large cards from her parents and siblings and tiny, handmade Valentines from her nieces and nephews.
She began to cry as she was so overwhelmed with emotion. "Oh, Loki . . ." she began.
"It is not over yet. There is one more gift. Your sister helped me with it."
She put her hand in the bag and took out a white box.
"An Ipad?"
"Yes, I suppose that is what it is called. I talked to your sister and she helped to load some content onto it. It has dozens of the newest, most popular Midgardian songs, several seasons of your favorite T.V. shows, about a dozen movies and a few bird games."
"Angry Birds?" Darcy asked, eyes widening with delight.
"Yes, there is another one, Flappy Birds, she said you might like, but she wanted me to warn you not to get too frustrated," Loki said slowly, trying to remember all the Darcy's sister had told him.
Darcy tackled him with a hug. "You are the best husband ever. Thank you so much. I really needed this. I was missing home so much."
"I know, my dear. I know it has been difficult adjusting to a new life so very, very far away from home. I want you to know that our lives will always be a blend of Asgard and Midgard."
Darcy smiled. "Do you know the next big Midgardian holiday that you might like?"
"Which one?" Loki asked, as he embraced Darcy and began to kiss her neck.
"April Fool's Day. It's all about pulling pranks," she said, breathlessly between kisses.
"You know me so well," Loki chuckled as his mouth claimed hers once again.
Author's Note- I hope you enjoyed the story. A reader, Tashio, had suggested Loki's First April Fools' Day. Let me know if you'd like to read it!