- Disclaimer: Matantei Loki Ragnarok belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

Love Me and More

written by Kurosu

- Chapter Two: Her Position.

Now, to somehow tell her. Tell her what exactly, he wasn't sure. There was so much that he wanted to say, but to confront her with everything at once would just overwhelm her, but his thoughts were still lost to what had transpired earlier. The recent memory of holding her before felt nice, more than nice, almost to the point of it being indescribable. He could still feel her skin under his touches, and the smell of her hair flooded his senses.

Loki mused with his mischievous grin as he sipped the cup of hot tea to calm down his excitement. He had almost kissed her, lips barely grazing over her neck. How could he tell her how enticing she was. How much he wanted her for his own, but it was very inappropriate right now. He sighed, wanting to wash away the burning desire with a cold shower.

"You shouldn't think about it, Loki-sama," Yamino sympathized, having cared for the young master since he was born. He pour another cup of tea for him, and the two watched their guest sleeping peacefully on the couch.

"She hasn't changed much," the boy thought aloud, "but she doesn't remember anything." A bit frustrated on that part that she no longer remembered him, but he wasn't going to dwell on what had already happened. He would just make new memories with her, but there was a part of that was scared if she rejected him.

Perhaps he had been too direct with her, but the moment that he had seen her, the unforgettable look in her eyes, his emotions had taken over.

"It'll work out, Loki-sama."

"I hope you're right, Yamino," he sighed.

Mayura woke up the next morning, bright and early. For some reason, she had a lot of energy when she sat up in bed. She looked out of her window, recalling the events from the day before, meeting Yamino-san and Loki-kun, and the last thing she truly remember caused a deep blush across her cheeks, but how did she get home? Unless it had all been just a dream, a weird dream, but it had felt so real.

She placed a hand over her chest, feeling the beat of her heart just below the surface. "I feel fine," she blinked, "Maybe it was a dream."

With a final shrug, she pulled the covers aside and decided she could make breakfast today instead, which she was certain her father could appreciate. She stopped by his room and knocked, asking what he wanted for breakfast. Still groggy, he stuffed his face into his pillow and waved his hand in the air, signaling whatever she decided was good enough for him to eat.

She attempted a Western style meal she had seen on television, and by the time she was done cooking, her father came into the common room and joined her at the table. "Ne papa, you know what's strange?" she said, tucking her legs beneath her.

"Hm?" he didn't have much of a reply, still doused with leftover sleep.

"Yesterday, I'm not sure if anything happened," she paused, "Well I mean, I'm pretty sure I met them, but it's a bit fuzzy to me... like a dream. Maybe I really was dreaming. Yep, that's it! Too much homework on the brains, hehehe!" Her father, remaining silent, gave her an unreadable expression as she continued, "The little boy was cute too, and he had a nice butler. Oh! Like from an anime...!"

"Hmm, Mayura..." he looked away, thinking deeply about something, fear settling into his stomach.

"Yes, papa?"

"There's something I have to tell you." She waited for him to continue, but all he said was, "Could you come home right away, after school?"

"Um, okay."

Mayura quickly finished her breakfast and cleaned up, but her father decided to take over and shooed her out of the kitchen, so she got ready to leave for school. She poked her head back into the kitchen and wished her father a good day before she left. Normally she was oblivious to most things that didn't catch her interest, but when it came to her father, he seemed uncomfortable all morning. She wondered if his stomach was unsettled from last night's dinner, but then, she couldn't even remember if she had dinner or not. She couldn't be that oblivious, or forgetful, right?

She was just walking down the steps when she remembered she had cleaning duty all week from being tardy, so maybe a bit forgetful. Her father's serious expression came to mind, so it had to be very important for him to request her return immediately. Hopefully, she could ask Koutaro to cover for her and hurried to school with that purpose in mind.

She passed by the detective agency without a single thought, because she had a goal in mind, and when she was focused, nothing could deterred her from her path, even oblivious to the boy watching her. The tiny bit of pink disappeared out of his view again, and he sighed. His hand had pressed on the window pane, straining to see the last bit of her, and he could feel the morning was going to tick away slowly.

"Hey, don't look like a lovesick fool," came a grumbling voice behind him.

Loki's expression changed from being gentle to pure annoyance, as he whipped his head to the speaker, "That's none of your business, old man!" He pulled his chair back and sat down, folding his arms across his chest in a huff. "What the hell do you want anyway!"

The old man was walking over to the couch, with Yamino's help despite being able to move just fine. He looked like a typical elderly Japanese man in the haori and hakama, but Loki knew he was far from being typical. His long, white hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his beard was just as long, reaching the midsection of his chest.

"Why, Loki!" he chuckled, "I came to help you with your problem."

"I don't have a problem," he stated, with a flat expression that told him to mind his own business.

"You have a girl problem!" He was answered by a book thrown at him, but he tilted to one side, allowing the book just to fly by his head and be caught by Yamino, who then dutifully returned it to Loki's desk. "I hate to see my favorite grandson so troubled!"

"Go bother your other grandkids, old man." He waited for Yamino to pour him a cup of tea. His patience was wearing thin at the moment, which was always the case when his grandfather came over, usually unannounced. "Thank you, Yamino," he said, accepting the cup.

The butler then handed another cup to the old man, who sighed sadly, before returning to Loki's side by his desk. The conversation continued with the grandfather telling Loki, "They're still young."

"And what do I look like?" Displeasure dripped from his lips. He took another sip of his tea, needing to wash out the bitterness from his mouth.

"Like you need a wife."

The tea spewed out of his mouth from the shock. Yamino calmly pulled out a cloth and began to wipe his young master clean before turning his attention to the wet desk top.

"That was ungraceful," the old man noted.

"I don't need a wife!" he shouted, "I'm not exactly at that point."

"Not even," he looked at his grandson slyly, "if it will be Mayura-san?"

"Whaa...?" He was stumped, but the pink tint on his cheeks said otherwise. He quickly shook his reaction away and faced the older man, "What do you get out of it anyway?"

"Perhaps a cure to the madness." His words struck a cord in Loki, but he didn't have time to process it, when the man continued with complete seriousness and calm, "And an heir."

Loki fell over.

"Papa, I'm home!"

After promising a huge favor to Koutaro, Mayura was able to come home quickly, taking off her shoes and putting on the house slippers. As she set her school bag down, she noticed their were three unfamiliar pairs of shoes. One was really small, like they belonged to a child. She heard her father beckoning her to the main room and complied, pushing her curiosity aside.

When she stepped into the doorway, she paused and stared at the guests. There was an old man sitting across from her father, and two faces she suddenly remember, "Loki-kun! Yamino-san!" She was nervous again, now realizing what she thought was a possible dream had been real all alone, and tried to hide any embarrassment from being evident on her face.

"Mayura," the boy greeted back, with a gentleness in his tone, while Yamino, being the family servant was seated in the back, gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

His grandfather stole a glance at him and smiled.

They watched her settle down next to her father, and she bowed politely to the older guest, as her father introduced them, "Mayura, this is Odin-sama."

"Odin-sama," she smiled, curious beamed from her clear eyes.

"Please, don't be so formal," he chuckled, "'Grandfather' will do perfectly."

Loki and Daidouji shared a look of surprise at how overly friendly the old man was to the girl, who happily obliged him, testing the new title out, "Ah Odi-jii-san!" He chuckled at the easy going attitude, and she joined him with her own giggles, as if they had been grandfather and granddaughter for a long time, sharing a secret of their own.

Though Odin sense a lethal aura next to him, sparing his grandson one glance, and if looks could really kill, Loki's glare would've killed him a hundred times by now. Not that Loki objected to the idea of taking Mayura as his wife, but the old man was planning something. He didn't do things out of the kindness of his heart, especially when it concerned others, their fates in his hands. He was a master at putting up facades and luring people into his deception to get what he wanted.

Loki knew him better than anyone and hated him for it.

"And as you already know, Odin-sama," the Shinto priest said, and the girl saw the stiffness in his seated posture and looked worry. "Mayura is my only child."

"I understand," he nodded, stroking his beard, "And as we've discussed before, Mayura-chan will be taken care of."

She looked at their guest, then back to her father in confusion, "Excuse me, but what's going on?"

Her father remained quiet and allowed Odin to answer with a smile, "Why, my dear, you'll be my grandson's wife." He gestured his hand in the boy's direction, "Loki's wife."

The girl blinked and turned her full attention to the boy, who was like five years younger than her, but he avoided her eyes, finding the painting in the alcove more interesting and attempting to conceal his blush. "But I'm only seventeen," she explained, having never thought about marriage, much less even find a boyfriend. There were other things in life that were more important that boy-and-girl relationships, right? At least that was what she thought, and her mystery adventures always kept her busy.

"Suitable age to be married!"

"But isn't Loki-kun too young?" she added, an index finger to her chin in confused thought, and the boy briefly winced at her words. She was rejecting him, and it hurt, even if she didn't mean anything by it. She didn't remember him, nor the history they had, because if she did, she wouldn't have left him alone all these years.

A possible rejection shouldn't have surprised him. He shouldn't have listened to Odin and rushed into it. He, unfortunately, had all the time in the world to earn her trust and bring her back to his side again. He just had to take things slowly, step by step, remain calm and neutral.

Mayura pointed out, "And shouldn't Loki-kun find a girl his own age to be involved with." She stared at him with her sweet smile, "It's more meaningful when you fall in love with her."

Loki had to restrain every inch of himself from jumping to his feet and blurting out his declaration of love and devotion that he had held for her for the past decade and more.

Odin noticed the twitch of the boy's hand in his lap and hurried to speak, "My grandson is quite mature, I assure you. And besides, your father has already consented to the arrangements."

The girl stared at her father in shock and awe, had no idea that he wanted to marry off so bad, but his actions and words in the past had told her to be wary of boys in general, so it was confusing to say the least. She didn't look upset, much to Daidouji's relief, but he just had to confirm Odin's words with a nod.

The old man continued, hoping to ease her side of the equation, "There is no rush in to the marriage. This is just an informal introduction. When you and Loki are better acquainted, we will proceed further into the relationship.

"So Mayura-chan has nothing to worry about," he grinned, a toothy smile as if he was just a helpless, old man wanting the best for his grandson.

Loki, ignoring Odin's fake cheeriness, stared at her, eyes looking hopeful at a positive response from her, and she seemed to consider those words. It wasn't that she hated the idea, actually she had no opinion of it, but as she looked at Loki, a part of her felt a rush of warmth and adoration for the cute boy. He seemed so lonely for a moment, and the way he kept looking at her, like he wanted a friend. She had to fight herself from just tackling him from across the table and showering him with her affections.

After gathering her thoughts, she opened her mouth to speak, "Well, if father has already agreed and he knows what's best for me, then I'm okay with it." She saw the flicker of happiness in Loki's eyes and gave him her lovely smile.

"Wonderful then!" Odin clapped.

"But I have some conditions I must change."

Everyone was surprised that Mayura's father had spoken up about it, "Mayura will continue to live here with me, and she will not be allowed to spend any nights at your home. Her curfew will be eight on weekdays. Friday and Saturday, it'll be ten. She can't get distracted from school."

"Hm, that seems fair," the old man looked thoughtful and spared a glance at Loki, who seemed downcasted. "Then it's settled!

"Loki, Mayura. You two are unofficially engaged."