The tour was indeed a grand tour. Darcy could barely keep up as Thor showed the all the sights of the Capitol. The highlight was getting to see the Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge destroyed by Thor to stop the destruction of Jotunheim. It was under serious repair but still glowed and shimmered in the sunlight like a smooth road made of opal. The structure that did the translation between worlds was halfway re-built, covered in scaffolding.

"Behold, Darcy. This is where Loki spends his days now, repairing what he destroyed as best he can." Thor ruffled her hair and laughed. "I'm hungry. Let's get back and eat, my little ones. Dr. Selvig is probably already in the lab working."

Darcy was actually ready to get back to the library, to start her research, she told herself sternly. Not to see and talk to Loki some more. Not to look into his blue green eyes and listen to him speak so formally and sweetly to her… She shook herself. Lunch, then reading and note taking. If Loki was there, great, she could ask him questions if they came up, if he wasn't then she didn't care. Right.

She entered the library as quietly as she could, and was inwardly very pleased to see Loki in his chair by the fire. Lunch had been an over-the-top affair like the feast last night, and she had seated herself between Erik and Frigga to avoid Fandral once again. Loki and Thor's mother was very sweet to her and asked how she was enjoying her stay.

"I've been told you are going to study our world and culture, young lady," she asked.

Jeez Louise, thought Darcy. Did everyone know all her plans as soon as she thought them up? "Yes, ma'am. I appreciate the use of your library and books."

"You may of course stay as long as you wish and use all of our resources. Midgard and Asgard have been too long separated. I want our people to be joined in brotherhood with yours." Frigga glanced at Odin, who had given her a look with his good eye.

Now that she was back in the library, even with Loki there (maybe because Loki was there) she felt she could finally relax.

"Well, big boy, I have been given the green light by your mom to bother you for as long as I want to get this research project about your government done. Would you call this a constitutional monarchy?" Glasses pushed up her nose, she looked as serious as she ever did. Which is to say, not serious at all.

Loki blinked. My mom? He thought. "It's actually what you would call a benevolent dictatorship, for all intents and purposes. Odin isn't called the Allfather for nothing. We rely on our king to do what's best for his people. A constitution limiting the king's power would also limit his power to protect us."

She opened the book she had tried to start with earlier and began reading. She quickly became engrossed and would only occasionally toss out a question for Loki, who had a ready answer for everything. After several hours, he quietly rose and came to where she was sitting.

"Darcy, I will be at the Bifrost all day tomorrow. I've gotten some more books for you, so you'll be busy as well. I'll come to the library when I can. Be well, sleep soundly, and have sweet dreams." He touched her shoulder again and slipped out.

The next day, Darcy, Jane and Erik made individual plans to stay in Asgard to finish their projects. Jane of course wanted to stay with Thor for as long as she possibly could, so she was happy to have Darcy stay with her in Asgard while she worked on her research. Erik would be traveling back and forth via tesseract portal as his work needed.

Author's note: ready for some romance now? I have to wrap this up, it's getting too long and I'm running out of time. I would make this as long as a Norah Roberts novel if I could but I just have too much going on in my life.

Days turned into weeks as Darcy tore through all the books on history, government, environment, culture, art and everything else Loki recommended that she read. She looked forward to that moment at the end of a long day of reading and writing (long hand, a laptop seemed somehow gauche, and she was pretty sure it wouldn't work anyway) about some incident in Asgard's distant past, when a tall shadow would come in and fall into his chair by the fire. His pale face would look in Darcy's direction and light up. Darcy could see that he was very tired, but he always stopped by to see how her project was going. He read through her drafts and corrected a lot of spelling errors, usually with a raised eyebrow. "Really, Darcy? There's a dictionary right there on the table."

Occasionally she would be rattling on about something she'd read and look over at him, only to notice that he was asleep in his chair, his dark eyelashes standing out against his pale skin, the firelight fading. She usually just tiptoed out at this point, but at last one night she decided to try and wake him and get him into his room. Surely his bed would be better to sleep in than a chair.

"Um, Loki? Loki, wake up. It's time for nighty night, big boy. " She gently shook his shoulder. His eyes snapped open and he grabbed her wrist. She squeaked and he loosened his grip, but did not let go.

"Darcy, do not startle me like that." He pulled her down onto his lap and reached up to stroke her hair. "What am I saying? You startle me every day. I still don't understand the effect you have on me. What are you?"

Darcy felt like purring she felt so good on his lap. He was warm from the fire and his eyes were sleepy. She leaned into him and as their lips finally touched she sighed with pleasure. The kiss was returned with no hesitation and became deeper as they settled into it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and twisted her fingers into his dark hair. His hands were exploring the skin of the small of her back where her tee shirt was riding up and she shuddered as he moved his hands upward. He began to kiss her neck and nibble her collarbone. She was trying to get into his fantastically complicated clothing, and was mostly succeeding, when she had a terrible thought. She reluctantly pulled away from Loki and said, "Oh. My. God. Can Heimdall see us right now?"

Loki laughed and said "Of course he can. He sees everything. He does however know when to avert his gaze. Would you like to see my room, Darcy?"

"Will you be hanging up the metaphorical Do Not Disturb sign for Heimdall?" She asked.

"Should I?"

"Oh, yes."

When Jane asked Darcy why she was so tired the next morning, she was pleased to report to Jane that she had been up all night helping someone who was lost find his way home again. Jane rolled her eyes and turned to Thor. "Well, I guess you won that bet," she said. Thor just threw his blond head back and laughed.