There were certain reasons Darcy had decided she wouldn't be ready for motherhood for several more years. Her limited experience with children only proved this to her with every encounter. They were helpless and couldn't take care of themselves. The made messes and didn't clean them up. They argued to test your limitations. They cried and complained about everything. Heaven help you if you had two of them. It wasn't for her, just yet. She had been too independent for too long, and it would take awhile for her to be ready to take on that responsibility.

She was beginning to have the exact same feelings when it came to trying to help two alien god-like beings live like normal people on her home planet.

Challenge numero uno had been finding a place for them to live. The first week of the new chapter in all three of their lives had been mainly driving around upstate New York house shopping. She had to look a good hour away from the city to find anything for a decent price and living space ratio. Thankfully, Nick had given her use of a SHIELD SUV for travelling with them since her Corolla had been crushed by her apartment building. Not to mention, as comical as it would have been, she couldn't have imagined Thor or Loki trying to squeeze themselves into her late sedan. She had to give up on her painkillers to stay fit to drive, sticking with good ol' over-the-counter stuff. It wasn't as effective; but she tried to keep it to herself. She knew with every hiss of pain climbing in and out of that car, she was met with the look of a hurt puppy from the person responsible for her discomfort. And he was ridiculously good at it. Of all the expressions she never expected to see from him... Technically he shoud have felt guilty; but she was finding it increasingly difficult to be angry with him. It was kind of an accident, she guessed, in the the sense that it was meant for someone else. Normal-people mistakes were more along the lines of backing into your car or forgetting to feed your cat when you asked. Loki accidentally almost killed people.

The first sign of trouble had to have been when Thor made a small comment about being stuck in the back seat all of the time, claiming that he couldn't see where they were going very well. She hadn't noticed Loki had taken to sitting next to her in the front, as he must have imagined was his right. She had long since accepted his entitlement complex and hadn't thought much of it; but she supposed it was a predictable complaint for someone who was used to flying around wherever he wanted whe nthey were forced to stoop to the vehicles of mere mortals. A car could be cramped compared to the sky. She explained the rules of "Shotgun" and thought the problem would be solved. She was pretty sure they both thought it undignified at first until they realized it was a way for them to compete without actually killing each other. There was her first mistake. Let's just say, Darcy never thought she would have to specify the exact time at which shotgun could and could not be called to the God of Thunder and the God of Mischief.

Finding a house to suit them both had been hell; and considering what she had been through the past few weeks, that was saying something. Of course she hadn't really considered they were both accustomed to living in a golden palace in some kind of sky world. Unfortunately, she doubted any of those were for lease in the Tri-State area. She learned quickly to avoid the phrase 'master bedroom.' God forbid one of them have a bedroom bigger than the other. The complaining was all handled with great dignity, which made it even more annoying. Thor, while obviously trying to be a good sport about helping his brother, managed to reveal his issues through little, indiscriminate comments. Do both rooms have their own bathing room? My hand touches the ceiling in this dwelling. Loki was took a slightly more obvious approach to showing his displeasure. I suppose this is technically supposed to be my punishment.

Darcy struck gold after a week and a half of looking with a two bedroom house that was also furnished. The owner had recently inherited it and had yet to get rid of the furniture, which was handy, because she had absolutely none. The bedrooms were exactly the same with two, separate, equally designed bathrooms. What was better was the basement that had been turned into a very nice living area. It was very large, and she imagined that she could just screen off part of it for her room until she moved out. When she asked them how they liked it, they both confirmed, as enthusiastically as each of them were able to express, that they liked it. Although, she was pretty sure that was because she was saying with her eyes that she would cry if she had to look for housing for one more day.

She was happy that after two weeks, she was officially out of Stark Tower. She supposed she liked Tony in the sense that she kind of wanted to slap his face when she saw him in friendly kind of way. He kind of grew on you like that. She was grateful he let her stay with him for a few weeks; but she had known she had to get out soon, as what she referred to as the JARVIS Wars was about to get out of hand. Needless to say, Tony was still bitter about the whole Aqua thing (even though she felt she wasn't completely to blame for it). When it appeared she was beginning her recovery from her injury, Tony had taken it upon himself to have JARVIS play Call Me, Maybe played throughout the entire night in her room. It was low enough so that she didn't want to sleep on a couch somewhere, but loud enough for her to hear it at all. She had, in turn, upped the stakes when she hacked in JARVIS again to have him wake Tony up with the sound of an airhorn at 5am in the morning. Pepper was out of town, and he and Thor (with even Loki tagging along, she had noticed) had been out drinking the night before. It could not have been more perfect. She had a feeling, though, that she didn't want to be around for the retaliation.

She honestly had thought her new responsibilities would be relatively easy. Sure, there was the inevitable tension that came with being around Loki since she was still unsure of how to act around him; but Thor managed to distract enough from it. She could think of less interesting ways to spending her days than galavanting around with two Asgardians. As she collapsed on the twin bed (without even any sheets) she had bought for herself in the cold, quiet basement that was now her room, she let the exhaustion of the two weeks overtake her. There was still so much to do. All the mundane details that came with living were now matters of national security because she happened to be responsible for two superhuman beings that didn't even have driver's licenses.

Thor realized when Darcy disappeared into her small room of their new dwelling, leaving only he and his brother in the living room, how much her presence had been a constant in their lives for the past two weeks. Her seemingly unending chatter had been managed to ease the two of them into a somewhat amiable relationship, allowing them to not really have to speak to each other. She had worked very hard to make sure that the two of them were as happy as possible in their new and strange situation. They had moved into the house she had chosen that day. Darcy had cleaned and straightened the house, made sure their rooms and beds were fitted with linens and the device known as the television was hooked up before she retired mid-day. He knew she needed the rest, as she was still recovering from injuries; but her absence during the day was noticed by both of them.

A pregnant silence permeated the living room as Thor sat in the living chair across from his brother. He had to say, they looked very Midgardian. Banner had been gracious enough to take him shopping for appropriate attire, as Darcy said she didn't care how much she got paid, she was not she was not going "Pretty Woman" shopping with him. (So much of what the girl made no sense.) His brother suffered no such trouble, as he was able to make his attire appear as he wished, as always.

The longer the silence stretched between them, the louder it became to Thor's ears. Loki made enough polite conversation in the presence of others, especially Darcy. When they were alone, however, the divide between them seemed to widen by the second. He knew attempting to bridge the gap between them would not be overnight; but he didn't know it would seem so... impossible. There was so much he wanted to say and yet was afraid to breaking the timid truce on which they stood. He knew he should just leave well enough alone, but subtlety had never been his nature.

Thor was still unsure of the relationship between his two companions. Darcy had neither avoided Loki nor sought him out for the past weeks, and his brother the same. They were painfully neutral toward one another. Thor would have second-guessed his assertion to his mother regarding Loki's feelings if not for the occasional crack in the facade of cool indifference he sought to hold. Loki held more fastly to the doctor's order that Darcy not lift anything more than ten pounds than she did. He had more than once taken something from her hands to keep her from stubbornly injuring herself. He rarely smiled, but when he did, but on a few occasions a shimmer of his former humor had surfaced, around Darcy. In return, he occasionally caught her looking at his brother with a mixture of sadness and something else he could not quite read from the mortal. They thought he was clueless about most things, which he would admit to being less observant than most. If one knew what to look for, however, neither one of them was doing a good job of hiding it. He knew not how he should feel about it. Part of him was happy his Loki found kinship of sorts in his young friend. Another part feared what would come of it. Loki was intense in his emotions, whether it was love or hate. His love for their father had driven him to attempt to destroy Jotunheim to prove his worth. His hate had driven him eventually to his attack on the earth. Whatever the outcome, though, he would not interfere unless he thought Darcy in danger. If there was anything that he did not want to do, it was give his brother any more ammunition to resent him.

"Have you gotten to settle into your new room?" Thor finally ventured awkwardly. Loki looked at him, as he seemed to have been lost in his own thought.

"There was not a lot to settle. I do not have any possessions. But well enough, I suppose."

Silence.

"Do you know where you wish to dine tonight?" Thor asked.

"I believe Darcy expressed a desire to cook this evening," Loki replied. "I figured she must have something in mind."

Silence.

Thor continued to look around awkwardly, searching for a topic.

"Brother, you need not prop the blanket of quiet up with words," Loki continued. "I am perfectly fine with the silence."

"We use to converse much more easily," Thor said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"There are many things that have changed," Loki said in a tone unreadable to his brother. A sudden chime broke the silence. Thor recognized it as Darcy's mobile communication device that she had left on the counter. Thor stood and approached the small object. A picture of Stark with his usual arrogant smirk holding two finger up graced the front cover. He pressed the green button.

"Greetings, Stark! This is Thor... No, Darcy is asleep at the moment... No, Stark. I will not assist you in your quest for vengeance of being woken up yesterday. It is I who must live with her now. Yes, we are settled, I believe... Oh?... I would be most happy to assist! Of course... I shall be there soon." Thor very purposefully pressed the red button to end his conversation. "Loki, Stark has asked that I join him at his tower. He requested that I assist him in an experiment he has been working on. He said he needs 'serious juice.' I do not know how I can assist in such a way, but I will go."

"Very well," Loki replied, showing no sign of being pleased or displeased. Thor hesitated a moment before going to retrieve Mjolnir from his room. (Darcy had been very clear that there would be no calling Mjolnir to him in the house.)

"I shall return soon, then," he said leaving, giving one last parting glance to his new home, hoping all would be well when he returned.

It was late into the evening when Loki heard the soft creaking of the basement stairs. It appeared Darcy had woken and was about to come up. Considering it had been four hours since Thor had left for the city and he had only the television to keep him company, he was anxious for the distraction Darcy was sure to provide. Truly, giving up his machinations left quite the void in his agenda. If anything were to be the end of him at this point, it would be boredom.

He waited as Darcy appeared in the living room, still shaking the cobwebs of sleep. She looked out the window, apparently noticing the lack of daylight.

"God, is it tomorrow?" she said drowsily, rubbing her eyes and plopping down on the couch next to him.

"It don't think one could actually be in tomorrow, I imagine; but if you are questioning as to whether or not the full day has passed: no. It is seven o'clock."

"Crap. I didn't even buy any food and I'm starving."

"I believe we have survived on restaurants these past two weeks. I doubt one more night will hurt."

"Where's Thor?" she asked, looking around.

"The Iron Man called him to lend assistance with something he was working on."

"Ah. Well, just us then. Are we ordering in or eating out?"

"I wouldn't not mind being out of doors for a while."

"Eating out it is. I saw a Japanese place down the street I wanted to try," she said, getting up grab the things she always took with her. "Do you mind?"

"Not in the slightest," he replied, getting up himself.

Apparently, Loki pondered, when all three of them were not together, they found it impossible to speak to one another. Darcy and Thor conversed easily enough with one another and had made effort to include him in conversation. He had found himself alone with both of them that day absolutely unsure of what to say to either of them. The entire car ride to their destination had been absolutely silent, save for whatever music Darcy chose to play. At the restaurant as they waited for their food to arrive, the silence won out once more. If he were honest with himself, he would admit he was slightly less peeved with his inability to speak with Thor than with Darcy. He felt that they had settled to a comfortable co-existence with one another; but in the face of their inability to really speak to one another without his brother as a distraction, he realized there was still a very large and proverbial elephant in the room. They would have to face it, if he wanted any kind of peace between them. He would not deny that he did.

"Darcy?" he started. She looked up from the dessert menu with which she had been busying herself to avoid talking to him.

"Yeah?"

"I have never... apologized... for hurting you. I know it seems useless now; but I would like to make the effort all the same." She continued to stare at him, surprisingly patient for him to continue. "I am... sorry to have put you in such danger and caused you so much pain, physical and otherwise. I cannot say I regret many of my actions; but nearly killing you is one that I do." Her face shifted into an expression he found himself unsure of how to interpret. All the same, it was the first thing of any substance he had said to her since she had run full speed away from him before his attack. As usual, her eyes looked everywhere but at him as she tried to respond.

"It's not useless," she said plainly, a slight shrug in her shoulders, finally bringing her eyes up to meet his. "And I... forgive you." There was a convenient pause in their conversation as they were served their food. Darcy picked up the two sticks that had come with their food. "You can ask for a fork, if you want; but if you want to do Asian food right, you use chopsticks." He watched the mechanic of how she picked up her chicken and noodles with the utensils and followed suit easily. She took a few breaths while stirring her food, seemingly gathering her courage for whatever she was prepared to say.

"I don't get you," she said. "I appreciate the gesture, I do, but why apologize to me when you could care less about what anyone else thinks of you?"

"I am... fond of you."

"I'm the least useful person you've had contact with," she said, continuing to mix her food together, struggling to meet his eyes again. "Why would you be fond of me?"

"Are you fishing for compliments, Miss Lewis?" he asked teasingly. She rolled her eyes.

"I am trying to understand where I stand with you. I..." she paused, trying to break her own tension by taking a bite of her food. She was struggling to keep the messy noodles in line. "I feel like we were friends, or something. But ever since I have... had a choice in the matter, I don't really know what to do. I don't know what was real or what was you just messing with me. All the same..." she stopping, taking a deep, uneasy breath as she closed her eyes for a moment.

"I assume you are mainly referring to what I said before I let you go?" Her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. "We can address it as well, if it puts you more at ease."

"You don't have to apologize for ever tiny thing you did to piss your brother off. I get the general-"

"I'm not apologizing for it," he interrupted. "Nor was it an attempt to anger my brother." She looked confused.

"Then what was it?"

"An honest attempt to seduce you," he said, matter-of-factly. "It was sloppier than I would have liked, I will admit. I am unused to acting without a plan. I will have to blame it on the heat of the moment." Her eyes grew until he was quite certain they would depart from her skull. What a shame that would be.

"This is you trying to put me more at ease?" she asked skeptically, taking a drink of water. "As if this new living situation wasn't awkward already."

"You expressed a desire to know where we stood did you not? It is all out in the open now and you need not wonder," he said, taking a drink of wine that he ordered.

"Hardly," Darcy said, frustrated.

"Then allow me to be perfectly clear, my dense little mortal," he said. "You are the most ridiculous creature I have ever met in my over thousand years of living. You were amusing as my slave; and I wished to know what you were like when left to your own devices, and I have yet to be disappointed with my decision, despite the fact that it may or may not have cost me my plans to rule this spit of rock you call home. You were and are not without your appeal; my defeat has done little to affect my opinion in that. While I am quite certain my actions as of late would make you no more keen on accepting my offer, should you change your mind, I'm certain you would find me in an obliging mood. This planet has officially become boring."