The Scenthound certainly did live up to the legends. It tracked the Frost Giant easily, finding it within half an hour- making Loki both incredibly relieved and incredibly annoyed that such a thing was possible. All the time he could have saved! Not to mention Darcy not needing to be mad at him... It was frustrating.

The Frost Giant had indeed been in Elbenheim, living deep within an ice cave with twelve other Frost Giants. Loki would not have killed the others, but they'd attacked as a group, and in order to get to the one he needed, they'd all died. It had been nice that Thor was at his back. Loki did not like to admit it, but it felt good. Like old times.

Leaving Elbenheim once the task was done, Loki had flashed Thor and himself to Asgard, once more to take his punishment from Odin. Again, he felt no shame in what he had done- he would never be able to regret getting rid of the band. It had saved Darcy's life, and there could be no price too high for such a thing. He didn't regret leaving his punishment of atoning on Midgard, either. Again, he'd had to protect Darcy. But he agreed that Odin would be justified in being furious and in meting out a harsher punishment, whatever that might be.

He stood once more in the Great Hall, before Odin's throne, feeling again like the wayward son he had been so many times before. As a child he seemed constantly to be getting in trouble. When he wasn't with his mother- and he'd outgrown spending his days with her by his eleventh birthday- he'd had to search out ways to entertain himself, because the other children made fun of him for being smaller and weaker. Most of his entertainment came about in the form of playing pranks on them, some of which got him sent to Odin for a stern talking-to.

He'd felt bad, because he knew his father was a busy man. He was a king- he had important, kingly things to do. It could only be an annoyance to him to once again have to see his youngest son misbehaving and in need of reprimanding. And yet, those times when Odin was shaking his head in disappointment or yelling furiously at him for whatever stunt he had pulled were the only times that Loki really ever got attention from his father. When Thor was around he took center stage, and Odin could not spare attention for Loki- not that that even happened frequently anyways. They saw little of their father, as he really was a busy man.

As he stood there he felt as well the familiar unsurety of what to do with his hands. He felt very fidgety. He hated that- the lack of control that Odin could reduce him to. Finally he clasped them behind his back to contain them.

Odin sat in his great throne, his face unreadable. Thor had left, back to Midgard as he was no longer needed. Frigga was not beside Odin, and Loki wondered where she might be. As he had not for many years, he now felt the urge to see her, and to hear her soft voice. To speak with her of Darcy and of how confused he was.

"Here we are," Odin said at last. "Again. Tell me, Loki. What am I to do with you? It is not my wish to punish you, and yet at every turn you seem to beg me for it. I cannot allow you to walk free from this. You have spat in the face of my authority and I cannot let that stand. Yet what am I to do with you?" he asked again. "I have already taken your powers away and you have simply gotten them back. We have tried numerous other punishments in the past, some of which I am truly sorry for, and ashamed that I did so in anger... but you never learn your lesson, Loki."

"And what lesson is that?" It slipped out of Loki before he could think better of it. "That you cannot stand that I can oppose you, and you seek to prove to yourself that I am weaker than you?"

"No," Odin said sharply, growing angry. He stood and began pacing in front of his throne and Loki was surprised at this show of unrest from Odin, who was so often more contained and staid, even in anger. "Always you play that this is some kind of game, Loki! This is not a game that I play with you! I am not doing this to try and beat you down until you grovel at my feet- I am trying to help you."

"Help me?" Loki asked, laughing bitterly. "How would it help me to sew my mouth shut for months on end? How would it help me to be stripped of my powers so that an enemy very nearly killed-" He stopped abruptly, not meaning to speak of Darcy to Odin. He did not want her getting mixed up in this, if possible, and he again cursed his lack of control when near Odin. It was just as well that his original plan of getting the band had failed, for she would certainly have been on Odin's map if so.

"Yes," Odin said, thoughtfully. "That's right. Thor mentioned something about a girl. Darla, was it?"

Fucking Thor. Loki said nothing, silently cursing Thor to the deepest pits of hell.

"You're not speaking of her, I suppose," Odin noted, tilting his head and considering this. "We'll get to that in a moment. As for what you've just said- my methods may have been a bit harsh, but your crimes were not without merit for them and I had hopes that you would take something away from the experience. I sewed your mouth shut to teach you the power of speech. You are a master of laying webs of lies, Loki, and while I am proud of your skill-"

Proud? What was this? Odin was proud of something Loki had done?

"- it is not something to be used so lightly as you were doing. You hurt many in your carelessness, and I thought to show you that you do not have to lie, and that there is a price to be paid for doing so with ill intent."

Huh. Looking back, Loki could see how that might be what he was supposed to have taken from the experience. At the time he hadn't learned anything though. He'd simply fumed and plotted until he'd gotten the damn thread out, and then he'd been right back to his old ways. It had actually been Darcy who had taught him, only recently, the power that words could have. She'd teased, argued, sympathized, and accused him at times- and there'd been an honesty and sincerity in everything she'd done that had made a deep impression on Loki. Except for when she'd fooled him into thinking she was helping him get his band off, he remember, smiling fondly at the memory- but that was the rare exception. She was enchantingly sincere the other 9(% of the time.

"And as far as your sentence on Midgard goes," Odin continued, "that one at least should be fairly obvious, yes? For you to learn to clean up your messes. And to understand mortals better by living like one. To gain a respect for another way of life, instead of absently destroying it."

Loki had understood that, and it had, bizarrely- as most of Odin's punishments yielded no change in his personality- actually probably been the best thing that Odin had ever done for him. He'd met Darcy because of it. And he'd been in a position where he was almost forced into getting to know her better. If he'd had his powers, who knew if he would have had the inclination to know more of one strange, mortal woman? He probably wouldn't have. He never had before. So in a way, Loki actually owed Odin a debt for that. He was glad of the changes that Darcy had wrought in him. The world seemed so much brighter now- so much more filled with possibilities.

Odin sighed. "But perhaps I have not been clear enough. Have you learned anything? I am at my wit's end here, Loki. You must be punished, and yet there is no punishment I can think of that you will benefit from. I do not want to mindlessly put you in pain, Loki, but what am I to do! You must be punished."

"I don't know what you are expecting of me right now," Loki said. "Do you want me to tell you how to punish me?"

"No," Odin said heavily, sitting back down in his chair and putting his head in his hands for a moment. In such a position he looked older to Loki than he ever had, his hair seemed whiter and his body more bent. When he lifted his head from his hands again Loki noted how worn and tired his face looked. If he was mortal, he would be near death Loki knew. But what would the world be like without Odin in it? The thought was a strange one, and depressing.

"Do you ever think about dying?" Loki asked suddenly, surprising himself with the question. Odin looked surprised as well. "About, you know, what comes after. Or...what it would be like if we were not immortal." He'd been thinking about it a lot lately, because of Darcy and her mortality.

"What is this?" Odin asked, intrigued. "What makes you ask these strange questions?"

Loki shrugged and looked away, uncomfortable and wishing he hadn't brought it up. He could have lied easily and given some believable reason for it, but lately he had lost the heart for lying, and yet he did not want to tell Odin the truth.

"Is it this girl that Thor spoke of?" Odin guessed, studying Loki intently. Loki just stared defiantly at him, silent. "She must be something special. I have never seen you like this."

Loki looked at him hard. "Leave her out of this," he warned Odin coldly.

Odin had always been struck by the relative docility that Loki exhibited when brought before him for punishment. It was so at odds with his almost tauntingly reckless behavior at other times. So this new harshness that had come over Loki at the mention of the mortal intrigued him.

"As you wish," he said, an idea forming in his mind.

Returning back to the question Loki had asked, he said, "And yes. I have. There have been times in battle when I was sure I would not live to clean my sword of the blood, and that I would go and join our ancestors in the stars. I have lived long and am prepared to meet my end, whenever it comes. But to not be immortal? Never. While it is admirable to have an understanding of how mortals live, and thus a certain respect for it, never confuse that with the idea that their way is better. Make no mistake, their lives are small, fragile things, and we would do well to learn from their misfortunes."

Loki relaxed at this, grateful to be off of the subject of Darcy.

"And yet sometimes I wonder if they don't live more than we do," he said absently, thinking of his time on Midgard, and of Darcy and her vivaciousness- and then of Asgardians, so staid in comparison, and so somber.

"Go see your mother," Odin said suddenly. "She is in her gardens and wished to see you. I will consider your punishment."

Loki was surprised by this show of deliberation by Odin, curious what he would eventually settle on as a punishment but confident that it would be nothing too horrible. Loki was just impatient to get back to Darcy. He had wanted to see his mother though, and was glad of this excuse.

He bowed his head in deference- a not entirely hollow gesture- and left the Great Hall.


Loki found Frigga kneeling in her gardens, weeding a bed of lilac roses and humming a pretty tune.

"Hail, mother," he said, finding the sight of her as he had seen her many times to be a calming thing. The thought that he could always find her, caring for her gardens, was a comfort.

She looked up quickly at his words and a bright, joyous smile appeared. "Loki!" She cried, standing and brushing the dirt off of her fingers. She hugged him tightly and he hugged her back, her slight frame somehow managing to imbue a sense of home and security.

"My son, but it is good to see you," she said, staring up at him, her eyes misty and soft.

"And you as well, mother." Though he did feel the guilt at seeing her that he always did- and had avoided seeing her for- it was not as bad as he'd thought it would be. He found that he felt no inclination to avoid her anymore. Yes, he had faults and he wished he could correct them for her, but whether he did or he didn't she was his mother and she clearly loved him.

"What is all this I hear about a girl, Loki?" She asked, beckoning him to sit beside her on one of the benches in her garden. "Thor was here earlier and was telling me about it. He said you...kidnapped...her. Is this true? Why would you do such a thing?"

"I..." Loki said, sitting beside her and wondering how to say it. He had never said the words before and they caught in his throat a bit. "Mother, I think I- I love her." It felt good to say. It felt right. Some tension he had not been aware of within himself relaxed at the admission.

Frigga's eyes widened. "My son- truly?" She asked, clearly delighted at the prospect. "What is her name? What is she like? Tell me, my son, for I am overjoyed for you! Although I do not entirely understand your method of courtship..."

He laughed at her excitement, glad for this enthusiastic reception from her. Honestly, he needed very little coaxing at this point to speak of Darcy. She consumed his every thought. Even now, nice though it was to see his mother again and to speak with her, he yearned to be with Darcy. She would be so angry with him though...he was not looking forward to that.

"Her name is Darcy," he started, "and she is the most beautiful creature I have ever beheld. Mother, you would not believe how gorgeous she is- she does this thing where she bites her lip when she's thinking, and it never fails to make me-" he coughed, mildly embarrassed, having forgotten that he was speaking to his mother. Frigga just smiled at him in delight. "Anyways," Loki continued, "she is the sweetest, most caring, ridiculous female I have ever met. It is as if it is impossible for her head to win an argument over her heart. It is adorable. And she is so full of life, mother- I feel that I am only now beginning to live, now that I have met her."

Frigga sat astounded by the near poetry that her younger, harder son was now spouting. She had long despaired of ever believing their was a woman who could capture his interest, and to hear that she was wrong was like music to her ears. Visions of grand-babies danced through her head.

"But how does she feel?" Frigga asked, worried. Frigga loved Loki with her whole heart, but she recognized that he would not be an easy man for a mortal to love. "You took her from her home, yes?"

"Yes," Loki said glumly, his previous enthusiasm draining. "She will not be happy with me. I had to do things that I regret now, more than she can ever know. And yet, before that- I had thought..." He stared off at a budding rosebush. "I think she liked me." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Of course I've fucked everything up now, so who knows..."

"Well, if she has any sense at all then she will see that you love her," Frigga said fiercely.

"But will she care?" Loki asked, tormented by the thought. What if she just decided to be rid of him? To wash her hands of him. He would not fault her for it- he had come unwanted into her life and then proceeded to mess it up for her. Why would she care if he loved her or not?

"Loki," Frigga said confidently, "The reasons we do things are incredibly important. You have much to offer if you wanted to- any woman would be lucky to have you. She will care that you love her. Trust me, it makes all the difference."

Loki sighed, not so sure about that. They talked for a long while about Darcy, and about Loki's life, neither of them realizing that they had an eavesdropper.


Odin listened to them, amazed at what he was hearing. This mortal, Darcy, appeared to have done what Odin had long failed to. She had made Loki want more than the life of a trickster, acting on whims like a child. He wanted to meet this curious woman.


Darcy had woken disoriented from a deep but fitful sleep to find herself on her own couch. Jane had been there and she'd brought Darcy up to speed on what had happened and asked some questions of her own.

"What was it like," Jane asked curiously, "being kidnapped by Loki?"

Darcy was filled with conflicting emotions about her time in Belheim. She didn't want to think about it because how she felt and how she thought she should feel were so at odds, and yet she wanted desperately to discuss it to try and get clarity. So she did.

"It was...kind of nice," she admitted reluctantly. "Loki is very sweet, if you would believe it." Jane looked like she didn't believe it, making Darcy laugh. "No! He is though. I mean, it's not that I wanted to be there necessarily, but I got to do pretty much whatever I wanted while I was there and he brought me everything I asked for. He didn't hold me in a dungeon or anything. The only reason he took me there in the first place was because he was worried about me."

"Really?" Jane asked, skeptical. "The only reason? This is Loki we're talking about, Darcy. He has like a million reasons for every word he says."

Darcy frowned. "Well, that's a gross exaggeration," she said, a little annoyed. "He's really not that bad. I mean, maybe at first he was a little dodgy but not anymore."

"Oh honey," Jane said, her face sympathetic. "You're not in love with him are you? Please tell me you're not. That would be such a Titanic thing to do. Crash and burn. No survivors."

"I- what? I mean, I-" Darcy spluttered. "Of course not! That would be crazy. He's the God of Mischief, Jane. He's immortal. And he likes to cause trouble and start wars and stuff. Well," she amended, "not likes to, but he does it. And I was stabbed because of him. And then he took me over to his fortress place on another fucking dimension and held me captive there for like a month. And was really nice to me and made me laugh and feel things-" She looked at Jane, confused. "Janey, he brainwashed me." She still couldn't believe he'd done that. It seemed so unlike what she thought she knew of him. And yet while her memories of that were hazy, she could clearly recall how unhappy and tortured he'd seemed. She didn't want to soften to him! She wanted to be angry and self-righteous. But...he'd looked so wretched. He really thought he was helping her. "I should hate him. So why do I miss him so much?"

It was in the late hours of the night by now, and Loki had made no appearance. Jane had told her that Loki thought he wouldn't be back for a while, and she'd thought that was a good thing. That she'd be able to sort through her feelings by then. But it had hardly been a day and she already missed him like crazy. It felt so strange, and wrong, that he wasn't just there. They'd been together almost constantly for so long.

"It's probably just Stockholm Syndrome," Jane said, yawning, though she didn't sound so sure.

"But I liked him before this whole thing," Darcy said. "Like, a lot." She thought back to how she'd felt about him back then, considering. "Maybe I do love him."

"Wow!" Jane exclaimed, standing up. "Okay, no. You do not love him! Because that, my dear, delusional friend, is crazy talk. And now, reluctant though I may be to leave you with these insane thoughts, I have to go. I'm so tired that I could just fall asleep on my feet. But can I use the bathroom first? This baby is sleeping on my bladder..."

Darcy's mouth dropped. "The what?" she asked.

Jane's face went through a comical run of surprise, guilt, and then happiness.

"Well, yes..." She said. "I wasn't supposed to say anything for a while, just in case- but... Darcy! I'm having a baby!"

"Oh my god, you bitch!" Darcy cried excitedly, forgetting about Loki for the moment. "How far along are you? Why didn't you tell me? Is it a boy or a girl? When are you due? I'm so happy for you!" She glared at her. "I better be that child's godmother."

Jane grinned. "I'm about three and a half months along, so it should be a spring baby. Probably March. We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet- we don't want to find out until they're born. And I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before-" she looked so guilty. "But we'd just found out a few weeks before we went to that bar-"

"Oh my god!" Darcy cried. ""That's right! You went to a bar. What were you thinking? Janie, you can't drink-"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Yes, Darcy. I know that. I just had water."

"Oh. Right." Darcy said. Of course.

"And anyways," Jane continued. "Then you disappeared for a month and I couldn't have told you anyways. And of course you have to be the baby's godmother. As if I'd let you get off the hook. This baby is going to need some sweet presents, and also as godmother you're going to be needed to babysit whenever I want you to."

Darcy grinned. This baby was going to change things. It was like a whole new era in her life. Jane and Thor with kids- it would be adorable. But there was no way she was going to be changing diapers.


Jane left soon after that, and Darcy returned to her own thoughts and memories of the previous months. The news about the baby had been a nice distraction, but with Jane's leaving it had faded into the background and Loki was once more her mind's obsession.

Her house hadn't been the cleanest when she'd left it, and she spent the next few hours getting it back into shape. It was late but she wasn't tired. She had no interest in being unconscious, feeling like she'd already been out of it for too long anyways. Try as she might, she just couldn't remember too much about being brainwashed. Just that she'd talked a lot, and that Loki had looked so sad.

Loki...

Darcy sighed as she cleaned the counter. What was she going to do? This was the second time that she'd had to decide what to do about having him in her life. The first time had been months ago, though it seemed like far longer- after she'd accidentally blurted out that she liked him. At the time he'd said he liked her too, but she'd known he was lying. When she'd gone away to think about things, she'd had every intention of just cutting him out of her life because it was all just too complicated, but... That hadn't lasted long. Almost immediately after coming back he'd showed up at her work with this sob-story about his mother, and she'd just been unable to resist. Of course, now things were even more complicated...

How could she ever trust him? That was the biggest problem. Because she didn't see the point of a relationship without trust. And she wanted to. She wanted to trust Loki so badly. But she just couldn't see it happening. She'd thought he'd grown to respect her, but he obviously hadn't or he wouldn't have taken away her free will.

So common sense said that she should write him out of her life and move on. But she wanted him.

"Ugh," she said as she tidied up her bedroom. "Guys are the worst. At first you're all 'Ew he's a guy. Gross. He pees standing up- what a weirdo. And he tried to take over the world and he killed a bunch of people. He's so evil and he's got a weird helmet.' But then they make you go all 'Omg I know he's evil but look at his chest like wow he has really nice abs and why is his face so good. His cheekbones could cut my lips, and I kinda want them to so wow that's good and also really healthy because everyone should want to hurt themselves on the beauty of men- like Jesus Christ how fucked up is this!' And but so then they also have to be less evil than you thought and they make you understand them and they start being really nice to you and make you think 'Holy God he might actually like me too and maybe if we had sex then everything would be okay and he would just stop being all broody and misunderstood because he would just totally fall in love with me even though that's such a ridiculous and naïve thing to think but by that point you're just like screw rational thought I just want his cock so I'm not even going to think too much about what this means.' And then you actually do sleep together and it's amazing, and he's being really nice and everything's going great- until you realize he totally lied to you and was basically using you and then you get stabbed and kidnapped and you start thinking 'Well fuck if I can handle this I want out because this is way more emotional pain than I need thank you very much I would like to get off the Masochist Express and stop hitting my head against a wall here' but he won't let you because he's worried about you, so then you're all like 'Oh wait but so this is slightly nice he actually cares about me after all so maybe we can do this.' Except that he won't let you leave, which is bad, and then he has to start being super sweet and caring and nice- god damn him!- and dances with you and then he gets all broody controlly and you're like 'I can't believe I forgot that I'm still being held here mostly against my will how could I ever think this would work I'm crazy, what am I doing-'"

Darcy flopped back onto her bed and sighed hugely.

"And then he has to go and brainwash you and rip your heart out and look so sad about it that you can't even work up a good angriness about it. It's infuriating."

"Well," a voice said from the doorway. "I can certainly see why you would gain his attention."

Darcy shrieked, scrambling off the bed and brandishing a candlestick from her bed-side table. "Who the fuck are you?" She asked, glaring at an old man with white hair and an eye-patch. He was wearing strange clothes that could have been armor.

"I am Odin," the man said imperiously. "King of Asgard."

"Oh," Darcy said, and threw the candlestick at him.