Loki could feel her sadness: it radiated across the entire Bifrost, and yet no one else seemed to notice. After one very long week, it was finally time for Apollo to return to Olympus, and Loki knew that it absolutely destroyed Artemis to see him leave.

His lover had been preoccupied with her brother every minute of every day that the man was in Asgard, and as happy as it made Loki to see her so content, he wished she would have given him a moment alone – he missed her. Her scent had disappeared from his sheets, and it seemed as though he could no longer remember what she felt like beneath him. Perhaps the latter was a touch too dramatic, but in a way that was truly the depth of how greatly he missed her company. She was there, wandering the palace and city and countryside with leisure, and yet in a way she wasn't there. He wanted her back – Loki needed her back.

With Thor's coronation and wedding fast-approaching, Loki desired to spend every selfish moment he could with the beautiful Olympian who had enraptured him so. It did him no good to have her wander off every single day with her brother, completely unaware that Loki even existed. Yes, they had spoken over meals, and even participated in a harmless dance or two at the various celebrations his mother saw fit to host while Apollo was visiting, but it felt like there was some immense distance between them. A part of Loki feared that this was to be their fate once she married Thor: they would be together yet apart for an eternity, and there would be nothing he could do about it.

So, when he awoke that morning, Loki was glad to be seeing Apollo off. The man had certainly been enjoyable, and Loki truly relished watching his brother struggle to find some common ground between them. Apollo was some strange entity that was neither completely masculine nor feminine, but an obscure mix of the two. He was a god of music and poetry, and yet told stories of such fierce battles that he may offer competition for Thor's tales. He had been fairly kind to Loki too, opting to steer clear of the usual jokes that Thor and the Warriors Three threw about whenever Loki made the mistake of saying something wrong – it usually occurred when the rest had been drinking, and he had grown accustomed to it long ago.

Still, as much as it pleased him to find another Olympian ally in the sea of repetitive jeers and jokes that encompassed Loki's life, he wanted him gone. Their day had been full of laughter and boisterous stories from his father – as if the man hadn't told enough while Apollo was visiting – but as night crept across the sky, Loki had sensed a change in Artemis. Her smile was less brilliant, and there was an obvious unhappiness in her eyes whenever she looked at her brother. She tried desperately to remain upbeat, but that did not keep her from holding her brother's hand for their entire duration on the Bifrost's rainbow bridge.

To his credit, Apollo seemed amicable and friendly for the entire march, never once giving in to Artemis's childish tugs away from the group. He kept her grounded, and Loki hoped that his lover wouldn't fall into some sort of depression with the man gone. However, it was definitely time to leave, and he hovered near the rear of the group, eager to return to the palace for the night to console his lady in privacy.

As expected, the large group came to a halt when they reached Heimdall, and the massive man had already situated himself atop the golden arch – ready for transport. Apollo addressed his father first, bowing dramatically low – much to the All-father's outward delight – and then clasping his hand once the elderly Asgardian extended it to him. Loki watched him move onto his mother, whose hand the Olympian kissed sweetly, and then onward to Thor. They clasped forearms like warrior companions, though Loki knew it was more of a show for their families than anything else. By default, Apollo moved onto Artemis's servant girls shortly after, each of whom earned a tender kiss on both cheeks, and Loki swore that the human blushed. Artemis would be last, naturally, so he was the only one of the group that the Olympian needed to bid farewell to.

Much to his surprise, Loki found that the man saw fit to hug him. He blinked back his surprise and cautiously patted the man's muscular back, his movements stiff and unnatural.

"Take care of her," Apollo murmured in his ear, squeezing tight and slapping his back. "My father will murder you both should he discover you."

Loki schooled his features, completely stunned at the omission, and then forced some strange sort of smile when they broke apart.

"Safe travels," he managed, fully aware that both his father and brother watched the interaction with mild interest. Apollo gave him a grand smile in return and then slapped his arm.

"I'm only half-joking," the Olympian remarked quietly, winking for some sort of effect. "Farewell, Loki Odinson."

He nodded in return, and the Olympian turned on his sandal-clad heel and marched toward his sister. Artemis linked arms with him, and Loki watched the pair carefully as they sauntered leisurely toward the Bifrost's portal, speaking in hushed tones.

What had she told him? Had she even told him anything at all? Apollo seemed like the sort of man to make these sorts of conclusions without much prodding, and Loki immediately started to wonder if they were being too obvious. His eyes flickered toward Thor, who was whispering something to his mother; his brother hadn't the faintest idea that he had bedded his intended repeatedly for months now. No, but Apollo knew, and if one person beyond Loki and Artemis knew, there was a liability floating around.

He couldn't have someone ruin what he had with her – he wouldn't. His jaw clenched as the curly-haired blond leaned down and kissed Artemis on the forehead, her hands clutched around the fabric of his white toga. He tried to pull away, and Loki sighed when Artemis continued to cling to him; she rarely acted like a child, but it seemed Apollo managed to bring out that side of her. He wanted to simply march across the circular room and pry her hands from the man, but he would surely give himself up in that moment. Instead, the blonde servant – Callisto – cautiously strolled toward them and made a big show of warning Artemis that the Bifrost would suck her in if she lingered by its entrance.

Completely false, of course, but it seemed that it gave Artemis a reason to step back from her brother. Once she was at a "safe distance", Loki heard Heimdall begin the ancient process of magical transport between the realms. Apollo turned to face the group, giving one final farewell wave, and then blew a kiss to his sister. Moments later, a blur of colour surrounded him, and one moment he was there and the next he was not. It was always such a noisy affair, particularly for those left behind rather than those who used the Bifrost to travel, and Loki gritted his teeth as he waited for the process to end.

He had found less dramatic methods of transport in and out of the realm years ago during cautious explorations with his magic, but knew he would be punished if he put those paths on display. Instead, he kept them quiet, but they would have been less dramatic for Artemis.

When he had finally disappeared, Artemis and Callisto slowly rejoined the group, and Loki could immediately see that his lover held back her tears. With watery eyes, Artemis offered a small smile to the royal family, who all seemed to watch her with baited breath. Loki, meanwhile, shot a pointed look to Thor; had Artemis been his woman outright, Loki would have been the one holding her, not the servant girl.

"It will get easier in time," his mother told her kindly, reaching for Artemis's hand as the woman approached her. His lover took the small comfort in stride, her smile quite obviously forced as she clasped Frigga's hand, but she certainly looked as though she appreciated it.

"It's always difficult to part from him," she admitted as she swiped a finger beneath her eye and gave a weak chuckle. "We've been coming together and parting for centuries, and every time I become a mess. I'm sorry."

"Family is everything," his father told her, which made her swallow thickly. Loki finally met Thor's gaze from across the way, but then averted his stare elsewhere. "Never apologize for having their love close to you."

Artemis nodded with a sniffle, and once the All-father had turned back toward the city, the rest fell in line behind him. He wished he could march by her side, but her handmaidens seemed to take on that responsibility; the nymph even nudged Thor out of the way to be by her mistress. So, his brother was forced to fall back with him, and the group traveled in silence across the long multi-coloured bridge. When they eventually arrived at the palace, Artemis and her girls disappeared, and Thor departed shortly after, making his excuses about spending the night in the arena with the Warriors Three.

Loki held in a scoff: Thor would be in the arena, yes, but he knew for a fact that the Warriors Three were not going to be with him. His brother may have become better at hiding his dalliances with Lady Sif, but just barely – the other day, the man still had a mark on his neck from a passionate lover, and Loki assumed his brother wouldn't dare bed anyone beyond Sif. Besides, he also knew for a fact that the mark did not come from Artemis, and Thor played it off as a bruise from a skirmish in the arena, but even his mother seemed hesitant to believe the lie.

He said nothing, of course. No, Loki merely told the man to give the Warriors his best, and as his parents also drifted away in their own direction, Loki saw fit to sulk in the dark corridors. He then passed the time by tormenting two servants he found canoodling in the hallway – from a distance, mind you – by animating the portraits and statues around them. The woman eventually fled, eyes wide and lips trembling, and her ardent companion hurried after her. Loki remained in the shadows, grinning as he watched the pair rush by the column that shielded him from sight. Still, the game only temporarily improved his mood, and as he stalked down into the depths of the palace toward his bedchambers, he found that nothing he thought of would help the way he felt.

So, as much as he didn't particularly want to, Loki realized the rest of his night would consist of a book and sleep. He would have liked to have visited Artemis, especially now that he could be sure he wouldn't find her brother in her bed (that particular habit seemed to throw him), but he assumed that her handmaidens would be there to console her in her current state. If they weren't, it was probably because Artemis demanded to be alone.

He sighed as he approached his arched doorway, and then threw both doors open with a miserable huff. As expected, darkness enveloped him as he magically slammed the doors shut behind him, and it took nothing more than a flick of his wrist to illuminate the large chamber with candlelight. He had recently moved into the lowest levels of the palace, opting for a room that offered better privacy than the one he had before. Although he was usually the one to visit her, he wished for Artemis to feel safe in the shadows should she ever feel the urge to seek him out.

Once she was married, there would be little hope for him to sneak into her bedchambers, and that worried him. Artemis was certainly less proactive about seeking out sexual conquests – he rubbed his eyes wearily. It wasn't as if he only wanted her for the sexuality of it all, but it was certainly a pleasurable perk to the relationship.

He went straight for his wardrobe, peeling off the outer layers of his shirts and tossing them in without any care of how they ought to be hung. Let them be wrinkled! His fingers fumbled, however, when he started to unlace the bindings of his trousers, and he looked back sharply over his shoulder when he heard a faint chuckle from the far side of his room.

"Are you always so unobservant when you're alone?" Artemis inquired playfully, and Loki smiled when he spied her tucked up neatly beneath his beddings, hugging her knees to her chest. "Had I been an assassin, you would already be dead."

All form of angst and worry were cast aside as he strolled toward her, bare-chested and grinning like a simpleton. The surprise was such a pleasant one, even if she considered the gesture small. As he drew closer, he noticed her bare shoulders peeking out from beneath the linens, and he wondered if he might find her completely bare beneath it all. His arousal stirred easily at the thought, as it always did when it came to the blonde Olympian before him.

"Had you been an assassin," he purred, crawling across the large bed toward her, his eyes focused on hers, "I have no doubt that would have killed me long ago… somewhere very public…" He leaned forward to steal a tentative kiss. "And you would have gotten away with it."

"You think?" He kissed her again, this time lingering. His arms shook as they held him up, but not out of weariness, but rather anticipation. He had missed her.

"Oh, most definitely."

She then dropped all coy pretenses and cupped his face, yanking him forward for a kiss that expressed just how much she had missed him too. They hadn't been together since the night before Apollo's arrival, and Loki would have preferred to leave a better memory in her mind about their trysts. He parted his lips at her keen insistence, and then happy let her roll him onto his back. The linens slid away to reveal that she had forgone any sort of dress for the evening, and his eyes drifted shut as she ground her hips against his hardening length.

"I thought you might prefer solitude tonight," he insisted, a kiss breaking up each word. Artemis withdrew at the comment, settling atop him with her hands on his chest. "I would have come to you had I known-"

"I believe I need a distraction," she said softly, tracing her fingers lightly over his skin until they reached his nipple, which she pinched sharply. Loki hissed and batted her hand away, and she caught him by the wrist, bringing it to her chest. "I've missed you."

Loki swallowed thickly, touched by the frank omission, and merely nodded several times as he tugged her back down to him. He let her take charge completely – whatever she desired that night, she could have. After all, she had been kind enough to indulge in his desires before, even if she wasn't especially impressed with them. He fiddled with her hair as she went for the string bindings on his trousers, hastily unlacing them and tugging the troublesome fabric down his legs.

He would have liked to linger more – perhaps roll her onto her back and shower her with affection – but his lady was eager tonight. In fact, he barely needed to touch her before she slid down his entire length in a single move, sighing deeply with her head thrown back. Loki grimaced at the pleasure, at the heat and wetness that settled between them; it was a good thing he had let her take the reins, or he would have barreled on ahead and really fucked her without hesitation.

Instead, they loved one another slowly, with Artemis rising and falling and kissing, and Loki merely accepting whatever she had to give. He preferred her hands nestled in his hair, just as his long digits wove through hers. Their lips remained close, and were only forced apart when she suddenly gripped his shoulders and bucked against him, her eyes pressed tightly together and his name whispered as a plea. He took control then, thrusting against her as roughly as he dared until she cried out, her skin flushing the same soft pink it always did when she came.

He had been so lost in her that he barely noticed his own pleasure, but when she clenched around him, he was gone. A hand fisted in her hair as he dragged her close, grinding against her as he rode out the last of his climax, teeth grazing the skin of her neck. They stayed like that for some time, breathing heavily and nuzzling, until finally Artemis eased herself off of him, which made him groan.

"I missed you too," Loki murmured, curling an arm around her shoulder and keeping her by his side. The Olympian smiled – a genuine one at that – and brought her lips to his, kissing him tenderly as her fingertips grazed his chin.

How were they going to manage this when she married Thor? They could go months without finding the time to be with one another – how would be cope? Loki pulled her tighter to his side and deepened their kiss, unwilling to release her for some time.

Artemis knew she needed to leave. The morning hours were early still, but she knew she couldn't linger in Loki's chambers for too long. Callisto and Nomia would be eager to get her out and doing things once they awoke, fearful that she may become reclusive without Apollo there, and they would panic when they found an empty bed. However, her time with Loki had been so pleasant – very much needed – that she couldn't bring herself to do anything but lay by his side, their fingers occasionally intertwined.

Apollo's visit had been the best week of her entire Asgardian stay. Yes, she had some wonderful moments with her lover, and this would surely be one of them to be remembered, but her brother would always come first for her. They had talked, laughed, explored, swam, and eaten their way through all the hours in a day, and Artemis usually awoke quite early so that she could make the most of every moment with him. It was so utterly painful to see him leave, but her entire family would be present for her wedding – which was less than two months away now – and that meant she would see her brother again soon. She could care less about the rest of the family, but surely it would be nice to see her father again too.

She wished Apollo's absence did not have the effect on her that it did, but she was always such a sniveling child whenever they parted. It felt like a part of her broke away in that very moment, but just as Frigga said, it grew a little bit easier each time. She dreaded the day when it would not bother her at all – it would be a horrible day indeed.

Loki inhaled deeply at her side, his eyes closed and arms wrapped around her waist. She stroked his hair, dipping down to plant a soft kiss to his forehead. Two months more of this ease, and then she would face life as a married woman. At this point, she was sure their affair would continue beyond her wedding vows, but she wasn't entirely sure how. Like any wife and queen, Artemis would be required to provide the throne with an heir, perhaps two, and then she would be inextricably bound to Thor.

Apollo had warned her of what an affair like this would bring – it could ruin everything. Zeus would strike her down, and there was no telling what he might do to the man who supposedly "defiled" his virgin daughter. Olympus could lose an ally – the Titans could swell in numbers. That was the worst of it, naturally, and her brother was known for his dramatics. However, he certainly had a point, and Artemis valued his opinion above all others.

"What are we doing?" she whispered shakily, the first words spoken between them since he had admitted that he too missed her. Loki inhaled sharply, shifting with more purpose this time, and then tightened his hold on her.

"I was trying to sleep."

"No," she murmured, trailing a finger down his cheek as his eyes fluttered open. "What are we doing?"

"You mustn't ask such questions," Loki told her kindly, planting a kiss on her collarbone. "Neither of us will like the answer."

"But perhaps it is necessary." She cleared her throat and sat up a little, disturbing her lover's position just enough to make him groan. "Apollo thinks we ought to be more careful… or see each other less frequently."

"Yes, I meant to ask if you had told him about us," he muttered. "What were you thinking?"

"We can trust him."

"Hmm."

Her eyes narrowed, and she delivered yet another sharp pinch to his side, which made him twitch. "We can."

"Alright, alright," he conceded quickly, hands up as a sign of apology. "I believe you."

"Do you?"

"I must." She pursed her lips and nodded: they would have nothing without trust.

"I should have warned you that I told him," she admitted after a lengthy pause, "but he figured it out on his own… He said he could tell by the way you looked at me."

"Did he?"

"Yes." She ducked her head down once more to accept his questing lips, her eyes heavy-lidded as she gazed at him. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled back, licking her lips and sighing. "I fear for what this may do to us… to everyone."

"I know."

"Perhaps we should… stop," she started, looking away when he frowned. "At least until we know a safer way to be with one another."

"This is safe," Loki protested quickly. "We've not been caught yet… Artemis," he turned her face back toward him, a firm grip on her chin, "we're fine."

"But what about Thor?"

"What about him?"

"I have no sense of loyalty to him," she insisted, giving her lover a quick kiss as reassurance, "but perhaps I should start to actually… try around him. We'll be married in two months, and he's been nothing but earnest with me-"

"He's been having an affair with Sif."

Loki almost spat the secret out, and the harshness of his tone made her flinch. Something in the pit of her stomach squirmed uncomfortably, and she blinked back her surprise.

"W-What?"

"I'm sorry," he muttered, sitting up properly and running a hand through his shaggy hair, "I didn't mean to tell you like that… but it's true." She folded her arms across her chest, eyebrows steeped. "They were lovers before your engagement, and I've caught them several times after… He's with her tonight… now, I expect."

She wasn't even sure how to feel about any of it. A part of her felt relieved to know that she wasn't the only one who had a difficult time with the thought of marrying someone else. A very small part of her felt hurt that he would find comfort in the arms of another, but a much bigger part insisted she not be a hypocrite about the whole issue.

"Artemis," Loki prodded, a hand resting on her leg, "say something."

"I don't know what to say," she blurted. She then gave a nervous laugh, running a hand through her hair and smiling at him. "That's good news, isn't it?" Loki frowned once more, though not quite as deeply as before. "He'll never be able to tell me off should he discover us-"

"Let's hope that it never happens regardless," Loki said quickly, his mood brightening by her reaction, "but you aren't angry with him?"

"Oh, I don't know," she told him, waving off the question as she clambered onto his lap. "Perhaps if I loved him, but I would be far more upset if I discovered you…" She trailed off, catching herself before the words slipped free. "I'm not angry."

"Good." She grinned when she felt him harden beneath her again. "I would never take another lover, Artemis. I'll never take one again if you wish it."

"Hush," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck, their bodies pressed together. "Hush now."

He nodded and willingly accepted her lips, his hands sliding up and into her hair – secured and loved.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I do believe their feelings are pretty clear with one another now – which is a shame, because it will make things harder. Ah well! Nan from Nornheim didn't make an appearance this time around, but he will return – promise!

Much love for the continued support and helpful feedback! You guys make my world spin round!