Darcy looked at the knife alarmed and couldn't help but laugh as the thought "So you've heard of Loki?" flitted through her head.

Her mom's eyes looked from Darcy's shocked expression to the knife in her hand and laughed nervously. "Oh sorry, I was just chopping vegetables, come in." She said, ushering them inside.

Loki laughed as well, the deep resonances of it rolling over Darcy giving her an odd tingly sensation. His damn laugh.

Her mom started walking down the hallway so Darcy and Loki followed, after shutting the door, into the kitchen. As soon as her mom had turnt her back Loki sent Darcy an exasperated look like "do I have to laugh at every stupid mortal joke?" She replied with a "Yes! Be good!" glare.

The kitchen was covered in Christmas decorations, red and gold practically gleaming from every available surface. A large tree stood in the corner, the smell of it mingling with the smell of the cooking food.

When they reached the bigger room her mom put the knife down and grinned at them happily. Darcy had inherited her height from her mom, the woman was just as short as she was. She also had her blue eyes but other than that they were very different. Her mom was slim with a short blonde bob and a few freckles dotting her cheeks like someone hadn't finished drawing them on.

"Mom," Darcy said, forcing a smile. "This is Loki." Her mom's eyebrows twitched into a slight frown at the name, only noticeable because she knew her so well, though Darcy supposed Loki would notice it too with him having the unfortunate combination of being both perceptive and manipulative. "Uh he's Norse." She added in explanation.

Her mom smiled at her condescendingly. "I believe the term is Scandinavian, dear."

"Nope, definitely Norse." Darcy said with a grin.

Loki stretched his hand out and her mom shook it uncertainly. "Pleasure to meet you, Mrs Lewis."

Darcy's eyebrows rose impressed. Who knew he could be polite?

"You too." Her mom said. Darcy refrained from rolling her eyes. Anyone else would be like "Call me Susan" but no, her mom probably loved him being all formal.

"David!" Her mom called. "Darcy's here!"

Her mom turned back to the cooking. "Well it's nice that you bothered to come today." Her mom said.

Darcy clenched her teeth. "Well it is Christmas." She said, instead of the sarcastic reply that rolled to the tip of her tongue.

"Didn't bother for thanksgiving though, did you?" She added, smiling like it was some happy conversation.

"I told you, mom." Darcy said, her voice a slightly higher pitch. "I was busy at work."

"Oh you two aren't starting already are you?" Her dad's voice said from behind.

"I did nothing." Her mother sniffed.

"Dad." Darcy grinned, thankful for the distraction, hugging him and ignoring her mom. Her dad was by far her preferred parent though even he grated on her after a while. At least he didn't get offended by everything like her mom.

It was from her dad that she got her dark hair and his side of the family that her curvy figure came from. She'd always lamented the fact that she never got his height, though.

"Hey Darce." He said, happily. "I'm glad you came."

"Dad, this is my boyfriend, Loki." She said gesturing to Loki, the words feeling odd on her tongue.

"Boyfriend, eh?" He asked, his demeanour changing. She could practically see him look down his nose at Loki as he shook Loki's hand. His eyes fixed on Loki's shoulder length hair. Her parents tended to disapprove of anything out of the ordinary. "I was wondering when you were going to bring a boy home. I have to say, he's quite tame by your standards."

"Um.." Darcy said, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Tame?" Loki enquired, evidently amused by the comment. Him being the guy responsible for the Chitauri invasion, Darcy was pretty amused too.

"I uh, went through a phase of only dating guys that wore eye liner for a while." She explained. Which she had, not that she'd ever liked it that much, it was more anything to annoy her parents.

"I see." He said, still with the note of amusement to his voice. Darcy wondered if her parents would still say that he was 'tame' if she'd brought him wearing his usual clothes, complete with reindeer helmet and introduced him as the guy who started the battle of New York.

"Well have a seat, Loki." Her mom said politely. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Wine?"

"I'll do coffees." Darcy volunteered, feeling in desperate need of more caffeine or better yet alcohol. Then she remembered what had happened last time she'd had alcohol and decided that maybe more coffee was better.

"Anyone else want one?"

"No, we're fine." Her mom said as Loki took a seat at the kitchen table, her dad sitting opposite him. "And then you can help me with the vegetables."

"Where's Liam?" Darcy asked.

"In the front room." Her mom said warily.

"Why isn't he helping?" Darcy asked, her mom usually got really irritated when she didn't help with Christmas dinner so she was wondering why Liam wasn't helping out to stop her jumping down everyone's throats.

"Do you really want your brother anywhere near dinner?" Her mom replied.

"Liam cooks just as well as I do." Darcy replied.

"No he does not." Her mom snapped as though having a son with the ability to cook was a great insult. Darcy sighed. Ordinarily she would have pointed out the sexist bullshit her mom was saying but decided it would be rather hypocritical to make Loki play nice and then snap at everyone herself.

Loki smirked and she resisted the urge to flip him off.

"So how long have you known Darcy?" Her dad asked Loki.

"A few months." He replied.

"Oh. Don't you think that's a bit soon to be spending Christmas together?" He asked.

"Dad!" Darcy interrupted. "No harassing Loki."

"Right, sorry." He said to Loki who was smiling politely though looking rather awkward to Darcy. He then began interrogating him again. Darcy rolled her eyes, trusting Loki to come up with reasonable answers to her dad's 'boyfriend' questions.

"Where's Anna?" Darcy asked, assuming her mom would have made Liam's wife help even if she didn't want the men doing it.

"She's upstairs putting Ryan to bed. He was up all night with a cough, the poor thing." Her mom said.

"And Liam's just in the front room?" Darcy asked.

"Yes." Her mom said, the hint of warning back to her voice.

"Let me guess, Anna was up all night with Ryan." Darcy said.

"Your brother is on holiday." Her mom snapped. "He deserves a break."

"Right, because I'm sure Anna spending all day at home with Ryan doesn't count as work." Darcy commented.

"Darcy," Her dad interrupted as her mom's mouth opened. "Anything new?"

Yeah, her dad really wasn't the best with subtle argument interruption. On the bright side he'd apparently finished with Loki, for now at least. She supposed that meant he'd passed round one of So You Want To Date My Daughter?

Oh just a bit, she thought. "Nah, not really." She said.

"I saw about that Earthquake down in New Mexico." He said. "You weren't affected by it were you?"

"Earthquake?" Darcy asked.

"Yeah on the 13th December." Her dad clarified.

Darcy shared a brief look of knowing with Loki. That was the day the building had exploded and they'd ended up in Oregon. "No not really." She said, her voice a higher pitch than normal.

"I've told you it's the supports in the buildings down there. Now I don't know what you do for a living but I own a construction company..." Her dad told Loki and went off on a long spiel about projects he'd had and how the economy was affecting it and a load of other boring stuff. Wow, it had taken him less than ten minutes to get back onto his favourite topic of conversation: himself.

She realised she was probably being a bit harsh but she'd had twenty three years to tolerate her family. She seemed to get irritated quicker with each visit. Maybe in a few years time she'd arrive and leave again a second later.

Darcy passed Loki his coffee and took the seat next to him. He draped his arm round her shoulders again and she leant against him. Just because it was all pretend, she decided, didn't mean she wasn't allowed to enjoy it.

Her mom glared at her for not helping with the cooking but she'd had a long night, she at least deserved to enjoy her coffee.

Loki nodded politely as her dad spoke and actually seemed to be listening.

Darcy tuned out after a few minutes and began thinking of Jane spending

Christmas with Selvig. She wished she was there.

"...but I enjoy it." Her dad finished modestly, contrasting greatly to his rather pompous way of discussing business, like it was the most impressive thing in the world. "Woah, I feel like it was just me talking."

"That's because it was." Darcy muttered.

"So Loki," Her dad said. "What are your intentions for my daughter?"

Even Darcy's eyebrows rose in shock. He'd moved onto round two awfully quickly. He really had to work on less awkward changes of conversation.

Loki swallowed his coffee so quickly had he been mortal he'd have been stuttering. "I'm not quite sure I understand." He said slowly, an adorable crease appearing between his eyebrows. "I have no intentions for Darcy. She presumably has intentions for herself though it is not for me to say what she does with her life."

Darcy froze, unsure how to tell him he'd completely missed the point of that question but her mom threw her dad an approving glance and her dad's lips quirked into a slight smile.

"So you have no plans for her?" Her dad clarified.

Loki's frown deepened and he threw Darcy a quick confused glance, smirking slightly though she was sure only she noticed the slight change. "Of course not, I would never be manipulative enough to scheme another's life for them." Darcy took a quick sip of her coffee to mask her derisive snort, God of lies or not there were just some things that were too funny hearing him say. What next 'I would never attempt to kill my brother and enslave humanity'? "What Darcy does is entirely her own choice."

Her parents seemed to find this an acceptable answer. Her mom was now grinning at him indulgently and her dad was quiet which was odd because the interrogation of anyone she brought home usually lasted longer.

"Why aren't you celebrating Christmas with your own family, Loki?" Her mom asked, her voice softening as she spoke to him now that she approved or whatever. "Not that you aren't wanted here, of course."

Darcy, still curled up against Loki's chest felt him go still. She glanced up, his face impassive.

"Loki was orphaned mom," Darcy explained gently, knowing it was a sensitive issue for him. "He doesn't really get on with his adoptive family."

He gave a sharp exhalation and when she looked up she saw the same barely perceptible smirk. "That might be a slight understatement." He muttered so that only she could hear. Darcy tried not to grin in case her family thought she was laughing at him being adopted or something.

"Oh that's a shame." Darcy's mom said, frowning with sympathy. "Lunch is ready." She said. "Darcy will you go get Anna?"

"Yeah sure, come on Loki." Darcy said.

She hopped up off of Loki and took his hand in his. It was slightly cooler than her own, his long fingers enveloping hers easily.

She poked her head into the living room as they walked down the hall. "Yo Liam, food is ready."

"Okay." He answered. She hadn't seen him in a year. She didn't have a problem with him or anything, she didn't get annoyed like she did with her parents. Her brother was simply the most boring person in the world.

He looked very similar to her but with her dad's brown eyes rather than her mom's blue. She also saw as he stood up that he was developing a bit of a beer belly.

Darcy continued upstairs, pulling Loki with her. He was still holding her hand despite there being no one around to watch. Maybe he was just being careful.

Either way, Darcy wasn't complaining.

The guest room was right at the end of the hall and assuming that this was where Anna and Ryan were likely to be she headed straight towards it.

She hesitated before knocking, not wanting to wake Ryan up. "Uh Anna?" Darcy asked.

The door opened and Anna walked out. She was tall, slim and wearing a pretty floral dress that would have made Darcy look about twelve. Her normally curly blonde hair was tied into a flyaway messy bun and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. She had dark shadows under her eyes and her tanned skin looked washed out and faded.

"Darcy." She whispered happily, pulling Darcy into a hug and beaming despite her evident exhaustion. "How are you? It's been too long."

"Yeah, I'm good thanks." Darcy said. "You?"

"Oh I'm fantastic." She said, her eyes flitting to the door closed behind her. "I've only just got him off to sleep. I uh may have given him a slight overdose of cough medicine."

Darcy laughed. "I'm sure he'll be fine." Anna's eyes were wandering over to Loki with curiosity, lingering on his hand holding hers. "Oh this is Loki." Darcy added.

"Hi, I'm Anna." She said and threw her arms round Loki's neck. Loki's hand tensed and he glared furiously at Darcy over Anna's shoulder.

Nonetheless, he didn't push her away or anything, just looked so insanely uncomfortable that even Darcy felt sympathetic rather than amused.

"Lunch is ready." Darcy told her, to get her off of him.

She extricated her arms quickly the hug having lasted no longer than a few seconds.

"Oh great," She said happily. "I'm starving. I'll see you down there."

And then she actually skipped away.

"She seemed..." Loki started unsurely. "Enthusiastic?"

"Unnervingly happy?" Darcy supplied.

"Yes." Loki confirmed quickly.

"Yes well believe it or not she's the only one I like so be nice." Darcy told him.

"Nice? Me?" He started, an impish smile unfurling on his face. "Why Darcy, what are you implying?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" She asked, it was nice to have a conversation with sarcastic Loki rather than the fake polite one. The latter was scary.

They were about to walk down the stairs again when Darcy saw a glimmer of light through an open door.

"What is it?" Loki asked when she stopped.

"It's..." Darcy started, transfixed by the door. "It's my room."

Loki frowned. "What do you mean your room?"

But Darcy was already walking over towards it. The light steps she heard behind her obviously meant he was following.

She could see a glimpse of pink painted walls through it but that didn't make sense, her parents would have redecorated years ago.

The room was just as she'd left it four years ago. Rather large and painted pink, dominated mostly by a large bed in the middle of the room. Her wardrobe would be empty and she'd taken the majority of the decorations with her but one part was still as she remembered. The wall opposite her bed was covered in hundred of pictures, collaged or tacked up with pins and tape.

Darcy stared at it, her hands clapping over her mouth in shock. She turned her back to the pictures, suddenly repulsed by them. Loki was watching her warily.

"My parents..." Darcy mumbled, feeling the need to explain to him. "They told me they were clearing my room. They literally counted down the days for me to go to university since I was like twelve. They...they never really cared."

Loki stayed silent but he was watching her intently, the kind of look she'd never received from anyone before that showed she held their complete, undivided attention. Somehow it made the words easier.

"Just what we could show off, you know? Grades and popularity and awards. Never really for like...us. My brother and I that is." She was aware that she was rambling and hurried on rather self consciously. "And so all they went on about since I was young was me going to a good university and getting a husband and having kids and it was like they had my whole life mapped out." She laughed mirthlessly. "Maybe that's why I went so far the other way.

"Anyway when I did get into the university of New Mexico they said they were going to turn my room into a gym or a study or something. I never imagined they'd...Otherwise I would have cleared all this."

Loki walked towards her but she was still frozen in place. His hand cupped her face, his thumb wiping away the tears she hadn't realised she was crying. The hand was gone before she realised what was happening and he was moving away towards the pictures.

Darcy's insides constricted uncomfortably. Here came the awkward questions. She felt the inevitable certainty of his prying words puncture her skin like stab wounds. The air felt heavy with the unavoidable silences looks of pity she was sure to evoke.

She sat down on her bed. Well if it was going to happen she was at least not going to cry. She told herself, wrapping her arms round her knees.

"This girl," He asked, his finger pointing to one of the pictures. Darcy couldn't see which one he was talking about but she knew who he was talking about. She was in the good majority of the pictures.

"Izzy." Darcy told him.

Loki turned so that he was facing her rather than the wall of pictures. "You lost her?" He asked.

Darcy snapped her face up to look at him, her shock at his words stopping her from feeling upset or anything. She was so used to having to explain it, like she had to Jane or Eric or her college friends. No one had ever...guessed.

"How did you know that?" Darcy snapped harshly, too busy being surprised by his knowing about it to moderate her tone.

Loki smiled without humour, more in gentle understanding. It was weird. That look did not belong on his face. It was like he didn't want to actually say anything. "Darcy," He said softly. "Only someone scared of silence would talk as much as you do."

She picked at a stray thread on her bed, focusing on the details of the woven design to stop her mind from racing. She was already struggling to breath but she hadn't had a panic attack in six years, she wasn't going to have another one now.

"You do not have to tell me." He said, walking over and sitting next to her on the bed. "But you know far more about myself than I ever would have willingly told another."

"She killed herself when we were sixteen." Darcy said blankly, distancing herself from the pain. The words were well rehearsed from the people she had told, rolling off her tongue like grotesque lyrics to a morbid song. "She was my best friend. She'd apparently had depression for a year."

"She was my best friend." She repeated again hollowly, the words felt thick all of a sudden. Telling Loki was somehow different to telling the others. Like admitting it to herself. "And I never even knew."

"It was not your fault, Darcy." Loki told her.

"I know." Darcy said. She'd spent years blaming herself, the streams of tears and panic attacks. She'd finally come to terms with it but to have the pictures suddenly sprung on her. She got through it by denying it ever happened.

Probably not the best coping technique but it worked because thinking of it was like having a knife twisted in her gut. She remembered the time she'd screamed at Loki that he wasn't the only one with problems and smiled sadly at the irony. She never thought she'd be telling Loki hers, never thought she'd be able to confide in him with a relationship between them closer than friends.

Loki's hand covered hers. She hadn't realised how cold she'd been before he'd touched her. "I mean it." He said.

She bit her lip. "I...I get that. It's just," And the words were rushing out of her. Things she'd only ever told her therapist and even then it had taken weeks. "Was I that bad a friend that she couldn't tell me? Did she try and I just not listen to her? You know I was out with my boyfriend when it happened? I should have been there for her."

"Darcy," He said weakly, obviously at a loss for words. He wrapped his arms around her and she leant in against his chest. She was shaking but she didn't feel like crying. She'd already done enough of that. Now she just felt numb.

It was true she ignored what had happened but she did wonder sometimes whether it still affected her. Was that why she'd helped Jane all those years?

Far surpassing any duties she'd had as a two week intern because she was terrified of letting someone else down?

She didn't want to think anymore. She wanted to get drunk but that was out of the question because she had to drive home.

Loki's breath was warm on her skin. She wanted more. She wanted the warmth to pass through to her because she felt so, so cold.

Had he been anyone else she would have said he knew what she was thinking because he hugged her tighter. She leant her head against his chest for a few moments, enjoying the contact. It helped her stabilise her breathing.

Come on Darcy, pull yourself together.

She sighed. She couldn't let herself get trapped in those thoughts. She had to distract herself before it got to that point.

Darcy swallowed, her throat feeling drier than sandpaper.

"We should probably go back down." She said feeling better though slightly unnerved. She grinned at him weakly. "Mom will be wondering what we're doing."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Yes I'm sure the woman's worry will be quite frantic."

"Come on." She said, his mocking of her mom having cheered her for some odd reason. It was nice to know she wasn't the only one annoyed by her family. "I am hungry and there is food downstairs."

"If we must." Loki replied, standing up and following Darcy downstairs.

"Where have you two been?" Her mom demanded as they stood under the doorway.

"I was showing Loki round the house." Darcy lied easily, silently lamenting the effect Loki was having on her. Two months ago she would have been stuttering excuses.

"Oh!" Anna squealed, pointing excitedly above her head. "Mistletoe."

Darcy felt herself flush. Loki who was hovering behind her shoulder seemed not to notice. "I do not understand the significance of mistletoe." He whispered to her so her family couldn't hear.

"It's a Christmas thing." She explained. "If two people stand under it, they're supposed to," She stopped. She remembered the last time they'd kissed and the embarrassment she'd felt. Oh it's mistletoe, she told herself, stop being ridiculous it doesn't mean anything.

Brain, I like the way you think.

She span round on tiptoes and brushed her lips against Loki's, pulling away before Loki could do so himself. He looked ever so slightly startled again. Darcy felt her lips break into a ridiculously big grin, unable to stop herself.

"...well do that." She finished her sentence and turned back round before anyone could say anything. "Sorry, like I said, he's Norse. I guess they don't have mistletoe there."

"Actually I believe my namesake once killed someone with an arrow of mistletoe." He informed her, having recovered and followed her to the table.

"Yes but that was just a myth, right?" Darcy asked sternly.

"I believe it far more likely that this 'Loki' was simply clever enough to work out the weakness of Odin's enemy and supply the knowledge of his weakness rather than be the one who actually fired the bow." Loki answered smoothly.

"Well I suppose that's not too bad then." Darcy said. "That Loki guy sounds quite a character, glad he's just a myth."

"Wait," Darcy's dad interrupted. He looked put out. That definitely counted as the kind of weirdness her family wished not to associate themselves with. She swore they made the Dursleys look accepting sometimes. "You're named after the Norse God of evil?"

"Mischief, I believe." Darcy interrupted, then looked at Loki with a slight grin.

"Far more attractive."

"Okay!" Her mom broke in, her voice shrill. "Not at Christmas dinner please." It wasn't until her mom said that that Darcy became aware of the fact she'd been flirting.

"You're Norse?" Anna asked Loki curiously. "How come you have an English accent?"

"He studied in England." Darcy answered because Loki looked lost.

"Really?" Darcy's mom asked, suddenly curious. "What did you study?"

Loki sent Darcy a fleeting look. "Science." He said.

"Science?" Liam piped up, sending Loki a disbelieving look.

"Thermonuclear physics." Darcy clarified, figuring she must have read that word somewhere because she had no idea what it meant. "He works in the labs with Jane."

"How is Dr Foster?" Her mom asked.

"Jane's good." Darcy answered, slowly. She knew where this conversation was going and she didn't like it.

"And you're still her assistant?" Her mom asked, her slender eyebrows rising condescendingly.

"Yes, mom."

Her mom sighed. "I don't know whether to give up on you or keep telling you to get a better job."

Darcy looked up sharply from her food. You could accept that I like my job and be happy for me, she thought. "Is my job not good enough for you?" She demanded.

Her mom looked exasperated as though the answer ought to have been obvious. "What am I supposed to tell my friends? That you're a research assistant in a lab? It's not very impressive dear."

"Right," Darcy snapped. "Because that's what I look for in a job, it to be impressive."

"Look I know you enjoy it but..."

"Right." Darcy said abruptly. "I enjoy it. I get to work with Jane. I make decent money, a lot more than anyone else with a political science major in this economy."

"Oh but darling who cares about Einstein rosie bridges."

"Einstein Rosen Bridges." Darcy said through gritted teeth. "And Foster Theory has changed the way-"

"Exactly!" Her mom said, grinning cruelly in triumph. "Foster Theory. Is it Foster-Lewis Theory?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Oh don't be ridiculous Jane did all the science side of that."

"I believe she had some help from a certain...visitor." Loki muttered so that only she could hear.

Darcy grinned and carried on. "And besides. It's government funded. I can make connections and stuff."

"And have you?" Her dad asked. She'd been waiting for him to join in her mother's crusade.

"Yes!" Retorted Darcy who immediately regretted it, knowing she wouldn't be allowed to name anyone.

Luckily her mom went down a different track. "Don't you think about your future?"

Darcy thought for a moment. "Actually no. Not really. I'm a 'live in the moment' kinda girl." Her parents exchanged a look. This was clearly not what they'd been hoping to hear.

"Loki," Her mom begged. "What do you think? You think she should get a better job, right?"

Darcy turned in her seat to look at him, seeing whether he'd back her up or join her parents just to irritate her. He smiled and looked into her eyes.

"I do not quite know about what she ought to do," Loki said, his voice melodic. "I do however know that she is far above the other mortals that reside here, something she does not seem quite aware of."

He seemed so sincere as he said it that Darcy's heart skipped a beat, it was so intimate that everyone else seemed to melt away. She remembered their presence with a jolt. "Humans." She stuttered, looking round at her family. "He meant humans, not mortals. His English teacher was a bit odd."

Her mom still seemed annoyed but they let the conversation drop. Her brother and dad started talking about business and the rest of the afternoon passed quickly with polite but shallow conversation. Everyone else got drunk but Darcy had to be sober enough to drive and Loki's disdain for her family prevented him being happy enough to touch the alcohol. They exchanged presents, Darcy putting on a rather good show of liking the perfume and bath stuff she received.

Darcy only wore the same brand of perfume and she didn't even own a bath.

"We'd better be off." Darcy said as the clock on the wall struck seven in the evening. "We have to get a plane and stuff." And she was still exhausted from her poor night's sleep due to travelling.

"Bye, Darcy." Anna said, hugging her and then Loki. Her mom and dad both hugged her goodbye, her mom whispering "I like him, don't mess this one up" into her ear as she did so, and all said cheery farewells to Loki. Liam was upstairs with Ryan, at last, so Darcy just yelled bye to him and left.

"Thanks." Darcy said, when her and Loki had been the car for a while. "I...really thank you so much. I didn't expect you to be so...nice?"

Loki laughed. "I suppose as the God of Lies I must be able to use pretence to my advantage."

"Really?" Darcy said, feigning innocence. "Any chance you can do it more often?"

"Absolutely not." Loki grumbled. "That almost made me miss the hospitality of the Allfather."

"Really?" Darcy asked sceptically. "My family are irritating but worse than torture?"

"Your family are the most mundane mortals it has ever been my displeasure to meet. I could practically feel my intellect dying." He complained.

"Well thank you anyway." She said, determinedly not being amused by his comments. "I guess that just shows that blackmail is highly effective."

To her surprise, Loki laughed. "I suppose some parts were not quite so terrible."
Darcy frowned. "Like what?"

But he smirked mischievously and would not elaborate.

It was eight o'clock by the time they got back to the SHIELD house and Darcy was so tired she wasn't sure she'd even be able to make it inside. As if sensing this, Loki opened the door for her and gave her his hand to help her out.

She looked at him curiously, wondering why he was being so gallant.

She opened the door to the house and flicked the light on.

Darcy stifled a yawn.

"Thank God Christmas is over." She said.

"It's not quite over yet." Loki reminded her.

"The worst part is." She told him, smiling.

"There are some parts of this holiday I feel I may need clarification on." He told her.

"Can it wait until morning?" She asked, looking longingly at the door to her room. She froze, her tiredness evaporating and her heart quickening.

Above the door to her room was a garland of mistletoe, the exact same one that had been in her parents' house.

"Did you," She started, stumbling slightly on the words because Loki was walking up to her. "Steal that from my parents' house?"

"Is that a problem?" He asked, his voice sounded deeper and even more melodic than usual, somehow. Her heart began to hammer in her chest. One of his hands reached out for her face and cupped her head in his hand like he had when he'd wiped away her tears. It felt like years ago.

Everything seemed to slow. "Absolutely not." She mumbled. His eyes really were very nice, she thought, clear and bright like frosted grass. He brought his lips down to hers and she melted into him, it was a slower, tenderer kiss than the one at the Christmas party. His lips lingered on hers gently as though he had been waiting to kiss her for years. The blood racing through her veins made her head spin.

She slid her hands round his neck only this time instead of pulling away, he leant in closer so that they were pushed together. She pulled her head back for breath, feeling slightly dizzy and was about to ask him why he was kissing her before deciding that at that moment she really didn't care. Her questions could wait until later.

She pressed her lips back to his, her top lip in between his so that she could easily part them, his warm breath filling her lungs. She bit lightly down on his lip and his caressing fingers moved from her cheeks to her hair. She felt weightless.

Her fingers fumbled for the top button of his shirt, thankful she didn't have to bother with the straps and buckles of his leather. The button slipped open beneath her fingers and everything sped up. The kiss became more intense, his touch more urgent and together they went stumbling into her bedroom.

Chapter title from Check Yes, Juliet by We The Kings. Thanks for reading and reviewing. If this chapter makes no sense I apologise, the cons of running on four hours sleep.