Darcy woke on the ground, eyes jolting open in jubilation and shock at being alive to do so.
Her movement mirrored Loki, who she saw next to her.
"We're alive?" She asked sharply, staring at him as though unable to believe what she was seeing.
"I…" He said, looking for the first moment in his life utterly lost for words. He sat up and she did so too.
Only then did she realise she was holding something in her hands.
She uncurled her fingers to reveal a pear-shaped gem, glowing faintly orange.
When she looked over she saw Loki staring in shock at a blue one in his own palm.
When he saw hers, his eyes widened almost comically.
"Did you…?" It was possibly the first time she'd seen him speechless.
"You too?" She asked. "You had memory visions?"
"Memories?" He asked, frowning at her before climbing to his feet. She followed his lead. "No, I had places."
"What the hell was that?" She asked, hoping Loki knew. "And what are these gem things?"
Loki sighed. "I do not know fully. Before the universe there were six singularities. When the universe exploded into existence they were forged into concentrated substances." Loki nodded to the stones. "Infinity gems. My guess is that at the end of the world they expanded into substances again. Or tried to. They were linked to a being on this universe, one who had experienced its magic. The force of the gems was focused on that individual. My guess is that if they were to overcome it they could prevent the gems reverting to their true form. If that happened… the universe would definitely have been destroyed."
Darcy didn't know what to ask first.
"So…by resisting its power we forced them to stay as gems?" She asked.
Loki nodded. "I think so."
"But…Why would an infinity gem be linked to me? And what even are they anyway? How come I got memories and you got places?" She asked.
"Hel harboured the Time Gem. It is what allowed her to kill or curse immortality. She controlled the life-spans of individuals. As well as being able to see the past. It is how she knew so much about me. I would think that the gem latched onto you when you took Hel's power." Loki said. "I remind you, this is all pure speculation."
Darcy nodded. "But why me and not you?"
"You took the power first, I suppose. Or maybe the fact I already had a gem linked to me stopped it? I received the Space Gem, presumably by travelling through the Tesseract. I wonder I did not experience the Mind Gem. It was in my sceptre. Perhaps because the Space Gem had been linked to me, unless another being has forged a stronger connection to it." Loki was still staring in awe at the gems.
"What other gems are there?" She asked, wondering if the others had been successfully forced back into gems.
"The Power Gem," Loki said. "the Soul Gem, and the Reality Gem which I believe is the Aether."
"The Aether?!" Darcy asked. "Dude why didn't you say that first! That would latch onto Jane, right?" Jane had been scary with the Aether, and Darcy had only seen her for a few minutes with it. She'd barely been able to contain it, how could she possibly survive its force being unleashed on her?
"Given what we were shown, I imagine it would simply show her truths about her reality that she refused to acknowledge. There were many ways those stones could have destroyed us, but if mine, well…and yours chose memories then they target emotions." Loki said. His lips thinned like his words pained him. "From what I saw of the wench she appeared strong enough to handle that."
Darcy was too worried about Jane to either tell him off or mock that he'd said something nice.
For the first time she noticed she and Loki were no longer on Vigrid but on Helheim.
Which meant the universe was still in one piece.
"So…these gems would have been what destroyed the universe? And we stopped them?" She asked.
Loki nodded. "I believe so."
"So we stopped Ragnarok?" A grin broke out across her face.
Loki bit his lip. "It certainly seems that way."
"Ahh!" She jumped happily.
"Careful!" He said abruptly. You still hold the stone. We must get the gems somewhere safe."
"We control Helheim right? We can just put them with the Helm in a place no one but us can reach." She suggested.
Loki nodded.
Darcy stared at her gem and focused, amazed at the way magic was humming through her.
The gem disappeared.
Loki looked impressed and a few seconds later his disappeared too.
Darcy's arms were around him in seconds. "We survived! We are alive! We stopped Ragnarok!"
Loki laughed at her excitement, before returning her embrace.
They pulled away and Loki looked round.
For the first time, Darcy realised this was her new home. They stood in a wasteland, nothing for miles. The ground was a dark red, and the sky black.
Everything was lit despite the absence of any light source.
"Homey." She commented.
"We're alive." He said, unable to quite come to terms with it.
That energy from before no longer felt like an intruder. It instead thrummed happily through her veins. She was alive.
"We stopped Ragnarok." She grinned.
Loki's lips were on hers immediately, continuing from where they had let off but this time each movement filled with irrevocable joy.
He pulled away just as her head started to spin.
A look of concentration covered his face. A house appeared in front of them.
She used the word house loosely as it looked more like an exact replica of the palace of Asgard but made of an Onyx like stone. Jet black, but beautiful.
"If you were a building, that is what you would look like." Darcy said.
Loki looked like he didn't know whether to be happy or insulted.
A second later, the scene around them changed. They stood in Loki's bedroom on Asgard. Though she knew she was still in Hel.
Loki shrugged.
"You may change the decor later." He said, smiling in a way that made his eyes twinkle with mischief. "For now all I need is the bed."
"Presumptive. Well, at least we're in a bedroom so I guess I should be thankful we don't have a sex dungeon." She said.
Loki raised an eyebrow but said nothing leading Darcy to wonder whether they did.
She had to admit she wasn't adverse to the idea.
"As I said, any changes you wish to make-" He started.
"Make it not green and black?" Darcy joked.
Loki considered. "Perhaps you could have your own room?"
"I really hope you're joking." She said, remembering old timey romances where they had like three different rooms.
"Yes." He grinned. "I am just…happy you are here."
"You're being so sappy, can you stop because it's scaring me?" She said.
Loki turned to her, hand going to her waist.
"I did not expect to still be alive." He stated. "I certainly did not expect this."
Darcy leant in closer. "Well I guess I can forgive sappiness then." She rested her head against his chest, his heart beating steadily beneath her. A constant reminder that they were alive. That somehow they had survived the apocalypse.
They should get t-shirts.
"I'm really glad you're here with me." Darcy said.
"And I you, though you know that simply because we are in a shared position of power does not mean we must be together like this if it is not what you want. We can-"
"Loki shut up." Darcy said. "I appreciate what you're saying, really I do but we established earlier that I am good with this." She looked up at him and smiled flirtatiously. "Besides, someone told me they loved me and we haven't had celebratory sex yet. Let alone 'holy shit we are alive' sex."
He leant down, lips brushing hers gently. Her lips crackled at his touch, the energy she felt rushing through her veins nothing in comparison to the way she felt when he touched her.
His lips glided softly against hers as he slowly parted her lips. She moved hers against his, not pressing too hard, nor moving frantically, just revelling in the feel of his lips moving against hers.
She caught at his bottom lip between hers and pulled gently. Loki pulled her closer and his tongue licked teasingly along the edge of her lip.
Her hand moved to the back of his neck, her fingers entwining in his hair as she moved her tongue into his mouth, her lips pressing harder as her tongue traced along the roof of his mouth, just like he had done earlier. She moaned against him.
The smell of his leather and soap and sweat was so comforting and familiar. A one constant that had remained with her through all the terror of the last week.
She wanted to drown in that smell. To overwhelm herself with Loki. He was intoxicating.
His tongue brushed hers until their gentle kissing turned hurried and passionate.
His lips pressed against hers so firmly she could almost feel them swelling.
She needed him in a way she had never needed anyone else. His touch was filled with love and affection and she had forgotten, or maybe never until this moment truly appreciated how that heightened rather than distracted from the pleasure.
She regretted every time she'd said love was unnecessary. Then again, she now felt like all those times she'd thought she'd had it, had been very, very wrong.
He broke away from her only to move his lips along her skin, leaving a trail of kisses down her neck and across her collar bone.
She wanted his touch everywhere. She wanted nothing between them.
She'd never felt so intimate with someone mentally, and she needed to make it physical too, to press her naked body against his.
Loki seemed to feel the same, his hands reaching for the straps on her armour.
He smiled at her. "I believe I promised to tear this off you."
She kissed him quickly and forcefully, unable to keep herself off of him.
"Get on with it then." She breathed.
Their lips touched again, frantically kissing as he wrenched her armour free.
She reached for the straps of his, yanking at the buckles to get them off.
It opened, and she felt Loki's chest under her fingers, the muscles hard and beautiful under her hands, moving against them as he gasped for breath.
She felt her own top be pulled from her and she was standing before him in only her underwear.
She pressed herself back against Loki as his lips pressed across her bare skin.
"I love you." He breathed into her skin. She arched into him, the words sending more sparks through her than any touch, even his, could have.
Both of his hands were on her waist and his lips blazed against her and all she wanted was to be closer to him.
"God, Loki," She breathed.
She whimpered as he worked his lips towards the edge of her bra, before reaching his hands behind her to untie the clasp.
One hand remained on her waist as another went to her breasts, stroking them so gently she found herself shivering and arching herself into him even more.
"You are so beautiful." He said as he looked at her, his eyes not full of lust but awe.
She brought her lips back to his, her hands reaching down to hook in the waistband of his trousers.
His tongue moved skilfully against her, and she moved against him, their whole bodies pressed together as closely as possible, Loki's hand on the small of her back bringing her closer.
"I love you, Loki." She smiled against him and he kissed her more fervently. Just saying it was intoxicating. She wanted to scream it again and again.
She bit his lip hard and he moaned against her.
"I need you." He said.
"I'm here." She said, hands going to untie the laces on his trousers as he did the same to her.
Their underwear was all that separated them.
She could feel his bulge pressing against her stomach, until he lifted her to bring her lips back to his.
Her legs wrapped round his waist, his cock kept from her folds by just two thin sheets of material.
She bit lightly at his lip, her hand rubbing teasingly along the V of his hips.
His hands moved to her ass, her legs still wrapped firmly around him as he carried her the few steps to the bed, lowering them both onto the sheets.
Her lips were still on his as her hand slipped under his underwear, moving her hand gently along him.
Loki arched into her and she moved slightly so that she was over him, knees on either side of him as her hips began to move against him.
"I love you." She said again, needing him closer. She needed to be as close to him as possible. Needed him inside her.
Darcy heard fabric tear as he ripped her underwear off her.
She tugged on his own and he lifted his hips until they were finally, finally, freed of clothes.
She didn't even need to tell Loki to get inside her, and as he moved in, she gasped from simply having him there at last.
"Darcy," He moaned, moving slowly and sensuously against her.
Darcy rocked her hips and moaned, unable to remain silent.
"You feel so fucking great." She gasped.
His hands tightened on her ass, pulling her against him quicker as their speed increased.
"Loki," His name escaped her lips. "Fuck," She moaned.
She bucked quickly, his nails digging into her skin.
Loki thrust up and she shivered, feeling herself move to the edge of climaxing.
She clung on, determined that they reach that stage together.
Her hand dug into the bed sheets and one of his moved to hold it.
She moved against him and he hit a point in her that made his name tear free of her lips.
He came, and she felt shivers wrack her body as she continued to shout his name.
She lay on top of him as waves of pleasure crashed down on her, his naked body pressed against hers not helping.
His moans were orgasmic in themselves and she felt a trill of pride that she had caused it.
"Darcy," He breathed.
She hugged against him, breathing deeply.
His arm was around her waist. Thoughts of spooning, his cock against her ass as they hugged filled her mind. Thoughts of innocently shifting against him until she felt him become aroused again so that they could go all over again. She was very prepared for an entire night of sex.
She smiled and pressed her lips gently and swiftly to his.
"Loki?" She asked.
"Hmm?" He replied.
"Can we not investigate the state of the universe, until neither of us are able to walk?" She asked.
"You seem under the impression I have plans that differ from keeping you very much in this bed for the foreseeable future." He answered.
She grinned. "You're such a dork. I love you anyway."
His hand moved to her hip, pulling her closer to him. "You have no idea what it does to me when you say that."
"That you're a dork?" She joked.
Loki snorted in amusement. She'd expected an exasperated eyeroll but his eyes never moved from hers. She'd never seen such happiness in them. "Yes, let us go with that."
She smile and she wondered if she'd ever been that happy either. "I love you, Loki. One hundred percent."
Chapter title From Rising Up by Young Guns. I decided my favourite ships are those where cute moments can't happen because both characters are too much of an asshole to let one happen. I figured even though Darcy and Loki are definitely this kind of couple they at least deserved one in a fic dedicated to them. This is the last chapter. Just an epilogue left.