Loki pursued the book in front of him carefully. How many hours had he and Sigyn spent in the library looking for any clues as to the identity of Sigyn's stalker? Too many. It wasn't that he minded looking for information this way, but it was the lack of progress that bothered him. They had started out by searching every Asgardian text they could find, but came up with nothing. They had moved on to several other Realms that were known for their magic wielders, but still nothing. It had been almost a year since they had begun looking for information on Sigyn's stalker and they had absolutely nothing to show for it. It just didn't make any sense to Loki. This woman was obviously a fairly powerful sorceress, so how was it that she had managed to escape all records? Loki heard Sigyn close the book in front of her in a frustrated manner and looked up.

"Nothing?" He asked knowingly.

"Nothing, not even someone who remotely fits our description." She replied sourly.

Loki closed his own book.

"Perhaps we've missed something." Loki commented as he stood to look at the rows of books. "We've covered Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, and Nidavellir. There is nothing left from Svartalfheim. The Giants might have writing on her, but our library doesn't contain anything from Jotunheim or Muspelheim."

Loki sat back down and leaned his head back. This wasn't looking good. How could the most extensive library in the Nine Realms not have enough information?

"There's still Midgard." Sigyn suggested.

Loki let out a shallow laugh.

"Midgard? There is no point in even looking there. They are too young to have any useful information, not to mention I am fairly certain their written records only date back three or four millennia."

"Which still makes them older than us." Sigyn pointed out. "I am not saying we will find anything, but I don't think we can just pass them by because they are the youngest Realm."

"Very well, we will take a look at what Midgard has to say next time."

"And when will next time be?" Sigyn queried.

"The Summer Solstice is in two weeks, do you wish to wait till the day after?"

"That sounds like as good a time as any." Sigyn replied before rising from her chair.

Loki rose as well and walked with her to the stables.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" He asked casually.

"No."

"Then would you perhaps be interested in joining Thor, Sif, the Warriors Three, and myself for a ride? We had planned on eating lunch out by the lakes."

Sigyn beamed at the invitation.

"I would love to."

"Wonderful, then I shall see you here tomorrow morning. We plan on leaving at eight."

"I shall see you at seven-thirty then." Sigyn replied.

True to her word, Sigyn was at the royal stables ready to go at seven-thirty. Loki admired her athletic frame as subtly as possible. He had always loved it when she wore her summer riding kit. It was hard not to love it seeing as it hugged her body so nicely. The group all managed to arrive before eight, so they set out for the lakes right on schedule. Sigyn had always been by far the most skilled rider out of all of them, but she had improved even further in the past five years. She put them all to shame as they raced the final distance to the lake. It was still a bit early to each lunch, but they went ahead and set up for it all the same. Once the blankets had been laid out on the grass the group took a seat and began to talk. The conversation started out how most conversations with Thor and the others did, battle stories. Loki paid enough attention to keep up the appearance of being interested, but he was anything but engaged with the conversation till Fandral said something quite unexpected.

"By the Norns, Lady Sigyn, it is nice to have you back with us once more. As pretty as Amora was, she was anything but pleasant company."

Sif wrinkled up her nose.

"Must we really talk about her?" She asked.

"I take it you were not fond of her." Sigyn noted.

"Not at all. She was vain and puffed up." Sif stated.

"And not the smartest Lady you will ever meet." Volstagg added.

Loki shifted positions uncomfortably. He did not like where this subject was heading.

"She was not the ray of sunshine that you are Lady Sigyn." Fandral remarked with a charming smile. "What ever did you see in that woman, Loki?"

It was a jest, Loki knew it was a jest. The entire group was well aware that he had regretted his decision to court Amora, but they still felt the need to give him grief over it every once in a while. Still, must they really do it in front of Sigyn?

"Yes, Prince Loki. Do tell. What did you see in Amora?" Sigyn asked with a devious smile.

Loki could sense a little storm cloud brewing, and decided he needed to step away from the group for a few minutes to avoid losing his temper. With a roll of his eyes he stood from his spot and strode off towards the lake.

"My, sensitive as ever…" He heard Fandral remark as he walked off.

Loki stood on the bank and looked out over the water. He knew that his reaction to their jesting was an overreaction, but it was difficult not to be somewhat sensitive to the topic with Sigyn sitting right there.

"Still a brooder I see." Sigyn remarked from behind Loki.

"I suppose it is how I deal with things the best." He replied while crossing his arms over his chest.

Sigyn came to stand by him.

"You look like a pouting child you know." She pointed out.

Loki didn't reply.

"Fandral was just trying to get under your skin."

"Yes, and he did a fine job of it."

"Oh don't be so sore over it, now you know how everyone else feels when you do the same thing to them."

"Are you suggesting that I get under people's skin?"

"No, I am not suggesting it, I am stating it. You have made a habit of it."

"Well it is good to know my efforts haven't been in vain. Tell me Lady Sigyn, have I managed to get under your skin?"

"In more ways than one I fear."

"Really? Please, do share."

"Mmm actually, I think I would rather not."

Loki looked down on her with a faux-serious gaze.

"Are you refusing to follow the express command of a Prince of Asgard?"

"Last I checked, My Prince, you didn't command me to do anything."

"I commanded you to tell me all the ways I have managed to get under your skin."

"No, you didn't. You said 'please,' no intimidating command is begun with 'please'."

Loki's mock seriousness fell away and a smile came to his lips. Sigyn bumped his arm with her shoulder.

"That's better. You look much more like yourself when you smile."

"As do you." He returned.

Sigyn blushed and looked out over the water.

"May I say something silly?" Sigyn asked.

"Always."

"I missed this."

"This?" He pressed.

"You, them, all of this."

"That is hardly silly."

"In a way it sort of is. It makes it sound like I spent the last six years of my life locked in solitary confinement."

"Well I wouldn't say you were the most sociable person in Asgard after we separated, but I wasn't much better."

Sigyn looked up to him.

"Did you miss me?" She asked.

"I think you already know the answer to that, My Lady." He replied.

"I think I do too, but I want to hear you say it. Did you miss me?"

Loki sighed and turned to face her completely.

"More than you know."

"Loki! Sigyn! We are ready to eat!" Thor yelled over to the pair.

"Coming!" Loki yelled back. "We best get over there before Volstagg eats everything." He commented to Sigyn in a quieter voice.

"A good idea." She agreed.

After eating the group decided to go for a swim. Sigyn hadn't brought a book this time, and surprised everyone by saying that she would be content to sit on the bank and dip her toes in the water. The men relieved themselves of their shoes and shirts while Sif and Sigyn only took off their shoes. Loki caught Sigyn's eyes hovering over the general area of his heart, and he unconsciously looked down. Nothing seemed to be of interest in that general area so he looked back to Sigyn who seemed to be somewhat surprised. The momentary disbelief she displayed quickly faded, but she was still sneaking glances at his chest as everyone made their way towards the lake. Thor ran a bit ahead of the others and dove into the water enthusiastically causing Sif, Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg to follow suit. Loki took this opportunity to ask Sigyn about her fascination with his torso.

"Is there something wrong with my chest, or do you just like staring at it?"

Sigyn blushed, causing Loki's breath to hitch.

"Nothing is wrong with it, and that is what confuses me. You had a gaping hole next to your heart, and now you don't even have a scar. No offense, but that is not natural."

"Magic is hardly a natural thing." Loki excused.

"I know, all the more reason for me to be surprised by it."

Loki accepted the logic of her statement before joining the others in the lake. He watched Sigyn carefully sit on the bank and slip her feet into the cool water out of the corner of his eye. He allowed her to sit there peacefully for a while before deciding that she was sitting too peacefully. Thor must have seen the scheming look in Loki's eyes because he quickly spoke up.

"What are you planning Loki?"

"Simply a harmless trick to play on Sigyn." He assured.

"Do you think that wise, brother? Do you recall the last trick you played on her here?"

Loki sent Thor a scathing look. That had not been his trick.

"It will be fine Thor." He remarked before taking a deep breath and dunking under the water.

He kept his eyes open as he swam towards where Sigyn was. He could just make out her little feet, and he stealthily swam up to them. Ever so softly, he brushed his fingers against the sole of her foot. She wiggled her foot slightly, and he did it again, a little harder this time. She kicked out her foot a little, but returned it to its original position when she didn't manage to hit anything with it. The third time he tickled the bottoms of both of her feet causing her to flail wildly. She barely missed kicking him in the head, and he returned to the surface for air. Sigyn had fallen back on the grass, and she sent Loki a glare as he breached the surface. He began to chuckle at her, and she responded by kicking water in his general direction. Loki blocked it with his hands and continued to chuckle. Once she stopped her splashing he swam over to her and rested his arms on the bank. Sigyn continued to give him a cross look so he began to bat his eyes up at her.

"Don't be upset with me, I can't help it. I'm the 'god of mischief,' I can't let anyone sit so peacefully."

Sigyn rolled her eyes, but cracked a smile all the same. She leaned back on her hands and stared out over the lake towards the others.

"You know your brother can be quite strange sometimes." She remarked.

"Yes, I am well aware of that." Loki replied. "What is he doing now?" He asked before turning to see what Thor was doing.

Just as he turned he felt Sigyn's hands land on his head, and she dunked him under the water. He quickly grabbed her hands out of instinct and pulled her down with him. The memory of Sigyn's last reaction to being pulled into a lake unexpectedly flashed through his mind, and he quickly resurfaced pulling her up with him. Fortunately they hadn't been very far under. He half expected her to be panicked when they broke the surface of the water, but he found her to be surprisingly calm.

"I'm sorry!" He apologized swiftly. "I didn't mean to pull you under, it was just a natural reaction!"

"It's ok," she assured as he helped get her resituated on the bank, "I was asking for it when I dunked you under."

Loki scanned her face for any hidden signs of panic, but he found none.

"You are sure you are all right?" He asked for good measure.

"I am fine, I knew you had me."

Loki was a bit taken back by the statement, but he hid it well.

"You knew I had you?"

"Yes, and besides we didn't go that far under. I am fairly certain you could stand here with no problem."

Sigyn changed the topic to something else, but Loki only pretended to pay attention as he studied her face in wonder.

"I knew you had me."

She hadn't been scared because she knew that he had her? Did that mean that she trusted him? Surely not, not after everything he had done to lose her trust. Yes, she had forgiven him, but forgiveness didn't mean trust. Had he somehow managed to win her trust back? The idea seemed impossible, but maybe he had.

"Loki?...Loki?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Are you ok?"

"Of course, why?"

"You were just staring at me and I thought that perhaps something was wrong."

"No, nothing is wrong I was just pondering something."

"And may I inquire what you were pondering?"

"It was nothing that interesting." Loki assured her.

Sigyn didn't look convinced, but she didn't press the subject. Loki pulled himself out of the water and sat down next to Sigyn. Neither said anything for a bit. Instead, they sat there and watched Thor and the others play around.

"Do you trust me?" Loki asked unexpectedly.

Sigyn shot him a surprised look, and Loki immediately wished that he could take the words back.

"Do I trust you?"

Too late to turn back now…

"Yes, do you trust me? Earlier you said that you were fine because you knew that I had you, which would imply that you trust me."

"Of course I trusted that you wouldn't allow me to drown." Sigyn replied.

"And what about in other things?"

"What about other things?"

"Do you trust me in other things?"

"I suppose it would depend on the things."

"Do you trust that I, oh I don't know…do you trust that I wouldn't hurt you?"

"I trust that you have learned from your mistakes."

"But you don't trust that I wouldn't hurt you…"

"I trust that you wouldn't hurt me intentionally."

"Why? Why would you ever trust me? I cheated on you. I almost raped you... I almost killed you!"

"But you didn't. Ok you did cheat on me, but you didn't rape or kill me. Honestly Loki, I thought we were past this. That you were past this. It's time you stop chastising yourself over it. I have already forgiven you, remember?"

"Yes, but forgiveness is one thing, trust is another. What have I possibly done to earn that?"

"You refrain from touching me unless it is absolutely necessary, you always leave the library doors open when we are alone together, you never drink more than one or two glasses of wine in my presence to assure that you stay sober, you take me to my parents when I fall asleep in your presence instead of taking advantage of me, and you always look at me with respect instead of undressing me with your eyes as so many other men do."

Loki could hardly believe she had noticed all of those little things, but he knew it shouldn't surprise him. Sigyn had always been good at noticing and remembering details. It was one of the traits that made her such an interesting conversationalist.

"I know you spend a large amount of your time dealing in lies and deceit so you must find it difficult to believe that anyone would trust you, but believe me when I tell you that I do. I trust you, and if that makes me a fool then so be it."

Loki took Sigyn's hand and placed a formal kiss on it.

"I was foolish enough to destroy your trust in me once, My Lady, but this time I will strive to be worthy of it." Loki promised.

"I know you will." Sigyn replied with a squeeze of Loki's hand.

Loki's heart raced at the gesture. If only he could kiss her he would. Instead, he just settled for a smile.