It felt as if he'd awoken from a long, tedious dream. Life in Asgard had constantly been overshadowed by the knowledge that his brother would always come first, always take the best and leave the scraps for Loki. But he couldn't imagine finding anything better than Rona in all the realms. And she was his. He felt that with her faith in him he could do anything, he could be just as worthy as everyone saw Thor to be...

The phone on his desk rang, snapping him out of his fantasy. He answered it, only half listening to the bartender's voice on the other end.

"Hey boss, there's a kinda...strange blonde guy down here looking for you."

"Hmm." Loki frowned as the words sank in. "What do you mean by strange?"

"Well..." He could hear chuckling in the background. "He kinda looks like a Viking. But without the funny hat."

Loki sucked in a breath through his clenched teeth and glanced at the clock. For the first time in weeks, he hoped that Rona would not show up. At least not until he got rid of the unexpected visitor.

"Send him up."

He rose from his chair and began to pace the room, hands clasped behind his back. In a few moments the door swung open, bouncing against the wall, the doorknob leaving a shallow dent in the plaster.

"Brother!" The heavily-muscled man in Asgardian clothing strode into the room, grabbing Loki by the shoulders. "It has been too long!"

Loki smiled tightly. "Only a few months. Did you come to stay? Because if you did, we'll have to do something about those clothes. You'll stand out too much like that."

Thor laughed heartily. "No, I came to bring you home."

Loki took a step back, his eyes widening, panic bursting in his chest. "What?"

"Father wishes you to return home. Immediately, he said."

Loki shook his head. "I can't. Not now. I have...I am...busy."

Thor frowned, stepping toward the window and looking down at the empty dance floor. "I see nothing worth staying for." He waved a hand at the club below them. "You would risk Father's wrath for this?"

Loki glanced down at his employees busily working. As he watched, Rona came in, stopping to speak to the bartender before heading toward the stairs. His panic rising, Loki turned back to his brother.

"There are some things I need to take care of before I return home. Tell Father I will be there as soon as possible."

"What sort of things?"

He sighed. "I cannot just disappear without making arrangements." He could hear soft footsteps on the stairs and he cursed under his breath as he turned toward the door.

Rona halted in the doorway, a look of surprise and curiosity on her face. "Oh. I didn't expect you to have company."

Thor regarded them both before turning to Loki with a grin. "So you have been busy, brother."

"Brother?" Rona stepped into the room, frowning. Loki gritted his teeth.

"Yes, this is my brother, Thor." He waved a hand towards her, hoping he could avoid attempting to explain their relationship. "This is Rona. Thor came on family business. But he is leaving now."

Thor chuckled. "Remember, do not keep Father waiting." He headed for the door, pausing when he reached Rona and bowing slightly. "Lady Rona."

Loki rolled his eyes and huffed under his breath. Rona still stood in the doorway, smiling at him. "I assume you didn't plan on me meeting your brother today."

He returned the smile briefly, distracted by the conversation he did not want to have with her. "I would have preferred to warn you."

"He seemed perfectly nice."

"Um-hm. That's what they all think."

She chuckled, moving toward him, her eyes searching his face. He wondered if she could see his worry, his distress at the thought of leaving her. She frowned a little. "Family business?"

He nodded, forcing out the loathsome words. "My Father wishes me to return home."

Her expression shifted, a blankness spreading over her features. "Oh." She nodded slowly. "Well, it had to happen sometime, right?"

He took a step back, startled and dismayed by her words. "That is all you have to say?"

"I never expected you to stay indefinitely, Loki. You have a home, and a family, and I knew it would just be a matter of time before you had to go back."

He swallowed against the bitterness that rose in his throat. He had imagined she would feel something of what he felt, hoped she would ask him not to go. But she remained so infuriatingly calm. Clearly she didn't suffer from the same overwhelming longing that he did. Perhaps she felt nothing for him after all.

"So it doesn't bother you at all that I'm leaving?"

She began shaking her head before he even finished speaking. "How can you ask that? Do you really think it's so easy for me to let you go? I've feared this moment since the day I learned who you really are. But I can't ask you to turn your back on your family and stay with me." Her voice broke. "Even if I want to."

Relief mingled with the aching inside him. A thought rose, desperate and hopeful. He stepped forward, close enough to see her eyes glittering with unshed tears, and grasped her arms.

"Come with me."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"Come to Asgard, and then all of this won't matter. We can be together, I will show you things you've never even dreamed of..."

She shook her head. "Loki, I can't, I don't belong there."

His hands tightened on her arms, and he barely restrained himself from shaking her in frustration. "You belong with me!"

She looked away, and when her eyes met his again, he could see all his pleas were useless. He would never convince her.

"I can only imagine the conflict my unexpected arrival would cause. That isn't the first impression I want to make on your family."

"I will make them understand." He pulled her closer and pressed his forehead against hers. "Please, Rona." Tears were running freely down her face now and she merely shook her head, squeezing her eyes closed. Loki lifted his head with a sigh of resignation. "Then tell me what you would have me do."

She smiled. "Come back. If it's at all possible, just come back to me."

He raised a hand to her cheek, brushing her tears away with his thumb. "I am bound to you, Rona. For reasons I do not completely understand. And you are bound to me."

She nodded as if answering his unspoken question and the knot in his chest eased a little. "I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to return."

He crushed her against him, kissing her fiercely and fervently hoping it would not be the last time.