The celebration of Astrid's mother's life went on well into the night. Astrid, however, never returned to the solemn gathering – opting to stay locked away with Loki next to her. They lay on the bed on their sides, facing each other. Softly, with the back of his hand, Loki stroked Astrid's cheek as he propped up on his left elbow. He admired her beauty, memorized every pore, and measured how long her eyelashes were as they covered her resting eyes.

"Do you think we should -," Loki began softly before being cut off.

"No," Astrid mumbled with her eyes still shut, knowing what Loki was going to ask. "Can we just stay here for a month?" He chuckled and ran his fingers through her long, dark hair.

"I would love to, my darling," he responded, placing a kiss on her cheek, "but we made quite the scene before taking off."

"That's tomorrow's Astrid and Loki problem," she said in a nonchalant voice with her eyes still closed. "Please let us stay here." She finally opened her eyes and gave him her best puppy-dog eye look, causing him to smile down at her.

"Alright, fine," Loki finally caved in. "You and I both know that there will be some grievances to sort out with them."

Astrid turned over onto her back and looked up and over at him, his right arm going over her lower stomach and effectively pinning her to the bed. He kept his weight on his left elbow to keep from crushing her as he peered from above with a smile. He bent down and planted a deep yet soft kiss on her lips, and she moaned at the feeling of his tongue exploring her mouth. His right arm moved up to her face and gently held her right cheek as he straddled her. With his left hand, he slowly moved it under her shirt. Once he made contact with her skin, he broke off the kiss and searched her eyes for consent or rejection. She understood what he was asking for, so she nodded – giving him permission to move up her torso. However, while her eyes and body gave him consent, he couldn't help but notice her shaking and tensing up as he moved upwards.

"What's wrong, my love?" he asked with concern. "Just tell me to stop, and I'll stop. No questions asked." She shook her head rapidly, trying to avoid his question, but he wanted to know what was wrong. "Please, Astrid," he begged as he brushed some hair out of her face. "What's wrong?"

She let out a sigh, knowing that he wasn't going to let it go. "I'm – I'm just uh – nervous," she finally admitted. "I've never – um – done – you know," she motioned to their bodies and positions, "this."

His eyes widened, and he stopped straddling her – opting for the position he had previously been in. "I'm so sorry," he apologized genuinely. "I had no idea."

She turned to look at him, and she stroked his left cheek. "It's okay, my god," she assured him. "No one does." He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead – still feeling bad for the situation he almost put her in.

"So, you and Star-Spangled never...?" he asked.

She let out a giggle at the name. "No," she confirmed. "We never did anything other than makeout. We never even slept in the same bed." She blushed and looked away before she continued. "I've never done anything with anyone aside from making out."

He put his hand under her chin and gently turned her head to look at him. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

She scoffed and sat up with her back against the headboard. "I'm 25 years old, and I've only ever kissed another person," she said in a self-deprecating manner. "You're a literal god," she reminded him, "I'd understand if you want to back out of this."

He shook his head vehemently and held her cheeks. "I don't think you understand how long I've waited for this chance," he said softly. "I've been waiting to have a chance with you since you walked through the doors of the tower, and I'm not going to let something so trivial as lack of sexual experience change that." Tears collected in her eyes. For the first time in her life, she felt like someone actually wanted her, not just her body. She pulled him towards her to catch his lips and pushed him back so that she could straddle him. He let her easily take him down, and once she was on his lap, she sat up, set her hands on his chest, and he placed his hands on her thighs. "We can go however slow or fast you want to," he said as he softly stroked her thighs. "I'll promise to do whatever you need me to do. All you have to do is name it."

Astrid could tell when Loki was trying to be deceptive, manipulative, or flat-out lying. On the other hand, he could tell with her as well. They learned quickly into their friendship that lying and trying to hide things from the other wouldn't work, so for a rare time in Loki's life, honesty was the best policy. The two of them never worried about why this was the case, but that didn't mean they weren't curious about it.

"So, does that go for conversation as well?" Astrid asked in response to his promise.

He smiled up at her. "Absolutely, my darling."

Astrid took a deep breath in and exhaled. "Have you ever wondered why we can see through one another so easily?"

Loki thought for a moment before answering. "I have before, but I never really question it. Why?"

"I think I know why," she offered. Loki raised an eyebrow, clearly curious at her hypothesis. She began playing with his hair, and she used it as a distraction while she made her confession to him. "When I was 15, I was in a bookstore," she started as Loki listened intently. "I was in a dark spot in my life, and I needed an escape. I needed something to help me escape reality, so I wanted to escape into a world of myths and legends. I picked up a giant book that had an overview of all the major Pagan Gods – the Greeks, Romans, Africans, and of course...Norse Gods." She looked down to make sure he was still paying attention, and she was met with a smile on his face. "I bought it, and I took it home and read it. It took me about two days to finish the whole thing, and so that's when I realized what made me happy, what made me feel good – complete were these myths. My mother tried to raise me as a Catholic – do the whole church thing, but I was never really interested in it. The Christian myths never caught my attention, but the one category of myths I could read all day was the Norse Myths." She took a deep breath. "I did some extra research on each God, and I was surprised to learn that people actually follow, pray to, and worship one or more, so that's what I decided to do." At this point, he knew where she was going with her story, but he let her finish anyway. "I tried working with many gods – Ares, Zeus, Kali, even Thor. None of them helped. Nothing I did brought me that sense of completeness and happiness. I had almost given up, but then I turned the page, and I saw "LOKI" typed across the top. I figured I'd give it one more shot, and if I hadn't, I would be dead right now."

Loki couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face. "You chose me as your god?" She nodded and started to take her shirt off, but Loki stopped her. "I mean what I said," he reminded her in a stern tone. "I don't want to push you into anything."

You're not," she assured him. "I want to show you something I got a few years back" He relaxed and let her take her top off. With her tank top underneath, he felt a little better. She threw her top across the room and brushed her hair over her shoulder so that the left side of her chest was visible. "I got this done when I turned 18," she told him as she pointed out a series of runes. I've kept it hidden because I didn't want to freak you out – make you think that I'm obsessed with you or something." He gingerly held his hand up to the tattoo, and she gave him a nod – letting him know it was okay to touch it.

"You marked your body for me?" Loki asked in surprise as he traced the runes that spelled out his name. I've never felt so...admired."

It's the same as someone getting a cross tattooed," she spoke, "except my religion is Lokean, and the runes are sacred, just as the cross may be sacred to others." Tears started to gather in Loki's eyes as he continued to trace the design.

"May I try something?" he finally asked. Astrid nodded, and Loki covered the tattoo and spoke ancient words towards it before removing his hand and softly blowing on it. "There," he said softly as he went back to stroking her thighs. "Whenever you're in danger, I'll know. Hold your hand over your heart and call to me –I'll appear."

"Thank you," she said shyly as she bent down to kiss him. She placed her hands on the bottom of his shirt, and he nodded – telling her it was alright for her to take it off. "Can I just – explore?" she asked as his skin came into vision.

"Of course, my love," he consented softly.

She became mesmerized by the tiny freckles on his torso, and she started softly poking each one and kissing his chest. Quietly, she began a prayer that she had come to know all too well. "O Son of Leafy Isle

and Ever-Biting Sky

I pray You hear this little prayer

Where'ere You may reside

I pray You know Your Holy Name

Rests on these lips of mine;

That always is there a place

When'ere You come to dine

I pray You know that somewhere

Some will call You friend

That I know Your deeds

And know where'ereYou've been

I pray that You can see

The offerings left outside

That I carry love for You

A love I will not hide

I pray that You can hear

The songs that I sing

In praise of You, O Flaming Hair

In our small gatherings

I pray that You can feel, Loki

The love and trust and pride

For counting You among our Gods

In You, our prayers abide

Hail unto the Fiery One

To Hag and Aesir Bride

Hail unto Your Beloved Kin

Your family and Your lines

Hail to You Ever-Changing

To all Your blessings known

To Wyrd that You have made with us

To Wyrd that will be wove

My Ancestors have spoke Your Name

My heart knows but this:

My life and soul are blessed by You

Because You do exist

Please hear this prayer I pray, Loki

Trickster, Fire, and Friend

We shall hail and praise Your Name

Beyond Yggdrasil's End"