Astrid and Loki enjoyed the silence as they lay in her bed together – keeping their arms wrapped tightly around each other – making sure the other wasn't going to leave. Loki couldn't keep the smile off his face, and touching her skin was almost an addiction. He gently and autonomously stroked her upper arm as she rubbed his chest – placing little kisses wherever she could reach without moving. Astrid's mind was rushing in the aftermath of what they had just done, and Loki felt more love towards her than he had ever felt towards anyone. There were several elephants in the room, and they both knew it. They knew the awkward conversations had to happen if they were going to be able to move on together. While Astrid enjoyed his presence, Loki tried to find a way to approach the topics that he needed her to talk about.

"You understand that we have a few things that need to be talked about, right, my love?" he finally asked softly while placing a kiss on her head. Astrid plainly nodded in response, not wanting to have the much-needed conversation. "We should go ahead and get those out of the way," Loki insisted.

Astrid lifted her head and rested her chin on his chest – making eye contact with his beautiful blue eyes. "Must we?" she whispered.

Loki nodded. "Yes," he answered. "I want us to work, Astrid," he began to explain, "and for that to happen, we need to get through these things together."

Astrid closed her eyes and turned her head back, so her cheek was on his chest, and she wasn't making eye contact with him anymore. "What do you want me to say?" she asked with a shrug.

Loki let her be and didn't force her to look at him. Whatever way she was comfortable talking about these things was good enough for him – so long as she talked truthfully.

"How long have you been fighting your addiction?" Loki asked softly as he stroked her hair.

Astrid exhaled. "Eight years. Next."

"No, now hang on, Astrid," Loki replied. "I'm not here to play question and answer, okay? I want you to open up to me. This isn't something you can just answer and move on."

Astrid began to get aggravated but still kept her head turned. "What do you want me to say?" she argued with frustration. "I answered your question. You didn't ask me to go into detail."

"You know what I'm asking," he fired back. "I'm trying to help you – don't push me away."

Astrid chuckled with disbelief and quickly got up out of bed. Loki didn't try to pull her back to him because he didn't want her to feel trapped. "I gotta go," she said as she put her shirt and jeans back on.

Loki sat up and watched her gather her things with tears in her eyes. "Where are you going?" he asked, worried.

"Away from you," she shot back. "Just leave me alone. Forget about anything we did or anything I said."

Astrid's words felt like a dagger to Loki's heart, but he understood that she was sensitive to the problem at hand. She combined the two boxes that she and Loki had been looking through – the box filled with candles and incense and the one with her altar materials and stormed out of her room. Loki let her leave – not wanting to anger her any more than he already had. Astrid walked through the halls of the tower, ignoring any and everyone who tried to speak to her. She was clearly not in the mood to speak to anyone. She made her way up to the roof of the tower and sat down with her legs dangling over the edge, looking out into the field below – her box of items sitting next to her.

Loki finally got out of Astrid's bed and dressed slowly – trying to figure out how to fix whatever he did wrong. Becoming second nature, he intently listened for any sort of call or prayer from her, but he was only met with radio silence.

"Hey, man," Steve interrupted Loki's thoughts as he peered into Astrid's room while Loki was leaving. "What happened to Astrid?"

Loki flipped the light off and headed towards his own room. "She's mad at me," he answered unemotionally. "Why?"

"Well, I just watched her carry a big box up to the roof a minute ago," Captain explained. "She didn't look too happy."

"The roof?" Loki asked with nervousness. "When?"

"A minute or so ago," Steve repeated himself.

"Oh no," Loki said under his breath – pushing Steve aside as he ran towards the roof of the tower. "Thank you," he shouted back, surprising Steve.

Astrid looked at each item in her box, smiling with tear-stained cheeks as she remembered her connection to each item – each scent. In the bottom of the box, she pulled out a black cigarette lighter and held the golden altar cloth in her right hand. Astrid stroked the material with love and appreciation and waited for the wind to die down. While waiting, she took out the candles and incense – leaving the flowers, photo, and other pieces of artwork in the box. Finally, the wind stopped, and she heard Loki's voice call out for her. He sounded frantic, clearly concerned for her. Once he found her, he ran towards her as she lit the lighter and held it to the bottom of the box. The meaningful items went up in flames, and then she tossed the altar cloth on top of it – lighting it on fire as well. She stood back as the cardboard box became engulfed in flames, and one by one, she kicked the candles and incense off the roof of the tower – sending them plummeting to the concrete parking lot below. Loki slowed his pace as he approached her. He could see her crying, but his own heart ached over her betrayal of him.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked with a broken voice.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Astrid said lowly as she fought her tears – watching the items in the box slowly turn into ash. "Don't bother yourself with me."

Loki scoffed. "Seriously? What are you trying to do?"

"Forget about you!" she yelled as she turned around to face him. "I might as well save myself the heartache of losing you now."

"Lose me?" he asked, confused as he approached her and placed his hands on her shoulder. "What are you talking about?" She refused to speak and only shook her head as she tried to hide her teary eyes. "Astrid, please talk to -,"

"I'm a drug addict!" she finally yelled. "I'm broken, okay? I don't deserve you or your love."

Loki pulled her into his arms and let her cry into his chest. "That's not true," he whispered to her as he rubbed her back. "Trust me – trust me as your God – that's not true."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed as she turned to look at the destroyed items. "I've destroyed everything."

"Not us," Loki insisted. "You can never destroy us."

Astrid bent down and tried to look through the ashes. "Can you fix it?" she asked him with teary eyes. "Please, can you fix it?"

Loki regretfully shook his head as she begged. "No, my love," he answered. "I can't undo that."

Astrid fell to her knees and cried. "I'm sorry," she apologized again as Loki sat next to her. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

Loki placed a kiss on her cheek. "You're trying to fight your demons alone," he told her. "You're trying to ignoring what you crave."

"Do you have any of it left?" she asked him with begging eyes. "Please, Loki. I need something. I quit this cold turkey."

"I don't," he answered softly. "I destroyed what you had left."

Astrid began to hyperventilate. "I feel like I'm going to die," she sobbed as he held her in his arm. "Please, Loki, please, please, please help me."

With Astrid still in his arms, Loki teleported them back to his room, and he laid her in his bed – holding her in his arms and placing soft kisses on her head. He could tell she was getting sleepy – her body unfamiliar with the absence of her preferred drug. He held her as she fell asleep, and once he was certain that she was asleep, he carefully left the bed and made his way down to the lab to find someone to help him help her.

"So, can you help me?" Loki quietly begged Bruce and Tony after letting them in on what happened with Astrid earlier. Bruce and Tony looked at each other and then back at Loki.

"I think so," Bruce answered – causing Loki to exhale a sigh of relief, "but -,"

"But what?" Loki interrupted desperately.

"You will have to help her," Tony stressed. "You two have some sort of connection, and she is going to need someone to keep a watchful eye over her."

"I'm not going anywhere," Loki swore. "I would never abandon her."

"I want her to try this," Bruce began as he opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pills, and handed it to Loki.

"Buprenorphine?" Loki asked with a raised eyebrow as he read the label.

"Yes," Bruce confirmed. "It helps to satisfy her drug cravings," he began. "It won't give her the high that she is chasing, but it contains a chemical called naloxone, which will react with her opioid receptors and reverse or block effects from other opioids."

"Why would she need to reverse opioid effects?" Loki asked – sounding confused.

"She's not just addicted to the chemical," Banner added. "She also addicted to the action – the motion of injecting heroin into her vein. If she were to break the capsules apart and inject the liquid, the naloxone would induce drug withdrawal effects and prevent her from getting high or overdosing."

"Think of it as an antibiotic," Tony chimed in. "You can't feel the effects of it. There's no high from it. There's no drunk feeling, but you know it's working because you don't feel as sick as before because you know that the medicine is fighting off the infection or illness."

Loki nodded his head. "I think I understand."

"Good," Bruce replied. "Astrid will need to take one when she starts craving heroin, but if she doesn't tell you, then you need to know when she's starting to crave it."

"If she's begging for you to help her, then it's important to help her remember her words when she may say otherwise," Tony added.

Astrid awoke in Loki's bed feeling better than earlier. She felt her heart begin to ache over how she had treated Loki and wanted to fix the sentimental items she had destroyed. Loki wasn't beside her when she woke, but she wasn't too concerned about it – she knew he hadn't gone far. She stretched out and wrapped herself in his blankets, and took in his scent on his pillows. His scent brought a smile to her face, and the fact that he still cared for her after how she had acted gave her hope and broke her heart at the same time. Astrid heard footsteps slowly approach the room, and she recognized them as Steve's – making her curious as to why he was coming to see her. She sat up in the bed and watched as the Captain approach her with a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, you," he greeted her softly. "How are you feeling?"

"It's hard to describe," Astrid shrugged. "I'm a horrible person."

Steve placed his hand on her shoulder. "You know that's not true. You're not a horrible person."

"You asked her how she's feeling, and she told you," Loki's voice cut in. "Don't try to manipulate her."

Steve stood up from the bed. "I wasn't trying to manipulate her, Loki," he swore with his hands up – showing he wasn't there to fight.

"Then don't try to make someone feel as though their feelings aren't valid," Loki spat back. "If you didn't like the answer, then you shouldn't have asked."

Astrid smiled at him, defending her and her feelings, and Steve looked at both of them – shocked.

"Alright, I'll go," Steve state as he headed towards the door. "I do hope you feel better, Astrid."

He closed the door behind him, and Loki went to lock it to prevent any more unwelcome guests.

Loki sat down and stroked Astrid's hand as he held the bottle of medication in his hand. She looked at it and tried to figure out what it was, but before she could ask, Loki told her everything.

"This is to help you," he told her. "It should help with the cravings without giving you the high."

"So, like a Tylenol?" Astrid questioned.

"I was told it was like an antibiotic," Loki corrected. "You won't feel any of the highs, but your cravings will be satisfied." Astrid nodded, following along. "You take one by mouth when you begin to crave the heroin," he continued, "but if you inject the liquid inside the capsule, it'll cause you to have withdrawal symptoms, and it won't get you high."

"You're not worried about me taking all of them at once?" Astrid tried to joke, but Loki was still looking at her seriously.

"No, because you won't have them in your possession," he answered. "I will keep them on me, hidden, and when you need something to help stop your cravings, I'll give you one."

Astrid smiled and stoked Loki's cheek. "I'm sorry for earlier."

Loki grabbed and kissed the palm of her hand. "There's nothing to apologize for, my love."

"I destroyed everything," she said quietly as Loki wrapped his arms around her.

He chuckled. "If you're a true Lokean, then you should know that I don't care about altars or gifts."

"I know," she confirmed, "but it stood as a reminder of my devotion to you."

Loki leaned back and looked her in the eyes. "Then we will rebuild it," he suggested. "Better than ever." He bent forward and placed a deep kiss on Astrid's lips. "We should probably go get some fresh air anyway."

Astrid nodded with a slight smile. "That sounds wonderful," she agreed. "Um, do you think I could have, a, you know...whatever is in that bottle?"

"It's called Buprenorphine," Loki said proudly as he opened the seal and placed a pill in her hand. He conjured a cup of water and watched as Astrid swallowed it – showing her mouth and moving her tongue to prove she took it.

"Well," she giggled, "aren't you a fancy doctor now?"

He kissed her on the cheek. "If that's what I have to be for you, then I will be."

Two Hours Later

Loki and Astrid walked hand-in-hand down the streets of New York City, window

shopping and going into stores every now and then. Loki knew that Astrid was looking for specific, special items, so she was very particular about what she would buy. He let her take her time because all he wanted was for Astrid to enjoy herself, and he wanted to enjoy her presence. So far, the only things they had found were incense and candles to replace the ones that had been destroyed. Astrid had Loki pick out all the scents because, after all, the altar was for worshipping him. His favorite scents were Dragon Blood, Cinnamon, and a scent called Midnight Musk.

"Oooh," Astrid said as a little, old, hole-in-the-wall shop caught her attention. "Let's go in here."

She pulled Loki into the alleyway and opened the old, wooden door that chimed when they walked in. It smelt like old wood and pine.

"Smells good," Loki said quietly as they stood and looked around.

"Hello!" a young woman happily greeted Astrid and Loki. "What're you guys shopping for -," she was interrupted when she noticed the God of Mischief standing in front of her. "Oh, wow," she began nervously. "It's...it's you."

Loki laughed at her deer-in-the-headlights look.

"There's no reason to be nervous around him," Astrid said nicely. "He won't bite."

"Too bad," the shopkeeper said under her breath, but she managed to catch Astrid's attention – resulting in a wide-eyed look from her as he held Loki's hand even tighter. "Oh, sorry, I was, I didn't-"

"It's alright," Loki said with a friendly smile. "But yes. We're just looking around for some things," he told the young woman as he pulled Astrid's hand up and kissed the back of it.

"Okay," the shopkeeper said, finally calming down. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"Not sure yet," Astrid answered quickly. "I'll know when I see it."

The shopkeeper nodded in understanding. "If you need anything, I'll be around."

The young woman turned around and walked away after Loki and Astrid nodded in understanding. Astrid began to look at small items on the shelves, and Loki followed her like a guard dog.

"Love, don't be upset about what that woman said," Loki pleaded quietly as he stood

behind Astrid and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're the only one I'll ever bite."

Astrid giggled as he gently bit the side of her neck. "I know, my god," she confessed. "I've just never felt that level of jealousy before."

"You have no reason to be jealous," he reminded her. "I'm all yours."

Astrid picked up a small, delicate-looking charm and examined it closely. "Remember that artwork I made?" Loki produced the drawing that Astrid gave to him, and she compared it to the little charm in her hand. "It's a perfect match." The small charm was almost an exact replica of Astrid's drawing, but it was clearly a lot older than her artwork. "This is pretty

cool."

Loki looked at it closer and concealed the picture again. "Indeed, it is," he agreed.

"Hey, what do you say we have a little fun?" Loki asked with a mischievous look as he watched Astrid place the small charm back on the shelf. "Maybe it'll help find some meaningful items."

"What did you have in mind?" Astrid asked hesitantly as the two walked out of the small shop and held each other's hand.

"Follow my lead," Loki whispered in her ear. Astrid nodded, and the two of them headed across the street to a large park.

"Loki, what are we doing?" Astrid asked, feeling nervous about the mayhem to come.

Loki teleported ahead to an ice cream vendor and quickly returned with two cones – one with vanilla for him and one with chocolate for Astrid. "Here you are, my dear," he said with a smile as he handed Astrid her cone. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and took the cone from his hand. He happily began eating his, and Astrid slowly ate hers as they continued to walk.

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing yet?" she asked, becoming more nervous by the minute.

"Negative," Loki grinned. He sat down on a bench as he and Astrid finished eating their ice cream. Before Astrid had a chance to sit down next to him, he pulled her onto his lap and began nibbling at her neck.

"Loki!" she squealed, seeing that everyone was watching them. "What on Earth are you doing?"

"Having fun," he smiled as he kissed her. "Showing you off to everyone."

"I thought we were going to cause some chaos," she gasped as he bit the sensitive spot on the side of her neck.

"I said let's have a little fun," Loki reminded her, still nibbling away. "You don't have to cause chaos to have fun." Astrid looked around and blushed as everyone kept looking at them. Loki didn't care, though – he was going to devour her in front of everyone – show everyone that he was taken and uninterested in anyone else. "Everyone needs to know that you are mine and mine alone."

Astrid grabbed the back of the bench and broke off a piece of wood, and Loki concealed it for her. She moaned at the sight of the god worshipping her – showing her off in front of everyone in the park. Eventually, her embarrassment went away, and she and Loki began to deeply explore each other's mouths. Loki held Astrid tightly around her waist and began to slide his hands down her pants and onto her buttcheeks.

"Oh my God, Loki," Astrid moaned at the feelings he was bringing out of her. Every time she used that phrase, he could help but chuckle a little bit because, with her, she meant it both ways – an expression for enjoyment and a phrase of worship. The pair heard some footsteps walk towards them, but they were too lost in each other to care. They were boots, and whoever it was, wore a lot of accessories on their clothes.

"Excuse me," a serious voice called out to Astrid and Loki from a few feet away. "You love birds can't do this here."

Astrid and Loki looked up, and they saw an NYPD police officer standing there with his hand on his weapon – an instinctual stance.

"Apologies," Loki said with a smirk. "I just could help myself. She's rather gorgeous, don't you think?"

"The two of you need to move on, or I will arrest the both of you for indecent exposure," the cop ordered. Loki tapped Astrid's thigh, his way to telling her to move. She did as he asked, and Loki walked up to the police officer.

"We're terribly sorry for any disturbance," he apologized, trying to sound genuine to the cop, but Astrid couldn't help but snicker to herself as he shook the cop's hand.

"No problem," the cop answered. "Just go find a room or something."

"Will do," Loki said with a smirk. The cop turned his back and began to walk away, and after Loki turned back around, he held up the cop's handcuffs with a grin.

"Are those for my altar or us?" Astrid asked with a shocked expression.

"Who's to say they can't be for both," Loki winked as he concealed the handcuffs. "What shall we do next, my dear?"

"Surprise me," Astrid smiled as she leaned up to kiss Loki.

"Are you sure?" Loki questioned with a raised eyebrow. "If you really want to be surprised, you'll have to wait in my bedroom until I come back."

"I think I can handle that," she whispered.

"Very well," Loki said with a kiss.

Loki took Astrid back to his bedroom and gave her the incense, candles, piece of the bench, and handcuffs to start finding a spot for. The entire time they were out, Astrid didn't have a single craving for her drug, and she was so focused on finding the perfect place for everything, she was able to stop thinking about it altogether.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Astrid whispered to herself. She held out her hand, and in her palm sat the small charm that they had looked at in the shop.

"You little thief," Loki said in a sultry tone as he walked up being Astrid and wrapped his arms around her. "Why am I not surprised?"

Astrid turned around and kissed him. "You're the one who taught me how to conceal things."

"I'm aware," Loki chuckled. "Are you ready?"

"For what?" Astrid aksed.

"Your surprise," Loki grinned, "-es."

Astrid nodded and went to sit on the bed – excited to see what he had gotten for her for his altar. Loki held out his hand, and on the floor, there appeared a giant pile of things. Astrid's eyes opened wide, and she began to look through everything he had gotten.

"Loki!" she exclaimed in excitement. "This is way too much for an altar!"

Loki chuckled and sat down next to her. "You're right," he said with a smile, "but it's the right amount for two." Astrid looked at him with a confused expression. "You worship me; I worship you."

Astrid's eyes began to tear up, and she threw her arms around his neck – causing the two of them to fall to the floor. "I love you," she said softly into his ear.

"I love you more," Loki swore. "More than anyone – than anything."

He placed a kiss on her nose, and the two of them sat up. Astrid excitedly looked through the pile of objects. Loki showed her which things he liked, and Astrid did the same. Some of his favorite items were a bottle of wine, drinking chalice, a bowl of mixed chocolates, a green altar cloth, a plaque with runes, a decorative dagger, Principia by Isaac Newton, and some artificial, gold flowers. She picked out the large, brown stuffed teddy bear, the bouquet of fake, white roses, a black altar cloth, coloring utensils with a sketchbook, a collection of Stephen King books, and a handful of classic horror movies. After they picked out everything they wanted for their altars, Loki conjured two tables in the corner of his room, and the two began building them next to each other.

"What if I told you there was more?" Loki asked, breaking the silence as they built the tables.

"Then I would say we don't have room for anymore," Astrid laughed as she tried to get the items to stay in place and not fall. Loki looked at one of the movies in his hands, staring blankly into space. "You alright?" Astrid asked once she noticed his quiet demeanor as he stared at Hellraiser. "That's a good movie, by the way. We should watch it tonight." He still didn't respond to her. "Hello? Earth to Loki!" she waved her hand in front of his face, which seemed to have gotten his attention.

"I'm sorry, my love," he apologized, sitting the movie aside. "Yes, we'll watch it tonight."

"What's going on with you?" Astrid asked skeptically. "Did I say something?"

"No, it's not you," Loki shook his head. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" she asked as she placed the last item on the altar for Loki.

He snickered. "Us," he confessed. "Our future."

Astrid was confused. "What do you mean?"

Loki took a deep breath in and finished up the altar for her as well, and then he turned to face her. "We've known each other for a little over a year, but we've only been together for a little over a week."

"And?" Astrid pushed. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," Loki denied quickly. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but I'm just...I don't know."

"Loki, you're scaring me," Astrid said nervously. "Is this you breaking up with me?"

"God no!" he exclaimed – mad at himself for causing her to panic. "In fact, I want to do the opposite."

"We're already together, Loki," she reminded him.

He laughed and held her cheek. "I know that my love," he confirmed, "but I just wanted to know how you felt...about us."

"I love you," she said with love in her eyes. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, but if you're wondering if I think we're moving too fast, then the answer is no. We've been getting to know and fall in love with each other over the past year – even if we weren't aware of it."

"Thank you, my love," Loki said as he kissed her forehead. "I was just afraid that you may think we're moving too fast because I don't intend on slowing down."

"I don't either," she smiled at him before he placed a kiss on her lips and moved both of them to his bed.

"We've made our altars," Loki began as he placed kisses all over her face and neck.

"Mhm," Astrid moaned in response.

"Why don't we worship each other?" he asked in a husky voice.

"Please, my lord," Astrid panted.

Loki chuckled into her ear and nibbled her earlobe. "As my goddess wishes."