There was something about actually seeing a person he knew that made it easier for Logan to remember things about them, and, by extension, the memories he associated with them. Coming face-to-face with Thor had stirred something in him, had flipped a sort of switch in his brain, and the dense fog that had been over his entire past life seemed lifted, if only just by a fraction. He knew better than to try to remember something, it would only slip further away, but he had decided, once and for all that what he had meant nothing to with what he was.

Therefore, when Fafnir opened the door to let Sigyn in for lunch, he took one look at her, and threw his book at Fafnir's head.

"You dingus!" He shrieked, his face burning in embarrassment. "You told me she was my girlfriend!"

Fafnir just barely had the presence of mind to duck, and the book made a rather concerning dent in the wall. "Oh, but isn't she?" He cackled like a crazed kookaburra as Logan chased him into the kitchen.

"No! She isn't!" If Logan could be any redder, he would have been. "Sorry about him." He mumbled to Sigyn, who had witnessed the entire debacle with an interested, excited grin.

"I really did think you were going to kill him." She enthused. "A shame. What, exactly, did he do?"

Logan could only cover his face with his hands and shuffle backwards until his calves knocked into the edge of the couch. "Nothing."

"I see." He knew she was laughing, he could hear it in her voice. "Then let me guess. He told you I was your girlfriend during a bad memory moment and you believed him?"

"Like an idiot, I did." Loki growled, half-furious at himself, and half-unsure of what to do now. Was he supposed to tell Sigyn that the reason he'd believed him was because it felt… right? That Sigyn seemed to come as naturally to him as breathing? And that she was one of the very few things left in the world that did?

Of course, the last thing he expected was for Sigyn to gently peel his hands away from his face, the mischief gone from her eyes, only curious sincerity remaining, and say, "Do you want me to be?"

So when that very thing happened, Logan suspected he had well and truly gone insane. Either that or he was dreaming. "Excuse me?"

"Well…" Sigyn hesitated, and sat down on the couch. This was, in Logan's opinion, a good invitation to sit down next to her. This conversation felt like it was going to be important. "I've been thinking."

"A noble occupation."

"Don't be sarcastic. I've been thinking about us."

The breath caught in the back of Logan's throats it was such a simple little word, only two letters, but it felt so right when used in such a context.

"Yes?"

Sigyn hesitated, her gaze darting away from him, across the room. "I've… I've been spending a lot of time with you recently. Part of that is because of the whole identity thing that I'm helping you with, and part of it is…" she glanced down at her hands, fidgeting in her lap, "I really do like you. Whether you're Loki or not, I… you… you make me so happy. There's simply something about your very ambiance that puts my soul at ease. So… If you'd like…" She peeked nervously up through her hair to meet his eyes. "We could maybe try this out? And see how a relationship works?"

Logan's jaw just about hit the floor. How was he supposed to tell her he'd given up trying to be Loki, now? That was the reason she'd come over, to see what had come of his meeting with Thor, and his quitting, his denial, was basically all there was to show for it. And now she wanted them to be together?

Could they be together, if he wasn't Loki? Sigyn and The Trickster, they were the dream couple, the One True Pairing, the dynamic duo. Maybe Sigyn wouldn't want him if he was just going to give up on everything like this.

But then again, it was always Sigyn that had pushed him to be the man he felt he was, regardless of past identities or expectations.

"You're really quiet." Sigyn noticed with a nervous smile. "What… what are you thinking about?"

"I'm just…" He faltered, "I don't know if… well… I do want to be with you." He finally admitted. "It's just that… I'm not sure I can."

"Why not?"

"Well, because you're in love with… with Loki. Right?"

Sigyn's brows drew together, and for a moment, she closed in on herself, arms wrapping around herself in a sort of self-defense move. "Well… I was." She finally admitted. "But you know… I haven't seen him in almost fifteen years, now."

Fifteen years.

Fifteen years. Good gracious, Logan was older than he thought, if he had been old enough to be engaged fifteen years prior.

"And of course, if he were to pop up, now, right in front of me," she went on, "or… or if he were perhaps already sitting beside me on this couch… I don't know that he would be the same person. Actually, I know for a fact he wouldn't be. Fifteen years does a lot to a person. I'm worlds different, now, than I was, then. So, even if I were to be dating a man I knew for sure and certain, was Loki, I wouldn't be dating the same person I fell in love with all those years ago. The man I loved is dead, Logan, whether he still lives in you, or not. Does that make sense, or am I just rambling?"

It did make sense, though. Sigyn was saying that she was ready to open her heart to someone new, and he was new, whether he also had a past in the old, or not.

She was saying she cared for him, just as he was, no strings attached, no titles.

Just him.

Whatever his name was, in the present.

"No, it makes perfect sense." He whispered. "I… I think I'd like that. To be… well… to date you?"

Sigyn's eyes lit up like fireworks, her bright smile sending all kinds of sparkles fluttering about in Logan's stomach, and she leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Can you feel the love tonight…" Fafnir crooned from his smug spot in the doorway.

Logan didn't even look at him before he nailed him in the face with a pillow.

"How did your meeting with Thor go?" Sigyn wanted to know, pulling his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"He didn't even try to talk to me." Logan admitted. "I felt like such an imposter, it was awful. And yet… there was something about him. He's got this aura of safety about him, you know?"

Sigyn blinked in surprise. "No, I don't. He's always kind of intimidated me."

"Even before…?"

Sigyn nodded. "Especially before. I know you don't remember, but he had no idea how to solve a problem without getting his hands on it, typically extremely violently. He's… he's better about it now, but now he's intimidating for other reasons."

Often, Logan would get a sense that that was completely right, when someone referenced his past life, but he legitimately could not match together the man he'd met earlier that day with any sort of creature with a temper. The king had been extremely patient with him, despite how Logan had come in, only to shovel up his grief and leave.

"I see." He frowned, shifting a little. Why the idea that he didn't know Thor that well after all unsettled him, he wasn't sure. "For me… I don't know. It's almost as if when I was in the same room as him, it was like… he'd protect me. And he really cared about me. But not… me. It's hard to explain."

Sigyn hummed, and nodded. "So he doesn't think you're… him?"

All he could do was heave a sigh. "I don't think I'm him, Sigyn. I was the one who left."

"Don't go doubting yourself–" Sigyn began, but Logan held up a hand to stop her.

"I'm not saying I can't live up to him – well, no. I am. I'm not saying that I'm not good enough to be him. What I'm trying to say is… I really don't think I am him. Or maybe that I don't want to be."

"Oh." Sigyn said, and that was all.

"Yeah." He said after a moment of awkward silence. It felt like there was very little else to say. "Does that… change things between us?"

"I… I don't think so." Sigyn shook her head. "I still care very deeply about you. And I still want to be with you. This is just… a bit of a perspective shift."

"Are you disappointed?"

"No! Of course not!" She took his hands in her own, and held them tightly. "Why would I be?"

"Because I gave up."

"I don't see it that way." She shook her head. "From my perspective, you worked as hard as you could for your goal, and then when you weren't feeling it anymore, you changed paths. You didn't give up, you just… changed your mind. You put in good effort, and I think you should be proud of yourself, for that."

This was the kind of moments he felt like he really could do anything, and no one would really care, so long as he wasn't hurting anyone. Gosh, he really was a grown-up, wasn't he?

"Then if you're not pursuing being royalty, anymore…" Sigyn cut into his thoughts, "what are you going to be doing?"

"I have no idea." He grinned, with a cheerful shrug. "Perhaps I shall be abducted by a… a passing pirate ship, and become a humble cabin boy. Or maybe I could move to Scotland and become a rugged stable hand. Or I could… join a monastery. Or become a Robin Hood style figure, redistributing wealth in times of need and poverty. I could go to space…"

The more he talked, the harder Sigyn laughed, so he decided coming up with more outlandish career paths would be a pretty good way to spend the rest of his life.

"I have an idea." She interrupted before he could go into the job he could acquire in space. "Why don't you come back to Vanaheim with me? I could make you a duke or something. And then you could have your own castle, and we could sort things out from there."

"Alright." Logan immediately agreed. At that point he was up for anything, really, and that suggestion included Sigyn in the way he decided to go forward with his life, and it was therefore superior. To begin to overthink it would be to second-guess himself, and he wasn't going to lie. It sounded like something he could do, something he didn't need to remember his name for. And of all the futures, there were few he actually had connections with. Or, at least, few he could remember.

Plus, he didn't recall ever having been off the planet. Someone would have to teach him how to be a duke, or whatever Sigyn appointed him as. But there was something there, something tangible he could reach, and for once, it was solid, not hidden behind clouds of doubt and unsurety. It felt like he'd be going home.

TheOnlyHuman.