Warning: this chapter earns the 'M' rating for explicit content. The first half of the chapter (until the horizontal divider) is clean. You can scroll to the bottom for the T-rated summary.

Fandral's desk was completely covered in real Midgardian red roses when he got to work. He could guess who they were probably from, but he found it rather more annoying than endearing considering the large amount of overdue paperwork that was presumably still buried underneath. He sighed and started removing baskets of roses, rather surprised to discover his desk was actually barer than he remembered.

Hogunn came up behind him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You're not supposed to be here," he said softly.

Fandral snorted. "Oh? Where am I supposed to be, then?"

"Enjoying your day off." Fandral turned around to look at him with a raised eyebrow. Hogunn shrugged. "It was not my idea, but your benefactor was very convincing."

Volstagg laid a hand on his other shoulder and offered him an envelope with his name on it. "Don't worry, Sif and I are splitting half your duties each, and Hogunn's picked up half your paperwork. You won't get this boon again, so enjoy it."

"Oh, wow, thanks," he said, and meant it. Fandral took the envelope and opened it. The unsigned note was a short invitation to come to the gardens, and the handwriting was clearly Loki's. "I guess I should go," he said, not entirely enthusiastically. From the looks of things, his partner was unlikely to be breaking up with him, but he really did not want to end up arguing again. A longer break might have been better for them both.

"You should go," Volstagg and Hogunn agreed, and shoved him out the door.

Fandral walked slowly towards the gardens, trying to imagine what Loki might be up to. From the roses and the day off, Loki clearly felt as badly about their argument as he did, but that did not mean he had fundamentally changed his mind. He might not be ending things today, but it could still be soon. He could be looking to give Fandral one more good day before they drifted apart for good. Fandral had wracked his brains all night but had yet to come up with anything to say he had not already said to Loki to convince him to give the relationship a chance, at least nothing that didn't boil down to saying Loki was being irrational. That might be true in Fandral's opinion, but it wouldn't help at all.

When he rounded the corner to see Loki waiting for him, he did have to smile. The prince had dressed to impress today, and he looked good with the bright morning sun shining on him. He also looked perfectly healthy again, which was a relief. Loki smiled broadly and caught his hand as he approached. "There you are! For a moment I feared you weren't coming!" He kissed Fandral's cheek. "Come, we have much to do."

"Do we?"

Loki nodded excitedly. "Yes. Lots. We are going shopping in the city, but first we have appointments at the only salon you've told me about I could remember the name of. And we should hurry or we might be late. Oh, also this is for you."

Fandral blinked in surprise and took the small box automatically. Going out in the city was rather out of character for reclusive Loki, let alone going to a salon of any kind. He would not have expected to talk Loki into accompanying him to a salon if they had been happily seeing each other for centuries, let alone the day after a bitter fight about whether they should even be involved. Not to mention, it was the day after someone tried to poison Loki again. He looked down at Loki's gift to cover his surprise. The box was unwrapped, but it was itself elaborately carved of dark wood. When he opened it, he saw the inside was lined with a green velvet, and the real gift was absolutely precious. Nestled on the velvet was a set of ear studs fashioned from bright green gemstones of perfect clarity. "Are these emeralds?" he asked. They must be, he thought.

"No, tsavorite. It's a very rare kind of garnet. The refractive index is higher than an emerald, and they are harder, less prone to damage when worn by a vigorous captain of the Elite. And the setting is platinum."

Fandral smiled faintly and closed the box again. If they were rarer than emeralds, he wondered where Loki had acquired them, particularly under short notice, unless he had been planning that gift for awhile. But perhaps he already had them. "They're beautiful. Thankyou." He pulled Loki out of the busy courtyard and into the gardens. "Alright, Loki, explain. First how are you?"

"Better. Eir was right. The effects of the poison had mostly worn off even before I went to bed. I'm fine now."

"Good. Now, what is all this, really?"

"An apology. I was being an idiot yesterday."

"Ah, at least you admit it. How so, precisely?"

"I talked to Thor after we argued. I realized I was doing exactly what you said I mustn't do, what I promised not to do. I was putting our relationship at risk... out of love for you."

"Come again?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Let me spell it out. I am in love with you. I was feeling bad about myself and trying to cut you off because I'm in love with you."

"You were breaking up with me, because you're in love with me. Yeah, makes sense."

"I said I was being an idiot. Thor pointed out I've done similar things previously, not wanting to admit when I'm in love. And then I realized why I was acting this way. I was trying to protect you from my problems, because it paradoxically felt like the only way to show how much I cared, even though you had told me not to make those kind of decisions for you, or rather for us."

Fandral pursed his lips and finally shook his head. "Yeah, makes sense. I probably should have figured that out yesterday too. It would have saved both of us the heartache and anxiety."

Loki took his hand and pressed it to his lips. "I love you, Fandral. I may still be nervous about what that means, but I see it now, and I want to make yesterday up to you."

Fandral finally smiled. "Say it again."

"I love you."

"I'm glad. I love you too, and I can't wait to see what you have in store."

"Many stores. Many, many, many, and an unlimited budget."

"Unlimited?" Fandral asked, raising an eyebrow.

Loki shrugged. "I'm already so much in debt for other albeit intangible things, you can hardly bankrupt me further. I can always borrow from Thor, since he's the one who suggested, and I quote, a 'big romantic gesture.'"

Fandral laughed and kissed him, then led him back out of the garden and towards the gates leading out to the city. "This is going to be great. Where to first?"

"Manicures."

"Oh, you devil."

"I know."


They cut the trip to the city shorter than Loki had intended. Things had started out well at the salon and at the first few shops where Fandral was a well-known and valued customer. The fourth shop was Fandral's sometime lover Natya's. She smiled and curtsied to Loki and kissed Fandral's cheek, but shooed them both out rather quickly, as she was deep in preparations for an upcoming fashion show. The fifth shop owner did not try to hide his distaste for Fandral's choice in companions, speaking only to Fandral and pointedly turning his back on Loki. Fandral was just about to call the owner out on the snub when Loki intervened, grabbing Fandral's hand and leaving instead. Lunch at a café was likewise uncomfortable, with far too many eyes on them, and people passing by too close to Loki's unarmored self for Fandral's comfort, to the point that it was Fandral who suggested they return to the palace. They ended up walking in the gardens after all.

"I'm sorry for how that turned out," Fandral said after awhile.

"Don't be. Every moment was worth it, because it was with you."

Fandral smiled faintly. "I definitely appreciate the gesture. Next time, we will have to better prepare. I can scope out our destinations before hand. Perhaps a private dining room."

Loki shrugged. "Next time, I will know what to expect, so it will not be a problem. The staring is something I will simply need to get used to."

Fandral grunted. "Staring, maybe. Flagrant disrespect and hostility, no. I'm definitely boycotting a few of those places in future."

"You cannot force the world to accept me as you do, you know."

"No, I can't. But I am not obliged to patronize any establishment that goes against my values, and you are definitely of value."

Loki grinned and kissed Fandral's cheek fondly. "You're so prickly when you're defending your own. I love it."

Fandral kissed his cheek and then his lips. He pulled Loki to a garden bench and embraced him, kissing him tenderly. "You know what I would love to do, since I still have the day off, thanks to you?" he breathed into Loki's ear, causing the prince to shiver against him.

"What?"

"You."

"Oh?" Loki laughed.

"Seriously. You've been keeping me out of your bed way too long. If I can't go shopping all day, I want the next best thing."

"Next best, eh?"

"That's what I said."

Loki snagged his waist and brought him in close for another kiss, holding his head with his other hand. The kiss was long and deep and heady. Fandral was leaning far back and clinging on to Loki's bicep to keep his seat by the time it ended. "I'll show you next best," Loki said, and nipped the side of his neck and base of his jaw, hand wandering medially from his waist.

"Loki, we are outside in the public gardens," Fandral reminded him, reluctantly.

"Ah, yes. I can fix that." He snapped his fingers, and they were back in his quarters, no longer sitting but rather standing between the bed and balcony. Loki immediately lost his balance and grabbed Fandral. Fandral took a step backwards and hit something. They both stumbled and fell, fortunately onto Loki's bed. Loki laughed and resumed his kisses.

Fandral was so distracted by the wanting and the kissing he didn't notice Loki had started to undress him until he felt the prince's greedy fingers under his shirt, tracing along his lower ribs. He grinned at the slight tickling feeling, then gasped when Loki reached higher to gently pinch a nipple. His skin was so sensitive today, perhaps because he had spent so many days unsatisfied, aching for Loki's touch...

Loki withdrew his hand, pulled off his own jacket and shirt, then straddled him and resumed his careful unbuttoning of Fandral's uniform.

"You're not just snapping your fingers and wishing our clothes away," Fandral observed. Usually Loki wasn't this patient.

Loki shook his head. "Not today. Today is special, and we should savor it." He leaned forward to kiss him again with an open mouth. His hands fumbled with the next button. Loki broke off the kiss again, sat back up, and rolled his eyes, although he was clearly irritated with himself, not Fandral. "This might take awhile," he said wryly. "I actually have to watch what I'm doing."

"Take your time," Fandral said. He might not have chosen to go slowly today, but he was happy to oblige his partner if that's what Loki wanted. He contented himself with running his hands along Loki's thighs, feeling the muscles shift with each of Loki's subtle movements. Loki had gorgeous legs. He edged his hands up to Loki's sides and slowly brought his fingers together at his navel, even though he knew he was getting in the way of Loki's ongoing efforts to remove his shirt. Loki had gorgeous abs too. Impishly, he lifted up his palms and tickled Loki's belly with just his fingertips. Loki snorted but still managed to undo the last two buttons. "You're not ticklish anymore?" Fandral complained. "No fair."

"You know what that means?"

"What?" Please, please don't be thinking about the numbness, the nerve injury...

"I'm always going to win." Loki grinned wickedly, pushed Fandral's shirt fully open, and started tickling him back. It was simultaneously arousing, amusing, and agonizing. Fandral squirmed away, and Loki pursued him mercilessly, until Loki had him pinned against the headboard of the bed, Fandral gasping and laughing helplessly.

"I yield!" Loki instantly stopped and rubbed a hand against Fandral's lower abdomen, soothing the area. The other hand reached around to his back, embracing him for another kiss. Fandral kissed him back hungrily, closing his eyes and leaning into it.

Suddenly and without warning, Loki embraced him with his magic as well. The Charm of Endearment felt far more intense than usual. His whole body tingled with pleasure, and he gasped. Already aroused, he now felt perfectly hard, and clutched onto Loki to remain upright. The sensation was so much he had to lean his head on Loki's shoulder. Their breathing synchronized as Loki supported him. Gently, Loki shifted them down on the bed and lowered Fandral back onto the pillows. "Are you alright?" he asked, voice tinged with concern.

"Norns, yes, don't stop," Fandral managed to say. "It's just...different this time. Why is it so different?" He didn't just feel intense, physical pleasure. He felt wanted and attractive, downright beguiling. It was as if this time the spell was actually giving him some tangible insight into his partner's emotions, which had never happened before with Loki or any other sorcerer.

Loki's brow furrowed. His eyes appeared to fall out of focus as he studied the spell with his second sight. His face cleared a moment later. "It seems our souls are rather, ah, uniquely attuned."

"What does that mean? And don't say the word 'soulmate' because I don't believe they exist."

Loki shook his head. "They don't. No, this is probably from the life sponsorship, because you had so much practice, ah-"

"Listening for you, yes," Fandral realized. It made perfect sense. "Please don't tell me it's a problem."

"It's not a problem. It just means the effects of the Charm of Endearment have been dramatically amplified. What do you want me to do?"

"Do?" Fandral asked dazedly, floating on another tide of pleasure.

"Do you want me to keep going, try to attenuate the charm, or stop it?"

"Keep going, idiot, this is amazing."

Loki smiled faintly and bowed back over him, trailing kisses along his jaw. "It is, isn't it?" he whispered into Fandral's ear. Fandral could only moan in response. He knew Loki felt basically what he did with the spell, and he had no idea how Loki could function so normally with what they both were experiencing.

Loki struggled a lot less with Fandral's belt than he had with the buttons, even without looking this time and with Fandral simultaneously kicking off his boots. Loki tugged his trousers off, and slid long fingers all the way back up the insides of his legs to his groin. Fandral cried out and arched his back involuntarily. "Ah, Norns, Loki I want you."

"I want you," Loki agreed, now working on his own trousers.

"I need you..."

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Fandral said, and it felt like their souls sang the words together in blissful harmony, entwined as they were with the magic of Loki's charm.

Loki rolled back over him, pressing him down, caressing him, urgently kissing him. The weight of his writhing body felt so good. Already, they moved and shuddered in sync, and the spell shuddered along with them.

"Enter or receive?" Loki asked between kisses.

"Receive," Fandral said randomly. His mind was too bemused for such decisions. He moaned and arched again as a disc of Loki's magic dove into his rectum, preparing him for what was coming. At the same time, Loki's hands found Fandral's shaft and stroked it luxuriously. It was bliss, and Fandral wanted it to last forever.

"Above or below?" Loki whispered after a time.

"Below." It was a silly question. Fandral's joints were jelly; he didn't think he would be able to top Loki even if he wanted to.

Loki kissed him soundly again, tongue questing to find his. He bent Fandral's knees up...

And then Loki was inside him. After the first couple slow, accommodating strokes, this was not the gentle touches of comfort they usually shared. This was wild and wanton and wondrous. This was everything he wanted in the moment. Their two straining bodies were his whole world. Time was marked in racing heartbeats, in ragged breathing, in rhythmic thrusting.

Fandral couldn't help it. He climaxed long before Loki was ready for it. Loki did not seem to mind in the slightest, though. He ceased his own movements and held Fandral through the tension of his orgasm and the release afterwards. He casually pointed at each pale drop of Fandral's seed, vanishing it away as was his habit in their couplings. He propped himself up on his arms and grinned down at him. Fandral sensed his slight smugness through the still-active Charm of Endearment. Now that he considered a challenge, and Fandral could not resist it. As soon as he could move again, he looped his arms around Loki's neck and wrapped his legs around Loki's back. "Keep going," he ordered.

Loki raised his eyebrows. "I can wait."

Fandral shook his head. "Keep going. I want you to."

Slowly, Loki bent back over him, sliding even deeper inside as he did. Fandral's manhood jumped a little, and he gasped, everything still tender from his orgasm. It wasn't pain so much as excess euphoria, though. He would ride it out shortly if they proceeded gently. He guided Loki's head down until he was able to nuzzle his neck. Loki moaned softly and withdrew his member a little before cautiously sinking into Fandral again, this time not so far. After a few more tentative strokes, they found a new, sweeter, leisurely pace. Gradually, Fandral felt himself harden again without the discomfort. "Deeper," he murmured, as soon as it felt tolerable. He embraced Loki's full length, and he was rewarded with a deep groan from his partner. A few more deliberate strokes, and then Fandral said "harder." Loki did exactly as requested, withdrawing most of the way out and then plunging all of the way in in the space of a single heart beat. They both groaned in ecstasy. Fandral grasped clumsily for Loki's shoulders. One at a time, Loki took his hands in his and pushed them back down into the pillows. He was now holding Fandral down by the wrists as he continued his measured, forceful thrusts.

By now, Fandral's arousal was complete again. "Fa-aah, gods! Oh, Loki..."

"Faster?" Loki grunted, sweat beading on his forehead. Fandral thought Loki was holding back his own release.

Now incapable of speech, Fandral could only nod. Their pace accelerated back to what it had been at the start of their love-making. Fandral moaned and panted beneath Loki as the prince drove into him. Loki's magic surged, not only stimulating Fandral's skin but seeming to alight his insides. The tension binding them built, and built. This time, they crested together. Fandral felt like they were lying at the edge of a calm ocean rather than in a bed, with warm waves of pleasure washing over them.

They held that final position with Loki buried deep inside him for several spasmodic moments before Loki collapsed panting against his chest, for once uncaring of the new mess of ejaculate waiting for him. Fandral's legs collapsed around him, still quivering. Both of them now sated, Loki dropped the charm of endearment. At last, he lifted up enough to pull out completely, then settled back atop Fandral again.

Fandral thought the sun had moved in the sky by the time their breathing fully returned to normal. "That was..." he began, but then struggled to find any words suitable to complete the thought.

"It was," Loki agreed. He moved an arm across Fandral's chest in order to rest his chin on it. "I think I must have forgotten how good sex can be when one is actually in a good mood."

"That wasn't just good sex," Fandral objected. He had never in all his years with all his lovers experienced anything quite like this before.

"No, you're right, that was... something else. Something...remarkable."

Fandral grinned. The Silvertongue was at a loss for words as well, it seemed. His hands now freed again, he trailed them along Loki's back and sides. He loved the shape of Loki, and the feel of his lover's warm skin pressed against his. Loki closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, his face for once both happy and utterly relaxed. Loki was heavy, though. Fandral decided he was not going to let the prince fall asleep on him this time and rolled to the side. Loki fell off him indelicately and started laughing. Fandral silenced the laughter with a kiss on the lips. He pushed even closer to Loki again, until their legs tangled together by necessity, and resumed his gentle caress of Loki's exposed right side.

After uncounted ages of tender kisses, possibly minutes, possibly hours, Loki propped himself up on one elbow. "You're incredible."

"I am?" Fandral asked. "I mean, of course I am."

Loki raised his eyebrows and looked down his body. Fandral suddenly realized what he was talking about and blushed. "Really, Fandral, twice already, and now thrice in one afternoon?"

"I really missed you."

Loki grinned. "You're going to send us both back to the Healing Chambers."

"Nonsense."

"Unable to walk and incapable of intelligent speech."

Fandral chuckled despite himself. "You might have a point. We can wait until after dinner."

"Oh, we can, can we?"

Fandral kissed his nose. "Yes. I hereby invite myself to stay the night. And you're definitely doing that spell again."

"Hmm. Think you'll be able to keep yourself together enough to be on top this time?"

"Challenge accepted," Fandral said. "I'll even take you standing up from the edge of the bed."

"You couldn't even sit up when I cast the Charm of Endearment," Loki reminded him.

"I was surprised. You'll see."

Loki snuggled into his lee. "You're cute when you're completely undone, you know."

"'Undone'?"

"You were a wet noodle for me to move and use as I liked."

Fandral grinned in remembrance. It might have been insulting if it weren't true. "This time, you get to be the noodle."

Loki snorted. "I look forward to it, I think."

"Love you."

"Love you."

Author's note: in summary for those who prefer not to read lemons, Loki's grand romantic gesture comes in several parts. First, he somehow arranges with Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun for Fandral to have the whole day off with other people covering his work so he doesn't get even more behind. Second, gift of around a hundred roses, somehow imported from Midgard overnight. Third, an apology and confession of love. Fourth, gift of extremely valuable jewelry. Fifth, a day out on the town, starting with manicures since Fandral likes them so much, even if Loki and literally all the rest of their friends could not be bothered with such a thing normally, then going shopping. The day is sadly cut a little short due to random Loki-haters in the street making it awkward and less fun than it should have been, but Fandral doesn't really mind because instead they go back to Loki's room and make love. Notably, the Charm of Endearment Loki and other sorcerers use to enhance the sexual experience is now much more powerful than Fandral has experienced before, which they decide is probably because they are so much psychically closer after the life sponsorship.