Loki thought his plan was rather clever, especially considering Thor had told him that he wasn't supposed to leave the Tower for longer than an hour at a time. That restriction made it difficult to plan a date, but Loki was smart enough to work around it.

He felt like a monster for making Maisy feel so bad about not doing anything for him for Valentine's Day. She'd been in tears for Norns' sake. Granted, that probably meant there was something else that had happened during the day to make her so frustrated, but still. Tears!

When they got to the end destination, he carefully slid the blindfold off her face and grinned at her. She blinked and looked around, mouth hanging open.

"Whoa… it's beautiful," she gazed out at their view and then looked at him, "We're on top of a building? Why isn't it cold? It's February! And oh my gosh, what building are we on? This view is spectacular!"

"We are on top of a building. Magic is preventing the wind from carrying us off and it's keeping a nice warm bubble around this area. Don't step ten feet to your left though, you will probably be blown off the roof immediately," he pulled her a smidge closer to him, "We are on top of Avengers Tower, or Stark Tower, or whatever you feel like calling it."

"What?"

"I had Happy drive us around a bit to confuse you and then we ended up back where we started," he pointed over to the middle of the roof, where a table and two chairs were set up, "For dinner."

"This is incredible," she couldn't tear her eyes away from the twinkling lights all around them. A nearby skyscraper had windows lit up in the shape of a heart and another had alternating pink and red floors.

"Shall we?"

He lead her over to the table and they sat down. She was gaping in wonder at everything around them and he couldn't help but stare at her. He'd thought the only place she'd get that expression was on Asgard, but he was pleased to see she was still amazed by things even on this dreary planet.

"And Tony said it was okay for us to be up here?"

"He said that as long as I'm not launching any more invasions from his roof then he doesn't much care what I do up here."

"So," she gestured around them, "Is this where it happened? With that crazy portal thing I saw on the news and all of those alien guys flying out of the sky?"

"This is where it happened," he nodded, "This is where I planned to begin my reign from."

"I mean, you picked a hell of a spot, I will admit," she grinned slightly and then looked at him, brown eyes still glistening from her earlier tears, "Are you ever sad that you didn't win? If you could go back and fix your mistakes and actually defeat the Avengers, would you?"

"I want to say that I would," he replied honestly, "I am still, on occasion, bitter as I look out at this city and think that it all could have been remade for my own purposes. It could have been glorious."

"Maybe, or it could have been chaos," Maisy commented warily. They'd had similar conversations before and it never ended well.

"Ah, but chaos is a beauteous thing, my lady," he stared at the sky for a moment, though he couldn't see the stars, "Where would the universe be without it?"

"So, you would? Go back and change things, if you could?"

"As I said, I want to say that I would. I want to say that I would go back and fix my mistakes, claim this planet as my own, and destroy the Avengers before they could end it all," he sighed and then finally looked at her, "That's what I want to say, but my heart is reminding me that if I had succeeded then I would be missing something very important that I've come to need in my life."

"Oh?" Maisy blushed deeply and smiled at him.

"Yes, I'd be missing Linn."

"Oh. Uh…"

He laughed and put his hand over hers.

"If I'd have won, I would have never met you. I would have never known the joy that you bring me or the strange peace that comes over me when I know you are safe," his thumb stroked the back of her hand, "And, though I have no proof, I am certain my life would be miserable without you."

"And my life would suck without you, or you know, possibly be over," she agreed, "I'm glad you didn't beat the Avengers. And not just because it would have meant that you would have probably enslaved my whole species if you did."

"Of course, now that I have you, I could always launch another invasion and have the best of both worlds…"

"Loki!"

"But I won't be doing that in the foreseeable future," he winked.

"Good, because I love you, but I would kick your butt if you tried something like that!"

"Remember, you promised that you'd stay with me for a three month trial period!"

"That's if you take over Asgard! I didn't say anything about Midgard!"

"Damn, I thought it applied to the whole universe. What about Jotunheim? I've no plans for it, but technically I am the rightful king there. What would you do if I took over Jotunheim?"

"Sorry, pal, the offer of a three month trial run as wife to the crazy ruler man is an offer that's only good on Asgard. And that's only because Odin pisses me off."

"'Wife to the crazy ruler man' is such a mouthful. How do you feel about 'queen' instead?"

"I have enough troubles with 'princess', I don't think I could handle 'queen'!"

"Royal Consort?"

"That's not how titles work. You don't get to just pick and choose!"

"How about 'Concubine With a Ring'? Hmm?"

"That is stupid and degrading and I swear if you ever call me that I'll overthrow you so I can be king instead."

"You can't be king," he smirked, "You'd be terrible at it. How do you like the title of 'Most Wonderful Woman in All the Realms'?"

"Why not 'Mrs. Crazy Ruler'?"

"That implies that I am insane and it is treason to speak of your king in such a manner."

"You aren't my king, I'm an American citizen," she snickered, "And if you had me tried for treason I would start a revolution. I'd turn Asgard into a democracy, ha!"

"Americans," Loki rolled his eyes and then winked at her. She smiled suddenly and held up the bag she'd brought with her from the store they stopped at on the drive.

"Ignore the plastic bag and the fact that the card isn't signed," she pulled out an envelope and handed it to him. He opened it and found a black card with red accents across it. It said something about how much he meant to her and how she hoped he had a happy Valentine's Day and how glad she was to share it with him. Then she handed him the other item from the bag. A heart shaped box.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Open it up!"

He did and found many beautifully designed chocolates. When he glanced at her he saw that she looked embarrassed.

"Sorry. It's such a generic gift and I know I didn't write the card, but I mean every word in it," she scratched the back of her head and looked down, "Happy Valentine's Day."

"And to you as well," he took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles, "It may be generic, but I'm sure that won't stop it from being delicious chocolate."

"I love you," she whispered.

"And I you, my lady."

They watched each other silently for a moment before her stomach grumbled and they both laughed.

"Why don't we call for dinner?"

"Good. I'm starving."

Soon Captain Rogers appeared with a steaming tray of food and he set it before them. He smiled at Maisy and scowled at Loki, giving him a hand gesture that clearly meant "I'll be watching". Loki rolled his eyes and fought the urge to blast the captain off the roof.

"Enjoy your food. Maisy, there is a panic button attached to your fork. Press it and I'll be here in two seconds."

"Why can't anyone grasp the fact that he's not going to hurt me?" Maisy grumbled, "He would have done it by now, surely!"

"Just in case."

"Thank you, Steve, please leave now."

"Panic button on the fork!" Steve called as he walked away.

"Why don't I get a panic button?" Loki called after him mockingly, "She is as likely to attack me as I am to attack her!"

He chuckled and turned back to his food. As annoying as the captain was, he truly was a marvelous chef. Dinner was delicious and the conversation was light and cheerful most of the night, even if tears had brought them there. Eventually though, he had to ask about something.

"You said earlier that you weren't well when you came home from work," he said cautiously, "You don't have to tell me why, but I would appreciate it if you would."

Maisy froze and Loki noticed that her hands began to tremble a bit. She quickly put them in her lap and fussed with her napkin, looking down and then up and away from him.

"I got off work early - Eve said I should be home with you for the holiday," Maisy laughed shortly and then looked at him, "And since I was early I didn't feel like calling anyone to come pick me up. So, I rode on the bus."

"Was someone on the bus? Did anyone harm you?"

"No," she shook her head, "But we stopped really suddenly… just like when the lindworm attacked the other bus. And then… I panicked. I thought I was going to be taken to Muspelheim. I was so sure that there was a lindworm there and that this time it would do what it was supposed to and take me back to Egil."

"Egil is dead."

"I know," her shoulders slumped, "I know he's dead. But when I have those nightmares… it's like he's only a few feet away. I can feel him watching me."

"Maisy," Loki took her hand, "He can't be."

"I know it sounds crazy," she bit her lip, "I know it's impossible, but something in my brain just isn't understanding that."

"I was there, I saw him die," Loki said and then Maisy's eyes narrowed as she looked at him. He thought over his words and swallowed nervously. He'd let something slip.

"You were there?" She said and her shaking stopped.

"You knew this already," he dismissed although he knew what she was about to say.

"When you got back from Muspelheim you said that Surtur summoned you to double check that Egil was dead. You said he was already dead when you got there."

Her expression had gone from full of wonder to full of anger in moments and Loki wished he could rewind and rephrase.

"I believe I also told you that I used magic to restage the scene of his death to analyse it and ensure that he was actually dead," Loki lied quickly and easily. Just as when he'd lied to his mother or when he and Thor had been children and he'd lied to his brother, it stung deep inside when he lied to Maisy. It was another one of the problems with caring about someone: you didn't want to deceive them. How frustrating.

He knew it was for the best that he lied about this though. If she knew he'd been the one to end Egil Belison's life then she would leave. Loki knew she would, despite three month trial periods, love, or anything she felt for him. She knew that he'd killed in the past and she'd forgiven him for it because he acted as if that murderous part of himself was done with. As much as he talked about killing people still, he doubted that Maisy actually thought him capable of it when she was influencing him.

Though, perhaps she did know he could take a life without thinking twice. After all, when they'd first returned from their honeymoon and he'd set out to kill whoever had threatened her life, she'd been desperate to stop him. That desperation had to have been born from true fear that he would do something she couldn't stand to see him do.

"You didn't mention that part," she said stiffly, "I know you didn't so don't try to manipulate my memories into thinking you did. And if you do try I can just go inside and ask Jarvis. I'm sure he knows."

"You're right," he put his hands up peaceably, "I didn't mention it. I didn't want to upset you. But I swear that's what happened. I watched his death play out hours after it happened. And it was not as quick and painless as I lead you to believe. He suffered."

"He did?" She winced and her eyes looked full of tears again. Loki had to stop himself from growling in frustration and jealousy. Had to remind himself that his wife had spent much longer loving Egil than she had spent loving him. And with her kind spirit it was only logical that she feel sadness at anyone's death. Even that lunatic.

"It was hard to make out the figure that attacked him, but I am fairly certain it was Blaze. Something must have split between them when she stabbed you."

"And she made him suffer?"

"Cut off his ear for fun. Played darts with her knives with his chest as the target."

"And that killed him?"

"No," Loki had to keep the relish from creeping into his voice as he remembered how Egil had spluttered bloody words and how he'd been in deliciously horrid pain until Loki ended him, "After a time she dropped a final knife through his eye. That killed him rather quickly and he did not suffer after the final blow."

Maisy looked like she was going to be sick and she took a sip from her wine to calm her nerves. Loki took her hand in his own and squeezed softly.

"I'm sorry that I did not tell you the entirety of the truth."

"It's… okay. I guess, I really didn't want to know," she sighed and looked at him, "So it can't be him."

"Pardon?"

"Causing the nightmares. He can't have cast a spell or something over me to make me have nightmares and daymares."

"Daymares?"

"Well, they don't always happen at night."

"It cannot be him. A spell would not last after his death and a curse needs more power than he had."

"You're sure? He was pretty powerful. He could deceive Heimdall from another realm when Blaze and I switched places!"

"Don't tell anyone I said this," Loki glanced skyward and flicked his wrist to protect them from Heimdall's abilities for just a moment, "But it isn't that hard to escape Heimdall's vision once you know how to do it."

He flicked his wrist again and they would be visible to the Gatekeeper if he was paying attention.

"So it can't be Egil."

"Do you think someone is causing these night and daymares?" Loki asked, wondering why he hadn't considered the possibility himself.

"I don't know," Maisy shook her head and poked the remnants of her food with her fork, "I don't know anything about this stuff. I looked into PTSD a little, and it might partially be that, but somehow… I just don't think so."

After a brief explanation of what PTSD was, Loki thought that might be more likely than someone maliciously giving Maisy hallucinations of Muspelheim. Of course, he wasn't the one experiencing these images so he supposed that there could be something more dangerous at play.

"Whatever is troubling you," he rose from his chair and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her against his chest, "Whatever dares threaten you and your mind, you know that we will find it out, don't you?"

"Yes," her body relaxed.

"We will find it and we will end it, together."

"But how?"

"I'm not sure yet," he admitted and kissed the top of her head, "But do not doubt that whatever it is will meet a terrible end when I become familiar with it."

A note from ze author: That was a close call for Loki, eh? You think Maisy's onto him? Maybe we should tell her... *Loki makes eye contact and wags a dagger at me scoldingly* ... or not. Let's not!

The next chapter is about how Linn spends her Valentine's Day! So you have that to look forward to! Yay! :D

Thank you so much to everyone for reading!

Double thanks to everyone who followed and favorited!

And triple thanks to the awesome people who reviewed:

Ninja Squirrel: Anyone know Paul Rudd? Can we get him to do a southern accent? No? Okay. We'll just have to imagine. XD

QueenBookDragon: Awwww! I'm so glad you've liked the story so far! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Guestanewone: I'm glad you like their lovey-dovey-ness, TV and books are good teachers on how to write romance, and, uh, casually and noncreepily observing my friends who are in relationships lol.

You guys are the best!