Sometimes emotions are so strong that they cannot be expressed in any other way than crying loudly, even if the emotion is happiness. This is especially true when one is overly hormonal to begin with due to pregnancy, and so Maisy covered her face with her hands and wept.
She nearly fell out of her chair she was shaking so much and she felt two sets of hands on her to steady her. Linn and Loki both cooed comforting words while they tried to calm her down, but nothing would stop the sobbing.
"I know that I've hurt you, darling, I know I cannot even begin to make up for what I've done," Loki said, his voice sounding somewhat shaky. Maisy had never heard his voice like that and it worried her enough to get her to look at him. His thumb brushed tears from her cheeks and he tried to smile wobbly at her.
"You absolute jerk," Linn punched his shoulder.
"Maisy, please, say something," he whispered, staring into her eyes. As she gradually got over the shock of her dead husband being alive before her, a new shock filled her and she gasped.
"You're crying!"
"Am I?" He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and laughed, causing more tears to fall, "Blasted spring air."
"Oh damn," Linn sniffled, "Now I'm crying too!"
"Watch your language!" Maisy and Loki chorused.
"Forget me language!" The teenager said, flapping her hands, "I ain't gonna be happy till I see ya either smooch or Loki get punched in da face for putting us frew all of dat!"
Loki lifted a brow and looked at Maisy.
"What will it be? A punch or a kiss?"
"You deserve a blow from Mjolnir," Maisy blubbered, "And you deserve to, to, to go away from me and never come back because of what you put me through."
The shame on his face was so real that it squeezed her heart and she couldn't hold back a moment longer. She jumped from her chair and into his arms, kissing him and clinging to him as if her life depended on it.
Ten minutes of kissing away tears, hugging, laughing, crying, and apologies later, Linn cleared her throat and the reunited couple turned back to her.
"Not that I ain't ecstatic about you two sucking each other's faces off, but can someone explain why the hell Loki's alive when he was dead this morning?"
Loki explained the whole thing again and by the time he was done Maisy had stopped crying and she had moved on to smiling uncontrollably. Whenever she and Loki made eye contact they both broke into grins and Linn joined them when she'd heard the story.
"But, before we waste another moment talking about me," Loki said, waving his hand and conjuring a bottle into it, "I have half of the cure for your nightmares right here."
"Half?"
"Drink it and then I will give you the other half," he handed her the potion bottle. It was filled with a bright orange liquid that almost looked like lava. The mixture smelled strongly of wet dog, but Maisy drank it all anyway. She felt a tingling in her chest and the back of her head as soon as she swallowed.
"What's the second half?"
"Why, don't you know that nearly every magical problem can be solved with True Love's Kiss?" Loki said, "Rather like kissing away a 'boo boo'."
"That's not really part of the cure, is it?" Maisy narrowed her eyes at him playfully.
"I swear," he put one hand to his chest and raised the other solemnly, "Blaze told me that the potion would only work when accompanied by a kiss."
"Well then, Prince Charming, I would be most pleased if you would save me from this evil curse," she smiled and closed her eyes, standing on tiptoe to make it easier for him to reach her. He obliged, kissing first each of her cheeks, then her nose, and finally her lips. The way he did it, though sweet, was so methodical that Maisy became convinced that it truly was part of the cure. The tingling she felt subsided and an enormous weight seemed to lift from her soul.
"I fink I'm gonna cry again," Linn chirped, "Just wait till Thor hears!"
She turned to go, presumably to locate the prince, but Loki jerked away from Maisy and snatched the girl's arm, pulling her back.
"Wait!" He said loudly and then lowered his voice with a glance at the door, "Linn, dear Linn, we cannot tell Thor. Or Bjorn. Or Sif. Or any of the others."
"Why not? They'll be real happy to know you ain't dead!"
"I know," he looked sad for a moment, "I wish we could tell them, but Blaze has promised to hurt you and Maisy if I do not remain on the throne. Do you really think that Thor would not demand I retrieve Odin and step down from my new position if he found out the truth?"
"Oh."
"Besides," Loki smirked, "Odin is happy in his new location with his new memories that I've given him. And I am happy to run things for him while he is away."
"So," Maisy interrupted, "You really did it, didn't you? You took over Asgard."
He winced visibly and was flooded with guilt, though moments before he'd been pleased with the very fact that upset him now. His joy at being back with her and knowing that she was pleased that he was alive began to evaporate and worry took its place. Perhaps she would call off their arrangement and she wouldn't even give him two months. She might still love him, but that wouldn't stop her from telling Thor about the imposter on the throne if she thought it was best.
He thought of what he could say to convince Maisy that his new kingship was for the best. The hardest part of coming up with words to convey this was that he wasn't even sure that it was for the best. He knew it was what he wanted and he knew Blaze would certainly make an effort to hurt Linn and Maisy if he stepped down. However, Surtur also wanted him on the throne, which didn't bode well, and if it truly came down to it, Loki knew he could prevent Blaze from doing any damage.
"I am king," he finally said, watching Maisy's reaction carefully, "I have hurt no one to get here and this is where I've always intended to end up."
"I know it is," she didn't meet his gaze, "And I am relieved that you didn't have to kill anyone to get what you want."
He could sense a "but" in her tone.
"Linn, glad as I am to see you," he turned to the girl, "I would appreciate it-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll let you two talk about all the serious fings," Linn gave him one more hug and whispered into his ear, "You better not mess up how happy she is right now or I'll never forgive ya."
"Understood," he nodded and the teenager left the dining room, leaving the recently reunited couple alone. A thick silence fell over them for an awkward, unmeasured amount of time. Loki finally broke it by sitting down in one of the chairs and beckoning Maisy to sit next to him. She obliged.
"This really is what you wanted, isn't it?"
"I know it may be difficult for you to understand," he took a deep breath, "But-"
"It is difficult for me to understand," she interrupted, "I'm new to all of this Game of Thrones craziness that you, Thor, and Odin have been talking about since before I was even born. I don't get it, not really. But I know that you can be much happier in a big golden chair than a second hand futon in a cramped apartment."
"Maisy," he sighed, taking her hands again, just to feel the light weight of them, "I was happy on Midgard. Do not ever think otherwise. I will be happy wherever in all of the galaxies I am as long as it is with you."
She smiled at this, but did not say anything, so he continued.
"That being said," he gave her a small smile of his own, "This has been an aspiration of mine for rather a long time now, much like your own desire to become a clothing designer and be well known for your career."
"Loki, I think designing fashion and ruling a whole realm are a little different," she laughed. The laugh was a good sign. It meant she wasn't furious with him. It meant he might be given the chance to make this work.
"Indeed they are," he replied, "But the ambition behind them is the same, as is the drive to keep at it."
"I suppose…"
"Imagine if you achieved exactly what you've always hoped for. You are peerless in the design world. And then I asked you to stop designing."
"I wouldn't be very happy," Maisy sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder, "I see what you're saying. I won't ask you to give up the crown for me, but Loki how are we going to make this work if you are pretending to be Odin and everyone thinks you're dead?"
"I thought you knew me well enough to know that I always have a plan," he teased.
"Alright, what is it? And it had better not be that I just remarry you as Odin because," she made a gagging sound, "I don't think I could stomach that even knowing the truth."
"Norns, no!" He wrinkled his nose in disgust, "What a vile thought."
"Glad we're on the same page," she laughed.
"But before I explain what we will actually do let me ask you a question," he squeezed her hand and stared into her eyes, "Are you… are you truly with child?"
Her pupils widened and her free hand flew to her stomach.
"Oh my gosh," she gasped, "You found out in the worst possible way! I am so sorry!"
"You thought I was Odin, I do not blame you for being harsh with the delivery of the news," he could hardly believe what she was confirming, "So it is true then? Not some ploy?"
"It's true," she grinned and he thought his heart would beat out of his chest, "I'm pregnant."
He reached to touch her stomach on an instinct, but pulled his hand back hesitantly. She took his fingers and splayed them over her belly and he worried that the tears would start up again.
"You can't actually feel anything yet," Maisy said, "The baby is way too little for that, but it's in there."
"But I can feel it!" Loki placed both hands on her and leaned in closer, "I can feel the energy of it!"
"Must be because you're magic or something," Maisy laughed.
Loki hardly dared to breathe as he felt the presence of their child. He was glad he was sitting down or else he might have had to take a seat for his legs felt rather wobbly. And then all at once there was wetness on his cheeks and his vision was blurred. Baffled by this overflow of emotion, he could think of nothing to do but rest his forehead on Maisy's shoulder and let the tears drop.
She wove her fingers through his hair and said calming things that he couldn't understand.
"Are you okay with this?" She whispered and his head shot up to look at her.
"How could I not be? How could I not be the happiest man in all of the realms?" He kissed her forehead.
"Good," she giggled and then sighed contentedly, "Because I'm happy too."
"Norns, we are parents, Maisy!"
They laughed and embraced again and again, chattering on and on about how absolutely wonderful their life was. With the doors locked and Loki having left instructions for no one to disturb them, they continued like that for hours. And no one, save Linn, was aware of the blissful reunion.
A note from the author: Thank you for being patient with me! Now that November and NaNoWriMo are over I'll hopefully post a bit more regularly. You guys are the best and I'm glad y'all stick with this story even though it is really really long. :P
I have many reviews to get to (thank you so, so, so much for over 400 reviews! That's bananas!) so with a big thank you to those of you who read/favorited/followed, let's get to my awesome reviewers:
Lwolf: Whaaaat? But I kept it so secret! lol ;)
QueenBookDragon: Yeah... that song isn't for everyone lol. I enjoy it, but it is definitely creepy!
BlooAngels: I'm so glad that you've been liking my story! And apparently binge reading it lol. Thank you for your many kind reviews! I really enjoy writing Linn so I'm glad that you like her. As for your question about the curse, I don't really have an answer. The rules of magic in Marvel are really fuzzy so sometimes I take liberties. I'm kinda operating under the idea that spells, curses, and enchantments are different things. I'm not really sure what I'm doing with the magic rules so it's kind of sloppy, but it gets the plot moving lol. Anywho, thank you for the kind words! :D
Ninja Squirrel: Lol, Blaze would totally pole dance and stab people. Probably at the same time. I feel like she would love musicals. She'd be a dramatic theatre kid. XD
Dragoncat: I kinda regret not having her slap him because he totally deserved it lol.
MetallicarBaby: He's a big old softy when it comes down to it. And, as you said, still a twit. The family is back together... for now! Mwahahaha! ;)
taylor115: Idk if you'll see this or not, but thanks for your review on chapter 58! :)
You guys are the best! Until the next chapter, which will probably hopefully maybe be posted must sooner than this one was from the last one. No promises, but we'll see!