I know, it's been too long... :( I'm sorry, but I'm so busy with school... But I've got an extra long one for you guys! I hope you ENJOY it!

Chapter 64

The moon cast a warm, soft glow inside Loki's chambers and lit up the ceiling he'd been starring at the last three hours. Although midnight was closing in, Loki didn't feel tired at all, on the contrary. He lay in his bed, eagerly searching the shadows of his room, imagining Arya's features in the specks of light dancing in between the darkness. He could barely keep up with his own mind replaying the happenings of that day.

Loki let out a long sigh and folded his hands over his face. He smiled and laughed in his palms. Why couldn't he stop smiling? Why did he feel like dancing and jumping and running and screaming at the same time?

It doesn't matter! Loki thought with a smile, happy that he could let all those distressing thoughts and worries go. It all doesn't matter anymore! Loki turned around and pressed his face in the soft fabric of his pillow, trying to somewhat recreate the soft feeling of Arya's raven locks brushing against his face.

Loki groaned and pulled the pillow from underneath his face, only to smack it back over his head again, finally engulfing himself in complete darkness. Loki'd almost forgotten what a pain as well as a blessing being in love could be.

"Oh my goodness…," Loki moaned into his mattress in a low voice. "I'm in love!"

He kept tossing and turning, knowing that his mind could come up with something incredible stupid every second.

I need to see her!

Boom! There you had it. Loki pushed of the blankets and eagerly jumped out of bed. He almost felt as if he could run a marathon. His mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour. He needed to see Arya! Simple!

Loki knew Arya had moved back into her old family house in the middle city. To reach her he would have to get out of the palace. Shouldn't be too hard… Loki thought excitedly. However, he was pretty sure that Odin would have ordered a subtle amount of guards to patrol along and around Loki's chambers.

"The window it is…," Loki muttered to himself. He swiftly made his way to the balcony and careful climbed over the balustrade, when a new thought popped into his mind. He would have to disguise himself the old fashion way since he couldn't use magic. The only problem was that Loki didn't exactly owned any clothes that were middle class worthy. Even with the darkness of the night covering the city, he would still stand out like flower in the desert.

But where would he find middle class clothing? All the palace workers had gone home... but the answer didn't take too long to pop into Loki's mind.

The hospital wing!

Even during the night, nurses were working in the infirmary, some of them being middle class people. All he had to do was find a way towards the changing rooms in the hospital wing. Loki carefully moved along the balustrade of his balcony until he reached the wall. He knew the hospital wing was on the ground floor. His chambers were on the second floor, but in order to find a way down that did not involve jumping into the gardens like a lunatic, he would have to climb further up the roof and make his way to the back of the palace, where the stables were.

Easy enough… Loki thought with a smile while carefully pulling himself up the wall bit by bit. The winter night was cold and icy, making the soft, shiny walls of the palace slippery and freezing to the touch, but that didn't slow Loki down. With the memory of Arya warming his being he, somewhat clumsily, made his way up until he'd found the flat surface he had been looking for. Loki sank down against the wall for a minute, breathing heavily in the cold air. It certainly wasn't as easy to climb with his mortal body, but he didn't waste too much time. After his short break, Loki continued his walk over the roof, careful not to slip over the icy patches and the snow covering the roof. Every now and then, he would cross a window, but at this time of day, no one was awake to see him sneak to the back of the palace.

After a few minutes, the stables finally came in sight. Loki quickly glanced down to find the easiest and fastest way to get down. He decided the big stack of hay lying against the wall right underneath him was his best option. Loki scanned his surrounding, making sure no guards were around to spot him, before he made his way to the edge of the roof and sat down. He turned around, placing his hands firmly on the edge of the roof. Slowly, but steadily he allowed himself to slip off the roof. His legs first, then his stomach, his torso, until he was hanging over the edge. Loki looked down. There still seemed to be quite some distance between him and the haystack and he wasn't sure his mortal body would be very pleased with a fall from this height. But fate decided otherwise when his cold fingers suddenly lost grip on the frozen, slippery edge of the roof. In a sickening moment Loki felt his body fall through the air before he somewhat painfully landed in the haystack.

Loki very charmfully managed to rolled out of the haystack onto the ground. He clumsily got to his feet and brushed off his clothes.

"All right… that wasn't too hard…," Loki whispered to himself, even though his heart was still racing due to the sudden fear of dying in a damn haystack.

Making sure he kept to the shadows, Loki swiftly made his way to the entrance of the palace. The hospital wing was located quite close to the stables, but he'd still have to look out for night patrols, although Loki doubted he'd run in to any. The biggest problem was probably getting past the two guards at the door. They seemed rather sleepy, but Loki didn't want to take the risk. He hid behind a some bushes with is eyes fixed on the entrance, trying to find a way inside. After a few moments Loki made up his mind. In order to draw the guards away from the door, he'd have to distract them and if possible remove them from their spot. So Loki quickly made his way back to the stables and searched until he found what he needed: the foals, untrained and restless. Making sure no one was watching Loki quickly made his way over to the gate of the box. As expected a few of the young foals were still awake and curiously watched the stranger at the gate. Soft neighing and excited sounds of hooves on the ground followed when they realised what he was up to. Loki smiled and silently opened the gate. More horses were waking up now, throwing curious glares at the strange visitor.

Loki slowly made his way to the foal standing closest to him.

"There, there, boy…," he said quietly in a kind voice, while carefully reaching out for the animal's neck. Loki'd always had a way with horses. They seemed to trust him… Which Loki always had found quite strange since these were very intelligent creatures. Perhaps horses just wanted to have some fun every now and then.

"You and your friends are going to have a nice outing tonight…," Loki continued with a mysterious smile while stroking the young foal's nose. The horse neighed softly, blowing warm clouds of breath in Loki's face. He seemed excited. Loki smiled and patted the foal on the shoulder before making his way to a few of the other horses. A few minutes later he had a good amount of very energised foals around him and so Loki made his way to the back of the box. Numerous eyes followed his every move. The foal standing in the back seemed just as excited as the others and was only moments away from running around like crazy. All that was holding them back was probably their early training, reminding them to listen to their trainers. Loki softly stroke the foals back until his hand rested on his lower back. With fast move Loki hit the foal's behind. Just as expected the young foal neighed loudly and started galloping towards the opened gate. His friends followed his example. Loki ran behind them as fast as possible, back to the entrance of the palace. The stampede continued, waking the other horses in the stables. Chaos broke lose.

The guards at the door awoke from their slumber with a start and Loki didn't have to wait long before both of them stormed off towards the stables. With a satisfied smile playing on his lips Loki sprinted towards the entrance, leaving the sweet sounds of chaos behind him as he made his way to the hospital wing.

The way to the hospital wing wasn't too hard. The hallways were quiet and Loki found himself at the changing rooms in no time. A quick glance inside told him there was no one around. Loki knew he didn't have much time so he looked through the piles of clothes as fast as possible without making too much of a mess while keeping one ear focused on the sounds of footsteps. After a few minutes Loki had found a pair of beige trousers which were a little too short for him, but they would have to do. He also stumbled upon a light green vest and yellowish white shirt. Loki quickly changed. He decided to put his sleeping clothes into a brown duffel bag which he found tugged away under a bench. It would fit with the rest of his outfit perfectly. Loki was happy to find his vest had a hood and combined with a dark brown woollen scarf he found, he was as good as unrecognizable as the former prince/king of Asgard.

Loki casually left the changing rooms with his bag with is clothes over his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile. As a child he absolutely would have stayed to watch the nurses and healers helplessly search for their clothes and in fact Loki almost regretted he wasn't able to do so, but his heart yearned to be with Arya, so he swiftly made his way through the hallways, back to the back entrance towards the stables. There, he knew, there was an immediate shortcut to the upper city so he wouldn't have to walk all the way to the front of the palace to take the main road. Loki presumed the guards would still be too busy with the horses to pay too much attention to him leaving the palace. They'd hopefully take him for a nurse, leaving the palace after his night shift.

Luckily, Loki was right. Once outside he was greeted by the same chaos he's left behind. Loki grinned and took a deep breath through his nose. How good it felt to be bad! He'd really missed these little acts of mischief. Two guards came running onto the scene from the side. One of them spotted him and Loki froze for a moment.

"Careful, citizen!" the guard shouted over the sound of rapid hooves and excited neighing. "The horses have run astray, please leave the palace grounds as fast as possible!"

Loki quickly slit back into character and nodded quickly while making an odd and awkward salute to the guard.

"Certainly, good sir!" he shouted back, making sure his voice was a few tones lower. The guard nodded and ran the other's aid. Loki smiled and quickly made his way to the small road to his left, softly lit by a few lanterns. Not trying to attract too much attention to himself Loki made his way down the road, leaving the palace and the chaos behind him. From the upper city it would be a piece of cake to find his way to the middle city. The few patrols he ran into, didn't pay attention to him and so Loki found himself entering the middle city without too much trouble.

In fact, the middle city wasn't that much different from the upper city. The houses were a bit smaller and the streets less broad, but in general the people didn't differ that much, except they were a lot less snobbish. In the past, Loki had spent countless hours exploring the streets of the middle city with his friends and brother and even now in the darkness, these streets felt familiar and warm. The soft light of the lanterns at the side of the road lit the way while Loki strolled down the street, letting his memory guide him to the central square. If he recalled correctly, Arya lived there in the house of her mother's family. Her grandparents were still alive until this day and continued to run the bakery that had been in the family for ages. Sadly enough, Arya's mother, Elska, who had been their only daughter, had died during the attack of the Dark Elves, just like Queen Frigga had. She'd been a baker in the royal kitchens at the time. When Arya's father had been promoted Captain, after saving Odin's life during one of the many battles of the Jotun wars, he and his young wife had moved into their chambers in the palace. Arya however had spent most of her childhood with her grandparents in the bakery because both of her parents were very busy. She did have a pretty strong bond with both of them however. Loki could understand how terrible it probably had been for her when her father had gone mad, leaving her all alone with both of her parents forever missing in her life.

At first Arya had followed in her mother's footsteps, helping her grandparents in the bakery, but her love for fighting, horseback riding and archery had never fully disappeared. She would train herself in secret until her father proclaimed her Captain. Only then she would move into her quarters in the palace. Now that she had been fired by Odin, she'd returned to her old house, helping out in the bakery where she could, but Loki knew Arya didn't belong there.

Loki came to a halt at the square. In front of him stood a silent fountain, waiting till morning, the water softly glistening in the moonlight. It had started snowing again and the streets slowly got covered in a fresh layer of puffy snow. At the other side of the square, the bakery arose between the dark houses. The shop window on the ground floor was hidden behind a thick dark red curtain, but Loki's eyes focused on the dark windows on the first floor. A sudden thought crossed Loki's excited mind. He'd probably seen Arya numerous of times in the past while racing through the city streets, or running around the fountain with his friends. How many times had their eyes crossed? How many times had she spotted him? And what did she think back then?

What now? Loki thought after a few cold minutes in the night air.

Yeah, stupid! What now? another sneering voice answered in his mind. Loki swallowed and looked around the square. He slowly made his way to the other side until he was standing in front of the bakery. Behind him a patrol passed by, but the shadows of the building made him as good as invisible.

"What am I doing?" Loki whispered to himself. A shiver ran down his spine, but his heart could not be touched. He would see Arya!

She's probably sleeping, you idiot! the voice sounded once more. But Loki shook it off. "Or maybe she isn't…," he whispered back while he let his eyes wander over the buildings in front of him. Of course he couldn't just smash through the display window. He needed to find another way inside. He could try to climb to one of the window, but the chance that those would be unlocked was very small. And besides, if a patrol would pass and spot him climbing up a building in the dead of the night, he'd be in serious trouble.

What would Thor do? Loki thought to himself, immediately shivering with disgust due to his own thoughts. Why would he even consider Thor's ways superior to his own? His brother would probably fly up to a window and accidentally smash it with Mjolnir in the process.

What would Fandral do? Loki sighed. Being in love was absolutely not very profitable for his pride. He shook his head.

Don't think like Thor, nor like Fandral, think like yourself! he said to himself. Loki scanned his surroundings once more until his eye fell on a narrow street to his right, tugged away between the bakery and the building next to it.

"Maybe…," Loki muttered to himself while quickly making his way to the alley. After a short walk he'd found what he was looking for: a simple wooden door in a low white wall leading to the backyard of the bakery. The door was locked, but the wall wasn't exactly to much of a challenge to climb. The fresh snow made for a nice blanket to land on. His footprints on the other side of the wall would soon be covered by the ongoing falling snow. Loki found himself in a quiet and dark, small backyard. In front of him was the backdoor, probably leading up to the bakery behind the shop. The door was locked as well, so Loki looked up. To his surprise there was still a light burning behind one of the back windows to the right side of the building. Loki smiled. For some reason he just knew it was Arya's window. So Loki climbed up the wall at the side of the alley and carefully searched his way, step by step, across the back wall of the bakery until he reached the window.

What if it's not Arya… Loki thought just before taking the last steps.

Of course it's Arya… the other voice answered.

What if she not dressed… Loki continued.

Would that be a problem?

Loki rolled his eyes. Oh now your excited… he thought back, fully aware of the fact he was talking to himself. Loki carefully bend to the side so he could peak through the window. There was someone inside, but the glass was covered in a thin layer of steam so it was hard to make out who it was. The silhouette disappeared into another room. Loki took his chance and tried the window. To his utter delight it was unlocked. So Loki carefully pushed the window further open, making sure he didn't make a sound. He swiftly jumped inside and closed the window behind him to keep out the cold night air and the snow. Loki shivered due to the sudden change in temperature.

Congrats! the voice sounded again. You've managed to sneak into someone's room in the middle of the night… you creep!

Loki sighed. He didn't want to admit it, but the voice inside his head was right. What in the name of Bor was he doing? But much time to question his actions, he didn't get, because the sound of footsteps returning to the room, made him freeze on the spot.

Arya! he thought excitedly. Loki awkwardly tried to decide what pose he had to take in order to not look like a complete idiot. What was he supposed to say? Would she freak out?

Of course she'll freak out, you fool!

But there was no going back now, so Loki tried to put a smile on his lips and waited while his heart was beating out of his chest.

"Darling? Did you close the backdoor?"

Loki froze. His heart stopped beating and the warm feeling that had filled his being dissolved in an ice cold shiver that run down his spine and crushed his insides.

Not Arya! he thought in terror when his eyes fell on the somewhat smaller women who'd appeared at the door. She had her back turned to him, her hand resting on the door frame, shouting to her husband who yelled a short "Yes, love!" from downstairs. Loki figured she was Arya's grandmother, judging by her short silver hair. But Loki didn't waste a second and dropped on the floor, slipping behind the bed. The women at the door turned her head, scanning the room with a frown carved in between the soft wrinkles of years above her light green eyes. Loki held his breath in terror while he carefully slipped underneath the bed in front of him, keeping as close to the wall as possible. Luckily Arya's grandmother didn't bother too long. She relaxed and slowly made her way towards the window to close it for the night. Loki followed her every move until the dark fabric of her nightgown floated back to the bed. He could hear the bed crack above him when she said down in silence. Another set of feet marched inside when Arya's grandfather entered the room as well. He set down on the bed and kicked off his boots, leaving Loki with a rather bad smelling pair of feet right next to his face.

Well, this is awkward… the voice sounded in his mind. Loki wanted to shout something in frustration, but he clenched his jaw, trying his very best not to make a single sound. How was he ever going to get out of here…

"Do you think she'll be all right?" Arya's grandmother suddenly asked. A painful stab cut through Loki's heart when he recognised his own mother's fear hidden in her words.

"Arya's a strong girl, my love…," Arya's grandfather answered, but Loki could hear his own despair hover in his voice.

"Hmmm…," it sounded from the grandmother's side. Both of them made themselves comfortable on the bed. "She was acting rather strangely this afternoon, wasn't she, darling?"

A low mutter came in response. "Can you blame her with such an oaf for a father? The nerve he has to show his face here!"

Arya's grandmother chuckled, although her laugh wasn't filled with happiness. "Come now, darling… I meant before Dale came to collect his belongings. She seemed oddly upset. She'd already disappeared so sudden this morning…"

"She isn't a baker like her mother, Amma, my dear!" Arya's grandfather said with a laugh. "She's a fighter! You can't keep her here all the time…"

"I know, I know…," Amma, Arya's grandmother, answered in a soft whisper. Loki frowned. Arya had been upset? After seeing him? Loki felt a tight knot growing in his belly. Perhaps this hadn't been a good idea?

Oh, who was he kidding! This was a terrible idea! He was lying under Arya's grandparents' bed!

Yep… you're an idiot! the sneering voice sounded once more in his head. Loki rolled his eyes.

Just shut up! he thought back. Just when Loki thought he'd be stuck under this bed till morning, fate decided to give him one more chance.

"I think forgot to put out the fire in the oven, Amma…," Arya's grandfather suddenly said. The bed cracked while he got back on his feet. "I'll be right back."

The bed cracked again when Amma also decided to get out of bed. "Yes… I'm going to check on Arya one more time, just to make sure she's fine…"

Amma took the still burning candle next to her on her night stand, swiftly made her way past her husband and disappeared in the dark hallway. Loki could see Arya's grandfather put on his coat and his leather boots before leaving as well. He couldn't belief his luck! Without a second thought, Loki rolled from underneath the bed, jumped to his feet and silently made his way to the door. He carefully peaked into the hall to make sure no one would see him. At the end of the hallway a soft light shone through the crack of an open door. Loki could here muted voices coming from inside, one of them unmistakably belonging to the girl he'd been dying to see. Loki slowly made his way into the hallway towards the door of what he presumed was Arya's bedroom. Now he needed another place to hide until Amma had left. The room across from Arya's seemed the perfect fit. Loki quickly opened the door and slipped inside, leaving the door on a crack so he could still see the light streaming out from Arya's room. Apparently he'd entered the bathroom, but Loki payed no mind. He kneeled down at the door, making himself become one with the shadows of the room while keeping his eyes fixed on the door across the hallway. His heart was beating in his ears and the sickening feeling in his stomach increased, but somehow, hearing Arya's soft voice so close to him, gave him the courage to keep going.

It seemed to take ages for Amma to leave, but when she finally did, Loki was happy to still see a soft light shining from underneath the door. Arya was still awake. Loki waited until both Amma and her husband had returned to their room and silence fell.

Nervously Loki stared at the light under the door in front of him, waiting for his mind to come up with a next step. The second crept forward and slowly transformed themselves into minutes. After ten minutes Loki decided he couldn't wait any longer. The light was still on at the other side of the door, but Arya could go to bed any second. The last thing he wanted was to sneak into her dark bedroom. With his heart beating in his throat, Loki left the protective shadows behind the bathroom door and crossed the hallway.

Do I knock? Loki thought to himself. What if he would wake up Arya's grandparents?

Maybe just a soft knock… Loki thought. He raised his hand and swallowed, trying hard not to think to much about the following seconds. Just when Loki wanted to hit the dark wood of Arya's bedroom door, it opened and Loki stood face to face with red eyed, tired looking Arya. She was obviously ready for a late night stroll through the snow with her warm winter coat draped around her shoulders and her scarf in her hands. The last thing she'd expected was to find a dark silhouette blocking the doorway.

Loki could see the utter surprise immediately followed by pure panic flash through her emerald eyes. But before she could scream for help, Loki place his raised hand over her mouth and pushed her back in her bedroom. He pushed the door shut with his shoulder while he tried to prevent Arya from attacking him with his free arm.

But Loki was obviously no match for her Asgardian strength. Arya punched backwards and hit her elbow in Loki's stomach, making him loose his grip on her face just enough to give her the chance to bite his hand. Loki stumbled back and winced in pain when Arya's teeth dug into the soft flesh of his palm, but the worst was yet to come. Arya turned around and finished Loki off with a well-placed blow against his chest, making him fly across the room, over her bed, only to land on the floor, knocking over Arya's nightstand in the process.

"You basta…," Arya started loudly, but her voice died when she recognised the useless bit of intruder on her bedroom floor. "Loki?" she asked in a loud scared whisper. A soft peep of agony rose from behind the bed.

"Maybe…," Loki answered in a hoarse voice. He was quit certain Arya had managed to bruise, if not break a couple of his ribs.

"Oh my…," Arya walked over to other side of the bed. "What are you…"

But she was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps in the hallway. In a burst of panic she pulled her blanket of the bed and draped it over Loki's body, pushing his one leg that was lying on the side of her mattress on the ground in the process. Loki held his breath while the door opened.

"Arya, darling? Are you alright? What was all that racket?" Amma's worried voice sounded.

"Yes, yes, gran...," Area stuttered. "I just tripped over my blanket and hit my nightstand."

"Why are you wearing your coat, darling?" Amma sounded after a short silence.

"I eerr, I wanted to take a walk actually," Arya admitted rather awkwardly. A soft sigh filled the room.

"Just try to get some sleep, Arya," Amma said. Her voice was full of sadness and compassion. "Don't let your father hurt you so much, darling. You'll see, things will look better in the morning."

"Yes... yes of course...," Arya nervously mumbled. "You're absolutely right, grandma."

"Will you go to sleep now?" Amma asked warmly.

"Yes... yes...,"Arya stuttered. "Thank you gran!"

"All right, then…,"Amma said softly. "Goodnight, Arya!"

Arya mumbled a goodnight in return and waited for her grandmother to close the door. Both she and Loki listened until Amma's footsteps had died away and the sound of another bedroom door closing allowed them to breath once more.

Arya turned around and snatched the blanket away from Loki.

"Aw…," Loki peeped in a soft voice, grinning like an idiot. But Arya didn't seem very amused.

"What are you doing here!" she hissed while dropping her blanket back on the bed. Loki carefully got to his feet, trying not to wince while he did. If he wanted to regain some man points, he'd clearly needed another strategy.

"I came to see you…," he finally answered, but Arya immediately hushed him, clearly terrified that her grandparents would hear them talk. So Loki repeated his answer in a soft whisper.

Arya's expression went from terrified to confused to relaxed and slightly ashamed when the memory of their wonderful moment together came back to mind. She felt a soft blush warm her cheeks. Loki seemed to notice and smiled sheepishly.

"Okay…," Arya whispered back. Her heart, which had grown heavy during the day, frozen in the winter storm, fluttered back to live and filled her being with a warm glow.

"Yeah…okay…," Loki mumbled. Once more he had no clue what to say to her. But at least Arya hadn't killed him. To Loki, that seemed like an unqualified success!

The two stared at one another for a while and Loki felt as if he had to say something.

"I… I couldn't sleep…," he stuttered. "So… yeah… I wanted to see you…"

"I couldn't sleep either…," Arya said back without thinking. "I mean…," she stumbled. "I wanted to see you too…"

Arya heard her words fade in the silence of the room. What was she saying?

"What happened today was…," Loki tried again.

"Nice!" Arya heard herself say. What! "I mean…,"

"Surprising…," Loki finished for her.

Arya felt her stomach twirl in a knot. He must have thought she was crazy!

"No not crazy…," Loki suddenly said. Only than Arya realised she'd spoken her fears out loud.

"No, just weird…," she tried. Shut up!

Loki chuckled. "Maybe a little…," he said with a grin.

Arya tried to smile, but it seemed her facial expressions had taken the day off.

Loki saw her struggle and tried one more time. "I like weird…," he said with a mysterious smile.

A smile finally managed to break through on Arya's face, making Loki's heart skip a few life-threatening beats.

"Okay…," Arya whispered again. She was finding it very hard to concentrate, and she felt as if she was ready to break down in tears of build-up frustration as well as to dance around and scream her happiness of the highest mountain. But it all didn't matter, because Loki liked weird… so all was fine.

Until a few seconds later, when Arya realised it wasn't.

"What are you doing here!" she said in a loud whisper while the soft bliss vanished from her face, only to make place for pure terror. Loki couldn't follow the quick transition.

"What?" he asked confusedly. What had just happened? He'd done everything right!

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here!" Arya repeated, quite angry this time. "You're not allowed to leave the palace unguarded!"

The wheels in Loki's head started turning again. His lips slowly found their way into a silent "oh".

"Odin will kill you!" Arya said, just as loud as a whisper allowed her.

Loki smiled sheepishly. "He won't…," he said, trying to sound assuring.

But Arya's angry frown didn't fade.

"He can and he will!" she bit back, while she took a step closer to Loki. "It's in your contract! What were you thinking!"

Loki smiled uneasily. He awkwardly stumbled back a bit. "I was thinking of you…," he tried, but Arya wasn't listing to his romantic attempts to save the conversation.

"I can't belief you'd be so reckless!" Arya continued in a rage. "How did you even get out?"

"I set the horses loose…," Loki answered without thinking. Arya's emerald eyes almost rolled out of their sockets.

"You did what?" she peeped.

"I mean…," Loki tried to save himself. "I might have done such a thing… Maybe…"

"Oh my…" Arya went pale. A thousand horrible scenario's crossed her mind.

"No one saw me!" Loki quickly added. He felt as if Arya was about to faint. "I just let them loose and used the commotion to get out… And I'm in disguise so…"

Arya's eyes scanned Loki's middle class outfit. She wasn't sure the outfit was enough to keep Loki from sight, but then again, she'd recognise Loki anywhere.

"You're such an idiot!" she heard herself say, but for once, Arya did not regret her words. All the joy of Loki coming all this way, just to see her, disappeared when the thought that she could be responsible for his demise filled her being.

A sting of pain cut through Loki's heart. Normally, he didn't have to much trouble with being scolded at, but with Arya…

"They must have noticed you're gone by now!" Arya continued. "And they'll suspect you anyway!"

"I just wanted to see you!" Loki got back at her. He could understand she was angry, but why did she had to make it so complicated!

"You're playing with your life here, Loki!"

"Well, so do you!" Loki shouted back in a loud, hoarse whisper.

Arya frowned confusedly. "What…," she said.

Loki sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I mean… you play with my life as well…"

Arya's eyebrows slowly rose to her forehead. She opened her mouth in confusion. "I'm not …," she said softly.

Loki sighed again. "I mean, you play with my head…"

Arya blinked in surprise and tried to smile.

"And my heart…," Loki added. He was finding it very hard to put the words he wanted to say in the right order. But his head went blank and all he could see were the two shining emerald orbs in front of him. Oh how he wanted to kiss her again! "You know…," he said with a sigh. "Heart stuff…"

Arya couldn't keep herself from laughing. Loki felt his insides leap in rejoice when her soft chuckle rang in his ears. Arya folded her hands in front of her mouth, allowing her eyes to twinkle with joy, just above her finger tips.

"You have to go back…," she whispered behind her palms after a short silence.

Loki's shoulders dropped and his heart shrunk to a minimum. He didn't want to leave… He wanted to stay. He wanted to kiss Arya until he could fly, he wanted to tell her how wonderfully gorgeous she was, he wanted to hear her laugh, he wanted to stay and sleep at her side tonight,… but he knew he had to leave. Arya was right after all. They would suspect him first and if they already checked his chambers… he was screwed!

But Loki tried to smile encouragingly. "Yeah…," he forced over his lips.

"But what if they…," Arya started.

"They didn't!" Loki assured her with a smile. He grabbed hold of Arya's cold hands and squeezed softly. A look of pure absolute bliss spread across her emeralds eyes. Loki could feel himself drown in her stare, but he smiled mysteriously and said: "They're too busy chasing horses…"

Arya smirked. For some reason she trusted Loki would be alright… He simply had to be! Loki smiled one last time, let go of Arya's hands and turned to the window. He wasn't really looking forward to the climb down, especially since Arya's room was at the front of the bakery.

But Arya chuckled and grabbed Loki's hand once more.

"Don't be daft, Loki! You don't have to climb through the window!" Loki turned around again to face a glowing Arya.

My… she's gorgeous… he thought. Arya seemed to enjoy his boy like stare and crooked smile, because she chuckled once more and guided Loki out of her room through the hallway, to the stairs. Holding onto Arya's soft hand, Loki let himself be guided through the dark house to the backdoor. Arya unlocked the door and pulled Loki outside into the cold night. The snow was still softly falling down, covering the city in blanket for the night.

Arya made sure they stayed just below her grandparents bedroom window, in case they, for some reason, would look outside.

"Don't… do that anymore…," Arya said after a short silence, only filled with the pair of them holding hands. Loki grinned.

"Can't promise anything…," he said mischievously. Arya sighed and smiled, lowering her eyes to the snow. If only Loki could stay with her, even if only for a night… But if Loki hadn't returned by morning, someone would definitely notice, if they hadn't already… If that were to happen, Loki wouldn't be safe anywhere on Asgard. So Arya slowly made her way towards the door in the wall, leading to the alleyway. Loki followed, fearful to let go of Arya's hand. Once the door was open, Loki stepped outside into the darkness of the alleyway. He wanted to say something, anything at all, but it seemed as if his throat was screwed shut. Arya was obviously suffering from the same problem, so in the end she gave Loki a watery smile and let go of his hands, ready to close the door again.

But Loki wasn't going to end his night this way. He didn't come all this was just to see her… Obviously…

So before Arya could do anything else, Loki leaned foreward and placed a soft kiss on her cold lips. He could feel Arya tense at his touch, but she almost immediately gave in and eagerly answered his kiss. Again, Loki felt like he was soaring the skies. A second was dragged into hours and smashed back into a heartbeat. But it was enough to make his heart hammer through his chest in absolute joy, fill his being with a warm glow, and defrost his frozen skin, until he felt like there was a fire burning inside of him. When Arya's lips left his, Loki could barely remember how to breath. He opened his eyes, feeling as if he wanted to shout of pure joy! For a few seconds he stared at Arya, scanning her gorgeous appearance in front him, enjoying every second of his time with her, wishing he could stay and look at her forever.

"I am absolutely, most definitely, doing this again!"

Arya sighed and smiled. "No!" she answered with a chuckle. "You're not!" She softly pushed Loki further into the alleyway, indicating he really had to leave. But Loki just took two steps forward again, until he was close enough to grab Arya around the waist and pull her closer to his chest.

"Yes I will!" he answered, sounding out of breath. Arya had expected herself to freeze on the spot when Loki pulled her close, but for some reason she felt more relaxed than ever before. This was where she'd always wanted to be, so why stress…

"No, you won't!" she answered in the same playful whisper.

"Try and stop me!" Loki whispered against her forehead. "There're plenty of horses left…"

Arya laughed against Loki's chest. Oh how she wanted to savour this moment forever, but dawn wouldn't take long to arrive and every second Loki spend here, could be one for Odin to discover his disappearance.

"Leave!" she said, softly punching her fists on Loki's chest. Loki placed a soft kiss on her a raven hair, melting the few lonely silver snowflakes with the warmth of his lips. Arya disentangled their bodies, only to be greeted by Loki's slightly hungry, boyish glare. Without saying another word, Loki quickly took Arya's face in his hands, pressed a quick kiss on her lips, turned around and disappeared in the night.

"Goodnight…," Arya whispered behind him dreamy. She breathed out in the cold air, watching her breath rise to the greyish winter sky, but the cold couldn't get to her anymore. Lost in thoughts, she dragged herself back through the door, into the backyard. She closed the door behind her and slowly made her way inside. As quiet as a mouse, she made her way upstairs, into her room. While she took of her coat and her shoes, she stared through the window to the sleeping city. For some reason, she knew that no one was having better dreams than she would have tonight.

-xxx-

Loki somehow managed to make his way from the middle city, to the upper city, unseen by any patrol. Since it'd started snowing pretty hard now, he reckoned the white snowflakes would hide him from sight as well. Before long, Loki had found his way back to the back of the palace. It seemed he hadn't been bluffing after all. The muted sounds of shouts and the trampling of hooves filled the air. The climb back onto the roof was a lot harder than Loki had planned. But the fresh snow covered the icy patches and made for a good grip. Step by step, Loki made his way back to his room, until he thankfully found himself back on his balcony.

With a sigh Loki walked inside, brushing the snow off his clothes. He should have been tired, but Loki had never felt more alive. For the first time in months he finally felt as if everything was perfectly fine. At least… for a couple of seconds…

"So… back from your late night stroll?"

Loki froze on the spot. A candle flickered to life and Thor's angry, tired face appeared in the light. The God of Thunder sat at Loki's table, clearly he'd been sitting there for a while. He stared at his brother in silence. Loki cursed under his lip. So his absence had been noticed…

"What are you doing in my chambers!" Loki asked harshly.

"Where did you go?" Thor asked in return. His voice was calm, but Loki could hear the underlying anger.

"That's none of your concern!" he snapped back.

"Thor got to his feet and stepped closer to Loki. "Have you lost your mind!" he shouted. "Father could kill you!"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Sure, but he won't!"

Thor's eyes narrowed and Loki smirked. "If Odin knew I left, he'd be the one waiting for me… Right, brother?"

Thor sighed angrily. "You're lucky I'm the one who checked your chambers, Loki! When the horses escaped, father immediately suspected you! I told father you were here! You should be thankful I covered for you!"

Loki raised his eyebrows and put an innocent smile on his face. "And I saved your skin so many times in the past…"

Thor shook his head. He couldn't stay angry at Loki. After all, if he were in Loki's shoes, he'd probably try to escape as well.

"You're playing with fire, Loki!"

But his brother only smiled.

"What in Bor's name are you wearing?" Thor suddenly asked.

Loki looked down, he'd almost forgotten about his fancy disguise.

"I trying out middle class fashion…," Loki answered with an amused smile. Thor sighed once more and rubbed his forehead. He actually didn't really care where Loki went or why he was wearing such a pathetic outfit. He was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night by a guard ranting about horses running amok wasn't exactly his idea of a goodnight rest.

"I suppose you're not going to tell me where you were?" he tried one last time. His guts told him that Loki sneaking off in the dark of the night could never be a good sign.

Loki raised his shoulders and smirked. "I'd tell you I went to see my secret mistress, but I doubt you'd belief me, brother…"

Thor sighed and shook his head. "Never mind!" he said, suppressing a huge yawn. I'm off to bed. And you should to! Try not to sleepwalk off your balcony please…"

"Goodbye, Thor!" Loki said with a meaningful glare towards the door.

"Ungrateful little bastard, you are!" Thor joked.

"You're starting to sound like your father, Thor…"

Thor smirked and left, leaving Loki alone with his racing mind.

Could I use the excuse that I sleepwalked back to Arya? Loki caught himself thinking while he changed into his night clothes.

No idiot! his mind shouted back. Go to sleep…

Loki lay down in his bed, closed his eyes and smiled. Things would be alright… He was certain of it!

Soooooo... Like it? I know I did ;)

I'm sorry updates are taking so long, but I have a lot of papers to write for school and exams are coming up as well... So the next update might take some time :(

I hope you're happy with how things are turning out for Loki ;) I think he deserved it, don't you? (But will everything be alright? Moehahahaha...)

I would like to thank all of you for reading and a special thank you to everyone who reviewed! You guys make my day every time!

I also would like to thank one of my latest reviewers for mentioning that I misspelled the word "fool" time after time... I will look into it and when I find the time, I'll fix some spelling mistakes in my former chapters!
Please, note to everyone: this kind of review also helps! I'm not a native, if you see something that bothers you, let me know!

One more thing, though: You don't have to if you don't want to, but if you review and point out mistakes like these or you have bigger issues, please use a username. That way I can thank you in person, or give you a personal answer to your questions ;)
Of course you can also always send me a private message. Whatever you like best!

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think and I'll see you soon!

Rumple x