Chapter 12

I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter! I hope you enjoy it. :) Please please review! :D

The next Saturday, Deidra woke early, showered, and dressed. She went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee, then walked back into the hallway. She checked the time on her phone. It was only 6 AM. She stopped outside of Loki's closed bedroom door and smiled.

She put her ear to the door and heard his deep, regular breathing. He was still asleep. 'Good,' she thought. 'He's going to kill me,' she added with a little laugh that she tried her hardest to keep silent.

She slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door as silently as she could. She was a little surprised that it was unlocked. Maybe he was starting to feel comfortable living with her.

She peered inside. The curtains were drawn tightly and the room was dark, but she could make out his still form tangled in the sheets on the bed.

Deidra inched her way to his bed. She then crouched down beside him so she was at the level of the bed. She looked at him and smiled. He looked so peaceful and serene when he was asleep. She almost hated to bother him. 'Almost,' she thought with a laugh she couldn't keep down.

She silenced herself as Loki made a noise in his sleep and moved around a bit on the bed. She had almost woken him with that laugh, but he stilled again.

"Loki," she said softly, seeing if he was truly asleep. He didn't stir.

She slowly stood up and leaned over him. 'God he's really going to kill me,' she thought once more. She reached out to grab him by the shoulders. Her plan was to grab him, shake him, and yell loudly to scare him awake. She felt extremely playful that day, especially since she had decided to take them both horseback riding. Neither she nor Loki had mentioned horses since their walk in the park; she figured he had forgotten about it. Deidra had planned on surprising him with the outing.

She reached out to grab him, but before she could even touch him, Loki's eyes flew open and he grabbed her by the arms and flipped her over him onto the other side of the bed before she knew what had happened. Instantly he was over top of her, pinning her down on the mattress with a coy grin on his face.

"It's not polite, you know, to sneak into someone's chambers when they're sleeping," he said in a mocking, yet somehow playful tone.

She struggled against him, but he had her pinned by the wrists and she couldn't move at all. He was incredibly strong. She let out a huff and fell back onto the mattress. "So you were awake," she said. "Let me go!"

"Uh uh," he responded impishly. "How was I supposed to sleep with you giggling in my ear?" he answered. He looked at her curiously then. "What did you think you were going to do?"

"I was going to..." she trailed off. She realized now that what she had planned on doing was incredibly silly. "I was going to wake you."

"And you succeeded," he said. "Though, I don't think this was part of your plan."

"Can't say you're wrong," she replied in effort, trying again to free herself.

"You can't sneak up on me," he continued. "It is foolish to even try."

"I can see that," she said. She looked up at him. "Will you get off of me now?" she asked.

"Now why would I do that?" he asked with a grin. He didn't allow her to respond and continued. "Why in the Nine Realms would you think it was a good idea to wake me like this?" He asked and then added as he looked over at the clock on the bedside table. "And at this hour?"

She looked up at him as he looked down at her. His black hair was wild and hung down by his face. She realized that uncombed, his hair was just about as curly as her own.

"Well?" He asked, breaking her out of her observations.

"Well," she said, pushing her arms up against his grasp. It was no use. She let out a breath. "God you're strong."

He smirked. "Quite," he said and then gave her a look to continue.

"I thought that if we left now, I would surprise you with a horseback riding trip in the mountains."

Instantly he released her and sat back on the bed. "Truly?" He asked, his voice hopeful.

"Yeah," she said sitting up. "Things have been awesome lately and I did promise you."

He smiled brightly in the darkness; almost child-like. "And you wanted to leave now?"

"Well it's a nearly 3 hour drive," she said. "I figured we would leave as soon as you get dressed and get a cup of coffee."

Loki smiled again. He loved coffee. He could drink it all day if he could. He tried once, but he had ended up sick and shaky. Deidra had laughed at him for trying.

He stood up and walked around his bed to gather clean clothes for the day. "I need to bathe before we go," he said.

"Ok," she replied.

He stared at her for a moment. "Are you going to leave or shall I undress for you?" He asked. "Either way is acceptable to me. I'm not modest."

She turned pink and quickly got off the bed. "No, no, no," she said heading for the door. "I'm leaving."

She walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She heard his laughter through the door.

Loki laughed to himself as he ran his shower water. When it was warm he stripped down and stepped into the warm water.

Deidra was fun to mess with. It was so easy to get a reaction from her. He had never made her blush before, though.

'That's very interesting,' he thought to himself, washing his hair.

He finished up, got dressed, drank some coffee, and they were off. Loki had figured out how to work the car radio so naturally he took it over the whole ride to the horse stables.

When they finally arrived he quickly opened the car door and got out. He looked around almost eagerly at the barns nestled quaintly near the tree line. The blue mountains towered behind the tree tops. He noted that the air was different there. It was crisper, fresher than their town.

He was very excited to see the horses. He leaned down to look in the car at Deidra. She was stuffing the dash with her purse.

"What are you doing?" he asked impatiently. "Are you going to sit there all day?"

"Chill," she replied, not looking up. She closed the dash and got out of the car. "I don't want anyone stealing my stuff," she explained as she shut and locked the car door.

Together they walked into a building marked office. Deidra approached the front desk. A young, friendly looking girl sat behind the counter. She smiled at them as they approached.

"I have an appointment for Cole," Deidra said to the girl.

"Great!" the girl said enthusiastically. "Have you ever ridden before? You can have a guide ride with you, or you can ride alone if you prefer."

"Yes, a guide would be best," Deidra responded.

"No," Loki said at the same time.

Deidra and the desk girl turned and looked at him. "Yes," Deidra countered. "We want a guide."

"No, we don't," he replied simply with a shrug.

The desk girl looked at Deidra, unsure of whom to listen to. Deidra excused them and pulled Loki to the side. "What?" he asked. "We don't need a guide."

"I don't know how to ride a horse!" she hissed.

"I do," he responded with a shrug. "I'll help you."

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue.

Loki stepped around here and approached the desk. "No guide," he said with a hint of a smirk.

The desk girl smiled and showed them to another worker who saddled the horses for them and left them to it.

Loki took a deep breath. The smell of the stable brought back so many memories of Asgard. Happy memories, before everything fell apart. His horse whinnied, bringing him back to the present. He gave a soft smile at the animal and held its head, stroking its face gently with his other hand.

'I've missed this,' he thought serenely.

A cough made him look up. Deidra stood by him, an eyebrow raised. "Yeah are you going to ride the horse or kiss it?" she asked in a serious voice, but was teasing. "I mean I can give you two some privacy if you want," she added with a grin.

"You're fortunate I'm in a forgiving mood," he said darkly, going to the horse's saddle. "Don't push your luck."

"Ha," she replied in amusement. She figured he was teasing back, but it was hard to tell sometimes.

Loki swung up onto the horse with ease, but Deidra struggled. She put a foot in the stirrup and bounced pitifully on her other foot, trying to pull herself up onto the saddle.

He laughed hard at her. "That's pathetic!" he laughed, leaning forward in the saddle. "Come now, it's not that difficult."

"Shut up!" Deidra grunted, shooting him a mean look.

"Shall I fetch you a box?" he teased, a broad smile on his face.

"I told you I don't know what I'm doing! I've ridden a horse once and that was when I was like ten! Stop laughing at me!"

He continued to grin broadly at her. "Consider this payback for making fun of me just now," he said. "Oh you do seem to need help." he laughed.

She stood up straight with a huff. "Fine, I'm sorry for teasing you," she snipped, looking up at him. "Happy? Now will you help me?"

Loki swung off the horse and walked over to her. "Poor thing," he said in fake pity. "Come now, put your foot in the stirrup again and I shall help you." Deidra did as she was told. "Now pull up," he instructed, his voice now calm and uncharacteristically patient.

She pulled up on the horse and he helped push her up into the saddle. "There," he said with a smirk. "Easy."

"Thank you," she said as he swung up into his saddle once more. She picked up the reigns and he explained how to steer the horse how she wanted to and how to stop.

"Shall we go?" he asked, walking the horse out of the barn. Deidra's horse followed calmly. They followed the trail and soon they were into the woods and out of sight of the stables.

They rode together for a while in peaceful silence. The horse's footsteps and the sounds of the woods made a pleasant melody as they rode.

Finally Deidra broke the silence. "Tell me about Asgard," she said.

Loki looked at her, surprised at her request. "Why would I speak about that?" he asked. "I'll never return, so why reminisce about it?"

She frowned. "I'm curious is all," she replied.

He thought about it. He was in a very good mood that day. 'Why not?' he thought. He decided to indulge her.

He agreed and as they rode he spoke of the palace and how vast and glorious it was. He spoke of the people who lived in Asgard, both in the palace and outside of it. He spoke of the Bifrost and how it connected the Nine Realms. He explained about the Nine Realms as well.

He stopped speaking and Deidra was silent, taking it all in. It all sounded amazing. "I wish I could see it," she finally said.

"You would love it there," he said.

They came up on a clearing in the wood and Loki smiled before calling out to his horse, coaxing it to break into a gallop. Deidra cried out in surprise as her horse tried to follow. She stopped it and watched from the trees.

The wind blew through Loki's hair as his horse ran. He let out a ecstatic laugh, letting the horse run as it wanted, its hooves beating the ground.

Deidra watched his race around the clearing and smiled. He was loving this and was totally in his element. She was glad she decided to make this trip with him. He deserved a little happiness like this.

He made a couple more laps before he stopped by her and her horse. He had a bright smile on his face. "Run with me?" he requested.

"Oh no," she said shaking her head. "No, no, no."

He leaned in to her. "Oh yes," he said wickedly. "Yes, yes, yes." And at that he slapped her horse's rump, causing it to take off across the clearing. Deidra squealed in fright, holding on tight to the saddle. Loki caught up with her and laughed. "Steer your steed!" he said over the pounding of the hooves.

"I hate you!" she yelled, picking up the reigns with one hand and holding a death grip on the saddle with the other.

They ran together for a lap and Deidra stopped. Her heart was racing. Adrenaline raced through her body. Loki stopped by her. "That wasn't horrible," she admitted breathlessly.

He gave a little smirk. "You did well," he said. "Shall we continue on?" he asked and walked on without waiting for her response.

"That was still a dirty trick!" she called out, catching up with him.

He laughed in response and they rode on.

They rode for a couple more hours and finally the trail brought them back to the stables. Loki dismounted and stood by Deidra, still atop her horse.

"Are you planning on sitting up there all day?" he asked lightly.

She ignored him. "I might need help getting down," she said. "I can just see myself breaking my ankle getting off this horse."

He gave a breathy laugh. "Fine, come here then," he said holding his hands up to her to help her down.

She reached down and put her hands on his shoulders and slid gracelessly off the animal. If he hadn't of had a hold of her she would have surely landed on her butt.

Deidra found her balance and looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you," she said.

He let go of her waist and nodded his head in acknowledgment before walking off back to the office. She followed after him.