A/N: I almost forgot to post this today, lol. I forgot it was Saturday until just now and that I owed you wonderful people a new chapter. Big thanks to my beta Yoshinator who got back to me in record time.

Loki had never felt so exhausted in his life within such a short time span. Darcy's questions seemed endless, and she asked each one with this sort of secretive smile on her face as if she knew something he didn't. It drove him absolutely mad.

"Ok, favorite color?" she asked.

"Green."

"First person you had sex with?" That question gave Loki pause. Most of the questions Darcy had asked thus far were mundane, but apparently she had finally decided, after wearing him down, to start in on the rather invasive questions.

"A girl I grew up with. We were fairly friendly…" he mumbled, attempting to stick as close to the truth as possible.

"Does she have a name?" the young woman's blue eyes were bright with amusement as Loki shifted in his seat, the only sign of his unease.

"Yes, a rather unpronounceable one in fact. She was from Iceland," he responded, picking out a country he knew to have a complicated language, compared to English. Darcy wrinkled her nose, leaning back in her seat.

"Yeah, I can't even say the simplest words from there. They have a weird language, but I hear English is like, one of the hardest languages to learn because of all the grammar rules that really have more exceptions than not and all that jazz. Anyway, how old were you when you slept with her?" Once again, Loki had to give his answer serious thought. He obviously didn't age the same way that humans did, and so had to compare their life spans to those of Asgardians, to give himself some frame of reference for age.

"We were young. I must have been about sixteen," he finally told her before sipping from his quickly cooling drink.

"Oooh, very nice. I'm from a small town and apparently was too hot to handle so I didn't get any until college. Any siblings?" she questioned, waving the waitress over to request another refill of her beverage.

"Somewhat, yes. We had what you could call a 'falling out'. I don't really consider him my brother." That question was easier for Loki to answer. Her eyes lit up at the answer and the young woman leaned forward, elbows on the table and hands cradling her chin as she looked at him intensely.

"Ah, I sense family drama. I must hear all the dirty details," Darcy's sharp grin made Loki's mouth twitch into a smile but no more inclined to share that particular point of his life. Her smile faded slightly when he didn't answer right away and once again, she leaned back from him.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she offered.

"No, it's all right, the situation has been a problem for years and only just recently came to a head. Our mother passed away very recently and it's…it has made things more complicated," Loki tried not to stutter at the mention of Frigga, but his words seemed to stick in his throat, the pain of her loss still felt like a hot knife through his chest.

"I'm sorry, I can't imagine how hard that must be for you…" Darcy's voice was soft, eyes dark with sympathy. She reached across the table and took his hand, giving it a brief squeeze before standing. Loki watched as she went up to the counter and purchased some food, precariously carrying the plates back to their table.

"Lunch time. And hey, I think it's time for my portion of today's sharing session. Ok so, I grew up in this really small place…" Loki let Darcy's voice just wash over him, the constant stream of words a good focus, a distraction from his darker thoughts. He sat and listened contentedly as she told him all about the town she grew up in, the "completely innocent and harmless" trouble she would get into. Her favorite color was blue…teal if you wanted to get more specific. She didn't have any siblings but she grew up with one very close best friend who felt like a brother. The boy had even threatened any potential boyfriends like an older brother would. Darcy had found it endlessly endearing as well as annoying. They stayed at the coffee shop for hours, just chatting. She did warn him, however, that she had more questions and that he should be prepared to answer them. He smiled and gave a slight bow.

"I accept the challenge of your inquiries," he told her. Loki had the pleasure of seeing Darcy blush before she waved at him and turned to walk home. Loki subtly followed her all the way to her door to make sure she arrived unharmed.

Heimdall's golden eyes followed Thor as he arrived on Midgard and talked with the assistant to Jane Foster. The girl flitted around the living space before leading his prince through the city, guiding him toward Jane. There was something strange about the girl, something about the air around her that didn't seem right to the gatekeeper. His gaze followed her when she and Thor separated. There was a hint of lingering magic where there should have been none, clinging to the space around the girl. She seemed excited about going to her destination, her even steps becoming more of a skip or a hop. Heimdall's vision began to blur and turn grey, the sight of the Midgardian youth became lost to him as whatever magic had been clinging to her suddenly strengthened. There was a powerful magician on Midgard, one strong enough to hide from his sight. He would have to inform the Allfather of this immediately.