So, to all of my readers, I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I know its been a significant amount of time since I last posted but that should hopefully change soon. Between moving and work there just hasn't been time to write. However, that will hopefully change starting now (though with my thesis looming overhead, I refuse to make promises). Anyway, hopefully you guys like this chapter. I didn't go into detail on the Avenue Q bit between Darcy and Steve because 1) its been almost three years since I last saw the show and 2) I don't want to spoil the show for anyone.

Alright, lets get this show going. Enjoy everyone!

- Illusinia

Loki smirked slightly as he heard the front door open, and winced as it shut rather firmly. Darcy was home, and she was either incredibly excited or she was beyond pissed. He was dearly hoping for the former.

"Hello Darcy," called Loki from the kitchen. The coffee maker had just finished, which Loki counted as being in his favor. Quickly, he poured a cup and entered the living room to find Darcy sprawled out on the couch. "Did today not go well?"

Darcy snorted and sat up as Loki handed her the cup of coffee. She took several long gulps before letting out a bit of a growl. "Well, Jane's lab almost blew up, Stark is attempting to get me transferred under his supervision as well as Jane's so I'll be working for two people and possibly doing twice the work, and I may have a stalker. Otherwise today was great."

"A stalker?" asked Loki worriedly.

Darcy nodded. "Yeah, its creepy and I don't want to talk about it."

Loki's eyes narrowed a little. "I will have to do something about this 'stalker'. However, tonight we should do something that will cheer you up. What would you care for to eat? We can go anywhere you would like."

Her normal grin filled Darcy's face at Loki's offer and she quickly leaned up to kiss his cheek. "As kick-ass as that sounds Loki, I've already got plans tonight. Steve surprised me with tickets for Avenue Q and I agreed to go."

"Why?" asked Loki as he internally cursed the Captain. He didn't really have anything against the man. In fact, if they weren't competing for Darcy, Loki was relatively sure he could tolerate Steve Rogers decently well. However, they were competing, so at least for the time being Rogers was the enemy.

Beside Loki, Darcy shrugged. "He always looks so lonely, and he hasn't exactly reached out to anyone. Hell, I think I'm the first person he's actually shown any interest in getting to know. It didn't seem right to turn him down, especially given how nice he is. Besides, it wasn't like I was doing anything else tonight, except hanging out with you of course. We do that every night though, and I thought you could probably entertain yourself for one night."

"Entertaining myself will not be a problem," assured Loki. "I will even refrain from destroying anything in your absence."

"Sweet," exclaimed Darcy with a grin. "I'm gonna change real fast. If Steve shows up just let him in."

Loki looked concerned. "Into your room?"

"Hardly," snorted Darcy. "He'd probably have a coronary. No, let him into the apartment."

"Of course," muttered Loki as Darcy jumped to her feet and drained the coffee cup.

Grinning, Darcy dropped a kiss on his cheek and walked into her room with a shouted "Thank you!".

Sighing, Loki leaned back and swore silently in his head. This was not good. Admittedly, the thought of playing dirty had crossed Loki's mind multiple times but he wished to refrain from such antics if possible. Though Darcy normally adored his mischievous side, he doubted she would show the same appreciation if he used those same skills to manipulate her. It wouldn't be emotional manipulation of course, Loki would never do that to her out of respect. But cheating would mean Steve was unfairly thrown from the competition. Of course, Loki didn't care about Steve, but Darcy would be mad if she ever found out which would not bode well for him. I need to call Stark. Surely he will have some idea of what to do. I also need to track down this stalker of Darcy's. No one is permitted to threaten her, ever.

Plan in place, Loki reached for his phone only to be interrupted by a knock at the front door. Cursing his luck, he rose and prayed fervently for the landlord to be on the other side of the door. Or the woman who lived next door with all the cats. A Jehovah's witness would be better than the individual that Loki was almost certain would greet him when he opened the door. And they tended to attempt to exercise him. Or were those the Catholic individual's who lived upstairs? Really, he wasn't sure anymore. There were so many sects of Christianity it was hard to keep track...

Opening the door, Loki found himself face-to-face with a rather startled Steve Rogers. Startled, but slowly turning hostile. "Loki."

"Steve," replied Loki as he stepped aside. "Darcy informed me that I was to let you in when you arrived."

Steve nodded graciously and stepped inside, though his movements were stiff. "Why are you here?"

Ah, apparently they were going to make small-talk. Wonderful. Perhaps a few well-placed hints would be enough to drive the good Captain off. "No one informed you? I live here."

Both of Steve's eyebrows shot up and his gaze shifted rapidly around the room, much to Loki's enjoyment. "You live here? With Darcy? Isn't that sort of inappropriate?"

Externally, Loki maintained a very careful look of casual indifference. Internally, he was grinning like a loon. Scandalizing Steve would be easier than he'd thought. "In this day and age? Hardly. Is that a problem?"

"No, of course not," insisted Steve, though the slight hitch in his voice told Loki that he did have a problem with it, along with the way he surreptitiously checked the area for another bedroom. "I'm just amazed she'd allow someone like you to live with her."

The internal grin fell to a scowl. "And what, precisely, do you mean by that?"

It was Steve's turn to smirk a little. "Does she know her roommate turns blue at will and attempted to destroy a city?"

"Yes," spit Loki. "Does she know she is attending a play with a man who has likely never associated with a woman before in his life?"

Steve was definitely growling a little now. "Actually, I have associated with a girl before. Her name was Peggy and we had a swell time together."

"Swell?" repeated Loki with a bit of a snort. Yes, Darcy used some odd phrases and words in her everyday vernacular, but this was one Loki had never even heard before. "How amusing."

Steve looked ready to snap when Darcy emerged from her room. He was quick to straighten of course, his jaw dropping as he looked towards Darcy. Loki followed his line of vision and saw why. Darcy in her everyday clothing was beautiful as far as Loki was concerned. However, Darcy in a dress always left him feeling as if Sif had just struck him in the stomach: breathless and in shock. And currently, mildly sick. He could admit to having a possessive nature, that particular trait had been the reason for some of his most ingenious and famous pranks. Thus, the thought of anyone eying Darcy in a dress that wasn't him was unsettling. And this particular dress made her look radiant.

It wasn't revealing, not really. Perhaps a little short but that was the worst of it. The black color made her eyes resemble a turbulent sea. The green trim along the hem and sleeve edges stood out against the black and made her brown hair richer in color. The fabric hugged her curves and accented her more... feminine physical aspects.

He didn't even realize his own jaw was nearly laying on the floor until Darcy, concerned look in place, snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Loki, you ok?"

Loki gulped and nodded, quickly regaining his composure. Though in retrospect he realized that he could probably have feigned sickness and gotten Darcy to stay home. Curses. Apparently his face gave away more than he anticipated, because she was giving him a concerned look.

Silently, she reached out and touched his cheek, tilting his head so their eyes met. "Promise not to destroy anything tonight?"

"I promise," assured Loki, though the words were hard to get out. He wanted to tell her he'd burn the city to the ground if she left, but knew that stopping her from going out with Steve as a friend was something she'd kick his ass for later. Given he'd seen what she could do with electricity, the idea was not a pleasant one. "Call me if you get into trouble. You know how."

Darcy chuckled a little. "You mean pray? Pretty sure that only works if I'm using the shrine."

Her old shrine to him had become a running joke between the two since she confirmed his heritage. Though he would never have her remove it, it was a mark that she was his after all and if she ever needed help he could actually hear her when she called to him through the shrine, the fact that her and Dani had actually built shrines to him before they all met was a little unsettling.

Behind Darcy, Steve looked more confused than he had earlier when Loki had informed him about the roommate situation. Darcy paid no attention to Steve for the moment, instead opting to drop a quick kiss on Loki's cheek, one given by a friend to a friend with no other intentions. Steve still looked uneasy at the show of affection, and Loki winked at Steve to make the whole thing seem worse to the super-soldier.

However, within a span of several seconds following, Darcy was grabbing Steve's hand and dragging him out of the room with a shouted 'shit, we're gong to be late! Got to go Loki, I'll be home later!' before both of them were out the door in typical Hurricane Darcy style. Not for the first time, Loki considered actually having a hurricane named after Darcy, as a testament to her rapidly changing and potentially volatile nature. Still, the comparison wouldn't be appreciated and he knew it.

Digressing. Loki needed to call Stark and make a plan, specifically one that would allow him to beat Steve. He also needed to find out more about this 'stalker' of Darcy's. Just thinking about Darcy's potential danger from this unknown man sent the hair on the back of his neck on edge.

His phone was in hand less than a moment later, with the usual ring echoing out of the speaker. It was answered less than a moment later. "Stark talkin'. Make it quick!"

"Stark, this is Loki. I require your assistance," insisted Loki. "I have many questions which I hope you can answer."

"Loki, my man!" exclaimed Stark with a grin. "How did Darcy like the flowers?"

Loki felt his thoughts grind to a thought. "Flowers?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Stark. "I realized you might not know how to do this, so I decided to lend you a hand."

One of Loki's eyes twitched slightly. "Elaborate."

"I just sent her a few flowers," replied Tony, the grin evident in his voice. "Had one of my guys scatter them around the base with little notes to her. Romantic shit that women love."

The twitch became more prominent and Loki allowed his head to nod forward into his hand. "That explains much. Stark, I believe you are the reason Darcy believes herself the victim of a stalker."

"Stalker?" exclaimed Tony. "Who the hell would stalk Darcy? She'd taze their ass assuming you didn't get there first."

Loki snorted. "Darcy has an...issue with stalkers. They make her uneasy."

Tony let out a choking sound over the phone. "Seriously? Dude, she ran onto a battle field to save your ass. How the hell does a stalker make her nervous?"

For a moment, Loki debated mentioning anything to Tony. No, Darcy had not sworn Loki to silence or ordered him to keep the incident a secret, but they never talked about what happened. Even if the man in question wasn't around anymore. Still...there was a good chance Tony knew. There was a record after all. "Darcy was stalked at one point in time, during high school. It occurred while we were friends, but she had failed to mention anything abnormal so neither myself nor Dani had a clue anything was amiss. Then, I hear Darcy call out to me one night and receive a call shortly afterwords from Dani informing me that the police were at Darcy's house. The aforementioned stalker had broken into Darcy's home and attacked her while she was alone. She had defended herself of course, having retrieved a knife and stabbed him before calling the police for assistance, but it was a frightening experience and since she has difficulty with certain types of attention."

"I can imagine," muttered Tony. "Why didn't she tase his ass though? That seems more her speed than a knife."

"She bought her taser in response to that incident," explained Loki.

"Makes sense." A sigh crossed the phone as Tony shifted around. "My point stands though, you tried to take over the world. Wouldn't that kinda frighten most people?"

A chuckle slipped from Loki as he leaned back on the couch. "Perhaps, but Darcy is not just any individual. Besides, according to her, I would have become bored in less than a week, possibly within hours, and turned control back over to the original rulers of the Earth."

"She said that!" exclaimed Tony with apparent glee.

"Yes," confirmed Loki with a laugh. "Apparently, I become bored easily. At least as she understands me."

"That's not good," pointed out Tony. "Could make her afraid you'll become bored of her."

Loki waved his hand carelessly, as if to dismiss the thought, before realizing that Tony couldn't actually see him waving his hand around. "Hardly. Darcy knows I find her incredibly...interesting. It would be impossible to become bored of her."

"If you say so man," muttered Tony. "So what's this about needing a new plan?"

The dark mood returned with a vengeance. "Yes, it seems that Steve has managed to best me this time and attract Darcy's attentions for the night. I need a way to draw her back."

"Damn," muttered Tony. "We need to step up you're game! Maybe more gifts..."

"Perhaps," agreed Loki. "I recall my brother often showering gifts upon women he wished to pursue. What do Midgardian women prefer to receive? Thor's preferred gift was jewelery."

"Jewelery is good," confirmed Tony. "But you know what's better? Baby animals. Seriously, girls love baby animals."

"Such as a kitten," muttered Loki, his eye's lighting up as an idea came to him. "Yes, I recall that Darcy once fawned over a small kitten she had found wondering the streets! Perfect!"

"Glad I could help you," chuckled Tony. "But you'll need more than a kitten to win her over."

Loki nodded casually as he flipped open his laptop and began looking for locations to purchase a kitten. "I understand this, Stark. Once I have regained her favor, I can continue with my original plan to woo her."

"Uh-huh," chuckled Tony. "Good luck with that, and call me if you need me."

"Of course, I will continue to keep you informed," assured Loki. "Good evening Stark."

Without another word, Loki hung up and continued his search.

It was almost 11:00 when Darcy walked in with a big grin and a joyful wave to Loki. She also nearly jumped in his lap as she flung herself onto the couch. Fortunately, Loki had finished his earlier business with the laptop, so the small device was safely out of harms way. In the computer's place was now Darcy's head.

"Oh gods, we are so going to see that play again," exclaimed Darcy happily. "Just you and me though. I think the puppet's pantomiming sex was a little much for Steve."

Loki choked a little and shot Darcy a horrified look. "This show involved puppets who portrayed various sexual acts?"

"Yep!" stated Darcy with a giggle. "The handlers were in a good mood tonight too, some of the moves were really interesting."

"Indeed," muttered Loki, looking somewhat nervous. "I will assume you had a good time then?"

She gave an enthusiastic nod and curled further into Loki's lap with a yawn. "Yep. Well, except for the part where I think I broke Steve. Otherwise it was awesome!"

Darcy couldn't see the grin that broke across Loki's face. Perhaps their date tonight hadn't been a success and Steve would be halting all attempts to pursue the woman in his lap. "You broke the Captain's mind?"

"Well, not me," corrected Darcy. "The play broke his mind, but he chose the play because of me so technically its my fault."

"I see," muttered Loki, his mood falling again. "Speaking of Steven, where did you leave him?"

"Down stairs," replied Darcy casually. "He wanted to come up but you seemed so upset earlier that I didn't want him coming up and bothering you."

Loki could have smacked himself in the head. Clearly, once again, he had underestimated Darcy. I need to stop doing that. "I see. Why did you believe Steven had upset me?"

Asking dumb questions needed to stop as well, though Loki didn't consider that a dumb question. But Darcy apparently did if the look of 'really?' complete with raised eyebrow which was currently displayed on her face was any indication. "Besides the fact that you looked ready to murder Steve and the way you were looking more than a little perturbed when I left? You were fine before he showed up. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together and get four."

"You are far more observant than you let on," muttered Loki with a soft smile, one of his hands coming up to stroke her hair.

"No shit," chuckled Darcy with a yawn. "You've known that for years."

Loki felt the smile grow a little as he watched the girl falling asleep in his lap. "Yes, but you make it easy to forget sometimes." Darcy let out a small sound of agreement but offered little else in way of a response. His hand continued to stroke her hair as she felt further and further towards sleep. "Will you have lunch with me tomorrow? I wish to give you something."

"Can't," muttered Darcy. "Teaching Steve about computers. Dinner?"

Loki felt himself bristle a bit at Steve's continued interference, but knew there was little he could do at this point. "Dinner it is then. Shale I cook or would you care to go out?"

"Don' care," murmured Darcy as she finally nodded off in his lap.

Keeping the smile in place, Loki waited a few moments until he was certain that Darcy had fallen asleep before scooping her up. He happily carried her to bed, humming a little as he went. Darcy may have gone out with Steve for the night, but Loki was the one taking her to bed. Even if it was platonic at the moment. But not for long. No, she would be his soon, as she rightfully should be. After all, she was the goddess of mischief.