I know its short, but I was finally feeling inspired to write something on this. I do have another chapter in the works, its actually probably going to be done soon. If there will be a chapter that I have to put up between this chapter and the other one though, I don't know. Anyway, further proof that I'm not dead is here and I'm sorry these updates have been so slow. Thesis is all consuming in nature.

Anyway, hopefully you guys all enjoy this. Warning, fluff with a side of seriousness and some light banter in the future. If this chapter disappoints (it really don't move anything along, its more an apology for not updating anytime recently) then I am sorry and promise the next chapter will get back to the heart of the story. Whatever that is.

- Illusina

Darcy was never attempting to choose a restaurant again. In her life. With someone like Loki around who knew everything she liked, why would she bother to choose herself.

"Loki, I swear, you are a god," exclaimed Darcy as she swallowed the first bite of her poboy. "How the heck do you keep finding these places?"

Loki smirked, leaning back with a cat-at-cannery grin. "I am a god, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," muttered Darcy. "Spill on the location method. Otherwise I'll assume you've just had a stroke of dumb luck."

He chuckled slightly and shrugged, biting into his own muffuletta. "To be honest, I inquired about a good lunch place from Craig Landry. "

Darcy grinned. "You know he thinks we're dating, right? Or that you want to pursue me?"

Loki chuckled some. "Yes, well, apparently my actions are more closely associated with an individual attempting to pursue the affections of a woman than a friend." He paused, sobering some at his eyes came to rest back on Darcy, happily munching on her food. "Would it be so horrible if I were to attempt to pursue you?"

The food she'd just bitten into caught in her throat for a moment, and she choked some. That was random. "Uh, no, not really. But we kinda settled this matter years ago, remember? You left, it drove the message in pretty clear that you weren't interested."

Looking down, Loki pushed a pickle around on his plate for a moment before lifting his eyes to meet hers again. "Darcy, I must be truthful. Yes, I ran. It is abnormal for me to feel strong affection towards anyone who is not family. The feelings of protectiveness and care I felt for both you and Dani were abnormal, but because we were so close I forced my unease away. For once, I had friends who were did not begrudge me my mischief. The thought of loosing that was more terrifying than anything Odin could have ever threatened me with." He took a deep breath, but plowed forward. Lies were easier to speak than the truth, but in this case it was the truth that needed voicing. "My leaving was not completely in my hands. Odin, my father, did demand I return to Asgard. I feared if I did not leave that he may bring harm to you or Dani. Thor's coronation was to be in a matter of years, and Odin wanted me in Asgard to help ensure that he was ready."

"Which he so wasn't," muttered Darcy. "Really, when he crashed here? Thor acted like a spoiled kid. Hell, he even dragged Jane into trouble, though I think that was more his muscles hypnotizing him than anything."

Loki chuckled some but nodded none the less. "That is distinctly possible." Pausing, he reached out to lay a hand over her own. "Darcy, you do know I love you, correct?"

Her own eyes met his, smiling back though a touch of sadness was present. Her hand turned over to squeeze his. "I know Loki. I love you too. You're probably the best friend I've ever had next to Dani, and I say that as in you two are equally close to me. That makes you precious, and I'd never want to loose that. Nothing in the world could make me leave you or stop supporting you."

"Nothing?" questioned Loki, awe written on his face.

Darcy laughed. "Loki, I ran onto an active battle field to save you from getting your ass beat into the ground. When I saw you on TV destroying the city, I never for a second thought anything less than catastrophic had happened to you. I trust you, unconditionally. You're Loki, my best friend, practically family to me. I will always love and support you. Its what friends do."

Loki almost felt like he could cry. Felt as if he would cry. This woman, this mortal woman, who's life was so fragile, trusted him completely. It was something no one had ever given him. "Darcy..."

Her faint smile and the touch of her palm against his cheek stopped him. "Hang on, I'm not done. Loki, you don't have to explain anything to me. If you can ever talk about what happened though, what drove you so far into madness that you almost destroyed everything, I'm here."

He nodded, hand gripping hers a little hard. "I will admit, my reasoning might seem trivial to you."

"Loki, don't make me repeat myself," warned Darcy with a faint smile.

The god chuckled and proceeded to tell her everything, from Odin's lies to his desperation for acceptance. When he had finished, Darcy was gripping his hand in return. "Loki, that's not a trivial reason."

He snorted slightly derisively. "You did not do such things when you discovered your own adoption. I should not have thrown such a fit."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Actually, I did. I just rebelled in a different way, i.e. through pranks and almost getting arrested. Remember that running thing that Dani and I used to sometimes go do?"

"The one where you jumped over walls or attempted to climb buildings?" questioned Loki, remembering how odd it had looked to see his friends run like that.

"Yeah," confirmed Darcy. "That. Well, I started getting into that as a direct result of finding out I was adopted."

Loki nodded slowly. "Did you're parents lie to you? You never discussed how it was you discovered your parent's own betrayal."

Darcy snorted slightly. "Worse than you know. Dani was around when the shit hit the fan. I actually stayed with her family for almost three months afterwords because I didn't want to go home. As far as I was concerned, I couldn't trust my own parents to be honest with me so why should I stay with them."

"Eventually they were forgiven though," pointed out Loki. "I distinctly recall that."

"Yeah," confirmed Darcy with a nod. "Never trusted them again, but eventually I saw some kind of reason."

"That is understandable," assured Loki. "However, you are not telling me something."

Darcy sighed and moved to pack her forgotten sandwich into a box. "Yeah, well, part of what made it so bad was that my parents lied directly to my face about it. When I was nine, I came right out and asked my parents if I was adopted. It didn't seem plausible that I was related to them given how different I was from them and that I didn't look like anyone from either side of the family. They told me, clearly, that 'no, I was not adopted'. Three years later, I had to do a blood type test for school and the results were impossible if I was actually related to my parents. I remember my teacher pulling me aside after the class and talking to me about it because the results were weird. After that, he got me dismissed from school early and I went home to confront my mom. She still denied it until I practically shoved the results from my science class in her face. That was the only reason she admitted that I was adopted."

Loki winced, his sympathy for Darcy hitting an all new high. Yes, what Odin had done was bad. It was ridiculous really. He should have been told far sooner about what he was. But to be directly lied to...Loki would have been unable to forgive Odin if he had directly confronted Odin and his father had lied. How Darcy could find it in her heart to reconnect with two people who had caused her such harm was amazing to Loki. His hand came out to grasp Darcy's again, interweaving their fingers and drawing her knuckle up for a kiss. "Darcy, no matter what your parents have done, understand this. You are special beyond compare, a genius in your own right and so much more than either of your false parents could ever hope for you to be. Do not let their lies ever make you forget this."

Darcy smiled and leaned over the table to hug Loki awkwardly. "Thanks Loki. Like I said, I dealt with them a long time ago." She leaned back, hand sliding back into his own. "They aren't me, and they have no bearing on who I am. It doesn't matter that they aren't biologically my parents, they still raised me and cared enough about me to take me in. Besides, there can be more than one type of family and I've found mine in the Avengers and with Jane, you, and Thor. You guys are my family. Nothing else matters."

With a smile, Loki stood and pulled her up from her chair. The grabbed their lunch and exited the establishment, calling their thanks to the chef for the great food. As soon as they were out the door, the manager, a older woman with graying hair and a thick Louisiana accent, picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"This is Craig," spoke an accented man over the phone.

The manager of the sandwich shop grinned. "You an' Lydia were right 'bout those two kids. They're real cute together. So, you gonna meddle?"

Craig laughed through the phone. "Hardly Lucy. Pretty sure that Loki guy's got it all under control. But if you see 'em again, make sure to give 'em a nudge."

"Will do Craig,"laughed Lucile, Lucy for short. "So, you gonna warn e'ery good Louisiana restaurant in town 'bout those two?"

"Workin' on it," confirmed Craig, a grin audible in his voice. "I'll keep ya posted Lucy."

"You betta," growled Lucile with false menace. "I wanna make damn sure I know when the weddin' is."

So, I have no clue if I'm actually going to bring back Craig and Lucy or not, but it seemed like after the seriousness of the rest of the chapter, a little light-hearted banter was necessary. The next chapter should be up soon. I have something in the works but I'm trying not to end this whole thing too suddenly. It should only be a few more chapters before this story is done though and I can go back to the one-shots without worrying about giving stuff away.