Loki's arm moved swiftly and gracefully through the air. His fist connected with Ben's chest, sending him back several feet. As the mortal lay on the ground, the air knock from his lungs, the god squared his shoulders and lightly tugged his rolled sleeves.
"Darc-" he watched as she ran to Ben's side, kneeling and cradling him in her arms. Loki gaped- she would choose to comfort a weak Midgardian rather than admit submission to the victor? This woman made no sense.
Darcy turned to glare at Loki, "You need to leave, now, before I do something we'll both regret." He assumed she meant breaking her vow. It simply wouldn't do to have her dead just yet. Loki turned on his heel and stepped, traveling back to Darcy's villa just as the music stopped and people began to notice what had happened.
"Sit up, Ben," Darcy rubbed his back gently.
"Guy hits like a freight train," he wheezed.
"I am so sorry, I didn't think he'd know I was here- much less try to come and get me."
"Who is he? Jealous ex-boyfriend?" Ben stood, stretching slightly.
"No," Darcy scoffed, "He's an asshole that thinks everything belongs to him."
"Do you work with him?"
"Sort of. Listen, I should go. I had a great time, but I don't want him coming back. Things'll just get worse."
"Are you gonna be safe? What if that guy goes after you?"
"I'll be fine. I know how to deal with him."
"Are you sure?" Ben's eyes pleaded with her.
"I'm sure," Darcy stood on her toes, kissing Ben softly on the lips, "Thank you."
She returned home to see Loki lounging in a chair by the window. He was so deep in thought he didn't realize she had walked in.
"How dare you," her voice was low as she stalked toward the god. He looked up, an expression of disinterest on his face.
"I don't have time for this."
"Well then you'll fucking make time!" she yelled. Loki's eyes widened and he blinked at her. She wasn't just upset or angry, she was furious.
"I beg your pardon-?"
"I don't care who you think you are, but you do not hunt me down and punch my friends!"
"He was insolent."
"He was standing up for me!"
"That's hardly of any consequence."
"Reality check, dude. This isn't your world and you're sure as hell not its king. You can't go around demanding people do what you want and laying them out when they don't. Life doesn't work like that!"
Loki stood, cool and collected, and looked Darcy in the eye.
"For now."
He strode past her and into the kitchen. Darcy watched, eyes blazing, as he opened the fridge and pulled out a package of steaks.
"Prepare this for me."
"Did you hear a word I just said? You're not the boss of me!"
"And you have clearly forgotten that I am far more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
"Do your worst."
Loki raised a hand, but stopped when shards of lightning and ice erupted from the living room. Halgrund appeared, crouching. A wicked grin crept across his face, and Loki paled.
"Your majesty," the Frost Giant's voice rumbled through the house.
Darcy felt Loki grab her arm, and the next sensation was…grass? The two were now laying in grass and flowers, looking up at a soft blue sky.
"What just happened?"
Loki stood, adjusting his Midgardian clothes, "I transported us to Alfheim."
"What the hell is Alfheim?"
"It is one of the nine realms. I have many allies here."
"So what's going on? Are you and the Blue People in some sort of fight?"
"Not….not exactly." Loki began walking toward a treeline.
"And what does that mean?" Darcy followed him.
"It doesn't concern you."
"Considering the Jolly Green Giant's blue cousin just teleported into my house, I think it does. Besides, he's one of the people I met when you vanished me to Antarctica."
"That was Jotunheim."
"Same thing."
"Hardly."
"So what's going on? Were you finally a jack ass to someone more powerful than you?"
Loki turned on his heel, "There isn't a single Frost Giant- no, there isn't a single being- more powerful than me. Do you understand that?"
"You are so full of yourself."
"For your sake I'll pretend that's a compliment."
"Or what, you'll send me back to the snow globe? Not as bad as it seemed, buddy. It beat being with you, that's for sure."
Loki bristled, "Be happy I'm in such a merciful state."
"Or what?"
Before Loki could respond, bushes rustled several feet away. The god stood straight and stared at the bush.
"Show yourself."
"My lord?" A slender man rose from the tangle of branches, peeking at Loki and Darcy.
"Selledin," Loki's voice was surprised.
"We weren't expecting you. Is it time?" Selledin's voice was excited, and his eyes were bright.
"No. I had a problem back on Midgard-"
"I can see that," he eyed Darcy warily.
"-And I came here out of instinct."
"I see. Well welcome, sir, camp is this way!"
"Camp? What, you camp out in the woods with a troupe of fairy boy scouts?" Darcy laughed. The men ignored her, tracking through the forest.
Darcy's mouth dropped when they arrived at the "camp". What she had expected to be basic tents with a fire in the middle turned out to be towering tree houses with rope bridges extending through the branches.
"Whoa."
Loki smirked, but remained silent. It wasn't until a man dropped down from one of the tree houses and strode toward them that Loki spoke.
"Wilfrem!" The men embraced, clapping each other once on the back and releasing.
"It's good to see you, Prince Loki. I feared that the Vanir had found you."
"No, I eluded them quite easily."
"Wow you guys talk like medieval movies," Darcy placed her hands on her hips.
Wilfrem looked over Loki's shoulder to see the brunette, "And who might this be?"
"I'm Darcy. Darcy Lewis."
"Greetings, Darcy Darcy Lewis."
"No, my name's…Nevermind."
"I've been using Darcy's home as a hideout on Midgard," Loki explained.
"I see," Wilfrem eyes Darcy once more, then glanced at Loki. "And is that all you've been using her for?" he whispered, winking at the god.
"Don't be vulgar. You know my tastes are far too evolved."
Wilfrem laughed and clapped Loki on the back.
"Well in honor of your return, tonight we feast!" The camp erupted in a cheer. Darcy nearly gagged at how everyone was fawning over Loki.
It didn't take her long to realize that she was the only female in the entire camp. She had mistaken a few of the men for women, due to their long hair and delicate features, but had been corrected. As she walked around that night, she could feel eyes on her and hear whispered tones as she passed by. What was all of this about?
She climbed a rope ladder and walked to the empty tree house she had been shown to earlier. Once inside she found peace from the music, laughter and tall tales being told by all of the men around the fire.
It's like being at a renaissance fair, she thought. A renaissance fair that never ends and doesn't even sell sexy little corsets and junk. She climbed into the large bed centered against the far wall. The room was so dark she had nearly fallen three times on her way there. She pulled the covers over her body and nestled in, shocked at just how soft the mattress was. Within minutes she was asleep.
Loki had spent several hours listening to tales of what had transpired since he was last in Alfheim. He laughed with the elves and drank. A lot. By the time the fire was reduced to embers, he could feel the alcohol in his head, fuzzing things over. He climbed the rope ladder and swayed to his room. It was dark- so much so that he fell three times before getting to the bed. He pulled the covers over his body and rolled over, snuggling up to a pillow.
Only it wasn't a pillow.
In the morning, Darcy woke to the feeling of strong arms wrapped around her slender waist. Her back was against a toned front.
"Mm," she purred, "Ben?" She was probably dreaming. Ben was back on Earth. Unless she was back on Earth and the entire ordeal with Loki had been a dream.
One of the arms moved, its hand stroking from her flat stomach up her rib cage, lightly tracing around the curves of her breasts. The touch was so slight that it tickled Darcy, and she giggled sleepily. She felt something nuzzle into her hair, at the nape of her neck. The hand slid from her chest down to the top of her shorts, where it lingered for a moment before the fingers slid just past the waist. Darcy hummed again and rolled over to see-
She screamed and shoved Loki as hard as she could, though it pushed her away more than it moved him. He woke with a start, blinking the sleep from his eyes.
"What are you doing in my bed?"
"Your bed?" Darcy yelled, "I was here first! This was the room they showed me to yesterday. What are you doing in my bed?"
"I should have expected this," Loki grumbled, lacing his fingers behind his head and laying on his back, "You're only human, after all."
"Excuse me?"
"Don't deny it, I'm attractive. I'm also what you Midgardians call a 'bad boy'. I read that in one of your Cosmopolitics."
"You are so full of yourself." Darcy stood from the bed and tugged her tank top down to cover her stomach. "I'll have you know that you are not attractive, and you're not a 'bad boy', you're a sociopath!"
"Sticks and stones, love," he stretched out, still lying in the bed.
"If you want your bones broken, I'll be only too happy," Darcy muttered.
"Don't forget your oath," Loki smirked.
"I swear to god-"
"Yes, you did swear."
Darcy screamed and left the room. She passed Wilfrem on her way toward a rope ladder, her face still frozen in anger.
Wilfrem walked into the guest room to see Loki stretched across the large bed.
"Good night?" he chuckled.
"Yes. Until that minx climbed into my bed."
"Come now, Loki, even you can't deny the pleasures of female company all the time."
"Trust me, Wilfrem, her company is not pleasurable. She is insolent."
"Well you know what they say," Wilfrem shrugged.
"What?"
"If you can't beat them, join them."
"That makes absolutely no sense. Are you still drunk?"
Wilfrem laughed, "A woman in spite will never stop making a man's life miserable, but a woman in love will do whatever he says. Think on it, my friend."