"You look well."

Loki appraised the man before him, "I wish I could say the same for you." In truth, Odin looked haggard.

Odin nodded, "Long nights. I must test Jane Foster and it troubles me that I may break my son's heart should she fail."

Loki felt bitter even though he knew it was irrational, "Yes, of course. I can see why breaking Thor's heart would worry you."

Odin shook his head, "Loki, that is not-"

Loki cut him off, "No need to fret, Father. Jane Foster will pass whatever test you decide to give her." It irked Loki that he kept sticking up for the woman when she so obviously disliked him. Still disliked him – even after all of his efforts to sway her.

Odin continued, "I worry for you as well, Loki. But fate has tested Darcy Lewis more than I ever could. Jane Foster has not been tried. I worry that…"

Loki tuned out a bit. He had been watching Darcy with half his mind and became nervous when he noticed that she was speaking with Sif. Alone. Since Odin appeared to be monologuing, Loki made a double near Darcy's shoulder and threw his consciousness into it. He would simply check on her quickly and be back before Odin even noticed he was speaking to a phantom. Probably. It seemed Loki's nerves were unfounded though, as Darcy apparently knew the correct way to deal with Sif. 'Your enormous manhood' – what a woman! With a smile, Loki threw his consciousness back into the double standing before the Allfather. Odin was silent and giving Loki a look that conveyed his annoyance. Ah well.

Loki smiled impertinently, "Sorry, I just wanted to check on her."

"I assume she is well. Loki, no one in Asgard will harm your woman."

Loki's smile turned brittle, "Not physically. Especially not after your little speech. Though you know I must ask - wives and heirs?"

Odin tilted his head, "You mean to marry her, do you not?"

"Yes. Though we have but one daughter growing in her womb."

"For now." Odin gave an odd smile. "But I spoke of Thor."

Loki's face clouded with confusion, "Jane is not with child."

A quiet laugh from the Allfather, "That is surprisingly short-sighted of you, my son. Once they marry, I see many children in their future."

Loki's voice was tinged with sarcasm, "So you are an oracle now?"

The lightness of the conversation seemed to disappear immediately, "I am an old man, Loki. I am tired. And perhaps I am merely hopeful. I have wished for you and your brother to have children of your own for quite some time. Thor has never been ready for such a task as fatherhood. And you, my son, have never allowed yourself the lapse in control necessary for such an event to occur. Darcy must be quite special if she could make you lose your restraint for long enough that you would not protect yourself against this. All Asgard knows the pregnancy was not planned."

"She is different, Father. She accepts me." Loki's face became hard as granite. "All of me."

Odin leaned wearily against the railing and Loki had to stop himself from reaching out to him. Odin's voice was sorrowful, "What must you think of me, Loki? This hatred inside of you – I can feel it. I never meant to hurt you."

Finally. Finally Loki would have his answers. "Then why? Why did you lie to me? Why did you even take me to begin with?"

Odin did not answer immediately. He seemed lost in thought and Loki was about to prompt him again when he finally spoke, "You were so small, Loki. The battle was nearly over and we had won, but the price had been high. The cold air was so thick with blood. The blood of my people, of my enemies – it all tasted the same on my tongue – like metal and death. And there you were like a beacon. A strange, perfect little form. Life surrounded by death. I knew immediately that you were Laufey's son, and I thought I could use you. I could take you to torment him in some way. Or I could kill you with my bare hands and watch Laufey's face as I told him he was once more without an heir."

Loki's breathing stopped. His world stopped. Why was he saying this?

"I lifted you from the floor and held you. Your skin altered to match mine – instinctual magic. I knew then that you were powerful. Too powerful. Dangerous. It was to be death for you then." Odin's tone was unapologetic, but his face betrayed his regret. Loki felt his fists clenching so hard that his arms were shaking.

Odin continued, "But you smiled. You were so beautiful, Loki. I could not kill you. And I would not abandon you to a slow death from the elements, from hunger, from thirst. I was returning to Asgard, and leaving nothing in Jotunheim but the wastes of a once-glorious realm. I was not going to leave you there to suffer for the crimes of your father."

Odin tilted his head, forcing Loki to meet his eye – forcing Loki to understand. "I had not intended to make you my son. I never intended to hide your past from you. I merely hid you from the gaze of others until I could return to Frigga and tell her what had occurred. But holding you to my chest, feeling your body steal the warmth from my own – Loki, I wanted to protect you. And once your mother beheld you, there was no other option. To keep you safe, I made you my son. And all of Asgard believed it. It was easy to do so in those times, everyone looking for a bit of joy after the desolation of war. And you looked every trace the perfect Asgardian baby – healthy, happy, clever even then. Your mother loved you the first time she looked into your eyes. She has loved you every day since."

A broken whisper, "And you?"

"Loki, you need never ask that. You have been part of myself since I held you. You are my son, Loki. You are my son. I am sorry for not telling you the truth sooner. I just wanted to protect you from the world which I knew would not accept you easily. But in protecting you from others, I failed in protecting you from yourself. The evils you have done…the blame lay at my feet."

Loki's voice cracked, "No, Father. No. I brought it all on myself."

"I cannot be your father and the king at the same time. One must come first. The people must come first. This is why I have to punish you when you err, Loki. The people require at least a pantomime of justice. It is for your own sake. You are a strange, mercurial creature. You can be cruel beyond all comprehension. Yet you can love so deeply that you would face death laughing to protect those you care about." Odin smiled wearily, "You get that from me, my boy."

Loki's mind whirled. Odinson. Loki Odinson.

The words spilled from Loki's lips without forethought, "Do you forgive me now, Father?"

"Are you sorry for what you have done?"

Loki wanted so badly to lie, but he would not. "No."

Odin nodded gravely, "Do you understand where it is that you failed?"

Loki answered in barely more than a whisper, "Yes."

"That is all I can ask. I forgive you, Loki." The sheer relief Loki felt at his words was staggering. He gripped the handrail tightly and tried not to buckle beneath the weight of it all. Odin continued, "Can you do the same for me? Can you forgive me, my son?"

Loki wanted to scream. The rage – he needed to hold on to the rage. It had been feeding him, bolstering him, goading him since that fateful day when his world changed. But Loki knew he had to let it go. He had to move on. So many mistakes were made on both sides. It was too hard to condemn someone for the wrongs against you – not when you were so flawed yourself.

Loki's voice was strong, "I forgive you, Father." Absolution was as breathtaking in the giving as the receiving.

Odin reached out and clasped Loki on the shoulder. Loki could feel his father's hand through the layers of metal and fabric, soothing like a salve on a burn. They stood staring at each other, their gazes open and honest for the first time in Loki's life. The wound that had been festering between them had now scarred over. It would never be the unblemished and pure thing it was before, but it was mending. Altering. And different did sometimes mean better.

Loki refused to feel unmanned by the tears easing down the hollows of his cheekbones, catching in the corners of his lips, dripping off the angles of his jaw. After all, Odin Allfather had his own tears to shed.

Darcy was loving the Asgardian food. It was all sorts of delicious. There were these creamy tart things that she ate about seven of - and they weren't small. Sif had commented that the only other person she had ever seen eat so much was Volstagg. It didn't sound like a compliment, but Darcy shrugged it off. Not only was she eating for herself (and she'd always had a hearty appetite), but she was eating for a demigod. Jenny Craig could go suck it.

In a happy food haze, Darcy barely heard the words spoken behind her. "Sweet Allfather, they have actually become bigger!"

Another voice answered the first, "What has become bigger?"

The first voice again, "Her eyes! They are like two luscious dreams. How did Loki do it?"

That was just weird enough to pull Darcy's attention away from her plate. She found Fandral and Volstagg standing a few feet away from her. And Fandral's riveted attention to her cleavage made it quite clear that it wasn't her eyes he was referring to. Stupid Loki and his stupid beautiful dress. She knew she should slap Fandral out of feminism and righteous indignation, but Darcy had to admit that her boobs were pretty rocking tonight. She couldn't really get mad at the horny dude for noticing the blatantly obvious. Seriously, if her arms got tired she could rest her plate on her chest at this point. Still, Loki would eviscerate Fandral for looking at her like that – eyes bugged out and mouth gaping. And since Fandral had sorta helped Thor out that one time, she felt obligated to try to save him.

Raising her voice, she addressed Fandral, "Hey there, buddy. You might want to raise the gaze a few inches before my boyfriend makes your insides into your outsides."

Fandral blinked, obviously thrown off at having been caught ogling her girls. Then a smooth smile graced his face and he bowed, reaching out to take her hand and place a kiss upon it. Darcy just looked at him in bewilderment, amazed that he was still putting on the gentleman act after being caught calling her boobs 'luscious.' He was either delusional or…no, pretty much just delusional.

"Lady Darcy, it is a great pleasure to see you again. You are looking exceptionally lovely tonight."

Darcy wanted to roll her eyes, but she fought the urge down and answered, "Thanks. And you look…nice, I guess. And you Asgardians sure know how to do a buffet."

Volstagg smiled and chimed in, "Indeed we do! Have you tried the mutton? It is so delicious that I wish to weep from the sheer joy of living in a world where such taste exists."

Oh, she liked this guy.

"I haven't! Which one is mutton?"

Volstagg led her over to a platter of some sort of stewed meat in a yummy-smelling broth. She grabbed a plate and heaped some onto it with relish. Volstagg watched her with a pleased look as he followed suit.

Fandral spoke from behind her, "I must admit to being most disappointed that we missed our chance, Lady Darcy."

Oh merciful Buddha, this mutton shit was quite possibly the best thing that she ever put in her mouth that wasn't attached to Loki's body. Distracted by the orgasms occurring on her taste buds, Darcy asked, "What chance?"

"Our chance at love, fair Darcy."

That got her attention. She turned to look at Fandral, "I repeat, what chance?"

He seemed confused, "Why, do you not remember our moment of passion - of possibility?"

Darcy stared at him as if he was a crazy person. "Umm...no, not really. Can you describe the alleged 'moment'?" She absently noticed Jane and Thor walking toward her, engrossed in conversation with Frigga and Sif.

Fandral explained, "When we parted, I placed a kiss upon your hand and you stared at me with much intensity."

Suddenly, it clicked in Darcy's head. "Oh! Yeah. I was trying to figure out if the facial hair was necessary. You look like you're either gonna go buckle some swashes or lure teenage girls into your van with candy."

There was an odd choking noise behind her and Darcy recognized it as Jane – she often made that noise whenever Darcy said something inappropriate. Darcy didn't understand what she'd said wrong this time. For some reason, poor Fandral was looking at her in horrified disbelief – as if she'd just told him she was born a man.

His voice was urgent, "I assure you, my dear, my facial accoutrements are quite appreciated by Asgardian maidens."

Darcy nodded, "Well, there you go! I'm not Asgardian, so I remain immune to the lure of the 'stache. And the pointy beard."

Fandral just kept looking at her like she was the freak. Darcy started to feel bad even though he had been kinda hitting on her while she was pregnant and meeting her boyfriend's parents. He just looked so pathetic.

She added gently, "I think you might actually be cute underneath all of that Errol Flynn facial craziness."

He let out an incredulous scoff, "Cute?"

Darcy smiled, "Totally."

He sounded miffed, "Cuter than Loki?"

It was Darcy's turn to scoff, "Loki isn't cute. Well, not usually."

"You are with a man you do not find attractive?" Fandral looked confused but pleased – an expression that reminded Darcy of Thor.

She giggled, "Um, no. I just don't often look at Loki and think 'cute.' Puppies are cute, babies are cute, LOLcats are cute. Loki? Not cute. Now do I find him fuckhot? Umm...not to state the obvious, but you do know where babies come from, right? Trust me, if I were to tell you just how sexy I found that man, you'd blush to the roots of your creepy facial hair."

Fandral's eyes widened, "Truly?"

"Truly what? Truly is your facial hair creepy? Yes. We established that already."

He shook his head, "You truly find Loki that appealing?"

This guy was denser than Thor – she wanted to bring him back to Midgard so they could study how he was able to function without special assistance. Darcy suddenly remembered that offhand comment Loki had made about the way he was perceived on Asgard – lesser than Thor in every way and not so popular with the ladies. He had nonchalantly explained to her that she was the first woman to want to bed him because he was Loki and not the God of Mischief or the Prince of Asgard.

Darcy thought to herself - fuck it. Loki would find it funny. Completely deadpan, she answered, "No, of course I don't find him appealing. I just use him for the awesome sex."

She heard a snigger come from somewhere beside her and suddenly realized that Loki's mom was listening. Oops?

Darcy felt arms wrap around her from behind and jumped a bit before relaxing into the familiar embrace. Loki's voice drifted over her shoulder, "I too find your hideousness unparalleled. I am only with you for your delectable bosom. It is...what is it that you say? Ah, epic."

She giggled at Loki's words and the look on Fandral's face. He was giving them the you-both-are-fucking-freaks look that they'd been getting a lot lately. It hadn't gotten old yet.

Loki's solemn voice was in her ear again, "Our poor child will be so unattractive."

She snorted. They both knew their baby would be the most beautiful baby ever. There was simply no way their individual DNA of hotness could combine to form anything less.

Matching the sincerity in his voice, she agreed, "A face only a mother could love."

Thor's voice rang out, "Ignore them. This is their form of foreplay. One gets used to it eventually. Hopefully, they will leave the room before proceeding to the physical stage."

Darcy giggled and let her head fall back onto Loki's shoulder. She met his gaze and mouthed the words 'read my mind'. He raised a brow but complied.

"Yes, my love?"

"Are you and your dad ok?" She squeezed the hands wrapped around her stomach and tried to convey her concern with her eyes. His own face softened.

"For the first time in my life, I can answer that question in the affirmative. We just need time."

Darcy smiled widely and raised herself up on her toes to kiss his lips.

"See what I mean?" Thor's voice sounded uncharacteristically droll.

Darcy pulled away to apologize for the PDA, but Frigga looked so damn happy that she debated kissing Loki again just to keep that smile on her face.

Sif's voice was curious, "It almost seemed as if you were having some sort of conversation."

Loki answered, "We were. I was telling Darcy all about how beautiful my brother looked on his wedding day to Thrym."

There was an awkward silence until Jane's voice let out a shocked, "What?"

Loki smiled mischievously, "Brother, I am most surprised. You never told your blushing bride about your own experience as a blushing bride? I assure you, Jane, he was truly a vision in jewels and lace. And the veil was divine!"

Everyone watched as Thor blushed bright red. Darcy suddenly threw her head back and screamed with laughter. "Oh my god! Oh my god! I can't breathe! Thor…you looked…oh man!"

Thor's voice was gruff with anger and embarrassment, "Brother, what have you done?"

Loki laughed, "Just gave my lovely girl a visual."

Frigga's voice was soft but sly, "Did you show her what a pretty bridesmaid you were that day?"

Darcy's laughter cut off abruptly as her jaw dropped open. She spun around. "Dude! Show me!"

Loki sighed before tilting his head and complying.

Darcy broke out into a smile again, "You were a hot bridesmaid. But you were a woman! Thor was just…Thor in a dress." She pivoted and grabbed Jane's arm. "You've got to see this. Loki, show Jane. Please."

Jane protested, "Oh, I'm not sure I really want…oh. Oh!" Jane bit her lip and made a valiant effort not to laugh as the picture of her fiancé wearing a wedding dress slipped into her mind. She turned to face the blushing God of Thunder, "Should I be worried about bigamy?"

Thor practically shouted at her, "I did not actually marry him! He had my hammer!"

His words, combined with the indignant look on his face, were the last straw. Everyone cracked up – even Sif.

Riding out the giggle fit, Darcy absently glanced over Loki's shoulder. Odin was standing several feet away, but he was watching the laughing group intensely. He noticed her gaze and nodded at Darcy with a small smile on his lips. Darcy winked back and spontaneously threw her arms around Loki's shoulders, latching onto the horns of his helmet with both hands. She tugged his head down so she could kiss him again. From behind her, she heard Fandral's voice shouting out jokingly, "My eyes! My eyes! Make them stop before I am rendered blind!"

Pulling back, she giggled against Loki's lips. This was a nice moment. She wanted to remember it in case not-so-nice moments followed it. Laughter still around her, she whispered into Loki's ear, "Thank you, babe."

He leaned back and raised a questioning brow, smile still stretched across his face. She shrugged, unable to explain. Tucking her head into the curve of Loki's neck, Darcy smiled at Thor's stilted attempts to explain to Jane why he had pretended to be Freya. On her wedding day. Complete with dress, veil, and a bridesmaid. Surprisingly, it wasn't even Loki's fault.

Yes, Darcy thought to herself, this was nice.

A/N: Felt the love on the last chapter. You are all amazing. Also, the Loki valentine is up on my profile. I just…it's so…there are no words. His expression is saying, "I will rape you. You will enjoy it." And that's not what I think of when Valentine's Day pops into my head. (Or is it…?)