Loki had missed waking up beside her. He'd missed the smell of her hair and the scents of the cream on her face, still lingering from the night before. He'd missed the grumpy pout her lips took whenever he roused her too early, and the heavy sigh that followed as she rolled over and shuffled under the blanket. All those mornings waking up without her seemed like a bad memory now, hazy and colourless in his mind, and he would very much like it if he never woke up without her again.

It was still early when he slowly eased into wakefulness, and after mumbled protests from his lady when he tried to pull her close, he shook his head, grinning, and carefully climbed out of bed. Let her sleep for another hour or so—the day was young.

Transforming his dress pants into something a little more comfortable, Loki made sure he was at least half-dressed as he slipped out into the hallway. After all, he'd heard Max's roommate return sometime that morning, making an awful racket as she moved through the apartment. Max must have been used to the commotion, as she slept through the entire thing, but Loki lay awake beside her, glaring at the wall between the bedrooms until the noise died down.

It seemed, however, that the little blonde woman hadn't come home alone. Just as Loki gently shut the door, he turned and found himself face-to-face with Tony Stark. Well, not quite face-to-face… More like face-to-shoulders. The short Avenger stopped, his jacket slung over his arm and his clothing from the night before in disarray, and the two stared at one another. Loki noted the heavy bags under the man's eyes and the sallow complexion of his skin, made worse by the dim morning light trickling in from windows down the hall.

Nothing was said. No words exchanged. Once their staring match was over, Stark stepped around him and made for the front door. Loki watched him go, arms at his sides, before padding down the hall and bolting the door—Stark seemed not to care that he departed with it unlocked. Shaking his head, he made a quick trip to the bathroom before crawling back into Max's bed, her lumpy mattress sagging under his weight.

Max mumbled something in her sleep before rolling over, her forehead pressed to his arm. Smirking, Loki situated them better, his arm stretched across the top of her pillow, and she settled in next to him. Arms curled to her chest and mouth slightly open, she continued to snooze away, unaware of anything else, even his soft caresses over her hair.

All things considered, last night had gone relatively well. Loki hadn't expected Max to run after him when he left the wedding in a huff, but he was certainly glad she did. To hear the yearning in her voice, laced with tentativeness and hope, was more than enough to stop him. Not many in his life had chased after him—it was a strange, but welcomed, feeling. Unfortunately, he hadn't thought much of what would happen after the initial kiss. He still hadn't known what to say to her, and he was actually grateful for the distraction a drunk Garret provided once they left the hotel.

But that could only last for so long. Once they were alone again, he was acutely aware that there was so much that needed to be said, and he still didn't know where to start. In the end, he had decided that a kiss was the right way to go. She'd always responded positively to his touch, though he hadn't anticipated the reaction he had to hers. After all that time apart, Loki had quickly realized that he was still angry with her. He took less care with the way he held her, almost indifferent in his approach.

And in the light of a new morning, a heavy guilt weighed him down. His behaviour was inexcusable, and she'd had every right to chastise him for it.

The conversation that followed was a difficult one. Each word had to be forced out of his tight throat, his heart beating painfully in his chest. Still, it was a necessary talk, and when it was over, when Max's tears had dried and his heart stopped racing, he was glad it had taken place. While the air between them wasn't what it once was, it was less tension-filled at last. As he lay next to her in bed, he decided that this morning felt like a new start to something worthwhile.

Unfortunately, even new starts could sometimes be laden with the issues of past problems. Last night, as Max fell asleep beside him, he'd wanted to admit something to her. In the last two weeks, he'd decided that no matter what happened between them, he needed to return to Asgard. He longed for home more and more these days. He wanted to walk the busy city streets with merchants calling for his patronage. He yearned for the countryside, beautiful and fierce and familiar. He needed the palace, from its dark interiors to its lofty towers.

Earth only had one thing to keep him there, and while she was a piece of his heart again, he couldn't force himself to stay forever. He'd wanted to tell her. As they clung to one another in the quiet darkness of the early morning hours, Loki could sense the words on the tip of his tongue.

Home. He wanted home.

But he couldn't tell her. Their conversation had already been so heavy, and he couldn't burden her with more to dwell upon. He wouldn't keep this secret for long, not after what she had done to him. No, he would break the news gently soon, and if last night was any indication of the trajectory of their relationship, perhaps they would discuss the topic calmly and rationally.

Loki would also resist asking her to come with him, no matter how much he wanted to.

An hour later, Max's movements were less sleep-addled, and she eventually murmured her good mornings as she shifted onto his chest, her cheek pressed to his skin.

He smoothed his hand over her back, and she groaned weakly when he plucked at the mess of hair tied on the top of her head.

"How did you sleep?"

"Fine," she said with a long sigh, stretching this way and that. He watched her yawn, then rest her chin on her hand, her brown eyes darting up to his. "You?"

"Aside from your roommate making a horrible racket when she returned home, I slept fine too," he remarked. She frowned at the news, her gaze darting to the wall that divided the bedrooms, and then huffed.

"Classic Pat."

"I saw Stark leaving her room this morning," he said, twirling the slightly crunchy clump of her loose hair around his finger. She sat up a little.

"When?"

"An hour or so ago, perhaps more…"

Max twisted her body so she could look at the digital clock on her bedside table. When he followed, he noticed that it wasn't quite nine yet.

"Does Pat know he left?"

Loki shot her a look, which she brushed off.

"Right… How would you know?"

He almost protested her sitting up, her barely there weight lifting from him. He hadn't noticed last night, but she was wearing a too-big St. Judith's t-shirt, and Loki wondered if it had been one of his old ones.

Scratching at the mass of thick hair bunched on the top of her head, she still seemed tired when she asked, "Do you want some breakfast?"

Loki watched her slip off the bed and pull on a small pair of shorts, something else he almost protested, and then look at him curiously. His silent nod was all she needed, and she told him she'd be back in a few minutes before darting out of the room. In her absence, he realized there was still something strained between them, but he was sure it would disappear once their lives wove back together again.

He altered his dress shirt into something a little more relaxed, assuming they would eat-in rather than dine-out. Before they'd separated, Max had been increasingly annoyed with her public outings, and he couldn't imagine much had changed in the last two months.

Passing the mirror over her dresser, he noticed that his hair had started to poof out, and he smoothed his hand over the reckless waves.

"You coming?"

He grinned when he spotted her leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed over what he knew to be a bare chest beneath that bulky t-shirt. Once he was close enough, Loki swooped down and pressed a sharp kiss to her cheek, then to the curve of her jaw, her neck, the underside of her chin. Her giggles were nothing more than sweet, lilting music, and he let her squirm out of his grasp at the faintest hint of effort on her part.

Following her into the common area of the small apartment, Loki went straight for the fridge as Max put her shoes away, the ones she'd carelessly flung aside last night. She was by his side moments later, ducking under his arm and standing in front of him as the cool air wafted out of the big white rectangle.

"We can do French Toast," she mused as she grabbed a loaf of bread and held it up for his approval. "I think there's syrup somewhere."

"Are you going to cook?"

Her eyes narrowed as she tucked the bread under her arm and grabbed a carton of eggs.

"You will see that my cooking skills have drastically improved since we were last…" She trailed off, turning on the spot to look up at him. "…roommates."

"Hmm." Loki arched an eyebrow at her. "I'll need to see it to believe it."

"As I recall," she said, ducking under his arm again and setting out their ingredients on the counter, "you were equally as terrible as I was at all forms of food preparation."

"A blatant, hurtful lie." Loki couldn't help but smile when he caught her grinning. She then started pulling bowls and spoons out various cupboards. "I was excellent at breakfast preparation."

"Pouring cereal into a bowl isn't cooking."

"Much of what you do isn't cooking, my sweet."

She slammed her big green mixing bowl down and whirled around to glare at him. "Rude!"

"The truth hurts, I'm afraid."

Max poked her tongue out at him before resuming, and after asking if there was anything he could do to help, which there wasn't, Loki settled on the couch and watched her cook in silence. It was clear she was much more comfortable preparing meals now: not a single piece of bread coated in egg burned in the pan, and she even set out a multitude of toppings. No signs of stress, no cursing under her breath. Time had changed her and he hadn't even noticed.

"This is quite good," he noted after a few first bites, tapping the plate with his fork.

She stretched her legs out from the other side of the couch, then wiggled her toes beneath him. With a wry smile, she cocked her head. "You sound surprised."

"Pleasantly so, actually."

"Here… Try some cinnamon with it," she suggested as she grabbed a small black bowl and dusted his cooked bread with some brown powder. "This is how my mom used to make it for us."

He stole a quick look at her face, watching for any tremors or wobbles in her lower lip at the mention of her family. When there was none, he found he was proud. The chatter between them was light and superficial for the rest of the meal, but not unpleasantly so. It was nice to be with her when she wasn't crying and he wasn't brooding, though Loki knew they were one misworded statement away from that scenario.

"So…" With their plates stacked on the coffee table and French Toast demolished, Max was the one to turn their conversation in a direction that Loki dreaded. "I think we should talk about what we are."

He licked his lips and took a small sip of his tea, which was still too hot for his liking. He didn't want to talk. He didn't want to sit there and analyze their situation—it would ruin what had been a rather pleasant morning. Still, he couldn't ignore her, and he certainly didn't want to argue with her anymore.

"How so?"

He could listen. Loki was rather adept at listening. For a moment, Max fiddled with her fingers, her cheeks a dull shade of pink, and he wondered if she was about as interested in having this conversation as he was.

"I just think that we've always… just assumed things about where we stand in a relationship," she said after a moment's hesitation. "And when we do that, neither of us know what's going on, and it seems to lead to hurt feelings."

His ear twitched when he heard some shuffling down the hall, but he did his best to ignore it.

"So what do you propose we do?" Cradling the steaming mug between his hands, Loki met her eyes and held her gaze. Ideally, this would have been the opportune time to mention that he wouldn't be staying on Earth for much longer, but she spoke up before he could get a word in.

"I think we should try dating."

"Dating?" The word sounded strange coming out of his mouth, and he pressed his lips together tightly at the thought. She seemed excited about the prospect, so he tried to tailor his expression to be the least hurtful it could be. "Max…"

"We're always in these situations where we're together all the time," she said, shifting closer and setting her hand on his knee. "I mean, we lived together twice now, and… to me, it feels like we skipped the fun beginning part of a relationship."

Loki tried not to groan, but her face fell when a little one slipped out.

"I'm not saying we need to start all over again," she continued. "I just… It'd be nice if we did date things. Make time for romance… that kind of stuff."

Make time for romance? Loki might not have been an Asgardian brute, but he had certainly never done anything that would "make time for romance" before. There was no reason that they couldn't just be, and the nature of their interactions would reflect the love between them. Why did he need to go out of his way to be… romantic?

She took a small breath and spoke up in the silence, "If you don't—"

"Is this what you really want?"

In his disinterest and disbelief for her proposal, he'd forgotten that he wanted to make her happy—shockingly enough. It would have been nice if she thought the same, and perhaps she did, but for now he would concentrate on doing whatever was necessary to repair what they'd broken together.

Perhaps if he played his cards right, inviting her to Asgard might not seem like such a farfetched idea.

She nodded. "I think it'll be fun."

"Then we'll do it," he told her. He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes somewhat, but his irritation disappeared shortly after she crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Lips to lips, his eyes drifting closed, it was almost easy to forget why he was annoyed in the first place.

"Studio C, fourth floor." The security guard behind a small desk folded her printed email confirmation from the production staff up and handed Max her ID back. "Have a nice day."

"Thanks," she muttered, fumbling to get everything back in its proper place as he watched her. When she was finished, she looked up and blew some loose hair out of her face. "You too."

Throwing her purse strap back on her shoulder and making sure she had her jacket tucked over her arm, Max offered him a small smile before hurrying to the nearby elevators. Her kitten heels clacked noisily on the scuffed floor, and once she was in the elevator, she held her breath, put off by the overwhelming scent of cigarette smoke. A part of her was surprised this place would host her next S.H.I.E.L.D.-issued job, but apparently her star was falling, mimicking Osborn's descent in public opinion courtesy of a now Stark-dominated media.

It was both a blessing and a curse. For one, she no longer felt beholden to Osborn and his lackeys. The S.H.I.E.L.D. jobs had been sparse in the two weeks following Sue and Reed's wedding, although she'd read about events catering to the core Avengers group in the papers. That meant, hopefully, that she would be needed for fewer and fewer assignments. Unfortunately, her new job at the museum was only part-time, and with prices skyrocketing across the country, any sort of income helped.

At least she enjoyed her museum gig, which was where she'd come from today. Dressed in a charcoal grey pencil skirt and a white blouse, Max finally felt like the professional woman she should have been at this point. She'd only been working for a week and a half, but she already had a number of exhibits to manage, and she was part of the three person team in charge of importing some high-priced paintings from Venice. Responsibility. Decision making. Leadership roles. It was like the bullshit on her resume was finally applicable.

The building for this S.H.I. . gig was a bit of a letdown. There were no major production studio labels associated with it, and from what Max could tell, it was a place for more independent networks to rent out space, among other things. Not that she was opposed to doing something smaller, but seeing as she'd just raced across the city—and was nearly hit by a car twice—just to get there on time, she'd hoped for something a little nicer.

"You're here!"

Jane practically pounced on her as soon as she slipped through the door. In a darkened room with camera equipment, various monitors, and dozens of people, Jane Foster was pretty easy to spot. They shared an uneasy hug, which Jane initiated, and Max studied the recording space over the woman's shoulder. Despite the rundown quality to the building, the couches looked clean and comfortable, and there was a clear jug of water with pristine glasses on the small coffee table.

From all she'd gathered, Jane rarely did anything associated with S.H.I.E.L.D. publically. Loki had told her that the woman was called in to confer on projects privately, and had taken this televised interview with a great deal of reluctance.

Max, however, had jumped right on board. Aside from needing the money, the concept of the interview was to highlight the science program that Jane had started, with Tony Stark's backing, for elementary schools across the state. Like everything else, the education budgets were stretched pretty thin after the invasion, and Jane's program and Stark's money would not only help kids, but it would start bringing revenue back to the system. This interview wasn't the first Jane had done for it: she was on a national program last week with Thor, just like Max had been with Johnny, but she must have known that every bit of advertisement seen by potential outside investors counted.

"Oh, some of my foundation came off on your shirt," she lamented, taking a step back to wipe Max's blouse. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Max shrugged and licked her finger, then rubbed at the mark. "It'll come out in the wash."

"I'm so glad you're here."

She smiled and nodded, then set her things down near the door. As glad as she was for a job, Max still wasn't sure why she even needed to be here. She had no involvement in Jane's project, even if she wished she did.

A dowdy man with a clipboard approached her shortly after, and she shifted uncomfortably as his eyes swept up and down her while he ran over the itinerary for the interview.

"Is there any way we can shorten your skirt?" he asked finally, pointing down at its hemline with his pen. Max arched an eyebrow.

"No." She tugged the material lower to emphasis her point. "It's fine the way it is."

He scribbled something down and told both women they'd be on in fifteen minutes, adding that Max could probably do with a make-up touch-up.

"Wow."

"I know," Jane muttered. "They tried to get me to change into a different dress after I arrived. Ridiculous."

Not realizing she'd need to bring her own make-up, Max borrowed some of Jane's and darted into the bathroom to fix herself up. It was strange that no one bothered to interact with either of them until they needed to get seated on the couch, and even then it wasn't the hostess of the show, but a few production assistants.

Still, today's interview resulted in a paycheque that would cover this month's rent. Max could handle a snotty crew for forty-five minutes of her life.

Once the cameras started rolling, the hostess turned on the charm. She was all big smiles and exaggerated laughs, but that wasn't anything Max hadn't seen before. They went through the usual spiel, introducing themselves and exchanging pleasantries with everyone. The hostess moved on to Jane's education program remarkably fast, flying through the question and not asking any follow-ups to any of Jane's answers. Max, meanwhile, sat silently beside the shorter woman, resisting the urge to fiddle with her clothes.

"And, Max, would you ever consider starting a similar program for history?"

The question caught her by surprise, and it took her a second or so for her brain to catch up.

"Well, I don't specialize primarily in history in the way that Jane does with the sciences," she managed. "It would be fun to do something to put a spotlight on the education system in the amazing way that she and Tony Stark are doing, so I think I'll let them handle that."

Like she could afford to do it without Stark. Jane probably wouldn't have been able to get the idea off the ground without her connection to Tony Stark through Thor, but no one bothered to mention that.

"Now, what does Thor think about all this?" The hostess looked to the camera with a little smirk, wiggling her eyebrows. Max shot a look to Jane and watched the woman blink slowly, her expression neutral, before responding.

"He's just as excited as I am."

"And did he have a hand in the creation of this project?"

Max stared at the hostess evenly, her smile gone. Why was she trying to take Jane's accomplishment, which she'd spent months working on, and apply it to Thor?

"Uhm…" Jane's hands folded together tightly in her lap. "No, Thor wasn't… a primary party in the initial—"

"I only ask because you two have been quite the juicy topic of conversation in the tabloids recently," the hostess admitted, pulling out a few magazines with Thor on the cover out from under her chair. "Care to address the rumor mill once and for all?"

Jane shook her head stiffly. "No, not really."

"I think if you want to look to anyone for the start-up of this project," Max interjected, hoping to steer the conversation away from the unfortunate place it seemed to be headed, "it's Tony Stark. He's been huge lately with his charity donations, and Jane's project is just one of many geared toward childhood education that he's tackling."

She hated to give Stark any sort of public congratulations, but Pat had chatted her ear off for two weeks about the guy and all his pet projects, and she had an abundance of Tony Stark data swirling around in her brain. He was building a children's recovery center in the countryside for orphaned kids. He was gunning for Osborn. He liked to be on the bottom during sex. He usually never texted back unless it was to set up a time to meet. His underwear was silk.

Too much Stark on the brain.

"It's funny you should mention Tony Stark," the hostess said as she replaced the gossip rags in her hands for new ones with Tony and Max on the front. "You two have been linked romantically since the Revolution."

"Which is completely untrue," Max said tersely. When she glanced at Jane, she noticed the woman's cheeks were flushed.

"No, no, we know that now," the hostess continued, opening the magazine and showing an image of Max and Loki kissing on their date in Central Park last week. "I think the evidence is pretty clear now."

"Uh—"

"Now, Loki and Thor are brothers, aren't they?"

"I feel like that's common knowledge," Max said as the hostess opened another magazine with the same picture, this time zoomed in on their faces. Pixelated and awkward.

"Any chance you two ladies might be calling each other sisters in the near future?"

Max's jaw dropped, and somewhere behind the cameras, in the darkness, she heard some rustling. Jane, on the other hand, reacted far more appropriately. The woman turned directly to the cameras, her eyes narrowed and hands fisted.

"Okay, I made it very clear to the producers of this show that I was not going to discuss my personal life beyond it relating to the program."

"Cut!" The direction came from a soft female voice in the background, and the lights above her dimmed while the rest of the studio lit up. Max blinked a few times at the sudden change, and a swarm of people with clipboards hurried forward.

"I made my position on this very clear," she heard Jane snap. The hostess was texting, shoulders slumped and legs crossed as a woman fussed with her hair. The whole situation suddenly seemed very bizarre. "I'm not going to speak for Max, but—"

"No, no, I don't want to talk about my relationship either," Max added. "I thought we were here to boost Jane's program."

"You can't seriously expect to fill a forty-five minute segment with this education crap," one of the clipboard-wielders insisted, shaking his head at both of them. "People lose interest."

Jane stood and smoothed her hands down her dark jeans. "Do you have any other questions about the program?"

"We covered all the ones we wanted already—"

"Then I'm done."

Max's eyebrows shot up as the woman pulled her microphone off and shoved in onto a clipboard, and then made her way to the exit. Ballsy. She liked this side of Jane. All eyes darted back to Max as she rose, and she shrugged as she gingerly removed the microphone and its clippings from her clothes.

"Sorry, then I guess I'm done too."

She slowly made her way to the door, grabbing her coat and purse as various members of the production crew tried to persuade her to stay—and to get Jane back in there. Even if she didn't share Jane's level of indignation at the way the interview had gone, she still felt that she needed to show solidarity with the woman and leave. As the door swung shut behind her, she heard the hostess's voice over the dull roar of conversation suggesting that they add clips of Tony Stark to fill the gap in the show's airtime.

Max found Jane waiting for her by the elevator, her cheeks still flushed and hands in tight fists still.

"I'm never doing a TV interview again," the woman snapped as the doors slid open. They both stepped inside, and Max tried not to smile as Jane jabbed her finger at the ground floor button. "Everyone is always so intrusive and rude, and no one cares about what I want to talk about."

"Yeah, I have no idea what that feels like…"

Jane's dark eyes darted up to her, and after a slight pause, she noticed the woman's shoulders drop a little from their spot up around her face chin.

"I guess I haven't had to put up with the tabloids as much as you have."

"Apparently I'm sleeping with Johnny Storm and Tony Stark, but now that that picture of me and Loki surfaced…" Max shook her head, smiling incredulously. "Well, I'm just a big ol' slut."

"I guess I shouldn't put too much stock into what they say." The elevator bobbed to a stop, its ancient doors creaking as they peeled open. The cigarette smoke scent lingered.

"Well, do you want to go back up?"

"No!" Jane flew out into the lobby, Max hot on her heels. "I said what I needed to say."

Max nodded. Not that she had actually said much in the last twenty-five minutes, but she couldn't think of anything else she'd want to add. "Agreed."

She shot the security guard a small smile as he waved them out, the newspaper spread across his desk and a steaming mug of something in his hand. Throwing on her thin jacket, she followed Jane outside, and it was a miracle the small woman wasn't swept away into the early evening after-work crowd on the sidewalks. However, before she could help Jane flag down a cab, her feet eager for a bit of a rest, she heard her name from somewhere behind her.

Max whirled around, then let an easy grin creep across her face when she spied Loki leaning on the building, arms folded and wrapped up in black autumn attire. He'd even pulled his hair back in a ponytail, and anyone looking at him would probably need to do a double-take to recognize him as the Loki.

"Hi, stranger," she greeted, slipping around the gaggle of passing teenagers to get to him. "Fancy meeting you here."

He leaned down to accept her quick peck, her hand resting on his chest. Seeing him at the end of a long day always put an extra spring in her step, her lips stuck in a perma-smile.

"I thought I'd surprise you," he told her, a hand settling on her lower back.

She tucked some hair out of her face. "Cute. You can have some boyfriend points for that."

"Hurray." She caught the slight roll of his eyes, but his smile made them easy to ignore.

When she first brought up the prospect of dating, she wasn't sure if Loki would even go for it. After all, it was obvious that they were well beyond the beginning of a relationship, a time filled with fun dates and frivolous conversations and lots of sex, but Max felt like they'd somehow missed out on that. When they lived together, they didn't need to go on dates to see each other. There were lots of nights in sweatpants in front of the TV. Lots of dinners made poorly together. Lots of drives to campus.

Then, when they reconnected this year, they'd fast-tracked everything to pregnancy and moving to Asgard and serious stuff that Max felt like they weren't ready for. They were ready to date. She wanted to be excited to see him. She wanted a little romance.

Yes, she wanted their ease back. She wanted the comfort they had once, and after two weeks of dates, she thought they were definitely getting there. It was obvious that he wasn't thrilled about the idea at first, but no guy she knew was ever thrilled to set time aside for romance and relationship-building activities. He'd made a pretty decent effort thus far: there were ice cream dates in Central Park, coffee dates, lunch dates, dinner dates, museum dates.

Max used those outings to talk, but also to listen. She loved him, and yet she felt like she knew just enough information about him to get barely below his exterior. There was so much more to learn about him, and it seemed wrong that they hadn't talked about his life before in any great detail. After all, he knew enough about her to pick out Nolan's favourite beer for the little funeral they had—she was woefully behind on that front.

"Are you going to stay?"

She looked over her shoulder at Jane, who'd managed to flag down a yellow cab. A hand resting on the door, she was halfway into the car, and Max waved her off.

"Yeah… I'll see you later."

Loki gave her a small nod when Jane said her farewells, and Max watched the cab merge into evening rush hour traffic.

"She seemed in a mood."

Max laced her fingers with Loki's as they started off down the sidewalk together, blending with the rest of the foot traffic around them. The one good thing about Manhattan was that very few average people paid any attention to anyone around them. Sure, the paparazzi had been driving her nuts for months, but when she was in a crowd like this, walking down avenues in regular clothes doing regular things, no one bothered her.

Loki, on the other hand, usually got a few stares. She always told him it was because he was a real looker, but he'd yet to be convinced of that.

"Yeah, the interview sort of went downhill pretty fast," she admitted. Neither of them seemed to give direction any thought, and they wandered side-by-side aimlessly. "They asked if Jane and I might be sisters someday… because of you guys."

Loki's eyebrows shot up.

"That was kind of the last straw for her," Max sighed, her hand tightening around his when he gave hers a little squeeze. "She walked out, and I followed." She shook her head, watching for traffic as they darted across the road with other pedestrians. "They were a bit unprofessional from the beginning… One guy asked me if I could hike my skirt up a little."

He stopped suddenly, jostling her to a halt as well. "What?"

"I said no, obviously," she said, rolling her eyes. "That should have been a sign, I guess."

"Hmm."

They started off again, and as Max listened to Loki regale her with the adventures of his day—a whole lot of sitting around the Avengers tower—and he asked for the details of hers, her feet started to throb again. Kitten or not, wearing heels all day was killer. The longer they walked, the more her stomach started to yowl, and they eventually ended up strolling into a packed McDonald's to grab a bite to eat.

She would have preferred going home. As sweet as it was that he wanted to surprise her, a small part of Max wished she had dragged him into Jane's cab. Waiting for their order, the fast-food joint filled to the brim with students and yuppies alike, Max found herself wishing for baggy pants, her couch, and one of those microwave TV dinners she had in the freezer.

"Let's sit upstairs," she suggested as Loki carried their tray of food behind her. They found a spot overlooking the street below, and after dusting some spilled salt away with a napkin, it was perfectly fine to sit at. It was also much quieter on the second floor, and she was able to relax a little as she hung her jacket over the back of her chair and dug into her food.

Loki sighed noisily. "I told them no pickles."

"I'll take them." She scooped his extra pickles off his burger and placed them in hers. "All better."

He dunked a few fries in the ketchup cup. "I can't understand how you like them."

Max shrugged, mouth full of burger. Mmm. Definitely better than a microwaved dinner.

"So," she started after the first few bites, wiping the corners of her mouth with her fingers. "Any big plans for this week?"

"Not really." He set his burger down, feet on the metal bar beneath the long table, his knees jutting out. "You, I suppose."

"Oh." Even if she liked all their dates, she couldn't help but feel anxious about his current situation. There wasn't much for him to do on Earth anymore, and while she saw no signs of him getting antsy to leave, she knew he'd need to find a way to keep busy soon. She knew it wasn't fair to him that he just waited around to spend time with her. "Well, that's always exciting."

"Thrilling."

"Hey!"

He chuckled, leaning out of the way so that she missed when she tried to swat him.

"There's the gala next week," she said, suddenly remembering the one big social outing she'd marked down on her calendar for the month. "That'll be fun!"

It was initially supposed to be in August. The event that she'd had a dress fitting for much earlier in the summer, where she'd first met Norman Osborn, had been pushed into the fall. She wasn't sure why exactly, but she was sure she'd get an answer if she pressed Pat hard enough to press Tony.

"Again… thrilling." Loki took another big bite of his burger, his gaze on the street below, and Max exhaled softly.

"Do you remember the last dinner date we had at McDonald's?" She noticed his eyes light up at the memory, a small smile tugging at his lips. Valentine's Day two years ago. Him in a delicious suit.

"I certainly remember what we did afterward."

Her skin prickled as his arm settled on the back of her chair, his eyes on her while she blushed. She remembered that part of the evening with perfect clarity: him pulling off to the side of the road, her climbing onto his lap.

"Me too."

Even though the beginning part of her serious relationships usually went hand-in-hand with sex, they'd yet to reconnect since Max suggested dating. Thus far, she'd been happy with the chaste way they'd interacted, enjoying the idea that he wanted to be with her, not with her, all the time. Plus, after everything that had happened, sex sometimes felt so far away for her. Loki had yet to share his opinion on the situation, but he hadn't pushed for anything either.

Still, the look in his eye was hard to ignore sometimes.

They finished up with their light meal, tossed their garbage, and made their way out onto the street. There were no plans for this evening, and she once again found that they were wandering aimlessly through Manhattan's streets, evening setting in quicker these days.

"What would you like to do tonight?"

Max glanced up at him as they stood at the corner of an intersection, waiting for the light to change. If she answered honestly, she'd like to curl up in bed and watch some trashy reality TV until she fell asleep. That probably wasn't the response he was looking for, however.

"We could see a movie?" At least she'd get to put her feet up. His hand wandered down her back, and once the light changed, Loki dragged her closer, his mouth by her ear.

"Or we could… go back to the tower for the evening?"

Her cheeks coloured when their eyes met, and she cleared her throat.

"I'm kind of tired." His grip on her loosened somewhat, and she nuzzled closer to him to compensate. "Work kind of dragged on, then the interview… Movies are easy."

He sighed as he weaved them through a few groups of people taking pictures of some of the nearby buildings, and once they were walking freely again, he nodded.

"Okay."

"Yeah?" She tried to make her smile as bright as possible when she looked up at him. "I know a movie isn't as fun as… what you had in mind, but—"

Loki pressed a kiss to the side of her head, nudging her a little too hard. She winced. "It's fine, Max."

"Are you sure?"

There was a brief pause before he responded, and in the silence she heard what he was really thinking.

"Of course," he told her. "Of course it's fine."

Max swallowed thickly, then pulled out her phone to find the nearest cinema. Loki, meanwhile, watched the cars rumble by with a distant look in his eye, seeming very far away suddenly, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring him back for the rest of the night.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

What I like most about Max and Loki's relationship is that I get to explore all different kinds of relationships in one. I feel like relationships, no matter the length, go through these weird patches that are good, bad, and somewhere in the middle. I understand that people like to read to escape, but I personally would appreciate some more of the rollercoaster ride that IS a relationship. It doesn't always need to be dramatic and earth-shattering (could probably take my own advice there). Sometimes there's this random period where stuff is weird, and no one quite knows why, and then just like that, it's all back to normal.

Anyway. Sometimes I feel too meta and silly about my own works, so there you have it. I'm very excited to write the gala for the next chapter! A fancy night with good food and drinks and sexual tension. Very excited indeed.

Thank you to everyone who went out and downloaded my book! Yeay you! I've already had one person take advantage of my September promo: send me a link to your Smashwords, Amazon (as of Sept. 3rd), or Goodreads review, and I'll write you a one-shot! Could be a chapter update (just be aware that I won't update any other stories other than this one beyond your request) or a new one-shot, a scene from a new POV. I think it'll be really fun!

This site was a bit of an uploading nightmare when I uploaded the last chapter, so I hope everyone got a chance to read it. I'm off! Thank you all for your continued support, both silent and reviewed!

Guys. Nine chapters left including an epilogue. Nine! Wheeeeeeeee!