How long's it been, guys? Bloody ages by the looks of it! If anyone is still reading this... wow. You're a patient one... My bad. I'm back (again) thanks to a bit of a push last week seeing the new Thor! Can't believe it's taken 2 new Thor movies to get this somewhat finished- trust me, I'm almost done after 3 years! :)

"My liege." Heimdall greeted the King at the end of the glittering bridge. He looked anything but happy as he dismounted Slepnir.

"What is it, now?" The King leant wearily on his staff. Without his Queen, he grew more and more tired with every passing day. He spent nights by her bedside, and days consulting with healers, searching for anything that would wake her from her sleep.

"I have more pressing matters that concern me. This excursion will not be in vain, I presume."

"It is Midgard, sir. Your son has been sighted. Alive."

Odin took a shuddering step backward. Despite the surprised intake of breath, his expression was resigned. Heimdall barely heard the frustrated mutter of "that boy" from his King. Odin held the reins on his horse, his knuckles pale white to match his face.

"I buried that boy." He managed to compose himself. "How?"

Darcy woke up, her arm draped across Loki's chest. She smiled to herself, and pulled herself closer, sighing happily.

He looked calm, content whilst sleeping. She brushed a stray hair from his face and let her hand trail down his cheek, following his sharp jawline. He was soft and warm – the opposite of what everyone thought him to be. She couldn't help remembering the first time she saw him, locked in a cell, his face bruised and battered. He almost looked healthy as he lay next to her, his cheek bones still prominent, but the dark circles under his eyes had faded, and his pale skin glowed in the morning sun.

"It's rude to stare." He muttered under his breath, a smirk playing on his face. Without warning, he rolled onto his side and pulled her into his chest, resting his chin on her head.

"You shouldn't make it so easy, then," Darcy replied with a laugh. She buried herself in his warmth, and memories of last night came flooding back to her. She laughed to herself softly before realisation struck.

"What's wrong?" Loki asked, noticing the absence of laughter on Darcy's part.

"I don't mean to be a huge mood killer, but… last night. That was SHIELD outside my parent's house, right?"

"Apparently they weren't told I had perished months earlier."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "They've told Thor you're alive then? That'll be another problem to add to the list."

Loki drew back and kissed her forehead so tenderly it made Darcy forget her troubles for a second. "It will solve itself. The universe does that for us now and again." He smiled, cupping her face gently.

"How can you be so… not worried?" She finished lamely.

Loki grinned. "I tend not to worry."

"We ruined Christmas." She countered.

"I ruined Christmas. And potentially your reputation. Your parents must think you are acquainted with dangerous men."

"I think 'acquainted with' might be the biggest understatement here."

"What do you want me to say?" Loki grinned mischievously. "That you're fucking a dangerous man?"

Darcy couldn't help it. She made a very un-Darcylike giggle and clamped her hand over his mouth. "If you ever meet my parents again, that will be the last thing you ever say."

"Hmph." He trailed his fingers up Darcy's arm and took her hand away from his mouth, holding it firmly against his chest. "Your family seemed happy that you'd brought home a man."

"Hardly a man. A God." She raised her eyebrows.

"I do love it when you compliment me, but I am more of a man than a God. I am sure Thor has told you of my disgusting heritage."

Darcy scoffed. "Disgusting heritage. Are we having that conversation now? I know what you are, and I don't give a rat's ass about who your parents are."

"Parent. I only know of one. My mother, on the other hand, is a myster-"

"Show me." She cut him off before he could ramble. She had already heard the tale from Thor when he used to visit Jane at the lab. Hell, story time was a regular occurrence, with Thor's tales being mostly about his dark-haired 'adoptive' brother.

"Hm?"

"Can you transform on command? Or like, do you need a certain environment? I can open the windows and make it colder if you want?" She got up, wrapping a throw around her. Loki reached for her hand and pulled her back to sit next to him. He sat up, his expression conflicted. He let his fingers run across Darcy's knuckles absentmindedly, looking down at their intertwined fingers.

"You want to see me as a frost giant? A Jotunn?" Loki looked up at Darcy, surprise mixed with disgust.

"Yeah." She shrugged and grinned. "I showed you mine."

Loki shook his head. "Perhaps another time."

Darcy brushed his hair back with a disappointed smile. "Okay."

"You're not fighting me on this?" Loki raised his eyebrows.

"You want me to?"

"Not in the verbal sense, anyway."

Darcy rolled her eyes. Of course. She pushed him down on the bed with a laugh and climbed on top in a graceful leap. She could feel Loki's long fingers play with the throw she had wrapped around herself, and immediately grabbed his wrists, forcing him down.

He looked amused as he mock struggled under her grasp. He smirked. "That's more like it."

"I knew it." She tightened her grip on his wrists and leant down to kiss him earnestly.

It wasn't until two days later when Loki knew the meaning of the word 'fight'.

Darcy threw her shoe across the room, barely missing Loki's head and crashing into the wall behind.

"No!" She shouted. "I've had enough of you and your messed up plans!"

It was hard to believe that two days ago, he barely strayed three metres from her, their eyes never leaving each other's. Now, they stood on opposite sides of the room, Darcy's face flushed from arguments and the physical exertion of throwing things at each other.

It was their first argument. Well, first of many.

And Darcy figured the one room they were sharing wasn't helping things.

"I am not staying here forever!" She threw her other shoe, hitting him square in the chest. Darcy was annoyed to see he didn't even flinch.

"I don't have any other plan, darling." He drew the last word out painfully, and with distain. "Will you desist?" He said through his teeth as a pillow flew his way.

"Fine. I'll stop throwing things when you agree with me. We are not hiding."

"I never said 'hiding.'" He scowled.

"Yes you did. You said, and I quote:" she did the air quote gestures with her fingers "'we'll have each other.' Meaning I have to spend an eternity with you, running away from everything-"

"It was meant to sound romantic." He countered angrily. "I didn't realise the thought of spending an eternity with me was so repugnant to you."

Darcy took a deep, calming breath, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"You're not repugnant. I just want to make a plan that doesn't involve me going to live somewhere unpronounceable forever. I still wanna see my family, my friends, Jane, Thor. And that means you'll have to admit you're alive, because as selfish as it sounds, I want you here, with me."

Loki went silent, the battle clearly won. Darcy would have looked triumphant if not for the panic she saw in his eyes.

"Does it… scare you… going back?"

"No." He lied. "I just… I want to be left alone. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to leave everything behind."

"I can't do that like you can." She said softly, knowing the fight was over and she could afford to show a little heart. "When your mom told me I was Aesir, the first thing I thought about was my family, and how I was going to watch them age and die, whilst I lived on. And the same thought popped into my head the moment you said you wanted to leave. I can't do it. I can't say goodbye to anyone."

"It is lot easier than you may think." He crossed the room, drawing her to him.

"What- you're not-" She pushed him back, her hands resting on his bare chest, as if reluctant to let him go.

Loki took a second to process what conclusion she had jumped to, and sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not saying goodbye to you."

"I'd better hope not." She said, raising her eyebrows. "After everything."

"You do realise that my mother will not be able to protect me, if my father decides my deception is a prisonable offence."

"He won't. I'll talk him out of it." She seemed so certain. "You're not the only one with a silver tongue, you know."

"Mm. I know." He grinned and began unbuttoning her shirt slowly, his gaze never leaving hers, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Does this mean I won?" She whispered in his ear, feeling him shiver.

"I hate admitting defeat," he said between kisses.

Darcy was considering fistpumping the air, but realised it would probably ruin the mood.

"I shouldn't have put my clothes on again." Darcy groaned as she stepped out of her jeans and hoisted herself up onto the dresser, her legs around Loki's waist.

"That's definitely an idea."

Unbeknownst to what was happening at the other side of the castle, Jane Foster made her way to the training hall, where she knew she'd find her husband. After the sighting of Loki on Midgard, Thor had shut himself in the training hall, alone, and ordered no one to disturb him. Jane, on the other hand, spent hours pulling Asgardian gadgets apart, taking notes, and putting them back together again.

And she was worried. Upon investigation, she'd discovered something else.

Whilst fiddling around with an old pager she was trying to adapt for Asgard, the thing chirped in her hand. A message. From Stark. The triumph she felt from her new invention was drowned out by sudden worry as she read the message.

The double doors took two tries to open, and she half wondered whether he had actually locked them. Despite this, she managed to stumble into the room, finding her husband battering away at a cushioned training drone, designed to match his every move. He hit it again and again, before the drone exploded and crumbled into tiny pieces, where another one took its place.

She knew his furiousness recently was a reflection of everything that was going on. Alongside the news of Loki, Thor feared he was losing his father. Jane comforted him most nights, promising that his mother would wake from her sleep, and there was nothing wrong with her sleeping for such a long time. In the back of her mind, however, she worried about Frigga. Though she'd never tell Thor this.

She watched, fascinated by his blows for a second before clearing her throat nervously. "Thor?"

The ferocity left his face as he turned to face her. A soft smile lit up his face.

"I know you need time… but I need to ask a favour. It's Darcy." She bit her lip in worry, hesitant to say what she was thinking. "I-I think we need to make sure she's okay."

"She will be faring well, Jane. You procured her the most prestigious employment Midgard has to offer-"

"-I got news from Stark. She never turned up. He's wondering where his coffee is."

"Ah." Thor nodded, the pieces clicking together. "You think she's with Loki. On Midgard."

Jane wrapped her arms around herself. "I know she is."