Author's note: The letter ð (eth) is pronounced like the th in the word them

Ada woke with a start to banging on her door. It took her a long moment to re-orient herself; this was not her room in Asgard, with its tall windows and almost shockingly comfortable bed (which the metal spring sticking into her bottom through her cheap mattress painfully confirmed), but her old London studio flat.

"Adal-rin... Aydul… Ms. Paulsen, open up! This is the police!" a deep cockney-accented voice called from the hallway. The order was followed by further pounding on the door.

In her shock and disorientation at being awoken by the police, the absolute mangling of her first name only vaguely occurred to Ada. She leapt out from under the sheets, not appreciating how stiff her body was from sleeping on such a small bed with a bedmate, and promptly stumbled over her own feet. She was only saved from falling by clutching one of said bedmate's overly tall pieces of luggage. "Coming!" she called, steadying herself.

"Somehow, this is less pleasant by being woken by the maids," Loki's silkily calm voice remarked from behind her.

As she clamoured around the other luggage items, Ada cast a glare over her shoulder, a look which quickly turned to befuddlement at the sight of him. Shirtless, he lounged on the thin pillows seductively, looking distinctly out of place aesthetically. The contrast between the setting and his otherworldly beauty was very close to comical.

Ada was broken from her reverie by another round of hammering at her door. "Ms. Paulsen, we will be forced to break down the door if you don't answer!"

"I'm coming, give me a second!" she snapped, side-stepping around the final piece of Asgardian luggage. She disengaged the door's stiff deadbolt and tugged the door open to find three uniformed police officers… and her landlady.

"Er, hello officers…" Ada said weakly. "Can I help you?"

"Your landlady here thought you was dead, on account of you skipping your last two months of rent," one of the officers said. "She's none too pleased."

"That's an understatement!" the bespectacled landlady said in a shrill voice, barging through the three officers. "You'd better have a damn good explanation, as well as what you owe me, or I'm throwing you and your things out of my flat!"

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Graham, it was an honest mistake!" Ada said breathlessly. Two months? "I had a, um, family emergency and I had to leave suddenly… ah, would you mind telling me what day it is?"

Mrs. Graham narrowed her eyes at Ada, who was doing her best to look pitiful. "It's December 17th, and your rent is overdue by two months, fifteen days, seven hours and-"

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Graham, I promise I'll do the bank transfer today!" Ada said, her mind racing. It was late October when she and Jane were taken to Asgard, and no matter how she looked at it, they had only been there for two weeks, not two months. She wondered what Jane would make of this time discrepancy.

"That money had better be in my account by 5pm, or it'll be the debt collectors pounding on your door tomorrow morning!" the landlady growled.

"Y-yes ma'm!" Ada responded, her voice quivering. Mrs. Graham kept her eyes on her as she slowly closed the door.

"Was that a threat?" Loki's voice hissed from beside her. She jumped at his sudden close proximity, and turned to look at him. His expression was a mix of disdain and amusement.

Ada covered her eyes with her hand. "Sure was. I guess I deserved it though. Two months?!"

Loki shrugged nonchalantly, evidently not to concerned with any danger a debt collector might pose. "Time moves differently in each realm. I believe there is a formula for how to calculate the relative flow of time from realm to realm, but I have never found it particularly useful or interesting."

"Tell that to Jane," Ada chuckled, beginning to weave back through the maze of Loki's trunks. "Gosh, I bet she would kill to- oop!"

Without warning, Loki swept Ada off her feet and into his arms, gracefully navigating around the remaining luggage. He seemed to be heading in the direction of the bathroom.

"Hey, woah, what-" Ada stuttered before fixing him with a glare. "Put me down! What are you doing?"

Hearing the seriousness in her voice, Loki raised an eyebrow and lowered her to the ground. "As we were unable to be intimate last night, due to your…" Loki rubbed a spot on his lower back and winced dramatically, "… Quite understandable reservations about the structural integrity of your bed, and since we have not truly been together since the conflict in Asgard, I had rather thought we might enjoy each other's company in your shower-"

"Let me stop you there," Ada cut in, holding up a finger. "First of all, if you thought my bed was bad, you should see my shower! Secondly, I need to pay Mrs. Graham so we and your luggage aren't out on the street tomorrow, and thirdly, don't you have some research to be preparing for?"

Loki gave her a sour look before casting his eyes to the corner of the room. "You are right, of course," he grumbled, his words touched with sarcasm. "I would hate to waste any of our precious time actually enjoying ourselves. How could I be so foolish?"

Ada set her mouth into a thin line and rolled her eyes. "You weren't sent here to… to…" her cheeks colored as she made vague motions with her hands, "… with me all day! The sooner you get started, the sooner you can go back, right?"

Loki huffed and grudgingly walked back to Ada's unmade bed, crossing his arms over his bare chest as he sat down on the rumpled sheets. Ada wondered if her words had been too harsh… it was uncomfortable having Loki in her apartment, and he had only been there for several hours so far (and most of those they had been asleep). Loki, who she had only ever seen in the splendid setting of Asgard, seemed sorely out of place in her studio flat, the site of many late nights of academic writing and analysis. No maids or beautiful wardrobes or balconies were to be found here, just unwashed coffee mugs and an unfinished thesis. Loki's presence seemed to shine a light on the shortcomings of Ada's life as a starving academic, and even with a trunk full of gold, she doubted she could ever create anything that compared to her room in the palace.

She tried to push all of that to the back of her mind as Loki fixed her with his twinkling green eyes. "Perhaps we will do some work, and then we shall see where we find ourselves," he said, uncrossing his arms. He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. "I suppose you may show me around this city… London, is it?"

Ada chuckled under her breath at his haughty tone, which made it sound as though he had given her the honor of taking him sight-seeing. But it wouldn't be that easy.

"Did your fath-" the word caught in Ada's throat. She cleared it and continued. "Did the Allfather give any indication of how you're supposed to walk the streets of London without causing a major military operation? You're very… recognizable." She winced slightly. "And not in a good way."

Loki, on the other hand, beamed with pride. "Oh, I am aware," he practically purred. "I did come close to ruling this world, did I not?"

Ada's wince became a grimmace. "That's exactly the problem," she said, her voice cracking slightly. "I don't know much about espionage, but I'm fairly certain the American government has its eyes and ears ready to pick up on any sign of the world's most wanted criminal." When she put it like that, all the trepidation she felt about Loki those weeks ago in Asgard came flooding back, amplified significantly by her first-hand experience of his scheming nature. Even when not being manipulated by outside forces, as he had evidently been in New York, Loki had still managed to kill a number of people and nearly bring about the end of the world in the name of claiming a throne.

And now here he was in her apartment, having made love to her and declared his devotion to her. This man — no, this alien… god?—who had caused so much destruction simply perched on her shabby bed, apparently impervious to the fact that some of the most powerful governments on planet Earth were surely interested in apprehending him. Ada suddenly felt ill.

She plopped down on one of Loki's trunks and put her palm to her forehead. She felt him silently regarding her, assessing the situation before he elected his next words.

"Loki, I don't know if I'm cut out for this," Ada finally sighed. "Asgard felt like a dream, but this is real life now, my life." She shook her head slightly, a lump forming in her throat. "How do I go about aiding an extra-terrestrial fact-finding mission, when it's being carried out by a war criminal? How am I supposed to feel about my feelings for a war criminal? How am I supposed... to keep you safe?"

Ada bit her lip and closed her eyes to prevent hot tears from spilling out. She heard Loki emanate a low rumble before standing and crossing the short distance to the trunk upon which she sat, easing himself down slowly into the empty space to her right. Through her moist eyelashes, she watched one of his hands come to rest lightly on her knee.

"Aðalrun," Loki began quietly. "Your life and my life… they are connected now, whether we meant them to be or not. We-"

"I know, I saw it in Yggdrasil," Ada cut him off with a slight huff. She wiped one of her eyes roughly, trying to better crystalize the distorted memory. Witnessing a physical manifestation of how she and Loki's lives interacted was overwhelming, but imagining it somehow made her feel more confident in the context of her current situation. She sighed. "I just somehow never pictured us being connected here in my awful little apartment, being concerned that we'll both be arrested the minute we step out the door."

"Hm," Loki chuckled quietly, patting her knee. "It is awful."

Ada couldn't help but snort at his matter-of-fact tone.

Grinning, he stood and continued. "But really, you needn't be concerned for me! Did you honestly think I would risk being captured by Thor's Midgardian comrades or anyone else? I have come prepared, pet!"

Ada watched with curiosity as Loki, with his back to her, unlocked the tallest of his three trunks, opening it wide to reveal a surprising amount of clothes. Nestled amongst some hanging tunics was a small drawer which he pulled open with a soft click, extracting a dark object which Ada could not quite make out from her vantage point. Loki carefully brought the object up to his face and spun on his heel to face her.

It was sunglasses. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Loki grumbled as he followed a visibly nervous Ada down the road to the nearest Underground station. "Again, Aðalrun, this eyewear is enchanted," he sighed. "The only reason you can still recognize me is because you are more attuned to magic now. To everyone else, I look just like any other lowly Midgardian."

"I know, I know," she responded curtly, adjusting her purse. "I'm a bit more concerned that I'm carrying a bag full of gold onto public transport."

"You know you have no reason to fear for your safety with me by your side, pet," Loki chuckled. "Particularly not from any Midgardian rogues. If that lot last night was anything to go by, the average thief in your world is quite stupid indeed."

"Still," Ada puffed, trying to discretely scan the crowd around them as they entered the station, "I don't know why you're so interested in modern banking. Sure, there's a lot involved with it technologically, but wouldn't dissecting a computer or something be a better first step in your research?"

Loki ignored her as he watched Londoners and tourists pass through the electronic gates into the station proper, tapping their wallets or their phones on the scanners to open the barriers. Ada watched him watching them, curious to see what he would make of his first foray into Midgardian public transport. The outfit he had selected from his wardrobe hardly looked like that of the average London commuter—a long leather jacket bordered with golden clips hung open over a high-collared green shirt, styled to look as though it was braided together with strips of cloth. He finished off his look with a pair of black leather trousers and the same overly ostentatious gold and black boots he wore with his dress armor.

All in all, it could've been much worse; Ada demanded he not wear a breastplate out in public, as even with his enchanted sunglasses, that would've just been a bit much. As it stood, Loki simply looked like he had stumbled out of some version of The Matrix that happened to be set in the time of the Vikings. Not ideal, considering the people of London were bundled up against the English winter weather, but better than a suit of armor.

Speaking of which, Ada was beginning to get overheated standing in the warm station in her puffy winter coat. She tugged Loki by the sleeve, leading him to a row of machines standing on the far wall. "C'mon, we need to get you an Oyster card first. Can't have you getting arrested for dodging-"

"Aðalrun?!" a shrill voice called through the crowd of commuters. Ada tensed up and pushed Loki in the direction of the machines, hoping the redheaded girl elbowing her way towards them wouldn't notice his presence.

"K-Katya, hi!" Ada stuttered, waving at the girl meekly. "How are you doing? I didn't know you were in town, isn't it winter break?"

Katya cocked her head, her shoulder-length flame red hair bouncing in response. She pushed a thick pair of glasses up the freckled bridge of her nose "Ada, your Russian is so good now! Have you been taking lessons?"

Ada felt the color drain from her face. The Alltongue, she thought with dismay. How am I supposed to explain this? If only I could…

Her eyes lit up as she hit upon what she hoped would be a solution. "Um, yeah!" she forced a chuckle. "But I'm still practicing… could we speak in English?"

Katya cocked her head in the other direction, raising an eyebrow this time. "Uh… I guess?" Katya said slowly.

Ada hoped that short phrase would be enough to help her convince her mind that Katya's first language was English, as Loki had done with her in Asgard with the Proto-Norse elicitations. She took a deep breath. "How is your research going? You've got to be close to finishing your last chapter now!"

"Ah-ha, actually, I was hoping I could use a quote from your thesis in my summary," Katya said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "I wanted to tie my element on loanwords back to Proto-Norse, but I don't think you've published the particular section I'm interested in. Would you mind if I stopped by sometime to have a read of it?"

Ada's heart swelled at the prospect of getting a citation, and she felt her stomach uncoil with relief that the Alltongue trick seemed to have worked. She beamed at her colleague. "Of course! What time would work for you? I'm just-"

She caught sight of Loki, who was still loitering by the Oyster machines, out of the corner of her eye and her insides descended back into turmoil. She couldn't exactly have Katya over when her apartment was full of godly luggage and the god that went with it.

"Er, actually, how about I just send you the .pdf? It's kind of big, but it would be faster than you coming to see it in person!" Ada spouted nervously, hugging the puffy sleeves of her coat for comfort. "Ha ha, anyway, it was nice to see you but I have to buy an Oyster card and catch a train and run some errands, see you again soon bye!"

Ada spun on her heel and marched with purpose into the crush of commuters, avoiding looking back over her shoulder at Katya. Arriving at the machine by which Loki stood, she made an extremely quick transaction, retrieved the card, and all but dragged Loki through the turnstiles and down the tunnel towards the trains.

"What was that?" Loki asked, unable (or unwilling) to hide the amusement in his voice. "A friend of yours, perhaps?"

"Fellow PhD candidate," Ada all but wheezed. She unzipped her coat to cool down, not just in temperature but in temperament. She leaned against the tunnel wall and continued, "She wanted to stop by to look at some of my work, but I didn't think she'd appreciate my houseguest."

"Ha!" Loki laughed loudly, the sound echoing through the tunnel. "Keeping our romance a secret, are we? Just like old times!"

Ada rolled her eyes and grinned in spite of herself. She hooked her arm through his and led him toward the escalator. "And now, just like old times, we're going to focus on research. Do they have moving stairs in Asgard?"

Loki looked down the steep escalator, hesitating. A Londoner in a hurry shoved past him. "Actually," he said, his brow knitting behind his sunglasses, "I don't believe we do."

Ada steered him out of the way of another commuter, laughing so loudly that it caused people to glare at her. "Well, prepare for the ride of your life!"

A security camera focused on them as they descended the escalator.

PS: Well hello there, everyone! Long time no see! I said I'd be back with more Loki and Ada, didn't I? Well, two masters degrees later, here we are! This story is called Silver Tongue, Golden Tongue: The Bill Comes Due. (Title not in reference to Ada's altercation with the landlady, that's just a happy[?] accident). Enjoy, and please comment! I love hearing what you think!