When they were finally done, Loki spent the last bit of his energy to carry her back into the room that she woke up in. Fully healed and entirely spent, he laid his naked lover down in the bed, all but collapsing beside her.

It wasn't until after the haze of lust finally resided that she thought to ask him where they actually were. Loki was brutally honest with her, and thiugh his response momentarily surprised her, it really shouldn't have.

"Well, it was Keith Carr's home, right up until his death."

Dahlia was taken back to the moment she ran into that top room of the hotel. Seeing all those corpses strewn across the floor, it resembled the bodies of Valkyries she witnessed way back when. She shook the memory. She wouldn't dare bring up anything that might kill the mood.

"So, what?" she asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "You live here now?"

"Unlike you, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't give me a nice place to stay, free of charge."

Well, one didn't exactly have to wonder why. Regardless that Loki had seemed to turn over a new leaf, he had a lot of work to do when it came to redemption in the eyes of those he directly attacked.

"What about family?"

"Rotten bastard has none. And good riddance."

Dahlia couldn't help but smile. "Well, seems like you've thought this through," she concluded. She hooked a leg around one of his, finding a sense of clemency in his embrace. "Though it is an awful lot of space for one god."

"You know, I thought that, as well." For a moment, it was silent. She hadn't noticed he was looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Then, he spoke up again. "You could stay with me."

Dahlia sat up quickly, and though she eagerly wanted to accept the invitation, she didn't want to show too much enthusiasm. "I don't know. That's...a lot to ask." She could easily think of a hundred ideas as to why it wasn't a good idea. What would S.H.I.E.L.D. think of that? Samantha and Jerry would especially not like that idea.

And all those cats back at home would have to find another place to be fed.

As she warred with her complications, Loki simply watched her with a smile, still lying back comfortably against the pillow. "Promise you'll think it over," he brushed her silver hair from her face.

Dahlia had to depart Loki's mansion sooner or later. There was still the matter of the baron, and what more, she needed to make sure that Samantha and Jerry made it out okay. Once again, the Valkyrie felt she could have been a better friend.

Instead, she was busy galavanting with the God of Mischief.

She returned home in a fresh change of clothes - now that she was rediscovering her Vanir magic l, she was able to conjure what she wished at will. Incredibly convenient.

She had lost her phone during the chaos of the masquerade, and so, was limited to the landline to get a hold of Samantha. When she dialed her number, it went straight to voicemail. This was concerning. Oh, not again... She tried again, hoping it was just a reception issue on Sam's end. The result was no different.

So, she tried Thor next.

Two rings in, and it stopped abruptly. "Hello?"

"Thor, thank the heavens..." she allowed herself a sigh of relief.

"Dahlia, where have you been?" Thor's voice was firm, but the concern could still be detected. "Sam said she tried to contact you, but-"

"I lost my phone," she said, but she wasn't about to answer the first question. "Is she okay? Are you okay?"

"We're all fine. You might want to visit her. She's at home."

Dahlia took no time to do what Thor had said. She drove to Samantha's place, and upon seeing only her white, Nissan Murano in the driveway, she deducted that her husband was at work - no doubt trying to help get to the bottom of last night's debacle. She had to remind herself that wasn't last night; it was the night before. Reminded of how she managed to lose a whole day, she took a moment to pull herself together before she knocked on the front door.

When Samantha opened it up and let her in, she was more relieved than anything to see her. She was still wearing her owl-printed pajamas, and Dahlia supposed she was still taking some time off of work.

"There's a lot of talk going on right now," Samantha said as she would pour them both a cup of coffee. "About what happened at the dinner party." She sat down on the loveseat beside Dahlia.

"Turned out Keith Carr was the least of our problems," the Valkyrie said. "Someone that calls himself Baron Blood took care of him for us, but he's going to be an issue if we don't take him out first."

"Baron Blood?" Sam repeated, eyes wide. "How did you find this out?"

"Loki told me."

Shit. She probably shouldn't have said that.

Samantha seemed skeptical, and she also seemed to read right through Dahlia's guilty expression. "Well, that explains a few things..." Her face was hard to read.

"He saved my life... on more than one occasion," Dahlia defended. "I really do think he's on our side."

"I didn't say anything." As the woman sipped at her coffee, Dahlia noticed she was smiling behind her turquoise mug. "I mean, I thought you and Thor would hook up. So, maybe that means I still have a chance."

She was joking, right?

"Oh, my goodness. Sam! Shut up!"

Dahlia nudged her with her fist - maybe a little too hard, that she spilled some of her coffee.

"Hey! Careful!"

They were both laughing. It felt good to be on friendly terms with Samantha again, as there was a period of time where she was confident that her friend would never speak to her again.

"So... Loki, huh?" Samantha went on once they calmed themselves. "That's..."

"I know what you're going to say."

"I was going to say brave."

Dahlia paused, sipping at her coffee. "Oh."

"Look, I'm not going to tell you to be careful, because you already know. But... I'm sure Thor told you about the fiasco with New York City. So, you understand why a lot of us hate his guts."

Dahlia had lost so much time when traversing from Asgard to the mortal realm. It was still an impossible concept for her to wrap her head around, that one second, she was fleeing the battle, and the next, she had missed out on Ragnarok.

"But... Thor really seems to think he's a good guy now, so... he's okay in my book."

Dahlia smiled. Something about Samantha's voice of approval made her want to confide in her. "He wants me to move in with him."

"Whaaaaat!?" The giddy response was not one she was anticipating. "I mean... well... what do you think?"

Dahlia thought about her response. Bringing her thoughts to words was somehow more difficult than she thought it would be. "I think I want to?" She set down her cup, then put her hands to her head. "I've never been in a committed relationship before. What if...it goes wrong?"

Samantha's smile broadened. "It's like high school."

"What?" Dahlia responded cluelessly.

"Nevermind that. Okay. So, this is new territory for you. Everyone goes through it at some point, right?" She was next to set her coffee on the table in front of them, and she took both of Dahlia's hands into her own. "Don't live in fear of what could happen, otherwise, you'll never truly live."

That was very sound advice.

"Besides, you're a freaking Valkyrie, and a Vanir princess! If anything, he should be afraid of you."

The pep talk did a lot to help Dahlia get her head on straight. Oddly enough, it made her want to run to Loki and tell him she had made up her mind, but she didn't want to be too rash. Let him come to her - and he would, sooner or later.

He always did, after all.