"Loki... Loki, wake up... Loki!"
"What? What is it?"
Loki shot upright in bed to find Reagan standing by his side, looming over him after having just shaken him awake. It was late. They had taken up residency in one of the Palace's finest rooms - not wanting to occupy Loki's chambers and rouse suspicion - and tonight it was still bathed in darkness, and Reagan's silhouette was illuminated only by the dying embers in the fireplace behind her. Loki looked her up and down. She was wrapped in a deep green silk nightgown he'd gifted her, her hair was slightly dishevelled and her eyes looked wild. She looked as if she'd been awake for hours. He moved to reach for her but she'd already stood upright and wrapped her arms around herself, satisfied that he was now awake.
She stared at him expectantly.
"Darling, what's the matter?" he asked.
"I'm completely freaking out right now," she told him pointedly.
"About what?"
"It's kind of all just hit me how much longer I'm going to live."
Loki looked at her somewhat blankly.
"And?"
Reagan stared back at him like he was crazy.
"And I'm panicking!"
He continued to watch her for a moment, his mind was still slightly hazy with sleep as he struggled to catch up. Calmly, he threw back the blankets pooled in his lap and climbed out of bed before moving closer to her. Reagan backed up a few steps, keeping her mildly manic focus trained on him.
"And what brought on this revelation?" he asked, careful to keep his tone level.
"The Simpsons."
Loki squinted.
"I'm sorry?" he asked, thoroughly lost.
"I couldn't sleep," she explained. "And I started thinking about all the things that I might get to see if I'm going to live for like hundreds and hundreds of years. And this thought just came to me that 'oh, wow! I'll still be around to see The Simpsons end' which is really weird because I don't even watch The Simpsons and, I mean, that probably would have happened anyway -well, maybe, I don't know - but it sort of triggered all these other thoughts about all the other stuff to come. Bigger stuff. Like- Am I going to see the ice caps melt? Or nuclear war? Am I going to see the last rainforest on Earth get ploughed down? Should I be doing something about that?"
"Reagan-"
"And then it hit me that I'm going to outlive everyone I've ever known," she told him, ignoring his attempt to interject as she returned to pacing around their bedroom, near quaking with nervous energy.
She spun suddenly to look at him, fresh horror on her features.
"Oh my god, I'm probably going to see human beings become extinct. Because with the way we're going, there's no way we're still going to be around in five thousand years."
This gave Loki a momentary pause.
"...really?" he asked, surprised.
"Yes, really!"
He looked truly puzzled then.
"Remind me again why you were so against my taking over the Earth?"
Reagan stilled for just a few seconds, before waving the thought away impatiently.
"Ask me again later, I'm having a hard time remembering."
Loki couldn't hold back an amused smile. Slowly, he moved toward her once again. He waited until she'd paced the length of the room and turned, watched as she jolted in surprise when she found him in her path.
Reagan looked up at him, meeting his eye, and slowly - soothingly - he ran his hands down the length of her arms from her shoulders to her elbows. It seemed to do just a little to help steady her.
"Reagan," he said gently. "It's going to be alright. I understand that it's a lot to adapt to. But the things destined to unfold on Midgard are beyond your control. These aren't your burdens to bear."
"So what, I'm just supposed to leave all that for poor Greta to deal with?"
"Who is Greta?"
She let out a dramatically frustrated groan, even as she moved a little closer to him. "Forget it. Okay... Forget all the big stuff for a second. What about me? What if lose an arm? Or an eye? Holy crap. What if I lose both and I have to live for thousands of years without either?!"
Loki just shook his head, squeezing her arms reassuringly.
"Darling... why in the world would that ever happen?"
"Because my statistical odds just went way up!" she exclaimed, her hysteria returning full force. "I mean, if the chances were whatever they were when I was only going to live about eighty years, they must be insane now, right? They must be- I don't know, I'm not good at math. Do kings keep a math guy on staff? Is there someone we can summon up here to crunch those numbers? Oh, God..."
"Reagan-"
"You know, I'm starting to think elves aren't even actually graceful. They probably all just move extremely carefully because they're worried about this exact thing."
"Elves?"
"You know, the ones from Middle Earth?"
"I'm afraid you've lost me."
Reagan huffed then, exasperated. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Okay, if you would just read like one of the books I've asked you to read, it would be so helpful to both of us when I go on these tangents."
A smirk tugged at the corner of Loki's lips. Slowly, he reached out and swept her hair out of her face.
"And if I agreed to do just that, would it help to calm you down?"
"Honestly? No, I don't think so."
"Well, in that case, allow me to try something else."
She stumbled back a little, slightly out of arm's reach and held her finger up warningly.
"If you do that 'sleep' thing, Loki, I swear to God-"
"I'm not going to do the 'sleep' thing," he assured her, attempting to close the distance between them once again.
"Well, then what are you going to-"
Loki took a gentle hold of her hand and drew her into him. He settled her hand upon his chest, covering it with his own, and wrapped his other arm slowly around her waist. He drew her closer, into the warmth of him, until her body was pressed against his. Reagan went to him willingly, the tension in her muscles visibly easing. Pressed close to him, she dropped her forehead to rest against his shoulder, and Loki turned his head to press a kiss into her hair.
"Oh... Okay yeah, this is helping."
Loki brushed his consciousness up against the bond they shared - their soulbond - gifted to them when they had been on opposite sides of the battle for New York. Once such a burden. A nightmare. Now, a gift more precious than either one of them ever could have fathomed. He felt her there, her panic and fear and confusion that had brewed up within her for the past few hours while she'd let him sleep. Loki blanketed the bond in calming energy, in reassurance - something he'd learned from her, even if in that moment it seemed rather unbelievable.
Slowly, he started to sway from side to side. Reagan moved with him, her head still resting upon his shoulder.
"Are we dancing?" she asked.
"We are."
She didn't respond immediately, just loosed a long, steadying breath.
"Okay," she murmured at last.
Loki smiled softly and rested his jaw against her temple, he kept his focus upon the bond, watching her worry slowly begin to ebb away. When he was satisfied that the fear in her had eased he spoke again, calmly.
"In the morning I will select an ambassador to travel to Midgard. We will arrange collaborative measures between Earth and Asgard to aid in development plans to offset some of the environmental decimations currently occurring there due to the fools in charge. I can't promise to fix it entirely, but it will be a step in the direction of progress."
Reagan was silent for a few moments.
"You'd do that?" she asked finally, her voice small.
Loki hummed gentle agreement into her hair and felt her relax just that little bit more against him.
"Thank you," she murmured sincerely.
"Well, it is my duty, as protector of the Nine Realms, to ensure the safety of all its inhabitants. Ensuring planetary longevity seems only appropriate."
"Oh, and here I was thinking you were doing it for me."
"What a thoroughly absurd assumption," he teased, though the affection in his voice negated his words. "As for all these devastating wounds that you're determined to endure; if you did ever happen to sustain such an injury, it's my pleasure to inform you that Asgard's healers are able to achieve feats akin to miracles. They'll be able to repair any damage your eyes or limbs happen to undergo. Though, I have no intention of ever letting it get to that stage."
Reagan let out another relieved noise.
"Okay... Okay."
They stayed like that for a time, in each other's arms, swaying slowly by the light of a dying fire.
"And the math guy?" she asked after a time.
Loki laughed softly against her temple.
"I'll have him 'crunch the numbers.'"
Taking over the rule of Asgard had been no easy feat. There had been a great deal to see to that had gone neglected after the Dark Elves had invaded. The kingdom was at an utter standstill. Not even an order for the citywide repairs needed following the attack had been issued. Loki rectified that. But it was hardly enough. Odin's dormancy had at first been put to the grief of losing his beloved Frigga. It had been excused. For a time. But quickly the King's refusal to act verged upon neglect and civil unrest was brewing. Even amongst the King's advisory boards, mistrust had taken root. The members of several of Asgard's councils were rather displeased with Odin's lack of action and it had taken great care and cunning for Loki to twist the perception and regain their favour once again. His first few weeks of rule had been tense to put it lightly.
His days were now full of advisory meetings, revision of security measures, diplomacy meetings and negotiation of treaties with other civilisations throughout the realms. He oversaw the rebuilding of Asgard's defence infrastructures, hand-selecting an elite team dedicated to reviewing Malekith's infiltration and rectifying holes their enemies might use to their advantage. He ordered a select team of intelligence operatives - sworn to secrecy under the pain of death - to set out into the realms and gather any intel available as to the whereabouts of the remaining Atraxis and their forces. He ordered aid to be provided to any Asgardian who suffered injury, bereavement or loss of property as a result of the invasion. To settle the rising civil unrest, he directed a substantial amount of royal coin toward public fairs, festivals and events celebrating the refurbishment of any areas throughout the city that had taken damage due to the attacks.
Indeed his days were now dedicated to the city of Asgard and its people.
His nights, however, they belonged to Reagan.
Usually, their nights were easy. Comfortable. Intimate. Fun. They'd spend them together, somewhere in the grand city wearing lies to hide their true faces so that they could celebrate and join in the merriment in peace. Or alone in the golden palace of Asgard, those nights often full of wine and laughter and sinful touches. Or breathing in the ocean breeze on a private balcony in an enchanted castle built upon a cliff face. Loki's castle. He knew these nights were Reagan's favourite. And he endeavoured to take her there as often as possible.
But tonight was no such night.
Tonight, there was a pressing matter to attend to.
And so, tonight, with a lantern in hand, Loki led Reagan to a place in Asgard where she'd never stepped foot before. A place he hoped she'd seldom have need to be. The Weapon's Vault.
He held the door for her, inclined his head and allowed her to step through. She did so slowly, hugging her arms tight around herself as she took in how cold and uninviting the chamber was. She studied the magical sigils carved into the stone walls, the relics sat upon their displays as if she were walking through some kind of strange museum. Her eyes fell on one in particular.
"I've seen this once before," she told Loki as she moved closer to it, an echo chased her words in the vast space despite how softly she spoke them. "This is-"
"It's known as the Casket of Ancient Winters. Once the pride and power of Jotenheim. It is how I confirmed the truth of my origin."
He felt the inevitable, her tenderness that came whenever Loki made mention of the truth of himself - the one he liked to pretend wasn't true. He knew she longed for him to open up about it. He also knew she wouldn't push.
Silently, he brushed against the bond, and she did the same.
It was enough.
Reagan offered him a gentle smile before she turned her attention to the other items displayed throughout the room.
It came as no surprise to him when her attention was captured by fire.
"What's that?" Reagan said, gesturing to the large basin of flames.
She made to move toward it but Loki caught her wrist, and she startled. Loki's touch was never anything but gentle, but this time his grasp was firm... Almost as if there was fear in his touch.
"It's the Eternal Flame. Don't touch it," Loki warned gently - something about the adamancy in his tone caused a chill up Reagan's spine even as the tension in his grip eased.
She furrowed her brow.
"Why not?" she asked, her gaze falling on the flamed once more.
"That fire burns everlasting.." Loki explained. "It belongs to a demon of terrible power. Surtur. I don't- I don't know what would happen to you if you were to try to wield it... So I'd much prefer you not to take the risk. Legend goes that should he ever find himself resurrected, he will bring on the end of days for all of Asgard. We can't be certain your power wouldn't conjure him."
"Yikes... Why do you keep it here?"
"It's the last of the flame that remains. Better for it to be stored here where it can be kept under watchful eye than to fall into the hands of an enemy. This weapon's vault is one of the most secure places in the universe. The power held within it..."
Uncertainty began to bloom within her, as they walked slowly through the vault, footsteps echoing out into the cavernous space.
She allowed the words to weigh over her and met his eye.
"What are we doing down here, Loki?" she asked.
Loki offered her a small smile, his hand falling to the small of her back.
"There's something I want to discuss with you. Come."
Reagan allowed Loki to guide her deeper into the vault, focusing on the warmth of his hand at her back.
They came to a stop to survey a strange gold and black vessel shaped like a lantern. Its centre glowed red. A mere glance at it was enough to tell Reagan that something terrifyingly powerful was contained within it.
"This is the Aether," Loki told her.
Reagan glanced up at him.
"The thing that was inside Jane?"
Loki nodded.
"The very same. Thor returned it here for safekeeping after Malekith's defeat."
Reagan watched Loki as he circled the relic slowly, contemplating it, his hands grasped behind his back.
"Thor once told me," Loki said to her," that its power would consume me. And as much as I'm loathe to admit it... he was right. The Aether, it is... unwieldy. It's an impossibly complicated thing. Capable of unimaginable destruction and creation. It is not a thing that is simply mastered..."
Loki moved away from it then in favour of another object, the one displayed on a pedestal just beyond it. The second she saw it, Reagan stopped breathing.
Reagan watched as Loki moved closer the the Tesseract, so close that the glowing light of it cast his features in a cool blue hue.
"But this," he said slowly, his gaze was cast to the ground. "I don't think there's a being in existence that understands its workings better than I do."
At last, his eyes flicked up to meet hers, his face was guarded as he gauged her reaction.
Reagan's heart was starting to speed up.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked calmly, though she heard the slight tremor in her own voice.
Loki moved towards her slowly, taking her hand in his. Reagan allowed it, though there was obvious tension in her.
"When you saw visions of my time with Thanos... did you garner much of an idea of what he was after?"
Reagan searched Loki's face as she thought and for once, resisted the urge to delve into the bond to understand what he was thinking. The link between them was open now - it was always open - it had remained that way since reuniting on Svartalfheim when Loki had confessed that he didn't want to exist without her. There was only a small pocket of his mind that he did not allow her to be privy to and Reagan knew why; behind that one last barrier, the torment he'd suffered at the hands of a titan known as Thanos. Thanos had tortured him. He'd bent his mind into something twisted that hadn't quite belonged to him anymore. Thanos had sent Loki to descend upon New York and take it for his own.
Reagan knew there was more to the story than she'd seen. Any detail she'd learned had been an accident on Loki's part - something he'd let slip in a moment of exhaustion or desperation or when the nightmares had proved to be too much. She wanted to ask. She wanted to know more. But Loki had kept it all locked away so resolutely. And whether that was in an attempt to protect her, or to protect himself, she wasn't quite sure. So she left it. Waited for him to be ready.
Waited until tonight.
She squeezed his hand just a little more.
"I don't know what he was after," Reagan murmured softly. "Only what he did to you."
Loki dropped her gaze then and nodded, pensively.
"There was a reason it was New York," he told her. "It had to be New York. Thanos had coaxed from me the want to take something that Thor loved in order to hurt him. He saw in me my desire to prove myself his equal. He knew I believed a Throne would do that. And so he... amplified that desire, and persuaded my proclivity towards Midgard. To take it. Claim it as my own. It was no matter to him how I did it, or what I did after. All that mattered to him was that I made my conquest in New York."
"Why?"
"Because in exchange for the Chitauri army, and the sceptre that could bend the minds of even the most loyal soldiers, and a chance to wield the Tesseract I was to retrieve for him the Time Stone."
And Reagan listened as Loki explained to her the Infinity Stones - six stones of unimaginable power. That on their own, gave the wielder power beyond imagination. He told her of the one that resided inside the Tesseract. The Space Stone. And the one inside his sceptre. The Mind Stone. He told her of the Time Stone which had been protected for millennia by wielders of magic upon Earth. How it had been Thanos' hope that Loki's skill for the art of magic would be enough to overpower them. The Reality Stone. The Power Stone. The Soul Stone. And all the while Reagan held his hand.
And then he came to the worst of it - the plan. Thanos' great plan. How he intended to unite the six stones and bring balance to the universe again. Loki had been a part of that. Another pawn for him to use, just like his children he collected.
By the time he reached his conclusion, Reagan's hands were shaking.
"Half," Loki told her solemnly. "Half of all existence would be eradicated."
"You should destroy them," Reagan told him. Resolute. "Both of them."
"As far as I know, there is no way to do that."
"Then we should find a way."
"I considered it," Loki said. "But there lies a problem in that plan. The use of the stones gives off a radiation of sorts... The larger the scale of use, the larger the radiation wave. Thanos is aware of this. He has methods of detecting such a thing. And to find a way to destroy either of these objects... If he were to detect our use of them, and our efforts were to fail..."
Reagan nodded her understanding. He would come for them. It wasn't a risk they could take.
"Then what is it you want to do?" Reagan asked, calm again. Resolute.
Loki sighed heavily.
"The Tesseract and the Aether - it's not wise to have two stones together. Not when Thanos is searching for them. It makes us more than just a target. It makes us a priority - the chance to commandeer two of them at once... it is my belief that the safest course of action is to move one off planet. To an alternative safekeep."
"What kind of safekeep?"
"Taneleer Tivan. Or as he is better known, the Collector. He resides in a place called Knowhere on the other side of the universe. He collects... rarities. I'll spare you the details, some things in his possession are rather macabre. But, what you need to know, is that if he were to come into possession of an Infinity Stone, there is nothing he wouldn't do to ensure it remains in his collection. He would protect it above all else that he possessed."
Loki met Reagan's eye.
"He is an individual of complex nature and extreme power. The stone would be safer with him than anyone else I've considered.
Reagan's brow creased a little as she watched him.
"Okay... so which one would you give to him?"
Loki offered her a half-smile.
"Which brings us to what I wanted to discuss with you."
Reagan blinked in surprise.
"You want me to choose?" she asked, uncertainly.
"No... not exactly," Loki looked weary then as he tried to look for the right words. He glanced at her again with a guarded gaze and Reagan found herself hating for him to look at her like that. She hadn't had to see that expression on his face in so long. She hadn't missed it. But she could read in him how cautiously he was trying to tread. She could tell how much it mattered that he got this right - whatever it was.
She reached for him. Took his hand in hers.
It's alright, she promised.
And some of the tension in him seemed to ease if only a little.
"The reason that I've brought you here - the reason I'm telling you all of this - is that I want to explain to you my reasoning, and I want you to tell me if you think it's the right decision. I need you to tell me if I'm allowing the lure of power to corrupt me again."
"Loki..."
"You know me better than anyone, Reagan. You're privy to parts of me that I deny are even there. You have seen the very worst in me and decided that..."
Loki quieted then, emotion cutting his sentence short despite his efforts to remain composed.
"Loki, it's okay," Reagan whispered.
And when he looked at her once more, his expression was pained.
"Reagan, I- if you love me then... it means there must be something good in me."
Reagan opened her mouth to interject. She wanted sorely to them him that of course there was - more than he had ever been capable of seeing. But stopped herself as she felt the way he needed to finish - to get the words out.
"And I need this decision to be just that... I need it to be for good."
Reagan cupped his face tenderly, the bond between them felt a delicate thing then and Reagan caressed it with care.
"Tell me," she said.
"If Thanos comes... if he has even one stone in his possession," Loki told her. "Asgard's forces don't stand a chance. He will cause ruin. Decimation. He will kill his way in and he will lay waste to half of what remains. There will be no stopping him. Not unless we have power to match his... Because the only thing as powerful as an infinity stone... is another infinity stone."
Reagan nodded slowly as she listened.
"The Aether is unwieldy. But the Tesseract. I understand it, intimately. It could be our best defence should Thanos try to come for it. And what's more than that - it's a portal. It could mean escape - survival - for our people should his attack prove imminent."
Reagan bowed her head as she weighed Loki's words over, and as she did she searched the link between them and found such sincerity there. And fear. Fear that she might think less of him. Perhaps confirm the worry in him that he was selfish and weak and corruptible. But those things, there were not what she felt in him now.
"If it is really an absolute last resort-"
"I swear to you, it is."
"Then you're right," she said at last. "Send away the Aether. Keep the Tesseract. But Loki, if he does come. If he wants it... I want you to promise me you won't try to use it to fight back. You open the portal and you save the people here and we run. Promise me that."
Loki lowered his head, silent, pensive, for a time as he considered her bargain.
"Very well," he murmured at last. "I give you my word."
And Reagan drew herself up then to press a long, lingering kiss to his lips. His hands settled on her waist as she cupped his face tenderly in her hands. When they parted, Reagan settled her forehead against the curve of his jaw and remained pressed to the warmth of him in that cold and cheerless weapons vault.
"I'm proud of you," she told him, and Loki's grip on her tightened just a little in response.
They stood together for a time before finally drawing apart when Reagan spoke again.
"Are you going to take it yourself?" she asked.
Loki shook his head.
"Thanos isn't the only threat we need to be concerned about at the moment. I think it's wisest that you and I remain on Asgard unless entirely unavoidable. I wanted to confer with you before deciding who to trust with its transport."
"You could send Fandral," Reagan suggested then. "Or Sif. Or Volstagg. I know how you feel about them. Believe me, I do. But you can trust them with this. They could do this."
Reagan waited for a response and was slightly perplexed when Loki remained silent. She glanced his way and quickly noted the guilt evident on his face.
"What did you do?" she asked, squinting at him suspiciously.
"Ah, it's not exactly what I have done, but rather what I haven't gotten around to as of yet..."
"Elaborate."
"As I'm sure you remember, my father was less than thrilled with our escape from Asgard when Jane was in possession of the Aether."
"Uh-huh."
"He made the decision to incarcerate my brother's companions for their aiding and abetting in our efforts. And you see, I've had so many other courses of action to prioritise since our return-"
"Get there faster."
"I might not have exactly found the time to issue certain parties with certain pardons as of yet. Meaning that Thor's loyal companions may still be residing in the dungeons. But it is an easy mistake to have made, I think you'll agree. What, with being so busy ruling a Kingdom. And with any time afforded to leisure devoted entirely to you, of course."
He shot her a winning grin that was all too charming but not entirely absent of guilt.
Reagan squeezed her eyes shut as she processed this new information.
She lowered her head, taking in a calming breath, before taking a step closer to him.
Loki visibly braced himself, as if expecting her wrath.
"I should be mad," she said at last. "But... I'd be lying if I told you that it wasn't, at least, a little bit funny."
"Really?" he asked, surprised.
"Just a tiny little bit. Maybe."
Loki quirked his head as he looked at her, obvious adoration in his gaze.
"Now and then I can't help but to wonder if you're truly here and not just some crazed manifestation I've conjured of all my wildest desires."
"I'm not saying that you're not in trouble," Reagan clarified.
"Aren't you?" Loki smirked.
"But if you let them out, I'll let it slide."
"I always intended to let them out," he assured her.
"Today."
Loki hesitated.
"Perhaps, just one more night-"
"Today."
Loki scowled.
"So be it," he relented.
Reagan smiled up at him and linked her arm through his.
"Come on, I don't like it down here," she said. "Let's go to your castle."
"Very well," Loki said, falling into step with her. "Are you certain I have to release them all?"
"I'm afraid so."
Loki looked thoroughly unimpressed.
"Sorry," Reagan said with a simple shrug. "I don't make the rules."
"You are explicitly doing exactly that right now."
"True... but you're the one who made me your Jiminy Cricket, so I actually think this one's on you."
Loki grimaced. "Once again, I really must protest that title."
"And once again, I'm going to remind you that you said I could choose whatever title I wanted."
"Yes, but I was envisioning something slightly more dignified like Hand to the King, or Her Ladyship or perhaps even Goddess divine."
"Okay. If you ever call me Goddess divine I will slap you so hard."
Loki quirked an eyebrow, suddenly looking amused as he gave her a sidelong glance.
"Is that a promise?"
"It was actually supposed to be a threat."
"That's alright, I quite like those too."
And Reagan laughed, leaning into him happily.
"Is it too late for me to reconsider 'Presidentress'?" Loki pressed one last time.
"Devastatingly, yes- Don't look at me like that! I was more disappointed than anyone when you vetoed that one."
"Had I known..."
"Well, you know what they say about hindsight; it sucks."
"You know you're a nightmare, don't you?"
"Only two minutes ago, you called me the manifestation of all your hopes and dreams."
"Yes, and I think we're both well aware of just how twisted my psyche truly is."