When he returned from Asgard, after hiding the tiara, Loki found Asta in her lab office.
"There's my wandering prince," she said, looking up as he entered the room.
"Were you looking for me, my princess?"
"Not for anything important. Just wanted to know if you wanted lunch. I didn't expect you to be having it realms away."
"Sorry about leaving so quickly. I wanted to get there and back as fast as possible. But I did accomplish my goal." He held out the box that held their rings and opened it proudly.
"Loki! They're beautiful! Did you make the trip back solely so we could have Asgardian gold wedding bands?"
"I did, my love. When we're on Midgard, I want you to have a piece of home with you."
"Oh, Loki," she sighed.
He sat down hard on the seat next to her and knitted his eyebrows. "What? Is it not what you wanted?"
"No, no. They're beautiful and I shall wear mine proudly! But it's not the ring or the gold or anything of the sort that is home to me. You are home. The ring is just gravy."
He chuckled, as Midgardian phrases from her lips still surprised him. "Fair enough, darling. But I'm glad you like them nonetheless."
She leaned forward and kissed him. "I absolutely do. And I love you so much for getting them."
"I love you too." He deepened the kiss slightly and she moaned. Her sounds were often almost his undoing. Loki reluctantly pulled back and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Asta asked.
"My own integrity getting in my way," he said with a humorless laugh.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Long… long ago, I made a vow to myself. It seems silly now, but I've come this far, so I suppose I'm sticking to it."
Asta raised her eyebrow in question.
Loki cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yes, well, once I had fallen in love with you, I promised myself that I would follow Asgardian customs and wait to have any physical relations until I was wed. And now that I am in your presence and know the feeling of your lips, and the sounds that come from them, well, I am sorely regretting that decision."
She laughed a little.
"I'm glad you find it so funny, my love," he grumbled.
"Loki, I am not laughing at you. I'm laughing at our situation. Let's just say that I was waiting for you on Asgard and I certainly have had no desire for anyone here on Midgard."
His eyes brightened at that. "Well, that is good to know!"
"Though, I must admit, I am surprised to hear that from you."
"What are you saying?"
Asta rolled her eyes. "Well, you are a prince, someone who could have anyone he desired!"
"Well, I only desired one woman."
She blushed, but continued. "But Asgardian customs such as this don't often matter to royalty. Not to mention you grew up with Thor. And Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg! I'm certain there were no vows of chastity for those ones!"
Loki scowled. "No, none at all. I suppose I always romanticized the whole thing. Thor would tell me –in excruciating detail and quite against my will – about his different… companions. It didn't sit right with me. I didn't want to be with anyone but you. No one else would do."
"Even while you were traipsing through space?"
"That was to find myself, love. Not someone to warm my bed."
Asta sat back in her seat a bit. "Well, I don't know what to say. I had hoped for this, but never thought it would actually be the truth. I appreciate you more than ever, my mischief."
"I don't think I am living up to my mischievous title right now."
"On the contrary, by going against what could be considered the royal practice, you are being quite the rule breaker."
Loki laughed. "Leave it to my goddess to make it all right. Very well then, I shall continue my rebellion until our wedding night. But I shall likely continue to regret it until then."
Asta smirked. "Well, what if you continued breaking that norm, but also broke the vow, just a bit?"
"My love?"
She lunged forward and straddled his lap, catching him completely off guard, and kissed him with all she had. He instantly reacted and began to heat up the kiss. Asta took his hand and put it on her chest, causing him to moan deeply into the kiss. She allowed her hands to begin to wander as well until…
"Oh! I'm really sorry! I'll come back later!"
Asta barely had time to register Bruce's voice coming from the doorway before seeing him out of the corner of her eye as he fled the scene.
She pulled back and looked into Loki's eyes. They both began to laugh as she gently put her forehead on his.
Through her giggles, Asta said, "Well, I guess that's the end of that for now."
"For now, yes. Later, though, I think we should explore this new defiance more."
"Yes, I agree. We should definitely look into that. If I am to be the wife of the god of mischief, then I should probably try to be more mischievous myself."
"Does that mean the betrothed of the goddess of healing needs to be more curative?"
"Maybe just get injured less?" she said with a wink.
"I endeavor to do so."
"Endeavor more. Your goddess would appreciate it. So," she said, standing and getting back into her own chair. "How was your visit to Asgard?"
Loki readjusted in his seat. "Lovely, actually. My mother sends her regards, after scolding me for not bringing you." He held up a finger. "And before you can agree with her, I wasn't about to have your first trip back to Asgard be for a chore. It will be a grand return for Asgard's princess to be."
Asta scrunched her lips to the side. "Fine. That makes sense. But I would have loved to have seen Frigga again. I do miss her."
"And she misses you. She's already begun the initial plans for our wedding and we shall finalize everything with our preferences when we get back."
"Why do I get the feeling she's been readying these plans for quite some time?"
"Because you've met Frigga," Loki answered with a laugh.
Asta laughed as well and Loki felt the surge of love he had for her.
"Well, I should probably let you get back to work," he said as he stood.
"It's nothing that important," Asta said, waving her hand with indifference.
"No, you should get it done. Besides, Thor asked me to spar with him later, so I should probably prepare for that."
Asta tried to subdue the thought of Loki sparring in his leathers, or perhaps even shirtless, but the thoughts sprung to her mind anyway.
Loki grinned. "You're welcome to come watch, my love. I'll wear, or not wear, whatever you like."
"Damn you and your mind reading! That's cheating!"
He laughed. "I didn't even have to read that thought! It practically shouted at me."
Asta grumbled. "Go train with your brother. And don't make me cheer for him!"
Loki gasped in mock offense. "That's cruel, my darling!"
"You'll live. Now get going. Perhaps you'll see me there eventually."
They both knew she'd be showing up.