Epilogue – Bite Me

She was irritated, he could clearly see that and he understood why. In all honesty he felt it was none of S.H.I.E.L.D's business but then again, he didn't particularly like the organization anyway. His hostility with Fury may have been caused by his actions but that didn't stop Loki from hating the man. He found himself frequently thinking when controlling the man's agents he should have had him shot in the head. Unfortunately he hadn't and that was why he and Darcy were forced to sit through another lecture. That is until Darcy stood up, the ever protective Smurf at her side making the action more imposing than most women could be not that this bothered Nick Fury. He dealt with the superhuman on a daily basis.

"Look, with all due respect Mr Superspy." Darcy began causing Loki to lose his irritated slouch in place of amusement at the reminder that she was still a childish college student at heart. "Bite me." She concluded, before turning around and walking away. In sincerity the Asgardian was surprised Fury didn't signal anyone to stop her, letting her walk right out of the building and back to the room she had been forced to stay at while government agencies discussed their discrepancies and the risk of sending both Smurf and a human on what could be a hopeless mission. They didn't seem to realize that she wasn't one of their agents and she wasn't going to this planet to help mankind. She was doing this to make sure she didn't lose her second favourite companion and as far as she was concerned, their opinion didn't matter. They had no say in what she was going to do.

"I'm guessing you're cemented enough in your "I'm a good guy now" routine to answer me honestly if I ask you something." Fury spoke up to Loki for the first time. The genuine lack of his usual hostility caught Loki off guard who sat up straight in his chair and tried to disguise his surprise with a serious expression. "What's the risk of letting her go do this coming back to bite me in the arse?" the agent questioned staring after the woman who was near impossible to argue with.

"What makes you think she's going to bring back danger?" Loki inquired slightly curious as to where this caution came from.

"She's going to another planet. I want to make sure no more races like the Chitauri become aware of Earth and decide to invade it." Fury explained and realization finally dawned on Loki. Now he understood why S.H.I.E.L.D had made such a big deal out of Darcy going to find out as much as she could about her weapon pet.

"If anything, this will put Asgard at risk. I think they'd investigate the nearest link first." Loki theorized rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He disregarded the concern with a shrug before standing up. "What does it matter? You have your Avengers to deal with such things anyway." He added after a moment, saying the name with a hint of venom. Really, his hatred was just habit from his old ways. The little time he'd spent near the other warriors since his rehabilitation had made it clear that he might actually get along with them now that his crazy was in check.

"I'd prefer to minimize the number of occasions I have to organize that group of people." Fury commented with one last stern gaze before Loki left the room to pursue his ruffled lover. It made sense. They didn't entirely get along, that had been part of Loki's plan when he invaded Earth all those years ago. Limiting the number of times that ball of chaos got together was a wise decision.

Darcy was easy to find. She had taken a liking to a small corner of the room, hidden in a little area where no cameras could watch her. Not that they could right now, it seemed in her mood and with Smurf's assistance she had taken liberty to ripping all three of them off the walls. She barely glanced to the Asgardian as he took a seat on a nearby low desk, obviously still quite frustrated.

"You'll be right. We'll be off to Asgard tomorrow and you can pretend you never met the guy." Loki offered in consolation. She huffed, tightening into her curled up ball of rage and he found himself smiling in admiration. She was cute when she was angry.

"Can't you just have one tiny relapse just to get rid of him?" she asked and while it was a joke the tone of her voice suggested she seriously wanted it to happen. Loki laughed, ignoring the very real concern of him becoming an enemy of the Earth again.

"I'm afraid I've endured enough "don't be an evil overlord" lectures for my lifetime." He jested back obviously having spent too much time with Darcy, before pushing off his sitting spot to drop on the ground next to her. She was pointedly looking elsewhere pretending that she wanted nothing more than to be alone. Loki knew better however and it took only physical coaxing to encourage her onto his lap where she sought solace in his arms and chest. He held her in a tight embrace as if a physical shield from everything that irritated her.

"I just wish he'd stop treating me like a child. I'm nearly one of the Avengers by now, right? I should be. I've done my fair share of saving the world. Can't he see that this is important to me and just let it happen? If this was Natasha or Steve or one of the other guys he'd help them out with it. Not try and forbid them from doing it." She complained obviously sulking at the prospect that she might still just be one of the little people. Of course that was only half of it but that was the half she wanted to talk about. Loki thought over this, laughing slightly at his own conclusions.

"Actually I don't think he would. I'm pretty sure he's had similar arguments with all of them especially Mr Stark." He theorized. Darcy couldn't deny that this wasn't a high possibility so had to give in and let Loki win that argument.

"Are you worried that something bad will happen?" Darcy inquired after a moment obviously not ignoring Fury's warnings as much as she pretended to. She was aware of how dangerous this mission might be, what they might uncover. But to her it was worth it. She cared deeply for Smurf almost like a mother as she stroked the creature which had been sitting the other side of her and shuffled over when she had been drawn into Loki's lap. The bond was not entirely natural. She was aware that from the moment she had put the crossbow contraption on her wrist something had happened forcing a link between her and Smurf. She had never tried to explain it or talked about it with anyone else but it was there. That chime in her head, soft, sweet musical sounds in her mind that told her Smurf was there and what he was feeling.

Loki was silent for a long moment, observing her and the creature which seemed to have taken a silent support of the cause not for itself but for the one who cared about it. It had that strange knowledgeable presence it had when it spent time with Heimdall. As if it too saw more than meets the eye.

"Yes. Especially with you. You seem to have a knack for absurd danger Miss Lewis." He responded being honest with the matter. She seemed defeated and almost resigned to arguing with everyone that she was capable until he continued. "But I also know you are stubborn and that even if you have to slip away in the dead of night, you will find a way to do this yourself. And even if you have use every last ounce of energy, you will protect Smurf and everyone else you care about. I am willing to aid you and support you so you don't do this alone. Because you don't seem to care that I don't want you to die." He concluded with sincerity in his voice and love, so much so that Darcy was overwhelmed. "You are my sanity Darcy Lewis, as concerning as that is. Without your efforts I'd probably be fighting my brother and shouting "kneel" at every human I came across. Instead I am here, with you, helping people and feeling…Asgardian." He added after a moment not knowing what word to put with the pride he felt in being the "good guy". His madness was mostly born from believing himself a monster so to not have his insanity controlling him made him feel like the person he had always thought he was. Odin's son, Thor's brother, a noble Asgardian.

"Stop it. You're giving me a mushy feeling in my chest." Darcy commented with a blush and a smile that suggested he could keep going all day. She kissed him, lightly this time before resting her head on his chest again and wriggling closer to him. He held her tighter with a fond laugh, content to just sit with her until they would have to move.

"I love you my dear. I'm afraid I can't." he told her with honesty and adoration in his youthful voice. It was funny in a way to look over the time they'd spent together and for this, of all things to be the outcome. But he didn't think it was a bad thing.

"I love you too, my god of mischief." She whispered after a moment. A lot had happened since they had met and a lot was yet to happen. But right now they were at peace in each other's presence and they could freely enjoy the time they had for tomorrow would bring the start of a new day and of the many dangers to face. Hopefully when it was concluded all would be well again. Darcy desperately wished that whatever story she had stumbled into when she took up that internship with Jane Foster, that it had a happy ending.

((A/N: Fluff. Fluff everywhere. Short epilogue is short. Another one down. Hope you all enjoyed. One more to go and then I finish with the trio ficlets. Maybe. If I ever get inspired to, I might write drabbles. Not sure. I hope I haven't strayed too far from the characters while also giving them proper development. I hope you all look forward to the next one. Just an FYI: Things in these series that are mentioned in passing or hinted at like Selvig's trip away, S.H.I.E.L.D trying to learn more about Asgard, Sumati's obvious remained presence etc. I'm leaving these as set up for possible other fics. If anyone is interested questions and encouragement does motivate me to start something. Presently however I have no actual plans for them. Just leaving myself some leeway. But I still have to finish the third fic for you all. Thank you everyone again and once more: constructive criticism is cherished.))