The Last Shifter (a Loki romance)

Chapter 93

Falling into our roles was easier than I expected. I hadn't been close with anyone in Asgard aside from Loki, and since they thought I was travelling, it was all too easy to put on the guise of a no-name noble woman when in public. While Loki was healing, I sat on the throne in Odin's place, and had no trouble. Loki was back on his feet about a week after Thor left, far earlier than I'd expected given that he'd been run through. After that, Loki and I traded off. It was an effective system, neither of us were on the throne for too long and we brought each other up to speed, and had plenty of time to ourselves. The only trouble was getting time together. Odin only had three days off every month, so that was very little time to be together and our minds were often overrun with thoughts of the kingdom. Sif and Volstagg recovered the Aether from Svartalfheim and, using Odin's memory and old documents, Loki and I found a relatively safe hiding place for it on Knowhere. I didn't like that it was going to someone who went by the name 'Collector', but his operation, as large as it is, was fairly low-key and he was not known for selling his prized items, nor had a thief ever succeeded in stealing from him. It was as safe as today's unsafe time would allow.

Three months since the Convergence and I'd yet to give Loki the night I'd promised him, and visits to the dragons were getting rarer every months. I hated to admit it, but the hatchlings had grown up. I had more in common now with Kaylinth than Edelstein or Kielinth. Loki's relationship with Feuerseele wasn't very strong either. She'd been clingy when she found out he was alive, but that had quickly withered. According to Kaylinth, the three of them had been scouting mountains in Vanaheim for suitable places to move into. In my heart, I knew that I day was coming soon when we would have to say goodbye to them. Probably forever. Then, there wouldn't be anything tying us to Kaylinth. I was so glad we had moved the Soul. Having an Infinity Stone in the same place for too long is very dangerous, and in my mind I had a bad feeling that soon another one would need moving.

Today, Loki was standing in for Odin at a Security Council meeting and I was sitting at my rarely-used desk writing down lists. Lists of planets which I knew to be uninhabited, or sparsely so, lists of planets that I knew were safe, and planets that were close by. I then weighed the pros and cons of each planet. I ended up with a list of five or six planets and planetoids as possibilities. I didn't want to have to burden Kaylinth with guarding a second one so soon. But, by the time I'd done that, Loki had returned from the meeting.

"Evening, love." I jumped, but didn't bother hiding my papers, "What's this?" He rested his arms around my shoulders and his head on top of mine.

"Nothing." I reached up to stroke his cheek, "How was the meeting?" He rolled his eyes.

"So terribly dull. I didn't get to say a thing, and they resolved everything without me anyway! All they needed me to do was nod my head and agree!"

"But that way, you can hear the decision process as it unfolds, and they don't have to come to you afterwards and have to justify their decision."

"I know I'm there for a good reason, but they can be so boring!"

"You wanted to responsibility of ruling a kingdom." I reminded him in a sing-song voice.

"I know, and Asgard is prospering so far, so that's what truly matters."

"You're important too, you know. Your mental health. I'll take over Odin duties for the rest of the week."

"But darling–" I placed a finger over his lips.

"No. And tonight is for you. Only for you."

"Arista," He murmured, "You don't have to."

"I absolutely do. I love you. And I want you to be more comfortable in the future when we are intimate." He didn't say anything, but I could see the tears that were beginning to cloud his eyes, "Please, my darling. I want to do this for you. But I need your consent. We can take baby steps. Ok?" I ran my fingers through his hair and he nodded.