Unexpected

Taking Cost into Account

My whole body felt warm now from Loki's declaration. If I blushed any harder, I would look like I was impersonating a cherry!

Loki dropped his gaze back to his food for a second, seeming to almost hesitate a moment, his smile fading a bit into a thoughtful expression once more, "And it's because of that that I don't want to push you too much."

"What do you mean?" I asked, placing my glass back onto the table.

"Today I've asked so much of you. You've accepted me as your betrothed. You've left your world and your friends and the life you knew behind you to come here to be with me. To top that off, you're going to become a member of the Asgardian court." Loki listed, entwining his fingers together and resting his chin on his combined fist "I've already been so selfish, so demanding today and so much has happened so fast. I know that. I know that you're probably in knots about it. You tend to keep your troubles to yourself, but you are so honest that your face gives you away. I don't want to be the cause of your worries."

"You're not! I'm just-"

He spoke over top of me without raising his voice, cutting me off gently, "I promised you that from here we'll take it slower and I meant that. You've already agreed to marry me by human standards, so by Midgardian law we are engaged." He gestured at my glittering ring, "I have never been so happy as when you agreed to be mine, and I want us to be engaged by Asgardian law as well and go through the ceremony that will tie us legally together one day, but... I would like to court you first."

"Court me?" That language sounded so old. Courting? Wasn't that an old-fashioned way of saying 'dating'?

"Yes." Loki's gaze was leveled steadily on my eyes now, "I realized while imprisoned that I have never truly courted you. You were my captive at the beginning and then the last year we have been separated due to my imprisonment. I want you to be absolutely sure that you want to marry me. I want to earn my place in your heart and for you to be able to see what marriage to me will really mean. I want you to be sure that you could be happy at my side."

"You don't have to earn anything! I already chose you." I retaliated, confused. Why was he talking like this all of a sudden? Had I not proven my love? He'd just pointed out how I'd given up everything for him, why would he assume that I would take it all back? "I came here to be with you, to spend my life with you."

"But I don't want you to regret it." He said more firmly, "I have mentioned before that an Asgardian engagement is a lot tighter of a union than your Midgardian ones. A Midgardian engagement can be broken up with a word like any courting couple, however, an Asgardian engagement is a binding contact with each other and to break one off is more akin to a divorce. Should you desire to leave Asgard behind and return to Midgard or should you find, upon closer inspection, that I am not the man you desire, I would not be able to bear a divorce. I want you to be sure."

I shook my head at him, my brow furrowed as I forgot the dinner sitting between us. Why would he think I would ever reject him? My hands shook in my lap as I licked my lips before speaking slowly and firmly, "I am sure. I wouldn't have said 'yes' the first time if I wasn't sure. I wouldn't have come here with you if I wasn't sure. It's going to take some getting used to being here and dealing with you being officially dead and you parading around as your adopted father and me becoming a lady, but I chose you long ago. I don't mind taking it slowly from here, in fact, after today, I find the idea to be comforting as we move on from here. I'm eager for us to be able to grow together and spend more time together now that we're not whole worlds away from each other. I know it's not going to be easy, but I never asked for 'easy'. If I had wanted an easy life, I wouldn't have fallen for you or fought in the Battle of New York or joined S.H.I.E.L.D. or kept this necklace. I- I love you."