Winter's Hearts

Chapter 9

 By the time your lips finally parted, both your lips and his were blue, as were your arms, his neck, anywhere your bare skin had been in contact with his. It had to have been at least a good twenty minutes that you'd been kissing him for you both to start turning blue. Even your control was better enough to keep you both from turning blue otherwise.

You both laughed as you breathed frost.

It only took a minute for your skin to start turning back to normal color, which was definitely a good thing. You didn't need to advertise your activities to everyone.

"I missed you so much," you told him, laying your head on his chest, your arms around his waist, refusing to let him go yet, but making sure your bare skin wasn't in contact with his for a little while so you could both turn back all the way Asgardian. "I thought I'd never see you again," you added softly.

"I'd tell you how much I missed you too, but I was a little busy not remembering you existed..." he said bitterly and grumpily. "Instead, I'll tell you that these last 900 years were unbelievably lonely without you,"

"You amused yourself by trying to take over Midgard," you teased him as you finally took a step back, out of his arms, but just barely.

"Mind control. Doesn't count," he grumbled, but you saw the laughter in his eyes, the joy at your gentle familiar teasing. He had missed this and really was sorry he'd lost even a month of your reunion.

"I would have beaten some sense into you had I not been in the middle of nowhere Alaska at the time." You had moved to New York right after the alien invasion. Just in case.

"Much appreciated," he said dryly, knowing perfectly well that you would have literally beaten some sense into him. It would have been for his own good. As you'd justified beating sense into him and Thor over the years. Totally your duty to beat sense into them for their own good. You giggled at him in reply. He grinned. "There's my little Valkyrie," his voice was warm, his smile real. He was obviously pleased to see a proper smile and hear a proper giggle from you as well. "Speaking of, before you decide to take care of me by distracting me into forgetting my other crime against you," his hand snaked out and clamped firmly around your wrist.

"Loki!" you protested, trying to pull your wrist from his grip without actually hurting him, but his hand was a vice on your arm. He was right and your instinct was still to protect him, even from the consequences of his own actions. He didn't reply to your protest, just gave you an icy glare for protesting. You glared right back and made a note that you would have to beat that particular expression out of him before he tried to use it on you again. He flipped your wrist over to look at your Valkyrie tattoo and, more importantly, the nearly erased sigil below it.

"The moronic oaf was right," Loki's voice was sad, hurt. "Protocol be damned, you should have told me what I was doing to you," he growled, hurt and pain in his voice.

"You know I couldn't," you replied softly and tried again to tug your wrist from his grip. He knew damn well what honor and duty had dictated, especially since he was being an ass. "If I weren't so glad you're finally speaking to me again, you know you'd be on your ass for not letting me go, right?" you demanded grumpily.

He sighed heavily, but gave you a smirk at that last comment. "I'm well aware, on both counts," he replied gently. "Now kindly stop fighting me and let me fix it," he ordered, though his voice was gentle and there was warmth returning to it. This was just like old times too. You were both stubborn as hell when you felt like it.

"We need Thor for that. And I'd much rather spend time with you in here than go play with him," you reminded him, tugging your wrist yet again.