All The Little Pieces

An Afternoon Stroll

"So, tell me about these meetings," said Elizabeth. "It took long enough."

Loki sighed. "And I'm not done with meetings for the day. I have another one later after dinner."

They were meandering through the palace gardens. After a morning of meetings, Loki had insisted they eat a late lunch and then spend the afternoon outside. The gardens were exquisite, but at the moment, Elizabeth was happiest to feel Loki's arm around her.

He gazed down at her. "What are you looking so pleased about?"

She shook her head with a small smile. "It's funny how a couple of weeks ago, I looked forward to reading with you in the afternoon and seeing you at dinner, and now you're gone for a few hours, and I'm wandering around missing you." She glanced up at him. "It's not normal for me at all. I'm always happier alone--except with you."

Loki smiled back. "Imagine how I feel. This is the first time in centuries I've wanted to rush to someone's side to be near them. You are very special to me."

"Oh?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Such flattery. What about Thor? You both pretend to be annoyed, but you'd be miserable without each other."

Loki shot a glance at her. "Well, first of all, I hardly daydream about Thor. You're much better looking." She chuckled and he joined her. "No, it's not only that. I want...simply to be with you. Spending time with you, doing nothing special, just being together...that's what I want. I don't truly know how to explain it."

Elizabeth met his eyes a little shyly. "No, you don't have to. I know. Me too."

Loki tightened his arm about her. "In truth, it would be hard to imagine what I would do without Thor, though. I do love my brother. He doesn't usually see it, but I do. And really, it's not all his fault. Believe me, I was an extremely irritating child." He grinned. "Since Asgardians live fairly long lives, he's got a lot of time to put up with me still."

She looked at him quizzically. "How long do Asgardians normally live?"

"Around five thousand years, give or take a few hundred," he answered. "What about Midgardians?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Only about eighty-five, close to a hundred if they're really lucky. I'd never come close, even if I lived fifty lifetimes." She felt a pang of unexpected sadness and changed the subject abruptly. "So tell me, why did Thor need you so desperately?"

"I've told you there are some gateways out of Asgard besides the Bifrost," he said. "I've used all of them before. One goes to Jotunheim, one to Svartalheim, and one to Vanaheim." He paused and licked his lips. "While Elora was searching for the information on how to keep frost flowers alive, she found that there is a secluded place where they grow heavily in Jotunheim. Because so many of her medicines use frost flowers, she doesn't know if she can restore the ones growing on Asgard to keep up with what she needs. She came to ask us if a small group would be willing to go to Jotunheim and bring back a large number of the plants."

Elizabeth nodded. "I mean, it sounds like a good plan. That took hours to talk about, though?"

"Not just the idea," Loki said, "she had to explain it to Thor and I. That was the quick part. Then we had to summon Odin's council, and they take a ridiculous amount of time to show up, let alone hear a proposal and make a decision. It's a bit tricky because Odin has a truce with the Jotun. We aren't supposed to be there at all. I have to go back later and discuss a plan of action with Thor."

A cold trickle of suspicion entered Elizabeth's mind. She tried to keep her voice neutral and unworried. "Have you decided who will be in the group that goes to Jotunheim?"

Loki stopped walking and turned to face her. "Thor and I are going. We should only be gone a day, two at the most." Seeing dismay in her eyes, he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I hate to leave you, but I alone know how to get in and out quickly without being seen."

"How dangerous is it?"

"Eh, not especially. We should be able to enter close to the area where the flowers grow, harvest some, and leave, without any Jotun knowing we're even there. The place where we will be is almost completely uninhabited."

She looked at him searchingly. "Please, please promise me you'll be careful."

"I will. Extremely careful." He tilted her chin up and kissed the freckles on her nose until she laughed, then slid his arms around her waist and kissed her deeply. "I didn't know how good it feels to have someone concerned about me. Thank you."

"I told you last night, you mean the world to me. I wasn't just saying it because I wanted you to stay." Her face flushed. "Although, I'm really glad you did..."

Loki grinned and pulled her tightly against him. "You feel what you do to me?" he whispered. "You drive me absolutely mad." He inclined his head at a stone bench set into an alcove in the garden wall and led her toward it. "Think this is big enough for the two of us to-"

"No!" Elizabeth exclaimed, laughing. "Loki, we're outside. What are you thinking?"

He pulled her down into his lap on the bench. "I'm thinking about how you looked in the bathtub this morning with your hair wet and your skin rosy."

"After your meeting tonight, we'll have lots of time." She raised her eyebrows playfully. "If you want, I'll nap when you go to your meeting, and you can keep me up all night. You're not leaving tomorrow, right?"

Loki became serious. "It's probable. I know Thor wants this taken care of as soon as possible."

Her face fell. "Okay. I guess better to get it done right away?"

"It's true. The sooner I go, the sooner I'm back." He grinned wickedly. "And then I will keep you up all night, make no mistake." He stood and offered her his arm. "Shall we head back inside and read for a while before the next onslaught of meetings, my sweet lady?"