The Prince and the Sol

Chapter 15

ELIZA'S POV

"Eliza, are you almost ready?" Loki asks from downstairs.

"Yes!" I call, pulling a curl back and pinning it. My look tonight is simple: hair down in its natural loose curls, light makeup, and the yellow dress Nat picked out. I check the mirror, glad the dress isn't form fitting. After going to the doctor to confirm that I was actually pregnant, I found out I'm a little over a month and a half, which seems crazy to me. How I didn't know for that long is something I don't understand. That means I was pregnant the night I lamented to Pepper about not being able to have children. I grab my purse and slip on some sandals before running down the stairs.

"Ready?" I ask Loki, who's dressed in a dark green button-down and jeans. Neither of us wanted something super fancy this year, but I think he looks handsome as ever.

"Yes. You look beautiful, my little sol," he says, kissing my hand. I blush. After six years, this man still gives me butterflies.

"Thank you. You look handsome, Lokes." We walk out to the car and drive a short distance before we get out. "Where are we going?" I let him plan our celebration this year. Loki teleports us to the top of a hill, this gorgeous spot under a tree surrounded by wildflowers. I'm so excited to see the sunset, but I'm more excited to tell him about the baby. It's been so hard keeping this secret to myself with only Nat to talk to. This has definitely been the longest two weeks of my life. I think he has to think something's up, but I haven't felt his presence in my mind, so he definitely doesn't know.

"I love it here!" I exclaim, spinning around to see it all. Loki catches me as I trip from the dizziness.

"You need to be careful, love."

"Why? You're here to catch me!" I tease, tapping his nose playfully. "This setup reminds me of the ball in Asgard."

"Yes. I did my best to recreate the time we began courting. That would be on Asgard. What else do you remember about that night?"

"The sunset, poetry, the roof, dancing," I list off, a smile spreading on my face. "And please don't say we're going to kill some bandits to cap off this very romantic night."

"No, my dear, but I think we can try the rest of those." He summons a blanket into existence and lays it on the grass, gesturing. I kick my shoes off and sit next to him. We pass cookies back and forth, like school-children. He fashions a wildflower crown reminiscent of the one I wore for our wedding and places it on my head.

"May I have this dance?" He asks, bowing as per tradition. I instantly recognize the dance and curtsy towards him.

"The pleasure would be mine, my prince." We start with the lively dance we did in Asgard all those years ago, but eventually switch to swaying in each others' arms. I find myself getting lost in his eyes, humming a mix of love songs. In the fading sun, the emerald is flecked with gold. "Remember the day we met?"

"How could I forget? You had just come to help Bruce and Stark. You still had long hair and bangs, but I didn't really notice you until you stepped onto the balcony with me."

"I was nervous around you. I didn't know what to think," I recall as he dips me, my hair falling in a waterful behind me. "But you told me I was pretty and started talking about biology, so I was a goner."

"And from then on, we were unstoppable," he says, smirking, though I know our relationship wasn't always that simple. But sometimes it was, two unlikely friends that grew into something more.

"Loki, look at the sunset!" I whisper, even though it's just us. The golden light falls all around us, so real I could reach out and touch it. "Thank you so much for six amazing years."