Eldrid spent her last remaining night on Asgard unable to sleep. The worry and anxiety were overtaking her too much for her to sleep. So she spent most of her night at the couch in front of her fireplace with papers and maps of Alfheim, going over things she'd need to know for her diplomatic mission. She was determined to know everything there was to know about Alfheim and it's people, it's culture, right down to the mannerisms of the elves and how they talked.

She was trying to get her mind to figure out the best way to attempt negotiations of peace with the unrest caused by nobles and the monarchy of Alfheim before she had even stepped foot onto Elven territory. Eldrid couldn't risk failure. She couldn't risk disappointing her parents. Her people. She had too much weighing on her shoulders to fail this mission. It weighed on her so much she was losing sleep over it.

The fire crackled in front of her as she wrote in her journals of her plans and what she thought would be good to bring up in meetings that she would conduct to initiate peace between the elves. She enjoyed sitting by the fire, it being her only source of light in the pitch dark space of her chambers. The heat from it was comforting, but the sound was her favorite part. The crackling of the flames, how they danced on the wood it consumed.

"Isn't it a bit late to be going over papers for tomorrow?" A smooth and sultry voice appears in Eldrid's ears and she smiles softly as she continues to look at her papers. She doesn't look up because she already knows who is in her room. The only person she'd ever allow to be in her chambers this late at night. She trusted him explicitly with her whole heart though he didn't know it.

"It's a little hard to sleep when i depart tomorrow. So, i thought i would get a head start on my goal." Eldrid responds and Loki chuckles quietly from the chair he would often sit in beside her small loveseat by the fire. She finally takes her eyes off her papers after a few minutes of comfortable silence between the two and looks over at her brother. He was dressed out of his armor and simply in his pants and a loose, dark green shirt. Eldrid knew what his appearance meant to her. And her heart soared as her eyes took in his appearance.

He was comfortable. And that rarely happened with anyone except for her. Only for her.

Eldrid on the other hand had was in her nightgown and robe. She also was comfortable around Loki to be seen in her nightwear. No one else aside from her mother and ladies in waiting saw her in her nightgowns. It was forbidden for a man to look upon an unmarried woman in her undergarments. It simply wasn't done.

"True, but you didn't have to go over the papers and work alone." Loki points out to his sister and she rolls her eyes with a smirk. She leans back and looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh? And who was i to call upon?" Eldrid asks curiously while also teasing her brother.

Loki smirks as he conjures a book into his hands and crosses his ankle over his knee and reclines in his chair. "Why, me, of course." He responds with a chuckle and a innocent smile.

Eldrid laughs and grins with a tilt of her head at her brother, "Of course, how could i have forgotten."

"It happens, El. No need to fret over it. I have already forgiven you." Loki teases and Eldrid smirks at her brother. They loved to tease each other with their words, slight touches. Anything to get a rise out of the other in social settings and when they were alone. It was how they showed their love for each other, even though neither of them knew the other loved them back. They did it because they knew the other so well, their mannerisms and personalities. They knew each other so well.

They both knew it was wrong to feel what they felt. The forbidden love of a sibling. So they communicated their love through different actions they did for each other. Through their words, their actions around the other. The subtle hints that showed the other, i love you. Loki's singing, Eldrid plaiting parts of his hair to soothe him and vice versa. Reading poetry to one another. The subtle brushes of their hands together. Anything they could think of to show the other they loved them.

"Thank goodness for that, i was worried that i would leave and have that weighing on me as well." Eldrid teased, but her teasing was weighed down by what she had said. There was more truth than teasing and her heart ached. It longed to just have a solid plan of action of how to tackle this massive issue on Alfheim. It was El's responsibility to solve this crisis of power struggle. And it terrified her.

"As well?" Loki questions, his teasing tone not present anymore. He was concerned for his sister's wellbeing and mental stability now that she had involuntarily expressed her emotions to him. He had always been good at reading her, he was good at reading people in general since he tended to lurk in the shadows of his brother. But Eldrid was different for him to read. He read her because she was known to bury her feelings and thoughts so she wouldn't burden anyone with them. And she had an awful stubborn streak, just like their father. "What are you hiding, Eldrid?"

Eldrid pauses and sighs as she sets down her quil. She slowly unplaits her hair except for the small plaits Loki had made in her hair a few days before. "If i do not complete this... I will disappoint so many people, especially Father and Mother. Not to mention i will be remembered as Eldrid, the failed diplomat." She states, rambling her thoughts into the open, all the while Loki is listening intently. Because he cared about his sister. He loved her. And he was going to help her in any way he could. "I will be the black stain on the royal family. I'm the youngest, i have to prove myself the most. Especially because i am a woman."

"You will not be a stain on the family." Loki states, "That wouldn't happen." He reminds his sister as he leans his forearms onto his knees with his hands clasped. "The people know who you are, they know what you're capable of, El. You wouldn't be the one they're disappointed in." He tries to convince Eldrid. Loki knew he could get through to her if he pushed with care and not force. "You will show the Nine Realms you are a woman to be respected, just as Mother is."

"Really? Because the way i see it, i'll be a laughing stock of the Nine Realms if i fail." Eldrid states slightly harsher than she intended but it didn't phase Loki. He knew to remain calm, to let her vent her frustrations and fears without so much as an inflection of his voice indicating he was pissed at her for raising her voice. Because he wasn't, and he never would be. "Everything falls to me with this mission, Loki. You do realise that, yes?" She questions her brother. She then stands up and begins to pace, a known physical indicator telling Loki she was stressed and trying to work things out in her mind. "If i slip up, if i do not create peace on Alfheim... the elven realm will fall into more chaos than it is already. And it will be my fault. Mine. Because it certainly will not fall on Father. Gods forbid that happen and taint his image." She snaps as she continues to pace in front of the fireplace, her brother simply watching her with his emerald eyes.

Loki nods in agreement with his sister's last statement. They loved their father, but they also knew that what they did should never reflect badly on him. Odin was prideful of his image, and it made his children have fears of doing something wrong in the public eye. It was one of the reasons Loki and Eldrid never spoke aloud about their intentions for the other. Their silent love affair.

"But, let me paint you a picture, if you will." Loki says to his sister as he raises his hand to help stop her mind from racing. He waits for Eldrid to give him the go ahead, and once she nods to him, he continues. "Say this all goes smoothly. The nobles come to an agreement with your terms, as do the monarchs of Alfheim. You'll come back as one of the greatest diplomats Asgard and the Nine Realms have ever seen." He states to her, painting the picture of Eldrid succeeding, because in his eyes, she could never fail. He knew that was unrealistic, but it was how he saw his beloved.

Eldrid sighs as she wraps her arms around her waist as she stands in front of the fireplace. "You paint a very nice picture, Loki." She teases weakly. "But i can only see this going wrong."

"Because that it what you choose to focus on." Loki retorts as he stands up and stands in front of her. He takes her hands into his and gives her a small smile to help comfort her. "Why focus on the bad? It may not even happen."

"Because if i do not focus on it, then i will get my hopes up that i somehow succeed. And when i ultimately do not, i would like to be prepared for it." Eldrid responds as she looks at their intertwined hands. Her heart longed to be wrapped in his arms, her head on his chest and the beating of his heart lulling her to sleep. But she knew she couldn't do that. Not unless she wanted to risk everything.

Loki sighs at his sister's pessimistic view of her mission and he then makes the bold decision and pulls Eldrid gently into his arms. He rests his chin on the top of her head as her dream of being in his arms comes true. "You will not fail. It is not in your nature, El." He whispers to her.

Eldrid breathes in deeply, smelling the leather and fresh pine of his clothes. A hint of mint could also be found on Loki and she enjoyed the calming waves washing over her. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because, i know you." Loki states simply, "When you put your mind to something, you succeed. You always have." He tells her as he guides them to her bed and they lay down together.

"Loki, what are you doing?" Eldrid asks as she yawns. Her head resting on Loki's chest as he holds her close. He knew this was probably his only chance to say anything to her before she left in the morning after breakfast. He looked up at her ceiling and breathed out deeply. He didn't respond right away, which only made Eldrid confused. Loki always had something to say, no matter the conversation. He always had to be included in one way or the other. He liked being the smartest man in the room. "Loki?" Eldrid mutters, causing Loki to break away from his thoughts.

Loki blinks as he looks down at his sister, her bright blue eyes looking up at him with exhaustion laced through them. He knew she was tired, he was too. "I'm taking care of you." He tells her softly as he hums, the vibrations of his chest cause El to yawn again as Loki pulls her blankets up to her shoulder.

Eldrid smiles as her eyes slowly close, "You always take care of me." She whispers sleepily. "That's one of the reasons i love you.." she trails off and Loki watches her carefully.

Now's his chance.

"And i you." Loki whispers back, "Much more than either of us could fathom in our lifetimes." He says softly as his lips find their way to her forehead, pressing a cool kiss to her head.

Eldrid smiles as she snuggles deeper into Loki's form. He didn't know if she had heard him or not. Her breathing had not evened out just yet, but that didn't mean she wasn't already on her way to being asleep. "Truly?" She mumbles and Loki's heart stops as his eyes find her blue sapphires he adored. "Do you truly mean that?" She asks, finding it within her to stay awake.

"With everything i am." Loki responds softly. He didn't know if she was asking if he loved her as a sister. He was preparing himself for the inevitable rejection. The pain of heartbreak he thought was coming. He was expecting the worst to happen, just as she did with her concerns over how her mission on Alfheim will go.

But it never did.

"Then prove it." Eldrid said to her brother with determination in her eyes. She was still sleepy, but she could keep herself awake however long she needed for Loki. Her dreams were becoming reality at the worst possible time. But she didn't quite care, her beloved had just confessed, and she needed to know that it was more than sibling love. Her self delusions and fantasies were becoming real just as she was preparing to leave the next morning. She fought everything within her to cry out in frustration at the timing of Loki's confession. Why now? When she was set to leave. That must have been why, though. Because they would be apart come morning, Loki's clinginess was proof of that in more ways than one. Why he suddenly appeared in her room in the middle of the night. It was all because he wanted to see her, as herself, one more time. He didn't want to see Princess Eldrid Friggasdöttir, goddess of Grace and Wisdom, the People's Princess.

He wanted to see El, his beautiful and breathtaking El. The woman his heart desired and longed for. The woman who could cause his words to falter. The woman who could silence Thor with one look.

Loki hesitates, and he never hesitated. He was shocked by Eldrid's response, and he was rarely surprised. So he did the first thing that came to his mind, the thing he had wanted to do with her since he first felt these new found feelings of his. His desire and love for the woman laying beside him, her body molding perfectly to his. It seemed as if they were made for each other in so many ways. The first thing that came to his mind took Eldrid by surprise. And she was rarely surprised.

He kissed her.

And she kissed him back.