Darcy was practically twitching, three hours later, when Fury and Coulson finally released them.

After a desperately needed bathroom break (oh geez, don't look in the mirror!), she wandered around the S.H.I.E.L.D compound, looking for Loki. He was nowhere to be found, but she did manage to track down Thor. It looked like he had been waiting on her debriefing to finish.

"Where did Loki go?" she asked the big guy.

Thor shrugged. "To wherever it is that Loki goes when not around us, I suppose."

Oh yeah. "Where is that, Thor? Does he blip back to Asgard? Does he have a condo somewhere?" Darcy frowned. "I know I wonder about stupid stuff like that, but call me curious. Where does Loki go?"

The God of Thunder looked puzzled. "I do not know."

The puff of air at her back was all the warning Darcy had. She managed to stifle her yelp of surprise as hands fell on her shoulders. And just like that, she was wearing different clothes and she felt as if she'd just showered.

"That is such a neat trick!" She turned to look up at Loki. He looked more rested than he had when they'd initially returned from Jotunheim. The bruises were still there though, so that reassured her that he would not be draining her life essence again. Whew. He was dressed sharply in Earth clothes.

"I trust that Nicholas behaved himself after I left?"

"Other than growling a lot, he was fine." Darcy grinned. "But I think you ruined Tony's day. He has a man-crush on you. So...what are we doing?"

Loki offered his arm. "I thought dining at a fine establishment would be a start. You must be hungry. You have had a busy day. And I am very much looking forward to eating something of quality."

Darcy slipped her arm through his, trying not to think too hard about what he might have been eating on Jotunheim. "Dining it is. I can afford something quick, but not of quality." She shrugged.

He grinned. "I visited with Pepper while you were being debriefed. She supplied me with several stacks of your paper money, and assured me that it will be sufficient for whatever needs I have. I only brought one stack with me. Do you think that will be enough?" He reached into his coat pocket with his free hand and pulled out a thick bundle of $100 bills.

Darcy gaped. "Holy shit, Loki! That's plenty! Remind me to thank Pepper." She glanced around. "There's not really any place near here that's quality dining."

He smiled down at her. "Of course not. Do you trust me?"

"Well duh. You saved my life, I saved you from banishment, I think that creates a bond of trust."

"Farewell, Thor," Loki called to his brother, still smiling down at Darcy. "Do not panic," he warned her.

Traveling with Loki was much different than the Bifrost. The Bifrost had been light and wind and a rushing, roaring noise, with no sense of self. 'Blinking' with Loki was exactly that. There was a brief moment of nothing, and then they emerged into an alleyway, somewhere else.

Darcy laughed in wonder. "That was too cool! Don't panic? Why would I? That's tons better than the Bifrost!"

Loki appeared delighted, and she wondered how long it had been since someone had expressed appreciation of his abilities. Poor, poor Loki. She silently vowed that she would try to make up for others overlooking him.

"Where are we?" she asked.

He smiled. "Back in New York. I have eaten food from this particular establishment before, but not while they were aware of it."

Darcy stifled a laugh behind her free hand. "Oh wow. So, we're going to dine like normal patrons tonight?"

"Of course."

It was surreal. Darcy kept glancing around at others, waiting for someone to realize that she was having dinner with a god, but no one was really paying attention to them as they were seated. Well, there were some women who were staring and licking their lips, and that pissed her off. Every time she saw it, she placed a hand on Loki's arm. Mine, bitches!

After the fourth time of doing this, Darcy looked up from her menu when Loki chuckled. He was trying not to smile at her, or the hand on his arm.

She pulled her hand back. "What?"

"I do believe you are jealous."

"What? Jealous?" She thought about it. "Nah. Just staking my claim so that none of these bitches think they can hop on the L-train."

His smile broke through. "The 'L-train' does not give rides to just anyone. But by all means, carry on. I find I rather enjoy the display. It is a new experience for me."

Their server arrived. In another time, another life, Darcy might have found him attractive. College boy, she figured. He had gym-sculpted muscles, lightly gelled hair, and a smile that said he knew he was attractive. He gave a perfunctory greeting with the specials of the day, and then his eyes strayed to her chest, outlined in the form fitting green silk top Loki had magicked her into.

It was flattering, but annoying. She usually wore shapeless clothing, to avoid this type of thing. She couldn't help that she'd been blessed with a generous chest, and men were so predictable. She'd gone through high school with men focused on her chest, unable to hold a decent conversation with her. Once they'd figured out that she was snarky and a geek-dork, they either lost interest, or went for a bag and brag. Either situation made her mad, so Darcy had retaliated with buying a taser. That kept men even more distant, because she always warned them right up front. She would tase them without a second thought.

She listened to Loki order his food, and then flinched with what their server said next.

"What can I do for you?" It was laced with such heavy innuendo that she was surprised his tongue wasn't lolling out. His eyes were fixed on her chest, and Darcy could practically see the plotting on his face.

"You are taking her order, correct?" Loki's tone set off warning flags and she glanced across the table at him. He had noticed their server noticing her chest. He was not happy about it.

The college dude blinked, and looked up at Loki. "Yeah."

"See to it that your eyes remain on her face, or your little notepad."

The guy gulped, and looked obediently down at his notepad. "What would you like to order, ma'am?"

She almost laughed in his face, but settled for a Loki-worthy smirk and ordered her food. After the server made his escape, she looked over at Loki again. He was smiling, but there was a sharp edge to it.

"Loki...I think you're jealous."

"Just staking my claim," he echoed her earlier words. "He is a server in this place. It is not seemly that he...oogles...the patrons. Besides, he was beginning to think of how he would talk you away from me so that he might ravish you. I could not allow those thoughts to continue."

She smiled, secretly thrilled. "Thank you."

"No. Thank you. You endangered yourself to save me. It was reckless and foolhardy, Darcy. Both you and Tony could have been killed." Loki laced his fingers together, staring at her with disconcerting directness. "You must promise that you will not do anything so dangerous again."

She laced her own fingers together, mocking him. "I can't do that, Loki. Maybe I've spent too much time around the Avengers, but I've learned that there are things worth fighting for. At any cost."

He frowned, nostrils flaring in agitation, lips pressing together tightly. "You are...a liability to my peace of mind, Darcy. Will you promise me to try to be more careful?"

"I will. But if it's my friends or family in danger, all bets are off." She smiled. "That includes you."

He unlaced his fingers and drummed them on the table. "Know that the same applies to your welfare."

They fell silent, staring at each other. Darcy felt sorry for Loki. All this emotional stuff was clearly frustrating for him. It had him agitated and on edge, and she wondered what had occurred on Jotunheim to open his emotional floodgates, so to speak. She'd get to the bottom of that in time. Now wasn't the time to talk about it. Right now, he wanted to forget about it. That was easy enough to see. She could help with that.

She wiggled her foot out of its shoe, and sent it questing out under the table. Loki's eyes widened at first contact, and his eyebrows jumped up sharply when her toes worked their way up his leg. Darcy grinned, and trailed one finger around the rim of her wine glass, staring at Loki over its rim. He stared back, two spots of color popping out on his cheeks as her toes wormed their way between his legs.

It never failed to amaze her how she could undo his restraint. She watched him grip the edge of the table and shudder as her toes wiggled and teased. The spots of color in his cheeks spread, and tendons stood out on his neck. It was fascinating to watch him be ruled by the reaction of his body.

She slid down in her seat a little, giving her better access. It couldn't last too much longer. He was breathing in gasps, staring at her glassily while his hips moved with her toes. She smirked in triumph when he tensed, fingers clenching on the end of the table, and then exhaled with a trembling breath. His head fell back, and he squeezed his eyes shut, body slumping in his chair.

Darcy sat up straight, withdrawing her toes, and took a long gulp of wine. That had been freaking hot. She was all worked up now, and looking forward to after the meal. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the lip licking women from a nearby table staring with wide eyes. Darcy smirked, licked her forefinger, and trailed it down through the air. Yeah bitch, I'm all that. That's why he's sitting with me. Hah!

"You okay over there, Loki?"

He pried his eyes open, tried to say something, swallowed, and tried again. "You are a wicked, wicked woman, Darcy Lewis." He picked up his own glass of wine and drained it.

Their food arrived then, and Loki was able to compose himself as their server settled plates in front of them. He procured more wine, and drained off a second glass, finally seeming to regain some of his usual control. Then, as their server withdrew, he glanced at Darcy through half-lidded eyes.

"I will pay you back for that, Darcy. Believe me."

His expression was sheer naughtiness, and Darcy grinned. "I believe you. I look forward to it."

He put on quite a show while eating. Darcy had never seen a man make love to food with his mouth before, but Loki did it. Every bite was its own little orgasm; teeth nipping at the food, tongue darting out to taste it, or a lick to his lips as a drop of sauce escaped. She was riveted, watching him with her mouth open, wanting to be on his plate so she could have that much attention lavished on herself. For someone who was still relatively new to sex games, he was learning very quickly what worked.

Watching his tongue swirl around a forkful of dripping meat, Darcy squirmed in her chair. "You are evil."

He paused, tongue in the process of catching another drip of sauce. He drew it into his mouth, and then licked his lips. "Whatever do you mean?" His tone was almost honeyed innocence, but the expression was still naughty.

"Don't play. You know exactly what I mean. Effective. You're a fast learner."

He smirked. "I aim to exceed at anything I do."

She laughed a little. "I believe that. You're making a killer impression on the first date, by the way." She tried to hide a smile, but couldn't. That he had sought help to find out about dating customs, for her, made her tingle. "Killer transportation, great restaurant, great clothes."

He shrugged. "As I said, I aim to exceed." Then he looked thoughtful. "Although it will make a second date challenging."

She laughed out loud. "You're creative. I'm sure you'll think of something."

His eyes flashed. "Oh I will. I am thinking of things right now."

A heady chill traveled the whole way down her spine, making Darcy shiver violently. She watched Loki's eyes drift downward, and a small smile surfaced on his lips. Looking down herself, she realized the girls had woken up and were saying hello.

"There are benefits to form fitting clothing," Loki pointed out conversationally. "You should wear such clothing more often."

Darcy propped her chin up with her hand. "If I do that, more men will stare at me."

His frown was instant. "That could be dangerous for them."

Their server interrupted the moment by appearing and asking if everything had been satisfactory. Loki gave very brief answers, and seemed to lose his patience entirely when the poor guy asked if they wished to have dessert.

"Yes, yes, I do wish to have dessert. But not here and nothing from your menu. I wish to pay our bill now."

Darcy was tingling. He was so intent now, staring at her darkly, leaving their server no doubts as to what he wanted for dessert. Apparently, his patience, already tried after two weeks of banishment, was at an end. Loki wanted what he wanted...right now.

After paying the bill, he rose and offered his hand to pull her up out of her chair. Darcy almost laughed, almost, at his haste, and allowed him to pull her upright. She almost had to jog to keep up with him as they exited the restaurant, and the other poor mortals scattered at his approach. Loki looked...a little intimidating...as he stalked out of the restaurant, towing her by one hand. She couldn't help but smirk at all the women they passed. Yeah...dine on liver, bitches.

Once safely out of sight, Loki pulled her closer, and they popped into somewhere else. Darcy looked around in awe.

"This isn't my place," she pointed out.

"No." His voice was just a bit strained.

"Is this your place?"

"For now."

It had to be hotel suite of some sort. It was huge. And later, Darcy might take the time to explore it, because it wasn't something she'd ever see on her salary. But right now, the only thing she was really thinking of was the huge bed.

Seconds later, she found herself tossed onto it. Wow. And pinned down.

"There are consequences to teasing and tempting me, girl," Loki growled. His eyes were burning her skin, and Darcy shuddered.

"Yeah? Bring em. I've been waiting two weeks for this."

He almost snarled, a feral sound as he bent his head to bite at her lips. "And I have been waiting three weeks."

It was almost funny, how the tables had turned. She had been in control, but Loki took it from her now. His actions were almost desperate, and she realized that he trying to erase thoughts of Jotunheim, and banish the last fears of hurting her again. It was going to be a wild time.

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Loki had fallen asleep, head pillowed on her chest, listening to her heartbeat slow. Darcy was wrung out, but she wasn't quite ready to sleep. She wanted to enjoy the spoils of two weeks worth of plotting. Besides, it's not everyday that you can brag that a god fell asleep in your arms. She liked this look on him. Small content smile, hair all disheveled against her skin, careless sprawl pinning her down. Plus, she had a great view of his back and his ass and that was awesome. He had the cutiest, perkiest ass she had seen in forever.

It had been a little crazy. A lot hasty, the first time, and super intense. Loki had growled at her a lot, which had been crazy arousing, and they had fought each other for domination. It was never in question who would win though. Loki had managed to keep an air of civility and restraint all day when they had returned to Earth, never once hinting at how much he needed to...unwind. But her little stunt at the restaurant had completely unhinged him.

The second time had been a little slower and calmer, but only a little. He still seemed like he had some demons to banish. That was okay. Darcy had been more than happy to help him with that. She suspected that physicality was easier for him to deal with right now then all the emotional stuff.

He had simply collapsed on her afterward. A few hours of rest, while she was being debriefed, wasn't enough to make up for two weeks of short rest and food. He had muttered an almost incoherent apology that he couldn't stay awake before pillowing his head on her chest and drifting off. It had helped convince her, more than ever, that fighting to rescue him had been the smartest thing she'd ever done.

She liked how he could relax his guard with her. She had the feeling that in Asgard, he'd always been wary of others, and that he'd never truly relaxed. Even if he'd chosen to become intimate with a woman there, she doubted he would have allowed himself to fall asleep in her arms. But here, with her, he could do just that. It made Darcy fell all warm and fuzzy.

She worried a little bit that it seemed to be getting too intense, too fast. It had started so casually, with a romp of a good time and his first experience. But it seemed to have changed into something a lot more serious, and she liked it, but she was scared. She didn't want him to break her heart.

Still....she would enjoy whatever time with him she was given.

With a soft sigh, Darcy drifted to sleep.

♾️ ♾️ ♾️

The date lmao lmao. Kill me xD

Vote and comment yall!

Love,
InfinityHaze ♾️