Of Greater Sires

The days passed far more quickly from then on. Though Lew’s permanent departure was hardly forgotten by Raeyn, it was far more bearable when, from the moment the two woke up, they were constantly together. Whether Raeyn was cooking and Loki would sneak up on her to hug her from behind or she was sprawled out on the couch and he would come out of nowhere with a surprise kiss, they were touching or talking or simply together every moment they could spare.

It was one of these mornings that Loki appeared behind Raeyn just as she was finishing making her tea, wrapping his icy arms around her and planting a soft kiss on her cheek, a contagious grin on his face.

“What are you doing today?” he asked, not letting her go. She sighed, smiling, and leaned back into him.

“Nothing that can’t be postponed,” she replied lightly, taking a sip of her tea before pressing her lips to his.

“Mmm.” Loki pulled away after a moment. “That tastes wonderful. I’m stealing it.” And with that, he untangled himself from her and gracefully lifted her mug out of her fingers and above her head in order to steal a sip.

With a shriek, Raeyn leapt up in an attempt to steal it back, but Loki was quite a bit taller. After only a few tries and quite a few laughs later, Raeyn eventually gave up and turned around to face him, her arms twisting their way around his waist as she smiled up at him.

"So what do you have planned for today?"

He smiled at her, bending down until their noses just barely touched. "A date night," he whispered, a mischievous look in his eye.

Four hours later, Raeyn stood in her quarters, spinning around a set of mirrors to make sure every angle was perfect. The floor length, pale yellow dress shimmered as she turned, and its beauty was only rivaled by that of her hair, which was curled and loose, reflecting the light like pure gold.

"How do I look, JARVIS?" she asked softly, playing with the hem of her dress and her curls as she tried ton convince herself she did not look absolutely ridiculous.

"As I have said before and will say again, you look perfect Miss Raeyn."

"And you are sure this is formal?"

She could imagine JARVIS sighing wearily before answering. "Would you like me to see what Master Loki is wearing once more?"

"Yes, please," she replied softly, making doe eyes at herself in the mirror even though the Artificial Intelligence did not and needed not to see her.

A few moments later, he spoke up once more. "He is wearing the exact same suit that he was wearing half an hour ago, but now he is fixing his hair. You are supposed to be leaving in a few minutes, you know."

"I know, I know," she snapped playfully. "Do you think I should have worn make up?"

"Honestly, Miss Raeyn. I was not programmed to know such things so I do not know why you keep insisting on asking me," JARVIS almost whined. She smiled, rubbing on a bit of chap stick before ruffling her hair once more and slipping on her golden flats.

"See you later tonight, JARVIS," she chirped as the door closed behind her. She glided down the corridor to the elevator, where Loki stood waiting. JARVIS, in fact, had not lied. His hair was shorter and looser, and he was wearing a sharp suit with the jacket only buttoned once.

"Well don't you look so dashing," Raeyn said with a smile.

Loki bowed, kissing her hand delicately. "And you look gorgeous, as always Miss Raeyn."

The elevator opened and they both stepped in, her hand locked around his forearm comfortably. For the first time, they left Stark Tower with their own faces.

They walked a few blocks and caught a few odd looks, but without their Asgardian clothing on, no one really seemed to recognize them. But it seemed that they were the only people who found an occasion to dress so nice, because they stuck out like a sore thumb. Naturally, neither of them noticed.

"Are you going to tell me where we are going?" she asked finally.

"Not yet," Loki replied playfully as he guided her further into New York City. Eventually, the crowds thinned, the sun rose higher in the sky, and they came upon an older side of the city. The building that they stopped at was made entirely out of ancient brick, and the delicately decorated wrought iron door actually led to an antique elevator. Loki opened and held to door for Raeyn to step in, and then pressed the only button available. The elevator creaked and rose ever so slowly, but Raeyn wasn't concerned. She was sure Loki would not let anything happen to her.

The elevator finally came to a slow stop, and a bell above them gave a little ring to let them know they had arrived. Loki pulled the door open once more and led Raeyn out into the highest floor of the building -- the brick covered the walls, bare wood covered the floor, but flowers lined the walls and the many open windows, turning the old rustic building into something even more beautiful. In the center of the room, of course, sat a table for two and little wicker chairs, with an entire meal waiting for them.

Raeyn blushed, trying to take in the entirely cliché -- but ever so romantic -- scene waiting for her. With a small giggle, she let Loki lead her over to the table, pull her chair out for her and then tuck it back in. He sat opposite her and leaned close.

"Do you like it?" he whispered.

Raeyn blushed even pinker. "No one's ever been so nice to me before," she breathed.

Loki smiled. "You deserve it more than anyone else in this realm. I must admit, I had to do a lot of research. I know how much Midgardian traditions mean to you and how little Asgardian ways did, simply because this is what you were surrounded by. I knew how to... court... girls in Asgard, but not women here. I hope I did everything correctly." He gave her a shy little grin, to which she returned.

"Of course, Loki, it's perfect! Now let's eat before our food gets cold!"

It did not take long for the God and Goddess to finish their meal, but they sat and talked for quite some time after. Everything really was perfect, as Raeyn had assured him before, but she could not help but notice that as time wore on, the more nervous Loki grew, until finally he rose (nearly jumped up, more like) and with a nervous smile, offered his hand to Raeyn.

"I have one last thing to give you," he said, guiding her to the back door. Her smile did not fade, but her confusion grew a little more. Give her? What did he mean, and why did he word his statement so strangely? She was even more surprised when the door did not lead to another room at all, but to a fire escape. Making sure she had room to stand, Loki closed the door and then directed her to a ladder going up to the roof. With one hand firmly resting on her hip to keep her balanced, he followed her to the top and stood next to her as she marveled at the scene in front of her.

On top of the old building, a garden had once been planted and maintained rigorously, but ever since its vacancy, the garden had learned to thrive on its own. The flowering bushes and trees grew wildly with nothing stopping them, their petals and leaves and stems reaching for the sun gloriously. It was so beautiful, such a wild, untamed beauty that the breath caught in Raeyn throat as she gazed at it. In the center, now covered by blossoming vines and with the white paint chipping, was a bench only large enough for one person. Still holding her hand, and watching her reaction with the smallest of proud smiles, Loki walked over to the bench and helped her sit -- there was, of course, no place for him to sit though, so she hardly paid any mind when he knelt in front of her.

"You once told me that you had a weakness for beauty," he began carefully, his smile so wide that he had to pause before he continued. "At the time, I scorned you for it, because in my eyes any weakness was not worth the trouble. However..."

He looked up at her once more, his gaze intensifying with his smile. "I cannot help but take that back now, because I have the same weakness. I have a weakness for beauty, because you are the only thing beautiful in this world, you are my weakness, Raeyn, and it is you I can't imagine living without."

Raeyn's eyes suddenly grew wide, and the hand that Loki was not holding flew to her lips. Tears began to spill down her cheeks, and feeble smile forming under them nonetheless.

Loki gave a small, nervous laugh. "You thought the ending of the tale was so romantic when the suitor brought his lover a simple handful of flowers that would eventually fade. Though I could give you this garden, I brought you up here to offer you something else instead."

At this point, Raeyn had covered his lips because she was making little sobbing noises, smiling and crying at the same time. With his other hand, Loki pulled out a small, robin's egg blue box, and popped the lid open. Inside lay a band made of no metal Raeyn had ever laid eyes on -- it was silver in color, but looked far purer than any metal in this realm. It seemed to give off its own light, and in the center rested a small jewel that could only be described as the most beautiful opal Raeyn had ever seen. But of course, it was so much greater than any opal found on earth, this was far more beautiful than anything other than as Asgardian gem. He slipped it onto her slender finger.

"I would like to offer myself to you. Raeyn, will you marry me?"

At this point, Raeyn had fallen completely silent. Her eyes were dry, her lips parted but still delicately covered by her other hand. As Loki watched, growing more and more nervous, he could hardly even tell if she was still breathing.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked worriedly, his smile slipping. "Do I-?"

Before he could speak another word, Raeyn threw her arms around him and if he had not caught himself, he would have fallen back. Some sort of incoherent shriek emitted from her lips, sounding vaguely like "Yes, of course!” and her sobbing started up all over again. Loki let out a breath held far too long, a slow and unbelieving smile beginning to grow on his thin lips. He held her small trembling body until all her tears had been shed, and then they sat on the roof with the garden and kissed... and kissed, and kissed some more as the sun began to set around them.