Henrietta sat on the bench in her garden, stroking Loki the cat. The sun was going down. It was a beautiful sight, for it painted the sky and grasses gold, brushing them with warmth and splendour.
Only one thing was missing. Hattie felt it's absence with a throbbing soul and fingers, but Loki the cat did not feel it, because he was purring, very happy that his lady had come home. It had been over a month since Hattie had been found "dead" a little distance away from where she sat. Tony had come by a few times to try and fill in the emptiness in the house, which she was very thankful for, but still, she grew more agitated each day.
Like when she was young, she crossed down the days on her calendar each morning, although, just like in her youth, she had no idea when the date would be when he finally came home.
"He sang a song once, Loki, remember?" she murmured absentmindedly, remembering the night he had lain upon the bed with her. "It was something about a boat. A soul. I was thinking about it, and you know what?"
Loki the cat flicked his tail in reply.
"That song was about him. He was the soul in the boat. He could still change before it was too late, and that is what he did."
She cast her eyes over the sunset again, taking in its splendour, and sighed, then stood, making her way into the house. The quicker she went to bed, the quicker one more day would pass, closer to the unknown date of his arrival.
Hattie took a first step up the stairs just when the doorbell sounded. She frowned. Who could it be at this hour? She shook her head, out of strength for any additional human interaction today.
But the bell was persistent. It rang once, then twice, then time again, cheekily. She rolled her eyes and turned around, then opened the door.
"Postman." A lean, red-haired fellow said, tipping his hat. "Delivering a package."
"Ah... Thanks." She frowned, for she didn't see anything of the sort in his hands. "Do I need to sign first, or...?"
"Sign? Ah, yes."
The very good-looking postman turned his head and tapped his cheek.
"Right here."
Hattie was just about to protest, when he turned and beamed at her. She couldn't miss those eyes; glimmering with a spark that couldn't be human, and blue. Blue as jotun skin.
She gasped.
Next thing Loki knew, he had been knocked over by a force so great and determined he lay dazed for a moment, but not for long. A laugh escaped him as he enveloped her in his grasp, tight, as they rolled around in the grass and seemed to try and devour each other through touch.
"Would you look at that?" He chuckled, Hattie on top of him. "You're sitting right on top of the god of mischief, because he allowed you to do so."
His eyes matched hers. They were filled with tears of joy, glimmering, while a smile adorned his face - an honest smile. One that was there before he became darkness.
Henrietta surveyed him, laughing out loud. His hair was dark as ink, his skin smooth, though less icy, now, like the glow of a candle, not of a neon light. There was pain in his eyes, but there was very little of it, and it would always remain. Like scars after a knife wound, but Hattie didn't mind; she loved them all and would be there when they hurt.
She didn't know, or see, but there was no man trapped inside his heart, for Loki Laufeyson (or Odinson, it should be said) had become himself again. His heart was red and raw and it hammered and beat, pumping red blood through his organs; he had been set free.
"Tell me how you have been, sweet. My darling, my love." He smirked, his thumbs pressed into her cheeks, his face inches from hers, his voice melodic and tempting. "Or perhaps I should say, wife-?"
He was cut off, as was his breathing, because she grabbed him viciously by the collar and pressed her lips to his.
"Well, Hattie," he breathed, once they had separated, "for a woman who has been living the life of a virtuous maiden..."
He stole another kiss from her, then another, and another, until both were completely out of breath.
"...you are incredibly good at such things."
Hattie beamed at him, planting kisses all over his face.
"If you say so..."
She sent him breathless with her kiss again.
"My rascal."
"Your rascal." He murmured, his grin sharp and white. "Oh, I do like that."
And they disappeared with a flash inside the house, to the top bedroom.
I suppose you'd be wanting to know what they did there together, hmm?
Well, I suppose you do, but that's simply too bad. What they did will to this day remain a mystery, for it belongs to them, and to them only.
But, if you're curious, they lived happily ever after. Even Tony Stark approved, although the fact did get him some time getting used to.
The end.