You paused outside the palace and used a bit of magic to make sure your dress and shoes were free of dust from your outing. You did the same for Sif and she led you to the queen's parlor. Sif knocked on the parlor door politely and Frigga opened it an instant later. "Hello darlings, come in!" she bid you both warmly and stepped back from the door to let you in.
"Allmother," Sif greeted her politely and you copied the greeting. You stepped inside the parlor and saw that there was a table and chairs set up already for lunch. You joined Frigga and Sif there nervously, but soon relaxed at Frigga's open caring manner. She really just wanted to get to know the girl Loki was courting and had invited Sif along as a buffer. She was too observant and knowing and knew you'd be nervous.
"So, did you find anything interesting in the markets?" Frigga asked after Sif told her that's where you'd been that morning.
"I found a Yule present for Thor, finally. Thanks to Y/N," Sif announced.
Frigga smiled at her warmly. "Great news! I know you've been stressing about what to get him. He can be difficult to shop for," Frigga commiserated warmly. "That was the last of your Yule shopping too, right?" Sif nodded. Frigga turned to you. "Do they still celebrate Yule on Midgard?"
"Some do. Most celebrate a christian holiday instead now," you tried to explain, and then had to go into more detail about Christmas for the Asgardians.
"Did you find any Yule gifts?"
You shook your head. "I... actually handmake all of my Yule presents. It's an old tradition," you explained a little embarrassed at the inexpensive old tradition.
Frigga looked impressed instead. "That's a sweet tradition," she told you instead of looking down on it. The tradition had come when you hadn't had much money, so it was still a little embarrasing now. "It's much more meaningful when a gift comes from the heart," she added approvingly. "Did you find anything in our markets that striked your fancy?"
Sif laughed. "Loki threatened her with my bodily harm if she didn't purchase something for herself," she informed the queen, who just smiled knowingly. Of course Loki wanted to spoil you and of course he would make sure it was done if he couldn't be there to do it himself.
"And what did you choose for my son to spoil you with?" she asked you knowingly. You raised your hand to show her the handflower and the black jewel there. Her eyes widened when she saw it. "A jewel chose you?" she asked shocked.
"So it appears. I've heard of the focus jewels, but they are extremely rare on Midgard, so I don't really know much about them except that they're a reservoir of power..." you admitted. You were surprised by how shocked the queen seemed to be that it had chosen you.
"They aren't rare here, but they only choose the strongest mages to attach themselves to, especially a jewel like that one. I didn't even know that they had even chosen Midgardians to attach themselves to. I'll have the relevant texts sent to your suite so you can review them," Frigga told you and you nodded and thanked her. That would be helpful indeed. You really didn't know much about them.
"She also bought a gift for Loki," Sif teased. You glared at her across the table and stuck your tongue out.
"Of course she did," Frigga replied warmly, amused by your antics and seeming pleased by your friendship with Sif.
Before she could ask what it was, Loki teleported into the room. He looked around surprised and went to kiss Frigga's cheek. "My apologies, Mother. I was finished with my business with Father and came to see my lady. I did not realize you ladies were having lunch," he came over to kiss your cheek. "Enjoy your lunch, darling. I'll see you later," he bid you warmly and disappeared again after a quick farewell to Sif and his mother and another apology for interrupting. You smirked at the place he'd been. Silly Lokitty. You enjoyed the rest of your lunch with Frigga and Sif and were not at all surprised that it ended with tea and chocolate cake. She walked you both to the door of her parlor and thanked you for spending lunch with her.
"Do you need help finding Loki?" Sif asked you kindly. You shook your head.
"He's in his room," you replied She raised an eyebrow. "I can find him by my mom's ring, that's why he's holding onto it." She nodded, remembering that you'd asked about the ring at breakfast.
"Make sure you tell him you bought something for yourself. I really don't feel like facing his wrath today," she added before she headed to her own amusements for the rest of the afternoon. You had a feeling she was going to go beat someone up in the practice courts for the afternoon. She'd probably had enough girly activities for the day.
"I will!" You called after her and summoned the gift you'd bought for Loki and began working the spells on it as you walked. Sera fluttered ahead of you, leading your way through the palace halls so you could focus on your work. No one seemed surprised to see a mage working spells on a piece of jewelry while walking through the halls of the palace. It was nice to be able to be so open about magic in public. Sure, you could on Earth too, within reason, but magic was just such a part of everyday life here that it was a different type of acceptance and one you greatly appreciated.
You had the spell finished by the time you made it back to Loki's suite. You walked into his sitting room and found him lounging on his couch with a book. He stood when you entered and set his book aside before he came to hug you while Sera fluttered around the pair of you making her chiming purrs. "How was your day, darling?" he asked you warmly and kissed the top of your head.
"Lunch with your mom was nice, at least it was after I got over it being intimidating as hell, especially with it being a surprise, but she's sweet. And she served tea and chocolate cake," you add with a bit of teasing. Loki pouted.
"I didn't get any chocolate cake!" he whined at you. You smirked at him and held out your hand where a small plate with a piece of Frigga's chocolate cake appeared a moment later. His eyes lit up at it and he took it from you gladly.
"From you mother," you explained at his raised eyebrow and settled on his couch with him where he could eat his chocolate cake. You smiled at your adorable sweets-loving love as he ate his chocolate cake with all of the glee of a toddler. He gestured at you with his fork for you to continue telling him about your day while he enjoyed his cake. You smiled. "Sif and I had a good time in the markets. She found a Yule gift for Thor. Oh, and I got you something!" you added excitedly.
"Darling, you were supposed to get something for yourself," he scolded lightly, but seemed pleased that you thought to get him something.
"I did, but I got you something too. I did have a guess on the size, but magic can fix it if it's off," you added as you summoned the ring you'd bought him and slid the ring on the ring finger of his right hand. "Unless you don't like it!?" you added hesitantly with a blush. "I-I just thought you wouldn't want to hold onto mom's ring for long, and necklaces and bracelets aren't really worn by men..." you trailed off, realizing you were babbling. Loki smiled and tilted your chin up so he could kiss you.
"I love it, darling. Thank you," he told you after he'd kissed you. He quickly gave you back your mom's ring, which you slid back onto your own hand after removing the charm from it. "So, did you buy something for yourself, or must I go scold Sif for not doing her duty?"
"Sif is safe. We found a magic shop in the market. I found this there," you told him and showed him the jewel on the back of your hand. He took your hand to look it over.
"Impressive find indeed, darling," he sounded truly impressed. "And it's properly chosen you too... That's rare for one of the jewels to choose a Midgardian," he added distractedly.
"Your Mother said she'd be sending books up for me about the jewels. They're really rare on Midgard, so I don't know much about them," you explained.
"Ah, that's what the maids were up to," he commented and then laughed when you went to your own sitting room and found the books on your coffee table. You picked them up, but didn't delve into them right now, instead you vanished them to the dimensional pocket where you'd be able to summon them again when you got back to Earth and could invest time in reading them properly. Frigga wouldn't mind you borrowing the books and you knew you'd be back to Asgard eventually. You were a citizen here...somehow. A lot had happened over the course of a few short days.
There was another feast that night and more dancing. Frigga announced during it that you, Thor, and Loki would be returning to Midgard in the morning. So you had to stay later than you wanted dancing with nobles and Thor's idiot friends. You finally found a chance to escape with Loki and took it the second you could. "While Asgard is beautiful, I am anxious to get home. We did leave our friends with a bit of a mess with the witch hunters," you reminded Loki as you walked arm and arm back to your suites.
"We'll deal with those men. Fear not, darling," Loki told you with a bit of a growl to his voice.
"I know we will, princeling," you teased, trying to get him to lighten up from his overprotective mood.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Why the change from 'Lokitty'?" he asked, particular about his nicknames.
"Because, silly princeling, you aren't a cat right now," you reminded him quite logically. "But you are a prince," you reminded him just as logically.
"And you are incorrigible, magelet," he teased in reply.
You raised an eyebrow. "And apparently not the only one full of new and exciting nicknames," you added, making him laugh. He kissed you goodnight at the door between your suites. You changed for bed in a pair of his stolen pajamas, finding the tunic and soft leggings more comfortable than the stupid nightdresses that Asgardian ladies apparently preferred, even if you did have to roll up the legs. Loki didn't mind and just wanted you comfortable. You were about to climb into bed, Sera was sleeping on the couch in the sitting room, but something felt off. It wasn't anything you could put a name on, or put your finger to, but you had a bad feeling, so you made your way nervously through the connecting door to Loki's sitting room and to his bedroom. You knocked hesitantly, nervous at approaching him at this hour.
"Yes?" he asked from inside and you cracked the door open, just as nervous. "Y/N? Is something wrong?" He got out of bed quickly and came over concern radiating off of him as he pulled you into a hug.
"D-do you mind if I stay here tonight?" you finally asked. "Something feels...off," you added at his concerned expression. "I don't know what or why, but I'd feel better not being alone," you explained. He nodded and ushered you into the room, closing the door behind you.
"Of course, you can stay," he told you and herded you to the bed, his arm protectively around your shoulders. "Don't fret, love. You're safe here with me," he reminded you as you both climbed into the bed. He made sure you took the side furthest from the door to the room, so he could protect you. Of course he did. You intended to turn your back to be polite and just share the sleeping space and safety, but he pulled you to him so you were nestled safely against him, your head on his chest where you could listen to him purr.
"You turned back all the way Asgardian, why do you still purr?" you asked him softly as you started to doze off, safe in his arms.
He chuckled and kissed the top of your head. "Because, my darling, it soothes you and makes you happy," he told you warmly. You realized that you shouldn't have been surprised. "Get some rest, dearest. We return home early in the morning,"
You closed your eyes again and curled yourself more comfortably in his arms. "I love you, Lokitty," you told him softly as his purrs were calling you to sleep.
"I love you too, little sorceress,"