Chapter 22

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My romantic thoughts are gone as soon as I spot the agents on each side of the garden; of course they are not going to let Loki out of their sight. I also see Steve and Sharon, standing conveniently in a spot from where they can see us coming.
I'm suddenly not so sure whether I should have romantic thoughts about Loki. To the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents here at the party he is a criminal, a killer. What will they think of me, his date for this evening? Maybe they think I'm ignorant or stupid. Or worse, they think I'm willing to hang out with a killer; which basically is what I am doing. Oh god, what àm I doing?!

I don't get much time to dwell on that thought, because Loki is taking me to Thor, who's talking to an elderly man and woman. They both wear a red sash across their torso and the man's jacket is decorated with medals.

"Ah, Ylva, there you are!" Thor calls when he sees us coming. "May I introduce you to king Harald, the fifth of his name, and his lovely wife, queen Sonja?"

Not really prepared to greet the Norwegian royal couple, I make a somewhat awkward curtsy. Thor just continues talking, saving me from more embarrassment. He tells the king and queen my parents are from Norway.

"Så snakker du norsk?" the queen asks me pleasantly.

"Bare noen få ord, majestet," I reply, carefully pronouncing the words.
Then I explain her in English how my father died when I was young and that my mother remarried a Dutch man. "We spoke Dutch at home. Apart from the occasional visit to family, I'm afraid I haven't spoken Norwegian in a long time."

Queen Sonja asks me how I know the Asgardian party, smiling when she hears I serve them coffee. I blush a little, realising I'm just a waitress surrounded by royals and other people of importance at a fancy gala.

The queen is pretty skilled in smalltalk, probably very much used to talking to people she barely knows. I'm happy to follow her lead and we talk for a few minutes, until the man who has been standing at a discrete distance this whole time takes the royal couple away to meet other people. I guess he is their Mandy, because Mandy now does the same thing with Thor and Loki, bringing a couple of Arabian looking men to the Asgardians. They are dressed in white robes and turbans and Mandy introduces them as sheikh Safouan and his son Akram. Again, I find myself being the third wheel to the party, disappointed Mandy has not yet run out of people she needs to introduce.

A little over to my left is the dancefloor, now filled with dancing couples. I spot Steve Rogers at the other side of the dancefloor and when he sees me looking he walks over to me. "I guess Mandy is keeping Thor and Loki pretty busy?" he says when he is next to me.

"Yeah, I even suspect her of conjuring up those people from thin air. There's no end to it!"

"I can see that," Steve chuckles. "Well, if you're not taken, can I have this dance?" Captain America extends his hand to take me to the dancefloor. 

I happily join him, loving the opportunity to dance on live music. "I'm not used to dancing in this shoes," I warn Steve as a joke.

"Don't worry, madam. I've got you." Captain America turns out to be a great dancer, he has steady arms and guides me easily over the dancefloor. When I was in highschool, I followed lessons in ballroom dancing. Twirling with Steve brings it all back. I am really enjoying myself.

"Can I ask you something?" Steve says, while turning us around.

"Sure," I reply, a bit curious about his serious tone all of a sudden.

"Do you know... about Loki... About what he did six years ago?" He speaks carefully, not wanting to be impolite, but asking it anyway.

There it is. Steve is one of the people wondering what I am doing with the prince of Asgard. For a second I think about getting mad at him, but I guess it's a logical question. And because Steve has been nothing but nice to me, I decide he deserves an answer.
"I know what he did here in New York. But not when I first met him, I found out later," I tell Steve. "Thor and Heimdall believe Loki is a different person now. And I have not yet seen a reason not to believe them," I add simply.

Captain America is not convinced. "Be careful. However harmless he may seem now, we must not underestimate Loki. He can be very dangerous."

"I'll be fine, Captain," I tell my dance partner. "I don't think Loki wants to hurt me."

"Hmm..." he muses and then chuckles. "I guess right now, he wants to dance with you." Steve spins us around so I can see Loki too, who is watching us from the sidelines. "I better get you over there, because he doesn't look all that pleased," Steve laughs.

With a small bow to me, Steve hands me over to the God of Lies and takes his leave. Loki watches him go, his hand on the small of my back and his face a bit dark. Is he actually jealous, or is he just tired and annoyed from faking interest in people all evening?

"Do I get to dance with a prince tonight?" I ask a little teasingly. "Or are you gonna wait until Mandy has found some new people for you to meet?"

"By Valhalla, that woman is obnoxious," Loki lets slip out. He appears to shake himself from his thoughts and finally really looks at me. He gently tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "It seems the Captain had the honor of the first dance with you."

My cheeks are starting to glow again. "That? Oh, that was just a warm up."

"Then let me show you how it's really done." He takes my hand to guide me back onto the dancefloor. Loki slowly spins me under his arm, catches me with his other hand and from there on it's all a dream. His grip is strong, but gentle. I feel like I'm floating in his arms, which I might actually do at some point.
The prince is an excellent dancer, guiding me into figures that take us all over the dancefloor. The other couples give us the floor and when Loki actually dips me at the end of the song, we recieve an applause. Suddenly aware of my environment again, I feel a bit embarrassed by all the attention; I literally forgot about the world when dancing with Loki.

The musicians start a new song, slower this time. Other couples join us again and Loki pulls me close, slowly dancing in small circles. "That was wonderful," I say softly, my face close to his chest. I take in his smell, which reminds me of the forest.

"My pleasure, my little wolf," Loki replies, rubbing his thumb over my hand.

I wish time could stand still.

The next song, Thor dances past us, and I am surprised when I recognise the crown princess of Sweden in his arms. The dancers start changing partners and Loki reluctantly gives me away to king Harald V. I dance with a couple of other guests, another three or four songs, until the musicians take a break.

I can almost hear my feet sigh in ecstasy when I sit down at a table with Heimdall and Lady Eir. The dancing was lovely, but I really have to take off my heels for a moment. A waiter stops at our table and I choose a glass of sparkling water; I'm actually quite thirsty.

"Are you enjoying yourself, my dear?" Lady Eir asks me pleasantly.

"Oh yes, I am. I love dancing!" I tell her, smiling from ear to ear.

"Then you would have loved the balls at Asgard," she says smiling and at my request she starts telling me about the balls they used to have in the palace. By the sound of it, the balls were feasts of great grandeur.

"Yes, mother knew how to throw a party," Thor contributes with a smile. Him and Loki join us at the table after having their dance partners escorted back to their partners in real life. Thor takes a seat and Loki stands close behind me, his fingers casually playing with a loose strand of my hair in my neck. 

At that moment, the sound of a jet flying over startles us. Loki looks up to the sky. "The tin man will be joining us," he points out to his brother.

"Well, he organised the gala," Thor replies. "He ought to be here."

Iron Man does a couple of loopings above the guests and then lands in the middle of the dancefloor. The suit opens up and Tony Stark, dressed in a tuxedo, steps out of it.
"Let's get this party started!" Stark calls out and his suit closes up and starts to do the robot, blasting dance music from speakers at its shoulders.

Leave it to Tony Stark to make an entrance.

Author's note:
Anybody's got a sweet tooth? ;-)

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