You woke to Loki lifting you from the couch and you stirred in his arms. "How was catching up with your dad?" you asked him softly, not truly awake, but awake enough to remember why you had been waiting up for him, even though you had failed at actually staying awake.

It was the thought that mattered.

"It was wonderful," he replied with the brightest smile you could remember ever seeing on his face. He was so lit up that his father had finally given him some attention.

"I'm glad," you told him sleepily, your voice a soft purr.

"You should not have waited up for me," he scolded, but he was gentle and teasing, and was actually touched that you had. He tried to sound stern, but it came out lovingly exasperated.

"Didn't. Fell asleep on the couch," you reminded him.

He chuckled. "Bedtime, darling. We have nothing but big days for the rest of the week," he reminded you . He settled you in the bed and joined you a minute later. He was surprised that you instantly curled up with him. Usually cuddling for sleeping only came after the nightmares. He didn't complain, though, and you fell back asleep safely curled in your boyfriend's arms.

Loki wasn't lying when he said the rest of the week would be filled with nothing but big days. You barely saw him for the week, as you had to learn how to be a princess in the course of a few short days. Frigga and Sif spent every moment possible prepping you for the ceremony and in princess lessons. It was hard work when you had terrible American posture and no idea how to be a princess.

Suddenly, it was the day of the ceremony. Thor burst into your suite stupidly early, before the sun had even rose. "Thor!" you shrieked, pulling the blankets up to cover yourself, even though you weren't indecent. Loki sat up and Thor grabbed him before he could look over at you and tossed him over his shoulder.

"Thor, while I'm sure your wife appreciates the view of your derriere, I would much rather see my darling soulbond," Loki commented dryly, while you giggled at their antics. You didn't know what was going on, but it was fun.

"Tough luck, Brother. You shall just have to enjoy the view of my posterior instead. My soulbond has told me on numerous occasions that it is a wonderful view. It is tradition to not see your soulbond until the ceremony on the day of. You know this, Brother. It is bad luck,"

"We're already bound, moron," Loki replied grumpily.

"Tradition is tradition, Brother," he somehow maneuvered to set Loki on his feet so Loki was facing away from the bed and couldn't see you. "I am willing to be generous, this morning, though," Thor added with a grin. He tied a strip of cloth over Loki's eyes.

"How is this generous, Brother?" Loki demanded indignantly.

"I will allow your lovely soulbond to kiss you goodbye," Thor announced, pleased with himself for being so generous.

"Ah, yes, very generous, Brother," Loki replied sarcastically while you climbed out of the bed. You blushed a little as you was wearing an Asgardian nightdress, which was way more revealing than your normal pajamas. Thor didn't seem phased, though. Loki turned around and you went over to him and stood on your toes so you could give him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed you deeply, holding you against him while you wrapped your arms around his neck. You finally let him go when Thor cleared his throat. He grabbed Loki again and threw him back over his shoulder.

"I would hate for you to run into a wall, little brother," Thor laughed at Loki's indignant splutters. "Mother and Sif will be here soon to help you get ready, Sister," Thor warned you before he left with Loki. You pulled a robe on and used magic to straighten the room quickly before curling yourself on the couch in the sittingroom with a book to wait for Frigga and Sif.

"They are perfect for each other," Sif commented when they walking into the room later. You smiled up at them at set down your book, getting up from the couch at the same time.

"You expected?" you asked her in reply.

"Nothing less,"

"Dears, we have a lot of work to do before the ceremony," Frigga reminded you gently. You stopped your laughing and let the day begin. Your hair and makeup were done expertly by the palace staff. It took forever since they did it without magic, but the results were amazing. You was dressed in an elegant blue gown with golden sparkles throughout, looking like stars that were falling into the border of golden sparkles at the bottom of the dress. It was gorgeous and fit you like a glove.

Once all the preparations were made, you went to the antechamber near the throne room. The procession would start from there. Loki was there with Thor already, waiting for you. Loki was blindfolded again and protesting the treatment. You laughed at him when you entered the room. "Thor, you are in charge. Sif and I will take our places," Frigga told Thor, who gave her a bow.

"Of course, Mother," he replied formally. Frigga and Sif left you.

"Now may I take this stupid blindfold off?" Loki whined at Thor. Both Brothers were dressed in their finest formal wear and had crowns on their heads.

"No, you may not," Thor replied pleasantly. He turned to you. "You look beautiful, Sister dear," he told you warmly. You had the feeling that he just wanted to rile Loki up.

He succeeded.

"I am sure Thor is correct, darling," Loki finally said after he'd finished grumbling. He reached a hand up to his blindfold, but Thor slapped it back down immediately.

"No tricks, Brother. You shall see her soon. And don't you even think about vanishing it with magic," Thor added quickly. Loki huffed, but obeyed. He only did because it was important to his family. Loki tried to come over to kiss you, but Thor held him back by the back of the shirt.

You couldn't help giggling at their antics.

You finally heard the music change. "Come along, Brother, our cue is soon." You all left the antechamber. That music had indicated that all the guests were in place. You followed them, staying a couple steps behind them so you could wait for your cue. "The doors will open again when it is your cue, Sister," Thor reminded you.

"Thank you," you told him, feeling the nerves now that you were standing there. You kept trying to convince yourself that this wasn't a real wedding. This was too soon in your relationship for a real wedding. It was a ceremony to appease his family, to prove to them that this wasn't a sham. The feelings were real, even if the soulbond had come from unfortunate circumstances.

/It won't change anything, darling. I promise you/ Loki told you, reading the emotions of your worry.

/I know. This is still a step we wouldn't be ready for except that circumstances give us no choice/ you reminded him, expressing your feelings.

/I know, darling, and I wish that you could be spared it, but it was the only way to save you life. Now, we both must face the consequences of you being soulbound to a prince/

The music changed again. Thor removed Loki's blindfold moments before the doors opened, just enough to allow them to pass through. Loki was extremely well behaved for once and did not look back to catch a glimpse of you. It was against the rules.

You were jealous of Loki for a moment. He had his brother to walk with him.

You would have to make the procession alone.

The music changed again and the doors swung open. You steeled yourself, and made the procession down the long aisle of the throne room, focusing on nothing but Loki as you walked, careful not to trip. You tried to ignore the crowd around you as you passed them. Loki's expression was worth all of this. He was so overjoyed and so in awe of...you.

You were just a little mortal and he was in awe of you.

You couldn't quite believe it.

You finally made it to your place in front of the throne, facing Loki, just like a human wedding. You tried to force that thought from your mind. This wasn't a wedding. Odin and Frigga were standing in front of their thrones. Odin made a short speech that you didn't catch a word of. You were too entranced with everything else that was going on. "It is on this joyous occasion that my youngest son, Prince Loki, would like to make an announcement," you caught the last words of Odin's speech. This was the important part.

Loki dropped to one knee and you felt your heart skip a beat. You had to remind yourself again that this wasn't a real wedding, not a real proposal. It was a ruse, an act to appease his people. When you saw the look in his eyes when he took your left hand in both of his, you knew that was a lie. No matter what he said, this was very real to him. You should have been uncomfortable with that, but he was so insistent that your relationship wouldn't change, that nothing back home would change, that you weren't uncomfortable and got swept up in the moment instead.

"Blessed be the name of Odin, my father, and Frigga, his queen." Loki started the ritual words, speaking them slowly and clearly this time. He didn't have to rush through them to save your life. "In their names, with their power, and with joy in your heart you make this vow. With their blessing, you give this gift. I choose you, Y/N Kathryn Stark. To stand by your side and sleep in your arms. To guard and cherish, to bring joy to your heart. To learn with you and grow with you. Without your love, I am incomplete. I bind myself to you with these vows, willingly and wholeheartedly, free from doubt or reservation. With love, I will tell you the truth as I understand it. I will honor and respect you. I will rejoice in your joys and weep in your sorrows. I will love and cherish you without cease, without pause, without hesitation for all of our days. You are my equal, my partner, my life. So I give this gift to you and you alone. I share your life and my soul with you. All that is mine is yours, I bind myself now to you, from this moment until the end of all of our days." He kissed the back of your left hand and the pattern of black and green lines up both of our arms started glowing in response.

There was absolutely no sound in the audience while they waited for your reply. You took a breath and spoke the words you had worked so hard to memorize. "Blessed be the name of Frigga, queen of Asgard, and of Odin her king. In their names, with their power, and with joy in my heart, I return your vow. With their blessing, I give this gift. I choose you, Prince Loki. To stand by your side and sleep in your arms. To guard and cherish, to bring joy to your heart. To learn with you and grow with you. Without your love, I am incomplete. I bind myself to you with these vows, willingly and wholeheartedly, free from doubt or reservation. With love, I will tell you the truth as I understand it, I will honor and respect you. I will rejoice in your joys and weep in your sorrows. I will love and cherish you without cease, without pause, without hesitation for all of our days. You are my equal, my partner, my life. So I give this gift to you and you alone. I share my life and my soul with you. All that is mine is yours, I bind myself now to you, from this moment until the end of all of our days." You spoke the words as you had been practicing all week, loudly enough to be heard by all and clearly enough to be understood. You took Loki's left hand and bowed over it, placing your lips against the back of his cool hand, over the pattern there. The lines of gold and blue magic on your arms glowed in response. The crowd cheered as Loki stood and pulled you into a hug to kiss you deeply.

Frigga stepped forward when Loki finally broke the kiss and you stood side by side in front of her. She held a beautiful silver tiara in her hands. You dipped into a curtsy in front of her when she moved to stand in front of you. "Welcome to our family, Daughter," she announced, settling the tiara on your head. "Rise as the newest Princess of Asgard" You rose and turned with Loki to face the crowd who broke into cheers again.

You and Loki led the procession back out of the throne room and straight to the waiting feast. The feast lasted until dawn. At least you could escape the crowd then and return to the safety of your suite before the feast ended. "You are quite ravishing darling," he whispered, holding you tightly once we were safely in your suite. You wrapped your arms around his neck, standing on your toes to better kiss him. "I have been wanting to do this all day," he said between kisses. It was after quite a few kisses that you remembered what you had neglected to remember all day. This was the equivalent of his wedding night. You hadn't taken that into account, somehow. Loki had kept saying that nothing would change, so you hadn't even thought about it. You stiffened in his arms and took a step back. "What's wrong, darling?" he asked, concerned.

You held up a finger to tell him you needed a moment. It would take you a minute to figure out how to explain your concern. He waited patiently, which was impressive given the circumstances. "This is the equivalent of your wedding night," you started, still unsure of your words. You couldn't ask the thing you needed to, couldn't tell him that you was denying him the activity that generally occurred on a wedding night.

"Technically," he answered, warily. "Kat, I thought you made it clear. Nothing is changing between us, just because we had to survive a ceremony for your family and kingdom. Nothing has to change," You paid attention to his words since he actually used your name for once. "I would love nothing more than to marry you someday, but that day will be in the future, once we are both ready for it. I'm sorry I had to force the soulbond on you. It was the only way to save your life. I'm not sorry for saving your life, but I'm sorry to have put you in this situation. My previous statement still stands: when we go home, if you want me to leave, to stop courting you, to stand aside, I will. I will go without complaint the instant you ask. I will not force you into a relationship with me. If you want to continue our relationship, we will and we will move at the speed you are comfortable with and not one bit faster," he told you firmly. He opened his arms to you and you wrapped your arms around his slim waist and let him hold you.

"You're not...disappointed that we're not...consummating... your marriage tonight?" you asked him in a small scared voice. He kissed the top of your head.

"Not at all, darling. I would consider myself extremely lucky if you allow me to spend our resting hours with your heartbeat next to mine. I would be perfectly content sleeping on the couch if that is what it took to make you feel safe and comfortable,"

You looked up at him and smiled, reassured by his honeyed words. "How did I ever deserve you?" you asked him softly.

He kissed you lightly. "I ask how I ever deserve you every day," he replied. "Now let's get out of these uncomfortable pretty clothes and get some rest. We only have one more day of visiting before we have to go home," he reminded you. You turned your back to him and moved your hair away from the back of your neck.

"Can you get the tie for me?" you asked him. You couldn't quite reach it. You knew that since Sif had to tie it for you earlier.

"Of course," he replied. You felt his cool fingers against your neck as he undid the tie for you.

"Thank you." You blushed and ducked into the bedroom to find some pajamas, cursing yourself for not just using magic to change clothes. You kept forgetting you had powers sometimes.

You found your pajamas and curled in the middle of Loki's giant bed. He joined you a minute later and you finally got to get some sleep, even with the sun shining into the bedroom.

You only slept a few hours as you had a lot of visiting with Loki's family to do today. You were leaving first thing tomorrow morning. Saying goodbye to everyone was going to be hard, you absolutely loved it on Asgard. You spent the afternoon with Sif and Thor and the evening after dinner with them and Loki's parents. It was bittersweet when you said goodnight that evening. The goodbyes the next morning were even more difficult, even with Frigga's reassurances that you could come visit anytime. You and Loki created the portal together that morning and gave everyone one final hug before you walked through it back home.