A few months passed and you healed, despite how much you sucked at resting and really sucked at sleeping unless Loki was there with you. You still weren't at 100%, but you'd recovered enough that you were able to start going to back to work at Stark Industries. This time you could actually work a proper day shift like a real person. It made your day the first morning you went into the building.

You still got winded occasionally, especially sparring with Nat, but your skills were slowly but surely improving. No one else besides occasionally Bucky or Loki could actually convince you to practice your combat skills yet. You weren't up to letting them see you so weak.

You had kept some of the vampire traits, even as the months passed. Your eyes still glowed at night and you usually had to take a nap at noon as you were too drained to function. Stark actually built you a little bedroom in your office at Stark Industries. Most of the time Loki was waiting for you there at noon, despite not being technically allowed in the building.

One evening you walked into your office to find Loki sitting in your office chair with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. "Hello, darling," he greeted you with a warm purr, excited as ever to see you.

You gave him a warm smile. "Hey, Lokes," you greeted him brightly in return and moved over to him. "What are doing here? You know Stark will kill you if he finds you in the building," you reminded him with a smirk. Stark didn't really care as long as Loki wasn't causing irreparable trouble or damage.

Loki chuckled and gave you an innocent look that you didn't believe for a moment. "I just came to see you," he said too innocently. "Though I did wish to warn you, be ready for tonight. I have dinner plans for us that I would hate for you to miss," he said warmly.

You bent to give him a soft kiss. "And what should I plan on wearing for these dinner plans? Besides your colors, of course," you teased as you magicked up a vase to put the flowers in. You set the prominently on your desk.

"Any dress of your choosing, my colors or no. But the rest of the evening is a surprise," Loki informed you easily. He'd likely set something out for you regardless.

"Alright noodle," you teased in him return, letting him have his bit of fun. "I have to get to a meeting and tell a bunch of Japanese businessmen that they're stupid," you told him, hating that you had to cut time with your boyfriend short. You smirked with a glint of mischief in your eyes. "And they don't know yet that I speak Japanese. That's why Tony's letting his "little niece" handle this meeting," you added. Nat had made you an identity, which had listed you as Tony's niece. She'd shored it up recently so there were no holes in your identity that could be found, especially with the movie coming out soon and lots of publicity around the new character. So you'd gotten used to using it as your primary identity to the humans. "I'll be home after," you promised him. He worried if you were out later than he expected.

Loki stood and pulled you into a very delicious kiss that promised much more fun later. And left you feeling breathless. "Good luck, darling. Show them what you've got," he told you in Japanese, as he could speak any language.

You grinned up at him, still breathless from the kiss, but the good kind of breathless that he wouldn't freak out about. "はい、がんばります (yes, I'll do my best)," you replied and headed off for your meeting, laptop in hand and a grin on your face at your exciting evening planned and the visit from your Loki.

Loki teleported back to the tower once you were gone and found Bucky and Nat sitting together on the couch. Even though they hadn't been doing anything, though Nat was curled on Bucky's lap where she'd clearly been reading. They'd been enjoying a rare quiet afternoon in the tower.

"Enjoying some time alone?" Loki asked with a smirk when they jumped. They hadn't expected him to teleport into the common room.

They laughed because their alone time had been very innocent... in the common room. "We were," Nat teased.

"What's up, vedma" Bucky replied, instead of sinking to Loki's teasing love. His new metal arm, courtesy of you being bored in the lab, held Nat in play on his lap.

Loki blushed a light purple. "I might be in need of your assistance," he admitted softly.

"Oh?" they both asked, even more curious at his blush. It took a lot to get Loki to blush, especially to be less careful of his illusions and allow the purple tint to come through.

"Looking for advice on how to get past second base?" Bucky teased mercilessly. The base system has been explained to the Asgardians after a movie joke went poorly. Granted you and Loki were far beyond second base, but Bucky didn't need to know that.

Loki rolled his eyes, but relaxed a little at the normal familiar teasing. "Very funny, Cyborg. And no," he summoned the ring Odin had given him. "I plan to propose tonight," he explained to them.

Bucky chuckled at the first statement, glad their friendship was strong enough that he can even make that kind of joke without Loki killing him, or even considering it .

"Ooh, big step," Nat said with absolutely no doubts that you would say yes. "What do you need our help with?"

"Ideas," Loki replied, grateful at least she could stay on topic. "I planned a nice dinner, but besides that I'm stuck. I am known as the silver tongue but in this instance, it's turned to lead," he admitted, hating asking for help, but he wanted to do this properly.

They suggest all sorts of things from the roof where you and Loki had your first date, to the charity ball Stark was hosting that night, to the top of the Eiffel tower, trying to see if something would strike Loki's fancy.

He eventually sighed and put his head in his hands. "Nothing sounds perfect enough," he whined.

"It doesn't have to be absolutely perfect. That little ball of sunshine of yours will just be happy that you want to spend the rest of your incredibly long life with her," Nat reminded him gently, placing a comforting hand on his back. She could get away with touching him without dying.

Loki looked over at her. "You're right. I just feel like I need to something to prove it. She's special. I want to show her how much"

"Then do it in a way that shows you care for a remember things about her. Maybe on the roof at sunrise. She adored those starlit picnics of yours and staying up all night with you to watch the sunrise, even if she couldn't stay outside to enjoy it," Nat suggested. You told her about those mornings in far too much detail. Plus she was a spy and knew everything.

"That could work," Loki agreed. He gave them both a smile. "Thank you,"

"No trouble at all," Bucky replied. "Don't worry, we won't tell her," he added before Loki could worry about just that.

Loki nodded and stood again to go get ready. There were a lot of things to prepare to make the night perfect to propose to his lady.