I know I'm evil for the last cliffhanger. No, I'm not sorry.

Now: here is your next and final installment of Like the Pharaohs of Old. Enjoy!

Darcy woke up in Stark's tower of all places. She recognized it immediately simply by the technology around the room. That fancy TV would never be in an actual hospital. The panel by the bed and door was Stark's system he had throughout the tower. The room she was in, though, looked like a hospital room. Darcy knew Stark had a doctor on staff for some weird chest problem, but an actual hospital room? Well, it was a big tower. Stark could put whatever he wanted in it.

Another key thing in the room, besides the technology, was the person half-sitting half-falling off of the lounge chair in the corner. Even asleep, Loki looked tired. More importantly, though, he was alive. He had all of his limbs and didn't appear to have a severe brain injury or that he had almost bled to death. That was more than what Darcy could say for herself— she distinctly remembered losing a lot of blood. Looking back over at Loki, she noticed that on his exposed arm there was a bandage on the inside of his elbow. She distantly remembered him mentioning once that both he and his brother had O negative blood.

Darcy pushed herself into a sitting position and immediately regretted it. Her back felt like it was on fire. Well, she had been shot with Schmidt's fancy gun there. I wonder what happened to good old Schmidt… I hope Loki killed him. No, wait, that's awful. Well… yeah, I hope Loki killed him.

Darcy tried to piece together what happened through her hazy memories: Loki showed up, Schmidt sassed him a little, Loki beat him up, Loki untied her, and then Schmidt shot her. Somewhere in there the group had shown up as well. They probably grabbed Schmidt right after he had shot her, which meant they would have all witnessed her and Loki's little moment together. After she had been shot, she honestly thought she was going to die. She thought she was going to bleed out in Loki's arms all dramatic-like. Well that's awkward. Maybe I should say 'gotcha!' when Loki wakes up…

As if on cue, Loki's head began moving a little. When he opened his eyes and saw her awake, he looked at her like he thought he was still dreaming. When he seemed to realize that he wasn't in fact asleep, a huge grin spread across his face.

"Darcy," He jumped up and went to her side, sitting carefully beside her.

"How'd we get to New York?" she asked. That was how she was going to start their reunion? Tsk, tsk. Come on, Darce.

"We took you to a hospital in Cairo. Once you were stable enough to fly, we brought you here so Stark's personal doctors could take care of you,"

"Once I was stable?"

"Yes," She watched as the pain from the memory of it entered his eyes. "Back in Cairo… they thought you were not going to make it, as a result of losing so much blood. They were able to give you enough, though,"

"From you?" Darcy smiled as she poked him in the arm beside his band-aid.

"It seemed like a worthy cause." He cracked a smile and had just a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Oh, did it now?" It was somewhat abrupt, but she felt like they had gone long enough. Grabbing him by the collar, she pulled him close enough to kiss him. Part of it was out of gratitude, part of it out of longing, and most of it because holy shit they made it through together.

"Look's like someone's awake and wasting no time," a voice rang out, interrupting them.

Darcy backed off Loki by an inch. "Nice to see you too, Stark," she answered, smiling, still embracing Loki.

Stark stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Loki and Darcy parted.

For some odd reason, Stark was dressed up. Then again, he was the kind of guy who just enjoyed wearing three-piece suits even if there wasn't a reason. "Has he told you yet that you've been out for almost three days now?"

"No, he has not," Darcy said, looking over at Loki.

"It hadn't come up yet." Loki smiled playfully at her. "I figured I would break that one to her a little later, once she actually recovered some."

"I'm plenty recovered. Never felt better. What else have I missed?"

"Oh, you missed all the fun. There was mad panic after Schmidt hit you with his ray-gun," Stark did an impeccable impression of Marvin the Martian on the last few words that both shocked Darcy and caused her to start laughing. Stark smiled just a little at her laughter before continuing, "And then we kind of split up for a little bit. Some of us went to the hospital with you while the rest took care of Schmidt."

"What happened to him?"

"Oh, he's going to be in jail for a long time. Being an arms dealer to terrorists and kidnapping and almost killing people will do that to a person. He's getting what he deserves." Stark explained.

"That sounds good enough for me," Darcy said. "So, who and all was in Egypt? I know I saw a few people, but it didn't look like everybody."

"Jane, Pepper, Thor, and Bruce stayed behind here at the tower. The rest of us all came after you almost immediately once we knew what happened." Loki said.

"The note said for him to come alone or whatever, but we weren't going to let him have all the fun," Stark said. "We did send him in first so we could take Schmidt by surprise, but it didn't work out quite as well as we wanted it to."

"Hey, shit happens." Darcy said with a shrug.

Stark laughed. "She got shot and her response is 'shit happens.' Odinson, I like this one. She's a keeper."

Loki smiled at him and nodded in agreement. "That has been my impression with her, too. Hopefully she'll let me stick around,"

"We'll see. Finish what happened, then we'll talk." Darcy said more to both of them than just Loki.

"Right," Stark said. "So after that, the master assassins and Steve took care of our buddy Schmidt while you received medical attention," Stark continued.

"So you went with me to the hospital? Oh, Tony, you do care!" Darcy sarcastically spoke blithely.

"I had to make sure someone competent was present. Loki was a bit of a mess,"

"Thanks for that," Loki said dryly.

"Anyways, long story short: you're better now. Schmidt's behind bars forever. Everybody's ok. Did I miss anything?"

"I think that is everything," Loki said, nodding.

"Well, I was just stopping in to check on you guys. You know, make sure loverboy hadn't gotten too upset. If you're ok here, I have people to do and things to see. I'll leave you to celebrate your reunion in peace."

"Yes, please," Darcy said a little too eagerly. Stark smiled knowingly and closed the door quietly behind him on the way out.

"You two sure are warming up. How long ago was it, the day you punch him?"

"He has been very hospitable to all of us. And he's not as bad as I initially thought. He's… tolerable."

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Darcy grinned as she spoke. Loki rolled his eyes a little, but did not protest.

Loki explained to her that her back would heal, but there would be some scarring where the blast had hit her. Nothing too bad, just a circle of slightly red skin about five inches in diameter below her right shoulder. That was nothing compared to what could have been done to them. She'd bled a lot, but nothing was damaged beyond repair with her insides.

The rest of the day was filled with Darcy attempting to walk on slightly wobbly legs, a few teary reunions, and quite a bit of pain medication. Loki eventually brought her to their room and helped her shower (among other things she greatly enjoyed), and then the two of them went to bed. And that was that. Darcy had lain awake for a little while, thinking over how the day back in the temple had gone down: how she had begged Loki to leave, but he wouldn't. How Loki had beaten the shit out of Schmidt. How she and Loki had spent what they both had thought were her last moments. If that last thing proved anything to her, it was that she and Loki definitely loved each other. She couldn't ask for more.

A few days later, Stark gathered everybody and told them all about Schmidt's trial, which apparently already happened. (Hell yeah, justice system! Do work!) It actually wasn't much of a 'trial,' but more of a 'here's what you did wrong and how long you'll be in jail. Hint: you'll be in jail until you die.' Stark had been a witness to it, providing more than a few slightly scandalous quotes for the papers. With Stark against Schmidt plus all of the evidence the court had found over the years of Hydra attempting and failing to lie low, the case was easy to build against him quickly. Apparently dudes who want to sell guns to terrorists don't have the best chances of being proven innocent. And bada-bing; signed, sealed, delivered. He can rot in jail for the next five hundred years or however long his sentence is.

After Stark's spiel about Schmidt, he broke the news that he would be throwing a party for them here at the tower. It was to be a 'Get Well Soon, Darcy/Glad You Aren't Dead, Loki and Darcy/Schmidt's In Jail/We Found The Treasure/We're All Rich Now' party, fancy dress of course. Pepper was already on it, under Stark's orders. The things she goes through for him.

If Rome proved anything to Stark, it was that Pepper could put together a great party at the last minute, which meant that he didn't have to wait very long for his parties. She said she'd only need a week, and that was just so that the invitations could get out.

And so, a week came and passed. There was one day when Loki and Thor mysteriously vanished, neither of them telling their lady-friends or anybody else where they were going. When they returned, Thor had a dumb look on his face the entire evening and Darcy could see something weird in Loki's eyes. Other than that, the week was fairly normal. Well, as normal as things could be at Stark Tower.

The night of the party was upon them. Jane, Pepper, and Darcy were getting ready together in Pepper's room, helping each other out here and there. Darcy had found a great dress; it was dark green (she had found that Loki, for some reason, really liked the color green, particularly on her), flashy and fairly low in the front (low enough Steve would probably suddenly become very interested in the ceiling), at a more-than-slightly teasing length, and it covered her back. She wasn't ashamed of her scar, but she wasn't quite used to it yet. Besides that, it was still in the gross healing/sometimes-it-still-bleeds stage, so she covered it up with a big bandage, her dress, and then wore her hair down and very curly.

When the three women finished, the party had been going for about a half an hour. What is it with rich people and not going to their own parties until they've already started? They rode up the elevator to meet their dates and the other members of the group. Clint and Nat were of course paired up, as always choosing to seclude themselves from the group to the best of their abilities. Steve went alone; he'd probably stand off by himself or dance with a few women after asking them nicely. Bruce, on the other hand, had a date; some woman named Betty who he seemed very fond of.

Thor and Jane and Darcy and Loki made their featured but not really very grand entrances, but Stark and Pepper stole the show. Still no background dancers, though.

Darcy danced with Loki for a while. She had gotten a little better since Rome, but Loki was still doing almost all of the work. A song came on where everyone was supposed to dance with someone they didn't come with, so the Odinson brothers swapped dates and Jane got to have an actual dance partner for once. Thor wasn't quite as bad as he had looked in Rome, but he was still no Loki.

As the two of them swayed to the music, Thor moved in a little closer.

"I have a confession to make," Thor said, a gleam in his eyes.

"Ok…" Darcy said unsurely.

"My brother and I, we went to this very nice store the other day. I— I bought Jane a ring,"

"A ring?" Darcy's eyes widened, hoping he meant what she thought he meant.

"An engagement ring. I am telling you this because you are the closest thing Jane has to family. She is not close to her parents or really anyone she is related to by blood,"

Darcy immediately felt really guilty over all of those times she had internally made fun of Jane. She was a funny gal, though a little overdramatic and emotional. She also had a problem with showing affection with Thor. But Darcy loved the girl; she had never really thought about it, but she supposed Jane was the closest thing Darcy had to family as well.

"Are you asking for my permission or something?"

"Well," Thor looked embarrassed now.

"You have my blessings. Marry that girl." Darcy beamed at him.

Thor smiled widely. "Thank you so much. At the wedding, Loki is to be my best man. I know I do not technically have a say in this, but I am sure Jane will have you as the maid of honor."

"I'd be honored just to make it into one wedding picture."

The song ended and the two of them parted. Darcy cut through the crowd and made her way to the balcony. For the first time all night, it was deserted. The wind cut straight through her dress, making her almost wish she had worn a ball gown instead.

The city was lit up in front of her, electrified with life and color and distant sounds. She could see the giant patch of darkness that was Central Park. There was one specific building she could just barely see that she could definitely see herself living in.

Maybe Loki will live with me. We talked about that; we were going to get a place. Hopefully. That is rather rash for a two-month relationship. Well, considering the mileage we already have, I think we could chalk this up to equaling maybe a one-year relationship. That sounds about right. Darcy's mind was drawn to thoughts of Thor and Jane, and how they would hopefully be getting married soon. Naturally, her mind wandered to the possibility of her and Loki getting married. That is definitely too rash for even a one-year relationship. Well, maybe after a little while of living together we can start thinking about that.

Darcy was feeling something, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on the name for it. She was happy, genuinely happy, and it was fantastic. Ecstasy? No, that's not it. Joy? Nope. Damn, what's the name for this? Her thoughts were interrupted by someone else joining her on the balcony.

"You know, I really like that dress."

Darcy rolled her eyes, not even turning around to look at him.

"I noticed you liked the color."

She felt his arms snake around her. She felt his warmth against her, filling her to her core. The chill air still hit her front, but she couldn't even think about that now if she tried to. He spoke lowly into her ear, "Did you? What else did you notice I like?"

Darcy turned herself in his arms to face him. Loki looked thrilled with this turn in the conversation. She spoke lowly, knowing this would kill him. "Well, I could show you, but we're in public."

"I do not have any problem with indecency whatsoever." His eyes were aglow.

"I really like when you use unnecessary fancy words. It makes me feel vehemently concupiscent."

"You echo my sentiments. A large vocabulary is extremely alluring."

Darcy was about to continue this incredibly entertaining conversation, but was cut off by a sudden gasp coming from the main room. After the last two months, she immediately assumed the worst and ran toward the door, ready to kick some Hydra ass. Instead of seeing partygoers being killed, she saw something that surprised her even more.

Thor was on his knee in front of a crying Jane. Jane was grinning and nodding and Thor was saying something to her that the people who could actually hear were awww-ing about. He pulled out a ring and slid it on her finger, and then the two of them hugged and the band started playing some pretty song and Thor and Jane starting dancing all cute-like.

"This is so fucking cute," Darcy said.

"Your word choice is absolutely marvelous, darling," Loki said, putting his arm around her waist.

"I thought you'd enjoy that. I know how you like when I use big words,"

"Nothing thrills me more than hearing you describe something as 'so fucking cute.'"

"I'll have to test that later. So, your brother is getting married,"

"It would appear so. He really has found himself a great woman."

"Jane's quite the catch. She's a rad gal."

"Groovy," Loki said in agreement, only slightly mocking her use of the word 'rad.' Darcy actually started laughing at Loki using the word 'groovy.' There was something about a proper English gentleman (if Loki counted as such) saying that word that really just got her.

The party ended with no other major events taking place. Loki and Darcy went to bed and the two of them had quite a bit of fun before finally turning in around sunrise. That poor green dress would never be wearable again, unless one of them was to become a seamstress; Loki had literally torn it in half in his attempt to get it off of her as fast as possible. Not that it mattered that much: they were billionaires now. She could buy ten new dresses that looked just like it if she felt so inclined.

As Darcy drifted off to sleep, arms and legs tangled with Loki's, she finally realized what she was feeling. Bliss. That's the word she had been searching for earlier, Darcy recalled. She was ecstatic, happy, and absolutely full of bliss. She had Loki and that's all she would ever need.

As she drifted off to sleep, a small smile spread across her face. Darcy sighed contently, feeling an overwhelming feeling of bliss.

Ta-da!

Thank you so much, reviewers/followers/favoriters/supporters! You guys are absolutely amazing. I can't express my gratitude. This story has been a blast to write and a huge step forward for my confidence as a writer and my passion for story-telling, being the first time I've published something fictitious and the story being received so well. And hey: if anything, I've learned how to spell 'pharaoh' without thinking about it.

The sequel is now up. You can find it through my profile if you so desire. Also on my profile: a movie-verse Tasertricks story, if you want to read that one as well. Both stories are going to be just as action-packed, romantic, and angst-filled as this one (if not more so; I hope you guys like cliffhangers as much as I like writing them)(cue evil laughter). Ahem. Right. Sequel: 'What We Lost.' Movie-verse: 'Life's Great Lie.' On my profile, as I said.

Anyways: thanks again, I love you, and peace out.