Firstly, if you have not read the prequel with its ridiculously long title because I suck with titles (the fanfic being "Sometimes Being Different is a Good Thing") you will most likely not have a clue as to what is going on and should go read that first.

Secondly, I do not own Avengers, Marvel, or anything related to it.

Thirdly, thank you to all my faithful readers. I hope you enjoy this one as much as the first. Let's get started shall we?

CHAPTER ONE

It was a beautiful April day in Ashland as Steve Rogers made his way around the University campus. He was hoping to surprise his girlfriend, Olyvia Harris, by his early arrival. After she moved to the city for school in late December, he had returned to New York, and only had the chance to see her for a few days last month, only due to wanting to be there for her during her grandmother's funeral in March. It wasn't as sad of an occasion as her grandfather's funeral since they knew she was finally back with him, and it was more of a comfort to know they could be together again. Olyvia was expecting Steve, but in two more days, but since he hadn't been needed by S.H.I.E.L.D the last month or two, he decided to surprise her by showing up a few days early. He was going to be heading back to California with her for her sister's wedding. Dianne's parents were taken by surprise by the sudden proposal and in even more shock when they wanted to have the wedding in four months' time. Needless to say the girls' father thought there was a certain reason behind wanting such a quick wedding, and Loki nearly got beaten to death by the man before Dianne was able to explain that no that wasn't why. Steve was even more terrified of the guy after witnessing that, and definitely knew he was going to stick to his standard of waiting until marriage for that sort of thing. Though, as time went by, he found it more and more difficult to keep such thoughts from his head, and the last time he had a small moment of privacy with Olyvia, his hands started wandering to areas they shouldn't. He kept telling himself he was a gentleman, he needed to act that way, not like a Tony Stark. There was no way in this world that he would ever be like that man.

Steve came to a stop outside the Science building, where he knew Olyvia currently was, and checking his watch, saw that it was nearly time for her to be finished with her Chemistry class lecture. As he waited, he noticed quite a few groups of girls slow down and stare at him as they passed by, and he could feel the blush creeping up on his face. He still hadn't gotten used to those stares. Most of the time, he forgot he was the big guy he currently was, still thinking he was that small, scrawny kid from Brooklyn.

A large group of students then began filtering through the doors of the building, and Steve glanced down at his watch again. Olyvia's class should have gotten out by now so lifting his gaze, he searched among the sea of students for Olyvia's face. He first recognized her by her hair though. How could he miss that mass of blond, and most of the time frizzy, curls on her head? They were tamed today, but her hair was still as poufy as ever. She had her cell phone in her hand, poking at it, and Steve guessed she was doing that texting thing she had tried teaching him with his own phone. He had gotten enough of the concept to be able to reply with short phrases such as: ok, yes, no. Anything more complex than that he got frustrated with the phone.

With her attention diverted, Steve was able to walk right up behind her without her even noticing, still poking away at the phone. He was half tempted to see how long it took her to realize someone was following her, but he hadn't seen her in so long, he didn't want to wait to say hello.

"So how did your class go, Ms. Harris?" Steve asked.

Olyvia jumped, and turned around to see who was talking to her, before letting out an ecstatic scream as she threw her arms around Steve's neck and full on kissed him on the lips. Steve wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up off the ground as he deepened the kiss. He could tell a difference in her weight, but he knew it was from that bulging bag slung over her shoulder that was currently swinging into his hip.

"Steve! You're early! Like, two days early," Olyvia said when she broke away from the kiss, and gazed down into Steve's blue eyes, since he was still holding her up, "Or am I two days behind? Did I miss my lab yesterday?"

"No, you're right on schedule," Steve replied, "I just wanted to surprise you is all. Did it work?"

"Did it work? Yes it worked," Olyvia said, kissing him again, "I'm so happy to see you. I get two extra days with you!"

"My plan exactly," Steve replied, "I couldn't wait to see you, it feels like it's been forever."

"Because it has been forever," Olyvia rebutted, "Forever, and ever, and I missed you so much."

They kissed again, and Steve knew they had to be attracting a lot of stares by now. Carefully setting her back down, the pulled apart, and Olyvia smiled somewhat goofily up at him as she wrapped her hand in his.

"So as for your first question, class went great," Olyvia said, "I'm sure you're tired of me telling you how hilarious my teacher is."

"You have mentioned it like…every phone call, which is every day," Steve said.

"I get it, I'll shut up about how funny my chemistry teacher is," Olyvia said, pursing her lips shut as the two began walking, Steve following Olyvia since he had no clue as to where they would be going, "So how did you get here?"

"Public transport from the airport," Steve replied, "Why?"

"Oh, just curious as to whether I would be giving you a ride," Olyvia said, "Unless…you plan on crashing at my apartment for the next few days."

Olyvia sounded hopeful that he would, but Steve knew that would only tempt the both of them, and he didn't want to risk that, because of the repercussions he knew he would receive, from Olyvia's dad in particular. Though he did drop his luggage off at with the manager of Olyvia's apartment so he wouldn't have to lug it around with him, but he planned on just picking it up and going to a hotel.

"I don't know Olyvia," Steve said, "It would be safer if I just stayed at a hotel."

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior," Olyvia said, "You can sleep on the couch, and I'll lock my bedroom door, even though that wouldn't have any effect if you really wanted in."

Steve couldn't help but blush at that.

"And Whisper misses you bunches too," Olyvia went on.

Steve thought over it for a few seconds. Spending the money for a hotel didn't really bother him, since he was paid so much by S.H.I.E.L.D, but he was torn over whether to spend as much time as he could with Olyvia, or play it safe and see her when he visited.

"I'll make all the meals," Olyvia added, trying to sweeten the deal.

"Alright, you convinced me," Steve said.

"Yay!" Olyvia said happily, doing a little dance.

"But if there is one sign that things might go further than they should, I'm going to a hotel."

Olyvia nodded, "Understood. So where are your things?"

Steve played dumb, just to see what reaction he would get from her, "Things? I was supposed to bring stuff?"

Olyvia looked like she was about to have a heart attack, her eyes growing wide as she gawked at him, "You…didn't…bring…what Dianne told you to? Your suit! Oh God, she's going to have a coronary! And only at twenty-four! I guess it was a good thing she was able to celebrate one last birthday before she died."

Steve stopped, and placed his hands on Olyvia's shoulders, "I'm joking, I'm joking. I stopped by your apartment complex and your manager is keeping an eye on my luggage. He remembered me from last time I visited so that was the only reason he was willing."

Olyvia slowly took in a deep breath as her face starting to turn red in irritation, "Don't. Do that. Again!" she ordered, poking him in the chest with each word, "Dianne's anxiety is rubbing off on me and that is through the phone. Imagine how much worse it'll get when we arrive at my parent's place!"

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it," Steve chuckled before placing a kiss on Olyvia's nose, "So how is Dianne holding up?"

"Holding up? I do not believe she understands that term at the moment," Olyvia replied, "She called me this morning, and she is completely freaking out that her wedding is this Saturday, which is 'five more days! Five days Livy! FIVE! FIIIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEE!'"

"Yeah, that sounds like Dianne," Steve said, "You're getting better at your voice impersonations by the way."

"Thank you," Olyvia said with a smile, before taking one of Steve's hands again and continued walking "At least everything is ready. We just need guests to arrive, and Dianne to not gain five pounds, and Loki to not faint from his nerves. I think he's having a more difficult time with this, given that Thor and Odin are coming. I don't know how they're going to fit in."

"Who's idea was it to invite them then?" Steve asked.

"Thor's," Olyvia groaned, "When he found out, he insisted that he would never miss his brother's wedding, that it's going to be 'such a grand occasion!' And he didn't want his dad being left out so he mentioned it to him. 'Asgard can go one day without its king to see his son's wedding!' Ugh, just thinking about Thor talking is giving me a headache."

"You won't have to be there long around everyone though," Steve said, "In fact, after the wedding, I can kidnap you and take you straight back here."

"Tempting, but I already promised to help clean up," Olyvia replied, "It's my sister after all."

Steve nodded in understanding, and by now Olyvia had led them to the parking lot, "So you are finished for the day?"

Olyvia nodded, "My Chemistry lecture was my last class for the day. Tomorrow I have my lab though, so you can either stay at the apartment for me to return, or you can come with and hang out in the library until I'm done."

"Hmm…stay at the apartment…or come onto the campus where Livy will potentially be dealing with explosives…I might play it safe and stay at the apartment," Steve said.

Olyvia playfully slapped him on the arm, "I am good at chemistry, thank you very much. Besides, we're not messing with explosive materials yet."

"Yet?" Steve asked incredulously. He had just been joking.

"Hey, anything is possible," Olyvia said, "Back in high school, someone accidently turned a Bunsen Burner into a blowtorch practically because he was being stupid and was messing around with the gas nozzle and hose. He set fire to the counter."

"That…sounds exciting."

"I wasn't there personally, but as you can guess, the tale spread like wildfire through the school."

"I'm going to take that as an attempt of a bad joke," Steve said.

Olyvia smiled innocently up at Steve, "What can I say? Puns run in the family. You can blame my dad."

Reaching her red, '95 Toyota Camry that she bought herself just before moving to Ashland, Steve moved ahead and opened the driver's door for her before going over to the passenger side. It felt a little odd to him that she was the one driving, but she was so overprotective of the car already she wouldn't let him touch the steering wheel. Last time he offered, she nearly bit off his hands. He didn't want to remind her that it was her who had rolled her last vehicle, but then again, that was the fault of invading aliens so he knew it was best to keep silent lest he lose more than just his hands.

It was just a fifteen minute drive from the University campus to Olyvia's apartment. She had forgone the dorms and looked for an apartment because she wanted to at least bring her cat along, and the dorms weren't exactly pet friendly. And just as Steve had said, Olyvia's manager had kept an eye on Steve's luggage, and they swung by the office to pick it up. Heading to the fourth floor of the building, Olyvia fished out the keys and unlocked the door. Stepping inside, she was greeted by the persistent yowling of her cat, who ran over to the entryway and then flopped over onto her back and proceeded to squirm around, begging for some love. Steve stopped just inside the door and stared in shock at the cat.

"My God she's gotten fat," Steve commented.

"It's because she doesn't have two other cats to chase around the house," Olyvia said, "And I don't play with her nearly as much because I'm busy with homework and studying."

"I can tell," Steve said, earning a glare from Olyvia.

"She's still cute and cuddly," Olyvia said defensively.

"Oh, I'm not arguing that," Steve said, "She's just…well, how is she going to get up?"

Olyvia stepped over the cat, who then proceeded to show she was not encumbered by her weight as she rolled back over onto her feet and speedily chased after Olyvia. Steve just shrugged, figuring it'd be best if he stayed silent, and placed his luggage by the couch so that it was out of the way. Olyvia placed her schoolbag at a small desk in the corner just on the other side of the couch, before swiveling around and letting herself fall down onto the couch, sprawling out a bit at the corner.

"Home sweet home," she sighed.

Steve sat down next to her, and Olyvia leaned over to cuddle up next to him as he wrapped his arms around her. Olyvia sighed contently as Steve's scent assaulted her senses, making her feel a little dizzy as though in a stupor, a smile tugging at her lips as she listened to the beat of his heart.

"I missed you," she whispered.

Steve bent his head down and kissed the top of hers, "I missed you too."

Dianne was in a panic. It was five more days until her wedding, and she was freaking out. If this was just a normal wedding, she could probably calm down a little, but since this was literally an intergalactic wedding, she was panicking. She was so worried about Thor absolutely ruining the wedding, and the reception, due to him being so…so…oblivious to his surroundings. He would perfectly fit the phrase "bull in a china shop" and that was why she was so worried. She was positive he wouldn't fit in, and her whole family would be staring, and wondering what sort of drugs he was on. What was worse, Thor just informed her that morning that his friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, whoever they were, were going to be attending as well. When she told Loki, he literally turned green, and asked if they could just run away and elope to avoid the catastrophe that was bound to happen.

Lying face down on her parents' couch, Dianne whimpered pitifully, wallowing in her misery. She wanted her wedding to be memorable, but for the good reasons, not the bad! She heard Rosemary approaching the living room from the hallway that led to the bedrooms, but her chattering and footsteps stopped by the time she should have hit the living room.

"Just back away, real slow like," Rosemary said to her boyfriend, who was over for the evening since it was after school. Rosemary knew better than to be within throwing radius of Dianne when she was in these moods.

Her retreating footsteps were slow at first, but a few seconds later she could hear that the two were running, and most likely to the safety of upstairs. Dianne groaned again. She was just so stressed, she felt like blowing something up. It would make her feel better.

After a few more minutes, she could feel someone watching her, and since she didn't hear their approach, she knew exactly who it was. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she found Loki standing in front of her, waiting for her to show some sort of sign she was alive.

"Running away is still an option," Loki said.

"No, no it's not," Dianne sighed, "My mom would hunt me down and kill me, after all the work she's put into setting up the wedding I can't just run away. Though I'm sure she'd prefer all her work not being destroyed by your brother. And his friends."

Loki groaned at the mention of his brother's friends, and sat down beside his fiancée, "The one I'm worried about is Volstagg."

"The one you said eats a lot?"

Loki nodded and Dianne whimpered as she fell back against the couch limply, "This is going to be a nightmare!"

Reaching over to his beloved, Loki tenderly pulled her into his arms, feathering kisses down the side of her face before finally capturing her lips.

"When I see Thor again, I will speak with him," Loki said, "I promise you, nothing will go wrong on our wedding day."

"Something always goes wrong though. Always!" Dianne wailed.

"Then we'll say that Olyvia will trip and fall on her face while she's walking down to take her place as your…what did you call it again?"

"Maid of Honor."

"Yes that," Loki said, "So can we agree that will be the only thing that will go wrong?"
"I don't think Olyvia would appreciate you jinxing her into ruining our wedding a little by embarrassing herself."

"Too bad," Loki rebutted, "She'll just have to put up with it. It's certainly better than my brother and his friends wrecking the place. I'll have Sif keep them in line. She's the only one who has any manners out of all of them and they're all scared of her."

"Good to know."

Sitting there for a few minutes, Dianne then wriggled herself out of Loki's grasp so that she could look him in the eye, "Oh, and one other thing. It's probably time for you to cut your hair for the wedding."

"I thought you liked it long though," Loki asked.

"I do," Dianne replied, running her fingers through his hair from the nape of his neck, "Because it's all…perfectly done and does that cute little flip at the ends, but Mom and I both agree that for the wedding, it'd look better if it were short."

"Very well," Loki said, "As long as it makes you happy, I'll do it."

"I'll make an appointment for you then to get your hair cut tomorrow or Wednesday," Dianne said, as she got up from the couch to get the phone to do just that.

She didn't get far though before Loki's hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back down onto his lap.

"You forgot something," he whispered before giving her a kiss on her lips, "There, now you can go."

Dianne smiled, and gave him one more kiss before getting back to her feet and heading over to the phone and grabbed the phonebook to find a number for a hair salon. As she flipped through the pages, she smiled even wider. It really didn't matter if the wedding was completely demolished by Thor and his friends, as long as Dianne would be married to the love of her life, that would make the day perfect.

As Olyvia promised, she was on her best behavior while Steve was staying at her place, and after making enchiladas for dinner, of which Steve ate all of, she made up the couch for him to sleep on. It would be a few hours yet before bedtime, but she wasn't in need of the couch so she went ahead and did that first before sitting down at the desk and pulled out her homework from her classes. Steve stood behind her and leaned over so he could wrap his arms around her waist and rest his head on her shoulder, looking down at her homework as she scribbled out words and equations on her paper. Steve just stared in confusion as she worked on it.

"What is that?" Steve asked.

"Chemistry," Olyvia replied.

"No wonder I don't understand any of it," Steve said.

Olyvia chuckled, "You have yet to see my Calculus homework."

"I'd never be able to pass any of the classes you're taking," Steve muttered as Olyvia's hand flew across her paper, doing some sort of math equation, that much he could tell.

"It's not that hard," Olyvia said, and Steve scoffed, "Okay, it's not that hard for me."

"I'm dating a genius, that must be it," Steve said, kissing her on her cheek.

"Well, this genius will work better without distractions," Olyvia said, "As much as I love having you right here, it is very distracting."

Steve sighed, and placed a few more kisses on her cheek before moving to sit down on the couch. He didn't want her falling behind because of him. For the first half hour, Steve just watched her as she worked. She made the cutest faces when she was concentrating and trying to figure out a problem. He started becoming a little bored though, with nothing to do, so he grabbed his suitcase and pulled out the book he was currently reading. It was hours before Olyvia eventually finished, drained from the work, having to stare for so long at her paper. Dropping down onto the couch beside Steve, she leaned against him and closed her eyes, and he went ahead and placed his bookmark in between the pages before closing the book.

"You look exhausted," Steve said, "Is homework really that draining?"

"It sucks my energy out through my eyeballs," Olyvia muttered.

Steve smiled, and turned his head so he could kiss her. She hardly responded, so he knew she must have been thoroughly exhausted.

"You should go to bed then," Steve said, moving his lips to kiss her on the forehead.

"I'll do that…in a few minutes," Olyvia muttered, "I'm too comfortable right here."

Steve could live with that, and the two just sat there, enjoying each other's company until Olyvia decided it was time for her to go to her room and sleep.

"Goodnight," she whispered to Steve as she got up, planting one last kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight Livy," Steve replied as she sluggishly made her way to the hallway, where she gave one last wave to him before disappearing into it.

He waited a few minutes before grabbing his pajamas from his suitcase and headed into the bathroom to change, since it was also down the hall towards Olyvia's room. Her door was closed, and he could hear Whisper clawing at the door, obviously not happy about being confined to one room for the night. Once he had changed, he returned to the living room, shut off all the lights, and laid down on the couch. The moment his head hit the pillow, he rolled over onto his side so he could press the side of his face against it, and took in a deep breath. It smelled like Olyvia, not surprising since it was one of hers, but still Steve melted slightly as his eyes fluttered shut. He had missed Olyvia more than he had realized. That night, Steve slept better than he had in months.

Olyvia woke up the next morning at seven, which was early for her since she didn't have to be at her Chem lab until eleven o'clock and she usually slept in until eight-thirty or nine, but seeing as how her boyfriend had shown up early, and was sleeping on her couch, she found herself wide awake and eager to get the day started. She expected Steve to be up already, waiting patiently for her to wander out into the living room. He was always up early, like five in the morning early, an ungodly hour according to her. So heading out into the living room, she stopped and slowly inched her way into the kitchen when she saw that Steve was actually still asleep. She didn't want to wake him if he was that tired. Doing her best to remain quiet, she began getting things out from the cupboards and fridge in order to get some breakfast made. She was glad she had all the fixings for a nice tasty breakfast already, since she had planned on making this same breakfast, just tomorrow, when she expected Steve to arrive. So she first sliced strawberries and sprinkled just a little bit of sugar on them before setting them back in the fridge as she got started on the waffle batter. It was as she was reaching for the stainless steel bowl to mix everything in that she knocked it off the counter, and Olyvia had to react quickly if she didn't want it hitting the floor with a clang and waking Steve. So flailing her arms and feet about, she barely caught it with the side of her foot and her hand. Looking over to Steve, she saw him shift a little, but it didn't look like he woke up.

"I am a ninja," Olyvia whispered triumphantly as she gripped the bowl better in her hand and set it back down on the counter.

Getting to work on mixing together the batter, she could Steve starting to stir more as her work started getting a little noisier. She had to move away from the half-wall counter area so she could actually cook the waffles in the waffle iron, which had to be placed on the other side of the kitchen, almost in the corner, since all the other electrical outlets were in use. She was halfway through cooking the second set of waffles, when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and a head rest on her shoulder.

"I thought you'd wake up to the smell of food," Olyvia chuckled.

"Morning," Steve muttered sleepily.

Olyvia craned her head around to look at Steve's bleary-eyed face, "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

Steve simply nodded, letting his eyelids fall shut.

"How are you still tired? It's seven in the morning."

"Maybe because I slept for too long," Steve muttered, burying his face against Olyvia's neck, as if to hide from the light.

Olyvia smiled and leaned her head to the side to rest on Steve's. He was just so darn adorable. As she waited for the light on the waffle iron to go off telling her the food was ready, Steve began feathering kisses on her neck, sending shivers shooting down her spine, and distracting her from her current task.

"Steve," Olyvia said breathlessly, her eyes fluttering shut, "I'm trying to cook here."

He didn't seem to care, and turned Olyvia around to face him, capturing her lips with his. Olyvia leaned against the counter to help support her weight, since her legs were proceeding to turn into jello, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. It didn't take long for Olyvia to completely forget what she had been doing, her primary focus being Steve, and the feeling of his lips on hers, his hands sliding down to the small of her back, pulling her closer. It wasn't until the smell of smoke assaulted her senses that she was ripped out from her little fantasy world. Pushing Steve away, she cursed as she whirled around and flipped open the lid of the waffle iron. Grabbing a nearby pot holder, she began fanning away the smoke that came billowing out. After a good coughing fit, and turning on the exhaust fan in the stove to help suck out the smoke, it finally cleared away to reveal a very badly burnt waffle. Using a fork, Olyvia pulled the piece of charcoal from the iron.

"I think it'd be best if you uh…not distract me," Olyvia said, looking from the lump of charcoal to Steve, "Or else there won't be any breakfast."

Steve flushed red in embarrassment, "Sorry."

"No need to apologize," Olyvia assured him, "Just next time you're going to distract me like that, make sure I'm not cooking anything. I enjoy it too much to focus on anything else."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Steve said, "I think I'll just um…go change. Stay away from the kitchen so I don't end up burning the place down."

"Take your time," Olyvia said to him as he walked back into the living room, "Maybe I'll be able to get a few done while you're busy."

"I'll see what I can do," Steve replied, grabbing his change of clothes for the day and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

Looking back to the burned waffle, Olyvia tossed it into the trash. She could already tell today would be interesting.

Steve ended up following Olyvia back to the college and stayed in the Library reading while she went to her Chemistry lab. As he was reading, he had the uneasy feeling that someone was watching him, but looking around, he didn't see anyone looking at him. All the students were looking down at their own books, computers, or other technological devices. Pushing it aside, Steve went back to reading. Maybe he was just imagining it, being in a different place and not knowing anyone or anything around him.

It was another hour before Olyvia found him in the library, all smiles and told him of the fun time she had during her lab as they headed back to her car. She said many, many words he didn't understand, but as long as she was happy, he would put up with not understanding what she was going on about.

Once they were back at the apartment, Olyvia started packing up her suitcase so she would be ready to leave tomorrow afternoon after she was done with her classes that day. She was just glad she wouldn't have to get up super early to pick Steve up from the airport, now that he had shown up early. All she really needed to concern herself with was what clothes she'd be wearing during the day, and her toothbrush, hairbrush, and her make-up. Her bridesmaid dress was waiting for her at her parents' house, in one of their closets. What Olyvia really couldn't wait for was seeing Dianne in her wedding dress. She knew she would look absolutely beautiful, and couldn't wait to squeal and flail about over it.

Olyvia was busy for the rest of the day with her packing and cooking for the two of them that they didn't have too much time to spend with just each other. Which was probably a good thing, considering how things started getting that morning. Steve needed to work better on keeping his thoughts in line. After a little cuddle time after a rather late dinner, it was to bed for the both of them. Tomorrow was going to consist of a four hour drive, and over the twisty highway instead of the interstate.

Steve stayed at the apartment the next day, making sure he had all his things packed and wasn't forgetting anything. So by the time Olyvia got home, looking rather frazzled, he had everything by the door ready to be put in the car.

"Is that everything?" Olyvia asked as she set her school bag beside everything else.

Steve nodded, "I double checked that I had all your suitcases. You still might want to check yourself, but I think I got them all."

Olyvia went into her room and did a quick sweep of the room, to find that Steve had gotten everything. She gave him a peck on the cheek, saying a thank you for getting everything together, before making sure Whisper had enough food and water to last her four days. She had a large food dispenser that was full to the brim, and if the cat ate through all of that, she was a pig indeed. And the water bucket/dish system was completely full so she would be good on that for quite a while. One last thing Olyvia did before they headed out was toss a bunch of cat toys onto the living room floor, hoping she wouldn't return to a mess from her knocking things over in an effort to find something to play with.

"Do we really have to take the highway?" Steve asked as they placed their luggage into the trunk.

"There is no way I'm taking the interstate," Olyvia said, "Even though it's the same amount of time either way, it's more mileage on the interstate. Why? Can't handle Scott Mountain?"

Steve went a little green at the name of it. The last time they drove over that, it was when they were going to and from Olyvia's grandfather's funeral, and he had felt a little queasy going over it both times.

"Maybe just a little," Steve admitted.

"You'll be fine," Olyvia assured him, giving a peck on the lips as she shut the trunk before heading to the driver's seat.

With a sigh, Steve took his seat on the passenger side, buckling himself in. This was going to feel longer than four hours.

Dianne waited impatiently for Loki to return from his hair appointment. She wasn't concerned about how his hair would turn out as much as she was worried about him driving. That was one of the things he had recently learned, and he had gotten his license just last month, but he hadn't done much driving, only enough to know what to do and not to do. Still, she fretted anytime he got behind the wheel.

Sitting by the window facing the driveway, she hopped to her feet when she saw him pull up, and hurried outside. The moment he stepped out the door, she grabbed him by his shoulders and whirled him around to face her.

"Does it meet your approval?" Loki asked as Dianne studied his new look.

His hair was slicked back as it usually was, but the length didn't go any further than the nape of his neck. It looked really good though, and Dianne smiled.

"I like it," Dianne said, moving her hands to the back of his neck and began running her fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck.

Loki's eyes fluttered shut, liking the feeling of her fingers entangling in his hair, and blindly reached out for Dianne's face, pulling her close and crushing their lips together. Bending into him, she wove her fingers deeper into his hair, trying to pull him closer if it were even possible. They broke away only once their lungs were demanding air, but Loki wouldn't let Dianne budge, keeping one arm wrapped tight around her waist while his other hand remained entangled in her hair.

"So are we now ready for Saturday?" Loki asked.

"Well, first we have to wait for Livy and Steve, and then we'll be ready," Dianne replied.

Loki smiled contently, and gave her a peck on her lips, "I've been waiting for far too long. I can't wait."

Dianne smiled back at him, her eyes sparkling in pure joy, "Neither can I. I love you."

"I love you too."

Olyvia and Steve arrived at the Harris household just past seven o'clock that night, and Dianne was the first to greet them at the door.

"You had a safe trip I hope?" Dianne asked.

"No, Steve lost his tux and I broke the heel to my left shoe," Olyvia said just to tease her sister, but she could tell and glared at her.

"This isn't a good time to be testing me like that," Dianne growled.

"Believe me, you won't survive," Loki said from somewhere in the living room.

Olyvia pushed past her sister, "Where is my future brother-in-law? There he is! Hello Loki!"

Crossing the room, she enveloped him in a bear hug, and Loki froze, looking over to Dianne, asking for some help.

"Livy, let go of him," Dianne said.

Doing as her sister said, she took a step back away and took a closer look at Loki, "Hey, you cut your hair. Looks good."

"Thanks," Loki muttered.

Olyvia then turned to her sister, and went to open her arms to offer her a hug, but Dianne stopped her short.

"Touch me and you will lose both arms."

"Okay, okay, I get the message. So…where will Steve be staying?"

"Uh…," Dianne looked over to Steve then back to Olyvia, "I don't know, you'll have to ask Mom."

"I thought the plan was I'd be staying at a hotel with the rest of the guests," Steve said.

Olyvia sighed huffily, "But then you'll be so far away."

"Livy, this is a household of girls, plus Dad," Dianne began, "I think it would only be awkward for Steve to stay here."

"I guess you're right," Olyvia sighed again, this time sounding sullen, "You're staying for a little at least, then I'll drop you off at the hotel. Do we have any other guests here already?"

"They're all planning on showing up Friday," Dianne explained, "Except for Alexis and her family. They're going to drive down Saturday morning."

Olyvia winced a little, "Ooh, they're going to be pushing it. The wedding is at eleven, they better get up early in order to get everyone ready."

Dianne just shrugged, "Anyway, you're welcome to take your things upstairs."

Olyvia nodded, and started walking over to the hallway leading to the stairway when she was suddenly tackled to the ground by a small human.

"LIVY! You're home!" Rosemary squealed happily.

"Ack! Midget! I had luggage in my hands, thank you very much," Olyvia said indignantly.

Rosemary clambered off her sister, muttering an apology. Steve had made his way over by the time she was off, so he offered a hand to Olyvia, who graciously took it. Picking up her things again, she quickly headed upstairs, returning a few minutes later.

"So are you ready to get married?" Olyvia asked her sister excitedly.

"Yes and no," Dianne replied.

Loki looked over at Dianne with a panicked expression. What did that mean?

"I'm ready, but I am not ready to have all this attention on me and I'm stressing out over everything," Dianne said, "I'm going to have a panic attack."

Loki sighed in relief. He was worried she may be having some second thoughts.

Walking over to her sister, Olyvia clapped a hand onto her shoulder.

"Don't worry, it'll be just fine," Olyvia assured her.

"Thor and his friends are coming," Dianne said blandly.

Olyvia pursed her lips, "Uh…well then…"

Dianne sighed. This was going to be an interesting weekend for sure.