The music started softly, so softly that Loki didn't realize the little plinking sounds he heard were music until they steadily got louder, at which point he perked up enough to see his wife slowly come onto the stage. She was dressed in very little, which made him hope that his family had decided not to watch, and gave him a shy little smile before starting to twirl gracefully and soundlessly on the ice. Her ice dance lasted just under ten minutes, and he was captivated the entire time, very quickly forgetting that there might be anyone else watching as well.

There were moments when he was on the edge of his seat, and others when he felt so at ease that he could watch her forever. He wondered how she'd learned to move like that and if it was something he could learn as well. He also laughed a little when he had a similar thought to his mother that if this was how she was accustomed to dancing and what she was accustomed to dancing to, it was no small wonder why she had such a difficult time with the stringent dances of the Asgardian court.

Loki wasn't the only one captivated by her display either. Odin and Frigga watched from the second furthest balcony from the stage. They both found a few of her movements to be distasteful, as they showed parts of her that were not acceptable to show publicly in Asgard, but at the same time, they were both very endeared by the emotion that she poured into her performance. However, they weren't just watching her.

"Do you see how he watches her?" Odin asked his wife.

"You would watch me if I moved like that," Frigga dismissed.

The King chuckled quietly. "I'm sure I would, but I don't mean like that. Look at him. Not only can you see just how much he loves her, but this is one of the most Jotun things she's ever done in Asgard, and he loves it. I don't think he would have been allowed such open admiration if this was a public performance, as you lobbied for."

The Queen sighed. "In that, you are right. The people would have liked to see this. Of that, I have no doubt, but I have to agree that it is more beneficial for our son to have this moment in private, where he won't be judge by the prying eyes of others for how openly he's accepting this part of his wife."

"He would have had to hide just how deeply this touches him. You can see it in his posture. Something about what we're seeing is reaching his very core," he asserted.

"She was right. He needs to come to terms with his Jotun roots," she finally said. "I guess I just have a difficult time accepting that there are things she can offer him that we cannot. He could have been happy married to a fair Asgardian maiden, blissfully unaware of his true heritage, but he would have been incomplete. He needs this in ways that we can't understand."

They watched the rest of the dance in awed silence, though they could hear whispers from the very back balcony where Thor was supposed to be watching alone. It quickly became apparent that he had elected to bring Sif with him during this exhibition as well.

Thor paid little attention to his brother's responses to his private performance. All he needed to know was that his sibling was happy with what was happening. When that became clear, he let himself observe the ways in which his sister-in-law moved about the ice she'd made for this special occasion.

Sif spent about equal amounts of time watching Loki and Myrkr as she did Thor's reactions to them. She was surprised to find that even during this very Jotun display, her best friend and childhood love did not seem to be taken in by the foreignness of it. He seemed only concerned with the beauty and grace with which it was put forth and the joy it gave the couple below. She'd had a difficult time believing Myrkr when she said that Thor didn't look at her as an outsider. Now she had no reason to doubt that claim and felt guilty for her inability to do the same.

"She's quite something, isn't she?" Sif quietly sighed.

It took Thor a long moment to answer because he was so intently watching Myrkr dance, but when a flash of what lay between her legs brought color to his cheeks, he made himself look away. "That's putting it mildly," he managed.

"Are you blushing?" she playfully accused. She had seen the same thing. Myrkr's raised leg and slow spin showed off her womanhood very easily so it was hard to miss.

"My apologies. Mother warned me that-" he stammered. He was now very worried about what Loki told him he would say to Sif to fulfill his entitled revenge.

Sif laughed softly. "With Myrkr it's sort of expected, right?" she managed.

"I suppose," he awkwardly replied.

"Do you think she's attractive?" she finally asked in a hushed voice afraid that even the person she was speaking to would hear her or worse, the insecurity in her voice.

Thor looked at her, stunned. "My sister-in-law has a very unique sort of beauty, and there have been times when I've found her attractive, but I don't know if I'd say I was attracted to her," he tried.

That eased Sif significantly. "It would be very easy to be jealous of someone like her if you did," she confessed.

"Whyever for?" Thor gasped. "You know I have eyes only for you."

"Because I can't compete with her. She's too different. I wouldn't be able to prove myself better than her because she does so many things that I can't," she explained.

"But you do so many things that she can't," he replied surely, "and you do them better than anyone I've ever seen."

Sif smiled and rested her head on Thor's shoulder. With a sigh, she said, "I'm going to miss them."

Thor gave her an odd look. "Their next visit to Jotunheim is still half a year away, and they'll only be gone for a few days."

She cocked an eyebrow. "I mean when they move there for good," she clarified.

That was not something Thor had spent much time thinking about. Deep down, he knew that with things developing the way they were that was inevitable, but it was not something he gave much thought to. The idea of his brother moving to and spending the rest of his life in another realm disturbed him in ways that he had yet to come to terms with. "I guess we'd better make sure our realms stay on good terms then," he barely replied.

Sensing that her statement of sympathy inadvertently upset him, she let it go. She wanted to say something about how if it were left up to him, the peace would between the two worlds would be unending, but after everything that had led up to that moment, she knew such an encouragement would be ill received. Yes, Thor had learned much since their unapproved journey to confront Laufey for the trespass in the vault, and it was almost inconceivable that he would make that same mistake again, but it was still a sore spot for him. They both knew that it shouldn't have taken the union of his brother to a Jotun to teach him that lesson.

Thor sighed and wrapped his arms around Sif. "The next time I want to leave Asgard, don't let me do it without first seeking permission," he regretfully said.

She smiled. "I'll do my best."

Myrkr's dance ended a short time later, and once she stopped moving, Loki slowly stood. He was in complete awe of her as he slowly approached, smiling a bit when she made a small set of stairs out of ice for him to climb up onto the stage without having to go around. He said nothing, simply walked up and pulled her into a tight embrace. He held her firmly against him as he fought the tears that started to well up in his eyes.

Without a second thought, Myrkr made a shell of opaque ice around them. "I love you," she said simply as she pulled him in for a kiss.

He felt foolish for his outpouring of emotion and grateful for her instinct to help him hide it from whomever might be observing. "Thank you," he said when their kiss broke and he reached up to dab his eyes with the end of his sleeve.

"Happy name day," she said impishly.

He laughed and hugged her again, this time lifting her off her feet and spinning around. This would have been a more graceful affection if he wasn't still wearing his dress shoes from earlier. They had absolutely no traction on the ice, and he sent them toppling over a moment later.

The couple laughed and rolled around on the ice, giddy as children until their joy took on a more mature manifestation. They were very close to taking off his pants and making love right there when the far off sound of doors closing made them remember where they were. They laughed, feeling a bit foolish for the rather public abandon, even if they were shielded from most prying eyes, and straightened their clothes as they stood.

As an afterthought, Myrkr dismissed her ice magic, leaving the ice in the hall to dissolve rather than melt and make a mess after they were gone. After that, they practically ran to their chambers to finish what they'd started on the stage.

"I had no idea you could move like that!" Loki raved as she undressed him.

"Yes you did. We move like that together often," she teasingly chided.

He shook his head. "Not like that. I knew you were graceful, but that-" he stopped, unsure of what exactly was the right word.

Myrkr smiled. "I've made you speechless," she mused. "That is the best compliment of all."

Without another thought, Loki threw her onto the bed and pushed her legs apart. He smiled and even laughed a little as he began to taste her womanhood.

"But this is your celebration," she weakly protested. "I should-" she tried but was cut off when his teeth clamped down on her inner thigh.

She almost came from that, her hands flying to tangle in his long, dark hair, but before she could get a good grip on him, he flipped her over onto her stomach. With a pleased little growl, he pulled her hips up and parted her thighs, making her whimper in anticipation. She thought he would enter her then and there, but instead, he leaned over, covering her body with his own and pressing his face into the side of her neck. He breathed deeply to take in her scent, as her early display as well as their current intimacy had caused her to break a sweat, making her pheromones that much more potent to his senses. He didn't realize he was licking up the side of her throat until he tasted the icy sweetness of her skin on his tongue.

"You are irresistable," he playfully complained.

She gave a mad giggle. "I love you too."

"You should have danced for me sooner. I would have fallen for you immediately," he advised, his hands roaming up and down her curves with almost erratic groping. "There's no way I could resist such grace."

She fitfully shook her head.

He gave a low chuckle at her inability to find her words.

Then, just as she was about to tell him that she wouldn't have been able to manage such a performance without the trust and affection they had built over the course of their time together, he plunged into her, making her head snap back as she moaned deeply for him.

The sound of her pleasure and the feeling of her slick, icy heat engulfing him made Loki shudder, but that didn't stop him from taking her with every ounce of conviction he had until they were a heap of tired limbs tangled in bedsheets. They took their time recovering in silence and holding onto one another like they were the only other thing in the universe until the following afternoon. Even then, they didn't get out of bed for more than the few minutes it took to order that their lunch be delivered to their chambers and served to them on trays so that they could remain in their little nest for just that much longer.