Day 18: Doing Something Together

One thing Loki missed about Asgard was the horseback riding. There was nothing like riding a horse. Sure, cars were faster, could fit more people, and kept one dry or warm and or cool. But it just wasn't the same as riding a horse. Even Thor felt the same about this. Then Loki learned that his woman had never actually ridden a horse. Or even been near one.

He had to remedy this.

Thankfully there were some stables in New York. So Loki made a plan. He actually went to Thor of all people and asked him to cover for him if anything should pop up for the day. He didn't want this to be interrupted, nor deal with Nick Fury should he fail to show up when summoned. The man was just as much a hardass as Odin. Must have been the the eyepatches, Loki mused.

Then he paid to take two horses for riding for the whole day. And then the god of Mischief took his woman out to the stables, though he didn't tell her exactly where they were going until they got there. Darcy's reaction as the S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV pulled up to the stables was to stare, gawking at the horses walking by, the people riding them and such. Loki smirked while he watched her, and when the SUV parked he nudged her. "We're here."

"Where? The O.K. Corral? There's horses out there, Loki!" She said, eyeing them dubiously.

He laughed quietly. "Yes, Mistress, there is in fact horses out there. We are at a stable, that's where they generally keep horses." He mused, smirking. "Let's go. We have a whole day ahead of us." He said, getting out of the SUV.

"A whole day of what? Loki, a whole day of what?!" She jumped out and followed behind the Frost Giant.

"You'll see." He said, glancing back at her with a mischievous grin. She eyed him suspiciously but followed while checking out their surroundings. Various people were leading or riding horses here and there. It smelled. Dust was constantly being kicked up by the horses. The creatures were huge and looked pretty dangerous.

Yeah, Darcy was positive her boyfriend was going to try and kill her today. Death by horse.

"Ah, Mr. Smith. And Ms. Lewis I presume? Your horses are ready, right this way." The owner of the stable said as he walked up to them, shaking Loki's hand.

"Mr. Smith?" Darcy looked at Loki with a wry grin. He huffed at her and just shook his head before following the owner to their horses. It wasn't like he could use his real name. "Wait, what do you mean by our horses are ready? What horses? Why are they ours? What are they ready for?" Darcy asked, looking ready to bolt.

Loki wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled. "Relax, will you?" He kissed her temple as she eyed the stables warily. The owner lead them to two horses, a big black stallion that was no doubt Loki's, and a white and brown spotted Appaloosa mare. "These are your best horses?" Loki asked, taking the reins of both and looking them over.

"The big black here, Arion, is our biggest and strongest horse, as you requested. The mare is Cinnamon, and she's the sweetest, gentlest creature this side of the sun." The owner said, beaming with pride. "They're all yours for the day. If you have any problems or need me for anything, you can find me here." He said, before he turned to go and do something else.

"Thank you." Loki said over his shoulder as he continued to inspect both horses.

"If you think I'm going to get on either of those things..." Darcy started, standing a good few feet away from both animals.

Loki looked at her and chuckled. "They're animals, not things. And why don't you want to ride one?" He asked as he petted the stallion on the forehead.

Darcy stared at him blankly. "They're dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle. Why would I want anything with a mind of it's own bobbing about between my legs?" She asked, and when Loki raised an eyebrow she rolled her eyes. "Besides you of course."

He laughed and shook his head, reaching over and taking her hand. "Come on, Mistress. You have had me try endless things since being with you. Now you're going to try something for me." He said, handing her the reins to the mare. "This is a good horse for you to try."

Darcy eyed the animal warily as she loosely held the reins. "Can we just have sex instead? A good old fashioned roll in the hay or something?"

He smirked and kissed her forehead. "Maybe later. Right now, you're going to try this. I'll help you get on." He said, walking over and showing her what to grab. "You hold onto this and pull yourself up, swing your leg over. It's easy. Now come, I'll give you a boost."

She groaned and eyed the saddle and then Loki, whom was kneeling with his hands cupped, obviously to help her get up onto the saddle. "If I die, I'm coming back to haunt your blue ass." She threatened, before she tried to climb up into the saddle. It was made much easier with Loki's help, but as she sat atop the mare she was pretty sure she was going to have a heart attack.

The animal shifted it's weight and she wanted to jump back down before it moved anymore than that. Loki chuckled as he made sure she was holding the reins correctly and her feet were both in the stirrups. "You'll be fine." He ran his hand over the horse's forehead, closing his eyes as he did so. Darcy stared at him until he looked up at the horse. "It's her first time, so be good to her." He said.

Darcy was pretty sure he was talking to the horse. "Did you literally just talk to the horse?"

He smiled a bit and nodded. "I used a bit of magic on her to give her self awareness and intelligence. Meaning she can understand us."

"Seriously? You just can't leave things alone, can you?" Darcy asked dryly, shaking her head and looking at the horse. "Um...don't buck me off. Or kill me. Or eat me."

"Horses are herbivores, Mistress." He replied with a shake of his head, grinning a bit at the horse. He got the feeling the horse was giving him a 'Are you serious?' look. He chuckled and patted Cinnamon's head before he turned to his own horse. The big black stood proudly before him. However, Loki knew better than to try and ride a Midgardian horse.

Asgardian's and, unfortunately Frost Giants, were decidedly heavier than the average Midgardian. Even this big black wouldn't be strong enough to hold Loki's weight for long. So when he was sure no one was watching, he started to run his hands along the spine and legs of the horse, eyes closed in concentration while he cast a strengthening spell on the animal.

Darcy knew better than to interrupt Loki when he was casting magic, and he had the same look he usually did when he was focusing on a spell. When he was done, he swung up into the saddle, satisfied the spell had worked. He looked at Darcy and grinned a bit. "Ready?"

"Do I look ready?"

"Yes." He replied, nodding to the mare then kicking his mount's sides lightly to get it to start moving forward. "Come on, you're going to love this."

Darcy wasn't so sure. She looked around herself, feeling a bit of vertigo at being so high up on the animal's back. "How do I make it go?" At her words, the mare started walking, following behind Loki. "Why is it moving?!"

"She, darling, she. Use pronouns. And she is moving because you said go. I told you, she understands speech now. Just relax." Loki looked at her and smiled a bit. It was humorous to see his woman so spooked at riding a horse. Especially a horse that he had cast a self awareness and intelligence spell on.

The brunette grumbled while the mare walked alongside Arion. Loki was watching out of the corner of his eye, making certain Darcy would be fine. After awhile he noticed she was relaxing, and he smiled as he lead them down a trail.

They spent the entire day riding. Loki had set up a lunch for them so they stopped for that, then continued on. By the time they'd returned to the stables, Darcy was in love with her horse. They'd even raced down a straight path, Darcy surprisingly winning. Loki said he let her win but Darcy knew she totally won because she was lighter than him.

It honestly had been a great day. Loki enjoyed himself, and after warming up to the animal, Darcy had had a blast herself. Their ride was waiting for them when they returned to the stables, and as Loki thanked the owner and handed the stallion over to the man, he noted his woman had disappeared.

He figured she was back at the SUV, but walking over to it, he seen she was no where in sight. "Darcy?"

"Coming!"

He turned around and then stared at her. She apparently had decided she wanted to take Cinnamon with them as she was leading the horse toward the SUV. He folded his arms and sighed. "We cannot keep her, Darcy." He said with a slight smile.

"Why not? You magicked her, doesn't that mean she's ours now?" Darcy whined, wrapping her arms around the mare's neck. "Please? What girl doesn't want a horse of her own?"

"I've 'magicked' many things, that doesn't make them mine. And up until a few hours ago, you are the one girl that didn't want a horse of your own." He sighed quietly and shook his head. "And we have no space for her, Mistress." He said.

"I'm a woman. We change our minds all the time." Darcy said confidently. "And we can keep her at Stark's tower." She quickly offered, beaming at Loki. "Look at this face, she wants to come with us. She knows she's better off with us now." She rubbed Cinnamon's face.

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "She's not ours to take. It would be horse theft, and I'm relatively positive that is still a crime even on Midgard." He said, walking over and running his hands up and down Darcy's arms. "I'm glad you had such a good time. And I promise we will come back again at a later date. But we can't steal Cinnamon."

"I thought you were a villain." Darcy responded sullenly, petting Cinnamon's neck.

He rolled his eyes. "I might have murdered people but I am no horse thief. Now take her back." He said, kissing Darcy's cheek.

Darcy blew out a long breath before she nodded and started walking Cinnamon back to her stall. Loki watched her, smiling a bit in amusement. She went from being terrified of the animal to wanting to take it home with them. He wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing or not, because now he had to deal with the fact his woman would more than likely try to take the horse every time they came here.

And he had the sneaky suspicion Stark would somehow be getting involved on Darcy's behest in the near future.

Fin