The smile was audible in her voice, as smiles often were, and it was sweet to hear. So few people in his life smiled just because Loki was present or in sight. Added to that, while he’d been more than aware she’d been gone but had still been able to go on as normal, now that she was back it felt almost like a relief of physical pain.

“Wait.” He slipped out of the loveseat, leaving his book behind, and moved to catch her at the bedroom door. Her hair was a mess, but that hardly mattered. It certainly didn’t stop him from taking a kiss hello. “Good hunting?”