The room was finally quiet. After hours of noise, laughter, arguments and far too much mead, the silence almost felt strange. Loki closed the door behind the others and turned back toward Eirlys, who was standing in the middle of the room looking thoroughly exhausted. She looked at him for a moment before holding out her hands. "Come here."
Loki smiled as he guided her toward the bed, helping her settle beneath the covers before lying beside her. The moment he did, Eirlys moved closer without hesitation, curling herself against him and resting her head against his chest. All the careful distance she usually maintained had disappeared. There was no guarded expression, no polite smile, no princess standing perfectly composed before him. Loki wrapped an arm around her and she sighed deeply and nuzzled closer, apparently relieved simply to be held. He was relieved too. Not merely because she trusted him enough to let her walls fall, but because she had chosen him. Even after everything with Thor, after the confusion, the kiss, the uncertainty and the opportunity she had been given to walk away, she had stood beside Loki. She had chosen him, the thought still felt almost impossible.
"You know," Eirlys murmured against his chest, "this wedding was terribly directed."
Loki looked down at her. "Directed?"
"Yes." She lifted her head slightly. "Too many people, too much food, too much noise, and way too many traditional customs. Nobody listened when I said I wanted something simple."
"You were outnumbered."
"I noticed."
Loki laughed softly and Eirlys became quiet again, her fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of his sleeve. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"The wedding." She frowned sleepily. "It wasn't as beautiful as it should have been."
Loki stared at her. "Eirlys, it was beautiful."
She looked unconvinced.
"You looked beautiful," he added.
That finally earned him a sleepy smile, then she remembered something. "My gift."
Loki blinked. "What gift?"
"My wedding gift from you."
He smiled. "You are certainly demanding it at an interesting hour."
"I waited all day."
"You did."
"And?"
Loki reached toward the small table beside the bed. From within a concealed compartment, he retrieved a small box, Eirlys sat up slightly. Inside was a delicate bracelet, elegant but not excessively ornate. Fine metal formed a subtle pattern around her wrist, with a small stone set at its center that seemed to hold a faint light beneath its surface.
Eirlys stared at it with wide eyes, the sleep momentarily forgotten. "It's beautiful."
"Give me your hand."
She did as Loki carefully fastened it around her wrist. "It is enchanted," he explained. "It will protect you from certain forms of magic. Spells meant to influence your mind, distort your perception or manipulate your senses will be resisted."
Eirlys looked at the bracelet again. Then Loki added quietly, "And there is something else."
She looked up.
"If I ever try to deceive you through magic, you will know."
Her expression changed. "If you lie?"
"It won't reveal every lie I speak. But if I deliberately use magic to deceive, manipulate or conceal something from you, the bracelet will react."
Eirlys stared at him. "You made something that could protect me from you?"
Loki's smile was faint. "Yes."
"Why?"
He didn't have an answer for it because the truth was uncomfortable. Loving someone meant giving them the ability to leave and Eirlys had trusted him with something fragile, and he could not bear the thought of becoming the very thing she needed protection from. "I don't know," he admitted.
Eirlys touched the bracelet gently. Then she leaned forward and rested her forehead against his. "It's the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me."
Loki closed his eyes because he had nothing to hide. Eirlys remained close to him, her fingers still resting over the bracelet as though she were afraid the moment she looked away, it might disappear.
After a while, she looked up at Loki. "You've been good to me."
Loki raised an eyebrow. "That sounds dangerously like the beginning of a speech."
She ignored him. "It is our wedding night," she continued, her voice quieter now. "And you've done everything right. You've been patient with me, even when I was confused. You didn't pressure me. You gave me this." She touched the bracelet. "So if there is anything you want from me tonight, you can ask."
Loki went still but Eirlys waited, watching his face carefully. "Anything?"
She nodded. "It is your wedding night too," she reminded him. "You shouldn't have to pretend you don't want anything simply because you're trying to make me comfortable."
Loki considered her for a moment before a soft smile appeared. "There is something I want."
Eirlys straightened slightly. "What?"
"I want to sleep."
She stared at him in surprise and Loki's smile widened. "And cuddle, if that is an option."
For several seconds, Eirlys simply looked at him as though she couldn't believe what she had just heard. Then she released an exaggerated huff and fell backward onto the pillows. "You are impossible."
"I thought you said I could ask for anything."
"I did."
"And I asked."
She rolled her eyes, but there was a smile hiding beneath it. "Fine."
Loki settled beside her, pulling the blankets over them. Eirlys turned toward him almost immediately, fitting herself against his chest as though she had been waiting for permission. His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her securely but gently. Neither spoke for a while. The room was quiet except for their breathing.
Eirlys rested her cheek against him and sighed. "You really only wanted this?"
"For tonight."
She smiled faintly. "Good."
Loki lowered his chin against her hair. After everything they had endured to reach this room, after the misunderstandings, the jealousy, the uncertainty and the weight of choosing each other, there was something almost absurdly peaceful about simply lying together.
Eirlys's eyes grew heavy. "Loki?"
"Yes?"
"I'm glad it was you."
His arms tightened around her slightly, he didn't answer immediately. Then, very softly, he said, "So am I."
Eirlys smiled against his chest, and eventually, with no grand declaration or expectation hanging between them, the newly married couple simply fell asleep in each other's arms.