The taxi we took from Grand Central Station dropped us off in front of a long rectangular building with green trim, located at Pier 83 on 42nd Street. It had the words 'Circle-Line' in large red letters along with a circle on top of it depicting the Statue of Liberty.

It was where our cruise ship awaited us.

Just like the farm we had left, this seemed to be another popular place, as we could see there were many groups of people around the area, some arriving like us, others departing.

Checking my watch, it appeared we had arrived a little more than an hour before our departure time, as was requested on the website. Coming early also meant the possibility of having a better choice of seating.

I soon noticed Loki was staring at something across the way, which caused an odd expression to appear on his face. Turning to see what it was, I discovered it was the USS Intrepid - obviously a military vessel.

"It's been awhile since I've been this close to an aircraft carrier," Loki said.

"How do you mean?" I asked, curious.

"When I arrived on Midgard, for the reasons I now wear this," Loki touched the wrist part of his sleeve that concealed his tracker, "there was a duration I was held in custody on one of them."

"Oh... that was the, umm, SHIELD Helicarrier, right?" I said, "Thor told me a little bit about that. It was during that time when we, umm, first met at the auxiliary SHIELD facility..."

"And what did Thor tell you?" Loki looked concerned.

"All he told me," I replied, "was that they confined you in a glass-like enclosure. You later tricked Thor, trapped him inside it while you escaped and well," I paused for a moment, then added in a  sheepish voice, "what happened to Coulson."

"And upon learning this..." Loki's look of concern changed into one that was incredulous, "you still... wanted to help me?"

"Yes," I simply said. There was nothing else I could say.

Even with the illusion of Loki wearing a different face, he couldn't hide the glistening moisture that now appeared in his eyes. He took my hands, interlaced them in our special way, and we just looked at each other for a few minutes in silence, which spoke volumes.

"Come on," I said, breaking the silence, "let's get out of here and find where we have to board."

Loki nodded in earnest.

****

There was plenty of clear signage, which made it easy to find our way. We learned all passengers had to pass through a security screening, but that was easy enough for us (and extra relief for me, as I realized after the fact, due to Loki's magic, he was able to conceal whatever he usually carried on his person).

After that - along with a trip to the restrooms - we then walked over to the main dock and began to wait along with the other eager passengers.

Our efforts on the farm and the journey to get here left Loki and I pretty dehydrated and really hungry. We had eaten all our snacks and finished the last two bottles of water in the backpack while in the taxi.

"We'll get something to eat while on board," I promised.

"That would be perfect," Loki replied. "Beverlee," he said, with a hesitant look on his face, "did... Thor also tell you what happened once I trapped him in that enclosure?"

I shook my head to the negative.

"It was shortly after what I did... to Coulson," his eyes downcast. "Earlier that day, as a tactic to keep me in line, Agent Nick Fury had threatened to eject the confinement enclosure from the Helicarrier, and he demonstrated how he would on a control panel... to which I was very attentive. When I tricked Thor into entering the enclosure, I pressed those buttons and..." he closed his eyes, "well, at the time, it was necessary... at least, it felt that way."

I reached out and put my hand on his arm, "Loki, we both know you were... persuaded by that... maniac... to do his bidding in an effort to fulfill his nefarious plans... As for the strategy you chose, well, I'm sure it didn't help matters when your own priorities at that time, shall I say... were very misguided?" I looked at him closely, "Thor still lives, and from what I see, he isn't holding a grudge. And... I assure you, telling me this doesn't change anything between us."

Suddenly there was a sound of a horn in the distance. Our ship was coming into it's designated berth.

As we watched the vessel effect docking procedures in preparation for boarding, Loki stood behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. Leaning in close, he whispered huskily in my ear, "Beverlee, you are more precious than... infinity stones."

I turned my head, smiling at him with a look of utter happiness.

****

Once embarking the vessel, we made our way to the top deck and looked at the seating arrangement. There were two sections of seating, one port side, the other starboard, with a wide aisle in the middle. In truth, there really wasn't any bad seating here, as it was an open area with nothing to obstruct the view.

But where would be the best place for us to sit? With the people ahead of us taking favourable spots, we maneuvered as quickly as we could - finding a pair of seats midway down the row in the port side section by the railing.

It didn't take long for the seating to fill up with passengers, but we knew we still had to wait for a bit before they set sail. Before we had climbed the steps up here, we had located the concession area on the lower deck. We decided it would be best to get some food now, so it wouldn't distract from our experience later.

I had Loki to save our seats while I headed down to the lower deck.

Due to it being still early before departure, I was lucky that the concession area didn't have a lot of people in line. But I actually was glad to have some people ahead of me, so I could get a chance to peruse the menu. There were some really delicious items listed, but only one caught my attention.

Considering I was in New York, it really was the only option I could choose to make this an extra special experience for Loki and myself...

When I returned topside, my hands carefully held a box tray with our food and beverages. I took my time wading through the people in our row to get to my friend.

"I got us both the 'Coney Island Special,'" I said, as I sat down and handed Loki a warm wrapped item from the tray.

Loki looked at the item and took notice of the wrapping. His eyes lit up and he smiled, "a Nathan's hot dog? Oh, Beverlee," he turned to look at me, his hand cupped my cheek. "I haven't had one of these for ages. Thank you!"

I felt my jaw drop.

Just as I was about to say something, suddenly a voice in the row behind us said, "ages? Son, I remember meeting Mr. Nathan Handwerker himself at Coney Island when I was just a boy in the 1930s."

We turned our heads. The person who spoke was a silver-haired elderly man wearing black frame brown lens sunglasses, wearing a leather jacket over a green v-neck sweater with a white dress shirt underneath it.

Loki smiled at the man, holding his hot dog up for emphasis, "a man whose legacy still continues to live on today, and most likely, long into the future."

"Damn straight," the man said, now looking at the both of us. "Where you kids from?"

Loki glanced at me with affection, then again turned to face the man, "we're from Canada."

The man smiled, "welcome to New York."

We nodded, said thank you, then returned our focus back to our food. Despite that we were hungry, somehow, after that brief exchange, the hot dogs seemed to taste that much better.

"Loki," I said, once we finished eating, "hang on a sec," I took a napkin from the tray box and gently wiped a tiny bit of mustard off his cheek.

"Thanks, mom," he playfully smirked.

****

The vessel set sail as twilight began to descend over the city. I noticed the sky and clouds had a pinkish hue, something I had never before seen - it was beautiful.

The sun was very golden in the sky, and it was also a lovely sight seeing it's light sparkle off the windows of the tall and shiny buildings.

A light breeze wafted over me, and it felt good. I had wondered if what I was wearing would be warm enough for this trip, and luckily it seemed to suffice. I knew if it became too cold we could go into the covered area on this deck, although the view wouldn't be the same.

"Our city is known for its famous sunsets," a baritone voice soon boomed over the speakers on deck, "in turn, it sets the tone for this trip - and it puts you in a good mood. Welcome aboard the Circle Line New York City Harbour Lights Cruise. My name is Kieran and I'll be narrating your journey this evening."

This narrator was right. While there had been nothing wrong with my current mood, what I had just experienced in these few minutes, it had certainly enhanced it.

Then I felt Loki's arm come around me.

I turned to look at him, and upon seeing the smile on his face, it was easy to see I wasn't the only one in a good mood.

****

During our tour upon the water, we got to see many icons,

which included the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center.

We would encounter several more on the way, but there was one I was looking forward to seeing most eagerly...

The pink sky was slowly disappearing, a dusky one beginning to take its place.

While Kieran narrated each area with a personal touch, it came to a point where I began to tune out and just enjoyed what appeared in front of us. Besides, when you're with a group of people on a tour like this, many make their own commentaries along the way, which they were doing - but it was all good.

Then... she came into view... holding a torch and a tablet.

The Statue of Liberty.

Although I knew Ellis Island was the location of where immigrants originally disembarked to start new lives, seeing this tremendous iconic statue was a big part of the experience of going there, well at least since 1886. I tried to imagine how I would feel if I had been one of those people, an immigrant from a different country arriving in yet another different country.

Then I realized... I was WITH an immigrant from a strange land. Someone who already had surreptitiously immigrated here as a refugee - and could also be considered, amusingly enough, an illegal alien, in more ways than one.

I looked at my friend with affection. He may have previously visited Midgard quite a few times, but he was always able to return to Asgard and continue on with his way of life. Now that Midgard was his new home, it suddenly occurred to me that it might have been a difficult transition, at least at first, for him.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Loki asked me with a smile. "I'm hoping that sweet expression has something to do with me."

"It does," I happily admitted. "I was just thinking about when you became a 'permanent resident' here. How it must have been an adjustment for you."

"No one has ever asked me that before," he said, with a rueful expression. After a moment of thought, he continued, "although I knew how to speak and read the language, I was living, well more like surviving day to day, unsure where I was supposed to belong in this place. My brother attempted to give me assistance, but it still was a very trying time. And then the probation..." he sighed, but then a small smile returned to his face, "it was only after I met you..." he took my hands into his own, then looked into my eyes. "you calmed that chaos. And you showed me that... despite my imposed constraints... I could still find freedom."

His words touched me deeply and I looked at him with a renewed expression of affection.

It was at that moment the tour guide said, "the statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States: a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad."

We both turned to again look at the Statue of Liberty then turned back to each other.

"See?" I said, with a grin on my face. "The United States accepts all aliens and welcomes them."

"That's nice..." Loki said, releasing one of his hands, reaching up to gently caress my cheek. With a playful grin appearing on his face, he added, "but I'm a... Canadian."

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