There were two men at the entrance. Guns on their belt would not be quite as frightening to an intruder as their massive frames and intimidating countenances. One of them was a head higher than Thor, an impressive feat in and of itself.

'Don't think about Thor,' he told himself again. 'He will not come here. There's no way for him to travel so far in such a short amount of time.'

Unless he or the Warriors Three figured out how to drive a car. Loki had watched Jane maneuver her vehicle several times and was confident he could do it himself if he tried.

And was the distance really so great that ten to twelve hours wasn't enough time?

With more pressing matters at hand, Loki banished all ideas of Thor disrupting the mission and exposing him to the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind.

Jane had ducked behind a rock, the only one of its size for miles and mediocre cover if the enemy spotted them. For the first time, Loki noted her clothing. Jeans and plaid as was her preferred wardrobe. Nothing resembling a weapon to be found. There wasn't even a pencil in her pocket.

"It'd be nice if we could sneak past the guards," she said.

"If they are intelligent, they will have all potential entrances guarded," said Loki.

"I'd love to not give them any credit, but…"

Folding her arms, Jane slid halfway to the ground against the boulder. Whatever grand plans she'd had for breaking in seemed to have fallen at her feet. While she pondered, Loki appraised the situation.

In addition to the guards, there were mounted lights on every corner. Motion detecting firearms were on standby, though not currently aimed in their direction. A man in the watchtower sharpened an arrow of all things and cast his eagle eye across the sand dunes. Loki made himself invisible to all but Jane. The archer's eye passed over him, though for a second, Loki thought he paused.

"Do you regret coming with me yet?"

Jane hadn't moved in a while, and he hadn't expected her to speak so soon.

"I never would," Loki said.

Jane gave a half-smile. "Yeah, but this is pretty far out from working as an analyst."

Loki tried to swallow. His throat was dry. "I suppose so."

Her eyes lingered on him, though he hoped the base was more interesting. If she had another question or comment to make, she kept it to herself.

"What if I just walk over and demand to see the man in charge?" she snorted.

"We could always enter by force," Loki said. "Your truck can surely withstand a few bullets."

"I should've brought my homemade missile launcher."

Their laughter died out fast. Neither of them was in the mood for jokes. Down in one of the black vans, a man rushed out with a phone in his ear. He said something to the guards as he hurried along. The larger man stepped away from his partner out of sight. Even with just one man on duty, the situation was grave. It didn't have to be, though. Loki could be in and out before the Midgardians knew what hit them. If Mjolnir accepted him (a voice in his head he didn't care to address sneered at the very idea), all he had to worry about was telling Jane the truth.

And so, he had everything to worry about.

'Why am I here?' he asked himself, as he should've so long ago when Thor landed on this rock. 'What has this gained me? She's just one woman.'

'Is she?' that same voice replied.

Loki looked at her. He didn't want to, but he had to. There was something so beautiful about her. Not just her mind, as he once thought. It was everything. Her face, her mind, her perchance for eating too many kettle chips before dinner. One could mistake her for the Asgardian royal. She had a magic all her own.

"Whatever happens," she said, squaring her shoulders for action, "if we go down there and get caught or stay up here all night, I'm glad I got to meet you, Luke."

Loki's eye twitched. He never realized how much he hated that name. "Yes, Jane. So am I."

She was terrible for him. For his emotional state, for his self-control, and his awareness of his surroundings. The single presence behind them became three and drew closer. Two of them carried weapons. Jane still hadn't noticed them, all her focus on the base. She yelped when Loki pulled her back. His larger body shielded her as he turned to face the newcomers.

Only one was familiar. The man who had tried to relieve Jane of her life's work. He didn't have sunglasses today, which was strange. The sky was clear and the sun merciless. His men couldn't be very comfortable in those three-piece black suits.

Phil Coulson raised a hand, and they stopped. He smiled at Loki like a man concealing a knife.

"Good morning," he said. "Anything we can help you fine folks with?"

"Hell yeah, you can help us," Jane marched up to Coulson, unconcerned with the armed men on either side of him. "You can tell us who you think you are running around with your badges and fancy cars and thinking you have a right to take everything I've been working my whole life toward!"

"Jane," Loki tried to reach for her, but she wouldn't respond.

"Dr. Foster, as I've already told you, this matter is top secret and unrelated to your research."

"Bullshit. You wouldn't have come banging on my door if this wasn't related."

"And we were generous enough to leave you to your work. If you continue to interfere, I could take that generosity back."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'd consider it more of a warning."

"You have no right-"

"Jane, enough." Loki eyed the man on the right. He was the largest of the three men, obstinately the strongest, and as the argument intensified, his hand slid closer to his holstered pistol. "There's nothing more we can do here."

"Are you kidding me?" Jane shouted. "I'm not going anywhere. Not when we've come this far."

"Doctor, for your own safety, I'd advise you to listen to your friend."

"No one asked you!"

She pulled at Loki's hand. He held on and dragged her back as carefully as he could. Jane made one last attempt to get free, all her strength going into a single wrench. The recoil sent her flying, and she nearly smacked Coulson in the face.

"Hey!" The larger man grabbed his gun.

A blast of magic sent him flying. He hit the ground some fifty feet away, moaning in agony. All things considered, Loki had been gentle. Not even a fraction of the power his rage demanded had gone into that attack.

Many years later, he'd commend SHIELD for their quick, coordinated response. Within seconds, the man's partner drew his weapon. Coulson pulled a gun seemingly out of the air. Down below, twenty more men raced onto the scene, alarms blaring at their backs, summoning all troops to the front line. Even the archer had an arrow ready to fire.

Loki held Jane to his chest, staring down the enemy ready to march into battle on his own.

Of course, it was Jane who summed it all up perfectly. "What the fuck?"

Coulson took a step. "Sir, please stand down."

A chuckle. "Stand down? I'm not the one aiming to kill."

"Nobody wants to hurt you or Dr. Foster."

"I beg to differ."

"Why don't we talk about this more inside?" Coulson nodded at the men behind them, who broke formation to create a path down the hill. "I think that'll be better for everyone."

"Better for you," Loki growled. "Agent Coulson, rest assured there is not a cell on this planet which can hold me. I would advise you to consider your next move carefully."

His magic flared. The agents tensed but didn't fire. That was good for them. If they had, it would not have been Loki who fell.

"You're not in a position to give threats," Coulson said, glancing at the green fire in Loki's hand with only a hint of discomfort. "Or are you?"

One plus to this mess, his concentration was back at full capacity. He heard the sputtering engine long before Coulson's most cognizant agents lifted their heads to listen. A truck tore down the road, approaching at well over a hundred miles an hour. The horn roared again and again, a boisterous laugh following each blast.

'Wonderful,' Loki thought. 'Just wonderful.'

The agents were now torn. Half turned to the truck while the rest stayed in place. Coulson was among the latter, his eyes never leaving Loki's.

"Friends of yours?"

Loki clicked his tongue. "In a manner of speaking."

The truck stopped hard enough to almost tip over. Tires screeched. A sword-wielding arm stuck out the window. All the doors flew open as a haggard man in white scrubs stumbled out.

"Loki!" Thor bellowed. Sif was already at his side, glaring Loki down.

"Hello brother," he said, wincing at Jane's strangled gasp. "I'm happy to see you again."

It was always meant to be, he supposed. From the very beginning, he knew one day he would face his brother on opposing sides. Whatever the occurrence on Jotunheim meant, the distance between them had grown over centuries. It wasn't a truth Loki admitted easily. Indeed, his heart hurt. In so many ways, it hurt. Never had deception felt so empty.

If nothing else, Thor had learned civility. When the agents formed a barrier between him and Loki, Thor demanded they let him pass rather than tossing them aside without a thought. As the Warriors Three gathered, proving to be by far the clearer threat, Coulson was forced to enter the fray and defuse the tension. His men stayed behind, keeping Loki always in their sights. Dozens of eyes on him, scrutinizing, challenging, waiting for a reason to fire, and yet all of them paled in comparison to Jane's searching gaze.

"Luke," she said. There was no anger like he feared, only wonder. No betrayal, just boundless curiosity. "No… Loki."

He somehow managed to smile. "I'm afraid I haven't been honest with you."

The ever-changing myriad of emotion spreading across her face gave way to a tiny laugh, then a full grin. "You know what? I think I knew."

She buried her face in his shirt, hugging him with all she had. Their captors waited and watched. Thor peered over Coulson's head, studying the pair as if deciding whether Jane was a pawn in Loki's mechanisms or another threat. Loki tightened his hold on her, no longer fighting the overwhelming urge to touch her.

"What's down in that base," he whispered in Jane's ear, "is nowhere near as amazing as what's up there."

The sky opened far over their heads, offering so much promise. Jane raised her head to it but stared straight at Loki.

"Fuck it," she muttered, with the conviction of someone who had thrown all caution to the wind. "Let's do it."

"Are you sure?"

It wasn't a question he needed to ask. Everything he needed was right in front of him.

He allowed himself a moment to give in to desire, pressing his lips to Jane's and savoring her sweet taste. Her hands on his face were soft and warm, and so perfect.

Loki and Jane did not see the SHIELD agents whispering among themselves. They didn't hear a man wolf whistle and another one shush him. They didn't see Thor's bemused reaction to their display, or Coulson's jaw hitting the floor as he failed to come with a good response.

When they vanished, they didn't feel the bullets impulsively fired where they once stood. They didn't hear Thor scream Loki's name to the heavens.

And even if they did, it wouldn't have mattered. Because none of it could stop them. Nothing could stop them.

Not even gravity.

THE END

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed!