Staring at the black void of stars above him, he let his eyes fall out of focus, the stars becoming a blur before him. What once was a limitless domain -worlds at his disposal to see, discover, and conquer—now taunted him from the other side, with Asgard as his prison.

His crimes were too great to go unpunished, and while his attempted takeover of Earth was not well known in Asgard, the destruction of the Bifrost, the partial destruction of Jotunheim and the subsequent lives taken from the Frost Giants, as well as humans taken by his command to the Destroyer were crimes the Asgardian people demanded justice for.

The burden of deciding the punishment fell to the Allfather, whose heart was torn between joy in the return of both his sons and the sadness and disappointment in Loki's actions, as well as the guilt of knowing Loki's actions and emotions were partially a result of his conflicted identity and placement in the family.

For the great loss of life and destruction he caused he was first sentenced to imprisonment in the Asgardian prison chamber with heightened security, reserved for the most dangerous of criminals. Not trusting the prison guards to resist his verbal charms and to limit his use of magic, his lips were kept shut by the mouth guard, like an animal. Afraid this harsh punishment and isolation would push him away from the family and into becoming the monster he was being treated as, Frigga begged the Allfather to allow Loki to finish his sentence at the palace, where he could be visited by his family and his condition and behavior could be monitored.

After time his confinement to his room was lifted, allowing him about the palace in the hopes that he could recover from the shame and alienation of his sentence, but he was forbidden to leave Asgard in his lifetime and unable to ever, under any circumstances, ascend to the throne.

For months after his return to the palace and the mouth guard was removed, he refused to speak. While the Allfather's judgment and declaration of his crimes and Thor and his friends' accounts used against him in his trial were very public, his family and friends were at least allowed to speak to him personally, privately. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three visited him, hoping to lift his spirits. Thor often visited him, reminding his brother that he loved him and was sorry to have played his enemy for so long. The Allfather admitted he was wrong to wait to tell Loki about his parentage and reminded him of his place in their family. Both Thor and the Allfather asked Loki's forgiveness for the role they had to play against him, for not seeing his needs clearly enough beforehand, for all they had ever done to him.

Their words and apologies might as well have fallen on deaf ears, for Loki did not acknowledge or respond. Frigga worried deeply that he would remain forever silent, afraid the quiet and wide eyed boy - who once watched his brother and father converse, fight, and laugh together, trying to get a word in edgewise – would become a stranger to them both and never have another word to say to either of them.

Frigga's patience and attention finally coaxed him out of his silence, and he slowly became more of himself. The devotion of a mother's love over the years allowed her to notice things Thor and the Allfather did not notice or empathize with – how he internalized his feelings, when he was feeling ignored and forgotten, how he could use his dazzling ability to fool others to hide himself or express himself.

Behind the still faced mask and deaf lips he had hidden behind for so long in imprisonment was his tumultuous psyche; a tangle of shame, anger, betrayal, self loathing, wounded pride, and a broken heart. He struggled to make sense of his mind, unsure of how he felt about his family, his brother, his friends, and himself. He swung violently from self blame, humiliation, and crushing remorse to blind rage and hatred for his brother, his father, for the Frost Giants, for the mortals.

Over time as he was allowed throughout the palace and integrated with his family once again. He accepted Thor and the Allfather's actions as logical and accepted their apologies, struggling to leave the complicated mess of recent events and the wrongs of his childhood behind, still unsure of who he was and where he felt his place should be.

During his long imprisonment, life in Asgard resumed. Thor was deemed fit to soon become King by the Allfather, and preparations were made for his coronation. Loki buried his memories and emotions concerning the matter, ignoring it all together. Heimdall worked with Thor and Jane to create a new wormhole passages between the realms, not surprisingly with a way to Earth as Thor's first priority. Loki was permitted out of the palace only to assist in creating the new bridge, and only under Thor's close supervision to prevent Loki from using his freedom and involvement with the bridge to escape to another realm, especially Earth.

Loki was still confined to his room when the wormhole was finished and Jane visited. He had no particular desire to meet her, both for his attempts at Earth and his belief that she had changed Thor when he needed the old Thor the most, to help destroy Jotunheim. Jane visited numerous times, and all could see that Thor was happier the longer she was around. With Loki's confinement ending and Jane's visits more frequent, Thor almost always had a wide smile across his face.

This particular day, Loki was gazing at the stars, relishing in one of his first freedoms from the palace, inhaling the cool air swirling around the broken Rainbow Bridge. Heimdall, now keeper of the wormhole to Earth and guard to the palace, had been given the unofficial role of watching Loki when he left the palace, and was watching Loki, who was studiously ignoring him. Not long after they had left the palace, Heimdall looked up and spoke, the boom of his voice startling Loki out of his thoughts.

"Prince Loki, Jane Foster is about to enter the wormhole. I must return to the passage before she arrives." Loki read between the lines – free time was over. He nodded in consent and followed as Heimdall returned to the wormhole not far from the palace. He looked back at the prince warily as they approached the glowing, jagged opening, but said nothing. Shortly thereafter the entrance glowed with a bright flash, and Jane's silhouette darkened the light for a brief moment before she was thrust through the entrance, Heimdall catching her arm as she stumbled forward.

"Still not used to the landing, I see," he chuckled, pulling her upright. She laughed shakily, slightly embarrassed and trying to get her bearings. Loki had forgotten how small mortal women seemed, and how less graceful they tended to be. Getting a good look at her in the flesh for the first time, he forced back his thoughts of Earth and tried to decide to what he thought of her.

"Clumsy as ever I guess," she admitted with a smile. Her smile faded slightly as she noticed the thin, dark figure behind Heimdall looking at her, her eyes quizzical and she glanced back to the gate keeper looking for answers. Loki spoke up before he had a chance to.

"Thor intended for me to receive you in his stead today," he said, answering her unspoken question without missing a beat. "He is hosting his friends at the palace, drinking to celebrate your latest visit I believe." Heimdall eyed him skeptically.

"Thor made a point to ask me to come by the wormhole today," he explained with an innocent smile. "I do not think he wishes for Lady Jane to wander alone while he anxiously awaits her return. I can deliver her to Thor directly." The gate keeper gave him a long look, finally nodding in begrudging consent when the prince's pleasant smile never faded.

He extended his arm to Jane, who hesitated, looking up at him cautiously before linking her arm into his carefully. He tried to suppress a grin of triumph as he turned his back to Heimdall and walked proudly away with Jane; even after his imprisonment and limited exposure to people, his way with words had not gotten away from him in the least.

Anticipating what would most likely be an uncomfortably awkward silence between them and still dizzy from her arrival, Jane tried to initiate something a little lighter while she still could.

"So deliver me, huh? What are you, a waiter bringing me out like I'm dinner?" she teased. Forget about what he did to your hometown, or New York, or to Thor... she willed herself not to think about what he was to her - a remorseless murderer. Thor tried to convince her of his good qualities, but Jane had a hard time pushing memories of watching her small town being destroyed, fearing for her life, and thehorrifying videos of New York from her mind. He glanced down at her a moment before looking ahead and smirking.

"I suppose that depends if I think you look appetizing enough to be Thor's dinner." Jane blushed, looking down. "I believe you are rather petite to satisfy Thor's hunger," he continued in a matter-of-fact way. Loki stole a glance back down at her; the blush at her cheeks showed that she did not miss the double meaning of his words. Surely she did not think she could outwit the God of Lies? Still undecided about her, he least knew she was good at hiding any fear of him she had very well.

"Well you sure seem to know to make a first impression," she muttered, trying to recover from his suggestive comment. They were now walking through the hallways of the palace, and she became suddenly very aware of her arm linked with his with the eyes of the guards on them. Loki seemed unphased and chuckled.

"Pardon my manners. Perhaps more conventional conversation topics then? Are you looking forward to Thor's coronation?" he regret saying the words as soon as he said them, because part of him wanted to spit the words out at the thought , but he repressed it, keeping the faux interested expression on his face.

"Sure," she said, more than happy to keep the conversation conventional over suggestive or accusatory. She nearly asked if he was looking forward to it too, but caught herself. As much as she might want to know how Loki was feeling and what this new agreement of him walking free was about, it was the last thing she should ask about. "I'm glad I don't have to do much, just watch, be supportive, and help where I can I guess."

"Just look pretty and keep Thor happy I suppose," he mused. Jane wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or that was what was honestly expected from Asgardian women, but she didn't get much of an answer from Loki. He seemed to have trailed off and gone quiet. He had not deduced much about Jane; she was small, and unlike most of the women Thor took interest in, was not as shapely, but very easy on the eyes regardless. He had heard she was very smart for a mortal and seemed moderately comfortable around a man. He would have to wait and see if Earth women were really as forward as he had heard.

The silence between them did not last long, for they rounded another wide hallway to one of the dining halls to find Thor enthusiastically telling a story to Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Loki released Jane's arm just as Thor looked up.

"Jane!" he bellowed, a huge smile spreading across his face. He looked at Loki, confused amusement on his face.

"I came to deliver something from the wormhole for you," he explained. Thor laughed as she rolled her eyes, unable to hide his excitement at Jane's arrival.

"Brother, why did you take the long route through the palace then? You know through the gardens is much quicker!" Jane looked up at Loki, waiting for his explanation, but Loki simply smiled. Thor did not seem to notice and stood, lifting a pitcher, urging his friends to do the same.

"To Jane!" he toasted, the four cheering in agreement. As they loudly shouted and clinked their glasses together, Loki turned to Jane and bowed gracefully, taking her hand gently as he bowed. He pressed his lips to her knuckles, meeting her eyes as he did so.

"Welcome back to Asgard," he said softly. He released her hand, holding her gaze for a moment, then walking out of the hall and turning the corner without another word. Jane stood in surprised amazement for a moment, not sure what to make of the encounter, before Thor had suddenly run up to her and thrown his arms around her, lifting her and spinning her around.

As Loki walked down the hall, he smiled an impish smile. He knew that although Thor's strong muscles were around her, she would still feel the tickle of his kiss on her hand linger with her throughout the day.

For the first time in a long time, a mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes.

Hello lovely readers! Please review, and be kind as this is the first creative writing I've done in years and the first I've written for Thor. Considering how long it took to write it was shorter than I thought, but there is much more mischief to come!