The God Who Cried Wolf (3/3)

Author: starhawk2005

Fandom: Marvel's Avengers

Date: June 2013

Pairing: Loki/ Jane (Lokane)

Rating: Adult (18+).

Summary: Part Four of the Light in the Dark series. Jane's life does its best to return to normal. Or as normal as it can be, given the involvement of the Norse God of Mischief.

Beta: canyr12 ROCKS SO HARD.

Disclaimer: Don't sue me, Marvel. I'm just doing what you won't.

Author's Note: Movie!verse, because Tom Hiddleston is hot.

Jane awakens to a low grumbling sound. A second later, she realizes it's her stomach. When did I last eat something? In the cell at SHIELD? Yeah. While it wouldn't be the first time she's skipped one (or two!) meals – usually while she's working at the lab, convinced she's on the verge of a scientific breakthrough – obviously this is not ideal. No wonder she's felt so tired, ever since waking up with Loki in the SHIELD prison.

As if in agreement, her stomach growls loudly again, this time accompanied by a sharp hunger pang, and Jane gropes for her watch. 2:17pm, Jesus Christ, no wonder she's starving.

That's when she realizes the bed is empty. Did Loki leave her again-?

She sits up and scans the small room, panic already trying to take hold of her. But no, he's sitting at the small table in the opposite corner of the room, flipping through what seems to be a magazine. The scientist part of her brain wonders if Loki can even read English.

He glances up at her worried face, then smiles reassuringly. It's his sweet smile, and ruefully Jane decides that she really needs to stop expecting him to just take off after they have sex. He hasn't done that in a while, right?

He's wearing his usual Asgardian leather armour, but Jane can see he's left out at least some of the hair-gel, even if the rest of him seems unchanged. She rather likes it – his hair is a little softer, a little wavier, a little fuller around his angular face. It suits him a lot better, though she finds herself too shy to compliment him on it.

Loki puts the magazine down. "I did not think, after all that had happened, that you would wish me to leave."

"No," Jane shakes her head. "I'm glad you're here. Do gods even need to sleep?" she asks, curiously. Not that she's all that sure she really thinks of him as a god (as a scientist, it's a hard thing to accept), but he obviously believes it, so she'll go with it for now.

"Not as much as mortals," Loki allows.

Jane's stomach growls audibly again, and Loki smirks at her blush. "Um, do gods need to eat?" she asks, pushing the covers aside.

"Not really, but that has never stopped us," Loki answers, winking at her. "I take it that we need to silence the lion in your belly before we tackle anything else this day?"

"Yeah, before I faint of starvation." Jane rolls out of bed, wondering where she left her clothes. After a quick search (she's aware of Loki's eyes on her naked backside the whole time, though mercifully he keeps any lustful observations to himself for once) she discovers they are still on the bathroom floor. She winces at having to put on dirty clothes, but a loud gurgle from her stomach silences that. Food first, fresh clothes after, and then….well, let's focus on that for now.

She dresses quickly and returns to the bedroom, surprised to see that Loki is now clad in his dark suit and coat, instead of the Asgardian armour. "Where do you wish to procure a meal?" he asks.

Without really thinking, Jane automatically says the first thing that comes to mind: "Isabelle's diner?"

Loki whisks them away so fast, Jane doesn't have time to second-guess herself. A flash of white light, and they're standing in front of the diner, afternoon sunshine bouncing off the windows and reflecting into Jane's eyes. The street is relatively crowded, and Jane looks around nervously, but if anyone has noticed their sudden appearance from thin air, they're hiding their shock well.

Loki moves towards the diner's door, but then turns back and frowns as he realizes Jane is not following. "What troubles you, little one?"

Where to start? "Uh, Darcy and Erik could be in there. This is their favourite hangout, too." If they are there, knowing her luck lately, she and Loki probably have already been spotted-

"They are not," Loki says calmly, not indicating how he knows. "And even if they were, I am a master of illusion, as you no doubt recall."

Yeah, like Jane would be comfortable, hiding from Erik and Darcy behind an illusion. That would be yet another betrayal, wouldn't it? Not that she says as much to Loki.

But despite Loki's assurances, Jane still hesitates. Izzy won't likely recognize Loki, but he (or rather, his Destroyer) is responsible for closing this place for a long time. Izzy's only been open and in business again for the last two months or so. And now Loki is just going to casually walk in like any other patron? It just seems so, so….wrong somehow.

But Jane's stomach doesn't care about justice and ethics and morals, and as the door swings open in front of Loki as two other customers leave, the scents of pancakes and hamburgers wash over her, and Jane shakes her head and follows after Loki. One day, she'll have to have him make amends to Izzy, somehow. Right now though, she has more immediate and personal concerns. And at least her money can't hurt, right?

Jane greets Izzy with a hug, and once again she lets Loki handle his own introduction ("Loki Lokisson" seems to be his current default), and a few moments later they are seated in a booth, looking at menus.

Jane gets nervous all over again. Thor had loved pancakes, eggs, and coffee, but he'd been mortal at the time, right? And let's face it, Loki seems a lot more upscale in his tastes than Thor is. Even Loki's clothes are really too highbrow for this diner, though Jane finds it utterly impossible to picture him in worn jeans and a tee-shirt.

Not my problem, Jane finally decides. She orders a coffee and the hamburger plate, and Loki faintly surprises her by ordering the exact same thing.

Turns out, Thor and Loki do have at least one thing in common (besides falling for her) – they both take their coffee loaded with cream and sugar. Loki also enjoys the hamburger and fries, judging by how quickly they vanish. And he doesn't smash his mug on the floor before ordering a second. That's something, Jane supposes.

But the whole thing is also much more awkward than Jane expects. It's a little depressing to her to realize this is their first actual meal together. Up til now, their only activities together have been either kinky sex or sleeping (and, of course, running afoul of shadowy government agencies).

Jane sticks some fries into her mouth, wondering what the hell to talk about with Loki. She doesn't really want to ask him about what he told Fury, not with so many people around who could eavesdrop. But what else are they supposed to talk about? His favourite movie (yeah, like they have those in Asgard)? His favourite colour?

His favourite way to kill people? The sarcastic little voice pipes up. I think that might fall under 'hobbies'.

Shut up, Jane growls at it. She scrabbles in her brain for something safe to ask him about. "So," she tries, leaning towards him and trying to keep her voice low, just in case people are listening. "Thanks for helping with my headache yesterday, but I'm kind of confused – didn't you say you couldn't heal other people?"

He half-smiles, taking a sip of coffee. "Alas, I spoke the truth before – I lack the ability to cure other's ills. I am afraid all I did was cloak your pain from your awareness."

Jane sits back, considering, though she still keeps her voice low. "It was only an illusion?"

He inclines his head towards her, as if to say: 'Aren't I awesome?'

Well, she supposes that if he can create a whole forest from nothing, masking the pain of a headache wouldn't be too difficult.

Another silence falls, and Jane fidgets. Loki sips his coffee, raising an eyebrow at her antics. "Yes, my dear?" he questions.

Jane bites her lip, finally deciding her best tactic is to be supportive. "I just wanted to say, if you ever wanted to talk about what happened to you – you know, all the bad stuff, and how it made you feel – I'm here to help." Christ, awkward.

But Loki nods. "I know," he replies. He sips more coffee. And then says more nothing.

Jane resists the urge to roll her eyes at him. So much for opening the lines of communication.

The nagging little voice returns to take another dig at her. Maybe you've got nothing to talk about because, I don't know, you have nothing in common? Besides the need to have kinky sex, anyway?

Jane doesn't bother to dignify that with a response.

Finally, she asks herself why is it up to her to make conversation? He could try, couldn't he? Let Mr. God make an effort, too.

So Jane returns to her food, trying not to make her irritation with him too obvious. Loki polishes off the rest of his coffee in what seems like two gulps, then sits back in the booth and smirks at Jane. Uh-oh, Jane knows that look.

He leans forward then, his tone low and conspiratorial. "So tell me, my dear Jane, are there any particular fantasies of yours that you wish me to fulfill?"

Jane, in the midst of eating her cole slaw, blushes bright red and fumbles with her fork, just managing not to make it clatter on her plate. "Um, what?"

His smirk turns positively evil. "Do you need me to be more specific? Very well. Are there certain acts or scenarios you have always wanted a lover to do, to you or with you, that you wish to attempt with me?" Jane's pretty sure she can feel his fingertips very lightly caressing her inner thigh under the table.

You see? The little voice points out triumphantly. Kinky sex. Jane curses at the voice until it shuts the fuck up, and brushes Loki's fingers off her leg. "One-track mind, much?" she accuses him darkly.

Loki puts on his best 'innocent face', though Jane doesn't buy it for a second. "I want to please you," he says simply. "And I can best do that, by discovering what…games…you would most enjoy to play. I remind you again that I am, after all, a master of illusion and magic. There are few fantasies, no matter how improbable, that I would not be able to make reality. So to speak."

Despite her embarrassment, Jane finds herself intrigued. It's true, he could probably indulge pretty much any erotic scenario she could dream up. But this is not the place. Or even really the time. She has much more important things to attend to.

"Let me think about it," she mutters, pretending not to notice that Loki is smirking again. She takes one last bite of her burger, and decides she's had enough.

She pays for their meals – Loki looks on curiously, and Jane reflects that Loki's probably never had to actually pay for anything in his life, lucky bastard. She chats briefly with Izzy about her new place, and discovers that Izzy may know someone willing to buy the trailer once Jane is ready to sell it. Finally, a stroke of luck!

Jane hugs Izzy goodbye fondly, and then leads Loki out. She pauses on the sidewalk outside, pondering her next move.

The trailer. Time to face the music, and pack everything up?

Yeah, nice idea, but once everything's packed up, what then? The new apartment has no damned furniture.

"Jane?" Loki prompts, obviously wondering what she's ruminating about.

"D'you mind if we go to the trailer? I need to figure some things out."

Loki shrugs. "I had no set plans to conquer Midgard today," he deadpans. Then he grins playfully as Jane gapes at him.

Finally she shakes her head and giggles. Loki and his unique sense of humour, she supposes. God of Mischief, right?

It's a familiar walk to the trailer, and Jane greets a few people she knows (fortunately, none of them ask her about her tall, dark male shadow – maybe they can't see him?), but she has to admit that she's relieved to get to the trailer without running into Erik or Darcy.

The lab behind them is still dark and empty, and something about that makes Jane tense. She can understand there being no sign of Erik, under the circumstances, but Darcy being AWOL for so long? She wonders if SHIELD took Darcy in for questioning too.

Something else to weigh on Jane's conscience.

Even if that's what's happened, I can't do anything about it. And it's not like she's ready to ask Loki to look into it or do anything about it; that seems like a good way to piss off SHIELD, or scare the heck out of Darcy. Or both.

Besides, Darcy knows nothing, and in any case Jane is pretty sure Erik will stand up for Darcy if needed. Not to mention Thor would probably be pretty angry if Fury got it into his head to torture Darcy for information.

Loki teleports them back inside the trailer again, since Jane still can't do anything about SHIELD's damned padlock. Loki has managed to somehow switch back into his armour mid-teleport, she notices. Whatever. Jane does her best to ignore the mess, pushing things out of her way and digging herself a path to her kitchen table.

She rummages around until she finds a pencil and notepad, then plunks herself down. Loki is studying the chaos around them, scowling, but Jane pretends not to notice. She'd rather not fuel any animosity between him and SHIELD right now. She has enough problems to deal with.

Furniture, furniture, she thinks, forcing herself back to practicalities. OK, just the basics. Enough so she can get out of this damned trailer, that's the priority.

She starts scrawling things on her notepad, Loki ambling over just as she finishes, and reading over her shoulder:

bed (and linens)

kitchen table and (4?) chairs

desk (and chair? Or use a kitchen one for now?)

couch

Loki reads it out loud, which Jane supposes answers her question as to whether he can understand written English.

"Can't move into my new apartment without a place to sleep, or to eat, or even just to sit down," she explains.

"Very well," Loki agrees. "Where can we commission the artisans to make such items?"

Jane stifles a giggle. IKEA is hardly…artisanal. Granted, she could probably get some good stuff at the local 'OK Furniture' store in town, but…who knows when the SHIELD money is going to dry up? She's gotten into the habit of pinching every penny so she'll have as much money free as possible to pay for new parts for lab equipment, and to make sure Darcy doesn't starve. If it ain't broke-

"We have stores which mass-produce furniture now," she informs him. "By machine? Nothing around here, though. We'll have to take my car to the store."

"Your what?"

Jane smiles. Cultural differences, indeed. "Easier to show you, I guess."

It takes them over twenty minutes to find the keys to the Pinzgauer in all the disorder, but since she manages to find the keys to the new apartment at the same time, at least it qualifies as multi-tasking.

Then she digs up some fresh clothes and changes, pretending to ignore Loki's sudden intense interest.

It's hard not to laugh at Loki when they try to get into the Pinz. Understandably, at first he tries to imitate her, attempting to slide into the car after her. On the driver's side.

Once that is worked out, he blinks in confusion as she tries to buckle him in. He's so obviously used to being in control, in command, but now he seems a bit lost, unsettled. He's so out of his element. So Jane hides her amusement, especially at how interested he seems in everything – the mirrors, the dials, the roar of the engine.

He bores quickly once they get going, however. Jane can't really blame him – the desert is a pretty uniform landscape to drive through.

"I should have magicked us to your 'store'," he grumbles at one point, a mere fifteen minutes into their drive.

Jane bites her lip. She wants to say that she doesn't want to be dependent on him or his magic, or to take his magic for granted, but she can just imagine what his response will be. Probably something along the lines of a mocking look and some variation of "I am a God."

So instead, she says: "I thought it would be nice to just….talk."

Loki glances over at her but says nothing.

That's when Jane realizes it's still over an-hour-and-fifteen-minute drive to the next outpost of civilization. And she had a hard enough time engaging him in conversation in the diner. Uh-oh…teleporting would have been faster. Much.

They need something to talk about. A neutral topic. Something that won't make him uncomfortable. And something that won't make her uncomfortable (her sexual fantasies? Um, some other time, thanks).

"Can I make a deal with you?" she asks at last.

She doesn't need to look over, to know he's doing an eyebrow raise. "What manner of 'deal'?"

"I want to get to know you better," she explains. "So, I propose a trade. You tell me one thing about your childhood, and then I'll tell you one thing about mine. Then repeat til we get there."

Loki says nothing for a long moment, but finally, before Jane can really start second-guess herself, he agrees. Jane narrowly restrains the impulse to pump her fist in victory.

Jane pulls the Pinzgauer into the IKEA parking lot, allowing herself to feel a small measure of smugness. Though they hadn't avoided all possible awkward silences, she finally felt like she was getting somewhere.

Even though most of what Loki had told her had been about Asgard, and not really anything deeply personal about himself.

He'd told her about the palace, and the Bifröst (Jane had been very tempted to really grill him about that, but had decided now was not the time), and the Asbru bridge. About the nebulas and star systems visible from the Realm Eternal.

He'd told her about long hours spent in the palace library, studying magic. About a few tricks he'd pulled once he'd gained certain magical skills.

Probably the most animated he'd been, was when he'd described a few pranks he'd played on Thor and the Warriors Three (and Sif).

Beyond that, though, he hadn't really talked at all about his personal relationships. What his interactions had been like with Odin, and Frigga, and Thor.

Unlike Jane, who had opened up to Loki about her father's death, about being estranged from her mother, and about the ridicule she'd faced while trying to prove her Foster Theory.

But it doesn't matter. He's talking, and that's progress.

Jane parks the car and leads Loki into the huge store.

Unsurprisingly, Loki is not impressed by IKEA. They get lost almost immediately in the enormous and poorly-designed showroom. "Surely the one who built this must be one of my worshippers, to have produced such an infernal labyrinth," Loki mutters, after having used his magic to reorient them for at least the fourth time. Jane stifles a giggle. "Tell me about it. Luckily furniture shopping isn't something I do that often."

But Loki's not done complaining. "Shoddy workmanship," he announces later with loud disdain, wrinkling his nose and flicking contemptuously at the edge of one of the desks. "Is this what the Norse have been reduced to?"

Jane glances around, but nobody seems to have heard Loki. Again, she has to wonder if anyone even sees him – certainly nobody seems to have noticed him walking around in his usual Asgardian regalia. Except Jane. Is he doing that just to mess with her mind?

"I'm not furnishing the White House," Jane retorts, deliberately ignoring his confused look. "I'm a scientist living on a fixed income, which has to pay for my living expenses and my research. And my research assistant. So if it's a choice between lab equipment and ornate, luxury furniture, the lab wins every time." Although the SHIELD money has made things easier, research is an expensive business.

"I have money. Of a sort," Loki points out, but Jane shakes her head.

"It's not your responsibility. And I can afford this. I don't even really want anything fancy, that's not my style. Function over fashion, OK?" She's never been one to let a boyfriend (assuming Loki even qualifies) buy things for her, and she's not starting now.

She walks off before Loki can argue further, but he only trails thoughtfully after her. It takes over another hour (or feels like it!), but soon Jane has written down the codes of everything she needs. Loki even offers to carry the bed linens without even grousing about it, which is something of a minor miracle as far as Jane is concerned.

Their almost-final destination is the flat-packed furniture area, and Jane stops about ten steps in, wondering whether Loki would consider it beneath his dignity to push a dolly full of boxed furniture.

Loki stops next to her and looks around the shelves in confusion. "These are the same items we saw earlier? I thought you Midgardians lacked the magic to shrink objects down in this fashion."

Jane looks around nervously, but as usual somehow nobody seems to be in earshot. "No, it's not done by magic; all the stuff is in pieces. Easier to transport, and for the store to, well, store. We grab the boxes we need, load them up in my car, and when we get back to my new place, we put it all together," she explains, trying not to wince at the thought of all the hours of work she (they? Will he help?) has ahead of her. Maybe she should order it all online and have it delivered? No, this way she'll have everything right away. She's had enough of hotel living and trashed trailers.

Predictably, Loki looks affronted. "Put it all together? What nonsense is that?"

Although Jane agrees entirely, there's not much else she can think of to do. "Believe me, most furniture stores do that now. The only items that are assembled are the demos – the ones we saw in the store itself. Look, if you don't want to help me put everything together, I understand, it's fine." Although it probably isn't fine – who exactly will help her then? Erik? Not likely. Darcy? Maybe, if Jane can find her.

If Darcy doesn't already hate her, too.

Maybe Loki has some kind of magic spell that can help somehow?

She hopes that's what he's about to suggest, but instead he frowns darkly and shakes his head. He takes her firmly by the elbow, and starts to lead her towards the cash register. Actually, it's just on the border of dragging her.

"Loki!" Jane hisses, trying to backpedal, but given his reputation, she's reluctant to create a scene. She can just imagine the resulting report on Fury's desk.

"Be at ease, my Jane. You may purchase your bedclothes, but I may have a more…efficient way of dealing with your furnishings. Leave it to me."

Jane rolls her eyes at his imperious tone, still trying to tug her arm free. "Loki-"

"It will be dealt with, I told you. Therefore this discussion is ended."

Jane rolls her eyes again, but they're already at a cash register (where'd the line go?), so she buys the linens without further argument. The truth is, it's getting late and shopping always wears her out, and she has to admit that she's more than a little curious to see what Loki will do. Probably something illegal and unethical, the little voice pipes up, but Jane decides to ignore it.

They settle into the Pinz, her stomach choosing that moment to growl loudly.

"Speaking of efficiency," Loki remarks, making a familiar gesture-

Jane's vision whites out. When it clears, they are parked next to her trailer. "Loki, uh, why did you-?"

He shrugs. "You are famished once more, are you not? Why waste time then?" Already getting used to the seatbelt mechanism and door, he unfastens himself and slips out of the car before Jane can answer.

Oh well, at least she saved on gas, Jane supposes.

Sadly, Puente Antiguo isn't exactly chock full of restaurants, and Jane figures visiting Isabelle's again is tempting fate. In the end, Loki takes them both back to their hotel, and they eat in the on-site restaurant. It's decent for hotel food, but Jane can feel her natural frugality trying to kick in. Like she told Loki already, she prefers to spend her money on her work wherever possible.

Even if the thought of sharing food she's made with a Norse God is more than a little daunting! She doubts her offerings will measure up at all well against Asgardian feasts….

She more than half expects Loki to pounce on her the moment they get back to their hotel room, but he seems preoccupied with something. That's fine, she's got a big day of organizing, packing, and probably furniture-assembling to do tomorrow (she expects her first task will probably be ordering all that stuff from IKEA, Loki's cryptic promises aside). The last thing she needs now is a three-hour sex-a-thon, tempting as it may be.

She falls asleep so fast, she'll wonder later whether he used some kind of spell on her.

Jane wakes to find Loki sitting in pretty much the same spot as yesterday morning, except this time he's grinning evilly at her.

She hasn't been stripped naked and bound to the bed in her sleep or anything, so Jane has to assume his glee has something to do with her furniture.

"You've been up to some mischief, I'm guessing," she remarks dryly, sitting up.

"I have indeed. Come with me and see." Still grinning, he holds a hand out to her. Jane takes it without thinking, remembering too late that she's dressed only in socks, a tee shirt, and panties.

In a flash (literally), they are standing in the middle of her new apartment. Jane blinks in confusion, as the living room space around them is now packed with furniture. All already assembled, and everything that was on her list.

When she takes a closer look, she realizes some of the items are slightly different in style and colour than what she picked out earlier, but the differences are so minor that she's not about to complain.

"You put all this stuff together?" Jane asks. She has a hard time seeing that, though – that would be beneath his dignity, at a guess.

"No. These are the – what did you name them? – demos. A few of them were unacceptably worn or damaged, so I took the liberty of finding alternate items at other locations."

Then it sinks in. "You stole them?" Jane turns to glare at him, hands on her hips. It just figures-

Loki huffs and crosses his arms, looking deeply insulted. "I most certainly did not. The compensation I left in exchange will more than cover such abysmal craftsmanship." He waves a hand and then extends it to her, dropping something into her palm.

It appears to be a gold coin, the uneven edges covered in tiny knotwork. There are symbols she can't decipher on it, though the largest symbol is of three overlapping triangles, which she vaguely remembers from one of her library books to be Odin's symbol.

"Let me get this straight – you took the demos, and left a pile of gold coins in their place," She says slowly, unbelieving.

He cocks his head at her, his eyebrows raising mockingly. "You would prefer that I stole them after all?" He snarks, imitating her earlier offended tone.

Jane shakes her head – she hadn't intended to insult him again - and walks over to him. "No, no. Thank you," she twines her fingers in his hair (yes, much better without all the 'product') and pulls him down for a kiss, which seems to smooth things over between them.

After another teleport back to the hotel room to change into clean clothes, Jane asks Loki to take her back to the trailer. Behind them, the lab is still dark and empty, thank God. As much as she is wondering where Darcy is, Jane realizes she's not exactly ready for Loki and Darcy to meet.

The locked door will only get in their way, she decides, and she plans to have the trailer emptied of all personal effects today anyway, so she asks Loki if he can break the padlock. He can, and easily.

Jane's first task is to locate all the boxes she had flattened and had (formerly, before the SHIELD 'reorganizing') squirreled away in various corners of the trailer. There's some other boxes at the lab too, assuming they haven't been taken as well by SHIELD, but Jane will leave that til the last possible moment. There's only so much mess she thinks she can handle right now.

Jane can sense Loki standing in the narrow entryway watching her, the door behind him left open to allow the stuffy trailer to air out a bit. By way of trying to encourage him to help her, Jane thinks aloud: "I think I'll start by packing everything I probably won't need right away in boxes. Everything that I'll probably need sooner, we can probably put into bags and open boxes…what's the capacity of your 'Interdimensional Closet'? The more things we can carry per trip, the faster it will go. Or could you teleport everything in one go, if we pile it all up together, or something-?"

She finally looks over at him, more than half-expecting some kind of snobby, haughty, a-Prince-of-Asgard-does-not-assist-mere-mortals-in-such-a-grubby-endeavour kind of look, but instead he actually looks….guilty?

"Loki? What is it?" she asks, worried.

He looks around the trailer, not meeting her gaze. "This is due to a profound lapse in my judgment," he says quietly. "And I am truly sorry. I had not realized your fellow Midgardians would do this so quickly. I thought to spare you such an upheaval in your life again. So I most certainly will stay and help you rectify all this-"

"Me too," pipes up a familiar female voice from behind Loki.

He swings around, mildly startled, then moves aside so Darcy can climb in.

Jane isn't sure what to say to the other woman, but Darcy circumvents all that by hugging her. Jane gratefully clings to Darcy for a long moment, narrowly fighting back the tears. Loki's support is important, but Jane is realizing that she needs more than that. She needs her friends.

"Perhaps I should take my leave, be out of your way," Loki suggests, looking uncomfortable. "Once you have packed a significant amount, I can return and magick the items to your new abode."

Jane looks questioningly at Darcy. Jane feels safe with Loki, of course, but there's no reason to expect Darcy to feel the same. She had been at ground zero when the Destroyer attacked, too.

After a long tense moment, Darcy seems to come to a decision. She steps towards Loki, extending her hand. "Hi. I'm Darcy Lewis," she says.

Loki stares at her hand in confusion for long seconds, but then Darcy apparently remembers that Asgardian manners differ quite a bit from human ones. Smirking, she dips a small curtsey instead, which earns a small smile from Loki.

"And I am Loki….of Asgard," he says gravely, hesitating only slightly. He takes Darcy's hand and kisses it with the same ceremony Thor once accorded Jane. It feels like that all happened decades ago.

From that point, the three of them spend the next two hours trying to organize and pack everything without bumping constantly into each other, which is next to impossible. But it manages to go much faster than Jane expects, and it's a little depressing to realize just how little stuff she actually owns. Well, that's not true – she's got a lot of stuff, but most of it is in storage in a locker on the other side of Puente Antiguo.

At the end of the first hour, they have a small pile going, though it's unwisely stacked right in the trailer entryway. Jane decides that now might give her a good opportunity to talk to Darcy alone. Not that Jane isn't intensely grateful for Darcy's help, and her apparent acceptance of Loki, but Jane has to wonder – why?

So she pulls Loki aside – or as far aside as she can, in such a tiny space. "D'you mind teleporting these boxes to the new place? And-" she lets her voice drop to the quietest murmur she can manage, "-take your time about getting back? I'd like to talk to Darcy for a couple minutes."

He nods and doesn't ask why. Perhaps he's as curious as Jane is? "When you are ready for me to return, merely call my name."

He glances over Jane's shoulder at Darcy, then leans down and brushes his lips gently over Jane's. The trailer fills with light, and then Loki and the boxes are gone.

"Whoa, cool," Darcy enthuses, rubbing the spots out of her eyes. "Neat trick. Any chance we can convince Tall, Dark and Asgardian to help me move, when the time comes?"

Jane smiles distractedly, "I'm sure that can be arranged," she says. She fidgets for a moment, then decides to jump right in. "Darcy, can I ask why you seem so….OK with this? I don't know how much you know, but Erik is pretty understandably pissed with me right now. SHIELD isn't too happy either-"

"I still haven't forgiven SHIELD for stealing my iPod back in the day," Darcy says, smirking a little. "But actually Jane, I do know most of the story."

"SHIELD told you everything?" Jane asks. That doesn't sound like them.

"Not exactly. When I came in for work the other day I found them messing up this place, and they were also clearing out the lab, just like the first time," Darcy pauses, as if remembering how traumatized Jane had been the first time. "Sorry," Darcy adds.

Jane squeezes her eyes shut. She'd figured they'd taken everything – again – but somehow hearing it confirmed just leaves her stomach in knots.

"But anyway, Erik was there to make sure they didn't break any of the lab equipment, though he couldn't tell me much right then, given the SHIELD goons were giving him the evil eye every time he so much as turned towards me." She sighs, and even with her own eyes shut Jane has no difficulty picturing Darcy rolling her eyes.

"Then he called me last night and gave me the whole story. Guess he thought they hadn't tapped his phone? Well, they haven't come to arrest me yet or swipe my iPod again, so-"

Jane's eyes snap open and she interrupts the other woman. "Did he tell you what Loki and Fury talked about?"

"Not blow-by-blow, but the main points, yeah. Coulson being alive still, and Loki claiming to have done all this to save the universe or something. Erik was practically foaming at the mouth over the whole fail-safe thing."

"Then, I really don't get why you're here," Jane said, hesitantly.

"Well," Darcy shrugged, "for one thing, SHIELD brought all the lab equipment and data back last night. It's all jumbled up, of course, but it's all there. I don't think they'd do that if they thought Mr. Mischief was a threat."

Jane let out a breath she hadn't even been conscious of holding.

"And Erik also let it slip that Thor was here a little while ago on Earth, but then he left. WithoutLoki. Actually, Erik was practically ranting and raving about it," Darcy shakes her head. "He seemed pretty put out that Thor didn't drag Loki's ass straight back to Asgard. But anyway, I figure if Thor felt OK about leaving Loki here – especially considering Mr. Mischief is, um, dating his ex – well, seems to me that if you're crazy for being involved with Loki, then Thor's drunk the same Kool-Aid."

"But really," Darcy continues, "the main thing is, and don't take this the wrong way, Jane, but you're a crappy liar. If this Norse dude was hurting you, or had frightened you into doing whatever it is he wanted, you wouldn't be able to hide that from anyone."

Jane can't help smiling. "I told Fury. But he and Erik think Loki is controlling my mind."

Darcy scoffs. "Bullshit. I don't buy Thor ever letting that happen. He'd beat the daylight out of Loki first. Fuck no. Besides, I heard Loki apologize for all this with my own ears. Why would he bother, if you were his slave?"

"Maybe he did that for your benefit," Jane says, unable to stop herself from playing devil's advocate.

"Right, like I have that much influence with anyone." Darcy cocks her head and studies Jane, going quiet for a moment. "But you want to know the real truth, Jane? For as long as I've known you, you've been fighting for your Einstein Bridge. Even when we couldn't get funding, even when everybody else who calls themselves an academic laughed at you, you kept going. And you know what? Fuck them all, you were right."

"And now it's the same thing," Jane guesses.

"The way I see it, the score so far is Jane: 1, scientific community: zip. And you know what? I'm willing to put money on Jane: 1, Loki-haters: 0. So if you see something in this Norse god-or-alien-or-whatever worth sticking with, then I'm going to support you." Then she grins. "At least until he starts being a dick to you. Then all bets are off. And I volunteer to spring for the first round of Ben and Jerry's."

Jane smiles, nearly going limp with relief. On impulse, she gets up and hugs Darcy again. "Sounds fair to me."

"Good," Darcy says with finality. She shoots a critical eye around the trailer. "I think we're gonna need more boxes. Want me to go grab some from the lab?"

"If you wouldn't mind. I'm not sure I can handle seeing the mess SHIELD left right now," Jane apologizes.

"No problemo," Darcy replies. "That's why you pay me the big bucks, right?" she adds with her customary snark. "I do have one question, though," she says, looking back over her shoulder at Jane as she heads toward the trailer door.

"Only one?" Jane asks indulgently.

"Yeah. Does he always wear his armour?"

Jane laughs loud and long. Oh God, she needed that. "Yeah, pretty much."

Darcy chuckles. "I won't ask if he wears it to bed."

"Please don't," Jane agrees, still smiling.

Jane waits until Darcy is inside the lab, then calls for Loki.

He reappears instantly in front of her. "All is well?" he asks quietly, lifting a hand to cup her cheek in a surprisingly tender gesture.

But it doesn't surprise her enough to stop the now inevitable doubts – could he have spied on them? It would be all too easy for someone with his abilities.

I have to stop doing this to myself. Even if he was spying, so what? "Yes, everything's fine." Jane nods and puts her arms around him, resting her head against his chest.

"I was unsure where to place your items, so I left them in the largest room of your new abode for now," he says. That would probably be the living room.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it. I think we'll be done here in a couple of hours, at most," Jane says, breaking the hug as Darcy re-enters the trailer, flattened boxes tucked under each arm.

Jane's prediction is only off by about an hour. Yeah, that's how little stuff she actually has.

The only really awkward moment is when Loki finds the vibrator Jane had hidden under her mattress – why the fuck SHIELD had chosen to chuck the damned thing into a kitchen drawer was beyond Jane – and asks what it is.

Jane feels her face go utterly scarlet, and Darcy smirks knowingly. "That? That would be the single girl's best friend," Darcy informs him slyly, winking at Jane. Not quite daring to meet either of their eyes, and still blushing, Jane takes the toy and tosses it into the box of linens from the trailer's bed.

Thankfully, that's the only drama. Neither Erik nor SHIELD turn up, much to Jane's relief, and soon the final pile of boxes is assembled and the trailer door secured again somehow by Loki's magic.

Darcy gleefully turns to Loki. "'Beam us up!'"

He looks confused but he doesn't ask for clarification. Jane figures he's getting used to Darcy making cultural references that are alien to him, pun intended. Darcy stumbles a bit when they 'arrive', and Jane realizes she's making adjustments, too – she's gotten used to the brief sense of dislocation that Loki's teleportation spell seems to cause.

Darcy waves off Jane's attempt to steady her. "That is freakin' cool," Darcy enthuses to Loki, who looks even more befuddled now. "'Cool'?" he asks.

"She means she thinks teleporting is an amazing skill of yours," Jane supplies absentmindedly, looking around critically. The living room is filled to almost-bursting with furniture and boxes. She checks her watch. 6:13pm, hm. "Any chance I can convince the two of you to stick around a little bit longer and help me organize this place? Just enough to make it livable for tonight? I was going to spring for beer and pizza anyway, of course, but if you don't mind eating a bit late, I think I'd feel better if we get everything organized first."

"Yeah sure," Darcy answers brightly, then she looks over at Loki. "Um, do gods even do beer and pizza?"

"I should think I would be required to know what those are, first," Loki points out dryly, smirking at both of them.

"Beer is a type of alcoholic beverage, and pizza is a…flat bread with meat, cheese and vegetables as toppings," Jane explains.

"Dude, we so need to get you caught up on Earth culture," Darcy observes.

Loki tips her a little bow. "I am your humble student, my ladies," he says, the smirk deepening.

Jane rolls her eyes and gives him a smirk back, "Riiiiiight. You, humble?"

Loki winks salaciously at her.

It actually doesn't take that long at all to get the place into a halfway decent state. Loki's magic once again proves itself useful, this time in moving furniture into place. All the boxes of stuff that Jane doesn't need right away are unceremoniously shoved out of the way in various corners, but even then, she has so much more space than she did in the trailer, that it's almost laughable.

How the hell did I manage to live in that tin can for so long? She wonders. She'll have to remember to call Izzy to see about the potential buyer.

It's actually closer to 7:45pm when they finally get to sit down and eat. Darcy had already taken care of the beer run by then (two six-packs, she'd insisted, 'Just in case Loki drinks like a fish'), and Jane managed to remember to call for pizza before the last minute – her usual mistake. Remembering what Thor's appetite had been like, Jane ordered two extra large pizzas, one all-dressed and one vegetarian.

Loki does indeed manage to eat nearly half of each one by himself. But he's earned it, Jane figures. At least his appetite isn't nearly as gluttonous as Thor's had been. Otherwise, Jane thinks she might have to ask him for some of his gold to pay for grocery expenses!

Despite Loki's appetite, he grimaces at the taste of the beer and lets Jane and Darcy know that Asgardian mead is 'far superior'….though Jane notices that doesn't stop him from polishing off the last four bottles all by himself. Not that they appear to have any discernible effect on him that Jane can see. Jane and Darcy are already tipsy after two beers each, and Jane figures that's a good place for her to stop imbibing.

Darcy, with her usual lack of shyness (and probably also fueled by the beer), grills Loki mercilessly about Asgard, and Asgardian food and drink, and what they do for entertainment ('I don't think I'd last long in Asgard without my iPod and HBO,' Darcy muses at one point). Even though most of it is the exact same things he told Jane earlier in the day in the car, if Loki is impatient with the repetition he hides it well.

By 10:30pm, Darcy is ready to call it a night, but Jane manages to talk her into helping make the new bed. Loki looks on curiously, obviously not familiar with such a domestic task.

Darcy is a little too tipsy for Jane's liking, so even though Darcy doesn't have far to walk, Jane calls her a cab.

"Thank you again, Darcy," Jane says, hugging the other woman. "For everything," Jane adds. Darcy smiles, and Jane is sure she knows what Jane's referring to.

"Say," Darcy suddenly exclaims, "I wanted to get you a housewarming gift, but I wasn't sure what you needed, how much stuff you're going to pull out of storage and all that. So think about it and let me know, OK?"

"Don't worry about it. You helped me move, right?" Jane assures her.

Darcy snorts and waves a dismissive hand. "The beer and pizza covered that. I think it's a municipal law, or something. I'll check in about the housewarming thing later, okay?" She leans to look past Jane. "Bye, Loki!"

Darcy goes to meet the cab, and Jane closes and locks the door behind her. She turns and Loki is standing in the middle of the living room, looking bemused again. "'Housewarming gift'? Is this climate not sufficiently warm already?"

Jane shakes her head and smiles. "It's just a little gift you traditionally give someone when they move into a new place. It doesn't actually have anything to do with 'warming', I guess. It probably did at one point, but not anymore. Expressions are funny like that." She shrugs.

"Ah," Loki says. He sweeps the apartment with an assessing gaze, then languidly drapes himself over Jane's new couch. Jane has to stifle a giggle at how ridiculous he looks, all leather and metal and sharp edges, lying so casually across the dark blue IKEA sofa.

Smiling, Jane walks towards him, weaving a little bit. She finds herself climbing on top of him. Maybe the beer is making her bold? She's not usually this forward.

"Thank you again for all your help, Loki," she says warmly. "I couldn't have moved all this stuff so quickly, or gotten the place set up so fast, without it."

"You are most welcome. Perhaps you should consider plying me with further rewards," he suggests, openly eyeing her torso. "Considering that your 'beer' is rather substandard," he adds.

Jane smirks, spreading her hands across his armoured chest. A sudden impulse grips her; she considers it payback for him putting down her favourite brand of beer.

She leans down as if to kiss him on the lips, but then turns her head at the last second, kissing up along the side of his jaw instead. She continues to kiss along his cheek towards his ear as his hands fist in her shirt. She brushes her lips against his earlobe, then she leans back up and pulls the tee shirt up over her head, settling herself with her knees planted on either side of his ribs.

"Better," he rasps, leering up at her and tracing a finger along the neckline of her bra.

"More?" she asks teasingly. Smirking down at him, she takes the bra off too, then leans down over his face, offering a breast to him. Again though, she evades his mouth, and lifts herself back and out of the way, smiling down at him.

She does it again, and a low growl rumbles in his broad chest. "Minx," he says, his eyes narrowing. "Do you not think it unwise to tease a god?"

Jane widens her eyes innocently at him. "Tease you? Me?" She leans down again, Loki raising his head to meet her nipple…but then she backs off again before he can touch her.

He outright snarls, moving so fast that he has her wrists are pinned together behind her back, her body pushed forward so her chest is arched over him, and her face pressed into the soft padded armrest of the couch before she even knows what hit her.

He chuckles and the sound is pure sin. His teeth catch roughly at one nipple and Jane gasps, her head swimming. She squeezes her thighs together around his torso, heat unspooling in her belly as he takes the abused nipple deep in his mouth, sucking hard on it. She groans helplessly, pressing her face into the cloth underneath her, enjoying every second.

Being overpowered is one of her kinks, after all.

Teeth scrape across her other nipple, and then he suckles on that one too, pushing his hips up hard against hers.

Then he releases her, although, her brain fogged by sensation, it takes Jane a half-second to realize she's free.

She scrambles off the couch, and Loki sits up, frowning ominously as he reaches for her arm and she dodges him. She grins playfully at him. "You want a 'reward'? Come and get it, big boy." Part of her can't believe she's taunting him like this. It really must be the beer.

His answering smile is somehow amused and dangerous at the same time. "I must warn you, Jane, I am always the victor in such games." He makes another grab at her, lazier this time, which she easily evades again.

She leads him in a long, messy circle around the living area, backing up and dodging whenever he rushes at her. Most of the time, though, he trails after her unhurriedly, slowly removing bits of his armour and dropping them on the floor as he goes. It's obvious he could catch her easily whenever he wants to, but he's enjoying the chase as much as she is.

By the time she reaches the bedroom, they're both laughing. She backs towards the bed, but she's still several meters from it when Loki, stripped down to shirt, leather pants, and boots, finally decides to pounce. Jane finds herself grabbed and tossed effortlessly onto the bed, and he's on top her by the end of her first bounce.

Still, giggling, she tries to evade him as long as she can, twisting her head to avoid his kiss until he rumbles and wraps his hand around her jaw, holding her still and kissing her hard, invading her mouth with a rough, slippery tongue. His kiss tastes of beer and metal.

He breaks the kiss as rudely as he took it, but then his gaze turns smoky as his thumb traces lightly over her parted lips, once, then slowly back along her lower lip in the opposite direction. Jane draws a shuddering breath, then smiles and tries uselessly to push him off of her. It's like trying to move an elephant. With a feather.

He bares his teeth at her ferally, then catches her chin in his hand, forcing her to tilt her head up. The rough kisses continue down her throat, teeth pricking her skin, and Jane can't help gasping, squirming, loving it. He presses her hands to the mattress, his weight pinning her down. He shifts up again, lips ghosting across her ear. "You love feeling contained by my strength, being made to submit to the pleasure I am giving you. Do you not, little one?"

Jane blushes and smiles, but doesn't answer. Some things, while true, are not so easy for her to verbalize.

"Refusing to speak? No matter. I have other ways of discovering the truth. Your body will tell me all I require to know."

He presses harder on her hands for just a moment, and then releases his grip, then his body slips down hers as he palms her bare breast instead. Jane moans and arches into his fingers as he pinches her nipple firmly, reflexively trying to raise her arms so she can tangle her fingers in his (much-less-gelled) hair….but she can't get her arms up off the mattress. They're pinned down by some invisible force, and Loki laughs soft and wicked, as he sees the comprehension dawn in her eyes.

"You cannot escape me, but you do not want to. I know you crave subjugation, my Jane," he whispers, smirking menacingly. "You are mine, to tease and toy with, whether you will acknowledge it with your words or not."

She smirks right back as he sits up. She twists and turns her hips, trying to slow his attempts to strip off her jeans and socks. It's completely and utterly useless, of course, but it's too much fun not to try. For all Loki's attempts to create an aura of threat, there's a playful edge too.

When she's naked except for her panties, he pins her ankles hard to the mattress, and Jane's not surprised to find them immobilized after his hands let go of her. He continues to grin down at her as he strips off a few more items of clothing himself, his shirt and boots tossed carelessly aside. He's clearly amused by her fruitless squirming.

He lays down beside her then, leaning to loom over her, his hair brushing against her face. She feels his knuckles rub lightly against the crotch of her underwear, and she tries to arch into his touch, biting her lip, but she can't move.

His laugh rasps in her ear as he strokes her lightly a few more times, and then he pushes the damp fabric aside, eyes locked with Jane's. She has to bite back another gasp as his fingers trace the edges of her folds, finding her slick and aching. "You're dripping, my dear," he chuckles. "You adore this. Your mouth may be silent on that fact, but these 'lips' will always betray you to me."

He leans to her ear again, his voice taking on a conspiratorial tone. "Does it excite you, my Jane, knowing I could so easily break you, but choose not to?" Despite the threat inherent in his words, his fingers ease gently into her.

Jane's hips try to buck. Her clit aches, begging to be touched, and Jane moans and tries again, uselessly, to move. "Now who's being a tease?" she growls.

He laughs demonically. His movements are languid, his fingers moving in slow circles inside her, pressing against her walls as if he's washing a glass…not that he's ever done something so mundane in his life, Jane's sure. "Loki," she protests.

"Am I not pleasing you, little vixen? Perhaps your Midgardian toy can assist me, then." He makes a sharp movement with his free hand, and Jane's vibrator appears in it. What the- I thought I hid that-

Yeah, like she'd ever be able to hide anything from him. She'd known she was in trouble the moment he spotted it-

He removes his fingers slowly from her, putting them to his lips and sucking them clean with an enthusiasm that makes Jane blush hotly all the way from her chest to her cheeks. He then turns the hard plastic vibrator over – the floral pattern on it has never struck her as more ridiculous than it does right now - studying it. Maybe Jane'll be lucky and the batteries will be dead, it's not like she's been using it lately-

But no, it hums to life once Loki figures out to twist the dial at the bottom, and he experiments for a few seconds, trying out different speeds before the diabolical look returns to his handsome face and he bends over her again.

He starts at her throat, pressing the toy lightly into the hollow at its base, and Jane shivers, clenching her fists. He traces the buzzing tip along each collarbone, and then slowly downward, dragging lightly along her skin, until he reaches her left nipple, watching every muscle that twitches along the way.

Jane's breath hitches in her throat as he circles the hardened pink tip slowly with the toy, around and around. "You're evil," she grits out, without thinking.

Another soft laugh from him. "So I am. And yet, still you are here, little one. Perhaps my 'evil' is exactly what you yearn for. Shall we test that?"

Finally, he presses the toy right against her nipple. Her skin tingles and prickles, and Jane throws her head back, moaning deep in her throat. He repeats the action with her other nipple, then works his way gradually downward, sometimes kissing and licking as he follows the path of the vibrator. When he reaches the top of her mound, the immoral look he gives her raises goosebumps on her body.

The toy nudges just inside her, her fluids wetting it, but Loki pulls it out again right away, a shark-like grin on his face as he dials up the speed to nearly maximum, and presses the toy firmly against her clit.

A totally undignified squeal rips out of Jane's throat, followed by several other noises as Loki moves the toy in tiny circles. The sensations are intense and just on the edge of becoming unbearable.

He's outright ruthless, holding the vibrator right on her clit until Jane's entire body is sheened with sweat, until her muscles ache from straining against the invisible force pinning her in place, until her breaths are nearly sobbing in her throat. Only then does he take pity on her, removing the vibrator and turning it off, then leaning down to soothe her overtaxed nerves with his mouth, suckling gently on her nub, pressing his tongue softly against it.

Tender lips graze over her folds, his tongue now pressing inside her and then gliding gently up to her clit, over and over, but he's not gentle for long.

As soon as Jane calms, a buzzing sound fills the air again, as he dials her vibrator up to max and pushes the toy deep inside her. Jane tenses against her bonds again, gasping loudly, but somehow she still manages to hear his low-voiced command over the rushing in her ears. "Don't come yet, my Jane," he warns her. "I am not done with you yet."

She tries not to, she really does, but he knows her body too well, the bastard. He's thrusting the toy in and out at a rapid pace, and working her throbbing clit over expertly, and Jane is too overwhelmed, she can't stop her orgasm. She could sooner hold back a tsunami with her bare hands. Whimpering, she goes over the edge.

Loki makes a tsking sound, turning the toy off and easing it out of her. "Did I not tell you not to climax yet? No doubt it is that vile Midgardian ale that is affecting your control so."

His magic releases her, but it doesn't change much; Jane's muscles just refuse to come online. She can't offer even token resistance, as Loki turns her over onto her belly, then pulls her up on her knees.

But he's not done. He guides her knees wide apart to steady her, then pulls her hands back and to the side. It's almost as if he's tying her wrists to the bedposts at the foot of the bed, but once again there's no actual physical binding, just his magic holding her in place.

It's a very vulnerable position he has her in. She's all too conscious of her breasts dangling and her ass in the air. There's no question in her mind what he'll do with her next; this is a fuck-me position if ever there was one.

She turns her head, looking over her shoulder at him. Loki grins darkly down at her, stripping off his pants at last. He's so aroused, his freed length is nearly purple, and Jane is not shocked at all when he pulls his conjuring trick again without delay, plucking a condom packet from the air and applying it to himself.

Loki climbs back onto the bed, positioning himself behind her. He grasps her hips, his hands so hot she feels like they're branding her skin, and Jane braces herself, expecting a raw animal onslaught, but his initial thrust is slow and sensual. Trust him to do the unexpected.

His fingers dig into her hips almost hard enough to bruise, but he keeps to the same slow, gliding pace. When he reaches around her with both hands, tugging her nipples, Jane's breath hitches in her throat, and she tries to push back against him, trying to get him to pick up the pace, but her efforts are only rewarded by the expected dark laughter.

She squeezes her eyes shut as his hands roam over her body, fondling and teasing, and he still doesn't pick up the pace. She's on the verge of begging him, and he probably knows it. Then Jane's eyes snap open as he spanks her, hard.

She gasps, but the blow doesn't really register as pain. The initial jagged sensation fades quickly, turning to heat that seems to radiate into her whole body, starting from where their bodies are joined.

He gradually settles into a new rhythm – slow thrust, hard spank on one cheek of her ass, slow thrust, hard spank on the other cheek – inexorably picking up the pace. Jane's head hangs down, her hips trying to jerk forward at each blow, then trying to push back to meet him stroke for stroke, her nails somehow digging into the magical ropes that bind her.

Her whole body is on fire, sweat dripping down her sides. Her muscles are starting to spasm, to tighten around him, and if she doesn't come soon, she might just black out-

"Now," he hisses, "you may come for me." He punctuates the command with a quick, rough rub of fingertips across her throbbing clit, and Jane screams, the sound mindless and almost inhuman as her climax explodes through her, erases her.

She comes to slowly, aware that her limbs are free, and that Loki has turned her over onto her back. She can feel his hands on her, caressing her gently, slowly coaxing her to return to him. She opens her eyes at last and he smiles down at her. "Back at last, love?" he asks. He starts moving, and Jane realizes he's still deep inside her.

He leans down, bracing his forearms on either side of her head, and kisses her deeply as their bodies continue the familiar push-pull. Maybe it's still the remnants of the beer, or maybe it's payback for all of his little tricks today, but another evil impulse of her own drives Jane to stretch her arm downwards, reaching around under her own thigh. She searches until her fingers stroke across Loki's balls, and his rhythm stutters for a moment, his eyes locking with hers.

She smirks up at him, cupping her hand around him and gently squeezing and stroking, and he leers right back. "As I've said before – Minx," he opines. And smothers her retort with his lips.

A few hard snaps of his hips into her, and he groans against her throat, emptying himself. He collapses, his weight pressing her down, and Jane wraps her arms around his shoulders, dragging light fingertips over his slick skin. She waits patiently for him to recover, relishing the feel of him pinning her down.

He finally rolls off to her side. "Well, I can think of worse ways to break in a new bed," Jane laughs.

His eyebrows raise. "'Break the bed'? Did we?"

Jane chuckles and shakes her head. "No, and that's a good thing! I've had enough of furniture shopping for a while." She's fading fast, so she urges Loki off the bed so she can pull back the covers.

He tucks her into the circle of his arms, his heartbeat thudding under her ear, and Jane falls asleep to its steady thrum, not aware of Loki staring thoughtfully up at her stucco ceiling.

Jane's not surprised to wake alone in the bed. But Loki hasn't gone far; she finds him on the couch, flipping through one of her well-worn undergraduate astrophysics textbooks.

He sets it aside as she walks up to him, reaching for her hand. "Come with me," he says, his expression unreadable.

Now what? Jane wonders. Despite how much closer she feels to him lately, she still feels a little nervous whenever she can't figure out what he has planned. I suppose that's part and parcel of dating a God of Mischief.

But he doesn't teleport them or cast a spell or do anything arcane. Instead, he leads her into the bathroom, fumbling with the light switch. He turns her to face the mirror, and Jane winces inside at how she looks – bedhead is not a good look on her. Loki has still not gone back to slathering on the hair-gel, and Jane has to fight an urge to turn, reach up, and run her hands through it.

Then again, maybe coaxing Loki back into bed with her is a good idea. It's not like she has any particular plans today, and she's not exactly looking forward to tackling the chaos that is the lab.

Loki's hand cups her neck, interrupting her thought processes, his eyes intent on her face in the mirror. Jane starts as something warm glides from his hand, moving across her throat. It's one of his snakes, this time a thin one covered in tiny gold, black, and dark green scales. His snake released, Loki's hand shifts onto her shoulder, both of them watching now as the snake wraps itself loosely around her neck, once, and then bites down on its own tail.

A bright green flash dazzles Jane's eyes, and by the time she's blinked the coloured spots away, the live snake has turned itself into a necklace. The eyes are two tiny emeralds, the gold scales turned to metal, and the black and green scales to something that looks like coloured enamel.

"Do you like it?" Loki asks, as Jane reaches up to touch the necklace. It feels warm to the touch, and the tiny scales are smooth under her fingers.

He sounds apprehensive, so Jane is quick to turn and hug him. "It's so beautiful, thank you."

"Its beauty is the merest shadow, compared to that of the one who wears it," Loki says, and Jane snorts and rolls her eyes, blushing. She's not bad looking, OK, but…'beautiful'? Yeah, right.

"Thank you, Mr. Silver Tongue," she can't help quipping. But then her brow furrows. "What's the occasion though?"

"My 'housewarming' gift to you, Jane Foster," he intones gravely, and Jane has to suppress a giggle. He's taking this whole thing way too seriously.

He turns her to face the mirror again, his gaze searing into hers. "Let all who see this know that you are mine, and under my protection," he continues.

Jane swallows hard at the intensity of his gaze, a little uncomfortable now. She has no clue what to say in answer to Loki's pronouncement. She's used to fending for herself, has been doing so almost her whole life.

Relief floods through her as her cell phone chimes. Saved by the bell. "Excuse me, please." She scoops her phone up off of one of the boxes serving as a coffee table right now. "Hello?"

"Doctor Foster," Director Fury's faintly disapproving voice greets her. Great, Jane thinks. Out of the frying pan-

"I realize we may not exactly be your favourite people right now, but I imagine you still may have some interest in seeing the Stark-Foster project move forward?"

Jane glances over at Loki, tension coiling in her stomach. "Um, yes. Yes, very much." She wonders if this is some kind of carrot Fury is dangling, to keep her in the fold. It's going to work, too. This is her life's work, after all.

"Tony Stark will be at Base 10-594 – the one you were, uh, visiting earlier – later this afternoon. He said he wants to meet with you to discuss the project." Fury pauses, then grudgingly adds: "Sorry for the late notice, Doctor, but Stark can be…impulsive. In fact, I would say he has something of a short attention span, so I would strongly suggest that you drop any plans you might have had today and get out here quickly, before he gets distracted by something shiny."

"Yes, OK, I can be there."

Fury pauses for a long moment, then adds: "And you might also strongly consider leaving your Norse God at home. He and Stark have a…history."

"No problem, I'll drive myself," Jane agrees, glancing over at Loki again. His expression could best be described as 'guarded'.

"His CEO told us that he'll be here at 3:30pm, but I suggest that you be here 2:30pm, and be prepared to wait. As I said, he's impulsive," Fury adds dryly. "I'll send the directions to the base to your phone," he adds, then hangs up abruptly.

Jane pulls the cell away and blinks at it. It's happening, she realizes. Years of struggling, and maybe now, finally-

Loki clears his throat, his face now blank and unreadable, and Jane snaps out of her reverie. How much should she tell him?

It only takes her a few seconds to decide. Everything, because a) she's a crappy liar, and b) if she wants him to be open with her, she can hardly go the hypocritical route, can she?

"That was Fury. Tony Stark wants to meet with me this afternoon, to discuss doing a joint project. To build my Eins- my Rainbow Bridge." she amends. Loki doesn't know Einstein from, well, anybody.

For a moment Loki just stands there, and the thought occurs to Jane that he's never looked more out of place, but then he smiles, wide enough to show dimples. "I am glad to see your fellow mortals are finally taking you seriously," he tells her. "If there is anyone who can open the doors to the Nine Realms from Midgard, it would be you."

Jane walks over and hugs him gratefully, but the tension won't leave her belly. What if Stark meets her and hates her? What if he doesn't know about Loki, and once he finds out, he refuses to help?

Would Fury have left that little detail out, though? Jane doubts it.

One more awkward thing to take care of, though. "I, um, I mean, I should probably go by myself. Fury says you and Stark, well, don't get along?" Jane stammers.

But Loki only shrugs. "I do not require you to be by my side every hour of every day. Unless you request such of me." He smirks down at her.

Jane shakes her head. "Always the one-track mind," she chides him playfully.

She'd better have all her wits about her for this meeting, so Jane wanders over to the kitchen for some 'fuel'. She starts to think about what notes she might need to take with her – assuming she can find them in the mess that is her lab right now! – and reminding herself to check Fury's directions soon, so that she can plan when to leave.

She's halfway into the kitchen before she remembers – no food except cold pizza, and she can't remember which box her coffee-maker wound up in. Ugh, she hates cold pizza. And there's no way she's facing the legendary Tony Stark without caffeine in her system.

Well, we do still have the morning. And as long as I have a God at my disposal…

She turns to find Loki standing in the doorway. "Any chance I can convince you to go grocery shopping with me, after another run to Isabelle's diner?"

His slow smirk is entirely predictable. "I am indeed certain I can be 'convinced'."

So there are advantages to dating the God of Mischief. Jane thinks, leaning up to kiss him. Who knew?