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villainousshakespeare · 1 year

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Therapy Fit for a God Chapter 25

"Loki/OFC Rated E: Trigger Warnings: Smut, Sex, Oral Sex, Angst, talk of suicide, therapy, unhealthy family dynamics, mention of torture and mind control, touch starved, drinking, memory loss

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24

Loki’s plans to conquer and rule Midgard have come to a disastrous end. After being captured by the Avengers, he is being held on Earth. Odin has refused to interfere, and the outlook for the God of Mischief appear bleak. His only hope may lie in one mortal woman, a Psychiatric expert brought in to interrogate him.

Dr. Caroline Thorpe is intrigued by Loki and thinks that more lies beneath his actions than is commonly known. Can she find out the truth before he is shipped off to die for crimes against the Earth? And can Loki bring himself to care?

@yespolkadotkitty @just-the-hiddles @hopelessromanticspoonie @wine-and-whines @arch-venus25 @caffiend-queen @devilish–doll @enchantedbyhiddles @hiddlesholic @i-do-not-fangirl-i-fanwoman @kellatron55 @ladyoftheteaandblood @latent-thoughts @yespolkadotkitty@maryxglz @myoxisbroken @nuggsmum @nildespirandum @pedeka @redfoxwritesstuff @sinfully-lustful-darling @vodka-and-some-sass @wrathkitty @kingtwhiddleston @wolfsmom1 @poetic-fiasco @shiningloki @dangertoozmanykids101 @bookworm-christina @amwolowicz @delightfulheartdream @frostbitten-written @what-a-flammable-heart @tom-hlover @nonsensicalobsessions @myraiswack @loki-yoursaviourishere @ghostypau @ms-cellanies @colorfulfreakstudentpizza @mareebird @colorfulfreakstudentpizza @szycha22 @chokemedaddyloki @queenofallhobos @just-the-hiddles-reads @alwida10 @justjoanne242 @chantsdemarins @lovelysizzlingbluebird @lokiprompts @evieplease @unlucky-number-13 @bitchassbecky691

Loki continued his throaty laugh until he noticed Caroline looking at him uncertainly, as though at a complete loss as to what had brought on his sudden shift in mood. Discretely adjusting his tunic to hide the bulge created by their embrace, he tried to curb his lapse into amusement.

"Loki, are you alright?" she asked, pulling back from him.

"Well, that is the question, is it not," he replied, finally regaining his composure but still finding ridiculous, inappropriate humor in the situation. "I certainly feel better now that I am sitting here with you pressed against me. The little Midgardian who won my heart."

"I am glad?" she made the words sound like a question, and he could only assume to her they felt that way a well.

"And yet you are also the one who shot me, are you not?" he mused, trying to imagine this sweet, innocent looking woman firing a solar blaster at anyone, much less him.

"I am so sorry, I would never have done that on purpose," she said, voice conveying more than a hint of despair. "If I could have shot myself instead, I would have."

"Ah, but that would have been foolish. You are such a delicate little thing. So easily breakable. I, on the other hand, am very hard to kill, even for an Asgardian. And we are a notoriously robust race."

He meant that to be reassuring, so why was she looking at him with even more confusion? Did she think him so pour of a specimen that he wasn't far more physically hearty than a mortal? She was supposed to be head over ears in love with him from everything he had been told, and yet she seemed to doubt him.

"So, you did not mean to shoot me," he said, trying to assess her for himself. "You would in fact, as you say, have suffered grievously in my place. Tell me, what have I done to deserve such devotion from such a beautiful woman?"

"It's not about deserving," she said, scrunching up her face. "We do not earn love like points in a game. It is freely given because of who we are and how we feel. You are a good person with many exemplary qualities - you are loyal, caring, intelligent, creative, but I love you as much for some of your other qualities such as your deviousness and your ambition as I do for those sterling ones. It is the whole taken together and alchemized into one unique being, one Loki, that I love, not any act you performed."

At her impassioned declaration, Loki began to feel an uncomfortable tightness in his chest in addition to the now even more insistant tightness in his trousers, and his eyes became unaccountably misty. The way her eyes were blazing at him seemed to dare him to contradict her words. Loyal? Caring? Was he these things? He liked to think so, but he didn't go out of his way to allow others to see it. As for intelligent and creative, well... yes, those were evident, but again few besides his mother and a handful his teachers ever said a much. These were not the virtues that were celebrated on Asgard, not the ones that won you acclaim and favor of fair maidens. Bravery, strength, heroism, these were the desirable qualities one looked for in a mate.

And yet, Caroline hadn't even mentioned them. Instead, she had seen and been drawn to the things he was, rather than disappointed by the things he wasn't. And she wasn't wrong about his other side. Loki was ambitious, he had been raised to be, and deviousness seemed to be baked into his sense of self right along with mischief. She saw these things and loved him because of them. Could such a thing really be possible?

"What a curious creature you are," he said, trying to keep his tone light as he stared at her, not wanting to give away how much her words meant to him. "And all of these characteristics make you love me? I am not an easy man to love, I would think."

"Perhaps not," she said with a small grin, "but that is part of the fun. I have always enjoyed a challenge."

Loki grinned back at her, seeing the hint of a kindred spirit in the twinkle lurking deep in her eyes. Was this real, this marvelous woman? How had he stumbled onto her, and why couldn't he remember?

"And I love you," he said, testing out the words and weighing the thought in his head.

"You have told me that you do," she sounded nervous.

"You are the first person to inspire such a confession from me," he startled himself by admitting. "Oh, I don't mean my family. I have certainly told my mother and Thor, and even Odin in my weaker moments, that I love them. I may have even uttered the words fatuously to a former dalliance. But I have never meant them before, not in a romantic way."

"I didn't know that," she replied in an awed tone. "For what it's worth, I have never said them that way before either. Of course, I only have decades, not centuries to account for."

It was worth quite a bit. He had feared he was making himself sound weak, pathetic even by hi admission. He was not used to this show of vulnerability, particularly with someone who he didn't know, at least that he remembered. Yet Caroline somehow brought it out of him without doing more than glancing at him. How was it that he was not battling humans away to get to her?

"That may be so, but it is odd that such an obviously desirable woman would not have found love ere now. Mortals are even stupider than I imagined. Previous company excluded, of course."

"Loki," she said, after steeling herself to get it out, "if you have changed your mind... I will not try to hold you if you wish to be released. You have made no promises to me after all."

Changed his mind? He didn't know his mind! He didn't know what he had done or said or even how long he was missing from his life, but one thing he did know. He knew that this woman next to him, by simply sitting, had him both happier and more aroused than he had ever been, at least during the days that he remembered. How could she think he didn't want her?

Unless it was her who had changed her mind. She said she loved him, yes, and that she looked forward to a challenge. But he had seen her when he came in. She had been smiling at that smirking mortal with the stick and the glasses. The image reignited the jealous fire in him.

"Perhaps it is you who have had a change of heart," Loki suggested, trying to keep the growl from his voice and failing. "Mayhap you have found someone else to keep you company. The sightless Mortal who I found holding your hand for instance."

"Matt Murdoch?" she heard her voice skitter up. "Loki, I just met him less than two hours ago. And as kind as he was, he was not you."

"But human lives are so truncated, that might be all it takes to form an attachment," he said.

"I am not attached to Matt, or anyone else. My heart is yours."

"That is fortunate," nodded with a half-smile, heart singing at the words as he laced is fingers between hers. "I am not up to my usual fitness, and it might have proved embarrassing if it took more than a matter of moments to kill him."

"There is no need to kill Matt," she assured him.

"Then I suggest you keep your hands where they belong. On me."

Taking Caroline's wrists, he placed her palms on his chest. She slid them up slowly, running over the soft tunic he wore and making him wish it was absent. When she reached his shoulders, she carded one side of his hair through her fingers and he made a small noise that was almost a purr. It was heaven, her touch. Something about it felt so right. She sighed quietly and melted into him, lips pressing against the pulse point in his throat.

"You, my little love, are a delightful surprise," he told her in a raspy voice.

"Surprise?" she asked, looking up at him.

Loki debated his choices. His body was screaming at him to allow her to continue her exploration of his body. He wanted more than anything to vanish their clothing with a wave and sink hilt deep inside of her with a single thrust. He longed to see if she fit him as well there as she did in his arms. He would wager all he had that she did. Unfortunately, he also felt a strange surge of reluctance to have her under false pretenses.

"Ah yes, I suppose I should tell you," he sighed.

"Tell me what?" a tendril of fear shot through her voice.

"Nothing serious as all that," he tried to reassure her, not wanting to end their intimacies. "A trifle really. You see, while I knew the moment I saw you, the moment I heard your name in fact, that you belong to me, I am afraid that beyond that I know absolutely nothing about you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Just what I say. I understand from my brother, never the most accurate or subtle source of information, that you and I have recently begun a relationship that seems to be rather serious. The murderous rage I felt upon finding you with someone else tells me that in this instance Thor was actually correct. But beyond the wealth of emotion that you inspire in me and the tales of others, I have no recollection of you whatsoever."

"What?" she asked again, blinking adorably at him.

"Do not fret, love," he told her, running a knuckle down the side of her cheek. "It is nothing personal. You see, I cannot recall anything at all."

"Nothing?"

"Not a thing more than vague feelings and instincts."

"For how long?"

"Oh, not too long I should think," he replied with a shrug. "I have a clear memory of dressing for Thor's coronation. I still have to find out what happened there, as obviously he is not King. Not that I am complaining, mind you. I have great affection for the big oaf, but he would make a stupendously wretched King, you must agree."

Caroline stared at him in horror and disbelief. Surely, she was not one of those who thought Thor would make a sage and worthy ruler? She was so astute in other matters, she could not possess this common blind spot, could she?

"Loki," he could hear something in her voice switching, sounding more professional in tone, "you need to tell me what happened. Was it being shot that did this to you?"

"Does this mean that we are not going to consummate our reunion?" he asked, wishing selfishly that he had kept silent as she pulled away and straightened her beautifully mussed hair.

"What? No! How can you be thinking of that right now?"

"It is not thinking that I have been doing exactly, my darling," he said with a lascivious smile, drawing her hand down and placing it over his erection.

She gave a delightful little yelp as he moved his hips, quickly pulling her hand away. He had seen her eyes dilate though, and he knew she wanted him as well. At least that was a balm to his raw nerves.

"Stop that!" she scolded him, moving even farther from him. "I have told you I will not allow you to distract me with flirting!"

Had she? How delightful! He liked this bossy side of her, although he would like it more if she would go back to curling up against him.

"My love, I am trying to distract you with sex, not flirting," he purred.

"That either. Loki, this is serious. Now, sit over there and tell me exactly what has been happening."

Ah well, it looked like a tumble on the sofa was not in his immediate future. With a melodramatic sigh that he hoped she appreciated and a much less subtle readjustment of his engorged member, Loki told her what little he knew about Frigga and Eir's adventures in his mind.

***

The roller coaster of emotions appeared to be never ending. First, there was miracle to beat all else - Loki was alive. The relief, the joy, and the ardor bubbling up inside of her threatened to bring her to her knees. And his mother was standing beside him - tall, regal, impossible to live up to. But then all of that was forgotten as she was in his arms, experiencing once more how right it felt to be there. The kiss was everything she needed, passionate, searching, lingering, bliss. She could breathe once more.

Until he laughed and Caroline realized that for all she had found her home again, something was not quite as it should be. There was a hint of mania she could not ignore tinging his mirth. Was he amazed that she had the audacity to assume the right to kiss him after her unforgivable act of violence? He didn't sound angry, exactly, but more bemused that it had happened at all. She could understand that; it felt unreal to her as well.

She babbled out her apology, voicing her wish that she had taken the blast instead. It was true, she would gladly have taken his place over the past week and more. Oddly, that seemed to offend him, the exact opposite of what she had intended. She would have gone on in her apology, until she heard his reply.

"I, on the other hand, am very hard to kill, even for an Asgardian."

Caroline's ears began to ring, as she was taken aback by his words. Loki was decidedly not an Asgardian. The fact was a major focal point of his life, and the key trigger of his decent into trauma and crisis. What did it mean that he was claiming the Asgardian identity as his own? Had his recent time at his childhood home caused him to slip back into the persona that had been forced on him as a baby?

His next words, "Tell me, what have I done to deserve such devotion from such a beautiful woman?" doubled the fear in her head, but also angered her. He was so deserving of love, just for who he was. He didn't need to constantly prove his worth. She needed to make him see that. She also needed to let him know that if this reversion to his former self ment an end to their liaison, she would accept it as long as he accepted that he was worthy of love.

The next climb to elation - he loved her. More than that, he had never loved anyone before. It was too much. Too much happiness all at once. She could not have hoped for anything more. He had her giggling with his jealousy, something she had never been comfortable with before but for some reason found it disturbingly attractive in him. She would have to be careful not to encourage it too much.

For now though, she could enjoy it. Enjoy the hungry look in his eyes as he pulled her closer. Enjoy the feel of him beneath her hands, his hair sliding through her fingers, his pulse beating fast against her lips. When he made a noise like a purr, the want in her had her breath coming fast and hard, longing to feel all of him. She barely heard the words he was saying; something about a surprise. She traced her tongue over her vein, wondering how he would react if she bit it.

"I know absolutely nothing about you."

"What? What do you mean?"

It was a bucket of ice water down her spine. As he explained, it only got worse. Loki remembered nothing of the last year and more. Gone was the discovery of his Jotun origins, his doomed ascension to Asgard's throne, the betray of his friends and his own betrayal in return, the void, the torture, the invasion, and yes, his time with her. More than the passion they had shared, she was horrified that he had lost all of the work he had done in accepting himself.

Yes, it would be lovely if he never had to think of all of the torture he had gone through, but Caroline had little hope of that. In her experience, traumatic events might disappear from conscious memory, but that did not mean they were gone. They would eat around the edges of thought, just waiting for the worst moment to emerge and wreak havoc with his life.

In addition to the torture, Loki had already endured the pain of discovery once. Was he really being sentenced to relive that trauma? Too many people knew the truth, it could not be hidden for him for long. And even if it could, that would just be compounding the lies that he had been fed all of his life. No, she had to find a way out of this mind field, one that would do the least damage to his wounded psyche.

Ignoring his attempts to distract her with more physical intimacies, a feat she truly deserved a medal for considering how much her body was screaming at her to stop talking and jump on him, she pried as much information as she could get on what had been done. Unfortunately, Loki could be of very little help. He remembered nothing more than waking up with a hazy sense of the recent past.

"I have reactions to things," he added with a half shrug. "You, mostly. The moment Thor mentioned your name, it was as if the world tilted."

Well, that was certainly gratifying, but Caroline needed to push down the warm rush his words produced and concentrate.

"Mostly, anything else?" she asked.

"You are quite vexing, darling," he complained, walking his fingers up one arm and causing her to shiver. "Are you really more interested in the past than in what we could be doing in the present?"

"Yes," she lied, moving his hand from where it had found her breast. "What else did you react to?"

"Thor said something about the Tesseract. It gave me hope. A way out."

"That makes sense. It was your escape route more than once. What else?"

"I really don't know. When Thor brought up you, everything sort of went sideways and I had a hard time concentrating on anything. I just knew I had to find you and make sure you were alright."

"Loki," she breathed, leaning towards him despite her best intentions.

"I didn't know who you were, but I knew that you were mine," he told her simply.

"I am. But I am selfish. I want all of you, even... no, especially the time we spent together. Alright. If you don't know what was done, than who would?"

"Mother and Eir, I suppose. They are the ones who worked the magic. But really, min kjaereste, a year is a short amount of time, barely a blink. Does it matter that much?"

"I am a mortal Loki, it is long for me," she said stubbornly. "Very well, we will need to speak with them. Eir was your doctor?"

"Healer, yes. On Asgard."

"That is a bit far, but your mother is here. Well, I suppose I would have to meet her eventually, but this is not how I would have chosen to begin."

"We should probably be going back to Asgard in any case," Loki sighed, standing up and drawing her with him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I am hardly about to leave you here, in some strange man's quarters, nor do I have any intention of sampling the dubious pleasures of a Midgardian jail again anytime soon. My guess is that in three centuries they have still not improved overly much."

"You were in Earth jail three hundred years ago?" she couldn't resist asking. "Why? No, never mind. You can tell me later."

"Indeed. Much more important to get you home where it is safe."

"Home, as in Asgard?" she asked, unable to believe what he was suggestion.

"Well, yes," he seemed amused by her surprise. "Thor should have brought you with us to begin with. I take care of what is mine, Caroline. And you are very much in that category."

Again, that traitorous flutter rose in her stomach. She quashed it ruthlessly.

"I can't go to Asgard."

"Why not?"

"Because, I'm from Earth," she said lamely.

"And I'm from Asgard, yet here I am," he countered.

She bit her tongue to keep from blurting out that no, he was not. Her brain was on overload. There was just too much happening too quickly. She had not left the surrounding ten rooms in days. She was uncertain when she had last showered and knew that she needed at least a week of sleep.

"I don't know..."

"Caroline," Loki said, lifting her chin to stare into her eyes. "You are trapped here. You need me. Which is a very fortuitous thing, because I need you as well, and that is not something I say often if at all. I am trusting you, with no memory of our time together. Can't you trust me as well?"

And with that, the last of her resistance melted. Giving him a trembling smile, she coiled her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. The smell of him was soothing to her jangled nerves, and his hand rubbing her back slowly imparted a warming strength.

"I said something very similar to you, not that long ago," she spoke into his torso.

"Not just before you shot me, I hope. No, darling, forgive me. An ill conceived jest. Now, unless you are willing to reconsider a tumble on the sofa, which I must say strikes me as more than our due for the trouble we have been put through, I suggest you cease pressing into me in that delightfully provocative manner. I only have so much will power, after all."

"I love you," the words fell out of her mouth even as she jumped away from him.

"I cannot wait to understand why," he responded. "Come, my beloved, let us go find out."

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villainousshakespeare · 2 years

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Therapy Fit for a God Chapter 17

Therapy Fit for a God Chapter 16

Loki/OFC Rated E: Trigger Warnings: Smut, Sex, Oral Sex, Angst, talk of suicide, therapy, unhealthy family dynamics, mention of torture and mind control, touch starved, drinking

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16

"Loki, stop pacing. I am sure that Dr. Caroline is going to be just fine."

Thor's voice was grating in its earnestness, and it was all Loki could do not to slam his knee into his brother's sternum. Of course, with all the breakfast pastries his brother had been wolfing down, 0that would have no doubt resulted in a disgusting mess, adding to the list of irritations rapidly mounting.

At least Stark had the decency to look miserable. Slumped in a chair with the largest mug Loki possessed filled with coffee, the mortal glowered behind a pair of dark glasses. Every noise, however large, seemed to send waves of discomfort through his entire body. Normally, Loki would have delighted in tormenting him further, banging chairs, flickering the lights, and whatnot, but at the moment he had more important concerns. Besides, Thor's normal behavior was loud enough to cause the man to wince every few moments.

"What is taking her so long," he asked for the umpteenth time.

Now that the time had come for them to attempt this foolhardy plot, Loki wanted to get on with it, to have it over and done with. Every moment delayed was another moment he was in agony thinking of the peril his precious Caroline would be placing herself in. His brain continued to conjure up one fate after another that were each alone enough to make him seethe with preemptive venom.

"If there's one thing I've learned in my life...," Tony grumbled into his coffee, "well, actually, it's don't fuck around with Bruce Banner when he's looking green. Thanks for that, by the way, throw rug. Better you than me. But, only slightly behind that is never rush a lady. No good ever comes of it. Besides, I need a few minutes more before I'm flight ready."

"I don't give a damn what you need," Loki spat, glaring at the miserable sot.

It was not as though Loki himself had gotten any sleep. After a brief, blissful doze in his beloved's arms, he had awoken to the realization of what he had agreed to. He knew that Caroline was a strong, independent woman. He would not have wanted her any other way. In this case however, he cursed that streak of stubbornness that normally pared so well with his own.

For an hour or so he had occupied himself thinking up ways he might wriggle out of allowing her to come on the mission. The idea of simply following through on what Stark obviously expected of him and whisking her away via the Tesseract was supremely tempting. He could do it while she slept, and by the time she awoke they would be in a completely different galaxy. The only problem was he was sure she would never trust him again. The thought of her eyes, cold with contempt and devoid of affection was chilling to his very soul. No, she would give him no peace until the scepter with its damned stone was off of her world and no longer a threat to it.

He could go himself and leave her behind. Mentally he rifled through all of the ways that he could keep her here, safe in his cottage on the other side of the world. Magically induced sleep, ropes, sealing the doors so that she could not escape, all of these were mentally examined out and discarded. The idea that something might happen to the cottage while she was trapped inside due to him was worse than any other scenario he could fathom. Even if he just slipped out while she still slumbered it would not do. She was still wanted by SHIELD, and he would not leave her alone on the run from a powerful enemy.

No, there was nothing for it but to let her come along and hope that he could find some way to keep her safe. Whatever it took, whoever and whatever he had to sacrifice, Loki was determined that not a hair on Caroline's lovely head would be harmed.

"Okay, I think I'm ready."

The voice was the same, but as Loki turned to look at his love a different form greeted him. Her hair was a reddish blonde, longer than she wore her own, and pulled back into a loose braid. She stood a good half foot taller, and her delightful curves had been stretched out to a more statuesque physique, now clothed in the SHIELD uniform. Her face was slightly altered as well: higher cheekbones, a wider mouth. Loki had done the illusion himself of course, but it was still a shock to hear the voice he loved so well coming out of a different body.

"I am glad to see you didn't decide to go with a feline," Thor nodded, causing Loki's eyes to roll back in his head. "You look lovely, Dr. Caroline. Not that you didn't before. But this is nice too. In fact, now that I look at you, you look quite a bit like our mother!"

"Boy is that a lot to unpack this early in the morning," Stark practically spit out his coffee. "I can see why you like this one, Doc. He'll keep you in business for decades."

"I look forward to meeting her," Caroline ignored Tony's jibe, instead smiling at Thor and bringing a completely irrational blush to Loki's cheeks with her comment. "I think I'm used to this new look enough that I won't jump every time I catch my reflection in the mirror."

"Are you sure?" he asked. Despite his previous wish to get on with things, he was once again overcome with reluctance. "We can delay if you prefer. A day, even longer if need be."

"No, let's do it now."

"Yeah, you can defile fake mommy once we secure the Earth, Oedipus. Let's get this over with."

Loki glared at Stark, wishing that he had time to find a window high enough to toss him out of. The man must have a death wish of his own with the way he so continually goaded Loki. Caroline seemed to collect broken warriors the way other women collected jewelry. The thought made Loki's eyes narrow in irritation. He didn't like the idea of being one of many. When they were through with their fool's errand, he would make sure he did everything he could see that he remained her one and only. Oh, she could treat other patients, but perhaps not ones with reputations like the billionaire hero possessed.

"Alright," he began, trying to settle the anxiety thrumming inside him. "We all know the plan. Let's do this as quickly as possible so that Caroline and I can get on with our lives."

"Assuming we decide to let you go," Tony interrupted.

"Assuming I give you a choice," Loki countered. "I dropped you from too low a height last time. Perhaps over your Grand Canyon would work better."

"Easier there, tiger," Tony said with a smirk. "Yes, we know the plan. I just called the jet; it should be here within the moment. Maybe you ought to change yourself. Unless there's some sort of Norse alt rock fest in the area, you are sure to stand out looking like that."

"You do cut quite a striking figure, Loki," Caroline smiled up at him through different eyes. "Not that I'm complaining, but it would be impossible not to notice you."

"Right," he sighed.

With a slight shimmer his black hair was replaced with the curly golden blond and skin was once more tanned and be-freckled. It was not as drastic a transformation as he had made for Caroline, but then he was not as concerned about his safety if discovered.

"That is a handy trick. Don't suppose you could teach me that on the plane?" Stark asked, staring at him as though trying to see the mechanism that had made the change.

"Don't bother, friend Stark," Thor slapped the small man on the back, making him groan. "Loki is famously secretive about his spells."

"I don't recall you ever bothering to ask," Loki said, voice clipped.

"Oh, of course I didn't," Thor laughed. "Why would I want to learn magic when I was already able to fight. I was thinking of Fandral in those early days, before he perfected his skill with a blade. He was desperate enough to think perhaps your tricks would at least give him some sort of usefulness, even if he couldn't do battle."

Loki's entire body tensed at the careless mockery in his brother's voice, years of resentment suddenly filling him. A combination of shame and rage formed in his chest, dying to be given vent in some sort of destructive act or cutting remark.

"Interesting," Caroline commented in a light voice. "I would have thought the opposite. After all, anyone can swing a sword, or a hammer, but how many people do you know can change their entire appearance with a thought? But then, I guess I've always appreciated the extraordinary. I'm sure the ordinary is just fine as well, and many people actually don't mind it."

"Okay, retract your claws Doc. Seems you put a little bit of cat in there after all, Loks," Stark laughed.

"I meant no disrespect," Thor looked confused.

A whirring noise sounded from the front of the cabin and Loki released the tension he had been holding.

"Ah, saved by the jet. All aboard, people. Stark Airlines is waiting for you."

***

It was all fine as long as she kept her eyes straight ahead. When she simply looked where she was going, Caroline could walk naturally, head up, no problems. It was only when she glanced down that the difficulties began. It was rather like when one forgot the number of steps walking down the stairs and didn't realize one had reached the bottom. Caroline's physical legs were inches shorter than the image that currently strut down the hall of SHEILD, so it seemed to her eyes that it should take much less time to reach the floor. Or something.

"Are you sure you don't wish I was taller?" she asked Loki where he strut beside her.

Not all the glamour spells in the world could hide the deadly swagger that his hips and shoulders made as he walked heel toe, heel toe down the corridor. The fact that his walk alone was enough to make her pulse beat faster was ridiculous, and yet there it was.

Her question was mostly a way to distract herself. She knew that, despite all logic, Loki was attracted to her. He had made that clear enough over the past forty-eight hours. Still, she would not have been human if she didn't have some insecurities. The most stunningly beautiful creature in existence had chosen to court her (to use the word he had murmured to her the night before as they drifted to sleep). It was beyond anything she had ever dreamed of.

"Don't be absurd," he answered with scowl. "You are perfect just the way you are. Why? Are you wishing that I were fair haired? Or perhaps marked by the sun the way your mortal men can be?"

"Loki, you are absolutely perfect the way you are," she laughed. "Besides, I would want you regardless of skin color or hair style."

"I might hold you to that," Loki's voice held the self mockery that she loathed, but less so than it might have just days before.

"Please do, my prince."

"Ixnay on the Oki-stay!" Tony said with a glare. "Besides, my system's still a bit too fragile for all this intergalactic love island."

So far their plan had gone exactly as planned. They had landed Tony's futuristic jet on the SHIELD compound with barely a raised eyebrow. A wave of the billionaire's hand had been enough to dissipate questions about the two new recruits he had brought with him. Caroline, dressed in the standard SHIELD uniform, had been introduced as Agent Jocasta. Loki, insistently in a very expensive looking suit, was Dr. Rex. She just hoped Tony's cleverness was not the undoing of them all.

Once inside, Thor had been dispatched to find Fury and Pierce and keep them occupied while the other three went after the scepter. Unspoken between them was the knowledge that while the blond Asgardian meant well, he was not the most agile when it came to dissembling. Having him far away if people began to question their identities seemed wise.

Flanking Stark they made their way down the familiar halls until they neared the room where the scepter had been last seen. It was strange to Caroline, but the base felt similar in a way to her knew appearance. It was still the same at the core, but her perception of it was completely changed. The industrious workers rushing to and fro were no longer agents for good, but potential dangers who might see through their charade. Oh, she had always been aware that one or two bad apples lurked in the barrel, but now she glanced with suspicion at everyone. If a large enough contingent could be willing and ready to kill a prisoner without granting him due process and a fair hearing, what else might the men and women working here be capable of?

All too quickly they reached the doorway. By collective agreement they stopped just outside. Caroline rose up and down on her toes a few times, as though stretching could help in this situation. Loki looked quickly down the hall in each direction before pulling her into a tight embrace. For a moment she forgot everything as he kissed her sensless.

"Okay, Romeo, let her up for air. She's just going into the next room, not onto a battle field."

"The object in the next room is more powerful than any army," Loki said, still holding her but surrendering her lips. "Darling, listen to me. If you feel any hesitation, any fear, get out of there instantly. There is no shame in not being a match for one of the founding powers of the universe. Even I was brought down by it eventually."

"It is such an odd experience not being the biggest egotist in the room. I don't think I like it," Tony quipped. "Mr. Fantastic is right for once though. If anything feel janky, you cut and run. We will find another way to get the spear. Now, I'm gonna run down to my lab and grab my case. Here's my ID. I'll be back almost before you miss me."

With that, he was off at a trot down the hall, leaving Caroline and Loki alone in front of the plain metal door.

"You don't have to do this," Loki tried one last time to convince her. "I can just as easily go in."

"And if you come out under its sway, how on Earth or any other planet for that matter, could I stop you?" she asked. "I am counting on you to stop me and make me drop the thing into Tony's scepter dampening suitcase."

"Alright."

"Here we go."

"I love you."

Caroline felt tears well in her eyes and willed them away.

"I love you," she answered.

She opened the door and closed it quickly behind her, wanting to keep Loki from coming in after her. She had the sequence from Tony to unlock the cradle the scepter lay in. By the time she had released it, he would be back with the case.

As she stepped towards the shiny metal weapon, she felt a tingling sensation almost like a caress run over her skin. Caroline stopped for a moment took a deep breath. She knew what this was. She could ignore it. Not looking at the glowing blue gem that pulsed softly at the head of the scepter, she entered the pass code into the pad controlling the cradle. One nob slid down to the bottom, a second up to the top, and a dial spun two thirds of the way around. With each move she made, the tingling grew stronger, eager almost anticipatory.

At last, the gold light surrounding the scepter died, and the sensation dug like needles into her skin. Caroline's breathing was coming fast and shallow as her hands reach, trembling, for the smooth, deadly weapon. As her fingers wrapped around the cold metal it was as though every cell in her body sprang to life and she all but lifted off the ground.

"Oh yessss," she felt more than heard the voice in her mind. "We are going to have so much fun together."

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