She wasn't drunk enough to forget the man whom she had recently broken up with, but she was apparently drunk enough to see his dead brother standing half in the shadows, staring at her from across the busy bar.

She laughed to herself when she first saw him, thinking shehad finally lost it altogether, but that laughter quickly dissipated when he started walking across the room in her direction. She looked around at the crowd, wondering if anyone else had noticed the tall, pale, shifty figure clad entirely in an eccentric leather outfit moving towards her like a hunter about to attack its prey, but no; no one else was paying him any mind.

As he approached her, she began to panic and did the first irrational thing that popped into her mind. Reaching for her half empty glass of scotch, she turned just in time to douse his face with the liquid.

"Hello Miss Foster," Loki said in a low growl, smirking as he wiped the drink off his face with the back of his hand. "Why, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Jane laughed again and then stopped, covering her mouth in sudden disbelief. She searched his face over for a moment, looking hard up and down at every detail of his figure, trying to come to terms with the reality of the deceased man clearly standing before her. The anxiety soon left her face, and she shook her head assuredly as though she had just reached a very important conclusion. "You're dead. I saw you die."

"My, my, that dress on you…," he tested her, looking her over and slowly licking his lips with feigned desire.

He didn't have time to look long before a hand came across his face, striking him hard. Loki laughed the first genuine laugh he had in quite some time. She could certainly pack a punch, much to his amusement.

"See?" he said, rubbing the side of his face and then opening him arms out to her. "Very much alive."

Jane's heart sank at the feeling of his raw flesh beneath her fingers. He wasn't dead. Either that or she was in the middle of a horrific nightmare she'd rather not be in. "Does he know?"

"Who?" Loki asked dumbly, looking around playfully.

"THOR, does THOR know you're alive?"

"I'm afraid not."

"You selfish bastard," she said simply, shaking her head and looking up at him in disbelief. She looked as though she were about to hit him again or burst into tears. "You destroyed him."

"And you didn't?"

"H- how did you know?"

"So it's true then. The god of thunder and the mortal woman of science are finally no more. Pray tell, where can I find that lumbering oaf?"

"Get away from me," she stepped back from him, turning back to the bar. "I have nothing to say to you. But tell me, tell me one thing - how is it that one of the most infamous terrorists this city has ever seen is just casually standing in the middle of a crowded bar without a single soul giving a damn?"

"No one else can see me."

"So it looks like I'm talking to myself right now?"

"Afraid so."

"Lovely," she muttered, turning back to the bar in hopes that her second drink had arrived. It had. She threw it back without further thought, raising her eyebrows and nodding enthusiastically when the bartender asked if she'd be needing another.

"Might I have a word in private?" Loki whispered a little too close to her ear, rubbing his fingers against his lips pensively. He hoped she would come quietly.

"I'm meeting someone," she said forcefully, turning back around and trying to ignore him, but Loki grabbed her by the arm and brought her back around to face him.

"This won't take long."

—-

The air was cold but the night was clear as the two stepped out into the street, crossing 5thAvenue into Central Park. Jane distanced herself from Loki, wrapping her peacoat tightly around herself as she did so. He noticed her actions, but paid no mind and was simply glad she came on her own without him having to force her. He was tired, and for once, an altercation was not what he was looking for.

"I can't believe I'm going for an evening stroll with my super hero ex-boyfriend's dead brother who just happens to be one of the most wanted men in t

he world, maybe universe, right now," she commented angrily, thinking out loud.

"You flatter me."

"I don't mean to."

Loki laughed. He looked over at her and half smiled to himself. It had been months since he had talked to anyone, at least as himself and not Odin, and her blatant disgust towards him was more than amusing. "Jane Foster. How have we both fallen so far."

"Well, I can tell you how you have, if we're being technical."

He laughed again. The two walked aimlessly in silence for a short while, Jane always several paces ahead of him, before reaching a quiet bench shrouded in trees but with a very clear view of the starry night sky.

"Look, if you're here to murder me, or throw me off of Stark Tower, or feed me to some Chitauri alien, I'd really appreciate if you would hurry it up. I've had a long day, and there isn't enough booze in the world to make me comfortable with this particular situation right now."

"I just… wanted to talk," he said quietly, almost sounding sincere as he gestured for her to take a seat. "I'm not going to hurt you, Jane. You think too little of me."

"Too little of y-? You just want to ta-," she burst out laughing and shook her head. "Lord, what is happening."

As she took a seat on the very edge of the opposite end of the bench, Loki couldn't help but chuckle at her clear desire to be as far away from him as possible. She was practically falling off, holding her torso tighter while her teeth began to violently chatter.

"What is it?" he suddenly inquired, his face dark with confusion at her actions.

"Not all of us are f- frost giants," she said, her legs beginning to shake as well. "You can't feel the cold at all can you?"

Loki rolled his eyes and reluctantly held his hand out to her. "Take my hand."

"What? No!"

"Damnit Jane, I told you, I'm not going to harm you."

"I don't trust you."

"You're smart not to."

Before she could protest, he reached over and took a surprisingly gentle hold of her hand. As he did, the warmth shot through her body, her legs steadied and her teeth were no longer making what was, to him, a most insufferable noise.

"Better?" he asked, his eyebrows raised cockily at her as though he had just proven something important.

"I guess so," she said, visibly relaxing as he let go of her. She never knew what to make of him, this strange man, this terrorist, this almost savior of hers. He frightened her, but at the same time, deep down, she knew he wouldn't hurt her. He had no reason to. No reason she could think of, at least. "Why are you here? Doesn't Odin know you're here?"

"Ah, I'm afraid the old man has, once again, decided to take a nap at the most inconvenient of times."

"So who's ruling Asagard?"

"You're looking at him," he replied. He definitely didn't sound happy about finally having control over the throne of his home realm, much to Jane's surprise.

"You're joking."

"Tell me," he said quickly, changing the subject. "You and Thor. What could that idiot have possibly done this time? I'm all too curious to know."

"I ended it."

Loki leaned forward and propped his elbow up on his knee while holding his chin thoughtfully. Jane peered over at him, watching his face distort at her words. He looked lost, deep in thought. If Jane didn't know any better, she would have thought him sad.

"Why?"

"That's a loaded question," she said quietly, rolling her eyes to hide the pain. "Why. Why did you kill all of those people? They had lives you know. People they cared about, people who cared about them. I know it's hard for a raging, emotionless psychopath to understand the value of love, but- "

"You are so certain I know nothing of love, then?" he whispered, mostly to himself, and ran his fingers through his silky hair while his knee bounced anxiously. "I loved my mother," he said flatly, wringing his hands at the surge of pain the admission caused him. He looked over at her in pure disgust. "You remember her, don't you? The woman who gave her life to save you so that you would live happily ever after with her favorite son."

Jane didn't laugh now. She swallowed as the crystal clear memory that was Frigga's death twisted her stomach into knots. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, and she hung her head in shame. Silence passed between the two of them for several minutes before she spoke.

"I think about that day, all day, every day. It's not like I knew what I was doing with the portal, when the Aether took me. I had no idea. But I know full well now that I should never have gone to Asgard."

"No, you shouldn't have," Loki snapped without further thought, knowing full well what the statement implied; that she should have died instead of his mother. His eyes too began to water as he stared at his fists.

"Thor was never the same after that," she continued quietly, avoiding Loki's intense gaze. Maybe he did come to kill her after all; an eye for an eye. Thor was no longer around to save her. "He blamed me, though he would never admit to it. He was broken, in the end. Broken by her death and by yours."

"So it was all for nothing then?" he asked, more disbelievingly than angry. She didn't understand why he needed to come all the way from an entirely different realm to give her the third degree about her relationship, but it was starting to unravel her.

"It wasn't for nothing," was all she managed to say as tears fell quietly down her cheeks. She was suddenly afraid that she was about to completely break down in front of the very last man in the nine realms she wanted to cry in front of. She noticed him wiping tears from his face out of the corner of her eye, and for some reason, she couldn't help but suddenly feel sorry for him. It wasn't making sense. If he was this deeply sensitive, emotional being as she was now seeing for the very first time, how was it possible that he could have done such monstrous things? The question escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

"Why did you hurt so many people…"

"I was part of something greater than you could ever comprehend," he interrupted defensively, his nostrils flaring as he pointed threateningly at her.

"Well I hope it was worth it."

Loki opened his mouth, eager to retort, but nothing came out. He had been so constantly on this never ending road to succession and power to secretly protect those he cared for that he never once stopped to ask himself if, so far, it had been "worth it." He knew the answer to that was a gut-wrenching, resounding no. His plans had repeatedly backfired, and he ended up destroying lives and completely alienating himself from his friends and family.

"And what about New Mexico? You could have killed us all! I was there, you know. And the warriors three, and Sif…"

Jane stopped when she noticed Loki visibly flinch at the mere mention of Sif's name. She watched as his knee began nervously bouncing up and down once again, his eyes narrowing as though he were about to either explode with anger or some other emotion Jane wasn't well in the mood to handle. Suddenly, it hit her.

"Frigga wasn't the only person you ever loved."

Loki stood up and started pacing back and forth, his hands locked behind his back. He turned his back on her so that she wouldn't see the incredible anguish he abruptly felt spilling out onto his face. He needed to pull himself together. "I killed them because in the end, I didn't have a choice. The Chitauri, Than-"

"You've always had a choice, Loki. You can be the hero or the villain. It's entirely up to you. You weren't under the influence of the Chitauri in Puente Antiguo. You don't have an excuse."

"You're right, I would have killed him," he turned back to face her, crouching down in front of her so that his face was inches from hers. He nodded matter-of-factly, searching her eyes for understanding. "I would have killed everyone, rearranged the cosmos, I would have doneanything to keep them from being with one another. I would have saved a petulant mortal woman solely responsible for the death of my mother just to get Thor to leave the realm with her. To leave Sif alone. I must keep her safe."

Jane was startled by his close proximity and incredibly romantic (yet psychopathic) declaration, but she remained steadfast. "To keep her safe? Where is Sif? Is she in trouble?"

"She is wherever Thor is now, following him to the ends of the realms as she always has. There is something big coming, Jane Foster. For Midgard. For Asgard. For me. For all of us," Loki stood once more, turning to look back up at the stars. "Thanos won't kill me, not at first, but he will ultimately take her, and-," he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. "Let us just say, he knows my true weakness."

"Well now, so do I."

Loki laughed, pressing a single finger to his lips thoughtfully, his brows furrowed. "Why, it appears you do. What shall I do with you?"

Jane had had enough. She stood up from the bench and marched over to where he stood, taking him by surprise. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You're not?" he whispered softly, mockingly, looking down at her with amusement in his tired eyes.

"No, I'm not," she continued, relaying the strength of her emotion in her wild hand gestures, secretly becoming affected by his closeness. The man certainly had an intoxicating charm about him, as much as she loathed admitting it, and she did. "I don't know why you feel the need to dredge up my painful past, I don't know why I'm here, or why the hell you're even here, but Loki Odinson or Laufeyson, or WHOEVER the hell you are, you DON'T intimidate me."

"Oh?" he questioned, stepping closer to tower over her.

"No! I look at you and I see someone so outwardly full of hate, but inside, there's so much hurt. I peg you for a cocky, jealous, deceitful, coward, but you, you won't touch me. You won't touch me, because you're still afraid of him. You're afraid if you do, he'll come after you."

"What a pity," Loki smiled at her daftness, although her words secretly cut him. He reached down to take a lock of her hair in between his fingers and twirled it around before letting it fall back down across her chest. "I'm afraid you don't know me at all then."

At that moment, he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her firmly up against him. He looked down at her briefly before leaning in to press his lips hard against hers. He reached up and used his free hand to run along the length of her jaw, cupping the back of her head, pulling her deeper against his mouth. He found it interesting that she did not protest; for a moment, he thought he felt her lean further into him. He grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled it down to fully claim her mouth once more before breaking away.

When the two separated and Jane finally opened her eyes, she nearly fainted at the familiar gilded walls around her.

"Ah, so it appears I was right," Loki said, glancing down at her menacingly, his lips curled into a smirk. He wiped off the kiss in seeming disgust. "You still have Aether debris running through those pretty little veins of yours. Infinity dust. A single kiss, as weak and meaningless as it might be, still powerful enough to transport both of us through the realms, along with the power of my staff. Unfortunately for you, I do believe that just used up the rest of whatever remained. It looks like you won't be going anywhere for a while."

"You unimaginable scum bag," Jane stepped away from him, looking horrified at her surroundings. "YOU SON OF A BITCH."

"Welcome back to Asgard, Miss Foster," he said casually, strolling leisurely towards the door of the great room, the fancy cage she was to be locked away in. "You'll be of great use to me. Once Thor realizes you're here, he'll come for you, and I will finally end him."

"She still won't love you."

Loki stopped in his tracks, the words wounding him.

"Regardless of the outcome," he turned before closing the door behind him. "To see the look on his face, on your face, when I split his skull will be more than worth it."

As Loki locked the door behind him, he grasped gungnir heatedly and took off in the direction of the main halls. He had lied about the power of the kiss. There was no such thing, and there was nothing left of the Aether in her to wield any such power; there never was. They were simply at a known portal at the right time.

This information, however, he thought best to keep to himself.