Writer's note: Okay, so this may not be my best fanfic (it may be slightly out of character and I've probably repeated myself in places) but the fact is I was just desperate to get this thing posted before The Dark World is released. Since it doesn't come out in UK cinemas until Wednesday, I'm gonna consider that mission accomplished. So, basically, this is just a little bit of wishful thinking turned into a story – it's the sort of thing I'd like to see happen between Loki and Jane in the movie. It probably won't, but oh well.

As already mentioned, this fic is told from Loki's point of view. Please leave reviews/feedback; I'd love to know how I did!

Unexpected

A sickening cracking sound rings throughout the air as my fist connects with the face of a dark elf, breaking the warrior's nose and sending it reeling backwards. The wretched creature barely hits the ground before another elf comes into view and starts to charge towards me. As I prepare to counter its attack I can hear a series of yells and crashes coming from behind me – no doubt Thor using Mjölnir to beat our enemies away. He'd be lost without that beloved hammer of his. Fortunately, I don't need to rely on mere weapons to defend myself. The elf currently approaching me is much slower than my first opponent, giving me ample time to conjure a spell. A flash of green light bursts from my fingertips, hitting the elf squarely in the chest and causing him to fly backwards.

The elves have the element of surprise – they managed to ambush me, Thor and that woman of his (Jane, I think she's called) in this small woodland clearing – and they clearly outnumber us, but I am confident that this particular fight is one we will not lose. The elves' power doesn't compare to mine or Thor's; the only one who concerns me is Malekith and he is not among this patrol, fortunately.

Two elves are now heading toward me; I kick the first one to the ground and hold him in place with my foot while I raise my hand to strike the other one. However, as the muscles in my arm tense up I suddenly feel something wrap around my neck and start to squeeze. Both my hands fly to my throat as I try to free myself, but it's no use. The material feels like metal – it's most likely some sort of chain. I know of a spell that can melt metal, but I don't want to use that unless it's absolutely necessary – with the chain pressed against my skin like this, there's no way I'll be able to burn through it without also burning myself.

The lack of air is beginning to affect me and I feel myself stumble backwards against the elf behind me. He moves abruptly and I fall to the ground. I run my hands along the length of chain around my throat, hoping that his sudden movement may have loosened it...No such luck. It's been tied into a knot. I curse inwardly. Now that my foot is no longer keeping him in place, the elf that I was holding on the floor is raising himself up. I lift my hand to throw a spell at him, but as I do so my vision begins to grow foggy. The elf in front of me becomes a blurry outline. I fire a spell in his direction and I hear a cry of pain as the figure disappears from view – I'd hit him. However, my relief is short-lived. The pressure around my throat grows impossibly tighter as I feel another length of chain become wrapped around me. The metal is digging so deeply into my skin I think it may be drawing blood. My mouth opens wide in a desperate attempt to get air into my lungs, but it's useless; I can't gasp, I can't cough, I can't breathe. I'll have to take the risk of burning myself, there's nothing else I can do.

My hands hover above the chain as I prepare to cast the spell, but for some reason I cannot remember what to do. It's as if I'm losing the power of thought. My knowledge of the spell, my surroundings, everything I'm aware of is fading away...my eyes close…

…I breathe in. Where am I? What's going on? I can feel hands brushing against my neck, trying to remove something. My memories come flooding back to me in an instant. I am in that clearing in the forest and someone is untying the chain. As the heavy metal slides away from my throat, I gasp with relief and, sucking in a breath, I open my eyes. The first thing I see is an elf (presumably the one who was attempting to strangle me) lying unconscious on the ground beside me, blood oozing from a wound to his head. Behind the elf's body, I can just make out a figure running away into the trees. I lift my head, trying to get a better glimpse of the person – trying to identify who came to my assistance. I blink in surprise at the sight that greets me.

It was that Midgardian woman. It was Jane.

…

With my neck finally free from the chain, I was able to fight off the remaining elves without too much effort. My skill, combined with Thor and Mjölnir, meant that our foes were defeated before too long. As the fight came to a close, I was left to dwell on what had happened.

It was evident from the moment we started this journey that Jane would be no use in battle. She is a mortal and one who is unaccustomed to warfare at that. So, naturally, when the elves ambushed us the first thing Thor did was push Jane into the undergrowth at the side of the clearing and instruct her to stay put until the fighting was over. Which begs the question: why would she leave her hiding place and risk her life to save me, the man who, when we first met, she was so eager to punch in the face? The only two explanations I could think of were firstly that she was not in complete control of her moods or emotions – however, her conduct so far on this mission seems to point in the opposite direction. She appears to be a reasonably rational woman. Therefore, the idea of her being emotionally unstable seems unlikely. The second possible explanation (and this seems far more plausible) is that she believed that if I were to die in battle, this would cause distress to Thor. A completely mistaken impression, since the relationship between Thor and I is in tatters, but the sort of impression she would probably have. It made me bitter – the knowledge that my life had been spared merely for Thor's benefit.

My bitterness has been growing throughout the day, now becoming so intense that I suddenly feel the need to confront Jane now that night has fallen. Thor is fast asleep, trying to recover the strength he lost while fighting. Jane has wandered a couple of yards away from the campsite and is stood alone, gazing up at the stars. I rise to my feet, having given up on attempting to sleep, and stride over to her, intent on correcting her on her misguided thinking.

"You were wrong," I state simply.

She jumps in surprise and whirls around to face me. "What?"

"I said you were wrong," I hiss, trying to convey to her how angry I am without raising my voice and waking Thor up, "When I was being strangled by that elf you mistakenly assumed that if I were to die it would upset Thor. I can tell you with all certainty that if I had perished Thor wouldn't have cared. There is no love left between us. You saved me for nothing!"

She is staring at me with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape. When she doesn't reply, I make a frustrated noise and turn to walk off, but then she suddenly finds her voice: "I didn't do it for Thor."

I stop and turn back to look at her, certain I have misheard. "What did you say?"

"I didn't do it for Thor's sake. When I saw you were in trouble I went to help you because it was the right thing to do."

That can't be right. "You're lying," I reply dismissively.

She glares at me, apparently offended. "No, I'm not!" she snaps, a little too loudly. Behind us, Thor stirs slightly at the sudden noise. We glance over at him, but his eyes don't open. It seems safe to assume that he is still slumbering. My gaze returns to Jane as she starts to speak again, this time more quietly: "My feelings for Thor don't determine my every action. Sometimes I do things because I want to, you know."

But that doesn't make sense. "And why would you want to save me? Why not let me die?"

She pauses, looking at me as if she can't decide what to say. Eventually she replies: "Well…if I did that, I'd be no better than you, would I? I'd be murdering you just like you murdered those people on Earth."

Needless to say, I didn't expect this. I try to conceal my surprise from her by changing the topic slightly: "Your dearly beloved Thor has blood on his hands too. Didn't he tell you about the little incident at Jotunheim before he was banished to Earth and met you?"

She hesitates, seeming a little flustered. She looks away from me; her gaze settling on Thor's sleeping form. "I'm sure he does have blood on his hands," she says, "but he's a different person now, I can tell." I feel an overwhelming urge to roll my eyes, but before I can do so Jane's gaze returns to my face and she utters: "Who knows? Maybe one day you'll change for the better, too."

What? How can it be that this woman, who is besotted with Thor, whose planet I attempted to enslave and who seems to enjoy striking me with her fist also hopes that one day I might "redeem" myself? I hardly know her and yet she appears to have more faith in me than some members of my adopted family. Nothing about this mortal makes sense.

"And if I don't change my ways? Then will you regret saving my life?"

Unbelievably, she shakes her head. "No. You're a nasty piece of work, but you still have a right to live. Everyone does." She suddenly yawns, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth. "Anyway, it's late, so I'm gonna get some sleep. Thor told me we've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow."

I step aside to let her pass, but I remain silent. I continue to watch her as she makes her way back towards the campsite, still feeling slightly dumbstruck but what she has told me. For the first time in centuries, it seems I've come across someone who believes I have the right to exist as I am, as my own person, not simply because I am Thor's brother or because I may serve some greater purpose in the future (which is the sole reason why Odin took me). Admittedly, the person she thinks I am is "a nasty piece of work" who may or may not change for the better, but that's still an improvement on what my so-called relatives think of me.

I smirk as I watch Jane lie down and pull the blankets over her body. I'll have to keep an eye on this Midgardian. She's turning out to be rather more interesting than I had anticipated.