So, because I'm adept at avoiding work (this should be a new self-help book, "End Procrastination Tomorrow," penned by one Imogen), and because JaninaM8 set this idea to spin, and because I have been known to be "hot for teacher," and because the idea of a tutor Loki is simply too tantalizing, and because my first attempt at this was likely *not* what Ms. M8 had in mind, and because R.E.M. sang "The Finest Worksong," to me this morning, and because schoolwork is boring, and because I have no new ideas for my poetry reading in three weeks, I did this thing….

This was not a good idea.

Most definitely, not.

Jane sat at the table in Starbucks. She hated Starbucks, but Loki liked it, and as much as she was loathe to admit it, she needed his help more than he needed hers.

She was behind in her Romanticism class…

She hated the liberal arts.

No, hated wasn't the right word.

Exhausted by, more like.

It all seemed like conjecture to her. Opinions easily disproven.

It wasn't like her physics class…calculus and the like.

She needed to graduate. MIT was waiting, and she just needed to get through this last general ed class to get her B.S. and move on.

Harvard was a lovely place, and it held the promise and prestige associated with the ivy leagues. But Jane wasn't impressed. It was more like a, "Who knows whom," and a bit of class warfare.

Loki Odinson was brilliant in everything that he did. And his family was wealthy, Jane could tell.

He was a doctoral student in English Literature at Harvard, and was going to be starting his teaching bit of his stipend this fall. Not that he needed a stipend, Jane thought. Selfish man.

And his brother was a mammoth of a specimen. And Jane was a bit more than a little attracted.

…so…why not kill two birds with one stone?

It had been a casual conversation.

Loki was auditing a physics class (why he was doing this, Jane had no clue, he was a lit guy, in the PhD program…) and he thought that talking about the stuff with someone who had some background would aid him in his attempt to understand the material.

She had shrugged her indifference at the prospect. He was kinda creepy, kinda intense, and very weird; but he knew lit, and Jane needed an "A" on her final paper.

She would not lose out on MIT because of fucking Romanticism.

Not that she was in any real danger, but she wouldn't risk it.

In he sauntered.

And she caught his eye.

He nodded to her, obtained his drink, and went over to her.

"Evening, Jane," and he sat down.

"Hey. How's it going?"

He smiled. "I'm well, how are you?"

"Totally jittery from this coffee. Who drinks coffee at 7 pm?"

"Students who are behind in their literature classes, or at least, they should be," and he chuckled.

"Thanks for the reminder," and her gaze fell. "So…should we start?" and she began to unpack her stuff from her bag. "We're on "Kubla Khan," Coleridge…"

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran through caverns measureless to man, Down to a sunless sea," he recited.

"Ah…yeah…" Jane swallowed.

He laughed. "A pleasure-dome decree…interesting…" and he sipped his coffee.

"It is?" and Jane began to take out her notebook (she was traditional about some things).

"Yes, if one reflects on it."

"How?"

"Jane, tell me. You are attracted to my brother Thor, is that not so?"

"Um….well…I don't know him all that well."

He smirked. "That isn't what I asked you."

"Well, yeah, I guess so. I mean, lots of the girls are…"

He nodded. "I tell you what. I'll give you snippets about Thor, you give me snippets about you."

"We are supposed to be studying, Loki…I don't have the time…"

"All work and no play, Jane…" he shook his head.

"I need and A in this class. I really don't have the time…and why would you want to know things about me?"

Loki shrugged. "Call it another quid pro quo."

Jane observed him with doubt.

"Thor needs a girlfriend…perhaps if I aided him a bit…" his voice trailed.

"Thor, I'm certain, needs no help with the ladies."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, Miss Foster. I rather think that he knows less about these things than he lets on," and he took another sip.

Jane looked out of the window at Starbucks.

The sun was peering its dying light over Boston's skyline…it was March, and the chill had been swapped for a thick wet air.

Jane sighed.

She shifted.

She rubbed her arm distractedly and stared at the paper in front of her.

Blank.

This paper, it was gonna be the death of her.

Her eyes found his…he was looking steadily at her.

His eyebrow arched in question.

"Ok…but I had better get a fucking A, Loki."

"A date with my brother wouldn't go amiss, either," and he nodded to her.

"I guess not, but I need an A. I don't need laid," and she was momentarily horrified at what had just been uttered from her mouth.

"No? You enjoy a healthy sex life?"

"Ah…" Jesus, Jane, fix this. "I mean…sex isn't what I'm currently preoccupied with. I need to get to MIT…"

"I'll make certain you get your A, Jane," and he finished his coffee. "Tomorrow night, my apartment. Eight pm," he rose as he held her gaze. "When is this paper due?"

"Three weeks…" she sighed.

"Three weeks," he repeated. He appeared to be thinking something over. And then he smirked. "Child's play."

"I hope so…you're a doctoral student…I'm an undergrad…" she meekly observed.

"An undergrad who will be, this fall, in the doctoral program at MIT. Don't sell yourself short. Everything will be alright," and Loki swept away, leaving her there.

Loki Odinson walked to the bus stop.

He was ruminating on what had just transpired between him and the petite woman.

Why this girl captivated him so, he really couldn't say.

He had met her at the library last fall, she was researching the industrial revolution for her history requirement.

He had discovered that this Jane Foster took one gen ed class a term since her second year, instead of having completed them in one fell swoop as a freshman.

She knew what she wanted.

And she pursued it with vivacity.

And he was taken.

So, when it happened that he ran into her a week ago and she was stressing about literature, he seized upon the opportunity.

"You happen to know a PhD student in literature, you realize," and he smirked.

"Yeah…? OH! Yeah…but, we don't know one another all that well," she answered.

"This would be the perfect opportunity to see to that."

"But…"

"I'd be happy to help you, Jane. And perhaps you might aid me in my understanding of physics in return."

"Why do you need to understand physics?"

"I'm…auditing a class," he lied.

He had lied, because he figured she would be more inclined to agree if she offered him something in return.

But then he saw her at the bar in Somerville that weekend, and watched her ogle Thor.

And Thor didn't acknowledge, didn't look, didn't pay attention to her gaze at all.

His first impulse was to go over to Jane and make her stop looking at the oaf physically.

But then, he thought he could use this to his advantage…

He didn't go to Jane at the bar. She was with that poli sci student who irked him.

But he went back to his apartment, alone (Thor ushered a lady back to his) and thought about how he could woo this undergrad…

He thought that her intensity would translate nicely in the bedroom.

But, if he were honest, there was a bit more to it than that…

And he entered his apartment, and flung himself on the sofa.

It had been a while since he needed to seduce someone…

Though his might was not comparable to his brother's, he enjoyed a steady onslaught of lovers.

This might, Loki acknowledged, backfire on him.

But, the whisper of possibility blew its breath on his face, and he thought that it was likely worth it.

Tutor her.

And, perhaps, in more ways than one…