Author's Note- I own nothing from Marvel.

Ch. 1

"There is an Iago and a Romeo within all of us; there is that lover and that sociopath."

Tom Hiddleston on why he can have compassion for all of the characters he portrays.*

The first time that Loki ever saw Darcy Lewis was through the eyes of the Destroyer. She was terrified and trembling and, for a moment, he faltered in his control of the machine. When he saw the other woman run to Thor after he had been felled by the Destroyer, Loki was surprised. Why Thor would prefer that one over Darcy seemed beyond all understanding.

The first time Loki found out her name was while controlling Dr. Erik Selvig in his attempt to utilize the Tersseract. Loki had pumped Selvig for information about Thor's woman, Jane Foster, but he also asked more than a few questions about her lovely assistant. He was surprised by Selvig's paternalistic and slightly dismissive attitude towards her, for anyone who dared attack the God of Thunder with a weapon known as a taser seemed audacious and daring to Loki.

The first time Loki realized that Darcy was actually within reach was when he heard his guards at the Avengers Tower gossiping about Dr. Foster's assistant. At first, Loki was unsure whether they were referring to the same girl. Then, one of the guards asked the other, "Have you seen her? Hell, that girl has curves that could kill man."

"But, what a way to die," replied the second one with a lecherous laugh, and Loki knew that they were talking about the same girl. He might have made the sleeping spell he used on them a little more potent and hangover-inducing than strictly necessary during his escape, but he felt they really should have kept their opinions to themselves.

Upon his escape from the Tower, he was surprised to find her with Hawkeye. Clint hadn't mentioned the girl at all while under Loki's command, which meant that this was a new attachment. When Clint got called away, Loki gave in to impulse and decided to confront her.

And yet, somehow, Darcy was able to convince him that taking her as a hostage didn't make sense. Loki walked away, ready to regroup and plan out his next move to regain the scepter in order to control mankind. Then, he shook his head. He was several centuries old and he couldn't believe that he just got talked out of his plan by a relative child.

So, he followed her back to her apartment. He thought for a few moments outside of her door. Then, he used a bit of his last meager magical reserves to transform himself into her date in an effort to coax her easily from her home and use her to bargain for the scepter.

He was shocked, after opening the door, when she ran up and hugged him tightly, her body shaking in shock and fear. The embrace was too much for him to take and he gave into impulse once again and gently kissed her. But almost immediately, a voice in his head told him he was giving into sentiment, that all of his plans were going to crumble if he let his emotions rule him. So, he twisted the tenderness into terror, punishing her for his lack of discipline, relishing in her fear of him before knocking her out with a sleeping spell.

Back at the bunker, he assumed she would be a sufficiently cowed prisoner, but instead she just talked and talked. She was brash; she was impulsive; she was relentless. There was nowhere to hide from her inquisition. Her words began to tear down his reserves.

So, his little crush, his fascination, gave way to reality. She wasn't a sultry seductress or a meek, compliant captive. She was maddening, infuriating and, ultimately, intriguing. In the few hours they had been together, she had made him realize things about himself and his relationship with his family that he hadn't confronted in years. Not that a thousand years of imagined and real slights, put-downs and betrayals could be overcome in a night. The wounds that Loki had ran deep. But, friendship was a start.

Author's Note - *Quote taken from the clip -"Adventures in Compassion" Uploaded to Youtube on April 13, 2009

Hope you liked the first chapter. If you haven't already, please read "Lima Syndrome" first, it gives the background for this story.

Happy Halloween! Reviews are better than candy!