This story takes place after Thor but before the Avengers, and assumes Thor: The Dark World never existed.

Excuse me while I indulge my other great villain love, the ever-amazing Loki of Asgard.

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The first time he sees her is through Heimdall's golden eyes, and he is entranced.

She moves heavily, clopping around in big boots with about as much grace as a newborn foal. Her clothing is neither stylish nor flattering. She wears no makeup and her hair hangs in unruly strings around her face, occasionally getting caught in her mouth as the wind whips it around. She is utterly ordinary; yet she is so beautiful he cannot look away.

As he watches, his brother raises her hand to his lips and kisses it. She smiles, blushes, and his anger peaks out of nowhere. He wrenches his eyes away and stalks back toward Asgard, reeling.

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He watches her all the time, now. His role as acting King has its perks, and he uses the extra senses to track her every movement. He watches her working, eating and sleeping. His focus is so intense that his subjects often enter the throne room and are unable to gain his attention. He could care less. The simpletons of Asgard can look after themselves, he wagers.

Soon he is visiting her, invisible to her world. He stands by her, drinking in her scent, drowning in her presence. It is as though she has invaded his bloodstream, so enraptured is he.

The night she falls asleep on the rooptop with Thor, he stands beside her and invisibly seethes.

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When Thor returns, he is so furious he can taste it. He saw. Watched them kissing, clinging to each other as though they were bound that way. His great and noble brother, stealing what he needs to be his again.

Vengeance is like a cold iron weight in his heart.

When they fight, he feels so very alive. His focus is total, heart beating erratically as he trades blows, creating illusions and maneuvering smoothly with skill that is second nature to him. His anger only fuels him further as he battles harder than he ever has before. This is no brotherly sport; Thor seeks to incapacitate him and he seeks to kill.

But when Thor begins to destroy the bridge, he loses control. He screams at his brother, appealing to his feelings for her, and all he really wants to shout is don't, I can't stand it, I'll never be able to see her again either but he can't say that, can he?

Later, when he hangs from what's left of the bridge, held only by his own hand, Loki chooses to let go because he'd rather float through space for eternity than be trapped in Asgard without her.