A/N: So this is my (extremely late) Lokane Exchange gift for Hollywithaneye, who asked for, among other things, some Jotunn!Loki. Having recently revisited my King!Loki AU, I decided to go with something set in that universe.
For those who don't know, the idea behind this AU is that the events of the Thor movies never happened, and instead, Jane blasted herself to Jotunheim by accident while experimenting with her bridge prototype. She was found by Loki, the king of Jotunheim, who convinces her to stay a while for research purposes (you know, JUST research... *wink wink nudge nudge*).
You can find other parts to this story in my short story collection, The Science of Lies (chapter sixteen) and my Jane Foster week entries, She Blinded Me With Science (Day One).
Hope you enjoy!
The last thing one could ever call Jane Foster was stupid.
Eccentric, yes. She'd concede that her ideas were unconventional and went well over the line of commonly accepted logic.
Impulsive, maybe. Jane would argue that she thought through everything she did with the care of a mother tending to her young. She was not just some thrill seeker out for a good time. She was a scientist and a serious one at that. Way more than those stuffy grey, haired suits who chortled over brandy about how rich and important they were.
But never in a million years would Jane Foster ever be stupid. This was why despite the scientist in her salivating for all the Jotunn King and his people had to offer, she would not let her guard down around them. Not yet.
So far, Loki had kept all his promises to her. For the last three days, she woke up in her private chambers to a crackling fire and a tray of fresh fruit on the mantle. After breakfast, she got dressed. Despite her initial fears, she was not expected to wear a loincloth or a bikini top. She'd been provided with a wardrobe full of gold silk dresses and furry winter coats. It was mid-June on Earth, so the sudden shift in temperature would take some getting used to. Jane took it in stride, as she did most things. It helped that her new clothes seemed to be self-heating, though she had yet to find out how. She'd already inspected every dress, coat, and undergarment for hidden insulation or electromagnets, but all she found was thread and fabric.
At eleven on the dot, Loki knocked on the door. He never let himself in, though Jane was under no illusion that he couldn't. A barricade wouldn't do much against whatever power he possessed. He called it magic, and Jane set that aside as a marginally solid back-up. Magic, to her, was a guy in a cheap Party City suit pulling a rabbit out of a hat. It was the moving paintings in Harry Potter and the ring in Lord of the Rings.
Simply put, magic was fake.
Whatever power Loki used to conjure up food and wearable space heaters, it was real and therefore measurable. The question then became, how does one measure it?
By the fourth day, Jane had a notebook full of hypotheses derived from careful observation of Loki's daily activities. When he re-filled a goblet of water for her by looking at it, she wrote it down. If he beckoned for a book and it floated off the shelf into his waiting hands, it went in the notes. Her commentary ranged from organized to word vomit.
'Remember to check books and utensils for magnetic properties.'
'Possible manipulation of atoms?'
'What are the mechanics behind plucking whole roasted chickens out of the air?'
'Are there even animals on this planet?'
'Magnet checks turned up no results as far as books and forks. Will check spoons and knives tomorrow.'
The morning of the fifth day, she dressed casually, planning to take lunch in her room and think about asking Loki for a tour of the city. Apart from the observatory, she hadn't had a chance to take in the sights since accepting his offer. It was about time to change that. She walked out of the changing room in a plain gold dress, the lovely warmth enveloping her like the hand of a mother. For a moment, she almost didn't care how it was possible, she just reveled in it.
When she returned to her main room, Loki was in front of her desk, flipping through her notebook.
"Interesting theories," Loki said, flipping the pages between his long, blue fingers. "Well thought out, impeccable handwriting. You truly are the genius I took you for."
Something about his tone reminded her of that one professor who actually patted her on the head when she told him her ambitions.
"Wait 'til I get going," she said, folding her arms. "That book is private."
"My apologies," Loki said, "though if I may, allow me to shed some light on your more pressing questions."
He placed his hand on the page. It glowed for two seconds, then he handed it back to her. Over her chicken scratch, the word 'MAGIC' was emblazoned in shimmering green ink. If it was ink at all. The letters seemed more carved into the paper than written on it.
Jane slammed the book shut. "How many times are we going to have this conversation?"
"Which one?" Loki examined his nails. "The one about the color of the drapes or the one about my extraordinary magical abilities turning your world upside down?"
"For the last time, magic isn't real." Jane ground her teeth. "Magic would imply an energy that exists in and of itself without manifested properties. It's fairy dust. What you do is real, and therefore, can be studied. Magic is science we don't understand yet. Arthur C. Clarke."
"I have no idea who that is."
"And if you're not going to help me, you never will." She marched around him to sit down and opened her book to a clean page. Loki remained at her side, even as she wrote out a quick list of evidence supporting her quantum mechanics theory. She filled half the page before her wrist cramped. If only the explosion had sent her laptop into space with her. "Did you need something or are you just going to stand there all day?"
He stared at her, his calm mask cracking to make room for a smile. Knowing she just back-sassed a king, Jane braced herself for a smack or else a trip to those ice dungeons he most assuredly had. Seconds turned to minutes and Loki never made a move. "I thought we might take a walk through the city."
Jane stopped reading. She turned his words over in her head, finding nothing to suggest treachery. Still, this was the guy the Norse associated with deception. "Any reason why?"
"I didn't know I needed one." He pulled up a chair, and now they were level. His eyes were magnetic. Once they were in her sight she couldn't look away. "Are you not curious about what lies beyond this palace?"
"You mean besides snow and mountains? Because I've already seen plenty of that."
'You're pushing it, Jane,' said a voice in her head that sounded like Erik. 'Stop pressing your luck before you earn yourself a one-way ticket to the dungeons.'
They stared at each other, brown on red. They gave her no more hints than his inscrutable smile or the tap of his fingers on his leg. He appraised her like a new toy he hadn't expected to get and didn't know how to use. No words passed his lips, but that barely visible curvature spoke volumes. Though residual caution simmered in the back of her head, Jane would not be cowed by anyone, man or alien. She turned her body around to sit sideways. She crossed one leg over the other, perfectly cool and casual to the untrained eye. To Loki, she could never be sure how much she unintentionally revealed.
"Ms. Foster," he said pensively, "are you familiar with the eternal realm, Asgard?"
Jane blinked. Where was he going with this? What this part of his plan to confuse her with a non-sequitur about other planets?
"It rings a bell," she said. "Maybe I read about it somewhere."
"I wouldn't be surprised." Loki stood and walked to the window. "There are few within the World Tree who don't look upon Asgard as the pinnacle of advanced society. In another life, your Bifrost might have dropped you at the foot of the All-Father, and of course his dearest son."
He said 'dearest son' like he meant 'hated enemy'. Jane thought about asking, but her better judgment won out. "What does Asgard have to do with this?"
"Nothing," he said airily, "I'm just thankful I found you first."
Jane selected a coat before they left. It was her favorite: dark green and black fur with gold trim. That Loki always seemed to brighten when she wore it had nothing to do with her liking it, but the extra attention wasn't bad either. She fastened the clasp over her chest and pulled up her hood. Loki waited by the door and held it open for her, a perfect half-naked blue gentleman.
As soon as she entered the hall, the temperature dropped. There was no fire out here. The torches burned blue and Jotunheim's moon shined brighter than the sun at midday. Jane shivered at the smack of cold air across her face, but her discomfort was fleeting. Hot air filtered through the seams of the coat, surrounding her in a cozy bubble of warmth. She remembered her sophomore year of college when her roommate bought a kotatsu from Japan, and Jane did all her homework sitting under it until May. To think, that used to be the height of luxury for her.
"I have got to figure out how this works," she moaned.
Loki opened his mouth.
"Please don't say magic."
Loki closed his mouth.
There were warriors in the foyer as they descended the stairs. At least fifty broken into small groups. They spoke in their guttural language of past hunts and new conquests. That was what Jane assumed, not yet knowing a word of Jotunn. Learning it was on her to-do list, somewhere between getting a new set of pens and building a probe to make contact with her bridge prototype in case she ever needed a quick escape route.
At the head of one group was a Jotunn much larger than the rest. That was saying something since the average member of his species was roughly four times Jane's size. He was ugly, too. His eyes were too small for his face, and his nose too big. His teeth were sharp and pure white, spaced out in such a way that one would think he had a mouth full of icicles. His face was covered in markings, not a single clear patch to be found. Contrasted with the neat, symmetrical lines gracing Loki's features, the difference was staggering.
She'd often wondered if there was a meaning behind the markings or if they were a biological phenomenon like freckles or birthmarks. They didn't stop at the face, trailing all the way down their exposed bodies. Even Loki had them, two lines running parallel across his chest to his shoulders and wrapping around his upper arm. More lines fed into his pants and there was a small but vocal part of her brain that wondered just how far they went.
(It was because she hadn't had a date since Don left. That's all…)
The massive Jotunn spotted her while one of his comrades was in the middle of a story. He gesticulated wildly, waving his fist in violent stabbing motions. The crowd laughed uproariously, all but the large one. He stared at Jane like a bug he was dying to squash. He said a single word she couldn't make out. Not that she'd know what it meant anyway. The Jotunn language sounded like a bunch of consonants strung together with all the vowels removed. The tightness in his posture and hand hovering over his dagger told her all she needed to know. Some things were just universal.
He said it again, louder this time. His comrades looked up, glaring when they saw Jane. They nodded at the large one, speaking words she assumed denoted agreement.
"What are they saying about me?" she hissed at Loki.
He pursed his lips and walked towards the group, leaving Jane at the base of the steps until the threatening stares from nearest Jotunns got her moving. Gleeful snickers followed her as she half-walked, half-ran after Loki. She could've sworn she heard a voice in English say, "You're right, she is weak."
'Am not,' Jane thought, pouting like a child. They hadn't scared her. She just got bored waiting around all by herself.
Loki stopped in front of the large Jotunn, who easily dwarfed him by ten feet. He had his dagger out, sharpening the blade with a flat rock. He wasn't making much progress. He might only be doing it because Jane was there. Judging from the length of the blade compared to his hand, that thing was at least as long as her forearm.
Loki cleared his throat. The Jotunn said nothing.
He did it again, and half the gathered Jotuns backed up a step, talking amongst themselves about weapons and war as if it would hide the sweat on their brows.
"Holger," he said. "Your king speaks."
"My king is dead," Holger said, his voice somehow worse when Jane could understand him, "but if you must speak, make it fast. I'm in the middle of something."
Loki smiled like an ax murderer. "Holger, we live in an age of progress and intellectual enlightenment. We've built a thriving city from the ashes of this war-torn tundra. I know, for the esteemed members of the old guard, these changes are unprecedented and difficult to reconcile. And I suppose it's been hard for you as well-"
Jane giggled, even as Holger shot her another evil look.
"-but Jane Foster is our honored guest, and I will not tolerate insult against her. Is that clear?"
Holger already unpleasant expression soured further. He dropped the rock and slipped the knife back its sheath. It didn't fit all the way, and the bottom edge of the blade gleamed threateningly in the corner of Jane's vision.
"She's your guest," he rumbled. "And you'd be wise to keep an eye on her. Terrible things happen to those who don't belong."
A shadow behind Jane shifted and grew, from a formless blob to a humanoid figure. It was huge, the head reaching Loki's feet, and wider than she was long. An arm came up. Jane had time to make out the shape of a knife, and then she was on the ground, pushed by an unseen force.
She got a face full of her coat, the fur sticking between her teeth and blowing heat down her throat. Spitting it out, she fought to regain her footing, rolling on her side in time to catch Loki on top of another Jotunn. He was out cold, a lump on his head and blood pouring from his nose and mouth. Loki gripped a staff- where did he get that?- and pulled it out of the Jotunn's stomach. He bled dark purple, a facet of their physiology Jane would ponder more in-depth when her ears stopped ringing.
Loki muttered in his language, words not unlike the ones out of Holger's mouth. Stepping off Jane's would-be killer, he pointed the end of the staff at Holger's neck. "Would you care to explain?"
"Explain what?" Holger snapped. "Did you really think you could keep your whore in Laufey's palace and no one would take offense?"
Loki pushed the staff into Holger's throat. He had to stretch all the way up to reach, but the sheer power emitting from him shrunk his opponent down to size. "I already have one reason, Holger. I beg you to give me another."
Holger grinned his awful icicle grin. "A worthless runt like you couldn't hope to kill me. I've crushed men twice your size between my teeth, you pathetic little Odinson-"
The staff exploded, sending Holger flying. He slammed into the ceiling a hundred feet up and fell bonelessly to the ground. Dozens of spikes shot out of the floor to break his fall. Through sheer dumb luck, he missed getting skewered. A few cut into his arm, spilling blood everywhere. He was conscious, but barely. He moaned weakly as Loki closed his hand around the air. Hogler's throat constricted, seemingly on its own. He fought for air, but his lungs were closed. His blue cheeks turned sickly purple.
"Never," Loki growled, with a voice like Death himself, "speak that name to me again."
Holger's eyes rolled back into his head, so it was almost a mercy when Loki flung him out the window with all his strength. Holger sailed over the mountains, becoming smaller and smaller until he was little more than a speck on the horizon. Loki's shoulders fell as he bowed his head and breathed deeply. Jane counted each inhale, remembering some yoga techniques she learned a hundred years ago. He never quite reached the recommended ten seconds, but after a while, he straightened his spine and walked with his usual self-possessed gait.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," he said, like he really was sorry, "I'm afraid we must postpone your tour for now."
Jane nodded and followed him shakily back up the stairs. There was a giant angel cloud of a bed calling out to her in sweet, hypnotic tones. For once in her life, she turned her brain off; she wouldn't be going without sleep this time.
"Are you well, Jane?" Loki asked when they reached her door.
"I'm good," she said, smoothing out her dress for the seventh time. "I mean, sure, I almost got stabbed to death, but it's no big deal. I've had worse."
"Have you really?"
'No, not really,' Jane thought miserably. She knew exactly what kind of dreams she'd be having tonight. "So uh… you didn't kill those guys, did you?"
"Does it matter?"
Jane shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not shedding any tears for them, but I don't want them dead either. I'm not looking to dance on anyone's grave."
"You couldn't if you wanted to," Loki said, lacing his fingers behind his back. "We bury our dead by sea. Unless they died dishonorably, in which case they're left in the mountains for the wolves to feast upon."
"Sounds lovely," Jane muttered. A charismatic statesman and environmentally conscious. No wonder he was king.
"Holger will go to the dungeons when he returns, assuming he does." Loki glanced at the rocky terrain in the distance with a bloodthirsty smirk. "His friend, I'm afraid, won't be so lucky. He made an attempt on your life and that cannot go unpunished."
"Yeah, I figured," Jane said, and she didn't wholly disagree. "But you know, if one guy tried to come after me, others might, too."
"Not if they know better." The air around them grew dense, waves of energy coming off Loki and spreading outward like ripples in still water.
"If they really want me gone, they won't care what you do."
"Do you feel unsafe?"
"That's not it," It kind of was, but she wouldn't say so. "Back home, I'm what's called a fringe scientist. It means everyone in my field thinks I'm nuts and makes jokes about me at fancy dinner parties I don't get invited to. What I'm saying is, I know when I'm not wanted."
No one could ever call Jane Foster stupid.
Loki furrowed his brow. "Do you mean to tell me you're not respected by your peers?"
"Let's just say when I advertised for an intern, my one and only applicant was in political science."
Loki's disgust was palpable, as was his bemusement. "Well, now I'm torn between disappointment in your people's willful ignorance and relief that you haven't allowed their foolishness to overshadow your superior intellect."
That would be the nicest backhanded compliment Jane had ever received if she wasn't too tired to process it.
She opened her door; it was always unlocked. Not because she left it that way but because it only opened for her or Loki. Anyone else who tried risked getting their fingers burned off. Loki explained all this to her the day after she arrived. The 'M' word came up a few times when Jane bombarded him with questions, which only led to more questions and a battle of wits the likes of which the universe had never seen. They never did find a satisfactory conclusion.
'Maybe tomorrow I'll ask again,' she thought. She kicked off her shoes and threw her coat aside. It missed the floor and flew to her dresser, neatly arranging itself on a hanger and joining its fellows on the highest rack. Meanwhile, her shoes walked themselves to the fireplace. 'Maybe I'll ask about that, too.'
Jane crawled under the covers, not bothering to remove her dress. The extra layer of heat was like a warm bear hug from a real bear. Except without the mauling and bloody death that would come from hugging or going anywhere near a bear, so it was actually much nicer than a bear hug. All of this made sense to Jane's drowsy, adrenal fatigued brain. What she didn't understand was why he was still here.
"I'm okay, Loki," she said, almost convincingly. "No one can get me here. You don't need to keep watch over me."
"If you insist," he said, but he didn't move. "Do you require anything before I go?"
"I'm a little thirsty."
A silver goblet appeared on her nightstand. Jane picked it up, examining the sides and the base for abnormalities (of course there were none), then took a drink. Warm water rushed down her throat, lacking the stale metallic taste that usually made her gag. It was more like hot chocolate: lacking sweetness but maintaining the comforting feeling of home.
"Will this do?" he asked like he really cared if she was satisfied or not.
Jane bit her lip. She swished the water around, the wheels in her head turning at full speed. "Water vapor," she said.
"Pardon me?"
"You converted water vapor into liquid form. Sort of like an internal reclamation system. You can pull H2O out of the hydrosphere and mix it with oxygen to create clean drinking water. You even found a way to raise the temperature so my body can handle it." She grinned like a child on Christmas. "We have a few ways to do it back home. It's pretty basic science."
"Very clever," Loki said, "now how do you explain the goblet?"
Jane's face fell. He chuckled like the smug asshole he was as she threw the covers over her head and turned her back to him with a muffled 'shut up.'
She heard him move away, his bare feet padding softly on the carpet. The door creaked open as her eyelids fell. Sleep was coming fast, yet she still heard him whisper: "You're safe with me, Jane. Always."
Somewhere deep in her heat and science muddled thoughts, she believed him.
Then he slid into the hall as the lanterns dimmed to embers, and all around her was dark and silent.