Loki learned from a young age to expect nothing from anybody and it would save you from disappointment. Thor would love him when his friends weren't watching, so don't expect anything else. He would never be equal to Thor in Odin's eyes, so don't expect anything else. He was different and the other kids didn't play with different kids, so don't expect anything else.
Then Jane Foster came along.
She fit no logic Loki had ever met. She was the exact opposite of everything he had ever learned. He could expect everything from her, and never be disappointed. It was one of the most interesting things he had ever seen. She did not know him, yet she knew about his attempt at her world and his constant attacks against her Thor. Yet she still gave him anything, everything he needed. So, he stayed around and he studied her.
He had to know more. He had to learn how she ticked. And slowly, he did. Among learning about how she worked long hours, just because she thirsted for more knowledge about the stars, and how she frequently forgot when to get sustenance because she was so caught up in other things, he learned more about her personally.
He learned her favorite color was green and she loved water lilies. He learned that she wanted to be intellectually challenged and that is why she spent so much time with the Iron Man and the Hulk. He learned that she never believed she would get married and accepted that. And as he learned more, he loved more.
He loved that she was so thirsty for knowledge, to the point where she could keep up with his long winded explanations about the realms and magic and other things new to her.
He loved that he was considered an intellectual challenge to her, just as much as she was considered a puzzling enigma to him.
He loved that she was unlike the women who worried pointlessly about their future and men. He loved how independent she was.
It blew his mind that she never disappointed him no matter what his expectation of her was. It blew his mind even more when she broke up with his faux brother. It blew his mind even more when she confessed that she loved him.
It blew his mind the most that he loved her back.
R & R.