SHAW POV

They were all gathered in the library with Harold's rather unusual friend when, for one of the few times in her life, Shaw was truly shocked when Loki took her hands in his, went down on one knee and began "Dear Lady, make my joy complete and do me the great honor of...sharing a repast with me." Shaw's brain unfroze and began processing the fact that instead of matrimony the god was merely asking her out to dinner. She might have been more upset except the look on John's face as he very nearly had a heart attack was well worth a little shock. She quickly agreed because tall, dark, and dangerous was just the way she liked them. Besides, what girl wouldn't be curious about just what a millennia old "god" could do. John's reaction to the whole thing was just icing on the cake.

A time was set for the following evening, and then Loki disappeared after accepting some new reading material from Harold. Shaw wasn't sure what to expect from the date so gave her attire some careful thought. The following evening found her lounging around the library waiting for Loki wearing a little black dress that emphasized her best assets. Dangerous stiletto heels. A knife strapped to her thigh easily accessible through the slit in her dress and an automatic with extra ammo in her purse along with her lipstick taser. A girl liked to be prepared.

She smirked at John's expression as he struggled for a comeback after she innocently detailed her armament in reply to his sly query if she was carrying protection. That would teach him to mess with her! Harold dryly commented that he didn't think that was what John had meant, clearly as entertained by Reese's discomfort as Shaw. Finch looked even more amused when he shocked Shaw by remarking that she wasn't the only one who could find herself pregnant if appropriate precautions weren't taken. According to mythology, the reproductive habits of gods could be rather...unusual. She sputtered when Harold went on to say that at least the Nordic gods didn't appear to be as...kinky as the Greek & Roman pantheons, but added slyly that he hoped she wouldn't find that too disappointing. Finch definitely seemed to have come out on top in this round of teasing.

Shaw was trying to come up with an appropriate riposte when Loki made his appearance. He was dressed in a charcoal suit with a green shirt and green & gold striped tie. He gave Shaw an appreciative look before extending his hand and asking "Are you ready?" Not one to back down from a challenge and rather curious and excited to see where the evening might lead, Shaw stepped forward to take the outstretched hand.

She blinked away the effects of the teleportation to see that they hadn't arrived at a restaurant as she had expected. Instead, they had arrived at the back of a large group of people in what appeared to be a bank. The group of masked men with guns, who were currently menacing the frightened group of people they had just joined made it clear that a robbery was currently in progress.

Fortunately the robbers hadn't noticed that their hostages had increased by two. A subtle movement of Loki's hand and Shaw saw that the surveillance cameras were no longer lit. As he stepped forward toward the front of the hostages while transmuting his clothes into his Asgardian armor, she suspected that eye witness accounts would have only vague descriptions of herself. A subtle change in the weight of her own clothing and she realized she was now wearing Kevlar and had obtained from somewhere a bolero of grenades to go with her gun and knife.

Another hand motion and the hostages had been removed from the inside of the bank. Loki gave a short bow and waved her toward the robbers with the comment "Ladies first." Shaw's feral grin of anticipation wouldn't have looked amiss on Fenrir's face as she tried to decide where to begin.

Following an enjoyable bit of mayhem Loki restored their previous attire and transported them to a quieter venue where they enjoyed steak dinner and some sinfully delicious cheesecake. It was definitely shaping up to be one of the top 5 first dates Shaw had been on, and the night wasn't over yet...

LOKI POV

It had taken a bit of casting for his magic to detect a suitable occasion for their first outing. While many other opportunities for violence presented themselves to his scrying, Loki was a Prince and felt an evening with him should rank higher than a common bar brawl.

Loki's interest had been captured by Shaw. She was fierce and fearless, as befit a warrior maiden. But also subtle and sly, and as comfortable using a knife in the back as a sword to the gut so long as the method bested her enemies and achieved her objectives.

Loki appreciated the fact that he would need to win her favor based on his own merits. His Asgardian rank and history were meaningless on Midgard. The Lady Shaw evaluated him purely from straightforward self-interest – would he provide entertaining sport and be a pleasing enough bed-partner to scratch her itch? Loki could hardly fault her for such self-centeredness when his own feelings were much the same.

Loki knew what peaked the interest of a warrior maiden, after all had he not suffered the long centuries of Thor and Sif's dull acquaintance? The Lady Sif was attracted to Thor in part because he led her to all the best battles (the excessive musculature on his not-brother didn't hurt either).

But he would need to be careful in his wooing of the Lady Shaw. He would not disrespect one of Harold's vassals. His friend would be formidable in his displeasure. Just because he eschewed violence did not mean that the man was not dangerous. In Loki's opinion it only made him more so, as his vengeance would be more difficult to anticipate than a straightforward challenge.

Shaw's Shield Brother was the more likely to place a formal challenge if he thought his comrade was being trifled with. The fact that Loki was a god among mortals would not deter Reese if he felt that Shaw had been slighted. Loki appreciated the fact that despite John's obvious reservations he let the woman make her own choice in the matter of dating. Didn't take the decision from her hands under the guise of knowing better. Didn't tell her to know her place.

FUSCO POV

Lionel wasn't sure where the message had come from "suggesting" he be part of the police response to the bank robbery. Seeing the level of destruction inside the bank he sourly thought he had some suspicions about who some of the vigilantes who had thwarted the heist might be. Fusco was shocked but also darkly amused when the Looney Tunes masks of the would-be robbers were removed to reveal that they now had Looney Tunes faces. This didn't bode well for the perpetrators' time in the slammer. Prison life would not be easy for any inmate with the face of a cartoon character. When a run of their fingerprints yielded their extensive rap sheets, Fusco thought that it couldn't have happened to a more deserving group of criminals.