A/N: My deepest apologies for the long wait. I wish I could say that they will come quicker from here on in, but I have another story that I'm trying to finish and that's going to eat up my time for a while. Please be patient with me in the meantime.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Day 19: Jane Foster
Jane wakes up feeling horribly nauseous and barely makes it to the bathroom in time to throw up. She thinks it had something to do with the milk she drank at breakfast yesterday. It had tasted kind of funky.
That's the story Jacobine hears when she comes around like clockwork to badger Jane awake. In hindsight, she probably should have come up with a better cover, since all it lead to was a barrage of questions about her overall health and how much pain she was in and Jacobine should go and get the doctor. Jane managed to talk her out of it, promising to spend the day in bed and drink plenty of ginger ale, which Jacobine 'helpfully' bought for her from the vending machine.
Now blissfully alone, Jane sits at the foot of her bed with her obligatory empty notebook in hand. The radio is turned to some easy listening station for background noise. So far, she's come to a couple conclusions: saxophone music is the most calming sound in the universe, and Loki has a thing for being 'fashionably' late.
Last night, following her assertion that it was time to talk, Loki had mumbled something she couldn't understand and turned away from her. It wasn't until she was on the visages of sleep that she got a clear response.
"Tomorrow."
That was the last thing Jane heard and it might as well have just been a dream. She woke up to the sound of that same stupid song and the feel of an empty bed. Thank G- thank the Lord for that.
It would have been nice to just pretend Loki's entire visit had been a dream. Because of all the people in the world she could be in this with, him? Really?
She could almost understand how he felt about her, although she at least had more concrete and justifiable reasons for not wanting him around than just 'I'm a God so I'm more important than you, foolish mortal woman.'
It's been several hours now since she woke up. Plenty of time for sitting and thinking and processing what she did last night. Too bad it wasn't getting her anywhere. Her notebook stays empty this time, because every time she thinks of something she wants to write down, the pen barely scratches the surface before her mind wanders to something else, and she immediately forgets the initial thought. If not that, she just doesn't know if it makes a difference anymore.
On the radio, the velvety voiced male DJ intones that it is now 3 o'clock in the afternoon, which is funny, because she could've sworn he said it was quarter past 2 five minutes ago. When the hell does he plan on showing up anyway?
As always, there are a couple of different voices talking in her head all at once. The loudest is telling her that she should have made the effort to get something a little less vague than 'tomorrow' out of him. Anything at all, even just a time frame. Something.
The second loudest voice is softer and snake-like, and actually reminds her a lot of Loki himself. It thinks that maybe he just won't show up at all. Or if he does, he'll kill her first thing and be done with it. So what if she'll probably just come back at the start of the next cycle? Someone as ancient and experienced as him could come up with dozens of ways to torture her for his own amusement.
Jane shuts her eyes and shuts out that voice as much as she can. Instead she listens to the really stupid one that reminds her of the one other field she knows firsthand he is very experienced in. She's coming to expect that pooling heat in her stomach that he brings about, which is either a very good thing or a very very bad thing.
It's not like there's much else she can do when all that she knows about Loki is his megalomania and incredible bedroom prowess. Surely there's more to him than that.
Jane gives up on getting anything constructive done at about 3:18 if the wall clock is accurate. It's around then that the air thickens with another presence, and suddenly Jane is no longer alone.
Loki is sitting at her vanity, turned away from the mirror and facing her. He crosses one long leg over the other and her tiny seat strains under his weight. Unlike yesterday, he's wearing Asgardian style armor, all blacks and greens lined with gold. Jane right away likes it better than the suit. When he's like this, she can separate him from her people and remember what he really is beneath that human face.
He has his arms behind his head, leisurely stretched out over air. He meets her gaze without a word. In fact, neither of them are speaking, engaged as they are in their staring contest and all but daring each other to have the first word.
It is eventually Jane who caves, much to her consternation.
"Next time, you should let me know what time you're coming."
He snorts.
"Next time."
"So that I'm not just sitting here waiting for you," she says heatedly. She thinks right away that she's said too much, and she knows it when he starts smirking and tracing the bed with his eyes.
"Well, I sincerely apologize, dear Jane Foster, for leaving you when you so desired my company."
'Go fuck yourself,' she thinks.
"Alright, can we talk seriously now?" she asks.
He is still smiling in a particularly infuriating way that makes her question whether it's worth breaking her hand to try punching it off of him. He opens his arms in a welcoming gesture.
"Be my guest," he says.
Jane gets off the bed and starts to walk around. She is immensely glad she remembered to put on pants before he got there.
"So I've been thinking…" she says, expect she really hasn't and she has no idea what to say to him, which she's only just realized. Everything that comes to mind is either rudimentary or obvious. She is left standing with her mouth open while he brings a hand to his chin like he's completely focused on her.
"Truly, your thought process is most fascinating."
She tries to look casual when she turns her head, just checking the time and not at all hiding a scowl.
"Well, I'd love to hear what you think of all this," she says.
"Do you presume yourself capable of comprehending my thoughts?"
Jane's blood boils, but she grits her teeth and breathes slowly in and out through her nose again and again until it passes. It's a useful technique her old therapist taught her, and one she's probably going to need a lot in the coming days. She's five seconds away from booting Loki's pasty ass out the door, and he hasn't even been here three minutes.
"As I was saying before," she says sharply. "I think it's abundantly clear that whatever is going on here isn't going to end anytime soon."
"Abundantly," he agrees.
"And the fact that we're both aware of it rather than just one or neither of us must mean that there is some reason for it."
"You still believe that," he says out the corner of his mouth. Really, he doesn't even seem to be listening to her anymore. He's too busy studying her living quarters and sniffing condescendingly at anything he doesn't like, which so far is everything.
"I can't think of any other reason why I'm here," Jane answers while trying hard not to outwardly tremble. "But if you can, be my guest."
He pretends to think. "Perhaps it's as you said last night. You're just lucky."
There is a beat, and then Jane is off, grabbing an old chair pushed off into the corner. It's caving in, so Jane hasn't been using it, but for now she'll make due. Dragging it across the floor, she sets it in front of Loki and sits down.
"Okay," Jane says upon sitting down. She is just about level with him now and meeting his gaze without fear. "In the interest of not repeating last night, I'm just going to get to the bottom line: I don't like you. I don't like you one little bit and it would make be very happy if I never saw your face again."
She pauses in case he wants to interrupt, which he doesn't.
"Unfortunately, there's a very good chance we're the only ones who know what is going on right now and that means we're in this together, so if we're going to survive this with our sanity intact, we're going to have to find some common ground and you- you are not going to patronize and look down on me every step of the way, you understand me? I don't care who you are or what you can do or how much smarter than me you think you are. I won't just sit back and let you fuck around with me!"
Her heart races out of her chest and in her ears. The sudden burst of adrenaline mutes the side of her that is appalled with herself for taking it way further than she'd planned. He's probably going to snap her neck for this.
Instead, his lips curl into a smile she can't decipher.
"Oh Jane, Jane, Jane," he says. "It's such a shame that you don't… like me. Because after that, I very much like you."
Jane narrows her eyes into slits and leaves her seat. She hears him tsk behind her.
"Oh what? Is this no longer complimentary on Midgard?"
"Not the way you say it," she hisses.
Loki stands as well, coming over to her side. When Jane looks over her opposite shoulder, she sees her little plastic stool is just about crushed. She looks at him and wonders just how much that crazy armor of his actually weighs.
"I am surprised that you would speak of trust, Jane Foster," he says. "For though you don't say it, I know that's what you're asking for."
He looks down on her, using his superior height to his advantage, and it's not fair because he is well over six feet and she's barely over five. Maybe if she stands on tip-toes she can get a good look at his chin, and somehow that's getting on her nerves the most.
"It's more like… a truce of sorts," she says after a moment of searching for the right word, which still isn't very right at all. "We don't have to be friends, we just agree to work together and figure out how to stop this."
"And assuming we do?"
Jane shrugs. "You go your way, I go mine."
His eyes widen, and it's the first time he's seemed genuinely surprised, though he masks it fast with more indifference.
"You would leave me to my own devices, knowing what it is I plan to do to your planet."
Jane recognizes the inherent threat and isn't cowed like he must think she'll be.
"It's not like I can stop you," she says with feigned demure before smirking. "That's what we have the Avengers for, isn't it?"
His lips thin out, and again she thinks maybe she's crossed the line. Indeed, the way he slowly advancing on her, when he was already so close to begin with, has all the markings of a wild jungle cat about to devour a helpless antelope. She backs up to the wall and he pins her there with his gaze alone. His arms remain locked at his sides, but for how long?
"You really think that, don't you?" he says.
Jane swallows, not so much out of fear and more from horror because the way he lowers his voice and growls those words is going straight between her legs. She tries to cross them as much as possible without giving herself away. Hopefully he can't smell her like a predator.
"What if I told you," he went on quietly, "that I have already once defeated your so-called Avengers, and that were it not for this resetting of time, I would already have half your planet under my thumb?"
Her first instinct is to call his bluff. Of course he hasn't actually won against them. She knows very well how it goes for him everyday, she's seen the newscast...
Except for the days she doesn't.
The bottom drops out from Jane's stomach, and she can't really hide the way she pales from him. He's just so satisfied with himself right now, she's reconsidering trying to smack him.
"I see you understand," he says, and it's that voice again. "You play yourself up as strong, Jane Foster, but I can see you as you truly are. You are quivering in fear of me, as you rightly should."
That's not the only reason, she thinks, and she hates him more than ever before.
"Unlike you, I have no reason to think I need your help in any way. Perhaps I will agree to work with you, and perhaps I won't, but make no mistake that one way or the other, you are and always will be nothing to me. And should I tire of you, there will be no Thor to save you from me."
He doesn't let up, even as she refuses to look away from him or show any fear. One of the only memories she has of her father is him telling her how to deal with bullies: stand up tall, keep your back straight, and never let them intimidate you. Loki may be significantly more of a threat than a playground bully, but the principle is the same. Time snails by until she's certain a whole hour has passed, but when she looks at the clock later she'll see it was only about five minutes.
Then, just as suddenly as the moment he appeared in her room, he walks away from her and the tension breaks.
"Well, I think that was productive for a first day," he says cheerfully.
Jane blinks, her mouth opening on its own so that she looks as stupid and blindsided as possible, and Loki chuckles as he moves towards the door.
"Wha- wait, where are you going?"
She runs after him, but he doesn't make a move, almost like he's waiting for her.
"Oh, did you wish for me to stay longer and entertain you?" he asks coyly. "I'm afraid I have other, more important matters to attend to."
"Like what?"
He ignores the question and Jane feels the hairs on her neck stand and the air grow heavy with magic. Jane would love to be happy that he's leaving and to tell him never to come back. It would also be nice if he could leave the planet and go to somewhere so far away that she wouldn't even be able to see with the Hubble Telescope. Too bad she still needs him.
She's about to demand the exact date and time of his next arrival, and also that he wear something lighter if he intends to lounge around her room like he owns it. He cuts her off swiftly and effectively, with one long finger running along her cheek down to her chin, and while her face heats up, he grins.
"Don't worry, Jane Foster, I will return in due time," he says. "I am not so cruel as to leave you wanting."
And then he's gone, vanished into thin air, leaving her hand to sail through the air where his face had been. Jane spins around ungracefully and falls on her ass from the velocity. With a cry that is in equal parts pain and anger, Jane grabs the closest thing to her, a pillow hanging halfway off the bed, and chucks it at the door.
"ASSHOLE!"
She can almost hear him laughing at her.
Day 20: Jane Foster
'Come on Eileen, oh I swear
At this moment, you mean everything!'
'With you in that dress, oh my thoughts I confess
Verge on dirty
Ah come on Eileen.'
"Time to get up, Ms. Foster, there's work to be done. Do not make us wait for you."
"Come on, Jane, get moving! If you don't hurry, you'll miss breakfast. And I swear, Hilda better not have taken all the coffee again, or I'm going to take that precious headband of hers and make her eat it!"
It's one of those mornings Jane spends lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and ignoring Jacobine's knocking until she finally gives up and leaves her be. The difference is that Jane is contending with some pretty heavy developments to her situation, the severity of which having only just hit her.
Loki is in the time loop with her. The same Loki who attacked her hometown, nearly killed her and her friends, and has destroyed New York City at least six times.
The same Loki she's slept with twice.
Jane throws aside the covers, literally, all the way across the room. She gets out of bed and is just aware enough of her surroundings to throw on a pair of pants before leaving. Her shoes are forgotten. If she gets stares from fellow scientists and researchers, walking around in casual clothes and barefoot, she cannot and does not notice.
She walks to the pantry next to the kitchen, which is empty now that breakfast has been cooked and distributed. No one is supposed to be in here for the next three hours. Jane opens every single cabinet and drawer with no luck until she reaches the very bottom one over to the far left. It is padlocked, but Jane had a cousin who taught her once how to pick locks. It's undone and on the floor in no time, and Jane quickly relieves the cabinet of half its contents.
She carries it in a cloth bag, which doesn't diminish how heavy her ill-gotten gains are. Jane slings it over her shoulder, dull to the pain it causes, and walks back to her room. On her way, she passes the library. It's really just a single wall lined with books and only one small shelf has any in English. Jane almost passes it by, but doubles back at the last second. She pulls a book at random from the English shelf and reads the title aloud.
"A comprehensive guide to Norse Mythology and its Important Figures…"
Jane glances up, looking blandly over the head of the sixty-something year old, balding scientist with a heavy text in his lap who is looking at her like she's lost her mind. He's not too far off.
Jane walks the rest of the way with a heavy bag on one arm and a book under the other, snickering to herself all the way.
Loki Laufeyson
If he's perfectly honest with himself, Loki isn't actually going to harm Jane Foster.
The fact that he absolutely would have 20 repeats ago is barely a gleam in his eye. Everything appealing about the idea had been dashed away by time. Sure, Thor would be angered and more willing to bend to him and his wishes if he knew his woman was under Loki's thumb, but none of the others would care enough about one person to give up the planet. Plus, he knows how to defeat them now. Jane Foster is all but a pointless addition to his dilemma whom he really should have just left to rot away.
The only reason he's coming back at all is because he is bored and she's fun to play with. If he can say anything in Jane Foster's favor, it's that she is tenacious. Outside of Asgard, he has never met a woman so unyielding, if only for appearance. He has no doubt that she feara him, whether or not she even knows it himself. Playing with her mind might be the only meager amusement he can get out of all this, but he won't hurt her, just push her as far as he can until she breaks. It's going to take a lot to break her.
He kills a little time taking the long way to her room, walking invisibly up and down the whitewashed halls of the observatory. Yesterday he invaded SHIELD Headquarters one more time and found their reports detailing Jane Foster's hiding place. Apparently this place is highly respected among the Midgardians, having had a hand in numerous discoveries and appearing in countless scientific journals. It's not that impressive to him. He looks around the place and spots several older gentlemen laughing at some inane joke one of them told. A pair of younger women, one tall with a painted face and the other short and squat, whisper to each other over poorly prepared meals. When he gets closer, it's something about an 'ex-boyfriend' and his 'performance issues.' Loki starts to look forward to seeing Jane Foster again after all that. She, at least, knows how to act professionally.
He opens the door to her room after magically unlocking it, and finds her lying on her back with her shirt riding up to her midriff. There are wine and beer bottles everywhere and she is holding a large, thick book directly over her head.
"It is said!" She shouts. "That Loki was the mo- most sexually insatiable of the Gods!"
She stops to laugh, which compounded by a series of hiccups.
"His many, many lovers… included men and women and horses and trees and rocks?!"
She lets the book fall and it hits the floor hard. The sound makes Loki wince, almost as much as the volume of Jane Foster's voice. He kicks a bottle that's rolled to his foot and walks inside. He shuts the door behind him, though he thinks he should leave it open and let anyone who dares to pass by see her in her disgrace.
She starts to pick herself up, hindered by her inebriated state. She manages little more than rising to her hands and feet. Anything else and she just rolls back over onto her back with a high-pitched whoop and a laugh. Loki eyes the littered bottles and counts them up. There are eleven of them, and hilariously, only two are missing any of their contents.
"You don't drink very often, do you?" he asks.
She looks up at him, or at least at the part of the wall she thinks is him.
"I'unno what you're talkin about. Hey how- how d'you have sex with a rock anyway?"
Loki can feel his head beginning to pound.
"I mean, I kinda understand trees 'cause I saw Evil Dead, but rocks? How's that work? Oh, and what wassit like giving birth to a horse? Did it hurt?"
She burst out laughing again, louder and more uncontrollable. She's going to swallow her tongue if she's not careful, and Loki would love to just leave her to it. He begrudgingly scoops her up into his arms, her shivering gradually fading away as she gazes up at him, grinning like an idiot.
"Mrs. Robinson, yer trying to seduce me, aren't you?"
She claps a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles and fails miserably at it. Loki has no idea how to respond to that or who this Robinson person is, so he does nothing but walk her to the bed.
"Hahaha- oh- oh man, I'm tired…"
"I can imagine," Loki mutters.
"Hey! Hey, Loki! You should intr- interduce me to yer children. I wanna meet them."
"I do not have any children, Jane Foster."
"Liar. I read it in a book, and books don't tell lies, unlike you."
He roughly drops her on the twisted sheets. She bounces a couple of times and she must be enjoying it because she squeals and laughs harder than ever.
"Oh are we doing that again?" she asks with heavily lidded eyes. If she's trying to be seductive, she should try wiping the spit of the side of her mouth first. And she should not get drunk.
"I am not trying to seduce you," he says firmly, and for some reason that makes her laugh harder. It's quickly becoming his least favorite thing about her, which is saying a lot.
"Ah come on," she says. She gets onto her side somehow with her arm tucked under her head and the other running slowly up and down her hip. "You know you want me!"
"Perhaps another time."
She scoffs, and it quickly descends into yet another laughing fit. "Seriously? You're trying 'a be a gentlemen? You?"
"Does that surprise you?" he wearily asks.
"Oh no, not at all," she says, dragging out the last word far longer than necessary. "I know you're way above that kind of thing. It's almost as bad as- I don't know- killing a bunch of people and then trying 'a take over the world! Oh, wait!"
She lets out one big guffaw and starts reaches for the overturned wine bottle a foot away from the bed. Half its contents are spilled out around it, staining the clean floor dark red. It's just out of her reach though, and she's not coherent enough at this point to just move over a little to get it. Loki places his foot atop the bottle, rolling it towards her. She grabs for it, slurring something that sounds like a thank you. Then he kicks it behind him and it slams against the door, losing most of its remaining contents along the way. Jane watches it go and then realizes what he's done. She attempts to glare at him, but she hasn't the energy and winds up face first on the pillow. She does manage to raise one hand with her middle finger up, for whatever reason.
Her strength fails her for the final time and the next thing Loki hears from her is soft snoring muffled by the pillow. Rolling his eyes, he gently rolls her over onto her back. He almost doesn't bother. It wasn't like she wouldn't be alive and well tomorrow. She might resent him for leaving her in this state, though, and much as he doesn't care about her feelings and hates to give her any credit, she had been right when she said they had to get along. If nothing else, he should stay on Jane Foster's good side until all this is over. Not that he really believed she could help him, but she was at least someone to talk to who would still know his face the next day.
Just so long as she stays sober.
Day 21: Loki Laufeyson
He's a little wary of going to her today and almost doesn't. Spending a day apart might have been good for her after her actions the night before, but then Loki remembers that he doesn't care.
He appears in her room with magic this time, and is for a moment tense, thinking that he will again be greeted with the sight of liquor bottles and an intoxicated woman trying to solicit him. The floor is clean and Jane Foster is sitting on her bed when he arrives, reading a book. She looks up at him, without a hint of anything resembling shock at his sudden appearance.
"Good morning," he says pleasantly. "Did we learn anything interesting last night about our condition?"
Jane moves her head from side to side, lips pursed. "The good news is that there are no hangovers."
"Splendid," says Loki.
"The bad news is that you still remember every single thing that happened," she mutters.
Loki grins evilly. "Intriguing."
"Yesterday never happened."
"Whatever you say."
She sighs deeply and goes back to her book, flipping the pages too fast to be reading them. Loki doesn't sit this time, but just stands off in the corner watching her. Occasionally, she glances up at him, as if wondering what he's even doing here. He's starting to wonder himself.
"Before we agree to purge yesterday from our collective memories," he speaks up, and gives the tiniest smile at her obvious irritation. "May I ask what drove you to it?"
"Why? Thinking it was about you?"
"I doubt that," Loki answers, inwardly sniffing at the thought. "I'm more suspicious of another, actually. Perhaps someone you've been pining for. Someone we are both familiar with."
She laughs, cold and hollow and so unlike how she was yesterday. He isn't sure he likes it.
"So that's what you think of me," she says venomously, but only just. "Well then, you'll be happy to know that you're right, at least party."
The smile that had been forming at her admittance falls. He covers himself with a cool hum and starts looking around her room. He did this two repeats ago and finds about as much interesting now as he did then. That being nothing at all.
"Partly," he says like it's an afterthought.
"Surprised?" she asks. "The truth is, I was never in love with Thor. I didn't know him well enough. I liked him, sure, I liked him a lot, but there is way more to love than that and we never got that far. We never will now."
"Well, you don't know that," he says while messing with her papers. She doesn't even try to stop him.
"Of course I do, Loki," she answers with exasperation. "After everything you and I have done, there's no way Thor and I can ever be together, even if we wanted to. You're his brother and I slept with you twice, if that's not the final nail in the coffin, I don't know what is."
"I'm not," Loki says automatically. It clearly doesn't make sense to Jane as a response, and so she must have already forgotten that she just called him Thor's brother.
He badly wants to correct her, and use very convincing methods to make sure she never says it again. The thought of his true form alone makes him retch, and it's only because of that that Jane Foster is spared with nothing but a sneer and a few choice words.
"Alright, fine," she says under her breath. "Anyway, yesterday was just a kind of catharsis for me. I needed to let some things out so I can move on and not worry about Thor anymore. I was actually reading some stories about him before you got here."
"No doubt they made for a good read," Loki says, although really he stopped caring about what she was saying as soon as she brought up those fairy tales.
"Some of them," she answers, and from the sound of her voice and the rustling of sheets, she has laid down on her bed. When he looks, she is fully clothed, nothing of interest there. "I liked the one about the elves stealing mjolnir and you and Thor having to dress up as women to get it back."
"Oh yes, amusing," he says smoothly. "Shame for your kind that it never happened."
"Whaaat?" she says with an exaggerated moan. "Don't tell me that, it was my favorite!"
"I'm afraid so. Even if the elves were worthy of wielding mjolnir, they'd have a terrible time getting it away from Thor with their limbs still attached to their bodies. Perhaps it is only me who thinks it would make a much more interesting story."
"Definitely," Jane Foster says. She sits up fully now and looks to be all business in her posture. "So, about what we talked about the other day, should I take your being here now as a sign that you'll work with me?"
Loki puckers his lips, glancing upwards to make it look like he was thinking it over. He does this until Jane grows impatient and makes it known with a little cough.
"I suppose," he says to appease her. "It's not like your continued involvement can cause any further trouble."
If she wants to argue with him, she doesn't. She seems determined to stand by her stance of peace, even if he isn't.
"And we promise to be civil to each other," she goes on forcefully. "And not belittle each other in any way."
"I will do my very best," he answers, smiling.
"Fine," she says tightly. "Good enough for now."
She holds out her hand, and Loki's been on Midgard long enough to know what she wants. He takes it, and her hand is positively tiny when wrapped in his. He is gentle, so not to hurt her. She wouldn't let him within ten feet of her if she knew how badly he could break it with just a little bit of pressure. When they let go, nothing is at ease between them. She's erected a wall over herself, to protect her from what he might do or say to rattle her. It won't do any good, of course, but let her hold on to her illusions. He wouldn't mind, so long as she remained interesting to him. Foolish as these Midgardians in general were, Jane Foster was at least more intelligent and challenging than the majority.
Yes, she will do for now.
"Okay," she says next, getting to her feet and bypassing him. "There's one more thing I wanted to discuss with you, but first I need the bathroom. Wait here."
She shuts and locks the bathroom door behind her, and Loki hears her moving around inside. His attention is diverted, however, when there comes a sharp knocking at Jane Foster's front door, and an angry voice calls out her name.
Jane Foster
"Jane Foster, open this door at once!"
As soon as Jane hears it, she freezes.
Dr Ahlberg's knocks become pounds, bashing her door so hard it's amazing she doesn't break it in two. All the while, she kept shouting Jane's name and demanding entry. So far, Loki hadn't done anything about it. Nothing she could hear, anyway. If she's lucky (which she isn't) he would have poofed away already back to his secret lair or wherever he spends his time when he isn't with her. Jane herself really should have gone out there by now to let the good doctor know that she's alright and not to worry about her. If she wasn't in the middle of her business, she would have. Growing frustrated, she digs her fingernails into her scalp.
"Oh god, what is she doing here?" she grinds out. "I told Jacobine I wanted to be alone, that always works! Come on, think Jane, what else did you say?"
She racks through her memories of this morning. After she woke up with noticeable lack of hangover symptoms and finished cursing herself out for what she'd done, Jacobine came banging on the door just like this, and Jane had said:
'Go on without me Jacobine, I'm not feeling well today. I'm just going to rest.'
It sounds solid enough in her head, until one key detail sticks out at her.
"I said I didn't feel well," Jane whispers. "But I didn't specify. I always say something like a headache or a stomachache, but today I just said I didn't feel well. She must have thought something was really wrong and told Dr. Ahlberg."
She scrunches over, hands over her head so no one can hear her cry of anger.
"I can't believe this, I'm so stupid. Stupid. Stupid!"
She berates herself until she can finally get up and races to buckle her pants and open the door. She has it half an inch open and looks out… to see that Loki is gone and an exact clone of her is opening the door.
Dr. Ahlberg is in mid-knock and lowers her hand slowly when she sees the other Jane.
"Oh," she says stiffly. "You are here. I was beginning to wonder…"
"Good afternoon, Doctor. May I help you with something?" the doppel says.
Jane can barely contain her confusion and horror as the doppel smiles politely and invites her boss in. Dr. Ahlberg enters the room with perfect poise, despite the general clutter of the area and the few bits of loose clothing lying around. She seems not to care about anything but the other Jane. Jane stares open mouthed at her through the tiny crack in the door. She covers her mouth. It's so quiet in here, even a stray breath can give her away. Dr. Ahlberg turns away for just a moment, and the doppel looks her way, making Jane's insides twist. A blue flash crosses her brown eyes and the doppel gives a very familiar smile that's somehow even more chilling on Jane's face.
'Loki, what the hell are you doing?'
If he can read her thoughts (and she cannot be certain that he can't), he has no visible reaction to her words.
"Dr. Aakare told me that you were unwell," Dr. Ahlberg says. "That she came to wake you this morning for breakfast and you claimed you were sick."
She looks accusingly at 'Jane,' but for all she could make the real Jane uncomfortable, she stands not a chance against Loki.
"Just a head cold, I assure you," he says. His crisp tone mixed with her voice is the most disorienting thing Jane has ever heard.
"Is that all?" Dr. Ahlberg asks lightly.
"I hope you are not angry with me, Doctor," Loki says. "I never intended to be a burden, I just didn't feel that in my current state, I was well enough to work to my fullest ability."
"Well, isn't that nice," Dr. Ahlberg says. She closes in on Loki, taller than him in his current form. That is extremely annoying. "Please don't forget that this is a place of study and experimentation, not luxury. We work to earn our keep here."
"I understand," Loki says. "And so you'll be happy to know that I am much better now. I'll be back to work by tomorrow."
Dr. Ahlberg observes the fake Jane, while the real one bites her nails and prays to a God that isn't this one that she'll just leave now. Please, please, please please-
"See to it that you are, Ms. Foster."
Jane could've cried in relief, but her hand is still tight over her mouth, so she settles for a long exhale through her nose and a very small fist pump. Dr. Ahlberg turns on a heel and starts for the door while Loki watches her go. Just another couple of seconds and she'll be gone, and this will be nothing more than a funny little memory, so long as Loki does nothing else to stir the pot.
"I'm rather perplexed that you would come all the way here just to scold me, Doctor. It makes me wonder if perhaps you don't like me."
Like that.
Jane scratches her nails down the wooden door frame, leaving deep imprints and nearly taking the nails clean off her fingers. It's the only way she can hold back the scream lodged in her throat as Dr. Ahlberg stills. Her hand slides down to her side limply, and it's a long time before she turns back around. When she does, even in her fury, Jane is given pause. The look on Dr. Ahlberg's face is unlike any she's seen before. The harshness, the intensity of it, since when was Dr. Ahlberg even capable of those emotions? And towards her?
She walks back to the other Jane, right up to 'her' and staring down at an unaffected face.
"I loathe you."
She's gone almost immediately after saying it, the door swinging loosely behind her. Jane weakly steps out, her doppel not sparing her a glance before being engulfed in a bright green light and morphing back into Loki.
"Don't ever do that again," Jane snaps at him.
"You're welcome," he answers snidely. "I wonder what you did to that woman to earn such animosity. You must be more of a hellion than you look."
She raises an eyebrow at him. "Would that bother you?"
"Not at all. In fact, I think I like you more now."
Jane shakes her head, but lets it drop. Taking this any further is just going to end in another fight and another day's delay that they really can't afford at the moment. She approaches her bed, ostensibly to sit down and rest after all that excitement, but all she does is stand in front of it.
"About that other thing I wanted to discuss," she says.
"Mmm-hmm…"
His disinterest is bothersome, but Jane doesn't let it get to her. He's definitely going to pay attention to her in another couple of seconds. She's just surprised that she's not nearly as nervous as she thought she would be.
"I think we should keep doing… what we've been doing," she says, and when he doesn't react, she adds: "In the bedroom."
His eyes just about pop out of his head.
"Are you serious?"
Jane bites her lips, steeling herself. "Why not? It's not like it means anything, it's just… you know, so we don't go crazy. We have some form of release."
Then she closes her eyes because that's a bad choice of words. She can hear his dark little chuckle that makes her skin crawl, but also excites her. The fact that it goes from several feet away to right in her ear within seconds is bad enough without her taking far too long to react to it. She jumps and his arms are already around her.
"Well, if that's what you wish," he says, and oh God that voice. She just knows he's going to use it every single time.
"I didn't mean right now," she gasps, as he presses a kiss to her ear lobe and starts down to her neck.
"You wish to stop then?"
He runs a finger along the lines of her jeans and that's it for her. She somehow gets him to face her and jumps as high as she can to reach his mouth. She just misses and gets his neck, but he's not complaining. They get to the bed and another handy spell does away with their clothes before Jane can open her mouth to demand it.
And though neither of them says anything throughout the act, their eyes linger on the door.
