Loki and Steve awake the following morning as the sun fills Loki's room with bright light. It is early. Steve is spooning Loki and they are both still very naked. Loki feels disgusting. Her body is covered in dried sweat and there is stickiness between her legs that is very unpleasant. She needs a bath. Now. She goes to move but feels a strong arm around her waist pull her closer. She also feels Steve's morning glory rubbing against her backside. She rolls over to face him.

"Good morning Captain." She purrs. Her cat-like green eyes watch as his lids open and his pupils slowly focus on her. She watches the emotions play across his face. First confusion, then lust, and then shame. Oh yes, guilt is being served for breakfast this morning.

"Before you start stuttering your apologies, you should know that I enjoyed myself immensely last night."

"How can you not hate me? I wanted to hurt you, I-I violated you."

"You did nothing of the sort. Everything you did was only possible because I allowed it. The real question is what put you in such a state in the first place? You had many reasons to do what you did, so which one was the last straw for you?" Loki asks with curiosity.

A look of horror and embarrassment sweeps over his face again, making Loki even more eager to hear the reason. It must be a naughty one. For a moment Steve looks as though he will not tell her, so it surprises Loki when he confesses, "I dreamed about you last night." Then the silence returns.

"Go on."

"I dreamed I was in a church and it was full of people. It was our wedding day." He mumbles. Loki watches him intently and smiles at him reassuringly. "I couldn't see your face as you were coming down the aisle because of this big vail you were wearing. When I pulled it back you looked like you… as a man, and you were wearing that big helmet of yours. But you were still wearing the wedding dress. And then you said…..and then you told me to fuck you, and I did, on the altar, in the church in front of everyone."

"Are you attracted to my male form Steven?" Loki asks. Steve turns the deepest shade of magenta and Loki knows the answer is a resounding yes. He casts his eyes away from hers. "It's alright Steven. There is nothing wrong with you. I imagine someone as traditional as you does not want others to know your secret appetites. No one ever has to know. What we do in here is private and no one else's business."

"The spell, did we ruin it?"

"No. In fact I think we have a much better chance of success now that we have bonded in that way. Purity is desired but not required. What is required for the spell to work…is love. There are things about me Steven that not even Thor knows. I have secrets upon secrets, and I am willing to share them with you if you keep my confidence, as I am willing to keep yours. This spell will fail and the land will remain rotten and dead if we do not find a way to let each other in. I want you to imagine a life Steven where I am a woman in public and a man in your bed, or a woman still, you seem to enjoy this arrangement of flesh with a great deal of vigor."

"Can you…can you turn back into a man….now?"

"You ARE an eager one aren't you? You had your first taste last night and now you're insatiable." Loki teases him. She can't help it. "I would darling but it would require a great deal of energy that I need to conserve right now. Once I become with child I will not be able to shift back to my male form until after the baby is born. You have a long wait ahead of you before you'll be able to enjoy my body in the manner you truly desire."

Steve swallows hard. He feels broken inside. Men having sex with other men did not happen in his day. It's not that he doesn't like girls. He does, very much. But there have been times that he has also looked upon other men and felt a desire to touch them. He thought it was just envy. Sex was never discussed openly as it is now. He feels broken and wrong. Moreover he is disgusted with himself for attacking Loki and treating her with such….violence. Whether she allowed it or not, Steven cannot reconcile that he committed such aggressive and immoral behavior, or that he possesses such unholy sexual desires. Good men don't behave the way he did. It was sinful and criminal. And yet, Loki does not judge him, or scorn him, or admonish his behavior. He's never been able to let down his guard like this with anyone before.

Loki sees the wheels turning in Steve's mind, but she also feels the stink on her body and decides it is time to stop talking and get up. "Come and shower with me." She says. They go into the adjoining bathroom and turn on the shower. As the steam billows out of the stall Steve touches Loki's arm to get her attention.

"I'm sorry I tried to hurt you. I know you said you allowed it, but under different circumstances what I did would have been….it would have been rape."

"Under different circumstances you would not have done it all. Everyone has their breaking point Steven." Loki says as she hops into the shower. Steve joins her. As he looks at the water cascading down her back he thinks about the attack on the city last year and all the damage Loki has caused to Earth, to Thor, to other people and places. He begins to wonder, what was Loki's breaking point?

XxXxXxXx

Natasha, Pepper, Jane, and Maria awake to their first day of fasting. They'd all had a kind of slumber party in Pepper and Tony's room the night before. Tony and Pepper's bed is very large and all four of the slender ladies were able to fit in it with no problem. They are all lounging around watching My Little Pony Cartoons.

"Do you think they have unicorns in Asgard?" Pepper asks.

"No but I bet they have bacon and eggs, and coffee in Asgard." Maria says.

"No talking about food! That's the rule. It's day one of our fast and we can't cave to food dreaming this early." Jane says. Natasha smiles. She remembers what it feels like to starve. Her childhood had been a harsh one. She remembers the hunger pains of her youth and knows the next three days will be miserable.

"I bet they have Pegasus'." Natasha says.

"We should ask Thor, when we are no longer grounded." Jane says.

"We are grounded aren't we? Like little girls that did something bad and sent to bed without supper." Pepper says.

"I want to know what kind of powers Loki is going to give us for all this suffering." Natasha says. Loki made it clear to everyone last night that under no circumstances is anyone of the male gender to enter the room, nor are any of the four ladies to leave the room. There is a magic ward upon the room to ensure everyone's compliance. For the next three days they are essentially prisoners.

"Do we get to keep them when the ceremony is over?" Maria asks.

"I don't know. Loki wasn't clear on that particular point." Pepper says. "I mean, I got the vibe that it is going to be permanent, but I'm not sure."

"What do you guys think about Loki and Steve….you know?" Maria says.

"I know Loki looks like a girl right now, but all I can picture is Steve fucking Loki while he is wearing that ridiculous horn helmet, as a guy." Jane says.

"And we get to watch." Pepper says with a naughty smirk on her face.

"You know you are a bigger deviant that most people are aware of." Natasha says to her.

"Don't tell Tony. He's got enough deviancies for the both of us."

"Steve is a hot guy, but he's…I don't know….a brother type. I feel weird knowing that I'm going to watch him have sex." Jane says.

"-with Loki. Is odd to any of you that Loki has taken to being a girl really easily?" Maria says.

"Yeah it is, and the fact that he is okay with Steve getting him pregnant too. I'm surprised Steve agreed to do this." Pepper says.

"Considering what's at stake, I'm not. He and Loki both are putting aside their differences to fix this situation. I still don't understand Loki's motivations and I'm still suspicious, but unfortunately we don't have an alternative." Natasha says.

"Don't forget, Steve also gets to see us naked too." Says Pepper.

"I want a cup of coffee."

XxXxXxXxXx

Loki spends the day meditating and gathering her energies, while the ladies quietly starve, and the men search for the scepter. Evening comes all too quickly and the men (+ Loki) gather for a small dinner. Mexican is ordered in. They'd found more Hydra safe houses and apprehended a several more agents but did not find the scepter. Time is running out. The general public is beginning to panic as news coverage of 'The Ring of Death' grows along with its size.

After dinner most everyone goes into the living room to watch television and get drunk. Clint, Tony, and Thor are sharing hushed whispers in the living room, and occasionally looking at Steve and Loki who are lounging together on the couch. It irks him to no end that his friends are gossiping about him and he decides to get up and confront them.

"Is there something you guys want to say to me or ask me?" Steve says. Tony and Clint both quirk eyebrows at each other as they take deep gulps of their alcoholic beverages. It is left to Thor to say whatever is on their minds.

"How is Loki treating you Steven? Are you well?" Thor asks. Surprised by his concern, Steve takes a moment to respond.

"I'm fine….just…fine. Why do you ask?

"It's just, a year ago we were kicking his ass and now you too are looking very….cozy….over there." Clint says.

"Look, I know I don't need to tell you that the circumstances of this situation are odd. Loki and I have to do something very intimate in a very public place and I am coping as best I can." Steve says

"Last night didn't look like coping." Tony says. Steve's blood freezes in his veins. Clint's room is right next to Loki's and Tony crashed with Clint last night. They probably heard everything, or nearly everything. Tony is not smiling or teasing in his demeanor, he actually looks rather serious. And that's when it hits Steve, Tony said 'look' like coping.

"Tell me you didn't….tell me you didn't spy on me last night." Steve says feeling utterly betrayed.

"Jarvis alerted me that there was a disturbance in Loki's room. Now I know you guys know that with Jarvis, surveillance is possible in every room of the tower. With Loki here I took some extra precautions and activated the video feed in her room. I didn't expect to see….well…you looked really angry. I've seen you get angry before Steve but last night you….wow man that was really dark. Are you okay?"

Steve is so angry he is trembling. He doesn't answer Tony. He can't. He turns on his heel and marches to his room, and slams the door shut.