(Author's Note: This chapter is kind of slow, but it's also kind of short, so yeah. But, it leads to more interesting things in the next chapter. I love this chapter though because there's lots of Loki (and Tony). :) And Odin is still set in his decisions...)

Chapter 9

"She is alive," said Heimdall, and Thor let out a sigh of relief. Heimdall could see every soul in all the nine realms, and Thor had anxiously been waiting to hear if Emmeline would survive and if Loki would get there in time. He had, and Thor was relieved and happy.

"Loki plans to bring her back here for recuperation," said Heimdall.

"Heimdall, you must let them back in," said Thor, pleadingly. "I'll talk with father first, but even if he refuses…"

"I will think about it then," said Heimdall, looking over at Thor and then back at the rainbow constellations.

That evening, Thor prepared himself to go talk to Odin. His father just didn't seem to understand that what Loki was doing wasn't for his taking of the throne. His actions right now were purely for the woman he loved. Thor of all people could understand that. It made him think of Jane. He missed her terribly, but he put off going to see her. He wanted to, but honestly Thor was afraid. She would be angry at him for leaving for so long and with everything that was going on in Asgard it would be like he was hanging her by a string. He was conflicted with his two loves: Jane and Asgard.

That evening, Thor walked into the throne room and kneeled at his father's throne.

"Father," he said. "I have an urgent matter to discuss with you."

"I'm listening," Odin replied, his booming voice echoing through the golden walls of the throne room.

"Father I ask you—I beg of you—to let Loki and Emmeline back into Asgard. Emmeline has been saved and needs recuperation. Loki has not been a recent threat either, he just wants her safe."

"This is not about Loki. She does not belong here, she is a mortal. She is dangerous."

"But if now she can control her powers she will not burn anything and she is not a threat."

"One word from Loki and she could burn up our whole palace."

"Bu—"

"—No more. You know your brother Thor, and he and the woman together would mean chaos for Asgard. Loki will be brought back to aid you in the war; but the mortal must be left in Midgard." Odin looked at Thor with an expression that finalized his decision. Thor knew he could say nothing to change his mind.

"Yes father," he said, standing up and walking out of the throne room.


After some consideration, Loki and Emmeline both decided that she would best be recuperated in Midgard, or 'Earth', as she called it. Asgardian food was unfamiliar and not very nourishing to her, and she was a mortal. Asgardian doctors knew little about mortal care. So Loki took Emmeline to his house in Moscow, planning to bring her back with him to Asgard when she was well.

When Fury's small ship brought them to the house, Loki picked Emmeline up and carried her into the house and into a bed.

"You're so strong," she said. Loki smiled shyly.

"Meager compared to Thor."

"Don't compare yourself to Thor," reprimanded Emmeline. As Loki set her down on the bed she put her hands on his face and looked at him affectionately. He smiled back at her. After he set her down he turned to a drawer and pulled out a large shirt for her to sleep in. He handed it to her and stood back and looked at her with a concerned, almost pained expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Emmeline asked.

"You just…you look awful. You are a beautiful creature, but what I mean is that you look like a corpse; gauntly and sick. As you should, given the circumstances, but it just bothers me. To think I almost lost you." He sat on the bed with her and put his hand on her leg. Emmeline entangled her fingers with his.

"Don't think about it; that's over now. I'll get better with time. I promise." Emmeline patted the bed next to her.

"Lay down here with me," she said. Loki did as she asked. Emmeline turned on her side to him and put her hands on his face. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. Physically. I couldn't touch you and I could only see you through a thick glass wall."

"I feel the same," said Loki. He pressed his forehead to hers and felt her shudder a little when he breathed on her.

"Do I make you nervous?" he asked.

"No, you're just…" Emmeline sighed. "Hot." Loki smiled and put his hand inside Emmeline's shirt, pressing his fingers into her back as he pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Loki lied his head down and used his magic to put more comfortable clothes on without disturbing Emmeline. He shut his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

The next morning Loki woke up alone. He looked around, thinking maybe Emmeline had fallen off the bed or gotten up to go to the bathroom, but he didn't see her. That scared him. She wasn't well; what if she had gotten sick? Loki got up and used his magic to put his regular Asgardian clothing on and exited the bedroom to look for Emmeline.

As Loki looked through the halls he got nervous. He didn't see her. It wasn't until he went to kitchen that he saw her standing at the counter, looking through the cabinets. Loki let out a sigh of relief and immediately put his arms around her.

"Don't do that!" he said.

"What? I just wanted to get up and get some breakfast," said Emmeline.

"You're not well; I thought something had happened to you," said Loki. "You need to stay in bed and get your strength back." Emmeline smiled and faced him, putting her hands on his face.

"Okay…" she said. "Why don't you help me?" She kissed him and sat on the counter, wrapping her legs around him. Loki smiled as he kissed her.

"I thought you wanted breakfast," he said.

"Mm…later…I missed you," Emmeline replied, intoxicating him with her kiss again. Loki put his hands on her back and pulled her closer. They knocked over the cereal as Loki pushed Emmeline down to where she was lying on the counter. She sat up, still kissing Loki, and drove him into the refrigerator. He groaned when his back hit the door and Emmeline roughly ran her hands through his hair. Loki let out a sigh and stopped kissing her for a moment, breathing heavily.

"No," he said. "I'm not going to bed you until you are well."

"Loki we're alone, this is a limited time opportunity," Emmeline replied.

"You're sick Emmeline, it's dangerous. Now eat your breakfast and rest." Emmeline let out a quick sigh.

"Alright, but if that's the rule, you have to quit looking so hot."

"You're wearing an oversized shirt and no pants. What do you think that does to me?" Loki said with a smile.


"Are you insane?" said Natasha Romanoff to Nick Fury. "If Emmeline finds out, she's going to kill me. We can't do that to her."

"We're not doing it to her, we just have to keep an eye on Loki when he is here on Earth," Fury replied calmly.

"But we can't just plant a camera in their home! That's against civil rights!"

"Loki is not a citizen; he doesn't get civil rights. For all we know, he could be tricking Emmeline into thinking he loves her and using her to take over the world. You know how powerful she is." In the middle of their argument, Tony Stark walked in, overhearing Fury's last statement.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think I have to side with Romanoff. I was in there when Loki saved Emmeline. At first he froze her and he thought she was dead. He leaned on her and cried. I'm not joking. He cried."

"He's a trickster. And even if he does love her, that isn't going to change his plans. We need to keep an eye on him. This is the last time I will say it. Romanoff: plant the camera in all rooms of the house. Stark: you're on Loki duty."

"What? I just walked in here to give my two cents!" said Stark.

"Well now you're giving three cents," said Fury with a cold stare before he exited the room. Agent Romanoff sighed.

"We have to do what he says," she said.

"I know," Tony said with a groan.

That night, Natasha stealthily snuck into Loki's Earth house. She assumed they were both asleep, but just in case, she was careful not to make a sound. With her catlike swiftness, she carefully placed a hidden surveillance camera in each room without waking them. When the only room left was the bedroom, Natasha looked in first to affirm that they were asleep. They were. To some sort of surprise, she noticed that Loki and Emmeline slept next to each other with almost no space in between them. It almost bothered Natasha to see Loki so vulnerable; she was used to his cunning tone and killer demeanor. Now he was silent and cuddling with the woman he loved. Natasha made a disgusted face to herself and snuck into the room.

She placed the camera in the corner where they wouldn't be able to see it, and while she was positioning it, she heard Loki stir. Natasha froze and looked back at Loki. He was still asleep, but had a pained expression on his face as he moved his head to the side, his face in Emmeline's hair. Natasha finished positioning the camera and slowly left the room. When she got into the hall, she sprinted out of the house and used her headset to summon one of Fury's ships to get back to S.H.I.E.L.D.


Tony sat at a desk in the surveillance room of S.H.I.E.L.D. He was not happy with his new job. He was Iron Man, he was supposed to fight bad guys and build awesome stuff like Stark tower. Not sit around and watch demigods eat breakfast. Tony didn't know why Fury thought this was necessary.

"If anything happens, report to Agent Coulson," Fury had said. What was supposed to happen? But those were his orders, so he sat and watched Loki and Emmeline. It was six o'clock in the morning and they were still asleep. Tony turned to the man next to him, who was watching the other rooms of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Is this what you do all day?" he asked.

"Yep," the man replied. Tony sighed. He needed to have a talk with Fury.

But suddenly, something actually happened. In an instant, Emmeline shot a ball of fire out of her hands onto Loki in her sleep, pushing him off the bed.

"Ow, shit!" he yelled. The blow had woken him up. "Emmeline, what the Hell?!" Emmeline woke up with a gasp and closed her palms. She looked over the other side of the bed to see Loki writhing in pain with his hands over his chest. Tony watched closely, making sure Loki wasn't going to retaliate.

"I'm sorry, did I do that?" said Emmeline. "I had a dream." Loki started hyperventilating and sweating. He swallowed.

"That's alright," he managed to say. He cringed, his hand on his chest.

"Here, let me fix it," said Emmeline. She placed her hands on Loki's chest and Tony supposed she used her ice powers to cool it. It was kind of odd to Tony, seeing Loki in a home setting; shirtless and acting like a normal person. He was acting like he loved her. But Tony didn't doubt that.

After Emmeline had cooled Loki's chest, she smiled at him.

"Sorry," she said. "I guess I'm kind of dangerous when I'm asleep."

"Your danger is what I love about you," Loki replied, surprising Tony again. Emmeline giggled and put her arms around Loki. "I want you to eat," he said.

"I'm not hungry though," she replied, her head on his chest.

"You're still terribly skinny," Loki said with concern.

"It'll take a little while before I gain my weight back; I can't just overeat and make myself sick."

"All I am is worried about you," Loki said, kissing the top of her head.

Wow, Tony thought. He really loves her.

"How are things in Asgard?" Emmeline asked him, Loki stroking her hair as she lied on him.

"The Chitauri are coming, Odin is looking for more ways to put me in chains…"

"Oh. Well, you're here now. You don't have to worry about that."

"Midgard is nice for relaxation," Loki replied. "But they will send for me soon, I'm sure."

"They, as in…Odin?"

"Yes."

Who is Odin? Thought Tony, as he watched Loki stand up, lifting Emmeline up with him. Loki set her down on the bed, and a green glow came from him as his regular outer-space clothing appeared on him.

"I wish I could get dressed that easily," Emmeline said. Loki smiled.

"You don't need to get dressed today," he said. "Stay here, and I am going to get you something to eat." Emmeline gave Loki a pained expression with a smile.

"Ugh, Loki I'm not hungry! Why do you keep pushing me to eat? I can't eat if I'm not hungry." She pulled him down to her and kissed his neck playfully.

"Ew," Tony said to himself. He did not understand Emmeline's feelings for Loki at all.

Loki smiled and flinched a little, chuckling.

"You're biting me," he said.

"Oh God. You guys are worse than Romeo and Juliet," said Tony, again to himself.

Emmeline wrapped her legs around Loki and kissed him, running her hands roughly through his hair.

"Oh, alright," Loki said, climbing into the bed with her. She kissed him some more and he held himself up over her. Tony was beginning to get disturbed.

"Okay, I'm getting Fury," he said to the man next to him. "They're making out and I can't watch this anymore."

But right before Tony got up, he saw something strange in the cameras. A glowing beam came from the ceiling and wrapped itself around Loki. He let go of Emmeline and looked up.

"Damn," he said. "The bifrost."

"Oh no, are you going away?" said Emmeline. The beam was pulling Loki away from her, upward.

"Not without you," Loki replied, reaching out for Emmeline and picking her up by her waist. He barely got her before the beam surged with energy and retracted, disappearing with Loki and Emmeline.

Tony sat in shock of what just happened.

"Are they gone?" said the man next to Tony, who had been watching as well.

"Yeah," Tony replied. He stood up and started for the office of Nick Fury.