A/N: yes, I know, bad Loki! Pushing Leigh away like that after they'd just shared something so… um… "beautiful." But there is a reason and hopefully it'll be explained soon. Sometimes Muse tosses me a curveball and I have to try and deal with it, well, God of Mischief & Lies…I was afraid we'd painted ourselves into a corner, but I think I've figured it out. So here's the next chapter :) Also, thank you to all those have follow/favourite and review! You guys make Muse happy and happy Muse likes to write


Her back was vibrating; that was Leigh's first thought as she was shaken back to consciousness. She didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but it was obvious that she'd slumped next to her door and someone was pounding on the door.

"Leigh, you open this door or I'm telling Rogers to bust it down!" Stark's voice made her jerk up and slowly crawl away from the door.

"Open it yourself, it's unlocked." She hollered back and slowly dragged herself to one of the forest green plush chairs in the room.

Leigh's legs were protesting their sleeping arrangement by tingling almost painfully with pins and needles as she curled up on the chair, laying her head on the arm rest.

"Jarvis, I'm cold, can you turn the fireplace on please." She mumbled just loud enough for the AI to hear.

"Certainly Miss Harris."

Leigh thanked the AI as she heard the door open and two pairs of feet walking towards her. She kept her eyes on the now flickering flames in the gas fireplace a few feet away, hoping they'd see she was alive and leave. She wasn't going to be that lucky.

"Alright, what's wrong?" Tony stood in front of her and had his hands on his hips. "Come on kiddo, talk to me."

"I'm an idiot." She whispered, tears pricking her eyes again.

"You are not; you're one of the smartest people I know." Steve knelt down and looked her in the eyes.

"But I am." She sniffed and sighed, "I told Loki I love him."

Both men looked completely stunned. They looked to each other and then back at their friend.

"Well, do you?" Steve's voice was soft.

"Yes." The sobs started and Steve pulled her out of the chair and into his arms before sitting in the chair again, "he seemed so shocked, maybe even a bit happy, but then…then he got this insane look in his eyes and said just…just horrible things."

"What did he say?" Stark was angry.

"He…he said that I might love his mortal form, but would I still want him, love him if he came to me as a Jötun." Leigh shivered in Steve's arms, "That he would kiss me now because he has need of me, but when he becomes a god again that he thinks my opinion of him will change."

"You kissed him?" Steve seemed more shocked than angry.

"Twice." She buried her face in his neck and broke down.

~A~A~A~A~A~A~A~A~

Loki had been given quarters of his own the night before, once Banner had finished helping the man change and putting the air casts on. It was extremely awkward to walk without assistance so he lay in bed and tried to entertain himself with what the Midgardians called "television".

The door to his room slammed open so suddenly and with such force that Loki actually jumped. A very angry Tony Stark strode into the room and in a feat that shocked Loki for a second time, picked him off the bed and slammed him into the wall. Loki's recently repaired ribs protested the rough treatment, but going by the look in Stark's eyes, the Man of Iron probably wouldn't care.

"You're a complete asshole you know that right?" Stark growled at him, "That woman saved your stupid, lying ass when most of us would have let you rot in whatever festering hole we found you in. But she is so caring, so loving, that her friendship with your brother made it impossible for her not to help him. When she saw you in that room, she saw herself, saw the way her father beat her and then finally used her body for his own pleasure because he was drunk and a sick fuck." Tony's breath was hot against his face and Loki felt himself growing pale at the mortal's words, "She put you back together physically because it broke her heart to see you like that, you, the man that killed her friend and too many other people to name." Stark was only inches from his face, "She opened herself to you, exposed her past, opened her old wounds to help you and when she's at her most vulnerable, that's when you decide to kick at her? You make me sick and if it wouldn't kill her and destroy the Avengers I'd ship you back to Fury and let him beat you to within an inch of your life for hurting her."

Stark released him so suddenly that he fell to his knees; Loki stayed on the floor, not sure what Stark would do if he stood, but also not sure that he would be able to stand properly with both casts and he would be damned if he showed any weakness to Stark.

"I am a god." Loki sneered up at Stark, "what should it matter to me how a mortal feels?"

The blow across his cheek stunned Loki, as did the fact that it really hurt.

"You're mortal right now Reindeer Games, you'd do well to remember that." Stark started to walk towards the door but then paused, "Just so you know, Rogers and I are the only ones that know what actually happened between you and Leigh, I hope your brother doesn't ever find out."

Tony left Loki's room still trembling with rage; he couldn't believe he'd actually been able to pick the god up and slam him against the wall, let alone hold him there while he read him the riot act. He was shaking as he walked into the living room and poured himself a drink. He wished Pepper were here, she'd be able to help Leigh, but she was in London, working with the architect on the plans for the ARC reactor there. He walked to his window and looked out over the Manhattan skyline, the repairs were going along well but he was still unhappy.

"She fell asleep again." Rogers' voice as soft as he walked up next to Tony, "I could kill him."

"I know, but it would hurt her and Thor." Tony sighed, "I know he can be an arrogant prick, but he'd really seemed different around Leigh."

"Yeah," Steve nodded in agreement, "I wonder what changed?"

"Maybe it's that he's healing, he doesn't need her anymore." Tony shook his head, "He is the god of mischief and lies after all. In Norse myth Loki was known as a trickster god, he could have been playing us all from day one."

"Maybe, but why wait until she confesses her feelings?"

"It's Loki's MO, he hit us all where we lived a few months ago, why not do the same thing to her?" Tony shook his head again, "Something doesn't make sense."

~A~A~A~A~A~A~

Leigh opened her eyes and sighed, she was tucked into bed so Steve must have put her there. She couldn't believe that she'd cried herself asleep again. She hadn't been this emotional in a long time. She got out of bed and walked to her window. She saw a few construction crews fixing building around the city and smiled, happy that her adoptive city was getting the attention it needed. She was still standing at the window when there was a soft knock at her door.

"Come in Bruce." She called while not moving from the window.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked, walking to stand beside her.

"Only you and Pepper knock that softly and she's still in London until next week." she said, not looking at him.

"You okay?"

"Not really, but I think I will be eventually." Leigh sighed heavily, "I let myself get too attached to him Bruce; I should have known with my history that it was a bad idea to get involved."

"Caring for the people you're helping heal isn't always a bad thing Leigh, I'm sure Charles taught you that." Bruce had never met the man but he had seen how much Leigh respected him.

Leigh nodded, "he did. Hank warned me though; he said that with how sensitive a soul I am that I could get too attached, he was right." Leigh had rarely mentioned the people at her old school so Bruce knew how shaken she must be to talk of her past.

Bruce put his arm around the petite woman's shoulders and pulled her close to his side; she sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I've never seen you this emotional." Bruce whispered, "Tony told me what happened when you were a kid, it's not surprising you'd identify with what Loki went through."

Leigh nodded against him, not wanting to talk, figuring it would cause another breakdown.

"I'll take care of Loki now that the serious issues are out of the way, you don't have to see him if you don't want to." Bruce said, squeezing her shoulder.

"I don't." She took a deep breath, still staring out the window, "I never want to see that son of a bitch again."