A/N: There might be an alternative universe somewhere in which I could somehow be the owner of the Marvel Universe and/ all things Thor, but this is clearly not the one.
Back in Asgard, Frigga was still mourning. Everyone presumed Loki to be dead. The Asgardians mourned the loss of a prince, but Frigga had lost her son. She never got to tell him her side of the story, how proud she was to have him as a son, how much she loved him. Odin was humiliated and also ashamed of himself. Although no one dared tell him, he was aware Loki's suicide was more or less his fault. Thor was irritated with his father as well but he was the first to ask Heimdall if Loki had indeed died.
After Loki's fall, Heimdall had alerted the kingdom, and chaos ensued. Frigga's health was not restored and the unpleasant news did not help. But when Thor asked Heimdall if they could bring Loki back, he put forth a hope his parents had lost. Odin believed his son was lost to him forever, dead or not. In his own way, he had given up. Frigga couldn't make sense of the events; it was too much for her to deal with. Her heart was broken, but Thor wanted to mend it by doing the impossible: bringing Loki back to Asgard.
Heimdall could not tell where Loki was. It was easier to seek a God when they were using their magic or being destructive, but Loki it seemed, was realms away, hidden in a world where perhaps magic did not exist.
But all Thor needed to know was the fact that Loki was still living and breathing and very much alive. So he made it his mission to bring Loki back home.
Little did he know, Loki had never been more at home in the strange and unfamiliar realm he was "lost" in.
All thanks to a little astrophysicist with a big heart.
!
After the almost-kiss, Jane at first had become guarded with Loki. She stayed away from him and only came close to give him his medications. Loki's progress had slowed down, but that was only because suddenly, the God had no need to speed up his recovery.
Loki knew Jane didn't mirror his feelings, but he couldn't help control his for her. And she couldn't stay away from him for too long. Loki made her feed him using his royalty as an excuse. He continued calling her "Lady Jane" even when she told him not to.
"You're not a Lady then?" Loki asked, cheekily.
"Not in the way you think. I don't count as…nobility," Jane replied, focusing on the spoon in her hand, studying the silver instead of Loki's mouth. Feeding a God soup was harder on her heart than she had anticipated it to be.
"I have to disagree."
"Shocking."
"Wait, hear what I have to say," Loki used his good hand to tilt Jane's chin upwards so he could look into her eyes. And what beautiful eyes they were. "You've shown more grace and nobility than any royalty or God I have ever met. You have the intelligence of an aged king, the beauty of a young princess, and the heart of a queen. You, Jane Foster, are the definition of nobility."
Jane's furious blush and evading eyes gave her away, but she managed a stern look. "Just eat you stupid soup," she snapped. Loki smirked, "I forgot to mention, you do carry the modesty of a…well, to be honest, I don't believe I've ever met anyone as modest as you." It was true, he hadn't. Even the humble Odin had his moments of hubris as a king of such a thriving kingdom. And in Asgard, everyone sought appreciation from one another, whether that involved serving or dying for your king, or living to uphold a family name. It was all about glory where Loki came from, achievement defined a God. Jane was so different from everything he knew.
Jane mumbled a quiet, "shut up", and drank some of Loki's water to calm her nerves and cover her embarrassment. He liked that she did things like that, using the same spoon he had or eating out of his plate. He assumed that a part of mortal culture (which in Jane's case it was, she was always eating Darcy's leftovers) but he also saw that as Jane's way of accepting him as her equal. She wasn't afraid of him even though she now knew how different they were. She didn't treat him like a god; she took care of him, but wasn't afraid of talking back or telling him to, as she just had, "shut up".
After a couple days passed, Loki decided to tell Jane a bit about Asgard. She always asked him about where he was from and Loki hadn't given her a straight answer yet. Then one day, when she was working next to him, typing away on her laptop, he told her everything.
He hadn't meant to, but it all came out. How he had grown up, under the shadow of his brother's glory, about how he had always sought Odin's approval and Frigga's time. How he dreamed of the throne knowing it could never be his.
Loki never anticipated Jane to understand any of his misery, but he looked at her in the middle of his rant to see tears in her eyes as stared quietly at the broken man in front of her. So he told her about the night in the treacherous vault that gave away his father's embarrassment which entirely tore Loki's heart to the point that he realized he was living a massive lie.
By the end of it, both of them were sobbing in one another's arms, and that's how they woke up to find their bodies intertwined. Loki half-expected Jane to slap him or run away again. Instead, after she untangled herself from him, Jane gave Loki a sweet, but strong hug.
"Thank you for trusting me," she told him, looking in his eyes with new confidence. The fact that Loki had trusted her to share all his secrets with her made Jane ecstatic and finally feel something for the God, something above mere sympathy.
"I know how you feel," Jane began, "my life hasn't been a Jennifer Anniston movie either – sorry, mortal reference. I haven't gone through as much as you seem to have, but I never had the parental love either and I have been alone my whole life, like you."
After she told Loki her life story, Loki was bitter.
"What's the point of living when we have nothing. My world, your world, this world is so cruel Jane. I resent the way our fates have wronged us. You of all people did not deserve such utter misery."
Jane smiled a bit, "Loki, I think your perspective is a bit too harsh."
"Well, can you blame me? My life hasn't been anything but harsh, the things I've seen…"
"But wouldn't you agree that life could be worse?"
"I can't see how."
"Well, I suppose it's easier to be grateful when you recognize what you have."
Loki looked at her, not sure where she was going with her logic.
"Think about it Loki. When people, well, at least with us mortals, whenever a baby is born healthy, as in, with arms, legs and two eyes and a beating heart, we never question these blessings or wonder how we got so lucky. But when a mother discovers that her child has, say, a missing chromosome or kidney, she cries out, 'Why me?' Well, when I used to ask myself that question, or whenever I would feel pity for myself, I realized something, and then I asked myself, 'why not you?' For us humans, life is so unpredictable, in reality, even the things we think we can control, we can't. One of our biggest flaws is that we only realize what we had when it's gone. We only want for things we don't have. We're never satisfied. And in my mind, that's no way to live. So I try to make the most of what I have. I try not to complain. Yes, I lack love in my life, but at least I have enough hope and strength to love myself and be there for myself whenever I need someone. I am my own significant other. I try my best not to compare myself with others because I'll always have something the other guy doesn't and they'll always one thing I'd want. You can't live with resentment Loki; you have to enjoy what you have. Some people, some mortals, would kill to be in your place, not because you are a God or because you have some special powers and can live forever, but they would envy you and want to be you simply because you're here, breathing. You have a shot at life, to do things for yourself. You're incredible in so many ways and have so much potential. Your body can take you places and your mind can protect you. Some mortals never get a shot at living and then I see myself here, in the middle of nowhere, living among the stars and I feel completely blessed thinking that I, Jane Foster, am a human being that can make her own choices and live her own life. I may have been restricted before, but I worked to get away from all that and now I'm totally free. I can see the beauty around me, I can see the stars, and that capability to simply see makes me feel so content and happy with where I am. There's a lot I don't have I guess and a lot I suppose I'll never get to have. But you have to learn to make the best of what you do have, forget the world, and just…live, Loki. You're free from Asgard now. You can be happy now and be your own person and that alone is enough justice to your miseries because the present is so special and we can do whatever we want, right here, right now, and in this moment, you and I, are alive. And we only need our beating hearts to be happy. Trust me Loki. Don't let your past control you. Your life is worth so much more than that."
Loki just stared at a now starry-eyed Jane. Without thinking, he scooped her up in his arms, hurriedly tilted Jane's face, and crushed his lips into hers, completely enthralling her with his movements. He pulled her tighter, closer, trying to limit the space between them. The need present in the kiss drove Jane mad, she couldn't think, couldn't breathe. She was stiff at first but then relaxed and allowed herself to finally just feel.
Just as quickly as he had grabbed her, he let her go, and Jane looked at him with bewilderment. His eyes were wild, but Loki was a gentleman and this…this was not planned. He set Jane down and she just looked stunned. The God of Mischief had made her first kiss pretty incredible. She was still processing what had happened.
Loki was trying to control himself as he watched Jane, wondering how in the world he could ever explain his love for her. She alone was the only thing in the entire universe that made him feel worthy and now, after her little heartfelt speech, she had pretty much justified his entire existence, giving him the answers he had been living for.
Loki wanted to have a purpose, to live for someone. And now, staring at the beauty in front of him, looking into her dazed eyes, he finally belonged somewhere, or rather to someone. In that moment, he knew that he wholly loved Jane, and would live the rest of his life showing her that.
"Thank you for that Jane Foster," Loki said wholeheartedly to her, then excusing himself, went to Jane's bathroom, leaving the room.
"…You-you're welcome," Jane stuttered into the empty room.
A/N: Hi, sorry for no update yesterday, I was not feeling well. Thanks and shout out to: JigokuShoujosRevenge for your amusing out-burst in the review and PureSummerMagic, Sweetangelz18, abigladhope, and heartdraconis19361 for your support. I have a new goal of trying to give you guys a bit more quality-filled chapters, so the quantity of updates per day might decrease, but at least you'll have less errors to deal with. I'm breaking my no proof-reading rule, cause you guys deserve better. Thank you, everyone, for reading this, it's so much fun to write, but now it's exciting knowing that someone is enjoying it. Thank you, please review if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, thanks again for reading and stay tuned!
