"Thor? What…how?" Jane asked incredulously. Her mind was spinning; it was all too much for her. Loki remained rigidly silent behind her. Before Thor could respond, Fury cut in.

"Miss Foster, we don't have time for questions right now. Save them for later. Right now we need to find Schmidt." Jane closed her mouth, and Thor looked away. Fury stalked out of the room, closely followed by the others. Jane quickened her pace to match Fury's.

"Before we get started, Miss Foster—" Fury started.

"Just call me Jane," she corrected automatically.

"Jane, then. Before we get started Jane, there are a few others I would like you to meet," he said as they rushed into the main laboratory. Jane stopped in the doorway, causing Loki and Thor to nearly knock her down. Thor grabbed her by the shoulders and gently led her into the lab. The small gesture ignited jealously within Loki, but he did not let it show.

Jane's jaw dropped and her hand flew to her mouth. Standing before her was a living legend: Captain America himself. Standing to his right was a woman with fiery red hair and a black bodysuit. To her left stood another man, dressed similarly to the woman, but his armor bore no sleeves; the last man had glasses and was wearing a simple dress shirt and slacks.

"Jane, these are members of the Avenger Initiative. I assume from your reaction that you already know Steve," he said, gesturing to Captain America. Jane nodded. Steve stepped forward and extended his right hand.

"Steve Rogers, ma'am. Nice to meet you," he said politely. His smile was sweet and kind, and his eyes revealed the same. She smiled back.

"This is Natasha Romanov—" Fury continued, "my right hand." She stepped forward and greeted Jane formally. The man in the black body suit approached her and introduced himself.

"Clint Barton." He nodded. Jane smiled.

"Jane Foster. Pleasure," she replied. The last man remained further away. Fury approached him, and turned to face Jane.

"This is Dr. Bruce Banner. Bruce, Jane Foster." Bruce stepped toward Jane, almost shyly, and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Foster," he said quietly.

"Please, call me Jane. It's nice to meet you too." Jane said kindly. He surprised her by asking a question.

"Who is that you've brought with you?" he asked curiously, looking over her shoulder. Jane turned her head and focused on Loki. He stiffened.

"This is Prince Loki Odinson," Jane said confidently. Before she could continue, Natasha Romanov pulled out her gun and aimed it at Loki. Everyone else tensed up. Jane panicked and ran in front of him. Loki's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and so did everyone else's. Steve spoke.

"What is he doing here? He's a wanted criminal!" he exclaimed incredulously. Loki could feel the hostility in his voice.

"No! He's working with us! He's on our side!" Jane said quickly, eyes wide. Loki could hear the panic in her voice. Fury stepped in.

"Agent Romanov, stand down. Jane isn't lying; Loki has promised to work with us," he said calmly. Natasha regarded Fury's statement, and eyed Loki carefully as she stowed her weapon in its holster. Jane breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," Jane said quietly. Natasha nodded, and stood stoically next to Clint.

"Well, now that you've met the Avengers, I think it's high time we get started." Fury said.

oOoOo

Jane felt sleep begin to pull at her as Natasha led her toward her temporary living quarters. She had been working for nearly twenty-four hours without any rest. Although she had every scientist available at her disposal, Jane felt more comfortable doing the work with just Loki. She felt that Loki was the only one capable enough to understand the technology and process involved. He was there the entire time they worked on finding the Cube and even stayed behind to continue after she had retired for the night.

Romanov stopped at a door and opened it for her. She led Jane inside.

"This is where you'll sleep; I know it isn't much, but it's comfortable enough." Jane nodded in agreement. The only things in the room were the bed, a bedside table with a lamp, and a desk.

"The bathrooms are down the hall. We'll have some clothes brought for you in the morning. If there's anything else you need, just let me know and I'll get it for you." Natasha said, not unkindly.

"Thanks, Miss Romanov. I'm good for now." Jane said tiredly. Natasha nodded and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Jane found a pair of cotton pajamas waiting on the bed, and she changed into them as quickly as her sluggish body would allow. Not even bothering with anything else, Jane crawled into the bed and turned the bedside lamp off. As she was about to drift to sleep, she heard a gentle knock on her door. She groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"Who is it?"

"It is me," Thor answered back firmly. Jane sighed and turned the lamp back on, and swung her legs out from under the blankets. She padded over to the door and turned the knob, opening it a little.

"Can this wait until morning?" Jane asked hopefully.

"I fear there will not be any time to talk tomorrow," Thor replied.

"What's going on then?" Jane asked groggily. Thor looked uncomfortable.

"May I come in?" He asked politely. Jane blinked, thinking about it. She nodded, and swung the door wide open for him. Jane crawled back onto the bed and pulled the covers over her legs. Thor strode in and pulled the desk chair closer to Jane's bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked at him expectantly.

"How have you been?" Thor asked after a long pause. Jane hoped this conversation would not consist entirely of idle conversation.

"Fine, I guess. Stressful," she replied flatly. Another long pause before he spoke again.

"I have missed you greatly, Jane," he replied quietly. Jane's heart felt constricted; an unknown emotion held it in a viselike grip, not willing to release it at any cost.

"So did I," Jane said sadly. She closed her eyes; flashing back to all of the nightmares and sleepless nights she had spent thinking of him, Jane shook her head.

"How did you get back? Here, I mean? It doesn't make sense with what Loki told me," she asked suddenly, remembering what Loki told her about the broken Asbru. Thor ducked his head, avoiding her questioning gaze. He hesitated before he spoke, almost as if there was something he did not want Jane to know.

"It was not too long after I had destroyed the Rainbow Bridge that Heimdall and I were able to repair it. It did take some time, but it was able to be done," Thor said quietly. Jane tensed up. Another silent pause ensued.

"How long have you been here? On Earth?" Jane asked slowly. In truth, she was afraid of what his answer might be.

"Nearly four Midgardian months," he replied soberly. The air left Jane's lungs; she felt as if an invisible hand had wrapped itself around her throat, preventing her from breathing. She was immobilized.

"Four…months? Why didn't you come and find me? Why didn't you tell me you came back?" Jane choked out.

"I am truly sorry, Jane. I wish I had come to find you. I tried, but before I could reach you, the man known as Nick Fury intercepted me before I had any chance," he said sadly. So that's why Fury didn't want me here; it wasn't because of my research, it was because of Thor. Jane fought back tears.

"So…so you didn't even try to find me? Even though I was here only a little while ago?" Jane asked incredulously. Thor sighed and did not respond. Jane closed her eyes and rested her head on her knees. She tried hard to fight back the wave of emotion that threatened to drown her.

"Jane, please; I beg you to understand—" Thor began.

"No, you need to understand something, Thor: I waited. I waited for over six months for you to return. To return like you promised. Then just when I think you're never coming back, you are suddenly here at S.H.I.E.L.D.? You knew I was waiting for you, yet you made no effort to contact me?" Jane choked out.

Thor felt sick inside; as much as he wanted to deny it, everything Jane was saying to him was true. Fury had intercepted him, but did not say he was not to contact Jane in any way. He stood up and strode to her bedside, and kneeled on the floor.

"Jane, please forgive me. I have dealt you a great blow, but I intend to fix it. What I did was wrong, and it was not fair to you. I sincerely hope that you can forgive me; I cannot forgive myself for wronging you in the way that I did," Thor pleaded. He grasped her hands and held them close to his chest. Jane let out a small sob, and began to shake her head.

"Jane, I—I only ask for another chance. I was wrong to make you wait for me, especially for so long. I will make everything up to you in whatever way I can," he said quietly, tightening his grasp on her hands. He sat patiently at Jane's bedside, waiting for her to respond. Jane fought the next wave of sobs, and inhaled deeply. She let out a shaky breath and spoke.

"I don't know what to say, Thor; you can't possibly begin to understand what I've been through, but although my heart tells me I shouldn't forgive you, I want to. I want to forgive you, so I will. But I need some space to think things over. Can you give me that?" Jane asked shakily. Thor nodded emphatically.

"Anything you wish, Jane. Thank you for your kind forgiveness. I will leave so that you may rest. I will see you in the morning." He said, standing up. He kissed the top of her hand gently, and strode out of the room.

Jane sat in her bed, feeling lost. She tried to fall back asleep, but couldn't immediately. Too many thoughts left her feeling emotionally destitute, and she felt confused.

Eventually, her body's need for sleep outweighed her mind's need to analyze her conversation with Thor. Before she knew it, sleep had taken her.

oOoOo

Loki watched as Jane left the lab. When the automatic sliding doors shut behind her and Agent Romanov, he sighed. Over the past twenty-four hours, a guard had carefully observed Jane and Loki at all times; sometimes, one of the members of the Avengers had relieved a guard. Most of the latter did not pay much attention to Jane, but Loki could always sense that they were apprehensive just being around him. Surprisingly enough, Thor had not been one of the temporary guards; even though if things were to get out of hand for whatever reason, Thor would have been the best to confront Loki face to face.

Loki reluctantly looked down at the pages and pages of notes splayed out across the few tables in the room. When they had begun to work, a few guards drove back to Jane's lab and picked up every paper they could find. Erik had also rejoined their effort; as per Jane's request. Jane had worked nonstop to try and bring S.H.I.E.L.D. closer to finding Schmidt. The thought brought a small smile to his lips. He ducked his head and began to pick up where Jane left off.

The automatic sliding doors opened, but Loki did not bother to find out who it was; instead, he focused more intently on the research in front of him. He heard heavy footsteps approach, then stop a few feet away.

"Evening, Loki," Steve said hesitantly. His anxiety was palpable. He shifted on his feet nervously. Loki continued to make notes, not regarding him. It wasn't that Loki didn't like Steve; he was simply apathetic.

"Loki, I just wanted to apologize," Steve said after a moment. Loki stopped writing, but did not look up. He was not accustomed to receiving genuine apologies.

"For what, may I ask?" Loki asked.

"For what I said earlier. The fellas had talked about you before, saying you were up to no good, and I made a judgment before I knew you based on that. I should have trusted Miss Foster," he said remorsefully. Loki turned to face him, leaning back against the table; he crossed his arms and studied Steve's face, looking for any sign of false regret, but all he could see was ingenuousness. Loki sighed.

"Think nothing of it. At least you did not pull out a weapon and direct it at me," Loki said, amused. Steve let out a sigh of relief, and laughed.

"Yeah, Miss Romanov, she's a tough one to crack," Rogers remarked. He approached the lab table and studied the papers scattered on the surface.

"What is all this?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"It is a compilation of every one of Jane's ideas and theories. They're all quite brilliant," he said softly.

"I'll say. She thought up all of this?" Steve asked, looking at Loki. Loki nodded.

"Everything here is her own work; I've just helped her along," Loki replied. Steve set down the papers and faced Loki.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked. Loki thought about it for a moment, and then nodded.

"How come you aren't what everyone says you are? I mean, how come you aren't…'the bad guy'?" Steve asked. He was having trouble forming the right words. Loki thought about the question; he wasn't sure he had the right answer.

"I believe you mean mischievous, not 'bad'. I do not know that I can provide an answer. Things are…different, and have been for the past few months," Loki said vaguely. He was reluctant to answer, especially to Steve. Steve, on the other hand, had a feeling he knew what Loki wanted to say, but didn't want to tell him. He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Back where I'm from, there was a girl I used to be sweet on. She was incredibly smart, and she had this…smile that could make your heart melt. She believed in me, even when no one else did. I loved her more than I can say," Steve said softly. Loki was empathetic; his story was almost similar to his with regard to Jane. He looked down.

"What was your lady's name?"

"Peggy Carter. She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I wish I could see her one last time," Steve said softly. Loki's eyebrows furrowed, and he felt a pang in the center of his heart.

"What happened to her?"

"She died; I was found frozen in the ocean after fighting off Schmidt and she died before I could ever see her again," he replied. Loki was silent, taking in everything Steve had just told him.

"You know, she changed me for the better, made me a better man than I was. I think that is what's hardest for me; knowing that I had to live without her support or strength. And I have a feeling your girl Jane did the same thing for you that Peggy did for me," Steve said knowingly before walking out.

Once the automatic glass doors slid shut, Loki turned to look at all of the notes on the lab table. Once again, he was left alone with only his thoughts to keep him company.

Even if I love her, will she love me back? Can she love me after all I've done?

Loki realized he had been gripping the side of the lab table tightly, and he released his hold. Suddenly, a wave of tiredness washed over him, and his limbs felt heavy. One of the guards from earlier had been standing outside of the room to lead him to the barracks for the night. Loki sighed heavily and slowly made his way to the hallway, and followed the guard to the room assigned to him.

When they reached the room, Loki opened it immediately and walked in. There was not much space, but it sufficed. Shutting the door behind him, Loki walked tiredly to the bed against the back wall. Outside, he could sense that there was a set of armed guards waiting just outside his bedroom door. He sighed.

With a flick of his wrist, Loki turned off the light in the bedroom. He tried to fall asleep, but sleep would not come. Instead, his mind ran rampant with thoughts of Jane. Though he shut his eyes tightly, the image of her beautiful face was seared into his mind.

oOoOo

Tony, Steve, Clint, and Bruce sat together in the break room. Each held a cup of coffee in their hands, and said nothing for quite some time. Natasha walked in and stopped briefly; the image startled her, but she continued in. She walked over to the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee, and then moved to the table where the others sat. Picking a chair next to Clint, she sat down, saying nothing.

"What's the deal? Why are you all so quiet?" Natasha asked, trying to keep a smirk from growing. Tony spoke.

"What do you think of Loki?" Tony asked, suddenly. The question surprised everyone; Steve blinked.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked in return.

"Well, I mean, it seems like all of a sudden, Fury agrees to let Loki work with us, no questions asked, when only a day ago, there was a warrant out for his arrest. I don't know that I understand it. I guess what I really mean to ask is, do you trust him?" Tony finished. The others remained silent, still caught off guard by his abrupt question. Steve sighed.

"Well, I don't know yet, but I think he's okay. I mean, there are some things I'm sure he isn't telling us, but he will at some point. Just like you don't really trust him, he doesn't exactly trust us," he said slowly. Tony frowned. Natasha was the one to answer next.

"Well, if Jane trusts him, I think we should. She was living with him for over a month and wasn't harmed or tortured." Her answer surprised Tony; he was sure she would be the last person to trust Loki. Clint nodded in agreement.

"What about you, Stark?" Bruce asked. Tony hesitated before he replied.

"I don't know. There's something...oh, I dunno, different about him."

"Well, he is from Asgard," Natasha pointed out.

"Not what I meant, Nat. I meant, we were told he was this insanely corrupted guy, completely evil. He sent a machine made with far better technology than I've seen down to Puente Antiguo and nearly wiped out the entire town." Before Tony could continue, Pepper Potts walked in.

"Tony, there are some things that need your attention," she stated.

"Right now?"

"Well, sooner rather than later," she replied. He waved her over, and patted the empty chair next to him. Pepper accepted the invitation and promptly sat down.

"All, I'm saying is, Loki isn't what I thought he was going to be. It's as if there's something that…changed all that. He's not what we were told he was like," Tony finished. Steve looked down at the floor, a knowing smile spreading across his face. Pepper immediately noticed it, and Tony followed her gaze. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"What?" he demanded. Pepper, instantly realizing what Steve was smiling about, grinned.

"Don't you understand, Tony? It's not a what that changed him, it's a who," Pepper remarked.

"Jane," Steve finished. As strange as it may have sounded to Tony, he understood.

"Ah. Gotcha," he said, nodding.

"The question now, Stark," Clint began, breaking the silence, "is are you willing to trust him?" Tony took a moment to respond, not sure of what his answer would be. After a moment, he looked Clint in the eye and sighed in defeat.

"Well, I guess it's worth a shot."

oOoOo

Jane was awakened suddenly by loud knocking on her door. Her eyes flew open, waiting for more knocking. When it didn't come, she shut her eyes, hoping for more sleep. Not a few moments later, the knocking became louder. This time, she sat up.

"What?" She snapped tiredly.

"Miss Foster? Fury is asking for you," came the voice. Jane's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, trying to remember the familiar voice.

"Dr. Banner?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"What time is it?" Jane asked. Of all the things not included in her small room, a clock was not one of them.

"Five-thirty in the morning." He replied. Jane groaned. This is way too early for any human being to be awake, she thought to herself.

"Are you there, Miss Foster?" Dr. Banner asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, give me just a minute," she said, throwing her legs out from under the blankets. It felt a lot earlier than it was. Assuming she didn't have much time for a shower, Jane threw on the jacket she had worn the previous night and slipped on her boots over her socks. She thought she should look silly, dressed in pajama pants and boots. Shaking her head, Jane made her way to the door and opened it. Dr. Banner smiled when he saw her.

"Morning, Miss Foster," he greeted with a nod of his head.

"It's Jane, remember?" Jane said, not unkindly.

"Oh, right. Good morning, Jane. I'm sorry I had to get you up so early, but Fury really wants you to begin working again; he thinks you're on the right track," he apologized. Jane waved him off.

"It's okay; I guess I just have to get used to it," she said with a small smile. "Do you have any gum, but any chance?" Jane asked curiously. Dr. Banner paused, thinking, then reached inside his jacket pocket and fished out a packet, handing her a piece. Jane popped it in her mouth and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks; I don't want to overwhelm anyone with morning breath," Jane said, laughing. Bruce grinned.

"Can I be honest with you?" Jane asked suddenly. The question caught Bruce off guard, but he nodded.

"You don't really seem like the 'Avenger' type, and I'm kinda curious to know: what are you doing here?" she asked, glancing over at Dr. Banner. He ducked his head and smiled inwardly.

"Well, you see, some time ago, I was involved in an radioactive accident; I was, well still am, a physicist, and I developed a type of gamma bomb. Something went wrong, and it detonated. I wasn't harmed initially, but I was exposed to too much gamma radiation, and it altered me genetically. I developed an…alter ego, if you will, and it only makes an appearance when I get really upset," Bruce explained thoughtfully.

"Really? That's…incredible. What are the effects of the event?" Jane asked earnestly. Her reaction was the complete opposite of what he expected, but he obliged her with an answer.

"Promise not to laugh?" Jane raised her eyebrow, but nodded.

"Well, I turn into a large, green monster thing." Jane smiled, but did not laugh.

"So then, you are a type of Avenger. Both the brains and the brawn of the operation," Jane remarked, amused. Bruce laughed out loud at this.

"A bit of both, I guess, but never at the same time," he said as they approached the lab room. Jane pulled her hair up, and walked toward the automatic sliding doors. No one else was there, but all of the work had remained untouched on the table. The monitors were off, and the drawing boards supplied by Stark still had excess notes scribbled on them from the previous day. Jane sighed and turned to Bruce.

"Thank you, Dr. Banner."

"Bruce," he interjected. Jane smiled.

"Bruce then. Thanks for sharing with me." He nodded, and walked out of the room. Jane made her way to the lab table, and sorted through the notes. Remembering where she and Loki had left off the previous day, she set off to work. Where's Loki? Jane thought curiously. She recalled that he stayed behind after she had announced she needed sleep. He must still be sleeping; poor guy is probably exhausted, she said inwardly.

The automatic doors slid open, and Jane turned around quickly. Standing in the doorway was Thor, holding two steaming mugs, a wide grin on his face. He was dressed in his Asgardian armor, minus the cape. Jane could not help but feel a small pang of disappointment that the figure that entered the room wasn't Loki.

Thor approached her, and handed her one of the mugs. Jane took it gratefully, setting it down on the table.

"Good morning, Jane." Thor said happily. He gulped down the coffee, and the action made Jane giggle.

"Morning, Thor," Jane said politely. She felt unsure of how to act around him now. Thor noticed Jane's unease, and craned his neck to make sure she could see him.

"Jane? Are you well?" he asked, concerned. It bothered him that he could not read her thoughts. Jane held back the yawn that threatened to overtake her.

"I'm fine, thanks. Just thinking."

"May I ask what you are thinking?" If Jane had wanted to be truthful, she would have had several things to say, but she just didn't have the heart to tell him. You've been gone for nearly seven months, and I've been lonely. Then your brother came along, and changed everything. Sorry Thor, but I think I may be falling in love with your brother. I hope you didn't expect me to wait for you that long; even though I did wait, I eventually gave up. You honestly didn't think that I would have waited forever, did you? No, she couldn't tell him; Jane closed her eyes briefly, inhaling deeply then exhaling.

"Not that much; just trying to figure out this Schmidt situation. It's a little stressful, the fate of the world in your hands," Jane said nervously. In a way, it was the truth, but not entirely.

"You will solve this, Jane. I know you will; you are undoubtedly one of the most clever women I have ever come across," he remarked with a genuine smile that instigated a pang of guilt within Jane.

Thor stepped closer, standing directly behind her. Jane winced, but Thor did not seem to notice; the gesture reminded Jane of when Loki did the same thing back in her lab. He looked over her shoulder at the notes on the table. He reached around and picked up a stack of loose notes, briefly looking them over. He grinned.

"See, Jane? You're on the right track already. You shouldn't doubt yourself."

"Well, it isn't just me; Loki helped me out a lot," Jane said quietly. It was suddenly silent between them. Thor stepped back and returned to standing at her side rather than behind her.

"I see. He always was better with sciences, and I battle," Thor admitted. Just as Jane was about to respond, the automatic sliding doors opened and a guard entered.

"Thor, you're needed in combat training immediately," he said. Thor nodded, and straightened up. Turning to Jane, he grasped her hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing her knuckles gently.

"I will find you later, Jane. Good luck with your research," he said with a smile. Jane smiled back at him halfheartedly and watched as he followed the guard out of the lab room. Once again, Jane was left alone with her thoughts.

What do I do now?


Songs I listened to:

Nuvole Bianche (live version-during the cap and loki scene)

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (demo version-thor and jane confession scene)

Where is my Mind (Maxence Cyrin cover-loki in his room)