I swabbed and bandaged Loki's lips before Thor put the muzzle back on him; he looked so dejected that I stroked my thumb across his knuckles as I held his hand. Odin had a hook put into the wall just above the headboard and attached the cuffs to it and they were opened at the moment.

"Are you ready?" I asked, watching his eyes.

He nodded and I helped him lie back. Thor took his one hand and raised it to the cuff. It clicked shut and I flinched. I kept my eyes locked with his as I slowly raised his other hand and Thor secured the cuff. Odin and Thor nodded and left us alone.

"I'm sorry." I stroked his cheek above the muzzle and he winked at me.

I settled in next to his side, resting my head on the pillow but laying my arm over his chest, my hand ended up directly over his heart. He sighed softly as my hand touched his cool skin. I leaned up and kissed his forehead before closing my eyes and drifting off feeling Loki's heart beating under my hand.

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

By the next morning I'd shifted so I was even closer to Loki, my head was now resting on his chest and my leg was settled between his. The hand that had been on his chest was tangled in his hair and the other was resting on his elbow. I slowly opened my eyes, feeling his cool skin against my cheek, and feeling slightly embarrassed. I tilted my head and saw him watching me with deep green eyes. The feelings rolling off him were so painfully obvious that I nearly pulled away from him. I shifted a little and it became even more obvious that he was pleased that I was where I was. I blushed, my face heating up as I tried to decide what to do.

I gently untangled my hand from his hair and slowly sat up. I looked down at him and it was clear that if he didn't have muzzle on he'd be smirking. I ran my hand through his hair and help him sit up a bit more and rubbed his arms which looked like they might be cramping up after being in the same position all night.

He closed his eyes as I rubbed his arms and I placed a gentle kiss on his temple. When I pulled back he was watching me with confusion. I just shrugged at him and smiled softly. There was a knock at the door and he nodded, knowing I would have to answer it.

Thor was at the door and I smiled at my friend. He walked in and looked around the room.

"How is my brother this morning?" he asked.

"Come see for yourself." I said and walked back into the bedroom, leaving Thor behind.

I waited at the foot of the bed and when I saw that Thor was coming into the room I told Loki I needed a shower, grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom. I took as long as I could in the shower, realizing it had been a while since I'd shaved my legs and done some personal grooming. I used my full body exfoliator and used both shampoo and conditioner on my hair. My skin was rosy pink when I stepped out of the shower and I quickly toweled off my hair and combed it out, realizing it was getting longer than I was usually comfortable with, but I hadn't seen many people with short hair on Asgard so I decided to leave it. I got dressed and was about to open the bathroom door when I realized I could hear Thor through the door.

"Brother, I must ask you something and I need you to be honest with me, it is important." I held my breath, my ear pressed against the door. Loki must have nodded or something because Thor continued speaking, "Do you care for Abigail?" I slid to the floor, my legs suddenly unable to hold me. "She is a good friend of mine and I do not want her getting hurt. Please brother, treat her well." I had a feeling I knew what Loki's answer was from Thor's response and I made a big deal of rattling the doorknob before opening the door.

"You know Thor, your voice carries." I said emerging from the bathroom and the god of thunder had the good grace to blush. "If you want to have a private conversation, I can leave."

I watched the brothers exchange glance and sighed, I so did not have the patience for this kind of thing this morning. I slipped my shoes on and shook my head.

"I am hungry so I am going to get something to eat. Feel free to talk about me and my feelings all you want while I'm gone."

I didn't wait to see Loki's response or hear Thor's; I slammed the door to the suite and stormed to the hall. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself before entering. Odin and Frigga were at the table and I sat beside the queen as usual. She smiled at me as I took my usual breakfast foods and the servant girl brought me water. I thanked her and began to eat.

"You are tense daughter." Frigga said after I'd been eating for a few minutes. "What troubles you this morning?"

I took a deep breath, "Just men being men mother." I said softly, but Odin heard me.

"Men being men?" Frigga inquired, clearly intrigued.

"Thor came to Loki's room this morning, asking after his brother. Loki was awake so I invited Thor in and went to have a shower while they talked. When I was finished I could hear Thor asking Loki about me, and how he doesn't want to see me get hurt." I sighed, "I know that Thor cares for me as a sister, however, I am not a child and can make my own decisions about things, and it is not his job or place to protect me."

"Thor is very protective of his friends." Sif said from my other side, "You may not think it is his job or place to do that, but it is his nature to try and keep those he loves from harm."

I sighed, "I know. I'm just not used to it."

Thor strode into the hall and I studiously ignored him. I was nearly finished eating anyway so I excused myself and left the hall once he'd sat down. I exited the hall and went the opposite direction of the royal wing. I just wandered around, since I wasn't really in the mood to be around other people at the moment. I got to a large set of double door and pushed, the doors opened and I gasped; I'd found the library. I walked in and looked around. I picked a random book off the shelf and was pleased to find it was written in English. There was a large fireplace in the one wall with comfy looking chairs in front of it. I walked over and curled up in the chair and opened the book on my lap. I was quickly absorbed in the book; it gave a lot of the history of Asgard and even their earlier interactions with Midgard.

As I read there kept being a particular Midgardian woman that kept being mentioned and her name was very familiar. This woman was special to Odin and after the Frost Giants had been defeated he came back to Midgard one final time to see her. He thanked her for her help and bestowed upon her gifts that would be past from first born daughter to first born daughter. I nearly dropped the book when I read the gifts she was given. I slowly stood and put the book back where I found it.

I walked slowly through the halls, trying to remember where I had come from and trying to come to terms with the fact that over a thousand years ago one of my ancestors had been given a gift by Odin and that was why I was "special". My grandmother had always sworn that the "gift" she and I had embraced, but that my mother had shunned, was actually a gift from the gods, I wondered how she would feel knowing she'd been right all along.

"Are you lost my lady?"

I hung my head; Fandral was the last person I wanted to see.

"Yes Fandral, I needed some time alone after breakfast and found myself in library, however, I have no idea how to get back to Loki's quarters from here." I sighed, "He is probably wondering why I've been gone so long."

Fandral nodded, "I would happy to escort you my lady."

"Fine, but no funny business." I said, watching his confused look. "No flirting, no trying to hit on me."

Fandral nodded and led me back to the royal wing of the palace. We were only a few corridors away when I recognized where I was and told Fandral so.

I walked the rest of the way on my own; I opened the door to Loki's room and heard Thor's voice again.

"No brother, I do not know where she is or when she will return." I could hear him sigh, "She was quite upset at breakfast. She left shortly after I arrived and I have not seen her since. Mother said she was unhappy that I was speaking to you about you felt about her."

"Yes, I was." I said, stepping into the room.

I could feel the worry and regret radiating from Loki, but also the relief that I was okay. Thor seemed regretful, but still concerned, though I wasn't sure about what.

"Thor, I need to check Loki's back down, can you give us some privacy please?"

Thor stood and nodded, "I am sorry if I offended you Abigail." He sighed, "I care for you like a sister, I do care if you get hurt or not, but I will not interfere anymore."

"Thank you Thor." I smiled up at him, "I forgive you."

Thor hugged me and then left the room. I picked up the key from the dresser walked to the bed. I sat on the edge and slowly undid the cuffs. The moment I did I found myself hauled into Loki's arms and I slipped my arms around him too.

"I'm okay." I smiled, "I ended up in the library, I just sat by the fire and read, I'm sorry if I worried you."

He hugged me tighter for a second and I knew that was his way of saying, yes, I had worried him. I started running my fingers through his hair and he relaxed against me. I leaned back and kissed his forehead.

I helped him shift forward and looked at his back; surprisingly it was almost healed, eating something last night seemed to have helped a lot and as I ran my fingers down his back I could see more and more clear skin and less of the wounds. It didn't look like there would be much scaring which I was happy about. I could feel him shivering and gently slid my arms around him so my front was pressed to his back. I rested my hands against his chest and he quickly covered them with his own. I slowly pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, just where it met his back and he shuddered. I rested my cheek against his back and gently hugged him a bit tighter.

"You know we can't stay like this forever, the deal is after I check your back you have to be cuffed again, I'm sorry." I felt him squeeze my hands gently, but neither of us moved.

I sighed heavily, I didn't want to have to lock him back up but I knew I had no choice. I slowly moved away from his back and watched him with sad eyes as he slowly moved back enough that I could cuff his hands. I did them one at time and then settled next to him to read. He nudged me with his knee and I smiled, before starting to read aloud again.