A/N:

It was brought to my attention that I should note this:

Much of my characterization of Loki comes from deleted scenes (since they cut away so much of his character!) I would try to find them on the internet. They are awesome. If you haven't seen them, Loki might seem a little more out of character, as close as I try to keep him in. Also, much of my basis of his relationship with Frigga comes from deleted scenes.

CHAPTER 20

It was with a purposeful stride that Odin All-Father walked with his usual graceful dignity into the sitting room which he knew his wife would be occupying. He had managed to learn a thing or two about his queen in the few millennia, one of those things being that Frigga only ever focused on stitching when she was up to no good.

Just as sure as the dawn, he found her on her chaise as she sat with a cloth in hand, making a quite effortless attempt at paying little attention when he entered the room. In the presence of others, she would rise and bow as was custom. In private, however, she adopted a far more casual policy. She did smile sweetly as he entered, but returned to her task at hand. If Odin ever wondered where Loki received his slyness in his childhood, he needed look no further than than the beautiful, blonde creature sitting there before him.

"How do you fare, my king?" she asked. Odin, hands folded behind his back, steadily approached his wife, watching her carefully.

"Quite well," he said amiably. "I've been at the new observatory this morning. I was told it is fully restored."

"How wonderful," Frigga said pleasantly. "It will be good for at least some things to return to normal." Odin continued observing her, the quietest hint of amusement in his eyes. It was to be like this, then, he thought to himself.

"Indeed," his said stoically. "Heimdall has told me it has already been traveled and proved to be in perfect design. I was concerned, of course, who traveled. He, however, assured me only the most trustworthy of persons was allowed passage at this time." Frigga smiled.

"Good Heimdall. As faithful and watchful as ever," she said. "He would be an excellent judge of that."

"Frigga," he said plainly.

"Yes, my king?" she asked, still sitting with her stitching.

"Heimdall also tells me you have been cheating, as much as he did not wish to."

"I do not see how I could be cheating. I was not aware we were playing a game," she replied quite seriously.

"If our son is ever to stand on his own two feet, he must not receive help in his task."

"Do not tell me how to handle our son," she said, quite sternly, standing to her feet, laying down her distraction. "I left the judgement up to you for far too long. You have never understood Loki. You cannot beat him over the head with lessons as you did Thor. He will only resent it as he did his whole life." Odin gave pause, thinking over his wife's words carefully.

"You have always accused me of favoring one over the other. Are you not doing the same?"

"Loki was never meant to be King of Asgard," Frigga said. "And yet he was constantly held to the same responsibilities for a role which he would never assume. I understood the need for Thor to stand alone, something he had never had to do before, as he will become king one day. But he was never so lost as Loki was. I will not risk losing my son again."

"And this... mortal you have involved in this?" he asked. Frigga straightened.

"What about her?"

"What have you risked with her? She is scarcely older than a child, and yet you've encouraged her to throw away the caution she held wisely with both hands. She has done so quite thoroughly, I'm told, mere hours after your interference."

"She did nothing she did not already wish," Frigga defended. "I simply went to see what sort of person she was for myself."

"And what was your opinion of her?" he asked. She was silent a moment.

"She cares for our son a great deal," she said. "And he for her, even if he knows it not."

"Most young mortal women would be infatuated with our sons in Midgard," Odin said, "as we can plainly see. They were both among humans scarcely a day before they came across these girls."

"She...understands him. In spite of her youth and mortality, I think she truly understands him, more so than many here." She didn't name names. She didn't have to.

"What of her? You have put much faith on one so young. What has she to recommend her to such the task of teaching an man of Asgard right from wrong?"

"Does she need to prove her worth as Loki always has?" she questioned harshly. Odin was surprisingly silent, staring at his wife with his one, discerning eye. "Loki cares about her, is that not enough? I saw him. I talked to him: I do not deny it. He protected her. A mortal. If she, with Thor, could teach him to do that, in spite of his wrongs against her, has she not shown tremendous courage and strength, especially for one so young?"

"It will take more than the regard of one mortal to redeem Loki," Odin said. "It is easy enough to care for a pretty girl completely dedicated to your needs. Loki has always needed to be admired." Frigga took a deep breath, staying her irritation. "But, I will concede...that you may be right. Affairs of the heart have never been my strength, as they have yours. And here is my predicament: Thor wishes to marry the mortal Jane Foster. If she is to become Aesir, and later Queen, she will need to be tested, first. While whomever Loki chooses will not be a queen, she will be forever bound to someone as, shall we say, ambiguous, as Loki. Even if he does redeem himself from this madness, Loki will always do as he wishes, to some degree. It is the very nature of his being, and why he was never meant to be king."

"What are you saying?" Frigga asked.

"I am saying that if Loki chooses to bind himself to a mortal, she will need to be tested as well, as she will be responsible for bringing order to his chaos." Frigga watched her husband closely a moment.

"You will accept Thor's choice, then? And Loki's if he makes it?"

"I have spent centuries trying to teach our sons the value of realms outside of our own. It would hardly seem right to deny them in this, if they are serious, and if their choices are wise for Asgard." Frigga's demeanor softened, glad to be reaching a middle ground with her husband.

"Jane will require testing," Frigga said. "I would prefer to wait on Darcy."

"Then you admit you are not sure of Loki's feelings toward her?"

"No," Frigga said. "He cares for her greatly, more than I have ever seen him with a lover here; but I am not sure if that is enough. It is also for his ability to overcome this darkness that I wait. It will be hard enough on her if he loses himself again, for she is more obviously attached. I would not add to that burden unnecessarily." Odin approached his wife until he stood right before her.

"Then I will wait," Odin said. "As long as I can. I am not sure how long I can delay, if we are to come to their aid when their enemies finally reveal themselves." Frigga closed her eyes tightly.

"I feel so helpless," she said. "Who on Jotunheim would have the power to hide themselves from Heimdall? To travel worlds without a Bifrost? Loki is the only one I have ever known to have such skill. And to attack such an innocent young girl. I cannot imagine who these people are in Midgard."

"Indeed," Odin said sadly. "I wish I knew. But we will never be helpless. Have faith in our sons. In the end, it may mean Loki's salvation."

Spending time in the company of his brother and Jane, while surreal, was the most peace Thor had experienced in quite some time.

It was thanks in no small part that Darcy had let herself be all but consumed by her work with Stark. Every morning she was in his lab at seven in the morning -many hours before she ever ever awoke willingly at home- and did not drag herself out until late in the evening, sometimes breaking in the middle for lunch with either Jane or Loki. As helpful as she had been to them in their first months in Midgard, Thor had never seen the brunette as excited as he did when she was working with Stark. It was pleasant to see that after a week of her moping about, she began acting like her old self again, learning everything she could under the tutelage of Stark and Banner.

This new preoccupation had led his brother to seek entertainment with those whom he was less likely to associate: namely, he and Jane.

He was thankful for Jane being as willing as she was to be in Loki's company. It had taken no small amount of convincing in New Mexico that Loki was truly on a path to redemption, however rocky, slow, or semi-unwilling. She had been equally furious that he had left Darcy alone with him. It wasn't until the night of divide between the Avengers and SHIELD, seeing Loki remain quietly, and even protectively, at her friend's side that she realized that the two had bonded in the most bizarre of ways. Truly, he thought her scientific mind was even curious about his enigmatic brother. Danger had never deterred her from her pursuit of knowledge, sadly, a commonality between the two of them. He had hoped that their more cerebral pursuits would be some kind of bridge between them, one day. He was correct.

His two weeks at Stark Tower were happy ones spent informing Jane of everything he knew of Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds as they continued to blossom in the romance that had been cut short too soon. Unfortunately, books and history had never been Thor's favorite pursuit. While he knew vastly more than Midgardians, his knowledge paled in comparison to that of Loki, who took great delight in filling in the gaps of his knowledge for Jane on the afternoons they spent together in Jane's makeshift workspace in Stark Tower. Thor had rarely fully appreciated the depth of knowledge his brother held on seemingly limitless subjects. Hearing Jane eagerly do everything she could to pick apart his brother's brain, and to hear him respond with such ease and confidence, was both encouraging and saddening: encouraging that Loki was learning to converse with other humans, especially Jane, and saddening to consider all of the years Thor had spent so little valuing his brother's genius. It was quite humbling.

"What in the world is she doing with you?" Loki asked on one of their afternoons alone when Darcy and Jane dined together for the precious few times Darcy pulled herself from her work. "From Asgard you may be, and advanced in every respect to mortals; but, intellectually speaking, she seems to be one of the more intelligent humans while you scrape the bottom of the barrel of Asgard. What could you possibly have to talk about?"

"We don't do a lot of talking," Thor said with as straight of a face as one could manage. For a moment, he was quite certain his brother could have choked on his silver tongue for how silent he was, almost as if he couldn't believe Thor had made such a comment. Slowly, ever so discreetly, he saw the faintest upturn at corner of Loki's mouth.

"Indeed. Well I suppose if you stuck your talents, which is following instruction, it would be a comfortable situation with any woman, intelligent or fool."

"I could ask the same of you and Darcy," Thor dared. He saw his brother stiffen slightly, preparing for an argument; but Thor tried to keep the conversation light. "She's as jovial and carefree a soul as I've ever met while you've spent almost your entire time on Midgard brooding indoors. I suppose she should be quite adept at drowning you out with her musical device." Thor watched him visibly relax at the non-confrontational nature of his tone.

"It's called an iPod, brother, we have lived on Midgard for over three months. And I do not brood," Loki stated firmly. "And what makes you think you we are 'together,' as you put it?"

"You think I cannot tell when you teleport from your room and leave a projection in your wake?" Thor asked. "It was at your encouragement that I learned to not fall for that." Loki straightened, resting his back against in the rather comfortable living chair of one of the many living areas in Stark Tower. "Otherwise, you have little attempted to hide your claim to her, particularly when Rogers is here. Even she is less obvious than you."

"We get along just fine," Loki said vaguely. "I wish I could say we do not do much talking, but we would both know that for the lie that it is. Darcy's need for verbal communication extends to every realm of her activity, apparently." That actually managed to earn a sound chuckle from Thor, as disturbing as their conversation was. However, if gently teasing him about his relationship with Darcy allowed for even this small window of conversation, than he would take it. Surely neither of the girls would be too upset...

"Are you...happy?" Thor asked. Loki looked quizzically, almost as if he didn't understand the question. "With Darcy?" he finished. "I know this is not your first choice of where you wish to be..." Loki watched his brother for several moments, unsure if he was ready to have this conversation. Seeing his brother looking at him so sincerely -so desperately- made it harder and harder each passing day to turn him away. He could almost hear Darcy saying "In all this time, you haven't forgiven your brother at all?" Lately, he honestly felt that he clung to his resentment like a piece of furniture that was out of style, but had simply been in his home so long, he wouldn't know what to do without it; but each passing day convinced him that it was time to throw it out.

"I am...at peace with myself," he replied, "with her," he admitted. "I thought at first she was an itch I wished to scratch to see if I was truly missing anything, truth be told," he said quite bluntly. "Perhaps if I had succeeded my first two attempts to have her, that would have been the case." Thor tried not to grimace at the thought of her being used so shamelessly by his brother, but let him continue. "Then she actually had the nerve to make...friends with me first. She set her trap well, I must admit."

"You feel trapped?" Thor asked. Loki thought a moment.

"I suppose not," he said. "But I see hardly any other explanation. She is a mortal of considerable skill in her field, but is by no means as powerful as your earthly allies. She is beautiful, but many of your mortal friends are, surprisingly, including your Jane now I see. There exists no reason for me to feel the way that I do-" He paused as his own words.

"How do you feel about her?" Thor asked.

"I'm not about to confess my everlasting devotion as you did," he insisted, sounding somewhat insulted.

"I was not asking you to, I was merely curious," Thor said mildly. Loki once again could not believe the conversation he was having with Thor, of all people. Still, he found it strangely relieving to talk about his even stranger relationship with Darcy. Not to mention, it felt surprisingly nice to talk with his brother in relative ease. His heart actually swelled ever so slightly when he realized they were the first easy words they had shared since they day they had marched into Jotunheim. Darcy really was a little miracle worker.

"She's rather dug into my skin like a parasite, I suppose. I can no longer remove her without causing some kind of damage to myself."

"I hope that is not the analogy you used for her," Thor said.

"She only laughs at me," he replied. "Sadly, she is learning my lies, especially when they are to myself, but allows them all the same. Of course now she is off learning Allfather-knows-what with Earth's biggest mouthpiece, and I am left to my own devices. I've chosen to talk to you about my private affairs, of all things, and on occasion watch you and your woman make eyes at each other as she tries to dissect our minds on our knowledge of the universe. Honestly, it is quite disgusting." Thor merely smiled at weak insults from Loki. If he truly felt that way, he would not choose to remain with him; but Thor allowed the rather dull barbs. "Brother," Loki suddenly said. "There is something I must tell you."

"Yes?" Thor replied.

"Mother visited me just after the attack," he admitted. Thor seemed genuinely surprised. Frigga rarely, if ever, visited Midgard. "She told me Heimdall has seen enemies moving, on Earth and in Jotunheim: my enemies. I've been thinking that maybe it be best that I leave. Go to Jotunheim directly. My presence here puts everyone, Darcy especially, in danger. If whoever is following me finds out about her..." Loki did not finish the thought, lacking both need and desire. Thor allowed himself to absorb the shock of this sudden development. "It is regrettable I did not tell you earlier. I thought I could find them on my own. I perhaps could, if I did not fear leaving Darcy, and had only myself to risk. I know that if I remain here, I can easily take her from danger. If I am away, however, I have no idea who the enemy is, nor how or when he will strike. My only hope might be to try to draw them away." A sudden realization dawned on Thor.

Loki was asking him from help. In the sudden chaos of understand, Thor realized that Loki had expressed thought of the safety of others, not even just his lover. Hope swelled in the God of Thunder's chest.

"I fear the attack might have alerted the Council to both your presence and your willingness to protect her," Thor said. "If there is an enemy in Jotunheim working against us, the danger is even greater than was already feared; although, I can't imagine how anyone in Jotunheim would contact anyone here on Earth."

"I have thought about it since mother told me," Loki said. "The only explanation I can gather is that the fault must be mine. I showed the Frost Giants a way into Asgard during your coronation." Thor stiffened slightly at his brother's confession, but reacted in no other way. "If a more clever Jotun studied the way first, he might be able to recreate it, with enough power: more than a Frost Giant normally has." Thor nodded.

"With Laufey's death, any number of potential successors could be struggling for power," Thor said.

"What better way to prove their worth than to capture his murderer?" Loki said humorlessly, "and son." Thor leaned forward and clamped a too heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Laufey forfeited whatever right he had to you long ago," Thor said. "You are the Son of Odin, now, and my brother. Frost giant or not; pain in my ass, or not." He actually manged to wrench a small, indiscriminate smile from Loki. "This so-called enemy will regret the day he declared himself so. We are stronger together. You need not face them alone." Loki stared at Thor for several long moments, searching for mockery or insincerity. He found none, and something inside him began to hurt.

"Sentiment," Loki whispered, an echo of a time that seemed a world away.

"It is not so bad," Thor said. For once, the silence that concluded their conversation was not an uncomfortable one.

After a while, a thought occurred to Thor.

"You don't think," he started, pausing, "Darcy and Jane... talk about... what we were talking about..." he trailed off. Loki stared at Thor blankly before letting out a genuine, loud, hearty laugh.

"Of course not," he suddenly replied very seriously. "Darcy is the most discreet of souls, especially when around two of her closest friends."

"You make him find you?" Jane asked incredulously.

"You're like a super spy. How long does it take him?" Darcy asked.

"The longest time was five hours and twenty two minutes," Natasha said, a fond memory clearly coming forth in her mind. "It was a good day, when he eventually found me. He's lucky I set a five square mile parameter."

"How long has this been going on?" Darcy asked, excited.

"About a month," Natasha said with a sly smile. "I meant to tell you a few weeks ago when we went out. Then that just became a bigger outing than we thought. I figured I'd wait until things had calmed down." Darcy almost wanted to squeal with excitement for her friend. She had been holding out for Clint and Natasha to finally get it together. Darcy was eternally grateful that Natasha had been forgiving enough in the mess she had caused within SHIELD. The Black Widow was never one to hold a grudge, as she had screwed up plenty of times before -as she put it- and said this kind of thing would blow over eventually.

"But apparently I'm not the only one with stories to tell," the redhead said with a smirk with a meaningful look at Darcy. Even Jane couldn't resist looking at the brunette, more curious than ever as to her relationship with her boyfriend's brother. Darcy looked sheepish. As comfortable as her relationship was with Loki had been since they had...gotten closer... she wasn't sure how she felt about talking about the fact that she was intimate with the former bad guy.

The look on Natasha's face, however, told her that trying to play coy would not work.

"Are you really... together?" Jane asked.

"In a roundabout, almost purely sexual but still friends kind of way," Darcy said hesitantly.

"Darcy!" Jane said quietly. "I was hoping I was wrong, for once."

"Oh whatever. Just because you are banging a Norse myth doesn't mean no one else can," Darcy said defensively. Jane blushed, but smirked all the same. "You would be so selfish. Do you have any idea what it's like to be with someone who can teleport right in the middle of it? Multiple positions just isn't even a thing. And don't even get me started with the body doubles thing."

"Damn," Natasha said appreciatively. Jane mouth hung agape with a bit of salad hovering close to her mouth, but not going in.

"What about you Jane?" Natasha said. "We've spilled."

"I don't think Thor would appreciate that," Jane said shyly, but a smile played on her lips, putting her fork down.

"Have you asked to wear his helmet yet?" Darcy asked.

"What?" Jane asked, curiosity sparking.

"At first I thought wearing the horns would be a little silly, but they kind of grew on me. Him too, apparently."

"I would have loved to have heard that come up in conversation," the Black Widow said, amused.

"His idea," she said. "I suppose it was to be expected when I told him he had to kneel before me."

"Darcy!" Jane said shocked. "You said that?"

"What? He had said something or another to piss me off. I told him he had to earn it that night. He was a little shocked at first, but it did it for him though. But I'm serious. I'd try the helmet thing. I'm sure Thor wouldn't mind you sporting feathers mid-"

"Okay!" Jane said, horrified, but a little curious. She was quiet a moment. "But does he, Loki I mean, he was completely-"

"I know," Darcy said. "I know he doesn't always seem it, but he really has changed a lot, I think," Darcy said. "I know what he's done; but, I trust him, I can't explain it. I don't think he'll ever be the completely honorable, noble, and good hero," she said. "But, it's part of his charm. But he is coming around, I think. Hasn't he been helping you with your research? You've gotten to know him a little."

"Really?" Natasha said, genuinely surprised. Jane nodded.

"He's... absolutely brilliant," the astrophysicist said appreciatively. "I mean, Thor told me he was smart, but I had no idea. The knowledge he has on so many worlds...it's unreal." Darcy nodded, a small, irrational streak of pride swelling in her chest at her friend's praise of Loki. She had no claim to it; but she still liked it.

"You have found him, then?" the giant, blue creature questioned. Despite the fact that he stood twenty feet over the well dressed human he question, cloaked in the dark majesty of Jotenheim, he inspired little fear in the man.

"I would hardly be here wasting my time if I hadn't," he retorted. His remark was greeted with a deep, but tolerant growl. "He interfered in a household clean-up. He was spotted by some of my men with a 97% positive match."

"And where is he now?" the creature questioned.

"He's with the so-called Avengers," the human said bitterly. "And, unfortunately, I can no longer keep track of them easily; they've left my organization. He would be hard enough to capture him alone. He now has the support of almost all of them."

"He dwells with his enemies?" The giant creature chuckled. "Always adapting. Always surviving: one way, or another."

"If his death is all you require for your assistance with attainment of the Tesseract, then it won't be for much longer," the mortal assured the blue beast of a man. "He has a weakness."

"Oh?" the giant asked. "Please. Enlighten me."

"The girl," the man said. "The one he exposed himself protecting. She can be used to draw him out."

"You know nothing of your enemy," the frost giant growled. "He was raised in Asgard; and Asgard will always demand justice...or vengeance. Kill her, and you will call hammer of judgement of the Eternal Realm upon you."

"Worry not, my temperature challenged friend," the man said. "I have no intentions of killing her any longer. They have all dealt with death before. I was thinking more of a... business opportunity. I happened to have an opening for a pet project, of sorts. One for which I think Miss Lewis will be quite ideal." He paused, looking at the frost giant quite intently. "And with your help; I think we can do far worse to God of Mischief, and all of the Avengers, than kill them. At first, anyway." The giant, intrigued, slowly stepped forth from the darkness, his footstep trembling the very ground, revealing the rest of his massive form. Still, the mortal seemed quite unimpressed.

"What is this project of which you speak?"

"Oh, just a side curiosity really," he said. "Tell me: how do you think Miss Lewis would look in blue?"