So I am starting my new job in 3 days and won't be able to work as much on my fanfics but since this is the only fanfic I am focusing on right now I still hope to finish it up soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. Though you all know that, I have to say it for legal reasons.

Jessie

Straps rubbed against my right side, my left should, and a few other places on my abdomen as we moved down the massive hallway. The dress was tight and form-fitting at the top with part of it coming up in a fancy buckle in the upper left thigh and the rest tumbling down to brush my my right ankle. I had slipped on a pair of black leggings on underneath to cover up my exposed thigh. The last thing I needed were a bunch of buff beef heads staring at my thighs. The top of the dress fell in a semi-loose bundle of the silky sapphire fabric just above one of the buckles that ran beneath my chest. Two three inch thick straps covered my shoulders and buckled in the front.

Putting on the dress had been a test of patience and will. I was not stupid enough to arrive to Odin's little 'celebration' without wearing the gaudy thing. After getting it on, I was forced to acknowledge that I now had to put on a pair of black boots that had their own sets of buckles for me to fasten. Not to mention the heels made me a few inches taller. As we walked down the hall, I fought to maintain balance in the horrid shoes.

Loki's long fingers were intertwined with my own and I wondered if I could break his hand with how hard I was gripping it. My eyes slid up to observe Loki's profile. His face was carefully neutral, emerald eyes standing out against snow white flesh and darkening with a seriousness and control that I had not observed before in my love. They seemed to be standing on the fence between emerald and a deep forest green. His mouth was pulled tight, pink lips thinning. His hair was smoothed back, tucked behind his ears and brushing against the base of his long alabaster neck. This was Loki of Asgard, not Loki who secretly loves whipped cream and once spent an hour trying to lick it from the tip of his nose while Tony recorded it and I eventually ended it with a light kiss to his nose before moving down to his mouth and allowing him to lightly remove it from my lips as we kissed softly.

A sigh left me, I didn't like Loki of Asgard near as much as my Loki.

Loki

The slight warmth Jessica's hand provided seemed to anchor me to reality. I didn't want to be here, not if it meant that Jessie was in danger. Any Aesir who learned of what she was would line up to fight her in exchange for glory and vengeance for what the Umbra TORTOR had done to our ranks in the war. Despite knowing what would happen when they found out, I knew there was no way to avoid it. Jessica was in harms way for as long as we stood on Aesir soil.

My eyes moved to her, her face seemed to be carved from stone. Her eyes betrayed her, however, and I could see a turmoil of emotions swirling in the sapphire vortexes. Her pale skin was almost as pale as my own, as if the blood had drained from her face. A couple of small indentations decorated her lower lip from her biting it nervously when she thought no one was looking. Her shadowy black hair had been gathered and fell in a wave to rest over her left shoulder and expose the side of her neck.

Squeezing her hand reassuringly, I moved down quickly to leave a small peck underneath her ear. Her stony faced fractured as a small smile etched itself against the frozen surface.

"It will be fine," I assured her.

I wasn't referred to as the God of Lies for nothing.

Jessie

The grand room that held the celebration was bigger than any room I had ever been in. Large ornate chandeliers hung from a golden ceiling, their crystals sparkling from where they hung precariously. People dressed in dresses and fancy tunics, and some in armor that I assumed were guards, mingled in the massive space around a table that stretched across the room with chairs surrounding it. Everything appeared to be made of gold and other precious metals/gems. Tony located us soon after we entered, walking up to us in his own crimson and gold tunic thing. He pulled at the collar with a grimace and I looked to see Bruce doing similar in his black and green ensemble.

"Well don't you two look like sex with legs?" Tony smirked, moving forward to toy with the buckle on my thigh.

"Oh definitely. If by sex you mean gaudy with a dash of clumsy idiocy thrown in," I grimaced as I popped his hand. "If I hadn't brought these leggings I might have just shown up in some jeans and a shirt.

"I tried that, the guards dragged me back into the room," Tony frowned, sticking his tongue out slightly. Bruce rolled his eyes at him, tugging on one of his own buckles with discomfort.

"Where's Steve?" I asked, looking around for the Captain. My eyes finally spotted the blond from where he was walking alongside Thor and four other Aesir I didn't know. One looked like ginger Santa, one was a woman with long black hair and a piercing gaze that was fixed on Thor in a very suggestive fashion, another looked like Jackie Chan meets Shakespeare, and the last was handsome with blond hair and playful eyes. All three wore armor, as if were a second skin to them. Steve was in a blue tunic with golden detailing. Thor had his arm strung across Steve and his booming laughter stretched across the room to meet my ears. Steve laughed much less audibly before catching sight of us and pointing in our direction.

"Brother! Friends!" Thor boomed as he marched up to us and slid his arm back to his side before moving and pulling Loki into a crushing hug. Loki hissed out a protest that I couldn't quite make out before pushing Thor off of him. Thor's smile did not falter as he turned to us. "Meet my friends, Sif and the Warriors Three!"

Of course.

"You must be the Heroes of Earth! Thor spins many tales of your battle against-" Sif shoved her elbow into the ginger Santa's abdomen with a sharp glare. He looked confused before seeing Loki and clamping his mouth shut.

"We are. I'm Tony Stark and these two are Bruce and Jessica," Tony moved forward, slipping into his natural state. He knew how to handle people. He could pull their strings like a grand puppet master, his words luring them into a dance.

"I am Sif. This is Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun," Sif introduced herself and the Warriors Three, her eyes moving to land on mine as my hand searched the air for Loki's. "I do not remember Thor speaking of you."

Loki's hand did not appear to take mine and I looked to see his icy gaze piercing each of Thor's friends with a burning chill that cause the hairs on the back of my neck to rise. Tony took up conversation from there, steering the topic away from me until Odin's voice rang out across the hall and it was time to eat.

Odin and Frigga sat together at the head of the table, looking across it with plastered on smiles. To Frigga's right sat Loki and I sat beside him. Thor sat to Odin's left with a broad smile on his face as he conversed with Sif. On my other side was Tony and I was never more thankful for the inventor's presence. Loki wasn't quite being Loki, and that was frightening in and of itself. Fandral sat diagonal from me beside Sif and smiled at me from across the plates filled with food that were spread out in front of everyone. His smile was charming and I almost calmed at the sight of it. Smiling a small smile back to the blond, I turned to look at Loki. He was now glaring at Fandral and when I reached up to touch his shoulder he turned his fierce gaze to me. Seeing me, his icy exterior melted just enough to assure me that my Loki was still there. I moved up to kiss one diamond-cutting cheek before turning back to my food and nibbling on it.

A spoon clanged against glass and I turned to see Odin standing.

"We are gathered to celebrate the return of both of my sons where they belong and to welcome the Heroes of Midguard," his voice boomed across the room and Loki stood in sync with Thor. Both looked to Steve, Tony, an Bruce and I watched from where I sat as the three men stood as well. "We also want to greet a special guest, Lady Jessica of Midguard."

I stood shakily, expecting the worst as one beady blue eyes bore into me along with dozens of others.

"She is to thank for the rehabilitation of my younger son, Loki," Odin smiled and I felt ice freeze in over my chest as the room fell silent. His eyes glared into the sapphire fabric of my dress and I knew that he knew Loki had changed the color. "Now, we may feast!"

The tension in the air lifted and cheers rang out before the sound of silverware hitting plates filled the room. We sat, my appetite having vanished as I picked at my food.

"And you must be Jessica," a voice purred behind me and I was distracted from my search for Loki, he had disappeared amidst the other Aesir with Frigga. Turning around, I spotted Fandral grinning at me. My body tensed, eyes leaping across the room in search of my friends. Tony was too short, damn it. My eyes caught with the blues of a tall blond and I almost groaned in annoyance. I didn't need Thor hopping in if something happened.

"Fandral, right?" I moved my eyes back to him, trying to will the shadows to my side. It felt as if I had been wrapped in plastic, a suffocating, clear layer that separated me from safety.

"You must be quite the special woman to be able to handle Silvertongue," his grin shifted into a smirk and I narrowed my eyes at the mocking way he said Silvertongue.

"Are you referring to Loki? I don't handle him. He's my-"

"What? Your friend? That freak doesn't have friends, Lady Jessica. He never has," Fandral moved forward and placed a hand on my upper arm. His palm pressed against my arm was warm and I almost leaned into it before remembering that my love's hand were chilled and lean, not warm and callused. "Why do you wish to waste your youth and beauty on someone who can't care for you the way you deserve?"

"There you are Lady Jessica! The Man of Iron wished to show you something and I volunteered to retrieve you for him," Thor smiled and nodded at Fandral before placing a hand on my back and pulling me away. As soon as we were lost in the sea of guests, I risked a look up at him.

"Where's Tony?" I asked, not seeing the short inventor anywhere.

"The Man of Iron did not send me," Thos informed me, his hand not leaving my back as he guided me through the people and ignored most of the ones that tried to speak with him.

"Then why-"

"My friend, Fandral, is known for his... conquests in certain areas with... women. Normally I would let him have his fun but you are my brother's love and, I hope, my friend," Thor stopped when we reached a small clearing in the room, separating from me and rubbing the back of his neck.

"You want to be my friend?" I quirked an eyebrow at him surprise. His face broke out in a grin and I almost kicked myself for being so mean to him. Thor was... still annoying; but I had to admit that he had a talent for looking like an overgrown pup when he wasn't putting up the 'soldier bravado' shtick. Thor nodded and I rolled my eyes. "We didn't get off on the right foot and you still annoy me but so does Tony so...sure."

"Jessica!" I turned to spot Loki walking my way. His hand reached out to take mine and there was a small smile on his face as he pulled me to his side. "Frigga wishes to meet you."

"Brother, I-" Thor was interrupted by a sharp glare and I waved goodbye to him as Loki pulled me off in another direction. His hand was wrapped around mine in an iron grip, the familiar chill that usually calmed me instead sending a sharp stab of worry through me. Loki was being so... abrupt and emotionless. It wasn't like him. That freak doesn't have friends...

Frigga had been kind and warm, her adoration for Loki glowing in every way as she looked upon him. We talked with her, Loki with his arm around my waist as if I may fly off at any moment, for a while before Odin appeared. He grinned, his one good eye glittering when he saw us.

"How are you both enjoying the celebration?" Odin asked with a plastered on grin.

"Why didn't you tell them about what I am?" I hissed out the question, hairs raising on the back of my neck.

"Because they already know."

Oh look. It's kind of long. Enjoy? Review? Have a cookie!