There was not a knock at the door, nor was there a warning before one of the servants pushed open the heavy wooden door of our room. Instead she came in out of breath, but excited, about something. "Wake my Lord and Lady, the Lady Jane is giving birth, the first has already arrived!"

Loki waved his hand in a dismissive manner, still lying with his face buried into the pillow, inky strands of hair spread over the pillowcase, and the she scurried away. I propped myself up, wincing at the sudden movement and the pain that shot through my head as well; and I really didn't want to get up. "Wake up Loki." I shook his shoulder and poked his head with my finger.

"I am awake." He retorted, the sound muffled by the pillow.

Smirking I nudged a little closer to him, tapping my fingers across his bare shoulder blade, why I contemplated my next move, and the way to execute it. Impulsively I pushed him off the bed as quick as possible, but at the last second he gripped my wrist and pulled me to the floor with him, the sheet falling over his.

"Now you're awake." I pressed my hands to his chest and pushed myself off of him, only to have Loki grab my waist and pull me back, our lips meeting. With a crooked smile he looked up an me. "Now I'm awake."

"Stalling isn't going to change the fact that Thor and the others have no since of privacy." I retorted and began to push myself up to my own feet until Loki pulled me back down to him, the thin sheet fluttering over us. We stayed like that for what seemed an eternity; skin pressed on skin with is arms locked around my waist. "You're so warm." He mumbled into my hair, the chill of his skin contrasting with mine in the most pleasant way. I slid my hands into his hair, working my fingers through the soft locks of raven hair, lifting my head from his chest.

"And you, my Frost Giant, are always so cool." Minutes passed, or so it felt, that we just looked into each other's eyes with an intensity that could have caused supernovas, and consumed entire galaxies. Our breath mingled in the small gap between our lips; my eyes fluttered shut and in a hushed murmur I simply said, "Kiss me you fool."

His lips met mine with an unexpected ferocity, for lack of better words it was devouring and possessive but still contained the tenderness that I had grown so accustomed to. His hand wound its way in my hair, gently tugging a handful back, his other hand pressing into the curve of my back. As with everything the moment had to end, it just did so rather unexpectedly when it was Thor who barged into the room, more jubilant than ever, it even radiated from his footsteps. "Loki? Eira?"

My eyes widened and quickly I wrapped the bed sheet around as a makeshift dress, popping my head up from the opposite side of the bed, Loki propping up as well, few things could make the God of Thunder blush in such a way as to thinking he had caught us in the act of something positively scandalous. "Am –am I interrupting?"

"No." "Yes." We both responded at the same time; I looked at Loki with a preposterous glare and began to push myself away and up from Loki. Thor flashed his beaming smile and jovial announced the birth of his children. "We wish you to come see the babes."

"We will be in shortly!" And with that he left, leaving Loki and I by ourselves once more. Teasingly he ghosted his fingers up my arms and continued to trace my collarbones with such placidity that it sent shivers down my spine, but I knew what he was trying to do, and mentally I scoffed. Smooth fucker. Hopping up I went to the closet to fetch a pair of legging and shooed Loki away to ready himself with a scowl plastered on his perfect face, and with unbrushed hair and an oversized tunic of Loki's I hurried down the hall, Loki only a few steps behind.

Two maids opened the door and gestured for us to remain quiet; I nodded and slipped into the room that was to be the nursery for when Thor and Jane were on Asgard. Murals adorned the ceilings, the colors crisp and soothing, and lying in the bed with a babe swaddled in blue cloths was Jane, and sitting next to her with his legs neatly folded beneath him was Thor and a bundle of pink.

"The newest members of our family, Alvis and Tyra Thorson."

"Such resilient names." Loki commented, obviously thinking of the meaning behind each one. Alvis the wise and Tyra, strong like thunder.

Reluctantly Thor passed Tyra to me, and to say I was nervous was a bit of an understatement, I had never done this before, never have I held something so small and pure, untouched by the destructive world in which we live. My hands were far from innocence, the deeds I have done in my past could stain the seas scarlet, they were tainted with death and destruction, reminiscent of the many missions that SHIELD used me for, and to them as an organization I was simply an asset.

I shook the thoughts from my mind and looked at the little girl I was holding. She was going to have blonde hair, just like her father, and a plethora of it at that as golden ringlets had already popped up. Loki peered over my shoulder, his arms wrapping around my waist.

"She's so small, so innocent." I mumbled, and at hearing a new voice her eyes popped open to reveal large brown eyes, that immediately started to water up and much to my dismay she began crying, and no amount of cooing or rocking could shush her. However Thor was quick to take her back into his burly arms, and she calmed almost immediately, she is going to have him wrapped around her finger. Jane smiled and continued to cradle Alvis in her arms, strands of black hair peeped out of the blue blanket and icy blue eyes met my side glance.

"They are adorable, but I think Loki and I have overstayed our welcome for now, the new family must bond." I didn't wait for Loki to respond but instead pulled him from the room by the hand and down the halls to the stables.

"Where are we going Eira?" Loki hissed in my ear, but I merely laughed and slung a saddle on the back of a sleek brown stallion, and pulled Loki up onto the horse. "We're going somewhere I can clear my mind."

I kicked the horse into a gallop, taking the beaten path that lead to the secluded beach of Asgard, the water lapping at the sandy, the spray of the sea refreshing, and the constant breeze fought off the stanch summer air. Sliding off the horse I tethered him to a rock and removed the saddle and kicked off my sandals, the sand finding its way between my toes.

"Tell me now why we're here?" Loki questioned, pulling his shirt off and tossing it aside, basking in the softer rays of the morning sun.

"I just –I got to thinking about my past, and all the ghosts and enemies I made for myself." Forcing a small smile I kicked some of the sand around, and treaded to the water's edge, Loki in pursuit.

"Tell me." His voice was barely a whispered, carried on the wind until it reached my ear; I turned and looked up at him, and rested my head on my chest. "Please Eira, I know we each have a past, and I know they are still trying to eat away at us, but I want to help, let me in…" Loki conjured a blanket and laid it on the sand, the sound of waves softly breaking a relaxing sound. "You know mine…let me know yours."

I laid back on the blanket changing my leggings into shorts with the small amount of magic that Loki had taught me and though of where to begin, and how to begin, these memories weren't exactly things I was proud of, the majority of which I wanted to forget, I knew I never would, and no matter how I tried to make something up for the horrors of my past they were a part of me and they would never go away.

"They say that hands have to ability to build and destroy, and mine a stained red…"

"They say that hands have to ability to build and destroy and mine a stained red, I always looked forward to dying really, and it would have been my escape. Immortality, it's something that has intrigued me to no end, what could one person do for eternity, how would you live, how would you be able to deal with your past, because it would never be forgotten? But with that no person is really whole. No person is ever truly free. The only way to live would be to die. In death, I would have been free of the weight of my past…"

I turned my head so I was no longer looking at Loki, my eyes betraying me, tears forming at the corners and threatening to stream down my face. But his cool hand touched my cheek, and pulled my gaze so it met his once more. "Do you still wish for death?" His voice was relatively monotonous, and instantly I regretted my words, I had made it sound like I eventually wanted to leave him.

"No –no, I met you, and now I have a reason to live, to live forever, so I can wake up in your arms and kiss you goodnight, I'm not leaving you, Loki, I never want to leave you." I placed my hand atop his, holding it to my cheek as I began once again. "When I told you before that SHIELD had found me, it was only a partial truth, they did find me, but it wasn't for recruitment, for service; my ability to control fire astounded them and that's what drew them to me, and I became a test subject, for two years they pushed me so hard, physically and mentially, manipulated my genes and in a freak accident, a serum they developed gave me telepathic abilities as well. And uncontrolled I killed everyone in the lab because I was scared, I couldn't control my powers, and no one knew me…

But I met Tony, and he took me in; and soon SHEILD came knocking on his door, they wanted me to work for them, somehow they continued to track me even though I escaped, they wanted me to be a spy, and having no real family or life at the young age of eighteen I agreed; I trained, fought, and perfected mind-reading, and then I was sent off all over the world. London, Paris, Moscow, Sydney, even Oslo. I've killed so many people in cold-blood simply because someone claimed they were a possible threat, they had families, they were fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters and I was the one who pulled the trigger, I burned holes through their chests, destroyed their minds from the inside…

At the time I was too young and ambitious to notice that they were using me and to notice the affect that it was having on my mental health, as an asset, as a card to be played against the other to gain the upper hand; but I always found a thrill in the operations, the risks, the killing, and the possibility of dying. On one mission in Iran with Natasha I took a bullet in the back after our car was pushed off a cliff, which marked the first of times I should've died. Once I was captured by an organization that claimed to be descendants of HYDRA, they tied me to a chair and watched me go insane, it was a year before SHIELD found me, a bullet casing still lodged in my back, less than two millimeters from my spinal cord. It took two more times of me nearly being killed till Tony finally confronted Fury and Alexander Pierce…

So I tried to trade in field work for a desk job, but it didn't work out well; they needed my abilities, I watched them ruin the lives and kill twenty poor souls trying to replicate my genes within them, so when they realized I was one of a kind they really began to treat me as a tool. While you were imprisoned on the Helicarrier, they were originally going to send me to interrogate you, I had orders to use any way and any force necessary, but Tony knew how traumatic my life had been up until that point and with the short story Thor gave us he was afraid I would sympathize with you; so instead you got to meet Nat instead and then the explosion happened…

I died Loki, my heart stopped being completely, I knew peace after the explosion, sweet tranquility my miserable life was finally ending; but I was one of SHIELDs best so they took extra efforts to bring me back, and when it worked I was almost disappointed that they wouldn't let me slip away. Fury sent me to Asgard as an ambassador, as you know, but it was really a bogus mission, it was for me, Tony convinced him. He said 'you need a place to go to get away from all of this before I lose you completely kiddo' and with you and Thor returning to Asgard, naturally Fury created false orders to go. Two years later I found myself breaking you out of prison, and falling head over heels in love, something I never thought would happen to me…but here we are, a little over a year later."

My voice had grown strangled, each word harder to speak than the last, I squeezed my eyes shut, trying my hardest to clear my mind of the vivid images that came flashing back through, like I was there, like I was reliving everything.

"Open your eyes Eira. Open them love." Loki's voice cooed in my ear, and with the silver laced within his words it was hard not to comply. I cracked one eye open to see Loki looking down at me. "Let me see those beautiful eyes that hold a storm like no other… Nothing and I swear to you Eira, nothing will harm you while I am here."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." I whispered quietly, raising my hand to tuck the fallen pieces of hair behind his ear, and propped myself up in the process. Momentarily his eyes held hurt and then understanding and a small smile curved on his thin lips. "This is a promise I intend on keeping until my last breath."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing my forehead to rest on his. "Don't Let Me Go, promise me that Loki, don't you ever let me go." The changing tides crept closer to where we were laying, the blanket becoming dampened at our feet, and creeping up with each breaking wave. Loki pushed my back on my back, moving so that his weight was mainly splayed on each hand placed at the side of my head.

"I promise." I exhaled a breath I wasn't even aware I was holding in and within seconds his lips were pressed against mine, drawing the air from my lungs and leaving me with his taste on my lips as another wave crashed onto shore, the water splashed over us, soaking our clothing, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered so long that I was with Loki.

The palace library was a place I never really came, granted I came more often than Thor, but in a way this was Loki's second room, he knew it as well as his own hand having explored the numerous pages for thousands of years. But for some reason I found myself curled up in a large worn leather chair, a large book opened in my lap, the covering pressed with the royal crest and golden foil weaved throughout the cover. It was Shakespeare, a collection of everything ever written by the Bard and it was well read at that, pages still creased worn from use.

It was the sonnets that held my attention, one-hundred fifty-four little poems that could take your breath away. The words carefully chosen and rhythmically read flowed so effortlessly to immortalize his love. So far I had read up to Sonnet #15. Though I could feel Loki's presence as he was peering over my shoulder skimming the same text I was intently reading.

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

Loki's smooth and suave voice perfectly recited the verses, and lyrical nature of the poem making my heart flutter in response. "Sonnet 18, a little piece that I wrote and passed along to Shakespeare."

"A poet as well as an artist, is there anything else you have perfected; or better yet that you can't do?"

"I suppose you could say various uses for my silver tongue have been perfected." He gave a playful wink and plopped down in the other chair beside mine, looking out the vast window and onto the city, throwing his legs across the arm of the piece and throwing his head back in an exasperated manner that was very much amusing. "And I cannot wield Mjolnir, so does that answer your questions?"

I gave him a side glance and shut the heavy volume of sonnets, sighing dramatically at the interrupted silence, "You know, sometimes I really want to slap you."

"Nothing's holding you back darling." Loki replied, clearly amused at the entire situation and the distraction he had created. I placed the book back on the shelf but left it sticking out just a bit further than the rest so I could find it easier. I wish to ravish her right now, pinned against that bookshelf.

"You know I can hear your thoughts Loki." I stated flatly and out-loud at that, not even bothering to turn around until I decided to flip my hair over my shoulder and gave a suggestive wink. "And nothing's holding you back darling."

And there wasn't anything holding us back until there was a knock on the door, followed by Ava's voice. "Loki? Eira? Are you two in there?" I looked at the heavy wooden doors sealed shut, tempted to not make a sound, and just let it remain the two of us, free to carry on, but the more considerate side of me wouldn't allow for that to happen. "Yes, we're in here Ava."

Loki flicked his wrist and the door opened, Ava entered fiddling with the front of healer's apron. "I just finished analyzing the sample of Eira's blood and you may want to see this."