A/N: Well folks, we're boarding the train that'll take us to the end. We're finally almost at the movie timeline!
Also, randomly enough, spoilers for Jane Eyre. Though if you've never read or watched it, you probably should sometime. My personal fave is the 1997 A&E version.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Day 183
As it turned out, three months really was not very much time at all to plan a coup. Not when there were so many other things – ranging from tolerable to loathsome – that took up so much time. Increasingly long council sessions, more lessons with Thor, additional missions to help settle the most trivial of disputes across the Nine… Loki had never felt so exhausted. Or manipulated.
Honestly, it reduced any feelings of guilt he may have had toward his plan to disrupt the coronation to nothingness. Odin was so obviously filling up every minute of his time to keep him from Jane. Painfully obviously, in fact. Less obvious were his reasons for why. Why did it suddenly matter that Loki spent nearly every spare minute with her? Did Odin not trust him not to do something with his knowledge of the Infinity Stones? Or was it something pettier, a desire to take away the only person who cared for him in order to keep him in his place?
No matter the reason, it had been effective. Loki had needed to hand off more and more of Jane's training to his mother until eventually he had to give up all of his time with her. He had not seen the girl in over a fortnight. Yet he was so close to the end that he went along without protest, accepting the situation as a necessary evil. Every moment with the girl was increasingly precious to him, but keeping Thor off the throne had to be his primary focus, no matter his immediate desires.
But now the moment was almost upon him. Everything had come together in a most elegant solution. He had arranged for a few frost giants to break into the palace during the coronation ceremony the next day. The disruption would be enough for the crowning to be delayed, giving him time to manipulate Thor into retaliating – he doubted it would take much to push him over the edge. Relations with Jotunheim were tense at the best of times, so as long as Odin found out about Thor's foolishness before it went too far, there would be no real harm done. Thor would be punished for his recklessness; between that and the Convergence passing, it would be at least another year before another ceremony would be attempted. Truly, Loki was quite pleased with his plan.
Which is why he felt so alive in this moment wandering aimlessly around the palace, the anticipation like lightning in his blood, wiring him up and decimating his ability to concentrate on anything else. It was a devious stunt, one that relied heavily upon others reacting in the ways he predicted them to. As such, there was minimal risk in someone connecting it back to him, but he still needed to be discrete. Though most Asgardians were generally obtuse, it would be imprudent of him to be so blatant in his excitement. Sif frequently questioned his loyalty even when he had no schemes, after all.
Without fully realizing where his feet were taking him, Loki found himself outside of Jane's door. Suppressing his longing to be in her presence had been difficult, but now it all came bubbling up to the surface with fortuitous timing. Had she missed him as much as he had missed her? Would she notice the change in him? Though sometimes it felt like she understood him better than the people who had known him for over a thousand years, his subconscious had recognized that it would be easier to hide his giddiness in front of her than from Thor's friends or his mother. She trusted him far more than he deserved.
After hearing her shout of approval for his entrance – he reminded himself that he seriously needed to teach her proper etiquette – Loki let himself in. He was greeted with what was now a familiar tableau: Jane's legs dangling over the arm of the sofa, her ivy green skirt pooling around her in a most unladylike fashion to reveal her creamy-white skin, and a book held up only a few inches away from her nose while her russet brown tresses splayed over the seat cushions. She had once claimed that she needed a different position for fun reading versus study reading, but Loki still could not see how holding a book up like that for any length of time would be comfortable.
Her head tilted so that she could see him, an elated grin lighting up her face. "Hey, Loki!" She giggled impishly as she snapped the book shut, nearly falling off the sofa as she swung her bare feet down to the floor. There was something a bit off about her. She had no reason to be so brightly cheery… unless….
A quick perusal of the low center table told him exactly what was wrong. "Really, Jane?" He picked up the small flask from amongst the mess of haphazardly stacked books. A whiff of the opening told him it was a fruity wine – and a strong one, at that. Where in the world had she gotten it? At least it was still mostly full. "The celebratory drinking begins tomorrow night, not today."
"I only had a sip! And Sif said it would help for calming my nerves," the girl pouted, abandoning her seat to grab wildly for the flask as he held it out of reach.
Shaking it tauntingly between his fingers, Loki replied with teasing haughtiness, "For her nerves, maybe, but not for yours. Your tolerance is abysmal." He grinned as she lunged for the flask, one hand grasping his shoulder as she balanced on her toes, trying to leverage herself higher. Even with those few extra inches, she stood no chance of winning. Taking pity on her futile efforts, he smoothly tucked the flask away in his pocket dimension.
Dropping back down, her pout deepened as she crossed her arms in irritation. "You don't have to steal my stuff, you know. You could have just asked me not to drink it."
"I was merely doing you a favor by taking away the temptation. And besides, I don't think you want to look hungover tomorrow when you're representing your whole planet."
Jane stuck her tongue out at him petulantly. For as much as he admired her intelligence, she could be amazingly childish at times. Yet, in moments like this, he found it almost endearing. "It's not like anyone cares about my planet anyway; it's stupid that I have to go as a rep."
Loki rather agreed with her. Odin had decided that Jane would attend Thor's coronation as a representative of Midgard, likely as an explanation to the rest of Asgard for why she was still at the palace. The lessons she had provided to him and Thor had been few and far between, so that excuse had run its course. But still, none of the attendees would care one whit for her presence.
In an unexpected whirl of movement, she picked up her book from where it had fallen on the sofa and thrust it out at him, almost smacking it into his face. "If I can still read, then I'm not drunk, now am I?" she countered superiorly.
The abrupt shift in conversation would seem to indicate otherwise, but Loki let that pass without comment. He glanced at the title as he brushed her arm aside. "Jane Eyre? What in the world is that?"
With a paradoxical look of sad adoration, Jane hugged the book to herself. "I grabbed it from my trailer when you took me home for your 'Sorry I was an asshat' apology tour."
He grimaced at the reminder of his callousness; he would much rather forget that horrid day when he had almost ruined everything. And with his knowledge of the Aether still kept from her, he felt entirely undeserving of her easy forgiveness.
"It's my mom's favorite book," she added quietly, pulling him out of that unpleasant thought. "And spending so much time with your mom lately made me miss mine."
Oh. It was easy to forget at times that there were people back on her planet that she cared about; mentions of her homelife were rare. But the reminder was enough to make his remaining feelings of anticipation for tomorrow fizzle out. What if, after everything, the girl still wanted to return to her former life? It was unconscionable, but the possibility sent a deep ache down to his core. He needed her here – or more accurately, he needed her to want to be here. He would not force her to stay, but neither could he follow her if she left.
And to think, only six months ago, the idea that he would ever even consider the possibility of leaving Asgard behind for a woman would have been laughable. He ought to despise her for corrupting him so.
With a sigh, Loki sat down on the sofa, her sitting down beside him and pressing against his side without needing a prompt. Ever since he had carried her out of her bathing room, Jane had become increasingly bold in the liberties she took with him – not that he objected to that in the least. But he needed to improve her spirits before she got too lost in her own melancholy. She had distracted him from his problems; he could do the same for her. Gesturing toward the book, he inquired, "So, what's it about? It must be interesting if you're named after it."
The girl rested her head against his shoulder as her legs curled up onto the cushion. "It's the story of this girl Jane who lives a miserable life until she meets Mr. Rochester. He falls in love with her purity, and she loves him for his complexity. He's secretly already married, but he's willing to commit a grave sin and condemn his soul by marrying her too so that they can be happy together. Jane finds out but can't live with that or run away with him to pretend they're married because she would lose her self-respect."
Loki had wanted to scoff at her initial description; his logical, intellectual Jane was reading a romance novel – what a waste. But as she went on, he found her words hit him profoundly. Was he not about to do something terrible himself to ensure the safety and happiness of his own Jane? Something she most certainly would not approve of? Uncomfortable with that thought, he asked hesitantly, "Then how does it end?"
"Kinda bittersweet, but it does work out between them." She shrugged against him. "There are a lot of morals in the book, but the one I always got from it is that what your heart wants isn't always what's right for your soul. So, even if it breaks your heart, sometimes you have to give up your dreams."
He knew that to be true. How many times had he wanted something that he had known was wrong? Would any of those things have been worth giving up his chance at Valhalla?
Loki looked down at the girl, taking in every inch of her. Tiny toes peeked out from the hem of her dress, which itself was a green that practically screamed for his attention – not that he needed such an enticement to recall the feel of her skin beneath it. Her hands were fidgeting with the book on her lap, but they froze as she felt his languorous assessment sweep over her. Still, he let his gaze linger as he continued upward, waiting for her to look at him. Her caramel eyes met his; his breath caught in his chest. Oh, he was most assuredly going to Hel for desiring her.
It was unequivocally wrong to want her, this beautiful mortal who was practically an infant in comparison to himself. And he did want her, in every sense of the word. The friendship they had developed was his most cherished relationship in the entirety of his existence, but that had never stopped his unconscious mind from playing with the memory of her kiss in the garden, even if she had forgotten it. Every encounter since then had only made him crave her more – body, mind, and soul. Her power, her intellect, her compassion… it was as if the Norns had designed her to be the perfect temptress just for him. It would be effortless to fall into this moment and take everything he had ever wanted, everything that she now offered so willingly.
But he had self-control, even as her dewy eyes watched him, her pink lips parting in anticipation. He was not so wicked as to take advantage of her current emotional state. If only she would want him when she was fully herself – no alcohol, no pain, no yearning for comfort influencing her mind. If such a miracle were to occur, then he would kiss her senseless, caress every inch of her until she forgot all about Midgard and the life she would have to leave behind to stay here with him.
Cutting off that fantasy before it could overrule his senses, Loki bent his head to press his lips against her smooth cheek. Her breath was warm against the side of his face, a final invitation to reconsider his rationality. Though it pained him, he reluctantly pulled back, watching a mixture of confusion and rejection pass over her face. "I think you should go to bed," he murmured lowly. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day for both of us."
Pressing a last kiss to her forehead, Loki stood up, bowing wordlessly to her before escaping the room. Jane really was a distraction like none other, he thought with a hint of bitterness. If only he could let himself give in to it.
A/N: Are all of you ready for some plot to start going down? Cuz it's gonna start going down hard lol.