That night, I can't sleep. I toss and turn, count sheep, and have JARVIS turn on very soft music, but nothing works. I can only doze off every few minutes. My mind keeps waking me back up.

Finally, at four in the morning, I get up and slip on some of Pepper's clothing that I laid out before I went to bed. I sneak out of my room quietly, instructing JARVIS to leave the lights off, and head into the living room. Once again, I stare out over the city, amazed at the amount of light coming from the buildings—enough to block out the light of millions of stars. It's a truly astonishing sight.

A moment later, I feel a presence behind me. I know who it is without looking, despite his silent approach. He's lighter on his feet than a mouse. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Loki steps up beside me, eyes on the once-beautiful city. His face is unreadable. "I could ask you the same question."

I tear my eyes from the mass of twinkling buildings and study him for a moment. "Did Thor tell you about the decision regarding you and the Stones?"

Loki's eyes leap to mine, and I notice a masked fear in them. He shakes his head slightly, warning me. "Do not call them that here."

I nod. Loki relaxes a bit. "Yes, he did." He turns back to the window. "I and the Tesseract are to be returned to Asgard like trophies of victory, and the scepter is to remain on Midgard for safekeeping." His tone is bitter. I give him a sideways glance, my own tone turning bitter.

"At least you get to return home."

Fury and pain flash across his face. He speaks through gritted teeth. "I have no home in Asgard. Not anymore."

I huff an unamused laugh. "And I can never return to my home." I shake my head. "Looks like we've both gotten ourselves into a pretty pickle."

Silence falls as we both consider the sorry truth of that statement.

"Indeed we have," Loki agrees quietly after a moment. I give him another sideways glance. His mood changes can be quite unpredictable. I decide to remain silent, not knowing what is going through his mind. Does he regret his actions? It's so hard to read him sometimes.

After a few more minutes of contemplation, Loki turns to me. "How far into the future are you able to see?"

I give him a wary look. "Far enough. Why?"

He studies me for a moment, then turns back to the window. I wonder what that was about...

"Is Odin going to execute me?"

Oh.

I look at him again. His face is carefully neutral, eyes averted, almost as though he doesn't care about the answer to that question. But I know he does. I can sense the underlying fear beneath his mask of nonchalance, and it makes my heart ache for some reason. But I can't tell him the future. I can't risk that, not again. I drop my gaze, and remain silent. Loki glances at me after a moment.

"I suppose that is a yes," he says, his tone heavy. Pain flashes through me at his accepting attitude. Misleading him about his own death hurts, but I see no other way out. At least I'm not openly lying to him again. I turn my face away.

"I'm so sorry, Loki," I whisper just loud enough for him to hear. And I truly am sorry. But the security of the future is more important to me than his knowledge of his own demise.

Loki sighs. "I assume you will stay here on Midgard with these so-called heroes."

I nod, relieved at the change of subject. "Yes. I'm considering asking Tony if I can work for him here. It would be a good place for me to adjust." I sigh, shaking my head. "I just...I don't know what to do. My own folly has put me in a precarious position, and now I will be forced to remain in hiding for years to come. I've met the men and women I've always wanted to meet, but I can't allow myself to get close to them or even help them very much for fear of ruining the timeline. I can't even warn them of what's to come! I can't do anything about the horrible things that are going to happen. Nothing!" Tears spring to my eyes at my helpless state, and I clench my jaw, turning away to calm myself down. I take a deep breath, wiping furiously at my cheeks, then walk the short distance to the nearby couch and sit down, resting my forehead on my fist. "I'm sorry, Loki," I say quietly. "All I ever do is complain to you, and you definitely don't need that right now."

Silence falls again as I calm myself down.

"You could come to Asgard with us," Loki suggests quietly. "Then you would not need to worry about the mortals' problems."

I look up, surprised. Is he actually thinking of someone besides himself for once? Or does he have an ulterior motive? "I've considered that as well. But I've lived on Midgard for so long that I act and speak like the mortals here. Asgard would have a difficult time accepting me now."

I sigh and shake my head, realizing that the reverse of that statement could be true as well. "But who's to say the Midgardians will accept me any more than my own people?" It feels so strange to speak of the Asgardians as my people, but knowing there are ears everywhere, I am forced to maintain my act as an Asgardian. And besides, I need to get used to it. I am Asgardian now.

Loki walks forward and sits on the other side of the couch. "Why are you so concerned about the mortals, anyway? You are above them, in body and mind."

I frown at him. "The fact that we live longer than them and can use magic when they cannot does not place us above them. Eventually, we will die just as they do. In my mind, that gives us equal status."

Loki frowns, obviously not agreeing. "They slaughter each other in droves and are so unruly that they cannot even settle under a monarch. They fight each other relentlessly, and are constantly trying to control each other. Tell me, how can they be our equals in such a state as that?"

I smile. "Do you remember how upon first sight, Asgard can appear to be magnificently beautiful and lacking of any imperfection? But beneath the gold and glory, there are dirty secrets beyond number."

Loki's brow furrows, probably wondering how I know that. I continue before he can comment. "Humans are just the opposite. They appear disgusting and entirely flawed upon first sight, but if you live amongst them for awhile, you begin to see their underlying strength and beauty. There is so much more to them than meets the eye, and you'd never know it if you didn't look closely."

Loki looks rather incredulous. I laugh a little, shaking my head. "I know you probably don't believe me because of my heritage, but that doesn't make it any less true. Don't forget that despite my heritage, I've lived among humans for much longer than you have." I sigh, getting up. "I'm going back to my room. The sun will be up soon, and you are going back to Asgard in a few hours. You should get some rest."

Loki glances up at me in acknowledgment, then looks away again. His brow is furrowed in deep thought. I smile slightly, then walk around the couch. As I pass him, I stop and lay a hand on his shoulder. "I hope you find the peace you're looking for," I say quietly. Loki glances up at me in surprise, but I'm already walking back to my room.

Stepping inside, I shut the door, and then collapse onto my bed. Even though I did not reach any definite solutions, the talk made me feel better. I feel bad for misleading Loki again, but soon enough he will find that he misunderstood me. I sigh and close my eyes.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting.

Author's Note: What did ya think? No, this was not just a filler chapter, and I did intend to add something else onto the end of this, but then this chapter would have been like 15 pages long, so I didn't. I hope you liked it! I'm not great with fluff, because I'm more of a realist I guess? My idea of a good romance is two people who can tell each other anything, can be themselves around each other, and fully trust/know each other. It's not all fluffy clouds and rainbows. They've been through hell and back together, and would trust each other with their lives.

In other words, prepare yourself. I have officially decided this will be a romance. Ehehehe.

Signing off, AuthorsDream.