Hello dearest readers,

First of all, shame on me for making you wait so long. I'm truly sorry.

Anywho, here is a new chapter(:

You already know I don't own Marvel.

When I awoke, I was again surprised to find another person in my bed, but I relaxed when I realized it was Loki and remembered what had happened. As strange as it sounds, it was actually kind of nice to be cuddled up next to him. He had changed so much since I'd met him. I had too, actually.

Loki was still asleep, arms wrapped around my torso. Sometime during the night our legs had gotten tangled together. If anyone had seen us like this, they would have immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. Loki and I weren't like that, though. We... well, it just wouldn't work out. I remembered what I realized when I found him in the woods, but I couldn't let myself act on those feelings. Loki was a god and still considered a criminal by almost the entire population of my planet. I was a mortal who worked for the organization that had fought against him. Oil and water. Besides, he couldn't feel the same about me.

He had seemed so relieved when I woke up yesterday, though...

No. Stay professional.

But... what Fury didn't know wouldn't hurt him... and I was still technically doing my job, just maybe not the way SHIELD intended.

I decided to just enjoy laying in Loki's arms for a while longer, burying my face in his shirt. He tightened his embrace slightly, as if he had felt me moving and was afraid I was going to leave.

Laying there together felt almost... natural.

Loki woke up as I began to drift off again. I just barely felt him brush my hair out of my face and heard him whisper something. I couldn't understand the words, but the tone was sweet. Slowly, his voice grew louder. "Megan? Megan, wake up."

"Mmmph. What?"

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he smirked. "Were you planning on sleeping all day?"

"I'll have you know I already woke up. I just elected to stay in bed because someone's arms were wrapped firmly around my waist."

"Of course you did," he replied, blushing slightly, "Are you hungry?"

"Starving, actually." I had no idea how long it had really been since I had eaten.

Loki got out of my bed and started walking to the door. "I'll go make breakfast."

"Wait," I said, pushing myself up from the bed, "Can I come with you? I don't... I don't want to stay up here alone."

"Sure," he answered, smiling slightly. "Can you walk on your own?"

"I think so." I slid my legs out from under the covers and set my feet on the floor. My feet still felt weird, but I was able to stand up. I took a step forward and started to topple over. "Loki!"

He caught me and helped me back to my feet, keeping an arm around my waist so I wouldn't fall again. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I just..." I didn't want to admit it. "I can't really feel my feet."

"Oh." He tried to hide the concern on his face. "Could you walk if I was helping you?"

"Maybe... I can try."

Loki lifted one of my arms to hold onto his shoulder and grabbed my other hand. We started walking slowly, him almost carrying me.

Not being able to walk on my own scared me almost as much as it frustrated me. I'd never handled illness or injury well, but this combination of helplessness and uncertainty of recovery was really getting to me. I hadn't felt this awful since I had mono in middle school.

We stopped at the top of the stairs, Loki waiting for me to decide what to do. I just stared down into the entryway. Had the single flight of stairs always been this tall? As much as I wanted to try to walk down, I knew that even with Loki helping, there was a good chance I'd fall and get hurt.

"I don't think I can do this," I whispered. I wasn't sure if I meant the stairs or being so weak.

"What was that?"

"I don't... I can't walk down the stairs."

Loki's face softened. "Do you want me to carry you?"

I took a deep breath and nodded. Loki leaned down and slipped an arm under my knees, lifting me like a bride. I slipped my arms around his neck. If I wasn't so frustrated about not being able to walk I would think he was being incredibly sweet.

Loki slowly made his way down the stairs, trying to walk as smoothly as possible, and set me down on the couch. He handed me the TV remote and covered me with the blanket that was usually draped over the back of the recliner.

"Just shout if you need anything," Loki said as he turned to walk to the kitchen.

I nodded. Loki was just trying to be helpful. It wasn't his fault I felt so useless, but I was a SHIELD agent, damn it, trained to survive almost anything. Yet here I was, forced to rely on someone else just to leave my bedroom.

I didn't realize I had been crying until Loki was kneeling in front of the couch wiping tears from my face.

"Megan, what is the matter?" He lifted my face and I noticed just how worried he looked.

"I'm helpless!" I cried. "I can't do anything for myself and I can't walk and I'm just sitting here while you're doing everything." My voice cracked as I rambled. "This wouldn't have even happened if I had just put on warmer clothes."

Loki's face melted. "This is anything but your fault. I should not have run off so carelessly."

"I'm the moron who went after you in jeans and fuzzy boots."

"You did not know how cold it was outside." Loki sat on the couch and held my hands in his own.

"I could've come back to the house."

"Megan..." Loki paused. "If I had been honest about my true heritage you would have known that I would not be affected by the temperature, and you would have stayed here and safe. I should have told you sooner." I looked up to find Loki staring at me with sad eyes. "I am sorry."

"Loki, you don't-"

"Hush. You need to eat." He took the forgotten breakfast tray from the coffee table and set it on my lap. "I made everything because I was not sure what you would like."

There was probably enough food for four people on the tray, but I was so hungry I didn't care. I started eating three different kinds of eggs as Loki turned the TV on to some talk show. He flipped through the channels while I was distracted by my breakfast buffet and a looming cloud of uncertainty.

What if I didn't get better? I couldn't be a field agent if I couldn't walk. I'd definitely be taken out of this project with Loki. I stopped eating and began to push my food around randomly. I didn't want to go back to filling out paperwork and monitoring computer programs. I loved working out here with Loki. I couldn't leave this. I loved Loki.

My fork scraped against the plate, making an awful creaking noise.

Loki whipped around to look at me. He looked down at my plate and asked concernedly, "What is wrong? You're still not eating." He looked genuinely worried.

I sighed and moved the tray of food back onto the coffee table. "I'm just... If I don't get better, I don't want anything to change." Loki looked confused. "I don't want SHIELD to make me leave this project because of what happened."

His face softened. "I sincerely hope that does not happen." Loki pulled me over so I was leaning on his chest. "I would miss your company too much."

I smiled with my face half buried in Loki's shirt. I was still worried, but hearing Loki say he would miss me was somehow reassuring.

I hope you liked it(:

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