Jane was distracted the rest of the day, too annoyed at herself to really pay attention to anything she was doing.

She had allowed herself to be manipulated yet again by him! It wasn't enough that she totally fell to his odious charm, but now to be so used.

It was only an early dinner, she reminded herself. Only dinner…

And sure enough, he was waiting for her as she emerged from the basement hole of her existence…the suffocating trap of endless, mindless, needless, pale…

"Jane, you need some sun. You are looking rather peaked."

She glared at him. "Oh, thanks for pointing that out for me."

"My pleasure," he smirked.

"You know," she began as they walked down the hall together. "You aren't exactly bronze. I'd say you are pretty pale yourself."

"I wear it well," he opened the door for her.

"Humph," and she walked through it.

"Where are we going?" Jane asked. Please don't let it be some cheesy romantic place…

"My apartment," he hailed a taxi.

"Excuse me?"

"Well," and he got in the cab. "It was too late for any reservations, so I thought that I'd order Chinese and we could eat at my place," he gave the driver the address, and looked at Jane.

Jane, who was staring at him, an incredulous look painted on her countenance.

"What?" Loki asked, innocently. "Not good enough for you? I thought you might appreciate…"

Jane put her hand up to stop him from continuing. "This isn't going to end up with us in bed, Loki."

He appeared to be affronted.

"What? Is that such a crazy conclusion?" Jane chided. "That's what our relationship was, wasn't it? Sex. Fighting. Sex. Cheap shots. More sex…"

The driver coughed.

Jane lowered her eyes and blushed a touch, then dropped her voice. "Look…I'm going to have dinner with you, but that's it. In fact, I kinda want that to be it…" she paused. "Forever."

Loki looked away from her. He didn't like this, not at all. He didn't like that Jane was demanding things. Didn't like being threatened. He could just confess right now…tell her that he loved her.

But she wouldn't believe him, and he needed all of her. All of her.

"Jane, you must understand, must know, that I am in a very bad place…that I only require some company…a friend," he swallowed. Though he was loathe to admit it, this was all partially true.

"A friend."

He looked at her and nodded.

Jane sighed loudly, sat back, and rubbed her face with her hands. He wanted a fucking friend. Well, she was likely the only candidate for that dubious position. She supposed she cold handle it for a couple of weeks…"Alright Loki. Let's see how tonight goes. If you aren't a total dick, I'll consider it."

He smirked covertly and sat back next to Jane. "I promise, there will be no dicks of any sort this evening, Miss Foster."

Jane looked at him and laughed.

There were empty containers littering the coffee table, and Jane was laughing. "I've never been to your apartment," she said between laughs.

"No?" and Loki sipped some wine.

Jane shook her head. "Nope," she ended with a pop.

"Well, here you are," he sat back in his enormous chair, Jane sitting on the sofa.

"Yeah…" and she was suddenly uncomfortable, thinking about how a few months ago she would have been delighted to be here, sitting and laughing with Loki. She blushed a touch, swallowed, and sipped her wine.

He was gazing steadily at her. "What happened to your parents?" he asked, setting his drink down, attempting to quell the unease of the moment.

"Um," she cleared her throat. "Divorced, you know. Dad passed about seven years ago. Mom followed two years later."

Loki nodded. "Were they sick?"

"My dad was…cancer. Mom was in a car accident. Kind of a freak occurrence…she never drove much, and she was tired…didn't see the eighteen wheeler changing lanes."

"Sorry…she didn't see the enormous truck?"

"Well," Jane laughed. "Like I said, she was sleepy. She never paid much attention to things…" she paused. "I take after my dad."

"Evidently."

She shrugged. "Why haven't you ever asked me about my parents?"

"I…" why hadn't he? "Well…I suppose there wasn't time to," he cocked a brow, smirking.

Jane smiled. "This is nice, Loki."

His chest warmed irritably at her observation. "I ensured you that no dicks would present themselves this evening, and…?" he waved his hand around for effect.

She smiled once more. "Well…" and she began to get up.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah…I thought that…"

"Don't go yet, Jane," he said, standing up.

"Loki…" she replied worriedly. She didn't want to get stuck here all night. "I really think that I should."

He swallowed. Don't push it; so he nodded. "Alright. Might I contact you in a day or two?"

He was asking permission to call her. Permission. Her face fell, she blinked…"Um…sure," Jane sounded anything but sure.

"That didn't sound terribly convincing."

"I mean…" she collected herself. "Yes. You can call…" hang on. "I mean…you can text me," she smiled.

"Text," and he nodded. "I'll walk you out," Loki placed his hand on the small of her back gently.

She hated the jolt her spine gave at his touch. She hated that she agreed to allow him to contact her.

But she saw that he was trying, and she could hardly deny him…after all, she loved him, despite everything.

Loki opened the door for her, dropped his gaze to the floor. "Have a good evening, Jane."

"Thanks," and she went to leave. Part of her wanted to peck his cheek…

But it was too soon for anything like that.

Not that there ever would be a time for anything like that.

And she heard him close the door behind her.

It was a strange taxi ride home.

You work too much. Come out this weekend. We can see some silly superhero film and eat popcorn.

Jane smiled at the text Loki sent her two days later.

I have plans, I told you.

Send.

She did…she had plans to clean her apartment and go grocery shopping. And she didn't want to spend too much time with Loki, not when she was trying to get over him.

Counterintuitive, that.

Cancel them.

Bastard.

No, Loki. I have things to do, and I can't cancel them. I'll see you sometime next week.

Send.

He didn't respond, so she considered the matter settled.

Wrong assumption.

Jane was scrubbing her kitchen floor with vigor, listening to motown and humming along with the Jackson 5.

"Oooh oooh baby…I want you back…"

"I had no idea that you could sing," came his voice from the other room.

Jane squealed, stood, and her hand flew to her mouth in shock. "Loki!"

He smiled his response.

"What are you doing here?!" Jane demanded.

He held up a keychain, and on it dangled what she recognized as her apartment's key. "It is advisable, when breaking up with someone, to ask for one's key back."

"We weren't dating," and Jane went over to him to snatch the chain from his grasp, but he deftly raised it above him, and as she reached over, her breast nearly brushed his face.

Loki smiled and placed the keychain under his ass, "I like this game, Jane. We should play more often."

She felt her cheeks flush and she backed away. "Hand it over."

He shook his head slowly.

"Loki…I'm warning you…"

"How could you say we weren't dating, Jane?"

She huffed and folded her arms in front of her. "Because we weren't."

"Well, how would you define such a state?"

It's going to be one of those conversations…"What do you mean?" and she sat down. Away from him.

"I mean…we engaged rather heavily in sexual intercourse…" and a forefinger went up, ticking off a descriptor. "We spent time together…" and up went a thumb.

"…we fought…" she muttered.

"We would have dinner…" another finger.

"…we ate a meal and then fucked, and then fought some more…" she said, a bit louder.

"I have a key to your apartment…" another.

"Which I only gave you because you whined about not having one…" she flatly offered.

"I know things about you, you know things about me…" yet another finger, his entire hand was now up.

"Loki, you didn't know how my parents died until two days ago!"

His hand fell to his thigh. "So? We were busy exploring other facets of one another."

"Loki, you seduced me to gain revenge on your brother, and couldn't have cared less that I fell in love with you. That isn't a relationship, that's twisted and sick."

He closed his eyes for a split second, and swallowed. "Did you ever see the film, Secretary?"

Jane's brow furrowed…Secretary…Secretary…."Yeah…wait…I think so. Why?"

"Well, some outsiders may have called that particular relationship 'twisted and sick' as you just did, but it didn't matter to them."

"Loki, look. We weren't…together. Not really. I thought that I wanted to be, but you were…well. You didn't. You made it pretty clear that you didn't," Jane sat back in the chair. "You used me. And I let you. If that's not toxic, I don't know what is."

He let a thin breath escape his nose slowly, and reaching underneath him, retrieved the keys and took off Jane's. "I had thought of you as someone with whom I shared a connection, Jane. And that is the truth," he tossed her the key and stood. "If you aren't interested in maintaining that connection, in whatever form, I understand. I won't be bothering you anymore."

"Loki…" Jane stood. "It's just…not cool to barge into someone's place. With or without a key. I promised myself that I'd be here for you for the next couple of weeks while you get through some of this stuff, and I will. But you need to lay off a bit, ok?"

He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and nodded. "I'll go, then."

Jane smiled.

"But I'll be back."

Her face fell.

"I'll call," and he smirked, and left.

What the hell! A connection! What did he mean by it?

Jane shook her head and went back to the kitchen.

She could see that he was trying…in his own very fucked up way, he was. She shouldn't turn her back on him, no matter how much her reason told her to. It wasn't kind.

She hadn't lost herself altogether in this debacle, and she would show him some kindness if it killed her.

Which it might.

But she decided that she was doing this for herself as much as for him, and that offered her some solace. She was a good person, despite it all, and she needed to retrieve that for her own sake.

So she would keep that promise to herself and be there for Loki.

Just not more than two or three times a week.

And Loki decided to walk home.

His mind was experiencing some sort of ache…or was it his heart?

Whichever it was, he disliked it. Love! What a nuisance.

But it hurt when she dismissed their relationship heretofore. It meant that despite her feelings, she was still at odds with herself. Despite his efforts, she remained unconvinced.

She didn't think that he had changed…

Had he?

And he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

Had he changed…?

Loki looked upwards and considered.

He wanted Jane for more than sex. He wanted her to be happy, and he wanted himself to provide that happiness. He wanted to know her independent of any seduction scene.

Perhaps that was growth, albeit marginally.

Loki smiled and began to walk once more.

He still loathed his father, but it was testament to his love for Jane that he wasn't perseverating on it. He had abandoned much of that ire, buried it when his false father was lowered into the ground. He rather thought that that had been Odin's design all along: keep his adopted son angry at him for the rest of his life, when there was nothing to do about it.

Well. Loki had one-upped him there.

He entered his apartment.

He shouldn't dwell on what sort of gains he happened to enjoy over Odin. What good did it do with him dead?

And he suddenly felt as though Jane's voice had uttered those words, and he squinted.

He wanted her here with him, but she threw him out.

Loki took his phone out of his pocket.

You win. I surrender. I love her.

Send.