A/N: Yaay another chapter. Another horrendously long, long chapter...sigh...but yaay finally some Darcy/Loki banter. Finally!

Warning: I have no intention of writing Loki as a fluffy kitten and Darcy well…she's no push over. Let's just say this relationship doesn't start off all rainbows and sunshine. And these two staying in character will probably be something I am constantly worrying about…

Big thank you to my beautiful Beta Soprano Shadow who is btw is awesome ;p

Enjoy! And don't forget to tell me your thoughts!

The Covenant

Chapter I

Covenant: (1) a contract, a formal promise made under oath. (2) A promise made between man and God.

She dreamt she was six again, dancing in a ballet recital, twirling in sync with the music and the other girls her age, remembering just how much fun it was to be in the spotlight. They had reached the finale, and as Darcy did her little curtsy she looked out into the cheering crowd in search of her family.

But they were gone.

Her happy dream had now turned into an anxious swarm of dizzying colors and flashing lights. The anxiety and homesickness she had felt during the last few days finally taking its toll on her. Leaking into her dreams and playing havoc on her subconscious.

Now older and a lot bigger, Darcy ripped off the shrunken tutu she had outgrown, leaving behind her childish fears to enter into a new dream, one that left her in a state of awe.

She was in space… or at least a room that looked to be in the vortex of space with its walls covered in shimmering stars and rotating galaxies. On closer inspection the walls of the room appeared to be a conglomeration of strangely stitched cloths within a tapestry. The stars really holes with a long silken thread pulled through them. And there were piles of said thread scattered everywhere.

Curious as to where the string might lead her Darcy quickly took a hold of it, navigating her way through this strange dark world. Until finally something out of the ether had actually tugged her string back.

There in a corner of the starry room lay the slumped form of a man. One connected to her thread. But with his back turned to her all she could see was a thick head of hair. His lanky body bent and brooding over a bundle of glistening cloths. In his hand a needle.

Huh, Darcy thought, so it'd been him sewing all of these cloths together.

"I weave my own fate."

The thin man was muttering to himself, mostly cryptic things, as his right hand shot up out of nowhere to move the needle against something solid. The swiftness of his action causing the twine in her hands to actually vibrate.

Darcy took a cautious step back.

He was sewing but it was hard to tell exactly what it was. There was something not right about this whole scene and yet… she couldn't seem to keep herself from looking away from him. And with each and every step that she drew closer Darcy instantly regretted it. For the man had been attempting to sew the very same thread she held… into his mouth.

Jesus. He was trying to sew his own lips shut!

"I weave my own-"

"Stop it!"

She was by his side. Kneeling in front of this incredibly tall man to clutch at his wrists and shake him.

"Are you insane?" Darcy spat glaring up into his face, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

With all that hair covering his features his expression was a hard one to read. But it was like he wasn't really thinking at all much less aware of his own surroundings. It was almost as if he were in a trance.

Wait… could he be dreaming?

It was really hard to say. It certainly felt like he was watching her through all that hair.

Without warning the strange man had moved to grab her and goosebumps rose up and down Darcy's flesh. The mystery man was now clutching onto her body like one would frantically hold onto a life preserver. His hands making her nerves tingle at just how intimately they roamed up and down the expanse of her arms and back. It was as if he were trying to memorize every part of her, like he was practically inhaling her. A shiver of anticipation raced through Darcy Lewis over what he was about to do next… and she didn't even know him. How was he so familiar with her body? And why did something like the simple pressure of his hand against her hip feel so intimate?

The intern shook her head in an attempt to snap herself out of it. Her face now flushed a deep scarlet at the way his hand had snuck up to her breast to tenderly cup it…and then squeeze.

Darcy gave out a mortified yelp. Things were escalating way too quickly for her liking and it was high time to put a stop to it.

Squirming her way out of his overly affectionate hold she heard the man let out a frustrated growl. His hands had suddenly clasped onto her head, tilting it in every which way as if he were examining a snow globe. Dexterous fingers catching against her hair to playfully tickle her ears and draw her even closer to him.

Darcy found herself at a loss for what to do. Ensnared and fearful of the way this thin man swayed his head next to hers. His bloodied mouth way too close for comfort as his hairs tickled her face and his thumb brushed over her lips. It was almost as if he were priming her for-

Her face flushed again.

Unaware of the conflict waiting to tear them apart the man continued his attempted kiss. Darcy's tardiness to act emboldening him even further as his whole body made to engulf her.

Nope, Darcy thought, not today buddy. You have to at least wine and dine me first before you get the free pass into Darcyland.

Just as their lips were about to make contact she latched onto his hair and pulled it back, her hair tugging exposing his face, her eyes finally meeting his for the first time to collide and linger.

Darcy's stomach belly-flopped. The name of a God she had never wished to meet's name unceremoniously flying out of her mouth. It was all she could manage what with said God's breathe now feathering the side of her cheek.

Loki's green eyes were staring down at her in a dazed intensity only to suddenly glow in a feverish delight at the sound of his name on her trembling lips. And she could have sworn his irises had darkened with something primitive.

In a puff of smoke the needle, the blood and thread had disappeared to reveal a deadly grin on an even deadlier God.

Loki awoke in a haze to the sound of his name on the human woman's mouth when only moments before he had been dreaming...which was laughable really that he could dream at all what with him beingdisembodied consciousness. And yet somehow his mind had subconsciously managed to nod off and meld together with hers. His new form desperately needing the energy if it had landed him here again.

But then… he could work this to his advantage.

Though he could not fully possess Darcy Lewis in his current state if she were to accept his presence as an inevitability and swear allegiance to him…it could speed up the possession process entirely.

Choked back sobs suddenly drew the God's attention away from his thoughts to remind him of just where he was. And just who his arms were wrapped around. He could practically feel the girl's heavy breathing and the vital beat of her heart against his chest. And Loki watched at how she squirmed under him, the way her body swayed with every shudder. How that strange Midgardian garb she wore showed off her more interesting body parts…

Loki cursed.

Though he might not have been able to recall the full extent of what he had dreamt of he knew it had revolved around the young woman kneeling next to him. The clearest part of his dream her and the way her nearness had made him feel… comforted.

This would not do.

The Trickster God gently pushed Darcy Lewis away, as though burned by the memory. But the silly girl had dared to take this as leave to go and took off.

"You won't get very far, my dear." Loki yelled after her, suddenly reappearing out of thin air to hover next to her, "this is a dream after all."

"What?" Darcy squeaked as she came to a complete halt to turn and face him; her expression incredulous, "I'm dreaming?"

Loki smirked as he watched her expression change. Darcy Lewis had thankfully stopped her attempted get away. Only now, with her eyes closed and brow furrowed, she stood frozen in place.

"What are you doing now, you silly girl?" Loki asked thoroughly amused by her antics.

"Isn't it obvious?" Darcy replied, "I'm wishing you- a figment of my imagination- away."

Loki chuckled at her logic, "I'm sure you're not the first person who's ever tried to do so."

"This is my dream isn't it?" She growled growing more and more agitated by his presence, "So… shoo!"

But Loki only moved closer.

"Urrgh, why do I keep dreaming about you?" The girl moaned her face an interesting shade of pink as she wrung her hands in exasperation.

"Get out of my head!" Darcy snapped shoving him, an unforeseen aura enveloping around her as she did so, shooting up from under her hands to move him five paces away.

The strange impact of her blow had actually winded him and together they both stood in a shared silent shock over what she had done. The woman was becoming self-aware within their shared dreamscape…an awareness that could only spell disaster for what he had planned for her.

Materializing in front of Darcy, Loki snatched her hands before she could inflict any further damage, crouching in front of her small form to cradle her in his arms. They were now at eye-level with each other and her natural fear of him was showing, as big eyes turned to saucers and perfect lips trembled.

"You should be gone by now." Darcy moaned looking up at him with big disbelieving eyes.

"I'm afraid it's not a simple matter of wishing me away, Miss Lewis-" The God replied and taking a strand of her hair Loki thoughtfully twirled it in his fingers, "We share a consciousness now you and I," he murmured in her ear, "and believe me this is very real."

"Wha, what the hell are you talking about? And just how exactly do you know my name?" Darcy growled as she trembled at the simple touch. Demanding answers from a supposed "figment of her imagination." Loki openly sighed at the display.

"You, dear girl, certainly have an odd way of conveying your fear of me." He muttered.

Darcy's eyes narrowed as she tried again. "Why the hell are you in my dre-"

But a chalky white finger had grazed her lips to quiet her and once a blessed silence was reached between them Loki continued.

"Now, how best to put this in abridged terms that even you, a mortal child, would understand," the God groaned more to himself than to her as his long fingers began to massage his temple, "Due to circumstances beyond my control I have been made into a…a phantom-," Loki's nose curled at the word, "and am currently residing within you in this very household. You see I am trapped within what you mortal's call purgatory. A result of my-" Loki smiled as he grappled for the right words, "uncanny inclination of getting into trouble with the wrong people an-"

"Don't you mean an "uncanny inclination" of generally making others miserable and causing mass genocide?" Darcy spat, her bravado still indicative of her denial that he was real. And Loki gritted his teeth at the interruption. His patience with the young woman now wrung wickedly thin as she consistently refused to acknowledge him.

There was too much fight in her as she wiggled that oddly garbed body against him. It was causing his thoughts to wander to other things…things he had no time for.

Time to cut the pleasantries short, the God thought, annoyed at how quickly the girl was able to get under his skin.

"Oh, but you are a passionate and snarky little creature aren't you, Darcy-" Loki spat as he watched her head pop up at the sound of her name. His fingers condescendingly pinching her cheek as she did so.

"But that's impossible, you say, how could I possibly know of you?" The God sardonically droned wide eyed and all innocence, "Why your dear friend Dr. Selvig showed me you when I took his heart. You're the one who wastes her insipid life away staring vapidly into a screen. The one who lacks a filter on the things she says; the young and awkward assistant. Oh, how you clung to them for your affections. How you followed that Jane Foster around like a lost puppy. My you are such a good and loyal little friend."

At the mention of Dr. Foster and Erik Selvig Darcy's body immediately froze beneath him. And Loki knew that she clung onto his every word. The wheels inside her head no doubt spinning at that bit of information.

"You'd feel absolutely wretched if anything horrid were to ever befall them, wouldn't you?" He continued, "Especially if what befell them was your fault for not obeying me!"

His face was a distorted mask, a menacing sight he hoped to portray to his small audience. But she was no longer watching him. All her attention had been drawn to the glimmering walls that covered their dream world. For projected unto the starry landscape were images of…of his thoughts and memories. He had unknowingly been projecting them, his time spent in the company of Dr. Selvig and the Avengers, the Other, the birds he had manipulated to get here. The image of how entwined their bodies had been when they had laid together…all of it was being showcased up there on that, that wall.

This dream… it was as susceptible to change as ripples within a stream of water. Its fluidity was absorbing his every thought to form this, this prism, soaking up his consciousness as if it were a sponge. And as the images projected began to warp and twist in a kaleidoscopic fashion Loki gazed intently at the way the girl watched them in complete mortification.

Is this what it will take to convince you? He wondered.

"That was you…," she stammered, "out there in the mist… I even waved to you." All of Darcy's previous moxy left her face as sudden dawning finally took a hold of her. "Those crows that kept hitting the windows, the one that bit me, when the mirror broke-," Darcy's face went ashen, her voice now hovering just below a whisper, "when I pictured myself with you, you…."

"Yes." He hissed and seizing Darcy's chin Loki forced her to look up at him. The warm tears she had been trying so desperately to hold back now spilled across her face, the gravity of her situation finally kicked in.

And In that moment, Loki knew he had won.

"Why are you doing all this to me?" She exhaled in a single sob and the God sighed.

"Because, Miss Lewis, you must be made to understand the severity of your position. I mean to take full possession of you; body and mind. And that takes magic that I am unable to conjure in this phantom form without an accomplice, a willing participant, one who is bound to me by oath."

"That still doesn't explain why you chose me." The girl sullenly hiccuped.

"With you as my eyes and ears, not one of your comrades will ever come to suspect my presence-especially not within such a loyal friend." It was an honest answer and Darcy madly shook her head at it as though she were once again wishing him away.

"You do yourself no favors fighting this, little one. Embrace me, submit to me, and let me rule you." Loki urged brushing her hot tears away. "Swear fealty to me: that you Darcy Lewis will give in and give up the illusion you mortals call free will, so that I might dwell within you."

"And Jane?" Darcy swallowed bitterly her voice hoarse, "What will you do with her?"

A crazed gleam entered Loki's eyes. "Swear it, swear it now, and I will give you my word that no harm will come to any of your friends." He reassured through gritted teeth, a ghost of a smile leaving his lips as he did so.

Something snapped within the mortal.

A subtle change, but a change none the less. And for a second Loki thought he detected something emanating off of the girl, similar to when she had pushed him.

Her eyes had now filled with an emotion other than self-pity and fear. And instead of the hoarse sobs he had been expecting- Darcy Lewis had begun to laugh, a humorless laughter that was hysterical as it was hollow.

Never had Darcy been made to feel so small and helpless and she hated it- hated him.

He was haunting her, plotting against them inside of her head. And the fact that she had actually fantasized about him vividly making love to her made the situation that much worse. But it really wasn't until he had gotten to his ridiculous terms and conditions for this "inception" of her that Darcy had snapped.

Like it wasn't enough that he had to muddle around in her dreams now he wanted to kick her out of her own body and mind as well?

Yeah, sure, Darcy thought, let me just get on that, that whole selling my soul to Norse fucking Satan.

She could still feel his disconcerting green eyes on her, waiting for her reply. But Darcy forced herself not to look back at him as she clenched her fists, her angry laughter fading into a harsh tickle that stung her throat.

Listening to Loki explain himself to her had been agonizing. Darcy had no clue how many puppies he had kicked along the way to get inside her head nor did she care.

She wanted him gone.

He must have something big planned, something ten times worse than New York. And if she didn't find a way to prevent it then they might all end up enslaved to Loki. And there was no way in hell she was going to pledge allegiance to the God of dirty tricks and broken track records for the rest of her life.

There had to be a flipside to all this chaos, there had to be a way out. And probably imparting to her the fact that she was inside a dream had not been a good decision on his part. Because if this really was a dream then there was the possibility she could control the outcome of it…that she could even wake up.

Wake up and warn the others.

She was going to have to be subtle in setting up a plan to escape him. He was after all a Trickster God and could probably sniff out a plot from a mile away. But subtlety, as she had been told countless times before by Matthews, was a lost art on her. If anything what she really needed was more time to concentrate on gaining back some influence over her dream. Hadn't she managed to push him a good deal away from her the last time she had done that?

Come on and focus, Darcy, she thought, you have to try. Just picture your hands around his neck or something.

Now that was something she could do.

"Well…I'm waiting…"

Darcy felt Loki's bored voice reverberate throughout her entire body and her mouth went dry as she remembered just how close they were. His arms were possessively wrapped around her like an over controlling dance partner. Her body held only so tightly to remind her of who was in charge. And Darcy immediately scrambled away from him thoroughly unnerved by the close contact.

Now at a reasonable distance from him she could raise her chin up a notch and try to regain some semblance of control.

"I think nowhere in the history of ever has as anyone gained from a bargain made with you." She sneered biting her lip as her body tensed for what she was about to say next, "So, no. I will not play yourwilling victim."

Within seconds Loki had narrowed the gap between them to grasp Darcy's shoulder blades in a tight squeeze. His eyes locked hard on hers as he snarled, "What other choice do you have, mortal? You are but a small pawn in an even bigger game we Gods play. You, dear child, are nothing more than an insignificant ant caught between my fingers. One who had best pray that I am not of the mind to crush-"

"Ants can lift twenty times their own body weight-" Darcy blurted out in anger as she tightly closed her eyes and Loki stopped. Her random outburst most likely confused him. Good. If she could just keep listing more random facts about ants it might just save her time for what she had planned next. "Ants can be farmers and architects, wage wars and hold allegiances-," she could feel it, something bottling up inside her just like the last time, something strong, "-and even ants have revolutions!"

Darcy opened her eyes and pushed the God of Chaos for the second time, only this time he went flying. And Darcy stood in complete disbelief over what she had accomplished. She had just wished the God of Chaos far, far away from her and it had… happened.

He lied to me, she thought. I can wish him away.

And if she was truly deep within her own subconscious then perhaps she could prompt herself to into waking up as well.

Usually the intensity of an emotion within a dream could trigger her awake like extreme fear or sadness. But she had already felt that and still nothing. There was that one dream she had, had where she had woken herself up by yelling. But Darcy wasn't really sure if singing "Baa, baa black sheep," at the top of her lungs to the God who had leveled Manhattan was a good idea…especially with the look Loki was giving her right now.

Though he was a good distance away from her Darcy could still make out the Dark God's contorted expression. It was causing all her feelings of dread to return. Rendering her new found confidence to moot.

"You do yourself no favors refusing me, mortal." The God bellowed in the distance shape shifting into his battle regalia, "I am, after all, a God."

"And this is still a dream." Darcy uttered underneath her breath as she stood her ground to face him. But the second she blinked he was gone, his distant image having dissolved into thin air, his malicious laughter now echoing all around her.

"Mark my words: if you continue on this rebellious warpath, I will become your worst nightmare." Loki's voice threatened as it bounced off starry walls.

"Sorry to disappoint but most of my nightmares involve math and you look nothing like a cosine," Darcy boldly shot back, as her eyes nervously searched the shimmering room for the source of his voice, her concentration slipping.

Where the hell was he?

In a sudden flash of light Loki had closed in on her and he was not alone.

The God had multiplied.

He- or they -were everywhere and Darcy stood surrounded with way too many of him to focus her pent up energy on. They were laughing at her, the sheer noise of it ringing in her ears and deliberately screwing with her head as he encased her in a circle…only to suddenly dissolve into thin air again.

Darcy felt heavy breathing down the nape of her neck and she jumped. Her hand jerking for her throat as she now paled at how close he had been.

"Does my nearness frighten you Darcy?" Loki chuckled into her ear, his sharp teeth nipping against her sensitive earlobe. "That's odd, seeing as how familiar we have become of late."

The warm breath on her neck had stopped. And the intern gave out a quick sigh of relief. Until she felt the sharp tingles of his nails gently running up and down the length of her back.

Darcy gasped taking a quick step forward, her gaze steady as she turned around to meet him. But Loki had pulled back from her once again to reappear from behind her. And Darcy was suddenly made aware of slick fingers running over her hands… now pinning them against her back.

"This is still a dream, this is still my dream," she chanted out like a mantra.

"Correction. Our dream." Loki viciously stated.

It had been so sudden. He was spinning her body around in circles like a windswept leaf. Darcy could feel a nauseous sensation rise up within her belly for every dizzying spin he threw her way. When her body had finally grown limp against him Loki gripped her chin. And as his lips gently hovered over hers Darcy could have sworn she had felt the slightest sensation of a kiss. As though, for a second, his breath had mingled with hers, drinking in her very life, pulling her even closer to him. But perhaps she'd been imagining it for he was gone before she could even react, her heart beating rabbit fast, as she stood frozen against him. His arms wrapped tightly around her until finally he pushed her to the ground.

"This is your final chance Miss Lewis," Loki snarled a dangerous and guttural noise. The voice of someone not to be toyed with. And chills ran down Darcy's spine at what he had done while she'd been distracted. He had been gathering thread-thread that now made its way towards her ankles and wrists, cocooning her in, forcing her to kneel to him.

Darcy told herself to look away, to silently send him the message that she wasn't willing to play his game but her gaze remained locked on his cold emerald one.

"Swear fealty to me."

The ultimatum was as silky as the thread that now dug into her wrists, chaining her to him as if to seal in her fate.

No. no.no.

She would never give up so easily. And underneath the steely cold veneer of Loki's gaze Darcy prepared herself for his wrath, for her last stand.

"Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!" Darcy screamed at the top of her lungs. Her eyes closed shut as she focused her mind on getting her body in reality to move.

It...it was working! She could feel her fingers and toes twitching. She was becoming aware of her surroundings outside of this dream. This nightmare was coming to an end and Darcy smiled triumphantly as she opened her eyes only to see Loki smiling similarly back.

He was glowing…they both were, even the string that bound her to him was glowing as he whispered in words she couldn't understand.

Darcy's face fell.

While she had been screaming her lungs off the wild capricious God had been casting a spell on her. The world around them twirling and spiraling out of view. The stars she had once thought so beautiful now falling from the walls to come crumbling down all around them.

A white blistering heat was filtering through the string that bound them together. It was causing everything inside of her to tingle…it was like electricity.

"Don't look so worried, Darcy, when you wake up this will have been nothing more than a bad dream-," Loki cooed as his image and the surrounding landscape around them began to fade, "and you won't remember a thing."

It was true.

She could already feel him dwelling on the fringes of her mind and no matter how hard she tried to remember him…

Loki had become just another nameless face in a dream she couldn't recall.

A/N: Well… looks like that relationship is off to a promising start! yeesh

The thread that binds Darcy ties into a lot of myths I plan on playing with.

Mmmm mythy goodness.

Lets see we have the Japanese/Chinese myth that the gods tie a red cord around the ankles of those that are to meet one another in a certain situation or help each other... The whole Loki's mouth being sewn shut by Dwarves myth and the Norn sisters who spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil. ehh heh hee

About the ant speech…I've always hated how Loki seems to think calling us humans ants is an insult. Having done my fair time in the biodiversity division of a museum I can honestly think of no greater compliment. Ants are pretty amazing creatures and the Spanish variety have been known to revolt against their queen.

Please feed my insanity by telling me what you thought!