Serpentining she swathed in the cavernous bleak...and then heat...the dark gave way to heat and light...and Jane's eyes were stinging from the fire waste...she was burning...burning...she screamed...

She screamed. And all of a sudden, Loki was there, and everything was black.

Jane was sobbing. There was pain in her legs…hideous, stinging, writhing pain…but it was pitch black...

"Loki?"

And a small green orb hung above her, and Loki was kneeling next to her.

"I need to ascertain the damage, Jane..." and he was pushing up her nightgown from her legs. It hurt…like it was stuck to her, and he was ripping it from her…

"Ow! What...what's going on?"

He was examining her. "You fell asleep here, and your clothes caught fire from the torch you carried."

"Oh my god..." and she began to cry.

"I can fix this...but you'll need to hold still..."

"Is it bad?"

He looked at her, and she saw in his eyes that there must've been considerable damage. The tears flowed freely...she couldn't look, she simply nodded.

And Loki's fingers were inches above her legs, he threaded her skin together quickly and with little discomfort to Jane.

She was so humiliated! How careless to allow this to happen...she didn't even remember falling asleep.

"I'm sorry...I..." she began.

He finished his ministrations, and looked at her. "What were you doing down here?" he didn't sound angry, but rather confused and concerned.

"I couldn't sleep...and I guess that I just..." she had been feeling down and desperate, but she couldn't say that, not after the day they had shared. It would upset him, and it wasn't his fault that she suddenly realized she was in love with him. "I dunno...I just made my way down here...force of habit...?" she smiled weakly.

He stood up, and held his hand to aid her. "Are you alright to stand?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to transport us upstairs to save you the pain of attempting to walk," and his hand gripped her arm softly but with authority.

Jane had rather expected to be in her room, but he had brought her to the library. He sat her down on the chair, and poured her and himself some wine. He handed it to her and sat opposite.

The nausea and breathlessness weren't quite as bad as they had been the day previous, but she felt disoriented.

"Well, Jane. It seems there will be no limit to your debt..." he smiled at her. "It is fortuitous that you sought my friendship when you did...you do have a penchant for finding trouble."

Her legs were tingling and her gown was seared...her hair was a mess. And she was sitting in front of the man whom she loved looking like a crazed idiot. Her eyes fell in her humiliation.

"Thank you...for saving my life," she whispered. "Were the burns very bad?"

"They were...bits of the fabric from your nightclothes had been burned into your skin..." he paused. He waved his hands in her direction. "Is that better?"

Jane's brow furrowed, and she looked at herself. She had on her favorite pjs...soft, flannel, and warm. When she looked up at him, she was smiling widely. "Thanks again," she breathed.

"What were you doing there? Your first answer was lacking."

"I really don't know. I just...I wanted to get out of my room...and the next thing I knew, I was there..." she paused. "Was I screaming loudly?"

"No...not at all...I saw you..." he looked into the fire. "I saw...a long narrow passage, and you were walking along...and you then sat on the stone floor, trancelike...and suddenly, you were engulfed in flame. I then appeared next to you after realizing where you were. I thought it best not to assume I was imagining things..."

"Wow...that sounds like my dream."

"Indeed?"

Jane nodded, and shivered. "I'd rather not talk about it, though."

He appeared confused by her answer, bit did not press the matter. "Very well...are you ready for your sleep, then?"

"I don't want to go back there..."

Loki looked quizzically. "To your chambers?"

"Yeah...I'd rather just...stay here..." and she looked at the long sofa to the right.

"But why?"

Because...she couldn't stand to be in there, but it was impossible to account for. "I don't know. Can I just sleep there?" and her finger pointed to the sofa.

"Very well, Jane. As you like," he conjured a pillow and blanket and rekindled the fire. "Do you need help over?"

"It's healed...I'm fine...just feels a bit strange," and she went over to the plush piece of furniture. "Will Odin and Thor be back tomorrow?"

Loki was sitting, downing the wine. "I cannot say…perhaps…if not tomorrow, then surely the day following."

Jane yawned. She was suddenly struck with a frantic notion. "Will you stay here?"

"Pardon?" he looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

Jane immediately wished she hadn't said anything, but it was too late. She thought that once Thor came back, things would be strained between her and Loki, and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with the god of mischief before anything became ruined. "You don't need to…I'm just…"

"Frightened?" he finished.

"Yeah…I guess I am," and she was, but for many, many reasons. "You can sleep at the other end…it's certainly long enough."

Loki hesitated, let out a muffled sigh, and went to the end Jane suggested, sitting there.

"If it's a chore…" Jane began.

"Hush. I am not accustomed to offering comfort of any sort, Jane. I'm afraid that this is likely the extent to how far I will go to see to your comfort as you require."

Jane looked at him, then laughed.

Loki's face threatened a scowl, but soon found himself laughing with her. "You are a marvel, Jane Foster. I've never known the likes of you in my many hundreds of years."

"Why? Because I deign to laugh at you," she said, attempting to mimic his voice (she wasn't half bad).

"That…among other things…"

"Tell me a story."

He rubbed his face. "What sort of story would you like to hear?" he was suddenly struck with how easily he acquiesced to her. She asked, he provided. He was eager to see to her comfort, despite his insistence to the contrary, and happiness. He thought this very strange…not since Frigga…and a lump filled his throat at the thought of her…

"A happy tale…since I've been dabbling in the macabre so much recently."

"Very well…" he paused, thinking a moment. "Many thousands of years ago, a maiden lived in Asgard, and every day she would ride her horse to the edge of the land where the sky met the water in peaceful consummation. She would play in the water, she would dance on the sand, she would pick the fruits of obliging trees and stay until the dark crept over the hills in a blanket of night. And then she would mount her faithful and sturdy horse, always with a gentleness about her, and ride home where her parents waited for her.

She reached the age of acceptable and expected matrimony, and her father was eager to send her off…not because he didn't love her, rather, because they were not wealthy, and the maiden, though a wisp of a girl, was an expense and he could no longer afford to keep. The parents were steadfast in their search, but the maid was fickle, she longed to make her own way. She wanted only to ride her horse, to play, to see to everyday chores, and to sing until night.

One day, a young man came to the house, hearing of the maid's vigor and zest, and wanting to discern her beauty, he paid visit. Her parents were impressed with him, but the maid, less so. She claimed his eyes were too black, his mouth too thin, his voice too icy…and she unease around him. She told him such, and ran to her horse.

She noticed that the beast was frantic, nervous even. She mounted him, and they sped away. At the beach, she climbed off, and sat by the water, weeping.

"Do not cry, my lady," a voice said.

She turned, and a young man, with a mane of hair, tall, broad, and with an angular face, but genteel, was standing there.

She inquired who he was, taking her so unawares.

"I am your faithful horse, and that man who came to take your hand is a sorcerer, he placed the enchantment on me that turned me into a beast. But because I realized in my jealousy that I love you, the spell has broken, and I am prepared to take you away from here, if you'll have me."

And the maid smiled, took his hand, and they lived for many years by Asgard's waters," he finished, and looked at Jane.

"Wow."

Loki conjured another glass of wine, took a drought, and nodded. "Was that pleasant enough for your troubled mind?"

"Hmmhmm," Jane smiled. "You, Loki, are a fantastic story teller."

"It is one of my many talents."

"No doubt…" she paused. "Will you sleep?"

Loki looked at her. "Unless you have a better idea…" he flashed a crooked smile, then paused. Perhaps suggestive remarks such as that might not be appropriate for friends…but then, he would be denying such a vital part of himself to not make such innuendo. It was fun, and he refused to abandon it.

Jane hesitated, for she had many ideas…"No. And I am tired…" she lied.

She settled in under the blanket, and watched as Loki rested his head on the back of the sofa…

She fell asleep there, peaceful and placid and dreamless…

Loki stayed awake for some time, staring at the ceiling.

He thought that he had finally found someone who cared for him outside of his dead, false mother, and it caused a tender warmth that burned his blue and icy depths.

He found his sleep in the young hours of morning…when the sky began to blush the new day's birth, when the lark of Asgard began to sing her euphonious song, and when the heat of the mortal in her deep slumber reached him with their filaments straining in their grasp…it was a lulling sensation…heavy, comfortable, safe, familiar…

Jane woke up.

There was a moment of panic…she didn't know where she was, and there was something pinning her down…

Her eyes flew open, and her breath was quick…she sat up…and gasped.

Loki had his arms wrapped around her legs, and he was sleeping. His head was resting on her thigh.

Oh. My. God.

Her fingers hovered over his face…she longed to touch it…

But she didn't.

Instead, she laid back and simply appreciated the fact that he was comfortable enough with her to actually sleep.

To sleep with her, on a sofa.

With his head resting on her thigh.

Thank god for that blanket separating his face from her thigh.

He was relaxed enough around her to fall asleep next to her. Well, on top of/next to…semantics…and she smiled, and pressed her palm to her mouth to stifle a giggle.

Jesus, Jane. Get ahold of yourself.

But she was so content at that moment, so blissfully happy, she could hardly contain her mirth…she was struck by the desire to wake him up…

A sound was heard…conversation…someone was outside of the door…

"Loki…" she brushed her hand over his forehead. "Loki…someone is here…"

He began to emerge into consciousness…his eyes creaked open.

He felt inexplicable warmth next to his face…

Someone was with him.

Jane.

He sat up suddenly.

His hair was in his face.

He brushed it from his eyes…and looked at Jane confusedly.

"Loki…" she continued. "Someone is here…" she paused. "Your hair looks better when it's not so rigidly pulled away from your face."

"What?" he was confused. "My hair?"

She decided not to press it. It was a silly statement, anyway. "Can you tell who is here?"

He got up, hearing the voices now as well. He went to the door…

"Sif and Fandrall…" he whispered. "Which means that Odin and … Thor will be returning later," he finished.

He swallowed.

He looked at Jane.

"I…need to attend to them…inquire about the conference…"

Jane nodded.

He left.

She rubbed her face, got up, and sighed.