AN: I am so sorry for this taking so long! And this chapter was going to be longer but I wanted to give you guys something as quickly as possible, so here we go! Lots of feels in this chapter and I hope you enjoy it. There is some slightly sexual dirty stuff at the end, which according to my friend was really bad but I didn't think so. Thank you so much for all the reviews! I have awesome readers! Please tell me what you think of this chapter, and I apologize if there are any grammar, spelling, or other mistakes or if anyone seems OOC.

I do not own Marvel or any of the characters or Tomb Raider. ...I wished I owned Loki... XD

The Next Morning

Lara received little sleep last night, her thoughts running through her discussion with Loki. Even now, as she made her way to Fury's office, her mind drifted to him. She regretted now, not asking why he let go. He was hurt more than she ever had assumed. And she couldn't explain why, but she so desperately wanted to take that hurt away. Lara was so involved in her thoughts, that she didn't notice Steve until she slammed into him.

"Watch where you're-…" Lara stopped when she noticed it was Steve. "Oh. Hi, Steve." Lara looked down as she said this, to avoid his eyesight.

"Hey." Steve replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Lara could feel the awkwardness rising between them. She needed to apologize.

"Steve, I want-…"

"Do we have-…"

They accidentally spoke in unison. They both laughed.

"Sorry, you can go first." Steve offered.

"Thanks. Steve…" Lara began. "I'm sorry about last night. I was pretty snappish and I shouldn't have been."

Steve smiled. "It's alright, Lara. Really. I'm not mad. Honestly, I was worried you were mad about me for something. But I accept your apology."

Lara smiled back at him. "Thank you. And why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know. You've just seemed… out of it lately, I guess." Steve shrugged. "Anything I can help you with?"

"It's very sweet of you to offer, but I'm afraid not." Lara sighed and leaned against the wall. "I haven't been sleeping very well. And it does feel like my mind is running on overdrive."

Steve moved a little closer to her, close enough that they were touching. "You should take a vacation. Get out of here, get some air. Being cooped up in a place like this can't be good for you."

Lara thought on this for a moment, and then grinned when an idea hit her. "Thank you, Steve. I believe you are very right." Lara started back down the hallway when Steve stopped her.

"Why don't we go on a bike ride? Just the two of us." Steve suggested nervously, but kept his voice steady.

Lara bit her lip. "I would love to Steve, but…"

"You already thought of something else to do." Steve finished for her as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry." Lara said truthfully. "But we can do it another day. I promise we will go on a bike ride together."

Steve nodded and smiled sadly. "Tell me when you're ready." He began walking the other way. But Lara couldn't stand to see him sad.

Lara reached for his arm and pulled him back. She took a hold of his face and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She felt Steve freeze under her hands and then slowly relax. Lara stepped back from him to gauge his reaction. He was smiling now, she had a feeling he had no objections to what she just did. Lara smirked and then turned and continued walking to Fury's office.

xOxOx

Loki truly didn't understand the fury he felt inside of him as he watched Lara kiss that red, white, and blue soldier. A pathetic man, as far as he was concerned. He had been in search of her when he stumbled upon this scene. And what was stranger was the feeling he felt before the anger. Or feelings. Feelings of sadness, rejection, and, the worse one, pain.

Loki did his best to rid himself of the emotions, but nothing worked. Then he felt disgusted himself. That he was bothered by Lara's affections to Steve. Why do I care? He asked himself. She means nothing to me. The second thing the god of lying is best at, is telling when someone was lying.

xOxOx

"I would like your permission to take Loki off of S.H.I.E.L.D. property."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "And why in the heck would I allow that?"

"So I'm not interrupted this time." Lara explained. "And I think it would help Loki if you let him out for a while. Anyone would lose their mind being stuck in a place like this for so long."

"I thought he already lost his mind." Fury cracked but with a serious expression on his face.

"Look, just let us leave the base for a little while. It might help him to open up a little. I can handle him, and he is without his magic." Lara rationalized, doing her best to convince the Director.

Fury considered the idea for a few moments before letting out a breath. "Permission granted. But keep this on the down low. Most wouldn't agree with this."

"I know what you mean…" Lara nodded. "Thank you." She bowed her head and turned to leave.

"Make sure you take your guns, just in case." Fury threw her a card. She caught it deftly and looked at it. It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. card. "If you got stopped by a cop, just show him the card. Good luck." He went back to his paperwork and Lara left his office.

xOxOx

Lara was all but ready to break Loki's door down when he finally opened it. "What took you so long in there? Were you doing your hair?"

"For your information, yes." Loki replied while using his hand to run over his black hair to make sure it was lying down properly. "What do you need?"

Lara grinned. "I have a surprise for you."

Loki looked at her questioningly. "Oh?"

"I convinced Director Fury to let you out for a little while. I thought we could see some of the great scenery Oregon has to offer." Lara tugged on Loki's dark green sleeve and pulled him out of his room. She began to lead him down the hallway towards S.H.I.E.L.D.'s garage.

Loki look confused as they walked. Lara expected him to be a little more grateful.

"A 'Thank you' might be nice. It's not easy to have a conversation with Fury." Loki remained silent and Lara was getting frustrating. She put an arm out and stopped him. "What is your deal? I thought you would be glad."

Loki seemed distracted. "Right. Thank you."

Lara narrowed her eyes at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Loki replied quickly, and began walking again.

Lara grabbed his arm again. "Sure. Look at me."

Loki sighed and then turned to face her. She gazed deep into his eyes, hoping to read his emotions. But he had a thick mask covering everything. Lara still had the feeling he was hurt about something though. "You were fine last night, and now you're all stiff around me. What happened?"

Loki's mask slipped away, in a moment of vulnerability, but then came back into place. He took a deep breath and relaxed. "I'm fine, Lara. I've just been thinking a lot lately. Talking to you… has removed a great weight from upon my shoulders. I can't decide if I regret letting you in or not. I'm slightly leaning towards the latter."

"I'm glad I could help."

"And don't think I'm not grateful for this. I've been craving to get out of here. Thank you." Loki said sincerely this time.

Lara smiled triumphantly. "You're welcome. Come on, I have another treat for you."

xOxOx

Loki stopped dead in his tracks. "No."

"Aw, come on. It'll be fun." Lara laughed at his reaction.

"You cannot possibly expect me to get on this thing?" Loki asked incredulously.

Lara rolled her eyes. "It's not a thing. And yes, I do expect you to ride it." She grabbed two helmets and handed one to Loki.

"You know, S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't seem so bad anymore." Loki commented while staring suspiciously at the motorcycle.

Lara shook her head in disbelief, smiling. "Put your helmet on. I don't understand what you're so worried about, honestly. You're a god, even if we did wreck, it wouldn't kill you!"

"I'd rather not test it." Loki replied, straightening out his vest.

"Get on the bike, Loki." Lara commanded while strapping on her helmet.

"Could we not take a car? And isn't it too cold for a motorcycle? And aren't the roads treacherous?"

"Stop trying to come up with excuses. Yes, its cold, but I didn't think you'd have a problem with that." She raised an eyebrow at him. "If I didn't know better, I would think you were scared of a Midgardian contraption."

"Of course not." Loki wouldn't meet her eye line. Lara laughed again. She gestured for him to get on the motorcycle. Loki sighed and began to put on the helmet. "I'm going to look ridiculous in this."

"Not any more ridiculous than how you look in your battle helmet."Lara pointed out while mounting her motorcycle.

Loki glared at her, but remained silent. He sat down behind her and looked for a place to set his hands. "Tell me again, why Midgardians thought it necessary to create this machine?"

Lara started up the motorbike. "For fun, of course. And you can hold onto my shoulders."

"Right, fun." Loki mocked and gripped Lara's shoulders as she sped through the open garage doors and into fresh air.

xOxOx

Luckily, it wasn't raining today. Lara parked the motorcycle on the side of the road. Attached to the highway was an old hiking trail made of gravel. Lara decided to follow it. Loki hopped off the moment the bike came to a halt.

"Never again. Forget about it." He took off his helmet.

Lara chuckled as she swung her leg over the motorcycle. "Ow! What the bloody heck did you do to my shoulders?" She groaned as massaged them.

"You told me to hold on to them." Loki informed.

She glared at him. "Remember, you're an Asgardian/Jotun and I'm human. Don't squeeze so hard next time." Lara had a feeling Tony would have made a comment at that last line, but it went over Loki's head. He actually looked a little apologetic.

"Apologies. But it's your fault, you're the one who wanted me to get on that thing."

Lara finally noticed Loki's hair. She tried to bite her lip to keep from laughing, but she gave up.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "What in Helheim are you laughing at?"

Lara could barely breathe. "Your-… hair!" She eventually got out between breaths.

Loki gave her the 'death glare' as he rapidly tried to tame his wild hair. "Are you done?"

When Lara finally regained her breath, she replied with a simple 'yes'. She smiled at him and Loki rolled his eyes.

"Come on." Lara gestured at him to follow her and she started down the trail. Loki placed his helmet on the bike and went after her.

As Loki caught up with her, he asked, "Where are we going?"

Lara shrugged. "I don't know. Just exploring."

Loki gave her a strange look and she laughed. "You are a very different mortal."

"Isn't that a good thing? Since you hate all of us?"

"Some of you aren't so bad, I suppose."

The hiking path led downwards and soon they could hear the sound of rushing water. The forest began to fade away into a clearing. The pathway had brought them to a riverbank of smooth stones.

The river was wide but only about waist-deep. There were small drop-offs causing the river to make little waterfalls. Across the river, the ground gradually ascended into a large hill covered with pine trees. The sun shone on the water.

Lara took a deep breath of fresh air. "Do you have anything like this in Asgard?"

Loki, who was genuinely surprised about Midgard's beautiful scenery, considered it for a moment. "Asgard… is unique. More varieties of color. Asgard is paradise. Though I will admit, Midgard has beauty in its own way."

"You just have to find the right place." Lara sat down with her legs stretched out and using her arms to prop her up. Loki stared at the ground, trying to decide if he was willing to get his pants dirty. He eventually sat down next to her. Lara broke the silence.

"Where did you land? If you don't mind me asking."

Loki lied down, even though the rocks hurt his back. He crossed his wrists underneath his head as he replied, "No, I don't mind. That's the problem."

"Problem?" Lara tilted her head to the side in question.

"I'm too open with you. And I'm alright with it." Loki sighed. "But I'm not okay with being alright with it… That doesn't make sense, does it?"

"You may have canceled yourself out, but I understand what you mean."

Loki sat up to look Lara in the eye. "Let me ask you something first. Why are you so interested in this?"

Lara shrugged. "I thought it would help you to talk it out."

Loki narrowed his eyes at her.

"Not everyone has a hidden agenda, Loki. I was genuinely asking, but we can talk about something else. Tell me about Asgard or your childhood or your likes and your dislikes." Lara suggested.

"Maybe I should have worded the question a little differently." Loki rolled to his side and used his elbow to prop himself up. "Why are you so interested… in me?"

"It's not every day I get to converse with an evil Norse god."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "That's all?"

Lara sighed. "Does it really matter?"

"I don't want to be lied to again."

Lara did her best to ignore the stab of guilt she felt as he said that. "I can't really lie to you by asking questions."

Loki didn't reply to that so Lara continued. "Aren't you tired of this? Always guarding yourself? Finally someone is willing to listen yet you won't speak."

"How do I know you want to listen for the right reason? You work for S.H.I.E.L.D., a group of people who hate me and I don't blame them."

"Loki, you can trust me. We talked a lot last night, so why the sudden change?"

"You already knew about that information. And you're trying to get more personal."

"Fine, we'll start with something simple. Tell me one thing about yourself."

Loki thought on this a moment before answering. "I hate Thor."

Lara rolled her eyes. "No? Really? Tell me something I don't know."

"Hmm… I like ice cream."

She laughed. "Alright, I definitely didn't know that. What flavor?"

"I prefer mint."

"Not because it's green, right?"

"No, of course not. I like the flavor."

"I enjoy a bowl of rocky road." Lara admitted. "Now tell me something a little deeper."

Loki ignored her and asked, "Why did you join the Avengers?"

"I needed something to do. To distract my mind from the past." Lara stood up and brushed off her pants. "There's one other place I want to go. Come on."

Loki followed suit. "Perhaps we can walk there?"

xOxOx

"Does Asgard have oceans?"

Loki turned his head to look at her. He had been distracted by what the Midgardian's call the Pacific Ocean. As they had driven over, the skies became covered with dark gray clouds. The temperature had dropped and Lara was wrapping her arms around herself.

"Yes, it does. But it's different from this." Loki replied, studying the features of her face as she gazed towards the ocean. She had let her hair down and it was blowing around in the breeze. "We have an ocean underneath the Bifrost. The Bifrost reflects off of it causing the ocean to look like a rainbow."

"You'll have to take me some day."

"Perhaps…" Loki sat down in the sand. After a long while, he began. "I landed in the dark."

Lara looked down at him and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. She waited patiently for him to continue.

"You wouldn't recognize the name. No one would really. I didn't." Loki shuddered at the memories. "I met someone there."

"Who?" Lara urged him.

"I answered your question and we will no longer speak of it." Loki answered firmly.

Lara opened her mouth to protest, but knew it would be useless. She changed the conversation. "Why did you let go? Did you know that you'd land somewhere?"

"No. I didn't. I had failed everyone, including myself. What was the point of continuing?"

"Just because you failed them does not mean you lost their love. You may say you hate Thor, and by the way I don't believe that you do, but Thor still thinks of you as his brother. You need to take advantage of that, because if you keep going down this path, you will lose Thor's trust."

"Is that such a problem?"

Lara rolled her eyes, becoming frustrated. "Don't act like you don't care." Loki opened his mouth to challenge, but Lara cut him off. "Don't say anything. Perhaps we should just change the subject." She sighed with aggravation.

"You asked…" Loki pointed out. Lara truly considered slapping him, but thought against it. Loki continued, "But, as you wish."

They were silent for a few moments and Lara believed Loki was done talking. And she certainly was caught by surprised with Loki's next question.

"Do you love him?"

Lara whipped her head around to look at him. He wasn't looking at her but out towards the ocean. He had a grim look on his face as if he feared her answer.

Lara was extremely baffled that all she could say was: "What?"

Loki glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and then went back to the rolling waves. "You heard me. Do you love him? The man out of time… The soldier."

"Why would you think that?" Lara treaded the subject carefully.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Please, everyone saw. If you didn't want people to know, then chose a more private area."

He saw that? For some reason, that bothered Lara. She felt guilty even, which she didn't even want to try and explain that. "It was just a kiss." She replied, trying to cover her blushing cheeks with the collar of her wool coat.

"Kisses are for lovers." Loki reasoned. "If you do not wish to tell me, then we will no longer speak of it."

Lara chuckled at the thought of her and Steve as lovers. It boggled her mind for a reason she couldn't explain. "I don't love him, Loki." She said confidently. "I was only trying to… raise his spirits."

Loki turned his head to look directly at her now. He raised a black eyebrow. "So you're toying with him?"

"What?! Of course not. I certainly like him. But I haven't known him long enough to love him." Lara resolved. A curious question entered her mind, so she voiced it. "Why do you care?"

Loki obviously wasn't prepared for that question. He shrugged, trying to show indifference, but Lara wasn't convinced. Lara groaned and turned away from him. She was tired of this. How could one man-… god… be so frustrating?! Lara quizzed in her mind when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She turned to find Loki standing very close to her. She could smell his cologne. Or maybe that's his natural scent? One voice wondered until it was battered down by her more practical voice. Oh, please, Lara, focus.

Loki's hand moved from her shoulder up to her face. Part of his palm and his fingers rested on her neck and his thumb lay upon her cheek. Her eyes widened a little at this action, but she didn't object. He looked deep into her eyes, making mental note of the color of brown they were.

"Watching you kiss him…" Loki licked his lips. "Upset me more than I care to admit." Loki swallowed and moved his face closer to her. He gave her time to stop it, but she made no action to do so. His heart raced as their lips touched.

This kiss was extremely different from Lara and Steve's. Number one, it was longer. Number two, it had a lot more passion. Lara placed her hands on Loki's chest as he deepened the kiss by putting his hand on her back.

Suddenly, Lara's cell phone started ringing. She broke the kiss, realizing what just happened. She ran a hand through her hair and gazed at Loki. He was breathing hard and his pupils were dilated. Lara shook her head to come to her senses and answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"We need you back at the base. Now." Fury's voice greeted.

Lara noticed the concern in Fury's voice. "What's happening?"

Fury paused. "I'll explain when you get here. Try to be discreet." He hung up.

Loki had relaxed from their kiss. "What is it?"

"Fury needs us back at base. That's all he said." Lara started walking back to her motorcycle when Loki grabbed her hand.

"Wait." He pulled her back to him. He caught a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear as he said, "You need to be careful."

Lara was confused and was about to ask Loki what he meant when he raised his hand to stop her. Loki continued, "Steve is… naïve. And not that I care about him, but he's already been hurt once."

Lara rolled her eyes; thinking to herself there was no way she was taking relationship advice from him. She tried to walk away, but Loki stopped her. "I don't want to be hurt either."

Lara looked at him with surprise. "Do you care for me?"

Loki laughed. "You did feel me kiss you, right? You must have, because I heard you moan."

Lara gaped. "I did not!"

He laughed again, signaling to her that he was joking. "I could tell you wanted to though."

"Hmm, and I felt something against my leg. So don't pretend that I was the only one who enjoyed it."

Loki swallowed, but then got his emotions in check and smiled again. "It's been a while."

"Oh, does it still work?"

Loki chuckled at her quip. "I hope to test that soon." He looked her up and down with a wolfish grin. "But on a more serious matter, I've never met a woman quite like you."

"And you'll never meet another like me."

"I can believe that." He started walking to the motorcycle, but grabbed her as he passed and whispered into her ear. "You should know, I don't share." He continued on towards the bike, but Lara had paused.

Lara sighed then met him at the bike. They were on their way back to base in the next minute.

Thank you for reading!