A/N: Remember me?

So plenty happened since the last update, mostly school and several personal things that kept me away from OHAM for much longer than I would have liked. Despite the consistently shitty updating rate, I hope you guys know how important this fic is to me and I want you all to know I appreciate you guys more than I can ever properly say. Honestly, this fic is probably the most meaningful thing I've got going on right now and it would not be possible if it wasn't for you guys. Your ongoing support and reviews are a lifesaver, so thank you so much for that.

I really really hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please feel free to comment whatever the hell you want. Please leave me a review with criticism, overall thoughts and basically anything! Honestly, I'd be thrilled just to hear what you've had for breakfast. Have I already mentioned how much I adore you guys?

The door was made of shining silver metal and lacked a noticeable handle. Jess's delicate fingers traced the complicated lock. Her mind was empty of thoughts but buzzed with them all the same.

"Jess," said Thor, approaching out of nowhere. "What are you doing here?"

She turned her head, taking an unconscious step back. "Nothing, I was just…" She looked at the sealed door in front of her. "He's in there, isn't he?"

Thor followed her gaze for a moment, then looked back down on her. "He is," he said levelly. "How did you find out?"

Jess gave a sheepish smile. "I tailed Coulson and hoped he was still on Loki duty."

"You've tailed Coulson?" Thor raised his eyebrows. "And he never knew?"

She shrugged. "Don't think so. You can never really know with him, though. Usually I'm pretty good at that, but… I can never tell what's going on inside his head. Funny thing is it doesn't make me trust him less."

Thor chuckled. "There is truth to that," he agreed. "For me Loki was always much the same, although it took me years to finally realize it."

Jess looked up at him with amusement. "Are you serious?"

Thor frowned. "Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it's just… it was always quite the contrary to me," said Jess, looking back at the door. "Granted, there's insanity strewn around all over his mind, and that makes understanding what he thinks a bit harder at first, but even chaos has patterns you can understand if you look at it the right way. And Loki isn't just chaotic, he is chaos, but he's far from unreadable once you've known him enough."

"Then you have saved his life."

Jess frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Yesterday we were all prepared to kill him," he said. "Even I. And we would have. You've stopped us, but there is more to it than that. You have looked straight into Loki's soul; you have seen light and showed it to him, light nobody else was able to see. Now even if SHIELD refuses him a second chance, he knows who he is and he will never forget it. And so do I." He smiled. "I believe I will never be able to show you enough gratitude."

Jess gave a soft sad smile and looked back at the door. "Do you think they'll ever let him out again?" she asked quietly.

Thor looked at the door, too. "I hope so," he said. "But I do not know."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Neither do I." She looked up at him. "Is it time to go?"

He nodded gravely. "Only if you are sure of your decision."

"I am." Her fingers coiled and uncoiled anxiously. "I'm ready."

Thor put a heavy hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Jess forced a small smile.

She followed him down the corridors, trying her hardest to leave the door behind.

Central Park was not at its best that day. It was getting warmer, but the cold of the past weeks had taken most of its colors out of its veins. Jess reached down a hand to the grass, running her fingers through the tickling blades. The pale brown earth was too solid, like each individual grain of the ground was attached to long, winding roots. Jess's fingers were numb and blue. Her wobbly plastic chair threatened to throw her off like a disobedient horse as she reached out for the blades.

"Jess."

Her head snapped up and she looked at Bruce. She sat up straight, leaving the grass be.

"Are you sure you wanna be here for this? It's not too late to change your mind."

She gave a gentle smile. "I'm sure," she assured him. "They should see me here when Steve explains everything. It'd probably help if I'm here looking all teenage and… not dangerous to the public's safety."

Bruce took a long look at the camera crews, the throng of journalists and the podium on which Steve's prepared statement already lay in print. "That's a good point," he murmured. "I guess that was my mistake," he joked.

Jess smiled. "Things worked out quite well, though," she said wistfully. "You're a celebrity now, Dr. Banner."

"Yeah, don't remind me," he muttered dryly, and she laughed. He fidgeted nervously. "Here we go," he murmured, as everybody got into place. On the other end of the line of plastic chairs, Steve got up and headed toward the podium, momentarily sparing Jess a reassuring glance. She nodded quickly, swallowing down anxiety from her throat into her chest.

A man in a black shirt gave Steve the cue. Steve started to speak.

"As you all know, about five months ago the Avengers, myself included, have legally adopted Miss Jessica Cory. I stand here today because we all think that there is something else the world deserves to know. The Avengers' job is to protect the world, not hide secrets from it. And to understand what I am about to tell you, you should know how Jess ended up at the Avengers Tower.

"About a year and a half ago, Jess's father had developed special abilities. He had used his powers to murder Jess's mother in cold blood and kidnap Jess and her brother, Emmett, whom he had kept hidden away in an abandoned building, underfed and at this mercies. The Avengers and myself found the building ten whole months after Jess and Emmett's initial capture, and brought their father, Lawrence Cory, into custody. By that time Emmett had already been killed by his father." Steve paused. "He was eleven years old."

Jess swallowed and stared down, trying to sear the image of the pale green grass blade into her mind. She knew the cameras caught it. She hoped it would at least sell.

"Recently, something has changed," continued Steve. He had to force himself to not look behind him to see how Jess was holding up. "As it turns out, Lawrence Cory's powers are, in fact, genetic. A short while ago, Jess developed the same powers and has learned how to use them."

Jess tucked her hands under her thighs and tried not to notice the nervous staring and fidgeting of the camera crew, and the excited rise in the hushed chatter of the journalists.

"We are making this information public because we want you to trust us when we say that neither Jess nor her powers are a threat. Jess is not similar to her father; she is not a violent person, and has no wishes to harm anyone. What I'm about to say I say on behalf of all of the Avengers and SHIELD: Jess is a good person – and she will never abuse her powers. Do not fear her." He fixated the journalists with his glance resolutely. "That is all," he said, and moved off the podium.

The journalists jumped to their feet, shouting their questions uselessly, each investigative word lost in a hundred others. Around Jess the seated Avengers were rising to their feet, and she followed them to the cars, their bodies shielding her from the nosy, flashing press. Steve's hand found her arm.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, his blue eyes worried.

She nodded. "I'm fine," she said, and glanced around at the rushing journalists and cameramen. "I hope they'll be," she added, nodding her head toward them.

"They will," said Steve. "It's all going to work out."

"Thanks," said Jess. "It was a good speech. Although I guess that's not up to me to decide."

He chuckled in soft agreement.

When they were both in the backseat of a car, Jess turned to him. "This was a good idea, right?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes," he said confidently. "The public is bound to find out either way, if we're the ones delivering the message we can manage it."

She nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Right, okay, that makes sense. Okay." She frowned. "We're gonna be okay, right?"

Steve looked at her. "We are," he said. "I promise."

Jess smiled sadly. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I'm not."

She chuckled humorlessly. "Then how do you know?" she asked. "How can you possible believe that anyone is going to be okay?"

He shrugged. "I just do," he said.

She smiled. "I don't believe you," she said. "Sorry."

Steve sighed. He ran his hand over his knee nervously. "I suppose this is about as good a time as any," he murmured. He looked at her. "Loki."

Jess exhaled slowly. "Loki," she agreed. She glanced around. "Are you sure you wanna talk about this now?"

"Why not?"

She pursed her lips together. "Alright." She hesitated, struggling to find the right words. "He's not the person you think he is. And I know I've mentioned this before, but I'm not just saying that because I'm brainwashed or whatever, it's the truth. Trust me, I know how this sounds."

"Do you?" He paused to seek articulation. "Jess, he's a mass murderer, he attempted genocide, he tried to take over the planet nearly destroying it in the process- Jess, why would you trust this guy?"

"I didn't," she said desperately. "Not at first, but… he opened up. I know what he's like now, what he's actually like, and I trust that. Trust me."

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe he's just manipulating you?" prompted Steve.

"Of course it has," she said exasperatedly. "I'm sensitive, not stupid. But it's just…" she trailed off. "Jesus, I don't know. I don't know how to explain it and it's going to get him eternally locked up or worse, I –" She rubbed her temple. "Christ. I'm sorry I can't word it better but I know him. Alright? I just do. I can feel it, and it's not in my heart or in my bones or some other sentimental bullshit, it's in my head, alright? Because I've thought this through. I would never insist on something like this if I wasn't absolutely sure. You have to know that by now."

Steve hesitated, his reluctant eyes clashing with her pleading ones. "Look," he said gently, "I believe that you really mean what you're saying. I know it's what you truly believe is true. But I can't…" Steve seemed at a loss for words.

Jess concealed a sigh. "You don't trust me," she said softly.

Steve's face was a mask of helplessness and reluctance. "Not on this," he said finally. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," mumbled Jess. "It's alright, I get it. I wouldn't trust me, either, given everything. Abuse and grief and trauma and probably some chronic mental disorders –"

"No," said Steve too quickly. "It's not that."

"It's okay, Steve," said Jess sincerely. "Honestly. I understand. It's only logical. I don't blame you, and I'm not mad, it's fine. Just… it kinda sucks, is all." She shrugged. "And I can't give up Loki just because I'm mentally deranged."

The car came to a halt. Jess climbed out of the car, the door swinging shut behind her smoothly. Steve rushed out after her.

"Jess, wait," he said urgently. "It's not –"

"It's fine," repeated Jess. "Truly." She smiled gently. "It's okay," she said. "Don't you worry about me."

"Okay," said Jess. "I'm not saying I don't wanna do this, but maybe you should be wearing, like, protective garments. Or something."

Natasha rolled her eyes with a smile. "I don't need protective garments," she assured her. "Come on, show me what you got. Don't you want to learn to use your powers?"

"I do, but not if I'm gonna burn your face off doing it," answered Jess. "I mean, every time I do use my powers, it always feels like I'm just scratching the surface, like there are still so many things I could do that I haven't really reached. It's like there's a whole universe under my skin. But I don't wanna actually burn anyone."

"Please," said Natasha, cocking her head to one side mockingly. "Don't tell me you're scared."

"You know, I'm actually not," remarked Jess, "but this could have been a really mean thing to say if I were."

Natasha paced the wooden floor of the training room impatiently, her bare feet shifting back and forth. "Look, if you want I can punch you in the face to get the mood going," said suggested helpfully.

"Thanks, but no thanks," said Jess dryly.

They were both wearing tank tops and knee-length leggings, all black. Both girls were barefoot. They were supposed to be practicing using Jess's powers in combat, but this was clearly easier said than done. The minimal clothing revealed Jess's old burn scars.

Jess took a deep breath. "Fine," she said. "Fine, let's do this."

"Finally," said Natasha exasperatedly, and got in position.

Slowly and cautiously, Jess brought up her hand. Easy as blinking, she produced a purple flame, and it danced in her palm. She glanced up at Natasha.

"Come on," she prompted. "I'm ready."

Jess but her lip, looking at Natasha then at the fire then back at Nat.

Then she closed her fist. The flames died.

Natasha sighed and resumed a casual stance. "What the hell, Jess?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't just throw a fireball at you."

"You can't get better at using your powers if you refuse to practice," said Natasha reasonably.

"I guess I better stick to coming out here every time I wake up in the middle of the night and messing around with it," said Jess with a shrug.

Natasha frowned. "That's what you've been doing?" she asked, evidently concerned.

Jess shrugged again. "I guess. How did you think I got good enough to stop Tony blowing a hole in Loki's face?" Despite the fact they hadn't gotten any work done, Jess walked over to her water bottle by the wall and took a sip.

Natasha watched her closely. "You must have been getting little sleep," she said levelly.

Jess didn't meet her eyes. "I guess," she repeated indifferently.

Natasha sighed. "Okay, what is it?" she asked exasperatedly.

Jess gave her a puzzled look. "What is what?"

"You've been acting like you have a stick up your ass all morning, you want to say something." She walked closer to her. "Just spit it out."

Jess hesitated. She put down the bottle.

"It's about Loki," she said eventually.

Natasha shook her head. "Of course it is," she muttered.

"No, hear me out," said Jess stubbornly. "You wanted to talk, so listen."

"No, you listen," retorted Natasha. "I don't know what kind of lies he has you believing but Loki does not deserve a second chance. Alright? He doesn't. Some things you just can't go back from."

"I'm not saying going back," said Jess fervently. "I'm not saying everyone should just forget everything he did, I'm not completely ridiculous. I'm saying he isn't the same guy anymore, he's changing, and he can be a better person. If we're not gonna give him this chance we might as well stop doing anything at all, because we'll basically be saying we don't believe in a better future anymore, and if that's the case then I don't know what the hell the point of anything is."

"Giving an interplanetary criminal a rightfully deserved punishment is hardly the same as giving up a better future," said Natasha calmly. "Locking Loki up would be ensuring the future is better."

"Why don't you trust my opinion?" asked Jess. "What, because bad shit happened to me it means I can't be a good judge of character?"

Natasha narrowed his eyes. "Of course not," she said, surprised. "That's not it at all."

"Then why don't you trust me?"

Natasha pressed her lips together. "Look," she said. "Loki, he… he can really mess with people's heads, scepter or no scepter. And you've been along with him for three weeks. That's a hell of a long time for him to manipulate you. I know you don't think that's what happened, but that's what makes Loki a master manipulator; you'd never know it if you were under his influence. People don't just change, Jess, not like this."

"Well, what about you?" Natasha only frowned in confusion so Jess continued. "You told me that when Clint first met you it was because SHIELD had sent him to kill you, but now look at you. You're one of Earth's mightiest heroes. Doesn't that prove people can change, drastically? Shouldn't you of all people know that? And none of that would have happened if he'd never given you that second chance. And you were the one who had shut off that portal in Loki's invasion so the world would have been a completely different place, if it wasn't for Clint going directly against his orders just to let you become a better person. Isn't this exactly the same thing?"

Natasha looked at Jess sadly. "No," she said gently. "It isn't. The things I did, the person I was… I was pushed to be that person. No one ever made Loki do anything. All his evil, all his crimes, that's all him. It's who he is."

"I don't believe that," insisted Jess. "No one is just good or just evil."

"I'm sorry, Jess," said Natasha with a sullen air of finality. "But Loki is."

And Jess had to concentrate to keep the fire in her veins at bay.

Jess didn't wince as the needle came out of the vein in the fold of her arm. Bruce's swift and practiced hands quickly capped the syringe as Jess pressed the ball of cotton to the puncture in her skin.

"It's still not too late to change your mind, you know," said Bruce. "I can just destroy the hell out of this sample, you just say the word."

Jess shook her head. "No, it's fine, Bruce. I'm sure," she said. "Anyway, I should probably at least try to make SHIELD feel like trusting me was their idea in the first place. It's not like you're cutting me open or anything, it's just a little bit of blood."

"If you're sure," said Bruce. Carefully, he slid the syringe into its place to run the tests later. "Well, that's it, so you're free to go."

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about something," she said. "So if now's a good time…"

"Oh," said Bruce. "Yeah, alright." He turned away from his desk to face her. Then he hesitated. "Is it about Loki?"

Jess nodded. "Yes," she said. "Look, I know you don't believe me about him –"

"Are you kidding?" asked Bruce, raising his eyebrows. "The man's a psychopath."

"I really think he's not."

"He blew up half of New York."

"Yes," agreed Jess. "But there's more to him that you don't see."

"Oh, I see it."

Jess blinked. "What?"

"You think that Loki can change, become a better person?" Bruce shrugged. "I get that. It's probably true. No one's behavior is set in stone, even if he is incapable of not wanting to murder people, with the right guidance or mindset he can probably find ways to stop himself. It's just how it works."

"So you agree, then?" asked Jess excitedly. "That Loki should be allowed a second chance?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you said –"

"Jess, I'm sorry," said Bruce earnestly. "But I don't think that everybody deserves a second chance. Loki shouldn't get to walk away unpunished after everything he's done."

"What?" Jess deflated miserably. "But…" She desperately searched her brain for arguments. "It's not that simple," she said finally. "Loki didn't just get up one day and decide to do all these horrible things, he- I mean, it's part of a really, really complicated psychological process he was going through that was messing with his perceptions of right and wrong and I'm not saying he's not responsible for his own actions but he wasn't thinking straight and wasn't himself and, well, I think he hasn't been himself for years now and –"

"Jess," said Bruce softly, cutting her off. He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said again. "But for the sake of all the people he'd hurt, Loki doesn't get to walk."

"What about you?" asked Jess miserably. "What about the people you've harmed as the hulk, in all those times you weren't yourself and couldn't tell right from wrong just like him, do you not deserve forgiveness?"

Bruce turned away from her, fiddling with something on his desk and pretending to have gone back to work. "That's right," he murmured softly, too quietly for Jess to hear.

After that, there wasn't much left for either of them to say.

There was a brightly colored target taped to the ceiling of the training room.

The training room had a very, very high ceiling.

Taking his time, Clint picked an arrow out of his shaft and readied his bow. Carefully with his breathing steady and calculated, he aimed up, and let the arrow fly. It hit the target dead in the middle.

Clint wondered how he was going to get his arrow down.

He was in the middle of loading a second arrow into his bow when the sound of fast and harsh footsteps coming his way distracted him. He lowered the bow and looked to the door, where Jess appeared, an expression of stress and agitation on her face. Her hands were clenched hard in fists and her steps were long and brisk. Clint could have been imagining it, but he thought her eyes had a somewhat purple tint to them.

Clint had excellent eyesight.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She stopped in front of him, tense all over. "You can't storm in here while I'm training, I don't wanna put an arrow through you by accident."

"I know Loki should be given a second chance and I really need someone to agree with me on it right fucking now," said Jess vigorously. "Everyone else is turning me down, either saying I'm crazy or brainwashed or just plain wrong, except Thor but he's not exactly unbiased, and I'm pretty sure you're the only person I know at this point in my life who has always taken my side and I really, really need you to take my side on this, because there's an actual fucking person involved and I happen to give a shit what happens to him because he's my friend which he isn't supposed to be because apparently you're not supposed to befriend evil people but I have, because I'm an idiot, and I've been running around the Tower all day trying to convince people I'm right and it's failing because I am not the right person to do this job and I just really need someone on my fucking side now— Jesus."

Turning away from Clint, Jess threw out her arm wildly and let out a burst of purple flames, which flickered and died a split second after touching the air. Her eyes washed over with bright purple, and her hands appeared to shake.

"Fuck," she said, out of breath. "Sorry. I swear I've got a lid on that, I've just been trying not to lose my shit all day and this seemed like the least flammable room in the Tower."

"I believe you."

"What?" Jess's eyes snapped up to stare at Clint and widened as she struggled to swallow down his words. "Oh my god, really?"

He nodded, putting away the bow and the arrow. "I know you've seen some shit," he said matter-of-factly. "And I've seen you deal with it. And I've only known you for a few months and you've got some pretty strong walls put up, but I can't imagine a situation where I won't trust your opinion. You have every reason in the world to believe wholeheartedly that every single human being in the world is out to get you, and you don't trust many people. Now you trust a man who cannot be trusted, but you also trust us. I figure if I wanna believe any of us is worth your trust I kinda gotta believe it when you trust anyone else."

Jess let out a painful sigh of relief. Before she could come up with anything to say she crossed the distance between them and hugged Clint hard around the torso. Without hesitating he put his own arms around her, letting the warmth of her closeness take down another brick of his own walls, like he did every time Jess hugged him.

"But…" Jess started hesitantly, still not letting go, "last time he was here, Loki had you under his control. That must have been… god, I don't even know. How is my word enough?"

"I don't know," said Clint frankly. "I suppose I value your experience over mine."

Jess hugged him tighter. Clint cupped her head in his rough hand.

About three more of his bricks fell.

Pepper's fingers were typing across the keyboard when JARVIS's voice filled the room.

"Miss Potts, I hate to disturb you, but I'm afraid Mr. Stark has requested that you come see him immediately," said the AI's disembodied voice.

Pepper sighed. "Alright, well, where is he?"

"He is on the roof," replied JARVIS casually.

Pepper frowned, rising from her chair and walking toward the door of her office. "On the roof?" she repeated. "Doing what?" Not that Tony was supposed to be flying his suit at the moment, but even if he were, he had his balcony to land on. What would he be doing on the roof? Past sundown? Pepper's CEO brain raced as she tried not to jump to any irrational conclusions.

Still, it was a tense elevator ride. Her fingers fidgeted with stress.

When the elevator's doors opened, her fingers froze. Pepper blinked through wide eyes. She could barely register her lips part.

The roof was unrecognizable. Nearly every inch of the gray concrete was coated with flowers, so many different kinds of flowers Pepper couldn't possibly have counted them all, let alone named them. And a hundred billion lights, it seemed, sprouting up from the floor like mushrooms, intertwining with the city's urban lights of night, New York's lights of darkness. She felt her feet lead her out of the elevator onto the roof, nearly managed to hear it close behind her, looking down at blood red and moon white and dancing yellow and swimming blue, all flying in the green, that threatened to engulf her feet as she came closer. The roof was paradise at nightfall, past the setting of the sun.

He stood in the middle of it all. Him. Who made her lose her mind for so many reasons and so many times she'd long lose count. The reckless genius. The good man in disguise. Lights. Flowers. Him.

Him.

Blinked. Felt herself look around the roof. "What?" A far off whisper.

"You like it?" asked Tony with a smile. "You better like it, it took me a long time."

"H- how did you –?"

Tony shrugged. "Had a lot of free time on my hands," he said. "Actually, that's a lie, I am incredibly busy, but, well, let's face it. World peace is not going anywhere. I can take a personal day. And, to be honest, I've been planning it for ages. I would have done this sooner, but Jess getting kidnapped kind of got me to put this off a little."

"Did you do all of this?" she asked incredulously. She walked toward him, trying to put the entire roof in her field of vision at once. "By yourself?"

Tony grimaced humbly. "Yeah, well," he said, and then added, offhandedly, "For you."

"What- but it's not Valentine's, or my birthday, or our anniversary, or anything, why –?"

"Pepper," he cut her off. For the first time she noticed he was wearing a sleek black suit, probably worth more than what most people made in a year. "I'm trying to make a grand gesture here, and you're kind of interrupting asking all these questions, do you mind waiting until after I'm finished?"

Pepper bit her lips. "Okay. Sorry." She couldn't swallow back her smile.

Tony cleared his throat. "Pepper Potts, it's a cliché, but we have been through…" he left a meaningful pause, raising his eyebrows, "a lot," he concluded. "And you've been the one constantly good thing in my life, the one thing I could always, no matter the situation, trust."

"Have you rehearsed this speech?" asked Pepper with a young smile.

"I have, now if you would let me finish," Tony replied patiently. His eyes grew unfocused, as though he was suddenly tentative. "I've never –" He cut himself off, shook his head. "I've never," he repeated, "in my entire life, loved anyone as much as I love you, Pepper Potts. I love you. And as long as I'm alive, and I plan on that being forever, I will never stop loving you or love you any less. You are the one thing in my life…" he trailed off. "Well, you are just that. You're it, baby, you're the one."

"Tony," said Pepper, her voice as soft as her smile. "What are you doing?"

He stared at her. Like he couldn't do anything else. Like there was nothing else.

And then.

Pepper barely even registered his knee bend. She only realized he was lowering himself onto the ground when his knee was on the floor. She heard herself inhale sharply.

"Pepper Potts." Tony brought the box out of his pocket, and it opened and in it was a star that Tony had plucked out of the sky for her. "I love you. God, I love you. And I'm never going to stop."

She stared at him. He looked at her.

"Pepper, will you marry me?"

Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

"Yes," she breathed out like stardust. "Of course, Tony, yes."

Tony's lips split wide in a grin, his eyes reflecting the hundred billion lights. He plucked the star out of its velvety hold and the cool metal band wrapped around Pepper's finger like a promise. More than a promise; a vow.

Tony got back up to his feet, and holding Pepper's upper arms in his hands he kissed her and tasted like victory. And Pepper clung on tight and kissed him like it was the last thing she would ever do and when they let each other go her eyes were wet.

"I love you," she said just barely.

So Tony kissed her again, this time allowing her to throw her arms behind his head and lean right into his chest.

Her senses were playing tricks on her. The walls of the hallways she crossed were clearly made with thick cement that would successfully stand most earthquakes without the slightest crack to its surface; hard concrete that could not be moved, only, perhaps, with remarkable force, broken. And yet with every step she took, with every echo bouncing off the strong concrete and back to her the walls seemed to move another inch wider, the hallways growing around her as though to make room. Her figure was as compact as ever but her spirit seemed to grow, her active emotional range so wide the hallways were apparently not vast enough and had to readjust.

The agent who led her through the fluid hallways had not said a single word to her. He gave a stiff nod when they were briefly introduced, but Jess didn't know what his voice would sound like. He wasn't glancing back at her over his shoulder to make sure she was still following him, but this pointed not-looking was done with so much intention and with such contempt he may as well have looked. It was his brass inaction that paved a path for Jess to step into his mind and see herself with his own steel eyes. The way he didn't look at her was dripping with disdain, for the girl who saved their greatest criminal. Jess wondered what he thought had happened to her while she was in Loki's palm. She wondered where he believed he was leading her.

But when SHIELD gives direct orders, you don't just refuse because there's someone involved that you don't wanna have to look at.

The agent stopped by a heavy looking door the color of bone. He typed a combination of numbers on a panel by the door, and with a soft sigh the door unlocked. The agent whose name Jess had forgotten opened the door, and stared ahead blankly into the corridor they had just crossed.

Jess suppressed an exasperated sigh and a roll of the eyes. She stepped through the door across the unwincing agent, then glanced back to watch him shut it behind her.

The silence was lonely.

Jess set her jaw and looked around the room. It was practically empty, and in comparison to SHIELD's usually blindingly lit rooms it was almost dim. It was tiny, the size of a maintenance closet; one wall was half made of glass she knew bullets would never be able to crack. The other half was hidden by a plastic white tabletop, and a speaker was glued to the glass from both sides of the wall.

It was more or less what Jess had expected.

She forced herself not to look when they brought him into the room on the other side of the glass wall. She forced herself to fixate her stance and keep her back to the glass while she heard the soft clinking of chains through the speaker. She heard the dragging of a chair and a thump of someone sitting down. She heard the door to the second room shut.

Jess turned around.

Loki was sitting in front of the other side of the glass, and the sight of him made Jess's heartbeat ache. He looked tired. His usually glamorous clothes were replaced by plain white linen, which made his skin look yellow and sickly pale. His hair was recklessly free. His eyes, which were duller than Jess had remembered them but not due to any fault of hers, were sullenly fixated on her.

As though she was entranced, Jess's feet carried her to the chair in front of her side of the glass wall. Despite the matching tabletops, if it weren't for the window Jess would have been close enough to Loki to reach out and touch. The air seemed to catch in her throat.

"Hi," she managed. He looks so tired, she thought looking at Loki. The dark circles under his eyes seemed familiar, as Jess had little trouble bringing to mind days where identical circles marked her own eyes.

"Hello," said Loki plainly. His voice sounded out of practice, like muscles that haven't been moved in a long time were suddenly forced to exercise, and the window made it sound far away.

Jess bit her lower lip. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

His lips tugged softly at the edges. "This is far from the worst I've had the misfortune of experiencing," he noted dryly. "SHIELD is kind and soft in comparison." His almost-smile faded, and his eyes were suddenly concerned. "Are you?" he asked gently.

Jess nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I'm fine, just…" she trailed off. "I'm adjusting," she said eventually. "It was a bit of a shock coming back to the Tower like nothing's changed."

"What about SHIELD?" asked Loki. His fist clenched. "Are you safe? Have they touched you?"

"I'm safe," said Jess quickly. "They're not going to do anything to me. They would lose too much if they do."

Loki examined her carefully. "Swear on it," he said. He sounded on edge.

She could not blame him for not trusting her entirely. Not on this. "I swear," she said evenly, levelly looking into his eyes.

Loki relaxed visibly. Jess tried not to be touched by the idea he cared.

"I've been speaking to the Avengers," she told him hopefully. "Well, most of them, I haven't been able to find Tony all day, but… I talked to them. About you, about how you shouldn't be put in prison."

"Jess…" He shook his head. "Stop it, you have to stop fighting for me. I have nothing left to lose, but you still do, and now that SHIELD knows about your powers, they have a reason to not want you around. Don't risk your safety, not for me."

"I'm not," Jess argued. "Honestly. The Avengers aren't like that, they would never do anything to endanger me, no matter how hard I insist they're wrong about what should be done with you."

"Do you trust them?" asked Loki.

She nodded. "I do."

He looked at her. "Then how far have your efforts brought you so far?"

Jess glanced down at her hands. "Not very far," she admitted. "Thor listened to me, obviously –"

"Obviously?" Loki was frowning. "I would think he would be the most difficult one to convince."

"I think he was practically begging for a reason to trust you," said Jess. "Loki, he still loves you. You don't have to see it for it to be true."

Loki avoided her eyes. "My brother is a fool, always has been," he muttered. Yet there was something in his eyes.

Jess bit her lip. "Anyway," she said hesitantly. "I only got through to him and to Clint. Everyone else pretty much ignored my arguments."

Loki's brown furrowed. "Barton?" he said, puzzled. "If I recall correctly, he was the one who most wanted my head."

Jess shrugged. "I guess he still listened." She smiled. "Who would've thought, right?"

Loki gave a weak half-smile. Then his expression darkened again. "The others were certain of their opinions on me, then," he said.

Jess's smile faded. "Yeah," she mumbled lamely. "I suppose they were rather definite."

"Well?" asked Loki bitterly. "Have they shaken your faith in me yet?"

Jess frowned. "Of course they have," she said like it was obvious. "So many people so absolutely sure you lied to me, I gotta at least get a little rattled."

Now Loki was frowning. "Then why are you still trying to win them over?"

She shook her head helplessly. "Because I know you didn't." Loki's eyes fixated on hers. "I don't know how, I just do. Maybe that's how much I want to believe that I'm a good judge of character. But I think I would know it if you did lie. I know you're the God of Lies and all, but…" she trailed off. "I guess I'm just naïve like that. I guess I'm still trying to believe in people."

"After what I've done…" murmured Loki softly. "Not many would still consider me a person."

"I would," she answered.

Loki sighed deeply. "You child," he said softly, and lowered his eyes to his chained hands. Jess wondered what about his words made a lump appear in her throat.

"I love you," said Jess like a dropping pin, and expected nothing in return.

Loki raised his eyes to her, looking so sad for her Jess could barely fathom it. "Don't," he said gently, his voice strangely thick, not expecting her to listen but still praying that she would.

Jess swallowed hard, fighting to keep her eyes from watering too much. "I can't," she said just barely. "I'm sorry, I know it'd be easier if I just believe what everyone says about you but I just can't. You're my friend, Loki. And I'm going to try my hardest to stop them locking you up for the rest of your life."

"Well, I wish you didn't," said Loki impatiently, and seemed to just barely be holding himself back from losing control.

Jess smiled sadly. "I know."

"No, you don't know," he murmured darkly. "How can you know? I forget how young you are. After everything that's happened to you, you still cannot imagine just how much you still have left to lose, how much worse things can always get. I do know, Jess, I have seen it, I have lived it, and I will die before I let you live it, too." His voice was shaking. "Do not fight for me, Jess. Just… stop." His voice lowered to a whisper. "Just stop."

She had to firmly lock her jaw in order to keep her own voice from shaking. "I can't," she said.

Loki exhaled softly. He looked at her. "I do love you, you know," he said tiredly. "It's unusual for me, and I hardly saw it coming, but… I do."

Jess smiled. "Yeah," she said. "I know."

The faint hiss of the security camera readjusting resembled a melody.

Jess and Loki couldn't have known that, but they made a nice picture in the live feed of the security cameras around them. The image was in black and white, but their voices were clear.

They couldn't have known that they were being watched. They couldn't have known that every word they said was being overheard.

Steve sat in a black spinning chair facing the screens. Natasha, who up until now was leaning on the table for a better view, straightened her back. Steve looked up at her to see her staring at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, shit," whispered Natasha, as though she was afraid Jess and Loki would hear.

Steve turned back to the screens, deep in thought. His fingers tapped the table distractedly as he racked his brain searching for anything, anything at all that would help him deny the honesty in Loki's eavesdropped words; a proof that somehow him begging Jess to give him up was all manipulation meant to push her to do the exact opposite.

He looked back at Natasha.

They were both vastly unprepared to have their beliefs thrown back in their faces.

He looked at the screens.

"Fuck," he heard himself say.