Well, what would you do, if a god just said that to you?
Jane Foster stood there, quite paralyzed, unable to form a single thought. Should she call after him? She should, but she currently had no voice.
She doubted, believed, doubted again…surely she had misheard…"Loki?" but he was gone.
Jane turned and went back to her rooms…
She sat on the edge of her bed and held her face in her hands. What the hell had just happened?
He said that he loved her. He loved her!
The first order of business, she supposed, was to determine if she reciprocated.
Jane thought about it…she liked him. That much she was sure of. They had formed a nice friendship. He had confided in her…
Jane laid on her back to really consider the situation. She hadn't done this since all of this had started, it had happened so fast.
He had entered her life broken. She had tried to care for him as best she could…she rather thought that her attempts were dubious at best. He had been kidnapped and made to suffer at the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D. That was her fault.
But she had lost track of her own mind in all of this. Where was she with it? How did she feel, really?
She no longer cared for Thor in that way. She was absolutely certain of that.
She had sought out Loki…sought him out when she was here. Missed him when he hadn't been speaking with her. She had chalked it up to not really knowing anyone but him and Thor in Asgard, but maybe there was something more to it…
What more to it could there be…?
She thought about the way he made her feel…
He made her feel…important. At ease. Smart.
She sat straight up.
Shit.
Loki wasn't pleased with himself…how dare she make him fall in love with her! Silly, stupid, mortal Jane Foster.
Except that she was neither silly nor stupid.
She was lovely.
He loathed himself in his weakness. Loathed that he wasn't above such wretched commonality as love.
He was furious. He walked to the gardens outside and shook. He shook, because everything which was inside of him, all of the emotion, the embarrassment, the anger…it needed to be released.
Loki sat down on a bench. He should just leave, really. He should leave Asgard until that mortal woman decides that she has worn out her welcome.
Who told her that she could stay so long, anyway? Who gave her permission to intrude upon his private life?
He stood now, agitated.
And he confessed to her! What was he thinking? Confessing to a mortal his love. It was not to be borne. Love!
Loki promised himself that he would leave Asgard the following morning. Just as soon as he didn't see Jane or her reaction to his confession.
It was morning, and the star of the highest Realm was peeking out over the mountains of the backdrop of Asgard…the pinks blushed and the yellows shined. It was a glorious birth, and a song seemed to hold the atmosphere in its embrace.
It brimmed.
And it stirred…the very air, in anticipation.
Loki hadn't slept much.
Nay, not at all.
So much for a relaxing repose before a long journey.
He wouldn't seek her out. He wouldn't be made a fool of further. She would find him, and that would be that.
Loki stood at his balcony, surveying the gardens below. His hands were clasped behind him. He looked regal, as if preparing for battle.
Perhaps he was.
He would be unmoved, unless she kissed his feet.
After all, he was a god. She should be honored.
Loki cleared his throat, and stepped away from the railing. He was going to wait for her downstairs. No sense in staying holed away in his chambers.
He walked about in the gardens for a while, drinking in the morning, allowing it to seep slowly into his cells.
It wasn't lost on him that he hadn't told her of his parentage, but his pride prohibited any real reflection…he would cross that bridge when he came to it. Every time he reflected on this cold fact, he winced. He didn't know what her reaction would be.
He shouldn't care.
If he were being honest with himself, he would realize that keeping this tidbit a secret was the primary reason for his hesitation. If he was truthful, he would admit that the fact that he was a Frost Giant was what terrified him most about his confession.
True, he hadn't been in love much, but he had experienced rejection. As an Aesir.
As a Jotunn, mmm…not so much.
Loki wandered the garden, wondering how he would be able to face Jane.
Who was he fooling? She wouldn't even be looking for him.
She hated him just like everyone hated him. He was beyond hope. No one would, nor could, ever condescend to love him, and he, Loki, would escape to the far reaches of Yggdrasil, and he would be spared the humiliation and suffering of a rejection from a mortal.
He turned abruptly and, eyes fixed on the garden floor, began to walk back inside to prepare to leave. Best just go. No need to continue to hope that she might reciprocate…
…and then he heard it.
It was a distant sound.
But definitely outside of the palace…
He looked up, and around…where was it coming from?
He began to walk to where he believed the source might be…
Along a shallow path…tucked away from the main part. There were honeysuckle blooms all along the periphery, and as they filled his lungs, he felt calm, if not heady.
A low hanging enormous tree, groaning with white blooms, stood in the center of a circular, smaller garden; and herein laid the tune.
Bach.
The cello suite number one in "g".
And he saw that Jane Foster was playing it on a lute.
She looked up.
"It isn't what I play normally…and it sounds kinda strange, but I thought that you'd get the idea," she smiled.
My god, he was beautiful.
But he looked nervous, and she put the instrument down.
Jane stood, and went to him. "You alright?"
His eyes searched hers. "I…" he began.
"Loki? I love you," and she smiled encouragingly.
His eyes flickered shut.
Jane took his hand. "Hey…come on… I know I took a little while, but I needed to figure things out…"
"It isn't that," and he took his hand back and swallowed. "Jane…there is something that I've kept from you. Something that you will never forgive me for. Something that no one, outside of my adoptive family, knows about me."
"Ok," she sounded wary. This likely was not very good.
His hands went to his face, his fingers steepled over his jaw. He really, really, really, didn't want to do this. And he wouldn't look at her until the words were out and he had time to recover. "I'm a Frost Giant," and he turned away and walked to the stream which split the garden.
Jane was beyond confused.
What? Was that bad? What the fuck was a Frost Giant?
She turned and went over to him. "Loki?"
"You can leave. You probably should. I won't hold it against you, Jane. Frost Giants are terrifying things, as you know, and anyone within a mile of the wretched creatures would do well to run," he still wasn't looking at her.
"Loki…"
"…to think that I put you in such perilous danger every time we were alone! I am not to be trusted. I should be in a cell, just where the mortals placed me. All this time I blamed them, but you see, they were quite right…"
"Loki!"
And now, he looked at her. She was smiling.
"What the hell is a Frost Giant?"
"What's a…?" she didn't know. She didn't know! Of course she didn't know. "A hideous creature, Jane. Feared by all in Yggdrasil. You should be wary of me…more than wary, actually."
"But you told me that you love me! Was that a lie?"
He swallowed. "It was not."
"No. And I love you. So now you're gonna spring this Frost Giant shit on me and tell me to get away from you because you're like crazy dangerous and stuff?"
"You love me?"
She sighed. "Yeah. I really do."
He laughed, and his eyes found her mouth…that very place he had sought so many times over the past six weeks. "Jane?"
"Yeah?"
"May I kiss you?"
"Yes. But only after I find out what a Frost Giant is. Is it like a whole other species? Are they organic in nature? Where do they live? Have they traveled to other Realms?" she was on a roll…and Loki, being a practical god, rolled his eyes and then grabbed her and silenced her.
Soft at first, mostly due to shock, their lips met. Jane squealed a touch, but he lightly opened her mouth…
And tangled their tongues together.
Jane wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer, and he snaked his own around her waist.
And there, in the garden, under a blooming ancient tree, Loki found love…
This is where we found Jane at the beginning of this tale.
To refresh your memory:
White fell upon Asgard in soft overlay.
The atmosphere was thick with color, the air full of fragrant sweetness.
Spring kissed her cheek, the most lovely of the seasons in the Realm.
…and Jane Foster was in her chambers, utterly bemused at her current position. She was standing on the high balcony, watching small insects sip the honey of the resplendent blooms low beneath her. She smiled.
How had she arrived thus?
A strange tale, to be sure…
It was the morning of her wedding, and Jane was marveling at her journey. Once she discovered what a Frost Giant was, she demanded that Loki demonstrate his blue skin to her visually. (and once or twice his true skin made it into their carnal exploits)
She had entered this convinced that she would be discovering the cosmos with Thor.
She left it uncovering her heart with Loki.
A/N: This ended up being much longer than I anticipated. But there it is. It could've been a stand alone story, but I likely would've delved a bit further in, and since it was composed as a thank-you on Tumblr for a follower milestone, it goes here.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed!