Once again it has been horribly long since I last updated – I'm so sorry, and am so grateful for your patience and continuing support!

So yeah, sorry it took so long! I feel rather like I'm falling apart at the seams at the moment… But I got there! So here you go, hope you enjoy it!

o

Notes for this chapter:

Bildschneip – the creatures Thor mentions to Coulson in the movie, 'huge, scaly, big antlers'. I couldn't remember what they were called, so until I get the film and can look it up with subtitles I shall rely on SiOmniaFicta's excellent transcript of the script for the name.

'I don't think anyone, until their soul leaves their body, is past the point of no return' This must be accredited to the lovely Tom Hiddleston, it came from his mind, not mine. I just thought it worked so perfectly to describe Efa's way of seeing the world and I don't think I could put it better myself.

o

Chapter Twenty One:

Not Giving Up

Loki watched as Efa gave him one last look before the doors closed on her and he was left alone, excepting only a couple of guards and her dog. She'd looked as calm and unruffled as ever, giving him a smile and a small wave as Rodgers led her off, but there had been the slightest of tightening about her eyes that had betrayed her nervousness to Loki. He doubted it was enough for anyone else to notice, but he had spend the last few weeks studying this girl in minute detail and he could read her like an open book.

He sighed heavily, resisting the urge to pound his fist against the glass. He was sure that his every move was being scrutinised, and he didn't want to damage whatever slim chance Efa might have of gaining some sort of acceptance. Instead he paced, his restless energy driving him into traversing the small cell in a pattern of criss-crosses. He felt small, vulnerable, trapped, and knew that Efa was his only chance of getting out of this damned cage.

He hated it.

He hated not being in control, not having a plan, being dependant on another. This was the situation he had sworn he would never again allow himself to be in. Memories rose in him, unbidden, of that fateful hunting trip when he and Thor had been mere boys, only centuries old, where he had almost been trampled by an errant Bildschneip. He had not had the strength to fight it, and none could outrun the vile creatures. He would likely have met his end that day, had it not been for Thor's quick actions with a spear. It was this encounter that led to his obsessive pursuit of magical knowledge. It had already become painfully clear to him that he would never equal his brother in terms of physical prowess, but he vowed he would never again suffer the degradation of Thor having to save him, to then be laughed at for his own ineptitude. Magic had never earned him the same respect, even when paired with his own considerable skill as a warrior, however he gained satisfaction in the knowledge that he would never be forced into such a situation again. Until now, when the All-Father had stripped him of his greatest strength. So now he was stuck, helpless, totally reliant of the words and actions of a mortal.

He forced himself to be still, closing his eyes and calming his mind and his body. Pacing was doing him no good, and could be seen as a sign of weakness. No matter what situation Odin had forced him into he still had his pride. He would not be reduced to a cowering wreck. He was Loki of Asgard and these pathetic mortals would treat him with the respect that he rightfully deserved. He opened his eyes once more and levelled a threatening glare at one of his guards. The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk as the mortal glanced timidly at his peer and tightened his grip on his gun. Somewhat mollified, Loki turned and resumed his position on the narrow cot, sat with his legs spread in a show of confidence and dominance, leant back against the glass, with his arms crossed as though surveying his own personal kingdom. He would make it clear whom was superior here, even if he was the prisoner and they his guards.

The effect was somewhat ruined when Efanna's dog came up to him as rested his chin on his leg. Loki glowered at the animal, irritated, but he only stared back at him with white eyes that so matched his mistress'. Somehow they even seemed to convey the same compassion and gentle understanding that Efanna's always did. The beast whined slightly, twitching his ears and looking up imploringly. He shifted closer, reaching his muzzle up to Loki's hands and giving them a brief lick. Loki recoiled slightly, but the creature looked so earnest, so very much like his owner that, against his better judgement, he let the beast be, which seemed to satisfy him enormously. He jumped up onto the cot next to Loki and lay down, pushing himself against the leather of Loki's coat and resting his head firmly in Loki's lap. All the while his white eyes remained fixed on Loki's, almost as though he were assessing him.

Loki leant his head back against the glass and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the warm weight of the animal's head on his leg. His thoughts drifted to Efanna and everything she entailed. It seemed every day he spent with the strange mortal raised more questions about her than it answered. He could read her now, notice the small shifts in her expression or movements that indicated her rapidly changing moods. He could tell if she was sad, angry or confused; excited, contented or cheerful. And yet he could not understand her. The reasons for her emotions eluded him, the workings of her mind remained unknown. She continued, at every opportunity, to surprise him. Perhaps that was why he felt so drawn to her. Because she was a riddle he had not yet been able to answer.

Invariably, his thoughts on Efanna drew him to wonder what currently transpired in her meeting with Fury. The Director had been obviously vague on the details in his summoning, but his tone had been decisive, firm, not quite angry but implacable. It was obvious that the reason for this meeting was to discuss him, and for her to have been summoned now meant that something must have changed. Loki suspected the cause of such change must be the arrival of his b-

Angrily, he threw his mind away from the accursed word. Despite even his exile, his torture, the endless hours of agony that had caused Loki to so entirely renounce and disown his former family, his mind would still slip occasionally, dredging up the term he had sworn to abolish. Thor was not his brother and never had been; he knew this, so why did this small part of his mind seem so incapable of accepting it? At this thought however, Efanna's face once again wove through his mind, the honesty and simple truth in her eyes as she told him what Odin never had. If what she had said was indeed correct, and he could not justifiably doubt that it was so, then Thor was, to some extent at least, his brother.

This notion echoed though his mind disrupting everything it touched, leaving in its wake such chaos that Loki could not begin to make head nor tail of. He had already been forced to rearrange his entire identity to erase such ideas from his mind. To face the prospect of having to do so again, to have to reverse the process, seemed at present to daunting to comprehend. He would admit it to no one, although he suspected Efanna already knew, but the pain he had endured as he had done so had been almost more than he could bear, and he could not face subjecting himself to that again. He had made his decision, severed his ties to the family of Odin.

Thor was not his brother.

o

"What you said," Steve started suddenly when they were about halfway back to Loki's cell. His voice was intense, yet hesitant, and he was staring at her intently as they walked along, barely looking where he was going.

"I said quite a few things," Efa prompted him when the rest of his sentence failed to appear.

"About love," he clarified, "About how there's something worth loving in everyone. Do you really believe that?"

"I wouldn't've said it if I didn't believe it," she told him, "I don't ever lie you know."

"I didn't say you were," he assured her hurriedly, "It's just … everyone? There are some … people … I'd have a hard time finding something to love about."

Efanna sighed, knowing full well the conflict in the soldier's mind.

"I'm guessing you're thinking about Schmidt?" she asked, earning herself a sharp glare, "Don't bother asking how I know. You'll find out soon enough. But in answer to the question you never quite asked… Yes, there are those who are beyond love as they are, but even they, I believe, have the possibility of having something worth loving. I don't think anyone, until their soul leaves their body, is past the point of no return. And I believe that everyone should have the chance to become a better person."

They walked in silence for a while as Steve considered this.

"I only wish I could have your faith," he replied after a while, somewhat wistfully.

"So you don't believe in Loki either?" Efa asked, looking up at him sadly.

"I admire your trust in him, in your belief that he can change, I just… I'm not sure he deserves it. I understand what you said, about love and all that, but you don't know what he did. You weren't there. I'd love to believe someone like him could change, I really would. I just don't think it's gonna happen."

They'd arrived at the doors to the room in which Loki's cell resided. Steve turned to her, his expression serious and determined.

"You need to be careful," he warned, "Loki's clever, he's devious; he could be tricking you and you wouldn't even know. I don't want to see you getting hurt."

Efanna sighed, her heart heavy at the irony of Steve's words.

"I understand far more than you could ever imagine," she told him, her voice weighed down by the weight of the memories behind her words, "I know what he did. Far better than any of you do. It's too late for me not to get hurt."

"What's he done to you?" Steve asked fervently, concern and anger at the mistreatment he believed she'd suffered clear in his voice.

"He hasn't done anything," Efa assured him, "Well he's been a mardy prick and he's tried to strangle me a couple of times, oh, and we got into a fight once where I hit my head on the coffee table; but really, considering who he is and everything that he's just been through, that's nothing. And he came out of that fight worse off anyway…"

She caught the look on Steve's face and realised that she was maybe being a little too honest for the current situation.

"He poses no danger to me," she reiterated firmly, "I know Loki far better than anyone else will ever do. He is incapable of tricking me. I'm fairly sure I'm the only person in the universe who can say that. I also know that I'm the only person who'll give him a chance. Which is why it's so important for me to do so."

Steve studied her for a long moment before evidently deciding that she was, in fact, in possession of her wits, and not a mindless drone under Loki's mind control, or completely stark raving bonkers. He nodded, and turned to open the door. Efa agreed with him, of course, on the first point, though privately decided to reserve judgement on the second.

"You seem to know what you're talking about," he admitted as the door slid open, "I still don't trust him though. I'm gonna be keeping a close eye on both of you, and that's not just because of orders."

"I understand," Efa agreed, following him into the room, "As long as you don't hurt him, I don't mind."

o

Pip wriggled slightly against Loki's leg, his warm skin and soft fur shifting beneath his hand. The sensation jerked Loki from his thoughts as he suddenly realised that his fingers were gently entangled within the dog's long coat and that he was actually taking comfort from the animal's presence. As if sensing the change in attitude towards him, Pip looked up with what seemed to be a smile on his face and licked Loki's free hand, almost as if in encouragement. Loki surprised himself by not recoiling from the action and the dog seemed almost to beam. Loki shook his head slightly. Both animal and mistress seemed uncannily alike, both seeming to take the most enormous satisfaction from the merest of gestures from him. After centuries of trying to prove himself to others, such simple acceptance was somehow … reassuring. As much as his mind and pride recoiled from the idea, Loki was forced to admit that the strange pair did indeed evoke such emotions from him. The thought worried him. He should not need reassurance, not least from a mortal and her dog.

It was the thumping of Pip's tail that alerted Loki to Efanna's arrival. She was escorted back into the room, once again by Steve Rodgers, and smiled widely at him when he caught her eye. Rodgers had words with Loki's guards and the door to his cage was opened. The second it was so, Efanna literally bounded towards them and the reunion between girl and dog was ecstatic and energetic. Loki stood slowly, watching her for any signs of how her meeting had gone, but she seemed wholly focussed on greeting her pet. It struck Loki for the first time just how much it had pained her to be separate from him, and he wondered just why she had left Pip with him in the first place.

Surveying the room, Loki noticed that the door to his cell had not been closed after Efanna's entry. He raised one eyebrow, finding the eyes of the carefully watching Captain with a questioning glance. Rodgers' eyes were guarded, but he made no move to caution Loki, or remedy the obvious breach in security. Loki's brow raised further as he turned his gaze back to the redhead and her dog. Surely she could not have persuaded them to trust him?

"They've arranged rooms for us," she told him, answering his unasked question and wiping a layer of dog-slobber from her face, "They have graciously agreed not to lock us up, although there are certain restrictions on our movement and actions. Our rooms will be guarded, and neither of us are allowed out of them without an escort, in your case you're not allowed out without an escort and myself. And obviously any form of violence or sabotage is strictly prohibited. They don't trust us yet, but it's a start, don't you think?"

Loki glanced about the room, paying particular attention to the expression on the Captain's face. He didn't seem particularly happy about the idea, but appeared to be going along with it.

"Miss Efanna gave us her word that you would agree to these conditions," he said firmly, seemingly waiting for any sign that Loki might turn back on Efa's promise.

"If Efanna has given her word, then, of course, I shall comply," he replied, his tone gracious and cultured.

Rodgers didn't look convinced, but nodded curtly. Loki smirked. He was not an unmannered waif; growing up in court, particularly under Frigga's influence, had given him the skills to appear the very definition of a courteous gentleman. The confusion that would arise in those who thought him a heartless beast by behaving in such a manner now would be most amusing to watch. He was confident that he could even puzzle Thor with such an act. As he was forced to comply to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s commands, he may as well get some enjoyment out of it, teach the mortals that there was far more to him than they understood.

"Shall we get going then?" Efa asked with a grin that made Loki suspect she knew exactly what he was playing at.

"By all means," Loki replied, offering Efanna his arm, "Captain, lead the way."

Loki basked in the stares they received as they were escorted down the corridors, Efanna's hand resting demurely on his arm as though they were attending a ball, a smirk etched firmly on his face at the bafflement and incredulity displayed by any who saw them. Efa seemed happy enough to play along, looking very much like she was trying not to laugh. The rooms they were led to were next-door to one another, and, they were informed, surrounded by those that would be occupied by members of the Avengers and agents who were more than capable of handling any trouble, should they cause it. Efanna assured them, once again, that they would do no such thing, before moving to follow Loki through one of the two doors.

"Uh, you did want two rooms didn't you?" Rodgers asked, looking thoroughly uncomfortable.

"Yes, of course!" Efa replied, unable to keep from laughing any longer and letting out a warm chuckle, "You don't really think we're together do you?"

Rodgers looked even more uncomfortable and Loki's smirk grew more pronounced as he watched from the doorway. Efa went over to him, smiling as benevolently as she always did.

"Steve, I'm human," she reminded him, "As if Loki would ever have me! I just need to update him about the current situation, that's all."

Her reassurance didn't seem to comfort him, but he let her calmly follow Loki into his room, Pip at her heels. Once she'd closed the door she turned to look at Loki, and as soon as her eyes met his she burst into fits of giggles.

"Well I can see why you inspired the God of Mischief of all things," she told him with a grin and a roll of her eyes, "That was really quite hilarious, you know. And I'm glad you decided not to make a fuss. They all think I'm insane to trust you, and I'd really rather you didn't give them any reasons to think themselves right."

"You are insane to trust me," Loki reminded her, "But I shall behave, as you wish. I am not so stupid as to think I can go up against them in this form."

Efanna sighed, and looked around the room. It was small, cramped, and uniformly grey. There appeared to be a washroom of sorts attached, which Loki suspected would follow the same formula. The furnishings were sparse: a narrow bed, a desk and a hard plastic chair; but at least the door could be unlocked from the inside, even if there was to be a guard stationed outside at all times.

"See I told promised they wouldn't lock you up. Although I swear there was more room in that cell, and I'm fairly sure they've got us bugged."

She paused at Loki's questioning glance.

"That means they're listening in, so I'm sure you'll want to watch what you say," she explained, before continuing as though that was perfectly natural and not at all an invasion of their privacy.

"They said they'd bring our bags up. I think they've been checking them for bombs or something, then you can actually put a shirt on or something, you must be getting hot in that coat."

Efa plonked herself on the bed rather unceremoniously, fluffing up the single pillow and leaning into the corner of the walls it was pushed up against. Loki realised just how tired she looked and once again wondered what had transpired whilst he had been alone in the cage.

"Thor's here," she said, watching him carefully.

Loki scowled and sighed as he sat himself down on the other end of the bed.

"I suspected as much."

"He wants to see you."

Loki gritted his teeth.

"I'm surprised the great oaf hasn't barged in here already," he hissed bitterly, "Waving that great hammer and trying to make me see sense."

"I persuaded him to wait," Efa said.

Loki gave her a profoundly sceptical look, but she seemed perfectly sure of herself, and the fact remained that Thor had not yet paid Loki a visit.

"How on Asgard did you manage that?" he asked, genuinely interested despite his harsh tone.

"I know him, Loki, just as well as I know you," she told him, her voice quiet, "I know the reasons to convince him."

Loki felt his fist curl on the bed beside him and Efanna moved to touch his shoulder.

"He means well, Loki. He still loves you."

"What he loves no longer exists, if he ever loved me at all," he retorted sharply, "He pines after something he has not the sense to know is long lost. The man he wants me to be, deferential, subjugated, exploited; the derisory second son who knows his place – I might once have been forced into that role, but I have never been that man and I never will be."

"I know that Loki," Efa reassured him, "And I have attempted to explain that to him. But he will not give you up. To him you are still his brother and always will be."

"He is an idiot."

"He has a tendency to be ruled by his heart, and only stop to think once the action is over, but he's a good man. You can't expect everyone to have your intelligence."

Loki scowled as a sudden and irrational surge of jealousy rose within him.

"You love him don't you?" he accused angrily.

"Of course I do," Efa replied calmly, "You understand how well I know him, how well I know all of them. How could I not?"

Anger boiled through Loki's gut and he was surprised at the strength of the reaction her words had generated. He shoved her hand away and stood, turning to tower over her. His breath came in heavy bursts and his face was contorted into a scowl. Efanna, however, showing the same seeming lack of regard for her own personal safety as she always did, simply stood up to face him, reaching one hand up to his cheek. He shoved it away contemptuously, but she stubbornly replaced it, bringing her second hand up to his other cheek as well.

"You hold still and listen to me, or so help me, I will jump on you," she warned him ardently, "Just because I love him it does not mean I love you any less, Loki. Love doesn't work like that. It doesn't come in finite amounts. I love you just as much as I always have, Loki, I just love Thor too."

She paused, her white eyes locked on his and removed the thin gloves that covered her hands before reaching back to his face. When her skin touched his her gaze clouded for a moment before returning to its previous, inexorable force.

"Don't you dare go mardy on me again, Loki. I am not going to lose you."

A silent battle of wills raged between them for a moment, but already Loki could feel her pure emotion wearing away at his resistance. As his green eyes slowly softened she let her arms snake about his neck and leant her head against his chest. With a sigh, Loki gave in and let his arms rest against her lower back.

"That's better," he heard her mutter against the leather of his coat, "I am far too tired to argue and I've still got to umpire what could turn out to be the biggest cat-fight of the century. In future please remember that we've already agreed that the best thing for you to do in these situations is just shut up and accept that I love you."

Loki couldn't help but let out a disbelieving chuckle at the sheer tenacity and irrationality of the girl in his arms.

"You are quite simply the most absurd creature I have ever known, Efanna."

"Thank you," she replied, affably, "I seem to remember you telling me that before."

She pulled back from him and took a long look into his eyes before yawning.

"I'm gonna go have a nap before they bring us food," she told him, somewhat sleepily, "I have a feeling I'm going to need my energy for our after dinner entertainment. Will you be okay on your own?"

Loki assured her he would be fine and she left, giving him one last smile before the door closed. He flopped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to prepare himself for the forthcoming reunion and ignore the way Efanna simply refused to give up on him.

Okay, so I still haven't got to the Thor/Loki meeting – I'm sorry! It will DEFINITELY be next chapter, I promise! Loki's being his changeable, angsty self, and is quite fun to write like that. Bless. It's fun to beat him into submission with pure emotions and love like Efa does :]

Let me know what you thought, your reviews really keep me writing when things are as frankly crap as they're being now. I love you all! xXx