A/N Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! They mean a lot to me – seriously. I had a hard time writing this next chapter due to a combination of too much school and lack of direction. I knew what I wanted to say in this one, it just took me such a long time to write it down the way I saw it in my head – hence the late update. The updates will probably be every 3 weeks or so, now that I'm back in school, but I promise this story will indeed be finished (spoiler, I'm thinking of a sequel to this. So I totes have to finish the first part lol.)

Enjoy!

Thor had kept his promise and came to retrieve Loki early the next morning, who was more than eager to test out some new spells. The night prior to this, just minutes before Loki had decided he should get some sleep, he noticed several books on his desk he hadn't seen when he first came in. These books were old, and filled with healing spells he never even knew were possible. Books with magic like this would never be found in Asgard's library – these were form someone's personal collection, whose collection was the question, but one he would concern himself with later. He stayed up virtually the whole night leafing through the ancient text to find something that may help Nora's situation. By the time the first rays of daylight trickled into Loki's chamber, he'd devoured the three books in their entirety.

His brother informed him that he would only be allowed to work with Nora twice in one day, once in the morning and once at night – so Loki wasted no time in applying the spells.

This was yesterday though. Today, Thor had not shown up at the time he promised he would. Had something gone wrong? Did a guard happen to see them the other day and tell Odin? Or worse, did Nora pass in the night? Loki's stomach turned at the thought, horrified that maybe he hadn't applied the spells properly. The idea of him further aiding the girls demise affected him more than he thought it would. He had to know what became of her.

Nora's eyes blinked open slightly and the first thought that passed her mind was how dry her lips were.

"Could…" She stopped for a moment to swallow, "Could I get some water?"

Thor, who was in the process of leaving the room to retrieve Loki, turned suddenly. A grin stretched from ear to ear as he approached her bed.

"Nora, it's wonderful to see you awake!" He said as quietly as he could while excited. "We were all very worried, but it seems my brother's new healing spells worked wonders."

Thor handed Nora a small glass of water and helped her sit up on the bed so she could drink it. She felt the cool liquid pass her dry lips and sooth her throat – never before had water tasted so good.

"Thank you." She said breathlessly. Nora then turned her attention to his comment concerning Loki – he'd helped her? She felt her face tingle slightly at the thought. He'd been relatively kind to her, sure, but to heal her with magic?

"Is he talented with healing?" She questioned, expecting this skill to be something he exercised often.

"No, actually. He said he'd learned all his healing knowledge the night before last – I can only assume he did so to help you." Thor answered, the sides of his lips quirking up into a pleasant smile. The older man pulled up a chair to situate himself next to Nora, his large body seemingly out of place on the small wood frame.

"My brother has grown quite fond of you I think," Thor began, continuing happily once he noticed the surprise on Nora's face. "Though he has yet to admit it, which is not surprising, he cares for you, Nora. He would not have insisted on me sneaking him in here to heal you if he did not."

Nora stared blankly at Thor, her shock over his words evident. Never before had a stranger gone out of their way to help her – not like this. Especially not one that had seemed almost indifferent to her existence since they met. It had upset her at first, to be honest, to watch how cool and utterly placid he acted when she was around. He was calculating, cruel, and obviously dangerous, which made Nora keep her distance. But now, hearing Thor, had she misjudged Loki? It looked as if he'd gone pretty far out of his way in order to help her.

"Guilt." She thought. He must think her condition was his fault – otherwise Nora couldn't imagine him caring otherwise. Yet, even the fact that he was taking responsibility, for something that really wasn't his fault, gave her pause.

Loki had enough. It was well past early morning and the sun was now nearing the top of the sky. Where was Thor? It no longer mattered – as he was not going to wait around. Loki couldn't just waltz out the door right in front of the guard, he'd need a distraction. With a simple plan in mind, Loki made a clone sitting on the bed. He then placed himself on the wall by the door, and with a quick hand movement sent all the books in his room up into the air, then let them crash to the floor with a bang. Almost instantly, the guard entered the room. He walked several steps in, eyeing the books on the ground before moving his gaze to the clone on the bed.

"Is everything alright in here?" He asked.

"Just fine." The clone spat. "How about you be useful and pick up the books?"

As the guard argued with the clone that he was not a servant, Loki slipped out of his room and made his way down the hall. Careful to avoid any conflict, he made himself appear as a palace guard on patrol. It wasn't long before he reached Nora's room, and when he opened the door, he couldn't quite figure out how he felt. Relief, he supposed, engulfed him first. The girl was alive and even alert, sitting up on the bed holding a glass of water. Yet, once his eyes landed on Thor, who was situated in a chair near her bed, his body shook with anger. How dare Thor not come and get him once the girl had woken up. That fool made him worry needlessly about her.

"Excuse me sir," Loki said suddenly, even catching himself by surprise. "Odin has requested your presence immediately. He's waiting for you in the throne room."

"Is there a problem?" Thor replied as he stood from his chair quickly.

"I'm not sure sir, he just seemed troubled."

Thor turned to Nora and gave her a quick nod and apologized for having to leave so suddenly. The moment his brother left the room, Loki shut the door and turned his attention to Nora. She didn't seem to pay him much mind at first – until she realized he wasn't leaving the room.

"Is…there something I can do for you?" She asked.

"You can lift up that blanket." He answered, the hint of a smile playing at his lips.

Nora's eyes widened at his response and she instinctively pulled the blanket further up her chest.

"Now, how do you expect me to look at your wound if you cover yourself up like that?" He teased, now letting the illusion fad away. His grin widened in response to her own relived smile, and she let her shoulders drop in relaxation.

"You're horrible." Nora said.

"Yes, I'm horrible. I'll be sure not to do you any more favors." He said sarcastically. "Now please, may you lift the blanket so I can see the wound?"

Loki saw her hesitate for a moment, but slowly, she lifted the blankets up and away from her stomach. She was still only dressed in a small pair of underwear and a long strip of leather around her chest. He kept his eyes on the wound as he knelt down next to her bed, careful not to let his gaze linger elsewhere. Her stomach looked momentously better. All that seemed to be left was a long red scar and a slight bit of swelling – other than that, she seemed fine. Loki reached out and gently placed his fingers on either side of the scar, checking to see if it was still giving off any sort of heat. He felt her skin quiver under his touch, and he glanced up to see her take in a sharp breath at the contact. Loki knew how fear felt under his grasp – and this was not that. Nora's freckles seem to fad under a light blush as she watched his hands intently, only averting her eyes to lock with his.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Loki said, just to be safe.

"I know." She answered.

Loki turned back to her stomach and pressed his fingers lightly on the area around her wound. He watched, interested, as her legs tightened together when he ran his finger from one end of the scar to the other. The girl reacted to his every touch, and he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy it. His own stomach seemed to tighten at her reception, and he became all too aware of how long it'd been since he'd taken a women to his bed. To watch as they would arch and cry under is slightest caress was one of his favorite parts – and Nora's quivering body did nothing to quell his memory. Loki swallowed noticeably and his tongue darted out of his mouth to wet his lips.

"You've healed nicely." He said, unable to keep his voice even. "If you feel able, we can try another session today."

"Yes, I'd like that. I've been sleeping for days, getting out of bed would be nice."

Nora lifted herself out of the bed and made her way over to the light blue dress one of the maids had left for her on a seat. Loki watched, a little too intently, as her half naked figure walked over to the outfit. He finally turned his head away when she slipped it on over her head.

"It's a little big…" She said, turning to him now. The bottom of the plain dress bunched up on the floor around her feet. Loki smiled, amused at the baggy, severally oversized outfit she had to wear.

"Very few, if any Asgardians, are your size Nora." Loki pointed out. "Also – you said you wanted to get out of bed, yes? How about out of the kingdom. I think some fresh air would do us both good."

Nora lifted an eyebrow at him. "I don't think either of us, especially you, are allowed out of the kingdom."

Loki gave her a grin and bright gold light shimmered over his body, causing Nora to squint. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a guard instead of Loki.

"See? No problem at all. I can be very convincing." He said, straightening his posture and looking as guard like as possible. "So, shall we?"

Nora and Loki stood outside the palace gates near the stables, both of them grinning like small children.

"I can't believe they actually let us out!" Nora laughed, her back leaning up against the side of the barn.

"You're not a prisoner here," Loki said as he let the illusion of the guard down. "No reason for them to question why you'd go out for a stroll."

Nora agreed and lifted herself from the barn to follow Loki inside.

"So, what's this special meditation place you want us to go? I'm hoping it's not in here – it smells." She said in disgust.

"No, it's a bit of a walk from here, so I figured we take some horses." Loki replied as he pulled two of them out of their stables, both of them stunningly black. Nora took a step back from the animals, her eyes filled with wonder and confusion.

"What did you call these things?" she asked, reaching out a tentative hand to touch the creature. Loki gave her a bewildered look and glanced back at the horses, giving the one to his right a small pat.

"You don't know what a horse is? What type of animals did you ride on your planet?"

"I don't really remember, I was so young. I know they didn't look like this though – they were on two legs." She said. "Are we going to ride these? I have no idea how…"

Loki turned from her and placed one of the horses back in its stable, making sure to lock it up tight.

"Well, we were going to. But it looks we'll have to share – if you don't mind." He asked while holding out his hands and motioning for her to come over. Nora smiled and walked towards him, her body letting out an involuntary gasp as he gripped her sides and helped her up on the horse. He took a moment to watch her as she ran her fingers through the horse's mane, her bright smile never waning.

What in Odin's name was he doing? He knew it was going to be a little more intimate then he would have liked using horses in the first place, which were honestly the most practical way to get there – but to share one? Her hands would have to wrap around his body, her face would be pressed on his back. She'd be practically clinging to him the whole way there. Loki shifted uncomfortably at the thought, and almost brought her down from the horse before he quickly stopped himself. No, he had to get more information on Thanos and how large his army really was. If brining her outside the palace to a less stressful environment would help him get what he needed, he'd have to endure the mortal's body wrapped pitifully around his own.

"She's no longer in any danger of dying," Loki rationalized to himself. "My responsibility for her is over. The only reason for me to be around this girl is to get the information I need." He noticed Nora looking down at him expectedly, so he hastily pulled himself up on the horse.

"Just-" He started, looking back at Nora, "Just wrap your arms around my waist here and hold on."

Nora did as she was told and placed her arms around his stomach, her small fingers gripping onto the leather of his outfit. This was the closest she'd been to him so far – and his smell was completely overwhelming. Before she had time to process being on a horse for the first time and having to be this close to Loki – the animal started to move. Instinctively, she wrapped herself around him tighter, her small body pressed into a flat line across his back. She felt Loki tense under her grasp, and she eased back slightly.

"You won't fall." He said reassuringly as he directed the horse out of the barn and toward a dirt path.

Nora nodded, her face still pressed firmly against his back. When she did finally feel comfortable enough to loosen her grip, she realized that they had entered a forest.

"Asgard has trees?" She said through a huge smile. "I haven't seen trees since I was a child!"

"It does indeed have trees." He answered curtly.

Before long they arrived at a small clearing. The bright grassy plot of land was surrounded at every point by trees, and in the center of it was a large bolder. Loki jumped down off the horse first then helped Nora off. As the girl wandered aimlessly into the clearing, Loki tied up the horse. He watched her fall to her knees in the grass before stretching her arms out as if to feel every blade.

"Are you alright?" He questioned, now standing next to her.

"I'm just – happy. I never thought I would see nature like this again." She answered as she turned her face up to him. "Thank you. For everything. Letting me keep the book, healing me, and for bringing me here. I don't know why everyone doesn't trust you Loki – or why you ended up in prison…"

Loki stiffened at her words, his mouth drawn into a thin line. The poor girl thought he had done all those things to please her? Though he enjoyed her admiration, he didn't want her thinking he'd saved her life out of the kindness of his heart. Loki grimaced noticeably as he realized Thor must have spoken to her before he interrupted them. What did his brother mean to accomplish by leading this mortal girl on? It wasn't going to miraculously heal him like his buffoon of a sibling.

"Perhaps you're simply not a great judge of people," He said plainly while sitting down across from her.

This took Nora off-guard for a moment, and she averted her eyes from him.

"Why did you do all those things for me then?" She questioned, now returning her gaze towards him.

Loki paused for a moment before leaning in and placing both his hands on the sides of her head.

"We don't have much time here," He said, completely avoiding her question. "If we're going to complete this session, we have to do it now."

Nora nodded, a slight smile on her face. She had a feeling he wouldn't answer her. The two of them closed their eyes and Nora felt Loki's forehead touch hers. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, doing her best to relax.

She was exceptionally more receptive while out of the palace, her mind seemed to happily welcome his intrusion. As Loki did his best to filter through memories of the attack that he had already seen, he felt something pressing on the back of his mind. He willed the feeling away quickly and tried to push forward, but the sensation kept coming back. Something from her mind was currently so strong, that is was completely distracting him from looking at her memories. He'd told Nora he wouldn't look at anything else while they were connected – but this overwhelming sensation seemed to be pulling at him. Loki gripped onto her head a little bit tighter and pushed passed her memories into her conscious, determined to see what in her thoughts was so permeating.

All at once the floodgates seemed to open – and every thought she had concerning him poured out. Oh, this girl more than just admired him, she wanted him. Loki could feel her conflicting, confusing emotions swirl through his head. Her obvious apprehension for him mixed with unmistakable desire. As he tried to process the whirlwind now crashing through his mind, he felt a pair of soft lips press against his own. With her thoughts now connected with his, all inhibition seemed to vanish.

Loki moved his hands away from her temple and entwined his fingers in her hair before pulling her closer. Nora responded to him by opening her mouth slightly, allowing him to slip his tongue past her lips into her mouth. In a fit of passion he pushed her forward onto the grass, his large body pressing her firmly to the ground. He felt arms wrap around his neck, the action begging him to stay where he was. To not break away. Loki obliged and continued to kiss her heatedly, his lips crashing and meeting her every movement. He gripped the side of Nora's leg and began to hike her dress up, reviling underwear and stomach.

He felt her teeth grip his bottom lip and he growled in response, pushing the length of his body across her own. As he moved to lift the dress up and over her head, the leather from his outfit raked across her scar, forcing her to break their kiss and let out a scream of pain. Loki pulled back immediately, his eyes wide as he scanned the small panting figure below him.

"I-I'm fine." Nora said breathlessly, her hand touching her now irritated wound. "It's nothing."

Loki nodded slightly, his head now clear with the connection broken. What did he just do? Never before had he let himself get out of hand like that – to allow another person's emotions to affect his own. She was a mortal, he was a God. Kissing her wasn't the issue - it was the unwelcome passion that came with it. Loki was soon shaken from his thoughts when he felt Nora tentatively touch his arm and he shirked away quickly.

"We've spent too much time here." He said coldly, pulling himself up off the ground. "Get on the horse."

Nora looked up at him, bewildered. Here she was on the ground, breathless with her dress pulled up past her hips, and he wanted her to get back on the horse? She quickly pulled her dress down and stood up shakily, the whole encounter leaving her wanting yet drained.

"Loki." She started.

"On. The. Horse." He said firmly while cutting her off.

Nora stared at him quietly before walking over to him so she could be lifted up onto the animal. Once Loki hauled himself up in front of her, they rode back to the kingdom in silence.

So things got a little hot and heavy near the end there – I'm such a tease. Sorry. No worries though, this shows that all the really good stuff is just around the corner! Sadly, no doodles this week. (FML) I had to send in my normal computer for repairs, so I couldn't draw. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Edit: Made a few edits, didn't catch a few problems at first. Readers! If you ever catch any errors in my writing, don't be afraid to tell me. (I actually really appreciate it!)