When he was a child, many centuries ago now, he would gaze at the sky in Asgard, and imagine that someone in the vastness of space would see him, hear his pleas for a friend. Though he loved his brother, his mother, he hadn't the luxury of a friend…someone to confide in without the stain of comparison. He would think, surely, somewhere, someone, would see him for more than Thor's brother. Someone would recognize that he was more than someone to be feared.

"Some day, my son, someone will enjoy them just as much…"

He recalled Frigga's words regarding his tricks.

And he thought of Jane's amazement when he performed his magic.

"Well, Loki…tomorrow is the big day, then."

Loki turned to Thor. "Well done, brother. Your penchant for stating the obvious never fails to amaze me."

"Come, brother, let us toast your day!" and Thor went over to the drinks on the table in the dining hall.

"It is not my day yet Thor, as you've just aptly observed," and Loki accepted the proffered drink. "Do you plan on being inebriated for days on end?"

"Yes! Tis a celebration! One, I might add, I did not think I'd live to see…"

"Nor I…though I admit, I did not believe that I'd witness your marriage either. Not unless you clubbed some poor wretch, dragging her down the aisle."

Thor laughed. "Any number of very fine women would have consented to marrying me, Loki. This you know well."

Loki downed his libation. "I know nothing of the sort. In fact, what I do know on the subject is that I may owe Sif some payment, for taking you off of my hands."

"YOUR hands?! Payment? Brother…how very funny you are."

Loki began to take his leave. "At long last, Thor…after too many centuries…you have learned to laugh at my humor. Pity it comes on the heels of my nuptials…" he paused. "Only this time, I wasn't joking…" he winked and left a slightly bemused Thor in his wake.

"I dunno…these aren't really my style, Sif," Jane was with Sif and the royal seamstresses. "I prefer something more…simple. Something a bit more…elegant…?"

The day before her wedding, Jane Foster was attempting to find herself a dress. It was after many hours of Sif's insistence that they go, for as the Queen observed, Jane couldn't wait forever. "Lady Jane, I've never known a woman such as yourself in my life," observed Queen Sif. "How can you not enjoy formal attire?"

"Because it's uncomfortable and restrictive."

"Battle gear, then?"

"If I could…" replied Jane.

Sif laughed. "What about a violet dress…?" and Sif found one, tucked away behind many others. "I know that Loki loves that color on you."

Jane went over to where Sif was, and looked at the garment. It appeared to be older than the others…it was a deep color…not quite violet…it had a mauve hue to it, but hardly imposing. It was a flowing thing, it appeared slightly regal, and had tiny white flowers along its plunging neckline. Jane smiled and nodded.

She had it fitted. She was rather happy it wasn't white, and that she didn't have an original tailored for her. She liked the idea of using a dress in stores of Frigga.

Jane wasn't as nervous as she had imagined she would be. She had written her own vows, as had Loki, and they would have Thor and Sif bless them. She would then sit on the throne and be crowned Queen. She rather wished that Odin were still here so that he could perform the ceremony, but it was useless dwelling on it.

She and Loki would sleep separately tonight…on Jane's insistence. She wanted to hold onto something from the ceremony on Earth.

"Lady, your guests are here…" came a voice from behind her in Loki's garden.

And Darcy and Erik entered.

Jane threw her arms around them.

"Jesus, Jane. You are positively glowing! You got a bun in the oven?" asked Darcy.

"Ah…no. That's the glow of immortality," replied Jane.

"Huh. Who would've known that immortality was good for the complexion?"

"Janie…so good to see you," and Erik kissed her cheek.

Jane smiled. "So…since you guys are like, my only guests, you get awesome rooms and front row seats."

And she led them into the palace.

"You know your way through this place, Jane? It's fucking enormous," observed Darcy.

"Yeah, it's pretty big…and I still sometimes get lost…" she giggled a bit.

The pair got settled, and met Jane a bit later for dinner.

"Where's your fiancé?" asked Erik.

"He and I aren't seeing one another at all today. It was a silly sentimental request on my part. It just felt like it would…I dunno…make the actual ceremony more special or something."

"That's weird," said Darcy.

"Well, maybe. But we are practically married as it is. I just didn't want it to be anticlimactic."

"Jane. You are marrying a fucking GOD. Everything will be anticlimactic from now on."

Jane laughed. "Is he a god? I never did ask…"

"What do you mean? You don't even know what the hell you are marrying? You've been away from me for too long," and Darcy took a sip of wine.

"Yes…of course I know…but I mean…like, technically speaking…"

Erik shook his head. "I think that you should probably just call him a god for simplicity sake. Besides, he has an ego, right? I think he'd like to be referred to as a god."

Jane decided not to argue the point, since she didn't want anything about these next couple of days tense or ruined.

She awoke in a start. She sat up and looked around.

This wasn't her room. Her bed was empty.

Jane then recalled that it was her wedding day, and that she was in another room, per her insistence.

She couldn't remember her dream…but it left her hollow.

She decided to get up.

Jane wrapped herself in a robe and went to the door.

Her feet padded on the marble of the floors, and she sauntered, not really knowing where she was going.

Not outside…it would be cold.

Library…Jane thought…maybe she could read…perhaps somehow ascertain the time.

She opened the prodigious wooden door and went inside.

A fire glowed in the hollow.

She walked over to it, reveling in its warmth.

She smiled and turned toward the thousands of books on the shelves.

And there, standing at the window, watching her, was Loki.

She started.

A thin breath escaped her lips.

She smiled at him.

He came over to her and seized her immediately, kissing her hungrily and running his hands over her. Jane returned it, feeling as though she hadn't seen him or felt him in weeks and weeks, though it had been less than twenty four hours.

His mouth was over her neck, his tongue tracing her jaw…and she let out a soft moan in response.

He began to lead her to the sofa in front of the fire, his tall frame no match for her.

Her breath was heavy, as her hands caressed his back, falling downward, and she pulled him on top of her. He tore her robe from her unceremoniously.

She should stop this…it was ruining her silly scheme.

"Loki…" she whispered. "I think…"

"Stop thinking immediately," he said into her breast.

She laughed. "No…I really think that we should wait…just until tonight…"

He sat up, his hair in his face.

"I'm sorry. I'm not teasing you…I just…." she felt embarrassed. She shrugged.

Loki pushed his mass of hair out of his line of vision. "I understand…I was just…" and he had a far away look on his face, as if deep in thought. "I wasn't certain that you were real when you first entered the room… and I suppose… even though it hasn't been all that long…I suppose I seized upon the moment…and then it WAS actually you…" he grinned.

Jane's discomfort was profound. How silly she felt! She shook her head, rubbing her face. She wanted him, right there, right now, and they were engaged, and had been together already countless wonderful times…

She straddled his lap, kissed him deeply, and pulled her nightgown over her head.

Loki's eyes widened, his hands on her breasts. "Are you sure, Jane? Is it not important to you to wait until we are wed?"

"In my mind, we already are," she kissed him again, then pulled back a centimeter. "I love you."

And they made love, and then Jane went back to her room, for though she had just broken a promise to herself, she wouldn't do further damage by having him see her in her dress before she met him in the entrance to the throne room.

Jane longed for Sif's assistance, but she too was getting ready, and couldn't attend to her. The attendants were helping her with her dress (it fit beautifully), her hair (piled high atop her head, with tiny white flowers pinned in it), and her makeup (though this was applied conservatively, and with a bit of Asgard magic).

Jane procured her necklace, a bit ruddy with the stain of Loki's blood, but she liked that it had this mark. She wondered if that made her morbid or ridiculously and absurdly sentimental.

She put it on, and looked in the glass.

Jane Foster did look somewhat different, and her costume enhanced those slight differences. She was lighter…her hair was somewhat lighter than the chestnut brown she was accustomed to, her eyes not quite so the color of coffee, more like a latte now, and she laughed…her skin a hue more pale. This was what the apple had done, and Loki said that the alterations were permeant, albeit complete. No further metamorphosis of her physical person would take place…her mind, however would forever register memories a bit differently. Jane wasn't sure she knew what that meant, and he caused her disquiet.

She wouldn't think on that now.

Her dress was antique-looking. A bit Grecian, to be frank. It hit her ankles, it flowed with grace, it gathered at her waist with the tiny white flowers that fed the neckline. She thought that she looked very fine.

She took a slip of paper with her vows written on it, and went to the door.

Jane Foster, these are your final moments with your last name.

Mom, Dad. I wish that you were here. I wish that you had the chance to meet him. I wish that you knew me now. I'd like to think that you'd be proud.

I'm scared, but I'm also excited…and I miss you both so very, very much.

"It's time, my Lady…" and she was led from the room.

Her fingers were intertwined, curling nervously around themselves. She swallowed repeatedly.

She descended the stairs, and saw Loki alone outside the doorway of the throne room, looking inside at the throng.

He heard her, and he turned.

The first thing that she noticed was that his hair was shorter.

The next was that he was in mostly black armor (she noted that he was almost always in black, with green accentuating his clothes instead of dominating them).

And finally, that he was nervous. His smile halting.

She went to him, taking his arm. "Well, my King. Your hair is shorter."

He laughed and touched it with his right hand. "Just a touch…Sif insisted that she do it. She said that it had needed doing for years, and that she fancied I looked better with an inch or two off…" he watched her expectantly, as though waiting for criticism.

Jane examined it with false concern. "I dunno…you look fine either way."

He nodded.

Opulent music filled their ears.

"Ready?' he asked.

She breathed deeply. "Ready," Jane replied, and they entered the hall.

Loki didn't notice much as he walked down the center of the room with Jane at his side. He approached the dais where his brother stood, Sif sitting behind him on her throne.

His brother. Loki loved him so.

Thor smiled widely. "Asgard! We are here to join our King to his Lady. She and he braved Helheim to make her an Aesir, and for that deed, as well as her being his choice, we welcome their union!"

Mutterings of ascent.

"King Loki of Asgard, do you accept this Lady as your joined wife?"

"Yes."

"Will you maintain her honor and dignity fit for both her station and yours?"

"Yes."

"Will you remain faithful to her and only her, giving your love to her alone, until your final trip to Valhalla?"

"Yes. Yes, I shall," and he smiled a watery smile at Jane.

Thor turned toward Jane.

"Lady Jane of Midgard, do accept this man, the King, as your husband?"

"Yes. With all my heart."

"Will you maintain his honor and dignity fit for both his station and yours?"

"Yes."

"Will you remain faithful to him and only him, giving your love to him alone, until your final trip to Valhalla?"

"Yes."

Thor smiled. "The couple has written their vows. My Lady, would you care to start?"

Jane's breath faltered, and she pulled the paper out of a makeshift pocket the seamstress had seen to for this purpose.

"My dearest Loki," and she looked up at him. He watched her intently. Her eyes turned back to the paper. "I promise that I will never doubt you or your love. I promise that I will always do everything that I can to ensure our happiness. I promise to walk with you in your garden, to read with you in the library, or our rooms…to sing with you when you feel a song, to dance when you desire it, to hold your hand when you are ill, and to be your friend when you need comfort. And I promise to love you as much as my heart can withstand," she stopped.

She looked at him.

Tears were flowing down his face.

Jane smiled, looked at Thor.

The Thunder God had succumbed to the emotion of the moment as well.

Shit, Jane. She hadn't meant everyone to cry.

"Um…" and she giggled.

Loki let go of a breath he had been holding, gently laid his hands on Jane's shoulders, and leaned down, kissing her softly on her mouth.

Thor interjected. "Not so fast, brother…you still have your promises to make…" and he wiped his face.

Loki pulled away and wiped his own face with the palm of his hands. "Thank you, Thor. It does my mind a great service to know I always have you to remind me of things such as reciting my wedding vows. Do next time we are at council, remind me of my name."

"Shut up Loki," said Thor.

Jane laughed soundly.

Then she turned quite serious, for Loki's hand had reached into his pocket for his own vows.

His hand shook ever so slightly.

"Jane Foster. I am sorry that I never knew those people who had gifted me with your life. I am sorry that it took me so long to accept that I am worthy of your love. But then, it is in the journey that we gain understanding.

In all that trips along the many paths we encounter, in the sprawling affect of experience in the singularity of time, I traversed a mean passage, wrought with much pain and blind emotion. And somehow, in the midst of that, I discovered an effulgent fairy. She was wise and true, and touched by me, by fair means or foul.

It is because of you, Jane Foster, that I am where I am, who I am, and how I am.

And so, I offer these promises to you:

I promise to value you, as a blossom values the sun.

I promise to care for you, as a bird cares for flight.

I promise to drink in your presence, as though I wandered for ceaseless days in your Midgard desert so pale.

I promise to hold you, as fast as a vice, but tender as though you were a most precious thing, delicate and soft.

And I promise you my love, as much as I can offer, it burns with the heat of a star newborn, but with the ferocity and desperation of its death, fearful of extinguishing," and he looked at her. "But it shall not…not as long as my body holds my soul captive, my love will remain, and shall be yours endlessly."

Jane was shaking with emotion and tears flowed freely and her voice had abandoned her. "Wow," was all she could muster.

He laughed. "I shall wrench that word from your vocabulary if it is the last action I ever perform."

"You love it," Jane replied, laughing.

"I do," was his answer. He looked at his brother.

Thor nodded.

And Loki took her hand in his. He hovered his free hand over their joined ones, and his magic, a green light in the hall, fell upon them. The magic tightened around them, and Thor stepped forward.

"They are now one. Let all in this chamber bare witness to the joining of Loki Odinson and Jane Odinsdaughter!"

Without releasing her hand, he pulled her close, and kissed her soundly. Applause filled the hall, with cheering and whistles…but no music, not yet.

Jane swallowed. She was married, and now she would be crowned queen.

The Gothi stepped up to the Dias, Loki stood to the side.

"Jane Odinsdaughter,"

She nodded.

"Do you promise to, to the very best of your ability, fulfill the role of Queen of Asgard?"

"I do."

"Will you put her happiness before your own if Asgard's is in jeopardy?"

"I do."

"And will you seek the peace of Yggdrasil, to the benefit of all the nine realms?"

"I will."

Jane stood there, and took out her other piece of paper.

"Dearest Asgard, I know that I am but a recent Aesir, and that I am virgin to your many beautiful customs and culture. But I love your King, and I promise to learn from him, as well as King Thor and Queen Sif in my many years in your service," she swallowed hard.

She turned, and sat on the throne that was on the right of Loki's, if you were looking up from the audience.

And Loki placed Frigga's crown on her head.

Jane hadn't expected that, and she gasped.

Of course, SIf wears Thor's grandmother's crown. And Thor admitted that Loki was their mother's favorite.

Loki's fingers remained at her head a moment, and slid down her face.

He smiled, and sat on the throne next to her.

"Now what?" she whispered.

"Now," he returned. "We wait for the hall to empty."

"Oh. Do we get to go back to our chambers…? Like Thor and Sif?" she was expectant.

He turned to her and curled a smile. "You are eager, my Queen."

That sounded weird. "Well…I thought it was strange when they left right after the ceremony…"

"Yes…I suppose…but unfortunately for us, you have just been crowned Queen, so the Aesir are expecting us…we shall need a wait a bit longer before we return to our chambers…"

"Ah," was Queen Jane's reply.

The Throne Room emptied out, and the foursome then got up and followed the throng.

Jane was greeted by the Aesir warmly, and she was soon enclosed in a circle of well wishes and happy faces.

Loki retreated back, allowing her to revel in the attention.

Thor approached him, smiling and holding two glasses of wine.

Loki smiled. "Well, Thor, I daresay I haven't seen you without a drink in your hands for the past few days."

"It is in every way wonderful, brother…I'm merely enjoying the atmosphere."

And they both took a healthy drought of wine. Thor continued, "I am exceedingly proud of you, Loki. You are a worthy King. And you behaved admirably in Helheim…you continue to astonish me in your rule."

"My rule extends, then, beyond the borders of Asgard…I suppose, in my fancy, that the whole of Yggdrasil is in our charge, however arrogant that may seem."

"A King of infinite space, if you will," replied Thor.

"I like the sound of that."

"You would."

They laughed.

Thor continued, "She is a very fine lady."

"Indeed."

"We are fortunate."

"Very."

"Sif is expecting," and he looked at Loki.

Loki turned toward his brother. "Thor! That is great news, indeed!"

"It is…but I will need your help…" he looked uncertain.

"You will always have it," and he embraced his brother.

Many hours later, Jane was more than tired, she left the hall. She never knew if she was claustrophobic or something else unnamable.

She had danced with Thor, with Erik, and countless others.

She had shared one dance with her husband.

She was dizzy with drink.

She had met more people than she cared to think about.

Her Aesir body, though more vital, was not immune to fatigue.

Jane took her hair down and removed her shoes. She moved along the outside of the palace, music still playing, but the crowd considerably thinner.

Jane made her way along, and discovered a small annex, stone, quiet. It was still outside, but archways adorned the perimeter.

Her fingers grazed along the stone.

Her new home.

Jane turned round and round, in a simple dance in the moonlight.

She was free, she was happy, and everything was going to be alright.

She was suddenly overtaken with a desire to run. And she did, expending some energy and went up into the garden…Loki's garden.

And there he was, gazing upward to the heavens' arch of elegance.

No words were spoken, she went to him hurriedly, and threw herself into his arms, kissing him and tumbling into the grass.

Loki magicked off their clothes, and in a hunger heretofore pale, they ravished one another in gleeful appetite.

Husband and wife, King and Queen, laid wrapped in one another's embrace under the Asgardian night sky. Loki had summoned a blanket, and they huddled against one another.

….and the years saw children (two, a boy and a girl), both a delight to their parents…and the Aesir knew mostly peace, and Yggdrasil knew mostly growth, and Jane cried at the death of Erik, for he didn't visit as much as she would have liked…but the love between the pair never waned, not even slightly, but rather, it grew with age…and the sky held its color, and the gem at Jane's breast held its coruscate, and Loki wrote his poetry, and his rule was wise.

And Jane thought how very fortuitous it all was, and in her many many years, she never once regretted Thor's anger or rashness that time on Earth, for it was that which was the means for her finding herself.

An overdue Author's Note:

Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! I absolutely love this Loki and Jane...though they are, admittedly, a touch OOC. Thanks especially to odinstatter9 and jeadamized...you guys keep me right and your encouragement always inspires me. This has been a wonderful ride! Thank you!