Finkle

Men. Seems it doesn't matter what planet they're from, some of the basic attitudes and responses are the same. Here I was with a bunch of human ones, an Asgardian and an Ice Giant, and yet they all still seemed to think someone else was going to do the cooking, and certainly that their needs would be met without any input on their part.

I suppose Fury had reason to believe that, since S.H.I.E.L.D. logistics took care of the food and laundry situation at Outpost Nord, but it was taking some getting used to, this dealing with people who dabbled in magic and otherworld physics. Phil had given me the rundown on the whole 'brothers by adoption' story, so I had a grasp on why Thor and Loki were squabbling, and once I got around the potential for destroying worlds it was pretty hilarious to listen to them.

Yes we were all worried about Cynara, and everyone was trying to figure out what was going on, but in-between all that, the petty sniping between the Golden Retriever and the Greyhound had its entertainment value.

"Now you are thrall to two one-eyed kings," Loki sneered at Thor while I was trying to get a blood sample from him. "And neither sees well enough to know what a fool you are."

"I am thrall only to Odin; Fury has my alliance," Thor replied. "Honestly earned thanks to your schemes, Loki."

"Alliance—he uses you like the big, blunt weapon you are. " Loki gritted his teeth as I withdrew the needle. "That was . . . unpleasant."

"You're a god," I pointed out to him blandly. "And as a healer I've done worse things to men. Much worse."

Loki looked at Thor, who nodded. "It is legendary, the test of courage at their flying fortress. First she will don the gauntlet of invading latex," he intoned, "and then, when you are disrobed, and bent over the pillowed table—"

"Enough," I interrupted Thor as sternly as I could, although I was dying on the inside. Loki was green already and Thor wasn't helping matters. I waved Thor out and looked at his brother carefully. We were in the medical unit and under guard; I was sure he wouldn't try anything but it was as much privacy as we were going to get. Once the door closed I spoke up again.

"Cynara mentioned this dream link thing you two have. You're sure you can reach her that way?"

"Yes," he replied, with no hesitation at all. "Our tie was forged by magic and myth, powers that link our two worlds, our two beings."

"And you can't sleep because . . ."

"I don't know!" Loki blurted in exasperation. "Such a matter should be simple, to lie, to sleep, to dream, but whenever I close my eyes I slumber not!"

I knew he was seriously vexed because he was lapsing into that formal Asgardian way of speaking, the one Thor uses when his temper is up. Carefully, I rested my palm on the back of his hand. Cool skin. I would have worried if he'd been human.

"There are drugs . . . medicines that can aid sleep," I pointed out. "I'm sure we've something that can help."

"Drugs. Does your half-sighted king think me a fool? If I must resort to such, have my brother bring compounds from Asgard. Night draught might work, or Yew leaves brewed in dark ale."

"Yeah, and when those don't work, we've got a few compounds that might do the trick." I was getting pissed now. It's one thing to be a worried husband and another to be a total dick. I already had more than enough right here within reach to put him deep into Lala-land but being the ethical sort, I didn't want to risk it without a few tests.

After all, nobody would be pleased with me if I ended up killing Loki instead of getting him to sleep. Well, Fury might, but I wasn't going to let it happen. For one thing Cynara was a patient and friend of mine, even if her hubby had a staff up his butt.

So we sent Thor off on an Asgardian shopping trip and decided to leave Loki to rest a bit. I ran tests on his samples and got busy. So busy in fact that when Fury slipped into the lab hours later and cleared his throat I realized it was nearly eleven at night.

"Dedication to duty is one thing, doctor, but I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten all day, have you?" he chided.

I looked over my shoulder at him, aware that we were both being monitored and gave him a nicely bland smile. "Sorry, Colonel. Got a little pre-occupied. I'll go grab something right now."

From the look on Fury's face I could see he had some serious suggestions about exactly what I should be grabbing, and I nearly laughed out loud. Instead I got up and made it a point to brush past him, one hand lightly running across his thighs as I did so. I'll give him credit; he didn't jump but I could feel his glare against the back of my head.

Most of the outpost was quiet, with only two agents on duty. There were cold-cuts in the kitchen along with bread and other sandwich fixings so I got busy making myself a meal. My cell phone vibrated so I checked the message.

Upstairs bathroom. Now.

Of course. The only places not monitored for reasons of privacy were the bathrooms, and the upstairs one was huge. Slowly I finished making my dinner, then humming to myself, carried it up the stairs and slipped into the bathroom.

He pounced. Thank God I was ready for it, because my sandwich would have ended up as a splatter of mustard and pastrami on the tiles if I hadn't held it away from myself as Fury snaked one arm around my waist and pulled me to him.

"I am extremely frustrated," he growled into my ear before nipping the lobe and making me shiver. I shoved the plate onto the counter and wrapped my arms around him, grateful for the warmth and strength.

"Ditto," I assured him, and shuddered when Nick ran his goatee along the side of my neck.

"Right now I do not give a damn about abductions, aliens, invasions or insomnia," he continued softly. "How about you?"

"Do me," I told him. "Right here, right now."

Fury

I can take orders. Been a soldier long enough to do that, and when they're for the greater good, I'm more than willing to do what I'm told.

Like right now.

Stealth was mandatory, and logistics being what they were we managed. The bathroom counters were just about the perfect height for interpersonal maneuvers and having Josie's hands and mouth all over me expedited matters considerably.

The fact that she was giggling, moaning, and generally broadcasting our little interlude wasn't helping however, so I made it clear that she needed to hush if we were going to keep getting our freak on. For some damned reason that particular phrase made her laugh all the harder, but she pressed her face to my shoulder to smother it, and wiggled her hips in a way that told me to shut up and bring it home.

Beds are nice, particularly for a man my age, but a woman like Jo-seph-ine Finkle is worth the wear and tear on the knees because damn! The two of us fogged up the mirror and window and probably would have set off the fire alarm if there had been one in there. As it was, we both ended up sprawled over the counter and it was a bonafide miracle her sandwich hadn't taken a dive in the toilet.

"You win," she sighed at me, pink in the face as she tried to pull her blouse back together. "I'm definitely going to be limping."

"You won't be the only one," I admitted and straightened up slowly. "Probably shouldn't have done this, but . . ."

"I think we both needed it," Josie told me. I helped her slide off the counter and kissed her while doing it, taking a moment to enjoy all the heat radiating off of her. She kissed me back, and we took our time getting dressed again, opening the window to cool down the room.

"You're wonderful," she told me, and I pulled her close again, suddenly grateful for more than just the quickie. There's a wide gray area in any relationship when the connections between people start to solidify, and I knew damned well that ours had been getting stronger.

"Wish it was true."

"It is," Finkle shot back, and looked at herself in the mirror. "Gahh! Oh I'm going to need a hairbrush!"

"I won't," I reminded her, and gave the woman a last kiss before slipping out and making my way down the stairs to the back door. A quick check-in with Coulson told me that Loki still wasn't asleep, Thor still wasn't back, and that Agent Romanov had tracked some Hydra technology through Lithuania and could she have a team to follow up on it?

The next week was a pain in the ass. The longer Loki stayed awake the worse he looked and the meaner he got. Thor showed up with a couple of bottles that Finkle took samples from and we gave one of them to Loki. He drank it and passed out, but by the time Thor and I picked him up and got him on a bed he was already waking up again, eyes red, skin looking like someone had chiseled tattoos on him.

Apparently certain Asgard compounds don't work on Ice Giants; they only piss them off.

The second one also knocked him out, but not to the level of sleep he needed, apparently. He was in sort of a trance state, limp but conscious, and becoming one sarcastic fuck in the process. Heard his unfiltered opinions on S.H.I.E.L.D., Earth, Odin, Hulk, breakfast cereal and Stark.

The one about Stark I agreed with, by the way. 'Trumped-up tin-armored braggart with a death-fetish' is a pretty good summary of the man, even if he did save Manhattan. Besides, he didn't do it alone as he damned well knows.

Anyway I couldn't hang around waiting for Loki's bedtime so I headed back to our project in the Southwest, monitoring the re-building and running the rest of the operations by the book. Had to be grateful that Finkle understood and I told Coulson he was to make sure she got rest and food. Wish I could say I didn't spot the smirk on his face, but it was there, just under the usual calm. Phil's one of the best, both within the organization and as liaison to everyone outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. but the man knows too damned much sometimes.

Good thing he's on our side. Sometimes I have nightmares that Loki turned him instead of Barton, and believe me, the outcome of Manhattan would have been a hell of a lot worse in that scenario.

Barton's a good man, but Coulson could have had the Chitauri moving into the White House by sunset.

Anyway, I tried to keep myself occupied—which normally isn't as difficult as that sounds—but I kept getting encrypted texts.

I have beard rash from you. Thanks a lot.

Could have been worse.

How?

Could have been someplace other than your *neck* Jo-seph-ine.

You know I'm missing you like crazy, right?

Getting that impression. Feeling's reciprocated. How's Loki?

I'm worried about him. Going to try some Earth pharmaceuticals on him tonight. He's getting desperate.

Not the only one. You prepared for a worst case scenario?

I'm a doctor; I'm always prepared for that.

Wish I could say I was. Watch your ass, Josie—I'm going to want it when I get back up there. Fury out.

And that was about as affectionate as I was going to let myself get, particularly cross-country. Hill brought me more paperwork and I knew I was going to have to chat with the council in a few hours, bring them up to date on the Loki situation. I sincerely wasn't looking forward to that, not in the aftermath of their unauthorized nuclear strike attempt.

Yeah it's lonely at the top. Never thought it was going to be a picnic, but it hadn't bothered me as much before.

Guess getting involved with someone does that. Puts a hell of a lot into perspective.

And damn it, it absolutely kills me to feel empathy for Loki.