Loki awoke the next morning to the sound of his cell door opening and someone quietly rustling a paper bag on the table. He opened his eyes and shoved his hair out of his face to find Grace setting two places with real plates and silverware. He sat up in bed, the blanket tucked up on his bare chest as he tried to ward off the basement's chill. Grace smiled at him as she put a plastic bottle of orange juice on the table and set two glasses next to it.

"Go get yourself ready for the day- I even brought down a laundry basket so you don't have to be naked after you run out of clean clothes- toss your dirties in and I'll wash them with mine."

Loki let the blanket drop and then tugged it back up over his stomach, "My apologies, Miss Grace, but I forgot to ask you yesterday if you were shocked or offended by my nudity after bathing. I am not used to sharing quarters with anyone and we are not shy about our bodies in Asgard."

"I don't care, Loki. Naked people don't bother me- especially when they're handsome naked people like yourself." She winked. Loki chuckled and blushed a little as he slipped out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Grace smiled as she continued setting the table, drawing a pitcher of batter and a vintage waffle iron out of the bottom of the bag. While Loki bathed, she set about her task of making waffles.

Instead of walking out of the bathroom in his towel, he stepped out completely undressed and proceeded to pick out his clothing from the dresser- one of the green shirts he had brought to Midgard and his black trousers. He sat down at the table as Grace placed a jar of maple syrup and a can of whipped cream on the table beside a steaming stack of waffles.

"So how was your date yesterday evening?" Grace sat down, forked two waffles onto her plate, shook the can of whipped cream, and completely covered the waffles in it, to the point where they were not visible. "Ah. That well."

"Terrible, just as I predicted. She kept using the phrase, 'when I move in to Stark Tower' and talking about all the fancy things she looked forward to doing in the future when she had access to the Stark bank account and all the fancy parties she'd get to go with me to. I don't even like living here half the time and when I told her I wanted to move out, she lost all interest. I think she was just looking at me as access to Tony. I mean, does every girl in this town want to have their night with a Stark? Because it's starting to feel that way."

"I am sorry to hear it went so poorly. You will have to explain your courtship customs. I am not entirely certain I understand how they function."

"We don't really court in this country, we go out together and do fun things until we either move in together, get married, have sex, or end it. It's pretty straightforward. Some people date for fun, some to look for mates, and others the whole purpose of a date is to lead to sexy fun times after."

"And, if I might ask, what is your purpose?"

"I'm looking for somebody to settle down with. I don't really like dating- it's awkward and usually ends in relationship failure." Grace added another waffle to her plate and drowned it in syrup. "How about you? Is there a special someone back in Asgard?"

Loki's chuckle was rueful, "No. I'm not exactly what women in that culture seek in a mate. Thor is much more to their liking. I am not."

"So Asgard digs the Gilderoy Lockheart type."

"Yes. Blonde, good with stories and exaggerating them, and quite charming. Also a bit conceited, it seems. Though Thor is not the worst in this regard, not by far. I have met many who are much more boorish who have quite the female following."

"And they don't go for you because you're the guy who reads?"

"And who is neither built well nor has the hair and eyes they wish for their children."

Grace brushed her hands through her short hair, "You know, they're missing out. This used to be black and once in a while I still wear it that way. Black hair is awesome. And just what colour are your eyes? Stare a minute so I can really look at them." He did as she asked. "Green. Gorgeous green. Women in your realm must be idiots. See my eyes? Grey. Not half as exciting."

"Neither of us meet the Aesir standard of beauty, I'm afraid. Though women of dark hair are assumed Vanir and are often sought after, Vanir men are not so desired."

"Well then both of us come from places with fucked standards of beauty. This place values thin, decent lady curves, and airbrushed to look like plastic. Men have to basically look like your brother, but there's some wiggle room- Tony's considered pretty good looking by most women I've talked to. Steve, too. Bruce, not so much- he's not a ball of muscle unless he's green, he's not perfectly coiffed at every moment, and he's bookish, which doesn't always go over well. I'm in the same boat he's in- lumpy body, not perfect skin, and my curves aren't quite right. We're the weird ones."

Loki was surprised by how easily she talked about her body and now negative her description of it was. He ate his waffle in silence for a moment, trying to find the right words and using food as the excuse not to speak while he did.

"Miss Grace, if you do not mind my being so bold, I find you rather attractive and given your kindness, would quite likely do so no matter what body you inhabited."

"Aww, you're a darling. We're like Luna and Neville, buddies forever in their little weirdnesses."

"Ah, yes." Loki accepted her offer of another waffle and attempted to make the whipped cream come out of the aerosol can, "I have finished the books. Quite exciting, actually, and what an ending with the battle and the snake...oh, and the revelations about your dear Professor Snape! A very imaginative tale."

"So you get why we're Slytherins now?"

Loki smiled as he thought both about Snape's great secret and of his own secret, his heritage, "Yes. I do."

"Sorting Hat time- what house is Bruce in?"

"Ravenclaw."

"And Steve?"

"Hufflepuff."

"Tony."

"Gryffindor- you were quite right about that."

"Thor."

"Also Gryffindor- noble to a fault. Almost as dim as Harry."

Grace picked up the whipped cream canister and sprayed some directly onto her plate where she proceeded to eat it without a waffle under it, "I think you could be a pretty good Ravenclaw, too, if you wanted to."

"I think we would have more fun in the same house- especially with a map such as the one Fred and George had."

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" Grace exuberantly said as she waved her fork like a magic wand, giggling.

Loki winked, "Mischief managed!"

Grace's phone rang, "Oh my god, it's the Unicorn poster guy. Just a sec." She answered the phone, assured her client that yes, they could add some purple shadow to the lettering and no, it wouldn't throw off the glitter scheme, and then hung up the phone, exasperated. "I'm sorry, I have to get back to work- this guy wants his poster tonight by midnight and it's really hard to motivate myself to work on something this awful."

"Might I see it when you are done?"

"I'll make you a deal. If I can get some sleep tonight, I'll try to talk Tony into letting you come up to watch the Harry Potter movies with me- all eight of them- tomorrow during the day and as late into the night as we want to stay up. We'll order food in, make popcorn, and yell at the screen as much as we want. It'll be my reward for such a terrible job well done."

"That sounds lovely, Miss Grace. I will look forward to joining your celebration."

"Good. Take care, Loki. I'll make sure they feed you, but I'm sorry if your meals today aren't as exciting as they have been the past few days- I won't be able to make sure that Tony doesn't order you something strange."

"Leave me the whipped cream and I am certain I can make anything palatable."

Grace pointed to the small refrigerator, "Just keep it in there- it'll go bad if you don't." She waved as she left and he put away the remains of their meal, doing the dishes in the bathroom sink. Despite his captivity, he was starting to feel a little contentment. He hoped that he would be allowed to join Grace in her apartment for the movies- while his cell was decent accommodations, he yearned for a change of view.