"Hey Mr. Stark, how are Emily and Daniel?" Loki asked him.

"Emily is passing her classes and Daniel just started up at the firm. He's getting used to the long hours and office politics. How's business?"

"Business is okay. The start was rocky but I'm booked almost solid starting Thursday and running all through Labor Day weekend. The reservations drop off a bit after that but I expected that. This first year won't be much of a money maker but I'm getting established and I have more than enough to live on and maintain the house."

"Well I'm glad to hear things are picking up. Hey, how's that desk ornament of yours?"

"Desk ornament? To what are you referring?" Loki knew damn well what Mr. Stark was talking about and it unnerved him that he would take interest in the thing. It was becoming a pattern among the people that come into the house.

"That glass ball with all the cool stuff inside it on the desk. I really like it. You know Christmas is coming up. Just saying." Mr. Stark said. Loki gave a fake chuckle.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"You haven't heard from the detective on your parent's case have you?"

"The call was brief; nothing new to report. Mostly we talked about my new business here."

"Okay well, it was good to hear from you." Mr. Stark said.

"You too. Thanks for calling. Bye-bye."

"Bye." Mr. Stark hung up.

Loki had put the orb back in its cradle on the desk in the library, but now he second guessed that decision. He decided to take it down to his personal apartment in the basement and stash it in his bedroom. In light of the dreams he'd been having he had to wonder about the little bones inside the thing and if they really were human. It was a disturbing thought, but all the more reason to keep it away from the guests.

He placed it on top of his dresser and then divested himself of his clothing and hopped into the shower. His locket still hung about his neck, however, he only removed it when he went to bed at night. Carved from alabaster the beautiful antique opened up to reveal a hollow center. In this small space, Loki kept a small lock of his mother's hair, blood soaked from the night of her murder. He'd taken it when he was identifying her body. The wheels of the train had decapitated her and the rest of her body rendered into a gory smear. His father's body had also been in a similar condition.

Loki grabbed a fluffy towel and rubbed down his pale dripping skin before slapping on a simple pair of silk emerald boxers and slipping into bed. He removed his mother's locket and placed it on the night stand beside him like he did every night before drifting off to sleep.

Thursday came quickly and to Loki's relief they were normal people who stayed the weekend without incident. One young couple, still dating, eyed the ballroom with clear intensions. Loki knew there would be a wedding booking in his future when the man inquired about his party rates and reservation openings for next summer.

The following week was normal too except on the nights when he dreamed about Thor. He wanted to know more about his dream man but he could never remember to ask the right questions while in the dream. It frustrated Loki to no end and he decided that the only way he was going to learn more was by investigating the man in the real world from when he was alive.

He typed Thor's name into the search engine and brought up the article from The Army Times. After a few clicks he managed to find a very tiny follow up article dated a few weeks after the first stating that the investigation concluded and all charges against Thor had been dropped. He'd been awarded the life insurance benefits his friend had left him.

Loki wondered then if Thor's guilt was born of murder or survival. Had he killed his friend and gotten away with it and the monetary payoff or was he punishing himself for accidentally killing his friend?

XxXxXxXx

There was the sound of children giggling in the distance. Loki was in the purple wildflowers again in the field across the street from his home. He could see the children playing in the distance. It looked like ring around the roses. There was something off about them, how they all gleamed and glowed in the bright sunshine like marble brought to life.

"I've missed you." Thor said behind Loki. Loki turned. Thor looked beautiful. His golden hair floated in the soft breeze that was in the air. The scent of lavender was strong and his blue eyes rivaled the sky. He looked healthy…this time.

"Who are they?" Loki asked as he turned back to look at the children, but they were gone.

"They don't have names. They died too young and long ago." Thor said. Loki turned to speak to him again and noticed there was now dark blue carpet under his feet and they were standing on opposite sides of the lover's bed.

"How do you do that?" Loki asked.

"This is where I wish to be and so I am here." Thor said.

"The first time I dreamed about you was in this room and you and I…was that real?"

"Yes."

"Why? Why do you like me so much?"

"Because you are a good man with a kind and generous soul." Thor said.

"How do you know that though?"

"I've been watching you and I'm a good judge of character."

"Thor, did you kill your friend on purpose?" Loki asked. Once again, they were whisked away to a desert with a blazing hot sun. Thor's cracked parched lips and dust covered body sat leaning up against a boulder in the only shade to be seen for miles.

"I deserve this." His eyes were sad and distant again, not looking at Loki at all.

"Why do you deserve this?" Loki yelled.

"I killed him. I killed my best friend."

"Thor I need to know, did you do it on purpose? Did you murder him? I need to know."

"It doesn't matter."

"YES IT DOES!" Loki screamed at the filthy depressed lump. Loud repetitive gun fire rang out behind him and Loki spun to see what is causing the noise. There were brown desert dwellings behind him that weren't there a moment ago along with village people, American soldiers, and local fighters with guns all battling it out for the city. Loki knew then that he was witnessing a memory.

No longer watching on the outside, Loki is standing next to Thor again who is in a perch with two other men, trying to pick off their enemies and provide cover to their comrades. Radio speak crackles from a receiver on Thor's shoulder.

"Killjoy to Tower, four enemy exiting out south door of the blue doored building. Over."

"Copy. Killjoy we see them. Over." Loki watched as Thor took aim, killing the insurgents as they tried to leap between buildings. Their shared space suddenly filled with the streaming light from many bullet holes. The two men in the tower with Thor both sputtered and coughed as bright red gurgling blood foamed from their mouths. They died with their eyes open. Thor tried to take aim at the source of the barrage but a bullet tore through is left thigh and the barrel of his weapon jerked wildly.

In intense pain, under fire, and suffering from blood loss and lack of sleep Thor aimed at the source of the fire. He squeezed the trigger and fired off several rounds, but it was not his shot that killed the gunman. It was Ernest's. Standing only a few feet away from the enemy, Ernie had managed to put a stop to the onslaught a second before Thor realized it. Ernie ran up to the body of the enemy to kick away his gun and Thor let loose one more round.

"Oh god!" Loki squeaked. He watched as a large chunk of Ernie's head broke open and away. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. The horror creeped across Thor's features and he screamed.

"No! No, no, no, no Thor! It was an accident Thor. Thor listen to me. Listen to me Thor. This was not your fault!" Loki beseeched him but to this Thor Loki was a ghost. Thor's screams filled Loki's ears like a deafening crash of an ocean wave. His head hurt as the sound became louder until he could no longer recognize it as a scream. Loki put his hands to his ears, curling in on himself to stop the terrible sound.

Children were giggling again. Loki looked up and he was back in the lover's bedroom with Thor. He looked healthy again as though nothing had happened. As though Loki had not just witnessed a terrible event.

"Thor how did you die?"

"I am not dead."

"What did you do to yourself?" His voice cracked. A tear slipped down Loki's cheek as dread curled in his gut.

"Nothing I didn't deserve." Thor rounded the bed then and approached Loki. His massive frame should have been threatening but it wasn't. Thor was like a giant warm strong teddy bear desperate to share love and affection. Loki's breathing was jagged and heartbroken.

"That first time with you was a bit of a blur." Loki said.

"Yes it was. Too fast and unfocused for my tastes. I would have you remember me."

"How could I forget?"

Thor took Loki into his arms and kissed him. It felt so real. Loki could even smell him. Large rough hands gently scrapped his scalp and hair roots as Thor's tongue dove and plunged to explore Loki's mouth. Loki felt the rippling of impossibly large shoulder muscles under his palms as he explored Thor's backside.

Loki noticed then that he was still only wearing his green silk boxers and nothing else. Thor unbuttoned his white dress shirt and removed it, revealing the white undershirt beneath. Thor removed this next though with slow deliberate movements. He never broke eye contact with Loki.

A quick flash and then they were both naked on the bed together. Loki gasped at the sudden change. Thor pressed the weight of his body down upon him and Loki could feel every exquisite inch of silky fleshy perfection. Thor's chest had hair, but only just and in all the right places. His cock rubbed against Loki's and the men compared sizes by feel alone. Loki felt inadequate and Thor saw it in his eyes.

"You have all the things I want." Thor said. The doubt in Loki's eyes turned to shame and he blinked away tears. "Shh. Shh. Let me give you love." Thor kissed Loki again, distracting him as he reached between their bodies to grasp Loki's aching shaft. Loki arched into him and clung to Thor's massive biceps, resting his forehead on Thor's shoulder.

"Thor?"

"Tell me what you need baby." Thor's gravelly voice entreated him.

"You. I need you." Loki whimpered.

Thor was inside him suddenly and they were rutting hard. He didn't remember being breached. He could only feel the sweet stretch and fullness of the electric pleasure/pain of Thor's greatness. Loki whined and keened as he called out Thor's name over and over again in time with Thor's thrusts.

"So soft. So beautiful." Thor purred like a mountain lion. "Stay with me Loki. Stay here with me."

"You know I can't." Loki muttered. Thor thrusted even harder to try to convince him to stay, though Loki didn't fully understand what it was that Thor was asking of him. Loki heard his heart roar in his ears as white blinding pleasure stole his senses and overwhelmed his mind.

Loki awoke as his orgasm overtook him and his erection dampened his boxers with a large secretion of spend. He howled his release to the empty cold room.

"THOR!" He cried. Soaked head to toe in sweat, Loki slumped back against his pillows to slow his beating heart. Immediately Loki felt a wave of depression fill his heart for he knew he felt something for his dream man. He felt deeply enough that he had no interest in pursuing someone of flesh and blood. He would be content to fall asleep every night and let that phantom make love to him. It would be all he would ever need.

As always I am a whore for comments. Especially on this fic. Let me know what you think of the plot and mystery. Is it too predictable or boring? How do you view Thor now that you know a key piece about his backstory and what do you think his intensions are? Do you see him as a threat to Loki or as another victim of the house? And how do you speculate his story will play out? I am curious to see how my readers see him.