A/N: Okay, I have to apologize. I seriously thought I'd updated this. But then I looked at it, went "oh shitake mushrooms!" and then went and had to rewrite the next chapter completely. Which kind of sucked, but whatever. And I've got a couple things in mind for the next chapter, so should be out soon! :)

Jack paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "I hope that you told him I don't swing that way." He said dryly. Loki just chuckled.

"Oh no, that is not why he wants you. He wishes to control you the same way he does everyone else, and then use that control to harness me for Asgard's purposes." He explained, absently bringing up a glass of amber liquid with a swish of his hand and taking a sip. Jack stared at him for another long moment, then busted out laughing, falling back on the other man's bed.

"Seriously? That's his plan? I thought you said the man was intelligent!" He clamored back upright, grin still splitting his face. Loki gave a rueful smile in return.

"Odin still believes my intelligence to be that of Thor's, he doesn't realize that I am at least as intelligent as him, if not more so." He explained. Jack shrugged.

"Sounds like an ass. Your mom's cool though, very...strong-willed." He said diplomatically and the corners of Loki's mouth twitched upwards.

"Indeed."

"Wow, so you know, like, everything?" Loki nearly choked on his ale at the sound of Jack's voice. The boy was better than he expected at the art of subterfuge. It was fascinating, really, watching him flatter Odin until the All-Father was convinced that the spirit was firmly in his favor. He pretended not to notice the many glances sent his way from both his adopted parents, Odin's shrewd and calculating, while Frigga just appeared to be worried and resigned.

"Not everything, boy, but very close to it." Odin acknowledged. Loki was sure that anyone who didn't know Jack as well as he did wouldn't notice the twitch of unbelief on the boy's face, the way he desperately wanted to laugh at the man, but was holding it back. As soon as Odin looked away, Jack met Loki's eyes and gave a wink. Loki just rolled his eyes. For once, he had no part in what seemed to be mischief in the making. No, this was all Jack, and he was wondering how no one else had noticed.

"Hey, do you think you could show me the throne? And maybe I could sit in it? I wanna tell my friends that I sat in an alien's throne!" Jack exclaimed, turning what Loki knew to be deadly puppy dog eyes in the All-Father's direction. As was expected, the man cracked. Really, Loki couldn't blame him. No one could stand up to it, and he drowned his smile in another drink.

"Very well, but we shall have to go now, before the rest of the court is there." Odin decided, standing. Jack stood as well, cheerful smile still in place as he waved at Loki.

"I'll be right back, bud!" He said happily and Loki nearly winced. The spirit was really laying it on a little thick, as though he would let himself be called that on a regular basis. But he merely nodded and sat back, ignoring the fact that Frigga's look had turned to one of suspicion.

Jack hadn't acted the part of the dumb kid in a long time, and it was actually a surprising amount of fun. Odin seemed to be lapping it up, although if Loki was anything like the man, he was smarter than he appeared, and was as good at acting as he was at everything else.

As it was, he followed the other man cautiously, pretending to be in awe of the decorations of the castle. In truth, it wasn't somewhere he was enjoying being. He was far too used to being outdoors to want to be trapped inside all the time, as spacious as the palace was. And really, he could see where Loki got half his issues, this place could grow a serious inferiority complex. Especially with everyone being so massive, it was like being around thousands of Norths.

It took a surprising amount of time to actually get to the throne room, and Jack's mind had already gone off on several tangents before they got there, to the point that he forgot his original intentions. Not that he actually wanted to sit on the throne, he was just curious about what would happen if he and Odin were in a room alone together again. He wasn't disappointed, as the overly large doors closed - seriously, was everything weirdly huge here? - Odin turned to him with a serious look in his eye.

"You have been playing me for a fool, Jack Frost."