When he returned an hour later she didn't care that the chicken was overcooked and the potatoes undercooked. She tore through the food with reckless abandon, famished after days of nothing but broth. He'd also brought bread and fresh butter and the most delicious cider she'd ever had. Everything tasted wonderful when you were half-starved.

But rather than the sly smile she'd expected watching her consume everything he'd brought, he watched with a silent intensity. Taking a short break to drink and breathe, she commented, "Well, this will probably put you right off having sex with me ever again."

"What?" He hadn't seemed to have processed her words.

"This gluttonous display of mine. My manners aren't exactly queenly as I'm shoving food into my maw."

"I'm just happy you're eating, Erna. Don't talk nonsense. I'll share your bed as long as you want me to, in whatever capacity you allow."

She noticed although he focused intently on her, he also seemed distracted. "Loki, what's troubling you?"

"Someone tried to kill you."

"I think it's more than that."

He stood and went to stoke the logs in the fireplace. "Eat your food, Erna."

"It is something else. Loki, what aren't you telling me?"

"Eat and then we can talk."

"That's not ominous at all." If she hadn't still been hungry, she would have insisted they talk then and there, but she relented to his request.

It was only the work of a few more minutes to finish and push the empty tray aside. "I've cleaned my plate. Now talk."

"You mumbled while you were asleep." He made it sound like he was divulging a devastating secret.

"And I said something that upset you?"

"Yes. It was before I'd realized your slumber wasn't natural. I thought you were just sleeping later than usual." He continued to prod the logs with a poker, as if enthralled with the activity. She guessed he wasn't meeting her eyes for a reason and let him continue at his own pace. "I heard you say my name and then my brother's. And then…" He cleared his throat, clearly affected by whatever came next. "And then you asked 'why can't he love me?'"

She felt cold and hot at the same time. A fierce blush blazed across her face while she got a chill sensation in her stomach. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with an explanation for him, when the realization finally hit her. She blurted out, "You think I spoke of Thor."

Whirling around, he finally faced her, equal parts of anger and pain on his face. "Of course I do! What other conclusion could I make?"

For all his intelligence he could be stubbornly obtuse when it came to certain issues, his brother being one. She was relieved, however, that this was the only conclusion she had to explain away. "Loki, I was rambling in my sleep while drugged. And yet you look at me as if you found me in Thor's bed! You have no reason to be angry with me!"

"I'm not-"

"The hell you aren't, Loki! I can see it in your eyes." She stood on shaky legs, but was able to walk over to him without difficulty. "Do you honestly think I'm secretly in love with your brother?"

He shifted his gaze away again, but she wouldn't have any of it. "No, you wanted to talk about this, so you'll look me in the damn eye when I tell you this. You claim to know so much about people's behavior and character, so study me all you want, Loki. I have nothing but brotherly affection for Thor. Even if he wasn't happily married, I am loyal to you. Have I given you any real evidence to the contrary?"

"Erna, I…" The bereft expression on his face hurt her more than she cared to admit, but she refused to let that sway her course.

"You have a problem, Loki. You assume everyone prefers him to you and it's not healthy. Is it not enough that I married you that we're having a child together? What will it take to convince you I'm not pining over your brother, that I didn't settle for you?"

For once, he didn't have any words for her. The man who always had a retort, no matter the situation, was silent.

"Show me, Loki" She all but growled the words. "Show me your true form. I'm going to prove to you once and for all that you can trust me."

"I do trust you!" She steeled herself against the agony on his face. This was more important than that.

"Most of the time I believe that, but clearly that's not always the case or you wouldn't have brought up what I said in my sleep. I can see how much this bothers you so we're going to have this out here and now. I'm not secretly lusting for Thor, nor will I be chased away by your Jotun form. The sooner you see that, the sooner we can move past this."

"Erna, I told you I can't."

"How many times have you asked me to trust you? All I ask is you give me the same courtesy now."

She saw fear, fury, and finally resignation cross his thin face. It pained her to be the cause of such emotion in him, but it was a necessary evil. She truly believed that.

Wordlessly, he nodded and she saw him begin to change. At first the color seemed to leech out of his skin, only to be replaced by a darker, cobalt hue. Thin, raised lines traced down his cheeks and swept across his forehead as his eyes turned a rich red. He let out a deep, shuddering breath when the transformation was complete. She could feel the cold radiating off him, as she had the night she'd surprised him.

Erna traced a finger along the ridges on his forehead, marveling at how different he looked and yet was still the same Loki she'd grown to know. She continued her study and still he stayed silent, eyes never leaving her face. But he didn't actually make eye contact, probably prolonging the moment he feared above all else.

"Beautiful," she breathed, coming even closer. "Why would you hide this version of yourself from me?"

"I… you don't… I don't disgust you?" His words were thick with emotion, but she was pleased to see his eyes finally seek hers. She saw hope there that almost broke her heart. He shouldn't have to hope that she'd accept him like this. She'd wanted him to know she would. But his past wasn't a pleasant one and logically she had to understand that.

"No, not at all. This you is beautiful too. I told you before, and I still believe it to be true: you are not a monster. Nothing you look like makes it so, nor does your past. I know you've not been a perfect person, but none of us have. You've atoned for what you could atone for and you've moved past the rest. I am just as proud to walk beside this version of you as I am the one all of Asgard sees."

She stood on her toes and kissed him gently, with as much reverence as she could convey. The shock of his chilled lips against hers was a surprise, but not wholly unpleasant. Under more auspicious circumstances she'd have to gauge the charms of this new form, but that would have to wait until later.

His face screwed up in an emotion that looked remarkably like pain, eyes squeezed shut. She listened as his breath came out in a ragged sigh and saw the tension leave his body little by little. Sagging with something she took to be relief, he looked at her again. "I don't deserve you. Even after this," he motioned to himself, "even after I've failed you, you stand beside me, as steadfast as ever."

"You didn't fail me, Loki. Someone has chosen to do this to me, to us. Please stop blaming yourself for someone else's treachery." She took his hand and led him away from the fire. "You've fed me and now I need to rest. Wear that form to bed if you prefer it, but just take care that I don't freeze in the night. I trust your magic can see to that task."

"You don't mind?" He seemed confused at the change of topic.

"If I minded, I wouldn't have suggested it." She'd realized that flowery promises weren't what he needed in that moment. He needed her strength and acceptance more than anything else and she was pleased to give it to him. And as much as she wished to explore this new countenance, her body was too frail for such arduous activity. This was the best she could offer him. "I know it's early, but I'm still so tired and I'd feel better if you joined me. Will you stay with me?"

The familiar request earned a smile from him. "If you wish it. I can weave a spell so you won't feel or be affected by the cold I emit."

"As long as it's temporary. Your temperature will be a boon in the summer."

The small quirk of his lips was gratifying. "You assume I'll be your living, breathing ice block?"

"I'm looking forward to it." She shot him a wink and slipped off her nightgown before climbing beneath the sheets. He made a few complicated gestures with his hands before disrobing and joining her. The arms that slipped around her felt slightly warmer than usual.

She ran her hands up and down his arm, finding the intricate patterns fascinating. "Would you really hide her if our child looks like this?"

"For her own safety, yes."

"We'd have to explain it to her as soon as she was able to understand. And let her know that she is beautiful no matter what form she takes. I won't have our child shamed." There was fire in her words, a fierceness that he'd seen many times.

They settled into silence and he tried to still his mind. So much had happened in such a short span of time. And as much helpless rage as he felt over the attack on Erna, he felt relief too. She'd accepted him, all of him and the burden of carrying the secret was gone. "Thank you," he murmured into her hair. She squeezed his hand in return, burrowing closer to him with a contented sigh.