"Hello?" Loki called in Jaklyn's voice as he stepped into the clearing near the large turtle shaped boulder. He looked around but didn't see another person. Red Wing flew overhead, in disguise, and landed on a branch.

A few minutes passed and Loki boredly climbed atop the boulder, sitting on the "turtle's" head. From higher up he could see a little farther, but still did not spot anyone else in the vicinity. Perhaps the person had meant five in the morning, not evening and Loki had already missed them. Or they had a mole amongst the Avengers who had told them that it would be Loki, not Jak, coming to see them.

But, while Loki did not care for the team his brother so loved, he could not imagine them betraying Jak to whoever this enemy was. They were all too noble for that. Even the spy and assassin, Black Widow, would not do such a thing. Well, he hoped anyway. The Widow had fooled him once or twice before, he supposed she might be able to do it again. But he could not imagine what reason she would have to betray Jak.

"Aren't you a fine sight for tired old eyes?" A high pitched voice called. With a puff of yellow-orange magic, suddenly a small boy appeared in the clearing with a wicked grin on his tiny face.

Loki knew immediately that the person was in disguise as well. That, or he was some sort of immortal stuck in the body of a child - not a pleasant fate. Had Jak told him about any children in her life? Surely she would have mentioned a younger brother. It was more likely that he was disguising himself with magic so as not to be recognized right away.

Confident in this assessment, Loki shook his head in confusion and hopped down off the rock, keeping his body language wary. He nervously rubbed his arm and frowned at the boy before him, squinting as if he were trying to recognize him.

"Sorry about my appearance," the boy said, looking Loki - who looked like Jak - up and down, "One can never be too careful and Tony Stark has cameras everywhere."

"Right," Loki nodded. He knew from experience that, in situations like these, it was better to say as little as possible and allow the other person to fill in the details.

"You know, Winnet, I thought I told you to come alone," the child crossed his arms and tilted his head, "How terribly naughty of you to bring a friend."

"What? I didn't!" Loki protested, "It's just you and me here!"

"You, me, and a cardinal that is watching us a little too intently," he pointed at the tree and flicked his wrist. The illusion fell away and revealed the Red Wing drone. "Was it you who magicked the masking spell on that thing or the fallen Asgardian prince?"

"I had no idea that was there!" Loki protested, noting that this person knew of his existence in the Compound and knew who he was.

"You're smarter than that, Winnet. I know you are. Don't play dumb," the child flung a ball of fire at Red Wing, but the drone dodged and landed on a different tree.

"Fine. Can you blame me for wanting a little assurance? You've sent the Winter Soldier to try and kidnap me three times!"

"So you've connected those dots, hmm? Well done. But I suppose you are still floundering trying to figure out who I am, aren't you?"

"If I send the drone away, will you tell me?" Loki prompted.

"Unless you have a recording device on your person. Do you?"

"No."

"Hmm, I don't trust that. Those Avengers have corrupted your mind. I'm sure they wouldn't let you out of their sight without some sort of technological aid," the boy laughed suddenly and made a fist. The necklace Loki wore flew from his neck and fell at the feet of the child, who stomped on it. Red Wing fell from the tree and the boy stomped on that as well before picking it up and hurling it farther away than a little boy should have been able to throw.

"There, now we are alone."

"So you will tell me who you are?"

"No," the boy smiled.

Loki took a few steps back. "In that case, I don't know why I'm here."

"Honestly? I don't know why you're here either," the boy twisted his wrist in Loki's direction and the Asgardian felt a tug at his disguise spell. Whoever this boy was, he possessed powerful magic, but not strong enough to remove Loki's illusion.

"What are you doing?" he asked, still playing at being Jak.

"That's stuck on there like honey in hair," the boy chuckled, "But I suppose that's what I should have expected from a god."

"What are you talking about?"

"You are good at what you do, Loki of Asgard, but I knew from the moment I stepped in this clearing that you were not my Winnet. I suppose I should have known better than to think that she might meet me without telling her new friends about it."

"Just tell me who you are," Loki pleaded, still keeping up the disguise.

"Oh drop it. While I have you here, there is something I need to discuss with you anyway. And I'd rather you wore your own face for the conversation."

Narrowing his eyes, Loki finally relented and became himself again.

"Very well," he flashed a taunting smile at the boy, though his mind was still calculating, "You've found me out. What would you say to the God of Tricks and Lies?"

"My plots are none of your concern. Winnet should not be of your interest either. You need to give up your childish pursuit of her or I will be forced to intervene."

"And why does it matter to you whether I am involved with her?"

"Come now, you are a prince. An Asgardian. A god! If mythology serves, you will bring about Ragnarok. Others think you'll try again to conquer Midgard. Surely you have better things to do than feign interest in a mere human," the boy laughed.

"I would not say she is a 'mere' human. You are clearly aware that she possesses magic."

"Still," the boy clucked and shook his head as if disappointed, "I'm sure there are other magical women on earth if that is what draws you to her. The witch, for example. Would she not be more to your tastes? Far less hassle."

Loki thought of Wanda and how Vision would probably use the Mind Stone to annihilate him if he made a pass at her.

"I wouldn't say that."

"Whatever. Find some other woman. Winnet will not warm your bed while you take a passing interest in her. There are much bigger things in store for her and you are getting in the way," the boy snarled and then calmed himself, "Now. I know you can be reasonable. If you give her over to me, I will reward you."

"I doubt you have anything that I want," Loki scoffed.

"No? Not even an Infinity Stone?"

This piqued Loki's interest, mostly because he was curious which Stone exactly this boy claimed to have. He could account for the location of three of the Stones. The Space Stone was in Asgard, the Reality Stone had been taken to Knowhere for safekeeping, and the Mind Stone was in Vision's head. Rumor had it that the Power Stone was on Xandar, locked in a vault. That only left the Time Stone and the Soul Stone. And scholars were not even sure the Soul Stone existed.

"You would trade an Infinity Stone for her?" Loki asked with a wicked smile, "Then clearly I ought to keep her. If she is worth more than one of the stones that helped form the universe then I don't think I'll be letting her go."

"I possess the Tesseract," the boy claimed, "It is useless to me. There is no place in this universe that I care to travel to that will serve my purposes. But Winnet has a great amount of value to me. Only to me."

"You possess the Tesseract?" Loki raised a brow, "And where exactly did you come by that?"

"I stole it from SHIELD when they collapsed after the Helicarrier incident in Washington D.C. With Hydra running amok, there was no one to guard their Project PEGASUS facility. It was easy to take."

Loki could have laughed. Clearly this boy was a bit behind with the times. Loki's arrival on earth right before the Battle of New York, had destroyed the Project PEGASUS facility. Well before the fall of SHIELD.

"I no longer have interest in playing with cosmic forces of that scale," he shrugged, "It brings nothing but trouble. Keep your Infinity Stone. I'll keep Jaklyn."

"I've tried to be reasonable," the boy growled, the dark expression looking out of place on his adorable face, "I will not kill you because it risks Odin's wrath, but perhaps I will lock you away. I'm sure the Winter Soldier would like a cellmate - "

"Loki!" Jaklyn's voice called, "Loki? Are you out here?!"

"Winnet," the boy whispered, eyes going wide.

Loki took advantage of the distraction and threw a blast of magic at the boy. It knocked him off his feet and seemed to daze him for a moment. However, before Loki could go closer to subdue him, the boy vanished with a puff of yellow smoke. Jak crashed into the clearing, fists raised, both blazing with pink magic as her skin glowed and her hair floated out behind her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking around the clearing. When she didn't see anyone she extinguished her fists and hurried over to him. "When he took out Red Wing -"

"I was fine," Loki dismissed, slightly miffed, "I probably could have found out more if you hadn't startled him."

"Well excuse me for worrying about you," she frowned, stepping closer and placing a hand on his arm, looking him up and down, "You are alright, though, aren't you? He didn't hurt you?"

"Not in the slightest," his irritation faded as her hands feathered over him, checking for injuries, or perhaps just checking to make sure he was really there. "I'm surprised Stark let you out on your own. The whole point of the operation was to keep you out of danger."

"She punched me in the nose!" Sam Wilson declared, stepping into the clearing and rubbing his nose, "We tried to hold her back but then she turned into a fireball on us and we couldn't keep up!"

"Sorry, Sam," Jak winced, "I didn't mean to hit you, it was my elbow."

"Aw no, Red Wing!" Sam ignored her and collected the bent parts that made up his drone, "Alright. That creepy kid is in big trouble when we find him again. Not only is he threatening Jaklyn, he busted up my bird!"

"What happened after the drone went out?" Jak asked Loki.

"The boy offered me a trade," Loki rolled his eyes, "He said if I handed you over he'd give me an Infinity Stone."

"Damn," Jak whistled, "I assume you were about to make the deal when I showed up?"

"Of course not," Loki looked at her in shock.

"Really? You wouldn't trade me for an Infinity Stone?"

"First of all, he was lying. He offered the Tesseract, which I know is locked in Odin's vault and has been since the Battle of New York. Second of all, I am offended that you think so little of me!"

"You're joking," she teasingly pushed him, "I haven't known you for long, Loki, but I know with one hundred percent certainty that if he'd actually had the Tesseract, you wouldn't have even batted an eye before agreeing to hand me over."

"Now, now," Loki smirked and pushed her back, "I probably would have lost a whole night's sleep over it. Maybe even two."

"I'm flattered," she rolled her eyes and then her expression became serious, "Did you learn anything new about him? Did he say a name? Or how he is connected to me?"

"He admitted to working with the Winter Soldier."

"Yeah, we got that part before he stomped on Red Wing," Sam cradled the metal pieces to his chest.

"He knew who I was immediately, or so he claimed, and he continued to talk about you as if he'd known you for a long time," Loki told Jak. "And he kept using that older name of yours… Winnet."

She averted his gaze when he said the name and squeezed her eyes closed.

"I don't like this," she muttered, "Who is this person? And why is he after me? How does he know so much about me?"

"We will find him and we will find answers," Loki promised, "In the meantime, let us get you back to the safety of the Compound. Who knows if Bucky Barnes is running amok - ah! That reminds me, he also mentioned that Barnes is in a cell. Or at least, he implied that he is contained somewhere, perhaps against his will."

"Steve will be, well, not 'glad' to hear that," Sam said, "But it's good to know that maybe he's putting up a fight against this guy. Maybe we can get him on our side."

They discussed every detail of the encounter as they walked back to the Compound and then went over it again with the other Avengers. Rogers did seem relieved that his childhood friend might not be voluntarily chasing down Jaklyn. After a debrief and more discussion about next moves, Loki and Jak found themselves alone again.

"You know, our foe seemed particularly concerned that we are bedpartners," Loki prompted with a raised brow. Just as he hoped, her face went bright red. It really was too easy to tease her.

"And you corrected him, right?"

"Well," he chuckled, moving closer to her and twisting her hair around his fingers, reeling her in toward him. "I didn't say we are… but I also didn't say we're not."

"Of course not," she frowned, but there was no real displeasure behind it.

"I like to leave possibilities open," he shrugged. He let go of her hair and watched it unfurl over her shoulder. Though he knew he ought to direct his thoughts toward more gentlemanly images, he began to imagine that same hair tumbling over bare skin. It was long enough that, were she not wearing a top, she would still be covered, though just barely.

He quickly shoved the thoughts away and refocused, turning his eyes back to her face.

"Our enemy was genuinely upset by the idea… I don't suppose you have an old flame who might be burning with jealousy? Perhaps that might solve our mystery."

"I've told you before, no one has courted me in over a century. And the ones before that were just young men who were connected to power that my father thought would be a good match. Believe me, none of them were at all interested in me beyond what alliances could be struck by taking my hand."

"You're sure?" Loki found her hands and held them tightly, "Did you court anyone while you went by 'Winnet'?"

"A boy or two," she shrugged, "One found a more influential wife, and the other my father decided was unworthy of my time. His time."

"That one, what was his name?"

"Loki, that was when I was sixteen. Even if I did remember what his name was, he would be long dead by now. Even his tombstone has probably crumbled at this point," she scoffed, but Loki saw the way she bit her lip.

"What was he like? This boy who is long dead?"

"Rude," she said immediately, "Entitled. We were in the newly freed United States and he still thought himself to be some sort of prince among men."

"How dreadful," Loki smirked and she laughed.

"It's different when you actually are a prince," she squeezed his hand, "He always stood too close to me and he smelled like onions. I don't remember why my father called it off, but I remember being glad that he did."

"Was the boy upset?"

"Yes, but my mother used magic to change his mind and send him on his way. I don't recall seeing him again after," she stepped closer and rested her head on his chest. "It's not him. I'm sure my father would have paid more attention to him if that boy had the potential to live forever or if he knew any sort of magic."

"If you're sure. Though I'd feel better if you could remember his name so we can find a grave or a record of death."

"I'll try."

He rested his chin on top of her head and reveled in every light touch between the two of them. He supposed he couldn't blame her for not remembering; when he held her in his arms, the names of any past lovers he had escaped his memory. How ridiculous that he'd gone so soft for a Midgardian. More ridiculous still that he was going to so much effort to protect her.

"I'll catch that bastard and we'll torture him until he tells us everything," he vowed. "I'll hunt him down and make him tell us who he is."

"Don't put yourself at risk for me again," she told him sternly, "I'm a terribly old woman, remember? Such nonsense is not good for my poor nerves."

"Unfortunately for your poor nerves, the fonder I grow of you, the more likely it is that I will do stupid things for you. Maybe someday I'll even like you enough to turn my nose up at a real Infinity Stone, elskan mín."

"You still haven't told me what that means," she crossed her arms and raised a brow. "You had better not be calling me something stupid in whatever language you speak in Asgard."

"I'm actually using the old Nordic language."

"And what does it mean?"

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and then took a step back.

"I should let you get back to work. This ordeal has distracted you enough for one day."

"It's dinner time anyway," she took a step closer to him and he took another back. "And I know you don't have anywhere to go."

"Not true. I never did get to visit that bookshop yesterday."

"What does elskan mín mean, Loki?" She took another step closer and put a hand on his chest. He couldn't help himself, he kissed her once more before smiling and running off. He called out his answer over his shoulder, but did not wait to hear her response.

"It means my love."

A note from the author: Yay! I was actually able to update this weekend! I've been so busy this week that I wasn't sure I was going to have the time/energy, but here we are! Thanks so much for reading, I hope you are enjoying the story! Special thanks to Samantha May for your review! :D

See you all in the next chapter!