Loki, Jak, Rogers, and Stark were gathered around a sleek monitor in the security booth of the Compound, watching and rewatching the footage from Jak's room. It was aggravatingly unhelpful. There was no camera in Jak's room, for her privacy, but the cameras in the hallway and not far from her window did not show any intruders. No one went into the room during the time that she was away from it.
Though she insisted that she would have seen the note if it had been left before she went to her magic lesson, they reviewed footage from the whole night before and much of the day before as well. Stark thought that perhaps the note had been planted when they were all distracted with the box of bones, but there was still no sign of someone coming or going.
"Maybe they got in through the vents?" Rogers suggested.
"The vent grate in my room is not industrial size," Jak shook her head, "It's only ten by four inches. All of the residential room vents are."
"To keep Barton from snooping," Stark nodded, "He can crawl in the ducts all he wants, but he's not going to steal my stash of dried blueberries."
"He doesn't even live here," Jak replied with a confused frown.
"No, but you never know when he's going to show up in the vent," Stark narrowed his eyes. "He could be up there right now and we'd never know."
Loki pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
"The intruder could have been in the ducts and dropped the note through the vent?" Rogers suggested.
"The vent grate is too far away from my desk," Jak replied.
"So it was magic then," Loki finally decided. He'd surmised as much when Friday had assured them that no one new had entered the building. "Magic or someone with access to the security feed who has scrubbed themselves from the footage."
"The only people who have access to the security feed are Avengers and security personnel," Stark said, scratching his goatee, "None of us would have done it. I'll start looking into the others. I'm thinking spontaneous performance reviews will do the trick."
"I'd place a hefty wager on the intruder using magic to deliver the note," Loki said, "They want Jak to increase her magical ability. They likely have some magic of their own."
"You're the magic expert," Rogers crossed his arms and nodded at Loki, "What's the plan to deal with this person?"
"I think we should give them what they want," Loki smirked and wrapped his arm around Jak's shoulders, "Jaklyn goes out to meet them, alone, and finds out who they are."
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that plan," Jak winced. "Especially if they have magic. The odds are that they'll be better at it than I am and it won't be hard for them to capture me."
"Which is why it won't really be you going," Loki assured her, "I'll go in disguise. Maybe I'll even let them capture me. Then we can find out what's really going on and if it involves Captain Roger's dearly beloved Bucky."
"You can't get kidnapped," Jak protested, grabbing his hand and holding it with both of hers. "I know you think you're invincible, but I'm not just going to let you put yourself in danger for me!"
"I won't be in any danger," he chuckled, "If I think I'm in over my head, I'll just reveal who I really am and tell our enemy that if they hurt me they'll be starting a war with Asgard. Any human with an ounce of sense could probably figure out why that would be a bad idea."
"We can hook you up with a tracking device," Stark offered, "We'll make it something discreet, like an earring or a pair of sunglasses. Then we can figure out where they take you and rescue you if the bad guy doesn't have any sense and decides to kill you anyway."
"No," Jak said resolutely, "I still don't like it."
"Then what would you have us do?" Loki asked, "We cannot let them get away. Not when they are so kindly offering themself up on a platter."
"I… I don't know, but -"
"I'll be fine," he turned her so that he was looking him in the eye, "Besides, I've already made up my mind. There will be no stopping me now."
"Loki…"
"If they kill me, you can just go back to the way things were before I showed up and made your life complicated! Or sign on with the Avengers and avenge me!"
"I don't want life to go back to the way it was before you showed up," she gripped his hand tighter, "I like having you here!"
He felt a warmth in his chest and pulled her into a hug. He rested his chin on top of her head and breathed in the lilac scent of her. He caught a glimpse of Rogers and Stark awkwardly looking away, then at each other, and then away again.
"I'm going to be fine. And we'll capture the idiot who dared to threaten you, and then we'll go visit that bookshop in town together and maybe even go on a normal date without fear of the Winter Soldier ruining things."
.
.
The next day, Loki cast an illusion to make himself look like Jaklyn. Stark gave him a delicate gold necklace to where that apparently contained a tracking device. They didn't dare give him an earpiece, for fear their adversary would see it, but Sam Wilson planned to have his drone, Red Wing, do a few flybys to keep an eye on things. Loki knew that Red Wing looked a bit too conspicuous, so he'd glamoured the thing to look like a cardinal. Sam argued that it should have been a falcon, but Loki countered that a falcon was a bit too on the nose.
"Damn, that's weird," Jak said when she saw Loki disguised as her. She was going to wait in the safe room during the operation, in case the Winter Soldier was lurking nearby waiting to pounce.
"You know, your Marilyn Monroe illusion was excellent work," Loki told her, "You could probably make yourself look like me while I'm you."
"And why would I do that?" She asked with a small laugh.
"Well, someone ought to wear such a handsome face while I cannot."
She rolled her eyes, but a moment later she shortened and darkened her hair, grew several inches, and her coveralls changed into fine Asgardian leather. Her eyes remained purple, but this was fortunate, for it reminded Loki to change the color of his own eyes to match.
"Kneel before me," she pointed at him, doing a terrible impression of his voice before breaking into laughter. "I think this might be weirder than seeing you as me."
"You know how in love with my own visage I am," Loki smirked, stepping closer and examining her work. He tilted his head and tapped his chin, "But I think I prefer you with your own face."
"Good call," she dispelled the illusion and shook her head when she looked at him again, "Hmm, you'd better change back to yourself as soon as you're done. I'm not sure I can stand having a boyfriend that looks exactly like me."
Loki raised an eyebrow. She'd never called him her boyfriend before. He wasn't sure he liked the term.
"Boyfriend, hmm?" He asked skeptically.
Her eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise as a blush filled her cheeks.
"I guess we haven't really put a… err, I suppose we aren't really… Ahem," she cleared her throat and clasped her hands in front of her, not looking him in the eye, "My apologies, I didn't mean to assume. We don't need a label. I suppose we aren't officially anything, are we?"
"Now, now," he tsked, "I wouldn't say that. I just feel that 'boyfriend' is too trivial a term. Don't you? I am hardly a mere boy," he looked down at himself, "particularly at this moment."
"So… what would you prefer?" She asked him. "We don't have to… there doesn't have to be a title or anything. I just… it just slipped out, since we've been, uh, going steady."
"I suppose we might call each other our paramours," he teased with a wink, "Though I suppose that has the connotation of something secret and illicit."
"Many people today use the term 'partner'," she suggested, "It's very simple, sort of ambiguous. Maybe we're partners in crime, all things considered."
He shook his head. "Too cold. It makes me feel as if I'm referring to a business associate. And though there is all sorts of business I'd like to get up to with you, I'm not sure it's the same kind."
"You're such a rake," she rolled her eyes and took a step closer to him, reaching out and smoothing the hair that matched her own. "How about… suitor? Or beau?" She giggled lightly. "You could be my beau."
"How about your swain?" He teased, "Your gentleman caller?"
"And what will I be? Your lady friend?" She wrinkled her nose, "Sounds like something an ancient old man might say."
"I am literally ancient, so I suppose that might work," he winked at her, "But perhaps 'my main squeeze' might be better. Or sweetheart?"
"Oh great heavens no!" she shrilled, bursting into laughter.
"Hmm, the way you talk, people might start to think you're ancient too."
"Golly gee, I sure wouldn't want anyone to think that."
It amused Loki for a moment as they laughed about it, but then he saw Captain Rogers enter the room and he realized that the terms of endearment they'd been using were probably more appropriate for the era Captain America grew up in. The jokes they'd been making were about a time that Loki had lived through, yes, but the origin of those words was from a culture not his own.
"It's hard to tell you two apart," Rogers said, with the polite smile of forced conversation, "If Loki weren't using his own voice I don't think I could tell the difference."
"He's incredible with illusions," Jak said and Loki thought he heard a twinge of pride in her voice.
"I know he is," Rogers nodded, "He tricked you into thinking he was me when you were training a couple of weeks ago. You never know who he'll be next. Clever trick and an easy way to get out of a fight, right?"
There was a not so subtle jibe that Loki pretended not to notice.
"Only a bit easier than hiding behind a giant unbreakable frisbee," Jak replied with an innocent smile. Loki had to hide his own, less than innocent smile by turning away.
"Touche," Rogers nodded and then looked right at Loki, "Tony set you up with a tracking device?"
"Apparently it is already tracking my every move."
"And Sam told you about Red Wing?"
"I've disguised the metal bird as a real bird. Another one of my clever tricks."
"Good thinking. It's almost time, are you ready to go?"
"One last thing, before I head out," he turned to Jak and changed his appearance back to himself for a moment, pulling her into a kiss (he wasn't sure that she would appreciate kissing her own face). As he moved back an inch he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I've thought of the perfect label."
"You have?"
"Elskan mín," he replied.
"What does that mean?"
"I'll tell you when I get back," he kissed her again and then changed his appearance to match hers once more. "Ready, Captain. Let's find out who I'm going to… not kill because that would ruin my rehabilitation, but let's find out who I'm going to capture and possibly severely wound."
Captain Rogers frowned.
"Who I'm going to wound only if necessary," Loki amended.
"Just don't let them hurt you back," Jak called after him as he headed for the meeting place.
"I would never allow such a thing, my dear sweetheart!"
A note from the author: Thanks for reading! I'll hopefully post more updates next weekend if not sooner!
CrimsonWitch008, thanks for the suggestion! I will have to check out their stories! :D