Author's note: Hey y'all, I thought I'd post a day early to celebrate this fic getting back up to #1 in the #loki tag, and also we're almost at 30k! I'm awful at posting religiously on a set day, sorry about that XD I know I keep saying it but thank you thank you x 3000 to everyone who is reading and supporting this fic, I hope you all know you're making me insanely happy <3 I have a feeling you're all about to shout at me after this chapter though hehee, enjoy! <3

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The corridor was cooler than the hall; almost cold. You were leaning against the wall (out of sight of anyone in the hall) with your arms wrapped around yourself, trying to look inconspicuous in case anyone happened to walk past. A few minutes went by and you began to get bored, wondering if you'd made some sort of mistake. No, Loki had definitely been talking to you, unless there was someone else in the room who he could communicate with through his mind. The thought made you feel vaguely sick.

Just as you were thinking this, Loki walked out of the hall.

"Sorry, I got stuck talking to someone. Come on, quick." he said, not stopping.

Who had he been 'stuck' talking to? You hoped it was that girl. No, that was mean. You still hoped it was her though. And why did you have to be quick? You voiced this question to Loki aloud.

"You'll see." was his simple reply, leading the way up a different staircase than the one you'd climbed before.

"I'm intrigued." you probed, wanting and find out more and trying to work out where you might be going, but it was impossible in this maze of a palace. Loki didn't reply, exuding something like... trepidation? Annoyance? It was hard to tell when he was practically speed-walking away from you.

"What's wrong?" you asked, frowning.

"Nothing. Hurry up."

You stopped. After a few paces he stopped too and span around to look at you almost angrily. Thereafter followed a very intense staring contest which only lasted about five seconds, and which you won. Loki's shoulders slumped and he performed what was possibly the best eye roll you'd ever seen him do and sighed dramatically.

"Do you enjoy being so stubborn?" he asked, walking back towards you, defeated.

"Do you enjoy being so rude to people?" you countered, fighting down a smile.

"Yes."

You tried to look at him disapprovingly, but you couldn't hold back the smile which ruined it.

"Not you though. I'm sorry, it's just some of the people down there..." he said, glaring back down towards the hall, not finishing his sentence.

Ah. That explained it. He looked back at you.

"Go back down if you want. This was -"

"No, I have to find out what this secret is we have to rush to." you told him, pointing ahead down the corridor.

"Come on then." Loki said, and you were pleased to noticed he seemed slightly cheered.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to come across as rude." he told you, now walking alongside rather than ahead of you.

"I know. Who annoyed you, out of interest?" you asked casually.

"Who didn't." he scowled; you laughed.

"Odin, for one, he can't seem to look at me without frowning. And then – in here." he said suddenly, pointing to the door on your side of the corridor. You pushed it open. And stared. Loki carried on talking, but you didn't hear a word he said.

The library. Of course it was the library, and it was huge, seeming even bigger because it was mostly shrouded in darkness now that the sun was going down.

"Whoa." you said. Loki walked past you and beckoned you to follow.

"This isn't what I wanted to show you, although it is lovely. I spent most of my childhood in here." he said. You smiled, imagining a tiny Loki sat in here reading one of the massive books which lined the shelves.

You followed him through the dark, musty room, trying not to trip over or walk into anything. When you looked up again, Loki was gone.

"Loki?"

"Through here. You might have to duck."

You heard him, but still couldn't see him, until a hand appeared behind one of the bookcases which appeared to be pushed all the way against the wall, but wasn't.

"Is this safe?" you asked doubtfully, peering at the rotten looking wood behind the bookcase.

"Probably not." Loki replied.

"How reassuring." you said, taking his hand and ducking behind the bookcase into the darkness. It was only dark for a second or two, and then to your surprise you were outside. There was a balcony set into the wall, even though there was no door leading to it, only the small gap which you had just clambered through to reach it.

The view was incredible, as it was from any of the palace balconies, but now the sky was painted pink by the crimson red sun which was just disappearing below the horizon. The golden city was bathed in a pink glow. You walked to the edge of the balcony and stared, wanting to ingrain the view in your memory forever; it was one of the most beautiful things you'd ever seen.

"It would have been better five minutes ago." Loki said, coming to stand next to you.

"It's still amazing." you said.

"It is." he replied. He wasn't looking at the sunset.

A minute passed, maybe two, and you both watched the sun disappear below the horizon. Today had been great, but you'd also discovered a lot of new, not great stuff. Loki had tried to kill Thor. Loki had killed his real father. Frigga had stolen your memories. Odin had possibly sent a six-year-old kid to Midgard without her family to protect his reputation.

"What's wrong?" Loki asked you this time.

"We need to talk." you said, turning to face him. You saw something flash behind his eyes, but then it was gone and you thought you must have imagined it.

"About?"

"My father told me that you... killed your father."

Saying it out loud like that to him, so bluntly and plainly, it almost made it worse.

Loki just looked at you, that perfect poker face remaining intact, unmoving. You could see past it though, to the raging emotions behind his eyes. You just didn't know what they were.

"Did he." he finally said, turning away to look back out at the view.

"Did you?" you asked.

"Yes."

He said it without any emotion, just one word which held so much meaning. A long silence followed.

"Thor is awful at telling stories." you finally said, and Loki looked at you with an expression which was almost grateful.

"Did he tell you about Jane?"

"Who's Jane?!" you exclaimed.

"That'll be a 'no' then." Loki smiled.

You shook your head, waiting for an explanation.

"He was... is in love with her. She's from Midgard." Loki explained.

"I..." you said, flabbergasted. How had Thor never mentioned that? You felt slightly offended that he'd left out so much of the story, but then again it was a long time ago that he'd told you; you'd barely known each other back then.

"Will you tell me about it? Everything, that is, not Thor's version of everything which wasn't everything at all." you asked Loki. He looked at you.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... that's why I asked." you replied with a confused smile. Loki looked like he was struggling with something, until eventually...

"Okay. It's a long story."

"We have a long time." you countered.

Loki moved to sit on the stone bench which was the only other thing on the abandoned balcony. You joined him; the bench was freezing and you shivered inadvertently. A second later Loki was holding a blanket, and he held it out to you.

"Thanks." you smiled, unfolding it and wrapping it around your shoulders.

"Okay, shoot. Tell me everything."

And so he did. You had no idea how long you sat out there for, with him talking and you not interrupting, just listening, but by the time he was finished the sun had gone down and it was almost pitch black; the sky stuck in limbo between light and dark.

His version of events had been the same as Thor's but from Loki's point of view, and containing the important parts Thor had left out. He got to the part where he, Thor and Odin had been on the Bifrost and stopped there.

"You know what happens next." he said.

"Thanos." you said, and he nodded. You couldn't decide whether you wanted him to carry on or not, but you were glad when he didn't. Loki was watching you almost intently, even though neither of you were talking.

"What?" you asked, looking straight back at him.

"You and Thor are the only two who don't hate me. I... hope this hasn't changed anything." he said, turning his gaze away.

"Don't be stupid, the others don't hate you." you replied sharply, and received an unconvinced look in return.

"Okay, so it's taking some time for you to earn their trust – that doesn't mean that they hate you."

"I'm not just talking about Stark and the rest. Everyone on Midgard knows what I did. A whole realm that considers me an enemy. Another one."

You couldn't argue with that.

"Well, no. You telling me a story that I already knew most of hasn't made me hate you if that's what you were worried about." you told him matter of factly.

"Good." he said, and it sounded like he meant it.

"There's actually something else I need to tell you as well." you continued. Your heart rate quickened as he turned and looked directly into your eyes. For the love of all things holy. Why couldn't you just say something, anything, tell him that right at this moment in time you would like nothing more than to throw yourself into his arms and kiss him and make him yours, and that you had hated seeing him dance with those other girls earlier because you were in love with him.

You swallowed hard.

"It's about Odin."

His face remained totally impassive, apart from a raised eyebrow.

"When I was with my parents earlier today, my father told me that there were rumours that I was actually Odin's kid. People thought that he'd been unfaithful to Frigga and that's why I had magic. He said that they thought he may have sent me to Midgard to protect his reputation and that's why he didn't want Frigga teaching me how to control your magic." you told him.

Loki seemed lost in thought.

"Don't take this the wrong way. Is there any proof that you're not actually Odin's child?" Loki asked.

"Yes! My great grandmother was a sorceress; I get my magic from her." you said defensively.

"Okay! Just checking. It wouldn't surprise me is all." he shrugged.

"You really think Odin would do that to Frigga?" you asked. This was absurd, you were discussing the king and queen of Asgard as though they were a high school couple.

"I don't know. Maybe." he said.

It was really dark now; you could just make out Loki's pale features, close enough that you could have reached out and touch him if you'd wanted to. You watched as people started leaving the palace, the dancing must have finished. Tony would be so disappointed, it wasn't even past midnight yet.

"Let's go back inside, it's cold." you said decisively, standing up with the blanket still wrapped around your shoulders.

"Is it?" Loki asked, not moving.

"Yes, come on." you probed, walking backwards towards the gap in the wall.

Loki sighed and stood up, following you back through the gap in the wall, this time illuminated purple with your magic so that you didn't fall over. You walked out of the library and retraced your steps to the staircase by the hall, and then back to your room, neither of you speaking.

"So, how do you like Asgard?" Loki asked you as you reached the room where you were staying.

"It's incredible. Today has been the most fun I've had in ages." you told him with a smile.

"Good. I thought you might like it here."

"I love it. And I could get used to living in a palace and having my every need waited on." you said, looking around at the extravagant décor and high ceilings.

"Trust me, the novelty wears thin after a while. Especially when you go from royalty to being held in a cell down there." Loki told you, looking down as if he could see through the floor, his jaunty tone so clearly hiding something else. You smiled at him sadly.

"I bet."

There was a beat of silence, in which the mood swung from light-hearted to something else completely, and you noticed he was discreetly picking at the palm of one of his hands. He stopped the minute he saw you looking, and cleared his throat, appearing to almost brace himself.

"Does it really not bother you? Everything I've done?" he asked you.

"I told you, you've explained everything and... well I may not fully understand some bits, but you're still you." you told him.

"Even though I'm - I'm not..."

"I don't care. It doesn't matter." you told him firmly.

He nodded, just staring at you.

"...Loki?"

"Did you hear me? Earlier, when we were at the table." he asked.

Your heart started beating slightly faster than necessary again. Was he talking about...?

"After Fandral called me -"

"Exquisite." he finished for you, holding your gaze, suddenly serious. You didn't think you could have looked away even if you'd wanted to. Okay, this was happening. Breathe.

"Yeah, I heard." you said, your voice barely more than a whisper.

"I meant it." he told you.

You smiled weakly, trying to remain calm. And then, then, he slowly reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, still looking right at you. You held your breath, wondering if your heart had actually stopped.

Speak Y/N, say something. But you were frozen, stuck gazing into those crystal blue eyes, your mouth slightly open, not breathing. Loki took a step closer to you, letting his hand drop from behind your ear to graze your jaw and you let out a swift exhalation, suddenly remembering that you needed to breathe. Had you been in a more observant state of mind you might have noticed that his hand was shaking like a leaf, but as it was you were so absorbed in his eyes you probably wouldn't have noticed if someone had set off a bomb in the corridor. He smiled at you, but his eyes were nervous, searching your face, asking for permission.

You'd never actually been in a trance before, but if you had you were sure that this is what it would feel like. Vaguely wondering how much longer your legs were going to remain fully functioning for, you answered Loki's unspoken question by lifting your face a fraction of a millimetre. He was so tall. You could hear a distant ringing in your ears as he hooked a finger under your chin and lifted your chin the rest of the way, and then your eyes were closing and...

Crash.

Spell broken, you both turned towards the sound of something very large and expensive being broken.

"Volstagg you oaf, that's an antique!"

"It wasn't me! I-"

"It was you, you just fell into it!"

"That is a false accusation!"

The oh-so romantic sounds of Thor and Volstagg yelling at each other while Fandral and Hogun roared with laughter reached your ears, and Loki's hand dropped back to his side as you started to laugh too, biting your lip as you looked down at the floor. As Thor and the Warriors Three appeared around the corner, roaring with laughter and extremely drunk, Loki stepped away from you and turned to face them instead.

I think I'm gonna disappear before drunk Fandral spots me.

Loki nodded, not looking at you, glaring down the corridor. A muscle was going in his jaw.

"I should probably... go and fix, uh, whatever that was." he said, sounding actually flustered.

"Yeah, probably. I'll see you tomorrow." you said, backing into your room, unable to look at him. Loki nodded distractedly and then strode off, ignoring Thor's overjoyed greeting.

You waited a while, until the sounds of Thor and the others had completely disappeared, and then sank to the floor with your back against the door, letting your emotions run riot.

Oh. My. God.