Alrighty, so this is the long, long overdue second part to my two-shot Evolutionary Imperative. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do. This will probably make sense if you don't, but why risk it? Besides, that one has smut. This is unfortunately sex-less, but that's not to say I will not be writing more. There will be a third installment and it will have smut, though I can't promise when that will hit the internet. If there's mistakes - which I am sure there are - please forgive me. I finished this at a very late hour and I couldn't look at it for long enough to do more than a quick skim for errors without wanting to claw my eyes out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this for the sort of fluffy/mostly information bit of scribbles it is.

EDIT: I've decided this isn't a complete drabble, so I'm adding a second part to it. When it'll be done, I can't say. But it will eventually be up.

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In his long life, Loki had woken up beside an exhausted, naked woman more times than he could count. Some stank of stale alcohol. Some still wore most of their clothing. Some were not alone in the bed, tangled in the naked limbs of another woman. It was a matter of pride, really, that he had had so many conquests over the years.

But, for as many times as he had woken up beside a woman, there were an equal number of times that he had not stayed to watch them awaken. They were quick shags, nothing more, and he had never had the desire to stay and make conversation, let alone try and start a relationship. He wanted nothing to do with a woman clinging to him - at least, not when she still had clothing on.

He had been expected to marry eventually, but the pressure on him had been far less than that of Thor, though his brother was equally guilty of leaving maidens in bed without a word. Loki had been completely at ease with his bachelorhood, with those quick tumbles in the sheets with wenches too filled with ale to care that he didn't know their names. And it was easy, too. He was the prince of Asgard. The God of Mischief. The greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms. The silvertongue. He rarely had to do much work to satisfy his most carnal desires, and if he did, the flowing of mead and atmosphere of a riotous party took care of any hesitance fairly quickly.

Jane Foster, however, was not some wench he met in the back of tavern or some dewy eyed virgin seeking to woo a prince. She was brilliant and strong and fought him at every turn. It was a completely new experience for him.

As was waking up to her the morning after their bonding and realizing that he had not the slightest desire to move away from her. It was completely new and a little strange, but not unpleasant to have her with him, her petite body pressed up against his, the sound of her soft breathing filling his ears, and her delicious scent all around him.

Her back was pressed to his chest and her thick mane of chestnut hair was still slightly damp from the shower he had persuaded her to take with him, during which he had managed to get her to go for another romp, despite her indignation and sheer disbelief that he could still be up and ready to go after two rounds in the bed.

She had been utterly exhausted once it was over, both emotionally and physically, and though Loki could have very well gone for another round, his instincts told him that she needed her rest. He had allowed her no space to move away from him, though, and had curled his long body around hers in a protective way, keeping her securely tethered to his chest with one long, inhumanly strong arm. Jane had been asleep within moments, though she had been sure to grumble a little bit at his controlling nature before doing so.

Loki had found himself awake for quite some time after her, compulsively checking and rechecking the safeguards he had on the penthouse with his magic. Sealing and resealing the doors, silently commanding every blind on every window to cover the glass. It was instinctual, something he felt utterly compelled to do, and it wasn't until he had done those things four times that he felt secure enough to fall asleep with his new wife, his defenses only going down slightly. The smallest sound, the tiniest disturbance, and he'd be up in a millisecond to protect his mate.

But nothing had happened. Loki woke on his own time, his nose comfortably nuzzled into the sweet smelling tresses of his bride's hair. He felt no compulsion to leave, no desire to sneak away and never see her again. She was warm and soft and when she wasn't desperately trying to figure out a way to break their bond, he could tell that she was actually a kindhearted soul.

Although Loki couldn't say that he was anywhere near loving her so quickly, he would admit that he was very swiftly becoming attached to his little mortal. Most of that was probably the magical bond and the Jotun influence, he knew, but there was also a part of him that admired her fire, her cleverness, and the way she could actually hold a full conversation with him, even though there hadn't been all that much talking the night before. If he had had to pick someone he thought would perfectly match him, Loki would have never thought of Thor's sweetheart, but it had not been up to him. His instincts had guided him to her when he was on the brink of insanity and bound him to her before he knew just how compatible they would be.

Loki sighed quietly and nuzzled his nose more into her dark hair, taking the time to truly savor her scent while she was so very relaxed in his arms. He couldn't possibly describe just how intoxicating her smell was, or how it both soothed him and heated his blood at the same time. And he had to admit that holding a woman like this was…nice. At least, when the woman didn't stink of alcohol and the dirt of a tavern.

The prince took his time to admire his new bride, his large, long-fingered hand smoothing ever-so-softly over the silky skin of her stomach and his nose trailing from the crown of her head to the gentle swell of her creamy shoulder. In this moment, when she was so completely relaxed and unaware against him, he was free to do as he pleased with her, free to simply explore her soft skin and listen to her quiet breathing. There was no fighting him, no resistance, and he found that he liked it that way, even if he would have preferred her to be awake. He silently made a promise to himself to get her to the point where she would be this at ease and compliant with him, eventually.

Even if it took years, Loki knew that he could get her there. She would warm up to him, once she realized that she would not be getting rid of him. She would have to, lest she wanted to cause herself more stress and unhappiness than was strictly necessary. If she accepted him as her husband and companion, it would go much smoother for her. It would give Loki the chance to woo her, to build a relationship with her, as he hadn't had a chance to court her properly.

Loki dragged the tips of his fingers down her side, the dip of her small waist, the smooth rise of her hip, and then the silky skin of her thigh, until his fingers were stopped by the blankets he had hastily pulled over them as Jane slipped into her slumber. Without thought, he tugged it upward to cover more of her slightly chilled skin, the instinct to make her as comfortable and happy as possible compelling him to keep her warm.

This instinct to protect, nurture, and hide Jane Foster from the world was something he never thought he would experience, but it was undeniably there. He couldn't stop himself from tightening his hold around her or triple-checking the locks and magical barriers around the penthouse. He couldn't stop himself from mentally making plans to bring all her belongings to his home, to get her all new things as well, and to start scouting for her tastes in things like foods, decorations, and hobbies. It felt uncomfortably like nesting, but there was no stopping it.

He needed to make a home for her. He needed to keep her safe. He needed to touch her, smell her. Loki had as little choice as Jane in the matter.

As Jane slowly woke it was to the feeling of cool, calloused fingertips dragging slowly over the flat plane of her stomach, the feeling sending little shivers down her spine before she was even fully awake, Loki couldn't help the little smile that curved his lips. His bride was awake.

At first, she thought it was it was Don, but that wasn't right. He had been much more prone to pinching her rear as a wakeup call, not the gentle, caressing touching she felt. Jane wrinkled her nose and buried her face in the soft pillow under her cheek, but didn't bother looking at who it was. Thor? No, no. Thor had woken her up with a gentlemanly nudge to her shoulder and they hadn't had sex, so he had certainly never had the chance to touch her naked side-

Jane's eyes popped open at the realization.

She was naked. In an unfamiliar bed. Next to…Oh god.

The woman squealed and threw herself away from Loki too quickly for him to react. Unfortunately, she threw herself too far and ended up on the floor, tangled in the silk sheets and her own limbs. In the process, Jane smacked her head on one of the legs of the bedside table and groaned, her one free hand working to unwind the sheet from where it had somehow gotten around her face and neck.

"Damn it," she mumbled, her hand drifting to the bump on the back of her head. She didn't notice when Loki sprang from the bed after her, not until she felt someone else's hand intercepting hers behind her head, feeling for the knot.

"Foolish woman," Loki hissed, trying to stop his heart from pounding so loudly in his ears and to wipe out the panic that he felt surge in him when she fell out of his arms. "Do you always wake with so much commotion?"

Jane glared at him and tried swatting his hand away, her other hand scrambling to pull the tangled sheet up and over her naked body. Her face burned when she caught sight of just how uncovered he was, despite the fact that she had become quite familiar with his body the night before. She swallowed, her mind racing with all the implications of just what she had done.

I slept with Loki, God of Mischief and Thor's brother. Twice. No, three times. Oh, god.

"Do not give me that look," he scolded her as he scowled, his long fingers tracing the bump that was sure to cause Jane a bit of discomfort. "I did not push you out of bed. You jumped. This is your own doing."

Jane glared harder and firmly pushed his hand away from her. She felt uncomfortable with him so near, especially considering his currently very nude state. Couldn't he have bothered to put on some pants? Or was this just a bid to make her even more uncomfortable?

Only now in the light of day did she realize how foolish she had been. She had virtually allowed herself to be kidnapped, hadn't fought him, and slept with him more than once. She had been incredibly, outrageously stupid.

Jane sat up and gripped the sheet around her more firmly, her cheeks losing their rosy color as she began to panic once more. She swallowed thickly and looked at him with suspicion, like he would pounce on her at any moment. She had been ridiculously foolish to let herself get into this situation. Who knew what Loki was going to do to her now that he had satisfied his urges? Or if he even had satisfied those urges. Jane didn't know which thought was more frightening: Loki physically hurting her now that he was done with her, or having him not be done with her.

Loki, for his part, was unmoved by her hesitation to be near him and attempt at modesty. He was completely at ease in the nude, as Asgardians really didn't put much stock in modesty. If a warrior's armor was lost and his clothing torn to shreds in battle, was he supposed to stop fighting to find some spare trousers? No, and no one would think twice if an Asgardian warrior fought bare. It had even been customary at a time in their history for the mightiest warriors to fight with nary a stitch of clothing on, to show their enemy that they feared no blade, not even enough to put fabric between it and their skin.

The prince huffed at Jane's attitude, already missing the peaceful, relaxed woman who had been sharing his bed not five minutes before. He pursed his lips at her as he eyed the sheet she was donning in a useless bid for coverage. He tugged at the fabric as he crouched down beside her, though not enough to actually rip it from her white-knuckled grip. "Why do you cover yourself, wife?" he asked, arching a dark brow imperiously. "Have I not already seen all you have to show?"

Jane's already pale face drained of any color it might have had when he used that title with her. She had managed to forget what he told her the night before, if only for a moment, and she wished it could have stayed that way. She made a distressed sound in the back of her throat and pulled the sheet out of his loose grip as her legs came up to her chest protectively. "I'm not your wife," she told him, her voice firm but only just covering her panic. Loki sent her an utterly exasperated look, but she cut him off before he could respond. "Okay. Alright. Maybe we accidentally did some weird Jotun magic thing last night and maybe that might mean I'm your wife there, but that doesn't apply here."

It was much easier to think through those problems now that she wasn't half seduced and half exhausted. Jane nodded to herself as her thoughts began to form much more logical, coherent chunks. Loki opened his mouth to speak, but she wasn't looking at him; her eyes were trained on some point on his collar as she focused on the problem at hand. He tried to speak, but she once more bulldozed right over him. "No, okay. This is good. See, we're not married here. Yeah, maybe you did some Jotun voodoo and perhaps that applies to you, but I see no reason for it to apply to me. Besides, you didn't do this on purpose, so obviously you don't want to be married. Therefore, I see no reason to take this thing seriously. Great, so we don't have to see each other or –"

Loki successfully cut off her seemingly endless stream of nonsense by wrapping his hands around her upper arms and hoisting her up like she weighed nothing before once more depositing her on the bed. Jane gave a squeal of surprise as her back made contact with the mattress, the wind leaving her lungs for a moment as Loki put his hands by her ears and leaned in close to her, close enough to brush his nose with hers.

"Wife," he began, his voice calm but stern. "You will be calm when I explain this to you once more. You will not panic and you will not fight me." Jane swallowed thickly, but there was something inside of her, some little, unused piece of her brain that seemed to acknowledge his command and began the process of washing away the panic and fear inside of her, if only for a moment. It was almost unwilling, as Jane wanted to panic, to be tense in the presence of a man who she knew was capable of such terrible things, but her body wouldn't let her. She relaxed beneath him slowly, the tension bleeding out of her body in increments, and the sight made Loki's animalistic side very pleased indeed.

"There," he purred happily, his expression losing most of its sternness. "Now, you will listen. Jane Foster, last night you and I unwittingly participated in an archaic bonding ceremony that you might refer to as a wedding. In Asgard, something similar is done with the practice of handfasting and the sharing of a few drops of blood, but the principle is the same. That being said, despite what you might believe about magic, this cannot be undone. It has irreversible side effects that are meant to both produce offspring and build a healthy relationship between husband and wife.

"One of these side effects is that now a small piece of my magic, my life-force, is hidden away inside of you. This is one of the reasons it cannot be annulled, as you put it. If I were to remove my magic from within you, especially when it was bound to you through such an old rite as was used, it would kill you in an instant." He paused as he caught sight of Jane's eyes widening with alarm, his nose filling with the faint traces of the distressed scent she was expelling. His instincts clamored for him to calm her, to get rid of that awful scent, so he paused in his speech to give her time to adjust.

More gently, he began again. "I will not do this," he assured her. "I will not kill you. It goes against every shred of instinct I harbor. I believe that is another effect of the bonding. Just the thought of you in harm's way makes me…" He trailed off with a sour look, unable to even contemplate that option, before he continued once more. "I cannot harm you in any way. Even your mental distress upsets me, though I see no reason for such distress in the first place."

"Okay, so maybe that's all true," she interjected, her voice a tad bit smaller than usual. "But…that doesn't mean we have to actually live together. I know what you said last night, but –"

Loki shook his head and cut her off. "I cannot be parted from you, Jane. Even if I would like to be, it is not possible. I am filled with…such anxiety, with just the thought. I would not be able to stomach the thought of separation for more than a few minutes. At least for now. The effects may dull with time."

He wasn't betting on it, though. He needed to do more research on Jotun mating rituals, but unfortunately that knowledge was currently barred from him, as only the Great Library of Asgard would have such books. He was merely going by speculation and past experience for his information now, so nothing was quite certain. Still, Loki had his knowledge of bonding rites to go on, and that was a start.

The prince looked down at his new wife and watched as her emotions played across her face. She wouldn't have been able to hide anything from him, even if he wasn't married to her and attuned to her every fluctuation in scent. She was an open book, utterly maskless and lacking any sort of ability to hide her true thoughts from anyone, let alone him. It was…sweet, in a way. This woman, at least, could never lie to him, unlike everyone else he knew.

Jane stared up at him in horrified resignation. Even if what he was saying wasn't true, he so obviously believed that it was, so it didn't matter either way. He was going to follow through with what he was saying whether or not he was wrong, because he believed he was right. "So, what you're saying is that…we are now inseparable and together? Like, together, together."

Loki rolled his eyes at her terminology, but nodded anyway. The astrophysicist below him let out a long breath, her brilliant mind absorbing all of the information he had imparted to her slowly.

If I try to break this thing, I die. He can't be away from me because of crippling anxiety. He's now technically…my husband. And I'm his wife. Oh, god.

But things could be worse, she reminded herself just as another wave of panic was about to crest over her. He could have killed me from the get-go. He could have forced me to sleep with him, which he didn't. He could have done any number of things that are much worse than living with him and playing house. Right? Right.

Loki watched as her emotions played across her expressive face with amusement. His little woman was very entertaining, and this was only their first day of marriage. What other quirks did she have, he wondered as he watched her. Surely, she must have had more. His Jotun side would not have picked a mate for him that would bore him. He was sure that Jane would provide endless entertainment for him through the years.

"This is…okay," she finally announced after much thought, her eyes swinging back to Loki's as she swallowed. "I realize that there are a lot of worse things you could have done to me, so I'm willing to…go along with this. But I'm going to tell you now, until I get to know you better and start to build some trust here, there will be no more sex."

The prince balked at her, taken aback by her demand. Why would she refuse intercourse when it was so obviously pleasing to the both of them?

"Look, I know it was good," she continued, not wanting to accidentally insult his male prowess or anything stupid like that. "It was really good, but I don't know you. The fact that I said yes at all last night is so completely out of character for me, I…" She frowned, more to herself than to him. "I just have to get to know you, that's all. It's not forever. Can't we just start out as friends, and work up to that other stuff?"

Loki did not like this plan of hers at all. They weren't "just friends". They were married. They were husband and wife. How were they supposed to produce a child if they did not have sex? The Jotun in him recoiled in horror and anger at the thought. She had to have his child. It was instinct for Loki to get her pregnant with his offspring as quickly as possible, to ensure his line's survival and solidify her place beside him as his mate. All would be well if she was pregnant already, but if she wasn't, he wouldn't know what to do with himself besides take her again and again until she was.

But the other side of him, the side that was more man and less beast could see where she was coming from. This was new. She hadn't expected to be a wife, let alone his wife. Could he blame her for being nervous about their coupling? No, he couldn't. The fact that he had been able to get her to lie with him at all the night before had been sheer luck. He understood that she needed time and space to get used to him, to warm up to the idea, and he would not, under any circumstances, stoop to such a loathsome level as to take her against her will.

Loki's jaw worked and his brows furrowed unhappily as he attempted to wrangle in his more base nature, the one that demanded he take her now to show her that her place was with him inside of her, that she would find more pleasure there than anywhere else. He swallowed with difficulty and looked down at her, his fingers tensing in the fabric of the pillow beside her ear. "If that is your desire, I shall concede to it," he informed her, his voice cool and unaffected, covering the twitchiness and anxiety that came with her refusal to lie with him. "But you must understand that I cannot go without physical contact." He eyed her sternly and licked his lips as he weighed each word in his mind.

"If we are not to have intercourse, then I must still insist that you share my bed at night. I will not attempt to force you or do anything untoward while you sleep. I only wish to protect you, and the safest place to be is within my arms." Just the thought of her sleeping in another, even one in his home, made his stomach turn. How could he protect her while she slept if he was not there with her?

Jane nodded, not finding anything too horrible about that. She had slept soundly beside him the night before, which was kind of unusual for her, as she was one to toss and turn, so she figured this was the least she could do. Besides, if he said he couldn't hurt her because it hurt him, she believed that he was probably too selfish to do so. "That being said," he continued, his voice becoming more arrogant as his instincts backed down. Her acceptance of his protection at night soothed some of the frustration in him. She would not be denying him of her completely, then. "I cannot go without contact during the daylight hours as well."

"So, what kind of contact are we talking about?" she asked semi-suspiciously, wary of what he would be asking her.

"Nothing of the sexual nature, if you do not initiate it yourself," he assured her with a sigh, exasperated by her suspicion of him. Were all women so jumpy with their husbands? He thought not, but then, he had never really taken the time to observe married couples for anything more than the basic principles of the relationship. "Simple touches. I may need to smell your hair or touch your skin if I am feeling anxious, or if I feel you are being threatened. Even little touches will help."

He trailed his knuckles along her cheek softly in example and the results were immediate. The tension in his shoulders bled out in an instant, his jaw lost its stiffness, and the muscles around his eyes relaxed as his brows went back to their gently curved positions over his eyes. "Everything helps," he murmured, to himself as he watched his hand move over her cheek. It was so calming to touch her, to feel the warmth beneath her skin against his coolness. It reassured him that she was alive and well, that she was there. If nothing else could ease him, it would be her he relied on.

Jane watched the transformation with awe, not having realized just how much of an effect she had on him. But for every brush of his skin on hers, she felt something, too. In the places he touched, it was like her blood hummed beneath her skin, leaving goosebumps and making her blush a nice, rosy red. There was some sort of magic there, she conceded. Or just awesome chemistry.

Loki sighed and removed his hand from her, afraid that if he continued to touch her, he would become aroused once more and be forced to deal with it himself. He looked down at her, noting the color in her cheeks and widening of her eyes. She looked young and innocent, even when her stomach was growling like that.

The prince laughed and glanced down the length of her body, though it was still stubbornly covered in a sheet. "My wife is hungry," he announced with a smile as he sat back, putting his feet on the floor once more. Jane sat up slowly and felt her cheeks fill with even more blood as her stomach gave a particularly loud grumble. Loki held out a hand to her, completely disregarding his state of undress, and felt his eyes crinkle in a genuine smile.

"Aren't you going to put on, uh, pants?" she asked, quickly looking away from his southerly bits as she unconsciously took his hand, letting him pull her gently off of the bed. Loki cocked an eyebrow at her modesty, but found it endearing nonetheless.

"If it would please you," he replied, not even lifting a finger as a pair of loose cotton lounge pants faded in from nothing around his legs and hips. "Now, come." He turned and strode over to the door, not bothering to look back at Jane as she waffled between putting her less than classy pajamas back on or wearing the sheet.

"I cannot have you going hungry," he called from somewhere down the hall. "You or the child that may be nestled in your womb."

Jane nearly tripped on the corner of her sheet as she hurried to follow him, though she wished she would have when he said that. At least then she might have knocked herself out and perhaps forgotten even the notion of being pregnant with his child.

"I am not pregnant," she cried indignantly at his back as she caught up to him. "I take birth control!"

He shook his head and sent her a look over his shoulder, one that showed just how much stock he put into Midgardian pregnancy prevention and how adorable he found her panic on the subject to be. She apparently wasn't listening when he explained that half of the purpose for a bonding was to create offspring, which he found endlessly amusing. Loki smirked at her before turning his head back around. He didn't need to look at her to know she was currently looking down at her stomach in abject horror.

"We shall see, Jane."