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Loki looked at the woman whom he had married less than 24 hours ago. Jane Foster was tired, had fallen asleep in his arms. He felt her exhaustion and knew she needed to rest. He had no intention of letting her leave his bed for days, but she didn't need to know that yet. There was nothing more important than reinforcing the bond they had just made. His primal instincts were glaring at him because he hadn't pushed for one more round of sex, but she was mortal, a Midgardian. He had to be patient, which was not easy for the Jotun. He himself did not need to rest. He felt more energized than he had felt in months, the final consummation of his unknown, instinctive search for a mate giving him focus. Instead he watched her sleep, the rest slowly erasing the circles shadowing her eyes and giving her cheeks a pleasant flush. He could feel the waves from her dreams, could have delved into them but he knew it would disturb her mind, so he let them just float by, tendrils of thoughts. Her dreams were pleasant, nothing bitter or unhappy tingeing them. Good. That is how he wanted her to be, it made him feel pleasant as well.

Once she was back in the deep state of sleep, Loki took the opportunity of examining his apartment and the building with a critical eye. The guest bedroom was passable for a retreat, but he would prefer to eventually be in his own bed—their own bed, he corrected himself—and therefore something had to be done about the windows. The best solution was some kind of shield, but it would require more than his doppel that was presently walking the layout to make that a reality. Loki knew what he would change, and when he would change it. The building itself would require a bit more time. He already had a network of spells surrounding it, but he would add a few extra twists, summoning some very ancient and powerful magic. It did not even occur to him that Jane might have other ideas. They would live here.

He pulled his doppel back, looked again at Jane. She would wake soon, and she would need to eat. Her stomach was growling loudly. He had no idea what she would want to eat, sent himself to the grocery store to pick up an array of items. Again, he did not think to consult his wife. Loki was accustomed to taking charge, and he would continue to do so. He snapped the majority of his attention on her face as she woke, her eyelids blinking several times sleepily as she finally focused on him. Panic shot through her eyes and was quickly replaced by a flood of realizations.

"Good morning," Loki greeted her, his hand gentle on her side. She had been sleeping in his arms, and it displeased him as she struggled again for a bit of distance. "Please cease trying to get away from me."

"Loki, we need to talk," Jane began, enforcing the small amount of space he would allow by pushing her forearms against his chest. She felt a visceral tug, which made her frown.

"Yes, we do," He knew he had surprised her by his agreement. He was perfectly prepared to negotiate on the negotiable, and hadn't missed her expression when she felt the strength of their mating bond. Good, it has strengthened enough for her to feel it, too. Loki was extremely pleased to see the result of his good work.

"I know you think we're married, bonded, what have you…"

Loki interrupted her, "Because we are."

"Yes," Jane cleared her throat, her brown eyes meeting his for the first time since she began speaking, "But the thing is, marriage does not work that way on Midgard. It requires courtship, and mutual agreement of both parties, and, well, nowadays it is completely separate from sleeping together. I know it's been a long time since you visited, but things have changed since the 11th century."

Loki had been casually massaging her shoulder, his expression amused. "I am aware that your cultural customs may have changed, but I think you'd be surprised at how frequently the 'marriage bed' preceded the actual marriage ceremony. I think simplifying and combining the two is a far more efficient mechanism of pair bonding."

"Yes, but often the sharing of a bed was a means of ensuring the parties were compatible and both willing to sustain a marriage going forward, which is not the case here," Jane had been temporarily surprised by Loki's reasoned cultural argument, but she naturally leapt to the bait and drew on her own learning on the subject.

"Actually, Jane, I believe that most handfasts and such arrangements were more to see if the union would produce children, than to ascertain the compatibility of the man and woman," Loki replied, his mind suddenly consumed with an image of Jane, heavy with his child. He unconsciously moved his hand over her abdomen, which made Jane's eyes widen.

"Um, you did not just mention children." He could feel the panic rising up in her, taste it like a sour fruit in his mouth.

"We don't have to discuss that now," Loki said smoothly, feeling the effects of his words as her ruffled psyche calmed down a bit. "But we are most assuredly married, despite your modern Midgardian notions."

She bristled at that, poked him in the chest, which meant she had stopped holding herself far away from him. Loki, ever the opportunist, seized the moment and drew her back closely in his arms, forcing Jane to crick her neck upward to look at him.

"Well, I don't want to be married. I haven't said any vows, therefore I'm not married. Yes, I slept with you. Several times." Loki quirked an eyebrow, his eyes plainly saying that it was quite a bit more than merely sex. Jane had the grace to blush but doggedly continued, "But that does not a marriage make."

"It is magic, Jane. It is not beholden to definition."

To illustrate his point, Loki swept his fingers along her spine, stopping at a point in her lower back. "Tell me you don't feel the warmth, just there? An electric tingling wherever our bodies meet?"

Jane did feel it, but she was not about to admit it. "That's just chemistry. Just because we're experiencing a bout of temporary lust, that is not the same thing as being married!"

"Jane," Loki turned, expertly putting Jane on her back and ready for the very physical bonding he had planned. His doppel had returned with the groceries and now he could put his full attention on his new, albeit reluctant, wife. "Imagine what it would feel like to be apart from me. Really. Imagine it now."

It was difficult to do as Loki was now above her, and his hands were continuing to move. Jane imagined going back to her solitary life, where she could continue to cheerfully ignore Loki's presence on her planet. She was surprised by the strong ache the thought caused. He knew it, too, tilted her slightly so he could massage that point on her back. "Jane, you don't have a choice in the matter. The sooner you accept it, the sooner we find an acceptable path forward."

She gasped as Loki kissed her body, her nerve endings on fire. "This is not fair," she moaned. "You are insatiable…when do you intend to quit doing this to me?"

Loki grinned up at her from her tummy. "Just think of it as our honeymoon."

Jane rapidly forgot her hunger and everything else as Loki reasserted the pair bond in a very demonstrative way.

"I'm starving. Literally, starving. Please tell me you have food."

Jane was also desperately in need of a shower and some time alone to think about the crazy turn life had taken in the past 24 hours. However, she realized that Loki was not likely to yield on the "alone" part of that equation.

"Yes, I sent myself to the store for you before you woke up. Would you like to see what we have?"

Jane pushed her hair back from her face. "Yes!" At this point she didn't care where she was, nor about the status of their discussions about marriage, she needed FOOD.

Loki was amused as her tummy growled again. "Perhaps you'd like to freshen up as well." He stood and drew her to her feet, laconically surveying her. She had pulled a sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself, not that it mattered at this stage. He had seen every inch of her and she knew it as well as he did.

"You are going to have to let go of me, you know," Jane remarked, pointedly looking at his hands, which were still holding hers.

"Let me show you the bathroom," Loki said, ignoring her and drawing her along to the master bathroom. The window coverings were drawn, but he planned to make his changes while Jane had a shower. He thought he could just about stand to have her in the next room while he worked his magic.

"Towels are here, and there are toiletries in the cabinet." Jane was taking in the luxurious nature of the space, the marble surfaces and chrome faucets, sleek fixtures and lighting. She looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes dwelling on the bite he had inflicted when he first claimed her.

He touched the mark that spanned her neck and shoulder. It was a delicate circle, refreshed frequently during their bedplay. He decided it was probably best not to tell her at this particular moment that it would be permanent…a sort of tattoo from his Jotun teeth, the repeated frostbite working much the same as ink. A primitive flush of conquest and satisfaction infused his entire being whenever he saw it. He was pleased indeed.

"Does it pain you?" he asked, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

"A little," she replied honestly, and he summoned a brief flush of magic to his fingertips, smoothed the marks.

"That will help," he said, then looked up and met her eyes again, enjoyed the brief flash of wonder in her expression. "There are advantages to being married to a mage, Jane."

"I am not agreeing we are married…" she grumbled, but he could feel her aura and it was pleasant at the moment. She was not so opposed to the idea of being with him as she protested.

He was content to leave her at that, heard the shower turn on shortly after he exited the room and went to begin changing the windows to his satisfaction. His modifications would not be apparent to Midgardians, but the windows were rendered completely opaque to outside view. A Midgardian viewing them would only see reflected light. He also incorporated structural changes to the glass, making it virtually impregnable. Then he focused his attention on Jane herself. He was starting to feel a tug toward his mate as he finished the spells, growing increasingly uncomfortable being away from her. Now that he knew what it was, he recognized a powerful realignment of his magic had occurred. Every spell was passing through the filter of the pair bond. This made him frown, and he realized there could be some serious repercussions from such an effect. He would have to think about it when his mind was clearer and he had Jane settled to his satisfaction, completely secure in their mating.

Jane was in heaven with the steam shower. The heat was powerful and soothing, clearing her head and giving her precious time to think. She had lost count of the number of times they had had sex, and wryly mused that Darcy would be well satisfied with the current state of her sex life. She let out a big sigh and dropped her forehead against the shower wall. Jesus, what have I done?

Whatever else she felt about Loki, there were powerful undercurrents in play between them now. She recalled the brief time Thor had spent when he came back to explain Loki's presence, and how she was happiest being as far away from the dark and powerful god of mischief as possible. Thor had also carefully explained why he couldn't stay, nor could he offer her a visit to Asgard. It had hurt then. In a childish way, Jane had expected to get her happily ever after, but instead she was stuck with the evil stepbrother, although Thor swore he was reformed. Loki's presence on Earth was like a bitter reminder of her own mortal deficiencies, although Thor had not said anything about that. Loki's own smirk when she had left the SHIELD compound had been enough to tell her he knew exactly why she was being left behind on Earth. To think that now she might be magically married to him was beyond the pale! Yet she could no longer deny the invisible pull toward him. She could only describe it as being 'itchy'. She reached to turn off the shower irritably, deprived even of the pleasure of a long hot soak by the slowly ratcheting up need to know where he was.

"Bothersome, isn't it?" He slipped into the shower, the showerheads turning back on to just the right temperature without any touch. Jane put her forehead on his chest, crying from frustration, anger, and helplessness. It helped to touch him, as much as it galled her to admit it.

"It pisses me off! What gives you the right to…to…chain me to you this way? I didn't ask for this!" She pulled her head up abruptly, the fierce expression of her face causing him to be agitated in turn.

"And you think this is something I sought, Jane Foster? Do you have any idea how I have spent the past months, tormented by an unbidden urge to find something I couldn't name? I haven't been able to sleep, nor eat, nor get anything resembling rest. Every woman of your species has smelled foul to me, like the worst sort of garbage produced by the dwarves of Niflheim! You cannot begin to understand the pure nirvana when I caught your scent last night." Loki stopped himself, certain that his other thoughts concerning Thor and the white hot hatred he had felt for her still when he had agreed to exile on Earth would merely agitate her again when she was starting to calm down. A part of him had been furious that it would be Jane Foster, of all mortal women, the one whom he had despised, whose essence satisfied him in his unknown search for his mate. He realized that his memory of that time had subtly changed, the deep set hatred now morphing into a fervent dislike. Damn, even THAT was now tinted by the bond!

He dipped his head to smell her, a cooling and calming effect. Jane stood absolutely still, fascinated by the apparent need to smell her, of all things.

"Um, I used your shampoo, so I'm sure I don't smell exactly the same…" She peeped up at him as his green eyes opened and met hers.

"Oh Jane, if you could only understand how rich, how ambrosial you smell to me. It has nothing to do with your shampoo or perfume, and everything to do with your essence. No other woman smells like you." His voice was deep and dark, sensual like dark chocolate and just as tempting.

"Really?" He could see that she was in equal parts horrified, fascinated, and curious.

He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, smiled. "Oh yes."

She shivered. "I think I'm done with the shower."

Loki's eyes snapped open and he studied her, probed her with his magic. He rubbed her arms. "Go get something to eat. I'll be right out."

She nodded, slipped out of the shower as soundlessly as he had entered it. She toweled off, the luxurious Egyptian cotton towel far plusher than anything she had used in her lifetime. The bathrobe was convenient, her stomach driving her actions now. It was easier to focus on that than to try again to make sense of the senseless. What if she just went with it? Just went along and saw where it led?

She shoved her wet hair aside and rifled through the fridge first. She opened a yogurt and started eating it while she contemplated her choices. Loki had not said he would eat, but she assumed he would magic up whatever he wanted when it was required. In fact, now that she thought about it, it was very considerate of him to go to the grocery store for her. She was quite certain that he never did anything as prosaic as buy his own groceries, so it said something that he sent himself to the store. She laughed out loud at that thought—her new husband, for that is what he apparently was, could create an endless number of duplicates of himself to run errands!

"I could come up with quite a honey-do list for that," she murmured to herself, feeling somehow more normal for finding some humor in the situation.

"A what list?" Loki slid his arm around her waist, and those primitive instincts shouted in victory when she leaned back against him without thinking about it as she eyed the contents of the fridge drawer she had just opened.

"A honey do list…would you like some scrambled eggs? Or toast? I can't decide what to eat, but I'm starving." She turned her head to look at him, waiting for a reply.

"I am not hungry," he said, "But I can make whatever you would like."

"Hmmm, I'm not sure I trust you to make the eggs how I like them…do you have coffee?"

Loki was only half paying attention, his hands considering the weight of her still wet hair. Jane followed his eyes to the wet pieces he was fingering idly. "Do you have a hair dryer?"

Loki flicked the strands in his hands, and they fell back, perfectly dry. He repeated the process with the rest of her hair, while Jane watched the ends dance around her shoulders. "Will that suffice?"

"That is unbelievably sexy," Jane said, her mouth filter temporarily turned off. She had seen the footage of the attack on New York. Loki was an incredibly powerful magician, but seeing him use it so casually just to please her was, well, it was incredibly, um...

"Oh?" Loki's eyes showed a naughty glint, and he slid his hands underneath the robe. "You haven't seen anything yet, wife."

Jane groaned when he nibbled her ear. "It is utterly unfair that you can do that to me. What kind of magic is this? It's an unfair advantage."

Loki smiled against the skin of her neck, the bite mark glowing a bit to his Jotun eyes. "Dear Jane, since when have I ever fought fair?"