For a moment, Loki looked at her with an expression that was a mixture between surprise and vague confusion. Not because of her problem, really - men and women (and for that matter, anyone who felt attraction for one another) were destined for instance after instance of miscommunication.

No, the real surprise for him was the fact she wanted to discuss this with him at all. "You're asking for my relationship advice?" he asked, starting to grin about halfway through the question at the complete strangeness of it all. In his experience, most people wouldn't breach this subject with him if there was someone better available, and 'better' could even mean inanimate objects.

However, it was pretty clear that that was exactly what she wanted, so he tried to continue on without any more issue. "I'm not sure," he said. "I guess the two things that spring to mind are that he doesn't feel like he's ready for you yet, and keeps forgetting every time you flash all those teeth at him. Or maybe he thinks he doesn't deserve you and sends you away out of self penance - and, again, forgetting every time. Men are very forgetful." The second answer came easiest to him because, naturally, he was guilty of that himself, a long time ago. Proud and arrogant, yes, but his self-worth had still been remarkably low in the trials of love.