Darkness enveloped the room and the only light visible was the faint lighting in the hallway. I curled up into a ball in my cocoon of blankets on my bed and got comfortable. Something bothered me and wouldn't let me fall asleep. How did S.H.I.E.L.D. know we were at Tony's place? How did they know where to look? Thoughts sped through my mind and I couldn't slow them down.

A dark figure lurked passed the door and down the other end of the hall. I got out of bed, grabbed my shoes, and followed them. If it was Peter or Clint, I could talk to them about me being bothered. I didn't want to wake up Steve, especially since he hadn't been getting a lot of rest lately. The figure walked out of the passageway leading upstairs and closed it behind them.

Odd...The thought drifted across my mind and faded away. I used a pink portal to get out to not draw any suspicion. None of us would have closed the passageway. That's too weird, especially since they could forget the pass code and be locked out. It was one in the morning. What could they be doing up?

The figure opened the door, and that's when I realized it was Ira sneaking out. She threw on a black jacket and walked out onto the fresh snow, closing the door behind her. I trailed far behind her, trying not to attract any attention. This is going to be cold... I put my shoes on as fast as I could before I stepped out onto the white blanket of snow. I pulled my sweatshirt closer to my body to maintain warmth and refrained from sniffing from my nose. The cold nipped at it and irritated it, causing it to turn red.

The snow crunched with every step Ira took as she headed towards her destination. New Year's fireworks boomed in the distance, making her more jumpy than usual. She stopped when she saw a shadow in the distance, but as it got closer, she realized it was only a fox. She stayed in place for a second, narrowing her eyes and watched defensively until it walked the other way. Ira shook her head and continued on her plan. I hid behind a tree in the distance, but when she got to her destination, I snuck closer to inspect the scene.

She strolled into a small open area. White snow glistened in the moonlight as it covered the floor and the leaves in the trees around her. An owl made noises in the distance, but everything else was silent. She rubbed her hands together and huffed when she noticed she could see her own breath. Her eyes glanced around as if she were looking for someone. Ira grinned from ear-to-ear, showing her white teeth when she caught sight of him.

Loki.

Ira walked towards him quickly, each footstep longer than the last. Loki turned around upon hearing the noise and smirked slyly when he saw her. His blue eyes squinted, taking in every inch of her in admiration. His thin black hair seemed frosted into place by gel, sweat, or the cold. His pale skin radiated in the moonlight and revealed the sweat dripping down his forehead.

Sweat in this cold weather? He looks like a drug addict that needs a fix... I thought and hid behind a tree. Anger flashed through my mind, but I brought it down to a simmer. I needed a clear mind right now. Getting caught over doing something stupid would ruin everything. I've already gotten this far.

"I've missed you," Ira purred in content. She ran her fingers down his black and green coat and looked up at him.

Loki dismissed her comment and changed the subject, "How is your mission going? Any progress?"

Ira snorted, "My job couldn't be any easier. Finding their weaknesses was a breeze, although I do have to put up with their annoying qualities too." Ira crossed her arms and continued, "Clint is a slob in love with a female brute. Natasha calls herself a master assassin, yet she's oblivious to what side I'm on. Steve is a patriotic little shit. He thinks he knows everything and tries to do good, but he's still overcome by his past. Bruce is a hothead who can't keep his cool. He's a genius, but he doesn't really contribute to the team. Tony is selfish, however, he really does care about the team even if he doesn't show it often. That's his weakness. Peter is childish and he loves his dear cousin Lilly too much. And Lilly..." She trails off for a second and laughed, "she's an emotional walking time bomb that can be set off once we kill some members of the group."

Emotional walking time bomb?! My eyes narrowed and I clenched my teeth to keep at bay. How did he find her? How is he back on earth? A cold breeze picked up and blew through my hair, sending chills down my spine. I pinned myself against the tree to keep still.

Loki took in all the information and nodded. "Ah yes, the Black Widow. I had a delightful conversation with her once. She actually fooled me, but now I'm getting back at her. Tony? He thinks he is all high and mighty. Thinking that the Avengers will avenge the world once we've taken it over is a childish idea. We'll kill them before we start our reign." His icy eyes stared blankly at the forest for a few seconds before getting back onto the topic. "I had Hawkeye wrapped around my finger once. That's how I know some of their backgrounds."

"Oooooo, that's kinky," Ira winked and let out a small laugh.

Loki rolled his eyes and he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The muscle in his jaw twitched and his smile faltered. "You're doing great work. Keep it up."

He turned to leave until Ira spoke up, "Wait. This is the first time you've seen me in weeks, and you're just going to leave me?" She stood back and frowned, watching him stop in his tracks. She almost sounded hurt by his actions.

Of course she's hurt. She's still in love with this crazy guy. I internally groaned. She was going to put up a fight later, but we had to be ready. I wanted to turn back to go tell the rest of the group so we could ambush her when she came back, but that wouldn't be the best idea. I had to see if Loki brought up any more of his plan. I had to stay here and follow her back.

Loki strolled back over to her and kissed her, quickly and full of power. She nearly swooned after he backed away, and Loki brushed the black hair out of her gray eyes. "I never truly leave you. I'm always with you in spirit. We just have to be separated to keep our cover. One day soon, we'll be inseparable." With that, he left out into the forest.

Ira stayed in her place for a second, running her fingers across her lips. She giggled to herself out of joy and watched his figure fade away into the shadows of the trees. She turned on her heel and headed back towards the safe house.

She's like putty in his hands. I exhaled silently and followed her back. I made sure to keep my distance, but it seemed like she wasn't paying any attention at all to her surroundings. She looked like she was in a daze. She must be thinking about him right now. I thought and kept glancing around to make sure we were alone. I would hate for Loki to come back and find me tailing behind her.

Ira got inside and tripped over one of the chairs in the darkness before getting to the keypad. She cursed to herself and opened the passageway, making sure to close it behind her. Once I was knew she was inside, I quickly made my way into the cabin and down the stairs using a blue portal.

I tiptoed over to my room once I heard the clicking sound of Ira's door shut. I closed the door and quietly sighed, my head reeling from her encounter with Loki. A slight tinge of pain and utter betrayal fluttered in my chest. How could she do this to us? To Sif? To all of Asgard? She betrayed us all. And for what? For this...this villain? My hands curled up into fists and my eyes narrowed. She won't get away with this. I stood at the door for a second until I felt another presence in the room.

I twirled around and threw my fist at the person. They caught my hand and held it there before whispering, "Lilly, it's me."

"Steve?" I exhaled and dropped my hand to my side. Jesus...I could have punched him where his wound was. Even if he had healed completely, it still would have hurt a lot. I was only defensive because Mystique used to sneak into places all the time, and it had just become a habit to attack when someone wasn't made known to me. I turned the end table light on, illuminating only a small part of the room. The room only held common furniture like Tony had: a bed, a dresser, a chair and a desk. It was simple, yet inexpensive to put in every room. "Why aren't you asleep?"

He ignored the question. "Where have you been?" His eyes narrowed, making the bags under them more noticeable. Steve's blue eyes were red and irritated, and his face seemed pale. He crossed his arms over his chest and focused on me.

I diverted the conversation, "Why are you in my room?"

"I came in here and you were gone, so I stayed." He didn't move a muscle and studied me as much as he could.

I shifted my weight to my other leg and hesitated. I have to tell him. I can't let something like this wait until the morning. He'd be so pissed at me, along with the rest of the team. But if I woke anyone else up now, that would be too suspicious. He's already here, so might as well tell him. I contemplated. "I followed Ira out. She's a double agent and is romantically involved with Loki. She met with him and they're trying to find our weaknesses." Before I could say any more, Steve let out a small groan of frustration. "Look, I know. We can never catch a break. But, if we catch her off guard, we can capture her and find a way to make her tell us everything."

"We need...we need to tell the others," he said quietly and moved towards the door.

My hand latched onto his arm and held him back. "Let's get a good night's sleep for now. Loki is still close by. We don't want to trigger suspicion or anything." Steve nodded and sighed as he sat down on my bed. He stared at the wall blankly. It surprised me that he didn't have a rebuttal or a better idea. Something was bothering him. I sat down next to him, making sure to face him to show he had my undivided attention. "Why did you come in here? Is something wrong?"

Steve's eyebrow twitched for a second. He didn't move to speak until I put my hand on his. His lips parted, but he hesitated. "Everyone's either sleeping or drunk off their asses. I had no one else to turn to." A firework went off in the distance, booming loudly. He flinched and looked towards our hands.

"Oh, Steve..." I gasped softly. How could I not realize this before? He gets put into a flashback or paranoia enough...but I never took a moment to think of what kind of effect the fireworks could have on him. One of the guys I worked with in Hydra had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and would always be on edge when something loud occurred. I knew Steve showed symptoms of it, but he always bottled stuff inside. He could've had it all along and didn't share it with anyone to keep them from worrying.

Steve bit his lip and shut his eyes. "I just...I just keep thinking it's a tank firing at us or something...I grab my shield and have the urge to bring everyone together to protect them..." He trailed off and opened his eyes. His lip quivered until I pulled him into a big hug. I ran my fingers through his short blond hair, playing with the ends of it hoping it would help comfort him. He continued, "I get scared of losing everyone. I've already lost so much..." He paused, but then chuckled, "I hate not being able to enjoy it. It makes the night of my birthday a lot less pleasing."

I pulled back from the hug with a puzzled look on my face. "Steve Rogers, you are Captain America, one of the biggest symbols of freedom and righteousness for this country, and you were born on the same day this country was founded? You've got to be joking."

He laughed a little bit, even if some of it seemed forced. He was fighting through the pain. "I'm not joking. I was born on July fourth, 1918." Steve jumped as another firework went off and his face paled even more than it already was.

I lie down on the bed and moved to make room for him. "Come here." I had to distract him somehow, so I wanted to make him comfortable while getting his mind off of it. He was reluctant and a small amount of color swept across his features out of shyness. We didn't sleep next to each other while we were on the run, so this was new to him. I always slept next to Peter so Steve wouldn't feel uncomfortable. "Steve, it's okay. Lay down."

He did as I said and looked into my eyes when his head hit the pillow. His lips contorted into a frown. "I'm sorry, Lilly." The expression in his eyes, so lost and so broken, hurt me. He had no clue what to do or how to get through the night without freaking out. He was scared and had every right to be.

"No, no, don't be sorry. Don't apologize for this." I played with his hair more and it seemed to calm him down a bit. Without even thinking, I started singing, "I had a dream, dear. You had one, too. Mine was the best dream because it was of you." His expression softened a bit and he wrapped his arm around me to get comfortable. I remember he sang this to me while I cried after I told Peter I couldn't have children. It was extremely calming and sweet to hear simultaneously. I continued, "Come, sweetheart, tell me. Now is the time. You tell me your dream, and I'll tell you mine."

Another firework went off, causing Steve to pull me closer and shut his eyes. I sang the same verse again, hoping it would sound like a lullaby to him. He had me so close that my face was extremely close to his, making me nervous. He didn't even notice and fell asleep. I sat there for a few minutes, wishing I could kiss him. That would definitely take his mind off of the celebration outside. We haven't had our first kiss yet, and the first was always nerve racking. After that, it would be a breeze. It was just another barrier to break down in our relationship, but that would have to wait until next time.