The next morning, Lana entered the kitchen to see Thor struggling with the toaster.

"Mornin'," she greeted, hiding her smile as she prepared the coffee maker.

"Lady Lana, the toasting appliance refuses to acknowledge me!" Thor complained loudly. Lana smiled slightly as she showed him how to turn it on before she turned back to the coffee machine, turning it on.

"Just Lana is plenty. I call you Thor," she pointed out absentmindedly while grabbing three mugs from the cupboard. She licked her lips before turning around, leaning her back against the counter and watching Thor.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked quickly, surprising Thor. He nodded, gesturing for her to go ahead as he paid close attention.

"How did he betray you?" she blurted out.

"Pardon?" Thor raised his eyebrows in slight confusion. Lana sighed at herself.

"You don't have to answer," she assured; "It's just, I've been wondering. You said he had betrayed you many times, but you still seem to care about him."

"He is my brother. I care for him just as I love him," Thor told.

"So?" Lana encouraged, grabbing the coffee pot and dividing the content between the three mugs.

"He always was a troublemaker. We would be at formal dinners and he would pull pranks. He would convince me to do wrong, and when we got caught he would blame me. He has even stabbed me, many times," he added.

"Wow," Lana just said, handing Thor one of the cups.

"You must remember, our lives are long. I have known my brother for past a thousand years, we have had long to gather memories as such. And stabbing is not quite as severe to a god," he added, sipping from the mug he'd been handied. Lana glanced at the heavy steam coming from it, wondering why he didn't burn himself on it before she remembered he was a literal god.

"A stab won't stop you?" she asked curiously.

"In no way. It is painful, I can assure you, but hardly ever fatal. Our shared childhood has hardly left me any marks," he told. Lana hummed in reply, holding her cup between her hands for warmth.

"What?" Thor encouraged.

"It's just... I could be wrong, but, is there any chance he is loyal to you?" she suggested.

"You did not hear me? He betrayed me, countless times," Thor reminded her.

"I know, I just... Listen, I don't have any siblings, but... It's just, if we translate it to human terms, it seems pretty small. I once broke a vase and blamed JARVIS, not because I wasn't loyal to him but because I was a kid," she explained her thought process.

"I do not doubt he would get me in trouble and let me take the fall today as well, and he is past childhood," Thor commented sadly.

"I'm sure," Lana agreed with a slight nod; "Would he really let you go down, though? Has he ever actually left you in a situation where you could have been hurt?"

Thor considered her words, gnawing on the inside of his cheek as he thought about it.

"You think he's loyal to me?" he asked.

"I think it's a possibility," Lana just said with a slight shrug. "I don't know, I'd probably stab Bucky if I had the chance, I'd still say I'm pretty loyal to him."

"I doubt you'd do such a thing," Thor commented amusedly.

"You're right," Lana admitted; "He's stronger than me, he'd win in a fight."

"That, and, you like him," Thor added, making Lana choke on her coffee. She coughed dramatically, slapping her chest before calming down.

"What?!" She hissed out bewildered.

"Do you not?" Thor asked surprised.

"No! Of course not!"

"I apologize. I misread your relationship," Thor excused, hiding his smile behind the coffee cup as he took another sip.

"Thor, there's no relationship!" Lana said adamantly.

"My mistake, lady Lana. I thought it to be some sort of playful courting, you seem so adoring," he explained it.

"We hate each other," Lana told him.

"I see," Thor hummed.

"We do!" Lana insisted.

"I am not disagreeing," Thor told, lifting his hands in surrender.

"Good," Lana muttered, grabbing the two cups and walking towards the door; "Because we do."

She returned to the bedroom to see Bucky was awake and getting dressed. Wearing only his trousers, his chest was bare. When the door opened he looked up, indifference painted on his face.

"Hey," he greeted casually.

"God! I don't like you, alright!" Lana complained, handing him his mug.

"Alright?" Bucky replied, dragging out the 'a' confused before sipping the coffee.

"I'm just saying," Lana continued with a scoff; "You're my friend, but I can't even say how that happened."

"Maybe you found my charm irresistible?" he suggested, smiling playfully as he sipped from the mug again.

"I'm finding it irresistible not to smack you," she claimed.

"I don't know why you're so angry, but let's use it," Bucky decided, putting the mug down. "Let's train."

"Now?" Lana asked surprised.

"Get dressed and meet me at the gym," Bucky just ordered, leaving the room.

Lana was already in a sour mood as she arrived at the gym, wearing an old pair of yoga pants and a long-sleeved workout shirt, and it certainly didn't help when Bucky had her run laps, forgetting that she wasn't doing PE in elementary.

"I forgot that I hate working out," she claimed with a huff as Bucky caught up to her, effortlessly following her pace.

"You forgot that I don't care. Keep going," he insisted, smirking slightly.

"Screw you!" Lana exclaimed loudly.

"You wish," Bucky retorted making Lana stop and turn to him.

"I don't! What is with everyone! I have a deep hatred for you!" she yelled angrily.

"It's called passion, Doll," Bucky claimed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Trust me, it's hatred," Lana assured.

"Really? Prove it," Bucky challenged.

"What?"

"Punch me," Bucky ordered.

"No," Lana replied oddly.

"C'mon, you know you want to," Bucky teased lightly.

"I'm not going to punch you, you wanker!"

"Awh, are you scared, Doll? Don't be, you can't get a punch in, anyway," he told her.

"You're not going to piss me off that easily," Lana told annoyed.

"I'm sure I can get you going somehow."

"Trust me, you don't," Lana said angrily.

"Shame. You piss me off, Doll," he told, almost smiling as he said it.

"Good," Lana just huffed, shaking her hands to rid her body of some of the anger that was building up.

"Hey, what do you hate most in the world?" Bucky asked.

"You," Lana replied hatefully.

"Alright," he agreed, smirking as she said that; "What do you hate about me?"

"Literally everything," she replied, trying to pass him before he grabbed her wrist, forcing her to face him again.

"C'mon, Doll, be specific," he told.

"Fine," Lana decided, pulling her arm away from him as she faced him. "I hate how you call me doll. I hate how you disagree with everything I say, not because I'm wrong, but because you think it's fun when I'm angry, I hate how you look at me, how you're always looking at me-"

"Well, you're nice to look at," he interrupted her with a self-satisfied expression on his face.

"And I hate that!" Lana continued, raising her voice with every word; "I hate how you flirt with me! I hate how you constantly make little remarks-"

"What? Like when I say I like how good your ass looks in those tights?" he suggested before being hit by a fist in his face, the strength of which surprised him slightly.

"Screw you!" Lana yelled, trying to punch Bucky again only to have her hand blocked by his hand holding her still.

"You wish. Or at least, I do," he added. Lana pulled away from him, attacking him again.

"I hate that! I hate that you're constantly making fun of me! I hate that you say all those things even though you don't mean them! I hate how you call me doll and I hate ho-" Lana continued, tears flowing out of her eyes as she punched his chest repeatedly.

"That's enough," Bucky told softly, quickly manoeuvring her so she had her back against his chest so he could hold her still.

"Calm down," he whispered, loudly, holding her as she breathed heavily. Sensing she was doing as instructed, he softened his grip so she could get her arms out. He slowly slid his hands down so they rested on her waist, not daring to let entirely go of her.

"Was that worth it?" Lana laughed with a small sniff, wiping her tears and looking away from him.

"The first punch is the hardest to throw, Doll. It's worth you being upset if it someday saves your life," he explained quietly, running his thumb up and down in a highly distracting way.

"Don't act like you care if I'm upset," Lana told, letting her head fall down.

"About that. There are some things we need to get straight," Bucky told her, stepping closer so she could feel his hard chest against her back again. Lana immediately lifted her head, opening her mouth in surprise, but before she could say anything, Bucky continued.

"I think it's funny when you're angry, I'm not denying that," he began, his lips right by her ear, his warm breath sending shivers down her neck; "But I'm not lying to you when I say that you're nice to look at, and I mean what I say every single time I say that shit. Your ass does look ridiculously good in those pants."

Lana pulled herself away, turning around to face him.

"James-"

"Go shower," Bucky interrupted, his face hardening; "Training's done for today."