You woke after only a couple hours of sleep, feeling scared and alone. You hadn't gotten sucked into the nightmare of the fire or the party, but you were still uneasy and didn't want to go back to sleep, especially not alone, where it wasn't safe. So you padded out of your room in your pajamas and made your away across the hall. You were sure you would be turned away, but you opened Loki's sitting-room door anyway. You made your way to his bedroom and cracked the door open. His eyes opened when you did and he looked over at you, half-glaring that he had been woken. You weren't actually sure he was entirely awake.

"Can I come in?" you asked him softly, scared he would turn you away. He hesitated. You knew he was thinking of the party, of how careful he'd been not to push you, to make you uncomfortable, in the couple of days it had been since the party. And now you were asking to join him in his bed. Only for sleep, but still... "Please?" you added, your voice a whisper, and that whisper betraying your fear.

He pulled back the covers on the other half of the bed and rolled over on his side, facing away from where you would be. "Fine," he relented. "Just do not tell your uncle. And close the door," he grumbled, half asleep. He wasn't being malicious, but Loki didn't do well in the morning, or with being woken. Or with letting little mortals wear away his better judgement.

You closed the door and crept into the bed. He had his back to you and stayed that way, trying to be as proper as possible. You hindered with that by curling against his back, wrapping your arms around him like he was a giant teddy bear. You finally felt safe, despite all logic, and were finally able to get some sleep.

Your alarm woke you both the next morning. You found that you were still wrapped around Loki, holding onto him for safety. You blushed when you realized what you had done while half asleep. The thought startled you and you scrambled out of the bed, turning all sorts of shades of red. Loki followed behind you, concern on his face. "Love? Are you ok?" he asked gently. You nodded, trying to reassure you both. Loki sighed heavily, looking at the fear in your eyes. "I should not have let you stay..."

"No, I'm glad you did," you replied quickly. It had been what you needed. "Just embarrassed that I asked, embarrassed that I slept in your bed with you. It's not...appropriate, but it's what I needed to be able to get any sleep." You knew you weren't explaining this well. You'd napped in the same bed as Loki before and you knew it was the party that had you on edge now.

Loki wrapped you in a hug, now that he knew what the problem was. "I am glad you came to me for help. It was soothing to have your heartbeat next to mine, to know that you were safe," he replied gently. He kissed the top of your head. "Now go get ready for school," you nodded and slipped out of his room to get dressed. You wished yet again that girls' uniforms included pants instead of skirts, but there was no choice, so you had to get over it. You also hoped that the school wouldn't be too terrible after what you'd done to the star football player, but you didn't have time to dwell on that.

You looked around for your schoolbag and lit notes, only to find that they were missing. You glared at the spot where they should have been. A note came fluttering down into your hands. <Your breakfast is getting cold> Silly trickster stole your stuff.

You sighed and went to go find him, your breakfast, and your notes. He was waiting at your table in the dining room for you. Your notes and bag were there too, as was your breakfast. At least you had an easy hunt to find all of your possessions.

You smiled brightly when you realized that Loki had convinced Helene to make you pancakes for breakfast. You grinned at him while you devoured them. "I love you," you told him between bites of pancake. He was adorable and so thoughtful and you didn't know what you had done to deserve such treatment.

"I love you too, your darling," he replied with a smile.

Tony came to bother you before you left. "Did Fury come talk to you yesterday?" he asked, sounding worried. You rolled your eyes and held up your wrist with the bangle on it as you nodded.

"He did," you said dryly. Obviously your powers were blocked and you were cleared to leave thanks to the bangle.

"Good. It's not a permanent solution. It's also not a punishment," Tony reminded you.

"I know, Fury told me yesterday,"

Tony gave you a warm smile. "I'm glad we could come up with something so you don't have to stay cooped up here while you're learning," he was extremely proud of himself. "Good luck on your AP exams. They're this week, right?" he asked. He tried to keep up with what was going on in your life, though it was hard with how busy he was.

You nodded with a small smile. "AP English Lit this morning," you agreed, then glanced at the clock. "I should get going so I can get some last minute cramming in." Tony nodded and gave you a hug once you got up from the table, wishing you luck when he did.

You handed Loki your keys as you left the dining room so he could drive you to school. You usually walked with him, but you were stressed about the exam, so you wanted him to drive. Loki didn't comment about you wanting him to drive. Instead he chose to comment about your stress over the exam. "You did not tell me that you are going to be worried all week over these tests," he grumbled.

"I told you they're important," you reminded him as you got in your car. "And that I'll play with you all day Saturday to make up for it." you reminded him. Again. You sighed. "What am I going to do with you when I'm in college?" College was harder than high school, especially if you were going to be a doctor. Loki could be incorrigible when he was bored and you'd be spending a lot of time studying.

"Hopefully continue to love me," he replied with a smirk.

"Always," you replied brightly. That part of your future you didn't plan on changing.

Ever.

"Very well. I will not complain about how much stress you are putting yourself under. Provided you do not complain about my plans for Saturday," he gave you a mischievous grin.

You sighed; it was the best offer you were going to get. "Fine. I won't complain, but it better be fun," you warned him. You promised to spend the day with him and after the week of hell exams you wanted the day to be fun.

"It will be quite enjoyable," Loki replied, his smirk still in place. You didn't quite trust his words and hoped it wouldn't just be fun for him.

*

The week flew by and managed to drag at the same time. You spent every moment you could cramming for exams and were stressed out mess the entire week. You barely slept and there were dark smudges under your eyes by the end of the week. Loki seemed less and less happy about the exams as the week went on, but he kept his word and didn't complain. He did badger you into sleeping and eating. The only way you even got naps was when he either let you use him as a pillow or plushie. He didn't mind that part, though, but kept trying to make you stay longer and actually rest.

He was only grudgingly allowed in the library where the exams took place during the exams. He had to stay at the circulation desk with the proctor of the exam, so he couldn't be accused of helping you cheat.

At least since you were trapped in AP exams all week, the students couldn't be upset with you over the football jock. They didn't see you and you didn't see anyone over your notes. The entire school was a nervous wreck over exams.

You nearly sagged in relief on Friday afternoon when your last exam was over.

Loki made sure you got back to your car the second classes were over on Friday afternoon and nearly shoved you into it. "Loki," you grumbled, tired and brain-dead after a week of hell exams.

"I put up with you killing yourself all week without complaining, because these tests were important to you. No more," he told you firmly. He drove you back home more quickly than you would have liked, and was opening your car door for you before you could even think to open it yourself. Gods, you were tired. He hauled you out of the car, his movements were still gentle, but insistent. "I let you kill yourself for these exams. Let me take care of you now," you should have fought him, but you nodded wearily. You'd let him do this today and figure out how to do something equally caring for him later. He swept you up into his arms and carried you into the compound. You just laid your head on his shoulder, too drained to do anything else. He set you on your feet in your bedroom and steered you towards your bathroom door. "There's a hot bubble bath and a novel waiting for you. Go relax, darling," he bid you, propelling you through the door and closing it firmly behind you, with him still on the other side.

He wouldn't put you in a situation where you'd be uncomfortable. So he was taking care of you, while making sure you felt safe about it.

You sighed and couldn't remember a time you'd ever been ordered so firmly to relax before. However, the hot bath was inviting and so full of bubbles, so you did as you were told and climbed in, though you hadn't taken a bath in years. There were candles floating around the room and the promised book was on the ledge of the tub. It was a fluff novel you'd been meaning to read, something light that didn't take much brain power.

You opened the book, intending to relax. You shrieked and dropped it in the water instead when it started talking. You fished it out quickly, cursing, but it wasn't hurt at all. Loki must've put a spell on it. You cracked it open and the words began again. It was Loki's voice, reading the story. You smiled and set it on the ledge, open, so you could hear his words while you enjoyed the hot relaxing water. The water never cooled, though you knew you had been in there long enough that it should have.

/Darling/ you heard Loki's voice in your mind. /Helene will be quite upset with me if I let you miss dinner/

I'm coming You thought back at him, using the trick of a mortal mind, not telepathy to reply. You hadn't used your powers all week and was finally starting to feel less raw and ripped open because of them. Tomorrow would be the last day of freedom before you had to start training hard on control. But that was a problem for Sunday. Tonight, you got out of the tub to find fluffy pajamas waiting for you on the sink. Once you were dressed, you left the bathroom to find Loki waiting for you on the other side of the door. He gave you a real smile then.

"You look like you are feeling better," he told you warmly, looking extraordinarily proud of himself.

"I am. Thank you."

Helene had made one of your favorite meals for dinner. You had a feeling that she had noticed how stressed you were too. You thanked her sincerely for it, still surprised by how many people here legitimately cared about you. You spent the evening with the rest of the supers watching Avengers movies. They skipped Superhero Musical in consideration to your reaction to it last time.

This time when they looked to Loki to say the lines from the Avengers movie, he got off the couch the first time to say them instead of making them harass him to do it. You got to laugh at his silly antics, which was just as relaxing as anything else he could have planned. You did all watch Frozen and Loki looked more and more upset when the supers kept calling him 'Elsa' for the rest of the night. you just laughed and he finally thawed.

It was fairly early when Loki convinced you to go to bed. You didn't complain too hard, though. You were exhausted after a week of hell and only gave him a token resistance. You promised yourself that that night you would be brave and stay in your own bed and not go seeking comfort from him.

You hoped you would be able to keep that promise to yourself.

It wasn't fair to Loki to keep having to take care of you.