I heard the music as soon as the door opened; Tony had a habit for blaring music as loud as he could. It thrummed in my chest like it did at Christmas, but it didn't quite catch me off guard this time. I took a deep breath and followed closely to Wanda, my hands sweating a little as we reached the top of the staircase. The whole lounge area was covered in swarming crowds, it seemed like there was even more than Christmas. A lump started to build up in my throat, but Wanda just put a steady hand on my back and slowly guided me down the stairs.

I almost immediately spotted the Barton family, around the same time Lila spotted us. She came rushing up to me with a big grin on her face and I crouched down to pick her up. I put a grin on my face, though it wasn't hard to make it real.

"Hey Lila." I said, resting her on my hip while being careful of my dress. "I swear you've grown since I last saw you." I readjusted my grip on her as I felt her slip a little.

"It hasn't been that long." She giggled, running a hand though my slightly curled hair. "You look really pretty."

"Thank you very much." I smiled at her, leaning back a little to admire her dress. "So do you. You could pass as royalty I reckon." She was wearing a small dark blue dress and had her brown hair out, hanging over her shoulders with a small silver clip to the left side of her head, which matched her shining silver shoes. "I love the little clip."

"Mumma said I should wear it." Lila replied, reaching up to touch the clip in her hair. "It feels really weird though, I don't like it." She pulled a face and I chuckled.

"How's my little munchkin going?" Nat interrupted, walking over to pinch Lila's cheeks gently once she had finished talking to Laura.

"Auntie Nat!" The little girl squealed, pulling away from Nat before reaching out to be held by her.

"Auntie Nat?" I repeated, putting a hand to my chest and huffing in mock offence. "How come I don't get called Auntie Emily?"

"'Cause I like Auntie Nat more." Lila grinned cheekily and I opened my mouth in over-exaggerated shock. Nat snorted and grinned at me, relief sparkling in her eyes at how relaxed I had become.

"You did not just say that." I said, looking at Lila with a raised eyebrow. "You are going to pay for that!" I immediately began to tickle her, causing her to squeal and wriggle around in Nat's arms.

"Okay, okay!" She squealed after a couple of seconds. "I'm sorry!" I stopped tickling her and she gave me puppy-dog eyes, which made me chuckle a little. "You can be Auntie Emi than." I smiled even more, and Nat gently set her back down on the floor when she spotted a plate of food coming closer.

"That is probably the happiest I have seen you the whole week." Nat commented as we both watched Lila run off. I smiled slightly and took a pasty off one of the trays being carried around by a waiter.

"Well, who can resist little kids?" I shrugged and Nat smiled, nodding before someone interrupted us.

"Nice of you girls to finally show up." Said Steve as we both turned around. "I thought you were going to be in there forever. How long does it take for someone to get ready?"

"You've got to look nice for a party." Nat defended, folding her arms.

"Still doesn't explain why you were in there for so long." Steve grinned and I couldn't help but grin and raise my eyebrows when I saw a faint shade of blush creep along her cheeks.

"I'll leave you two alone." I grinned at her, causing her to blush even more. It was a rare sight to see Natasha Romanoff flustered.

"But I can't leave you alone." She pointed out and I opened my mouth to tell her I would be fine close to the Bartons when a new voice spoke up.

"She'll be fine with me." Loki's voice said from behind me and I turned around to look up at him surprised.

Nat swallowed her smile, though she couldn't help but throw a grin over her shoulder at me when Steve led her away. I rolled my eyes and turned to face Loki again, taking a deep breath.

"Some party isn't it?" His lips twitched faintly in a smile as he looked down at me.

"Well, it is Tony." I pointed out, grabbing a glass of champagne from a tray passing by. "What do you expect?" I raised the glass to my lips but almost immediately, he snatched it out of my hand.

"You don't know if it is spiked." He warned me, putting it back on a different tray as I gave him a look.

"I'm not going all of the way to the bar just to get a drink." I nodded to the bar, which was barely visible because of the crowd of people.

"No need." Loki replied and I turned back to face him to see a glass of champagne in his hand. I raised one eyebrow and he smiled at me. "Conjuration."

I smiled softly, unable to help myself from chuckling under my breath as I took the glass and took a sip, only to have my mouth filled with a burst of peach. He must have noticed my wide eyes at the perfect taste, because he chuckled and conjured up another one as I finished the first.

"I won't be doing that all night." He smiled as I quickly finished the second. "You'll hate me in the morning otherwise." I sighed but knew he was right. "Come on, lets sit down."

He led me over to a spare couch and we sat down heavily. He conjured up me a glass of water, which I sipped on slowly as we talked. It was relaxed conversation, a normal conversation, something that we hadn't had in a very long time.

Occasionally, when the crowd moved, I caught sight of some of the others. Nat was talking to Steve at the bar, both of them laughing. Tony was talking with various people, his arm wrapped around Pepper's waist. I spotted Clint at one point too, Cooper resting on his hip.

Loki and I got up after a little while to grab some food off the big buffet table before we sat down again at a table to eat, picking up our conversations again. Wanda came over briefly with Vision just to check up on me, but once she saw me with Loki, she winked at me and walked away with her arm linked with Visions. I rolled my eyes, blushing softly and trying to hide my face when I realised Loki was watching me too.

It was about ten o'clock when we finished eating, chucking our paper plates into the bin nearby. Loki let me have another one of his champagnes and we stood at the window, looking out at the endless forest beyond the compound.

"Why?" I blurted out suddenly without even thinking properly, tearing my gaze away from the trees to look up at him. "Why are you doing this for me? You could be enjoying yourself much more, mingling with other people, hanging out with your brother." I nodded to Thor, who was sitting at a table with a big group of people around him as he drowned glass after glass of beer with everyone else cheering him on.

"First of all," Loki winced slightly at the sight of Thor, "I don't drink beer. Second of all, I am not a very sociable person. Thirdly... well, you need someone to watch you tonight."

"Yeah, but you weren't originally selected for that role." I pointed out. "You volunteered. Why?"

"You're my friend." Loki shrugged, looking back outside. "Why wouldn't I help you out?"

I didn't really have an answer for that, my eyes slowly drifting back to the window too. I know he said we were friends, he had twice now, but that... that kiss, it felt different. Not like something friends would do. But I suppose it didn't really count since I had pulled away; maybe he thought I didn't feel the same way as he? I sighed quietly, sipping on my drink. Love, or whatever he was feeling, was something I had no experience in at all. It was complicated and the last thing I needed in my life was something complicated.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom." I murmured softly, setting my glass of water down on the table next to the window, only for it to disappear in a flash of green.

I stared at the empty spot before I stepped away from him and began to weave through the crowds. The loud music and conversations thrummed in my chest as I winced every time someone brushed up against me. Though over it all, I still managed to catch the sound of someone's footsteps following close behind me; something I had easily learnt to identify at HYDRA. I spun around, my hand darting towards the knife hidden in my dress, only to realise it was Loki. He raised an eyebrow, stopping a couple of steps behind me.

"You don't have to follow me to the bathroom." I sighed softly, letting my hand drop to my side again.

"I do." He shook his head gently. "Unless you want to be kidnapped."

I winced a little and I saw the regret instantly flash in his eyes, but I kept going before he could say anything, not wanting to focus on HYDRA too much.

"Fine." I murmured. "But you are not coming in, you can wait outside."

He smiled slightly, stuffing his hands into his pockets and leaning against the doorframe as we reached the bathrooms. My eyes immediately darted around the bathroom when I got in, just to make sure there was no one waiting for me. When I stepped back out of my cubicle, I washed my hands, sighing softly at the faint rings under my eyes. Hopefully after tonight, I would be able to stop stressing and maybe get some proper sleep.

As I opened the door, a tall large figure appeared out of the corner of my eye. I scrambled backwards, immediately reaching into my purse and pulling out my gun in a speed even I couldn't' comprehend. I hadn't practiced quick draws in a little while, but now, it didn't keep like I needed too. I immediately shot at the figure as they took a step forward, only for green bubble to light to appear all around them, throwing the bullet to the side. The figure slowly stepped out of the shadows and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was only Loki.

"God, I'm sorry." I breathed, immediately dropping my hand as my adrenaline spiked. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that." His worried eyes darting over my face as I tucked my gun back into my purse. "You knew I was there, why did you shoot?"

"I just saw a six-foot-something male figure standing in the shadows." I murmured. "I wasn't exactly thinking straight and I freaked."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but Wanda suddenly came rushing up the stairs, red light already dancing around her fingers. I immediately tensed, worried that something had happening downstairs.

"Are you okay?" She asked before I could. "I heard gun shots." My eyes widened in realization and I breathed out softly, shaking my head.

"It's fine." I murmured. "False alarm."

She looked over me carefully for a couple of seconds before nodding and lowering her hands. She was just about to walk down the stairs when someone ran head first into her, knocking her to the floor. As I lurched forward in alarm, I realised it was Nat, a knife that had been hidden in her dress now held to Wanda's throat.

"Whoa Nat, it's me." Wanda held her hands up, causing Nat's eyes to widen.

"Sorry." She breathed out heavily, offering a hand to pull her up. "I thought you were an attacker."

To say we were on edge was anunderstatement.