So that was my life for the next few weeks. It was peaceful as it was maddening.

No missions meant more time to focus on my investigation. So far, I still couldn't figure out the password to Dr. Bahl's drive and that was frustrating. I knew Amid was going to strike. I just didn't know when and where.

I had followed Dr. Franz' advice about trusting the Avengers. I started to face them more and more instead of hiding myself away. It was difficult and it took a month of two for me to do so. It started with actually showing up for breakfast in the morning. I sat between Natasha and Bucky because that's where I felt the safest.

Soon, I started to go out with them in post-mission dinners. There was still tension with Stark and his part of the team. We can't forget the whole Civil War thing. I knew they didn't trust me but I can't come clean just yet. There's things I have to do and until those things are done, I'm just gonna have to suck it up and put some faith in the Avengers because by the end of the day, they are still my team.

I must sound so pathetic but I'm trying to change.

I really am.

I'm trying my hardest.

My phobia is getting easy to control.

Kinda.

Okay. Not really.

It's a working progress.

Nat took me to crowded club and my heart didn't race as much as long as she was next to me but the moment she disappeared, I started panicking a little. So there's still a lot more to fix but at least I'm making progress.

Bruce was kind enough to fix the cuffs so that they no longer hurt me. He made sure that they could just direct the impulses through the skin than digging into to me and locating a nerve. I had to thank him for that, I was no longer on pain meds.

However, I still kept taking the anxiety meds. I would have to learn how to ween off. That would take time to do.

Overall, my life wasn't hellish as it was a couple of months ago. It's was decent.

Was it all right? No. There were a lot of things I needed to fix.

Speaking of one of those things I needed to fix......my relation with one particular Avenger.

No, it wasn't Stark. I wish but my relationship with Stark was as cold and unforgiving as the Artic.

I'm talking about Loki, the 'honorary' Avenger.

While I was being benched from missions, Loki was basically told he had to either work with the Avengers or go back to a cell in Asgard. I actually thought that he would have chosen the cell but to my surprise (as well as the Avengers,) he chose to work with them.

This was odd and unpredictable so naturally nobody was really trusting him to have their backs.

"Loki, do you want to go to a bookstore with me since you're so bored in this big, ugly Midguardian building?" I asked him as I wrapped a scarf around my neck and slipped on my gloves.

"As much as I would love to I think you forget the fact that I cannot go out without an official Avenger which you are not," he said as he put his book down. "Why ask me?"

"You like books. I like books. What's the problem?"

"Is this what you humans call a date?" He purred.

"You wish," I scoffed.

I turned around to find Loki staring at me with blue eyes this time but then they switched slowly to emerald green. I could feel him digging around in my head for something but I had gotten so used to it that I am now very good at hiding what I was thinking. At the moment, I was thinking of kittens and what I would name one if I had one.

"I can't go," he said finally. "As much as I would like to you can just take my oaf of a brother with you."

"That could work."

"What could work?" Irritation clear in his voice as he got up.

"We should bring Thor with us."

"Us?"

"Yes, Loki. Us? As in we?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"I know what 'us' means, Midguardian. But why are you so adamant on making sure I leave the tower? It's odd for someone as aloof as you," he said as he picked up the book again.

"Because I want more books to read and Our Super Assassins are busy. You have ten minutes to get ready or I'm getting Thor," I said as I basically pushed Loki out the door.

----------

So there we were.

Two gods and screwed up human trudging through New York City trying to find a certain old book shop.

Loki was walking through the streets of New York with ease as he trailed behind Thor.

Me. Not so much.

This was a little bit more difficult. I had to control my heartbeat and make sure that my breathing was normal. Thor asked me if I was okay at least twice but I waved him off saying that it was just the cold.

Loki didn't seem to buy it at he kept on glancing at me.

"Grab onto my sleeve," he said.

"What?" I looked over at him, perplexed.

"Just do it. You look like you're going to faint, Midguardian."

He offered his arm and he was right, my knees felt shaky just being out here so I grabbed onto the sleeve of his jacket for support.

That was odd and unusual for Loki. Looks like I wasn't the only one who was trying to change.

I kept it to myself.

I didn't want to hurt his pride or his ego.

"How much farther till this store, Lady Maya?" Thor asked impatiently.

"It's only a block away," I said. "You know what odd?"

"Please, do tell me."

"Nobody's staring at the two of you."

It was odd. Here was two gods--one being an Avenger and another being the one who almost destroyed Manhattan a couple of years ago.

Weren't the Avengers celebrities or something?

"You're right. Usually people ask me for something called an autograph. It's odd that we've been walking through this city and not one 'fanboy', as Stark puts it, has asked me for anything," Thor mused. "Loki?"

"Why must you always think that it is me?"

"You are the god of Mischief and Lies," I pointed out.

Loki shot me a glare.

"I know, mortal."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "You know what I mean."

"Fine," he huffed. "I've glamoured us so that nobody bothers us. I don't think humans would appreciate that man who nearly decimated this city walking around so freely."

"Fair enough." I shrugged. "Wait! I thought you didn't have any magic left?"

"I said I didn't have much magic left. This is all I can spare so be grateful."

"I think we've made it to our destination," he said as he stopped.

The store was named Hal's Books and if I was right, they had the books I needed. It was a three story brick building that was nestled between a coffee house and a boutique. Cozy, comfy and obsolete. Just the way I liked it.

"Perfect," I purred as I let go of his arm and walked up to the door. Thor beat me to it and open the door for me. "Thanks."

The store smelled of old books and there were an endless number of shelves with many old and worn out books. Gods only knew if I could fine what I needed.

I was immediately browsing through some books towards the front of the window when I heard a large thump. I dismissed it, continuing my search for another book to add to my collection when I heard it again.

"And there be another one," the cashier, whose name was Hal, said. "Blasted birds keep smashing into my window. Shouldn't have kept those trees as decor."

I turned around to see as a small bird hit the window. It hit it with a soft thunk and then bounced off, landing on the street.

It was a tiny little thing that could easily fit into the palm of my hand. Overall it seemed fine until I noticed how it's wing was askewed. If tried to fly up to the window sill, barely making it as it hoped around.

"It has a broken wing," I said.

"Eh," the cashier shrugged. "Cats will probably get it. They usually get the birds that bump into my glass."

I tried focusing on the book in my hand but my gaze kept being drawn to the bird on the window sill. It was just a regular sparrow that hurt itself. I knew it was gonna die. That how things were. So maybe that's why I walked out of the book store and caught it before it could hop away.

The sparrow struggled in my hands and nipped at my thumb. Eventually it gave up. I was scared and made alarmed chirping noises that attracted the attention of Loki and Thor.

"Lady Maya, you are aware that there is a bird in your scarf?" Thor pointed at the bird that was wrapped in my scarf, I didn't want it to freeze to death or move around. "May I ask why?"

"Why not, Thor?"

I gently petted the sparrow on its head, carful not to put too much pressure on it. It pecked at my index finger, still not ready to trust me.

"It is a bird with a broken wing. Leave it be to die, Maya." Loki said as he tried to pulled the bird away. I took it back and glared at him.

"No." I simply said.

"It's loud."

"It's scared."

"It will shed feathers."

"It's a bird."

"It will be a distraction in our room," he growled.

"Out room?" I repeated. "You mean my room, jackass."

"Brother, there is no arguing with her. Just let her keep the bird."

"Thor, you can't be---"

"You blokes bicker like a married couple. Just let the girl keep the bloody bird and buy something, will you?" The cashier groaned as he gave us a look.

I cleared my throat and pushed my stack of books towards him.

"Sorry about that."

-------

By the time we had left the bookstore, it was dusk. Thor trailed behind Loki and I like a parent supervising a date.

I had ended up buying two bagfuls of just books on geography and fiction. Trix was tucked safely into my scarf. I would try to fix its wing once I got back to the tower.

Loki was kind enough to buy some for himself mainly about the mystical arts and the history of the world. Maybe he needed it for the next time he would take over earth. Whenever that would be.

"I must say," Loki said. "This book store is nice. Plenty of books to chose from and at very decent prices. You've managed to do one thing right, Midguardian. But is the bird really necessary?"

"I know and yes."

Loki rolled his eyes. "We should do this more often."

"Go to bookstores?"

"Yes."

"Does Thor have to come with us?" I asked.

No offense to the God of Thunder but bringing him along was like bringing along an annoying girlfriend who wanted attention. He would just sit there, complaining about how he hated confining spaces and how the place smelled.....old.

He was more than ecstatic when Loki and I finished browsing through the books.

"Odin's beard, no." Loki said.

Did he just say Odin's beard? That's an actual saying? I thought Thor only said it to mess with the rest of the Avengers.

"I heard that, Loki."

---------

The Avengers have heard a lot of weird questions ask. Some were from SHIELD agents and the others were by some very crazed fans. This particular question made them slightly concerned or extremely perplexed or downright skeptical.

"I'm sorry but what?" Tony asked again. "She adopted a bird without my permission?"

"That is not the point, Stark. How many times do I have to say it?" Thor ran his hands through his hair. "Fine. Do you think Loki is possibly courting Lady Maya?"

"Courting?" Pietro snorted. "If you mean trying to get into her---"

"Pietro!" Wanda hissed.

"You think Loki is trying to hit on Maya?" Steve raised his eyebrow. "Thor, these two don't get along at all. They can stand each other only during breakfast and when there's a book in their hands."

"They're like Sodium bicarbonate and water. It just doesn't mix," Bruce said. "Unless you add a buffer."

"These two fight and are constantly at each other's throats. The only thing they have in common is their interest in books and their preference for solitude." Vision pointed out.

"Perhaps you don't understand. Correct me if I am wrong but if a man is interested in a maiden----"

"Or vise versa."

"Or a man in another man."

"Or a girl in another girl."

"---On Asguard," Thor continued. "They would spend time with each other in the presence of a chaperone if they were courting."

"So you think that because Maya and your brother went to a bookstore and asked you to come with them that this might have been a date?" Steve asked. "That Loki is interested in Maya for some goddamned reason?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's get one thing straight," Clint said from his side of the couch. "Maya is way too asexual for that. She's not the type for dates and such. She thinks that stuff only happens in cheesy nineties rom-coms."

"And Loki thinks love a something to be exploited," Nat said. She scowled deeply at that little 'chat' they had on the hellicarrier.

"Whoa. Love?" Pietro asked. "Isn't that a bit intense. I thought we were just talking about 'courting' or whatever it is."

"Since when do you know Maya?" Tony asked.

"It's called talking to people, Stark. You should try it."

"I do talk to Maya."

"Sassing her and getting underneath her skin isn't 'talking' to her," Natasha said. "And why would Loki want to court her? No offense but she is pretty rough around the edges."

"That's why I've come to you with this issue. I do not know if he is planning something or his interest in her is genuine. I don't think it's the latter, though." Thor rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with this topic. "I do not know."

"Thor, Maya and Loki are more like frenemies. They could be friends but then they could be each other's enemies. Don't worry about it," Bruce said.

"Besides," Clint shrugged. "They just invited you along because Loki is an 'honorary' Avenger and Maya is an Avenger-in-training. Protocol states that they need an official member there so that they don't get in trouble."

"So it was just protocol?" Thor asked. "It is nothing more?"

"Don't sweat it, Point Break. A criminal and and the newbie won't be hooking up, that's for sure." Tony said laughing to himself on his hilarious it would be.

---------

"What are they saying?" I asked as Loki looked into his scrying bowl which was just a soup bowl with some dark liquid potion stuff in it.

"They are discussing us," he said, slightly perplexed.

"Did we do something wrong? Did you do something wrong?" I looked up from the sparrow in my hands. "I swear I apologized for setting that guy on fire on that mission in Italy."

There was a long story about one of my first missions where we went to Italy and may have pissed off the mob.

"It's not that. Hush now, Imp. I'm trying to listen."

"Imp?" I swiveled my head around to look at him. Trix chirped in my hand due to my sudden movement. "Do I look like Tyrion to you?"

I rolled my eyes, returning to the wing I was trying to fix. Quite frankly, whatever weird shit Loki did I just didn't care. He might as well just move into my room since he likes to spend most of his time here. I don't know why, he said something about this room having a nice view.

"Interesting," Loki mused to himself.

"What?"

"The Avengers are quite idiotic. How did I allow myself to lose to them evade me till this day." He waved his hand over the bowl returning the liquid back to its original color. "I am most disturbed."

It's a surprise my eyes haven't fallen out of my sockets since I've roll them so much.

"Spit it out."

"They think I'm courting you," he said nonchalantly.

I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. Hell, I was tempted to just laugh at that. They couldn't be that stupid, could they?

"Courting?" I snorted sardonically. "Us? As in we're interested in each other?"

"Apparently so."

"We'd rip each other to pieces on the first date. You're a war criminal slash fallen Demi god and I'm a bitch with issues. I'm sure they must see how that could be detrimental."

"I'm sure Ragnorok has a better chance at happening than us." Loki chuckled darkly.

"We only get along when we have a book in our hand. The rest is----"

"Bloody."

"I was going to say cutthroat."

"That works too, Birdy."

"Nicknames are my thing, Goat Boy. Don't push it."

I set the bandages on Trix carefully and put her in the box on the nightstand. There, all better. A couple of weeks and she would be flying once more.

I smiled to myself.

Me and Loki?

What idiots.

Does anyone know the difference between a platonic relationship and a romantic one?

Please.

This isn't some girly fanfiction where Loki and I would fall for each other regardless of the fact that we would happily try to kill each other and are non-compatable. Sure Loki may be handsome in a bad boy type of way and he surprisingly has an army of Fangirls but I'm not illogical.

Loki is a dangerous man.

The man who tried to take over the world for gods sake. He wouldn't hesitate to kill me so I have to keep my guard up when I am around him. He lies and he manipulates and if it came down to it I'm sure he would kill me.

I laughed quietly to myself again.

"This isn't a fanfiction, is it?" I asked the sparrow on the nightstand. She only chirped back in return before settling into the makeshift bed.

A/N: I guess I satired every Loki fanfiction ever. Oops?