All Loki wanted to do was read. He didn't feel like that was asking for much. With half the ship's occupants out talking to the elves of Alfheim, he didn't think he would have this much difficulty trying to relax. All the loud crashing coming from the training area was proving to be incredibly distracting. He thought the lounge would be a nice place to read, as it would allow the occasional glance out the window at Alfheim's natural beauty, and now he couldn't help but think he would've been better off sitting in his room instead.

Just as he turned the page, there was another crash from the training room- this one loud enough to shake the sofa he was sitting on. Loki sighed, setting the book down on the cushion next to him. It was obvious he wasn't going to be getting much further in his book, so it was time to go investigate what was causing all the commotion. He wasn't sure how the girls and Korg could be so loud but he was going to get to the bottom of it.

He stood and made his way to the training room, unaware of what he was walking into. He took a deep breath as he slowly opened the door. Once he was able to see what was occurring inside the large room, Loki was no longer even remotely shocked about the crashing anymore. It seemed Brunnhilde had organized a training session and they were all practicing sparring. Right now, Layla and Brunnhilde were in the center of the room, locked in hand-to-hand combat. Spencer was sitting off to the side, wrapping her knuckles in some medical tape. Meanwhile, what was perhaps the most amusing was Anja and Korg. The two of them were sitting on a bench against the wall, having some sort of animated discussion about something.

Loki made his way over to the bench and sat down next to Anja, who was too busy talking to Korg to even notice he had entered the room. He watched her with a smile on his face. He couldn't help it. When Anja was in a good mood, it was pretty damn contagious.

"Okay, so what I just put on your head is a set of wireless earphones. They allow you to listen to music without being attached to the device playing it," she explained, showing him her phone. "So when I push this button, you'll be able to hear music." She waited for Korg to nod before hitting the button. "You hear it?"

Korg nodded again, and then found himself bobbing his head along to the beat of the song. "I like this stuff. What is it?"

Anja glanced at her phone screen, and answered with a small laugh and a smile. "Looks like it's Eminem."

"Catchy," he replied, still nodding along. "Is this what you listen to on Earth?"

"Sometimes. There's a wide variety of music on Earth; you heard some of it during the New Year's party. I like to think I have a pretty good assortment on my phone. Something for every occasion." She shrugged lightly. "You can borrow my stuff for a while. Just be careful to not break it. I'll be sad to be without my music," Anja offered, handing the Kronan the device. "Helps keep me sane."

"Thank you, Miss Anja. I will be careful." Korg stood, and made his way over to Spencer, leaving Anja sitting there with Loki, even though she still hadn't noticed him.

He decided to change that. "You just introducing everyone to Midgardian music now?"

Anja nearly leapt from her seat as she turned to look at him. "Trying to give me a heart attack? How long have you been sitting there?"

"Only a couple minutes," Loki admitted, a small smile on his face. "Thought since I couldn't get any reading done that I would come see what the commotion in here was all about."

Anja nodded. "Ah, yes, the crashing. Um... Tony and Thor thought we should get some practice with combat and using our powers since it has been a while. Just in case we need to use them, you know?"

Powers? This was the first that he had heard of any of the human girls having any sort of magical abilities. Why hadn't it been brought up sooner? Surely knowing these three possessed some sort of ability would've been nice to know from the get-go. Here Loki thought they had only received S.H.I.E.L.D. training and were otherwise normal humans. The worst bit was that Thor, Stark, and Banner all knew about it and chose to be silent on the matter. Sure, the girls should've spoken up about it as well, but honestly Loki wasn't mad about that. He would've hid his powers too if he had been in their shoes.

"What do you mean?" he questioned. "I was under the impression you girls were entirely ordinary humans in that regard."

Anja tilted her head just slightly, looking over at her friends in the center of the room, watching them all spar against each other. Spencer had an upper hand on Layla at the moment, which was rather unusual but since Layla had just finished a fight with Brunnhilde, it made sense. "Um, so, I guess now would be a good time to mention that Layla, Spencer, and I aren't exactly... normal."

"Well, that's inherently obvious," Loki answered, glancing at Layla and Spencer before looking back to Anja. "I need the specifics. Please."

"Layla can control the elements of nature, so like fire, water, lightning, and all that. Although she prefers fire. Spencer has mind powers, specifically manipulation and mind reading," Anja plainly stated, shrugging. "I can do lots of things, really, if I try hard enough. I can heal wounds, and cold and ice don't really affect me. I've heard what I have described as cryokinesis a couple times. It's why I didn't think Jotunheim was all that bad."

Loki looked at his girlfriend for a few moments, taking in what she had said. In some ways, it made a lot of sense. In others, not so much. Their abilities seemed fitting enough for all of them, but it was certainly strange that the three of them found each other. What were the odds of that? Loki shook the thought from his mind as Anja continued speaking.

"I suppose some background would be good. Um... Layla and I were taken in by the same foster family. When they discovered she had powers- I guess they found her burning bugs outside, spitting fire from her hands- they told the agency they'd like to take in another special child," she explained. She paused for a moment and sighed. "That's when they got me. I hadn't been in the system long after my mother died. When they took me in, I wasn't sure what to expect. I have been able to manipulate ice since I was a small child. As you can imagine... it didn't make me friends; I didn't think that would change."

Loki nodded, listening carefully. He understood that completely. He had been different from his brother and their peers his whole life too, and was an outcast because of it. Even before he found out he was Jotun and not Asgardian. He wasn't large and intimidating like Thor and the other warriors on Asgard. Using stealth, agility, smaller weapons, and the magic his mother taught him often singled him out. The only difference it seemed was that he became so good at what he did people began to fear him. He was going to assure Anja got to that level of mastery himself. Anja's voice shook him from his thoughts again.

"I was glad they had Layla already, and that by some sheer dumb luck Spencer was our neighbor, although she didn't figure out she had her abilities until we were teenagers and hers are much easier to hide, anyway," she went on, shaking her head. "I tried not to show that I had these powers to many people, so I didn't really work on learning how to use them a whole lot. My healing ability is much more controlled than the ice; it's easier to use without being noticed. I didn't truly start trying to control the ice more until I met Tony and Rhodey, and after I found out S.H.I.E.L.D. had put all three of us girls on a watch list. I was getting good there for a minute but then I... I went through a rough patch and didn't want to think about my powers anymore, even when Layla and Tony tried to get me to practice with them."

"I understand that entirely," Loki said quietly. He hesitated for a moment, debating if he should even ask her what he wanted to. "May I see them?"

He watched as Anja took a deep breath and closed her eyes, raising her hands to her chest level. After a few seconds, Anja's hands were enveloped in a frosty mist. She turned her hands slowly, allowing him to get a good look at the cold and ice radiating from them.

A small smile stretched across his face, but with her eyes cast downwards she missed it. "Cryokinesis. How fitting you would find me," he stated. He took a deep breath. "One of the abilities granted to me by being a frost giant is ice manipulation. Jotuns typically use that ability to create weapons and armor. If you would like, I would be more than willing to tutor you."

Anja lowered her hands, the frost slowly dissipating as she turned to look at him. "Really? You would do that for me?" She seemed more shocked than anything, as if someone had never offered her help before. He knew that wasn't the case, as it was likely Stark attempted to guide her more than a few times. Although what good could he be at controlling magic?

"Of course I would," he replied. "It would be foolish to let you struggle with your magic when I could help you reach your full potential. Especially since being fully prepared is so crucial in these times."

Loki saw Anja's brown eyes light up, a smile finally forming on her face. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're most welcome."

Anja quickly sat back up and looked at him with a mischievous smile on her face. "Let's fight."

He couldn't resist laughing at her. "You want to fight me? Are you sure that is something you want to do?"

Anja nodded. "Absolutely. I have to test my skills against the best, after all, otherwise I won't be prepared to do battle against Thanos. Who better for me to practice against but you?"

It was hard for him to argue against that point. Loki certainly liked to think he was a pretty proficient fighter and a formidable opponent for most he encountered. He held his own against his brother and the rest of the Avengers just fine- at least until he squared off with the Hulk, anyway. What a terrible decision that was. But there was one major exception to the rule other than that. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he was not even remotely a match for Thanos, even with his magic; he already knew that firsthand.

"You flatter me, Anja," he replied with a small laugh. He slowly stood before offering her his hand. "If you insist, we can spar. We'll leave weapons and magic out of it for now."

Anja placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. The two of them walked over to an empty area away from the others, hoping to avoid having their battle cross over to one of the others. "Go easy on me, mmkay?" she said, taking a few steps away from him, glancing over her shoulder to smirk at him.

Loki shook his head. "Go easy on you? I thought you wanted a challenge?"

Anja turned to face him finally, the smirk still very apparent on her face as she took a battle stance. "You know what I mean," she replied, winking.

He shook his head at her, knowing full well he was going to take it easy on her anyway. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Sure, she needed preparation for battle, but Loki didn't want to easily overpower Anja. This was hardly going to be a fair fight as is- not that fighting Thanos would be. Although he sincerely hoped Anja wasn't crazy enough to try to punch Thanos.

His thoughts were interrupted as he realized he should've been preparing for their fight. He hadn't even taken the proper stance before Anja lunged at him, her fist barely missing his face as he somehow managed to dodge it, turning his body sideways. Anja went to throw another punch in his direction and this time he deflected it with his arm, pushing hers down and away from his body. In retaliation, he threw a fist at her, only to have Anja block it. She tried to use a leg to sweep him off balance, but he expected it, and quickly moved it from her reach. The two of them continued in this back and forth dance for several minutes, neither one of them really getting the edge on the other. Fortunately, it seemed Anja remembered at least a majority of her S.H.I.E.L.D. training, so at least they wouldn't have to start from the beginning there.

He had to admit; this little fight was pretty enjoyable. Loki was purposely letting her take as many shots as she wanted; truly he could've knocked her on her ass a few times, but he thought it was better not to. The look of joy and determination on her face was more satisfying to him than winning for once.

Everything was going well, at least until out of nowhere, Spencer came flying into Anja, knocking her to the ground. Loki turned to see Layla standing a few feet away, doubled over in laughter. He glared at her, but Spencer spoke first.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she questioned, picking herself up off the floor. "You could've injured any one of us with that maneuver!"

"I wanted to win," Layla answered nonchalantly with a shrug.

Loki raised an eyebrow, kneeling down next to Anja. She was laying on the ground, seemingly not injured, but very annoyed. He noticed her beginning to sit up, leaning on her side before he spoke. "Win? This isn't about winning," he replied. "These training exercises are to strengthen you. Simply 'winning' will not do that."

"Loki is right. You knew we were sparring not far away from you, yet you launched her at us anyway," Anja hissed. "Your carelessness could've injured me. What if that happened on the real battlefield?"

"It won't!" Layla assured with a scoff. "I know the difference between practice and the real deal."

"Do you though? Do you really?" Anja pressed on. "I'm starting to think you just like being an idiot who injures her friends in a quest for a false victory."

"Uh yeah," Layla answered, with a shrug. "I guess I'm kinda like Santa, but instead of presents I'm delivering pain."

"Uh... pretty sure that's Krampus you're thinking of," Spencer corrected.

"I think that is the worst comparison you have ever made," Anja muttered, sitting up the rest of the way before rubbing her forehead out of frustration. She turned to Loki. "Next time we practice, can we do it alone, so I don't almost die on accident?"

He looked over at her. "Absolutely. I think you did well enough we can incorporate magic or weapons in next time."

Brunnhilde's voice joined the conversation. "Oh you just want to spend more time with her, lackey," she teased. He looked back at her to see the Valkyrie standing next to Layla with her arms crossed, and a playful smile on her face.

He wanted to deny it a bit, but at this point it wasn't like their relationship was a secret. "And so what if I do?" he replied, smirking back at her. "Someone has to make sure she's trained properly."

Brunnhilde laughed. "And you think you're the right one for the job? I think she'll end up just learning how to get herself locked in chains."

"Hey, I might like that," Anja countered. He looked over at her in time to see her smirk and wink at him.

"Well on that note, I think it's time for a snack," Layla announced, trying to quickly change the topic. "I'm going to the kitchen to make something. You're all free to follow; I think we've all earned it."

"Go ahead and make something. I'll be down in a bit," Anja stated, not even looking at her friend. Her eyes were still locked with Loki's, and he couldn't help but notice the mischievous gleam in them. "I think I have some practicing to do still."

"Suit yourself," Layla muttered and turned away from them, heading towards the doors, the others following closely behind.

Loki was left kneeling next to Anja alone. Once the four others were gone, the young woman smirked at him again, moving a little bit closer to him. His heart rate increased, knowing she was very well up to something.

"So," she began, hardly hiding the flirtatious tone in her voice, "how about that personal tutoring you promised me?"

*****

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay. It's been a bit of a hectic few weeks between my daily mom duties and work, but I was finally able to get this chapter edited and posted for you all. I hope the next one doesn't take me so long. I have it written, but I still need to edit it.

So Endgame! Are we excited?! I'm mostly afraid, not going to lie. I know some have already seen it, but it doesn't get released here for another day or so (depending on your local theater and what not) and I will be seeing it Friday afternoon. Anyways, what happens in Endgame will obviously have some sort of impact on the second half of this story. For obvious reasons (as this is already AU and very non canon) I may deviate from the plot line. We'll see what happens. I have this story all figured out- except one detail- so once I see Endgame I will be better able to plan the rest of it! Which is both excited and terrifying.

Anyways, I hope all is well for you guys!

~arty_writes