6 months later

"Hey, Tony, are you staying with me tonight?" Anna asked, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Sorry, Sunshine. I have to go to a thing with Pepper," Tony informed before turning towards the second in command; "Natasha?"

"I have a mission tomorrow morning, so I'd have to leave by then, but I can do the first shift," Natasha offered.

"That's fine, I'll just get up early. When do you have to leave?" Anna asked the redhead, watching her hands moving quickly as she reassembled the gun after cleaning it.

"I have to be ready at five, so around four," she replied with a shrug.

"That's fine, I'll just get up then," Anna said, smiling at the assassin.

"That's not fine," Tony corrected; "What if you fall back asleep?"

"I won't, I'll make sure I get out of bed immediately."

"We aren't taking that chance," Tony decided.

"Well, the galla is tonight, aren't you home by five?" Natasha suggested.

"I can't promise that, it's with some potential business partners. How about Steve?"

"Steve's on a mission," Anna informed politely.

"How about Clint?" Natasha suggested.

"What about me?" Clint asked, entering the common room at that exact moment.

"Can you stay with Anna tonight?" Tony asked.

"Oh, no can do, I'm heading back to the farm in an hour," Clint replied; "I actually just came in to say bye."

"Okay, well, I can sleep now, since you're all home, and just get up at four," Anna pointed out.

"We've talked about this, you have to have a relatively normal sleep schedule so you can have a relatively normal life. We'll just have to work out some sort of schedule in the future," Tony insisted, his voice stern.

"But that doesn't help tonight," Natasha mentioned; "Maybe she can just do a quick nap now and then get up early and then go to bed early tomorrow night."

"Why don't you ask Loki?"

The group's lively chatter quickly silenced at Clint's question, none of them having even considered that a possibility.

"Loki?" Tony questioned in disbelief; "Villainous alien who tried to take over the world? That Loki?"

"How many Lokis do you know?" Natasha asked him.

"I mean, we know that he didn't do it in free will, so villainous might not be correct," Clint pointed out.

"He's still an alien, and a dick," Tony retorted quickly.

"Tony!" Anna exclaimed shocked.

"Both Fury and Steve said we needed to give him a chance to prove that he's not so bad," Clint argued.

"We're not going to give him a chance when it comes to Anna's safety," Tony told; "That's just not going to happen. He's killed. A lot. I'm not letting him anywhere near her."

"So have I, I still stay with her," Natasha pointed out, clearly warming up to the idea.

"The difference is you've changed," Tony stated.

"No, the difference is that I haven't, Loki has. I'm still the same person I was when I did those things, but Loki is changed," Natasha told seriously, surprising Anna ever so slightly; While Natasha knew exactly what she had done and remorsed it, she usually wasn't willing to talk about it.

"She's not wrong, Tony," Clint mentioned; "I vote to give him a shot."

"Too bad, you don't get to have a vote when it comes to Anna, neither of you do," Tony said, crossing his arms above his chest.

"He's going into dad mode," Clint commented to no one in particular, making Anna smile.

"It's your call," Natasha agreed; "Anna's safety is your responsibility. I've said my piece, but it is up to you." Tony relaxed at that.

"However, I will say that considering I have to go to work at five, I would appreciate it if I could get some sleep and not stay up to do something anyone else could do," she finished. Tony looked slightly bothered by that, and eventually sighed.

"You sit there, you sleep there, neither of you as much as near each other," Tony ordered, pointing at the office chair in Anna's room and her bed. The office chair just so happened to be the chair furthest away from the bed, but surely that was a coincidence.

"Here are the scenarios in which you may move, Reindeer games," Tony began, holding up a closed fist. Anna rolled her eyes at Tony and snuggled further down in the bed.

"Anna is impossible to wake from your place, meaning she sleeps even if you throw something at her," he stated, folding his thumb out.

"Tony," Anna complained; "Don't tell him to throw things after me!"

"Rather than he nears you," Tony ended the debate before continuing; "Two, someone dangerous... Well, more dangerous, nears Anna in an attempt to harm her." He stretched another finger.

"Third, Anna wakes up, in which case you may leave the room, and you will leave the room in that case, and fourth..." He stopped for a moment to think; "Nope, that's it."

He turned to Anna; "You are free to leave under any circumstance, given that your leaving requires you being awake, removing the need for Loki. Unless you've started sleepwalking, which is not allowed. Everybody understand?"

Anna nodded quickly, Loki doing the same, although much more controlled.

"Okay. And you're sure you're okay with this?" Tony asked Anna one last time.

"I'm just going to be sleeping, Loki is the one who will actually be doing the work," she pointed out.

"Yes but I don't care about him," Tony replied quickly.

"Tony," Anna chastised.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sunshine. Sweet dreams, yeah?" he said, leaning down and giving her forehead a quick kiss before leaving.

"I'm sorry about that," Anna spoke up awkwardly.

"It is fine. He is merely being protective," Loki hummed quietly from his side of the room.

"What he said-"

"Was his honest opinion. I do not object to honesty," he interrupted her. Anna laughed a little, shaking her head at Loki's confused look.

"Sorry, it's just, you're the god of lies, I would've thought you lied a lot," she explained; "Sorry, I didn't mean anything bad."

"It is fine. I do not object to honesty," he repeated, the conversation apparently meant to end there. Anna rolled to look at the ceiling.

"Right, well... Goodnight, Loki. Please don't eat my brain or something while I sleep," she said before closing her eyes.

"What?"

She opened her eyes again, glancing at Loki; "Well, I don't know what your thing is."

"My 'thing'?"

"Yeah, like what your MO is," she tried again.

"My MO?"

"It's Latin. I think it means modus operand," Anna informed; "Or something like that."

"My method of operating?" Loki inquired.

"You speak Latin?"

"You don't?" he retorted curiously.

"I - no."

"You just spoke it?"

"Yes, I said modus operand, it's a saying in English. It means it's what you do most commonly, like if eating brains was your MO it'd be what you usually did."

"Oh, yes, about that," Loki remembered, beginning to sound amused; "Why would I eat brains?"

"I don't know, you're an alien, isn't that what aliens do?" Anna asked, looking curiously at him.

"I do not know, being an alien is still new to me," he replied.

"You've always been an alien, though."

"I was not an alien until I arrived here. Until then, you were the aliens," he pointed out.

"I'm an alien?"

"Are we not all alien to anyone but ourselves? Your planet claimed to have achieved globalisation, yet, you remain separated by borders that are necessary for the survival of each country, which is necessary for the survival of your entire system. Everyone is a part of the world, yet everyone is foreign because globalisation will remain highly professional and you will continue to mingle among your peers, once again explaining the need for borders. Look at America, that small amount of space on a single planet and that could not even be ruled by one human and had to be divided, only working together from apart," Loki spoke, seemingly getting lost in thought.

"Oh god, it is way too late for an existential crisis," Anna moaned to herself, rolling back on her side. Loki chuckled slightly.

"Right you are. I will allow you to sleep with no further disturbance. And as for brains, I do not eat them, and I will most certainly not eat yours."

"I feel like I should be offended," Anna told; "Like, why wouldn't you want my brain? It must be at least as good as the next one. I mean I'm not exactly smart, but I imagine it'd taste the same anyway."

"I would not know. As I said, it is not my modus operand," Loki reminded helpfully.

"What is your thing, then?" she asked.

"My thing?" Loki asked.

"Loki, we went over this already," Anna reminded him with a laugh.

"Ah, yes. It is a longer story, and one for a different time. What is more important must be what your thing is," he said, pointing a finger almost accusingly at her.

"My thing?"

"Yes, your modus operand. Did we not go over this?" Loki pointed out; "To put it in simpler terms, Anna; Why am I here?"

His eyes and tone were serious, and Anna suddenly felt like they were at yet another existential crises.

"Well, you're here so I can sleep. There was no one to watch me tonight and Tony insists I sleep at night," she explained with a shrug.

"Yes, but why?"

"Tony wants me to have a normal life. As normal as possible, that is" Anna told honestly.

"I more meant why you might require someone with you during the night, but I do appreciate the honesty with me and thank you for it," Loki explained formally.

"Oh," she realized with a quiet voice before realizing something; "Wait, Tony didn't explain it to you?"

"All he said was to watch out for any irregular activity and react in case of it," Loki told bluntly.

"Well, when I sleep, things sometimes... Happen," Anna told awkwardly.

"Things happen?" Loki inquired.

"More like they look like they happen. When I sleep people see things that aren't there."

"And you are the cause of this?" Loki asked flatly.

"Yeah. Generally speaking, they see things I dream about. I guess it's another power, but I can only access it when I sleep."

"Another? You had a power already?" Loki asked, sounding disinterested.

"Tony didn't tell you any of this?" Anna questioned, sitting up in the bed.

"None of it. Your previous power, what was it?" Loki tried again.

"I can heal people," Anna said. Loki mouth became a thin line and his eyebrows straightened.

"What?" Anna asked, sensing the change.

"Nothing. It is an irregular ability for a human to possess, is all," he replied; "When did you acquire the second power?"

"Why are you so interested?" Anna asked, looking at the god.

"It has been a while since I have talked to a person, no less an interesting one. I suppose I am somewhat desperate for social interaction," he admitted; "However, that should not be a burden to your sleep schedule. I will allow you to rest."

"Right," Anna agreed, suddenly remembering why Loki was there in the first place. She lied down in the bed, stretching her body tiredly as she yawned. "Why don't you talk to the people here?"

"I have only recently left my little cell, most of the tower has yet to warm up to me. I do have my brother, but I am unsure if that qualifies as company, no less whether it worthily battles solitude." Loki smiled to himself at disrespecting his brother - that always brought a smile to his face.

"That sucks," Anna mumbled, making Loki smile even more.

"It does suck, I suppose," he admitted, folding his hands over his thighs.

"Well, you can come talk to me if you want. During the day, I mean," she added.

"Thank you. That is very kind," Loki finally replied, feeling an ambivalent mix of gratitude, appreciation and suspicion.