"Sunshine!" Tony said almost aggressively upon entering, a finger pointing at Anna.

"Tony!" She replied in the same tone, her spoon of cereal frozen in the air.

"I'm staying with you tonight," he informed, making Anna frown slightly.

"Why?"

"Why? Just say thank you and move on," Tony ordered, passing the table to get to the coffee machine.

"Made you a fresh pot," Anna informed, eating a spoon of cereal before continuing. "Why are you staying with me tonight?"

"You know why I'm staying with you," Tony reminded her while pouring the liquid into a mug.

"I meant, why isn't Loki staying with me?" Anna rephrased. Tony stopped in his tracks before turning to her.

"Why would he?" he asked lightly.

"What's going on, Tony?" Anna asked, slightly suspicious.

"We're testing your powers. Saturday," he informed, sipping from the black mug.

"People are going to find out," Anna mentioned, her cereal long forgotten; "If there's a team testing me in a shared lab? It's only a matter of-"

"That's why Bruce and I will be handling it. The others will be there to assist, but it's just us. And it's in the gym, so no one will know."

Anna bit her lip slightly before taking a deep breath. A text notification sounded and she checked it, immediately standing.

"Harry's here, gotta go," she told Tony, rushing to get everything ready.

"Harry? Who's Harry? Where's Peter? Anna!" Tony scolded, watching the girl flicker around him.

"Harry, he's driving us, Peter's already in the car. Don't worry, he made sure he'd be picked up first."

Tony had stayed with Anna from Thursday to Friday, and claimed that he would again from Friday to Saturday, but when Friday came, so did urgent business, and Loki was back in the armchair when they reached the evening.

"They want to test me," Anna stated, blinking quickly. She stood in front of her bed, her back to Loki, pretending to be on her way to actually sleeping.

"I'm aware," Loki said, glancing at the back of the three books Anna had found for him.

"To see how strong I am," she continued, listening carefully.

"They want to know your limitations. So they do not accidentally cause you injury. Wear you down, as you mortals would say," he agreed.

"This was your idea, wasn't it?" Anna said, turning around to face him.

"I gave them the idea, is all. I suppose they technically made the decision themselves. Free will is funny, is it not?"

"Why would you do that?" Anna asked quickly; "That was not your place, Loki."

"It is exactly my place. I assist this team, I assist you, and as I told your friends, I am the closest to an expert you have," he argued unaffected.

"Being an expert doesn't give you the right to make these calls," Anna told him harshly.

"What gives your captain, with no knowledge of the matter, to make the calls?" Loki asked.

"The fact that we have an agreement! He's there to make sure I'm safe!"

"And what exactly do you think I am trying to do?!" Loki answered, raising his voice. Anna froze and swallowed a lump in her throat.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"You think I do not recognise the signs of fatigueness? You might have tricked the mortals, you might have tricked even my half-witted excuse of a brother, but you have a far way to go before managing to trick me, darling!" he warned her, standing up. When he sat in the armchair with a book, his legs often crossed, it was hard to forget how powerful his figure was, how much authority his height brought him and how tough the gentle soul could really be.

"So what if I'm tired?!" Anna shot at him; "That is the cost of me living with nice people in a nice building with warm food everyday! Nobody here is hurting me, and that's worth getting the occasional headache!"

"Not hurting you intentionally, perhaps, but you think your headaches will not come to have a permanent effect?" Loki asked angrily.

"I don't care! I don't care if I only have five years left to live, as long as I get to live here for those five years!" Anna told, stepping closer to him.

"That is absurd," Loki claimed, taking a step away; "Utter nonsense. I will not have you endanger and inrisk yourself because of mere insecurity!"

"No, Loki, what's absurd is why you all of the sudden care so much about me and my wellbeing!"

"It's not sudden!" Loki blurted out before realising he'd disagreed with the wrong part of the sentence.

"What are you talking about?" Anna asked, carefully stepping closer to him.

"I... It's not a sudden care, it is a sudden concern because of what I have discovered. You are the first on this planet to attempt a civil conversation with me, no less a friendly relationship. I have grown to... Appreciate the nights I get to spend with you, and I do not wish to lose them. Selfish as it may be, I will not let you endanger yourself because you worry about your position here, because your position is secured, love. There is no one interested in kicking you out, and I do not know why you fear it. You are strong and you are clever, I doubt you would struggle very much before finding a way," Loki admitted, not looking Anna in the eyes.

"You know that we're friends, right?" Anna asked him softly.

"I would not wish such a fate upon you," Loki said, laughing unhappily.

"I'm scared they'll kick me out. I've lived in a lot of places, and only this tower has been bearable to me," Anna admitted, breathing deeply.

"It is luxurious, but you could grow accustomed to smaller," Loki assured her. Anna sat down on the bed, gesturing for Loki to sit next to her. He did so, carefully, and looked at her.

"I know... I know you think you're a bad person, but I've met bad people," Anna began, breathing deeply; "Actually, I've lived with them. Quite a few of them. Remember how I told you about the system and how fostering kids work?"
Loki nodded, listening intently.

"There's... Obviously, they try to send you to a good family, but they don't have a lot of resources to do surprise visits and so on, and there's so few families signed up and so many kids in the system, so... You don't always end up with nice people," Anna explained. She picked at the skin around her nails, tearing it slightly. "There's no reason to get into it, but I guess... I don't know, I think I'm just scared. People are mean and I'm afraid to be around them."

Loki's breath hitched as he imagined what she must have endured before forcing the thoughts away, instead slowly moving his hand over hers, closing his eyes. He felt her hands grab his before she leaned her head against his shoulder, his eyes immediately opening. He did his best to not tense his body noticeably and looked up to hide his red cheeks from her.

"Don't tell anyone, please," Anna muttered softly.

"They do not know? They mentioned you being frightened upon your arrival, so certainly they must know something," Loki pointed out softly, running his free hand over her hair in a thoughtless caress.

"They know some. Actually, they know a lot, just not... All of it," Anna phrased it; "It doesn't matter. I'm just nervous about tomorrow."

"I do not know how much of a difference it will make, but I will be present," Loki said. Anna lifted her head to look at him.

"Why?"

"Because I am a master magician, their best chance at understanding your powers," Loki told, choosing not to mention what he got out of it; the answers he felt he couldn't go longer without.

"It makes a big difference," Anna admitted, relaxing against his shoulder again.