Disclaimer: Loki painting (C) DA Artist. 

Loki strolled into the kitchen for his usual midnight dinner and found a surprise when the lights flickered on. Cassandra perched on a stool apparently asleep, her head resting on the stainless-steel counter. With actual clothes on instead of the flimsy hospital gown that barely covered anything. She wore a black t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.

He moved her crutches out of his way and peered down at her face. A trickle of drool oozed from the corner of her mouth forming a small puddle beneath her chin.

Very elegant. Loki thought stifling a sarcastic laugh.

A half-eaten plate of food perched beside Cassandra's head, still faintly warm which meant she had not been asleep for long.

He smoothed the tangle of hair out of her eyes, and she stirred, a string of drool dribbling down her chin. "Loki." Her eyes widened and she hurriedly wiped the spit from her suddenly red face. "What are you doing here? Are you stalking me or something?"

"Alas, even I am not that desperate for entertainment." Loki propped himself against the counter, resting one booted foot atop the other. "You sleep like a child by the way. Drooling? What are you, five?"

Cassandra's skin turned an interesting shade of magenta. "Shut up. I was tired." She turned away slightly, her long hair tumbling over her shoulders. "Not everything is a joke, you know." She peered back at him. "Do you really get a kick out of being an ass all the time?"

Loki spread his hands in an expansive gesture. "It's part of my charm."

"What charm?" She grumbled under her breath.

"Are you still pretending you do not find me attractive?" He brushed a finger across her knuckles whisper light, and she yanked her hand away. "I must say I quite enjoyed when you swooned in my arms. Makes a god feel...desired."

"I didn't swoon!" Cassandra snapped, holding her hand close to her chest. "You were the one rubbing all over me like a cat!"

Loki chuckled at the accusation. He couldn't help himself. Cassandra was too easy to tease, especially knowing of her evident attraction to him. If she weren't human, he might actually be flattered by her interest.

"I'm not in the mood for your bullshit tonight." Cassandra pivoted on the stool to face him, her knee brushing against his thigh. "If all you're going to do is mock me, leave."

Loki's gaze moved deliberately over her legs. The quip ready on his lips died when he noticed the cast conspicuously missing from her foot. "What happened with your ankle?"

After she went off for her X-Ray Loki had grown bored waiting for her and left the exam room. He hadn't bothered to follow up with Cassandra.

At first, Cassandra didn't answer Loki right away, still fuming over his jokes. She curled her fingers around the fork on her discarded plate and dragged the prongs through the congealed macaroni. "Dr. Novik removed the cast. My ankle isn't broken." She rotated her ankle slightly and winced. "But I do have a sprain. Apparently whatever magic healed my burns sped up the process for my ankle too."

"Fascinating." Loki murmured. The Soul Forge on Asgard could accelerate healing and he knew a dozen spells alone to repair injuries. "Where's your staff?"

"SHIELD is running tests on it." She told him grumpily. "I'll have to return the staff to its owner eventually, so I hope they don't destroy it."

Cassandra seemed particularly adamant on that point even though she no longer worked for the auction house. Returning the staff would not be that simple. Not with magic involved.

"How old are you?"

The hasty change of subject jarred Loki out of his thoughts. Cassandra propped her elbows on the table with a mulish expression. "Well?"

"My age is too great for a mortal to understand." He replied coolly.

She rolled her eyes. "That sounds like a cop out to me. Why are you afraid to answer my question?"

Afraid, of this woman? What an absurd idea! Loki traced patterns on the stainless steel idly and decided to turn the tables. "I'll answer your question if you answer one of mine."

"That sounds fair." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you ask for me to come to the infirmary this afternoon? Surely, you don't trust me."

The question had bothered Loki for the better part of several hours. Cassandra had no ties to him. They were virtual strangers. Like most citizens of New York, she probably knew his history.

Her next words confirmed it.

"I know you've committed mass murder." Cassandra lowered the fork to the plate without looking at him. "I sure as hell don't trust you but I trust your self-interest. As it happens our suspicions are aligned when it comes to SHIELD." She scanned the walls nervously for cameras.

Cassandra worried for nothing. Loki had been coming to the kitchen for months. If he'd found evidence of surveillance equipment, he would have disabled it.

"My instincts are screaming at me to make a break for it before I'm strapped to an autopsy table and dissected alive." She said.

Loki understood her apprehension. Not about becoming an experiment but her certainty of SHIELD's imminent treachery. She was also right not to trust him. Nothing he could say would erase his past actions.

Loki hadn't wanted to destroy New York. He'd wanted to use his borrowed army to subjugate Earth and rule the mortals. Create a throne where his father denied him one. Loki's hatred and fury over his exile had blinded him to the danger Thanos posed to the galaxy. The titan of course, betrayed Loki in the end ordering the Chitauri on a genocidal campaign against humanity.

Everything spiraled out of Loki's control. He'd been in too deep to back out and his pride had not allowed him to help Thor and the Avengers correct his mistakes. He'd plowed ahead with the disastrous plan and it cost him everything.

Loki doubted Cassandra would believe him if he bothered to explain and he did not wish to.

She was the first human in years to hold a relatively civil conversation with Loki without turning a weapon on him. He sensed an opportunity and decided to honor their bargain by answering her initial question. "I'm 1,056 years old."

Cassandra blinked at Loki's announcement and took a sip from her water glass. "You're well preserved for an antique."

Loki wasn't sure how he felt about the comparison. She didn't even balk at his age. Amazing.

Reaching for her crutches Cassandra slid from the stool using the sticks for balance. "I'm technically supposed to be on a broth and jello diet for a couple of days but I'm in the mood for dessert. What do you say we raid the fridge?"

Loki didn't understand her. "First you call me a mass murderer and now you want to share a meal with me?"

"I hate what you did." She said quietly, averting her gaze away from him. "I admit when I found you injured in the park last year, for a second I was tempted to let you bleed out. However, Thanos happened. My perspective on things changed. Once everything crumbled around me, I realized how precious life is. Even yours."

A tremor ran through Loki, her words stirring long suppressed emotions. He scoffed. "Precious? You really are a fool."

"It's not my place to punish you, Loki." Cassandra said solemnly, a sadness creeping into her voice. "Or lecture you. I just want you to know where I stand."

For once Loki had no comeback or snide retort. She had laid her cards on the table and waited for him to make the next move. Alliances with others rarely turned out well for him and Loki did not see what advantages Cassandra could provide him.

Loki cobbled together a dinner of reheated steak and broccoli from the leftovers in the refrigerator. He sighed longingly, recalling the decadent feasts held in the palace on Asgard when he ruled.

Cassandra rummaged through the shelves, crying out in triumph when she discovered a triple layered chocolate cake. She cut two generous wedges and dug into hers right at the counter.

Slipping the fork between her lips she moaned in pleasure. "God, I needed this." In less than five bites she devoured the cake.

Arching a brow, Loki looked at her askance as she pillaged his own dessert plate.

Lifting her chin defiantly, Cassandra stared right back. "Don't judge. I haven't eaten in days."

Even Loki knew better than to comment on a woman's eating habits.

When she finished, she replaced Loki's stolen cake with a fresh slice and crutched toward the door. "I guess you probably don't care but I'm heading to bed now."

"Is that an invitation?" Loki teased just to see her blush.

Red-cheeked, Cassandra looked him over with deliberate slowness. Heat slowly filled her eyes, as they lingered on Loki's groin. "Drop your pants and if you can measure up to my standards then perhaps, I'll grant you an invitation."

Shocked to his core, Loki stared at her, mouth hanging open. No woman, Asgardian or mortal had ever spoken to him like this. The little vixen! He'd never believed she had it in her to stand up to him in such a way!

Sniffing pointedly, Cassandra readjusted her hold on the crutches and exited the kitchen with all the supreme dignity of a wounded queen.

Pressing a hand to his forehead, Loki laughed in pure delight. He hadn't had this much fun in years! Truly, Cassandra was an enigma.

A/N: A cutesy moment between Cassandra and Loki. I wanted to make the chapter longer, but it just seems right to stop here. Besides, I'm getting my 2nd vaccine tomorrow and will probably be sick for a few days like the last time. If there are any typos or anything, I'll fix them later. I hope you enjoyed reading. As always, comment, vote, and have a wonderful day!