The conversation had died out, but Loki wasn't responsive. Kat managed to pull him up off the couch, and led him back to their room. He was just moving automatically, and Kat was worried. She hadn't ever seen him like this.

Eventually, Kat got him to lie down, and pulled a blanket over him. Sitting cross legged on the bed beside him, Kat had no idea what to do. She wanted to comfort him, but considering she didn't know what was wrong, she didn't know what would help. And she didn't want to overstep.

Loki's back was to her, and he blankly stared at the wall. Hesitantly, Kat reached out, and undid the half bun, and ran her fingers through it. When he didn't push her away, she continued until he fell asleep.

~~~~~~

Kat was practicing her meditation when she felt him stir. With a slight start, she realized he wasn't waking up, but having a nightmare. She set a hand on his shoulder, and tried to shake him awake. "Loki, Lokes, wake up."

It was clear the moment he woke up, as he must have registered the two hands at his shoulder and elbow to be an enemy. The next thing she knew, she was pinned to the bed with a dagger at her throat. Loki scrambled back a second later, panting, his eyes wide.

Kat propped herself up. "Lokes?"

"I... Katha." Loki said, dismissing the dagger.

"It was just a nightmare, you're okay." Kat said softly.

Loki blinked. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, you're fine." Kat tried to assure him.

"It's okay...?" Loki said, his eyebrows furrowing.

"It was just a nightmare. We all have them." Kat replied.

Loki was confused. She was focused on the nightmare... While yes, the nightmare had been... Indescribable, that wasn't his immediate horror. "It's okay? I just had a dagger at your neck! I almost slit your throat!"

"You didn't though." Kat said. 

"But I almost-!"

"You didn't." Kat said firmly.

"How are you so calm?" Loki demanded.

"I'm not calm, I'm concerned." Kat said, but her words picked up speed. "You zoned out completely, and then you have a nightmare that makes your first instinct to be getting a weapon! And I have no idea what's wrong in the first place, so I don't know how to help, and Hades I might even be making it worse!"

"You are concerned? Why in all the nine realms would you be concerned about me?" Loki questioned.

"Because you're my friend!" Kat blurted, surprised that he'd even have to ask.

"I'm your friend. That doesn't make it any better that I almost killed my friend." Loki spat.

"Lokes, you didn't! I don't know why you're so freaked over something that didn't happen!"

"I am a monster, Katha! How can you even stand to be in the same room as me? How can you call me 'friend'?" Loki said, his voice full of hate.

Kat knew that hate. The kind you directed at yourself. It was probably her soul vaguely recalling from Percy's memory. "You are not a monster." Kat stated.

In his current state, that seemed to infuriate him. In a swift movement, he was standing by the foot of the bed, and had taken off his shirt. Kat was incredibly confused, until she noticed his skin begin to change. Her brows previously furrowed from confusion relaxed, her eyes widened, and jaw slacked.

When she didn't immediately scream, or say things, or curse at him, or scramble away from him, his confusion grew. Was she in shock? Was her mind collapsing? Why wasn't she doing anything?

{"You're blue."} She whispered, falling into her godly language.

Loki was confused at the quiet, awed tone. "What?"

{"You're blue."} She said again, louder, repeating herself absently.

"Why aren't you running away? Cursing my name? Trying to kill me?" Loki ranted off possible outcomes.

 Kat stared, and felt her face warm.

"Katha!" Loki snapped.

"What?" Kat blurted.

"What are you doing?" Loki snarled. "I'm a monster, why aren't you doing anything?"

"You're blue and hot and half naked and it's a bit intimidating." Kat blurted out quickly, eyes still wide.

Loki blinked. It took him a moment to figure out what she had said, and he looked at her in surprise, only to see her blushing in that glowing way. "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

"You're Loki." Kat said like it was obvious.

"I'm the god of lies, of tricks! I'm a Frost Giant!"

"Okay?"

"Okay?" Loki repeated. "You find out I'm a monster and you say 'okay'?"

Kat tried to smother her blush. "I don't see a monster."

"What about this-" Loki gestured angrily at himself, "Does not say monster?"

"Lokes, I know who you are. I don't know everything about you, but I know who you are." Kat said, still blushing.

"You know nothing." Loki spat.

Kat clambered over the bed, talking as she crawled. "I've seen you play with mortal kids. Without hurting them, and you were happy. You've helped me with my mind, with no command to do that. I have seen your face light up at pastries. I have seen you get awkward when you think I'm not covered enough."

"And what if that was all a lie?"

"If doesn't matter, Lokes. I know you weren't faking."

"You can't possibly be certain-"

She chucked a pillow at him, hitting the god square in the chest. "Cut the dramatics, Lokes, and put your shirt back on."

Loki blinked, holding the pillow. His crimson eyes looked questioningly to Katha. "Did you just throw a pillow at me?"

Kat picked up a second, and chucked it at him, smacking his face. "Nope. I threw two." She said smugly.

"You are really... Unbothered by this?" He asked softly.

"Obviously." Kat replied. 

Loki stood frozen. How odd, that a frost giant could freeze, he thought.

"...Are you gonna throw 'em back, or...?" Kat trailed off.

"Throw them back?" Loki repeated slowly.

"Have you never been in a pillow fight?" Kat asked incredulously.

Loki rolled his eyes, and half-heartedly tossed one at her.

Kat caught it and dramatically gasped. "That is not how you pillow fight!" She chucked it back for a headshot, and Loki caught it, and returned the package of fluff.

"Where's your enthusiasm?" Kat taunted, and with a pillow in her hands, vanished into mist. She reformed behind him and clocked him in the back of the head.

Loki spun around with an a mildly insulted look. Kat grinned back at him. He scooped the first pillow to hit his face off the ground, and armed himself.

A pillow fight is much more complicated when teleporting is involved. 

Kat gave a yelp as she was attacked by an unseen force. "Hey! You can't use invisibility!"

"You never said I couldn't." Was the disembodied reply.

It was only when they were both lying on the floor and out of breath that Loki realized he was still blue. As his skin changed back to it's Asgardian shade, Loki's smile changed from one of fun to awe. The goddess had comforted him, had cheered him up. 

She had accepted him.

~~~~~~

Kat left Loki to get some sleep, and left for the gym. She found that she wasn't the only one there. Percy looked up at her entrance.

"You up for a spar?" Percy raised a brow.

"Sure." Kat shrugged, and walked over to him.

Without weapons, they began to spar. They might've thought that they'd have similar fighting styles. While they did, Percy was more forceful, and Kat was more precise.

"Remember I told you about Steve's friend?" Percy said as they sparred.

"The one who is possibly alive?" Kat replied, ducking.

"Talked to Uncle Hades, he's alive." Percy replied dodging a blow.

"Does Steve know?" Kat asked, getting elbowed.

"Yeah." Percy answered, taking a kick to his knee. "Guy's name is Bucky. Twist is though, he's our brother."

"What?" 

"Yeah."

"Dam."

"Dam?"

They dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Anyway," Percy said, catching his breath, "We've been trying to find him, but we don't have any leads."

"So you're stuck?"

Percy's eyes gained a light. "Stucky."

"What?" Kat tilted her head.

"Steve, Bucky." Percy said, a smirk adorning his face.

"Ooooohhhhhh." Kat breathed, eyes wide, a smirk forming.

"Back to what we were saying, yeah. We're kinda stuck. The only thing we've really got to go off of is that he has a high tech metal arm." Percy said.

"He has a metal arm?" Kat said. "That's cool."

"Yeah. But it wasn't demigod made, and it didn't look Stark made either." Percy shared. "So who else could make something like that?"

"Huh. I wonder..." Kat trailed off. "Hey JARV?"

"Yes, Miss Katha?" JARVIS responded.

"I thought I told you to call me Kat." Kat said, eyebrow raised.

"You did, Miss Katha." JARVIS replied.

Kat sighed. "Anyway JARV, is Auntie Tasha back from her mission?"

"Agent Romanoff is 73 minutes away from the Tower on her return flight."

"Perfect. Can you pass her a message that me and Perce want to talk to her?" Kat asked.

"Yes, Miss Katha."

"You're awesome, JARV." Kat told the AI.

"I was meant to be." JARVIS replied.

The twins laughed.

87 minutes later, the twins were in Percy's room when Natasha walked in. Kat jumped up and hugged her. 

"Saw the news." Natasha said.

"How'd we do?" Percy asked.

"Pretty believable." Natasha smirked. "You might not look like him, but you made incredibly similar expressions. It was easy to see a resemblance."

"That's good." Kat said.

"Yes. So is this just a social call in the middle of the night or is there something else?" Natasha asked.

"There's something else." Kat said, and gestured for Percy to explain.

He did, and Natasha gained a darkened expression. "The metal was silver?" 

Percy nodded. "It also had kind of, lines. Chinks, I guess. I don't what they're supposed to be called."

"And his hair was yay long?" Natasha gestured to her own head. "Dark brown?"

"Yeah." Percy said, not having shared that information with her. 

"Give me a minute." Natasha said, and left for her room, returning with a slim laptop. She opened it and took a minute to sign in and pull up what she wanted.

She turned the screen to show the twins an image of a man. A sniper. "Is that him?"

"Yeah, I think so." Percy said.

Natasha's brows furrowed. "Well, I have a lead for you. But it isn't a good one."

~~~~~~

His heart was beating fast. "Let's go, one at a time." He heard a voice tell him, helping him over the railing. And then he was walking across a narrow metal beam. It creaked, and began to shift under his weight, sliding down. He grit his teeth. Keep moving, keep moving. The beam shifted again, and he ran forward, jumping just barely in time to catch a hold of the railing before the beam fell out from under him. 

His sore body managed to pull himself up and over. He turned to the other man. "Find me a rope or something!"

"Just go, get outta here!" The man yelled back at him.

"No! Not without you!" He felt himself bellow in return.

The man looked around for a second, before stepping forward and bending some of the railing out of the way. The man backed up, and then began to run towards him. If at all possible, his fear grew. And then the man jumped, trying to clear an impossible distance. It looked like he might almost make it.

He had to make it. He had to make it. If the man didn't, he would have to watch him fall far below, and see the flames swallow him whole. He almost made it. An explosion boomed, and the flames rose. The man was gone.

He woke with a gasping breath, his heart pounding painfully. He pushed his dark brown hair out of his face, taking multiple swipes to get it unstuck from his sweaty skin. Despite still feeling the warmth of the fire, his hand still sent a shock through him. The metal was always cold. 

A/N

Sorry the chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but it's finals week for me. Semester finals...

Anyway... Are you as excited as I am?

Remember to vote if you enjoyed!