"Hey." Kat said softly as she stepped into the living room.

Bucky looked over his shoulder at her. "Hey." 

Kat walked over to him, and they both looked out the window at the huge city, lit up in the dark of night. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No." Bucky replied. "Everything is... Too different."

"I bet."

"What about you?" 

"I just woke up. That spell tired me out more than I thought it would." Kat said.

"Oh. Right." Bucky said. "Uh, thanks for helping me."

"Of course." Kat replied.

"Speaking of... Those words?" Bucky began.

"Are just words." Kat assured him. "I made sure to break all the... brainwashing off of them. That was the first thing I did."

"Really?"

 "Yup." Kat said, and then offered her hand for a fist bump and grinned. "Welcome to the Broken Brains club."

Bucky chuckled, and obliged with his flesh hand. "So what do you do here when you can't sleep?"

"Well, sometimes I practice magic, sometimes I dance, or whatever sounds fun and won't wake everyone else up." Kat shrugged.

"People still dance?" Bucky asked. "That's good, then."

Kat clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. "Oh no. I have to... JARV, you're gonna have to help me out with this one."

~~~~~~

"You're pulling my leg," Bucky said after the first few videos. "That isn't dancing..."

Kat shook her head with an apologetic look. 

"Really?"

Kat nodded.

"Now I'm not sure if I want to know how you dance." Bucky said.

"Ballet." Kat replied.

Bucky blinked. "Ballet?"

"Yup." Kat grinned.

"Prove it." Bucky said.

Kat was quick to jump off the couch and walk to the elevator, Bucky following close behind. Stepping into the gym, Kat ducked into a side room and grabbed her ballet shoes. Bucky raised an eyebrow. Kat smirked at him, and began to dance.

After a minute of following her movement, she heard him laugh. "Okay Twinkle Toes, you can stop spinning like a top."

Kat slowed down her spin to a stop, and set her hands on her hips. "Believe me now?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." Bucky laughed. "Okay. What now?"

"Want some pizza?" Kat suggested.

"Sure." 

Kat used JARVIS to place an order, and sat down on the sparring mat with Bucky. "So, why aren't you with Steve?"

"He fell asleep while we were talking. Guess he didn't get any good shut-eye in on the ship." Bucky said. "Where did Percy go?"

"Home."

"He doesn't live here?"

"Nope, he's with his Mom. Our mom. Man, it would be really weird if you met her." Kat said.

"If I met your mom? It would only be kind- of weird, wouldn't it? Like a stepmom?" Bucky said.

"You are not wrong, actually." Kat conceded. "Maybe we could team up next visit."

"Do you not like her?" Bucky frowned.

"No! I love her, it's just complicated. I don't have any memories of her, except for like, a solid one, but Percy has known her his entire life. It's a headache. Literally." Kat said.

"You don't have any memories of her?" Bucky frowned. So Kat explained her situation, and by the time she finished, pizza had arrived.

As they munched away, Kat suddenly got an idea. "Do you still know Russian?"

"I..." Bucky said. "[Yeah. I do.]"

Kat laughed. "[Oh, this is going to be fun.]" 

Bucky's eyes widened. "[You know Russian?]"

"[Accident of circumstance, but yes.]"

"[And how is this going to be fun?]" Bucky asked, eyes narrowed.

"[Tasha and Loki are the only ones who would understand.]" Kat grinned.

"[Oh. I see.]" Bucky replied, a smile forming.

They were quiet for a minute, and then Kat jumped up. "There is something I have to do," She announced quietly in a slightly ominous tone, "And now is the perfect time."

~~~~~~

When Loki woke, he laid still for a while, thinking of his dream. His mother had contacted him, and they had spoken briefly, as it was difficult to maintain a clear connection over such a distance. Eventually, he removed himself from the bed and refreshed himself in the bathroom.

With a barely restrained smirk, he took his turn. Satisfied with his trick, he walked back out into the room. He noted that the bed seemed more ruffled than it usually was after a night's rest. With a wave of magic, the sheets tidied themselves up. 

Loki wondered if Katha had slept too, and how tired she had been after the spell. It wasn't near the level of what she had in her own head, but for her first highly complicated spell, it would have been taxing. With a start, Loki wondered if she had slept on the bed too. 

Forcing himself to not think about that possibility, Loki went to the kitchen for food. In the corner of the kitchen was a covered tray, with a slight hum of magic, barely a trace, just meant to catch his attention. On it was placed a note in terrible handwriting. 'Lokes, hope you like them -K'

Underneath were several pastries of the donut variety that he had yet to try. They were all the same. He was quick to discover that they were filled with a sweet cream. The second pastry was enjoyed just as thoroughly as the first. The third was filled with a foul taste, and he gagged, spitting it out into the sink. After washing it from his mouth, he sniffed to see if he could ascertain as to what the offending flavor was. It smelled slightly of egg.

"Good morning." He heard Kat's voice behind him.

"What did you do to this?" Loki asked, inspecting the donut.

"What do you mean?" Kat blinked.

"This- what foul thing did you put in here?" Loki pointed at the donut.

"Oh, you must talking about the mayo filled ones." Kat said, leaning against the doorway and brandishing a spoon. 

"Mayo?" Loki inquired.

"Yeah." Kat nodded, and held aloft the item she was holding. On the front of the container, Loki read 'Mayonnaise' and then watched as she took a spoonful of it and consumed the offending substance.

"You can't possibly enjoy that." Loki said, unable to conceal a minor expression of disgust.

"Actually, I think this is great." Kat grinned. Loki couldn't detect a lie in her words, but he still found it to be at least a bit unbelievable.

It was obvious Loki didn't believe her, but she had to sell it for the whole effect. So she set the spoon and container down before taking the tampered donut and biting into it. It took all of her willpower to keep a straight face, and not gag herself. "See? It's fine." She said before handing it back to him.

Then she got down a glass and poured herself some milk to drink so she could sneakily wash down the flavor. Retrieving her container and spoon, she walked on into the living room, leaving behind a Loki who was looking at the donut in his hands with a scandalized expression.

Kat needed to buy some time until the others woke up, so she sat down on the couch and gave herself a break from eating. Flipping through random channels was a great way. Stretching her senses as subtly as she could, she waited for signs that others were waking. JARVIS, understanding the situation, aided in waking the others without drawing attention. 

Eventually, people filtered in. Clint turned the coffee pot on before falling face first on the couch while he waited, entirely ignoring Loki. Steve wandered in looking for Bucky, who was asleep in another room. Kat released a spell Bucky had agreed to after their twilight shenanigans; one that allowed him to sleep for a few hours.

"He's asleep downstairs, couldn't 'get some shut-eye' for a while." She told Steve to end his worry.

Tony walked in like a zombie, lured by the smell of coffee even though it wasn't done brewing yet. Natasha was much more coherent, and walked over to Clint before prodding him in a ticklish spot. The archer made a screech of surprise and fell off the couch he had previously occupied.

Then Bucky walked in, very much awake, and Steve visibly relaxed. Bucky gave him a smile, before seeing the container on the coffee table. "Oh. Can I have some?"

"Get your own spoon." Kat replied, picking the 'mayo' up and taking another mouthful. 

Bucky moved on to the kitchen, recalling the operation a few hours earlier, and easily retrieved a spoon. However, in the process, he found a tall man who he assumed to be Loki, and another who he vaguely knew to be Tony Stark, both looking at donuts suspiciously.

"What's wrong with them?" Tony asked.

"Some of them are evil," Loki said slowly, "And I don't know which ones."

It took great restraint to hold back a laugh, and he made a quick exit from the kitchen, just in case his lost his grip.

"Oh, Kat, what the fuck?" He heard Clint exclaim.

"What?" He heard Kat innocently ask, the perfect amount of confusion portrayed.

"Tony, your daughter is eating mayo!" Clint yelled.

"Good for her!" Tony called back, then after a moment, "Wait what?"

Bucky then made it to the couch and plopped down beside Kat, and took a spoonful himself. Clint half screeched. "New guy did it too!"

Tony poked his head into the living room. "What is going on?"

"Tastes different." Bucky commented when he finished his first mouthful.

"Yeah, probably all the preservatives they add. And whatever else." Kat nodded.

"Tony, your daughter is eating mayo!" Clint exclaimed. "Stop her or something!"

"Kat, please stop." Tony said, pained, when he watched her take a mouthful. She only smirked.

"Bucky, what are you doing?" Steve asked.

"Enjoying time with my sister." Bucky replied.

"Sister?" Both Tony and Clint repeated with wide eyes.

"Half, on the crazy side of the family." Kat chirped.

"Oh." Tony said. "No, don't take...another...bite..."

"Bucky, that's just gross." Steve said, gagging slightly.

"I vote we tackle them." Clint said.

"They're a super soldier and a goddess. We'd be the ones hurt." Tony replied.

Kat and Bucky exchanged a look. "We'll stop," Bucky began.

"If one of you takes a full bite-" Kat continued.

"And you don't spit it out." Bucky finished.

There was a moment of silence as they looked at each other.

"So, who's the bravest?" Kat smirked.

Loki watched the scene play out.

For a second, Tony caught a glance at Loki, and thought that his daughter was spending way too much of her time with that trickster. Clint growled. "Fine. Fine, I'll do it. But just to get you to stop."

The archer snatched the 'mayo' and spoon from her hands, and shoved a spoonful into his mouth, eyes scrunched tight in expectation. There was a long moment of silence as his face slowly relaxed, and he swallowed. Then he looked at the sea children in front of him, and glared. "I despise both of you."

He set the 'mayo' and spoon down on the coffee table, and walked into the kitchen. The next they saw of him was when he was walking down the hallway, the entire coffee pot in his hand.

"Hey! Where do you think you're taking that?" Tony yelled.

"Pudding!" Clint yelled back, simmering with rage. "It was fucking pudding!"

~~~~~~

Loki smirked, on the verge of a smile. He was impressed with her act, and how well she had assembled the trick. After the outrage calmed down, he caught a moment of her time.

"I totally got you. And all of them." Kat chirped, grinning.

"You did, and it was well done." Loki nodded, and he hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should continue or not. "There is another dance I was hoping to show you."

Kat's grin widened. "Now?"

"If you would be open to it."

"You know me better than to have to ask." Kat replied, already turning around. Loki had to follow her down to the floor, as she had bounded ahead in her excitement.

He started to explain the dance with, "This one is more for parties and celebrations than formal occasions, but it is a popular one."

It was fast paced, and simple yet complex enough to keep Katha interested for the entire time it took her to memorize the steps. Then he ran through parts of the dance with her, to get the flow right.

When it came time to actually follow through the whole thing, Kat was grinning the whole way through. She was moving, and spinning, and clapping, and it had so much energy and life. And Loki was right there too, dancing along. 

When it came to the last spin, she had a bit too much enthusiasm. She came to a stop at the same time as the music, though much closer to Loki than she had anticipated. Much, much closer. So close that Loki had to grab a hold of her hips to stop her from knocking them both over, and that there was only three inches at most between their heavily breathing faces.

Kat's heart beat even faster than it had during the dance, and she stood frozen. What was he going to do? Should she step away? Should she lean in? Would one make him angry? Scare him off? She didn't dare move one way or the other.

Loki had wanted more time with her, wanted to get closer, perhaps, but this was more terrifying than he had thought it would be. He didn't even know if she fancied him in the slightest. In this moment of self doubt, he decided that he would rather not risk losing such an honest friend. So he stepped back, releasing her hips.

He cleared his throat. "If not for your dialect, I think you would fit in with the Asgardians well enough."

Kat laughed, tinted slightly by her nerves from a moment before. "I'd teach you Greek styles, but I'm pretty sure they were too drunk to ever remember what they did, let alone put something together."

"Asgardians can have their fill of liquor as well, don't get too disillusioned by my superior manners." Loki commented.

"I'd say that at some point we should get drunk together, but we might end up like, pranking an entire town or something." Kat thought.

"The idea isn't entirely unappealing." Loki admitted, and they shared a soft smile.

A/N

Sorry this chapter took awhile. I got stuck after the last time skip, and didn't know how to proceed, and then I got my electronics confiscated for a couple days, which didn't help. Anyway, from here, things are going to be picking up. I've been waiting so long for this arc...

Did anyone else envision the whole prank encounter filmed The Office style?

Stay safe, everyone.