I look up from the screen, feeling something has changed. I survey the room, but can't put my finger on anything in particular. I return to the digital scriptures, but find I can't focus. I honestly can't remember much from the last hour of trying to read them. Sighing, I set the tablet aside.

That's when I realize Loki's breathing has changed. Is he waking up? I look over and watch as his skin slowly changes, the blue hue melting into a pale human tone and the patterns fading away. I can't help but smile at this sign of recovery.

Loki's eyes flutter open and he tries to push himself up to a seated position. Responsibility mode — and, I'll admit, mom mode — kick in. I stand and lightly place a hand on his shoulder. He flinches at my touch.

"Let your body register it's wounds first so you don't cause any more damage." I remove my hand and step back. He closes his eyes. I retrieve the two extra pillows from a small cupboard in the corner. Upon turning back around, I find him trying to sit up once more. I assist him into a reclined position against the pillows as best I can while he ignores me.

"I have to inform the guards that you are awake. It should only take a moment, and I'll be right outside the door." I am as brief as possible with the guards.

Handing Loki the bottle of water I have for him, I sit down and begin explaining. "Fury is on his way, and Thor will most likely rush here once he hears you're up. I assume you remember everything up to losing consciousness at Stark Tower? Agent Barton retained his memory." He just stares at me impassively. Okay, I'll just keep working with that assumption. "You were taken to the helicarrier, where we are now. You were unconscious for four days. You have been acquitted of all crimes on Midgard." Was that surprise I saw for a moment?

"When you fell unconscious, your wounds became evident, and you turned frost giant. The only ones to see you like that were the Avengers, myself, Fury, and a handful of agents. . . . Agent Coulson is on track for a full recovery. . . . Is there anything else you would like to know before Director Fury arrives?"

No response.

I give a small sigh. "You should drink some water." I nod toward the untouched bottle at his side. He seems to ignore my advice at first, but takes a few sips shortly before Fury arrives, Thor on his heels.

"Brother! You have awoken!" Thor cries, rushing toward the bed with arms outstretched.

I quickly slip in between them. "Careful!" I warn.

He almost runs into me, but catches himself and drops his arms. Phew, I don't think Loki's body could have taken that level of bear-hug right now. For a moment, Thor seems to lose some of his boundless joy, but he shakes it off with a laugh. I step aside so he can speak to his brother.

He places a hand on Loki's shoulder. "I'm glad to have you back, brother." Thor grins, ignoring Loki's newfound fascination with the far wall.

"Thor, if your reunion could wait a moment, I have business to discuss with Loki." Thor nods and retreats a step. Fury gives him a pointed look. Thor hesitantly nods again and leaves the room. The Director then turns to me.

I shake my head. "I stay unless Loki says otherwise." Said man makes no indication he even heard.

Fury glares at me before sighing and addressing Loki. "I don't know what you did to earn her devotion, but you owe her. This kid convinced the Council to drop all charges from recent events and New Mexico. When you are recovered enough, you will return to Asgard with Thor. Until then, you are not to leave this room without Paige here or an agent. There will be no schemes, no tricks. If I catch wind of so much as a prank, you will regret ever stepping foot in this world. Tread carefully. This girl and Thor may trust you, but I sure as hell don't." With that, he spins on his heel and strides out the door.

Thor reenters before the door shuts. "May I speak with him?"

I frown. "I told Fury I wouldn't leave unless Loki asked me."

Thor nods, understanding. He walks forward and kneels by Loki's side, taking one of his hands in both of his own. Loki snatches his hand away, a look of offense on his face. Thor begins to speak. "Brother, I—"

"I'm not your brother; I never was! Get that through your thick skull," Loki snarls. He then rolls on his side, facing the wall.

"I have failed you. I know apologies won't suffice, but if you give me another chance, I am going to learn how to be a better brother." Thor leaves the room. I sigh inwardly. Loki needs to learn what family means, but now is not the time.

"I'm going to go get us lunch. I won't be long." The wall must be very interesting, because he doesn't even acknowledge me.

One of the guards speaks as the door closes behind me. "It's not too late to back out, you know."

"You're right. It's too soon," I reply without breaking stride.

—

I return to find Loki either asleep or pretending. "I brought lunch."

Nothing.

Okay. Either way, I'll leave him be.

An hour later, he rolls onto his back to stare at the ceiling. "Now that you're up, you should eat." He seems to engage in some kind of internal struggle about that.

I move the swiveling table so it's over his lap. "I brought jello," I say, pointing out the small, colorful plastic cups and plastic spoon. He looks at his lunch with a mix of confusion and revulsion.

"Jello is a brand of gelatin. I don't really know what it is besides artificial color, artificial flavor, and probably corn starch. In fact, the varieties are known by color rather than flavor." Today's flavors are orange and green.

He isn't moving, so I open the cups. Still no response.

"Gelatin used to have bone marrow in it, so it had protein. I don't know if it has any nutritional value anymore, but it's what they made my mom eat after her back surgery. Maybe the hope of better food is supposed to motivate you to get better." I shrug. I realize I'm probably discouraging him from eating at this point. "Anyway, you need to eat. And drink water. You know, fuel your cells and whatnot."

I pause. " . . . If you eat, I'll stop rambling about jello."

He takes a tentative bite of the orange goop and cringes before setting the spoon back down.

"A few decades ago it was popular to make entire meals based on jello. I could tell you about the stuff they put in it." After that, he works almost straight through his lunch, though slowly. Whenever he seems like he's quitting, I start naming things like carrots, strawberries, and other stuff in jello casseroles and salads. After spam — "That's canned leftovers from meat production" — he stops pausing. I'm reminded of the food challenges on Fear Factor, when the contestants would rush and try not to gag, clearly hating the task but motivated by the money.

"I'm sorry," I mumble, tossing the plastic cups in the trash. "I just want you to get better."

"Why? So you can feel like a good person after they ship me off to Asgard?"

"I—"

"You must feel so good about yourself, playing nurse to the poor villain," Loki spits, glaring. "And when I'm all healed, you'll wave farewell as you send me off to my death and move on with your life," he adds darkly.

I try to reassure him. "They're not going to execute you."

"Stop lying to yourself!" His voice is laced with venom, but also pain.

"Please, just—"

Wild eyes stare me down. "Just let you pretend you aren't hastening my end? Let you live this fantasy and then just walk away, just like everyone else?" His voice cracks a bit.

"I'm going with you!" I blurt out. "I'm going with you and Thor to Asgard."

He stops and blinks a few times. "No mortal has ever traveled using the Tesseract."

I'm glad he's no longer becoming hysterical. "That's why I've written down what I mean to say. I'm going to give Thor the letters before we go, in case I don't get to say my piece in person."

Loki's eyes widen, realizing I've thought this through. He cocks his head. "Before, you tried to bargain for your safety."

My eyes trail away. "I've never feared death."

"You knew the invasion could be thwarted." He shakes his head. "And your family?"

"They're not here."

"So you choose to waste your time caring for me in my last days?"

I look him in the eyes. They are no longer wild, but resigned. "I told you, they're not going to execute you."

He shakes his head and barks a hoarse, unfeeling laugh. "I don't know what you told the Midgardian authorities, but Odin won't care and won't listen to a mortal."

I fiddle with my thumbs. "His verdict was meant to be imprisonment, not execution. Given how things have . . . strayed . . . from their natural course, you may even get off on house arrest."

He leans forward. "You seem certain I don't face death. So why come? What do you intend to do?"

"I have a solid case with evidence and at least one witness and Thor by my side."

His eyes narrow. "But what do you intend? What more lenience do you expect the Allfather to give?"

"I was hoping . . . that he would allow you to stay on Midgard for a time. Let you have a, um, vacation of sorts? I can't imagine you'd wish to return to Asgard for a while yet. But I could be wrong, of course."

"And why would I rather spend my time on this miserable planet?"

I shrug. "Is there another option?"

He leans back. "So I am to stay with SHIELD on house arrest? That doesn't sound like a vacation."

"Actually, uh — of course on the stipulation that you don't prove to actually be a crazy super villain — Tony has offered to let us stay in Stark Tower."

He raises a brow. "Us?"

"It's not like I have anywhere to go, either. My past is nonexistent here. I have no family or home to return to . Even if Tony is helping mostly out of curiosity, it's the best I've got right now." Loki grows silent, appearing to mull over his new options. I sit back in my seat and take a sip of water to soothe my anxiety.

Loki nods toward his bottle. "How often will this be filled?"

"Pardon?" Did I hear him right? What does he mean? Ohmygosh, he doesn't think — oh no. He averts his gaze.

I gently shake my head. "I'm sorry. Um, I've been refilling it every morning, waiting for you to wake up, but I can refill it whenever you want, or an agent can when I'm not here. We can get you something when you're hungry, too. Your only restrictions are having an escort and not overdoing it as you heal." He nods in understanding, but I can see in his eyes that he doesn't truly believe me. His body isn't all that needs healing.

I smile warmly and pull the second tablet out of my bag. "Tony gave each of us a tablet computer; this one is yours." I scotch my chair closer to the bed so I can show him how it works, how to customize it, and the apps I downloaded for him (books, puzzle games, some music, and a white noise app).

—

I'm sick of sitting here in silence. I look over to Loki. "So, is green your favorite color, or do you just wear it because it looks good on you?"

Loki smirks and raises a brow. "You think I look good in green?"

"Well, yeah." I wave a hand flippantly. "Obviously you think so too, or you wouldn't wear it. But do you actually like the color? I mean, my mom used to buy me a lot of ruby red because it looked good on me, but I never really liked red."

He returns his gaze to his tablet. "I don't understand the point of the question."

"It's one of those get-to-know-you things people do. And I'm honestly curious."

"What's your favorite color?" he asks without looking up.

"In general, I like greens and blues; rich browns are nice, too." I hum as I think, also hoping for him to respond. "But for a specific color, my favorite is an orangey coral. It's a content kind of happy, not too loud but still full of joy. . . . It reminds me of happy summers spent in Florida with family, back when we all got along, . . . before I tried to be independent, . . . before I was a disappointment." My voice has grown quieter. " . . . It's the color my mom chose for my accessories when I was still a doll for her to dress up." I bring my knees up to my chest and curl up tight. "Maybe I should avoid coral for awhile," I add, my voice now a whisper.

I pull at my earlobes. "I'm sorry. I just, I never really had any friends. My family was my whole life. Despite everything, I'm going to miss them. Family, school, and church. That was my life."

"And now it's all gone."

"Yeah." This wasn't my goal in starting this conversation. It's time to lighten up again. "But now I get to define myself, discover who I am without all the labels they gave me. I just have to remind myself of that every now and then. Besides, even if I could go back, it wouldn't be to what my heart holds onto," I muse. "I treasure a past long gone, one the family has mostly forgotten. We've all grown and changed, drifted apart; those times are never going to come back." That wasn't very positive Paige; you should stop trying to drive conversations.

" . . . I do happen to prefer green." His raven hair blocks his view of my small smile.

—

I smile graciously at the agent that opens the door for me; I had been fully prepared to hit the button with my elbow.

"I made the executive decision that you are an adult and know your body best and can therefore choose what you want for dinner." I set a full cafeteria tray in front of Loki and bow theatrically before taking my plate of chicken dinner and glass of juice. "Tonight we have orange and green jello, chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit cups for dessert, and pink lemonade." He rolls his eyes at my grandiose gestures and tentatively tries a bite of chicken. He seems pleased, but not excited, yet after I finish praying I open my eyes to find hard his plate already eaten!

I giggle. "Just don't make yourself sick," I say with a smile. I hope this makes up for earlier.

He downs the lemonade and savors each piece of syrup-drowned fruit. I make a mental note that Loki has a sweet tooth. He eats everything but the jello.