Loki's POV

One day, the first day of winter holiday, Natasha and I were sitting in the library as a storm raged outside. I always hated storms, my whole life. Growing up they had meant that either Thor or Odin was angry, and nether was good.

Thunder cracked outside, and I jumped and stiffened involuntarily, cursing my jumpiness. Thunder was a natural thing on Mudguard. A bright flash. Lightning was normal too.

Natasha seemed to sense my discomfort, because she scooted closer. I put my arm around her and drew her in. I glanced at my hand and saw it was shaking. I clenched it into a fist, but she gently uncurled it and inserted her own hand into mine.

"I…I remember when I was little, and there would be a storm raging, and I was terrified." Natasha was talking quietly, "My dad didn't comfort me often. He raised me to be...Well...Me. Not to show fear, and to be strong. But when there was thunder and Lightning, I would be curled up, shaking, trying so hard to not let him see my fear. But it was hopeless.

'He lit a fire in our cabin, and picked me up, placing me on his lap, and he would hold me, and gently rock me back and forth. And he would sing Russian lullabies." She shuddered and I pulled her closer to me. She rested her head on my chest.

"That was the one time he ever let me show any emotion." She said. Thunder clapped and I tensed. She looked up at me, "You don't have to hide emotion Loki." She said. I glanced out the window at the dark grey and the water streaming down the window. A bright white flash illuminated the room. "It's alright to be scared." She whispered. I took a deep breath and she put her feet on the bench, curling up into my arms.

I wrapped my arms around her, feeling as though she was a fragile thing that needed protection, but in truth, she was the one protecting me. She put her book down, and I used my wand too summon a blanket, and we lay together listening to the rain and thunder, and watching the lightning.

Eventually my fear was replaced with an emotion I hadn't felt in so long I had almost forgotten its name. Tranquility.

Curled up amongst the smell of books, with the only thing watching me were the lamps and windows. No one was judging me; I had no need to strive to be better than anyone else.

Natasha was warm and comforting. I didn't care that she was probably playing an angle, because at that moment all I could feel was peace. Somehow I felt accepted, maybe even loved.

I tried to shake that from my mind, she couldn't possibly love me. I was Loki. I had tried to kill her multiple times, I had offended her, and I had called her a mewling quim…

She curled up closer to me as the storm raged on, and closed her eyes. Eventually, I realized she was asleep.

Natasha Romanov was asleep. That surprised me more than anything else, because she didn't sleep if she didn't feel completely safe. This means she felt safe with me, and as I leaned back and closed my eyes, I knew that I couldn't betray her trust.

Even if it's what she was doing to me.

When I opened my eyes again, the rain was still falling, but the window was light and there was no thunder or lightning.

Natasha was still lying there, in the exact same position. I smiled, realizing subconsciously how beautiful she was. She shifted and opened her eyes, I smiled almost without realizing it.

She smiled back,

"Good morning." She said quietly. I gently stroked a piece of red hair out of her face, and began stroking her hair.

"Good morning." I said. She lay there, letting me run my fingers through her soft hair. Neither of us made a move to get up. The rain slowly trickled to an end.

"The storm stopped." She noted. I glanced out the window and nodded.

"I suppose it just needed to run its course." I said.

"It's Christmas holiday." She said sleepily.

"Yeah…this is my first Christmas." I said. Natasha looked at me in disbelief, "we don't have Christmas on Asguard…"

"Oh…I forgot you were…" She trailed off; both of us knew what the ending was though, "Well, we should make this the best Christmas ever then." She said finally. I smiled and continued stroking her hair. She laid her head back on my chest.

"So...I guess Christmas is a big thing on Mudguard?" I asked. Natasha sat up and turned so she was facing me.

"Are you serious?" She asked.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"'Is Christmas a big thing?' Loki, it is like the biggest thing…and you know nothing about it?"

"Nope…never came up in school when I was growing up…"

"So Thor knows nothing either?" She narrowed her eyes.

"What are you thinking of?" I began to worry what her plan was.

"If neither of you know a thing about Christmas, someone will know you are different." She said, "So we should teach you!"

"What? We as in your band of merry men?" I asked, horrified at the thought of the Avengers giving me culture lessons.

"Yes, you and Thor, just some rudimentary things." Natasha began to get excited, "It'll be fun!" She said, jumping up and grabbing my hand, pulling me to my feet.

"Fun isn't exactly the word I would use…"

"They will be nice." She promised. I was skeptical. She wrapped her arms around me, "come on Loki! What else are we supposed to do this holiday?"

"As long as they are nice." I finally consented. She smiled and got on tip toes to kiss my cheek.

"This will be great!"She said. I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm as she led me away to find the Avengers and present her idea.