Not that different. That phrase kept playing through Loki's mind long after he'd left Rona at her apartment and made the short walk back to his club. A ridiculous notion on the face of it. Of course they were different, they were from completely separate worlds, after all. But beneath all that, was it possible that they were more similar than he thought? She had proven to be exceptionally perceptive, seeing through his disguises with an ease that frankly astounded him. He'd never experienced a connection like this with anyone before. He found it completely ludicrous that he was so drawn to a mortal, so consumed with thoughts of her that he could barely sleep. He should have left Midgard weeks ago, before he'd met her. Because the thought of going now, of leaving her, absolutely sickened him.

"You want me to do what?"

Rona chuckled on the other end of the phone. "I'm inviting you over to have dinner with me and Lex. Tonight."

"I thought she didn't like me. Why would she want to have dinner with me?"

"Because she's my cousin and she does like me. So she has to be nice to the people I like." Rona waited for him to respond, but he'd become tongue-tied by her breezy admission that she liked him. "So will you come?"

Loki sighed. He didn't want her to think he was eager to be with her, so desperate that he would agree to anything. Unfortunately, it was quickly becoming a fact. "Yes. I'll come."

Rona greeted him at the door, her hair twisted up into a loose knot on the back of her head, a stripe of something white across one cheek. She smiled. "How punctual. Did you wait in the hallway until exactly seven?" She stepped back to let him in and then leaned in, lowering her voice. "Lex still thinks you're with the Mob, so if you want to play that up..."

He smiled. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about this 'mob' that you speak of." He reached down, his thumb gently swiping the white powder off her cheek. She looked startled, her eyes wide, until she saw the powder on his hand.

"Oh, I made cookies." She brushed her palm across her cheeks, inspecting them for any more traces. "I'm surprised I don't have flour all over me."

He shook his head. "You look good." She glanced up at him, one eyebrow raised, and he felt his face growing warm. "I mean, there's no more flour on you."

She turned, hiding her smile. "Thank you. Go ahead and sit down, everything's here." She picked up a handful of takeout cartons from the counter and carried them over to the table.

Lex appeared in the living room doorway, barefooted, her unruly hair pinned back on one side. She nodded at Loki as she sat at the table but didn't speak. She began spooning Chinese food out onto her plate.

Rona took the chair beside Loki, handing him a carton from the center of the table. "We might not be much for cooking, but we can certainly order take-out with the best of them." She smiled. Loki thought she looked slightly uncomfortable, maybe a little nervous. His eyes landed on the wine bottle in the middle of the table and he reached for it, filling first Rona's glass and then Lex's and finally his own. Rona smiled again and took a sip before clearing her throat. Across the table, Lex sighed and looked up from her plate.

"So...Loki...how are you liking New York?" Her voice came out in a strange sort of tone, as if she felt extremely put out at having to have a conversation with him. He glanced at Rona, her lips pursed, her forehead wrinkling into a frown. She wanted the two of them to get along, he could see that it distressed her that they didn't.

He turned to Lex with a smile. "It's growing on me. It's very different than where I'm from."

"Oh yeah? Where is that?"

He hesitated, glancing at Rona. "Um...up north?"

Lex frowned. "Like where, Canada?" She jerked a little in her seat, her face scrunching up. "Never mind." She glared at Rona before looking back at him. "So, what did you do there?"

"I was, uh, in the family business." He heard Rona chuckle beside him.

Lex's eyes widened. "What...what business is that?"

He glanced at Rona, her smile genuine now, her eyes sparkling. He wasn't sure what kind of game they were playing, but she seemed to be enjoying it. "It's probably better if I don't say."

Lex stared at him, her mouth open. She glanced at her cousin, but Rona had turned her focus to her plate, chopsticks moving with precision. "Yeah, of course. Um, would you like more wine? Another egg roll?"

For the rest of the meal, Lex behaved perfectly, every word she said dripping with sweetness. She kept glancing at Loki with a mixture of awe and panic. As soon as they finished eating she retreated to her room, leaving them alone in the kitchen. Rona chuckled as she began to clear the table.

"I don't think she's going to be anything but nice to you from now on. She's paranoid when it comes to gangsters, terrified she's going to get on their bad side." She set the dirty plates in the sink, running water over them.

"So I have to pretend to be some kind of dangerous criminal to get your cousin to be civil to me?" She shrugged. Loki smiled. "I think I'm going to like her."

Rona laughed as she dried her hands on a towel before turning toward him. "Stop, you're going to make me jealous." Her smile faded as she caught his gaze.

He moved toward her, his eyes skipping over her face, lingering on her lips. "Why would you be jealous?" He rested his hand on the counter beside her, raising an eyebrow. "Because you like me?"

She squinted at him a little and then shook her head with a quiet laugh. She turned and picked up a plate of cookies that sat beside the stove. "Come on." She led him out of the kitchen, not slowing as they crossed the living room. He hesitated when she kicked open the door of her bedroom and placed the cookies on a small table by her bed. She turned to see him still standing in the doorway.

"I thought you weren't afraid of anything?"

She was teasing him now. He stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him without taking his eyes off her. She grinned and dropped onto the bed, leaning over to pluck a cookie off the plate. Loki glanced around the room, Rona's private refuge, her personal world all around him. He began to meander around the room, hands clasped behind him. A bookshelf lined one wall, floor to ceiling, the shelves stuffed with books and photos. His gaze traveled across the titles and snapshots of Rona with Lex and various strangers, landing finally on a picture of Rona and a woman who looked remarkably similar. He picked up the photo, turning back toward the bed.

"Is this your mother?" Rona nodded. "She was very pretty."

She smiled. "Thanks. That was just a couple of years before she died."

"What happened?"

"Cancer." His confusion must have shown on his face, for she frowned. "I guess you don't have that where you're from. It's a disease."

"Your healers didn't cure her?"

She shook her head. "There's no cure. There's treatments, but...they can't really fix it."

"Do a lot of people get this disease?" Rona nodded. "But is there no way to avoid it? To protect yourselves?" She frowned at him again, perplexed by his agitation. He turned away, replacing the photo on the shelf. He was suddenly reminded of just how weak these mortals were, how fragile and fraught with pain their lives. And Rona was one of them. He crossed to the window, resting his hands on the sill. "How do you live this way?"

"What do you mean?"

"Knowing your death could come at any time, by any means. That each breath could be your last." He heard the quiet squeak of the bedsprings as she rose and crossed the room to stand beside him.

"We learn to make each breath count." When he turned to look at her she smiled. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Many people live long and happy lives."

"Rona, a long time to you is like a moment to me. Asgardian's live for thousands of years. Do you have any idea how many generations that is for mortals?"

She looked away, shrugging slightly. "Math has never been my thing."

He touched her chin, turning her head gently back toward him. "It's a lot. We live longer than you, we're stronger, we heal faster. Can you really say we're not that different?"

She was silent for a moment, her eyes searching his face. "But those are not the things that really matter. Living for centuries is pointless without love and connection and experiencing things. And power, strength? It's an illusion. My mother was the strongest, toughest person that I have ever known. And all you can see her as is weak." She turned away, but not before he saw the tears glittering in her eyes. "So maybe you're right. Maybe we are different."

Loki felt an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, and it took a moment before he identified it. He had hurt her with his words. And it pained him to know that. "Rona..." He raised a hand, reaching for her arm, but she shook her head, swiping at her eyes.

"I know that we come from completely separate worlds. But if you deny that there's something between us, some connection..." She shook her head again. "You're only fooling yourself."

She turned as if to walk away, but he stopped her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back to him. "Rona." He smiled down at her startled face. "If you'd let me finish...I meant to say that maybe...I was wrong."

She blinked, her mouth opening and closing again before she finally decided how to respond. "Oh. Then just...I suppose you should forget all that other stuff I said."

He slid his arms around her, leaning in, his voice teasing. "You mean when you said we have a connection and then called me a fool?" She nodded. "Well, see there, you were wrong." Her eyes were wide still, although his lips were inches from hers.

He smiled. "I am no fool."