"What do you think?" Ava asked.

Sophie stared at Rogers, who had come out of the dressing room wearing the clothes Ava had picked out. Jeans that came down over brown leather boots, simple T-shirt, leather jacket. The clothes fit him well, it was just...so casual.

"I hate it," Sophie said frankly, "He'd look much better in a suit."

"I feel more comfortable in this, if my input makes a difference," Rogers interjected.

"It doesn't," Sophie dismissed him, while Ava said the opposite at the exact same time.

"It does."

The two women glared at each other. Rogers decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Come on, he's Captain America! There's nothing more American than this look!" Ava protested.

"Mmmm, yes. That's the problem. No wonder Americans are seen badly by the rest of the world if we all walk around in our gym clothes or outfits like this. Is it too much to ask of people to dress like they actually give two shits about how they look?"

Rogers opened his mouth to say something about the swearing, but wisely shut it again when Sophie glared at him, as if knowing what he was thinking.

"Oh excuse us all of us peasants, Your Majesty," Ava mocked, "We can't all afford to dress in pure silk!"

"You don't have to dress in pure silk, just put some thought into your outfits," Sophie retorted, eyeing Ava's jeans, tank top, and plaid flannel over shirt, "Okay, fine. If not a suit, then at least a nice pair of slacks and a button up top."

Ava sighed.

"I guess he will need a more dressy outfit."

Sophie pursed her lips. She had been thinking the slacks and button up top would be the casual outfit...

"You can dress well on a budget," Sophie insisted, "Consider the fabric – natural fabrics are best, or at the very least, high quality synthetics like elastane, viscose, or rayon. The fit is also important, how to dress for your body type, at least you've got that part right on him. And then think about the colors, what flatters your skin tone and hair color. For me, that's dark jewel tones or neutral shades. You, Ava, should not go anywhere near pink or red because of your hair color. And Rogers here would look good in lighter colors, like yellow-green maybe. It would compliment his hair and bring out his eyes. On top of all this, a person's clothes should be neat – that means no holes, tears, dirt, or wrinkles. We're going for elegance and refinement, not 'I just picked this up off the floor and threw it on because I've got to make a quick run to the grocery store'."

"What if he is just running errands?" Ava protested.

"Then still take the time to put effort into your appearance. I do! It really doesn't take that much time. And besides, you never know who you might meet. Dressing well with the tips I've given can be done, and for less than you think. You don't have to wear designer clothes in order to look good. Just put some thought into what you buy before you purchase it. If that means buying fewer items, then do that."

"You're such a snob," Ava groaned.

"No, I have high standards, which I won't apologize for," Sophie corrected her, "I would be a snob if I said you must dress in designer clothes and that was the only way to dress elegantly."

Sophie looked over at Rogers, then sighed dramatically.

"However," she continued reluctantly, "There is something to be said for being comfortable in your clothes. Rogers, if you really want to...I guess that outfit is fine."

She certainly wouldn't like it if someone forced her to wear jeans. She probably shouldn't force Rogers to dress more formally, even if she did believe he would look better and it would do him more good. Ava beamed, and Rogers gave a sigh of relief. Sophie let them wander around the store and pick out clothes and try them on. He did need an entirely new wardrobe, including every day outfits, pajamas, and formal wear. That last category wound up being the most limited, restricted to a single suit.

Sophie shook her head and checked her bank account on her phone. She hadn't actually looked at it since before she moved in at Loki's tower or base or whatever it was. When she saw the amount of money she now had, her jaw dropped, and her eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. The number displayed on the screen was staggering. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Loki had never actually mentioned a figure he would be paying her, but this...this was ludicrous. Sophie thought about telling him it was too much, but quickly discarded the idea. She liked money. And it meant that even after buying Rogers a whole new wardrobe, not even a dent was put in how much money she had left.

"So, what should we get for lunch?" Ava asked as they crammed the numerous bags into Sophie's car, "Steak?"

"Ruth's Chris?" Sophie proposed.

"I was thinking Texas Roadhouse," Ava replied.
"Okay. Sushi?" Sophie compromised.

Ava hesitated, then looked at Rogers. He looked back and forth between them, brows slightly raised.

"Sure," he said.

Just as they were arriving at the restaurant, Sophie's phone rang. She told Ava and Rogers to go ahead in and get a table, she'd be along shortly. Looking down at her screen, she saw it was "Benevolent God" calling. Sophie snorted with laughter, covering her mouth with one hand. Only one person would put themselves as that in her contact list. Still smiling, she accepted the call and put the phone up to her ear.

"Hellooooo?" Sophie answered, her voice going up at the end.

"Where are you?" Loki asked, his tone irritated.

Sophie pouted playfully, though he couldn't see it.

"Aww, what's wrong, benevolent god? You sound irritated."

"I won't ask you again, Sophie."

Sophie rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Oh alright, calm down. I'm out to lunch with a friend and Rogers."

A moment of silence.

"You never mentioned you were leaving the building."

"Do I have to get your permission for every little thing? That's going to get annoying after a while, you know."

Loki sighed.

"No, of course not. I was simply...checking in. After Danvers put a hole through my living room, I thought perhaps – well, never mind. Clearly you're fine."

He hung up on her, and Sophie slipped her phone back into her purse, smiling. How touching. He was worried about her. Sophie went inside and ate lunch with Ava and Rogers, and afterwards, they went shopping to get Rogers some toiletries. Once Ava was dropped off at her home, Sophie brought Rogers back to the building they shared with Loki and the others, she even helped him carry his stuff up to his room.

"Hey," Rogers said suddenly, stopping Sophie as she was starting to walk away.

She turned back and looked at him, brows raised.

"I just wanted to say thanks, you know, for today."

"Sure."

Sophie went to her own room, where she started a cross stitch picture while she watched the news on her television. She had her own television. This was bizarre. She wondered how Rogers was going to make out in the modern day, then shook her head and made herself pay attention to the news. She had a limited amount of time before she had to meet Loki for dinner. Sophie did not want to eat, and she didn't want to see anyone else, she'd had far too much social interaction already today. But if she didn't go, he'd have something to say about it. Hearing her name caught her attention and made her look up at the TV screen.

"– former United States sailor, Sophie Reed. Sources report she has been living in the same building with King Loki for several days now. As of yet, the purpose of her presence there has not been determined, but judging by her position near the king during the recent conference, she does play an important role. She did manage to get a private audience with him during the conference, and it is very likely that she was giving him advice on the case of Khalil Bashara. At this time –"

Sophie stared at the TV as the news anchor continued speculating.

"Shit," she breathed.

When she glanced at the clock and saw it was time for dinner, she put aside her sewing and got to her feet with a sigh. Loki was already seated in the dining room, sipping a glass of wine. Sophie took her usual place across from him and decided to try and avoid the wine in her glass tonight. He didn't speak for a while as they began to eat, and Sophie started to think she would get away with not having to talk tonight. She should have known that was wishful thinking.

"What's wrong, Sophie?"

"Nothing, Loki. I'm just tired. I got hardly any sleep last night. And I feel very drained after spending most of the day with an extroverted Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

Loki smiled.

"As opposed to...?"

"I am an introverted Slytherin, Ava is a Hufflepuff and my best friend, but damn is she the perky to my surly. And Rogers is so...noble. I may vomit."

"You do realize I have no idea what most of that means."

Sophie blinked at him.

"Holy crap. You're right. You need to be familiar with Harry Potter. Come to think of it, Rogers does too. Okay, we are having a movie marathon. We need to fix this. Um...tomorrow. Yes, not tonight, because I must sleep. But, after."

Loki looked amused, and said nothing against it. For the first time in a long time, Sophie went straight to bed after dinner. Loki looked to be in a bad mood at breakfast the next morning.

"Rogers is insisting that he see how I've rearranged things so far on Midgard," he said when Sophie asked him, "It is extremely inconvenient that I have to do this, you know."

"Under the circumstances, it was the best solution," Sophie replied dryly, letting the steam of her coffee waft against her face, "There's nothing to be worried about. It won't take him long to see what I see. And if he proves to be difficult...well, I'm not exactly sure what you have in mind."

"I am arranging a plan," Loki said mysteriously.

Sophie shook her head and began to eat her breakfast. There was no sense pestering him for information. She'd find out eventually.

"Is he coming with us to another audience soon?" she asked.

"Yes. At the end of the week. For today I thought I'd show him the plans I've already shown you."

"Well, bright side, there has yet to be any riots or crazy stuff like that," she commented, "That's got to be some positive endorsement."

Loki did not reply. That was fine. She wasn't a morning person either.

"And umm...we might want to put out some sort of press release about my official position here. I don't know if you saw, but the news stations are already sniffing around. I'd rather them not get the wrong idea, think I'm your girlfriend or some shit like that."

"Very well. I'll have someone tend to it."

When the meal was over and Loki went off with Rogers, Sophie went to find Siff. She was, unsurprisingly, in the gym.

"I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you," Sophie said while the other woman pummeled a bag hanging from the ceiling.

"That depends," Siff huffed, "What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving me sparring lessons. I've never been involved with beings like Asgardians and super soldiers. I know some shit is going to go down at some point, and I might get into a fight. Now, I might not have the strength or speed to keep up with such people, I'll probably get knocked on my ass, but I'd like to have a chance."

"Why come to me?"

"Well, you're a woman. You know what it's like to fight against people bigger and stronger than you. I figure you can help me the most. How did you manage it?"

"Hard work," Siff said bluntly, "Getting stronger, better, took time and effort."

"If you give me a chance, I won't disappoint you."

"I'll have to clear it with His Majesty first," Siff said, "Rumor is your energy intake and output is closely monitored."

Sophie sighed. Loki blocks her from workouts again.

"Very well," she said sourly.

Loki would be busy with Rogers at the moment, so she sought the solitude of her room while she worked on a cross stitch picture and watched Downton Abbey. These few hours alone restored her so that she was able to face conversation with Loki again by lunch. The snacks between meals were difficult to swallow, making meal times more of a challenge, but she would keep at it. That was what she told herself as she sat across from Loki, looking down at a full plate of food that she didn't want. She got through about half of it, then abruptly put her utensils down and put her head in her hands. She heard Loki put his flat ware down, but didn't look up at him. Instead, she kept her eyes closed and concentrated on breathing in through her nose, out through her mouth, determined to keep her shit together and her lunch in her stomach.

"Well," Loki said with a deep sigh.

There was a brief pause, then his tone abruptly shifted, turning decidedly chipper.

"I expected you would crack far earlier than this. Congratulations."

That got her to look at him.

"Fuck you!" she spat.

"Mmmm, wonderful idea. Shall I bend you over here or in the bedroom?"

I'm going to stab him in the eye with my fork.

Placing her palms on the table, Sophie stood suddenly, shoving her chair back. Loki's tone shifted again, this time to one of soothing calm. When he looked into her eyes, he was serious and steady.

"Do not let this defeat you," he said quietly.

Sophie's eyes were wide with fury as she stared at him.

"What?" she hissed.

"You heard me."

They stared across the table at each other in complete silence for an indeterminable amount of time. Very slowly, Sophie settled back into her seat, still not breaking eye contact with him. Her mind spun as she sat, motionless. He had to know that by making her view her anorexia as an enemy to be crushed, it would make her more determined to gain the weight she so desperately needed. For a moment, she flickered, caught between the impulse to continue her plans for regicide via fork and actually listening to him. At last, a thought surfaced, like a bubble bursting on the top of a still lake.

He's right.

Sophie looked down at her plate. With the speed of a glacier, she picked up her fork, took a bit of food, and put it in her mouth.

"Good girl," Loki smirked.

Sophie glared at him as she chewed.

Smug bastard.

"You can take that aggression out on Siff when you train with her," Loki said lightly, starting to eat his own food again.

She felt the sun burst into fireworks in her chest.

"Really?"

"Indeed."

"Thank you."

Loki inclined his head, and Sophie tried to stop grinning like an idiot. For a heartbeat she thought about saying sorry for her outburst, then dismissed it. Apologies were for the weak. And she wasn't sorry, not really, and lying about it would gain her nothing, so what was the point?

"Don't get too excited. Only three times a week for thirty minutes, remember?"

Well, now she was really glad she didn't apologize.

"Loki..."

"You didn't think you'd slip that by me, did you? And you've used one session this week, leaving only two remaining."

Shit. He knew about that. And he didn't consider her usual workouts to be separate from learning fighting from Siff. Crap. Stubbornly, she ate the remainder of her meal. She'd show him. And that anorexia bitch too. Fuck them both. Siff found her when she was leaving the dining room.

"I take it he told you?" she asked.

"Yes," Sophie replied.

"Good. Ready?"

"Just let me change. Meet you in the gym in ten minutes?"

Siff nodded, and they split up. Sophie rushed to change into a tank top, leggings, and a pair of non slip socks, and was in the gym right on time. There was a wide, open room connected to the gym, the floor of which was plush mat material. One wall was completely mirrors, there were punching bags hanging in one corner, and rectangular handheld punching pads against another wall, stacked neatly.

"Let's start with 'throw a punch'," Siff said mildly.

"Not block one?" Sophie smirked.

"There are many ways to block or evade. The first type of punch, a simple straightforward jab, is the basic. I'll show you some ways to block it later. But before even that comes the stance. And before that, a brief warm-up."

They spent a couple minutes going through a quick series of exercises to make the heart race and the blood warm, then Siff showed her how to stand. Sophie slid one foot back behind the other and separated her legs by a couple feet, bend her knees slightly, and lifted her hands in front of her face, palms outward. Siff showed her how to make a fist, how to position her thumb so she wouldn't break it, and how to strike using only the top two knuckles.

"When you extend your arm straight out to deliver the blow, don't use just the strength of your arm. Turn your shoulders into it, twist your hips," Siff instructed, putting her hands on Sophie's hips and turning them slightly, "And pivot your heel outward, digging into the ground, using it as a source of strength and grounding."

Sophie bit her tongue, though she very badly wanted to say she knew all this already. She had taken some self defense classes, and she was apparently decent enough to briefly get the drop on Loki, albeit with the element of surprise on her side. Just as quickly, Sophie reminded herself she didn't know everything. She shouldn't start thinking she knew everything, or knew better than her teacher. She was the one that asked Siff for help after all, not the other way around. Siff went to get one of the rectangular pads, slipping her wrists through the straps on the back and holding it horizontally against her chest.

"Alright. Punch me," Siff said.

With pleasure.

Siff was knocked back a few steps when Sophie punched. Surprise flashed across the Asgardian woman's face.

"You are stronger than you look," she said.

Sophie shrugged.

"Your feet weren't in the right position," she said modestly.

Siff nodded.

"I will not make that mistake again," she promised.

Her foot slid back, ensuring it would be a lot harder to knock her over. Still, Sophie drove her back against the mirrored wall bit by bit, inch by inch. She used both her left and right fists, brows furrowed as she concentrated on her form.

"Stop," Siff said suddenly.

Sophie blinked as she came to, realizing the Asgardian was up against the wall now and breathing a bit heavily.

"Good," she said, nodding, "You clearly have that down. Now, we work on some blocks."

Sophie was having fun with the lesson, but it was over far too soon. Sweaty and exhausted, Sophie went back to her room and stripped herself of her clothes. They made a little pile by the door, and she made a mental note to do some laundry soon. At long last, she'd experiment with that marvelous bath. She showered first, getting the sweat and dirt off of her, then ran a bath, putting in some magnesium sulfate crystals. She relaxed in the hot water and pushed the button to turn on the jets, then leaned her head back against the bath pillow, closing her eyes with a smile. This was bliss. She'd almost fallen asleep in the fifteen minutes it took for the alarm on her phone to go off, she was that relaxed. Reluctantly, she got out of the tub and cleaned it before getting dressed and going to find Loki in the dining room.

"You look to be in a much better mood," he said when she entered.

"I am."

"Oh. You won't want the surprise I have for you then."

Sophie frowned.

"What surprise?"

"I do believe the point of a surprise is that it is, in fact, a surprise. You shall see after dinner. Eat up."

If he thought food was going to keep her from whatever this surprise was, he was sorely mistaken. She would eat all of her dinner, so that he had no room to say she hadn't earned it later.