Author's Note: There is a very brief mention of Arianna's past trauma in the form of a nightmare. It's very vague and not graphic at all.

Chapter Fourteen

"I don't know what I'm going to do now that I've become this creature."

Arianna was still in Loki's room, now seated on the bed with him beside her. They were no longer holding hands, but Loki had relaxed once he'd realized he could touch her without harming her. Her hand had become cold, but not so cold that it would damage her.

"I don't think it would change anything if the others found out. I mean . . . we all get along with Bruce, and he can turn into the Hulk. Bruce thinks he's a monster too, but we don't. The others don't."

"I don't think it's the same thing."

"Okay, let me run through what will happen if you don't let them know. Tony will want to know why you hid this – and he will find out. He'll use Jarvis to check in on you if you don't come out in a few days. You could say that you're sick, but he'll still check on you. You're one of us now, and . . . you care about me, so he'll check."

"And my appearance?"

"Tony will be curious because he's Tony Stark, genius, scientist, engineer person. Bruce will be curious too, but more reserved about it. Tash won't care, not after she knows it doesn't change anything else about you. Steve won't attack as long as you don't pose a threat, which you don't. Now . . . Clint might try to shoot you. I might have to warn him about the change before he sees you."

"What of Fury?"

"I technically no longer work for SHIELD. I don't answer to him. But Fury can't know that you're no longer completely mortal. It probably wouldn't end well."

A small grin briefly took over Loki's mouth.

"You may have to learn to lie, then, Miss Grace."

"I can lie very well, actually. I just choose not to unless it's completely necessary." She shrugged. "As an agent, I was trained in the art of lying. I still prefer the truth."

"Of course you do."

"And so you know I speak the truth when I say . . . If you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't. I'm behind you one-hundred percent."

She knew what it was like having a secret she didn't want anyone knowing for fear of them looking at her differently, so she wouldn't try to make him tell the others. She did know, though, that she'd been wrong.

Tony knew about her past and didn't treat her any differently. He was more protective and slightly less sarcastic with her, but she was fine with that. She supposed that Clint knew, but she had never told him. She had, however, worked with him and Natasha for the better part of a decade and she was sure there had been situations where he would have figured it out. Steve knew and, though he never mentioned it, he was supportive in every way he could be. Bruce didn't know her past, but she knew that he wouldn't see her as weak because of it.

The point was that this part of Loki would take some getting used to, but she was sure everyone would if he gave them a chance.

Loki kept to himself for the next few days and Arianna brought him food three times a day, much like she had when he'd first arrived. She told the others he wasn't feeling well.

She'd even gone so far as to say he hadn't come out of his room because he was 'feeling a little blue.'

As Arianna had predicted, Tony wanted him checked over after the third day of Loki not coming out of his room. He was seriously considering sending Bruce in if Loki didn't get better, so Loki was considering letting the others know out of necessity.

"Maybe you could tell them one at a time," Arianna suggested. "Remember, they probably don't know what a Frost Giant is either, so they won't have any preconceived notions about what they are."

That would definitely work in his favor.

"I think I will tell Captain Rogers first, Agents Barton and Romanoff together, and then Stark and Banner."

"Why Steve alone?"

Loki shrugged and smirked. "Rogers is level-headed, and I think I can bring him over to my side. Three is better than two. Rogers, then Romanoff. She will bring in Barton – Agent Romanoff is key there."

Arianna smiled, almost laughed. "There's the mastermind coming out."

Arianna found Steve in the gym – of course that was where he was. That was his go-to place when he was alone. Steve got about as much sleep as Tony did.

She stepped in the room to see Steve killing a punching bag. He stopped when he noticed her, and caught the bag to make it go still.

"Something you need?" he asked.

The fact that she hadn't moved to find a workout station herself must've clued him in on her wanting something from him.

"There's something you need to see."

"Okay."

She gestured for him to follow her, which he did. He seemed confused as to why she wasn't speaking as they were walking.

"Is everything okay?"

"Um . . . depends on how you take this."

"That kind of has me worrying, Aries."

They reached Loki's room and she knocked so Loki would know they were there in case he'd changed his mind.

"I need your word that you won't say anything to anyone, okay?"

"Will this hurt someone if I don't?"

"No. This won't go against any moral code you may have, but what you're going to see is something the others don't know about yet."

Steve grabbed her arm and looked in her eyes. "How bad is it? He's been sick."

"Well . . . he's not himself, but he's still Loki. Okay?" Then, "Loki, can we come in?"

"Yes. Come in."

Steve hadn't known what to expect when he walked into Loki's room, but seeing Loki with blue skin definitely wasn't it. Even if he hadn't been warned, he would have known the man was Loki. He had the same black hair, the same lean build to his body, and the man was wearing Loki's clothes.

He still stood there in a defensive stance, ready for a fight if one were to start.

"I am obviously missing something," Steve said. "When did this happen? How?"

Loki briefly summarized what Arianna knew and Steve especially paid attention to the race war bit. He'd had enough of that just living with the Nazis thinking the Jews weren't the perfect humans and so deserved to be eliminated. Steve knew there had been experiments done in the war camps, and the Nazis wanted to create the perfect race. He didn't know all the details because science wasn't his thing, but he knew enough to know it had been horrible.

He also knew that America had been less than kind to the Asians living in the country once Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. People usually blamed a whole race for the acts of a few individuals. It wasn't fair, but that was usually how it worked.

He still didn't understand the whole of what Loki explained. He wasn't into mythology or any religion that wasn't Christianity, but he understood enough to understand that Loki had been treated unfairly. It didn't excuse anything Loki had done, but it did help Steve get into his mind a little. It didn't change how Steve felt about him.

"Blue or not, I don't particularly like you. I don't trust you, and I probably never will. You wanted to take over my world. That being said, that has nothing to do with where you come from. It's about what you did."

Loki seemed to accept that. He probably would've been the same way had someone come in and destroyed part of his world and tried to take over.

"Arianna knows how I feel about you two. She came to me before you went on your date. I'll tell you what I told her."

Loki tensed. Steve could tell he was waiting for something negative to be said. It was what he was used to. He hoped what he said next helped Loki get over that at least a little.

"I don't know how you feel about the rest of us, but I know you care about her. You've risked your life for her, fought to protect her – killed to protect her. I don't believe you would ever harm her on purpose, and would never willingly let harm come to her."

He looked at Arianna then. She had a small smile on her face even though there were tears in her eyes.

"I know you weren't asking for it, but that's my blessing. Or as close to it as you're going to get from me."

"You're right. I wasn't asking for it. But it's nice to have it anyway."

To Loki Steve said, "If you do hurt her . . ." Steve shrugged. "Let's just say I've survived being frozen before. I can probably do it again."

Ironically, that was what made Loki relax.

Go figure.

Natasha was surprisingly accepting of Loki's backstory. All she did was give a nonchalant, almost uninterested shrug. Clint was almost as uninterested. He really didn't care about Loki; he tolerated him for Arianna's sake and that was it.

Letting three people know in one day was enough for Loki. He would let Bruce and Tony know later. As for that moment? He just wanted to rest, and he knew Arianna needed rest. He was emotionally drained from all the worry he'd had about how she and the others would take his change, but Arianna was physically exhausted.

Loki had been selfish, not that that was an unusual trait for him, but he usually didn't care about selfishness, much less who it was directed at. This time he did, because it was Arianna.

She hadn't complained once about having to bring him meals or spend time only in his room because he didn't want to leave it. She was better, healthier now than when she'd come with food the first time. She had her color back and she hadn't had a fever since taking the antibiotics, so the medicine had obviously worked.

Still, she was recovering and taking care of him at the same time. He wondered what he'd done to deserve her loyalty because he couldn't think of a thing. He was almost one hundred percent certain that it would not have turned out as well had anyone else been tasked with being his keeper.

His mother had done the right thing by leaving him there with Arianna. His mother had known how kind she would be and how much Loki needed that kindness. She'd also known that had he had his magic as a defense mechanism he never would've let Arianna get as close as he had.

Well played, Mother, he thought.

"You're grinning," Arianna said. "What's funny?"

"Nothing. Passing thoughts."

"About?"

"You," he admitted freely. "And my mother. About how she knew what she was doing when she left me in your care."

"Well, she couldn't have left you completely defenseless."

"No."

They were both seated on his bed, side by side. She turned to bring her hand to his cheek, where she caressed him despite his skin color and despite the cold.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad she made you stay. I'm glad you're here with me."

Since no one was around to see or hear him he admitted he was glad too.

That night Arianna left Loki to his own devices. Speaking of, she needed to talk to Tony about upgrading Loki's room. The only form of entertainment he had was books. He didn't even have a phone. Until recently he hadn't needed one because he hadn't even wanted to leave the tower.

He would need one, however, because they couldn't not go places. They couldn't not live their lives. Plus, they would take care of the people tailing her and they'd be free to go wherever they wanted.

The point she'd been thinking of, though, about upgrading Loki's room was . . . he at least needed a TV or a laptop. Especially if he was planning on staying in his room for the foreseeable future.

She'd get with Tony about it. She'd even buy the stuff herself if Tony had a problem spending money on an ex-villain. He'd never had a problem doing it before.

Loki was on her side, at least, and that meant he was on their side. This whole getting kidnapped thing had brought them all closer together and Loki had slowly let them all see his softer side. The side that allowed him to care about her.

She could worry about talking to Tony later though. Right then she just wanted to sleep. She felt better than she had just days before, but taking care of Loki's insecurity issues was emotionally draining on top of everything she'd been through.

Once in bed she pulled up a book on her phone. A murder mystery series with a leading woman who reminded her of Natasha and a leading man who reminded her of tony, sarcasm and all.

Given the recent circumstances of her life, she probably should have chosen something else to read before sleeping. She didn't need another reason to have a nightmare, not like the ones she'd been having since being kidnapped and tortured.

And that was where she was when she dreamed – back in that warehouse with Blondie and Brown Eyes. She was bound to the chair like she had been in real life. As usual when she was going through something traumatic, she flashed back to her original trauma.

As she normally did when she relived the violation, she jerked awake with a scream dying on her lips. What was not like usual was that when she woke up Loki was at her bedside. Thankfully he had thought to have Jarvis turn the lights on or else she may have gone on the defensive. His hands were on her shoulders, chilly but not ice cold. He hadn't shaken her awake but had grabbed her when she'd jerked into a sitting position upon waking.

"Loki? What're you doing in here?"

"You were screaming. Again."

He stood up straight then, pulling away from her now that she was awake.

"Is this because of your recent capture? You didn't have these nightmares before then. Or if you did, it never led to you screaming or crying."

She wiped her tears away quickly, having noticed them only after Loki mentioned them.

"Perhaps it is something else," he said. "Something from your past."

Her body tensed and he sat back down beside her.

"I have a feeling I know what happened to you, and I'm not asking you to talk about it. That's not something you have to do. Just know that you can."

Her heart was racing and her eyes were stinging now. He knew. He definitely knew at least some of it and he was still there, not looking at her or treating her any differently.

"It happened a long time ago. Years," she said. "It's hitting me again because of what happened when I was taken. And that's all I have to say."

"Okay. Do you wish to be alone?"

"No. Thanks for checking up on me."

"Well, you know." He shrugged. "Damsel in distress and all."

"Hey!"

She shoved him playfully, still slightly shocked by the coolness of his skin, and something loosened in her chest and stomach. For years she'd woken up alone and she was mostly okay with that. It was lonely, though, when she woke up from a nightmare and there was no one there to comfort her.

Before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek. She felt the marks on his skin but didn't let it bother her because she knew who was underneath the marks.

It didn't last long, the kiss being more a thank you than anything else, and once she pulled away she let herself fall back against the mattress.

"You don't have to stay all night, but can you stay until I fall asleep?"

"Of course." He sighed. "You know, if I had my magic, I could give you good dreams."

"Hm?"

"I could stop you from having nightmares. Build a whole dream world for you every night."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"Illusion, but very much like the mind-walking you do."

"Well, that sounds nice, but you were here when I woke up and that's just as good."

Loki stayed with Arianna for about an hour, which was how long it took her to go back to sleep and for Loki to know she was at peace. Loki slept too, but he had to wake up earlier than he really wanted.

In Asgard, he'd been used to getting up almost as soon as the sun came up. Asgardians didn't have clocks, didn't tell times as Midgardians did. Since becoming mortal, however, Loki had taken to sleeping until at least ten. He seemed to need more sleep now that he was human – or whatever he was considered now, what with his new skin color and body temperature.

That was why he was awake. He was going to see Tony and Bruce in the lab. Maybe they could help him go back to how he normally was. It was what he wanted most at the moment.

He got up, got dressed, and walked out of his room only to see that Arianna was leaning against the wall across from him. She was not dressed for the day, he noticed. She was still in her sleep wear.

"I asked Jarvis to let me know when you woke up. I didn't know if you wanted me to go with you or . . ."

Loki had learned to be a solitary person. Even in his youth he preferred to surround himself intimately with only a few people, and even then, he craved his alone time away from them. With Arianna there was none of that. He'd be with her always if she allowed him to.

"Of course."

He held his hand out to her and she grabbed it. They began walking hand-in-hand. It hit Loki then, while her hair was a mess, her cheeks still a little pink from sleep, and her clothes wrinkled from lying in them all night that he more than fancied this girl. He believed he loved this girl.

That revelation almost had him stopping mid-step. He probably would have had she not been there with him. As it was, there she was helping to keep him steady without even knowing it.

He didn't know what to do with that information, but he shouldn't have been surprised by it. He wasn't ready for her to know, not from his own lips, that he loved her. Besides, she hadn't admitted it, either, not in that way.

He couldn't be blamed for hesitating.

Tony stood in his workshop with Bruce, both unmoving and looking at the blue man in front of them. Arianna was beside the guy and Tony's system read that it was Loki, but . . .

"Why are you blue?" Tony asked after the shock wore off. "Decide to fall into a vat of paint dye?"

"That's obviously what happened," Loki answered, sounding mostly unoffended and a little amused.

"The short answer, Tony, is that he isn't biologically an Asgardian," Arianna said.

Tony shrugged. "Thor did say he was adopted. Still doesn't answer why he's blue."

Loki briefly explained why he was blue and after he was done seemed confused.

"Why is everyone so calm about this? I explain that I am a monster and you don't even bat an eyelash."

"It's not like you're being particularly frightening right now. Besides, people change, and you are not defined by your race or what it's known for."

If Tony had let something like that stop him, he'd probably still be making weapons and selling them, no matter how unwittingly, to other countries to use against his own. People could change once they had their eyes open to something they'd been blinded to.

"And I happen to be able to change color too," Bruce said. "And at least you're not smashing things."

Tony liked that Bruce was lightening up about the whole Hulk thing. He was learning that people accepted him too, green beast and all.

More than that, they weren't afraid of him.

Aware of what the green guy could do, yes, but also aware that the Hulk and Bruce were two different individuals. Sometimes Bruce wasn't even aware of what the Hulk was doing until he became Bruce Banner again.

"We're all assuming Fury doesn't know about this, and we should definitely keep it that way," Arianna said. "I don't want SHIELD to find out."

"Agreed," Tony said. A moment later he continued with a different subject. "We found out those darts are manufactured by SHIELD."

"What?"

"Let me show you."

Tony pulled up the file he'd accessed and downloaded when he'd hacked SHIELD's database.

"It's from the science and weapons department. We, uh – we did some research while you were recovering."

He explained that the weapon had originally been manufactured in case Steve Rogers went rogue after becoming a super soldier. He went through the brief history of the weapon, even brought up the fact that there were other humans like her, humans with powers, and this weapon was basically a reassurance that SHIELD could incapacitate them if need be.

"Or control them if they don't do what SHIELD wants," Loki said.

"They'd never admit that, but yes."

Tony noticed the room's temperature dropping quickly – he almost thought he had to be imagining it.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?"

"What's going on with the temperature down here?"

"I believe it's Loki, sir."

Tony looked at Loki, as did Arianna and Bruce, and saw him standing there stiff, hands fisted at his sides.

"Loki?" Arianna spoke softly.

"Yes, I'm changing the temperature. It can fluctuate with my mood. It will settle in a moment."

"I didn't know you could control the temperature," Arianna said. "I just thought it made you cold."

"I'm not used to having such an emotional response."

The temperature did in fact settle within a minute or two, and they continued talking about SHIELD and what they could possibly want with Arianna. The fact that she no longer worked for SHIELD was probably a contributing factor as to why they seemed to be picking up the pace on the experimental serum and seeing what it would do to her when used.

They probably thought she would now be more of a threat since she no longer worked for them, but they also probably wanted to use her if they could get their hands on her.

As Loki and Arianna walked to their rooms, Arianna couldn't help but notice that Loki was oddly quiet, not that he was particularly super talkative to begin with.

"I told you they wouldn't care," she said gently, more reassuring than triumphant.

"So you did."

She grabbed his hand when they reached his room only to pull him towards her room.

"We can watch TV or something."

Once inside the room, Arianna basically plopped onto the bed. She felt better than she had in days despite the new information she'd received. Maybe it was because she'd been proven right in her theory that Loki didn't have to hide who he was. Or maybe it was something else, but she didn't want to question it.

Loki continued standing there beside the bed, as if he didn't know if it was okay to sit down.

"You can sit. I brought you in here. You don't need an invitation to get in my bed."

Loki's eyebrows quirked up and he pursed his lips to hide a grin. When Arianna realized what she'd said and how it could've been taken she face-palmed and felt her cheeks heat up.

"You know what I meant. I should've stopped at you can sit."

"Oh, but then your face wouldn't have taken on that very appealing shade of pink," he teased as he sat down. "Oh, look, now you're turning red."

"Hush."

He was quiet as he gave her time to settle down, but he eventually said, "Should we talk about what we learned just now?"

"What's there to talk about? There isn't anything we can really do about it."

"Not right now, that's true enough. But we could start planning ways to keep you safe."

She sighed, her mood coming down just a bit.

"I – I know we need to do that. But can we do it later? Right now I just . . . I don't wanna think about it."

"All right, but you can't avoid it forever."