Loki woke slowly to weak winter sunlight dancing on the inside of her eyelids. She sat up slowly, not wanting to give up the comfort of sleep quite yet. The man who had rescued her, Bucky, she recalled, was asleep in a chair on the other side of the room. She should probably come up with a believable story to tell him about who she was and how she ended up here. Yes, that would be a good place to start. Once she'd allayed any suspicions he might have about her true nature, she could figure out what to do next.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and a blond-haired boy stumbled through. He looked like a heavy breeze could kill him, Loki thought, although he was probably older than he appeared to be. "Hey, Buck, do you know where I-" he spotted Loki, and his eyes went wide. "Uh, I can come back later... I didn't realize you had...company." He turned to leave.

Bucky was awake at this point. "Uhm, I can explain. I- well, you know...Uh-"

Loki chuckled. "It's not what it looks like. Your friend saved my life last night, and he kindly allowed me to recuperate here."

"Oh." The blond nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I'm Steve." He offered his hand to shake.

"It is good to meet you, Steve," Loki said, with a small smile. "I'm Lisa."

"Are you from anywhere around here?"

"No, I just arrived in your city," Loki told him. That much of the truth was probably safe to share, which was good. The closer a lie was to reality, the more believable it is.

"That does explain the accent," Steve said with a chuckle.

"Yes, I suppose it does." Loki turned to Bucky. "I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I really must be going."

"You don't have to," Bucky told her. He wasn't entirely sure why he was saying it, but he did want her to stay. If nothing else, he still had a lot of questions to ask her about what had happened the day before. Something just didn't add up, although he had no idea what that something was.

"I should, though. I've taken up enough of your time already."

Steve looked back and forth between the two of them. "Am I missing something here?"

"Yes," Bucky said, at the exact same moment Loki said, "No."

"Alright, well, I'll leave you two to sort out...whatever's going on here," Steve said, starting towards the door.

"Goodbye, Steve!" Loki called, waving. He waved back, then shut the door behind himself.

Bucky turned to look at her. "I'm guessing you have questions?" Loki ventured.

"Yeah, I do."

"What are they?"

Bucky looked at her, startled. He'd been expecting an evasion, not an open invitation of scrutiny.

"What?" Loki said. "I am a stranger in your abode, and the circumstances of my arrival are bizarre, to say the least. It's only natural that you desire answers and only right that I provide them."

"Ok, well, let's start with where are you from?"

"Norway. I just moved here recently."

"To escape the war?"

"Yes." That seemed to be the answer he was expecting, so Loki gave it to him.

Bucky nodded thoughtfully. "Why were you on my fire escape last night, and how did you break the window?"

"I was on your fire escape because I was running from several men who wished to do me harm. I was a gymnast back in my home country, which is how I was able to reach the ladder." Loki smiled. "I was extremely lucky that they were not, and that they did not have projectile weaponry. I broke the window out of desperation; I was cold, and freezing to death did not seem an attractive way to go. I'm not quite sure where I got the strength to do it, but I would likely not be here if I hadn't."

"Why were you being chased?"

"I don't know. I have no idea who would wish to harm me, especially here, where I know no one." That was true; Loki hadn't been able to come up with a realistic story for that part without making herself suspicious in the process.

"You probably just got really unlucky, then," Bucky told her. "New York isn't a place to be wandering around alone at night."

"So I've noticed," Loki drawled. "Believe me, I won't be making the same mistake again."

Bucky chuckled at that. "So, do you have someplace you're staying?"

"I am...working on that," Loki said slowly. That part was completely true. She had no idea where she was going to stay while she was on Midgard.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here if you want." He wasn't really sure why he'd offered; after all, they barely knew each other. Still, if she really had nowhere to go, that was a whole different story. "At least until you find a place of your own."

"I- thank you." Loki wasn't sure what to make of this strange Midgardian. Did he want something from her? He seemed honest enough, and yet. Generosity was a good way to get stabbed in the back; surely even Midgardians knew this! "If you're sure it will not inconvenience you, I would very much appreciate it."

Bucky smiled. "Well, that's settled then. Now, how would you like a tour of one of the greatest cities in the world? Without the shady characters chasing you this time?"

A tiny voice reminded Loki that she had a mission here, that she couldn't afford to get distracted. And yet, she found herself smiling in response, and, to her own eternal surprise, it was genuine.

"I think I would like that very much."