Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun…

Nala glared at Coulson's retreating back. There was no denying that he knew something. After shaking off multiple questions and evading, rather ingeniously she might add, direct queries, she sent them away with the promise of defending her land next time.

"When were you going to tell me you were mortal?" Nala growled, rounding on the empty living room. Loki deliberately emerged from the hallway, his arms crossed over his chest and his chin defiantly upturned.

"Does it make a difference?" he asked, his tone icy as he stood his ground over the threshold.

"It does to me!" Nala yelled, her hands flying to the back of her head and yanking down, as if wanting to rip her scalp down the middle. "I could've kicked you out ages ago!" she didn't know why she was feeling such… Betrayal. For betrayal to happen, there would have had to be trust, and if there was one thing that Nala didn't share with the trickster god, it was trust. She appreciated his company, even craved it, but trust? Had she been weak enough to allow herself the foolish notion that his whole reason for being here was not centered around the fact that he was in hiding?

"But you didn't." He countered simply. Nala scowled and plopped down in a seat.

"Well now they know you're here, so you better leave." she snarled. Loki lost a bit of his proud composure, but didn't move. Now that they knew where he was, he would most certainly have to leave, lest he expose himself or hurt Nala…

Why was he even thinking about her well-being in the first place? He shook himself, clearing away those thoughts from his mind. His first priority should be himself. There were no priorities after that. She would just be another casualty. One more addition to the never-ending stream of death that followed him everywhere. A blot of red on his already dripping ledger.

"And what of you? Surely they know you have a hand in this. You are just as guilty of hiding me as I am." Loki crossed his arms.

"Only because you blackmailed me!" she yelled, stalking over to a sofa and kicking the side with her paddock boot, cursing when she hurt her toes. "Thanks to you, Snow White, I'm now wanted for hiding evidence and god knows what else!" Her gold eyes burned with anger rarely seen. Loki flinched.

"Come with me." Nala's head snapped up. "Just for a day." he added quickly. "Just so I can find somewhere to stay until they're off my scent and yours." Nala's eyes narrowed dangerously, considering the implications of his offer. At the moment, it seemed the best option. And Nala was sorely tempted to acquiesce. She bit her lip indecisively. It wasn't camping experience she lacked, it was the bravery to do so. Especially with this particular person. Loki laughed dryly. "You don't have too many options open right now darling."

"Fine." she snapped. "Pack your bags kids we're going on a field trip." she growled under her breath, stomping to her room. Raising an eyebrow, Loki followed her tentatively, only to almost run into her as she stormed out just as quickly, her arms laden with four bags.

"What's this?" Loki asked, gesturing to the bags, two of which were backpacks.

"Camping supplies, dipshit." she snarled, still angry at him. "Grab one of each." she instructed, pulling a weatherproof jacket over her sweater and throwing a backpack over her shoulder. Loki followed suit, taking the remaining backpack and a blue sleeping roll. "We're going to a place my brother and I used to stay for a night or two. It's not that far of a hike but only we know where it is." She grabbed the red sleeping roll and opened the back screen door, not even bothering to hold it open for Loki.

Loki followed her to the barn, where she was busy tossing hay into the stalls. While she wasn't going to be gone for more than a day, she wanted to be extra sure they had enough food. She jerked her head towards the door when she finished, signalling that they were going. He followed quietly, not bothering to make conversation.

The woods weren't too far from the barn, so the slowly setting sun sent the small party into twilight darkness. The rapidly darkening woods were cool and moist, and Nala frequently tripped over exposed tree roots or slick moss. Loki often heard her grumbles drift back towards him as she plodded on, cursing his existence and the woods with all manner of Midgardian insults. After about a half hour of walking, Nala burst into a clearing and settled wearily on an overgrown stump.

"Here we are." she groaned, her earlier temper reduced by the exhaustive hike. She shrugged off her backpack, rolling her aching shoulders. "Make yourself comfortable." The concept of camping wasn't foreign to Loki; he had often slept under the stars on hunting excursions with his brother and the Warriors Three, though the tents were substantially larger and the food more spectacular than pre-packaged hot dogs. They lapsed into mutuel silence, neither willing to breach the awkward tension between them. Nala sighed as she turned the makeshift spit, on which were speared three hotdogs, her gold eyes transfixed on the withering flames. Loki leaned against a large boulder next to her, his legs crossed and his backpack propped against his shoulder.

"Believe it or not, I used to do this for fun." her eyes slit from the flames to Loki, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Loki raised an eyebrow. "Louis, my brother, and I always came out here during the summer. It was so quiet. So peaceful. Back then I liked being alone. But only because I didn't know what it could do to you." Loki remained silent, still staring at the flames, and though he appeared lost in thought, he hung on to each of Nala's words. She still looked at him intensely and he shifted under her gaze.

"You forgive too easily." he murmured as she sat beside him, the hot dogs thoroughly cooked and steaming in the cooling night air. Nala pretended not to hear.

"When Louis went to New York, I begged him not to go. It was only a year after my parents died and I was struggling with alcoholism." Why was she being so frank with him? Loki accepted the proffered hot dog in the slightly squished bun.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, his tone neither harsh nor friendly.

"I want you to understand why I'm doing what I'm doing." Nala replied, a hint of exasperation edging her words. "When Louis left, there was one thought I clung to: that he would be back. Him and his stupid band." Nala still hadn't taken her eyes off him and it was beginning to unnerve Loki enough to return the stare. The hot dog lay uneaten on his lap. Nala gulped and looked away, thoughts churning in her mind. "When I heard the news, I still thought that." Any attention Loki had been diverting from Nala now snapped towards her when she said that. She took a shuddering breath. "I waited for… Several weeks. Nothing happened. Nothing changed. He never came home. And until you showed up, I kept thinking he would. By that time, I was still struggling with alcohol." The aching loneliness in her tale was palpable, and he knew only too well what that felt like. "Have you ever seen a butterfly in winter?" she asked suddenly, her eyes locking onto his. She laughed hollowly and turned away. "Loneliness is a monster, Loki." she said as if she were a mother bestowing wisdom on a son.

Nala fell silent, the flames transfixing her attention. They snapped and writhed like snakes, sparks ascending into the air like new stars. "As am I." he finally said at last, and though his eyes were dry, he cried his anguish on the inside.

"But you're the monster I prefer." she whispered, tossing the remains of her hot dog into the fire.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to favorite/review!

Guys I'm still looking for an editor! *hint hint* *nudge nudge*