Chapter 5

"Ember, Ember come on. It's time to get ready for school." Niki said, shaking the sleeping Ember. Ember had fallen asleep during the third disk of Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring. Her excitement had been at its peak ever since Loki had shown up but that was taken down when she ate three pieces of pizza. Normally, she didn't eat that much. Niki's little sister let out a soft snort/snore and continued to doze. "Ember!" Niki shook her sibling harder.

Ember sat straight up, wide eyes and on her face, barely noticeable was the imprint of her sleeve's wrinkle where her face had been pressed on. Her eyes had a bleary, tired look but she looked awake… enough. "Morning Nik." She said, yawning and stretching her arms over her head. "Where's Lokster? Is he okay?" she asked, yawning again.

Of course she came up with a nick name for Loki already. And of course she would be concerned about the disgruntled deity. Ember would be concerned about anyone if she had a reason. Sometimes she didn't even have a reason, she would just be concerned for a hobo on the street or for the single mother with five children, or the deity who nearly destroyed the world she has grown up in.

"He's in his own room, sleeping probably. Now quietly get ready for school. Shower girl!
Niki teased, playfully shielding her nose.

Ember stuck out her tongue, popped up and went up to her room. After a short while, Niki heard the shower running and the muffled sound of singing. Shaking her head, Niki stood and walked into the kitchen to rummage through cabinets and cupboards for ideas for breakfast. All that seemed like a good idea was pancakes or French toast. Pancakes take less time, so she grabbed the box of mix.

Soon the aroma of the delightful breakfast delicacy wafted through the farm home. It attracted the attention of the sister's massive golden retriever, Mjolnir. He trotted in and sat at Niki's feet, looking up at her with large puppy eyes.

"No." Niki said, flipping a pancake. Mjolnir let out a small whimper that crushed Niki like an ant under a boot. "Fine. But just one." She grabbed the smallest pancake and tossed it to the dog. He jumped up and caught it in his large jaws. "I swear, you eat as much as Thor."

At the moment, a fully dressed and clean Loki entered the room. He sniffed the air and frowned, contemplating the smell. What was it? It didn't smell like anything from Asgard save, possibly the biscuits or the scones. But not too close to that. He sauntered over to Niki and looked over her shoulder. On the pan, sizzling were three medium sized disks. "What are those?"

Niki looked at him and took a slight step to the side. "Please don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Don't hover over my shoulder. It's annoying. Anyway, I'm making pancakes. Are you hungry?"

He straightened his jacket and walked into the dining area. "No. I've never had this pancake."

"Sit down, you're having one."

Loki knew better than to argue with women so he sat down at the table.

Soon, Ember, who was clean, dressed, and ready for school came down the stairs, humming. She walked into the kitchen totally oblivious to the brooding Loki at the table. "Pancakes?! Sweet! Thanks Niki." Ember hugged her older sister.

"You're welcome. Now go sit down. Breakfast is nearly ready."

"Yes ma'am." Ember came in and sat down across from Loki at the circular table. "Oh! Hi Loki! Didn't see you there!"

He just kind of glared at her. He didn't want to be asked a ton of questions.

"Calm down, mischief, I'm not going to do anything." Ember said, narrowing her eyes.

As if to save the two an awkward silence or a rather rude trading of words, Niki walked in with a plate of pancakes. She set that down on the table and sat down next to Loki. "Go ahead guys. Eat."

While they ate, Niki mentally went over her schedule for the day. She had a few transcripts to review and a few new entries to go through and… wait. It was a Friday! She had the day off and she got paid! Her eyes rested on Loki who was still wearing his Asgardian armor. I know where some of that money will go…

Niki and Loki were in Kohl's after they had dropped Ember off at school. Browsing the men's section, Niki was looking at clothing she thought Loki would like. The god looked around, unhappy to be surrounded by so many mortal beings. He didn't want to be here, he didn't even want to be on Midgard for that matter!

Seeing that the god was unhappy, yet again, Niki grabbed the shirt she was looking at, a pair of black dress pants and shoes and handed them to Loki. "Go try these on." She said, pointing at the empty dressing rooms. "Now."

Grumbling about something, Loki snatched the clothes and walked into the dressing room.

A few moments later, Loki came out, dressed in the dark green V-neck sweater that Niki had been looking at, the black dress pants, and the dress shoes. "I do not mind these. They shall suffice." He commented, looking down at Niki.

Niki was doing an expert job at keeping her face straight. "Good, now here are some more." She said, handing him some more clothing. Her face looked as if she was unimpressed, but in her mind, she was ogling. Her eyes would be wide and her mouth would've been wide open had she not covered up. Loki had looked… well… amazing! She blushed, in the knowing that she was swooning over her friend's enemy.

The day went on just like that. Niki would send Loki to try on clothing and later almost fall down due to his good looks!

"Number one advantage to having the villain in your house: he's hot and you pay for his clothing, therefore, you choose what he wears." She had muttered under her breath at one point. Afterwards, she snickered both at that idea and the image of Ember's reaction to the god in mortal clothing.

"Might as well pick up Ember." Niki said as the two drove down the busy streets of New York City.

Loki let out a tremendous groan and placed his head in his hands. "Please! Why must we pick her up?!"

Niki slammed her foot down on the break, both because they were at a stop light and she was ticked. "Do you have a problem with my sister? Because if you do, then you have a problem with me! And if you have a problem with me, I can send you to live with your Avengers, you got it?!" she growled, glaring daggers at the slightly shaken demigod.

"Alright, alright fine." He said, shifting in his seat. There was an awkward silence while Niki glared out the window and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. Loki didn't like this silence. He felt as if Niki would kill him. But something nagged at him. The two sisters had a special bond. They would always stand up for each other, and they got along nicely. "H-how do you do that?"

Niki glanced at him oddly. "Do what now?"

"How do you get along so well? How do you… live with each other?" Loki asked.

Niki's expression softened but she didn't smile. She just stared out the windshield, being taken back to that day; that day when her life stopped. "Well, one, we're sisters. Two, our parents died last year and I have to take care of her."