Author's Note: Okay, this took forever cuz I was waiting on my sister. But! It's the cutest chapter ever and I love her for it! I hope you all love it as much as I do! It's so sweet! Enjoy and review!

Chapter 13

When Niki got home, she asked to see Ember in her room. Loki thought nothing of it and as Ember got up he opened his book and began reading again. But he couldn't read. Ember's story kept finding a way to get back into his mind, repeating itself. He even at one time tried picturing event by event. It was too horrible so he stopped.

Just when he was about to get up and go to his room, he heard yelling coming from Niki's room. And soon after that, vulgar language entered the conversation and spiraled downward from that point on.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD EVEN CONSIDER THAT!" Ember yelled, startling Loki.

"IT WAS JUST A FUCKING IDEA!" Niki replied, just as loud as her sibling.

"WELL THAT'S A PRETTY DUMBASS IDEA IF YOU ASK ME! SOMETHING TELLS ME HE WAS DRUNKER THAN HELL!"

"MAYBE HE WAS, AND MAYBE HE WASN'T! YOU DON'T KNOW!"

The badgering and bickering kept going on and on and on. Loki was beginning to get worried. The two haven't ever really fought like this before, especially Niki. He's heard Ember curse a few times but not this much and especially not in front of Niki. Silently, Loki wondered what the idea was. He wouldn't ask; he knew that he'd find out eventually. Or so he hoped.

Ember stomped out, slamming the door behind her, growled and went up the stairs, her heavy footsteps echoing throughout the house. Niki came out as soon as Ember had loudly closed the door to her room. Sighing in frustration, Niki sat down on the couch next to Loki.

"That child!" she said. "She's… she's so stubborn."

"Not too much different from her older sister." Loki said, turning the page.

"Thanks. I don't know what I'm going to do…"

"About?"

"Well…" another sigh. "Can you just go talk to her?"

He raised an eyebrow. She gave him the puppy dog face that she mastered years ago. Loki sighed, closed his book and stood. "Fine."

Walking up the stairs, he tried to think of what to say to Ember despite the fact he didn't know a single thing about the fight. Carefully, he knocked on the door. "Ember?"

"What do you want?" she asked harshly from inside her room.

"I just want to talk."

At first there was silence, then the door opened a crack and Loki stepped in to find Ember sitting on her bed, a pillow in her arms. Her glare was directed toward the floor.

"Ember? What happened?" he asked after he shut the door behind him and sat down next to her.

Silence.

"Em, I'm here to help. Now tell me what happened."

She looked at him. "Well, apparently, at the party Tony came up to my sister and they started talking about marriage. He apparently was trying to… get engaged to her? I guess. Anyway, either way, he hinted that he and my sis should get married." Another growl escaped her lips. "At first she said no, but now she's considering getting married, saying that I need a fatherly figure. I say heck no. I don't need a father. I've made it this far without one, I can carry on." She sighed. "Course then again she wants to. I want her to, but not for my sake. I don't want her getting stuck with the wrong man for my sake."

Loki just listened. This was odd, especially for Niki.

Ember stood in front of him, looking him in the eye. "You should go talk to her, talk her out of it."

"What?! Why me?!"

She rolled her eyes. "Good grief. You don't think it's THAT obvious do you?"

"What?"

"You like my sister! It's plain as day. She might be a little too ditzy to realize it, or she's just overworked, either way. I see it all the time! You look at her with big green eyes, listen to every word she says. You really like her! Normally, I would have a problem with that. But for some reason, I don't. I have no clue how you're the exception but somehow, you are. Go talk her out of it! Because I know you don't like the idea of her marrying Stark or anyone else either!"

He could not believe it. He thought he was hiding it well. Apparently not, Ember had caught him. He DID like Niki. She was kind to him, she paid attention to him. She was intelligent, had good taste in books, funny, and just a good person to be around. She and her sister didn't mind being around a blue monster. She was everything he imagined. Loki had tried to hide it, knowing he would be badgered by both Ember and Thor, but it didn't work, or at least, not for Ember. She caught it. Smart kid. He stood and walked to the door. "I… there's not much I can do. If I told her not to, I'm not sure she would listen… it's none of my business anyway." With that he left, seeing out of the corner of his eye, Ember glaring daggers at him.

No, he didn't want Niki to marry Tony. That would be terrible for all three of them. Niki would be miserable because she didn't truly love Tony. Ember didn't like Tony all that much in the first place. And Loki himself would be kicked out, sent to S.H.I.E.L.D. to be kept away and treated like dirt. That was the least of his worries though. He did love Niki. Or so he thought it was love. He didn't want her to be miserable.

But he couldn't do a thing about it. Like he told Ember, he had no place in this.