AN: I am so sorry that this took so long! I got half way through the chapter then I just got... stuck. Anyway here it is, and I hope you enjoy it. I do not own anything other than the storyline really. And thank you to those who are still reading this and thank you for reviewing/favoriting/following.

"A little early to be training, isn't it?"

Lara peered down to look at the man standing on the floor ten feet below her. How long had he been watching me? She wondered before calling down to Loki, "This isn't training. This is for fun."

Director Fury had installed a rock climbing wall similar to the one in Lara's mansion for her to use. Climbing helped clear her head and she was in need of that if she was going to interact with the god of Mischief.

Loki was wearing a green button-up shirt with dark jeans. "You find this fun?" He asked cynically.

"More fun than playing immature pranks on mortals." Lara joked as she decided where next to move.

There was silence for a few moments, and Lara wondered if he had left. She nearly had fallen when his voice was right next to her. "I'm not much interested in physical activity."

Lara looked to her left to see Loki gripping the handholds a couple of feet away from her. "Right. Your brother is more into this than you are." She was met with silence until she glanced back at him to see him glaring at her.

"He is not my brother." Loki spat at her.

Lara was curious to see his reaction if she had mentioned Thor. She wasn't disappointed. She reached for another handhold and said, "Blood isn't everything." He didn't reply, so Lara decided to change the subject. "Was there a reason you came to me?"

Loki remained silent for a few moments before answering. "Not really."

Lara didn't believe him, but decided not to push him.

"Do you mind?"

Lara was surprised he asked that question. And she was even more surprised by her honest answer. "No."

Lara used her left hand to reach for a high handhold. The one her right hand was on currently suddenly broke off. She began to fall backward, not having enough time to grab another handhold. Lara prepared herself to land on the floor, which was about twenty-five below her.

Lara opened her eyes when she realized she was no longer falling. Her brown eyes met dazzling green. Loki had managed to snake his arm around her waist, saving her from the fall. Lara quickly grabbed handholds and found places to put her feet. Loki didn't remove his hand from her back until she was steady again. Lara looked at Loki who was trying his hardest not to meet her eye contact.

A few awkward moments passed before Lara found her voice. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

xOxOx

"You can eat with us, you know."

Loki looked up at Lara who had her hands on her hips and a smile tugging at her lips. He smirked and eyed what he supposed the mortals called 'food'.

"Oh, really? I didn't know that." Loki quipped.

Lara rolled her eyes and sat down across from him. "Why don't you?"

"Because I prefer not to be smashed by a gigantic green rage monster."

Lara chuckled. "He's not so bad when he's not green."

"Why do you care where I eat and who it is with?" Loki queried.

Lara straightened her back and replied indignantly, "I don't. I was only trying to be nice."

"I don't believe you." Loki stood and began to leave. Lara followed suit and quickly grabbed his arm.

"I am trying to be nice." Lara stressed. "Though you make it so difficult."

"Why?" Loki whipped around to face her. "Why would you have any reason to treat me this way?"

"Because I don't think you're as bad as you think you are." Lara replied, looking him in the eyes. "Everyone has a back story, even the villains."

Seething, Loki ripped his arm out of Lara's hold. "You don't know anything."

"Then talk to me." Lara pressed. "I'd like to know. You think I won't understand, and I never will if you never give me a chance. Not all mortals are as senseless and idiotic as you believe."

"You are starting to sound like Thor." Loki growled.

"He's not as senseless and idiotic as you believe, either." Lara pointed out.

Loki rolled his eyes and turned to leave, throwing his trash away as he passed the garbage can.

"Wait, Loki!" Lara realized he wasn't going to stop and said, "Come to my room if you feel like talking!"

He was gone by the time she got the last word out. Lara sighed and quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed their discussion. No one was staring and most seemed distracted by their own conversations. She quickly grabbed a tray of food and moved to sit down with the other Avengers. She sat down across from Barton who was situated between Thor and Natasha.

Lara was bringing a spoonful of mashed potatoes to her mouth when she noticed Thor grinning widely at her. Lara lowered her spoon and asked Thor with a confused face, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Thor tried to hide his smile, but failed miserably. "Oh, nothing of importance." He replied and went back to his food.

"He's probably just glad someone is treating Loki decently for a change." Barton surmised as Lara finished taking a bite. "Why are you being nice to him?"

Lara looked up from her plate to meet Barton's gaze. She was startled when she found fiery anger in his eyes. She didn't expect him to feel so strongly about this. "Why do you care?"

"He doesn't really deserve it. After all he's done." Barton said through gritted teeth.

"Well, Barton." Lara began, as if speaking to a child. "I'm not asking you to be nice to him. It's really none of your business if I choose to be kind to him."

Barton's face was turning red, fuming at the situation. "But why would you want to? You know what he's done."

"I have a feeling you aren't completely perfect in your past either." Lara shot back, feeling anger rise up within her. "None of us are perfect. We all have blood on our hands."

"At least ours isn't innocent blood!"

"Are you so sure? People we've killed, even if they seemed evil to us, they could have had families or other loved ones that depended on them." Lara pointed out.

"Now you're defending him?" Barton sprang out of his seat and braced himself against the table, raising his voice to a yell. "You don't know anything about him! He's a monster, who lies and kills and likes to 'play' with his victims! There is nothing good about him!"

Lara stood up and brought her face close to his. "Because you know everything!"

The room got deathly silent. Lara could feel all eyes on her, but she didn't care. Lara and Barton looked to their left when they heard someone clearing their throat. Agent Hill had just entered the room and was investigating what was going on. She had her feet spread apart in a strong stance with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"Everything alright in here?" She asked once she got Lara and Barton's attention.

Lara and Barton pulled back from each other and tried to relax. Barton kept his eyes down and replied, "Yes. Everything's fine. Just a heated argument."

Agent Hill nodded with pursed lips. "All right. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

Barton affirmed with a nod of his head. "Yes, ma'am."

Agent Hill went on about her business and the room soon returned to normal. Barton glared at Lara, which she returned, and then quickly exited the room. Natasha mumbled an apology and followed after him.

Lara took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as she sat back down. She might as well leave, because she knew after that encounter she wouldn't be able to touch her food. She had almost forgotten that Thor was even there until he spoke.

"Thank you."

Lara focused on Thor. "What for?"

"For believing in Loki."

xOxOx

Lara finally located Barton in a room built for bow training. The far side of the room had six targets lined against the wall. Five of the six targets had arrows wedged into the middle. Lara watched as Barton released an arrow that flew quickly and hit the bulls-eye of the sixth target.

Barton glanced her way before pulling out another arrow and preparing his bow for another shot. Lara approached him slowly.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier." Lara stated as Barton shot another arrow.

Barton's gaze fell upon her and he paused, trying to decide his course of action. Finally he said, "I'm sorry too. I overreacted and took it out on you. I shouldn't have done that."

Lara could tell he had trouble saying those words. Knowing he was still dumbfounded by her kindness towards Loki, she decided to let him in on her secret.

She glanced around the room asked, "Are there any security cameras in here?"

Barton raised an eyebrow. "There is, but I had the microphones turned off so they can't listen in on my conversations."

"I know Loki wronged you horribly. Taking control of you and having you harm your own men, even having you attack someone you care for deeply, is terrible. And I do not side with Loki in any way, but… I have to make him think that." Lara began her explanation. Barton looked intently at her, letting her know he was listening. "Director Fury needs information from Loki. Information he's not willing to give. Fury thinks, perhaps if I can convince Loki I'm a friend, he may tell me what we want to know."

Barton scoffs. "I know another way to get information out of someone."

"Thor would never agree to torture, and we don't need to start a war with Asgard." Lara reasoned.

"Why didn't Fury tell the rest of the Avengers this?" Barton questioned.

"The fewer people that know, the better. If Loki found out he was being tricked, torture would be our last method left."

"So why did you tell me?"

"I thought you would like to know. I'm not trying to be Loki's friend. It's only a job." Lara replied, though deep down she felt like she was lying to Barton. Do I care for Loki? How could I after the things he's done?

Barton nodded, "Thank you. And since I'm not really supposed to know this, I shouldn't tell anyone else?"

Lara smiled. "That would be nice. I'm sure Director Fury will forgive me."

"Alright." Barton agreed.

"Are we good?"

Barton laughed. "Yeah, we're good."

xOxOx

"Reading about me a lot, I see."

Lara jumped at the voice after entering her room. She turned to see Loki, sitting at the desk, paging through her Norse Mythology books.

"When I told you could come and talk to me, I didn't mean barge into my room without my permission." Lara clarified, putting her hands on hips.

Loki looked up at her from the pages. He ignored her statement and asked, "Why are you studying about me?"

"I'm not studying you." Lara argued. "I like to read about Norse myths in my free time, for your information."

"Then why are all the stories I'm in highlighted?"

Lara bit her lip and replied, "I only highlighted the stories I found entertaining."

Loki smirked. "Oh, do you find me enter-…"

"Did you give birth to an eight-legged horse?" Lara interrupted him.

A confused look passed over Loki's face as Lara's question sunk in. Lara smiled triumphantly to see it had distracted him. "What are you talking about?" Loki demanded.

"In Norse Mythology, you turned yourself into a mare. You were impregnated and later gave birth to Sleipnir." Lara explained.

"I thought you said mortals weren't as idiotic as I believed." Loki commented, flipping through the book to find the story.

Lara chuckled as she sat on the edge of her bed. "Someone decided to tell the legend that way. Perhaps that someone was playing a prank on you, Loki Laufeysson."

Loki froze as she said his full name and she hoped she hadn't angered him. "You know of my origins?"

Lara's eyes fell to her lap sheepishly. "That legend is well-known, too."

Loki slammed the book close without a word and placed it back on the desk. "Apparently I was the only one who didn't know."

Silence ensued, causing the air to become awkward. "Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about?" Lara asked, breaking the spell.

Loki looked up to Lara, and then stood, examining her room. "Not really." He began checking the books she had in her bookcase.

"Do you mind if I ask you something, then?" Lara inquired, tentatively.

Loki turned back to her and smirked. "Why? Is there something you're dying to know?"

Lara swallowed, considering her next words carefully. "No-…"

"How about I ask questions about you?" Loki suggested. "Since you know so much of my history."

Lara had a bad feeling about this, but she consented. "Alright," She said slowly. "Ask."

Loki brought a finger to his lips, tapping and pretending to ponder a question. Lara felt uneasy, like she had made a deal with the devil. Perhaps I did.

"Tell me of your past." Loki decided. "What made you the way you are today?"

Lara squirmed in her position. "How long do you have?"

"Oh, eternity." Loki replied, smiling sardonically.

"I suppose it all began when my mother disappeared." It was difficult for her to speak of this. How long had she been in that place before she turned into… a thrall? She pushed it out of her mind, knowing the answer would only end up upsetting her.

"How did it happen?" Lara was taken aback when an emotion like concern passed over Loki's face.

"I was only nine at the time. We had managed to survive a plane crash in the country of Nepal. We came upon an old, abandoned monk temple where we stayed for shelter from the snow." Lara did her best to keep any emotion out of her voice. "I had been exploring the temple when I found a sword in a stone surrounded by five larger stones. I had touched the sword, causing a travel network to start up. My mother was taken away from me."

I always believed she had died that way, though my father thought differently. And it turned out he was right, in a way. After years of searching for her, my father was killed during one of his expeditions. And I took his place. I found my mother… what was left of her in a tomb built to resemble Helheim."

Lara stood up quickly, turning away from Loki to hide a lone tear that had fallen to her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, trying to regain control of her emotions. She jolted slightly when she felt Loki rest a hand on her shoulder. She did her best to conceal the look of incredulity on her face.

"I'm sorry." Lara turned back to him to see his face. Loki glanced at the hand on her shoulder and removed it to run through his black hair. "I hate Odin. And I will never again think of him as my father for what he has done. But a part of me will always think of Frigga as my mother."

Loki backed away from her and moved towards the door. "Thank you. For telling me."

"Wait!" Lara stopped as he opened the door. "I told you my past and now I would like to hear yours."

"The books weren't enough?"

"I want to hear it from you. Your point of view." Lara explicated.

Loki smirked, and said, "Another time perhaps."

Then he was gone and Lara was left alone.

xOxOx

"Have you gotten anywhere with him?"

Lara standing in front of Nick Fury's desk with her hands behind her back. He had called her in, wanting to hear about her progress with Loki. Or if there was any.

"I'm getting closer. I can tell he's beginning to trust me." Lara informed. "If I talk to him a few more times, I believe I will have the information you require. He has already agreed to speak to me again. This time about what happened in Asgard. The conversation will lead to his fall from the Bifrost and then I hope to ask about the Chitauri and where he acquired them from. Or who."

Director Fury nodded. "This is good. But the sooner, the better."

"Agreed." Lara affirmed.

"You may leave." Director Fury authorized by nodding towards the door.

"Wish me luck." Lara called back as she left.

xOxOx

"Hey, Troubleshooter."

Lara spun around quickly, swinging a punch at whoever had snuck up on her. Luckily, Tony happened to have good reflexes as he leaned backwards to escape her fist. He fell down and landed on his butt.

"Geesh! I was only saying 'hello'! Didn't think I'd deserve to get punched for it." Tony complained as he rubbed his injured tailbone.

Lara grimaced at what her reaction caused. "Sorry, Tony. I didn't hear you come in." She held out a hand that he took. She pulled him back on to his feet.

"I probably should have expected it. You're not so different from Natasha. I accidently sneaked up on her a week ago, and she kicked me in the stomach! I also probably shouldn't have come in when you were practice-punching a dummy." Tony concluded.

Lara laughed as she removed the gauze from her hands. "Probably not. Again, I apologize. I was getting some frustration out."

"I know another exercise that helps relieve stress." Tony grinned immaturely. "It requires two people…" Tony thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Or more even."

"Don't make me regret not punching you." Lara rolled her eyes at what he was referring to.

"Oh, nice burn."

"Was there something you wanted?" Lara asked before taking a long drink of water.

"Well, there are a lot of things I want, but by the look on your face, I'll just be serious now." Tony changed his tune quickly because of the glare Lara was giving him.

"Would you like to be the new punching dummy?"

"No, ma'am."

"Good. Now, you wanted something?"

"Well, I just wanted to ask you a question." Tony began. "I happened to see some of S.H.I.E.L.D's video feed… And I noticed something strange on it."

"Strange?"

"Yeah. A couple of nights ago… the video showed Loki. Leaving your room. At night time." Tony said slowly.

Fury wouldn't allow anyone to see that. Tony must have done it without him knowing. "Were you hacking in to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s video feed? Again?" Lara added, glaring at Tony suspiciously.

"Hey! FYI, there just so happens to be a cute little blonde working the cameras." Tony defended himself. "I was in there seeing-…"

"What is her name?" Lara wanted to see if Tony was lying or not, or to see if Tony cared about this 'cute little blonde'.

Tony paused, beginning to think hard about the question. "Um, I can't remember, but that's not the point! I was in there to see her, and I just happened to see the camera pointed at your door, and to see Loki exit from there. So, my question is… What the heck is that?"

Lara groaned in her head, trying to figure out how to respond. Finally, she answered with: "It's not really any of your business, Tony."

"Oh, so he's your exercising partner." Tony observed, smiling widely.

"Tony!" Lara growled. "Look, we were only talking, and I'm going to have to ask you to please not tell anybody."

Tony frowned at the slight desperation in her voice. "Alright. I won't tell anyone. But S.H.I.E.L.D. knows which that's a lot of people."

"I know. But I'm not worried about them." Lara murmured.

Tony nodded silently, and turned to leave the room. "Uh, by the way, Lara?"

Lara looked up at him, thinking he had left already.

"I wouldn't care if Loki was your 'exercising partner'." Tony made air quotations. He exited the room, calling back a 'see ya later' before leaving.

Lara sat down on a bench, confused and surprised by Tony's last comment. Also slightly pissed that Tony even suggested the idea of her and Loki, but it was beside the point.

xOxOx

After exercising, Lara had showered and changed in the girl's locker room. She now entered her small room, carrying her bag of weapons and equipment. She froze when she noticed the mint green piece of paper on her desk, and then set her duffel bag on the floor.

Lara unfolded the small scrap of paper. The words were written with impressive cursive. Definitely Loki. The note read: Meet me where you can see the stars.

Lara raised an eyebrow, trying to decipher what Loki meant. She trained her eyes upward and smiled to herself. I wonder if we are allowed access to the roof.

xOxOx

Lara shut the door quietly behind her as she stepped onto the roof. Thankfully, it wasn't raining, but it still must have been cloudy since no stars were visible. Lara zipped her jacket up to keep the cold out as she looked around.

The roof was flat and in one corner, a heli-pad was built. Across from her was a small building, most likely used to keep equipment in. Lara barely noticed Loki sitting on the ground, leaning against this building.

Lara walked towards Loki and then sat down beside him. He was gazing up at the starless night sky. Lara waited patiently for him to speak.

"Does Midgard even have stars?" Loki questioned. "I've never seen them."

Lara laughed softly. "We do. Oregon's just not the best place for stargazing. It's almost always cloudy here."

Loki sighed. "Pity."

"Did you used to do it? Back on Asgard?"

"Yes. After a long day of dealing with Thor, it was a good way to relax."

"He's not that bad." Lara tried to persuade him.

Loki gave her a look. "I'll admit, he's better now. But he was ten times worse back on Asgard. He was always asking for 'Another!'" Loki did his best Thor impression which caused Lara to start laughing which she did her best to cover with her hand.

"Alright, I'm convinced." Lara finally quieted down to get a sentence out.

Loki seemed satisfied. They were quiet for a moment and Lara hoped, given enough time; Loki would finally start talking about his past.

She decided to give him a nudge. "How did you find out? About being a Jotunn?"

"We were in Jotunheim. Thor, The Warriors Three, Lady Sif, and I. It was Thor's idea to come after the Jotunn managed to sneak in to Asgard during his coronation to become King."

"Did you have something to do with that?"

Loki smirked. "That is neither here nor there. They caused no damage. And they weren't meant to." He paused and then continued. "It was in the middle of the battle when a Jotunn grabbed my arm. Usually when Jotunns touch Asgardians, it causes a horrible case of frostbite. But that is not what happened to me." Loki's gaze fell down to his arm, remembering when it had turned blue under the Frost Giant's contact.

"And you had no idea about being adopted until that moment?"

"Hardly adopted." Loki growled. "Odin stole me and kept me until he would have use of me. It's the only reason he took me."

"Or perhaps he was taking pity on a newborn who seemed abandoned." Lara suggested.

"You obviously know nothing of Odin. He always has a reason, a scheme to try and fill out."

"Then you two are more alike than you've let on." Lara countered. "If Odin really was taking you, just to use you for his own plans later, than why would he treat you as a son? He allowed you to live in his castle. He could have made you a servant or a slave."

Loki stands up and starts to pace, obviously getting frustrated. "To keep a close eye on me perhaps? I don't know and don't you dare side with him!"

"I'm not siding with him. I'm only trying to help you solve this puzzle." Lara stated, getting up with him. "Did you ever get the chance to talk about your heritage?"

"No. He fell into the Odinsleep as we began to discuss it. Frigga explained to me that the reason they didn't tell me was so I wouldn't feel different than the others. A lot of good that did." Loki scoffed, finally pausing in his pacing.

Lara waited and contemplated her next question. "What happened after that?"

"I became King of Asgard." Loki noticed Lara's expression and decided to elaborate on what happened. "With Thor banished and Odin asleep, the throne fell to me."

"You had what you wanted. What happened that made everything spiral out of control?"

"The Warriors Three and Lady Sif didn't think I deserved the throne. They went after Thor against my orders." Loki seethed.

"Why not bring Thor back? Do you truly hate him so?"

"I did all those things to prevent Thor from taking the throne, because he was not ready."

"And you were? You had no right to decide that."

"You would have done the same in my place. I was only trying to save my people from being under his authority. He would have brought war upon us!" Loki rationalized.

"Yes, because you were doing such a good job at keeping the peace." Lara shot back. "You tried to destroy a realm of innocent beings! Thor may be brash, but he is not cruel like you are!"

"How do you know about that?" Loki asked with gritted teeth.

"It was in your file." Lara said simply. She needed to get back on track, so she quickly changed the course of their conversation before he could say anything else. "Then what happened? When Thor came back to stop you?"

Loki took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "We fought. And he destroyed the Bifrost to save Jotunheim." Loki seemed to have trouble how to continue so Lara finished for him.

"And the destruction of the Bifrost caused you to fall."

Loki wouldn't meet her eyes and kept looking downwards. "Not exactly. I let go."

Lara was blown back by his statement. She had known he had fallen, but she would never have thought he had let go. She desperately wanted to know why, but she was so close to finding out about what happened after he fell. Her duty won over her emotions. "And you landed on Midgard?"

Loki replied with one word. "No."

"Where did you g-…" Lara was interrupted by another voice.

"Lara?"

Loki and Lara turned to see who had come to the roof. Steve stood there inside the door frame with a very confused look on his face. "What are you doing up here? With him?"

Lara did her best to hide her frustrations at him. She knew she shouldn't be, but she had been finally getting somewhere with Loki. Loki didn't hide his annoyance at the soldier.

"Good night Lara." Loki snarled. "Perhaps next time we won't be so rudely interrupted by your puppy." Loki pushed past Steve and left the roof, leaving Lara and Steve by themselves.

"Sorry. Was I interrupting something?" Steve asked, still looking horribly confused.

"No, its fine Steve." Lara replied curtly, managing to calm herself down.

"Do you mind if I ask what you are doing up here? With him?"

"Uh, actually I do mind, Steve. I need some sleep." Lara said, coming up with an excuse not to talk to him. "I'll see you in the morning, good night."

She left Steve on the roof by himself, who felt slightly hurt by Lara's reaction.

I apologize if there were any grammar or spelling mistakes. Thank you for reading, and plz review!