The mood of the room that Loki found himself in was what he expected after hearing of Nick Fury's death. Johnny led him and Thor to a conference room with massive windows and a high ceiling, stretching almost the entire width of the tower. With a large round table at one end and a lounge setting at the other, Loki wondered just how many world-changing decisions had been made in this room over the years. The occupants of said room were divided into little groups, and he could read the reactions to the loss of their leader as plain as anything.

At one side, Maria Hill stood with the Soldier, their arms crossed and faces sullen. They seemed unsurprised, however, which was in sharp contrast to Stark and the Hulk's human form. Loki's eyes met with the man, this Doctor Bruce Banner, and he tried not to glare too hard. After all, the Hulk had only given him a moderate thrashing upon their first meeting—that was an improvement, he supposed, to their previous interactions. Still, the two men spoke in hushed voices, their faces lacking the dark certainty of Hill and Rogers.

Thor stood by his side, and a quick sweep of his face told Loki that the man was also surprised at the news, and, in a way, saddened. There was a slight slump to his shoulders, a concerning furrow to his brow. Loki sighed noisily enough to catch his attention, and then shot him a look of incredulity: was the man really so upset at the loss of a human? A human who, in the grand scheme of all time, hardly mattered?

And then there were the people Loki had grown accustomed to. He followed Johnny toward Sue and Reed, leaving Thor behind to fend for himself. There was a nod exchanged between him and Ben Grimm, one that spoke of the shift in their relationship, and one that might not ever happen again. These people were not as put-out as the rest of the room at the news. Yes, Reed appeared lost in thought, his gaze fixed on the window and unmoving. However, the air felt different on that side of the table: lighter, with a hint of non-caring.

Loki settled into a chair between Sue and Johnny, his eyes following Thor as the man lumbered toward Rogers and Hill. All the conversations remained hushed; no one spoke louder than their neighbour. Well, that is until Johnny opted to break the tension.

"What? No refreshments?" He gestured to an empty rectangular table against a nearby wall. "What kind of a meeting is this?"

He put the inquiry to Stark, who pulled back his jacket to reveal a metal flask sitting neatly in a pocket on the inner lining of the garment. Johnny's attempt at humor didn't seem to lighten the mood any, and Sue hissed for him to sit back down. Meanwhile, Ben started to pace behind them, and Loki continued to watch the heroes around him. The Black Widow seemed to appear out of nowhere: one moment the space between Thor and Rogers was empty, and when Loki next looked, a familiar redheaded woman filled the gap, her back to the group.

Hmm. No Barton. He recalled the archer to be a part of Thor's group after they had dispensed with Loki, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Smirking, he decided he would ask the little Russian spy about the man's whereabouts when the meeting adjourned. Strangely enough, he knew everyone in the room, even if it was only in a vague sense. How interesting what time and a few good deeds could do for a man: despite the few narrowed looks thrown his way, no one attempted to interfere with him, nor did they question his presence. In fact, Loki was, for the most part, ignored entirely by all but the people on either side of him.

"Look…" Johnny leaned around him to address his sister. He pointed a thumb in Stark's direction. "The guy had no idea Fury died… He's not taking over."

"Maybe they'll ask him now," she whispered back. "It's not Hill."

"Why not?"

"She would have taken charge of everything by now." Sue nodded toward a digital clock strung up over the entranceway. "From what I remember, she's a huge stickler for punctuality, and we're running six minutes late."

Johnny shook his head, as if unwilling to accept her logical response. "Is everyone here?"

"Everyone who matters," Loki interjected. "In my opinion."

"Well, can't say you're the expert on S.H.I.E.L.D. attendance," Johnny said with a chuckle, "but I agree. All the Avengers are here… We're here… It's Hill."

"It's not Hill."

Loki settled back between the two bickering siblings, arms crossed, and then straightened a little when he noticed Thor watching him.

"Gentlemen, ladies, so sorry I'm running behind schedule…" A man in a charcoal-coloured suit flew in through the nearby doors, a briefcase in hand and a sweaty glow on his features. "My driver is an idiot."

Two men stepped forth behind him, and Loki watched as they closed the doors, shutting the group off from the rest of the tower. Despite appearing like a man of business and wealth, the new arrival was built like a warrior in his own sense: a thick chest, wide shoulders, and a militant haircut gave him a look that caught Loki's eye. He was a strange dichotomy of appearances: both rugged and refined, he had a sharp eye that moved from person to person with precision and purpose.

"Oh my god…" Sue's utterance made his ear twitch, and he looked to her curiously. Her expression had tightened considerably, and it was clear that she recognized the man. Her husband did too, and Loki watched Reed shift so that he was sitting at attention, hands resting on the table, alternating between palms-down and folded. Even Johnny had lost some of his previous mirth, and while he still leaned back in his chair, a false air of casualness to his stance, Loki could see the tension in his shoulders, the strain in his smile.

"Most of you know me," the man said, his piercing gaze still darting between superheroes and S.H.I. . agents alike. He lingered on Loki, though he wouldn't meet his eye—Loki noticed him staring just over his shoulder, giving the impression of meeting his eye without actually doing so. "For those of you who don't, my name is Norman Osborn."

Loki searched the room for reactions. Once again, Hill and Rogers were plagued with grim expressions, but neither seemed surprised at the introduction. Stark looked like he wanted to laugh. The Widow was more neutral than Loki had ever seen her, and Thor's expression was best described as befuddled. Untrue to his usual manners, Thor remained standing, even after Osborn directed everyone to take a seat. Stark mimicked his stance, lingering behind Banner's chair instead.

"It's a real tragedy what happened to Nick Fury." Obsborn set his briefcase on the table, opening it with two noisy clacks and removing some papers. "I mean, at least the aliens didn't get him. Can you imagine the unstoppable force that would have been?"

His chuckle was met by a sea of stoic faces, and he shrugged.

"Still… Times are changing, and we can't just sit around wishing for him to come back. Forward and onward—"

"So no one is planning to tell us how he died?" Banner interrupted. "I mean… We're all just supposed to accept it and move on?"

"The information is classified." It was Hill who responded, taking the same tone with Banner that she had with Loki when they last met at the hospital. "It's on a need-to-know."

Stark's chuckle was nothing like Osborn's: cold and cruel, it set the mood of all those seated around the table in a single syllable. "And we're not considered need-to-know type guys?"

"No."

"Not yet, anyway," Osborn said, and Loki watched him tighten the green fabric around his neck, readjusting the triangular knot. "I mean, you gotta give us some time to get everything in order. It's all still very new."

"When did he pass?"

"Let's save the question and answer period to the end." The smile Osborn shot Thor made the warrior bristle: Loki could see his chest swell, his hands clench. The Widow shot him a look, and when their eyes met, they had a conversation the rest of the room was excluded from. A familiar tug of jealousy made Loki's stomach twist, but he did his best to ignore it. "Okay, Big Guy?"

"Okay then." Loki watched Stark pull his flask out of his pocket, slowly unscrewing the cap. "If we don't get to know how Fury died, which seems like relevant, pertinent information for the team he formed, can we at least know how you took his place?"

"I think my credentials speak for themselves—"

"No, they don't."

Silence settled across the room as the two men stared at one another, and Osborn smiled when he finally looked away. Chuckling under his breath, he began removing thick packets of paper from his briefcase, stacking them on top of one another.

"Hill? Care to shed some light on this?" Stark turned his attention elsewhere, eyes narrowing in on the woman, open flask still in hand. "Why aren't you the new director?"

"The board took a vote," she said stiffly. "What's done is done."

"Besides," Osborn started, jumping right back into the conversation as if he had never left, "Oscorp has been providing S.H.I.E.L.D. with a number of facilities over the years. Labs, weapons, supplies for overseas operations…" He turned his gaze to Stark as he spoke. "Stark Industries lost its two major players a few years back. You can't be surprised that someone else stepped up to the plate. It's weak, Stark... The company is weak. You should check yourself now that you're back."

Stark recapped his flask without taking a drink from it, then tucked it back into his jacket. "Thanks for the tip, Norman."

"So, now that that's settled…" Loki felt the man's stare shift to him now, unafraid to address him candidly. "The board's next issue was our good pal Loki here. Most of them want to see you on trial for your crimes—"

"Come on, man… Are you serious?" It was Johnny who sprung to Loki's defense first, but he noticed Thor huffing on the other side of the table too. "Didn't you guys see what he did for the city? That's bullshit."

"Loki has served his penance on Earth already," Thor added. "He was punished. There is no need for further deliberation on the matter."

He leaned back in his chair, comfortable in the arguments brewing in his defense. In fact, he barely felt the need to speak for himself, not when Johnny Storm and Thor keenly fought for his innocence.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Osborn held up his hands, smoothing down the tense air around him. "I happen to agree. It's been a contentious issue, but for now, you're not facing any latent penalties."

"Oh good," he mused with forced brightness. "I was almost concerned."

He exchanged amused looks with Johnny, though his smile faltered somewhat when he saw Thor's glare.

"Right, two items settled." Osborn pulled out his phone and tapped at two spots on the screen, and then set it back in his jacket pocket. "Next item of business is a big one… We'll be handling the aftermath of the invasion differently than… well, Loki's clusterfuck."

Jaw clenched, he watched the man gather up the thick packets of paper and start handing them out to people, starting first with Banner and Stark.

"We might be a secret intelligence agency, but it's time to do some PR work." The Widow looked particularly annoyed to have her stack of paper dropped in front of her, and Loki watched her pick through the sheets carefully. "The Avengers are a big deal. They have merchandise, action figures, and some production companies were talking about making them into a cartoon to appeal to more kids."

He paused between Sue and Reed after setting their packets down, a hand on the back of Sue's chair.

"Sorry about the tower, guys," he said, dropping his voice just enough to give the impression that it was a personal conversation. "If there's anything I can do, let me know… I've got a few floors in my building that you can move into if this guy's tacky carpets are too much of an eyesore."

Chuckling weakly, Sue thanked him, but then immediately buried herself in her pages. Reed said nothing, but he managed a nod.

"Now, where's your little partner-in-crime?" Osborn handed Loki a thin stack of papers, and he noticed that his name was printed neatly in thick handwriting at the top. "I have one for her too."

"She's sleeping, but I'll take that." Max's package was a little thicker, and he set it aside without looking through it. After all, he had absolutely no intention of giving it to her.

"Maybe wake her up for the next meeting, huh?" His jaw clenched as the man clapped him on the shoulder twice before moving on to Johnny. "Same for you, Big Guy. I was hoping to meet Miss Foster this time around. She's been hard to track down."

Thor's hand tightened around the paper he was holding. "I'm afraid she had business elsewhere in the city."

"I mean, maybe next time she can change her plans." Osborn shrugged. "Right?"

Neither Thor nor Loki said anything to it, and he noticed the rest of the room exchange uncomfortable glances.

"We can manage without them today," Osborn continued brightly. "Now, if you'll look in your personalized agendas, I have a number of events and appearances you'll be required to attend. We want the country, and the world, to see that the Avengers are trustworthy. They're involved in their community, and they will protect the crap out of them. We lost some credibility during the invasion, both as a spy agency and a superhero fighting force. It's time to rebuild those reputations."

There was a brief moment of silence as the rest of the room looked through their packages, and Loki watched everyone's frown grow.

"We don't do publicity campaigns," Reed stated. "We're done with all that."

"But the Fantastic Four really made a comeback, and public loves it. We could really capitalize on that—"

"Let me make this very clear, Osborn…" Reed closed his packet and pushed it away from him. "We weren't Fury's dancing bears, and we won't be yours either. We do not do publicity campaigns."

"I'm not asking you to be dancing bears—"

"We took this meeting as a courtesy, and now we've stayed because of our professional relationship with you and Oscorp. With that said, we have no obligation to do television appearances or magazine interviews… We're done with that life."

"We wouldn't be opposed to charity work," Sue interjected, talking over Osborn quickly. "Community clean-ups and the like are fine. You have to understand that we left that sort of life behind a long time ago. We don't want a media storm waiting outside our building anymore."

"I'll do it." Loki glanced at Johnny, who was halfway through his package. The man looked up to Osborn's grin, and then shrugged. "We'll get paid, right?"

"Of course."

"Cool."

"Obviously I don't speak for all of us," Sue muttered, flipping arbitrarily through her pages again. Loki turned his attention to his list, which seemed fairly short compared to the people around him. Osborn wanted him to make a few television appearances, be present at some community centres—with Thor and Max, apparently—and accept some interviews by various news outlets. His lip twitched. He had no intention of letting anyone parade him around, no matter the reasoning behind it.

"All of the events we've scheduled will benefit everyone in the long run." Stark threw his package down on the table and finally took a long swig from his flask. "People will see how active the Avengers are, and future baddies will know that we're ready to step in at the first sign of trouble. We'll be proactive do-gooders… I want you guys to be the new celebrities that gossip rags investigate. Always in the public eye—"

"You do realize that I'm a spy?" The Widow spoke up at last, her raspy voice cutting across Osborn's whimsical musing. "The very nature of my profession is to slip into new personas and get the job done. How can I do that if you plan to throw me into a media blitzkrieg?"

"You are a prominent member of the Avengers, are you not?"

"Not really—"

"But you are an Avenger?" Her eyes narrowed. "Little girls need a hero too. You'll be following the assignments outlined for you."

Both her and Hill's expressions were almost identically enraged, and Loki half-expected one of the women to pull out a gun and shoot their new director.

"Now, my Asgardians." Loki glanced at Thor, his expression grim, and the man shook his head. "People are so interested in you guys… Well, primarily Thor, but we can build Loki up now too. I mean, most of Manhattan's been talking about you both, so it'll be good—"

"You are aware that I do not intend to participate in anything I don't wish to," Loki told him.

"Well, I think you might be able to make some exceptions."

"No."

"Then maybe your girlfriend can take some of the burden." Osborn faced him directly now, and Loki sat up a little. "I mean, the media has already expressed interest in her after her video. It's been a viral sensation for weeks now, and we've been keeping her out of the spotlight… But if you want, I can let the press rip her apart."

Loki grinned slowly, his lips spreading across his face to show off his teeth—it was more of a snarl, actually. He then pushed himself away from the table, standing and smoothing his hands down the front of his black attire.

"We've never been formally introduced, Norman Osborn," he started, stalking around the table with slow, deliberate steps, "but you'll learn quickly that I do not take threats against the people I care for lightly. Should you make them again, I'll slit your throat."

"Loki." There was less warning in Thor's tone than there should have been, and he didn't bother to look back at the man.

"I think we're finished for today," Osborn mused, and he retreated two steps to the side when Loki strolled by him.

"Yes, we are."

He left the room without another word, hands in fists and mind racing. He would need to remove Max from a place like this, but for now, he would wait. After all, the rest of the room seemed as uncomfortable as Loki was with all the new arrangements, and he may not have to worry about Osborn for long should that be the way the tidings go. Punching the elevator button, he waited for only a moment before stepping inside. However, before the doors closed, a slim hand stopped them, and he moved to the side as the Widow slipped in.

Her eyes swept up and down his frame once, and she hit a button on the side-paneling that would take her twelve floors above his.

"Where's your archer?" he asked, though the question wasn't as satisfying as he expected. She said nothing to it, keeping her steely gaze fixed on the doors. Loki's floor arrived first, and he left her in the elevator without a parting word.

A hot shower was much needed. When Loki suggested she take a nap that afternoon, Max intended to be out for an hour or two, preferably less. However, when she finally came to, the sun was gone and Manhattan's skyline shone brighter than she had ever seen before. Maybe it was the floor she was on, and maybe everyone wanted to celebrate their newfound freedom, but as she perched in front of the window to watch the nightlife take over the streets, she realized that things would never actually be the same. Sure, there were little people scurrying across the streets still, and the headlights of dozens of vehicles cast shadows for all the see, but it wasn't the same. Nothing felt the same anymore, no matter how hard people pretended nothing had happened.

She wanted to get down there. Max wanted to be in the thick of things—finding her loved ones, seeing how the city rebuilt itself. The news didn't do it justice, and she knew that every item faced a bit of censorship: any setback would be amplified across the already fragile general public. And here she was, snoozing in Stark's tower, with a dozen superheroes and security officials around her. Was this her life now?

Rubbing her eyes, Max eased herself to her feet and strolled across the room. The bed had to be king-sized—she'd never been in one that big before. Beiges, yellows, and pastel hues continued from the hallway's colour scheme, blanching the sofa set pointed toward the TV screen, which was placed into the wall. A little more exploring led to the discovery of the walk-in closet, large enough to be a second bedroom, and a secret doorway in the wall (triggered by some kind of push-spring) that led to another empty bedroom. Her favourite spot, however, was the bathroom. Despite spending her first few moments in it throwing up, Max appreciated the double-sinks, the sprawling countertop, the shower big enough for ten.

If this was how Stark treated his guests, she couldn't begin to fathom what his suites looked like.

As she started up the shower, which was powered initially by a touchpad outside the glass paneling, she wondered where Loki had ended up. She was glad he wasn't hovering over her when she awoke: the tower had loads of other features he could explore, and she wasn't the only person he knew anymore. It was nice to have that alone time, even if it was fleeting.

Finger to the touch-screen, she cranked up the temperature of the water until the mirror started to fog. Her lower back was killing her, and she wondered if it had to do with the fact that her boobs were getting bigger. After stripping down and tossing her clothes back into the bedroom, she swiped her hand across the mirror and did a quick examination. Same bruises as this morning, but she noticed now that she was looking thin. Her collarbones protruded more than she was accustomed to, and the swell of her abdomen seemed larger because the rest of her was skinnier.

She huffed at her reflection. How was she supposed to keep weight on when she was vomiting all the time? Her eyes narrowed at her stomach, glaring at the thing that was making her nauseous daily. A sigh. She shook her head: it wasn't its fault, really, but she liked having something to blame. Max stared until the mirror re-fogged, her streak disappearing slowly, and then let her shoulders slump. It was always so strange what a mirror could do to one's self-esteem.

This was the first time she had really noticed how thin she was—and she hated it. She'd always known that she looked frail, but she'd spent this past week and a half studying parts of her body separately, rarely as a whole. As she slunk into the shower, she made a conscious decision to try to eat more, to keep more of it down. Not only did Loki have to see her bruised and beaten, but apparently he got to watch her waste away with missed meals and lost lunches. She sunk to the floor of that glorious shower, a steady stream of water shooting out from both nozzles on either side, and then pulled her legs to her chest.

Why did he bother sticking around?

The shower was definitely a must. Time crawled by as she sat amongst the water and steam, and slowly but surely, her mood started to lift. Her pains eased out of her limbs, muscles relaxing under the near scorching heat, and she picked through the variety of speciality shampoos and conditioners until she found some with ingredients she could pronounce.

It wasn't until her fingers were thoroughly wrinkled that she even considered getting out, and once out, she rummaged under the sink to find a towel of the appropriate size. After toweling off, she went to work on her hair, clearing her throat and working her fingers through the wet knots. Somewhere behind her, she heard Loki open the door, and her automatic reaction was to stroll out and greet him, towel in hand.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Loki standing in her doorway, but a casually dressed Captain America. Max shrieked and ducked back into the bathroom, face buried in the towel as heat flushed to her cheeks. She leaned back against the wall, groaning. Not only had she cussed Captain America out, she had also flashed—all in a day's work.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I thought I heard you say something." Over the roar of the bathroom fan, she heard him rambling, his voice tight. "I'm sorry. I'll go."

"No, no, it's fine…" Max wrapped the towel around her nakedness, and then checked herself over once in the mirror. "I thought you were someone else."

"That's a… a valid assumption." He was still in the doorway when she stepped out of the bathroom, scratching at the back of his neck. "I should have knocked louder."

"Well, it's not like our door was closed." Nibbling her lower lip, she noticed he wouldn't look directly at her, but rather found various spots around the room to study with forced interest. "Loki isn't here."

"I actually wanted to speak to you, but I can come back if now isn't a good—"

"It's fine." With her temper cooled from this afternoon's outburst, Max didn't feel the need to send him away. Yes, it would have been nicer if she was wearing something more than a towel, but with his Boy Scout reputation, her discomfort never rose beyond mild.

She still saw Nolan when she looked at him. Swallowing thickly, Max settled on the edge of her new bed, ankles crossed and arms keeping her towel in place. Little water droplets rolled down her shoulders from the places she hadn't dried, and her skin prickled under the air conditioning's constant output.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened today." Her cheeks pricked with colour again, and she pretended to fix her nails, admiring their uneven lengths, fiddling with their edges. "We were wrong to form assumptions, and it was inconsiderate to shape opinions on them with no evidence to back it up…"

She shook her head, eyes still cast down. "You might be superheroes, but you're human too… We all do it."

"I'm sorry that it was hurtful."

Max licked her lips and sighed. He didn't owe her anything: she'd heard them gossiping, called them out on it, and maybe lost her temper a little too quickly. Not once did she think Tony Stark would apologize for anything he said, and she was fairly sure that Banner guy wasn't ever going to talk to her anyway. Still, the fact that Captain America came all the way to her floor to apologize made her unnecessarily emotional, and she gently wiped her hand under her nose to keep from sniffling.

"I'd like to offer my deepest condolences for your loss." Her eyes darted up to his face at last, and she saw nothing but sincerity in his kind gaze and his softened features. "We lost a lot of good men and women during the invasion, and I may not have known them all personally, but that doesn't make them any less important."

Her hand flew to her mouth to hide her trembling lips, vision temporarily blurred by tears. Having no faith in her voice to keep steady, she nodded.

"I just wanted to say that before I left."

Max ran a finger under each eye, sniffling softly. "You're leaving?"

He gestured around her room, then shrugged. "This isn't not really my style… I've got an apartment in Brooklyn that's probably in need of some serious repairs."

"Isn't this supposed to be the Avengers headquarters?"

She noticed his jaw clench at the thought, and he shook his head. "Yeah… something like that."

"Well, it was… nice to have met you, I guess," she managed, rising from the bed and moving toward him with her arm extended. "I'm sorry I swore at you."

Definitely not one of her proudest moments.

"You don't have to be." His grip was firm as he took her hand in his, but not uncomfortably so. "I probably would have done the same."

"I don't think that's true."

The skin around his eyes crinkled a little when he smiled, though that didn't last for long. He gave her hand one last squeeze, and then stepped back.

"Good luck with everything, Miss Wright."

"Thanks." She tucked some damp hair behind her ears as she watched him go, smirking as Loki made an unnecessarily wide arc around him in the hallway so that they wouldn't have to interact. Sighing, she tilted her head up to greet him as he approached, eyes closing briefly when he kissed her.

"Why was he here?" His eyes wandered up and down her frame quickly. "Why… are you… dressed like that?"

"He just swung by to be a good guy," she told him. Her stomach gurgled: once she was dressed, she was definitely going to root through Tony Stark's expansive pantry for something fatty to curb her cravings. "Why are you dressed like that?"

Loki looked down at his attire, and after deciding there was nothing particularly wrong with it, he cleared his throat. "There is nothing wrong with what I'm wearing."

"Nothing wrong with what I'm wearing either…"

"Well, I did find you in the presence of another man in… that."

Not that he was jealous of the old Soldier. In fact, Max had proven over their time together that he had no reason to be concerned about any man he found her with, though sometimes Loki couldn't help himself. Surely she understood his tendencies.

"Where were you?"

"Sue called me away," he told her, fishing a small bottle of cream out of his pocket. "She asked me to give you this."

She returned to his side to take the small token, and then grinned. "Yes… I love Arnica. Totally takes all the colour out of bruises."

"Good."

It was nice to see her happy, though he noticed her eyes had a red tinge to them, as did the skin around her nostrils. He felt helpless when he found her like that: she'd been upset in his absence, and should he bring it up, it might make her miserable all over again. Still, he would have liked to have been there to fix the problem from the beginning.

After the meeting that afternoon, Loki had crawled back into bed with Max and stayed there, weighing all the possibilities of what his next move ought to be. In the meantime, he let his lover sleep away the hours, hoping that her body would take the downtime to heal. It was long after the sun had set that Sue had found her way to their room, and, not wanting to wake Max, he asked if she would rather walk the halls than talk in the room. The woman was agreeable to it, and they started off in the hall, and then had gone down to her floor to retrieve the creams she had for Max's body.

He had taken that time together to ask about Norman Osborn, as he had the feeling that Sue and Reed knew more about him than any of the others in the room that day. Sure enough, she expressed her discomfort around the man, and, having worked with him a number of times over the last ten years, she thought he was a poor choice to head S.H.I.E.L.D. now that Fury was gone. Morally ambiguous, narcissistic and brash, Norman Osborn was both a fighter and a business man, and she had seen various shady deals take place over the years. He had ties to local gang activity, and yet he put on a smiling face for the public at charity events. He was a true corporate snake, she insisted, and she worried over the future of the agency when it was in his hands.

Loki took everything she said as the honest truth: Sue hardly seemed the type to pepper her story with exaggerations. When he had the chance, he intended to take Reed aside too for more details, and then extract information from Thor about the opinions of the rest of his team. Osborn may not, in the end, be the massive threat he was trying to be—especially if Loki was able to leave the realm with Max sometime in the next few months.

Once she had handed over the cream, Loki drifted back to his new chambers, hoping that it would do Max some good. It was a surprise to find the Captain loitering around in the hallway, but seeing as he was on his way out, there was no need to converse with him.

What a dull conversation that would have been.

"I wonder where she found this." He glanced over at Max as she tossed her towel on their bed, and then closed the door behind him on the off-chance that there were more unexpected visitors that night. "I guess shops are getting their inventory up again."

"Perhaps."

It was difficult not to stare at her. He hadn't been able to really touch her for almost two weeks now, and he wanted to—desperately wanted to. He wanted to feel her against him again, take her whenever he pleased. And there she was, standing in front of him completely naked, and all he could do was watch. Swallowing thickly, he took a seat on a nearby chair, sinking into its depths as she started to rub the clear lotion over her ribs.

When he decided there was no point in hiding his obvious interest in her, he let his eyes wander up and down her naked form, pausing over the areas he particularly enjoyed. Her cheeks flushed, undoubtedly aware that she was being watched, and her hands slowed when she rubbed them over the dark marks on her hips, her thighs. Loki studied the slight curve in her back when she bent over, the small shake in her legs. It would have been easy to lose himself in her hands, as they would have led him across her body at a leisurely pace. He lingered, however, by her breasts, which were almost noticeably larger.

His eyebrows furrowed—had they always looked like that, or were they actually bigger? He'd always considered her breasts to be a nice handful, but as he studied them now, he decided that they were certainly a little larger than that.

"What?"

His eyes darted up to her face when he was caught, and he smirked.

"You look different."

He watched her face fall, her smile disappear and her eyed drop downward, before she grabbed the thick maroon towel off the bed again.

"Yeah, I've been in the hospital for a couple of weeks," she snapped, a biting quality to her tone that hadn't been there before. "Of course I look different."

"I didn't mean anything—"

"You think I haven't noticed that I look different?" She was crying now, and Loki let out a long, weary sigh. "You think I'm oblivious to all this?" She gestured to her body, hidden away by the thick fabric. "I'm fully aware. You don't need to tell me."

Where had this come from? He watched her brush away her tears, and then rubbed a hand over his face. Must he watch every single comment he made toward her?

"Max, I didn't mean to upset you." He crossed the room to her, watching as she plopped down on the edge of the bed, and then kneeled before her. She was one of the few people he would kneel for, and he did it because he knew she would never ask him to. Arms folded to her chest, she shook her head when he reached for her.

"I know… I'm sorry." She let him smooth her hair back, and when she wrapped her oily hands around his wrists. "I think my medication makes me a little moody."

Ah. He nodded, wishing her healers wouldn't force her to take pill capsules that made her physically ill and mentally unstable.

"And… I've just gotten so skinny, and I don't like it," she continued, her voice wobbling. "I don't like what I look like right now."

He frowned as he surveyed her once more, this time trying to be critical. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything distasteful about her. Her brown eyes were still brown. Her kissable lips were still kissable. Her warm fingers still encircled his wrists as they always had, and her legs were still long and tempting. There was no fault to find, and Loki tried to tread carefully through her moment of madness.

"I… You…" Fumbling over his words, he took a brief pause. "My sweet, you are as lovely as ever in my eyes. If you are unhappy, tell me what I can do to remedy that."

His eyes widened again when she started to cry once more, but when he noticed her smiling, he assumed that he had said the right thing.

"Happy tears," she mumbled, sliding from the bed and onto his lap. Loki accepted the touch happily, though he was careful with his grip. She, on the other hand, hugged him tightly, arms around his neck and face buried in his hair. Pressing his lips to her bare shoulder, he breathed in her scent, waiting for the trembles to stop.

He was waiting for all of this to stop.

When she finally pulled back, she sat on top of him, the towel drooping down now to expose her breasts once more. Perhaps she had gotten a little thinner—that was why her chest looked so ample. He sighed again when she covered them, pulling the towel back into place.

"I really want a cheeseburger," she told him, her eyes still teary. Loki grinned and hoisted her up as he stood. The kiss he stole was chaste at best, and it took all of his restraint not to clamber on top of her when he set her back on the bed.

"I'll see what I can do."

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

All of this was supposed to be in the last chapter, but that would have been sooo overwhelming. So, I cut it off and split it into two, all the while adding the end scene for some Loki confusion. And some of his frustration. I think he can only put up with Max's moods for so long sometimes.

NOOOORMAAAAN OSBOOOORRRNNN, ladies and gents! I'm taking bits and pieces of his character arc from various movies and comics, all the while making it slightly AU to fit with this story. I wanted to note that I'm also trying not to add in things from any of the movies after Avengers. We've all seen Thor: TDW and Captain America: TWS, but I didn't have those as background pieces when I plotted this story. Therefore, any repercussions from those movies would maaaybe show up in the sequel to this story, but they won't have much of an effect here.

I just picked up another freelance novella series to write, so that might take over a little bit. The pieces are due mid-June, so like I mentioned in the last chapter, updates might be a little on the spaced out side to accommodate for that. I'm just one person, after all.

Someone mentioned in a review that they anticipated Max being a slightly moody pregnant lady. Yes. I agree with you 100000%.

I'm pretty excited to write Loki and Max's relationship in this new world, because they've sort of been in this… unrealistic setting for a long time now, where they've spent all this time together, just the two of them, because they were all the other person had. Now that the war's coming to an end, that's probably not the way it's going to stay—and I think we know one half of the relationship will handle that well, and the other will be a big baby about it.

Anyway. Need to get going to make my lunch and head off to work for the day. Much love to everyone, and hopefully we'll meet again next week!