The next day I arrived at headquarters with a book in tow. It was my family photo album. I thought that maybe sharing it with Loki would help him to feel differently. I felt like my methods seemed childish.

'Show him pictures of my once happy family then maybe he'll feel bad about it.' But I really thought it would work. I went through all of the security procedures but before I went downstairs I stepped in my office to grab some coffee. In S.H.I.E.L.D. we brew the strongest coffee, no question. If you drank some of it at five in the morning, the caffeine rush probably wouldn't wear off until the afternoon. Trust me, you'd need it, especially if you were a field agent. I wasn't one but I'd heard of their hectic schedules. I poured myself a half mug of coffee and diluted it with cream and sugar. Afterward, album in hand, I made my way to the elevator while managing not to spill any of my coffee. The elevator descended quickly and I got crammed into the back as people got on and off. When the elevator reached my stop I had to make my way the mess of people. Angels must've been singing because, yet again I managed not to spill any of my coffee. I walked through all of the doors that led to his cell. When I got through the wooden one I glanced around. The room was a disarray which it had not been in the previous times. The only furniture which wasn't bolted down, chairs and such, were lying haphazardly across the floor. Pillows from his bed and couch had been strewn about as well, none of them had been shredded though, which was a good sign.

"Loki?" I called, half nervously half concerned.

"Leave." I heard his voice murmur.

"What, no, Loki, why?" I asked, finally locating him in the annex where he was hunched over, his hands pressed tightly to his forehead.

His hair hung over his face, so I wasn't able to see his expression. I knelt down next to him.

"Loki what's wrong? What are you doing?"

"I cannot speak with you today. You should leave."

"You say I should, but I'm not going to. I really think we should talk every day. What is wrong and can I do anything to help?"

He slowly lowered his hands so I could see his face. Then I noticed it. His eyes a dark shade of orange with circles of red and black, the latter nestled within the former. His skin was deep blue. like sapphires. The markings across it caused shadows to dance across his face as he turned his head one way or the other.

"It's the way you naturally look, no magic disguising your form. It's amazing! Why did you stop your disguise?"

"I did not make a deliberate decision. It occurred while I was asleep. I awoke to my face as such in the table's reflection. I cannot bear to see myself with this… repulsive face. It pains me and reminds me too much of events I would desire to forget."

"I think it's marvellous." I replied, reaching my hand out as if to touch his face.

Just before my hand touched him he grabbed my wrist and pulled it down. This caused me to fall forward, on top of him. I quickly lunged back, embarrassed and scared.

"Sorry." I said hastily. "I'll go like you asked."

"No!" He exclaimed then he toned it down a bit. "You may stay if you think it would be the best course of action."

He stood up and I saw how tall he actually was. With me sitting and him standing I could truly see the height he got from being a frost giant. I realized I was staring so I stood up and turned away from him.

He is Evil. I thought. He killed my parents and thought it was funny. You're getting killer empathy and you need to stop.

I took a deep breath in order to recompose my professional attitude. Then I turned back to him.

"Shall we clean up?"

It took us a few minutes to get the room back in order. I was surprised when he decided to help. After we finished I had him sit down on the couch with me , There were a couple of awkward inches between us. I set the album down on the table and took a sip of coffee.

"Damn it!" I exclaimed, gagging a bit.

"Excuse me?" He replied.

"Sorry, my coffee got cold and I'd had it done perfectly." I set the mug down on the table. "Now, this may seem childish to you, but I'm going to show you some pictures of my family. Before the invasion. Afterward I'd like you to tell me what you think."

I opened up the album and showed him each photo, giving him a brief description of each event. He was either feigning interest or thinking of interesting things. I finally got to the last photo in the album. A picture of my parents and I at my high school graduation.

"This is the last time we saw each other before the invasion. I had an early orientation for college so I left the next day. I didn't see them again until the day of their funerals. I found out they were dead a few weeks after the invasion. That's when I decided to join S.H.I.E.L.D."

"You think that sharing a sob story with me will change my nature. You try to convert me to your ideals. I assure you, I will not change my way of thinking for you."

"I told you before, I'm not trying to change your way of thinking, I just want you to understand the losses of all of us. I want you to know how it affected me."

"I can relate my loss to yours. I lost the belief that I had a father, after I found my true identity."

"But, you have never felt the pain of losing the life of someone you love."

"The pain I have felt is much more than you can fathom. You have not an idea in your head which could match my experiences after I fell from the Bifrost. You cannot understand the anguish, the burning sensation which plagued me unless I did as I was told."

"You were tortured? But that isn't on your record."

"You actually believe I would speak of those experiences to anyone?"

"You're speaking of them to me now..."

"I suppose so, but you aren't really the same as the rest of them are you?"

I started to say something, then I paused at a complete loss for words. What did he mean by that? I certainly hope he didn't mean it in a romantic way. That's something that would get me fired. Did he mean it in a way which means I send off different vibes from the others? Wait, vibes? Really?

"I'm sorry Loki, but I'm going to have to ask your meaning."

"My meaning? Oh, you mean me saying you are different. I mean we have shared experiences, experiences that are similar, you and I. Our personalities are not so different. Though you would not like to believe it you are just as evil as I am. The only difference is that I have welcomed my evil as much as you have shunned yours. The evil is there none the less."

"How does that make me differ from the others? I think everyone has the same potential for evil as me. What is the difference between me and say, Agent Romanoff?"

"Nothing, except I would say you are more intelligent."

"Than Agent Romanoff? Please." I snorted.

"You doubt yourself? You are the one who is actually trying to make the bad guy good again."

"Stop." I told him. "I've already explained to you that my point is not to make you good again."

"Is it really not your goal?" He laughed. "You're lying to yourself again Cressida darling."

"Don't call me that. Please don't talk to me like that."

"I will speak how I choose to, darling."

"Stop it, stop trying your smooth trickster ways on me. I know what you're trying and it's not going to work."

I decided it was time to end this session. I stood up.

"Thank you for your time. I'll be here tomorrow."

"I'm sure you will."

He tipped his head in a way that made it seem that he was looking down on me, even though he was sitting below me.

"Good day." I told him.

"Good day." He replied.

And I left the room.

A few hours later I was finishing up my report on that days project.

"I've determined that he is progressing if only in small increments. He still seems rather hostile but it has certainly diminished since our first encounter." I typed, finishing the report and sending it to Agent Coulson. I hadn't mentioned Loki complimenting me. I had considered it but decided against it. I thought if I mentioned it that I would get taken out off of the assignment. That was my first mistake.