Saniya tried to blink the drowsiness from her eyes. She leaned across the seat. Her vision was blurry and all she could make out was blobs of dull color, but there was no denying the dark, looming form in front of her.

"I'm not the only one seeing that, right?"

The taxi driver seemed as confused as she was. "You mean the giant stuffed bunny, ma'am? I'm seeing it too."

She sighed with relief. For a moment, she thought the alcohol still in her system had been causing her to hallucinate. Saniya sloppily patted the driver's shoulder. "Send the bill to Stark," she said.

"Of course."

The driver waited until she was in the doorway before driving away. Probably to make sure she didn't pass out and die from alcohol poisoning ten feet from the doorstep. For that, she was thankful and attempted to wave the cab off before it passed the bend in the road.

She, albeit clumsily, made it into the mansion. Her shoes were kicked off in the general direction of an ugly statue, making it shake on its fragile stand. Then, she reached around her back and unclasped her bra.

Freedom. Saniya inhaled, feeling her lungs expand to its true capacity. Her fingers struggled with the clasp of her belt as she stumbled through the dimly lit mansion.

Saniya paused her undressing when she heard a deep exhale. There was a lump of blankets on the couch, moving with rhythmic breaths. She tried to remember if there was a guest at the mansion. Maybe Rhodey was staying the night. She was taking up the last bedroom after all, so that would leave only the couch for any supposed guests.

But, when she crept closer, she realized that the pile of orange hair definitely did not belong to Rhodey. And, even in the dim light Jarvis was providing her, she could make out the forming bruises on her arm that look suspiciously like fingers.

Saniya stumbled backwards, hand to her mouth. It didn't take long for her to dial Bruce's number while hiding in the kitchen. She leaned against the counter for support. The dizziness, a mix of intoxication and troubling thoughts of the origin of the bruises, nearly brought her to the floor.

Several rings passed, but he eventually answered. "Saniya? Is something wrong?" His voice was raspy from sleep. Any other circumstances and she would have found that attractive.

"Tony isn't abusive, right?" Saniya whispered, frightened that Pepper would wake up. "Like, he doesn't hurt Pepper. Please tell me he isn't."

"What? He... No, of course not." Bruce slowly became more alert. "He hasn't done anything, has he?"

"I don't know," she admitted into the phone. "Pepper's sleeping on the couch with bruises on her arm." Saniya pressed a hand to her forehead. It was hard to think while drunk, but even an alcoholic could make the connection she was. "What do I do?"

Bruce did a good job keeping the worry out of his voice. It only would have panicked her more. "Ask Pepper what happened. If... If Tony did do something, he'll have a very long talk with the Other Guy."

Saniya bobbed her head. "Okay. I'll ask her." She ended the call before Bruce could get another word out. Then, she snuck back into the living room and began to gently shake Pepper, gradually becoming more intense.

Pepper rubbed a hand over her eyes then propped herself on her elbows. The lights slowly brightened enough for her to make out her face. "Saniya? What's wrong?" Her eyes, rimmed red from sleep, widened. "You look horrible," she gasped.

She hadn't thought she looked that bad when she had left the bar. Saniya found herself frowning. No, she was sure she didn't look as terrible as Pepper was making her out to be. But in reality, her bra was out of place -creating an odd lump in her shirt- her belt was almost unbuckled, and her hair was messy from when she had opened the taxi windows.

Pepper's nose wrinkled after a quick sniff, no doubt smelling the alcohol on her breath. Before Saniya even knew what was happening, Pepper was getting up from her makeshift bed.

"There's some aspirin in your medicine cabinet. I'll bring up a glass of water." She began to gently guide her towards the staircase. "Can you make it to your room fine?" It was safe to assume that this wasn't the first time Pepper cared for a drunk person in the middle of the night.

"It's fine," Saniya reassured her. "I'm not... I'm not even that drunk." The slur on her words didn't help her case. Nor when she tripped over the first step. Saniya clasped onto Pepper's pajama shirt.

"You're swaying like you're on a boat," Pepper said with a dry smile. She placed a hand on Saniya's back. "It's best not to argue with me. I am the sober one here."

Saniya glanced at the bruises on Pepper's arm. The blue and yellows were more intense than they had previously seemed. "What happened to your arm?"

Pepper hesitated on the first step. The steady grip on her arm tightened. "Don't worry about it," she waved off.

"Did he do that to you?" she asked, voice louder now.

This time, she completely stopped. "God, no," she exclaimed, horrified. "Tony would never touch me like that. It was his damn suit. It went haywire" Pepper nudged her upwards. "Now, come on. I'll help you get to bed. Jarvis will keep an eye on you. But if you need anything, I'm a yell away."

It was a blur, but somehow Pepper had gotten Saniya into bed with her pajamas on and left an aspirin on her nightstand with a cold glass of water. While Pepper was tucking her under the covers like she was a four-year-old, Saniya swore she would endlessly thank her when she was sober.

She wondered why Pepper was sleeping on the couch and hadn't kicked her out of the guestroom. And when she mentioned it to her, she had simply laughed it off and made her drink from a glass of water to shut her up. It hadn't even been an option to boot her from the room. Saniya kept her mouth shut after that. If she were in Pepper's place, she would have taken the guest bedroom, guest or not.

Saniya hid a loopy smile as Pepper made sure she was sleeping on her side. Pepper had acted more like a mother in the last ten minutes than her own mother had all twenty-seven years.

"Goodnight Pepper."

"Goodnight," Pepper said before she closed the door.

She pressed her face into her pillow. "Goodnight, Jarvis."

"Goodnight, Miss Ramakrishna."

Jarvis must have remembered her request from last night because he played a talk radio program so quietly in the background that it was barely noticeable. Saniya sighed loudly, her muscles relaxing. It was easier to fall asleep when she tricked herself into thinking she wasn't alone.

"She didn't marry. But, Signora Arlotti did have a number of men come and go from her life after you gave her the gift." Saniya's eyes drifted towards the ceiling as she tried to remember the names from the SHIELD file. "Pretty sure one's name is Jacques. The others... I'll have to get back to you."

Loki's gaze was unfocused on her face. He wasn't truly looking at her. From the gleam in his eyes, he must have been in a different time and place, when things were simpler and he was less... psychotic. If he had been anyone else, she would had been tempted to hug him. But given that he had invaded the planet she called home with an alien army, she found it easy to let him suffer.

He slowly came back to the prison cell. "I see."

"I don't know what you want me to tell you," she said. "I've just read the file on her. Most of it's too classified for me to ever see and it's only an overview. I have no idea if she's still pining over you or anything."

What once might have elicited a snappy reply now made him nod his head like she had said something insightful. "I understand. You do not know how grateful I am for you sharing what you know." She narrowed her eyes, a movement that didn't go unnoticed. Loki sighed mournfully. "Must you continue with the distrust?"

Saniya watched the god carefully. "I'm never going to let myself trust you."

His smile reminded her of the nice boy who had grown up in the house next to hers. But when on Loki's face, it made her shudder. "I hope you will one day place your trust in me. I wish you no harm."

She folded her hands in her lap. "Bull crap." The smile dropped. "I'm not stupid," she said. "I know what you're trying to do because it's something I would do too if I were you. No matter how long I talk to you or how much of a friend I think you are, you're just going to use me as an escape or some sort of token to barter with when Thor returns asking questions."

Loki raised his eyebrows, almost as if he was impressed. She scoffed. It was all an act. "Perhaps I underestimated you."

Saniya nearly snorted. "And maybe you're just trying to flatter me for your advantage."

A grin rose to his lips in what she believed to be the first genuine smile she had ever seen from him.

She drummed her fingers on the hard floor and stretched her legs out from under her. "Can we have an honest moment here for once? I think you're a jerk who deserves everything you've got coming to you. But," she paused, trying to find a way so that it didn't sound like she was thanking him, "I've learned a lot from you. You're very smart, if anything. So, you have one redeemable quality and everything else about you is trash."

Loki made a low sound in his throat that may have been his version of an amused laugh. "And I find you to be one of the most pitiful Midgardians I have had the displeasure to meet." He flashed his teeth. "However, you have kept me company for several weeks, and I will not ignore the service you have done for me. When I take my rightful place on the throne, you shall die first, and it will be quick. I promise you that."

"First?"

"Yes. So that you will not have to see the consequences your people will have to endure for resisting me. It's quite kind of me, actually."

She scrunched her nose. "You're really thoughtful," she deadpanned. "Maybe I'll become a martyr."

"Perhaps," came his droll reply. "Or perhaps you will become an example and help enslave generations of come. For all you know, your death could become a story parents tell children to scare them into obeying my rule."

Saniya blinked. This had to be one of the oddest conversations she had ever had. "I thought you said you were going to kill me quickly."

He shrugged so casually that an outsider would think they were deciding what to eat for dinner. "Yes. But I never said it would not be gruesome."

She shook her head. "Good thing you're never getting out of here then."

His eyes glimmered. "We shall see."

Saniya was awakened up by two hands roughly pulling her back. The steps were a less than a foot away. Common sense is that sleep-walking and steep staircases were not a good match.

Her mind was a flurry of unorganized thoughts when she remembered Loki. When she blinked, she could still see his bright green eyes and pompous smirk. It was just a dream, though. A memory. There was no need of worrying that he was somehow tapping her brain with his magic from Asgard. To be safe, she might invest in a tin foil hat.

Whoever had pulled her from the stairs released her waist, keeping their hands on her shoulders to steady her. She squinted as the lights became brighter. It was Tony.

"Happy's in the hospital."

"Hospital?" she repeated.

"Some sort of explosion. He's in surgery." When she didn't say anything, he waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello? Anybody home?"

She rubbed her eyes. "Am I still dreaming?"

He urged her towards the staircase. "Unfortunately, this is real life." Tony kept a hand on her arm as she made her way down the stairs. "We'll get you some coffee at the hospital," he added when he noticed how lethargic she was. "How does that sound?"

Saniya agreed and rode in Tony's foreign sportscar to the hospital, squished in the passenger seat with Pepper. Just like earlier in the night, it was a blur. Everything moved by too fast. Tony herded her through the hallways to the nearest coffee maker while Pepper spoke with the doctors.

She sat in the waiting room, nursing the horrid cup of coffee with tiny sips. It was some of the worst she had ever had, but she needed to stay awake. The night of drinking was catching up to her in the form of a small, but determined, headache.

It hadn't seemed to matter that she was still in her pajamas when Tony had dragged her to the hospital. And a fact that she hadn't noticed until Pepper sat next to her with a clipboard, filling out Happy's insurance information, that she and Tony were also in their pajamas. Saniya was infinitely grateful that Tony wore pants to bed.

"Don't know if they'll let you see him," Tony had said after they had been waiting a while. Pepper was resting her head on his shoulder. "We're his emergency contacts and I practically own this hospital. They'll let me and Peps in just fine. Maybe you can pretend to be his adopted sister."

Saniya forced another gulp of coffee down. It seemed that Tony wasn't very interested in pulling strings to get her in that hospital room. Based on the dark circles under his eyes, maybe he was just too tired to start throwing around his last name for her. She tapped her fingers against the foam cup. "Did anyone tell you what caused the explosion?"

He jerked his head towards a pair of police officers speaking with a nurse. Tony leaned considerably closer. "They think it's another Mandarin attack."

Pepper's eyes widened comically. "They told you that?"

Tony shook his head. "No. That's absurd. I read their minds." Pepper lightly smacked his thigh.

And in the end, Stark had been right about both of those things. The nurses wouldn't let her into Happy's room. Not while he was unconscious and unable to confirm her identity. But, from what she heard from the couple, Happy was going to make a full recovery. Saniya was very happy for Happy.

When he finally recovered, she was going to smack him for not calling her like he said he would. She didn't know what had happened, but she had a feeling she would have helped if she had been with him. Not like she was an expert at stopping terrorist attacks, but she had a gun and some SHIELD training. She was more qualified than him to confront Mandarin's lackeys.

Then again, no one was sure what caused the explosion. The Mandarin theory was a hunch from a detective that had been carried as a rumor among the officers in the area. For all she knew, Happy could have been jumped by a gang of ninjas with bomb vests. There wasn't much evidence as of yet, but there were benefits to living in the same house as Tony Stark. She was bound to find out later.

Saniya was mulling over the few facts that she knew, trying to find a connection. One, there was a bomb. Two, it went off and injured several people. Three, the man Happy was following was probably involved somehow. And that was about it. Not much to go off of.

Even if she had more information, it was impossible to concentrate. Tony Stark was gathering a crowd. It had started with several nurses asking for an autograph, and now it had escalated to an impromptu meet-and-greet.

For once, Tony wasn't enjoying the extra attention, and neither was Saniya. Before she had met Thor, too many people had never been a problem. Now, she needed her personal space at times. Saniya wasn't sure what this change meant.

There wasn't a single quiet place in the hospital. So, she sat outside on a bench with her phone connecting to a podcast. The talking helped her relax, even if she didn't care what it was about.

She had been loitering outside the hospital for a while when his cab drove to the front of the hospital. Her second cup of coffee had gone cold, but she was still forcing it down her throat. Her fingers were itching for a cigarette, which, unfortunately, she had thrown away last night. She wasn't sure if she had become addicted to nicotine or only wanted its calming effects.

Bruce practically leaped from the cab. He, unlike her, Tony, and Pepper, had taken the time to dress in actual clothing. His button down shirt was a dark green, almost the color of the Hulk. She tilted her head thoughtfully. Green suited him well.

When he stormed past her, she called out his name. Bruce turned with wide eyes, barely making out her shape in the dark. "You're okay," he said breathlessly. He scanned her from head to toe. "You are okay, right?"

She patted the stone bench beside her. He didn't waste any time to sit next to her.

"I'm fine." Saniya swished a mouthful of coffee then swallowed. "Really."

The tension in his shoulders began to release. "When Tony said that Happy was in an accident, I thought something had happened to you too," Bruce told her.

Saniya was reminded of the lies she said last night. She told him over the phone that she had been with Happy the entire night. A stab of guilt went through her for worrying Bruce, but it was overshadowed by the warmth in her chest. Bruce had rushed to the hospital for her.

She studied the outline of his face against the lighted windows of the hospital. The creases of his face were deep with concern. Saniya leaned against his arm. "I...," she said, wanting to tell him the truth. Instead, she settled for a half-truth. "I wasn't anywhere near Happy when it happened."

"That's good," he replied softly. His arm rested on the back of the bench. "How is he?"

Her bottom lip quivered. "He's going to be fine." She took a long sip from her coffee. It was a suitable replacement for a cigarette. "I hope Tony destroys the asshole who hurt Happy with his suit."

"Saniya," he said with disapproval.

Saniya lowered her chin. "He was- is in bad shape. But, it isn't anything that can't be fixed, I suppose." She pursed her lips. "Pepper and Tony are in Happy's room. The nurses won't let you in, though. Well, they might let you if you give them a little taste of the 'other guy'." Another sip of coffee.

There was a short moment of silence. "I'm fine here if that's alright." He moved his arm back to his side as if he was startled that it had been almost around her shoulders. "We... we might need to talk about a few things, but I don't think it's a good time," he said with clear hesitation. "But then again, I don't know the next time we'll be alone like this."

"We should have talked three months ago," she bit back. She winced when he stiffened because of her words.

"You're right." Bruce nodded. "You're absolutely right. It's been on my mind all night. I might owe you an explanation or two."

'Might' was the understatement of the century.

Her first instinct was to snap at him or call him names. She wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine by walking away and never looking back. But, Bruce was too good of a person to deserve that. Especially not when he was trying to explain himself. Over the last three months, she had learned several things. But the most useful, in her opinion, was something Natasha hadn't explicitly taught her. She had learned how to hold her tongue and trust her second instinct.

And her second instinct was telling her to keep her mouth shut and listen.

"You had been the first woman I have kissed in a... a very long time."

"How long?" she probed, already failing at keeping her mouth shut.

He gave a dry laugh. "Years. I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to do anything like that since the Other Guy had come into my life. It—"

"Scared you off," she finished glumly.

"That's a good way to put it," he agreed.

Saniya cupped her hands around the cool cup of coffee, suddenly wishing that it was hot enough to burn her fingertips. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to chase you out of New York."

Bruce shook his head. "No, thank you." He placed a hand on her knee when she sharply looked up at him. "I'm not sure how to explain this, but I had always assumed I couldn't be involved with anyone like we... sort of were. That I shouldn't do it because of the Other Guy. You're the first person to make me question that. For a lack of better words, I was freaked out."

Saniya felt a question on the tip of her tongue, an important one. But she swallowed it back. She was too afraid to know the answer of whether Bruce liked her for her, or only because he liked the idea of someone being unafraid of the Hulk.

"Bruce...," she started, then realized she had no idea how to reply to that. So, instead, she took his hand in hers, rubbing her thumb in circles on the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that three months ago." This had been the apology she had been waiting for for so long. It felt as satisfying as she had imagined. "I know I waited too long to say it and I'm sorry," he continued. "I hope Happy will treat you well. You deserve someone who does."

She came down from her high to register what he was saying. "Wait. Do you— Happy and I are just friends. You know that, right?"

Bruce blinked. "O-Of course I knew that," he said, though his tone of voice said otherwise. He looked down at their clasped hands. "Are we still friends?"

Saniya tilted her head. "Only if your promise never to leave like that again without at least a phone call," she replied.

Even in the darkness, she could make out the smooth lines of a smile on his face. "I promise."

Those two words were powerful enough to give her peace of mind for the moment. All her worries about Happy and Marsha were brushed away. Bruce had just promised not to leave her. Whether or not he intended to keep that promise, it made her grin.

"Tony's attracted a bit of a crowd," she mentioned after several minutes of comfortable silence. "I don't know if you'll like it."

He sighed. "I probably shouldn't go up there then, on the off chance someone recognizes me."

She rested her chin on his shoulder. "You think someone would?"

"I don't want to risk it." Bruce shook his head. "Besides, as long as Happy's okay, I don't need to visit him. I don't think I've said more than a couple sentences to him, so it probably wouldn't make a difference."

"I'll tell him you stopped by anyways." Saniya finished off the last drop of her coffee. "It's nice that you came," she said.

He lightly squeezed her hand. His brown eyes were fixed on hers. "I'm glad I did."

In that moment, she was tempted to press his lips to hers. Instead, she focused on her feet while leaning against his body, soaking in his warmth. That would have to do for now. And if she had the ability to read minds, she would have known that Bruce was thinking the same thing.

Unfortunately, they both kept staring at the ground.