The Bifrost let you out in its usual place next to the tower and you stumbled your way out. Loki's arm tightened around you drawing you quickly out of the Bifrost's light before you could be called back to Asgard.

You stumbled the few steps, not expecting him to keep running with you, but you steadied yourself quickly. "Are you alright, darling?"

You nodded and managed to give him a tiny smile. "I'm alright," you reassured him quickly. Physically you were fine. Your emotions, however, left something to be desired.

Loki wrinkled his nose. "You cannot lie to me, kitten. How are you really?" he asked softly, pressing you for a more honest answer.

You sighed heavily, the last hour grating hard on your usually good temper. "How do you think I'm going after Odin's little speech?" you growled with tears of hurt and anger in your eyes.

Loki pulled you into a hug, stroking your hair. "He does not know you as I do, my love," he told you softly and tilted your head up with his fingers under your chin so he could kiss you gently. "Come on, darling. Let's head inside. I'm sure our friends will be happy to see us,"

"Maybe..." you told him doubtfully, shaken by Odin's harsh words, especially since Odin hadn't lied about the nature of vampires. He had just neglected to understand that you weren't like the others of your kind. Still, you were shaken by Odin's sheer amount of hate, of being called an it, thing, creature, and monster all in one speech. You still took Loki's hand to walk into the tower with him.

"I know at least Bucky and Stark will be glad to see you," Loki prodded, trying to cheer you up with mention of your friends who accepted who you were.

"True," you admitted softly, then gave him a small smile. "You're not allowed to stab them even if they want to hug me," you reminded him firmly. Loki wasn't so bad about stabbing the others anymore, except Thor, unless they did something to actively piss him off, including such offenses as hugging you, or gods forbid, him. "Though you don't have to worry about Stark on that point. He doesn't do hugs,"

"True. And you're the only one I let hug me," he reminded you, kissing the top of your head. He'd put up with them hugging you to make you feel better. He wouldn't put up with them hugging him.

You laughed. "Don't let them hear that. They'll take it as a challenge," you teased, enjoying the normalcy of the teasing.

"Let them try," he replied with a smirk and mischief in his eyes.

"You wouldn't really stab Nat?!?" you exclaimed disbelieving. You couldn't imagine him actually stabbing her. The others were debatable, but even Loki tended not to stab ladies, unless they were actively trying to kill him.

"Lady Natasha is safe from me. She means too much to you," he told you warmly, reassuringly.

"But Stark isn't?" you teased. Stark had cared for you before you'd even become a vampire.

"With all of the derogatory nicknames? Never," he replied with a smirk.

"Whatever you say, noodle," you replied, trying for normal, but still hurt by Odin's words and actions. It wasn't something you could just shake off.

"Dearheart, what can I do to put that lovely smile back on your face?" he asked you softly, noting your mood and how very hard you were trying for normal. And failing apparently.

"Loki..." you whimpered with tears in your eyes. You hugged him tightly, burying your face against his chest. "H-he called me all those things!" you wailed your heartbreak at your Loki. You were usually so careful to keep up your happy bubbly personality. Usually only Loki could get to your real emotions.

His arms wrapped tightly around you, holding you safely to him as he stroked your hair. "Odin has never been kind, darling. The only person he cares about is Frigga, maybe occasionally Thor. Don't listen to him. You are not anything that he said. He doesn't know you like I do. You are too good, too kind, too light-hearted to be consider anything other than an angel," he told you warmly.

"Promise?" you asked him softly, demanding the truth from the god of lies. "Even with what I am?" you added, hurt and unsure thanks to Odin's cruel words.

"I may be the God of Lies but I would never lie to you, dearheart. You are my angel," he reassured you as his fingers ran through your hair. You roughly dried your eyes and kissed Loki moments before the elevator doors opened.

"Kids, you're back early!" Clint announced happily, telling the others you were home too. Most of them were spread around the living room and looked up with greetings as you got off the elevator.

"We are not children, Barton," Loki replied, glaring over your head at Clint, but you could see he didn't really mean the glare, not when the teasing was so innocent and friendly.

"Uh-huh, sure you aren't," Clint replied, teasing but not unkindly. You took Loki's hand and walked with him into the living room proper.

"Have you two eaten? Dinner's almost ready!" Nat called from the kitchen. You called back that you hadn't eaten. You leaned up and kissed Loki's cheek.

"I'm going to heat up something to eat, so stop fretting, noodle," you teased him. He fretted when you didn't drink enough blood and he'd be worried over you after Odin upset everyone.

"Where's your brother, Odinson?" Bucky asked as you tried to walk past him. He stole a hug from you when you tried to walk past him without a hug. He was glad to see you back safely. He worried over you when you were gone. It was a strong bond you'd formed in the hell of Hydra.

"My brother is still on Asgard. He has to work things out with the Allfather," Loki explained, amused instead of angry that Bucky had stolen a hug.

"Buck, get your stupid metal arm off me!" You whined when the hug lasted too long. Bucky just laughed.

"You're sad, Striga," he informed you as if you didn't already know that. "Do I have to beat up boyfriend for you?" he asked with a grin, but the threat was real. He'd beat up Loki for making you sad or hurting you.

Loki glared at Bucky. "Why do you assume this is my fault?" he protested indignantly.

Bucky shrugged, finally letting you go. "I've been told it's the safe assumption when the god of mischief is involved," he replied as you finally made it to the kitchen. You hugged Nat quickly, making her smile, before you summoned a coffee mug full of blood from your little fridge upstairs and shoving it in the microwave.

"Kid, do you have to make that in the downstairs microwave?" Clint teased when the microwave beeped, you had pulled the mug from the microwave, and he could presumably smell the blood. Or just knew what was inside.

"Sorry," you murmured, not looking at him, much more shyly than usual.

Loki glared at Clint. "Not now, Barton," he snarled in warning, noting the tears that were forming in your eyes.

"Danger Noodle! We weren't expecting you guys back so soon," Tony announced from the elevator. He wasn't happy to see Loki per se, but he would be glad you were home safely. "Where's Tinkerbell and Goldilocks?" he asked, unable to see you from the elevator. Though he could see Loki and Clint. You were trying to figure out how to keep Clint from getting stabbed for making a stupid joke. You set your mug on the counter without having touched it's contents... as per usual and rushed back into the living room to greet Tony.

"Hey Stark," you told him warmly, stopping just short of hugging him. Thor had to stay awhile longer and deal with Odin. Hopefully he'll be home soon," you explained.

"Why's he dealing with Odin?" Tony asked and ruffled your hair, as close to real affection as he got.

"The Allfather is an idiot," Loki replied sourly, but without more explanation given.

"You think everyone is an idiot," Stark replied dryly, teasing Loki a little, goading him into telling more of the story.

"Right now the Allfather is even more idiotic than usual," Loki grumbled, sparing you a glance. He didn't want your feelings hurt even more than they had been already. Stark caught the glance and glared, wondering what Odin had done to you.

Nat set the giant pot of Russian stew on the dining room table and food called everyone one of the superheros to the table to take their usual places. Heavy conversation held nothing to dinner. Loki pulled out your chair for you and kissed your cheek when you were seated. Nat touched Loki's shoulder lightly as she passed on the way to her own place. It was the closest anyone can get to hugging him besides you, a reassuring, friendly touch. "Are you two ok?" she asked astutely, having caught both of your moods.

Loki gave her a warm smile. He liked Nat. For all that she was often the scariest person in the room, she was kind to those she liked. Loki could appreciate that. "We're fine for now. Odin just had to open his mouth. I'll figure it out. Though I could use your help in cheering up the little vamp," he said warmly and kissed your cheek from where you were stirring your stew without really eating it.

"I'm sure we can come up with something. At your expense, Danger Noodle," Stark teased, trying to get you to laugh or smile, or do anything besides stare sadly at your bowl of stew.

"So either of you going to tell us what actually happened on Asgard?" Clint demanded finally, curiosity apparently eating him alive. You flushed and wouldn't look at him.

"Money is no expense for the happiness of my darling," Loki told Stark, misunderstanding Stark's teasing. He looked over at you with a sigh. "Do you want to tell them, dearheart?" he asked you gently.

"I didn't say money, now did I?" Tony asked with a grin. "Money is no issue, I'd buy her whatever she wanted to make her happy if she'd actually allow it. Figuring out how to humiliate the crap out of you and get her to smile at the same time, now that would be fun," he teased, smirking at Loki.

"Stark, play nice," you scolded him. You were one of the few people Tony actually listened to. Pepper was one of the few others. You ignored Loki's evil glare at Stark and began to speak instead.

You told them pieces of the trip, sticking to happy things like the beauty of Asgard, the gardens, the market, how you could be out in the sun there. You wound up in a long conversation with Tony about the technology in the healing wing and promised him that you'd stolen some of the specs to Jarvis, which you'd download later for him.

"Who let them get started on a science tangent?" Clint whined, banging his head on the table at the incomprehensible conversation. The rest of the team laughed at his misfortune, though Bruce seemed to keep up and even Thor didn't look totally confused. You finished telling them all about Asgard, completely skipping the part where Odin was an ass and called you all sorts of awful things before kicking you from the realm.

"Darling, your friends probably wish to know why we are back early," Loki reminded you gently. He knew you cared about the team and they for you.

You looked at him with angry hurt tears in your eyes. "I'm sure they do," you grumbled at him. "I, however, don't want to talk about it," you told him with a small whimper to your voice. You didn't want to have to relieve that awful scene in the telling.

"Understandable, darling," he told you and kissed your forehead. "You don't have to tell them" he added, reassuring. "You should probably get some rest. It's been a long day," he suggested gently.

"AKA you want me to go away so you can tell them yourself?" you teased him lightly, trying so hard for things to be normal. You kissed his cheek and vanished your dinnerwear clean to the cabinets. "I would like to find something besides a dress to wear," you gave a reasonable excuse to leave the dining room and head upstairs.

Loki sighed as he watched you leave and didn't turn his attention back to the team until you were safely in the elevator and well out of earshot. "My mother and I tried to cast a spell to hide the fact that my lady's heart does not beat. We thought it best not to advertise what she is. However, the Allfather's staff saw through the spell and he found out that she is actually a vampire. His reaction was unpleasant to say the least..."

"He knew about vampires?" Bucky asked, unsure what Asgardians would know about vampires. He didn't think they existed on Asgard. Bucky was willing to speak up since he was one of the few people Loki actually liked.

"It appears so," he sighed heavily. "He called her so many names and said such awful things about her. I have no idea how she will get over this visit,"

"He did what now?" demanded most of the table's occupants. Nat actually reached for a gun as if to go shoot Odin in the head for being mean

"Lady Natasha, there is not much you would be able to do with that. But I appreciate the sentiment," Loki told her with a small chuckle. He relaxed that the team was so willing to defend and protect you, to make you feel better. "The Allfather has very little care for the feelings of others. He even believed that Y/N actually enchanted my mother and myself," he added softly, knowing the team would understand your feelings if he told them the whole story.

Stark seemed to consider that "He was probably trying to explain the vampire's mind control ability in a way your people would understand," he mused. Then added quickly at Loki's glare "Not that Tinkerbell would do that to you or your mom, but she can;I've seen her do it before..."

"No, Stark. That was certainly not the Allfather's intentions," Loki countered quickly before anyone could become sympathetic with what Odin did or said.

"And what were his intentions, besides to be an ass?" Nat growled, not quite giving up on her brilliant shooting Odin idea. Bucky looked like he was jumping onboard of her idea too.

Loki sighed. "His intentions were, I assume, to protect Asgard. But he was protecting Asgard from someone who would rather be something else than what she was forced into being. Hel, most of the time I think she would rather be dead than be what she is..."

"He was... protecting Asgard... from the least vampiric vampire ever? The tiny little girl who screamed from on top of the coffee table for you to kill a spider for her?" Bucky asked indignantly.

Loki laughed, remembering the incident. He'd come running at your screams, daggers drawn only to find you on top of the coffee table pointing at a not that big spider begging him to kill it for you. "The very same. He does not know her, and did not even give her a chance. He refused to look past her condition and took out his fear and anger on her in front of nearly all of the nobles in Asgard," he explained.

"That's going to take awhile to fix," Stark sighed, glancing sadly at the elevator you'd disappeared into. "And needless to say she's not going back to Asgard," he growled protectively.

"Didn't you hear how excited she was talking about spending the afternoon in the sun?" Clint asked sadly, nearly heartbroken at the knowledge that they they couldn't give you that here.

Nat sighed heavily "We already have to remind her 90% of the time to actually eat something. She was finally starting to get better and trust us. This is going to set her back," she added. "Speaking of, looks like she set the mug in the kitchen and "forgot" about it... again..." she noted that your mug of blood was where you'd abandoned it. "Someone will have to remind her to drink it later,"

Loki sighed and looked sad as he remembered how delighted you'd been at seeing the sun, dancing in it. "I wish I could give her the sun back. Maybe there's a spell..." he mused aloud.

"That sounds a little far-fetched, even for magic," Bucky told him kindly, trying to make sure he didn't get his hopes up. He didn't want Loki hurt for not being able to give you the impossible.

Before Loki could answer, Thor came bursting into the room and plopped into his chair, immediately going for the pot of stew with barely a hello to the others. Loki looked up at him and glared when he didn't say anything. "Brother, what happened?" Loki demanded impatiently.

"Father is angry, of course, but he is not going to chase you here. Either of you. Mother beat some sense into him. You are forgiven as long as we leave your lady behind when we return to visit," Thor explained around bites of stew. He hadn't had dinner yet and the bottomless pit was starving.

"When must we return?" Loki asked, catching the hint in Thor's tone that a return visit was already planned.

"Mother's birthday in a few weeks," Thor answered hesitantly. Loki wouldn't want to leave you that soon, even for a short visit home and he would hate that he had to leave you behind when you'd loved Asgard until Odin had messed everything up.

Loki sighed heavily instead of yelling at his brother. "Mother would wish to see her as well..."

"Mother would rather she be safe," Thor countered, logically, trying to break Loki's self-deprecating mood. He could see Loki blamed himself for even bringing you to Asgard in the first place. "Speaking of, where is your darling?" Thor looked around confused, as you usually weren't anywhere alone

"You're right," Loki admitted stiffly, hating when Thor was right. "And she went back to her room. Though I should go check on her," he stood from the table to see where you'd wandered off to, knowing it wouldn't have taken you that long to change clothes.

He found you on the couch in your suite with a book open on your lap, where it had fallen when you'd dozed off reading. You'd had too big of an adventure that day and had just closed your eyes for a moment. Loki smiled at you warmly and lifted you gently from the couch, cradling you safely in his arms. He tucked you carefully in your bed. "Sleep well, my darling," he bid you warmly and placed a kiss on your forehead. He returned to the common room downstairs. "She fell asleep," he told the worried group when they looked up.

Nat raised an eyebrow. "And you let her stay that way without eating something? You're usually more overprotective than that, especially when she's been playing with magic," she accused, surprised that Loki wouldn't force you to eat something.

"I'll get her to eat something as soon as she wakes. She's dealt with a lot. Pressuring her right now would only make things worse," Loki explained, tired and exasperated by everything. He settled on the couch with a book to try to relax for a little while.

The entire team settled in the livingroom to entertain themselves for awhile and it wasn't too terribly long before you woke and when you realized their conversation must be over since you were in your own bed and not where you'd fallen asleep, made your way back down to the common room. You went straight to Loki first and leaned down to kiss him, the pendant he'd bought her dangling briefly in front of his eyes as you leaned down.

Loki's eyes lit up with an idea and you smiled warmly at his expression. "Darling, may I see your pendant?" he asked you. You raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was up to, but unclasped the necklace and handed it to him before you took your usual spot on the couch. You watched as his hand turned green while he looked at the spellbook in his hand and his lips moved as he recited an incantation over your necklace. He moved and re-clasped the necklace around your neck when he was done. "That should allow you to spend more time outside without going blind," he told you warmly when the necklace was back in place.

You just stared at him in shock. "B-but... that shouldn't be possible... even with magic," you protested. You'd been studying magic and had a good grasp on what things should be possible or not.

He chuckled. "I am no ordinary wizard, sweetheart," he reminded you with a smirk.

"And yet, you and Strange decided it was an excellent idea to have a duel, using only Harry Potter spells," you reminded him, laughing at the memory of that adventure.

"It was fun though," he replied with a smug smirk. He'd won that match, which had upset Strange because Loki wasn't even from Earth and should not be better at a Harry Potter based duel.

"Of course it was, noodle," you teased him.

Nat turned to the group "We are still introducing the boys to Star Wars tonight?" she asked. It had been on the list of pop culture to catch the Asgardians and frozen in time boys.

"Star Wars?" Loki asked you confused.

"An amazing movie about adventures in space," you explained quickly as you jumped off of the couch to grab the DVDs from the rack by the TV. "You guys start with one or four?" you asked the others. They debated for a moment before the consensus came to start with four because you had in your company the last untainted adults in the world in regards to the plot twist about Darth Vader, though everyone was careful not to say what the plot twist was and ruin the reactions of the untainted adults. Loki looked suspicious of the movie. "I can't imagine you not liking it, Lokes," you reassured him as you shoved the DVD in the player before returning to the couch to cuddle up with your Loki for the movie. He settled the couch blanket around you and contentedly held you in his arms. He would put up with even a bad movie if it meant you stayed in his arms.

The whole team got invested in the movies, but you all turned to stare expectantly for the reactions of the last untainted adults when the "No, I am your father line" was spoken in Empire Strikes Back. You weren't disappointed at all. There were looks of shock and confusion and they were all worth it. Even Loki couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips, though he was trying to remain stoic, especially when he saw the eyes of the team on him. You smirked up at him, catching the small gasp. Cap, Bucky, and Thor all had much larger confused reactions, so his secret was safe. He smiled down at you and kissed the top of your head before he returned his focus to the movie.

"Are you guys up to the third one?" you asked the drowsy crowd of superheros. It was quite late, but they all insisted that they needed to finish the trilogy at least. You sighed and hoped you wouldn't be carrying everyone to bed after the movie.

"Maybe we should continue this another night, darling," Loki suggested, looking over the mortals concerned that they wouldn't make it through a third movie.

"NO!!" Protested the drowsy mortals "You can't have a Star Wars marathon without watching the entire trilogy!" They whined. It wasn't just one of them. It was all of them.

You sighed. "I think logic has been outvoted," you told Loki heavily

He groaned. "Very well, then," he sighed. You laughed and curled back up with him to enjoy the last movie.

A couple hours later, the movie was over and the mortals were predictably passed out around the living room. You looked up at Loki to see if he survived the movie trilogy or passed out too. He needed less sleep than the mortals, but still... He smirked down at where you were snuggled in his arms, perfectly still awake. "Looks like we have to get this lot to bed," he told you warmly.

You sighed and extracted yourself from his arms. "So it appears. You'll have to get Cap, Bruce, and Bucky. None of them have invited me into their rooms... I can get Stark, Nat, and Clint,"

Loki chuckled. "I can make this a bit easier for both of us," he told you and with a wave of his hand had teleported the rest of the team back to their rooms.

You sighed in relief. "That is much easier," you told him appreciatively and he preened under the praise of his magic. "So what should we do with the rest of our night?" you asked, but considered him. "Though you should probably get some sleep too," you reminded him. While he needed less sleep than most of the rest of you, it had still been a long time since he gotten any sleep.

"You're right. And I've used too much magic without any rest," he admitted as he got to his feet. "Care to join me?" he asked you, knowing you didn't sleep well alone after Hydra.

"If you don't mind the company," you replied, knowing just as well that he could be touchy about his personal space and that he tended not to get as much alone time as he was used to since he met you.

"I always enjoy your company, dearheart," he reassured you with a loving gentle smile.

You returned the smile. "Yes, but you need alone time too, sometimes and I respect that," you reminded him warmly, reassuring him that you cared about his feelings and his needs too.

"Would you prefer some time to yourself while I get some sleep?" he asked.

"Prefer? No," you told him and couldn't quite keep the hint of fear from your voice. You still didn't care to be alone after the incident with Hydra.

"Don't fret, love. You will always be safe with me," he told you and grabbed your hand, pulling you along behind him all the way to his room. You laughed and relaxed at his silly antics.

When you finally reached his room, he magiced on a pair of pajamas and settled comfortably in his bed. You followed suit, joining him. "I only need a couple hours of sleep," he reminded you. "You can do whatever you wish while I sleep. It won't disturb me," he reassured you.

You smirked. "So annoy you with kisses?" you teased, but summoned a book to read, reassuring him that you were only teasing.

"I would not object to that," he replied, smiling sleepily, already starting to doze off.

"Sure you wouldn't," you replied, stroking his hair with one hand while you held your book in the other. "Get some sleep, love. I'll stand guard," you reassured him as he was falling asleep.

"My feisty kitten,"

You giggled and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Shh, go to sleep." He must have been comfortable with you, because he slept a lot longer than a couple of hours.