Watch Your Step

It had been weeks again since she's last seen the mysterious man. She was angry, but for what reason, she couldn't tell. She wouldn't admit it but she considered the possibility that maybe, just maybe, she was angry because someone was trying to get to know her, to get her to talk about herself. To get to her. She wasn't sure she wanted to keep someone so close and to allow them to crawl under her skin.

Sighing loudly, she tossed the scarf aside, deciding it was way too hot outside to use it and made her way to the door, going out before locking it and putting the key in her secret spot.

//To Loki

The Trickster was sitting on the couch at Stark tower, looking blankly at the TV screen (although it wasn't even on), ignoring his brother and Tony who were drinking scotch in the same room, laughing loudly and shouting at each other. Ugh, how he hated it when men acted like pigs. It usually bothered him even more and normally, he would have at least made their glasses blow up, but not today.

He was entirely focused on something else. And that happened to be Alana, the girl he had met on the streets of New York and somehow managed to upset with his curiosity. Was he feeling guilty? Not exactly. He was just feeling bad that he angered her. That was not guilt. He didn't feel guilty. Nope.

With a low grunt, he closed his eyes and started rubbing his temples, trying to push the questions away. What was he going to do? Look for her again? He was pretty sure that he could track her again, even with his limited magic, but would she want to talk to him? Or just ignore him and maybe leave like she did last time. And this time he truly meant no harm! He simply wanted to know if her loss of sight was the result of his actions two years ago, when he wanted to take over Midgard.

A sad smile graced his features when a question popped into his mind. What if it was actually his fault? His powers were limited. He was pretty sure he couldn't do anything about it. But again...why did he even care? He was the Trickster, God of Mischief, Lies and all those bad things and yet here he was wondering if he'd feel guilty...

He jumped a bit when the couch went down around him, signaling that both men decided to sit with him. He growled in annoyance a bit but tried to contain himself, knowing that it would do no good if he fought with his brother and the billionaire.

"What's wrong, Reindeer Games? Love problems?" Tony asked, casually putting an arm around Loki's shoulders. He only growled louder.

"Brother dear, are you alright?" his oaf of a brother asked, looking at him with drunken concern.

"I am fine. Leave me alone." he grunted as he got up, looking out the window at the city he once tried to conquer.

"Ohhhhh, so it's girlfriend probleeeemsssss ~ " The Iron Man cooed, a stupid smirk playing on his face.

"No. And it's none of your business." he muttered before leaving the room and going on the streets to try and maybe find the redhead again.

"I think he's gay." concluded Stark as they watched the man leave.

"GAY? WHAT? NO. MY BABY BROTHER CANNOT BE HOMOSEXUAL."

Suddenly, the rest of the Avengers gathered in the room, all asking the same thing. "Is he gay?"

//Back to Alana.

Sitting on a bench in the small park close to her apartment, she sighed, almost happily as she listened to the small kids playing behind her. Facing the lake, the ones that didn't know about her blindness could have considered that she was simply admiring it, and the ones that knew let her be, since most of them knew about the little game. Occasionally, a friend or one of the nice old ladies would join her, playing said game with her.

However, today she was alone, so closing her eyes and leaning against the bench, she continued imagining what the kids were doing.

Suddenly, she felt movement around her and she turned around, trying to figure out who it was.

"Who's there?" she questioned, feeling a bit nervous, like she usually did when strangers approached her. She knew it was one of her friends or kids asking for help, but she couldn't help it when said person sat down next to her.

"Excuse me? Who is there?" she patted the bench around her until she felt material and then the person clad in said material. It felt like a jacket. A smooth jacket. She retracted her hand.

"I guess you already figured out it's me..." she immediately recognized the voice as belonging to the man she had met before. The presumably handsome man who gave her the scarf and the walking stick she gripped just a little tighter.

"Hello."

"Are you not going to yell at me and possibly leave?" he asked, half amused, half serious.

"Why would I? It's such a nice day." she sighed happily, smoothing out the dress on her legs as she relaxed on the bench. "So why are you here? To ask more questions?" she smiled slyly, reaching a hand towards him, trying to grip him or a part of his jacket.

"Possibly, but I actually wanted to give you this." he took her hand and put something on it. She palmed it, trying to figure what it was.

"Is it another scarf?" she tried to figure it out.

"Not quite. It's a shawl. Not as thick but it should help you against the cold spring breeze." he informed her, moving to wrap it around her neck.

"Thank you very much. What colour is it?" she briefly wondered if it worked with the outfit she put together. White dress, light brown leather jacket and same colour (or so she hoped) boots. A while back she had her friends help her put up outfits and she just sort of memorized them. But she wasn't always right.

"Green. Just like the scarf." So from what she knew, the shawl worked perfectly. She silently cursed when she felt her cheeks heat up as the man wrapped the shawl around her neck and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh. Awesome. Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I....just I guess I kind of wanted to apologize for angering you last time..." he blurted out.

"You don't have to apologize. I have a short tempter that tends to act up when my past is mentioned. You see, I was a dancer before the attack and it was basically the way I earned my living. I was rehearsing for a show that I worked really hard to get into..." her voice trailed off when she realized she was yet again babbling about her personal life. Ugh.

"Oh...I'm sorry for being so nosy." He was watching her with something close to disdain. He was apologizing. Loki, God of Mischief, Trickster and God of Lies felt bad for a mortal girl and her tragic past. He was feeling guilty. The disdainful look was definitely for him, not her.

Her smiling face turned to him and he needed a minute to realize that she was talking to him.

"Hm?" he inquired.

"I thought I was the disabled one. I said 'You still didn't tell me your name.' " she repeated herself before hearing him sigh.

"There....is a reason as to why I kept my identity secret." he spoke solemnly.

"And what would that reason be, Mystery Guy?" she asked, half amused of the situation, feeling strangely comfortable around this man whose name she still hadn't found out.

"I didn't want you to hate me, like everyone else does." he blurted out again.

"Why would I hate you?" she laughed, turning to completely face him. There was a silence that slowly grew uncomfortable.

"Because I am the reason you lost your sight." he spoke softly, slowly, carefully pronouncing every word to make sure that she fully understood him.

"What?" she reached out, searching for his hand. She caught it and wrapped her smaller ones around it, holding it tightly. "What are you saying? You can't be the reason. A freaking alien ship fell on the building." she desperately tried to reason.

"I am Loki, of Asgard. I brought that 'freaking alien ship' here." his voice sounded darker now, as if it was laced with hatred and it took her a minute to process everything he told her, giving her time to find amusing the way he pronounced the words she had used.

"W-what?!" she immediately let go of his hand and stood, extending her walking stick. "This is wrong. So wrong. I want to go home."

Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes and she turned around, angrily patting her stick at the ground to find her way home as soon as possible.

"You can't. Let me explain." he tried to get her to stay by making her walking stick disappear with a flick of his fingers.

"There is nothing to explain! Give me my stick back. What did you do to it?" she almost shouted as she flailed her hands around.

Eventually she gave up and started walking hastily to the general direction of her apartment.

"Wait, please. You might hurt yourself!" he tried to get her to come back, seeing as she was headed towards the street...But it was a tad bit too late...