MONSTER

05

His name slipped past her lips as a question, as if she wasn't quite sure she could trust what she was seeing.

"Loki?"

"Yes, it's me." He confirmed.

Katerina moved to slowly look at him. He had a forming bruise around his eye from where she had accidentally hit him.

"You're hurt." She said.

"I'm okay." Loki said, "Come with me."

He stood up, but didn't let go of her hand, and helped her off the floor. She was too tired and confused to fight it. Loki brought Katerina to his room and cast a spell around it to block out the sound of the fireworks. He then walked into his bathroom and came back with a wet towel. Katerina watched all of his movements like a hawk from where she sat per eyes on the edge of his bed.

"Here." He said, handing over the towel, "You're bleeding."

Katerina realized the blood on her hands came from scratched she had made on her face.

"Oh." She took the towel and held it against the deepest scratch, wincing as it stung. Loki sat down on the bed next to her. She blinked a few times, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

"It's okay, you're safe now." Loki said, "No one will hurt you here."

"I'm not safe. I'm the danger. I'm the murderer- the monster." Katerina closed her eyes and tried to not start crying again. She missed the look of sadness Loki gave her at that last word.

"What happened?" He asked when she opened her eyes again.

"...the fireworks... they sound like gunshots." She said.

"And this made you remember things? Things you didn't want to remember?" Loki guessed.

"Shit." Katerina cursed angrily, throwing down the towel, "I'm so weak."

"You are not weak, Katerina." Loki said.

"No, I am. I'm everything they made me, yet still nothing at all." She said.

Loki watched her as she stared off into space. Eventually she came back and turned her attention back on him.

"I'm sorry about your eye." Katerina apologized.

"It will heal." Loki shrugged.

She looked away, appearing nothing like the woman who had held a toothbrush blade up to his throat days prior. She was still her, still Katerina, but now he saw a layer underneath her, one that she tried to hide. She thought her true self was a weakness, something he could understand. Maybe if he had hid himself better, things would have been different. Maybe the events in the Battle of New York would never have happened.

"What did you do it?" Katerina asked suddenly.

For a second Loki panicked and assumed she was talking about his attempt to invade the planet. Luckily she hadn't looked up yet, and continued talking before he could betray his thoughts.

"Why did you help me?"

"Oh." He said, immensely relived at first before becoming distressed again. Why did he help her?

"Never mind." Katerina dismissed, "It doesn't matter. But thank you."

At a loss for words, Loki merely nodded. Katerina's eyes drooped with exhaustion.

"Do you think you could teach me how to make the outside noises go away?" She asked sleepily.

"Maybe tomorrow..."