Instincts (A Loki Fanfic)

Chapter Twelve

(Kit's Pov)

The next morning Kit awoke with the most comfortable feeling she's had in ages. The bed was warm, and comfy, and molded just right so that she never wanted to get up. The pillows had accepted her as one of their own, if she left now, she would betray their trust.

But when she found the curtains being drawn back by someone, she forced herself to look up to see who it was.

Natasha.

Of course it was Natasha.

"Come on, get up Котя." She said, the light from outside threatening to wake her all the way. "We've got to go shopping!"

"No." She whined, turning over to hide her face. "I want sleep."

"You've been sleeping."

"I want more sleep."

Nat chuckled at her morning tiredness before lying out some clothes on the edge of the bed. "Get up and get ready, or I might leave without you."

A heavy sigh, and Kit finally sat up to greet the day. And Natasha. "Fine." She groaned, using magic to instantly form the new outfit around her. "Can I get a hat?"

"Why do you want a hat?" Natasha questioned with a smile. She wasn't saying no, but simply asking why.

"They are... stylish." She remembered the word Clint had used the night before, hoping it fit the context. Since she's been human, it always felt like there was something missing. And then when Jarvis told her about the fashionable variety of things to wear on her head, Kit just couldn't resist her curiosity.

"Alright. We'll get you a hat." Nat finally agreed, leaving the room with Kit trailing after her. Of course Loki just happened to leave his room the moment they did, as he looked at the two ladies heading out.

"Where are you going?" He asked, after Kit had spared him a 'hello'. Natasha was making her way quickly towards the end of the hall, and Kit struggled to keep up. Which meant that Loki stridded alongside her, following with them.

"I am shopping for a hat." Kit beamed, Loki not able to keep the small smirk out of his own expression either. He was amused by her absolute adorableness.

"We're heading to the mall." Kit's accomplice clarified, "For clothes, as well as a hat."

"Seems like quite the adventure, Kitten." Loki surmised, as they finally made it to the elevator. "Would you like a companion?"

Her eyebrows crossed in confusion. "What's that?"

"He's asking if you want him to come with us." Natasha answered, giving Loki a knowing look, which he promptly ignored.

"Yes!" Kit exclaimed, "Come on." She grabbed his hand, pulling him inside the elevator with them. Seemed there was another member on this journey.

But if she had even bothered to look at him, she would have seen how flustered he had been when she grabbed his hand, more so from her excitement at the mere notion that he would be joining them.

*

"So it wasn't a dream." Clint called when they arrived, the rest of them turning to look at them as well. Or, mostly Kit.

"Nope." Nat replied, handing a snack to each of her ducklings. "Eat, or you'll be starving the rest of the day."

"Starving?" Kit asked her.

"It's when it feels like your stomach is eating itself."

"It does what?" Kit turned to Clint, eyes wide in horror.

"No, no, no it doesn't- it's just an expression. It means you're really hungry." Bruce saved them, re-re-explaining it to her.

"Oh. I know that." Kit shrugged, taking the poptart Nat handed her. Thor sputtered in protest, but after a stern look from Loki, he shut up. Even though the mischief prince had been eating one too.

When Kit took a bite of the crumbly pastry though, she couldn't believe how sweet it was. No one ever really gave her sweet things as a cat, and besides the apple juice last night, she hadn't known how it truly tasted. "This is so good." She took another bite, finding the jam in the middle. She stopped. "It is bleeding!"

Thor choked on his own stolen poptart, as the others all attempted to stifle laughs at her outburst.

"No, little one. That's not blood." Loki reassured her, breaking his own in half to show her. "It's jam, but they just put it on the inside."

"I am not hurting it?"

"No, you are not." He smirked, smiling more when she hesitantly took another bite.

It really did taste amazing, even if she had to be convinced it wasn't blood. "Okay. I like it."

Finally the team let out their laughs, as Kit laughed along with them. She knew there were many things she did differently, but it warmed her heart that they accepted it, and helped her.

"Ready to get your hat?"

*

"This one?"

"No."

"How about this one?"

"No."

"This one?"

"No."

They stood at a store in the mall, Natasha and Loki finding different hats for her to try on. So far none had either fit right, or just didn't look right on her.

"Well, what are you looking for?"

"I do not know." Kit confessed, looking at all the hats they had picked out. The three of them had already gone through the entire mall for the other items, finding everything Kit might need and more.

"Do you want something big or small?" The clerk helping them asked, as she looked at herself in the mirror again. She hadn't done that in quite awhile, at least not properly. But she liked how she looked, unique compared to the rest of the world. Like each of the Avengers, they were so different from one another, yet still worked great as a team.

"Small. I think." She responded, trying to imagine herself in a hat. Ever since she found out people actually wear things on their heads, it sounded fascinating. But now that she was wearing them, it was not all she had hoped. She wanted something that just felt natural, and... her, rather.

Kit studied herself in the mirror for a second, soon coming to the solution.

Cat ears.

So she summoned them up, her hair covering where her human pair once was. She looked at her friends.

"These ones!"

"Those ones?" Natasha asked with a chuckle, most likely finding it ironic they just spent an hour looking for a 'hat' she could've summoned the entire time. When Kit nodded, she just shook her head. "Alright."

Kit turned to Loki, who had been preoccupied with other things. "Do you like them?"

He glanced up, spotting her adjustments for her new appearance instantly. And he smiled. "They're adorable, Kitten."

"Thank you." That warm feeling returned to her cheeks, and she tried to shake it off. But trying to ignore it only made it worse.

Even when they walked back outside to return to the car, that feeling never left. But instead of the feeling being on her cheeks, Kit's chest became filled with that same warmth every time she glanced in his direction. And everytime Loki looked at her, it only multiplied.

What was this?