Sweetheart

Chapter 1

Kait rolls out of bed onto the floor. She glances at the clock next to her, seeing that it's much too early. She frowns, feeling that something in the Avengers compound wasn't normal. Whether it was bad or good would have to be determined, she decides as she pulls a hoodie over the t-shirt she'd slept in. Kait makes her way to the door but abruptly turns back around to grab a pair of fuzzy socks to keep her feet warm.

She pulls the socks on and cautiously makes her way to the kitchen. She sees a figure standing in the dimly lit kitchen and she tenses slightly, grabbing a chef's knife from beside her. She forces herself to relax when she recognizes the figure as none other than Nick Fury. Although she knows he's not a threat, she keeps a hold of the knife, it's comforting weight reassuring her.

"Morning Fury!" Kait has a little smile upon her face that fades when she feels the frustration radiating off him. She generally didn't read people's emotions unless it was needed, but she was tired and hadn't remembered earlier to block her powers. He gives her a nod, and she frowns, "What's happening?" she asks.

He lets out a sigh, "Loki has to be kept here," she looks at him confused, "The Asgardians refuse to have him near them, so he can't be kept there, but he can't just be set free"

"Oh," The short girl can't help but feel frustrated as well. Not because of the situation, but because his feelings are stronger than most peoples and she can't focus enough to block it out. The two sit there in silence for a moment, then she looks at him and says, "Do you want a muffin?" she gestures to a tupperware on the counter full of the baked goods as he gives her a blank stare. "I made them last night," she adds, "they're blueberry"

He looks at her for a moment, then says, "Why not," she passes him the container. He grabs one and she places the lid back on top of the container when Tony appears.

"Fury" Kait's dad says, trying to be somewhat professional as they shake hands.

"Stark," the other retorts. Their slightly awkward exchange makes her want to laugh.

"Do you have an update on the Loki situation," he says, grabbing a muffin.

"Actually yes," she realizes that the conversation has reached boring adult topics so she waits for a pause in the conversation before saying, "I'm going to my art studio," Tony nods so she gets up and makes her way to the door across from her bedroom.

Kait looks at the empty canvas and starts to lightly sketch something onto it.

Hours later, she gets up to go get lunch when she hears a commotion coming from the kitchen. Kait slowly gets up and walks downstairs where she sees a man with long black hair standing in the middle of the room with Tony's newest invention, ability restricting cuffs, clamped around his wrists.

She locks eyes with the man, who seems to be around her age, and goes to stand in front of him, "Hi!" Kait gives him a smile at him, "I'm Kait, and I'm guessing you're Loki, right?" he just stares at her,, "you don't have to answer, it's okay" she gives him another gentle smile at him again.

"Kait!" She turns and looks at Steve, "Get away from him, he's a criminal and, frankly, a monster," His hand wraps around her wrist and he tries to pull her away from the trickster god.

Kait looks him dead in the eyes, smile gone. She yanks her wrist away from his grasp. "Don't touch me please," she pats him on the shoulder, a dangerous light flashing in her eyes and Steve flinches away "I know who he is and what he's done, I'm choosing to give him a second chance," Kait's demeanor quickly changes back to the sweet innocent girl everyone knows her as and she turns to catch up to the others who are leading Loki to his cell.

She walks over to Wanda, who whispers, "What were you talking to Steve about?"

Kait huffs, "He touched me, and frankly I really didn't want to know how he felt," shudders at the thought of the invading emotions.

Wanda gives her a smile, "He should know by now that you don't like surprise physical contact."

Kait shrugs, "he doesn't understand the way my power works, and I don't feel like explaining. I just want him to respect that I'm not very touchy-feely," the two reach the elevator and pile in with the rest of the team, Loki, and Fury.

After a mildly awkward ride, the doors open and she rushes out, away from all the emotions crammed in too small of a space.

After taking a few deep breaths, she looks around. There's a long hallway with three cell doors on either side. It's cold and damp, and it makes her really want to sneeze. It's all stone and the floors are covered in grime. It's disgusting and she frowns at the idea of keeping someone here.

All the cells are the exact same. Identical cold stone boxes with two doors, one to get in, and the other leads to a bathroom with nothing but a toilet and a sink. The cell is completely empty, and the floor, even if it hadn't been gross, it wouldn't be very comfortable to sleep on.

"You can't put Loki in there!" her brows furrow at the in-humaneness.

Fury sighs and punches in a code, the door slides open, "Sorry Kait, we can't keep him anywhere else,"

"What if he gets sick? This place is very unhygienic, and you expect him to sleep on the floor?"

Steve shoves Loki in the cell and Fury grabs a blanket off a bench in the hallway. He tosses it to Loki.

"I'm sorry," Fury pats her shoulder, and to his credit she could sense a bit of sorrow, although she suspected it was because he hated seeing her sad, not for Loki's situation. Fury liked her more than most of the other avengers.

"Come on" Tony says gently, moving to put his hand on her back before remembering her dislike of physical contact. She looks back at Loki and reaches out with her power, sensing his confusion. At what she wasn't sure, but before she could try and pry deeper she was led into the elevator and the doors shut, cutting her off from Loki.