Nothing but trouble

Do you trust me?

"Fine, no more games. Snowflake, you want me to be honest? Here's some honesty for you. I want your body, but I don't want a relationship with you. If you can't handle that then what happened last night stops and things stay professional between us. If you do want to continue you need to know I am not tied to either of you exclusively. The same goes for you. If you want to sleep with other people do so, in fact, please do because I don't need either of you forming romantic attachments to me that I can't and won't return." Shaking his head, Bucky's shoulders slump in defeat at her answer.

Not sure how much worse this could possibly get he stepped between them to try and defuse the tension. "Bucky I think it best if you and Katherine took a moment to calm down before anything else is said." Feeling hurt he clenched his strong jaw looking at him to avoid her angry gaze.

"No, she was right. I wanted the truth and she gave it to me. Looks like this was all for nothing. Sorry to have wasted both of your time." Loki shakes his head, taking a step closer to him to place a hand on his arm.

"That's not really what she wants. It isn't Katherine and you know that." He says when she goes to open her mouth to refute his claim. "You were upset by what he said and have let his words bring out a side of you that is easier to handle than the new outlook I know you wish to try. So I am telling you both to walk away and calm down before either of you say anything else you might regret that can't be taken back." Glaring at them both with murder in her eyes Katherine stormed back down the hall to her room, slamming it closed behind her hard enough that he was surprised it hadn't broken the frame.

Not saying a word Bucky walks back to the lift, pressing the call button and waits silently for it to arrive. Following after her Loki calls out over his shoulder to the other man. "I must go speak with her now or she will shut us both out and I refuse to let her do that. I promise I'll fix this and I'll come find you later." Still not saying a word Bucky enters the lift slumping back against the wall dejectedly as the doors close.

How had things snowballed so quickly? What should have been a light hearted exchange had turned into a right mess. This morning had been going so well. The moment he had with Katherine in his rooms had him hopeful when she admitted she had feelings for him and was slowly coming round to wanting to explore them. Not to mention his time with Bucky had him seeing a potential true friend in the Midgardian and not just a romantic rival for her affections. But this little kerfuffle could undo all of that.

Knocking on her door he twists the knob expecting it to be locked, but it wasn't so he pushed it open enough to call out. "Katherine darling, it's just me. May I come in?" With no answer in either the negative or positive he cautiously stepped inside and closed the door softly behind him.

At first he thought she had teleported away since he couldn't immediately see her on the bed or in the small sitting area, but a spot of pale silver in the corner of the room drew his eyes over. Somehow she'd wrapped the shadows around her to cloak her from his sight but her guard had come down and her silvery-white hair had caught a sliver of light. She sat in the furthest corner of the room with her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them and quiet, but discernible crying could be heard.

Oh kitten. His heart ached for her pain. He wanted to cross the room in several long strides and scoop her up into his arms, but he didn't think she'd be receptive to physical touch just yet. Instead he sedately made his way over and sat next to her on the floor giving Katherine plenty of space. "For now we shall just sit here and I shan't say anything until you're ready." A quiet sniffle was her only reply.

For someone so outwardly strong and brave, inside there was a part of her that was broken. It was a feeling he knew quite well because he too felt this way. Always needing to keep up a harsh mask to keep people from getting too close to see the damage that'd been done to them over the years. That's not to say they weren't strong or fierce at all. It was just that they weren't always able to be and while they lashed out, either with word or action, inside they were broken and devastated.