Hawkeye's Sister

Chapter 7

"Loki..." Her voice breaks me out of my trance.

"Claire, you look beautiful." She blushes, and fiddled with her hands.

"I feel overdressed. I have never worn anything this fancy." I pick up her hand and kiss it.

"You look like a Queen." With that, we exit and head towards the dining hall.

***Claire***

I grab by breather and bag. We make our way towards the dining hall, and then stop as soon as we reach the door. My hands are shaking, and I am clinging to Loki for support.

Come on Claire, you can do this! I chant in my head. Loki presses my hand in reassurance, and looks at me.

"Do you really want to do this? We can have a private dinner somewhere else. You don't have to do this." I smile at him, touched by his concern.

"I need to do this. I need to get better at being around people." He nods in understanding. The servants open the door, and we walk in. I hold my head up high, trying to feel confident.

The room is filled with laughter and light, and the color of gold shines everywhere. All the laughter and chatter stills for a moment, as Loki and I walk up to the table.

We sit down, close to Thor and the others, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Most of the Asgardians go back to their chatter, with the occasional look thrown my way.

"That went better than I expected." I murmur to Loki. He laughs.

"What did you expect? To be interrogated and stared at the entire time?" I give him a sheepish smile, and he smirks.

"Well it seems that you have a higher opinion of the Asgardians than they do. They are somewhat like humans, just with the advantage of living longer and special powers." Just then the doors slam open, and a small red headed young woman walks in.

"THOR!" She calls, and his face blanches. She walks up to him, and hits him in the back of the head.

"OW!" He rubs his head.

"That is for making my hair green last year!" She then came over and sat next to Loki. He has a big grin on his face.

"Rika! How are you?" He asks, giving her a hug.

"I'm good. And who is this pretty lady next to you?" I blush as she turns to me.

"Rika, this is Claire. She is my friend, and a human. She is here so that I can help her heal from her sickness. Claire, this is Rika, my cousin and partner in crime."

"Ahh, so that is the reason for the..." here she gestures to the bag and breather.

"Yep." I say quietly.

"Well it is nice to meet you, Claire. Now Loki, I was thinking for our next prank..." She chatters off, and she keeps me laughing with all her crazy ideas. And with a start, I realize I am having fun.

***Hawkeye***

I stand at a a target, shooting arrows. Natasha comes in, and I turn.

"We have received a message from Loki. He has not yet found a cure, but Claire seems to be improving." My shoulders lift a little with relief.

"Did he say anything else?"

"He said that she seems to be getting happier. He will try to talk to her about forgiving you, but he wants to know her better first." I start.

"Why would he want to do that?"

"Because he knows what it's like to be estranged from a sibling, and he doesn't want that to happen to you and Claire." I feel a small amount of gratitude towards Loki. I nod, and go back to shooting arrows.

"Clint." Natasha's voice was slightly exasperated. She puts her hand on my shoulder and turns me, looking me in the eye.

"You need to stop beating yourself up about this." My shoulders sag, and I look at the floor.

"But it's my fault she is in this mess! if I hadn't left her, she would never have been alone! She would never have become sick! Who knows, she could have been an agent for SHIELD. Safe, well safer!" She lifts my face, staring into my eyes.

"Now listen. Yes, what you did was wrong. You were a stupid little kid. Now, can you change the past? No! So stop beating yourself up! She is sick, but Loki is trying his best to find a cure. He will find one, and then you will have your younger sister again." I smile a little.

"Since when did you become a therapist?" I joke, trying to lighten the mood.

"When my best friend became a depressed idiot." She punches my shoulder.

"Come on, let's do some training."