"Go on then, explain." Her sharp gaze cuts back and forth between Loki and Bucky waiting for either man to tell her why the Asgardian and the former assassin were suddenly all friendly. Loki could see that she knew because of course she did, but Katherine wanted them to sweat it out a bit to mess with them. See if they would lie to her or not.
Stammering Bucky took a few steps closer to her as if closing the distance would help him explain himself. "Well you see.. the thing is.." Turning to the other man he sold him out. "Loki?"
"Really Barnes?" Rolling his eyes, the god crossed his arms over his chest in exasperation at how much Bucky kowtowed to her fake anger. Turning back to Katherine he raised an eyebrow and lowered his tone in the way he knew that sent shivers down her spine. "She knows. Don't you, Kitten?"
A smirk tugs at the corners of her beautiful mouth as she shrugs. "And what exactly is it that I know, princeling?"
"You know very well that Bucky and I talked about how best to woo you. Also that we are attempting to get along so that you will see that the three of us will work. I must say he and I have several things in common and it really isn't very hard to like him. Barnes is quite skilled in his fighting abilities, particularly with a dagger which I am partial to myself." Bucky looked over at him with surprise on his face at the kind compliment.
"He isn't wrong. You are amazing with a blade. What? You are." Katherine smiles when she adds in her opinion.
You'd have thought she'd sprouted a second head by the way he looked at her. "I know, I mean- you complimented me. You've never said anything nice about me before."
"I can always take it back. And besides, good dick has been known to change a woman's mood, ask Mischief here." Biting her lip she winks flirtatiously up at him. He's always taken great pride in his prowess in the bedroom and loved to hear that his partners enjoyed themselves, but her little comment inflated his ego quite a bit.
Quick to smile, he frowns a little when he says, "No, of course not. I just- today hasn't gone how I thought it would and your mood swings are taking a toll on my nerves." Oh you sweet fool, no.
Her voice came out harsh and clipped. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
The built up dam of their months of flirting and fighting breaks because he goes off on Katherine in a way neither Loki or her had ever seen. "Yes, your mood swings. One minute you're flirting back with me, the next you're hexing me or you ignore my existence completely. I can't tell which Katherine I'm going to get until after I've already opened my mouth and either stuck my foot in it or you're actually receptive. Instead of talking to me you lash out and to be honest your angry girl routine is getting old. I'm tired of walking on eggshells hoping to win favor with you when all I get is slapped down. I want you, but I refuse to play these games with you anymore. You either want me or you don't. So what's it to be?"
Well, well that was quite the scene indeed.
Standing off to the side Loki looked back and forth between the two of them staring at each other. Bucky, chest heaving with emotion as Katherine simply stood still. Her beautiful face, a blank impassive mask that Loki couldn't read to tell how she was taking Barnes' outburst. While he had talked she had straightened up to her full height. While there wasn't much of it Katherine had a way of making herself seem a match for any man and right now every inch of her five foot four inches was standing at six feet or more. It was only at the last minute that he saw her reaction to Bucky's tirade.
They watched as she put back up the wall that she'd finally let down. Brick by brick she set the unyielding stone back in place. Her pearlescent skin took on the peaches and cream complexion that she emulated to blend in. Her hair bled from her silvery-white to a black so dark it had tones of violet and indigo to it. The last to change were her eyes. The gorgeous glowing whitish-blue fire he adored bled to the grey and sage green that, while pretty, wasn't really truly her. Loki and Bucky share a nervous glance at what she might do.
"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.
After a long while her sniffles stop and she scoots closer, Katherine waits until he lifts his arm to drape it around her shoulders and he brings her tighter to his side before she rests her head on his chest. It seemed like such a small thing, but he knew how momentus this was for her. To seek out comfort from another instead of pushing him away was incredibly difficult for her. He was so proud of her right now.
Her usually strong voice comes out meek and tinged with tears. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to come off as such a bitch." Her left hand splays out on his chest before her fingertips begin to run along the leather of his jacket in the hidden pattern of lines and swirls embedded in the skin of his true form. "You were right, it is easier for me to be like that. It's how I protect myself from disappointment and being hurt." Keeping her eyes firmly on the pattern her fingers were making she says, "I had to learn early to not show that I cared how they hurt me with their words or fists because they'd use it against me. The less weakness I showed the less entertaining it was to come after me until I made them too afraid to even think about it. I don't know how to be any other way."
"I understand, Katherine. You know that I do, you've seen it." He reminds her of the time she spent in his mind and of the memories and dreams of his past that she's seen. "Our ingrained defense mechanisms as you called it are not an easy thing to let go of. Believe me I've only been working at it for the last week and it's been one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I think the end result will be worth it."
Huffing out a long sigh she tips her chin up to look him in his eyes. Her thick long lashes were soaked with her tears that sparkled from the bright fire that were her iris's. The white and blue swirling to mix and yet somehow not as her power shines from within. Brushing his thumb over each lid he swipes them away hating to see her cry even if she looked beautiful as she did. Leaning into his palm that was cupping her face she closes her weary eyes basking in his comforting gesture for a moment.
Opening them she goes to pull away, but he tightens his grip making her smile a little. "I have to go find Bucky and apologize. I'm not very good at it and I don't know if he'll even want to see me, but I want try to be better."
"Do you want me to accompany you?" He offers his continued support, but she shakes her head no.
"This is something I have to do on my own." She hesitates to get up before leaning towards him for a kiss. Not ever wanting to deny her he feathers his lips across hers allowing her to dictate how firm and how long it was to last. While short it warmed every inch of his heart until it was pounding in his chest at a thunderous rate he was sure she could feel under her dainty hands.
"Thank you, Mischief." Pressing her forehead to his they keep their eyes closed as their breath mingles together as they slowly come back down from the dizzying heights of Valhalla. Kissing the corner of her mouth he whispers against her pillow soft lips, "Any time, my darling."
:::::::
Leaving Loki had been hard because she desperately wanted to hang onto his hand as she hunted Bucky down to apologize. She wasn't lying when she told him that she didn't do this well because the only people she's ever apologized to were her brother and her mother, but they were family. God, her insides felt like they were about to meet the outside as she followed FRIDAY's directions. This time on foot so she could take the extra time to try and think up the words to say to him. Just as she was about to turn the corner on the level where the teams shared offices were, she saw a familiar head of dark sable colored hair in his and Steve's office and stopped.
Taking a deep breath she readied herself to do something that didn't come naturally to her. 'Okay I can do this. Loki has faith in me and if he thinks I can do this then I can.' How strange was it that in eight short days his opinion had come to matter to her? Shaking thoughts of her green eyed god from her mind Katherine focused on the man in front of her and rounded the corner only to come to a complete halt.
He wasn't alone. Bucky was sitting on the edge of his desk talking and laughing with two female agents looking like he was having the time of his life. She recognized them, but didn't know their names. Katherine had to admit they were both pretty. The tall leggy blonde showed off her assets in a tight light grey pencil skirt and skyscraper high heels. The other woman was a redhead that was clearly not her natural coloring, had curves in all the right places and showed them off in a form fitting black dress. She watched as they spoke to him with a familiarity that apparently included touching his arm repeatedly and Bucky allowed it.
White hot anger courses through her veins as she folds her arms under her breasts in a bid to not storm over and punch those bitch agents in the face repeatedly for daring to touch what was hers. Mad that she even considered Bucky hers, Katherine glares daggers at him. Sensing that he was being watched his stormy blue eyes shifted from the short redhead to see her scowling at him.
A smirk lifts his mouth as he laughs at something one of the women says before they both leave his office. Walking past her their smiles slip a little, but they both greet her cordially. The redhead with a respectful head nod while the blonde simply says, "Agent Blake."
Ignoring them both she stalked into Bucky and Steve's office and softly closed the door behind her, afraid that in her rage she would shatter the all glass door. Moving around to sit at his desk, Bucky's earlier jovial self that he readily shared with the other two women disappeared and the brashly spoken Bucky Barnes that everyone else got was in his place. Not offering her a seat he got straight to it. "Katherine, how can I help you?"
It stung a little when he didn't use his nickname for her, but that was her own fault. Clenching her teeth together before taking a deep calming breath she let it out slowly so she wouldn't snap at him again. "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you earlier. I let my hurt feelings run away with my mouth and I'm sorry."
Shocked, he sat there stunned for a second before he warily looked at her and nodded. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gone off like that and found a different way to say how I felt. Apologizing aside, you know how I feel about you, does that change your mind in any way?"
When she hesitates he stands up to come sit back where he'd been when she came in and gestures for her to sit down on the small couch next to her. Crossing his arms over his chest he widened his stance to hold himself up against the desk drawing her eyes down his body. Whether it was intentional or not, Katherine couldn't hide the desire for him in her eyes. "What would you do if I'd been in here kissing Alice or Hannah?"
Jerking her head back at his abrupt question she frowned up at him from her spot on the couch and clenched her hands into fists on her lap. His ever observant eyes catch the gesture before she could unfurl them again. She snaps at him, "We're not together, Barnes. Do whatever and whoever you want I'm not stopping you." Damnit, this wasn't going the way it was supposed to! She was supposed to be reining in her reactions not giving into old habits.
Coming over he sat down next to her and leaned into her until his lips were brushing against the shell of her ear. The feel of his stubbly cheek and warm breath sending shivers of remembered pleasure down her spine. "See you say that, but you don't mean it, doll. I saw the way you wanted to hurt them at how close they were to me. When they touched me. Even if they were just being friendly and doing their jobs by stopping by to remind me to finish my after mission report from yesterday." Still not speaking he lets out a disappointed sigh that had her heart rate picking up.
Placing his metal hand over one of her fists he uncurled her fingers and swiped his cool thumb over the indents left behind in her palm from her nails before doing the same to her other hand, this time linking their fingers together. "You want me, but you don't want to admit that you want me. Is that correct?" Gritting her teeth at her obvious jealousy she kept her eyes on their entwined hands and nodded once.
"You want me and Loki and Steve and Natasha, but you don't want anyone else to have me. And I think you feel the same about Loki, about not sharing him I mean. Is that fair to us?" Biting her lip at his simple and accurate description she shakes her head no in shame. "I'm fine with only being with you. I think I've also shown how willing I am to share you, but that will only go so far before I'm not okay with it." Unlinking their hands she panics thinking he was going to tell her to leave and that he was done with her. Tapping her chin he tells her, "Katherine, look at me."
It takes her a long second before she is able to control her breathing enough to be able to look in his eyes, but eventually she does. "I'm done playing games when it comes to the emotional stuff, but I am still willing to share you."
The immediate relief that he still wanted her floods her chest, calming down her heartbeat from its chilled pounding pace to something more like a warm flutter. It takes a couple of tries before she can get the words out. "Share me with who?"
"Loki and I talked about this earlier so we'd be on the same page. He and I want you. We also talked about how you might want to have an occasional extra, like Steve or Nat. I'm not completely sure what your and hers arrangement is, but we're fine with both of them as long as it's mainly the two of us. Whether it be at the same time in bed or alone, that's fine, whatever works for the three of us we're willing to try. But you have to be honest with us so that we're all on the same page and we'll do the same. Do you think this is something you'd be okay with?" Seeing that she was overwhelmed by all of what he had to say Bucky pulled her over to sit sideways across his lap.
Be honest, she could do that. Looking into his blue eyes she told him the truth. "I want that. I really do, but I told you I don't do relationships. It's not because I don't necessarily want to, it's more because I've never done the whole relationship thing before. I don't know how, Bucky."
"It won't be easy all of the time. Sometimes we're gonna want to murder each other because we'll get on each other's last nerves, but most of the time it'll be like this. We'll talk out our issues and then we'll kiss and make up. Which between me and you is the best part of fighting. Unless fighting leads to angry sex that leads to make up sex then that's the best part." He says wiggling his eyebrows at her to make her laugh. Brushing her hair behind her ear he asks her seriously, "Kat, do you trust me?"
She doesn't even hesitate to reply. "Yes."
"Then can you try? I know it's coming out of left field and you're scared, but trust me and Loki to be here to care and support you." She wanted to so badly, but he was right, she was scared. Terrified because what if they broke her heart? What if they broke her heart so completely that she could never put it back together again?
"Trust me." He pleads softly. Bucky watches as she chews on her bottom lip until she lets it go as she comes to a decision.
"I'll try," His wide smile gets hers going, but still she warns him. "but I'm telling you now I'm gonna be a shit girlfriend. I'm antisocial, have sass and anger issues for days and apparently I get insanely jealous and have mood swings that push your buttons until you explode."
"I'll take it as long as you're mine, and Loki's of course." Her eyes narrowed at him at the claim on her even if it did wonderful things to her heart and lady bits. "You know, this means Loki and I are yours. No one gets to touch us unless you say so."
"Mine?" She liked the sound of that. He nods as he hooks his hand around the back of her neck to bring her face towards his.
Placing a gentle kiss on her lips he pulled away much to her protest to say, "Only yours", and then he was kissing her deeply. His tongue enters her mouth to claim hers in passionate display to seal their new bond. Bucky reluctantly pulled away, panting for air to tell her they needed to speak to Loki. "Should we go tell Mischief the good news?"
Biting her plump kiss-swollen lip Katherine nodded in agreement because if this was what agreeing to be their girlfriend was like then she most definitely wanted to continue this somewhere more private. "FRIDAY, where's Loki?"
"Reindeer games is currently on the team's floor with Thor." She informs them.
Staring up into Bucky's lust blown eyes she tells the AI, "Can you tell him Bucky and I need to speak to him privately, please. He can meet us up in my room. It's quite urgent."
"He is on his way up to your room now."
"Thank you, Fri." Not waiting for an answer Katherine teleports her and Buck up to her bedroom.