"Yes," Bruce agreed. "Once a week or so we all have a movie night. We take turns picking. Tonight is Tony's night to pick."

Tony positively cackled.

"Fun," Lavender said. She grinned. "Because that cackling isn't comforting or anything."

"This is Tony," Bruce said dryly, even as Tony just waved a demanding hand at the screen. "Clearly he's had far too much time alone with Jarvis." Because Jarvis didn't even need words to know which movie to start with.

"Does this surprise anyone?" Lavender asked, grinning as she settled in.

"Not really," Bruce said. "This is Tony, after all." He just settled in again as Tony stretched out.

Lavender just grinned a bit.

"This should be interesting, then," she said. "I've... never really done a movie-night thing before, I never had many non-magical friends to get together with."

"What about you and Lessa?" Bruce asked. He lowered his voice a bit when the movie started, but he didn't feel the need to watch too closely. He could watch and carry on a conversation at the same time.

"Sometimes," Lavender said quietly. "Not often, though. We're working partners, so sometimes we each do our own thing when we're not working. And any friends I had in school are magical."

"Ah." Bruce nodded his understanding of that. Of course, he also hadn't had companions for a while himself.

Lavender grinned.

"Though a few of my roommates in school got together and tried to magic-proof a VCR, once," she said. "It didn't end well, but we had fun trying."

Movie night ended up going well, and a few days later Thor took Loki back to Asgard, saying they had to go back for a few days. He didn't say why, and no one asked. Lessa briefly worried about him, especially when it took more than three days for them to return.

Lavender was more curious than concerned, especially when she saw the news reports about what was going on in England, but all of the inquiries she made to SHIELD were met with "Thor is taking care of something." Nobody would give her any details, and it was frustrating.

Around five days after they left, Thor and Loki arrived back. Thor stuck around just long enough to see Loki back to his room, and then disappeared again.

Lessa gave it a few hours and then went to go check in on Loki. She still had a plate of baked goodies, even if they were a day old. She knocked on the door, waiting for an answer.

Loki didn't immediately answer. He'd taken to sitting on the floor against the wall, quietly grieving. He'd expended most of his rage before they'd gotten back to Midgard, so all that was left was the fiercely aching emptiness.

"I swear to the Norns, Thor, if that is you, go away," he growled at the door.

"I'm not Thor, unless something is seriously wrong," Lessa said, though she didn't open the door just yet.

Loki glanced at the door, and then waved a hand. The wards on the room prevented any major magic, but small things like tripping a lock were still within his grasp. The lock on the door clicked open.

"I do not want to see him right now," he said quietly.

"I can understand that," Lessa said, moving inside and shutting the door after herself. "You don't look too good today."

"I suppose not," Loki replied. He wasn't even in the mood to twist the words around any. He just sat against the wall, his eyes closing.

Lessa hesitated a few moments before she set the plate down and sat next to him.

"So what happened? Or is it too soon?"

For a moment, Loki seriously considered a snide comment in response. But Lessa had been nothing but kind to him, so it was only fair to repay that kindness in turn.

"Tell me," he said, "have you ever lost anyone?"

"Yes," Lessa said after a moment. "My brother. But that was years ago." She was about to ask why when she realized. No wonder he looked terrible. "Who did you lose?"

Loki took a steadying breath, his eyes still closed as his hands clenched tightly into fists.

"Frigga." He forced himself to speak. "Thor's-- my--" He paused. "Mother."

"Oh, that's terrible. I'm so sorry." After a moment of debate, Lessa gently laid one of her hands on his arm. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Do you not think," Loki snapped, "that if something were to be done, I would have done it?" He glanced at her briefly. He regretted his tone almost immediately, but he still hurt too much to want to apologize for it.

"There is a difference between something you can do and something I can do," Lessa said. She didn't take offence; for one thing, she knew how much he was hurting, and she could feel that he regretted it.