A/N: Apologies for the long delay! Hopefully that won't happen again!

A knock came at the door before Loki had finished changing. Kolga froze where she sat, her eyes darting between it and the door Loki had disappeared behind. After another knock came, she nervously called out, "Who is it?" She hoped that this was something Asgard considered normal as well, it seemed a basic enough concept.

Unfortunately, no answer came, instead the door was opened by an Asgardian man, dressed in armor and brandishing a sword- clearly ready to use it. Kolga automatically coated her arm in ice to turn it into a weapon, at the same time as shouting for Loki.

The trickster dashed out, one boot still on (to his eternal embarrassment) and, upon seeing the situation, stopped and heaved a heavy sigh. Seeing this, Fandral was quick to sheath his sword and hold up both his hands, smiling nervously at the terrified, and liable to attack, frost giant.

"I apologize," he said, "I heard an unfamiliar voice and assumed…" the warrior shook his head and instead bowed, "It matters not. Please forgive me."

Kolga looked warily at Loki, who sighed heavily, "This is Fandral, he's…. harmless." The dashing warrior scowled slightly at this but said nothing when he realized that the frost giant was still armed and watching him carefully.

"Fandral," the trickster continued, glancing at him with a glare, "This is Kolga. She is my guest. While I… tolerate your presence in my life, I would appreciate you not threaten those I ask to be in it."

"He already apologized," Kolga said quietly, shifting her weight and returning her arm to normal. She looked into Fandral's eyes for a moment, "He was trying to protect you- right?"

"I was," the warrior said quietly, rubbing his neck. Loki gave him a surprised look but quickly regained his composure and merely shrugged. Fandral gave Kolga a fond smile and again bowed to her, this time with a flourish and he kept his eyes on her, "I should have known better- Thor told me that you were visiting. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kolga."

Kolga smiled and ran a hand over her hair, which went down her back in a short braid, "It's nice to meet you as well, Fandral." She glanced at Loki properly for the first time since he had entered the room and smirked, "I didn't realize I'd had such an effect on you."

The trickster looked down at his bare torso and almost bare feet and felt suddenly very self-conscious about it. "It just feels more comfortable," he said quietly.

Kolga chuckled gently, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, "That's fine, I'm glad then."

"I've never seen you about like that," Fandral said gently, "Are you still concerned about how people will react?"

Loki nodded, "Would you not be?"

"I don't know if I'd even have the courage to walk through Asgard looking like a frost giant," he admitted with a sad smile, looking away. Again, the trickster gave him a surprised look. This time he did not work so hard to cover it up.

He looked down uncertainly, "Thank you."

Fandral looked over at him, "There is no need." They fell into silence for a few moments before he looked over at Kolga, who was fidgeting slightly with her braid. "Kolga- Thor told me that you were a guard. I take it you know how to fight?"

"Yes," she said warily, taking a step backwards, "Why?"

Again Fandral held his hands up, this time with a charming smile, "I have a friend, a warrior goddess named Sif, who may like to speak with you."

"Oh, really?" she asked, softening and smiling slightly. She looked over at Loki for some sign of confirmation or indication if it was a good idea.

The trickster had a brooding look on his face but when he noticed Kolga's gaze he shrugged, "I've never liked her, personally. But since you can fight you at least have something in common with her."

"Why don't you like her?" Kolga asked curiously.

Loki shrugged and looked away slightly, "I was a bit of a prankster in my youth and she never cared for it."

"You could go a bit far sometimes..." Fandral agreed, bracing himself for a glare that never came. Instead, the trickster shrank into himself slightly. He quickly added, "But very rarely, and your mischief did keep things interesting."

"I suppose it did," Loki said softly, glancing over at Kolga, "You may enjoy a conversation, or sparring match, with her."

"In that case, Fandral, right?" the frost giant asked, the warrior smiled at her, "I would appreciate it if you could arrange for me to meet with her."

He bowed, "It would be an honor."

Kolga smiled at him and bowed slightly in return. Loki glanced between them and fidgeted slightly.

"I realize today is your first day here, and I will bother you no longer," Fandral said gently, his eyes darting towards Loki briefly as he spoke, "It was a pleasure to meet you Lady Kolga and, as always, a pleasure to see you, Loki."

"It was lovely to meet you as well," she said, biting her lip and smiling broadly at the 'Lady'. The trickster nodded his head but said nothing else, and the warrior took his leave with another bow.

"Why don't you like him?" Kolga asked, walking over to her host and frowning slightly.

Loki avoided her gaze and sighed, "He's a friend of Thor's. Growing up, my brother's friends only tolerated me because I was his brother and everyone except Thor knew it. Since..." he winced slightly at the memory of that night, "somewhat recently he's started trying to speak with me, acting as though we're friends," he looked over at Kolga, "I don't know what to do with it."

She smiled slightly at him, placing an arm on his shoulder, "If you want to, you let him be your friend. If you don't, tell him so. Maybe you were wrong about them only "tolerating" you because of your brother."

"Volstagg, who is warm and friendly to everyone, has barely ever managed to hide his contempt and Sif is openly hostile when Thor isn't around," Loki shook his head, "I wish it were the case, but I am not wrong about how they feel about me."

"What about Fandral?" Kolga asked gently. Loki looked up at her for a moment, not quite sure how to respond.

"Think about it," she said softly, still smiling at him.

The trickster did for a moment before shaking his head, "This is hardly important." He smiled nervously at her, "What is it like on Jotunnheim?"

Kolga stifled a sigh before thinking about his question, "We've been able to rebuild a great deal. A lot of progress has been made, and the casket has helped. But we do need someone who knows sorcery to take advantage of all its power."

"That's good news," he said quietly, fidgeting slightly, "I wish that... that I had not caused this in the first place. And also that when I returned the casket I had not, well, done that so I could have been of more use."

"Yeah," Kolga agreed quietly, sighing a bit. She shook her head and smiled, "But that can't be helped- what matters is that you can help us now."

Loki smiled back at her slightly before looking down, "In a month, at least. I... I appreciate you staying with me, but I don't expect you to actually stay the entire time."

"You wouldn't mind?" she asked quietly.

"No, of course not," he said with a genuine smile, "It's a long time to be in a strange place, and I'm sure you're needed on Jotunnheim."

Kolga smiled back at him, "Let's see how it goes. I may like it here."

"That's true, it is possible," he said quietly.

"Now how about we make your room a bit more proper for one of us?" she said with a grin, placing a hand against the wall, ice spreading out from where she touched. Loki raised his eyebrows, gingerly touching the wall and attempting the same trick. It worked and he smiled at her.