A/N: I don't know if the emotion translated well enough, but I teared up a little writing this.
After eating, Nina is quick to return to bed. This time Thor comes with her, not wanting to leave her alone in the state she's in. Finding herself once again engulfed in his large frame, she can't help but break down. All the misery and self-loathing pouring out of her in a river of tears. Mercifully, it doesn't last long this time around.
The night only proves to increase the problematic nature of the relationship between Thor and Nina. She reciprocates his gentle touches and pulls him ever closer even though she knows she shouldn't be allowing any of it to happen. The tender kisses he rains across her skin set her body alight and prove to be an effective distraction.
The next morning they wake up once again in a tangle of limbs, neither of them wanting to move. Nina lies there for several hours, waiting for Olivia to burst in and drag her away for another day of hard labor. The interruption never comes.
When the thought of facing the day becomes less daunting, Nina gets out of bed and takes a long shower. When she doesn't trip over herself of struggle to keep her body upright, she begins to relax. She realizes then how much control she had lost and the toll that overusing her abilities had on her. Her head no longer ached and when she stepped out of the shower she felt as if she were actually awake instead of coasting on empty.
She and Thor entered the living area together, only to nearly be bowled over by Olivia.
"Perfect timing. I was just coming to get you," Before Nina could ask what for, Olivia grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the couch.
"Look," She pointed up at the TV, where a news broadcast was being rewound. Katerina finally pressed play and the news castors voice started playing over the speakers.
"Late last night Tony Stark was hounded by questions about a young woman found apparently healing citizens at the bombing site. Through the night she was spotted running in and out of burning buildings, rescuing countless residence and then healing their wounds, seemingly with just the touch of her hands," The footage on screen switched to an overhead shot of Nina running through the fire-lit street and directly into a building, which collapsed only minutes after she dragged an unconscious woman from it.
"After an hour of evading these questions, possibly to protect this young hero's identity, Mr. Stark finally made this statement," Tony Stark, still geared up in the Iron-Man suit flashed onto the screen.
"Tonight, many of you met the newest member of our little team of extraordinary people. We're calling her Artemis; Maiden of the Earth, Mender of the Broken. She wasn't supposed to be there. She's young, inexperienced. She has a long way to come, but you all saw what she's capable of. In time, she is going to become not only an invaluable member of the Avengers, but to society," A lump formed in Nina's throat and, despite all the tears she had already shed, her eyes were starting to well up with them.
"She saved my wife," There was a man on screen, tears in his eyes and his voice heavy with emotion. He was clutching a slight woman with graying hair. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost her. I hope someday I can repay her for what she did for us," The camera switched to yet another crying, shivering citizen.
"She was so close. I can't believe it," The blonde haired, blue eyed woman clutched her middle. Her lip trembled and a tear slid down her pale cheek. "She ran in to save my daughter. My Grace. I was trapped across the street and I couldn't get to her. She held her in the middle of the street. I heard her coughing. I think she was okay," The woman smiled a sad smile and Nina raised her hand to her mouth.
"It wasn't her fault they shot her," Tears were steaming down Nina's face. She could barely keep herself upright.
"Is there anything you would like to say to her?" A man asked from behind the camera, a microphone peeking into frame.