She'll come to her senses, Cap," Natasha said in an attempt to mendSteve's broken- heart. She's just going through something-" she was cut off by Astrid and Loki entering the kitchen. Loki's arm was wrapped around her waist, and she wore her black tank top and a pair of sweat pants while Loki wore green and black pajama pants and a white t-shirt.

Who's going through what" Astrid asked in an upbeat tone. No one responded, and the rest of the team awkwardly looked back and forth between Astrid and Loki. She had a small smirk on her face as she and Loki walked over to the hot breakfast. They grabbed a small amount of breakfast and walked by the team again – still, no one spoke. Before they exited the room, however, Steve couldn't keep his mouth shut.

I'll wait for you to come to your senses," he called out, causing her and Loki to turn around. I'm sorry, what" Astrid questioned. "What are you doing," Natasha asked, sounding annoyed. "Why are you acting like this"

Loki took his arm away from her waist because he knew she wanted to get a closer look at who was questioning her actions. I'm not acting like anything," she argued back, inches away from Natasha's face – the smirk never leaving. I'm following my mother's advice. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to eat elsewhere." Loki and Steve looked at each other, but they never spoke a word. They didn't need to speak because their glares conveyed their feelings. Let's go, babe," she said to Loki as she walked back to him. He placed his arm back around her waist and guided her to the elevator that led them back to his room.

They entered Loki's room, and he locked the door behind him – keeping someone from barging in. Astrid sat on his bed, and Loki followed right after. She picked at the small portion of food that she grabbed – some eggs and a piece of toast. She never ate much, so Loki didn't have a reason to worry about her not enough a lot.

That wasn't awkward at all," Loki said sarcastically as he sat down next to Astrid.

She shrugged. They're the ones who have an issue with it," she said with a mouth full of eggs. They'll get over it."

Loki placed a kiss on Astrid's right cheek as she chewed her food. "They probably think we screwed all night," Loki joked. It's honestly none of their business," she said in a serious voice. They're not a part of our relationship""I know, my love," he said softly. "I still think we should try to smooth things over just a little bit just so there's no awkwardness."

She nodded. "I know," she agreed, "but I just want to lay in bed with you all day. Maybe go out somewhere."

He brushed some of her hair behind her ear and whispered in it. "Then that's what we'll do, my divine beauty."

She let out a small laugh and looked at him. That's a new one," she said. That's what your name means," he informed her. "Astrid is an old Norse name from Scandanavia. I'm surprised you've never looked it up."

She looked at him with genuine surprise. I've never really thought about it," she confessed. She let out a chuckle. "I guess that means we're meant to be together, huh?" He didn't respond immediately, so she tried to take her words back. I'm just joking."

He still didn't respond to her, but he was smiling when she looked over at him. "I was going to say that maybe we are."

Astrid went silent for a moment, causing Loki to worry a little bit. Something had clearly come over her, but because she had just lost her mother, he didn't think too much into it. It was understandable that she may be upset at certain times.

"I need to go to my room for a little bit," she finally spoke. "Is that okay"

Loki smiled and pulled her into a kiss. "As long as you come back," he whispered in her ear. "Of course I'll come back," she chuckled. "I just need to get some stuff and all that."

Loki closed the door as she walked out, and Astrid practically ran to her room. She was almost out of breath by the time she closed and locked her door. She stood with her back to the door for a moment before heading over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out an antique jewelry box. After opening it, she removed the top part that held her rings and grabbed the stuff at the bottom of it. She breathed a sigh of relief and headed towards her bathroom. She ran a warm bath and rested with her eyes closed. She grabbed what he had pulled from her jewelry box, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Loki began to worry. He was pacing back and forth in his room – debating whether or not he should go see if everything was okay. He was afraid of coming off clingy, however, but as soon as he sat down on the edge of his bed, he closed his eyes and listened for something – anything. He knew that she prayed to him, so he listened intently – maybe she would call to him. If she needed him there, she knew how to reached him without fail, but he wondered if she might try to act strong and not call him. He exhaled and focused on his surroundings. That's when he heard a faint prayer.

"O God of the broken," her voiced quietly spoke. He could tell there was something wrong," of the misshapen and in-between, please lend me" she struggled to breathe, "lend me your strength and help me to breathe. Please hold my hand through these times of trial and strife" he ran out of his room and sprinted towards her room – still listening to her, "please witness my struggle and lend me your might.."

She went silent, and Loki's heart began to race, his anxiety through the roof. He got to her door and didn't bother knocking on it. With one hand, he broke the lock and opened her door. He could hear her struggling to breathe – the sound emanating from the bathroom. He wondered if he should barge in on her, but once he heard her stop breathing, he kicked the door in. The sight in front of him was the worst he had ever seen in his entire existence. There she was, laying in the tub filled with water. Her left arm and head hanging over the side. Vomit was on the floor, and when he bent down to figure out what was wrong, he noticed it.

The tourniquet tightly wrapped around her right arm, and the needle barely hanging out of her vein. Carefully, Loki removed the needle from her vein and untied the tourniquet, but she didn't respond. He placed his fingers on her carotid artery to feel for a heartbeat. While it was there, it was extremely faint. He picked her naked body up out of the bathtub and tried to wake her up.

"What did you do" he cried quietly to her with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Astrid, please" He started to leave her room in a full run, and he caught the attention of everyone in the main room as he ran by with the naked girl in his arms. Everyone stood up and ran after Loki, calling for him to slow down and wait. He arrived at the lab where Banner was working and anxiously relayed what information he did have to him as Banner hurried to get Astrid into a bed and hooked up to I.V. drips.

"Loki, you need to step out," Banner said in a serious tone. Still in shock, the god responded, and when he got out of the lab, he sat on the couch right outside the door. He held his head in his hands and tried to fight back the tears, but he was no match for his own feelings.

"Loki," Tony called out as the group ran around the corner towards him. "Loki! What happened?!" Loki could only look down and shake his head, not wanting anyone else to see his tears. "What happened, Loki?" Again, he shook his head, refusing to speak about what he had found. The group of heroes looked over to see Banner work quickly to fix whatever had been done to Astrid. They quit pushing Loki for answers, and not long after arriving, they saw Bruce calm down and work at a more normal rate. He took a clear sigh of relief after looking at the heart monitor. Banner had gotten her heart rate and blood pressure up to their normal numbers. He checked the I.V. bags and then headed out of the lab. Loki finally looked up, and that's when they all noticed that he had been crying the whole time. Bruce came out and immediately sat down by Loki.

"You saved her life," he said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you hadn't found her, she wouldn't have made it""Banner, what happened?" Natasha asked with concern. "Do you know if it was on purpose?" Bruce asked Loki before answering the others' questions.

Loki shrugged. "I didn't even know she had a problem with anything."

"Banner," Tony pushed.

"It may not have been on purpose," Banner began, "but she overdosed on heroin – it almost killed her"

Everyone looked at each other with shocked expressions. No one knew that Astrid even dabbled in drugs, let alone may have been an addict. She'll be okay, right" Loki asked quietly.

Banner nodded. "She will. She needs rest, support, acceptance, and love," he stressed. "Her mother's death may have pushed her over the edge. Like I said, if you hadn't found her when you did, then she would be dead."

Loki stood up without another word and walked into the lab to be with Astrid. He pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. He stroked her hand and placed soft kisses on it – pleading for her to open her eyes.