Chapter Four: Go On
Thor sat by the window of Jane's apartment with a somber, almost jaded look on his face. His light hair soaked up the fresh moonlight and beamed. Jane came by and caressed his bicep, willing him to talk to her. When he said nothing, she tried to spark up a conversation herself. "I'm sure they'll be done soon. They have the machine built already, they just have to modify it so-"
Thor waved his arm, shaking her dainty hand off of it. "I know all this, it was explained to me by Banner. Repeating it does nothing to quell my worries. I should be out there looking for him-now. Who knows how much damage he could do."
"Where would you even look? He could have teleported to another realm!"
Thor sighed. "His powers do not work that way. He's here, on Midgard. Somewhere. I should be the one to find him, he was my responsibility. It was I who insisted he be taken to Asgard, it was I who left him alone with those mortals."
Jane's hands found their way to his shoulders. "None of this is your fault. Arguably, it's not anyone's fault. Loki is unpredictable. Heimdall will find him and we'll bring him to justice. It will be easy, there is no chance he's strong enough to wreak any real havoc."
Thor placed his left hand over her right. "These things are true. Still," he paused thoughtfully and sighed, "If he kills just one person, it will be a great loss."
Elsewhere
The day passed without any other major issues, though Loki insisted on accompanying Eve wherever she went. The basement, to do laundry. The kitchen, to get water. The den, to watch TV. It took a well made argument to convince him that he didn't need to accompany her to the bathroom, though he waited at the door like the creepiest creep in the world. She washed her hands and opened the bathroom door, to see him standing there and looking bored. He seemed to derive amusement from poking fun at her daily life and constantly trying to get her to lose her temper. She was truly, truly exhausted. "I'm going to bed," she announced after breaking his gaze with a sigh.
"The sun just set."
"Sorry-you'll have to taunt me tomorrow." She dragged her feet along the ground, too emotionally drained to bother walking properly. Today she had a sharp piece of bowl held to her neck-a shard he carried around with him for the rest of the day-by a crazed mass murderer who could do magic. Magic. Not only that, she had kneed the crazed mass murderer who could do magic in the stomach. Ultimately, she lived to tell the tale. The next day, however, had potential to end a very different way.
As she slipped off her cardigan, she caught a glimpse of herself in the vanity. Her eyes shifted immediately to Loki, who had followed her. She spun around. "What?" She snarled.
He snickered. "No need to be so hostile."
"That's okay-I prefer being a hostage anyway."
"Maybe you do need sleep. You're obviously forgetting who you're speaking to."
"Yes, I do need my sleep. That's why I'm here. In my bedroom. What are you doing here-in my bedroom?"
"I'll turn around while you get changed, if that's what concerns you. For goodness' sake, you mortals and your modesty. Like I care what's under your garments." Getting changed in front of him wasn't what had concerned her-though, it was after he mentioned it. She was wondering if he expected to sleep in the same bed as her. Potentially to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't try something stupid. He turned around and unceremoniously commanded, "Go on."
She changed into her pajamas, a tank top and shorts, and let him know she was finished with a quiet, "Alright."
"Do you have any men's clothes?"
She pondered this. Sam may have left some things here throughout the years. "I can check," she offered as she started rifling through the bottoms of drawers. She landed on a pair of checkered pajama pants and a t-shirt with a pocket on the chest. She handed them to him and he started changing right away, without waiting for her to turn. She did anyway, but could still see him in the vanity. She caught sight of his lean, pale body and abruptly closed her eyes when he started removing his pants. She heard him laugh under his breath.
"Alright," he echoed her, though louder and more confident. She turned back around and he had his fingers in the breast pocket of the t-shirt. "What would one ever use this for?"
"I, uh, actually I'm not sure. Pens?"
He looked up from the pocket and scrunched his face up in confusion. "Pens? What?"
"Do you not...know what pens are?"
He removed his hand from the pocket entirely. "Yes, I know what pens are. But-" he sighed, realizing it didn't matter in the slightest, "never mind." He crawled into her bed and waited. "Coming?" He beckoned her with a chipper smile.
She hesitated. Okay, it was more like she froze entirely. "Why can't I sleep on the couch? You can have the bed. It's all yours. I'll sleep in the tub. Or in the dog house out back."
"You don't have a dog-do you?"
"We used to. Not anymore."
"Ah," he got off the bed and came over to grab her by the wrist, pulling her until she had no choice but to sit on the mattress. "You will sleep here. With me. I've got no trust in you, and this is the only way for me to sleep soundly and assured that you won't do anything...regretful."
"Are you sure we can't just-"
"You will sleep here."
"But, I mean, I'm not going to-"
"You-" he sneered through clenched teeth.
"Will sleep here," she finished, thoroughly startled. They settled into the bed, with Loki comfortably curled up, his long limbs dominating the space. Eve didn't see herself sleeping much, seeing as she was pushing the limits of how close to the edge of the bed she could possibly be. She closed her eyes anyway and waited for the hustle and bustle of the day to finally shut her brain down.
Later That Night
Try as she might, Eve was unsuccessful. Sleep was a long lost friend who didn't want to speak to her anymore. She waited until she was sure that Loki was asleep. His breathing was even and his mouth hung open the slightest bit. This was the first time she'd seen him relaxed and the difference in him fascinated her. She moved herself out of the bed ever so slowly, one leg at a time, never breaking eye contact with his lids. Her plan if she got caught was to pretend she'd fallen out of the bed-like an idiot. He already thought she was dim, anyway, so why not add to that?
She was able to leave the room successfully and crept to the living room, where she'd left her cell phone. However, it was no longer there. She checked the kitchen and den, lamenting at every small noise she made along the way, and never found it. What could she do? Try to make a run for it? She decided she'd better not chance it. Before she could get to anyone who would believe her, he'd realize she was gone and set a plan in motion to exact his revenge. Instead of returning to the bedroom, she opted to shower and wash the defeat off of her. If he wanted to scold her, let him. He wasn't going to be allowed in the room when she showered anyway.
Bedroom
Did she think he was stupid? It was difficult for him to lay still while she left with her silly, calculated movements. He had awoken the second she stirred. He pretended to remain in slumber just to see what she would do. If she got anywhere near the front door, he would punish her profusely. In any case-did she really think he wouldn't notice? He listened to her move about the house, undoubtedly looking for the electronic device he'd stolen and hid to keep her out of contact with the outside world. She would never find it.
He heard her heading back toward the bedroom but she stopped at the bathroom and shut the door with the smallest click. He lifted himself on his elbows and listened intently. When he heard the shower running, he rose from the bed in a curious anger. He let himself into the bathroom and glanced at the mirror which was already fogging up. Eve reacted with a small gasp, as she hadn't heard him come in, but she wasn't overly surprised.
"What are you doing?" Loki barked. She neglected to answer him, so he pulled back the translucent shower door to find her down on the floor of it with her knees to her chest again. Her hair wasn't completely wet, as the steady stream of water was hitting mainly her crossed arms and knees, but it was messy and stuck to her body in places.
She stared at him with a heated indifference. Anger lurked behind her expression yet she knew she was powerless to act on it. "Just trying to get clean," she muttered.
He eyed up the soaps and body washes that rested, unused tonight, in the hanging shower organizer. "Well, you're doing a terrible job."
"Leave me alone. I'll be out in a minute."
Loki took his eyes off her for a split second to examine the window. "This window is large enough for you to crawl through. I'll wait here until you're finished."
She groaned as her freedom washed off of her with the dirt. She stood abruptly and stepped out, gaining a great deal more of his attention than she had before. She noticed the way he was looking at her and put her hands triumphantly on her hips. "I thought you didn't care what was under my garments."
He frowned and looked away, throwing her a towel off the sink.
