Chapter Twenty-Nine: Something Strong

Eve's eyes were closed as she heard the low tones to signal her door had been unlocked. She wrenched her eyes open. And in her sight was nothing. No one. No hands on her hips anymore, no lips on her neck anymore. She turned to stare at the doorway and realized Sam's head was nearby, waiting to be smacked by it. "WAIT!" She screamed with every last ounce of energy.

Fury ignored her cry and kicked the door in, unnecessarily as the keycard had unlocked it. Sam's body twitched and shifted when he was hit and Eve ran to his side without hesitation, no longer afraid of consequences. Tears flooded down her cheeks in messy streams. She wiped at her eyes frantically to clear her vision and she saw a puddle beginning to pool underneath his head. Blood. Yes, definitely. She felt Fury's hands on her shoulders as he crouched down to get a look. She jerked away from him and gestured to her slowly dying friend, lip quivering, arms shaking. "I told you…" she stopped to hiccup and grimace, "I told you to wait, why couldn't you just-"

"Hey! Who knows what you were doing in here. I assume loverboy stopped by."

"Do something!" She shrieked and threw her body into his, flailing her arms and sobbing. Her brain grew foggy and sharp, thoughts careening in and out in no order, not staying long enough to make any real sense. Fury held onto her with a stone cold expression as a team of medics rushed in to take Sam away. Her vision faded, trickled away in growing black spots.

Fury shook her lightly and rolled his eyes. "At least she's not crying anymore," he sighed.

Natasha knelt down and wiped the tears from Eve's cheeks. "Eve?"

Eve opened her eyes slightly. "Am I okay?"

"Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"Tired. Dead. Is Sam-"

"We're gonna take care of him. Here," she handed over a water bottle, uncapped, and gestured for her to drink.

She took a couple sips before gulping the remainder and dropping the bottle on the ground with a hollow plastic sound. Her head slumped down and all she could see was the blood on the ground, smudged and thick with footprints tracked through. "I have to go with him," she mumbled.

"You're not going anywhere," Fury spoke sternly.

"He's...he's…"

"Loki. Where did he go?"

Eve's face tensed up and contorted before tears resumed streaming.

Natasha glared at her director, who seemed unphased.

"This is all his fault, Loki's damned...Loki's fucking...and now Sam is dead."

"Sam isn't dead," Natasha crept in closer and held Eve's hand. "Let's get you in your bed, okay? Just let me check you for wounds, do you hurt anywhere?"

Eve whimpered and held onto Natasha's hand like it was the very thing keeping her alive. "I hurt everywhere."

The Next Day

"How did we get stuck babysitting?" Barton wondered aloud as he stared at Eve's body sprawled out across her bed. Her head rested in one corner of the foot of it, face down in the sheets with no pillows.

"I volunteered us, everyone is taking shifts" Natasha was calm as always. They were sitting on two hard chairs right next to each other.

"Is she even breathing? I've never seen a person sleep so haphazardly."

"She was hysterical. It was difficult to even get her up there. The only way I could convince Fury to save the questioning until she woke up was to raise my voice." She glanced to one of the cameras and spoke to it directly. "I don't care if you're listening." Barton chuckled. "She's been sleeping since last night. Anyway, she clearly suffered some traumatic experiences last night. She probably couldn't speak to us now even if she wanted to. So Fury said he would wait as long as she was never alone, two people with her at all times. Yes, including bathroom breaks. Yes, until everything is sorted."

"How is Barrows?"

"He's okay. Still asleep, like her. They were able to staple his wound shut, and his tests show no signs of concussion. We have to wait and see if any other concerns arise. If she asks when she's awake, which I'm sure will be the first words out of her mouth, assure her that he's fine and don't go into details. Change the subject."

"She doesn't even deserve-"

Natasha silenced him with her eyes. "We have no idea what happened. None of it is on audio or video. And one of the things she did say before leaving the waking world was that is was all Loki's fault. She may be more cooperative than we'd previously expected. And now he won't be able to get to her undetected."

Barton looked around the room. "Where's the dog?"

"She was very stressed, they found her hiding in the tub. Darcy's got her for now."

"Okay. How long do we have to stay here?"

"Six hours."

He sighed and reached over to hold her hand. "At least we're together."

Elsewhere

Loki's mind was a mine field. He'd teleported back to his hotel room and punched the first thing within arm's reach-the thick glass window that overlooked the parking lot. The glass had shattered and showered the nearest parked vehicle. He swiftly gathered his things and left. Screwing mortals...punching things...he was getting more and more like his brother every day.

He'd walked around all night, unable to sleep, long past the sunrise and into the day. Frustrated and unable to maintain a train of thought, he turned into a bar and threw down his loosely packed suitcase. He couldn't even remember where he obtained the luggage. "Something strong," he said when the barmaid came over to him. The midday light came in through the windows and warmed the dim room.

"Hard day?" She asked sympathetically.

"I suppose."

"That's too bad. Can you be more specific with what you'd like to drink? We're not one of those bars in the movies where you can just say gimme a beer like there aren't dozens of brands on tap." She chuckled at her own humor.

"No," he answered with his mouth pressed into a rigid line.

"Oh-kay," she rolled her eyes and turned to contemplate what to give him. While her back was turned, he leaned over the bar and grabbed the first bottle his hands got to. She faced him quickly at the sound and began to shout, "Hey, buddy, you can't just-!"

"No one else is here. Do you really care what I do? It's the middle of the day."

"Yes, I care!"

He smirked and unscrewed the top defiantly before taking a swig.

"Stop that!" She tried to take it from him but he was too quick.

He took another drink. "I'll pay you for the whole bottle," he stated and threw a handful of folded bills her way.

She caught it. "Is this a joke? That's not worth this much."

"For your trouble."

"Whatever," she replied, fighting back a small smile.

He periodically continued drinking as he watched the girl work, tidying up and all that. She was technically attractive, with a clean pear shape and no unsightly abnormalities. Her eyes were blue and bright, her hair curled and kempt. "What's your name?" He asked just to hear her voice again.

"Laura," she responded promptly. "You?"

"Loki," he answered with a playful cadence.

"Right," she chuckled. "He'd be pretty foolish to stick around here, given that everyone and their robot-suited uncle is looking for him."

"Yes, what a complete idiot." The girl was right, in any case. Why was he still in New York? For Eve? Could a woman really have such a profound effect on him? He thought about leaving and never coming back, really never seeing her again. And the lump in his throat provided a very real answer. Yes. Yes she could. Wasn't that just a fucking joke? He rejected the idea and sought to obliterate it, to shock himself back into thinking normally. "Do you think I'm attractive?" He asked.

Laura smiled awkwardly and continued wiping down the counter. "Sure, I guess so, but I don't really know you," she didn't make eye contact.

"I mean purely physically." He stood and gestured to his body which he knew was pristine-he'd designed the disguise himself, after all.

"Then yes," she spoke confidently now, "but don't get any ideas."

He walked over to stand directly across from her and places his hands on the bar, leaning forward slightly and making eye contact. "Like what?"

She blushed and continued wiping the counter. He moved to put his hand on hers, she immediately stopped wiping. "Drinking straight from the bottle seems to have given you some confidence."

"You could say that," he smiled and leaned into her further. In reality, the alcohol he'd consumed had no effect on him. He'd have to drink a lot more to feel it the way mortals did. She stood there, ready to receive him. Though she looked nervous, she made no effort to back away. When their lips were a mere inch apart, he sighed. All he could think about was Eve, and he was wishing it was her standing behind the bar, her hand under his. Without another word he walked over to his suitcase and dragged it out the door. Once outside, he closed his eyes and peered in on Eve's room. She was asleep, with the redhead and the hawk observing her. He felt an overwhelming need to make things right, but there was no way for him to do so if she was always being watched. He contemplated doing his invisibility trick again, then decided that he was pushing his luck. He would need them to leave her, to come looking for him. When he came back to his body, Laura was standing beside him.

"What the fuck?" She asked, looking annoyed.

"Get your cellular device out," he commanded, but she didn't listen. "Suit yourself." She regretted the choice as he shed his disguise and stood before her in full armor, cape and helmet and all, before teleporting out of sight.

A/N:

Going to try to do a lot of work on this this upcoming week, I have a lot of time to devote to it. Thank God Eve is getting some sleep!