Chapter Forty: Worry

Eve was overcome with emotion. Her heart felt flooded with good, red blood, like a new life was funneled into her. His eyes still connected with hers as he waited patiently for her to speak or act. She saw it now. The person he was at his core, the person he had been trying hard to hide-trying hard not to be. She liked what she saw. She kissed him with all the passion she felt swirling beneath her skin. He returned her enthusiasm fervently, twisting her onto her side and lying next to her. She pressed her shape into him until they were as close as possible. She tugged at his shirt and he removed it.

Loki quickly became invested and groped her flesh wherever his hands happened to land. He needed to be touching her. He needed that and nothing else. He was excited to have aroused her again, as it seemed possible to lose the moment. With the heat picking up quickly, Eve soon felt nearly frantic with how bad she wanted him.

They split apart to remove the garments on their lower halves. Loki finished with his first and kissed her neck and shoulders as she tossed her jeans and panties to the side. He continued to tease and taunt her with slow, measured movements. All the while he grinned and snickered into her skin when she would groan in frustration. After a minute or two of this, Eve decided she had experienced enough cruel teasing for one day. She took matters into her own hands. She held him away from her. He looked disappointed and ready to cling to her again. She gave him a knowing look. He watched in gleeful curiosity, intrigued by her confidence. This was one of his favorite things about her, the way she wasn't afraid to take charge. It was such a contrast compared to the way she'd been at first-understandably so. If he had known that this fierce, driven woman was hidden in her then...

His thoughts came back to the moment as she spun away from him and positioned herself on all fours, presenting herself to him. Loki's smile seemed endless. He drank the scene in. Eve looked back at him keenly and licked her lips. "Do you just want to watch?" She asked seductively.

"I'm enjoying the view," he confessed.

"Alright," she bit her lip and slipped one hand down between her legs. She rubbed herself purposefully, not just putting on a show but making sure to legitimately enjoy it as well. She snuck a peek at him again and his mouth was slightly agape with the corners curled into a satisfied half-smile. It didn't take long for him to come to her at last, poising himself behind her and smacking her skin with just enough force to sting.

Eve began to take her hand away but he snatched her wrist smoothly. "Don't stop," he instructed and she continued on gladly. At last, he slid inside her and they moaned in unison. Eve was overwhelmed with pleasure and she made that perfectly, vocally clear. She couldn't remember the last time she'd wanted a man so badly that when he was inside her it felt like all her dreams had come true. She wasn't sure if she'd ever felt that way. After a few steady thrusts, the ground shook beneath them. Not just the bed, not just the room-but the whole house. The whole block. Eve looked toward the door.

"Don't worry about it," Loki assured. He'd recognize the sound of his brother's rough landing anywhere. It didn't matter. He wouldn't get far.

Elsewhere

Darla sat in the back seat of one of Tony's many incredibly sleek sports cars. Bruce was in the passenger seat with his stare pointed out the window. When Fury shared the news with the group, Thor had quickly taken off. To his credit, he'd taken the care to find a door that led outside instead of flying straight through a window. Fury had sighed and given out instructions to meet at Eve's house as quickly as possible-with Barton and Natasha staying behind just in case. Darla had tried very hard to let the group move on without her, taking cautious steps backward as they clamored down the hall. Fury had turned back to tell someone something but changed his tune when he noticed her trying to slink away. Instead of delivering whatever message he'd intended to, he called for her quite angrily. He insisted it would be a good experience, that it would help her see what their work was all about. Tony had then announced, "She can ride with us."

"Isn't it weird driving in that thing?" Bruce wondered, gesturing to the Iron Man suit.

"It's a little strange."

"Why didn't you just fly over there?" Bruce asked.

"And let you drive my car?" Tony shot back.

"I could have taken my own car. Or rode with Nick…" Bruce reasoned.

"Honestly? I don't want to get there before everyone else and deal with that crazy Asgardian on my own."

"Loki's just-"

"Loki?" Tony interrupted with a chuckle. "I mean Thor. That man's got some crazy eyes right now. We never did find Jane. I wouldn't be surprised if he snaps Loki's neck. I'd just rather not have to see that, if that's okay with you."

Bruce laughed. "He's mad, yeah, but he's not gonna snap his neck. He's got a soft spot for the guy, you know? It's his brother."

"Adopted brother," Tony corrected.

"It's not that different. Plus, he's gonna ask him where she is first and all that. You know what? None of this matters. We're gonna get there and Loki's going to poof into thin air just like every other time."

Tony shook his head slowly, then more vigorously. "I disagree."

Bruce paused. "Okay, what do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't think he'll leave the girl behind this time."

Before he spoke, Bruce scoffed. "Okay. Great. So he poofs into thin air with a hostage. It's not that different."

Tony shook his head again-just once. "Nope. Not as a hostage."

Bruce chuckled in disbelief. "Explain."

Tony looked his way and his metal mask opened up so his face was exposed. "He came back for her. What good does that do him? It's not like she's some great asset. Okay, she can pack a punch or whatever, but he doesn't exactly need her for anything."

"Maybe he's just trying to taunt us. It's all a game to him."

"She clearly likes the guy. For some strange reason. I mean, I'd be lying if I said I never found myself in bed with a bad girl."

"Not a murderer, though," Bruce pointed out. "Plus-when we interrogated her, she seemed to have a fairly good understanding of how wrong it was. She hasn't had a break from him, she can't see the situation clearly. Or hey, maybe she's just really stupid."

Tony turned back to look at Darla and ask her opinion, figuring that with a pinch of charm he could convince her to be on his side. When he saw her, he laughed and couldn't stop doing so. "What are you doing?" He begged in disbelief.

Bruce turned his attention to the agent now and found his face in his palms almost immediately, exhausted by the ridiculousness of what he'd seen. She had her eyes closed and her fingers plugged into her ears.

"Hey! New girl!" Tony shouted, his eyes back on the road now.

"She has a name," Bruce scolded.

"Everybody does!" Tony responded confidently. "What is it?"

Bruce looked from Tony to the windshield to his own hands before curling his lips in shame.

"Hey! New. Girl," Tony repeated, emphasizing each word a bit louder. "I refuse to believe that you can't hear me!"

Bruce took pity on her and tapped her knee. Her eyes opened in a panic and Bruce pantomimed for her to take her fingers out of her ears. She did so and looked absolutely terrified in how intimidated she was. "Hey there," Bruce put on his most soothing voice. "Now, keep in mind that you can do whatever you feel like doing, I mean, do whatever makes you comfortable, but-"

"Jesus Christ," Tony muttered under his breath. "Why did you have your fingers in your ears? And what on earth is your name?"

Darla was unable to speak for a moment. He asked you a question. Two questions, she thought. The words wouldn't come. She swallowed and took a steadying breath. "Well, I figured, that, well, I wasn't, like, well, allowed, or-"

"Okay, kid. I'm gonna give you some valuable life advice right here right now. Are you ready?" Tony asked.

"Yes," she managed to say. What she wanted to say was that she hated when people called her "kid." Even if there was an acceptable age difference where it made sense. Maybe she didn't know how to talk to people, maybe she was bad a socializing-but it didn't mean she was an idiot. It didn't mean she was a child.

"If you need to take a minute to gather yourself and organize what you need to say, that's fine. Take a couple of seconds and just put a pensive look on your face. I asked the questions so you can assume I want the answers. And assume that I'll wait. If I try to rush you, just say you're thinking of the best way to phrase your answer. You know what I don't want? That jumbled mess of an unsure sentence you just spat out. Don't ever say the word 'well' so many times in one thought ever again. Please, for the love of all that is holy, just get it together."

By now, Darla had had plenty of time to get her ducks in a row. Then, when she thought about speaking to the metal man who saved cities and the green rage monster at his side, she froze up. Bruce shot her an encouraging look. "I thought maybe I wasn't supposed to hear the stuff you were saying. And my name is Darla."

"Okay, Darla," Tony said, "you don't have to do that unless someone tells you to-and hopefully no one ever tells you to."

"I think the house is just up here," Bruce pointed toward the home they were supposed to be meeting at and furrowed his brow in concern. As they pulled up it was clear to see that Thor had beaten them there. His body was collapsed face first onto the front walkway with his cape curled around him like a blanket. Tony and Bruce exchanged worried glances and simultaneously turned to Darla to say, "Stay here."

A/N:

Forty chapters? FORTY? On the google doc where I work on this, it's 106 pages long. That's not even right, really, because I copy it here and then I edit and add stuff. I am so happy this is still going strong!