Two
It had been about half a year that I had had to exist without Him. His absence still pained me, although I wasn't the emotional wreck I had been in those three weeks afterwards. The others took great care around me, not talking about Him, or the battle, and ensuring that there were no reminders of Him left lying around. My father also prohibited me from attending any press conferences, so that a poorly aimed question would not send me into another spiralling depression.
My 22nd birthday rolled into town, on November 17th, as did a truck load of gifts. I was wrestled into a fancy dress, and forced to attend a party I did not want, or need. Although going to that party was probably the best moment of my new life. Because it was there that I received the thing that finally allowed me to move on.
It wasn't the shiny new cars and designer clothes that my dad had brought for me. It wasn't the Asgardian jewellery, or scrolls of magic from Thor. It wasn't the almost limitless credit card Pepper had set up. It wasn't the gym that Clint, Nat, Steve and Bruce had worked on, which now allowed me to train on a course designed to hone my magic. It wasn't the confirmation from S.H.I.E.L.D. that I was now an official part of the Avengers team (codename-Mana).
No.
It was the snow.
For as long as I could remember, I had always wished for it to snow on my birthday. So my dad had just smiled sadly, and let me leave the party, and run to the roof of the newly instated Avengers' Tower, and stand there as snow fell about me, coating any and every available surface.
The snow fell only on the Tower, and it was this strange phenomena that let me know that His awareness had survived, and was out there somewhere, watching over me. I knelt in the snow, looking up at the sky, blinking the flakes from my lashes, and allowing myself to say His name for the first time in months: for the first time since The Dream.
"Thank you, Loki. I love you..."
I could have easily imagined the response that floated to me on the frigid autumn air.
...Now and forever...
With the coming of a new year, came the start of a new me. I threw myself into my training, physical and magical, spending at least three hours a day in the specialised gyms. Steve helped me with my strength and stamina, Clint with my accuracy and speed, Nat with my agility and opponent weaknesses, and Thor for just general banter.
I had grown much closer with the blond brute in those first few months, and I had to admit that at first it was because he was the last link I had to Loki. But after a few weeks, I found that Thor's loveable temperament, and fierce protectiveness of me made him a fearsome and reliable ally. We were drawn closer still by our joint grieving. Out of the whole team, he was the only one that missed Loki almost as much as me.
One training session in particular brought to light exactly how fondly Thor thought of me, and had forever cemented my positive image of the Asgardian powerhouse of muscle.
"Keep going!" Thor bellowed, rolling away from one of my frazzling blasts of energy. I panted a little, sweat trickling down my face, neck, and back, and I kept hurling roiling pulses of magic at the warrior. He chuckled, and dodged my attacks with ease. This only angered me further, and I threw a net of electricity at him, and it expanded as it spun through the air, until it was large enough to snare a school bus.
Thor stopped laughing, and grunted, as he swung Mjolnir at the net, causing it to rebound, and fly straight back at me. I froze up, watching it with wide eyes before I thought to move. I dived to the side, but the edges of the electric grid snared my ankles, and I shrieked, crumpling on the floor, shaking while energy arced up and down my body. Thor charged over, and I used my magic to dissipate the net, before I flipped onto my back, gasping like a fish out of water.
"Are you alright, sister?" Thor asked, his hands on my shoulders, as he gazed worriedly down at me. My brows creased, and I sat up slowly, running my hands over my body, to heal myself.
"Sister?" I questioned, looking at him while my magic quickly repaired the burns I has sustained. Thor checked himself, and drew his hands away, staring at the floor with creased brows, as he gripped Mjolnir's handle.
"Forgive me, Evelyn, it was not my place to-"
But I cut him off, launching forwards, and wrapping my arms around his neck. He hesitated for a moment, before he hugged me back, his cheek resting on top of my head.
"Thank you," I choked out, trying not to cry. "It means so much to me to know that you- Just... I see you as a brother, too..."
"Of course," he murmured, arms tightening infinitesimally. "Evelyn, before we left for the Dark World, Loki made me promise to keep you safe the next time I returned to Midgard. And now he is no longer here to keep you safe, I vow to protect you with my life, in honour of him. And after all that you have done for Midgard, my friends, and most of all, my brother... You deserve at least to be seen as one of my kin. And had Loki but survived... I have no doubt that you would have become my legal sister before long..!"
"Oh Thor," I breathed, burying my face into the collar of his shirt.
"It's alright to cry, sister," he rumbled, rubbing my back. "He lives on in us..."
"Now and forever," I croaked, smiling despite my tears. He chuckled throatily, and it sounded as though he were trying not to cry either.
"Indeed, Evie. Now-!" he pulled back, a suspicious and sparkling wetness to his baby blue eyes. He grinned, and helped me to my feet. "How say you for round 2?"
I was interrupted from my reminiscing by an urgent knock on my door. I sighed, and pulled myself up from the bed, padding across the panelled floor, and to the door. I opened, it, to find Natasha standing there, wearing a white and black empire-waisted cocktail dress with a flowing skirt. She gaped at me, looking shocked.
"Yes..?" I asked, opening the door completely. She shook her head, still staring.
"How are you not ready for the party yet?!" she asked, eyes running over my jogging bottoms and gray tank top. I snorted, and leaned against the door jamb.
"I'm not going. I'm going out later with some of my friends. Is that a problem?"
"Hell yeah you are!" she muttered sarcastically, before barging past me. "Get an outfit, and I'll do your hair and make-up."
"Umm: hold up!" I yelled, slamming the door, and stalking after her. "You don't just barge in here and tell me what to do! I am otherwise engaged this evening, so I can't make it!"
"I'll just have Jarvis call them up, and say you were busy," she said, pulling straighteners from a basket, and make-up from my bedside table.
"You're insufferable!" I shouted, stamping my foot.
"I'm an assassin," she dead-panned, ushering me towards my walk-in-wardrobe. I cursed under my breath, and walked over to my party dresses. I browsed through them, before deciding on a poison green dress my dad had brought me for my birthday.
It was from The Morpheus Boutique, strapless, it went down to about mid-thigh, and had an abstract leaf design on it. The centre of the leaf started at my left hip, and its fronds went from the hem of the left bust, all the way round to the middle of the dress, just below the hips.
I knelt down, pawing through my shoes, before I pulled out two pairs, and then spent about two minutes weighing the pros and cons of the shoes. I huffed impatiently, but smiled at the white and black pair of wedged hi-tops in my hands, after I had put the black strappy heels back. I stood, and took the items into the other room, where Nat was laying out all of my cosmetics and hair products on a little table.
"Hurry up!" she snapped, not looking up as she pointed to the bathroom. I rolled my eyes, and walked into the bathroom, laying my dress on the dresser, and my shoes by the door. I hopped into the shower, soaping down with a vanilla and bergamot shower gel, and lathered my hair with a macadamia nut shampoo.
I was only in the shower for about six minutes, but I could almost feel the impatience rolling off Natasha in waves when I exited the bathroom, wearing my dress and shoes. The testy red-head shoved me down in the chair, sweeping a brush swiftly through my damp hair. A mirror was propped up in front of me so I could see what I was doing as I applied my make-up.
I went fairly basic, and tried to go for a sexily sophisticated look. A put on a thin layer of liquid foundation, applied a touch of rouge to my cheeks, and touched up my eyebrows. I applied liquid liner with a light hand, the thin wing at the corner of my eyes making them pop. I dusted shimmery gold eye-shadow on my lids, before painting my lips a matte crimson colour.
Natasha was focused completely on heating my chestnut hair, which was streaked with thin golden strands, into long loose barrel curls. She was finished in about half an hour, and then she had me stand up while she walked in circles around me, pausing occasionally to added rings, or bracelets, and fix up parts of my hair, or make-up.
"Good enough," she muttered, and I growled under my breath as she practically dragged me from the room. We hopped in the elevator, and the fluorescent lighting glinted off of my charmed Mjolnir necklace that I never removed. The elevator slid down seamlessly, with hardly a noise, and as we got closer to the communal living floors, the loud music began to penetrate the thick steel walls, the party already in full swing.
The elevator coasted to a halt, and the doors opened with a dainty chime, revealing the party-goers to our eyes. Natasha smiled tightly at anyone who called out to us, while I beamed unreservedly. I was much more at home in this environment than Nat would ever be. Natasha peeled away from me after a minute, heading over to where Clint and Steve stood, chatting over drinks, while I headed over to Bruce.
"Hey there Bruce," I said, leaning against the wall next to the shy scientist.
"Evelyn," he said, a small smile breaking free. I noticed his knuckles straining against the skin of his hand, from where it was clamped around his glass. I laid my hand on his forearm, and he consciously relaxed, his shoulders falling ever so slightly.
"Relax, Doc," I murmured, winking at him. "You've haven't had in incident in nearly two years now. I have this covered anyway. The Big Guy won't hurt me..."
"It astounds me how confident you are," he grumbled, exhaling in a gust. I beamed, and gave him a quick one armed hug.
"That's just me, Doc. Better get used to it!"