Everyone in the room turned to look at Eva and Loki. They hadn't even noticed that the twins had moved to the far corner of the room, huddled on the floor. Loki held Eva as she cried on his shoulder. He tried to look like he was protecting her, but the clear fear in his eyes and the never-ending tears gave away his inner turmoil.
Bruce took a step towards them, saying, "Hey, it's-"
"Stop!" Eva said, curling into Loki more.
"Don't!" Loki added, his own body adding to the ball that was his sister.
Bucky put a hand on Bruce's shoulder to stop him from moving any closer, stating, "They're having an episode."
"How do we bring them back?" the doctor asked.
Steve approached slowly so as not to startle the frightened pair. Thor mimicked him. Once close enough, the two men knelt. They were still a good two feet away, but they didn't dare push their partners further.
"Evelyn?" Steve said, his tone soft. "Baby? It's okay."
She peeked out, her eyes wide with fear as she replied, "St-Stevie?"
He gave a soft smile. "Yeah, baby. It's me. Please, come back."
Eva launched herself into his arms. He had to fight to stay up. Her hands grabbed onto his shirt as she sobbed into his chest. He held her and comforted her, not daring to say anything that could make the flashbacks worse.
Thor had to gulp before he could get out, "Loki?"
Loki had been staring at Eva in shock but now turned to the man he loved. His awed face showed disbelief.
"Th-Thor?" Loki asked in a quivering voice. "Are you real?"
Thor didn't let his anger at Nat show. How many times had he hallucinated the golden-haired man to not believe him to be real in a flashback? Thor wanted to show her what real electricity felt like. But his focus was fully on the raven-haired god in front of him.
"Yes, ᛚᛟᚢᛖ- love," Thor said, catching Loki as he, too, flung himself the distance between them. "I'm real."
Loki buried his face into Thor's strong chest, hugging him as tight as he could manage, bawling out, "How? How are you-"
Thor couldn't hold his tears back anymore. "We got you out. You got word to us."
Loki looked up at him. "Y-you came for me?"
"Always." Thor cupped the other man's cheek. "I will always come for you. I love you."
The two men kissed as Loki slowly returned to the present. Eva, however, hadn't let go of him or looked at him since she began to cling to him.
"Sweetheart," he said, lifting her face though her eyes remained closed, "look at me. Please. Look-"
"If I do," she cried, "you'll disappear! You'll go away again!"
Steve stroked her cheek, adding another reason to end Nat to the long list. "Never again. I'm not leaving you ever again."
She shook her head. "You can't promise that. Don't promise me something if you can't keep it, Stevie."
He had to get her to understand that his reassurance was genuine. "I swear to you, Evelyn. I'm here and I'm not going away. So, please, look at me."
Her green eyes opened and a fresh wave of tears fell. "You're really here."
He smiled at her. "Yeah, baby. I'm really here."
She pulled him into a kiss, as if testing that she was really seeing him. Just like with her twin, it was the kiss and feel of the man she loved that was slowly bringing her back to the present.
