Science and Magick (LokixOC)

Chapter Twenty-One

"Don't you at least want to try and eat something before you go talk to everyone?" Sam asked, watching his friend with concern.

They had given Zoë two days to calm down, she spent both of them in bed crying and wishing to wake up from this nightmare. Steve, Sam and Bruce had been the only ones to come see her. They brought her food and water but Steve was the only one able to get her to eat anything and even then it was barely one meal a day.

She shook her head, holding her knees to her chest "I'm not hungry" she said quietly.

Sam sighed and nodded "If you need another day, I'm sure we could get the others to understand" he began.

Zoë shook her head again "The longer I wait the more of their trust I lose" she interrupted, slowly climbing out of bed. "They deserve to know everything and all I can hope is they don't take back their friendship" she whispered.

Sam stood and took her hand "I know I can't speak for everyone but you know you will always have Steve and I, okay?" He assured her.

She smiled slightly at him and nodded "Thanks Sammy" she appreciated.

He lead her out of her bedroom and down the stairs, joining everyone waiting in the living room. Zoë was surprised to see most of them looked just as concerned as Sam had moments ago. She sat down beside Steve on the loveseat while everyone else had taken their places on the other soft surfaces.

"I don't even know where to start" Tony sighed.

Thor leaned forward "Do you know where my brother is?" He asked.

Tears brimmed Zoë's eyes and she shook her head "I can't feel him anymore" she whispered, that was the worst part. She had always been able to feel him, even if he was far away she could still feel him in her dreams but now they were just empty.

Steve wrapped an arm around her "How about you start from the beginning?" He suggested.

Zoë took a deep, shaky breath and nodded "Ever since I touched the tesseract I've been able to feel him. We're tied together by something, I don't know what, I didn't get the chance to understand it. At first he was just this green light that kept me company in my dreams. Every single night when I was trapped by Hydra, every time the pain got too much and I passed out, every near death experience he would be there waiting for me. I spoke to him and told him memories and theories, he is the only person I have ever shared everything with. I have always been a private person but I told Loki all my secrets, my dreams and hopes"

"On my final session before I escaped, Pierce almost killed me. Loki saved me. He held me in his arms and told me he would find me and that hope gave me the fight I needed to not let go. With his help my power strengthened and I was able to escape with my family. The whole reason I'm still alive is because he stayed with me, kept my spirits high while Hydra tried everything to break them. He would hold me in his arms every night and tell me wonderful stories about the nine realms, about his adventures trying to find me. He would tell me stories his mother told him as a child and memories he had of her. Every time I felt as if I was going to break he would hold me together. Loki finally came to me when I came back to New York after that mission in D.C. I can't even express to you how happy I was to see him, to know he was real and not just a voice in my head"

"I had fallen in love with him and I hadn't even realised it. When I was working with Bruce for the first time and he mentioned it was Loki that had opened the portal it felt like the ground had been knocked out from underneath me and that's why I ran. I couldn't believe it, the Loki I knew was so unbelievably kind and gentle. There was no way he had been the cause of so much bloodshed. When I ran to the roof he met me there, I begged him to tell me you were lying. But he didn't. Think what you will about Loki but he has never and would never lie to me. He then begged me to let him explain"