Eva Odinsdottir *On Hold*

Chapter 8

The following morning, Eva wakes in a very happy mood. She releases her wings and looks at them in the mirror. They are glowing yellow, with streaks of pink and light blue. She decides that today will be the day that she will wear them around the compound. She is going to try her best to feel confident about them but will still probably hide them if her emotions get the better of her.

She walks over to her wardrobe and picks out a pale green dress which fades into a black skirt that reaches the middle of her shins. Once she is dressed, she pulls her hair into a high pony with soft curls. She takes one final look in the mirror, once again admiring her wings for the first time in years. She hopes that Loki will be proud of her.

Now she is happy with her appearance, she leaves her room and heads down to the common area. She walks in to see Steve, Sam, Thor, and Tony sat on the sofas, probably discussing some sort of mission. "Good morning, guys." Eva says happily as she skips through the door. "Good morning, Eva. Love the look." Sam says with a smile. "How did you sleep?" Steve asks with a smirk, knowing about her date with Bucky. "Very well, thank you. Although the beds here are so huge! I still haven't got used to it." Eva replies with a laugh. "Eva, we were discussing something important. Can you go and find Loki or something?" Thor says in an annoyed tone, making Eva's smile drop slightly and a hint of dark blue appear in her wings. "Of course, sorry brother." she says shyly before heading towards the kitchen. Thor often tended to push her aside in front of his friends. It was part of the reason she was so insecure.

"Morning girls!" Eva says, her happiness returning when she sees Wanda and Nat sat at the table. "Good morning, how are you today?" Nat says with a smile. "Is that really what you wanted to ask me?" Eva asks with a smirk. "How was the date?" Wanda squeals excitedly. "It was wonderful. He's such a gentleman." Eva replies, happily sighing as she sits between them. "I notice a new colour in your wings." Nat says with a knowing smirk, causing Eva to blush slightly. All three instantly start laughing. Eva knew the girls had an idea of what the colour meant, saving her the embarrassment of explaining.

"So, where did you sleep last night?" Wanda says, dying to get as much gossip as possible. "In my bed. And I was alone before you ask." Eva replies, playfully glaring at her friend. "Ok, ok. I've just heard all the stories of how popular Barnes was with all the ladies before he went to war and wondered if his charm had worked on you, that's all." Wanda says, holding her hands up in surrender.

Just then, the girls are pulled from their conversation when Bucky walks into the room. Eva immediately retracts her wings and looks down in her lap. She didn't want Bucky to be put off her because of her wings, so she decided it was best for her to hide them. "Good morning, ladies." Bucky greets, sending a confused look towards Eva as she mumbles "Good morning." in reply. "Is everything alright?" he asks. "Yeah, everything is fine. We will leave you guys to catch up." Nat says, practically pulling Wanda out of the room.

There is suddenly a thick silence between Bucky and Eva. She knows he saw her retract her wings and dreads to think how he must be feeling. "You know, you don't have to hide them from me." Bucky says softly as he comes to sit next to her. "I know." Eva admits shyly. "So, are you going to release them for me? You shouldn't have to hide such beauty." He says to her, taking her hand in his. Eva nods slightly before releasing her wings again, which are now laced with yellow, purple, dark blue, black, white, and pink. "Thank you." Bucky says as he admires the woman in front of him.

"So, did you enjoy your first ever date?" he then says, hoping the change of subject will make her feel better. "It was amazing! Thank you so much for everything. It was wonderful." Eva says, her wings now only showing yellow, pink, light blue, and a hint of light grey. "Good, I'm glad." Bucky says before he stands from the table and starts to make himself some breakfast. "Would you like some?" he offers as he ignites the stove. "No thank you, I'm going to go and find Loki. I'll see you later?" Eva says. "Yeah, see you later." Bucky replies, smiling to himself as he watches her leave.

As Eva makes her way through the many corridors of the compound, she notices Loki in the gardens of the compound. She quickly makes her way to the elevator and is soon walking through the field to Loki. "Brother! Is everything alright?" she asks once she is in hearing distance. Loki quickly wipes his face and turns to face his sister. "Eva! I didn't realise you were up yet. Everything is fine." He replies with a fake smile. Eva could tell it was fake as it didn't reach his eyes. "You've been crying." Eva says as she softly places her hand on his cheek, wiping away a left-over tear. "It's nothing, little one. It's nice to see you wearing your wings." Loki says, hoping to change the subject. Eva quickly Pulls Loki into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I miss her, too." She whispers in his ear, holding him even tighter.

The siblings stay like that for a few minutes, their minds being consumed with memories of their mother. Loki watches as Eva's wings start to show large streaks of black. He instantly feels a twinge of guilt as he realises his sister is still grieving their mother as much as he is. His arms snake around her torso, returning the comfort she is giving him. "Now, come on. She'll be looking down on us cursing knowing how sad we are today." Eva says as she pulls away from the embrace. "She would." Loki agrees with a laugh. "Come on, let's take a walk." Eva says as she places her hand in the crook of her brother's elbow.

About half an hour later, the pair are back where they started. Loki looks towards his sister quizzingly as she dramatically lays on the grass, soaking in the sunlight which is beaming down on them. "What are you doing?" he says as he sits next to her. "I read once that Midgardians like to watch the clouds go by and guess the shapes of them. Come on, it will be fun." Eva replies, pulling Loki down to lay beside her. "This is a ridiculous pass-time. Some Midgardian traditions will forever confuse me." Loki grumbles as he finds a comfortable position on the hard ground. "I'm sure they could say the same about us, dear brother." Eva laughs in reply.

"What the hell are you guys doing? I was just making my way to the training area and saw you down here." Steve says, shocking the siblings. "We were just seeing what the fascination was with watching the clouds go by. I read about it on Asguard and was intrigued." Eva says and she stands from the floor. "Oh, well I'm sorry for interrupting you. I'd best get to training otherwise Sam will start getting impatient." Steve then says, walking back into the building.

"We'd best go inside too. Thor will be demanding food soon and you know how he gets when we don't all eat together." Loki says as he follows Steve. "Wait, Loki. You have some grass in your hair." Eva says with a chuckle before reaching up and pulling it out. "Thank you." Loki smiles before leading her back into the compound.

~AN~ I just love these little moments with Eva and Loki