Flowergirl |L. Laufeyson|

Chapter Five

Zoë examined the man in front of her as he called her name, not having ever expected that he would remember her. She had seen him before, in all her fifteen years of being Tony's gardener, she had caught sight of him. But she had never let him notice her.

But the one in front of her was not the one she remembered. For one, Thor had always kept his hair long, but it seemed like he had gotten rid of his golden locks. The second thing she noticed was that he no longer had his former hammer with him, but another that she had never seen before. The third thing she noticed was that he seemed to have gotten through hell and back.

This was not the man she had left behind in Asgard.

"Zoë, is that really you?"

She had not realised when her hands had started shaking, but with his question, everything seemed to become real. He was there, he remembered her, just because she had been exiled it did not mean that she had been forgotten.

She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice failed her. Unable to speak, the woman started nodding, and it seemed like she simply could not stop as she continued nodding even when Thor had understood that it was indeed her.

The Asgardian let out a happy laugh before marching towards her, seemingly forgetting everyone around him as he walked straight to her and without thinking about it twice, hugged her as tightly as he could.

Zoë did not hesitate to hug him back in the same manner. The two stayed like that for seemingly hours, even if it was just seconds. But it was enough for those around them to get uncomfortable and suspicious. After all, they couldn't know that Tony's gardener was something more than just that.

"You've changed, Thor," the blonde murmured, and the man chuckled as he pulled back slightly so that he could look at her properly. "Where are your golden locks?"

A smile appeared on his lips at her comment, but he did not reply as he just looked over her. "Well, you have not changed at all, my friend. Except perhaps from the fact that you no longer wear dresses."

"Well, women in Midgard do not wear dresses every day," she shrugged, "I had to fit in."

"I see," he mused, the smile not leaving his lips just yet. "I've missed you, all these years. And I never saw you in any of my visits."

"Well, I was Mr Stark's gardener all along-"

"Fitting-"

"But I did not wish for you to see me," she continued as if she had not been interrupted. "You see, I did not know if you actually wished to see me. After all, I had been exiled by your father, perhaps you shared his views."

"It's a pity that I only got to see you now," he mumbled, the smile leaving his lips. "It was not the same without you. It was hard, losing a friend like that."

"I know," she muttered, before shaking her head. "But anyway, let's forget about that. How is our home?"

Instantly, a frown appeared on the man's lips, making Zoë's smile vanish. He averted his eyes from hers, and it was obvious that he was trying to compose himself, but that did not seem to work. For a moment, she thought that tears had started forming in his eyes. She was about to ask what was wrong when Thor pulled her to him again and started crying on her shoulder.

Every person in the room seemed to tense, and Zoë did not know what to do. "Thor, we can talk about it another time if you wish-"

"It's gone!" he yelled in between his sobbing, "Asgard has been destroyed."

The blonde immediately stiffened, her arms going limp around him. Thor continued crying, and the others around them looked at their feet uncomfortably.