Eviternity | Loki

evaluation

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❝ We are all broken,

that's how the light gets in. ❞

~Earnest Hemingway

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The remainder of the week went by at a comfortably slow pace. Asta spent more time working on the evaluation and increasingly less with Loki, which darkened his mood. The moments she walked through his cell door had become the highlights of his days, as with every other moment spent in her presence.

She, too, found herself enjoying his company increasingly more. To the point where simply the thought of going to have dinner with him had become exciting. Maybe it was that she'd been so alone for so very long, or that he was so misunderstood. It could also have been due to the mental and emotional connection she felt she had with him. They were sharing in their past pain and suffering. It was an intimate thing, and it was difficult to remain unattached to that. She had also determined that it was possible for her to be having the most simple romantic feelings towards the god. Her cheeks flushed at the thought.

He is terribly attractive...

♡

It was the last night Loki would be staying in lockup, and she was on her way to see him for what she knew to be the last time. She'd brought a bottle of wine, and some fine Italian food from her favourite little restaurant. It was as authentic as it can possibly get outside of Italy. The door to his cell opened once she entered the large concrete room and she stepped inside, setting the food and the wine down on the table.

"Good evening Asgardian," she cooed, and he smiled in response.

"Good evening mutant, what delicacies have you brought for us tonight?" She started unpacking the plastic bag.

"I have brought you the finest Tortelloni on this side of the Atlantic ocean," she grabbed the bottle of wine and spun to face him. "And a bottle of fine chardonnay, I've been keeping for just such an occasion." She grabbed a piece of paper and had the wine fill the glasses behind her back. "Your psych eval."

He took the paper from her and sat down, reading it over a few times as she carried the glass of wine over to him. He took it from her gratefully, his eyes wide.

"I leave tomorrow?" She nodded gently.

"Yeah, you do." She glanced down into her glass before taking a drink. "Your brother will be happy to have you back in his life. He missed you terribly, you must know that." He shrugged, walking over to the table to grab his food.

"I've never looked. It was a question I wanted answered so desperately, but I was afraid that I wouldn't like the answer."

"At least you would've had peace, though," she reasoned. He nodded in response.

"Peace isn't exactly my strongest ability. I'm not even sure if I'm capable of feeling it, let alone fostering it." He sat down in a chair as she grabbed her meal, sitting herself cross legged on his bed. "You have been withholding from me." She blinked, alarmed.

"Hey! How..." He laughed lightly.

"I'm the god of mischief and lies, I don't need to get inside your head to see that you're not speaking the entire truth. You haven't spoken of anything before this repulsive character you call Charles. Or much in between him and now actually. You forced me to talk about the things I've tried to forget my whole life, now it's your turn." She sighed in defeat before launching into her account of her life's events.

♡

"I developed my powers when I was only six years old. At the time, there was very little knowledge of mutants, and my parents were fearful. It wasn't long before they kicked me out onto the street. I lived alone for most of my life.

Then came Charles and Erik, and mutantkind was exposed to the world. It was after Cuba that my life fell apart. I left Charles and it wasn't long after that I became hunted. I was good at staying hidden, I didn't want to join Erik and Ravens' cause. But I hadn't expected the human threat to be so vicious.

William Stryker had a hate on for mutants. He wanted to weaponize them, or else purge the world of them. So I was hunted like game, for weeks. Then I was caged, like an animal. I was poked, prodded, injected, broken and put back together time and time again.

I met Logan in that hell hole. I think he's my most true friend. We've been through some of the same things. I don't see much of him but when he does come by we share a cigar and a good many bottles of the cheapest whiskey we can find."

She smiled sadly at her memories. She hadn't seen Logan in a long time.

"I still don't know exactly what Stryker did to me, but he was playing with DNA a great deal."

An involuntary shiver travelled up her spine as memories forced themselves to the forefront of her mind. It was all she could do to keep the tears at bay.

"I remember the day we escaped so clearly. They let Logan loose. He must've killed seventy people that day." She let out an emotionless laugh, pulling her knees up to her chest to rest her chin on, her voice barely a whisper. "Ugh I thought I had already dealt with all this."

She swiped at a few stray tears, closing her eyes to shut out the memories. Her life continued playing like a story on the backs of her eyelids. She took a few deep breaths, then felt two hands take hers, pulling her up from her seat to stand. Loki embraced her hesitantly, holding her trembling body against his.

"Shhhh it's okay," he mumbled softly into the top of her head. "You're here with me, now. You're safe with me." She let her guard down in her distress, and he placed his palm against her cheek, his fingers tangled in her hair. "May I?"

She nodded her head and he accessed her memories gently. They flooded over him. It had been some time since he'd stretched these particular muscles and the experience left him breathless.

Visions of needles and icy water filled his mind, mingling with broken bones and gruelling exercises. Sharp images of an animal of a man slitting throats, blood stained walls, bloodcurdling screams, blood soaked feet. The memory of someone she once loved whipping a glass at her head, shattering against the beautiful stone wall. He screamed drunken insults at her as she packed a bag in their bedroom and waltzed out the front door. Not one word left her mouth and she didn't look back as he cried her name.

His heart broke for her as he focused on quieting her thoughts, calming both her heart and her mind.