Fear and Other Related Emotions [EXPLICIT]

CHAPTER - 3

(A year later)

Reva was listening to her client as she explained her recurring nightmares to her. It was only their second session and there was much to learn about her still. So far, she had come to know that the poor woman's nightmares featured a pack of feral dogs chasing her into the darkness.

Involuntarily, Reva compared them to her own. Hers featured a feral space Viking. The nightmares showed him as angry and spiteful, wicked and seductive, cunning and calculating, all at the same time. Sometimes she was being murdered, and sometimes, seduced. She always woke up in panic, with sweat running down her back.

Loki was stuck in her head in the worst way. She was one of the few who he had personally terrorized, and even after a year of him being gone, she still felt the lingering effects of it on her psyche.

However, in her case, it wasn't just the terror that kept bringing Loki back to her subconscious. Her thoughts about him tended to vacillate between resentful and grateful. Yes, he had deliberately toyed with her on the helicarrier. But he had also saved her life that day, having been the one who rescued her from the tarmac of the helicarrier.

The memories were vague, but she remembered being carried in his arms, hearing his voice barking orders at someone as she'd slipped in and out of consciousness. She had fully awoken on a hospital bed a few hours later, briefly wondering how she had ended up there. Only one assumption seemed plausible, even though it went completely against Loki's character. He had indeed dropped her at the hospital before going on his merry way to wreck New York.

She didn't tell anyone about her rescue operation by Loki, and thankfully, no one asked. At the time, everyone had all but forgotten about her in order to save the world. It was a small mercy. She didn't want the slightest focus on herself, and she was mighty glad that the attack had been thwarted by the heroes.

Loki had been captured and taken back to his home planet, Asgard. She had Tony Stark to thank for that information. He had sought her out after the dust had settled and was relieved to see that she was alright. He'd told her that he felt a bit guilty about involving her in the mess with Loki, and in return, she'd joked that she probably needed a therapist of her own to deal with the aftermath. Only... it wasn't a joke.

However, things were looking up now. Life was getting better. She had gained more clients than ever in the last few months, most of them due to Stark's recommendation. That more than made up for being manipulated by Loki.

The good thing was, her Loki related nightmares had reduced in their frequency and intensity over time. That may have been aided by the fact that Loki was dead, as conveyed to her by his own brother-Thor. It was the first time she had seen him after the attack of New York, about a month ago.

She had been attending one of Stark's parties when Thor had approached her. At first, he had apologized for whatever had happened at the helicarrier. Then, as she was trying to downplay the whole helicarrier incident, he had proceeded to tell her about his personal losses. His mother had died trying to protect his love, Jane Foster, from an attack by an alien specie known as the Dark Elves, and Loki had apparently died protecting him.

The news had shocked her, and she had offered her condolences to Thor. She had wanted to offer free therapy sessions as well, but opted against it in the end, not wanting to look desperate and creepy.

As for Loki's death and the reasons underpinning it, Reva didn't want to examine any of it. She was just glad to be back to a normal life which didn't involve any alien attacks. Also, she often liked to remind herself that Loki had taken more lives that he'd saved. That kept her opinion less ambivalent towards his ultimate fate.