𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐘 (Tony Stark's Daughter)

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝟙𝟞

The bead of sweats decorating his forehead. Shirts damping from the nightmare hounding his night.

Tossing and turning around the bed, blanket tangling around his legs. Teeth clattering but not because of the cold night, no. Instead, it was the shrill of screams still ringing in his ears. The pleading, shouts, the looks.

He only wanted to see someone worthy, yet he will never be enough in the end.

"No resurrection this time—"

Loud gasps tore his throat as Loki woke up with his body trembling. He let out a shaky breath, cheeks damping from the unknown tears falling down his chin.

Despite being a frost giant, his hands are colder than they were supposed to be as he pressed the palms onto his eyes, wishing that act could erase the images, the screams.

He didn't notice someone was looming him until the person offered a mug at him.

"Hot chocolate." Evelynn offers again verbally. In her other hand, another mug of her own.

"I-I don't drink this." Then, finally, he managed to breathe out, still ragged from the early experience.

The brunette rolls her eyes, sitting at the side of the bed near the god's legs. "I don't know how to make your leaf drink. This is the best I can get for you." She states, hand still didn't move away from his face. Then she added. "Beggar no chooser."

At last, he took the sweet beverage from her, letting the warmest fill his cold palms. Loki stares onto the mug before he asks. "Did I wake you up?"

"Hm?" Eve turned her head at him after taking a sip of her drink and shook her head. "No, I wasn't asleep." She points with her pinky over the reading corner with a dark brown journal sitting on the side table.

"Can't sleep?"

"Yeah—"

"Bad dream?"

"Right back at you."

They sat in silence, only the sound of Eve constant sipping filling their ears.

Loki stares at the girl for a few more minutes before finally drinking his beverage. His eyebrows furrowed for the sweetness of it.

"Not your style?"

"I prefer tea."

"I can make you one, but you won't like it." Evelynn dares him. Her empty mug has been put aside on the side table near them before she rolls over to the open side of the bed.

She leans against the headboard and turns toward the much calmer god who gradually sips his sweet beverage.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Loki taps his fingers against the mug. He heard her asking him but didn't know if he could trust her with it. "You first."

Eve hums, nodding her head with the corner of her mouth, raising a little. "How about we do one-on-one. One question, one answer. No lies."

"How can I be sure that you won't lie?" Loki, who found her words compelling, asks.

"You're the god of lies and mischief. I'm the one who is supposed to be worried, not you." She gently bumps her shoulder at him making him snort.

"Forgive me—How can you be so sure that I won't lie to you?"

Tilting her head, pondering his words. She shrugs. "Guess I just have to trust all your words—or we can make a pinky promise." She flashes him her pinky which he merely stares blankly.

"I will try not to lie."

"Deal. Will those be your question, good sir?"

He nodded.

"I keep seeing my mom every time I close my eyes. Some days, I got flashes of her voices, smiles, horrible jokes. Others—just her lifeless eyes staring back at me."

"You also mumbling some foreign words. Russian, I believe." Loki fixed the blanket that had tangled around his legs and draped it over both of them.

Evelynn became still, but her eyes stared straight. "Can I not answer that one for now?"

"Too personal?"

"Too painful to tell."

Loki couldn't help but become more curious about it since her mother's death would be more impactful to her, yet something else caused a deeper scar inside of her. He nods respectfully. "You owe me one, and now it's your turn."

"I stand with my question. Tell me about yours? If you okay talking."

Drinking the remaining content of his mug, he then put it beside Eve's before turning back at the girl. "I was remembering the attack."

"Was it regret?"

"A small piece of it." He nods.

"What about the bigger pieces?" Evelynn tries again by pushing him further.

"I—I was meant to be a king. I did become one for a while." He slowly starts, feeling his heart thumping in his ribcage. "I try to rule Midgard to show that I'm worthy and want to prove that I can rule them. When it happened— a part of me wanted to stop, but I was blinded. Those people sang to me. The promise of power lured me to them. I was too late when I realized how bitter the aftertaste was behind those sweet promised."

Evelynn didn't say anything for a while. Then, she pulls the thread sticking out of the blanket and starts playing with it before she finally speaks.

"I was there when the attack happened." She could sense that Loki became tense, but she ignored it. "You actually fly on top of my head too." She made whooshing sounds as she imitated the scene.

"D-did you get hurt?"

Much to his relief, Evelynn shook her head. "I was only doing some errand for my neighbour, and lucky for us, the attack didn't hit our area too much. But, I clearly saw you that day—" She gently put her hand on the right side of Loki's head. "I remember how blue your eyes was—yet here you are looking at me in those green eyes. I recall reading Jotun have red eyes, not blue."

Loki tightens his lips before saying. "It doesn't matter what colour it was. It already happened."

Evelynn lowers her hand. "I know, but who is actually behind it?"

They stop exchanging words after Eve's words, but they lay on their pillows facing each other in silence.

Loki didn't admit it out loud, but he felt easier after having someone who neither trusted nor didn't trust him. Just lending their ears for him. He tucked a few strays of hair falling down the brunette's face. "Tired yet?"

She shook her head as an answer.

"Want to know the story when I stole Odin's eyepatch?"

Evelynn smirks. "Tell me—"