Summer Clouds

Desperate Hope

A/N: Sequel to Winter Sunshine, and Autumn Leaves. I'd advise you to read them first.

Savannah's POV:

'Never doubt that I love you.'

And how could she?

How could she possibly forget, when his words were repeated, over and over, until all she could hear was him?

It was a nightmare, but there was no waking up, because it also was her reality. And she wanted to scream, to cry, to shout, and yell, and watch the whole world burn. Nothing she did could drown out his voice, because Loki's words were always louder. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't eat. She refused to talk to anyone. She refused to leave her room. And, she knew, somewhere deep in her soul, that Loki was suffering, because he had loved the girl that nobody else could. And it hurt. Everything hurt. So she'd gone numb. 

No-one could get through to her impenetrable facade, and she stayed silent during meetings, sitting rigid, and resigned. It was only at night when she let her walls slip, and cried herself to sleep. Each day, she would walk downstairs, and sit at the kitchen table, making eye-contact with no-one, simply drawing. She wouldn't respond verbally when people spoke to her, only deigning to nod, or shake her head.

One day, she'd left her sketch-book on the kitchen counter, and Tony had looked in it. They were all of Loki. At first, they seemed relatively cheerful, but as Tony got further in, the pictures gradually changed. Eventually, Tony put the pad down, an expression of horror on his face. Some of the drawings had been of Loki's various punishments in the past. One showed his mouth sewn shut, another of giant serpents dangling above him, dripping poison onto his face, and yet another...

Well, the last had been too graphic for even Tony to observe properly. Tony gingerly lifted the book, and made his way up to Savannah's room, knocking softly on the door.

'Come in,' called a weak, trembling voice. It was the first thing she'd said since Loki had been taken, and her voice was hoarse, from lack of use.

'Vannah?' Tony said, gently, 'You left this downstairs.'

She turns to him slowly, her face streaked with tears, and her eyes red and watery. She takes the sketchbook from him, nodding in thanks.

'Vannah?' Tony repeated, 'We need to talk.'

'What is there to talk about?' she snaps.

'Loki.'

Savannah winces visibly, and Tony sits on the bed next to her, looking into her eyes. At least, he tries to. She still refuses to make eye-contact, and Tony soon gives up.

'Loki's gone, Tony. The Allfather took him to Asgard, and he's not coming back.'

And before Tony can come up with an appropriate thing to say to that, there's a large *thump* on the roof.

'Thor's back,' Savannah says, and although her tone is flat, Tony can hear a note of desperate hope.

Once she gets to the roof, she turns to Thor. Before she can say anything, he shakes his head wordlessly, and Tony tries not to notice the way Savannah's shoulders sag, or the way she seems to break a little more inside.

But it's hard.