Flowergirl |L. Laufeyson|

Chapter Eight

The two females did not stay in the garden for long. Soon enough, it was time for lunch. They headed to the kitchen, only to see that the rest were there too. Zoë shot a smile at Rhodey as she passed, but he did not return it. Growing confused, she turned to Bruce, but he was avoiding her gaze.

"Did someone make anything for lunch?" Pepper asked, breaking the silence. Steve smiled slightly before shrugging.

"What about some toasts?"

"Toasts are fine," she smiled. The blond started making toasts, and the room sunk in silence. Zoë felt as if she was watched at all times, and as she looked around her, her gaze rested on Natasha's. The blonde did not blink as she looked at her, her gaze intense. The Asgardian looked away.

"The toasts are ready," Steve called out. Rhodey stood up to help him serve the plates, and the two men took to placing each plate on the table as the others sat down. As Rhodey placed a plate in front of Zoë, the blonde smiled at him once again, searching for a reaction, but he did not even look at her before leaving.

Now, the Asgardian knew, something was definitely wrong. Pepper sat down on her right side and Bruce sat on her left side, shooting her a weak smile as he did so. Rhodey sat down next to Pepper, with Steve sitting opposite Zoë at the head of the table and Natasha sitting between him and Bruce. The doctor started eating first, and Pepper followed his example. Rhodey followed suit, and then, so did Steve. Natasha did not turn her eyes away from the gardener.

Zoë was feeling very uncomfortable with having her staring, but she forced herself to start eating. Some seconds later, Natasha started eating as well.

Not five minutes had passed, and Steve, looked straight at the Asgardian, more serious than ever. Zoë tensed under his stare and looked at Pepper, trying to find an excuse to leave. But, before she could think of anything, Steve spoke up.

"So, Zoë, wasn't it?" The woman nodded, growing more anxious by the second as Natasha once again raised her eyes to hers. "Thor told us some things about you, yesterday."

"Did he, now?" she mumbled, her voice barely audible. She glanced at Pepper and then at Rhodey for some kind of assurance, but the first was too confused to offer any and the second did not seem to be able to look her in the eye.

"He told us that you were his friend, back in your home," he continued, looking at her carefully. "He did say that you liked Loki more than him."

"Well, yes, Loki and I were more alike," she nodded, her eyes darting from him to Natasha and back.

"You know, he also said another interesting thing," the man muttered. "He said you had been exiled."

Zoë's eyes widened. What had Thor told them? How many things did they know?

"What did he tell you?"

Her voice was barely heard, and she placed her hands on her lap, trying to hide them. She did not wish for them to know that they were shaking. Picking up the change of her voice, the man straightened up, abandoning his food completely. Rhodey stole a glance at her but soon turned away, not wishing to let her notice him looking.

"Well, he did admit that he did not know the whole story, but apparently, you had killed a man."

Her breathing grew more rapid by the second, and Bruce next to her furrowed his eyebrows in worry. She glanced at Pepper, seeking some support, but the woman did not look at her.

"Zoë?" She snapped her gaze back to Steve. "He told us that you killed your father."

"He does not know the whole story," she whispered, her eyes wide.