Red Room

RR63 Inferno

For the next few days, Ksenia was out. Bobbi Morse hovered like a worried mom while her fever rose higher and higher; the antibiotics didn't seem to even be touching it. Darcy on the other hand hovered like a worried sister, following Bobbi around and doing everything that she said to make Ksenia more comfortable. Darcy wanted to move her to the lab, but the few times Ksenia came to, she protested with whatever strength she had. Jemma Simmons also came in and had hooked up an IV full of fluids and antibiotics. She didn't seem as worried as the other two and told them that the fever should break soon.

Nightmares plagued Ksenia's sleep, and in them, she kept losing everyone that she had ever loved and lost, again and again. Every time she lost Natasha though, she would come back to life and tell her that everything would be alright. Over and over, no matter what took them from her, Natasha wouldn't, couldn't stay dead, and that brought her comfort.

On the day her fever finally broke, Ksenia woke up alone in her mother's room. It was dark, but the small lamp in the corner cast a soft light around the cozy space. As her eyes scanned the surroundings, she stifled a surprised gasp when she realized that she really wasn't alone. In the corner, Loki stood with his back turned to her, looking at a decorative rock, a geode or something similar that belonged to Natasha. She could tell that he was wrestling with his emotions, he missed her. But why was he here? Was he checking in on her?

"I miss her too," she admitted as the silence split, which seemed to startle the god out of his thoughts. Loki jumped, dropping the geode and then half turned to give her a comforting smile that seemed to melt some of her worries away. The last time someone looked at her like that was when Natasha had grabbed her after the explosion back in the mountains, to make sure she was unharmed. Before that, it was when she last saw Luka back in the hotel before her world turned upside down. And then before that, it was the last time she saw Anatoli alive. The smile that Loki gave was genuine and she felt comforted, and not only that, but loved.

"Did Natasha ever tell you about the time we first met?" he asked as he bent back down to retrieve the geode that he had been admiring.

"A little," she admitted as she carefully pulled herself up, wincing at the pain that shot through her body. "She said that you barged in on her in her cave." Loki gave a quiet laugh as he walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed, bringing his hand up to her forehead to feel if any of the fever still burned from her. As soon as his cool hand touched her, something seemed to snap within her soul and a sob escaped her lips that she didn't even know she was hiding. Somehow, it seemed as if the dark had gotten darker as the feelings she had tried to squash down lately suddenly rose up. She had lost so much; how much longer was this torture going to plague her life? Loki removed his hand and worry reflected back in his brilliant green eyes. He looked like he wanted to hug her, to embrace her to let her know that he was there for her, but he was unsure. And god did she want that. The look in his eyes was so conflicting, but she could see that he longed to comfort her. Tears collected in her eyes and before she knew it, they carved paths across her cheeks. They gathered at her jaw and then dripped onto the sheets, staining them with sorrow. She abandoned her cautious movements with her battered body and met Loki in an embrace that caused her to cry harder.

Loki joined her with quiet sobs of his own as this young girl seemed to break down the walls he had spent so long putting up in a matter of seconds. He held onto her as if he had known her all of her life. It just felt so right and he didn't want to let go, so he didn't. The way her body shuddered as sobs wracked her frail frame was breaking his heart. He adjusted his position so that she would be more comfortable, he could tell that her sobs were painful. With her laying against him with her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her, he almost didn't hear the door open. His eyes shot over to it and Darcy had just popped in. When she saw what was going on, understanding collected in her own eyes and she mouthed a quick 'sorry' before quietly retreating once again.