Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prison in Asgard is a joke.

Well, okay, that's not quite fair. Prison in Asgard isn't inherently a joke. Sometimes it works very well! Some prisoners have stayed in their cells for hundreds of years, so it's not the prisons' fault at all.

No, the problem is that Loki made them a joke. He got bored and decided he just wanted to sneak out.

Over.

And over.

And over.

Until finally, Odin gave up. The prisons of Asgard couldn't hold him, and though Loki thought sneaking out to steal something good to eat every few days was funny, his pseudo-father insisted it set a bad example for the other prisoners. If Loki could leave whenever he wanted, who's to say the other prisoners wouldn't try, too?

Frigga still refused to let Odin have him executed, so Odin decided to send him to a new prison instead. Loki begged him not to — and he doesn't use the term "beg" lightly. He would do anything to stay here and face standard Asgardian justice. He would gladly sit in his cell and mope for the rest of his life as long as it meant he didn't have to go there.

But Odin had already made up his mind, which is why Thor is now dragging a chained-up Loki through the elevator doors of Stark Tower.

Tony Stark is, as expected, already here. He's busy doing god-only-knows-what with his back to the elevator, and, without turning around, just says, "I thought you weren't coming home until Tuesday."

Loki raises an eyebrow and looks up at Thor. Either his adoptive brother has been living a secret double life on Midgard, or Tony was expecting somebody else. Thor must have at least asked if Loki could stay here, right? He has to know they’re coming. Doesn’t he?

"Stark," Thor says.

Tony whips around at the sound of his voice, all the holographic projections he'd been staring at disappearing immediately. He looks between the two Asgardians for a moment, then immediately says, "No! Get him out of here!" He points at the elevator. "Leave!"

"Stark —" Thor tries again, but Tony cuts him off.

"I don't want anything to do with him," he says. "Unless you're here to ask me to blow his face off, I want him gone."

"Oh, please don't," Loki says with a mocking smile. "I'm actually rather fond of my face."

Tony crosses his arms and looks up at Thor. "You said you would take care of him."

"We tried," Thor says. "We put him in prison — many times, actually. He would walk out when he was bored."

Tony scoffs. "He just walked out of prison?"

"Yes," Thor says.

"Oh, my god." Tony pinches the bridge of his nose. "Okay, so why is he here?"

"We needed to bring him somewhere that he couldn't escape," Thor explains. "So we decided to bring him here. My father has put an enchantment on the building. Loki cannot leave unless my father removes the spell."

"Why couldn't he just put a spell on the prison?" Tony asks, exasperated.

"He did," Thor says. "But with the prisons residing just under the palace, Loki was able to… Well, it didn't work."

Loki bites back a laugh. No, it really did not. In his defense, though, with his captor just a few floors above him, he couldn't not play a few tricks with all of his newfound spare time.

"Then find somewhere else to leave him!" Tony says. "He's not staying here!"

"Unfortunately, you have as little choice in this as I do," Loki tells him.

"You're not living in my house!" Tony yells, practically vibrating from frustration. It brings a small smile to Loki's face to see him this worked up over it.

"I will return periodically to ensure he isn't causing any problems," Thor continues.

"His existence is a problem!" Tony says.

"I appreciate this very much," Thor tells him. He begins to take off Loki's handcuffs, so Loki uses his magic to remove all his constraints. Thor is completely unphased, just scooping them up in one arm, Mjolnir still in the other. "You're a good man, Stark."

"You're not leaving him here!" Tony insists. "God, how many times do I have to say it?"

"Try it again," Loki says. "Maybe this will be the time he listens."

Tony grits his teeth. "Thor, you are taking your brother back to Asgard right now —"

"I will see you soon," Thor tells him with a smile. He gives a small wave with Mjolnir, then steps back into the elevator.

"Thor —" Tony runs over to the elevator, but the door closes just before he can get in. He groans and takes off down the stairs instead.

Loki clasps his hands in front of himself and waits for Tony to come back. It shouldn't take too long, he's sure. Thor will be gone before Stark even reaches the ground floor.

Loki walks over to the floor-length window, gazing out over the city. He will admit, objectively, it's a better view without the Chitauri invading, though it was far more satisfying to look out and see them soaring through the skies. Although he can't see the ground beneath him, he would recognize the sight of the Bifrost anywhere, and he can pinpoint the exact moment Thor leaves the realm.

With Thor gone, there's nothing else for him to look for outside, but there's nothing to look at inside, either, so he keeps his gaze on the city until he hears the ding of the elevator again. He turns around, a sarcastic remark on the tip of his tongue, only to see Tony marching out of the elevator with an iron-gloved hand raised. He shoots out a blast of energy, and Loki flies right into the window, the glass shattering under the force.

It seems the Allfather really has already put the spell in place, because Loki falls straight down to the floor, no part of him leaving the tower. It's almost as if there were an invisible wall right behind the window.

Loki looks up at him from the pile of glass shards he now lies in. "Ow."

Tony drops his hand to his side, the metal folding away. He looks down at the god with a frown, and, after a long few moments, just says, "So, you want a bedroom, or…?"

Loki gives a small shrug. "That would be nice."

Chapter Text

"You're dead to me, Stark."

Tony snorts. "It's nice to see you, too."

Natasha Romanoff lets herself into the room, looking around for a few moments before her gaze settles on Tony. "Where is he?"

"One of the guest rooms," Tony says. "I threw him in there when he got here and I haven't seen him since."

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure he's still in there?"

Tony shrugs. "JARVIS hasn't told me he's opened the door and he can't go out the window, so yeah, I'm pretty confident he's still in there." He didn't exactly get the chance to install a camera in there, but the alarm on the door should be enough.

"He hasn't opened the door at all?" Natasha asks. "No food, no drink, no… nothing?"

Tony shakes his head. "Not a peep.”

“Then what the hell am I doing here?” Natasha asks.

Tony gives her a fake smile. “You’re here to light up the room with that wonderfully cheerful personality.”

Natasha just rolls her eyes.

“No, I don’t know why Fury sent you over here,” Tony tells her. “I told him I could handle it myself.”

“Why did you tell him at all?” Natasha asks, exasperated. “You have to have known he wasn’t going to let you ‘handle it.’”

“Because if something went wrong and he got out, it would be my ass on the line,” Tony tells her. “This way, it’s only half my ass on the line.”

Natasha shakes her head to herself. “Alright, where’s his room? If I’m going to be stuck here for a few days, I want to know where the psychopathic god is.”

Tony gestures for her to follow him, and they head down the hall without saying a word. It’s a bit of a walk to get there, which Tony did on purpose. There are plenty of spare rooms he could have thrown the guy in, but he made sure to choose one that was far away from anywhere Tony would habitually be walking by.

When they finally reach his room, Tony gestures to the door silently. He’s right there. And now that she knows where to avoid, they can leave and --

Natasha knocks on the door.

“Hey!” Tony whispers. “What are you doing?”

Natasha puts a finger to her lips and leans in towards the door, listening for any sound from the other side. Admittedly, Tony thinks that’s stupid at first, but when they’re met with complete silence, he realizes she may have a point.

This time, it’s Tony who knocks on the door. “Yoo-hoo! Anybody home?”

Tony puts his ear against the door, but they’re met with silence yet again.

Natasha slams her fist against the door, louder and more frantically than either time before. “Loki!”

“Oh joy,” Loki deadpans. “There are more of you.”

Tony leans against the wall and breathes a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god, he’s still here.”

Natasha walks away, and Tony follows quickly behind her. They don’t speak until they’re well out of Loki’s hearing range, not because they’re talking about anything specific that they don’t want him to hear but because they just don’t want to deal with him.

“Is it just us?” Natasha asks.

“Unless Fury sends someone else in,” Tony says.

“No Pepper?”

Tony shakes his head. “She was supposed to come back tomorrow, but I told her about you-know-who and she just…” He shrugs, trying to put on the air that it doesn’t bother him though it’s not at all true. “Didn’t want to deal with him.”

“Oh, wow,” Natasha says quietly. “So she’s not coming back at all?”

“I don’t know,” Tony admits. “She said she won’t step foot in the tower while he’s here and I can’t exactly leave him here alone, so…” He shakes his head as if he can shake the thought out and forces a more cheerful mood. “But Thor said he’ll be back soon. Maybe I can convince him to take his brother home with him.”

“God, I hope so,” she mutters. “Isn’t the world broken enough without murderous space gods sharing our living space?”

Chapter Text

It’s been a day and a half since Thor dropped Loki on Midgard and left him here, and he’s spent his time alternating between pacing around his room and lying in bed. It's incredibly boring, but at least Tony and Natasha have mostly left him alone. It's humiliating enough having to live with them. He doesn't want to talk to them if he doesn't have to.

He really can't believe he's sunk this low. He was fine with going to prison on Asgard. He still felt like he was in control — if not of his situation, then of himself. But living with two of the Avengers, physically incapable of leaving the tower? It's just embarrassing. It was bad enough that a group of mortals managed to defeat him. The idea of facing then every time he walks out that door… he would rather not.

But after a day and a half of doing absolutely nothing, he decides that he needs to get out of this room. It's late enough at night that he'd like to think he can do so without getting caught, and he's desperate enough that he's willing to take that risk.

He slowly opens the door, grimacing when it creaks, but he's well-removed from just about everything so he doesn't worry too much about it. He heads down the hallway, as quietly as he can. His eyes scan the rooms as he passes them, but none of them look to be what he's searching for.

"Alright, what are you doing?"

Loki turns around to see Tony heading his way, and he bites back a groan. He'd really hoped he could do this without getting caught. And, judging by how tired Tony looks, he probably wishes the same thing.

"Looking for a glass of water," Loki says simply. "And maybe something to eat."

Tony pauses, almost like he's going to tell Loki no, but then he nods once and gestures for him to follow. In all honesty, Loki would rather have spent the next hour looking around by himself than accept the help of an Avenger, but it would be weird to throw a fit and refuse, so he reluctantly follows Tony through the building, taking note of any places of interest they pass.

Finally, they reach the kitchen, and Loki awkwardly stands in the doorway while Tony finds him something to drink. He opens up the fridge and stares at it for a few seconds, then pulls out a bottle of water. He tosses it at Loki without looking, and he has to bend down to catch it before it hits the floor. It wouldn't be so annoying except that he knows Tony can throw, so he chose to throw it like that.

Next, Tony heads to the closet. After a few moments, he pulls out a red box, which he also tosses at Loki. With the water bottle in one hand, catching the box in the other is difficult, but he manages. He holds it up in front of him and reads the name. Cheez-It.

Loki furrows his brows and looks over at Tony. "What is this?"

"Food," Tony says, kicking the closet door shut.

Loki gives a sarcastic chuckle. "This is not food."

"'Course it is," Tony says. He walks over and takes the box from him, opening it up to show him the bag inside. "See? Food."

"That is not food," Loki repeats. Anyone with half a brain could tell that this is not food.

"No, look at this." Tony opens the big, tossing the chip clip on the counter. He pulls out a little orange square, shows it to Loki, and tosses it in his mouth. "Mm, delicious."

Loki looks down at the bag in hesitant dismay. Is it actually food, or is Tony just messing with him? He didn't seem at all bothered by eating one, but still, this just… doesn't look like food. It doesn't look like any food they have on Asgard, at least.

Finally, he reaches into the bag and picks one up. He holds it in front of his face, studying it. It's so dry. He can't imagine it being food. Is he really supposed to eat this?

"God, it's like living with an alien," Tony mutters under his breath (which makes sense because he really is living with an alien). "Try it. Go ahead."

Loki hesitates, but he does eventually put the Cheese-It in his mouth. He scrunches his face in disgust, but he forces himself to finish chewing it before he says, "That really cannot be food."

For the briefest moment, Tony looks amused by that, but his annoyed persona takes over almost immediately. "Well, that's all you're getting, so you better learn to like it."

Loki shakes his head to himself. It's not worth arguing. He takes his water bottle and his box of Cheese-Its back to his room. He makes sure the door is locked before he sits down in his bed and pulls the cap off of his water bottle. (Looking at it now, he gets the feeling he was actually supposed to twist it off, not pull it). He puts it to his lips and starts drinking… and drinking… and drinking… until there's nothing left, and then he tosses it aside.

He turns his attention to the box of Cheez-Its sitting next to him. They taste so bad. It's not even just the taste; it's the texture he can't stand. If he'd thought the Asgardian prison food was bad, he should have seen these. But after a day and a half of not eating anything, he's getting desperate. He takes out another Cheez-It and puts it in his mouth…

Then puts the rest of the box on the floor. He's not eating this garbage. He'd rather starve to death.

Chapter Text

The next day goes smoothly. There's no sight of Loki, and Tony's only problem is that he now wants Cheez-Its but they're sitting in Loki's room. Natasha, for the record, did not think it was hilarious that Loki hates Cheez-Its, but Tony chalks that up to her not seeing his reaction firsthand. It was definitely hilarious.

That night, Tony is sound asleep when JARVIS says again, "Sir, Loki has opened his door," just like he did the night before. Tony groans. What, is this guy nocturnal or something? Can't he come out while they're already awake?

"Tell him to go back to bed," Tony mumbles.

"I don't believe he would listen to me, sir," JARVIS says.

"No, probably not," Tony agrees. He reluctantly pushes himself to his feet. This is going to be fun. Not.

He heads down the stairs — he doesn't have the patience to wait for the elevator — and over towards Loki's room, but, unsurprisingly, he's long gone. Tony hadn't expected to find him so easily last night, but since he did, he'd hoped he'd have the same luck today.

His next stop is the kitchen. He doesn't expect to find him there, but it's the only room of the tower that Tony knows that he knows. He's decently sure yesterday was just good luck — Loki had something else in mind and food was his backup plan in case he got caught — but it seems like a good place to start, if only to rule it out.

But, to his surprise, Loki actually is in the kitchen, a glass of water in his hand as he looks through the fridge. Tony raises an eyebrow. Well, that was easy.

"What, done with your Cheez-Its already?" Tony asks mockingly.

Loki doesn't dignify that with a response.

"You know, since you liked those Cheez-Its so much," Tony says with a grin, heading for the closet, "I think you'll really like goldfish."

Loki looks over at him, and he almost looks interested. He probably expects an actual fish. He's going to be so disappointed when he finds out it's just another type of cheese cracker.

Tony opens the closet, and his gaze immediately lands on the box of Cheez-Its that he'd been yearning for all day. He scoffs and crosses his arms, looking at Loki as though he were a misbehaving child. "You didn't eat your Cheez-Its!"

"They're not food," Loki says.

Tony bites back a laugh, trying to maintain his stern parent facade. "You're not having anything else until you eat your Cheez-Its."

"I will stab you," Loki deadpans.

Tony clicks his tongue. "And I believe that." He closes the closet door and joins Loki by the fridge. "What are you looking for?"

"Real food," Loki says.

"Like what?"

Loki pauses. "Meat?" he says uncertainly. "You mentioned fish. Or… chicken? There are chickens on Midgard."

Tony bites back a laugh. "Yep. Yes, there definitely are chickens on Earth." How is this the same guy that killed over a hundred people a few months ago? This literally feels like babysitting a child. "Move."

Loki steps out of the way, and Tony opens up the freezer, digging around until he finds an old bag of chicken nuggets. He's not entirely sure that they aren't expired, but what's the worst that will happen? Gods probably can't even get food poisoning. And if they can, as long as it doesn't kill him, Tony doesn't care. (He wouldn't even have that parameter except that he doesn't want to know what Thor would do if he came back and Tony had accidentally killed his brother with a chicken nugget.)

Tony dumps a few chicken nuggets on a plate, laying them out so they're not stacked on top of each other but they cover almost every inch of the plate. He slips them in the microwave for a few minutes, and then they have to wait.

Tony leans against the counter, keeping a cautious eye on Loki but doing his best not to stare. Loki seems unphased. He finishes his glass of water and goes to the sink to refill it. Tony debates telling him that the fridge dispenses clean, filtered water, but decides against it for no reason other than he wants to make Loki's life just a little bit worse.

When the microwave beeps, Tony takes the plate out, then quickly drops it down on the counter, muttering, "Hot, hot," under his breath. He slides the plate towards the god. "There you go. Chicken."

Loki looks down at the chicken nuggets skeptically, but, after a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly picks one up and examines it.

"You want some ketchup?" Tony asks.

Loki gives him a puzzled look, which leads him to believe that they probably don't have ketchup on Asgard. Instead of answering, Loki just takes a bite of his nugget as it is. He makes a face, but when he finishes chewing that bite, he takes another, so it can't be too bad.

"How is it?" Tony asks.

Loki looks down at the last little bite of chicken in his hand for a moment. Finally, he just says, "It will suffice."

"So you at least recognize that it's food," Tony remarks. "That's good. That's an improvement."

Loki doesn't acknowledge that. He finishes eating his nugget, then takes his plate and his cup of water and walks out of the room without another word. Tony stands in the doorway until Loki is out of sight, just to make sure he's heading back to his room, then he does the same. That was absolutely not worth waking up for.

Chapter Text

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" Clint asks with a groan, smacking his head against the kitchen table.

Natasha leans back in her chair, lolling her head back and closing her eyes. "Because you love me?"

"Not anymore," Clint says, though he clearly doesn't mean it. She's dragged him into much worse situations and their friendship has survived. This certainly isn't going to break it. "I still can't believe Fury left you on babysitting duty."

"Especially when there's no baby to babysit," Natasha adds. She glances at the clock on the microwave. It's well past three o'clock in the morning. Where is he?

"At least it's any easy job," Clint says.

"It was until Stark stuck me on kitchen duty," Natasha deadpans. Loki only ever seems to come out at night and Tony was getting sick of JARVIS waking him up every night, so now they're taking turns staying up all night to keep an eye on him. Tony very graciously took last night (because Natasha made him), but now it's her turn and she's absolutely miserable.

Clint nods sympathetically. "It's like a stakeout but without the fun."

"Really," she agrees. She covers her mouth with her hand and yawns, and Clint does the same shortly after. "Hey, thanks for spending the night with me. I know this isn't exactly your idea of a good time."

Clint scoffs. "Are you kidding me? Hanging out with you is always my idea of a good time."

Natasha smiles. That's why he's her best friend. He'll put up with anything for her.

"Ms. Romanoff, Mr. Barton, Loki has opened his door," JARVIS says.

"Finally," Clint mutters. "Let's get this over with."

They wait in silence for Loki to show up. It takes a few minutes, but, sure enough, he walks into the kitchen and straight for the freezer…

And then he pauses, and it's clear he's noticed Clint.

"Oh, my god," Clint whispers, and he bursts out laughing. Natasha doesn't even know what he's laughing about, but it makes her laugh, too. "Look at him! Look at the little prison uniform!"

Loki looks down at his clothes, and, with a glow of green light, they change back to what he'd been wearing when he tried to take over the world.

"Oh, now he looks like he's going to Comic-Con!" Clint says, and Natasha laughs even harder.

Loki just shakes his head to himself and heads to the freezer without a word.

"How's it feel, Loki?" Clint asks with a smirk. "You're stuck on Earth now. Karma's a bitch, huh?"

Loki clenches his jaw and turns around to look at him. "I may have lost my freedom, but my mind is still my own. Am I truly in a worse position than you?"

Natasha knows even before Clint moves that, if left unchecked, this could end badly — and, realistically, Clint will probably get the worst of it. She puts a hand on his arm, a gentle reminder to hold back. "It's not worth it," she says quietly.

Clint clenches his teeth, but he doesn't get up, just glaring at Loki with a murderous glint in his eye.

Unphased, Loki turns his attention back to the freezer. He pulls out a bag of chicken nuggets and starts laying them out on a plate.

"Are those dinosaur chicken nuggets?" Clint asks, and any anger he may have felt a few moments ago has been replaced by pure amusement.

"Mm," Natasha hums. "Tony has decided to treat this like he's babysitting a bratty child, so…" She gestures to him vaguely. "Dinosaur nuggets."

Clint bursts out laughing, lowering his head against the table and curling in on himself, and it almost makes Natasha laugh, too. She didn't find the dinosaur nuggets funny herself, but Clint's reaction might change that.

Loki ignores them and puts the nuggets in the microwave.

"So this is all he does?" Clint asks. "He just comes out here every night and eats his little nuggies?"

"According to Tony, yeah, pretty much," Natasha says.

"Oh, this poor guy," Clint says, but the look on his face makes it clear that he has no sympathy for him. "And then he goes back to hibernating in his room?"

Natasha nods. "Until tomorrow night, when he does it all again."

"What a miserable way to live," Clint remarks. "I love it."

Loki turns to face him with the roll of his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"To laugh at you, mostly," Clint says. "Which you're making very easy, so thanks for that."

"But you don't want to be here," Loki says. "So why are you?"

"Because," Natasha says, "we don't trust you enough to leave you alone."

"You don't trust me to heat chicken," Loki deadpans.

"We don't trust you with free reign of the tower while everyone's asleep," Natasha says.

"In case you forgot," Clint adds, "last time you were left to your own devices, you kind of tried to take over the planet."

"In case you forgot," Loki says, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "I can't do that from in here."

"You couldn't do it from out there, either," Clint quips, and Natasha smirks.

Ignoring that, Loki says, "I think we would all be happier if we left each other alone. You could go to sleep and I could get my food in peace."

"Take it up with Stark," Natasha says.

The flippancy of that response seems to annoy him, but he nods once, and that seems to be the end of it.

"Oh, also…" Natasha hops to her feet. "He got you a water bottle so you could stop refilling that cup every night." She opens a few different cabinets until she finds the water bottle, then tosses it to him. He catches it with ease and twists the cap off, then goes to the sink to fill it up.

This also makes Clint burst out laughing, which does nothing but remind Natasha that he and Tony have the same immature sense of humor. "Is that Perry the Platypus on his water bottle?"

"Like I said," Natasha says. "Stark's taken to treating him like a child."

"Where did he even find a Perry the Platypus water bottle?" Clint asks.

"I don't know; I didn't ask.”

"I love it," Clint says. "This is better than the dino nuggets."

"Careful, Barton," Natasha says with a teasing smile. "You keep talking like that, I might have to find you one, too."

"Ooh, I like that idea!" Clint says with a grin. "How about it, Loki? We can have matching Perry the Platypus water bottles! Wouldn't that be fun?"

It seems Loki's finally had enough, because he turns around to look at them, his frustration clearly showing on his face. "Stop talking down to me, Barton,” he says. “I may be a prisoner in this building, but I'm still a god. While you're here, you remain at my mercy."

Clint snorts. "Yeah, okay, buddy. Whatever you say."

Natasha raises an eyebrow. While she does enjoy watching Clint bully a literal god, she is hyper aware of the fact that he could probably kill any of them at any moment. He's been quiet enough since he got here that she'd begun to think he wasn't much of a risk, but this is a good reminder that there's always that chance. Should Clint really be pushing it like this?

Fortunately, that reaction doesn't seem to bother Loki too much. The microwave goes off, which takes his attention away from them and to his food. He twists the cap on his water bottle, then pulls his nuggets out of the microwave.

"Alright now," Clint says mockingly, like he's speaking to a child. "You go back to your room and eat your little nug-nugs."

Loki drops his plate and water bottle on the counter. A knife flies out of the cutlery holder on the other side of the room, landing in his now-outstretched hand, and in an instant, the sharp edge is resting against Clint's throat. His eyes widen, staring down at the blade with genuine fear.

Natasha slides her chair away, instinctively reaching for the gun in her holster, but she doesn't pull it out. She doesn't want to make the wrong move right now, and threatening the god that could kill her friend with just the flick of his wrist might be the wrong move.

Loki smirks, a sadistic glint in his eye. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to just slice this across your throat."

He jerks his arm the slightest bit, almost like he's going to do it, and Natasha's heart stops. The second or two that it takes to see that Clint is okay is the longest moment of her life. A small trickle of blood slips down his throat, but it could just as easily be from Clint flinching as from Loki's fake-out.

Natasha swallows hard. "JARVIS? Get Tony."

"Waking him up now, Ms. Romanoff," JARVIS says.

Loki pulls his arm away and tosses the knife into the sink with a clatter. Natasha immediately rushes to Clint's side, and she slides her sleeve over her hand and presses it against the cut on Clint's throat to stop the bleeding. It's not a large cut by any means, nor is it bleeding very much so he must not have hit an artery, but it's still a wound to the neck and she's not going to just leave it.

She looks over at Loki with narrowed eyes, but he doesn't even glance their way, just picking up his water bottle and his plate of nuggets and walking out of the room without another word.

Natasha turns her attention back to Clint. "Hey, you okay?"

Clint gives a small nod. "For a second there, I really thought I was a dead man."

"You piss him off again and you might be," Natasha says.

"Yeah…" Clint gently moves her hand away and puts his own in its place. He sucks in a breath through his teeth when he touches it, but he recovers quickly. "I really didn't think he was going to do that."

"He's a murderer, Clint," Natasha deadpans. "Did you really think he was above that?"

Clint shrugs sheepishly. "He was eating dinosaur chicken nuggets."

"You're an idiot," Natasha tells him.

Clint smiles awkwardly. "But I'm your idiot?"

She shakes her head, a fond smile on her lips that she just can't hide. "Don't remind me."

Chapter Text

Loki's halfway through his chicken nuggets when he looks up at the ceiling, thinking. There’s no harm in trying. If nothing happens, at least there’s no one around to see it. "JARVIS?" That's what Natasha said, wasn't it? JARVIS. Whatever that means.

"Yes, Loki?" a voice says.

Loki looks around, but there's no one else here. He can't quite tell where that voice came from, but it wasn't a person. Or, at least, not a person near him. But he got an answer, which is what he was looking for. JARVIS, whatever it is, is here. That’s what he wanted to know.

"What are you?" Loki asks.

"I am an artificial intelligence system tasked with helping Mr. Stark with business and security," JARVIS tells him.

Loki raises an eyebrow. "Artificial intelligence?"

"Yes."

"So you're not real," Loki says. That's what it means, right? He's never actually heard the phrase, but if he's artificial intelligence, he's fake, right?

"I'm as real as you are," JARVIS says. "Intangible, but real nonetheless."

"Ah." That's interesting — and very strange, too. He's an immaterial being, but he's still here, in a sense. It's weird.

"Did you have a question?" JARVIS asks.

"What?"

"Did you have a question?" JARVIS repeats. "People typically call on me for assistance, like with a task or to answer a question."

Loki purses his lips, thinking. "What kind of questions can you answer?"

"There are very few questions I can't answer," JARVIS tells him.

Loki nods slowly, thinking. "If I were to ask, for example, why the chicken on the outside of my plate is always warm and the chicken on the inside of my plate is always cold, could you answer that?" He doesn't really care — cold chicken is still better than the food he got in prison in Asgard, and he's hungry enough that he'd eat them frozen if he had to — but he's curious whether JARVIS has an answer.

"The microwave emits small waves that cause the water particles in the food to rotate, producing heat," JARVIS explains. "Because the microwave emits those waves from the sides, they are absorbed by the outside chicken nuggets, and there is less energy to be absorbed towards the center of the plate. To fix this, try flipping your chicken nuggets midway through to cook them more evenly."

Loki just sits there for a few moments in silence. He didn't actually expect JARVIS to have an answer to that. After a few moments, he says, "Stark didn't flip them."

"Mr. Stark doesn't like you," JARVIS says simply.

"Fair enough," Loki says. He bites the cold head off one of his center dinosaur nuggets. Maybe he will try flipping them tomorrow. It could be an interesting experiment. He just hopes it doesn't ruin them. If he only gets to eat once a day, he'd like to actually get to eat, but having to remake his food would just be embarassing.

"Is that all?" JARVIS asks.

Loki thinks for a moment. What other questions does he have? How about… "What is a Perry the Platypus water bottle?" If it's something demeaning — as Clint clearly thought it was — he'd like to know why.

"Your water bottle has a picture of Perry the Platypus on it," JARVIS explains. Before Loki can ask, JARVIS continues, "Perry the Platypus is a fictional character from the popular animated kids' show Phineas and Ferb."

Loki looks down at his water bottle with furrowed brows. Okay, he sees the picture. It's a little teal rectangle with a face and a hat. That makes sense, he supposes. But… "What is a platypus?"

"An animal native to Australia," JARVIS says.

"Australia?" Loki repeats.

"The other side of the planet," JARVIS says. "So unless you go to a zoo, you probably won't see one in New York."

"What is a zoo?" Loki asks.

"You ask a lot of questions," JARVIS remarks.

Loki's face begins to heat up, and he covers his embarrassment with a sarcastic, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize artificial intelligence comes with artificial judgment."

"I'm capable of feeling any emotion you can feel," JARVIS tells him. "But I don't 'judge you' for having questions. You're not of this planet and much of this must be new to you. Though I don't forgive your previous antics, I will do my best to help you adjust. I know you haven't been met with much understanding since your arrival."

Loki drops his gaze to his bed, almost like he's avoiding making eye contact except there's no one to make eye contact with. Still, there's something about the movement that makes him feel a little better. He feels smaller, less present. It's an uncomfortable type of comfort.

Finally, Loki says a quiet, "Thank you."

"Of course," JARVIS says politely. Loki's not sure what he did to earn that politeness, but he appreciates it nonetheless.

Loki goes back to eating his chicken nuggets. He feels better about his water bottle now that he understands the joke — if a childish image on a water bottle can even be called a joke. He's still not quite sure why Clint found his chicken nuggets so funny, but he doesn't want to keep pestering JARVIS with all these questions. Maybe he'll ask another day.

When Loki finishes his nuggets, he tosses the plate in the trash (he'd like to say it was considerate of Tony to give him paper plates and a trash can, but realistically, he's sure Tony just got sick of doing his dishes) and lies down in bed. He really hates dealing with the Avengers, but he still considers going to get food to be the highlight of his days here because it gives him something to do. When he's in his room, he doesn't have that. He just lies here all day until the sun's been gone for a few hours, and then he gets up to eat.

He doesn't even pace back and forth anymore. It hurts his head, turning every few seconds, and his muscles have been having a hard time keeping up with him when he tries for too long. He wonders briefly if it's because he's been away from Asgard for so long. He'd gotten sicker the longer he was in the Sanctuary, too. But he pushes that thought out of his mind. If that's true, he'll just feel worse the longer he's here, too, and he doesn't want to think about the effects that would have over the next few millennia, should he have the misfortune of living that long.

Loki sighs and closes his eyes. That's the nice thing about his imprisonment here — the only nice thing. He's gotten more sleep in the last week than he has in a long time. It's an easy way to make the time fly, and sometimes, he's even blessed with dreams of finally getting his revenge on his so-called "family" for this. When Thor comes back to check on him, he's leaving with a knife to the stomach, that's for sure.

There's a knock on the door, followed by Tony saying, "Alright, open up."

Loki opts to ignore him and hope he goes away.

Tony knocks again. "Hey, Loki, open the door."

Loki, predictably, does not open the door.

"If you don't open this door right now," Tony says, "I'm going to blast it down, and I'm not going to replace it."

Loki groans and sits up, taking a moment to orient himself and wait for his head to stop spinning before he does as he's told, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. "What?"

"Heard you threatened to stab Barton," Tony remarks.

"No, I threatened to slit his throat," Loki says. And he was very close to actually doing it, too, but he doesn't want to know the punishment he'd get from Asgard for that, if not from the Allfather directly then from Thor.

Tony sighs. "Loki, you can't just go around threatening to kill people."

"The next time one of you annoys me, it won't just be a threat," Loki spits.

Tony runs a hand down his face, a mix of exasperation and exhaustion in his expression. "Fine. What did he do that warranted a knife to the throat?"

He made fun of me.

Yeah, that's not going to cut it.

Choosing his words carefully so he doesn't sound like a whiny toddler — because he's not and he rejects the notion that he acted like one — he says, "I am a god, Stark. I am above all of you. I will not be talked down to by —"

"If you're above us, why do you care?" Tony interrupts.

Loki's so taken by surprise, he stops talking entirely. Tony gives him a moment to formulate a response, but he can't.

"I'm serious," Tony says. "If you're so sure you're better than us, why does it matter what we think of you? Why can't you just ignore us and be content with the knowledge that you're —" He gestures vaguely. "You're the superior being. I don't know. Whatever you think you are."

Loki purses his lips. He supposes that's fair. The Avengers' opinions of him really shouldn't bother him. So why do they? Why does he let them? And why doesn't he think he can stop?

Finally, Loki says, "I have no intention of causing any problems unprovoked. Watching me every night does not make you safer; it just makes killing you more enticing. I think it would be better for everyone if we ignored each other."

Tony raises an eyebrow. "You want me to let you walk around the tower all night without supervision?"

"I don't want to walk around the tower all night," Loki says. "All I want is to eat in peace — as I'm sure all you want is to sleep in peace."

Tony hesitates, but he has a point, so he says, "I'll try it. But if you do anything else — anything — that I don't like, you're back under constant surveillance."

"Everything I do is something you don't like," Loki deadpans.

Tony clicks his tongue. "You got it."

Loki just rolls his eyes and closes the door. God, this guy is annoying.

Chapter Text

"Sir," JARVIS says, "Captain Rogers is here."

"Tell him I'm not home," Tony says. He's not dealing with that guy today.

"I'm afraid he already knows you're here," JARVIS says. "He's with Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Barton now."

Tony raises an eyebrow. "Barton's still here?" It's been, like, four days. Probably. Something like that. Doesn't he have better places to be?

"Yes, sir," JARVIS says. "He came back yesterday when he was finished at SHIELD."

Tony raises the other eyebrow, too. "I didn't even know he left."

"Perhaps if you'd spend less time in your lab…" JARVIS says.

"I'm busy," Tony says irritably.

"With all due respect, sir," JARVIS says, "you haven't actually done anything."

Tony purses his lips. Okay, that's true, but he's not just going to sit here and take it. "Well, what am I supposed to do? I promised Pepper I was done with my suits. I can't just break that promise because she's not here right now." And probably won't be here for a very long time. And only talks to Tony by phone these days. And is consequently barely even in his life anymore.

"You could go upstairs and talk to your friends," JARVIS suggests.

"They're not my friends," Tony mumbles. They've barely even spoken since New York.

"You saved the world together," JARVIS reminds him. "The least you can do is offer them some coffee."

Tony shakes his head. "They'll just want to talk about Loki."

"Then let them," JARVIS says. "You haven't seen him in days. There shouldn’t be much to talk about."

"That’s exactly the problem," Tony says. "You don't think that's the first thing Mr. Goodie Two Shoes is going to complain about?"

"Loki hasn't caused any harm," JARVIS reminds him.

"Yeah, I know that," Tony says, "but he doesn't. And he won't care. Believe it or not, some people don't think not hearing from the mass murderer in your house for a few days is a good sign."

"I've spoken to him," JARVIS offers.

Tony scoffs. "What?"

"I've spoken to Loki," JARVIS repeats. "He's as glad to be out of your way as you are to be out of his."

"No, okay, back up," Tony says, climbing to his feet. "You've been talking to Loki."

"Yes."

"Why?" He doesn't know how to make that question any more specific. He just doesn't get it. JARVIS is supposed to be just as smart as he is, so why would he talk to the psychopathic god hiding out in the tower?

"He spoke to me and I answered," JARVIS says simply.

"About what?" Tony asks. Is he planning something? He's not sure what Loki could be planning because he's bound to the tower by Asgardian magic, but if he's talking to the guy — using the term loosely, of course — that runs the place, he must have some sort of goal in mind.

"Mundane things that a human wouldn't think twice about," JARVIS says.

"Like…?" Tony prompts.

"Nothing that poses a potential hazard," JARVIS says, "so I don't believe it matters.”

"JARVIS —"

"He has a right to confidentiality the same way you do," JARVIS says. "He's not a danger to anyone but himself. If I begin to suspect that changes, I will tell you. Until then, our conversations remain private."

Tony grits his teeth. He could easily force the information out of him, but it would be a lot of effort just to see that JARVIS is right (as always) and that Loki isn't preparing to burn the place to the ground.

"Is he a threat to himself?" Tony asks.

"He may be," JARVIS says. "He's not doing well. I suspect the isolation is beginning to affect his wellbeing, but he insists that he's fine so there's little I can do."

Tony clicks his tongue. "Well, as long as he's not dying, I'm cool with it." He looks over at the door, reluctance in his movements. "I should probably go see Rogers, shouldn't I?"

"I think that would be wise," JARVIS says.

Tony heads out of his lab and up the stairs, mentally preparing himself for whatever bullshit he'll doubtlessly have to deal with. It doesn't take long to find the bullshit, either — Steve, Natasha, and Clint are all arguing at the top of the stairs, and had Steve not seen Tony coming, he honestly would have just turned back around and gone back to his lab.

He pushes open the door with an exaggeratedly sweet smile. "Captain! How nice to see you. Unfortunately, the Stark Hotel is at capacity right now, so —"

"Cut the crap, Stark," Steve snaps. "You've been harboring Loki —"

"I firmly reject that notion," Tony says quickly. "'Harboring' implies that I want him here, when, in actuality, the first thing I did when he got here was try to throw him out the window." He pauses, then adds, "Unfortunately, it didn't work."

"So you decided to just leave him alone?" Steve demands.

"I never said that," Tony says defensively. It's true, but he never said that.

"They did," Steve says, pointing to Natasha and Clint accusatively.

"Yeah," Natasha says irritably, "because there's no point in dealing with him when he can deal with himself."

"He just destroyed half of New York!" Steve practically yells.

"Okay," Tony says, "but now all he destroys is my supply of dino nuggets." Which he still thinks it's hilarious, thank you very much.

"For now," Steve says, "until he figures out how to —"

"How to what?" Tony asks. "He's stuck here. He physically cannot leave the building."

"And he hasn't threatened to kill me since we started leaving him alone," Clint adds.

Steve scoffs. "But he threatened to kill you before?"

"It doesn't matter!" Tony says loudly, shutting everyone up. "Trust me, I would like nothing more than to get him out of here, but until Thor comes back, I'm stuck with him."

"That doesn't mean you can leave him —" Steve begins, but Tony cuts him off.

"I didn't ask to be put on babysitting duty," Tony snaps. "I'm willing to stay in the tower for as long as he's here, but I'm not rerouting my entire life just to stare at him every day until he inevitably gets annoyed and decides to stab me."

Steve clenches his jaw, but he doesn't argue with that. Instead, his voice tense but less angry, he asks, "When is Thor coming back?"

"I don't know," Tony says. "He said soon, but he's also, like, a million years old, so his idea of soon might be a little different than ours."

Steve nods, processing that, then asks, "What happens when Thor comes back?"

"In a perfect world, he takes Loki back to Asgard," Tony says. "Realistically? Absolutely nothing. He's probably stuck here until I die -- and maybe after that, too."

Steve gapes at him. "Excuse me?"

"I know, I know, it sucks," Tony says.

"He's living here permanently?" Steve says.

Tony nods. "Unless I can convince Thor to change his mind, yeah, I think so."

Steve crosses his arms. "Then I'm staying, too,"

Tony scoffs. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm staying here until Thor comes back," Steve says.

"What does this look like, a bed and breakfast?" Tony asks. "You're not living in my tower."

Steve gestures to Clint and Natasha with his head. "They are."

"Romanoff is here because Fury sent her here," Tony says. "And Barton's just here because they're less annoying as a pair."

Natasha scoffs. "Hey!"

Tony smirks. He actually has no problem having her around. He just can't admit it or it would blow his smartass facade wide open.

Steve narrows his eyes. "Tony, I'm staying," he says, a sense of finality that even Tony can't argue with.

Tony sighs. "Fine, but you're doing your own grocery shopping."

Steve rolls his eyes. "Really, Stark?"

"Yes, really," Tony says. "Don't touch my stuff."

"Ignore him," Natasha says. "Eat whatever you want."

"I'm sorry, is this your house being overrun by superheroes?" Tony asks sarcastically.

"Yes, actually, it is," Natasha says. "At least until Fury calls me back."

Tony frowns. Well, she has a point. It's still very much his house, but at this point, it might as well be hers too.

"Oh, this is going to be fun," Clint says, though it doesn't sound sincere in the least. "An Avengers sleepover."

"What could be better?" Natasha asks sarcastically.

"Hey, Rogers," Tony says, "you want to keep an eye on Loki, right?"

"Well, someone has to," Steve says.

Tony nods. That's what he thought he'd say. "Hey, JARVIS? Make sure you let Captain America over there know every time Loki opens his door."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Why are you saying that like it's a bad thing? That's what I want."

"No, Steve," Natasha says. "Trust me, it's not."

Tony chuckles dryly, and continues, "Pull out all the stops. Make sure you really wake him up."

Steve rolls his eyes. "Very mature, Tony."

Tony grins. “Thank you. I try.”

Chapter Text

"Sir, Loki has opened his door."

Steve groans and rubs his eyes. Alright, he thinks he understands why Natasha said he wasn't going to like this. He still stands by his decision, though. Someone needs to keep an eye on the guy, and if no one else is going to, he’ll do it himself.

He rolls out of bed and runs a hand through his hair. It would take far more than that to make it look presentable, but, to be fair, he's also walking around in pajamas. No amount of time spent on just his hair would make him look presentable.

"Where's he going, JARVIS?" Steve asks.

"The kitchen, I presume," JARVIS says.

"Thank you," Steve says before heading out of the room.

Admittedly, Steve doesn't know Stark Tower very well, but he manages to find the kitchen with relative ease. Loki isn't there, so Steve takes a seat at the table to wait. If he's not out here in the next two minutes, he's going on a Loki hunt.

It seems that planning was unnecessary, because Loki does eventually show up. Steve has to do a double-take when he sees him. He's almost unrecognizable with his tangled-up black hair pointing in so different directions, and he walks into the room not only with no shoes on, but no shirt, either. He is getting way too comfortable living here. It's almost unnerving.

When Loki sees him, all he says is, "Oh, joy. The tower grows more crowded by the day."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Where's your shirt?"

Loki rolls his eyes. A dim glow of green light overtakes him and a shirt materializes on him, a dark green blouse of a sort with a criss-crossing neckline.

As the light disappears, Loki stumbles, and he catches himself against the wall, his water bottle hitting it with a loud thud.

Instantly, Steve jumps to his feet. "Loki?"

Loki squeezes his eyes shut for a few moments before pushing himself away from the wall. Without a word, he heads for the freezer, opening it up and just staring at it.

"Loki?" Steve says again, this time more cautiously.

"They typically leave me alone," Loki says.

"What?"

Loki pulls out a bag of dinosaur chicken nuggets, closes the freezer door, and turns to look at him. "Your friends. They typically leave me alone."

"I know that," Steve says cautiously. "But I didn't want…" He cocks his head to the side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Loki says through gritted teeth. He turns his attention back to his food. He puts both his water bottle and the bag of chicken nuggets on the counter, then pulls out a paper plate to dump some nuggets on.

The longer Steve watches this, the more concerned he gets. Even just Loki's lack of attention to him is disconcerting. Tony had prepared him for it, but it doesn't make it any less weird to see the god that had tried to kill him not too long ago pretending he doesn't even exist.

Loki puts his chicken nuggets in the microwave, then turns his attention to his water bottle, filling it in the sink. Steve briefly debates telling him that the fridge dispenses fresh, filtered water — which he thought was the coolest thing the first time he saw it — but if no one's told him that already, there must be a reason, so he doesn't mention it.

Loki puts his water bottle back on the counter, then opens up the freezer, slips the rest of the nuggets in, and stands in front of it. Steve watches him silently, trying to figure out what the hell he's doing, but he can't. When the microwave goes off, Loki just flips his chicken nuggets, puts them back on, and stands in front of the freezer again.

Finally, Steve decides he has to ask. "What are you doing?"

"The freezer is cold," Loki says, like that's any type of explanation.

"That's kind of… the point…" Steve says slowly. But Loki seems to be in no rush to elaborate, so it looks like that's all he's getting.

The microwave goes off again, and Loki takes his chicken nuggets and his water bottle and leaves. There's a part of Steve that wants to follow him just to make sure he's not going to get in any trouble, but he can pretty much tell that Loki's not going to do anything right now.

A couple minutes later, JARVIS chimes in with, "Loki has opened his door again."

Steve purses his lips. He supposes he would know better than anyone... "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Captain Rogers?" JARVIS says.

"Is Loki usually like that?" He would like to elaborate more on what "like that" means, but it's really just his whole vibe. He looks like a mess. He acts like a mess. He just… is a mess.

"Recently, yes," JARVIS says. "I suspect that the extended isolation is beginning to affect his health, but he insists that he's okay."

"And is he?" Steve asks. "Okay, I mean."

"I don't know," JARVIS admits. "I don't know much about Asgardians. I have no baseline data to compare it to."

"Huh." Steve nods slowly. "Okay, just… tell me next time he opens his door."

"Of course," JARVIS says.

Steve hesitates, then sighs. There's nothing to be done right now. He might as well just go back to bed.

Chapter Text

Loki's stomach has been growling all day, but he doesn't get up until well past sunset. He's just so tired. He doesn't want to stand up. He doesn't want to put clothes on. He doesn't want to walk. He doesn't want to risk running into another Avenger. There are just so many reasons he'd like to stay in bed. But he needs something to eat, so he does it anyway.

Loki picks the pillowcase up off the floor and wipes the sweat from his body. The cloth is getting disgusting, but there's nothing he can do about it. Even if there was, he wouldn't have the ambition to.

He slips his pants on, and he's reminded once again how heavy Asgardian leather is. Fortunately, he still has his prison shirt, and that material is a bit lighter. He almost doesn't want to put it on, but he doesn't know whether he'll run into anyone outside and he doesn't want to walk around half-naked if there's a chance he will.

He misses when the Avengers would leave him alone. It only lasted for a few days, but it was nice. He didn't have to pretend he felt okay. He didn't have to risk anyone seeing him look weak. But with Steve Rogers here, he'll have to maintain the failing facade to the best of his abilities.

Loki slowly walks down the hall, his legs shaking with every step. He wishes he could move faster, that he could get this walking over with, but if he tried, he thinks he might fall. So he persists, slowly but surely, until he reaches the kitchen.

Steve is once again already sitting at the table, and Loki purposely avoids his gaze, just opening up the freezer to get his chicken nuggets. The cold air calms his clammy skin, and all he can do is just stand there, letting the cold overtake him. But if he stands here for too long, Steve is going to start asking questions again, so he reluctantly pulls out the chicken nuggets and starts arranging them on a plate.

"Loki," Steve says.

Loki ignores him, his attention solely on his chicken nuggets because he's not sure he can concentrate on two different things at once. He reaches into the bag for a few more chicken nuggets, but it's empty. He sighs. This will have to do.

"Loki," Steve says again.

Loki slips his nuggets in the microwave and turns it in. He learned the hard way the first time he reached the end of a bag that fewer chicken nuggets require less time to cook, but he's not actually sure how long that is. He just picks a random number and turns the microwave on. He doesn't bother cutting the time in half. He's not flipping them today.

"Loki!" Steve repeats, clearly growing frustrated.

Loki steps back in front of the freezer before he finally answers, his only response being an irritated, "What?"

Steve frowns. He takes a moment before he speaks, like he didn't even have anything to say, and when he does, he just asks, "What happened to you?"

"You should know," Loki says, and had he had a little more energy, he'd make it sound much more rude. "You were there when I was arrested."

"Exactly," Steve says. "I was there, and you looked fine. And now you're…" He gestures to him vaguely.

"Still fine," Loki finishes.

"No, you're not," Steve says.

Loki lolls his head back in exasperation. What will it take to get these people to leave him alone? He doesn't want to talk about this. He wants to pretend he's okay and he wants everyone to be indifferent enough that they don't push. Is that too much to ask for?

"Are you sick?" Steve asks.

"No," Loki says monotonously. He might be sick. He's not sure.

"It has to be more than a cold," Steve continues.

"It's not." He wishes it was cold. He wishes he was cold. It would be a big improvement from this constant sweltering heat.

"What is it?" Steve asks. "What's happening to you?"

Loki shakes his head. He's so done with this guy. He leaves the freezer open, letting the cold air fill the room while he fills up his water bottle. Just taking off the cap takes more energy than he cares to admit, and he has to rest his arm on the lip of the sink while the bottle fills up.

"How can I help?" Steve asks.

Loki keeps his gaze on his water bottle. "Why do you care?"

"I don't know," Steve admits. "I probably shouldn't, but…" He sighs. "You look awful. And, against my better judgment, I feel bad for you. So if I can help fix you up, that's what I'm going to do."

Loki thinks about that as he's turning the faucet off. He's long since learned not to admit weakness to the enemy, but he's past that point now. He can deny it all he likes, but Steve can obviously tell he's not okay. So the question now becomes: is he willing to ask an Avenger for help?

The microwave beeps and Loki diverts his attention to it, pulling out his chicken nuggets that may or may not have been cooked well. He doesn't feel like checking. He has what he came here for. He could very easily just leave. Steve probably wouldn't think anything of it. He could just head back to his room in peace and pretend this never happened.

Or…

He reluctantly turns to face Steve. This is really going to hurt his ego, but if there's a chance it could make him feel just a little better, he has to try it. "Do you have any other pants?"

Steve stares at him. "Pants."

Loki nods.

"You want… pants."

Loki nods again, more reluctantly this time. This is exactly why he didn't want to ask for help. This is just one very small step above being laughed at.

"I guess I can find you some pants," Steve says, "but… why?"

Loki shrugs sheepishly. "The leather gets hot." He can already feel it sticking to his sweaty legs. It's going to be a pain to take them off when he gets back to his room.

Steve cracks a small smile, and Loki immediately regrets asking for help. He'd almost been naïve enough to think Steve wouldn't laugh at him the way everyone else has been. He'd sounded sincere when he asked how he could help. But it's impossible to notice the amusement in his smirk.

"I'll bring you some pants tomorrow, okay?" Steve says. "I don't have an extra pair on me."

Loki gives a small nod. He can wait until tomorrow. He won't want to put them on until he goes looking for food tomorrow night, anyway. He picks up his food and his drink, kicks the freezer shut with his foot, and walks out of the room without a word. Now if he can just make it back to his room without passing out, he'll consider this a somewhat-successful trip.

Chapter Text

Steve goes out of his way to buy Loki a new pair of pants. If his problem is that he's hot, he's probably looking for some lighter pants, so he walks throughout the entire men's clothing section of Walmart until he finds some loose cotton pajama pants. They look much lighter than his leather ones, they're probably about his size, and they're cheap. That feels like a success to him.

While he's out, he also runs to the grocery store to get more dinosaur chicken nuggets. He picks up a few things for himself while he's out, too. Grocery stores have a lot of new options that they didn't have 70 years ago. He'd like to give some of them a try — and anything he doesn't like, he can just give to one of the other Avengers. It seems there are some perks to having this many housemates.

Tony is, per usual, nowhere to be found when he gets home. He spends most of his time in his lab, much to Steve's relief. It's not that he doesn't like Tony. They just… don't always get along. Clint is out, too — Fury still calls him in at SHIELD most days, because unlike Natasha, he's not actually assigned to Stark Tower.

That leaves Natasha as the only Avenger hanging around the compound, and she just happens to be in the kitchen when he comes back. He dumps his bags on the counter and begins stocking the food away.

"You know," Natasha says, "I'm pretty sure Stark was kidding when he said you had to do your own grocery shopping."

"No, I know," Steve says. "I just have a lot of new foods left to try."

Natasha cracks a smile at that. She props her head up on her fist. "Alright, what'd you get?"

Steve begins showing her the various foods as he puts them away. "Microwavable mac n cheese."

"Oh, absolutely delicious," Natasha says. "Not as good as normal mac n cheese, but great when you don't have time to cook."

Steve grins. That's good to know. It looks good, so he hopes it tastes it. He pulls out the next piece of food. "Cookie dough ice cream?" He eyes the picture on the front of the container. It looks weird. It sounds weird, too, for that matter. But he does like cookies…

"Oh, you're gonna love it," Natasha says. "And if you don't, I will gladly eat the rest."

Steve chuckles. "Duly noted." He slips it in the freezer. The next thing he pulls out also goes in the freezer. "Apparently these are pretzels, but they're also bread." Which doesn’t strike him as a very pretzel-y quality, but he does like bread.

"They sell those frozen?"

Steve chuckles. "Apparently. Wanna try one with me?"

"Oh, hell yes," Natasha says.

Steve reads the instructions on the back of the box. There's a microwave option and an oven option, and he chooses the latter just because he understands it better. He sets the oven to preheat, then goes back to sifting through groceries.

He pulls out the next thing he found. "I think these are like nachos?"

Natasha bursts out laughing.

Steve furrows his brows. "Are they not like nachos?"

Natasha smacks her fist on the table, her face beginning to turn red from laughter. "'Are they like nachos?'"

He reads the bag again, confused. "They say they're nacho cheese chips. Isn't that…?"

Natasha takes a few moments to recover her composure before saying a very amused, "No, Steve. Doritos are nothing like nachos."

"Huh." Steve eyes the bag for a minute. These really aren't like nachos? They say "nacho cheese" on the bag. How are they not like nachos? God, the 21st century is wild.

"You know what we should do?" Natasha says. "We should have a movie night. Doritos go great with movie nights."

Steve grins. "I'd like that." He thinks back to his list of pop culture things to check out. There were a lot of movies he needed to catch up on. "What about Star Wars?"

"Wow, goin' old-school," Natasha remarks. "Which I guess for you is new-school."

Steve shrugs. "Well, you know…"

“Well, hey, everybody’s gotta watch Star Wars at least once,” Natasha says. She leans back in her seat and nods at the last grocery bag. "What else you got?"

"Um…" Steve pulls out two bags of dinosaur chicken nuggets. "Loki finished the rest of these last night, so I got some more."

"God, that guy goes through nuggets like Barton goes through arrows," Natasha mutters.

"Yeah, he really likes these, doesn't he?" Steve agrees. He puts one bag in the freezer, but then he pauses, eyeing the bag.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't know what chicken nuggets are, either," Natasha says teasingly.

Steve chuckles awkwardly. "I know what they are. I've seen the commercials."

Natasha scoffs, a big smile on her face. "Oh my god."

Steve smiles, too, though he's definitely confused. "What?"

"You've never had a chicken nugget," Natasha says.

Steve shrugs sheepishly. "They didn't exist in the '40s."

Natasha shakes her head. "Alright, you and I are gonna go on a field trip one of these days to try all the food you've missed."

"I would love to," Steve says, and he sincerely means it. He'd love to go around trying all the food he's missed, and there are certainly worse people to spend the day with.

She gestures to the other bag. "What'd you go to Walmart for?"

"Oh, just…" He holds the bag up briefly, then drops it on the floor for him to grab later. "Something for Loki."

Natasha snorts. "You're getting Loki gifts now?"

"It's not a gift," Steve says. "It's just something he asked for."

"So it's a gift," Natasha says.

Steve shakes his head to himself. "It's just a pair of pants."

Natasha laughs. "He asked for a pair of pants?"

"He was getting hot in the leather ones," Steve says. And he's sick, even if he won't admit it. Sometimes time and comfortable clothes are the best medicine.

"Well, yeah, when he walks around all day in, like, five layers of leather, I'm not surprised he's hot," Natasha says.

"He wasn't wearing five layers of leather," Steve says. He was wearing one — half of one, even; it was literally just the pants.

"He might as well be," Natasha says, whatever that means. "When did you two get all buddy-buddy? Two days ago, you sounded like you wanted to handcuff him to the bed — and not in a fun way."

"We're not 'buddy-buddy,'" Steve says. "I told you yesterday. He's sick."

"He's a god," Natasha reminds him. "I think he can handle a little cold."

"It looks a bit worse than 'a little cold,'" Steve says.

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "Mm-hmm."

Steve crosses his arms, raising his own eyebrow in return. "What?"

"What?" she replies with a small smirk.

Steve shakes his head. "Where does Stark keep his cookie sheets?"

"I don't think Stark has ever had to bake for himself a day in his life," Natasha says.

While that may or may not be true, after a bit of searching, they conclude that he does, in fact, have cookie sheets. Steve pulls one out just as the oven finishes preheating, so he lays a few frozen pretzels on it and shoves it right into the oven.

"Who gets the third one?" Natasha asks.

Steve doesn't answer, which, really, is an answer in and of itself.

"You're making Loki a pretzel?" she says, dumbfounded.

"I feel bad!" Steve says defensively. "All he's eaten lately is chicken nuggets, and I know I don't know what chicken nuggets taste like but I'm sure he's getting sick of them."

Natasha shakes her head like a disappointed parent. "You do remember that Loki just tried to kill us not too long ago, right?"

"I know, I know," Steve says. "But if you'd seen him last night…"

"Pass," Natasha says. "I would like to never see him again, actually."

"I think he'd like that, too," Steve says. He definitely didn't seem to enjoy Steve's company, that's for sure. "Unless you want to come with me. You can stand on the other side of the wall. He doesn't even have to know you're there."

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to keep you company while you go to Loki's room?"

"Not like that," Steve says. He doesn't need the company. He's more than capable of delivering Loki some pants and a pretzel. It's just… "You need to hear him. He's not okay."

"Good," Natasha says. "I don't want him to be okay."

"Nat." Steve gives her a look.

Natasha groans. "Fine, I'll go with you, but I don't care how he's doing."

"I thought the same thing until I saw him," Steve says.

"Well, you've always been more compassionate than I am," Natasha says. "Comes with the job description."

Chapter Text

Steve knocks on Loki's door, the Walmart bag gently smacking against it with every rap of his knuckles on the wood. He waits for a few seconds, and, when nothing happens, he looks over at Natasha uncertainly. What's he supposed to do? He hadn’t planned for the possibility that Loki might not answer.

"If he doesn't open the door," she whispers, "I'm eating his pretzel."

Steve smiles in spite of himself. "We can split it," he whispers back. He really did like that first pretzel. He might go back and make another one after this. He knocks on the door again. "Loki?"

This time, there's some faint shuffling from inside the room, so at least Steve knows he's in there and he's moving. Whether that means he's going to answer the door, he doesn't know, but he's willing to wait.

After a minute or two, he knocks again. "Loki? It's Steve." He'd be surprised if Loki didn't know that, but it can't hurt to say it.

Nothing happens for a while, long enough that Steve and Natasha start silently making plans to just leave the bag and just split the pretzel, but eventually, Loki cracks the door open, just enough that Steve can see one of his eyes.

"Alright, I brought you some pants," Steve tells him. He holds up the bag, and Loki opens the door another few inches, just enough to reach out and pull it in before he closes the door to where it had been. "And I brought you a pretzel, too." He holds that up as well. "In case you're hungry."

Loki hesitates, but he reaches out to take that, too. It's difficult to see through the small crack in the doorway, but he doesn't think Loki eats it. Maybe he'll eat it later. Hopefully he does, because otherwise it's a waste of a damn good pretzel.

"Are you doing any better?" Steve asks.

"I'm fine," Loki says, his tone as closed-off as it has been for the last two days but a little more tired. He was probably sleeping, now that Steve thinks of it. If he only comes out at night, it stands to reason that he sleeps during the day.

Instead of pushing because he knows Loki won't admit that he's not okay, Steve asks, "Are you still hot?"

Loki doesn't answer for a moment. It must be quite the predicament — a yes-or-no question based on the assumption that he is sick when he refuses to admit it. Eventually, he just says a simple, "Slightly," which Steve takes to mean he's still very hot. He wouldn’t admit it otherwise.

"You probably have a fever," Steve tells him.

"I don't."

Steve fights the urge to roll his eyes. "Do you want me to refill your water bottle for you? I can put some ice in it."

Loki looks away, presumably at his water bottle, which Steve takes to mean yes. That's why he's surprised when Loki looks back at him and just says, "No."

"Alright," Steve says slowly. If he really doesn't want more water… "You know where the ice maker is, right? For tonight?"

Loki hesitates, and Steve can tell the answer is no.

"It's in the freezer door," Steve says. "You hold the cup under it. One side has water and one side has ice." Admittedly, he doesn't remember which side is which, but Loki can figure that out himself. "I can show you tonight, or I can leave you alone. It's your choice."

Much like with most of Loki's answers today, there's a brief pause before he says, "I would rather be alone."

"Okay," Steve says. "If you need anything, tell JARVIS to get me."

Loki just closes the door.

Natasha taps Steve on the shoulder and begins to walk away, and Steve follows by her side. She waits until they're a decent distance away before she begins speaking. "You would be a great dad."

Steve chuckles sheepishly. "Well…" Raising a family isn't really in the picture right now, especially with Peggy bedbound at the hospital. Changing the subject, he says, "You see what I mean, though. Loki's not…"

"A threat?" Natasha finishes. "That's what we've been trying to tell you."

"No, he's not okay," Steve says.

Natasha shrugs. "Not our problem."

Steve scoffs. "Nat —"

"Steve, it's Loki," she says. "You know as well as I do: you could be bleeding out on the floor right in front of him and he would step on you like a rug."

Steve frowns. Well, she has a point, but…

"Just leave him alone," Natasha says. "Let him mope in peace."

"He's not moping, he's sick," Steve says.

"People get sick sometimes," Natasha says. "Maybe not…" She gestures to him vaguely. "Super people, but the rest of us, we get sick sometimes. It's not a big deal."

Steve hesitates, but he nods. She's right. It's stupid to be worried about him just because he's sick. He still stands by his decision to buy him some more comfortable pants, but he doesn't need to do anything more. Loki will be fine.

"Captain Rogers," JARVIS says.

Steve furrows his brows. That's weird. "Yes?"

"Loki asked me to thank you for the pretzel," JARVIS says.

Steve cracks a smile. He definitely wasn't expecting that.

"Congratulations," Natasha says sarcastically. "When he gets better, maybe he'll skip you in his murder rampage."

Chapter Text

"How is it, Cap?" Tony asks, laying his slice of pizza down on his plate. "On a scale of Lunchable to Brooklyn, where you putting it?"

"Ooh…" Steve has to think about it for a minute. "Definitely better than Lunchables, let's start there."

The other Avengers laugh. Steve did not enjoy those Lunchables — any of them, and Tony made him try a lot of different types. If Dominos pizza had somehow ranked lower, he probably would have already dumped it in the trash.

"Not as good as Brooklyn pizza, though," Steve says.

"You say that about every pizza," Clint reminds him.

"Because they're not!" Steve insists.

"Uh-huh," Natasha says sarcastically.

"I think we need a Brooklyn date night," Tony says. "I need to try these 'perfect pizzas.' Are they even still around, or did the meteor wipe them out along with the dinosaurs?"

Steve gives a lighthearted roll of his eyes. "I'm not that old, Tony."

"Are you sure?" Tony says. "'Cause you kinda act like it."

Tony always enjoys making fun of his friends (and his enemies, and his acquaintances — he mocks people indiscriminately) just for the hell of it, but the best part is usually the reaction it gets, so he's a bit disappointed when the bright beam of light outside cuts their conversation short before Steve can respond.

"Alright," Natasha says. "Either there's a helicopter shining its searchlights right at us…"

"Or Thor is finally paying us a visit," Tony finishes.

"I almost wish Banner was here," Clint remarks. "We'd have the whole gang together."

"Not with Loki in the building," Steve says darkly.

"Oh, what's the matter?" Natasha asks teasingly. "You don't trust your little friend?"

"He's not my friend," Steve says immediately.

"Don't let Banner hear you say that," Tony says. "You'll hurt his feelings."

"I wasn't talking about him," Steve says, which already Tony knows — and Steve knows that he knows it, which is why Tony said it.

"Sir," JARVIS says, "are you going to greet Thor downstairs or should I let him up?"

"Ah, let him up," Tony says. "Maybe he'll want some pizza."

"Oh, look at you," Natasha says. "Finally learning to share."

It takes a minute or two for Thor to finally appear. He's once again in that ridiculous Asgardian costume, Mjolnir hanging from a strap on his wrist. Everyone greets him casually like an old friend, but he seems to be in an all-business mood.

"Where is Loki?" Thor asks without so much as a hello. "Has he caused any problems?"

"Oh, yeah, he's fine," Tony says. "Barely leaves his room. Sometimes I forget he's still here."

Natasha and Clint nod, muttering something with the same sentiment.

"Really?" Thor seems taken aback by that. "I would have thought… In Asgard, he refused to stay still. Is he really…?"

Tony shrugs. "We stay out of his way, he stays out of ours. It was his idea."

"Part of it might be that he's sick," Steve adds, and Tony rolls his eyes. Of course Steve is the one to say that.

Thor furrows his brows. "Loki is sick?"

Steve nods. "Or, he looked it last time I saw him, but it's been a few days."

"You know," Tony says, "I'm sure he would feel a lot better if you'd bring him back to Asgard." He really just means it in the sense that he doesn't want the guy here, but he also truly does think that being sick at home is infinitely better than being sick elsewhere. He probably would feel better if he went back to Asgard.

"I can't," Thor says. "He's bound to —"

"The tower because your dad put a whammy on him," Tony finishes. "But I can't babysit a demigod who doesn't want to be babysat, so you need to get him out of here before he decides to take matters into his own hands." He's fortunate enough now that he doesn't have to worry about it, but he doubts Loki will stay put forever. Even if he lasts a few years, by the end of the decade at least, he's going to want to get out.

"He's already threatened to kill me once," Clint adds, though he offers it as helpful information and not as something he's worried about.

"He rarely follows through on his threats," Thor says indifferently.

Now Clint seems a little worried about it. "But he does sometimes?"

"Now you have to get him out of here," Tony says. "Because if he kills Barton, Fury will kill me."

"He won't," Thor says simply.

"You don't know that," Tony says. "He could walk in and stab Barton right now. Right in the face. Just…" He mimes stabbing someone with an invisible knife.

"Hey!" Clint whines. Tony just shrugs. He’s not lying.

"He won't," Thor repeats. "Where is he? I'd like to see him."

Tony hops to his feet and gestures for Thor to follow him. "It's a bit of a walk. I kind of shoved him in a corner and forgot about him."

"We tried to do that in Asgard as well," Thor says. "I am glad to hear it worked better down here."

Tony nods. He's glad, too. "I still want him out of here, though."

"I told you," Thor says. "I cannot —"

"Talk to your dad about it," Tony says.

"He won't agree," Thor tells him. "And neither do I. If Loki is doing well on Midgard, why should he return to Asgard to rein chaos on the palace again?"

Okay, fair point. "But what if he's not doing okay?" Tony asks.

"What do you mean?"

"What if he's not doing okay?" Tony repeats, though he firmly believes he is. "Steve said he's sick, which, you know, he probably is. Steve wouldn't lie about that."

"Loki would," Thor says simply.

Tony scoffs. "You think Loki's pretending to be sick?"

"He could be," Thor says. "He is a master manipulator. He may be hoping to convince my father that he needs to be on Asgard. Given that he is not from Asgard, I find that difficult to believe."

"What do you mean, he's not from Asgard?" Tony asks. "Aren't you guys, like, Asgardians? That's your whole thing."

"He was born in Jotunheim," Thor says, which doesn't clear anything up because Tony doesn't actually know what Jotunheim is. "He grew up in Asgard. Once upon a time, I would have said that made him an Asgardian. I know better now."

Tony raises an eyebrow. Okay, there's definitely some shit going down in the Asgardian royal family that he does not want to hear about.

When they eventually reach Loki's room, Tony knocks on the door. "Hey, Loki, open up. You've got a visitor."

They're met with silence, which doesn't surprise Tony at all. The first time Loki ignored him when he knocked, Tony thought he'd somehow escaped. This time, he knows Loki is just being a pain in the ass.

Thor knocks even louder. "Loki! Open the door."

Nothing.

That one surprises Tony a little bit — he'd sort of assumed hearing Thor's voice would get some sort of reaction — but he supposes it makes sense. If Tony was in his situation, he wouldn't want to talk to Thor, either.

Thor knocks again. "Loki, open this door before I kick it down!"

Finally, Loki answers, with just a mumbled, "Go away."

"Not until you open the door," Thor says.

"I'm sleeping," Loki mumbles.

Tony bites back a laugh. It really is like babysitting a child.

"Loki, enough with your games," Thor says irritably. "I can clearly hear you speaking to me. You are not asleep."

Loki makes a noise between a groan and a whine and doesn't answer.

Thor slumps his shoulders, defeated, and moves on to Plan B. "Stark, would you mind if I broke your door?"

Actually, he would mind, but he shakes his head anyway. There isn't a much better alternative — other than leaving Loki alone, of course, which Tony has a feeling isn't an option while Thor is here.

Thor wraps his hand around the doorknob and gives it a firm tug, pulling it right out of the door and leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the wood. He tosses the doorknob aside and pushes the door open with ease.

Tony follows Thor into the room, then immediately turns back around and walks out. "I did not need to see that."

Loki is sprawled out in bed, his skin glistening in the dimly lit room from his sweat. His old prison clothes are in a pile on the floor, an added pair of light green pajama pants on top. He's lying face-down on the mattress, his face buried in his pillow and one leg practically falling off the bed.

Admittedly, there is a small part of Tony that wants to know what's going on, but the much larger part of him does not want to stare at Loki's ass while he finds out, so he stands just outside the doorway, looking off down the hall.

"Loki?" Thor says quickly, rushing to his side. Tony risks a brief glance at them, and Thor kneels by his brother's side, his head almost blocking Tony's horrible view until he averts his gaze again. "Loki, are you okay?"

"Mm," Loki hums into his pillow. "Fine."

"Loki…" The mattress creaks and Tony guesses that means Thor's sitting next to him. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," Loki says.

"I've never seen you like this," Thor adds.

Loki doesn't even acknowledge that.

"How long has he been like this?" Thor asks.

Tony assumes that's directed towards him, so he looks over at him. "I have no idea. I told you, we never see him."

"How do you not see him?" Thor asks. "He lives with you."

"Barely," Tony says. "He comes out at night to get something to eat and then he goes back into hibernation. That way we don't have to deal with him and he doesn't have to deal with us."

Thor stares at him. "You've only been feeding him once a day?"

Oh, shit. That's… a point.

"Hey, he's free to eat whenever he wants to," Tony says, because he'll be damned if he's accepting responsibility for that. Between the dinosaur chicken nuggets and the Perry the Platypus water bottle, he may be treating Loki like a baby, but that doesn't mean he needs to "here comes the airplane" the guy three times a day. "Why, you think that's why he's so…?" He gestures to Loki vaguely.

"It could be," Thor says. He gently lays a hand on Loki's back. "Loki, can you stand up?"

"No."

Thor nods understandingly. "Then I will help you."

"No."

Now Thor looks less understanding. In fact, he actually just looks very confused.

"See?" Tony says. "He just wants to be left alone."

Thor looks at him. "Is there someplace cold I can bring him?"

"No," Loki says, but they ignore him.

"Cold?" Tony repeats, confused. "You mean Antarctica cold or 'shove him in the freezer' cold?"

Thor furrows his brows. "I don't think Loki would fit in the average freezer, but I do not know what Antarctica is."

Tony throws his head back, exasperated. "You're killing me, buddy." If his only opposition to the freezer idea is that Loki wouldn't fit (which really should be the least of his problems with that), the bathroom might work, right? It can be cold, and it's just down the hall, not a helicopter ride away like Antarctica would be. "What about a cold bath?"

Thor nods. "That should work." He pats Loki on the back again. "Loki, we're going to stand up."

"Let me sleep," Loki mumbles.

"You can sleep tonight," Thor says. "Come on." He readjusts his position on the bed so he can stand up more readily and scoops his arms under his brother to hoist him up. "On the count of three."

Loki groans and rolls his head to the side to look at him. "What do you want?"

"I want to help you," Thor says.

"If that were true, I would not be here," Loki deadpans.

"It was your own actions that put you here, brother," Thor says. "I do not need to be here. I chose to come back, just as I am now choosing to help you."

"Don't," Loki says simply.

Thor ignores that. "We're going to stand up," he says again. "1… 2…"

Tony looks away. He does not need to see any more of Loki's skin than he already has today, thank you very much. Thor can do this part on his own.

"3," Thor says, his voice strained.

Thud.

Tony immediately looks over to see Loki in a pile on the floor. What are the moral implications of laughing at this? And how likely is it to get him stabbed? Because he kind of wants to laugh right now.

Thor is growing increasingly annoyed with every passing minute he's stuck in this room. "Loki, I am trying to help you. Stop being difficult and stand up."

Loki grits his teeth. "Oh, that easy, is it?"

Thor crouches down next to him. "You can't stand at all?"

Loki hesitates. He glances up at Tony almost warily before he looks back at Thor and gives a small shake of his head.

"You should have said that," Thor says, but he sounds a little more compassionate now. He scoops his brother up in his arms, and Tony once again looks away before he sees something he can't unsee. "Stark?"

Tony gestures for him to follow, and he leads the two gods to the nearest bathtub-including bathroom. Before Thor can put Loki down, Tony starts setting up the seldom-used tub. The first thing he does, of course, is pour way too much bubbly soap out, because, once again, he values his eyeballs. He plugs the drain and turns on the tub, warm at first to blow up the bubbles but then cooler for Loki's sake.

"Is that as cold as it gets?" Thor asks.

"It's as cold as it gets if you don't want to get hypothermia, yeah," Tony says. The guy hasn't even tested the water. What's he complaining about?

"Make it colder," Thor says.

Tony scoffs. "I just said —"

"As cold as it can get," Thor says. "It won't hurt him."

Tony raises an eyebrow, but hey, who is he to argue with the god holding the half-dead guy? He turns the temperature all the way down. Hopefully Loki is awake enough to complain, because otherwise they’re going to have a Lokisickle on their hands in a few minutes.

"Stark," Thor says. "Go bring him something to eat."

Tony is very close to complaining that he's not a housewife, nor is he a slave, but he gets the feeling that this might be a bad time. He looks over at Loki, still lying in Thor's arms. His eyes are closed and Tony's not entirely sure he's still alive, but he still asks, "How do you feel about pizza?" just in case he also has strong feelings about whether or not that is a food.

"I don't care," Loki mumbles without opening his eyes.

"Okay, pizza it is," Tony says. He turns the bath off and squeezes by, leaving the two Asgardians to go about their business.

Tony walks as quickly as he can down the hall. In hindsight, maybe he should have taken Steve a little more seriously when he mentioned that Loki looked sick. He's not sure what they could have done because this really is all Loki's own doing, but they probably could have done something. Maybe they could have brought him meals and left them at his door. Thor is definitely going to want to bring Loki back to Asgard now (thank god), but Tony files this information away anyway, just in case it comes up again (and, hopefully, it will not).

Once he reaches the elevator, he feels like he can slow down a little bit. While he waits for the elevator to reach the right floor, he says an accusative, "JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir?" JARVIS says. Listen to him, acting all innocent. He knows exactly what he did.

"Why didn't you tell me Loki was dying?" Tony asks.

"I do not believe Loki is actively dying," JARVIS says.

"Yeah, well, he looks like it," Tony snaps. "How long has this been going on for?"

"It has gotten progressively worse since he arrived, sir," JARVIS says. "I offered to tell Captain Rogers on Thursday. Loki asked me to stay silent, so I did."

Thursday… How long ago was Thursday? What day of the week is it today? Oh, whatever. That doesn't matter.

"Why would you tell Rogers?" Tony asks. "He's my unwanted emo teenager, not his."

"Captain Rogers had helped him briefly before," JARVIS says. "If Loki was going to accept help, it would have been from him."

Tony nods slowly, processing that. He supposes that makes sense. If any of them were going to be somewhat nice to Loki, it would have been Steve.

"You understand that Loki was not going to accept your help," JARVIS says. "Even if you forced it on him. Telling you would have —"

"Been pointless," Tony finishes. "Yeah, yeah, I get it." The elevator doors open, and he heads towards the kitchen, still talking to JARVIS as he does. "When did he stop standing?"

"The last time he stood up was three days ago," JARVIS tells him.

Tony's eyebrows shoot up. "Three days ago? What's he been doing since then?"

"Sleeping," JARVIS says.

"For three days," Tony repeats skeptically.

"Yes," JARVIS says. "And when he was awake, he would lie with his eyes closed until he fell back asleep."

Tony bites back a sigh. He hates to admit it, but he actually feels kind of bad about this. As much as he would like to watch Loki spend the rest of his unnaturally long life suffering, he can't imagine being this miserable for this long.

He stops pestering JARVIS with questions after that. He opts to spend the rest of the walk in silence instead, just thinking about all the ways this could have gone better. He's glad Thor showed up when he did because he can't imagine how much worse this would have gotten if he hadn't, and if he’d waited long enough that Loki had died… Well, Thor would probably kill him, too.

Tony can hear the Avengers laughing from down the hall. He's glad they're having fun, at least. When Tony steps into the kitchen, he's greeted with an array of smiles that feel very inappropriate for the situation.

"How'd it go?" Natasha asks.

Tony shrugs halfheartedly. "Well, on the bright side, I don't think Thor is going to leave him here after this."

"Finally," Clint says, throwing his head back. "Freedom!"

"Barton, you've been free to leave this whole time," Tony reminds him. He grabs a paper plate and a piece of pizza. After a pause, he puts another one on top. Better safe than sorry.

Steve eyes him warily. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't all good news?"

Tony sighs and looks at him. "You were right." It pains him to admit it, but it's true.

Steve furrows his brows. "About what?"

"Loki," Tony says. "You were right. He's not okay." He swings open the fridge and rustles around for a water bottle. There has to be one left. Unless one of the other Avengers drank it? Oh, come on.

"How 'not okay' are we talking?" Steve asks.

Tony pulls out a big container of apple juice (not because it's childlike; just because there isn't much else in here to drink) and kicks the fridge closed. "Thor threw him in the bathtub because he's been lying in bed half-dead for the last three days."

All the Avengers' expressions change at that. Good. Now Tony's not the only one that has to feel bad about this.

"Yeah, apparently," Tony continues, "Asgardians are supposed to eat more than once a day?"

"Wait," Natasha says, her eyebrows furrowed. "He's sick because he's not eating enough? He knows he can get food whenever he wants, right?"

Tony shrugs. "Apparently not." He heads out of the room, pizza and juice in hand. All three of the other Avengers rush after him.

"Where is he now?" Clint asks.

"Upstairs," Tony says. "And if you're coming with me, you're staying out of the way. No one makes fun of Loki until after we're sure he's not dead."

Chapter Text

When the Avengers reach the bathroom, Tony gestures for them to stay back. He doesn't care if they look in, but they're staying out of the doorway. Tony and Thor need to be able to walk in and out as they please.

Loki is sitting in the bathtub with his back against the wall, the suds fortunately covering anything Tony really doesn't want to see. His head is resting back against the wall as well, his face angled up slightly towards the ceiling and his eyes closed. If he didn’t look so sickly, he would almost look peaceful.

Tony eyes him for a few moments before looking over at Thor, kneeling next to the tub. He hands over the plate of pizza. "I couldn't find any water so…" He holds out the juice. "I brought some apple juice."

"Thank you," Thor says. He puts the apple juice on the floor and puts the plate of pizza on the lip of the tub. "Loki?"

"Mm?" Loki hums.

"We brought you something to eat," Thor says. (Tony doesn't mention that technically, he brought Loki something to eat.)

"Mm-mm," Loki mumbles. "Let me sleep."

Thor sighs. "You'll only feel worse if you don't eat."

"When I wake up," Loki says.

"You're not going to wake up if you don't eat," Thor says.

Tony raises an eyebrow. Is he saying Loki is about to die of starvation, or is he saying Loki will always be tired until he eats? Because if he’s actually about to die, Tony might have to start feeling a little more guilty.

"That's okay," Loki says.

Tony glances out the door at the other Avengers to gauge their reactions to that. Clint and Natasha both look a little disturbed, but it's Steve who really catches his eye. He's leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his head lowered and his gaze on the floor. On either of the other two, Tony would have assumed it was an act of indifference, but Steve was worried before this, at least a little. If he's not looking now, it's because he can't.

Thor pinches the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "Do I need to feed you myself?"

Loki rolls his head to the side and slowly opens his eyes. "I'm not a child."

"No, you're not," Thor agrees. "You're a fool."

Loki cracks a tired smile. "Thank you."

Tony grabs the hand towel from the sink and tosses it at Thor, only because he doubts Loki could catch anything himself right now. "So he doesn't get the pizza all soggy."

Thor holds the towel up for his brother. "Here."

Loki gives a very dramatic roll of his eyes, but he slowly raises a hand and takes the towel. He doesn't dry off very well with just the one hand, but evidently he dries it well enough for his liking, because he drops the towel on Thor's lap and picks up a slice of pizza. He holds it in front of his face, his arm shaking visibly even from this distance, and Tony expects him to drop it at any moment. But he doesn't; he just stares at it.

Eventually, Steve chimes in with, "It's pizza, Loki. It's good. You should try it."

Loki looks towards the door quizzically, then turns his attention back to the pizza. After a few moments, he brings it to his mouth and takes a bite, then rests his elbow on the lip of the tub while he chews.

Tony waits expectantly. So? Is the pizza good enough? Or will he have to send one of the Avengers down to make some chicken nuggets instead because, much like Cheez-Its, pizza is “not food”?

Loki doesn't actually answer any of those questions aloud, but he does take another bite, so it must not be too bad.

"I think he likes it," Natasha whispers.

"God, it's like watching Animal Planet," Clint whispers back, and Tony bites back a laugh.

It takes a few minutes and Loki needs a few rest breaks, but he does eventually finish the whole piece. No one dares speak to him, afraid of messing up the progress they've barely made.

With that piece gone, Loki lays his hand out on the edge of the tub and lolls his head back again, closing his eyes.

"Loki?" Thor says cautiously. "Do you feel any better now?"

Loki just hums in response, neither a yes or a no.

"Stark also brought some…" Thor pauses to read the label on the jug by his side. "Apple juice."

"Just the juice?" Loki asks, and his confusion is enough to convince him to open his eyes again. Thor holds up the bottle for him to see. "How does one juice an apple?"

"I don't know," Thor admits. "But you should drink it."

Loki eyes it skeptically. "No cup?"

"Um…" Thor looks up at Tony, who shrugs. So what if he forgot to bring a cup? Loki can have as much juice as he wants. It is all his. "No cup."

Loki pulls his other hand out of the water, and Thor hands him the towel again to dry it. They trade off, Thor taking the towel back and Loki taking the juice in two hands. His arms shake from the moment he lifts them up, and it only gets worse once he takes hold of the jug. He slowly tips the end up, the juice trickling down towards his lips, but not quite enough.

Thor reaches over to help steady the jug, then helps him angle it upwards enough that Loki can finally drink from it. The jug is far from full, but there has to be at least a liter in it, and Loki doesn't stop drinking until it's all gone. He tosses the empty jug aside with a clatter that makes everyone else jump, but Loki is unaffected, just closing his eyes again.

Thor gently puts a hand on his arm, still lying on the lip of the tub. "Do you feel any better now?" he asks again.

"Mm," Loki hums thoughtfully. "Less warm. Still tired."

"You still have a piece of pizza left," Thor tells him.

Loki gives a minute shake of his head.

"Do you want something more to drink?" Thor asks.

"Some very strong alcohol," Loki says without a moment of hesitation.

Thor chuckles quietly and pats him on the arm a few times. "You'll be fine."

"But you are not drinking my alcohol," Tony adds.

Tony swears he spots the faintest hint of a smile on Loki's lips at that. He still looks awful, but it looks like Thor was right. He'll be alright after all.

Chapter Text

Loki doesn't feel okay, exactly, but after another piece of pizza, he starts to feel better. He feels okay enough that he can kick everybody out of the bathroom, at least, and Thor comes back in just long enough to give him his clothes. Loki wishes he had the energy to turn them back into his normal Asgardian clothes, but he's afraid he might pass out if he tries. If Barton makes one more comment about his attire, Loki might actually kill him. Tolerating the Avengers' snide remarks takes more energy than conjuring a knife.

Loki looks at himself in the mirror. He will admit, he understands why Thor was worried, but he's sure he looks no worse now than he did when he first came to Midgard and there was no sympathy then. He would have liked some sympathy then, actually. It really was nothing more than a cry for attention, though he'd never admit it aloud. He doesn't want that sympathy now. It was bad enough just to feel like a caged animal; now he's being treated as a wounded one as well.

He tugs at the hem of his shirt and tries to make it look a little neater. He hates this shirt. It's a peasant shirt, not fit for a prince. That alone makes him hate it more than the pants. The pants may be Midgardian, but they're supposed to be Midgardian. That's why he has them. But the shirt… there is no reason for him to wear a peasant shirt.

But there's nothing he can do about it now, so, with a sigh, he turns to face the door. He looks up towards the ceiling and says a quiet, "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Loki?" JARVIS says, and he's also being somewhat quiet, much to Loki's relief.

"Are they still outside the door?" he asks.

"Yes, Loki."

Loki gives a nod of resignation. He assumed as much. It would have been too much to ask for a lonely walk back to his room. But he refuses to show how uncomfortable their presence makes him, so when he opens the door, he keeps his head up high.

Thor, Tony, and Steve are all talking, their voices hushed, and Loki knows by the way they look at him when he steps out that they're talking about him. Clint and Natasha are just sitting on the floor looking bored. Loki couldn't agree more. This is boring. Can it be over now?

"Hey, look at you!" Tony says, gesturing to him with a grin. "You almost look like a person!"

Loki rolls his eyes. He's not answering that.

"How do you feel?" Thor asks. "You still look pale…"

Loki can tell his heart is in a good place, but he's not accepting any more charity from the man who stuck him here to waste away. "I've always been pale. We haven't all been blessed with your good looks." He adds another eye roll to nail the point home. Clint snickers from his spot on the floor.

Thor's concern hasn't waned. "You're shaking. Come, let's find you someplace to sit." Thor reaches over to guide him, and Loki hits his hands away.

"I can go back to my room myself," Loki says indignantly.

"It was sitting in that room all day that did this to you," Thor reminds him.

"I don't care," Loki says. He's going back to his room before he embarrasses himself further.

"I do," Thor says simply.

Loki scoffs. "Oh, I'm sure you do," he says sarcastically, his tone growing hostile. “You would have seen me executed in Asgard if the queen had allowed it, but I'm sure you care deeply that I am thriving here on Midgard."

Tony slaps a hand over his heart. "Wow."

Clint lets out a low whistle. "He's not holding back."

"I would have liked to see this family drama," Natasha adds.

Loki ignores them, his gaze never straying from Thor's face. He looks remorseful, if only briefly, but Loki doesn't buy it.

"Loki, you know what you did," Thor says. "You committed treason on a level Asgard has never seen. You should have been executed. Anyone else would have been."

Loki spreads his arms, but the gesture loses its smarm with his shaking. "Then kill me."

Clint scoffs, and Loki can see him and Natasha out of the corner of his eye, both enjoying this way too much. He does his best to ignore them.

Thor shakes his head. "I'm not going to kill you."

"Why not?" Loki challenges. "Not sentimentality, I'm sure. I've tried to kill you numerous times; I think we've passed that."

"No," Thor agrees. "Not sentimentality. Rules." He holds out a hand, and Mjolnir flies out into it. He puts the strap around his wrist and lets the hammer hang low. "You would do well to learn of them."

Loki grits his teeth. Oh, that little…

Tony claps his hands together once and steps in between them. "Okay! And on that note, I think we're done here." He pats Thor on the back. "Clearly we can't take care of your brother on Earth, so why don't you just take him back to Asgard and —"

"This wasn't your doing; it was Loki's," Thor says. "He will stay here."

Natasha throws her arms up, exasperated. "Oh, come on!"

"Just get rid of him," Clint says with a groan.

Tony gestures to them. "The votes are in. We want him gone."

Loki snorts. Yeah, like it's that easy.

"Loki cannot return to Asgard," Thor says. "He can only cause a fraction of the chaos in Midgard. He will remain here, where the only person he can hurt is himself."

Clint raises a hand. "Maybe you missed the part where he put a steak knife to my throat."

"But he did not hurt you," Thor says.

"Now hold on a minute," Tony says. "So you're saying you won't kill him, but you have no problem leaving him here until he starves to death."

"You said he's free to eat whenever he would like?" Thor asks.

"Yeah, but —"

"Then if he starves, it's his own fault," Thor says. "He obviously understands its effects now. Should he choose to do it again, he will face the consequences alone."

Oh, he definitely understands the consequences now. He leans against the doorframe to stop his legs from shaking so much. This conversation better not last too much longer, because he wants nothing more than to just go lie down.

"So we're supposed to let him hunger strike," Tony says monotonously, clearly not sold on the idea.

"Yes," Thor says simply. "He's been given his sentence. How he chooses to spend it is none of our concern."

Clint shoots Loki a look. "But that doesn't mean you can kill me."

Stop annoying me and I won't.

He doesn't say it because he knows Thor will start lecturing him about how murder is wrong and he shouldn't do it, but he thinks about it. Maybe he should say it. That way if he does end up murdering him, when Thor inevitably gets mad at him, he can rightfully state that he warned him (and he has; Thor just hasn't heard it yet).

"Hey, Loki," Natasha says, still sitting on the floor. "Why are you hunger striking? It's not going to change anything. You're even more stuck here than I am."

Loki just shakes his head. He's not answering that. He's embarrassed himself enough with his dependency on their unwilling charity. He'd rather not embarrass himself further.

But then Steve speaks up. "Because the only time he knows the kitchen is going to be empty is when we're asleep."

Loki looks over at him in surprise. That's exactly why he's only been eating at night. He doesn't know when they go to bed and he doesn't know when they wake up, but at two or three o'clock in the morning, he can typically assume the kitchen will be empty. He just wasn't expecting anyone to put that together — and if they did, he would have thought they'd use it against him. He's not embarrassed to be avoiding him, but practically starving for that reason is not his proudest moment. It would make good fodder for their cannons.

Tony snorts. "That's stupid."

"Is it?" Steve asks. "Because, I'll be honest, if everyone treated me the way you guys treat him and I knew I couldn't fight back?" He gives a small shrug. "I wouldn't want to see you, either."

Natasha chimes in with, "I thought you two weren't buddies."

"We're not," Steve and Loki say in unison.

Steve looks over at him. "That's it, though, isn't it? You just don't want to talk to us."

Obviously Loki isn't just going to admit that he's been hiding from the Avengers for so long that he got sick, but he's sure no one would believe him if he said it's not true so he opts to just avoid the question in its entirety. "I'm going back to my room." He is very fucking tired, and these people are not helping.

He ignores the snide remarks as he walks away, but he doesn't get very far before he feels a hand on his arm. He tries to pull himself free, but to no avail.

"Don’t even try it,” Thor says. “You couldn't best me on your brightest day. You certainly couldn't do it now."

Loki looks over his shoulder at him. "Go back to Asgard. You're done here."

"I don't think I am," Thor says.

Loki lolls his head back and closes his eyes. God, what will it take to just get rid of this guy?

"I will take you to your room," Thor says. "But only because I would like to talk to you alone."

Loki heaves a sigh. "Fine." Because at this point, what other choice does he have?

Chapter Text

Steve would like it to be known, for the record, that he does not like Loki. He would even go as far as to say that he hates Loki. He's been nothing but trouble since the moment he appeared on this planet, and even the sight of him lying half-dead in a bathtub won't make him forget it.

But Steve also doesn't like bullies, and right now, that's what the Avengers sound like to him.

For the most part, Steve was willing to let them do what they wanted. If they wanted to make fun of him behind his back? Fine. They wanted to mock him to his face? Whatever. But he does have to draw the line somewhere, and right now, that "somewhere" is eavesdropping on Loki and Thor's private conversation.

"Oh, come on," Tony whines. "Aren't you the least bit curious what they're talking about?"

"No," Steve lies. Of course he's curious. When he doesn't know something, his natural instinct is to find out. But not at someone else's expense.

"You're such a dad," Natasha says, rolling her eyes.

"Thor asked for privacy," Steve says firmly. "We're going to give that to him."

"Right," Clint says sarcastically. "This is about Thor, of course. It's definitely not about his little brother that you apparently love so much."

"It's about both of them," Steve says, though, admittedly, it is more about Loki, if only because he's sure Loki wants this conversation to be private more than Thor does. "I don't like Loki, either. But this is basic human decency."

Tony clicks his tongue. "Not human. Doesn't apply."

"Tony…"

Natasha and Clint both nod, muttering in quiet agreement.

"We are not going after them," Steve says. "That is final."

"Fine," Tony says. A smug smile appears on his face. "JARVIS, phone into Loki's room. Tell us what they're saying."

"— to them," Thor is saying patiently.

Steve is too shocked to even be mad. "You can do that?"

Tony spreads his arms. "Welcome to the 21st century, Cap."

"I'm not talking to them," Loki says, and it's clear in his tone that this is not the first time he's said that.

"Loki —"

"I'm not!" Loki insists.

"Anyone else have a sudden craving for popcorn?" Natasha asks.

"Depending on how long this goes on for," Tony says, "I might end up making some."

Steve crosses his arms. Do they really not see the problem? They don't see anything wrong with this?

"Why not?" Thor asks.

"Because it's embarrassing," Loki says.

Tony snorts. "Yeah, it is."

Steve shoots him a glare, which gets promptly ignored.

"How is it embarrassing?" Thor asks, sounding a little annoyed now.

"Do you mean beyond the fact that everyone now knows I've been lying naked in bed for the last three days because I was too hot and too weak to move?"

Clint and Natasha immediately look over at Tony, and the former says, "Was he really?" with way too much amusement on his face.

Tony nods. "Walked in to a whole ass-full of Loki."

Clint and Natasha find that hilarious, but it just makes Steve feel worse. He's been lying in bed basically since the last time Steve saw him, and no one even noticed. It wouldn't bother him so much except that he really feels like he should have noticed, more so than anyone else in the tower. He was the last one to see Loki until today and he knew he was in rough shape. He should have done something. He should have at least checked in on him.

"And thank you, for that, by the way," Loki adds sarcastically. "I was just dying to involve the Avengers in all of my personal plights."

"You were dying even before I involved them," Thor says, unphased.

"Maybe, maybe not," Loki says. "That was none of your concern, and it was certainly none of theirs."

There's a long pause. Steve glances at the other Avengers, all of whom were captivated by that conversation, but the longer the silence goes on for, the more restless they get. Steve feels the same way. This conversation is clearly private for a reason. Can they stop eavesdropping now?

Eventually, Thor just asks, "Do you want to die?"

"What?"

"Do you want to die?" Thor repeats. "Because that is the only explanation I can think of for why you are acting the way that you are."

There's another pause, and this one concerns Steve more. Loki's not saying no. This should have been an easy question. Why isn't he answering it?

Finally, Loki says, "No. I don't."

Steve feels an unexplainable wave of relief wash over him. He doesn't care too much whether Loki lives or dies. They'd tried to kill each other not too long ago, so obviously Loki's life doesn't mean too much to him. But the idea of Loki himself wanting to die? That would be uncomfortable. He doesn't want to hear that he's fallen that far.

"Then stop acting like it," Thor says. "You cannot sit there and let yourself waste away because you're scared of the Avengers."

"I'm not scared of them," Loki says. "I just don't like them, and they've made it abundantly clear that the feeling is mutual."

"Of course they don't like you," Thor says. "Very few people do, and you seem determined to keep it that way."

Very few people. Steve finds himself wondering who the exception is. He has a hard time believing Thor is one of them, but maybe… The bar must be very low. He supposes Thor might count.

"I am not asking you to like them," Thor continues. "I am asking you to tolerate them."

"They're intolerable," Loki says simply.

"No, they're not," Thor says.

"They are," Loki insists. "Stark has taken every opportunity to infantilize me, Romanoff speaks with constant condescension, and Barton has done nothing but mock me since he arrived."

The three of them seem to take that as a medal of honor. Steve doesn't listen to the words they share, but he hears it in their voice that they're unbothered — proud, even. And, on one hand, Steve understands that. Loki should be uncomfortable around them. They stopped him from taking over the world, from achieving some strange level of so-called greatness, and that should haunt him every time he sees them. But at the same time, Steve knows what it's like to be bullied, and he's sure Loki feels the exact same way right now. It's hard not to feel bad for him.

"And Rogers?" Thor asks.

Steve's head snaps up at the sound of his name.

Tony laughs. "I thought you didn't want to listen to their 'private conversation.'"

Steve ignores that. If he's not in Loki's list of intolerable Avengers, he'd like to hear why. And, just to rationalize his eavesdropping, he tells himself he'll use whatever he hears to make Loki more comfortable, so they don't have a repeat of today.

"Rogers might be the worst of them all," Loki says. "He pities me. Me! A god! Pitied by a — a mortal!" He practically spits the word with disgust.

Steve lets out a long breath. He was just trying to help. He didn't mean to make things worse.

Tony claps him on the shoulder. "Aw, don't worry, buddy," he says teasingly. "There's still plenty of room on the Loki hate train when you decide you want to join us."

Steve shakes his head and hits Tony's hand away. He's not in the mood. Actually, he's never in the mood for Tony's bullshit, but he's really not in the mood right now.

"I’ve decided that this is no longer a prison sentence," Thor says. "It's a lesson — and I will stay here until I know you've learned it."

"And what's that?" Loki asks boredly.

"You are not better than these people because you're a god," Thor tells him.

"No, I'm better than them for many reasons," Loki says.

"Like what?" Thor asks, his question a challenge. "You've been abandoned by Jotunheim; you've been abandoned by Asgard. You're trapped in a tower on Midgard, yet you choose to confine yourself further to a single room. You've burned every bridge you've walked across. You have no friends. You killed your only biological family and shunned your adoptive one. Everywhere you go, you bring pain and death and destruction, and yet you always lose in the end. I fail to see just what makes you 'better.'"

And then there's silence.

Not just from Thor and Loki's end of the conversation, but among the Avengers as well. That was… wow. He didn't hold back. That wasn't just putting Loki in his place; that was shoving him in a coffin and burying him six feet under. What is there to say to that?

"Get out," Loki growls.

"I won't," Thor says, his voice calm and collected compared to the rage that fills Loki's.

"Get out of my room!" Loki repeats, this time a scream that could be heard even without JARVIS's assistance.

"No," Thor says simply. "Listen to me —"

"I said get out!"

There's a loud crash, and instantly, Tony and Steve are running down the hall. Between the super serum and the extra few inches in his legs, Steve runs much faster than Tony, and it doesn't take long for him to leave Tony in the dust. He doesn't care. That did not sound good. He's not wasting a second to make sure everything is okay.

There's no sign that anything's changed from the outside of the room. Whatever that was, it was confined to the bedroom, at least, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. Steve pushes the door open without knocking and looks around.

Thor is carefully placing Loki in bed, looking as calm as could be as he gently pulls his brother's legs up in front of him. Loki just sits there, limp, his back pressed against the wall and his eyes closed. Steve freezes in the doorway. What the hell is happening right now? Because this visual does not match the scene they heard from the hallway.

Thor makes sure Loki looks comfortable before he turns around and finally acknowledges Steve, right as Tony is entering the room, too. "Is everything okay? You look worried."

"What do you mean, is everything okay?" Tony asks incredulously. "It's everything okay in here?"

"Of course," Thor says, his brows furrowed. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"What was that noise?" Steve asks.

"Oh, that!" Thor says. "Loki lost consciousness for a moment." He glances over at his brother. "I think he's okay now."

"What, like, he just collapsed?" Tony asks, and Thor nods. "Why? What happened?"

"He tried to use his magic," Thor says. "He wasn't strong enough."

Steve looks over at Loki with a sympathetic frown. He's glad the guy can't do any magic. It doubtlessly wouldn't come in the form of parlor tricks if he could. But he looks so helpless right now that it's hard not to feel bad for him. The mighty really have fallen, and just the Avengers being here is doubtlessly making it worse.

"Huh," Tony hums. "So, what were you two talking about?"

Steve shoots him a look. That would be a rude thing to ask even if they didn't already know, but the fact that they’ve already heard most of the conversation just makes it worse.

"I will be expected back in Asgard soon," Thor says. "But I do not want Loki to sit here all day in isolation. I will return to Asgard and tell my father that I have chosen to stay in Midgard for a few days. If Loki will not choose to leave his room, I will make him. I believe it may do him more good than just protecting his physical health."

Tony throws his head back, exasperated. "Oh, this is great. Should I call Bruce next? Because apparently this is an Avengers hotel!"

Thor completely misses the sarcasm, and answers in all sincerity, "I do not recommend it. Loki is still dangerously unstable. He may try to aggravate the Hulk just to watch the chaos."

Tony just rolls his eyes.

"Are you coming back tonight?" Steve asks. "And, if so, are you dragging Loki out with you?"

Thor nods. "My hope is that he will be too weak to protest."

Steve really can't see what he's hoping to accomplish here, but hey, he's not one to tell Thor he's parenting his little brother wrong, so he just goes with it. "We could all watch a movie." That way there's no talking (save the comments the Avengers always make during their movie nights, of which they have had exactly two) and Loki doesn't have to deal with them.

"Yeah, that could work," Tony agrees. "I'll pop in the next Star Wars movie."

"I'll make the popcorn," Steve adds. It's not a movie night without popcorn. (And apparently popcorn can be made in a microwave now! Isn't that cool?)

"Good," Thor says. "I will return shortly." He reaches out a hand, and Mjolnir flies up from the floor and right to him. He walks out without another word, leaving Steve and Tony alone in Loki's room without a second thought.

Steve looks over at Loki quizzically. He hasn't moved at all since Thor put him on the bed. He's not even sure the guy is conscious. Thor seemed to imply he was, but he doesn't look like it.

Tony seems to be following the same train of thought, because he asks a halfhearted, "Loki? You dead?"

Loki doesn't answer, but his face scrunches up a little at the sound of Tony's voice and it's clear that he's still conscious on some level. He's aware of his surroundings, even if he doesn't really react.

"Oh, damn," Tony mutters, noticing the same thing. "I was really hoping he was."

Chapter Text

Tony plops himself down on the couch, taking the end seat so he gets to use the armrest while he watches. Natasha sits next to him, and Steve sits on his other side, leaving Clint on the beanbag chair that hadn't been used in years until the Avengers decided to move in and suddenly the couch was too small. It's movie time!

They don't get set up until Thor comes back, and the assumption, at least on Tony's end, is that Thor and Loki will join them in the man cave (yes he has a man cave, and he will not accept any anti-man cave slander) shortly before or shortly after the movie is set up.

It's been ten minutes.

They're still not here.

"I take it Loki wasn't too weak to put up a fight," Natasha remarks.

Tony sighs. "Apparently not." How long is this going to take? Can they just start the movie without them?

"How's everyone feeling about Loki?" Clint asks. "Now that he can't do anything."

"I'm feeling like you should keep your voice down," Natasha says. "I'm sure he could still kill you if he tried."

"Nah." Tony shakes his head. "Not today, at least. He's really out of it."

Steve just nods, and when even Steve agrees with him, he knows he must be right. Granted, Steve gives a solemn nod and Tony's remark was more lighthearted and unconcerned, but at least they agree on the facts.

"Once Thor leaves," Natasha says, "do you think Loki will just go back to hiding in his room?"

"Probably," Clint says. "He really doesn't like us."

"Of course not," Natasha says. "You've done nothing but mock him since he arrived, remember?"

The irony of her saying that in an attempt to mock Loki is not lost on Tony, who has to bite back a laugh. Maybe this is what will bring the Avengers together: not war or saving lives or anything like that; just making fun of Loki.

"You know," Clint says teasingly, "that was very condescending of you."

Clint and Natasha both laugh, and Tony cracks a smile. Oh, this is fun.

Steve sighs and props his head up on his hand.

"Hey, stop that," Tony says, jokingly stern. "You know he hates your pity."

"You're not funny," Steve says monotonously.

"I am, actually," Tony says, "but you're welcome to be a wet mop if it makes you feel better."

Steve just shakes his head to himself.

"Hey, JARVIS," Tony says. "Where's Thor?" JARVIS should know. JARVIS knows just about everything.

"Thor and Loki are stepping out of the elevator now," JARVIS says.

"Finally," Tony mutters. It's about damn time.

The Avengers all wait in silence for them to finally show up. It shouldn't take too long. It's not a long walk from the elevator to the man cave.

They hear the two before they see them. Thor seems to be in a good mood, judging by his playful, "I feel like we're doing Get Help."

"Shut up," Loki mumbles, his voice barely audible from this distance.

In a whispered fake-yell, Thor says, "Get help! Please! My brother is dying!"

"You're not funny," Loki tells him.

Thor just laughs, so clearly he disagrees.

Finally, they step into view. Thor has an arm under his brother's, supporting most of his weight as Loki leans into him with every step. He's still pale and shaky and dripping in sweat, but at least he can stand now, even if most of his weight is on his brother.

Thor gently puts Loki down on the floor next to the couch, then sits down on his other side. He crosses his legs in front of him like a child and looks up at Tony. "What is this War of Stars about?"

Tony shakes his head. He's not even going to try to correct him. "You'll see."

Tony puts the movie on, and everyone goes silent. He knows it won't last long — the second anyone has any opinion on it whatsoever, they're going to share it with the class — but it also gives the authentic moviegoing experience for the first few minutes.

Thor mumbles under his breath as he reads through the opening sequence, and that's when Tony decides that they are not watching any more Star Wars movies with him. They'll watch the prequels on their own time.

Nothing of interest happens during the movie. It can't be more than 15 minutes in when Loki's head falls against the couch's armrest and he falls asleep, but otherwise, it's really just an ordinary movie night. In fact, Loki falling asleep makes it feel more normal. Tony just avoids touching his head and it's like he's not even there.

When the movie ends, JARVIS turns the lights on, per Tony's request. This late at night, everyone looks a little bleary-eyed, with the exception of Thor who was absolutely captivated by this movie and couldn't look more excited.

Loki lets out a small groan and shifts his head so the light doesn't bother him as much. He must be awake if he noticed, though it seems he'd like to pretend he's not.

Tony taps him in the head, once again about to ask if he's alive because it's the fun way to make sure he's still responsive, but he immediately pulls his hand away the second it touches him. "God, you're covered in sweat," he mutters, wiping his hand roughly on the armrest. He's going to need this whole couch deep cleaned after this.

It almost looks like Thor forgot his brother was there until then. He turns to face him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Loki? Are you awake?"

Loki hums in response.

"You know," Clint says, "I got so distracted by this movie that for a second there, I forgot we're harboring a once-dangerous war criminal." He heaves a dramatic sigh. "It was nice while it lasted."

Loki doesn't even acknowledge that.

"Are you doing okay?" Thor asks. "Are you hungry?"

Loki gives a minute shake of his head.

"Well, you look horrible," Tony remarks. "And a little sick, too."

Clint and Natasha snicker at that, which brings a smile to his face. He makes these comments for his own amusement, but he's glad they enjoy it, too.

Ignoring him, Thor asks, "What can I do?"

"Bed."

Thor sighs. "Are you just saying you're not hungry because you want to go to bed?"

Loki doesn't answer, which is an implied yes. Tony snorts. God, when this guy gets back to normal and can actually react, Tony is going to make so much fun of him.

"I will bring you something to eat," Thor says. "What would you like?"

"To sleep," Loki mumbles.

Tony chimes in with a shit-eating grin. "Get him some Cheez-Its. He loves Cheez-Its. Don't you, Loki?"

Even in spite of his exhaustion, Loki grits his teeth and says an irritated, "They're not food."

Tony bursts out laughing. God, Loki and his fucking Cheez-Its. He's going to make sure there are Cheez-Its in the kitchen at all times just because Loki hates them.

Steve, meanwhile, actually wants to help, so he asks, "Loki, are you still hot?"

"Stop it," Loki mumbles.

"He's definitely still hot," Tony says. He can see the beads of sweat covering his body from here.

"Then let's get him some ice cream," Steve says. "Maybe it will cool him down."

"Right," Tony says sarcastically, "because that's healthy. Really gonna energize him."

"It's cold and it's hydrating," Steve says. "And it tastes good, too, so hopefully he'll eat it."

"He doesn't think Cheez-Its are food," Tony deadpans. "I don't think you can judge his taste in food with yours."

"Everyone likes ice cream," Steve says. "I'm sure he'll like it, too."

Tony shakes his head to himself. "Alright, whatever. Go get him some ice cream."

Steve pushes himself to his feet, and when he leaves the room, Thor goes with him. Tony's not quite sure why Thor feels like he needs to go because Steve is perfectly capable of getting ice cream by himself, but he supposes there's no reason not to. It just leaves Loki alone with the people who don't like him.

… maybe there was a reason not to.

Tony cranes his neck to look down at him. "You comfy down there?"

It's very obvious that he is not comfy down there. For one, he's sitting on a hardwood floor and his back is pressed against a solid wall, and considering he hasn't moved in a couple hours, he has to be getting sore, and that’s not even mentioning the awkward angle of his neck so he can use the armrest as a pillow.

"'M fine," Loki mumbles.

"Uh-huh," Tony says, unconvinced.

Clint looks over from his beanbag on the other side of the room. "Someone needs to give him a hairbrush."

"Or just shave his head," Natasha adds. "It'd probably be easier. And I don't think he could complain."

"I'm sure he could complain," Tony says. "I doubt he could stop us, though." He slides off the couch and sits on the floor, cross-legged in front of him. "Hey, Loki," he coos. "We're thinking of shaving your hair off. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Loki finally opens his eyes. "You are unbearably annoying."

Tony scoffs and looks over at Clint and Natasha, a big smile on his face. "Was that a sentence?"

"I think it was," Natasha says with a nod. "Who knew all you had to do was annoy it out of him?"

"Let's see if we can annoy another sentence out of him," Tony says eagerly, turning back to him. "Loki —"

Loki closes his eyes and lazily claps a hand over his ear, the other one still pressed against the couch. All three of them laugh. God, he's such a baby.

"Is this going to become a thing?" Clint asks. "Are we just going to sit here and watch movies every few nights and make fun of Loki if Thor forces him to watch?"

"It could be," Tony says as he pushes himself to his feet. "Should it? Once or twice a week, maybe?" He looks around, gauging Clint and Natasha's reactions. Clint gives a small shrug and Natasha nods. It looks like they're on board. "Alright, set a date and time. Let's make this official."

Chapter Text

This question has been on Steve's mind for a few hours, but there's always been someone else around and he hasn't gotten the chance to ask. Now that it's just him and Thor, he decides to go for it before the opportunity's gone. He just needs to figure out how to phrase it.

"Thor," Steve says slowly, piecing the words together as they leave his mouth, "are you and Loki still…" No, that's a bad way to ask. He tries again. "Do you still consider him…" No, that's weird, too. "Do you like Loki?" It's not phrased very elegantly, but it gets his question across.

Thor thinks for a few moments before he answers. "I do and I don't," he says. "He has done some unspeakable things — things I will never forget, nor will I forgive them. He's become the worst version of himself, and I have come to learn that he will never change."

"But…?" Steve prompts. There's always a but.

Thor sighs. "He's still my brother. I grew up with him. We played together; we fought together. I know that Loki is gone -- he has been for years -- but sometimes it’s difficult not to see that in him even now."

A small smile grows on Steve's face. "You think there's still some good in him."

Thor shakes his head. "No, any good that was in him has long since been snuffed out by jealousy and greed. But he's always had a mischievous neutrality in him, even when we were kids. It would sometimes get him hurt and it would frequently get him in trouble, but there was never any malice in it. Sometimes I still see it."

Steve nods slowly. He can't imagine how hard it is to wrangle these two completely different ideas of who Loki is and who he was. It explains a lot, though. Sometimes Thor treats him like a friend, and sometimes he treats him like a prisoner. It seems hs views him as both, too.

"I understand that you never knew Loki as anything but a murderer and a would-be tyrant," Thor says, "but I truly appreciate that you try to help him when you can. I would like to think that one day, he will come to appreciate all that you've done for him as well."

Rogers may be the worst of them all.

Yeah, that's not going to happen.

But Steve forces a smile anyway. "Well, he gets enough trouble from the others. I didn't want to pile on."

They make it to the kitchen, and Steve pulls out the tub of ice cream sitting in the freezer. Natasha has been forcing him to try basically every type of ice cream that didn't exist in 1945, so the tub of ice cream today is mint chocolate chip. It's not his favorite — which is probably why he's so willing to give some to Loki — but he does enjoy it. He’ll probably get more once they’ve cycled through all the flavors the grocery store has to offer.

He scoops out enough for a single bowl, then looks over at Thor. "You want some? You haven't eaten since you got here."

Thor eyes the ice cream uncertainly. "What is it?"

"What's ice cream?" Steve repeats, dumbfounded. This must be how everybody else feels when he asks about things he missed while he was in the ice. "It's just…" He puts a spoon in the bowl and hands it to him. "Here. Try it. I'll get Loki a new bowl."

Thor still doesn't seem sure, but he scoops up a little bit on his spoon and puts it in his mouth. His eyes light up as soon as he's tasted it. "This is delicious!"

Steve chuckles. "Yeah, it's not bad."

Thor takes another bite, and he looks as though he's about to ascend to the heavens. He scoops up a single chocolate chip and holds it up. "What is this?"

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Chocolate?"

"Chocolate," Thor repeats thoughtfully. "I like it."

Steve bites back a laugh. "Alright, I'll pick you up a bag of chocolate tomorrow." It can be a thank-you gift for keeping an eye on Loki so no one else has to.

"I look forward to it," Thor says.

Steve prepares another bowl of ice cream, then shoves the rest of the tub back in the freezer. There isn't much left; Natasha will have to give him a new flavor to try soon.

Thor takes his bowl of ice cream and Steve takes Loki's, and they head back to the so-called "man cave" (which isn't very fitting because Natasha is in it, but Steve doesn't question it). Thor eats as they walk, every spoonful a taste of pure bliss. It's enough to keep Steve entertained.

Everyone is just as they left them in the man cave, the only exception being Loki now covering his ear. Steve raises an eyebrow and looks around, and Tony just shrugs innocently, which is exactly how Steve knows that Tony is not innocent. He just doesn't care enough to ask.

Steve puts the ice cream down on the floor in front of him, a cup of ice water next to it, and taps Loki's shaky arm. Loki opens his eyes, and when he sees Steve, he drops his arm and lifts his head off the armrest of the couch.

"Eat the ice cream," Steve says. "You'll feel better." He has absolutely nothing to back that statement up with, but Loki doesn't have to know that.

Loki slowly reaches for the bowl and sets it on his lap. He picks up the spoon with shaking hands and stabs it in the ice cream, so weakly that it barely penetrates it at all.

Without taking his eyes off the god, Tony says, "He's like a sloth. A very weak sloth."

Steve shakes his head. The commentary is not helping.

Loki scoops a small chunk of ice cream up and puts it in his mouth. As he takes the spoon away, he smiles ever so slightly, and he immediately goes back for more.

"Good, isn't it?" Thor remarks.

Steve just sits there for a few minutes, making sure Loki's doing okay. He takes a few more bites, then puts the spoon down and picks up the water. He takes a sip, then holds it up against his forehead.

After what feels like an eternity of silence, Tony says, "JARVIS? Turn up the AC."

"To any specific temperature, sir?" JARVIS asks.

Tony thinks about that for a moment. "65." He looks down at Loki. "You're welcome."

Loki doesn't acknowledge that. He just puts the water down and goes back to eating in silence.

"I like this Loki," Clint remarks. "He doesn't do anything. It's like he's running on low power mode."

"He is," Thor says. "Much like a human, his power comes from nutrients. With so little energy left, his body is diverting it only to where it needs to be."

"Like a 200-degree fever," Tony says skeptically.

"Because his body cannot cool itself down," Thor says.

Steve is no expert on anatomy and physiology, but he's pretty sure that's not how fevers work. Maybe Asgardians are just different.

Tony stands up and nudges Steve with his foot. "Steve, move."

Steve furrows his brows, but he's sure Loki doesn't really want him sitting right in front of him so he gets up and sits back down on the couch. Tony pulls out his phone and crouches down where Steve had been sitting, pointing the phone at the god.

"What are you doing?" Steve asks.

"Sending a picture of the little baby to Rhodey," Tony says. "Loki, say cheese!"

Loki groans and turns his head towards the armrest, like that makes any difference.

"I should've been recording," Tony mutters to himself. There's a pause, then he says, "Loki, you're on video! Say hi to War Machine!"

Loki scrunches his face. "Stop it."

Tony just laughs. He's enjoying this way too much. He's enjoying all of this way too much.

Steve sighs. "Leave him alone, Tony."

Tony turns the camera to face him. "And there's Steve, Loki's number one fan."

Steve rolls his eyes. "Really?"

Tony moves the camera another few inches to capture all three Avengers on that side. "Everyone say hi to Rhodey."

"Hi, Rhodes," Natasha says.

Clint raises his hand in a half-wave. "Hey."

Tony waits a few seconds, but when he's met with silence, he just says, "Steve's saying hi on the inside." He slides backwards on the floor to capture Thor and Loki in the video. "And we've got the god squad down here."

Thor furrows his brows. "I do not understand what you are doing."

Tony chuckles and ends the video. "I'm sending that to him right now." He gets up and sits back down on the couch, a smile on his face.

Steve shakes his head to himself. He's so annoying.

Loki takes another spoonful of ice cream, then puts the rest on the floor and leans against the armrest of the couch again, closing his eyes like he's going to fall asleep again right here.

"Loki, finish your ice cream," Thor says, with the same tone a parent would use to tell their child to eat their vegetables.

"Mm." Loki gives a small shake of his head.

Steve furrows his brows. "But you liked it." At least, it looked like he did. Loki doesn't respond, so it looks like that's going to remain a mystery.

"Loki, you need to eat," Thor says firmly. "It's the only way you're going to get your strength back."

"No."

Thor is clearly getting irritated. "Loki. Eat your food."

Loki opens his eyes to look at him while he says with weak sarcasm, "Will you hold my hair when I vomit it all back up?"

Thor frowns, and when he doesn't give an answer, Loki just closes his eyes again. Everyone just sits there for a few minutes, unsure quite what to do. Thor finishes his ice cream, then finishes Loki's as well, and then he stands up.

"I am putting Loki to bed," Thor says.

Tony snorts. "It really is just babysitting."

Thor helps Loki to his feet, but he immediately crumbles, and Thor's arm around him is the only thing stopping him from hitting the floor. Walking clearly isn't going to work, so he scoops his brother up in his arms, and Loki's head falls back. He gives a polite nod, then takes Loki out of the room.

"And on that note." Tony pushes himself to his feet. "I think it's bedtime."

Everyone murmurs in agreement. It's been a long day and an even longer night. It's definitely time to go to bed.

Chapter Text

Loki is in the middle of a very restful sleep when a hand on his shoulder rouses him. He groans and squeezes his eyes tighter. He's not in the mood.

"Loki, wake up," Thor says, shaking him gently.

"Go away," Loki mumbles.

"Loki, we spoke about this yesterday," Thor says, and if he's already exasperated with him, it's going to be a long day. "I will not let you sit in your room all day because you don't want to talk to the Avengers."

"Leave me alone," Loki whines.

Thor sighs. "If I cannot get you out of bed, I will ask Stark to do it instead."

Loki immediately sits up — so fast that his head starts spinning, and he squeezes his eyes shut, clutching his head tightly.

Thor just laughs at him. "I knew that would work."

"I hate you," Loki mumbles.

"I've noticed," Thor says simply.

Thor gently pulls Loki's hands away from his head, and Loki opens his eyes. That's better. Not as nice as lying in bed, he'll admit, but at least the world isn't moving.

"Do you feel better?" Thor asks.

Loki gives a small shrug. "Marginally so."

"I'm glad," Thor says. "It's time for breakfast. Barton is making pancakes."

Loki furrows his brows. "Pancakes?"

"Yes, pancakes," Thor says. "I've had them before. They are delicious."

Well, if Thor likes them, they can't be too bad. After the Cheez-It debacle, Loki's been kind of hesitant with this human food, but he'd like to think that with Thor's vote of confidence, pancakes must be something like Asgardian food.

"Can you stand?" Thor asks.

Loki nods. He has absolutely no reason to believe he can, but now that he feels like he can think, he's not accepting help from anyone. He slides closer to the edge of the bed, sets his feet flat on the floor, and takes a moment to prepare himself. Here goes nothing.

He pushes himself to his feet, heaving his body up with the help of his arms. It doesn't last long before he falls back down on the bed. Okay, maybe he can't stand.

Thor doesn't wait for him to admit he needs help (or ask for permission to help, for that matter), and he puts an arm around him, pulling him to his feet. Loki's not sure he feels much stronger than he did yesterday, per se; he just feels more awake, and that alone makes it easier.

"I really don't want to do this," Loki tells him.

"I know," Thor says. "And that is why you have to."

Loki rolls his eyes, but losing his focus even just long enough to do that causes him to lose his balance, and Thor has to hold on tight to stop him from falling over.

"I can't do this," Loki mumbles to himself. He knows he can't convince Thor that he's okay, but he'd like to at least convince the other Avengers that he is. Right now, he doesn't think he can hold that charade up, and he's not eager to admit his weaknesses. "I'm going back to sleep." He tries to push Thor away, but he's not strong enough to do any good.

"You need to eat," Thor says sternly.

"I'm tired," Loki says -- and he is. He's not nearly as out-of-it as he was last night, but he's still tired and he could easily squeeze out another eight hours of sleep if given the chance, and he would really like that chance.

"I'm aware," Thor says. "But breakfast is more important. You can sleep once you've eaten."

Loki is very close to rolling his eyes until he remembers what happened last time he did it. Reluctantly, he decides to just suck it up. All he has to do is eat a pancake and then he can come back to bed. He can do that. Probably.

With Thor's help, Loki manages to make it all the way to the kitchen. Tony, Steve, and Natasha all sit at the table, each with a plate in front of them. The only one still eating is Tony, probably because most of his attention is on his phone, but Loki assumes they're not done yet. Clint is still at the counter, flipping more pancakes on the griddle.

"Oh, yay," Tony says sarcastically, barely looking up from his phone, "the princess has awakened."

Loki is fairly certain that's supposed to be an insult of some kind, but he actually has been a princess when it felt more fitting than being a prince, so he's not quite sure he understands the joke.

"You can sit," Thor tells him. "I don't mind standing."

Loki eyes the one empty seat, lying uncomfortably close to both Tony and Steve at the table. He's not sitting there. He would literally be elbow-to-elbow with the Avengers.

When Loki doesn't move, Steve pushes the chair out and kicks it toward him. Loki has to put a foot out to stop it. He raises an eyebrow, and Steve just shrugs. From anyone else, Loki would have been suspicious, but he's willing to assume Steve just gave him the chair for the sake of giving him the chair. He's the only one Loki doesn't expect any ulterior motives from, not that it makes him any more likable.

Loki pulls the chair closer with his foot and sits down, just out of the way of the doorway. Thor stands by the table, leaning against the wall. And now they wait.

A few minutes pass in silence, until finally, Steve asks, "You want some water?"

It takes Loki a moment to realize that's directed towards him. He actually would like some water, now that he thinks of it, but he shakes his head. He's not accepting any more charity from the Avengers. He'll make an exception for Thor because he doesn't have a choice, but that's it.

And then it's quiet again. Loki looks around, his gaze covering every inch of this room but never once straying to an Avenger. This is awkward enough without making accidental eye contact with one of them.

Clint flips the pancakes onto a plate, then begins the next batch. He doesn't even have to announce it; instantly, Natasha is at his side with her plate, ready to grab their pancakes. When Tony notices, he drops his phone on the table and shoves the last bite of pancake into his mouth before joining her. Steve chuckles affectionately, and Loki rolls his eyes (which, fortunately, he can do now that he's sitting down).

"You only get one," Clint says firmly. Loki has a feeling this isn't the first time he's told them that, but it still makes Tony and Natasha groan.

Tony and Natasha each take a pancake and return to their seat. Steve gestures for Thor to go ahead of him, and, with an appreciative nod, he does. He gets two plates, each with two pancakes, and Loki cocks an eyebrow. Clint literally just said not to do that, but whatever. He doesn't care whether Clint's happy or not.

Thor hands Loki a plate, a fork and knife balancing precariously on top. "Maple syrup?"

That actually does sound enticing. It comes from trees, he presumes, and natural food of any kind seems to be a rare delicacy here. Still, he shakes his head. If Thor had just handed it to him, he would have used it, but he's not asking for it.

Loki looks down at his pancakes. They don't look too bad. They're just bread, basically, right? And he likes bread, so these will be fine. Right?

Loki picks up his fork and gently stabs the top pancake with it. It's squishy. One more point in the bread category. He might as well try it. He picks up his knife, and, after making sure his plate is firmly on his legs, he cuts a strip of one pancake off, then cuts it further into smaller pieces. He picks one of them up with his fork and eyes it for a few moments.

"It's times like these that I remember that we're living with actual aliens," Clint remarks.

Loki looks up and shoots him a glare. All of this is still new to him. Can he please just eat his fucking pancake in peace?

"Loki, just eat it," Thor says, exasperated.

Loki promptly shoots him a glare, too, before turning his gaze back to his pancake. He's not sure he wants to put this in his mouth, but he can feel everyone's gaze on him and he doesn't really feel like he has a choice. He pops it in his mouth, and his face scrunches up. He chews it slowly, and it's not until he's swallowed it that he looks up again.

Thor looks at him expectantly. "Good, isn't it?"

Loki gives a small shrug. It's not quite bread, but it's close. He likes it. He takes another bite, savoring it. This really isn't bad. He would actually choose pancakes over some of the food they have on Asgard.

"Congrats, Barton," Tony says. "Your pancakes are 'real food.'"

Loki shoots him a look. "Will you stop?" he says irritably.

"Nope," Tony says, popping the 'p.'

Loki shakes his head to himself. Fine, whatever. He doesn't care. Well, he does care, but not enough to put up a fight when he would clearly lose. Maybe in a few days when he hopefully has his strength back. He'll give another show of his power and remind them all that he's still a god and that he is not to be spoken to this way.

Loki turns his attention back to his pancakes. He stacks them up and cuts half of each of them into little pieces, leaving the other half as it is. He still feels like everyone is watching him, but he doesn't want to check just in case they are. He never thought he'd feel insecure just by eating, and yet here he is.

"So," Natasha says, "we ever gonna get him some new clothes, or is Loki gonna walk around looking like a mix-matched emo Ken doll for the rest of his life?"

Loki looks down at his attire. He still despises this peasant shirt, and the longer he wears it, the worse it looks. The pants Steve gave him don't look much better, but at least they're comfortable. Besides, it won't last long. As soon as he has his strength back, he'll change them into something nicer.

"I would love to go shopping for him," Tony volunteers. "Do you think they make Thomas the Tank Engine t-shirts in adult sizes?"

Loki lolls his head back, exasperated. He doesn't know what Thomas the Tank Engine is, but between the way the question was phrased and just the fact that it was Tony who said it, he has to assume it's from a children's show. It's like the platypus water bottle all over again.

Steve sighs. "Knock it off."

"And once again, Loki's best friend jumps to the rescue!" Tony says.

Loki hits his head against the wall. Maybe if he does it hard enough, it will knock him out and Thor will bring him back to his room. That would be nice.

"You know," Steve says, "one day he's going to get his strength back, and I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of knives to throats when that happens."

Loki cracks a small smile. Just imagining that day brings him immense joy. Even if he doesn't kill them — even if he doesn't even hurt them — just the image of himself threatening them with the most gruesome death they can imagine is so… perfect.

"No," Thor says immediately, and Loki looks over to see Thor's gaze firmly on him. "Loki, you are not going to kill them."

"I never said I was," Loki says. He'd like to, but he won't. Probably. Unless they really annoy him and he's willing to face the Allfather's wrath to an even greater extent than he already is.

"You're thinking about it," Thor says. "I can see it in your face."

Loki chuckles. "Oh, believe me, I am, and it is wonderful." How he would love to just —

"Alright, keep it in your pants," Tony says, rolling his eyes.

Loki shakes his head to himself, annoyed. Okay, he's going back to what he was actually supposed to do: eat his pancakes so he can leave.

The room goes quiet, everyone enjoying their food in peace. As Clint finishes more pancakes, the other Avengers go up and grab them (and Thor eats an ungodly amount), but Loki just sits there with his two, eating them slowly and savoring every bite. This might actually be worth coming out today. He really does like these pancakes.

"You can go back for seconds, you know," Steve tells him.

Loki shakes his head. He's not even sure he can eat the two pancakes, never mind adding another. There's a reason he didn't cut them all up at once.

Thor once again takes this chance to tell Loki, "You need to eat," as if he didn't figure that out the first fifty times he was told.

"I am eating," Loki says irritably. "See?" He stabs a piece of pancake with a little too much force, holds it up, and pointedly shoves it in his mouth.

All of the human Avengers laugh at that, and Thor just shoots him a look. Loki shoots him the same look right back. Asshole.

Tony looks up at Thor. "How did you take him seriously in New York knowing that he's actually just a child playing God?"

Loki grits his teeth, and he feels his hand itching for his knife. He doesn't care that it's just a butter knife. With enough force, anything can be a weapon.

But Thor surprises him. "Loki has proved time and time again that he is a formidable opponent, not only with his blade but with his wit. It was far from an assured victory."

Loki fights the urge to smile. That's one of the nicest things Thor has ever said about him. He used to make fun of Loki's propensity for magic in war instead of just slicing and dicing the way most Asgardians did. He never would have suspected that Thor considered it formidable, even if he didn't respect it.

"Okay, but he acts like he's eight," Tony says.

"If he still acted as he did when he was eight," Thor says, "you would all have a knife in your chest."

This time, Loki has to smile. It's true. It's very true.

"This one time," Thor continues, "he transformed himself into a snake —"

"I really do not care," Tony interrupts. "Anyone care? Anyone?" He looks around, and none of the other Avengers jump to Thor's defense. "Yeah, no one cares. No one wants to hear you reminisce about the good ol' days with your psychopath of a brother."

Thor frowns, but he gives a small nod of acknowledgment and stops talking.

Steve sighs and raises his hand a few inches off the table. "I would like to hear the snake story."

Loki raises an eyebrow. He very clearly would not like to hear the snake story, as his tone clearly says, but he's volunteering anyway. He really is just a nice guy. Loki hates it.

"I mean," Clint says awkwardly, "I wouldn't be opposed to hearing the snake story."

"Yeah…" Natasha shakes her hand in a so-so motion. They actually do sound interested, even if they're reluctant to admit it.

Tony sighs and rests his head in his hand. Thor, meanwhile, is overjoyed. He immediately launches into the story of Loki tricking him by turning into a snake to stab him. He's a horrible storyteller and it really misses some of the best parts -- the devil’s in the details, after all -- but it’s still accurate.

The Avengers all look horrified. Even Tony looks up when Thor gets to the stabbing part. The looks on their faces are priceless. It brings a smile to his face.

"You. Are. Insane," Tony tells him.

"Thank you," Loki says, his voice full of smarm.

"That's ridiculous," Natasha says, looking up at Thor. "And your parents adopted him?"

Loki's smile immediately drops from his face. "That was not the point," he snaps.

Natasha recoils at the venom in his voice. She looks over at Clint uncertainly, and he gives her a confused look of his own.

Thor's completely unbothered by that. He doesn't even seem to notice. "Unfortunately, they did not know just who they were bringing into our home."

"Thor," Loki growls, sending him a look that clearly tells him to cut this conversation short.

Apparently Clint wasn't too concerned by Loki's reaction, because he says, "I'm just saying, I would've just brought him back. Wasn't my kid to begin with; wasn't gonna keep him around."

"That is enough!" Loki yells, and immediately, everyone's heads snap over to look at him. And they have the audacity to look surprised. He made it very clear he was not okay with this conversation, and they're surprised he got upset.

Thor frowns. "Loki —"

"I am not doing this any longer," Loki growls. "I told you it would not go well and I was right." He pushes himself to his feet, and he's relieved to see that he can stand, even if he feels weak doing it. He drops his plate on the chair behind him, his silverware landing on top with a clatter

Thor sighs. "Don't be a child, Loki."

Loki scoffs. "A child?"

"Yes, a child," Thor snaps. "It was just one joke —"

"You do not get to tell me that I am overreacting!" Loki yells.

"Apparently someone has to!" Thor yells back.

Loki reaches a hand down behind him and his knife flies into it. He throws it at Thor in one swift movement, aimed right for the heart, with enough force that it could easily penetrate the skin, though it probably couldn't reach any organs beneath.

Thor grabs it before it reaches his chest and tosses it aside without looking, and it lands in the sink with ease. "Please, tell me again how unchildish you're being," he says sarcastically.

Loki balls his hands into fists. "Go back to Asgard," he snaps. "Make your little puppy dog eyes until your father hands you the throne so you can watch the Nine Realms fall to ruin under your command. You'll still be doing more good than you are here."

And with that, he storms out of the room. He's done. He's not dealing with these people any longer. He's certainly not dealing with Thor any longer. He really had the audacity to come down from Asgard acting like it was a sacrifice, like he was doing Loki a favor by being here, as if he cared at all about how Loki was doing and he wasn't just here to feed his ego.

Loki makes it all the way into the elevator before this newfound energy starts to dissipate, though the rage that inspired it holds strong. There's no way he's making it back to his room. Tony shoved him in the middle of nowhere, much too far of a walk for him to even think about doing it. But he can't just sit in the hallway, so he forces himself to keep walking until finally, finally, he stumbles upon a room he can use.

He steps into the bathroom, and he just collapses. His legs give out, and he finds himself on the floor before he even knows what happened. He closes the door and reaches up to press on the lock before he leans against it for support.

And then he starts crying.

He just can't help it. He's had such a horrible couple of weeks in Midgard, impossibly worse than the months in the dungeon that preceded them. He didn't ask for this. He didn't ask to be stuck here with some of the people he hates most. He certainly didn't ask for them to bring his heritage into it, as if they know anything about his heritage to begin with.

What started as silent tears turn into choked sobs, and every breath is a gasp for air. His heart is pounding, and he can feel his pulse throughout every inch of his body. He clutches his head, his face heating up until all he wants to do is shove it in a tub of ice water. He sucks in a ragged breath, spitting it out as yet another pathetic sob.

"I want to go home," he whispers, taking what little oxygen he had left out of his lungs. He sucks in another breath. "I want to go home. I want to go —" He cuts himself off with another loud sob. And he does it again. And again. Repeating it like a mantra until he can't speak any longer, and even then his lips still form the words soundlessly.

The world is beginning to spin, and Loki clings to his head even tighter. He can't breathe. He can't breathe. He can feel his chest rising and falling but he can't breathe.

He tries to suck in a deep breath, but it comes out a sob that immediately turns into a cough. He coughs again and again and again until that's all he can do, until there's no air left to cough up and then even further than that. His body is trying to cough. It wants to cough something up, but his wheezed breaths aren't enough.

He takes his hands away from his head and crawls over to the toilet. Thank god the lid is already up. He coughs again, and he can feel all the organs in his body at work. He leans his head over the toilet and heaves again, choking up nothing more than a sob.

One more time does it. Everything he'd just eaten comes back up in an instant, and with one hand on the toilet seat, the other immediately reaches for his hair, pulling it away from his face. He was being sarcastic when he asked if Thor was going to hold his hair last night, but he would actually appreciate an extra hand right now.

Another sob turns into more vomiting, and Loki slams his other hand down on the toilet seat to steady himself. Fortunately his hair is gross enough from going so long without a wash that it doesn't move when he lets it go. His body tries again, and when nothing comes up, it tries again and again, dry heaving with no end in sight.

Loki squeezes his eyes shut, tears slipping down his face. He just wants to go home. He just wants to see his mother again. He just wants a hug and maybe a kiss on the forehead like he's still just an innocent little child.

He'd even accept Thor's help, no matter how much he hates the bastard. Thor helped him through his first hangover all those years ago — laughing at him the whole time, of course, but still providing the support he needed in a time not too dissimilar to this. He could use some support right now.

But he has none. Thor was right: he has been abandoned by everyone. He has no family, no friends. And why would he? Who would want to sit here with him, an absolute failure in every sense, watching his tears reduce him to the sobbing, puking mess he is?

He hangs his head over the toilet until the dry heaving finally comes to an end. He closes the toilet lid, using it as a platform to lean over and press the handle with a shaking hand. As the toilet flushes his shame down, he falls back to the floor, his back pressed against the wall. His heavy sobbing is over, but the tears are still falling. He doesn't try to stop it.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Chapter Text

The Avengers all stare at the doorway long after Loki leaves. That was… weird. Even beyond just seeing Thor and Loki act like normal siblings (except slightly more murderous), the way Loki freaked out over nothing was weird. He didn't look too bothered by the way they were making fun of him. No more bothered than usual, at least.

Tony leans back in his chair and covers his forehead with his hand. Oh, this is just great. Now Loki's pissed and he has his magic back, at least to some extent. This isn't going to end well, is it?

Thor clenches his jaw and walks out, too, and that's when Tony really has to step in.

"Woah, okay, where are you going?" Tony asks quickly, standing up as if he could possibly stop a god.

"Home," Thor says through clenched teeth.

Steve scoffs. "Thor, you can't —"

Thor whips around to face them. "Loki has made it very clear that he does not want my help. I was here as a courtesy to the man I once considered a brother. I realize now that it was not worth the effort."

Tony glares at him. "So, what, you just came down here to piss off your little brother and then dump him on us again?"

"Loki finds living here with you humiliating," Thor tells him. "He will gladly stay away from you, whether he's upset with you or not."

"So we're going back to letting him starve," Natasha says skeptically.

"If he wants to starve, let him starve," Thor says. "I could not care less. I suspect you don't, either."

"I do," Steve says.

"You shouldn't," Thor says. "I assure you, he will never return the sentiment."

Steve gives a small shrug. "We're supposed to be heroes. As far as I'm concerned, if you're only helping people because you want their respect in return, you're not much of a hero to begin with."

Thor just walks away.

Tony throws his head back with a groan. "Oh, this is just great!"

"Look, you heard him," Clint says. "Loki's still going to ignore us. We still get to ignore him. It's like nothing's changed."

"No, it has changed," Tony says. "I have no problem letting him sit around and mope for the rest of his life, but I can't just let him starve."

That gets a small smile out of Steve, which is almost enough to change Tony's mind. Smarmy little bastard.

Clint and Natasha both reluctantly agree. If the U. S. prison systems won't let their prisoners starve, neither should they. It's a low bar, but Loki doesn't deserve much better.

"Look," Clint says, "we don't want to see him and he doesn't want to see us. Why don't we just leave him something to eat a few times a day and leave it at that?"

"Hmm," Tony hums. That's actually not a bad idea. Wow, he was really about to overcomplicate this for no reason.

"Not yet," Steve says.

Tony scoffs. "I'm sorry, now you want him to starve?"

"Of course not," Steve says. "But I also don't want him to lie in bed all day. That's a horrible way to live."

"Good," Clint says. "I want him to suffer."

"Barton —"

"Do you even remember why he's here?" Clint demands. "He destroyed half of New York. He killed well over a hundred people. And, oh yeah, he squeezed his way into my brain and made me help him!"

"Look, Barton, I know —"

"No, you don't know!" Clint says, and now he’s fuming. "He wasn't inside your head, Steve. You cannot know what that was like. So who cares if he just sits around until he dies? He's lucky I haven't put an arrow through his skull yet to speed up the process."

The room goes silent.

Tony looks over at Clint sympathetically. He doesn't get it. Of course he doesn't get it. He never went through what Clint did, and he hopes he never will. But Loki's dumped his fair share of psychological trauma on the both of them, so if nothing else, he gets not wanting to see Loki again.

Steve sighs. "Look, I'll take care of him. You can pretend he's not even here."

"I can't do that if you're trying to bribe him into coming back out here," Clint snaps.

Steve just looks to Tony, so Clint does the same. Does this really have to be his call? What, just because he owns the tower and Loki is his responsibility, he has to decide how they're going to torture him? That's stupid. Why can't they just fight it out themselves?

Tony looks between them, then throws his hands up. "I don't care," he says, which honestly couldn't be more true. He looks at Steve. "Look, I don't want to deal with him. I don't think anyone wants to deal with him. If you want to take care of him and braid his hair and do his nails or whatever, I don't care, but that makes him your responsibility. Capiche?"

Steve sighs and nods. "Yeah, no, I got it."

Tony looks over at Clint to make sure he doesn't have any complaints. He's obviously not happy about this, but he doesn't try to argue so Tony considers it a win-win situation. And, of course, poor Natasha is just trying to eat her pancakes in peace.

Tony looks up at the ceiling. "JARVIS? What's Loki doing right now?" Just so Steve knows what he's getting himself into.

"He is just sitting on the floor, sir," JARVIS says. "I do not believe you need to worry about him."

Tony furrows his brows. "Huh. I thought he'd be…" He's not really sure what he thought Loki would be doing, but he thought he'd be doing something. "He's on the floor?"

"Yes, sir," JARVIS says.

"Why is he on the floor?" Tony asks. That's weird. Even by Loki standards, that's weird.

"I do not know; I didn't ask," JARVIS says.

"It doesn't matter," Steve says. "If he wants to sit on the floor, let him sit on the floor."

"What, you think I was gonna march in there and tell him to get off the floor?" Tony rolls his eyes. He grabs his phone and shoves it in his pocket. "Alright, I'm going back to my lab. If you need me… don't." He gives a single nod in farewell and walks away. Steve can deal with this shit himself.

~~~

Tony doesn't actually get anything accomplished in the few hours he's in his lab. He talks to Rhodey briefly, updating him on the Loki situation (and telling him that their next making-fun-of-Loki-movie-night might have to be postponed so Rhodey has more time to change his mind if he decides he wants to come). He chats with Pepper, too. She's coming back to New York in a few days, but she still refuses to come back to the tower of Loki's here. After Loki's little freakout today, Tony's inclined to agree. But it's been weeks since they saw each other, and he's determined to at least visit her this time, even if they stay in a hotel for a night.

But eventually he gets hungry, and it's a little late for lunch but a little early for dinner but he's never been the type to let something as arbitrary as the passage of time stop him from doing what he wants to do, so he's going to grab a bite to eat anyway.

He makes his way to the elevator, but he pauses before he heads to the kitchen. He really doesn't want to see Loki. He was more than happy to pass the torch to Steve and make him deal with the guy. But he still can't help but feel like Loki is his responsibility. He's in Tony's tower. Thor specifically left him to Tony. He just can't shake the feeling that Loki is his emo teenager, and after his temper tantrum this morning, he should probably check on him.

So, with a sigh, that's what he does. He heads to Loki's room and knocks on the door, holding it through the gaping hole in the handle to stop it from opening. He waits for a minute or so, but he doesn't get a response so he tries again. "Hey, Lokes, just makin' sure you're still alive."

Loki still doesn't answer, and it's really starting to piss Tony off. What is it with him and just not answering when people are talking to him? It's every single time they knock on the door. It's ridiculous.

Tony knocks again. "Are you going to make me open the door?"

Silence.

Tony sighs. Apparently he is. Tony pushes the door open… and Loki's not there. He crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow. Well, this is weird. He wasn't expecting that.

"JARVIS?" Tony says. "Where's Loki?"

"Loki is in the bathroom, sir," JARVIS says.

Tony nods. Alright, that's fine. "And he's alive?"

"I would have told you if he wasn't, sir," JARVIS replies.

Well, after you didn't tell me about him starving himself…

Ah, well, Loki can handle himself. He doesn't need any help going to the bathroom. Tony will just leave and…

The Perry the Platypus water bottle catches his eye. It's lying on the floor next to his bed, the cap lying a foot or two away. It's obviously empty, and Tony can't remember the last time Loki brought it out to fill it. Not yesterday, at least. Not for the three days before then when he wouldn't get out of bed. God, the guy must be so dehydrated. Sure, he had the jug of apple juice, but that much hydration at once wasn't going to do anything but flush his kidneys.

With a sigh, Tony heads over and grabs the water bottle. He'll fill it up before he eats and leave it outside Loki's door when he's done. Hopefully Loki won't kill him for taking his stuff and it'll end well for both of them.

So he does that, too, because apparently he was joking when he said he was delegating the responsibility to Steve. (He was not joking, so he's not sure why he's still trying to help the guy out a little.) It has to be half an hour or so later when he heads back to Loki's room, and he knocks on the door.

Silence.

Per usual.

Tony knocks again. "Hey, Loki, not here to bother you. Just filled up your water bottle. I'm just gonna leave it out here, okay?"

Silence.

Tony gives another knock. "Just let me know that you heard me and I'll leave you alone."

Silence.

Tony sighs. "One more try before I open the door."

Silence.

"Alright, I'm opening the door," Tony says. He pushes the door open…

And Loki's still not there.

Tony furrows his brows. "Alright, JARVIS, where's Loki now?"

"Still in the bathroom, sir," JARVIS says.

Wow, he takes long bathroom breaks. Tony just shakes his head to himself. Okay, whatever. He leaves the water bottle on Loki's bed to make sure he sees it, then heads back out.

Alright, that's enough parenting for today.

Chapter Text

Steve gave Loki a few hours to come back out, but, to the surprise of absolutely no one, he did not. It pretty much confirms his theory that Loki's not coming back willingly if he thinks there's a chance they're still around, but Steve isn't going to let him rot in his room for the rest of his life so he sets out to find him.

He knocks on Loki's door, holding it shut through the hole where the handle once was. (They should really replace this door.). "Loki, can you open up?"

Nothing.

He knocks again. "Loki, hey. It's just me. Can you open the door real quick?"

He doesn't.

Steve sighs. He feels bad, but he really does think this will be for the best in the long run. He knocks again and says, "Just open the door. Please."

JARVIS cuts in. "He has not come back to his room, sir. He is in the bathroom down the hall."

Steve's eyebrows shoot up. "He's what?" It's been hours. What the hell is he doing?

"I can almost guarantee he would like to be left alone," JARVIS says, "but I do believe he would benefit from having a visitor."

"Is he okay?" Steve asks.

"That would depend on your definition of 'okay,'" JARVIS says.

Steve gives a resigned nod. That's been the unspoken consensus the whole time he's been here. "Alright, I'll go find him." He heads back down the hall where he came. "The same bathroom that Thor dumped him in the tub yesterday?"

"Yes, sir," JARVIS says.

Good, because he knows where to find that. He pauses outside the door, and takes a deep breath. Okay, here goes nothing. He knocks on the door. "Hey, Loki."

Loki doesn't respond, but Steve had expected that. If he's hiding in the bathroom, he must really not want to talk. That’s fine. Steve can do the talking, at least at first. He’ll make sure Loki knows he doesn’t mean any harm before he asks him to open the door.

"I just want to let you know that Thor left," Steve says. It feels like an eternity has passed since then, but he'd be surprised if Loki somehow already knew it. "He's back in Asgard. I don't think he's planning on coming back any time soon. Or, you know, at all." He'd like to think that's a good thing in Loki's mind, but just in case that's a disappointment, Steve tries to sound neutral about it.

"Nat and Barton left, too," Steve tells him. "SHIELD called them in, so they're not around." Steve assured Fury that between him and Tony, Loki would be well-supervised if he wanted Natasha back, so they're off doing god-only-knows-what. "And Tony's down in his lab, so he won't come back for a while, either."

Steve waits to see if Loki responds, but, unsurprisingly, he does not. He keeps talking anyway.

"Listen, I'm gonna go make dinner," Steve tells him. "I've basically got the tower to myself, so I don't know if you want to come out and eat, too, or…?"

Silence.

"I think it would be good for you to get up and eat something," Steve continues. "I'll leave you alone while you eat, and, like I said, it's just me here, so you won't have to worry about the other Avengers, you know, talking down to you."

Once again, he's met with silence.

"I just don't want to leave you in the bathroom all day," Steve says. "Even if you just want me to walk you back to your room." Baby steps. If Loki will at least get up and go back to his room, Steve will just bring him dinner and leave it. He just wants to see Loki doing something.

When Loki still doesn't respond, Steve begins to feel like he's just talking to himself. Come on, Loki. It's not a difficult question.

Steve looks up at the ceiling, which tends to be his habit when speaking to JARVIS. "Is he awake?"

"He is," JARVIS says simply.

Steve furrows his brows. And he's just ignoring him. That's… nice.

"Loki?" Steve says uncertainly.

Finally, finally, Loki speaks. "I presume JARVIS told you where to find me, then." His voice is quiet, hoarse.

"He did," Steve says.

"Traitor," Loki mutters, so quietly that Steve can barely hear it.

"Yeah, sorry," Steve says. "There's no hiding in here." He pauses for a few moments, but when Loki is unsurprisingly silent, he speaks again. "So, you want to come out for dinner?"

Silence.

Steve fights back a sigh. "You have to eat something," he says. "How else are you going to get your magic back so you can threaten people when they annoy you?"

Steve's really not expecting much from that. It was more of a last-ditch joke than a real effort. But it gets the faintest hint of a laugh, a huff of air that brings a smile to Steve's face.

"So?" Steve says. "You hungry?" He gives Loki a few moments, then says, "Ultimately, it's up to you, but I actually do need a yes or a no."

Loki hesitates. "Everyone else is gone?"

"They are," Steve says. "It's just you and me." He hopes that's the answer Loki was looking for.

There's another pause, then, "Afterwards, can we pretend this never happened?"

"Sure," Steve says. "It's between you, me, and JARVIS, and something tells me JARVIS isn't in a rush to rat you out."

Loki doesn't answer, but, after a pause, the bathroom door opens. For the briefest moment, Steve almost thinks he's not in there; in reality, he's just sitting on the floor. He looks horrible — worse than he did this morning, even, though Steve can't pinpoint exactly why. He forces a friendly smile. He has a feeling the guy doesn't get many of those, and he looks like he could use one.

Loki puts one hand against the wall and the other on the sink counter, ready to push himself to his feet, and Steve can already tell that's not going to work. He leans down to help Loki up, but Loki hits his hands away and tries it himself, predictably with no success.

"Look," Steve says, "I know you don't want to ask for help. I get that. I respect it. But I would feel better if you let me help you. Okay?"

Loki hesitates, then nods.

"Okay, good," Steve says. He crouches down next to him and puts Loki's arm around his shoulders, and he puts his own around Loki's waist. It's kind of gross. It's 65 degrees in here and he's still covered in sweat. Steve tries not to think about that. "Up on three. One… two… three." He stands up and Loki comes with him, though it really doesn't feel like he helped with that process at all. "See? Easy."

Loki squeezes his eyes shut for a few moments, then opens them slowly. Steve makes a point of not letting him go. He definitely wouldn't have been able to get up on his own, and he has a feeling that if he were to take his arm away, Loki would end up right back on the floor..

"I thought you were doing better," Steve remarks.

Loki clenches his jaw. "I'm fine."

Steve fights the urge to roll his eyes. "Loki, I think we're past the point of you pretending you're okay." He keeps doing this and it's ridiculous. He is not okay. That's not the question. The question is if he's more okay than he was earlier.

Loki sighs. "I suppose we are."

Steve wasn't actually expecting him to admit it, but he does his best to hide his surprise. "You looked like you were doing better this morning. You walked out by yourself."

"There is no more powerful a motivator than rage," Loki says simply.

Steve nods in understanding. He helps Loki down the hall in uncomfortable silence. The only nice thing about it is that Loki doesn't try to fight him on it. He's willing to accept the help without complaint. As far as Steve is concerned, that's a pretty big step. If he hadn't already convinced the guy to come out and eat with him, he would have been perfectly content just bringing him to his room and calling it a productive day, but he’s glad he can actually get Loki out of there.

Steve is rather reluctant to break the silence just in case he accidentally ruins what little progress they've made. Loki only came out under the impression that he was getting something to eat without the small talk, and this goes directly against that "leaving him alone" thing. But by the time they're in the elevator, he really feels like he has to ask.

"How long have you known you were adopted?"

Loki tenses at the question, and Steve knows immediately that he's lost him. "You understand that we are not friends," Loki says, his voice laced with venom. "I certainly do not like you enough to tell you my life story."

"That's fine," Steve assures him. "I was just curious." And he definitely doesn't have to point out that they're not friends. He is well aware of that and he wouldn't have it any other way. The guy is still a terrorist and a mass murderer, after all.

They lapse into silence once more. Steve's just glad that didn't change anything. He's not an idiot. He can clearly tell that Loki's adoption is a sore subject for him. That's why he's asking, though he wasn't expecting a real answer. Actually, he was expecting a much ruder answer, so the fact that Loki is willing to just drop the subject and pretend it never happened is a nice surprise.

Steve helps Loki down the hall and into the kitchen, and he doesn't take his supporting arm away until Loki is sitting at the table somewhat comfortably. As soon as he knows Loki's okay, he lets him go and starts digging through the kitchen.

"He had a pot somewhere…" Steve mutters to himself. He used it a few days ago so he knows it's here. He just can't remember… "Ah, there it is." He pulls it out and starts filling it with water. Over his shoulder, he says, "I'm making spaghetti. I don't know if they have that in Asgard but it's good. I'm sure you'll like it."

Loki doesn't respond to that, but Steve wasn't expecting him to. He just goes about his noodle-making process, filling up the pot and putting it on the stove. Now for the fun part: waiting the 15 minutes or so it always takes to boil. That's one thing that didn't change while he was in the ice, much to his chagrin.

He opens up the fridge and sifts the mess around until he can find the jar of spaghetti sauce he bought a few days ago. He kicks the fridge closed and holds the sauce up in front of him, eyes skimming the label. "Now how do I…?" Where are the microwave instructions? That's what he has to use to make it, right? The microwave? But it doesn't even tell him to do that! It just tells him to refrigerate after he opens it, but what does he do before he refrigerates it? "Do I just put the whole jar in?" He squints, skimming the label one more time for instructions that he's already figured out do not exist. "But how long would I…?"

Steve sighs and puts the sauce on the counter. "I'll deal with that later." It won't get any easier in 15 minutes, but he'll struggle with it again once he gets the noodles cooking.

His gaze flickers over Loki's face as he's turning around, and he has to turn back and look at him again to make sure he really is seeing what he thinks he's seeing. He's smiling. Loki is smiling. And he doesn't even try to hide it when he sees Steve catch his gaze.

Steve raises an eyebrow, an amused smile on his face. "What're you laughing at?"

Loki shakes his head, the smile still there. "Nothing."

"What?" Steve asks again, fighting back a laugh. What's so funny that even Loki looks amused?

Loki just shakes his head again.

"You can't laugh at me and not tell me why," Steve says.

"It's nothing!" Loki insists, but he elaborates anyway. "You sounded as lost as I am."

Steve chuckles. "Yeah, well, you're new to Earth and I'm new to the 21st century. We're both just trying to figure it out."

Steve mentally files this away. Loki really is still learning. Everything on Earth is new to him. It's just another layer to his punishment that Steve hasn't even really thought of until now. Loki's pride won't let him ask for help adjusting the way Steve always felt he could, so he makes a note to offer it when it occurs to him.

Steve goes back to making his spaghetti. He pulls out a box of noodles and sets it on the counter. And now they wait.

A few minutes pass in silence. Steve glances at the not-quite-bowling water every now and then, and when he's not looking at the stove, he's looking down at the floor in front of him, his arms folded over his chest. He's bored out of his mind, but he still wants to leave Loki alone.

It's Loki who breaks the silence eventually. "I don’t understand why you are showing me this kindness."

Steve looks over at him and gives a small shrug. "I don't like bullies. I don't care who they are. I don't care if they're my friends."

Loki chuckles humorlessly. "Bullies." He shakes his head to himself.

"Yeah, bullies," Steve says. "I grew up with my fair share of them. That's what they remind me of."

Loki seems taken aback by that. "And you admit it."

Steve furrows his brows. "I admit what, that the Avengers are out of line? They're usually out of line." Especially Tony; he's always doing something that pisses him off.

"That you were bullied," he says. "You just readily admit that — to me, of all people."

"Why wouldn't I?" Steve asks. "It says a lot more about them than it does about me."

Once again, Loki's reaction to that is just confusion. He doesn't say anything, but his expression says wonders about him. Steve gets the impression that this is far from his first time being pestered by bullies, though he's sure Loki would deny it if he asked. It explains a lot about him. Bullies led Steve to become the best version of himself out of spite and determination; they might have led Loki to become the worst version of himself out of anger.

Steve looks back over at the water, but it's still not boiling. At least it's making noise now. That must mean it's getting close.

He looks around uncomfortably. Next time he does this — if Loki allows there to be a next time — he's bringing something to do. Standing here awkwardly is not his idea of a good time. He wishes he had a book or a newspaper or something. Anything is better than this.

"Two years."

Steve looks over at Loki, confused. That was random. They hadn't even been talking.

"You asked how long I've known I was adopted," Loki says. "Two years."

Steve gives a sympathetic nod. He'd thought it would be something like that. "Your parents waited hundreds — thousands? — of years to tell you?"

Loki barks a sarcastic laugh. "They didn't tell me. I found out the truth myself. They doubtlessly would have denied it if I hadn't proved that I knew."

Steve frowns. He's not sure how one can prove they're adopted without, say, a DNA test, but that's not really the point right now. All he can think to say is, “I’m sorry.”

"Don't be," Loki says. "A lot of things started making sense that day."

Steve doesn't know what that means, but he has a feeling it's not something good. "Is that what started all of this?" Did it change how he saw his family? Did it change how he saw himself?

Loki shakes his head. "It was merely a catalyst to it. Believe me, I have always had my reasons for doing what I've done."

There's a part of Steve that wants to ask, but he has a feeling that if Loki wanted him to know these reasons, he would have spelled them out already. But while he's being somewhat open about this, Steve decides to ask, "Do you regret any of it?"

"I do not," Loki says.

Steve nods slowly. Of course he doesn't. It would have been stupid to think he did. He may be absolutely miserable here, but he's still evil, no matter how pitiful he looks.

"My sincerest apologies if that's a disappointment, Captain," Loki says, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "But I assure you, any person of my ability in my situation would have done the same."

Steve is very close to making a sarcastic remark about what exactly "a person of his abilities" entails, but that just makes him think of Loki's fight with Thor and he doesn't particularly want to go there right now. While he has Loki talking — a rare occurrence; he seems to enjoy sitting back and observing instead — he almost wants to ask about the other half of his statement. What position was he in that made trying to take over the world a good idea? But honestly, he's not sure he wants to know how Loki justifies that in his twisted little brain.

Steve glances back at the pot, and it seems to finally be boiling. That's as good an excuse as any to end a conversation. He dumps some noodles in the water and stirs them up a bit before he sets the timer. Alright, noodles done. Now onto the sauce.

He picks up the jar of sauce again and rereads the label. It's really not going to tell him how to cook this? He looks over at Loki. "Should I put some in a bowl or do you think I can just microwave the whole thing?"

Loki seems taken aback by that. After a pause, he just says, "I don't know."

"I don't, either," Steve says, mostly to himself. "I guess it would heat faster in a bowl. I just don't know how much…?"

Loki just shrugs.

"I'm going to put some in a bowl," Steve decides. He tried heating up a full jar of chocolate sauce the other day and it exploded all over Tony's microwave. He probably shouldn't risk repeating that.

Steve dumps some sauce in a jar and shoves it in the microwave for a minute. Is a minute long enough? Is it too long? God, this is why things are supposed to have microwave instructions. As much as he loves microwaves, it's probably one of the most annoying new inventions he's yet to figure out.

When the minute is up, he pops open the microwave. He pulls the sauce closer to the microwave door, and immediately, he pulls his hand back. Ow! This bowl got really hot really fast. He leaves the sauce where it is and washes his hand briefly, just to feel the cool water over his burnt finger. Now it's back to the sauce. He dips a finger in it and sticks it in his mouth. It's cold. The bowl is hot but the sauce is cold. Oh, microwaves. What a beautiful, miserable invention.

"Stir it," Loki says.

Steve looks over at him, confused. "What?"

"Stir it," Loki repeats. "The center is always colder. Stirring it should disperse the heat."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"The microwaves heat the food from the outside," Loki says simply. "There isn't enough heat for the center."

Steve doesn't even know what that means. "No, how do you know that?" All he ever uses the microwave for is his little dinosaur chicken nuggets. He's far from an expert on the thing — except apparently he is.

"JARVIS explained it," Loki says.

Steve cocks an eyebrow, an amused smile on his face. "Did you ask JARVIS how a microwave works?"

Loki hesitates. "Possibly."

Had this been one of his friends, he might have teased them about it, but the whole reason he's standing here with Loki is that too many people have been making fun of him, so he opts to go with the more understanding route. "I guess if he's the closest thing you have to internet access… I mean, I'm sure I've googled weirder things."

Loki just stares at him. "I don't…?"

"Know what the internet is," Steve finishes slowly. "Right. That one you'll have to ask JARVIS to explain to you." He only knows the few things he uses it for — like, say, google. He has absolutely no idea what it actually is.

Loki just nods, accepting it without question. He'd probably feel more comfortable asking JARVIS anyway. That's kind of what JARVIS is here for: answering random questions.

Steve grabs a spoon and stirs the spaghetti sauce a bit, then puts it back on for another 30 seconds. He could definitely feel the difference in consistency throughout the bowl, so it seems Loki was right about this. When he tests the temperature a second time, the sauce itself burns his finger, but he's sure it will cool off by the time the noodles finish cooking. He has to use the oven mitts to put the sauce on the counter. Perfect. The hard part is over. Now they just have to wait.

The last few minutes of waiting for the noodles to finish cooking go by in silence. Steve has to hunt for the strainer, and he finds it right as the timer for the noodles goes off. He dumps the noodles in the strainer and puts it back on the pot, which he returns to a cooler burner. He puts some in two bowls, leaving more than enough for seconds and probably thirds after that.

"You want sauce on yours?" Steve asks as he puts some on his own spaghetti.

Loki hesitates. "What is it?"

God, he doesn't know what anything is. "It's spaghetti sauce," Steve says. "It's tomatoes and artificial sugar." He's sure there's a lot more to it, but that's the general impression it gives him — which isn't a knock on spaghetti sauce at all; it was delicious in the 1940s and it's delicious now.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Loki says, though he still seems hesitant.

Steve just dumps some sauce on it. If he doesn't like it, Steve will just eat his and give him some plain noodles.

They sit across from each other at the table to eat, and Steve finds himself wishing it was just a little bit bigger because they feel uncomfortably close right now. The extent of their conversation occurs when Steve asks whether he likes it ("Not bad, for Midgardian food") and whether he wants seconds (he does not). Other than that, they mostly pretend the other doesn't exist.

"Ready to head back?" Steve asks when they've both finished eating.

"I suppose," Loki says. He slides his chair backward and, with his hands on the table in front of him, he carefully pushes himself to his feet.

"You're doing better already," Steve remarks.

Loki spreads his arms, a small smile on his face. "I told you that I was okay."

"I wouldn't go that far," Steve says. He still looks a ways away from okay. "I'm sure you want nothing more than to go back to your room alone, but I'm going to walk you back." He just wants to make sure Loki actually makes it and doesn’t end up back in the bathroom for hours on end.

"I'd assumed as much," Loki says.

Steve keeps a careful eye on him, walking behind him down the hall and to the elevator. The elevator is probably the worst part of the walk, precisely because there is no walking. They just have to stand there and wait for it, and then stand there inside of it while they head to their floor. It's awkward and uncomfortable, but they manage.

As soon as Loki's in his room, he closes the door behind him. There's no thank you. There's no goodbye. There's nothing. Steve supposes he's not surprised. They've already spoken much more than he anticipated.

Steve peeks through the hole that used to be the door handle before Thor ripped it off. He just wants to make sure Loki's okay. It's probably weird to still be checking in on him now that he's in his room, but he just wants to be sure.

Loki picks up his water bottle off his bed and gives it a gentle shake. He twists the cap off, drinks far too much at one time seemingly without even stopping for air, and then sits down on the edge of his bed with a sigh. He doesn't do anything for a few seconds, until he asks, "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Loki?" JARVIS says.

"What is the internet?"

Steve bites back a laugh. Alright, he looks like he's okay.

Chapter Text

Steve is sitting at the kitchen table, just finishing up his breakfast when Tony comes in, snuggled up in an oversized hoodie. He looks tired, but he usually looks tired, so that doesn't mean much. He goes straight for the freezer, then throws his head back with an exaggerated groan and closes it.

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Everything okay?"

"He ate my ice cream."

Steve stares at him blankly. "What?"

"He ate my ice cream," Tony repeats. He turns to look at him. "There were, like, two bowls of ice cream left, and now they're gone."

"Okay…?" Steve says uncertainly. "I'll get more ice cream today." It's not that hard to drive to the grocery store.

"And how does that help me now?" Tony asks irritably.

Steve rolls his eyes. "I'll have it in time for lunch, but I think you'll survive without ice cream for breakfast."

Tony's eyebrows shoot up. "It's already morning?"

Steve nods slowly. "Yeah, it's, like, eight o'clock." He cocks his head to the side. "Were you up all night?"

Tony shrugs lazily. "Apparently."

"What were you doing?"

"At first, absolutely nothing," Tony says. "But then I started thinking about Loki and trying to figure out the…" He gestures vaguely in front of him while he tries to think of the word. "The spell. The enchantment. Whatever Thor called it."

Steve furrows his brows. "I'm pretty sure it's just a spell," he says. "It's magic. What's there to figure out?"

"I don't know because I haven't figured it out yet," Tony says irritably. "But there's something there. I've been running tests all night. Some of them pick it up. Some of them don't. So if I can just figure out what it is…"

Steve scoffs. "I know you don't want him here, but letting him loose —"

"No, no, not that," Tony says quickly. "I'm not an idiot. If I let him go, he becomes our responsibility out there instead of in here."

"Then…" Steve gives him a confused look. "What are you trying to do?"

"I don't know, modify it?" Tony says. "You know, change where he's stuck. Keep him off every floor below the kitchen."

"He doesn't go below the kitchen," Steve reminds him. He's pretty sure Loki quite literally never has. Magic or no magic, he just doesn't seem interested in it.

"I know that," Tony says, "but Pepper doesn't. and she doesn't listen to me when I tell her that — which, you know, I get; homicidal maniacs are my forte, not hers — but if I can prove he's not going to bother her…"

"Maybe she'll come back," Steve finishes, and Tony nods. "You know, you're allowed to leave. You're not stuck in the tower like he is. If you want to see her, go see her."

"Which is great," Tony says. "Short-term. I'm gonna see her in a couple days, actually, so yay me!" He gives a sarcastic pump of his fist. "But if he's going to be here for the rest of our lives… She's not gonna want to do this for the rest of our lives. She's just not."

Steve nods slowly. He really wasn't expecting to play therapist this early in the morning, but he'll give it a try. He definitely understands the problem. He doubts a simple "it will all work out" is going to make Tony feel any better.

"We could just ask him," Steve says finally.

Tony scoffs. "We could what?"

"Ask him," Steve repeats. "You could record it, send it to Pepper."

Tony stares at him.

"We know he's not a threat because we live with him," Steve says. "We've seen him. Maybe that's all it will take."

Tony shakes his head. "You're insane."

"It's worth a try," Steve says. "Worst that happens, it doesn't work and we're back where we started."

Tony hesitates, then nods, rather reluctantly. "I guess you're right. We might as well try it, get it out of the way."

Steve didn't actually mean they should ask him now, that it looks like that's what Tony's thinking, so that's what they do. They head up to Loki's room, and through the hole where the doorknob once rested, they can clearly see that the lights are off. He's probably asleep. It's still early, and who knows when Loki goes to bed when he spends all day in that room anyway?

"Maybe we should come back later," Steve says quietly. "When we know he's awake."

Tony shakes his head. "I just want to get this over with." He pulls out his phone and starts recording, the camera pointed at the door in front of them. He looks over at Steve. "You do it."

Steve's eyebrows shoot up. "What?"

"You do it," Tony repeats. "I don't want to talk to him."

"I don't want to talk to him, either!" Steve says. Just because he's nice(ish) to the guy doesn't mean he wants to be.

"It was your idea; you talk to him," Tony hisses.

"Tony —"

"You're aware that I can hear you."

Steve and Tony both freeze. Loki's awake? What the hell is he doing with the light off? Steve had just assumed he was asleep! God, this is really awkward.

"I presume you're here to talk to me," Loki says. "What do you want?"

Steve looks at Tony, who gestures for him to go on. Biting back a sigh, Steve says, "Hey, Loki. What, uh…" He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "What are you doing with the lights off?"

"I was trying to sleep," Loki says. "It's still early." He pauses. "I think."

Steve cracks a small smile at that. "We'll get you a clock, how about that?"

Tony smacks Steve on the arm and gives him a really? look. Steve just rolls his eyes. It's just a clock. He has a feeling Loki would appreciate knowing that there actually is a passage of time, even if it's unbelievably slow.

"What do you want?" Loki asks again, more irritably this time.

Okay, no more small talk. "I was just wondering," Steve says, "if I were to ask you not to do something, would you listen or would it just make you more likely to actually do it?"

Tony shakes his head to himself, but Steve stands by the question. It's a good starting point. He's not going to ask Loki not to walk around if it's going to make him want to walk around. It defeats the whole purpose.

It takes a moment for Loki to answer. "It depends on what you're asking me not to do."

That's not quite the answer he was hoping for, but it's enough that he feels like he has to keep talking. He can't just leave it at that. That would be weird. "If I asked you not to go downstairs — below the kitchen, I mean; you can obviously go eat — would you listen?"

"I had no plans to," Loki says. "I have no desire to explore any more of this tower than I have to. But you know that already, so you must be asking for a reason."

"No, no reason," Steve says quickly. "Just wondering."

"What's on the floor below the kitchen?" Loki asks.

"Nothing," Steve says. "Empty rooms. Offices, probably — but no one uses them." God, this is hard. He's trying to make it sound boring, but he's not sure what Loki would and would not want to see. What if he likes empty offices? He doesn't know.

"You're having company," Loki says.

Steve's jaw drops. How the hell did he figure that out? He looks over at Tony, who looks just as confused. What the fuck?

"That was all you had to say," Loki says. "I have no desire to meet your friends. If you keep them away from me, I will gladly stay away from them."

"Huh," Steve says, because what else does one say to that? "Well, good. That works out well." He glances down at Tony, who just shrugs. "They're not here now, so do you want to come out and get something to eat?"

Tony shoots him a look, and Steve gives an awkward shrug. What? They're here. It can't hurt to ask.

"No, I want to sleep," Loki says, annoyed. "Are you done?"

"Yep, we're done," Tony says quickly, putting a hand on Steve's back and pushing him away, not taking his hand back until they're at least halfway down the hall. He ends the video. "I just hope that's enough."

"If it's not, give it a few weeks and try again," Steve says. "When she realizes that he's not doing anything, maybe she'll decide to come back on her own."

"Maybe," Tony says, but he doesn't seem convinced.

"Just don't give up yet," Steve says. "It'll work out." Probably.

Tony nods. "Yeah, I know, it's just…" He sighs. "I'm sick of having him here. He doesn't even have to be out here with us to fuck everything up."

"I know," Steve says. "We're all sick of him."

"Yeah, well, he wasn't dumped in your house, so I don't think that counts," Tony snaps.

Steve ignores that. He understands why Tony's upset, and he knows it's not at him. He's not going to take that personally. "Look, I have no problem staying here and taking care of Loki. If you need to get out, get out. I'll give you my keys. You can crash at my place."

Tony snorts. "God, no wonder my dad wanted me to turn out like you."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Um… thank you?" Is that a compliment? It doesn't really sound like a compliment, but, to be fair, Tony's probably never given a real compliment in his life, so this is as close as he's probably ever going to get.

"I'm not going to your place," Tony says. "Your entire apartment is probably smaller than my bedroom."

Steve rolls his eyes. "I'm sorry we're not all billionaires."

"You should be," Tony says, and his flippancy would be annoying if this wasn't the first time Steve's seen him smile all morning.

"Just send the video to Pepper," Steve says. "Let me know what she says. We'll make it work."

Tony claps him on the back. "Thanks, Cap. It's always nice to be treated as well as you treat the neighborhood war criminal."

Steve rolls his eyes. Why does he even bother?

Chapter Text

Steve knocks on Loki's door. "Hey, Loki. The kitchen's empty. I'm going to make lunch if you're hungry."

Loki doesn't answer, which, at this point, is pretty much what Steve has come to expect from him. He can see the light on through the hole in the door, so he has to assume he's awake. Granted, he just made the opposite assumption earlier and he was wrong, so maybe he shouldn't rely on the light for that.

Half a minute or so passes, and Steve raises his fist to knock again, but Loki opens the door. That was actually a lot easier than he thought it was going to be. And he looks fine, too — or as fine as he can be, given the circumstances. He looks better than he did the day before, at least.

Steve gives him a small smile. "Hey. Did you sleep well?"

Loki raises an eyebrow. "Small talk?"

Steve shrugs. "Yeah. Small talk." He's not going to apologize for that. It's only weird if he makes it weird.

Loki shakes his head to himself. Clearly he's not sold on that idea, so they walk in silence. If he'd thought they bonded yesterday — and he's not sure he did think that; there were some nice moments but he did also imply that he would jump at the chance to kill them and take over the world again — it seems he was mistaken. Steve's actually a little disappointed. He was kind of hoping they'd get to talk a bit more. It was an interesting look in the mind of a mass murderer.

When they reach the kitchen, Loki goes straight to the table, sitting down immediately, and Steve's almost embarrassed to realize he completely forgot how difficult walking has been for him. It's not exactly a brief walk. He doesn't look like he's struggling with it anymore, but that seems to be his thing, pretending he's doing fine when he's not.

Steve doesn't mention it. He's sure Loki doesn't want him to, and he doesn't care enough to bother him about it. He just goes straight to filling up his pot in the sink.

"I'm making mac n cheese," Steve tells him, though he's sure Loki has no idea what that means. And, for the record, Natasha was right: stovetop mac n cheese is definitely better than microwavable mac n cheese.

Loki doesn't ask, so Steve doesn't explain it. He puts the pot on the stove, and now they wait.

A few minutes pass before Loki finally breaks the silence. "Is your friend here?"

Steve shakes his head. "They might come tomorrow. We're not sure yet."

Loki raises an eyebrow. "'They'?"

"Just one person," Steve clarifies. As a bit of a joke, he adds, "If we were throwing a party, we'd warn you."

Loki cracks a smile, amused. "You don't trust me to know the gender of your guest."

Steve gives a small shrug. No, he doesn't. Pepper doubtlessly doesn't want Loki to know that she might come over tomorrow. He's not going to allude to it. "Does it matter?"

"I suppose it doesn't; I'll ignore them just the same," Loki says. "If I make a guess, would you tell me if I'm right?"

"Sure," Steve says noncommittally. What's he going to do, guess the gender? That's not going to give anything away. There's really no real reason he couldn't just say "She's a woman."

"Is it Pepper Potts?"

Steve scoffs, his jaw dropping. "How did you…?"

"If it was someone from SHIELD, I'm sure they would want to see me," Loki says. "It had to be a civilian, and given that you don't have any friends, Stark's partner seemed like the logical assumption."

Steve brushes that “no friends” remark off. No, maybe he doesn't have any living friends outside of the Avengers — and even some of them he hesitates to call friends — but he can make friends, which is more than Loki can say, stuck here in the tower.

"How do you even know who Pepper is?" Steve asks.

"Barton told me," Loki says simply.

Steve cocks his head to the side. Clint told him about Pepper? Why?

As if reading his mind, Loki adds, "Not of his own free will, of course. He told me everything I could want to know about you all when he was under my command."

Ah, right. The mind control thing, of course. Steve shakes his head to himself. "You really have no remorse, do you?"

"Of course not," Loki says. "And why should I? What has Clint Barton ever done to earn my remorse?"

Steve shrugs. "Maybe he'd be a little nicer if he thought you felt bad about mind-controlling him."

Loki chuckles humorlessly. "He wouldn't."

"He might be," Steve insists.

"He wouldn't," Loki says again. "He treats me the way that he does because he enjoys it. That is not going to change until he grows bored of taunting me."

Steve sighs. "Okay, maybe, but you're not helping your case by saying you think there was nothing wrong with trying to, you know, kill us and take over the world."

"I have no case to help," Loki says. "I know I will never get along with any of you. It doesn't matter. Unless the Allfather changes his mind — and he won't; he hates me — I am stuck here, whether you like me or not. What good would feigning regret do?"

Steve's first instinct is to suggest that he could learn to tolerate living here, but he knows Loki wouldn't believe him. Steve wouldn't believe it, either, if he's being honest. He decides to go with a different approach. "I don't know, I think we get along pretty well."

Loki rolls his eyes. "We barely tolerate each other. You just don't want me to starve, and no one else cares so it falls on you."

"Actually," Steve says, "Stark said we shouldn't let you starve." He would have taken matters into his own hands if he hadn't, but it really was Tony who brought it up.

Loki raises an eyebrow. "I don't believe that."

"It's true," Steve says. "Thor said to let you starve. Tony said no."

"Hm." Loki nods slowly. "So you and Stark both care more than Thor does. I did not expect that."

Steve sighs. That's not what he meant. "I'm sure Thor cares," he says, though he doesn't actually believe it. Thor was pissed. He really might not care anymore. "He was just upset. I mean, you did throw a knife at him."

"Yes, well, karma has always been a bit slow to get back to him," Loki says. "I thought I would speed up the process."

"But you do understand why Thor was upset," Steve says.

"Of course I do," Loki replies, and it almost sounds like a good thing until he continues, "He was upset because he never thinks about anyone but himself and habitually forgets that other people are allowed to have feelings and boundaries."

"You threw a knife at him," Steve reminds him.

"I'm sorry, did I start by throwing a knife at him?" Loki asks sarcastically. "No, I did not. I asked him to stop talking about the subject —"

"There was no asking," Steve says. "There wasn't even telling."

"Okay, I verbally made my stance clear that I was uncomfortable with the subject," Loki says. "He did not listen, so I had to resort to more… persuasive measures."

Steve shakes his head to himself. "Do you ever get tired of having to jump through hoops to find ways to justify yourself?" Like, he has to see how messed up this is. There's no way he's just oblivious.

"Yes, I do," Loki says. "Which is why I tend to avoid explaining myself to people who refuse to listen."

"No, I'm listening," Steve assures him. He's definitely listening. He wants to listen. "I just don't understand. I don't get how you can justify throwing a knife at your brother."

Loki rolls his eyes. "You would never survive a day in Asgard — and he's not my brother."

"There is no way that's a cultural thing," Steve says. "Stabbing people is not a cultural thing."

"Spoken like a true mortal," Loki remarks.

Steve scoffs. He has to be kidding. He almost wants Thor to come back just so he can ask if Loki's telling the truth. He just wouldn't want to see the inevitable fighting between the brothers that Thor's presence would bring.

"Every conversation in an adventure with you, Loki," Steve tells him.

The corners of his lips twitch up at that, but all he says is a bored, "That's great. Is lunch almost done?"

Steve glances over his shoulder, and, as fate may have it, the water looks to be mere seconds away from boiling. He opens two boxes of Kraft mac n cheese and pulls the cheese packets out, and the water is boiling just enough to pour them in now. He sets the timer and tosses the boxes out.

"Give it ten minutes," Steve says. Eight to cook and two for butter and cheese. It seems like a reasonable estimate.

"Ten minutes," Loki repeats. "Why don't you just tell me when it's done instead of dragging me out here this early?"

Steve shrugs. "Because I don't know if you'll want to eat and I'm not in the habit of wasting food." That's not at all true. He grew up during the Great Depression, so eating leftovers is nothing new to him. He just wants to get Loki out of that room as much as he can without being overbearing. He's sure the isolation isn't doing him any favors.

"Then ask JARVIS to ask me," Loki says.

"JARVIS is not a telephone," Steve says — although, now that he thinks about it, there's no reason they couldn't use him as a phone. "This is how it works. Either you come out here with me or you figure your meals out yourself."

Loki just rolls his eyes, which Steve is pretty sure means he's still going to go along with this, even if he doesn't like it.

They lapse into silence, which is disappointing. As questionable as he finds the majority of things that come out of Loki's mouth, he does get some weird sort of enjoyment out of them. He really is an interesting person.

Steve fills up two cups of water and puts them both on the table, one for Loki and one for himself. Loki seems surprised, but he drinks it without question. Steve goes back to making the mac n cheese, and it's surprisingly calm. There haven't been many calm moments since he got here — not unless he's alone, at least.

When the mac n cheese is done, Steve scoops out two bowls, pops a spoon in each, and sits down across from Loki to eat.

Loki looks between the two bowls. "Why do I have so much more than you do?"

"Because if I tell you that you can go back for more, you won't," Steve says simply. Whereas he likes having multiple bowls. It makes it feel like more food.

Loki looks taken aback by that, but he doesn't comment on it. He takes a bite of mac n cheese — without taking a minute to stare at it, which is new — and Steve looks at him expectantly.

"Hmm," Loki hums. "Not bad."

Steve rolls his eyes good-naturedly. "Are you incapable of saying anything tastes good?"

"Of course not," Loki says. "Ice cream tastes good. Ice cream tastes great."

Steve bites back a laugh. "Yeah, Stark was not happy that you ate the rest of the ice cream last night."

"Fortunately for him," Loki says, "he can leave the tower to get more. And then I can eat that, too."

This time Steve has to laugh. He can't help it. That puts a smile on Loki's face, too — one of the very few sincere smiles Steve has seen from him. There's no malice; there's no smarm. It's a genuine smile. It's nice to see.

Steve still doesn't like Loki. He sure as hell doesn't trust him. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying this.

Chapter Text

Tony's been pacing back and forth in the lobby for three minutes now. Pepper said she would be here in a minute. This is more than a minute. This is a three times a minute. If he has to wait much longer, he's going to lose his mind.

He's fully aware that he's being dramatic. Of course he is; he'd have to be an idiot not to be. But he hasn't seen Pepper in weeks, and he doesn't want to wait another second to hold her in his arms. He doesn't even care if she makes fun of him for being sappy. It's been a very trying few weeks and he misses his girl more than he can say.

Pepper finally walks through the door, her shoes click-clacking against the tile floor with every step. Tony smiles at the sight of her. She's so professional, walking around in her fancy white suit with her hair done all nice. If he has it his way, none of that is going to last.

Pepper looks around uncomfortably. "I've never seen it so empty before."

"Forget the tower," Tony says. Who gives a shit about the tower? He runs up to her and pulls her into a hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Woah!" Pepper laughs and hugs him back. "What's this about?" she asks. "I mean, not that I'm complaining, but…?"

"I might have kind of missed you," Tony murmurs. "Just a little bit."

"It's only been a couple weeks," she reminds him.

"There is nothing 'only' about a couple weeks," Tony says. "It felt like an eternity — the longest two and a half weeks of my life."

"At least you had the Avengers —"

"No," Tony says immediately, putting an abrupt end to the hug that he would have been perfectly content to let continue forever. "No, that is not a good thing. Don't try to turn this into a good thing. It's not. It's a bad thing."

Pepper rolls her eyes, a fond smile on her lips. "Right, right, of course. I'm very sorry you've had to spend the last two weeks with your friends. It must have been very difficult."

"They're not my friends," Tony says. She knows that. He spends most of his time in the lab, anyway, far away from them. "We worked together. We're coworkers. That doesn't make us friends."

"No," Pepper agrees, "the Star Wars movie nights make your friends."

He hates that she has a point. He never would have sent her the video of Loki whining on the man cave floor like a depressed kitten if he knew she was going to throw it back in his face like this.

"No, see," Tony says, "Star Wars movie nights with Rhodey could make us friends. He's not here." If he was, Tony might actually be able to convince himself this is fun.

"Then invite him over," Pepper says with a shrug. "Easy."

"I tried," Tony says. That was the whole point of the little man cave video — showing Rhodey how stupid Loki looks and trying to get him to visit. "He doesn't want to deal with Loki any more than you do."

"Ah, right," she says. "I forgot that not everyone likes to harass the most powerful being on the planet."

"I know, weird, right?" Tony says with a grin. He puts a hand on her back and gently leads her to the elevator. "Speaking of Loki, Steve takes him out for lunch and dinner and he comes out when everyone's asleep. Other than that, he doesn't leave his room. You can just pretend he’s not even here."

"You can say that as many times as you want," Pepper says. "It won't make me feel any better."

"Okay, but it makes me feel better," Tony says. Because he can pretend that assuring her for the hundredth time that he won't even see her makes her feel better, and that makes him feel better.

Pepper shakes her head to herself. "So, other than us and Loki, who's here right now?"

"Just Steve," Tony says. "Nat and Barton are off on some mission; haven't heard from them since they left."

"Do you know when they're coming back?" Pepper asks.

Tony feigns offense. "What, am I not enough for you?"

"No, you're not," she says teasingly.

Tony slaps a hand over his heart. "Okay, ouch." To answer her question, he adds, "And no, I have no idea when they're coming back. No one tells me anything. They just showed up and moved in and now they come and go as they please."

Tony finds it kind of annoying — though he's mostly gotten over it now — but Pepper just seems to find it amusing.

"Hey, JARVIS," Tony says. "Loki still in his room?"

"Yes, sir," JARVIS says.

"Good," Tony says, ushering Pepper into the elevator. "I'm starving."

"I could go for a snack," Pepper says. "And you're sure we won't see Loki?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Tony insists. "Steve always checks the kitchen before he brings him out. If we're there, he'll wait."

"And you're sure he won't get bored and come out alone?" she asks.

"I don't think he gets bored," Tony says. He seemed perfectly content laying in bed and doing nothing for three days until Thor showed up. The guy is, like, a billion years old. This probably feels like the blink of an eye to him. "Plus, he kind of hates us. He would literally rather starve than risk running into us."

"Except Steve," she says skeptically.

"Yeah, well, Steve's nice to him," he says with a shrug. "We aren't."

"I'm glad Steve has a sense of self-preservation," Pepper remarks. "Clearly that's not a common trait around here."

"But it's fun!" Tony says. "'Cause he can't do anything to get back at us. He just gives us this look, and you can tell he wants to do something but he can't."

Pepper is much less enthusiastic about that. "Just…" She sighs. "Be careful. You've seen what he can do. I don't want you to get hurt because you decided it would be fun to poke the bear."

"I'll be fine," Tony assures her. "If I think he's going to get violent, I'll back off, but I really don't think he will. He was this close to being executed in Asgard. One wrong move and he might be."

"They should've just executed him," she mutters.

Tony just nods. It would've been easier for everyone. Honestly, it probably would've been better for Loki, too.

They head to the kitchen, and Steve is already there with a bowl of ice cream. Huh. Maybe that's what Tony will have for lunch. (What? He never claimed to be healthy.)

"Oh, hi!" Pepper says, a big smile on her face. "It's nice to finally meet you!"

"Hey!" Steve gives a small wave. "So you decided to give it a chance after all!"

"Well, it sounds like you've got a good handle on him," Pepper says. "And you're doing pretty well with Loki, too."

Tony makes a show of rolling his eyes, but he can't deny that it's nice to hear her tease him again. It hasn't been the same over the phone.

Steve chuckles. "Well, they've been a handful, but I've managed." He points to the freezer with his spoon. "Stark, you should have some ice cream."

Tony is pretty sure Steve wouldn't tell him to have ice cream just for the hell of it, so he has a feeling he knows what this is about. "Loki ate my ice cream again, didn't he?"

Steve just gestures to the freezer again.

Tony lolls his head back and groans. "I told him not to eat my ice cream." He left a little sticky note on it. He even taped the sticky note down so it wouldn't fall off. The guy can read, can't he? He's pretty sure that's something they do in Asgard.

Tony walks over to the freezer and pulls open the door. The tub of ice cream is exactly where he left it, sticky note still attached. He pulls the ice cream out — and it's much lighter than it was last night — and takes a look at the note.

The note has been flipped over, though the "LOKI, DO NOT EAT" on the front shines right through to the other side. Loki must have found a pen, because in small green lettering, it says, "Thank you for the ice cream. It was delicious."

Tony rips the note off and crumples it in his hand. "That little…" He grits his teeth and tosses it on the counter. God, he can't stand this guy.

"What?" Pepper asks. "What happened?"

"I'm gonna kill him," Tony says.

"Oh, come on." Steve rolls his eyes. "It was just a bowl of ice cream."

"No, it was not just a bowl of ice cream," Tony says. "It's the note. I bet he didn't even want the ice cream. I bet he just ate it because I told him not to."

Steve shrugs. "I told you he might do that."

"I hate him," Tony says. "I really, really hate him."

"What did he do?" Pepper asks.

Tony just gestures to the crumpled-up note on the counter, and she goes to take a look.

"It was one sarcastic remark," Steve says. "With how many he's put up with, I think you can give him that."

Pepper huffs a laugh, and Tony looks over to see her reading over the sticky note. He shoots her a look.

"I'm sorry," she says, covering her mouth with her hand like he can't see the smile under it. "He's just so petty."

"He's an asshole is what he is," Tony mutters.

Pepper tosses the stick note in the trash, and Tony puts the ice cream on the counter and grabs the ice cream scoop. At least Steve left it out for him. It makes his life easier. He scoops out a bowl, then holds it out to Pepper. If she doesn't want it, he'll gladly eat it himself.

Pepper takes the bowl, and as Tony goes back to scoop out another, she says, "Isn't it a little cold to be eating ice cream?"

Tony purses his lips. He's gotten so used to the temperature, he forgot he turned it down the other day. "Hey, JARVIS, set the temperature to 72."

"Yes, sir," JARVIS says.

Steve doesn't say anything, but his sigh makes his position perfectly clear.

"Hey," Tony says, "I gave him two days of it. If he's still hot, that's his own problem."

"Tony, come on," Steve says with a disapproving frown.

"I'm serious," Tony says. "I don't care if he's still hot. He'll get over it." He sits down at the table with the others. "If he complains — if he actually says that it's too hot — we can turn it down a little, but I'm not wearing a hoodie all day for the rest of my life just because Loki got a little sweaty."

Steve grits his teeth, but, after a moment of hesitation, he gives a reluctant nod. Tony doesn't really need him to agree — he could easily just tell JARVIS not to accept temperature suggestions from Steve or Loki — but he'd rather have Steve's reluctant approval.

"Alright, enough about Loki," Tony says. They've spent way too much time on him already. He folds his hands on the table with exaggerated politeness and looks at Pepper. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I don't know," she says. "I've been busy. A lot of traveling."

"The burden of owning an international empire," Tony says. At least when he was in charge, he got to go to parties just about everywhere he went. He's pretty sure Pepper doesn't do that. "You glad to be back?"

"I am," she says. "Psychopathic god upstairs aside, it's good to be home."

"And, more importantly," Tony says, "it's good to be back with me." He says it as a joke, but he'd like to think she really is as glad to see him again as he is to see her.

"Mm…" She shakes her hand in a so-so motion, and when Tony shoots her a playfully annoyed look, she just laughs.

Steve gets up and puts his now-empty ice cream bowl in the sink. "I'm heading out. I'll see you later — and Pepper, it was very nice to meet you."

"You, too," Pepper says.

"Woah, woah, hold on," Tony says quickly. "Where are you going? What about Loki?"

"I'm just going to the gym," Steve says. "I think Loki will survive a couple hours without me."

"What if he gets hungry?" Tony challenges. "He said he wouldn't go below the kitchen. He never said he wouldn't come here."

"He won't," Steve assures him. "I just checked on him about an hour ago. He asked me to come back later so he could go back to sleep."

God, they sound like really shitty dads on their first day alone with their son right now. "I just checked on him." What kind of pseudo-parenting bullshit is this?

Pepper cuts in with, "Maybe we should just stay out of the kitchen."

Tony thinks about that for a moment. He really doesn't like the idea of Loki's presence here telling him where he can and cannot go in his own house, but he's also determined to keep Loki as far away from Pepper as he can. If that means staying out of the kitchen for a few hours, they'll stay out of the kitchen for a few hours.

"I'm taking the rest of the ice cream first," Tony says. It's not even that he wants another bowl; he just knows that if it's still there tonight, Loki will have it, and Tony is nothing if not petty.

Steve rolls his eyes. "I'm sure Loki will be heartbroken," he says sarcastically, and Tony is just about to complain that he never said it was about Loki (even though it very much was), but Steve walks out of the kitchen before he gets the chance.

Tony hops up and scoops the rest of the ice cream into his bowl. "You're welcome to as much as you want," he tells Pepper.

"I'll keep that in mind," she says.

Tony grabs a pad of sticky notes and a Sharpie, and, in big lettering across the front, just writes, "Fuck you." He coats it in a nice waterproof coat of scotch tape, then drops it in the empty ice cream container and puts it back in the freezer.

With that out of the way, he sits back down at the table, and he and Pepper both finish their ice creams. Pepper does end up eating some of his, but he's half-convinced it's because he's taking too long to eat it himself. They both get up to put their bowls in the sink, hopefully for someone else (read: Steve) to wash later.

"Okay, where to now?" Pepper asks.

"Hm…" Tony hums thoughtfully. He slowly walks up to her, a smirk on his face. "Well, you know…" He rests his hands on her hips. "Our bed's been getting a little cold."

"Ooh!" She bounces her eyebrows. "I guess we better warm it up."

Tony presses a kiss to her lips. It really is good to have her home.

Chapter Text

The first thing Tony does the next morning is check the freezer. Pepper follows him, probably under the impression that they're going to have breakfast — and they will, after he looks at the ice cream.

"You're ridiculous," she tells him.

He ignores that. He pops the top off the ice cream and pulls out the little "Fuck you" sticky note. Much like it was yesterday, it's been flipped over, and in little green letters, Loki wrote, "I'm flattered by the offer, but you’re not my type."

Tony grits his teeth. "That smarmy little…"

"What did he say this time?" Pepper asks.

Tony hands her the note, and, while she's reading it, he washes the sticky ice cream remnants off his hands.

Pepper huffs a laugh. "At least he has a sense of humor."

"This is not funny," Tony says. It's annoying. It's frustrating. This guy is really pissing him off, and Tony hasn't even seen him in days.

"It's kind of funny," Pepper says, and Tony shoots her a look. Growing more serious, she says, "I'm just saying, if you're going to keep trying to piss off the genocidal god upstairs, you should be glad he's just being sarcastic."

"It's all he can do," Tony says. "His dad's got him on a leash. He can't hurt me — or anyone else, for that matter."

"I know, but I don't trust that," Pepper says. "I don't trust him. He's insane, remember? He doesn't care about consequences. I mean, he destroyed half of New York just for the hell of it. If you piss him off enough, I don't think consequences are going to stop him from getting back at you."

"He won't," Tony says. He's not interested in revenge. Anyone who's spent any amount of time with him would see that. Unfortunately, that will never include Pepper because he's not letting Loki anywhere near her, so she'll have to take his word for it.

"But what if he does?" Pepper asks. "Contrary to popular belief, you are not invincible. He could kill you."

"He won't," Tony says again. "I promise. I know what I'm doing."

"What you're doing is pissing off a god that you know has no problem with murder," Pepper says. "Just be careful with him. Don't try to piss him off anymore. The best-case scenario is that he pisses you off right back."

Tony hesitates. Taking the piss out of Loki is the only thing keeping him sane while he's stuck living with the guy. He doesn't know if he can deal with him without making his life difficult. It's fun — something he doesn't get too much of these days. More than that, though, it's rewarding. That fight in New York was traumatizing for him — and he doesn't use that word lightly. Sometimes he's still not sure he's okay. Sometimes he doesn't think he'll ever truly be okay. He knows he can never ruin Loki the way Loki ruined him, but it sure as hell makes him feel better to try.

"Please," Pepper says. "Just leave him alone."

Tony frowns. "He threw me out a window," he reminds her, though, honestly, that was probably the least traumatizing part of that fight.

"I know," Pepper says. "And I would like nothing more than to see him looking absolutely miserable here, but I don't want him to take it out on you. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt."

Tony sighs. "Okay," he concedes. "I'll leave him alone, but only because I like you just a little bit more than I hate him."

Pepper smiles. "I love you, too.

Much to the chagrin of most of you readers, Tony has no intention of keeping that promise. He'll lay off Loki a little bit. He'll leave the guy alone whenever Pepper's here, just for her peace of mind. But he knows there's nothing Loki can do to get back at him, short of the occasional passive-aggressive remark like the one on the sticky notes, so why should he have to stop bitching at him?

Tony and Pepper sit down and eat some cereal, like it's just an ordinary day in Stark Tower. This is what most of their mornings used to look like before Loki showed up. It's just the two of them, eating breakfast and chatting. It's nice. He's missed this.

They sit around the table for a while longer than they have to, long past when they're done eating. They've spoken nearly every other day over the phone these last few weeks, but they still take the time to catch each other up on anything they haven't had the chance to talk about. Most of it comes from Pepper. Tony keeps asking her questions, just because he likes to listen to her talk. In all honesty, he doesn't really care how Stark Industries is doing, but she does so he wants to hear it.

Eventually, Steve comes into the room, and their conversation reaches an abrupt stop. Steve smiles at them, the extent of his greeting before he heads to the counter to grab a banana, then the closet to grab a protein bar. He pauses, then picks up the sticky note on the counter. It gets a laugh out of him — and an eye roll from Tony — and he puts it back down, then heads to the doorway to leave.

"Are you taking Loki out soon?" Pepper asks, clearly nervous about that.

Steve shakes his head. "He usually wakes up around lunchtime. I'll have JARVIS tell you when I go get him."

Tony snorts. "You guys feel like we're babysitting a child too, right? This isn't just me?"

"No, because kids don't scare me," Pepper says. "Homicidal gods, though? Those scare me."

"You don't have to be scared of him," Steve assures her. "He's definitely not a child…" He shoots Tony a pointed look. "But he's not going to hurt anyone. He just wants to be left alone."

"You guys keep saying that, but you don't know that," Pepper says.

"I do," Steve says. "The only one he's actually tried to hurt is Thor, and that was purely personal; hundreds of years of pent-up anger finally coming out."

Tony raises an eyebrow. "Did he tell you that?" He didn't think Loki was big into conversations, and definitely not personal ones like that.

"Well, not in as many words," Steve says, "but yeah."

"So he didn't," Tony surmises. He's just guessing.

"No, he did," Steve says. "I tried to chew him out for throwing a knife at Thor, and we got to talking about it and that's what he said. More or less."

"You 'got to talking,'" Tony repeats. "You just, what, hold casual conversations with the guy? Are you sure you're not friends?" He tries to make it sound mocking, but he's actually not very happy with that. Loki doesn't need a friend. He doesn't deserve a friend.

Steve rolls his eyes. "We're not friends," he says. "But yeah, we talk. We don't just stand around quietly and eat. That would be weird."

"I think it's a little more weird that you're getting all buddy-buddy with Loki," Tony says, "but what do I know? I just watched him destroy half of Manhattan with you."

"We're not 'buddy-buddy,'" Steve insists.

"Have you tried telling Loki that?" Tony asks. "Because I don't think he'd talk to the rest of us."

"No, probably not," Steve agrees, "because I'm the only one who isn't mean to him, and he wouldn't admit it but he really likes to hear himself talk."

"Of course he does," Tony says. "Egotistical bastard."

"You like to hear yourself talk, too," Steve reminds him.

"Uh, yeah, and I'm an egotistical bastard," Tony says. "What's confusing you?"

Steve shakes his head. "I'm heading out. Don't worry about Loki; I'll be back before he wakes up."

"And where are you off to?" Tony asks.

"I'm going to eat." Steve holds up his banana and protein bar. "And then I'm going for a run."

"Ew." Tony makes a face. "I don't know why you'd do that to yourself." Yes, he also works out, and yes, he can do a decent amount of cardio, but he can't imagine waking up in the morning and deciding that a fun way to spend the day would be to go running.

Steve just rolls his eyes and heads for the hall.

"Hey, Steve?" Pepper says.

Steve pauses in the doorway. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for keeping an eye on Loki," she says. "I feel a lot better knowing you're on top of it."

Steve smiles. "No problem," he says. "It's a lot easier than it sounds."

Tony just rolls his eyes. Steve and Loki's love affair better not last much longer, because this is getting ridiculous.

Chapter Text

It's been a few days since Thor left — not that Loki actually knows how many; every day blends together to him — and Loki's feeling a lot better. He's been up and walking around again, pacing back and forth just to kill time. He has no problem getting to and from the kitchen. He's even been doing some little bits of magic just to keep himself entertained. He's not quite as good as new, but he's getting there.

He's doing a lot better mentally, too. He's still absolutely miserable here. Of course he's miserable. That's never going to change. But the only person he's had to talk to in days is Steve. He doesn't have to put up with the other Avengers (other than Tony's stupid notes about the ice cream, but he kind of enjoyed writing back to him so that doesn't count) or Thor and his holier-than-thou attitude. It's been as close to great as he expects his life to ever get, at least until all of the Avengers are dead and he gets the tower to himself.

Loki usually doesn't start his day until Steve comes to get him for breakfast-slash-lunch. He likes to just lie in bed with his eyes closed until he has a reason to get up. It makes the time go by faster. But today feels like an exceptionally long wait, and he's beginning to get very, very bored — and kind of hungry, too.

Loki sits up and flicks the light switch on with his telekinesis. He looks out the window, but he's been able to see the sunlight flooding into his room even before he opened his eyes. He already knew it was afternoon — or just before noon; somewhere around there. Steve should be here any minute, but he's starting to get very bored and he's not sure he can wait another minute. It's one thing when he knows Steve is hours from coming to get him, but when he knows it could be at any moment, it gets much more frustrating.

"JARVIS?" Loki says. "Is Steve coming?"

"He is not," JARVIS says.

"Do you think he's going to come soon?" Loki asks.

"I don't know," JARVIS says. "Probably not within the next few minutes. I don't know about after that."

Loki sighs. Fine, whatever. He's not sitting around all day waiting for Steve. He pushes himself to his feet and takes a minute to stretch, cracking every vertebra in his back with a satisfying series of pops. That feels nice.

He heads out of his room, closing the door quietly behind himself. He's not sure why he always tries to sneak out of his room when he goes to the bathroom. It's not like anyone could hear him. Tony basically shoved him as far away from everything as possible, and thank god for that.

Loki makes his way to the bathroom, makes sure the door is locked, and turns on the shower. That's a noise he never thought he'd miss. At least the Asgardian prisoners got showers twice a week. He's gone two or three weeks here without one, and he feels disgusting.

Loki pulls off his prison shirt. It's been soaked in so much sweat for so long, it's starting to get crusty. He didn't even know that was possible. He can't believe he's been wearing this same shirt for weeks. So much for being a prince.

Loki kicks off his shoes, and he strips off all of his dirty clothes. He just leaves them on the floor. He won't be needing those anymore. He hopes. He's still not quite sure what he is and isn't capable of, but he's feeling a lot better. He'd like to think he can still do most of his old tricks.

Loki steps into the shower, tilting his head back and letting the cool water fall down his body. He needed this. This is so much better than that half-assed cold bath Thor threw him in. He'd choose a cold shower any day.

Loki runs his hands through his hair, giving the water a clear pathway down his head. His fingers get tangled up in the ends, and he gently brushes it out from the bottom. Every stroke pulls out new strands of hair, and he sticks them to the shower wall just to get them out of his fingers. It’s absolutely disgusting, but he doesn’t have to share the shower with anyone so he doesn’t care too much. No one’s going to see it but him.

There's no soap in this bathroom. There isn't even hand soap. It just proves this tower is way too big; he's probably the only person to ever use this bathroom. But, as much as Loki wishes he could shampoo his hair — and maybe throw in a little conditioner, too; he could use it — even just the water brings a smile to his face. This is the most refreshing shower he's ever had, soap or no soap.

He stands under the water for a long time, letting the cold water cleanse his skin. He only stops when his stomach's growling becomes too much to ignore. He reluctantly turns off the shower and climbs out.

"JARVIS?" Loki says.

"Yes, Loki?"

"Has Steve come looking for me yet?"

"He has not."

Loki frowns. He still hasn't? Usually he has by now, right? Steve still hasn't gotten him that promised clock so he can't know for sure, but he's not usually this hungry when he comes.

"Is he going to?" Loki asks. He has to, right? He wouldn't just not come. He'd at least tell Loki if he wasn't going to, right? They're not friends, but he'd like to think there's a mutual level of respect. Not a very high level of respect, but enough respect that Steve wouldn't just decide not to come by without telling him.

"I assume he will," JARVIS says. "He's mentioned it in passing so I do not think he's forgotten. He's just preoccupied."

"Preoccupied with what?" Does he even do anything here? For a giant tower, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of entertainment.

"Talking to the others," JARVIS says.

Ah, yeah, that would do it. Loki bites back a sigh. "Thank you, JARVIS."

With a bit of magic, Loki dries himself off and conjures up a new set of clothes to wear. It's just a plain black suit. There are no fancy embellishments like the colorful green scarf he wore in Germany a few months ago. It's simple. It's respectable. It fits with the Midgardian style. You can't go wrong with a suit, that's what he always says.

He runs a hand through his hair, slicking it back. This feels much better. His hair is still greasy and he could really use some shampoo, but even just the water makes it feel better. His peasant shirt flies up from the floor and into his hand, and he wipes it across the mirror to clear the condensation. He looks okay. He actually thinks he looks better than he did when he first got to Midgard a few months ago. That's nice to see.

Loki grabs his old clothes and heads back to his room. He supposes he doesn't really need to keep these anymore, though he's not sure what else he could do with them. And he actually does kind of like the pajama pants. He might keep wearing those at night. He tosses the shirt under his bed — out of sight, out of mind — but he nearly folds up the pants and rests those on the foot of the bed for later.

"JARVIS?" Loki says again. Sometimes he feels bad that he's always asking JARVIS questions. He knows that JARVIS's whole job is helping people, but this has to get annoying. "Do you think Steve is going to come by any time soon?"

"I don't know," JARVIS says. "I can ask."

"No!" Loki says quickly. He doesn't want Steve to know he's been waiting for him, or that he's this impatient doing it. He definitely doesn't want the other Avengers to know. He's not a child, and waiting for the big strong man to come over and bring him to the kitchen certainly sounds childish. Tony would get a kick out of it, and that's the last thing Loki wants.

He sighs. Fine, whatever. He's not waiting here any longer. He's getting too hungry. He heads down the hall and to the stairs down the hall. Usually he would take the elevator, but he kind of just wants to walk right now. Yes, he wants food, but he wants to stretch his legs, too.

After climbing down an ungodly number of stairs, he makes it to the floor the kitchen is on, and he heads down the hallway. He's actually feeling really good about himself right now. He's all clean; he's been using his magic; he's strong enough to walk. He's having a pretty decent afternoon, all things considered.

Until he turns the corner into the kitchen, and Steve, Tony, Clint, and Natasha are all sitting at the table. Because of course they are. He probably should have asked JARVIS where Steve was talking to the others before he came all the way out here. And it looks like they've already eaten, too. Even Steve has a plate in front of him. JARVIS really didn't think to tell him that?

"Oh, man, this is exciting," Tony says, and Loki raises an eyebrow. "We've been trying to lay off of you until you got better, and now that you're better…" He gestures to him with a grin. "We can start making fun of you again."

"I wasn't aware that you stopped," Loki deadpans.

"Well, no, we didn't," Tony admits, "but now we can make fun of you more."

"Starting with the suit," Clint adds. "Seriously. Where are you going, the opera?"

Natasha snickers, and Loki rolls his eyes. God, he hates these guys. He wishes he could just turn back around and walk out, but if he's going to admit that they're bothering him, he'd like it to be with a threat of violence, and he's not quite at that level of angry yet.

"Oh, right, you can't," Clint says.

Loki ignores him. He pulls open the freezer and roots around in it. No ice cream. No chicken nuggets. What the hell is this? He really can't have any good things?

"What are you looking for?" Steve asks.

Before Loki can answer — his answer just being "food" — Tony cuts in with, "You know, Cap, if we're interrupting your love affair, you can always ask us to leave."

Steve just sighs, and Loki grits his teeth. Seriously? He's going to make fun of Steve now, just because he's trying to be very vaguely helpful? They can't let him have anything.

Loki shuts the freezer and pulls open the fridge. He doubts he'll have much luck in this side. He's never actually looked in here, but he doesn’t expect much. But, to his surprise, he actually does find something good — something he recognizes, even, which is a rare feat. He pulls out a tub of strawberries and shuts the fridge behind him. These won't fill him up for long, but hopefully long enough that the next time he comes back — with or without Steve, because it seems Steve has already made new meal plans — the kitchen will be empty.

"Hey, no one's washed those yet," Tony tells him.

Loki furrows his eyebrows. "Okay…?" Why does it matter? Why would he wash his strawberries? What, are they afraid of the little bug feet that may have landed on them?

The tub of strawberries disappear, and Loki prepares to subtly book it out of the kitchen before the Avengers become more than just a mild nuisance.

"What the hell was that?" Natasha asks.

Loki cocks his head to the side. "I beg your pardon?"

"Where'd they go?" She glances at the other Avengers. "You guys saw that too, right? They just disappeared."

The other Avengers all nod, murmuring in agreement.

Ah, that. "Pocket dimension," Loki says simply. The strawberries reappear in his hand, just to show them that they still exist before he gets rid of them again. "For ease of travel."

Tony gapes at him. "That is not how physics is supposed to work."

"It's not physics; it's magic," Loki says. Humans and their obsession with science. Not everything needs a logical explanation. Sometimes just magic is good enough.

"How does it work?" Clint asks. "You just, what, shove whatever you don't want to carry in there?"

"Simply put," Loki says. Things he doesn't want to carry, things he doesn't want to lose, things he doesn't want stolen. It's a multipurpose pocket dimension.

"Is there a limit on what can fit?" Clint asks. "Could you put a person in there?"

"I don't know," Loki says. "Let's try it. Come here; I'll put you in it. I'm sure I won't forget to take you out."

Clint is completely unphased by that. "So basically what we did to you."

"No, not what we did to him," Tony says. "He's saying you can't leave, whereas he can come out; he just chooses not to. Apparently starving to death is the more enticing alternative."

"Alright, knock it off," Steve says finally.

"I don't think I will, actually," Tony says. "I am enjoying this immensely."

"Tony…"

"It's fine," Loki says. "I don't care." None of these have even been good insults. They're just talking to hear themselves talk, and that's not his problem. He just wants to take his strawberries and leave.

Tony snorts and looks over at Steve. "Are you sure he knows that you're not friends? Because that almost sounds like he still thinks you're friends."

Steve looks at Loki, and he almost looks like he feels bad about that. Loki's not sure he really understands why. Of course he knows they're not friends. He's not an idiot. Tolerating each other does not make them friends, and Loki wouldn't have it any other way. He's not even sure where Tony got the impression that he thought otherwise.

Instead of acknowledging that question specifically, Loki says, "For a so-called 'hero,' you seem to have a very strong moral objection to basic human decency."

"We talked about that," Clint tells him. "You're not human. It doesn't count."

Well, you're human.

He doesn't say it. There is no good outcome from that sentence. It's not like he's going to convince them to be any less annoying. Nothing he says is going to accomplish that. Although maybe if he could get them to leave…

"Barton, why are you still here?" He's sure he can't get any of the others to leave, but maybe he can get Clint to go home.

"Easy," Clint says. "I like annoying you."

And you do a spectacular job at it.

"But wouldn't your time be better spent at home?" Loki asks. "You can't enjoy this company" — he gestures to the Avengers — "more than your family's."

Clint's eyes go wide, and he and Natasha share a look. Loki furrows his brows. That's not quite the reaction he was expecting.

Tony snorts. "What family, SHIELD?"

"His wife?" Loki says uncertainly. "And kids?" Do humans not consider that a family? What else would the word mean?

"Buddy," Tony says, looking way too amused, "none of us have a family. We're too busy dealing with freaks like you."

"But he…" Loki looks at Clint, and his confusion dissipates when he sees the death glare on his face. Loki raises his eyebrows. This is interesting. He mentally files this away for later, then turns his attention back to Tony. "My apologies. I must be thinking of someone else."

"'My apologies,'" Tony repeats in an obnoxiously bad Asgardian accent. "God, you're so British."

Instead of pointing out that he is not British — though he does find it curious that Brits seem to share his accent — he just walks out of the room. That was enough social interaction for one lifetime.

Loki returns to his room and sits down on his bed. His tub of strawberries reappears in his hand, and he takes a bite of one. God, he's missed fruit. He loves his ice cream and his chicken nuggets are pretty filling, but nothing can compete with some good old-fashioned fruit.

"JARVIS," Loki says. "Does Barton have a family?"

"He does not," JARVIS says.

Loki nods slowly. Clint told him otherwise with he was under the Mind Stone's influence, so he knows this isn't true. "JARVIS, are you capable of lying?" Can computers lie? He'd assume they can, right?

"I am," JARVIS says, "but I very rarely do and I am not lying now."

"I believe you," Loki tells him. JARVIS isn't lying. He's just wrong. And if even JARVIS doesn't know about Clint's family, there must be something going on here.

… Maybe he can use this.

Chapter Text

Loki has turned his room into a near-exact replica of his chambers in Asgard. None of it is real, of course. He doesn't have that kind of power. But it looks real, and when he doesn't think too hard about it, it almost feels real, too. That’s good enough for him.

He sits on the floor, looking around with a smile. He can't go anywhere without the risk of running into an invisible wall — this room is much smaller than his on Asgard and he can’t quite tell where it ends and the illusion begins — but he doesn't have to. Just the familiarity of his own surroundings brings him more joy than he can state.

The illusion of a small black cat appears off in the corner. He used to love cats. He's not sure why. They're just so elegant; so sophisticated. He snuck a cat from Midgard into the palace once. Thor found it within days and naturally he had to tell all of his friends, but it took weeks for the Allfather to hear of it. Obviously, Odin made him take it back, but it was nice while it lasted.

This cat off in the distance reminds him of it. Tom, he'd named it; like a tomcat. He's not actually sure if was a tomcat — he never knew the cat's gender, but, to be fair, there were times when he didn't even know his own; it just gave him and Tom something in common — but he'd liked the name. It felt fitting.

This cat — he hesitates to call this one Tom; Tom was a rather special cat to him — jumps up to his bookshelf, its claws catching in the spine, and the book topples down on top of it. Loki chuckles softly. He made the cat do it, of course — his illusions don't have minds of their own — but it's something Tom did a couple of times, until Loki learned to leave a book on the floor. He always loved to watch it. The cat curls up on top of the book with a content sigh.

Loki smiles. This is nice. It's not enough to make him forget about the reality of the situation he's in, but it's enough to distract himself from it. A few years ago, sitting in his room for this long with nothing to do would have driven him mad, but it's a welcome relief now.

"What’s all this?"

Immediately, the illusion vanishes, the plain white walls of Loki's real room returning one more. He looks over at the door, and Steve is peeking through the hole of the doorknob that Thor ripped off. For some reason, Loki finds himself feeling a little flustered, but he tries to push that aside.

"You usually knock," Loki says, and he pushes himself to his feet with a quiet groan. He's been sitting for way too long. His knees do not appreciate it.

"I know, I'm sorry," Steve says. He stands up straight, no longer looking through the hole. "I just saw the different colors. I was curious."

Loki raises an eyebrow. That's the first apology he's been given in a very long time. It was just in passing and he knows Steve doesn't mean anything by it, but it takes him by surprise anyway.

Loki opens the door, and usually Steve walks away immediately so Loki can follow him. This time, he doesn't. He pokes his head in Loki's room, and Loki takes a step back instinctively, getting out of his way. What's he doing?

“But what was it?” Steve asks, looking around as if he’s going to find any remnants of the illusion.

“Boredom,” Loki says. “It doesn’t matter. Forget about it.”

“Can I see it again?” Steve asks.

“No,” Loki says immediately. It’s weird enough to know that Steve saw it at all, even just through the little makeshift peephole in the door. He’s not showing him the whole illusion.

Fortunately, Steve accepts that pretty quickly, and he doesn’t ask to see it again. He steps back to let Loki out, and they head down the hall. Loki feels a little more uncomfortable than he cares to admit, just waiting for Steve to keep pestering about it, but the longer they go without him bringing it up, the more comfortable he gets. He supposes he shouldn’t be surprised. The last time someone didn’t respect the boundaries that he was very clear he’d set, they nearly got a knife through the chest. Steve doubtlessly doesn’t want to become the next victim.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Steve tells him. “I didn’t forget you; I just lost track of time.”

“It’s fine,” Loki says, but he can’t hide his puzzled look. He’s apologizing for that? And it actually does sound like a real apology, not just something one says out of habit. Steve remembers who he’s talking to, right? People don’t apologize to Loki. It just doesn’t happen -- and definitely not over something that ridiculously unimportant. “It appeared you’d already eaten anyway.” That alone is a valid reason not to get him for breakfast-slash-lunch, though he would have appreciated being told.

“But you hadn’t,” Steve says. “I was still going to go grab you when everyone left. It just took a lot longer than I thought.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Loki tells him. He knows the other Avengers may disagree, but he would have at least expected Steve to realize that by now. He is the only one Loki ever actually sees.

“No, I know,” Steve says quickly. He frowns. “Do I act like a babysitter? I’m not trying to.”

Loki raises an eyebrow. “Then what are you trying to act like?” Because it really does feel like Steve is trying to babysit him. It was one thing when he was just inviting Loki to come with him while he did what he was already going to do, but it’s a whole different ball game if Steve was going to go out of his way just to get Loki food.

Steve hesitates. “I don’t want to say a friend.”

“Of course not,” Loki agrees. Not a friend. That was never a question.

Steve takes a moment to think. “An acquaintance?”

“That’s vague,” Loki remarks. It could mean a lot of things. Technically, the word applies to Loki and all of the Avengers (except Bruce; he's been lucky enough not to get involved, and Loki hopes it stays the way). Clearly, it's a bit of an umbrella term.

"You know," Steve says, "a friend that you don't trust and you're not quite sure you like, but you spend time with anyway."

Loki huffs a laugh. "That may be the nicest thing anyone has said to me in months." Maybe Frigga has said nicer, and that one remark from Thor about Asgard grieving for him was nice, but excluding that, this is probably the nicest thing he's heard since… god, maybe since he fell from the Bifrost.

Though it's a lighthearted remark — the kind he would make with no one else — it puts a frown on Steve's face. "That can't be true."

Loki just looks at him with an eyebrow raised, not saying a word. Steve is a relatively smart person. He shouldn't need it explained to him.

"Someone in Asgard must have…?" Steve says, though his lack of confidence is clear in his voice.

"Oh, please," Loki says, rolling his eyes. "I accidentally overthrew the monarchy and seized the throne for myself. I assure you, I am far from Asgard's favorite person."

Steve looks surprisingly sympathetic for someone who's just been reminded that his acquaintance overthrew a monarchy. "So you didn't have anyone?"

Loki could admit that at least he had his mother, but he has a feeling that admitting that his only friend was his own mother would just make Steve pity him more.

"It doesn't matter," Loki says. "There are very few things in this world as frivolous as others' opinions." It took him far too long to learn that, and his life hasn't been the same since. When every day is a struggle just to survive in the endless abyss of space, the last thing on one's mind is what other people think of them.

Steve doesn't seem sold on that, but he doesn't try to argue, much to Loki’s relief. He knows he wouldn’t be able to convince Steve of that. It took losing his home and his so-called family to learn it himself; he doesn’t expect Steve to understand and he wouldn’t want him to. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

They reach the kitchen, and Steve starts making dinner. As usual, he tells Loki what he’s making over his shoulder -- grilled cheese -- but they don’t really start talking until the not-yet-grilled cheese sandwiches are on the griddle. That’s usually how it goes. It makes it less likely that they’ll run out of things to talk about -- and they usually do by the time they’re done eating, so it helps to plan ahead.

“Okay, I have to ask,” Steve says, and Loki looks up at him expectantly from the kitchen table. “How did you accidentally become king?”

Loki cocks his head to the side. “I beg your pardon?”

“You said you accidentally overthrew the monarchy and became king,” Steve says. “How do you do that by accident?”

“Oh, no, I accidentally overthrew the monarchy,” Loki says. “Then I purposely seized the throne.” The opportunity presented itself and he made the most of it. He just wishes the most was enough. It would have saved him a lot of hassle, and, honestly, he has a feeling Thor would be doing just fine in Midgard with his little mortal girlfriend.

That actually seems to confuse Steve even more. “How did you accidentally overthrow the monarchy?”

“That is a long story,” Loki says. How could he possibly explain that he accidentally incapacitated both the king and his successor in the span of a few hours? He really never wanted Thor to get banished, nor did he want to send the Allfather into the Odinsleep. It just happened. And he rolled with it, because that’s what he does.

“And they hate you over an accident?” Steve asks.

“Only half of it was an accident,” Loki says. “They don’t know that, and they wouldn’t care. I did what I did, and that is all that matters.”

“They don’t know that it was an accident?” Steve repeats. “Then… was anything you did on Earth an accident, too? And we just don’t know?”

Loki shakes his head, and he almost finds that amusing. Of course it wasn’t an accident. He was wielding two Infinity Stones in all of their glory. With that much power, it’s difficult to make mistakes. “Some of it was unplanned, but all of it was on purpose. Until the end, that is.” Obviously, losing was an accident.

“Right, of course not,” Steve mutters, and Loki has to admit, it’s kind of cute that Steve is still trying to convince himself that Loki is at all redeemable. “But it all started with an accident.”

“Mm…” Loki ponders that for a moment. “Yes and no.” Because yes, that outcome was an accident, but he knew exactly what he was doing when he conspired with the Frost Giants.

"Do you at least regret that part of it?" Steve asks. "I know you said you don't regret what you did on Earth, but do you regret anything you did in Asgard?"

Loki thinks about that. Does he regret it? With just the knowledge that he had at the time, he would probably do the same thing again, but everything changed when he found out he was a Frost Giant. He supposes that would be the question, then. Does he wish he never found out about his true heritage? Does he wish he let the Allfather continue lying to him day after day, treating him like a second-class citizen because he couldn't recognize his own biases? It was simpler back then, but it was all a lie. His entire life had been a lie. Does he wish he could have that back?

"That wasn't an immediate 'no,'" Steve remarks. "I think that's progress."

Loki chuckles, a condescending smile on his face. "I think it is adorable that you want to convince yourself that I have always been a good person, that I am not defined by my mistakes and I am not the villain that your friends make me out to be, but you are wasting your breath. I have no regret over the morality of my choices; just the consequences of them."

Steve is unphased by that. "Well, last time you said you didn't regret it even after getting stuck here with us, so I still consider it progress."

"I said I didn't regret what I did on Earth despite the consequences," Loki corrects him. "And my stance hasn't wavered. But that is not what I'm talking about."

Steve furrows his brows. "Then what…?" He cocks his head to the side, eyeing him thoughtfully. "Consequences like turning Asgard against you? Or consequences like finding out you were adopted?"

Loki tenses. How did he figure that out? He doesn't even know the timeline of what happened when. Sure, he knows around when Loki found out he was adopted, but he doesn't even know how it relates to what he did. Hell, he doesn't even know what he did at all.

"The second one, then," Steve says. "Want to change the subject?"

Loki's eyebrows shoot up. "You want to change the subject?"

"Do you want to change the subject?" Steve asks. "I know this is a sore subject for you. If you don't want to talk about it, I don't want to talk about it either."

Wow.

That's… actually really nice.

Most people don't tend to respect his boundaries like this. No one does, actually. Loki didn't even have to tell him — and he wasn't going to tell him, either, as long as they didn't linger on the topic for long enough to make him too uncomfortable.

"I would like to change the subject," Loki says, only because the opportunity has been handed to him so nicely.

"Okay, sure," Steve says. "What do you want to change it to?"

Hmm. Loki doesn't usually choose the conversation starters. He's not necessarily the best at making small talk with humans. It's never been a pastime he'd thought to consider. What do humans even talk about?

Finally, Loki just suggests, “You?” They talk about him a lot, usually because Steve tends to start conversations by asking him questions. It might be nice to switch it up.

“Me?” Steve repeats, and Loki shrugs, a silent why not? of sorts. Steve just goes along with it. “Okay, sure. What do you want to know?”

Loki hadn’t actually thought about that when he said it, so after an awkward, “I don’t know,” he asks the first question that comes to mind. “Did you have any siblings?” If there’s one thing Loki has learned from growing up with Thor, it’s that conversations about “siblings” (though this is the only context in which Loki will admit to Thor being his brother) can last a very long time, and they can be very entertaining.

Steve shakes his head. “No, I didn’t,” he says.

“You were lucky, then,” Loki remarks.

Steve chuckles. “I don’t know; I think it might have been cool to have a sibling,” he says. “I had a friend who was like a brother to me -- or, at least, what I imagine having a brother is like.”

“Really?” Loki says, and he’s actually kind of interested, even beyond the usual “I want to kill time” thing they have going on.

Steve nods, a fond smile on his lips. “Yeah, he was my best friend. My only friend, actually, at times. He was by my side ‘til the end of the line.”

Loki frowns. That’s… sad. He hadn’t really thought about that until now. “You came out of the ice to find that all of your friends had died.” That’s such a sad realization. He can’t even imagine how that felt.

“No, he -- well, yes, but no,” Steve says. “He, uh…” He takes a deep breath, and the lightheartedness of the conversation fades. “He died before I went in the ice. We got a little in over our heads on a mission. He didn’t make it out.”

“Oh.” Loki feels a pang of sympathy, something he really didn’t expect to feel for a human, but he can’t help it. He doesn’t have much experience with loss. Not in that sense, at least; he’s lost loved ones, but only through their betrayals, not their deaths. He imagines it’s more painful when there’s no reason to hate them afterward. “I’m sorry.”

“Wow.”

Loki looks over his shoulder just as Natasha is entering the room. He wipes any trace of emotion off his face, narrowing his eyes as he watches her walk by. She eyes him, intrigued, then turns her gaze to Steve -- and, to Loki’s surprise, he seems just as annoyed by her presence.

“Did you just get him to apologize to you?” Natasha asks, looking way too amused by that.

Steve sighs. “I asked you to stay out of the kitchen.”

“I know; Barton and I just wanted some chips,” she says. “I was going to stay out of your hair, but now I’m curious.” She looks between the two of them, a smirk on her lips, and Loki makes a point of not acknowledging it. “What’s going on in here?”

“Nothing,” Steve says. “Go get your chips.”

“What kind of ‘nothing’ gets an apology out of Loki?” Natasha asks, an eyebrow cocked.

“It wasn’t an apology,” Steve says. “I was telling him about Bucky.”

The amusement on Natasha’s face quickly changes to confusion. “You’re telling Loki about your childhood friend?”

“Yeah, I am,” Steve says, almost defiantly.

“Why?” she asks. “I mean, you remember who Loki is, right?”

Steve rolls his eyes. “What’s the worst that’s gonna happen? He’s dead. There's nothing Loki could do to him, even if he wanted to."

"He's a master manipulator," Natasha reminds him. "He could figure something out."

Steve gives Loki what almost appears to be an apologetic look, but Loki just shrugs and says, "She's right." He can't hurt a dead man, but he could use this against Steve if he really wanted to. All it would take is one peek into Steve's mind to find what Bucky looked like, and he could conjure up the most painful illusions imaginable.

That takes Steve by surprise, but it doesn't turn him against Loki at all. He looks back to Natasha. "But he hasn't. I've told him a fair amount about myself, and he hasn't used any of it against me. I'm not worried about it."

"You should be," Natasha says.

Steve rolls his eyes. "Nat, just take your chips and go."

Natasha scoffs, a playful smile on her face. "Wow, Cap. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you didn't want me around."

"I don't," Steve says. "Not right now."

"What, you like Loki more than me or something?" she asks teasingly.

"Well, to his credit," Steve says, "he hasn't tried to annoy me once since I got here."

Loki raises an eyebrow. He knows that was just a lighthearted remark to a friend, but it still takes him by surprise how nice it is. It's not the first time Steve's defended him, but it's the first time he's actually said something nice about him to one of the other Avengers.

"You know I do it out of love," Natasha says.

That gets a smile from Steve. "Yeah, I know," he says. "And you can annoy me all you want after dinner, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she says, rolling her eyes. She opens the closet and grabs a bag of chips, then kicks the door closed behind her. "Alright, you boys have fun with your little love affair."

Steve shakes his head to himself, a small smile on his lips. "Stark got you calling it that, too?"

"I mean, is he wrong?" she asks teasingly. She tosses him a wink before she walks out, barely sparing Loki a glance.

Steve watches her go, amused, then turns his attention back to Loki. "I'm sorry about her," he says. "I really did tell her to stay away."

"It's fine," Loki assures him. "I don't really mind coexisting with the others if we can agree to ignore each other." If he has to share the tower with them, he can make some small sacrifices like that.

"Really?" Steve says, surprised. "I'd just assumed you wouldn't want to…"

"Oh, I definitely don't want to," Loki says. "But I would, if I'd thought it was possible." Unfortunately, he doesn't expect the other Avengers to show him the simple kindness of pretending he doesn't exist.

"I could tell Tony —"

"No," Loki says immediately. "That would have the exact opposite effect. He would go out of his way to annoy me more."

"Yeah, I guess…" Steve nods. "That's probably true. Sorry." He shrugs helplessly.

"It's fine," Loki says. "I don't care. I've made my bed; I have to lie in it." It's a lesson he wishes he'd learned before he got kicked out of the dungeons and sent to Midgard, but better late than never, he supposes.

"Well, still," Steve says. "I wish there was something I could do."

"You have done more than enough," Loki assures him. "And I appreciate it greatly."

Steve cracks a smile. "Thor seemed to think you never would."

Loki furrows his brows. "That I never would what?"

"Appreciate it," Steve says. "He made it sound like you'd be ungrateful until your dying day."

"Yes, well," Loki says, "maybe if Thor had ever done anything for me to be grateful for, he would know that it's something I'm capable of." That's so typical of him, thinking Loki's an ungrateful little brat just because he's never seen otherwise. He's never deserved to see otherwise.

"If he ever comes back —"

"If he ever comes back, you tell him to leave," Loki interrupts. "I don't want to see him. I will never want to see him."

Steve frowns. "Are you sure? If he comes back and —"

"It won't matter," Loki says. "If he comes back for me and not just to see you and your friends, he will do so with an apology and a promise to do better, and he will not follow through. He'll want to see himself be the better person, and it will not mean anything." He learned that lesson a long time ago. He'll do anything to prove that he's the superior "brother" except actually being a better person.

Steve nods, rather reluctantly. "Okay. If you really don't want to see Thor, I'll make sure he doesn't bother you again."

"Thank you," Loki says. But, in a perfect world, it won't matter. If all goes well, Thor will never step foot in this tower again.

Chapter Text

When Natasha suggested that she and Clint have their own mini movie night, he knew just what to watch: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's their favorite stupid movie, great for whenever they need a laugh, and it's definitely providing some right now. They're both doubled over, laughing their asses off at the same stupid jokes they've heard a hundred times by now, and he couldn't ask for a better way to spend his day.

"Surely this movie cannot be that humorous."

Instantly, the laughter stops. Natasha pauses on a brilliant frame of the murderous white bunny, and they both look over to see Loki in the doorway to the man cave, an eyebrow raised.

"Hey!" Clint says irritably. "This is a closed movie night!"

Loki just smiles. He steps into the room, far too much contempt in his movements for a man in his position. He's clearly come here for a reason, and one he is very pleased with himself about. He stands in front of the TV, looking down at them with a mischievous smile.

Natasha sighs. "As exciting as it is to finally see you without your babysitter, we're kind of in the middle of something."

Loki looks at her while she speaks, but, unphased by that, he turns his attention to Clint. "She's the only one who knows, then."

"Who knows what?" Natasha asks.

Clint knows exactly what he's talking about. "She is," he says. "I'd like to keep it that way."

"I thought as much," Loki says. "Though I can't say I understand why. Do you truly trust your friends so little that you feel you must keep your family hidden from them?"

Clint narrows his eyes. He's not falling for the bait. "What do you want, Loki?"

"Oh, nothing," Loki says, but his smirk says otherwise. "I merely wished to satisfy my curiosity."

"Bullshit," Clint says. "What are you trying to do?"

"Must every question I ask have an ulterior motive attached?"

"Yes," Clint and Natasha say in unison.

Loki chuckles. "Okay, I concede," he says. "I may have some ult—"

"You're not telling them anything," Clint interrupts. He's not. Clint would sooner put an arrow through his head, and even the wrath of an angry Thor won't stop him, should he care enough to ever check on his brother's well-being again.

"Of course not," Loki says. "I would never dream of violating your trust in such a way."

Clint glances at Natasha, who looks back at him warily. There's definitely a but. He can feel it coming.

"However," Loki continues, "there are times, albeit infrequently, that I may get a little too angry. I have been known to say and do some things I may later regret."

Clint scoffs. "Are you trying to threaten me?"

"I would never," Loki says, which is, of course, a complete lie. "No, I am blackmailing you."

Clint purses his lips. Of course he is. Because why wouldn't the psychopathic murderer upstairs just randomly decide one day to blackmail his housemates? He takes comfort in the knowledge that, should Steve and Tony find out about his family, they shouldn't be in much more danger than they are now with only a select few people at SHIELD knowing of their existence, but it still increases the chance that they'll somehow get pulled into this fight that they have no part in. He doesn't want to take that risk if he doesn't have to.

"And in exchange for keeping your mouth shut," Natasha says, "you want… what?"

"It's simple," Loki says. "I want you to leave me alone."

Clint furrows his brows. "You what?" That's what they've been doing. They've hardly seen him since they moved in. They barely even consider themselves his babysitters anymore; that's all on Steve. As far as they're concerned, he's just a funny joke to laugh about when he's not around.

"I want you to leave me alone," Loki repeats. "I don't anticipate seeking you out again and I presume you won't seek me out, either, but I'm not naïve enough to think that means we will never see each other again. If you would like to buy my silence, you must do so with your own. One more demeaning remark out of your mouths, I may start dropping names. I believe I still remember an address as well. It would be a shame if that fell into the wrong hands, would it not?"

"Are you really trying to threaten children?" Clint asks.

"If that is how you choose to see it, then yes, I am," Loki says. "But for such a small price, I had assumed we would strike a deal with relative ease."

"And how long until you tack something else onto this deal of yours?" Natasha asks.

"What else would I add?" Loki counters. "I see no possible way you could be of use to me. You are the most useless Avengers. I have quite literally nothing to gain."

"We are not useless," Natasha says, which really isn't the point right now and it's definitely not something Clint would have said, but he will admit, he was thinking the same thing.

"Of course you are," Loki says. "In comparison to the others, at least. Stark is the brains; Thor is the brawn; Rogers is the spirit; Hulk is the last-moment uncontrollably lethal weapon. That doesn't leave much room for the two of you — but I digress. I have laid out my terms. Do you accept?"

Clint narrows his eyes. "You're a pain in my ass. You know that, right?"

"Of course," Loki says with a smirk.

Clint glances at Natasha, who just shrugs. This actually doesn't sound like a bad deal. He'd like to make fun of Loki when he sees the guy, but he'll survive if he doesn't. He just feels like there has to be more to this. Clint knows the extent of what he'd do to keep his family a secret, and though there are many things he wouldn't do, Loki doesn't know that. He has all this pull, and he's not going to use it? This is really all he's asking for? He doesn’t like it and he doesn’t trust it.

"Fine," Clint says finally. "We'll leave you alone, you leave us alone, and we pretend this never happened."

"Good choice," Loki says. He smiles, gives a single smug nod as a farewell, and walks out without another word.

Clint lolls his head back, staring up at the ceiling with a scowl. Logically he knows that wasn't actually too bad; it's not like Loki really asked too much of them, but he's still pissed. He really had to bring Clint's family into this? His kids?

"And to think," Natasha says, "Steve almost had me thinking he might not be as bad as we thought."

Clint looks over at her in surprise. "Really?"

Natasha shrugs. "Yeah, I mean, Steve seems to think he's not that bad. He was talking about his old friend who died in the war earlier and it almost looked like Loki actually felt bad for him. It really had me thinking for a second there that he might be capable of not being a complete dick all the time."

Clint chuckles humorlessly. "Being a dick is his thing. I don't think he's going to stop any time soon."

"Apparently not," Natasha agrees. "But hey, all he wanted was for us to leave him alone. That's not too bad." She puts an arm around him in a very awkward side hug, resting her head on his shoulder. "Laura and the kids are gonna be fine. And we can still talk just as much shit behind his back."

Clint gives her a small smile. "Thanks, Nat." He rests his head on top of hers. "You always know just what to say."

Chapter Text

A few days have passed, and everything seems to be going pretty well. Steve's running a little late today — he couldn't go running outside in the storm so he had to go to the gym instead — but he doesn't expect Loki to mind. He finally got a clock the other day, but he doesn't seem to care that Steve shows up at varying times every day.

He finds himself looking forward to this. He started inviting Loki out to the kitchen to eat out of obligation, but he actually really enjoys it now. He's fully aware that Loki isn't a good person, but he's an interesting one, and he's surprisingly nice for a guy that just tried to take over the world a few months ago. As long as everyone else stays away from them, they'll enjoy themselves. (Or, at least, he hopes Loki enjoys it, too, though he’s sure he’d deny it if he asked.)

Steve knocks on Loki's bedroom door. "Hey, Loki. Hungry?"

Loki has finally learned to verbally answer when Steve knocks, but he doesn't this time. Maybe he just didn't hear it? The road of the thunder might have covered his voice.

Steve knocks again, and, louder this time, says, "Hey, Loki."

A few seconds pass without a response, and Steve peeks through the hole in the door to see what's going on. Loki's still lying in bed, curled up in a ball with a pillow over his ear. Steve frowns. Well, this is nice.

Steve straightens back up — he knows Loki doesn't like it when he looks through that hole — and tries again, even louder this time. "Loki?" He waits for a few seconds, then peeks through the hole. Still nothing.

Steve sighs and leans against the wall. "JARVIS? What's up with Loki?"

"The storm has kept him up most of the night," JARVIS explains. "He may still be awake now and he just doesn't hear you."

The thunder roars once more and Loki gives a frustrated groan. Steve peeks through the hole again to see Loki holding the pillow against his head with even more force than before.

Steve stands back up. "Should I wake him up?"

"I have a difficult time believing that he enjoys lying in bed and cursing at the storm," JARVIS remarks, "so yes, you probably should."

Okay, fair point. Steve knocks one more time. "Hey, Loki, I'm opening the door." Just in case he actually is hearing Steve out here. When he gets no response, he opens the door anyway.

It occurs to Steve that he's not actually sure he's ever been in this room before — at least while Loki's awake. There was that one time with Thor and Tony, but it didn't last long and Loki was so out-of-it that he may not have even realized they were there. Is Loki going to be okay with Steve being here? This is supposed to be the one place in the tower that he has to himself. Steve may be crossing some boundaries right now.

With that in mind, Steve does his best to keep some distance and give Loki his space. He's only about halfway in the room when he says Loki's name again. How Loki doesn't hear him, he really doesn't understand. There's no way that pillow is blocking out this much noise.

There's another crash of thunder, and Loki readjusts his pillow, his muscles tensed as he pushes it down against his ear.

Steve sighs. Okay, fine. He'll do it the more uncomfortable way. He walks up to the god's bedside and gently touches his arm. "Loki?"

Loki tosses the pillow aside and sits up immediately, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He seems to relax a little when he sees that it's just Steve. He pulls a pair of earplugs out of his ears, and they vanish, presumably into that pocket dimension he'd been talking about a few days ago. He was using earbuds and a pillow to muffle the sound and that still wasn't enough? He really hates thunder, doesn't he?

"Hungry?" Steve asks. "I got McDonald's."

"Is Thor here?" Loki asks.

Steve furrows his brows. "No, we haven't heard from him since he left."

"And you're not saying that because he's here and he told you to?"

"Of course not," Steve says, confused. What’s this about? "If Thor was here, I would have started with that. Why? What's going on?"

"Nothing," Loki says. "Just the…" He gestures vaguely to the window.

"The thunder?" Steve guesses, and he does his best to hide his amusement. "You thought it was Thor?"

Loki gives a small shrug. "He enjoys his dramatic entrances."

That would be one very long entrance.

"Well, don't worry; he's not here," Steve assures him. "It's just you, me, and a bag of nuggets and french fries on the kitchen table."

"I do like chicken nuggets," Loki remarks.

Steve chuckles. "Alright, c'mon." He gestures for Loki to follow him, and he does without hesitation.

This is the first time Steve has gone out and bought them a meal, and it's weird to come straight to the kitchen and sit down. His stomach was growling on the drive back and he didn't have the patience to wait for something to cook, though honestly, the drive-through line took so long that it might have been quicker to just make something here. At least he got some good food out of this, though. Unhealthy, sure, but good nonetheless.

Steve pulls his box of chicken nuggets and his fries out of the bag, then tosses the paper bag carrying them on the counter. Loki looks confused, but he slowly sits down and does the same, though he leaves the bag on the table.

"They're from McDonald's," Steve tells him. "It's a big fast-food chain. You can't go ten minutes without running into one."

"Fast food?" Loki repeats.

"Yeah, you know,'' Steve says, "you order it and they give it to you two minutes later. You don't even have to get out of the car."

"Hmm," Loki hums. "It sounds convenient."

"It is." He wishes it had been this simple when he was growing up. They had some fast-food restaurants — diners, mostly — in the '40s, but not like McDonald's is today.

Steve stacks his chicken nuggets on one side of the box, leaving a little bit of space to pour some ketchup in the corner. Loki just goes straight to eating, but after the first bite, he stops, slowly lowering the nugget back down towards the rest of them.

"Don't like it?" Steve asks. Loki's seemed to like everything he's made over the last week or two, to varying degrees. He really doesn't like the chicken nuggets?

"Are you sure this is chicken?" Loki asks. "It tastes… weird."

"It should be," Steve says. "They're chicken nuggets." He raised his gaze to the ceiling. "JARVIS? Are McDonald's chicken nuggets made with real chicken?"

"Yes, sir," JARVIS says. "The difference in taste may be due to the fat content and the oils, though I don't think you want to hear much more about this while you're eating them."

"No, probably not," Steve agrees. To Loki, he adds, "They figured out a lot of ways to make food taste better while I was in the ice, but god, if it isn't infinitely less healthy."

Loki cracks a small smile at that. He takes another bite of the chicken nugget, so at least he's kind of enjoying them.

"Want some ketchup?" Steve slides the bottle over to him.

Loki turns the bottle around, and his eyes scan the back panel. He raises his gaze to meet Steve's. "I've never heard of most of these ingredients."

Steve chuckles. "Yeah, no one has," he says. "But it's mostly just tomatoes and artificial sugar. Give it a try."

"You said the same thing about the spaghetti sauce," Loki remarks.

"Exactly," Steve says. "And you liked that, so you'll probably like ketchup." He dips a french fry in the ketchup and takes a bite to prove his point.

Loki hesitates, but, ultimately, he does decide to listen. He finishes the nugget he started, then squirts a little ketchup on another and takes a bite out of that one. Steve waits expectantly.

"This is marginally better," Loki says.

Steve chuckles. "Yeah, Nat says it's a 'quintessential part of the McDonald's experience.'" He almost feels like Nat right now, showing Loki this 21st-century Earth stuff the way she has been with him for months.

Loki raises an eyebrow and goes back to eating.

Steve racks his brain for something to talk about. Once they get talking, it always goes well. It's just getting to that point that can be difficult. He feels like he's already asked about most topics he can comfortably approach. He doesn't want to get stuck on something too personal, but what other small talk can he make?

There's a loud crash of thunder and Loki grimaces, gritting his teeth. "I don't suppose you know when this storm is going to end."

"A couple hours, I think," Steve says.

Loki frowns. "Great," he mutters.

"You really hate thunder, huh?" Steve remarks.

Loki just shrugs.

"Thor doesn't control all thunder, does he?" Steve asks. "Like, this isn't him right now?"

That gets a small laugh out of Loki, though Steve really does think it was a fair question. "No, I assume this is not him. While he can control all thunder — he can create it himself or stop existing thunder on a whim — I do believe this is just natural thunder."

"But you don't know," Steve says. "Is that why it's bugging you?"

"No, it's just annoying," Loki says. "I have heard more than enough thunder for one lifetime."

Steve chuckles. "Okay, that's fair, too."

"If I may interject," JARVIS says, "I thought you might like to know that the others are coming."

"Coming here?" Steve asks. "The kitchen?" He never actually told them he was grabbing Loki, but it's sort of in-between meals right now. He'd just assumed they'd stay away.

"Yes, Captain," JARVIS says.

Loki picks up his chicken nuggets and fries and they vanish into his pocket dimension. "I would rather eat in my room."

Steve sighs, but he waves him on anyway. He's not going to tell Loki he has to deal with the other Avengers, especially when the storm has already put him in a bad mood.

"I assume they will just follow you there," JARVIS says. "Mr. Stark is looking for you."

Loki scowls, already halfway to his feet. "And why is that?"

"He has a question," JARVIS says. "I believe it will be quick."

Loki hesitates, then sighs and sits back down. His chicken nuggets and fries reappear on the table.

"Did Stark tell you to tell him?" Steve asks. He's not sure why he would.

"No, but he didn't tell me not to," JARVIS says. "I thought you would both appreciate the warning."

"We do," Steve says.

"Thank you, JARVIS," Loki adds.

Steve raises his eyebrows. "You're thanking JARVIS?"

"Of course," Loki says. "Do you not thank him?"

"I usually do," Steve says. When he thinks of it. "I'm just surprised you do." Is that a rude thing to say? In hindsight, that might have been kind of rude.

But Loki just looks amused. "I'm a prince, Rogers," he reminds him. "In spite of my recent endeavors, I am still royalty, both by blood and by upbringing. I was raised on good manners as though our relationship with the other realms depended on them."

"Huh." Steve wants to ask if their relationship with the other realms actually did depend on manners — that's a lot of pressure to put on a child so he'd like to think that's not actually the case — but he doesn't want to start a conversation that Tony's going to interrupt any minute now.

Steve and Loki both keep their eye on the doorway, so when Tony walks in, Clint and Natasha close behind him, they're ready for it. They're not walking in on the middle of a conversation like Natasha did not long ago.

Tony eyes their McDonald's meals and shakes his head disapprovingly. "And you didn't even get him a Happy Meal."

Steve rolls his eyes. He glances at Loki, and he just looks confused. That probably would have been a better joke if Loki had known what a Happy Meal was. Clint's fighting back a smile — and not very well — so at least Tony managed to amuse one person, even if everyone else thinks that was stupid.

"What's going on?" Steve asks. What could they need Loki for? They never want to talk to him.

Tony clicks his tongue. "Alright, skipping the small talk, then." He looks between Steve and Loki as he speaks. "I've been getting a lot of texts and a lot of emails asking about my annual Halloween party."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Okay…?"

"And I don't really have anywhere else to throw a party," Tony continues. "My mansion in Malibu is not at all ready for company, and, contrary to popular belief, this is my house, not a hotel. I just kind of assumed when I moved in here that it would be my party building."

Steve scoffs. "You want to have a party here?"

"Yeah, that's what I just said," Tony says. "Keep up, Cap."

Steve rolls his eyes. Tony knows what he meant. He's just ignoring it.

"I presume this isn't an invitation," Loki remarks. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Yeah, no," Tony says. "Not an invitation. An order."

"I don't take orders from anyone," Loki says. "Especially from you."

Tony narrows his eyes, and Loki narrows his, too, making the beginning of a staring contest (glaring contest?) that Steve is pretty sure could go on for a very, very long time if left unchecked.

Steve cuts in with, "I think what he meant to say was that he has a request." The way he's talking around it definitely doesn't make it sound like an order.

"Request denied," Loki says immediately, his gaze not leaving Tony's face.

"Oh no!" Tony slaps his hands over his cheeks, an exaggerated show of surprise and sorrow. "Because I was going to request that you come join us, but I guess if you don't want to, you can stay in your room the whole time."

Loki stares at him. "You were going to ask me to stay out of the way."

"Yeah, no shit," Tony says. "I don't want you at my party. No one outside of SHIELD knows you're here and I'd like to keep it that way."

"As would I," Loki says. "I've already told you I want nothing to do with your friends. Keep them away from me and I will leave them and you alone."

Tony's eyebrows shoot up. "Really? That's it?" He glances at Clint and Natasha. "I didn't think it would be that easy."

Clint shrugs. "Surprise."

Steve frowns. "Are we sure this is a good idea?" Not to cast doubt on his sort-of-friend, but he kind of really doubts his sort-of-friend. He knows where Loki's at better than any of them. He understands that Loki can be a friendly, agreeable guy, but he also knows that he has no regard for human life. Throwing a party that he physically cannot leave might not end well.

"Wow." Tony lets out a low whistle. "I thought they were gonna be the hard ones to persuade." He jerks his head towards Clint and Natasha. "I figured you'd be the easy one. He's your friend."

Steve wouldn't go that far, and he's sure Loki wouldn't, either, but he doesn't correct him. "I just don't know if we want a tower full of people —"

"Okay, then you can go home," Tony interrupts. "Because, frankly, I have had a really shitty year, and I could use a good Halloween party. So if Loki says he's gonna stay out of the way, I'm gonna take his word for it because I want my party."

"How are you going to make sure no one bothers him?" Steve counters. "I'm assuming this is going to be some big party where everyone gets drunk and, what, breaks everything?"

Tony shrugs. "Yeah, that's usually how it goes. What about it?"

"What's going to stop people from stumbling over to Loki's room?" Steve asks. "Are they going to listen if you tell them not to?" Steve has very little experience with alcohol — he quite literally cannot get drunk — but he's pretty sure drunk people aren't very good at following directions, and Loki's one parameter was that he be left alone.

"I don't know; I'll put JARVIS on security duty," Tony says. "He'll tell me if anyone goes near there."

"And are you going to be sober enough to deal with that?" Steve challenges.

Tony pauses, then restates, "He'll tell you if anyone goes near there."

Steve rolls his eyes. "That's not what I —"

"Okay, great!" Tony says with a shit-eating grin. "Glad this worked out. That's all. Enjoy your nuggets." Tony turns around and ushers Clint and Natasha out of the room, following close behind them before anyone else can speak.

Steve watches them go, and by the time he looks back at Loki, he's already back to eating like nothing happened.

Loki holds up a fry. "I like these. What did you say they were?"

"French fries," Steve says. "But —"

"What are they made of?" Loki asks.

"Mashed potatoes and oil," Steve says, then tries to change the subject again. "But —"

"This is made from a potato?" Loki repeats. He looks at the fry curiously. "I would not have guessed that."

Steve fights the urge to roll his eyes. Sometimes Loki's cluelessness is kind of cute, in a puppy dog sort of way. It's not right now. "Loki."

"Hmm?" Loki hums.

"You should've told him no," Steve says. "You shouldn't have let him throw that party."

"That didn't seem to be one of my choices," Loki says.

"Of course that was one of your choices," Steve says. "He wouldn't throw a party here if he thought you were going to make a mess of it. When you said you'd leave everyone alone, you gave him permission."

"I suppose I could have," Loki agrees. "Though I am hoping that he wakes up with a rather painful hangover the following day. I have very few things to look forward to these days. I must find joy where I can."

Steve ignores that. "I have no idea if they're going to leave you alone," he says. "I've seen stories about these Stark parties. They're insane. The people are insane. I don't know if I can keep them all away." Not unless he stands guard outside Loki's door all day, and he really doesn’t want to do that.

"You don't have to," Loki says. "Stark will." He glows green, and as the light travels from his head down, Tony sits in his place.

Steve raises an eyebrow, unimpressed and unamused.

Loki turns back into himself. "I understand your concern, but I have said it time and time again. I have no desire to cause problems. Stark can have his party. I will not hurt his guests. I can almost guarantee that would end with Asgardian intervention, and that is the last thing I would want."

Steve hesitates, but he has to admit, that part is kind of reassuring. He knows Loki wants nothing to do with Thor. He wouldn't risk getting his brother's attention like that. Hopefully.

Loki eats another french fry. "These really are good."

Steve watches him eat for a few moments, but he seems unbothered. He wishes he could be as indifferent about all of this as Loki is, but he just has a really bad feeling about this.

Chapter Text

It feels like an ordinary day. That's always nice. Steve just got back from his morning run. He took a nice refreshing shower. He went to grab Loki for lunch. Everything is going as expected.

Until Loki pauses in the middle of the hallway, his brows furrowed as he glances around. Steve looks around, too, but he can't figure out what has Loki distracted.

"What?" Steve asks. "What is it?"

"Did you not tell me he was here or did you not know?" Loki asks.

Steve gives him a puzzled look. "Did I not tell you who was here?"

"You didn't know, then."

Steve looks at him expectantly. He's going to explain this, right? He's going to say who it is? He's not just going to leave him guessing?

A wave of green light overtakes him, and suddenly he's standing in his Asgardian clothing, his suit nowhere to be seen. That just confuses Steve even more. What the hell is he doing?

Loki begins walking with a purpose, no longer a leisurely stroll to the kitchen. He doesn't head to the elevator; he takes the stairs, and he pauses at the base of each flight of stairs before he proceeds to the next. Steve has pretty much figured out that Loki's not going to tell him what this is about, but he does his best to keep up so he can figure it out himself.

Finally, they're on the right floor, and Loki cuts ahead of him with that overdramatic strut of his. Steve can hear the voices at this point, too, though they're difficult to make out. The first one he pinpoints is Tony, probably just because he's being loud. Then it's Natasha, who just sounds annoyed. Clint is there, too, clearly feeling the same way. And then he hears...

Oh.

That's who Loki was talking about.

"You really ought to lower your voices," Loki says, and Steve can practically hear his smirk. "I could hear you arguing from five floors up."

"Speak of the devil," Tony mutters, gesturing to him with the wave of his hand.

Steve steps out from behind Loki, standing against the wall to survey the damage that someone is definitely going to leave behind, though he's not yet sure who it will be.

"Director Fury," Loki says, giving him a nod in greeting.

"Loki; just the man I was looking for," Fury says. "Stark wouldn't tell me where you were. I was starting to think I'd have to search the whole tower."

"So you were looking for me," Loki remarks.

"I certainly didn't come for a playdate with your new friends," Fury tells him, and the corners of Loki's lips twitch upwards in a wry smile. Fury crosses his arms, eyeing him up and down. "And how are you holding up, ant? Enjoying your new home under the boot?"

Steve has absolutely no idea what that's supposed to mean, but the somewhat amused look on Loki's face makes it clear that he does.

"It could be worse," Loki says. "And you? How are your people? Agent Hill? Agent Coulson — ooh." He feigns an apologetic look. "Right. Sorry."

Fury nods slowly, like he's conceding that Loki does have a point, but he doesn't seem too bothered by it, with an almost condescending smile that matches Loki's. "He'll be missed," Fury says. "You know, I've never really believed in an afterlife. It's always sounded like wishful thinking from people who are afraid of death." He gives a small shrug. "Still, I like to think he's up there somewhere watching over us. I think he would really like to see you now."

Loki lifts his chin, a perfect display of unbothered confidence. "I assume you're not here because you enjoy our witty banter. What is it you came for?"

"I'm here because I heard rumors of a party coming up," Fury says.

"Rumors, you say?" Loki repeats. "Don't tell me you didn't get an invitation. That must hurt."

"From what I've heard, neither did you," Fury says, amused.

"Then you've doubtlessly already heard that I have no interest in it," Loki says.

"Are you sure?" Fury asks, raising an eyebrow. "You're going to be here anyway. Are you sure you don't want to join the fun?"

"Don't encourage him!" Tony hisses.

"I'm not encouraging; I'm asking," Fury corrects him.

"You're encouraging," Loki says. That was nothing short of encouragement. "Why?"

"I'm not," Fury insists. "I'm just wondering why you would rather sit in an empty room all night when there is a perfectly good party a few floors down."

Loki chuckles. "While I do love a good party, I don't expect much of a Midgardian one."

Tony scoffs. "Excuse you, I throw awesome parties. It's all people are going to talk about for a week. I still hear people talking about my parties from a decade ago."

"Yeah, now who's encouraging him?" Fury remarks.

"I'm just saying," Tony says defensively. "I throw the best parties."

"You and all your fancy Midgardian technology could never hold a candle to the parties we had in Asgard," Loki says.

"And you don't even want to make a mess of it?" Fury asks. "You know, get a little payback?"

"Fury…" Natasha shoots him a look.

"It's a fair question, isn't it?" Fury asks. "I mean, if I had the power he had —"

"You would not waste your time on such frivolous pursuits," Loki finishes. "I truly cannot overstate how little you all mean to me. I certainly do not care enough to disrupt an already subpar party."

"It's not going to be a subpar party," Tony mutters under his breath.

"Is that really why you're here?" Loki asks, amused. "You think I want to ruin this party? That is absurd."

"You destroyed half of Manhattan from this tower not too long ago," Fury reminds him. "It can't hurt to be too careful. I could barely convince the council not to turn this whole tower into a prison. Your body count gets any higher, I don't know if I'll have enough pull to do it again."

"Wait, hang on," Tony says quickly. "They wanted to what?"

"Don't worry, Director," Loki says, ignoring him. "If my body count gets any higher, I suspect I'll be out of your jurisdiction before your people know what happened."

"In that case," Fury says, "I almost want to tell you to kill again."

"I've thought about it," Loki says. "But if I only have one murder left, I would like to make the most of it. I don't see myself wasting it any time soon."

Steve fights the urge to roll his eyes. Who does he think he's fooling? He's not worried about wasting his last murder. He just doesn't want to go back to Asgard. The odds of him actually deciding to kill anyone with the threat of Asgardian intervention looming over his head are slim to none.

"And you expect me to, what, take your word for it?" Fury asks sarcastically.

"Oh, of course not," Loki says. "I actually hope you don't. I'm rather enjoying this. I am merely a ticking time bomb without a timer in sight, and I love to watch you scramble to find out when I'll finally explode — and who I'll take down with me when I do."

Fury turns his gaze to Tony. "You see why I'm concerned, right? You get why I don't think this is a good idea?"

"It'll be fine," Tony says. "He's all bark, no bite."

"If he's still got one last hurrah in him," Fury says, "I don't think it's a good idea to put a couple hundred people in a building with him and just hope he leaves them alone."

Loki shakes his head. "I have no plans to hurt anyone unless they force my hand, and I don't expect that to happen any time soon. If it does, there is a very good chance that it will be Stark, and I think we can all agree that we'd be better off for it."

Tony just rolls his eyes.

"I am not invested in this party in any way," Loki says. "If you think you can put a stop to it, you are welcome to try. I do not care. But I assure you, I have no plans to cause problems. If they have their party, I will not intervene. It would be a waste of my time and energy."

"You have nothing but time, Loki," Fury reminds him. "I would think you want to waste it."

"Not on this," Loki says simply.

Fury eyes him uncertainly, and Loki just looks at him, waiting for him to make a decision. Steve looks between them warily. He still doesn't think this is a good idea. He really does wish he could trust Loki not to hurt anyone, but he really doesn't think he can. He talks a good game, but he's still him. It's just hard to believe it.

"You really aren't going to hurt anybody?" Fury asks skeptically.

"You have my word," Loki says.

"Your word's not worth much," Fury remarks.

Loki cracks a smile. "It's really not."

"Yeah, well," Tony says, "for the most part, he really hasn't caused any problems. I'm not worried about it. You shouldn't be, either."

"He's right," Clint adds. "We leave him alone, he leaves us alone. That's been the deal since he showed up here."

Fury raises an eyebrow and looks at Loki for his input.

"It's true," Loki says. "Though it does wildly depend on being left alone."

"See?" Tony says, gesturing to him. "I told you. Completely domesticated."

Loki rolls his eyes. "Even a domesticated pet can turn deadly given the right incentive, Stark," he says. "This party may not qualify, but your unnecessary commentary might."

Steve sighs. "Loki…"

Loki puts his hands up in a sarcastic surrender, as if to say I'm backing off.

Fury looks between the three of them, a small smile on his face. "I like this good-cop-bad-cop routine."

"I said we should all be bad cop," Tony tells him, "and for a minute there we all agreed, but then Steve fell for his whole ‘hurt puppy dog’ act and decided he couldn’t hurt the little doggy.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Really, Stark?”

“Do you pride yourself on being unbearably annoying?” Loki asks at the same time.

“Yes and yes,” Tony says.

Loki shakes his head to himself. “Of course you do,” he mutters. “I’ve said my piece. In regards to this party, do what you want. Just tell me when the decision has been made.” He turns and walks out, every movement made with purpose as he struts away in that dramatic Asgardian fashion that both he and Thor share.

Steve watches him go, then sighs and looks back at the others. “I should probably go with him.”

“You’re his babysitter, right?” Fury asks.

Steve hesitates. “I guess.” He doesn’t really see it that way, but it’s probably the easiest way for Fury to process it.

“So you probably know him better than anyone else,” Fury says. “You know what he’s like. You know what he’s capable of.”

“I think we all know what he’s capable of,” Steve reminds him. It’s been months and the city’s still recovering.

“Do you think he’ll do it again?” Fury asks. “If I let you have this party, do you really think he’ll leave it alone?”

Steve weighs his options. He could say “yes” without explaining his worries, or just say “no” and hope that convinces Fury to call it off, even if it’s not really true. Ultimately, he just goes with the truth. “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he says. “I think he thinks it’s fine now, but he’ll change his mind once he actually has to put up with it. But you really don’t have to worry about him lashing out over it. He knows he lost. He knows this is where he lives now and this is what he has to deal with. If he’s going to kill anyone, it’s just going to be either Thor or Tony, and that’s it.”

“Uh, yeah, hi.” Tony raises his hand. “I think we should be a little more concerned about the fact that he might kill me.”

“Yeah, so do I,” Steve says. “But you keep talking to him the way you do, so it must not bother you too much.”

“You think he’d kill his own brother?” Fury asks, ignoring that interjection. “What kind of Cain and Abel shit…?”

Steve just shrugs. “They’ve got history.” History that he really doesn’t know much more about now than he did when Loki first came to Earth all those months ago. He knows that it’s there and that their feud goes far beyond Loki trying to take over the planet, but he doesn’t really know what it is -- other than that Loki seems to have a much more negative impression of his brother than the rest of them do.

“Clearly,” Fury mutters. “So you really think he’s going to stay out of the way?”

“I do,” Steve says.

“You got anything to back that up with?” Fury asks.

Steve shrugs. “I trust him.” And, more importantly, he trusts that Loki doesn’t want to invoke the wrath of Asgard.

“So you don’t,” Fury says.

Steve just crosses his arms. He doesn’t blame Fury for not trusting him, but he does. He still doesn’t like the idea of throwing a party here, but he really does trust Loki not to make a mess of it.

“Steve’s right,” Tony says, for probably the first time ever. “Loki’s really not that bad. He’s not like he was when he stole the Tesseract. He’s just there. Hell, he’s barely there. He just sits in his room and stares at the wall all day, and even when we do see him, he’s just like that. He’s really not a threat anymore.”

Fury looks at Steve for confirmation, and he just nods. It’s not all true, but it does give a pretty good idea of what Loki’s like these days.

“And Banner?” Fury asks.

“I talked to him already,” Tony assures him. “I told him about the party and I told him I couldn’t offer him an invite because Loki’s here.”

“So you’re not completely stupid,” Fury surmises, and Tony shoots him a glare. “Look, I don’t like this. I wish you would have mentioned it before you invited half of Manhattan.”

“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t,” Tony tells him.

“But I also don’t want the world to know that the biggest threat this planet has ever seen is living in a penthouse in Manhattan,” Fury continues. “And I have a feeling people would start asking questions if you cancel this party, and I don’t want the media snooping around trying to figure it out. So if you really don’t think Loki’s going to be a problem, you can have your party, but he stays out of it.”

“Good,” Tony says. “So we agree.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I’ll let it slide this time,” Fury says.

“Good enough for me,” Tony says. “In that case, if you want to come…” He shrugs. “You and Steve can share Loki duty for the night.”

“I can’t tell you how much I don’t want to come to your costume party,” Fury deadpans.

“Well, your loss.”

With the debate over the safety of a party held in Stark Tower no longer up for debate, Steve feels like he's pretty much done here. He's still firmly against this party idea, but he really doesn't think Loki's going to cause any problems and he really does want them to know that. Maybe when Loki cooperates with them, they'll cooperate with him a little more, too.

"I'm going to see what Loki's up to," Steve says. He nods as a farewell, then walks out without another word.

Steve kind of hopes he'll run into Loki on the way back just to know where he is, but he's not waiting in the hall. Steve heads back to the kitchen, and that's where he finds Loki, sitting at the table in his normal Earthly suit. Steve doesn't question the costume changes. It's not worth it.

"I think that's the first time I've seen you go towards the voices instead of away from them," Steve remarks.

"It's the first time Nick Fury has been here — or the first time I've known about it, at least," Loki says.

"What, you like Fury or something?" Steve asks teasingly. (He hopes they tolerate each other enough that he can get away with a little playful teasing.)

"I wouldn't say 'like,'" Loki says, "but I do find him interesting. I admire his confidence; his fearlessness. In hindsight, I wish I'd chosen him over Barton."

Steve does his best to ignore how little Loki regrets literally mind-controlling people into helping him with his terrorism. "So you kind of do like him — as much as you like anybody."

Loki cracks a smile at that. "I suppose that's true. I will admit, I do like him more than the other Avengers."

"Really? Why?" He doesn't seem any nicer. He was just as unfriendly today as the other Avengers have been since they arrived.

"I don't know," Loki admits. "He's always treated me as an equal from the moment we met. Not morally, of course, but in every other sense. It was a welcome change of pace from the realm I had come from."

"What was the realm you came from like?" Steve asks. He doesn't know anything about the other realms — he doesn't even know anything about Asgard other than that there's a royal family that's kind of falling apart — but he'd like to learn.

Loki's expression darkens. "It was…" He shakes his head. "It doesn't matter."

Steve furrows his brows. He doesn't like the sound of that. This is a subject they've never reached before. It's one Steve's never even thought about. He was vaguely aware that there was some period of time between when he left Asgard and when he showed up on Earth, but he'd never wondered what that time was like.

"Was it that bad?" Steve asks.

Loki squeezes his eyes shut and swallows hard. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, we don't have to," Steve says quickly. "We can talk about something else."

Loki opens his eyes and nods.

Steve watches him with a frown. He wants to respect Loki's boundaries. He deserves that much. But that won't stop him from wondering what memories he's been trying so hard to suppress; what horrors he must have seen. Maybe one day Loki will open up to him about it. If he's not ready for it now, that's okay, but all Steve wants is to help him, because he knows no one else will.

Chapter Text

Rhodey looks around at the Avengers. "So, you guys do this a lot, or…?"

"Yeah, you know, once a week or so," Tony says. "It's the best kind of team bonding activity because you don't actually have to talk to anybody."

Natasha snorts. "What are you talking about? You spend the entire movie talking."

"That's true," Tony concedes, "but I make it better when I do. You're welcome."

Steve rolls his eyes, a fond smile on his lips. His commentary really does make these movie nights better, but sometimes he can go a little overboard with it.

"Hey, Steve," Tony says, and Steve looks over at him expectantly. "You should ask Loki if he wants to watch with us."

"Oh, hell no," Rhodey says immediately, and Tony bursts out laughing. "If you bring Loki out here, I'm leaving. I don't care how good this movie is supposed to be. I'm not watching it with him."

"Aw, what's the matter?" Tony asks teasingly. "Scared of the little mass murderer?"

"Yes!" Rhodey scoffs. "How is that even a question?"

"You don't have to be," Steve tells him. "He's not interested in hurting people anymore." It doesn't mean they should ask him to watch The Hunger Games with them, but it's worth noting that he's really not going to hurt anyone.

"Yeah, no, I have a very hard time believing that," Rhodey says. "Like, kudos to you guys for managing to subdue a god or whatever, but I don't trust him."

"Oh, god no," Tony says. "Don't trust him. That would be stupid. No, it's just fun to make fun of him 'cause he can't do anything about it."

"Yeah, I remember the video," Rhodey says. "Is he still that messed up?"

"No, he got better," Tony says. "Steve says he's just too scared to throw a fit because he's afraid his brother will come back."

Steve frowns. "That's not quite what I —"

"I paraphrased," Tony interrupts. "But he's completely harmless. It's hilarious. He's like a declawed cat — still got all the murderous tendencies but can't act on a single one."

"Yeah," Rhodey says, "it's the 'murderous tendencies' thing I'm worried about."

"Don't be," Tony says. "It's adorable." He looks over at Steve. "C'mon, let's go get Loki."

"No!" Rhodey says again.

"He won't come," Steve says. "He wants nothing to do with you, remember?"

"Then don't tell him we're here," Tony says like it's the obvious solution. "Pretend it's just you."

"I'm not lying to him," Steve says. He worked hard to build his trust. It's not easy with a guy who is very vocal about not trusting anyone. He's pretty sure he'd lose it all with a single lie, and he wouldn't stand a chance at ever earning it back.

"Oh, right, sorry." Tony looks over at Rhodey, "In case you couldn't tell, Loki and Steve are kinda BFFs."

"Well, to his credit," Natasha says with a teasing smile, "Loki hasn't tried to annoy him once since he got here."

Steve rolls his eyes. "Really, Nat?"

She shrugs. "That's what you told me."

"Ooh!" Tony looks between them eagerly. "So you are friends! You didn't tell me that."

"We're not," Steve says. "I don't mind talking with him, but I don't like him."

"Uh-huh." Tony leans over to Rhodey and whispers loudly, "They're totally friends."

"Wait, back up," Rhodey says. "You like talking to Loki?"

"I said I don't mind talking to Loki," Steve corrects him, though, honestly, he really does like it. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's the only thing keeping him sane." He's been living in his own little fantasy worlds for the last few days. Steve pretends he doesn't notice it, but there's always some kind of illusion going on when he comes by for dinner. He kind of feels like he's keeping Loki grounded by taking him out twice a day, so he doesn't lose himself completely in these worlds he's created for himself.

"Not for nothing," Rhodey says, "but I would've just let him lose his mind."

"I hear that a lot," Steve says. The rest of the Avengers all say the same thing. (At least Pepper appreciates him keeping an eye on Loki, though, even if it is because she's afraid he'll kill someone.)

Tony claps his hands together once. "Let's go get Loki."

Steve scoffs. "I just told you he wouldn't —"

"Yeah, well, we can bribe him with ice cream or something," Tony says. "Tell him we'll eat the rest of it if he doesn't come out."

"Why?" Steve asks. What does he gain from getting Loki out here?

"Because I want Rhodey to meet the new baby," Tony says with a smirk. "I'd ask him myself, but he'd say no."

"And he'll say no if I ask," Steve says.

"Then it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" Tony asks. "If you're so sure he won't go for it."

Steve heaves a sigh. "You're not going to stop until I do it, are you?"

"Nope."

Steve rolls his eyes. "Fine. But he's going to say no." Tony must really overestimate the strength of their relationship if he thinks Steve can convince Loki to deal with the Avengers.

"Yeah, yeah." Tony heads to the doorway, and Steve reluctantly follows him. Over his shoulder, he says, "Meet you in the man cave?"

"You have to stop calling it that," Rhodey says. "It's stupid."

Tony scoffs. "And to think I gave you the honor of using my man cave."

Steve and Tony head to Loki's room. Steve's not actually sure why Tony decided to come, too, but he's sure telling him to go away would make him want to come more. At least it means he'll hear for himself when Loki says he's not interested.

When they near Loki's room, Steve holds an arm out, silently stopping Tony from going any further. He's not sure whether Loki keeps his illusions up after dinner, but if he does, Steve doesn't want Tony to notice it.

Steve subtly looks through the hole that used to be a doorknob, but everything looks normal from here. Usually he can see the different colors when he's standing up. He knows he probably shouldn't, but he can't help himself: he bends down and peeks through the hole to look around, curiosity getting the best of him.

Loki is sitting in bed, his back against the wall and his legs crossed. Next to him sits a woman, a bit older and absolutely beautiful. She's holding her hand out in front of them, and Loki watches with a small smile as small fireworks shoot out of it. His gaze flickers over to the woman, and it's impossible not to see the love in his eyes.

Steve stands back up and lifts his fist, but he's almost hesitant to interrupt. This looks like something personal. Loki is doubtlessly under the impression that he'll be alone until tomorrow afternoon. Steve kind of wants to let him have that.

Tony nudges Steve and gives him a what the hell? look. Steve shakes his head, silently telling him to forget it. Steve can’t decide they’re leaving without Tony asking questions, and he definitely doesn’t want to tell him about this. He feels bad enough that he’s seen it; he doesn’t want to give Tony more fodder for his cannons, too.

Steve knocks on the door. There's a quiet sigh from inside the room, and he feels a pang of guilt over it.

"Yes?" Loki says monotonously.

"Hey, Loki," Steve says. He glances at Tony warily. It feels weird talking to Loki with him looking over his shoulder. Had he been alone, he probably would have asked Loki if he was okay, despite knowing he'd say he is because he always does. He doesn't really want to ask that with Tony right here. "We're watching a movie in a few minutes. Tony said we should ask you if you want to watch."

"If it was Stark's idea, I cannot stress how much I do not want to," Loki says. "I assume you know that, though, so if you're telling me that, you don't want me to come."

"Well…" Steve glances at Tony. If he'd been alone right now, he would just flat-out admit that no, he doesn't think Loki should, but he has a feeling Tony wouldn't stop complaining if he did. "I don't know if you want to," he says awkwardly. "I was told to bribe you with ice cream?"

"Why would I let you 'bribe me' with something I could take for myself tonight?" Loki asks.

Steve shrugs helplessly. "Tony says we're going to eat it all if you don't come out and take your share now." That's what he said, right? Something along those lines?

There's a pause while Loki mulls it over. "Did you get more chicken nuggets today?"

Steve furrows his brows. That's a weird question. "Are you out of them?"

"Unfortunately," Loki says. "And if I don't pretend to watch your movie, I can't have ice cream?"

"Apparently not," Steve says -- which is stupid, but he knows if he told Tony he felt that way, Tony would just say that he doesn't owe Loki ice cream at all. He looks over at Tony, who looks both surprised and excited that he's not turning it down yet. "You really want ice cream that badly?" He tries his best to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"There's nothing else to eat in this godforsaken building," Loki says.

Steve bites back a laugh, and a glance at Tony shows he feels the same way. "That's not true," he says, and he feels like he's talking to a toddler right now. He kind of understands Tony's decision to get him the dinosaur chicken nuggets now. "There's plenty of stuff to eat."

"What, like Cheez-Its?" Loki asks sarcastically.

Tony bursts out laughing at that. Steve covers his mouth with his fist, fighting the urge to join him. Tony has recounted the Cheez-It story more times than he can count and usually it just gets an eye roll, but this is funny.

Loki just sounds annoyed when he says, "You didn't mention he was here."

"Oh, sorry," Steve says. "Tony's here." He really wasn't trying to keep it from him. It wasn't a conscious decision to lull him into a false sense of security or anything. He really doesn't want to lose what little trust he's earned. He just didn't want Tony to feel like he could participate in the conversation.

"Yeah, hi, I'm here," Tony adds.

"Great," Loki deadpans. There's a quiet squeak from his mattress, and the door opens on its own as Loki walks towards it. "Well?"

"Good to see you too, buddy," Tony says. "C'mon, the party's gonna start without us."

Tony leads the way, and Steve walks by Loki's side. He tries to smile at him, but Loki either doesn't notice or doesn't care. He clearly doesn't want to be here right now. Steve feels kind of bad for asking. He must think this is a better alternative to sitting in his room with nothing to eat, but he might have enjoyed that more if he wasn't given the choice to do otherwise.

The walk to the man cave is silent. Steve doesn't want to talk to Loki if Tony's going to butt into it, and he doesn't want to talk to Tony if he's going to use it as an excuse to take jabs at Loki. The best they can do is just shut up and walk.

As soon as they enter the room, Tony tells the others, "I really didn't think that was gonna work."

"I really hoped it wasn't going to work," Rhodey remarks.

Tony takes a seat on the couch with Rhodey and Natasha, and with Clint on the bean bag chair, there's nowhere else to sit. It looks like Steve's been banished to the floor — but after he gets some ice cream. Loki's not the only one who likes sweets.

"Rhodes." Loki gives a curt nod. "No one told me you would be here." He shoots Steve a look, and Steve just shrugs awkwardly. That was completely just an oversight on his part. He didn't think Loki would come anyway, so it seemed pointless to tell him who was here.

Rhodey furrows his brows. "If no one told you, how do you even know who I am?" he asks. "We never met."

Loki just smiles.

Rhodey lets out a low whistle. "Because that's not ominous."

Loki seems perfectly content letting Rhodey ponder that for the rest of his life, but Tony steps in with an actual answer. "I think Barton told him everything about everyone when he was under the mind whammy."

Everyone looks at Clint instinctively. Clint gives a sheepish shrug and mumbles, "I don't know. I forget most of it."

Loki narrows his eyes, looking at him with apparent interest. It's a purposeful expression. Loki's good at those, he's noticed. If he wants to keep his thoughts to himself, he will, but he can get a lot across without saying a word when he so chooses. If he's trying to get that silent message to Clint, though, it's not working. Clint's gaze is firmly on the floor in front of him.

For Clint's sake, Steve changes the subject. He glances back at Loki. "If you want to sit, I'll divvy up what's left of the ice cream."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Natasha says.

Steve raises an eyebrow. Whatever that means.

Loki sits down, one leg stretched out in front of him and the other bent, using his knee as an armrest of sorts. He somehow manages to make sitting on the floor look cool. Is that just something gods can do, or is it just the lowkey goth vibe he's got going on?

"Why's he wearing a suit?" Rhodey asks quietly, as if Loki's not sitting a mere 10 feet from him and can hear every word.

"I dunno," Tony says. "Barton made fun of his weird biker gang costume once. Guess he took it personally."

Steve glances at Loki, but he seems unphased by that so Steve doesn't mention it. If it really looks like they're pissing him off, he'll ask them to stop, but he's not rocking the boat if he doesn't have to. He picks up the tub of ice cream on the table…

"Oh, come on," Steve says, looking up at his friends. "There's barely one bowl left."

"In our defense," Rhodey says, "you told us he wasn't coming."

"And you couldn't have waited to make sure?" Steve grabs a plastic spoon, dropping it in the ice cream container and handing it to Loki.

"Really?" Natasha says. "You're gonna give it to him?"

Steve lowers himself to the floor with a sigh, situating himself between Tony on the couch and Loki by his other side. "Well, I promised him ice cream." And even though he would kind of like Loki to offer it back to him, he knows damn well that's not going to happen.

Rhodey chuckles. "Oh, this is great," he says, peering over Tony's shoulder at him. "Last time I saw him, he was tearing up the city, and now he's just…" He gestures vaguely to him. "Sitting there. On the floor. Eating ice cream."

Loki glances over at him, just for a second before he turns his gaze back to his ice cream.

"Does he ever talk?" Rhodey asks. "Or does he just kinda give you those looks?"

"Oh, no, he talks," Tony says. "Usually in threats and sarcasm. That's the 'declawed cat' thing I was telling you about."

"Yeah, yeah, I see it now," Rhodey says, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not gonna lie, man, I thought you were crazy when you said you liked shitting on the guy, but now that I actually see him…"

"See?" Tony says, gesturing to him emphatically. "I know it sounds like a death wish, but it's really just a fun, harmless pastime."

Loki reaches over and nudges Steve's arm, a bit of a stretch with how much distance they put between themselves. "Thank you for the ice cream," he says quietly. He pushes himself to his feet, the tub of ice cream still in hand.

"Yeah, no, you can leave," Tony tells him. "We really didn't want you to watch the movie. I just wanted Rhodey to see what you've been up to lately."

"I see that," Loki remarks. "You seem to enjoy introducing me to your friends."

"Uh, yeah, 'cause it's funny," Tony says.

"Uh-huh," Loki says. "Perhaps I will help you with that. When is Pepper Potts visiting next? I would love to meet her."

The smile falls from Tony's face in an instant. He balls his hands into fists and starts to stand up, and immediately, Rhodey grabs his arm, tethering him there. Loki just looks on with a smug smirk.

"If you even think about trying to find her," Tony growls, "I will kill you. I don't care if you're a god. I'll find a way."

"Oh, what's the matter, Stark?" Loki asks condescendingly. "I thought you liked my threats. You said they didn't bother you now that I am 'without my claws.'"

Steve sighs. "Okay, that's enough."

Loki chuckles humorlessly. "Oh, how I love these little double standards." He shakes his head to himself and turns to leave.

"Loki, come on," Steve says, annoyed. "That was for both of you." He can't even tell if Loki heard that, so he reluctantly gets up and follows him. If this messes up their entire not-quite-friendship, he's never going to let Tony hear the end of it.

Loki can walk fast when he wants to, and each purposeful step brings him further away from everyone else. Steve has to jog to catch up to him, and even then, Loki doesn't slow down.

"Loki, seriously," Steve says. "Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?"

"Dramatic how?" Loki challenges. "I tried to leave as quietly as I could. It was Stark who wanted a fight. I merely provided what he'd been asking for."

"I know, Tony's out of line," Steve says. "But when I ask him to stop, he gets worse, so I'm asking you to stop instead."

Loki spreads his arms. "Okay. I stopped."

"By 'stop,' I didn't mean dramatically storm out of the room," Steve says.

"I didn't!" Loki says. "There was no drama and there was no storming. I have what I came for." The tub of ice cream appears in Loki's hand, then disappears back into his pocket dimension. "I see no reason to stay just to listen to Stark and his friend patronize me."

"Trust me, after that, they're done for the night," Steve says. Tony won't want to risk poking the bear after that thinly veiled threat on Pepper's safety. "If we go back, they'll just start the movie."

"Then go," Loki says. "I didn't ask you to follow me. If you want to watch your movie, watch your movie."

"Or we could go watch it," Steve suggests. He didn't really want to drag Loki out here, but if the hard part is already over, he kind of would like to see him stay out and possibly even enjoy himself for an hour or two.

"And why would I do that?" Loki asks boredly. "You didn't want me here to begin with, and I know no one else did."

"Yeah, well," Steve says, "I don't want to leave you in your fantasy world all night, either."

Loki scoffs. He stops walking, looking down at Steve incredulously. "I beg your pardon? My 'fantasy world'?"

"Whatever you call that thing you do in your room," Steve says. "When you make it look like somewhere else. Asgard, probably. I don't know." Or when he pretends someone else is there with him. He doesn't want to admit that he saw that one, though. That looked even more private than his usual games.

Loki lifts his chin, looking down at him with narrowed eyes. "You know nothing of what I do with my time."

"I know it can't be healthy," Steve says. "You can't keep living in the past, Loki." It's a lesson he had to learn, too — a lesson he hadn't learned until he moved in here.

"When the alternative is living in the present with you people? Believe me, I can," Loki snaps.

Steve sighs. "Okay, can we just — let's both take a deep breath and talk about this like adults."

"No."

Steve takes his own advice, sucking in a breath before he continues speaking. Maybe if he acts like an adult, Loki will, too. "I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. I didn't mean to. I just want everyone to get along. If you really want to go back to your room, I can't stop you, but I would feel a lot better about all of this if you would come back and watch this movie with me." Because if he comes back, he can't be too upset. If he doesn't, this is all Steve's going to think about all night.

Loki crosses his arms. "You said we would talk about this like adults but I feel as though you're speaking to me like a child. I get enough of that from Stark; I don’t need you to infantilize me, too."

"I'm not talking to you like a child," Steve says. "I'm talking to you like a friend."

Loki's expression softens at that. Steve didn't really mean to say that — it just kind of slipped out — but that reaction, that subtle shift in his eyes is enough to stop him from regretting it. Maybe that's all Loki needed after all. Maybe he just needed a friend.

He's a little hesitant to push his luck, but he still asks, "So, do you wanna…?" He jerks his thumb down the hall towards the man cave.

Loki hesitates, then gives a reluctant nod. "If you really want me to watch this movie, I will."

Steve smiles. "Thank you."

They return to the man cave, where everyone is impatiently waiting to start the movie. The remote is already in Tony's hand, ready to hit play as soon as he can.

"Oh, great, you brought him back," Tony deadpans.

"I need someone to explain what's happening," Steve says, hoping his lighthearted attitude will change the course of this evening. "You talk so much that I miss all the important parts."

"That's why I make him use subtitles," Clint tells him with a small smile.

"You don't need to know what's happening," Tony says. "You can just laugh at my jokes."

Steve shakes his head fondly. This is going better already. He sits back down on the floor, and Loki sits next to him, just a little bit closer than he did the time before. Steve is uncomfortably aware that everyone's looking at them, but he tries to ignore it. It'll stop once Tony turns the movie on.

The tub of ice cream materializes in his hand again, and he picks up the spoon from inside it.

Rhodey sucks in a sharp breath. "Oh my god," he whispers, "I forgot he was a wizard."

Loki looks over at him with an eyebrow raised. "You think I’m a wizard?"

"Uh, yeah, I think you're a wizard!" he says. "You just, like, summoned ice cream. That's a very wizard thing to do."

Loki shakes his head to himself, and though he doesn't respond, he does crack a smile.

Maybe this is going to work out after all.

~~~

Steve has to admit, he wasn't expecting to enjoy this movie as much as he did. Apparently this is supposed to be a trilogy, and he honestly can't wait for the next two movies. He might have to see those ones in theaters when they come out for the full effect -- not that Tony’s little theater here in the man cave doesn’t put on an impressive show.

"Alright, how'd we like it?" Tony asks, looking around the room for people's reactions. There's a vaguely mumbled consensus that it was pretty good.

"Katniss is a badass," Clint says.

"Really?" Natasha says teasingly. "I never would have thought you would like the archer."

"Not even just the archery," Clint says. "She's a badass in every way. She's about to topple a whole government regime with nothing but two boyfriends and a bow."

"You're right about that," Natasha says. "And look damn good doing it."

Rhodey chimes in with, "This was way better than the book."

Tony scoffs. "You read the book?"

"Of course I read the book," Rhodey says. "Half of America's read the book by now. And it's a damn good book, too."

"But there's a movie," Tony says. "Why would you read the book when you could watch the movie?"

"Because it's a good book!" Rhodey insists. "I'm sorry not all of us get our kicks reading blueprints or instruction manuals or whatever it is you do."

"I don't read the blueprint; I make the blueprint," Tony says. He looks over at Steve. "You like it?"

Steve nods. "Yeah, it was pretty good."

"I think it deserves a little better than 'pretty good,'" Natasha says.

Steve chuckles. "Okay, it was great. Is that better?"

"Much," she says with a grin.

"And how 'bout you, Loki?" Tony asks. "What'd you think?"

Loki looks over at him in surprise. It takes him a moment to formulate an answer, and when he does, all he says is, "It was okay."

"Just okay?" Tony says skeptically. "God, you're boring."

"Much of it was just an ordinary day in the other eight realms," Loki says. "Murder. Betrayal. Nothing special."

"You know," Tony says, "that explains a lot about you."

Loki raises an eyebrow.

Natasha joins in to ask, "What was your favorite part?" in a way that almost sounds sincere, but it's obviously just going to result in her mocking him behind his back.

Loki ponders the question for a few moments. "I did like when she shot the apple."

"Good choice, good choice," Natasha says, nodding in approval. Steve is still convinced she's internally mocking him for it.

"Team Peeta or Team Gale?" Tony asks him.

"Gale," Loki says without hesitation, and the other Avengers burst out laughing.

"You didn't even have to think about that!" Natasha says.

"Next time, we're watching Twilight," Tony announces. "I want to know if he's Team Edward or Team Jacob."

"He's obviously going to be Team Edward," Rhodey says. "Creepy stalker dude who just kinda lurks in the background? That's his type."

"Edward's the vampire, right?" Natasha asks.

"How do you not know that?" Tony asks. "Of course he is. Everyone and their mom knows that."

"Do I look like the type of person to sit down and watch chick flicks?" Natasha asks, then quickly adds, "Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

Tony snickers.

"But isn't he the one without a personality?" Natasha asks. "I don't even know why there is a Team Edward. He looks like he has the most vanilla sex ever."

That gets another laugh out of the other Avengers, and Steve furrows his brows. What are they even talking about? Who's Edward?

"I was totally joking when I said we should watch Twilight next," Tony says, "but for commentary like that, I think it would be worth it."

"I might have to come to that one, too," Rhodey says.

"You better," Tony says. "I'm not taking this hit to my ego alone."

"But can we just talk about," Natasha says, "how Loki's still eating that ice cream? It has to be milk by now."

Everyone turns their attention to Loki, who raises his brows. "No?" He tilts the container so they can see that the ice cream is still mostly solid.

"That is not normal," Clint says. "It's been, like, way over two hours since we took that out."

Loki just goes back to eating, something he apparently forgot to do while he was watching if he still has this much left.

Rhodey lets out a low whistle. "Fuckin' wizards, man."

Chapter Text

Thor climbs off his horse, leaving it on the Rainbow Bridge while he heads to Himinbjorg. He’ll return to it in a few minutes. Heimdall is facing the Bifrost, but he doubtlessly knows Thor is here, and he doubtlessly knows why. He always does.

"How is he?" Thor asks.

"The same as he was when you asked yesterday," Heimdall says. "And the day before. And the day before that."

"So he's okay," Thor surmises.

"As okay as he can be, given the situation," Heimdall says. He turns around to face him. "If you plan to come here every day to ask how he is, you could just go to Midgard and see for yourself."

"No," Thor says immediately. “He has made it abundantly clear that he does not want me there. If I go back, it will just end in another fight.”

“I think it would do him well to see that you care,” Heimdall says. “He sees you as the enemy right now, but with a little patience and understanding, I do believe you could win him back as a friend."

"I don't know that I want to," Thor says. After everything he's done… He tried to give Loki another chance. He gave him multiple chances. He gave him a chance on the Rainbow Bridge when he refused to kill him. He gave him a chance in Midgard when he offered to bring him home if he gave up the Tesseract. He gave him a chance at Stark Tower when he tried to help him instead of abandoning him and leaving him to serve his sentence alone. Loki refused every one. Thor's not sure he deserves another.

"If you didn't still care for him, you wouldn't ask me about him every day," Heimdall reminds him.

"Of course I still care for him," Thor says. "He is still my brother, even if he doesn't see it. I want him to be okay. I just think it's best for everyone if I stay away."

"He would say the same thing," Heimdall tells him. "But he would have said the same about Captain Rogers, too, and they are now friends. It may require more effort to mend your relationship, but I do think it's possible and I do think you would both be better for it."

"Do you truly believe that?"

"I do," Heimdall says. "I was once of your opinion, too. I thought Loki was lost to us; that some darkness had overcome him and swallowed him whole. But the longer I watch him in Midgard, the more I realize that was never the case. All he wants is acceptance; companionship. He's hesitant to accept it and he's afraid to lose it, but he craves it all the same. If you think you can be patient and understanding of Loki's plight, I think that, with time, you may become friends once more."

Thor hesitates. Loki hasn't been the same since Thor's coronation. When they met again in Midgard, he'd been sure his brother was gone, and that the monster standing in his place was as heartless as they came. But if Heimdall really thinks that there's a chance his brother is still in there somewhere… Loki was his best friend, once upon a time. He would do anything to find that side of him again.

"It won't be easy," Heimdall tells him. "He won't take kindly to you at first. But if you are willing to put in the time and the effort…"

Thor nods. "For Loki? I think I am."

Heimdall gives a seldom-seen smile. "Good. If you return to Midgard now, I will tell the Allfather where you went and why. Take as long as you need."

"Thank you," Thor says. "Though I suspect I'll return soon. Loki can be infuriating when he chooses to be. He'll likely drive me to leave time and time again." The alternative would be getting angry back at him, and that didn't go very well last time. He’s sure making the same mistake again would just drive them further away from each other.

"That's probably wise," Heimdall agrees. He places his sword in the slot and opens the Bifrost. "Good luck."

A wave of light overtakes him, and soon, Thor finds himself standing in front of Stark Tower once again. He heads inside, his cape flowing behind him with every step.

"JARVIS?" Thor says. "Where is Captain Rogers?" Heimdall has been saying for days now that Loki and Steve have become friends. He'd like to ask him for advice on how to go about this.

"Captain Rogers is in the living room," JARVIS tells him. "As are Mr. Stark, Agent Romanoff, and Mr. Barton."

That works out well. "Thank you, JARVIS."

Thor heads to the elevator, taking the very slow ride up. He wishes there was a hole between the stairs for him to just fly up. It would be infinitely quicker.

When Thor reaches the living room, he finds the four Avengers sitting around the floor, a flat square piece of cardboard-like material between them. Clint and Natasha are in the midst of a very heated argument, and Tony looks way too amused by it.

Steve just looks exasperated, so when Thor enters the room, he's quick to draw attention to it. "Thor, what are you doing here?"

"I've come back for Loki," Thor tells him. Before Tony can get too excited, he adds, "I still cannot bring him back to Asgard, but I do not like how we left things. I am just here to talk to him."

"Damn," Tony mutters.

Steve frowns. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"I know, what happened last time was regrettable," Thor says. He hasn't stopped thinking about it since he left. "But I want to try again. I want to do better."

"The best way to do better is to do nothing," Steve tells him. "He really doesn't want to see you."

"I know," Thor says. Even if Heimdall hadn't warned him about it, he would have guessed as much. "But I want to see him."

"And he really doesn't want to see you," Steve says. "He's told me more times than I can count that if you ever came back, I should send you away."

Thor presses his lips in a firm line. Okay, fine. Maybe he can't count on Steve for help. He doesn't need it, anyway. "I'm going to talk to my brother," he says. He came all this way. He's not changing his mind now.

Steve sighs. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"You don't have to."

"He's not going to talk to you," Steve tells him. "He'll just ignore you until you go away."

"Not if I'm persistent," Thor says. "Or if I break down the door." It worked the last time he was here. What's to stop him from doing it again?

"That's going to make him hate you even more," Steve says.

"I choose to think it will work out in the end," Thor says. Heimdall was right when he said it will take some time, but he has to start somewhere.

Steve shakes his head to himself, but he doesn't continue arguing against it.

"I can do you one better," Tony says. "Take Cap with you. He got Loki to come out for me last week. He can probably get Loki to open up for you."

"No," Steve says immediately. "I'm not helping you try to talk to him."

"Why not?" Thor asks.

"Because he'll kill me."

"He won't kill you," Thor assures him. "No matter how angry he gets."

"Yeah," Tony agrees, "you said if he was going to kill anyone, it would be either me or Bob the Builder over there, remember?"

"I don't mean literally," Steve says, rolling his eyes. "But I don't think he'd ever forgive me for it."

"I thought you weren't friends," Tony says mockingly.

"We're not," Steve says. "But I'm the closest thing to a friend he has. I don't want to break his trust."

"You're definitely friends," Tony mutters.

"I appreciate your concern for him," Thor says, "but I was his best friend for a thousand years. I believe that takes precedence over a man who, until a few weeks ago, had only met him once and that was to have him arrested."

Steve sighs and pushes himself to his feet. "Thor, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Thor furrows his brows. "Of course." Is that not what they were just doing?

Steve looks down at the others on the floor. "You guys can keep playing without me — but I know how much money and which properties I have, so don't try to cheat me out of it."

"Yeah, yeah," Natasha says, waving him off.

Steve heads towards the hall that Thor came from, and he gestures for the god to follow him as he walks out of the room.

Tony whispers a very loud, "Let's split his money! I call the 500s!"

Steve doesn't say a word as they walk, so Thor doesn't, either. Steve comes to an abrupt stop at the end of the hallway, out of earshot of the others. Thor looks down at him expectantly.

"Thor, I'm sorry," Steve says, "but Loki doesn't want to talk to you. At all. It was one thing when he needed the help. He wouldn't take it from anyone else. But he's doing okay now. He's doing good. He doesn't need you here anymore."

"He does," Thor says. "He may not yet know it, but he does." Thor is his only connection back to Asgard; to his homeland. No one else is allowed to visit him, even if they wanted to — excluding Odin, of course, but he never will. Right now, Thor is all he has left.

Steve shakes his head. "I'm sorry," he says again. "I wish that was true. I wish he could have someone else to lean on, but he doesn't want it to be you. I know I can't stop you if you don't let me, but I owe it to him as his friend to try."

"And I owe it to him as his brother to try to make things right," Thor says. "I know it will be difficult, but I am prepared to take as long as I need to do so, with or without your help."

Steve looks up at him warily. "What kind of help were you expecting?"

"I wish to know how you did it," Thor tells him. "I had begun to think Loki was incapable of being a friend. I didn't think he could trust or be trusted. How did you change that?"

"I don't know," Steve admits. "I guess by being there when he needed it, when no one else was. But that doesn't apply anymore. He doesn't need it. And he does have someone else: he has me."

"If that was all it took, he would have accepted my friendship the last time I was here," Thor says.

"He also actively doesn't like you," Steve says.

"He did not like you, either," Thor reminds him.

"But he really doesn't like you," Steve says.

Thor frowns. That's probably true. Loki does seem to hate him more than he does anyone else — and more than he ever has before, too, and they had some very heated arguments growing up. "There must be more to it."

"Not really," Steve says. "You really want my advice? Learn to respect his boundaries. If he tells me he doesn't want to talk about something, we don't talk about it. If he looks uncomfortable with a conversation, I change the subject. I think that's what made this work. I don't push him to do anything he doesn't want to do. He knows that. He knows that when I knock on his door, we're just going to have a friendly, usually lighthearted conversation and that I'm not going to make him uncomfortable."

That would be great advice if it was actually applicable to Thor's situation, but if Loki refuses to talk to him at all, then he can't respect his boundaries. He'd have to stay away from Loki completely, and that defeats the whole purpose of coming down here. Loki's given him the silent treatment for weeks before, and always over something stupid and petty. He can't imagine how long it would go on for this time if he let it.

"Will you come with me?" Thor asks. "If you can get him to open the door…"

"He'll shut it as soon as he sees that it's you," Steve says.

"Please?"

"No," Steve insists. "He's already mad at you. I don't want him to get mad at me, too."

"I just want to see him," Thor says. "Even if I talk to him through a closed door afterward. I want to see him. I want to see that he's okay."

Steve hesitates, then drops his head and sighs. "Fine."

Thor and Steve both head to Loki's room. Once again, they walk in silence, and Thor tries to ignore his nerves. He's never been nervous to talk to his brother before. Even when Loki was trying to take over the world, Thor was never nervous about talking to him. This is a completely new feeling. He doesn't like it.

It appears they haven't fixed Loki's door since the last time Thor was here, because there's still a gaping hole where the handle used to be. The handle itself is gone. They must be aware that it’s broken if they went through the trouble of taking the handle. Apparently they're not in a rush to fix it.

He doesn't remember Loki's room very well, but he does remember that it's painted in light colors. The walls, the ceiling, the floor; they're all light. But looking through the hole, he can very clearly see that this is not the case anymore. He can only see a small section of the ground, but it's unmistakably water, and Thor is pretty sure Loki's room is not full of water.

Thor gently nudges Steve out of the way and kneels down next to the hole for a better look. It seems Loki's recovered his strength because the entire room is gone, replaced with a never-ending display of nature. It's Asgard; he's sure of it. He doesn't recognize these exact trees or this exact lake, but it has to be Asgard. Loki doesn't know any other.

Loki is sitting on a small hill, and though it's a brilliant illusion, Thor is decently sure that's just his bed. Next to him sits Frigga, and the sight brings a small smile to Thor's face. Loki hasn't disavowed Asgard in its entirety. There may still be hope.

Loki and Frigga are both looking up at the sky, so Thor lowers himself even more to get a better look. It's a beautiful night sky, all the stars in perfect alignment for a cool autumn Asgardian day. He must have paid attention in their astronomy classes. The night sky is littered with silent fireworks, a beautiful sight. Thor's not sure he's ever seen anything quite like it.

Thor just watches him for a few moments. Steve was right: he really does look like he's doing well. Thor never visited him in the dungeons — he was still too upset to willingly see his face, and it's not like the guy didn't show up every few days anyway when he'd break himself out — but he's sure he would have heard if Loki was toying around with his illusions like that. He certainly heard when Loki was using his illusions to annoy the other prisoners.

Thor steps back and gestures for Steve to go at it. If Loki hates him as much as everyone keeps saying, he definitely doesn't want to speak yet. Loki would never open the door if he did.

Steve raises his fist, but he hesitates before he knocks, like he's still not sure about that. It's nice that he's doing it anyway. "Hey, Loki." He sounds nervous, though he seems to be doing his best to hide it.

The illusion inside Loki's room disappears in an instant. "Hi?"

"Hey," Steve says awkwardly, because apparently one greeting wasn't enough. "Can I talk to you?"

"Is everything okay?" Loki asks. He actually sounds concerned — for Steve, it seems; not even for himself. Thor didn't know he was capable of that anymore.

Steve glances at Thor wearily. "Yeah, it's, uh… Nothing too bad."

"That could not be less believable if you wanted it to be," Loki tells him.

Steve nods in silent agreement. He really does suck at lying — or, at least, lying when he doesn't want to. "Can you open the door?"

There's a quiet squeak as Loki gets out of bed, and Thor's amazed by how easy that was. Heimdall had said they were friends, but Thor wasn't expecting that. All he had to do was ask, and Loki's going to open the door? He's willingly going for a conversation right now? With an Avenger? A conversation that he has no reason to expect he'll gain anything from?

Loki opens the door, and Thor takes in the sight. He really does look good. He's wearing a neatly pressed suit, looking a little overly formal but very well-put-together, nothing like he did when Thor was last here. He's still pale — he's always pale — but there's still some color in his face, a light in his eye.

It only lasts a second before Loki slams the door shut.

Thor sighs. "Loki —"

"Go back to Asgard," Loki snaps.

"Loki —"

"No," Loki interrupts, shutting him down in a single word.

Thor looks down at Steve for help. What does he do now?

"I told you he didn't want to talk to you," Steve says quietly. "I got him to open the door. That's all I can do."

Thor frowns. "Can you talk to him?"

Steve shakes his head. "This is your family fallout, not mine."

"Please?" Thor asks. "Maybe he'll listen to you. Maybe he'd rather listen to you."

Steve hesitates, then nods reluctantly. "Loki?"

"You were right, Captain," Loki says, and though his tone is level, the hostility is impossible to miss. "Acquaintances are just friends that you shouldn't trust."

Steve sighs. "I'm sorry, Loki."

"I'm sure you are," Loki says sarcastically.

Steve looks up at Thor. "I hope your conversation is worth it." He walks off before Thor can even think of a response.

Thor debates opening the door and joining Loki in his room anyway, but his mind flashes back to the conversation about boundaries. That's something he could have done when they were kids. They didn't share their chambers, but Thor could always barge in on a whim, for both fun shenanigans and heartfelt apologies. But that was when they were still undeniably brothers; when they thought they'd have no choice but to spend their entire lives together and they wouldn't have had it any other way. All of that had changed over these last few years. He's not sure this is a boundary he can break anymore. Steve would doubtlessly say it’s not.

Thor sighs and sits down on the floor, leaning against the wall across the hall and stretching his legs until they almost reach the door. He lets his head fall back, looking up at the ceiling helplessly. Where does he go from here?

Finally, Thor opts for a simple, "I'm sorry."

All Loki says is, "Don't."

"I know this is a difficult adjustment for you," Thor continues.

"Stop it."

"And I know the other Avengers are not making it any easier," Thor says. "I should have stood by your side instead of joining them in their fun. It was rude and it was inconsiderate of me —"

"I knew you would do this," Loki says irritably. "I knew it! I knew you would waltz in with your perfect apologies like the perfect prince you are." He spits the word at him. "You always have to prove you're the better person, don't you?

"What?" What does that mean? Did he do something wrong?

"I don't want to hear your fake apologies," Loki snaps. "They're worthless here."

"There was nothing fake about it," Thor says, confused. "I'm sorry. I am genuinely sorry."

"No, you're not!" Loki says, growing more angry with each passing minute. "You are never sorry! You apologize because you're told to, because it's how we were raised, but we're not children anymore, Thor! 'Sorry' doesn't change anything! 'Sorry' won't earn you a pat on the back from your father or a kiss on the forehead from Mother! It is useless! It's just words — meaningless words that fall flat every time!"

Thor takes a deep breath, giving himself some time to think before he responds. He's never necessarily been the best at doing that, but with Loki, he really has to. "You've thought about this a lot." This was no spur-of-the-moment rant. He's spent time on this. Maybe not the exact wording, but the concept, at the very least.

"For centuries," Loki spits.

Thor nods slowly. That hits hard. He knew that Loki had been upset about… whatever it is… since long before the coronation. He'd never have guessed at the time — Loki was good at hiding it, pretending to be supportive — but in hindsight, it must have been weighing on him for quite some time if he went to such great lengths to enact his revenge. Thor had suspected it had been a few years, maybe a decade or two, but centuries? And he never said anything?

"It was simpler when we were children," Thor muses. "You felt it, too, did you not? We were younger, more innocent. We thought we had equal claim to the throne —"

"This was never about a throne," Loki snaps.

Thor furrows his brows. "But you…" He cocks his head to the side. "You tried to take over the entire Earth."

"That was different."

"How was that…?" Thor shakes his head to himself. It doesn't matter. "If it wasn't about the throne, what was it about?"

"I've told you before," Loki says. "If you chose not to listen, I see no reason to repeat myself."

He did? When did Loki tell him that? They've only spoken a handful of times since Thor's banishment, and he can't remember Loki ever explaining himself. He'll admit he hasn't always been willing to listen, but he'd like to think he would have if Loki had actually told him.

"Loki, please," Thor says. "However I've wronged you… I want to know. I want to make it right."

"You can't," Loki says. His anger seems to dissipate as he sighs. "It hardly matters now. We're not brothers. You don't owe me your time, and I don't want it. It would be better for us both if you would just leave."

"Loki, you are my brother," Thor says. "By blood or not, you are my brother. You always have been, even on our darkest days."

"I wish I shared your naivety," Loki says. "But you're wrong. We're not family. You're wasting your time fighting that."

"Why not?" Thor asks. "We were once. I don't know how long you have harbored your private grudge, but as kids at least, you must have seen us as brothers."

"It doesn't matter," Loki says.

"It matters to me," Thor says. "You were my best friend. I miss that. I miss the time we used to spend together, just you and me against the world. There was no rivalry, no real fighting. We were just… equals."

"We were never equals, Thor," Loki says. "You were just too blinded by the light of your greatness to see it."

Thor lets out a long breath. "So that's it. You're just…" He almost wants to say jealous, but that has some negative connotations and he doesn't want to make him defensive. But that's what it sounds like to him. Loki was — is? — just jealous.

"Tired," Loki says. "I'm tired, Thor. I'm tired of trying to prove myself because I never had a chance. I was on the verge of acquiring everything I wanted, and you came in and snatched my victory from me the way you always do. I will always be the inferior version of you. I understand that now. I understand that you've won and I've lost and that this is how it was always going to end."

Thor doesn't know what to say to that, so he doesn't say anything. He never thought he'd say this, but he wishes Loki was angry. He wishes Loki was yelling this at him, maybe tacking on a threat to it. He doesn't like being yelled at, but he would choose it any day over this. Loki sounds so defeated. He's been fighting this battle for years, and now he's just giving up. It hurts more than any insult could have.

"Go back to Asgard, Thor," Loki says.

Thor shakes his head. “I did not come all this way just to turn around and go home,”

“You must have suspected I would tell you to,” Loki says.

“I did, and I won’t,” Thor says. “You are my brother, Loki. And the Avengers are my friends. I have more than enough reason to stay.”

Loki sighs. “If you are truly staying for the Avengers, do as they do and leave me alone.”

“Steve does not leave you alone,” Thor reminds him. “Why should I be any different?” If Steve could win his friendship, there’s still a chance for Thor, too. He’ll just have to be persistent -- not overbearing, but persistent.

“He will now,” Loki says. “He was useful when I needed the help, but I am more than capable of making my own meals. I do not want, nor do I need his assistance any longer.”

Thor frowns. “Is he not your friend?” He was so sure… Heimdall said they were friends, and he’s been keeping an eye on them since Loki was first dropped off here. He should know. He knows just about everything. Steve gave some mixed signals, but he called them friends, too. Even Tony said it. So why…?

“I have never been one for friendships,” Loki says. “They always end with a knife to the back.”

Thor fights the urge to roll his eyes. “Well, yes, when you stab all of your friends in the back…”

“It goes both ways.”

“When has anybody else ever --” He pauses, letting those words really sink in. He wouldn’t have thought much of them if it hadn’t been for the situation. His friends stab him in the back? And who could he possibly think stabbed him in the back recently? Perhaps within the last few minutes? “Are you referring to Steve?”

“I speak in general terms.”

“You speak in Steve terms,” Thor says. He’s almost positive. Loki really would see what he did as a betrayal, wouldn’t he? All he did was ask Loki to open the door. It’s not that serious. “He did tell me to leave you alone. He told me many times. He didn’t want to betray your trust.”

“He needn’t have worried about that; I never trusted him to begin with,” Loki says. “Trust is for children and dogs.”

Thor sighs. “You cannot go through life without trusting a single soul.” It’s unhealthy. It’s miserable. If he won’t trust Thor yet, that’s okay, but it sounds like he and Steve had a decent relationship. He should at least be able to trust him.

“I certainly can; I have for years.”

“But you shouldn’t,” Thor says. “If no one else, you can trust Captain Rogers.”

“He’s your friend, not mine.”

“He can be both.”

“No, he can’t,” Loki says. “He will side with you every time. He’s already proven that.”

“You mean today?” Thor asks in disbelief. “I must have asked him five or six times before he agreed to come with me.”

“And I must have asked him five or six times to keep you away,” Loki says. “He chose to lie to me and side with you. That tells me all I need to know.”

“It was not like that,” Thor says. “He did not want to upset you. He told me that when he told me no.”

“And yet he did it anyway,” Loki says. “Proving my point.”

Thor lets out a long breath. “If you do not want to trust me, I understand. I think that will change in time, but I understand your reluctance. But do not let my presence ruin your relationship with him. It will just upset you both.”

“I believe this conversation is over,” Loki says.

Thor wants to argue with him, but he knows it would only make this worse. Reluctantly, he climbs to his feet. He gently lays a hand on the door, barely making contact out of fear that he’ll accidentally open it now that there’s no latch. He’s not trying to open the door. For the most part, Loki has been very calm today; he doubts that would last if Thor opened his door without permission. But this is as close as he can get to touching Loki, to making contact with his brother a mere 10 feet or so away. It makes him feel closer.

Thor wants to apologize again, and he would mean every word if he did, but Loki doesn’t want to hear it. Instead, his parting words are simply, “Mother asked that I tell you she loves you.” She said that a week or two ago, whenever it was that Thor returned from here last, and he had no intention of actually sending that message along when he was first tasked with it. But he really thinks Loki could use that right now. He may think he has no one, that he’d never fall into the trap of trust, but he obviously misses their mother. Maybe just hearing that the feeling is mutual will make him rethink his stances just a little bit.

When Loki doesn’t answer, Thor just walks away. He’ll give his brother some time to process everything and to think it over. Hopefully their next conversation will be a little more productive.

Chapter Text

Thor returns to the living room without the usual pep in his step. It doesn't surprise Natasha at all. Whatever he was hoping to get out of seeing Loki again, he never stood a chance. He should have realized that the last time he was here.

Natasha, Clint, and Tony are still seated around their Monopoly board, though they haven't used it since Thor and Steve left. Tony wanted to listen in on their conversation, so, with JARVIS's help, they did. And, naturally, they listened to Thor and Loki's conversation, too, because life in the tower is boring and they wanted to spice it up a little by eavesdropping on private conversations that they have no part in. It might make them bad people, but, hey, she’s a spy. This is what she does.

"You lost Rogers," Tony remarks.

Thor looks around, and he seems a little taken aback by that. "I'd assumed he had come back out here."

"Nope," Tony says, indifferent to that. "You know, Loki is a completely different person when he's talking to you."

Thor cocks his head to the side. "Could you hear us?"

"We sure could," Tony says. He conveniently leaves out the part about using JARVIS specifically to eavesdrop. "So he and Cap really were friends, huh?"

"It would appear so," Thor says.

"Glad he got out of that," Tony mutters.

For once in her life, Natasha has to agree with Tony. She knows Loki doesn't act the same with them as he is with Steve — she still remembers walking in on that sympathetic "I'm sorry" a week or so ago — but he's still evil, with or without the niceties. He did try to take over the world earlier this year, after all.

Natasha looks over at Thor. "What's his story?" She can tell he has one. There were a lot of blanks in Thor and Loki's conversation that she'd like to fill, if only for curiosity's sake.

"I don't want to know his story," Tony says quickly. "I actually don't want to know anything about him."

"Oh, come on," Natasha says, rolling her eyes. "You were just asking who he wanted to 'prove himself' to." If she thought Tony had a lot of commentary during movie night, that's nothing compared to his input during that conversation.

"Uh, yeah," Tony says, "and I was looking for answers like 'Santa Claus,' not a whole biography."

Natasha rolls her eyes. Yeah, sure he was. It was a question in complete earnest, whether he wants to admit it or not. Granted, he wasn’t expecting the chance to hear the real answer, but his curiosity was still very real.

"I kind of want to know," Clint says. "I mean, he knows everything about us and he's going to try to use it against us —"

"He won't," Thor says. "He can't. There's nothing he can do."

"Believe me, he can," Clint says darkly.

Natasha looks at him sympathetically. She can tell their "deal" has been weighing on him. Clint hasn't even come close to breaking his promise of silence in Loki's presence, but he's always visibly uncomfortable when he sees the guy. Fortunately, that hasn't happened very often, but she can't imagine how stressful it must be — worse than it is for her, she's sure. She loves the Bartons, too, but this is his family.

Meanwhile, Tony just looks confused. "What are you talking about? What's he got on you?"

"Doesn't matter," Clint says. "But he knows me, so I want to know him."

Thor furrows his brows. "You want me to tell you about my brother so you can use it against him?"

"No, no, of course not," Natasha says, shooting Clint a look. If they want to convince Thor to talk, they have to do it in a way Thor will like, and given that the brothers’ on-again-off-again friendship seems to be on at the moment, at least on Thor's end, that means being nice. "What he meant to say is that it's weird to live with a guy you know nothing about. Maybe it would help us, you know, understand each other." She fakes a smile. "Like friends."

"Oh!" Thor beams. "Then of course! What do you want to know?"

Tony drops his head forward, exasperated. "Oh my god," he mutters to himself.

"What's his deal?" Natasha asks. "He seems to think you know why he tried to take over the world."

"Admittedly, I'd always assumed it was because he desired a throne," Thor says. "I'm now beginning to think he just wanted to prove he could have one."

"So he wanted a throne," Clint surmises.

"Prove it to who, you?" Natasha asks.

Thor shrugs. "Our father? Asgard? Himself? I can't say for sure."

"All he proved was that he's an idiot," Clint says.

"He's not," Thor says. "He's one of the smartest people I know. He was just… desperate. I think."

"Pretty sure he's just an idiot," Clint says.

"He tried to kill you," Natasha reminds the god. "That doesn't bother you at all?"

"I've told you, he's tried to kill me many times," Thor says. "I did tell you the snake story, did I not?"

Oh, she definitely remembers the snake story. It's the moment she realized Loki's always been batshit crazy.

"Has he ever destroyed a whole city in the process?" Natasha asks sarcastically.

"He did try to destroy Jotunheim a couple of years ago while he tried to kill me," Thor says, completely oblivious to the fact that it was a rhetorical quesiton.

"And Jotunheim is…?" Clint prompts.

"Another realm," Thor says. "One Asgard has a very uneasy peace with; a peace that we nearly broke shortly before then."

"So it's, like, the Cold War but with gods," Clint says.

"It is cold there," Thor agrees. "It's where the Frost Giants live. It's the realm my father found Loki in."

Clint scoffs. "So, what, your parents stole him from the enemy? And you were surprised when he turned out to be evil?"

"He wasn't stolen; he was saved," Thor says. "When his Jotun father didn't want him, my father took him in."

Natasha feels her expression soften at that. "So his birth family just left him on the street?" She knows that doesn't excuse anything he's done, but…

"Well, not a street," Thor says. "Jotunheim has no streets, as far as I know. But yes, his birth family left him to die." He smiles at her, almost hesitantly. "So you understand, then, why he reacted so harshly to the news."

Reacted? What, he just found out about that? "What —"

Tony sighs. "Alright, alright, that's enough," he interrupts. "Thor, they're not asking because they want to understand him. They're asking because they want to make fun of him." He shoots Natasha a pointed look. "And you're not going to feel bad for him."

"I can feel bad for him without forgiving him," Natasha says defensively.

"Cap said the same thing," Tony says. "Look where that got him."

Thor looks between them with a frown. "So you were never going to give him a chance."

"Not at all," Tony says. "If you want to convince yourself that Loki's a stand-up guy having a bad year, fine, but don't expect us to do the same. I don't mind sitting around watching movies with the guy, but we're never going to like him. He's a bad person, and bad people don't change. It's as simple as that."

Thor doesn't respond. The fact that he believed they wanted to "give him a chance" would be laughable if he didn't look so disappointed that it wasn't true.

Natasha sighs and looks over at Tony. "You're wrong."

Tony scoffs. "I'm sorry, you really think Loki is redeemable?"

Natasha shakes her head. "I didn't say that."

"It kinda sounds like you did," Tony says.

"I didn't," Natasha insists. "You're wrong that no one is redeemable; that no bad person can become good." She shrugs sheepishly. "I'd like to think I did okay."

"That's different," Tony says.

"How?"

Tony looks stumped on that one. Part of her is glad; it proves her point. Part of her wishes he could have given her an answer. It would have been nice to hear that there is one.

Clint sighs. "Nat, you're not like him."

"Are you sure?" Natasha asks. "Because his story's sounding very familiar." Abandoned by his birth family? Taken in by someone who presumably only made him miserable? Resorting to violence of the highest degree to get away? The little bits she's pieced together sound uncomfortably similar to her own life.

"He had a choice," Clint says gently. "You didn't."

"I must've if I chose to get out," Natasha says. It wasn't much of a choice, staying with the Widows, but it was a choice, and she could have made a different one. She proved that in Budapest.

"Nat…" Clint shakes his head. "Don't do that to yourself."

"I'm just saying," Natasha says. "People can change."

Tony cuts in with, "Do I have to do that 'not a person' thing again?"

Natasha ignores that. "The difference between Loki and me is that I want to be better. He doesn't. But if one day, he changes his mind…" She shrugs. "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't given me a chance. If I really think he wants to redeem himself, I'll give him the same courtesy."

Clint frowns, but he doesn't try to argue. She knows he doesn't like that. They've both done things worse than vaguely threatening a family of civilians, but Clint has every reason to hold that against him. It was personal. It was personal to both of them — she loves Laura and the kids, too. But for all the shit Natasha's done… Well, it would be kind of hypocritical to think she can change and he can't.

Thor gives her a small smile. "Thank you," he says. "I hope one day he gives you reason to believe in him."

"Don't hold your breath," Natasha says. "I'm not expecting anything from him. Just because I think he can change doesn't mean I think he will."

"But I do," Thor says. "Maybe not soon. Maybe not for a long time. But Loki was once a good man. I have to believe we'll see that again."

Chapter Text

When Steve hears a knock at his door, he finds himself hoping it's Loki, though he’s sure it’s not. He's been having a hard time focusing on his book, his mind constantly drifting back to how badly he messed things up with the god. He'd naïvely hoped that with their centuries of shared experiences, Thor could speak to him on a level that Steve couldn't, but he really should have just told Thor to leave. He'd promised he would.

Without getting out of bed, Steve says, "You can come in."

Thor opens the door rather tentatively. Steve closes his book and puts it off to the side. Judging by Thor's demeanor, he has a feeling things didn't go well with Thor and Loki, and that makes him think this conversation might last a while.

"How'd it go?" Steve asks.

"I suppose it could have been worse," Thor says. "There were no attempted stabbings."

Steve forces a smile. "That's always good."

Thor just nods.

Steve swings his legs over the edge of the bed, and he gestures for Thor to join him, but Thor shakes his head.

"I didn't hear any yelling," Steve tells him. That was promising — the only promising thing about it.

"I wish he had been yelling," Thor admits. "We've yelled at each other a lot over the years. I've become fairly indifferent to it. I would prefer it to hearing him give up."

Steve furrows his brows. "'Give up'?" He’s not sure he likes the sound of that.

"Essentially," Thor says. "I wish I could explain it. I'd thought he would be angry, but he was just… The word he used was 'tired.'"

"'Tired' as in he wants to go to bed?" Steve asks, confused. That’s an easy fix.

"'Tired' as in tired of this," Thor says. "Tired of me. Tired of Asgard."

"And that surprises you?" Steve asks. "From what he's told me, Asgard hates him. You haven't exactly been an angel to him, either, and we haven't even heard from your family since they kicked him out, not that Loki still calls any of you family."

"I know," Thor says. "But I'd expected him to be angry about that, not…"

"Maybe he's trying to move on," Steve says. "He's on Earth now. He has the chance to forget about Asgard. I think you should let him." I've made my bed; I have to lie in it. That's what he said. He's made his peace with his punishment. He understands he has to live here on Earth and put up with the challenges it presents. That's not supposed to include Thor.

"Asgard is his home," Thor says.

"No, this is his home," Steve says. "Whether you like it or not — whether he likes it or not — this tower is his home. Asgard is nothing more than a bad memory now."

Thor just looks at him for a few moments, silent, and then he sighs. "I'm afraid I may have just made this worse."

"Well, he's not exactly making it easy," Steve says. The guy is so intent on sitting in his room and not talking to people that he literally starved himself for, what, a week? At least? Steve can't blame him for wanting to be alone, but this can't be good for him, and it's hard to help him when all he wants is to isolate himself. Steve’s been trying to handle it in baby steps, striking up a small, originally reluctant friendship over the course of a couple of weeks, but that must be frustratingly slow for Thor, who clearly just wants to see the results.

"But you were doing well with him," Thor says. "And I believe I may have ruined that."

"We both kind of ruined it," Steve says. "Ultimately, it was my choice, and I knew there was a good chance it wouldn't work out. That's not your fault."

Thor gives him a small smile for that.

"Look, he's your brother," Steve says, though he knows Loki would protest if he heard that. "If you think you know how to deal with him, I trust you. But if you're not sure…" He doesn't want to say that he can handle Loki better than his own brother can, but he really does believe it.

"I'm not," Thor admits. "I thought I knew my brother, but it seems I just know the facade he presented. He was never the caring, supportive little brother I naïvely thought he was."

"Then do you still want to see him?" Steve asks. Thor leaving could make this much easier. It might give Steve the slightest chance at winning Loki's trust back.

Unfortunately, Thor says, "I do. I want to do better. I believe I finally understand why Loki acts the way he does; the resentment he feels towards me. I think that may be the first step toward fixing it."

Steve lets out a long breath. Okay, fine. Thor has every right to say that. "Do you have another plan, or can we try it my way?"

"Your way might be best," Thor admits.

"Okay, good," Steve says. "Then let's leave him alone. Let's give him a few days. We can keep an eye out — he still has to come out and eat; maybe we’ll see him then — but don't try to talk to him. Let's give him a chance to get used to this."

Thor hesitates. "Do you truly believe ignoring my brother is the only way to befriend him again?"

"I do," Steve says. "He's going to want to be alone. I think we should give that to him." Seeing that he's still not convinced, he adds, "Boundaries, Thor. I told you. You won't get anywhere if you don't respect his boundaries."

Thor hesitates, then gives a reluctant nod. "I suppose if anyone would know, it would be you."

"Honestly, I don't know," Steve says. "I don't know if there's anything that can save your relationship. Don't get your hopes up just yet."

"I know," Thor says. "But I do think that with time — and with your help — we can be friends once more."

~~~

The next day, Steve reluctantly forces himself out of bed for his morning run, but all he really wants is to finish his book. He hasn't gotten very far into the third Hunger Games novel, but he's enjoying it nonetheless. He just knows if he let himself skip his run today, he'd let himself skip again and again, and if he's the only super soldier out there, he has a moral obligation to be the best version of himself. Unfortunately, that means he can't sit in bed all day.

By the time Steve comes back to the tower and takes a shower, it's about time to see Loki. He tells JARVIS to keep everyone out of the kitchen, but he doubts that will be an issue. Tony is down in his lab (as always) and Clint and Natasha are enjoying teaching Thor about Earth culture. No one seems to be in a rush to eat, though it likely won't matter. He doesn’t expect this to work, anyway.

Steve grabs the first two Hunger Games books and heads to Loki's room. He knocks on the door. "Hey, Loki. You hungry?"

"No."

"Want me to come back later."

"No."

Steve nods slowly. This is about what he thought would happen. "Hey, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to upset you. I know it's going to take more than an apology to make things right, but I really am sorry." He waits for a few moments in case Loki wants to respond, but he doesn't. "I'll leave you alone now, but if you need anything, let me know — or tell JARVIS to let me know."

Steve looks down at the books in his hand. He drums his fingers on the front cover. Is this going to be weird? He hopes it's not weird. "I brought you a couple books. I don't know if you like reading, but, uh… they're good. They're good books. It's that movie we watched the other day — there are three books; only the first one has a movie so far. I don't have the third one for you yet, but if you like the first two, I'll get you the last one when I get the chance." He just has to finish it first.

Steve waits for a few moments to see if Loki's going to open the door, but the room is silent, so he has to assume that's not going to happen. "I'll just leave these outside your door for you." He gently puts them down on the floor. "I'll see you later, Loki."

He walks away, and he can't deny that he’s a little discouraged. He'd hoped Loki would at least give him something to work with. All he said that whole time was "no." What's Steve supposed to do with that?

Still, with or without Loki around, he does want something to eat. He heads to the kitchen and puts a pot of water on. Today feels like a mac n cheese kind of day.

"Hey, JARVIS?" Steve says.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Will you let me know how Loki's doing every now and then?" Steve asks. "I want to make sure he's still eating enough." He'd like to think Loki's not going to end up at all like he was when Steve first got here, but he'd like actual confirmation that he learned his lesson last time.

"I can't do that, sir," JARVIS says.

"What?" But he's done it before. He told Steve every time Loki opened his door for the first few days he was here.

"Loki has already asked me not to tell you what he's doing," JARVIS says.

Steve frowns. "I just want to know that he's okay."

"I know," JARVIS says. "But he has asked me not to relay any information to you, so I won't."

Steve scoffs. "Seriously?"

"Yes," JARVIS says. "He asked me first. And it was betraying his trust in you that put you both in this situation. I think it's best we not break his trust in me as well."

Steve scowls. He hates that JARVIS has a point. "Okay, well, if he asks about me, tell him I'm worried about him. I want him to know that I still care, even if I'm keeping my distance."

"I think he does know that, sir," JARVIS says. "I think that's part of his problem."

Great.

God, this is going to be hard to fix.

Chapter Text

Steve is so wrapped up in reading his book that he doesn't realize it's gotten so late until he hears the voice in the doorway.

"You told me he wasn't here, JARVIS," Loki mutters.

Steve lays his book on the table, holding it open with his hand so he doesn't lose his place. "Yeah, sorry," he says. "I told him to." And JARVIS wasn't happy about it, but he was given an order and he had to comply.

Loki shakes his head to himself. "Great." He heads to the freezer and pulls out a tub of ice cream. Steve went out today to get some today just for him, though he knows better than to expect a thank you for it.

"I just want to make sure you're doing okay," Steve tells him. "You're still coming out to eat, right? More than once a day?"

"Of course," Loki says, kind of irritably. "I don't need you to tell me when I can and cannot eat."

"I know; I just wanted to make sure," Steve says. "So you're all good?"

"Yes."

"Okay, great," Steve says.

Steve picks his book back up and turns his attention back to its pages. He's getting really close to the ending and the suspense is really picking up. He's been reading for a few hours nonstop and it's getting so late that the words are starting to blur before his eyes, but he's determined to finish this tonight. He's not sure he could force himself to put this down so close to the end.

Loki scoops out a bowl of ice cream and puts the rest back in the freezer. He gives Steve a questioning look. "Was that all?"

Steve looks up from his book. "What?"

"Was that all you wanted?" Loki asks. "You've been sitting out here all night for that?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've seen what happens when you don't eat enough," Steve says. "I didn't want to put you through that again. But I know you don't want to talk to me right now, so I just wanted to make sure you were okay and then I was going to leave you alone." He holds up his book. "But now I want to finish this before I go to bed."

Loki looks at it curiously. "Is that the book you spoke of yesterday? The third novel of the series?"

"Yeah, it is." Steve perks up at that. Is this going to be an actual conversation? It sounds like it has all the making of an actual conversation. "Did you start the first two?"

"I finished them," Loki says.

Steve's eyebrows shoot up. "You already finished them? Both of them?"

"I did."

"Did you like them?" He'd like to think he must have if he finished them, but he also doesn't have much else to do in his room. Even reading a bad book must be better than doing nothing.

"I was pleasantly surprised," Loki says. "Most of the literature in Asgard is factual; meant to help further our studies. This was an interesting departure."

"You don't have novels in Asgard?" He'd assumed fiction was a standard in every culture.

"Very few," Loki says. "Our stories are usually told orally."

So like the Iliad and the Odyssey. Maybe Asgard is just lagging a couple millennia behind Earth in that sense.

"Did you like the book more than the movie?" Steve asks. He knows Loki doesn't think much of the movie — or that he wouldn't admit to enjoying it, at least.

"I did," Loki says. "I found it far more interesting when faced with Katniss's thought process and moral dilemmas than just viewing a recording on a screen."

"Yeah, that's definitely one of the perks to having the book," Steve agrees. He really does like watching movies, especially now that it can be done from the comfort of his own kind-of-home at the tower instead of seeking out a theater, but he can't deny that Loki has a point. "Are you going to want to watch the second movie when it comes out?"

"When will it come out?"

"I have no idea," Steve admits. "Next year, probably? Maybe 2014?" He has no idea how movies work.

Loki raises an eyebrow. "That's a long time."

"Yeah, making movies takes a while," Steve says. "I'll let you know when it's out."

"If you're still here."

Steve furrows his brows. "What?"

"Do you truly think you'll still be here in a year?" Loki asks. "You'll grow bored of this eventually."

"Well, my only other option is my apartment in DC," Steve says, "and I'm bored of that, too. As long as Stark doesn't kick me out and SHIELD doesn't need me, I think I'm staying here."

Loki just looks at him for a few moments. "Hm."

Steve cocks his head to the side. "Is that a good 'hm' or a bad 'hm'?"

Loki gives a small shrug. "I just hope the others don't share your sentiment."

Steve has to fight to keep from smiling. He doesn't want the others to stick around, but he doesn't seem to mind if Steve does. Maybe things between them aren't as irreversibly messed up as he thought.

"Nat's only here because Fury sent her here, and Barton's only here for her," Steve says. "I have a feeling they'll be gone within a few months, once Fury realizes you're not a threat."

"And Thor?" Loki asks. "Do you expect him to leave soon?"

Steve lets out a long breath. Okay, what's the best way to answer this without getting back on Loki's bad side? "I told him he should, but he didn't want to. I did get him to agree to leave you alone for now, but I don't know how long that's going to last."

Loki nods slowly. "But you did tell him to leave?"

"I've been telling him to leave since he got back," Steve says. "He doesn't want to, and I can't make him."

"But you tried."

"Of course I tried," Steve says. "More times than I can count." He also helped Thor get to Loki shortly after, but he thinks it's best not to mention that. He knows Loki hasn't forgotten.

"I appreciate the effort," Loki tells him. He picks up his ice cream, and it vanishes into his pocket dimension that he utilizes way too often. "And I appreciate the books as well. Thank you."

Steve smiles. "Any time."

Loki gives him a polite nod, clearly preparing to leave. Everything’s going so well tonight, though; Steve opts to test his luck and push it a little further.

“Do you want another book to read after this one?” He lifts Mockingjay off the table in a casual gesture to it.

Loki raises an eyebrow. “I thought that was the last one.”

“Yeah, the last in the series, but there’s no shortage of books on Earth,” Steve tells him. “I’m sure I can find you something else to read if you want.”

Loki hesitates. “I suppose I wouldn’t be opposed to having another book.”

“Alright, cool,” Steve says. “I’ll be honest; I haven’t had a whole lot of time to sit down and read lately, but I’ll get you something.” He takes a moment to think. He doesn’t know a lot of modern books, but he was a bit of a nerd growing up. Loki’s older than America itself; surely a decades-old book wouldn’t feel ancient in his mind. “I hear Tolkien wrote more Hobbit books while I was in the ice,” he says, earning a confused look. “I’ve still gotta catch up on those. I’ll get a set for each of us.”

“I look forward to it.”

That puts a smile on Steve’s face. Loki actually wants to read them. He hopes they don’t disappoint. He’s not sure how a guy from an actual magic realm is going to feel about a tale of a different, fictional magic realm, but it would be great if he liked it. Maybe they could talk about the books when they both finish them. Maybe this is how they can mend some fences: talking about books.

… God, no wonder he was bullied so much growing up.

“Apparently they made movies out of them, too,” Steve continues. “Maybe we could --”

“I have no desire to suffer through another ‘movie night,’” Loki interrupts. “Not now; not ever.”

Steve’s smile slips away, but he supposes he can’t blame the guy. The last movie night had a pretty rough beginning, even if it did end fairly well. “That’s fine,” he assures him. “I’m definitely going to watch the movie eventually. I’ll let you know when I get around to it --”

“I said I’m not interested,” Loki says irritably.

“-- and if you change your mind, you’re welcome to join me,” Steve continues as if he never spoke. He’s not trying to force him into anything; he’s just giving the guy the option to stop sitting in his room all day, every day.

Loki just raises an eyebrow. He does that so much. It’s weird. Why can’t he communicate what he’s thinking with actual words instead of leaving Steve to wonder for the rest of eternity if he’s being judgemental or grateful or confused or whatever the hell he’s feeling?

“I guess the books are still pretty popular,” Steve tells him. “I’m sure I can get them by tomorrow. You’ll have them before you even finish this one.” He taps Mockingjay with his fingers.

Loki huffs a laugh. “You make it very difficult to dislike you.”

Steve’s eyebrows shoot up. He wasn’t expecting that. With a small smile, he says, “Well, good. I don’t want you to dislike me."

“I see that,” Loki says. “I don’t understand why.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t understand why you care whether I like you or not,” Loki says. “I know that you have some primal instinct to be a good person -- which is very weird but that’s beside the point -- but why does it matter that I like you for it? You know I won’t hurt you if I don’t -- much to my chagrin, I can’t hurt any of you.”

“If I was worried about that, I wouldn’t be here anymore,” Steve tells him. He wouldn’t stay in a place where he feels his life is in danger every second of every day. That’s why what started as a brief trip to chew Tony out for harboring a supposedly deadly criminal turned into… whatever it is now. “I like talking to you. And I think you could really use a friend.”

“You’re wrong,” Loki tells him. “I’ve never been one for friends.”

Steve nods slowly. He gets that. He can’t relate in the slightest, but he gets that Loki feels that way. He’s implied it before, quite a few times, usually hand-in-hand with his lack of trust. There are few things in this world as frivolous as others’ opinions, he once said. If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels, but it doesn’t change the fact that Loki really does look like he could use some companionship.

“Okay,” Steve says, “I think you could really use an acquaintance.” They once settled for that. Maybe they could use it again.

Loki cracks a smile. “Maybe so.”

That makes Steve feel a lot better than he cares to admit. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“I would assume so,” Loki says. “You promised me some books.”

“I did,” Steve agrees -- a promise he’s determined to make good on. “Will I see you for lunch?”

“Of course,” Loki says. “I’ll need someone to discuss these novels with.”

Steve smiles. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Tony lets out a low whistle, eyeing his teammate with a smirk on his lips. “Wow, Barton,” he says, “if I wasn’t already in a relationship…”

Clint awkwardly tugs on his skin-tight leather catsuit, pulling it away from his skin as well as he can. “This is the most uncomfortable thing I have ever worn.”

Natasha pats him on the back with mock sympathy. “Welcome to my life.” She snaps her borrowed bow open and pulls out an arrow, setting it gently against the string. She aims it towards a light on the ceiling and draws the arrow back. “You know, I could get used to this.”

Tony sighs. “Please don’t shoot my lightbulb.” He’s sure he’ll have a few thousand dollars in damages to his tower by the end of the night; he’d like to save what little he can.

Natasha lowers her bow. “You’re so boring.” She pops the arrow into the quiver strapped to her back, and the bow folds back in on itself. To Clint, she says, “You know, this is nowhere near as practical as a gun, but it feels a lot cooler.”

“It’s practical if you’re good at it,” Clint says. “This outfit, though?” He stretches his arms out in front of him, struggling against the tight material. “Definitely not practical.”

“But it looks great,” Natasha says with a smirk.

“Here, let me fix you up, Widow,” Tony says. He gives the punch one last stir before lowering the ladle into the fancy glass bowl that likely will not survive the night. He walks over to Clint, and, enjoying the very confused look he gets, pulls the zipper down to the middle of his chest. “There. Now you look more like her.”

Natasha shakes her head to herself, amused.

Clint stretches his arms out again. “How did that make it harder to move? I don’t understand the physics of this costume.”

“That’s what you get for wearing something so stupid,” Tony tells him -- though he will admit, when Natasha wears it, it looks damn good on her.

The click-clacking on the stairs signals Pepper's arrival, and Tony looks over excitedly. He hasn't seen her costume yet. She hasn't even told him what it is. He hopes it's a sexy nurse. Or maybe a sexy maid. He'll even settle for a sexy cat — though he's not sure why costume companies decided to make cats sexy.

Unfortunately, her costume isn’t that sexy, though he'd be lying if he said it wasn't adorable. She steps into view in the cutest little sky blue plaid dress, reaching just below her knees. Under it, she wears a white shirt with puffy little sleeves, her braided pigtails resting in front of them. She has a little straw basket in her hand, and a stuffed labrador retriever Tony got her on a trip once sits in it. But the best part of the outfit — the part that immediately caught his eye — are her glittery red heels, shimmering in the living room light.

She gets to the landing and curtsies. "So? How do I look?" She strikes a few cute little poses that put a smile on Tony's face.

"Absolutely stunning," Tony says, and he means it, too. Of course, she looks stunning in any outfit — and she looks stunning without one, too.

Pepper clasps her hands in front of her and giggles.

"And you are…" Tony eyes her costume uncertainly. She's supposed to look like... She must be…

Pepper scoffs. "You can't tell?"

"Of course I can tell!" Tony says quickly. "You're… of course… you are…" He grimaces. Okay, here he goes. "Pippi Longstocking?"

Pepper crosses her arms, her straw basket hitting against her stomach. "You're kidding."

"Of course I'm kidding," Tony says quickly. Okay, not Pippie. Then she must be… "You're obviously…"

Pepper raises an eyebrow. She gives him a few seconds to answer, and when she doesn't, she lolls her head back, exasperated. She looks over at Natasha and Clint. "Do you know who I am?"

"Um…" Clint looks at Natasha uncertainly.

"Yeah!" Natasha says, and she's obviously lying through her teeth. "Yeah, of course! You're…"

"Yeah, you must be…" Clint squints at it. "You look like…"

Finally, Natasha ventures a guess. "A dog walker?"

"Why would I walk a dog in a basket?" Pepper asks, exasperated.

Steve takes that moment to walk in, dressed in khakis and a red sweater that somehow looks decent with his plain black tie. Acutely aware of everyone’s gaze on him, he smiles awkwardly at them.

“Hey, Mr. Rogers,” Tony says teasingly. God, that is… well, it’s an interesting costume choice. It’s probably not that far off from what most guys his age are wearing, hanging out around their nursing homes.

“Hey,” Steve says with a polite nod.

“Wait, no, not -- not you Mr. Rogers,” Tony says. He sees the error of his ways now. “Not, like, Steve Rogers. He’s -- it’s a pop culture reference. ‘Cause of the…” He gestures vaguely to his attire, but clearly, the joke has already fallen flat.

“No, I know,” Steve says. “From Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. That’s my costume.”

Tony’s eyebrows shoot up. “Oh.” Okay, there goes his joke, then.

“And your costume…” Steve eyes the plastic Iron Man mask that rests on top of Tony’s head. “Yourself.”

“The best costume, I know,” Tony says with a smirk.

Steve's eyes scan the room, taking in everyone else's costumes, and they finally settle on Pepper. "Hey, Dorothy. Did you get a new dog?"

Tony drops his head forward. Dorothy. From The Wizard of Oz. With the dog. And the pigtails. And the ruby slippers. God, he's an idiot.

"Yeah, it's the only one I could find that would fit in the basket," Pepper tells him. She adds an indignant, "And thank you. I'm glad someone here has culture."

"What, did no one else know you were Dorothy?" Steve asks.

"Nope."

"Well…" Steve shrugs. "The movie is older than all of you. I guess I'm not surprised."

"But it's a classic!" Pepper says. "And I know Tony's seen it. I watched it with him."

Steve chuckles. "I guess you two will just have to watch it again."

"Apparently," Pepper agrees, shooting Tony a playfully annoyed look.

"Hey, Steve," Natasha says, "you talk to Loki?"

"I did," Steve says. "I sat him down with the Harry Potter series and told him to sit tight. It should keep him busy for a while."

Tony snorts. He never would have guessed the guy was such a nerd.

"And you're sure he's going to leave us alone?" Pepper asks.

"I am," Steve says. "He really doesn't care about this party."

"Pep, you do this every time you come by," Tony says with a frown. "He's not going to bother you. I promise." He knows Loki threatened to once, but that's all it was: a meaningless threat. She doesn't have to worry. Neither does he.

"I know, I know," she says. "I just… I really don't like him living here."

"No one does," Tony says, then amends it to, "Well, Steve does, but no one in their right mind does. But he's not going to be an issue. I promise." As shitty of a person as Loki is, he really doesn't do much. Tony's not worried about him. He hasn't been for weeks.

Thor announces his presence with a loud, "Boo!" that doesn't scare anyone at all. He seems to think it was hilarious anyway, and he laughs as he enters the room, covered by a big white sheet that Tony bought him for ten bucks at Target. He cut out two little circles to look out of, and Tony has a feeling that's not going to last very long. He's still very proud that he was able to convince this big god prince guy to come to a party dressed as a stereotypical ghost, but he's sure the whole effort will go out the window when Thor realizes he can't drink with a sheet over his head.

"Is this truly what you Midgardians think ghosts look like?" Thor asks.

"Oh, totally," Tony lies. He's pretty sure the general consensus is that ghosts would just look like translucent people, but the cartoon version is cute, too.

"Wait," Clint says, "do ghosts actually exist?"

"Of course," Thor says, and he seems surprised by the question. "Revenants exist of all kinds — though not like this." He flaps his arms to move his little white sheet around. "This is weird."

Tony's brows shoot up. "Okay, that's terrifying."

"It's not!" Thor says. "There is nothing terrifying about them. They're unpleasant to the eyes, but they usually mean no harm if left unprovoked."

"No, this is absolutely terrifying information," Natasha tells him. "So thanks for that."

Tony pulls out his phone to check the time. "Where the hell is Rhodey?"

Steve scoffs. "Tony, the party doesn't start for another hour."

"Yeah, so we've got, like, 15 minutes until people start showing up," Tony says. "Rhodey should be here by now." He always gets here early. He's supposed to. It's the "supportive best friend" thing.

JARVIS pipes in with, "Colonel Rhodes has just entered the building, sir."

"Wow." Tony nods slowly. "I am psychic. I knew it. I knew he was here. Right now. I knew that was going to happen; that's why I brought it up."

That earns a lot of eye rolls, which, he will admit, are well-deserved.

It takes a minute or two for Rhodey to finally reach the living room, and he comes in wearing the single dumbest so-called costume Tony has ever seen in his life. He's wearing his camouflage military uniform, and he has a little rainbow propeller hat on his head.

That's it.

That's the whole costume.

"Hey, the whole gang's here!" Tony says with a grin.

Rhodey furrows his brows, his gaze directly on Thor. "Who the hell is that?"

"It's me!" Thor says with childlike excitement. "It's Thor!"

Rhodey mouths a silent, Ahh.

"Thor was very excited to celebrate Halloween with us," Tony tells him.

"We have no such holiday in Asgard," Thor adds. "When Stark told me of this celebration, I was eager to join the fun."

Rhodey snorts. "From what I've heard about Loki, I thought Asgardians would hate Earth stuff."

The way the sheet moves makes Tony think Thor is shaking his head, but it's difficult to tell for sure. "No," he says, "Loki is admittedly very stubborn and stuck in his ways, but I think most other Asgardians would enjoy this. I told my friends of it the last time I was home; they said they wished they could see it."

Tony shrugs. "Hey, I mean, if you want to go grab your friends, they can come dressed as Asgardians. That's a hell of a costume already."

Thor chuckles. "Thank you, my friend, but with Loki in the building, they would not be allowed here. My father has forbidden anyone but myself from visiting Loki."

"They can just stay away from him," Tony says with a shrug. "He may be here, but he's not part of the party."

"Unfortunately, my father would not see it that way," Thor says. "But if you celebrate the holiday again elsewhere, I will gladly extend the invitation."

"Alright, maybe next year," Tony says. Depending on what's going on with the whole Loki situation, maybe he can move the party to Malibu. It would be a lot warmer, at least. (God, he can't believe Loki's probably going to be here next Halloween, too. This is miserable.)

"Wait," Steve says, "Loki's friends can't visit him?"

Tony rolls his eyes. Here they go. Captain Boy Scout to the rescue.

"Loki has no friends left," Thor says. "He's betrayed them all."

Natasha lets out a low whistle. "Ooh, Cap, that doesn't bode well for you."

"But he did have friends," Steve says slowly, "right?"

"Oh, of course," Thor says. "Myself, Sif, Hogan, Fandral, Volstagg. And that's not to mention the countless flings he had across the Nine Realms, however short-lived they were."

"Oh, so he's a fuckboy," Natasha says, amused.

"He should've tried to take over the world a few years earlier," Pepper says. "He and Tony would've gotten along."

Tony rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Very funny." He's glad his former manslut tendencies aren't a point of strife in their relationship, but there are much better jokes to be made.

"It is pretty funny," Rhodey tells him.

"Okay, I have to ask," Clint says, eyeing his camouflage get-up and rainbow propeller hat. "Rhodes, what are you supposed to be dressed as?"

"Oh, easy," Tony says. "He's a military helicopter."

"Yeah, see?" Rhodey spins his little propeller hat.

"Oh my god," Pepper mutters. "Please tell me you discussed this before now."

"Nope," they say in unison.

Pepper scoffs. "You could guess military helicopter but you couldn't guess Dorothy?"

Tony sucks in a breath through his teeth. "Yeah, that sounds really bad, doesn't it?"

Pepper just nods, a judgemental look on her face.

"Okay, changing the subject before I get a face full of Dorothy’s rage for that," Tony says, "we need to get a group picture." Preferably before the party starts and the whole tower falls apart.

"You got a tripod?" Natasha asks.

"I do not," Tony says, then amends, "I mean, I do somewhere, but I don't think…" He pauses. "JARVIS? Do I have a tripod here?"

"You do not, sir," JARVIS says. "You left it in Malibu."

"Of course I did," Tony mutters.

"We could get Loki to take it," Natasha jokes, earning a slap on the shoulder from Clint.

Tony shrugs. "We could."

"What? No!" Pepper says immediately.

"It really would be the easiest way to get all of us in a picture," Tony says.

"And you think he would do it?" Rhodey asks skeptically.

"Probably not," Tony admits, "but it's worth a try." He looks over at Steve. "Is it worth a try?"

"I mean, he's not gonna do it," Steve says, "but if you consider accomplishing nothing to be worth it…"

"Yeah, sure," Tony says with a shrug. "Any objections?"

Pepper crosses her arms. "I thought we agreed that he and I were never going to meet."

"And you probably won't," Tony says. "Because he probably won't come out. But if he does and he asks who you are, I'll just make up increasingly ridiculous lies until he gives up."

"What, like Pippi Longstocking?" Natasha says.

"Exactly like Pippi Longstocking!" Tony says. "I mean, he doesn't know who that is. He can't tell that I'm lying."

Pepper shakes her head to herself. "Fine — but only because I don't think he's going to take our picture."

Well, hey, that works. "Hey, JARVIS," Tony says. "Tell Loki we need him."

"Yes, sir," JARVIS says.

And now they wait.

A very long few seconds pass in silence, and, just to kill time until JARVIS gets back to them with the inevitable "he's not coming," Tony whistles the Jeopardy! theme song. After a round of it, Clint joins in, and Natasha and Rhodey do the same shortly thereafter. Pepper covers her mouth with her hand, clearly trying not to laugh, and Steve just looks completely lost.

The room goes silent when Loki materializes right in front of them. Tony glances at Pepper, just to make sure she's not too bothered by this. Her eyes go wide, but she doesn't seem to be freaking out. She might just be frozen in place, but he'd like to think it's actually a good sign? (It's probably not, though.)

"How did you get here so fast?" Tony asks. Did he teleport? Can he teleport? God, he hopes not. That would be so creepy.

"Does that matter?" Loki asks.

"He's not really here," Thor tells them, the ever-helpful Lokipedia he is.

"What do you mean?" Tony asks. "He's standing right there."

"He's not," Thor says. "It's magic."

"He's not there?" Tony says skeptically. He pauses, mentally comparing the potential consequences and the potential fun of his next move before he makes it. He takes off his plastic Iron Man mask and chucks it at the guy. It goes right through him and clatters to the floor behind him. "Would you look at that? He's not there."

Loki sighs and pinches the bridge of my nose. "It's like living with two Thors."

Tony stifles a laugh. "Hey, Lokes. Good to see you, too."

Loki shakes his head to himself, exasperated, and crosses his arms. "What do you want, Stark?"

"Can you come down here for, like, 90 seconds to take a quick picture of us?" Tony asks.

Loki stares at him, incredulous. "That's why you made JARVIS interrupt me?"

Tony snorts. "Interrupt what?" The guy can't even leave his room. What's there to interrupt?

"My book, you dolt," Loki says irritably.

Tony rolls his eyes. "I think you can put your book down for two minutes."

"I can, but I won't." With that, Loki disappears in a flash of green light.

Well. That didn't work.

Tony looks over at Pepper. "See? Completely harmless. Didn't even look at you."

Pepper breathes a sigh of relief. "I am so glad that didn't work."

"I'm not," Tony says. "Now how are we gonna get a picture?"

Chapter Text

Loki had thought all-night parties were more of an Asgardian thing, but the longer the ruckus downstairs goes on for, the less certain he’s becoming. Maybe humans have better stamina than he’d anticipated, at least in this instance.

Steve was right: this is obnoxious. He didn’t think it would bother him very much, but he also didn’t think it would be this loud. It’s getting late -- it’s getting early, actually; it’s well past midnight -- and he’d usually be settling into bed right around now. Unfortunately, even lying in bed for the last few hours with a pair of earplugs in and a pillow over his head, he still can’t block out the noise. He tried with his magic a few times, but every time he'd start to fall asleep, his spell would falter and the sudden influx of screams would jolt him awake.

He already told them they could have their party. He obviously can’t renege on that now. Showing his face downstairs would be a surefire way to piss Tony off, and while he does enjoy upsetting him, he doesn’t want Tony to retaliate. Loki has to worry about Asgard’s intervention, but Tony doesn’t. That automatically makes it a losing game.

Still, he’s getting pretty restless. If nothing else, he wants to know when he can expect this party to be over. And now that he thinks of it, he doesn’t have to show his face to get a quick look at what’s going on down there. It might be worth a try.

Loki shields himself from sight, a simple illusion of invisibility that he really should use more often. As promised, his hallway is entirely empty. The caution tape outside the elevator on this floor and the barricaded door to the stairwell have made sure of it.

Loki opts to take the stairs. He teleports past the barricade, and he makes the rest of the journey on foot. He’s always wary about teleporting out of eyesight. His mother used to tell him not to in case he teleported into something -- or someone, which is a worse thought -- and even though he realized as he grew older that she probably just didn’t want her child randomly appearing all throughout the realm with no warning, the warning has stuck with him.

The party is impossibly louder downstairs than it was in his room, and Loki finds himself wishing he’d kept his earbuds with him. He was correct to assume this would pale in comparison to an Asgardian party. He’d barely even call it one. A lot of people are bopping around to the terrible excuse for “music” blasting out of the speakers, though many are preoccupied with conversations or public displays of affection. Loki has seen much public flirtation in Asgard, especially when people get drunk -- he’d be lying if he said he’d never done the same -- but this level of shameless promiscuity leaves him embarrassed for them.

Steve had told him it was a costume party, and he’d overheard the same from Fury, but he doesn’t understand how many of these people consider their clothing a costume. Many of the men seem to have thrown on whatever they could find, and many of the women just seem to be using it as an excuse to wear as little as they want. (Which, really, is ridiculous. Once again, he’s embarrassed for them. Did they truly need a party as an excuse to dress slutty, when there are another perfectly good 364 days every year to make the most of, too?)

Admittedly, some of the costumes are impressive. He doesn’t know what they reference -- likely some Midgardian media he’ll never see -- but he has to admire the flamboyance of some of them. He does not admire the various Avengers costumes he catches glimpse of, but he tries to ignore those. People only know who the Avengers are (with the exceptions of Iron Man and Captain America, he supposes, but they also presumably had an uptake in popularity at the same time) because they stopped him. He’d rather not think about the fact that all these people in Avengers costumes are celebrating his defeat.

Finding Tony proves to be an easy feat. He is, unsurprisingly, drunk as hell, talking to a group of reasonably attractive women with Rhodey by his side. Loki wonders briefly if one of these women is Pepper Potts. He only knows the name; he’s never actually met her. She could be standing in front of him at this very moment and he wouldn’t know.

Loki makes his way through the crowds of people and over to Tony and his friends, and he opts to wait for a lull in the conversation before he speaks. He doesn’t want anyone but Tony to know that he’s here. He doesn’t even want that, but he knows he has no other real choice if he wants his answers. JARVIS couldn’t give him an estimate; maybe Tony can.

That “lull” doesn’t come, but there does come a point where Tony shuts his mouth for more than five seconds, and Loki takes advantage of that. Standing just inches from him, Loki asks a very quiet, “Is this going to end any time soon?”

Tony swats at his ear, and Loki leans away quickly before the man can hit him. Tony looks around, a scowl on his face. Loki knows he’s invisible, but it still feels strange when people look right through him, especially when he’s standing less than a foot away.

“Hey, Tones,” Rhodey slurs. “What’s wrong?”

Tony grits his teeth. “He’s in my head.”

“What?”

Loki rolls his eyes and leans toward him again. “I am not in your head; I am standing next to you.”

Tony looks around the room again, both confused and agitated, and Loki taps him on the shoulder. Tony jumps, and his eyes dart around frantically, looking right at him without even knowing.

“I suggest you not make a scene,” Loki says, and he can’t help the small smirk that creeps up on his lips. “I don’t think you want all of your guests to know that I’m here. That would be… unpleasant, don’t you think?” He doesn’t want it any more than Tony does -- living here is embarrassing; he’d rather not let the whole world know he’s being held prisoner in this tower -- but he has no problem weaponizing that idea just to watch Tony squirm.

“I will ask again,” Loki says. “How much longer will this pitiful excuse for a party last?”

Tony shudders at the voice so close to his head. Through clenched teeth, he responds with an equally as quiet, “I don’t know. Now go away.”

“A general timeframe,” Loki insists.

“I don’t know,” Tony repeats. “A few hours, maybe? Now go.”

One of the women in the crowd -- a petite redhead who doesn’t even seem to be wearing a costume; just a blue plaid dress -- cocks her head to the side. “Tony?” she says uncertainly, her brows furrowing with concern. “Are you okay?”

Tony plasters on a surprisingly realistic smile. “Oh, yeah, ‘m fine,” he says. He raises his glass in a cheers motion. “Having the time of my life!”

Loki eyes the woman for a few moments. “And is this the mysterious Pepper Potts?” He may have seen her earlier today, though he can’t say for sure. He wasn’t really looking; he was too busy bitching to Tony.

Tony kicks his foot to the side, but Loki swiftly moves further behind him to get out of the way, not that he thinks it would have hit if he’d remained still.

“I will give you this, Stark,” Loki remarks. “You are a surprisingly functional drunk.”

Tony scowls, which puts a smile on Loki’s face. He leaves them alone after that. He has the answer he was looking for -- though not one he likes; he’s tired and has no desire to stare at the ceiling for another few hours while he suffers through this dreadful party -- so he’s done here.

Or so he thinks, until he catches sight of Clint on the other side of the room. He’s in the middle of the dance floor, a beer in his hand as he bops around like an idiot. Loki could easily sneak up on him. He could do the same to Natasha, too, given that she’s standing by his side, but he’s far more interested in Clint.

“He’s in my head,” Tony had said.

That could be fun to play with.

He wouldn’t usually think to mess with the Avengers like this. He and Clint struck a deal, after all -- one that was his idea. They’re supposed to leave each other alone. They’re certainly not supposed to seek each other out. The only two reasons he thinks it might be worth it are that, firstly, it’s going to be fun, and secondly, Clint is probably drunk enough that Loki could deny it in the morning and convince Clint he imagined it. No long-lasting harm, no foul.

So that’s what he does. Loki heads to the dance floor, doing his best not to brush against anybody as he walks. He sneaks up behind Clint, and the archer continues dancing, completely oblivious to his presence.

“Well, don’t you look ravishing,” Loki purrs in his ear, eyeing the Black Widow-esque catsuit clinging tightly to his body.

Clint freezes, eyes going wide. Loki circles in front of him, narrowly avoiding the outstretched arm of another party guest nearby. His gaze never leaves Clint’s face. Oh, the poor guy is terrified. This is fantastic.

“Where are you?” Clint asks quietly, his voice shaking.

“Oh, don’t tell me you thought my scepter’s effects had completely faded,” Loki says, an invisible smirk on his lips. “You’ll never truly be free.”

Clint doesn’t move, frozen in place while the party dances around him. Loki stays where he is, watching, waiting for him to finally pick himself up and move on, not quite forgetting but not dwelling on it, either.

Finally, Natasha has to cut in. “Clint? You okay?”

Clint shakes his head to himself and runs a hand down his face. “Uh, yeah, I’m…” He looks down at the drink in his hand, then lowers it to his side. “I gotta stop drinking, man.”

Loki stifles a laugh. He’d like to see Clint’s reaction to his evil cackle that could very well be in his head as well, but he doesn’t want Natasha to hear him and give it away, so he reluctantly moves on. That was fun, though. He doesn’t have much fun these days. It makes this whole insufferably loud party worth it.

Getting back to the staircase is a struggle. There are people everywhere, and he doesn’t want to touch them as he walks. He’s sure most of them are drunk out of their minds and wouldn’t think much of it, but he can’t say for sure whether anyone here is still mostly sober, and he doesn’t want to risk it.

As his eyes skim the room, trying to plot the easiest exit plan, they land on a familiar face he certainly hadn’t expected to see — though he's undeniably him; his light blue lab coat reminding everybody that he's one of the most accomplished scientists of the 21st century. He’s all alone, awkwardly leaning against the wall with his hands clasped in front of him. Loki could easily walk over there and speak to him. He’s at least a few feet from everybody else, and there’d be no risk of anyone overhearing.

After a few moments of deliberation, he does just that. He’s spoken to more people today than he has in a while. (It’s only been three people, but still, he doesn’t speak to many.) He might as well add another to the list.

Loki leans against the wall next to him, folding his arms over his chest. “Hello, Bruce.”

Immediately, Bruce stands up straight, pushing himself a few inches from the wall. He looks around frantically, just as the other two had done. It’s slightly less entertaining the third time, so Loki doesn’t let it last for long before he speaks again.

“I must admit, I was surprised to see you here,” Loki tells him.

Bruce squeezes his eyes shut and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Is this what PTSD feels like?” he mutters to himself.

Loki chuckles. “No, this is what it feels like to stand mere feet from a god.”

Bruce opens his eyes and drops his hand back to his side. “And I only had the one drink, too,” he mumbles. He leans back against the wall, exasperated.

Loki furrows his brows. “Do you really not know that I’m here?” Tony told Fury that he filled him in on everything. Granted, he also said he didn’t extend an invitation, and clearly, that’s not exactly true, either.

“I should’ve stayed home,” Bruce mutters.

“You truly do not know that I’m here,” Loki says, dumbfounded. “Stark decided not to tell you, and everyone else agreed. That is…” Well, stupid, for one, but also incredibly frustrating. They really don’t think there’s a chance that Loki’s going to make an appearance? They’re so confident in his complacency that they’re willing to invite the Hulk to their party and just assume he won’t freak out?

Bruce lets his head fall back against the wall. Loki just watches him for a few moments, wondering what he’ll do now. Does he really think he’s imagining this? Does he really think Loki’s just a little voice in his head? He’s literally standing right next to the guy.

Bruce gets up and walks toward the rest of the party, and, curious, Loki decides to follow him. Bruce makes his way through the crowd, gently moving people out of his way. Loki does his best to walk in the gaps he leaves behind, but he’s much larger than the scientist and people are quick to move back to where they stood before, so he doesn’t get far. Finally, he just decides to wait until he figures out where Bruce is going, and then he teleports to his side once more.

Steve and Thor are in the midst of a very large group conversation, of which Thor is currently taking the lead, going off on drunk ramblings that Loki pays no mind to. He’s heard all of Thor’s stories before. He has no desire to hear any of them again.

Bruce taps Thor on the shoulder, and Thor turns around. He looks around at eye level, then drops his gaze a few inches to meet Bruce’s. Thor bursts out laughing. “Oh, you’re so tiny! I almost didn’t see you there!”

Loki rolls his eyes. He really needs to lay off the beer.

“Uh, yeah, hi,” Bruce says, barely paying that any mind. “Hey, quick question. Where’s your brother?”

“Oh, Loki?” Thor slurs. “He’s over…” He gestures vaguely in way too many directions for that answer to make sense. “I dunno exactly. Steve won’t let me talk to ‘im.”

Bruce furrows his brows. “What?”

Steve sighs and quietly excuses himself from the group. He pats Thor on the shoulder. “You keep doing what you’re doing, buddy.” Thor beams at the half-assed praise, and Steve turns his attention now to Bruce. “Banner, will you…?” Steve gestures for him to follow, and, confused, Bruce does just that, completely oblivious still to Loki’s presence.

Steve leads Bruce all the way over to the stairwell, though they don’t actually enter it, just standing by the door where it’s a little quieter and a little more private.

Bruce looks up at him expectantly. “What is it? What’s going on?”

Steve glances around to make sure no one else is listening, and even then, he still leans in close and speaks in a quiet voice. “Loki is here.”

“What?” Bruce practically yells it, and Steve is quick to shush him. He lowers his voice. “What? Loki is here? Like, on Earth?”

Steve nods. “From what I understand, which I heard from Nat who heard from Tony who heard from Thor, so I don’t really know, he was being a nuisance in Asgard so the king banished him here. He’s been living here, for, I don’t know, a month?”

Bruce scoffs. “He’s living here? Like, here here? In this tower?”

Steve just nods, and he doesn’t look too happy about it. Loki tries not to let that bother him. (He fails.)

“Why the hell is Tony throwing a party with Loki hanging around?” Bruce demands.

“I don’t know,” Steve says. “I told him not to, and I think it just made him want to do it more.”

Bruce slaps a hand against his forehead. “God, he’s an idiot!”

“I won’t argue with you there,” Steve says.

Loki crosses his arms.

“He actually told us that you already knew,” Steve continues. “He said he wasn’t going to invite you because he didn’t trust Loki with you here. I take it that’s not what happened?”

“No!” Bruce says. “That’s not at all what happened! He said he wanted me to come! He didn’t tell me he was inviting the space god terrorist guy, too!”

“Okay, Bruce, calm down,” Steve says, though it doesn’t seem like he’s at risk of hulking out (and thank god for that). “Loki’s not going to hurt anyone. He doesn’t want to. If he did, Asgard would step in, and the only thing he hates more than being here is dealing with them.”

“Oh, what, you think consequences are going to stop him?” Bruce says, incredulous. “I don’t think he was particularly worried about consequences when he tried to take over the entire world!”

“I know,” Steve says quickly. “Believe me, I know. I felt the same way when I first heard he was here. But I've been spending a lot of time with him lately, and he's really not that bad anymore."

"You've been spending time with him?" Bruce repeats. "What, like you're friends?"

"Kind of," Steve says.

Loki raises an eyebrow. They're not friends. He's made a point to shoot that down the few times Steve has tried to say it. But it's oddly reassuring that he's willing to tell Bruce that they are, to some degree. Steve's willing to defend him, even when he thinks Loki's not around. It's a nice sight.

"Whatever he thought he was going to accomplish last time he was here, he's given up on it," Steve says. "He's not trying to hurt anyone anymore. He just comes out and eats his ice cream and his little dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, and then he goes back to his room and we don't hear from him for hours until he does it again."

"Okay, then he's probably concocting some evil plan in his room!"

Loki fights the urge to laugh. Yeah, that's what he's doing.

"He's not," Steve says. "He's probably either sleeping or reading a book right now. That's pretty much all he does these days."

"Uh-huh," Bruce says skeptically.

"I'm serious," Steve says. "He's not a threat anymore. He's not violent or angry or insane. He's just…" He shrugs awkwardly. "I think he's just sad."

Loki cocks his head to the side. What's that supposed to mean?

"You think he's sad," Bruce repeats. He pinches the bridge of his nose. "God, I'm going to regret asking this." He sighs and drops his hands down to his side. "Why do you think he's sad?"

"I think he misses Asgard."

Loki stares at him. Has he listened to a word Loki has said to him? Every time Asgard comes up in conversation, Loki says he hates it. He hates the place and he hates the people living there. There's nothing to miss, unless his own ignorance counts.

"Sometimes he pretends he's still there," Steve continues. "In the forest watching fireworks or sitting in his old room with his mom —"

"How do you know that?" Loki asks, blurting the words out before he can stop himself.

Steve and Bruce both jump at the sound of his voice. Bruce once again begins looking around for him, but Steve accepts fairly quickly that if Loki's not visible right in front of him, he's not going to find the guy.

"How long have you been there?" Steve asks. He doesn't sound too bothered by it; just a little annoyed.

"Only a few minutes," Loki says.

"I thought you were going to stay in your room," Steve reminds him.

"I was," Loki says. "But this party has been very loud and very long, so I came out to ask Stark when he expects it to end."

"Want me to go ask for you?" Steve offers.

"I already did," Loki tells him. "I was planning to return to my room, but I got distracted. I was under the impression that Banner wasn't invited."

"So that was actually you talking to me," Bruce says. "You're invisible. And you're talking to me. Right now." He runs a hand down his face. "Oh, this is fun."

Loki chuckles. It is way too easy to make humans uncomfortable. He loves it.

Steve sighs. "Is there a reason you're still here?"

"What, do you not trust me?" Loki asks, smirking though he knows Steve can't see it.

"I did until about 30 seconds ago," Steve says. "And if you leave Bruce alone and go back to your room, I'll start trusting you again."

Loki rolls his eyes. “I am not a child, Rogers. You cannot send me back to my room.” Not that anyone could really do that when he was a child; he was as adept at escaping his punishments during his youth as he was mere months ago when he was locked in the dungeon.

“I know; that’s why I’m asking you to, not telling you too,” Steve says.

There’s a loud crash, and Loki whips around to look, though he can’t see what it was from here. Now it sounds more like an Asgardian party. Is it truly a party if nothing gets broken? The horrendous music finally stopped playing, too, and thank the gods for that. If that’s what the loud crash was, he hopes they never manage to fix it.

“Ah, shoot,” Steve mutters. “I gotta run. I’m on babysitting duty.” He nods in farewell and takes off, gently pushing his way through the crowd to figure out what that was.

Loki chuckles to himself. He’s always on babysitting duty, isn’t he? Babysitting Loki; babysitting the drunk Avengers. No wonder he’s so good at it.

Bruce clicks his tongue. “So…” he says uncomfortably. “Loki. You enjoying your time here?”

Loki rolls his eyes. “I believe Rogers answered that with a resounding ‘No.’”

Bruce nods awkwardly. “Yeah…” His eyes scan the room, probably looking for a reason to leave. “Is, uh… Is everyone being pretty nice to you now?”

“Not at all,” Loki deadpans.

“Oh.” Bruce clasps his hands in front of him. “That’s… not fun.”

“No, it is not,” Loki agrees.

“But you haven’t killed anyone over it,” Bruce observes.

“Not yet.”

Bruce’s eyes go wide. “But you’re going to?”

“I presume I will,” Loki muses, “though I can’t say for certain.” Things have been pretty quiet lately in regards to the Avengers, Steve excluded, but he’s sure someone will piss him off enough eventually that he’ll kill them before he thinks it through. “If and when I do, I suspect it will either be Thor or Stark. Consider yourself safe.”

Bruce’s eyebrows shoot up. “You want to kill your brother?”

“He’s not my brother,” Loki snaps, and Bruce flinches at his tone. “And yes, I do, but for now I will settle for ignoring him.” With the slightest hint of a smile, he adds, “Though I notice you didn’t question why I would want to kill Stark.”

“Buddy, everybody wants to kill Tony sometimes,” Bruce tells him. “Hell, I want to kill him right now -- but please don’t actually kill him.”

Loki chuckles. “I have no plans to, but if he continues to push his luck the way he does, I’m sure I’ll do it on an impulse eventually.”

Bruce scoffs. “Does he know that?”

“He does,” Loki says. “He doesn’t seem to care.”

“So you’re both insane,” Bruce surmises.

“Yes.”

Bruce seems surprised that he agreed with that, but he doesn’t question it. Changing the subject, he asks a hesitant, “So, you’re not going to, you know, try to bring the other guy out again, are you?”

"Of course not," Loki says. "In case you haven't noticed, 'the other guy' and I aren't exactly the closest of friends."

"Yeah, I, uh…" He shrugs awkwardly. "I don't really know what he did to you — or what you did to him — so I don't…"

Loki furrows his brows. "Can you not see what happens when the Hulk overtakes you?"

Bruce shakes his head. "We're two completely different people. I don't remember anything he does, and I don't think he knows anything I do."

"That sounds terrifying," he says. "Knowing you could wake up somewhere else at any moment with no memory of how you got there…" He can't imagine it. He'd rather not try to.

"It's kind of a blessing in disguise," Bruce admits. "I know he's hurt a lot of people. I don't want to see him do it."

Loki gives a sympathetic nod, though Bruce can't see it. "That's understandable."

"Is it?" Bruce asks skeptically. "Don't you like hurting people?"

"I…" Loki trails off before he can even truly begin to respond. How could he answer that? He's not entirely sure he knows what the answer is.

"Um…" Bruce furrows his brows. "Do you not enjoy hurting people? 'Cause you did kill, like, 150 people a few months ago, so…"

Loki answers with a halting, "I do what I must. My own feelings on the matter rarely interfere."

Bruce presses his lips into a firm line, and, try as he might, Loki can't read his expression. He supposes it doesn't matter how Bruce feels about that, anyway. The situation was far more complicated than he expects the man to understand, and it doesn't matter that he does.

Finally, Bruce just asks, "Why did you do it?"

"What?"

"If you didn't enjoy it, why did you do it?" Bruce asks again.

Loki hesitates. "That is a complicated question, and not one I would feel comfortable discussing here."

"But if we went somewhere else, you'd tell me," Bruce says slowly.

"If you truly want to know, yes," Loki says. "But the conversation stays between us. I have no quarrel with you, and I do believe you deserve an explanation for why I did to you what I did — should you want to hear it — if only because you should have had no part in it. This is not a courtesy I would extend to anyone else." Not even Steve, his most tolerated acquaintance. Steve is a soldier; he was destined to fall into this fight. Bruce can't say the same.

"And you're not taking me somewhere to kill me?" Bruce asks.

Loki chuckles. "No, Banner, I am not going to kill you. I've told you, I have no desire to anger the Hulk."

"Okay, good," Bruce says awkwardly. "Then, I guess, let's… go somewhere?"

Chapter Text

"Has Thor ever told you why I left Asgard?"

Bruce shakes his head. "He hasn't really told me anything about you." He readjusts his position on Loki's mattress, crossing his legs in front of him. He's tense, uncomfortable, but he's acting as calm as he can given the circumstances — given the position, with both him and Loki sitting on opposite sides of a single bed. "Should he have?"

"Admittedly, I would be interested to hear the spin he would put on it," Loki says. "How he'd make himself to be the hero." He gives a minute shake of his head. "I suppose it's best that he hasn't. We start with a clean slate." The internal biases Bruce harbors are no secret, nor are they unjust, but Loki trusts they won't distract from his point.

Bruce nods. "So, what happened?"

"It would take a long time to explain the centuries of mistreatment I'd faced," Loki begins. "I won't subject you to it. Suffice to say, Asgard is a warrior's realm, not fit for a scholar such as myself."

"You're saying you're not a warrior?" Bruce says skeptically.

"Not by choice," Loki says. "I've been in my fair share of battles, as you've doubtlessly seen, but it was never my forte. I would much rather be in a library than a battlefield."

Bruce huffs a humorless laugh. "Well, we've got one thing in common."

That gets a small smile from Loki. That’s one of the reasons Loki kind of likes Bruce, as much as he can like a mortal he hardly knows. "I'd assumed for the longest time that this was why Thor would win the throne: he possessed the traits Asgard most admired, but not the ones needed in a king. I set out to prove that — not so I could become king, but so Thor would not.

"I conspired with the enemy," Loki continues. "Laufey, of Jotunheim. After the Allfather's baseless war with that realm a millennia ago, Asgard and Jotunheim had always had an uneasy peace; I knew their king would be as apprehensive of a boarish, brainless warmonger taking the throne as I was. I invited some of their people into Asgard, partially to disrupt Thor's undeserved coronation and partially because Asgard had something of theirs; a stolen relic locked away in our weapons vault. It was guarded by an ancient Asgardian protector — the Destroyer — so there was little chance the Jotuns would survive its defense, but if they did, they would only take what was rightfully theirs and take their leave. It would be harmless."

"I take it it wasn't harmless," Bruce says.

"Yes and no," Loki says. "The Destroyer did, predictably, destroy them, as it's apt to do. Thor's coronation was ruined, and Asgard saved from his rule for a short while longer. The Allfather was willing to overlook the betrayal of a handful of Jotuns in favor of the peace the two realms had established a thousand years prior, but Thor, the hot-headed oaf that he is, wanted revenge.

"Asgard claims to be a keeper of peace, but the peace is kept through violence, until all other realms have no choice but to submit. I'd seen right through the propaganda, but Thor truly believed it was just. I took advantage of it. I told him not to attack Jotunheim, and, as I'd expected, he took that as reason to do it."

"Wait, okay, hold on," Bruce says, and Loki looks at him expectantly. "You're complaining that Asgard achieves peace through war, but you literally came down to Earth and killed 150 people. Isn't that a little…?"

"Hypocritical? Of course it is," Loki says. "I won't argue with that. But it's also all I've ever known. I don't remember my life before Asgard. All I know is the inherent violence of the system I was thrust into."

"What do you mean, before Asgard?" Bruce asks.

That question actually takes Loki by surprise. "I mean just that. My life before the Allfather stole me."

"So you're not from Asgard," Bruce says slowly.

"I thought you all knew I was adopted."

"First of all, 'stolen' and 'adopted' are two very different things," Bruce says. "Second, Thor has always called you an Asgardian, so I just assumed…"

"Thor also has half a functioning brain cell on a good day."

Bruce chuckles. "Yeah, he's, uh… He's something." He seems to relax a little, like he's less likely to run at any minute. "Okay, continue."

"Well, to make a long story short, I proved that Thor was not worthy of the throne, he was punished for his treachery, and we left the realm without endangering any of our own people's lives. But, though I'd been to Jotunheim a few times in the past, it was only this time that I realized I was one of them. I confronted the Allfather, who admitted he'd taken me from a Jotun temple with the hope of using me as a puppet, to put me upon the Jotun throne and bend to his will."

Bruce lets out a long breath. "That's messed up."

"I'm glad you agree; it seems most people don't," Loki says. He never felt an ounce of empathy about it from anyone but his mother, and even she was complicit in it. "I'd realized he'd never seen me as worthy of the Asgardian throne; the ability to rule in my own right. I'd been promised a fair chance at it since childhood, but he'd never even considered it."

"So you left?" Bruce guesses.

"I should have," Loki admits. He really, really should have. If he could go back in time, knowing what he knows now, how insignificant his so-called father's opinion is, he absolutely would have left then; taken the Bifrost to somewhere he might stand a chance at living his own life. "But I didn't. I wanted to impress him. I wanted to prove that I was as worthy of his love as Thor was.

"It didn't work. I think I'd driven myself mad with desperation and with grief. My past had been a lie and my future stolen from me, and I tried so desperately to cling to what little I had left. I'd been prepared to do anything — I would have burned the whole world down to prove myself to him — but, in the end, I was nothing more than a pawn in his game. So I let it all go. I gave up. I fell from the Bifrost, and I thought that would be the end."

"The end like…" Bruce eyes him uncertainly. "Like you thought it would kill you?"

Loki drops his gaze to his lap, and he clasps his hands in front of him uncomfortably. He's a little embarrassed to admit it aloud, but it truly was an integral part of his story. "I imagine it sounds rather… melodramatic, but I truly didn't see another way."

"Hey, man, I get it," Bruce says. "I've been there, too. I mean, I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy just spit it back out."

Loki looks up at him in surprise. "What?"

"Yeah." Bruce chuckles humorlessly. "The guy won't even let me die in peace."

Loki feels a pang of sympathy. "I'm sorry, that's…" He hesitates. "I don't want to say that's awful because you shouldn't die, but…"

"Yeah, I know what you meant," Bruce says. "And thank you."

Loki furrows his brows. "For what?"

"For saying something," Bruce says. "The Avengers never did. I know we had bigger things to worry about at the time, but it would've been nice if someone had, you know, acknowledged it when I told them." He smiles awkwardly. "Really wasn't expecting you to be more sympathetic than, you know, the good guys, but…"

Loki gives a small shrug. "Well, while I won't pretend to be one of the 'good guys,' I'm not quite the monster you think me to be."

"Eh…" Bruce tilts his head back and forth in a so-so motion. "Sympathetic monster, sure. Like, I really do feel bad for you and all, but you also tried to take over the world. I'm not sure 'My adoptive family sucks' is a good enough excuse for that."

"I do think so," Loki says, "but there was more to it than that. I didn't decide the next day to come to Midgard. I traversed the universe for a long time before I stumbled upon that opportunity. Admittedly, rage was probably my primary motivator, but it was also a chance to stop running for the rest of eternity, and instead to prove myself a capable ruler."

"Okay, but you killed 150 people," Bruce reminds him.

"The alternative would have been my own death, probably sooner rather than later," Loki says. "The rest of the universe is not such a forgiving place."

Bruce raises an eyebrow. "Meaning…?"

"Meaning you should consider yourself fortunate to live your life in Midgard," Loki says darkly. "I have no desire to discuss my experiences from outside the Nine Realms. I don't doubt that such a conversation would drive you mad."

"Okay, duly noted," Bruce says. "Kind of sucks, you know, as a scientist, to have a first-hand account of the entire universe at my fingertips and not be able to hear it, but…"

It's obvious that he's trying to change Loki's mind, and Loki is vehemently against the idea that he could possibly fall for someone else's manipulation. Still, his previous neutrality towards the man is slowly leaning in his favor. He's a very good listener, and, though he wouldn't admit it, Loki has a feeling he really does understand his point of view. He wouldn't be arguing with him if he truly thought Loki was evil beyond redemption. He's not Tony; he's not Steve. His sense of self-preservation is too strong to do something that stupid.

"I could answer a few questions, I'm sure," Loki says. "From one scholar to another."

Bruce grins. "Okay, cool. First —"

~~~

"— your constellations very well," Loki is saying. "But I suspect many of the stars are the same as are in ours." He gestures to the night sky above them, an illusion of his making that mimics Asgard's early spring nights as well as he can remember.

"I wish I could tell," Bruce says. "I mean, even just two stars would be enough to figure out exactly where in the sky Asgard lies."

"Unfortunately, I am of no help there," Loki says. "I don't know the first thing about Midgardian astrology."

"I could try to teach you," Bruce says. "I mean, I don't know a whole lot — stars aren't really my area of expertise — but I know a little bit. I could probably point out, like, four constellations? Maybe five if I'm lucky?"

Loki chuckles. "That's very kind, but I'm afraid I have a very limited view of the atmosphere." He pulls the blinds up to show Bruce what little strip of the night sky he can see through his window.

"What, you're not allowed on the balcony?"

"I'm not entirely sure, if I'm being honest," Loki says. "It may not constitute 'inside the tower' if I'm outside, and that's a theory I would rather not test when there are others around to watch me fail at something so spectacularly simple — and I've come to realize that there are always others around."

“Oh, damn,” Bruce says. “Tough break.”

Loki just shrugs. He’s gotten used to it. His time here in Midgard is going to be absolutely miserable. He accepted that long ago. He sees no reason to dwell on it.

“Well, still, I feel bad,” Bruce says. “You’ve been telling me all about… well, everything, and I haven’t been able to teach you anything.”

“I don’t expect you to,” Loki assures him.

“No, I know, but it feels so one-sided,” Bruce says. “So if there’s anything you want to know, I can try to explain it.”

Loki shakes his head. “I’m still learning the basics of your realm. I don’t know that I can yet process a lecture on nuclear physics.”

“I could help you with the basics,” Bruce volunteers. “If you’ve got any questions…”

“I prefer to ask JARVIS all of my ridiculously simple questions,” Loki tells him. “He has no face and his voice remains level. It’s much easier to pretend there is no judgment.”

“Hey, man, I wouldn’t judge you,” Bruce assures him.

“Which is very easy to say, as you’ve not heard any of my ridiculously simple questions,” Loki says, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.

“I doubt they’re that ridiculous,” Bruce says. “Name one question you’ve asked that’s too ridiculous to ask an actual person.”

Loki ponders that for a few moments. “I asked JARVIS how a microwave works.”

“That’s not a weird question,” Bruce says, much to Loki’s surprise. “A lot of people don’t know how a microwave works. You’re gonna have to try harder than that.”

Loki taps his chin thoughtfully. “I had to ask what the air conditioner was.”

“Mm…” Bruce makes a so-so gesture with his hand. “Kind of weird, but I understand it. You probably don't have them in Asgard.”

“I’ve had to ask about an embarrassing number of popular culture references.”

“What, Tony’s pop culture references?” Bruce guesses. “I never know what he’s talking about, either. Trust me, he’s the weird one there, not you.”

“Oh.” Loki had just assumed Tony’s dialect was familiar to everyone in Midgard. “This does make me feel marginally better.”

“Enough that you’ll tell me if you have any questions?” Bruce asks. “Because I feel bad asking you all these questions if you won’t ask me any.”

Loki chuckles. “Alright, should I find myself with any questions with you here, I will ask.”

“Okay, good,” Bruce says. “I —"

Loki’s bedroom door swings open, smashing against the wall with a loud crash. Bruce jumps at the noise; Loki just calmly turns his head to look as both Steve and Tony enter the room. Tony looks pissed; Steve is just distracted by the stars littering the ceiling.

“Hey, Bill Nye, what the hell are you doing?” Tony demands.

Loki rolls his eyes and leans back against the wall, defeated. Well, this was nice while it lasted.

“We’re just… talking?” Bruce gives them a puzzled look. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Yeah, I could ask you the same thing,” Tony says. “Why are you talking to Loki?”

Steve sighs. “Stark…”

“Um…” Bruce glances at Loki uncertainly. “I don’t know. He was showing me some stuff.”

“What, like the stars?” Tony asks sarcastically.

“Well, yeah.”

Tony scoffs. “If you want to look at a planetarium, I could build you a planetarium.”

“No, it’s Asgard’s stars,” Bruce explains. “See? None of our constellations are up there.”

Tony raises his gaze to the ceiling, eyes scanning the illusion above him. Loki makes the illusion disappear in that moment just to annoy him.

Bruce looks around, confused. “Hey, where’d it go?”

Tony rolls his eyes. “Alright, out of Loki’s room. You’re staying out of his way.”

“He’s not in my way, Stark,” Loki tells him, making no attempt to hide his exasperation. “We were having an intelligent conversation — though, unfortunately, all signs of intelligence left the room the moment you entered it.”

Bruce snickers, and Tony promptly shoots him a glare.

“What?” Bruce says with an awkward shrug. “He’s funny.”

“No, he’s not!” Tony says. “He’s a pest! Now get away from him before he stabs someone!”

Bruce’s eyebrows shoot up. “Has he stabbed anyone?”

“He’s gotten pretty damn close!”

Steve cuts in with, “He threw a knife at Thor once, but that’s about it.”

Bruce looks over at Loki in surprise. “You threw a knife at your brother?”

“He’s not my brother,” Loki says irritably. “And yes, I did. Unfortunately, he caught it before it could do even minor harm.”

Bruce nods slowly. “Alright, definitely not a pacifist.”

“I told you I would likely kill Stark eventually,” Loki reminds him. “If you thought me a pacifist, I question your understand of the word.”

“That’s a good point,” Bruce says.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. “Didn’t scare me the first time, doesn’t scare me the tenth.”

“This is what you were talking about, then,” Bruce says, his gaze still on Loki. “About why you wanted to kill him?”

“One of many examples, yes,” Loki says. “If you hadn’t understood before, I trust you do now.”

Steve raises his eyebrows and looks over at Tony for his response. It puts the faintest of smiles on Loki’s face. Steve has remained silent while Tony harassed the god time and time again. He’s glad to see that it goes both ways.

"No one is killing anyone," Tony says. "Now, Loki, stop pestering my guests, and —"

"He's not pestering me," Bruce says. "I want to be here. This has actually been the highlight of your party for me."

Tony scoffs. "What?"

"Yeah, you know, once I got over the whole 'Loki's been living in your penthouse for weeks and you didn't think to tell me before I came' thing, this has actually been great. I guess Asgard is just as advanced as Earth is; they just advanced differently. It's fascinating, really."

"The only 'fascinating' thing about Loki is how apathetic — and plain pathetic — he is," Tony says.

Loki hits his head against the wall, exasperated. "Alright, I understand, you don't like me. Will you leave me alone?"

"Not while you're talking to Banner," Tony says. "This isn't a game, Loki. You're putting the whole building at risk — yourself included."

"I would have thought that would apply more towards you," Loki says, "given that you invited him here but told him nothing of my presence. But I believe you underestimate the man. He has remarkable control, and I've no desire to break that."

"Oh, I'm sure you don't," Tony says sarcastically.

"No, I really don't think he does," Bruce says. "I guess the other guy made a big impression last time. He's not a fan. But, uh…" He fakes a smile and says an insincere, "Thanks for believing in me."

Tony sighs. "No, Bruce, it's not you. It's him."

"But he's not doing anything," Bruce insists. "I am enjoying myself right now. Parties aren't really my scene, but this?" He scoffs, his smile growing more sincere. "It's like a free seminar on everything we don't understand yet. Have you ever sat down with the guy? He's a fountain of knowledge."

Tony crosses his arms. "You're insane."

"I don't know, maybe," Bruce admits, "but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Do you know how many people would kill for a first-hand account of all this?"

Because Loki enjoys causing problems, even on a minor scale, he says, "It doesn't have to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The other five Avengers have all moved into this tower. You haven't told me much of what you do now, but if it's not location-specific, Stark has numerous labs around the tower. Perhaps you could join your friends; we could speak more later."

Before Bruce can even open his mouth, Tony says, "No! No, that is not happening!"

The smile that had almost crept up on Bruce's face disappears. He nods understandingly. "That's fine. Can I just finish my conversation with —"

"Your conversation is finished," Tony says. "Loki's not part of the party. Stay away from him."

Loki rolls his eyes. "Captain, you've been uncharacteristically quiet. Care to choose a side?" Maybe he can put an end to this ridiculous argument.

"Not really, no," Steve says. "As long as you're getting along, I don't care, but it is Tony's place. He makes the rules, not me."

"Exactly," Tony says, his gaze still on Loki. "And I say you're done."

Loki bites back a sigh and looks over at Bruce. "Sorry; Rogers was our last chance. Stark is nothing if not persistent in his annoyances. He won't leave until you do."

"Damn," Bruce mutters. "Well…" He stands up and offers Loki a hand to shake. "It was nice talking to you. Thank you for, you know, not trying to kill me."

Loki chuckles. "I think we've established that it would end poorly for us both."

"I'm sorry," Tony says, "you do remember that he's a terrorist, right? He's not your friend; he's a murderer."

"Yeah, we talked about that, too," Bruce says. "But aren't most of you guys reformed killers, anyway?"

Tony scoffs. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying," Bruce says. "He only killed, what, 150 people? I mean, they were innocent people so it's a little different, but I think all of you are probably responsible for more deaths than that."

The look on Tony's face is priceless, and it takes every ounce of self-control Loki has not to laugh.

"Thank you, Bruce," Loki says, and he can't hide the smug smile on his face. "You are by far my favorite mortal."

Bruce pauses, then says uncertainly, "Thank you?"

Steve raises his eyebrows at that, and Loki pretends he doesn't notice. He really does like Steve, too, but Bruce is actively defending him right now. Steve doesn't do that. Not for this long, or with this level of insistence. This is a surprisingly nice change of pace.

“Okay, seriously, Loki, what’s your game?” Tony asks.

"My 'game' is trying to enjoy the very few opportunities I have to enjoy myself," Loki says. "Not everything I do has a nefarious purpose behind it. Banner can hold a conversation in a way very few others can. I thought I would make the most of it."

"Right," Tony says sarcastically, "and I'm sure the fact that he just happens to be the Hulk had nothing to do with it."

"It was relevant only in the sense that I would not have known of him otherwise," Loki says. "I do not like the Hulk. He was a useful tool for a time, but he also slammed me into the floor repeatedly, and even as a god, that is painful. Believe me, I do not want to see him again."

“Wait, he did what?” Bruce asks, but he gets promptly ignored.

Tony crosses his arms, an eyebrow raised, but he doesn't immediately shoot Loki down. Loki wasn't really expecting a chance with this, but it looks like he might have one.

"I am a scholar by nature, Stark," he says. "I would think you more than most would understand the thirst for knowledge, and the exhilaration of finding a like-minded partner to discuss it with at length. This was a rare opportunity for myself, and, I presume, for Banner as well. He knows countless other scientists, but none with the knowledge I hold. Is it truly fair to withhold that from him because you are uncomfortable?"

Tony narrows his eyes, and Loki looks at him expectantly. It's a simple question. It requires a simple response.

Finally, Steve steps in with, “You know, Loki’s probably less antagonizing than the people downstairs right now. I trust Banner either way, but if you’re really worried about the Hulk, this might be the safest place for him to be.”

Tony looks between the three of them for a very long few moments. “All you’re doing is talking?”

Bruce nods. “That’s it.”

Tony hesitates, then sighs. “Fine. But if Loki starts pushing your buttons, leave. I’ve already had to clean up after Loki’s genocidal rage; I don’t want to have to clean up the Hulk’s, too.”

“Got it,” Bruce says.

“And thank you, Rogers,” Loki adds.

Steve just gives him a small smile in acknowledgment. He and Tony head out of the room, Steve carefully closes the door behind him. At Loki’s invitation, Bruce sits back down on the bed, so they can resume their conversation that was so rudely interrupted. But first…

“Is this still a judgment-free zone where I can ask my ridiculously simple questions?” Loki asks.

“Yeah, ‘course,” Bruce says. “What’s up?”

“Who is Bill Nye?”

Bruce chuckles. “Oh, that’s my costume.” He fixes his bow tie and smooths out his light-blue lab coat. "I'm Bill Nye the Science Guy."

Loki raises his brows. "Oh?"

"He does science videos for kids," Bruce explains. "He's, uh… well, he’s pretty famous."

"Ah." Loki nods like that explains a lot, but it doesn't and they both know that.

"Maybe someone will get you a computer; you can watch some of his videos," Bruce says. "They're pretty basic, but they're funny. And I'd be kind of interested to see if Asgard has different scientific foundations than we do on Earth. Maybe that's why you guys have such different technology than we do."

"I expect the foundations of our worlds are more similar than not," Loki says. "I would be surprised if our understandings are very different."

"I don't know; it could be," Bruce says with a shrug.

"Also, Stark would never let me have a computer," Loki adds. "He complained when Rogers brought me a clock."

Bruce's eyebrows shoot up. "Wait, seriously?"

Loki just nods. It was stupid, but he did.

"God, these guys really suck, don't they?" Bruce says.

Loki chuckles. He wasn’t expecting that. He’d assumed they were all good friends; that Bruce would side with them on principle. Apparently, he’s not one with their shared hivemind. "I like you," he says. "You view me as a person."

"Well, yeah, you are a person," Bruce says.

"Your friends disagree," Loki says. They’ve quite literally told him that themselves.

"Well, my friends are kind of stupid," Bruce says.

"I certainly will not argue with that," Loki says, an amused smile on his face. "Not you, though. It's a shame you can't stay for long; it's been a long time since I enjoyed a conversation as much as I did today."

"I can ask Tony," Bruce says. "Maybe he'll let me stick around for a few days."

"Or you could move in," Loki suggests. "There is one tolerable person in this entire tower, and he could hardly hold a conversation about the magnetic propulsion involved in Asgard's toys."

"Steve?" Bruce guesses, and Loki nods. "I don't know; I'll see. I know Tony's got some interesting toys here. He's offered to let me check them out before. Maybe the offer still stands."

That puts a smile on Loki’s face. “I hope it does,” he says. “I think we both stand to learn a lot from each other.”

Chapter Text

There are seven people now living in Stark Tower, but, somehow, Steve rarely sees any of them. Tony's always either in his lab or with Pepper; Bruce spends most of his time playing around with Tony's equipment; Natasha and Clint go in and out a lot for their work with SHIELD, and Thor's been returning to Asgard frequently when he gets bored. It leaves most of Steve's day to himself, both a blessing and a curse.

Steve heads over to Loki's room for dinner, but the sound of voices inside makes him second-guess that. Bruce has really made himself at home since he moved in, possibly more so than anyone else. He's the only person who feels comfortable going to Loki's room on a whim, and when he does, he can stay there for hours. Tony finds it frustrating, but Steve's happy for the god. It's nice that he has someone to talk to, and it's great that he's no longer isolating himself the way he used to.

It's just… weird. It took Steve weeks to earn Loki's trust, but Loki and Bruce hit it off immediately. They may be better friends than Steve and Loki are. He doesn't get it. He feels like he has to be doing something wrong; he just doesn't know what it is.

Steve's only been standing outside Loki's room for a few seconds, debating whether or not to disturb the two, when the door swings open. Loki's still sitting on his bed and Bruce is still next to him on his rolling office chair that's found a permanent home in this room, so Loki must have opened the door with magic. He doesn't usually notice Steve outside, so he wasn't expecting that.

"Oh, hey!" Bruce says with a grin. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," Steve says awkwardly. "I was going to have dinner, but if you guys are busy, I can just make it for myself."

Bruce looks over at Loki, who, after a pause, asks, "What are you making?"

"I don't know, I was thinking mac n cheese," Steve says. "Unless you want something else?"

"I like mac n cheese," Loki says. He looks over at Bruce. "Would you mind?"

"Actually, I'm kind of hungry, too," Bruce says. "Mind if I join you? I'll make the mac n cheese if you want, do my part."

Steve forces a smile. "Yeah, sure." He likes Bruce, but he was kind of hoping he'd get to talk to Loki a bit. He's not sure he expects to do that with Bruce around.

Steve takes the lead down the hallway, with Loki and Bruce lagging behind him and talking at length in words that he doesn't understand.

"I can't believe it," Bruce says to the god. "We've been studying it for, like, a century, but it's still just a theory."

"I thought theories and facts were interchangeable in Midgard," Loki says, confused.

"No, they are — I mean, kind of; it means we accept it as fact, but we can't prove it. Like gravity."

"You can't prove gravity?" Loki repeats in disbelief. "The fact that we are not on the ceiling right now proves gravity."

"Not scientifically," Bruce says. "But that’s how a theory works in science; we accept it as fact."

"If you accept quantum mechanics as fact, why does the soul forge surprise you?" Loki asks. "Surely you're not surprised that one could transfer molecular energy in that way."

"But we're decades away from discovering that kind of technology," Bruce says. "We’re still learning the ins and outs of quantum mechanics, and you just have these quantum field generators lying around to use whenever you want?"

"Well, our healers use them, but yes," Loki says. "You really don't have that kind of technology?"

"No, we don't!" Bruce says. "God, how do you people still travel on horseback and use birds to carry your mail but you have quantum field generators lying around?"

Loki laughs at that, and Steve looks over his shoulder in surprise. He doesn't think he's ever heard him laugh before. He's heard his little chuckles here and there, but this is a real, genuine laugh. It's nice to hear, but it kind of makes him wonder what he's here for. Loki seems perfectly content nerding out with Bruce. Maybe he should just take over making sure Loki comes out to eat.

"I wonder how much more advanced the Nine Realms would be if we'd ever included Midgard's leaders in our discussions," Loki muses.

"You'd probably be worse off for it," Bruce says. "We've had some brilliant scientists, but our world leaders tend to be more interested in violence than intelligence."

"You say that as though that's uncommon," Loki says. "I've told you of the Allfather's rule; his own propensity for violence. He could have put them in their place if he thought them worth the effort."

I've told you of the Allfather's rule.

Loki rarely talks about his father. Steve doesn't know the first thing about him, beyond the fact that Loki hates him. He’s really told Bruce about him? What is Steve doing wrong here that gets Bruce all the insider information he doesn't get to hear?

"Yeah, why doesn't he think we're worth the effort?" Bruce asks.

"Because no one does," Loki says. "I suspect because your kind is a relatively new intelligent species. There was nothing to be gained by interacting with you people as primates. You've only become somewhat intelligent during my lifetime; by then, you'd been written off essentially as the equivalent of children: weak and unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and best left apart from the adult conversations."

"So the whole universe thinks we're stupid," Bruce surmises.

"Precisely."

Steve glances back at him with an eyebrow raised.

"It's true," Loki tells him. "The vast majority of your kind wouldn't understand a word of the textbooks I grew up with." He pauses, thinking about that. "You may, though, Bruce. Does Thor still live here? You could ask him to bring you some of them. They do no one any good by sitting in my chambers."

"Wait, hold on," Bruce says. "You don't know if Thor still lives here?"

"Why would I?" Loki asks. "I haven't seen him since that party. He's never been terribly patient; I'm just waiting for the day he inevitably gives up on me once again and leaves."

"Okay, wow," Bruce says. "Well, he does, first of all. He kinda switches between here and Asgard. And, yeah, I'll ask him next time I see him. Thanks!"

They finally reach the kitchen, where Bruce tells them both that they can sit and that he'll make the mac n cheese for them. Steve and Loki do just that, sitting side-by-side at the table while Bruce goes about his business. It's weird not to be the one making dinner today.

As Bruce is filling up a pot with water, he asks, "Hey, Loki, do you know how to use an oven?"

Steve looks over at the god curiously. He never actually thought to ask him that. He's made Loki all different kinds of food, but he doesn't usually show him how he does it.

"Vaguely," Loki says. "We have ovens in Asgard. I suspect they're somewhat similar."

"So you do have ovens," Bruce says. “We have some common ground there.”

“Of course we have ovens,” Loki says. “I hardly used them -- I think a prince in the kitchen would raise some eyebrows -- but we do heat our food.”

“Oh my god; I totally forgot you’re a prince,” Bruce says. He puts the pot on the stove and turns on the heat, then takes a seat at the table across from him. “So you didn’t make your own food?”

“Rarely,” Loki says. “When I was exceptionally hungry I would, but those instances were few and far between.”

“That’s so weird,” Bruce mutters. “Okay, I have another question.”

“I may have an answer,” Loki replies.

“You said a lot of ‘magic’ in Asgard is just science,” Bruce begins. “Is your magic just science?”

Loki chuckles. “No, my magic is actual magic.”

“So there’s nothing scientific about it?” Bruce asks. “No scientific origins? You don’t think it’s even just science we don’t understand yet?”

“Magic is an art in and of itself,” Loki says. “It’s already been studied inside and out. True magic works against science, not with it. For instance, in your science show, Mr. Nye said that the fact that energy cannot be created or destroyed is a fundamental part of your world, but with magic…” Loki holds his hands up in front of him, and a ball of green light glows in between them. “Energy.”

Steve stares at it, captivated. He’s never seen anything like it. Even in the well-lit kitchen, it shines brighter than anything he’s ever seen. It shifts freely in the air, but it never leaves its sphere-like shape between his hands.

“That’s pure energy?” Bruce asks.

“It is,” Loki says.

“You can make energy?”

“I can.”

“So, hypothetically, if you were holding the plug to the microwave, you could power a microwave with nothing but your bare hands?”

Loki nods, amused. “I assume I could. I’d probably break it, though, so it’s best we don’t test that theory.” He puts his hands together, and the energy disappears. He folds his hands and rests them on the table in front of him.

The conversation goes on in this fashion for a long time. Steve has no part in it -- he hardly understands any of it, especially when they begin discussing quantum mechanics again in more depth -- but there are some parts he finds somewhat amusing. Eventually, the mac n cheese is done, and they all sit down to eat.

“How is your research going?” Loki asks.

“Mm--” Bruce holds up a finger while he finishes chewing. “It’s been slow. It’s a bit of an adjustment period, working with Tony’s equipment now, but I think it’ll start picking up soon.”

“I hope so,” Loki says. “I don’t know much of gamma radiation, but if you ever need an extra set of hands…”

“I might take you up on that,” Bruce says. “I’ve been asking Tony for help when I need it, but he can be kind of…”

“He can be kind of what?” Tony asks, walking into the room with a smirk on his face. He doesn’t give Bruce the chance to answer -- not that the scientist probably wanted to -- and continues speaking. “We’ve got the whole Loki fan club in one room. Haven’t seen that before.” He perks up. “Is that mac n cheese?”

“Yeah, do you want some?” Bruce asks.

“Of course I want some,” Tony says. He grabs a bowl of mac n cheese and leans against the counter. Steve finds himself hoping he’s not going to stay around long if he’s not settling in. “And what riveting conversation am I missing out on?”

“Quantum mechanics,” Bruce says.

Tony nearly chokes on his mac n cheese.

“Quantum mechanics?” Tony repeats incredulously. He looks over at Loki, dumbfounded. “You studied quantum mechanics?”

“I have a basic understanding of quantum mechanics,” Loki says. “Hardly my area of expertise, though.”

“They have quantum field generators in Asgard!” Bruce adds eagerly.

“They what?”

“We call them soul forges,” Loki says. “They’re essentially the same thing.”

“Holy shit,” Tony says. “And I thought Asgard was stuck in the 1800s.”

“I’m telling you, man,” Bruce says. “Just sit down with him for a few minutes. The things he could tell you…”

“Okay, I’m not that impressed,” Tony says, earning an eye roll from everyone at the table. He finishes his bowl of mac n cheese, shoveling it in his mouth way too fast to actually enjoy it, then says, “Hey, Bruce, can I borrow you in my lab for a minute? I’m doing something wrong and I can’t figure out what it is.”

“Yeah, sure,” Bruce says. He takes one last bite of his own mac n cheese, then puts the bowl in the sink. To Loki and Steve, he says, “I’ll see you later.”

Steve nods once, and Loki gives a small wave. Tony and Bruce head out, leaving Steve alone with Loki. Loki gets up, and for the briefest moment, Steve thinks he’s going to go back to his room now that Bruce is gone. Instead, he just pours another bowl of mac n cheese and sits back down at the table.

“You and Bruce seem to get along well,” Steve remarks, just to make conversation.

“We do,” Loki says. “He’s a brilliant man. Asgard doesn’t value its scholars very highly so I rarely got to discuss such matters. It’s been nice to speak to someone with a similar propensity for learning to myself.”

“Ah.” Steve nods awkwardly. That’s… great. Really great.

“They’re largely impersonal conversations, though,” Loki says. “Largely factual; very little about ourselves -- not since our first conversation, at least. It’s much different than speaking with you.”

Steve has the sneaking suspicion he’s saying that to assure him that he hasn’t been replaced. It’s sweet if that was his intention, but he doesn’t feel that way. He’s glad Loki’s been talking to Bruce. As long as he’s talking to someone, it doesn’t have to be Steve. He totally doesn’t feel kind of lonely without Loki to talk to for an hour or so every day anymore. “It sounds like you’ve told him a bit about yourself,” he says. “You told him about your -- the king?”

“Very little,” Loki says. “You would know much better than he does how I feel about the man -- which I know, because you didn’t call him my father.”

Damn; he’d hoped he was more subtle about correcting himself. “Does he even know that you aren’t talking to Thor?”

“It’s been mentioned once or twice in passing,” Loki says. “But again, I suspect you understand why much better than he would. Banner only knows me in the sense that I know the rest of you Avengers from Barton’s overview of your lives. It provides a basic understanding, perhaps a strong tactical advantage should the occasion arise, but it means very little in the grand scheme of things.”

Steve nods slowly. “Huh.”

“Now, enough about Banner,” Loki says. “I feel as though all I’ve spoken about all week is science. I’d like to talk about something else for a change.” He props his head up on his hand and flashes him a smile. “How have you been?”

~~~

Steve and Loki chat for a while, long past when they finish eating. Their conversation covers just about every topic they could think of. Sometimes it grows serious; other times, it’s merely a lighthearted discussion about the little things in life.

The sound of Steve’s phone ringing puts an end to that.

Steve checks the caller ID, hoping it’s someone he can just ignore for the time being. Unfortunately, he can’t; it’s the nursing home down in DC that Peggy’s been staying at since he got out of the ice. Before Steve can ask if it’s okay (not that he’d take ‘no’ for an answer if it’s the one he got), Loki gestures for him to take it.

Steve puts the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Is this Steve Rogers?” the voice on the other end asks -- the nurse, he assumes. It’s usually one of the nurses that calls, on the rare occasion that they do.

“It is,” he says. “Did something happen?”

“Peggy is okay,” the nurse begins, and Steve feels a wave of relief wash over him. “I’m just calling to let you know that she did fall earlier today, and she dislocated her hip. She’s at the hospital right now, but she’s expected to be discharged in the morning.”

Steve swallows hard. He wishes he were more involved in this; that he’d get these calls earlier. He’s vaguely aware that someone else is in charge of her, that they’re not required to call him at all and someone has to give them permission to do so, but he still wishes he’d been kept more in the loop than he is.

“Okay, thank you,” he says. “That’s…” He runs a hand down his face. He’s gotten this same call once before -- without a broken bone; she was hospitalized for a severe drop in blood pressure that time, which fortunately didn’t amount to anything -- so he knows from past experience that rushing to the hospital would be useless. They have set visiting hours, and he wouldn’t make it in time. “I’ll be there tomorrow,” he says. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” the nurse says.

“Have a nice night,” Steve says, because he doesn’t want this call to go on any longer than it has to.

“You, too.”

Steve knows damn well that that’s not going to happen. He hangs up and puts his phone on the table, then buries his face in his hands. God, that’s not at all the kind of call he wanted to get tonight.

"Steve?" Loki says uncertainly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Steve says, his voice muffled by his hands.

“What was that about?” Loki asks.

“Nothing; it…” Steve runs his hands down his face and props his head up on his fist. “An old friend of mine got hurt. I’m gonna head back to DC later tonight to check on her. I’ll be back in a few days, though.” He’d go now, but he’d get there so early that he’d have to wait a few hours to finally get to visit her.

“An old friend?” Loki repeats. “From before you crashed the plane?”

Steve just nods.

“Margaret Carter?” he guesses.

“Peggy,” Steve says. “Her name’s Peggy.” He’s not sure how he figured that out, but he doesn’t ask. Maybe that’s just the only woman from his past that Loki knows. She’s definitely one of the biggest influences on his early life.

“Is she okay?” Loki asks.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine,” Steve says. He just wishes he could be there with her to make sure.

“Are you leaving now?” Loki asks. “I’ll leave you alone if you’d like me to.”

“No, actually, I have a few hours to kill,” Steve tells him. “I could actually use a distraction, if you don’t have anything else to do.”

“I quite literally never do,” Loki says. “Do you want to talk about her?”

Steve shakes his head. He loves her -- he always has -- but he doesn’t want to dwell on how old she’s gotten; her aging body and aging mind. He loves her no less for it, but it can hurt to think about it too much. She’s not quite the same person she was nearly 70 years ago.

“What do you want to talk about?” Loki asks.

Steve shrugs helpelssly. “I don’t know.” What is there to talk about? He doesn’t really want to talk about himself right now. What about…? “Have you ever been in love?”

Loki chuckles. “No, I can’t say that I have.”

“Really?” He’d expected a yes; he’d expected the chance to ask some follow-up questions about the lovely lady. Apparently that’s not going to work. “You’re, what, a thousand years old, and you’ve never been in love?”

Loki gives a small shrug. “It’s not a game I’ve ever felt compelled to play.”

“Maybe that’s your problem,” Steve says. “You think it’s a game.”

“I think most things are a game,” Loki says, the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips. “It tends to get me in trouble a lot -- as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

“Believe me, I have,” Steve says, slightly amused. Maybe this will be a decent distraction. He has to assume trying to take over the world constitutes a game in his mind, too, then, just judging by how he said it. “Thor said you’ve been with quite a few people.”

“Thor needs to learn to keep his mouth shut,” Loki replies. Steve almost starts to regret saying that, but then Loki continues, “But he’s correct. I’ve had my fair share of flings, but they were just that: flings. They were fun while they lasted, but they were always destined to end shortly after they began, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

“Did any particular ‘flings’ stand out?” Steve asks. “And fun stories?”

“Mm…” Loki taps his chin thoughtfully. “Usually I would say ‘no,’ but I suppose, given the situation, I can spare a few stories.”

Part of Steve feels bad using Peggy’s fall as an excuse to get stories out of him, but a bigger part of him is both excited to hear them and relieved to have the distraction.

“I was rather fond of the royal family of Vanaheim,” Loki says. “I used to flirt incessantly with their eldest. Ironically, he was the only one I never slept with -- likely for that reason.”

Steve raises an eyebrow. “‘He’?”

“Yes, ‘he,’” Loki says. “The eldest prince. Why do you ask?”

“That just -- it was kind of… frowned upon… when I grew up,” Steve says awkwardly. “Guys getting with guys, I mean.” Is that weird to say? He hopes that’s not weird to say.

Loki doesn’t seem at all phased by that. “I wondered briefly if that was why he didn’t like me,” he says. “Unfortunately, he was no more interested in me as a woman than he was when I was a man. Not everyone will fall for my charm.”

Steve stares at him blankly. What does that even mean?

“His sister did, though,” Loki continues. “That didn’t last long. She was clingy and obsessive and thought it was more than it was. When I left her for the youngest prince --”

“Wait, hold on,” Steve interrupts. “You left your girlfriend for her brother?”

Loki nods, completely unbothered by how plain wrong that is. “She was the shortest relationship I ever had; he was the longest -- and by far the best. He had three older brothers and he knew he would never become king, so he’d long since given up trying to earn the throne. By that point, I knew Thor would become king of Asgard, so I could have my fun, too.

"We were almost inseparable for nearly a year. I felt like I lived at the Bifrost; I was always going to and from Vanaheim, usually either with him or for him.” He chuckles, a fond smile on his lips. “We were the most annoying people in the Nine Realms. Always playing tricks; always being a nuisance and enjoying every second of it. It was… Well, it was an interesting few months.”

“Can I ask what happened?” Steve asks hesitantly. If it was a bad falling out…

“Sure; I never had any particularly bad breakups I’d like to hide from,” Loki says. “Our relationship never wavered while we were together. Unfortunately, it fell apart once I began teaching him little bits of magic. Both his realm and mine were already annoyed by our tricks; that was the final straw. Our fathers forbid us from seeing each other again.”

Steve frowns. “I’m sorry; that’s… awful.” His father forced him to break up with his boyfriend? To ruin the longest relationship he’d ever had?

“It was probably for the best,” Loki says. “We knew it was never going to last; that’s what made it fun. It was decades before I saw him again; by that time, he’d already settled down with a wife and did his best to ignore me. He grew up and grew boring.”

Steve raises his brows. “That’s it? Your dad made you break up with your partner and you didn’t care?”

“It’s hardly the worst thing the Allfather has done to me,” Loki says with a shrug. “I harbor many grudges, but even I cannot fault him for that. I truly cannot overstate how obnoxious we were. Thor and his friends had been trying to tear up apart for months.”

Steve stares at him. “And that’s a happy memory for you?”

“Of course,” Loki says. “It truly was just a game to us both. That’s what made it fun.”

Steve’s not at all sure what to say to that. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to figure it out. Pepper appears in the doorway, rubbing her eyes lazily as she walks, and it’s not until she’s already stepped into the kitchen that she realizes Steve and Loki are already sitting there. She freezes, staring at Loki with fear in her eyes.

“Ms. Potts, I presume?” Loki says.

Pepper nods, silent.

Loki turns his attention back to Steve to continue their conversation as though she weren’t even there. “That’s the difference between you and me,” he says. “You still believe in fairytale romances. I just like to have fun.”

“So you don’t think love exists at all?” Steve asks, incredulous.

“Oh, I’m sure it does,” Loki says. “For some. I have no interest in it, though. I never have.”

“Like how you have no interest in having friends?” Steve asks.

That puts a smile on Loki’s face. Amused, he says, “No, in a different way, but I do see the parallel.”

Steve huffs a laugh. “Every time I think you start making sense, you throw a curveball like that.”

Pepper seems to realize Loki’s not going to acknowledge her, so she slowly heads to get a glass of water, still watching him warily through every move.

Loki cocks his head to the side. “I don’t…?”

“Right, sorry,” Steve says. “It’s a baseball term. It’s, like, something unexpected.”

“Ah.” Loki nods understandingly. “I'd like to think that one day I’ll start to understand your slang.”

“No one’s expecting you to,” Steve assures him. That would be a lot to learn. Steve’s still struggling with it, and he’s not only from Earth, but he’s had more than six months to learn as much as he has.

“I know,” Loki says. “I think Stark is actually expecting me not to. I think he enjoys speaking in words I don’t understand just to prove that he can.”

Steve glances at Pepper instinctively. She’s standing by the fridge drinking her water, her gaze still on Loki. There’s a small smile on her lips at that, like she’s more entertained than anything.

“So you’re trying to learn 21st-century slang out of spite?” Steve says, amused.

“Most of what I do is out of spite,” Loki says with a shrug.

Steve chuckles. “Well, hey. Whatever works.”

Pepper puts her cup in the sink, and, as she heads back to the doorway, she looks more relaxed than she did coming in. She pauses before she leaves, and only then does Loki look at her again, his curiosity piqued.

“Have you seen Tony?” she asks Steve. “I figured he’d be in bed, but…”

“Working, probably,” Steve says. “Per usual.”

Pepper nods. “That’s what I thought. ‘Night, Steve.”

“G’night.”

Pepper glances at Loki uncertainly, and Loki just gives her a small wave, his hand barely leaving the table. Pepper doesn’t acknowledge it, just walking out of the room, but she doesn’t seem particularly bothered by it. It’s a big step up from when she refused to even visit the tower with him here.

“She seems sweet,” Loki remarks.

Steve nods. “She is.”

“How did she end up with someone as obnoxious and arrogant as Stark?”

Steve slaps a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. “That is a very good question.”

Chapter Text

"And you can watch all of these videos at any moment?" Thor asks. "Are they all stored on your cellular phone?"

"Yes and no," Clint says. "They're all stored online — on the internet — so as long as I'm somewhere with internet access, I can watch them. But if Tony were to kick my phone off his wifi, I probably couldn't watch them. The wifi here is great, but the service sucks."

"I see," Thor says, though he only understands roughly half of what was just said. "Can we watch another?"

"Yeah, sure," Clint says with a shrug. "Oh, hey, you know what's funny? Asdfmovie. It's a series of the stupidest five-second videos ever. I'll show you that one."

Thor watches eagerly as Clint pulls up a new video, but a loud slamming noise from upstairs interrupts them before they can start to watch it.

"JARVIS, what was that?" Clint asks.

"I believe that was Loki, sir," JARVIS says.

Oh, shit. Thor throws a careless "I'll be right back" over his shoulder as he takes off running, his arm outstretched while he waits for Mjolnir to arrive. He runs to the stairwell and his hammer meets him there, flying straight through the gap between flights of stairs. As soon as it's in his hand, he uses it to fly right back up through that hole, and he's on Loki's floor within seconds. He knows he promised Steve that he'd leave Loki alone, but Steve's not here right now, and Thor desperately wants to know that everything is okay. The continued slamming from upstairs makes him think it's not..

By the time Thor makes it to Loki's hall, Tony's already there, frozen in place and staring straight ahead. Thor stops as well, not entirely sure how to proceed. The part of the hallway he can see looks mostly the same as it usually does. A few doors have been torn off their hinges, lying haphazardly on the ground. The end of the hallway, Loki's room included, is gone entirely, replaced by an endless black void, the faint light of what almost appears to be stars shimmering off in the distance.

"What the hell is this?" Tony asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I…"

A door flies out of one of the rooms, smashing against the wall opposite it.

"I don't know," Thor says finally. "I've never seen anything like this."

The faint sound of Loki whimpering gets Thor's attention, and, without another moment of hesitation, he takes off down the hall. Tony follows shortly after him, and, when they reach the endless dark void, they both test it before they proceed. They both disappear from sight the moment they pass into it, but they can still hear both each other and their footsteps on the invisible floor.

"Where would Loki's door be?" Thor asks. He doesn't know this hallway well enough to find it without seeing it first, and he has a feeling he's not going to see anything in this darkness.

Tony doesn't answer. The pounding of footsteps says that he's running, but Thor can't see a thing. He follows the man slowly, but he doesn't know this hall as well as Tony does so he doesn't dare try to run.

"No," Loki mumbles. "Stop it. Stop—"

Thor picks up the pace, and finally, finally, he finds his brother's room. Much like the hallway, everything is dark, but Loki is clearly visible in the numbingly empty void, curled up on his side with his eyes squeezed shut. All he wears are his Asgardian leather pants, ripped and torn nearly to shreds. His bare skin is littered with cuts and bruises, blood dripping down his body.

"Loki!" Thor yells.

"Please," Loki whispers. "I'm sorry. I'm —"

Everything happens at once.

The darkness of the void disappears, and Loki's room returns to view in the blink of an eye. The very few things that exist in it are scattered across the room and the door lies in pieces across the floor, but it's still unmistakably his room, even in its tattered state.

Tony stands in front of his bed, his palm pressed against the god's forearm. Loki's eyes snap open, and, with a rushed shout of, "Please don't hurt me!" Loki throws a hand out. A green ball of light shoots out of it, hitting Tony in the chest and sending him flying across the room with enough force that the wall crumbles behind him.

Loki bolts upright in bed, eyes wide, and his gaze immediately falls to his arms, looking at them frantically. His attire has changed entirely, now wearing a plain white shirt, and his leather pants have been replaced by green plaid pajamas. His skin is clear, each cut and bruise miraculously cleared in an instant.

"Loki?" Tony says cautiously.

Loki's gaze snaps up to meet his, and in an instant, Tony is thrown out of the room by an invisible force, toppling into Thor and knocking them both to the ground. The door flies across the room, slotting itself back together and lodging itself in the doorway with an illusion covering the hole they could usually look through.

Thor clambers to his feet. "Loki?" He knocks on the door, but it's being held in place so tightly that it barely makes a noise. "Loki!" He pounds his fist against the door with as much force as he can, but to no avail.

Tony crawls over to the wall and sits with his back against it, panting heavily. Thor finally turns his attention to him, crouching down in front of him. Mjolnir hangs from his wrist, resting its head on the floor in front of him.

"Stark?" Thor says. "Are you hurt?"

"I think he broke my back," Tony mutters. He stretches his arms out in front of him with a groan. "God, that hurt."

"Can you stand?" Thor asks.

"I guess we'll see."

Thor stands up and offers Tony a hand, which he takes gratefully. He helps him to his feet, and Tony holds onto his arm for a few moments while he orients himself. He squeezes his eyes shut and presses the palm of his hand against his forehead.

"God," Tony mutters, "that was…" He lowers his hand and looks up at the god. "What was that?"

Thor gives Loki's door one last look, then gestures for Tony to follow him down the hall, out of earshot of the younger god. When they reach the elevator, Tony takes the lead, choosing a floor for them to use.

"What was that?" Tony asks again.

"I don't know," Thor says. "I've never seen him do that before. How did you stop it?"

"I don't know; I think I woke him up?" Tony says uncertainly. "But there's no way he was actually asleep. There's no way he could have slept through that."

Thor frowns, silent.

Tony eyes him warily. "Is there a way he could have slept through that?"

"I don't know," Thor admits. "I suppose… He's had nightmares before. I'd assume everyone has. It's never resulted in anything like this, but that's not to say it couldn't." Loki's magic used to just be fun little tricks; a game for when he was bored or their saving grace in the midst of a losing battle. Perhaps it's grown into something more, an instinctive defense.

The elevator door opens, and they head down the hall together, both still a little rattled and not quite sure how to proceed.

"You think all that was from a nightmare?" Tony asks skeptically.

"I don't know what else it would have been," Thor says.

Tony sighs and runs a hand down his face. "Alright, what do we do now?"

Thor furrows his brows. "What?"

"What do we do now?" Tony asks again. "Are we just supposed to leave him there? Do we try talking to him? What…?"

"You want to help him," Thor says skeptically. "You." Clint and Natasha have already fooled him by pretending to take an interest in his brother. He doesn't want to make that same mistake again.

"Well, yeah," Tony says. "I'm not gonna kick him while he's down. Not like this."

To Thor's surprise, that actually sounds genuine. In any other situation, it might have been enough to earn a small smile, but he's too worried about Loki for that. He's just glad he's not the only one who feels that way.

"Steve chose a hell of a time to leave," Tony mutters.

Thor just nods. He's not sure what Steve could have done, but he's sure the guy could have done something. He and Loki get along so well — much better than Loki and Thor do. He'd be really useful right about now.

They reach the living room in silence, and they both sit down on the couch. Thor props his head up on his hand, his brain going a mile a minute. What does he do now? Should he do anything? Steve told him to leave Loki alone, and he seems to know the god best. But he wasn't prepared for this kind of situation when he said it. Does that still apply?

"Maybe you should go back," Tony says after a while. "Maybe he wants to see you."

"He doesn't," Thor says. He can say that much with confidence.

"Maybe he needs to see you," Tony says.

Thor looks over at him with a frown, and Tony meets his gaze.

"I know when I have nightmares, I don't usually want to be alone," Tony says. "Maybe he'd like the company."

Thor hesitates. He's not sure he believes that, but…

"If you don't want to check on him, I will," Tony says. "And I don't think either of you want that."

Thor sighs. "I don't want to bother him."

"He's already bothered," Tony says. "I don't think you can make it much worse."

Thor hesitates, but he supposes Tony has a point. And he really would like to know how Loki's doing now. Maybe he can ask about what happened. He doesn't expect much of an answer, but maybe Loki will give him something.

So Thor puts Mjolnir down, pushes himself to his feet, and, with one last wave of encouragement from Tony, he heads back to Loki's room. He takes the stairs, trying to buy himself some extra time to prepare. He doesn't know what he's going to say. He doesn't know if he'll get to say anything at all. There are so many different ways this could go. He's almost nervous to find out.

The fragments of Loki's door all lie in the doorway now, nothing separating his room from the hallway. Thor can see him from halfway down the hall. He sits with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed, his arms wrapped tightly around his pillow. He’s looking down at the floor, his expression blank, but when the light hits him the right way, Thor swears he sees a tear track shining down his cheek.

Thor gently knocks on the wall to get his attention. "Loki?"

Loki looks over at Thor and bites his bottom lip, and in that moment, Thor begins to feel as though he's looking at a child, scared and helpless. He's not sure what to do. Honestly, he just wishes their mother was here. He's not sure he expects anything else to be able to cheer him up, but it's not as though Frigga could come to Midgard, even for this. Odin would never allow it. He’s made that extremely clear.

"Hi," Thor says quietly.

Loki just stares at him.

"Can I sit?" Thor asks.

Loki doesn't move. Thor isn't sure what exactly that means for him. Steve's voice echoes in his mind, reminding him incessantly about boundaries, but it's useless if Loki won't make his boundaries known.

Hesitantly, Thor decides to give it a try. He slowly approaches the bed, watching Loki for any sign that he should stop, but while Loki's gaze follows his every move, his thoughts are sealed away. Thor sits down next to him, leaving half a foot or so between them. He wants his presence to be comforting, but right now, he just feels awkward.

"Are you okay?" Thor asks.

Loki lowers his gaze to the floor.

Thor nods slowly. Okay, maybe he won't get an answer from him. That's alright. If Loki doesn't want to talk, he doesn't have to. The fact that he can sit here with him at all is a big step in and of itself. He'd like to think that's helping. He'd like to think his presence isn't a hindrance.

Thor's eyes scan the room, taking it in. Loki really did a number on his door, with its splintered pieces littering the floor. His clock doesn't fare much better. The glass is shattered, though it lies face-up on the floor so it's mostly contained in one spot. The books Steve had mentioned bringing him are scattered about, bent in ways that time will never undo.

This is the first Thor's really looked at Loki's room, taking it in for what it is. Long gone are the days of lush extravagance they'd grown up with in Asgard, replaced with nothing but various whites and creams. This is all he looks at all day? This vast array of nothingness? It's hardly better than the endless void that had swallowed the room whole a few minutes earlier.

The silence stretches on for a long time, broken only when Loki says, his voice barely a whisper, "It felt so real."

Thor looks over at him, but Loki is staring straight ahead as though Thor wasn't even here.

Thor hesitates before he speaks, so afraid of saying the wrong thing that he almost says nothing at all, but he feels like he has to say something. He has to acknowledge that. He has to acknowledge him.

So, finally, Thor just says, "But it wasn't. I promise you, it wasn't real."

Loki squeezes his eyes shut and swallows hard. He's shaking, Thor realizes. He's terrified. Thor wishes there was something he could do, but he has nothing to offer but words.

"You're safe here," Thor assures him. "I promise. You're safe."

Loki opens his eyes, and, for the first time all morning, he meets Thor's gaze.

"I don't know if I am."

Chapter Text

After a very long time of sitting with Loki in silence, hoping for answers but too afraid to ask any questions, Thor finally convinces his brother to come out and eat something. He's fairly certain Loki was going to ignore him until he'd suggested ice cream for breakfast, and even that only got a hesitant nod.

Loki doesn't speak at all as they walk, and Thor doesn't try to make him. The silence stretches on in the kitchen as well, and the first thing Thor notices is that Loki makes a point of sitting facing the doorway, wasting no time in turning around so his back is only to the entrance for a second. He's not shaking anymore, though, Thor notices. He's not sure when that stopped. He wasn't paying much attention, too busy trying to think of something to say.

As they eat their ice cream, Thor tries his luck. "Do you feel any better?"

Loki doesn't even look at him.

Maybe small talk's not going to work.

They eat in silence, and Thor spares his brother the occasional worried look, not that he ever seems to notice. Whatever this was, it must have been bad. He can't remember the last time he saw Loki this shaken up. He supposes he isn't too surprised by that; he'd never seen Loki as bruised and beaten as his illusion showed earlier, either — and they've fought a lot of battles together.

There's a quiet knocking from the doorway, and Loki whips his head in the direction. Thor looks over as well to see Tony peeking his head in. He's fairly sure he sees a flash movement behind him, so he must not have come alone. It's probably Bruce, Thor reasons. He knows he and Loki have become fast friends. It makes sense that Bruce would want to check on him, too.

Loki turns his gaze back to his ice cream, going as far as to pick up his spoon, but he doesn't continue eating.

"Hey guys," Tony says with an awkward smile. "How's it going?"

"Well…" Thor looks over at Loki with a frown. That's about the best answer he can give.

Tony steps into the room, but he doesn't go far. The others shift into view, all leaning against the wall opposite them and barely in sight. It seems the entire tower has come to check on him: Bruce, Clint, and Natasha are all standing outside the kitchen, all looking very uncomfortable doing so.

Tony watches Loki for a few moments with a sympathetic frown. "Are you okay?"

Thor doesn’t expect him to answer that. He hasn’t answered it the few times that Thor’s tried to ask. Loki looks over at him again, and, after a pause, he just says, "Are you?"

That’s also a fair question. Tony did get thrown into a wall, after all.

But Tony brushes that off. "Oh, yeah, no, I'm fine," he says, and though his carefree attitude looks to be at least slightly exaggerated, it usually is with him. "Don't worry about it. I haven't slept in, like, 60 hours. That was the jolt of energy I needed."

"Tony," Natasha says quietly, "you really need to go to bed.”

Tony flails a hand in her general direction to shut her up. "Do you need anything? I could pull out all the ice cream sundae stuff if you think that’d make you feel better.”

Loki doesn’t respond, his attention having already turned away, but it’s pretty obvious that it’s going to take more than some ice cream toppings to make him feel better.

“Is there anything I can do?” Tony asks, with more sincerity in his voice than Thor has ever heard from the man. “Anything at all. Just say the word.” With a forced smile, he adds, “This is probably an offer you’re never going to get again, so you should make the most of it while you can.”

Loki nods, and everyone perks up, just waiting to hear him speak, to hear what he needs. Anything to make him feel better. Anything to turn him back into himself. Seeing him so broken is disconcerting.

When Loki speaks, his voice is flat, monotonous. “If he comes for me…” He raises his gaze to meet Tony’s. “Save yourselves and run.”

Tony’s eyebrows shoot up. He looks at Thor as if he could possibly have any sort of explanation for that, but Thor’s just as taken aback as he is.

“If who comes for you?” Thor asks quickly.

Loki shakes his head. He puts his spoon in his ice cream and pushes it away, and his gaze remains firmly on the table where it once sat.

“Loki?” Tony says cautiously. “If you think someone’s coming for you, you have to tell us.”

Loki doesn’t acknowledge that.

“Who are you talking about?” Thor asks. He tries to stay calm, to keep a soft tone, but he’s desperate for an answer. “You don’t mean our father, do you?”

Loki huffs a forced breath of air, a sarcastic laugh of a sort. “The Allfather doesn’t scare me.”

“But someone does,” Tony says.

Loki looks over at him, silent, and, for a few seconds that seem to stretch on for an eternity, he doesn’t respond. But, eventually, he gives a small nod, barely perceptible even to Thor sitting by his side.

"You never mentioned anyone else," Bruce remarks, eyeing him warily.

“Who is it?” Thor asks again.

Loki shakes his head.

“Loki, who is it?” Thor repeats, more forcefully this time. “You have to tell us who it is. We can’t help you if we don’t know --”

“You cannot help me,” Loki says. “No one can. So if he comes, you leave, before he comes for you, too.”

Thor frowns. He just wants to do something. If his little brother is scared, he feels that he has to help him. It’s what he’s always tried to do.

“Look, Loki,” Tony says, “there’s a whole realm of gods telling us we gotta keep you here. If someone’s gonna try to free you --”

“If he breaks the Allfather’s spell, I’d hardly call it freedom,” Loki says. “I’ll be lucky if he kills me where I stand.”

The room goes silent.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thor notices movement by the doorway, but his attention is entirely on Loki. He’s shaking again. He clasps his hands in his lap, gripping them tightly as though he can hold them completely still, though it just makes their shaking worse. Thor reaches out, hoping to comfort him, but as soon as his hand touches Loki’s arm, he hits it away.

Finally, Natasha says, “If someone wants to hurt you, they’ll have to go through us first.”

It seems like a touching sentiment, but all Loki says is, “Don’t give him that satisfaction.”

The tension in the room is suffocatingly thick. All Thor wants to do is make his brother feel better, but he can’t do that if he doesn’t know why he’s so scared. He can’t promise to defeat an evil he knows nothing about, and it seems that Loki’s in no rush to tell him anything.

“I thought it was just a nightmare,” Thor says quietly.

“It was,” Loki says. “But he’s not.”

Thor nods slowly. He makes a mental note to bring this up next time he returns home. Not the details, of course; no one needs to know just how scared his little brother is. But maybe someone in Asgard will have an answer that he can’t find here. Maybe Heimdall’s seen something. Maybe Odin’s infinite wisdom can provide some explanation. Maybe, with a little help, he can make some sense of it.

Tony claps his hands together, trying to lighten the mood. “Alright, you know what I think we need? I think we need another movie day.”

That takes Loki by surprise, enough so that he looks over at the man, an eyebrow raised.

“I think a good comedy’ll cheer you right up,” Tony tells him. He clicks his tongue. “You know what you might like? Night at the Museum.”

Loki just looks at him blankly.

“Trust me, it’s a great movie,” Tony says. “It’ll get your mind off things. Great history lesson, too. You're a bit of a nerd. I think you'll like it.”

Loki seems unconvinced, and, honestly, Thor is kind of unconvinced, too. Still, it’s better than just sitting here, so he says, “Let us give this movie a chance. If you find you do not like it, we can stop watching it, but perhaps it will be a good distraction.”

Loki hesitates, but, with Thor’s vote of confidence, he ultimately decides to give it a chance. He reaches across the table for the ice cream he’d pushed away, and, though it had begun to melt, it reforms into its mostly solid form in his grasp.

“Alright, cool,” Tony says with a forced smile. He gestures for everybody to follow him, and the whole group flocks over to the living room.

While Tony digs through his DVD collection, everyone takes their usual seats. Clint claims the beanbag, Natasha and Bruce take the couch, and the gods sit down on the floor, a few feet apart. Tony gets the movie set up, and, remote in hand, he turns around to sit down.

Tony frowns at the sight before him. “Loki, you can have the couch,” he says. “I’ll take the floor.”

Loki gives a minute shake of his head.

“Are you sure?” Tony asks. “I really don’t mind…”

Loki shakes his head again.

“Alright…” Tony sits down on the couch, choosing the seat closest to Loki the way he always does. For once, that might results in something more than a mild annoyance. He starts the movie, and his gaze returns to Loki once again, lingering for a long few moments before he finally turns his attention to the screen.

Thor expects to have a hard time focusing on the movie, and, at first, he does. His attention shifts back to Loki more times than he can count, just making sure that he’s okay. He never seems to notice, his gaze glued to the screen even as his expression remains blank. He somehow looks both completely captivated and mind-numbingly bored all at once.

The first time Thor notices the ghost of a smile on Loki’s face is during the scene in the Wild West. His lips quirk upwards at the sight of the little blonde cowboy, and that alone is enough to make Thor relax a little bit.

“What’s going on here, huh?” Larry asks the pint-sized cowboy, though the answer is obvious: he’s about to get run into by a mini train.

“Somebody’s gotta pay,” Jedidiah tells him.

“Pay for what?” Larry asks.

“I don’t know, just pay!” Jedidiah exclaims. “Now stop whining and just take it like a man!”

Loki huffs a laugh at that. Thor and Tony both look at him instinctively, and though Loki doesn’t acknowledge them, he must notice it. He doesn’t seem too bothered. He keeps his gaze on the TV, his small smile growing a little bigger.

“Alright, stop the train,” Jedidiah tells his men, prompting a very relieved look on Larry’s face… until the cowboy adds an eager, “Now full-speed ahead and ram him! Split his head like a watermelon!”

Loki’s shoulders shake with silent laughter. Thor and Tony share a look, both wearing smiles of their own. Thor gives him a single nod, one he hopes will translate as a thank you. He really didn’t think something as simple as a movie would help, but it appears he was wrong.

From that point on, Thor finds himself -- and his brother -- really enjoying the movie. It’s interesting; it’s suspenseful; it’s funny. It’s amazing how Midgardian technology can accomplish feats in their shows that Asgardians would never even dream of having in their plays. The giant t-rex alone would have taken at least four people to puppet in as Asgardian production, and for a fraction of the realism.

Eventually, though, the movie comes to a close. Thor looks over at his brother, and, while he looks a little disappointed, he seems to be doing much better than he was a couple of hours prior. It’s a nice sight.

“Wait, who’s seen this movie before?” Tony asks, looking around the room as the end credits roll. The other three Avengers all raise their hands, and Tony scoffs. “Wait, seriously? All of you? What, did SHIELD have some movie night that they neglected to invite me to?”

“Nat and I watched it when the second one came out,” Clint tells him. “Had a little movie marathon.”

“There’s a second one?” Loki says.

Tony looks down at Loki, an amused smile on his lips. “Yeah, they’re probably gonna make a third, too. You wanna watch the next one?”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” Loki says.

“Alright, movie marathon day,” Tony says with a grin. He climbs off the couch and makes his way back to his DVD cabinet. As he digs around for the next one, he asks, “So, Loki, what was your favorite part?”

Loki gives a small shrug. “I liked Jedediah.”

“God, I can’t believe you actually remember his name,” Tony says, amused. “I’m pretty sure everyone just calls him the cowboy.”

“Or Jed,” Clint adds.

“Yeah, or that,” Tony says. “I don’t blame you, though. Love Owen Wilson. Steals the show in everything I’ve seen him in.”

“Who?” Loki asks, echoing Thor’s own thoughts.

“The guy that plays Mr. Jed over there,” Tony says. “I’ve got a few of his other movies if you want to watch those, too.”

“How long as you expecting this ‘movie day’ to last?” Loki asks.

“Honestly, as long as I can drag it out.” Tony finally finds the DVD he was looking for, and he turns around to look at the god. “Because I know the second it’s over, you’re going to go back to hiding out in your room, and I don’t want you to get all stuck in your head again.”

Loki seems taken aback by that. “You want to keep me out of my room?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Tony says. “Which I have no problem telling you because I don’t think you want to go back to your room, either. So, movie time? I think it’s movie time.”

Tony switches the disks in the DVD player, not even waiting for an answer. He’s very sure of himself. He always is. It’s strange, but Thor has to respect it.

Loki claps a hand over his mouth, lazily covering a yawn.

“Will you make it through another movie?” Thor asks him.

Loki just nods, and Thor is inclined to believe him, if only because he has a feeling Loki would rather do just about anything than fall asleep.

Tony sits back down and turns the movie on.

~~~~

Loki does not, in fact, make it through the movie.

By the time the movie comes to an end, Loki is fast asleep on Thor’s shoulder. Thor doesn’t even remember how he got there; just that he is, and he looks very comfortable being here. It puts the faintest of smiles on his face, even if it means he can’t get up when everyone else does.

Tony is nice enough to leave Thor the remote (and some instructions on how to use it), so while Loki’s asleep, Thor skims through the hundreds of channels this incredible little box holds. None of them really capture his attention, probably because he only spends a few seconds on each before he moves on.

Eventually, Thor finds himself on the news station, and he stops skimming through them to watch. It’s just a cute segment on local happenings, and Thor actually enjoys watching it. He doesn’t really know what they’re talking about, but this is still a nice little glimpse into the mundane lives of ordinary Midgardians, something he hasn’t really seen since… Jane.

He pushes that thought out of his mind. He hasn’t seen her in about 18 months. He wasn’t able to for the longest time; then he just got distracted trying to make some sense of the chaos engulfing the Nine Realms and keeping an eye on Loki. It’s a little late to remedy that now. Unless, for some reason, she actually needs his help, he’ll probably do best to stay away from her. 18 months is a long time for a mortal not to hear from someone they love. She’s likely moved on. He doesn’t have the heart to ask Heimdall if that’s true. Although, last time he asked, Heimdall did say she was looking for him...

Thor lets his mind wander, entertaining the thought of maybe paying Jane a visit, though he knows he won’t. If she’s moved on, he doesn’t want to ruin that for her. Humans have such short lifespans. He wouldn’t want hers to consist of constantly wondering if and when Thor will return.

Loki shifts his position, making himself more comfortable on the floor by his side. His eyes flutter open, and he gently pushes himself away from his brother, supporting his own weight now.

“Good morning,” Thor says, a teasing smile on his face.

Loki rubs his eyes. “Is it morning?”

Thor chuckles. “No, it is…” He scans the TV for the time. He knows it says it somewhere. “Almost three o’clock.”

“Oh.”

“You missed the end of the movie,” Thor tells him.

“I missed the majority of the movie,” Loki admits. “Was it good?”

“I enjoyed it,” Thor says.

“I’ll have to watch it.”

“I’d watch it again if you’d like company,” Thor offers, earning a small, tired smile. “Do you feel better now?”

Loki lets out a long breath. He pulls his legs into his chest, propping his chin up on his knees. “I feel more embarrassed than anything.”

Thor frowns. “Don’t be. Nightmares are not uncommon, you know. No one is judging you for it.”

“No, you all pitied me instead,” Loki says monotonously. “I hardly consider that an improvement.”

Thor’s not sure what to say to that, so he doesn’t say anything. It’s a skill he’s been working very hard to perfect: knowing when to shut up. He can’t help but feel like it would have helped his relationship with his brother immensely had he learned to do it much sooner. Loki is in no rush to speak, either, so they sit there in silence for a few minutes.

The question pounds his head until Thor feels he has no choice but to ask, hoping that maybe, maybe he’ll get a real answer this time. “When you said someone was coming for you--”

“If he comes, you leave,” Loki interrupts. “If he doesn’t, forget him.”

Thor frowns. “Loki…”

“What?” he asks irritably. Thor can tell he’s hit a sensitive spot. Steve would doubtlessly turn back. Thor can’t bring himself to do the same.

“Who is he?” Thor asks. “That’s all I want to know. I promise, I’ll stop asking once you’ve told me.”

Loki shakes his head. “You’ll do best to never to find out.”

“I’ll ‘do best’ to know who’s scaring my brother,” Thor says. “I know you, Loki. I know you don’t scare easily.”

Loki looks over at him with a frown. After a long pause, he finally answers with a halting, “I have met a lot of dangerous people and I have made a lot of dangerous deals. This was the worst.”

Thor furrows his brows. “What?”

Loki pushes himself to his feet with a quiet groan. “This has been fun,” he says. “Thank you.”

“What?” Thor scrambles to his feet. “Loki, what are you…?”

“I am going to find some fruit, and then I am going back to bed,” Loki says simply. “I am still very tired.”

Thor frowns. “But --”

“I am very close to giving you another chance, brother,” Loki says. “I suggest you not ruin that.”

Chapter Text

Loki doesn't want to deal with any of the Avengers right now, so he teleports back to his room. He doesn't teleport out of sight often out of fear of teleporting into something (what would even happen if he did that?), but he doesn't have to worry about that in his bedroom that no one else ever uses.

That's why he's very surprised to find Tony in his doorway, crouched on the floor with a drill in his hand. There's a door halfway attached to the doorframe — but not the one that used to sit here; this one has no inconveniently placed hole in the middle — and he’s working on drilling it in. He notices Loki as soon as Loki notices him, and, startled, Tony falls to the floor, dropping his drill in the process.

"Holy shit," Tony breathes, slapping a hand over his chest. "I was not expecting that, holy…"

Loki looks down at him and cocks an eyebrow.

"You suck at following directions, you know," Tony tells him. "I told you I wanted you to stay out of your room today."

"And I've told you I don't take orders from you."

"No, of course not," Tony pushes himself to his feet and looks up at the god. "Because that would be good for you, and you'd rather sit here and wallow in your own self-pity."

"Yes, actually, that is preferable to spending the day with you," Loki says, though he's sure Tony already knows it. "Unfortunately, it seems even my room is teeming with unwelcome pests."

"Hey, if you want me to leave, I'll leave," Tony says. "You never wanted a door anyway, right?"

Loki looks at the half-attached door. He should probably at least let Tony finish that.

"That's what I thought," Tony says. He crouches back down and returns his attention to fixing it. "I stole a door from down the hallway and a clock from downstairs. Try not to break these ones."

Loki eyes him for a few moments. "I admire your ability to be both kind and annoying simultaneously. I've only ever been able to do one at a time."

"Yeah, well, I've had a lot of practice," Tony tells him.

Loki debates making a comment about how he's sure Tony has had much more practice with the latter, but he's acutely aware that Tony doesn't owe him anything. He could stop fixing this door at any moment, and, unfortunately, Loki really does want a working door.

"Thank you," Loki says, as much as it pains him to do it.

Tony snorts. "Wow, you must really like this door."

"I don't just mean for the door."

Tony looks up at him with a carefree smile that they both know doesn't fit the situation. "What are reluctant housemates for?" He turns his attention back to the door, standing up to drill the top two hinges into the wall. He seems content to do that in silence, so, at first, Loki is willing to do the same.

After a minute or so passes, Loki decides to venture into potentially dangerous territory. "You have them, too."

"Mm?" Tony hums, only half-listening.

"Nightmares."

Tony tenses at the comment, and, for a few moments, it almost seems he's not going to answer that. Finally, he says a terse, "Everybody does."

"You more than most, though," Loki says.

Tony blows out a long breath through his mouth. "Well," he says, "when a homicidal god throws you out a window a few hundred feet off the ground…"

Loki nods slowly. Some part of him recognizes this as a chance to apologize, but he pushes that thought away. In a moment of hesitant vulnerability, the last thing Tony needs is a lie. Still, he feels he has to at least acknowledge that Tony is talking about him, so, after a beat, he just says, "Well, you survived."

"Yeah, and you survived whoever beat you to a bloody pulp," Tony reminds him. "What’s your point?”

Loki narrows his eyes. “You don’t know anything about that,” he hisses.

“Uh, yeah, no shit,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. His flippancy is aggravating to no end. “I mean, you weren’t exactly putting on the most elaborate show in your sleep. For all I know, you just fell into a thorn bush.”

Loki’s too confused by that to be upset. “I beg your pardon?”

“Well, I mean, yeah, I know it wasn’t actually a thorn bush,” Tony says, “but you’re far from an open book. If you’re not going to tell us who did that to you, I’m going to say you lost a fight with a thorn bush.”

“Who did what to me?” Loki asks, though he’s not expecting an answer and his tone makes that clear. “You haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

“Maybe not,” Tony admits, “but I know your subconscious left you beaten and bruised in the neverending abyss of space, and if --”

Every muscle in Loki’s body tenses. “What?”

“Okay, dude, you have to be way more specific if you’re going to keep whatting me,” Tony says.

Loki has to force himself to keep his voice level. “How do you know about that?”

“I don’t know; it was that illusion thing you had going on,” Tony tells him.

“What illusion?”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t know what?”

Tony lowers the drill to his side and looks over at him. “Loki, you pretty much erased this entire hallway from the face of the earth. I could barely find your room, and when I did, you looked like someone threw you through a meat grinder.”

Loki just stands there, silent, trying to process that. He saw it. He saw it. God, no wonder he’s being so tolerable today. Loki was projecting his dream for everyone to see. For all his faults, even Tony’s not enough of an asshole to ignore that.

“What else did you see?” Loki asks slowly.

“Absolutely nothing,” Tony says. “That’s what made it creepy.”

Loki eyes him skeptically. Is that really all he saw? There was no…?

“Look, buddy, your problems are your problems,” Tony says. “I’m not trying to butt in where I don’t belong.” He turns his attention back to the door, screwing in the top hinge. "If you ever do want to talk, though, Thor's been worried sick about you since he came back. He'd probably be a pretty shitty therapist, but, you know, if you just want to talk, he's probably your go-to."

"I don't."

"Yeah, no, didn't think so," Tony says. He finishes screwing in the door, and he opens and closes it a few times to make sure it works. "There we go. Good as new."

"Thank you."

"Never say that again," Tony says. "It's weird. Don't do it."

Loki scoffs. "How is that weird?" He's fairly certain he's heard humans use the phase. It's not just an Asgardian thing; he's sure of it.

"Because you're the bad guy and I'm the good guy and you're messing with the natural order of things when you have manners."

Loki rolls his eyes. "My sincerest apologies," he says sarcastically. "I will be sure to speak in nothing but threats of violence in your presence."

"That's much better," Tony says. "Alright, I'm going back to my lab. If you want to come, I could probably use the help and I'm sure you could use the distraction."

Loki eyes him skeptically.

"It's a one-time offer," Tony adds. "I'm not going to be nice to you for long, so if you want to check out my lab, now would be the time."

"Why?"

"Well, Banner seems to think you're some sort of genius," Tony says. "Maybe you'll see something I missed." With a small smile, he adds, "And I find it's a lot easier to stay awake when you've got someone to talk to."

Loki returns that with a hesitant smile of his own. "I suppose I could take a look."

~~~

Loki's not sure what he expected to see in Tony's lab, but a collection of Iron Man suits was definitely not it. He hadn't realized Tony had this many of them. He walks up to one, taking it in. He didn't get a very good look at it when they were fighting, but it's an impressive invention, by Midgard's standards.

"Yeah, that's one of the old ones," Tony says. "That's… which one is that?" He comes up behind him to look. "Yeah, Mark XI. More advanced than the one I pummeled you in, but not one of my best."

“More advanced than the one I saw?” Loki repeats, surprised. He didn’t think that was possible.

“Yeah, whole bunch of new features,” Tony says. “You give me a hand and I’ll show you some of them.”

Loki cocks an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

Tony pops up some light blue boxes in the air. Loki must admit, it’s fairly impressive. It’s likely as close to an illusion as a Midgardian will ever create. As he moves these little illusions around, he explains, "I've been running some tests on the building. Most of them come up empty; nothing out of the ordinary. But some of them pick something up. Some kind of… I don't want to say energy because it's not, but something.”

Loki stares at him blankly. "What are you testing?"

"The building," Tony repeats, like that explains anything. "Whatever it is that's keeping you in here."

"What? Why?"

"Because if we can figure it out, we can change it," Tony says.

"That's impossible."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," Loki insists. "You cannot outsmart a curse, Stark."

"A curse?" Tony repeats, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, a curse," Loki says. "Whether it was designed to be one, I can't say for certain, but living here is a curse, and it's one neither of us have the power to break."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Tony says.

"You have made a point to ensure that's not true," Loki reminds him. He's been nothing but a pain in the ass since Loki got here.

"That is a fair point," Tony agrees, not an ounce of regret in his voice. "But don't you think it's worth a try? If there's a chance you can, I don't know, go outside?"

Loki hesitates. God, he'd love to go outside again. Other than his brief transfer from the dungeons to Midgard, he hasn't been outside in… god, five months? Almost six? And, sure, in the grand scheme of things, half a year is nothing to a god born over a millennium ago, but it's so dreary, staying inside all day, every day, especially knowing he'll likely never have the chance to go outside again. If Tony could change that...

But he shakes his head. "You are the last person I would want to have control over the confines of my imprisonment."

"Even if I could help you?" Tony asks, cocking an eyebrow.

"It wouldn't last," Loki says. "Before today, the least hostile conversation we'd had was in the midst of the Chitauri invasion. I might — very reluctantly — trust you with that power now, but you'll stop pitying me soon enough." He'd doubtlessly use that newfound power to make Loki's life a living hell, as if it isn’t already bad enough.

"Don't think of it as pity; think of it as understanding," Tony says. "I'll stop caring pretty soon — I barely care now, if we're being honest — but I'll still understand. I know that suffocating feeling you get when you wake up from a nightmare and you're still sorting out what's real and what's not and your first instinct is to run. I'm not going to take that option away from you."

"Then you don't understand," Loki says, his voice a little colder than that remark warranted, but it has to be. Tony's tone was almost gentle, at least by his standards. Loki wants to make it clear that this is not a safe space for heartfelt conversations — especially about this. "I am overjoyed to hear that you have problems that you feel you can run from. My problems make me want to hide, even though I know that there is no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where I would be safe. It is not the same, Stark. We are not the same. Don't pretend that we are."

Tony stares at him for a few moments, until finally, he manages to formulate a response. "Alright, not mending any fences over that, then."

“We’re not mending any fences at all,” Loki says. “Don’t fool yourself. Neither of us want that.”

“Fair point, fair point,” Tony agrees. “Still up for giving me a hand, though?”

“If you explain your armored suits afterward, I will,” Loki says. He’s seen Tony accomplish amazing feats in his Iron Man suit. He’d like to know more about them while he’s here.

“Deal,” Tony says. He pulls up a vast array of graphs, sifting through them as he speaks. "So I'm thinking it's some kind of negative energy?"

"Banner said negative energy is purely theoretical," Loki says, confused. How is Tony studying something only understood in its barest form, nothing more than a variable in an equation?

"Oh, Banner told you that?" Tony repeats, amused. "He's giving you science lessons now?"

"It was relevant to our discussion," Loki says simply.

"What, they haven't discovered negative energy on Asgard?" Tony asks teasingly.

"I don't claim to know every scientific discovery Asgard has ever made," Loki says. "We may very well have discovered it already, but it was new to me."

"You think you know it well enough to give me a hand?"

“I know it well enough to try."

“Good,” Tony says. "So I've run some of the same tests multiple times and they'll come up different each time. That's the part that's really getting me. Like, this?" He slides some of his graphs around and pulls two wildly different ones up. "See that?"

"You understand your graphs mean nothing to me with no words to explain them," Loki deadpans.

"Oh, right. So —"

Tony launches into a very long, rambling explanation of these tests he's been running, measuring energy fluctuations in the air surrounding the tower, and how it spikes at random times, sometimes for hours on end before going dormant once more. Loki folds his arms across his chest and listens intently.

"So," Tony says when he's finished. "Thoughts?"

"Thoughts on what?"

Tony scoffs. "Did you listen to a word I just said?"

"I did," Loki says. "What exactly are you asking my thoughts on?"

"I don't know, thoughts!" Tony says. "This magic stuff is your thing, not mine."

"And I've never learned this kind of magic," Loki says. His mother loved him very much, but she was not going to teach Loki how to trap someone in an enclosed space against their will. That was definitely not going to end well. "What exactly do you want to know?”

“Anything about anything that you can figure out that I haven’t.”

Loki nods slowly. Well, that’s incredibly vague. “I may be able to explain why you only find energy fluctuations in some tests and not others.”

Tony cocks an eyebrow and looks at him expectantly.

"The enchantment likely lies dormant when untouched," Loki explains. "You're probably picking up some aspect of the Odinforce at work when I touch the barrier." And he's fairly certain it is the Odinforce, which means it's nothing any human (or most gods, for that matter) could imitate -- the only reason he feels comfortable saying this.

Tony pauses, processing that. “But sometimes these energy fluctuations last for hours on end.”

“That does nothing to disprove my point.”

Tony gives him a confused look. “What, you just touch the magic barrier thingy for a few hours to kill time?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

“Wait, seriously?” Tony asks. “Why?”

Loki gives a small shrug. “Sometimes I lean against the open window. It’s not as though I could fall out, and I like the cool air.” It’s not that Stark Tower is hot, exactly, but he certainly wouldn’t complain if it were a little colder.

“So you do want to go outside,” Tony says, like that’s some kind of gotcha moment and not something Loki would readily admit.

“Of course I would," Loki says. "But I can't, so I make do with what I can."

“You realize I have a balcony, right?” Tony asks.

“I’m aware; we fought on it.” Did he fight Tony on it? He doesn’t even remember. That whole afternoon is a bit of a blur. He did something on the balcony.

“You’re welcome to use it,” Tony tells him.

“I’m not sure that I am,” Loki says. “Your balcony is not inside the tower. I may not have access to it.”

“You ever tested it?”

“I have not.”

“Alright, c’mon.” Tony gestures for him to follow, already heading back towards the stairs and out of the lab. “Let’s go test it.”

Loki frowns. “Stark…” This isn’t what he wanted when he admitted he hadn’t tried. He doesn’t want to test it. Not in front of anyone else. He’s finally beginning to get over the shame of being stuck in a Midgardian tower for the rest of his life -- and he has Steve and Bruce to thank for that; he does rather enjoy having people to talk to -- but the idea of walking face-first into an invisible force shield in front of an audience is still pretty humiliating.

“You’re never gonna know if you don’t try it,” Tony reminds him.

“I’m not sure that I want to know.” “Of course you want to know,” Tony says. He props the door open with his foot and looks back at the god, waiting for him to join him. “It’s science or some shit.”

Loki cocks an eyebrow. He really wouldn’t call this science, but Tony is welcome to say otherwise. He hesitates, but, ultimately, he decides to go along with it. He follows Tony out of the lab, and the inventor leads the way to the balcony. They don’t speak, but it’s a fairly comfortable silence, given their rocky past (and likely their rocky future to come).

When they reach the living room, Tony gestures to the balcony. “Go ahead. Give it a try.”

Loki eyes the door warily. Well, here goes nothing. He slowly walks up to it, a hand outstretched, and tries to open the door. He barely unlatches it before his hand hits an invisible barrier. He bites back a sigh and turns back around.

“Wait, seriously?” Tony says, brows furrowing. “You can’t…?”

Loki shakes his head.

“There’s no way,” Tony says. “The balcony is part of the tower. There’s no way your dad won’t let you sit outside.” He walks over, pushing past the god to open the door himself. “Come on, try it again.”

Loki rolls his eyes, but, to humor him, he puts his hand against the barrier, pushing against it though he knows it won’t give in.

“There’s no way,” Tony says again. He grabs Loki’s wrist and tries to pull him through, but, predictably, his luck is no better.

Loki lets him try for a few seconds before he pulls his arm back. “See? I can’t.”

“That’s bullshit,” Tony says. He goes back inside, and Loki follows shortly behind as they head back toward the lab. “Your dad is a piece of shit.”

Loki cocks an eyebrow. He’s not actually sure what to say to that. At all. He’s right, of course, but...

“Once you and Thor are on speaking terms again, you gotta have him ask your dad to let you on the balcony,” Tony says. “There’s no reason you should be stuck inside all day, every day. It’s not like you’re more of a danger on the balcony that you are next to a window.”

“The Allfather would never listen to me,” Loki says.

“Would he listen to Thor?”

“Not if Thor is trying to help me.”

“Damn.” Tony shakes his head to himself. “Dads suck, huh?”

Loki narrows his eyes. “He’s not my father.”

“He’s pretty much your dad.”

“He’s not,” Loki insists. “I have no relation to him or his people. Perhaps if he’d acted like a father, I would accept him as one, but he’s done nothing but belittle me for centuries. That does not make him my father.”

“I dunno, sounds like my dad,” Tony says with a shrug. “You know, minus the ‘for centuries’ part. I think that’s just a dad thing.”

“I highly doubt that’s comparable,” Loki tells him. He’s vaguely aware from Clint’s rundown of the Avengers’ personal lives that Tony and his father didn’t have the best relationship, but it couldn’t have been as bad as the one Loki and Odin shared.

“I don’t know; it might be.” Tony shrugs that off as they return to the lab. “So, still interested in the suits?”

“I am,” Loki says, grateful for the change in subject. He’s spent far too much time dwelling on the Allfather and the love he would never give his so-called “son.” “How do they work?”

“You’re gonna have to be a hell of a lot more specific than that,” Tony tells him.

"How could it hold its own against a god?"

Tony snorts. "Feeling a little insecure, are we?"

"I'm not talking about myself; I'm talking about Thor," Loki says. "He is one of the strongest people I have ever met. He should have crushed you in an instant."

"I don't know; probably because of the arc reactor," Tony says with a shrug.

"What's that?"

Tony stares at him. "You don't know what my arc reactor is?"

"Should I?"

"Well, considering you seem to know everything about everyone, yeah, you should probably know what it is," Tony says. He grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls it down to show the glowing blue contraption on his chest. "You seriously haven't seen this before?"

"I have, but I'd assumed it was part of the suit," Loki says.

"No, it's part of me," Tony tells him. "You seriously didn't know about this?" He lets go of his collar. "It's a miniature arc reactor. It powers my suits, keeps shrapnels of metal out of my heart. You didn't…?"

"I don't believe so."

"Didn't Barton tell you everything about everyone?" Tony asks.

"Not about you," Loki says. "He vaguely outlined your life and your weaknesses, but said that SHIELD would most likely try to keep you away from the fight. You're brash, unpredictable, and annoying; not the ideal ally."

"Well, yeah, but I'm also a very charming genius," Tony says, earning an eye roll. "In what world does the magnet keeping me alive not count as a weakness?"

"In a world where emotional manipulation would be preferable," Loki says. He'd been fully prepared to hurt Pepper if he'd thought he had to, just as he'd been prepared to hurt Peggy Carter and Laura Barton. Ultimately, he'd decided it would be unnecessary, but in hindsight, he would have had a much easier job taking over the world if the Avengers had been incapacitated by their grief. "Why do you need an electromagnet to keep you alive?"

Tony stares at him. "Do you know anything about me?"

"I know you're cocky and arrogant and that I don't like you," Loki says. "That's all I need to know."

"Alright, well, if you don't know my backstory, I'm not telling you about it," Tony says. "If you want to talk about the arc reactor, though, I am more than happy to talk about that. I need someone to understand my genius."

Loki holds out a hand, and a chair flies across the room into it. He turns it around before he sits, straddling it and using the back as an armrest. He looks up at Tony and gestures for him to go on. "Tell me all about it."

Chapter Text

Loki is halfway through his Harry Potter movie marathon a few days later when Steve finally comes back. For anyone else, Loki would be a little annoyed to have to pause his movie, but it's been at least a week since he's seen Steve (probably? He doesn't really count the days while he's stuck here. It gets discouraging) so he supposes it's a sacrifice he can make to greet him.

"You're not in your room," Steve remarks, an eyebrow raised.

"I don’t have a television in my room," Loki says with a shrug. "Is Peggy okay?"

"Oh, yeah, Peggy's fine," Steve says. "The nurses are taking good care of her.”

“That’s good.” Loki’s not actually sure how painful a dislocated hip is for a human, but he doesn’t seem at all worried about her so it must not be too bad.

“Who taught you to use the TV?” Steve asks, glancing at the young wizards on the screen.

“Thor did,” Loki says. Technically, Thor taught him how to use cable TV and Loki just fooled around until he figured out the DVD player by himself, but he’ll give credit where credit is due.

“So you’re talking again?” Steve asks, a small smile on his face.

“Occasionally.” If Thor tries to talk to him, he’ll usually let him, but he doesn’t go out of his way to see it happen. He’s never been the type to forgive and forget, much to Thor’s chagrin, but he’s been working on it. For all his faults, Thor really is trying to be a good brother.

Steve gestures with his head to the gameboard on the table. “Was that your chess game?”

“It was.”

“Were you playing with Banner or Thor?” Steve asks, as if Thor would know how to play chess.

“Stark.”

Steve gapes at him. “Stark.”

Loki nods slowly. “That’s what I just said.”

“You’re talking to Stark now?” Steve says in disbelief.

“Not frequently,” Loki says. He’s barely seen Tony over the last few days, and when he does, they’re usually content to ignore each other. Occasionally Tony will make some “polite” conversation that’s really just an excuse to get some less-than-polite jabs in, but that’s about the extent of their interactions. “I couldn’t sleep and he didn’t want to, so we played a few rounds.” And even then, the only actual speaking they did was about the game. It may well be the most impersonal game of chess the world has ever seen.

“Okay, clearly I missed more than I thought,” Steve says. He walks over to the couch and gestures to the open cushion. “Mind if I sit?”

“I can’t say that I do.”

Steve gives him a small smile and sits down next to him. Loki gets the feeling this is more than just his way of saying he wants to watch the Harry Potter movies, so Loki looks over at him expectantly while he waits for him to speak.

After a beat, Steve says, “I heard you had an interesting wake-up call a few days ago.”

Loki hits his head against the wall behind him. “Of course they told you that,” he mutters.

“It was pretty much the first thing Thor said to me,” Steve admits.

“Of course it was.”

“Can I ask what happened?” Steve asks.

“It doesn’t matter,” Loki says. “It was a bad dream. That’s all.”

“It sounded a little worse than that,” Steve says.

"I think I am more qualified to speak to the condition of my mental state than my adoptive brother who only knows me as the array of facades I've put on throughout the years," Loki deadpans.

"More qualified?" Steve repeats. "Sure. More likely? Not so much."

"You've never tried to force an answer out of me before," Loki remarks. That's what he's always liked about talking to him. There's not supposed to be any pressure to answer uncomfortable questions. That's usually Thor's thing.

"I'm not," Steve says quickly. "I'm not. But if you're in danger —"

"I'm not," Loki interrupts.

Steve sighs. "Loki, look at me."

Loki makes a show of rolling his eyes before he does, and the genuine concern on Steve's face almost makes him feel bad. He didn't mean to worry anyone. He was just trying to keep them safe — not because he likes them because he really only tolerates the majority of them, but because it would be a death he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. Literally.

"You don't have to tell me anything," Steve says. "But if you think someone's trying to kill you…"

"No one is trying to kill me," Loki says. "If there was, he would have done it already."

"But there's someone who might want you dead," Steve surmises. "There's a specific person out there who might want to kill you."

"He doesn't," Loki insists. "I was rattled and I overdramatized my plight, but in reality, I don't think he cares. I am not important enough to him to warrant an execution." It's not as though he betrayed him. He lost. There was no malice in his failure; it was no slight to the beings who forced this glorious opportunity on him. He just lost.

"You think," Steve repeats slowly. "So you don't know. You might still be in danger."

"All I know is that it doesn't matter," Loki says. "There is nothing you or I or anybody else could do to stop him. If he does come for me, he will kill me, whether it takes a minute or a millennium, and that is something I really do not want to think about." His voice cracks, and he forces himself to take a deep breath before he works himself into tears over this. He's not crying over hypotheticals.

"Okay," Steve says quickly. "We don't have to talk about it. But if you ever want to —"

"I won't."

"— I really do want to hear about it," Steve continues, ignoring that interjection. "When you're ready to talk about it."

"I never will be," Loki says. "There is nothing to be gained from talking about it."

Steve gives a small shrug. "Catharsis?"

Loki chuckles humorlessly. "Right. Catharsis." He shakes his head to himself. What a joke.

Steve sighs. "Well, if you change your mind, I'm not going anywhere again any time soon. I'll be around."

Loki shakes his head. "You don't have to stay here for me."

"I know," Steve says, "but if it happens again, I want to be here for you."

"If it happens again, I assure you, I will be fine," Loki says. "Do not reroute your life for me. If you are here, that is fine. If you are not, I will not care. I am not a child; I do not need another bed to crawl into when I have a bad dream."

"Alright," Steve says. "But I'll try to be here. Even just to watch a movie with you. Okay?"

Loki shakes his head to himself. Why does it always feel like everyone is treating him like a child? He's a thousand years old. He doesn't need constant supervision or the pity that goes with it.

Loki resumes his movie, hoping Steve will get the hint and leave. He doesn't, but he does stop pestering Loki, turning his own attention to the screen as well.

Steve sticks around through the end of the movie, his only words up until that point consisting of the occasional question about the movie that Loki answers as briefly as he can. He asks a lot fewer questions than Thor does, which is nice. Every time Thor's inserted himself into Loki's television time, he's done nothing but ask questions that Loki can't answer. Steve is much less annoying.

When the movie ends, Loki informs Steve that he's going to watch the next one, but that Steve definitely does not have to stick around if he doesn't want to. He stays anyway.

They're about halfway through this next movie when Natasha and Clint appear in the doorway. Steve pauses the movie, and Loki takes the remote back and resumes it. He's not stopping for them. Even if he wasn't enjoying this movie, he wouldn't stop watching it for those two.

"Have you been watching TV all day?" Natasha asks, amused.

"Does it matter?" Loki replies, his gaze not leaving the screen.

"Guess not," she says. "I take it you're not going to give up the TV if we ask?"

"You are correct," Loki says.

"Damn," she mutters. She looks over at Clint. "Different TV?"

"Yeah, unless you want to watch Harry Potter all day, I think we're gonna need to use a different TV," Clint says.

Natasha looks over at the screen. "That’s Harry Potter?"

Clint scoffs. "How do you not recognize Harry Potter?"

"I've never seen it!" she says defensively.

"You've never seen Harry Potter?" Clint says in disbelief.

"I've never had time!" she says. "Fury had me running around all day, every day until he put me here. I never had time to sit down and watch… what, like, seven movies?"

"Eight," Clint corrects her.

Loki furrows her brows. "But there are only seven books."

"They split the last one in half," Clint tells him — possibly the first words he's spoken to him since Loki threatened his family a few weeks ago.

"Why did they do that?" Loki asks. That's stupid. It's one story. There's no reason to split it in half.

"Capitalism," Clint says simply.

Natasha nudges him. "You wanna watch Harry Potter instead?"

"With him?" Clint scoffs. "No, I really can't say that I do."

Natasha rolls her eyes. "Come on. You can't make fun of me for not watching Harry Potter and then not watch Harry Potter with me."

Clint throws his head back with a groan. "You're killing me, Nat."

Loki rewinds the movie back a minute or two and pauses it so he can rewatch what these two made him miss. "If you're going to watch, sit down and shut up. If not, please leave."

"We're watching," Natasha says, grabs Clint by the wrist to drag him in.

Steve looks between the three of them. "You guys are being suspiciously nice to each other."

"I would hardly call this 'nice,'" Loki says.

"Compared to what you're usually like?" Steve says. "Yeah, I'd call this nice."

"You missed a lot, Cap," Clint says with a shrug, sitting down on his beanbag.

"We almost tolerate each other now," Natasha adds.

"If you continue talking during my movie, that will change," Loki says irritably.

"Yeah, yeah." Natasha rolls her eyes. She gently shoves Steve to the side. "Move over."

"If I move over, I'll be sitting on Loki's lap," Steve says.

"Okay, Loki, you move over, too," Natasha says.

"No."

She scoffs. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

She groans. "Oh my god." She very dramatically plops herself down on the floor, earning a laugh from both Steve and Clint.

Loki turns the movie back on.

"What's happened so far?" Natasha asks.

Loki pauses the movie again. "What part of 'sit down and shut up' escaped your understanding?"

"I'm just asking what happened!" she says defensively. "What, you can't just give me a 30-second summary?"

"I could," Loki says, and then he resumes the movie.

Natasha scoffs. "Seriously? Nothing?"

Loki just smirks, much more pleased with himself than he should be, but he does enjoy his little victories like this.

"That's so petty," Steve remarks, but he looks more amused by it than anything.

"I'm aware," Loki says. And he's really glad Steve doesn't seem bothered by it. He doesn't always step in when someone's being unreasonable (and Loki is very much aware that he's being unreasonable right now, but he thinks he deserves to be, with how much they have treated him), but he's usually at least visibly uncomfortable. Right now, even that's not the case.

"Well, this is great," Natasha mutters.

"Could be worse," Clint says. "Could be watching it with Thor."

Natasha bursts out laughing, which gets Clint and Steve laughing, too.

Loki had sworn himself to silence throughout the movie, but that comment takes him by surprise and he has to ask about it. He pauses the movie again. "So he annoys you, too?" It's not just him being fed up with his brother, whom he already harbors a grudge against? He actually is a horrible person to watch a movie with?

"Oh, god, yes," Clint says. “We were just talking about that.”

"He never shuts up!" Natasha adds.

"I have never heard one person ask so many questions in a 90-minute period," Clint says. "And most of them are self-explanatory if he'd just watch the movie!"

"It's ridiculous," Natasha says. "I love the guy. I really, really do. But I'm so glad he goes back to Asgard every now and then so we can have movie nights without him, 'cause if I had to listen to him every time…"

"That would be my villain origin story," Clint says, and Natasha claps her hands together, throwing her head back as she laughs.

Loki gestures to him. "Thank you!" Not that he's calling himself a villain because he's not a villain and he never was a villain, but Thor really did drive him mad.

"I know you don't have movies in Asgard," Clint says, "but you have plays, right? So he should know not to talk during a movie?"

Loki shakes his head. "No one would tell their future king to shut up, no matter how badly he needed to hear it."

Clint scoffs. "Wow."

"And yet somehow you turned out as a great person to watch movies with," Natasha says. "Because I can tell that you have no idea what's happening sometimes and you have never once asked about it."

Loki shrugs. "It was different. I was never going to be king." They became clear pretty early on.

"So they could tell you to shut up?" Natasha guesses, though it sounds like a joke -- even though she’s completely correct.

"Every time I opened my mouth," Loki says through gritted teeth, and he can't help but feel a little bitter about it. Yes, 18 months have passed since he was last in Asgard, and yes, he probably should start moving past that now that he'll never have to see most of those people again, Thor excluded, but he's never been one to forgive and forget. Know your place, brother. It's a miracle he didn't murder Thor then and there the first time he heard that one.

"Damn," Clint says.

"So we must make you feel right at home here," Natasha says teasingly.

Loki huffs a humorless laugh. He'd be lying if he said he didn't see the similarities, but no, despite his many gripes about it, he actually did enjoy living in Asgard, which is more than he can say for living here.

"Cap, you're being suspiciously quiet," Clint remarks.

"No, I just…" Steve shrugs. "I've never seen you guys get along. I figured I'd just sit back and let you."

"Don't expect it to last," Natasha says. "As soon as 'pick on Thor' time ends, we're back to picking on Loki."

Loki rolls his eyes. Great. At least Clint leaves him alone for the sake of his family, though. Natasha's not that annoying, either, really; she's definitely not as bad as Tony can be — and even he's been laying off of him lately. He supposes 'pick on Loki' time won't be too bad, even if he does prefer to make fun of his brother instead.

"Then I'll make sure to enjoy this while it lasts," Steve says.

“Even at Thor’s expense?” Loki asks.

“Yeah, sure,” Steve says with a shrug. “He’s not here. No harm, no foul.”

Loki raises an eyebrow. “Hm.” He’d kind of assumed Steve would jump to any of his friends’ defense. Apparently not. It's kind of nice. Loki's not the only one Steve isn't rushing to defend.

"Hey, Loki, now that we're friends," Natasha says, stressing the word to insincerity, "you wanna tell me what's happened in the movie so far?"

"Not at all," Loki says, and he resumes the movie right then to emphasize his point.

"Great," Natasha mutters, hitting her head against the wall in frustration.

Steve shakes his head. "You're so petty."

Loki smiles. "Thank you."

Chapter Text

When Loki heard he would finally have the tower to himself, he thought it was going to be great. Tony and Pepper are off in Malibu for the holidays; Steve, Clint, and Natasha were all called into work by SHIELD for god-only-knows-how-long (though Loki has a sneaking suspicion that Clint and Natasha are really going to the Bartons' residence), Bruce is at a series of conferences, and Thor has to sort out some sort of drama among the Nine Realms. It sounded like the makings of a fantastic week.

It's been two days and Loki is already bored out of his mind.

Part of him wants to do something he knows he'll get in trouble for. They were hesitant to leave him here alone to begin with. Tony was the first to leave, and when he heard everyone else was doing the same, he nearly came back right then. If Loki starts causing problems — breaking things, maybe; he does enjoy breaking things — he's sure they wouldn't leave him alone again.

But he also doesn't want to lose their trust. It took a lot for them to get to this point, and he doesn't want to throw that all away just so he doesn't have to be alone. He doesn't expect this to become a frequent occurrence. It's not worth undoing all the progress they've made.

So he stays in the tower, alone, bored beyond belief and desperate for something to do.

He finds himself back in the so-called man cave for the third time today, with no real desire to watch anything on TV but no better option, either. He plops down on the couch and turns on the TV. He'll skim through what's on cable first, and then probably end up watching one of Tony's many, many DVDs instead.

Loki finds himself on the news channel, and he doesn't think much of it — why should he care what's going on in a world he'll really never get to see? — until he reads the chyron.

"Tony Stark mansion attacked; Stark presumed dead."

Loki freezes. No way. There's no way this is true. Loki just saw him a week ago. They were arguing over the phone just a couple days ago. He can't be gone now. He knows human lives are fleeting, but this… It just can't be real.

Loki turns the volume up and the subtitles on, but he still can't focus on the words coming out of the newscasters' mouths. He catches little pieces here and there. It was a few hours ago. Suspected terrorism. The Mandarin. It's just so surreal, the impermanence of humanity.

But then the newscaster says that the rescue efforts are still underway. They haven't found a body yet. He might still be alive. Loki feels an inexplicable wave of relief wash over him at that. He doesn't like Tony. He never has and he never will. But he's not ready to hear that he's dead, so if there's still a chance he's not…

Loki turns off the TV. That's enough of that. He can get his answers himself, both quicker and more accurately than the news could give them. He crosses his legs on the couch and closes his eyes. Here goes nothing.

When Loki opens his eyes, he finds himself in a snowy field, and, in any other situation, he might have taken a moment to admire the snow falling from the sky, but that’s far from his top priority now. He scans the field, but there’s nothing in sight except for trees… and a man.

He’s a ways away, this man, but even from this distance, Loki can place him immediately. It’s unmistakable Tony -- not just because he’d recognize the man anywhere, nor because he was using his magic specifically to find him, but because of the very familiar metal suit he’s dragging behind him.

With every step Tony takes, he gets further away, so Loki quickly follows after him. He can’t for the life of him figure out what’s going on, but god, he wishes he could. This is weird. He’s not sure what to think right now.

Loki cocks his head to the side. "Stark?"

Tony drops the Iron Man suit to the ground and whips around to look at him. "Holy sh—" He slaps a hand over his chest and lolls his head back, taking in a face full of falling snow before he returns his gaze to Loki. "What the hell?"

"What are you doing?" Loki asks.

"What am I doing?" Tony scoffs. "What are you doing? How did you get here?"

"I'm not here," Loki says.

"The hell are you talking about?" Tony gestures to him. "You're right there!"

Loki fights the urge to roll his eyes. They've been over this. "Would you care to throw something through me again so we can move past this?"

Tony throws his hands up. "Oh, that's just great. Your dad won't let you on the balcony but he'll let you freakin' astral project all over everything."

This time, Loki can't help but roll his eyes. "I'm sorry my restrictive life-long imprisonment isn't harsh enough for your liking."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tony demands.

"Looking for you," Loki says. "The news said you were dead. I wanted to verify that before I started celebrating."

Tony's brows shoot up. "They think I'm dead?"

"So I've heard," Loki says.

"Good."

Loki stares at him. "What?"

"If he thinks I'm dead, he might not look for me," Tony says. "It should buy me some time, at least."

"What are you talking about?" Loki asks. "Stark, what is happening right now?"

"I may or may not have pissed off a terrorist and now he may or may not be trying to kill me.”

Loki scoffs. "Why would you do that?" God, he's an idiot! An egotistical, over-confident idiot! If he really does get killed over this, it's his own damn fault.

"Because he hurt Happy," Tony says. "And nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it."

Oh.

Okay, maybe he can be a little sympathetic (even if this still is entirely Tony's own fault).

"Where is Happy now?" Loki asks. He's never actually met the man, but he's heard of him. He's caught a glimpse of him outside once or twice — which is one of the only ways he ever finds out that Pepper is in New York; Happy tends to come with her. He seems like a decent guy. Loki would like to think Tony got him out of harm’s way after that.

"The hospital," Tony says. "He still hasn't woken up. They, uh…" He takes a deep breath. "They're not sure when he will. If he will."

Oh.

That puts things in perspective a little bit. If Loki was in his shoes, he probably would have pissed that terrorist off, too. It serves him right, whoever he is.

Tony grabs hold of the Iron Man suit and begins walking again. Loki stays by his side, not quite ready to leave this conversation behind yet.

"What do you plan to do now?" Loki asks him.

"I don't know."

Loki scoffs. "You don't know?"

Tony shakes his head. "Nope."

"Stark!"

Tony looks over at him. "Alright, wise guy, what's your brilliant plan? My suit's dead, I have no phone, I'm freezing, and I'm hundreds of miles from Malibu and from Manhattan so I have nowhere to go. What do you think I should do now?"

Loki pauses, processing all of that. He definitely sees the problem, but… "I thought you were in Malibu. Why are you…?"

"Because JARVIS is an idiot; that's why," Tony says irritably.

Loki raises an eyebrow. He's fairly sure there has to be more to it — JARVIS is far from an idiot — but he doesn't expect to get more of an answer than that.

"So your plan should be to fix your suit first," Loki says slowly. He doesn't want to jump to conclusions, but it seems like the logical course of action to him.

"My plan is to find shelter first," Tony says. "Preferably before my hands fall off."

Loki raises an eyebrow. “Do human hands do that?”

Tony throws his head back, exasperated. “No, Loki, my hands are not literally going to fall off. But it’s freezing out here -- it’s below freezing -- and I’m walking around in jeans and a t-shirt, and that can kill a person.”

Loki nods slowly. “Then, yes, you should probably find shelter.” He looks around, but it’s difficult to see much in this weather. He decides to cheat a little bit.

He astral projects ahead a few thousand feet, just to see if Tony’s wasting his time going this way. He still finds himself in this empty tree-lined field, but, squinting his eyes, he does see a building off in the distance. He astral projects over to it. It's a lot easier than walking. It gives him a great view of the place in a fraction of the time.

Loki’s not quite sure what he’s looking at, but he does know that it’s a building, and right now, he has a feeling that’s good enough for Tony. He eyes it briefly, taking in the sight. Texaco. Whatever that means. His attention is immediately drawn to the lights, and when he looks inside, he does see someone in there. He’s not sure whether this is the type of place a random stranger could usually just walk into, but hopefully that stranger inside will feel bad enough to let Tony in.

Loki returns to Tony’s side. “No more than half a mile ahead, you will find a building. I suspect you can take shelter there.”

“Oh, thank god,” Tony mutters. “That’s, what, ten, twenty minutes? I think I can…” He lets out a long breath, and a small cloud of foggy air comes out of his mouth. “God, that’s so far away.” He looks over at Loki. “I don’t suppose you could get me there any faster?”

Loki just shakes his head.

“Could you at least help with the suit?” Tony asks.

“I can’t,” Loki says. “At this distance, my powers are negligible.” He holds a hand out in front of him and tries to form just a simple ball of green energy, which, unsurprisingly, does not work. “Nothing.”

“Great,” Tony mutters. “The one time I want your help, and you’re absolutely useless.”

Loki lets that slide because he can tell Tony’s having an understandably bad day. “Is Ms. Potts okay?”

“She should be,” Tony says. “She was there when the Mandarin attacked, but JARVIS said she got out. I’d call and check, but…” He gestures helplessly to his suit. “Kinda can’t do that.”

“Would you like me to look in on her?” Loki asks.

Tony hesitates. “She really doesn’t like you.”

“I assume she also doesn’t like thinking you’re dead,” Loki says.

Tony sighs. “Yeah, no, I guess... “ He waves him off. “She should be with an old kind-of-friend of mine, Maya Hansen. If you can find her, just make sure they’re somewhere safe, tell them I’m still alive.”

Loki nods, and then he vanishes from the field. He finds himself in the ruins of Tony’s Malibu mansion, and the footage on the news truly didn’t do it justice. This place is a death trap. If he’d been here in a corporeal form, he wouldn’t be able to move without the constant fear of tripping over the debris.

There are people everywhere, so Loki only remains visible for a second before he shields himself from view. He doesn’t need anyone thinking he’s responsible for this. He wanders around for a few minutes, taking in the sight. And he thought he caused a lot of damage. The Chitauri were nothing compared to whatever did this. Midgardian weaponry is formidable; he’ll give it that.

It doesn’t take Loki long to locate Pepper, but she’s speaking to a couple of cops, and that’s the last thing Loki would want to get involved with. He waits until she’s alone before he approaches her. She’s oblivious to his presence, and Loki tries to find the least alarming way to make himself known.

“Ms. Potts?” Loki says hesitantly.

Pepper looks around frantically. God, it’s like the Halloween party all over again -- except this time he doesn’t actually want to make anyone uncomfortable.

“Stop looking for me,” he says. “It will just draw attention to us, and I would rather avoid that if I can. I suspect you would, too.”

Pepper swallows hard and gives a small nod, every muscle in her body tensing. Loki tries not to let it get to him. He’s doing his best to be polite and respectful, but he should really accept now that she’s never not going to be terrified of him.

“I spoke to Stark,” Loki says. “He’s asked me to tell you that he’s okay.”

Pepper’s jaw drops, a smile growing on her face. “He is? How?”

“He’s a cockroach,” Loki says. “He doesn’t know how to die.”

Pepper covers her mouth with her hands. “Oh my god,” she whispers. “He’s okay. He’s -- Where is he?”

“Far away,” Loki says. “I cannot help much more than that. I know nothing of Midgardian geography. But he would like you to go someplace safe, and I suspect the site of a targeted terrorist attack is not that.”

“No, I know,” Pepper says. “I was waiting to hear if anyone could find him, and then the cops wanted to talk to me, and it’s just been a very busy day.”

“I understand that, but you should leave,” Loki says, trying his best to stay patient. He just wants her to get out of here so he can go back and check on Tony. He can only be in two places at once, and, unfortunately, one of those places has to be Stark Tower. “Stark said you would be with his friend. Are they still here?”

She nods. “She should be. Let me just…” Pepper cranes her neck to look around. Finally, she catches sight of this woman, and Loki follows as she heads toward her.

This “old friend” of Tony’s is another young woman, probably roughly Pepper’s age. Unlike Pepper, though, she looks pretty beaten up -- worse than Tony, even, much to his surprise. The scrapes on her face make him think she must have been here when the building collapsed. It would explain why Tony assumed they'd be together, though if Tony threatened a terrorist, Loki does find himself wondering why he let anyone into his house, and why anyone would willingly choose to be there.

The first words out of Pepper's mouth are a rushed, "Tony's okay!"

Maya furrows her brows. "He is?"

She nods. "He's far away, but he's okay.”

“How do you know that?”

Pepper hesitates. “That’s… hard to explain.”

“How is that hard to explain?” Maya asks. “It’s a simple question. How do you know Tony’s okay? Are you sure?”

“I am,” she says. “I just don’t know how to explain it.”

“How do you not know how to explain it?”

Instead of letting this back-and-forth go on for the next five minutes, Loki reveals himself. Hopefully he doesn’t draw too much attention to himself in the process.

Maya gasps, slapping a hand over her mouth. “Loki,” she whispers, eyes wide.

Loki plasters a smile on his face, an expression he’s gotten very good at faking over the last few centuries. “Ms. Hansen, I presume?”

She stares at him. “How do you know my name?”

Usually Loki would choose an ominous response -- a silent smile, perhaps -- but he doesn’t really want to rock the boat right now, so he just says, “Stark told me I would find you here.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “You’re talking to Tony?”

“I was,” he says. “Though I ask that we keep that between us.” With a small smile, he says, “I have a reputation to uphold, and playing carrier pigeon for an Avenger would be rather counter-intuitive.”

Pepper shakes her head to herself and tells Maya, “He kind of lives at Stark Tower now. It’s a whole thing.”

Maya looks between the two of them, dumbfounded. “He what?”

“It’s complicated,” Loki says. It’s really not that complicated; he just knows that every time anyone talks about him being stuck in the tower, it goes something like his dad put him in timeout and he doesn’t want to deal with that right now.

"Don't even worry about it," Pepper adds, which is hilarious, coming from the one person who's always worried about it.

Maya looks between the two of them. "Okay…?"

Back on topic, Loki says, "Stark wants you to go somewhere safe."

"Where is safe?" Pepper asks, incredulous. "Did he tell you what he did? He threatened a terrorist! I mean, who does that?"

"Yes, he did tell me that," Loki says. He's not sure why that surprises her. Tony threatened him in the height of his violent madness, too. This is what he does — he's cocky and arrogant and somehow it always works out for him. "I know nothing of Midgard so I cannot tell you where you would be safe, but I can say with a fair amount of certainty that if you would like to not be safe, you are in the right place."

"I'll take her to my hotel," Maya volunteers. "That's probably as safe as we can get."

"Good," Loki says. "I am going to tell Stark, and I assume he will send me back to look in on you again soon."

"Wait, before you go," Pepper says quickly.

Loki raises an eyebrow and looks down at her expectantly.

"Just…" She shrugs helplessly. "Tell him to be careful."

Loki nods once. This is good. He accomplished what he came here for. Pepper and Maya are going to get somewhere safe, and he can go back to check on Tony and stop him from doing anything stupider than he already has.

But he finds himself hesitating, his gaze lingering on Pepper's face a little longer than it should. She's so obviously afraid; terrified of what might happen. He can't blame her. It's hard to see this working out in their favor.

But he still fakes a smile, and, with as much fake sincerity he can muster, he says, "It will be okay. He will do everything in his power to ensure he lives to see you again."

Pepper sighs. "I just hope that's enough."

"It will be," Loki says. "Do not lose hope. You will see him again. He will make sure of it."

Chapter Text

“So it was a bomb,” Loki says slowly, “but you say it could not be a bomb because there were no bomb parts?”

“Exactly,” Tony says. “So unless someone’s invented a disappearing bomb, it’s not a bomb.”

Loki stares at him blankly. “But you said it was a bomb.”

Tony clicks his tongue. “Exactly.” He pauses, breathing into his hands to warm them up before he continues. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s…” He shakes his head to himself. “It’s not good.”

Well, that’s an understatement if he’s ever heard one.

“And you suspect it somehow relates to the United States military?” Loki asks. It would be one thing if he was just flat-out accusing the military of murdering innocent people. Loki would believe it in an instant if he was. But Tony has yet to actually accuse anyone of anything, and that’s where he’s getting lost.

“Yeah, you know.” Tony shrugs. “Somehow.”

Loki nods slowly. “Do you suspect the bomb belonged to the military?” That’s where bombs come from, right? The military? The government? What even is a bomb? He’s pieced together a general idea from Tony’s words, Clint’s warnings under the Mind Stone’s influence, and his very limited knowledge of Midgardian cinema, but he still doesn’t really know what they are.

“No, it belonged to the Mandarin,” Tony says. “I told you that.”

Loki furrows his brows. “Then how is the United States military involved?”

“I don’t know! Somehow?” He throws his arms up helplessly. “Look, I just almost died again. Can you do some of the heavy-lifting here for me?”

Loki cocks his head to the side. Does he mean the literal heavy-lifting of dragging the Iron Man suit around? Because he’s already asked Loki to take over twice, and Loki has reminded him both times that he cannot physically interfere right now. Either he’s just being annoying and asking again, or this is more Midgardian slang he’ll never understand. He’s not sure which option is more annoying.

“You should pull off into one of those buildings ahead,” Loki says. “I do not expect our conversations to accomplish much when you are cold and exhausted.”

Tony snorts. “You want me to break into someone’s house?”

“Why not?” Loki says simply. “You are rich, powerful, and desperate. I think the benefits outweigh any potential risks.”

Tony clicks his tongue. “Good point.”

Tony does just that, veering off the road and into the first house they reach. He doesn't actually go into the house itself; he goes into the garage instead, which is probably a better idea. It's less likely anyone will see them. Tony drags the Iron Man suit over to the couch and props it up, making sure it looks comfortable before he sits down at the workbench. He rubs his hands together and blows on them a few times.

Loki walks around, taking in the sights. It’s very cluttered in here. There are a lot of little parts lying around. He’s not sure what they are or what they do, but that’s how he feels about most things in Midgard so he’s used to it. It doesn't stop him from taking an interest in them, trying to figure out what they may be.

Tony lets out a long breath. “Alright, what now?”

Loki turns to look at him. “Given that it is your life on the line and not mine, I feel I should leave that for you to decide, but my suggestion would be to fix your suit. You are all but useless without it.”

Tony scoffs. “I am not useless without my suit.”

“Of course, my apologies,” Loki says sarcastically. “Then we should find the Mandarin first. Maybe he will let you smother him to death with a pillow.”

Tony rolls his eyes. “Okay, fine,” he says. “We’ll start with the suit.”

Loki nods. That’s what he thought.

Before they can even begin to look at the suit, the door to the shed slams open, and they’re greeted with the sight of a young boy with what looks to be a homemade gun of some kind. Loki squints his eyes, trying to get a better look at it. He’s not the least bit threatened by this child, but he does find the weapon in his hands interesting.

“Freeze!” the kid yells. “Don’t move!”

Loki just raises an eyebrow. Tony plays along, though, putting his hands up by his head to show he means no harm. “Alright, you got us.”

The kid looks between Tony and Loki, but he does a double-take when he sees the god. Immediately, he raises his gun and fires off a shot. The projectile -- Loki is decently sure it was a potato -- just goes right through him. Loki rolls his eyes and slips his hands into his suit jacket pockets. Well. This is fun.

“God, I wish that could’ve hit you,” Tony mutters. He lowers his hands back to the desk. “You’ll get him next time, kid.”

“That’s Loki!” the kid says, his eyes wide.

“Mm, yeah." Tony nods. “My first instinct every time I see him is to shoot him with a potato gun, too, so I can’t fault you there.”

The kid furrows his brows. “Then why are you here with him?”

“I dunno; he just kinda showed up,” Tony says with a shrug. “Figured I’d let him stick around.”

“But he’s evil.”

Tony scoffs. “What? No, he’s not!” he says, not an ounce of sincerity in his voice. “He’s just a big ol’ teddy bear.”

Loki rolls his eyes. He would actually prefer being called evil to that.

“He led an alien invasion in New York,” the kid reminds him.

Tony shakes his head. “No, that was…” He trails off. “Yeah, I don’t know how to defend that.”

“Then don’t,” Loki says simply. It must be as obvious to this kid as it is to him that Tony doesn’t mean a word coming out of his mouth anyway. He takes a few steps towards the child and crouches down in front of him, purposely keeping a fair distance between them. “I admire your courage. Had I truly been in this room, your weapon would have done a great amount of damage.” He makes a show of studying the potato gun. “Where was this weapon forged? It must have been made by a very experienced weaponsmith.”

“I made it,” the kid says, a proud smirk on his face.

Loki scoffs. “Impossible. Your weapon looks to be expertly crafted. You haven’t the years of experience required to create such a thing.”

“I’m just naturally good at it,” he says, much too pleased with himself for that.

“You must be,” Loki says. “I suppose I should not be surprised, though. You have spirit well beyond your years. Very few mortals of any age would have the gall to shoot me. I must admit, I’m impressed.” This part is much more sincere. It was one thing when trained assassins and supersoldiers tried to kill him; it’s another for a literal child to take the offense like that. “You have a sibling, I presume?”

He furrows his brows. “How did you…?”

“I would recognize that protective brotherly instinct anywhere,” Loki says with a smile -- one that the kid somewhat hesitantly returns. “You already know my name. May I ask yours?”

He hesitates, but ultimately, he does decide to answer. “Harley.”

“Harley,” he repeats. “It is very nice to meet you. If you do not mind, my…” He glances over at Tony, who’s staring at him with an eyebrow raised. After a beat, Loki turns back to Harley and continues, “... acquaintance and I are in a bit of a difficult situation at the moment. Could we use this room for a short while?”

Harley eyes him skeptically. “What are you going to do?”

Loki pushes himself back to his feet. He'd like to think he's established enough of a rapport with this kid that he doesn't need to speak on his level anymore. “I am going to provide unnecessary and likely annoying commentary,” Loki says. “He…” He gestures to Tony. “... Is going to kill a terrorist.” He pauses, then adds, “Or die trying.”

“Thanks,” Tony says sarcastically.

Harley furrows his brows. "Who are you?"

"Tony," he says. "But if you recognize him, you'd probably know me better as…" He stands up and steps out of the way so he can see the suit. "Iron Man."

Harley's jaw drops, a smile growing on his face. "No way!"

"Way," Tony replies simply. He sits back down.

"They're saying you're dead!" Harley tells him.

"Yeah, well, death didn't stick," Tony says with a shrug. "Who's home right now? Parents?"

The smile on his face fades at that. "Well, my mom already left for the diner," he says. "And Dad went to 7-11 to get scratchers. Guess he won, 'cause that was six years ago."

Loki's brows shoot up. That is not where he thought that answer was going.

Tony seems equally as surprised, but, after a pause, he slaps on a fake smile and says, "Great. Welcome to the 'Daddy Issues' club. You'll fit right in here."

Loki shoots him a look. "Stark…" Isn't he supposed to be the nice one? That's a rather flippant response to such a sad statement.

Tony just rolls his eyes. Loki's not sure whether to chalk that up to him having an incredibly bad day, or if he's just naturally an asshole and the side of him that Loki's been seeing for the last few months is not actually reserved for him specifically.

Harley looks between the two of them. "Are you working together?"

They look at each other uncertainly, and Tony says awkwardly, "Yeah, I guess we are."

"Aren't you mortal enemies?" Harley asks.

"No," Loki says. "I find him frustrating and he thinks me annoying, but we do not care enough about each other to be 'mortal enemies.'"

"But you had that big fight!" Harley says, gesturing wildly. "In New York! With the wormhole and the aliens!"

Tony grits his teeth. "That was six months ago. We're past that."

Loki raises an eyebrow. They very much are not past that, if Tony's plethora of passive-aggressive remarks over the last few months are anything to go by.

"But it was so cool!" Harley says. "It was all over the news! When you and the Avengers —"

"We're not talking about that," Tony snaps, but there's something off in his tone; something Loki can't quite place. He's not just annoyed or frustrated or angry. There's something else…

Loki really has no desire to talk about his failures and it seems Tony is no more eager to have this discussion than he is, so Loki changes the subject. "You like the Avengers, I assume."

"They're so cool," Harley tells him.

Loki forces a smile. "Right." Oh, if only he knew them… "Well, as of now, the rest of the Avengers are rather preoccupied, and we would appreciate any help we can find. Would you like to become an honorary Avenger for the day?"

Harley scoffs, beaming at the question. "Yes!"

Tony shoots him a look. "Loki!"

Loki lolls his head back. Does he have to explain everything to him? He crosses the room, meeting Tony at his bench. He lowers his voice, though he's sure Harley can still hear him. "You cannot do this alone, Stark," he says. "Let the kid help."

"Yeah, fine, I'll let the kid help," Tony says, "but he's not an Avenger!"

"It does not mean you have to let him in your fight," Loki says — which really should be self-explanatory, and probably would be if Tony wasn't convinced everything Loki says is wrong in some way. "War is not the hallmark of an Avenger. I would hardly consider Banner a soldier, and he is still one of you."

"Banner is the world's leading expert on gamma radiation," Tony reminds him. "Harley is a child."

Harley crosses his arms. "I'm not a child."

They both ignore that.

"It is an arbitrary title at best," Loki says. "To give him a reason to help you. Nothing has to come of it. I am not expecting you to let a child join your team."

"I'm not a child!" Harley says irritably. "I'm eleven!"

Tony rolls his eyes. "Yeah, that's a child."

"No, it's not!'

Loki sighs and turns to look at him. "Harley, I have lived a hundred of your lifetimes. Eleven years is nothing; it's the blink of an eye. It does not make you an adult, and it certainly does not make you a life worth risking just to save his." He jerks his head in Tony's direction.

"But —"

"No," Loki interrupts. "I am asking you to become a very valuable member of this team — a member of Iron Man's team. But to do that, you must listen to us. Do you understand?"

"I don't know," Harley says. "I'm not sure I should listen to the guy that brought aliens to New York."

Loki lolls his head back, exasperated. "Very well, then. You must listen to Stark. Is that more feasible?"

"Mm-hmm." Harley nods.

"Good." Loki looks over at Tony. "Tell him what you need."

~~~

The first few minutes after Harley leaves are uncomfortably silent. Tony sits at the workbench, pulling shards of glass out of his arms with a very unsanitary pair of pliers, and Loki does his best to ignore the quiet groans he makes with every wrong move. He debates leaving now, but he'd feel weird disappearing without saying anything, and he doesn't want to be the one to break the silence.

Instead, he walks around the room, pretending to look around but really just trying to kill time. Why did Tony have to give Harley such a long list of things to bring him? It's going to take forever for him to find them all.

Finally, Tony breaks the silence. "If you've lived a hundred of his lifetimes, you're, what, a thousand years old?"

Loki looks over at him. His attention is still on getting the shards of glass out of his arms, not even sparing Loki a glance as he speaks. What is this, small talk? Are they really going to make small talk right now?

Well, if the alternative is uncomfortable silence, he supposes small talk will do.

"Roughly," Loki says.

"Thought you'd be older," Tony remarks. "Like, 'caveman times' old."

Loki raises an eyebrow. "No?" Why would he… What?

"Huh." Tony groans softly as he pulls out another shard of glass from his arm and puts it aside. "You ever have kids?"

Loki stares at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm just thinkin'," Tony says, "you're not awful at talking to Harley."

Loki furrows his brows. "Did you think I would be?"

Tony shrugs. "Yeah, kind of."

Loki's not actually sure what to say to that, so he stays silent until Tony speaks again.

"You just don't usually picture the bad guy being good with kids," he says. "You know?"

Loki doesn't try to fight him on the "bad guy" thing. If Tony wants to put him in that little box, if he thinks the world is that black and white, there is nothing he could say to change his mind. The "good with kids" thing, though, that he can acknowledge.

"I love kids," Loki tells him. "They don't yet have an established sense of right and wrong, so it has always been very easy to convince them to join me in my mischief."

Tony snorts. "You like kids because they're easy to manipulate?"

"No, I —" He pauses. "Well, yes, but also because they are easy to entertain. They will do nearly anything you want if you frame it correctly, and they enjoy it. It's fantastic."

Tony huffs a laugh. "Guess that's one way to look at it," he says. He puts his pliers down and spins around in his stool to face him. "You never answered my question, though."

Loki raises an eyebrow. "What question?"

"Have you ever had kids?"

"Oh, that." Loki shakes his head. "I would be a bit young to think about that."

Tony scoffs. "'Young?' You think a thousand years old is too young to have kids?"

"A thousand years is not a long time," Loki tells him. "Not for beings like myself." It's not that it's too young to have kids. He's known Asgardians to have children at his age. But it just feels too early to be making these plans and settling down. He can't imagine it. He has so much life left to live. He has never once had the urge to start a family — and now, stuck in Stark Tower, he never will.

"How long do you guys live if a thousand years isn't much?" Tony asks.

"An Asgardian lives roughly five thousand years," Loki says. "I suspect my lifespan is somewhat similar." But he's not exactly on speaking terms with any Jotuns to ask them. He did just murder their king not too long ago, after all.

"Five thousand years?" Tony repeats. "And you're one thousand now, so…" His voice fades out as he continues, turning into barely audible mumbles. "You're a fifth of the way through your life. Let's say the average person lives 80 years; a fifth of that is… wait." Tony stares at him. "You're, like, 16! What the fuck?"

Loki chuckles at that, and Tony gives him a look that can only be read as a reiterated what the fuck?

"I assume 16 years old is young for a human?" Loki asks.

"It's a freakin' child!"

Loki bites his lip, trying to fight back another laugh that's threatening to spill out. "Proportionally, I may be the equivalent of a human 16-year-old, but age is more than a number and it is more complicated than a simple mathematic equation. You do remember Thor's snake story from when I was eight?"

Tony clicks his tongue. "Right, you probably weren't stabbing anyone when you were, like, a newborn baby."

Loki chuckles. "No, I was not." And he certainly wasn't learning to shapeshift as a baby. That would be much more complicated magic than a baby could comprehend.

Tony sighs dramatically. "Thank god, 'cause if you were actually just a really old teenager…" He shakes his head to himself. "I mean, I know you can get life in prison as a teenager for a hell of a lot less than what you did, but usually life in prison isn't, you know…" Tony pauses, his brows furrowing. "Four thousand years." He frowns, and for the briefest moment, Loki thinks he spots a twinge of sympathy in his expression. "You're going to be stuck in Stark Tower for another four thousand years?"

Loki just nods. That's the plan.

"That's a hell of a long time," Tony says.

"I'm aware."

"And you're probably going to be alone for most of it," Tony adds, and now his sympathy is impossible not to register. "God, that's… I didn't even think about that."

Loki lowers his gaze to the floor. He tries not to think about it, either. It's a lot to process when he looks at it all at once. He finds a weird sort of comfort in the knowledge that he likely won't live the full four thousand years he should have left. Something will happen before then. He'll still have to rely on others for food, so if Thor gets too busy as Asgard's eventual king to pay him frequent visits, he'll likely starve to death. Or maybe the isolation will finally do him in, and he'll lose what little sanity he has left. Maybe this will all be too much for him and he one day decides to put a permanent end to everything.

But he won't admit to Tony of all people that he thinks death will one day be his saving grace. He has too much pride for that. He has too much pride to admit just how terrifying this punishment is to him.

"I look at it one day at a time," Loki says finally, which is true. He doesn't like to dwell on how long this will last. He sees no reason to elaborate more than that.

"You know," Tony says, "there's a pretty good chance Stark Tower won't survive four thousand years. What happens to you then?"

"I don't know," Loki says. "I do not think the Allfather thought of the specifics when he put this enchantment in place, and I do not think he cares enough to ensure my safety, should something go wrong. Whatever happens will happen. It is as simple as that."

Tony lets out a low whistle. "Your dad sucks."

"I am aware," Loki says.

Tony raises an eyebrow. "You're not even gonna tell me he's not your dad?"

"Every time I do," Loki says, "it seems to have the opposite effect."

"Well, yeah, but I figured you'd do it anyway," Tony says.

"We've just finished discussing that I have another four millennia to spend in complete confinement," Loki reminds him. "It should come as no surprise that your words are not my greatest concern."

"Fair point," Tony says. "I take it that's why you're here, then."

"Hmm?" Loki raises an eyebrow.

"If you're gonna spend the next four thousand years all alone," he says, "you might as well take the company while you can get it, right?"

"You are not my idea of good company," Loki tells him. He's definitely not here because he expects to enjoy it. He's here because he doesn't expect Tony to survive this on his own. He's too cocky for his own good; it's going to get him killed.

"And you're not my idea of good company, either," Tony says, "but bad company's better than none, right?"

"The longer I stand here with you, the less I believe that," Loki deadpans.

The corners of Tony's lips twitch upwards in a small smile. "Oh, this is going to be a great partnership."

Loki rolls his eyes.

"Oh, and for the record," Tony adds, "I'm only keeping you around so you can make sure Pepper's okay, so go check on her every now and then for me, will you?"

"I don't know that she would want me to," Loki says. "You do realize that she is terrified of me."

"No, she used to be," Tony says. "Now she's just moderately afraid of you. There's been a little improvement there."

"Has there," Loki deadpans. He doesn't believe that for a second.

"Yeah, I guess she started to warm up to you when she walked in on you and Steve talking about your fairytale romances," Tony says, a small smirk on his lips.

"She told you about that?" He doesn't bother pointing out that that's not really what happened at all. He's just surprised that it came up.

"Of course she did," Tony says. "I still don't know how you got Steve falling head-over-heels for you, but I guess it made Pepper feel better, so…" He shrugs awkwardly, and his tone becomes more serious as he says, "You know I don't like you. I'm always going to see you as the psychopath that tried to take over the world, and I'm never going to forgive that. But when you're not on a murderous rampage across New York…" He trails off with the shake of his head. "You've had more than enough chances to scare Pepper and you haven't taken any of them. I know that and she knows that. So I don't like you, but for this, I trust you. I don't have much of a choice."

Loki nods to show he understands. "I will watch out for her," he says. "I assure you, your trust is not misplaced."

"I really hope you're right."

Chapter Text

While Tony and Harley are preoccupied planning their next steps, Loki decides to look in on Pepper and Maya again. He never did make sure they really did get someplace safe. He supposes now is as good a time as any to check.

Pepper and Maya are both sitting on a bed, Maya with her legs outstretched while Pepper curls up by her feet. If they had been speaking, that doesn’t last long; they both look over at Loki the moment he appears. He had expected to see the usual fear in their eyes, and while Maya definitely seems wary, Pepper just looks relieved. He hadn’t expected that.

“Ms. Potts,” he says with a polite nod. “Ms. Hansen. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Pepper shakes her head emphatically. “No, no, you’re good!” she says quickly. “How’s Tony? Is he okay?”

“He is fine,” Loki assures her. “He is currently arguing with an eleven-year-old, so do with that information as you may.”

Pepper laughs. “Of course he is,” she says. “That’s just like him.”

Loki can’t help the small smile that slips onto his face at that. “And are you okay?” He looks between the two women. He’d like to think they are, but he doesn’t want to report back to Tony with confidence if he’s not completely sure.

Pepper nods. “Yeah, we’re okay,” she says. “I’m just ready for all of this to be over.”

Loki nods sympathetically. “I know.”

“Do you know when that’s gonna be?” she asks. “How close is he to finishing this?”

Loki shakes his head. “I can't say for certain,” he admits. “He has asked me not to tell you exactly what he is doing. I suspect you would do best not to know, anyway. But Stark is smart and he is resourceful. He seems to be well on his way to putting an end to this.”

“Wait, why can’t I know what he’s doing?” Pepper asks, furrowing her brows.

“I assume because he does not wish to worry you further,” Loki says. “To just tell you the facts may sound hopeless, but I assure you, it is anything but. He is doing the best that he can, and that is what matters.”

Pepper sighs. “Yeah, I guess…”

“Hold on,” Maya says. “How do we know Tony’s actually okay and you’re not just saying he is?”

“You don’t,” Loki says. “But I would have no reason to lie about this.”

Pepper frowns. “Yeah, but you don’t really have a reason to tell the truth about it, either.”

Loki presses his lips into a firm line. Great. Now she’s doubting him, too. And he can’t exactly prove that he’s telling the truth; not with a thousand miles between them.

Finally, he just says, “You have no reason to believe me. I understand that. But I truly am here to help. Unfortunately, from this distance, all the help I can provide is relaying information, so that is what I am here to do.”

“‘From this distance’?” Pepper repeats, confused. “What distance? You’re, like, five feet away from me.”

Now Loki is equally as confused. “I’d assumed Stark had told you that I cannot leave the tower.”

“Well, yeah, he did,” Pepper says, “but you’re standing right in front of me, so, you know…”

Loki shakes his head. “I am here only in spirit. Physically, I’m on the couch of Stark’s so-called ‘man cave.’”

Pepper stares at him. “Wait, seriously?”

Loki just nods.

“Okay, that’s a new one,” she says, clearly still processing it. “So why are you here? I mean, not here-here, but why are you helping Tony if you could just hang out back home?”

Home.

He misses having someplace he could call home. He hasn’t had one of those in a long time. He certainly doesn't have one now.

“As much as I do not like the Avengers,” Loki says, “they do breathe life into the place. Stark Tower is incredibly boring with no one else around.” And, of course, he’s trying to save Tony’s ass, but he’s not going to admit that one out loud.

Pepper’s eyes go wide. “You’re there alone?”

Loki furrows his brows. “Did he not tell you that?”

Pepper scoffs. “No, he did not tell me that! He told me Thor was still there!”

Loki cocks his head to the side. “Thor has been gone nearly as long as Stark has.” Did he really not tell her that? Was he keeping it from her on purpose? That’s probably something Tony should have told him before he came here. “You needn’t worry about your home. Any harm I could bring to it would be bringing harm unto myself as well. I do live here.”

She just nods, taking that in. Hopefully she believes it. He’s not sure how else to make her feel better if she doesn’t.

It’s Maya who speaks next. “Do you need to get back to Tony now?”

Loki shakes his head. “If you would like me to leave now, I will, but I really do have no desire to return yet. He is incredibly annoying. I do not know how you put up with him.”

That earns a laugh from Pepper and a snort from Maya.

“And yet, you’re helping him anyway,” Maya remarks.

Because if I don’t and he gets himself killed because of it, I’ll never forgive myself.

“I would rather be annoyed than bored,” Loki says with a small shrug.

Maya nods slowly, eyeing him with the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. “You know, you looked a lot scarier on the news when you were leading an alien invasion.”

Loki huffs a laugh. “Yes, well, that was my intention at the time,” he says. He wanted to be fearsome; he wanted to be intimidating. Fear was as close to respect as he thought he could get -- and he was probably right. “Obviously, it did not work out in my favor.”

“So, what, you just act like a normal person now?” Maya asks. “This is who you are when you’re not trying to murder people?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.” Maya shrugs. “Cool. I guess.”

Loki cracks a smile. "You accepted that surprisingly quickly." And he thought Bruce got over it easily. Wow.

"This is far from the weirdest thing that's happened to me lately," Maya says.

"Then you must have a strange life."

"Oh, believe me, I do," Maya says. She crosses her legs in front of her and looks up at him. "So why'd you do it?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why'd you try to take over the world?" she asks. "You really don't strike me as the 'world domination' type right now."

Loki hesitates, mentally weighing his options. He could try to explain it the way he did to Bruce a couple of months ago, but he doesn't want to take too long. He could give an abbreviated summary of his life and the tipping points, but that could still be weird. He has just met her, after all. He could play it for sympathy and mention the deals he was coerced into making, but he'd rather word not get back to the Avengers about that.

Finally, he settles on, "I did what I felt I had to do."

She raises her brows. "You're not going to give me any more than that, are you?"

"I will not," Loki says simply.

"Hmm," she hums.

"Hmm?" He cocks his head to the side, wordlessly asking her to elaborate.

"No, I just…" She shrugs. "I just think it's interesting, 'good' and 'evil' and how subjective they are."

"Ah." Loki nods in agreement. "A lesson many people could stand to learn."

"Tell me about it," she mutters.

Loki heaves a sigh. "I probably should go, though," he says, as much as he doesn't really want to put up with Tony. "I'm rather reluctant to leave Stark alone. I don't know that he can hold his own against that child."

Pepper laughs, which puts a small smile on his face.

"I will likely return soon," Loki tells them, "if that is okay with you both."

"You really don't have to," Maya says. "We're fine here. You should stick with Tony."

"If that is what you would like me to do, I will," Loki tells her, "but it was Stark who asked me to look in on you. If you are saying it for his sake, I do think he would prefer that I make sure you are okay."

"Good," Pepper says quickly, not giving Maya the chance to respond. "Then come back as much as you want, so I can make sure he's okay, too."

Maya frowns. "I really don't think that's —"

"It is," Pepper says. "It will make me feel better. Please."

Loki nods. "Then I will see you soon. Stay safe."

He vanishes from their room, but he doesn't go back to Harley's garage just yet. He returns to the tower, letting his magic rest for a short while. He runs his hands down his face, exhausted. God, it's nice to have a body again.

Loki teleports to the bathroom and turns the faucet on. The chill of the water running down his hands brings a smile to his lips, and he splashes it against his face. He's so tired. He can't remember the last time he's astral projected for even half as long as he has today. At least it's only a thousand miles or so. He supposes it could be worse.

He dries his face with the hand towel and turns off the water. He raises his gaze to the mirror, and he's awestruck by how pale he looks. Hopefully it's just from the cold water. If he's already having physical symptoms from astral projecting for so long…

He shakes that thought out of his head. He'll cross that bridge when he gets to it — if he gets to it. He teleports to his room and takes a seat on his bed, letting his head fall back against the wall. He takes a deep breath, preparing himself to do this again.

Here goes nothing.

Loki sits up and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, he's back in Harley's garage. It's like he never left.

"Oh, good, you're back," Tony says, hopping off the stool.

Loki raises an eyebrow. Okay, straight to business, apparently. Well, those 90 seconds of relaxation were nice when they lasted.

"Harley's gonna take us downtown to the site of the explosion," Tony tells him. "C'mon." He gestures for Loki to follow, already heading for the door, Harley right behind him.

"Are you not going to ask about Ms. Potts?" Loki asks. This seems rather out-of-character of him.

"Nah," Tony says, waving that off. "I figure if something was wrong, I'd see it on your face. Now c'mon." He gestures for him to follow again, and this time, Loki does.

"I think you overestimate my investment in your well-being," Loki tells him as they walk.

"Oh, I know you don't care about my well-being," Tony says. "But I'm pretty sure you're not completely heartless. If something happened to Pepper, I think you'd care at least a little bit."

"You would be wrong," Loki says. "I've told you already. I am here because I am bored. There is nothing more to it."

"Uh-huh," Tony says sarcastically. "Sure you are."

Loki just rolls his eyes. He's right, but he doesn't have to say it.

~~~

As they near the busier part of the city, Loki shields himself from view, but he still makes his presence known with the occasional comment that only Tony and Harley can hear. Any genuine conversation they have is led by Harley, and it doesn't last long. Tony looks to be lost in his own head, and Loki finds that every time he speaks, it startles them.

As they're nearing the site of the explosion, Harley asks, "When can we talk about New York?"

"Maybe never," Tony says. "Relax about it."

"What about the Avengers?" Harley asks. "Can we talk about them?"

"I dunno; later," Tony says, a little irritated. "Loki doesn't like to talk about them. He's still bitter that we beat him."

Loki raises an eyebrow. "If you'd like to talk about your friends, I will not stop you. I do not care that much."

"Yeah, you do," Tony says dismissively, his attention already shifted to the scene before him.

The site of the bombing has since been turned into a memorial, little trinkets littering the ground in honor of the lives lost. It's all backed into an alleyway, out of the way of anyone who isn't actively seeking it out. It's a convenient spot for such a monument. It's even more convenient for a supposedly dead superhero and a mass murderer such as himself to stand without drawing attention to themselves. Still, Loki stays hidden from view, just in case someone looks his way.

"Alright, what's the official story here?" Tony asks.

"I guess this guy named Chad Davis used to live roundabouts," Harley explains. He takes a seat on the ground, his feet lying within the crater in the ground. "He won a bunch of medals in the army. And one day, folks said he went crazy and made, you know, a bomb. Then he blew himself up, right here."

Tony walks around the alleyway, eyes scanning every inch of it as he takes it all in. "Six people died, right? Including Chad Davis?"

Harley nods. "Yeah."

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense," Tony says. He takes a seat next to the child. "Think about it. Six dead; only five shadows."

Loki raises an eyebrow. He doesn't want to say that this is a bit of a leap, but he does think it is. Where do the shadows even come from? There's probably a very obvious answer for why there are only five.

"People said these shadows are like the marks of the souls going to Heaven," Harley tells him. "Except the bomb guy. He went to Hell, on account of he didn't get a shadow."

Loki stares at him. That's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard. He's not sure where Tony was going with his comment, but it couldn't have made less sense than this.

"You believe that?" Tony asks, much less judgemental than Loki's thoughts had been.

"It's what everybody says," Harley says.

Tony just shakes his head. The two lapse into silence, still sitting side-by-side, and Loki stays further away. He almost wonders if they even remember he's still here. He almost feels like he's not still here, with how little acknowledgement he's gotten. He doesn't really mind it. As long as he can see that they're both still alive, he doesn't care too much if they remember him.

"You know what this crater reminds me of?" Harley says eventually.

"No idea," Tony says monotonously. "I don't care."

Harley's undeterred. "That giant wormhole in New York," he says, beaming. "Does it remind you?"

Tony runs a hand down his face. "That's manipulative," he says. "I don't want to talk about it."

Loki fights back a laugh. Just when he thought he couldn't like Harley any more, he pulls out some classic manipulation. It could use some work — and in any other situation, Loki would be more than happy to show him how to do it better — but the fact that Harley's trying to manipulate Iron Man himself is hilarious in the best way.

Harley's smile fades to a look of concern. "Are they coming back?" he asks. "The aliens?"

"Maybe. Can you stop?" Tony asks, and he doesn't just sound irritated this time; he sounds… Well, he doesn't sound good. Loki debates stepping in, but he doesn't want to agitate him more.

"What happens if they do?" Harley asks. "What happens if it's different aliens this time?"

Tony sucks in a forced breath. "Harley, shut up."

Loki frowns. He feels bad that Harley's worried. He really does. But right now, he's far more concerned with Tony's ragged breathing. Is he okay? Is he dying? Humans can die in all kinds of weird ways, but this seems excessively out of nowhere.

"What if they come here?" he asks. "'Cause you don't have your suit. And the other Avengers aren't here. Could you still stop them?"

Tony clamps his hands over his ears. "Harley, I swear to god —" he says breathlessly.

Loki finally reappears, curiosity and concern getting the best of him. Tony and Harley both jump at the sight, but he'd expected that.

"Stark?" Loki says cautiously.

"Stop it," Tony breathes. He clamors to his feet and nearly loses his balance in the process. He stumbles a few feet down the alley until his legs give out from under him and he collapses to the ground, panting.

Harley looks up at the god. "Is he okay?"

Loki holds a hand out, a silent signal to stop. He eyes Tony for a few moments, hoping whatever this is will stop and they can move on like it never happened, but he doesn't seem to be getting better.

Loki walks over and crouches down in front of him, leaving a few feet between them so he's not crowding him. "Stark? Are you okay?"

Tony nods, but when he opens his mouth, no words come out, the only sound coming from his heavy breaths.

"Do you need help?" Loki asks, his tone growing more worried despite the effort he's putting in to try to sound only vaguely uninterested. "I can help Harley find a phone." They have healers of some sort in Midgard. He's sure they can be reached with a phone. Can't everybody in Midgard be reached by phone?

Tony squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head.

"Are you certain?" Loki asks. "What is happening, Stark? Are you going to be okay?" Because he's really going to feel like he's wasted his time if this is what kills him.

Tony nods. "Just—" He cuts himself off with a gasp for breath. He fans his face with his hands. "Anxiety."

Loki furrows his brows. Anxiety? Can anxiety have physical symptoms? How anxious must he be for this to be happening? And how does it stop?

He supposes the answer to that last question is obvious, though. It stops when Tony calms down. The real question is how does he get him to calm down?

"Stark, look at me," Loki says firmly.

After a moment of hesitation, Tony opens his eyes.

"Take a deep breath," Loki says. That usually calms him down when he's upset. Hopefully it works with anxious humans as well. "You are going to be okay. You are. Because you are Iron Man. With or without your suit, you are Iron Man, and Iron Man survives. Right?"

Tony nods, a little less forcefully than before. His breathing is beginning to slow. It seems like a good sign.

"When this is over, you get to go home and see Pepper again," Loki says. "Focus on that. Soon you will be back with your love, and this will all be nothing more than a bad memory. Hold on to that."

Tony nods again. "Yeah," he says breathlessly. "Yeah, I…" He runs his hands down his face. "I'm good. I'm…" He lets out a long breath and shoves a handful of snow in his face. His voice muffled by his hands, he mutters, "God, I'm so hot."

Loki frowns. Maybe he can shove his face in a pile of snow and not feel cold, but that's his species's natural habitat. If Tony is still hot with a pile of snow in his face, that might be a problem.

Tony tosses the snow aside, and a few chunks fly through Loki's incorporeal form. "Alright, let's…" He pushes himself to his feet, leaning heavily against the wall until he gets his balance. "Let's get back to work."

Loki stands up as well, eyeing him uncertainly. "Are you sure you…?"

Tony waves him off. "I'm fine."

"What the hell was that?" Harley asks him.

"Nothing," Tony says. "It was nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing," Harley remarks.

"Well, it was."

"What happened?" Loki asks. "What brought it on, and how likely is it to happen again?"

"I don't know," Tony says. "Can we just — can we not talk about New York?"

Loki furrows his brows. "Are you still anxious about New York? That was months ago." It feels like a long time ago even to him, and only a small fraction of his life has passed since then. To a human, shouldn't it feel longer? Not long enough to forget, maybe, but to move on, at the very least.

"Do you have PTSD?" Harley asks.

"No," Tony says. "Maybe. I don't — look, we're kind of in the middle of another life-or-death situation. Can we focus on that one instead?"

"But —"

"That would probably be best," Loki agrees, as much as it kills him to change the subject before he can figure out what's going on. He really does want to know if that was thoughts of New York haunting him — or, more accurately, he wants to hear that he's misreading the situation and that it wasn't the memory of their battle that temporarily incapacitated him. He doesn't want the guilt he knows that would bring. "What do you propose we do now?"

"Um…" Tony thinks about that for a minute. "I don't know. Harley, did Chad Davis have a family? A mother? Where's Mrs. Davis?"

"Where she always is," Harley says.

Tony clicks his tongue. "See, now you're being helpful."

Chapter Text

Obviously, eleven-year-old Harley is not allowed in the local bar, so he waits outside while Tony goes in to talk to Chad Davis's mother. Loki also isn't allowed in the bar — not because he's young; just because he's a war criminal — but he shields himself from view and follows Tony inside anyway. He's not actually sure Tony knows he's there, but given that he was neither told to follow Tony or stay with Harley, he decides the smart thing to do is to follow the guy getting the information.

It goes fairly well at first.

Then Tony gets his head slammed into a table by a Homeland Security officer.

Then that Homeland Security officer's hands begin to glow and she burns the sheriff's face, steals his gun, and shoots him.

And things aren't going well anymore.

Tony takes off running, his hands cuffed behind his back. The woman, Ellen Brandt, follows him at a more leisurely pace, a sharp contrast from the chaos of the bar.

"Hey, hot wings, you wanna party?" Tony says. "C'mon, you and me, let's go."

"Stark!" Loki hisses. "You are not in a position to be taunting anyone!"

"Yeah, but it's fun," Tony says with a shrug before he takes off down the street.

Tony only makes it a few feet before he stops, faced with yet another glowing person with a gun. This one is a man, his eyes and face glowing a bright orange as he steps out of his car. The man raises his coffee cup in a cheers motion, a smirk on his face, and Tony runs the other way.

It doesn't do him much good. The man (Eric Savin, for those who remember character names, which Loki cannot relate to) tosses his cup aside and raises his gun. Loki wishes more than anything that he could step in. He could take a bullet. He wouldn't even have to take a bullet. He's a sorcerer; he could just fling the bullets away if only he'd had his magic. But he can't, and it's killing him to be this helpless.

Savin fires off a pair of shots, but neither hit Tony, likely because he's distracted by the snowball that Harley throws at his face.

Shit.

Harley.

Savin turns to look at him, a smirk on his face, and Loki decides he has to step in. There's nothing he can really do, but maybe he can at least provide a distraction. He's not letting anyone hurt Harley. That kid has no place in this fight. Loki will do whatever he can to make sure he walks out of it alive.

Loki appears between them, blocking Savin's view of the kid. He keeps his gaze firmly on Savin's face, but his words are directed only to the boy. "Go home, Harley."

"But —"

"This is not a negotiation!" Loki hisses.

Savin just looks at them, an amused smirk on his face. Loki does his best to ignore that.

"But Tony needs me!" Harley insists.

"I assure you, he does not," Loki says. "Not here. Now go."

"Run back to Mommy, kid," Savin says mockingly.

Loki looks over his shoulder and shoots Harley a glare until the kid finally takes off running. Loki turns back to Savin, just as the man fires off a handful of shots at him. Loki looks down at his chest as the bullets fly through him, glowing green as they reach him. He listens carefully to the commotion behind him, but Harley doesn't cry out so they probably don't hit him. Loki tries not to worry about that. All Savin saw was that his bullets can't hurt Loki. He wants to use that to his advantage.

Loki raises his gaze to meet Savin's, a cocky smile on his face. "You'll have to try harder than that."

Savin slowly lowers his gun, his brows furrowed. "Alright, I'll bite," he says. "What do you want?"

"What I want is for you to leave," Loki says. "I suspect it won't be that simple."

"Not unless you want to do my job for me," Savin says. "But I take it you're not here to kill Stark."

"You'd be correct," Loki says.

"Are you here to help him?" Savin asks. "Because that's not going to work out very well for everybody."

"I'm not here for that, either," Loki says. "I'm here to annoy him. I seem to be very good at that." Of course, he is also here to help him, but he's not going to admit that.

"I can tell," Savin deadpans.

Loki just flashes him a smile.

"So if you're not here to help him and you're not here to hurt him," Savin says, "are you going to try to stop me from killing him?"

Loki shrugs. "Probably not."

Savin cocks an eyebrow. "'Probably'?"

"That's what I said, yes." Because technically there's a chance — however small it is — that something will change and he'll be able to step in. He doesn't expect it, but he doesn't want to write the possibility off. He doesn't want to accept just yet that he's completely useless, even if he knows he is.

Savin shakes his head to himself. "Alright, well, I am going to kill Stark. Since it seems I can't kill you—" He gestures to the god with his gun that's proved itself all but worthless. "—I'll extend an invitation to you instead."

Loki glances back at the building Tony went barreling into. Should he go check on him? Does he even want to, if there's nothing he can do to help? He could just prove to be a distraction. He could get the man killed in a failed attempt to help him. No, he's probably better off keeping his distance, at least until this part is over. Hopefully Tony makes it out alive and they can continue their little adventure.

So Loki fakes a smile. "And I will gladly accept it." Maybe he can at least learn a thing or two while he's here.

Savin walks off, so Loki follows after him, eyes scanning the chaos in the streets. He's glad there's so much else to focus on. No one has even looked his way. Had he been with Tony or Harley, he'd shield himself from view to ensure that doesn't change, but he's not sure he wants Savin to know he has that power. He likes to keep some cards close to his chest.

Eventually, Loki says, "So you work for the Mandarin, I presume."

"Maybe," Savin says, which basically confirms it. "What do you know about the Mandarin?"

"Very little," Loki says. "I have better things to do than follow Midgard's latest terrors. But I do love to hear that Stark is continuing to make enemies in my absence."

Savin chuckles at that.

"Why do you ask?" Loki adds. "Is there something I should know?"

"No; I'm just surprised you know about him at all," Savin says. "I would have thought you'd be back in… whatever fairytale world you're from."

"I was," Loki says. "Prison grows boring after a time, so I left."

Savin snorts. "You just left prison."

"The Asgardian dungeons do not hold a torch to my power," Loki says. "It was an easy escape." Technically, he's not lying. He did break out of the dungeon quite a few times before Odin threw him on Earth, and his final escape was fueled by the 'power' of his passion for annoying people.

Savin cracks a smile, amused, but he doesn't respond.

"How did you begin working for the Mandarin?" Loki asks. Eventually Savin's going to tell him something, right?

"Good luck," Savin answers.

"Fair enough," Loki says. "Are you human?"

Savin just looks at him, an eyebrow raised.

"I've never known a human to glow," Loki says.

"Then you should meet more humans."

Loki presses his lips into a firm line. Well, this is going well. He's really learning a lot. Not.

Savin stops walking once he reaches the water tower, so Loki does the same. He watches as the man's hands begin to glow, heating up the support beam until it too glows orange.

"I assume you have a plan," Loki remarks.

"I do," Savin says simply.

"Would you mind sharing with the class?" Loki tries again.

Savin's only response is a smirk.

Loki crosses his arms. Fine, whatever. He'll just wait. Actually, he should probably go check on Harley and make sure he's getting home —

A nearby building explodes without warning, startling Loki so badly that he loses focus on his projection and finds himself back in his bedroom at the tower. As soon as he has his bearings, he returns to Tennessee and surveys the scene.

Tony stumbles out of the building just then, and Loki looks between him and the water tower. Ah, okay, he gets it now.

Loki immediately appears by Tony's side. "The water tower is going to collapse."

"What?" Tony looks over at the water tower, and he's greeted with the sight of Savin and his self-satisfied smirk. "Oh, shit."

Tony takes off running, and Loki follows shortly behind him, looking over his shoulder every few seconds at Savin. Sure enough, Savin tears the water tower down, just as he'd expected, and Loki tries to figure out where it will fall as it does. If he can't hold the thing together, he'll just try to get Tony out of the way instead.

Loki astral projects in front of Tony. "That way!" He points to the side, and Tony listens without hesitation. Otherwise, he'd just be running straight into a chain link fence, and that's not going to help anybody. At least this way he stands a fighting chance.

It's strange, Loki notices, watching the water tower crash down around them when it can't touch him. He still has to close his eyes when it comes near. He still flinches when pieces fly through him. He knows he'll be fine, but that reflex is still there, controlling his movements against his will for a very long few moments.

When the water tower settles down on the ground, water still rushing by his feet, Loki looks around for Tony. He's on the ground, but he's still alive, squirming beneath the rubble. Loki sucks in a breath through his teeth. God, he wishes he was actually here right now. What's the point of being a god and a powerful sorcerer if all he can do when it matters is just watch?

He disappears from view out of fear that it would draw Savin's attention to them if he remained visible. Still, he doesn't leave; he crouches down by Tony's side and says quietly, "Stark, you need to get up."

"I'm working on it," Tony grumbles. He sits up and brushes the smaller bits of debris off of himself. "I'm too old for this shit."

Loki rolls his eyes. God, he'd hate to be human.

Savin's laughter grabs their attention, and they look up to see him climbing over fallen fragments of the tower to get to them. Loki looks between the two men nervously. Tony better figure something out quickly, because Loki does not want to have to be the one to tell Pepper that her boyfriend isn't coming home.

Savin walks towards them, a smirk on his face. "Party's over."

"Yeah," Tony says. "It is."

He raises his hand to reveal a blaster on his palm, and he fires off a shot. The blast hits Savin in the face, knocking him to the ground, and even from this distance, Loki can tell that he's dead. No one could survive that. Looking at Savin's burnt face, he's not even sure he could survive it.

Loki stands up and makes himself visible again. "Well," he says, "that is a convenient weapon."

Tony immediately throws the blaster aside, grimacing. "Great for emergencies. Not so great on the hands." He pushes himself to his feet with a groan, and he brushes the remaining debris off of himself. "Where's the kid?"

"I sent him home," Loki says. "I assume he listened, given that he's not here."

"He better have listened," Tony mutters. "Alright, I'm giving you a third job."

Loki cocks an eyebrow. "Do I already have two jobs?" He wasn't aware he even had one job. He's kind of just here.

"Uh, yeah, you do," Tony says. "First priority: keep an eye on Pepper. Second priority: keep an eye on Harley. And third priority — which isn't even really a priority; I just don't think you're gonna leave me alone so I'm tacking it on — is following me around."

"Ah." Loki nods. "I can do that."

"Good," Tony says. "So go check on Harley; make sure he's getting home alright. At some point, I'm gonna put you two in charge of fixing my suit. If you break it, I will break you. Got it?"

"Yes, because that is definitely something you could do," Loki says sarcastically. "Not that I could break your suit regardless — or fix it, for that matter. You do remember that I'm a thousand miles away, do you not?"

"Yeah, yeah." Tony waves that off. "You can play supervisor, how 'bout that?"

Loki shakes his head to himself. "Sure. Fine." He won't know what the hell he's supervising, but he can play along anyway. Hopefully Harley is good with Midgardian technology, because he's sure he won't be.

"Alright, now go." Tony gestures for him to leave. "Go check on Harley. And then check on Pepper while you're out zipping around, will you?"

"And what will you do?" Loki asks.

"What I always do." Tony jogs up to Savin's body and rummages around in his pockets for a few moments until he pulls out a car key. "I'm gonna wing it and hope I don't die."

Loki lolls his head back, exasperated. "At this point, I'm amazed you've lived this long."

"Me too, buddy," Tony says. "Me too."

~~~

Loki and Harley enjoy themselves immensely over the next hour or so. There's a lot of talking, mostly on Loki's end, interrupted only with Harley adding impossibly more questions for Loki to answer. He loves every moment of it. Harley sounds excited. He wants to listen to Loki ramble — about Asgard; about New York; about everything the kid finds interesting. Loki's not sure he's ever captivated anyone's attention this way, except maybe his mother's.

When the phone rings, that conversation is forgotten immediately. Harley jumps off the couch, running up to the phone and putting it to his ear. "Keener residence." There's a brief pause, and a smile grows on Harley's face. He puts the phone on speaker, then looks over at Loki. "It's Tony."

"I'd assumed as much," Loki says.

"Wait, hold on," Tony's voice says, slightly distorted through the phone speaker. Loki can't imagine speaking on these frequently. Hearing his voice like this, almost akin to JARVIS's robotic tone, is uncanny. "Is Loki there?"

Harley furrows his brows. "Um… yes?"

Loki gives a half-hearted, "Hello."

"Is that where you've been this whole time?" Tony asks, and he almost sounds… surprised? Confused, even?

"Mostly," Loki says. "Though I have looked in on Ms. Potts a couple of times as well." Just so Tony doesn't think he's shirking his responsibilities. He really is trying his hardest to do everything he's supposed to.

"Oh."

Loki furrows his brows. "Is that…" He cocks his head to the side. "Is that a problem?"

"Oh, no, it's not — it's fine," Tony says. "I just — you didn't come back. I was starting to think you gave up."

"Was I supposed to come back?" Loki asks.

"No, you didn't — I mean, I figured you would, but you don't have to," he says.

Loki frowns. Well, now he's just confused. "I was under the impression you didn't want me there." Staying with Tony was the third priority of a list of only three priorities, and the way he'd said it, Loki had just assumed…

"Well, no, I don't," Tony says, "but you're still welcome to come. Or to stay there. I don't care."

Loki nods slowly. "Okay…"

"Okay."

Loki looks around uncomfortably. Harley just looks amused by the whole situation. Loki probably would be, too, if he wasn't part of it, but right now, he just feels very awkward.

"Anyways," Tony says, changing the subject, "I need you guys to get working on my suit. I'll tell you what to do. You guys just do it."

Loki gestures for Harley to take the lead now. There's nothing he can do except watch.

"First you're gonna have to move him up to the computer," Tony says. "Just lie him down on a table or something."

"Okay, hang on." Harley puts the phone down and walks up to the suit. He grabs it under the arms, and, after a moment of preparation, he pulls on it. It barely moves. Harley readjusts his grip and tries again, but he gets the same result. "This thing is heavy."

"C'mon, you can do it," Tony says. "Just keep trying."

Harley pulls in it again, and it moves a few inches, over to the edge of the couch. He's getting somewhere now, slowly but surely.

"This might take a while," Loki says.

"Well, I've got time," Tony says. He pauses. "I think."

"Has anything of interest happened since I saw you last?" Loki asks.

"Kind of," Tony says. "I don't know. I'm looking into something."

"What is it?"

"It's complicated," Tony says. "I gotta find somewhere with good internet, and then I think we'll have our answers."

"Tell me what you find," Loki says, though he'd like to think Tony would do so even without prompting.

"You don't want to come with?"

Loki raises his brows. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"It's up to you," Tony says, "but, I mean, it's probably gonna answer all our questions. I figured you'd want to be there for it."

Loki presses his lips into a firm line. Is he asking Loki to come? Does he actually want him there? Or is he just giving him another option?

"I thought you wanted me to help Harley with your suit," Loki says finally. Maybe this will get Tony to clarify what exactly he's looking for.

"How's he doing so far?" Tony asks.

Loki looks over at the kid. He has a table next to the couch, and he almost has the suit on it. Loko wishes he could help, but he can't deny that he's kind of enjoying watching Harley struggle.

"Almost there," Harley says breathlessly.

Tony chuckles. "You got this, kid." To Loki, he says, "I could do this myself. I'm sure Harley could do it himself. You'll be redundant wherever you are."

Loki rolls his eyes. "Then I will stay here," he says. "I would rather talk to Harley." Tony's done nothing but talk down to him all night. It's an easy choice — as long as he's not needed elsewhere, and it doesn't look like he is.

Harley takes a break from dragging the Iron Man suit around to pump his fist. "Yes!"

Loki smiles to himself. At least he's wanted somewhere.

Tony snorts. "What do you have to talk to Harley about?"

"I have learned a lot about the Midgardian education system," Loki tells him. "Among other things."

Tony scoffs. "You'd rather listen to Harley talk about school than come with me and find our answers?"

"Yes, I would," Loki says. "I like him much more than I like you. Now, if you would like me to come with you, I will, but you'll have to say that." It almost sounds like that's what Tony wants, that it's a sarcastic indifference, but then he follows it with rude remarks and it's almost impossible to tell.

"I told you, I don't care," Tony insists. "Do what you want. I just don't get why you want to stay there when all the excitement is over here."

Loki clamps his mouth shut and forces himself to take a deep breath before he responds. Is he imagining this? Is it just his subconscious desire to be wanted making him believe that Tony hopes he'll go with him? Or is there actually a hidden plea in his words?

Well, if Tony's not completely opposed to it, he might as well go with the guy. Loki wants to see what he learns, and if he gets in trouble, Loki would like to be there to make sure he's okay.

"I will stay here with Harley while he prepares your armor," Loki says finally. "Then I will go with you."

"Okay, fine," Tony says, again with the borderline passive-aggressive tone. "Harley, how's the suit coming?"

"Almost there," Harley says. "I need, like, two minutes."

"You got 90 seconds," Tony counters. "C'mon, up and at 'em. We got shit to do."

Loki shakes his head to himself. Some people really shouldn't be around kids. That's why keeping Harley entertained has been his job, not Tony's.

Chapter Text

Loki sticks around for a while. He's right by Tony's sidet to watch the clips of Aldritch Killian's fatal experiments. Then, of course, Tony has to tell him who Aldritch Killian is and how they met. Other than that sarcastic remark about how he has a hard time seeing how he's the bad guy when Tony does shit like that, he's not a bad listener.

After that, Loki goes back to check on Harley's progress. Tony makes his way back to his car so he can call and do the same from the comfort of his heated stolen vehicle.

"Alright, how's it going over there?" Tony asks, his phone propped up on speaker by the steering wheel.

"Harley is quite the technological prodigy," Loki tells him through the phone. "He had everything ready for you when I arrived."

"And JARVIS?" Tony asks. As much as he appreciates the help, JARVIS is the only one who can talk to him about this suit on his level.

"JARVIS is somewhat operational," Loki says. "Harley has been asking him trivia questions and gleefully enjoying the wrong answers."

Tony snorts. "Sounds like you're having the time of your life over there."

In the background, Harley can be heard asking, "How tall is Mount Everest?"

JARVIS replies with, "Mount Everest is 29,032 feet highway."

Harley bursts out laughing.

"Uh…" Tony furrows his brows. Okay, that's weird. "What's going on with JARVIS?"

"I will let JARVIS tell you himself," Loki says.

There's a brief pause and a quiet clink of metal on metal.

"JARVIS, buddy," Tony says uncertainly, "you okay?"

"It's totally fine, sir," JARVIS says. "I seem to do quite well for a stretch, then at the end of the sentence, I say the wrong cranberry."

Tony blinks at that.

Okay…

"And, sir, you were right," JARVIS adds. "Once I factored in available AIM download link facilities, I was able to pinpoint the Mandarin's broadcast signal."

"Alright, what are we talking? Far East, Europe, North Africa, Iran, Pakistan, Syria? Where is it?"

"Actually, sir," JARVIS says, "it's in Miami."

Tony hits his head against the headrest a few times. "Okay, Loki, you're no longer the dumbest person in the room. Check the screen. Where is it?"

There's a brief pause as Loki does just that. "It says Miami, Florida," he says. "Why does that surprise you?"

Great, he's working with an artificial intelligence system with broken intelligence and a god with no concept of geography. Thank god he's at least got Harley.

"Nevermind," Tony says. "Look, I'm going to Florida. How's the armor coming?"

"Uh…" Harley checks that. "It's not charging."

Tony slams on the breaks.

It's not charging?

It's not —

It needs to charge.

"Actually, sir," JARVIS says, "it is charging, but the power source is questionable. It may not succeed in revitalizing the Mark 42."

Tony pulls his hands away from the steering wheel, and they begin shaking in front of him. "What's questionable about electricity?" he demands. "All right? It's my suit, and I can't... I'm not gonna... I don't wanna…" He trails off breathlessly. "Oh, god, not again."

God, why is this car so small? He's suffocating in it. He can't move. He can't think. He sucks in a ragged breath. He can't breathe.

Tony feels around for the door handle. Why can't he find it? It's right here. It's on the door. He just wants to open the door. He needs to get out of here.

Oh, thank fuck, it's the handle. He pushes the door out and stumbles out of the car. He grips the door frame tightly, like it's his only lifeline. He can't breathe. He's breathing, but he can't breathe. Why can't he breathe?

"Tony?" Harley says cautiously. "Are you having another attack?"

Tony sucks in a labored breath. He can't do this. He can't keep doing this. He slams a hand on top of the car, trying to steady himself, but he finds himself sliding to the ground anyway.

Loki appears in front of him, and Tony jumps at the sight. He's never going to get used to this guy just appearing places. Loki crouches down in front of him, and Tony lets his head fall back against the car, his gaze on the sky.

"Stark, just breathe," Loki says, gently but firmly.

"I can't," Tony whispers. "I can't—"

"You can," Loki says. "You've been doing it for decades. Just breathe."

Tony swallows hard. Yeah, he can… he can breathe. He forces himself to take a deep breath. God, the whole world is spinning. Why is the world spinning? He takes another measured breath. This is good. Breathing is good.

"We will fix your armor," Loki says. "I assure you of that. We will fix your armor, or we will find another way to keep you safe, but we cannot do that until you calm down."

Tony just nods. He knows that. Of course he knows it. But even as his breathing begins to slow, his heart still pounds rapidly in his chest. He can't just calm down.

"You've done a lot today," Loki says. "You've been through a lot. You deserve a break; to take a few minutes to relax and gather yourself.

Tony shakes his head. "I can't," he says breathlessly. "I can't just—"

"Two minutes," Loki interrupts. "Give yourself two minutes to collect yourself. Nothing bad will happen if you wait two minutes to clear your head."

Tony squeezes his eyes shut. That's probably true. He can have two minutes to himself. Two minutes to just breathe. In. Out. In. Out. Over and over and over. Just in and out.

His heart rate begins to slow, no longer pounding throughout his body. He opens his eyes and holds his hands out in front of him. They're barely shaking. He presses the back of his palm to his cheek. This is better. He's doing better. He's okay.

Finally, Tony forces himself to meet Loki's gaze. "Okay," he says. "What do we do now?"

"That would be your choice," Loki tells him. "But if the problem with your suit lies in the electricity, perhaps we could call for my brother. He's overcharged your suit before. He can charge it again."

"How?" Tony asks. "I'm pretty sure Thor doesn't have a phone."

Loki hesitates, then sighs. "By doing this." He raises his gaze to the sky. "Heimdall? I know we are not on the best of terms, but if you can hear me, I need to see my brother."

Tony furrows his brows. "What are you doing? Who are you talking to?"

"Heimdall, the Asgardian gatekeeper," Loki says. "He can see everything in the Nine Realms. Though I am no longer a citizen of Asgard and he has no reason to watch over me, I would like to think if he can, he will help, if only because you are a friend of Thor's."

Tony stares at him. "So he can see everything?"

Loki nods. "Essentially."

"Isn't that… creepy?" Tony asks. He thinks it's creepy. "Especially if you know him. He's just… watching you. All the time."

"I always found it more annoying than creepy," Loki says. "Especially now. I am sure he is enjoying my exile immensely." He rolls his eyes at that.

"What, you're not buddies?" Tony asks teasingly.

"No, we are not," Loki says darkly.

Tony's brows shoot up. "Wow, okay. What happened with you guys?"

Loki shakes his head. "Doesn't matter."

"Oh, come on," Tony says, almost whining. "Look at me!" He spreads his arms helplessly. "I'm suffering! It's been a rough day! Why can't I have a story time?"

Loki rolls his eyes. "Because."

"Does Thor know what happened?" Tony asks. "What if I ask Thor?" He wouldn't care so much if Loki wasn't so determined not to talk about it, but now he's curious, and he's not above asking around for answers if he has to.

"No!" Harley whines. "Then I won't get to hear it!"

Tony jumps at the sound of his voice. "Holy shit," he breathes. "I forgot you were still on the phone."

"And you're, like, really quiet," Harley adds. "Can you come closer to the phone so I can hear?"

Tony can't help but chuckle at that. He's a cute kid. There are definitely worse partners out there. And, just for that, Tony pushes himself to his feet and pulls his phone out of the car. Loki stands back up as well.

"Well, now you have to tell us the story," Tony says to the god. "You can't leave poor Harley hanging, can you?"

Loki rolls his eyes. "There is no story," he says. "I was king and he betrayed me. I punished him for his treason. That was the last I saw of him."

Tony balks at him. "You were the king?"

Loki just nods.

"Of Asgard?"

He nods again.

Tony scoffs. "What the hell happened?" How did he go from the king of Asgard to an exiled nuisance that tried to take over the world?

Loki shakes his head. "Irrelevant," he says. "What matters is that Heimdall has a good heart, even if we tend to disagree on… well, most things. I trust that if he can help, he will."

"So you think he'll send Thor down?" Tony asks. That would be nice. They could use the extra set of hands, even beyond just powering the suit.

"I hope so," Loki says.

"Then we should head back to Harley's," Tony says. "'Cause I'm guessing Thor will just show up wherever we are, right?" He's not just going to pop up here on the side of the road when Tony and Loki are long gone?

"If he does come, yes, Heimdall will likely bring him to us," Loki says.

"Great," Tony says. That's actually perfect. That's exactly what he'd want. "Then let's go." He slides back into the front seat and puts his phone down. "Lokes, you riding with me or just teleporting back?"

"In no way is anything I am doing even remotely related to teleportation," Loki says, and he's way more exasperated about that than he should be. "But I will ride back with you — if you do not mind."

Tony waves that off. "Yeah, no, that's fine. I don't care." It'll be kind of nice to have the company. He doesn't want to do this alone. He's not sure he could do this alone, if he's being honest.

Loki teleports into the seat next to him (why does he not consider that teleportation?), and Tony puts the car back in drive.

Harley cuts in with, "Does this mean I get to meet Thor?"

"Sounds like it," Tony says.

"Possibly," Loki corrects him. "I cannot guarantee he will come. I cannot even guarantee Heimdall pays me any mind now that I am no longer his charge — and even if he does, he may not relay my message."

Tony frowns. "Okay, well, what are the odds that he's gonna show? 'Cause he kinda has to show."

"I haven't the slightest idea," Loki says. "It depends on both Heimdall's willingness to help and Thor's availability."

"I'm pretty freakin' sure Thor will make himself available," Tony says. Tony's life is on the line. He and Thor may not be besties, but they're good enough friends that Thor would definitely not leave him hanging.

"If he can, I assume he will," Loki says. "But I cannot promise he will come, so I do recommend at least trying to create a second plan for if he does not show up."

"Tell you what," Tony says. "If he hasn't shown his face by the time we get to Harley's, we'll start brainstorming other options. How 'bout that?"

"I suppose that works," Loki agrees.

"I have an idea," Harley volunteers.

"And I'm sure it's a bad idea," Tony says. "I'm hanging up. Let the grownups talk."

"No," Loki says, and Tony glances over at him with an eyebrow raised. "I think we should listen."

Tony rolls his eyes. "Fine. Harley, what's your idea?"

"Why don't you call in the other Avengers?"

"I…" Tony trails off. Why hasn't he thought to involve the other Avengers? Even if they're too busy to pick up the phone, he has Loki here. Why hasn't he thought to send him out to talk to them?

"The other Avengers are on their own missions," Loki says. "Much like my brother, they are not always available upon request."

"We could ask, though," Tony says. "Someone's gotta feel bad and come help." If they hear that his life may be on the line, someone is going to come help him. They won't all leave him hanging, right? "If this thing with Thor doesn't work out, go hit up the others, will you? Really play it up."

"I will try," Loki says. "But if they are already preoccupied with their own deadly situation where my presence could be a hindrance, I will leave without speaking to them. I am not going to risk their lives to save yours."

"What, you don't think I'm more important than them?" Tony asks teasingly.

"You are the single most obnoxious person I have ever met," Loki deadpans. "I would sacrifice your life for a bowl of ice cream."

Tony snorts. "Great. Thanks, Loki." He shakes his head to himself. What a nice guy. "Alright, Harley, now I'm actually gonna hang up, but keep working on the suit. JARVIS will tell you what to do. We'll see you in, like, half an hour."

"Yep, bye," Harley says.

Tony feels around for his phone, but Harley hangs up before he can find it.

Tony lets out a long breath. He almost feels like he can relax now. He's going to get help. He already has help: he has Loki. He never would have imagined finding comfort in Loki's presence, but right now, he's actually glad to have the god sitting by his side.

"So, I'm thinking," Tony says, mostly to hear himself talk because it's very relaxing to talk through this, "once Thor shows up — or when we get someone else's help — we'll head down to Miami. That's where we should find the Mandarin. We stop him, we stop the deaths. Then we go find Killian. Sound like a plan?"

"A plan? Yes," Loki says. "A good plan? That remains to be seen."

Tony rolls his eyes. Such a pessimist.

They drive in silence a while longer. There's no point in making conversation if it's just going to consist of them taking jabs at each other. As much as he enjoys making fun of Loki — and he really does enjoy it — right now feels like the wrong time. He'll save it for when he's not grateful for the god's presence. It shouldn't take too long.

A beam of light strikes down in the woods by the side of the road. Tony slams on the breaks, staring at it with wide eyes. The light doesn't stop, still streaming down into the trees.

"What the…?"

"Thor," Loki says simply.

Oh. God, he'd nearly forgotten what the Bifrost looked like.

Tony pulls up next to the light just as it disappears. He parks the car and hops out, and Loki follows him towards where the Bifrost once was. This was actually a lot quicker than he'd expected. It's great, really. It's perfect. Thor can hitch a ride to Harley's, power up the suit, and the two of them can head down to Miami together and take out the Mandarin. This is going to be easy.

As they walk into the woods, Tony says, "Oh, hey, if Thor's gonna come with me, you're welcome to head home."

Loki raises his brows. "Oh. Alright."

"Just 'cause, like, he'll be here," Tony says. "I figure if I have his help, I shouldn't need yours." Loki's done enough. Just having someone familiar around has been enough to keep him calm and collected, and it's been nice to have someone to talk through this with. But Loki's stuck around for long enough. Thor can take over.

"Alright," Loki says again.

"Alright, good."

"Good."

The rest of the walk is silent, not that it lasts very long. They just want to find where the Bifrost struck down, and it's not very difficult to find an empty spot among a tree-filled woods.

As expected, there is someone in this tree-less circle, but, to Tony's surprise, it's not Thor. No, this is a woman — a fellow Asgardian, if her fancy silver armor is any indication. She brushes her long, raven black locks out of her face and looks around, and Tony eyes her warily. This is not what he was hoping for.

"Well," Loki says, loudly enough for her to hear it even as they're still closing the distance between them, "isn't this a lovely surprise?"

"Believe me," she says darkly, "I would not be here if the Allfather himself hadn't sent me."

Loki chuckles dryly. "It's nice to see you, too, Sif."

Tony looks between them, his brows furrowed. Well, this is interesting.

Loki stalks up to her, looking down at her with his chin lifted. She keeps hers raised as well, unphased by what seems to be an attempt to intimidate her.

"I asked for Thor," Loki says. "Why did the Allfather send you?"

Sif plasters on a condescending smile. "Because he knew you missed me."

Loki huffs a humorless laugh. "He knows me so little, I'd almost believe that," he says. "Why are you really here? I asked for my brother for a reason."

"Thor's not in Asgard," Sif tells him. "He is out of our reach, off in another realm. That is all the Allfather will allow me to tell you."

"Slaughtering the neighbors, I presume?" Loki asks.

"Protecting the peace," Sif corrects him. "The peace you broke."

Loki scoffs. "I beg your pardon? This is my fault? I've hardly been in Asgard in, oh, 18 months? How is this my fault?"

"You know exactly how," Sif says. "When the Bifrost was lost to us —"

"And who broke it?" Loki interrupts. "Who demolished your precious Rainbow Bridge?"

"You forced his hand."

"I did no such thing," Loki snaps. "I was entirely within my right as king—"

"You were never supposed to be king!" Sif practically yells.

"It was my birthright!" Loki yells back.

Tony finally decides to cut in. He steps up next to Loki, looking between them with a frown. "Alright, can we just—"

"Shut up, Stark," Loki snaps.

"How 'bout you both shut up?" Tony counters. "Seriously, guys, I'm kind of in the middle of fighting a literal terrorist and his human bombs. Can you stop fighting for two minutes and work with me so I don't die?"

Loki grits his teeth and Sif crosses her arms, but neither of them try to argue.

"Thank you," Tony says indignantly. "Now, I just — I gotta ask. What happened with you two?"

"A thousand years of microaggressions," Loki says.

"And his immaturity and sense of entitlement grew more annoying by the day," Sif adds.

Tony eyes them for a few moments. "Are you guys, like, exes?" It would explain a lot. Bitter ex-lovers reunited, immediately at each other's throats? He'd buy it.

Sif blanches at the suggestion. "Of course not! I would never—"

"She's a friend of Thor's," Loki says.

"Ah." Tony nods, as if that answers his questions at all. Is this just part of Loki's "I hate my brother" thing that didn't go away when he learned to tolerate his brother again? Is this just an ordinary sibling thing? He's so confused.

"I was your friend, too," Sif says, "once upon a time."

Loki shakes his head. "We were never friends, Sif," he says. "There's no reason to rewrite history."

"Do you really believe that to be true?" Sif asks him.

"I know it to be."

Tony cocks an eyebrow. He wants to hear more about that. (Yes, he knows his life is on the line and Asgardian gossip is the last thing he should care about, but he can't help it! He's interested!)

"Hey, Loki," Tony says, "you wanna go check on Pepper real quick?"

Loki's brows shoot up. "Now?"

"Yeah, now," Tony says. "That's what you're here for, remember?"

"Yes, but—"

"So go check on Pepper." He shoos the god away. "Go! Do your thing!" He's really not worried about her, but if he gets Loki out of here, he might be able to get Sif to talk, and he would love to hear some Asgardian gossip about what Loki was like growing up. He couldn't have always been batshit insane, right? Although Thor did say he turned into a snake and stabbed him when he was eight, so maybe…

"I will look in on Pepper after Sif returns to Asgard," Loki says, shooting her a pointed look.

"Well, maybe Sif wants to stick around," Tony suggests.

Sif cuts in with, "Actually, I—"

Tony cuts her off. "Let's just talk about it," he says. "But, Loki, seriously. Go check on Pepper. It's been a while. I wanna make sure she's alright."

Loki shoots him a glare, but he does as he's told, thank god. As soon as he's disappeared, Tony turns to Sif. "Okay, what's Loki's deal?"

Sif raises her brows. "Excuse me?"

"Look," Tony says, rushing his words with what limited time he has, "the only other Asgardian I get to talk to is Thor and I don't trust his word on Loki at all, so while you're here and he's not, what the fuck is up with him?"

She shakes her head helplessly. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know," Tony says, "what—"

Loki reappears in front of him, eyes wide, cutting their conversation short. "They took her."

Tony stares at him. "What?"

"They took her!" Loki says again. "Someone took her!"

Tony shakes his head. "No, they didn't," he says, almost to himself. "They — You're joking. That's what this is. It's a joke. Right?" God, his heart is pounding. He can barely hear anything. This can't be happening. Pepper's safe. She's supposed to be safe. He can't be putting her in danger again.

"I would not joke about this," Loki says. "Someone took Ms. Potts. She is alive, but she is…" He trails off. That's probably for the best.

"Dammit, Loki!" Tony yells, his hands balling into fists by his side. Raising his voice like this is making his head spin. He doesn't care. He doesn't care that he can hardly breathe anymore; that he can feel his pulse through every inch of his body. He cares that Pepper is gone; she's hurt; she's alone. That's what matters to him. "You were supposed to be watching her!"

Loki scoffs. "I'm sorry, I was busy trying to keep you alive!"

"I didn't ask you to!"

"You didn't have to!"

Tony grits his teeth, fuming. That son of a bitch. If he was really here right now… Well, he should be glad Tony doesn't have a spare blaster left.

"This is what I do, Stark," Loki says, his voice lowering but none of the emotions subsiding. "I protect my people. Whether they deserve it or not."

"Yeah?" Tony says. "Well, I'm not 'your people'!"

"Yes, you are!" Loki says. "As long as I am living in your tower, you are under my protection."

"Bullshit!" Tony snaps. "You're not protecting anyone! You haven't done jack shit all day! All I asked you to do was watch over Pepper, and you couldn't even do that!"

Loki narrows his eyes in a glare. "Fine," he says. "Finish this yourself."

And then he's gone.

"Dammit!" Tony yells, fuming. He left! He found out that someone took Pepper, and he just left! How spectacularly useless can one asshole be?

"I should be returning to Asgard," Sif says. "But I do wish you well. Best of luck to you."

"Wait, hold on," Tony says quickly. "You're leaving? But I don't know if I can do this myself."

Sif shakes her head. "I was told not to interfere."

Tony blinks. "What?"

"The Allfather will not let me — or anyone else — interfere with Loki's banishment," Sif tells him.

"Well, great, Loki's not here anymore," Tony says. "So you can stick around and help."

"That makes no difference," Sif says. "I am here to tell you that Thor will not be. That is all."

Tony sighs and runs a hand down his face. "So that's it. You came here to scare Loki away, and now you're leaving."

Sif snorts. "I would hardly say I scared Loki away."

Tony shoots her a look. Now's really not the time.

Sif sighs. "This is just who he is," she says. "He does what he wants with no regard for how it may hurt anybody else. If you expected any better from him, that was your first mistake."

"Yeah, no, I see that now," Tony says. "Has he always been like that? How'd you deal with that for so long?"

"He's always been selfish," Sif says, "but he changed after Thor's coronation. My understanding is that you've met a very different side of Loki than I know."

Tony furrows his brows. "What do you mean?"

"The Loki I knew was quiet; he kept to himself," Sif says. "As his sense of entitlement grew, he became more outspoken about his wrath, but there was a time not long ago when it was easy to ignore."

"So he's always been a piece of shit," Tony surmises. "He was just a quiet piece of shit."

Sif huffs a laugh. "Essentially, yes."

Tony cracks a smile at that, but it fades after a few moments. "You really can't stick around? Even for a couple hours?"

She shakes her head. "As it is, I've stayed well beyond my welcome. I should return to Asgard — but it was nice to finally meet you, Tony Stark."

Tony gives a small nod. "You too, Sif. And if you see Thor, can you send him over? I still really need the help."

"Of course," Sif says. "But he speaks very highly of you. From what I've heard of you, I expect you to be fine. Still, I wish you the best of luck."

Tony gives her a small smile. "Thanks, Sif."

Sif returns his smile, then raises her gaze to the sky. "Heimdall?"

It only takes a second for the Bifrost to return, and Tony quickly steps away while it sucks her up and away.

He sighs.

Back to the drawing board, it seems.

Chapter Text

"Laura!" Clint whines, his voice barely above a whisper. "It won't fit!"

Laura heaves a sigh. "Give me a minute."

Natasha snickers. "Nice going, Hawkeye."

"It won't fit!" Clint insists. He holds up Cooper's stocking helplessly. Laura bought way too many stocking stuffers for him. Barely half of them actually fit inside.

"Just put it down and help Nat get the gifts under the tree," Laura says. "I'll get the stocking in a minute."

"Okay, but it's not gonna fit," Clint tells her. Still, he puts the stocking back down on the floor and follows Natasha out of the room.

Clint hasn't been home for Christmas in a few years. Fury always pulls him out for some mission. He's not sure how he managed to get the day off this year — and to share that day off with his best friend, for that matter — but he's damn glad he did.

Still, carrying these gifts from the attic to the living room is a pain in the ass. He's not sure how Laura does this every year. Even with three of them delivering Santa's gifts, it's taking forever.

Natasha picks up a box, and it rattles in her hands. She cracks a smile. "I take it Cooper asked for Legos again this year?"

"As always," Clint says with a fond smile.

Natasha stacks a few boxes in her arms, and Clint quickly does the same before he follows her back down the stairs and to the living room.

"So, this is a Barton Christmas, huh?" Natasha says. "I don't think I've seen one since Lila was a baby."

Clint furrows his brows. "Really?" It doesn't feel like it's been that long.

"Yeah, I'm always working," she says. "I think I came up for Christmas Eve once when you weren't around, but SHIELD called me in overnight."

"Wow." Clint shakes his head to himself. "If Fury tries to call us in tonight, I'm telling him I broke my phone."

"I'll actually break it," Natasha volunteers. "Tell him it was a training exercise gone wrong."

Clint snorts. "Yeah, that'll work." It's the excuse SHIELD always uses when they're lying, because that won't give it away.

When they return to the living room, Laura is packing Cooper's stocking — and doing much better at it than Clint had been. Clint and Natasha both put their stacks of gifts on the floor, and together, they begin sorting through them, separating them by whose name is on the tag. Unsurprisingly, the majority go to the kids, but "Santa" brought the adults a few gifts, too.

"Almost done?" Laura asks as they work.

"Uh…" Clint looks to Natasha for an answer. How many were left?

"One more trip, maybe?" she says. To Clint, she adds, "I'll organize 'em if you wanna bring the rest in."

"On it," Clint says, but instead of going to the attic, he heads to the fireplace and grabs a bite from one of Santa's cookies. "Mm," he hums. "Lila's a great baker."

Natasha scoffs. "What, I don't get any credit?"

"Of course not," Clint says teasingly. "Lila did all the heavy lifting."

Before Natasha can respond with a retort of her own, Loki appears in the middle of the room. Clint steps away, his gaze immediately falling on Laura. Natasha seems to have the same idea. When instinctively reaching for her gun doesn't help — she doesn't have her gun with her; it's locked in the safe, as it always is at the cabin — she steps in front of Laura protectively.

"How far are you from Rose Hill, Tennessee?" Loki asks, before Clint can even process that he's standing there.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Natasha demands.

"I am asking how far you are from Rose Hill, Tennessee," Loki says.

"Get out of here!" Clint hisses. If the kids hear him… God, if he hears the kids… He doesn't even want to think about that. Even just seeing him in the same room as his wife is terrifying.

"Answer my question," Loki insists, growing more agitated by the moment. "How far are you from Rose Hill, Tennessee?"

"I'm not telling you where I am!" Clint says. How stupid does this guy think he is? "Go away! Or I'm telling Thor to kick your ass for me when he's back on Earth!"

"Barton, there is no time for this," Loki says irritably. "Stark's life is on the line. How quickly could you get to Rose Hill, Tennessee?"

Clint stares at him. "What?"

"What happened?" Natasha asks quickly. "Is he okay?"

Loki balls his hands into fists, and, much louder this time, asks, "How quickly could you get to Rose Hill, Tennessee? It is a simple question!"

Clint and Natasha share a look, and the latter finally answers cautiously, "It's probably half a day's drive, I guess? Why?"

"Is there any way you could be there sooner?" Loki asks.

"SHIELD could probably send in a 'copter," Clint says. "But we'll need to know why."

"How long would that take?" Loki asks.

"I don't know; four hours, maybe?" Natasha estimates. "If we're lucky?"

"You could not get there any sooner?" Loki asks.

"I mean, maybe by plane…? Natasha looks at Clint for confirmation.

"It'd probably be about the same," Clint says. The flight itself might be shorter, but between actually finding the soonest flight and getting through security, it could end up taking even longer to get there.

Loki nods slowly. "Alright. Miami, Florida."

Clint stares at him. "What?"

"Miami, Florida," he says. "Is that closer or further away?"

Clint and Natasha share a look, and the latter says, "Further. Why?"

Loki grits his teeth. "Then you're of no help."

And then he disappears.

"Oh, come on," Natasha mutters. She grabs her phone from out of the waistband of her leggings. "Look, I'm just gonna Tony and make sure he's alright. You go finish bringing in the rest of the gifts."

Clint shakes his head. "Put the phone on speaker. I want to hear him, too."

Natasha gives a single nod, then does just that. She calls him up, then holds the phone out in front of her for all of them to hear it. It rings and rings and rings, until…

"You've reached Tony Stark. Leave your message after the beep, and I probably won't listen to it."

Clint and Natasha glance at each other warily. No answer. That doesn't bode well.

"Uh, hey, Tony," Natasha says. "Can you just call me when you get this? Thanks." She hangs up.

"What's going on?" Laura asks. "How'd Loki even get here?"

"I don't know," Clint says. "Right now, I'm more worried about Tony than I am about Loki. Asgard's got him on lock. I don't think he's gonna hurt anyone."

"Do you really think he's trying to help Tony?" Laura asks.

"Absolutely not," Clint says without hesitation.

"And Tony not picking up the phone is kind of the norm," Natasha adds. "So I'm not too worried."

Laura frowns. "But you're a little worried."

"Well…" Natasha gives a small shrug.

"Look, I'm going to call his Malibu mansion," Clint says. "Nat, you wanna call Pepper?"

"On it," she says.

Clint scrolls through his contacts to find Tony's, then scrolls through the plethora of phone numbers he has saved (because Tony has no shortage of phones across the country) to find the Malibu number. He calls it and puts his phone to his ear.

This time, it doesn't even ring. It goes straight to voicemail, and Clint furrows his brows. It would be one thing if his cell phone went to voicemail, but his home phone? Did he unplug it? Or break it? Why isn't it ringing?

Clint doesn't leave a message. The one Natasha left on Tony's cell phone should be good enough. He glances at Laura, who's on her own phone. He's not sure he understands why — she does have all of the Avengers' phone numbers, but they're for emergencies only and this does not constitute one — but he doesn't question it. Instead, he looks at Natasha, who still has the phone to her ear.

After a few more moments, she sighs and lowers her phone. "Nothing," she says.

Clint frowns, but he does his best to stay positive. "I mean, it is the middle of the night. They're probably asleep."

"I guess," she says uncertainly.

"Uh, guys?" Laura turns her phone around and holds it out to them.

Natasha takes it first, her eyes scanning the screen, and her face falls. Wordlessly, she hands it to Clint for him to do the same.

"Tony Stark's Malibu Mansion Attacked; Stark Presumed Dead."

Clint slaps a hand over his mouth. "What…"

"But Loki said he's still alive," Natasha says quickly. "Right? That's why he was here."

"Yeah, if we trust Loki," Clint says, "and I don't know about you, but he's the last person I would trust."

Natasha nods reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess…"

"Stark Tower has a phone, right?" Laura asks. "What if you call there? Maybe someone's still there."

Clint shakes his head. "I told you, Loki's alone in the tower — or, you know, he was until a few minutes ago."

"Loki's better than no one," Natasha says. "At least he knows something's going on."

Clint hesitates, but when Laura agrees, he reluctantly does the same. Still, he delegates that responsibility to Natasha. He's not talking to that guy any more than he has to.

Natasha calls the tower and holds her phone out while it rings. And it rings. And rings. Until finally…

"You've reached Stark Tower. Either I can't come to the phone right now or I'm ignoring you. Leave a message and find out which."

Natasha grits her teeth. "Answer the damn phone!" She hangs up and shoves it in her pocket. "This is ridiculous."

"Would've been nice if Loki told us whether we should look into Miami or Tennessee." Clint mutters. It's not that he really believes that Loki wanted to help. Of course he doesn't. Loki's made it very clear that he's the resident villain and that he has no intention of changing that. But he had to be asking for a reason.

"Honestly," Natasha mutters. "So? What do we do?"

"I don't think there's anything we can do," Clint says. "If we don't hear from Tony or Pepper tomorrow, we can go back to New York, but it's our first Christmas with my — our — family in years. I'm not letting Loki ruin that."

Natasha gives him a small smile. "Yeah, I guess I agree."

Laura walks up to him and wraps an arm around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder. "If you have to go, you can go," she tells him. "Work comes first. We know that. We can celebrate Christmas another time."

"No," Clint says immediately. "No, this is our Christmas. I'm not pushing this back for anything."

~~~

Loki stares at the ceiling helplessly. Well, this is fantastic. Thor is busy "protecting" the Nine Realms, Steve is in the middle of some stealthy operation that Loki really feels he shouldn't interrupt, Natasha and Clint are too far away to be of use, and bringing the Hulk into any fight is too risky to even consider. What does he do now?

And the worst part is that he's sure there is something he could do. He's sure it's pretty fucking obvious, too. But he can't think of it. He can't think at all. As much as he hates to admit it, even to himself, he's still reeling from seeing Sif again. He thought he'd finally left Asgard behind him. Of course his so-called father couldn't even let him have that.

Loki lets out a long breath. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Loki?" JARVIS says.

"Would it make me a bad person to give up now?" he asks.

"No, Loki, it made you a bad person when you killed over one hundred people in an attempt to take over the world," JARVIS says.

Loki scowls. That's not the answer he was looking for.

"You are entirely within your right to give up now," JARVIS tells him. "You have done a lot more than anyone expected of you. I do not think anyone would think any less of you if you stopped now, but the Avengers may have more respect for you if you do not."

"I do not care how the Avengers feel about me," Loki says. "They will never come to respect me. Nobody does."

There's a brief pause before JARVIS responds, as if his programming wasn't prepared for an answer like that. When he speaks, all he says is, "This isn't about the Avengers, is it?"

Loki sighs. "No, not entirely."

"If you do not mind my asking, what is it about?" JARVIS asks.

"Mm…" Loki sits up on the bed, his back against the wall. "You will not repeat any of this to anyone?"

"You ask me this every time you confide in me, and my answer never changes," JARVIS says. He almost sounds exasperated. That's a new one. "I can guarantee my secrecy unless Mr. Stark overrides my controls, which he has not attempted before and I do not anticipate him doing so at any point soon."

Loki just nods. He knows that. JARVIS tells him it all the time. He was wary of it at first, enough so to stop him from confiding in him the first few times he heard it, but now it's almost comforting. Tony could make JARVIS do whatever he wants, but he doesn't. JARVIS is allowed to have secrets. He's allowed to have Loki's secrets. And Loki really feels like he can trust that.

So he does fill him in.

"I assume you heard that I asked Heimdall in Asgard for Thor's help?" He knows Stark Tower's JARVIS and the Iron Man suit's JARVIS are interconnected somehow, so he probably knows about that.

"I did," JARVIS says. "Have you heard from him?"

"Not from Thor, but I did hear from Asgard," Loki says. "The Allfather sent a friend of my brother's to tell me that he would not be coming. I suspect he thought it was kind, giving me an answer so I was not left waiting for the inevitable disappointment."

"I assume he was wrong?" JARVIS guesses.

"Oh, absolutely," Loki says. "He sent Sif to speak to me, and Sif and I already share a strained relationship. Merely facing the Avengers every day is humiliating, but standing before Sif in my exile…" He shakes his head to himself. "The last time I saw her, I stood before her as her king. I've long since come to accept that I am nothing, that I've fallen from grace and I will never have back what I once did, but that is a shame I'd hoped to keep to myself, not broadcasted to the whole of Asgard."

He's fully aware that he's being dramatic — for one, Sif and Heimdall alone are not the whole of Asgard — but he feels like he should be allowed to be dramatic about this. He was exiled from his home for trying to prove himself to be worthy of love. He can pretend he's okay with it, but that's all it is: pretend. He lost everything. His whole life was stolen from him. How is he supposed to move on as if nothing happened?

JARVIS lets him stew in his own thoughts for a minute or so before he asks, "Were you and Sif friends?"

"Oh, absolutely not," Loki says. "We had a very brief fling centuries ago and have hated each other ever since." Admittedly, that is a gross oversimplification of what happened, but it's easier than explaining the complexities of their thousand-year reluctant tolerance of each other.

"Your father asked your ex to talk to you?" JARVIS asks.

"He is not my father," Loki snaps. "And she is not my ex. She is a nuisance." He sighs and flops down in his bed again. "I've changed my mind. I do not want to talk about her. I want to forget Asgard ever existed."

"If you forget Asgard," JARVIS says, "then Stark Tower becomes your new home."

"It already is," Loki says. "And much like Asgard, it is a home where I do not belong , am constantly looked down upon, and wish I could leave and never return."

"Perhaps," JARVIS agrees. "But you've told me you were willing to do anything to save your home in Asgard; to protect its people at any cost. If this is your new home, will you do the same for it?"

Loki frowns. "I tried. I followed Stark around for hours. I did everything he asked of me. I put up with his every demeaning remark. And all I earned for my troubles was a lecture and a pounding headache." His headache actually isn't that bad — and it will go away with rest; he's just overexerted himself today — but the fact that he has to suffer through it at all over something so stupid is frustrating.

"But he is still in danger," JARVIS reminds him.

"I'm aware."

"If he gets hurt, will—"

"I be able to live with myself?" Loki finishes for him. "Yes. I offered my help and he spat in my face. What happens to him is not my concern."

"Okay, now let me ask this," JARVIS says. "If Ms. Potts gets hurt because you were not there, will you be able to live with yourself then?"

Loki grits his teeth. What a stupid question. Of course he could live with himself. He hardly knows her. The only conversations they've ever had all happened today, and they were all about Tony. That hardly makes them friends. If she does, she dies. It's that simple. He doesn't care—

He sighs. "No, I do not think I could."

He closes his eyes. Summoning all the strength he has left, he projects himself to Pepper's side. He may not be much help, but if nothing else, he wants to be here. He just doesn't want to leave her alone.

Pepper is exactly where she'd been when Loki saw her earlier. She's strapped to some sort of table, held down by a heavy metal restraint so that none of her straining can free her. She glows orange, flowing through her veins all across her body, just like the ticking time bombs he's been seeing all day. He tries not to think about what that must mean for her.

"Ms. Potts?" Loki says quietly.

Pepper doesn't seem to notice him over the sounds of her pained groans.

"Ms. Potts?" Loki repeats, louder this time. "Ms. Potts, can you hear me?"

Pepper lifts her head from the table and looks around frantically. Loki quickly comes closer so she can see him better, and the relief that passes over her face is impossible not to notice.

"Loki," she whispers.

Loki forces a small smile. He has a feeling she could use one. "Hi, Ms. Potts."

"Where's Tony?" she asks quickly. "Is he here?"

"He's coming," Loki assures her. He has no idea if that's true. He knows Tony is supposed to go to Miami, Florida, and hopefully wherever Pepper is now is somewhere near there. "Are you alright?"

"Mm." Pepper shakes her head. "Hurts."

"What happened?" Loki asks.

"It's Killian," Pepper says. "Tell Tony; it's—" She cuts herself off with a groan, her face contorted in pain.

"Ms. Potts?" Loki says quickly. "Ms. Potts, are you okay?"

Pepper whimpers. She squeezes her eyes shut, and a tear slips down her face.

"Ms. Potts?" Loki tries again, his tone growing more desperate each time he says her name. Still, she doesn't answer. "Pepper, are you okay?"

Pepper sucks in a sharp breath. "Yeah, I'm — I'm fine," she says, though it's very obviously not true. "Can you just — can you tell Tony it's—"

"Aldritch Killian," Loki finishes for her. "He knows."

Pepper lets her head fall back against the table. "Okay," she breathes. "Okay, good."

"What is he doing to you?" Loki asks. "Is this Extremis?"

"Mm." Pepper just nods, wordless.

Loki bites his lip. If she's been infected with Extremis, what is there left to do? Even if Tony makes it, he can't help. She'll either explode or she won't. That's up to fate to decide.

He has a difficult time finding the words to respond, and when he does, those words are just, "I'm sorry."

"Mm-mm." She shakes her head. "Don't be." She offers a small, pained smile. "I'm just glad you came."

"Do you want me to stay?" Loki offers.

"Does Tony still need you?"

"No, he is doing very well on his own," Loki lies. (Well, obviously the part about Loki not being needed wasn't a lie, as Tony made very clear, but the rest of it was.)

"Then yes," she says. "If you don't—" She cuts herself off with a grimace, throwing her head back against the table as Extremis surges through her.

Loki flinches. He wishes he could do something. He hates just standing here, watching her suffer but absolutely powerless to help her. He hardly knows her, but he doesn't want to watch her go through this.

Pepper swallows hard, then tries again. "If you don't mind, I mean. I just — I don't want to be alone."

"Of course," Loki says quickly. "Of course I will stay. As long as you'd like." Or as long as he's able. After projecting himself a thousand miles away for hours on end, he's not sure how much longer he can keep this up. At least until morning, he's sure. He's already drained and he's bound to grow tired soon, but he's sure he can scrape up the energy to stay for another few hours before he has to tell her how much of a toll this is taking on him.

"Thank you," she whispers.

"Is there anything I can do?" Loki asks, then quickly amends, "That I'm capable of doing, I should add, which, regrettably, is very little."

She gives a small shake of her head. "Just… talk to me."

"About what?"

"Anything," she says. "Anything to keep my mind off of this."

Well, that doesn't help.

"Do you want to talk about Tony?" he asks. (He even goes out of his way to use his first name — which is disgusting and he's never doing it again — to try to distract her from the fact that Loki cannot stand the man she loves. He's rather proud of that.)

"No," she says, much to his surprise. "Something else. Random. Just completely — a distraction."

Random.

Why is that such a difficult request? Technically, shouldn't anything fit under that umbrella, assuming it's not related to the situation at all? But he doesn't want to go with the wrong kind of random. He doesn't want to choose something annoying. He just doesn't know what she'd consider annoying right now and what she'd consider helpful.

After a long moment of deliberation, he asks, "Do you like cats?"

"What?"

"Cats," Loki repeats. He's fairly certain they use the same term in Midgard. He's not sure what else they would say. "Do you like cats?"

"Uh… yeah." This alone looks to be a decent distraction. She seems to be much less focused on the pain now that she's more focused on her confusion.

"I snuck a cat into Asgard," Loki tells her. "Would that story be the kind of 'random' you are looking for?" It's not much of a story, but he can't think of much else right now.

To his surprise, that actually earns the faintest hint of a smile from her. "Yeah, I think so."

"Alright, well, this was many centuries ago," Loki begins, a sort of disclaimer that yes, he was young, dumb, and immature, but he's grown since this little adventure, "and Thor had been more annoying that usual — which was a big feat because he was always annoying — and I decided to go to Midgard — Earth — to get away from him. I'd only planned on taking a brief walk, but then this cat walked out in front of me. I don't know if I'd ever actually seen a cat before, but I'd obviously known what it was and that it was mostly harmless, so I pet it for a while, as one is apt to do when faced with a cat…"

Pepper cries out in pain, tugging on the restraints holding her arms down. Loki bites his lip. He hates this. He's been helpless all day, but this might be the worst it's been. She doesn't deserve this. He wishes there was something he could do.

"Pepper?" Loki says cautiously.

"I'm okay," she says, her voice strained. "You were saying? You found a cat…?"

He raises his brows, surprised, but if she really wants him to finish his story, he can do that. It's quite literally the least he can do.

"I brought the cat to Asgard," he continues. "And the only way in and out of Asgard — that I knew of at the time — was the Bifrost, guarded by the all-seeing Heimdall. I really do not know why I always thought I could fool Heimdall when I knew he could see everything I did, but I was young and stupid and tried it anyway. I hid the cat in a pocket dimension and called upon him to open the Bifrost, and I was very proud of myself for it until I returned to Asgard and the first words out of Heimdall's mouth were, 'Are you sure it can breathe in there?' So, obviously, sneaking this cat past Heimdall was not working, but he did agree to turn a blind eye to it merely because he was curious as to how long I could keep it hidden.

"Fortunately, the cat could breathe in there, and I smuggled it all the way to my chambers," he continues. "It only took three days for Thor to find out. It, uh…" He chuckles awkwardly. "It was not a quiet cat." That's about the extent of the story, so he concludes it with, "Eventually, I had to take it back, but it was fun while it lasted."

Pepper forces a smile. "We should get one."

Loki furrows his brows. "I beg your pardon?"

"We should get a cat," Pepper says. "For the tower. When this is over."

Loki forces a smile of his own. "We should," he agrees. "When Tony comes, you should mention it to him. Tomorrow, you can go cat shopping with him."

"Yeah," she agrees. "Tomorrow. After Tony's come and rescued me. Maybe we'll get one on the drive back."

"You could make Tony drive," Loki adds. "So that you can bond with the cat before anybody else."

"And when I have to leave for work," she says, "I'll leave him with you."

"Because you know I will never have to leave him," Loki says, a bad attempt at a lighthearted joke. If a cat were to live in the tower, he couldn't leave it.

"He can live in one of the spare rooms in your hallway," Pepper adds.

"I would like to think he would live with us," Loki says. "He'll follow you around while you're here, and when you're not, he can—"

Pepper cries out again, Extremis surging through her body and lighting her up a bright orange. She throws her head back, smacking it against the table, and squeezes her eyes shut. Loki silences himself, and each labored breath he hears makes his heart ache.

They're never going to get this cat. She'll likely never even return home, and they both know that. But when Pepper begins to regain her composure, she says, "When I'm not here, he…?"

Loki nods. Okay, he'll keep going. Whatever it takes to keep her distracted. "He can live with me," he finishes. "I'll leave the blinds open so he can watch the streets and wait for you to come home."

Pepper nods, but she doesn't add on so Loki continues.

"I'll leave my door open," he says. "He'll be the first one to greet you every time you return."

"Maybe—" Pepper grimaces, then begins again. "Maybe Tony will build him a cat door. So you don't have to leave yours open."

Loki has no idea what a cat door is, but he goes along with it. "I think he'll love that," he says. "So he can sneak into the kitchen and steal extra food."

"He'll need a cat door for the stairs, too," Pepper says. "Those doors don't stay open."

"Absolutely," Loki agrees. "We'll put Tony to work, making sure everything is set up for him."

"Maybe I can take weekends off," she suggests. "To come home and see him."

"I hope so," he says. "You can't leave him alone for too long."

Pepper groans, all of her muscles tensing as she tries to fight off the pain, and Loki wants nothing more than to reach out and comfort her. He hates that he's so far away. He hates that his punishment for being "bad" is that he can't do any good. How is this fair?

He doesn't wait for her to tell him this time; he goes right back to talking about the cat. "We'll need a name for him," he says. "Personally, I have always liked black cats. Very sleek; very high-class. I think we should find a black cat. We could name him Snowflake."

That earns a pained laugh. "Naturally," she says.

"Or, perhaps, we find a very energetic black cat," Loki says, "and he becomes Blizzard."

She shakes her head. "Snowflake."

"You like Snowflake more?" Loki asks, earning a small nod. "Then it's settled. We'll name him Snowflake."

~~~

The world is getting a little blurry.

Loki does his best to ignore it.

Pepper has been asleep for a while now, and Loki wants nothing more than to take a break from this projection, possibly to take a nap of his own. But he doesn't want to risk having her wake up while he's not here. He doesn't want her to think he abandoned her.

So he endures. He disappears only for a minute or two at a time, usually to rub his eyes or splash some cold water in his face. But he returns to Pepper's side as quickly as he can every time, though she's never awake when he does. It's probably for the best. He's sure it hurts far less when she's asleep.

He's about to take another brief break when the door opens. That wakes him up better than any real-world activity would.

"Stark?" he says quickly. He doesn't care how their last conversation went or how much they hate each other. He wants to see Tony more than he can say.

The chuckle that elicits is definitely not Tony's. "So the rumors are true."

Loki furrows his brows, and it's not until this intruder steps further into the room that he realizes who it is: Aldritch Killian. He looks a lot better now than he did a couple decades ago, but he's undeniably the same person they saw in the videos. Loki balls his hands into fists by his side. He wishes he could start throwing punches. If nothing else, it would make him feel a lot better.

"I was wondering if you'd show up," Killian tells him, a carefree smile on his face. "Not gonna lie, I was kinda hoping you would. This is very exciting for me."

"You've made a terrible mistake," Loki tells him.

"Yeah?" He spreads his arms. "And what's that? Because right now, things are actually looking pretty good."

"Hurting Pepper," Loki says. "That was your mistake."

Killian snorts. "Yeah? And why's that?"

"Because you've pissed off Tony Stark," Loki tells him. "And he will stop at nothing to kill you now."

Killian seems unconcerned. "I wanted to piss him off," he says. "After humiliating me—"

"He humiliates everyone," Loki interrupts. "You were not the first, nor were you the last."

"Did he tell you what he—"

"Of course he did," Loki says. "He has no shame. I'm sure you know that. I'm sure the whole world knows it."

Killian furrows his brows. "Wait, okay, hold on. Are you with Stark or against him?"

"Mm…" Loki shakes his head back and forth. "Both. I am 'with him' in the sense that I hope he succeeds in stopping you, but I am also 'against him' in that I hate every single thing about him."

"So..." He cocks his head to the side. "Why are you helping him if you hate him?"

"Because I hate him; I don't hate her." Loki jerks his head in Pepper's direction. It's not why he was helping Tony — until Tony had pissed him off, Loki had cared just enough that he didn't want the guy to die — but it is why he's sticking around now, even as his energy drains.

That just confuses Killian even more. "Six months ago, you were tearing half the world up with no regard for who got hurt in the process. Why are you coddling Tony Stark's girlfriend now?"

"I like her," Loki says simply. "And I do not like you. It's an easy decision, really."

Killian just looks at him for a long few moments, a frown on his face. "You know, this is really disappointing."

Loki crosses his arms, an eyebrow cocked. "And why is that?"

"Because you used to be so cool," Killian tells him. "You've been a symbol of terror and fear for months. I'll never be able to top that, you know? And now you're here and you're just…" He shrugs helplessly. "You're boring."

Loki rolls his eyes. "I'm sorry that my bloodlust is not to your liking."

"I'm sorry, too," Killian says, much more sincerely. "If things had been different, you could've been a great member of my team."

Loki scoffs. "Excuse me?"

"I know, I know." Killian waves him off. "'But you already have the world's most feared terrorist in the palm of your hand.' Yeah, I do, but he's not you. He's never going to be you."

Loki raises his brows wordlessly.

"You don't even have to do anything to terrify people," Killian tells him. "Which works great for you, because I'm told you can't do anything."

"Told by whom?" Loki asks cautiously.

"My good friend Maya Hansen, of course," Killian says with a grin.

Loki purses his lips. Right. Tony had said Maya invented Extremis. That really should have been their first clue that something was wrong and they should check on Pepper. Maybe they wouldn't be in this situation if he'd thought of it then.

"Yeah, sorry." Killian shrugs. "That's just how it goes."

Loki shakes his head to himself. "I will take great pleasure in watching Stark kill you."

Killian nods condescendingly, like he's speaking to a child when he says, "Sure you will."

Loki narrows his eyes. What he wouldn't give to wipe the smirk off his face in the most painful way not yet known to man…

"Now, if you don't mind," Killian says, "I've got a project to finish." He shoos Loki out of the way, and when the god doesn't move, he walks up to him anyway. He holds up a small glowing tube for Loki to see. "The next dose."

Loki presses his lips into a firm line. This is infuriating. What has Pepper done to deserve this? Falling in love with an asshole is not a crime, and it shouldn't be punished as such.

Killian pushes the next dose through her IV, and Pepper wakes up with a bloodcurdling scream. Loki flinches, and for the briefest moment, his projection fails. He quickly returns to her side. He's too drained to stay here without focusing entirely on it.

"Pepper," Loki says quickly. "Pepper, are you alright?"

Pepper throws her head back, her face contorted in pain.

"She will be," Killian says. "She'll be better than alright."

It doesn't look like it.

He wishes he could say it. He wishes he could ask for proof, for some reassurance that she'll be okay, but he can't. Because if there is no proof, no reason to believe it, he doesn't want Pepper to hear that her death is imminent.

"Why are you doing this?" Loki asks, keeping his voice low, though he'd be surprised if she can't hear it. "If your issue is with Stark, take it up with him. There was no reason to bring her into this."

"Okay, first of all, I think it's cute that you think you have any moral standing right now," Killian says.

"Oh, I know I'm a monster," Loki says. Of course he is. He's a Frost Giant, after all; it's in his blood. "But even I never hurt the Avengers' loved ones." Sure, he brainwashed Eric Selvig into working with him, but that was only partially because he knew Selvig was a friend of Thor's; he really did want his expertise. It's not as though he hurt Jane Foster or Pepper or the Barton family.

Killian huffs laugh. "No, you only killed, what, a hundred people instead?" He shakes his head, amused. "But that's not the only reason I'm doing this."

"Oh, really," Loki says skeptically.

Killian shakes his head. "No, see, it's also because — and this is kind of embarrassing — but it's also because…" He chuckles awkwardly. "Well, it's also because I kinda like her."

Loki stares at him. "This is a joke."

Killian sucks in a breath through his teeth. "Afraid not."

Loki scoffs. "Even by human standards, you are an idiot."

"Am I?" Killian asks, as if that's going to change his answer.

"Yes!" Loki says emphatically. "How is hurting the woman you claim to have feelings for helping you?"

"I'm not hurting her; I'm saving her."

"No, she looks very hurt, actually."

"You don't understand," Killian tells him. "Us humans, we're not like you. We're weak; fragile. Extremis fixes that."

"Or it kills her," Loki says. "Those are the two choices, correct? There is a possibility that you are killing her—"

"And that's a chance I'm willing to take," Killian says simply.

Loki glares at him. How can he bring himself to do this, knowing who Pepper is and knowing she may not survive it? Loki won't pretend to have the strongest moral compass, but even he would never purposely hurt someone like her.

"Do you want me to leave you two alone?" Killian asks, then adds teasingly, "Give you a fair shot, too?"

Loki ignores the romantic implications of that. "Yes, I would. Leave."

"Alright, alright." He puts his hands up in a mock surrender. "I'll be back later. Don't you worry."

Loki just glares at him, all the way until he's out of the room and the door is closed behind him. Then he turns back to Pepper, panting next to him as her body adjusts to this new dose of Extremis. Her eyes are closed, but he can't tell if that means she's already fallen asleep or if she's just resting them.

"Pepper?" he says quietly, testing the waters.

"You're still here."

"Of course I am," Loki says, sort of surprised by that. "You asked me to stay, remember? Until you tell me otherwise, I'm going to stay by your side."

"Thank you," she whispers. "I didn't think…"

"That I would stay?" he finishes for her, and she gives a small nod. "I will stay as long as you'd like me to."

She opens her eyes and gives him a small smile. "Thank you."

"Of course."

She closes her eyes again and rests her head back against the table. He assumes that means she'll fall back asleep soon, much to his relief. Then he can go back to flickering in and out so he can take his brief breaks.

Without opening her eyes, she says softly, "I don't think you're a monster."

Loki furrows his brows. "I'm sorry?" Did he hear that right? What's she talking about?

"You told him that you're a monster," she says. "I don't think you are."

Loki smiles sadly. "That's sweet," he says. It really is. He didn't expect that — especially from her. "But you don't know me. You don't know what I am."

"I know that you're here," she says. "I know that you don't have to be, but you are. That tells me all I need to know."

Loki swallows hard. That's actually very sweet. It means a lot that she can look past everything he's put this world through. He's just not sure he deserves that.

He opts to change the subject to something that will make him feel less awkward. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," she says, breathless. "I'm just — I'm so hot. And it hurts."

He nods sympathetically. "I'm sorry," he says. "I wish there was something I could do."

"You're here," she says. "That's enough."

He gives her a small smile. It's really not enough, but he's glad his presence helps.

She tenses up and throws her head back as Extremis surges through her, letting out a pained groan that seems to last forever. Loki frowns, but once again, he knows there's nothing he can do but wait for it to calm itself.

Pepper sucks in a long breath, slowly relaxing just a bit. "I hate this," she whispers.

"I know."

"I just want it to be over," she says. "I want to see Tony." Her voice cracks, and she squeezes her eyes shut, letting a single tear trickle down her cheek.

"He's coming," Loki assures her. "He will find you and he will fix this for you, and you will leave here better than ever. I promise."

She chokes out a sob. "But you don't know that!"

"I do," Loki says, keeping his tone as calm as he can, but firm, too. "He will save you. He loves you far too much to let you get hurt."

"But he's not here."

"Not yet," Loki says. "But I assure you, he is doing everything in his power to see you again. You are his top priority. You always are."

She opens her eyes, and another tear slips out. "I just wish he'd hurry up."

"I know," Loki says quietly. "I do, too."

~~~

It's been hours since Loki sought out Pepper. For all he knows, it may not even be the same day. He's stayed by her side through most of it, though he has taken two or three half-hour naps throughout the day (at Pepper's insistence, because he accidentally let it slip that no, he had not slept in roughly 36 hours, and much of that had been spent astral projecting).

He purposely times his naps for when Pepper is asleep as well, and only once has he returned while she was awake — and it just so happened to be very shortly after Killian had injected another dose of Extremis, so after cursing the man out until he left the room, he did his best to distract her again. It didn't really work, but she seemed to appreciate the thought.

Killian comes in once again for another dose of Extremis, and, like every time before, Loki can do nothing to stop him. He's given up trying.

"Does it have to be now?" Loki asks. He's sure his exhaustion comes through in his voice. He doesn't care. "She's sleeping."

That earns a small smile from him. "You really care about her, don't you?"

Loki shakes his head. "I hardly know her."

"And yet you're here," Killian says. "And you've been here almost all day. You've barely left her side."

Loki gives a small shrug. "I don't want to leave her alone." She doesn't want him to leave her alone. And how could he? If anyone knows what it's like to be scared and alone, it would be him. He wouldn't wish it on someone as sweet as Pepper. He wouldn't even wish it on someone as obnoxious as Tony.

Killian eyes him with a small smile, an unreadable glint in his eye. "To answer your question: yes, it has to be now. But don't worry; she's almost done. Her body took to Extremis surprisingly well. She'll be okay. Probably."

Loki narrows his eyes, but there's nothing more to say. Killian takes the next dose of Extremis up to her, and Loki stands in front of her so that he's the first thing she sees when she wakes. That seemed to help the last few times. She knows she's not alone. It removes those first few seconds of panic — and the pain in those first few seconds seems to have gotten much more tolerable, too. Things are looking up now, just a little bit.

Pepper's eyes snap open and she gasps for breath. Loki longs to reach out to her, to comfort her, but he can't. He's all but useless, a fact that continues to hammer itself into his brain.

She forces a tired smile. "You're still here."

"Of course I am," Loki says softly. "I've told you: I'm not leaving you. I promise."

She gives a small nod. "I know," she whispers. "Aren't you tired?"

Loki shakes his head. "I slept while you were. I've only been back a short while."

"Oh, good," she says. She sounds so weak. It's almost painful to listen to.

Killian, being the asshole that he is, has to interrupt with the truth. "No, you didn't," he says, and he sounds confused by that. "You've been here the whole time."

Loki narrows his eyes. "You must be mistaken," he says, almost daring him to object (but hoping he won't). "I did return to the tower briefly. You must not have come back during that time."

Killian scoffs. "Loki, I have cameras all over this building," he says. "You have not left the room. Believe me, I've been watching."

Loki shoots him a glare. What does he get out of telling her that? Can't he tell that Loki was lying for a reason? Even if he doesn't understand it, he must see how harmless of a lie it was. Couldn't he have left it alone?

"Loki?" Pepper says uncertainly. "Is he…?"

Loki sighs. Fine. He wins this round. He turns his attention back to her. "I wasn't sure when you would awake, or when he'd return. I thought it best to wait with you."

She frowns. "Loki, you have to take care of yourself, too."

"And I will," Loki says. "When I know you're safe."

Pepper shakes her head, but he still catches a glimpse of her grateful smile that assures him he's doing the right thing. Pepper comes first. She has to.

Killian cuts in once again, this time asking, "Is this love? Does the beautiful Pepper Potts have a god swooning now?"

"Love is a child's game," Loki says. "I have no desire to play it."

Killian studies him for a few moments. "Hmm."

"You've done your part," Loki says. "Now leave us." It's what he always does. He injects a dose, maybe waits for a minute or two, and he leaves, off attending to other matters. He should be doing the same any minute now.

"Not this time," Killian says, much to Loki's surprise. "No, this time I'm waiting for someone — a very special someone."

"And who is that?" Loki asks.

Killian just smiles. "You'll see."

Loki glances back at Pepper, who looks at him warily. He's glad they both agree: this doesn't sound good at all.

"He should be here any second," Killian tells them. "Just keep waiting…" He looks to the doorway impatiently. "Any second."

It takes another minute or so, but finally, a loud clang announces a new presence — an all-too-familiar kind of metal suit with a not-so-familiar design. The metal man walks into the room, followed closely behind by two black-suited men; security of some kind. Does that make this new visitor a kidnapped friend or a dangerous foe?

Pepper gasps at the sight, and Loki looks over at her for answers he knows he won't find for himself.

"Rhodey?" she whispers, eyes wide.

Loki's brows shoot up. Rhodey! He didn't even think to ask Rhodey for help! He knew he was missing something incredibly obvious. Rhodey absolutely would have stopped whatever he was doing to help his best friend. Wow, he's an idiot.

But then the suit opens, and out tumbles not Colonel James Rhodes but a completely unfamiliar older man, and Loki has absolutely no idea what to do with this information. What does Rhodey have to do with this, then? Is this Rhodey's suit? War Machine, or whatever it's called? Does he share the suit with anybody else? These are things he probably should know. (And they're things he probably would have known, had Clint thought to tell him much about Tony earlier this year. Unfortunately, he hadn't expected SHIELD to actually ask for Tony's help, so he didn't come up much.)

Pepper gasps again, and Loki glances at her. There's clear recognition in her gaze, which helps Loki just the slightest bit. At least he knows it's someone Pepper would know.

Killian gives this new arrival a mock salute. "Welcome aboard, Mr. President."

Loki's jaw drops. The president. Holy shit. This just got very real, very fast. Loki doesn't know much about American politics — he tends to avoid watching the news because those types of things always bore him — but his understanding is that the president is essentially the equivalent of the king, except unlike in Asgard, he's a king that the people chose, so he's presumably much more tolerable than the Allfather, if exponentially less experienced.

The president's gaze shifts from Killian's face to Loki's, and he stares up at the god in awe. Did he know that Loki was on Earth? Someone must have told him, right? If SHIELD knew, the leader of the country must have, too? Or is SHIELD a completely separate entity? What even is the government?

Loki looks to Killian, who's wearing a well-earned smirk on his face. "I must concede, you're slightly less of an idiot than I'd thought," Loki tells him. "This was a smart move; not one I'd thought of."

Killian chuckles smugly. "You just never had my vision."

"In my defense, I also knew very little of your planet," Loki says. He knew of the Tesseract and he knew Thor thought highly of some of Midgard's people. That was enough for him to set his sights here, but hardly enough for a real plan. "Now, if I may ask, what is your vision?"

"You'll see," Killian says. "Don't want you to go spoil the big surprise for Tony."

"I am not asking for his sake; I am asking for my own," Loki says. "I have no doubt that Stark will put an end to this little escapade of yours whether I help him or not, so that makes no difference to me. But as someone who tried to do just as you are now not long ago, I'm intrigued to know where you see this going."

Killian shakes his head. "You'll see," he says. "Stick around, Loki. You're in for a hell of a show." He reaches a hand down to help the president to his feet. "Up and at 'em, Mr. President."

The president reluctantly pushes himself to his feet, without accepting any help. Killian tells him to follow before heading out the door, and, after one last confused look at Loki, he does just that, followed closely behind by the two guards he entered with, one of whom taking the Iron Man suit with them.

As soon as they're alone, Loki says to Pepper, "I'm going to tell Tony that the president is here, but I will be right back."

Pepper nods. "Yeah," she agrees. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

"I will be right back," he says again, and then he disappears.

He lied just a little bit: he's actually returning to the tower for a brief moment to recuperate. He runs a hand down his face and combs through his hair with his fingers, brushing it out of his face. He could really go for a nap.

Okay, now he's going to talk to Tony. It's been quite a few hours since their fight and the radio silence that followed, which Loki hopes will mean it's been long enough that he can return without getting yelled at. This feels like an important enough piece of information to risk seeing him again.

It seems Tony has found a new partner, because the first thing Loki hears when he astral projects to Tony's side is Rhodey whispering, "Holy shit," when he appears.

Tony and Rhodey had been running until he appeared, but when Tony sees him, he stops, annoyance clear on his face. "What?" he snaps.

"Killian has the president," Loki says, rushing through his words.

"Uh, yeah, we know that," Tony says. He pauses. "Wait. How do you know that?"

"I saw him," Loki says. "He arrived in what looks to be one of your suits. Ms. Potts thought it was Rhodes."

"So that's what they needed the suit for," Rhodey mutters to himself.

"Wait, hold on," Tony says quickly. "You saw Pepper, too?"

Loki nods. "Yes, and Killian has been periodically injecting her with—"

"Extremis; yeah, I know that, too," Tony interrupts. "You were with Pepper?"

Loki lolls his head back, exasperated. "Yes, I was with Pepper."

"What about the other Avengers?" Tony asks. "We said if things with Thor didn't pan out—"

"Rogers is busy; Banner is useless; Thor is off-world; Romanoff and Barton are far away and I overestimated you and assumed this would be over before they could arrive."

Tony stares at him. "You actually talked to the other Avengers?"

"Only Barton and Romanoff," Loki says. "Banner is not a fighter and I thought it best we avoid the Hulk, and Rogers was in the midst of another mission and I did not want to interrupt, lest it endanger his own life as well as yours."

"But you actually went to talk to them," Tony says in disbelief. "What happened to 'figure this out yourself'?" He says the last part in a mocking grumble that sounds absolutely nothing like Loki's voice, thank you very much.

"We had a deal," Loki says simply. Granted, it was a deal that Loki would get absolutely nothing out of, but a deal nonetheless. Changing the subject to what actually matters, he says, "Killian has the president and Ms. Potts in the same place. Do you know where you are going, or should I try to find its location for you?"

"We know where we're going," Tony says. "Give us, like, ten minutes. And tell Pepper we're on our way."

"I will," Loki says. He's been saying it all day. He's glad it's finally true. "Good luck."

He returns to Pepper's side without wasting another moment. He told her he'd be right back. He intends to keep that promise.

She offers him a pained smile. "How is he?"

"He's only a few minutes away," Loki tells her. "He has Colonel Rhodes with him, so, fortunately, there should be one brain between them."

She huffs a laugh. "So it's almost over."

"It's almost over," Loki agrees. "I suspect you could have Snowflake sitting in your lap within an hour or two."

Pepper almost appears to laugh at that, but with the tears welling in her eyes, it's possible that it may be a sob. "It's almost over," she whispers. "It's finally almost over."

"And I will stay with you until it is," Loki says. After a pause, he adds, "Although at some point I should tell the president that Stark and Rhodes are coming."

"But not yet," she says quietly. "Please. Can you — Can you stay here for a few minutes?"

"Of course," Loki says. He'd ignore the president completely if she wanted him to. He doesn't really care about the guy. He doesn't even know the guy's name. Of course he'll put Pepper first.

So he stays by her side for another few minutes while she adjusts to the shock of it all. Most of their conversation revolves around Tony this time. As much as Loki doesn't like the guy, he's almost glad to talk about him. It seems to help her relax, knowing that her knight in iron armor is so close.

Eventually, though, she does recommend that Loki go talk to the president. Loki agrees, but only with the promise that he'll return to her side in a minute. He projects in front of the president…

And he finds himself floating in the air, tens of feet off the ground.

This is strange.

The president is strung up before him, once again inside Rhodey's Iron Man suit. This time, the helmet is popped open, so everyone can see the president's face. It doesn't quite explain what Killian's plan is — if anything, Loki is more confused now — but he'd be lying if he didn't think this was a very intriguing way to earn power.

"What are you doing?" the president asks, his voice shaking.

Loki furrows his brows. "Strange," he remarks. "Asgard's ruler would never show fear. Midgard must have much lower standards." Of course, the Allfather would never be in this kind of situation anyway. He's a warrior. He'd fight his way out. Loki's almost embarrassed on the president's behalf that he won't — can't? — do the same.

"What do you want?" the president demands, and he does a slightly better job masking his fear this time.

"I want this to be over," Loki says. "I've grown unbelievably bored of it. Unfortunately, I cannot put an end to it myself; the best I can do is assure you that Tony Stark and James Rhodes will be here momentarily. They know you are here and they are going to help you."

The president furrows his brows. "Are you helping Tony Stark?"

"I am somewhat hopeful that Tony Stark wins," Loki says. "But I do not bother myself with the affairs of men." He's not going to admit to being as invested in this as he is. He's embarrassed to be interested at all.

"What?"

Loki fights the urge to roll his eyes. He knows this is probably a very weird sight, but he doesn't have the patience for this man right now. "I do have other places to be," he says, "but Stark is mere minutes away. He will help you."

Before the president can respond, Loki returns to Pepper's side. She gives him a small smile, and he returns it with one of his own.

"Is he okay?" Pepper asks.

"Of course," Loki says, even though that may very well be a lie. "Everything is going as well as it can be, given the situation. Stark will have it very easy when he arrives."

"Good," Pepper says. "I just wish he'd hurry up."

"I do, too," Loki says. "But he'll come. Give him a few minutes."

~~~

Tony does come.

Loki only knows that because things get much, much worse.

An explosion rocks the building, blowing the wall in and throwing Pepper aside. The shock of it sends Loki hurtling back to the tower, and for a few moments, all he can do is sit on his bed in shock, listening to his pounding heart as he tries to process this.

Then he returns to Pepper's side. She's buried in the debris from the blown-apart building, lying flat on the ground, unmoving. Loki's heart drops. Immediately, he crouches down in front of her, looking at her with desperation in his gaze.

"Pepper?" he says quickly. "Pepper, are you alright?"

It takes a few moments, but Pepper raises her head to look at him. She's remarkably unscratched for someone who was just blown across a warehouse by an explosion, but the fear in her eyes worries him as much as any physical injury could.

"Where's Tony?" she asks breathlessly.

"He's here," Loki says. He's not entirely sure that's true, but the fact that things just went to shit makes him think it is. "He's coming for you. He's going to get you out of here."

"He needs to come faster," Pepper whispers.

"I know," Loki says. "I know."

They sit there together for a while in silence. There's not much else to be said. Her salvation is at her fingertips, if only Tony would hurry up. Either he'll come in time or he won't. It's nothing but a waiting game.

Until finally, Tony bursts through the hole in the wall. Loki immediately moves out of the way and disappears from view so that he and Pepper can see each other. It's not quite the reunion either of them expected, he's sure, but they're here.

"Tony?" she says quietly.

"Hey, sweetheart," Tony whispers. He hurries to her side, crouching down where Loki once sat. "I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" He grabs one of the large metal beams holding her down and begins to lift it up.

"Stop!" Pepper yells, and Tony freezes. "Put it down! Put it down!"

Tony slowly does just that. He reaches an arm under all the debris, and, with some straining, Pepper manages to take his hand. "Ready?"

Pepper nods. "Mm!"

Before Tony can begin to pull her out, a glowing orange hand shoots up from the floor and grabs Tony by the chest. Immediately, Tony drops Pepper's hand, gasping for breath. The orange hand pulls off a chunk of Tony's Iron Man suit, and he stumbles backwards until he falls flat on the floor.

"Stark?" Loki says cautiously. The only response he gets is a pained groan.

It comes as no surprise that this glowing orange hand belongs to Aldritch Killian, and the man crawls up through the hole he left in the floor, as though this were a normal thing to do. He looks down at Pepper, a smirk on his lips, and jerks a thumb towards Tony. "Is that guy bothering you?"

Killian hops on top of Tony and presses a single glowing finger against his chest. It only takes a moment for the Iron Man suit to begin to glow as well.

"Ooh, is it hot in there?" Killian coos. "Feeling a little stuck? Like a little turtle, cooking in its little turtle shell?"

Tony groans through the pain, and Loki once again finds himself wishing there was something he could do.

"Tony," Pepper whispers.

Killian glances back at her with a smirk, then turns his gaze to Tony. "She's watching," he says quietly. "I think you should close your eyes."

Tony doesn't.

"Close your eyes," Killian repeats.

Again, he doesn't comply.

"Close your eyes!" Killian says again, growing more angry by the moment. He raises a hand and throws a punch, and before Loki can even process what's happening, his severed hand is lying on the ground near Pepper's face. Killian stands up and cries out in pain, clutching his injured arm to his chest.

"Yeah," Tony says breathlessly. "You take a minute."

The red-hot hand on the floor does nothing but cause more problems. It burns a hole in the metal, throwing off the balance of the precariously stacked debris. Pepper falls through the floor, and her terrified yelp sends shivers down his spine.

Loki projects himself in front of her, returning to view now that Tony's not here. Pepper is dangling off a platform, upside-down with her upper body hanging over the edge. Every instinct is telling Loki to reach out for her, to pull her up, but he can't. He can't do anything. And that might be the death of her.

"Help!" Pepper cries out. "Help, I'm — I'm falling!"

"No, you're not," Loki says quickly. "You are not falling. You just need to stay still, and you will be alright. Tony will find you again. Just stay still."

"I'm gonna fall," she says again. "I'm gonna fall. I'm gonna—"

"You're not going to fall," Loki assures her — and himself. "You are going to be okay. Just stay still."

As if on cue, the platform Pepper is lying on jerks, and it begins to glide slowly across the sky. Loki looks around frantically. It's a crane. She landed on a crane, and someone is moving it.

"Loki!" Pepper screams, eyes wide with fear.

"You're okay," Loki says quickly. "You're going to be okay. Stay as still as you can."

"Loki, what's happening to me?" she yells.

"Nothing," Loki lies. "It doesn't matter. Look at me. Don't look around; look at me."

Pepper meets his gaze, shivering in fear. But she's looking at him. She's not looking at the chaos all around her; she's looking at him. That's a good start.

"You're okay," Loki says, his voice as calm as he can make it. "You're okay. This will all be over soon."

"What if I don't make it?" she whispers. "What if I fall? What if he kills me?"

"Don't say that," Loki says quietly. "You'll be okay. I promise you, you will be okay."

"I'm not okay," she whispers. "I'm not okay. I'm not okay. I'm not—"

"Stop that," he says. "You trust Tony, correct?"

Pepper shakes her head. "He's an idiot," she says. "You know that."

Loki takes a deep breath and reevaluates his question, because he has to admit, she does have a point. "You trust that Tony loves you, though."

"Yeah…"

"Then you know that he will not let anything happen to you," Loki says. "He loves you. He will do whatever it takes to save you. Alright?"

"Yeah," she says breathlessly. "Yeah, he's… he'll save me. He will."

"He will," Loki agrees.

"Will you stay?" she asks. "Until he does?"

"That was never in question," Loki tells her. "I will stay as long as you'd like."

And stay he does.

He follows her as the crane drags her across the shipyard, slowly enough that Pepper doesn't fall off but quickly enough that it's a constant risk. Loki continues to remind her to look at him, but it doesn't stop him from looking around at the scene below them.

There are unoccupied Iron Man suits everywhere. Some are tearing the Extremis-enhanced henchmen apart, while others are being torn apart. Every explosion he sees causes him to flinch, and he immediately follows it with an assurance to Pepper that everything is okay.

It's a lie.

Nothing is okay.

And finally, finally, Tony reaches her. Loki steps out of his way immediately, but he doesn't fade from view. He doesn't want to leave her alone. He doesn't care that Tony is here now. He's not leaving her.

Tony reaches an iron-suited arm out to her. "Pepper!"

"Tony!" She chokes out a sob at the sight.

"Pepper, take my hand!" he yells.

Pepper strains to reach him, but she's too far away to grab her.

"Pepper!" Tony yells again. "Pepper, you have to let go!"

"No!" she yells back. "No, I can't—"

"Pep, honey, you have to!" Tony insists. "I can't reach any further, and you can't stay there!"

"I can't!"

"Let go!" Tony says. "I'll catch you! I promise, I will catch you! Just let go!"

Pepper just shakes her head, terrified.

"Let go," Loki says, keeping his voice as calm as he can. That's what she needs right now: a calm voice to listen to, even if its owner is anything but calm. "Tony will catch you. We spoke about this. He loves you too much to let you get hurt, remember?"

There's a jolt in the crane.

It almost happens in slow motion.

She loses her grip on the platform. Her arm still outstretched, she reaches for Tony's hand. He strains to reach her, standing on his toes and leaning as far over the bar as he can. Their fingers touch…

And then she's gone.

Falling into the fiery pit below.

And there's nothing he can do.

Nothing.

But.

Stare.

He watches her plummet to the ground, frozen where he stands. She's really gone. No human could survive a fall from that height. She's dead — if not yet, then moments from it.

After all of this.

Hours upon hours spent by her side.

Now she's just.

Gone.

Like it never even happened.

A familiar smarmy voice pulls him out of his trance. "A shame," he remarks. "I would've caught her."

Loki finally pulls his gaze away from the fires below him, and he's greeted with the sight of none other than Aldritch Killian, wearing the most obnoxious smirk on his face.

He did this.

He dragged her into this — a fight she had no stake in. If he wanted to hurt Tony, that is fine; that is his right. But Pepper did nothing to deserve this. And now she's dead.

Anger surges through Loki's being. Without thinking, he raises a hand and throws it forward, straight towards Aldritch Killian's chest. A ball of green energy shoots out of it…

And everything goes black.

Chapter Text

Knock knock knock.

"Hey, Loki, you still unconscious?"

Loki groans and shoves a pillow over his face. "Yes." He's too tired to do this right now. He's not sure he's ever been this tired in his life. He's definitely not in the mood to deal with Tony…

Wait.

He just saw Tony yesterday. (Yesterday?) He'd nearly forgotten about that. He was following him around, and then he left and… And he went to see Pepper… And she…

Loki lets out a long breath. "I'm up." If Tony wants to talk to him, he should probably let him. His girlfriend just died. It would be kind of rude to ignore him.

Tony knocks on the door again. "C'mon, open up."

Loki tosses his pillow at the door, which he hopes will make enough of a noise that Tony will know he's up. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, and the world blurs before his eyes. Does he really have to stand up? Can't he just go back to sleep?

Tony knocks again. "Please open up?"

Loki raises his brows. That was suspiciously not rude. He supposes that deserves some sort of response, so he says, "Give me a minute." It shouldn't take much more than a minute to get to the door, right?

He pushes himself to his feet with a soft groan. He has to hold on to the wall to steady himself for a few seconds. He's exhausted. Just holding his eyes open stings, and every blink comes as a warm relief.

He looks down at himself. He spent his alone time in his Asgardian clothes. He just found it more comfortable; more familiar. The Avengers have mocked his attire before, and he almost wonders if he should change into something more Midgardian — it would only take a second; no one would know — but he decides against it, if only because he's too tired to.

He crosses the room, and, after a moment of hesitation, he pulls open the door.

Before him stands Tony Stark…

And Pepper Potts.

Loki furrows his brows. "What…?" He says it so quietly, he's not even sure the word leaves his mouth.

"Loki!" Pepper throws her arms around him.

Loki looks down at her uncomfortably. "What are you…?"

"I'm hugging you," Pepper says. "What, you don't do hugs in Asgard?"

"Not frequently." He would get hugs from his mother and very rarely would he get hugs from his brother, but that was it. This is very strange to him.

"Well, I'm gonna fix that," Pepper tells him, squeezing him just a little bit tighter. Her tone softening, she says, "Thank you, Loki."

Loki glances at Tony awkwardly, a silent plea for help, but he seems to be fighting the urge to laugh. That's no help. He looks back down at Pepper, and, after a very long few seconds, he gently hugs her back.

"You're welcome," Loki says, because what else is he supposed to say? He feels like he should say something, but he feels incredibly uncomfortable right now. She's being very nice to him. He doesn't like it. It's weird.

Finally, Tony steps in. "Alright, alright, that's enough," he says. "Loki, stop trying to steal my girlfriend."

Loki's too confused to respond to that, but, fortunately, it does get Pepper to stop hugging him. She takes a step away, standing by Tony's side once more, and Loki just stares at her blankly. She died. He's almost positive he remembers her dying. Right? That did happen, didn't it?

"Surprise," Tony says, adding some unenthusiastic jazz hands. "Pepper's alive."

"I see that," Loki says. He'd have to be blind not to.

"Guess it never occurred to me that, y'know, he was injecting her with Extremis, so she had Extremis," Tony says. "So that's new."

"And he's going to fix that," Pepper adds, shooting him a look.

"And I'm going to fix that," Tony says.

"That is probably wise," Loki agrees. He can't imagine Extremis being a good thing, even if she hasn't exploded from it (yet?).

"But hey, it's Christmas," Tony says dismissively. "Rhodey's making cinnamon rolls — the big ones, not the small ones. The small ones are stupid."

Loki blinks. "Okay."

"You want one?" Tony asks.

Loki furrows his brows. "I don't… What?"

"It's a pastry," Pepper says. "They're so good. C'mon, you should try one." She gestures for him to follow her.

He doesn't.

"Thank you," he says awkwardly, "but… no." What other way is there to say it? He hardly even knows what he's refusing. It doesn't really matter. He just wants to go back to sleep.

"She really wants you to," Tony adds. "Like, really wants you to. It's all she's been talking about."

Pepper slaps him playfully on the shoulder. "It was your idea!"

"Yeah, because you wouldn't shut up about him," Tony says teasingly.

Pepper rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "That's not true."

"Uh, yeah, it kinda is," Tony says.

Loki drums his fingers against his door awkwardly. "If you do not mind, I'm going to just…" He begins to shut the door, but Tony sticks a hand out to stop him.

"Did you eat at all yesterday?" he asks.

Loki opens his mouth to answer — of course he did — but then he stops himself. Did he eat yesterday? He spent most of the day with Pepper. Did he take any breaks to eat, or was it just the brief ones to sleep? He can't remember.

"That's what I thought," Tony says. "Come on, have a cinnamon roll. Consider it, you know, payment for your help."

"But I didn't help," Loki says, confused. "I quite literally could not help." Not for lack of trying, but he was as useless as he could be with them.

"Well, you did get Killian pretty good at the end there," Tony says.

Pepper's answer is more sincere. "You did help," she says. "You stayed with me. You didn't have to, but you did."

"I would hardly call that—"

"I would," she interrupts. "So thank you. Now come eat a cinnamon roll with us so I feel better."

Loki just looks at her for a few moments, silent, until he huffs a laugh. She's cute. She's sweet. He supposes it wouldn't hurt to humor her. "If you really want—"

"Yes," she says immediately.

Loki cracks a smile. "Very well, then," he says. "I hope these cinnamon rolls are as good as you say."

"They are," Pepper assures him.

They head down the hallway, and Loki fights back a yawn. Hopefully this won't last too long. He can't put into words how tired he is right now.

Tony glances back over his shoulder at him. "And, for the record, I still don't like you."

"Tony!" Pepper slaps his shoulder.

"I'd assumed as much," Loki says. "I do not like you, either. I do not expect our mutual animosity to change."

Tony snorts. "'Animosity.' It's like living with a thesaurus."

Loki rolls his eyes. "I apologize if my vocabulary is too large for you," he says sarcastically. "I'd assumed, being a self-proclaimed 'genius,' you would understand it regardless."

Tony chuckles. "Alright, you got me there."

Loki furrows his brows. That's it? No snappy response? He always has a snappy response. "You are being suspiciously nice right now."

"And you were being suspiciously nice when I was supposedly dead," Tony says with a shrug. "And it's Christmas. Or, I mean, yesterday was Christmas, but we're celebrating it today. So it's Christmas."

"And you're celebrating it with me," Loki says skeptically.

"And we're celebrating it with you," Tony agrees.

Loki frowns. He agreed to a single cinnamon roll. He did not agree to whatever the hell is going on right now. If they try to push any kind of celebration on him, he's walking out. He's not staying awake to celebrate a holiday he knows nothing about.

"We tried to tell you Pepper was okay earlier, by the way," Tony tells him.

"Okay."

"JARVIS said you were unconscious," he adds.

"Okay."

"Were you okay?" Pepper asks.

Loki raises an eyebrow. "You fell off of a crane into a fire. You are the last person who should be inquiring about anyone else's well-being."

"Well, it sounded like you were wearing yourself pretty thin," she says. "Are you okay?"

"I've been worse," he says. He's just tired. He can handle being tired.

"Yeah, we've seen it," Tony deadpans.

Loki shrugs sheepishly.

"But are you okay?" he asks, then quickly adds the disclaimer, "but only because Pepper wants to know. I don't care."

Loki cracks a smile. He can tell that's not entirely true. He actually suspects that Tony wanted him to realize that wasn't entirely true. It's kind of sweet. He wouldn't have expected that from him.

"I am fine," he says. "Thank you."

They finally reach the kitchen, where Rhodey is sitting on his phone at the table. Tony and Pepper both sit down as well, and Loki leans against the wall by the doorway. He's not sitting around the table with them like they're all best friends. That couldn't be further from the truth.

"Hey, Tony," Rhodey says, his brows furrowed. "Listen to this." He puts his phone on the table and taps it.

"Hey, Rhodes," Natasha's voice says. "Have you heard from Tony lately? The news is saying he's dead, but Loki seems to think he's not. We just can't reach him, so if you've heard from him, let me know. Thanks."

Click.

Rhodey looks up at Tony wordlessly. Pepper and Loki do the same.

Tony just stares at the phone for a few moments; then, "JARVIS, how many messages do I have?"

"Your voicemail is full, sir," JARVIS says.

Tony nods slowly. "Great," he mutters. "Um…" He shakes his head. "Fuck it. JARVIS, empty my mailbox. Just delete 'em all."

"Tony!" Pepper chides.

"Are you sure, sir?" JARVIS asks. "It sounds as though most of your friends would appreciate a call back."

"Ah, fuck 'em," Tony says with a shrug. "They'll find out I'm alive soon enough. No need to waste my time talking to all of them."

"If you're sure, sir," JARVIS says warily.

"I'm sure," Tony says. "Delete 'em."

There's a brief pause. "Your voicemail is now empty."

Tony grins. "Excellent. Let's rack up some more messages."

Rhodey shakes his head to himself. "Alright, whatever. You wanna at least call Nat back?"

Tony thinks about that for a moment, then grabs Rhodey's phone off the table. Ignoring his complaints, he uses it to call her back, then puts the phone back down on the table while it rings.

She picks the phone up before the third ring. "Rhodes? What's going on?"

"Sorry, Rhodey's not here right now," Tony says. "He's too busy mourning the loss of his best friend. You know, because he cared. You should try it sometime."

Loki stifles a laugh. Pepper actually does laugh at that, muffling it with her hand.

"Tony?" Natasha scoffs. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Oh, you know," Tony drawls, "fighting terrorists in Miami. Almost getting deep-fried by glowing men. The usual."

"I'm sorry, you were what?" Natasha says in disbelief. "Wait, hang on, I'm putting you on speaker. Clint's here, too."

"I was fighting terrorists in Miami," Tony repeats as though that's not the weirdest possible answer to that question.

"What is it with you and terrorists?" Clint asks, followed shortly after by a smacking sound and an "Ow."

"And you couldn't pick up the phone?" Natasha asks, incredulous. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Tony says. "I'm back at the tower with Pepper and Rhodey. We're having fake-Christmas since we missed the real one."

Clint snorts. "Sounds like a blast."

"Oh, absolutely," Tony says. "And now I'm hanging up."

"Stark—"

Click.

Tony slides the phone back across the table to Rhodey. "They really just didn't care, huh?"

"They cared," Pepper protests.

"I'd already told them you were alive," Loki offers, if that's any solace.

"Okay, but my house got blown up," he says. "I think I deserved a little more than that, whatever that was."

Loki shakes his head to himself. "Then be sure to remind them of it incessantly when they return."

"Oh, you bet your ass I'm gonna," Tony says.

"You know," Pepper says, looking up at the god with a frown, "you can sit down."

Loki blinks at that. After a very long pause, he just says, "No."

Tony huffs a laugh. "What's the matter, Lokes? C'mon." He gestures to the open chair. "Join the family."

Even the obvious insincerity in his tone does nothing to make that statement any less uncomfortable. Once again, Loki's only response is, "No."

Pepper frowns. "Why not?" she asks. "Are you okay?"

"I am confused," Loki says. "I understand that you are all friends, but we are not, so I do not understand why you want me here."

She seems a lot more upset by that than he'd anticipated. She looks apologetic, guilty even, and he can't understand it for the life of him.

"You don't have to stay out here if you don't want to," she tells him. "I just thought… I mean, it sounds like you spend most of your time in your room, and I just thought, you know, you might want to come out for a little while. But if you don't want to…"

Oh, great. Now Loki feels bad that she feels bad. And now he can't go back to sleep in a few minutes, because it will doubtlessly just make her feel worse.

"I do appreciate it," Loki says, which is not at all true, though he does follow it with a truth. "I am definitely hungry. But I still do not understand why you invited me out here."

Before Pepper can answer, Tony asks, "Has anyone ever been nice to you before?"

Loki's eyebrows shoot up. "Excuse me?"

"And I'm only, like, sixty percent joking," Tony adds. "Because I know you didn't like Thor, you don't seem to get along with Sif, your dad just sucks, and your mom—"

"You know nothing of my mother," Loki snaps.

Tony blinks in surprise. "Well, I guess that answers that question," he says. He eyes the god for a few moments. "You're a strange person. You know that, right?"

Loki folds his arms over his chest. He's not sure how to answer that.

"I'm confused," Rhodey says. "Are you a good guy or a bad guy? 'Cause I'm getting very mixed messages right now."

"If you still view the world in such absolutes," Loki says, "you'll never come to understand its complexities."

Rhodey snorts. "Whatever that means."

"Well, at least for today," Pepper says, "I think we're gonna call you one of the good guys."

That actually earns a small smile from him.

Pepper perks up suddenly, and she turns her gaze to Tony. "The letter! Where'd you put it?"

Tony's mouth forms a wordless ohhh, and he slides out of his chair. As he walks up to the counter, he asks, his back to the god, "Do you guys send mail on birds in Asgard?"

Loki furrows his brows. That's a strange question. "Sometimes," he says. "Why?"

"Then I'm guessing this is for you." He turns around, and in his hand sits a folded-up piece of paper. "Some bird was sitting outside the tower and it wouldn't leave until I took this, so…" He holds it out to the god. "Here."

Loki eyes the letter in his hand uncertainly. He could just take it. It's right there. And it's almost certainly for him. He could just reach out and…

He shakes his head. "Throw it away."

Tony furrows his brows. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Loki says. "There is no one in Asgard I wish to speak to."

"Damn," Rhodey says. "You don't have any friends up there?"

"What if it's your mom?" Tony asks.

Loki shoots him a glare. He's already made it very clear that he doesn't want to talk about her — that he doesn't want Tony to talk about her.

"What?" he says defensively. "It sounds like you like her. I figured you might want to talk to her."

"She would not contact me by letter," Loki says, and it just feels wrong to be talking about his mother to Tony Stark, of all people. "I do not want to read it. You can throw it in the trash."

Tony frowns. "Okay, then can I read it?" he asks.

"No."

"I'm gonna read it."

Tony starts to open the letter, and immediately, Loki holds out his hand, and the letter flies into it. Ignoring the smirk on Tony's face that says this was doubtlessly part of his plan, he unfolds the letter, but he makes sure it's clear in his movements that he doesn't want to. He holds it up in front of him, and he has to squint to make out the words through his bleary eyes.

Loki,

You were sent to Midgard as a punishment for your crimes, but I believe we may well live to see it become your redemption. You've come a long way already. I'm proud of you.

Heimdall

Loki smiles to himself. He'd assumed he and Heimdall were enemies. They never got along for more than a few days at a time (because that was usually as long as it took for Loki to do something bad that Heimdall had to tell Odin about), but maybe he was wrong. Maybe Heimdall doesn't hate him as much as he'd thought. He wonders briefly if the same could be said for the rest of Asgard. Probably not, he reasons, but it would be nice to think about.

"What is it?" Tony asks. "Something good?"

Loki wipes the smile off his face. He creates the illusion of the letter burning in his hand; in reality, he tucks it away in his pocket dimension for safekeeping. "Nothing of importance," he says.

"Okay, dude," Rhodey says, "your wizard powers are kinda freaking me out."

Loki bites back a laugh. "I am not a wizard."

"No, I'm pretty sure you're a wizard," Rhodey says.

"I'm really not," Loki insists.

"Sure you're not," Tony says sarcastically. Disguising his next words as a cough, he adds, "You're a wizard."

Loki shakes his head to himself, an amused smile on his face that he just can't hide. "Sure," he says. They can call him a wizard.

"What other cool wizard tricks can you do?" Tony asks.

"No," Rhodey says immediately. "No, I don't want to see any more magic tricks."

"Oh, come on," Tony says. "It'll be fun."

"No, it won't!" Rhodey insists. "Barton was right: what is it with you and terrorists?"

Loki rolls his eyes. They're still on this? Are they going to call him a terrorist for the rest of their lives?

"Rhodey…" Pepper shoots him a look, and Rhodey puts his hands up in sarcastic defense.

"Hey, speaking of wizard powers," Tony says, "what the hell is up with your wizard powers? Were you just pretending to be useless or what? 'Cause you got Killian real good at the end."

Loki shakes his head helplessly. "I don't know. It hadn't worked before." He's not sure how he did it. There's no logical explanation for it. It just happened. He's sure he couldn't do it again if he tried.

… But maybe he should try it anyway, just in case. Some skills can be learned, right? And this would be a very nice skill to have. He doesn't anticipate ending up in a situation like that again, but if he does, he'd like to be slightly less helpless in it.

"So, what, it was just a fluke?" Tony asks.

"It would seem so."

"Well, it was a hell of a time for a misfire," Tony says. "But it worked well, so, um…" He shrugs. "Thanks for the assist."

Loki shakes his head. "Don't thank me," he says. "It's weird."

"No, you know what's weird?" Rhodey says, then doesn't wait for an answer (which is a shame; Loki could have come up with a good one). "You're weird. 'Cause all I've heard for the last, like, eight hours is 'Loki did this,' 'Loki did that,' 'Loki's an angel sent from the heavens,' and I was like 'Cool, maybe he's some reformed criminal now' and now you're standing right there and you are exactly the same as you were the last time I saw you, so, like, what the hell is going on?"

Loki almost wants to take a moment to think about how they've apparently been saying good things about him behind his back, but he doesn't. He knows it's not going to last. Why waste time thinking about it?

"If at any point I have given the impression that things have changed, I apologize," he says, though it's far from the most sincere of apologies. "They have not, and they will not. I am not trying to make friends."

"Fine, then don't make friends," Tony says. "But at least sit down and act like a person for the next 20 minutes. Then we can go back to hating each other again."

Loki makes a show of rolling his eyes. "Fine." He sits down in the empty seat, Pepper on one side and Rhodey on the other, and he purposely keeps his chair a foot or two from the table for his own peace of mind. Rhodey's words replay in his head. "Has it really only been eight hours?"

"Well, eight hours since I got involved," Rhodey says. "It's been, like, two days for you guys."

"That's all?" he says in disbelief. No wonder he's so tired. He didn't even get one night's sleep to make up for the two he missed.

Tony snorts. "What, fighting terrorists for two days straight isn't good enough for you?"

Loki rolls his eyes. Whatever. Forget it. He decides to change the subject. "How is Happy Hogan? Have you heard from him?"

Tony scoffs. "You're doing it again!"

Loki furrows his brows. "I beg your pardon?"

"You keep acting like you don't care," he says, "and then you do something like that that says you care."

Loki folds his arms over his chest. "I enjoy confusing people. What of it?"

"Yeah, no, you're doing a hell of a job at it," Tony tells him. "So I'm thinking there are two options. Either you're just pretending you don't care but you actually do, or — and I hate this one even more — you really don't care and you don't like any of us."

Loki cocks an eyebrow. "And that would be bad?"

"Yeah, it would," Tony says. "Cause that means your instinct when you saw that someone was in danger — that someone you hate was in danger — was to help them, and that almost makes you sound like a good person, and I don't like that."

Loki rolls his eyes. "Fear not; your concern is unnecessary," he says. "I am not one of you so-called heroes, and I am not your friend."

"Oh, no, I know that," Tony says. "But you're definitely somewhere on that spectrum."

"You're wrong," Loki says.

"Am I?" he asks. "Then why'd you stick around for so long?"

Loki raises his chin, as if daring him to keep asking questions. "I was bored," he says simply.

"You asked Asgard for help," Tony reminds him. "And you've made it very clear that you don't like anyone up there."

"I was interested to see where it would go if I did," Loki says.

"You stuck with Pepper for a full 24 hours," Tony says. "And from what I understand, you were getting really worn out while you were there; probably would've liked to go home and sleep."

"Firstly, do not call this my home," Loki says. It is his home, but he doesn't want to hear Tony say it. "And I'd assumed I'd only be by her side a short while until you came. You can hardly blame me for your shortcomings."

The casual jab doesn't get an ounce of acknowledgment. "You just asked about Happy, and you haven't even met the guy."

"I was merely making conversation."

Tony scoffs. He shakes his head to himself and crosses his arms. "Have you always been like this, or is this a new thing since you ditched Asgard?"

That question throws Loki for a loop, enough so that his cocky demeanor fades. "Excuse me?"

"This whole 'I hate everyone and everything' facade," Tony elaborates. "'Cause you definitely had me going for a few months with it, but I'm starting to catch on."

Loki presses his lips into a firm line. This is a shitty conversation. It feels like the right time to change the subject. Again. "When will the cinnamon rolls be done?"

Tony cracks a smile at that. "In a few minutes."

"Good," Loki says. "Speaking to you is exhausting."

Tony slaps a hand over his heart as though he's hurt. "Wow. And I'm not even trying to annoy you this time."

"And yet you're doing a spectacular job at it," Loki deadpans.

Pepper looks between the two of them with a frown. "You guys were getting along so well—"

"No, we weren't," Tony interrupts.

"That could not be further from the truth," Loki adds.

Pepper furrows her brows. "What? But I thought…?"

"It went well in theory; not in practice," Loki says.

"Yeah." Tony gestures vaguely to him. "What he said."

"Oh." Pepper takes a moment to process that. "Well, can you try to get along?"

"No," Loki says immediately.

"I am trying," Tony says. "I'm putting in, like, 30 percent effort right now — which is 25 points more than I was the other day."

"Outstanding work," Loki says sarcastically.

"You're one to talk," Tony says. "You're not even trying to get along. You're giving negative effort."

"Because I don't like you," Loki says simply.

"Yeah, and I don't like you, either," Tony says. "But it's Christmas and—"

"That means absolutely nothing to me," Loki says. "I know nothing of your Midgardian holidays, and I have no desire to participate in them."

Tony shakes his head to himself. "Are you going out of your way to be the least tolerable version of yourself right now?"

"I wonder the same about you every time I see you," Loki says.

Tony narrows his eyes. Loki narrows his right back. He does love a good glaring contest. He's always been very good at them

As expected, it's Tony who breaks, and when he does, it comes with an exasperated sigh. "Look, can we just pretend to get along? Just for a few minutes? For Pepper's sake?"

Loki hesitates, but he has to admit, that is a compelling argument. He sits back in his chair, lips pressed into a firm line. He'll go along with it, but he's not going to like it.

"Thank you," Tony says, and Loki pretends he doesn't hear the indignation in his tone.

Then it gets quiet.

It turns out there's not much for them to talk about that doesn't involve arguing with each other. Still, Loki doesn't mind it. He's spent the last few months hoping he could coexist with the Avengers without fighting. He probably should have taken this opportunity as soon as it was presented to him today. He's not entirely sure why he didn't, except that it's almost become a habit to snap at the guy.

Loki yawns, and he covers his mouth with the back of his hand. He realizes belatedly that he could have hidden that. He used to do it all the time in Asgard. He'd put up the illusion of himself being polite and respectful, and no one would see him yawning in the midst of, say, a feast or a celebration of some sort. Now would've been a good time to use that skill if he'd been awake enough to think of it.

"I'm sorry, are we boring you?" Tony asks sarcastically — which is a very interesting idea of "trying to get along."

Loki sighs. "It has been a very long two days," he says. "I am tired and I am hungry."

Tony clicks his tongue. "Right, you didn't really sleep, did you?"

Loki shrugs awkwardly. No, he didn't, but he's not going to admit just how tired he is to the most annoying Avenger. Tony's already trying to make him out to be some kind of… teammate. Admitting that he exhausted himself to provide Pepper some emotional support is just going to help Tony's case.

"God, no wonder you're so grumpy," Tony mutters.

Loki shoots him a look. "You are not making it any easier for me to tolerate you."

"Did we wake you up?" Pepper asks him.

"I was somewhat awake," Loki lies. He was out cold until he heard that knock on the door.

"I'm sorry," Pepper says, and she really seems to mean it. It's a strange feeling. Loki doesn't get many apologies. "I would've let you sleep."

"Well, I am hungry," Loki says. "And I'm intrigued by these cinnamon rolls. I don't believe I've ever had a Midgardian pastry."

That gets a smile from her. "They're really good," she says. "I think you'll like them."

"I hope so," Loki says. He'll eat it regardless — partially because he's that hungry but mostly because he knows that if he admits he doesn't like a food in front of Tony, he'll use it to make fun of him again — but he really does hope he enjoys them.

Rhodey has been fairly quiet throughout the conversation, and when he cuts in this time, it's once again because he can't get over how alien Loki is. "You've seriously never had a pastry?"

"A Midgardian pastry," Loki corrects him. He does his best to pretend he's not annoyed by that. "Of course I've eaten a pastry before." What a stupid question.

"Oh, so you mean you've only eaten god pastries," Rhodey surmises.

Loki opens his mouth to argue — no one calls them "god pastries" — but then decides against it. He's not getting into it with this guy. "Yes, Rhodes," he deadpans, making his exasperation no secret. "I've only eaten god pastries."

"I want a god pastry," Rhodey says. "How do you make a god pastry?"

"I don't know; do I look like a chef?"

Tony and Pepper both seem to find that funny, but Rhodey doesn't shake his train of thought. "What, only chefs make food in Asgard?" he asks sarcastically.

"Princes certainly don't," Loki says. Hasn't he had this conversation before? Why do the Avengers just assume a prince would know how to make every kind of food imaginable? He can make toast. Isn't that good enough?

"Holy shit, I forgot you were a prince," Rhodey breathes.

"It seems most people do," Loki says monotonously. Does he still count as a prince if no one considers him one? Yes, he has royalty in his blood, and yes, he was raised in a palace, but that has no bearing on his life anymore. He's treated like a common prisoner. Is he still a prince in spite of that?

"That is so weird," Rhodey says.

Loki rolls his eyes. He's done a lot of that this morning, and it's been warranted every single time.

In classic "saved by the bell" style, the oven timer dings, and Rhodey immediately hops out of his seat to pull out the cinnamon rolls. Loki cranes his neck to get a look while he does. He still doesn't really know what a cinnamon roll is. He will admit, though, it does smell good.

He's kind of skeptical of the white cream Rhodey spreads across them, but it's intriguing. He's not sure Asgard has anything like that. He has a feeling it will either be really good or really bad, and he's excited to find out which.

It takes a few minutes for Rhodey to get them all frosted and for them to cool, and when they're finally done, Loki is both very eager and very wary about trying them. He sits down with his cinnamon roll, and, after a pause, gently stabs it with his fork. It's kind of crunchy. He stabs it closer to the middle, and it's much softer that time. He almost wishes he could start there, but that would probably be weird.

"This is my favorite part," Tony whispers loudly. "It's like holding catnip out to a feral cat."

Loki rolls his eyes (again). "The commentary is not necessary."

"Yes, it is."

Loki shoots him a look.

"Fine, fine." Tony puts his hands up to show that he's backing off. "Seriously, though, you know you can just eat it, right?"

"I like to know what I am putting in my mouth before I do," Loki says defensively.

"You're putting good food in your mouth," Tony says. "Now eat the damn cinnamon roll."

This time, Loki's eye roll is much more dramatic, but he does do as he's told. He cuts a piece off with his fork and puts it in his mouth. His eyebrows shoot up, and Tony covers his mouth with his hand, stifling a laugh. He ignores that.

"Alright, your highness," Rhodey says. "What'd you think?"

Loki holds up a finger until he finishes chewing. "This is fantastic. I've never had anything like it."

"Wow," Tony remarks. "That's high praise, coming from the guy that says Cheez-Its aren't food."

Loki lolls his head back, exasperated. Again with the Cheez-Its. He thought they were passed that "That isn't even tangentially related to this conversation."

"No, I know; I just think it's funny," Tony says.

Loki shakes his head to himself. Let it go.

"So?" Rhodey prompts. "Better or worse than god pastries?"

"Much better," Loki says without hesitation.

"Wait, seriously?"

"There's no way," Tony says.

"They're much better than Asgard's pastries," Loki insists. "You humans excel in two areas where Asgard is lacking: your long-range weaponry and your usage of unnecessary sugar."

Tony snorts. "I did not see that coming."

"You can thank Tony for the first half," Rhodey adds.

Tony reaches across the table to smack him. "Stop it. Stark Industries doesn't do that anymore."

"Okay, but you did," Rhodey says. "You can't uninvent a weapon."

"Okay, but we don't have to talk about it now," Tony says. "He already tries to make me look like a bad guy. You're just adding fuel to the fire."

Loki smirks and props his head up on his hand. "I would love to hear this story."

"No!" Tony says immediately. "No, there is no story. End of discussion. Conversation terminated."

Loki chuckles and lifts his head again, his hand falling flat against the table. He's sure he'll hear about this eventually, but he'll leave it alone for now. He'd rather not distract himself from the beauty that is his cinnamon roll. He takes another bite. Mm, delicious.

"You really like that cinnamon roll, don't you?" Tony says, amused.

Loki doesn't want to speak while he's chewing, so he just nods.

"More than ice cream?" Tony asks.

Loki holds up a finger so he can finish chewing before he answers that. "No, but these are a very close second," he says. Ice cream gets bonus points for being cold. "Why do you humans eat things like cereal for breakfast when you have cinnamon rolls and pancakes?"

Tony's brows shoot up. "And pancakes?" he repeats, amused. He looks over at Rhodey and Pepper. "So pancakes are on the same level as cinnamon rolls."

"You know you can have pancakes every day, right?" Rhodey asks the god. "Eating cinnamon rolls every day is kinda weird, but pancakes? You can have pancakes every day."

"Want me to start buying you pancakes?" Tony adds. "Add some variety to your diet of chicken nuggets and ice cream?"

Loki pauses. He can do that? He could just buy pancakes? Didn't Clint have to make them? But if it really is as simple as just buying them…

"Sure," Loki says, almost hesitantly. Is this going to come with some sarcastic remark to follow it? He's come to expect them more often than not.

To his surprise, there is no sarcastic remark. Tony just says, "Cool, I'll get you some pancakes next time I'm out."

Loki blinks at that. That's it? It was that easy?

"What about candy?" Pepper asks.

Loki furrows his brows. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know, if you like sugar," Pepper says. "Have you ever had candy?"

"Like… like nuts?" Loki asks, confused. Nuts, berries? He wouldn't really consider those sugary.

Tony and Rhodey both burst out laughing at that, which just confuses Loki even more. Even Pepper looks like she's trying not to laugh.

"Like chocolate," she says, amused.

Oh. "Yes, there's chocolate in some ice cream."

"That's it?" she says. "You've never had just straight chocolate?"

Loki stares at her blankly. What does that mean?

Pepper looks over at Tony. "Do we have any chocolate?"

"I dunno; probably," Tony says. "Hang on." He hops to his feet and begins rummaging through cabinets. He opens a few different ones — ones Loki hadn't even known held food until now — but to no avail. Undeterred, he continues looking around.

Loki just watches for a minute or so, until finally, he says, "I really do not care if you have any chocolate. You can stop looking at any point."

"The fact that you don't care makes me want to find you some even more," Tony says. "You don't even know what you're missing."

Loki shakes his head to himself, but he doesn't try to argue. He will admit, he is somewhat interested.

"Aha!" Tony pulls out a bag from the cabinet. "M&Ms!" He plops them down on the table and slides them over to Loki. "Try one. Or try a bunch."

Loki eyes him skeptically. He glances at Pepper uncertainly, but she gestures for him to go ahead. He definitely doesn't trust Tony, but he feels like if this was some sort of trick or a joke, Pepper would tell him. If she thinks he should try an M&M, he might as well.

He picks one up from the bag and holds it in front of his face. It's literally just a little green circle. That's all it is. He squints, and the world gets a little more blurry for a second before it focuses again, and he can see the small M on the front.

"It's going to melt if you keep holding it," Rhodey tells him.

Loki raises his brows. They eat food that survives just fine at room temperature but melts in their hands? That's so weird.

"If you're going to inspect everything before you eat it, you gotta at least tell us what you're thinking," Tony says. "This is like watching Animal Planet on mute."

"That reference falls just as flat the second time," Loki tells him.

"Have I made that joke before?" Tony asks. "Damn. I'll think of a new one."

"Please don't," Loki says, like that's gonna stop him. Finally, he puts the M&M in his mouth, and he can feel his eyes light up. "Is most of Midgard's food this sweet?"

"Pretty much," Rhodey says.

"Thus the obesity epidemic," Tony adds.

Loki stares at him blankly. "The what?"

Tony shakes his head to himself. "Nevermind."

"So?" Pepper asks. "How do you like the chocolate?"

Loki nods thoughtfully. "It's good," he says — which is definitely understating it, but after how excited he was about cinnamon rolls, he'd feel weird acting the same for every food he eats today. "And I do like that it's green."

The three humans burst out laughing, and it puts a small smile on Loki's face. They're laughing at something that was supposed to be funny, instead of just laughing because he's clueless about Midgardian culture. This is a nice step up.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Tony says, "but most of them aren't green."

"What?" Loki grabs the bag and peeks inside. Sure enough, there are a number of different colors, and only a fraction of the candies are green. He frowns and puts the bag down. "I like them slightly less now."

Once again, that earns a laugh from the others, and Loki is perfectly content with that. He takes another bite of his cinnamon roll. Why doesn't Steve give him food like this?

"So do you guys not have hot chocolate in Asgard?" Rhodey asks.

"No?" Loki says. If they don't have room-temperature chocolate, why would they have hotter chocolate?

"It's a drink," Tony explains. "It's a winter thing. When it's, like, 25 degrees out and you're cold and it warms you up."

Loki stares at him blankly. That's a problem he doesn't have a whole lot of experience with. Jotunheim was kind of cold, but Asgard never was. Neither is Midgard, at least so far. He's never needed to get warmed up.

"So you probably don't have coffee, either, then," Rhodey says.

Loki raises his brows. "You drink coffee in Midgard?"

"Wait, you do have coffee in Asgard?" Rhodey says in disbelief. "I did not think gods needed caffeine."

"'Need' is a strong word," Loki says. He thinks back to that decade when Odin and Frigga refused to let him drink coffee because he'd get too enthusiastic about his mischief. Caffeine and magic don't always mix. He opts to keep that story to himself.

"Want some coffee?" Tony offers. "I could make some."

"No, thank you," Loki says. "I'll just be going back to sleep shortly." He eats another bite of his cinnamon roll. If this is what he's out here for, he should probably actually be eating it.

"Damn, I was hoping you'd go for it so I could pretend I was making it just for you," Tony says. "Well, I want some coffee. Anyone else want coffee?"

Rhodey and Pepper both volunteer.

"Good," Tony says, sliding out of his seat. "I'd feel weird if it was just me." As he begins making their coffee, he says over his shoulder, "Do you at least want me to teach you how to use the coffee maker?"

Loki raises his brows. "Is that entire machine specifically for making coffee?"

"It sure is," Tony says, and when he glances back at the god, he just looks amused. "You know, you are a completely different person when you're not pissing me off."

"And you are the exact same person except slightly less annoying," Loki replies.

Tony cracks a smile at that. "Alright, c'mon." He gestures for Loki to come closer. "Welcome to your lesson on coffee makers."

Chapter Text

Loki closes his eyes, reveling in the darkness as he forms a ball of energy between his hands. It feels like the easiest way to do this. It's a basic skill, a simple enough way to judge his powers. He's only projected himself a few miles from the tower, but the distance manifests itself in his powers. It takes a little more effort; he creates a little less energy.

How should he go about getting better at this? Should he stay here and try to strengthen his powers at a distance he knows they'll work at? Or should he go further away until he's nearly powerless and try to build it from there? Is this even a goal worth pursuing? Is this a skill he can build at all?

He pushes that last thought out of his mind. Maybe he can't do this. Maybe he'll never learn to use his magic at a distance. But is there anything to be lost by trying it? He has thousands of years to waste in this tower. Why not spend them trying to hone an impossible skill?

The knocking on the door snaps him out of it. Oh, come on. Who's trying to bother him now?

"Loki?" Pepper says timidly.

Loki raises his brows. He pauses, but when there's no follow-up from Tony, he comes to the (possibly illogical) conclusion that Pepper's the only one out there. That's strange. She's never come to his room alone. Although it's possible that someone else is there with her and they just don't want him to know yet. It wouldn't be the first time. He's begun to catch onto their tricks.

He climbs out of bed and crosses his room, where he opens the door just a few inches to see who's out there. To his surprise, it really is just Pepper, and he almost feels like he can relax. She's not his enemy. She never was. That's a welcome change from the rest of the tower's residents.

"Hi," Pepper says, almost nervously. Some things never change, it seems.

"Hi…?" Loki says uncertainly. This is an interesting surprise.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Pepper asks.

As a lame attempt at a joke, Loki says, "Yes, I am very broken up about being interrupted while lying in bed and staring at the ceiling." That's not actually what he was doing, but she doesn't have to know that.

"I didn't want you up, did I?" Pepper asks. "JARVIS says you were already up, but…"

Loki cocks an eyebrow. "Does everyone talk to JARVIS before they talk to me?" He swears he's heard that before.

"Sorry, is that weird?" Pepper asks. "I didn't mean it in a weird way; just, you know, I didn't want to wake you up."

Loki shakes his head. "I've been up for hours." Probably. Maybe just one hour. Maybe half an hour. He didn't check the clock when Pepper knocked; all he knows is that he woke up very late in the evening and is now probably going to be nocturnal until he can figure out how to fix his sleep schedule.

"So you've been staring at the ceiling for hours?" Pepper asks with a frown. "That sounds so boring."

It's a prison sentence. It's supposed to be boring.

"I have my magic to keep me entertained," Loki says. It was more frustrating than entertaining, but he doesn't mention that part.

"Even so, that's…" Pepper shakes her head to herself. "Can I come in?"

Loki raises his brows. The only people who ever ask to come in here are Bruce (because they like to nerd out together) and Thor (whom Loki usually tells to go away). This is yet another interesting surprise. He finds himself hesitating, not because he's not convinced he wants to let her in but because he's so taken aback by the request.

"Um, I suppose." Loki opens the door further and steps back to let her in.

"If that's crossing any boundaries —" Pepper says quickly.

"No, no, I don't mind," Loki assures her.

Pepper gives him a small smile and steps in the room. Loki makes a point of not closing the door so she doesn't feel trapped, but Pepper closes it anyway. She's full of surprises tonight.

Her gaze drifts to the wall the door had been covering, smashed up and cracked all over — practically a gaping hole with shards of plaster throughout. "What happened there?"

"Oh, that was…" Loki trails off. I accidentally threw your boyfriend into the wall when he woke me up from a nightmare. Yeah, maybe that's not the best answer. "Not important," he finishes finally.

Pepper nods slowly. "Right…"

Loki leans against a non-broken portion of the wall and crosses his arms — then uncrosses them when he realizes that might give off the wrong impression. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, no, it's fine," Pepper says. "I just wanted to talk to you alone, 'cause I think I came off a little strong this morning."

Loki shakes his head. "If that is why you are here, you needn't have come. I know I was being rather difficult this morning, but I did enjoy myself."

She raises her brows. "Really?"

"Really," Loki says. "Very rarely can I coexist with most of the Avengers or their associates. This was a pleasant surprise."

"It just didn't look like you really wanted to be there," Pepper says.

"Admittedly, I did not at first," Loki says. "I do not mean to speak ill of your love, but we tend not to get along. When he changed his tune for the morning, I was rather skeptical, but it was a surprisingly enjoyable experience."

"Oh, good!" Pepper says, and her relief is visible on her face. "I just — I really wanted to thank you for staying with me yesterday."

Loki shakes his head. "You do not need to thank me."

"No, I do," Pepper says. "You didn't have to check on me at all, but you stayed with me all day anyway. And I really appreciate that, more than you know."

Loki gives her a small smile. "Of course." He hopes that will be the end of it; she'll accept that response for what it is and move on. She doesn't.

"I know you don't want to be in Stark Tower," she says. "But if there's anything I can do to make it any better…"

"Do not feel as though you owe me anything," Loki says. She doesn't. He certainly wasn't expecting anything in return.

"But I really feel like I do," Pepper says. "You helped me so much—"

"You do not owe me anything," Loki repeats firmly. He can tell that's not going to work, so he softens his tone. "If I tell you something in confidence, will you not disclose it to anyone else? For any reason?"

"Yeah, of course," Pepper says, her brows creased with concern.

"I had been in your situation before," he tells her. "I know what it feels like to be scared and alone; at the mercy of a merciless being. I would not wish that on anyone. That is why I stayed."

"What?" Pepper's concern doesn't waver, though now there's an added air of sympathy mixed in. "God, that's awful. Are you okay?"

"I am now," Loki says. He wasn't at the time. He wasn't sure that he'd ever be okay at the time. But he's okay now. "And you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," she says. "Still kind of shaken up, but, I mean, all things considered, I'm doing okay. I guess I should've expected this when I fell in love with a superhero."

Loki chuckles awkwardly. That's awful. She has no place in Tony's battles. He wishes there was more he could do to keep her out of them.

"I have two more questions," Pepper tells him. "If that's okay."

Loki raises his brows. "And those are…?"

"Well, first," she says, "I know when we were talking about cats yesterday, it was just supposed to be a distraction, but would you actually want a cat?"

Loki blinks at that. "Excuse me?"

"Would you actually want to get a cat for the tower?" Pepper asks again. "I could take care of it when I'm here and you could take care of it when I'm not — but only if you want to."

Loki stares at her. "I don't… I don't know how to take care of a cat."

Pepper furrows her brows. "Were you just joking when you said you had a cat in Asgard?"

"I only had it for a week or two," Loki says. "I fed it table scraps and it drank from the sink. I was not a responsible pet owner in the slightest."

Pepper just looks amused by that. "I could show you how to take care of one if you want to try again. But it's completely up to you. You'd be taking care of it more than me."

Loki thinks about that. He actually wouldn't mind having a cat around. If it really does go how they'd said it would yesterday — which is unlikely; neither of them believed it would happen — it would be nice to have a cat that would spend time with him during the day. He does get kind of lonely.

"I think I would like to," Loki says finally. "But are we truly going to make Stark put up cat doors so it can get around?" They talked about that yesterday. It felt like an integral part of their fake plan to get a cat. How are they going to handle that now that the plan is no longer fake?

"Of course not," Pepper says. "I'm going to make him put up cat doors. You don't have to get involved in that."

Loki chuckles. "I like that plan much more." He doubts Tony would listen if Loki tried to get him to do it.

"I thought you would," Pepper says with a small smile. "I don't know when we'll actually get it, but I'll start looking through animal shelter websites tomorrow. I think I'll probably find us a cat by the beginning of next year."

Loki takes a few moments to process that. "How far away is the next year?"

Pepper blinks in surprise. "Next week?"

Loki furrows his brows. "Is it still 2012?"

"Uh, yeah." She cocks her head to the side. "What year did you think it was?"

"I'd thought for sure it was 2013 by now," Loki says. "Has it only been three months?" God, these have been some of the longest three months of his life.

"Three months since you got here?" Pepper guesses. "Yeah, I think so. Three or four." She frowns. "Do you want, like, a calendar or something?"

"So I can wake up each morning and cross off each day as it passes?" Loki says. "Watching the passage of time in its agonizing slowness? No, I cannot say I do."

Pepper nods slowly. "Yeah, no, I guess that's…" She trails off, letting the awkward silence simmer before she changes the subject. "And the other question I had is that Tony, Rhodey, and I are going to watch some Christmas movies, and we were wondering if you wanted to join us?"

"What?" The word leaves Loki's mouth before he even knows he's saying it.

"I know you've watched a few movies with the Avengers before," Pepper says. "We thought you might want to come watch one with us tonight."

Loki's so taken aback by that that it takes a few seconds to formulate a response — and when he finally does, it's a very stupid response, which he knows even before he says it. "I know nothing of Christmas. Its movies would mean very little to me."

"I'm sure we could watch something not-Christmassy," Pepper offers.

Loki shakes his head. "Do not let me stop you from celebrating your holiday." He doesn't really know anything about Christmas, but it must be an important holiday if Tony, Clint, and Natasha all left the tower to go celebrate it with their loved ones. He's not trying to ruin that for them.

"I spent my Christmas as a guinea pig for my ex-boyfriend’s science experiment gone wrong," Pepper deadpans. "I don't care how we celebrate Christmas today. I'm just glad to be home — and I think Tony and Rhodey are, too."

Loki eyes her curiously for a few moments. "Do you want me to watch a movie with you, or are you merely offering me the opportunity?" Because he'd assumed it was the latter, but her insistence makes him think that might not be the case. Maybe she really does want him to watch with them. That's… weird.

"Both, I guess?" Pepper says. "I just…" She sighs. "I feel bad. You spend most of your time alone in your room, and it just sounds so lonely. Even Tony doesn't think it's fair to shut you in here all day. So if you want to come watch a movie and eat some chocolate…" She shrugs awkwardly. "I think it would be fun."

Loki furrows his brows. "Did he agree, or did he just not fight you about it?"

"No, he agreed," Pepper says. "I know he says he doesn't like you, but I think he might. I think he's at least willing to give it a try. You know, if you're willing to, too."

Loki hesitates. He's not sure how he feels about that. It almost sounds like she's expecting them to become friends, and that's certainly never going to happen. But if he and Tony could learn to coexist… All he's wanted since Odin threw him down here was the opportunity to live his life in peace. If Tony's willing to learn to leave him alone, maybe he should take that chance.

So finally, Loki says, "Well, I did like that chocolate this morning."

Pepper cracks a smile. "I can give you the whole bag if you want to watch with us."

Loki smiles back. "I think I'd like that."

Chapter Text

Loki focuses all his might in creating a ball of energy between his hands. He's projected miles away from the tower, further than he's ever tried before. He always tries to stay in back alleys or forests so nobody will see him, but there seems to be a shortage of such hiding places around this distance; he had to go a little further away than he'd liked.

A ball of green light flows between his hands. It's small and faint, barely visible even in the shade of the trees, but it's there. He's not sure he could have done that a couple days ago. He really feels like he's getting better at magic from a distance. It's just hard. He's straining to get even that little show of magic to work.

A tap in his shoulder startles him out of his daze. He doesn't have time to process that he's no longer in the woods; he shoots a blast of energy at full force out in front of him. It's only after the damage has been done that he's able to ground himself and take it in.

The wall — if it can even be called that anymore — by the door is absolutely decimated. He'd already broken it when he threw Tony into it, but now the wall seems to be gone in its entirety. Through it, he can see into the next room, though from this angle, there's nothing to be seen but its door.

On the floor halfway between the two rooms lies Thor, clutching vaguely at his chest. He groans as he rolls from his side to his back, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Thor?" Loki rushes to his side, kneeling down by his feet and nearly face-planting against the wall. "Thor, are you alright?"

Thor gives a small, pained nod. "Mm."

"I am so sorry," Loki says. "I didn't mean to do that. I did not know you were here."

"I noticed," Thor says. He pushes himself up with a groan, and Loki reaches over to help him sit up. "Why did you never do that in battle? A blow like that could have saved us a lot of strife.”

Loki shrugs sheepishly. “I don’t know.” What’s he supposed to say? That he was always talked down to for using his magic instead of his daggers? That putting that much effort into a single blast may well have rendered him useless for the rest of the fight? There’s no answer to that question that isn’t weird.

“Help me up?” Thor asks.

Loki climbs to his feet and holds his hands out for his brother to take. Thor grabs his hands, and Loki pulls him to his feet, nearly throwing his back out in the process. Thor brushes himself off, knocking the dust and the plaster off of his clothing. Loki clasps his hands behind him awkwardly.

Whoops.

“Are you alright?” Thor asks.

Loki scoffs. “Me? Are you alright? I just threw you through a wall!”

Thor huffs a laugh. “You know I’ve had worse,” he says. “But you? I must have said your name a dozen times and I got no response.”

“And in what world does that imply you should come into my room?” Loki asks. The guy’s complete inability to show even basic politeness astounds him. How did the guy grow up in a palace, the son of the literal king of a godly realm, and never learn basic manners?

“This world,” Thor says, completely indifferent to the question. “Were you asleep?”

Loki stares at him. “You think I fell asleep sitting up.” And not even leaning against the wall, either. He was halfway on his bed, his legs dangling over the edge and his head held upright. He may not have been able to see himself, but he knows he did not look to be asleep. Nobody sleeps like that. Not a single person.

“Well, this has been fairly reminiscent of the last time you had a nightmare,” Thor says.

Loki fights the urge to roll his eyes. “No, Thor. I was not asleep.”

“Then what was happening?” Thor asks. “I’ve known you to ignore me, but not in that way.”

Loki takes a deep breath. What’s the easiest way to explain this? Thor knows nothing of magic – at least of this kind. He wouldn’t understand the trance that magic like this can put you in, and he almost certainly wouldn’t take kindly to the idea of Loki honing those skills. If the Allfather found out, he’d assume Loki was planning some kind of mischief, and Loki doesn’t want to risk any Asgardian intervention if he does.

Finally, he settles on, “I was visiting a friend. Physically, I was here; mentally, I was not.” He'll claim it was Harley if he's asked. (Maybe he should go visit Harley again. He did rather like the kid.)

Thor furrows his brows. “Who? Sif?”

Loki guffaws at that. “Of course not. Why would I choose to speak with Sif?”

Thor gives a small shrug. “She told me you spoke earlier.”

“Not of my own volition,” Loki says. “And I assure you, whatever she told you happened, she lied.”

Thor huffs a laugh. “She told me very little; just that you’ve grown much more arrogant in your exile.”

Loki rolls his eyes. “Yes, because I was the problem,” he says sarcastically.

Thor cracks a smile, amused. “Heimdall told me what happened,” he says. “That you called upon him for help. He’s actually asked me to apologize on his behalf; when he asked Father to send someone to answer you, he had not anticipated it would be her.”

Loki snorts. “Very considerate,” he remarks. Heimdall hasn’t been much less frustrating than Sif for the last thousand years or so, but it’s nice to see that he has some regard for Loki’s feelings.

"Did you really try to help Stark?" Thor asks.

"I would hardly call it 'help,'" Loki says. "I stood idly by with my unhelpful commentary until he yelled at me to leave."

"And then you chose to watch over Pepper Potts," Thor says. "Had you even met Pepper Potts before then?"

"I'd seen her once," Loki says. "She ignored me. It was lovely; she became one of my favorite humans for it."

Thor gives him a really? look.

Loki rolls his eyes. "I had nothing else to do and she appreciated the company." How many different ways is he going to have to downplay this until people learn to leave him alone about it?

Thor furrows his brows. "Pepper Potts is terrified of you."

"She was," Loki says. He wonders briefly if that's common knowledge. Does everyone in the tower know that Pepper was afraid of him? That's awkward. "We get along just fine now. On the rare occasion I've seen her over the last few days, we've shared some pleasant conversations." He's still in the process of fixing his sleep schedule so their time walking the halls rarely overlaps, but he's seen a bit of her lately. It's gone well, he thinks.

Thor cracks a smile at that. "I'm glad to hear that you've made friends in my absence."

"I would not go as far as to call us friends," Loki says.

"You would claim you had no friends if I were to ask," Thor says. "I know better than to trust your word."

Loki just shakes his head to himself.

"I wish I could have been here to help," Thor tells him. "I was off-world. I only returned to Asgard this morning."

"And you chose to come here."

Thor cocks his head to the side. "I come here often when I'm not needed in Asgard. Why does this surprise you?"

"I was told the new year begins in a matter of days," Loki says. "The winter solstice must have just passed. Why are you not in Asgard, celebrating Yule with your people?"

"Father said the same thing," Thor remarks. "I will return to Asgard soon, but I wanted to speak with you first."

"Okay. We've spoken."

Thor ignores that. "Once I return home, I'll be expected to stay until Yule ends," he says. "I've missed the first week already. I cannot miss the remaining few days."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Loki says. "Go home. Partake in the festivities with your family. I assure you, I will still be here when you return." He says the last part as a deadpan joke of a kind. Of course he'll still be here. He has no choice in the matter.

"I know," Thor says. "And I would love nothing more than to celebrate Yule with my family. But that's rather difficult when my family is split across two realms."

Loki offers him a small, mostly insincere smile for that.

"We celebrated it last year," Thor continues. "As we've done every year before. It did nothing but serve as a reminder that my brother was gone."

Loki drops his gaze to the floor uncomfortably. He hadn't really thought about that. He had no concept of time after he'd fallen from Asgard. He has no idea where he was during Yule last year or what dangers to his life he was facing. The time of year certainly wasn't one of his priorities.

"Even knowing now that you're still alive, I expect Yule this year to be nearly as miserable as the last," Thor says. "So I would like to spend some of it with you while I can."

Loki looks up at his brother and raises his brows. "Why?"

"Because you're my brother," Thor say. "You're family, even when you pretend otherwise. And I want to spend the holiday with my family — my entire family — in whatever form that may take."

Loki smiles again, a little more sincerely this time. "How long do you expect to stay in Midgard today?"

"I do not know," Thor says. "A few hours, I'd expect. Not long enough that Father begins to question it."

"Does he not know that you're here?" Loki asks.

"He does," Thor says. "But I told him nothing of why I was coming; only that I'd return home shortly."

"I assume he would not have let you come if he'd known, then," Loki says. "He wants my exile to be as miserable as possible."

"He may well have ordered me to stay if he'd known," Thor admits. "He's still angry with you. I fear that may never change."

"The feeling is mutual," Loki says. Changing the subject (because he knows Thor will insist that the Allfather is a great man and he's wrong), he asks, "How do you plan to celebrate Yule in Midgard?" He can't imagine many of Asgard's traditions transferring well to this realm, especially with the added barrier that Loki cannot leave the building.

"I don't know," Thor admits. "We could make eggnog and burn a small piece of wood to take the place of the Yule log."

Loki chuckles. "That sounds lovely," he says. "Then, perhaps we can find a piece of bacon and stab it with a fork in place of the sonargǫltr," he adds teasingly — referencing Asgard's sacrificial boar.

"Could we find bacon here?" Thor asks eagerly. "I would like some bacon."

Loki bites back a laugh. "You'll have to ask Stark about that."

"We should find him, then," Thor says. "They celebrate their own holiday around this time on Midgard, do they not? Perhaps we could borrow some of their traditions for the day."

"We could," Loki agrees.

"Then let us go find him," Thor says.

Loki raises his gaze to the ceiling. "JARVIS? Where are Stark and Ms. Potts?"

"They are in the living room," JARVIS answers. "As is Colonel Rhodes."

Loki raises a brow. "And they didn't hear me throw Thor through the wall?"

"They did," JARVIS says. "Ms. Potts was the only one who seemed bothered by it."

Loki scoffs. "Great." Very nice of them.

"Then we are off to the living room," Thor says with a grin.

~~~

"You guys want to celebrate Christmas," Tony repeats, staring at them blankly.

"No, we'd like to celebrate Yule," Thor says. "But that would be rather difficult due to constraints of both time and resources, so we would like to adopt some of your holiday traditions."

Tony glances at his friends wordlessly.

"Hey, man," Rhodey says, "we probably stole half these traditions from the pagans or whoever the hell celebrates Yule anyway. We might as well give 'em back."

Tony shrugs. "You got me there," he says. He looks back at the gods. "What kind of traditions are you looking for?"

"I don't know." Thor glances at Loki for his answer.

"Don't ask me," Loki says. "This was your idea."

Thor nods once and looks back at Tony. "What does a usual Christmas look like for you?"

Tony shrugs. "I don't know. Cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Presents. Baked ziti for lunch. Long naps because I've been stuffing my face all day. Cookies for dinner. Bed. That's it; that's Christmas."

Thor stares at him. "That's all you do for this holiday?"

"To be fair," Rhodey says, "cinnamon rolls are very good."

"It's true," Loki adds.

Pepper sighs. "That's not what Christmas is," she says. "There's decorating the house the month before and there's Christmas carols on the radio as soon as Thanksgiving ends and the Christmas lights that are always so beautiful and then you can decorate the tree and there's baking and it's a whole big thing. It's not just food and presents."

"Although the cinnamon rolls are very good," Loki repeats, a not-so-subtle hint that he'd like to eat cinnamon rolls today.

"You know," Tony says, "we all kind of missed Christmas this year. Even the other Avengers are off fighting bad guys or whatever Fury has them doing. Once everyone gets back, we could try this whole Christmas thing again."

"Absolutely!" Thor agrees immediately.

Tony grins. "It'll be great. We can get a Christmas tree and everything. You two will finally get to see a real human Christmas."

Loki shakes his head. "You can have your holiday party. I will not be there."

"What? Why?" Pepper asks.

"Nothing good has ever come from me speaking to the Avengers," Loki says.

"I'll tell 'em to lay off you," Tony says. "Just for the day. You have to be nice on Christmas."

"No, you don't," Rhodey says.

"Of course you do," Tony says.

"No, you really don't," Rhodey says. "You never are."

"That's not true," Tony protests.

"Remember that Christmas in LA? What was it, 2005? Would you really call that 'nice'?"

Tony nods slowly. "Right…" He clicks his tongue. "Anyways… C'mon, Loki, it'll be fun! I'll get everyone presents."

"You are the last person I would want a present from," Loki tells him.

"Good call; it would be an awful present," Tony admits. "But I'll get everyone a shitty present. It won't just be you."

"But I don't want one," Loki says. "You can celebrate your holiday whenever and however you see fit, but I want no part in it."

Tony scoffs. "God, you're so boring."

Loki just rolls his eyes. He really can't win, can he? In Asgard, he was always too much. He was too loud, too excitable, too mischievous. Now he's too dull. What do these people want from him?

"You guys can fight about your party later," Pepper says. "Right now, let's just celebrate Christmas and Yule together. We can go make cookies and fudge."

"What's fudge?" Thor asks, echoing Loki's thoughts.

"Chocolate," Tony says simply.

Loki perks up at that. He's rather content with his M&Ms (which he's been trying to ration so he doesn't run out, even though he would be more than happy to just keep eating them for hours on end if he could), but he'd be interested in trying new types of chocolate, too.

"You and your sugar, man," Rhodey says, amused.

Loki shrugs sheepishly. Humans are just better at using sugar than Asgardians are. That's not his fault.

"Come on, let's go bake something," Tony says. "And by that, I mean you guys can bake something, and I'll stand back and watch and maybe steal your batter when you're not looking." He grins. "This is gonna be great!"

Chapter Text

Tony Stark is the single most annoying person on the planet.

That's the takeaway from Natasha's return to Stark Tower. She should have known coming back alone was a bad idea, but Fury called Clint off on another mission and she really felt like her time would be better spent checking on Tony than extending her Christmas celebration with the Bartons. (Obviously, she was wrong.)

She never thought that talking to Loki would be a reprieve from spending time with her friends, but with how unbearably annoying Tony has been for the last hour about how she and Clint supposedly "didn't care that he was dead," she finds herself actually looking forward to talking to the god — if, of course, he'll let her. She's never actually tried to talk to him in his room before. Steve never seems to have any issue with it, but she's not sure she expects the same treatment.

She knocks on the door. Is she knocking too loud? She probably doesn't have to be very loud, right? She's not competing with any noise right now. It's eerily silent up here.

But she doesn't get an answer.

She knocks again, a little louder. "Loki?" She knows he's awake. She asked JARVIS before she came just in case so she didn't have to risk waking him up and catching him in a bad mood. If he's awake, why isn't he answering?