(A/N: And she's back again to write some fic. But seriously, here I am! This is another Avengers fic, though I think that you probably gathered that. Regardless, I don't own the Avengers and I don't profit from this in any way except to gain experience as a writer. This fic is team-fic-ish because I like the dynamic, but it does have Phil/Pepper which quite frankly is an OTP that I've been hiding since the first Iron Man movie. But there are mentions of Thor/Loki in the brotherly and romantic sense, so I think that you should know that, even though it doesn't really come into play until the end and there isn't any kissing or anything. On with the show!)
By Your Side: Immortal or Mortal
"You are hereby stripped of your powers and banished from the Halls of Asgard," Odin's voice slammed down like a gavel declaring a death sentence. Loki's green eyes filled with tears of pain and confusion. He managed to keep them from falling until he caught sight of Thor, the broken expression worn by the blonde God tore away the last of Loki's control and he began to weep.
"This is madness. To banish with without his powers is to kill him," Thor roared as he tore his eyes away from Loki. Mjölnir crashed against the wall that he had been occupying and the nearby Sif flinched from the outburst, her gaze hardened has she stared at the darker God in the center of the room.
"It would be no less than he deserves," Sif spat, looking defiant and offended that Thor would consider defending Loki, no matter their relationship. There was a general murmur of agreement throughout the collected crowd and it only served to increase the look of rage on Thor's face.
"My judgment stands Thor," Odin said, raising Gungnir as Thor advanced toward Loki. The God of Thunder stood tall as he slipped an arm around the slim waist of his step-brother and raised his hammer in defiance. There was challenge in his gaze when he met Odin's eyes and his jaw was set against whatever the Allfather would do.
"I reject your ruling. Loki's mind was bewitched after his fall from the Bifrost, which was only allowed to happen because of your deceit Father. If there ever was a monster among us it is because you created one with your lies and favoritism. You could have loved him better, you could have saved him, but you did not. I challenge your decision Allfather, you are biased against my brother," Thor's voice was cold and strong as steel, but the arm that was not holding Mjölnir aloft was gently cradling Loki's shoulders. The slimmer man had curled himself around until his face was buried in Thor's hair where the Thunder God could feel the heat of tears against his skin.
"Do not think to defy me Thor," Odin's voice was grave and full of disappointment, but Thor just held Loki more tightly.
"Banish the both of us if you must. But give him back his powers. It is obvious that you do not care for either of us, but if ever you were a father, you will give him a chance to survive," Thor bargained, praying that it would work, but kept his hammer ready all the same. He had defied Odin before and he knew what was coming, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
The Allfather heaved a long-suffering sigh, extending his free hand and ripping the hammer from Thor's grasp. The blonde God kept his face blank, appearing unfazed by the action. He turned and wrapped his newly free arm around Loki, holding the smaller man in a more comforting embrace, the Once-God wept silently.
"You have not forgotten so easily the lesson that I taught you, have you Thor?" Odin's voice was poisonously dark and Thor just lifted his chin, settling it atop Loki's dark hair.
"I have not," the blonde said plainly.
"Then I amend my previous ruling. I hereby banish you Thor Odinson and Loki Laufeyson from the Halls of Asgard. Your powers are null and you shall not be allowed a second chance. You shall be human until the end of your days, and for your added petulance Thor, I curse your right leg lame," Odin's voice fell like Mjölnir's strike and Thor tightened his grip around Loki's smaller frame as they were cast away from Asgard. Loki's thin arms had wrapped around Thor's waist and the dark haired God was wearing a morbid smile as he rested against Thor's golden hair. He was alive at least, and his brother loved him, things might not be terrible.
They crashed to the ground with more force than necessary and even though Thor's leg gave out, he caught Loki and tried to get both of them to land as softly as possible. Thor's bulk cushioned much of Loki's landing, but both of them were left bruised. The weakened leg told Thor that Odin was serious when he said that he would not consider revoking their punishment and he was surprised to find that he didn't care.
"Why would you do this for me Thor? Have I not poisoned your heart against me?" Loki whispered as he tried to control his tears. It was a question that would have eaten away at him if he had left it unasked.
"My heart will never be against you. I did this for you because I love you and I know that you have not forgotten the feeling. I would have followed you anyway, but now he cannot compel me back to Asgard, now he cannot tear me away from your side," Thor said firmly his sky blue eyes not leaving Loki's. If there was one thing that he needed Loki to understand it was that they were together in all things.
"You guys want a lift home?" Tony Stark's face was visible as the faceplate of the Iron Man armor slid up. It was odd to see him encased in the suit.
"We are mortal, Son of Stark. We are of no use to you," Loki said, keeping the bitterness from his voice as Thor's large arm hooked around his waist once again. The blonde was partially crippled but he was still the one holding Loki up.
"Do I seriously have to give you the Ohana lecture? Because Steve and Clint both cried the last time I did that and I don't know if I can take that again. You're family, we don't care if you can kick someone's ass, we just want to know that you are safe. So I repeat, come home," Tony said as he landed, his voice carried a tone that neither man wished to argue with.
"If you insist," Thor consented and allowed himself to be bound to Tony's left side as Loki was to his right. The Iron Man kept low enough to the ground and went slowly enough that they could still breathe easily and were not affected by the chilling cold of the upper atmosphere. But for both of the Gods who had once flown under their own power, it was a strange experience.
The other Avengers were waiting for them when they landed, all looking bleary-eyed so early in the morning but certainly enthusiastic about their return. Having expected the warm welcome for Thor Loki stepped aside and bowed his head. He did not notice the strange looks that the Avengers were giving him because he kept his eyes fixed on the ground. Thor had reached out and taken his hand, but that was hardly new. It was Natasha who stepped forward and bodily pulled the former God into a hug.
"There is nothing to forgive. You are welcome here, our home is your home, we are a family and you are a part of it," she said as forcefully as she could, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around Loki's shoulders.
"She's right, you know, she's always right," Clint said and wrapped his arms around both of them. Bruce joined in soon after and Thor and Steve pulled Tony out of the sky, trapping him into the embrace. Loki's face flamed red and he did not let go of Thor's hand, no matter how awkward it made the hug.
"I wasn't informed that you guys were going through with the group therapy sessions," Pepper's voice was far too bright for the time of day, but the fact that she was joking made it easier to deal with.
"New arrival or an old friend returning?" Coulson asked and Tony sighed a little dramatically. Ever since 'Phil' had gotten with Pepper it was almost impossible to avoid him. Not that the Avengers minded of course, having him around too much was better than the alternative that they had been faced with.
"Two friends," Steve said as the group stepped out of the hug, shifting so that Thor and Loki were easily visible among them.
Loki dropped his eyes once again, hand still linked with Thor's. Under Agent Coulson's gaze the green turtle neck and black jeans that he wore suddenly seemed too warm. He hated to be embarrassed.
"You…um…that is to say…" Loki's silver tongue had always been a gift of his education, but it seemed that Odin had stolen it away.
"I got the debriefing. I know all about your head getting messed with. But you didn't manage to kill me; in fact I suspect that you intended to miss all along. You knew what Clint knew, so I can only assume that you knew that you had your aim all wrong," Coulson's voice was placid, friendly in a way and Loki rapidly turned several shades of pink.
"Wait, what?" Steve asked confusion evident in his tone. Coulson tapped his chest where everyone knew that a grisly scar still lingered.
"My heart is on the wrong side. Scientifically situs inversus totalis or situs inversus with dextrocardia. Clint has known about it since I first met him and Loki asked him for a complete rundown on all of us. So why wouldn't he have known about something so critical. He missed intentionally," Coulson affirmed, fingers still pressed to his chest like a sign of reassurance. Loki lifted his eyes with a morbid touch of a smile on his lips.
"I did know that and I knew that you were the one person that they all cared about, no matter how much they pretended otherwise. Attacking Fury would not have gotten the same reaction. I wasn't as sorry as I should have been at the time, but if I had been it would have given me away to the Chitauri," Loki said quietly and was shocked with Coulson clapped him solidly on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm not exactly sorry about the thing with the gun either. Come on everyone, breakfast is getting cold," Coulson said and led them like a group of school children into the living area. Most of the Avengers were staring after the SHIELD Agent with undisguised respect and Steve and Tony had each ruffled Loki's hair affectionately.
There was an easy calm that settled over them as they sat down to the breakfast that Phil and Pepper had brought with. It had clearly been purchased from a local restaurant but there was more than enough to accommodate a mortal Thor and Loki as well. Cooking for such a large group had always been daunting so SHIELD had allotted them a meal budget, which Tony was often found to be supplementing.
"So, you are mortals now. But if you still want to help, or even if you just want to lead normal lives…" Coulson said hours later as he passed a set of wallet-like items across the lunch table. Thor grabbed his up and raised his eyebrow at a familiar name.
"Doctor Donald Blake PhD SHIELD Advisor," Thor said aloud, his eyes displaying shock.
"Doctor Lucas Blake MD SHIELD Physician," Loki read and raised his gaze to Coulson's face, consideration apparent in his expression, "Relationship?" he asked delicately.
"That one is up for grabs. There are provisions in place for you to be brothers or cousins, husbands or random people who happen to share a name, you only need to pick," Coulson said and shrugged off the odd glances that the term husbands had gotten him. The blonde and the brunette in front of him however both choked and blushed violently.
"Husbands?" Thor sputtered, carefully patting Loki on the back.
"What? It's legal now. Besides my sources told me that I ought to make it an option," Phil said with nonchalance. Thor turned even redder at the thought of what sort of information they could possibly have gotten from those sources.
"I assume that this relationship is subject to change?" Coulson nodded, "Then for now I will be content to try once more to have a brother. I'll call you if I feel the urge to run away from him or jump into bed with him," Loki said after he had regained his breath. Coulson didn't bat an eyelash at the comment and the rest of the group chose to follow his example and let it go. Though Clint swore up and down that he was going to find his way to that information and he could tell that Tony was probably going to help him.
(A/N: And there it is folks. I hope that you liked it. Let me know what you thought in a review. Also, Coulson's condition is an entirely real one and can be lived with without any complications.)