A/N: Basically, this is for a random drabble-writing challenge I found on Tumblr. I started posting there and figured I might as well post them here too. Hope you guys like them! Leave your thoughts in a review!
In the beginning, it was easy enough. Thor was there to protect him when his plans got him in trouble, and his own cunning saved him when Thor couldn't. Simple. Just like the old days, only with different intentions.
But the longer it went on, the harder it got. Loki wasn't used to endurance. In the past, his quick tongue had brought him out of the fire in a manner of minutes, or he had simply turned to betrayal to get him out of tight spots. Back then it didn't matter who got angry at him. He was on the devil's side, so he expected everyone to hate him, and that made things run much more quickly.
It was the side of the angels that did all the work, he now realized. Being bad meant less rules to follow, less people to care about. But now that his desires had changed, now that he wanted to help his brother and his foster father and the gilded Asgard, everything had to be done perfectly with the least amount of collateral damage possible. Now he had people to please.
It was difficult. He liked to think that it was worth it in the end, though, to finally right all of his wrongs and repay his life-debt to Thor and to chance. He felt tired at the end of the day, but he felt good.
The hardships were fresh, the difficulties bright and new and exciting. It was a start.