Post Ragnarok.

And the ship's shadow swallowed the smaller one, dwarfed in size and prominence.

His stomach had long since fallen, but he wouldn't let Thor know. He needed to keep face and think of something.

Loki looked over at his brother…yes. Brother mostly now. And he knew that the Chitauri were looking for him. They had been since his previous jaunt on Midgard.

And there was nothing that could make that particular endeavor more palatable.

"Thor," he said softly.

And the God of Thunder, fully realized now, looked at him. "They're looking for you," he replied, the ship the Aesir were on being swallowed by a door in the undercarriage.

"Looking might be an overstatement."

"What would be accurate, then?"

Loki looked back to the window, and sighed.

"…he's not the traitor that you believed him to be, Your Majesty," Heimdall's voice came from behind.

"I don't think he's a traitor, Heimdall. I think he's an idiot," and Thor ran a hand through his shorn hair.

Loki blanched. That was rich, being called an idiot by Thor. "You know, I was a different man then. And I have paid, many times over, for those transgressions."

"And what of your current ones?"

Loki looked at the seer. "What do…?"

"I am not daft, God of Mischief," he held his gaze long.

They were now in the bowels of the beast, the sound of the ship's door closing echoed loudly in the expanse.

Thor looked at the people standing in a crowd behind him.

Loki watched him as he examined his features.

"All will be well!" he called. "There is nothing to fear. The Chitauri have some business with my brother here…once that is cleared, we will be moving on."

Loki looked on at the people…the people he had deceived for nearly four years. "Thor. I don't know if…"

But he turned toward him fitfully. "You will sort this out, Loki. I'll not have these people, these people who have suffered and had the only home they ever knew ripped from them, suffer more. You will fix this so that we might be on our way once more."

He swallowed. His Adam's apple bobbing in worry and uncertainty. The Chitauri were puppets of Thanos.

And Thanos…he was one of the only beings he feared in the cosmos. He feared him because he knew that he saw through him.

Loki nodded. "I'll…" he smiled very small. "I'll…" he looked at the Aesir. "See what I can do."

Thor took Loki's arm, brought his ear to his mouth. "You will do whatever you possibly can to see us back on track, brother."

There was a loud bang, and the hatch fell open below them.

"We are looking for Loki of Asgard," one of the Chitauri guards moved with some comical jerks and affected looks.

"Are you injured?" asked Thor.

"No questions, Aesir."

"How do you know we are Aesir?"

"We know things…we have our information."

Loki stepped forward. "I can come with you," he said.

They stepped aside, not looking at anyone but Loki.

Thor had a satisfied smile, confident and assured. "We will wait for you."

"I wouldn't count on anything, Thor," he replied.

…and he disappeared with the guards as the hatch closed.