Hey people, this is I Know Love Hurts with my first Avengers Fan-fiction piece so I hope it's up to the standards of every amazing author and reader on here ^^. So thank you for taking the time out of your life to read this. I really appreciate it ^-^

Anyway, this is a Fan-fiction inspired by an image on Deviant Art by 'AmyWinterbreeze'. It's called 'Hold Me' and it's the cutest picture ever (From a morbid point of view).

Here's the link to the picture, browse. deviantart art/ Hold-me-314226268 (Just get rid of the spaces)

Happy reading! Hopefully ^^'

The sky was darkened with thick, black clouds that rain heavily across Central Park. The battle was over, the battle of a thousand to subdue one man. The thousand were scattered over the large field, dead and unconscious, all having fallen following their orders without a second thought. The man, Loki Laufeyson, the Trickster, the Silver tongue, the forgotten prince, leaned heavily against his scepter as if a walking stick as he stood unsteadily on his feet, blood, both his and the enemy's, splattered all over him. His clothes were ripped and torn, with a few larger rips revealed deep burning gashes in his all too pale skin. His face was drained of colour and his eyes were dull with exhaustion and agony.

Yet, not one of them thought to help, not out of hate or fear of the public's opinion, but out of none of the Avengers knowing how to help the God. None of their powers were on par with the might of the Asgardian Dwarfs with their mission to follow, to bring the prisoner back and to go before Odin for his crimes against 3 realms once more.

The Dwarfs, despite their race, were extremely graceful, agile, highly skilled and strong. One punch dented Tony's armor, quite impressively on his shoulder. Clint was blown from the tree he was perched in by their version of an exploding arrow. Luckily, Hulk liked Clint and caught him but he was out for the count. Natasha had a few gashes over her but was still standing. Hulk and Cap were the only two making any progress without getting injured.

They couldn't do anything, other than watch from the side-lines, none of them daring to breathe as the God struggled to stay on his feet, like a lone solider who had watched his entire platoon fall in a brutal massacre, deprived of all hope that there was a good out come to follow the tragedy.

But despite it all, as a few lonely shadows gathered and charged at the defenseless God, Loki quickly rose, all his previous pain and exhaustion forgotten and battled once again. He raised his scepter, colliding with the Dwarf's sword, sending off white sparks as the slid away, readying them-selves for another attack. The God quickly dodged their attacks, slicing and stabbing in return as the rain continued to pour down on them.

As quickly as the Dwarfs advanced, they were taken down with ease. The adrenalin, that pushed Loki to attack, left him the second the danger was no longer present and he collapsed to his knees, his legs too weak to hold his weight any longer. His scepter clattered to the ground, seconds later disappeared in a dim glimmer.

"JARVIS? Any more left?" Tony asked desperately, knowing that he had to be with him. After all that has happened to him, this fight that decided his fate, they were powerless to intervene. Their powers were weaker than the might of the Asgardians and because of that, it had left Loki alone to defend himself from the bulk of the army. Tony felt useless to help in anyway and he didn't like it at all.

"No sir, I am unable to detect any more Warrior Dwarfs fit to fight within a 10 mile radius." JARVIS replied in his smooth voice.

"Get the suit off now, JARVIS."

"Yes sir." Tony could feel almost instantly his suit unhook, click and pop off around his body. His second skin returned to its hand held form at his feet and Tony ran. He ran towards the God.

During the time Loki had been with them, none of them realized how much they had all came to care for the Deity, especially Tony, himself. When Thor brought him back from Asgard after 3 months of his punishment, it was something, none of them were expecting and voiced their opinions quite passionately. But, he came back to Earth in such a mess that they all holted their disagreements. Bruce didn't exaggerate his injures, he literally had some type of wound everywhere on him. There wasn't a single part of him that was left uninjured.

At the time, Tony was still holding a grudge over being thrown out the window, but he let it all drop when he saw the unconscious God, laying limply in Thor's arms, he couldn't hold onto it anymore. He had suffered enough. Loki looked so weak and was barely breathing when Bruce started to fix all his injuries with the help of himself and Steve, correcting bones, stitching up gashes, bandaging up his wounds and checking his vitals.

The whole time, Thor sat quietly down in the corner, his whole body shaking with sadness and fear, his eyes holding tears that, which had been drilled into him from a young age, shouldn't be allowed to fall, but every so often, they all heard the sniffs and muted sobs escaping from the Thunderer. Tony spared him a look, and he had to turn away as soon as he did, he couldn't deal with seeing one of the most emotionally controlled members of their team looking so lost and afraid, almost made him shed a tear for them both. There bond was something that shouldn't be easily ignored. The love was there, Tony jut knew that the trust wasn't.

It was only when Loki was resting after his wound see too, when Thor was ready to tell them what happened to Loki, his brother life through the Thunderer's eyes. It took three hours, but the story was told, arguments were resolved and resentments left in the past, as Thor talked about Loki's punishment which were too horrific to even imagine, to cruel and heartless to be used against anyone, and the Avengers couldn't help but pity him. Then Loki limped into the room, looking completely broken and lost, and ashamed, ashamed of him-self.

Out of them all, Tony was the one who could relate to most of Loki's problems as well as a few guesses as to his other problems. Depression, low self-esteem, self-hatred, suicide and destructive tendencies were only to name a few. Tony sympathized with the Gods life and knew that he was just scared and confused and angry, mostly at himself.

So the Avengers did what they were best at, helping those in need. They helped Loki heal, helped him stop hating who his was, helped him learn that Odin was the one at wrong, and not him and helped him finally be himself and be happy with who he was. They gave him a home, gave him a family and most of all, they gave him the love he had needed for centuries that he never got in Asgard, Only or all that to go down the drain when Odin ordered those Asgardian dwarfs to pull Loki back to Asgard to complete his punishments.

But the Avengers wouldn't allow it. Loki was now their friend, a part of their family, and nothing was going to touch him, mentally, physically or emotionally. He already had a life time of it and they weren't going to let anyone subject the God to that ever again. It was a silent promise they had all made, each in their own words.

You may have taken over my mind, but I won't let anyone touch you again.

You are my brother, I will take an oath to protect you from any more harm, as I should have done before.

We all deserve a second chance, trust me, i know about that. You've done your time.

You're seriously smart and have a quicker wit than me, you're one of my closest friends, and no one is touching you again. Ever. As long as I am alive.

You are a good solider, despite our first encounter. You're a good friend and I will protect you from any form of harm. You are my family. I'll protect you all till my dying breath.

The other guy may still hold a grudge but you are an amazing person to talk to. Me and the Hulk will keep you safe and happy. We promise.

"Loki!" Tony cried, dropping to his knees in front of the God, bringing his hands gently down on the God's shoulders. "Loki, look at me, please?" Tony begged, eyes pleading at the Tricksters bowed head.

"I'm done," Loki whispered barely enough strength to speak. "I'm… I'm just done with it all…" Tony looked at him, saddened.

"Don't give up, Loki. No one should give up."

"What's the point?" Loki challenged with a breathless laugh. "No matter what I do, I can never correct my wrongs. I'll always have someone after me for vengeance or to fulfill justice. Odin will never stop until I am punished more than before." He whispered as tears shuddered on his eye lashes before felling gently down his face, mixing with the dirt and blood. A shuddering sob broke from Loki's lips, making it harder for Tony to contain his emotions. "When will I have done enough to show everyone I am sorry, Tony? Why does everyone refuse to give me a chance? Why does everyone choice to ignore that I am trying?" Loki sobbed.

Tony's heart broke, and he was angry. Loki has never been able to catch a break in life to show people he is more than the names, the rumors, that he was equal to Thor in every way and more than him in some. All his life, everything has just tried to knock him down and keep him out, but he stood over it all, standing proud while on the inside, he was slowly breaking and had no one to turn to. And even now, despite his mistakes (granted extremely bad mistakes) no one was willing to give him the chance he needed to correct his mistakes. He was a good guy, Tony and the rest of the Avengers knew it. They knew he was good, they knew he had made up for his mistakes, his crimes. The only problem was, they were the only ones who could see him. They were the only ones to see him so venerable and afraid, and saw how much he hated himself. He needed a break and the moment he was given one, Odin took all that away. And he was back to first base again.

Loki pulled his neck up to face Tony, tears in constant supply.

"I'll never fully make up for what I have done, I know that…"

"We all have red in our ledger," Tony smiled sadly.

"But haven't I done enough to show him I'm not as bad as my past actions have shown anymore. Sometimes… I just wish he had never taken me in, never took me back to Asgard from Jotunheim, left me to die. Was it really worth doing after all I have caused?"

"Yes…" Tony whispered. "Yes, Loki. It was worth it, it will always be worth it."

"How? How was it worth it? I am nothing, I have never been what's been expected of me, I'm a mischief maker and a trickster. I lie so much and so well that sometimes I can't decipher which is a lie from the truth. What is the point, in anything?" He asked, raising his head to the sky. "Why can't it end?" Needless to say, Loki was shocked when Tony wrapped his arms around his neck and held him close.

"We don't care about what you have done in the past. And Odin shouldn't either, but he shouldn't matter. A Dad should love their child, no matter what they have done or who they become, and if they do… then they aren't worth the time of day. But no matter what happens, whoever you are, there are people who care for you. Me and the rest of us care a lot about you. You've done enough in our eyes to prove that you have made up for your wrongs. But you are worth everything to us. You have to believe me in that. We'll do our best to protect you, even though you've proven you can do it yourself just fine. We'll all be there for you, you've earned us and once that happens, it's hard to shake us loose. We're not going to leave you to fight this alone, no matter what." Tony laughed as tears of his own began to fall and his smile grew when Loki, brought his arms around Tony and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Promise?" The God whispered, the last of his strength to stay conscious started to leave him.

"We promise, we'll be with you, every step of the way." Tony smiled.

"Thank you." Loki smiled as his eyes rolled back into his head and slumped into Tony's hold as he fell into unconsciousness, feeling safe in Tony's hold as the rain continued to fall.