It was supposed to be a few weeks.
He promised her that it would be a few weeks. He promised her that he would be back home in time for her birthday - she was going to be 98, after all. He promised her that it was just a routine mission.
Thor had come back to Midgard with an unwelcome surprise. He claimed that if he could leave him out of it, he would have, but they deserved to realize the truth together as brothers should. A half-sister had materialized from the gates of Hel, one that he had dealings with in the past, but a sister all the same. That certainly had been news to the brothers. Destruction was to rain upon Asgard if the pair did not work together, for old time's sake.
He had hesitated all the same, being forced to choose between his old family and his new one. But for the first time, Thor had actually come to him for help without being forced to. Thor had actually trusted him. How could he turn up a chance to finally prove his worth?
When he left Peggy and his beautiful children on their island together, he had never expected that it was the last time that he would ever see them.
Of course, things went awry, but in the end, he ended up right back where he started.
Asgard.
Granted, Asgard was not entirely the same, but they were all safe and they were heading home. He thought of the joyful giggle that would appear on Arik's face as he leapt into his father's arms. He thought of the grin that would overcome his lips as Stella showed him all of the magic that she had progressed since he was gone. He thought of his wife, his Peggy, and how she would accompany him on the next mission with his brother. She would love what had become of this place, no matter the circumstances.
Thor could tell how much he had changed as well, and just seeing him smile again was worth all of the pain that they had endured.
It never lasted.
Thanos was on top of them before they could even blink. Thor had spotted it first and before he had time to warn the rest of the ship, the warning shots had already been fired upon the ship. And deep down, he knew that Thanos had come for him.
He had faced Thanos in the past, but never like this. Never caught off guard, never without a plan, never with something to lose.
Asgard held its own, but it wasn't enough. He knew it wasn't going to be enough against Thanos's endless conquest for the Infinity Stones. And here on this ship, Thanos had two things he wanted desperately: the Space Stone and a certain god's head on a spike.
Bloodied and beaten, he never gave up. He kept going because he finally had something to live for, something to return home to.
Giving up the Tesseract for Thor was easy, even though he hated to admit it. He was trapped in a corner, and after everything that his brother did for him, saw in him, he knew he would never forgive himself if Thor winded up dead because of him.
Giving himself up later.
That was harder.
After the failed attempt at Hulk's ambush and Heimdall's dark magic, he stood there in the shadows, watching the slaughter of his own people. Thanos had two out of six of the Infinity Stones, and his next stop was Midgard, his home. He would not stop until he conquested and destroyed every single place in search of the Stones. And on Midgard, he knew that she would help save the planet from this monster.
And that was when he made a split second decision.
A final decision.
He stepped out of the shadows, against his better judgement, against his inner mind screaming at him to stop and wait for the dust to settle. He stepped out of the shadows for one last chance to stop Thanos before he had the opportunity to hurt anyone else.
Thoughts of Thanos decimating his home, taking his family from him, ripping his children away from their mother, using them as an example- It was all too much. If he had a chance to prevent that from happening, he was going to take every last moment he could.
And so, he closed his eyes, and he stepped out of the shadows.
He stood there, still as a rock, in front of the monster that threatened his family. He stalled for time, hoping that the rest of the Black Order would be ready for decimation if it came down to it. And then, with thoughts of Peggy, Stella and Arik on his mind, he took his last chance.
His plan wasn't foil-proof. In fact, he didn't even have a plan. The only thing that was on his mind was his family. No magic, no tricks, just him and his dagger and Thanos's throat.
He made it to his throat, even sliced it, but with Thanos, it was never enough. And deep down, he knew it.
He knew, one way or another, he was going to die his last life here on this broken floating form of Asgard. He knew that this was where his story ended. His only hope was to try and let his death be the last one in a long chain of Thanos's tyranny. If he was going to die, at least he would die knowing that he did what he could to save the people that he loved.
As Thanos's fingers closed around his throat, he barely even struggled. One way or another, he knew that it would be the end for him. One way or another, he knew that Thanos had caught up to him for the last time. But for the first time, he was no longer afraid.
He had lived a long life full of chaos, but for this past decade, he had lived a happy life. He finally had achieved everything he wanted, and it was nothing like he had expected. He had never expected to fall in love, to get married, to have children, and he had never expected to love every moment of it.
He only hoped that his sacrifice would mean the rest of his family's survival. And it did.
As the last of the light faded from his eyes, he laughed, knowing that Thanos would never win. And even if he did, he would never find happiness and love.
And that was reason enough for Loki to die with a smile on his lips.