It was entirely an accident, no one's fault. But that didn't stop Thor from throwing Mjolnir at Tony's head, and if the billionaire hadn't ducked in time, there would have been Tony brains plastered to the wall behind him. Not pretty.

But Thor hadn't even waited to see of the hammer had hit its target, instead running after his little brother. The other Avengers all went back to what they had been doing before Tony had called them all down to his lab. None of them went to check on Loki, none of them cared enough to do so. Loki was simply a prisoner, someone forced into their midst and told to help as punishment for trying to take over Earth.

But not to Thor. And everyone knew it.

So when they all filed down to the floor that housed Tony's private lab and Loki had been sprayed with some sort of mist that Tony had called a hallucinogen, no one had been surprised when Thor had been the only one to freak out.

Loki had, after coughing and blinking a few times, looked at them with unfocused green eyes that had widened in fear when they landed on the heroes in front of him.

"Loki, calm yourself," Thor had said when Loki had started to hyperventilate. "No one will do you any harm." But Loki hadn't heard, or ignored him, and fled from the lab, the cuffs that blocked his magic glinting in the fluorescent lights.

"It's not going to work, big guy," Tony had said when Thor had called his brother's name. "He was sprayed by a hallucinogen. That means that he'll be seeing stuff that isn't there, probably his worst fears. It'll wear off in about an hour."

It took fifteen minutes for Thor to track down Loki. Ten to tackle him to the ground and pin him, and five to drag him into the elevator and up to the floor that housed the two demigods. That meant that, when they finally got into Thor's room and he had released his brother, he had to wait for another thirty minutes for the hallucinogen to wear off.

Thirty minutes of listening to Loki beg for his life, plead to not feel the sharp sting of a whip or the dull pain of another forcefully taking him.

Thor's mood darkened the more he listened to. Loki's face was covered in tears and his mumbling was nearly incoherent, but Thor could clearly make out the words "please", "I'm sorry", "I'll never help you" and worst of all, "Thanos".

It all painted a very dark and disturbing image in Thor's head, one that was reflected outside by the gathering storm clouds that blotted out the moon and what little stars one could see in the bright city.

Thor was not happy, and when Thor was not happy, everyone knew it.

Thirty minutes seemed to drag by, and the thunderer was nearly crying along with Loki when the chemicals finally wore off. Loki blinked and his green eyes came back into focus. He sucked in a sharp breath and looked around frantically, searching for something- or someone.

His gaze finally fell on Thor and he let out a sigh that sounded suspiciously like relief and bit his lip, more tears filling his eyes. Thor moved instantly, sliding to his knees in front of his brother and pulling him into a hug. Surprisingly, Loki didn't pull back, instead wrapping his arms firmly around Thor's waist and fisting his hands into the red cape billowing from the top of his armor.

"It was terrible, Thor," Loki sobbed, trembling. "I was with them for a year before they managed to take over."

Loki's words confused Thor for a second, but then he understood and was filled with so much fury that thunder shook the sky and lightning struck the ground so frequently that people weren't brave enough to leave their houses for fear of being electrocuted.

"What?" he growled, pulling back so that he could look Loki in the eyes- green eyes, not blue, how could he not have noticed before?- and grasping his shoulders firmly. He knew exactly what had happened, at least he thought he did, but he wanted Loki to confirm his theory.

Loki wouldn't meet his gaze, staring at his still trembling hands. He spoke without looking up, as if he was ashamed of his actions.

"After I fell from the Bifrost," he started softly, hesitantly, "I drifted in the Void for a year. It was excruciating, Thor. I was almost glad for the company when I landed on the Chitauri world, but then I met Thanos."

Loki shivered and Thor shuffled around until he was sitting against the wall and Loki was between his outstretched legs with his head on Thor's chest.

"Go on," he urged gently.

"He wanted to know the secrets of Asgard," Loki said. "He wanted the Tesseract, but I refused to tell him anything. He was… less than pleased." Thor's jaw clenched as he imagined his precious younger brother being tortured by the Mad Titan. "I managed to resist him for a year. But then he created the staff, and I wasn't able to properly shield my mind, I was too weak from…"

Loki trailed off and Thor could definitely hear a note of shame in his words. Before he could say anything about it, Loki went on.

"I didn't let him take complete control, I had strength enough for that. He did manage to take over my body and control my actions, but that couldn't be helped. I had to focus on preventing him from entering my mind."

Thor was going to kill Thanos. Violently. No one messed with Loki and got away with it, no one! But not now. No, right now he had to listen and console.

"I'm so sorry, Thor," Loki whispered, his voice thick. "I never wanted Midgard, he made me attack. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Shh, Loki, it was not your fault," Thor replied firmly. He wrapped his arms around his brother and pulled him close. "It it me who should be apologizing to you."

"For what?" Loki asked. "You aren't the one who let themselves be-"

"Loki!" Thor said sharply, making Loki flinch. "It isn't your fault. You didn't let Thanos do anything. You aren't weak, brother, just because you were tortured for a year and were unable to fight against magic more powerful than your own. And I'm sorry, Loki, for allowing this to happen to you."

"W-what?" Loki sounded a little surprised and he looked up at Thor with huge eyes.

"I did not treat you as you deserved in Asgard, I disregarded you as my equal simply because Father chose me to be king. And, after Thanos made you invade Midgard, I noticed that your eyes had changed from green to blue, yet I did not even consider the fact that you were not yourself, and for that, I am sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, Thor," Loki said, yawning. His eyes slipped shut and Thor realized just how late it was, and that the hour of hallucinating about Thanos had to have left Loki drained. As gently as he could, he lifted his brother up and laid him on the bed. Loki didn't stir when Thor removed his shoes and pulled the blanket up around him, nor when the blonde turned off the light and slid into bed next to him.

In the morning, he would tell his team, and show them if necessary (Tony had been teaching him and Steve about Midgardian technology, so he could pull up the security footage if he had to), but for now, he'd enjoy his time with Loki and the realization that the mischievous, yet unbelievably kindhearted little brother he loved was still there.