Midgard, or Earth, as its inhabitants called it; the one place Loki did not wish to return to, and yet it was the one place he was forced to go. Of course he could not be forced into doing anything, well not without a great amount of 'persuasion,' but there was nothing left for him on Asgard and as a result of that, among many other things, he felt obliged to return.
Loki had purposefully arrived at the rainbow bridge and was out of sight when Thor, Odin, and the crowd arrived to send Thor off. No one cared about Loki, even before the New York incident. It just made him more alone. Alone. That was how Loki was; ever since he was a child. Never good enough for Odin, ridiculed by Thor's friends, not even a real Asgardian. The only people who had showed compassion towards him were Thor and Frigga. But those relationships were battered, partially because of him showing not desire to rekindle them.
Loki could hear the murmuring of the Asgardian people, wanting one last glimpse of their prince before he was gone for who knows how long. He could hear his mother weeping, and Odin's strong voice, "Thor, take care of yourself, and take care of…" His voice trailed off.
"Where is Loki?" Frigga asked tearfully.
"I suspect he has already started the journey," came Thor's reply, "and it is time I should as well."
Thor turned and left Asgard behind, it was not a permanent arrangement and he could not see why everyone thought that it would be. As he rounded a corner and came into Loki sight the two of them shared a glance and nodded. Thor had known that Loki would not have left without him, as well as that Loki had no desire to say goodbye to his family.
Loki did not want to face Odin; his anger still burned toward that man, as he suspected it would for several more centuries. As for his mother, Frigga, he had avoided her, and had not seen or spoken to her since his trial. He felt ashamed, embarrassed, even though the New York incident was not his fault. But it was, Loki thought, if he had only been stronger, stronger like Thor.
Thor tried to make pleasant conversation on the way to Midgard, and their eventual destination Stark Tower. It may not have seemed like it to Loki, but Thor was trying very hard to get his brother back. Loki, never one for chatter replied, but did nothing the further the conversation. Of all the places on this realm, they had to be returning to New York, and Stark Tower nonetheless. Loki was not dreading the arrival, but he was certainly not looking forward to it. Thor had needed to make a pit stop at Jane's upon arriving to Earth to pick up some Midgardian clothing. He did not have the ability to change his appearance as Loki did and they did not want everyone to recognize Thor as the hero who had saved the Earth from Loki's reign of madness.
Leaning against a wall outside of Jane's house, Loki could just pick up her and Thor's conversation from inside.
"Why can't you stay? Just for a while." Jane pleaded with Loki's brother.
"Now is not the time, love." Loki could hear the compassion in Thor's deep voice. "I have to get back to New York, and Loki is with me."
Loki tuned out the rest of their conversation. He did not need to hear Jane and Thor talk about him or New York; he had already heard way too much about the people's thoughts on that subject, on Asgard, as well as Midgard, or Earth, rather. He was going to be here for a while, indefinitely, for the time being, and may as well start trying to adopt the Midgardian's ways, and abandon the Asgardian ones, which had never truly been his own.
After what seemed like no time to Loki, who was lost in his thoughts, Thor and Jane walked out, looking a little more rumpled then before. Loki stepped away from the wall on which he had been leaning, and out of the shadows. An indication of how long he was been standing there, as the sun was high in the sky when they arrived.
Jane, upon seeing Lok,i jumped and grabbed on to Thor's arm.
"Hello, Jane." Loki spoke formally.
Jane then did something that surprised Loki, not that his face showed it. She timidly stuck out her hand, "hello Loki, nice to finally meet you." They clasped hands, and Jane was surprised at the coolness of the Asgardian's hand. Thor's hands are not like that, she thought.
"We had better be going." Thor interrupted, already starting to spin Mjolnir. Loki walked over to Thor.
"Goodbye"
And the two brothers were off, off to Stark Tower, off to greet the Avengers. The people whom a short time ago had wanted to kill Loki, and had not seen him or Thor since.
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