Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel-characters!

AN: Thanks for all the feedback! I'm so glad you're all intrigued by what is going on. More information will be revealed in this chapter. Let me know what you think is going on with Loki! It was rather difficult to write this chapter, so I hope it's all one flowing text. Any and all (constructive) feedback is welcome.

~ Nobody Sees ~

Chapter 4

It was strange to have his little brother around. For some reason, Thor felt like an insecure twelve-year old again. He used to think that he had fixed it all, that - given time - all would be normal again. Leave it to Loki to screw it all up. Thor still doubted the decision of allowing Loki to stay with him for a weak. Perhaps he should call his father anyway, but then he would have betrayed Loki – again. That's not something his conscious could bear.

The first night went down peacefully and Thor supposed he should be grateful. A lot could have gone wrong yesterday, but the worst that had happened was him discovering his little brother smoked. It could have been much, much worse. For all Thor knew, Loki could have been doing drugs. He quickly shook that thought away. He didn't think Loki was stupid enough to touch that wretched stuff.

The morning had come quickly and even though Thor had not slept that well, he had gotten up rather early. His friends and brother were still sleeping so he took the opportunity to enjoy the silence. He sat at the table, a large cup of coffee clenched between his hands while he was reading the newspaper.

The peace and quiet ended as soon as Tony sluggishly entered the kitchen. As usual, the young billionaire looked disheveled and still slumbersome. His eyes were barely open. He yawned as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Good morning," he said with a voice that had not yet been used today, "have you slept well?"

Tony never was a morning person – short tempered and generally a dick - so for him to ask that question alerted Thor that something more was going on. Thor placed down the newspaper and threw Tony a questioning look.

"Why do you ask?"

"Ha," Tony snorted, taking a careful sip from his coffee, "you know why I ask. Yesterday, your previously non-existent brother showed up and it turns out he's been in juvie for a while."

Thor nearly choked and almost broke his cup. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"He told you?"

Tony was clearly surprised by Thor's reaction and Thor wished he could control himself better. But then again, he wasn't Loki, God of Mischief and Lies! It was a nickname Thor himself had given his little brother many years ago. He'd always had a knack for schemes and tricks. Thor never actually thought Loki would live up to that name.

"Relax," Tony said after a short silence, "the guy didn't attack me or something. I asked where he had been staying – with your mom or dad – and he simply gave me truth."

That was unlike Loki. If he told Tony this, then there had been a reason. Loki always did everything with a reason. Thor contemplated on what his brother wanted to achieve with this. Perhaps he wasn't ashamed of where he had been for the past four years? Or maybe the reason here was to throw off the balance that Thor had created with his friends? After all, Loki had always favored chaos above all.

Honestly, he had been such a difficult child to raise.

Tony raised his eyebrows, his gaze suddenly softening.

"What did he do so he ended up in juvie?"

Thor knew his friend had always been curious, but perhaps his curiosity had reached new levels on this matter. Frankly, it wasn't any of his business, but Thor knew he couldn't afford to lie about this anymore. He had seen the looks on his friends' faces. They had all been disappointed that he had kept this from them.

"It wasn't that bad…" So far about telling the truth! Thor sighed heavily and looked down at his steaming cup of coffee. "Loki set fire to a house while the owner was still in it." When seeing Tony's shocked expression, he quickly added, "Don't worry, the owner got out in time, but Loki ended up in juvie."

Tony suddenly turned extremely skeptical when he asked, "For four years?"

Thor should have known he wouldn't get away so easily.

"Well, to be honest, Loki didn't really show remorse afterwards. There were…concerns."

"Damn right!" Tony had turned into a worried house-owner. "If there is a pyromaniac living underneath my roof, then I think I deserved to know that-" Clearly a new thought invaded Tony's mind then. "Oh God, he stole my cigarettes yesterday which means he has a lighter and-"

"Tony, please," Thor interrupted him before he could finish that train of thoughts. It was unnecessary and frankly, Thor didn't really want to hear it at this time of the day. "Loki isn't a pyromaniac. He did some things wrong in his childhood, but he is fine now. A bit impolite, but that's the least of my concerns."

Tony seemed to accept that.

"Then what are you concerned about?"

Thor bit down on his lip before drinking the last of his coffee.

"Everything," he admitted, "I wonder why Loki chose to come here when he clearly could have gotten to mother much easier. She lives fifteen miles away from juvie so why did he decide to come to me, nearly a hundred miles away?"

They both thought about it for a moment, but it was Tony who came with an explanation.

"Maybe he just wanted to see his brother?"

Thor doubted it, but he didn't tell Tony.

"Yeah, maybe."

~ 0 ~

Loki ignored the ringing of his cellphone. He knew exactly who it was, but he didn't want to talk to him. Yet, the ringing continued and Loki thought that perhaps he had been wrong. Maybe it was his mother calling? Loki hated to admit it, but he missed her dearly. He took his cellphone from his nightstand and looked at the caller ID. It wasn't his mother. Even if it had been her, he doubted he would have answered the call.

The last person on this earth he wanted to speak now, however, was Doctor Doom.

He threw his phone onto his bed and left his bedroom. He had slept wonderfully – honestly, the bed was much better than the one he had in juvie – and he had been surprised to find it already past ten in the morning when he'd woken up. Since it was a Saturday, he expected most of Thor's friends to be here. Loki wasn't afraid of them, but he knew they would have questions. He didn't want to be the monkey in the zoo.

When he got downstairs, wearing fresh jeans and a shirt he had gotten from Tony late last night, he found the house empty.

He could hear shouts, however, and laughing. He followed the noise and found Thor and his merry band at the pool. The weather was wonderful and taking a dive was something Loki would have enjoyed. It had been ages since he had even been in a pool.

But he couldn't.

"Oh, hi," Natasha greeted him just before she jumped into the bright blue water. She made a cannonball of herself and made everyone around her wet, including Loki.

Loki quickly stepped back. His shirt was grey and he certainly didn't want it to become see-through. Still he had to keep up pretenses so he plastered a kind and convincing smile on his face.

"Good morning," he greeted the rest of the gang. He took out a cigarette and then he caught Thor's eye. Clearly, his brother disliked his new habit. Well, screw him, Loki thought bitterly.

Steve swam to the edge of the pool and looked up at Loki. He smiled and asked, "Why don't you join us? It's going to be a hot day, so you might as well make the best of it."

Loki let his eyes slide across every face currently looking at him. They all expected the same answer. However, Loki seriously doubted he would have a good day. He shook his head, kindly denying the offer.

"No, thanks," he said. Without another word, he headed back inside. He didn't want to see the looks on their faces. They were probably all confused, but Loki couldn't bring himself to care. As much as he wanted to take a swim, he could not. At least not without revealing everything.

Footsteps sounded behind him and Loki groaned. Clearly someone was following him and Loki prayed it wasn't Thor. He was not in the mood to have a deep, meaningful conversation. Honestly, he just wanted to be left in peace right now.

"Hey, Loki, wait up!" It was Tony who had followed him. The billionaire entered the kitchen, water dripping from his hair. A towel was currently wrapped around his waist. "Clearly you are not a big fan of swimming pools."

Loki rolled his eyes. He took a seat at the big round table and pulled the newspaper closer to him.

"Shouldn't you be outside?" he asked without looking up, "I'm sure all of your friends are anxiously awaiting your return."

"They can last a few minutes without me," Tony joked, "also, I just wanted to tell you that I don't care about what you did four years ago. You're completely welcome here."

Now that did make Loki look up. He straightened his back and leaned back into his chair. He watched Tony come to stand before him. Loki simply couldn't believe Thor had told him. So he keeps his brother hidden for years, but then out of nowhere he spills the completely truth? Loki found that difficult to believe. He crossed his arms before his chest and narrowed his eyes.

"You…know?"

"Yeah, Thor told me this morning about the fire. Next time you should make sure the house is empty."

Loki said nothing for a while. He should have known Thor wouldn't actually tell them the truth. He was far too ashamed for that and besides, Tony would probably kick him out of his house the moment he knew it all.

"Oh, the fire," Loki breathed.

"So if you're afraid that everyone will find out, then I'm here to assure you that they won't hear it from me," Tony added, "and they won't ask either."

Loki wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that.

"Thanks, I guess?"

Tony dropped his arms and wanted to bump his fist against Loki's arm in a good-natured gesture. His arm slipped away, however, and ended up bumping against Loki's left side of his chest.

Loki gasped for air, feeling pain spread across his chest and stomach. He bit down on his lip – hard – but the damage had been done. When he looked at Tony again, he found the man frowning. Loki couldn't only think he had to control the damage.

"Are you all right?" Tony asked carefully, "I didn't think I used that much force."

"I'm fine," Loki lied, using a strained voice. He was still gasping for air. "I've always been sensitive."

A thousand needles were currently penetrating Loki's skin. He pushed himself away from the counter, ignored the little stars currently dancing before his eyes and hurried away without looking back. The longer he stayed around Tony, the more he could reveal. He should have known that it was a bad idea to come here. He should have known! But where else could he had gone to then?

As he made his way upstairs, he could only think: damn.