Notes: I do wonder if there's such a thing as overkill when it comes to spending WAY too much time on character development. Is that a thing...? Anyway, kind of an angsty chapter but not too bad. :3 I hope Robin isn't turning into a Sue.

Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming, your feedback really helps!

Chapter 7: Forgiveness

"How was babysitting?" Natasha asked, giving Clint a bored look. They were sitting alone in Tony's lounge drinking coffee. Natasha was fiddling with her cellphone that she'd broken somehow. Clint didn't ask. He didn't have to. He knew odds were she got tired of Fury calling and threw it against a wall. That happened a lot.

"Loki cleaned up dog shit in Tony's clothes. Oh, and cried over a sick kitten. What's Fury want now?" Clint replied and pointed at her broken phone. She raised her eyebrows. Natasha thought she should ask how he knew it was Fury or if Loki was literally crying, but she reconsidered. Odds were she didn't want to know – on either account.

"I'm not sure. One of the satellites picked up a weird energy signature upstate somewhere but he can't get a clear reading. He wanted Stark to look into it, but he's up in Bruce's lab so hung-over he can't see straight. And Jarvis won't let me access anything to do it myself." Natasha answered, annoyed. "He drank a whole bottle of Smirnoff, two martinis and half a bottle of scotch. Shouldn't that much alcohol kill him?" She continued in an aggravated tone.

"You would think so, but hey this is Stark we're talking about. What did his stocks take a shit again or something?" Clint asked, and dug his phone out of a pocket in his cargo pants. He might as well call Fury and get the daily report over with.

"No, he was fighting with his CEO. The one he used to date, apparently." Natasha told him. "It was kind of pathetic." Clint just rolled his eyes as he waited for Fury to pick up. At least with him and Natasha there wasn't any of that sappy crap. When they fought, they got over it and didn't bring it up a month later to try and prove a point. Though, their fights tended to be a little more on the violent side which usually led to angry make-up sex. Because that just always made everything better.

Eventually the call went straight to Fury's voicemail. Clint hung up and tried again, to the same result. That wasn't right. If you'd asked him, the archer would say Fury didn't even have a voicemail since he'd honestly never reached it before. Fury always answered the phone, no matter what time of day or night. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Did you know Fury has a voicemail?" Clint asked, feeling a tiny bit worried.

"No." Natasha replied, suddenly wondering if she should have dragged Stark's ass into his workshop regardless of his alcohol induced coma.

"Did he say anything else about this energy signature he was looking into?" Clint inquired, making uncertain eye contact.

"No." Natasha said again. Her face was completely blank of any emotion and her eyes seemed distant. Clint knew what that meant, she was thinking something over with everything she worth, and she was nervous. The only time Natasha never showed any sign of emotion was when something had gotten under her skin. That was, obviously, not often. And Clint was probably the only other human being in existence that knew her well enough to see it. "We need to find Stark. I don't care if he is dying from alcohol poisoning."

Tony sipped at his coffee somewhat absently while he watched Bruce work. He'd always thought of himself as being the eccentric that never left his workshop. Bruce, on the other hand, took it the extreme. Tony would swear he only emerged for food and sleep; the lab had its own bathroom so there wasn't even that. Bruce was furiously scribbling equations in a battered looking college ruled notebook, one of those chunky five subject deals. It was beyond Tony why he didn't just use the laptop that was closed and powered down on the table next to him. Or, you know, just ask Jarvis since he had given Bruce nearly unrestricted access to the AI months ago when he first started staying there. Thinking about it, Tony had no idea what Bruce was even working on. Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him.

"What are you doing, anyway? Trying to solve the meaning of life through algebraic expression?" Tony inquired, trying to make sense of the scribbles. He understood the math, but he had no idea what the actual variables represented.

"For me, it might as well be the meaning of life." Bruce replied vaguely. "It's a personal project, sorry. One I've been working on for years now and getting nowhere. I don't really want to talk about it much, but having someone else to talk to at all is nice."

"I could help, you know." Tony said somewhat smugly.

"What do you know about Gamma radiation?" Bruce asked rhetorically, but smiled slightly without looking up from his equations.

"Enough to get by with my tinkering, but I am a genius. Sometimes it's the person who doesn't know jack shit that gets the right answer. Maybe you're looking in the wrong places?" Tony suggested, leaning forward against the edge of the lab counter between them. He wondered if laying his head against the cold metal surface would help his raging headache any.

"I doubt the answer is at the bottom of a bottle of Jack Daniels." Bruce said with a bit of humor. Tony snorted and held his head in his hands. He wanted to laugh, but it wasn't worth the throbbing backlash from the headache.

"Nah, it's at the bottom of a bottle of Crown Royal if it has to be whiskey." Tony said after some time passed by. Deep in thought, Bruce didn't reply. Tony studied him as he tapped the eraser end of his pencil on the counter repeatedly as he pondered something intensely.

"Alcohol. Is a depressant." Bruce said finally, and tapped the eraser a little faster. "Maybe…" He ripped the page out of the notebook and tossed it aside as he started scribbling new equations, completely oblivious to everything around him. Tony raised his eyebrows while he wondered if he was like that then when he was working. Somehow, watching Bruce's furious scribbling, punctuated occasionally by swearing when something didn't balance out, was oddly soothing to Tony. He just watched him for a while, until the bell rang for the elevator behind them. He looked up frowning. He hoped it wasn't Natasha again. He wasn't SHIELD's errand boy and Fury forcing him to stay until the Loki thing was sorted was seriously interfering with his plans for Stark Industries. Bruce didn't notice and kept working. It must be like some kind of meditation to be able to focus like that. Tony thought as he watched Loki and Robin step out of the elevator. Robin looked like a wreck, but he knew that look. He was known for driving 90% of the female population into a similar state like it was second nature to him. Basically, She was a hot mess of sexual frustration and really pissed about it. But he knew the cause was standing right next to her. He just didn't know why Loki was trying so hard (and miserably failing) to get into her pants. If Tony was honest about it, and Loki had been doing that him, it would have yesterday's news that he'd copulated with the enemy. And he wasn't even gay. Loki was damn good at it what he was doing. So either Robin was oblivious as fuck or hated him enough to not let him touch her. Tony had a pretty good idea of which option that was, if not a combination of both.

"Oh no, no, no. What is that and why is it my tower?" He asked, pointing at the kitten curled up in Loki's hands when he noticed it. "No pets allowed, Reindeer Games." It was so small it fit in the palm of one hand easily. Loki glared daggers at him, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, Bruce broke the silence.

"I hate it when you're right, Tony. It's incomplete, but I think it might wo – " Bruce began saying but stopped when he saw Loki with Robin following him at a distance. "Yes, can I help you with something?"

"She is sick, can you help her?" Loki said, putting the kitten on the counter as far away from Tony as physically possible. Robin sat in the chair next to Tony and actually did lean forward and rest her head on the table. Though, he had a feeling she had a headache of an entirely different sort. The kitten wobbled on its little paws and looked up at sadly at Tony with its little blue eyes that had must have just opened in the past few days. He winced.

"Yeah, all right fine, you manipulative little shit. You can stay. Now don't make me feel like any more of a jerk." Tony said to the kitten. It cried weakly. Robin stifled a giggle. "Oh God please. Bruce, just fix it. I can't take it." Tony moaned and hid his face in his hands. He could see Loki smile ever so slightly out of the corner of his eye. Bruce sighed and scooped the kitten up into his hands. After a few minutes of carefully prodding her and listening to her heart, he handed her back to Loki.

"It's just a respiratory infection." He explained. "We'll give her some antibiotics and she'll be fine. She's too young to be away from her mother, though. You'll have to feed her milk with a bottle; she can't eat solid food yet." Robin had already known they'd need to bottle feed the kitten and picked up the necessary things at a pet shop on the way home. Loki sighed in relief. He really had no idea why he was so worried about the little creature, but maybe Tony's comment had been correct. Loki wasn't sure how he felt about being manipulated – that was his job.

"Thank you. I will take care of her." Loki said and held the kitten close. Bruce frowned in confusion as he mixed the antibiotics into a dose that wouldn't kill the poor thing. Did Loki actually care about something? A living thing that he would surely consider being below humans no less. Interesting.

"Put 1/8 of a teaspoon of this into her milk twice a day. I'll keep an eye on her and we'll figure out how long she needs to take it. It shouldn't be any longer than a few days." Bruce said and handed a small vial of powder of Robin. "Either way it should clear up the infection and she'll be swinging off the curtains in no time."

"Ugh. I don't want to hear that. If that thing makes a mess I expect you to clean it up, Princess." Tony said glaring at Loki who glared right back with everything he had.

"Oh come on Tony, it's just a kitten. A sick kitten." Bruce chided him in a sarcastic way. Tony glared at him in mock annoyance.

"You should get one, they're so much less trouble than one night stands and when all else fails, they make good drinking companions." Robin said, finally lifting her head from the counter. "They are manipulative as fuck, though."

"Just like a woman. But one you can't get rid of. No thanks." Tony said and rolled his eyes as the bell for the elevator rang. "Please be Steve. Please be St – damn it." Tony muttered as Clint and Natasha stepped into the room.

"Stark If you're done being a diva, we need access to your tech." Natasha said getting straight to the point and explained what she knew. They were looking for an unusual energy signature that was not registered in the SHIELD databases and had occurred that afternoon somewhere upstate.

"No coordinates? Just upstate?" He asked Skeptically. "Can't you call Fury and at least get me that much to go on?" He whined.

"He's not picking up." Clint said.

"Oh. What is he dead or something? I swear his phone is his fifth limb. That can't be good. Jarvis, get on it. Start with hacking the nearest SHIELD satellite, and give me a readout of any anomalies in the last twenty four hours. Keep to a five hundred mile radius. Use SHIELD database information and cross reference it with our own. Bring it all up down in the workshop." Tony said to the AI.

"As you wish, sir. The results should be ready in four minutes and twenty seven seconds." Came the reply.

"Right then, party in the workshop bring your own booze." Tony said off-handedly and swayed a little on his feet as he left. "Robin Hood, you and Reindeer Games better go find dinner or something. Believe me kids, you don't want to get mixed up in SHIELD's crap."

Robin was a bit angry that she couldn't listen in on the excitement. But she got over it quickly while trying to teach Loki how to feed the kitten. She was so grateful for the little ball of fur that there just were no words. Loki would be way too preoccupied nursing her back to health to think of his usual routine of harassing her. Or so she hoped.

"You've got to name her, you know." She said as she watched Loki feed her with the little bottle. For something so sickly, she had quite an appetite.

"I will call her Frigga." He said a little bit hesitantly after some time.

"Frigga?" Robin asked, curiously. "After the Goddess of fertility?"

"After my mother, who yes is – was – the goddess you speak of." Loki explained. "I think she would be fond of this little creature if she had been able to see it." Robin thought it was interesting that Loki thought of Odin's wife as his mother without the slightest hesitation. But from she'd managed to get him to say about her, it seemed like she was the only one Loki thought actually cared about him. Or at least, the only person that there was there for him when he needed it most. Either way, he was very fond of her. Robin didn't want to think about losing her mother, even if they had grown apart over the years. Though, Jarvis thankfully saved the conversation from getting any more awkward.

"Miss Sheffield, there is a visitor. I would ask Mr. Stark to attend to him, but he his busy with SHIELD's work. Please see to it as you are technically the administrator of Stark Tower." Jarvis said.

"A visitor, this time at night?" Robin asked curiously and looked at the clock on the wall near the elevator. It was just after eight thirty. "Hm. Be right back." She said to Loki.

"Be careful, it seems suspicious." He said, looking out the window. It seemed to be storming in the distance. Something about that seemed ominous. It wasn't quite summer yet. It was too early for thunderstorms. Robin frowned, thinking of the day she met Loki. Did that mean someone else had traveled through the Bifrost? She admitted she didn't know anything about it other than what Loki had told her.

"I'll be fine. Natasha taught me to fight, remember?" She said, smiling. That had been an adventure. She and Natasha didn't really get along. Not that they really fought about anything, but they wouldn't be sitting together at the bar anytime soon. She'd learned a lot. Clint had taught her a few tricks for her archery as well. She was damn good at it, according to him, but they both knew she had nothing on his sheer talent with a bow. She was pretty sure he'd said he was impressed entirely for her sake. When she got downstairs to the deserted ground floor and answered the door, she was more than a little surprised to see who was there.

"Greetings! I do not believe we have met. Who might you be?" Asked an absolute behemoth of a man that Robin easily identified from both the news and the Avengers' stories as Thor – brother of Loki. She just stared for a moment. She could easily understand why the ancients thought of him as a God. Aside from his stature and impressive muscular form, he seemed to exude a sense of confidence and sovereignty.

"Uh, hi. I'm Robin. I am the manager for Stark Tower. Could I help you?" She asked, not quite sure what to say. Surely he was allowed to come and go as he pleased like the rest, right?

"Ah, I see. Like a maidservant?" He asked, curiously.

"Uh, no. Actually, yeah pretty much. Just with better pay." Robin replied. I hate my life. She said to herself. It was mostly true, though. She was paid unbelievably well, but she sent most of it home to mother who needed it more. In general most of her time had been spent looking after Loki, but she had taken care of some issues with Tony's personal accounts. ...And was in the process of having the floor that Bruce remodeled with Loki's face repaired. Tony decided he felt shitty about leaving it that way when Loki wasn't exactly bent on world domination any more.

"I am Thor of Asgard, God of thunder and son of Odin. I must seek the council of the mighty Avengers for the safety of Midgard is threatened." Thor explained. "The computer would not let me in, though."

"I apologize Mr. Odinson." Jarvis replied. "The security is on lock-down as it seems Mr. Stark may already be aware of this threat. So I asked Miss Sheffield here to let you in."

"Thank you, computer." Thor replied, looking up at the ceiling in gratitude as he entered behind Robin. She tried not giggle. Loki grasped technology with ease. Thor on the other hand seemed like an awkward senior citizen who thought it might bite him.

"Thor, this threat… does it have to do with Loki?" Robin asked cautiously and found herself hoping to hell it didn't. Not only for her sake, but because she was actually starting to think he was getting his shit together. She was actually starting to care about him. And damn if that didn't scare the shit out of her. Thor gave a glare that was an odd mixture of pain and mistrust.

"Not that I am aware of. But I will confess that I do not know of his location." Thor said sadly. "I had hoped I might check up on him after father banished him to atone for his crimes. But I could not as he gave Heimdall orders not to tell me where he is. He does not want me to help him."

"He's upstairs." Robin said simply and had to admit she loved the look of utter shock on Thor's face.

"Take me to him." Thor said, no, demanded. She nodded and led him into the elevator. When they got to their floor, Loki was standing by the window watching the thunderstorm draw nearer. Frigga was sleeping soundly on the sofa wrapped up in a towel. She seemed to be breathing easier at least.

"I hate storms." He muttered as he heard Robin get off the elevator.

"Not fond of what follows? That was what you said once, was it not? Brother?" Loki gasped and turned around so fast he nearly lost his balance. For a moment, he just stared at Thor. Then, he panicked.

"Why are you here? I thought I was doing the right thing. Please don't take me back there! I can still do this. I think I can, anyway." Loki burst out and backed up against the window. He knew he had no hope of beating Thor in a fight, but he would rather die than return to Asgard willingly when the headsman's axe would be all that was waiting for him. He would rather die with dignity – his idea of dignity.

"Calm down, Loki. I am not here to bring you back to Asgard. Honestly, I am not here call upon you at all. It is a coincidence. I am… Not supposed to know where you are. Father does not wish me for to aid you in any way." Thor explained. "But Loki, for now, no matter what – promise me you will not remove Gungnir from the stone. Not even if you are worthy! And do not leave this tower, either!"

"I don't understand. What is going on?" The trickster asked, relaxing and coming to closer to Thor. "Can I help at all?" He added, somewhat hesitantly. His offer of help must have surprised Thor as much as it did Robin since he stared at Loki in shock for a moment before speaking.

"No, there is nothing you can do." He told Loki. "And right now it is probably best I tell you nothing. I will speak with the others first. Computer, can you take me to Anthony Stark?"

"Yes sir, enter the elevator." Thor left them without another word.

"He is afraid I will fight for the wrong side. It isn't that he thinks I can't be of help." Loki said, breaking the silence.

"And if you had your powers back now, what side would fight for?" Robin asked. "The one with most benefit to you, I think. And that may not be the right side. But that's the thing, Loki. Right and wrong are entirely subjective. The bad guy doesn't think he's the bad guy."

"If that were true, I wouldn't be here." He answered coldly.

"I meant that you need to decide what feels right to you. Does it feel like you're doing the right thing cleaning up your mess? Or, would you rather rub our faces in it and laugh while you did it?" Robin asked and flopped down on the sofa by Frigga. She stirred slightly but didn't seem to mind. "That's what you need to think about. And not for nothing, but you're the God of mischief. If you want to help, I would be shocked if you couldn't find a way to do so – even if no one wants you to."

"I already know the answer to that. Though it is quite different than the one I would have given you when you first brought me here." Loki replied thoughtfully. "What is it that you desire above all else? Power, fame or maybe unending wealth? Everyone wants something they are not meant to have." He asked Robin with a serious tone.

"I suppose I want to be loved. I don't really care about wealth or fame. Money isn't enough to make me happy. And I wouldn't be much use in a position of power. I tend to follow others, taking the reins never ends well for me." She answered after a tense pause. "But don't get any ideas. I said loved, not fucked silly." He laughed at that, and her indignant expression.

"Being fucked silly, as you mortals put it, isn't necessarily such a bad thing. But if all you desire is to be loved, then why do you push others away?" Loki inquired, sitting next to her on the couch. "You'll die a virgin at that rate." He added with a touch of his usual disposition. Robin glared daggers at him but he only shrugged. She sighed in exasperation and looked away.

"I don't know, Loki. Why do you do the same thing even though I get the feeling that all you want is to be loved?" She snapped and fiddled with her shirt sleeve.

"You didn't answer the question." Loki said pointedly. She huffed and decided she might as well answer. He'd harass her until he got it – one way or another. Just telling him was less painful than finding another rubber snake in her underwear drawer. Robin decided she was going to murder Clint for letting him buy those at that dollar store.

"Because getting too close to people usually just means it's going to hurt that much more when they stab me in the back or... If they die." She answered miserably. "Everyone I've ever let get close enough to know me that well has only wound up hurting me in the end. Even my mother and she's all I have left. Well, except for Sam, but… You took care of that. Not that I would have ever wanted to be in romantic relationship with him. That would be like marrying my brother."

"What about your father? You never mentioned him that I can recall." Loki said, curiously. He realized while he asked her these questions that he did really know next to nothing about Robin. She was that good at keeping people at an arm's length and letting their imagination fill in the gaps. He'd noticed that, just not the extent of it. Which meant, knowing his own tendency to do the same, that he probably wouldn't get anything else out of her about it. Well, it was still worth trying.

"I don't remember my father much." She told him, quietly. "I know that he was a soldier in the Marine Corps. He went away one day and never came back. My mother remarried when I was ten. My step-father was an asshole. He was abusive. While I can say he never did anything to me sexually, he sure as hell beat the shit out of me more times than I can count. I cried at his funeral, though. Not for him, because I know my mother loved him even though he treated both of us like dirt. He was the one who taught me how to hunt with a bow. It was the only time I didn't actively hate the man. He only tolerated me. He'd have rather gotten rid of me somehow if he could have. I was so happy when he died. But I still hate him. Because he left us with nothing and I had to give up the only thing I was still living for because of him. ...Sam's dream of being an archaeologist. I guess if you don't screw things up worse for me, I'll make enough money as Stark's errand bitch to go back to college."

"You don't have any friends? What about siblings?" Loki asked. He hated how much this story was starting to sound like his own.

"You killed the only one." Robin replied. He sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Well, the only I would call a 'friend'. And no, I am an only child."

"Why did you help me?" Loki pressed. Somehow, he couldn't figure it out. Robin didn't seem the type of person to get involved in things that didn't concern her. She'd said herself that she was not one to take control of anything. And considering what her life had been like, and what he'd done to her himself when he killed her friend, he just couldn't fit the pieces together. If it were him, he would not have been so merciful. Perhaps now he would, but never in the past would mercy have so much as crossed his mind.

"I guess I was looking for some reason to try and tell myself that I'm not a waste of space. ...That I have some kind of purpose. I wanted to find some kind of meaning in my life. And Sam would have wanted it. He saw the good in everyone. If he were here, he'd be the one helping you and he'd never give up. I also did something really, really bad and maybe I need to make some amends of my own." Robin explained. "I think I… Need a drink. Margarita?"

"Yes, please." Loki didn't normally drink and he had no idea what a margarita was, but he could sometimes see the merit in it. No less plainly than he understood Robin's reasoning. All that he'd done was a hopeless search for meaning. When he had Sleipnir, he thought he'd found that meaning. But it was all taken from him when Odin took his son from him and when he discovered his true heritage soon after. But she spoke of wanting to be loved above all else. Was that not what he sought as well? Was claiming the throne of Asgard his way of gaining that, even if it was just false adoration? Yes. He couldn't lie to himself, not about that. That was why it hurt so much to lose Frigga. She was the only person who really loved him. He was sure Thor cared about him in a way, but not the way his mother had. Loki hadn't even noticed Robin returning from the bar until she thrust his drink into his hand. It had a tangy, citrus flavor and he had to admit that he liked it a lot.

"I am sorry." He said finally. "But what horrible thing did you do that you feel you need to reconcile?"

"I don't want your pity." Robin muttered bitterly and completely ignored the other question. Realizing he'd reached her limit, Loki let it drop.

"I was not expressing pity, I was apologizing for my actions. What I did to you was no better than what Odin did to me." Loki said as the bell for the elevator dinged. "If that is Thor I will murder him for his timing." He hissed under his breath.

"You and me both." Robin sighed. But it wasn't Thor. It was Tony. His brow was creased in worry, but he was doing his damnedest to put on his usual easy going expression. "Well, where's the fire?" She asked, trying to act as composed as she could.

"It's not as big of a deal as you'd think. Some teenagers got ahold of government tech." Tony said with a shrug. Anyway, we still don't know where Fury is. So, I need you two to keep things in order here. I don't know how long we'll be gone. Behave yourself Reindeer Games. It's Robin Hood's head that'll be rolling if you get in trouble." He told them and left. Loki hated himself, for the first time based not on his heritage, but his actions. She'd put everything on the line for him and while he worked to make his amends, he'd been nothing but an ass to her.

"He's lying." Loki and Robin said in unison. But what choice did they have now? If they were going to be the only ones in Stark Tower, they couldn't leave except for small errands.

"Of course he is. If there was not a major problem, they would not leave me unattended." Loki observed, stating the painfully obvious.

"I need to be alone." Robin said and vanished into her room. Loki stayed in the living area for a while holding Frigga, but went his own way as well when he couldn't stand to hear her crying on the other side of the door anymore.

"I forgive you." Robin whispered when she heard Loki finally leave and go to bed. "I still hate you more than anything, but I forgive you."

"She will never forgive me." Loki murmured to Frigga who was cuddled up on his chest. "I have no idea why knowing that hurts so much, or why I want her to forgive me so badly." He couldn't seem to get it out of his mind that she had mentioned that her mother had hurt her in the past but had not elaborated on it. He wondered what that meant, and if it was similar to his own past like their less than stellar fathers. Frigga had only ever had good intentions where he was concerned, but that did not mean that she had never hurt him. The same could be said of Thor, more so of Thor. Loki knew better than anyone that the best of intentions could cause the worst damage.