A/N: Thank you to Guest, Guest, My-chan, Guest, DaiKuro-chan, intern3t, thegriffin88, THORKISUPPORT, oOo, ClintBarton-Loki'sButtWarmer, May Glenn, Guest and EvilConcubine for reviewing. I know Thanos went down pretty easily for a supervillain. I'm not great at writing fight scenes (or at plotting, either) and so wrapped it up quickly.
As he surfaced from unconsciousness, he willed himself back into oblivion's refuge, wanting anything but to face awareness. Yet there was no pain. His body still ached, and his insides still burned, but it was distant, as if behind a wall of palliative. Where was it? It had been constant for so long, and now its absence left him shuddering and flinching in perpetual anticipation of it.
Loki was lying down on his back, but the surface beneath him was soft, comfortable and yielding, and there were no restraints. His eyelids flickered, snatching blurred glimpses of long curtains and a pale, sterile room. A Midgardian healing room. The humans have me.
The hospital bed was only partially curtained off, and his bleary gaze fell on a seated figure nearby. Armour and golden hair. Loki's heart seemed to freeze in place, petrified.
Thor.
Odinson rose to his feet. The last two times they had met in the flesh, Thor had been poisoned and stabbed. Loki had no reason to expect solicitude.
Lie, thought Loki desperately, Lie to him so he doesn't hurt you. Deceit came so fast, weaving webs of deception with the ease of breathing, his last and only defence mechanism – trickery born of fear to protect himself from a threat which was not there. But his own weakness let him down – his burnt throat, beaten mouth and bitten tongue struggled to form words. Drawing back as much as he could, he pressed himself down into the mattress, even though the exertion hurt. His mind screamed at his body to rise, to fight, to flee, but he could barely move a muscle. Seeing Loki recoil, Thor stopped; his hands rose, but they were empty – Mjölnir hung at his belt.
'You're safe, Loki.'
The words were almost meaningless. Nowhere was safe.
'…Thanos…' His voice came out almost inaudible.
'He's gone, Loki. He's dead. The Tesseract destroyed him in its final moments.'
'Thanos promised…if I did it…He promised.'
'Brother, do not speak of it. Do not think of it.' Thor was slightly shaking his head. 'I never took back my forgiveness – you always had it.'
'They wouldn't…stop…They wouldn't stop…'
'Hush. Everything will be alright now.'
Thor moved away. Loki had relaxed slightly. He finally managed to lift his head. They had taken his clothes, he realised in sudden rising panic, but from the waist down he was still covered by a light blanket. The sight of his own mutilated body horrified him – a mess of bruises both old and fresh, yellowish-brown or bluish-purple, with an unhealthy pallor beneath them. He was more injured than he had ever thought possible. The open wounds were wrapped in bandaging, while little gauze rectangles were stuck over the smaller cuts. They mean to keep me alive. Why? Thor does not interrogate me. Nobody comes to question their prisoner or gloat over their fallen god.
He heard liquid being poured, and felt Odinson's fingers slide under the back of his neck, lifting his head. The rim of something hard bumped against his mouth and he felt the kiss of moisture. Loki jerked away, a burst of desperate strength allowing his hands to rise and push feebly at the unwelcome cup.
'Brother, you must drink – it is only water – ' Thor reassured him. The cup's contents splashed over his chin and throat, cool and harmless. Calming down a little, Loki closed his lips and shook his head as emphatically as he could. 'Are you in pain? I'll inform Banner, he can give you something to alleviate it…'
By now, it was apparent that Thor really meant no harm. Had he forgotten everything already? Had he forgotten being lured into Loki's arms, all the better to be knifed in the neck? In shame, fear and exhaustion, Loki allowed himself to close his eyes. When he felt a little better, he opened them again to find Thor's troubled stare still on his face.
'How long…' he swallowed, 'How long was I…there?'
'For a month, brother, or thereabouts.' It had felt so much longer to both of them. 'There is a chance Father may be able to find a way to bring us home without either Bifrost or Tesseract – perhaps dark energy. I hope so, at least.'
'…Father…and Mother…will despise me…' The acknowledgment of family was bitter, but necessary if he was to stay on Odinson's good side.
'Never. How can you think so? You belong on Asgard, and we will prove it. If any dare hate you, I will make them feel otherwise. Your place is with us.'
'Rest. Save your strength.'
Loki made an unintelligible noise of protest.
'They'll come for me.'
'Who? The Chitauri? They are all but wiped out, you need not fear their wrath any more.'
'No…the humans…'
'I will not let that happen. I will watch over you. I give you my word I will not leave your side until you are well.'
Loki searched Thor's face and found nothing in his blue gaze but pity, understanding and tender, misguided compassion. After a minute or so, Loki's breathing slowed to a steady pace. He had lost consciousness again. Troubled, Thor straightened the blanket over his brother's body. No sooner had he resumed his seat than the door slid open. Tony Stark entered. In one hand was a shot-glass of alcohol, and he gestured with it towards Loki.
'He woken up yet?'
'Yes, for a while. We spoke.'
'How did he seem?'
'Agitated. Afraid…of me, even though I meant him no harm.' A thought occurred to Thor; he frowned and said reproachfully, 'You were listening in?'
'Nope. Honestly, I wasn't.' Stark crossed his heart, then admitted, 'Okay, I asked Jarvis to pull up a live feed just in case. I killed the audio though, I figured you guys might want some privacy. Did he tell you anything important?'
'Not really. But I did not ask. Now is the time for rest and healing – questions can wait.'
'You reckon they'll let us keep him here?' said Tony sceptically.
Thor hesitated, knowing it was an undeniable possibility that he and his friends would be refused authorisation to harbour Loki – a dangerous, known threat – at their headquarters, and that Loki would be removed and placed in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.
'Loki may be a criminal in both our worlds, but he is of Asgard as much as I am. Allies or no, Earth would risk war by seeking to remove him from my care.' He made the promise with resignation rather than vehemence, then sighed and rubbed his face. A few hours' waiting seemed to have wearied him more than a millennia of battle.
'Hey, Point Break, you look dead on your feet. Why don't you go get some sleep?'
'Not until my brother is recovered.'
'That might take some time.'
'So be it,' said Thor firmly.
'Well, I'll bring you down a sleeping-bag just in case you change your mind.' Thor nodded his thanks. Tony glanced at the sleeping Loki, cocked his head to the side, running his eyes up and down the battered profile, and winced in sympathy. 'Dude,' he muttered very quietly, then left to fetch that sleeping-bag.
