Okay so I've been away from this story for so long that I've entirely forgotten what my plan was for this bit. Also how to write these characters. I've done my best. Sorry that it's kind of shit.

Tony woke up with what could only be described as a hangover. The headache that Loki had vanished was back with a vengeance and even lying flat on his back, the ceiling above him was wavering sickeningly as he blinked at it. God he hated magic. When it wasn't saving his life, that is.

"Jarv?" His voice sounded as bad as he felt.

"Are you quite well, sir?"

"I've had better days. Fill me in. Where's Fisk?"

"Director Fury had several agents collect him a few hours ago and transport him to the helicarrier. It is my understanding that he is currently being interrogated for information."

Tony smiled bleakly. "Well that sure sounds like fun."

Jarvis wisely remained silent, though Tony could have sworn he felt disapproval emanating from the very walls. He scowled to himself.

"He almost got Pepper killed Jarv," he reminded him. "You don't really expect me to give a damn about what happens to him, do you?"

"Of course not sir."

The words hung in the air, still somehow accusing. Tony shifted uncomfortably, thinking that it seemed drastically unfair that he was being shamed by his own creation when he felt like he'd just died and come back to life a few times. Didn't he deserve a little slack after everything he'd been through?

His headache wasn't going away sadly, so he forced himself to roll out of bed with as much grace as he could muster, trying not to throw up all over himself as his stomach protested the motion. Since there wasn't a strangely helpful magician standing around, he needed Tylenol. It took some scrambling in the bathroom with bleary eyes to find the right pills, but he managed well enough and downed as many as he could without killing himself.

"Are you certain you don't want me to send for a doctor sir?" Jarvis questioned politely.

"What exactly would I tell them? I'm feeling a little down because I spent a few hours in a god's brain? I'm pretty sure there isn't a treatment plan for this." Tony poked mutinously at his forehead as though there was any chance of the pain subsiding, then stumbled out of the bathroom and collapsed back onto his bed. "Where is everyone, J?"

"Agents Barton and Romanov both elected to accompany Fisk to the helicarrier and have yet to return. Dr Banner is in his lab. Captain Rogers is currently with Thor in the living room on the floor below you."

"And Loki?"

"Asleep in his room. He has been like that for some time."

"Let him sleep. He probably deserves it after everything that's happened. Monitor his vitals would you?"

"Of course sir," Jarvis replied calmly, though Tony felt that bizarre sense of disapproval again. "Do you have reason to believe his health is at risk?"

"Fuck, I don't know." Tony's pain was making him edgy, getting his back up at nothing at all. He hated it. "He had another vision while we were gone though. I think they're getting worse."

Anyone who didn't know Tony as well as Jarvis did might have pushed then, asked him why he was so concerned over someone who was rightfully still an enemy, but the silence hung in the air. It was obvious that Tony's relationship with Loki had drifted into something of a grey area and yesterday's experiences had only driven that home – they were not the enemies they once were. That wasn't to say that they were friends or even really allies, but something significant had shifted even if Tony couldn't quite work out what.

"When this is all over, I'm going to sleep for a week," he said.

"Very good sir."

"You said Thor and Steve were in the living room?"

"Indeed sir."

Tony wanted nothing more than to just collapse back into the sweet embrace of his pillows but he knew that it wouldn't achieve anything. He was in too much pain to try to sleep anymore and after yesterday, he could probably do worse than talking to the people who had suffered through the same thing as he had.

When he got downstairs, it was something of a comfort to see that Thor and Steve both looked as wrecked as he did. He saluted them before snatching a glass from the shelf and getting himself a glass of water (he could be responsible now and again, alright?)

Steve watched him carefully. "I take it you're feeling no better then?" He asked, nodding towards the glass of not-scotch.

"Turns out you should really read the label on suspicious magical concussion cures," he replied easily, letting himself sink into the sofa beside the Captain.

Thor, in the armchair opposite, frowned. "This is my brother's doing?"

"Nah, not really. Side effect from all the crap yesterday. Mere mortals like me aren't quite so resilient as you all seem to be." Tony tried to say it like it didn't matter but he couldn't help feeling a little bitter at how frail he felt around people so vastly physically superior to him, especially with everything going on.

"If it makes you feel any better, I feel awful too," Steve said lightly.

"That is comforting."

There was a temporary pause as they relaxed into each other's company, before Steve sighed heavily. "Thor and I were just trying to wrap our heads around what's been going on. I've got to admit, when you offered Loki a place to stay, this was not exactly what I had in mind."

"You and me both. I still think it was the right decision."

Thor beamed. "I thank you for that. You had many reasons not to trust him and yet you did so anyway."

Uneasy with praise he wasn't sure he deserved, Tony shrugged lightly. "I wouldn't say that I trusted him exactly… The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that. He's given us no reason to break this truce as yet."

"You offered him shelter before you knew any of that. I am grateful for your kindness."

Still feeling unsettled, Tony said nothing. Steve glanced between them uncertainly for a moment before forcing the conversation onwards. "If we survive this, we might be running into problems with SHIELD in the near future."

"Eh," Tony huffed, unconcerned. "Fury likes to talk a hard line but at the end of the day he's going to fall in line. He has to. No matter what happens, he needs to support the Avengers because we're all that stands between things like Thanos and Earth."

"You say that like you're not scared to death of the guy."

"He needs to support the Avengers," Tony stressed. "Not me. I'm 100 percent sure he'd be happy to see my balls in a jar on his shelf."

Steve managed a disapproving, "Tony," but he was laughing too. It didn't go unnoticed that he didn't try to deny it.

"If it comes to it, I am willing to bear the responsibility for my brother's presence," Thor put in solemnly. "SHIELD holds no power over me and they would not doubt me if I claimed to have been trying to help Loki."

Tony almost wanted to cry. Trust Thor to offer them an easy out should everything go south, despite the fact that they were only in this situation because of Tony's stubbornness and split-second decisions. "Thanks big guy, but I'm not sure that's necessary. Besides, we all know that Fury's going to find some way to pin this on me no matter what happens now – I lied straight to his face and he knew it. That's going to come back to bite me."

"No one is taking the fall for this alone," Steve put in firmly, looking mildly offended at the prospect. "We're a team. We were all involved in this and we all know the costs. If Fury wants a fight, then he's going up against all of us. Alright?"

"You really are a team player, aren't you?" There was no menace in Tony's voice and it was taken as the gentle mocking that he intended. Steve flicked at his shoulder lightly.

They lapsed into companionable silence, broken only occasionally by passing comments. It was nice to just relax for a little while amidst the chaos that their lives had become, especially when Tony's head was pounding so fiercely he thought that his brain might start trickling out his nose at any minute. For the first time in weeks, Tony let himself just enjoy the moment.

Of course that would be when Steve would choose to ruin the moment. "So, yesterday wasn't exactly what I was expecting."

Tony snorted quietly. "Is that polite-talk for 'Loki is way more sane than I'd first thought?'"

"More or less."

"My brother is not insane. He professes otherwise at times but that has never been his problem. He is more… complex than that." For once, Thor didn't look thoroughly broken hearted at the thought. Something had happened between him and Loki which had changed things but Tony wasn't about to try to muscle in on that relationship – the last time he'd done that, he'd nearly gotten himself killed.

"Complex being the key word there. Seriously, I've never known a person more confusing."

Steve sniggered. "Please tell me that isn't curiosity I hear. Only you could end up fascinated with a guy who wants to kill you."

"Hey, he's been alright up until now – absolutely no murders or anything. C'mon Steve, he has magic. Like actual, real life magic. I'm a scientist. It is my utmost duty to figure that shit out."

"You're an idiot."

"Magic, Steve."

"You know when this is all over and Loki turns up looking for your head, I'm not even going to be surprised."

Tony laughed good-naturedly. "Are you ever surprised when someone starts looking for my head?"

"Not really. But every now and then you manage to out-do yourself. Truly it's a gift."

"I feel like we've drifted off topic here," Tony pointed out, eyeing the way Thor looked as though he was trying to work out if they were serious or not. "Why do all our conversations end with you being exasperated at my life choices?"

"You make it very easy to be exasperated," Steve said drily, but he let it drop without an argument. "How are you feeling, anyway? I get the feeling that yesterday was harder for you than for us."

"I wouldn't say that – it's just that not all of us normal humans have the same healing factor. My skull feels like someone took an axe to it, but that's basically it. I think. Now that I think about it, I should probably run some scans or something." He didn't know why it hadn't occurred to him before now, but he suddenly realised that he had no idea whether or not spending an hour in Loki's head had done any harm to him physically.

"Sir, if I may," Jarvis put in calmly, "I have been monitoring the vitals of the team since your return yesterday. Beyond minor fluctuations attributed to pain, there appears to be no cause for concern."

"That's something, at least." Tony rubbed at his face, wishing that his head would stop hurting for even a few minutes so he could think straight.

"You should rest Stark," Thor said quietly, looking concerned. "You do not look well."

"It's just a headache. I'll be fine."

"You should not take what happened so lightly. The magic required to pull one out of their own mind and into someone else's is far more complex than you could possibly know. Even I do not understand it completely. The strain that such a thing puts on your body is not something you should disregard." There was a quiet intensity to Thor's words, a desire to warn him against the dangers while not trying to actively anger him about what happened. Always looking out for his brother.

"You guys seem to be bouncing back okay," Tony pointed out lightly. "It really is just a headache. That's what I get for bashing my head against a metal door, I guess."

Thor didn't look happy but there wasn't anything he could do to force Tony to go and get some rest, so he resigned himself to leaning back with a moody frown. Steve looked similarly unconvinced but likewise let the matter rest. Maybe they really were starting to knit together as a team.

"Has anyone heard from Nat and Clint recently?"

"They called before to say that Fisk was secure on the helicarrier, but that's it," Steve informed him. "Clint said they hoped they'd be back some time this afternoon but if Fury gives them something else to look at, they might get delayed."

"We need to tell Fury about what's happening," Tony said without really thinking.

Opposite him, Thor went completely rigid. "You would tell SHIELD about my brother? He has not broken the truce so there is no need-"

"No, Jesus," Tony cut in smoothly, wincing when his head throbbed in pain. "That's not what I meant at all. I'm squarely on Team Loki right now, chill. My point is that at any moment we might be in the middle of a galactic war and we should probably give SHIELD a little heads up."

"How exactly do you propose we do that?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't know. Are you really going to tell me that you don't think we should tell them?"

The Captain sighed slowly, turning his gaze to the window as though he could find the answers in the city beyond. "No. You're right. But I can't think of any way we can tell them without exposing more about what's going on here than we want to. You said it yourself – Fury's already pissed off with us because he knows that we've been lying. He's smart enough to have worked out something big is on the way. If we give him any more than that, he's going to connect the dots himself."

Tony ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Steve was right, of course – they'd managed to back themselves into a corner without even realising it. "Why is it that everything seems to be going wrong?" He bemoaned.

"We're still alive. That's a win, right?" Steve barely looked like he believed it himself but he was trying to smile regardless.

"I'd be more comforted by that if Clint, Pepper and myself hadn't been mortally wounded since this whole thing started."

Steve raised one shoulder in acknowledgement. "Granted that's not the best track record. We're still here though. That counts for something."

"My brother seems to have truly dedicated himself to this alliance," Thor put in. "I have not seen him like this in many years. He is… certain of his course."

"I get the feeling that having something like Thanos on your tail will do that to a person," Tony said mildly.

Thor grimaced. "The titans of legend were certainly foes to be wary of. Even now I can scarcely believe that one of them still lives – these are the monsters used to frighten the children of Asgard into behaving. To think of them as real beings… I hadn't thought it possible."

"Well," Tony said slowly, mulling that over in his head, "Here's to the impossible then." He raised his glass in a vague toast. "Thankfully, we've faced pretty impossible odds before. Maybe we won't die this time either."

"Dear lord, is that what you being optimistic sounds like?" Steve laughed. "We really are in trouble."

"Shut up."

Tony excused himself not long later when the pain in his head started reaching levels that he couldn't easily hide. There was no point in letting Steve and Thor worry over him like mother hens when there was absolutely nothing they could do to help him.

Weary but unable to sleep, he staggered his way down to his lab. It was soothing to be back there on his own, as though he could pretend just for a moment that none of this had happened. He could admit that the team had weathered this shitstorm better than anyone might have expected – even if that was almost solely down to Loki's intervention – but that didn't change the fact that now Fisk was out of the way, they needed to devote their attention to Thanos. He no longer had anything to distract him from the looming threat of a titan knocking down their front door.

"Jarvis, give me something. Anything. I don't care. I just need to do something, alright?"

"You have several suit repairs that need completing sir. Would they be sufficient?"

He weighed the idea, then nodded. It wasn't like he had much else right now anyway and it would provide just enough of a distraction to stop him going crazy. "Sure, why not? What am I starting with?"

"Your chest plate suffered several heavy impacts during the fight at Fisk's compound. That would appear to be the most pressing issue right now."

He could distantly remember taking the brunt of several anti-aircraft shots – it already felt like years ago. "Sounds like fun."

Losing himself in his work was as easy as it ever was. The continuous noise as he worked over the metal did nothing to help the pounding in his head but it was a fair trade off to feel relaxed. In fact he was so content, he barely noticed when Loki appeared on the other side of the bench.

"Um," he said ineloquently, when he looked up and saw the god standing there. He didn't even have the energy to be surprised. "Hello."

"Thor tells me that you are in need of my help."

"You've been speaking with Thor?" He wasn't really sure why that was the part of the sentence that his brain took issue with but he wasn't going to fight it. From the looks of it, Loki didn't understand it either.

"I admit that it is strange but not unheard of. Is there a reason I shouldn't be speaking with Thor?"

"I- Er. No? Just- Fuck, it doesn't matter."

"You are unwell?"

"Side effect from bashing my head into a metal door – no biggie." Tony shrugged like his brain wasn't trying to push his eyeballs out of his skull. "I've had worse headaches before."

Oddly, his blasé attitude didn't appear to reassure the god. Loki's brow furrowed in real concern as he took a hesitant step towards the engineer. "My healing spell has worn off?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's fine, seriously."

"You misunderstand me. That spell should have lasted for at least a few days – I specifically designed it to work over a long period of time."

That was… troubling. Tony grimaced. "So, what does that mean? There's something wrong with my head or your magic is out of whack?" Honestly at this point he couldn't decide which was worse.

Loki's face was a mix of confusion and worry. He crossed his arms carefully, still watching Tony as though the answers might be about to spring right out of his skull for Loki's inspection, but whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it. "It is possible that in my exhaustion I miscast the spell," he said eventually, still sounding like he was unsure.

"Does that happen often?"

"To my knowledge, it's never happened once. At least, not like this."

Could just one thing go right for once? Please? "What do you mean?"

"It's easy enough to miscast spells. Casting them in the first place requires great amounts of focus and practice – if you aren't paying sufficient attention then you can cause all sorts of mayhem. Healing spells are… more complex than most others. As a general rule, living things are complicated networks of muscle and blood and bone. If you don't understand that then you might end up 'fixing' something that does not require it."

Tony hummed thoughtfully, trying to pretend he wasn't ludicrously interested in how magic worked. "Make sense."

"The complexities make it almost impossible to cast wild healing spells. It cannot be done 'on the fly,' as you would say."

"So when you pouffed away my headache you were using a specific spell."

"Yes. If I performed a spell such as that incorrectly then one of two things would happen: The spell would not work and your head would still have hurt, or it would have blown up in my face. I doubt you would have survived."

A thrill ran down Tony's spine. "That's not particularly comforting."

"I never tried to tell you that magic wasn't dangerous. It is incredible, certainly, but raw power always has the potential for destruction. Surely you know this." Loki's face was challenging, daring him to deny it.

Tony thought about a reactor keeping him alive even as it poisoned his blood, about a blue cube filled with knowledge and a portal to the end of the universe, about a god who could tear the world open and throw himself into the void on a whim. He inclined his head. "Power and destruction certainly seem to go hand in hand when I'm around. This still doesn't explain why your spell didn't last."

"It's possible that exposure to my magic has granted you a small amount of immunity to it," Loki mused thoughtfully, "Though I doubt it. My magic works on Thor just as well as it ever did and I've been casting spells on him for centuries."

"The Other's meddling?"

Loki's mouth tightened into a thin line. "I can think of nothing else that makes sense. This is a problem Stark."

"You don't know for sure that it was him."

"What else do you suggest it could be?" Bizarrely, he looked like he was actually expecting an answer, as though Tony could have any fucking clue why a force he didn't understand was choosing the least opportune time it could to play up.

"Maybe the fact that you were completely exhausted? I don't know how this works – you know that. I'm thinking of magic as like an energy bar in a fricking video game here, okay? If you're running low on juice do spells run out faster?"

"It does not work like that."

"Then explain it. There's no way I can help if I don't understand the problem."

"The problem is that there is a monster inside my head-" He cut himself off there, looking like he desperately wanted to smash something. For the first time in, well, ever, Tony didn't immediately want to react by pulling away. He in no way felt threatened – how the hell had that happened? "It matters not. You cannot solve this problem Tony Stark, just as I cannot."

"If Thanos turns up and your magic is down, we're going to be in serious trouble."

Loki didn't even look angry at him pointing out the obvious truth; mostly he just looked weary. "What would you suggest I do? I have drawn every rune I know in an attempt to keep him out. Every protection ward I have ever seen or heard of has been cast – I've created spells that didn't even exist in the hopes of keeping him at bay and still he hounds me."

Never before had Tony thought he'd ever see Loki look quite so lost as he did in that moment. "I know that there's been a lot of shit between us," he said bluntly, determined to wipe that look of Loki's face, "But you should know that we're with you on this. Whatever came before – and believe me when I say I know that you don't have a lot of reasons to trust me – that doesn't matter right now. You warned us about Thanos. You've given us the only chance we would ever have had and even if we end up losing, we'll have done the best we could. That's thanks to you."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "You're starting to sound like that Captain of yours."

Tony laughed genuinely. "Then I'd better stop before the planet implodes – Tony Stark does not do responsible. But still, you should know that we've got your back. Magic or no magic."

"That was never our deal."

"Neither was all the other shit you've been doing to help us. It's all a fair trade right? By my count, we owe you a lot more right now than you owe us."

"Hmm," Loki hummed, looking thoughtful again. He waved glowing fingers in Tony's direction for a second and he felt his headache recede as it had done the previous day. "You can owe me one more favour then. Tell me immediately if the pain starts to return."

"I will. Thank you."

Loki tipped his head and vanished as silently as he'd come. Tony blinked at the suddenly empty space before him in genuine confusion for at least a minute before he managed to get his brain back on track. "Was that conversation over?" He asked aloud, as though anyone was going to respond.

Jarvis, the dick, didn't say a word.

Loki's dreams had been so twisted of late that he wasn't even surprised to find himself standing on top of a burning Stark Tower with the Other several feet in front of him. The blackened mouth formed a gash of a smile, his acidic presence corroding against Loki's very soul.

"Princeling. At last."

"How long are we going to continue this dance?" Loki asked, trying to sound bored even when his heart was beating in his throat. The Other had never appeared on Midgard in his visions before.

"It won't be long now," the Other said, grin widening. "Surely you know that? I am here, am I not?"

"Dreams are no more than dreams."

"Surely we need not go over this again? Or should I remind you how real this is?"

Pain shot through Loki's chest, stronger than before and enough to send him to his knees before he knew what was happening. His vision whited out momentarily, everything brightening to the point of pain before he managed to get a handle on himself and pull him back from the brink; could he pass out if he was already asleep?

"We know of your plans Princeling. Did you think that a handful of mortals would do you any good? We had thought you more intelligent than that."

"That handful of mortals defeated you once," he spat, a loathing he couldn't contain bubbling in his gut.

"A mistake brought about by your incompetence. We will not let it happen again."

"Threaten all you will. What have I to fear when you are still without a pathway to this place?"

The Other laughed, quietly at first but building into a solid sound that hurt Loki's ears. He flinched to hear the terrible noise, barely resisting clutching at his skull to stop it from grating against his brain. "What time do you think you have?" Loki managed to drag his head up from where he had slumped to look at the Other, taking in the victorious smile and upright pose and suddenly he understood – they had no time at all. "We are already here."

Loki woke with a start.

As I said previously, I have lost the thread of this story entirely. I will probably rework this chapter at a later date but it has been so long and I wanted to at least try to get back into the swing of things.

I did have a much longer AN planned that involved a response to a review from a few weeks ago – that actually inspired me to write this chapter in pure spite – but I'll refrain and simply say this: Criticism is great – it helps make authors better and I am completely open to it at all times. I would very much welcome it in fact. However, this is my story. If there are parts of the plot that you do not agree with, I am very sorry but this is clearly not the story for you. There are a thousand others out there that will probably suit your needs. Do not try to tell me that my story is 'wrong' simply because it does not follow the plot you want it to.

That's all I'll say about that. I'd love to know what people think about this chapter and if there are continuity errors (which I'm sure there are) please notify me. Thanks x