Chapter 20

Tony once again left Loki to clean himself up, this time with a bundle of wet, dirty clothes in his hands. The pants were half inside out and he was about to pull them right-side-out when he noticed the blood stains on the butt and inner thighs, along with what looked like dried…

He threw the pants away from him as if they were on fire and a gasp escaped his lips. It was as if a light bulb turned on in his head and everything seemed clear as he realized what had happened to his friend. An outstretched hand helped him find a wall and he sunk to the floor with his back to it. How could he have been so oblivious? Loki had come back super late, soaked through and broken… the way Loki would tense up when Tony made sudden moves to touch him… the pure terror in Loki's expression just a bit ago when Tony had asked him to take his pants off to wash up…

He didn't know how long he sat there thinking, but his heart broke for Loki then. He knew that Loki hadn't even done much with Clint when they were dating; he'd told Tony once that he was saving himself for someone special. That could've been me. The thought flashed through his mind before he could stop it, and then he was livid. He stood slowly and as hard as he could, he punched the wall. And again. He ground his teeth together, knowing that his hand would probably be bruised tomorrow, but he didn't care.

"Tony?" A soft voice from the bedroom door made him stop just before punching the wall again. He turned in surprise to see Loki standing behind him, hugging his arms close to his stomach in an oversized sweat shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

"Loki…" One look was all it took. The pity in Tony's eyes as he looked at his friend was all the proof Loki needed to confirm his fears that Tony had seen the stained pants and knew what happened. His cheeks flushed red with shame and he kept his eyes on the floor, unable to look Tony in the eyes. Even through the sleeves of the sweater, he could feel the edges of the bandages he'd hastily applied before throwing the shirt on. He'd been careful to clean up the blood from the counter this time, as well as to hide the small knife he'd used to mark his forearms so that Tony wouldn't find it. He didn't need another reason to worry, and the thought crossed Loki's mind again; so easy…

"Who did this to you?" The silence was interrupted by Tony's question, although the man already had a good idea of who it was. Loki pretended to not understand.

"Tony, I don't know what you—,"

"Goddammit, Loki. I'm not stupid. Please, I… I saw… on your… I know. I don't know the details obviously, but I know. Just… please… Loki. Please." He tried his hardest to keep his voice from rising out of his anger. He wasn't angry at Loki of course, just the situation… just what had happened to him. The desperation leaked through his words and it was visible on his face when Loki finally risked a glance at his face.

"I… I can't. I'm sorry."Loki's eyes started to tear up even though none fell as he turned away to leave the room.

"Why not?" Tony insisted and crossed the room to grab his shoulder so he couldn't run again. He almost let go when he heard a quiet whimper from Loki, but he held his ground.

"He… he said he'd kill you." Tony almost didn't hear the response, it was spoken so softly, but Loki turned to face him as he said it and the look in his eyes scared him. Tony was stunned and when he didn't say anything, Loki repeated himself, "When… when he was finished… with me… he said that if I told you who he was… he'd do the same to you and then h-h-he'd…" He couldn't finish his sentence and he started shaking badly. Tony pulled him into a hug, running a hand softly over his back.

"You forget something very important, Loki. I'm Tony fucking Stark. If he tries to harm another hair on your head, or mine… I'll have dear old dad's entire legal force on his ass." He let out a soft chuckle in Loki's hair. "Please… Loki, I won't let him touch you again, I swear… But I need to know whose ass to kick… Was it Muninn?"

When Loki's only response was to tense up and burrow into Tony's hug even more, he knew that his guess was right. They didn't speak of it any more that night. Tony sat with Loki on the bedroom floor in silence until eventually the both of them drifted off to sleep.