Ch. 21
"It must be the necklace." What else could it be? It made sense why Frigga had given it to him, now.
"Necklace?" Bruce asked.
Thor held up the charm that was around his neck. "My mother gave me this, but she did not tell me why. This must be it."
"Well... that's wonderful!"
"Uh, not to break up your little party, but I think we need to deal with Clint," Steve said.
Clint had stopped resisting, but he still looked extremely angry.
"Yes, yes," Bruce agreed. "Thor, why don't you go see Loki for now?"
"Of course!" Thor all but ran out the door, excited to see his brother. Meanwhile, Steve and Bruce led Clint into another room.
00
Thor came into Loki's room to find him lying flat on his bed with the teddy bear that Natasha had given him in hand. The dark haired man looked extremely peaceful now that he was sleeping, but Thor could tell that he still was not well. Loki was still very thin and frail looking, and some of his bruises remained. His bones had yet to heal as well.
Though Thor wanted to speak to Loki, to tell him that he was here now to protect him, he didn't have it in him to wake Loki up. He needed his rest. Instead, Thor sat at the edge of Loki's bed and began softly carding his fingers through his brother's hair. It was wild looking, obviously no one had helped him brush it in quite awhile.
"My poor brother," Thor whispered, looking him over. "You are so weak... but I am here to help you now."
Hearing this, Loki began to stir. He groaned and cracked his eyes open. Then he sat up.
"Wait... what?" he asked, shocked to see Thor. He rubbed his eyes, trying to see if he was dreaming. "Thor?"
Thor smiled. "It is me."
Loki was shocked. "How... how are you... is this a dream?"
Thor shook his head. "It is no dream. I am here to help you."
"But... how? Odin made sure..."
Thor noticed that Loki had started holding the bear close to him, as if he felt that the toy would protect him if this turned out to be some horrible joke. It was kind of cute, in a way, but it also was another representation of how weak Loki had become. The old Loki would have scoffed at the idea of a stuffed animal keeping away pain.
"Mother gave me a necklace when I was on Asgard. I didn't know what it was for, but now I do."
For the first time in months, Loki smiled.
"I'm so glad you see you!"
Thor smiled back, and gently pulled Loki into a hug. "I am glad to see you as well!"
Loki seemed to love the feeling of being held by his brother. He didn't let go for a long time, afraid that if he did Thor might disappear. It wasn't logical, but Loki could not help but be afraid.
Thor rubbed Loki's back as he kept his arms around the smaller man. "Is there anything you need?"
Loki pulled back. "I...I don't know. Bruce and Steven have been helping me."
"They are busy right now. Is there anything I can get for you? Some food or water perhaps? You are still so thin..."
Loki frowned. "I know. But... I'm afraid."
"Of what?"
Loki swallowed nervously. "If I try to eat...I might get sick again." It amazed Loki how easily he could be honest with his brother. They'd fought before but he knew that Thor loved him, no matter what. He took it for granted before but now that love was giving him a new reason to want to keep going.
"I will be here to help you if you get sick, Loki," Thor reassured him.
Loki nodded. "I am hungry."
"Good. I will go get you something." Thor stood up. "I'll be back shortly."
00
While Thor was raiding the kitchen, Bruce, Steve and Tasha had cornered Clint in the living room. He was sitting on the couch, with the other three Avengers pacing in front of him. Now that he had calmed down, Clint felt ashamed of what he had done.
"This is unacceptable," Bruce said, stopping to look at Clint directly in the eyes. "We are here to help Loki. You cannot be pulling stunts like this."
"I know. I was wrong."
"I do not know what your problem is," Bruce continued, "But it has to stop."
"It's hard," Clint replied, his tone barely above a whisper. "Its hard for me to forgive him. I mean, I know what Tony did was wrong. It was terrible. But seeing Tasha care for him makes me upset."
"You should be better than that," Steve said, seriously. "You experienced trauma too, no doubt, but what Loki went through outweighs that. Imagine if you were in his situation!"
"I know! I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."
"It is my fault too," Tasha said, "I have given Loki much attention. Perhaps I have ignored you."
Though Tasha's statement offered Clint a way out, he didn't take it.
"No. You've treated him the way you would like to be treated. I am the problem, Tasha."
Clint looked sincerely sorry.
"Well, either way, consider this your first and last warning," Bruce said. "We can't have this. Control yourself or go back to SHIELD."
Clint nodded. "I will. I understand."
Tasha sat down next to him, and wrapped an arm around him.
"Clint and I will work things out."
"Good. I'll trust that you're telling the truth."
It was clear that the couple wanted some time alone.
"Let's let them be," Steve suggested to Bruce.
Bruce nodded in agreement, and the two walked out of the room, leaving Clint and Tasha by themselves.
00
Thor came back to Loki's room holding a glass of water and a bowl of oatmeal. Bruce had caught him making it and had stuffed as much milk and sugar into it as possible. Loki could use all the calories he could get. Thor just hoped that it didn't make him sick.
Loki was still sitting up in bed. He was alone, Steve having decided that Thor and Loki needed some time to bond.
"I've brought you some warm cereal," Thor said, once again sitting on the edge of Loki's bed.
The oatmeal smelled pretty good, and his stomach began to growl. Loki blushed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Thor held up a spoonful of the cereal to Loki's mouth, ready to feed him. Surprisingly, Loki allowed it. To Thor, it was yet more proof of how far his brother had fallen. Loki had always been self sufficient.
It was okay for now, though. Loki needed help and Thor was happy to provide it. He had been angry at Loki at first, after all that had happened in New York a year prior, but having seen how Stark had hurt him, how their father had betrayed him... He could not let Loki stand alone.
Loki swallowed the oatmeal and Thor moved to give him some more. Thor continued to quietly feed his brother until about half of the oatmeal remained. Then Loki asked him to stop.
"Thor...I don't think I can eat anymore," Loki whispered, resting his good hand on his stomach.
Thor understood. He put the bowl down on a nightstand and crawled closer to his brother. It was a struggle, but Loki moved forward just enough for Thor to get behind him. The smaller man lay back, resting his back against Thor's chest and his head against Thor's shoulder.
Thor wrapped his arms around Loki, careful not to hold him too tightly lest he hurt him. Loki was so delicate, and Thor feared accidently harming him.
Loki did not seem to worry about this though. He cuddled up closer to his brother, enjoying the feeling of comfort and love that Thor provided.
00
Thousands of miles away, Tony Stark was searching through the rubble of his lab in an attempt to find the documents that Pepper had left behind. He had to be careful. SHIELD agents had been coming in and out randomly throughout the afternoon, and he was trying to avoid being recaptured.
After several hours of scouring the burned out area, he had come up with nothing. Either SHIELD or Pepper had taken the plans because they did not want him to have them, or the fireproof safe really had not been fireproof and everything had burned up. Either way, he was screwed.
As he stalked out of the building, Tony could feel the anger rising inside him once again. SHIELD must have had something to do with this, and SHIELD would not have been involved had it not been for Loki.
He would have to start all over. Most of the plans were in his head, so it would not be all that hard, it would just take time. Tony's next stop was to the small airport where he kept his private plane. Soon enough he was headed away from the East Coast and back to California. He still had a workshop there, and enough space to rebuild. And rebuild he would. His next creation was to be stronger and more powerful than anything he had made before.