Chapter Thirty-Six

Steve passed out an hour before they arrived back to New York. Or maybe he just fell asleep, Bucky couldn't tell. He woke him up when they landed and needed to move over to the Avengers' personal infirmary, and Steve did get up, sort of, but he was not really there. Bucky doubted he would remember any of it. He was out the second he was horizontal again. Bucky didn't mind, Steve needed rest to heal.

He probably should've demanded they take Steve into a hospital instead of flying all the way back to New York to the Tower, but both Wilson and Banner checked him over and he was mostly fine, scrapes and bruises, a strained ankle, probably a concussion, some cracked ribs, and that nasty burn on his throat. It was nothing noteworthy with Steve's healing factor. And it's not like Loki needed medical attention. Bucky was mostly healed too, sure the place where one of Arcade's bullets grazed him was still there, and his arm was still twitching, but he was fine.

Also, the Avengers Tower was a lot safer than some random hospital in Detroit after all.

Thor laid Loki down on a bed similar to the one Steve was sleeping on. It wasn't really a bed, more like a comfortable examination table, obviously not meant for resting, but it was not like Loki could complain about it right now.

The Avengers soon wandered out, not seeing the point of waiting around for hours when Steve was fine and Loki was most definitely dead. Thor stayed though, he pulled a tall stool up next to the table Loki was laid out on and waited.

Bucky didn't feel like talking to him, he was fine with the silence and listening to Steve's breathing. But after a while he couldn't stand it.

'You don't need to keep staring, I told you it would take a while,' Bucky told him.

'I'd rather stay, thank you,' Thor responded.

Bucky sighed. 'Suit yourself.'

Loki was not going to be happy about it, but it was sure as hell not Bucky's problem.

'You said this happened more than once,' Thor said then.

'Yeah.'

'How many times?' he asked.

'Why does it matter?' Bucky asked in return. Thor looked over to him, but he didn't get angry. Maybe he was tired, even if not physically.

'I watched Loki die twice,' he said then. 'Each time I thought I lost my sibling forever… then both times Loki returned and I… It had to be a trick, there was no other explanation. Not until now.'

'I have no idea what you want me to say, pal,' Bucky said.

'I want to understand,' Thor said, standing up from his chair. 'I want to know how this could be true, because it shouldn't be!'

'You have your next question for Loki then,' Bucky told him.

Thor frowned at him.

'Why do you cling to your silence so?' Thor asked. 'Why do you guard Loki's secrets?'

'What makes you think I have answers in the first place?'

'Don't take me for a fool, James Barnes,' Thor warned mildly.

'Don't assume you have the right for answers,' Bucky told him in return.

'I deserve-'

'The thing is, I don't know what you will do once you have your answers,' Bucky said.

'I'm trying to do what is right.'

'I don't know you enough for that to matter to me,' Bucky shrugged. There was only one person he could accept that from as an answer; Steve.

Thor surprised him by huffing out a tired laugh.

'Fair enough,' he said. 'You're a very peculiar man.'

'I've been called worse,' Bucky said and he turned his attention back to Steve, considering the conversation done.

Thor obviously had more to stay because although he sat back down on the chair, he was not as still as before. He kept taking deep breaths and shifting around. He was noisy in that armour, even without the cape.

'Are you Loki's friend?' he asked finally.

Bucky hummed, considering his answer.

'I wouldn't go that far,' he said then. 'But we're in this together.'

For some reason Bucky knew that this was not the answer Thor wanted to hear, so he continued.

'Leah is,' he said. 'Loki's friend, I mean.'

Thor wouldn't know who she was, but he still didn't ask anything. He was probably observant enough to realize that Bucky was done talking. Of course, Thor himself was not.

'You look at me and only see Loki's brother,' he said. 'But I'm also Steve's friend.'

'Yeah, everyone seems to be Steve's friend,' Bucky couldn't help but remark. He never had the time to get used to people seeing Steve for who he was. It only started after the serum, when people finally started flocking to him, finally seeing what Bucky knew all along.

Now here they were almost a century later... Steve's friends, and not even friends like the guys from Brooklyn Bucky sometimes had a few drinks with, real friends, like him and Steve used to be.

'And if you care for him as much as I think you do,' Thor continued. 'You should be concerned about this path he's following you on.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Bucky snapped, turning back around to glare at Thor.

'Is that I only see one thing as well; and that's Loki's companion,' Thor answered. 'Not the friend I heard stories about.'

'I don't give a damn what you see when you look at me,' Bucky told him firmly.

'Maybe you should,' Thor said. 'Because others will see the same. How long can you keep up all the secrets and lies? I know where that road leads, believe me, I do. How long before it ends in tragedy?'

He turned away from Bucky to look down at Loki's still form again.

'Maybe it already has,' he added quietly.

Bucky got it then. 'Loki will wake up,' he told him.

'It's been so long now,' Thor argued, shaking his head. 'And nothing changed.' He hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take Loki's hand.

Bucky knew a thing or two about feeling helpless... powerless, but he still had nothing else to say. As far as he remembered, this had never been something he could do, find the right words.

Steve stirred, maybe it was the sound of their voices, or maybe he just rested enough for now, but he was definitely waking up. Bucky put his hand down on the bed to lean over him, making sure Steve knew he was there. The second his eyes opened Bucky knew he was a lot more lucid than before. Steve moved around a little, probably to check if anything was hurting without getting up. He immediately made a face.

'I should've showered,' he said, his voice still scratchy and hoarse.

Bucky huffed and couldn't help giving him a smile.

'Yeah, you should have. Red's not your colour. How are you feeling?'

'Little sore, but I'm good. Nothing a good night's sleep won't heal.'

Bucky decided to believe him this time, but only because he knew Steve's healing rate perfectly well. Not just from experience, Hydra had files upon files on Steve.

'Can you stand?' he asked.

'I'm fine, Buck,' Steve said right away, sitting up. 'Hey Thor.'

'Are you well, my friend?' Thor asked. He didn't stand up to come closer, just turned around on the tall stool.

'Loki's still out?' Steve asked.

'Yes,' Thor said sombrely, turning back to look down at her.

'Is that normal?' Steve asked as he looked back at Bucky.

'You think there's an exact science to this?' he asked in return. 'What is ever normal with Loki? Leah would know.'

'I doubt we can get her,' Steve said.

'You should get cleaned up,' Bucky suggested, changing the subject, and Steve didn't argue.

x-x-x

'Buck, you there?' Steve asked. And of course he was, standing outside of the small bathroom just a door away from the infirmary. Injuries were messy, it made sense.

'Yeah,' he called back.

'Are you really standing guard outside while I'm taking a shower?'

'Wouldn't call it guarding... I'm not armed,' Bucky responded. 'Except for the arm... so I guess I am armed.'

'The first thing I'm gonna do when I'm done is hit you,' Steve told him. It made Bucky smile, just a little.

'You should clean up too,' Steve said then. 'Don't think I didn't see all the dried blood on your body armour.'

'That's a shit way to ask me to join you,' Bucky said. Steve was silent for a moment, probably trying to figure out whether Bucky was joking. His sense of humour used to be more obvious, now it was all dry and twisted.

'At least get inside,' he said finally. 'Why am I shouting through an open bathroom door?'

'Nobody said you had to shout.'

Bucky turned and got inside, but he didn't close the door completely. He didn't want to be caught off-guard if anyone came looking for them. Steve turned off the water and opened the shower door. He was very nonchalant about his nudity or he did a good job of hiding any discomfort as he walked over to the rack to pick up a towel. Bucky couldn't help but take a good look at him, scanning him for lingering injuries, searching for anything that did not have time to heal yet.

'The burn is still there,' he frowned when Steve turned back around towards him. Steve glanced at the mirror on the wall and lifted his chin to take a look at the mark. Now that Bucky could see it without the remnants of Steve's uniform and all the blood in the way, he saw the shape of five fingers and a palm. He didn't catch that before. A hand too small to be Gor-Tok's...

He walked up to Steve to look at it more closely.

'It looks better,' Steve said.

'No, it's just cleaner, it's not healing.'

'Give it time,' Steve said, but he didn't sound convinced.

'Who was it?' Bucky asked.

'I don't know,' Steve said as he stared at his own reflection and the hand-shaped burn on his throat. 'Loki recognized her... It was a woman... but not really.'

'What do you mean?'

'Someone else was there, but we only saw the woman,' Steve said. 'Someone... I don't know.'

He shook his head and finally looked away from the mirror.

'I guess we'll have to wait for Loki to wake up,' he said.

'Okay,' Bucky nodded. He was fine with waiting.

'Plenty of hot water,' Steve said then.

'What?'

'Shower, you should clean up,' Steve said, nodding towards the cubicle.

'I'll do it later, I don't wanna miss Loki waking up... it can get... violent.'

'Thor's there,' Steve reminded him.

Bucky scoffed. 'Then even more so.'

Seeing Bucky usually reminded Loki of what was going on, cleared up the haze or whatever. He didn't want to find out what would happen if only Thor were around.

'Buck... what's wrong?' Steve asked.

'I'm fine,' Bucky said right away.

'You won't look at me,' he said.

'I am looking at you,' Bucky argued.

'Not at my face. What is it?' he asked again.

'It's not important,' Bucky said. 'I'm just a little twitchy, I'm-'

'If you say "fine" one more time, I swear,' Steve interrupted him. 'Buck, come on...'

Bucky glanced up and held Steve's gaze for a moment, but then his eyes slid to the side automatically. He couldn't help it. Even a few seconds made him want to turn and leave, slink away to some place dark, where he actually belonged.

Steve touched the side of his neck, his fingers warm and still a little damp on Bucky's skin.

'I'm sorry,' Bucky blurted out immediately. His voice was quiet, but he felt like the sound of his pumping heart was deafening. He wondered if Steve could hear it.

'What? What are you sorry for? Hey, I-'

'I left,' Bucky continued, the words pouring out of him. 'I shouldn't have left. I don't know why I did that... I never... I never would've done that... before. I never would've left without you, and now I did! I left without you!'

'Buck, I'm fine!'

'I left you behind. How could I do that?'

'Bucky, look at me.'

Steve's voice was a little distant, muffled. Bucky remembered what he was thinking down in the tunnel. It seemed like a good plan, because it would've taken too long to get past Gor-Tok. But looking back on it now...

He remembered the fire and explosions when Steve rescued him from Hydra, so very long ago. He remembered how exhausted he was, how much he was hurting, remembered the deep ache in all of his limbs. But he refused to leave without Steve, he couldn't. That man... he couldn't.

But the man he was now turned and ran, thought it was a good enough strategy, a risk not too great to take. It was a cold and harsh reminder of who he really was... and who he could no longer be. Every time he started to think, to believe that there was actually a chance of going back, even a little...

He startled when Steve pulled him close, wrapped his arms around him.

'Bucky, listen to me, listen, okay? Please,' he told him in tone both furious and concerned.

'I'll get dirt on you...' Steve's skin was still damp and Bucky was covered in dust, dirt, and dried blood.

'I don't care!' Steve cut him off. 'I'm glad you weren't there.'

'What?'

'I'm so glad you weren't there, because I would've lost you.'

'You don't know that.'

'I do know, she would've killed you, like she killed Loki. The only reason I made it out is this goddamn mark on my neck.'

'What do you mean, what the hell is it?'

'No, just listen, okay? I'm glad Loki sent you out, and that you listened, because you're alive.'

'I should've been there,' Bucky argued.

'No, no you got out, and called for help.'

'You almost got killed,' Bucky said, finally putting his arms around Steve in return, pulling him in close, squeezing him maybe a little too tightly.

'I didn't, I'm okay,' Steve said right away. 'We're both okay.'

Bucky couldn't say anything to that. He just stayed wrapped around Steve and tried to breathe evenly. Steve turned his head and kissed him. Kissed him deep and long, still holding him close and it anchored Bucky back into reality. The world faded back with all it's colours and sounds. And nothing was as clear and sharp as Steve, his scent, the heat of his skin, miles and miles of skin, and his beating heart, so close to Bucky's own.

Things always seemed much easier, or sometimes less impossible, with Steve around. But Bucky still couldn't shake off all of his guilt. There was still a tight knot in his stomach and a weight on his shoulders that wouldn't go away. And it wasn't Steve's fault that not even a quiet moment like this could chase all of his dark thoughts away.

When they parted Steve stayed close to him for a long moment, then drew back with a final kiss to Bucky's cheek.

'Take a quick shower,' he suggested. 'Then we can go back and wait for Loki to wake up, okay?'

'Okay,' Bucky nodded, having no energy to argue with Steve about trivial things like this.

Steve got a little dirty again from Bucky's body armour, but he just wiped himself off with a damp washcloth, while Bucky undressed and got into the shower. Bucky was too strung out, too much on edge to do more than a quick and efficient clean-up. Steve didn't comment on it. He was still naked when Bucky got back out, but he got clean clothes out for both of them from one of the many cupboards. Black sweatpants and red t-shirts, which Bucky eyed for a long moment.

'Tony,' Steve sighed. 'Don't ask, we can grab something from my floor later.'

Sure enough Bucky noticed the Stark Industries logos on the clothes immediately. Stark was probably the one to stock up these bathrooms. Bucky didn't really care one way or another, he was just not used to wearing bright colours.

Steve plastered himself to his back before he could put on any clothes though. He didn't do anything just wrapped his arms around Bucky and rested his chin on his shoulder, not caring about Bucky's still wet hair. And it felt good, but Bucky was confused.

'Uhm.'

'What?' Steve asked, soft and quiet.

'What are we doing?' Bucky asked. He felt a little strange just holding a t-shirt in his hand while Steve was wrapped around him from behind like this.

Steve huffed out a small laugh and pressed his head closer to Bucky's.

'Hugging, we did it before.'

'Naked hugging,' Bucky pointed it out.

'Yeah, feels good,' Steve said. 'I think it's our thing now.'

'Our "thing"?' Bucky repeated.

'Just go with it,' Steve told him. Bucky dropped the t-shirt and leaned back into the embrace, which seemed to please Steve to no end.

'I'm fine, you know,' Bucky said. It was not entirely true, since he doubted he was ever going to be plain "fine", but for the moment he was not losing his mind or falling apart, so it was good enough.

'It just feels good to be close,' Steve shrugged. He was right about that, so Bucky didn't argue. In fact, he shouldn't be questioning it at all. Some of his muscles actually relaxed after a few moments. Just before, when Steve wrapped his arms around him, his grip was strong, almost desperate. This was something else. He wasn't desperate now. Steve stroked his stomach, calm and idle, but not too soft or too gentle. He wasn't hesitant about it, so it felt like the most natural thing in the world, to be this close with nothing in-between them. Bucky reached out to entwine their fingers to hold onto him.

'We're gonna get through this, Buck,' Steve said after a long stretch of silence. 'I know we will.'

Bucky tilted his head back to stare up at the white ceiling. Steve turned his head to bury his face in his neck. The touch of his breath made Bucky shiver and close his eyes.

'I believe you,' he said. He would always believe Steve, no matter the odds. Harsh reality no longer mattered, just the promise between them.

x-x-x

The silence in the infirmary was nothing like the silence was in the bathroom. This was a cold silence filled with fragile hope and shimmering anger. Bucky knew there were still storm clouds outside, there had to be. Steve stood still in the doorway for a second staring at Thor, looking sad. And yeah, Thor made a miserable sight, sitting on that stool with his hammer on the floor and his red cape still draped over Loki's body. Bucky heard the sound of his deep voice as he entered the room, but only for a moment. Thor noticed that they were approaching and he both fell silent and let go of Loki's hand. He acted like he was caught doing something he was not supposed to do.

'How are you feeling, Steve?' Thor asked.

'Much better, thanks,' Steve said as he walked closer. Bucky followed. 'How are you holding up?'

'No matter how much I wish to believe you, I look at her and...' he sighed. 'You'd think this would not affect me this badly again, yet here I am.'

'You can't get used to losing someone, Thor,' Steve said. 'So don't beat yourself up about it.'

'Easier said than done, like most things when it comes to Loki and I,' Thor said.

Steve turned back to Bucky.

'You gotta have some idea how long we have to wait,' he said. 'How long before it's a lost cause?'

Bucky had the urge to sigh, because he had nothing new to say. It wasn't like he knew Loki's every little secret, but Thor and Steve sure seemed to think so.

'Steve,' the AI interrupted.

'What is it HELEN?' Steve asked.

'You would probably like to know that Loki's body temperature has been steadily rising for the past 75 minutes.'

Thor immediately reached out for Loki's hand again, taking it in both of his own.

'She still feels cold,' he said.

'60°F, according to my sensors,' HELEN agreed. 'But before the first jump the body temperature remained exactly at 44.6°.'

The room was much warmer than that.

'Exactly 44.6°?' Steve asked. 'Why didn't you say anything?'

'Bruce instructed me to not disturb any you unless you asked for me first,' HELEN said. 'But it seemed silly to remain silent at this point.'

Bucky walked around the table Loki was lying on to take a closer look. The wound on her throat still looked bad. Maybe it started to heal, but they would need to clear away the blood to be able to tell for sure. One of the pipes went through her shoulder, right below the collarbone, so Bucky pushed aside the red cape a little to take a look at that one. First on the front, then on her back.

'What are you doing?' Steve asked.

'See if any of the wounds are healing,' he said. The pipe that stabbed her though here was at least three-four fingers thick, but now the wound only seemed as wide as Bucky's thumb. That was a good sign at least. He didn't bother checking for a pulse, because the heart always started beating last, he knew that already.

'Are the wounds healing?' Thor asked. He looked like he didn't think he should check it himself, but he no doubt wanted to know.

'Yeah, looks like it,' Bucky said.

'I cannot believe it,' Thor said. 'I cannot believe this to be possible. How?'

'HELEN, keep monitoring every change,' Steve instructed.

'I can hardly observe anything important from afar, but if you would attach at least some of the-'

'No need,' Bucky cut the AI off. 'We just have to wait.'

Thor kept frowning, probably annoyed again at Bucky's half-answers.

'This has to be powerful magic,' he said. 'And something this powerful is always dangerous, or comes at a high price. I'm not sure Loki understands that.'

'Not really your problem,' Bucky remarked.

'It will be, if I have to be the one to clean up after all is said and done,' Thor answered. 'Even more so if Loki will be not the only one to pay the price.'

'We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Thor,' Steve said. 'Let's focus on what's in front of us right now.'

Thor took a large breath and nodded, easily following Steve's lead. Bucky wasn't surprised, not even a little.

x-x-x

The soft glow of light underneath Loki's skin was a familiar sight by now. And Bucky could say that he expected it to happen again, but he still let out a sigh of relief, because this took way longer than it should have. He kept wondering what the reason for that was, but he could only assume that it was caused by the long hours Loki was stuck down in the subway with no chance to heal.

Thor jumped to his feet at the first faint glow, gripping Loki's hand again, obviously no longer caring about Bucky and Steve seeing him do it.

'Bad idea to stay that close,' Bucky warned. 'Things can get violent.'

'I can handle whatever Loki throws at me,' Thor said. He had a point there, plus what did Bucky care if he ended up getting kicked in the face.

Something was still different though, the light continued to shimmer dimly, not lighting up brightly immediately like it usually did. Bucky really did wish Leah were here, because he had no idea why things were different this time around.

He walked back to the table to stand across from Thor. He didn't know what he was looking for.

'Bucky, what is it?' Steve asked.

'I don't know yet,' he answered.

'Her skin is warming up,' Thor said.

'Yeah, a lot,' Bucky agreed once he reached out to touch the back of his hand to Loki's face.

The glow was different. Bucky didn't notice it at first, when it was dim and barely pulsating, but it became obvious as it grew brighter. The usual golden glow was darker; it glowed orange like cinder. The colour Bucky usually associated with Loki's magic was gold and green, this was not it.

'But what-' Thor started to ask, but what Bucky expected finally happened and the light flared up, bright and blinding.

'Body temperature at 113°F and still getting hotter,' HELEN reported.

Bucky heard the first gasp of air from Loki and it sounded wet and gravelly. It made him think of pierced lungs, filled with fluid.

'Loki!' Thor called, still gripping Loki's hand in his own, uncaring of the blinding light and the heat of Loki's skin.

The light dimmed slowly, but the sound of Loki's breathing stayed, loud panting breaths, a very obvious sign of life.

The face was back to a more masculine shape, but it still looked softer than the one Bucky remembered from before the frost giant thing. The skin was still pale, but that might change later on. The biggest difference was of course the hair; it was red. Not dark blood red like Natasha's, but a mixture of different shades from brown to orange, like a pile of dried leaves in the fall. Not the strangest appearance for Loki.

'Loki,' Thor called again, softer now. He was blinking rapidly, either from the bright light he did not cover his eyes from, or maybe he just simply did not believe his eyes.

Loki's eyes opened, but they seemed a lot more sluggish than usual, and confused, but that was nothing surprising. And the violent outburst Bucky anticipated never came. Loki opened their mouth a few times, but no words came out, just a few wet coughs. Then they abruptly sat up, still staring at Thor, but almost immediately noticing Bucky as well.

It visibly clicked; they all saw the moment Loki remembered, and Thor let their hand drop before Loki could yank it back.

'Is your head clear?' Bucky asked, wanting to make sure.

Loki opened their mouth again, but then they just froze.

'What?' Bucky frowned.

Loki coughed again. The sound was not as wet as before, but there were definitely some internal injuries left. Then they opened their mouth again, but only a harsh breath came out. Loki turned and got off from the table, reaching up to the barely healed wound on their throat. Now Bucky could see some of that violent energy he came to expect with Loki's resurrections.

'You cannot speak?' Thor asked.

'Your voice is gone,' Bucky said, not a question. 'Okay… could be worse.'

Loki gave him a glare, and considering the amount of blood that was still covering them, it actually looked threatening. But really, it could be so much worse.

Loki's eyes were darting from side-to-side, obviously thinking, planning, considering their options. Then they sucked in a harsh breath and turned to stare at Bucky again with slightly widened eyes.

'What's wrong?' Bucky asked. Loki grabbed Bucky's metal arm and looked really-really frustrated. Right, it was probably hard to explain without words. Loki made a face and a few too-quick angry hand gestures, then gave up on that altogether and made a little spark of magic light up in the air. The flare turned into a little glowing floating shape, symbols.

'Runes?' Bucky asked.

'Leah,' Thor said, staring at the symbols. Right.

'What about her?' Bucky asked.

Loki gestured at their throat, but that didn't really tell Bucky much. Loki made another angry huff and stepped away from Bucky to point a finger at Steve. Bucky didn't get it at first, but Steve did.

'The one who did this,' Steve said, absently touching the burn on his throat. 'That woman.'

'Is she still a threat?' Thor asked.

'You think Leah's in danger?' Bucky asked. 'The hideout-'

Loki shook their head and flicked a hand.

'Gone?' Thor guessed. 'Or will be.'

Loki looked annoyed for one second, but then just nodded.

'You just woke up, you can't go anywhere, let alone the hideout,' Bucky said. Loki was always drained after waking up, and opening portals wasn't an easy feat to begin with.

Loki marched back closer to Bucky and grabbed his left wrist, lifting his hand up, then they tapped a finger on the back of his hand, where that one small rune was carved into the metal.

'I thought I could only call you with that,' Bucky asked.

'With what?' Steve asked right away.

Loki shook their head and then backed away from Bucky, looking around the room, obviously searching for something. Then they walked over to the closest wall, shoving some tiny cabinet aside.

Bucky, Steve and Thor all walked closer. Loki stared at the wall for a second, then looked around again, searching for something. They obviously did not find it, because the next moment Loki licked a finger and rubbed it on their throat to get some dried blood on it. Oh, right.

'Ah, come on, there's gotta be a marker somewhere,' Steve groaned.

'The grey desk to your left, Steve,' HELEN offered helpfully. Steve jogged over to the desk to search the drawers in it. Loki didn't wait for him, just continued to draw a few things on the wall with blood.

Steve found a red marker and gave it to Loki, who took it without glancing back at him. Whatever the hell Loki was drawing, it definitely went a lot quicker with the pen. The rest of them just stood there, watching, waiting. Bucky was a little surprised that Thor was not objecting to letting Loki do whatever they wanted, but maybe what little Bucky told him about Leah was enough to keep him silent on this... for now.

When Loki was done they snapped a finger in Bucky's general direction, so Bucky walked up close. The circle and the symbols drawn on the wall meant very little to Bucky, but obviously Loki needed him for something.

'What do you want me to do?'

Loki lifted up their hand to point at the back of it, indicating the rune on Bucky's metal hand.

'You're standing right here, how is that supposed to help?' Bucky asked.

Loki gave him a glare.

'Fine,' Bucky said. It didn't take much to activate the thing, because it was not really Bucky who needed to do anything. So he just took a breath, thought of Loki, and swiped over the rune on the back of his hand with two fingers. The mark glowed golden, like always, but what happened next was anything but normal.

Bucky took a quick step back when flames flared up around Loki. Not the green flames he was used to see in the previous form. This fire looked real, yellow and orange, filling the air with warmth. The flames flared up by Loki's feet, but quickly ran up and over their entire body, right to the very tips of their fingers and red hair. Loki slammed a palm over the edge of the drawing on the wall, which lit up in return, first glowing orange like ember, then it turned black like scorch marks.

The whole things lasted three seconds tops.

'What the hell was that?' Steve asked.

Loki sucked in a few harsh breaths, leaning on the wall. This seemed like a small thing to Bucky, but it obviously took a toll on Loki this soon after their awakening.

'Took you long enough,' said a familiar voice and Bucky spun around. 'You wouldn't believe the day I've had.'

Leah was sitting on a wooden chest, right in the middle of the infirmary. She was reading something on a piece of paper in her hand, looking bored. Bucky's first thought was that Loki worried for nothing, then Leah lifted her head to take a look at them and she inhaled sharply at the sight. Well, at the sight of Loki.

'Oh, no,' was all that came out of her mouth, but her tone said it all; they were in deep shit.

x-x-x

To be continued...