Tony calls Bruce to come examine Loki, even though Bruce insists he's not that kind of doctor.
While they wait, Loki brushes his hand over the bar and the crumbs, as if testing their existence. Soon, he's lilting to one side on the stool, and Thor has to haul him upright before he tumbles onto the shards scattered across the floor.
Loki actually snarls, but Thor is unperturbed and half-carries Loki to one of the spare bedrooms. Loki is stiff, the contact clearly unwelcome. Laying him on the mattress, which was probably advertised as feeling like a cloud, only sets Loki off further. He flails so wildly that he ends up wriggling off the bed.
Oddly enough, slamming onto floor seems to calm him down.
Tony's getting the distinct impression that Loki is going to hate sleeping. Huh, who knew Tony would have something in common with a formerly homicidal, now almost feral alien?
By the time Bruce arrives, Loki has made his way into a corner, back pressed against the walls and feet almost digging into the floor. Despite his defensive posture, he shows no animosity or fear of the newcomer and generally acquiesces with Bruce's checkup.
Bruce drops terms like sensory deprivation and overload, and mentions that Loki seems unable to focus his eyes due to a lack of stimuli. How he had seen Tony's arc reactor earlier is anyone's guess.
When Bruce inserts an IV needle into Loki's arm, Loki begins to claw violently at his lips, which are pressed into an impossibly thin line. Thor quickly intervenes, but Loki hisses and tries to shake him off.
Tony learns, after questioning Thor's guilty expression, that the myth where Loki's mouth was sewn shut is based more on fact than some sadist's imagination.
Bruce leaves the room looking a tad green while Tony skims the crash course of Norse Mythology that Jarvis has pulled up on his phone.
As he scrolls, Tony says "Next you'll be telling me a snake really dripped venom in his eyes."
Rather than expressing confusion at the notion, or certainty that someone made it up- after all, Loki isn't even Thor's brother in the myths- Thor's expression is grave.
"You think jail is too harsh, when this is the kind of crap that flies up there?!" Tony asks in disbelief. "No wonder you don't want to take him back. I mean, seriously, what the actual-"
Tony cuts off when he realizes Loki is suddenly right next to him, intently observing the hologram projected from his phone.
"You're not going to feel it," Tony explains as Loki's hand skims over the image.
"He was a skilled illusionist." Thor tells Tony, watching his brother's hand prod at the holographic screen.
Clearly, there were a lot of things Loki was, but isn't anymore.
Most of Tony's glasses and mugs meet their demise over the next few days.
Apparently, shattering one's cup is custom in Asgard to request another serving, but Thor claims Loki had been "most disdainful" of the habit.
Whatever Loki was like before, he has now begun dangling Thor and Tony's glasses over the edge of counters and tables as well. Tony has Jarvis stock up before Loki finds the cupboard where they're kept.
Tony's just drained the last of his coffee when the mug is suddenly snatched from his hands and dropped.
"That was my favorite mug." Tony grouses. Loki is looking at the shards rather than Tony, but Tony thinks he sees the faintest hint of a smirk on the man's face.
It's hardly tier for the supposed God of Mischief, but it's something. Besides, it clearly relieves some tension, in the same way blowing stuff up in the lab helps Tony blow off steam.
When Loki shuffles away, the robot that Tony had custom-built to hold his IV bag follows him like a puppy. Tony had debated about giving the job to Dum-E, but is fairly certain that would have resulted in the IV being ripped out of Loki's arm at least ten times a day.
Thor beams at Loki as if he's some heroic warrior returning, victorious, from a battle. "It heartens me to see you walking, brother. Soon, you will stride with confidence, as you once did."
"You don't think the Tyrannosaurus was confident?" Tony asks, gesturing to Loki's bent arms and shuffling, awkward gait. Loki uses his hands to feel what's in front of him, and he resists lifting his feet, as if doing so will cause him to float back into nothingness.
Loki's even in one of his moods now, snarling about something. They seem to pop up randomly and can last minutes to hours, but at least he's not clawing at his mouth or eyes- not that Tony could blame him.
Thor frowns, and it dawns on Tony that he might not even know what a Tyrannosaurus Rex is. He pulls up a holographic video of a T-Rex, and Loki turns when he hears the roar, though he'd hadn't acknowledged the conversation.
Loki's snarl abruptly vanishes as he shuffles toward the sound with interest.
"You ever seen one of these?" Tony asks, because who knows what's running around up in Asgard? Thor hasn't confirmed if the four-legged horse in the myths is real.
"I have not seen them in any realm. Are they the trophies of valiant hunters?"
"They would be." Tony snorts. "Since they've been extinct for longer than even you've been alive."
Thor nods. "Come, Loki, let us try eating."
Loki's still getting almost all his nutrients and fluids from the IV, and he goes through way more IV bags than a human would. Loki requires a ton of calories but is making far quicker progress than Tony expected.
Despite the progress, he still gags and chokes on food, spitting it out over the counter and smashing it with his fingers.
"We will feast one day." Thor promises as Loki lumbers away.