Rated T

Nope, Marvel's not mine, and though I wish it was, Endgame and its plot isn't mine either.

~I~N~~T~H~E~~E~N~D~G~A~M~E~~N~O~W~

Chapter 6…

Thor eyed his brother with concern as they headed into the headquarters of the Avengers together. Loki was clearly still shaken by whatever had happened. He trailed Thor more closely than a prisoner, paying no attention to their surroundings despite Loki's usual curiosity about everything and anything. His hands were shoved into his trouser pockets and his shoulders were hunched. His hair looked messy and his eyes haunted, and Thor realized suddenly just how changed Loki really was. He was thinner, if that were possible. His eyes, always deep and thoughtful before, were truly haunted now, by horrors Thor had never dreamed of. He simply looked weary and bent, as if the weight of Yggdrasil itself rested upon him.

Thor slowed slightly, allowing Loki to draw level with him, and he put his arm over his brother's shoulders. Loki seemed to come back from wherever he had gone on his head, because familiar exasperation reappeared on his face.

"Thor, I'm not made of glass," he snapped, trying to pull away. "Stop coddling me."

"As you wish," Thor acquiesced, stepping away from Loki and putting his own hands into his pockets. They kept walking, keeping pace with each other. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather wait for another day? We can wait …"

Loki threw him an annoyed scowl. "What did I just say?" he demanded.

Thor sighed and shook his head. "I am here to protect you, Brother. That's my job as your older brother. There is no need to be so testy with me."

Loki seemed to slump, and his footsteps slowed. He shut his eyes and jerked his head in an agitated manner. "I should not have come," he whispered, looking and sounding pained. "This was a mistake. I … I am not ready for this."

Thor had no idea what to do or say. His words rarely reached Loki, so he played to his own strengths. Keeping in mind that he spoke best with actions rather than silver words, Thor reached out and gently gripped the back of his brother's neck, a gesture so familiar and so common between them that neither could remember when they had started doing it. Thor was almost afraid his brother would flinch away, fearful of a hand close to his neck after what happened the last time ... but Loki, though he might have stiffened minutely, did not protest or seem in any way alarmed. His tense body seemed to relax in relief. Their foreheads came together, and Loki kept his eyes closed, though he did pull his right hand from his pocket and clasp Thor's neck as well. Thor's heart warmed at the simple gesture. For Loki not to reject his overture, and instead to encourage it, even silently, was a far more important thing than it seemed from the outside.

They stood there together in the sunlit hallway for nearly a minute, letting the silence speak. Thor hoped his brother drew strength from his presence the way he did from Loki. After some moments, they pulled apart. Loki's blue eyes opened, no longer looking quite so lost and fearful and hopeless. Thor smiled and a ghost of a smirk touched his brother's mouth in response, and they walked on together without speaking a word. But the tension in the air seemed to have been eased slightly, Loki was walking with more self-assurance, and hopefully the horrors in his mind had retreated enough for him to face the rest of the Avengers.

The meeting hall where Thor had met with the Avengers last time was empty, save for Bruce. He stood at a screen hovering near one wall, muttering to himself. When he spotted them, he grinned and waved.

"Snacks over there," the green giant informed them cheerfully. "Drinks in the fridge. Help yourselves!"

Loki hesitated to enter the room, and Thor caught on to his brother's discomfort. "Bruce, my friend," Thor said cautiously. "Is it wise for my brother to be here while the rest of the Avengers enter this hall a few at a time? Each one will need to be told the tale again!"

"I'm taking care of it," Bruce smiled reassuringly. "They might come in guns blazing, but I'm telling them the rough rundown. See?"

Thor and Loki came over to the screen he was working at, and Bruce turned so they could see the message he was sending to the Avengers.

Memo: to Avengers personnel

Sent by: Banner, B.

Enemy of Thanos and Infinity-Stones-Expert joining us. Thor vouches, as well as myself. He was tortured by Thanos, escaped, was presumed dead for five years. Any attempts to harm him will not be received well by Thor especially. Do NOT shoot first. He is a friend and ally, no matter his appearance. We need his help.

Loki laughed out loud. "I am no expert on these stones," he scoffed, and then scowled at the green scientist. "And I do not appreciate you telling them all that I was mistreated by that purple menace."

"We understand defeat," Bruce said firmly. "Trust me; they already know about you dying for Thor and fighting Hela and everything. They know about you keeping Thor's girlfriend safe from Dark Elves and dying for him that time too. If they know that you've been an enemy of Thanos all this time as well, and an unwilling pawn that one time we all met, it'll go better for everyone. Got it?"

Loki huffed and threw up his hands, his eyes glittering with annoyance. Without further words, his brother headed off to get something to drink, and Thor was left standing awkwardly by Bruce.

"Do you think it wise to withhold his name?" Thor asked in a low voice.

"If they're smart, they'll guess anyway," Bruce sighed. "It's Tony and Clint I'm mostly worried about. Steve's pretty laid back, and I'd think he'd be pretty understanding, Natasha never gives her thoughts away or lets her emotions control her … Scott and Rhodey have never met Loki, Rocket's already good with him, and Nebula doesn't know Loki either. So we're good."

Thor blinked at the less familiar names. Rhodey he knew, Scott … he had no idea who that might be. Nebula seemed like it ought to be familiar, yet he could not recall where he had heard the name or if he had met such a person. "Who is Nebula? I am not certain we have met. Have we?"

"She was with us when we tracked down Thanos, remember?" Bruce replied with a grimace. "Blue skin? Bald? Cybernetics all over? She's the one who told us where Thanos' vacation planet was."

Recognition mingled with horror dawned in Thor's mind. His eyes widened and he glanced at Loki, who stood at the window, peering outside.

"Nebula once served the Titan, didn't she?" Thor demanded in a whisper.

Bruce nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so … She called one of Rocket's crew her sister. I think the one you told us about … The green one? Gamora, was it?"

"What if Loki and Nebula have met?" Thor went on, feeling panicked. "What if the sight of her would bring back such horrific memories as to cause my brother to freeze and then fall back in wild panic to defend himself?"

Bruce glanced at Loki and then back at Thor. "What do you mean?" the green giant asked apprehensively.

"I think Loki may have spotted her outside," Thor answered very quietly. "And I think his reaction may have been just that. But he currently believes her to be a figment of his overactive mind; a product of nerves."

Bruce nodded slowly. "I suppose I'd better tell him who she is before they meet."

"My brother is in no danger from her, is he?"

Bruce scrunched up his face in disbelief. "I highly doubt that. I'm more worried about Loki being a danger to himself, if he panics or something. At least Nebula can probably corroborate Loki's experience with Thanos to the others. It would be good for Tony especially … he trusts Nebula; as far as he trusts anyone, anyway."

Thor nodded in silent agreement, dreading this more and more. "I am starting to think that this will be a great deal more complicated than I thought it would be," he muttered.

"These things always are," Bruce agreed.

~I~N~~T~H~E~~E~N~D~G~A~M~E~~N~O~W~

Loki knew that they were talking about him. But he chose not to pay attention. For one thing, he didn't much care. Thor was probably telling Professor Hulk about his panic attack and asking after Midgardian remedies or healers. Loki could protest later. He sipped a cup of water and stared out at the grounds, which were empty and grassy. From this angle, he could see the river, but not the ship he had arrived in. He wondered what the clanking contraption looked like from far away. Judging from its shape, he guessed that it looked like a bird of some sort when it flight.

Sighing, Loki turned away from the window and arched an eyebrow at his brother as he approached. Thor looked ashen and rather ill, and the smile he returned looked more like a wobbly grimace.

"Is everything under control?" Loki asked with his eyebrow still raised.

"Not really," Thor mumbled, shuffling over uncomfortably. "But … it's going to be alright. It'll be fine. We'll be fine." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, because he certainly wasn't going to be inspiring any confidence in anyone else with his babbling.

"You babble when you're worried," Loki pointed out drily. "Or trying to hide something. So which is it?"

"It's nothing," Thor protested, looking away from him. It was a clear indication of guilt.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I could simply worm it out of you without very much difficulty, Thor. You were always the worst at keeping secrets."

Thor hunched his shoulders guiltily and squirmed. "Do you want me to tell you?" he asked timidly. "I just … I don't know how to say it. I don't know …"

"Just stop," Loki snapped in exasperation. "Look, whatever secret you have will come out eventually, and frankly, I'm exhausted already and I haven't even sparred with the Man of Iron yet. Just forget about it. Tell me what has happened to the Avengers in the last five years."

"I haven't really kept in touch with the Avengers as a whole," Thor admitted with a grimace. "I was …"

"Too busy drowning in self-pity and Midgardian mead?" Loki finished.

"Ah … right," Thor smiled self-deprecatingly. "I know that the original Avengers all survived. The Man of Iron, the Captain, Banner of course, and …"

"The Hawk and the Spider," Loki muttered, feeling a sinking sensation in his gut. "Wonderful."

"The Hawk … yes," Thor sighed. "Loki …"

"I'm here already," Loki snapped. "I will not run and hide from him. If he wants to shoot me, he may. It wouldn't kill me anyway, unless he has somehow upgraded his arrows to work on gods. But if he did shoot me … perhaps it would satisfy his blood-lust."

Thor grimaced. "He once expressed the wish to shoot you in the eye."

"I know from observing you and Odin that I would be able to see fine with just one eye. We'll match."

"Please don't joke about that," Thor groaned. But he slung an arm around Loki's shoulders affectionately, so he probably meant not to joke about his little brother losing an eye, not his own fake eyeball.

A door hissed open and the two Norse gods spun around. Banner looked up from the holographic screen, but his huge bulk was blocking Loki's view of the door.

"Hey, Cap," the green giant greeted their visitor cheerfully.

"Back so soon, Bruce? How'd it go?"

"One God of Thunder delivered and sober," Bruce replied cheerfully. "Er … you got the memo?"

"Tony had me come up to see if it was true," the familiar, self-righteous voice replied sternly. "You brought Loki back from New Asgard?"

Loki stepped away from the window and came around from behind Banner, lifting one eyebrow at the Captain of America who stood there.

Professor Hulk laughed nervously. "How'd you figure out who it was already?"

"Rocket went down to the hangar. He's helping Tony with the Quantum Tunnel," the Captain replied, never taking his laser-blue eyes from Loki's face.

Thor came up behind Loki, almost making him jump in surprise when a big, warm hand closed on his shoulder. His voice, always deep and impressive, sounded dangerously challenging. "Rogers, if you have something to say to my brother, by all means: say it."

The Captain nodded slowly, still watching Loki with razor-sharp focus. "How did you survive?" he asked sternly. "Did you fake your death again?"

Loki shook his head, trying his best to appear approachable and honest, but he was so tense and nervous, that he was pretty sure he looked more like an arrested fugitive. "I do not know how I survived," he replied flatly. "My seidr is powerful. Likely it is more powerful than I thought it was. I should have died. Both times."

"Do you have any idea what it did to Thor?" Captain Rogers demanded fiercely, his blue eyes burning with earnestness. "Watching you die a second time destroyed him. How could you do that to him?"

"I gave my life that he might live!" Loki snapped back, fighting the seething anger under his skin. "I provoked the Titan so that he would be forced to kill me instead of my brother. I survived by a miracle. Why is that evil? Why am I being interrogated about it? Am I going to have to answer such questions every time I speak to you Avengers?"

"Why did you give your life for your brother?" Rogers responded just as sharply. "What was your plan?"

"My plan was to avoid further torture and eventual death or mind control," Loki snarled, his temper snapping. "My plan was for my brother to avenge my death by ridding the universe of Thanos before he wiped out half of all existing life! It certainly wasn't my plan to be left for dead in a graveyard of ship parts for the second time in five years! I didn't plan to be picked up by unscrupulous scavengers who sold me into slavery at their first opportunity! I never planned to live on in my miserable existence of suspicion and hatred everywhere I go! Pray tell me, Captain: what do you think my plan was?"

Captain Rogers looked slightly mollified, and even a bit surprised, at Loki's vehement defense, but he didn't have time to reply.

"I will have you know now, Captain," Loki went on angrily. "I am not here because Thor dragged me along. I am here because I wish to be a part of this. Thanos took everything from me when I first encountered him. My dignity, my freedom, my will; I did not invade your backward little Realm of my own desire, you know. This is as much my fight as it is yours. Even after Asgard was destroyed and millions of our people murdered by Odin's insane daughter, even then Thanos took half of us! His legacy has no right to go on or be remembered!"

"Alright, alright," the Captain interrupted, putting up his hands in an effort to stop the flow of words from Loki's mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come on so aggressively. You've got a lot of good points, and I … I am sorry I didn't think about it before."

Loki scowled and did not reply. He felt Thor's hand tighten on his shoulder and was suddenly surprised that his normally verbose brother wasn't saying anything. He glanced up at the god of thunder, and was surprised to see his brother's good eye sparking with some indignation.

"I know you don't trust my brother," Thor said quietly, keeping his gaze on Captain Rogers. "I don't blame you, and neither does he. But Loki has more cause than most to hate the Titan."

"It was in the memo," Rogers agreed slowly, still looking a little suspicious. "Alright; I guess I'll give you a chance, Loki. So long as you don't betray us …"

"And who would I betray you to?" Loki asked bitterly. "Thanos would love to kill me, or torture me, or use me, depending on what time period we travel to. It does not benefit me to betray you; any of you. It would utter foolishness on my part if I did." Seeing the skeptical look on the mortal's face, Loki's expression twisted into a disgusted sneer. "Don't worry. The minute I betray you, I give you permission to kill me." Here, Loki paused and gave Thor a significant look which he was sure his brother interpreted correctly, judging from the shameful blush that stole over his cheeks.

When you betray me, I will kill you, Thor's voice echoed from the past.

Loki was reasonably sure it wouldn't come to that again. But could he trust the rest of the Avengers not to get trigger-happy in the meantime?

~I~N~~T~H~E~~E~N~D~G~A~M~E~~N~O~W~

Rogers took them down to the hangar where he claimed that the rest of the Avengers were assembled. Thor gave the beer in the icebox one glance before he ignored it in favour of a bottled drink of a strange bright blue shade, and Loki felt the release of tension that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Thor truly had given up drink, at least for now. He was grim and focused, but quiet. It was so different from the way Thor had been before when he had gathered with his warriors to plan a campaign, if that was to be what the Avengers were assembled for, but Loki appreciated this new maturity in his brother. Sometimes, he wondered how different he was. He knew he was dressed quite casually as a Midgardian now, which would be different for the Avengers who had only ever known him in his elaborate horned armour and Asgardian garb. But would Stark and the others only see the insane warlord who invaded their realm and threatened their existence?

The hangar where Stark was building his time-travel device was enormous. There was plenty of natural light here from the huge doors, and the contraption itself took up a rather large spot at one end of the huge space. There was a circular platform, and several very thick cords and wires and some glowing blue energy cores and computing devices connected to the platform. Stark himself was crawling out from underneath the contraption with the raccoon sauntering after him.

"Hey, Big Green, missed you!" Stark hollered, looking peeved. "Needed your expert advice on something!"

"On what the colour code should be for the wires?" Bruce asked good-naturedly as he walked over.

Loki paused to take everything in, and Thor stopped beside him. The hangar had large windows, and outside, it was green and beautiful. In New Asgard, the village was barely coming out of winter. Was it nearly summer here already? Inside the huge hangar were some flying contraptions and other wheeled vehicles, likely all belonging to the Avengers. Everything was sleek and advanced, even beyond the typical things Loki had seen among the mortals the last time he was here. There was no doubt that Stark had furnished most of this himself. It all had a certain style to it, like the man himself.

As for Stark, Loki's first impression was that he had aged incredibly quickly. But then he recalled that a decade to a human was almost like a thousand years to an Asgardian and he took a brief moment to pity the poor mortals who lived such short lives. Stark simply looked old. His face was lined and tired in a way it wasn't before, and his body was not quite as trim or fit. His messy hair was graying at the temples and his eyes, which had been restless and snapping with energy the last time they met, were steadier and somehow deeper. Loki found himself the sole target of those penetrating eyes, and instinctively, he stiffened.

"So," Stark drawled, folding his arms. "Reindeer Games got tired of pulling Santa's sleigh? Rock of Ages decided to stage a reunion concert? What gives, Thor-old-buddy? Thought you said little-bro was dead? Twice?"

Loki gritted his teeth, recalling why he'd originally attempted to overtake this man's mind with the scepter. It was purely just to shut him up. Stark was still the most insulting, irritating, obtuse creature ever to exist. But just the thought of having to sift through that man's mind to control it was exhausting. He was glad that he hadn't been able to do it, for whatever reason.

"My brother survived Thanos," Thor replied stiffly. "I didn't know it until mere days ago."

"Mmhmm," Stark nodded, glaring suspiciously. "Funny that old mind-stick Loki shows up right when I make a breakthrough in space-time quantum theory and start plotting to save the universe. Nobody else think that's fishy?"

Loki narrowed his eyes at the irritating mortal. "And how, pray tell, would I know that from halfway across the galaxy?" he drawled. "Pray tell me how, exactly, I am apparently spying on you?"

"How am I supposed to know how space-magic works?" Stark snapped. "Look, do the math: I figure out how time travel works, not a day or two later you show up to butter up your drunk brother and sweet-talk Jolly Green and Ratchet here, and boom, here you are to stop me from saving the universe. For all I know, you're a version of Loki from the past who followed us here to the future to stop us from sabotaging you in your present which would be our past!"

Loki stared at the angry mortal for several seconds, completely flabbergasted. He'd been accused of elaborate crimes before, but never one this … ingenious. The thing was, he could almost see himself doing something like that. Loki slowly shook his head, wondering whether he ought to applaud or burst out laughing. He met the eyes of an unfamiliar dark-skinned man standing near the platform, and the unknown mortal just shrugged in response to his inquisitive eyebrow raise.

"Has he been sleeping well the past few nights?" Loki asked politely. "Paranoia and hallucinations are all typical of sleep deprivation."

Rocket guffawed rudely, and didn't even bother covering his mouth. The dark-skinned man and Professor Hulk smothered their smiles, and Rogers gave Loki an annoyed look. Another youngish mortal, unfamiliar to him, was sitting on a bench against the wall, simply watching everything with a clueless, slack-jawed look on his face. Stark, of course, got angry. But though his face flushed slightly and his eyes burned with the promise of dire vengeance, he kept his cool better than Loki expected of the arrogant man.

"You think you're real funny, don't you?" Stark sneered, shifting his feet subtly.

"Why no," Loki arched his eyebrows in mocking surprise. "I do not think sleep deprivation is a laughing matter at all. I am merely suggesting that rather than suppose you've lost your mind, assuming you had one in the first place." Thor suddenly nudged Loki warningly from behind, and reluctantly, the god of mischief shut up. Judging from the dark look on Stark's face, he probably could go too far with his teasing.

"Look here, Rudolph," Tony Stark snarled, stalking forward with his chin thrust out in an attempt to look threatening. "I don't trust you as far as I could kick you, and judging by your kind's incredible cellular density, I doubt I could even move you with a proper kick, got it? So you'd better start talking, and you'd better talk fast: give me a reason we shouldn't just kick your ass back to hell-knows-where you came from or hand you over to Earth's governments. They may squabble about the sorry state of the world now, but I can tell you for sure, they won't have any problem agreeing on how deal with a terrorist and would-be world dictator like you!"

Loki arched an eyebrow at the mortal, who was now standing directly in front of him, glowering up into his face with all the ferocity of a territorial bilgesnipe, and none of its true threat. He wanted to keep verbally sparring with Stark, drive him over the edge with barbed comments and flippant mockery, but Thor was poking him in the side again and it was driving him insane. With a huff of annoyance, he twisted away from his anxious-looking brother and scowled at him, pointedly rubbing his ribs where Thor's finger had poked the hardest.

"Would you desist already?" Loki snapped. "Fun as it would be to provoke the Man of Iron into a tantrum, I'm not stupid."

Thor put up his hands apologetically. "I apologize," he said hastily. "I simply wanted …"

"Yes, I can handle myself, Thor," Loki snapped, cutting his brother off. Thor wasn't talking or defending him anyway, so he may as well shut up. Loki knew that he was on his own again. He turned back to the Avengers and clasped his hands behind his back. "So … you wish for me to talk, Stark? Yet you do not specify what exactly you wish for me to talk about. Ask me a question, and I shall endeavor to answer it. I can tell you right now that I think you are insane and I don't believe Time Travel is possible, so no: I am not a time travelling, evil version of myself out to stop you from time travelling in the first place. Simply put, that would be stupid. If I were a time traveler, and I came forward in time as you say to stop you from going back in time, I would erase the time where I met your time travelling selves and thus, would not be here in order to stop you in the first place. So kindly desist from accusing me of committing universal paradoxes and ask me something that makes sense."

Stark was still glaring, but there was a spark of something other than anger and suspicion in his brown eyes. Was he … intrigued? Rogers looked slightly confused, Bruce Banner was grinning, and the other two men, the dark-skinned one and the clueless young man, had glazed eyes and baffled looks on their faces.

"Alright, fine; about that memo," Stark huffed, widening his stance slightly. "What did you say to convince Bruce that you're all of a sudden the good guy?"

"He saw me save Asgard's refugees five years ago, did he not?" Loki drawled. "Besides that, I told him the truth. I was not 'the good guy' and I have never claimed to be. Think of me … as an antihero. Or a pawn. Thanos overpowered me and turned me into a tool of his design. I had no wish to rule Earth, or any world for that matter. It's something of a joke to me."

"Oh yeah? What proof do you have that you didn't want to invade Earth?" Stark demanded with narrowed eyes. "What proof do you have that it was actually Thanos of all creatures that made you do it? Sounds like a lame excuse to me. Now that the Titan's dead, you can pin all your mistakes on him?"

Loki stared at Stark, and the stare became a glare that intensified until he managed to speak, more or less calmly. He hardly realized what was rolling off his tongue until he finished saying it. "Would you like to see the scars?"

Stark rolled his eyes. "Come on, you're a master of illusions!" the Man of Iron scoffed. "You could make yourself look however you want!"

"True," Loki agreed with a cold smile. "But the illusions I craft dissipate when touched. I can change objects, like clothing or dishes, but I cannot change flesh and blood. Not completely. Not without killing it."

"I'm not falling for that," Stark scoffed. "Thor said you're really a blue ice-blasting alien, and you've gotten touched plenty over the years, yeah? And yet you apparently had no idea you weren't his brother all those years!"

"This shape is not an illusion," Loki snapped, waving his hand to indicate himself, controlling his rage and humiliation with an iron fist. He focused on the conversation, on words. That was what he did best, after all. "I am a natural shape-shifter ... or I was as an infant. Odin locked me in this form when I shifted as a baby. However, if I touch a Frost Giant, or am otherwise … stimulated, my body automatically shifts to my … my birth form. It is not easily controlled."

"But how did you do it before?" Thor asked curiously. "You came to my house … blue."

Loki gave him an annoyed look. "I can draw on the Casket of Ancient Winters to solidify my shape," he retorted. "Would you like a demonstration?" he added sarcastically.

Thor was quick to backpedal. "No, no, that's not necessary …" He paused. "Wait, you have the Casket?!"

"Uh-huh, maybe not necessary for you," Stark interrupted, wagging a finger at the god of thunder. "But we still need a way to know Loki's a hundred percent not just making illusions to make himself look beat-up so we believe him."

"You are determined not to believe me anyway!" Loki shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "What must I do to prove myself to you? To any of you? I did not invade Midgard out of malice or even of my own free will, and anything I did to you or your friends was not personal, even if it felt so to you at the time. I did give my life for my brother; twice now, I'll remind you! That I survived was not my plan, either the first time or the second."

"Yet you tossed your dad in a nursing home and pretended to be Odin for years until you caused Ragnarok!" Stark threw back viciously.

Loki flinched at the accusation, but he charged forward despite the low blow. "Odin would have been happy to leave my corpse on a dead planet, despite my sacrifice and noble 'death'!" he hissed. " You should not wonder at my … impulsiveness, when I found Odin half-insane from grief and rage and ready to dishonor his adopted son's body out of spite! He was ready to let Asgard fall for the sake of his grief and bruised ego! He would have imprisoned Thor, or banished him again. I had to do something! He fell into the Odin-Sleep without a regent, so what was I supposed to do? Even Thor will admit that Odin bore me no ill feelings when we saw him again, and the vacation did him good."

"Yeah, sure," Stark snarled. "He died because of it."

"He died because he was old and broken even before that," Loki sneered back. "Do not presume to know how Asgard works, Stark. You know nothing of our people and our ways."

"They're not even your people!" the Man of Iron shouted accusingly. "You're the one who threw a big huge tantrum and made a big deal out of Thor not being your brother! Why do you expect us to believe anything you say when you're such a god of lies you were living a lie for most of your life?"

Loki stumbled back involuntarily. He didn't know why he felt so shocked and hurt. Why should he care what this stupid mortal said or claimed? He knew nothing. Loki had already said that before. So why was he getting so riled up at everything Stark was throwing at him? Loki was aware that he was trembling. He was shaking from head to foot, but from rage, helplessness, frustration, or fear, he had no idea. Maybe it was a combination of all of them.

"This …" Loki managed to say, though his voice was hoarse and trembling. "This was a mistake. Obviously, humans don't believe in redemption. Or forgiveness. Or second chances. Or understanding."

"Loki …" Thor whispered, stepping forward with his hands outstretched.

"Don't touch me," Loki hissed, backing away from the one he once called brother. "You stand there silent when you know what this man says is false and spiteful! You do not defend me! What are you here for anyway?" He spun on his heel to leave.

"Loki!" Thor shouted.

Loki ignored him. The Avengers watched him walk away. He found a door to the outside and opened it. But before he shut the door behind him, he heard Rogers' voice.

"Can we trust him alone out there?"

"Relax, Nebula's out there," Stark scoffed in response. "If anybody can keep him in line, she can."

Loki froze, the door not quite shut. Slowly, he looked up and turned his head so he could see the Avengers. Stark had not just said what he thought he said. Had he? Thor looked panicked, Bruce was covering his face with his huge hand, and Rocket looked supremely annoyed. Was this the secret that Thor had been so uncomfortable about earlier? The dark-skinned man and the clueless young man were glancing uneasily from Loki to their companions, and Stark and Rogers glanced at each other, and then at their oddly reacting teammates.

"What?" Stark demanded, turning to face the green doctor.

"Ugh, I know who's got your proof," Bruce groaned, smacking his forehead with a huge green hand. He took his hand off his face and looked up at Loki, frozen in the half-closed doorway. "I think you'd better come back here, Loki," the green giant said gently. "I can't believe we were so stupid. You know Nebula, don't you? Thor said you spotted her outside …"

"N-Nebula?" Loki rasped, his whole body fighting tremors. "Here? No, I …"

A scalpel flashed in his vision, and he flinched. Harsh purple light burned his retinas, and he closed his eyes tightly. Pain sliced through his abdomen and he doubled over, crying out. Her face above him, blue and bald and half-metal, impassive and emotionless, eyes focused on the cavity she was opening in his body, oblivious to his screams and pleading as he squirmed, clamped down to her operating table. Loki was aware at some point that what he was seeing, what he was feeling, was too feverish and disjointed to be real. It was a nightmare, or a memory. But he couldn't get out of it. He clutched at his head, blindly tangling his fingers in his hair, and breathed harshly to keep from screaming. It was just a name. Just a stupid name. But all he could hear was his voice, rumbling as it spoke.

Nebula, my daughter. You must show your newest brother why disrespect is not tolerated here.

"No," Loki whispered frantically, struggling to ground himself in the cold floor under his knees and elbows, in his hands twisting painfully in his own hair, in the cool breeze blowing across the cold sweat on his forehead. "No, no, no. Not real. Not here. Not now. It's not real. St-stop. Stop it. No." He was tumbling head over heels through darkness and light, but the light was purple or harsh gold, there was blue skin, purple skin, green skin, flashing over and over in his vision, ending with blue skin. Like his abominable true face.

The bald, half-metal woman with blue skin stood over him, impassive and unmoved. As always.

He fell.

~I~N~~T~H~E~~E~N~D~G~A~M~E~~N~O~W~

Thor raced forward as he watched the blood drain from his brother's face. Loki's eyes grew wide and startled and glassy, and he suddenly doubled over, curling an arm around his middle like he was in pain, letting out a strangled gasp as if he'd been stabbed in the stomach.

"Loki!" Thor cried out, seizing his little brother by his trembling shoulders. But Loki was lost to the world. He was whimpering, a horrible sound, and there were words mixed in, but not in any language Thor had ever heard. It sounded like … pleading. Loki never begged. Never. The very thought of what it would have taken for his little brother to be reduced to a shivering, helpless wreck made lightning spark along his skin and clouds to gather outside. He growled low under his breath and let go of Loki, fearing to hurt him. Someone grabbed his arm, and he spun around, facing Stark, who had somehow dressed in his suit already. Thor's own electricity was racing up and down the Man of Iron's red arm. The man's brown eyes were uneasy and concerned.

"Buddy!" Stark was shouting, though the roaring in Thor's ears made it sound muffled. "Hey, can you hear me?"

Thor shook his head and pulled away from Stark, breathing hard as he tried to get himself back under control. Loki was curled up on the ground, tugging at his hair as he shuddered and gasped. Tears burned Thor's good eye and he shook his head again.

"My brother," Thor rasped hoarsely. "He has always been strong. I can't … I don't even want to imagine what he has been through in the past … fourteen years? Has it only been that long? He is not lying, Stark. I know my brother. Trust me. Please. He does not need your pity, or your attacks. He wants to help us."

"To betray us later, sure," Stark huffed, though he looked uncomfortable and avoided looking at Loki, who looked so small and helpless as he shivered on the floor. The door he lay beside suddenly opened. Nebula stood there, gazing emotionlessly down at Loki. She stepped over him and crouched warily near his head. Thor watched her suspiciously, and thunder cracked menacingly outside. Stark shouted for someone named FRIDAY to turn the lights on, and the darkened hangar lit up with Midgardian artificial lamps.

Loki gasped and pulled away from Neblua when she reached out to touch him, skittering across the floor until he hit the wall, where he curled up with one arm clutching his ribs and the other wrapped around his head. His eyes were shut tightly and sweat trickled down his cheek. His lips were moving, but he was still babbling in that unknown language. Seeing him now, Thor knew that any cosmetic illusions Loki had been holding for their sake were gone. He was so thin, his cheeks hollow and gaunt. Dark circles like bruises hung under his eyes, and there was a wealth of small scars on his face that Thor had never seen before. One very prominent one ran along the side of his face, from his hairline, down his cheek to his chin, and it was very straight and precise. Asgardian skin eventually healed from most scars until they were pretty much unnoticeable, but a scar that deep was likely from a cut that was opened over and over until the skin could no longer fuse together properly. Thor's stomach roiled and the thunder crashed overhead again. He knew his eyes were glowing and sparks were dancing up and down his arms. He had to get out of here before he brought the whole building down, but he felt trapped. The door was next to Loki, and he couldn't simply break through Stark's windows, could he?

Suddenly, Stark grabbed him and flew up and out of the hangar with him in his arms. The roof had openings for hovercraft or other flying contraptions to land, it seemed. Thor was so startled that he didn't even fight back, but when they reached the open air, it was raining and lightning was flashing the in the boiling clouds. Stark dropped him in the wet grass from a few feet up and landed at a good distance away.

"You okay, Buddy?" the Man of Iron's voice came from behind his helmet.

Thor growled and clenched his fists, his whole body glowing with rage. "Leave me, Stark," he gritted out. "Leave me, and do not harm my brother. I will calm myself … and return."

Stark backed off and Thor roared as he summoned the lightning to purge his mind and body of the horror and fury that overwhelmed him like a boiling flood. He was blinded by the lightning, and almost deafened by the crack of thunder, but it felt better to burn with the power of his birthright.

He wished he could have made the Titan suffer before his miserable death. He wished Thanos could have suffered as he made Loki suffer. He wished he could have killed Thanos with lightning, rather than a simple blade to the neck. His death had been too easy; too quick. For all the suffering he had caused, Thor wished he could go back in time simply to kill the Titan again. And again. And again. Knowing it was wrong didn't stop him from being tempted. His little brother, whom he had promised to protect, had been hurt by that monster, and Thor had remained so ignorant, so stubbornly prideful … he hadn't even considered that Loki had been forced into his actions of Midgard. He had threatened and mocked his brother in the dungeons of Asgard, adding insult to injury … rubbing salt in his little brother's wounds. Could he fault his fellow Avengers for doing nearly the same thing? His rage was as much at himself as it was at Thanos.

~I~N~~T~H~E~~E~N~D~G~A~M~E~~N~O~W~

Thor wandered back inside after he was thoroughly exhausted. He was soaked to the skin, and no longer very angry. He was just sick with horror and grief. He knew the glassy, lost look he had seen briefly in the eyes of his brother. He had seen it before in the eyes of prisoners, rescued after decades of torments unimaginable. He had seen it in the eyes of old veterans, reliving horrors of the battlefield. He had seen it also in the gaze of those lost in the horrors of the past, driven insane by torture or illness. To think that Loki was holding such horrors at bay with sheer willpower was both grieving and incredible. He knew that his brother was strong, but perhaps he had never realized just how strong Loki was. His little brother would be humiliated and horrified when he woke from his flashback and realized that all of the Avengers had seen him. He would be furious when he found that the Avengers were working willingly with one of Thanos' children. She had been forgiven for her evil deeds at the behest of the Titan; why did the Avengers find it so difficult to forgive Loki in the same way? Thor sighed heavily and tried to shake off the rainwater. It was still raining outside, but the lightning and thunder seemed to have stopped. It wouldn't take long for the storm to pass, but the weeping clouds mirrored Thor's heart. He needed to find Loki, be beside him when he woke, and apologize. Again.

He should have insisted that Loki stay behind. He should have left him in New Asgard. He should have sworn Bruce and Rabbit to secrecy. He should have defended him against Stark's taunting mouth. He should have done something about the Nebula problem. He should have been a better brother.

The hangar was empty, the quantum tunnel lying abandoned. Thor wandered back to the hallway Rogers had led them from, but he heard someone call his name.

"Hey, Thor!"

Thor spun around and spotted Rocket up on the wrap-around balcony overlooking the hangar. The rabbit waved, and Thor spotted some stairs that led up to him.

"We brought Loki up here," Rabbit explained as Thor started climbing. "Cripes, but that was you out there, right? Whew, and I thought you were badass in that last battle we were in, sheesh."

Thor shrugged unhappily. "How is my brother?" he asked quietly.

"He went a little nuts when we tried to touch him," Rabbit replied flippantly. "I mean, he just wanted to protect himself, but Rogers has a real nasty black eye and Nebula sorta lost her arm. Big Green guy hit him with some kinda tranquilizer. He's still sleeping. Nebula looked him over, actually. She says he's not in great shape. Didn't Loki say he was enslaved for a little while or something?"

"After he was rescued from the wreckage of our ship," Thor reluctantly replied. "Some crew of scavengers sold him as a slave. He … said his master used him as an experiment. But he insisted that the elven healers of Alfheim cured him!"

"Uh-huh, and how long ago was he with the elf people?"

"…Until a little over a week ago, I suppose."

Rabbit scoffed. "The dude does not know when to rest, does he?"

"More likely he had simply grown used to being weak and in pain," Thor whispered, tears pricking his good eye. "The slightest relief must have felt like a cure."

They reached a door which stood a little ajar and the rabbit led him inside. They were in a large, roomy medical room. There were plenty of windows, but with the storm outside, the artificial lights were all on. The Avengers were all gathered in here, scattered around the room. Rogers was sitting on a bed holding what looked like a bag of ice to his eye, Banner was tapping a holographic screen, enlarged for his enormous finger, Stark was standing at the other end of the infirmary with his arms folded, watching Nebula, who was tinkering with her cybernetic arm at an exam table. Stark murmured some advice and gestured at the cyborg's arm, and she jerked her head in a terse nod. The other stranger Thor hadn't met yet was sitting in a chair, watching everything in silence. Colonel Rhodes was there as well, silent and watchful as a statue. Rogers raised his head to readjust his ice pack and caught sight of him. The Captain looked relieved, and his eye looked bad. If Loki were awake, he might be able to heal it for the Captain in a moment, but Loki was probably lying in the one bed that had curtains pulled around it.

"You alright?" Rogers asked him, raising the bag of ice to his eye again.

"Better," Thor replied, wincing at the pitiful sight of the mortal's swollen eye. "I apologize for my brother. I don't think he meant it."

"He didn't," Steve assured him with an easy smile. "I should have known better than to grab a Norse god caught in a flashback. I'll feel better in a few minutes. Just gotta let my healing factor kick in."

Thor nodded uneasily and glanced around, noticing that he was the center of attention. Stark was looking at him, Rhodes was gazing at him with an unreadable expression, the unfamiliar young man was watching him with awe, and even Nebula glanced up and fixed him with an enigmatic look before she turned back to her arm. No one was saying anything, and it was painfully awkward.

Bruce suddenly turned from his screen and fiddled with his big square glasses. "Thor? Could you come here for a sec?"

Obediently, Thor left Rocket and approached the big green man. Bruce seemed anxious.

"I'm keeping him under for now," Dr. Banner said in a low voice and gestured at the screen. It showed a graphic of Loki, sound asleep, and his vitals pinged quietly next to the image of his diagrammed body. Thor swallowed hard at the sight. "What do you want to do?" Bruce asked quietly.

"I want to go back and tell my stupid self to keep Loki in New Asgard," Thor bitterly muttered. "Better yet, I want to go back fifteen years and stop myself from throwing a tantrum on Jotunheim."

Bruce grimaced. "Well, that's not really possible, is it? I mean, I think you should be right there when I wake him up in case he decides to go … crazy."

Thor groaned and closed his eyes. "How bad was it?" he asked.

Bruce didn't answer for a few minutes. "It could have been bad," he finally said in a quiet voice. "I tackled him. He's … kind of afraid of me. I had to tranquilize him. It wasn't pretty."

Thor shook his head sadly and rubbed his face. "I shouldn't have brought him," he muttered. "I'm sorry. I … I shouldn't have assumed …"

"Thor, stop," Banner interrupted, touching his shoulder gently. "It's okay. Really. I think it shook us all up to see … him … like this. He obviously needs help. He needs you. Tony would appreciate any information you can give us, of course, but maybe you should sit tight and let the rest of us deal with the time travel. Your brother needs you."

"I know," Thor whispered guiltily. "But I must ... I am part of the Avengers. I am one of you. I cannot abandon this chance to fix everything ..."

"I understand you feel that way, but you really don't have to come with us on the ...Time Heist," Professor Hulk said quietly. "I mean, we appreciate any info you can give us on the Infinity Stones you've encountered ... But you don't have to come along."

"I know, I know; but I need to do this," Thor insisted, though his gut twisted with guilt. "Loki will be alright."

Bruce Banner sighed and adjusted his glasses again. "My concern is that Loki may not be ready for something like this," the green doctor said gently. "He might want to help us, but if he's really this fragile …" he trailed off and shrugged helplessly.

Thor nodded. "I understand," he said. "Wake him whenever you must. I will sit beside him. When he is fully awake … I'll take him back to New Asgard."

"But you should stay with him there. Don't just dump him when he's this fragile and needs you."

"I told you I can't just stay here and do nothing!" Thor growled, grabbing at his hair and then rubbing his beard in frustration. "I can't leave this. I must do this. Loki will understand."

There was silence in the room, and Thor realized he must have raised his voice too much. Rogers got off the bed and carefully walked over. His eye still looked bad, but Thor thought it actually might not look as awful as it had a few minutes before.

"Look," Captain Rogers said firmly, though hesitantly. "I don't presume to know anything about you or Loki, but I think you might be making a mistake here. It seems to me like your whole life has been 'oh, Loki will understand' without ever asking him first. If your brother needs you, Thor, I can't in good conscience let you come with us. Family comes first. Besides ... you have to think about all those promises you made yourself back after you thought Loki died the first time."

Thor blinked incredulously at the mortal and turned to Stark. But before he could open his mouth to demand a back-up or start listing his reasoning, Stark was shaking his head.

"Much as I hate myself for admitting this," the Man of Iron huffed with a glare at the Captain. "I totally agree. It would be irresponsible of you to run off and leave your … brother, like this after all those years you spent moaning to us about how you wished you'd been better to him. You follow me? If he's really back, and you really love him, you shouldn't just dump him when he can't keep up. This is your chance to make good on all those promises you made. Remember? After you thought Loki died on that Heim planet, you did nothing but cry to us about what you'd do different if you could."

"I didn't cry!" Thor spluttered.

"Close enough, then," Stark rolled his eyes. "My point is: this is the point where Loki'll see how much you think your word is worth. Or at least, how much it's worth when he's involved."

"Why are you taking his side?" Thor demanded peevishly. "I thought you hated him!"

"Distrusted him, not hate," Stark corrected him with a slight smirk. "Loki always seemed like the kinda guy I could get along with, so long as he was locked up tight and not trying to steal my brain."

"He seems so … young," Rogers added, sounding regretful. "And if Thanos really did get ahold of him ... I can't help but think of Hydra." The Captain threw Stark an apologetic glance. "People who are brainwashed or tortured into compliance are not as much at fault as those who do things of their own free will. I'm sure you understand that, Thor. Right now, I wish we'd taken the time to talk to Loki a little more after the battle. Maybe things would have been different."

"He wouldn't have opened up to us; c'mon," Stark scoffed.

"He sort of reminds me … of Bucky," Rogers said softly, darting a nervous look at Stark, who glowered and looked away. He seemed like he was trying to keep himself under control. "I mean, downstairs, he had that … that look in his eyes, like he was so … so terrified, and so helpless, and so … alone. Nobody deserves to be turned into that. Not even the worst person in the universe."

"Personally, I think Thanos would benefit from a little bit of that," Rocket the rabbit piped up with a vengeful growl. "But deserve it or not, that crap typically happens to guys that don't exactly deserve it. So whaddaya gonna do?"

Thor gritted his teeth and looked away. His eyes fell on the white curtains around the bed where his brother lay. The Avengers were right. He was only needed for information, really. He didn't need to go on this Time Heist except for the sake of his ego. And nostalgia. One last mission with the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

With a sigh, Thor let it all go. He released his pride and his wants, and he focused on his brother, who needed him more the Avengers did.

~I~N~~T~H~E~~E~N~D~G~A~M~E~~N~O~W~

Loki gradually came back to himself. He felt blissfully pain-free and relaxed, which was odd, when he thought about it. Sleepily, he groped for his seidr and felt it there, settled comfortably inside himself where it always was. It wasn't leaking, or crying with pain, or struggling. It simply … was. Like himself. He was lying on his back in a comfortable bed, there was a light coverlet over his body, and he could feel a warm, calloused hand holding his. Loki's first thought was that he had been ill, but he couldn't immediately recall why he'd been ill. And that was most certainly not Mother's hand holding his. It couldn't be Odin, as the old King had eschewed such shows of affection. So it could only be …

"Thor?" Loki whispered, turning his head and cracking his eyes open a bit.

His brother was sitting beside him, dressed strangely. He smiled, and his blue eye lit up, The other eye was brown and stared fixedly ahead. Thor scowled suddenly, reached up, and whacked himself in the side of his head. The eye shifted, Thor blinked, and Loki was fully awake by now. He felt dizzy.

"Where am I? What happened?" Loki whispered, his throat feeling scratchy and rough. The last thing he could remember was flying with a rabbit and a civilized hulk-beast … and arguing with the Avengers. It was all coming back to him now, but he was still confused. How did he end up in bed? He didn't feel injured.

"You are in a medical room in the Avengers Headquarters," Thor replied quietly. "How are you, Loki?"

Loki shook his head and tried to sit up, but it was too much effort. His head felt light and floaty. Immediately, he realized that wasn't good. Or was it? His emotions were alarmingly muted. He felt lazily content with everything right now, and Thanos himself probably wouldn't have been able to rouse more than a disgruntled frown from him at the moment.

"Loki?"

"What did that green beast stick me with?" he asked, closing his eyes wearily. "I feel … I don't feel at all. I feel empty. It is so strange … I'm not even angry. I should be. Logically, I should be raging. What is it?" He opened an eye and peeked up at his brother, who looked slightly alarmed.

"I d-do not know what Bruce gave you," Thor stuttered, glancing up and around as if wondering where Bruce was at the moment. Loki felt strangely amused at the action and started chuckling. "Wait here. I need to get him."

Loki stopped laughing and squeezed Thor's hand suddenly, a slight tingle of alarm thrumming through his strangely vacant emotional center. "No, don't leave," he pleaded. "I don't care. I … rather enjoy it. For now. Later I can rage and shout and … I don't want to right now. I ... I'm empty. And it's alright. Alright?"

Thor settled back down, looking uneasy. "If you say so, Brother …"

Loki started laughing again. "Do you remember when I kept telling you that I'm not your brother whenever you called me that? Just to rile you up?"

Thor looked shocked, which Loki thought was even more hilarious. "You did that just to annoy me?" the god of thunder demanded in a wounded tone. "And here I thought it was because you hated me! I thought you no longer wanted me as your brother, when you knew I cared not for the accident of your birth or the colour of your blood …"

Loki laughed even harder. He could hardly breathe and there were tears in his eyes now. Honestly, observing himself from his own mind, he felt mildly concerned that he was laughing so much. When he finally calmed down, he was curled up on his side, one arm wrapped around his aching middle, and the other hand trembling in Thor's grip.

"I feel drunk," Loki moaned, and shut his watery eyes. "I hate it … or I should. But I don't. I don't actually feel anything. No pain. No nothing."

"Loki, I can fetch Dr. Banner," Thor said worriedly. "He might be able to give you an antidote to whatever it was he used …"

Loki groaned, but reluctantly released his brother's hand. He was shivering now. The chills came on suddenly, and just like that, he went from feeling light and giddy to feeling strangely sad and lonely. And cold.

Thor got up and left. Loki saw that his bed was surrounded by white curtains, and they billowed where Thor had tossed them aside to leave. His sharp ears caught the voices of Thor and Dr. Banner somewhere nearby, and he closed his eyes miserably. What was wrong with him? Usually he had better control than this, even that one time when he was up to his eyeballs in pain potion. But then, he'd never exactly been sedated by Midgardian chemicals. Perhaps his body was rebelling against them.

The curtains billowed and Loki's eyes snapped open. He gazed apprehensively up at the giant green doctor, who smiled kindly down at him before picking up a small device on the bedside table. Or at least, it looked small in his gigantic hands.

"Hey, Loki, how are ya feelin'?" Bruce asked cheerfully, though he kept his voice low and gentle. Strangely enough, Loki relaxed a bit.

"I … I'm cold," he admitted through chattering teeth. This was not Jotun cold, or even blizzard cold. He somehow felt that if he reached through his dimensional pocket right now and touched the Casket of Ancient Winters, it would feel comforting compared to this miserable aching chill that wracked his body down to his very bones.

"Ah," Dr. Banner murmured, carefully turning on the strange device. "Well, let me take your temperature, okay? I'm just going to put this on your forehead …"

Loki flinched as the cool pad of the strange, stick-like device was pressed gently against his forehead. It beeped softly, and Bruce pulled it away to look at the small, glowing screen.

"Hmm, 95.7," he muttered. "A little on the cool side for a human, and a little cooler than you were earlier … but I don't think it's anything to worry about, Good news is, you don't have a fever. That's all I was checking for." The huge green hands set the device down and picked up something from the foot of the bed. He flicked it out, a large gray blanket, and draped it over Loki's shoulders. The extra weight and warmth seemed to help. His shivering died down a little and the chill faded somewhat. It was … strangely comforting. "There you go," Bruce said with a compassionate smile. "Sometimes anesthesia does that; makes you feel weird and emotional and all over the place, or gives you some awful chills. Best thing to do is sleep it off. Your body'll get back to normal soon enough."

Thor, who was standing near the curtains, took a step forward, his face creased with concern. "There is nothing you can give him to counteract the potion you injected into him?"

Bruce gave him a funny look. "Like I said, best thing is these situations is to let the body sort itself out. This is a reaction to coming off the sedative, not exactly a reaction to the chemicals. Since it's not allergic, anything I did would make it worse, probably."

"Do leave it," Loki muttered, sensing suddenly that a good long nap would help. With the heavy warmth of the extra blanket draped over him, he felt suddenly too tired to argue or fight. Or witness one. "I … I believe I will sleep."

"Are you certain?" Thor asked, his forehead pinched and anxious.

Loki scowled, or frowned as much as he was able to. "Will you stop hovering? You're not my mother," he snapped.

Thor looked slightly hurt. "I'm worried about you," he said plaintively. "True, I'm not your mother; I'm your elder brother."

"Still just as bad as Frigga," Loki muttered irritably. "Look, I'm perfectly well. I feel fine. Well, I still feel odd. But sleep cures all ills, as they say. Please … just leave me be. When I waken, then you and I together can bash idiotic mortal heads in for doing this to me, agreed?"

Thor looked bemused. "I think they did it to help you; but if you say so, Brother."

"I do say so," Loki huffed, struggling to keep his eyes open. They fell shut against his will.

Bruce Banner murmured something about calling him if they needed him, and rest being the best medicine, and slipped away. Thor stayed, but he remained standing. Loki felt himself drifting away. He was nearly asleep when he felt a large hand in his hair. His eyes snapped open and he blearily glared up at Thor.

"Don't tangle my hair," he demanded peevishly. He was rather surprised at himself. He'd actually wanted to tell Thor to kindly get his big sweaty paws off his head, but he found that he … didn't really mind. The hand was big and rough and calloused, but the touch was familiar and gentle. It had been so long … so very long, since anyone had touched him with tenderness. He felt that now, drugged and helpless, he could afford a little weakness and indulge himself. He shut his eyes again and didn't protest when Thor did not answer his demand and gently stroked his head.

"I love you, Brother," Thor whispered. "And I'm staying with you."

"Until your Avengers need you," Loki murmured without thinking, and without opening his eyes. It was true. Loki was Thor's second family now, really. The Avengers had been here the last five years, Loki hadn't. If the god of thunder chose them over Loki, he wouldn't be surprised. And he would try not to be offended.

"No, Loki," Thor whispered, and Loki stiffened involuntarily. Those … those words. Odin had spoken them before he fell into the void.

Loki's eyes opened and he stared up at his brother. "What?" he whispered, hating the tears that burned his eyes. Stupid Midgardian sedatives wreaking havoc on his emotions … "Why would you … why did …?"

"No, I'm not leaving you," Thor clarified firmly, reaching out to grasp his shoulder. "I promise you, Loki. I will not leave you. And you are not allowed to die on me again. I … wouldn't survive it. Alright?"

"But … they'll need you," Loki protested weakly, hating himself for hoping that Thor wouldn't agree with him.

"Not as much as you need me," Thor said firmly. "Deny it all you want, Loki. But I need to be the brother I promised you I would be."

'"You never promised …"

"I promised your dead memory," Thor said softly, tears glimmering in his good eye, the crystal blue one that held so much sorrow and grief. And love. It was so strange, to be looked at like he was something precious. Loki looked away, ashamed of the blurring of his own vision. It was the stupid Midgardian chemicals wreaking havoc on his usually controlled emotions, he reasoned. After I rest, I'll be back to normal and Thor will go back on his elaborate promises. Just as he always did.

"I will stay with you, Loki," Thor whispered. "No matter what. Besides … the Avengers promised dire retribution if I go back on my word again."

Loki was startled into a slight laugh. "The Captain put you up to this," he accused hoarsely.

"More like … he bullied me into making the right decision."

Loki blinked his tears away, but they fell onto his pillow. "That self-righteous advocate of the weak and helpless? Bullied you?"

"You would be surprised how fierce he can be when he sees a fellow Avengers straying from the straight and narrow."

"Were you straying?"

"Only planning to put my own wants above my family's needs," Thor said sadly. "Again. But I am learning. I will stay with you, as long as you need me."

"Well, good," Loki murmured as his eyes closed again, this time dragging him toward sleep. "I would hate to time travel without you." He honestly wished he could have seen the look on Thor's face when he said that. He was a master of the dramatic conversation enders, after all. But his body had other plans, and slammed into sleep so quickly that he barely heard Thor's strangled reply.

~I~N~~T~H~E~~E~N~D~G~A~M~E~~N~O~W~

Back from the dead! Or close to it. I just haven't felt much like writing lately. I edited and finished this chapter though, and I am about halfway through several other chapters for my other fics, so I'm not abandoning anything. Thank you all so much for your reviews and for favoriting and following my stories. You have no idea how encouraging it is to me!

BTW, Loki's reaction to anesthetics is based on my own reaction after I woke up from surgery a few years ago. I felt so weird. Empty, yet super-emotional. Cold and super tired. Putting that into words here was pretty interesting. The shivering cold and the unreasonable amount of tears I cried for literally no reason at all remain my most vivid post-surgery memories, and not pleasant ones. Brr.

Okay, so after helping Thor a bit, Loki needs big brother's help too. Hopefully those two will grow into a healthy give-and-take relationship before too long.

Again, thanks for reading and reviewing and you guys are really amazing!