The drama had only begun when they made it back to Stark Tower. There had been a pretty heated debate about what to do on the short flight back. Tony was all for letting Shield figure out on their own that Loki had escaped, since it was their fault. He insisted that they did their job and someone else could handle it now. It wasn't like there was an alien army attacking, it was just one guy. Overpowered god perhaps, but still only one.

Steve had, of course, disagreed. He wanted to march right down to Shield and tell them everything that happened and immediately start the search. He insisted the longer they wait, the harder it would be to find Loki. And the more mischief he could get up to.

Thor wanted to go off on his own and deal with this himself, since it was his brother. He was equal parts furious with him for everything and sympathetic, since he still loved Loki. Bruce didn't envy Thor's position right now. Family could be so complicated.

In the end, they hadn't needed to say anything. There were agents running around the place, yelling and pointing and generally causing commotion. Luckily they saw all this from a video feed Jarvis was displaying to Tony, so he just blocked off the upper floors so no one could disturb them. Steve tried protesting, but Tony pointed out that no one had tried contacting them yet, so they should try to get some rest before that happened.

Clint had agreed with that idea, plopping down on the nearest couch and claiming it as his bed. Natasha disappeared down a hallway like she owned the place, which wouldn't surprise Bruce. Tony dragged Steve and Thor by the arms to empty rooms and disappeared himself, calling out to Bruce to take the room he was going to earlier. There wasn't really anything else for him to do, so he went along with the direction. The next day would probably be just as stressful as the previous ones, so sleep was a good idea. Not like he thought he'd get any.

Bruce made his way to his space for the night, thinking over everything again. Realistically, he knew he couldn't take the chance fighting back with where they'd been. At least, where he'd thought they'd been. Those babies had been a bluff that he couldn't afford to call. But did that make him hate Loki more or less? Instead of being completely evil, he'd been smart. He could've easily thrown Bruce into that scenario for real, but he'd chosen not to.

Bruce kicked off his shoes and flopped down on the bed, not bothering with the covers. He was tired and so over all this nonsense, but he knew the trouble was only beginning. Funny how he was supposed to be one of the good guys, but he was currently trapped here to do the bidding of a government agency. And their objective was out there as free as a bird. Just more of those similarities that Loki had tried to point out between them, but Bruce was on the wrong side of the mirror this time.

A quiet ringing pulled him from his musings and Bruce looked around in confusion. Did Tony have different phone lines in the random rooms in his tower? Was he expected to answer? The phone rang again and Bruce realized the sound wasn't coming from a side table, but under the pillow next to his head. With growing dread he stuck his hand under it, coming away with an old flip phone. Even though he didn't want to, Bruce knew who this was and that he had to answer.

"How-"

"Well, I can't reveal all of my secrets," Loki's voice purred from the other end.

"Where are you?"

"Especially that one."

"Why are you calling me? Didn't we spend enough time together today?" Bruce grumbled. He knew he should be alerting the team, but that would just make Loki hang up.

"I don't know, I thought we were building up quite the rapport."

"Not really."

"I for one was a bit disappointed when our conversation was cut short. I feel like you were about to say something before we were interrupted."

"It's probably best to finish that up in person. Want to meet me in Stark Tower?" Bruce countered.

"Unfortunately that won't be possible. I'm currently out of town," Loki sighed. Bruce wouldn't be surprised if he was out of the country by now. "We'll just have to do this over the phone."

"I don't remember what we were talking about."

"Don't play dumb, it doesn't suit you."

"Thanks, I think," Bruce scoffed.

"Do you see me as being worthy of a second chance? Is there a redemption arc in my future?"

"I still don't understand what you want from me."

"I want your truth. And not what you think might convince me to turn myself in, because I won't. An honest answer, monster to monster."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"I believe there is potential in you to do good. I still think you need to atone for what you've done, but I don't think forgiveness is outside of the realm of possibility. Not for everyone, of course, but some things can't be undone," Bruce admitted. At the start of this ordeal, he would've spat no in response to the question, but now he couldn't. He'd seen behind the curtain and realized not everything was as it seemed.

"Thank you," Loki replied quietly. It was surprising how much Bruce's words could mean right now. Maybe if Bruce had heard something like that before, he wouldn't have felt the need to hide himself away for years. On the other hand, with different influence, he could've ended up just like Loki. They weren't so different after all.

"You know we're going to be looking for you, right?" Bruce asked.

"Oh, I know."

"And I'm going to side with my friends, no matter what."

"Understandable and expected."

Bruce sighed, knowing that his time was running out. The hunt would be back on tomorrow and there was no telling what would happen. He wouldn't try to stop Shield or his teammates from doing what they needed to do. But he could admit that he wanted a peaceful resolution, for all parties.

"Don't do anything that will make me change my mind about you," Bruce warned. He heard Loki chuckle lightly on the other end, before his silky voice rumbled through the line one last time.

"No promises."

Author's Note: When I started this story, I fully planned on ending it with Loki back in custody and everything back to pretty much how it was at the end of the first Avengers movie. But as I kept writing, it just didn't feel right. So this is a bit more open ended than I usually go with, but I do have a sequel planned. I hope everyone enjoyed this. See you for the follow up, hopefully soon.