Sorry that this has taken so long! I just restarted college and classes are insane! Please review!
Since the attack, both of Hawkeye's sons had stayed inside mostly. Unfortunately, because of that, they were getting a bad case of cabin fever. Instead of encouraging them to be outside, Laura decided to deal with it and entertain them inside. After all, unless Loki was out there, they would have no way of knowing if the frost giants would suddenly appear.
Nathaniel was currently trying to provoke Lila into arguing with him. She was coloring at the kitchen counter, a deep scowl on her face as she tried her best to ignore the boy. Laura had already scolded him several times.
"He's just following his father's example." Tony said.
"Yes, my name is Tony Stark and I'm constantly trying to annoy people." Hawkeye replied "Oh, wait."
"You pronounced Steve Rogers wrong." Tony replied matter of factly.
"What?" Captain America asked, looking over. He clearly hadn't been listening to the rest of the conversation.
"You two must be getting very bored." Black Widow said with an amused roll of her eyes as she collected her gun to put into her holster. It was as cheerful as the group got right now.
They were heading back out now that Loki had demonstrated that he actually could tell them where a portal was forming. It was now just a matter of being able to place a bit of trust in him.
"I can put them to work." Laura replied.
"You might have to, before they go ballistic." Black Widow said, "Luckily we're getting out of the house today."
"We were out yesterday. It didn't really seem to improve much of the situation." Hawkeye said, holding up his injured arm pointedly.
"Turns out that Thor was right about humans not fighting frost giants." Tony said, gesturing vaguely over at him. Then he looked over at the door, as if suddenly worried that someone was there.
"And, uhhh...am I right that thinking being the son of the king inherently makes you king if he dies? Or is that only in our weird Earthly customs?" he asked.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's the same everywhere." Captain America said, "Which means he's the king of Jotunheim."
"It didn't look like it from the way he slaughtered those frost giants." Tony replied.
"Maybe he didn't know?" Hawkeye ventured.
"No, he knew." Captain America said "Don't you remember Thor saying that Loki was adopted?
And that there was no sitting king of Jotunheim."
"So, if he's king..." Black Widow said. She raised her eyebrows at the group
"You heard those frost giants. They had no idea who he was besides the fact that he was an Asgardian." Captain America replied.
"So, him calling off the attack is probably not an option?" Tony asked. He snapped his fingers in mock disappointment without waiting for an answer.
"We might want to bring it up." Captain America pointed out "Just in case."
A few minutes after the subject had passed, Thor walked back inside. Black Widow glanced back and pushed off the table to turn and face him.
"When shall we depart?" he asked, "Two of my friends will remain here to defend the house from any frost giants should they appear."
"Thanks." Hawkeye said from where he was leaning against the wall.
"I think we should leave now." Captain America told him, walking over to the couch that his shield rested on "Get a little longer in daylight."
Tony rolled his eyes a little bit, but he was the first to start walking towards the door. Him and Hawkeye were the first ones out. Loki was on the porch, facing the field. Tony scowled a little bit when he saw him.
The God of Mischief had his eyes closed and was completely still. Unnaturally still.
"Loki?" he asked, but the God didn't acknowledge him in any way. Captain America frowned when he saw and took a few more steps toward him when Thor came out the door. He looked confused as to why all the attention was on Loki. He looked at his younger brother before also noticing the stillness. The others may have suspected something, but Thor knew of Loki's tricks better than any of them. He immediately walked over and reached out a hand, expecting to go right through and confirm his suspicions that it was an illusion and Loki was no longer there.
To his surprise, he touched his brother, rather hard because he hadn't expected to hit something solid.
Loki's eyes opened, wider than usual as turned sharply. A familiar light withdrew from his gaze. He looked at Thor with a bewildered scowl.
"What?" he asked in irritation.
"Sorry." Thor said, still looking his brother up and down. Not an illusion, but some sort of a trance. Thor blinked, a thought coming to his mind, one that lined up with the light he'd seen remaining. And that would agree with what he'd seen last night.
"Were you speaking to mother?"
Loki's eyes narrowed briefly as he passed him.
"Well, I wasn't escaping if that's what you really want to know. Why? Would you be jealous if I were?" He stepped over a few of Nathaniel's toys on his way towards the stairs. He assumed they must be leaving since his older brother had roused him from his spell.
Thor watched him go for a moment in silence before slowly walking out after him. The God of Mischief was already down the steps.
"Loki." he stopped the Jotun in his tracks. He paused for several seconds as he walked down to him. He placed a hand on Loki's shoulder softly from behind, making him tense.
"You know father did not mean what he said." Thor said quietly.
Loki didn't reply for the same amount of time before he turned slightly.
"Thor. As lying is not your strong suit, I suggest you stick to your hammer." he said, voice forcefully steady.
"That isn't a lie, Loki." Thor said with angry indignance. He was rather surprised at the retort, but he told himself it should have been expected.
"No?" Loki turned fully to face him, fists clenched a little as Thor pulled back his extended arm and looked at his younger brother "You and I both know that everything said in there was the truth." his voice got more intense until he half spat the words "Right down to my born father's name." his eyes narrowed into a glare "So please, don't try and cover for him by telling me he didn't mean it."
The warriors, having heard the rising tones, came closer in from the forest, eyes on the two Asgardians.
"Loki, father has been blinded by grief since mother died." Thor responded, trying not sound frustrated. He'd been rehearsing what to say out of sympathy, not anger, but it was hard to contain it. He realized that he too had faced Odin's irrational side. When he was being banished. He didn't cherish the memory.
"That would be a surprise. I didn't realize he actually cared for other people." Loki said, ignoring the people listening.
"Loki, enough of your mockery. Odin is king. He cannot give you preferential treatment." Thor replied angrily.
"No, of course not, because I'm just the frost giant son." Loki said, leaning forward a bit with his words "Heaven forbid he ever forget that."
"That isn't what I meant." Thor responded.
"But, of course, if the great Thor should start a war with the Jotuns, let's all find a way to help him back from banishment anyway that we can." Loki continued, flicking his hands "After all, he's first born, heir to the throne, we couldn't lose him."
"You never could forgive me for that." Thor said, looking at his brother soberly "Loki, we were always equal. You should know that. I never meant to make you feel less than me."
"I think you did." Loki replied quietly, nodding "But you didn't have to. Odin did better than the both of us put together."
"He loved you." Thor said, "He always loved you. If you can't see that-"
"Maybe as a trophy. A tool. He never loved me as a son." Loki spat.
"You didn't see him grieve when he thought he'd lost you!" Thor snapped, clenching his hammer tightly, teeth pressed together. The tears his father had spilled with their mother were uncountable.
"Oh, but we know it would have been much worse had he lost you instead." Loki refuted immediately, his voice bitter.
"You don't know that's true." Sif said sharply from behind them.
"Don't I, Sif?" Loki asked, turning sharply to look at her "After all, it's the same with you. With all of you. It always was."
"No it wasn't." Volstagg spoke up with a scowl "Loki, you were just as much our friend as Thor was. You had no need to feel that way."
"Then you're as blind as Odin." Loki responded, hatefully. Volstagg blinked in confused annoyance.
"The idea that you were excluded was all in your head, my friend." Fandral said, his voice less harsh "We all followed Thor because..." He trailed off, realizing his mistake with a curse in his mind.
"Because he was first born. And always destined to be your King." Loki hissed savagely "Can any of you deny that Odin told Thor that? That he spent more of his time with Thor? No. So don't try to pretend that everything was always equal. Or that you were ever truly my friends. That's the weakest lie of all."
"Loki, how can you say that? You're the blind one!" Volstagg said incredulously "Have you forgotten our time spent together? I trusted you with my life! We would have died for you!"
It was all coming out now. The jealousy, the hatred, everything he'd ever felt slighted in, because Loki's eyes blazed similarly to Odin's the night before. Several of the other Avengers drew nearer to the conflict warily, hearing the true reason behind The God of Mischief's resentment to Thor. They'd all witnessed it firsthand with the Allfather the night before.
"You've never been able to accept that you were loved." Thor said, voice low and hard "Especially not after you found out what you were. That destroyed you."
"You weren't raised to hate what you are!" Loki snarled "Odin only brought me back to become Jotunheim's king. The king of monsters."
"If that was the case, you and I would never have been brothers." Thor replied, raising his hammer "You would have spent your life separate from everyone else. Mother raised you like she raised me."
"And she's dead, Thor!" Loki half shouted at him, trembling with anger as his eyes filled with tears of hatred. This was the first time Thor saw it. He'd known it all along but had never quite realized the depth that his younger brother grieved for their mother. Such raw grief in those trembling hands.
"You know who came to tell me?" Loki asked, staring him down as a furious tear slid down his cheek "Tell me that she was dead? Not Odin. Not you. A guard. A damn guard. You and Odin couldn't even face me yourselves."
"We had enough to grieve without seeing you." Thor replied angrily, taking a few steps forward.
"Odin doesn't grieve for me." Loki hissed "But I know one thing he said was true for sure. I wasn't where I should have been. I should have been with her, because apparently you and Odin were too weak to save her!"
"You were no help from your cell. No one could have possibly saved her." Thor snarled. It was a sore spot to prod and combined with mourning, the God's temper flared quickly.
"I could have." Loki replied, glaring "And I would have, I promise you that."
Thor threw his hammer furiously, sending it into the woods. It smashed into several trees before returning harshly to its master's hands, where it waited threateningly. Clouds were starting to form in the sky and thunder could be heard not far off.
"For Valhalla's sake, stop." Volstagg said, walking towards them.
"How dare you tell me that!" Thor yelled at his younger brother "You betrayed her, Loki, not me!"
"You did exactly the same thing as I did, except with the Jotuns. Killed hundreds more than I did here." Loki spat "Which only furthers the point that they have no value in Odin's eyes. The blood in my veins will never be enough."
"I learned from my mistakes, Loki." Thor said sharply "You didn't."
"How could I?" Loki asked, spreading his hands "I was never given the chance. All you and father will ever see is a frost giant."
"I never did!" Thor thrust his hammer forward, this time right at Loki. He was blind to the fact that his brother had finally, and mistakenly, called Odin his father. Fortunately, or unfortunately, The God of Mischief was well prepared for Thor's attack and already gone.
"Thor! Thor don't!" Fandral exclaimed, hurrying over. Sif and Hogun followed him.
Loki reappeared behind his older brother, knife out as he took a vicious swipe. Thor stumbled forward, hand out to summon his hammer back as he spun around. Loki walked towards him, face dark, with both daggers in his hand. Thor let out what could only be described as a human growl as he swung Mjolnir at him. The Jotun easily evaded his swing, ducking around it and kicking Thor away.
"We need to stop them." Captain America said, looking at the other warriors. Noticeably, he said 'them' and not just Loki. After all, Thor was on the offensive at the moment.
"You want me to shoot?" Hawkeye asked plaintively, bow hanging at his side.
"Who?" Tony asked, looking at him "We need both of them."
"I don't plan on killing either of them." Hawkeye responded. It would take more than an arrow anyway.
Thor's hammer skimmed the ground, sending pieces flying into the air. He threw it, again finding that it went straight through an illusion. This time, however, Thor called it back much sooner and the hammer came back, striking the real Loki on the shoulder. It knocked him stumbly forward.
As Thor ran towards him, Loki looked up swiftly. Pieces of dirt from where Mjolnir had scraped flew into the air, lifted by an unseen wind current. Thor yelled as they flew into his eyes.
"Fandral, Hogun, you stop Loki." Volstagg said "Sif, help me with Thor."
"How exactly do we do that?" Fandral asked, looking at the battle "He's all over the place."
"Find him and stop him." Volstagg growled.
"What if Loki tries to escape?" Sif asked intensely.
"Loki isn't leaving. He didn't start the fight." Volstagg replied.
"He provoked Thor." Sif snapped back.
There was a bright green flash as magic defended a strike from Thor. The God of Thunder was thrown off his feet as Loki knocked them from under him.
"Alright." Tony said, backing up "I'm going in."
"No, wait." Captain America said, "Let them try and stop it first."
"Well somebody better do something before they kill each other." Tony replied, one hand on the door frame. Him and Captain America switched between the rational and irrational leaders rather often.
Loki maneuvered a bit too swiftly for Thor, although obviously Thor had the upper hand in brute strength. Even so, Loki held off Mjolnir between his daggers, pressing back against Thor. His power was sometimes surprising for his size. The knife made a long, clean cut on his older brother's lower arm as Loki twisted away and Thor grunted loudly. Loki immediately whirled back around, knifes ready in his hands.
The warriors ran towards the two of them since they had moved a way off, but suddenly rain began pouring down on them, created by Thor himself. Thunder cracked in the sky and lightening flashed.
"Good God." Tony said.
The hammer sung as it flew through the air, rain drops shattering on it. Loki ducked out of the way, cutting it a little close even for him. Smoke appeared out of nowhere, hiding both him and Thor's position.
Even though it mostly meant to give Loki the advantage over Thor, it prevented the others from making much progress. Volstagg waved at it angrily, but it was too thick.
"Guys, Loki could easily slip away under all of this." Black Widow called over the storm. She has both guns pointed out towards the hidden fight "Then we'll have a whole new problem."
As the smoke dissipated a little, Thor's hammer finally hit Loki straight on, sending him flying back into one of the trees. It cracked under the force, collapsing backwards with a crash. Thor walked forward, and a blade suddenly flew out, catching him in the shoulder. He yelled out, hand reaching to it and yanking it out. Blood stained the edge.
Loki ran at him, leaping in the air and plunging both feet into his older brother's chest. He rolled the rest of the way before getting to his feet. Thor called his hammer back, raising it angrily.
A bang louder than any thunder shook the air suddenly and a flash of white light blinded them for a moment. Loki and Thor were thrown back, nothing landing flat on their backs. The smoke cleared, and the clouds withdrew a bit.
In the midst stood Odin, head held high with his staff grasped in his hand.
Thor and Loki both stopped, separated by the king. They were breathing heavily, chests heaving and eyes still glaring hate for each other as they looked up at him.
"That's enough!" Odin said angrily. His voice was far too loud and strong for the king's elderly appearance. He looked in between them for a moment before settling on Thor "I'll not have my sons fighting while Earth is under attack by Jotunheim." he looked back at Loki, eyes burning "Either of you! We can't have you wasting yourselves on each other while this world suffers."
Loki looked back at him, eyes narrowed as he took deep breaths. Thor finally looked at the ground, the anger in his eyes less intense now. Replaced by shame.
"Now forget your anger and stop this nonsense." Odin continued, eyes shifting back to his eldest "You have a job to do. Now go do it."
Thor's eyes flicked over to Loki, whose chin was raised with a bit of defiance still. Volstagg and the others backed off slightly. Black Widow lowered her guns back to her side as silence filled the air.
Loki was the first one to move. He got up and stepped a little bit closer to Odin, eyes still narrowed.
"Of course." he said coldly "King."
He walked away from them, limping ever so slightly on his left leg. He wiped blood from his face and flung it to the side. Odin stared after him, his uncovered eye back to the calm and reserved man he used to be. Even so, something sparked in his gaze, but he obviously decided not to act on it.
Thor's arm was bleeding from the cut Loki had inflicted and there was a red welt rising on his jaw. And of course, the puncture wound in his shoulder. No telling how bad it would have gotten if they had continued their battle.
"You started the fight." Odin said to Thor without looking at him.
The God of Thunder didn't reply for a moment because it wasn't a question but a statement.
"He spoke to the fact that mother died under my watch." he said finally, voice shaking a bit.
"Frigga died to save Asgard. I don't want you to be tainted by the fact that you couldn't save her." Odin responded.
It was the exact opposite of what he had told Loki the previous day. Of course, he seemed to have cleared his mind and he WAS talking to Thor instead.
"I shouldn't have done it." Thor said, letting his hammer hit the ground in disgust. He stared after his younger brother and let a loud frustrated sigh.
"Once again, my son, I remind you of the many lessons I taught you. Mjolnir is not a tool for your temper." Odin replied, following Thor's gaze.
"Well if that isn't the height of hypocrisy, I don't know what is." Hawkeye said to the rest of the Avengers standing around him.
Thor followed his father off the path and deeper into the forest. Once it was clear that Loki wasn't going anywhere, Odin had asked Thor to walk with him.
"Should I not return him to Asgard now?" The king asked, planting his staff into the dirt. Thor blinked for a moment before letting out a deep breath.
"Father, Loki does grieve for mother. Deeply. He was not able to attend the conjoined mourning when we were able to send her to Valhalla."
"He is a prisoner. I can't grant such rights." Odin replied pointedly "I cannot lighten his sentence, Thor, the council would not allow it. Nor would it be safe. Besides, you just tried to send Mjolnir after him, why would you defend him now?"
When Thor failed to reply, Odin looked ahead of them.
"You still view him as your brother. Even if you say you do not."
"He always felt slighted, father. Ever since we were children." Thor said, his voice pained a little "Tell me honestly, did you view him as less than me? Loki is more perceptive than many think."
Odin fell silent for several moments before looking down at the ground and hanging on his staff slightly. Frigga had told him the same thing many times.
"No." he said.
"We would not have gotten away as unharmed as we were if Loki hadn't warned us of the Jotun attack." Thor replied.
"You do not have to defend him to me." Odin responded.
"Father, I know what he has done. I do not mean to draw away from that. I know that I will never have the same trust in him. But he has acted more like the brother I knew than he has in a long time even if he does not speak to me as such. He saved the life of one of my friends."
"I am aware." Odin responded.
"Perhaps there is some part of him that wants redemption."
"What Loki wants is revenge. Redemption would be impossible." Odin replied, "Even if he did desire it."
"You spoke very harshly to him." Thor said back rather boldly "He believes all we see is a frost giant. And what you said didn't help!"
It was surprising that Odin didn't chastise him back, seeing as how Thor had just basically pushed his and Loki's mending relationship back to square one.
"He is not a lost cause. I see that now." Thor responded "And mother did too. I believe...I believe he is communicating with her."
Odin looked at him "You cannot communicate with the dead, Thor."
As his son opened his mouth to object, the king interrupted.
"That is not to say he is not trying." he said "Loki is talented, yes, but there is not a way to speak with the dead. He may seek her, but he will not find her."
"I believe he has." Thor replied simply "I..." he paused, eyes a little puzzled "I saw mother. Father, I saw her the night after you chastised Loki. She was with him."
Odin regarded him seriously "Are you sure this was not an illusion?"
"Yes. She was white and transparent, and Loki did not acknowledge her."
Odin looked down, apparently troubled by this news. He muttered something under his breath.
"What?" Thor asked intensely.
"The walls between us and the dead are weakened." Odin responded, "Much like the walls between our realms now." he returned his eyes to Thor "That does not mean he can speak with her, but it would explain what you saw."
"She came to him. That must mean she still believes in him." Thor said.
Odin sighed "Frigga has a gentle heart. That means nothing for Loki."
"Father, if you could see him here, you may not think of him so."
"You are not to place trust in him. Loki would do anything to secure his freedom." Odin countered.
"He would be gone if that were the case." Thor responded.
"He is a master at deceiving." Odin said, echoing Black Window's words.
"You're speaking as a king." Thor replied, low voice insistent "You called him your son. Speak as his father."
"Thor, you have grown a very forgiving heart, much like Frigga." Odin said, turning to his son with a tender face "But, I must speak as King. When you rule Asgard, you will come to realize that as well."
"I do not think I can be king if that is what is required." Thor responded, "I could not tell Loki he has to spend his life in prison."
"You couldn't currently because you are blinded by being with him now. You could have when he returned from Earth." Odin said "That is why the punishment follows quickly after the crime. He is not the son I raised. He is the son of Laufey."
"Do you not love him still?" Thor asked, almost willing him say yes. Even he did not quite understand the reasoning behind his defense of Loki.
"He is a traitor. That is as far as my emotions must extend." Odin replied.
"No, it's not. If not as a father, as a king, extend mercy. You do not have to release him." Thor said "But Loki has the capability to become a protector of Asgard again. He sees Earth as beneath him, but he defended it as fiercely as I did when the Jotuns came."
"Thor. I already told you that you do not have to defend him to me. But I cannot, and I will not." he paused looking at Thor seriously "Lighten his sentence. I'm sorry, my son. He has acted on darkness rather than light."
I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and please review!