So in case, you guys missed it, I uploaded TWO chapters! So go back and read the previous chapter if you haven't done so! :)

Again, I apologize for the late updates, it's finals week now, so I'll be concentrating mostly on my studies. Writing will be slow until my exams are over, whereby I'll be able to pick up the pace again. Meanwhile, if any of you have prompts or ideas about what you want to see in the series of one shots which I'll be doing after this story is completed. :) I have a few ideas in mind already, but feel free to send me your requests and I'll see about writing it!

Also, I forgot to address this in the last few chapters, but for the reviewer who wanted me to write a lemon between Percy and Loki, I'm sorry, I don't write lemons. However, if you want to, you could write a lemon between the both of them, I just request that you credit the plot to me if you are using any information from FWOSLTW. :)

Disclaimer: If I owned marvel or PJO, I wouldn't be sitting at home writing fanfictions... I'd be writing scripts.

Tony, who had been testing out the drink that was on the table, spat out the liquid as the words registered in his mind. Around the table, the other Avengers all had similar reactions, staring at Loki as though he were out of his mind. Even Percy did a double take, blinking owlishly as he processed his lover's words in his mind. "You want to –"he choked out, unable to complete the sentence. Loki nodded, tossing a fruit in the air and catching it easily as it descended, unmindful of the reactions and near heart-attacks he had just delivered to his audience. The god opened his mouth to elaborate, but shut it almost immediately, cocking his head to one side, his eyes narrowing. The mortals of the table frowned in confusion, though that was cleared up soon enough as the sound of footsteps thundering against the marble floor reached their ears. Loki sighed, throwing his brother a wry look, "I believe you are about to have guests."

Thor frowned, turning in his chair to face the doorway just as a woman skid to halt by the frame, her voice carrying across the room, "Thor! I heard that –"

She cut off abruptly, her eyes narrowed in anger and disgust at Loki. "You." She swore, her sword drawn and poised at the raven-haired god within seconds. Barely a fraction of a second later, the woman froze, cold metal touching her throat in an almost identical position which her own sword was held in. Her eyes swiveled to the owner of the blade, blue eyes* meeting dark black ones. No, not black, she amended in her head, green which had turned into such a deep color that she had mistaken it for black. The fury in those dark eyes made a shiver go down her spine, but she steeled herself, turning her focus back onto Loki.

"Sif! My friend, what are you doing here?" The thunder god asked, his light question belied by his stern visage. Behind him, the other three warriors had arrived, stopping at the doorway, glancing uneasily into the room.

Sif, as she was named, sneered, "I had heard that the Allfather had allowed scum back into Asgard, and I wondered if that was true." To Loki, she spat, "I would have thought you intelligent and cowardly enough to stay away, yet I suppose your supposed intelligence is but a performance and a trick."

"And I would have thought that you were smart enough not to talk while a sword is right above your jugular, being a warrior and all." Percy growled, his hand never wavering in the slightest.

Sif threw him a glare, but Percy, having faced down Titans, Giants and Primordials alike, was nonplussed by her glare. Seeing that the boy wasn't being affected, she switched her glare to Loki, feeling her infuriation climb higher as he sat there nonchalantly, unperturbed by the fact that – as Percy had pointed out mere moments before – he had a sword resting on his throat. Thor, behind Sif, cleared his throat, drawing her attention. "Lady Sif, please remove your sword from my brother's throat."

Sif sneered, "Why should I Thor? Have you fallen in to his trap as well? Has the seidr the he commands infected your mind and twisted it into something unrecognizable?"

Clint twitched slightly at her words, the description sending unpleasant images into his mind.

Loki snorted, tilting his head and using a finger to carefully push the blade away from his throat. "If you must condemn my choice of profession Lady Sif," he drawled, "You should do it properly. It takes more than just a snap of my fingers and some seidr to control someone's mind. You should know that, seeing as you are a woman and are therefore expected to understand the inner workings of the art, but alas," he sighed dramatically, "I suppose I cannot speak much about doing what is expected of you."

Sif bristled at the insult, however thinly veiled, her body rigid with tension. Before she could launch herself at the god though, Tony cut in, "Woah," he said, raising his hands as all eyes in the room swiveled to him, "Can we cut down on the threats here? I mean, there was so much tension in the huge room we were in just moments before and I really wanna wind down, not up." He paused for a moment, frowning, "Wait, do you know what I mean by wind down? Cause I know you Ass-guardians aren't up to us mortal lingo and I don't wanna confuse you but I mean if you don't understand you need to speak up–"

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." Natasha said calmly, her eyes flitting across each of the new addition to the room, sizing them up and profiling them accordingly. She stepped forward, snatching the attention of the room, "What my no-brained colleague here means, is that we haven't heard an introduction from you, and we don't know who you are except for the lady threatening Loki."

Fandral grinned, leaning suavely against the frame, "Well if you must know gorgeous, I am Fandral the Great, the most handsome of all men you can find on Asgard." He said, ending his introduction with a flourishing bow. All the avengers just raised their eyebrow at his antics, Clint giving Natasha side-looks, mischief and amusement dancing in his eye. The red-haired assassin felt a stirring of irritation bubbling up within her, but squashed it down ruthlessly, allowing a polite smile to adorn her face. The next person to introduce themselves was a man with a huge girth and a thick beard which seemed to cover most of his face. He grinned widely, patting his armor covered belly, "The name is Volstagg," the man said, "No fancy title for me there, though the three of us are known more commonly as the Warriors Three."

The last man, a black haired warrior with Asian-like features spoke up, his voice quiet but steady. "I am Hogun." He said simply.

Steve raised his eyebrow, "So you're the one who's supposed to be tailing Loki?"

Hogun's face tightened imperceptibly as he nodded once, the other warriors turning to face him. Sif, of all people, exploded the most predictably. "What?" she hissed, "You have to tail this…this ergi?"

Loki snarled and stood up, knocking her sword away completely, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Do not, call me that." He hissed, his hands clenched into fists by his side.

"Why?" Sif challenged, "Afraid to face up to who you really are?"

Loki growled, glaring so fiercely at her that she flinched, wanting to wipe her face from existence. Thor stepped in, deciding that enough was enough. "Brother, calm down, anger would not do you favors here." He turned to Sif, who was smiling smugly, a frown tugging his lips downwards. The thunder god directed a disappointed look at his friend, "Lady Sif, I would implore that you do not slander my brother so. If you wish to do so, know that you are slandering me as well."

Sif snapped her head to Thor, "Why would you protect him? He, who has committed so many crimes against you! Who has tried to kill you!"

"Actually, he's tried to kill all of us several times over but it's not like you see us complaining…" Tony spoke up, trailing off when they all stared at him. Bruce subtly elbowed his friend in the side, while Thor turned back to his friend.

"What I am saying goes for you as well my friends," he said, addressing the Warriors Three, "Loki is here because our mother, your queen, has requested his presence. We are here, along with my Midgardian friends, to aid in the battle against the Mad Titan –"

Sif scoffed, sliding her sword back into its scabbard and crossing her arms over her chest. "Thor, you have come up with many ridiculous notions over the years that I have known you. But this seems to be your most ridiculous one yet. Loki Liesmith, coming back to Asgard to defend it?" she barked a laugh, condescension and disgust evident in that single sound. "He is more likely to run away with his tail between his legs to the Titan himself than to face against him!"

Loki's face shut off completely – to those who knew him well enough to realize that – devoid of all emotion. He said nothing, whirling around and stalking out of the room, pushing past the Warriors Three as he did so. Hogun hesitated, torn between staying where he was with his friends and following the man he was charged with. His decision was made for him when mere seconds after, Percy stalked past him as well, following in the god's footsteps. The grim warrior gave a curt nod to his prince and friends before hurrying after Loki.

Sif snorted and sat down on one of the available chairs, "Good riddance." She scoffed.

Thor growled, the sound cutting through the silent atmosphere. The thunder god glared at Sif, who tensed at the fierce look on his face. "Does it amuse you Lady Sif, to belittle others? To accuse them of being cowards?"

"Thor, what are you –"

"I believe that I said not to insult my brother." Thor said lowly, "If it was not for him, I would not be alive today."

"And if it was not for him, you would be dead!" she shot back, her ire growing again. She didn't understand why Thor could be so calm about this. Loki had been against them since the day he usurped the throne**, and his conquest on Midgard only cemented that fact.

Thor shook his head, "You would never understand my friend, if you do not try. Loki and I have been called back to Asgard by my mother, if you do not trust my word, then trust your queen's word. Loki has been tormented enough by the Mad Titan, do not accuse him of running back to that foul creature.

With that, the thunder god stalked out of the room as well, leaving behind two groups of friends, one mortal, and one immortal.

"Well…" Tony started, after a long period of silence. "There goes our hosts." He sighed dramatically, "And here I wanted to have a fun day out with Percy. The kid needs to get out more. Seriously!" he huffed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Clint snorted, rolling his eyes, "First you gotta think whether or not the kid would want to stay in your presence. I think you'll give him an aneurysm by noon."

"Oh that hurts Robin, that really hurts." The genius snarked, "I'll have you know that the kid loves me."

The archer flipped him off, "Yeah yeah yeah, just keep telling yourself that, maybe one day you'll find your way out of that delusion of yours."

Natasha turned to Sif, addressing the warrior, "Lady Sif, was it?" when the female warrior turned to her with a sneer on her beautiful face, the assassin tilted her head, not letting any emotion cross her own visage. "I was wondering if you would show us around Asgard. After all, we are about to jump headfirst into a war. I would rather get to see this realm while it's still peaceful and not when there are gunfire all around me." She smiled thinly.

Sif eyed the red-haired woman before her. Though she had a slight figure and was dressed in the commoner's clothes of Asgard, the shield-maiden could barely stop the instinctual urge to shiver at the sight of the woman's smile. She couldn't place her finger on it, but despite the harmless appearance which the mortal put out, Sif knew, subconsciously, that she was a dangerous foe.

Not a mere second after that thought crossed her mind that she dismissed it. These group of people in front of her were mortals, and despite their bravery, which she had witnessed first-hand as they battled the Destroyer, they were weak physically, easily crushed under Asgardian strength. The female warrior shifted her gaze to the two males in the room who were sniping at each other, frowning at their jester-like antics. "Don't mind them," a voice piped up from beside her, making Sif flinch, her hand going to her sword automatically. She turned to see the red-haired mortal from before, her light green eyes boring into Sif's own blue ones. Natasha broke eye-contact first, continuing, "They're always like that, behaving like immature children."

Fandral, having overheard their conversation, jumped in, leaning an arm against Sif's shoulder, "And you trust them with your life?"

Natasha stared him down unblinkingly, "Maybe not Tony, but Clint, I trust with my life yes."

Said archer turned to her and grinned, elbowing the genius, "You hear that?" he crowed, "Nat totally loves me!"

"Natalie! How could you do this to me?" Tony cried out, "I thought we had something together!"

Steve, tired of all the drama, reached out and whacked Tony on the head, the latter's indignant cry making Bruce crack a smile. Natasha caught Bruce's eye, looking at him questioningly. The scientist, having understood her silent query, nodded once and smiled at her reassuringly, grateful that she had noticed his discomfort.

The captain of the group picked up on where Natasha had left off, "I suppose we haven't introduced ourselves, I'm Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, leader of the Avengers, which are all of us here, plus Thor."

Tony grinned good-naturedly, unbothered by the glares that Sif shot him and the weird looks which the other two warriors gave him, "Tony Stark, genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist, also known as Iron Man, at your service." He said giving a two-finger salute.

Clint rolled his eyes, "Clint Barton, Hawkeye."

"Natasha Romanov, Black Widow."

"Bruce Banner, and uh, I don't really think that the name counts…"

"Nonsense!" Tony said, walking over to his designated science-buddy to sling an arm over his shoulder. "This guy," he said, pointing a finger at the bespectacled man, "is my favorite person in the world. After Pepper, and JARVIS. But, don't ever make him angry cause you don't wanna deal with the jolly green giant hiding in there." He finished, patting Bruce's chest for emphasis. The scientist shoved his friend away, embarrassed at the incredulous looks that he was getting from the three Asgardians in the room.

Steve sighed and pinched his nose, "Sorry about that, we don't normally deal with him so…"

Volstagg grinned and laughed, "I understand my friend! Why, we hardly want to deal with Fandral here either when he gets drunk on mead!"

Said warrior scowled and punched his friend in the arm, shoving him aside and taking over the conversation. "Please do pay no attention whatsoever to this mad man, clearly he is addled in the brain! Now come, you will want to see Asgard's magnificence!"

The blond swept his way out of the room, leading the avengers out of the room. Sif followed behind them sullenly, casting a dark scowl at the direction where the traitor to the realm had slunk off to.

Loki stormed down the hallways, any servants who passed by him quickly scuttled out of his path, too frightened by his aura to even process the fact that he should not have been there. His mind was blank save for the words that Sif had spat at him. He gritted his teeth, his strides getting longer and faster until he was nearly full-out running. His feet carried him deep into the bowels of the realm, treading on familiar ground as he descended into murky darkness. He twisted through the servant's path, walking for a long time before he emerged on the outside of the palace, near the back of the garden which his mother grew. He wound around the path and headed for the big tree he knew to be at the outskirts of the garden. With a smooth move, he hoisted himself up on the branches, drawing comfort from the shadows that wrapped around him.

The raven-haired trickster pressed his palms against his eyes. He willed himself to retreat back into his safe haven, closing off all emotions and feelings as he tried to settle his heart. It wasn't as if he hadn't heard such things before, it wasn't the first time either, since the mortals had been saying such things since he arrived on Midgard all those months ago. What Sif had implied though… He squeezed his eyes shut again, drawing a ragged breath as the images ad memories of Thanos' ugly visage plundered his mind.

Loki sighed, dragging his hand down his face tiredly, his eyes betraying his exhaustion. He was so tired of being the better man and not for the first time, he wondered if it was worth it to come back to Asgard. The leaves of his tree rustled, and a blond head popped up beside him, the person the head belonged to hoisting himself up and making himself comfortable on a neighboring branch.

Loki scowled, "If you move any more this tree is going to collapse."

Thor laughed, "Nonsense brother, this tree is millennia old, and as sturdy as a rock, it will not collapse under our weight. Unless," the elder god slid his eyes to Loki, smirking slyly, "You claim to be too heavy?"

Loki threw a bunch of leaves at him.

The younger god sighed and knocked his head back against the trunk of the tree. "How did you know I was here?"

Thor turned away, "You used to come here when we were younger." He said quietly, "Whenever Sif or the Warriors Three or anyone else made you upset, and mother was not around, you would come up here to hide."

Loki scoffed, "I am not hiding."

Thor sighed, "Perhaps, perhaps not. I do not claim to know your mind well brother, but I am trying to, talk to me, please."

Loki gritted his teeth, "What do you want me to say? That Sif's words hurt? Nonsense, I am used to such things –"

"No one should be used to hearing hurtful words brother –"

"And yet I am, deal with it!" he shouted, looking at Thor. Loki swallowed harshly, "I am used to it because all anyone has ever said to me were insults."

The younger god licked his lips, "Why did I come back to Asgard? Why should I help them? I am not a good person, I do not have your kind heart or Percy's loyalty, I am cruel and hateful, I despise people and trick them. Why should I help those who have harmed me?"

"Brother, I-" Thor started, but Loki cut him off.

"What do I gain from this? From saving Asgard? The people here hate me, and I am but an outcast amongst all of you. A loner surrounded by his enemies."

"Brother, we are not your enemies." Thor said softly, resting a hand on Loki's shoulder.

The younger god shrugged the hand off, laughing bitterly, "You fool yourself by saying that. I am allowed to live because I am useful. Once I have outlived my usefulness, they will come for me."

Thor remained silent, he didn't know what to say, not possessing Tony's penchant for words, or Steve's natural charisma, and he wished, for the first time, guiltily, that he had never found his brother. Loki was unraveling quickly, and Thor could only watch helplessly as his brother fell back into the darkness.

Percy chased after Loki as soon as the god had exited the room, calling after him. But no matter how fast the demigod ran, he never seemed to be able to catch up with the god. Instead, it seemed as though the more he increased his speed, the more the god increased his speed as well. Soon enough, Percy lost sight of Loki as the god wound through Asgard with a familiarity borne from having spent centuries in the realm. Just as he was pondering where to turn, he felt a presence come up behind him. Percy turned, coming face to face with Thor, the elder god followed by Loki's would-be guard.

"Let me speak to my brother Perseus," Thor implored, his blue eyes shining, "I have done him much wrong, and I would like to speak with him."

Percy looked into those blue eyes, so different from Loki's green ones yet the emotion within them burned at the same intensity. He licked his lips, nodding once, his heart thumping in his chest.

Thor smiled at him and turned to the other warrior standing a ways from them, "Hogun, my friend, please, let me have words with my brother alone."

"You know I cannot Thor." The man said, tilting his head slightly.

Thor sighed, "At the very least, I hope you can give us the privacy we need, just this once."

Hogun contemplated silently, nodding curtly to indicate his consent.

Thor beamed, giving Percy a smile as he left with the warrior in search of Loki.

Percy sighed once the two Asgardians were gone, his gaze sweeping across the empty hallway. He leaned against the wall, exhaling silently. He wanted to be there for Loki, he did, but he also knew that Thor deserved to have some time with his brother. Their relationship wasn't perfect, anyone with eyes could see that, but from what he'd observed and heard from the Avengers, it was a hell lot worse than before. They were saying that it was because of him, that he had managed to change Loki. But what they didn't know was that Loki had changed him as well. In working for SHIELD and before them, the gods, he had a ledger with red running from it like a river. The Avengers all thought him to be a child, someone to be protected, and he relished it that sometimes – it was refreshing to not have to carry the world on his shoulders all the time – but they didn't know. Or maybe it slipped their minds. He was a murderer, he murdered in cold blood, and he had done it to the point where he was no longer affected by the feeling of warm blood gushing over his hands. Even before Annabeth, his heart was already freezing over, the only thing keeping him sane was his mother and his girlfriend both of which were snatched away in the blink of an eye as he found out the horrible truth. He had joined SHIELD and waded even further in the ocean of blood, his heart completely icing over.

Loki had changed all that, had made him feel alive and most of all, happy. The god made him smile more than anyone else ever did, made him be able to be himself without fear of rejection. They were two broken souls, sullied and tainted by the horrors of the world, and they had found a home in each other. Being the child of a Big Three raised him to celebrity status in the demigod world. Being the hero of Olympus made him practically god-like. Campers who didn't know him treated him like a god, only wanting his friendship to raise their own status. He could only trust the select few people who had known him before he even saved Olympus, when he was still a newbie who didn't know his place.

Percy quirked a smile at the thought which reminded him of Clarisse, the bully who became a rival and who then became a friend. He sighed, vowing to return to Camp Half-Blood after this madness was over to visit his old friends. Percy winced at the prospect of meeting Thalia, knowing he was in for a world of shock.

The demigod lifted his eyes, catching sight of the rainbow bridge glimmering in the Asgardian sunlight through the window. He tilted his head, curiosity filling him as he studied the bridge from a distance. He bit his lip, I guess it wouldn't do any harm to go exploring for a while… He thought to himself. Grinning, he placed a hand onto the window ledge and hoisted himself over it, landing on the ground with a soft crunch, slowly making his way in the general direction of the bridge.

Heimdall stood at his post in the Observatory, silently casting his Sight out into the realms as he kept watched over Asgard, seeing everything and nothing at once. His sharp ears picked up the sound of footsteps, slight as they were, and he turned his head slightly in the direction of the entrance, his baritone voice resonating deeply in the Observatory. "Not many will come to the Observatory as part of the tour of Asgard."

His guest chuckled, stepping out from the shadows, "Well then they're clearly missing out on some great views." Footsteps clicked against the metallic floor, coming to a stop beside the Gatekeeper. "Nothing escapes your notice huh?" Percy said ruefully.

Heimdall tilted his head, watching the young boy out of the corner of his eyes, "I can see much, but my Sight does not reach every crevice of Yggdrasil. There are creatures who cloak themselves from my view."

Percy huffed a laugh, "I don't suppose your sight can tell us where the chitauri and Thanos are?"

Heimdall remained stoic, knowing that Percy's words meant no insult to him, "Nay," he said, "Thanos is a master of sorcery, powerful enough to cloak himself and his entire army from my Sight."

Percy folded his arms across his chest and pressed his lips together.

Heimdall turned golden irises to Percy, "You are worried." The god stated.

Percy grinned, "That easy to read huh?" he shook his head, "I used to be unreadable."

"That may not be a good thing." The Gatekeeper warned.

Percy grinned tiredly, running a hand through his unkempt hair, "Of course I'm worried. I've faced Gods, Titans and Primordials head on, I've felt the power they have and yet – yet this Mad Titan, his power transcends all of that. How do we know if we can even win this war? The Avengers fought the chitauri yeah, but those were the bottom of the food chain compared to the ones that Thanos is bringing in, and we don't even number more than ten. How can we be able make a difference?"

Heimdall let the words run over him, turning them in his head and contemplating on his words. The dark-skinned god turned to face Percy fully, his gold irises boring into Percy's sea-green ones. "We do not know what lies in the future, we only know what we have now. And now, we do not fight just for the pleasure of doing so, we fight for our families, our loved ones. We fight with our comrades, we fight for our home. Do not lose hope young one," Heimdall coached, "If you do, the battle has been lost even before it began."

Percy blinked, smiling slightly at the Gatekeeper's words, "You know, you should really meet my aunt, I think you'd like her."

Heimdall's lips tilted up slightly.

Fandral heaved his head back and roared his laughter, the sound echoing off the empty streets of the marketplace, frightening a flock of birds into flight. Sif gave him a dirty look, but he brushed it away, choosing instead to continue his conversation with Thor's mortal friends. He didn't think that Midgardians could be this funny, especially the shorter man with weird eyewear* on his face. Then again, the blond warrior couldn't remember the last time that he had laughed so heartily. The attack by Thanos and his chitauri had wiped all of their smiles from their faces and heart, and Fandral missed being able to laugh as he once did. Even Volstagg had become somber as the numbers at their table dwindled bit by bit. These mortals though, provided a refreshing change. Fandral was more open minded than his fellow Asgardians, and he was willing to give the mortals the benefit of doubt when it came to battle, though he too was of the impression that they, the Asgardians, were far superior to mortals in combat.

Seeing the five Midgardians with him, Fandral wondered how they could have won a war against the chitauri, even if they had Thor on their side, Thor, who was already equal to several armies of men alone. He didn't question his prince though, not even when the blond god had told them in no uncertain terms to leave Loki alone. At the thought of the darker prince, a tendril of doubt curled within his stomach. Thor claimed that Loki had changed for the better, but Fandral had a hard time seeing it. He, like Sif, had been witness to the numerous tricks which Loki pulled on his unsuspecting victim, each more threatening than the last. He had heard of Percy Jackson, of course, no one in Asgard hadn't heard of him, but he doubted that even the hero could change Loki, not when even the Queen could not lighten his blackened heart.

"Y'know, if there were more people around, this might actually look like a market as opposed to a ghost town." Tony observed, tilting his sunglasses down slightly to reveal his almond eyes. His comment cut through Fandral's reverie, and the warrior grinned, pushing away all the dark thoughts clouding his mind.

"Well the people are in hiding, we can't afford for the chitauri to come and pick them off one by one can we?"

Sif scoffed, tightening her grip on her sword, "The chitauri are cowards," she spat, "Only hunting those who cannot fight back and only in the shadows."

"Woah lady," Tony said, raising both his hands in surrender, "No need to get your undies in a twist."

Sif whirled around and snarled, "What did you say you crude, vile creature?"

Steve stepped forward, "Mam, my friend meant no disrespect, it is a form of, uh, slang, on Earth, er, Midgard."

When Sif still looked furious, Steve quickly gestured to the empty street stretching ahead of them, "Maybe we should get back to the tour?" he grinned weakly, slapping Tony on the head when Sif huffed and turned around.

The rest of their tour went smoothly after that, with Tony grumbling under his breath but keeping quiet. It wasn't fun to rile people up when their reaction was to point their very sharp weapon at your face anyway.

Loki slinked towards his room, under the cover of the shadows cast by the towering spires of Asgard. Thor had slipped off sometime after Loki had all but told him to scram, and the trickster god didn't know where his brother had gone off to, nor did he particularly care. He did feel a pinch of guilt though, when he stepped into his room and saw Percy leafing through one of his magic tomes. He hadn't meant to leave the other boy behind, but he hoped that the hero could understand.

Percy looked up when he closed the door quietly behind him, putting away the book. "Hey," the hero said, reaching a hand out to Loki, "How are you?" he asked quietly, oceanic eyes searching Loki's face.

Loki sighed, taking his hand and drawing the young demigod into a loose embrace, inhaling deeply, the salty scent of the sea penetrating deep within him. "I'm sorry," Loki whispered, "I did not mean to leave you behind, I just –"

Percy tightened his arms around the god's waist, "What did you see?"

Loki closed his eyes, smiling painfully, "Nothing nice."

"Come on," Percy said, tugging the god to the bed, "It's late, and some sleep might help you."

Loki raised his eyebrow, "So eager to get me into bed hmm?"

Percy scowled, shoving the god, "Must you always have such a dirty mind?"

Loki leered at him, "Dirty? Mmm, I was merely suggesting that we get into bed…" he smirked, poking Percy's forehead, "What were you thinking exactly?"

Percy growled and swatted away his hand, "Stop that! Honestly!" he huffed, "I'm trying to be a little considerate for you here."

Loki sighed, his marginally improved mood falling again, "Percy, its nothing –"

"Bullshit." Percy snapped, "You don't react like that and tell me that it's nothing."

Loki sighed again, "I promise, it was memories, nothing more."

Percy looked into his eyes, saw the darkness that clouded them, and said nothing. He knew that Loki was lying, but he knew that the memories that plagued the god were nothing pleasant, he'd experienced firsthand the nightmares that sank its claws into the elder god's mind.

The demigod sighed and took the god's hand, "Come on," he murmured, "Its late, and we should sleep, I have gem training tomorrow."

Loki allowed himself to be pulled to the bed, where he slid under the covers beside Percy, the younger's body fitting perfectly against his as though they were made for each other. "Mother is starting your training tomorrow?"

Percy hummed, leaning back against Loki as the god spooned him, "Yeah, she wanted to get started earlier, you never know when the chitauri might come back again after all."

Loki was glad for the fact that Percy was facing away from him, he could not hide the microscopic flash of pain that crossed his features, though his body remained perfectly relaxed. "That is a trouble for tomorrow, we should sleep now, if I am to watch your horrendous training with a powerful artifact."

Percy reached back and whacked the god on the head, "Hey!" he cried indignantly, "I'm not horrendous! And you've never seen me practice with it before!"

Loki rolled his eyes and smirked, "I don't need to, you have to be horrendous if the chitauri could locate you within seconds of you activating it."

Percy scowled, then frowned, "Then how am I supposed to train with the gem if it attracts the chitauri? Won't they sense it when I'm training?"

Loki hummed, resting his head against the back of Percy's neck, "That is why my mother will be there, she is a master of seidr, and she will be able to produce a barrier which should dampen the beacon the Aether produces. If that isn't enough… well, I do have my magic as well."

Percy nodded, the doubt settling in his stomach, mostly placated, but he was still troubled, though more of it was due to the afternoon's event. Loki sensed this, and turned Percy's head around, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. "Sleep, Perseus, we have a long day tomorrow."

Percy nodded, turning around and burrowing his face into Loki's solid chest, surrounding himself with the scent of the god. Loki snapped his fingers, and the lights in his room – magical of course – went out, plunging them into sudden darkness. He lay on the bed, eyes wide open as a million thoughts raced in his head, watching as Percy's breathing evened out slowly as the boy fell asleep. Soon enough, Loki felt the buzzing thoughts quieten down as he focused on Percy's breaths, and he closed his eyes, letting Percy's smell wash over him.

And if he clutched the demigod a little tighter to him that night – well, no one else had to know.

So, that's the end of this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Not much action around, but well some interactions between the various groups of people. Next chapter will have more action, I promise you. :)

And the plot is finally inching forward bit by bit.

Oh yes, the eyewear that Fandral is referring to is Tony's sunglasses. Figured that Asgardians probably don't know what sunglasses are. XD

Please leave a review on your way out! :)