The Stars

Summary - Thor returns from Asgard after returning Lorelei, the Tesseract and the sceptre, to find that Loki did in fact stay on Earth.

As always, the California mansion was the epitome of wealth, splendour and luxury but for the time being, these things were lost on the people living in it.

"How is she?" Tony asked when Pepper finally returned to the lounge. Jane had finally fallen asleep but that didn't stop her friends from worrying about her. "She'll be okay, right? I mean, Clint came out of it fine."

"He's a trained assassin, Tony, she's a scientist. Maybe mind control was a new thing for him and maybe he's not okay with it, but he's used to dealing with situations that normal people don't even dream of," she explained.

"Jane's not exactly normal, either. She's dating Thor and he's not even human. She was a top scientist in a S.H.I.E.L.D research project on alien technology. I'd say she's used to dealing with weird things, too."

"...You're right," she sighed, sitting down next to him on the sofa, "But I think, maybe this was too much for her. She's not an Avenger, she's not even an Agent...she's...she wasn't herself. I'm really worried about her."

"She just needs some time alone," he said confidently, "Let her deal with it."

"She's just spent hours alone trapped inside her mind, the last thing she needs is..."

"Trust me, that's exactly what she needs; time alone in the real world, it'll do her good."

"Did you check on Loki?" she asked.

"Nope," Tony shook his head, "He's probably spark out, anyway."

"Has he come out of his room since he got here?"

"Nope," he repeated, "Maybe he's hiding."

"Why would he be hiding?"

"Oh, I...well, I just meant...he's probably just asleep, the guy was dead on his feet, right?" he muttered back.

"I'm going to see if he's hungry," she replied, "We can't just...pretend like he's not here."

"He might want us to. Who knows what he's thinking? And we're not running a hotel."

"You're the one who invited him," Pepper crossed her arms.

"He'd just helped save the planet, what was I supposed I do?! I get the feeling he's been through a lot and he really didn't wanna go to Asgard, so what was he gonna do? Go to sleep in the park? Come on, I'm not totally heartless."

"We barely know him," she stated.

"Hey, you heard all of Thor's stories, too."

"It's not the same as actually meeting someone."

"You wanna kick out a Norse god, be my guest," he shrugged, flamboyantly.

"I'm not going to kick him out," she sighed, walking off.

"Loki?" Pepper knocked on the door. She tried to open it but found that it was locked, "Are you awake? I'm Pepper Potts, we haven't actually met really, but...well, I just wanted to know if you're wanted something to eat or..."

"I am fine," Loki replied quickly without opening the door.

"If you want something, it's no trouble..."

"I want nothing, only to rest. Now please leave me be, Lady Pepper."

"If you're sure," she replied, reluctantly. "Good night," she added but she got no reply.

As Tony had predicted, Loki was hiding. He was lying under the covers of a very comfortable bed, the room in total darkness with the curtains closed and the door locked. His skin was the deep shade of blue that he detested and his striking red eyes allowed him almost perfect sight in the darkness. No matter how much he tried, he simply didn't have the energy to spare to cast even the simplest of spells. He doubted very much that he could even stand properly.

His little jaunt to Midgard hadn't exactly gone according to plan. Loki hadn't planned on ending up helpless in the home of an Avenger, too weak to even move. He hadn't planned to give up the sceptre either but he had done. Logically, of course, S.H.I.E.L.D would've been able to take it from him easily because he'd been so weakened but then he also knew he could have used Thor's sentiment to protect himself, but he hadn't. He could have prompted an all out war between Thor and S.H.I.E.L.D, but he hadn't. It must have just been because he was exhausted.

When Loki next awoke, he found that he wasn't alone. Thor was lying next to him on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Thor was swathed in the blankets to keep warm but it had the added advantage of making sure that he didn't touch Loki's blue skin.

"You are still cold," Thor remarked when his little brother moved.

"I'm supposed to be cold, you fool," Loki hissed back, huddling in on himself in a subconscious attempt to hide his blue skin.

"Then why are you shivering?"

"You took my blankets," Loki grumbled, petulantly tugging on said blankets.

"I apologise," Thor said with genuine sincerity as he untangled himself and preceded to wrap Loki in the blankets like he was a small child.

"Who gave you permission to enter my room?"

"I was worried about you."

"I don't want you here. Go away," Loki ordered, trying to push him off the bed, to no avail. He was far too weak and Thor was too heavy. He was more than a little concerned that, even in the dark, that Thor had seen him. If he had, Loki would never live it down, he was certain.

"You are hiding from me again," Thor sighed.

"I told you to..."

"I will not leave."

That answer gave Loki only two options. He could accept the fact that Thor was there and he could do nothing to change that, or he try his damnedest to drive his brother away with angry words since he had no energy for a fight. The only problem was, that didn't seem to have worked so well for him in the last few years. In fact, Thor seemed immune to his words now but he never had been before. Thor was usually very easy to manipulate with words but not anymore.

"I truly was concerned for you," Thor continued, "If it eases your mind at all, know that I can see nothing in this darkness but if I were to do so, it would mean nothing to me."

"If you can see nothing, how do you know that there is anything to see?"

"I...accidentally...touched your hand..."

"Ah," Loki sighed.

"It changes nothing," Thor assured him.

"Liar."

"You know that I am a terrible liar."

"...Shouldn't you be with your mortal?" Loki asked after a moment.

"Jane sleeps..."

"As was I before you so rudely disturbed me."

"I did no such thing, little brother. I have been here for several hours and you did not wake."

"We are far too old for you to be so comfortable with me in bed, Thor," Loki replied, dryly.

"Hah!" Thor laughed, "You try to embarrass me, Loki?! That is not possible!"

"The mortals here would have much to say on that fact, I am sure."

"Very likely, yes," the blonde still chuckled.

"So too would your mortal lover."

"She is very understanding."

"So, she knows that you simply crawl into bed with me?"

"She...sleeps," Thor replied, sobering. "Lady Pepper assures me that the injuries she received are minimal and are healing...and I believe her, but what was done to her...it will not be easily forgotten."

"Then go to her. We both know you would prefer to be with her than with me," Loki said, shuffling away from Thor a little, waiting for him to leave.

"Later," Thor shook his head, moving Loki gently back towards him.

"Why will you not just leave?" Loki ground out but Thor said nothing, he only smiled a little. A useless gesture since Loki refused to look at him. He was too busy hiding his skin and his red eyes which would shine in the dark.

"Mother and father were worried for you," Thor said after a while, "They send their love and a healing remedy for you."

"Hhhhh," Loki snorted, inelegantly.

"Please tell me that you will take it."

"I don't require it."

"I am certain that you do."

"You are no healer."

"No, but even I can tell that you need assistance."

"I will...consider it," Loki muttered, quietly. As tired and drained as he was, he knew it would take a long time without any help, for him to regain his full strength. He had no wish to be left powerless at the mercy of the Avengers if their precious S.H.I.E.L.D decided to turn on him.

"Thank you."

"I did not say that I would..."

"It is enough."

"Fool," Loki muttered.

"Aye, and you are as stubborn as ever," Thor retorted, happily.

Long after the sun had risen, Jane was sat at the table in the kitchen, staring listlessly at a plate of food in front of her as she gently pushed small pieces of it around with her fork.

"You must eat something, Jane," Thor urged her.

"I'm not hungry," she replied.

"But..."

"I said, I'm not hungry!" Jane stressed and tossed her fork to the table. When she saw the hurt look on Thor's face though, she sighed. "I'm...sorry, Thor," she said.

"It is not your fault," he assured her kindly and placed his much larger hand on her smaller one. "You will be well," he said.

"But I'm fine, I..."

"No, you are not," Thor said, "One day, perhaps you will be, but it will take time."

"I just...I should be fine with it all. I deal with...strange things all the time," she muttered.

"You are not forcibly controlled against your will on a regular basis."

"...No...guess not."

"Even an Asgardian would need time to recover from this. What you are feeling is not shameful. I know all too well what it means to have no control. Lorelei...is still able to control me, even now and it makes me feel weak. I hate that I cannot protect my own mind but there is nothing that I can do to change it. I simply do not have the ability...It took many years before I was able to accept that. At times, I am still not convinced I have fully accepted it. I am accustomed to defeating the enemy that I see before me, but I cannot see an attack on my own mind. However, it will not always be as it is now. Trust me."

Jane nodded in understanding and gave him a tired smile.

After gathering her courage later in the afternoon, Jane approached Loki's bedroom door beside Thor and he knocked, "Loki, may I come in?" he asked.

"No," came the tired, monosyllabic reply.

"Please, brother?"

"No," he repeated.

"Loki, I do not wish to have a conversation with a door between us," Thor sighed. "Jane is with me, she wished to speak with you," he said.

"No," Loki replied again.

"Very well, then we will remain here and shout through this door. I warn you, it may result in a headache. I know that you are prone to those when you are recovering and I have no wish to inflict another upon you."

"Thor, its fine, if he doesn't want to..." Jane began, she was just about to try and drag him away she heard the door click open quietly. She peered inside and saw that inside it was completely dark. Some of the light from the other room helped her to see a little, but the figure on the bed seemed to be hidden underneath the sheets.

"Loki, must you hide so?" Thor asked, exasperated as he entered the room. Using the light coming in through the open door, he arranged two heavy chairs close to the bed. "Jane is here to see you and she cannot do so in the dark," he said.

"If you insist on remaining, close the door," Loki said, tersely.

"You want us to sit in the dark?" Jane asked.

"Are you afraid?"

"No," she answered, "I'd just prefer to see you."

"No, you wouldn't," he assured her with a rueful scoff, "Close the door."

"As you wish," Thor said and did as his brother requested. "Did you drink the healer's potion?" he asked, sitting down.

"Yes," Loki droned.

"And? Do you feel improved?"

"...A little."

"Then I will bring more," Thor announced, happily, "Jane is also feeling well so we have much to celebrate."

"I have not the energy or the patience for your celebrations, Thor," Loki sighed, "And from the look of things, neither does your mortal."

"You can see me?" Jane asked.

"Perfectly well," Loki answered and she could suddenly make out two red eyes staring at her in the otherwise, dark room. She had no recollection of Loki having red eyes when he'd saved her from the Chitauri, but she had been rather preoccupied at the time, maybe she'd just not noticed. "Mortals heal slowly," he said, "The grazes on your face are still there."

"What about you? You were hurt too."

"A minor setback. I have healed far worse."

"Sadly, that is true," Thor assured her. "It is his magic which takes far longer to recover than he himself does," he added.

"Oh," she blinked. "Well, then, I...hope you get better soon and I'm sorry you were hurt. It was my fault and I..."

"It was the fault of Lorelei, not you," Thor said, quickly.

"Yes, but still..." she sighed, heavily. "I'm sorry, Loki. I just...I wanted to thank you for saving my life. I know it...it doesn't sound enough but...thank you, Loki, really. You saved me...you saved a lot of people."

"And this is my reward," he scoffed, "I'm a fool, clearly."

"You are no fool, brother. You are the cleverest of beings, as you well know," Thor replied.

"Well, if the mighty Thor declares it, then it must be so," Loki mocked.

"Aye, indeed," Thor said, proudly, "The mighty Thor knows that his equally mighty brother is clever. So too is Jane. However this is not how I imagined the two of you would finally meet."

"How tragic," Loki grumbled.

"I believe the two of you have much in common," Thor announced.

"Is that so?" his brother muttered, not sounding the least bit interested.

"Yes, it is so. In fact, I have told Jane much about Asgard, but no one knows as much as you do...and certainly there is no one better who tells our stories as you can."

"I outgrew the role of storyteller long ago."

"Now that is indeed, tragic. I remember a time when you could even ensnare the enemy with your stories for they were so thrilling."

"That was a long time ago," Loki reiterated, quietly.

"It wasn't so very long ago, was it?"

"A lifetime ago, it seems," Loki assured him.

"I disagree," Thor remarked.

"You would."

"What are your plans, brother?" Thor asked. "I am assured by friend Stark that you can remain here for as long as you wish but you would be most welcome at home as well."

"I will leave...as soon as I am able. Or, I will leave sooner if your 'friends' from S.H.I.E.L.D wish to detain me."

"They will do no such thing," Thor said, affronted.

"So you say but you are not their general."

"If they were to attempt such a thing, I would stop them. In any case, I believe that they can do nothing to you considering that you helped to save their world. To threaten you now would be foolish indeed."

"We shall see," Loki said, simply.

"Now we shall leave you to rest," Thor declared when Loki said nothing else. "Sleep well, my brother," he said before he and Jane left.

When Thor returned that night to check on his brother, he found the room empty with the sliding glass door open and he panicked instantly. He threw aside the sheets on the bed and frantically tore open the door to the ensuite bathroom calling his brother's name repeatedly.

"Do be quiet," Loki's voice suddenly sounded quietly and Thor spun around, his head darting from side to side, rapidly.

"Loki? Brother, where are you?" he called out.

"On the roof."

Thor stepped over the mess he'd made of the room and walked out onto the balcony to see that Loki was indeed sitting on the roof staring up at the stars in the nights sky. He sighed heavily in relief and climbed up to sit beside his brother.

He noticed that Loki was looking very tired but he evidently had just enough magic in him to make his skin appear more like his preferred colouring, even if he did look extremely pale. But Thor knew how much Loki despised his Jotun skin so he wouldn't put it past his little brother to exhaust whatever magic he'd accumulated just to hide it.

"I feared you had left," Thor remarked.

"That was fairly obvious."

"I am relieved you have not."

"Again, that was rather obvious," Loki said, dryly.

"Will you stay?" Thor asked.

"...I...can't."

"Why not? There is much to love here and I am convinced that you do not hate this world as much as you claim."

"Oh, really?"

"Why else would you have saved it?"

"You're reading too much into my actions. I am rarely altruistic."

"I do not believe you," Thor said, moving over so that he was shoulder to shoulder with Loki. "In fact, I think you protest far too much," he added. "Is it so difficult for you to admit that you have done something good and to accept the praise for it without claiming ulterior motives? What you did was brave and good. The worthy actions of a Prince."

"I am no Prince."

"You are a Prince of Asgard. You always have been and you always will be and I will remind you of this every day if necessary."

"You assume that you'll see me every day," Loki said, still turned away from the brother that was looking at him so confidently.

"I plan to. I do not want to go years where there is only silence between us again. I could not bear it. Please don't ask me to."

"It's better if I leave."

"Why are you so sure of that?! Where has this idea come from?"

"From centuries of you leaving me behind and dismissing me, perhaps might have something to do with it," Loki said, bitterly.

"I am sorry for all of that. I know I should have been a better brother to you. You deserved far more. But I can do no more than apologise to you. If you leave, I cannot prove that I have learned the error of my ways. At least give me opportunity to do so, Loki," Thor said, gently grasping Loki's wrist.

"Why?" Loki asked, finally looking at him with green eyes.

"Because you are my brother. We had many happy years before...well, we were happy once, were we not? Do you not remember? There was a time when we were inseparable. We were so close. There was nothing I did not tell you, nothing I did not share with you and you with me. Why can we not be so again?"

"...What makes you think I want that?"

"Do you not?"

"If I said 'no' what would you do?"

"I would be devastated. But I would respect your wishes," Thor sighed, releasing his brother's wrist.

"As easily as that?" Loki raised a dark eyebrow.

"It would not be easy," Thor cried, "It would break my heart to do so. Truly. I would not survive it."

"One day, Thor, your sentiment will get you killed."

"Aye, but on that day, I hope you would be by my side to remind me of that and to save me."

"So...what would you do if I agreed to your emotional little plea?" Loki asked, turning away again.

"We would have a mighty feast!" Thor declared, suddenly jubilant but when he saw Loki slump forwards, he coughed and corrected himself. "Or...perhaps we could save that until you are well. Perhaps for the moment, we can content ourselves to remaining here under the stars and you can tell me all the great stories that lie within them."

"You're serious?" Loki blinked.

"Perfectly."

"No feast?"

"No."

"No week long hunt?"

"Not if you do not wish it and I know that you do not."

"No great deeds of valour for the glory of Asgard?"

"Not a one. I will prove to you that I have learned from my mistakes, brother. I will prove that I care for you even if it takes another thousand years. For this, I will be patient."

"You are not patient," Loki scoffed. "And you have proven again that you are a fool. You've just handed me the keys to your own destruction...by your own admission."

"That is true."

"That was a mistake," Loki corrected him.

"No, because you will not destroy me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Thor answered with confidence.

Loki looked at him and he could see no hint of a lie or of fear. Thor didn't fear him at all despite knowing that Loki could emotionally cause his downfall.

"The stars here are not quite as bright as on Asgard...but they are still beautiful," Thor remarked, calmly. "The mortals have their own stories about them, but I suppose you already knew that," he said as he lay down and rested his hands behind his head as he looked up at the sky.

Thor was giving him a choice, not a very subtle one of course, but a choice nonetheless. What was he to do? Push Thor away again? Did he even want to? Was it worth the risk of being shunned and living in his shadow again?

After a long silence, Loki sighed and scrubbed a hand through his messy black hair.

"The night isn't long enough for all the stories the mortals have about the stars," he said and Thor's eyes suddenly shone brighter than any star, even an Asgardian one.

"Then we must continue tomorrow," Thor replied, happily, "If you wish it."

"Don't interrupt me, you always interrupt me when I am..."

"I will not, I swear it!" Thor grinned, sitting up and throwing his arms around Loki.

"Thor!" Loki exclaimed, shocked.

"Ahaha, Loki. I am one very happy older brother!"

"And I am soon to be one very smothered younger brother if you do not..."

"Hah! You admitted it! You are my brother!"

"Just let me go!" Loki ordered.

"Never!" Thor laughed.

"Thor!"

"No!"