You think you know pain? We shall make you long for something sweet as pain.
He woke up sometime later in front of the fire with no idea what time it was, and with almost no recollection of his position in the universe. All he knew was that he heard thunder and a flash of lightning played in the corner of his eye. He shot bolt upright, "where am I?"
"With me," Bella flicked the page of a Spider Man comic, "the Chitauri are long dead and Thor is very far away." She bent down in her chair and stroked his hair for a second.
He sat up, leaning against the arm chair, shaking the fog out of his head, "oh, right," he pulled him up off the floor and into the armchair, "Spider Man?"
"I've always loved comics," she explained, putting it down, "when I was in the Corps, Mom would send me a bulk pack of all the comics that came out that month, Spider Man, Bat Man, Super Man, Green Lantern, a whole lot more," she smiled, "they kept me sane over there with all the bombs going off."
"Have a nice chat with Thor?"
She shrugged, "he kept his sentences shorter than ten words, and I didn't confuse him with intelligent ideas, so I reckon it went smoothly," she flicked another page and grinned as she read.
"What's the verdict, Sigmund?"
"You know I can't tell you that," Bella flicked another page, "but I can tell you that I'm getting gold from the Asgard vaults," he glared at her for a long time, "I'm kidding. What would I want with gold? I have everything I need right here."
He thought about this for a long time, staring into the flames of the fire. Was this all he needed? He had spent so much time chasing the throne and vengeance, he didn't know anymore. He was lost.
"What time is it?" he asked her.
She checked her watch, "about seven thirty. At eight, Soph wants you to read her a bedtime story."
Loki was speechless, "me?"
I thought she had grown out of bedtime stories too, but she wants to hear more about you, the God of Blunder and the Super Friends," Bella flicked the page again and laughed, reading something that was funny, "and how the hell you didn't break and try to kill them earlier."
He sighed, and grinned himself. Despite thinking that he would hate this, he was beginning to get into the swing of things, and really love the atmosphere. He wasn't judged, and he wasn't treated any differently to Sophia. In a way he found it insulting, but knowing that Bella held him in as high a regard as her own daughter impressed him at the same time. Everybody was so honest, and the one thing he needed was no more lies.
"Soph's got a parent teacher thingie tomorrow night," Bella said, "you're welcome to come."
He looked up at her, "really?"
"You need the air," she told him, "and I have to be there. I don't really want you stuck here alone, with Captain America," she shuddered slightly, "he's my second in command here, and his righteous justice and patriotism really gets on my nerves," she finished reading and handed the comic over to Loki, who took it and examined it, "I'm worried that if you spend too much time with him, you'll kill him in the face with my meat cleaver."
Loki smiled, "So what you mean is that all will be fine until he opens his mouth?"