You guys are amazing. C: Really.

So, uh. This is the second to last chapter. I don't want to draw it out and make it boring, so, yeah. You'll see why. ;3

Still, I have an idea for a sequel, so it won't be the end-end, if that's what you guys want. :D

Warnings; torture, flashbacks, talk of non-con,

~~~~Line Breaker~~~~~

He slowly woke up to talking.

It came to him slowly; he felt rested and warm, though the pain was still there and fuck did it hurt. His hand pulsed in agony and his leg felt like it was on fire, but he didn't open his eyes. He was laying on his side, but couldn't feel the cold rock under him; only clothe. And he had a hard pillow under his cheek.

Was...was he still laying on Loki? He remembered vaguely leaning on him, surprised that the god hadn't just killed him for such a thing, but he might've moved. Huh. If he lived through this, he had quite a story to tell Thor.

Finally, Tony forced himself up. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes with his undamaged hand and then looked around. No one was there...weird. And it definitely hadn't been Loki talking, he would've felt it, since his body had decided to lay himself into the god's lap. Oops.

"Did I drool?"

He looked up to see the trickster smirk. "If you had, I doubt you would be waking up now."

Tony yawned, still stiff and in pain but feeling better. "Anyone ever tell you, you make a good pillow?"

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. "...Pardon?"

"You do." He muttered, looking over his hand. It was still horribly disfigured so he sighed and let it drop uselessly. "Anyway, I heard talking...I think. I'm not going crazy, am I?"

"Not about that, no. Your friend was here to talk to you, but I would not allow him to wake you up. He tried, of course. I believe I managed to kill one of them but they pulled him out before I could make certain."

Tony blinked, processing those words. Then a second time just to make sure. "You...you what?"

The God of Mischief chuckled. "I crushed his windpipe. They will either leave us alone for awhile or come back here especially angry."

"You...killed one, chained up and without magic..."

Loki glared at him, annoyed. "I am not useless without magic, thank you."

"No, no, I didn't mean it that way." Tony waved it off, grinning. "I'm just wondering if you'd kill me if I kissed you right now."

"I would." came the dry response.

"Can I try anyway?"

Loki rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Don't make me regret it."

Tony nodded. "Alright, alright. Can I ask why?" He got a confused look, making him laugh. "I mean, why did you kill him and risk them coming after you? They're focusing on me here, you're just bringing attention to yourself."

He didn't get an answer immediately. Loki frowned, looking almost embarrassed and that made him even more curious. Did the guy insult his hair or something? He gently prodded him, getting a glare before the god sighed.

"You had started crying in your sleep...when you finally settled down, they showed up to take you into a new torture session and I would not let them." Loki said, not looking at him.

The billionaire stared at him. "...Why?"

"Why what?" the god asked in annoyance.

"Why protect me?" Tony really didn't understand it; they both didn't need to go through torture, it would make it harder when they were trying to escape. Granted, he was oddly touched anyway.

Loki scuffed elegantly. "Shall I not next time then?"

"I appreciate it, really. It's nice that someone has my back, but what if they come after you?" he asked.

The God of Mischief didn't answer this time. Tony decided not to push it since he didn't want to make the other feel uncomfortable. He really did appreciate that Loki protected him while he had been sleeping; that was something he wasn't used to, especially while a captive.

Tony sighed, rolling up his dirty pant leg and look at where his leg had been broken. He cringed; it was a nasty purple and green color and a lump where the bone had fragmented. That was so nasty. Huffing, he covered it back up and then examined his shackle. Least his hands weren't cuffed.

"They are becoming impatient." Loki suddenly said. "They are not going to keep humoring us."

Unable to stop, Tony gave an almost hysterical laugh. "That's nice; destroying my career and breaking my leg is humoring me. I wonder what they're gonna do to me next before they finally just kill me."

"Are you going to tell them what they want?" the liesmith questioned him, seemingly pretending he hadn't said anything. "Shield would understand once they see what they've put you through."

"No." He said. "I just...I can't."

Loki nodded. "You keep managing to surprise me, Stark." Tony looked at him in confusion, making the god smirk. "I have underestimated you. Though the loyalty seems displaced, since Shield should have found you already, it is...noble."

"Tch, I'm farthest thing from noble. I just don't like anyone that has better toys than me, and I haven't managed to build my own Carrrier! That's not fair at all." He looked again at his mangled hand and sighed. "I hate Shield."

The god laughed. "Shield? What about your friend Hammer?"

"Oh, I'll deal with him once I have my suit. I'll record it and send it to you as a, 'thank you for keeping me relatively sane while we were both kidnapped' gift."

The trickster grinned. "Well, then the next time I fight the Avengers, I shall remember not to stab you."

Tony laughed. "I know you don't like sentiment and all that emotional shit but I gotta say, this might make fighting you a lot harder." Loki frowned, staring at him. "Really. I can't think of any of my teammates that could do what you've done here. It's not much, but if it had been just me, I just...wouldn't last very long, let's say."

"...You're not lying." The god looked both awed and suspicious. Tony shook his head. "Why would you trust me like this? How do you know that I am not a part of this to get under your skin, earn your trust and then completely break you?"

The billionaire went to reply but stopped. That...that was a good question. After all, Loki hadn't ever been harmed and there was never talk of what the god could be here for. But he shook his head. "You wouldn't come out and say that if it's true."

"You know me well then, Stark." Loki smirked at him. "Takes away the fun if I tell you...still, I do not understand. You think yourself to be in my debt?"

"Basically, yes." The admission was a little frightening, actually. Loki was still technically an enemy, powers or not. That probably just made him more dangerous.

"...You are an odd mortal."

The door suddenly opened, causing them both to look up. Tony hated that his breathing suddenly got heavier; he didn't even think twice of grabbing Loki's hand, though he inwardly cringed. That probably wouldn't look good to their captors. Especially not since Loki had killed one of them.

"Last chance, Stark." One of the pair hissed.

"Wow, you guys are impatient. I mean, last time I was kidnapped, they had me for months and hadn't given up on me! You must really suck at your jobs."

As expected, they unshackled him and dragged him through the jail-door rather roughly. However, that's as far as he got. Dumped on the rocky floor, he gasped when one of them kicked him in the ribs, feeling one of them crack but luckily keep in place. The guard did it again, closer to his hip, and then again right under his arm.

He was definitely having a talk to Fury about getting himself some superpowers. This sucked.

"Kick em in that fucking...night light on his chest."

No. No, no, no. His shirt was in tatters from them having previously cut it, letting everyone see the Arc Reactor and the blue light it gave off. An easy target. He wrapped his arms around it, hissing when he forced his wounded hand under his arm.

"You kick that...I die. So I hope you're ready to deal with that." Tony muttered, then spit on the guy's boot. Nothing much but it made him feel better about just laying there.

He felt said boot connect with his gut. He gave a yell, managing to curl up on to his side. Fuck that hurt. Then he felt it hit his back, at the base of his spine. One of them laughed at him, saying something but the words weren't making any sense when pain exploded in the side of his head.

When his vision and hearing came back, he was coughing up blood on the ground. He felt hands at the waistline of his pants, dragging him back and into the light of the small lantern. He panicked then, struggling despite the pain and queasy feeling in his stomach.

"He's turning into a fucking pain. Can't you hold him down?"

The other guard snorted. "I'm not touching him while you...dude, what're you doing?"

Tony felt a weight on his back and the guard's mask next to his face. "I know how to get you to talk, Stark. And once I'm done, I'll put that circle from your chest and watch as you die here, forgotten, on the floor like a bitch."

He desperately wished then that they'd just kill him. No, he wouldn't let this happen. He wasn't useless, he wasn't stupid, why couldn't he think of something, anything to get them to stop? He wouldn't let himself be fucking raped in front of a god that he had suddenly befriended in the past few days.

Then there was a hand on his head, gripping his hair, before his face painfully met the floor. He groaned, trying to push himself up with both hands (which sent a fire through him and he had to force himself not to scream) and he tried to pull himself away but the guard smashed his face into the ground again.

And again. And again. Tony's vision turned black and he felt the weight on his back settle down on him as blood filled his mouth and he could feel it on his face. He wondered if his nose was broken, wondered if this would hurt as bad as anything else he had gone through.

"Hand me the wrench, he keeps struggling."

The words finally were forming and making sense in his head just in time for him to realize what that meant. He gave a dry sob, waiting for the pain and wondering what exactly they were going to break this time. His other hand? Leg? Maybe his shoulders?

It came down on his right elbow, taking a couple tries before they all heard it break. It wasn't like his hand; it could be repaired, and it didn't hurt as much as the others. But after everything, of the torture and the nightmares and delusions and knowing what was about to happen to him, Tony couldn't help it.

He broke.

The tears came heavy as he screamed. He hated himself then; he had sworn that he'd never enter this point again, that he'd never allow himself to get here. Why was this happening now? And why did it have to be in front of Loki? Couldn't they at least do this in a different room, away from those green eyes?

"What the-"

Screaming. He heard it, but not from himself. Slowly, Tony forced his eyes open, not even aware he had closed them. The weight was gone...but he hurt, everywhere hurt and there was blood all over the ground in front of him. He wanted to reach up and check his face but that meant putting weight on his arm and that didn't seem like a good idea.

"-rk? Stark?" He tried to look up but he just panted and let his head drop back down. "This...this will hurt, Stark."

He felt himself being rolled on to his back, hissing at the movement. With dazed eyes, he looked up and saw Loki, green eyes scanning his body as his hands hovered close, not sure if he should touch him or not.

"What...happened?" Tony mananged, forcing himself to focus.

Loki swallowed roughly, an act that would've surprised him if he could think properly. "I...I did not want to see that happen to you. So I stopped it."

What? Loki had no powers, right? No magic? How had he broken from his cuffs and then the cell, not to mention take out two guards? But his head was throbbing and and he could only let out a rather embarrrassing whine when he felt arms around him, the god easily picking him up and carrying him out of the wooden door.

"Where...?"

"I'm getting us out of here." Tony shuddered at the tone of his voice; Loki was scarey when he was mad. "Do not fall asleep on me, Man of Iron. I cannot guarantee you will wake up this time."

Right. His head. He groaned, pressing his forehead against Loki's armor, enjoying the chill it gave off. He tried to pay attention to where they were going, but the rocky halls all seemed to paint together in his head and he kept losing small parts of his memory the further they went.

They came to a door, also wood. Tony tried to make sure he remembered sending Hammer a email about better security. This was sad. He winced when Loki kicked it off its hinges, scanning the room. He then crossed it, picking up his gold spear.

"Loki?" Tony suddenly realized something different about the god, finding it easier to focus. "Where...where did the collar go?"

Loki gave a small smile as his helmet formed on top of his head. "Do not worry, Stark. I'll explain once I get us out of here."

"How?"

He didn't get an answer. Instead, suddenly, they were in the middle of a living room. It took Tony a moment or two before he recognized it all has his own Stark Towers living room. Apparently Loki could teleport. That was probably good to know.

"I made sure to trip the alarm, so your Avengers shall be here soon." Loki explained, gently placing him on to the couch. "I am going to heal you, but there's only so much I can do right now..."

Tony smiled, which probably looked terrible given all the blood and possibly broken nose but he couldn't believe that they were out. "Thanks, Loki."

He felt a cold hand on his cheek, which suddenly glowed green; his skin all over began to tingle, and felt like it was being stretched. The pain faded slightly and his vision came back. His arm was still in shatters, but the bruises, cuts and his leg had been healed. And with that, came the horrible realization of how close he had come.

Loki didn't seem surprised when his arms were once again full of him. He expected the god to push him off, he was still a bloody, sweaty mess, but he was suddenly surrounded by him. The god was hugging him, not mentioning how badly Tony was shaking or that his armor was getting wet as he began to cry.

"I'm sorry." He whispered over and over. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be like this, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Stark." Loki said, hugging the human tighter. "I will not allow this to happen again."

There was a dark edge to the way he said it; it was both frightening and reassuring as Tony clung to him with one arm, his right hanging uselessly against his body. He shouldn't need to rely so much on Loki, he had gone through this before and while they hadn't been as brutal, they had lasted longer.

What made this so different? Why had it been so easy?

"Don't, don't let them touch me..." It came out weaker than he'd hoped, trying to force himself to stop. "They don't, they can't..."

He felt the god nod, and that was enough for him. He tensed when he felt himself being picked up again, partcially annoyed that he could be lifted so easily, and was tucked into Loki's side went they both were seated on Tony's couch, never mind the blood that seemed to be everywhere.

"What do you want me to tell them?" the liesmith asked gently.

Tony frowned. "Nothing...I'll do it, eventually."

They both looked up when they heard the elevator open. His team was finally here. They hadn't found him, maybe even hadn't looked if they were all in Stark Tower, but dammit, they were finally here. But the thought of facing them as he was, of proving how useless he was without his armor, tore at him. His grip on Loki tightened, and he missed the way those green eyes flashed.

As Steve and Clint ran into the room, he forced himself to look up, glaring at them.

"You're late."

~~~~~~~Line Breaker~~~~~~~~~

-glares at chapter- You hate me, don't you? Ugh. Anyway, MOST everything will be explained in the next and final chapter. And I really do appreciate all the critiques and advice I've gotten from you all. You're too amazing.

Question for this chapter; does Loki seem...realistic in this chapter? Too fast? Too protective too easily? I tried to make it seem like he's begrudgingly protective but I dunno if I succeeded. XD

MRIMO