Author's Note:REORDER! Ok. I screwed up. I uploaded the chapters in the wrong order and I uploaded one to many. What was 9 is now 11, what was 10 is now 9, and you get a NEW CHAPTER! (Chapter 10 hit the previous button!) with Clint and Natasha and more about Pepper (yes! she is still a part of this plot because who doesn't love tragic romance?) -Ember

Chapter 11

Tony woke up when the bed shifted underneath him. Sometime in the last four years he'd gotten used to the stillness. He'd become unaccustomed to movement in the night. His eyes fluttered open slowly as groggy sleep slipped away from him. He realized immediately once the fog cleared what had changed. Tony rolled over to look out toward the large windows where a thin figure was silhouetted against the ocean that was rippling with silver points of reflected light. Loki was standing, naked as he looked out onto the pale ribbon of beach below. His white skin seemed to almost glow like the far off sand. God or not he was gorgeous standing there.

"Another dream?" Tony asked, his voice rough.

Loki shook his head.

"Worrying again?"

"I was… thinking…"

"You don't have to tell me… if you aren't ready to—"

"About what you said: what you would give for a few more hours."

Tony sat up, all echoes of sleep clearing. He was suddenly alert and strung tight waiting for Loki to speak again.

"I… would like my brother to remember me this way. I want him to have at least one honest memory of me."

"I could call him right now… it's what? 10 in the morning in London."

"I…" Loki turned back to Tony quickly with fear in his wide eyes. He slowly licked his lips and swallowed hard. In his mind the former god was holding the image of Emily, Thor on her one side and Tony on the other. Loki nodded.

"Jarv," Tony said, without standing or bothering to get dressed, "call Jane Foster."

"Right away sir. Shall I assume by your state of undress you wish for a voice only call?"

"Yes, Jarvis. I think that's appropriate."

"Call in progress." A soft ringing sound came over the unseen speakers and echoed in the room. Loki crossed his arms gripping his biceps and holding his breath.

"Jane's phone," a very drone like female voice answered.

"Yeah… who the hell is this?" Tony demanded.

"Darcy."

"The sassy one with the taser?"

"Yeah, that's me. Who is this, you sound kind of like Tony Stark. But you couldn't be because why would Tony Stark be calling Jane's phone."

"Stark?" A new voice called loudly into the phone. Jarvis corrected almost automatically to the drastic shift in volume as Thor yelled into the receiver.

"What's up Point Break?"

"We are just starting the morning feast! Jane has made delicious cakes in a pan."

"Great, listen buddy. I have…" Tony glanced at Loki, who was pale and shaking slightly, "… a project and I need your help."

"Of course, I am always ready to help a fellow Avenger. Have you decided to rejoin us?"

"No, not really. I just need you to come and shoot some lightning around."

Loki's eyes nearly bulged out of his head when Tony said the words.

"Little lightning… you know…. Umm… How fast do you think you could be here?"

"I can be there as fast as the wind flies."

"No rush," Tony said hastily. "Think you could be here by tomorrow afternoon."

"Yes! Of course!"

"Great. Thanks big guy. See you then."

"You most surely will, Stark."

With a wave of his hand Tony signaled Jarvis to end the call. His dark eyes followed Loki as the taller man turned back to the water. Loki's shoulders were tense and his grip remained firm on his crossed arms. Tony strained to see his lover's reflection in the window, to catch the emotions but saw only a blank mask of indifference there.

"You ready for this?" Tony asked.

"I do not have time to be ready," Loki replied in a soft voice. Tony swallowed thickly. He was still searching for some way to respond to that when Loki turned and slid back into Tony's bed. Loki curled up around his knees, eyes unfocused. Tony laid down beside him, keeping his gaze steady on Loki until his eyelids grew heavy and drooped. No mater what either of them did now, tomorrow would come and so would Thor.

.

"Stark!" The doors of the mansion few open with hissing squeals of hinges and a resounding crash of frames against plaster. Tony jumped out of his seat at the dinning room table.

"What was that?" Gregor demanded on the other end of the video call open on Tony's tablet.

"Shit, he's early," Tony growled. "Got to go, call you tomorrow."

"What? Mr. Stark! This matter requires—" Anything else Gregor had to say was cut off as Tony hit the hang up button and dropped the tablet.

"Thor, what's up big guy?" Tony called out hurriedly as he scampered into the hallways. Thor's heavy footfalls seemed to rattle the house as he came in. "You're early." Tony felt his heart falling into his stomach when Thor's eyes flickered over the smaller man's head, out through the back window to the grassy lawn.

"Yes, Jane's mother was coming over," Thor said distractedly, "and Jane suggest that I spend the day—who is that outside?"

"Friend," Tony said too quickly, "Just visiting, it's well… it's a long story. We should really talk about—" Tony vainly tried to step between Thor and the window but Thor easily side stepped him with a larger stride and pushed on toward the window.

"Thor, buddy, it's not what you think it is…"

"How do you know what I am… it must be… but how?" Thor ignored Tony's hand on his arm and strode purposefully toward the back door.

"Sir," Jarvis's voice piped up as Tony gave chase.

"Not now."

"Gregor is calling, sir. He says he will come here if you do not answer."

"Shit! Stall him, Jarv," Tony called as he missed Thor's arm at the door and stumbled over the entry mat.

"He is refusing to speak to me, sir."

"God damn!" Tony did a one eighty in the door way and hurried back to the dinning room table with furtive glances out the back window as Thor closed in on his unsuspecting brother.

"'It was nearly midnight, and he was lying on his front in bed, the blankets drawn right over his head like a tent, a torch in one hand and a large leather-bound book…'" Loki read aloud in a clear voice, the words flowing off his lips easily without hesitation. He seemed to cradle each syllable before letting it out sounding clear and full. Emily sat beside him on the spread blanket, Christie in her lap almost forgotten as the little girl drank up the words. Behind them, just out of immediate view the tank sat in the grass, the clear cord snaking across the lawn toward the blanket.

"'Harry moved the tip of his eagle-feather quill down the page, frowning as he looked for something that would help him write his essay,'…" Loki paused as the approaching footsteps stopped behind him. He turned to tell Tony they would be ready for lunch soon. Unconsciously a smile had formed on his lips.

The smile froze then dissolved. The pleasantly warm sun that was heating up the early spring air was suddenly blistering and Loki's mouth was painfully dry. Beside him Emily turned away from the sea, wondering why the story had paused.

"Daddy?" She asked, turning to look at the new comer. Loki swallowed, his eyes never leaving the familiar face of the man standing over their blanket.

"Elskan, this is the guest I was telling you about."

"The important one?" She asked, shading her eyes to peer up at the much taller figure.

"Yes, Emi-min. That one," The last words were just a whisper over Loki's dry lips.

Thor knelt down so they didn't have to crane their necks. Mjolnir slipped from his hand as lightly as it could into the grass. The God smiled at the little girl looking back at him with skepticism.

"Hello, little one," He said, "I am Thor."

"Like the Superhero?"

"Yes, very much like," Thor replied with a nod.

"Oh. You're early."

"Yes… I apologize. I'm interrupting your story."

"You can listen too if you want. Daddy tells the best stories."

"I…" Thor turned meet his brother's gaze again. Loki gulped but kept a straight face, only his pleading eyes betrayed him.

"I would like that very much," Thor said with forced ease. He stood to move around to Emily's other side and sat on the far corner of the spread blanket. "What is this mighty tale?"

"Harry Potter," Emily said with a wide smile.

"Ah. I have been told it is a riveting tale yet I have not found the time nor patience to investigate that myself."

"Harry Potter is the best and Daddy reads it better than anyone."

"I do not doubt it. He has always been good at telling stories." Thor smiled genuinely down at the little girl in her knitted pink hat clutching her plastic doll. "When I was little I would sneak into your father's room at night after a bad dream and he would tell me the grandest stories until I could go to sleep again."

"Really?" Emily's eyes lit up and she turned quickly to her father with curiosity in her toothy smile. Loki was looking at Thor though, his mouth slightly open and a single drop rolling down his cheek. "Daddy?" Emily's worried tone snapped him out of shock.

"Yes, yes I did. I had forgotten that." Loki quickly whipped at his face. Emily pursed her lips, not convinced and glanced between the two men. "Shall we continue?" Loki asked.

She nodded solemnly. So Loki began again, his voice wavering at first but growing stronger with each line, picking up the rhythm again as he read.

"'And in the next moment, he was out in the dark, quiet street, heaving his heavy trunk behind him, Hedwig's cage under his arm.' End of chapter one," Loki said and closed the book.

"Another, Daddy?" Emily asked quickly as she could.

"Lunch first."

"But I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat, Emi-min. You have to keep up your strength," Loki knew his voice wavered and betrayed him. Emily's face fell from hope to resignation and she sighed. "I promise we can read the next chapter after lunch."

"During?"

Loki chuckled at her renewed hopes. "You know the rules."

"No books or screens at the table."

"That's right. Now let's go get Tony." Loki put the book under one arm and slowly eased himself onto his feet. He paused for a moment, standing over the small picnic and met Thor's gaze.

"Would you carry her?" Loki asked. Thor's eyebrows raised in surprise but he nodded without question. Emily held her arms out to him and the large man scooped her easily into the air as if she were nothing more than a doll.

"You should listen to your father, little one, you are far too light," Thor said with an easy laugh. Missing Loki's flinch, he continued, "Food will do you good."

"I'm not hungry though," Emily mumbled, straightening Chrissy's hair. Loki bending gingerly, gathered the blanket and tank before leading his brother and daughter back toward the house.

Tony was waiting at the door with an apologetic look for Loki but a hopeful, questioning smile. Thor went in first to set Emily at the dinning room table.

"On a scale of one to multiple-traumatic-injuries how bad?" Tony asked, first chance he got.

Loki flashed him an anxious look.

"Could be better," Tony concluded, "at least he hasn't shot you yet… or smashed anything."

Loki's next expression conveyed his utter lack of amusement.

"I'll get her something to eat, give you two a chance to talk," Tony said and headed off toward the kitchen. Loki's jaw dropped a few centimeters then he glared with betrayal after his lover.

"What are you hungry for kid?" Tony called to Emily as he headed back to the kitchen.

"Nothing," she said despondently. "Where are you going?" She asked as Thor moved away from her.

"He's just going to talk with your dad," Tony explained for the God who was clearly at a loss for what to say.

"Will you come back and listen to the next chapter with me?"

"If your father is alright with that, I would enjoy that very much."

"Can he, daddy?" She leaned around Thor's large figure to meet Loki's eyes.

"We'll see," Loki replied.

"Please," Emily begged.

"If Thor behaves himself."

"Ok." Emily nodded and turned back to her chair. Thor ambled away with furtive glances back at Emily's small frail form. She was already shooting down Tony's lunch suggestions when he followed Loki out of the back door and back onto the pool patio.

Loki wandered to a reclining pool chair and sat slowly with a grateful expression and a heavy sigh. He held his side lightly as he settled into the seat. Thor followed slowly, standing awkwardly over his estranged brother.

"I think I shall never believe you dead again," Thor broke the silence, "twice I have and been proven the fool for it."

"I have only knowingly deceived you once," Loki replied honestly. "Death was my intention when I first fell from Asgard."

"The norns must have blessed you then." Thor said with a forced laugh but Loki just frowned.

"My survival has been nothing but a curse."

"Do not say that brother."

"Is it not true? So many times I have brushed with death and every times she turns me away. I can almost hear her saying, I will not take you yet there is more pain still in your future."

"Surely that can not be true. I am reunited with you again. Is that not good in some small way?"

"That…" Loki stole himself to look up into his brother's face for a fleeting moment. "I don't know yet." Loki swallowed and shook his head. "It was selfish of me to ask you here."

"Stark brought me here on your request?"

"Yes… I… our time is running out."

"Time?" Thor's brow furrowed and Loki's eyes flickered to the large windows separating him from his daughter.

"Emily…" Loki's voice faltered and he cleared his throat, looking away toward the ocean. Barely whispering he continued, "Emily is dying."

"She is ill?"

"Very, she has been for nearly four years."

"And there is no cure?"

"Not in mortal medicine."

"But you are well versed in the sedir arts of healing, can you not save her?"

"All the knowledge of Asguard does me no good as I have not the faculties to use it." Loki's jaw shook with tension as he glared at the concrete and tile siding of the pool at his feet.

"I do not understand."

"I am human, Thor," Loki looked his brother in the eye, "just as you were when Odin banished you here as he did me."

"Father banished you?"

"He is not my father," Loki spat.

"No more than she is your daughter!" Thor growled back. "She is no blood of yours but you care for her, I see it. I am not so blind as you think."

"When have you ever known that man to care for me? Mother cared for me just as I care for Emily. I do think you blind, blinded by your own good fortune. Misfortune has shown me the truth. I am nothing but a pawn, a disposable bargaining chip to him!"

"He has loved and care for you as—"

"Do not patronize me as you did in front of her, do not lie to me."

"Patronize? You think I lied. Do you not remember those nights?"

"I remember them but it was I coming to you, never the opposite. I was punished when Odin found me hiding in your curtains. For weeks he locked me into my bedroom at night so I might learn courage."

"It was but one night, never weeks. And how can you say you do not remember? For a month after our trip to the southern mountains there was not a night I did not visit you."

"I…" Loki paused, a sharp retort on his tongue died into a whisper. He took a deep breath and winced as it pulled his side. "I had forgotten that."

"Yet you remember imagined grievances?"

"You were not witness to every waking moment of my life."

"No," Thor admitted, "nor can I say I was privy to your thoughts. You have surprised and fooled me many times."

"I was not always truthful with you, no," Loki agreed.

"You have surprised me again," Thor forced a laugh and a small smile. "I thought you dead and instead find you in the home of a dear friend. How long have you been here?"

"Emily and I moved in with Tony six months ago. I have been on Midguard more than five years."

"Why did you never seek me out before? Did you think I would turn you away?"

"It… it wasn't that simple."

"Please explain it to me, brother. Why call me here now?"

"I wanted you to meet her, my family…" Loki said softly, looking back toward Emily within picking at a plate while Tony talked animatedly. "I… I do not have much time left."

"You are not sick."

"No." Loki paused, lost in thought before adding almost defensively, "but you will far outlive me. These human years could very well be compared to mere days for us… for you."

"Brother, thank you."

"I have not been much of a brother to you."

"You are not the only one at fault. Since Svartalfheim I have given our history much thought. Mother always believed there was good in you. She was perhaps the only person who truly knew you. I did not listen to her. I gave up hope."

"No. I was lost. I do not deny what I have done and I will not try to justify those actions. I spent a long time blaming you for your blindness and arrogance. At the same time I was blind to my own nature and arrogant myself." Loki took a deep shuddering breath. "I am sorry, brother."

"I forgive you."

"So easily?" Loki questioned in shock that was written across his face.

Thor smiled and came to sit beside his brother on the long chair. He eased his weight down gently, afraid it wouldn't hold. Together they sat facing the window wall watching Tony and Emily making faces at each other. Emily burst out laughing and Tony celebrated his triumph. Grudgingly the little girl picked up an apple slice and shoved it in her mouth. Loki couldn't hold back his smile. Tony caught his gaze through the window and winked.

"I want to believe," Thor said, "that some part of the person I used to know was real. I see the brother I thought lost for good when you are with her, that is enough for me."

"You are still naive, brother," Loki said with a chuckle but there was no hint of malice in it and Thor chuckled as well.

"I would rather be naive than unhappy."

"Yes, sometimes I envy you that. Come, Emily is finishing her lunch and she will be anxious for another chapter."

"As am I!" Thor jumped up with a grin and strode for the door. Loki followed more slowly with a small smile. He was happily surprised, Thor might even do Emily good.