The yelling was almost painful to ones ears. The Doctor tore through the hall and right into the middle of a soon to be brawl.
"We fought together, brother! Played together. Do you remember that?" The Mighty Thor was standing in front of Loki, shoulders slumped and mysteriously sans Mjolnir, his giant mystical hammer. The Doctor had never actually met a God, and so far they seemed rather fascinating, but mostly dangerous at this moment.
"I remember being in your shadow!" Loki hissed, sprawled out upon the throne.
"You are a fool, brother. Why do we even use the word now? Father has died and all you did was wage war on the Jotuns." He was screaming now, completely immersed in his rage.
"And I am told what? I'm the monster that parents tell their children about at night? It all makes so much sense now. Why he favoured you all these years! Because no matter how much he claimed to love me, he could never have a Frost Giant sitting on your throne of Asgard! And Father has thrown you out and taken your powers, so what's the use of you now brother?" The Doctor's head was spinning and he pushed his way up to where Thor stood. Thor raised his head and the Doctor could practically read the threat that was about to roll out of his stupid Norse face.
"Move you gargantuan fool, before you say something completely thick. Let me talk to him." The Doctor felt queasy.
"Loki, please, this is madness!"
"Is it madness? Is it? What happened to you that turned you away from thinking a bit of madness is good? What turned you so soft? Don't tell me it was those Pond's, down on Earth. Yes, I know of them. If they weren't already gone I might go and pay them a visit myself!" He was shrieking, a noise so absolutely heinous that the Doctor staggers back as though the words were physical daggers splintering his chest, his hearts.
The Doctor chokes, but he can't give up. He only has so long and he refuses to let Loki stay like this. Before he can even speak another word to Loki, the man storms out of the room, pushing the Doctor on his way out. The Doctor follows him; he knows where he's going. Back to when he was a child, where he hid from Thor all those years ago.
The Doctor finds him shaking in the dim hall and slides down the wall next to him.
"I am worthless, I don't belong here and I don't belong with the Jotuns. I have no purpose. I – I wish Father would give Thor back his stupid power so I could go back to being nothing.
"Loki, please listen to me. The way I see it every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things. But, vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant"
Loki stared up at him, "You are too wise for a man of your age, sir. But, alas, I cannot find it in my cold, hard heart to believe you. I'm a Frost Giant." He spat the words like they were poison, like they burned his silver tongue. "I fear my time has come to an end, I don't want to rule, I just – I just want to be listened to. Is that so much to ask? Whether it be a world, a relationship or a life, everything has it's time. And everything ends."
"Not today, Loki. Today, everybody lives, even you. I want you to know this; I have never met a person of whom I thought had no purpose. And I know you might think what's the point in being happy now if you are only going to be sad later. But, the answer is, of course, because you are going to be sad later." Loki said nothing, simply dropping his head to rest in his hands like he did so long ago as a child.
"I don't want Thor to go." Loki felt incredibly weak, telling the Doctor this. Yet for some reason he trusted this strange mad man with a box. "Nor you. You'll stay won't you?" Loki was pleading and the Doctor felt as though he was staring into the face of the child he saved from the clockwork men all that time ago.
"I'll stay." To the Doctor this felt like a massive lie. Because, really, how long could he stay for? Four more days? And he knew, he really truly knew that Loki needed him longer than that. And with that each of the broken men returned to their rooms, wary of the comings of the next sunrise.
There comes a time in a man's life when he must make a life changing decision. For the Doctor, this time had come a multitude of times and he had somehow, by the skin of his teeth, managed to figure out how to fix it. But who would fix Loki when he was gone? All those other times he had saved people, he knew he had a regeneration left, another chance at life. Except for now, the one time when he was needed.
"Just this one time, please, I have never prayed for anything. And I have never needed anything like I do now. I need your help. Please, don't make him do this alone. I've laughed fate in the face, but this one time I cannot do this, Loki cannot do this. I need your help, Castiel."