A/N: So do you guys ever feel like saying "bleehhhhhh" to what you write? That's kinda what I've been feeling lately, lol. But anyway, I managed this chapter, hope it's not bad or anything. Bit of a filler chapter but there should be some stuff happening in the next few so there's that.
Oh yeah, before I forget again (because I've been trying to put this for the last few chapters), Sketchevrywir made some fanart for this fic. It's for the first chapter, if you want to check it out (you know the drill, remove spaces, replace dot with actual '.'): sketchevrywir dot deviantart dot com/art/Pray-for-Rain-366965718
I've also made a pic that goes along with this story: illyriablue24 dot deviantart dot com/art/Pray-for-Rain-Loki-402262313
*grumbles about FFnet and links* ;D
Chapter 12
Natasha and Clint- friends, his friends -were nearby, lingering but solid. Steve didn't know if they were there for Loki or for him, but he couldn't think about that now.
Thor's cape, so red against Loki's paleness and dark hair, white eyes and dark stitches- Steve couldn't look away.
He didn't realize how much time had passed as he held tightly to the god's hand, almost too tightly, he knew, but the other hadn't complained.
A hand on his shoulder called him back. "Cap?" Steve couldn't let go. "Steve."
The captain looked up, almost feeling as if he were looking through a haze. Red hair, almost blonde compared to the crimson cape, burned into his vision. "Natasha?" he frowned. "What is it?"
The assassin, somehow so slowly, moved down, eye-to-eye with the soldier. Her eyes were steady, Steve couldn't look away. "You can let go, Cap. You can let go..."
He shook his head.
"Cap." He looked at his own hands. "You can let go now, he knows." A tweak of an almost-smile lit the corner of his eye. "It's okay now, let go." Her gentle hand on his, fingers lightly brushing, felt like everything that he needed in that moment, to come back to himself.
"Cap," said a voice from the door. Clint. "You okay?" His silhouette shifted a little.
Steve nodded as his fingers left Loki's, slowly but suddenly with their confidence returned. He nodded again, then again after he stood up.
Loki grasped the cape tighter and pulled it against his chest with both hands, almost possessively. The god blinked once as small tears fell. His breathing had slowed and he appeared...tired. Weary even though he had probably just woken up. His despair, perhaps, hadn't left but his fight was still there- Yes. Buried, not gone. But how long would it stay? He had taken steps but not leaps, but what was at the end of the road?
"Is he okay?" asked the archer next, still at the door. Steve couldn't tell if he was truly concerned, or if he was concerned Loki might do something else. He hoped for the former but understood the latter.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Given that they had been stuck in here without contact to the outside, and that Stark's suit was less than functional, Thor had very little idea of how much time had passed. It seemed like days, now.
Every attempt Tony had made to escape the room was met with failure and every idea Thor had was immediately shot down by the billionaire. It seemed, at least for the time being, that they would have to wait for those outside to come to them- if it was even possible. The time hadn't come for desperate measures...just yet.
Tony sighed with annoyance and without looking up from where he worked on his suit said, "You can stop staring any time now, you know."
Thor blinked. "How can you know-"
"Eyes in the back of my head," he said plainly. Then he held up his mask and some sort of screen attached to it. "No, seriously, I can see behind me. Camera, see?" He grinned as he looked behind at Thor for a moment.
Thor crossed his arms and leaned his back against the wall.
"You've been quiet," said Tony as he returned to his machines. "Can't say I blame you; worried for your little bro?"
The god didn't answer.
"Yeah...figured. What with that whole speech about how he might not recover or whatever."
"It was not a...speech."
"Sounded like one to me."
"I merely-" Thor sighed as his shoulders slumped. Tony looked at him, waiting. "It was not my intention to despair, but... I truly do not know what I'm doing in regards to Loki."
The inventor raised a brow. "Oh yeah? Seem to be doing a pretty good job from where I'm standing- or sitting. Whatever, you know." He shrugged. "Uh, so...I'm really not one for all this heart-to-heart, but you just keep rambling- I mean talking and I'll try to get us outta here, right?" He returned to his suit.
But, as Thor said nothing for some time the inventor gave a long-suffering sigh and stood up suddenly, turning around.
"Alright, fine! Far be it for me to come up with a plan to bust out of here-" he gesticulated with frustrated gestures. "Really, come on, Point Break! You're doing a great job- awesome, even. Your little bro's brain might be a little wack but he's alive isn't he-?"
Thor stared at him, wondering why he was even speaking to Tony of all people about this.
"Alright, alright, alright! I'm being an idiot, or- insensitive or whatever. Gosh, I really need Pepper around for things like this, look," he winced for a second, "I don't know what the hell I'm saying, I'm just saying..." He sighed loudly and ran both hands through his hair. He groaned and rubbed his face, "We're not going to get out of here."
"What?" Thor frowned at him. "What about your..."
"Yeah, my suit. No good. Too much damage. I can maybe get Jarvis running- uh, sort of, but the suit itself can't get enough power to do anything."
Thor perked a brow, "...power?"
"Yep." He waved a hand over the scattered pieces of the suit. "I used up too much power trying to keep this hunk of junk," he yelled the last part to the ceiling, "out of the water, and then we ended up in the water anyway!"
"Hm," said Thor thoughtfully. "Can you...use my lightning?"
Tony whipped around from where he had been irritatingly pointing his finger at the ceiling. "Uh, I don't know. Is it possible to not burn me alive in here or not cause a major catastrophic breakdown when your lightning shoots through the helicarrier while trying to reach us from the sky?"
Thor stared for a moment, blinking. "...No?"
"Okay, then, bad idea." Thor squinted at him. Tony shrugged one shoulder. "Just saying."
The thunder god scrutinized his friend for several moments while Tony rearranged the suit- which seemed pointless, as if he was only occupying himself with something- "You did that intentionally, didn't you?" asked Thor, eyes slightly narrowed.
"Did what?" Tony replied innocently as he continued.
"Never mind." But the corner of Thor's mouth tugged a little in a smile.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"So what," began Clint, "are we...just gonna sit around here and...what?"
Steve and Natasha looked at him as Loki continued sitting in the corner with his brother's cape, completely oblivious to their presence.
For his part, Steve still couldn't just leave, regardless of whether or not Loki knew he was here. As for the others... well, it was their choice, why were they still here? "You can leave if you want, Clint," said Steve with no malice or judgement, because who could blame him if he didn't stick around?
Loki had been sitting at the foot of the bed for a while after his outburst but apparently decided the corner would be the best- or more likely the safest, in his mind. Steve sat on the floor against the wall near him, arms casually draped on his knees. Natasha stood across the room with arms crossed as she leaned against the wall. Clint was still near the doorway, undecided as to what he should do, apparently.
"Clint," said Natasha, "you don't have to be here. I'll meet up with you later-"
"No offense, Nat, but I don't think so. If you guys are staying, I'm staying." He walked gingerly forward and stood, somewhat awkwardly, a few steps away from his fellow SHIELD agent.
After several minutes had passed, Natasha spoke to the ceiling, "Jarvis?"
"How may I assist you, Agent Romanoff?"
"Any word from SHIELD about Stark or Thor?" The other two Avengers in the room perked their eyebrows.
"There has been no contact from Mr. Stark or Mr. Odinson. However, my inquiries to SHIELD headquarters confirm that the crisis is over."
Clint spoke up, "But they don't have any idea what's happened to them? Are they even okay?"
"I do not know, sir. I also cannot find a reason for the airspace around the helicarrier continuing to be restricted."
"This is...so weird."
Now Steve tried. "You still can't get ahold of Tony, either?"
"I have not been able to make contact with him since after the incident was resolved. It appears the helicarrier is in the water, although stable, due to his and Mr. Odinson's actions, however, his transmission was cut soon after."
The three said nothing, concern on their faces but not enough to actually worry, just yet. They knew the question lingering in the air: if the two were in danger, would SHIELD tell them? Ask for aid? Surely they would...
"Thank you, Jarvis," said Steve, sighing out through his nose.
"Of course, sir."
Loki sniffled beside Steve, and the soldier was glad that he at least wasn't crying any more. He hadn't done much after his outburst except sit with Thor's cape wrapped around him, apparently content to just wait, or so Steve assumed. Well, he thought, at least he understands that Thor will return. Or that's what he hopes, at least. The trickster's demeanor didn't seem to indicate he had given up, just...resigned, perhaps, maybe even hopeful? That Thor would return soon? Steve almost rolled his eyes at himself. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part, seeing what he wanted to see.
When Loki suddenly moved, Steve jumped a little, caught off-guard. He, albeit slowly, began crawling along the floor with his side to the wall, then, as Steve moved out of the way, he stood up gingerly, hands guiding him along the wall.
"What's..." Clint said quietly, "he doing?"
The three watched as Loki, still very slowly, followed along the wall until he reached the refrigerator that had been seamlessly built into the wall. Cautiously, and with his back against the wall, he reached down and touched the small indention that caused the refrigerator's door to slide open. The white light lit up the room and Cap only now realized how dark it was in there.
Loki's thin fingers felt around inside, carefully, as though worried he would knock something over, until he found a sealed container.
The two spies crept closer, curious, as Steve himself moved so he could see better.
"What's he-" Clint began but the three jumped simultaneously when Loki began shaking the cylindrical container furiously. He then popped open the top of it and grabbed a cup from a small drawer at the bottom of the refrigerator. He filled it with some of the liquid from the container, then grabbed a straw, returned the container, and closed the door.
For a moment, all three stared in silence, then, Cap choked back a small laugh. "This is..." he began, "he was just getting a smoothie..."
A look at the two spies showed Clint trying his best not to crack a smile and Natasha perking an amused eyebrow.
"This," said Clint, "is what we've been reduced to, jumping at a blind, deaf and mute guy shaking up his smoothie in a room he wrecked not thirty minutes ago."
A long pause, then suddenly, all three burst out laughing. They couldn't help it, the situation was so...strange. Loki, their former enemy, drinking a smoothie while they watched and sat around in the debris of what was left of Thor's room.
"And," Steve choked out between laughs, "how the heck...did that refrigerator survive all that."
Clint was doubled over and wheezing, Natasha didn't show teeth but leaned on the wall for support. Steve sat on the ruined bed and nearly fell off it as he continued laughing. What made it funnier was that Loki had no clue they were even here. For a moment Steve felt bad, but he quickly realized there was no reason for it. They weren't making fun of Loki or trying to exclude him from anything- not that they would try -but it was so funny that they were making fools of themselves, watching Loki with such curiosity, determined to help, when he just did something himself, took care of himself when he needed it, and here they were, 'Earth's mightiest heroes' acting like children, as if there was something so fascinating about a guy getting a smoothie.
Then suddenly, they stopped laughing. Steve chuckled a few more times but it was Clint that made him stop altogether. The archer paused, face suddenly somber, as if thoughts were flitting through his mind. The air seemed so heavy and Steve wasn't sure why it came over them so suddenly, just as the bout of laughter had.
Natasha stayed where she was but Clint made for the door, head down slightly, and walked out of view. After a moment, Natasha followed after him. Loki sat down in his corner and drank his meal through a thin, fragile straw.
A/N: I just had to go and ruin a happy moment for everyone, didn't I? Lol. But hey, at least they got to laugh. We'll see what happens with Thor and Tony next chapter (I meant to put it here but you know how that goes), and some more Loki 'cause he really wasn't in this one.
Anyone confused about what Tony was trying to do there? If you guessed: 'get Thor's mind off of what he was just talking about' or 'just being Tony'- both are correct. XD
About updates: I most likely won't be updating until after Thor TDW comes out since I'm going to be avoiding fan fiction and tumblr (etc) because I'm getting spoilers from everywhere (and I live in the US and it doesn't get released till way later). The reason I might not be updating is because reading fanfics makes me want to write it, so if I'm not reading as much as usual, I won't feel like writing. Ya never now, though, I might feel like writing anyway (let's hope). Not sure why I'm saying all this since my updates have been infrequent anyway, just FYI, I suppose.