Who is the betrayer?
Who's the killer in the crowd?
The one who creeps in corridors
And doesn't make a sound
-Florence and the Machine

The blasted thing about being a suicidal god was the fact that it was so hard to kill oneself. Loki stared at the mirror that the nurse was holding in front of his face. One of them informed him that he suffered from an open depression skull fracture. If so, his head should have been bandaged up and thinking should have hurt like hell. Instead, when the nurse sliced off the bandage, he found a smoothly healing scar. A few sutures were still up there, but it looked like it was healing. That was not what he wanted.

The hair on his left side was missing from where they had to shave it off, but it would grow back in time. It would probably grow back quicker than most because of his stupid healing system. He leaned back into his bed and silently dismissed the nurse. The white clad woman hustled off, seemingly eager to leave his presence. He didn't doubt that she was. No one would really want to be around him, no matter how often they said that they enjoyed his company.

He thought back to the night previous when the Avengers had all burst into his chambers. They were all such silly beings. Did they really think that their words would confuse him into thinking that they really cared? If the beings he had been close to for centuries upon centuries could not find any good in him, then why would the ones he had only known for a year be any different? Over time, they would surely find more faults with him.

A voice inside of his mind told him that he was trying too hard to convince himself that they didn't care. And that perhaps, just perhaps, they really were worrying about him. Loki closed his emerald eyes. That could not be the case. No one would care for him, ever.

He remembered his brothers words from oh so long ago, "A talented liar brother, always have been." Those were back in the days when all he wanted was to be approved by his father. After Odin had left him for dead, Loki could not help but feel it was all hopeless. He hated all of Asgard, yet he wanted its approval. It was funny wasn't it? Why couldn't he just let go of it all? He already knew that they would never love him, but he still wanted their love anyways.

"Can I come in?" A voice sounded from behind the closed door, Stark.

"No, but you're going to do it anyways," said Loki. His voice was still crackly from the lack of hydration. Well, it wasn't as if he wasn't hydrated, but his throat was like sandpaper. A perfect torture for the liesmith, no?

"You're right on that one," said Tony cheekily as he stepped through the door. The billionaire ambled over to the beside before sitting down on the steel chair. He propped his hands up on the bed and leaned on his fists to stare at Loki, causing the Asgardian to raise an eyebrow. Time passed silently for a few moments before Tony said, "So, how are you feeling?"

"Must you really ask that?" Loki said with a sneer. It didn't look particularly frightening with nasal prongs though.

"It's an icebreaker." Tony shrugged before looking around the room awkwardly. Loki hadn't ever seen the self-proclaimed "genius" like this. Normally he burst into other people's business and felt no apprehension at doing so. Now he appeared to be on edge, on edge about what? Loki couldn't hurt him at all, so what else was there?

"Are you going to say something important? I don't like being loitering around my room," said Loki with a slight roll of his eyes. His body felt tired. His words almost felt like they were slurring. He expended a lot of energy just talking to people, but he wouldn't let the weakness show. He had to put up a strong front, so that they would finally leave him alone. If they kept on coming in like this, he would never be able to finish himself off.

"Just curious. I've never talked to you much." Tony leaned forward and a frown touched his face. "I think the only time I've ever talked to you was when I asked if you prefer butter or peanut butter on your bread. Unless you count the time when I asked if you wanted a drink, but other than that, nothing. What I'm trying to say is that I don't understand you. Sometimes you're a cocky jerk, but other times you're a depressing guy. I want to know what makes you tick."

"Don't think of me as some sort of experiment, Stark," snapped Loki. "There is no cause and effect here."

"But something had to have caused it. I may not know you well, but I think I know you well enough to know you don't act irrationally. So why?" Tony inquired. He had expected a lot of things from the captive god. Perhaps he would try to force his way out of his 'cell' or poison someone's food in protest, but never had Tony imagined he would try to commit suicide. He didn't get it.

"I gave up," Loki said simply. "You would too if one of your 'closest friends'," Loki said the phrase sarcastically, "boasted about killing your race. And if you had a father that said to your face that you never ever had a chance of being worthy in his eyes. If he sat there upon his throne and watched you suffer without making a move to stop it." His voice was laced with venom as he spoke. Talking of Odin angered him. The proud man would forever torment him with his words. 'I just wanted to protect you from the truth' indeed. Insufferable presumption.

Tony's frown deepened. None of the Avengers had ever inquired as to why Loki did what he did. They always took evil at face value, and Thor had never expounded upon the tale. All they knew was Loki and Thor were brothers, and Loki tried to take over Asgard and Earth. Nothing more, nothing less.

Tony had never really liked his father either, the man was too absorbed in his work. However, Tony knew that Howard had cared for him. The reason why he drowned himself in his work was to make life easier for Tony, and Tony couldn't full-heartedly hate him for it. But Loki, for Loki it was different. Odin wasn't working to make things better for Loki. Odin was giving up.

Anger boiled inside of him. He had admired the man once. After all, who didn't like Odin Allfather? He seemed like a kind old man who spent his time worrying about Thor, and that was the problem. He worried about only Thor. "I'm sorry about that," Tony murmured, "I hadn't known."

"No one really does," Loki replied in a blasé tone. "But everyone makes assumptions in any case. No one stays to listen to both sides of the story. No one is born evil, they are made evil." Like I was. Were the unspoken words. Both of them fell silent as they stewed over what had been said.

"Sorry for assuming things, but don't take us for granted." A small smile twitched at Tony's lips. "You talk like you know what's going to happen and how we're going to react. I can only speak for myself, but..." he paused for a moment before finishing, "I know that I'm siding with you over Odin. It's not you against the world, Loki. We can help you."

Loki snorted. "I've given up. What part of that do you not understand? You're just prolonging my misery. If you really understand, then just let me die."

Tony shook his head. "You haven't given up. Otherwise you wouldn't be talking to me now. You're trying to convince yourself that you have. We're not going to let you die, Loki. We're going to show you why people like living, got it?"

Loki looked at Tony skeptically. "I highly doubt that. I'm telling you now to give up because it will all be for naught."

"And I'm telling you that we won't. We're stubborn like that," Tony said with a smile. "So you had better be ready for it."

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! (: It's the beginning of redemption! Can the Avengers save someone who doesn't want to be saved? ;o

Brownie: I'm glad you like the story! I'll definitely be talking about that more soon.

Maureen: I hope I'll be able to write his path back will be as good as my former chapters! I'm happy you like it so far!