All this time I was wasting
Hoping you would come around
I've been giving out chances every time
And all you do is let me down
-You're Not Sorry by Taylor Swift

The weeks had gone by smoothly. Loki could see the Avengers loosening up their watch on him. There were fifteen to twenty minute gaps where they would just leave him alone instead of having someone on constant watch. It was... pleasant. He detested their company as much as ever, but he appreciated the fact that they left him alone once and awhile. He had taken up the hobby of reading, though he had to convince them that he would not bash his head in. He mostly dabbled in the classics like Shakespeare and Dickens, but he was moving slowly up to more modern works.

It was on a day such as these when Loki had been enjoying the Merchant of Venice, that the Avengers Mansion received unexpected visitors. "Anthony Stark and Loki Laufeyson to the front desk please. I repeat, Anthony Stark and Loki Laufeyson to the front desk." From the corner of the room, Clint raised an eyebrow. It was rare that the front desk lady ever called for Loki. In fact, it had never happened since Loki was originally brought here. The event was something that brought them all out of whatever stupors they were in. Bruce and Steve shared a look before silently deciding that they would all go to see these visitors.

The elevator ride down was cramped as they all tried to squeeze into an elevator that was far far too small for them. But when they reached the bottom, Loki found that he would have rather stayed in that cramped compartment for a few hours than be out in the lobby. A black haired woman stood at the front desk with her arms crossed tightly in front of her. Beside her, a man with blonde hair and beard was conversing animatedly with the receptionist. Noticing that the Avengers had descended, the two turned to look at the group of heroes.

"Thor, my brother!" Fandral said with a loud laugh as he rushed over to give the man a slap on the shoulder. "It has been far too long. How have you been?"

"I am well, Fandral. But what are you doing here?" Thor had not been the only one to notice how Loki immediately shrunk back at the appearance of the blonde Asgardian. Sif cast the god of mischief a scathing look before turning to Thor.

"We're here to extend to you an invitation to come back to Asgard of course! You and Loki both actually. Odin has missed your company and wishes for you to return to his side. Come with us for we have missed you all dearly. The halls of Valhalla grow empty without you there!" Fandral said cheerily, oblivious to the scorn with which his invitation was met.

"Are you joking?" Loki said incredulously. He took a step back towards the elevator and shook his head. "It disgusts me that you have the heart to waltz right in here and declare everything to be well. Invite me back to Asgard? You must be mistaken for I am sure that invitation applies only to Thor." Loki gestured his head over to Thor before sneering. "I cannot believe that you even have the dignity to appear like this. Did you really believe that all would be well and forgotten after only a few weeks' time? Your sense of humor is dry, Fandral. I do not find your jest amusing in the slightest." Loki's voice lowered to a growl, causing Steve to take a step closer to the man.

Steve looked from Fandral to Loki and back again before saying, "Maybe this isn't the right time."

"No time will be right," snapped Loki angrily. Steve put his hand on the man's shoulder in an attempt to calm him, but Loki merely shook it off. "If he is too cowardly to come down here and look at me in the face, then I want nothing to do with him. It is Thor you want, not I. Take him and leave if you must, but I shall not return to his side no matter what he has told you to say."

"Brother!" Thor exclaimed. "Do you not want to talk to Odin about what he has done? This may be the only opportunity to go back and talk to him. If he closes off the rainbow bridge, then we may not get another chance for many years!"

"You just want to visit him again. Do not make this offer under pretenses of my best interest. Why should I go to a man like a pitiful child when he is the one that needs to apologize?" Loki despaired.

"Odin has no need to apologize to you, liesmith. What has been wrought upon you was brought upon you by yourself and only yourself," said Sif. Fandral hurried to put a hand on her shoulder and pull her back, but the damage had been done. The hot-headed beauty's words had hurt Loki more than she would have expected.

Loki quieted before turning back to the elevator and storming back inside it, calling over his shoulder, "Asgardians are stubborn people, Odinsson. Do not think that they would change their minds so quickly. Even if they are wrong, they'll fight for their original point until the day they die." If one listened closely enough, they would hear how his voice broke at the end. Bruce frowned at this and moved into the elevator with Natasha quick to follow after him.

Thor stood helplessly looking from his brother to Sif and Fandral. As the elevator door closed, Thor realized that he had lost his chance to convince his brother otherwise. He gritted his teeth and turned on Sif, "What have you done, Sif?"

Sif frowned at his dropping of 'lady' like he had always done in the past. "It is not as if I lied or anything. I stated the facts. He took the throne in your absence and tried to wage war against the Jotuns! What kind of a man is he if he willingly killed his own father? Patricide is not approved of in most worlds, Thor. He has inherited blood of ice, and that will never change. A moth cannot become a butterfly merely because it wants to."

"That is not the same, Sif! Loki has changed. If you had only seen him over the past few weeks. He has tried to become well again. I know there is good in him, Sif. If only you'd give him the chance!" Thor said angrily to the black haired woman.

Sif crossed her arms tightly and gave Thor a disbelieving look. "Do not ask me to forget what I have just seen, Thor. I saw anger and resentment. Those two things are what revenge and destruction are bred from. He has not yet changed his tune yet, Thor. Do not let your affection for him blind you from what he really is. His race is of no consequence to me, what matters is his heart. And from what I have seen, it is yet black. He will rise again to take vengeance against us all. You are the only thing preventing me from throwing him in the eternal prison, keep that in mind."

Thor growled, but said nothing.

Upstairs, Loki stormed out of the elevator and down the hall to his room. He flung open the door and marched over to the couch, snagging one of the pillows and hurling it against the wall. It was the only show of displeasure that he could manage considering he couldn't explode anything anymore.

"Odin is a coward!" Loki yelled in aggravation, "A man that is not brave enough to see me face to face when he does not have the field advantage. He has to be surrounded by hundreds of soldiers before he is willing to see me. What leader has Asgard if Odin hides in his pathetic hole while sending his men here to fetch me!" Loki heaved and sat down on the couch.

Natasha and Bruce shared a look. It was hard to know what to say. They didn't want to agree with Odin, but they also didn't want to agree with Loki. "I know that he may be being ruling Asgard, but..." Loki hung his head. "Was he too busy to try and come visit? I..." Loki's voice dropped off as he sighed.

"It could be both, Loki. He might not have intended to send them if he had any other choice, but perhaps he was busy. You don't know what was really the cause unless you visit. Perhaps Odin has recanted of his choice, but has not been able to visit you? This could be the chance for you two to reconcile." Bruce offered.

"Please tell me that you are joking, Banner," Natasha scoffed. "Forgiving that man shouldn't even be on the table. You can't trust him enough to not do something like this again. You should just continue saying "screw you" and move on. Don't forget our conversation a few weeks ago, Loki."

"What?" Bruce said incredulously. "Don't say that, Natasha. We want them to reconcile!"

"Oh do we?" Natasha said with a roll of her eyes. "I personally think the old man needs to leave Loki and Thor alone. He's been an awful father and has been given multiple chances. He's just going to screw up again. I'm trying to save Loki heartache here, unlike you." She waved her hand and looked away from Bruce who was rubbing his forehead in irritation.

"They're family! They should be given the chance to reconcile with one another, Natasha. Just because you don't have a family doesn't mean that others shouldn't have one as well." Bruce said sharply.

Natasha whirled around and stared at Bruce venomously. "How dare you bring that up!" She opened her mouth to say more, but Loki interrupted her.

"Will both of you just shut up! Just leave me alone! I want silence, so stop inflicting your blasted opinions upon the world. It's annoying!" Loki burst out with a wave of his hands. He pointed one towards the door and the two Avengers shared a look. Natasha sighed and turned away sharply and marched proudly out the door.

Loki looked over to Bruce, who was standing still where he was. Loki snorted. "It looks like it was too much to ask be allowed to be think in solitude."

Author's Note: Hey all! I hope you like this chapter. (: I'm trying to get the plot moving, so I hope you like the development! Thanks so much for supporting me and continuing to read this chapters! :D And I really appreciated all the support after having a few bad days. :)

Next chapter will be up on Tuesday!