A/N: Short chapter, this time. Sorry!
"Trouble in Paradise"
Chapter 11
Loki stood, breathing hard for several moments. Captain America and the Hulk walked towards him. Natasha glanced over the group before she sprinted away, towards the hotel. Loki watched her go, and then suddenly dropped the hammer, and went to help his brother. Thor was slowly standing up, and Loki took his arms, as Steve and the Hulk cleared rubble and debris from around him.
"Are you alright?" Loki asked, concerned, as Thor staggered to his feet.
Slowly, a grin spread across Thor's face, when he saw Mjollnir, where Loki had dropped it. "You lifted Mjollnir…"
Loki looked to the weapon and back to his brother, "I–I'm sorry." He reached to pick it up, doing so with some difficulty. "Here." He held it out to Thor.
"No, Loki, do you not understand?" Thor pushed Loki's arm, so that the hammer fell from his grasp. He reached out and put both hands on Loki's shoulders. "Mjollnir will not be lifted by any man unworthy of its greatness. Midgardian machines cannot move it. No man, besides myself and Father have ever been able to wield it. But, you are worthy! You are my equal."
"Equal…" Loki's brows knit together.
"You have always been my equal."
"But, I have not always been able to lift it."
"You have always been my equal. You just had to learn that you were." Thor smiled, so sincerely, looking squarely into Loki's eyes.
Without warning, tears began to stream down Loki's face.
Thor pulled Loki into a bone-crushing hug, and for the first time in years, Loki returned it.
Their moment was cut short, when the Hulk let out a choked noise. Steve, Thor, and Loki, turned to see the Hulk crash forward. Once he hit the ground, the green skin began to fade, muscles began to shrink, and the Other Guy was slowly replaced by a naked, very small Bruce Banner.
Steve knelt next to the prone man and gently laid a hand on Bruce's back. "Hey," Steve coaxed, "Bruce, you okay, buddy?"
Bruce tried to push himself up, but his arms collapsed under him. Thor and Steve took him under the arms and pulled him into a sitting position. Bruce curled into a ball on the ground and surveyed the area, "We won, then?" He asked, looking at the dead dragon and several reptilian corpses around them.
"We were victorious, friend." Thor answered.
Bruce nodded, "Good."
Loki removed his cape and handed it to Bruce, who wrapped it around his body, "Thank you," he said, as he stood
"Thank you." Loki nodded to the man.
Bruce looked confused for a second and shrugged. His eyes drifted from Steve to Loki to Thor, then back to Steve. "Where's Tony?"
They made their way to the hotel, an awkward sort of parade: Bruce wrapped in Loki's green cape, with Steve's hand on his back. Thor followed, red cape flowing behind him, jovially swinging Mjollnir in his arm, and with an air of joy. Loki brought up the rear, looking at the ground pensively, demonic-looking helmet still on his head.
Tony landed, when they reached him, the Iron Man mask retracting, so they could see his face, "Everything cool?"
"Well, we're going to get Bruce some clothes, and get him to bed." Steve answered.
Tony tried to shove down the jealousy rearing in the back of his throat. He knew Bruce wasn't doing anything with the lovely captain, but Steve was touching him, as a friend would, and Tony wished that Bruce would trust him enough to let him do the same.
"How are you doing, big guy?" Tony asked, forcibly nonchalant. He reached an iron covered hand out, but froze about a foot from Bruce's shoulder, when Bruce looked up at him.
"Tired…" Bruce rasped.
Tony nodded and just looked at Bruce. I'm sorry. Sorry. Sorry…
"Um, have you seen Natasha?" Steve interrupted.
"Oh, yeah–she ran by me and asked where Clint was. Probably in the hotel hospital."
Steve nodded, and their assembly, with the addition of Iron Man, gliding behind the gods, made their way to much deserved beds.