Sigyn was not asleep, as Loki thought she was. In fact, she often woke up when Loki left her side, and she often had an internal battle about whether she should follow him or not. For the past month, she had decided to let him keep to himself, but Sigyn was concerned about how rapidly his condition was deteriorating.

He stared off into space, he did not eat or sleep, he muttered to himself when he thought no one could hear him, he stiffened at the slightest touch... Sigyn was well aware of all her mate had suffered in the Void and at the hands of Thanos, but it pained her beyond words to see him like this.

Madness was slowly consuming him.

She very nearly got up from her bed to go and talk to him when she realised that the house had fallen silent. No rumbling snores from Thor's room.

And there was the faint crackling of a vaguely familiar magic.

Thor woke with a start, the nightmares of Loki's death- (Not dead. He's alive. He's alive. He's alive.)- plaguing his dreams. He wished he could erase the images from his memory, that he could simply accept the fact that Loki was here in this very house with him, and move on. But there was a part of him that, after so long of searching, still refused to believe it.

So lost in his nightmare-clouded thoughts as he was, he very nearly overlooked the shadow of a tall, imposing man in his room.

Immediately on his guard, Thor summoned Mjolnir to his hand and sat up in the bed, ready to leap onto the intruder. But when he saw who it was, golden robes gleaming in the moonlight, Thor stayed his hand, though his blood ran cold and his heart skipped a beat.

Odin.

Looking wearier than ever, the Allfather leant heavily on his scepter. There was a sadness reflected in his blue eyes, one that made Thor think twice about his father's motives for being there. There was also the fact that he was not in his armour, and therefore could not have been expecting a fight...

But the thought of Loki, just down the hall from there Odin now stood, made Thor keep his hammer raised. He would protect his little brother, even if it meant conflict with his father. Loki had been hurt too much already.

"Father... Why are you here?" Thor managed to get out, lowering his voice to a whisper. He suppressed a wince at how loud he still was.

Odin sighed. "Hugin and Munin have been watching this house for some time. I know Loki is here."

Dread gripped Thor's heart. "I will not let you take him."

"Thor-"

"No," Thor interrupted, getting to his feet and clutching Mjolnir with an iron grip that could crush stone to dust. "I cannot let him return. Father... There is something more to what happened on Midgard. Something Loki is doing all he can to conceal from everyone."

Odin appraised him for a moment, before saying calmly, "I did not come here to take Loki away; only to see that my sons were well."

Thor frowned. "You disowned Loki."

Odin turned his one-eyed gaze away. "Only through the hope that I might be able to spare myself the pain of losing my son again. When he came before me for his trial, I realised that my youngest boy had long since died, and so I decided to sever all ties with the monster he had become. Through Hugin and Munin, I have seen that there is hope of his return. That is why I am here."

Thor was speechless. He had honestly thought that his father no longer cared for Loki, that he just thought him to be another Frost Giant gone astray. To hear that Odin truly cared for Loki... Thor did not know what to believe.

He shook his head. "If he sees you, I fear what will happen."

"I need to speak with my boy," Odin said.

Thor stared at his father, weighing his options. If he told the Allfather to leave, he would either be ignored and Odin would go straight to Loki, or he would ruin whatever chances he had of having a family again. However, if he let Odin through... Loki would undoubtedly assume the worst, and Thor knew that he was much, much stronger than he had been before his fall from the Bifrost, therefore a burst of his magic would most likely result in the deaths of everyone within the house. Sigyn, Odin, Loki, and himself.

Either way, the Allfather would speak with Loki.

Either way, something very, very bad was going to happen.

Loki continued to stare at his reflection. Why did his skin have to crawl and itch? Pulling his forest green tunic off and letting the glamour drop, he clawed at the jagged scar over his heart. (Pain. Blinding, searing pain. Not unlike anything he had every felt before, but- he- wanted- it- to- stop- now.) His bitten down nails were ineffective, so he settled for rubbing the tight, pale skin roughly with the tips of his fingers, staring at the scar in disgust.

(Would they show up in my Jotun- my other form? Would they appear paler or darker amongst the blue? Would they be there at all?)

(Blue- Blue- Blue-)

(-Monster- Monster- Monster.)

(What? Because I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night?)

"Loki."

(Your birthright was to die!)

"Loki."

(No, Loki.)

"Loki."

The God of Mischief jerked violently, his heart racing at the familiar voice calling his name. (No- No- No- No- He's found me- Please, no-) He jumped up from the rim of the bath and summoned his magic to his palms, ready to strike. Instinctively, he pulled the glamour back over himself, cloaking his scars and emaciated form from view. But he knew it was too late, and that they had all been seen.

Odin stood before him- Odin was standing in the doorway- Odin was blocking his only escape- Odin- Allfather- father-

(I could have done it father! For you! For all of us!)

(No, Loki.)

-Odin was right there before him, and Loki wished more than anything that he was in another one of his nightmares, that his only sanctuary left in the Nine Realms had not been uncovered by the very man be wished to remain hidden from.

Loki was aware of his heavy, ragged breaths and how he shook, but in his nightmare-hazed, exhausted state, he was unable to hide behind his usual cool, calm facade. And Odin could see everything because he was right there in the bathroom and was blocking the door which was Loki's only escape and Loki could not breathe and- Norns, why would his torment never end?

"Loki, please just listen to me," Odin said, taking a step inside the room.

Loki shook his head vehemently. "No. There is nothing I wish to hear from you."

(Hanging from Gungnir, hoping beyond hope that his father would say something- anything- to assure him that he was still loved, that he was still his son, that he was not a failure, that he was forgiven for whatever it was he had done wrong and everything he knew he had done wrong-)

"Then I will say it nonetheless, whether you wish to hear it or not."

Loki scoffed, centuries of bitterness rising to the surface. "You never did pay any attention to what it was I wanted, did you?"

"My son-"

"Don't you dare!" Loki roared. The carefully constructed dam the he had built to hold back his pain and hate and pure, uncontrolled rage had burst, and Loki wanted to tear and scream and kill- kill- kill until there was nothing left. "Don't you dare come into my sanctuary- the only semblance of peace I have had in centuries- and tell me to listen to you! It's too late for that! There is nothing that you can say now that will erase an entire millennia of lies! Don't call me your son; you made it perfectly clear that I am anything but that. If you have anything to say to me, then let it be the truth!"

He stalked forward until he was just over a foot away from Odin.

"Tell me that I am a disappointment. Tell me that you never loved me- that all you needed me for was for your own failed plans- that my entire life has been a lie. Tell me that I am not your son and that you don't love me. Tell me that you will just leave me alone."

He hated how desperate he sounded, but he wanted- needed- an answer. (Something, anything- I need you to say the opposite of those things. Please, father-)

(No. Not my father. Never my father. Just say the truth and be done with it.)

But no answer came. He needed something other than a tense silence.

"Tell me," he insisted, his voice hoarse.

(So similar to that day. The day I found out the truth. The day I found out the lie.)

Still no answer. Odin continued to watch Loki with that disgustingly solemn blue eye.

"Tell me," he said again, louder this time.

Nothing.

"Tell me!" He screamed in the king's face.

"I have always, and will always, love you... You are my son, no matter what I may have said to you in the past. You are my son, no matter what your past actions say about me as a parent. You are my son- you have been since I found you in that temple in Jotunheim and you will be until the End of Worlds."

Loki shook his head, not noticing the tears that leaked down his face. This was wrong, yet it was everything he had wanted to hear... Right? But as he thought about it, he realised that these words were a thousand years too late. Had it been then, this would have made everything better. Now... Now Loki simply wanted to be able to sever his ties with the Allfather to spare himself the pain. Why did the old man have to make it so difficult?

"You are my son, Loki- not a disappointment, not just for my plans... but I will confess that I lied about your heritage. I realised when you spoke to me whilst I was in the Odinsleep that I have been unfair to you... 'Unfair' is putting it mildly. But you are my son, and I do love you."

The King reached out and placed a hand on Loki's bare shoulder, but the God of Mischief flinched away. (Don't touch. Never touch. Don't touch me. Touch brings pain. I'm tired of pain.)

The dam had burst, and now a tidal wave was washing over him.

"No. No, no, no, no- You don't- You don't get to say this- You have no right-" Why was it so difficult for him to string together a sentence. His magic bubbled within him, yearning for release. "You have no right to say this now."

"Loki-"

"No!" Odin had reached out again, but Loki jerked back.

He needed to get away. He needed to escape.

(Don't- Don't touch.)

(Stay back- Stay away-)

(Leave me alone-)

(Please. Please.)

(Get back.)

(Don't touch.)

(Touch is fire and ice and burning and freezing and pain- pain- pain-)

(No more pain-)

(Leave me alone!)

He needed to get away. Fast.

The door was blocked- Was that Sigyn and Thor stood there? Were they on Odin's side? Everyone was against him. There was no one he could trust. They all wanted to hurt him- and that was his only way out. Which left one other possibility.

Summoning his magic, Loki opened a portal and stepped through into the first realm he could think of.

Unfortunately for him, that realm was the one that despised him the most.

Midgard.