Woo, second chapter! Not a lot of Loki in this one but he's coming up soon!

"Thanks, big guy" Natasha said as Thor set her down on the hard hospital bed. With as raw as her back was, she could swear she could feel every spring pressing into her skin. Thor came with a pillow and raised her head gently and placed it under her before he sat by her bedside.

"At times, they seem to enjoy beating you." He said; his long blonde hair was as matted as Natasha's was, but unlike the first few days, he no longer recoiled from the smell of blood and sweat that seemed to cling to it.

She rubbed her thumb against the curved nub that was each nail. "They probably remember spar practice then." He heard more than saw her smile, the cool plastic of the mattress against his swelling face was too soothing to pull away from. They sat in comfortable silence, neither feeling the need to fill the space with plans of escape or regrets. "Your boyfriend is coming." She said softly, her ears picking up the familiar sound of Steve's muted struggles. She turned her head to watch Thor move, noting his left leg dragged a bit as he made it to the door.

Thor's eyes narrowed as the door swung open, guards pointing weapons inside until he took a step back and they pushed Steve in. He caught him, his leg almost giving way, but held onto the rough white fabric that Steve was wrapped in until the doors closed, leaving them in the dark. "Can you walk, my friend?" he asked and he watched the options swarm through Steve's eyes before he shook his head, his eyes hidden by the shaggy blond hair. "Very well." He said softly and set him down on the ground, propped up against the metal door. Thor walked slowly to his own bed and used what little strength he had left to move it by Natasha's. She moved over slightly and worked to sit up as Thor picked up Steve and set him down by her.

She brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Don't feel so bad, Rogers" she said and began to work on the leather mouthpiece they always gave them during therapy. "We all got a beating today." Thor sat by his other side, undoing the simpler straps of the straight jacket that they put him in and shifted him as gently as he could to get the larger straps on the back of the jacket.

"I think the bastards broke my leg." Thor smiled as he heard the familiar voice once the mouthpiece came off and he helped him out of heavy jacket. Steve's hospital gown was bleeding through but they all knew that there would be nothing they could do about it until morning.

"Well, the doc can take a look at you tomorrow morning." Natasha said. "Thor can give you a piggyback." She said with a tired smile as Thor tossed the contraptions off the bed.

"Ay" Thor said and helped Steve get more comfortable, even though he knew the other felt ashamed. "Sleep, we'll be let out into the common area tomorrow." He stood to go to the remaining bed.

Natasha watched him "Hey" she said "stay with us," she nodded to the leftover space by Steve. More than anyone else, the loneliness was hitting Thor the hardest and she felt in debt to him for how he cared for them "we could all use a little comfort."

Thor looked at the space "I don't think I'll fit" he said but pushed the last bed to line up with the other two, his body crying out for him to stop. He climbed onto the bed and despite his pride, he moved close to them, allowing himself to take comfort in their presence. "Goodnight, my friends." He said and closed his eyes.

Morning was slow torture. The light that came in through the door of their cells abused their eyes and the sound of blaring horns shook their brains into a frenzied state. The first time Tony heard it, he swore it sounded like the alarm in the tower, and he wondered if it was one of the ways that they were trying to drive them crazy. He stood slowly, his beating having done little but bruise a few ribs and he walked over to Bruce's cell to help Clint out to the common area before the guards decided they were taking too long. "Any better, Legolas?" he asked Clint as he and Bruce helped him walk down the long hall to where there were four couches arranged in a "U" around a TV.

Clint sighed, each step sent shocks up his legs, and his hand gripped Bruce's shirt for assurance that everything was real. "Yeah" he lied "a bit." They set him down on a couch and Bruce sat by him, putting his head in his lap, so he could keep an eye on him.

"I'll get the others" Tony said once they settled and began to walk back. Everything was so quiet now, that even from a distance, he could hear Bruce whisper.

"You don't have to lie." Tony was glad that Legolas had been put with Bruce. Bruce needed someone to care for, and Clint needed the care he so often deprived himself of out of pride. He spared a glance at his single cell. It was for one, but it was the most spacious, the white paint on the walls seemed harsher than the others, making it look bigger still, and he wondered if Fury thought that letting him stew in his own thoughts ever night would be the fastest way to make him crazy. He figured that it probably was.

"Stark" Natasha said as he made it to the door. "Took you long enough" the harshness of the words leaned more towards exhaustion but Tony decided to ignore it. "You need to carry me, Steve can't walk."

"Sorry" he smirked but walked in as Thor helped Steve lean on him "I was admiring the sights." He said and leaned down to pick her up. He struggled more than Thor would, but could manage. They walked out slowly; Steve's hopping was the only sound in the halls. He looked at the super solider "Glad to have you back, Cap." He smiled at him but Steve kept his head down. He helped Natasha onto the smallest couch and Steve and Thor squeezed into the couch by Bruce so he could look at his leg. Tony watched them, how carefully Thor handled Steve and Natasha, or how Clint and Bruce never seemed to separate for long, and his irritation grew. He didn't know how it happened, or when he took the necessary steps to Steve, he just registered the heat in his palm and the satisfaction as his palm met Steve's cheek. "Stop feeling fucking bad for yourself" he said and gripped his collar. "You're the leader; you need to get us out of here!" The words were empty. Steve had no bigger responsibility to get them out of here than any of them did and he knew that, but it felt better as he watched the words cut into the solider and break him, just a bit more. Perhaps he was going crazy.

Thor pushed him back, not particularly hard but it made Tony take a step back. "Stop it!" he hissed at him. "He's been through enough lately, we all have." he looked around at his friends. "No sense of fighting among ourselves." His hand was wrapped around Steve's wrist protectively and he felt it relax in his hand. Tony huffed and stormed off, going to pace by the doors.

He felt all eyes on him, the cameras above his head, and the eyes of his teammates but he refused to look at either. He turned to the door and a familiar face caught his eyes. He felt his blood turn cold as he recognized the curious green eyes and he pressed his face closer to the plastic windows for a better look. "Reindeer Games?" he asked and seeing the man take a step closer, his eyes filled with the same confusion he felt, he banged on the door. "Reindeer Games!" A woman came from nowhere and she grabbed Loki's arm and smiled at him before beginning to tug him away. He was being kept here too. "No! Loki!" he yelled as loud as he could as he heard the others move towards him but he kept banging on the metal door, until his fist on the thick metal sounded like bells in his ears.