Thor looked at Doctor Banner, expectant.

The Doctor softly nodded at him and the god of thunder breathed, relieved. There was hope yet for his brother.

"There seems to be some consciousness on him left, Thor, but I don't want to get your hopes up. This only means he has some strength left to fight. He's not out of the woods yet."

The blond nodded.

"The fact that he has survived this long is what makes me hopeful. It is clear to see that Loki is using all his strength to make it through this terrible last years. He is stronger than I knew."

Bruce at the man laying on the hospital bed. It certainly took a superhuman amount of energy to withstand all that abuse. If it had been someone else that was thrown with such force, they would probably be getting ready for a funeral and not in the medical bay. Or maybe they would be all dead. Like Loki seemed to be, pale as death, bandaged and hooked up to that ventilator. If it wasn't for that wasn't for that light squeeze Bruce would have been starting to think about nice ways to tell Thor they may have to disconnect his brother. But that was not happening. However bad it looked, Loki was going to make it. He was willing himself to. And that was all that mattered.

"Doctor Banner, Master Odinson, I was asked to inform you that dinner will be served in a few minutes. If you should want to, you coul join the meal in the living on floor seventeen." JARVIS said, in his characteristic machine voice.

Food. God, after all this commotion Bruce had forgotten to eat. Truth was, he was a little hungry. He hadn't in the whole day, with the Bob nonsense and Loki healing (twice). But he was, indeed, a bit hungry and would probably enjoy being a bit with the others. Being with troubled Thor and unconscious Loki was not the most fun one could have.

"You coming, Thor?" The Asgardian looked uncertain. Of course, he wanted to eat, but he didn't want to leave his brother alone. As if he had read his mind, Banner said:

"Don't worry, pal, he'll be okay. You can come back after we've eaten a bit, ok? It's been a difficult week we both could use recharging our batteries. And we'll be informed if Loki's state changes, won't we, JARVIS?"

"Of course, Doctor."

"Shall we?" Banner said.

Thor threw one last look at his unmoving brother, holed and attached to all those machines. It was probably a good idea to get a bit of air. And a bit of food, too. That was always good.

The ride on the elevator was silent, both Avengers deep in their own thoughts. What was going to happen now? Would they go back to their lives, to their places? And if so, what the hell was going to happen to Loki? When they arrived at floor seventeen, they were greeted by uncomfortable silence.

Clint and Natasha were on the corner of the dinner table, muttering to each other, apparently having some sort of argument and whisper levels. Steve was reading som sort of paperwork and Tony was nervously nursing a glass of scotch in his hands. He looked up when he heard the elevator and saw his friends. Thank God. A dinner alone with the angry couple and a thoughtful Steve was not going to be much fun. And Pepper was still in Europe, somewhere.

"Bruce and Thor! You arrive just in time for the dinner of victory! Come, come, we've got everything you can think of! Pasta, burgers, chinese..."

"How is Loki?" Steve asked, interrupting Tony.

"It's bad, he can't breathe on his own but he's fighting. The fact that he's survived this much is quite positive, too. "

Steve nodded, glad. The less victims from that madman the better.

"Let's eat, then!" Tony said, and everyone sat on the table.

Steve grabbed a burger and some fries, Natasha some spaghetti, Bruce some indian food... and Thor a bit of everything. He was so so hungry. The first couple of minutes were spent in silence, no one wanting to say the first word. Was it too soon to joke? No? Was anyone going to mention how close to dying they all had been? Deciding this couldn't go on any longer, Steve spoke up.

"So... what comes next?"

"We go back to our own lives. The threat is over, I don't even know why we're still in this place." Clint said, darkly. It was clear to see that he was not happy the situation.

"You would abandon me so soon?" Said Tony in an obviously-fake sad tone, throwing the archer doe eyes, trying to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, he was the only one trying to do so. Steve continued speaking in his most solemn tone.

"There are two issues we need to solve. One: What we're gonna say to the press. JARVIS is not going to hold off the journalists forever and like Agent Romanoff said, simply saying that Loki saved us all would unbelievable and unacceptable for many people. We need to figure out how to talk about it in a sensitive way, but we cannot lie either."

"And you can't think about that yourself?" Tony said, after finishing his drink. "You're our usual spokesperson, aren't you?"

"I am, yes. But we should coordinate ourselves regarding what we say and what we omit. I can write something for a press conference for tonight, to calm down the press and the public opinion. I'll send it to you and you can approve or disapprove, ok?"

In this part, everyone agreed. Steve was good with words, never offended anyone and had authority.

"The other issue, number two. What are we going to do about Loki? If... if he survives this, of course."

Thor closed his fists at the Captain's words. If he survives. How would he dare talk like that? Loki was going to live. He had to. He refused to let his brother go without apologizing, with that bitter taste. And besides, Banner had said there was hope, that Loki was still in there. He threw an angry glare at Rogers.

"We let him heal and then return him to his planet." Clint muttered. "He only did what he did to save his own skin."

Thor smashed one of his fists on the table. That was a blatant lie. But it was Stark who spoke first.

"And that worked out really well for him, right? The saving his own skin part. Trust me, Clint, I don't like the guy either, he threw me of a fucking window, but he had a chance to screw us over siding with that guy and he chose to help us. And you saw like me that Bob was over the moon at the thought that a smart guy like Loki would wanna be friends with him. He saved our asses when he didn't have to."

"So, he made the right choice. Once. Does that make the guy a saint? Does that compensate for all the pain he's caused? For Coulson? For fucking Manhattan?"

"We're not saying that, Clint." Steve said, solemn. "But maybe there is a better solution than sending him back to that place where he is in terrible conditions. We don't mean to exonerate him, just get him some place where he won't get so sick, maybe take him out from solitary confinement. We said that we would try to improve things for him if he helped us. And he has."

Clint simply got up from the table and started leaving. He had a horrible day (Atlanta, being tied and gagged, the fucking Loki show with the prince and now this) and he wanted to leave. He was angry at everyone. He was angry at himself and his anger. And he wanted to go somewhere else, somewhere calm. Natasha looked at him, but knew it was hopeless.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"You don't need me for this." He said and disappeared into the elevator. Well, they all knew that Clint and Loki didn't mix well.

The rest of them just sighed and continued eating. Natasha spoke up first.

"So, despite Clint, the plan is to let Loki heal and then help him?"

"We can't just throw him back on that cell. It's inhumane, it's just wrong." Bruce said, playing with the remainders of his curry. "And he's gotten a hell of a beating for us."

"And if we let him know we're on his side, he'll have no reason to attack us again." Steve added "It's the best for everyone."

At least there was agreement between the most of the Avengers.

"It will not be easy." Thor interjected, gloomy. "The Allfather is known for his constancy. When he makes a decision, it is very difficult to change his mind."

"Well, we have done very difficult things in the past, haven't we?" Finished Tony, smirking. He had always loved a challenge.

The hours went by slowly. The dinner finished, The Avengers went one by one to sleep. Thor went back to his brother's bedside.

In the middle of the night, the god of mischief felt like all the air had deserted him.

He was in that damned cell again and there was no air left. He was drowning without water. Drowning in those four walls, dying. And there was no one coming for him. No one to help him or take him out of his misery. No peace for you, monster. The words echoed in his mind as he fought against the air You are only getting what you deserve. Was the torment never going to end? He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the pain to go away. But the pain always stayed. All of his limbs ached, except the ones that were numb, and there a sharp pain in his chest and dull one in his stomach. And there was something down his throat.

Loki didn't want to be there. He just didn't want to be.

He closed his eyes even harder. Sometimes he just wished to die so the pain would end. Sometimes it was too much.

And then, out of the blue, a voice, taking him out of his misery.

"Suffer no more, Loki. I am here. You are safe."

Thor? But how...? And then there was a vaguely familiar voice.

"Open your eyes, Loki. It's okay. You're not in that cell anymore. Open your eyes for us, ok?"

It had been almost three in the morning when JARVIS and Thor had warned Bruce that Loki was regaining consciousness. He quick gathered a few things and left for the medical bay. The scene that greeted wasn't at all nice. They found the god with his eyes squeezed shut, hands clutching the sheets. Probably not understanding why he could barely move or why there was a tube shoved down his throat.

But when Bruce mentioned that he wasn't in the cell, the eyes slightly opened.

Loki could see dark eyes looking down on him. That wasn't Thor,but he wasn't The Allfather either. Everything was so blurry... And this place, wherever it was, was obscenely white. And Thor was there, too. On the background, his clothes soiled by dust and blood. The man with the dark eyes helped him sit up and started talking to him. His head hurt unspeakably, but Loki tried to pay attention to the words of the man and focused on his words.

"... get it out. It will hurt a bit but it will be over soon, ok?"

Loki seemed pretty out of it and Bruce didn't know if he had heard anything he said but he had to take him off the vent. Even if his oxygen levels weren't too good, being awake and with that thing on his throat was obviously distressing him so it was for the best. Or so Bruce hoped. After taking a deep breath, he did the necessary manoeuvres to take the damn thing out. When it was out, Loki started coughing as expected.

When he found himself free of that strangling device, Loki completely awoke and started remembering everything. The cold bath. The roof and the rain, and Romanoff promising help. Dr. Banner's awkward smile as he fixed his arm. Thor coming for him. The explosion. Bob.

And then only pain. He thought he was finished, that it was the end.

And yet, he was alive.

Loki looked gratefully at Bruce but before he could say anything Thor was all over him, unable to control himself any longer, pulling him on a tight embrace. His brother was alive, once again and awake. This was too joyous for words. Thor took his little brother's face in his hands and looked at him in the eye.

"I am sorry, Loki. I am so... so incredibly sorry."

A/N: That was chapter eight. Things seem to be looking up for Loki but more angst will come (sorry, love). Did you like it? Not? Sorry if there are any grammar/vocabulary mistakes, English is not my native tongue. Thanks a million for all the nice comments, alerts and favs! You guys are the best ^^

Review and tell me what you think!