Author's note: So, one awkward breakfast done and done, and it's time for the next chapter!
As soon as breakfast is finished, it is no great surprise that Tony excuses himself, leaving the kitchen with a curt comment that if anyone needs him, he'll be down in his workshop.
And Loki is in the undesirable position of being alone with Thor again. Thor, who's eyeing him across the table with those piercing blue eyes that he wishes would look at anything else than him sitting here in his humiliation, the mere slave of a mortal.
The confusion all but radiating from Thor during their breakfast had been obvious – why Tony would let his slave eat food fit for free men, why he didn't have him serve at the table, why someone of his lowly station was even allowed to sit there and eat with them in the first place. He should know what Thor was thinking, of course, because it was the exact same things that had confused him too.
And if Thor wants to know the answer to those whys, he might as well ask Tony, because Loki doesn't really have any answer to give him.
"Brother," Thor finally breaks the silence, "I am truly relieved to see how many of my initial worries on your behalf were indeed unfounded."
Of course, Thor and Tony are shield brothers, having joined to fight the same enemy – namely him – so obviously, Thor knows Tony and what the man is like, so his expectations of what Loki would have to face here had most likely not been nearly as terrible as what Loki had expected. But it is clear how Thor had nonetheless assumed that even if Loki might not be subjected to any overt cruelty or brutality, because apparently Tony finds no enjoyment in such things, he would still in other regards be treated more or less in accordance to what his station would have suggested.
While he's glad that Tony hasn't openly debased him in front of Thor, there is still humiliation in knowing how obvious it is what Thor is thinking, his surprise that Tony isn't treating him the way a slave would be in Asgard. That he's allowed to sit at the table as opposed to kneeling at Tony's feet. That he's being fed decent food rather than unappetizing scraps.
Every little detail of that would be obvious even to someone as oblivious as Thor. And he knows that's what's been on the Thunderer's mind during the entire breakfast. In a way, it makes his station even more blatant, makes it stand out like a sore thumb, the many ways he's not being treated as expected.
"Midgardians do many things differently," Thor suddenly interrupts his thoughts. "You should count yourself lucky."
And he can't take sitting here with Thor, listening to whatever it is he has to say. He really just can't.
It is only stalling, of course, but at least it will give him some small respite of not having to talk to Thor.
"You will have to excuse me, Thor," he says as impassively as he can manage, the cool aloofness in his voice at odds with the abruptness with which he stands up, "but my master has work that he expects me to perform. I'm sure you would not wish to keep me from it."
He enjoys the way Thor's face falls a little as Loki turns on his heel and walks off, leaving him alone in the kitchen.
"Brother, please, at least try to make the best out of your situation as it is. Things could have been so much worse; surely you realize this. At least this way, you have another chance!"
Yes, and another day as well, and another attempt from Thor at making dull conversation.
Of course, Thor had walked in just as the box of papers had been sorted, as if he had known the exact moment that Loki was finished with his task. Probably, Jarvis had told him.
And Loki doesn't want to hear any of it, he really doesn't. So his eventual reaction to Thor's endless prattle is to stalk out of the room with as much dignity as he can muster, but the other man simply traipses after him, his mouth not even ceasing to move as he trails in Loki's footsteps, refusing to let him off the hook. Thor's voice is pleading, insistent, and it grates at his ears. It's telling him things he doesn't want to hear, forces him to reflect over truths he doesn't feel like considering.
So Loki freezes in his tracks, spins around and fixes him with a frosty glare, one that would have turned lesser beings into icicles.
"Another chance of what exactly, Thor?" he spits out, words laced with venom. "Another chance of humiliation, degradation, of being ordered around like a pet on a leash? What else is there possibly to expect from my current situation?"
Thor sighs, and his fists clench a couple of times, closing on empty air made thick with the animosity that's hanging over the room.
"I'm just saying, Loki," he mumbles softly, "that things could have been worse. You could have been sentenced to execution, but as it is, you're still alive. Odin told me that at your trial, you were given the option of death, but you didn't choose that, so at least -"
"Yes, because death is surely the benchmark against which to judge a situation as desirable or not," he snaps back, eyeing Thor as if he is a dimwit. Which isn't all that far from the truth, of course.
He has to reluctantly admire Thor's persistence, though. Usually he would have driven the Thunderer to the brink of despair by now with his wringing of words and twisting of their meaning and semblance. But this time, his not-brother is refusing to be baited and keeps his otherwise short temper and frail patience under control.
But it's all so pointless. There is nothing Thor can say or do that will change anything. The Allfather has already turned a deaf ear to his oldest son's pleas, so words are useless and devoid of purpose. Loki has received his sentence, and that's all there is to it, as far as Thor should be concerned. It would be better if he just ran back to his Midgardian lover instead of harping on about things that can't be changed.
However, Thor takes aim anew, tries another angle and sneaks in at Loki from the sidelines.
"Loki," he sighs, still not giving up. "Odin might have taken away your magic and your powers, but there was no way for him to take away you immortality, was it?
Loki narrows his eyes. No, he'll still live as long a life as he would have before all of this, provided that nothing kills him in the meantime. His life span is a part of his nature, of his very being and no magic can take that away, not even Odin's. Of course, given the laughable fragility of his current body, there are still a million things that could end his life prematurely, even in this realm, and one of them probably will, eventually.
"And your point is?" He folds his arms, looking down his nose at Thor as if he's a simple worm crawling pathetically on the ground and would be better off if someone stomped a heavy boot on him.
"My point is, what do you expect will happen when Tony is dead? He's a mortal, and will be lucky if he lives to see a century," Thor presses on.
And the question, so carelessly thrown out, is one that stings and gets under his skin like a spike pressed under his fingernails, and it's something that he's tried not dwelling too much upon. Despite his own long lifespan, his current circumstances make it hard for him to look further beyond the horizon than the next day; the thought that a century ahead, or even only a year from now, he will still be a slave is one he has still not come to terms with. Merely trying to deal with his life one day at a time is enough for now.
Bur what little consideration he has given the subject has merely boiled down to the assumption that it will be just like on Asgard – when a man dies, all his possessions, including any slaves belonging to his household, will be passed over to the heirs. Granted, Tony doesn't have any children, but that could change, and if not, there should be other family members coming out of the woodworks to squabble over the inheritance. Rich men are seldom without heirs to claim the remains.
The thought is unnerving, to say nothing of the humiliation of being passed over like chattel, like property.
However, when he had first arrived here, his immediate attention had been on getting through his ordeal with Tony; whatever lay beyond that was something he thought he would deal with once he got there. And in his feeble attempts of grasping for even the slightest straw of hope, he had wanted to picture being passed over to the next in line as a small step up. A possible improvement, getting another master with fewer reasons to hate him, who might have no recollections or personal experience of his doings in New York. Someone he's never thrown out of a window of any sort.
But now, he's come to realize that the 'beyond' will probably turn out to be a worsening of conditions. After all, would a new master show him the same… lenience that Tony has, for inexplicable reasons, shown?
Most likely not.
"I'm sure there will be some other mortal in line waiting for me to be passed onto them for their petty amusements. What difference does it make? I will remain a slave regardless, why should it matter who holds my leash?" he shoots back, trying to take satisfaction in the crease of exasperation wrinkling the space between Thor's eyebrows.
Thor takes a step closer, and Loki moves an equal distance in the opposite direction. For quite some time, they've moved around in circles like this, Thor advancing and Loki retreating, like they're trapped in a bizarre cosmic dance, forced to repeat the strange and meaningless moves for all eternity.
Obviously realizing he's not going to get any closer to Loki, Thor makes a compromise and reaches out a pleading hand in his direction instead, urging him to listen. "Of course it matters. Tony has been a kind master, has he not? Perhaps the one after him will be as well. And the next one too. But eventually, along the line, there might be someone who is not as kind, and who might actually… hurt you."
Loki turns his head away, looking out the window at the sky outside, still beautiful despite the gray thunderclouds gathering. And still out of reach for him, still an unattainable dream.
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" he snorts. "Seriously, just say what you came here to say, that I deserve this." There's a tremble in his voice that he's not sure where it came from and he wills it to go away. "You and Odin and his Council and the rest of Asgard, you all agree – I deserve this. Frankly, I don't see what you coming here to tell me the same thing as what everyone else already believes will accomplish. You're wasting your time, and mine as well, even though I have precious little other use for it."
Thor's face softens at that. "No, Loki, that's not what I came here to say." He makes a short pause, weighing his words before speaking again. "What I mean is that such a fate might be avoided if you accept this as your penance. A way to redemption, if you will. Perhaps then, Odin will be willing to grant you a pardon, maybe put a time-limit to your sentence. If you show repentance, that you have learned your lesson, maybe you might have your freedom yet again."
If his situation had been different, he would have been amused at the ridiculous look of childish hope and naiveté manifesting itself on Thor's face. Does the big lout honestly believe that the Allfather will change his mind like men change clothes, that Odin will be so easily swayed?
"Are you truly that stupid, or do you have to make an extra effort in order to come off like such a fool?" The insult is uncreative and dull, but it feels good as it rolls off his tongue, like lifting the lid covering a kettle of boiling water to ease the raging pressure inside.
"Mind your words, brother." Thor's face darkens, and his voice is a notch lower, a clear sign of anger building up. "You are hardly in a position to accuse others of foolishness after your own thoughtless actions." He crosses his arms, puffing his chest out. Whether Thor does that consciously or not, Loki can't tell, but he's seen his not-brother assume that stance far too many times to count.
"Ah, so the great and mighty Thor speaks. Always belittling others and pointing out their faults in order to make himself look superior. You're still the same as you were before Odin banished you to Midgard, aren't you?" Loki snaps, not caring in the slightest that Thor is glaring daggers at him.
"Then it would seem I am in good company. Because clearly, you are still as conceited and self-destructive as when- "
"Hey guys!"
Both Loki and Thor turn towards the third voice unexpectedly breaking into their little argument.
Tony is lounging in the doorway, an arm up against the doorframe, following the proceedings with a look of vague interest on his face. He flashes a grin at them, and Loki uncomfortably wonders just how long he's been standing there.
"Well, nothing like a good old family argument to get the juices flowing, is there?" Tony says matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow into an elegant arc. "Hate to break things up before they really get going, but pizza is here, and I'm sure as hell not going to eat it all by myself." His fingers trail down to his side, grabbing at a non-existing love-handle. "Besides, I've already gained two pounds since last week; can you imagine that? It's a travesty, I tell you!"
Loki and Thor throw another frosty glance at each other, but neither speaks further and merely follows Tony as he leads the way into the kitchen.
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