Author's Note: So hello there! New chapter. The wait is over (for those of you who have been wanting to know what was going to happen with Loki)-not going to spoil it. You have to read.
ENJOY!
Loki sipped the cooled tea Frigga had brewed for him as he watched her sew. Frigga had spoken to Odin and convinced the Allfather to reconsider imprisoning Loki again. He had relented eventually and had agreed to the terms, but, Loki was not allowed to leave the castle however.
"Is everything alright Loki?" she asked him. He nodded. "Of course." he answered. "Why do you ask?" he questioned. She smiled.
"You seem a bit uneasy. Would you like me to make you a sleeping drought?" Loki shook his head and continued to sip his tea. "You are doing quite enough for me already mother. Perhaps you should make one for yourself." he suggested. "You are my son Loki. It is my job to care for you in the absence of your wives." From her tone, he could tell she disliked the women he had married. He sighed.
"You know Odin forbade them from seeing me. If not for that, then I am quite sure they would be here tending to me in your stead." Frigga shook her head when he smiled.
"Odin never could understand why you married the first two or bothered to stay with them." Loki rolled his eyes. "Odin never approved of what I did so why should I even care? But at least he got off my back when I married Sigyn."
"You know your father loves you in his own way Loki." she told him. Loki chewed the inside of his lip. "He is not my father. I killed my father. Do you not remember that?" he spat. She sat down. "Please don't do this Loki. Not why you are still recovering." she pleaded. Loki nodded and set his cup down.
"I appologize mother. It's just that everything is so frustrating. I just-" He suddenly felt sick.
"Are you alright?" Frigga asked as she reached for the pot near his bedside. She looked on worriedly as he vomited black fluid into it. After, he placed it on the floor and rolled onto his side, moaning as sharp flashes of pain raced up his spine. "Loki?" she said gently. "I don't feel like talking...everything hurts." he whimpered. She nodded and retrieved the bowl, leaving another in its place should he have another episode as she went to empty the other.
She stared down at the black fluid in the pot, wondering what kind of substance it could be that was making Loki so ill.
Tony opened his faceplate and immediately regretted it, fighting the urge to throw up.
It was almost a month later and they were still gathering more bodies. It was becoming even clearer that the Other had not been kind to them while he had kept them.
Some were missing fingers, toes and even whole limbs. Most had been drained of their blood and even a few had been mumified. Tony couldn't even begin to think of what kind of sick the Other's mind was. Or Thanos. Whoever had done the deed.
Tony took a deep breath inside his suit. It was almost over. Thor would handle the notifications of the rest of the remaining family members. King Njord had decided that all of the children would be cremated. Another week or so and it would be over.
Tony sighed as he was handed another body. It would be another few weeks until it would be alright to tell Loki. Tony was not looking forward to that conversation.
Loki pushed himself into a sitting position as Frigga entered the room. She smiled at his eagerness. "Relax Loki. Tomorrow." she assured him.
Frigga had finally decided that Loki was well enough to leave the bed and move about for no more than a few hours at a time weeks ago, but, the god had grown restless with moving about his room aimlessly.
Loki groaned and flopped back on the bed. "Mother." he moaned. She smiled. "Patience is a virtue." Loki rolled his eyes. "You must confuse me with Thor. I was always the patient one." Frigga laughed and sat down to begin her sewing.
"I will admit that Thor really never thought things through when you were younger. You used to come back to the palace with trophies of your battles and injuries too numerous to count." Loki grinned.
"I remember once when we came back from a hunting trip that Thor had cut himself on a sharp branch. He tried to make it as if he had gotten the injury from a wild boar." Loki was laughing so hard he was out of breath. "He needed twelve stitches! But when I told everyone the truth, he was so angry with me." Frigga nodded.
"He was so angry with you that he refused to speak with you for weeks until you set him up with that girl he'd fancied but was too shy to talk to." she recalled. Loki smiled penly now, unable to help himself.
"Her name was Bina. He bedded her for a whole year before they broke up. She's been angry with me ever since. She still blames me for their breakup."
Frigga sighed and placed a gloved hand over his. "She still hates me." he said quietly. Frigga stroked his cheek. "I am sure she does not hate you Loki. Not after all this time." she told him. He smiled weakly.
"Perhaps you are right. Holding such grudges is quite absurd. With our immortal lifespans it would take quite a lot of energy to continue to hate one another for so long." He paused going stiff. "Loki? What is it?" Frigga asked. He shook his head.
"Anthony is not immortal." he told her. "But do you love him?" she asked. He nodded. "Yes. Desperately...although I have not told him verbally. It is unlike anything I have ever felt with Glut, Angrboda or even Sigyn." Frigga smiled.
"I am sure he knows Loki. Even though Anthony is mortal and compared to your own experiences your time together may seem short, treasure every second of it."
"Thank you mother. I think that Anthony and I shall speak of the matter once he returns." His mother nodded. "I shall send him to you if I should see him first." she promised. Loki smiled. "Now rest Loki. I do not wish for you to injure yourself on the day before you are to be released from the infirmary."
Loki was already awake by the time Frigga entered the room in the morning with his breakfast. She took the clothes the servants had given her and laid them on the bed. Loki turned, frowning at what she was doing.
"Mother you did not need to do that. You have already done so much." he told her. She merely smiled. "It is alright Loki. I do not mind. What is one more day anyway?" she asked. Loki sighed and backed off, seeing the determined glint in her eyes. He took the food and pushed it around on his plate, occasionally eating a bite or two. He wasn't very hungry and he glanced over at her to see if she had gone yet. To his surprise, she was standing at his shoulder watching him eat.
"Eat Loki. You were already thin and now even more so since you were injured. It is not healthy for you to starve yourself." she said. Loki grimaced and shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth. After he forced it all down, she gave a satisfied nod and took his plate from him. He waited for her to leave before he went to put on his clothes. He picked up the strange pendant that had been lying on top of his clothes.
"Are you sure you are feeling alright?" she asked as he came out of the sickroom. He nodded. "I can assure you mother that besides the absence of my magic I am in good health." he told her. She reached up and stroked his cheek. "Alright. But come to me should you feel ill again." He nodded. "Of course mother."
He held up the pendant. "What is this?" he asked. She smiled and took it from his hands. "I understand that you are uncomfortable in your current form and do not have enough magic to create your own illusion, so I took the liberty of having this crafted for you." She worked the clasp open and held it out to him. He smiled and linked it around his neck. His skin turned pale white and his eyes returned to their usual green shade.
"Thank you mother." he said.
Frigga tried to send several guards accompany Loki back to his chambers, even though he began to protest. He talked her down to four. He entered his room, looking around. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. He hadn't really thought he'd been gone for that long.
After two hours, he reentered to a newly dusted and cleaned room. He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. Functioning without his magic was really taking a toll on his body.
Three days later, Loki discovered that Thor had returned. Loki wanted to go see him immediately, but, Frigga advised against it. They needed time to relax and rest after traveling for so long. She said the same of the children when he asked to see, he agreed to wait. He passed the time by sitting in his room for two days reading mostly. But, he couldn't really concentrate, and ended up reading the same page over and over again.
Having gone for a morning walk to maintain what was left of his sanity, he learned that Thor wished to speak with him. He hurriedly went back to his chambers to change. To his surprise, his brother and the Avengers that were present on Asgard were already there. He removed the pendant from around his neck. The enchantment on it made his skin feel heavy when he wore it too long.
"So mother gave it to you then?" Thor asked, gesturing to the pendant. Loki rolled his eyes. "Obviously." he replied. He eyed their sullen expressions. Thor looked as if he'd just eaten a lemon and Tony as if someone had torn out his arc reactor.
"Brother I believe you should sit down." Thor told him as he himself began to stand. Loki circled the room. "No." he said stubbornly. Thor nodded. "Very well then."
"Why are you all here? You have been avoiding me for the past few days. Has mother finally forced you to come and see me? Do you pity me so much that you cannot bear to look upon my being?" he demanded. Thor stared down at the floor, clearing his throat multiple times. "Loki I am truly sorry." the god told him. Thor's eyes shined with tears when he finally looked up. A hard knot started to form in Loki's stomach. "Thor..." he warned. Thor shook his head.
"I am truly sorry Loki...the children...there was nothing that could be done." Loki was shaking now, trembling with emotions that he couldn't distinguish. "No...you lie!" Loki spat. Thor closed his eyes and sat back down.
"Loki they were already dead when we found them." Tony said. Loki backed away from them. "No..." he sobbed. He pressed himself against the wall, pressing his pointed Jotun claws against the stone. He dug them into the wall, scratching down over and over again until his nails broke off and began to leave blood trails in their wake. Thor rushed over to pull him away.
"Don't touch me!" Loki snarled. Thor ignored him and placed a hand on his cold shoulder. Loki twisted away from his touch.
Bruce shifted uncomfortably. "I think I should go." he said quietly, his eyes looking a bit greener than usual. Thor shook his head. "The rest of you go. I will stay." the god told them. Tony rubbed his hands together. "No, I'll stay." he said. Thor looked at him. "Are you sure?" he asked. The engineer nodded. "Alright. You will stay with him. I will have a few more servants sent up here to bring food for you." he promised. Tony grinned.
"I don't think that will be necessary but thanks." Thor and the others left. Tony looked over at Loki, who was now crumpled on the floor, shaking and crying. He went over to the god, grabbing the pendant from where it had been placed. He pressed it against the god's skin before running his fingers through Loki's hair.
"I'm sorry Loki. It's gonna be ok. I'm here for you."
Tony sat quietly near the door, not knowing what to say to the god curled up in te corner. Every few minutes he would get up, prepared to take a step toward Loki, to say a comforting word or two. As he would get closer, his confidence would faulter and he would back away returning to his seat.
Once again he prepared to stand. "If you are going to keep doing that, then leave or I swear I will kill you." Loki growled. Tony swallowed and sat down.
He chewed his lip. "Loki...I'm not sure what I should say." he said. Loki didn't move, tears spilling down his eyes.
"Then don't say anything. Nothing at all."