Warnings this chapter: none
A/N: Well, look at that, I updated exactly one week, today. ;) Who'd have thought I could keep up with updates? Thanks again to all my readers!
Hollow Skies - Chapter 8
This is real? No, it can't be real. Not real not real- But that would mean Thor is here...Thor can't be here, he's never here. Even when I wept and screamed for him, he's never here. Stark will be so angry Thor's here. Loki's knuckles were white as he felt tears drip down his face onto Thor's armor.
"You're...not real..." Loki cried into his brother's armor.
"Yes we are," said Natasha Romanoff. "We're real, and so's Thor."
Loki shook his head furiously. "You're not! You can't be! Not Thor, not my brother..." Tears streamed down his face. "If Thor were here, then it would be over. But it can't be over, it's never over. Stark will come back soon, and I'll wake. I'll be alone again and he'll hurt me more-"
"Stark?" Thor bellowed.
Natasha shifted her weight, "You...didn't know? How much did Fury tell you?"
Loki felt Thor shake his head, "Only that they found Loki and that he was in a bad way. What is this about Stark?" The question was directed at Loki, but Natasha answered instead.
"Look, Thor, there's more going on here than we know."
"Tell me," Thor ordered. His voice allowed for no arguments.
The spy sighed, "There's..." she struggled for words. "There's really no way to tell you everything without..."
"Without what, Agent Romanoff?" he said in warning.
"Without having you storm off and...killing Tony Stark."
Even without seeing his face Loki could sense the anger gathering around his brother; nevermind the crackle of thunder so near it made him jump. "Sorry, brother," Thor managed to mumble so quietly the trickster wondered if he imagined it. Real real real real... The words echoed around him, inside him.
"Look," now Barton was speaking, "this is a crazy situation. Hell, even I'm pissed at Tony, but we can't just go off half-cocked even if-"
The man stopped suddenly, and Loki imagined the lady spy glaring at him.
They're real? No they're not. He shook his head as quieter thunder rumbled in the distance. Thor's real, they're real. That thunder is real. Not a dream not a dream not a dream. Suddenly Loki felt panic rising. Then Stark's going to be angry! He'll put me in the room again! It'll be forever this time, forever lost and away. Too dark. No one there, not even my memories. Just the things crawling over me, eating me... Loki began trembling, wishing Thor would hold him tighter.
"Loki?" Thor's voice was so near, so near so near not fake, real. "What is wrong? What has happened to you?" Thor wrapped his fingers around the side of Loki's neck with his free hand, the familiar gesture sent a wave of calm through Loki but he couldn't stop shaking.
"Thor..." came the mischief god's shaky voice, tears dropping. "D-Don't let Stark," he couldn't speak, the words were like sand in his mouth. "Please don't let him..."
"Don't let him what, brother?" Concern bled through the thunder god's voice as he gently stroked Loki's hair.
"P-Please don't let him hurt me anymore..." Loki looked straight at Thor, his face wet, "I don't want this anymore," he sobbed. "It hurts so much all the time, please please don't leave me! Don't be a dream!" Thor held Loki tighter with one arm. "Please say you'll protect me, promise you'll protect me, that you won't leave ever again-"
"Loki, brother! I will protect you! I will!" Thor hugged him fully now, his hold so tight Loki couldn't breathe. But the younger god didn't care, he only wished Thor could hold him tighter. "I will never leave you again, nothing will happen to you. I swear on Yggdrasil, on the All-Father, on the All-Mother, and on Mjolnir - I will protect you."
Loki cried unashamedly into his brother's chest, relishing the feel of...the feel of... Loki couldn't place the unfamiliar feeling - couldn't name it. If he were able to, the god of mischief would have cherished the word, but for now, he settled for the simple feeling that warmed every part of him, down to his bones and back again.
Thunder rumbled outside and rain fell. It crashed in angry waves against the side of the helicarrier.
Loki smiled. He loved the sound of thunder, of rain. And now, he knew it was his brother's storm, Thor's storm. It was the most soothing sound in the world - well, next to his brother's snoring.
After Thor's vow to protect him, the suddenly livid thunder god said he would 'have words' with Stark. But Loki had panicked and nearly collapsed at the prospect of Thor leaving, and when he vomited on the floor, his big brother assured him he would not leave. Thor was obviously still angry with the man of iron, as evidenced by the storm still raging, but Loki's pleas rooted his older brother to the spot.
So now here they were. Loki still awake, enjoying the sounds of his brother sleeping against his back and of the storm raging overhead. Thor had lain next to Loki and soon fell asleep, but the trickster had become afraid suddenly. Afraid that something might happen while Thor slept. So Loki scooted backward until his back touched Thor's chest, then draped the thunderer's heavy arm across his own chest. He had smiled at the position, immediately feeling safer, the strong arm warm in his grip. No one gets passed the god of thunder, Loki thought with satisfaction. And besides, Stark is nothing but a mere mortal. Then he remembered the Iron Man suit. No, that doesn't matter either. He remembered the fight Stark and Thor had had in that forest so long ago, if they had kept going, Thor would have decimated him. Loki nodded, then settled himself against the warm body.
Then why am I still afraid? He tried to shake the feeling away, but he still couldn't go to sleep.
Loki woke from his half-sleep with a start, the warmth of Thor no longer against him, the strong arm no longer draped over him. He screamed and fell off the bed, about to scoot under it once again before he heard the familiar voice.
"Loki! Brother!" The large form of Thor filled Loki's vision suddenly as the thunderer ran around the bed and leaned down. "I am sorry, I should have known." He lifted Loki up with ease and placed him on the bed. "Are you well?"
The trickster stared at Thor, wide-eyed and still frazzled. For a moment he believed it had all been a dream, that he really had not been here, so he panicked and instinctively fell off the unfamiliar softness. He hugged himself and tried to relax against the bed, mostly unsuccessfully. He nodded to Thor.
"You do not look well, brother. You are shaking." He leaned down and hugged Loki, then lifted the smaller god into a sitting position and rubbed his back soothingly. "I am sorry..."
Loki relaxed and sighed into the embrace and nuzzled his face into Thor's neck - his new favorite place to be. Thor's beard tickled his cheek. "It's alright, brother," Loki mumbled. "I just...I thought you weren't real again."
"I understand." The thunderer nodded for a moment. Then he let go a little and leaned back, suddenly chuckling.
"What is so funny?" Loki asked, looking up at his face.
"It is nothing...it is just..."
Loki lifted an eyebrow, "What?"
Thor smiled widely, "Well...I love it when you call me 'brother'. Like you used to-"
The trickster pushed Thor playfully, "Shut up, Thor." But a smile tugged at his lips.
The door suddenly slid open and Loki's smile disappeared. He didn't care who it was, he leaned back into Thor with a jerk and was pleased when his big brother wrapped protective arms around him. He hid his face in Thor's shoulder, not looking at who entered.
"Hey Thor...Loki." The quiet man's voice was not familiar.
Thor nodded in greeting, "Doctor Banner, I did not realize you were here." Loki stiffened at the name, immediately remembering the coy scientist, the mask that hid the real monster inside. "It is alright, brother, he is a friend." But Loki wasn't having it, he kept his face in Thor's shoulder and scooted closer to him.
"Actually, I've been here since he first arrived. I guess you don't remember much of that, huh?" The question was directed at Loki, but he didn't respond or care to acknowledge the mortal in the room.
"I apologize for my brother's-"
"Oh no, you don't have to, really. I get it, I do. I...still can't believe.." He paused. "Well, I'm...actually surprised to find you here, Thor. That's not exactly true, I'm surprised to find Tony still here." Loki began to tremble. "What I mean is, that he's still alive, that you haven't-" The doctor sighed, "I'll just...shut up now." He chuckled awkwardly.
"I see," was all Thor said, voice flat but deep.
"Well anyway, I'm glad you didn't hurt- uh-" The trickster could feel a heat rising in his brother. The scientist was quick to continue, "I mean- what I- it's just that, we've found something wrong with Tony."
Loki felt the blood leaving his head, dizziness skirting at the edges of his mind. Thor spoke, "Explain." Loki was confused, confused at Thor's sudden somber disposition. His brother was usually so boisterous, quick to anger and even quicker to forgive. Extreme emotions were as easy to him as subtlety and poise were to Loki. This...quietness unnerved him.
"Uhh, well, it's hard to say. We're still doing some tests, he's under observation," he paused, presumably seeing the confusion on Thor's face. "He's...unconscious. We're not taking any risks." Loki perked up at that, and turned his head around so he could see the doctor. "Oh, hey Loki," smiled the strangely calm man as he lifted one hand in a nervous greeting. Loki again said nothing.
"So," Thor said, "what is wrong with Stark?"
Banner winced slightly and tilted his head, "Well," he said slowly, "we're not really sure just yet. But," he added at the slowly growing annoyance on the thunderer's face, "we're thinking it has something to do with the Tesseract."
Loki spoke up, "Th-The Tesseract?" he said with a quiet voice, slightly incredulous. "Do you...accuse me of-"
"On no, no," Banner quickly waved the question away, "obviously not, why would you- Never mind, we've just been finding readings in him that correspond to the energy of the Tesseract."
Thor rubbed a hand lightly on Loki's back. "And what does that mean, doctor?" Thor asked.
"Uh, well," he grimaced, obviously not wanting to answer, "we think...maybe it might have caused him to..." He paused.
"To what?" asked Thor impatiently.
Banner wrung his hands nervously. "I'm just- We think that maybe..." his eyes shifted to Loki, then Thor, then to Loki again. "That maybe he wasn't in complete control of...himself...Maybe..."
Both gods stared at the doctor. Loki felt numb, like his body had disappeared. He wanted the doctor to go away. He didn't want to speak anymore, speaking and listening were exhausting. He just wanted to stay in Thor's warm arms forever and never have to do anything again.
"Do you mean to say," Thor began slowly, "that everything that Stark has done to my brother - that he is not responsible?" Loki suddenly whimpered and whined, clutching the front of Thor's tunic. He buried his face in his brother's shoulder, anxiety growing with his light-headedness. He didn't like their words, he wanted to sleep again; lay next to Thor and listen to the wonderous thunder and rain. Why can't there be rain?
"Well- I... We just don't know yet. I'm just telling you that...that it's possible."
Loki was fidgeting, he couldn't stop moving. Thor began rubbing his entire back with strong motions and filled his ear with soothing words. The smaller god relaxed a little and stopped moving, although he couldn't stop the slight trembling in his bones.
"Loki," Thor said, "are you alright?"
The trickster didn't answer for a moment, then shook his head reluctantly.
Banner nodded, understanding. "Look, I'm sorry...I shouldn't have brought it up-"
"No...doctor," said Thor quickly. "I thank you for informing us of...your progress..." Loki shifted uncomfortably. He was sure his older brother didn't quite know what to say; the truth was, Loki didn't quite know what to think.
A/N: I realize we have yet to address the fact that Loki's still wearing a collar with a chain attached, and that Thor still doesn't really know what happened to him. Don't worry, these issues will be addressed soon enough. As for what's up with the Tesseract and Tony... Some of you have already guessed there was something more wrong with him other than the obvious (the obvious being, 'Tony's evil' lol). ;)
Also, some shift in POV next chapter; so far we've only seen everything from Loki's viewpoint, so that should be interesting.
Until next time!