Well, it's been exactly two years since I started this story, and almost eight months since I updated... this chapter is super short, but maybe it'll kick my muse back into writing this.
Needless to say, I had a hard time with this one.
Loki runs into the dining room and slides to a stop where Sleipnir is. Hank greets him, but Loki has eyes only for Sleipnir, and he blinks at the sight of his horse.
Sleipnir isn't the size of a foal anymore. He's almost the size of some of the full-grown horses in the barn. He's taller than Loki is, now, when Loki snuggles up to his side. "You're big now."
"Good thing you brought a lot." Sleipnir looks at the large bottle Loki's holding.
"Nobody hurt you?" Loki checks his horse over. Loki hadn't wanted to leave Sleipnir behind while he went to fetch another bottle of that disgusting stuff that he apparently has to drink to get better and gain weight, but Hank said it would be better to leave him behind. Loki had been really nervous to leave Sleipnir, because what if someone hurt him?
Bruce promised he'd look after Sleipnir. That was really reassuring, because Bruce is super nice and gentle, so he'd never hurt Sleipnir. And if anyone else tried to hurt Sleipnir, well, Bruce could become Hulk. Bruce, Hulk and Tony are the best protectors ever in all the nine realms. But then Bruce was where Loki was, so he couldn't have protected Sleipnir.
"I'm fine." Sleipnir lowers his head,nuzzling Loki's chest so the can opener in his mouth thumps softly against Loki. That's a lie, since he's definitely not fine. Loki strokes his back, feeling every single vertebrae in his spine, every single rib. He wants to just keep feeding his horse until he grows fat and Loki can never feel another rib again, but Sleipnir says he throws up if he eats to much.
At least it doesn't look like he's any worse off than before, so nobody came in and hurt him when Loki was getting another bottle. So far, nobody's hurt Sleipnir at this school. Logan said that nobody lays a finger on Sleipnir without going through him, and Sleipnir said he had claws, but Logan wasn't with Sleipnir either.
Loki brings the bottle's teat to Sleipnir's mouth, and the horse drops the can opener to suck at it. Now that Sleipnir doesn't look like a baby, it's really weird seeing him drink from a bottle, but he really wasn't a baby before, he just looked like one. Kind of like when Loki decided to look like a kid at the zoo.
Loki strokes his hands through Sleipnir's long mane, his mind is still reeling from everything that happened today. Meeting with Professor X and having him go inside his head, meeting Sleipnir, finding out his whole Monster Family is really real, and then all that stuff that just happened with Thor and the others in the kitchen.
Today has maybe been one of the most eventful and confusing days ever, maybe even more so than the day he woke up in Tony's living room after supposedly being dumped on his roof. And that was plenty confusing, because Stark Tower is about as different from Asgard as possible, from how it looks to how everyone acts.
Sleipnir gives Loki a look that says your feet smell.
Loki looks down at his bare feet, which still have a bit of alcohol on them and really do smell like alcohol, though all the cuts are healed, of course. He's a little surprised the shards cut his feet in the first place.
"He ssssssteppped on glasssss." Jormungand hisses from Loki's shoulders. Loki still doesn't know how he didn't figure out Jormungand was real before he actually told them today, but apparently Tony, Bruce and Jarvis never knew, either, and they're probably the smartest people in all the nine realms.
"But now all betters, see?" Loki wiggles his toes. Sleipnir looks worried, but really, he should worry more about himself, when he's as skinny as he is and just got out of a horrible place. Besides, that was nothing compared to Loki's injuries in Asgard. Loki's not sure why he'd almost cried when he stepped on the shards, but it had been really embarrassing, especially in front of Thor. He used to not cry when he was younger, so he's gotten even more pathetic.
But Thor... hadn't scorned him, not even like on Halloween. He hadn't hit him for crying like a baby, even though it's pathetic and worthy of mockery. He'd hit Thor with ice, too, and Thor hadn't even beat him for using magic, especially against him. But he probably would have if Tony wasn't in the room, right.
"I told Thor that if he hurts you any, I'll hurts him back." Loki runs his fingers through Sleipnir's extremely long mane, which reminds him of Rapunzel's hair.
"He hasn't hurt me." Sleipnir's eyes say. "Just you. A lot. So I kick him sometimes."
"Thor says he owed me greatly, he swored on Mjolnir that he won't be all mean-like now." Loki can hear a bit of the disbelief in his own voice. Loki would have given anything for him to make that promise back when they were both children in Asgard.
Thor had actually apologized. Or, at least he seemed to, but it's so strange that Loki's not entirely sure he hadn't passed out in the hallway and dreamed it all up, except his alcohol scented and stained feet are proof that the whole glass fiasco happened. So the rest was probably real too, even if it seems impossible.
Loki pauses. "But..."
Loki's eyes widen when he realizes how stupid he's been. It probably is impossible. What if this is just a prank like the Warriors Three and that servant boy played when Loki was a kid, where they pretended they were his friends?
Except... Thor's never been one for mind games and almost always says what he thinks, though, and oaths swearing on Mjolnir is a really big deal. Besides, Tony, Bruce and Hulk haven't let Thor hurt him, anyways.
"Thor's not gonna protect me." Loki mumbles.
"You don't need hisssss protection. You have me, and Tony." Jormungand assures him, as if he can read minds like Professor X. "I believe Thor wasssss telling the truth."
"But he prob'ly won't hurt you, Sleipnir, 'cos he already helped you." Without him, Sleipnir would still be in the dark, dirty dungeon without any food.
Sleipnir nods, still sucking on the bottle. "Thor has been kind to me."
"Even whens you kick him." Loki snickers.
It had been weird thanking Thor, but Loki is truly thankful that the prince brought Sleipnir to Midgard. Maybe Thor really is a bit better now?
But even if Thor saved Sleipnir and won't ever hurt Loki for using magic against him again, Odin certainly will, like he always has.
Loki's probably going to be whipped to within an inch of his life for shooting ice at Thor's beard. Maybe the Allfather will just go all-out and kill him now that he doesn't have a use for him on Midgard. He's going to be even madder that Sleipnir's here, and after he kills Loki, he's going to hurt Sleipnir or maybe kill him too.
Loki wishes Tony was hugging him right now, but even if he was, what could he really do against the Allfather? Odin's a lot more powerful than Thor, and probably a lot more powerful than Tony and Bruce or the Hulk. He could just strip them of their powers like he had with Thor, couldn't he? He could make Hulk weak and destroy all of the Man of Iron suits, and Tony isn't really good at punching without those.
They'll just die, if they try fighting Odin, and Loki doesn't want his family to die. Even if Thor would actually defend Loki against Odin- something that's never going to happen no matter what he says- Odin could just banish him and strip him of his powers again, before killing the rest of them.
Starting to hyperventilate, Loki does what he always did in Asgard. He goes to hide like the coward he is, pulling Sleipnir along with him. They can't be found! Sleipnir's too big to fit under a table right now, so Loki heads out of the dining room, helping Sleipnir lurch beside him.
Fenrir shows up, and he's bigger now, too, but he's also just an illusion, so his growl and murderous eyes really wouldn't stop Odin. Thor had said he's going to get Fenrir, like he saved Sleipnir, but what if Odin stops him?
Loki finds a closet in the hallway that should be big enough for the tangible members to hide in.
Only, Sleipnir starts to resist and pull away when Loki tries to go in. He makes a fearful sound, digging his feet into the ground.
"No! I won't go back in the dark!" The horses eyes are filled with fear, and all eight legs are trembling as he rears up. One hoof ends up clonking Loki's head, but Sleipnir's not strong enough to send him reeling back or anything. This briefly snaps Loki out of his panic about Odin materializing to punish them.
Loki freezes outside the closet, because he can't believe what he's just done, trying to pull Sleipnir in there. Trying to bring him back to the dark is almost as bad as not feeding him, even though they were saying that wasn't Loki's fault. He goes to smash his fist against his head for being an idiot, but Jormungand's wrapped around that arm, preventing him from doing so.
He slams the closet door shut so hard it breaks, and Loki falls to the floor along with the splinters, sobbing.
Sorry for all the angst that's been happening in this story.