A/N: As I've said in my other stories, life has been crazy and I'm sorry for the wait. I promise I'm not abandoning it, I swear.

Everyone left except Loki and Frigga. Odin sat back, looking at his son. His son that he had thought he had lost. It had been a long year. A long year to take a look in the mirror. He hadn't been happy with what he saw. He had spent hours going through memories of Loki, desperately trying to see where he went wrong. He had spent months thinking, have I truly failed all of my children?

He knew what Loki thought. Looking at things through his eyes, he couldn't blame him.

"I could have done it father! For you! For everybody!"

"No Loki." No, you don't have to prove yourself to me. No, genocide is not the answer. No, the Jötnar aren't monsters. He had always seen Loki as an equal to Thor, he had just not known how to express it when they were so different. So he focused on Thor and let Frigga, who understood Loki much better, focus on Loki. Obviously Loki hadn't seen it that way. Perhaps he had been stricter with Loki, but that was only because he didn't understand the boy. People always behaved better towards that which they understood and visa versa. It wasn't by conscious thought, it was inherent.

Perhaps painting the Jötnar as monsters wasn't the wisest move when he was raising one, but what other choice was there? He couldn't ban the people from speaking of it because then they'd just be suspicious, thus the boys would hear them sooner or later. He couldn't make the people forget as he had done with his daughter; Hela was constantly weakening him, his seidr couldn't handle casting another spell that large. His only hope was that Loki would never find out.

Now Loki stood before him, waiting. He was surprised that he had not yet asked of his mother. The muzzle has bound his seidr inside of him, meaning any illusion would have fallen away. Thus if Loki had been fully Jötun, his Asgardian illusion would have also fallen away.

"Are you going to sit there in silence for the next decade or are you going to address why I'm still here, Allfather?"

"Can a father not speak with his son?"

"Perhaps old age dulls your mind, because as I recall, I should be called Laufeyson, not Odinson."

"Was I not the one who raised you? Was I not the one who chose to save you?"

"Please, save the dramatics for an oaf like Thor. You did not save me, you took me as a political pawn." Loki was trying to get a rise out of him, to get him to yell or shout. To get him to react with anger. Which proved that he was hiding something.

"Regardless of what you choose to believe, you are my son and that is the truth." Loki scoffed.

"I have not always treated you as I should have in the past, but believe me when I say that it wasn't intentional. You may not believe me now, but I am relieved that you are alive. I can only hope your time on Midgard will help you see that." He nodded to Frigga, who stepped towards Loki, summoning the seidr-blocking armbands.

She undid the shackles, placing a strand of metal on each of Loki's inner forearms. The metal moved, twisting around the arm from wrist to elbow, double backing to form two Xs. Frigga hugged their son tightly before stepping back.

"I know binding your seidr might seem cruel, but you must see that it is for the best. You know that I will always love you." Loki stared past her, locking eyes with Odin.

"I suppose I'll be escorted to the holding cell now, until I am to be sent to Earth?"

"Of course not. You'll wait in your quarters until the feast."

"Whatever game you are playing, Allfather, it will not work. I will not be manipulated by you again." Odin shook his head.

"No. No you won't be, because it is not my intention to do so." He truly had failed his children.

Loki paced his room, his seidr bubbling uncomfortably under his skin. Odin's sudden compassion was something that he had not been counting on. Why did the fool choose now to be sympathetic? He'd had thousands of years to listen to Loki, to be a father and he chose now of all times to not blame Loki. He wanted to throw something, to scream and beat the wall. Yet his seidr remained just out of his reach, constrained by the bonds around his arms.

Perhaps Odin was not being compassionate at all, perhaps he simply thought binding Loki's seidr was the worst thing he could do. Which wasn't exactly wrong. The only worse punishment that he could think of was sending him back to Thanos. Which was a possibility as well.

Odin could be pretending to care, using false compassion to convince the Midgardians that he was a benevolent king, yet also not biased, as he was still punishing Loki. This newfound kindness could be to lure Loki into a false sense of security so that he gave up where he had been for the past year. Odin could then send him back as punishment. Then the Allfather wouldn't have to deal with the mistake that Loki was. He would have Thor, the golden prince, the dark prince all but forgotten. Yes, he was sure Odin would enjoy that very much.

Unfortunately for the Allfather, Loki had no desire to tell anyone what had happened. He could tell that Thor was torn between believing the boy he grew up with was still there and believing he was simply a monster. It wouldn't be hard to nudge Thor into believing the latter. If he found out the truth, he would try to destroy Thanos. Try being the key word. The titan would kill him. He couldn't allow that.

Most people assumed that he was jealous of Thor and that he hated him. They were wrong. He didn't hate Thor, he hated himself for not being able to hate him. Hating oneself was not normal, nor easy to face. The result? Projecting that self-loathing unto others. Particularly the one that he could never measure up to. Thor was his brother, and despite his annoyance, he would always love the oaf.

That's why Thor must see him as the monster. The villain, not the victim. It was the only way to protect him. For now, he would rest.

He went over to his bed, picking up the book that was sitting on the nightstand. Taking a moment to survey the quarters, he realized everything was exactly as he had left it. Everything was immaculate and nothing had been moved. His mother's doing, no doubt. She would be even harder to convince than Thor.

He leaned against the headboard, banging his head on the wood. Why did he always find himself in these complex situations?

He closed his eyes, debating whether or not to read or try to get some sleep. Sleep meant nightmares, but he would be closely monitored on Midgard and thus likely found out. It would be better to try to sleep now and try to escape on Midgard. Of course, without his seidr, Heimdall would find him in moments. He needed to get these blasted seidr blocking bands off. Which was impossible, as only the one who placed the bindings could remove them, unless that person died; the seidr would leave the binds and become vill seidr, until it chose a new host, absorbing itself into the body at birth and waiting for the host to tame it.

He glanced at the book in his lap, knowing his mind was far too distracted to read it. Placing it back on his nightstand, he got up and went to his closet. He should pack for his trip to Midgard.

Bruce paced apprehensively. Based on how Thor acted, he was sure an Asgardian feast would not be docile. He wasn't sure he could keep the Hulk under control. He had thought about not going, but that seemed rather rude. Then, after the party, they would all be returning to Earth with Loki. He took a deep breath, desperately trying to calm his nerves. It would be fine.

Even though a part of him agreed with Tony, he couldn't help feel like it was a bad idea. Loki was known for trickery and chaos. He also knew all of their weaknesses. It wasn't exactly a good combo. Still, he also couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

His thoughts were interrupted by Thor opening his door wide, Clint and Natasha standing slightly behind him.

"Come Friend Banner, it is time to feast!" Even though the Thunder god was booming loudly and smiling, it didn't reach his eyes. Constantly running from the government in order to not be used as a weapon taught you how to read people. Thor was putting on a show.

"Alright. Let's go." He smiled thinly, trying to hide his nervousness.

After a couple hours of partying with Asgardians, Tony decided he wanted to go home. He was an extravagant person himself, it's just that Asgardians were slightly crazy. They were constantly antagonizing Bruce, which, admittedly, he did as well. They repeatedly threw their mugs and glasses on the ground, though they repaired themselves almost immediately. The drunk ones-which was pretty much everyone-were going around telling war stories and slapping each other on the back boisterously. Tony, as well as the rest of the Avengers- minus Thor- were avoiding the mead. Clint, Natasha and himself would like pass out after a few sips, according to Thor, alcohol tended to bring out the Hulk for Bruce and the Captain couldn't get drunk anyway. Odin's booming voice carried through the hall, jolting him from his thoughts. Loki was next to him. (When had Loki gotten here?)

"Midgard has long since been ignored by the other realms, who saw the planet as insignificant and its people weak and short lived. The latter cannot be helped, however the former is untrue. The Crown Prince, assisted by five Midgardians, defeated the Chitauri. Loki, the Second Prince of Asgard, was a part of this attack. His punishment will be living with the Avengers, as the group of heroes have named themselves. His seidr has been bound inside him. When he is worthy, he may return to Asgard with his full status and seidr returned." Loki remained passive, staring straight ahead. Odin continued.

"Until then, let the feast continue!" With that, everything continued like it hadn't been interrupted in the first place. Loki left his father's side, making his way to the edge of the room and leaning against the wall. Asgardians seemed to walk as far from him as possible, glaring in his direction. Tony, being Tony, decided to walk up to him.

"Hey Reindeer Games." Annoyance flared up in the god's eyes.

"Stark. If you're expecting thanks for the little stunt you pulled, you won't get them. This punishment is worse than death and when I'm free, I will kill you." He said the last four words not like a threat, but as a fact.

"Unfortunately, we have a no murder policy at the Tower." Tony dropped his voice level so only Loki would hear him. It wasn't hard.

"Besides, I don't believe you were behind the attack." A flicker of fear, quickly covered up by a snarl.

"Then you are a fool." Then he stalked off, leaving Tony even more sure of his previous theory.

Steve watched Loki stalk away from Tony, wishing his super-hearing was enough to hear the exchange. He couldn't get the image of Loki on his knees, shaking arms holding him above the abyss. He didn't have respect for someone who killed indiscriminately, and he could have been faking it, but the thought of Loki simply being a puppet kept nagging him. Even though he was the "god" of lies and trickery, he didn't think Loki would fake that kind of reaction.

He grabbed Loki because he figured someone should be holding the prisoner. Loki had tensed immediately, struggling to get loose. Naturally, Steve had tightened his grip. Then they were enveloped by rainbow light. Loki had stopped struggling, though he was tense and his eyes were squeezed shut. When the light dissipated, Loki slammed onto his knees, and Steve, who didn't want to fall with him, let go. Loki had caught himself, though he was shaking and nearly hyperventilating.

He realized that everyone else was too distracted by trying to not throw up to realize what happened. He glanced at Thor, who was staring at Loki with concern. Soldiers arrived, surrounding a now swaying Loki.

Maybe he was a fool, but he didn't think Loki had been faking that. If anything, he had been trying to hide it. Even if he was a fool, Loki did deserve a second chance. Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world, as a Christian, Steve had to share that kind of forgiveness.

A/N: Okay, I know last chapter I said this one would be half Asgard, half Midgard. Obviously that did not happen, but we will go back to Midgard in the beginning of next chapter. Hope you enjoyed, have a great day/night!