Aftermath
Title:
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Torture
Word Count:2884
Warnings: Mentions of torture, illusions to rape
Summary: Taken from a prompt at norsekink: In the scene where the Avengers are all looking down at Loki after he's been defeated, instead of asking for that drink, the Avengers are stunned when instead Loki's eyes glow a eerie blue, much like Hawkeyes were, and when Loki speak, it is this demonic voice that basically says something along the lines of " You broke my puppet" or " You all can keep the corpse". Then to everyones horror, when the blue leaves Loki's eyes, he falls to the floor, stone-dead. The glamor leaves, revealing his Jotun form, beaten and cut to Hell.
The Avengers stood looking down at Loki, who slowly rose to a sit, doing, in Tony's opinion, a rather lame job of showing how surprised he was at being defeated. The green eyes looked each of them over for a split second each, barely reacting to Clint's drawn arrow. His shoulders fell in a slump in a very 'well, shit' dejected look. His mouth opened and then, his body went rigid, his eyes suddenly a blazing blue.
“Worthless jotun toy.” A deep, cold, angry voice, certainly not Loki's, echoed through the room and then the body fell back into the crater.
The sound of Mjolnir hitting the floor echoed in the living room as Thor shoved Clint aside to reach the corpse lying in front of them.
“Loki?” The god of thunder's voice cracked as crouched down beside the body. “Brother?” It was heartbreaking to watch the blond man brush the side of Loki's face, an anguished sob echoing loudly as he took Loki in his arms, cradling him like a baby.
Tony could not believe what he was seeing. The body in Thor's arms barely resembled the Loki, who, not an hour earlier, had thrown him through the window. His pale skin was now an ashy gray-blue, but there were darker places, wicked shades of purple and black. Whole sections of his hair had been torn out and bore scorch marks that looked to Tony far too much like pokers for a fireplace, with smaller lines across his cheeks that reminded him of grilling skewers. What hair that remained was matted with dried blood. A large hand print was on Loki's neck, the hand not nearly as massive as the Hulk's, but at least as big as Thor's.
A keening whine filled the room as the Asgardian kissed his brother's forehead, whimpering. “No... no...” He kept muttering. “Please, brother, please...”
“Fuck.” Clint whispered, lowering his bow and glancing at Tony. “It wasn't him.”
Natasha set the scepter down on the ground, taking a step closer to the crater, but not entering it. “Thor?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw the Hulk shift back to Bruce and Steve caught him before he could fall on his face. “It's okay.”
“I... it...” Bruce shook himself. “I didn't know...”
“None of us did.” Steve stated, just loud enough for Tony to hear. “Tony, you have some clothes Bruce can borrow?”
“What?” He shook his head to clear it. “Yeah...” He went over to help Bruce to his feet. “Come on big guy.” He shot a look back at Steve. “There's a bottle of one hundred proof vodka in the bar. Point Break could use a drink.” He could tell the Captain was about to issue a reply of 'this is serious' or something of the like, but thankfully, Natasha interjected.
“You two go. We'll get things settled up here.” She let out a breath as outside, the sky began to rapidly darken with thunderclouds.
*
Bruce was doing his best to keep calm. It wasn't easy, but given a choice between performing an autopsy on Loki or keeping Thor from calling up another severe thunder storm or worse, a nor'easter, he'd take the autopsy any time. The fact that he and the others had been fighting a reanimated corpse and not the real Loki was unsettling. And it wasn't as if they could explain to Thor that he should be glad that his brother hadn't been the one responsible for the death and destruction. He had a feeling the Asgardian knew it, but trying to think about that when he was trying to keep his emotions in check, it was impossible.
Picking up a pair of heavy-duty scissors, Bruce began to cut away the armor on Loki's corpse, his stomach turning as he uncovered the arms first. Almost every bone was broken, and they were twisted unnaturally in their sockets, and there were burn marks; so many burns. If this was just his arms, he hated to think what was waiting on his legs and torso. Remaining as passive as he could, he gently cut away the rest of the clothing, his stomach almost revolting when he saw the hand-print shaped bruises on Loki's thighs and waist.
“Shit.” He closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths. He could do this. He had to do this.
“Sir?” Jarvis's voice was perfectly calm. “Agent Romanov would like to know if you require any help.”
Bruce swallowed and opened his eyes. “Yes.” At the very least, the presence of another person might help keep the big guy down. Speaking of the big guy, he was just as, if not more, upset than he currently was. Shaking off the emotion before it could consume him, he went back to cutting away the armor, not certain if it was something that should be kept or not.
The door to the lab opened with a snick. “If it helps, Tony just slipped a massive amount of sedatives into the soup he insisted Thor needed to eat.” Natasha said from behind him. “I'm guessing it was enough to put a Clydesdale into slumber in a matter of minutes, so I'm thinking the next thing Stark will be doing is pulling Thor's head out of the bowl.” She came around to the other side of the table. “Damn it.” She was looking Loki's body over with abject horror. “Steve and Clint went to talk to Fury and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hopefully, they'll give us at least a few days before they show up demanding answers.”
Bruce nodded, setting the scissors down. “Jarvis, have you had time to analyze that scan you took?”
“Yes, sir. Mister Odinson's internal organs are the same as a human's, other than his appendix is, or was, functional.” The AI's voice was crisp. “It seems to have served as nutrient storage.”
“So instead of his body storing fat, his appendix basically held onto excess in order to feed him should food become scarce?” Natasha asked.
“Yes, Agent Romanov.” He replied.
“Makes sense.” Bruce stated. “From what Thor told me about Jotunheim, it's not exactly the easiest place to live. Long periods when there's not a lot of food.” He set his fingertips on the puncture the size of his thumb just above Loki's navel. “This is what most likely killed him. Gut wound.”
“Slow and agonizing.” Natasha offered, setting her fingers on Loki's forehead. “How long do you think it's been?”
“Hard to say.” He took a breath. “I'm going to lift him up, can you pull the fabric out from under him?”
She nodded. “Going to turn him over?”
“In a bit. I want to get the front side completely finished.” He let out a nervous sound. “The Other Guy isn't too happy right now.”
“None of us are too happy, Bruce.” She replied.
“All right now...” He gently lifted Loki's body up and got a fleeting glance of his back as Natasha quickly pulled the clothing away. It took all his effort not to drop the corpse. “I have a feeling whoever did this won't be alive much longer once Asgard finds out.”
*
Thor might think his brother sleeping, if he hadn't known better. Banner had left Loki lying on his front, his head tilted to the side, resting on a pillow and covered, from toes to chin with a blanket. He sat down shakily, setting his hand on his brother's head, smoothing down locks the matted locks that were still clumped together. “I'm taking you home tomorrow, little brother. Taking you home for the last time. I am sorry I did not see that the one in the cell was not you, the one who we fought was not you. You were already gone, I know not when.” He closed his eyes. “I thought you dead when you fell, and when Heimdall told me he had seen you on Midgard, I rejoiced at the idea that you were alive. I wanted you to come home, brother. But it was not to be. You have been gone from this life for some time.”
He let out a breath and set his head next to Loki's, not bothering to hide his tears. “I will not tell Mother the details, I know you would want her spared the horrors.” Somehow, it had been easier to deal with his brother's death when there had been no body. “I should have seen, brother. I should have known the actions of the past few days were not of your doing. It was not in your nature. Had I known, brother, this would have ended on that cliff.” He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I remember when we were young, Loki. I could not understand my sums until you explained to me turning simple numbers into warriors in an army. Once I could picture that, it was easy.” He set his hand on his brother's cheek. “I have to wonder, had I not been so eager to win in sparing, so adamant in my refusal to be bested... perhaps I could have kept us from drifting apart.”
He moved to rest his forehead against his brother's. “I should have been a better brother, Loki. If ever I hear someone speak of you in an unkind manner, I will rid them of their tongue.” He let out a weak chuckle and opened his eyes. “I will find the ones who did this to you Loki.” He smiled slightly. “I may even drag their leader back to Asgard in chains and let Mother strike the death blow.”
A hand on his shoulder caused Thor to start. “What?” He said, far more sharply than he intended.
Bruce looked down at him. “You want some help?” He was holding a basin of water with a bar of soap and a washcloth in it.
“No, but thank you.” He rose to his feet. “I apologize for my...” He stopped speaking as Banner held up a hand.
“It's fine. I'd be worried if you weren't in this state.” He set the basin down. “Steve's going to come down with some clothes. He and Loki are close in height, if not build.”
Thor nodded and picked up the wash cloth, lifting Loki's head and taking the pillow out from under it. “How is Stark?”
“Tony's fine.” Bruce moved to the other side of the room. “He's overseeing the majority of the cleanup, it's keeping him occupied and his mind off other things.” He sighed. “I don't think he's ready to talk about what he saw on the other side of that portal.”
He frowned and began to wash Loki's hair, gently working his fingers through the tangles. “I do not believe that whoever orchestrated this attack will be staging another assault soon. Their losses are heavy, and while I do not believe that their entire force was here, they still would need to regroup.”
“It's one of the reasons we're sending the Tesseract back with you. It'll be safer on Asgard.” He let out a breath. “I'm sorry about your brother, Thor.”
“Thank you.” He set the cloth down and came over to Bruce, setting a hand on his shoulder. “I admire your strength in keeping your emotions in check. Would that I could be so fortunate.”
“You haven't caused a storm in forty-eight hours, I'd say you're doing a fairly decent job.” Bruce replied.
A deep, guttural gasp echoed behind them and they turned to see Loki, sitting up, staring at his hands and then, slowly raised his red eyes towards them. “Wh... what?” He looked at the two of them, his body shaking. “Thor?”
A bellow echoed next to him and a fraction of a second later, the Hulk was towering over his brother, ready to smash him across the room.
“No!” Thor dove forward to grasp his brother, but Banner beat him too it, picking up his brother like a toy and cradling him against his shoulder.
“Not puny god.” The Hulk stated, not relinquishing his hold on Loki. “Cold though.”
Thor picked up the blanket that had fallen and wrapped his brother the best he could. “Loki?”
His brother was apparently trying to hug Banner. “Nice and warm.” He blinked at his brother, his skin slowly fading to white and his eyes from red to green.
The Asgardian let out a weak chuckle, his heart swelling with joy and gently rubbed Loki's back. “You always did turn into a snuggler when you were sick or injured.” He glanced up at the Hulk. “Is he still cold?”
The Hulk nodded and set Loki down enough to wrap the blanket around him before picking him back up. “Friend.”
Loki blinked once or twice before closing his eyes. “I feel horrible.”
“Rest.” Thor set a hand on his back and met the Hulk's eyes. “Friend.” He smiled, looking down at his brother who had turned his head to rest against Thor's chest, his breath slowly evening out. “My best friend.”
There was a loud thunk from across the room that jerked Loki awake and caused Thor and the Hulk to turn towards the door. Steve Rogers stood there, looking dumbfounded. “I was only gone twenty minutes, what did I miss this time?”
*
“So this Thanos and this Other...” Fury scanned the report. “That's who was calling the shots?”
“Yes, sir.” Clint stated. “When Loki refused to go along with their plans, they tortured and killed him, then used his body to stage the invasion.” He really hoped the director wouldn't press the issue or demand to talk to Loki himself. The guy could barely stay awake for longer than twenty minutes at a stretch, and even then, he wasn't completely coherent. It made sense; the guy had been dead and while he'd been brought back to life, whoever had done it hadn't healed all his wounds.
“When are he and Thor returning to Asgard?” Fury closed the file. “I take it he will be convalescing there.”
“This afternoon. Thor feels the sooner he gets his brother home, the sooner he can recover.” He let out a breath. “I'm half surprised that he didn't take off with Loki the moment the Hulk let him go.”
Fury snorted. “Rogers said it was rather shocking.”
In his mind, Clint slapped the SHIELD director across the face, but kept his face perfectly passive. “Yes, sir.”
*
What was it about the comfort of one's own bed? Loki stared out the open windows from his prone position, propped up on a small mountain of pillows, knowing full well that if he didn't go to sleep, Eir, or worse, Mother, would come in and give him something to put him into slumber. The Midgardian painkillers were still working their way through his system, leaving him unable to take any here on Asgard for risk of causing some form of damage, and Eir stated he had quite enough damage to be getting on with as it was.
He let out a deep breath and hugged a pillow to him, inhaling the wonderful scent of lavender and freshly laundered bed linens. He never thought he'd be this warm, this content - he never dreamed he'd spend another moment in this bed or this room. “Quit lurking, Thor, I know you're there.”
“I never could sneak up on you.” His brother replied, coming into the room and sitting on the foot of the bed. “I won't tell you that you should be sleeping.”
Loki managed a weak chuckle. “I'm resting, that has to count for something.”
“It does.” He smiled. “I'm certain you will be back to your old self in no time.”
“The Loki that I was Thor, is dead.” He turned to face his brother, noting his look of shock. “I can't be him anymore. I would love to be the man I used to be, but I can't. Too much has happened, I have seen far to much, experienced horrors beyond nightmares - the Loki I was is no more. I must start afresh, and while hints of my old personality will linger and occasionally shine through, I have changed and must heal both in body and soul.” He let out a breath. “I'm sorry.”
Thor leaned forward and set a hand on his arm. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I would rather have you here now, as you are - than to never see you again, until I too, am dead.”
Loki closed his eyes and snorted. “Surely you jest, Thor. You're too stubborn to die.”
His brother chuckled in response. “And you will never let me forget it.”
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Torture
Word Count:2884
Warnings: Mentions of torture, illusions to rape
Summary: Taken from a prompt at norsekink: In the scene where the Avengers are all looking down at Loki after he's been defeated, instead of asking for that drink, the Avengers are stunned when instead Loki's eyes glow a eerie blue, much like Hawkeyes were, and when Loki speak, it is this demonic voice that basically says something along the lines of " You broke my puppet" or " You all can keep the corpse". Then to everyones horror, when the blue leaves Loki's eyes, he falls to the floor, stone-dead. The glamor leaves, revealing his Jotun form, beaten and cut to Hell.
The Avengers stood looking down at Loki, who slowly rose to a sit, doing, in Tony's opinion, a rather lame job of showing how surprised he was at being defeated. The green eyes looked each of them over for a split second each, barely reacting to Clint's drawn arrow. His shoulders fell in a slump in a very 'well, shit' dejected look. His mouth opened and then, his body went rigid, his eyes suddenly a blazing blue.
“Worthless jotun toy.” A deep, cold, angry voice, certainly not Loki's, echoed through the room and then the body fell back into the crater.
The sound of Mjolnir hitting the floor echoed in the living room as Thor shoved Clint aside to reach the corpse lying in front of them.
“Loki?” The god of thunder's voice cracked as crouched down beside the body. “Brother?” It was heartbreaking to watch the blond man brush the side of Loki's face, an anguished sob echoing loudly as he took Loki in his arms, cradling him like a baby.
Tony could not believe what he was seeing. The body in Thor's arms barely resembled the Loki, who, not an hour earlier, had thrown him through the window. His pale skin was now an ashy gray-blue, but there were darker places, wicked shades of purple and black. Whole sections of his hair had been torn out and bore scorch marks that looked to Tony far too much like pokers for a fireplace, with smaller lines across his cheeks that reminded him of grilling skewers. What hair that remained was matted with dried blood. A large hand print was on Loki's neck, the hand not nearly as massive as the Hulk's, but at least as big as Thor's.
A keening whine filled the room as the Asgardian kissed his brother's forehead, whimpering. “No... no...” He kept muttering. “Please, brother, please...”
“Fuck.” Clint whispered, lowering his bow and glancing at Tony. “It wasn't him.”
Natasha set the scepter down on the ground, taking a step closer to the crater, but not entering it. “Thor?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw the Hulk shift back to Bruce and Steve caught him before he could fall on his face. “It's okay.”
“I... it...” Bruce shook himself. “I didn't know...”
“None of us did.” Steve stated, just loud enough for Tony to hear. “Tony, you have some clothes Bruce can borrow?”
“What?” He shook his head to clear it. “Yeah...” He went over to help Bruce to his feet. “Come on big guy.” He shot a look back at Steve. “There's a bottle of one hundred proof vodka in the bar. Point Break could use a drink.” He could tell the Captain was about to issue a reply of 'this is serious' or something of the like, but thankfully, Natasha interjected.
“You two go. We'll get things settled up here.” She let out a breath as outside, the sky began to rapidly darken with thunderclouds.
*
Bruce was doing his best to keep calm. It wasn't easy, but given a choice between performing an autopsy on Loki or keeping Thor from calling up another severe thunder storm or worse, a nor'easter, he'd take the autopsy any time. The fact that he and the others had been fighting a reanimated corpse and not the real Loki was unsettling. And it wasn't as if they could explain to Thor that he should be glad that his brother hadn't been the one responsible for the death and destruction. He had a feeling the Asgardian knew it, but trying to think about that when he was trying to keep his emotions in check, it was impossible.
Picking up a pair of heavy-duty scissors, Bruce began to cut away the armor on Loki's corpse, his stomach turning as he uncovered the arms first. Almost every bone was broken, and they were twisted unnaturally in their sockets, and there were burn marks; so many burns. If this was just his arms, he hated to think what was waiting on his legs and torso. Remaining as passive as he could, he gently cut away the rest of the clothing, his stomach almost revolting when he saw the hand-print shaped bruises on Loki's thighs and waist.
“Shit.” He closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths. He could do this. He had to do this.
“Sir?” Jarvis's voice was perfectly calm. “Agent Romanov would like to know if you require any help.”
Bruce swallowed and opened his eyes. “Yes.” At the very least, the presence of another person might help keep the big guy down. Speaking of the big guy, he was just as, if not more, upset than he currently was. Shaking off the emotion before it could consume him, he went back to cutting away the armor, not certain if it was something that should be kept or not.
The door to the lab opened with a snick. “If it helps, Tony just slipped a massive amount of sedatives into the soup he insisted Thor needed to eat.” Natasha said from behind him. “I'm guessing it was enough to put a Clydesdale into slumber in a matter of minutes, so I'm thinking the next thing Stark will be doing is pulling Thor's head out of the bowl.” She came around to the other side of the table. “Damn it.” She was looking Loki's body over with abject horror. “Steve and Clint went to talk to Fury and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hopefully, they'll give us at least a few days before they show up demanding answers.”
Bruce nodded, setting the scissors down. “Jarvis, have you had time to analyze that scan you took?”
“Yes, sir. Mister Odinson's internal organs are the same as a human's, other than his appendix is, or was, functional.” The AI's voice was crisp. “It seems to have served as nutrient storage.”
“So instead of his body storing fat, his appendix basically held onto excess in order to feed him should food become scarce?” Natasha asked.
“Yes, Agent Romanov.” He replied.
“Makes sense.” Bruce stated. “From what Thor told me about Jotunheim, it's not exactly the easiest place to live. Long periods when there's not a lot of food.” He set his fingertips on the puncture the size of his thumb just above Loki's navel. “This is what most likely killed him. Gut wound.”
“Slow and agonizing.” Natasha offered, setting her fingers on Loki's forehead. “How long do you think it's been?”
“Hard to say.” He took a breath. “I'm going to lift him up, can you pull the fabric out from under him?”
She nodded. “Going to turn him over?”
“In a bit. I want to get the front side completely finished.” He let out a nervous sound. “The Other Guy isn't too happy right now.”
“None of us are too happy, Bruce.” She replied.
“All right now...” He gently lifted Loki's body up and got a fleeting glance of his back as Natasha quickly pulled the clothing away. It took all his effort not to drop the corpse. “I have a feeling whoever did this won't be alive much longer once Asgard finds out.”
*
Thor might think his brother sleeping, if he hadn't known better. Banner had left Loki lying on his front, his head tilted to the side, resting on a pillow and covered, from toes to chin with a blanket. He sat down shakily, setting his hand on his brother's head, smoothing down locks the matted locks that were still clumped together. “I'm taking you home tomorrow, little brother. Taking you home for the last time. I am sorry I did not see that the one in the cell was not you, the one who we fought was not you. You were already gone, I know not when.” He closed his eyes. “I thought you dead when you fell, and when Heimdall told me he had seen you on Midgard, I rejoiced at the idea that you were alive. I wanted you to come home, brother. But it was not to be. You have been gone from this life for some time.”
He let out a breath and set his head next to Loki's, not bothering to hide his tears. “I will not tell Mother the details, I know you would want her spared the horrors.” Somehow, it had been easier to deal with his brother's death when there had been no body. “I should have seen, brother. I should have known the actions of the past few days were not of your doing. It was not in your nature. Had I known, brother, this would have ended on that cliff.” He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I remember when we were young, Loki. I could not understand my sums until you explained to me turning simple numbers into warriors in an army. Once I could picture that, it was easy.” He set his hand on his brother's cheek. “I have to wonder, had I not been so eager to win in sparing, so adamant in my refusal to be bested... perhaps I could have kept us from drifting apart.”
He moved to rest his forehead against his brother's. “I should have been a better brother, Loki. If ever I hear someone speak of you in an unkind manner, I will rid them of their tongue.” He let out a weak chuckle and opened his eyes. “I will find the ones who did this to you Loki.” He smiled slightly. “I may even drag their leader back to Asgard in chains and let Mother strike the death blow.”
A hand on his shoulder caused Thor to start. “What?” He said, far more sharply than he intended.
Bruce looked down at him. “You want some help?” He was holding a basin of water with a bar of soap and a washcloth in it.
“No, but thank you.” He rose to his feet. “I apologize for my...” He stopped speaking as Banner held up a hand.
“It's fine. I'd be worried if you weren't in this state.” He set the basin down. “Steve's going to come down with some clothes. He and Loki are close in height, if not build.”
Thor nodded and picked up the wash cloth, lifting Loki's head and taking the pillow out from under it. “How is Stark?”
“Tony's fine.” Bruce moved to the other side of the room. “He's overseeing the majority of the cleanup, it's keeping him occupied and his mind off other things.” He sighed. “I don't think he's ready to talk about what he saw on the other side of that portal.”
He frowned and began to wash Loki's hair, gently working his fingers through the tangles. “I do not believe that whoever orchestrated this attack will be staging another assault soon. Their losses are heavy, and while I do not believe that their entire force was here, they still would need to regroup.”
“It's one of the reasons we're sending the Tesseract back with you. It'll be safer on Asgard.” He let out a breath. “I'm sorry about your brother, Thor.”
“Thank you.” He set the cloth down and came over to Bruce, setting a hand on his shoulder. “I admire your strength in keeping your emotions in check. Would that I could be so fortunate.”
“You haven't caused a storm in forty-eight hours, I'd say you're doing a fairly decent job.” Bruce replied.
A deep, guttural gasp echoed behind them and they turned to see Loki, sitting up, staring at his hands and then, slowly raised his red eyes towards them. “Wh... what?” He looked at the two of them, his body shaking. “Thor?”
A bellow echoed next to him and a fraction of a second later, the Hulk was towering over his brother, ready to smash him across the room.
“No!” Thor dove forward to grasp his brother, but Banner beat him too it, picking up his brother like a toy and cradling him against his shoulder.
“Not puny god.” The Hulk stated, not relinquishing his hold on Loki. “Cold though.”
Thor picked up the blanket that had fallen and wrapped his brother the best he could. “Loki?”
His brother was apparently trying to hug Banner. “Nice and warm.” He blinked at his brother, his skin slowly fading to white and his eyes from red to green.
The Asgardian let out a weak chuckle, his heart swelling with joy and gently rubbed Loki's back. “You always did turn into a snuggler when you were sick or injured.” He glanced up at the Hulk. “Is he still cold?”
The Hulk nodded and set Loki down enough to wrap the blanket around him before picking him back up. “Friend.”
Loki blinked once or twice before closing his eyes. “I feel horrible.”
“Rest.” Thor set a hand on his back and met the Hulk's eyes. “Friend.” He smiled, looking down at his brother who had turned his head to rest against Thor's chest, his breath slowly evening out. “My best friend.”
There was a loud thunk from across the room that jerked Loki awake and caused Thor and the Hulk to turn towards the door. Steve Rogers stood there, looking dumbfounded. “I was only gone twenty minutes, what did I miss this time?”
*
“So this Thanos and this Other...” Fury scanned the report. “That's who was calling the shots?”
“Yes, sir.” Clint stated. “When Loki refused to go along with their plans, they tortured and killed him, then used his body to stage the invasion.” He really hoped the director wouldn't press the issue or demand to talk to Loki himself. The guy could barely stay awake for longer than twenty minutes at a stretch, and even then, he wasn't completely coherent. It made sense; the guy had been dead and while he'd been brought back to life, whoever had done it hadn't healed all his wounds.
“When are he and Thor returning to Asgard?” Fury closed the file. “I take it he will be convalescing there.”
“This afternoon. Thor feels the sooner he gets his brother home, the sooner he can recover.” He let out a breath. “I'm half surprised that he didn't take off with Loki the moment the Hulk let him go.”
Fury snorted. “Rogers said it was rather shocking.”
In his mind, Clint slapped the SHIELD director across the face, but kept his face perfectly passive. “Yes, sir.”
*
What was it about the comfort of one's own bed? Loki stared out the open windows from his prone position, propped up on a small mountain of pillows, knowing full well that if he didn't go to sleep, Eir, or worse, Mother, would come in and give him something to put him into slumber. The Midgardian painkillers were still working their way through his system, leaving him unable to take any here on Asgard for risk of causing some form of damage, and Eir stated he had quite enough damage to be getting on with as it was.
He let out a deep breath and hugged a pillow to him, inhaling the wonderful scent of lavender and freshly laundered bed linens. He never thought he'd be this warm, this content - he never dreamed he'd spend another moment in this bed or this room. “Quit lurking, Thor, I know you're there.”
“I never could sneak up on you.” His brother replied, coming into the room and sitting on the foot of the bed. “I won't tell you that you should be sleeping.”
Loki managed a weak chuckle. “I'm resting, that has to count for something.”
“It does.” He smiled. “I'm certain you will be back to your old self in no time.”
“The Loki that I was Thor, is dead.” He turned to face his brother, noting his look of shock. “I can't be him anymore. I would love to be the man I used to be, but I can't. Too much has happened, I have seen far to much, experienced horrors beyond nightmares - the Loki I was is no more. I must start afresh, and while hints of my old personality will linger and occasionally shine through, I have changed and must heal both in body and soul.” He let out a breath. “I'm sorry.”
Thor leaned forward and set a hand on his arm. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I would rather have you here now, as you are - than to never see you again, until I too, am dead.”
Loki closed his eyes and snorted. “Surely you jest, Thor. You're too stubborn to die.”
His brother chuckled in response. “And you will never let me forget it.”