Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 13

When the Avengers reach the bathroom, Tony gestures for them to stay back. He doesn't care if they look in, but they're staying out of the doorway. Tony and Thor need to be able to walk in and out as they please.

Loki is sitting in the bathtub with his back against the wall, the suds fortunately covering anything Tony really doesn't want to see. His head is resting back against the wall as well, his face angled up slightly towards the ceiling and his eyes closed. If he didn't look so sickly, he would almost look peaceful.

Tony eyes him for a few moments before looking over at Thor, kneeling next to the tub. He hands over the plate of pizza. "I couldn't find any water so..." He holds out the juice. "I brought some apple juice."

"Thank you," Thor says. He puts the apple juice on the floor and puts the plate of pizza on the lip of the tub. "Loki?"

"Mm?" Loki hums.

"We brought you something to eat," Thor says. (Tony doesn't mention that technically, he brought Loki something to eat.)

"Mm-mm," Loki mumbles. "Let me sleep."

Thor sighs. "You'll only feel worse if you don't eat."

"When I wake up," Loki says.

"You're not going to wake up if you don't eat," Thor says.

Tony raises an eyebrow. Is he saying Loki is about to die of starvation, or is he saying Loki will always be tired until he eats? Because if he's actually about to die, Tony might have to start feeling a little more guilty.

"That's okay," Loki says.

Tony glances out the door at the other Avengers to gauge their reactions to that. Clint and Natasha both look a little disturbed, but it's Steve who really catches his eye. He's leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his head lowered and his gaze on the floor. On either of the other two, Tony would have assumed it was an act of indifference, but Steve was worried before this, at least a little. If he's not looking now, it's because he can't.

Thor pinches the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "Do I need to feed you myself?"

Loki rolls his head to the side and slowly opens his eyes. "I'm not a child."

"No, you're not," Thor agrees. "You're a fool."

Loki cracks a tired smile. "Thank you."

Tony grabs the hand towel from the sink and tosses it at Thor, only because he doubts Loki could catch anything himself right now. "So he doesn't get the pizza all soggy."

Thor holds the towel up for his brother. "Here."

Loki gives a very dramatic roll of his eyes, but he slowly raises a hand and takes the towel. He doesn't dry off very well with just the one hand, but evidently he dries it well enough for his liking, because he drops the towel on Thor's lap and picks up a slice of pizza. He holds it in front of his face, his arm shaking visibly even from this distance, and Tony expects him to drop it at any moment. But he doesn't; he just stares at it.

Eventually, Steve chimes in with, "It's pizza, Loki. It's good. You should try it."

Loki looks towards the door quizzically, then turns his attention back to the pizza. After a few moments, he brings it to his mouth and takes a bite, then rests his elbow on the lip of the tub while he chews.

Tony waits expectantly. So? Is the pizza good enough? Or will he have to send one of the Avengers down to make some chicken nuggets instead because, much like Cheez-Its, pizza is "not food"?

Loki doesn't actually answer any of those questions aloud, but he does take another bite, so it must not be too bad.

"I think he likes it," Natasha whispers.

"God, it's like watching Animal Planet," Clint whispers back, and Tony bites back a laugh.

It takes a few minutes and Loki needs a few rest breaks, but he does eventually finish the whole piece. No one dares speak to him, afraid of messing up the progress they've barely made.

With that piece gone, Loki lays his hand out on the edge of the tub and lolls his head back again, closing his eyes.

"Loki?" Thor says cautiously. "Do you feel any better now?"

Loki just hums in response, neither a yes or a no.

"Stark also brought some..." Thor pauses to read the label on the jug by his side. "Apple juice."

"Just the juice?" Loki asks, and his confusion is enough to convince him to open his eyes again. Thor holds up the bottle for him to see. "How does one juice an apple?"

"I don't know," Thor admits. "But you should drink it."

Loki eyes it skeptically. "No cup?"

"Um..." Thor looks up at Tony, who shrugs. So what if he forgot to bring a cup? Loki can have as much juice as he wants. It is all his. "No cup."

Loki pulls his other hand out of the water, and Thor hands him the towel again to dry it. They trade off, Thor taking the towel back and Loki taking the juice in two hands. His arms shake from the moment he lifts them up, and it only gets worse once he takes hold of the jug. He slowly tips the end up, the juice trickling down towards his lips, but not quite enough.

Thor reaches over to help steady the jug, then helps him angle it upwards enough that Loki can finally drink from it. The jug is far from full, but there has to be at least a liter in it, and Loki doesn't stop drinking until it's all gone. He tosses the empty jug aside with a clatter that makes everyone else jump, but Loki is unaffected, just closing his eyes again.

Thor gently puts a hand on his arm, still lying on the lip of the tub. "Do you feel any better now?" he asks again.

"Mm," Loki hums thoughtfully. "Less warm. Still tired."

"You still have a piece of pizza left," Thor tells him.

Loki gives a minute shake of his head.

"Do you want something more to drink?" Thor asks.

"Some very strong alcohol," Loki says without a moment of hesitation.

Thor chuckles quietly and pats him on the arm a few times. "You'll be fine."

"But you are not drinking my alcohol," Tony adds.

Tony swears he spots the faintest hint of a smile on Loki's lips at that. He still looks awful, but it looks like Thor was right. He'll be alright after all.