Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 17

This question has been on Steve's mind for a few hours, but there's always been someone else around and he hasn't gotten the chance to ask. Now that it's just him and Thor, he decides to go for it before the opportunity's gone. He just needs to figure out how to phrase it.

"Thor," Steve says slowly, piecing the words together as they leave his mouth, "are you and Loki still..." No, that's a bad way to ask. He tries again. "Do you still consider him..." No, that's weird, too. "Do you like Loki?" It's not phrased very elegantly, but it gets his question across.

Thor thinks for a few moments before he answers. "I do and I don't," he says. "He has done some unspeakable things — things I will never forget, nor will I forgive them. He's become the worst version of himself, and I have come to learn that he will never change."

"But...?" Steve prompts. There's always a but.

Thor sighs. "He's still my brother. I grew up with him. We played together; we fought together. I know that Loki is gone -- he has been for years -- but sometimes it's difficult not to see that in him even now."

A small smile grows on Steve's face. "You think there's still some good in him."

Thor shakes his head. "No, any good that was in him has long since been snuffed out by jealousy and greed. But he's always had a mischievous neutrality in him, even when we were kids. It would sometimes get him hurt and it would frequently get him in trouble, but there was never any malice in it. Sometimes I still see it."

Steve nods slowly. He can't imagine how hard it is to wrangle these two completely different ideas of who Loki is and who he was. It explains a lot, though. Sometimes Thor treats him like a friend, and sometimes he treats him like a prisoner. It seems hs views him as both, too.

"I understand that you never knew Loki as anything but a murderer and a would-be tyrant," Thor says, "but I truly appreciate that you try to help him when you can. I would like to think that one day, he will come to appreciate all that you've done for him as well."

Rogers may be the worst of them all.

Yeah, that's not going to happen.

But Steve forces a smile anyway. "Well, he gets enough trouble from the others. I didn't want to pile on."

They make it to the kitchen, and Steve pulls out the tub of ice cream sitting in the freezer. Natasha has been forcing him to try basically every type of ice cream that didn't exist in 1945, so the tub of ice cream today is mint chocolate chip. It's not his favorite — which is probably why he's so willing to give some to Loki — but he does enjoy it. He'll probably get more once they've cycled through all the flavors the grocery store has to offer.

He scoops out enough for a single bowl, then looks over at Thor. "You want some? You haven't eaten since you got here."

Thor eyes the ice cream uncertainly. "What is it?"

"What's ice cream?" Steve repeats, dumbfounded. This must be how everybody else feels when he asks about things he missed while he was in the ice. "It's just..." He puts a spoon in the bowl and hands it to him. "Here. Try it. I'll get Loki a new bowl."

Thor still doesn't seem sure, but he scoops up a little bit on his spoon and puts it in his mouth. His eyes light up as soon as he's tasted it. "This is delicious!"

Steve chuckles. "Yeah, it's not bad."

Thor takes another bite, and he looks as though he's about to ascend to the heavens. He scoops up a single chocolate chip and holds it up. "What is this?"

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Chocolate?"

"Chocolate," Thor repeats thoughtfully. "I like it."

Steve bites back a laugh. "Alright, I'll pick you up a bag of chocolate tomorrow." It can be a thank-you gift for keeping an eye on Loki so no one else has to.