Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 133

When Frigga went to Asgard to talk to Odin, she returned with a few of Loki's things. One of them was his blanket, carefully removed from his otherwise untouched bed.

Loki doesn't need a blanket. He's Jotun; the cold is his body's natural habitat. And yet, when Thor goes searching for him a few hours later, he finds his brother sitting outside with his Asgardian blanket draped over his shoulders, gazing off toward the trees that surround them.

Thor sits down by his side, and though Loki doesn't look at him, the faint smile that grows on his lips says he knows he's there.

"You've been out here a long time," Thor remarks.

"I'd nearly forgotten the feeling of a gentle breeze," Loki says wistfully. "It's hard to believe I've lived a thousand years and never realized just how wonderful it is."

Thor gives him a small smile. "I'm glad you've had the chance to rediscover it."

"As am I," Loki says.

A silence falls over them, and Thor lets it sit for a short while before he speaks again.

"The others are getting ready for dinner," he tells his brother. "We were hoping you'd join us."

Loki shakes his head. "I would rather stay outside, but thank you."

"The twins are eating in their room, if that makes a difference," Thor says. That's not entirely true. They'll eat with everybody else if they can, but Wanda volunteered them both to leave if it will coax Loki back into socialization.

"It doesn't."

"Pepper is here," Thor adds. He knows those two are friends.

"That's wonderful," Loki says monotonously. "I want to stay outside. I do not know how much clearer I can make this."

Thor shakes his head to himself. Alright, no more pushing. "Barton made steak," he tells his brother. "Would you like me to bring you some?"

"If you don't mind," Loki says. "That does sound very inviting."

"Inviting enough that you would consider joining us?" Thor asks. He already knows the answer.

"Inviting enough that I would not consider throwing it at you unless you really annoyed me," Loki replies, "and, surprisingly, we are not yet there."

Thor chuckles. "Alright, I'll leave you be," he says. He pushes himself to his feet. "I'll be back in a moment."

"You should eat first," Loki says. "I don't mind some room-temperature steak. If you time it correctly, I may even get to eat it while watching the sunset."

"The sunset is in a few hours, brother," Thor says. "You'll have your steak long before then."

"Is it really still hours out?" Loki asks. "I thought it would be sooner – though I certainly will not complain about having longer to spend outside before the day ends."

Thor's not at all sure what to say to that, so all he says is, "I'll see you soon, brother, with your steak in tow."

"I look forward to it."

So, with that settled, Thor heads back to the Compound.

By the time he's reached the dining room, nearly everyone's arrived, and people are already serving themselves. Thor hops in the unofficial line to join them. This steak really does smell delicious. He's looking forward to it.

"He's not coming?" Steve guesses.

Thor shakes his head. "He doesn't want to come inside just yet."

"I don't blame him," Natasha remarks. "If I knew it might be my last time outside, I wouldn't want to leave, either."

"We're still in charge of feeding him, right?" Tony asks. "Should someone...?"

"I told him I would bring him some steak once we're done eating," Thor says. They don't have to worry about that. Looking after his little brother is his job.

They all load their plates up, and soon, they're all sitting at the table together like one big, kind-of-happy, very dysfunctional family.

He catches Tony looking at Steve every now and then, a weird look on his face. Steve never seems to notice. He's far more interested in his food than his surroundings and it shows.

Finally, Tony says, "Rogers, you have been suspiciously quiet for your first time seeing your bestie in weeks."

Steve holds up a finger while he finishes chewing; then, "What do you expect me to say? We barely saw him and he still doesn't want to talk to us. Nothing's changed."

"Well, yeah, but you still got to see him," Tony says.

Steve shakes his head. "That doesn't mean anything – literally anything. He's not doing any better."

"He is doing better," Thor tells him. "I would say he's doing well, even. He's just not yet ready to talk to you. He's not ready to lose you one day."

Steve sighs. "I know," he says. "That's the problem."

And then it gets quiet again.

Side conversions begin to pick up a minute or so later, and Thor listens in on the ones he can, though he doesn't contribute much. If Loki were here, he'd probably be talking to him, but...

Randomly, Pietro announces, still chewing his food as he speaks because apparently Nazi scientists don't teach manners, "This is delicious. Who made this?"

"He did," Natasha says, nudging Clint with her elbow.

Pietro grabs his napkin and spits his chewed-up steak into it. "This is disgusting," he says. "This is the worst steak I have ever eaten in my life."

Clint rolls his eyes, but there's a smile on his face that he can't hide. "Well, you're more than welcome to stop eating it," he says. "More for the rest of us."

"Never." Pietro speeds through the kitchen to the trash, his steaked-up napkin in his hand, and he's back in his seat before Thor's even processed that he's left.

"You're a pain in the ass," Clint tells him. "You know that, right?"

Pietro smiles. "Only to you." He takes another bite of steak, his grin never wavering.

"I think this is delicious," Wanda says. "Thank you for making it for us."

"Hey, I think we deserve some kind of 'welcome home' dinner," Clint says with a shrug. "And since no one else volunteered..." He looks pointedly at the other Avengers.

"I could have made something," Pepper says. "All you had to do was ask."

"Pepper, you have a whole company to run and you just got in this morning," Clint reminds her. "We are not asking you to do anything on your three days off."

"You're actually not allowed to do anything," Natasha tells her. "If you need anything done, it's Stark's job now."

"Gee, thanks, guys," Tony says sarcastically. "Thanks for volunteering me before I could volunteer myself and get the brownie points for it."

"You can still have the brownie points," Pepper assures him.

"Yes!" He pumps his fist victoriously.

They keep up the small talk for a while, and, for the first time in a long time, things almost feel normal. People are laughing and smiling and telling jokes and making fun of each other, and Thor's here for it. He's not off in his brother's room trying to cheer him up. He's not plotting with Steve or Tony or his mother about what would be best for him. He's not in Asgard, arguing with his father – or, worse still, watching his mother do the same – to give Loki even an ounce of respect. He's just here, in the moment, in the conversation, and he's enjoying every second of it.

He's missed this. He really has.