Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 167

This was supposed to be a good day.

Thor was so ready for this to be a good day.

He was supposed to meet Jane in Germany for her science conference and then grab dinner afterwards. They were FaceTiming half the night (or, more accurately, half of his night; it was bright and almost-sunny while Jane was getting herself ready), talking about how wonderful it was going to be to finally see each other in person again for the first time since New Years – which, admittedly, is only a few weeks, but it's still longer than he would have liked to go without kissing his girlfriend.

And then Loki showed up, in the midst of one of his all-too-common mental breakdowns, and it seems those plans are out the window now.

Thor loves his brother. He really, really does. They've had their ups and downs, but he loves Loki and he would do anything for him. If he has to cancel his plans, he will do it, and he won't complain for a moment because he knows he's needed here more than he would be in Germany. But that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

That may be the wrong word. Frustrating almost seems to imply that he's upset at Loki, and he's not. It's not Loki's fault that he gets like this sometimes, and the last thing Thor would want to do is make him feel bad about it. Perhaps annoyed would be a better word for this – inconvenienced, maybe. He is unhappy about the way his day is going.

But what's a guy supposed to do?

Loki is out like a light, but Thor finds himself having a much harder time falling asleep. He's not really sure why that is. Is it because he wasn't expecting to have to share his bed tonight, and Loki clinging to him like a koala was not part of his plan? Or because he feels bad that he'll doubtlessly have to send Jane a follow-up text in the morning – beyond his brief "Loki needs me" message he sent an hour or so ago as his brother got comfortable in bed with him – and he doesn't want to ruin her day right before her big conference?

Or maybe it's because his brother's words won't stop repeating in his head. He burst through the door, worried not for himself but for Thor. The dream that sent him into such a spiral was about Thor. He feels awful, knowing that Loki was so worried for his well-being, and Thor can't bring himself to be even the least bit grateful.

And what in the Nine Realms was he talking about when he brought up the Infinity Stones?

Thor is definitely not going to tell Odin to get rid of the Tesseract. As far as he can tell, the Infinity Stones are the most powerful things in the universe – things of legend in the most literal sense. To keep them all could be dangerous, but to put them in the wrong hands most certainly would be. There is nowhere in the universe safer for the Tesseract than Asgard's vault, and if Loki could think clearly and without bias, he would see that.

But it does leave him to wonder just what Loki's dream was about. Thor was hurt; he's figured that much out, at the very least. But what did the Infinity Stones have to do with it? What does he know about them that nobody else does?

Although he supposes he knows at least a part of that answer. He heard Loki's tearfilled rant to their mother about the Mind Stone. The details weren't clear, but his fear certainly was. He doesn't like the scepter. He doesn't like the Mind Stone. But he's never raised an issue with the Tesseract before.

This whole thing is just... very, very weird to him. It doesn't make sense. There's so obviously something he doesn't know; something big that Loki's keeping from him. He keeps getting these little glimpses into it, these horrors he must have faced, but he doesn't understand. And he doesn't know how to help if he doesn't understand.

Sometimes he wishes he could go back in time and not invade Jotunheim. How much better would his life be if he never did that? How much better would Loki's life be? He might not be happy. He learned years ago that Loki was never happy in Asgard. But their lives would be better. They would be easier.

But then he never would have met Jane, and he wouldn't trade that for anything.

Snowflake jumps up on the bed, squishing Thor's poor rib cage as she walks across him. Thor lifts his head to watch her, more out of boredom than anything. Snowflake walks down Loki's side, and he's oblivious to her presence. She curls up in the space behind his legs, and, when she gets comfortable, she starts licking herself.

Thor rests his head against his pillow and closes his eyes once more.

Maybe he can get at least a little rest tonight.