Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 168

Loki sleeps better the second time around.

He doesn't quite wake up well-rested, but he doesn't wake up with a mind-shattering jolt of fear, so he's doing better than he was earlier.

He's careful as he sits up, doing his best not to bother his sleeping brother next to him or his sleeping cat by his feet. Snowflake does wake up, though only long enough to lift her head and look at him before she closes her eyes and falls back asleep.

Loki takes a deep breath and runs his hands down his face. He feels better than he did when he burst into Thor's room, but he doesn't feel okay. He feels numb, emotionally and physically – which is better than the fear he'd felt earlier, but still not ideal. It happens a lot, he's noticed, after moments like earlier tonight. He wonders what causes it. Lingering anxiety, maybe? A strange kind of fatigue from sobbing for so long? He'll likely never know.

Thor groans quietly and readjusts his position. Loki watches him carefully for a few moments, but he doesn't seem to be awake. A part of Loki is glad; he doesn't want to wake him up. But that also means he's stuck in bed until Thor gets up, because his only way out is crawling over Thor.

Or he could teleport, he supposes...

Is he awake enough to teleport? He's not sure he is. He might have to wait a few minutes before he does that.

Thor shifts again and rolls toward him. He cracks open a single bleary eye and looks up at him. "You're awake."

"I am," Loki replies. "I'm not convinced that you are."

Thor huffs quietly and closes his eye. "No, not really."

Loki smiles to himself and leans against the wall, pulling his knees up to his chest. He'll just hang out here for a while. He probably could leave, but what would he do? He doesn't want to talk to anyone. He's not in the right headspace for that. He doesn't want to risk going somewhere that somebody is going to bother him. And, if he's being honest with himself, he's not sure he wants to be alone. He's not sure he's ready to leave his brother's side.

So he stays in Thor's bed, leaning against the wall with his eyes and letting his eyes drift closed. He'll just wait here until Thor's ready to get up.

~~~

"Loki?" Thor's voice is barely a whisper.

"Hmm?" Loki opens his eyes to look at him.

Thor's lying on his side, looking up at his brother uncertainly, though that uncertainty fades when he gets a response. He sits up, crossing his legs in front of him. "How are you feeling?"

Loki gives him a small shrug. "Better than last night," he says. "That was..." One of the most terrifying moments of his life. He really thought for a moment that Thor was...

Thor gives him a small smile. "I'm glad to hear it," he says. "Should we go eat breakfast?"

Loki forces a smile. "I suppose we should." He still doesn't want to. He still doesn't want to risk having to talk to people. But at least he'll have Thor with him. At least his brother can take control of any conversations that may arise.

Thor grabs his phone, tucks it in his jeans pocket – did he sleep in jeans? That sounds uncomfortably – and they head out together. Loki clasps his hands in front of him, picking at his fingers as they walk. He's not sure why he's doing it. He usually does it when he's nervous, but he's not nervous right now. He's not walking into a situation that he knows will end poorly. He's fine. The rest of the day will be fine. There's no reason for him to be nervous.