Chapter 1
Two months. It had been two months ago when the thunderstorms had started. Raging water flooded the streets, flashes of lightning were everywhere and the cracks of thunder were deafening. Since then, there hadn’t been one sunny day. The meteorologists didn't know how to help. They couldn’t find a logical explanation for this phenomenon and could do little to calm the worries of the people. Everyone was a mess by now. The only one who didn’t really seem to care was a certain inventor, owner of Stark industries. Tony Stark didn’t mind whether the sun was burning the landscape, or if it was raining dogs. Which means - as long as he didn’t have to go outside. And luckily for him, he preferred to stay in his lab anyway, losing any track of time while working on his new projects. This is why all the reports and panicking people didn’t quite catch his interest. He knew what was going on, but he never interfered. The only thing which slightly worried him about the situation was one of his teammates. Thor had once told them that with his emotions, he was able to control the weather. If he was happy, the sun was usually shining and if he was having a troubled life … The Asgardian had left a while ago, even before the natural disaster had started. Since then the team had heard nothing from him. He wasn't showing up, neither did he accept the calls Tony used to make to check in on him. Not that it was unusual - Thor had developed a habit of only showing up once in ages. The rest of the team wasn’t in Stark tower either. Clint was back with his family, taking a little time-out, Natasha doing her job as a spy for SHIELD, Bruce doing his as a doc and Steve … no one exactly knew about Cap, but he was probably trying to adjust in his new life. Tony was quite content with not having them around for once, finally being able to concentrate and stick to his own rhythms without anyone bothering him or telling him he should finally quit his workaholic behaviour. On this particular evening, he was just heading upstairs to eat dinner. All windows were closed, as they always were now. The weather outside looked worse than ever, one lightning strike chasing another. The scientist was just beginning to prepare his dinner, when suddenly, Jarvis voiced up.
“Sir, I think there is a visitor coming. My cameras spotted him.”
Tony put the frozen pizza aside, all attention on his AI.
“Who’s it, J?”
“- It appears to be Mr. Odinson, Sir.”
Now the pizza was completely forgotten as Tony whipped around, racing up into the direction of the top floor.
“Sir, the other way! Mr. Odinson will be coming through the door.”
Now, that was strange! The Norse warrior had never taken the long way, always entering directly through Tony’s personal Iron man landing base. Why now taking the door? The brunette shrugged, turning on his heel and heading down to the entrance.
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Tony didn’t wait for announcement and already yanked the door open when he arrived, expecting to see Thor flying closer. He was wrong. His visitor was already there.
“Th- - Thor?”
If Jarvis hadn’t informed him who was coming, Tony wouldn’t have recognized the figure which was now standing in front of him, leaning heavily against the doorframe. And - why the hell was it so loud? As he looked him down, he spotted a smaller frame lying in the man’s arms. Whoever it was, he was screaming nonstop, a sound that was more than terrifying. The frame was totally covered in blood, not recognizable at all. And Thor? He was barely looking at him, dirty, blonde hair covering his face from view. The blonde’s body was shaking badly, and Tony noticed he was close to collapsing. When his lips parted and he tried to speak, his voice was nearly inaudible.
“S-Stark-?”
The man tried to step closer but nearly fell as soon as he tried. The inventor ran out immediately, stepping next to him and gently gripping his arm.
“Yeah, it’s me. Slowly, ok. C'mon!”
He tried to drag him in as quickly as possible while keeping him upright.
“Hey hey hey, we’re nearly in, ok. I’ve got you! Try to focus, yeah? Look at me!”
Thor’s muscles were trembling under Tony’s grip and he was leaning heavily against him, barely keeping his eyes open.
As soon as they were inside and Tony had kicked the door shut behind them, Thor collapsed to his knees, cradling the still screaming bundle close to his chest. The screams were horrifying, loud and agonizingly lasting. They sounded ragged and hoarse and weren’t recognizable as human. Tony stepped closer, dropping to his knees beside his friend and trying to get a closer look at the situation. He carefully tried to take the other person from Thor’s grip, but the blonde only tightened his grasp, panicking right away.
“Shh, try to calm down, ok? I ain’t gonna hurt you.”
The god looked up at him and Tony could see a veil of tears blurring his vision.
“L-Loki - help …”
“Loki? - What about him? He hurt you?”
Thor shook his head, looking down to the bloody bundle in his arms.
“You - you have to - help - help him!”
His breaths fastened then as hard sobs shook his body.
“Wait - you wanna tell me that … this screaming thing is - Loki? - Damn!”
The scientist had bent closer to get a better look at the person. There wasn’t much to recognize, but the slim body and the blood-matted, black, long hair were evidence enough to know that Thor was right.
“Ok buddy, listen. You’re both hurt and you’re scared to lose him, I get it. But it’d be better for both of you if you let go for the moment, alright?”
The Asgardian didn’t react, only pulling his brother - or adopted brother - closer.
“I’ll just put him down beside you. - You’ll still see him, deal?”
Thor still seemed uncertain, looking up at him through his tears-sparkling eyes.
“Hey, you two are save now. You knew why you came here, didn’t you? - You trust me?”
There was a brief moment of hesitation before he finally stretched out his trembling arms, offering Loki to him. Tony carefully took him from him, immediately tightening his grip when remembering the weight difference. He quickly laid him down only a few feet away, still close enough for Thor to see him.
“Hey, we’ve got this, ok?”
He couldn’t tell whether Thor actually was listening. Only when Loki fell unconscious and therefore stopped screaming a few minutes later, the blonde stopped crying, falling back against the wall. Now that he was halfway lying, Tony could see that his clothes had been ripped apart and were soaked with blood. The inventor skidded closer, gently putting a hand to his shoulder.
“It’s ok, sunshine. We’ll fix both of you up, you listen? - You’re safe now. - Nothing’s about to happen.”
The god barely reacted to what Tony was saying. Now that he was sitting closer, he could see the bruises all-over Thor’s face, rimming his eyes and cheek bones, running down across his jaw and along his neck. His long, golden hair was as dirty as Loki’s, hanging down in loose strands. All of a sudden, Thor clutched his hand and pulled him closer, obviously trying to tell him something. The way his gaze was blurry and failed to focus told him that the man was nearly unconscious.
“L-Loki, you - have to - “
“Help him, I know. - He’s gonna be fine. - You’re both gonna be fine. - Thor, eyes on me! Look at me, ok? Listen to what I’m sayin' - at least try. I need you awake now.”
The blonde was trying to obey his commands, panting heavily now and fixing his eyes on the scientist. After a minute or so, he fell to the side - breathless and barely awake. Tony caught him just in time, so he didn’t hit the floor and cautiously lowered him down, so he was lying on his side, looking into his direction.
“You’re doin' well, sunshine. - Doin' very well. - I’ll get you two help now, yeah?”
The grasp of the god tightened around his hand, a begging expression in his gaze.
“D-don’t - leave, please - help him - help - help me!”
“I ain't goin' anywhere, big guy. Promise.”
The inventor kept one hand with Thor, drawing his phone out with the other. He knew the duo needed immediate medical attention and there was only one person coming to his mind that would be ready to treat a criminal frost giant - though this one was somewhere in India right now, working as a doctor. He kept his eyes fixed on Thor while calling.
“Tony, do I really have to send you my working schedule? I’m busy right now. - What’s it? Another mission.”
“- Kinda. You gotta come back. - Right now.”
“- And why would that be?”
“Thor’s back from Asgard.”
“- Yeah, alright. I guess you two are coping without me as well.”
“Loki is with him. - They’re both quite - beaten up, Bruce. Loki’s just screaming and goldilocks nearly unconscious. - Your ticket’s booked.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before the reply came.
“Alright - I’m there in a few hours. - Try to get them stabilized somewhat if you can - or at least keep them awake.”
“- Currently trying. - Though I'm prolly better leaving Loki asleep. He's screamin' all the time ... See you then.”
Tony hang off, quickly tugging the device back into his pocket. Thor’s eyes were halfway closed now, his grip on Tony’s arm shaky.
“S-Stark…?”
“Yeah, I’m right here. - I’m right with you. Bruce is on the way, sunshine. Don’t worry, we’ll manage that.”
It worked for around an hour. Tony stayed kneeling next to the injured god, talking about random things so he had something to concentrate on and wouldn’t fall unconscious. But there came the time when Loki awoke shortly, moaning quietly and slightly moving his fingers. Unluckily, the first thing he saw wasn’t Thor, but Tony, which immediately made him scream again. That was the moment when Thor couldn’t take it and started crying once more, trying to get to Loki but too weak to move anywhere. Tony made sure to move out of Loki’s sight - that at least worked, the trickster quit screaming and fell asleep once more. The blonde was still sobbing, burying his face in his hands as a sort of protection from something Tony wasn't quite aware of. Tony maneuvered him back into a more comfortable position, soothingly running his fingers through the blonde locks. The crying didn’t seem to end and when Thor grew too exhausted to even sob properly, it was just ragged breathing and tears falling from his eyes. However, he still attempted to focus on Tony, remembering he wasn’t allowed to sleep. Tony noticed but knew letting him sleep was too dangerous right now.
“- S-Stark-”
“Right here. It’s okay now. Try to relax, ok? You’re in Stark tower now, nothing will happen as long as you’re here - no worries.”
The thunderer somehow still heard his words, his eyes falling closed.
"Thor, look at me. - Open your eyes, ok?"
The blonde released a small, agonizing sound before blinking once more. His eyes seemed unfocused and blurry and Tony would have wondered if Thor even made him out like this.
"Good job, big guy. - I know this is hard, but you gotta stay awake now."
" - c-can't - can't - hurts..."
The words were a mere whisper, but Tony still identified them.
"I know. - I know."
Tony stayed on the floor with him, holding him halfway, ensuring that his heart didn’t stop beating right in front of him. The following hours felt like an eternity, with nothing but the breaths of the two gods in his hallway. Somewhen, he started combing his fingers through Thor’s once golden hair again, in an attempt to comfort more himself than anyone else, combing out knots and dried blood. The god was still awake, but in a delirious state that told Tony he wasn't hearing or seeing anything.
“What has happened to you, sunshine, huh? - What the hell happened to you?”