Bridal carry
I.
The first time it happened, a lot of them weren't sure if they should take them with him or not, as they weren't sure where his loyalties lie, or if he would be any use to them. He was supposed to be on Thanos' side, even no one was really sure if he was playing Thanos too.
The thing was that one of the mad titan underlings had taken Spider man and put him on one of his cells and a small group consisting of Thor, Natasha and Iron Man went to get him. But when they did find him, Peter didn't want to leave right away.
“There is someone in the cell next to mine... We need to get him too, they've... been hurting him. I could hear it.” Peter said, his youthful features filled with horror. He couldn't get those screams out of his head, the lashing, the sound of bones breaking on the cell next to his.
And so, even they didn't have much time before they were discovered in there they went to see who was in the other cell, with the intention of rescuing them. But then they saw who it was and their resolution wavered. Loki, of course.
He looked very different than they'd last seen him, proud and whole menacing the world. Now he was clearly unconscious, dried blood on his face and neck, his luscious armour in shambles, showing even more injuries. One of his arms was bent in an odd way, as well as several fingers in his other hand. His left leg was a mess and there were ligature marks on his neck. Peter shivered, remembering the screams of pain he'd heard the short time he'd been here.
“It could be a trap.” Tony said. “He fakes some torture, makes us take pity on him and so we take him to our place, to our secrets, the centre of enemy headquarters. I wouldn't put it past him.”
Thor had learnt, with time, to always think the worst of his brother. Still, this time, he didn't think it was the case. When Loki used illusions it was to make him seem more grand, more whole. It would more in character for him to be hurting and put an illusion of being unscathed than the opposite. Still, Stark had his reasons to believe that and they needed to make sure.
“We shall test it, then.” Thor said. “Loki's illusions cannot be touched and remain the same, they are only visual tricks. If I touch him and the wounds remain, then that would mean that he is truly hurt.”
“And that Thanos and him are not friendly, and that Loki may want retribution.” Natasha added. Could be interesting.
And so Thor went close to his fallen brother, conflicted. Part of him wanted this not to be a trick, wanted Loki to be against their enemy, because maybe that would that there was hope for him yet. That they would be able to fight in the same side again, that maybe there was still something beyond resentment and malice left in his brother. But another part of him wanted this to really be a trick, because the alternative would mean that his little brother was badly hurt, and that he had let that purple maniac break him.
When Thor did touch his brother, there was no glimmer, no disappearing of images, just Loki's too cold skin.
“Not a trick.” Peter said. “Now can we take him and leave? I really want to get out of here.”
“I still don't know if we should take him. Having him close, could be a breach of security, and we can't have those, not right now.” Tony said. They already had a kidnapping, and things were only getting started. Having Loki with them seemed an unneeded liability.
“We cannot leave him here!” Peter shouted. He understood why Mr. Stark said that, but it felt so cold.... Cruel even.
“I think he could give us good intel. I could try to convince him to work with us.” Natasha said.
“Thor?”
The god of thunder didn't know what to do. The warrior part of him told him that man of iron was right, and that Loki was probably trouble. That he would regret taking him in again, giving him another chance. That they should probably leave him and they would be better for it.
He had trained himself for this, to not care. He had trained himself not to feel anything for Loki anymore, no matter how deep in trouble he was, how hurt he seemed, how much he seemed to need his older brother. No, he couldn't give Loki any help, because Loki would only betray him again. He didn't care about his little brother anymore, because caring hurt too much.
Or at least that was what he told himself.
“Agent Romanoff is right. Loki could tell us a lot about how this mad man works. He's always been very perceptive and he could have seen things that us, or even Gamora and Nebula have missed. And we have defeated him before, we can do it again if we need to.”
Tony made a gesture of displeasure.
“All right, all right I guess. Let's hope he's worth it.”
And so Thor took him in his strong arms, while the others started going out, Peter's worried gaze on them. Seeing him so close, Thor could see better the damage his brother had endured, and it was getting harder and harder to stay impassible. The injuries on his brother were deep and painful looking and it was clear that whatever the Spider lad had heard had been no illusion.
Still, there was something even worse. Despite being the most fragile out of Thor's little gang (softer than Sif, as she liked to remind him), Loki had always been proud, never let anybody help him when he was hurt, always claimed that he could handle it alone. He never left anyone treat his injuries or treat him like as a sick person unless it was very bad.
For him to be carried like this, limp, offering no resistance, not having complained, not having said a single word of protest since they found him... It was unpleasant, it was wrong, and it put a weight on Thor's gut. His skinny brother was jumping along with his steps, dried blood all over him, several bones broken and there hadn't been a single “I can deal with this on my own”. As Loki went up and down with his steps, Thor hoped for a better future for the both of them.
One in which it didn't take a savage beating for him to allow himself to feel something for Loki again.
-
II.
Mantis and Kraglin saw the Hulk coming at them and were a bit scared. Yes, technically the green beast was on their side, but he was also very changeable, some could even say irrational. No one could know when the beast was in one of his moods and decided that they were in the way and needed to be smashed. Normally he was friendly, protective even at times, but.... How to know which Hulk greeted them?
As he was coming closer, Mantis and Kraglin saw the Hulk, for once, was being careful, gentle even. He was cradling something – no, someone, and moving softly so as not to jostle the figure in his arms. It was odd to see the Hulk be so... caring, tender almost, when he was normally the paragon of hostility and aggression. But the Hulk had a mission, and even his gamma ray-d anger mind could understand that it needed to be handled with care.
They had been fighting together when Loki got a very bad blow to the head, and couldn't perform properly after that. He seemed confused and even threw up a little. Hulk did his best to protect the sorcerer (he was his monster buddy, he was a smart companion to Bruce, and he never ever ever judged what the Hulk did, so yeah, HULK PROTECT) until eventually the god threw an unfocused green look his way and passed out in the midst of the fight.
So Hulk had taken in one arm while using the other to smash all the enemies that could stand in their way and looked for somebody that could help his hurt friend. There were some that would say that Loki didn't deserve Hulk's (and Bruce's) friendship, that he was too rotten, and deserved to be imprisoned forever or executed. But of course, there were some who thought the same of the Hulk, who'd done his share of regrettable actions.
The thing was, Hulk cared a great deal about having Loki around, to be someone with a bad past like him, despised by many like him (also Bruce liked playing chess with the guy) and so he made his mission, beyond anything else, to get Loki to safety, to find some place safe for him, and someone to take care of his injury, before it got worse.
And Mantis and Kraglin were there, and they were both really nice people as far as Bruce and the Hulk knew, so the green one approached them and with a care and gentleness unprecedented in him, deposited the unconscious Loki in front of them.
“LOKI HURT HEAD. YOU TAKE CARE.”
“Sure, mate. You can coun' on us.” Kraglin said, with a terrified smile.
Then the Hulk left to find his friends again, but threw a couple of worried looks their way.
Loki seemed so angelic like that, eyes closed, expression relaxed. There was a big gash on his forehead, but other than that he was the handsome god they all knew. Even prettier without a grin in his head. He heard a man and a woman speaking and of course, his fogged mind concluded that it could be two people.
“Mother, father... I do not feel right....”
“Don't worry, child.” Mantis said, dissolving his worry with her gift. “We will make it all right. We have you.”
If Hulk would have been there, he would have smiled.
III.
It had taken a lot out of him, and while he pretended he was fine and kept telling them so, Steve knew Loki was far from fine. The god of lies was uncommonly pale, nearly green, he had trouble walking straight and Steve had caught him several times blinking hard, probably to stop the black spots swimming in front of his vision.
They had needed a lot of magical energy to break some civilians out of a compound, and even more when the of the women who ran the facility, a sorcerer also, had taken Bucky hostage. It had been tough fighting her- not only had Loki needed to particularly strong to fight this foe, but he had to be very very precise not to hurt their team mate. In the end, there had been some green vortex of doom that had gotten into the enemy lady, apparently sucking the magic out of her, and after Stark had flown her to a cell in his suit, the rest were running, hoping not to run into any more of their enemies.
But ever after creating that hurricane vortex thingy (Steve really wanted to learn better the semantics of magic, it was part of his job now, but who had time? He really ought to ask Loki for a quick class sometime), Loki had been wobbly, out of breath, unsteady. He insisted that he was fine, but they all could see that he wasn't, that the spell had drained him. Bucky was worried, Steve was worried and the civilians that they'd freed also looked quite worried, but they wanted to give Loki some... dignity? Some room to keep his pride but it was getting harder, he was getting slower, and they had no time for this, there was lives on stake.
So at one point, the god stopped and with very bright green yes told his companions to leave him, to run and save themselves without him. But obviously no one wanted to do that. Just as Loki's knees were giving out, Steve picked him up in his strong arms, ignoring Loki's confused expression.
“No one is abandoning you.” Steve said, and meant it.
And so they were running, with Bucky protecting both his friends. Loki had a bad past, like him, many things he regretted, like him and Bucky suspected that there had actions in the God's past that hadn't completely his choice. Couldn't be sure, or give any specifics but Loki understood him and what he had gone through as the Winter Soldier too well not to have lived it himself. Whatever the case, Loki was their partner now, and he was ill, weakened after saving him and those people and they had to protect him.
Steve saw how Loki's head lolled from side to side, going in and out consciousness. He felt strangely proud of the god's development, of how he had gone to their side, but still kept his rebellious mischievous spirit. Loki was a rebel and always had been, and Steve could relate. He liked the spark in Loki's green eyes, much more now that h was using all that energy to help them. Yeah, maybe he'd done for t¡because he was lonely and wanted people's love than for the good of the world, but the thing was he was one of them.
Loki was holding on to Steve's neck softly and Steve liked the contact. So often Loki had been isolated, despised, alone. He wanted to be there for him, spiritually, practically, physically. He'd had so little of that, and Steve could provide. So he took the half conscious god around the most dangerous hallways until they found somewhere they could rest.
“No one is abandoning you.”
Loki had passed out already, but Steve hoped he was still listening. He held on to him tighter, making sure he didn't fall. He would take care of him today, and every day that he needed it.