Abandoned

"Listen, I know you're twice my size, but you owe this to Loki. It's the only way he gets his kids back." 

Bucky was looking up at Thor, staring him down from below as if he could actually do the huge Asgardian god any harm. Bucky did have his super-human strength and his metal arm, but that still didn't measure up to Thor's power. Fortunately, Thor seemed to agree with Bucky. 

At first, Bucky thought he was going to be beaten with Mjolnir or struck by lightening until he couldn't walk, but Thor's head dropped mid-sentence, and Bucky heard a very low I know. 

"Wait. You know? As in, you know you owe Loki? You realize you should do this for him?" 

"Yes. For one, he's my brother. And...secondly, I haven't been there for him as I should. He told me that himself." 

Loki had been perfectly capable of cloaking his presence from Heimdall since he was a child, but if their plan was going to work, Thor would have to go as well. If Loki was caught trying to steal Sleipnir, he'd be executed immediately, and even though they'd had their differences, Thor couldn't bear the thought of losing his brother.

Thor would go to the palace to speak with Odin about Loki's recently good behavior while Loki- cloaked from Heimdall's gaze- would head to the stables. Thor wasn't excited that he would take the fall for stealing his father's prized stallion, but he knew he owed Loki far more.

"Quite frankly, I liked the plan where we died a lot better. At least then I wouldn't have to talk to your father when this is over," Stark quipped. 

Loki rolled his eyes dramatically. 

"He's not my father." 

"Oh, right. That. Then why does he automatically get custody of your kid?" 

Thor shook his head in warning, but that didn't stop Loki from ranting. Like all of his other children, Sleipnir was a sore subject for Loki. However, Sleipnir was the one child that Odin had found a use for- like Loki- but unlike Loki, Sleipnir's usefulness didn't depend on another realm's political status. 

"He used Sleipnir to force me to behave. He knew that if he had my son, I would do anything I could to protect him. But Odin had no real use for my other children, so he sent them away, as you've already seen. They weren't good enough for Asgard's aesthetic," Loki spat. 

Thor, Tony, Bucky, and Loki were all crowded inside Tony's laboratory where Loki had used his  seiðr to shield them from Heimdall's watchful eyes. None of them actually thought the watcher would care what was going on inside Stark tower at that moment, but Loki didn't want to take any chances. 

"Brother, we only have a short time..." Thor muttered, laying a hand on Loki's shoulder. He hoped the gesture was taken as intended, but he never knew where he stood with Loki. He sighed inwardly at the knowledge that it was his own fault they were in that situation. 

Loki closed his eyes, settling his nerves and reigning in his temper. Thor was right, but it pissed Loki off when his brother acted as if he was the only one in the room who was allowed to get angry.

"This all sounds great until the part where neither of you end up coming back on the Bifrost," Bucky interrupted. "Isn't anyone going to notice that?" 

Loki nodded. "Yes, but by that time, it won't matter. I will have retrieved Sleipnir, and even Odin himself cannot catch him." 

Bucky looked satisfied for only a second before piping up again. "But...what about Thor wandering around after his bogus meeting? Won't what's-his-name wonder about that?" 

Loki rolled his eyes for the hundredth time. "Thor can go anywhere he likes in Asgard. No one watches the golden son because he does no wrong," he snapped, glaring at Thor. 

"Even when we were children, and he was beating the Hel out of me, no one believed me. It was always Thor." 

Thor stepped closer to Loki, almost bumping chests with him. "And I suppose none of that was your fault? Not even when you used your magic against me? Not even when you turned yourself into random objects so you could scare me half to death? You provoked me into hitting you! Then you'd run to mother squealing about how I had hurt you. Father may have been on my side, but mother was always on yours!" 

"Mother was on my side because I had no one else, Thor! You and your friends treated me like an outsider when you realized I would never be a typical warrior. You treated me like my skills were not needed. Then when I saved you time and time again, you never bothered to thank me. You tried to claim that it was luck when I used my magic- something you'd always referred to as tricks- to get your collective asses to safety! Then when we returned home, you would make up some long-winded tale about how YOU, alone managed to bring everyone back alive, and father would brag about your battle prowess for the next hundred years or so!" 

Loki was red-faced and grinding his teeth as Thor stood staring at him wide-eyed. Bucky was the only one in the room who moved. 

"Guys...this is great, but..."

"I was and still am completely worthless to him," Loki muttered as Bucky laid a hand on his shoulder. 

Bucky sighed, feeling more than a little worthless himself. "You're not worthless to your children, and that's why we're doing this, Loki. None of that shit from the past affects today. Let's just get this done. Can you do that thing to me too? Make me invisible so Hemlock or whatever his name is can't see me?"

"Heimdall?" Thor asked. 

"Yeah, him. How the hell does he do that anyway? Can he just...watch anyone he wants? That's creepy as fuck." 

Loki didn't answer Bucky. He simply smirked at Thor. "Actually, that's brilliant. That means you can come back via the Bifrost, and I won't have to deal with you."

"But..." 

"Let's go over this once more," Loki ordered before they left the room. "Bucky and I will be cloaked, so you cannot acknowledge us under any circumstances," he said, glaring at Thor. 

He knew his brother well. Thor was big and tough and very good in a fight, but sometimes he forgot things. Important things. 

"Don't even look in our direction. Heimdall is not stupid. If you look at us, he will know something is off." 

Thor nodded, even though he wanted to knock Loki out.

"Bucky, are you absolutely certain you want to do this? I can't be sure what will happen if we're caught. Actually, I know what will happen to me, but you would likely end up in Asgardian prison until these fools could come and save you." 

Bucky smiled. "I haven't had enough adventure in my life. What the hell," he shrugged, "Asgardian prison sounds like fun." 

"Alright, but when we arrive in Asgard, you're going to feel like you have a serious case of vertigo. The Bifrost has a way of doing that to those with little experience. You must keep quiet until we are out of Heimdall's presence. Can you do that?" 

Again, Bucky smiled. "Dude, I was an assassin. You're underestimating me here." 

Before they could finally leave the room, Tony interrupted. 

"Wait. Loki...can you...oh god, I can't believe I'm about to say this..." Everyone turned to look curiously at Tony as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

"Can you make me look like you? I mean, it'll confuse the hell out of JARVIS, but at least when Thor comes back and Odin's precious horse is missing, I can show him the footage of you here in the tower...playing with your cat," he rambled. 

Loki couldn't stop laughing long enough to answer him. He simply nodded as Thor continued to look baffled. 

"Listen Stark, I know that all you're going to want to do is stare at my dick the entire time we're gone, but please take good care of Fennie for me," Loki begged. 

He was trying to make a joke, but in truth he was going to miss her far more than he cared to admit. The thought of leaving his precious Fennie with anyone made him almost sick with anxiety. 

Tony overlooked Loki's lewd comment, obviously understanding how the god was feeling. One look in his eyes told Tony that Loki was not prepared to leave his newest child with another, and though Tony had never been a cat person, he wanted to reassure Loki that Fennie would be perfectly safe. He gestured to Thor and Bucky, asking them to step out of the room for a moment. 

"Give us a sec, okay?" 

As soon as the two men left, Tony gave Loki a pat on the shoulder. "I would never say this in front of anyone else, but if anything happens to your baby girl, it's because I'm dead. I swear on my life that Fennie is in good hands. You've been through enough. I'm...proud of you." 

Loki couldn't speak. He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. 

"I suppose this is the perfect time to...turn you into me. That way, I can shift the spell to cover only Bucky and myself."

Stark grinned. "Great. I've been looking forward to seeing you naked."

"If I don't return--" 

"No. Don't do that. This plan is going to work. And if Sleipnir needs a place to stay, he's welcome here too." 

"Don't say a word until I tell you we're safe," Loki muttered to Bucky as they stood on the roof of the tower. 

Bucky nodded solemnly as Thor called to Heimdall. Suddenly, the three of them were enveloped in brightly colored light, and Bucky's stomach was flip-flopping. The journey felt like an eternity, but was really only a few seconds. When they hit the ground, it was everything he could do to stay upright and keep his lunch down. He glanced in Loki's direction and noticed Loki looking at him with concern. Nodding once more, he let his friend know that he had this. 

"Thor. Nice to see you home," Heimdall said in greeting. 

"Good to see you too," Thor mumbled awkwardly. Loki nudged his brother in a gentle reminder to act normal. 

"Father and I have a meeting, but I will see you again when we are finished." 

Loki rolled his eyes at Thor. It was amazing they ever got away with anything. 

As he and Bucky made their way toward the stables, Loki knew they were safe, but he found himself unable to speak. The last time he'd seen Sleipnir, he had been on his way to destroy Jotunheim. He hadn't taken his son on that particular ride. Sleipnir had expressed certain concerns that Loki hadn't wanted to hear at the time, but he wished he had taken the advice now. Everything would have been so much different. 

But he wouldn't have found Fennie. And he wouldn't have found Jor. And he certainly wouldn't be training with Fenrir every day. 

Without speaking, Loki unlocked the stable doors and led Bucky inside. Though Heimdall couldn't detect his presence, Sleipnir knew he was there immediately.

"Mama? Is it really you?"