Abandoned

Hel's snarl echoed through the room as she thrust her palm at Odin, forcing him back. Her powerful spell left him stumbling for balance, but just before he caught himself, she opened a portal, sending him back to Asgard without preamble.

"Thank the Norns. He was destroying the Feng Shui in here," she rasped, swiping her hands together as if ridding them of some particularly nasty germs.

It didn't take Thor much longer before he realized that Hel had played him right along with his father.

"I was never actually dead, was I? You-- you threatened to cut my throat. What good would that have done if I had been dead already?"

He was far too exhausted to be angry. Aside from that, the battle was won. There was no point in yelling anymore. Hel had gotten exactly what she wanted; Loki's complete freedom from Odin. He couldn't blame her for desiring that, especially after Odin had tasked him with bringing Loki to Asgard for execution. He hated to admit it, but he was actually relieved.

Hel broke into his thoughts with a throaty laugh.

"You just now realized that? Dear gods, this family. Of course you were never dead! I wouldn't have you here in Hel. You had better get into Valhalla with your precious warriors. Otherwise, you'll have nowhere to go when your luck finally runs out!"

The longer Loki waited for Thor's return, the more suspicious he became of his brother's motives for visiting Hel in the first place. As he sat on his bed brooding about his adoptive father's demand, he wondered if Thor was actually going to Hel to ensure his safety, or if he was planning to drag Loki back to Asgard. He thought about Tony's question over and over again, and he couldn't find an answer that painted his and Thor's relationship as anything but hostile.

When Tony came to his door, he practically bit the metal man's head off.

"What? What is it? And before you ask- No, I am not joining the team. I will not be fighting alongside my traitorous brother."

Tony could only stand at the doorway blinking at Loki in confusion. First, the god was worried for his brother; trying every way he could to go help him. Now what?

"Loki...what's going on in that dark mind of yours? Thor went to Hel because he thought you were in danger. Odin wanted you dead and---"

Loki rolled his eyes so hard, Tony thought he would fall off of his bed.

"So he says! Thor has never disobeyed his father for me. He probably told you he was trying to protect me because he knew you would never let him go otherwise!"

Tony laughed. "Let him go? You do realize this is Thor we're talking about, right?”

Bucky was a short distance down the hall in Steve’s room when he heard raised voices. He sighed, knowing that Tony had probably pissed Loki off, and he would be the one who had to fix it.

“Tony--” Bucky motioned, giving Tony a sign that said get lost.

Stark huffed, but did as he was told. He figured if anyone had a chance of not getting the shit kicked out of them, it was Bucky. For some reason, Loki seemed to like him a lot. Tony idly wondered if Bucky could be one of Loki’s bastard children he never knew he had. The thought made him laugh.

He was three steps down the hall when he heard the elevator ding.

“LOKI!”

Fuck. Stark knew that booming voice. He also knew that tone, and when that voice was paired with that tone and that name at the same time…

Thor was just as pissed off as Loki was, and in his not-so-humble opinion, neither of them had any right to be mad. Stalking down the hallway, he decided he would do his best to stop Thor from making the situation worse.

“It’s about time you showed up. We were all worried about you!”

Thor scowled. “Where’s Loki? He’s here, isn’t he?”

Tony knew there was no stalling Thor unless he stopped screwing around and simply dealt with the matter directly.

“Listen big guy, I can see that you’re pissed, but Loki has been begging us to let him go to Hel and help you. We had no idea what was going down, and we didn’t want to make anything worse for you, so we made him stay here. Now he thinks you were actually visiting Hel so you could turn him over to your dear old dad.”

Thor frowned, taking a step back in surprise.

“Why would I do that? Is he mad? I just spent the last--- endless amount of time trapped in Hel with his daughter, who hates me, by the way, just so she could draw Odin there and force him into a blood oath! To protect Loki. She was going to cut my throat!”

Tony couldn’t help himself. He laughed. “That apple doesn’t fall far from the old tree, does it?”

Thor’s scowl grew deeper, and Tony stopped laughing.

“Stark, she literally threw me through a wormhole. That’s how I got here! She’s insane!”

“Don’t you dare talk about my daughter that way, you traitorous brute!”

Double fuck.

“Woah! Wait a second,” Tony said, holding his arms out in a feeble attempt to keep the two brothers away from each other.

“You two are absolutely not going to fight in here and leave my tower in shambles. We’re going to sit in the kitchen and talk it out. Like adults.”

Both Thor and Loki rolled their eyes but followed Tony’s orders, stomping into the kitchen like a couple of five-year-olds being punished by their father.

“Alright. Thor- tell Loki what you just told me,” Stark ordered, holding a hand up at Loki to indicate that it was not his turn to speak.

“Wait a sec,” Bucky laughed, “You think you’re going to mediate between these two?”

Tony smiled.

“Actually, we’re going to mediate between these two. You keep dark temptation in check, and I’ll keep thundercat from doing anything stupid. Sound good?”

Loki frowned at the nickname, making a disgusted face before giving Bucky a curt nod.

“Loki, I was here. I left Asgard after father ordered me to bring you back there,” Thor began.

“You left so you could bring me back there!”

Bucky shook his head at Loki, and Loki snarled.

“No! I swear. I told father that I was not going to do his bidding this time. I spoke with Tony, and we were trying to make a plan...something that would help--”

“When I started turning back into myself,” Stark interrupted.

“What?” Loki asked, confused.

Bucky slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone and sending Fennie running for the couch.

“It must have been when you were dying, Loki! Your spell faded!”

Loki closed his eyes, sighing loudly. He hadn’t wanted Thor to know about that. Actually, he hadn’t wanted Tony to know either, but Bucky couldn’t keep it to himself.

Thor cocked his head to the side, giving Loki a concerned look.

“So you really did almost die, brother? I thought Hel was just playing me the whole time.”

Loki gritted his teeth.

“I don’t want to talk about any of this.”

“But brother, you understand now why I thought you were in trouble, yes? Why I would go to Hel in the first place? I wanted to help you. Then when I arrived, your-- lovely daughter-- informed me that you were, in fact, dead. She told me that the only way I could save you was to take your place. So… I agreed.”

Loki was silent for a moment. He couldn’t decide if his brother was incredibly stupid or if he had ulterior motives, but he suddenly felt very guilty for his earlier assumption.

“Did you not confirm that I was actually there before--”

“Hel wouldn’t let me! She said you were indisposed! Then...it was like she trapped me! For a few seconds I wanted to be there. How does she do that?”

Loki smirked proudly.

“I told you. She’s far more powerful than I could ever hope to be. What did she do with Odin?”

Tony glanced between the two brothers, happy that they seemed to be communicating more freely. He had to hold in his laughter as Thor grew sullen at Loki’s last question.

“First she told him that he would have to sign a blood oath to leave you alone in order to set me free…”

Loki laughed, and Thor’s frown grew deeper.

“When he tried to argue, she came at me with a sword! She said it was either his blood on the contract, or mine. She’s unstable, Loki.”

Thor’s serious tone coupled with the expression on his face only made Loki laugh harder. He couldn’t remember a time when his brother had felt threatened by anyone, much less a sorcerer like himself.

“It wasn’t funny, brother. She tried to kill me. I was completely paralyzed by her spell, and she was just going to execute me for fun.”

Loki smirked.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it was for fun, exactly. She was trying to protect her dear old dad. And of course she’s a bit unstable! She’s been the ruler of Hel for centuries. She’s had this unimaginable power since she was just a child. How could she not be a little mad?”

“But you have no right to call her that, brother. She’s my little girl, and to me, she is perfect.”

No one said anything for a few moments. Bucky patted Loki on the shoulder to keep him calm, and Thor stayed silent. Evidently he realized that any comment he made would be the wrong one.

“What...where did that come from?” Thor asked, finally breaking the silence. His head was cocked to the side, and he was staring at an object lying on the bar a few feet away.

Bucky suddenly looked like he wanted to bolt from the room, but Loki merely smirked.

“What does it look like, brother?”

“Is that one of Idunn’s apples?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

Loki grinned proudly, and Bucky’s shoulders dropped a few inches as he let out a breath.

“You’ve seen enough of them. You shouldn’t have to ask,” Loki taunted.

“How in the Nine did you manage--”

“I didn’t,” Loki tipped his head toward Bucky.

Bucky held his hands up as if he were about to be arrested.

“I stole it, alright? I didn’t take it for myself, I swear. I took it for Fennie. I couldn’t stand the thought of her...you know...and him… well, you know…”

He couldn’t believe he was unable to say exactly what he meant. Dying. But the thought of that cat leaving Loki alone made Bucky’s chest hurt. He’d expected Thor to laugh at him, but he didn’t. Thor was far more impressed with the fact that Bucky had been able to sneak away with the apple than anything else.

“Okay, I understand what the apples are for, but does she have to eat the whole thing? Because I don’t think cats even like apples,” Tony interrupted.

“She only has to eat a small amount every few years or so,” Loki answered.

“Every few years? Apples go bad, man. That thing will be brown in a few days.”

“Not Idunn’s apples. They stay exactly as they are. Forever. That’s how they sustain us,” Thor explained.

Tony reached for the apple, but Bucky slapped his hand away.

“No way. I know what you’re thinking. It’s too long. Trust me.”

“But I was just going to see if I could--”

“Make more of them? Name one person you know who deserves to stay alive that long,” Bucky insisted.

Tony frowned thoughtfully before answering.

“I think you all do.”