"Oh, thank god, I was about to lose my mind."

Thor cocks his head to the side. "Has he been causing problems in my absence? Heimdall only said that he'd been unwell, not..."

"He is a problem," Tony says. "Come on, look at this."

He pulls up the security camera footage, splayed out in front of them as a blue-tinted hologram. He pinches the display, zooming in on the god in the corner of the room so Thor can really see what he's dealing with.

Loki is sitting on the floor, his knees pulled into his chest and making himself as small as possible. His head is in his hands, though that's nothing new; it would be more concerning if he wasn't doing it.

Tony had brought him a second attempt at breakfast a few hours ago, and he's pleased to see that this time, Loki seems to have given it a try. The apple juice is all gone, and it looks like he's had at least a few bites of toast. At least he can truthfully say now that he's fed the guy.

Thor folds his arms over his chest, watching his brother carefully. "What happened to him?"

"No idea," Tony says. "But, uh..." He shrugs. "He's not doing good. So take him home and do something with him, 'kay?"

Thor's lips curve downwards as he watches the projection. "The Allfather has agreed to speak with him, but in this condition, I do not know..."

Tony lolls his head back, exasperated. "I don't care about your Asgardian politics. I'm sorry; I really don't. So whatever you're gonna do with him, you can go ahead and do it as long as you get him out of here."

"That is the problem," Thor tells him. "If Loki is ill, taking him through the Bifrost may be unwise."

Tony pinches the bridge of his nose. "Oh my god..." At this point, he's beginning to think he shouldn't have volunteered to watch Loki at all. He doesn't care what kind of evil plan Loki may have been concocting. At this rate, he's never going to get him out of here.

"I want to talk to him," Thor declares, already walking back toward the elevator, only stopping when Tony grabs his arm.

"Is there a chance — even a small one — that you're gonna stick him here even longer?" Tony asks.

"If he is in too poor health to use the Bifrost—"

"Okay, then I have to talk to him first," Tony interrupts. "He wants me to let him know when you're here, and I don't want to piss him off if I'm gonna have to deal with him afterwards."

Thor nods once. "I will wait here."

"Hey, you're more than welcome to eavesdrop," Tony tells him. He turns the security camera audio on, and immediately, they're met with the sound of Loki whimpering.

Thor furrows his brows. "You removed the sound from the picture?"

"Uh, yeah," Tony says, though he's sure it wouldn't take Thor long to figure out why on his own. "I don't want to listen to him crying all day."

Thor accepts that answer for what it is, so Tony walks away, hopping in the elevator to go down and visit the other god. For all his whimpers and groans, he's very quiet about his pain, and the hallway is silent until he's reached the door.

Tony knocks, but he doesn't wait for an answer. He never does. He pushes the door open, and Loki looks up at him, his face stained with tear tracks that Tony is half convinced will never go away. How this man manages to cry so much on only a cup and a half of apple juice, he does not understand, but he sure does it.

"Hey, buddy, wake up," Tony says.

"I am awake," Loki says irritably. "What do you want, Stark?"

"Thor's here."

Loki's eyes widen slightly, and he straightens his back, fixing his posture involuntarily. "I assume he wants to bring me back to Asgard?"

"Don't know," Tony says dismissively. "I'm gonna bring him down here. He can tell you himself."

Loki just nods. "Alright." He gestures weakly for him to go, and even from across the room, Tony can see his arm shaking. "Bring him here."

Tony takes a step backward, about to leave, but then he pauses. "You know," he says, "I really don't know what he's gonna do with you, but you might want to eat now while you have the chance. I don't know what kind of food they've got in prison, but it's probably not good on the stomach."

Loki just rolls his eyes and gestures again for him to leave.

Tony does just that. He heads back to Thor, and he finds the god right where he'd left him. Thor will stay put if Tony tells him to; Loki will stay put if Tony tells him to. Gods really should not be this easy to order around.

But he's not complaining. Better this than the alternative. At least he has some semblance of control over this.

As Thor follows him back to Loki's room, Tony asks, "So, what do you think you're gonna do with him? Just so I don't get blindsided in there."

"I don't know," Thor admits. "I hate to ask more of you, but I fear the Allfather's answer may change when he learns the extent of my brother's condition. If the Bifrost will be harmful to him..."

"Then you don't want him on it," Tony finishes for him. "I got that. But do you think the Bifrost is gonna hurt him or not?"

"I think it may," Thor says. "I am wary enough that I would prefer not to take this risk, but not so much that would force Loki on you longer than I have if you would prefer I do not."

"I would prefer if you never left him here at all," Tony says. He shakes his head to himself. "I don't care. It's your call. But if you leave him here, you better come back for him soon. Once he gets better, you get him out of here before he can stab me."

Thor nods solemnly. "Then I will leave him," he says. "If I have not returned by sunset, assume the Allfather has deemed it too dangerous for him to use the Bifrost and that I will be back in a few days for him."

"Works for me," Tony says. As long as Loki's too sick to actually do anything, who cares where he is? He doesn't mind bringing Loki food three times a day and Advil every four hours. That's not asking too much of him.

They reach Loki's room, and Tony gestures for Thor to go in first. It's his brother that he's trying to figure out what to do with. Tony's just the zookeeper here.

Loki is standing by the bed, right where he'd been when Thor left the first time. He looks far better than he did mere minutes ago; no worse than he was the first time they met, though Tony would hardly call it healthy. He folds his arms across his chest, cocking a brow.

Thor's expression darkens at the sight. "Loki."

"Thor." Loki huffs, a condescending smile on his lips. "I'd begun to think you'd left me here."

"I very well may," Thor replies.

"Hmm," he hums.

"The Allfather has not yet decided whether he will allow you back in Asgard," Thor tells him, and if he hadn't said otherwise mere minutes earlier, Tony would have believed it. "And if he does, he has not decided whether he will let you live or die."

"Then I suggest he make that decision soon," Loki says. "I am growing impatient, and he may not like how I choose to pass the time."

Thor glances at Tony, who looks back at him warily. Yeah. Because that's not ominous.

"Our father does not fear you, Loki," Thor says. "Nor do I. If even the Tesseract could not secure your victory, you are all but powerless without it."

"I disagree," Loki says.

"And I do not care," Thor replies. "Do not play games with me, brother. You will not win them."

Loki smiles. "We'll see."

Thor spares Tony one last glance, then turns and walks out of the room without another word.

Tony kicks the door shut behind him, then leans against it, crossing his arms. Loki raises his brows, looking at him expectantly.

"You got better fast," Tony remarks.

Loki begins to flicker in and out, and in the brief instances he disappears from there, he reappears on the floor across the room. He comes in and out of view a few times before he fades away again, and Tony is faced with only the illusion that had spoken to Thor.

"So you were just putting on a show," Tony surmises.

"I frequently am," Loki says. "And after all these years, he still never learns."

"Yeah, well, unfortunately for you, I'm not that gullible," Tony says.

"It's not a high bar to clear, outsmarting my brother," Loki tells him.

Tony rolls his eyes. "Stay here."

"I would hardly say I have a choice in the matter," Loki says.

That's a good enough answer for him, so Tony heads out of the room, closing the door again behind him. A part of him wonders if he looked inside again, which Loki he would see, but he doesn't bother. He knows what Loki he'll see the next time he checks the footage. It doesn't matter which he'd see now.

"You know he's playing you," Tony tells the other god.

"I assumed as much," Thor says. "It leaves me with more questions than answers, but that seems to be his goal as of late. I'd rather not give him the satisfaction of asking."

"I don't blame you," Tony says. "So you're back to Asgard?"

"It appears so," Thor says. "I will ask Heimdall to watch over him. If and when he begins to recover, I will return for him — if the Allfather does not send me sooner."

"Well, I'll be here, then," Tony tells him. "Since I don't really have a choice."

Thor frowns. "If you really don't want—"

"No, no, it's fine," Tony assures him, waving off his concern. "I'm gonna complain the whole time, but it's fine. You do what you gotta do. Just get back here before he goes full-blown Psycho on me."

"I will," Thor says. "And until then, I cannot thank you enough."

"Thank me by sorting this out with your dad," Tony says. "I'm not playing prison warden forever."