One thing Loki hadn't considered when he decided he wanted to go out into the rain is that he does not want to get the bed wet. Unfortunately, he is now sitting atop the covers in his soaking wet gown, and his bed is, of course, very wet. Luckily, Thor brought three pairs of clothes on this trip – which doesn't feel like many, but then, Loki's certainly not one to judge, given he's only changed clothes once in the last decade or so – so he slips off to find Loki a very oversized t-shirt to put on so they can wash his gown.

Thor promises he won't be gone long; just enough to grab a shirt and get him a shake to drink. Loki assumes he'll be fine for the few minutes that will take. He has his TV to keep him company, after all. What more could he ask for?

But then he starts to feel lonely.

It's stupid, he knows. He's been alone for how long? Even living here, he's woken up alone more often than not. But now he feels lonely? In these few minutes he has to himself, he really feels lonely?

But that's alright. Thor will be back soon. Any minute now, he'll hear his brother's footsteps down the hall, and he'll know he's on his way back.

And, sure enough, there are footsteps.

But they're not his brother's.

At least, they're not just his brother's. It sounds like a lot of people. Thor could be one of them, but it's much more than just him. He'd be concerned by the number of people if they weren't traveling at such a leisurely pace. If he heard running, he would be worried, but walking? It just means they want to check on him. Maybe they're going to try something new. Maybe they're going to make plans. Maybe they just want to see him. He'll find out soon enough, he's sure.

The first person in the room is Bruce. He's always a nice sight. A weird, somewhat creepy, very green sight, but a nice one nonetheless. Once Bruce steps out of the way, he can see everyone else that comes with him. Tony, Natasha (he loves when Natasha comes to visit), Scott, Natasha, Steve–

Wait.

Loki squints, trying to clear his vision, but nothing changes. He's not surprised; it already feels pretty clear. But there must be something wrong. Maybe he's on drugs again and he forgot, or maybe he just really needs his chocolate shake, or maybe he's really tired, but something is wrong.

He's seeing double.

But, like...

Just with Natasha.

And they look different, too. One Natasha wears the same cute gray top she wore earlier today. The other wears all black – a catsuit, he thinks they're called. One Natasha has blonde in her hair; bleached ends, he'd call them, though he doesn't know enough about hair to know if that's actually how this works. The other's hair is a plain red, no added (or removed) color to be seen.

Hair and clothing aside, though, Loki can hardly see the difference between them.

Well, actually, he supposes that's not quite true.

This new Natasha looks absolutely horrified at what she's seeing.

That's a pretty big difference.

She covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes going wide as she stares at him. "Oh my god..."

Loki cocks his head to the side. He doesn't get it. What's going on? Why is she looking at him like this? And why are there two of her? He's so confused. Everything in this world is so confusing.

Wait, no, they said something about this. They were going to find another Natasha. They were going back to his world, and they were going to find his...

"Master?" Loki croaks out. His throat burns as he tries to speak, but he doesn't regret it for a moment. If he's right, he needs to know. Is this...?

He hadn't thought it was possible for someone to look more horrified than she did, but somehow, she manages. "No," she whispers. "No, this isn't–" She looks up at Steve, almost pleading with him. "What happened to him? What did I do?"

Steve sighs and puts a hand on her shoulder, though it doesn't seem to provide much comfort. "He said it wasn't you. He said Pierce did this to him."

"I gave him to Pierce," she says. She looks back at him, and the longer she does, the more tearful she becomes. "Oh my god..."

She walks up to him, slowly, uncertainly, and he gives her a small smile. This is her. He can feel it. This is the real her. She came back for him. His Master came back for him.

She crouches down by the side of the bed, and slowly, she cups his face in her hand. "I'm so sorry," she whispers. "I didn't know. I..." She lets out a long breath. "I should have sent you back to Asgard. Maybe they wouldn't have..."

"It's okay." He can't say the words aloud. Just calling her Master took a lot out of him. But he mouths them as though he can. He hopes she can understand.

"No," she says quietly, "it's not." She sighs and stands up, but her hand stays against her cheek, a familiar warmth he's only ever felt from her; from his Master. "I'm sorry," she says. "I didn't know. I didn't even think..." She shakes her head helplessly. "I'm not your Master, Loki. You don't have to listen to me. I didn't use the scepter on you because I wanted to own you; I just wanted to keep everyone safe, and clearly, that didn't work."

Loki furrows his brows. What is she saying? Of course he has to listen to her. Even if she doesn't want him to call her his Master, he has to listen to her. That's what he does.

"Wait, hold on," Tony interrupts.

Natasha drops her hand and looks back at him, and Loki mourns the loss of that contact. "What?"

"You used the scepter on him?" he asks, incredulous. "That's why he's calling you his Master?"

"Look, I'm not proud of it," she says. "But I'd already watched him try to take over the world once. If I could cut it short the second time, I was going to do whatever I had to. And Thor was dead so he couldn't take him home, so..." She shrugs awkwardly. "Pierce said he'd just throw him in some super-secret, super-secure prison. I didn't think he would do this."

Loki's not sure how to feel about that – how to feel about any of this. He's still just so confused. She doesn't want him to listen to her? He doesn't get it. None of this makes any sense. She's his Master. He's supposed to serve her. He's supposed to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. How can he do what she wants if what she wants is for him to not do it?

"She did what?" Thor's voice booms from the hallway. He pushes his way into the room, and the others part in an instant to let him in. He stalks up to her, eyes narrowed, and she tries to take a step back, nearly falling onto the bed behind her. "You used the scepter on my brother?"

"Thor..." She spreads her hands, almost as though to prove they're empty, that she's not a threat. "I'm sorry," she says. "I know, I messed up. This wasn't supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen."

"Well, it did," Thor says coldly.

Loki looks between the two of them warily. Things are getting tense. He doesn't like tense. What if he just...

With all the magic he can muster, he slowly pushes Thor away. It's not like it used to be. There was a time he could throw him across the room with the flick of a hand. This time, it's more a gentle push than anything, and Thor barely even stumbles backward. But it's something. It puts some distance between them – and, more importantly, it draws their attention back to him.

"Stop," Loki mouths. He doesn't want to see them fight. They're the two most important people in his life. He wants them to get along. He wants them to be friends.

Thor glances at Natasha, then sighs and turns his attention back to Loki, just like he'd wanted. "Do you still want your drink?"

Loki beams and eagerly pats the bed once. Yes, he would like his drink. He would always like his drink. (Ironic, given that he refused it not long ago, but he still wanted it; he just wanted Thor's company more.)

Thor plasters on a smile that doesn't look all too convincing and sits down on the edge of the bed, shooting Natasha a glare before he turns his attention back to Loki. "Here." He puts the bottle to Loki's lips.

Loki chugs and chugs and chugs like his life depends on it, but, unlike the last time Thor helped him drink, he doesn't get to do it for very long before the bottle is taken from him.

"What is that?" Natasha asks.

"It's a protein shake," Bruce explains. "We don't know when the last time he'd eaten was before we found him, so this is all he gets right now."

"That's it?" she says incredulously.

"Well, yeah; he's starving," Bruce says. "You can't jump into refeeding him. It's baby steps."

Loki pats Thor's leg and looks pointedly at the shake in his hand. "More?" he mouths. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have dared ask – and even just with the Natashas in the room, he's almost afraid to; he doesn't want to come across as ungrateful – but this is Thor. He can trust Thor. He can ask him for anything.

Thor looks at Bruce uncertainly, and, after a moment of hesitation, the man nods and waves him on.

Loki gets another few sips before Thor takes the drink away again, and he licks his lips, savoring every drop. His throat feels so nice, so lubricated. Is this what he used to feel like every day? Just a little bit of pain? Just a little bit of soreness? He'd forgotten there was a time when this throat didn't hurt so much all the time.

"Thank you," he mouths.

Thor gives him a small smile and ruffles his hair – which leaves Loki to wonder just how much hair he actually has. It's been a long time since Pierce shaved it off, but he's been starving the whole time. How much could his hair have grown in that state? Enough for Thor to get his fingers in it, apparently.

"Do you think it worked?" Natasha – the original Natasha; the one from this world – asks. "Do you think he gets it now that we're not his Masters?"

Everybody looks at him, and he looks back at them. He feels like they're waiting for something. What are they waiting for? He looks at Thor for an answer, and when that doesn't work, he looks at this new Natasha. What's happening right now? She must know. She can tell him.

"I don't think it did," Tony remarks.

Original Natasha sighs. "Well, now what?"

"You know," New Natasha says, "the first time I fought him, he mind-controlled Clint..." She pauses. "Was there a Clint Barton in this world?"

It's quiet for a few moments, and Loki looks between them all, confused. Who's Clint Barton? The name doesn't sound familiar, though that's not to say he's never heard it. He's not sure who...

"There is," Original Natasba says finally, "but he's not... who he used to be."

"Oh." New Natasha takes a few seconds to process that, then continues, a bit disheartened, "Well, the first time I fought Loki, he mind-controlled Clint, and I knocked him out and that fixed it. I'm not saying that punching Loki in the face is a good idea, but..."

"You are not punching my brother in the face," Thor says without hesitation.

Loki frowns. He doesn't particularly want to be punched in the face, but it's not Thor's place to tell her that she can't do that. If she wants to punch him in the face, he'll let her punch him in the face. It's certainly not the worst thing he's done for her.

"I don't think it would work," Bruce says. "I don't know if you saw it, but there's a huge scar on his head. If that didn't snap him out of it, nothing will."

A solemn silence descends upon the room, but he doesn't understand it. What are they talking about? What do they think is wrong with him that they're trying to fix? He already feels better every day. What they're doing is working. Why do they need to change anything? He's not sure there's anything else they can do that they're not doing for him already.

"Well, we have to do something," Original Natasha says. "I don't want to be his 'Master.' I don't even want to be near him because I don't want to accidentally make him do something."

Nobody's quite sure what to do. That's probably for the best. Whatever they're trying to do, he feels like it's a bad idea. He feels like they're making a mistake, but he doesn't know what it is.

Until finally, New Natasha asks, "Where's the scepter now?"

"Gone," Rogers says. "This Titan, Thanos, destroyed it."

"Thanos?" she repeats. "He's in this universe, too?"

"Was," Thor says darkly. "I killed him."

Natasha stares at him. "You killed Thanos?"

"He did," Tony confirms. "Sliced his head clean off."

"But we can get it back, right?" Scott asks. "Wasn't that the plan? We go back in time, find all the Infinity Stones, and bring them back here and un-Blip the Blip? So we get the Mind Stone, bring it back, and we can fix Loki, too; kill two birds with one stone. Is that...?"

"I don't know," Tony says, "it sounds suspiciously easy."

"I don't think it sounds that easy," Steve says. "We still have to get the Stones. That's not gonna be a walk in the park."

"Maybe not, " Bruce says, "but if we called in some backup..."

There's a murmur of hesitant agreement amongst them, and a feeling of unease builds up in Loki's chest. He doesn't like this. If what they plan to do is going to be so difficult that they need more help, then they shouldn't do it. He doesn't want anybody to get hurt. He cares for all of them. He doesn't want to lose them.

Tony claps his hand together once. "Alright, great," he says. "Well, I think we've all got phone calls to make. Ready to skedaddle?"

Loki's frown deepens. He doesn't want them to skedaddle. He wants them to stay here. He wants them to stay safe. But he can't ask them to do that. He has no right to ask anything of them. He has no right to make a request, to ask a favor.

But his brother...

Well, he can ask anything of his brother.

"Thor?" He can barely hear himself say the name. He's not fully sure he did.

But Thor looks at him, and he almost looks concerned, which isn't at all what Loki wanted. He doesn't want to worry him. He just... wants him. He wants his brother. That's all.

"Stay?" he mouths.

"You want me to stay?" Thor guesses.

Loki pats the bed once. That's exactly what he wants.

"Of course I'll stay," Thor says. "We were going to get you out of your wet clothes, remember?"

Loki shakes his head. He doesn't want to get changed right now. He just wants to curl up with his brother and fall asleep and forget about the rest of the world and all the confusion it brings.

"No?" Thor repeats. "You don't want to...?"

Loki types out a message with his Atari controller.

L

A

T

E

R

"Later?" Thor reads aloud. "But you'll be dry later. I don't know that this will help if we..."

"Please?" Loki mouths, and then he freezes.

He...

He shouldn't be doing this.

He's forgetting himself.

He doesn't get to ask for things. He certainly doesn't get to beg for them. Thor's already told him that he wants to change his clothes, and Loki has no right to argue. It doesn't matter that this is his brother. It doesn't matter that Natasha never told him to obey. This is what he does. He lets people do what they want. That's his role.

Loki bites his lip, hanging his head in shame. He's getting too comfortable here. He's forgetting who he is; what he does. And with his Master in the room, too – both Masters. They've been nothing but nice to him so far, but he fears he may have crossed a line he desperately hopes he can uncross.

"Loki?" Thor crawls onto the bed with him. "Brother, are you alright? What's wrong?"

Loki doesn't answer. How could he? He couldn't explain it – certainly not like this; not with an Atari-controlled keyboard, one letter at a time. But then, he doesn't have to answer. Thor already knows what he's done wrong. Everybody does. It's obvious.

"Loki..." Thor cups his face in his hand, lifting his head until he has no choice but to meet his eye. "If you don't want to get changed, you don't have to. I just want you to be comfortable, and if this is what will make you comfortable, then of course, we can put this aside until later."

Loki doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know what to think. This is a level of grace he hasn't been shown in years. He hardly remembers what it's like to feel this loved, this cared-for. He doesn't know how to respond.

So he does the only thing he can do: he collapses forward, letting himself fall into his brother and burying his face in Thor's chest. He can't cry. He knows that well by now. But if he could cry, if his body was capable of forming tears–

And then he feels the first tear fall, soaking into Thor's shirt.

And he falls apart.

It's been so, so long since he had this. He's missed this comfort, this love, this autonomy. He can hardly believe that after all Loki's done, Thor is giving it to him anyway. It's a greater mercy than he ever could have asked for.

Thor wraps his arms around him, holding him close. "You're alright," he murmurs. "It's alright. You can cry; just let it all out."

So he does.

He just cries, for a very, very long time.

And Thor doesn't let him go.