Loki oneshots

Loki's On Parole (Loki x Gamora)

This takes place shortly after The Avengers (and I definitely didn't write it in, like, March, and then forget about it)

There's no day or night in the dungeon.

There are no windows. There are no clocks. The three meals the prisoners are provided daily all blend together; a largely flavorless mush that can't be differentiated from breakfast and dinner.

Loki passes much of the time by sleeping. If there is one thing he enjoys about being imprisoned, it's the bed he was provided; a luxury no other prisoner in the dungeon has. His home, of course, has places to rest, too. They're not barbarians. But nothing can compare to the feeling of a warm, wool-filled mattress. He has Frigga to thank for that, he's sure.

She's come down to visit him a few times since his return to Asgard. She's tried to understand him and she's tried to reason with him, but she'll never succeed. He won't give her that satisfaction. He'll drop the occasional lie when her questions become too much to bear – and occasionally a fraction of the truth when he knows it will hurt her more – but he won't do her the honor of a true conversation.

He lived a life built on her lies. He doesn't owe her his truth.

There's some commotion down the hallway, and though it fills Loki with a glimmer of hope, he doesn't allow himself to react. Until they come – until she comes – he is not giving anybody the satisfaction of seeing his hopes dashed every time somebody else enters the dungeon.

Thor's voice sounds in the distance, speaking in words that Loki can't make out. That bodes well, he'd say, or perhaps it bodes exceptionally poorly. Thor can't be coming alone. This is far too many footsteps for that. He looks forward to seeing who accompanies him.

Still, he stays where he is, seated in his chair with his back angled to the window. There's a book in his lap, though he hasn't been reading it. He pretends to, of course. The guards would certainly assume he finds these books fascinating, with how much time he's spent looking at them. But it's a guise. He'd rather come off as an obsessive reader than admit he spends most of his time in his own head and thinking about home.

Oh, how he can't wait to go home.

"Loki," Thor's voice booms from behind him.

Loki closes his book slowly, pointedly, but doesn't yet turn around, lest his brother see the glimmer of hope he still has that his wait is over.

"Thor," he says, his voice filled with an eerily empty insincerity. "Finally here to visit your dear old brother?"

"Hardly," he replies, an unfamiliar coldness in his tone – a well-earned one, admittedly, but unfamiliar nonetheless.

Finally, Loki turns around, and he hopes his disappointment isn't as blatant as it feels. It's only Thor and two guards who stand in front of his cell; nobody more. Nobody he'd wanted to see. But that's alright. It's only a matter of time, he's sure. He's waited this long; he can wait a while longer.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Loki asks, his insincerity only growing. It is never a pleasure to see Thor. Having gone this long without him has been a blessing in its own right.

"You are leaving our care," Thor replies, his voice even and emotionless, as though this prisoner he's speaking to is just that: a prisoner. "You are being transferred out of Asgard, to be effective immediately."

Loki tries to suppress the excitement that brings him. This can only mean one thing, he's sure. It will be interesting to see who came for him, though he suspects he already knows. He hopes he already knows. He'll be disappointed if it's somebody else.