What If... HYDRA Got Hold of Loki?

storm

Crash!

Loki's head snaps up at the sound, breaking him from his dreamland. What was that? What's going on? What–

Oh.

Thor's here.

That's alright, then.

Nothing can go wrong when his brother is sitting in bed with him.

Thor nuzzles his face in Loki's hair. "I'm sorry," he murmurs. "I can't help it. I'm getting anxious."

It must have been thunder, then, that woke him up. It's far from the first crash of thunder he's heard over the years. He just wasn't expecting it. He was just barely awake enough for it to startle him, but it doesn't scare him. It could never scare him. It just makes him think of Thor, and how could Thor scare him?

Loki takes his brother's hand in his own. He'd give it a squeeze if he didn't think Thor would mistake it for him trying to communicate – and he is trying to communicate, but not like that. Not with the one-means-yes system. He's trying to communicate...

Well, he's trying to communicate "I love you."

It's that simple, really.

"How are you?" Thor asks quietly. "Do you think the drugs have worn off?"

Loki's not sure whether they have or not, but he doesn't feel weird anymore. He feels awake. He feels conscious. He feels like he's a part of this world. So he squeezes Thor's hand once. He thinks they have. If they're still a part of him, they're certainly not as strong as they once were.

"Good," Thor says. "I told them it wasn't necessary. You were just scared, right? Because we left you alone."

Again, Loki squeezes his hand. It's oversimplifying it a bit, he'll admit, but that's fairly close to what happened. He was definitely scared, but it wasn't because he was alone. It was because he was afraid that he wasn't.

"I'm not going to let them do that to you anymore," Thor tells him. "You won't have to be alone. I'll take care of you."

Loki gives him a small smile, then rests his head back on his brother's shoulder. This is nice. He likes this. He likes not being alone. He likes that he can sit here and listen to the rain with his brother and pretend things are somewhat normal. It's been years, but finally, he can pretend things are normal. It's a wonderful thing.

There's another crash of thunder, and Loki flinches. He's still not scared. He firmly rejects the notion that it scares him. He just doesn't expect it. When things are quiet, they're quiet. He's not used to sudden, loud noises interrupting that.

But that loud noise is his brother, so he can't complain. After all, what more could he ask for than his brother's aura surrounding him, his concern pouring from the skies, longing to protect him, to keep him safe?

"Do you want a drink?" Thor asks. "I can ask somebody to bring you one. I don't know who's trying to hop between universes right now and who's not, but I'm sure somebody..."

Loki squeezes his hand twice. He'd love some more of his shake. He really does enjoy it. But he doesn't want to see anybody else right now. He just wants to be here with his brother and enjoy the moment.

Actually, he wonders...

One hand still in Thor's, he feels around for the TV remote, then the Atari controller. He's not sure this will work. He's sure Thor will think it's a ridiculous idea. And, actually, it will probably make him uncomfortable. He probably wouldn't want to... No, this is a dumb idea. It's so much effort for something only he'll enjoy. He's not going to ask.