Peace of mind

new

Loki was still lying on the hard concrete floor. He winced from time to time when Bucky's heavy foot pressed down onto his chest. "Maybe", he thought, maybe he should have had a plan B afterall.

The man on the ground looked up at Bucky and Peter as they spoke to each other. 'What an odd combination,' Loki thought as he let his gaze wander over the two people.
A tall, injured man with a metal arm and a smaller... thing wearing a red and blue spandex. Quite unusual and not what he had read of midgardian fashion at all.

Loki gripped Bucky's leg by his calf and tried pushing it off his chest. But without success. Annoyed, he looked at the two who had now stopped talking.

"Would you mind?" He grinned mischievously and pointed to the foot that was pressing down with a brutal force. Peter was unsure, but Bucky glared him down, really not caring at all how comfortable the man beneath him was.

"I would." Was all he said as the preassure on Loki's chest increased. He grunted out in pain. Bucky still held the knife in his hand, ready to use it if Loki made just the tiniest move. Mockingly Bucky looked around, pointing with his metal arm around the now empty square that had been filled with terrified people just moments ago.

"Look at that." he said with a grin. "No one here. What'd you say to that?"

"Foolish." Loki said through gritted teeth. Once again the Demi God tried pushing Bucky's foot off his chest. Angrily Loki hissed. "I am trying to save you, you idiots. Save you from your stupidity and weakness. You Midgardians are lost and I am here to guide you. To LEAD you."

"We don't need a leader." Bucky said, keeping a hand steadily on Peters chest as the boy tried taking several steps forward. A silent way to hold him back without looking away. Peter came to a stop, figuring out that Bucky was probably just trying to keep him save and he would be foolish to anger the Winter Soldier anyway.

"That's what they all say." Loki laughed mischievously and finally let his arms fall beside him, not trying to fight the heavy boot that was still placed on his heaving chest anymore. The metal of his armour was being pushed more and more into his skin and Loki was convinced that it soon would reach the point where it bore through it completely.

"He seems a little disoriented." Peter voiced his thoughts with real concern. "I don't think he is well at all, he's losing all the focus in his eyes."

"Listen, kid. I really don't care. We let this guy wander around he will just cause trouble elsewhere." Bucky said with a sigh.

"No, I mean he doesn't look like he actually knows what he is doing."

The man on the ground wanted to laugh again but his strength had finally left him. The fight had taken so much out of him that all his energy was used up. "I know exactly what I'm doing." he chuckled, staring into the sky.

"You heard that, kid? Seems to me like he does. Just another insane idiot."

"I do think there is more involved. If he really wanted to take over the world he wouldn't have done it in this state. He looks really sick." Peter looked up at Bucky with sad eyes. "And I don't think, that pinning him down is necessary anymore."

Bucky disagreed at first, not sure if this man was playing a game with them. But Peter had convinced him in the end. The man didn't look fresh at all and as long as they had the staff-thing that Loki had tried using on them he thought they were fine.
He took his foot off of Lokis chest but kept a close eye on him in case he sprung up and tried escaping.

"So now what?" Bucky asked Peter. "You don't want to let him go now, do you?"

"No of course not!" Peter explained defensively. "We need to get him help or something. Maybe the Avengers will help us." Bucky loved the kid's positive approach but he thought it relatively unrealistic that they would actually help him after his little stunt.

"Peter..." Bucky sighed. "You are aware, that they will lock him up, right? And if they find me as well they're going to do the exact same thing to me."

"They won't! Or at least I don't think they will! If we tell them that there is something wrong with him, they might help him."

"Very unlikely."

Peter took a few seconds to think about what to do next. Choosing between getting this sick man the help he probably needed but apparently didn't want or giving him to the Avengers. If Peter was fair, he did need to be locked up after trying to take over Earth but nothing has really happened anyway so maybe helping him would find the reason he was behaving like this.
During their fight Peter had seen something shimmer in Loki's blue and pained eyes. He wasn't sure what it was but there was something really wrong. And was it just to not help someone?

Either way he wanted to know what caused this in the first place.

The relative silence was interrupted as a loud roaring sound came from the sky. Bucky looked at the sky, searching for anything unusual as his eyes spotted a big grey jet approaching with a high speed.

"Peter?"

"I'm still thinking."

"You gotta think a lot faster than that." Bucky's voice was calm but filled with urgency. He didn't care for Loki but if the Avengers found him he would be in a lot more trouble.

Peter broke through his thoughts and quickly spoke.
"Okay. We're not letting the Avengers take him."

"Great thinking, where do we bring him then?" Bucky asked, his eyes not leaving the jet, that was coming closer and closer.

"Uh, I don't know!" Peter panicked. Making so many important decisions on his own was stressing him out. "My apartment?"

"If you're sure." Bucky didn't question it any further, just wanting to disappear from this place before the Avengers came any closer than they already were. He pulled Loki up by his arm into a standing position and grabbed the back of his armour.

"What do you think you are doing?" Loki asked angrily. How dare they handle a god like some peasant.

"Saving your sorry ass. Now get going."

They quickly hid in a small and dark alley as they watched the jet land. The square had been pretty much empty after everyone had fled the scene so the possibility of someone having seen them hurry off was unlikely.

Bucky pushed Loki infront of him, wincing every time he put preassure on his leg. It had begun bleeding again from what Bucky could tell but he left it to be dealt with later. Loki, being observant of what is happening around him noticed Bucky's limping and blood stained pants and chuckled.

"Looks like I'm not the only one hurt here afterall."

Wordlessly Bucky shoved him further and further until they reached the apartment building Peter lived in.

TBC