Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 200

A/N Hi friends! I totally forgot about Wattpad's 200-chapter limit, so I'm reuploading Monday's chapter with a little disclaimer that chapter 201 is posted in a different book (appropriately titled Loki Still Misses The Asgardian Prison System, with the exact same cover except a giant green 2 on it) that you can find on my profile @ kittyhazelnut!

This whole thing, Thor finds, is absolutely ridiculous. He cannot believe the Avengers were baited into fighting each other over something as stupid as a stack of papers. He's no stranger to diplomacy, but the Accords are not that; they're more akin to voluntary servanthood, and he cannot fathom how so many of his friends thought it would be a good idea.

Which is why he's here, preparing himself to speak to this council and ensure they know how absolutely absurd this proposal was.

Those of them who came from the compound, it seems, are the last to arrive. The others are already here, some – namely Tony, Rhodey, and Natasha – out among the crowd, but most are congregated in one big group. That's where Thor goes, and the others follow suit.

Thor nods once in greeting. "My friends." His somewhat infuriating friends, but his friends nonetheless.

"Welcome back," Clint says. "Bet you're never gonna leave us alone this long again, huh?"

"Not until you learn to behave," Thor says with joking sternness. "You are no longer responsible for babysitting Loki in my absence; he is now responsible for babysitting you."

"Oh no," Pietro jokes, "however will we recover?"

Clint shakes his head to himself. "You two are both pains in my ass. You know that. right?"

"Of course," Pietro says. "Why else would I be here if not to annoy you?"

"Well," Wanda says, "the United Nations specifically requested that we all be here, so..."

Pietro waves a dismissive hand. "We are Sokovian," he says. "We do not have to answer to the United Nations."

Wanda furrows her brows. "I don't think that's how that works."

Thor looks between them inquisitively. Why would that not be how it works? Isn't the United Nations just all of the nations, united? ... Is that what the United Nations is? It occurs to him that nobody's actually explained what exactly the United Nations... is... are...

Tony makes his way over to them then, and Thor greets him with a friendly nod. It's weird to think that they're no longer teammates. They're still friends, of course. They'll always be friends, he'd like to think. But Tony's retired now. He's not a part of their team. That's such a weird thought.

"Hey." Tony holds out a hand, which Thor shakes politely. "Good to have you back."

"Thank you," Thor says. "I would say that it's good to be back, but..." He gestures around vaguely to the situation they're in. There's nothing good about this.

"Trust me, I know," Tony says. "Not what you were hoping to come back to, I'm sure."

Thor shrugs halfheartedly. "Every day is an adventure."

Steve gives Tony a small smile. "How're you holding up?"

Tony plasters on a grin that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm doing fantastic," he says. "I'm officially retired. What more could I ask for?"

Steve just nods, a somewhat sad smile on his face. Thor has to agree. It is sad. It's sad that their team has fallen so far. It's sad that their team is falling apart. But their friendship hasn't changed, and he takes comfort in that. They don't have to fight the same battles. There was a period when they didn't fight together at all; they simply reconvened in the tower after every mission. This is no different, right? It may feel different, but it's not.

Steve nods toward Wanda. "How are you doing, kid?" There's a surprising amount of sympathy in his voice, given who's speaking and whom he's speaking to. Thor was under the impression that Steve hated her – and, after what she did to Loki, he certainly didn't blame him. Still, it's nice to see them getting along.

Wanda gives him a small shrug. "I'm okay," she says. Her voice is quiet, dull. He suspects she's not okay – and he suspects that Steve knew that when he asked. Loki, it seems, knew it last night, too. Did everybody know she's not okay? He feels like he's missed so much in the three weeks or so he was gone. It's a bit absurd, really.

Pietro puts an arm around her in a gentle side-hug. She looks up at him and gives him a small smile, and he smiles back at her. They have a nice relationship, he thinks. It's heartwarming, really, to watch. It's as though they took all the best parts of Thor and Loki's relationship and none of the more problematic aspects – namely, the fighting and the stabbing and the attempted murders.

Admittedly, he doesn't care all too much about the twins. He doesn't know too much about the twins. They tend to stay out of his way, and he doesn't give them much thought. But it's still nice to see another sibling relationship as strong as his own.

Tony looks at Thor when he asks, "Is Loki...?"

"I'm here," Loki's voice replies. Nearly everyone jumps. Thor just chuckles.

"That's so creepy," Sam mutters.

"Thank you," Loki replies, and Thor rolls his eyes, an amused grin on his face.

"Good luck, Loki," Tony says. "The future of the Avengers may be riding on you. Don't screw it up."

"Thank you, Stark," Loki says sarcastically. "That is exactly what I wanted to hear before facing what seems to be the most powerful governing body in the world."

"We've got your back," Steve assures him. "Their first order of business was trying to kill the wrong guy. We're not going to let that slide."

"And we're all mostly backing off the whole avenging gig anyway," Clint adds. "I think that'll help our case. You're more just our final line of defense if logic and reasoning doesn't work."

"They don't strike me as very logical people," Loki remarks.

"Oh, god no," Tony agrees. "They're all government officials. They're idiots by default."

Bruce smacks his arm lightly. "Lower your voice," he hisses. "That's the last thing we need them to hear right now."

"Eh, it's fine." Tony waves a hand dismissively. "They're all too busy talking about how much they hate us to realize the feeling's mutual."

"Look on the bright side," Thor says with a shrug. "Once they see Loki, we'll no longer be their least favorite people in the room!"

Loki scoffs. "Hey!"

"Well, he's not wrong," Pietro remarks.

"That doesn't mean he had to say it aloud!"

Thor chuckles. He wishes his brother could be here with them in person. It would be a lot less painful if he was. But he'll take his presence in whatever form he can get it. As far as he's concerned, just about everything is better with Loki. 

A/N Go to my profile @ kittyhazelnut to read the rest of the fic! Chapter 201 is already posted!