His True Kingdom

Chapter Forty Four - Apprentice:

As your panting continued and everything that just happened tried to register in your head and failed, you saw that all the Avengers took slow steps towards Hawkeye. Everyone seemed very exhausted and sweaty like fresh out of shower, although you didn't want to do this you followed them in the circle they were forming around Loki who was on the ground sleeping. Your eyes scanned over everyone with confusion and you realized they were returning your look for except one of them—Thor. His expression was way darker than usual while he stared down at his battered brother. Tony's suit clicked and his face became visible under his helmet, his eyebrows were raised like he had no idea what was going on.

"Well, that almost went better than last time guys, good job" he said, keeping his eyes wide open. Nobody replied, everyone was still trying to gain back their ability to think straight. Steve took a couple steps closer to you.

"What happened up there ____(y/n)?" he softly said, you knew these questions were going to come considering you changed into a frost giant in front of them and performed crazy stunts.

"Apparently, that 'liquid sunlight' triggered something. I carry a dead Jotun princess' soul in me" you said and sighed, trying all you could to keep your eyes away from Loki. Steve seemed more confused with your answer.

"We can discuss your adventures later, we need to get this asshole locked up again" Clint said, he seemed like he could lurch toward Loki any time.

"Well if you want a cage, I don't have one" Tony jumped in.

"We will take him to Asgard, there's no argument about it my friends" Thor interrupted with his broken voice, his eyes landing on yours.

"Why were they really here? It doesn't seem like they gained anything out of this" Natasha said crossing her arms. You nodded your head in approval.

"And why did they leave him behind?" you added to her question without looking at Loki again. You saw that a half naked Bruce staggered towards the group, scratching his head and blinking awkwardly like he just woke up from a sleep.

"Well this kind of seems familiar" he grunted and completed the circle around Loki; he looked down at him with no expression.

"How about we go back upstairs so I can get a drink while discussing what happened? The suit is uncomfortable and I have to pee" Tony said playfully, his voice all metallic inside the helmet that was open. You saw that Natasha was frowning and Tony looked at her with a smirk.

"Well I don't have the filter system installed in this one so..." his husky voice added. Your eyebrows rose in astonishment and you stared at Steve who had the same look on his face. Thor walked towards you with worry, he seemed like he was in a different realm in his head already.

"My father is expecting us at once" he murmured and looked around giving everyone a dull look. Tony sighed deeply.

"Okay, you big guy take Reindeer games. I will take Bruce so he can scare him off if he wakes up and rest of you, take the elevator" Tony huffed, shifting his head to Bruce who seemed like he was in pain and didn't want to fly with him.

"I really don't want to have anything to do with that guy" Bruce said, almost bouncing back realizing how close he was standing to Loki. Tony snorted, unamused, he put his hand around Bruce.

"Like I said, no cage. You have to play along Doctor" Tony ordered him and shot up in the air to the top of the tower.

Thor started revolving Mjolnir and took a hold of his brother with disgust and reluctance. His frown made you feel uncomfortable so you awkwardly turned around to start walking towards the tower. You could feel Thor increasing his momentum and he shot up in the air while making you and Natasha's hair wave frantically. You quickly glanced over your shoulder to see that the rest of the Avengers were following you. You nearly jumped to your side because you suddenly saw that Clint caught up to you and started walking next to you with a smile. You still remembered how he almost tried to kill you.

"You're not that bad of an archer ____(y/n). You can be my apprentice if you want to." He chuckled. You looked at him with a faint smile, your mind was focused on only one thing and it was Loki that was upstairs.

"I'm sorry for almost killing you, but with that bastard around it's hard to trust anybody" he murmured and led you inside the tower, Steve and Natasha followed you without a word.

The four of you entered the elevator and Steve pressed the button to go upstairs, with this many levels you knew it would take more than a couple minutes to reach the top floor. Steve sighed and turned to you with a calculating expression.

"So what Loki said about you is true?" he whispered anxiously. You rubbed your forehead with the stress of expecting to see the God of Mischief again in just a couple minutes.

"Yes, and thankfully I am not dying in a week. This is just frost giant skin" you said and extended your hands out, all the Avengers around gave them a curious look.

"Damn" Steve whispered without being able to hide his astonishment as his eyes scanned your arms and then the bow behind your back.

"I've been to Asgard and also some other realm called Vanaheim. It all feels supernatural to me, I feel like if the doors opened and we saw a zombie I wouldn't be surprised" you said bitterly and the elevator doors opened.

"I take that back" you whispered.

You saw that Loki was awake and sitting down on the hospital bench you'd rested before, his hands were tied on his back and Bruce had a chair pulled right in front of him. He was wearing a black shirt that obviously belonged to Tony since it felt too complex for Bruce's simple choices in clothing. They were sitting and staring at each other with very weird looks that you couldn't really read. You saw that Thor was standing by the broken glass walls and staring outside with a frown. The only pair of eyes you could catch belonged to Tony who was already rid of his suit—his familiar black shirt contrasted well with the arc reactor shining brighter than ever on his chest thanks to you. He gave you a happy smile from behind the bar where you guessed he was making himself a drink.

"Who wants a drink? ____(y/n)? Care for a martini or maybe some coffee?" he asked, worry slightly creasing on his forehead after realizing your eyes you couldn't pull away from Loki's silent figure. You looked up at Tony, the tears instantly dried in your eyes with your successful attempt to keep yourself together.

"What about you Loki? Would you like to have that drink now?" Tony said, putting emphasis on the last word.

Even though Tony's remark wasn't towards you, you could feel the burning sarcasm in his sentence. It felt like there was some history there that you weren't aware of, you followed Steve to the leather couches and sat next to him. You saw that Natasha was holding onto Clint's arm like she did when he wanted to kill you but his hatred was towards Loki only this time. They sat across where you were sitting together. You saw that Loki slightly turned and gave him a wide smirk without uttering any words. Tony came with a glass of martini and a Stark Industries cup, he extended the cup to you and you tried to reach for it but he pulled it back.

"Don't tell me you lost that check when you were gone?" he smiled widely; you barely brought a smile on your face and replied.

"I still have it Tony, thanks for the coffee" you weakly said and grabbed the freshly brewed coffee, smelling it to appreciate the Earthly drink. He took a seat by you, leaving you between himself and Steve. Thor turned around; he seemed very annoyed since he held Mjolnir so tightly in his hands. His discomfort erased even Tony's smile from his face.

"All right point break, it's your turn to tell us a bed time story although we have an unwanted guest in the group" Tony sighed heavily, glancing over Loki. You couldn't help but gave him a quick look as well, when your eyes met you felt a dagger stabbing in your heart continuously and your arms faintly glowed. You quickly turned your face around and closed your eyes to relax. Steve put his hand on yours to calm you down which once more worked proficiently.