You guys will never know how much I adore you all. Q.Q Seriously, I wasn't expecting many people to like this idea when I started and then, every day, there's something in my email about alerts, favorites and reviews. So, thank you.

There will be a sequel after I've finished with a few prompts I'm taking. :3 So, thank you all so, so much...

Warnings; torture, flashbacks, talk of non-con,

~~~~Line Breaker~~~~~

There was an incident once, months back where Tony's armor had been compromised in a fight. It was against the newly formed Hydra team, something that had sent Steve into a frenzy none of them had seen before, and they had blasted the Iron Man suit with something that made it completely useless and immobile.

Clint had saved his ass then, shooting the men as they tried to force the Avengers into a surrender, him as a hostage. It had been close, but Tony didn't really care; his life was a dangerous one and he knew he'd die one day. But then Steve and Bruce had freaked out on him that night, begging him to lay low since Hydra was targetting his technology. Obviously, he said no.

It had become apparent as his team stared at him how separated he was from his team; he had no special training, no powers, no abilities and while he wasn't useless, he wasn't...essential. And he wondered if maybe, they hadn't bothered looking for him. What need did they have for Iron Man really?

"Tony..." Steve made to go check on the man, noticing the blood and dirt but Clint stopped him by grabbing his arm, all of them tense when they noticed Loki. "Tony, what's going on?"

"So, how's your day been?" Tony asked them, making sure to look as laid-back and at ease as possible. He almost grinned when Loki snorted. "Mine's been terrible. Torture can do that. So, as I'm not spilling Shield secrets, I get saved by Reindeer Games here. So it's, uh, been interesting. Someone mind handing me a drink?"

"You cannot drink; there are some internal injuries that have not fully healed yet." the liesmith muttered.

He sighed, but didn't argue. Of course. Frowning, suddenly serious, he turned back to his awe-struck team. "How long...?"

"A week." Natasha answered, eyes never leaving Loki. "But, Fury just told us about it yesterday."

Tony laughed, the sound unnatural and maybe a bit hyserical. "Oh, that's nice. Been tortured for a week but glad to know it wasn't on Fury's priority list."

"Howardson..." Thor frowned, eying him sadly.

"I can't...I can't do this anymore." Tony muttered, feeling Loki place a hand on his shoulder. "The first time, I fixed myself and I decided to...to become some sort of hero, to help people. But they so easily tore at the weldings and found a weak spot I hadn't known was there and ripped me apart again. And this time, the only reason that I can maybe fix this is because I had Loki with me."

Loki turned to the Avengers. "Can this not wait until later?"

"Later-, Loki, what the hell are you doing here?" Clint hissed, finally addressing the God of Mischief. "Why aren't you in some cell on Asgard?"

The god glanced at Thor, who looked remained silent. "The Allfather decided he didn't want be responsible for me any longer, and sent me here in exile. I was captured not long after, and then they threw Stark into the cell with me."

"Tony..." Steve had apparently decided that Loki wasn't a threat and sat on the coffee table across from the pair, looking like a kicked puppy. "Are you alright?"

Tony sighed. "Steve, I was locked up in another fucking cave for a week. I was tortured. I was starved. I look horrible. I'm covered in blood and dirt and my clothes are torn. I sat there, waiting, knowing that Shield knew I had been taken by this group, but just learned that they only decided to tell you all yesterday. Do you really want to ask me if I'm alright? If I'm okay?"

It looked like the blond wanted to reach out but stopped at the look he received from Loki. "I don't...why would..."

"Brother." Thor came forward, resting a hand on the shorter god's shoulder. "You will stand by Howardson for us until he is ready to explain things?"

"Wha-No!" Clint immediately argued, not caring when the two gods glared at him. "Fuck no, how do we know this isn't Loki's fault? Tony, you know we would've busted you out the second we had known, but you're really okay with Loki just because he helped you? You're just gonna trust him after that?"

"Stark," Natasha cut in before anyone could argue. "We just need to know if we can leave you with him. Otherwise, we can all stay here and wait until you're ready."

It was probably the most sympathedic thing he'd ever heard her say. Tony sighed, rubbing his eyes with his good hand. "I trust Loki. Maybe I'm being stupid and maybe I'm just...fucked up right now but I do. You guys...you didn't see what we did..."

"You're going to have to tell us who did this..." Steve whispered. "And...and what they did, Tony."

"He does not." Loki argued, eyes narrowing. "This would not have been a problem if Shield was competent at their jobs."

Thor's grip tightened on his shoulder. "Loki-"

"Can this please wait until I get a shower and at least fifteen hours of sleep?" Tony cut in, head beginning to ache. "I'll call a meeting and debrief you tomorrow night, I just can't do this right now..."

They all hesitated. Maybe sensing how tired Tony was, his new 'guardian' glared at them, eyes flashing. "You only get one warning before I eject you from the building. It will not be a pleasent experience."

"Guys." Tony cut in, really not wanting to deal with an argument or fighting. "Please, just trust me on this."

Clint frowned, but allowed himself to be pulled out of the building with the others. Thor hesitated briefly to look back at the pair, his expression unreadable but he gave a nod and left. Tony sighed, slumping against his couch. He still ached despite Loki's healing spells and his hand throbbed horribly. He was glad they hadn't noticed it.

"Thank you..." he muttered, glancing over at the god.

"Your team has a good point, Stark." Loki said. "Why do you trust me here now that we are released? I can simply kill you now."

"Well, if you do, please do it quickly before I take some painkillers." the billionaire quipped, grinning at the others look. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?"

He gave the liesmith props when he didn't even twitch at the disembodied voice. "Ready a shower, painkillers and the first aid please. Also, go into lockdown. I don't want anyone but me and Loki present at the moment unless they know my secure coding."

"'Secure'?" Loki asked.

"Only two people have it: me and Bruce. I had it put into place because the last time Pepper came to force me to eat something, she ruined my project and made it explode."

"Sir, your shower is ready. Also, Ms. Potts is calling. Shall I patch her through?"

Tony hesitated. He knew that Pepper was worried and was probably in a frenzy since he'd gone missing...but he really didn't want to explain things to her. He just wanted to sleep and pretend that the week had been a horrible nightmare. But that was him being a selfish asshole (the whole reason he had ended their relationship) and decided to talk to her.

"Tony? Oh my god, Tony, are you alright? Please tell me you're okay, I walked into the office and you were just gone and now Steve called me and let me know you showed up, but you were..." She paused, not sure if she should be frank or not. Sometimes mere words could cause him to go into a fucked up panic mode.

"I'm alright, Pepper...I just wanted to tell you not to worry and that I'm going into lockdown for awhile to get myself together..." He sighed. "I know that that's not fair, but I need some time to think...I promise not to do anything drastic, Loki won't let me."

Another pause. "L-Loki? Tony-!"

"You're amazing, Pep, thanks!" Tony quickly hung up, turning to the god. "Don't blow up my house while I'm gone?" Loki gave him a deadpan look. "Right. Good. Thanks."

He made his way to his room, all too happy to shed his ripped up clothes and get rid of all the dirt and blood; he stripped quickly and stepped into his private bathroom's shower. Jarvis had the temperature perfect when he stepped into the water, sighing in relief.

It hurt. If he thought his hand was agony before, it was nothing like this. Still, the water felt amazing on his stiff muscles and the warmth...He focused on ignoring the pain and how he cringed at the water on his skin. He was probably going to be avoiding his pool for a few more years.

A feeling of shame washed over him then. It was something he was used to, but he couldn't stop himself from curling up on the bottom of his shower and remembering. What if Loki hadn't helped him? What if his teammates couldn't protect him? Why did he need protecting when he himself was a super hero? Why did this keep happening to him?

How was he supposed to fix this?

He'd have to quit the team...he was unstable, a wreck. The mere thought of water had his heart racing and a few words could reduce him to a panic mess. His own thoughts could cause him to have a nervous breakdown and then he'd be a liability. And the worse part of it was that there wasn't a guarantee that he could heal from this. Not this time.

The water was cold when he was pulled from his shower. He flinched at the feeling of hands on him but a part of him recognized Loki's voice; the god was muttering something to him but the words weren't making sense. Exhausted, Tony just leaned on him.

"Stop carrying me. S'embarrassing."

Loki rolled his eyes, placing him on his bed. He noticed that some of the other's skin, where wet, had turned blue but it faded quickly. Frowning, Tony wondered what exactly the god was if not Asgardian.

"Your floating voice explained that you were having another...episode." the God of Mischief explained, sitting on the edge of the bed. The billionaire huffed, blinking when he found himself in a pair of his sweat pants and a tee-shirt. "I figured you would not appreciate me touching you so I used magic."

Ah, right. He remembered Loki changing his clothing before. That was pretty handy, actually, he wondered if he could make something to do that... "Can I ask you...how did you get your powers back?"

He wasn't expecting an answer, really. But he needed something to think about, something to distract him before he fell asleep. Otherwise the nightmares were going to come back and he just couldn't handle it right now. Loki was apparently pretty damn perspective because he gave a bitter smile and surprised him.

"I...begged the Allfather to release me from my punishment." Seeing the confused look on Tony's face, he sighed. "I have witnessed and gone through torture before, Stark. I've been separated from my children, I've had my lips sewn shut, poison dripped into my eyes for a couple centuries...watched people die in war. What would happen to you, who tries so very hard to do good despite what you have gone through, I couldn't watch it. So I begged and pleaded with him that he would release me long enough to help you."

Tony stared at him, eyes wide. "W-what?"

"Being with you, in that cell, made me wonder what would have happened to me...if I had reacted differently to all my injustices. You turned into something completely at odds with me and I know that such strength should not be tainted like that. So, he listened to me and I was able to kill them."

"Loki..." The god turned to look at him, and the shorter man could only stare at him still. "I don't think I can really blame you for becoming what you have. Not really. You've gone through this shit a lot longer than I have."

Not that what some mortal said meant anything. Tony knew that whatever he'd gone through could't compare but he needed to say something. Sighing, he curled up on his side, wondering what they would both do now that they were free.

"I should warn you." Loki suddenly said, smirking down at him. "After all this...sentiment we've shared, I cannot just let go of you. I believe Thor once described me as a 'possessive mother dragon'."

Tony laughed. "So, this is what? Your claim on me? No more wild parties and women I don't know the names of?"

The trickster grinned. "Something like that...I want to help you, Stark, and that is not something I am familiar with. You...you need protecting, and I feel that I can do that in a way I could not for my children...But I wanted to warn you that I am a god and we are not the most...sharing characters."

There was that same edge in his tone; something that made Tony believe that he so much as thought of looking at someone else, they'd burst into green flames. It was both frightening and welcoming. He usually hated it when someone tried to look after him, tried to help him, but Loki had firsthand knowledge on all this. He had seen Tony at his lowest and still thought him worth saving.

"...Does this mean I'm dating a Norse God?"

Loki hummed lightly under his breath. "I don't think you can handle that just yet...Mostly, I will be agressively protective of you. But you have interested me, Tony Stark, and that does not happen often, especially with mortals."

"You know how to make a guy feel special." Tony snorted, smiling. "But, it sounds like fun."

It wasn't like they had fallen in love or something; and really, it was nice. Loki was making sure that...that his 'charge' or something was okay and if it developed into anything else, they were prepared for that. But they had a lot of issues to deal with, such as getting back at Hammer and explaining things to his team who might not be his team anymore.

"Jarvis will help you with anything you need...just call for him." he muttered, finding that he couldn't stay away any longer. "...Don't leave, okay?"

"Of course."

~~~~~~Line Breaker~~~~~~~~~

Tony slept for over twenty hours; when he finally got out of bed, Loki was watching the news, which was muted when he noticed him. He had to admit, he was impressed that the Norse God taught himself how to use it so efficently, though he probably had to ask Jarvis for help. He gave a tired smile, happy that Loki was still there.

"Jarvis, put on some coffee, will you? And where's the first aid and painkillers?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.

It felt amazing to be clean again.

"Already prepared, sir. Also, the items are now on the counter waiting for you."

He made himself some coffee, offering it to the trickster but was declined. Apparently, Loki prefered something sweet and coffee wasn't his thing; ironic, given how much Thor loved the stuff. Maybe they'd share a love of poptarts? The God of Thunder was frightening when he ate those.

"Is your hand still...immobile?" Loki asked, frowning.

Tony nodded. "They ripped the tendons, the bones, broke muscles...I'm no doctor, but it's probably going to be amputated since it's mostly useless. Maybe I can get a metal hand or something."

He said it lightly but the thought frightened him greatly. Sighing, he grabbed the first aid, took four painkillers and moved next to Loki on the couch. He was vaguely surprised when the small box was taken from him.

"What?"

Loki frowned, thinking hard. "I might...be able to heal that."

Tony froze, eyes wide. "S-seriouly? But, before, you healed me and-"

"It would take all my magic...And I would need a few days to recover." Ah, that made sense then; Loki didn't want to be helpless among the Avengers if they didn't buy him helping Tony escape. "After your debriefing, I shall do it but you must give me your word that I can remain here, guarded, until my magic returns."

"Of course. Loki, I pretty much am relying on you to keep me sane the next few weeks, the least I can do if you'd fix this mess is protect you afterwards."

The god gave a small smile, though he still looked weary. "Alright, Stark..."

He helped him bandage his hand after holding Tony down from the disinfectant. Then, after Loki promised that he would still not allow anyone else to touch him, the billionaire phoned in his team, happy to hear that Bruce had returned once he heard about Tony missing.

"Forgive me for not running up and hugging you." Tony greeted the fellow scientist, smiling. "But damn it's good to have you back."

Bruce nodded, seating himself across the coffee table from him. "I came as soon as I could...though the most I could get from Fury was you were kidnapped and that Loki had helped you."

He gave the God of Mischief a nod and a smile, having no real qualms with him. Tony and Bruce were close friends, and the thought of one of them in pain was unbearable. It was probably good that Tony had been found before Shield had called him. India mightt've...not existed after that.

"Holy hell you're still alive." Clint greeted, seemingly more relaxed than last time.

"You're an ass, Squakes." Tony muttered, grinning.

"Fuck yeah, I get to be a phoenix." The archer seated himself at the counter, still eying Loki but at least he wasn't tensed up like he was about to lunge at him. "Fury's gonna show up later, he's dealing with some council business that can't wait. He also said that he's happy to have you back because otherwise most of their funding is gone."

Tony snorted, watching as Natasha, Steve and Thor came in, the blond god looking like he had to restrain himself from hugging his brother. Loki seemed to notice that and sneered at him, eyes narrowed. That certainly made him feel better though; apparently only he got to see Loki being all soft and motherly. Even if it was a bit...creepy to think that the god saw him as a child and maybe a romantic suitor. Maybe.

"Are you sure you've had enough time to get yourself together?" Steve asked, frowning. "Pepper was a bit...angry when she called us back last night."

Tony eyed him, wondering why exactly Steve and Pepper were on first name and calling terms but shrugged. "I'm better now. Something about being able to shower and sleep in a bed will do that to you."

Some of them stiffened at the bitter tone he used. Oops. Running his good hand over his face, he leaned back into the couch. Focus, Tony, focus. At least he had an over protective Norse god that would happily rip them all apart if he wanted him to.

"Okay...okay; the guy that kidnapped me is named Justin Hammer. He was a rival CEO but he sucks. Kept trying to get chummy with me but when that didn't work he tried to have me killed by helping out a convict that tried to kill me." He saw Natasha's eyes narrowed. "I don't know if he's working on his own or not, but he wanted information on the Helicarrier. I refused and got tortured a couple times. What else you wanna know?"

"Why was Rudolf there?" Clint asked.

Tony shot him a look. "Don't steal my petnames, Chirpy."

Loki shrugged. "I have no theories since my powers were unattainable at the time. They never let on why I was there and I remained unharmed."

"What...did they do?" Bruce asked, gaze focused on the floor. "I know it's really none of our business but in case something happens-"

"In case there's something that'll make into a liability. I know." Tony sighed. "I got the water treatment, but I think they used that because it's in my files from the last time I was kidnapped and tortured." He noticed that Steve and Thor looked confused; they didn't like to use technology and hadn't read his files then. "I got smashed up a bit...kicked around, starved but that's because I refused to eat the crap they gave me. Shattered my knee and my elbow but Loki fixed them..."

Thor's eyes widened. "Brother, you really...?"

"Yes, Thor." Loki hissed, green eyes narrowed dangerously. The blond intelligently closed his mouth. Still, there was an impressed, knowing look that Tony wasn't really comfortable with.

"And your hand?" Natasha asked.

He cringed; of course she would notice that. "Apparently unfixable. I've looked into it. They..." He had to clear his throat to stop it from wavering. "They broke everything in it."

"How did you get your powers back, Loki?" Steve asked, finally acknowledging the god.

The liesmith scuffed, arms crossing. "I met the terms given to me by the Allfather."

"Brother..." Thor muttered, frowning.

"It is none of their business how I retained my magic. We are here to be debriefed on how we get back at Hammer. If we are done with that, then I have things I could be doing."

Tony hid a grin, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder. "What next?"

"We'll go over this with Fury...start doing some digging into Hammer and how he was released from jail." Natasha answered. "If Loki is planning on staying, then it's best that you two remain close by since he's targeting you mostly, Tony."

"Good, so, temporary truce?" Steve asked the trickster, offering a hand. Loki eyed it a moment before briefly gripping it, looking annoyed. "Tony, you should probably sit out the next few months then."

"What? Months?" Tony rolled his eyes, forcing a tough act when he wished he could take off the next year. Or five. "Cap, I'm out of this for maybe two weeks. Hammer is after me, he tortured me, and I'm not letting you guys handle him."

"Wait..." Clint cut in, frowning. "Why did we just hear about this yesterday though? If Shield knew about Tony's disappearance from the beginning?"

A tense silence washed over them. Tony sighed, wishing he had something, anything, to drink if only to get his mind off of things. He wanted to badly to explain to them how extensive things were running, how close he had come to being completely undone, but...would they understand? Had any of them come so close to losing everything? To being...tainted and made unclean?

It was pride holding him back, he knew. But how do you explain to a group of super heroes that you were almost raped by a minion? The lowest of the low when it came to villains? It wasn't even a super villain either and Tony suddenly wanted another shower.

"Could there be a traitor in Shield?" Loki suddenly asked. He was unamused by the confused looks. "Hammer called Shield immediately to inform them of our capture. Either as bait or insurance. You are the best chances we had for freedom but you were uninformed until they were getting desperate. Could there be someone in Shield to help them?"

Clint frowned. "It's not a total impossibility, some of us have rather complex backgrounds..."

"So, someone only told Fury yesterday?" Bruce asked, eyes flashing green for a brief moment.

"That would explain why we had to wait a week..." Tony muttered.

Natasha shared a look with Clint. "We're talking about something really serious here...whoever it'd be needs to be pretty high on the Clearance list for this to work...And what motive would they have?"

"Have you slept with any Shield executives?" the archer suddenly asked him.

He saw Loki twitch and grinned. "Nope, never got around to it. But we'll deal with this once Fury gets here...until then, I might go back to sleep."

This...this was good.

Tony walked back to his bedroom, not surprised that Loki had followed. They were going to get down to the bottom of this, his team had no idea he had been sexually assaulted, and they seemed to accept that the trickster was on their side for the time being. Curling up on his bed, Tony stared up at the god.

"After we're done dealing with Hammer..." He hesitated, knowing that his words were going to have weight to them and might upset him. "I' going to have a discussion with 'Odin'. Regarding your kids."

Loki stiffened, eyes narrowed. "That is not something you can fix, Stark."

"I want to try." Tony muttered. "You have a right to see them, you love them. Having a caring parent is...is amazing here in Midgard because we don't see that a lot. And if needed, they can stay here. They can't hurt anyone here, if that's what he's afraid of."

The God of Mischief sat down next to him, green eyes both weary and vulnerable. "Even though I do not think it possible, thank you, Anthony Stark..."

The billionaire shrugged. "Least I can do...We'll deal with things when I wake up, okay? And we can try your magic voodoo if you want to wait until the rest of them leave..."

Loki nodded. "Alright. I shall watch over you...I believe Dr. Banner has his suspicions about what else happened to you in capture."

Sighing, he nodded. "Bruce can read me too well...still, thanks, Loki. This, all of this, it really...really means a lot."

"I am not without my selfish reasoning's. But your sentiment is returned."

Smiling, Tony laid down on his pillow and allowed himself to go back to sleep. The pain was still there, the nightmares came to him once he settled down and Loki had to hold him again as he cried, and he was almost afraid that maybe, he wouldn't be able to be useful to the team in the foreseeable future.

But it was a start.

~~~~~~~~~~Line Breaker~~~~~~~~~

WE DID IT!

- throws confetti- This chapter hated me. Sers. It did. None of the other Avengers wanted to be written so I'm really sorry if they come off weird or OOC and THE DAMN RELATIONSHIP! UGHH. -kicks it- EVOLVE PROPERLY DAMMIT.

NOTE; I see Loki as being motherly since he had a lot of kids; it's one of my favorite aspects to him, and something I adore. So, the reason for him treating Tony like he is, is simply because Tony is a broken child. Maybe not anymore, but he had to deal with a parent that didn't care, and since Loki loves his kids and can't be around him, he wants to fix that. But he also knows that Tony is someone he can relate to, so he is prepared for himself to care for Tony in a romantic way. I just wanted to clear that up.

Also, for future reference, I have written a story as to why I have Coulson running around! :D Just in case you're wondering cuz it'll be referenced in the sequel.

Thank you all so so much, guys. I love you all. 3

MRIMO