Chapter 7

"What are you waiting for? Get up! We are—" a gunshot was heard. Loki shut his eyes in pain, but ignored it all the same. The bullet had ricocheted, right? Tony got up, and wanted to say something, but didn't really know what. He had been sitting damning himself for trusting Loki, and now he had showed up. He had come to his rescue. "Leaving." Loki finished, his jaw clenching hard enough to break something.

"Are you okay?" Holy fuck, was that a hole in his chest? How could he still be standing when he was bleeding that much? He felt sick, and his legs were a bit unwilling to move at the sound of blood hitting the ground.

"I am fine!" his hand shot up just in time for the dagger to bounce of a bullet that would've hit Tony. His legs felt like jelly, and he was sure he was going to throw up any moment. His gut twisted and hurt when he saw how badly Loki was shaking. How did he manage to keep standing? Loki shot him a glance that looked twice as frightening as Clint and Fury's combined. The green tears, or whatever it was, that came pouring out of his eyes made him look almost savage. Tony couldn't move. Getting up had been about all his wobbly legs could manage. An annoyed sound came from the back of Loki's throat, before he put the dagger between his teeth. With his now vacant hand he grabbed Tony's upper arm in a grip that was hard enough to tear it off. At least that's what it felt like, when Loki dragged him angrily towards the door.

They managed to get out of the cell. Tony wanted his legs to work, but they wouldn't. And he couldn't take his eyes off the hole in Loki's chest. He was bleeding more now, even though that shouldn't be possible. He isn't human, Tony reminded himself. But still, the god couldn't keep going like this for long.

The hallway he had been brought down looked like a place in a map on one of the Call of Duty games. It was hard to think straight, but even his confused mind could easily see that it was hopeless. From both sides, guards and soldiers came running. Loki pushed Tony against the wall. Tony still felt sick, even though he was now looking at his back, which didn't look that bad. It was covered in small holes from bullets. He could see that the wounds weren't deep. Some of the bullets were even sticking out. Loki placed his arms on either side of him, protecting him from the bullets that were sprayed on them. He could see some of them penetrating Loki's skin, not deep enough to cause him any lethal damage. It still had to hurt though, and Tony was pretty sure he was going to die of blood loss either way. Loki hissed. The magic leaking from his eyes had turned into two streams. He could see the green liquid hit the ground. He heard Loki curse.

"Loki!" Tony didn't know what he was going to say, but didn't get the time anyway. Loki swirled around, and looked him straight in the eyes. He grabbed his arms in a tight grip, and in the very next second, everything went black.

It was like living in a sped-up movie. He saw trees and cars and houses fly by, and then he landed. Hard on the ground, getting all the air knocked out of him. Someone was still clenching his arm, it was Loki. He was also lying on the ground, face down. It was cold, and it was raining. But he didn't have time to analyze the weather! Loki was still bleeding and… Why wasn't he getting up? Tony tried to loosen the grip on his arm, but Loki's fingers were like claws, and impossible to move.

"Loki?" He called, and turned the god around. He was very pale, and his eyes were grayish-green, a color he had never seen on him before. The hole in his chest smelled of burnt flesh, despite the rain which should knock at least some of the smell to the ground. Loki was panting hard, making a choking sound every time he tried to drag air into his lounges. Tony could feel himself panicking, but he couldn't stop it. He wasn't a soldier, never had been. And he had no idea what to do about the wounded sorcerer. Okay, he had to sort his thoughts. First: How to stop the bleeding. Yes, how the fuck was he supposed to stop all that blood? Loki had a hole in his chest. It looked like it almost went through him. How was he even alive? As Loki's hand started to loosen the grip of his arm, he got even more desperate. He pulled off his shirt, and wrapped it awkwardly around his wound. Loki wasn't even aware of what was happening, he seemed to be focusing merely on one thing: breathing. The shirt helped a bit, at least he liked to think that it did. "I need… Magic." Loki managed to get out from glittered teeth. "The bullets… They are full of the poison. Remove them." He gasped. Okay, bullets. Right, bullets. All the small red holes on Loki were bullets. He didn't have any tools for the job, so it would have to be done with his fingers. He started with one in his upper arm. It wasn't an easy job. He had to stick his fingers deep into the wound and pull it even more open to get a hold of the slippery bullet. The fact that it was raining didn't make it any easier. Loki had gone silent. He didn't moan or hiss or anything to give away that he was in pain. He was just trying to breathe.

Tony had to turn him around many times to find all the bullets. He lost count at 30-something. He was shaking from the cold March-evening air, and his fingers were red with Loki's blood. "How many… Left?" Loki whispered.

"I can't see any more." Tony answered, and pulled out the last one. "How are you holding up?" With one look at Loki's face, he could clearly see that the answer was 'not so good'. His skin had gotten a sickly shade of gray. To Tony's surprise, the wound in his chest had stopped bleeding.

"I have enough magic to… Hold back the blood." He said. Okay, that was good. Did that mean he wasn't going to die from blood loss at least? Right now, Tony was pretty sure he was going to die himself, from cold, so he looked around to find some shelter.

It was now it hit him that he had no idea where they were. All around them were trees, and the ground was muddy. But, like a miracle, through the trees he could see a little hut. There were no lights there, but at least it meant they would get out of the cold rain.

He got up, and pulled Loki up with him. The god had no strength left in his body whatsoever, and was like a corpse. Really heavy.

He dragged Loki towards the hut. The door was locked, but he kicked it open, feeling pretty badass. It was very small, and not warm at all, but at least it was dry. He pulled Loki inside, and dropped him a little too hard down on a bench out of exhaustion.

"What else can I do?" he asked Loki, but the god didn't answer. He had closed his eyes, and lay completely still. For a second Tony thought the impact had killed him, but Loki wasn't one to go down like that. No, he was still breathing. Tony remembered last time he had gotten in contact with the poison. He had slept for days. This couldn't be that different.

He wasn't much of a pro when it came to doing stuff without tech, but he still managed to light a fire. Loki hated the cold, so it would probably help if it was a bit warmer. In the closet Tony found a couple of coats. He took one for himself, and laid the rest of them on top of the trickster.

What the hell had he been thinking? And how had he even managed to teleport them? He thought as he stared into the flames. He was going to ask Loki when he woke up, that much was certain.

He was starting to calm down a bit now, and he was able to set things more into perspective. They were definitely fugitives. The whole of SHIELD was looking for them, and he was even more of a traitor now than before, seeing as Loki had actually valued him enough to come to his rescue. But Tony was glad he had, as weird as it was to admit that. It meant he had been horribly mistaken in his deductions about the god's personality. And it also meant that he had to mean something to him. If Loki was willing to go through all of that just for him…

For the time being, he decided it was best if they stayed where they were. There was no way SHIELD could find them here, when not even Tony knew where they were. Also, he doubted Loki could even move. The god still hadn't woken up.

His status was the same two days later.

And after four days.

On the fifth day, Tony was really starting to get anxious. He sat down next to him, and tried to wake him up by shaking his shoulder, very carefully. "Loki?" No answer. "Loki, seriously, how long are you going to sleep?" Silence. "Loki, you know 'beauty-sleep' doesn't last for that long." Nothing. "Loki! You're making me worry you asshole!" He figured he was shaking him a bit too hard now. He should calm down. The worst thing was that Loki wasn't giving him any response at all. All he did was lay there, in the same position as five days ago. His chest rose in a steady motion. Tony removed the shirt he had wrapped around the wound. He regretted it right away.

It still smelled of burnt flesh. It was black and red and looked so grotesque he almost wanted to throw up. He put the coats over him again and decided to never look again. But why wasn't he waking up? He had to calm down. Loki wasn't human, so he shouldn't panic just because he slept for five days.

But after seven days, he couldn't keep calm anymore. It wasn't easy to stay there in the little cabin alone. He hadn't gone out at all, because he didn't want to leave Loki in case he woke up.

His heart was about to stop when he heard a suppressed cough from the bench. He had been sitting by the fire, but hurried over to Loki. He was awake. His eyes were open. Tony noted they still had that grayish-green shade. "Finally, you're awake!" Tony couldn't hide the relief he felt.

"Yes. How long did I sleep?"

"A week." At that information, Loki froze. His eyes shifted around the room, but they didn't end up at Tony like they normally did. He just stared at nothing behind him. "Are you alright? Can I get you anything? How strong is your magic?" Maybe it was too many questions, seeing as Loki had just woken up, but he couldn't help himself. It took a few seconds before Loki answered.

"I can't see." He said in a shaking voice. Tony didn't understand what he meant.

"What?"

"I am blind." Loki barely managed to get the words out, fear of the truth hunting him down. He quickly sat up. "I can't see." He repeated.

"Calm down, I don't think you should move yet." Tony tried to push him down again, but it didn't work.

"Everything is dark." Loki pushed him away. Yes, he was pretty strong now.

"Loki, calm down." Tony tried to speak to him a soothing voice. To be honest, he had no idea what he should do, but he did know that a Loki in panic wasn't good for anyone, and most certainly not good for his wound. Tony grabbed his shoulders and they both fell to the floor, he pulled him close, holding him down.

"Everything is dark!" He repeated over and over again.

After many minutes, it seemed he was finally calming down. Tony still didn't let go of him though. "I lost the ability to see right after I teleported us." Loki said quietly. "It is a natural side-effect from me overusing my magic like that. But I was sure it would return with my strength." He breathed in hard. "But if it's been seven days then…" He didn't finish.

"You think it's permanent?" Tony regretted saying it. Loki shifted uneasily in his arms. His breath was quick, and the way his muscles tensed said that he was scared. He could understand that. Losing his sight was probably the last sense Tony would want to lose.

"I don't know… Seven days is a long time. But my magic hasn't fully returned to me." Loki was clearly making an argument to stay calm. "Maybe it's just a matter of patience." His words didn't match his expression. He looked terrified.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Tony muttered under his breath. He felt really sorry for him right now, so he pulled him closer, even though Loki probably didn't like it. He didn't get an answer, and he wasn't expecting one either. They just laid there on the floor. Tony listened to Loki's heartbeat which was slowly going back into a normal rhythm.

"Where are we?" Loki asked after a while.

"We're on the floor." Was Tony's intelligent answer.

"I figured that out by myself, thank you."

"Wow, you're good!" Loki tensed in his arms. Okay, he wasn't ready for jokes just yet. "Sorry. We're in a little hut. Actually, I want to ask you where we are. You were the one who teleported us."

"I wasn't in control of our destination." Oh great. So even Loki didn't know where they were. Not that it mattered right now, because there was no way they were leaving before Loki got his sight back. If he got it back. Tony couldn't concentrate enough to come up with what to do if Loki was permanently blind. Tony gathered them both up in a sitting position, Loki awkwardly half on his lap, half on the floor.

"You hungry? I'm afraid this place doesn't have much. I've been living on pickles." Loki shook his head tiredly. "How the hell can you not be hungry? You've been sleeping for a week! You're eating, end of discussion." He pushed Loki up so that he could sit by himself, but Loki reached out for him, fumbling to grab something. He got a hold of Tony's coat. "I'm right here, you'll be able to hear me. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." He didn't know if that was what Loki was afraid of. He only imagined how he would feel himself if all he could see was darkness, and he didn't know if he was alone or not. It had the wanted effect, because Loki let go. "It's not like this place has more than one room. Would you like me to keep talking?"

"Yes." Was his distant answer. He had never seen the god look so lost before. He was truly helpless when he couldn't see.

"So, you have three choices. Do you want olives, pickles or… Wait for it… Olives?" he held up two jars, even though Loki couldn't see them. The trickster did smile a little, and that lightened the mood a whole lot.

"Surprise me." Tony didn't know if Loki would like olives, so he chose pickles.

"Alright, don't look!" He warned, and Loki chuckled.

"Do you find me going blind that amusing? And you call me a terrible person."

"You know, the ones who think blind-jokes are funniest are blind people, now, open up." He said, kneeling down beside the god.

"Do you expect me to let you feed me?"

"Yes, open up." Loki looked like he wanted to protest more, but gave in and opened his mouth. Tony put a pickle in his mouth, and he closed his jaw hard around it, crushing it with his sharp teeth. They were really white, he hadn't noticed that before.

"Distasteful." Loki stated, and opened his mouth again for another bite.

"Glad I didn't give you the olives then."

Despite complaining about the taste (and the fact that he had refused being hungry in the first place), he still ate all the pickles in the jar. "Now that you're awake and stuff we can camp in front of the fireplace. I could've moved you, but after I saw the… Hole in your chest, I kind of changed my mind." Tony said. Loki's fingers travelled around his wound, feeling it.

"It's fine." He said. Tony really doubted that, but didn't comment. He had piled all the clothes he could find in front of the fireplace, so it made a sort of bed.

"If you say so. Wanna come closer to the fire?"

"Why, you managed to light a fire? I am impressed."

"I'm not that useless!" Tony argued and knelt down to help Loki up. "Here, take my arm, like that." He placed Loki's hand on his arm, and helped him to his feet. It was scary to see how uncertain the trickster was in his movements, as he slowly made his way towards the fire with Tony's support.

They soon found a comfortable position. Loki rested his head on Tony's lap, which he didn't mind at all. It was nice to take care of him.

"Are you alright?" Loki suddenly asked. "I can't see whether or not you're hurt. Did any of the bullets hit you?"

"No, I'm good." Loki smiled in relief. "Thanks to you." Tony added.

"Yes. But you ended up in that cell because of me, so it is only fair." So even Loki had a sense of justice. Even though it was way off. Tony's sacrifice was nothing to Loki's.

"Technically, it was my own fault. It's not like I had to throw myself in front of you."

"No, and it's not like I had to save you from that cell either. It seems we are both full of sentiment." Loki said with a little smile. The hollow way he looked out into the room was really creepy. Tony longed to see his eyes sparkle and shine again. Since the god was about as helpless as he had ever been, Tony felt brave enough to touch his hair. His head was on his lap after all. Loki didn't comment as he stroke his fingers through his hair. It wasn't as dirty as Tony thought it would've been.

As they sat there, or Tony sat and Loki lay, he thought the trickster was relaxing. And he thought that for once, he was helping out. He was a support and a comfort to Loki when he was this vulnerable. It made his chest swell up, and he felt almost proud of being so special to Loki. Because surely, not everyone was allowed to do this? Loki had closed his eyes. There wasn't much point in having them open anyway. Alright, Tony admitted it, he cared for him. He really did, there was no denying it anymore.

"Loki I…" He wasn't even sure what he was going to say. Loki opened his eyes to his voice, and Tony could see disappointment in them as Loki was reminded of his blindness.

"Don't." He cut him off. "Don't fool yourself. Let us keep pretending. I like pretending." With those words he closed his eyes again.

Pretending? Pretend to do what? What did Loki think about their relationship? Surely, he had to know that Tony at least felt something for him. Tony knew he was being naïve. For all he knew, all of this could just be an illusion. Loki could've put a spell on him months ago. Hell, maybe he was still trapped in the cell at SHIELD. He couldn't know anything for sure. He looked down at Loki's pale face. He was calm, except for that slight, worried bend to his eyebrows. This guy is a killer, he thought, and tried to make the word 'killer' fit to what he was seeing. He knew he had to weigh the possibility of Loki doing all of this for some future goal. But… Would he go this far? The fact was, Tony couldn't possibly know how far he was willing to go. He didn't know anything about him. The facts he thought he had on Loki were now just doubts. Which ones where truths, and which ones were lies?

Thinking so much about it made his head hurt, and he didn't come to any conclusions. His best shot was to just see what happened, and try not to get killed in the end. Loki had said it himself, that he should be afraid of him. It was a little hard when he was lying so peacefully and blind on his lap. Was he even awake?

"Loki?"

"What? Is it absolutely impossible to get some sleep around here?" Loki answered in a fake sleepy voice. He wasn't tired at all.

"You've slept for a week, isn't that enough?"

"What do you want me to do to pass the time? I just want to get my sight back." Loki did have a good point. Sleeping was the best way of passing the time, especially since they were in a little, cold shackle with hardly any food and nothing to do. Even if they were to find a set of cards or even a chess-table, it wouldn't do any good, since Loki couldn't see.

"Well, we could…" He tried to come up with something, but failed, and made a long pause.

"Now you're being a bit disrespectful. Is sleeping with me really all I'm good for?" Loki meant it as a joke, but it made Tony feel like a complete asshole. It really sounded like Tony was using him when he said it like that. Loki's expression changed from amused to a little confused at the lack of laughter. "And now you won't even laugh at my jokes!" Tony didn't say anything, even though he knew it was mean to the god. Loki sat up, a bit more certain in his motions now. Looked like he was getting used to the whole blind-thing. He sure adapted fast. He reached out his hand, and placed it on Tony's face. "I'm going to read your expression." He explained as he poked Tony in the eye. It made him laugh. "Much better. You see, it's not like I need any more gloominess in my life. Being blind is taking care of that."

"Okay, now your jokes are getting terrible, let me help you out."

"Didn't you say that blind-jokes were amusing?" Loki's hand was still on his face by the way. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but yours suck."

"You do realize I'm still a god, though I am blind?"

"Sure, but it's not like you could hit me with any of your spells when you can't see me."

"I don't need my eyes to know where you are." Loki said, patting his face hard. Tony pushed the hand away, and leaned in closer. Loki could clearly sense him from his breath. "You are very brave today."

"I feel pretty badass after dragging your bleeding body all the way here, then feeding you pickles." He put his hand behind Loki's head to prevent him from running away. Was he being a terrible person for taking advantage of his disability like this? The answer was yes – he was a very bad person, but that didn't stop him.

"I suppose moving any closer now would be too dangerous, even for your courage." Loki said. He was using that voice again.

"Yes, your blind eyes are actually freaking me out a bit."

"Then I suggest you move away, you never know what I might do to you." Loki's breath had quickened a bit.

"Oh yeah?" He let his forehead rest against Loki's. His breath was just as cold as usual, and his skin too. "What if I'm the one doing things tonight?" Now he was indeed being very brave. Pushing Loki like this (even in his current state) was bold.

"Do you really think I'd let you?" Loki sneered back, but Tony decided it wasn't a hundred percent hostile.

"Do you think you'll have a choice?" And with that, Tony closed the space between their lips and kissed him. Loki tried to back away, but Tony's hand prevented him. The blindness already made him disoriented, and having Tony's tongue in his mouth didn't seem to help the trickster.

He woke up in a rather uncomfortable position, and he was cold as hell. That might have something to do with the fire having burnt down hours ago, or maybe it was Loki's naked body next to his. He did have a rather un-normal body temperature. Tony shivered and moved away to light up the fire again, but Loki dragged him back down. There was no arguing anymore, Loki was strong again.

"Do you want me to freeze to death?" The god muttered, and clung to him. Loki's body was like a cool, bony body-pillow, and not exactly what he needed right now, se he made another effort to escape. Fruitless, needless to say.

"Auch, Loki, you're crushing my ribs." He tried, as Loki's hold on him tightened to the point of being painful.

"Don't say another word you… Ruthless person." Loki opened his eyes, but still couldn't see. It annoyed him, and the hold on Tony got even firmer.

"I'm just going to light the fire again." Loki hesitated, weighing getting a fire and letting go of Tony's warm body, or keeping his only source of warmth. He decided to go with the first, letting go of him.

"And then get right back here. I want to hit you for what you did to me." Tony couldn't quite tell if he was being serious or not.

"Isn't that a bit unlike you, to hit I mean?"

"You're not worth me wasting magic on." He wouldn't really blame Loki if he was pissed at him. Taking advantage of him like that was something only a jerk amongst jerks would do. Yeah, Tony had never been a very good person.

"Now I'm definitely not coming back." Tony said, and struggled to make the wood catch on fire. He would've thought he was getting better at it by now, having lit one several times, but nope, he still sucked.

When the wood finally started burning, he could turn back to Loki, who was waiting patiently. It seemed the time had dulled his anger, or maybe he hadn't been that angry in the first place. He knelt down beside him. "Alright, you may hit me."

"You do realize a direct hit from me could knock you out for hours? When I am unable to see what I'm doing, I could even kill you." He wasn't quite sure if Loki was exaggerating, or honestly warning him.

"I'd say I deserve it."

"You most certainly do." Was Loki's quick reply. "But if I did knock you out, it would be troublesome for me…" He was thinking about a more creative and practical way of punishing Tony. "I think I will wait for my vision to return to me. Then you can be the blind one." That was a good comeback. Even if that was what he had to look forward to, Tony still wanted him to regain ability to see, and he didn't regret what he had done.

"I guess arguing about it won't change your mind?"

"I won't falter." Tony just shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to him again, pulling as many coats he could on top of himself. "Your only hope is that my vision won't return." Loki said, quietly. He tried to be all cool about it, but Tony could tell he was afraid, and that was understandable.

"You won't make me permanently blind, right?"

"Of course not, you haven't deserved that." Tony sighed in relief.

"Well, then I've got my fingers crossed for your sight returning. It's our best shot of getting out of here anyway. Speaking of getting away, when do you think you'll be able to teleport us… Somewhere warmer?" He could see Loki hesitating.

"I am not sure. I do not think it wise to take the chance of teleporting us without me being able to see what I'm doing. You wouldn't want us to end up somewhere worse than here now, would you?"

"Of course not. I'm not pushing you, just asking. It's no sweat. I kinda like it here anyway. I know you can't see it, but it's rather cozy." Loki rolled his eyes, which looked very creepy since they were so pale.

"Well then, since I can't see, is it just my imagination, or have you taken all the blankets?" Tony looked guilty at all the coats he had gathered, leaving just a few for Loki.

"They're actually coats, not blankets." He argued, earning another roll of Loki's eyes. He really should stop making him do that. Instead of arguing further, he gave some of the coats to Loki. He didn't know how important it was for the god to stay warm. Maybe he should share his body temperature with him too. But then again, Loki might think he was up to something, and punch him. He had never been punched by Loki before… He wondered how much it would hurt. Remembering how hard he had crushed his ribs, he decided that today was not the day to find out.

He laid there under the coats and thought he should be doing something. Loki's vision returning wasn't a certainty, and therefore he should have a plan B, and a plan C, in case plan B failed (which it probably would do without JARVIS here to help him). Aw, he really missed JARVIS. And he had been so mad at him after sending him to Norway. When he got back, he swore he would make it up to him. Yeah, yeah, but back to the planning.

How to move a blind Loki from a place he didn't know where was, to another (hopefully warmer) place he didn't know where was, without getting detected by SHIELD. Then another thought hit him: What was he going to do once he got away? He knew he couldn't run from SHIELD forever, and having to take care of a blind sorcerer surely wouldn't make it easier. If he wanted his life back, if he wanted to live outside a white cell, he had only one option; He had to turn Loki in. At the thought, guilt hit him in his stomach. He looked at Loki, who seemed to be bored but too awake to sleep. He just lay there, his blind eyes wandering about the ceiling. He was thinking too. Maybe he was thinking of using Tony as a hostage to get away from SHIELD. Tony felt uneasy, because he didn't know what to do. He had saved Loki, and Loki had saved him, so somehow, that made them even, didn't it? Even if Loki had gone through much more distress than himself, their actions were still basically the same. Right? So, if he turned Loki in, that wouldn't be all bad, would it? If he put down all the facts, Loki was still a murderer who had almost destroyed New York, and killed agent Coulson. He was a convicted war-criminal, who was supposed to be sitting in a cell in Asgard.

It was hard to sit still with so many thoughts chasing around in his head. It all boiled down to one thing. Whose side was he on? He thought about Steve, and his friendly smile and awful advice whenever Tony came to him with a problem. He thought about Bruce's calm voice and good ideas. He remembered Clint's hilarious fear of JARVIS, and Natasha's eternal struggles with him. He thought about Pepper, and the life he could still try to have with her. He saw all their faces so clearly, it was almost like they were there. That's probably what you get when you live on outdated olives and pickles.

Then he looked at Loki. Still on his back, looking (or not looking) up at the ceiling. His grayish, wild eyes chasing restlessly. His pale skin and slender body. A killer, he tried to remind himself, but it didn't really work. He had come to Tony when he had escaped from Asgard. Why was that? Why had he chosen Tony? There had to be a reason. Loki never did anything without a reason. And if he didn't do anything without some ulterior motive, then that meant that their relationship was all for something else, didn't it? He needed to know. He had to know. Then why didn't he just ask? Didn't he think Loki would answer? Was he afraid of what he might say? I like pretending. Loki had said that more than once. Twice, Tony had almost said something that could drastically change their relationship in some way, and each time Loki had stopped him. He stared at the god, as if something about him could give away some of the answers. But Loki was still a mystery. Still a riddle. And maybe that was the answer. Maybe Tony was just extremely drawn to him because he wasn't human. Because he wasn't boring. Because Tony couldn't outwit him or beat him at his own game. Whatever the answer was, it wasn't on Loki's face, and it wasn't in Tony's mind.

They were both startled when someone knocked on the door. Whoever that someone was, they clearly didn't care to wait for an answer, because the next second, the door was opened, and the cold air blew in.

Standing in the doorway was an old man. He didn't look very pleased, and Tony saw right away that he was carrying a double barrel shotgun.

"I thought it was strange that there was a light here." He said, and sounded very old. That was good, because it gave Loki a better view of the situation.

"We're just… We…" Tony couldn't come up with a good explanation. There were no roads here, no car that could've broken down. No plane that could've crashed… "We got lost." He said, and credited himself for telling the truth.

"You're not supposed to be here." The man said.

"We got lost, and my friend here is blind, so we needed somewhere to rest." Tony explained. He didn't want any trouble.

"So you thought you'd just make yourself at home here." The old man was probably very close to getting himself killed, because Loki did not look too friendly right now.

"Loki, he's armed." Tony whispered to the god. It didn't change Loki's expression at all. "If this is your place, then we'll just leave quietly." Tony felt a bit pathetic, holding his hands up in the air, and he was almost glad Loki couldn't see it. Tony got up, and tried to pull some clothes up with him.

"So your kind is even out here?" the man said, clearly noticing that both Loki and Tony were more or less undressed. Of course, when they met an old man he had to be one of those homophobic assholes who couldn't bare to see the world move on.

"We'll leave right away. Sorry for intruding your property, sir." Tony tried to be as polite as he possibly could.

"No, we will not leave." Loki said, and stood up (at least he was wearing pants thank god). "So you carry a weapon? Why don't you use it?" Loki said, challenging, and reached out for Tony. He found him, and with that inhuman strength of his, he pushed him away, so that he wouldn't be in the line of fire.

"Loki! What the hell? We'll just leave." What the hell was he thinking?

"You really don't want to test me, son. I was in Nam, so don't you try to vex me." A homophobe and a war-veteran. Great! Loki had no idea what 'Nam' was, so he just raised an eyebrow, and stared emptily at something behind the man. Even though Loki was shirtless, and rather skinny, he was still tall, and those eyes should scare even a war hero, that this guy clearly was.

"If we go out there we will freeze to death! It's not like you use this shackle anyway! It's just a silly, little pile of trash that stinks of mold! I lost my damn sight getting here, and you are going to throw us out?!" Okay, so Loki was pissed off. Like, really pissed off. "Let's just say the last days has been rather hard for me, so let's make a deal. Leave. Us. Alone. And I will spare your life." Loki's voice was low, and it made the whole hut tremble. Dust fell down from the ceiling. The man pointed the gun directly at Loki.

"It's not like anybody is going to come searching for you here." The old man said, like he justified killing them. Why was it that Tony always managed to run into the shadiest of characters? Loki's eyes weren't sparkling. They weren't in flames like they normally were when he was angry. They were just empty, staring into nothingness. Tony had never seen him look more frightening than in that exact moment.

It was probably because the man was armed, and Loki didn't appear to have any kind of weapon at all, that he felt so brave Loki wasn't even dressed, and the cool air made him shiver slightly. And the 'bandage' across his chest, drenched in dried blood didn't help either. The old, wrinkled hand tightened its grip on the gun, a finger on the trigger, and in the next second Tony heard a shot. Loki didn't fall. Hell, he didn't even blink. He stood there, completely untouched and unharmed. The man looked at him in shock, before firing his other bullet. Nothing happened. The ammo just fell to the floor in front of Loki's feet. They couldn't penetrate his skin. Apparently, Loki had been waiting for him to use both his shots, because now he took the offensive position, walking towards him.

"Now, how would you like to die?" He asked in that low voice that trembled through the very core of Tony's bones. It was frightening, because this was Loki, and he was out of control. "Would you like to lay on the ground, drowning in your own blood?" Loki's dagger appeared in his hand at the word 'blood'. Green sparkles of magic that Tony thought he had been longing to see shot from his fingertips. "Or do you prefer to burn?" His raw voice spat out the words. He was right in front of the man now. Why wasn't he running? He just stood there like a statue. Loki had probably used the shots to localize exactly where he was standing. The fact that Loki was blind didn't matter to him, it would seem. If anything, those eyes made him look as crazy as his team always said he was. Tony knew Loki was going to kill the old man if he didn't prevent it. But he couldn't move his feet. He couldn't get his tongue to work. "Goodnight." Loki said, and shoved the dagger deep in between the man's ribs. He jerked it upwards, aiming for his heart. For three long seconds, the man just stood there, while Loki pushed the dagger as deep as it would go. Then he fell to the floor with a dump sound Tony knew he would never forget.

Loki stood there, his breathing was a bit heavy, but he was trying to get it under control. The old man was dead, that much was certain. The dagger which was stuck in him, disappeared as Loki's fingers sparkled again. Tony backed off, and hit the wall. His heart was beating fast, like it had many times when he had seen Loki. Until he had grown used to him. Yes, maybe even found of him. But this was who he really was. A mad murderer who would kill anyone he didn't care about. And who did he care about? As Loki turned his head, and stared at him with those empty eyes, Tony was sure he was going to kill him too. The way his sharp teeth were so visible, and the way he sucked in air like an animal. His best shot was the window. The glass was so thin, it would probably break if he threw himself against it. He could easily outrun Loki when he was blind. Or could he? Should he even try to escape? Would that make him even angrier?

He didn't know if Loki was completely sure of his location in the small shackle. Even though it looked like he was staring right at him. That was why he held his breath. Loki didn't move either. Then he said: "Come here." Tony didn't move at first. When Loki had just stabbed a man like that, going anywhere near him wasn't very appealing. "Come here." Loki repeated, and it sounded like an order. It was an order, and Tony should obey. His legs were shaking, but he walked over to Loki never the less. It wasn't many meters in between them anyway. When he was right in front of him, Loki reached out a hand, and put it on his shoulder. He could feel the god lean a little on him. Had he calmed down? Tony didn't dare to speak. He didn't want to do anything that could anger him again. "I was doing so well…" Loki muttered under his breath, clearly only to himself. Tony kept quiet. "You are very brave, being this close to me when I'm like this." Loki said, now speaking to him. So, Loki had some anger management problems, that wasn't new. Tony tried to keep calm.

"Are you going to hurt me?" He asked.

"I don't know." Loki answered. At the uncertainty of the answer, his brain told him to run. But he stayed. Loki wasn't going to hurt him, at least that's what he desperately wanted to believe.

"It's okay." He didn't know what was 'okay', but he still felt like he should try to calm Loki down. The god shook his head.

"No, no, it's not. That was way too close. I knew this would happen. I knew it." Loki wasn't making much sense. His words were mostly just mumbling, and Loki never mumbled. "You shouldn't be near me. I'm not sane… I'm dangerous. I tried to tell you, but you did not heed my words." Loki pushed him away, contradicting his previous command.

"Loki-"

"I'll hurt you. I know I will. Stay away!" His temper was running out, but Tony wasn't afraid anymore. He moved closer to Loki again, and grabbed his wrist, startling the sorcerer.

"Calm down. You're not gonna hurt me."

"You do not know me!"

"Fair enough, you may be right, I don't know you. But do you want to hurt me, Loki?" Loki desperately tried to look at him, but his eyes just flickered around in the room, unable to rest on anything because all he saw was darkness.

"I don't want to hurt you. But I-"

"Then don't." Tony said, silencing him.

They stood there in silence. Tony was still holding his wrist. He felt he had control over the situation, and wasn't afraid. The fear he had felt seemed distant now, like it had never even happened. The bleeding body on the floor didn't seem important. All that mattered was that Loki was not okay, and he had to fix that. "We can't stay here. Even though he's an old, ugly homophobe, someone is going to come and look for him. And you're not going to kill any more people."

"I-"

"No, shut up. Your magic can get us food, right?" Loki had troubles gathering his thoughts, but after a moment he nodded. "Good, then all we need is two plates. I'll pack all the warm clothes I can, and we'll leave. You're right, it does smell of mold. Not good for my health." He let go of Loki's wrist to pack the necessary things. The trickster kept standing still. He didn't move, he didn't speak.

It didn't take long to pack, since it wasn't much they needed anyway. Matches, clothes and two plates was it basically. So with that stuffed in a backpack Tony doubted would hold it all together for very long, they were ready to leave. "Now, take my hand." Tony said, and took Loki's hand without waiting for an answer. It was cold. Always so damn cold. "We'll take it slowly. You okay?"

"Yes." Loki seemed to be in deep thought, or shock. Either one was fine, as long as he didn't go back into murder-mode.

It was cold and foggy outside, and Tony had to make sure Loki didn't trip on any of the many roots that loved to grow in front of the little *sti* they were following. It looked like it led even deeper into the woods. Well, the forest had to end at some point, and maybe they would find another shackle. Loki was still silent.

As it grew darker, Loki's silence became more uncomfortable. Maybe it was because his eyes were so empty, it was like holding the hand of a zombie. Maybe leaving the hut hadn't been a very good idea. But seeing how Loki had freaked out over killing the guy, having him kill more wasn't a good idea either.

The fact that Loki had killed someone directly in front of his eyes didn't bother him as much as it should. Maybe it was because the old guy had been an ass, and Tony could tell that just by knowing him for five minutes. What did bother him though, was that Loki's personality had changed so suddenly. And even more so, he kind of understood him. Everybody got angry, and heaven knew Loki had a lot to be angry about right now. The old man forcing them out of their hideout had just been the final straw. If anything, this just added to Tony's map of Loki's personality. It was obvious that Loki didn't like to kill. It was simply that he couldn't control himself. He didn't quite know if that should concern him or not.

"Loki?"

"What? Don't treat me like a child! If you think you can 'handle' me, or whatever it is you think you're trying to do. You are wrong!" Loki's sudden outburst scared him, but he didn't let go if his hand, even though Loki tried to wriggle it loose. "You just go 'Loki, calm down, it's going to be okay', when you have no idea what you are talking about!" Loki suddenly remembered that he had another hand he could use. His ice-cold fingers locked themselves around Tony's wrist and clenched so hard it made him scream. He let go of Loki's hand. "You are so damn selfish! All you think about is yourself! I told you to get away from me!" Loki pushed him away so hard he fell backwards and landed in the cold mud. Tony had no idea what had triggered this reaction. "And stay away. Stay away from me." Loki said, and then the world blurred out of sight.

He had no idea what happened, but suddenly everything started moving really fast. He saw houses and an ocean and clouds and trees moving in front of his eyes. He was teleporting. A second later, he was dropped a few feet down, and landed on stone stairs.