Chapter Text
It took all of the Avengers a while for their shell-shocked senses to process the fact that the battle had actually ended. They gathered themselves together, twitchy nerves expecting a new attack at any moment, but nothing came.
One goal became clear to each of them: they needed to find everyone else. They did so slowly, grouping up until only the Hulk remained absent. Of course, they knew exactly where he was – it was impossible to misplace a team member that big, with that much power, especially given that he was bellowing every few minutes from Stark tower, like he was claiming his territory.
"Tranquilizer?" Natasha questioned, all business.
Clint nodded, his bow at the ready, and they moved in at a slow pace to collect the last part of the ragtag team.
As soon as they found the Hulk, the question of 'Where did Loki go?' was answered. He hadn't escaped, as many of them had suspected. He was lying on the floor, in the middle of a crater, unconscious and utterly wrecked.
"T'was the Beast that killed the Beauty," Tony smirked, barely held upright in his heavy armor with Steve's arm around his back. "Or something like that. Good job, buddy," he said to their green teammate, who seemed as mellow as possible just for the fact that he wasn't trying to kill them.
"Hulk smash," the enormous brute grunted. He snarled in Loki's direction, as if the unconscious god might dare move again.
"Easy, big guy," Tony tried to soothe. Hulk snorted softly and ambled away.
"I am sorry for all of this, my friends," Thor said, grave as ever.
"Would've been nice to meet you under different circumstances," Steve replied. "Sorry that your brother is kind of..."
"Insane," Tony finished.
"Kind of?" Natasha repeated, rolling her eyes.
Thor tightened his mouth into a severe line. "I will bring him home to Asgard to answer for his crimes, if you will allow me," he said.
"I think Fury will want him," Clint said.
"The man of Fury will not have him – he is of Asgard, and he is my brother," Thor answered, unconcerned. Apparently his courtesy of asking for permission was only that - a courtesy. It didn't actually matter to Thor whether he had their permission or not. He went closer to Loki, dropping to one knee so he could rouse him.
"Loki," Thor said. He repeated his name, gently cupping his brother's face and tilting his chin upwards. Thor was prepared to go further to wake him, but this was sufficient – Loki's eyes came open, dazed and unfocused, and then he tried to sit up, his lungs sucking in air and then choking on it, as if he had only just remembered how to breathe.
"Easy," Thor caught Loki in his arms, holding him tightly. He never wanted to release him again. He wanted Loki to understand how much he had been missed after all this time. How much Thor loved him still, even after all of the damage done. How much Thor still wanted him to come home. That Thor would never give up on him, never abandon him.
Loki struggled against him weakly – far too weakly – but Thor refused to lessen his grip or give Loki the slightest chance to slip away.
"Be still. The fighting is done," Thor said. "It would not be wise for you to continue," he advised, looking up from Loki's shoulder to the team around them. He did not want Loki to be shot with Clint's arrows, or the Widow's strange gauntlet, or the Man of Iron's suit of armor, or have the Captain fling his shield against his head, or worse still, to anger the mighty green beast.
"It's hot," Loki fussed, burrowing his head against him, and Thor was reminded of a time so long ago when they were both still children. Like back then, he was sweating and warm to the touch, and sniffled continuously as if his nose were running. This could explain everything, Thor thought desperately to himself. Perhaps Loki was ill all along. His little brother had always been so miserable when he was sick, and as a child he always seemed to be sickly. The fevers affected him the worst, making him delirious and coming on so strongly that everyone in the kingdom whispered to each other, 'This time, pity him, the little prince will not pull through.' Frigga always assured Thor that Loki was strong and he would be fine. But her eyes were always red with tears and he always thought, Loki is too small.
"Be still," Thor said again, trying to keep Loki's restless hands from moving. He seemed to want to shed his clothes – the heavy layers of leather and armor – but Thor knew it would help little, that soon after he would be freezing with the cold. Instead, he kept Loki pressed against him, kept him from fidgeting as much as possible.
Loki seemed strangely calm, but still his hands twitched and trembled, almost involuntarily.
"Where am I?" Loki asked, sounding only curious. The strange tone of voice more than anything made Thor's blood run cold.
"We are on Midgard," Thor said, wondering how much of Loki's mind had been shattered by his experience. "Do you remember? You fell from the Bifrost and found your way here."
"What is Midgard?" Loki mumbled, the rest of Thor's words slipping through his mind, too much to fathom all at once.
Thor straightened up and lifted Loki again, so that he could study his brother's bruised face again. "Loki?" he questioned, concerned. "Do you remember me?"
Loki's bright green eyes seemed dulled, and his head kept drooping, as if he might slip into unconsciousness again. Thor had to support him to keep him from falling over, and already he was beginning to grow panicked. "Loki," Thor spoke urgently, ready to shake him if need be, but Loki's eyes finally focused on him, blinking slowly.
"You're so handsome," Loki said, his words deathly quiet, like a sigh. He started to lose focus again.
"Loki," Thor persisted, rousing him again. He felt guilty - as if Loki merely wanted to sleep and Thor was keeping him from it. But he felt terrified. Something was wrong. "Loki, what is my name? Tell me my name."
Loki stared at him, and for a moment Thor thought he saw anger in Loki's eyes. It filled him with slivers of hope. Let Loki hate him, let him call him stupid, just let him be mistaken.
Then suddenly Loki grinned, letting out a half-laugh that seemed more pained than amused. "I'm sorry," he said, and Thor felt a pang of relief.
"I'm sorry," he repeated, sounding confused. The pang in Thor's chest remained, but the relief was gone. Loki looked utterly lost and embarrassed with himself. He sniffled again, and covered his nose with a hand that would not stop shaking. Suddenly there was the color red dripping over his fingers and falling in rapid, fat drops onto the cracked floor.
Thor caught his brother just before he collapsed.
- - -
Stark's medical bay wasn't a professional setup – or so Tony claimed – but the place had all the bells and whistles of a physician's wet dream. After all, Tony figured he injured himself too many times in his lab to keep thinking that a box of bandaids and peroxide would be enough for everything. Consequently, he had everything he needed just short of being able to perform open heart surgery. But given his own medical condition, Tony was sure he could even handle that if he had to.
Thor had carried Loki there in his arms and made himself hoarse for shouting with Tony to help his brother, but the fact remained the same – Tony wasn't actually much of a doctor, and they couldn't exactly ask for help from anyone else, so until Bruce woke up, they'd have to wait. All of this meant that many hours had gone by. Many hours in which Thor had sat with Loki to keep him awake, as Natasha had suggested. He'd had to remind Loki of his own name, and that they were brothers, and that Thor loved him dearly.
The confusion had been apparent on Loki's face. He asked Thor as much as he could. What had happened to him? Where was he? What was Midgard? Where was home? Why was he chained to the bed? Could he have something to eat? Who were these people? What was that machine in the corner for?
Sometimes the questions made no sense at all, just a mumble of strange words, and Loki grew frustrated the more that Thor frowned and tried to tell him he did not understand. It was as if the silver tongue was broken, tripping over even simple words. Thor could do nothing but squeeze Loki's fingers in a way he hoped would comfort his brother, and wipe away the occasional tear for him, since his hands were bound. He'd never seen his brother so confused, and it gave Thor great pain.
When Bruce arrived, his clothes were rumpled and his hair still messy from sleep. Obviously he had received some urgent message as soon as he awoke, for he seemed to have rushed to the medical floor with utmost haste.
Jarvis alerted Tony of Bruce's impending arrival, and the inventor met the doctor at the doorway.
"What is it?" Bruce asked, still trying to catch his breath. He was full of worry – he had seen Natasha in passing, and now Tony, but he wondered if the other members of the team were mortally injured.
"Thor's brother," Tony answered, relieving some of Bruce's tension. "He took some kind of mean hit to the head."
"How bad?" Bruce asked gently as he was finally allowed into the room. He took in Loki's confusion and Thor's mask of grave concern. Maybe it was impeccable bedside manner, but Bruce didn't question at all why they were suddenly helping the man they had been fighting against just a day before. He simply put on a pair of latex gloves and focused on his job – helping.
"Bad," Tony said. "Your green friend went all out on him. It looked like he'd been using Loki to renovate the building. I don't think tootsie was wearing his helmet at the time, either. When he came to he was out of it, and he had this nosebleed, I swear he lost a pint of blood."
"He lost consciousness?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, I don't know for how long before we found him," Tony scratched at his neck. "Maybe a couple minutes. He came to for a little while, started bleeding, and passed out again. I had Thor keep him awake down here, though, because, concussions and all that."
"A concussion would be a miracle," Bruce muttered, pulling a stool to the bedside of his unexpected patient and settling beside him. "Loki?" he questioned, glancing over the restraints, and trying to guess how pissed off or uncooperative Loki would be to receive his care.
"That's what they tell me," he answered mildly, staring at his hands.
Bruce shot Tony a surprised look.
"Oh, yeah, he seems to have lost his memory, too," Tony added unhelpfully.
Bruce fought the urge to roll his eyes at Tony for leaving out such a large detail. He turned back to Loki instead, who seemed every bit the scared patient who wasn't sure why they were there. "Do you know what year it is?" he asked, watching Loki's eyes. It almost seemed to him as if one pupil were blown wider than the other. A bad sign.
The god hesitated, and Tony opened his mouth again. "What if they measure time differently?"
They glanced at Thor, but he didn't seem to have a clue as to how Asgard time might compare to Midgard time, or if there even was a difference. Bruce pursed his lips in thought and went back to Loki again. "You don't have to get this answer right, Loki," he told him. "I'm sure you're confused, but I'm just here to help. Okay? So don't be afraid to say the wrong thing. Your answer is important because it could help us figure out how bad your injuries are. Okay? So just answer me truthfully, what year do you think it is? What comes to mind?"
"Ah," Loki licked his lips and looked at Thor, as if trying to read an answer from his face. "We're on Midgard? On Midgard they... they..." he seemed to search the air itself for the right word, but couldn't find it. "They... track... the... numbers by the sun. By her journey."
"Can you think of a number?" Bruce pressed.
"Um...1583."
"1583?" Tony repeated, looking to Thor, his eyes comically wide.
Thor ignored him, shifting with excitement at Loki's answer. "We did visit Midgard about that time," Thor explained. "Do you remember, brother? We traveled through on our journey to Utgard. The peasants of this realm gave us shelter but had no food to spare. So hungry were we, I killed both of my fine goats for us to eat." He told all of this as one would tell a grand tale, chuckling at the memory despite his misty eyes, and Loki chuckled with him. "Do you remember my fine goats, brother?"
"I do," Loki declared, almost smiling, and Thor felt his heart twist with joy. "Such large, strong beasts. It is a shame they're dead now."
"Dead," Thor repeated, his grin slipping. "The goats are not dead now, Loki. They are alive and well in the stables."
Loki gave Thor a confused and scrutinizing stare. "You said you had killed them both."
"I did," Thor agreed. "For we had nothing else to eat."
"You are a liar," Loki accused, growing slightly hysterical.
"I tell no lie, Loki," Thor asserted. "I struck them dead, and renewed their bones with magic. They are quite fat and content in the stables at this very moment, I assure you."
"I... I..." Loki faltered, his hands clutching nervously at nothing. "You are right," he breathed, closing his eyes and nodding. "I remember now. You... used magic. I'm sorry. How did I forget such a strange sight?"
Thor nodded, still concerned, but more at ease once again.
"Hey, Loki," Tony chimed in, grinning. "Do you remember the time when you and I climbed up Mt. Rushmore and had a picnic? The view was amazing, wasn't it?"
Loki stared at him, uncertain, but before Thor could interject, he spoke. "It was. You could see for miles. The sun cast long shadows on the land when she set. I remember... it was cold."
Thor glared at Tony, bewildered and angry all at once, demanding answers.
"He doesn't remember," Tony stated flatly. "Sorry to confuse you, bud," he added, patting Loki's leg. "Oh, but he wasn't lying, though. He was remembering different things, for sure. Maybe he's seen a view like that, or been to the top of a mountain. Maybe he knows what a goat looks like, too. But he doesn't actually remember the events happening. Which, by the way, Loki, I'm sorry to say we've never had a bromantic picnic anywhere. Just so we're clear."
"You tricked him," Thor growled, placing himself between Tony and Loki in a protective gesture.
"You did too," Tony pointed out. "We each painted a scene, and Loki went along with it, and maybe thought that he remembered it. The only difference is that yours was probably real, and mine was utter bullshit. I only did it to prove a point."
"There was a point to your deception?" Thor all but sneered.
"That Loki is particularly impressionable to false memories right now," Bruce said. "Thank you, actually, Tony. We'll have to keep that in mind. I want to do a few tests," he continued, "and I'd prefer if both of you to step outside until I'm done. Is that alright?" he asked Loki for permission, not Thor or Tony.
Loki glanced up at Bruce, and then stared at his hands again. After witnessing Loki take charge of an army and make speeches at every opportunity, it was strange for Bruce and Tony to see him so introverted. "The..." Loki wiggled his fingers, at a loss for the word. "Do they hurt?"
"Not at all," Bruce assured him, and Loki nodded his consent.
"Come on, big guy," Tony said, patting Thor's wide shoulder and guiding him out of the room to give Bruce some privacy.
Despite Thor's wish to remain close to Loki's side, Tony managed to convince Thor to head upstairs with him to the common area.
They found the other members of the team lingering around the kitchen/dining room area, shoving their faces with food. Steve was working through a plate loaded with bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and English muffins, and Clint was partaking in the same, in a much smaller portion, as well as a small bowl of granola. Natasha had already finished whatever had been on her plate and was busy sipping at her coffee.
"God, that smells good!" Tony praised as he came into the room.
"There's enough for you and Thor," Steve said quickly, his mouth full. He looked ashamed and covered his bad manners with his hand.
"There's enough for a small army," Tony retorted, but immediately helped himself to the remainder of the food.
"Good thing we are a small army," Natasha noted.
Tony grinned at her, then frowned at Thor and began loading up a second plate for the thunderer, who seemed to be at a loss.
"Sit. Eat," Tony said to Thor, setting the plate down at an empty place on the table. "It'll probably be a little while before Bruce is done with Loki. I'm sure he'll want to be thorough. Do you like coffee?"
"I... yes," Thor said, torn between his sense of duty and sense of courtesy. "Thank you, Man of Iron." He haltingly drew out the chair from his place at the table and sat down, aware that everyone was staring at him and trying not to stare at the same time. "Would I be allowed to bring some victuals to Loki as well?"
"Of course," Steve answered softly, nodding. "How is he?"
"He is confused and distressed," Thor said. "He remembers nothing of me. He remembers nothing whatsoever."
Clint held a stern focus on his bowl of granola, and Steve picked at his plate, too polite to say anything. Tony might have spoken first, but he busied himself with making Thor a cup of coffee, so it was Natasha who flatly laid out what they were all thinking.
"Are you sure he doesn't remember anything?" Natasha asked. "He could be lying," she clarified when Thor looked confused. "Playing the amnesia card is a classic defense. It's a tactic that I would consider using myself if I were ever captured by the enemy. They might not torture you for information if you can convince them you know nothing. Stupid people will even let you go."
"Or moral people," Steve said.
"Stupid people," Natasha repeated, unperturbed.
"No," Thor frowned, defensive. "I have never seen him in this state before. But he is known to be a master liesmith," he added, softening with doubt.
"Well, I can usually tell when people are lying," Natasha said. "Let me talk to him for ten minutes, and I'll be able to figure it out."
"When you say you'll talk to him, this had better be what you mean, and nothing more," Thor said, an underlying threat in his voice that unsettled everyone, even Natasha. "You will not lay a hand on him."
Natasha faltered for only a fraction of a second, but it was telling. "I won't need to. I could ask him about the weather and manage to learn whatever I need to know just from how he answers. I'm that good."
"Then I thank you, Natasha, for your expertise," Thor said, and she gave him a curt nod and continued to drink her coffee.
The remaining group was left in a tense silence. Thor noticed how they avoided to look at him now, how their shoulders were stiff with unease, and he ached inside to know that his brother had earned such deep distrust here. Moreover, now he had earned their distrust as well, for it had to be clear to them where his loyalties were. He regretted having threatened, and wondered if his new friends no longer considered him an ally after his actions today. But he couldn't think of such things. These people were brave, and had been generous to him thus far, and he would avoid fighting them if he could.
"I am sorry," Thor said at last, because he could not bear the silence.
"Don't be sorry," Natasha answered. "He's your brother. You care about him. I just hope you're right. I hope he isn't lying to you. If this is just an act and he's still planning something, you know we'll have to stop him again."
"If he is, I will put a stop to it myself," Thor promised, grim.
The conversation stopped again , although the tension was less. For the most part, it seemed nobody knew what to say. Thor ate slowly, but still finished his first plate of food when Bruce paged over the intercom system.
"Tony?" Bruce asked.
"At your service, hot stuff," Tony barked in the general direction of the ceiling, to the utter confusion of Thor and Steve.
"Can you help me out? I don't know how to work your equipment."
"That depends on what you're trying to use," Tony answered.
"Your MRI machine."
"I don't have an MRI machine."
"But... Then what the hell is this thing?"
"I'll tell you when I figure out what it does. Just don't put Loki inside it."
"Do you have something that can do a CT scan, then?"
"Bruce, do I look like a frigging neurosurgeon?" Tony gave Bruce his 'bitch plz' attitude, but he was talking to Bruce, so he quickly sighed and tried to be reasonable for a change. "I've got an x-ray machine and a photo copier – I'm sure we can make it work."
"Tony," Bruce uttered in protest, but Tony jabbed a button on the wall as he left the room, and the connection was cut off.
Natasha stood up and headed in the same direction, but squeezed Thor's shoulder when the flaxen-haired warrior looked like he wanted to get to his feet and follow her.
"Stay here for a minute, okay?" Natasha said. "I'll talk to Loki and do my thing. And make sure that idiot Stark doesn't get us all killed."
"I should be by his side," Thor said, feeling hooks of guilt ripping his insides apart.
"You will be," Natasha assured him. "But he needs a doctor first, and Bruce needs a little space to work, right? Don't worry. Bruce is a great guy, and he knows what he's doing. He's in good hands."
- - -
Half an hour later, Bruce, Tony, and Natasha all returned to the common area.
"So?" Steve prompted, sitting forward.
"He's not lying," Natasha reported, straight-forward as ever.
Naturally, Clint and Steve hesitated to believe this. "Are you sure?"
"I've seen Loki lie before, so I know his tells," Natasha stated, taking her seat next to Clint again. "And I know that he's clever, but his emotions are a weakness – he can be too easily manipulated into revealing his hand. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the guy in there isn't even Loki."
"If he really lost his memory, then... do you think he'll get it back?" Steve asked, which was the new primary concern on everyone's list.
"That's hard to tell," Bruce said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not specifically trained for this type of injury."
"I am told you are the best," Thor said, rising to his feet. "Please, Banner. My friend. Help me to understand."
"Okay," Bruce took a breath and steeled himself to just talk. "There are obvious signs of severe traumatic brain injury. Essentially, it was bad enough that he should be dead, by all means. Um, but since he's a godly being, his body seems to be great at repairing even severe damage. But what extent that healing capability will go for him, I'm not sure. By that I mean, I don't know if it was enough just to save his life and higher brain functions, or if he'll continue to heal and be completely fine. And even if he does heal completely, I don't know how long the recovery time would be.
"So this is what you should know," Bruce continued, mostly to Thor. "I, uh, I spoke to him and just did some very simple tests. Coordination, reflexes, word repetition. Like I said, he has sure symptoms of a moderate to severe brain trauma. I was told he lost consciousness for lengths of a few minutes at a time. He has obvious confusion, weakness in his hands, and uh, nausea. He told me he has a headache and physical pain – not surprising in this case. I also noticed he has some form of aphasia. And of course, amnesia. I'm not sure how long any of these symptoms will last."
"You might want to explain aphasia to some of the lesser mortals," Tony reminded Bruce.
"Ah, right, sorry," Bruce frowned. "Well, aphasia is the inability to use or understand speech. There are different forms of it, such as slurred speech or being unable to recognize the meaning of words. Luckily in this case, he seems to both be able to understand what's said to him and form words clearly. This was obvious enough just by getting him to repeat different words and sentences. I'm not sure about how he'd be with reading and writing yet, of course. But he does seem to have what's called anomic aphasia. What that means is, he can't always connect the name of an object with the object itself. It can happen with something even as simple as an apple. In other words, he knows what it is and what it does but he can't remember what it's called. It can actually be helped quite a lot with just some therapy but in the meantime it can be incredibly frustrating."
Thor took a moment to process all of this, his normally cheerful expression bleak. "If it is alright, I would like to bring Loki a meal, and sit with him. I do not want him to be alone."
"Of course," Bruce nodded.
Thor loaded a small plate with various selections of food, and returned to the medical bay alone. He paused when he saw Loki once more. His brother seemed so confused and slight, almost lost under a layer of clean white linens that had been tucked around him with care. Despite this apparently thoughtful treatment, Loki's face was still a mask of confusion, anxiety, and resignation. The last made Thor very concerned, for he never found it in his brother's nature to simply give in to anything. But in this, Thor supposed, Loki had nothing to grasp onto at all to help him fight. It made him more determined to make sure Loki knew he could rely on Thor, always.
"I've brought you some good food," Thor stated. It hurt him to see how pale and gaunt with hunger Loki had become – had he eaten anything at all since he fell?
He came beside Loki, to the place where Bruce had been sitting. Loki tried to sit up in the bed, only to be halted by the restraints around his wrists.
"I will release you," Thor said quietly, setting the plate down on some sort of table. "But you must promise to lie still and be at ease. I do not think our friends would like to see you out of bed."
"You are my... brother, and they are our friends," Loki said, repeating what he had been told by Thor so far.
"Aye," Thor leaned over Loki, unfastening the hand closest to him, and then the farthest. "But you and they did not get along as well as anyone would like."
Loki frowned, a crease appearing on his forehead that Thor tried to soothe over with a brush of his thumb.
"Did I hate them?"
"You did not know them," Thor answered, reaching down to lift Loki by the waist, to help him sit upright in the bed. He still wore most of his armor, though the heavier leather and metal had been taken off, as well as his boots. Loki pulled his legs close, crossing them at the ankles while Thor stuffed the pillow behind Loki's back to help him keep his posture. Thor sat down on the now-vacant lower half of Loki's bed and brought the plate to rest between them, where Loki could sample it.
"In truth, I myself have only known them for but a few days," Thor continued. "But they are great warriors and heroes, all of them."
"And we didn't get along," Loki said, fishing for clues.
"I do not think you arrived here at a pleasant time in your life," Thor said, choosing his words as carefully as possible. "What was in your mind, I could not guess. I know that you were angry with me, perhaps with the entire world. I do not know what I did to wrong you, but please know that I am sorry, and that I only wish for there to be peace in your heart again."
"I... I don't remember," Loki said. "But thank you. I'm sorry I was angry with you. I don't remember why."
"Perhaps you had every reason to be so mad. I..." Thor paused, grinning bitterly at how foolish he was. "Between the two of us, I must admit, you are far more clever. Perhaps I made some slight against you without realizing. If you do remember, Loki, please let us speak of it," he requested. "Please allow me the chance to apologize for whatever it was."
"If I remember it, yes," Loki agreed, and began picking at the food. He felt uneasy, for the stranger in front of him seemed so kind, and he didn't want to remember whatever it was that might make him hate him again. But perhaps it was something very important, something he could not live in ignorance of. And there was such a large, black void in his mind that begged to be filled.
- - -
Thor stayed with Loki through the night, getting only a few hours of sleep for himself. He awoke before Loki did, and only after Bruce stopped in to check on Loki did he finally leave long enough to prepare something to eat. For once, however, Thor had no appetite – he wanted to be sure that Loki was fed.
He set the new plate down on the same table as before, and went to Loki's side, holding his brother's bony wrist between his palms. Loki had always been thin, almost delicate, but now he seemed fragile where he had always been strong. Thor could feel the bones under Loki's skin. He worried that they were too light, even – hollow like a bird. For the first time he truly noticed how thin and long Loki's fingers were, as opposed to his own huge, battle-roughened paws. He noticed how pale Loki's skin was, like parchment, and how cold, as if death were trying to settle in.
At the last idea, Thor squeezed Loki's hand tightly in his and rubbed over the skin, trying to return warmth and life.
The motion woke Loki, whose eyes flickered open slowly, dull green and heavy-lidded. For a long time Loki stared at Thor from under his eyelashes, not moving, just breathing so slowly and deeply, gradually coming to his senses. Finally he blinked a few times and shifted, looking about the room and back at Thor.
"Are you well today?" Thor questioned, still clasping Loki's hand.
"My head hurts," Loki answered, settling against the bed as if all his energy were drained.
"I am told that is to be expected," Thor said, with a small smile that did not match the worry in his eyes.
Loki made a quiet, breathy noise and blinked so slowly for a long time before he looked at Thor again. "Who are you?"
x