Chapter 17

When I step out of the courtroom, I find Loki sits on the bench, holding his head in his hands. Silently, I step over to him and sit next to him "Loki?" he sniffles, before looking at me, tiredly "You're doing absolutely fantastic."

"I'm having a breakdown." he states and I pull him towards me. When he rests his head on my shoulder, he sighs "Good thing you're here. I doubt Heimdall would let me cuddle him."

I scoff, before resting my head on the top of his and wrapping my arm around him "I wouldn't let him."

He pulls his head out and smiles, before taking my hand and stepping towards a window. We stand there for what feels like seconds, staring at the city. Moments later, the court lets in and Loki sighs "Time to go back."

I hug him, before kissing his forehead "I'll speak to you soon."

~

"Mister Laufeyson, it appears the recess suited you well." the prosecuter states, before stating "You've got a bum knee. What happened to it?"

"My father took a metal pipe to it, when I was fifteen." Loki gives a weak smile "He found out I got into Harvard."

"That's right." she smiles, before stating "You had just graduated Harvard University, when you confessed."

The jury gives an impressed look, before the prosecuter continues "And how is your knee today?"

Loki shrugs "It's a little stiff, but not terrible. I've grown used to it hurting terribly, so it's nothing right now."

They nod together and she asks "How bad is it, when it's at it's worst? Say, hypocritically, if you ran a marathon."

Loki gocks, before shaking his head "Realistically, that's never going to happen. Hypocritically, I'd probably have issues with a limp for the next week or so."

A television is rolled in and the prosecutioner takes the remote "So, if you were forced to kneel for hours? You'd have issues with a limp?"

Loki nods "Yes ma'am."

"Article X, Y, Z, and AB." she presses play and it shows Loki speaking to Natasha. When he walks towards the guard, she pauses it "You can clearly see, Mister Laufeyson is walking perfectly fine."

In the next clip, it shows our table at lunch on the night Loki was gone "Mister Laufeyson is missing at lunch and dinner." Then she shows dinner.

It flips to the next morning, where Loki hands me his tray to walk over to Ronan's old table "The next morning, we walks with a defined limp."

The television is turned off and the lady smiles at Loki, before announcing "No more questions for this witness."

When she sits, the judge looks to the defense "Are you ready for closing arguments?" Loki steps down as the judge announces "Court will resume in an hour, for closing arguments. Members of the jury, return to your chamber."

~

"Oh, my, god!" Loki smile as we walk out of the courtroom to find Hela holds a bag of Taco Bell "Thor, I love your sister!"

"How'd you know we were breaking?" I ask as she sips on her drink.

"I texted her." Heimdall smirks mischievously, before leading us to the prisoner bus "Hela, you're not allowed on the bus." he looks around, before ordering "Get in."

As we sit, Hela holds he hand out to Loki "I'm Hela."

"I've been told." Loki smiles, before nudging me "He only talks about you constantly." I roll my eyes and he leans against me.

As we eat, we make small talk and Hela and Loki connect pretty well. There's a moment, where Loki laughed his ass off, and the sun hit him just right. It left me speechless.

"Brother?" Hela asks and I snap out of it "Are you okay?" I nod in confusion and she smiles at me "Do you think they'll convict?"

Heimdall sighs "There's no way they're found innocent. There's too much evidence for them to walk."

Needless to say, they convicted. Hela walked us back to the bus. She was able to hug me "I really like him." she whispers.

I nod "I do, too." I whisper, before climbing onto the bus.

~

When we're released into the cafeteria, I help Loki stand up on the bench. The room goes silent and he announces "Say goodbye to the secret fight club!"

The room erupts in a victory cry as I help Loki down.

~

After the guards were put away, the race feud died down. Years pass like centuries. The only thing that helps me count the days, is the visits from Hela.

You would think sharing a five by ten room with someone, would drive you insane, but it has brought us closer.

We fight, yes. Always. But, that never lasts long.

"He hasn't said it yet?" Hela asks on one of our visits "You've been together for seven years and he hasn't told you that he loves you?"

"He's never loved anyone, Hela." I tell her and she sighs "He doesn't understand how love works, okay?"

She starts saying something, but my attention is grabbed by someone walking through the halls outside.

After six years, everyone believed he had to be dead. Nobody has been in solitary confinement for that long, and lived.

His hair is bald, from a fresh shave. He shows his hate tattoos with pride.

"Who's that?" Hela asks as I stare in disbelief. She nudges me and I look to her "Who was that?"

I look back at him in shock "It's Other."