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“So, where are we?” Peter asked, hesitantly to Tony who stood next to him eyes wide.
“Definitely, not our realm,” Nat stated.
“Thor?” Tony called quietly to the god who was inspecting a series of green vines intertwined with each other.
“They’re connected,” Peter thought out loud to Tony who seemed to pick up on the younger’s idea.
“So there must be an initial source,” he finished.
“You’re saying that we follow these weird vine things to find…what?” Nat asked confused.
“Something that will tell us where we are,” Thor said.
“And preferably, how to get out,” Steve added.
“Or, something that could rival Thanos’ power? Remember? Big purple Titan guy who’s trying to wipe out half of humanity?” Bruce chirped from behind Steve.
“Yeah…or that,” Steve was already walking up the rock platforms where the vines were coming from.
“Okay, I guess we’re going then,” Peter said as everyone started to follow the Captain, still unaware on the full meaning of their situation.
“There’s nothing here apart from weird rocks and floating tree branches,” Nat supplied, annoyed.
“If there are tree branches, shouldn’t there be a tree?” Steve asked.
“Great jobs, Cap, you’re now practically a botanist,” Tony snapped with a roll of his eyes.
Peter knew that the both of them were still on shaky grounds but he was silently grateful that their sneakiness had turned more into bicker rather than full blown fist fights.
“Uh…guys?” Bruce asked causing everyone to turn his way.
“Yeah, Bruce?” Nat questioned.
“Do you…see that?”
They trained their heads to see a shadow looming over a large rock that was in front of them.
“I think you found your tree, Captain,” Thor said, lips parted.
Peter was already racing towards it, excited that they finally have some important things to do.
“Kid!”
He could hear the rest of the team following behind him and soon enough they caught up to him to meet at an astonishing sight.
“That’s one heck of a tree,” Nat declared.
“What now?” Peter’s previous excitement had died down slightly.
“We go in,” Thor demanded.
“In? Like in in?” Tony asked, perplexed.
”No, Tony, out in,” Steve countered.
”Who taught you sarcasm?” Tony chuckled to himself, “Cause I’m pretty sure they don’t teach it in the ice.”
Steve bit his lip, trying to stifle an insult from escaping his mouth but Nat broke their quarrel.
“Thor, you think there’s something in there?”
Bruce answered for him, “it’s a primary source, for what? That’s how we find out. By going in.”
“And possibly getting trapped and then blown up from all energy. Which is most likely, radiation from my guess,” Peter told them.
“Great,” Nat said through gritted teeth.
The walk to the tree hadn’t been too long. Minus the fact that Bruce kept tripping at each jagged part of rock. Thor had been uncharacteristically quiet which had worried Tony slightly.
On the other hand, Peter was bursting with excitement. Constantly, skipping along the rocks and jumping up and down as he waited for Tony to catch up.
Here they were now, outside the tree waiting for further instructions from Cap who looked more lost than the rest of them.
“How do we…get in?” Nat started to poke the tree’s bark which looked like it was made out of the same vines they had followed.
Thor walked over to the tree and placed his hand over one of the larger vines.
“Uhm,” Bruce cleared his throat, “Thor, I don’t know if that wil--“
The vines started to spread, an entrance opening for them, “or it will,” Bruce said, brow furrowed.
“How the--“
“It’s similar to Yggdrasil, an even more advanced version of it, if that’s even possible,” he said quietly, stepping through the entrance; the team following behind him.
“Fill us in?” Steve asked while joining the rest of his group in the tree.
He was met with silence.
“Thor?”
“Holy shit.” Nat breathed beside him.
Steve followed her line of sight to a set of stairs that led up to a throne where an unmistakable figure sat.
“Isn’t that--“
“Loki? Loki!” Thor shouted up to his brother who sat on the throne in more plain garments to his last encounter with them and now a large headpiece that was less shinier than before.
Thor sauntered up to his brother and kneeled down to match his height, “Brother? Is that you?” His hands travelled up to cradle Loki’s face, “are you real?”
Loki’s bottom lip trembled slightly at the sight of his brother, “I knew you’d come,”
“I thou--I thought you died, Loki, when the hell are you going to let me in on your stupid games?”
He tried so hard to be angry at his younger brother, but rage couldn’t explain the emotion he was feeling. Only a sense of relief and love that filled his body with a quiet buzz.
“Thor, I really thought I did. I didn’t--I have so much to tell you,” he broke out into choked sobs.
“What…what are these?” Thor looked skeptically at the vines Loki held with a deathly grip in both his hands.
“Tim--timelines,” he exhaled.
“What?” He whispered in response.
“They’re timelines. I can’t…I can’t let go, brother,”
Thor seemed to understand what Loki was hinting at and moved in a bit closer, tentatively. Loki offered him a nod and Thor instantly wrapped his arms around him protectively, one hand cradling the back of his brother’s head.
He could feel tears pooling from Loki’s eyes and Thor was grateful that the rest of the team had stayed downstairs not wanting them to see either of the gods this vulnerable.
Hiccups started to erupt from the younger’s throat and Thor only then understood what was happening.
Loki couldn’t hug back.
He sat there stiff and frozen, not daring to move a muscle without loosening his grip on the supposed timelines.
So, Thor did the only thing he could think of.
“You’re okay, Lokes, I’m here, you’re going to be just fine,”
“I can’t--please…just hold me,” he whispered so quietly Thor didn’t know if he heard correctly at first.
“Always, Loki,” he reassured.
“Always.”