Chapter Text
Tony slid the door open a crack and checked the passageway before stepping out. He had a shaky mental map of the place based on his few frantic minutes of exploration after he had dragged Min through the open guard door. It was a spur of the moment decision. They had fled through the passageways hand-in-hand before he had hidden her in a closet and found the captain’s cabin. Tony had known he was in the right place by the blooded and filthy flogger lying on the table. From the hungry and lascivious look on the captain's face, he could tell that Loki would be brought back here.
He had no plan except to not let Loki suffer that punishment twice. Tony did not think the Asgardian would survive it a second time. Mentally, if not physically. He glanced over his shoulder. Loki was following, but he stared vacantly in the distance, his hands limp at his sides. Tony knew the evidence of trauma, and this was it. Dissociation, hypervigilance, extreme aggression to perceived threats. Loki had it all. Tony decided to worry about it later. For now, they needed to get out of this area. Off this ship, if that was possible.
Min’s closet was a few turns away, and she stumbled out, breathing fast, her own heavy can of water clutched in her hands. The cans were good weapons, but Tony regretfully put them back in the closet. There was no reason for a couple of prisoners to be carrying water, and he did not want to attract any attention. They would get plenty of attention when the guards found the captain, or when someone noticed Tony and Min were missing from the deck.
Tony led the way. He walked side-by-side with Min, doing his best to look like a cowed prisoner being taken somewhere unpleasant by an armed guard. Loki followed behind, and Tony could only pray that they looked the part enough to fool anyone who saw them from a distance. Up close, they had no chance.
At every intersection, Tony took the narrower passageway, the route with more motes of dust in the slowly moving air, the greater number of broken light panels. The ship seemed endless, and there were no signs and no maps. They walked for hours. At first they heard voices in the distance, footsteps, conversations behind closed doors, and had to adjust their route accordingly, but soon that all fell behind. For the last hour, the only sound was their own footsteps. This portion of the ship seemed to be deserted.
Tony began to try doors as they walked, finding nothing unlocked, the control panels dull and lifeless. They passed through a huge airlock, big enough to fit hundred of people. It was open, dust built up on the thick metal doors at each end. The airlock seemed to be a dividing line on the ship, the other side was almost derelict. There still was air, but it was cool and unmoving, and only dull emergency lights glowed in the ceiling.
Tony pulled them to the edge of the passageway and paused, no longer caring about appearances. He leaned against the wall, his tiredness catching up to him all at once. Min crouched down and rested her head in her hands. They had all worked a full exhausting shift before this, and the adrenaline that had carried them through their escape was long gone. Loki stood in the passageway, his eyes more alert now, the air of twitching panic faded away. Now he just looked tired, like the rest of them.
“You guys good?” Tony asked, wishing they had kept the water. His mouth was dry, and he was getting a headache.
Min nodded tiredly, and after a moment Loki did too. Neither of them spoke and Tony valiantly carried on.
“This place is huge," he said, stating the obvious for lack of anything else to do.
Loki glanced around. “It was probably a city-ship once. For deep-space mining operations. Ships like this were both home and factory. People could live their whole lives on one. Generations, even. It was common on the outer planets for a long time, before I was born.”
Tony shivered, but Loki shrugged. “It is no better or worse than any other place to live. Some could become very wealthy, if they were lucky.”
“Yeah, well, it’s clearly not that anymore,” Tony said, glad that Loki was talking again, even if was not relevant to their current situation.
Gears began to turn in Loki’s head, “If this is such a place, there will be many places to hide. Disused areas. Perhaps abandoned shuttles, or even larger craft.” He looked around, taking in the dim light, the dull and lifeless door controls, the dust hanging in the still air, as if noticing it all for the first time. “Let us find a place to rest. Last time...” he paused, shuddering, a shadow crossing his face. He took a deep breath and tried again. “Last time, the captain kept me all night. The guards will not expect their turn for many more hours.”
Tony nodded, swallowing back his disgust at the guard's idea of punishment. He kept it to himself though. Loki certainly didn’t want his pity.
They walked on, slowly now, trying doors as they walked, until Min found one that opened.
“Here,” she called, her soft voice heard for the first time in hours. The girl was exhausted, and Tony gently moved her aside and peeked through the door. It looked like a medical bay. Rows of padded gurneys stood against the walls, and a monitoring station with blank screens dominated the center. It was as good place as any to rest, so they wedged the door shut and Tony pulled one of the gurneys across it. It wouldn’t block anyone for long, but it would at least give them a warning if anyone was trying to enter.
There was no food or water, but they were all too tired to care. The lure of a padded surface to sleep on, instead of bare metal, was too strong. They put Min at the far end, and Loki and Tony wordlessly took positions about halfway between her and door, on opposite walls.
Tony lay down, his eyes already closing. He knew they were not in a safe location, that danger was still on their heels, but he also knew that they could not go much longer without sleep. He and Min certainly couldn’t, at least. Loki was anyone’s guess. He had a blank mask on his face and Tony didn't blame him. The look on his face when the guard captain had come for him was engraved in Tony’s memory. Fear, panic, shock, horror, all of it combined and wrapped around with shame. It may not have been the wisest thing to do what he had done, but he did not regret it. He would do the same for anyone.
“Tony,” Loki said from across the room, his voice low.
Tony sat up. Loki was sitting cross-legged on his gurney, the helmet and armor off, but the shock stick and control device still on his belt.
“Sup,” Tony said, already half asleep.
Loki's eyes darted around the room, avoiding landing on Tony’s face. “I will take the first watch,” he said eventually.
Tony nodded, “Sure,” he said, glad Loki was thinking somewhat tactically again, “Wake me up when it’s my turn.” He lay down again, but Loki wasn’t done.
“Tony,” he said again, even more quietly, Tony propped himself up on one elbow.
“Yeah,” he said.
Loki finally met his gaze, his hands twisted in his lap, his shoulders hunched. He cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming for me, Tony.” He looked as though he wanted to say more, that there was a universe of words that he could share, but instead he pressed his lips together and was silent.
Tony nodded, aware that even that thanks probably took a lot of effort for the Asgardian to force out.
“Sure thing,” he said, yawning widely as he spoke, “No problem. You’d do the same for me, right?” he smiled, not expecting any reply to that, but to his surprise Loki nodded.
“Yes,” he said, as though surprised to find himself saying it, “Yes, I would.”