Title: Grieving

A/N: I'm going to do a chapter for each Avenger. I have the others in progress, some almost completely, others still need work. I just thought it would be interesting to explore how they'd show (or hide) their grief, and deal with it.

Oh, for this fic, Loki has somehow redeemed himself and is free and part of the Asgard royal family again.

THOR

Thor was been fighting Thanos, but collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from him. Clint, not surprisingly, was the first to see it.

"THOR!" Clint yelled. That drew everyone's attention. Hulk, almost negligently, smashed away the Chirauri nearest him, then leapt towards his fallen friend. He considered all the Avengers friends, Metal Man being his favorite. Tony landed beside Thor seconds ahead of Hulk. Hulk roared at Thanos and reached for him, but Thanos used magic to disappear just as Hulk would have caught him. He'd learned from what Hulk had done to Loki in their first battle.

Steve arrived next, with Clint and Natasha right behind him. With another roar, Hulk turned back to the fight with the Chitauri – smashing things being the only way he knew to deal with the anger and pain he felt. Hulk was not used to emotional pain - that was the Little Doctor's job. Hulk dealt with physical pain and the Little Doctor dealt with emotional pain.

Iron Man let loose with his arsenal, as Natasha sent out a hail of bullets. Clint got back to his high perch, and loosed arrows at lightening speed.

As word that their Prince had fallen spread among the warriors of Asgard they fought even more fiercely, and the Chitauri were driven away.

AVENGERS AVENGERS AVENGERS AVENGERS

The Avengers approached Frigga and Odin. "We're very sorry for your loss," Natasha spoke the formal words. She kept her face a composed mask, but her eyes showed her pain and grief.

"He was a great warrior. The greatest I've ever met… and an even better friend," Clint said. His sunglasses hid his eyes, as full of grief and pain as Tasha's.

Clint, Natasha, and Steve, had been training even harder than usual, in preparation to go after the one who had murdered Thor.

"I'm so very sorry. Midgard mourns with you," Bruce said, careful to use their word for Earth. The Hulk had raged for hours after Thor's loss, and had come out several more times in the days since. It showed on Bruce's haggard face.

"Did Thor tell you the name of our Team?" Steve asked.

"The Avengers," Odin replied.

"And we will Avenger Thor," Steve promised, stoic. His red eyes the only indication of the tears he'd cried.

"You think to beat Thanos and the Chitauri, when all of Asgard could not?" Odin asked.

It was Tony who answered, "Before…" Imaged of Afghanistan flashed in his mind. "Before I became Iron Man, I was called The Merchant of Death. I designed and built weapons our world had never seen. With Loki's help, I've designed something he and I both think will take down Thanos." The dark circles under his eyes, so dark it looked like bruises, attested to his sleepless nights working in his labs with Loki. Bruce, when not the Hulk, had also helped. "It's not built yet, but will be within the week."

"Thanos will pay for killing Thor," Steve promised. The other all gave nods of agreement.

Loki led his parents off to the side. "They truly did mourn," he told them. "Stark has pushed beyond what I thought were human limits of intellect and body, working with me to design this weapon. Natasha cried, and I have never seen her cry – not the genuine tears she cried for Thor. Nor have I ever seen the Hulk rage so fiercely. It is less obvious with Clint and Steve, but they have also grieved deeply for my brother."

Neither replied, they just looked over at the grief stricken Avengers.