Steve stills at the second statement. 'Maybe I won't...' what? Steve can think of a few possible endings to that, but they're all based on his own experiences, his own dark places. He's not sure he knows Loki well enough to guess accurately at any parallels.

He sighs again and resumes stroking him a moment later, keeping to his head and neck out of worry he'll jar those bruises. "I don't want to push you away, you know? If I knew what you were running from, maybe I could help, but maybe that's not my place. But I am glad you came here tonight, to me. So...keep that in mind. If you want to talk, I want to listen, but if not, remember you can come to me."

He closes his eyes, quieting to let Loki consider what he's said and make what he will of it. And in the meantime, Steve can wonder to himself when it became so vital to him that he play a positive role in this Loki's life. It's not just the idea of a potentially useful ally any longer. This is not strategic. Probably that's a good thing. People are more important than strategy.