But in this twilight our choices seal our fate-Broken Crown, Mumford and Sons.
1. The Gilded God and Strawberry Blond
The god had been kept behind double walled glass for nearly a year now. Each day had seen his insanity waning, the darkness in his eyes drifting back behind a veil of ice and emptiness. When Thor had first returned from Asgard with Loki still in his grasp, the collective sigh of relief that the newly assembled Avengers had breathed was sucked back in. Thor had given reasons of unrest outside the realm of Asgard for returning with the prodigal Odinson but that had done nothing to quell the menacing expressions each individual had adopted upon hearing it. So, the god of chaos had a temporary green card to remain on Earth until whatever ill had befallen Asgard and the outer realms subsided and it was 'safe' for Loki to return.
Quite frankly, no one had cared about Loki's safe return to Asgard. In fact, if somewhere within the unrest Loki was captured or killed it was unlikely that any of them would shed too many tears.
Except, maybe, for Thor.
Loki had been placed in the basement of the newly formed HQ for the Avengers, what was previously known as Stark Tower. Tony had protested to the god being locked away only a few stories beneath where he slept when he was in Manhattan, but as heavily armed S.H.I.E.L.D agents had led the bound and gagged god into the depths of the tower, he found himself without a say in the matter. And then, the madness had slipped away from the god like the shedding of snakeskin. The glassiness of his eyes had subsided and something more of mischief than malice replaced it. Thor had taken to sitting with the man he still fervently called his brother, daily. He touched calloused skin to the glass and spoke softly to him in a language that could not be readily deciphered. Loki remained on the far side of the glass structure, eyes turned downward, not sparing the god of thunder a single glance. It had gone on like that for months.
Until one day, Tony stepped into the lounge in his penthouse and the tumbler of scotch in his hand to the tile floor below. It shattered on impact, the harsh sound grating on what suddenly became raw nerves.
The god of chaos stood overlooking the city as he had once done moments before sending Tony through the glass and plummeting towards the asphalt below.
Loki had turned his eyes to Tony, who had realized suddenly that the man was a shadow of what he'd once been. No less intimidating, but far more approachable.
At least, that is how it seemed.
Tony had raised a brow at the god and gave a token smirk that had saved his life more than once.
"You're entrances are getting less impressive." he'd quipped.
Loki had mimicked his expression, minus the half-smile.
"And you are still as foolish as you once were."
After that day Loki had not remained behind the glass walls. He had always been able to escape, but he had not done so by choice. It was a curious thing and one that had unsettled the Avengers at first. The last time Loki had decided against escape, they wound up with a nearly downed Helicarrier and a scattered group of heroes. Though it had not been luck but fate that pulled them back together in the end, they did not wish to experience the generally dangerous circumstances under which Loki ignored chances to flee.
This time, however, the god had obliged them and returned to the case when their suspicion became evident.
"If it would put you at ease," he had drawled. "then I would remain where you are able to see me at all times."
Fury had come very close to laughing in his face. He'd commissioned Tony to build something to block Loki's magick, the very thing that was likely allowing his escape from the glass case. Tony had rolled dark eyes and gave a, "Yes, dear." Before wandering off to one of the R & D floors to begin the work.
That had been six months ago. Tony had never gotten around to finishing the damn idea he'd drafted.
Besides, he'd told himself, he's not going anywhere. Guys hardly left the cage anyways.
And it was true. One year after the attack on Manhattan, Loki sat in a cage that could not hold him, remaining a prisoner by choice. And it was around this time that Tony had begun to grow curious of his reasoning.
Which is why, for days now, the engineer had been occasionally dropping by, settling himself inside the glass cage with a tablet, or a book, or a magazine and taunting what he'd termed 'the creepy crawly'. For fun, of course. He did not have a death wish. Per se. Today he sat with a magazine in his lap, licking the tip of his finger before flipping a page, and sparing the god across the room an occasional glance. Loki stood with his eyes on the exterior of his cell, something that he would not necessarily call 'companionable' silence stretching between them.
"Anything interesting today?" Loki's voice cut through said silence like silk. Tony did not spare a glance from the article about himself as he replied, "Sure there is. I'm always interesting."
Loki had not bothered turning to face Tony, either. "Please, spare me your ego."
Tony snorted. "Hey, my ego has never flattened a city. So, no. I will spare you nothing."
He licked his finger and flipped another page.
Loki had responded with a hint of something just a bit threatening mixed with his lilting syllables. "I would not test the god of chaos, Stark."
"Why not? Afraid I'll find positive results for syphilis?"
Another lick. Another page flip. The squeak of leather boots on metal as Loki turned slowly to eye him. "You are not amusing."
This time, Tony shot him a look of feigned hurt. "You cut me deep. What is amusing are your delusions of godhood. You're stuck here. Thor said you can't go back 'til Big Daddy works out the problems with the relatives so you had better get used to being one of us.
Loki cocked a brow took a hesitant step in the mans direction. This had been going on for a little while now. This banter, this taunting-it had been keeping Loki's mind sharp but slowly had begun to grate on his nerves.
"My presence on Midgard does not render me mortal. I will remain a god until the day my life ends. But I am immortal so-.."
Another lick, another page turn.
"What about the glow stick of destiny? Isn't that what gave you all that hoodo voodoo mind control power? What can you do without that thing? Are gods like Jedis with some sort of force? Do you have midi-chlorians in your blood"
Loki took in a slow breath. The way Tony jumped from thought to thought was remarkable and frustrating to say the very least. And he had no idea what a 'medi-klor-i-on' was.
"I have mastered elements you will never hope to understand."
Tony rolled up the magazine and unfolded his legs. His joints cracked in protest as he straightened them out. He stood, slowly, and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes were lit with amusement at the verbal tennis match he was having with the self-proclaimed god of chaos. There was no question about just how much Tony enjoyed taunting such an easily offended and reactive creature.
"Hey. I mastered whacking off when I was nine. Of all the millennia you've seen it's taken a captivity in a glass box to master this 'mysterious element'? Oh and heads up, there are security cameras in here."
Loki's fist curled in a bit. The man was beyond frustrating. "I would rather not be regaled with tales of the insurmountable number of times that Tony Stark has pleasured himself. It is an image I do not wish to retain, ever. And as for the various element you petty humans have yet to master and discover, it only speaks to the amount of time you all must spend with your collective hands in your pants."
Tony barked a laugh. "That was actually pretty good. You deserve this."
He gave a slow clap and an exaggerated nod. Loki scowled at him. His patience always began to wear thin after the conversation fell to the most uncouth topics. He made another step towards the man and held out a hand. "I wish to have that item."
A long finger pointed at the magazine in Tony's hands, to which Tony unraveled it and handed it over. "My conversation not entertaining enough for you?" he prodded.
As Loki received the thin booklet he raised his eyes to Tony's. "Ah, you did catch that. Very good."
Tony glanced at the leather watch wrapped about his wrist and eyed the door. "Well, I am so sorry." he speaks with mock sincerity. " I know these little play dates of ours are the highlight of your day."
Loki narrowed his eyes and took a step away from the man. "I do not know of this date of play you speak of, but I believe these visits you insist on maintaining are simply the attempts of a dreary old man to amuse himself in his final years by taunting the god in the box."
Tony's lip twitched a bit.
"Dreary old man? I'm hardly nearing mid-life crisis. If I was on my final round, trust me, I would have better things to do than be the ADHD kid at the zoo who pokes the ugly tarantula in its tank with a stick." He eyes the door again and gives a quick wink to the paler man.
"Well, Chaos, it's been real." He turns and heads for the sliding glass that whirs open for him as he steps in front of it. Loki watched him go with the same melancholic expression he had kept for nearly the entire conversation.
After their second encounter in the lounge, the one that did not result in a broken window, Tony seemed to enjoy finding ways to pick at Loki. It was unusual for a mortal to act so amiable with one who only one year ago had attempted to enslave him. The other Avengers, as far as Loki could tell, still held their grudges. And so they should.
But this one, this Anthony Stark, was different. Vexing.
Loki narrowed his eyes a bit as he came across the article on Tony.
Cavalier. A dangerous characteristic to hold.
Tony's feather light touches on the screen sent the designs skittering about the desk. The large touch screen held about a dozen folders, each labeled with numbers. Never let it be said that Tony Stark was disorganized. His organization was just…not entirely easy to navigate for people who were not Tony Stark. He brought up three articles-one he could not read. One that just looked boring without even reading the first page. The third was a condensing of the book that Isabel had followed like a religion. The author was Snorri somethingorother. Some weird name that did not look real. Maybe it was a nom de plume.
Maybe Snorri just had a really unfortunate name.
Nonetheless, his memory of the older woman sitting before the blazing fire and reading the book urged him on. He had only made it a few pages into the article when he spotted Loki's name. A lopsided smile crossed his features and he dragged the article into a little folder labeled '19/7'.
Perfect, more topics to talk about. More things to pry from those tight lips.
With a great stretch that nearly had the chair beneath him tipping, he relaxed his feet onto the desk as the touch screen capabilities faded. He gave a yawn that cracked his jaw a bit before finally deciding it was time to find a comfortable sleeping place that did not involve potentially tipping a chair and cracking ones skull. He passed the kitchen area, double checking that the automatic coffee brewer was set accurately before moving on down the hall. He gently pushed the wooden door open to reveal the guest room. His clothes were littered about the room yet another example of not easy to navigate organization and he added to the collection by stripping off the Black Sabbath t-shirt before falling into the bed. The Equilibrium Thermodynamics book sat heavily on the pillow next to his and he half considered picking it up again before his lids fell to a close. He hoped that this night he would not dream of strawberry blond hair falling in auburn eyes.