Why don't I study?
Important Tests coming up; no worries – that's future me's problem. (I'm an idiot!)
When Thor stated he would be living in the tower for long periods of time and said that therefore members of the other realms might come to meet him they didn't expect their home to turn into grand central station; nor did they expect the etiquette lessons received for each and every race and title.
They first learnt about Asgard and how they should kneel to show respect to any member of the court and how (and this was aimed at Tony) same sex relations were frowned upon so even though Fandral might seem like a good idea for inter-universal booty calls he'd better refrain lest his head become detached from his shoulders. They learnt the proper titles by which they should address them and if they didn't know whom exactly they were talking to they should call them something along the lines of 'sire'.
They learnt of the Alf kingdom and the Fay and the Fire Giants. They learnt of every one.
Including the Frost Giants.
"Let me guess; kneel." Clint started before Thor could confirm the instruction.
"He is royalty so yes, you must kneel. But you also must be careful around the King of the Frost Giants – he lost his sanity once and it caused war and cost him more. You would do well not to mention such things in his presence for he hates the idea of pain and hates himself for what he hath done while his mind was addled."
"So Jotunheim just appointed the craziest person to be their king?"
"Nay; he was the heir to the throne and had killed his father; the tyrant predecessor. He did not, however, claim the throne until his affliction was healed and even then not until he had bourn unspeakable pain for his actions. He hates himself and so he therefore hates what he sees of himself – no matter the strength of your aversion do not mention his appearance to him. Do not retch and do not scream or run, lest you find yourself without a heart."
"Will he eat it?" Bruce asked receiving stares all round, "What? The legends say Frost Giants eat hearts."
"Nay; he hates himself and will avoid anything to do with himself – hence his origins. Besides, that is only something created to scare the minds of the young. But know this; while he may hate himself he will protect his people and their honour with every ounce of his power – do not insult them."
"Gee, don't insult the king; you seem pretty certain we will. I thought it would have been common knowledge not to insult royalty." Tony drawled.
"Aye, but they are known as monsters, their King most certainly thinks himself so and like many people on Asgards ground you may not be able to still your tongue. I urge that you see to it you do."
"People on Asgard insult the king of another realm?" Natasha queried.
"Swiftly so. His reactions to such are temperamental at best."
"Alright; no insults, no mentioning how he looks, no mentioning war, no mentioning insanity and kneeling. What do we address him as?" Steve questioned eagerly – he liked learning these sorts of things.
"Address him 'your highness' or 'your majesty' or something of the like. Perhaps even 'my king'."
"What? No name? Not King Frosty or anything?" Tony teased.
"Most certainly not." Thor snapped, "Only the most trusted know his name so you shall address him with anonymity." He looks them all over before continuing, "It is unlikely he will ever come, but if he were be mindful that he may don clothing for the sole purpose of disturbing you, nay, he will. Do not let that frighten you; he has a good heart and now, again, a good mind. Now – the Sitheracs-"
"Wait! Woah woah woah! Hold up a sec!" Tony cried, flaying his arms through the air; he felt like Thor had skipped over a very important detail, "Am I right in thinking that you didn't warn me to stay away from this guy because I'm allowed to have interracial relations with him?" he just really wanted to play around with an alien, and if it was a royal alien even better.
"…I had not warned you for I think you would never couple with one such as they."
"Looks aren't everything." Tony argued.
"They are for you." Natasha shot back.
"Hey hey! Play nice! What if I did want to 'couple' with this guy; what would you say?"
"I daresay that will never happen but if it were I would advise against it."
"But you wouldn't ban me like you did with others?"
"I am unsure of what it would entail – none of the Asgardians have ever considered coupling with a monster."
"Excuse me for saying; but that sounds racist." Steve, goody too-shoes put in.
"It has never been described as such."
And then they got into an argument about how calling a race monsters is racism even if a whole realm finds it acceptable and honestly? Tony stopped listening.
Until a resounding crack shattered through the lounge where all the Avengers – minus Thor who was making it towards the space so they could all watch a movie together – were gathered and he scrambled to remember all of the lessons about every single race they learnt about.
They all jumped to their feet out of fear before even taking in the character in front of them.
The man was tall, lithe and not wearing a shirt. No, he wasn't, and it allowed his cut abdomen to be on full display with marking running down from the top of his chest to disappear under his fitting black leather pants with light golden armour on the sides and heavy boots. He had a brown golden fur that wrapped around his biceps and connected over his chest, feathers of green, gold and red on strings falling from the clasp holding it together. He had golden bands near his wrists, decorative and it matched the gold plate sitting on his right shoulder. That golden plate had a sole strap which wrapped under his left shoulder to keep it in place while a heavy dark green-blue-almost-black cape hung from the one shoulder down to the ground. In the hand opposite the cloak he held a large golden staff – taller than the man himself in all his 6 foot plus glory. The mechanics of the staff defied gravity in a few places and the bright blue light shone from its centre. His jaw was chiselled and high cheek bones could just be seen before his face disappeared under some sort of animal skull with antlers reaching and twisting powerfully. Feathers and beads and was that perhaps teeth hung decoratively from the horns in a devastating display of beauty and death. A green blue fur hung from the top of the skull and down his back behind his long black hair but falling over his left shoulder in luscious waves. His mouth could just be seen and when he spoke Tony almost collapsed into a pile of goo it was so deep and silky and rolled across the room.
"Where is Thor?" The man said, commanding the room and all they could do was stand there as the man looked to them all.
"Oh my gosh, you're-" Tony's sentence was interrupted as Thor burst in, obviously having sensed the presence of the being in front of them.
"Your Majesty," Thor bumbled, dropping to his knee and hissing at the rest of his team; "kneel!" All of them, shocked as they were, dropped quickly and glued their eyes to the ground – one time an Alf director visited and he had expected them all to kneel upon sight, when entering every room or else he got especially mad and started hurling magic. They didn't want a similar reaction.
Surprisingly, when they glanced up all they saw was an amused lilt to his lips, but then again they couldn't see his eyes behind the skull so they couldn't really tell if he was mad behind it. Thor again hissed at Tony to apologise for his insolence.
"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, unsure how the man would take it, "Your Highness," he quickly amended before continuing, "It's just… you look-" he snapped his mouth shut remembering Thor's warning do not mention his appearance to him.
"Surely," the man said, probably looking down on their bowed forms, "Thor has not been so dull as to forego mentioning that which could cause an interplanetary dispute?" The King's right arm crossed to rest at the left's elbow while he held the staff with its base on the floor. He knew he'd have to answer, that Thor couldn't; only answer when spoken to.
"No, Your Highness, it's just he made you out to be, uh," this is a way terrible idea, "undesirable in appearance," he spat the words out quickly before continuing and hopefully rectifying the insult, "When in fact you're just…," okay, good start, now what's the best word he could use to describe what he was seeing? He's just… "stunning."
The King tilted his head at the remark and while he didn't step forward the movement was just as intimidating, sending the amulets on the horns dangling in the wake. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and so he dropped his own to the carpet.
Hopefully he didn't get killed.
His face was forced back upwards when a cold substance hit his chin and pulled it so. The tip of the golden staff held his face up and he was forced to look into the face of the skull, guessing where the eyes would be behind it. He made sure not to cringe and try not to realise that with one upward sweep his face could be sliced clean in half.
"You have gall, Midgardian," the King directed him, voice again intoxicating. A quick smirk took over his previously set lips and it made him want to smile in return, not that he would; he really doesn't want to die; "I appreciate that." The staff withdrew and he couldn't believe his luck.
"Your Majesty," Thor addressed the king, "Must you adorn such garments for the humans' benefit?"
"For the humans benefit?" he chuckled, "Oh no, this is not for they, this is for you; look at how you squirm – the will-be-King put off by a mere headdress." He then gestured to them all with his free hand, "Stand, I have not come here to make you kneel."
And Tony just does not have a brain to mouth filter as he goes ahead and mentions war; "Good, the last person that did that didn't get away so lightly." He bit his cheek immediately, even as he now stands straight. Again, the King looks over him.
"You have no idea how much information that single sentence gives me." He said seriously, "For instance; Thor, I have yet to see such ill worded tricks from thee." He took one step closer to the group, still towering over them all, even more so with the hectic horns. "Tell me," he pointed to Tony again, "Why you address me so vaguely."
"Thor said that only the most trusted are allowed to know your name."
"A Midgardian thing I assume?" He asked with the air of someone who has caught another in the midst of a ploy, "For all else fear not call me by my name." he took steps to become closer to the thunder god, standing barely two feet in front of him, "Surely though, Thor, this means these humans are not to be trusted?" He chuckled at Thor's floundering reaction before turning back and walking over to tower over Tony, "And now tell me this; the man who you hath stopped conquering your planet," the words tumbled beautifully out of the blue lips and he had a hard time concentrating on their meaning, "What would you have him sentenced with?"
"The same as the Earth laws, Your Highness; life in prison." He stopped himself from swaying forward into the intoxicating presence.
"Your lifetime is but eighty years, so is the sentence of a hundred years of torture also acceptable for the immortal?" Tony didn't miss the way Thor tensed beside him and he definitely didn't miss the fact that the others saw it as well.
"Wait, torture?" he asked out of pure dread, "No; not torture – that's, no, that's not acceptable." No one deserves torture.
"Shame; he hath already endured it." He tsked.
"What?" Oops, spoke out of turn.
"Time flows differently outside your planet; he hath already endured the punishment and now walks freely – has so for some time even to your Midgardian recording of it." That had only been a year or two ago and Loki had gone through 100 years of torture? It was enough to make him feel sick – he wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy and Loki was far from the worst considering what they'd been dealing with lately. "Hmn," he contemplated, "This revelation displeases you."
"It does." He grinds out, not trusting himself to keep quiet for much longer.
"What then, if I were to tell you it was to be his eleventh account of that specific sentence."
"What?" A disbelieving gasp of air.
"His eleventh time to undergo such punishment for many a thing; from cutting a woman's hair to fleeing from battle. What say you to that?"
"That's sick." He replied, literally feeling the contents of his stomach churn uneasily – that much torture? That's over a thousand years all up – no wonder the kid was screwed. He was brought out of his musings by a cool blue finger closing his apparently open mouth.
"See Thor; I told you, you were too harsh on the child." Thor opened his mouth to reply but the King cut him off, "No matter, I am not here to argue. I have come with news for the Prince who lusts for battle." He again takes a place in front of the Thunder god, "War wages on the horizon. The Paleo-Balkan Gods hath decided they wish to reside in the Parthenon; the Greek gods will have nought of it and have broken into battle. The rage spreads and the other gods are joining the fray, spanning a multitude of planets and realms already."
"You expect you and I to-"
"Nay," he said quickly, cutting of what could be considered a rude interruption, "I have tasked myself with the protection of this realm; the gods will arrive soon enough and your would-be-kings," he gestured to the rest of the avengers, "Will be no match for their combined wrath."
"Are you sure this is wise? Your own realm-"
"Mine own realm can care for itself – I have nursed it back to health and it shall remain so in my absence. The battle will not spread to there; they have no ties with the other gods, but you and I must partake. I am chaos incarnate; you should be glad I warn you instead of watching you burn like my madness would have allowed. My mind hath betrayed me before; I will not allow it again." Thor nodded in understanding, "Your warriors," he gestured to the team again, "were able to defeat a broken would-be-tyrant. To fight in the league of gods? I am unsure how they would fare – you know that if your brother had been in the right mind this planet would be his – these gods are not even slightly as broken as he. But they are strong, I attest, and perhaps, with the right direction they shall not perish under the first wave."
"Had my brother been in the right mind he would not have set his sights as such," Thor argued, "But even so your point stands, Your Majesty. I shall have them prepared by your return." He swore.
"Oh Thor," the King laughed, "What makes you think I'm leaving?"
And that was how they ended up having the Frost Giant King living in the tower.
No-one knew quite how to react around him, although Thor fell to his knee every time he saw him; it was funny until he barked at them to do the same. They always followed quickly lest he really be like the Alf director.
Tony swears he sees the King laugh when he walks through the room just to get to another and Thor forces them all to their knees.
"Your Majesty," Thor stated one night when the King walked into the kitchen, snatching an apple up and crunching on it in a way that somehow seemed erotic. The King has that effect on them all (okay not really the erotic thing, but the fascinatingly beautiful thing) because Steve draws him and Bruce spends every spare second with the King watching his skin and trying to figure it out. Also because they had a group argument with Thor when the King was elsewhere about why he portrayed the god as such. "Would you, perhaps, wear your crown instead of the skulls?" Thor seemed pretty cosy with the guy, but he supposes it stemmed from the fact that they're both royalty and both gods.
The King let loose a good natured sigh, "Mayhap I will. Any other requests?" he asked, playing with one of the feathers threaded in his hair. Steve and Tony watched the display quietly – the others elsewhere in the tower.
"You are amongst allies here; you may act as you will. You need not act as the King you need be on Jotunheim; you are young, act as such."
"Do you think, maybe, just maybe, that could be a bad suggestion? With a face and actions people may draw conclusions." He waved a hand flippantly, "And anyhow, many years in different circles have left me experiencing more years than thee, so if anyone were to be young it would be you. Therefore any falling outs caused by such actions shall be your problem." He confirmed and then, playfully; "Boy."
Thor blushed while the King cackled and allowed his skull mask to vanish away, being replaced with a band of gold wrapping his forehead and behind his ears like some sort of tiara with giant golden horns peeling off it. He kept that horn thing going (it's a wonder they didn't draw conclusions then). It gave them a clear view of his face and ruby eyes, marking shaping his face just so and suiting it perfectly.
"Woah," not only Tony muttered in response. The King turned towards him.
"More to say on mine appearance?" he sniped.
"Still stunning. More stunning, more… everything." He mumbled, "Your Majesty."
The King looked away with a smirk on his lips, tongue touching his teeth as his head turned before the red locked back with brown. "You are the first to say such things," he still smiled smugly as if it weren't an atrocity, "I daresay you would not relay such information if you knew of my other forms." And then, after a lift of his head and a narrowing of his eyes in contemplation, "What makes you say such things to one of another race?"
"Heck, I don't care where you're from; I know a nice looking person when I see one – no matter who. I once told Thor his brother looked hot back when he was trying to take over the world and almost got my head bashed in for the effort." Thor paled considerably beside him, but he didn't know why – maybe it was the guilt of leaving his brother in such a 'punishment' after the avengers had chewed him out, "Your Majesty."
A large grin slipped across his face slowly, something purely positive, white teeth glinting, "This amuses me greatly." He sang, Thor still looking pale as the dead, the King leaning forward on the bench, "You would have lain with him?" Thor let out a squeak and got impossibly whiter.
"Well yeah, sure, if he wasn't so busy taking out the city. I mean; there aren't any rules against it. Are there?" he looked to Thor, but the guy looked like he was about to keel over – maybe Tony shouldn't talk about sleeping with his brother in front of him. "I mean – no man on man in Asgard I suppose, but we could have skipped planet; what about yours?" yeah, subtle, "Your Majesty."
"I hardly think the people of my planet would care; they fall under enough discrimination already. And even if it were so; I am the King – I do what I want." He smirked, walking around the bench to stand next to the thunder god, gold horned crown glinting in the overhead light, "Don't hurt yourself Thor; battle looms. We'll need you with all of your strength, not passed out on the floor." And with that he left.
Thor instantly turned on him, still intimidating even though his skin was a sickly pallor. "Man of Iron, you are lucky to have your life! Such disrespect in the face of the King! Even I would have had you punished for such insolence!"
"Woah, well you did just tell him to stop acting all Kingly."
"It is still in his rights to have you decimated for your words! You are lucky he hath regained his mind! He always was far too kind for his own good; too forgiving. Watch yourself."
"You're just uptight because I was talking about screwing your brother." Tony passed it off, "He probably wouldn't want to though, you know, thinking we sent him away for torture."
"I swear to you Stark; if you even think of bedding the King I shall end you myself!" he snarled.
"Protecting my honour? How noble," the King stated as he walked back in, Thor falling to his knee and dragging Tony down with him forcibly. The Jotun cackled under his breath and yeah, Tony definitely heard that, "There was a time I was known as the whore of the nine realms, even by you. Oh how times have changed." He picked up another apple, tossed it in his hand and walked away again, "As you were; I was simply still hungered." And he chuckled as he left again.
Thor turned a killer glare on him and Tony replied with a; "I think I'm in" while Steve face palmed despite the fact he'd been asleep for 70 years.
They were all surprised one afternoon when the King sent Thor to retrieve something and hence leaving him in the presence of the remaining Avengers; just one of the many times he caught them all together, although the first time without Thor. They were surprised because the King laughed as soon as Thor was out of earshot.
"You need not kneel every time we meet." He smiled at them, brushing a hand back through his black hair, "I would have informed you earlier but the thundered kept getting in the way."
"And why, My King, would Thor's presence be a problem?"
"I am not your King so do not address me as such." He told them strongly; the first time they'd addressed him as such, "And Thor's presence was a problem for I find his scurrying amusing." He said, voice light once again. "I grow tired of being addressed so formally, but Thor has forbid me from relaying you mine name; I dare say I agree with his judgement in this instance, but perhaps, you shall call me forað."
They agreed and sometime the next day Thor walked into another group discussion with the surprisingly down to Earth (bahaha) god King of Jotunheim.
"…on Jotunheim, forað?" Bruce asked and Thor instantly went into an extremely long bout of profuse apologies that lasted over an hour as he followed the cackling King around the tower.
"What did I call him?" Bruce asked later after the King had tired of Thor and dismissed himself.
"You called him 'monster'." Thor grouched, head bowed to the ground while the Avengers finally realised just how much the King despised himself that he would issue others to degrade him so.
By the second week Thor was tumbling over himself constantly as the Avengers refused to kneel in the Kings presence even if they had begun regarding him as 'Your Majesty' again. Two and a half weeks and Thor was still tip-toeing around the King whilst the others had realised he wanted to be treated as an equal and they had adjusted accordingly.
As such they had all become a lot closer, and so when Thor walked in to the lounge to see Tony with his legs in the kings lap as he lounged across the sofa and Natasha playing with his hair while Bruce observed the skull of another planets animal he practically fainted. Touching a King and his belongings in such a manner was unheard of but the King just laughed like a melody and said; "Thor, it's fine. I'm not going to end their lives for the same things you would were our positions reversed. I've regained my mind remember?"
The rest of the team were mighty glad he wasn't as Thor suggested he should be.
As such, Thor spent that night, three and a half weeks after the arrival of the King, in his own 'quarters'. The King, however, decided he wanted to hang out in the game room and they listened to music and played pool and video games and danced all night long, the King laughing wholeheartedly as he sat upside down on the couch and laughed at their attempts to correlate movements to the music. And then laughing harder as he too danced with them.
Bruce left first, under the pretence that he didn't want to be tired enough that the King would meet his 'other half' the next day.
Natasha and Clint left after the King spent a short amount of time with each of them and as such convinced them both to be bold and take that step forward. Steve thanked him profusely for the lack of sexual tension they would no doubt experience the next day.
And then he went to bed.
And then there were two.
They sat, again upside down, on the couch, trying to play the playstation from their vantage point proving extremely hard with the opposing controls. They couldn't much remember what game they were playing; only that they were supposed to be killing the bad guys with their guns and had put it on the easiest level but still had to revive each other constantly. Tony taught him the finesse and intricacy of teabagging fallen enemies to which the King laughed heartily, almost flipping forwards off of the lounge, and they put their own words in on the cut scenes, becoming increasingly more lewd as time passed.
They had been fighting the same boss for the past two hours and had yet to row bored of their constant dying and failure; each time re-voicing the cut scene before it differently and each time going into the battle with more determination, dying when they laughed too hard.
They elbowed each other as they tried to man the controls whilst being seated so near one another and when they finally, finally defeated the enemy and the King cried so happily he couldn't stop staring in the face of pure joy. His black hair fell towards the ground as he clenched his eyes shut with mirth. Tony shivered, although he thinks it probably isn't because of the slightly cool skin beside him. Then the King turned and looked to him, eyes opening to a brilliant shade of red and Tony had no choice; his body did it for him, leaning forward and claiming the blue lips under his own.
The instant it happens all that manages to make its way through his head it a constant litany of 'oh shit, oh shit, oh shit' and perhaps the faint recollection that he's probably going to die for this.
But the King didn't slice his throat with the knives Tony knows are tucked into the back of his pants, and he didn't tear him to shreds with the strength he'd displayed earlier in the training rooms. Oh no, none of those horrid ideas, instead he did something even more shocking.
He pressed back. And he moved his lips. Any Tony's body reacted further even while his mind – the part that doesn't want to die – told him to back out while he could while the rest of it tells him to dive further in. At some point he realised his tongue had sneaked out and rimmed the King's lips which had opened in response. And then they were swimming, at least Tony was, absolutely and completely taken over by the sensations and the feeling and the taste, my lord the taste. The King's hand came up to rest in his hair at the same moment his ran through the dark locks and it was amazing. Fantastic. Stunning.
Until they parted to breath and the King looked to him with something akin to sadness, but that couldn't be right, so he decided the expression was unreadable.
"I'm sorry." The King whispered, hand giving Tony's hair one last squeeze before retreating.
"It's fine." Tony insisted as the King made to move, righting them both.
"It's not fine," He smiled sorrowful, "I can't– you wouldn't; you don't even know who I am." He stood softly, pushing all the blame on himself.
"Look, if this is about being a Frost Giant I honestly don't care," Tony tried, standing as the other did and grabbing at his wrist, "Really; I didn't lie. You are stunning. Unless… unless you don't want this, in which case I'm pretty sure I should be apologising."
"No I do. Want this. But you don't-"
"I do."
"Not if you knew who I was." The King grabbed his hands and ran sinfully smooth fingertips along the skin, "I'm sorry. I should never have…" but his sentence petered out and he left Tony in a confused drag of consciousness.
Well he wasn't dead – that's a plus.
He acted as normal as he could for someone who had made out with a King from another planet whenever they came into contact, but everyone had noticed; the King was sad.
"What's up Your Majesty?" Clint asked at the table, but the King didn't respond apart from donning his skulls the next time he allowed himself to be seen; a physical mask to match the emotional one he put up.
"Hey, Mischief Man, you know you can tell us anything right?" Natasha asked using her favourite nickname created by Tony when The King crafted multiple pranks to play on Thor and the others. He just gave her a heartbreaking smile and dragged himself away.
"Seriously man; what's eating at you?" Bruce queried at the dinner table; the god kings solemn attitude and adorning of skulls finally becoming slightly creepy, "We need our king in top shape if we're gonna win the battle that's coming." Our king. Our king.
It's funny that they never realised they considered him one of them until that moment; the moment he replied with; "You would not address me thus if you knew who I were." Before he again retreated, stopping in the doorway to give a few last words before leaving, "But know this; no matter your opinion on me I shall protect this world and protect thee with mine own life." And he was gone. Again.
"Why won't you tell us?" Steve tried days later; they all missed the King so much; all they had now was his hollow remains.
"Imagine the person you hate most of all." He stated, no doubt looking at the ground beneath the bone. Five names, one for each (bar Thor, bless his heart he hated nothing); Aria, Red Skull, Ravage, Justin Hammer, That bitch at the coffee shop (oh Clint). "Now imagine I am they." He states and they all look on confused; what's the point? He isn't them. "How would you feel?" Probably sad, mostly, if this were their greatest hate, trying so hard to be themselves and being crushed under the knowledge that they could never be accepted for who they truly were. "This is why I cannot tell you; I do not wish to be the focus of your disdain." And somehow he managed yet again to escape before they could ask him anymore.
After some shameless grovelling he stopped wearing the skulls and started spending more time with them, but while they tried to figure it out, no matter who they thought of they couldn't see any correlation. The King was hating himself for nothing – or so it seemed.
Tony tied to approach him again, tell him he didn't care who he was before, who they knew him as; this was who he truly was. The King, again, was swallowed by a seeming never ending sadness that only lifted when he had to be around others, where he could pretend to be otherwise, if only a little.
And then the battle came, the gods spilling across the skies and bringing hails of firing rain, tearing the world to shreds and making the sky bleed. There was no correlation anymore; all gods fought for themselves – against their opposing forces and against the protectors of the Earth.
Natasha had a broken leg, leaning against Clint who sported a broken arm. Steve was on the ground, hand pressing down on the wound on his stomach. Bruce was down – one of the gods had cast a spell which supressed the hulk and now all he was, was a human with sliced up limbs. Tony's suit was out, broken, destroyed; Torn and flambéed; none of them were any use as they watched the gathering around them, the gods coming to stand in front of each other; finally having the sense to speak. The Kings force; the army he had called from Jotunheim to help stood by and heeded his order to stand their ground.
They argued for the Earth, for the planet's they'd hurt and finally, for the rights to the living space in question. The King said he'd build enough such structures that they could all have their own, to which one replied with; "And why should we believe your lies Loki?"
The King took in a large breath and looked them over from behind the gold horned skull currently on his head, hands clenching as Fury let out a growled repetition of his name.
"Loki?" Natasha asked and the other gods smiled mockingly.
"Lying again Silvertongue?" They looked over to the fallen tauntingly, "You're on your own now liesmith; going to stab them in the back while they're down and take their home?"
"Leave now," The King – Loki – ground out, air trembling under the force of his voice, "I will build you your constructs; you no longer have business here." The staff in his hand glowed angrily.
"Oh little liar, why wo-"
"LEAVE NOW!" Loki screamed, taking one step forward with the force, hand swirling with green whilst the staff brightened to the point of blinding. The ground iced under his feet and the air chilled, every single Jotun in the vicinity dropping to a battle stance at the threat on their King.
He doesn't know what happened but soon enough Loki was in front of their little band, hands shaking as he placed them on Steve's stomach, the blood there mingling with the blood currently spattering his form. "I'm sorry," he whispered as green engulfed the wound and stitched it back together, healing him, "I'm so, so sorry." He continued, apologising over and over again, lines trekking their way down his cheeks indicating what they finally realised was tears.
"I'm so sorry." He stated once more as he sat on his knees in front of their standing forms, facing the ground.
The sorrow was suffocating as two Frost Giants, much taller than their King came to help him up. He let them, head still tilted down in a desolate acceptance of the hate he knew he would receive when they found out who he was.
But Tony didn't care; not really. Loki had done bad; but Loki had been broken. And then he was fixed and he was good and fair and righteous and a saviour and stunning. And Loki had tried, tried so hard; he'd warned them and protected them and accepted whatever they said, never raising a hand against them even though it was his right as king. And they were breaking him again.
He didn't think Loki saw him as he approached; his head was still downward facing and it had to be hell trying to see out of the skull.
He lifted the skull off the other's head, tilting it up until it fell off backwards and Loki looked up with such a heart wrenching confusion that, while he hadn't even considered second guessing, only solidified his conviction.
He crashed their lips together again, not caring for the audience comprised of the Avengers and the many citizens of Loki's kingdom. His hands were braced on the blue face, pulling it down to him and forcing it to comply; not that he could really force a king, a god if he wanted. But Loki responded with fervour, no doubt taking all he could while he could.
They broke for air and Tony rested their foreheads together. "I'm sorry." Loki said again, new tears pouring from his eyes.
"No need; you did good." Tony tried to reassure.
"I'm a monster; I cannot do good." Loki degraded himself and Tony missed any and all confidence he ever might have had.
"Hey; I like you just the way you are."
Loki's eyes lit up like a thousand stars had just wiped out the darkness plaguing the universe.
Just would not leave me alone – had to write, I've been drawing for days.
Tell me what you think in a comment/review/whatevar
The idea in my head was really long, but no way could I do another chapter fic, so I condensed it A LOT.
Hope I still got some ideas across.
Stay Awesome