Disclaimer: I own nothing aside from a few original characters. No money is being made from this.

Full Summary: Robin Sheffield found herself in an unholy mess when she took a job working for Tony Stark as a last resort. Fate finds her stuck with playing chaperone for a certain god of Mischief forced to make amends for his crimes. It's the last thing in the world she wanted, or needed. She doesn't make it easy for him, and like hell if he's going to let her get away with that. Shenanigans ensue and awkward sexual tension follows. Will Loki learn his lesson in time to save both Asgard and Midgard from destruction? And will Robin survive being forced to face her own less than stellar past?

Meanwhile Bruce is working to find a way to control his transformations into the hulk. Tony silently supports him every step of the way - even if he keeps his work a closely guarded secret. They both have their secrets, of course. Little by little, the walls and insecurities start to crumble and they never saw it coming. Though if you asked them, they'd blame Loki. It's always his fault anyway.

Pairings: Tony /Pepper (past), Tony /Bruce, Loki/OC, Clint/Natasha (implied)

Warnings: Sexual situations: possibly light bondage (IDK yet), and implied non-con/rape (past), violence, m/m slash, swearing, angst and spoilers for The Avengers, Iron Man and Thor Movies.

Also, on a lighter note, most likely disgusting amounts of fluff, humor, pranks, shenanigans and awkward sexual tension.

Notes: Trying my best to keep this canon appropriate and Sue-free. No one likes Sues. Robin is in fact VERY loosely based on a good friend of mine IRL (who is betaing this and prefers to remain anonymous). Basically this mess is our baby. If you notice any typos let me know, we're not perfect. (Though damn if we don't try.)

This is entirely movieverse and set some time after the end of Thor 2, but assuming Loki didn't "die" in Svartalfheim and returned to Asgard with Thor instead. Will also probably have nerdy real life mythology references tossed in here. And yeah, this whole thing is a concept that's been done to death, but there's a really awesome plot brewing so please give it a fighting chance! /Shameless begging for reviews. Really, I need them. I want to be a better writer and it helps a lot. :3

Arrows and Apples

Chapter One: No more Second Chances

"In light of recent events, in memory of your mother's wishes, and due in part to Thor's adamant protesting of putting you back in your cell… I have decided to offer you one last chance to redeem yourself. Not only that, but also forgiveness for your past transgressions." Odin said in a stern voice leaving no room for argument as he stepped down from his throne that was still in ruins from the dark elves' attack on Asgard. He stood before Loki on equal ground. Looking down upon him from the throne had not worked in the past, so perhaps this would. The king had his hands folded neatly behind his back, with a no-nonsense expression of utter authority firmly etched across his face that was haggard with grief and the weight of Thor's refusal to take the throne. Frigga's death tore at his heart, even if he was too proud and too stoic to show his suffering. His single good eye met Loki's green ones in a fierce glare that embodied all of his anger and betrayal, and all but dared Loki to defy him. Loki wordlessly glared back, but did not cower or show the slightest sign of intimidation.

"What would you have me do? I fought honorably, by your definition at least, and did not betray Thor. But I did not do it for you. Or for Asgard." Loki snapped. Only for her. For revenge. He thought bitterly, already losing his patience with Odin. But it wasn't enough. Still he grieved for his mother's death, but like Odin, would not admit it. Thor knew, though. He was probably the only one who truly might understand what Loki was feeling. …Not that he cared to think about that. His eyes darted to the God of Thunder who stood a few paces to the right of his father. He would say that he was keeping quiet out of respect, but Loki knew he was just trying not to make things any worse for him. It was an odd feeling. 'She wouldn't want us to fight!' Thor's grief-stricken words spoken as they journeyed to fight Malekith, swam into his memory. It had not been easy, but they had not fought since. In spite of everything, the old wounds were somehow starting to heal and their trust of one-another was slowly returning. It was an uneasy truce between them, but a truce none the less. And even Loki wouldn't argue that it did not feel like a sturdy step in the right direction. Loki had plenty of time to think about his actions while he stewed in Asgard's prison. True, he still had a skewed, conflicting sense of right and wrong, but regret for his actions was inching its way into his heart as well. Again, something he would rather die than admit aloud – to anyone. Least of all Thor and Odin.

"I care not for your reasons." Odin replied. "Only my own. I have no heir as Thor does not desire the Throne. I would give it to you, Loki, but you must be worthy." Loki's eyes widened in shock. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't this. Again, his eyes darted to Thor. The big blonde buffoon had the dumbest smile on his face.

"And how am I to prove my worth?" Loki inquired, completely certain that Odin was only doing this for himself and that the Throne would never be his. Odin did not reply immediately, instead, he turned away and lifted the spear Gungnir from where he had left it resting against the side of the ruined throne.

"Like Thor before you, you have much to learn. So you too will be banished to Midgard for a time. Until you understand what it really means to be the king of Asgard. When you are worthy of it, you will be able to wield Gungnir and your powers will be returned to you. Then, you will be able to return to Asgard and I will give you the throne when I feel you are ready." Odin explained, carefully watching Loki for any sign of rebellion. "There will be conditions, though. You will have to make amends for what you did in Midgard and must earn the forgiveness of the people."

"If I refuse?" Loki asked, with a nonchalant shrug.

"Then you will rot in the dungeons until Ragnarok." Odin hissed, squaring his shoulders and narrowing his eye. "I also need not remind you that Frigga is no longer here to protect you. If you should decide to hatch another scheme instead of taking advantage of this far too generous offer, I will not hesitate to have you executed. There is no reason for the wasting of resources keeping you imprisoned." Loki looked to Thor who stared at him pleadingly. Suddenly, Loki was overcome by the strangest feeling of gratitude for Thor. In spite of everything, the idiot still thought he had some good in him. Maybe it was time to bury his past. He could not fall any further after all. And Frigga may not have been his real mother, but she had always believed in him. He would do this for her knowing that it was what she would have wanted. Maybe she would even be proud of him if he actually managed to learn something from all this. Loki swallowed his pride and knelt before Odin.

"I accept." He said, his voice shaking very uncharacteristically. He tried to not imagine the sappy smile that was surely adorning Thor's face.

Robin fidgeted miserably in her none too comfortable (not to mention filthy) vinyl chair in the waiting room of her college's counseling office. Her emerald green eyes darted to the clock constantly. She never was that good at sitting still, unless she was being threatened by something and hoping not to be noticed. Her gaze fell on the open door as she contemplated just making a casual escape. no one would even notice. If there was any place else in the world she could be, she would have been there in a heartbeat. The thing was, her life had gone to the dogs and it had all happened so fast that she had just stopped trying to fight it. She let out a frustrated sigh and ran her fingers through her frizzy mane of copper curls. She had gone from being an honor student to literally failing out of all her classes. Once was a time that her dream of being an archaeologist and scholar of ancient religion had been within her grasp. Now it all might as well have been tossed to the side of the highway all neatly tied up in a black plastic bag, while everything else fell apart around her. The councilors would tell her that she would have to retake all the classes. But she wouldn't. There was no point. She hadn't even paid any of the tuition for the current semester aside from the registration fee. Her grades were too low to keep receiving financial aid and she was flat-out broke.

It had all started when her father died, leaving her to run a dying business. She blamed him, hated him even. He wasn't her real father anyway, just her step-father that tolerated her but never really loved her. Robin and her mother were in debt threefold what they would make in a year. But what was she supposed to do? Robin was out of options and she knew it. All of her so called friends never had time for her when she actually had a day off from running errands, or her father's antique shop. Well, her best friend would have – if he hadn't been killed during that crazy alien attack in New York the year before. So, she didn't even have a social life anymore on top of it all. Her family had also long since been estranged save for one uncle. But Robin didn't know him well either, just that he worked on computer network maintenance for the infamous Stark Industries. She would have given anything to go back in time to be being a teenager. Maybe spending every Saturday in detention for some stupid prank gone wrong had been a pain in the ass, but at least then she still knew how to smile. Yeah, the goldfish in the school swimming pool and fake snakes in the gym lockers had been pretty great. And totally worth the suspension that followed. She felt the slightest tug at the corners of her lips, but it was far from a real smile.

"Robin Sheffield?" A secretary asked, distracting her from her thoughts. Wordlessly she followed.

Two hours and a Burger King kid's meal later (Hey, they had Pokemon toys), Robin finally dragged herself home. As expected, her financial aid was cut. And knowing she would never be able to go back in the foreseeable future, Robin officially dropped out of college. Well, she did have her bachelor's. It could be worse. But it was still disappointing and left a bitter taste in her mouth. As she trudged into her mother's house, Robin felt weighted down and trapped like never before. She was never going to finish college. She was never going to be an archaeologist. She was never going to be anything. She would rot in that dusty antique shop for the rest of her life and nothing she ever did would mean anything. She was going die one day and no one would even remember her. She was just another pointless human life, a mere speck of dust, living in the shadows of those far greater than her.

When she hung up the keys to her beloved black Pontiac Grand Am (the only thing that had never let her down), she noticed a few papers and a handwritten note on the kitchen table. Curiously, she took a look. The note was from her mother, of course. She was working two jobs to try and make ends meet. Mary Sheffield was an optometry office manager by day and a convenience store cashier by night. Sometimes, she even worked weekends at the deli her friend owned. Which meant that she and Robin rarely saw each other. But still, her mother was everything to her. She was all Robin had left. She picked up the note:

Robin,

I decided that we are going to close the shop. We can't pay the rent anymore. I know that you're dropping out of college. We need to fix things somehow. Your uncle Jeff has this job lined up for you, and if all goes well, you'll make more than enough money for both of us and be able to go back to school next year. So call, get it all sorted out, and for the love of God, DON'T fuck it up. This is your LAST chance.

Love from,

Mom

PS – Make sure you don't forget to eat dinner and feed the cat.

Robin raised her eyebrows and looked at the other paper. It was a casually written letter neatly printed under a Stark Industries letterhead. Stark Industries. Did that mean she would have to work in New York City? Probably. Her uncle did. Robin groaned and sat down at the table to read this one. It wasn't that she had anything against New York, it was just all those memories of her friend that had died there. …And the fact that she lived a good three hours from there in rural northern New Jersey. If her mother needed something, she wouldn't be there to help. What was she thinking? Swearing under her breath, Robin read the letter.

Pepper, Rhodey, Jeff, Happy and that guy from HR (Sorry forgot your name):

Due to construction of Potts Tower and several other steaming piles of bullshit - I mean ongoing personal projects (Avengers stuff), I need a new assistant. Mainly just someone to keep Stark tower in order. You know, manage finances, keep everything tidy, etc. Except for where Bruce remodeled the floor with Loki's face – that stays as a souvenir of "glorious purpose".

So yeah, Pepper's old job. I'd prefer someone outside of the company for reasons I don't want to discuss. If any of you know someone who's up to it, let me know. Must be willing to put up with and/or stroke my ego, sometimes escort one-night stands off the property, and be on call to pick my drunk ass up when Jarvis won't let me drive home after a party at some shady club in Manhattan. (Really should have thought over that protocol a bit more).

Yeah thanks,

Tony

Robin snorted and shook her head. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. She already knew how to manage finances from running the business. And if nothing else, it looked like Mr. Stark had a sense of humor. That would be a welcome change of pace. She was sick and tired of being surrounded by people that seemed to think the world would end if they laughed once in a while. It looked like her uncle had scribbled down a phone number at the bottom of the page and instructions to call when she had the chance. She pretty much already had the job if she wanted it, because apparently no one else did. Nervously, she fished her cell phone out of her purse and dialed.

"Yeah? Hello?" A man answered, sounding somewhat harassed.

"Mr. Stark? This is Robin Sheffield, Jeff's niece. I'm calling about the personal assistant job." Robin said nervously and fiddled with the slightly unstitched sleeve hem of her favorite Black Sabbath hoodie that she was wearing.

"Oh! Awesome! I was losing hope anyone would actually want the job, really. Apparently I'm the number one worst person to work for in the world. Or so I'm told. It's all yours, babe. I'll be in New York until Saturday, so come over to Stark tower when you're ready to start. I hate to be so short with you but I'm in the process of being dragged into a torture chamber – I mean a board meeting – so I can't chat right now." Tony replied, and Robin resisted the urge to giggle. Yeah, this couldn't be that bad, right? At least he sounded like someone she would probably get along with.

"Okay, I'll be there tomorrow afternoon." She replied, feeling hopeful for the first time since… well forever.

"Sounds like a date, sweetie. Bye now." Tony said and hung up. Well, that wasn't so bad, Robin thought to herself and looked up at the clock. It was just past three in the afternoon. She still had time to kill, and she knew just where she wanted to do that considering she probably wouldn't be leaving New York any time soon after tomorrow.

Loki paced the length of his cell aimlessly. Odin had insisted on putting him back in there for the time being while he made proper arrangements for Loki's banishment. He was like a caged animal. He wanted out and there was no way out. If there was, he would have found it long before Thor had freed him to travel to Svartalfheim. He peered through the forcefield, trying to see the stairs in hopes of some sign that Thor and Odin were on their way to take him to Heimdall. It was a different cell from last time, though, and all he could see were some dark elf prisoners in the cell across from him. They glared back with distaste as if they somehow knew that he'd had a hand in Malekith's downfall. Loki felt his lips curl into a sneer. It served them right to be rotting in here. What was he thinking? Agreeing to this was stupid, but at least he would be out of this cell. Odin's power was strong, but Loki's knowledge of magic was expansive. He would find some way to regain his powers and take Gungnir – worthy or not. Or, this one time, maybe he could just play by the rules and get what he wanted all along anyway. He would have to decide later, when he knew what it was actually like to be without his magic. Odin couldn't take everything from him, that he knew. He had no power over his Jotun heritage. If nothing else his immortality and likely his ability to manipulate ice would be left intact. Odin also hopefully knew nothing of his possession of the casket of ancient winters, but without his magic he most likely would not be able to use it.

"Loki?" Loki snapped out of his thoughts and all but ran to the front of the cell where Thor was standing with Sif at his side. She was dressed for battle with her long ebony hair tied back in a braid. Curiously he wondered where she was going because surely it wouldn't be with him. Odin wouldn't be that stupid, would he? Loki fought the urge to roll his eyes and comment on how happy she looked to see him. It was hardly surprising. "Are you ready?" Thor inquired when he did not answer.

"Yes." Loki said simply. "Now let me out of here so I can get this over with."

"You should be grateful for this chance. And you should also know if you decide to betray us again I will - " Sif snarled, shoving Thor aside. Loki regarded her with a nonchalant expression.

"Oh? What? Kill me? Take a number and get in line behind Odin, Thor, the Chitauri and everyone in New York City." Loki replied flippantly, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"I would take this more seriously if I were you, brother." Thor said in his best attempt to sound stern and wise. He too was dressed for battle. Did they expect him to try something so soon?

"I am taking this seriously." Loki replied, honestly. Which surprised even him. Thor must have seen the emotion in his face as he smiled and immediately released the force field that kept Loki trapped in the cell. Sif muttered something about Thor being a delusional idiot under her breath and started walking away without them.

"I am glad. Mother would be happy that you want to make amends." Thor said as he led Loki out of the dungeons. Loki chose not to reply. He felt oddly nauseous. He had never been without his powers before. How would he be able to defend himself in a world full of people that hated him? I should have thought this through, he complained inwardly. "I asked if I could go with you. But apparently there is something going on in Alfheim that needs fixing so, you will be on your own. But worry not! All will be well and you will be home before you know it!" Thor rambled on as Loki followed him in a silence no less stony than Sif's. Occasionally she turned to watch him out of the corner of her eye as they made their way out of the prison. And that was how the entire trip to the gatehouse went. Thor babbled on about how Loki was going to be just fine and how glad he was to have his brother back, etc. And Sif, she just led the way with every step carefully measured. Her body was tense like a cat waiting to pounce as if she expected Loki to turn on them and make an escape attempt. She did not speak a single word. But then, could he blame her? Before Frigga's death and fighting alongside Thor in Svartalfheim, Loki probably would have flown the coup at the first possible opportunity – even if it was suicide. Not that he saw his current fate as being much better than, if not, suicide.

"Heimdall, we are here!" Thor called out to the gatekeeper. The dark skinned Aesir turned his amber eyes first to the golden god before they fell upon Loki who followed at a distance, his hands still in chains. Loki could almost feel Heimdall judging him, as if his gaze saw through to his very soul. Beside him stood Odin leaning impassively on Gungnir. Odin nodded to Heimdall and jerked his head in the direction of Sif and Thor in an obvious gesture that he wanted them to pass through the Bifrost to Alfheim first. Loki seethed with anger at that. He trusted Thor more than Odin and would have rather had him be there. Apparently sensing this, Thor gave him the sappiest farewell and hugged him tightly enough to nearly smother him. Loki couldn't even shove him off because of the chains. Instead he tried (and failed) to tell himself that this was better than fighting with Thor. Awkwardly, he regained his balance as he watched Sif and Thor disappear into the Bifrost. Apprehensively, he looked to Odin.

"I will send you to a place near New York, but far enough away that hopefully you may find someone willing to help you that does not recognize you, or hate you on principal." Odin explained. "Your magical powers will be removed along with your ability to shape-shift. Due to your Jotun heritage, you will still have your immortality, but not your resilience. You will not be able to die, but you can very easily become injured or ill. You will also not be able to heal yourself with magic, so you would do well to remember that. For all other intents and purposes, you will be mortal."

"I understand." Loki replied dully his face carefully vacant of any emotion. He had mostly already figured it out for himself. Though hearing it aloud made his prospects seem all that much bleaker.

"When you can remove Gungnir from the stone – without trickery, you will be allowed to return. Now, I give you one last chance to refuse this trial. Are you certain you wish to walk this path? There will be no turning back." Odin demanded, his knuckles white from how tightly he gripped Gungnir. Loki looked to Heimdall who still studied him intently. He could tell if he lied, somehow he always knew. But was it still a lie if he himself was unsure of the sincerity of the answer?

"I do not desire death. Nor to rot in a cell until the end times." Loki answered, making eye contact with Heimdall whose expression softened somewhat. Likely, only someone as observant as Loki would have even noticed the slight change in the stoic gatekeeper's face. But strange though it was, it gave him courage. "I will walk this path."

"So be it." Odin replied. "There will be no more second chances." Loki nodded mutely as Odin pressed his hand to his chest and he felt nearly every ounce of his power draining out of him. When it was done he swayed on his feet, the sense of weakness utterly overwhelming him at first. But to his surprise, a firm hand caught him and helped him to regain his balance. Shaken, he looked up at Heimdall who held him lightly by his shoulder.

"Do not disappoint your brother." Heimdall said so that only he could hear him. Loki made to reply in the affirmative, but could not find his voice. Heimdall seemed to understand and released him to open the Bifrost.

"Loki Odinson, I cast you out of Asgard until such a time as you are worthy to return!" Odin shouted and Roughly pushed Loki into the Bifrost. He cried out involuntarily in a combination of entirely unexpected pain from Odin's rough handling and disorientation as the Bifrost swallowed him. Thor had not exaggerated. This was not pleasant in a mortal form. Thank mercy he hadn't eaten that morning or it surely would not have remained in his stomach. A few seconds later, the tell-tale whoosh of Gungnir filled his ears as Odin hurled it into the Bifrost behind him. His last thought before he blacked out was of Frigga and that she would have been proud of him for making this choice.

High Point State Park. It was the highest point in New Jersey, and the huge stone Obelisk shaped monument at the very top could be seen on the horizon in almost every direction in the surrounding areas in both Pennsylvania and New York state. It was a very well-known local landmark and a busy place for picnics and family outings during the warmer months. For Robin, it was no exception. She had spent countless days there as a child during the summer. As she got older, she even did volunteer work there either keeping the inside of the monument clean, or accepting money from those that wanted to pay to climb the stairs to the top of it. It was probably the reason she was always in such good shape. That was a LOT of stairs and she climbed them at least three times a day when she was working there. It wasn't summer anymore, though. It was late autumn and the park was technically closed. But she had keys, and all the park rangers knew her. No one would be bothered by her poking around if they saw her. Not that she was poking around, really. She was just standing at the base of the behemoth obelisk looking over the edge of the concrete wall surrounding it. She could see nearly all of the rolling hills of Sussex county New Jersey sprawled before her. If she turned either way she would be facing New York or Pennsylvania. Oh, and that over there was the Delaware River. Robin shivered as the chill wind tore across the top of the mountain. It was always windy there, and a little cold even in the summer. Inside the monument, the wind made eerie howling noises. Sometimes Robin could swear someone was trapped inside howling to get out. The whole place just had that weird, haunted vibe and she was especially sensitive to that sort of thing. It did not make her love the old monument any less.

Her worn to death black Sabbath sweatshirt was hardly appropriate for the weather, though. She rubbed her completely numb hands together and stuffed them under her armpits. She refused to leave just yet. Robin felt more at home in this place than anywhere and God only knew when she'd see it again if the whole Tony Stark thing worked out. She laughed quietly to herself. She knew plenty of women who would kill to personally work for Stark, yet here she was dreading it. Ironic, much? As she was lost in thought, the sky suddenly darkened. Curiously she looked up. It was the wrong time of the year for thunderstorms. Either way, rule number one to working there during one was get the hell away from the monument and go hang out at the ranger's station. ...Because it got struck by lightning all the time. Being there in a storm was nothing short of dangerous. But before Robin could even react, a tremendous rumble of thunder shook the ground, throwing her off balance.

"Fuck! Really? A thunderstorm? Now?" Robin swore as she started to run for cover from the immediate downpour of rain. But just as she started down the stairs that led back down the hill, a huge bolt of lightning struck mere feet behind her on the flat space in front of the door to go inside the monument. She screamed in terror as the force of it sent her flying face-first down the stairs into an awkward heap. Gasping for breath, she pushed herself to her knees. Some bruises, definitely. Her knees and both palms where scraped pretty badly too from the asphalt where she'd landed. Nothing seemed broken or bleeding too much at least. That was pretty damn lucky. She could have been a French fry. Thoroughly shaken, Robin turned to look at where the lightening had struck and nearly passed out from the shock of what she saw.

An odd almost Nordic looking circle design was deeply etched into the concrete. And at its center lay a man. Or maybe it was a women, she couldn't tell. Only that the figure had shoulder length, slightly curly black hair and seemed to be dressed in some kind of black and green leather coat. But that was strange. There hadn't been anyone there but her, right? Awkwardly she tried to flatten her hair that had gone all frizzy and puffy from the electricity in the air.

"Hey! Are you all right? Can you hear me?" Robin called running back up the stairs toward the person, her clothes fast becoming saturated from the downpour. She didn't get a response so she dug her cell phone out and started to dial the number for the local police, but stopped, her breath catching in her throat as when she saw just who it was that was lying in the center of the circle. She stared, gaping like a fish at the man that had been all over the news two years ago for orchestrating the alien attack on New York city. The same attack that had claimed the life of her best friend, Sam. "Loki." She breathed, backing up a pace. Nervously she looked at the sky. The storm wasn't letting up. If she left him there, he'd probably get struck by lightning and die. And while he probably deserved it, Robin knew she'd feel like shit if she left him there – no matter who he was. She'd learned a long time ago not to let hatred blind her into making stupid decisions. She did, however pick up her phone and dial a different number – And reached the voicemail box of one Mr. Tony Stark.

"Hi. Mr. Stark. This is Robin Sheffield again. I know you're busy being tortured to death as I speak, but I have a problem and I think it might require some, er, Avengerly intervention. Immediately. Please call me back. Like, yesterday. I'm not kidding." She said quickly and hung up as she ran back up the stairs to Loki. She gasped when she noticed that he was actually awake, breathing heavily and looking up at the sky with a blank look on his face. As Robin knelt down beside him to make sure that he was, in fact, not dying another tremendous crack of thunder tore through the sky. This time she had grabbed Loki's arm and reached out to hold onto the railing near her just in time to keep them both from being sent sprawling again. Loki flinched and tried weakly to turn away, Robin reacted in the total opposite fashion and whipped her head around to see a golden spear drop out of the sky and embed itself in the stone at the base of the monument a few feet from her. She released her grip on Loki and stared open-mouthed at the spear in in horror. God, that would have sucked if it hit one of them. Okay, maybe not if it was Loki. But that still would have been an unholy mess. And, as suddenly as it had started, the storm vanished. Trembling, Robin wiped blood from her scraped hands on her jeans and looked down at Loki with wide eyes.

"Where… am… Who are..." He started to say when he noticed her presence at last and passed out cold.