Hai guys! My hand is all better except for one fingernail that is about to fall off And I had a wonderful time on my vacation. A few things:
I am NOT giving up on my heroine story, I swear. I have a friend who is an ex-heroine addict who is going to help me with it, but I will continue it soon.
I can't write one shots. Ever. This was supposed to be a one shot, it ended up major long and the ending definitely leaves room to continue. But, I like it. I'm pretty happy with it, and it will still be short, probably just one other chapter.
I'm also about to start doing some drabbles, those I can do. I'm gonna start out with a couple then I'll take prompts/pairing requests/ect. So, for now, I hope you enjoy this. My fiancé is going back to school next week for his last year, so I'll have a lot of free time soon.
Enjoy this story and let me know what you think, and have a great day! :3
Loki awoke with a start to a loud pounding on his door. He jumped a mile in the air and fell out of his bed tangled in his sheets. He stared at the door with wide eyes and listened silently for any more sound outside. Seconds later a loud booming voice made Loki sigh and shake his head.
"Brother, wake up! Man of Iron wishes to take us out to explore this magnificent city today!" Loki rose and slowly padded to the door, opening it to the sight of his older brother's ridiculous grin.
"Thor, what could be so great about something these pathetic mortals made?" Loki said gesturing out the large bay window that overlooked the city. Loki had spent many nights staring out it when he couldn't sleep, marveling at the glowing lights and passing cars and music ringing through the air; truly this realm had captured his interest, but it would never do to admit that. Thor chuckled and clapped the younger god on the back.
"Oh Loki come now, even you must admit that the technology and architecture of this realm is fascinating."
"No Thor, I do not. I do not find anything on this planet remotely fascinating." Loki scoffed and made to return to his bed, but then when Thor's face fell considerably he sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.
"Oh fine, I suppose there is no harm in getting out of this damned tower for a while."
Thor's bright smile returned instantly and he pulled Loki into a bone crushing hug. "I knew you would agree to accompany me on this quest!"
"Thor..cannot..breathe." Loki choked out, and when Thor released him apologetically he rubbed at his shoulder, "this is hardly what I would call a quest you oaf, there is nothing in this world that could present us with a challenge."
"No, no battling today brother, this is merely to be an adventure of merriment!"
Loki rolled his eyes once more, but couldn't help the smirk that played across his features; even after everything that had happened, he was still Thor's little brother, and he still loved the big oaf. "Well leave me so I may get dressed, I certainly am not going anywhere like this." He gestured to his ruffled hair and baggy sweatpants. Thor smiled brightly and reached his hand up to ruffle Loki's raven hair, which Loki pulled away from and abruptly turned away from his brother, clearly aggravated. Thor then turned and went into the kitchen to have some poptarts. Today was truly a wonderful day.
Half an hour later Loki made his way into the kitchen, fully dressed in black jeans and a tightly fitted green v-neck, hair curling around his pale face. He grabbed an apple from the bowl on the glass table and began to nibble on it. It seemed the only other man who was accompanying them was Steve, for Clint and Natasha were on their honeymoon and Bruce was in Brazil being a doctor. Steve and Tony were squabbling as usual and the TV was on full volume; Stark was really an insufferable man. Loki hadn't realized he was watching the two until Tony stopped and walked up to him, snatching the half eaten apple from his hand.
"Give that back you fool." Loki demanded. Tony gave it back only after taking a big bite out of it; Loki made a face but continued eating it silently, ignoring Tony when he sat down beside the god, eating a pink frosted poptart.
"So Rudolph, you ready to go explore the city?"
Loki turned to glare at him "I am not a reindeer." Tony had shown Loki a picture of said reindeer a few weeks ago and Loki was appalled to find he had been compared to such a hideous creature. 'It looks like a bilshnipe with hair.' he had said. Loki had been living in Stark towers now for several months, being banished to earth as punishment for the destruction and chaos he had caused. He would never admit it, but Loki had grown rather fond of the genius as he was the only one of the group who was a match for his wit; they were also alike in many ways, leading to some moments of bonding.
Now Tony chuckled and patted the god's cheek, only because he knew Loki hated it. Sure enough:
"I have told you many times not to touch me in that manner Stark; do it again, I dare you."
"Ooh I'm so scared of the mighty Loki, he's gonna smite me with his glowstick of destiny. Wait a second," Tony pretended to think hard for a moment, then snapped his fingers as if a great realization had just dawned on his, "you don't have that anymore, do you? In fact, you don't have any of your powers. It's my lucky day."
Loki snarled "I still have my hands and I could easily crush your skull with nothing more than my fingertips. Do not forget your place mortal, I am a god."
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before. Tell me, what happened the last time you tried to remind us that you're a god and we're beneath you?" Loki visibly flinched at the memory and Tony snickered; sometimes the demi-god needed to be taken down a few notches, and Tony was all too happy to assist.
Twenty minutes later they were exiting the elevator of Stark towers and stepping out into the bright sunlight that was bearing down on the pavement beneath their feet. It was mid-July and one of the hottest summers on record for New York; of course that wasn't a problem since it was still just in the mid-90's. Or so they thought.
They tromped around the city gleefully, exploring various shops and monuments and such. After about an hour Loki started to feel a bit unwell, but he thought little of it, assuming he was just coming down with a mild midgardian illness of some sort. However, as the day wore along and the sun blazed hotter, he began to feel miserable. The heat was causing him severe distress and pain, but still he refused to show it; he simply trudged along behind the others, using all of his strength to stay upright. After a while they stopped at what Stark had called a hot dog stand, and Loki immediately sat down on a nearby bench, holding his head in his hands. He was pouring sweat and felt very dizzy and slightly nauseous; his entire body ached and burned as if he had been lit on fire, and his head throbbed violently. He heard Thor calling his name worriedly, but his brother's voice sounded far away and when he raised his head to look at him, his world spun wildly and he saw dark spots swimming in his vision.
"Thor help me." he managed to whisper before he slumped and slid off the bench in a dead faint.
"Brother! Loki, wake up!" Thor knelt beside his younger brother whose skin was now alarmingly pale and covered with beads of sweat, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He turned to Tony, eyes shining with panic, "Tony, something has made my brother very ill! Please, we must seek medical care for him!"
Tony nodded, looking pretty worried himself, "Should I call an ambulance?"
"No, these doctors do not know how to care for those of us of a different race. Please phone Banner!"
"He's in Brazil Thor, it would take him hours to get here! Let's just get him back to the tower then we will figure out what to do." With that the hero's sped off, sickly ex-super villain in tow. Thankfully, they were already near the tower and it took them mere minutes to get back there. Once inside Thor laid Loki on the cool tile floor, then it occurred to him.
"The heat! The heat is what has caused my brother to fall ill! We must get his body temperature down immediately!" Tony would have laughed at how overdramatic everything was in Thor's eyes if he wasn't so worried about Loki; turned out he had grown fond of the god too. Tony went to his freezer and got out some ice packs and knelt beside Loki, meaning to place them around his neck; but he stopped and gasped as Loki's skin began to turn blue, the bright color blossoming across his ivory complexion and his breathing slowing considerably. The genius was about to freak out, but when Thor sighed in relief Tony relaxed too; clearly whatever was happening was normal and had saved him. Loki sighed and his eyes slowly opened, a shocking red rather than the usual green, and darted from the ceiling to Thor to Tony.
"What in the nine?" He started to sit up and then appeared to realize something, for a look of dread crossed his face. "Oh no." he breathed, and with that he got up and ran from the room into the elevator at the end of the hall, hot tears springing into his eyes.
They were silent for a long moment before Tony finally broke the silence.
"So, he's a smurf or something?"
Thor's brow furrowed in confusion; clearly he didn't understand that reference either. He then sighed and spoke gently.
"My brother is of jotun decent, he is what is known as a frost giant, although he is much smaller than the rest of his race. He is very insecure about his heritage as he believes himself to be a monster."
"So he's not really your brother then." Tony stated.
Thor rounded on Tony and spoke defensively "Not by blood no, but he is still my brother in every way that counts."
"Okay okay, sorry," Tony held his hands up in surrender and Thor backed off, "so, you wanna go find him?"
Thor seemed to ponder this for a moment "No, I believe it would be more beneficial if you went after him."
"Me? Why me?" Tony asked incredulously.
"Because he trusts you, and he will talk to you," Thor answered simply, then pulled his best pleading look, "please friend Stark, I believe he will listen to you and open up to you; if I go he is likely to simply shut down as he always does. Tell me, do you believe my brother a monster?"
Tony thought about that; he had thought of Loki as a monster at one time, since he tried to take over earth and threw him out a window, but because he was a different race? He saw no reason to, so he shrugged and said "I don't think so, blue skin doesn't mean you're Michael Myers or something."
Thor ignored the reference and put a hand on Tony's shoulder, staring intently into his eyes "Then please, I ask that you go to him and tell him so."
Tony rolled his eyes dramatically "fine, I'll go find him and tell him he's a beautiful princess. Happy?"
Thor smiled and nodded "I am sure he is at the pool, he has always had a fondness for water. I thank you again, my friend." Tony simply snorted and turned towards the elevator, but Thor knew he really did care; he just had a strange way of showing it.
The elevator dinged and Tony stepped off onto the floor with the pool and running track, among other things. As he entered the pool room across the hall he could tell Loki was there by the freezing temperature and the thin sheet of ice over the pools surface. Tony sat down on the edge and saw Loki's blue form sitting at the bottom of the pool, black hair billowing eerily in the water. Tony wondered if he should even disturb him, but then shrugged and tapped on the ice, which abruptly disappeared. Suddenly the room was back to its normal temperature and the once again pale god's head bobbed out of the water, pushing his hair out of his eyes and glaring at Tony.
"May I ask why you have disturbed me Stark?"
"Oh you were already disturbed, didn't need me for that. I simply interrupted your..meditating? Trying to bring about the new ice age?"
In a flash the god was over him, bearing down on him menacingly. "I do not wish to be mocked, nor will I tolerate it. I am well aware of what I am Stark, I need not be reminded." with that Loki fell to the ground in a heap, and Tony was shocked when seconds later his shoulders began shaking with silent sobs, his face buried in his hands. Loki hated that so much about himself; he always cried, and it did nothing but humiliate and degrade him.
Tony knelt beside the quivering god and placed a hand on his shoulder, which Loki jerked away from as if it were poisoned.
"Do not touch me!" Loki snapped, and Tony sighed, running his fingers through his tousled hair. Well, he could cross counselor off his list.
"Look Loki, I'm an ass, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, and I know what you're going through-"
"Stop right there," Loki's head snapped up, eyes burning with rage, "you know nothing Stark. You have no idea how it feels to find out you have been lied to your whole life, to be betrayed, to find out you are the monster that parents tell their children about at night," Loki stood and brought his face within inches of Tony's, hissing menacingly, "There is a reason I do not tell you certain things; it is because you are an arrogant, self-obsessed fool who thinks that just because you have some money and a flying suit you are better than everyone else."
"And you think that because you're a god, and a prince of Asgard, you are better than everyone else," Tony countered, not backing down an inch, "but you're not really a prince of Asgard, are you?"
Loki sneered and pushed the shorter man hard, so hard he fell backwards and into the chilly pool water. That irked Tony to no end, to be pushed into his pool in his house; but Loki still needed his help, and he was his sort-of friend, so Tony climbed out of the water, unabashed, and took Loki by the shoulders, forcing the god to look at him.
"Loki, you are not a monster. When I look at you, I see a lot of things and not all of them are so great, but I do not see a monster in any way. It doesn't matter what race you were born to, what matters as who you are inside, and you are a good person. Well, somewhat anyway."
Loki narrowed his eyes but didn't pull away "You would make a terrible counselor Stark."
"You're probably right about that, but that's not the point. The point is, you're not a monster, okay?"
Loki chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "You know little Stark, you cannot properly determine what I am when you know so little of the things I have done." Loki raised his head slightly to look into Tony's eyes for a brief moment then stepped away from Tony and made his way over to the elevator, probably planning to lock himself in his room for the rest of the day. Tony stood there for a moment, stunned. It wasn't the god's words or his actions that shocked the billionaire so, but his eyes. They held so much hurt, so much bitterness, so much betrayal. It was painful to see, even for someone like Tony. He couldn't imagine what could happen to a person to cause them to hurt so much, so he stood and headed to his lab.
It was time he read up on his Norse mythology.