A/N: Written for Ohbrie for the frostirongiftexchange on tumblr.
Tony jerks to attention at Jarvis' blaring alarms in his workshop, ruining the solder on one of his gauntlets.
"What the hell?"
"Impact of unidentified object in the vicinity of the mansion in 10 seconds," Jarvis says, sounding way too calm for what he's actually saying. Tony scrambles up from his seat, blurting out orders for his suit.
Though it's way too late for any countermeasures, even if he had any for UFOs deciding to drop down on top of him. With what his life has become, that's definitely an oversight and one he's going to have to work on. Helpfully, Jarvis puts up a display.
Tony can only stare as the whatever-it-is misses his mansion by only feet and crashes straight into his driveway. A cloud of dust and debris accompanies the ground shaking impact. Tony winces as he hears the crack even in his workshop.
"Jarvis?"
"Running scans," Jarvis says. "Object appears to have broken upon impact. Organic material found within the impact crater...it looks to be some kind of wood, sir."
Wood? Tony gapes at the display, still only showing a haze of smoke. With that kind of impact, speed and projected initial height, any wood should have burned up long ago. There'd have only been little splinters at the most.
"Is it safe?"
Tony can't imagine why wood would be unsafe, but it had just fallen out of the sky from who knows where and survived the impact.
"Scans show only slight traces of gamma radiation and interplanetary dust particles," Jarvis sounds slightly puzzled at the last. Tony is too. Space wood? Wood from space? Bizarre and yet also very interesting. Now that he isn't worried about his house coming down around him, he's getting intrigued.
"Sir, I recommend contamination protocols. If the object truly is from space, there is no way to ascertain whether the material is harmful with my outer scanners. Given that the wood did not burn up upon reentry, it is also possible foreign pathogens have also survived."
Tony winces, fingers drumming at his reactor. He thinks of his blood toxicity levels and projected life span. Then he thinks of the opportunity of studying weird space wood, something no one has ever seen before.
"Fuck it," he says, getting to his feet. "Jarvis, what's the suit's rating for the protocols?"
"Less than ideal, but within acceptable margins," Jarvis sounds disapproving. Tony doesn't care.
"Well then, let's go see what exactly dropped by."
Now safely in his suit, all Tony can do is stare at the crater that used to be his driveway. It is filled with a pile of branches and twigs, a few of them covered in bits of moss. They don't look like anything special at all, apart from the impossibility of them surviving a fall from space.
As gently as possible, he makes his way into the crater, picking up random rock and twig samples for Jarvis to analyze later. There's a large bundle of branches in the center of the thing, so he aims for that. Jarvis' continuous scans don't indicate anything special about it, but he hopes there'll be some sort of indication of why this happened and where it'd come from. No one just drops a freakin tree from space.
Something in the center of the crater moves. Tony freezes, images of aliens and weird flesh eating worms running through his head. He raises his gauntlets, just in case. Jarvis' voice in his ear calmly projects the size of the thing that's moving. It's about the size of a house cat. Though he's having a strange difficulty registering what exactly it is - none of the readings are any different from the rest of the wood surrounding them.
A very faint whine reaches his ears as whatever it is fails to shift one of the bigger pieces of wood over itself. Tony takes a deep breath and lifts the piece out of the way. He blinks down at what he sees.
A grin stretches over his face, because the...plant? Alien? Definitely alien, in front of him is one of the cutest things he's ever seen.
Large moss green eyes stare at him from a wooden face framed by long strands of hair that definitely look like moss. It has no nose, but if it had, Tony is sure it would be wrinkled in distaste. Its mouth is certainly scrunched up to indicate its displeasure.
It's barely larger than a cat and entirely made out of wood. It looks like a tiny little tree person.
"I am Loki of Asgard!" It states, voice far too squeaky for its attempted solemnity. Tony giggles.
Loki frowns, smacking one little hand against its (his?) knee. He's pouting and it's the most adorable thing Tony has ever seen. There's no way he's not keeping him, even if he wants to take over the planet or something. Tony has a hard time imagining Loki could ever succeed. Well, he might if he used those puppy dog eyes as a weapon.
"You are all beneath me!"
Tony loses it and starts laughing as Loki looks ever more disgruntled.
By the time Tony brings him into the mansion, goes through decontamination protocols and scans to determine there's no danger to him, Loki is fast asleep against him. The armor can't be very comfortable. Then again, Loki is made of wood, so who knows what's comfortable for him?
Still, it leaves Tony with an armful of plant alien and no idea what to do with him. Attempts at communicating hadn't gone very well. Loki only managed to repeat variations of his name and general superiority in various disgruntled tones until Tony figured out he couldn't say anything else. Jarvis postulated it might have something to do with however he made sounds because most of the ones he makes are outside the hearing range of humans. It will take a while for Tony to come up with something to make that conversion into a usable translator.
In the meantime, he has one of the bots dump out one of his many decorative plants and places Loki inside its former pot. Loki immediately yawns and curls up happily in the dark soil. Tony has to stop himself from 'awwing'. He is a grown man, he does not 'awww' at things, especially not cute aliens dropped at his doorstep.
He moves the pot to a spot near the window. His entire mansion is well lit because of the floor to ceiling windows, but he thinks Loki will appreciate the view.
With a last lingering look at him and a directive to Jarvis to keep an eye on him, Tony goes down into the workshop to investigate the remaining wood piles more thoroughly.
The next morning, Tony almost does a spit take into his coffee when he sees Pepper examining Loki. Loki, the absolute little shit, is holding very very still, looking like nothing but a very weird wooden sculpture.
"Hey, Pep," Tony greets her. She turns to look at him, expression edging into a frown. Tony isn't sure if it's because of the clear lack of sleep due to his clothes from yesterday and dishevelled hair or the still wrecked driveway. At least he'd picked up all the debris and lugged it into his workshop.
"Does your lack of sleep have anything to do with the mess outside?" she asks, fully turning away from Loki. Tony is about to answer her, when Loki finally decides to move. He has a devious smirk on his little face, even as he blinks up at Tony all false innocence.
Tony's eyes widen.
"Um yeah, funny story about that. Also, definitely connected. Would you believe me if I said a mini meteorite landed on the driveway?"
Pepper narrows her eyes, but sighs.
"Knowing you? Yes, I actually think I would. Please tell me you at least followed biohazard protocols with whatever landed before you spent the whole night scanning it?"
Tony puts a hand to his chest, all wounded dignity.
"Why, Miss Potts, would I ever not?"
"Do you want me to answer that or should I just play the footage of the hundred or so times you didn't?" she smiles. Tony grins and takes a sip of his coffee.
"Did you find anything interesting?" Pepper asks, already turning her focus to the papers she'd brought for him.
Behind her, Loki waves at Tony, his smirk widening.
"Uh, you could say that," Tony says, not looking away from Loki. He glares at him, hoping he'll keep quiet. No such luck.
"I am Loki, of Asgard!"
Pepper shrieks and jumps away, papers scattering everywhere. She whirls around, only to stop in amazement at the sight of Loki waving at her, eyes glinting with mischief.
"Tony," she says, voice shaking, "Your plant is waving at me."
"I am Loki!" Loki says. His tone is indignant, as though to indicate he is not anyone's plant.
"He's not my plant," Tony obliges, smirking at the way Loki preens a bit at that.
"What is he?" Pepper asks, taking a tiny step forward. She'd been startled, but Tony can see that Loki's adorableness is winning her over.
"Beats me," Tony says, moving to Pepper's side, "We're having some issues communicating. Most of the sounds he makes are too high of a frequency for anyone to hear."
"Tony, this is insane. And he just fell outside? Should we call anyone? SHIELD?"
Tony had thought about the same thing. It hadn't taken him very long to decide not to. As fun as blowing the world's mind would be by revealing the existence of aliens, he didn't want anyone getting their hands on Loki. For now, secrecy is the best way to keep Loki safe.
"And never see the little guy again? As if. You'd subject him to Area 51?"
She deflates and Tony knows he won.
"Of course not. Just...be safe?"
Tony grins with humor he doesn't really feel.
"When aren't I?" he says, ignoring her look. Instead of saying anything however, she smiles at Loki.
"Well then, welcome to Earth. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get your host to sign some papers."
Loki, the traitor, just nods and happily waves at them as she pulls Tony away.
The next week is the best Tony has had since he first started feeling the effects of the palladium in his chest.
Loki, despite spending most of his time in the pot basking in the sunlight and soil, is an absolute menace. Tony has lost count of all the times he's had to have his bots clean up the dirt around the pot when Loki decided to go explore. And Loki gets into everything.
No matter how many times Tony tells him not to drink from the waterfall near the stairs, he inevitably finds Loki either drinking the water or bathing in it. Any of Tony's complaints are just met with a placcid "you are beneath me" that should not sound as cute as it does. Really, with how many times Loki has said it, Tony should be more wary of Loki killing him in his sleep.
But Loki seems oddly fond of him, often hitching a ride on his shoulders, imperiously pointing to things he wants to get a better look at or just petting Tony's hair. He seems fascinated by the strands.
Even when Tony is working, Loki is constantly underfoot. Though Tony would never admit it, it's nice to have someone around every time Jarvis has to tell him yet another element combination has failed. It's nice to be pulled away from his work, rather than staring at his displays in growing despair. Even if that often just means he's rushing to stop Loki from getting crushed by tools he keeps fiddling with and trying to pull off of shelves. Tony has the sneaking suspicion Loki is doing that on purpose. Loki, for all his cuteness and size, doesn't strike him as a child or an idiot. The look in his eyes when he sees the snaking lines of palladium poisoning near Tony's throat is far too knowing for that.
Tony sighs and rubs his face. Yet another failed combination. He's going to run out of permutations at this pace. Maybe he should just invent a new element that would fit his needs. Easy peasy, right?
"Sure, and water isn't wet," he mumbles to himself. Defeat. For now.
"You are all beneath me!" Loki says. Tony looks down to his left. Loki is standing beside him, holding up one of his chlorophyll shakes.
"Thanks buddy," Tony takes the shake and smiles at Loki. Loki just stares at him expectantly until Tony starts to drink it, grimacing at the taste. Loki nods and then clambers up onto his lap. He looks at the displays for a moment before disdainfully turning away.
"Yeah, I'm not impressed either," Tony says, absentmindedly petting Loki's hair. Well, moss that passed for his hair. Loki just mumbles something Tony can't make out and yawns, snuggling into his chest. Tony refuses to 'aww', though his chest tightens with something that might be affection.
"Let me tell you, this wasn't the best time you could've dropped by. I've got what...weeks? At most," Tony begins, voice low. He's talking to himself more than Loki, since the little guy is fast asleep.
"Still, Pepper knows about you. She's not going to let anything happen to you, even if you did give her splinters that one time. Don't deny it, you little shit, you did that on purpose."
He pets Loki's hair some more, marvelling at the softness. He notices little nubs growing at Loki's temples. They look like tiny horns. Tony smiles.
"She'll keep you safe. Maybe try to help you find your way home. If, you know, you wanted to leave. I should probably just let Jarvis handle the other permutations, work on making a translator for you. You're doing pretty well with only two sentences, but we can do better than that. Right? Right."
Tony sighs and leans back into his chair. He continues his stream of words, simply taking comfort in the closeness of another living creature.
He doesn't notice Loki's eyes opening and the frown that overtakes his face.
The next morning, Tony wakes up to find his living room in shambles. Loki's pot is broken, soil spilled everywhere. Jarvis informs him the wood piles they'd collected from the impact are also missing. Tony freezes.
There's no way someone would have been able to infiltrate his house, right? Not without him knowing. Not without them doing something to Jarvis and Jarvis is working fine.
"Where's Loki?" he asks and is already rushing down to his workshop.
"Sir-" Jarvis begins, but is unable to stop Tony from colliding with something large and very, very solid.
"Ouch," Tony yelps, even as large, firm hands grasp his arms to stop him from falling. Very firm. Almost like…
He looks up. And up.
Standing at over seven feet tall, lean and lithe and definitely no longer quite so adorable, Loki stares back. His green eyes crinkle in mischief, even as his mouth pulls into a smile.
"Woah, that's new. Growth spurt? Too much fertilizer in the water?"
"I am Loki," is all Loki says in a much deeper voice. He still hasn't let go of Tony.
"And that's great, buddy. Knowing yourself, very important." He fidgets a bit, very aware of the way Loki's hands are still gripping his upper arms.
It's utterly fascinating to see Loki like this. Instead of small and cute as a button, Loki is now very tall and very lean, his wooden body built in the shape of a humanoid, but very obviously still plant based. He wears no clothes, but for two golden clasps at his shoulder that hold a golden torque against his chest. From the clasps, a green cloak made of moss tumbles over his shoulders. The little nubs that were on his head have grown into proper horn-like branches, sweeping backwards to keep his dark, mossy hair out of the way. All in all, the effect is very regal and striking.
Loki rolls his eyes at his babbling and moves one of his hands to grab Tony's throat.
"Hey! Woah, what are you dmmmmghg -" Tony's slightly (only slightly) panicked questions are cut off by Loki using his other hand to grab open Tony's mouth and hold it open. Tony continues to make indignant noises while Loki leans down to peer into his mouth. His fingers taste like dirt.
Loki hums, his other hand palpitating Tony's throat. It doesn't hurt and he is very gentle about it, but Tony is completely confused and more than a little irritated. What the hell is going on?
But the question comes out garbled when he tries to ask it, because Loki's fingers are pressing his tongue down and inching uncomfortably close to the back of his throat.
Except...Loki changes the pitch of his hum and it almost sounds like the same question Tony wanted to ask.
"Wait, are you trying to mimic me?" Tony says, eyes widening. Well, tries to say. He stares as something not unlike vines and branches at Loki's throat shift and move, subtly changing.
Loki's hum shifts again to resemble his question. Tony grins. All this time he's been thinking about how to bridge their communication gap and Loki is way ahead of him.
Loki lets go of him and Tony staggers away, coughing and rubbing his throat. It doesn't really hurt, but feels strange.
"There...much better," Loki says slowly, testing out every syllable and grinning when he manages it.
"Hey, it's another sentence," Tony grins at him, straightening, "Could have saved me a lot of trouble if you'd done this party trick sooner."
"The fall was taxing. I had to recover first," Loki says. His voice is much deeper now than when he'd been little, now low and smooth and delightfully accented.
"Thank you for offering me a place in your home to do so," he continues, eyes warm and affectionate. Tony can only grin helplessly, ducking his head briefly. It hadn't all been altruism on his part - who else could say they had an alien drop down almost on top of them?
"Hey, it was the least I could do after your face was stopped by my driveway. And now that we can talk to each other properly, I have sooooooo many questions. What are you made out of? How did you even survive? Can I-"
Tony looks down a the hand covering his mouth. He grunts in displeasure and levels a questioning look at Loki.
"All good questions that I might be inclined to answer. In time. Which is something I've come to discover you do not have much of," Loki says, eyes tracing meaningfully over the lines of poison encroaching steadily up Tony's neck. Tony wilts, enthusiasm drained. He'd managed to forget about that in the wake of Loki's transformation.
Loki uses one long wooden finger to tilt Tony's head up until he met Loki's eyes. Loki doesn't seem sad or despairing. Rather, he looks like he's the only one in on a joke only he knows about.
"Tell me, Tony Stark, shall we fix that?" Loki grins, green eyes luminous in the sunlight. In his palm, he holds out a gorgeous red and gold flower for Tony to take.
Once Tony has caught his breath at the sight and the meaning of the gesture, he can only agree.
END