"Why is he here, Thor?"

Tony Stark had spared no expense in the rebuilding of Stark Tower. This included, for some reason, multiple panic rooms. Loki thought it odd when Thor decided that it was the best place to house him.

"We will put him here! In this metal cage!"

Tony rolled his eyes. "It's a panic room, Thor."

Despite being trapped inside the metal cage, Loki could still hear the men arguing. It was faint; they were, perhaps, two or three rooms away but still audible. Heaving a sigh, Loki rested his head against the cold wall. His shoulders were beginning to ache from the manner in which Thor had chained him. Loki knew that it wasn't intentional. After all, Thor didn't want to cause his brother pain; he simply wanted to help him. From day one, that's all Thor had ever wanted. It was just that he didn't know his own strength.

"I can assure you, Captain . . . the tesseract is safe in Asgard."

"How safe?"

"Loki is here, is he not? Not even his trickery could reach Asgard from here. And Loki has learned his lesson. He apologized."

"And you believe him?" Loki could hear the skepticism lacing Steve's voice.

A soft sigh followed - soft by Thor's standards. To those who didn't know him well, it sounded more like an aggravated horse.

"Yes, I believe him," Thor said. "He is my brother, adopted or otherwise. I believe that there is some good in him, Captain. He knows what he did was wrong - is wrong. He requested I bring him back to Earth. He wants to apologize . . . to everyone."

"Well, you can tell him his apology isn't accepted. Not by me, at least."

There was a brief bout of silence and then -

"Steve, there's no reason to cry over spilled milk. After all, the party's just getting started. Can I make you a drink?"

A slow smile crept to Loki's lips. He was wondering when Tony would step in and say his piece.

"There's a baseball game tonight. It's the Mets against the Yankees. I have tickets for four and, unfortunately, Dr. Banner has informed me that he can't make it. Thor, why don't you go unchain your brother and have him tag along? I'll trust him when I see which team he cheers for."

"Tony, you can't be serious. You're going to let him into Yankee Stadium? There are women there - and children!"

"It's a good thing Captain America will be there to save the day then, won't it?"

Loki could hear footsteps approaching.

"And besides," Tony continued, "Loki is nothing without some sort of magic stick."

#

To his credit, Loki had remained silent the majority of the ride to Yankee Stadium. One of the few things he'd said had been a quiet, "Oh, please," at the third jab Steve had made. Tony shushed Steve after that. The air was then filled with the overlapping voices of Tony and Steve trying to explain to Thor what baseball was.

"There are nine innings in a baseball game," Tony began.

"Each team bats once per inning," Steve added.

Agreeing, Tony held up his glass of scotch. "The team stays at the plate until they get three outs. Three strikes and you're out. Four balls and you walk."

Thor seemed to follow until that point. "What are strikes and outs? To where are they walking?"

"The batter receives a strike if, after the pitcher throws the ball, they swing the bat and miss," Steve explained. "If they do that three times, the batter is out for that inning and another batter for the offense comes in."

Thor furrowed his brows. "Well, how do you win? A game is not a true game if there is no winner!"

"You win by making it around the bases. You make it around the bases by hitting the ball," Tony said. He took a sip of his scotch and then, almost as an afterthought, added, "And running."

"You silly humans!" Thor laughed. "On Asgard, we hunt for sport."

"Do you hunt squirrels for dinner?" Tony asked, his ice cubes clinking against the walls of his glass. Steve snorted; Thor didn't get the joke.

"Of course not! No squirrel could fill the stomach of a god. Sometimes we hunt trolls. Whoever knocks out the most wins a prize."

"Occasionally," Loki said, quietly, "we punt dwarves."

Tony and Thor burst into raucous laughter; the scotch in Tony's glass spilled over the rim and splashed onto his hand. While Steve seemed less-than-amused by the situation, he didn't completely snub the small smile that Loki offered him.

It was all weird to Steve. Not just the social situation, although that was odd, as well. He'd seen Thor in regular clothes before, but Steve had only ever seen Loki in his awful supervillain garb. But now, beneath the rays of sunshine and amongst the incessant cheering and booing, he looked normal. He had borrowed some of Tony's clothes and he looked good in them. Steve had never seen him so casual before, in jeans and an Avengers tee. Steve suspected Tony had purchased it so he could finally wear himself on a shirt and had found another use for it entirely: what seemed to be Loki's sole punishment.

There he sat. A god reduced to wearing the likenesses of his brother and sworn enemies on a shirt, eating a hot dog as calmly as a cow grazes in grass - unlike Thor, who was on the other side of Tony and was trying cotton candy for the first time.

"What is this magical, colorful cloud?" Thor was shoveling fistfuls of it into his mouth as Tony tried to explain the science behind electrified sugar. It was gone in an instant, leaving behind only the coil of white paper, which Thor violently threw to the ground. He made an emphatic motion toward the vendor, who was a few rows in front of them.

"Young man! I would like more!"

Steve leaned forward to address the vendor. "Please. He would like some more . . . please."

Thor smiled and gave a firm nod of affirmation.

#

"So, Loki . . ."

It was just Steve and Loki in Tony's expanse of a kitchen. Steve had his own place across the city but had chosen to stay at Stark Tower for the night. Loki knew they wanted as many pairs of eyes as possible, searching him for any signs of trickery or deceit.

"It'll be just like a slumber party!" Tony clapped his hands together.

Steve scoffed. "Were you dropped as a child?"

"Perhaps." Tony grinned. "But I'm very advanced for possibly having brain damage, aren't I?"

Thor sipped his beer slowly. "You humans throw a party every time you sleep? How did I miss that when we were traveling with SHIELD?"

"Steven," Loki said, pulling at the plaid pajama pants given to him by Tony. "What is this material?"

"Flannel from the looks of it. Why?"

"It's uncomfortable is all, but I'm not here for my comfort." Loki forced a smile to his lips, staring down at the mug of coffee in front of him.

Steve shifted from foot to foot. "I have some cotton shorts in my bag, if you'd prefer those."

Loki glanced up from his cup of coffee, an eyebrow raised. "Steven - "

"Please, call me Steve."

"Okay . . . Steve. You didn't seem too fond of me a few hours ago."

"Yes, well." Steve set down his mug of coffee. "You have managed to go a few hours without killing anyone, threatening to kill anyone, or releasing hordes of aliens into the heart of New York City to do your killing for you." He hesitated. "And Thor seems to believe that you've changed. We've had our issues, Thor and I, but in the end, he's always had my back. I trust him. He trusts you. I don't trust you, Loki, but he does and that's not nothing."

"What is it, then?"

Steve paused, picking up his coffee and taking a sip. "Let me get back to you on that."

#

"Is the door locked?"

"And the key thrown away," Tony said, descending the glass steps that led to his newly refurbished living room. "He'll be fine, Cap. Director Fury is on his way with Bruce."

Thor heaved an aggravated sigh. "Why did we involve the others?"

"Because, Goldilocks, I'm not completely convinced that the only reason you brought Loki back was so he could apologize." Tony crossed to his bar, pulling down five glasses from the cabinet. He began to fill them with ice cubes and scotch. "If he just wanted to say he was sorry, you could've sent a carrier pigeon - " Thor cut in to interrupt, no doubt trying to explain to Tony that they didn't have carrier pigeons in his homeland. " - or whatever it is you gods use to communicate. So, we're going to sit down, have a drink, and you're going to explain why you've decided to put my city back in danger."

Thor looked uncomfortable.

Tony shot him an expectant look, eyebrows raised. Thor sighed once more and Tony's expression changed to one of pride.

"You're always one to prematurely congratulate yourself, Tony," Steve said. "Maybe it's business for the Asgardians. Maybe we should leave it to them this time. Thor's taken care of Loki before."

"I hate to be the jerk in this situation," Tony began, crossing back to the couches and chairs with his scotch; he'd left the other glasses at the bar.

"But?" Thor's patience was not his strongest virtue.

Tony raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement, over the rim of his glass of scotch. "But last time Loki was here, it was Bruce who put him in his place. You can keep your secrets to yourself, Thor, but you'll be doing it on some other plane or dimension. You brought Loki here and you're not one of the bad guys." Tony gestured to the tall blonde with his glass of scotch. "There's another reason, and you're going to tell me. Or I can put on the suit and you can talk to Iron Man. Your choice, you gigantic Golden - "

"Mr. Stark."

"Ms. Potts! So wonderful of you to join us. Would you like a drink?" A smirk tugged at the corners of Tony's lips. Steve sunk into his chair with a slight groan.

"Director Fury and Dr. Banner are here. Shall I send them up?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Pepper."

Within a few moments, the couches in the room were full and four sets of eyes were directly on Thor. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes trained on Bruce.

"You're not going green, are you?" Thor asked.

Bruce smiled. "You tell me."

"Enough with the banter, boys." Nick stood, crossing his arms behind his back. He began to pace between the two couches and Tony shot Steve a look that said, here we go. "Thor, the last time Loki decided to open a portal and stroll on down to Manhattan, I was up to my eyes in shit from the Council. Now, I'm not going to deal with that again, you hear? Either you give us a good, solid reason as to why you willingly brought Loki back to New York City, or I will eject him from this planet myself."

"Wow, the immigration laws have gotten pretty tight," Tony said.

"Zip it, Stark. I didn't come here at two in the morning to listen to your smart-ass remarks. This needs to be cleared up now so I can politely inform the Council as to whether or not I'm assembling my Avengers."

"Your Avengers are already assembled, Fury," Tony said. "With a few exceptions. Speaking of, where are the other two?"

"There are a lot more missing than just two, Stark." Nick paused. "But since you asked, we haven't heard from Barton or Romanoff in around two months. If this matter is one that requires an elite team, I'll need to track them down. It's possible that Parker could be of some use to us now, too."

"Parker? Please tell me you aren't referring to that web-slinging bundle of spandex."

"Director Fury, if I may." Bruce scooted to the edge of his seat. "Perhaps this is a conversation better had in my laboratory. We can't very well kick Tony out of his own home, but we could relocate."

"There's no need," Thor said, standing to face Nick. "The Twilight of the Elves is no longer kept safe in Asgard."

There was a brief pause, in which the other men in the room exchanged glances with one another. Thor seemed to be waiting for some sort of appalled reaction.

Tony leaned forward. "Come again?"

"The Twilight of the Elves," Thor repeated.

"Yes, we gathered. What is it?" Nick asked.

"It's a necklace."

"Pray tell, Rose, what happens if we don't go retrieve your precious necklace?" Tony asked.

"My brother and I are not the only ones who wish to possess it. If it ends up in the wrong hands, Asgard could fall. The necklace has been a part of Asgard for centuries. It was lost many years ago, but now there are others looking for it - and we finally understand the power of the necklace. It was given to my father as a token of trust and loyalty."

"By elves, I presume. Did they bring your father cookies, too?"

"Zip it, Stark."

"Yes, by the elves. The necklace holds immense magical power. Its wearer can cause the blooming flower to wilt or cause the wilting flower to bloom."

"Does this only work with flowers, or . . . ?"

"Zip it, Stark." Nick shot Tony a mean glare. "Thor, are you telling me that the wearer of this necklace has control over life and death?"

Thor nodded. "Yes, and we must find it before the fate of both Asgard and Earth are in jeopardy."

Steve shook his head adamantly. "Loki suddenly wants to find this necklace for a reason. Don't you see, Thor? He wants the necklace for himself! And it would be so much easier to retrieve if he had a team with strength and stamina to help him find it."

"His concern was genuine," Thor said, stepping closer to Steve as he spoke. "Director, Loki is the only one who knows where it is. It is of utmost importance to the safety of my home. As soon as the necklace is in my grasp, we will return to Asgard and he won't be of any further concern."

Silence enveloped the room.

"Fine," Nick said, after a brief pause. "But I want all eyes on Loki and I want constant updates on where he is, who he's with, and what he's doing. If he so much as spits, I want to know about it. Is that clear?"

"Babysitting Loki will be our pleasure, Director."

"Zip it, Stark. You four find the necklace, and I'll find Barton and Romanoff. I'll see myself out." Nick started toward the door but then stopped halfway and turned around. "And Stark - if I send Parker over, play nice. He's been a valuable asset while SHIELD has gotten itself back on its feet and I don't much feel like trying to explain that you're not always a complete jackass." Nick continued out the door.

"He's a child, Fury," Tony called after him. "I successfully privatized world peace! He just has his own private zip line!"