A Drink with the Enemy
A.N. : Movieverse. Tony Stark is a Marvel creation, Loki belongs to Marvel and Mythology.
Tony Stark stood behind the bar in his Malibu mansion, scotch in hand, not thinking of anything in particular. In fact, he was trying not to think at all. A displacement of air behind him made him aware that he was no longer alone.
A quiet, seductive male voice spoke. "I believe you still owe me a drink." Loki walked out from behind Tony and went to sit on one of the stools in front of the bar. He rested his chin in his left hand and studied the man on the other side. "You've looked better."
"You've looked worse." Tony poured a scotch for Loki and set in in front of him. To his surprise, Loki laughed. Tony noticed that Loki's green eyes were clear and lucid. No evidence that he still had a brain full of cats, as Bruce would say. Tony wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Indeed I have. Especially after Bruce Banner's unpleasant alter ego used me to smash the floor to bits in your Manhattan penthouse. I should thank him for that, I suppose, because as I lay there in agonizing pain, I had a moment of clarity." Loki took a sip of the drink, made a face, then took another sip. "I realized that I shouldn't have tried to take Earth with an army, my strengths lie more in subtlety and manipulation. But I was angry at my so called father, angry at my brother, angry at everything I suppose and I wanted to release that terrible anger in the most destructive way possible." Loki paused. "I guess you could say I had a temper tantrum."
"You killed more than eighty people, your army destroyed a chunk of Manhattan and your excuse is that you had a temper tantrum?" Tony refreshed his drink.
"In my defense, it was the end result of centuries of unresolved issues. I simply couldn't contain the rage anymore, and Earth made a most attractive target."
"So why aren't you locked up in a cell on Asgard?"
"No idea. I fully expected to be. I knelt before the All-Father in the Great Hall, he helped me to my feet, removed the mouthpiece and restraints, then welcomed me home. My mother hugged me and said I was much too thin. Thor just stood there beaming like an idiot. I did receive a rather stern lecture, if that makes you feel any better."
"Not really, no."
Loki shrugged. He didn't really care one way or another. "I can travel between the realms without the need of the Bifrost, so I escorted Thor to a reunion with his precious Jane Foster. I should return to Asgard now, but I don't want to yet and I tend to do what I want."
"Yeah, well, most brats are like that."
Loki ignored Tony's last comment and finished his drink, still grimacing at the taste, then stood and began to walk around the room. "I must say, this is a nice place. I could live here."
"No you couldn't."
Loki just waved a hand dismissively at him. "And you have an infinity pool. I love those."
"You can't stay here."
"You would do well to remember that I am not banished, nor have I been stripped of my powers. Vex me and the only thing standing between you and a gruesome end is the certainty that Odin would revoke my get out of jail free card if I were to harm you."
"Ah. A Monopoly reference. Very Earth pop culture savvy of you for a Norse God. Would you like another drink?"
"Yes. Thank you. I don't care for the taste, but the after effect is rather pleasing." Loki retrieved his drink then went out to the infinity pool, his clothes disappearing as he did.
"Uhm, couldn't you materialize a Speedo or something?"
"Don't you like what you see, Anthony Stark?"
Loki smirked, damn him. And to make matters worse there were suddenly several naked Loki doppelgangers walking around. All of them smirking. "I like a lot of things that aren't necessarily good for me."
Loki laughed, and walked slowly into the pool. The doppelgangers disappeared. He set his drink on the side and sighed in deep contentment. "This is just what I needed."
Tony sat in one of the poolside chairs. "Too bad, because really, I meant it earlier. You can't stay. Pepper is coming in at some point tonight and you being here would be the sort of awkward social situation I don't do very well."
"Explain to me how that is my problem."
A light appeared just inside the doors. "What the hell is that?" Tony stood up and started to walk towards the doors.
Loki sighed. "That, I'm afraid, is most certainly my problem."
"Thor?"
"Please. Thor couldn't find this place if Mjölnir came equipped with GPS. No that..." A rather ditinguished and powerful looking older man, his right eye covered by a patch, wearing a well tailored suit, walked out to the pool, a glass of scotch in hand.."Is the All-Father, Odin. You might wish to kneel."
*Shit* Tony managed a half-assed kneel. Odin didn't even spare him a glance, his focus on the young god in the pool. "Your mother is right, you're too thin." Odin took the chair recently vacated by Tony. "You have excellent taste in scotch, Mr. Stark."
"Uhm, thank you." Tony felt very much out of his league, which was strange and uncomfortable. What did you say to the King of Asgard?
"You were to return home to Asgard upon completion of your task Loki, yet I find you still here." Odin looked Loki directly in the eyes.
"I had not fully recovered from my previous ordeal, and it took a great deal of energy to bring both Thor and myself by the pathways. It took more energy for me to teleport here, to collect on a debt owed to me by Tony. I thought it best to rest before returning home. Travelling through the pathways is tricky and I did not wish to lose my way and find myself in Nidavellir. The dwarves would not welcome me."
Odin's one eye narrowed. "While I sense there is truth in your statement, I feel there is much that remains unsaid as well. We will speak on this later."
An unhappy Loki, an uncomfortable Tony, and an unconcerned Odin sat there in silence, finishing their respective drinks. Then Odin and Loki departed.
Tony seriously debated finishing off the scotch, but decided that he needed Pepper to believe him when he told her about his eerie ass evening and his chances of success would be better if he were sober. Pepper was sceptical, then she remembered the security cameras. There, though distorted, was the evidence Tony needed. He and Pepper finished the bottle of scotch together, commiserating with each other on their increasingly eerie ass lives.