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Chapter Two: Life's Little Surprises.
Steve scratched at his ear, shaking his head with a bemused look as he eyed the unconscious trickster god.
"Funny story, that. See, Warbird saw you go down. Swore up and down that the..." the good captain seemed to struggle for a moment with what to call the creature. "-thing," he grimaced. "Threw a person at you. As it turns out, she was right." He snorted, shaking his head. He gestured at the prone god; for the first time, Tony noticed his team mate wasn't wearing his costume.
"Long story short, it hit you in the face with Loki. After hitting your face into the pavement. I don't know what Loki got hit with, but he must have been pretty banged up before taking you out, because he still hasn't woken up. Thor's out searching for whoever did this to his brother."
Tony studied Steve, taking in the pinched look around his eyes, the overly-bright smile. After a moment, he grunted, elbowing himself semi-upright once more.
"No luck, huh? Maybe it was the purple octopus thing."
Steve arched a brow, repeating, "Purple Octopus thing?"
Tony bristled, scowling up at him, "Hey now! It's a perfectly accurate description. Better then 'thing', who need I remind you is actually one of the good guys."
The Captain grimaced, "It sounds like something a five year old would say." He shook his head again, rubbing at his neck as he glanced over at Loki.
"He has a broken shoulder," Steve said suddenly, after a long moment of silence. "And a mild concussion. His left leg is in a splint, and the nails of his right hand were ripped off when we found you both, but they've healed now. It's... strange." The Captain's blue eyes were unfocused, as if he wasn't truly seeing Loki; he had the distant, absent expression of someone lost in thought. Tony gave him a moment, than cleared his throat, arching his brows when Steve frowned at him.
"It's strange," Tony prompted.
"He shouldn't be unconscious." Steve finished, fixing the unconscious god with an unexpected scowl. The Captain crossed his arms, than uncrossed them, shifting his feet. "You don't think it's a trick, do you?"
Tony eyed Loki. He snorted dismissively. "No, I don't think he's faking it. He probably pissed off the wrong person, and just ended up at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Or right time," he added, frowning, "since he hasn't woken up yet. Might have been bad if anyone else had found him. Any of his injuries from the fall?"
"The broken shoulder, and the concussion. Everything else was several hours old, even with his healing rate. Thor said it looked like his hand had been broken, but mended before we found him. I don't know how he could tell," Steve spoke quickly, cutting Tony off before he could ask, "But if he said it was broken, then I believe it."
His chest had started to burn again. Scowling, Tony scooted back down, hissing as he lay back. When Steve started towards him, he flapped a hand, waving his teammate off. " 'm fine. Just tired. Go do superhero stuff, or whatever. I'm going to sleep."
Not that he actually planned on sleep; Steve's hovering was getting on his nerves. But since it looked like he'd be relying on his teammates for the foreseeable future, plausible excuses were his friend. The Captain waved from the doorway, sliding out and closing it carefully behind him. Tony waiting several minutes before indulging in a pained groan, gritting his teeth until the throbbing pain in his chest settled to a low grade burn. He rubbed just under the incision, careful not to touch it directly. Maybe a nap wasn't such a bad idea...
Tony groped around above his head for the small alarm clock. Punching in an hour, he settled down, dropping the thing into the blankets by his hip.
A groan from the bed beside his woke him seven minutes before the clock. Fumbling in the blankets, he punched the alarm off, tossing it back into the blankets as he rolled over just enough to peer at Loki through the guardrails.
Green eyes glared back.
"Morning sunshine. Want some help with that stick up your ass?"
Green eyes narrowed further, then widened in comical surprise. Tony watched in amusement as the trickster shot upright, froze, and clutched at his shoulder, his face going ashen.
"Whoa, take it easy. It's broken," he added, as Loki shot him a glare, "And, no, I didn't break it. Well, I guess if you're being technical, I did. But it's not entirely my fault. After all, you hit me in the face with it."
There was a tense moment, where Tony was sure the other man was going to do something stupid, like try to claw out his eyes with those newly re-grown nails. But the moment passed, and Loki seemed to deflate, closing his eyes as he slowly lay back down.
"... Your face broke my shoulder."
"Your shoulder concussed my face."
Green eyes lit up, "Nice English." A smirk played around the edges of his mouth as Loki punched the pillows into a more comfortable mound. Tony relaxed back, closing his eyes with a grin. It was good to see the asshat still living up to his nature.
"Thank you. Also, your leg's broken, so if you're planning on sneaking away once I'm asleep, you might want to rethink your supervilliany plans."
"... supervilliany? What are you, five?"
"Shut up. You mashed my brain into the back of my skull. I get to make shit up."
A chuckle.
"Asshole."
" Love you too."
Loki caught the pillow Tony threw with his face.
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