This isn't really post-Avengers movie canon, this is more "The Avengers formed a different way, in a way that didn't involve Loki" Loki terrorized the world a little bit, enough for S.H.I.E.L.D. To know who he is and have him on the radar, but he didn't do that whole "destroy the world" bit
Tony's head was swimming pleasantly. He stretched, something akin to incredibly soft cotton beneath his body. He hummed his approval, pushing away the blanket that tangled around his waist and legs. The air was so cool here...he searched for a pillow, but found none. That was strange, his bed was filled with pillows. His brow creased, his hands lazily skimming across the surface of the mattress for the familiar plushness.
There was none.
Tony cracked open his eyes, hissing at all the white. It was much too bright for him, that was for sure. He rolled onto his back, stretching his arms high above his head in a rather pleasant way. He slowly tried opening his eyes once more, managing to adjust this time.
The first thought that struck him was: Fuck
Tony had no idea where he was, that was for sure. This room was new. It was all white, a color he usually stayed away from, and it was bare except for the bed he laid upon. The bed itself was a soft grey, the blanket wrapped around his legs chocolate colored and comfortably warm. He pulled it higher over his hips, a shock of worry shooting up his spine. There was no door, only a set of windows along the wall beside the bed. But they were thickly frosted, blocking out anything useful on the outside to tell him where he was. No shapes, just light.
Tony shut his eyes tightly, scrubbing his palm across them.
"No place like home, there's no place like home" Tony muttered to himself, hoping it was jus a dream and this wasn't some strange version of heaven "There's no place like-"
"You humans are so fragile."
Tony's eyes shot open, he grabbed the blanket and yanked it up to cover his chest. There, sitting beside him, was Loki. Trimmed, neat, and just as perfect looking as he was when he'd saved god was looking at him through narrowed eyes, his gaze surprisingly void of malice.
"What the hell are you doing?" Tony sat up, pushing away from the man and letting his back touch the frosted glass that made up the wall "Where am I? What happened?"
"Such noise you make" Loki tapped his ear "If I didn't find your voice so delectable, I would cut out your tongue."
"You know, for a knight in shining armor..." Tony trailed off, his hand gliding over his stomach. He searched for any sign of damage, any new scars or scabs or even gaping wounds...but there was nothing. He looked down, removing the blanket and getting a better look. There was nothing there, just smooth muscle and tan skin.
"My other scars" Tony gave the Asguardian a strange look "You erased them."
"Hm" Loki made a noncommittal noise "Along with your wounds."
The genius's brows drew together, "Why?"
Loki didn't seem to have an answer for that one. He closed his mouth, turning his gaze to the far wall. His pale fingers laced together delicately, sliding against one another in a dance of contemplation. Tony couldn't help but remember how sweet the god had been to him, how comforting his words and touches and he laid there dying. Dying...
"I'm not dead, right?" Tony tried to smile it off, but his voice was trembling "You're not some weird guardian angel, are you? Because I've seen the video of you blowing shit up, and if I had a guardian angel – it would be someone like that."
"And if you were dead, Anthony Stark" Loki turned back to him "What would you do? What would you say?"
"I would say..." Tony's brow knitted for a moment "That I'm glad I didn't end it. Better to go down in a blaze of glory than to be discovered in my room alone with an empty bottle and a gun."
"You mortals" Loki reached out, brushing his fingers along the man's arc reactor "So fragile and tiny...so incredibly beautiful for so short a time..."
Tony gasped, watching the glow fade from the reactor. It flickered, then went out like a candle flame against a strong wind.
Loki's grin was positively feral, "And you are the most delicate of them all, are you not?"
Tony opened his mouth to scream, but all that came out was wet gasp.
"This is what happens when you force light into a dark shadow" Loki hissed, leaning in and brushing their cheeks in a faux-lover caress "When you try to breath the life back into a dead shell. Because that's what you are, Stark, an empty husk. Now rot from the inside out."
Tony grabbed at leather and pale skin, mouthing pleas and curse words, but it was too late.
No one could fix this.