Guys, had to re-upload this coz I kept spelling Bruce as Brice, my bad, you understand right? You all know how close those two keys are on the keyboard? I'll stop making excuses. I tried to fix the spelling errors I could, but, again, I'm from Australia, so I will be spelling some stuff different and won't even notice.
You guys decided, 18 to 4 approximately, that Tony and Bruce should take care of Loki. Good, otherwise you skipped a whole bunch of extra context, and I mean a whole bunch, possibly chapter loads – hell, it is chapter loads – and now you get it all. Unfortunately for those of you who don't want this to turn into slash, you have taken your first step down that path. This can still be changed however, as it is you guys who decide the story. And seriously, thank you guys so much for the reviews and comments, I literally fangirl everytime I see one, they make me so happy! On with the story!
Waking up the first thing he thought when he awoke was; Why the fuck am I sleeping on a chair when I have a perfectly fine bed to sleep on? Now I hurt dammit. And when he opened his eyes he thought; Oh yeah, right, my beds occupied. And his last thought before he moved was; I bet he hurts more.
He stepped lightly out of the chair and made his way around the large bed to the opposing chair which held an unconscious Bruce in its tight grasp. Tony shook him awake, and Bruce lifted his head instantly, peering past him to look at the figure on the bed. Tony could see his thoughts written on his face – so that wasn't a dream. They both stood and walked to the end of the bed, staring at the unconscious god on the sheets. The pristine white was stained red, and if it wasn't for the blood Tony feared he wouldn't have noticed Loki's form at all, that was how white and drained his skin was. He wanted to speak, to discuss the problem at hand, and he knew Bruce would too, but only stuttered breath as they both planned to say something and then backed out broke the silence. The image in front of them was so shocking.
"Breakfast first", where the first utterances of words in the room, and the only ones to be spoken as Bruce nodded his consent and they slowly shuffled away.
They stood in the doorway over an hour later, and the next words to be spoken that day came from Bruce; "We can't give him to S.H.I.E.L.D." They both knew what topic they had been skirting around.
"We can't not" Tony replied, and he didn't even sound convincing to himself. Hell, he knew he probably wouldn't give him in. He couldn't hand over someone in need of help to a terrible fate. But this was the Earth's biggest super villain, he couldn't not tell S.H.I.E.L.D., right? All his thoughts conflicted.
"Tony," Bruce said, and it fell like a weight on his ears. He wasn't just helping Loki, he was helping Bruce too. Bruce saw himself in Loki after last night, and Bruce wanted to know he'd be cared for in the same manner. Bruce had been given a second chance, Tony had, after being the world's greatest weapons supplier. They could take care of Loki right? That wasn't even giving a second chance, just making sure he could live long enough to receive one. Who was he kidding? Of course Loki was staying, his sleep had been filled with scenarios spanning every possible outcome to this, he's sure Bruce's was too.
After the silence stretched and Tony had pondered it long enough he turned to Banner. Bruce looked back and the soft eyes began to retain a sense of finality he was certain reflected in his own. "JARVIS", he commanded the ceiling, "Don't tell Fury."
Bruce looked over Loki while Tony created protocols to keep Loki's presence unknown to the other Avengers, and anyone else whom might enter his house. JARVIS had been taking in everything, pulling out security details he thought would pertain to such situations, helping Tony improve his every command. It was during this that Bruce walked out of the bedroom and into the living space.
"… relay estimated time of arrival, Sir." JARVIS spoke, again coming up with new ways to help his creator.
"Great JARVIS, initiate that right away, and put the data with the others in secure file: Duct Tape." He commanded, tapping away on the screen in front of him. He was happy now, doing what he did best. Banner raised an eyebrow at the file name, and he replied; "Silence is golden, Duct Tape is silver – if we get found out, that's the best we can do right? Force it back into our control?"
"I'm not sure it's going to stay an issue for that long." Banner replied solemnly
"What?" He asked shocked, standing from the table and taking a few cautionary steps towards the Doctor.
"His injuries, I can't tell how bad they are, or what they'll do to him. He's a god, I can't even tell if his physiologies the same. I came out to tell you; he opened his eyes, but that's about it."
"What do you mean?" The words were thrown out messily as he stalked quickly towards the room, looking upon the god that was staring unto the ceiling.
"He just looks, I can't get a response. I've done the best I can. Talked, poked, jumped up and down. He doesn't react. Honestly, if I had something to go on I might know what's going on, but the best I can understand, I don't know Tony, he, I think he might be in some sort of coma or something"
"What!" his head whipped around to look at the Doctor, "Coma how?"
"His vitals seem fine, to a human standard that I understand, but with his lack of response, I, maybe, maybe he was shocked into it or something. Either way, it's not as bad as it could be – his eyes are open, and he blinks every now and then, so no need for eye-drops" he tried for humour, and Tony appreciated the attempt, "but even then, he's healing." He continued, moving over to the bed and lifting an arm. Loki didn't even seem to notice. "The smaller cuts on his arms are healing quickly, abnormally so, and the deepest gashes have stopped bleeding entirely, which is good seen as I didn't realise how deep they were last night. He doesn't look too bad physically (got the hots? Tony thought snickering a little – Bruce didn't look impressed), so that's why I'm thinking he was shocked into it, either that or serious brain damage. Like, vegetable bad brain damage."
Tony's eyes widened at that, no way, it couldn't be, "But he was walking around yesterday, and he hasn't been hurt since" Tony denied
"I know, which I why I think it's emotional or psychological as opposed to physical, but his brain could have swelled, I can't tell from the head scans I took with your equipment" he explained, pulling one up to the light, "it looks fine to me, but again, I don't know what his insides are supposed to look like, the other scans on his body already have me weirded out, but I don't know if what I'm seeing is normal or troubling."
"I get it, just…" he trailed off. Just what, do the best you can? How can you do that when you don't even know if you're helping or hindering. He settled for resting his hand on Bruce's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. It was the best he could do.
The rest of the day continued by both of them watching the god, Tony still creating protocols and Bruce looking over the scans. After a series of most disturbing pops and cracks Bruce took another scan and concluded that some of the muscles surrounding a set of bones neither human had we're realigning their connected pieces. It was assuring at least – he was fixing himself, even if all the help they could provide was to make sure no-one came near.
The next day was fairly similar. No movement, but it appeared that the god had slept through the night, his eyes closing and then re-opening through the daylight hours. There was, however, an incident which caused both relief and worry. They were both monitoring the figure out of the corner of their eyes as they continued with what they were doing – Tony inventing, and Bruce looking over yet more scans, when Loki jumped up in the bed, the first movement they'd seen. He propped himself up on his arms and twisted violently, retching pure red onto the sheets next to him, before flopping down into his previous position. And whilst he vomited blood, which couldn't be healthy, and the fact that it was probably more a survival instinct to stop himself asphyxiating, it was still marvellous to see that he could move his body. It was then that they realised, looking down on his still bloody form and the still messy bedding, that they probably should have cleaned him up. Yesterday. And so Tony got about the task of lifting the heavy god into the bathroom, and they both had to be present to find all the clasps and pulls to take off his armour. They left him in a pair of Tony's sweat pants, plain black and light to wear. He used a sponge to clean the god as Bruce re-made the bed and threw out the old, decidedly ruined sheets. All the while Loki, stared ahead, his body seemingly tense for one reason or another, until his eyes slid closed and he relaxed, although it was a long process. Tony lifted the creature back up and into the bed. They all slept in their own rooms that night, Loki wasn't going anywhere and they needed a descent rest.
The third day left them all feeling kind of shocked as Loki's head tilted when they walked in. The stood still and watched as Loki caught sight of them, his eyes swirling around in emotion; uncertainty, maybe a smidgen of hope, but mostly, mostly fear. And that seemed to be all he could take as his eyes slid closed once again.
On the fourth day, Tony was again helping the god, changing the sheets as so they stayed fresh and wiping away the sweat that had accumulated across his body, Bruce helping apply salve to the wounds that they only could hope helped the god. Loki looked up at them longer this time, and still, fear swirled around in the blue-green eyes. Tony only noticed this when he wiped a sheen of sweat off of the gods chest, because, whatever form of heart the god had was fluttering at a high speed through his chest. Tony locked eyes with the seemingly helpless form that he sat on the bed next to. Bruce, also seated on the bed, but on the other side of the prone form noticed the change in his direction of attention, and stopped his work to look at the god too. Loki's eyes flicked to Bruce's and then back to Tony's where they stayed. His mouth was parted slightly and his breath was shallow. They only stared at Loki, wondering what would happen. Had the god healed enough? Would he kill them? Somehow, he doubted it.
"It's fine Loki" Tony breathed, unsure of what would transpire. He put the cloth onto the bed sheets and moved a hand up to rest on the side of the gods face. Loki's eyes widened at the movement, and he looked for all the world like he wanted to skirt away. His breath quickened and Tony saw Bruce grab Loki's hand in sympathy. "You're fine, you're gonna be fine." He hoped his voice didn't betray the uncertainty he felt when lying to the god of lies. How could he possibly know if Loki would be fine? He just wanted to make him feel better. In any way, and if false hope provided it for even a moment, it's what he's do. He removed the hand and gripped the guys shoulder "We're working on it, you're gonna be fine." He felt like he was lulling a scared child to sleep after a nightmare, and maybe he was as Loki's eyes became more filled with uncertainty than fear, and that was enough for Tony, to know that Loki was more unsure than fearful at the moment. He squeezed once more before continuing on with what he had been doing, silently urging Banner to do the same. They continued until they were done, and by that time Tony noticed, gratefully, that Loki's heart had stopped hammering in his chest, and he shared a small victory smile with Bruce.
On the fourth night Tony was woken by JARVIS announcing that Loki's vitals were out of order. He ordered JARVIS to wake up Bruce and to meet him at the gods room. Loki was having trouble breathing and his heart rate was through the roof compared to his sleeping rate and compared to a normal humans. His face was twisted as if in pain, and his whole body clenched. It sent a twang through his entire being as the god writhed on the bed, but Bruce's scans showed nothing out of order and they were forced to watch as the god was pained. They tried waking him but nothing helped, and looking across at the desperation in Banners body language he knew he wasn't the only one feeling sympathy for the devil. Damnit it, this could turn very bad very fast. He could tell, they were beginning to become emotionally invested in this god who was in their care.
On the fifth day, they spent the most of their time monitoring from adjacent rooms, trying to sever emotional connections, even if they did look on at almost every second. Tony only went in as Banner went to bed to make sure that Loki didn't sleep in the same position for more than 12 hours. He couldn't have him getting bed sores, even though his body was mostly healed for now. As he went to leave however, a hand snaked around his wrist, and he paused. His turn back to face the god was almost as if he were a bad stop-motion animation, and he had turned fully before he lifted his eyes to that of the god. "Stay" he breathed, and it was a question, not even, more a request, something that would come out of the mouth of a servant asking his King to stay. It was full of pain and the readiness to be rejected. His eyes were wide, glistening and his brows pulled up oh so sadly. There was no way he could resist that, but while he didn't reply, Loki took it as a no and let his hand fall, before slowly, as if it took every ounce of effort, he let his hand find its way back to his side, and his eyes turned away and down, facing the opposite wall to Tony, as if he was ashamed to have asked something that would have so obviously been rejected. Tony stayed. He lay down on the bed that, really, could fit 3, if not 4. Loki turned his eyes up again as Tony's head connected with the pillow. Tony gabbed Loki's wrist in his hand and Loki watched him until his eyes closed, falling into sleep. Tony didn't sleep for a long time after that.
Bruce found out of course. "What happened to all the 'emotional distance' we were implementing yesterday?" He asked, not rudely of course, Bruce didn't do rude, only curious
"He asked me to stay." Tony replied over breakfast, "So I did"
"Tony, it's not going to help if we keep changing our minds"
"Well, if he wants me to stay then I'm going to stay alright?" He pushed rather offensively
"I'm not saying you can't Tony, I'm saying don't leave me out, I'm as much of a part of this as you. In it together alright?"
"Yeah, sorry." He replied. This shit was emotionally draining.
"Sir, Fury is on the line" JARVIS announced. Great. Obviously the excuse of 'we're building tech' he'd fed him on the first day had worn out. And they didn't have any results to give to the director – sue them if they were a little to pre-occupied to do more than draw up plans with an injured demi-god in the master bedroom.
"Connect him through," he acquiesced wearily. "How's it going Boss?" he asked with fake cheer once the line was established.
"Wondering what the heel you lumbering fools have been doing the past few days. JARVIS won't give me any information, and all security footage of the premises has been denied access – do you want to explain yourself Stark?" He grouched back. Okay, time to weave some lies, Loki would be so proud in the adjoining room.
"Shit went down boss, my tech for the research sort of, let's say, had an abnormal response and fried a few things. Security went down for a bit and some data was lost, but I got it back up as soon as possible, putting in real tight security, so that if anyone noticed our lapse they would have an especially hard time trying to get in. But, on the bright side, I'm now working on new tech, see?" he held up a tablet in which he had been designing. "I've got a few models, some are more flashy than others, but I think this one will give the best results, so once I've got it looking nice and sleek I think I might start building it." He smirked and hoped his arrogance would cover his lies.
"Whatever, but we need Banner working on results, and seen as his data is here at HQ, we need him here to work"
"We could have his stuff sent over here" he quickly interrupted, "that's easily do-able, isn't is JARVIS?"
"Most accurate Sir" the AI responded
"No matter Stark," the director cut in, "I've had enough of your distractions, he can work here just fine, and if you need his input on whatever it is you're making, then he can go over there to help you out."
"But Director" Banner spoke for the first time, "My things are here already, it would be easiest-"
"No buts, if you want to stay at Stark's and have him help you than you sure as hell will be working here at HQ". He added sternly. He probably wasn't too fussed about getting him angry as he wasn't there and he knew Stark's tower was built to withstand the Hulk's might.
"11 till 3 only, and if you make me stay any longer, you'll be cutting the other guy out of a relaxing time at home." He spoke with a thinly veiled threat
"Fine. I expect you here 11 sharp tomorrow. You had better be here." He ended with a hard glare, which had Tony glad he wasn't directly involved in the conversation. Tony quickly terminated the call and looked to Banner. He was receiving a stern look.
"I'll take care of him" he promised
"You'd better" Bruce replied, pointing a finger at Tony as he went to Loki's room. Tony spent the rest of the day, and a good portion of the night working on something for Bruce to take back to show Fury. Bruce showed his gratefulness by cooking for Tony and going to bed early so he could be top of his game tomorrow for Fury. That left a pretty dejected Loki in his room, Tony realised, as JARVIS pulled up a hologram screen in front of him at 12 in the afternoon the next day, Tony still in his lab, working on the next thing they could show Fury, alerting him to the fact that Loki, well, Loki was moving.
Loki stumbled out of bed and towards the door. After his hands, sweaty from exertion finally found purchase on the doorknob and pulled it open he stumbled into the living space. Tony watched the monitor, placing his wrench down and leaning forward to see what Loki was doing. Was it all a play? Was this where he saw what Loki had come for. But the more he watched, the more he realised the direction in which the god was taking. He walked past the newly fixed wall, which had been a hole days before, and past the kitchen, although he did use it to stabilise himself. He walked on until he came to his destination and slumped down against the wall, his hands resting on the items around him. He had placed himself between the iron-man costume and the hulk-hands Tony had bought for a joke. Both were completely useless right now, but Loki had his right hand weakly touching the foot of the ironman suit, and his other curling out to touch one of the hulk fists he had knocked to the ground as he fell. His head had fallen forward and he was breathing heavily, but his wild eyes finally calmed slightly and he raised his head, until it fell back against the wall in his slumber. Tony walked up-stairs and pulled his phone out, snapping a picture before sending it to Banner. If this turned out to be a steaming pile of shit, at least he had this for blackmail. Banner replied with the most appropriate gif he could find.
That moment marked the start of probably the most speedy recovery he had seen, and by the time Banner had come home, Loki was walking around, and although he was still weak and could only mutter the barest of things, the tortured look on his face was beginning to wear away.
By the next afternoon it was gone. Loki was composed, shields up as he and Bruce watched the god walk into the main room. He knew what was happening. He knew Bruce knew what was happening. Loki was scared, hurt, and there was no way he was letting the avengers see the weaker side of him for longer than he had to. He wasn't allowing them in, he wasn't getting hurt again. Tony grabbed Loki gently by the arm and led him to the couch. Since yesterday they'd been tiptoeing around the problem. "What happened, Loki?" Tony started softly, and yet he still noticed the way Loki tensed up all over. Loki forced his body to relax and Tony hated it, hated the way Loki was putting on this mask. He so obviously needed their help.
"Nothing of concern, I assure you." He replied smoothly, silver tongue working its magic.
"When is anything with you not a concern?" he asks a fair sight rider than he had wanted. Loki only became les open, his body tense and guarded to the touch, but looked for everything like he was completely relaxed.
"I will not be a concern of yours, nor anyone else's for that matter, so long as my infrangible opprobrium allows my piece." Tony would have to look up what the heel he meant later. Right now it sounded like Loki was very close to causing damage, or fleeing.
"Loki, it's fine, alright, we just want to know what happened." He spoke cautiously
"We want to understand", Bruce added from the opposing lounge
"Understand?" he laughed, "Understand that you cannot perceive what you are doing, you cannot understand what you are throwing yourselves into." And that sounded like a warning, not to back off because he didn't want to deal with their mortal behinds, but because he didn't want them hurt. Looking into his eyes he could see the desperation behind them; do not follow this, it will only end badly for you.
"Loki, we saw the other guy" Bruce points out, "Not my other guy, your other guy"
"There is no other guy." He cries, standing from the couch, "It was a play, all of it, I was in need of help and I twisted what you saw, I appealed to your weaknesses so that you would tend to me. Trickery was all it was"
"It was not." Tony replied standing, and he could still read those eyes – why are you fighting for this, why are you running into the fray, I have warned you to escape. "You wouldn't do this as a play, you wouldn't risk being at a debt. It was real, I can tell, Bruce can tell. You are different. You aren't who we fought against; we heard you and him fighting."
"But I Am!" he cut in, "I am the God you Fought against to Protect this world as I Fought to Enslave It! Whether you think you understand or not, It Was Me, in every sense of the word. You are right, of course, I am in your debt, but you are toying with things you don't understand" he snarled, teeth bared, trying to push them away, eyes wet and voice thick.
"Help us understand!" He and Bruce were now standing, walking towards Loki, trying to placate.
"It is not something you can! Nor something you must! Nor something you should! I will repay to you my debt, if you call, I will come, for whatever reason." Loki cried before his voice evened out to a simmering pain.
"Loki, no!" They both reached forward to grab at the God, but he was gone before they could, swirling smoke puffing through the room, before it too left.
They both collapsed to the ground, they just managed to let an almost healed, angry demi-god who was in their debt loose on an unsuspecting world. Tony looked towards his suit and the bar…
Omg, wtf? What am I doing! You guys wanted him to stay, and then he left, and it was all rushed and guuuuuuuuuuuuh. BUT the story line is heading the way I originally planned it, so all is going well. There might be a slight time jump in the next chapter, but it will only result in more Loki, so whatevaaaaaar
Okay, your choice; Tony grabs the suit and goes flyabout looking for Loki, or they have a nice drink and get a bit, well I'd say happy, but it isn't the occasion.
Let me know in comments and reviews and stuff.
Also, I have another story coming out Unprecedented, which will be a lot happier than this fic, so hopefully you enjoy that too, I'll upload it today