"Are you ever going to tell me where my brother is?" Thor asks Heimdall as he gazes out into space.

"You know I cannot."

"Is he at least safe? Is he happy?" Thor asks.

"He is. He smiles like I have not seen him do since he was young. He has mortal friends that are very loyal to him."

"Do they suspect him?"

"No. Nor are your fighting companions aware of his presence on their world."

"That is good. With Loki having no memory of his past crimes I would not want them punishing him for something he doesn't remember doing."

"He is happier living as a common man. He has learned gratitude and humility. I would hate to see that go away." Heimdall gives Thor a pointed look.

"Do you think he would revert back to his old ways if he ever found out who he really is?" Thor asks.

"It is hard to say, but yes that is what I fear." Heimdall says.

"I miss him. I missed him when he was dead, I missed him when he was alive and plotting against me. I missed him when he stabbed me in the ribcage. I wish I could understand how his heart became so twisted. When did his love for me die?"

"Envy is powerful enough to twist any man. He confessed as much to you. It is better that he is no longer a prince and no longer your brother." Heimdall says.

Thor walks away. Part of him wanted to refute that last statement, but a larger part of him is glad that people no longer see Loki as Thor's kin. Thor's friends have asked Thor repeatedly where his unending forgiveness and love for Loki comes from, especially after all the betrayal Thor has suffered.

Is love ever logical? Thor has felt unbrotherly affection towards Loki for years. An affection that would have been shunned, even earned him a long term prison sentence had he pursued it. Now that Odin has disowned Loki entirely that barrier is gone. But Loki is no longer within arm's reach, no longer down the hall where he could slip into his chambers and bare his soul to the man in private. Thor falls asleep, like he does every night, wondering if Loki ever felt the same.

XxXxXxXxXx

"That woman was incredibly rude." Jack laments as he hangs up the phone.

"Here let me try." Tommy says. He dials the number he looked up on the internet.

"Stark Industries. For employment queries press #1, For media queries press #2, for …." Tommy listens to the prompts and finally settles for option 2."

"Stark Industries Public Relations, how may I assist you?"

"Yeah ah, I would like to make an appointment to see Tony Stark."

"What media outlet are you affiliated with?"

"Ah, I'm not. My friend has these super powers, and Iron Man needs to meet him." Tommy cringes as the words leave his mouth. It doesn't surprise him when he hears the phone click and the sound of dial tone follows. Jack laughs at his friend and claps sarcastically.

"Did you really think that was going to work?" Jack asks.

"You didn't do any better." Tommy grumbles.

"Look I appreciate the effort but this obviously isn't going to work. The only way I'm going to get close enough to any of them is if I stalk them or try to take over the world. Neither of which will have appealing results."

"Look we just need to get you to some public event where we know they will be."

"And then what? I toss you into the air to get their attention?"

"Ah…well…I don't know! You're the one with the super strength and brains, you think of something."

"Tony Stark is holding his annual gala at the convention center. The money raised goes to charity and one ticket to get inside costs $10,000. Tony Stark will be surrounded by paparazzi or be on stage. I'll never get close enough to him to talk to him and even then what would the net result be? The odds of him knowing who I am are slim."

"But…the awesome things you can do…Dude you can't spend the rest of your life here turning wrenches with the rest of us nobodies. You can do something with your life, something great!" Tommy feels exasperated.

"We'll go to the gala and hang out outside. Sometimes Stark does autographs. Maybe we will get lucky." Jack says.

"Okay. We'll do that." Tommy says.

XxXxXxXxXx

Tommy and Jack look up at the sky with disappointment as Iron Man flies away from the gala. He flew in and he flew out never coming out front to meet with the public or talk to the press.

"Well that was five hours of my life wasted." Jack says.

Tony flies back to the Tower and makes some phone calls.

"Hey Cap, glad to see you joined the 21st century and bought a cell phone."

"Ha ha, what do you want?" Steve asks flatly.

"A vacation. Seriously. I'm calling up the crew. I'm thinking the Bahamas for two weeks. No tv's, no cellphones, no computers. You in?" Tony asks him. Steve flips through the channels of his television in his tiny New York apartment. He's been trying to catch up on cultural references. Real Housewife's of some fake place is on and the behavior of the women on the show disgusts him. He can't believe the turn society has taken.

"Yeah I'm in. When do we leave?"

"Just as soon as everyone can get here." Tony says.

XxXxXxXxXx

"You know I think we are going about this all wrong. Instead of trying to get to the Avengers, I should draw their attention to me." Jack says.

"What? You giving world domination a second look? Cause if you are I'm in. I just want a Lamborghini, and to take over Donald Trump's penthouse on the Upper East Side. I bet his place is fanstastic." Tommy jokes.

"No but I think a public demonstration of my skills might be in order. If the Avengers see what I can do, hopefully they'll come knocking."

"That's a good idea actually. What did you have in mind?

XxXxXxXxXx

"Our video is going viral!" Dale says as he watches the hits come in. They spent the entire afternoon filming Jack do amazing back flips, throw daggers, and lift heavy things. They even created a makeshift dumbbell where two guys sat on opposite ends of a long rod. Loki bench pressed four grown men.

"Oh wait, wait, this isn't good." Pete says.

"What?" Jack asks pensively.

"Everyone keeps commenting on how awesome our photoshop is. They all think it's fake!" Pete says. Tommy face palms.

"Unfucking believable!"

"I could always go outside naked. That would certainly get everyone's attention." Jack muses.

"Well, if you think it would help…" Billy says.

"Gentleman, I appreciate the effort but I don't think it is meant to be." Jack gives a heavy sigh.

"Oh come on! You can't just give up like that." Dale says.

"If I am really as important and special as you all think I am, things will happen in their own time. We've been neglecting our customers. We should get back to work." Jack says.

"Yeah, yeah I guess." Tommy's disappointment is evident. All the guys are, but they have work to do. They give up on the idea for a while, hoping for something to break Jack's way.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Happy Birthday, Mr. President. Happy Birthday to you." Tiffany says in a breathy voice, an obvious impersonation of Marilyn Monroe. She's wearing a really nice dress, provocative even. Jack feels dread curl inside him at Tiffany's blatant effort to seduce him.

"Open your present man." Tommy smiles. It is a little box with a tiny bow on it. Jack opens it eagerly. Inside is a key. "We got you your own place! It's in those apartments just up the street. Mrs. Buckman died and I jumped on the opening. It's nice, big, and rent controlled. The super in the complex owed me a couple favors. It even has nice furniture." Tommy says. Jack smiles broadly and hugs his friend.

"I cannot thank you enough. Your kindness and friendship mean so much to me." Jack says as he hugs his friends.

"Come on, let's go check it out!" Tommy's excitement radiates from his body. The group walks down the street to Jack's new place. It is a five story brown stone. Jack's new place is on the second floor. When he unlocks the door and steps inside he grins ear to ear.

"A lot of Mrs. Buckman's stuff is still here. Her husband died a few years back and their one kid died back in Vietnam. Nobody is going to come and claim this stuff so it's yours." Tommy explains. Jack looks around at all the knitted afghan blankets, cozies, and rugs.

"I think some redecorating is in order." He says. Tommy is right about the furniture. The small round table is old and of firm construction. The bedroom furniture is solid old wood as well, all of which has been lovingly polished and kept dust free. The couch needs to be replaced, and the more personal items need to be thrown away but it is, all in all, a nice place.

"I think a fresh coat of paint and some restoration to the hardwood floor will really brighten up the place." Tiffany says. She smiles at Jack in a loving affectionate way that no one misses. Her eyes linger on Jack with want and the guys all suddenly feel tired and need to leave right that second.

Tommy gives a big fake yawn and looks at the guys with purpose. "Oh wow would you look at the time!"

"It's only 8:30." Jack says.

"Yeah and we've got that big project to work on at the shop tomorrow." Tommy lies.

"What the hell are you talking about? The Johnson's car is almost done." Jack looks at Tommy like he's lost his mind. Tommy is shoving Billy, Dale, and Pete out the front door.

"Gotta go! Good night!" Tommy yells as the guys all grumble about their sudden strange departure. Tiffany chuckles when they are finally alone. Jack turns and looks at her.

"I think we've been set up." Tiffany says coyly. Jack swallows hard and averts his eyes to the floor.

"Jack, Jack I know you have reasons for not wanting to start something. I shouldn't be doing this either, not with you. But I can't stop thinking about you and need to tell you, that I want you. I can't stop thinking about you." Tiffany says. Jack feels the lump in his gut explode. He's going to have to break her heart. There is no getting around it.

"Tiffany I am sorry, but I do not feel that way about you. The truth is, I am attracted to someone else." Jack says. Tiffany is taken aback by this revelation. Tommy never mentioned another woman being in the picture. If he had seen one hanging around, he certainly would have told her.

"She's a lucky girl." Tiffany tries not to sound too hurt.

"Tiffany, it is not a girl I am attracted to." Jack says. Tiffany looks at him then, as she processes what he just told her. "I am attracted to the wrong Sanders sibling." He elaborates.

"You…and my brother? But Tommy's not gay! I don't think…I mean he goes through girlfriends pretty fast…maybe he is and he's been afraid to tell me…oh my god I never…"

"Tiffany! Tiffany no! Tommy is not homosexual. My feelings for him are unrequited. Tommy likes the ladies and I like him. Please do not tell him. I know he will never return my affections and I don't want things between us to be weird."

"Okay. Okay I won't. Now that you have your own place, do you think you will start dating?" She asks.

"I don't know. I do still have my concerns about a family coming and finding me. Just because I am self-aware of my sexual preferences now doesn't mean I was before. I might have a wife somewhere. I know it is unlikely but, my concern is not unfounded."

"You can only keep up this lonely life for so long though. I mean, come on, everybody's got an itch to scratch."

"Tell me about it. Being around your brother all day has been torture for me. The things I'd do to that man if he'd let me…" Jack's eyes go distant as he fantasizes. Tiffany giggles.

"I'm never going to be able to look at him the same way when the two of you are together."

"Ah…no! No giggling. He'll immediately know something is up."

"What do you want me to tell my brother when he asks how tonight went?"

"Tell him I'm still not ready to open up yet. He'll buy that." Jack says.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

On a random day, on a random week, in a random month a year and half after Loki's banishment, Jack takes his friends into Manhattan to treat them to a fun afternoon. They catch a baseball game and snag some premium eats at a reasonably priced place. Schwarma is not something Tommy would have ever tried but Jack is always up for trying new things since everything is new to him.

"I'll have the Iron Man special." Jack says as he places his order. Tommy and the guys do the same.

"Eh, it's okay." Pete says.

"I guess Tony Stark comes here a lot." Dale says.

"Hey maybe we should just set up camp here and wait for him." Tommy says to Jack. Jack smiles as he chews his food.

The guys leave the food joint arm in arm, busting each other's balls in a debate over which car is the best car ever made. Jack's eyes connect with a random stranger for a moment, a man he has never seen before. The look the man gives him is one of shock and anger. Jack was about to ask the guy what his problem was but he was distracted by his friend.

"Hey let's go do some touristy stuff like visit the Empire State Building or something? I think you'd like it." Billy says to Jack.

"What's the Empire State Building?"

Clint Barton watches the group of men as they walk down the street talking about cars, tourists, and baseball. When he is certain they aren't looking he follows them. He follows them and places a call to a friend.

"Nat, where are you?"

"At the tower. What's up?"

"Dress in plain clothes and meet me outside the entrance to the Empire State Building."

"Why?"

"I swear to god I saw a guy that looks just like Loki."