Author's Note:
Cannot. Deal. With the amount. Of love. People are giving. To this story.
Legit you make my heart squee. You make my heart feel funny.
I love you guys.
;)
"Rapunzel!" Thor cries desperately as he swings Mjolnir above his head, hovering outside the windows. There are humans inside staring at him beyond the panes, their heads tilted in shock and confusion. Through a nearby open window, Thor hears "isn't that one of the Avengers?"
"Thor?"
"Why is he a kid?"
"What the hell?"
"Why is he shouting for Rapunzel?"
Avast! The perpetrator! He must be the one who is imprisoning his dear Rapunzel! The one who's keeping her trapped! Thor drops onto the edge of the building, grasping the window ledge and edging along, before reaching the open window and glaring inside.
"Give me Rapunzel!" he yells. The humans look at one another, then back at Thor.
"...There's no Rapunzel here!"
Thor screeches. "Liars!" Mjolnir makes contact with the glass and it shatters around him, almost sending him flying from his foothold, but he remains steadfast and drinks in the screams of the enemies.
He will prevail!
Loki really isn't a fan of travelling via Iron Man Express. He complains excessively and grunts at every twist and turn in the air as Tony rockets towards where he assumes Thor has set out for.
"Please, please don't tell me that's my brother doing that," Loki groans from behind Tony when thunder booms and thick, dark clouds circle above the Empire State building in the distance. "Please. Please."
"Sorry but yes, yes it is."
"...Fabulous."
"Now, you dastardly fiends! Hand over the girl and peace will follow. If you do not comply, force will be brought down upon you!"
The humans are all pressed in the corner of their office, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Rapunzel is in a story book! She ain't real!"
"Shut up, Freddie!"
"Jesus, you'll make him even angrier!"
"It's always Freddie."
The person who is apparently named "Freddie" recoils behind his co-workers, sheepish and now white as a sheet.
"You have thirty seconds!" Thor cries.
"Quick! Who's got the longest hair?"
"Nigel the copy boy?"
"A girl, you knob!"
"Susie?"
"Oh no, don't even think about bringing me into this!"
"Think of all the lives you'll save!"
"For the good of the company!"
"For the good of us!"
"For the good of New York's most recognisable structure!"
"Susie! Go!"
Suddenly, a girl stumbles forwards, her unbelievably long blonde hair whooshing outwards, immediately capturing Thor's attention.
"...Rapunzel?"
Susie gulps. "Um..."
"Rapunzel, you're safe!" Thor runs over and she backs away, but someone behind her pushes her into Thor's arms. He hugs her leg. "My love, I shall take you far from here to a land where no harm shall ever come to you."
"Um," is all Susie has to say again. There's an almighty crash and Iron Man appears through the cloud of dust, just as Loki slips from his back.
"What are you doing, Nate?"
"Recording this for YouTube, duh."
"Thor!" Tony shouts, and the miniature thunder god looks up at him, not letting go of Susie's leg.
"Why is Loki here? Isn't he supposed to be the bad guy?"
Loki shoots the crowd a glare and they fall into silence.
"Thor, what do you think you're doing?"
"Rescuing Rapunzel!"
Tony turns to Loki. "See. My hunches are always right." Loki rolls his eyes. Tony looks back at Thor. "Thor, kiddo, you gotta come home. You can't just run away like that."
"But my Rapunzel needed me?"
"Rapunzel's doing okay on her own, see!" Tony motions at Susie. Thor gazes up at her and she just looks lost. "You've rescued her from the clutches of her desk and monotonous work! Well done. Now then, it's time to head back to the tower."
"Not until I get my hero kiss!"
There's a pause.
"…Huh?"
"At the end of every movie, the hero gets a kiss. That's how you know he did a good job."
"Uh…."
Loki sighs. "The Disney movies. You know, like Hercules?"
Tony gasps. "Ohhhhhh. Yeah, lady, you gotta kiss the tiny person there."
"What?"
"Just give him a peck on the cheek."
"I-"
"If you don't kiss him serious shit will go down."
Susie's eyes widen further. "Okay okay! Jeez." She squats down beside Thor, who stands proud and victorious, cheek tilted up ready to receive his prize. It's then that Susie can't help but giggle, and she places her lips onto his cheek and then hugs him tightly. "Thank you, Thor. You saved me!"
"All in a day's work, fair maiden."
"How can I ever repay you?"
"Another kiss, if you will?" Thor pats his face. Susie complies and then stands, watching Thor hurry back to Loki and Tony and jump into Loki's arms.
Tony salutes her. "Nice job." She nods.
"It's not every day you get rescued by a teensy god."
"…Can I ask why he's a kid?" someone pipes up from the crowd.
"No," Tony answers sharply. "Oh, and sorry about your wall. You may need to get that fixed." He points to the gaping hole in the building. Walking towards the hole, Loki jumps onto his back. Tony can almost feel the god's embarrassment burning through his suit. He laughs.
"Hold on tight, buttercup. Wave goodbye to the lovely office people! You too, Thor!" Loki tenses around him, and Thor bounces around on Tony's neck.
"Goodbye Rapunzel! I will miss you!"
And with that, Tony heads for home.
Thor tells his exciting tale over dinner, because no one finds it in their heart to punish the boy for wanting to save a damsel in distress. His hands outline the story; tiny fists claiming glory and the unwashed-off lipstick marks on his cheek symbols of his gallantry. The other children sit listening with awe, their small mouths forming 'o' shapes and their eyes yearning for more.
Pepper, Loki and Tony stand, their plates balancing in their hands as they eat.
"So how are we going to prevent Thor from escaping again?" Pepper asks, crunching on some carrot. "I mean, you said Thor-proofing wasn't an option."
"What about taking away Mjolnir?"
Loki's head falls back as he lets out a single "ha!"
"What?"
"Trying to part Thor and Mjolnir when Thor doesn't want to part from Mjolnir is like walking directly to your death."
"Hmmm," Pepper hums, eyes slits, and she places her plate down before she crosses over to Thor. Thor's story pauses momentarily as Pepper whispers something into his ear, to which he listens intently. After a while, Thor nods and picks up Mjolnir. Loki and Tony watch with disbelief. Taking Pepper's hand, they walk together to the safe in which Thor places Mjlonir, and Pepper clangs it shut.
"How-" Loki begins as Thor slides back onto his chair and Pepper re-joins them.
Pepper shrugs. "We've all got our own little super-powers."
When the kids go to bed, and Pepper yawns around a "goodnight", Loki and Tony are left alone in the rec room once again.
Fury hasn't bugged him about Loki since they returned, so Tony presumes the shit will hit the fan tomorrow.
At least they've got tonight.
Jeez, Tony thinks, that sounds like a line from a cheesy chick-flick.
Loki is quiet; he's reading The Great Gatsby which he got from god-knows where, and he's so into it that he doesn't notice Tony watching him. Tony doesn't mean to watch him. He's just sort of mesmerising in this state of absolute normalcy. He's reading a book, curled up in a blanket, and expressing such a deep serenity that Tony finds extraordinary in a guy who once caused such chaos.
"I'd really much prefer it if you didn't stare."
Okay, so maybe he had noticed.
"Sorry. Good book?"
Loki nods. "Very. Midgardian books are enthralling. I never realised before, but the human mind is a complex, clever and creative place. Particularly in some."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well." Loki places his thumb between the pages and closes the book. "There's you, as one example. Not many humans have such control of science. It's as though it is a physical part of you that branches out from your fingertips and flows into the science around you. It is as though it is you that puts the science into something that is already deemed as scientific. You look beyond the original science and you see so much more than others. You don't work for science. Science works for you. It's fascinating."
Tony doesn't quite know what to say, so he settles for humour.
"Flirting again, are you?" He winks and nudges Loki with his toe. Loki lowers his eyebrows but quickly relaxes and smirks.
"Is that what you would prefer, Stark? If it were a flirtation?"
Wow, so Tony wasn't expecting that. Jesus Christ how does he answer that kind of thing? But wait…if he's even questioning it surely that must mean that he's been subconsciously confused this whole time. Like, he's never seen Loki as more than…well, taking into account the past few days alone, a friend. Sure, the guy's hot and his ass is like woah but last time he mentioned that to Thor he ended up smashing through two skyscrapers and landing very painfully on a roof the other side.
But it's easy being around Loki in some weird, fucked up way because hello, the guy used to be one of SHIELD's most wanted. But Tony likes the domesticity they have going on. Part of him never wants the kids to grow up. He wants to look after them forever with Loki at his side. It's fun and yeah, it's a challenge and a half what with one of them escaping to the top of the Empire State building but they dealt with it. And they'll keep dealing with it. Tony knows it's pointless trying to force Loki's magic back, but he also knows Fury won't give a shit what Tony thinks.
Tony also knows that he's not going to be the one who electrocutes Loki. He won't let Fury electrocute him either. He won't. Oh god, now he's feeling protective over the bastard.
What's happened to him?
Well, he doesn't have to be clever to know the answer to that one, but he tucks the idea away before he can properly process it. His brain's already processing too much to deal with any more.
"I'm sorry if I just made everything awkward," Loki gushes apologetically, shifting and going to stand. Tony yanks him back down and sighs.
"No, no…you just caught me off guard. Not many people catch me off guard."
"Yet I managed to…Interesting…" Loki raises an eyebrow and chuckles. Once more, Tony doesn't know how to respond. Loki seems amused by this, but then something flickers across his face and his smile drops. "Earlier…Director Fury said that he came to collect me. Why?"
Damn.
"He's uh, pissed that your magic isn't back yet."
Loki's face remains unphased, yet there's something something in his eyes that Tony finds strange but he has no idea why.
"And he wants to hurry along the process, I imagine?"
"Um…sort of."
"Meaning yes. And knowing your delightful boss, the means by which he will attempt to do so will not be pleasant, considering all I've done in the past."
"You've changed. You don't deserve what Fury wants to do to you."
Loki smirks, and sits back, removing his eyes from Tony's.
"But have I changed? Really? How can you be sure? How can you know that this isn't all just part of a huge game where I lure you in like a naïve little fish before yanking you out by a twisted hook in your lip?"
Tony swallows around a lump in his throat he never knew had formed. "Because I trust you."
It's brief, but Tony doesn't miss the irregular rise and fall of Loki's chest.
"That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard you say."
"Then clearly you haven't heard me talk enough."
"Clearly."
The sweat lining Tony's collar and hairline is insane and unexpected. Very unexpected. He rubs his neck, and the silence that passes is bordering on unbearable. Did someone turn up the heat in here?
Their eyes stay locked until Tony can't take any more and he stands, forcing himself to yawn.
"Well, I'm beat. I'll see you in the morning. Great chat. Fab. Really eye-opening. Maybe a little too eye-opening. Yeah, you know when I said I say stupid things well here you go, have your fill because I'm really rambling way too much now and screw you stop smirking at me."
"You're adorable."
Tony's taken aback. Loki looks even more surprised at himself for saying it.
"Adorable?"
"…Goodnight, Stark." Loki stands too – abruptly - and crosses the room to the door. His hand barely makes the handle before Tony places his hand over it instead and opens the door for him.
"Night Loki," he says breathlessly, letting the god pass. He stands there, perspiring forehead pressed against the cool surface of the door, until he hears Loki's door close. It's only then that he allows himself to drop to the carpet and tuck his arms around his knees.
His heart feels funny.