"Clint." Clint sighed and turned towards the voice of Tony slowly. He had dragged the man all the way down the stairs, completely skipping the elevator and practically pushed him into the limo which was already moving, not giving Tony any chance to respond to his scene in the meeting.
He wasn't sure what Tony was going to say, he just didn't want to hear Tony say he shouldn't have defended him or some crap like that, because honestly he was TERRIFIED that the whole thing would destroy any progress the team had made with Tony since Loki's spell.
Clint reluctantly turned towards him and was met with a bone crushing hug. He gasped in response but Tony just hugged him tighter and he cautiously moved his arms around the billionaire in return. "Thank you Clint." Tony whispered awed and Clint smiled slightly as Tony gently pulled away, big brown eyes lightened with obvious happiness and awe.
"Anytime Tony." He said gently squeezing Tony's shoulder in reassurance, earning him a giant smile. The flicker of hope in his stomach grew, and Clint nearly passed out in relief that they hadn't lost Tony.
…
"Thor?" Thor was sitting on the roof, staring at the stars and eating a Pop-Tart, lost in his thoughts when he heard Tony's voice break the quiet.
"Brother Tony, come sit." He said kindly and soon found the mussed genius sitting next to him nervously. Thor took an appraising look at him and was taken aback at how frightened Tony looked. "Tony, is there something wrong?" He said softly, trying to keep his voice even so as to not frighten the man off.
Tony's brown eyes shot up to meet his and he sighed, his hands absently twirling the extra fabric on his shirt into a knot. "I need to talk to you, about Loki."
Thor immediately froze, and the Pop-Tarts he had been eating were crushed to dust in his hands. "Y-yes?" He said strained, trying his very best not to get defensive or snap at the abused man beside him. Tony reluctantly put one of his calloused hands on top of Thor's and took a shuttering breath.
"He couldn't have come back. I wouldn't have trapped him if there was even a chance. When I went into his mind Thor- Loki is dead. When those things grabbed your brother after his fall from the Bi frost, they killed anything that was left of Loki at that point. He was basically dead, they were using his body. All they did was restart his heart, not his sentient mind. I would have tried for you if there was anything left to save, I'm so sorry Thor."
Thor let a gentle hand fall to Tony's back, comforting the man distressed. "I knew." He whispered painfully. "There wasn't any Loki left in his eyes since his fall from the Bi Frost. I saw he was only a walking corpse. I didn't want to believe it. I wasn't ready to grieve and instead thought it better to blame my brother for things he was no longer in control of."
Tony looked up at Thor sadly. "I saw the last thing he saw at the Bi Frost Thor. It was you. You and Loki battling with wooden swords. You were both happy, for once and it was just the two of you. You were the last thing he thought of as he died."
Thor took a stuttering breath to try and hold back tears to no avail, pulling Tony towards him into a crushing hug for comfort. Tony froze for a moment then awkwardly put his arms around the crying warrior. "I know, Thor, I know." He whispered sadly. Thor heard and whispered in a choked sob, the lost stinging even more at the man who reminded him so much of the brother he lost. "I was never angry with you Tony. It was not your fault." Tony says nothing, but Thor can feel him relax visibly at his words. Tony can feel the relief at the forgiveness he knows he shouldn't have been seeking, his worn out heart stitched back together a little more.
For the first time in so long, there is a tiny flame or hope flickering in Tony's soul, and he wants to let it grow, he just doesn't know if it's a fool's hope or not that maybe someone finally cares about him.