Tony absently stared at the screen, scrolling through the reports. The damage to the tower had been extensive, but thankfully, more cosmetic rather than structural. Still, it was a pain to deal with the insurance companies over the issues. 'Random alien attacks' wasn't exactly covered in his policy, and neither was the Hulk hissy fits which left him with god sized craters in his floors as well with several damaged doorways.

Sighing, he shoved his chair back from the screen, running his hands over his face. "Screw the insurance companies, I'll just eat the costs myself."

"That's probably going to be the easiest option."

Yelping in a very undignified way, he nearly fell out of his chair at the voice over his shoulder. Spinning the chair around, he found himself faced with a rather amused looking Darcy as she alternated between looking at him and the reports screen.

"So…" she drawled out slowly, leaning forward to scroll through the details. "It's good to see that Loki didn't leave any lasting damage to the tower. The arc reactor being used for the portal was the main issue: the rest of these should be patched up within a couple months, then you can return to finishing up the rest of the tower."

"Yeah... " he began slowly, staring at her as if she were a ghost. "Though I've thought up some layout changes to make this place more…" His words tapered off, and he slowly reached forward to poke her face. "Huh… so I'm not hallucinating…"

"Are hallucinations a common thing for you nowadays?" she asked with a laugh as she playfully swatted away his hand.

"Honestly, after the past two weeks, anything is possible." He stared at her for a minute, then asked, "So… I'm assuming you are healed?"

She beamed at him, lifting up the side of her shirt to proudly show off her wound free torso, though a nasty looking scar still remained. "The spell finished up this morning. The scar isn't going away though, but I don't mind." Grinning mischievously as she dropped the shirt, she remarked, "It makes me look like a badass."

Stark couldn't help but laugh, before standing up and pulling Darcy into a tight hug. "God, am I glad to see you."

"Pssh, it's going to take a lot more than a pointy stick to get rid of me."

Pulling back, Stark grinned down at the short girl. "I didn't doubt you for a minute."

"Uh huh."

"Was I mildly concerned? Yes, but hey, the important part is here you are!" he announced, gesturing to her. "Alive and in one piece. Looks like Reindeer Games made good on his promise." Resting his hands on her shoulders, he added, "Now we can just work on getting things back to how they used to be."

Darcy's face suddenly seemed rather hesitant. "Umm...about that…"

Frowning, he asked, "What's wrong, kid?"

"...we need to talk, Tony."


"Hello, brother."

Tensing where he stood, Thor slowly turned to stare in disbelief. He had been staring out the window, lost deep in thought, but the voice dragged him harshly back to reality. "This is certainly a surprise."

Chuckling softly, Loki reclined back into the chair he was occupying, sprawling as if he sat in that spot everyday. "Aren't I always full of surprises?"

Seeing Loki seated so casually in his living quarters felt strange to him. Walking slowly from the window, Thor moved to sit across from his brother. "How does Lady Darcy fair?"

"She is fully healed, as I said she would be," Loki remarked cooly, conjuring a glass of wine to his hand. "Currently, she is speaking with Stark."

Grinning widely, Thor finally relaxed. "That is wonderful news! I knew you would take fine care of her, brother." The grin faded slightly, and then he asked, "Not that I am not pleased to see you, but I did not believe you would wish to speak with me."

"Honestly? This was not my idea." Sipping on the wine, he stared off at nothing. "Darcy insisted that I speak with you about… certain developments."

"...what have you done?"

Giving Thor an 'are you serious' look, Loki quipped, "Must you always assume that I have done something wrong?"

"You have the title of the God of Chaos and Mischief. You did not earn that title for nothing."

"...fair enough." Downing the wine, he waved his hand and the glass disappeared. "Fine then. Straight to the point." Leaning forward, his arms resting on his knees while his hands clasped together, Loki could not help the shit eating grin on his face. "I am keeping Darcy."


"What drugs are you taking?"

"I'm not-"

"Seriously, it has to be some pretty strong stuff."

"Tony-"

"Because sane, drug free Darcy would not be suggesting running off with a war criminal."

Rolling her eyes, she huffed as she leaned on his desk. "Oh come on, dude. Like I've ever been sane-"

"You are not helping your case-"

"Look!" she snapped, pointing a finger on him. "I am not on drugs, and though my sanity is questionable, I am old enough to make my own decisions."

Tony looked like he was at a loss, acting as if he wanted to make a comment but stopping himself before he could. Finally, he chose to storm off, heading over to the mini bar on the other side of the room. Angrily, he snatched the bottle of scotch off the shelf and began preparing himself a tall glass.

Slowly approaching him, Darcy hesitantly spoke as Stark took a long drink from his glass. "Have you… have you ever met someone and just… clicked with them?"

Turning around, the glass hanging loosely between his fingers, he asked, "You're telling me that you 'click' with Loki?"

"Kind of?..." Stared at him, her eyes pleading for understanding as she shifted uncomfortably in her spot. Biting her lip, she nodded. "I… I know you may not understand but-"

She was cut off by Tony laughing. "That's the thing though…" He stared her down, while her eyes were pleading, his were tired. "I do understand. I understand all too well."


Loki found himself being slammed against a wall, Thor's face inches from his own. "You will not harm her."

"After everything, you still think I could harm her?" Loki asked dryly, seeming undisturbed over his current predicament.

"Not voluntarily," Thor amended, loosening his grip but still keeping a hard edge to his eyes. "But you have already hurt her once."

Now Loki looked pissed. Shoving Thor off of him, he snapped, "I was not in control of my actions!" Pacing away, he continued to angrily rant. "Had I been in my right mind, she never would have been in harm's way!"

Thor stared at his brother, assessing him. "So you were under another's control."

He saw Loki flex his hand, obviously uncomfortable with the topic. "That is why I am here." Finally turning back around to face Thor, he elaborated. "Darcy easily figured out that I was under another's control during the battle. She wanted details, but I refused to tell her."

Moving back towards his seat which Thor had dragged him out of, Loki unceremoniously dropped himself back down into it. "I do not want her involved. And knowledge is power: anyone who knows the full truth would be a target. Still, Darcy insisted that I tell someone."

Understanding dawned on Thor. "You are going to tell me?"

"Not that I want to make you a target," Loki answered in an oddly lighthearted tone. "But you can imagine how you are a more hardy target than Darcy."

Nodding, Thor replied, "You do not need to explain yourself to me, brother. I would rather be in the line of fire than Lady Darcy. But know that whatever you tell me, I shall be passing along to the Avengers." Loki paused for a minute, before nodding in resignation. Thor then moved to sit down once again, asking, "So, tell me everything."

"I can sum it up in a name." Loki's voice was ominous, his eyes darkening. "Thanos."


Both Stark and Darcy were sitting, each sipping on their own respective glasses of scotch. Stark reclined in his chair while Darcy sat on the edge of his desk next to him, her legs lightly swinging. Silence hung in the air between them, though it was not exactly uncomfortable.

Finishing his glass, Tony decided to break the silence. "So this is really happening." He sat the glass down on the desk as she watched him. "I should be more surprised, but I'm not. You are even more sporadic than me."

She smirked, though her eyes watched him sadly. "It's not going to be permanent. Just… for a little while. And I already told him that I want a computer set up. I will have to use some encryptions so that you guys can't track me, but I can still work on projects remotely…"

"I'll hold you to that," he responded evenly. "Just because you are running off with your alien boyfriend-"

"He is not my boyfriend-"

"-does not mean that you can get away with slacking off." Then, as if an afterthought, he demanded, "And I want a call every week. You know, as confirmation of life. And to make sure he isn't off plotting world domination in his spare time."

Laughing, she gave him a mock salute. "Duly noted."

Running his hands over his face, he muttered, "SHIELD is going to have an absolute hissy fit over this."

"Sorry to leave you to deal with that."

"No you're not."

Shrugging as she sipped on her glass, she replied, "You're right, I'm not. SHIELD is full of dicks."

He burst out laughing. "Yeah, they are hard to deal with at times." With a shake of his head, he stated, "God, I'm going to miss you."

She sat a hand on his shoulder, smiling sadly. "It's only for a little while. I promise."

His hand moved to rest on hers. "You better keep that promise."


"So what will you do now?"

Loki watched his brother quietly for a minute. "Explore this planet, I suppose. Try to figure out what you find so interesting about this rock."

With a sly smirk, Thor pointedly remarked, "Something tells me that you have already found that."

Loki glared at his brother. "She is just a friend, Thor."

"I said nothing to suggest otherwise."

"So you say. That grin on your face has absolutely no ulterior implications."

"But of course."

Shaking his head in disgust, he snapped, "Get your head out of the gutter, you oaf."

He rose, moving to stand next to Loki as he clapped his hand on his brother's shoulder. "She is a wonderful young woman, Loki. Take care of her, or you will have a long line of people to explain yourself to."

Looking up to meet Thor's gaze, he firmly replied, "I would expect nothing less."


Author's Notes: Annnnnd that concludes the first part of the story~ The rest of this is going to kick into another gear. Be prepared...


Comments:

browneyedgenius: Awww thank you!

AppleistheScrubLord: Ahhhhhhh thanks so much! I was worried about how that chapter would turn out if I'm being honest. ^^;