Chapter 12

Who's to blame?

Notes:

Hi everyone and welcome to another chapter!

For this chapter, we first go slightly, just slightly back in time.
Hope you will come to like it anyway!

Please enjoy!


'I'm sure that girl was Loki. I mean, "hi, sir, I'm Daisy," my ass!' Tony said agitatedly as he let himself fall on the white sofa.

'Hmm? What?' Steve said as he looked up from his magazine, a slight smile on his face as he heard his friend imitating a girl's voice.

'Peter went to that pool party with this girl, Thor and I met her in the hallway. Now, we both know Thor wouldn't recognize his brother in disguise if his life depended on it, but I could see right through it. That girl was not "Daisy," but Loki. I tell you, Cap, I don't like it that they keep secrets from us. I'm used to it from Loki, but, Peter...'

'Maybe,' Steve said after a brief moment of silence, 'we should ask ourselves why Loki and Peter are lying to us in the first place. I mean, Peter doesn't really seem like someone who would "just" lie...'

'I know, right?' Tony agreed, relieved to know the Captain found this suspicious as well, 'It has to be Loki, I just feel it.'

'No, Tony, that's not what I'm trying to say,' Steve quickly corrected himself, 'All I'm saying is that there must be a reason for Peter to lie to us, for all we know, he could be the one dragging Loki into this, well, whatever it is.'

'And why would he ever do that?' Tony asked a little offended.

Steve stared at the ceiling as he thought this through, then something hit him. 'Well, what happened the last time he and Loki were, well, close with each other? You know, like the day after prom?'

'They ended up screaming at each other once they woke up?'

'Yes, that too,' Steve chuckled a little, 'And how did we react to that?'

'Well, by,' Tony started in confidence, but he then felt a little more defeated as he now realized where his friend was going with this, 'By screaming at them...'

'You see what I mean?'

'Yeah, yeah, I know,' the playboy sighed, tousling his hair a little in frustration, 'It's just, I really think Loki,' he continued, but a sharp look of his friend made him stop.

'Tony, do you really have so little trust in Loki?' the blond asked as he squinted his brilliant blue eyes, 'Or are you just that partial to Peter?'

'No, it's just that... well...' Tony then sighed and stood up from the couch, crossing his arms, 'Fine! Yes, I do have trouble trusting the guy! Can you really blame me?' he said in frustration, 'He almost destroyed a major city, Steve. He tried to take over our freaking planet. Thor told me he even tried to destroy his birth planet...! Realm, whatever it is.'

'I know, but Thor also said that it was probably because he was hurt and-'

'Yeah, hurt, Rogers, he found out he was adopted and that hurts, I get that, but that doesn't give him any right to destroy his entire home planet or to take over ours!'

'… I know, Tony,' Steve admitted as he had nothing to counter the argument and he looked down in defeat.

Watching the captain lowering his head, Tony calmed down a little and he let himself fall back on the couch next to the blond. 'I really, really tried, Steve,' he sighed, 'but there's just something about him,' he said as he sincerely tried to understand the god's decisions, 'I mean, trying to erase an entire race... and rule over another... just because you found out you're adopted... Either something else happened to him, something he just doesn't want to tell us, or he has serious mental health issues.' Tony then noticed Steve's sharp eyes glaring at him, finding a hint of shock and disbelieve in the captain's expression for saying this. 'Rogers, I'm not saying that as a joke, I mean it. I am sincerely concerned for him,' he quickly added as he looked the captain straight in his blue eyes. 'Plus,' he continued, 'he already had all those weird nicknames before all of this, like, god of lies and mischief, and Liesmith and, what was the other again... Oh yeah, Silver Tongue, whatever that may be. And, imagining him being with Pete...' Tony shook his head, 'It's not that I don't want Peter to be happy, really, I don't even care if he would date a girl or a guy, but, what if he would do something to offend Loki? Something that might hurt him? What if Loki reacts so crazy again?' Tony then sighed, 'I just can't, Rogers, I mean, Peter's my responsibility and if anything would ever happen to that kid, I-'

'Our responsibility, Tony,' Steve corrected his friend with a gentle smile. 'We're in on this together, remember?' he reminded the playboy in a kind and soft voice.

Tony stared at the blond for a second, only then did he let out a breath he did not realise he was holding and he relaxed, letting his body slump into the white leather couch. 'Yeah,' he said with a smile, 'Sorry,' he added, as he raised his hand to grasp that of the Captain but, in the end, quickly decided otherwise, which led to a very awkward pat on Steve's shoulder and arm.

'It's okay,' Steve chuckled a little awkwardly. 'Really Tony, I get It. Maybe we could try to have a chat with Loki, ask him why he did what he did.'

'Yeah,' Tony said in a soft voice, letting his head rest on the back cushions of the couch, 'Maybe we should. I doubt that he will really give us an honest answer though…'

'Well, it's worth a shot,' Steve said as he sighted, 'I wonder if all parents, I mean, guardians... tutors, have to go through this,' the blond wondered out loud. 'Anyway, you think you can handle a conversation with Loki without losing your temper?' he smirked a little.

At that moment, the front door flung open and the trickster came barging into the room, heading straight for the stairs.

'I'll give it a try,' Tony whispered to Steve. 'Hey, Lokes!'

'Leave me alone, Stark!' Loki shouted as he quickly mounted the stairs.

'…Yep,' Tony said a little taken aback, his eyes following the god before turning back to the captain. 'That's a reasonable reaction...'

'Well, at least you tried. Maybe more luck some other time?' Steve said with a sympathetic smile.

'Yeah, maybe.'


As quiet as he could, Peter sneaked into the house, making sure no one heard or saw him. He closed the door behind him without a sound and continued to tiptoe down the hallway, softly, carefully.

'Welcome home, Peter,' Friday's voice rang loud and clear through the hallway.

'Shhh, Friday!' he whispered. 'I'm trying to-'

'Hey, Pete!' Tony's voice sounded from the living room.

'Hey!' Peter said as he tried to walk by Tony and Steve without any conversation what so ever.

'You're home early,' Steve noticed in surprise. 'How was the party?'

'It, it wasn't what I hoped it would be. A bit lame, you know,' Peter answered hastily though he tried to sound as casual as possible.

'Ah, that's a shame,' Tony smiled at him, 'You know what, you should throw a party here, sometime, I'll make sure everyone's out. We'll show them what a real party is like, okay?'

'Yeah, sure,' Peter said, in the meantime looking upstairs.

'Everything alright, Peter?' Steve asked, a hint of worry clouding his face.

'Yeah, yeah, just a little tired, that's all,' Peter said with a quick smile, 'I'll just go to bed early.'

'It's only ten o'clock...' Tony remarked a bit suspiciously. 'But if that's what you want, I guess I'll just say good night.'

'Good night, Peter,' Steve smiled, raising his hand to high-five the teen which got completely unnoticed.

'Yeah, sure,' Peter responded absentmindedly, 'Well, I'm going to bed, see you!'

'Wow, wow, wow, wait up,' Tony frowned and walked towards the teen, gently holding on to Peter's wrist, 'What happened to you? Got into a fight?' he asked as he looked at the teen's bright red cheek. Tony and Steve both stared towards the stairs for a second as they remembered the enraged god going to his room hardly a minute ago. They then looked at each other in worry and back at Peter again, waiting for an explanation.

'No, I'm, I'm fine,' Peter tried to smile though he still looked at the stairs. 'I just really want to go to my room now, so...'

'Not so fast, Peter,' Tony said as he kept holding on to the teen's wrist, a little firmer this time, 'What happened? Did Loki-'

'What?!' Peter asked in astonishment, 'You think Lokes would... No! No, if you really need to know, I got into an argument with this crazy girl who likes me, but I don't like her and I don't really think she cares that much altogether, so I told her to stop acting so freaking crazy and then she slapped me. There, happy?'

'Uh,' was the playboy's only answer to that after he fell silent for a moment, 'O-okay, so you uhm, you want an icepack or something?'

'No, Mr. Stark, I just really want to go upstairs and explain to Loki that this girl was kissing me, not the other way around.'

'Why would you have to explain that to Loki?' Steve asked in confusion as he tried to understand the situation.

'I, I don't know...' Peter said and then he crossed his arms, 'Why am I explaining this to you two?'

'Well, of course, you don't have to Peter, and we are sorry if we are interfering with your private matters, however, we are your mentors, and hopefully, also your friends, so, we just want what's best for you, okay?' Steve tried as he genuinely smiled.

'I get that, thanks,' Peter sighed and he passed them a quick yet melancholic smile, 'Can I please explain this later?'

'Sure, kid,' Tony said as he let go of Peter's wrist. 'We'll talk later.'

'Thanks,' Peter smiled and he raced up the stairs. As he noticed there was no one else upstairs, he sprinted down the hallway towards the god's room, coming to an abrupt stop in front of the trickster's door. He gulped and gently knocked.

'Lokes?' he almost whispered, afraid to speak up.

'Go away, Peter,' the trickster replied. 'I have locked the door, you are not getting in.'

'Please...' Peter sighed, 'can't you let me in?'

'No, go away,' the voice reacted coldly, almost without any form of emotion.

'...I won't,' Peter said, sitting down next to the door. 'I'll sit here all night if I have to.'

'Well, I hope you are comfortable, because you will.'

At that moment, Thor walked by, talking to Quill. They looked up in surprise as they saw the teen sitting down next to the door.

'What are you doing?' Thor asked confused, knowing the teen was sitting in front of his brother's room.

'What? Can't a guy chill on the floor in his own house?' Peter asked casually as he crossed his arms.

'Uh, yeah, sure,' Quill replied with a smile, 'Hey, you wanna tag along? I just heard Thor has never seen Footlose, can you believe that? So, knowing he and Loki are missing such a significant part of their Earthly education, I thought we should watch it together.'

'Apparently, our lives will become much more meaningful if we watch this movie, according to our friend Quill, that is,' Thor smiled, raising his hand as he wanted to knock on Loki's door.

'Loki can't make it!' Peter said quickly, rising to his feet, 'we uhm, we're going for a walk outside.'

'Walks can wait,' Quill said enthusiastically and he knocked on the raven's door, 'Hey! Trickster! Want to-'

'If the three of you do not leave this instance, I will turn you into miserably, puny, cockroaches!' Loki shouted before Starlord could finish his sentence.

'… Well that's just rude,' Quill said, crossing his arms, 'Fine, sorry for trying to make you a part of this awesome experience,' he shrugged. 'Let's go, pirate angel, looks like your brother would rather stay locked in his room,' he said, tapping Thor's shoulder.

Thor hesitated for a moment and then looked at Peter in suspicion, 'Is something the matter betw-'

'For Norns sake, Thor! Leave!' the three heard the raven hiss from the other side of the door.

'… Maybe you should ask him for a walk some other time, Man of Spiders,' Thor said in a softer voice this time, making sure Loki would not hear him, 'When my brother gets in a foul mood like this, well... he tends to speak of things he might regret,' Thor gave him a nod, 'Enjoy your chilling, Peter. You may join us anytime if you wish to watch the movie.'

'Thanks,' Peter smiled and Thor patted him on the shoulder before he followed Starlord downstairs.

Peter sat back down in front of the door again and sighed.

'Peter, I am very close to seriously injuring you, so, for your own sake, just leave me be,' the trickster said softly, apparently sitting not too far from the door himself.

'I am not leaving...' Peter said determinedly, 'I just want to talk, Lokes.'

'Well I have nothing to say to you,' the raven hissed though Peter could clearly hear the hurt in his voice, 'I should never have consented to your witless pleading. I knew it was a terrible idea, yet you managed to persuade me.'

'Loki...' Peter sighed in guilt as he let his head rest against the wall, 'I just want to explain myself. Will you please, please let me?'

After a long silence, he heard a defeated sigh from beyond the door. 'Speak.'

'Alright, then,' Peter said as he softly nodded, 'Where should I start...' he wondered but he got no reply. He swallowed, bravely trying to start his plead, 'so-'

'I know she is the girl of your dreams, Peter,' Loki interrupted the teen, his voice a little calmer now as most of his anger was starting to fade.

'What?' Peter asked in confusion.

'They were quite clear about that, Flash and Ned,' Loki said bitterly. 'Do not take me for a fool, Peter, I know your prom list described her. I grant it to you, she has beauty, but I never thought you would be such a poor judge of character. Either way, I hope you will be happy, although I cannot wish her the same,' the trickster spoke calmly, though his own words seemed to hurt himself more than ever.

'You think I want Val to be my girlfriend?' Peter asked in disbelieve, but he remembered how he had thought about the girl for days in a row before the prom, wondering what it must be like to dance with her, or to even speak with her, for that matter. He sighed and shook his head, only now realising how he unintentionally had described Valerie as his ideal woman to Tony. 'No, I know her for the person she really is, I do now.'

'And you needed to kiss her to figure that out?' a sarcastic voice remarked from the other side of the door.

'I know this sounds bad, but she kissed me,' Peter tried.

'You are right, that is a terrible excuse.'

'But it is true, Lokes. I tried to tell her that I did not want to be with her, that it would be unfair to... Anyway, she slapped me when I finally told her that. If you open the door, you can verify it. I'm telling the truth.'

After a seemingly endless silence, Peter heard a sigh coming from the other side, after which the door was unlocked and Loki looked at him. 'Oh, she really got you there,' he said with a smirk he could not hide as he saw Peter's cheek. 'Well-aimed, too. Still, I do not think I believe you, Peter. For all I know, she slapped you because you kissed her.'

'No, no, Lokes, really,' Peter tried, not really knowing what more he could say, 'Val is an awful person, really, I get that now, and that kiss meant nothing to me! I, I mean, it was confusing but if anything, it woke me up and showed me that this is not what I wanted at all. I mean, it was so much different from the time we,' Peter said but then mumbled, 'You know...'

The trickster sighed as he looked at the teen, 'What do you want, Peter?' he asked, a hint of confusion in his voice, 'Because I cannot tell.'

'That makes two of us,' Peter said with a desperate chuckle. 'I mean, does anyone ever know? I don't know.' He looked the god in the eyes and gulped. 'What, what do you want?'

Loki stared at the teen for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak, but as he looked Peter in the eye, he quickly closed his mouth again. Eventually, he let out a sigh and shook his head. 'I do not know. Maybe there is truth in what you said, that no one ever knows.'

He chuckled and shook his head. 'I do not know. Maybe there is truth in what you said, that no one ever knows.'

Peter nodded and they looked around them, as long as they did not have to look into each other's eyes.

'Might I ask you one more thing, Peter?' Loki asked, a little hesitantly.

'Yeah, sure, anything!' Peter said as he immediately straightened his back, like a soldier reacting to his sergeant's commands.

'All those moments we, I mean, I, spent as Meya, on the roof, the slow dancing, when we were in the swimming pool...' the trickster remained silent for moment, searching for the right words to best state his question, 'Did that all feel for you like you were dating Valerie? I mean, am I a mere replacement for her...?'

'No, no, not at all, you couldn't be more different from her!' Peter quickly stated, but as the trickster looked at him in a questioning manner, he stammered 'No, I'm just glad it was you and not her.'

Loki nodded, 'Though it was Meya, rather than me,' he said with a careful smile. 'I am just relieved to hear you do not see me as second best, Peter.'

'I would never...' Peter started, but he stopped midway his sentence as the trickster smiled at him.

'It is quite alright,' Loki said, straightening his back and smiling. 'I will just go back to my reading. Is there anything else you wanted to say?'

'... You want to watch some Footloose?' Peter asked with a smirk.

'Oh, please, anything but that,' Loki laughed. 'But I will take that walk now, I mean, if you were serious about that. I know you were just trying to get rid of my brother and the Lord of Stars, but still...'

'I would love to!' Peter said, a little too enthusiastically as all his nerves finally seemed to settle down a little. 'I mean, sure,' he added a bit more calmly with a smile.


I

.

AM

.

IRON MAN

.

With these three simple words, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was created. Simple, yet incredibly effective!
Now, we would like to give you three facts about the man himself, that you hopefully didn't know.
Please welcome, our Genius, our billionaire, our playboy, our one and only philanthropist, Tony Stark!

1. Tony Stark is adopted!
Yes, you heard right. While Tony Stark's childhood might not be quite as tragic as a hero like Batman's, it still had a fair bit of drama. You see, Stark's biological parents were both agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a huge argument between the two of them led to his father's death– at the hands of his mother. Crazy, right? After killing her partner and the father of her child, Stark's biological mother, Amanda, asked S.H.I.E.L.D. for their help taking care of the baby– apparently agent-dom and single motherhood don't quite mix. The organization responded by taking Tony to an orphanage in Bulgaria, where industrialist Howard Stark found him and brought him home to his wife Maria.

2. Tony Stark was supposed to turn to alcoholism

Now, we all know Tony loves himself a drink, even so as to offer it to his enemies (should've taken that drink, Loki!) In the late 1970s, however, the Iron Man comics had a big storyline wherein Stark turned to alcohol in order to deal with all the stress that his new life of fighting crime created. Marvel had initially wanted to incorporate that facet of Stark's character in the movie– the problem was, Disney shut the idea down because of complaints from mothers that alcoholism was being depicted in a movie somewhat aimed at children.

3. He wasn't designed to be loved.

Creating characters is tough– you want them to be complex, ambitious yet likeable, heroic yet troubled by many issues that regular mortals face. Even villains are often made somewhat sympathetic to muddy the waters even more. However, when it came to creating Tony Stark, Stan Lee wasn't too worried about creating a hero that the readers would love. In fact, he actually specifically created Tony as a character that readers were likely going to hate. He made his first appearance in the comic book world as an arms dealer who was profiting off the war in Vietnam– at a time in history when readers' opposition to the Vietnam war was growing. So, it was kind of a tough sell, but Lee wanted to challenge himself to get the liberal readers to fall in love with the type of character that stood for everything they hated. It worked. Stark's character endured over the years and now people absolutely love him.

Well, Tony doesn't trust Loki all that much, and aren't there some... "suspicious" vibes coming from him towards Steve? What's that all about, huh? Well at least things are back to the way they were between Peter and Loki. Let's see how this continues in two days! Thank you all for spending your precious time on this chapter! See ya!