Tony was down in his workshop tinkering on the balance system on his suit when he got a call.
'Huh. S.H.E.I.L.D', Tony said, checking his phone. He tried to hang up but couldn't. 'Jarvis. Hang up'.
'I can't, sir. My protocols have been overridden. Would you like to accept the call?', came the reply.
'Goddamn it. Fine', Tony said.
'Tony. Why is Loki unguarded?'
'Hi Fury, lovely to see you to.'
'Cut the crap, Tony. Why is he unguarded?'
'Because he almost died last night! I highly doubt he's going to try and make a run for it. And why do I have to babysit him, anyway? Where've your agents gone?', Tony replied angrily.
'Agent Barton and Agent Romanov's locations are none of your concern. And you have to "babysit" Loki because I fucking told you to. The only reason he's still at your tower is because of that little promise he made. As far as we know, you're the only person he isn't going to try and kill as soon as he gets a chance'. Fury paused to take a breath while Tony seethed. 'Now you get up there and you keep an eye on him. See if you can figure out why he's back here. Understood?'
'Fuck you'.
'I can make your life miserable, Tony. I highly recommend you do what I say'. Fury hung up, leaving Tony with a dial tone. He set the phone down and banged his hand on the workbench.
'Goddamn it', he said.
'What did Fury want?', asked Bruce after a moment.
'He says I need to keep an eye on Loki. And I think he's got bugs in my tower. I'll need to take care of that'
'Well, someone probably needs to take care of Loki, and I can't do it. Don't you have a gadget for blocking microphones?'
'Yeah, I've been working on a new security system. It'll be good to test it. But I just don't like Fury telling me what to do.'
Bruce laughed. 'God, Tony! Stop being such a teenager and go make sure Loki doesn't try take over the planet again.'
Tony smiled, tension fading from his face. 'Yeah, I guess somebody needs to. And I am a master of diplomacy'.
Bruce grinned, shook his head and pointed at the door. 'Just get out'.
Loki was reclining on the sofa, reading a newspaper. Tony paused in the doorway for a moment, just to look at him. Loki was wearing a dark green t-shirt which clung to his torso in just the right way, and his jeans. . . Tony had never seen a guy look that good in jeans. He suddenly thought that this babysitting thing might not be too bad after all.
He cleared his throat suddenly, to stop the unwelcome thoughts from invading his mind. Loki looked up, startled, although he'd never show it.
'Stark. What brings you here?', Loki said, sitting up slightly.
'It is my tower, Loki. And isn't that something I should be asking you? I thought you were meant to be back in Asgard', Tony said as he walked across the room. He took a seat on the sofa opposite Loki and leaned back, waiting.
After a moment Loki put his newspaper down and sighed, obviously debating what to tell him.
'You must understand that what I tell you is strictly in confidence, Stark', Loki said after a long moment.
'Ok, sure. I won't tell anyone'. Suddenly Tony wondered if it had been such a good idea to block S.H.E.I.L.D's bugs. Too late for that now, though.
'Alright then'. Loki swung his legs off the sofa and sat with his legs apart looking down at his hands. 'You must understand that I came to Midgard for the good of Asgard, Stark, not for my own reasons. You see, when Thor returned from Midgard after his exile, the Bifrost, our safest form of transport, was destroyed. We can use the Tesseract to travel to other realms, but it isn't accurate. We can set coordinates, but the Tesseract is open to cosmic vibrations which can cause it to send people to the wrong location.'
Tony nodded. 'Ok, I understand all that. But why would you come to Earth if transport was so dangerous? And why would you agree to help the Asgardians?', he asked.
Loki sighed and rubbed his forehead. 'There was a simple way to make the Tesseract safer. If it could lock on to a certain piece of land the cosmic vibrations wouldn't affect it anywhere near as much. Unfortunately, to allow it to lock on to a piece of land a spell needs to be performed.'
'A spell.'
'Yes, Stark. Why do you find that so difficult to believe?'. Loki looked at Tony with such intensity that he needed to look away, needed to distract himself from those piercing green eyes. 'Anyway, that spell requires the caster to be standing on the land which is being bonded to the Tesseract.'
'So you came to Earth to cast a spell?', Tony asked. Loki nodded slowly, sensing that there was more to come. 'But why did you kill all those people? Twenty-nine agents, two civilians. Why?'.
'They were in my way, Stark. That was the only reason I needed.'
Tony looked at Loki. He was looking ahead now, leaning forward, hands clasped together. Sensing that he was being watched, Loki turned his head suddenly, causing a strand of hair to fall over his right eye.
'Don't look so surprised, Stark. I'm a monster. It's in my blood'. Loki smiled half-heartedly. In that moment he looked so lost, so alone, that it took everything Tony had not to go over and kiss him.
Tony leaned forward, unconsciously mimicking Loki's position. 'You can call me Tony, you know. And you still haven't told me why you were working with the Asgardians'.
'There was really no alternative, Sta- Tony. If I refused to cooperate I would have been locked in a cell. And they needed me. No one else on Asgard is as skilled with magic, and some of the Asgardian can be very. . . persuasive when they need to be'.
'You mean they would have tortured you. And Thor would have allowed it?', Tony asked angrily. Loki just shrugged, clearly not wanting to talk about it any more.
'Well, what happens now? Did you cast the spell?'
Loki nodded in confirmation. 'Unfortunately my magic has begun malfunctioning and I have been unable to teleport back to Asgard. The Bifrost was also the most reliable method of communication between realms, so Thor has no means of knowing this. I fear he shall think I attempted to flee, and that he shall come after me'.
'Can't he just zap you back with the Tesseract though? Shouldn't it be working now?', Tony asked.
Loki shook his head. 'In order to use the Tesseract you must be in contact with it'.
'Do you want to go back?'. Tony looked up, meeting Loki's eyes and holding his gaze, refusing to be the first to look away.
'Don't you see, Tony? I have no other option. They will find me. No matter where I go, they will find me.'
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