Chapter 25 – Ill at Ease
Summary: Tony couldn't remember the last time he had to ask someone to let him use their bathroom.
A/N: I apologize for the delay. This chapter is really long and I had to do all the editing on my own, so it took longer than I expected. I tried to do my best with it, but if you happen to see any mistakes, feel free to point them out and I'll correct them.
The two men sat in silence, both of them lost in thought.
Since Vedius didn't seem too interested in continuing the conversation for the time being, Tony used the opportunity to finally take a good look at the room around him, which was lit by the last rays of a setting sun. The high healing bed with Loki stood in the center of the room, drawing attention with its shining golden dome of light. A closer look, however, revealed another, regular-sized bed with simple white linens standing in the corner by the window. The wall on the left was lined with several small cabinets with medicines while on the right side of the room stood the square wooden table where Tony and Vedius were currently sitting, but apart from the few pieces of furniture, the room was pretty bare. The lack of decorations and personal effects reminded Tony of hospital rooms on Earth, only instead of beeping machines, this one apparently had magic.
Despite his best efforts, Tony's gaze kept returning to Loki and the golden glow around his bed and he found himself fascinated by how the whole thing worked. Finally he couldn't hold his curiosity any longer, so he stood up and shuffled back to the stool by the bed to watch the dance of golden particles from up close.
"The field around the bed," Tony spoke up, drawing the healer's attention, "that's magic, right? How exactly does it work?"
"It is magic, yes," Vedius confirmed with a small nod. "It is healing magic, similar to the one Odin himself uses when he needs to rejuvenate. This one will heal Loki over the course of a day or two. He is in a magical sleep right now, but should wake up once the healing process is complete," he added, answering Tony's question before he could pose it.
"So he's going to recover?" Tony asked, just to be sure.
"Oh yes," Vedius assured him. "He's a strong lad and you managed to bring him here while there was still time. You can expect a full recovery."
Tony released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Good. That's…good. It would suck for him get hurt just because a bunch of dicks have a grudge against me and he happened to be in the house when they attacked."
"Do you have a lot of enemies?" Vedius asked conversationally, raising the goblet to his lips.
"You mean right now, or in general?" Tony quirked an eyebrow. "I'm a pretty famous guy where I come from, so there are always people who hate me, but lately it kinda feels like everyone is trying to kill me." Something occurred to him suddenly and he had to ask, even though deep down he knew it was bullshit. "Hey, you're not working for HYDRA, by any chance, are you?" Because if the Nazis had magical interplanetary connections, he might as well pack up the whole superhero gig and go home, game over.
He watched the healer's reaction closely, but Vedius merely frowned at the name, no traces of recognition in his gaze.
"I do not know anyone bearing that name. I used to work for the king of the Vanir for many years, but I have retired from that life several decades ago."
"Oh, good," Tony said. At least that was something.
Having finished his dinner, Vedius stood up and collected the goblets and bowls back on the tray.
"I would give you a tour of the house, but you should not strain that leg too much just yet. Maybe when Loki wakes up tomorrow, he will show you." His gaze slid towards the magic field before returning to Tony again. "Am I right in assuming that you would prefer to spend the night in this room?"
"I…yeah." Tony nodded, not even bothering to pretend otherwise. "That would be great."
"Very well," Vedius said. "I will bring you another potion for that leg."
"Wait!" Tony called after him before he could leave the room.
"Yes?" the healer halted in the doorway
"Can I use your bathroom?"
Tony couldn't remember the last time he had to ask someone to let him use their bathroom, because he usually waltzed everywhere like he owned the place, but the guy was making him feel a little uneasy and Tony didn't want to get on his bad side. Vedius might look mostly harmless, but there was an air about him that put Tony on edge – he reminded Tony of those old martial arts masters from kung fu movies who shuffled around in their affable grandpa persona and then beat the crap out of a whole platoon of guys with nothing but a broomstick handle. He might be a healer now, but if the way he carried himself was any indication, he probably knew his way around a weapon. Also, old or not, he was still about ten times stronger than Tony, so pissing him off really wasn't the best course of action.
Politeness it was then, even if the words felt unfamiliar on his tongue.
"Of course," Vedius said, making it sound like Tony was the weird one for asking in the first place. "The house is at your disposal for the duration of your stay here. I would advise you not to take a full bath tonight, however, because your leg still needs to heal and soaking the wound would hinder the process."
"I wasn't-" Tony began, in an attempt to tell him that a bath wasn't the reason why he'd asked about it, but Vedius cut him off.
"I know. However, if you wish to clean yourself up a little, there is a bucket with water in the bathroom that you can use to wipe yourself down. If the potions work as they should, you should be able to take a full bath tomorrow." He gave Tony another glance, his eyes lingering on the dried blood on his pants. "I will bring you some spare clothing as well."
"Yeah, that would be great, thanks." Tony had the nagging suspicion that he had thanked this guy more in a single day than he had anyone in the past year combined.
"You're welcome," the healer told him with a graceful incline of his head. "Do you need any help to get to the bathroom?"
"Nope, I'm fine," Tony assured him hastily, raising his hands in the universal 'back off' motion. "I'm good, really. You go do your thing, I can handle this on my own."
"Well, if you think so." Vedius still looked a little skeptical but let it slide, trusting Tony to manage this on his own. He walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. Tony slumped on the stool, really not looking forward to the journey to the bathroom. It would hurt like hell, but it was still better that having the old man carry him like an invalid. He was Tony Stark, for fuck's sake, genius billionaire superhero. He could walk on his own like a boss. Yeah, totally.
Now if only he could convince his leg to get on board with that idea.
Tony would have stayed sitting at Loki's side for longer, but the need to go find a bathroom was growing with each passing second, rapidly crossing from "uncomfortable" to "oh god I need to pee now or I'm gonna explode", so he slid down from the stool and hobbled over to the door, using the doorframe for support. He shot one last look at Loki, who was still sleeping peacefully, and limped out into the corridor, counting each painful step as he went. Luckily for him, the bathroom was only a dozen or so feet away, so he didn't have to go too far.
He had no idea what he'd expected from the bathroom of a magic user, but it was certainly not…this. He'd thought there might be a magical waterfall in the garden or a hole behind the house where people went to do their business, or something, but this was…surprisingly modern. The room itself was pretty spacious and well-lit, with smooth stone floor and walls covered with mosaics. Closest to the door stood a large counter with a stone sink and behind it, tucked in the far corner, a square seat with a hole in it. A large mirror hung over the sink, reflecting the opposite wall, which was lined with several cupboards.
The main star of the room, however, was an enormous square bath underneath the window. It was about two feet high, large enough to comfortably hold four people and had three steps leading up to it for easier access. When Tony limped closer to take a better look, he discovered that its bottom was actually a few inches below the floor level. It was, well, pretty luxurious, even by Earth standards. But then, this guy was apparently friendly with people from multiple royal families, so it shouldn't be so surprising that he would have a nice house after having served the king of Vanaheim for god knows how many centuries.
The need to pee was getting critical so Tony abandoned his exploration of the bath to go take care of business, but he still couldn't help but be tempted a little by the possibilities the bathtub offered. He wondered, when Loki woke up, if he would be up to trying it out – after all, Loki would be surely weakened after his brush with death and would need someone to help him wash his back. Luckily for him, Tony was a Good Samaritan at heart and would be more than happy to volunteer for that particular task.
Especially if that task held the potential for mind-blowingly good sex.
As promised, the bucket full of lukewarm water was waiting for him on the counter next to the sink so Tony took it and sat down on the edge of the bath to take some pressure off the leg. His clothes felt disgusting when he peeled them off, reeking of smoke and sweat and blood so he threw them on the floor, glad for the chance to freshen up a little. While he was wiping himself down, a pile of clean clothes suddenly appeared on the counter nearest to him, the sudden movement startling him enough to almost make him drop the sponge. Fucking magic, Tony thought as he stood up and tentatively poked at the pile with his finger, but nothing happened. The clothes just lay there, neatly folded and smelling faintly of wildflowers.
Just to make sure that it wasn't some kind of a trick, Tony poked the clothes again before he scooped them up with a sigh and put them on the corner of the tub next to him. The magic aspect of the insta-materialization kinda freaked him out but at the same time he couldn't help but wonder just how the whole thing was done. Maybe Loki would explain it to him once he woke up.
Still, he reasoned, magic or not, it was probably better for the old guy to magically transport clothes to Tony than to come inside the bathroom with them – at least this way Tony wouldn't have to explain anything about his arc reactor. So yeah, he could live with magic clothes, if it meant that his arc reactor wouldn't get ogled by a weirdo Yoda guy.
Fully dressed in a pair of dark blue pants and a soft white tunic, Tony picked up his dirty clothes and set off on the journey back to their room, which was still empty except for Loki, who looked like he hadn't moved a single muscle in Tony's absence. Really, this whole not-moving thing was getting kinda creepy. If Tony didn't have the healer's reassurance that Loki would be ok, he would be freaking out right now.
Tony dropped the dirty clothes at the foot of his new bed and limped over to Loki's side to check up on him again. The old guy was nowhere to be seen so Tony reached up through the golden glow and laid a hand on Loki's forehead, checking his temperature (and if he happened to run a hand over Loki's hair as he pulled back, well, nobody had to know). Loki's skin was just as cold as it had been before, but his face seemed to have slightly more color in it. That was great, because right now Loki was the only link home Tony had and Tony really hoped that he would wake up soon, because being alone in the house with the old guy was starting to become vaguely unnerving.
Vedius didn't seem dangerous, or evil, but the way he looked at Tony made the engineer feel like the guy knew everything about him from a single glance. It was unsettling and Tony would much prefer to have Loki there, acting like a buffer between them before Tony slipped up and accidentally insulted the guy's mother or something. He had tried to be on his best behavior since he'd woken up, but he wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep it up before he said something offensive.
Less than five minutes later, Vedius came back inside the room, carrying a vial with a familiar-looking dark purple potion. A faint smile appeared on his face when he saw Tony sitting on Loki's side but he didn't comment on it, focusing on preparing a new batch of bandages instead.
"Well, young man, it is time for you to go to bed," he announced resolutely as he walked over to hover at Tony's side. "You can sit with him again tomorrow but right now, that leg of yours needs rest."
"But I've only been awake for like, an hour, two, tops," Tony protested. "It's not even dark outside yet." As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt ridiculous for saying them - but then, the healer had an uncanny ability to make him feel about five years old just by being in the same room.
Vedius, however, was unyielding.
"Nonetheless, you need to heal. And to heal, you need to rest. The damage to your leg was quite extensive and you only made it worse by carrying him around. As far as I am concerned, you have already strained your leg enough for one day. Loki is not going to wake anytime soon, so you might as well start focusing on your own treatment."
Tony shot one last glance at Loki's impassive face before he sighed and stood up, giving in to the man's demands. From the frown on the old man's face, there was high chance that the guy might actually pick him up and carry him over to the bed if he didn't comply soon, so Tony opted to preserve his dignity while he could. Under the healer's watchful gaze he limped over to the bed and sat down, pulling the injured leg up to let it rest.
Vedius followed after him, probably to make sure that Tony wasn't going to fall on his face. Once Tony was on the bed, the healer put the dark purple potion on top of a nearby cupboard and reached for a handful of clean bandages instead.
"Oh hey," Tony exclaimed, once he had the opportunity to see the vial up close "I think I've had that one before."
One of the healer's eyebrows rose a fraction. "Indeed?"
Now that he could see it better, the potion really did look an awful lot like the one Loki had given him after the workshop incident.
"Yeah, Loki made it for me when I got shot the last time. It worked pretty well."
"It is nice to hear that at least some of my teaching seems to have taken hold," Vedius said as he started unwinding the bandages from Tony's leg. "I had high hopes for him, but the boy never had much aptitude for the healing arts."
"I don't know, he seemed to heal me just fine." Tony shrugged.
"And how did he manage that, I wonder," Vedius said, more to himself than to Tony. "I have already tried healing your leg with magic, but your body does not receive it. How did Loki accomplish that?"
"I…" Tony trailed off, hesitating. "I don't think I want to tell you. I barely know you."
"Does your reluctance to let me near have anything to do with the glowing piece of metal in your chest, by any chance?" Vedius shot him a knowing look that put Tony on instant alert. Tony's entire body tensed, getting ready to bolt at a moment's notice. He'd never been able to play it cool when someone breached the topic of the arc reactor. While Tony was quietly freaking out about what sort of answer he should give the man, Vedius calmly continued removing the bandages, seemingly paying no attention to the way Tony's muscles had turned to stone under his hands. "I could not help but notice it earlier when I was tending to your leg," he continued. "The fabric of your shirt is quite thin and the metal emits a very distinctive pattern that seems to disrupt the flow of magic around it. I wonder what would happen if it was re-"
"No!" Tony interrupted him sharply. He scooted closer to the wall and away from the healer, wrapping his arms around his knees. The wound on his leg started to bleed again from the sudden movement, a trickle of blood seeping out between the half-healed stitches, but Tony didn't pay it any attention, his gaze firmly focused on Vedius. "No removing, no experiments, no anything. You can tend to my leg if you want, but no more than that." He tried to slow down his furiously beating heart, which had picked up pace at the first mention of the arc reactor, but he wasn't having much luck.
"You're a prickly one, aren't you?" The indulgent tone of the old man's voice was rubbing Tony the wrong way.
"Look, pal," he growled, running out of patience. "I don't care if you're some magic hotshot who's older than dirt. If you so much as touch that reactor, I'm turning you to dust. And I'm fully willing to deal with Loki's freak-out afterwards, if that's the price I have to pay."
To Tony's annoyance, Vedius seemed more amused than impressed by the threat.
"And how would you do that, hm?" he asked mildly. "You are injured, barely able to walk and all your weapons are in the room next door. That does not read to me as particularly threatening."
"You'd be surprised," Tony said darkly, letting a dangerous steely edge enter his gaze. "I can be very resourceful when I want to be."
The healer held his gaze for a moment longer before he nodded, retreating a little.
"I do not doubt that. However, I can assure you that you have nothing to fear from me. I know that this situation might seem overwhelming to you, especially if this is the first time you have left your world behind, but I am not a threat to you." He reached behind himself and retrieved the purple potion from the cupboard. "Now be a good boy and drink this potion, will you?"
"I'm not a boy," Tony muttered automatically, annoyed at being patronized like that. He hesitated for another second before he gave in and took the vial from Vedius's hand. The healer started to clean and redress the wound, so Tony used the opportunity to examine the contents of the vial to make sure it was the same potion he'd had before. "I still don't trust you, you know."
Vedius shrugged.
"I do not expect you to - in fact, I would think you a fool if you did. But there is no need to be so wary around me. I only wish to heal you."
"Why?" Tony couldn't help but ask. "You barely know me. Why would you help me?"
"You are a friend to Loki, and as such you are welcome here." Vedius gave him a small smile. "The boy is very dear to me, so it heartens me to know that he has friends like you. There are few these days who would risk so much for him."
It was Tony's turn to look away.
"He got hurt like this because he was helping me. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be dead right now so yeah, of course I'm willing to take risks for him. It would be a major dick move not to."
"That is good to hear." Vedius finished redressing the wound and stood up, nodding towards the vial in Tony's hand. "Drink that. It will help you heal faster. If everything works as it should, you should be free of the bandages by tomorrow evening."
Tony rolled the potion between his palms, still not convinced that it was a great idea to be drugged and asleep in the same house with this guy. He hadn't protested before because he'd been on the verge of passing out, but right now he was fully awake and mistrustful as hell.
"Do I really have to drink this?" he finally asked. The healer looked up from where he was cleaning up the medical supplies. "Can't I just, I don't know, let it heal on its own?"
"You could," Vedius confirmed. "But with this type of damage, the healing process will probably take several weeks and you might still end up with some minor impairment of the muscle function. With the potion, however, you can be fully healed in less than a day. So, which one will it be?"
Tony grimaced, but kicked the potion back anyway. As much as he hated to admit it, the guy was right. He couldn't afford to spend several weeks hobbling around like a cripple. HYDRA was probably raising holy hell back on Earth and Loki would be up in no time and he couldn't afford to slow him down. For all he knew, they could be returning back to Earth tomorrow. He had to get back to full strength as soon as possible.
The potion tasted almost identical to the one Loki had given him a few days ago, which reassured Tony a little, but he still couldn't help but wish that he could just pop a Tylenol and be done with it. Vedius was puttering around the room, drawing shut the curtains and checking the field around Loki's bed to make sure everything was in order. Instead of trying to keep up the awkward small talk, Tony dug out his phone from his pants pocket and unlocked it with a swipe of his thumb. Even though he rationally knew that he didn't have any signal here and wouldn't find any new messages on it, force of habit made him check them anyway. Well, that and also the desire to avoid talking to the old man.
A minute later Vedius picked up the tray from the table and set off towards the door.
"I will let you rest, Tony Stark," the healer said, dimming the light in the room with a whispered word.
"You really don't need to use my full name," Tony told him. "Just Tony is fine."
"Very well." Vedius inclined his head. "I will come and check on you again in the morning. Good night, Tony."
"Good night," Tony muttered. The door closed, leaving him in quiet semi-darkness. The only sources of light came from the cell phone screen, his arc reactor and the soft golden glow around Loki's bed. Tony fiddled with the phone for a moment longer before he finally turned it off and put it away, not wanting to use up the battery. He briefly contemplated going to check on Loki again, but he was starting to feel sleepy from the potion.
In the end Tony just kicked off his shoes, laid down and let the potion work its magic.
The room was still dark when he woke up the next morning. He had no idea if it was due to magic or because it was still so early, but Tony knew with absolute certainty that he couldn't bear to sleep for a single minute longer. He'd slept more in the past 24 hours than he had in the whole last week combined and his body felt sluggish, unused to resting so much.
He sat up on the bed and blinked, trying to get his eyes used to the semi-darkness in the room. For a second, he was tempted to check the time on his phone before he remembered that it was useless, because the time here most likely passed differently that the one on Earth. Instead of sitting around, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and was pleasantly surprised to find that the leg didn't hurt when he stood up. It seemed that the potion had worked exactly as had been advertised. Well, that was something at least.
Loki was still asleep so Tony let him be and went to visit the bathroom instead. The hallway outside the door was filled with the sleepy light of a rising sun and the house was quiet, no signs of Vedius or anyone else, for that matter. Since his leg seemed to be fine and he felt like he was going to jump out of his skin if he had to stay in that same room for any longer, Tony decided to go explore the house a bit.
The hallway seemed to lead through the entire house, copying its U-shape. Since he had already explored the left side of it, which only had a bathroom and several healing rooms, Tony decided to go see what was in the other wing.
A quick look revealed two more rooms similar to the one Loki and he were sharing, a small dining room, a study with an attached library and a kitchen. He was just contemplating whether he should go take a peek at the books in the study when the front door opened somewhere behind him. Not wanting to piss the guy off first thing in the morning, Tony closed the library door again and set off towards Loki's room. Halfway there, he remembered the suit he had left in the examination room and went to get it instead. The new Mark XVII was lighter than most of his suits, largely due to being unfinished and missing the last layer of plating, so it only took him two trips before he was able to move all the armor parts from the first room into Loki's.
Vedius had disappeared somewhere upstairs and Loki was still dead to the world, so Tony dumped the armor parts on the empty bed and went to pull apart the curtains on the window to let in some light. The room was still a little dim even when he did that, probably due to some kind of a spell, but it was enough light to work by. Once the curtains were open, Tony flopped back on the bed and reached for the nearest piece, checking it for damage. If they were going to leave in a day or two, he needed the suit fully operational.
Well, that, and also he was bored as hell and needed something to keep him occupied before he started clawing at the walls. A house without technology in the middle of nowhere really wasn't his favorite type of a vacation spot.
He was just checking the shoulder joints for damaged circuitry when Vedius walked inside the room with another set of bandages in his hands. He set them aside on a nearby cupboard, then clapped his hands, and the room lit up the rest of the way.
"Good morning, Tony." The healer gave Tony a friendly nod and went to check on Loki to make sure that everything was in order.
"Yeah, morning," Tony muttered, most of his attention focused on the damage done to his chest plate.
"How is your leg today?" Vedius continued pleasantly as he sat down on the stool next to Tony's bed.
"Pretty good, actually," Tony told him. "Doesn't even hurt anymore. Hey, could I get a rag or something? I need to clean the blood out of this thing." For the first time since the guy had come inside, Tony gave him his full attention. The healer was wearing long, dark blue robes today that reminded Tony of wizards from fantasy movies. However, instead of being flashy, the robe was fairly simple, with clear, straight lines and comfortable, soft material.
"Let me look at the leg first and then I'll see what can be done about that rag."
"All right." Tony didn't even try to protest – instead he stuck his leg forward and went back to checking the circuitry.
"That armor of yours," Vedius remarked after a minute, "is that what the warriors of Midgard wear these days?"
"This?" Tony waved the repulsor glove at him. "No way. I'm the only guy who has it. I invented it, and me and my best friend are the only people who wear it. And even if someone wanted me to make more - which they do but I told them to go fuck themselves - there's no fucking way I'm ever letting anyone get their hands on my suits." He remembered the whole HYDRA clusterfuck and had to fight not to get depressed all over again. "After the recent events, someone getting their hands on my suit would be the cherry on top of the shit cake." He ran a hand over his face and discovered that the healer was watching him. Tony averted his eyes with a grimace. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a buzzkill right now. The last few days have really sucked for me."
"I would ask you what happened, but I suspect you would not tell me," the healer said.
"Yeah, you're guessing right. No offense, but I really don't wanna discuss it." Tony's eyes involuntarily flickered to Loki before he focused back on the armor again. If the demigod were awake, he might offer Tony a few clever words or a hug, but there was no way Tony was going to spill all this to a guy whom he'd known for a day (most of which he'd spent asleep).
Vedius finished changing his bandage in silence, for which Tony was deeply grateful. Once he was done, he stood up and gathered the used bandages in his hands.
"I will go see about breakfast. Do you wish to come eat in the kitchen with me, or would you prefer to stay here?"
Tony shot him a look. "Do you even have to ask?"
"Here it is, then," Vedius decided. "I will be back shortly." He walked out, leaving Tony alone again.
Less than two minutes later, a small basin with water and a rag appeared on the floor next to the bed. Tony reached down for them, putting the basin on the vacated stool before he grabbed the blood-spattered leg plates and started cleaning them. Normally he would use alcohol for this, but with the limited options he had, water was still better than nothing. He was so focused on his work that he almost missed the healer's re-entry into the room.
"I brought breakfast," Vedius announced as he laid the tray on the table and sat down. "I would advise you to come eat soon, or the food will get cold."
With a sigh Tony put aside the bloody rag and the half-cleaned armor leg and went to have some breakfast. His guess about the nature of the food proved right when he discovered that the bowl waiting for him had something that looked suspiciously like oatmeal in it. Back on Earth he would never be caught dead eating something like that (not even Pepper had ever managed to get him to eat anything even remotely resembling a healthy breakfast), but right now he actually felt pretty hungry so he decided that a mush was better than nothing. He took a hopeful peek into the cup next to the bowl, but instead of coffee, it only held milk. Well, so much for hope.
"You wouldn't happen to have coffee, would you?" he asked, just to make sure.
"No. I do not. I assume it is some type of Midgardian food or beverage?" Vedius asked mildly.
"Yeah," Tony muttered, ladling a spoonful of oatmeal instead. Man, the lack of caffeine was going to be a bitch. Well, that and the alcohol withdrawal, unless this weirdo hippie guy had a few bottles of some magic hooch stashed somewhere. Tony had gone through the whole withdrawal deal once before, back in Afghanistan, and the physical symptoms had almost been worse than the torture and threats combined. He really wasn't looking forward to another round of that.
Rather than ruminate about the shitshow that the next few days were going to be, he decided to focus on something else.
"So," Tony changed the topic, "you live here alone? We've been here for almost two days and I haven't seen anyone else around yet."
"Yes, I live alone, most of the time," Vedius confirmed. "I used to have a wife, but she passed away several decades ago. My daughter currently lives at the royal palace where she serves as a healer to the king's family, so I only see her when she comes for a visit. There is also a local lad whom I am teaching the healing arts to, who comes around sometimes, but I already sent him a missive that his help will not be needed for the next week or so. Apart from those, I only get the occasional visit from someone ill or injured, who seeks out my help – much like you did the other day. Luckily for you, there is nobody else here whom I am tending to at the moment, so your presence in my house should go completely unnoticed."
"Oh, good." It took Tony another heartbeat before he recalled the rest of the conversation. "I'm sorry to hear about your wife," he added awkwardly, because really, he didn't know what else to say to that.
Vedius gave him a small, sad smile.
"Yes, she was very dear to my heart and her passing was a great blow to everyone who knew her. Even Frigga herself travelled here from Asgard to attend her funeral. Those two used to be very good friends since childhood, nearly inseparable, until Odin came and made Frigga marry him and move to Asgard. After that we only had to content ourselves with the occasional visit." His lips pulled into a thin, displeased line, but he didn't say anything else. It was clear that Odin's decision was a sore point for him, but he probably didn't want to badmouth the guy too much, especially since Loki was in the room with them.
"You've known Loki for a long time, then," Tony decided to move onto a safer topic.
The clouded expression on the healer's face cleared a little at the mention of Loki's name.
"Oh, yes, since he was a little boy. He used to come here with Frigga every few years. Back then I was still working at the palace, so I often had the boys underfoot when she brought them for a visit. Loki was a quiet child, who kept to himself a lot. Unlike Thor, who was always running around, causing ruckus, Loki could usually be found in the garden, reading or practicing his spells. He would often come to me to discuss things he had discovered in the books, because I was one of the few who were willing to answer his question and did not treat him like a child. Even after it became apparent that he would never have much talent for healing, he would still seek out my company because we both enjoyed our conversations."
Vedius's gaze turned distant, a fond smile appearing on his lips. Tony didn't quite manage to suppress the small pang of envy at the man's words. While it was nice to hear that Loki had had someone willing to pay attention to him when he was a boy, he still couldn't help but envy him a little. The only mentor figure Tony had ever had turned out to be a murderous traitor. What he wouldn't have given as a kid to have someone like this - someone willing to pay attention to him because they wanted to, not because they could get something out of it.
Oblivious to Tony's inner turmoil, Vedius continued reminiscing.
"Yes, Loki had always been an exceedingly clever, curious child. Why, I remember one visit shortly after his two hundredth birthday when he snuck inside the palace stables and-"
"Oh, please, not the stable story," a raspy murmur interrupted him from the bed. "You know how much I hate it when you tell that one."
"Loki!" Breakfast forgotten, Tony jumped up from the chair, at the same time that Vedius rose to his feet. As one, they moved towards Loki's bed, where the demigod was in the process of trying to sit up, the golden particles slowly dispersing around him. He threw a weak glare in the healer's direction.
"I cannot believe you put me into Odinsleep."
"It is not Odinsleep," Vedius corrected, running some sort of a diagnostic spell over Loki's body. Tony kept himself out of the way, letting the guy do his job. "It is a modified version that I use for healing extensive damage to the body. You are welcome, by the way. I managed to save you at the nick of time. If the young man here had not brought you to my doorstep when he did, you would have bled out."
At the mention of Tony, Loki's eyes fixed on the engineer, roaming over him to make sure that he was all right. Tony had no idea what his own face looked like, but it was probably something similar, judging by the way Vedius took one look at them and opted for a strategic retreat.
"I think I will go fetch you some breakfast. Tony can help you get to the table." And with that, he departed, closing the door behind him.
Tony took a step closer to the bed, but didn't touch Loki just yet. Instead he just hovered over him awkwardly, unsure about how to proceed about this.
"Hi," he said finally. "It's good to see you awake."
"It is good to be awake," Loki returned with a small smile. "And still alive." He tried to swing his legs over the edge of the bed, but wavered a little, lifting a hand to his temple and closing his eyes to fight a way of dizziness. That one, small movement was all that was needed to break the weirdness between them. Tony stepped up to him at once, catching his shoulders and stabilizing him.
"Are you sure you should be getting out of the bed yet?" Tony asked.
"My body is healed," Loki assured him. "This is just a temporary weakness. It will pass once my magic returns fully."
"Well, if you're sure," Tony was still a bit doubtful, but figured that the guy knew what he was doing. He released Loki's shoulders and started to pull his hands back, but Loki caught them in his own, holding them in the space between their bodies.
"Thank you for saving my life," he told Tony earnestly. His thumbs kept brushing over the backs of Tony's knuckles in a slow, soothing motion and Tony suddenly found it very hard to look away.
"You were hurt," he muttered. "Of course I would help you."
"Most people would just let me bleed out." Loki's lips twisted into a self-deprecating smile.
"I'm not most people," Tony reminded him.
"No," Loki said fondly, "you are not." Without letting go of Tony's hands, he pulled back a little and looked around, giving the room around them a brief once-over. "You did well in bringing me here. Vedius is one of the few beings in the Nine Realms whom I can trust right now. Unfortunately, I did not have enough magic left to transport us all the way here."
Once the dizziness had passed, he let Tony wrap an arm around his shoulders to help him stand up and cross the few feet towards the table. Loki snaked a hand around his waist in return, leaning into him and Tony felt intensely glad for having his leg almost back to normal because damn, the guy was heavy.
"By the way," Tony said as they shuffled across the room, "that whole "teleport two people across millions of miles and several different dimensions while bleeding out buckets" thing you did? That was stupid. You could have died."
Loki's smile just widened. "I knew you would be able to get me to a healer in time. I had full trust that you would be able to follow my directions."
"Still, stupid," Tony persisted. "Please don't do it again. I've already had a heart attack once. I don't need to get another one the next time you decide to turn yourself into a cheese grater and bleed out on me." He had a sudden flashback to similar conversations he'd led in the past and let out an involuntary groan when he realized where he had heard that before. "Oh, god, I sound like Pepper." The low chuckle from the figure pressed against his side told him that he really, really did. "I think I'm getting a belated appreciation for the lectures she used to give me after every fight."
"Is that maturity I hear?" Loki teased as he lowered himself into one of the chairs with Tony's help. "Are you finally starting to listen to your betters?"
"Shut up," Tony muttered, without any real heat. "I'm not the idiot here who thought it would be a good idea to face a bunch of guys with adamantium weapons armed with nothing but a sword."
"Wasn't it you who said to me: 'What would life be without a little danger?'" Loki shot back with a smirk, enjoying Tony's scowl. "I believe that in this case the Midgardian saying about a pot and kettle would be applicable." He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Tony's counterargument.
As much as Tony hated to admit it, Loki kinda had a point. So, instead of trying to prove the point that he would lose anyway, Tony just sat down next to him and reached for his half-eaten bowl of magic oatmeal.
"It looks like your snark has managed to recover, along with everything else," Tony remarked instead. Months ago, he would have found the answering smirk on Loki's face immensely punchable. Now, he was merely a little annoyed at having his own words turned against him. Loki seemed to follow his train of thought, because his grin only widened.
"It never left." He shot a brief glance at the still-closed door, then leaned closer to murmur in Tony's ear. "After all, my tongue is widely regarded as one of my best assets, as you are well aware by now." He pulled back just enough to be able to meet Tony's gaze, his eyes flickering to Tony's lips. "Here I am, back from the brink of death, and I didn't even get a welcome back kiss." He affected a fake pout. "One might even start to think that you don't like me anymore."
"I hauled your ass all the way here, didn't I?" Tony retorted. When Loki continued giving him a hopeful look, he sighed. "Yeah, okay. Whatever. You look like death warmed over so I thought I might lay off the PDA for a while, but I guess one small peck won't kill you."
Even as he said it, he was already leaning over to Loki, who was more than happy to meet him halfway. They kept the kisses soft and fairly chaste, just gentle brushes of lips rather than any kind of making out, but it was still nice, especially after the endless hours that Tony had spent worrying about Loki's recovery. This was a tangible proof that Loki was real, and alive and that maybe, just maybe, they were going to survive this epic clusterfuck after all.
Something cool touched the side of his face, a light brush of fingertips, and Tony suddenly realized that he had closed his eyes without even noticing. Loki was still wearing his self-satisfied smile but his eyes were soft, the fondness in them plain to see even for someone as emotionally dense as Tony.
"Thank you for saving my life," he said in a low voice, his thumb sliding down to caress the edge of Tony's jaw.
"You did the same for me before," Tony retorted. "I was just returning the favor." But he wasn't pulling away, because the touch was actually pretty nice. They would have most likely started kissing again, if the old guy hadn't opened the door with a discreet cough. Rather than startle at the interruption and snatch his hand away, Loki simply pulled back a little, making no effort to hide the nature of their relationship. Vedius didn't comment on that, just put a bowl and a cup in front of Loki and sat back down at the opposite side of the table.
Tony and Loki finally pulled apart to start eating, but Tony could feel the healer's eyes on him with every bite. Vedius gave them a minute head-start before he spoke again.
"So, Loki," he said with obvious relish, "how did this young man manage to catch your attention?"
Loki's smirk widened.
"Do you want to hear the tale about how he beat up Thor or the one where he offered me a drink in the middle of a battle?"
Vedius's eyebrows rose a little, his gaze flickering between the two of them.
"How about both?"
To be continued…
A/N: This fic is now over 200K words long! (208K at the moment, to be precise) and I'm slowly making my way towards the end of it. 30 chapters down, roughly 6 more to go. It's strange, but even after such a long journey it's still exciting to write Tony and Loki's interactions. When I started writing this, I had feared that I might get bored halfway through and might have to force myself to finish it, but I'm still as enthusiastic about working on the final parts as I was at the beginning. There's no burnout, no bitterness, just pure, boundless joy at being able to write this, to see these characters come to life.
Your feedback and responses are a big part of that joy – I don't think I would have ever written so much if I didn't have all of you guys supporting me through the process. Feedback is a hugely important part of the writing process for me and I'm so happy that so many of you take your time to leave me a comment with your thoughts and encouragement.
Thank you guys, for your continuing support! You're the best readers one could wish for :)
Chapter 26 will be posted next Friday or Saturday.