I'm sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I got ill and still am but the next chapter should be ready sooner :-)
Thanks for all the nice comments and favoriting and following!
After two days of forced family gatherings Tony was as pissed as Loki, or Loki as much as Tony. It was hard to tell who seemed tenser. They both had enough. But today they would discuss the last details and the queen would then leave for Asgard.
Frigga made it very clear that Thor would accompany them or they would stay where they are. No Heimdall, no Jotunheim, nada. She phrased it way more polite and sophisticated but the message was obvious and there was no room for negotiations.
Tony wasn't sure if Thor or Loki were really happy about it but it seemed that no one was asking them when the queen made a decision. Especially not when she looked like she was contemplating murder when not obeyed. But at least she had no objections against Tony going with them.
Tony tried to be a good guy and stay polite, friendly and civil. It seemed like the better way because Loki was stressed enough with neither exploding in rage nor sinking into depression. He didn't need someone making it even more difficult by fighting with his adoptive family. But whenever Thor's voice boomed across the room and made Loki cringe or when Frigga treated him like a stubborn child, Tony looked longingly at the bar, forcing himself to keep sitting down and shut up. It was exhausting. He tried to speed up the whole discussion. "The ice and snow is regular H2O, not some strange thing made out of, don't know, pixie dust or something like that?"
The queen agreed. "It's the same as snow and ice here."
"So basically water that can be melted and isn't poisonous to drink, fine! No carrying of water bottles. Just freeze dried meals, other dried stuff and for my sake something with lots and lots of caffeine. Essentially everything with as many calories as possible for minimum weight."
They discussed with JARVIS what clothes would shield them against the cold and against potential attacks, trying to find a balance between warmth and safety.
"Thank god for functional clothing!" Tony stated and Loki answered him with a "You're welcome, but that's not exactly my field of expertise." He grinned. "But I like your worship of me. You should increase that."
"I'd love to later, perhaps without company and minus giving Thor an aneurysm that would make his head explode?" He grinned at the blond god that looked down on the floor, ignoring the comment.
There was just one more thing Tony had to clarify in all seriousness.
"And Thor? You're not going to go all Gargamel and kill the Smurfs as soon as you see one!"
"What? I don't understand what you ask of me."
"You won't kill the Jotun without reason. Just to make that clear. Whatever Asgard may think, no killing just because someone is from another race." His voice was stern.
"Why should I murder them?"
Thor sounded confused and Loki couldn't resist answering him before Tony could. "May I quote you? `I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all.´" All of a sudden anger rose from him like steam from a geyser. An old, boiling rage just below the surface, entwined with bitterness, sadness, jealousy and pain. Pushing away the charming, mischievous and playful joy that was there, too. An overflow of energy, tipping over the chemical mixture resulting in a barely controlled detonation. "Didn't you say so?"
Thor wasn't willing to stay silent this time. "I was a child! I grew, I learned. And I might add, it wasn't me who attempted to destroy their realm."
"No, you just challenged them all when Laufey called you a princess!"
Tony exhaled slowly. "That applies to everybody. Nobody is going to kill without being attacked or otherwise in danger, my fellow travelers."
Loki tried to calm himself. Anger wasn't helpful now and he concentrated on that. Thor clenched his jaw but nodded and Frigga shook her head with a light smile. "I'll depart in the afternoon. You can prepare everything you'll need and I'll come back in a week to arrange your transport."
Tony wrote a handful of additional new protocols, just in case something would go wrong. And he updated his will, guaranteeing the Avengers a life estate for Stark Tower. While doing that he realized that they would need an explanation for them. Sooner or later they would discover, that Tony, Loki and Thor weren't at the tower or even in New York any more. It was better to give them a reason before they would go and investigate for themselves and something going incredibly wrong while they'd do so. So they came up with an official cause for their departure. The three of them would make a business trip to Scandinavia for Stark Industries. Always best to stay as close to the truth as possible when telling an enormous lie. At least there was snow and cold, it was huge and at least some places must have a bad cellular network, giving them a good excuse for being unreachable for a time. There was absolutely no way of telling them that they'd leave the planet or why they would.
They had all reached a sort of peace with each other in the tower. A fragile peace. Partly based on mutual ignorance, but also on the beginning of forming friendships.
First Tony would have to tell Pepper. Using Stark Industries as an excuse would never work without her. He really didn't look forward to that conversation but it was inevitable. That was the reason Pepper was now sitting in his living room for the first time in months. When they broke up it wasn't easy for him to get used to working with her again. It took months with minimal communication for them to establish something like a friendship again.
When he ended his explanation with the business trip lie she wasn't as stunned as he would have imagined.
"So let me get this straight, or not that straight, you are in a relationship, have you really said relationship? With the man, the god, however, that almost destroyed earth? And yes, I understood that it wasn't his voluntary decision. But have you seen what he can do? Probably forgot that he had enough physical force to throw you out of a window? You know that he could kill you?"
"Of all the clusterfuck I just told you, that is the first thing that comes to your mind?"
"You messing with S.H.I.E.L.D. or annoying the hell out of heads of state or however Asgard is called isn't exactly new."
"Touché. You realize that I could kill him, too?"
"But you wouldn't."
"He wouldn't either. That is the point. I trust him with my life. Pepper, he's clever, funny and fucking hot. And believe it or not, he's caring and I love him."
She thought for a moment and then got up. "I trust you. I'll bring you some paperwork for all of that later. Take care, Tony."
With that she left.
When the Avengers finally heard about the planed business trip they decided to have a celebration, sort of a farewell party. They didn't have much time but invited friends for the next afternoon and got JARVIS to find someone who would cater Scandinavian drinks and food with just a few hours notice.
They got somehow creative and so the next day saw a lot of people in winter sweaters celebrating on the communal floor. They had hot cacao and vodka and something called 'Lingondricka', a beverage out of lingonberries. It turned out, that vodka with ice and the before mentioned 'Lingondricka' was called 'Vargtass', which means wolf's paw and tasted delicious.
They had pickled, smoked and fried herring and salmon. There was something named 'Flæskesteg', which turned out to be a pork roast with a heavy gravy. JARVIS even found some sausages that included reindeer and nobody but Thor and Clint liked them. Instead everybody loved the cinnamon buns and a pastry named 'Smørsnegl'. They also had warm blueberry soup that tinted tongues and lips blue and purple, and it turned out that if not eaten with care, it coloured clothes, too.
Somehow JARVIS had managed to get some mead delivered as well as something that seemed to be some sort of beer. The latter made Thor laugh and he started to tell stories of some Norwegian celebrations that involved himself and a lot of that brew. It was new that Loki chimed in and added details to the thundergod's story. It made the tale a lot more credible and even more entertaining, as well as a funny little bit less flattering for Thor who couldn't stop laughing nevertheless.
It was a rather weird mix of people partying together but it turned out to be funny as hell.
It was a lot later when Loki went to the bar to get more 'Vargtass' and watched the room. He looked around and saw Clint talking to Natasha and then walking up to him. The archer stopped in front of him, his eyes focused on Loki who was looking back with slight amusement. Until Clint opened his mouth and just said "Follow me." It wasn't that much of a question but more of an order. Unexpectedly without the undertone of anger and hostility he usually showcased whenever he had to talk to the other man. Loki sighed. "Barton, I'm getting sick and tired of you. Get yourself a shrink, a drink or get yourself laid. I'm not responsible for you and your sanity."
"Get your arrogant ass up and follow me." Barton gestured at the door and then he added a grin and a "Please." That was surprising, so Loki decided to follow the agent curiously.
As soon as they were out of sight of the party Clint turned around. "Stark and you are good actors but Thor not that much. Don't know what you intend to do but sure as hell it's not about a business trip. Don't care what it's really about, none of my business. I just wanted to point out one thing. If something goes really wrong, call us. Nat, Steve, Bruce and I, we will help if it's needed." He pointed a finger at Loki. "We two are not even but I really like Tony and Thor. Would prefer them alive and well. And you might be not that much of a bastard I thought at first."
"My, my, I'm flattered." A broad grin settled across his face.
Clint ignored the smirk. "I saw you kneel beside him, fighting against fury and whatever it is that is buzzing through this damaged mind you call your own. You wouldn't let your pride kill Stark. Perhaps you have the same sense of protection for Thor and yourself." Loki opened his mouth to tell him exactly what he thought about Barton having the audacity to talk like that, but he didn't get a chance to. Clint turned around with a "Shut up for once and just remember what I said. I need some more of this unpronounceable drink." He waved and was gone. Loki laughed. Is nobody in this damn tower sane? Then he went back to the party and his own drink, still grinning.