Chapter 55 – Journeys Begin

The next morning Loki announces he feels recovered enough to be able to transport Thor and Valkyrie to a location where they would be able to get a ship and travel the rest of the way to Nidi- whatever the place where the cool stuff was made was called. Honestly Tony's head hurts enough recently without trying to remember all the weird and wonderful names for places Thor comes out with.

'How long will you need to get things in order here?' Steve asks the god of thunder.

'A couple of hours at most,' Thor replies, 'and we will need supplies for the trip.'

'I'll get someone on it,' Tony says, typing some commands into his watch. 'Is there anything we can do while you go off on your epic quest?'

'We already promised to protect your people,' Steve reminds him, 'and we will continue to do so. The same goes for Loki.'

'There is nothing more I can ask of you, my friends,' Thor sighs, 'nor indeed is there anything more I need from you. I only ask that you ensure you are waiting for us on our return.'

'Way to get morbid Point Break,' he rolls his eyes.

'Only so that we may vanquish our foe together,' Thor reassures him with a smile. 'I would hate to miss out on the fun because you have taken victory without me.'

'Nice save,' Rhodey laughs from his chair.

'I shall have to speak to my people before I leave,' Thor says, then turns to his brother. 'Loki, if you are willing, I will tell the people that you are to lead them in my absence.'

The dark haired god laughs bitterly. 'Asgardians are hardly going to follow a Jotun, Thor.'

'They will follow Odin's son, brother,' Thor's voice is determined, 'and I shall make sure they understand this.'

'If they don't follow Loki,' Tony chimes in, 'tell them they don't stay here.'

'Tony you can't just leave them without anywhere to go because they won't-'

'I never said that,' he cuts off Rhodes. 'I'd still give them somewhere to go, but they wouldn't be here and it'd take longer for us to sort out any problems for them. Whether we fully trust him or not we know Loki, and I'd rather do diplomacy with someone I know than someone I don't, my brain's too fried with everything else.'

'I thank you for your support of my brother, Tony,' Thor says, smile big.

'Yeah we'll go with that,' he's too tired to argue the point, and he's not entirely sure if he is supporting the other god or not. He just knows he'd rather the devil he knew than the devil he didn't at this moment in time.


Apparently the Asgardians were not happy with having Loki as their leader, but they had accepted their king's instructions and agreed to it; Loki had promised to leave them in peace for the majority of the time and 'check in' a couple of times a day to ensure everything was alright as a kind of peace offering.

The whole team is gathered on the lawn outside of the facility, as Thor and Valkyrie prepare to leave, Loki is preparing himself for the magic he would need to perform and Tony can see Peter bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement to see some 'proper' magic being performed. A term that, he noted, had slight offended Strange and Wong when he'd first said it during a meeting.

'I am ready when you are, Thor,' the dark haired god says, already looking tired.

'Are you certain you are ready for this?' Thor asks, looking at his brother worriedly.

Loki nods. 'Yes but we can't delay much longer or I won't be able to sustain it; I'll be exhausted afterwards, but it'll be nothing that rest cannot cure. You remember where you will arrive?'

'Even if he doesn't I do,' Valkyrie rolls her eyes, 'we'll be fine. Now can we please get this show on the road? Any mushy goodbyes and I might rip someone's throat out.'

'Promises, promises,' Clint mutters and Tony gives him a look which has the archer rolling his eyes.

'Farewell for now friends,' Thor turns to them all, 'and my thanks again for agreeing to protect my people and my brother.'

'You make me sound like a helpless babe,' Loki rolls his eyes.

'You're welcome, Thor,' Steve says, clapping the god on the shoulder, 'keep yourself safe and hurry back.'

'We shall return with all speed,' he smiles.

'Take care of yourself too, Valkyrie,' Steve smiles at the woman, 'we'd like to actually get to know you properly at some point. Though I'm not sure how much good you'll do for Tony's drinking habits.'

'Oh come on!' he protests, crossing his arms. 'I am so much better than I used to be.'

'You couldn't get any worse, Tones,' Rhodes points out.

'We shall drink to our hearts' content on my return Stark,' the warrior promises him with a smile.

'I'll make sure there's a good bottle of whiskey waiting for you,' he promises and receives a nod in thanks.

Thor turns to his brother. 'Try not to get up to too much mischief while I'm gone.'

'No promises,' Loki grins, 'I seem to have an accomplice who enjoys tricks as much as I do.'

'Yes that's what I'm afraid of,' Thor sighs, glancing over at Peter who at least looks sheepish. 'Take care, brother.'

'I told you,' Loki responds, placing a hand on the taller man's shoulder, 'that the sun will shine on us again, Thor.'

'Perhaps it already has,' the blond responds, copying the gesture.

Loki gives him a small smile. 'Perhaps it has indeed,' he agrees. 'Nevertheless I shall be here when you return.'

'I'm holding you to that,' Thor tells him, pulling him into a one armed hug. 'We should leave before you tire,' he says, pulling away.

Loki nods and places one hand back on Thor's shoulder, and one on Valkyrie's. 'Good luck,' he says, and they disappear. No sooner have they gone than Loki collapses, his legs unable to bear his weight.

'You alright, Reindeer Games?' Tony asks, kneeling down next to the god.

Loki puts a hand to his head and groans. 'Perhaps I was not as recovered as I believed,' he admits, 'but they will have reached their destination. It just took a little more out of me than I anticipated.'

'Let's get you inside,' Steve says, helping the god to his feet.

'I'll take Peter and Wilson back to the city,' Natasha says, pulling her car keys out of her coat pocket. 'Want me to fill May in on the situation?'

Tony nods. 'Yeah I don't think I would be able to answer questions right now.' He looks over at Wade as the group starts to head towards the main doors. 'You should stop by a couple of times, Wilson,' he suggests, falling into step with the mercenary. 'Be good for the team to get to know you a little more.'

'Not sure that's a good idea, Tin Can,' the man responds, holding out his hand, 'but I appreciate the offer and I'll consider it.'

'All I ask,' Tony responds, then goes to give Peter a hug goodbye before waving to the two of them as they follow Natasha to the waiting car. 'You two off?' he asks Clint and Scott.

'Yeah,' the archer replies. 'As much as I love being here with you guys, if the world's going to end I'd rather spend as much time with my family as possible before it does.'

'Same,' Scott agrees. 'That and Hank gets a bit twitchy if his suit's around a Stark for too long.' Tony just laughs and says goodbye to the two of them; Clint's dropping Scott off with one of the jets and then taking it with him and keeping it at the farm; that way he has a quick method of transport when the shit hits the fan and he can pick up Scott on the way over.

'I'd better get moving with some of the Accords business,' Nick says, 'and apparently I have a law firm to visit.'

'Keep me updated and let me know if there's anything you need,' he reminds the super-spy. 'I've already told the two lawyers at SI on the case to expect a call from you so there shouldn't be any issues there.'

'Much appreciated,' Nick nods, then heads towards his own car with a wave at the others. T'Challa and Okoye had already left that morning to return to Wakanda, the king wanting to ensure that his people were ready for whatever might come their way.

Tony follows the rest of the team inside, noticing that everyone is a little more subdued than normal. It seems Thor and Valkyrie's departure has driven home just how soon they may be facing Thanos.


Everyone had been so drained from the past couple of days that they called it an early night at the facility. Tony smiles as Steve returns to their bedroom, the last of his possessions from his old room in his arms.

'We could always convert your old room into an art studio,' he suggests as the soldier pushes the door closed behind him.

'How about we think about redecorating after we've averted the universe ending crisis?' Steve suggests with a laugh, walking over to the bed and discarding his shirt along the way.

'Hmm…sorry what? I was distracted by the show.'

Steve just rolls his eyes and places a kiss to his lips, which Tony chases as Steve pulls away. 'You look tired, honey,' he says, running his fingers through Tony's hair.

'So do you,' he replies, scooting over on the bed so Steve has room to lie down next to him. 'Probably something to do with the possible end of the world.'

'True,' Steve chuckles, 'I bet none of us look our best. What with Thanos, and all the stuff with the new Accords. Tony why didn't you mention anything before to anyone?'

He sighs and lays on his back, one arm behind his head and the other drumming a beat on the reactor with his fingers. 'I guess, with everything that happened before, I was worried how some of the team would react.'

Steve takes hold of the hand over the reactor and brings the fingers to his mouth to press a kiss against them, then rests both of their hands over the bright light. 'Tony, no matter what happens we face it together alright? Whether it's Thanos, or fighting for the new Accords, or you know dealing with Peter's new boyfriend,' he grins at him, 'we'll face it all as a team. Whether it's just you and me, or whether we've got the whole team with us. Just…don't keep feeling you have to do everything alone.'

'I love you,' Tony whispers, gripping Steve's hand tight. Then he realises what he's said and his eyes go wide, searching Steve's expression with a knot of unease in his stomach. He's been biting back those words so much, scared of moving too fast and scaring Steve off. Scared of admitting to how he's feeling since it'd never gone well in the past. He's not said those words since he was a child, never said them to Pepper.

Steve's expression is not what he was expecting. Not that he really knows what he was expecting. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't the pure happiness that is currently taking residence there. Before he can open his mouth and ruin the moment, Steve darts forwards and kisses him hard; when the soldier pulls away they're both breathing heavily.

'I love you too,' Steve replies against his lips and kisses him again.

Tony's terrified of what's coming for them in the next few weeks, and he knows Steve is just as scared; but as he lets the soldier push him back into the bed and trail kisses down his neck he's not as worried as he was. As long as Steve's by his side, and the rest of the team are behind them, he knows they've got a chance.

And one chance is all they need.


A/N: Hi everyone. Well this is it, the end of Restoration. There's only the epilogue to go!

I'll go post it now and leave a longer note at the end of there.

L x