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CHAPTER 6/7
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Tony had come up with a dozen or so plans during the night, most of which ended with him bombing the palace from the air, and all of them were vetoed by Steve, who continually kept spouting phrases like, "International incident, Tony! Or realm, whatever. But incident, Tony!" or "What if they attack Earth, Tony!"and various other stupid reasons.
"Maybe I could kill all the Dwarves?" Tony had asked desperately. "If I kill them all they couldn't attack Earth."
"You can't kill an entire race," Thor had interrupted.
"I bet I could," Tony replied.
"That was not a challenge," Thor said.
"Well then YOU think of something," Tony shouted. "Your little brother is going to be forced into a marriage in the next few hours if you don't come up with a plan, because it seems like none of mine are good enough!"
"Stark," Thor said solemnly. "I hate this situation as much as you, but there is no way to even reach Loki without violence before the ceremony begins. Once it is over we need not leave immediately. King Harrund is a generous host, and he would be happy for us to stay, once his daughter's honour has been restored. After the wedding we will have time to think, and we will find a way to rescue Loki."
"You do realise what your condemning him too, right?" Tony asked. "If he gets married today that woman is going to be all over him without his consent."
"I am aware of that yes, but Loki has his tricks, and I know that he will be able to keep himself safe from her touch."
"You better hope he can, Thor," Tony said, jabbing a finger into his chest. "'Cause if anything happens to Loki the Dwarves might end up on the endangered species list."
-.-.-
Tony had stormed off after his confrontation with Thor, and headed back to his room, where he dug a bottle of Scotch out of his suitcase.
As he sat on his bed, glaring at the suit he had to put on soon, he drank glass after glass of the burning alcohol, trying to dull the feeling of terror that was building in his chest.
He wouldn't be able to see Loki before the ceremony as the Dwarves were too fearful that he may attempt to run away again, and were keeping him locked away. He wouldn't be able to tell Loki that he loved him, and he wished there was some way out of this, but not to give up hope.
"I'm sorry, Loki," Tony said to the air, hoping somehow that his husband could hear him through some magical means. "I've let you down."
Tony stilled, emptying his mind, hoping that he would hear a reply, but there was only silence in the room, and the distant cheers of revellers who had gathered in the town square, eager to catch a glimpse of their new prince.
Tony pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and tried to quell the tears that threatened to spill, and then there was a gentle tapping at the door.
"Tony," Natasha said, as she slowly pushed the door open. "I'm coming in. You better be wearing pants."
Tony wiped his face, and smiled widely as she stepped into the room, and said, "Don't you think you should be getting dressed? The ceremony starts in half an hour."
Panic suddenly gripped him, and his face crumpled as he said, "I'm not going. I can't face it."
"Hey, hey," Natasha said, as she crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "I know this is hard for you, but it's going to be ten times harder for Loki."
"I can't watch him get married," Tony said said, shaking his head. "I've let him down. I'm supposed to fix things, and I couldn't fix this."
"Have you thought how he will feel if you aren't there to support him?" Natasha asked.
Tony sighed. "You're right. I know, I know."
"Get dressed. I'll wait outside for you," Natasha said softly.
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When Tony reached his front row seat in the grand hall he suddenly began to wish he'd drank more than just a few glasses of Scotch, and as the trumpets sounded to mark the start of the ceremony he felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest.
The crowd cheered loudly as the royal family appeared at the front of the hall, bowing and waving to the crowd, and finally Loki was ushered in from a side door.
"Oh noooo..." Tony whined, as Loki walked dejectedly across the hall, flanked by two guards who carried large broadswords. Tony hoped that he would turn, and he could catch his eye, to show him how much he hated this too, but Loki kept his head bowed and his gaze fixed on the floor.
A man in fine robes appeared at the front of the hall, and turned to the crowd to speak.
"My friends, what a joyous occasion this is for all of Nidavellir," he began. "I have known Princess Dulvina since she was just a babe in arms, and I am overjoyed to be here, officiating at the day of her marriage."
The man turned to the royal family, and said, "If I may be joined by the happy couple."
The princess skipped across the floor towards the robed man, clearly overjoyed by the prospect of finally being wed, and Loki was ushered towards her by the two guards.
"Princess Dulvina of Nidavellir, do you consent to marry Steven of Midgard?"
"I do, I do," she giggled, and the crowd cheered in joy.
The man turned to Loki, and asked, "And you, Steven of Midgard. Do you consent to marry the beautiful Princess Dulvina of Nidavellir? Do you promise to love her, cherish her and provide her with heirs to carry on our royal line?"
Sex, Tony thought. They were talking about sex. Loki was fully expected to baby up that princess, and not just once. They wanted a gaggle kids. When he thought about that woman's hands all over Loki, all over his beautiful, perfect pale skin, he wanted to throw up.
He watched as Loki turned his head slightly towards the crowd, and Tony desperately tried to make eye contact, but then Loki turned back quickly and said, "No."
"No?" the man asked.
"I said NO!" Loki repeated loudly.
"Did he just refuse to marry her?" Tony asked, grabbing Steve's arm in excitement.
"Shit!" Steve said.
"No, really," Tony asked. "Did he just say no?"
"You understand the consequences of your refusal?" the priest asked.
"I do," Loki replied.
"Wait, what?" Tony asked as Loki turned and bowed. "What consequences?"
One of the soldiers stepped forward and drew his sword, swiftly swinging it round in a perfect arc, and before the scream could even leave Tony's lungs Loki's head fell one way and his body the other.
Tony couldn't breathe. He felt hands roughly pull him to his feet and begin marching him away, dragging him through the great hall. All around him there were screams and shouts of anger, but even though his eyes were open, all he could see was the image of the sword heading towards Loki's neck.
"Not far now," Tony thought he heard Thor say.
Was it Thor who had him by the shoulders? Was it Thor who was taking him somewhere? If it was Thor why wasn't he roaring with anger and swinging that god damn hammer into the faces of the guards who had killed Loki?
The guards had killed Loki... Loki was dead?
"No, no, I have to go back," Tony said, trying to squirm out of Thor's grasp. "I have to see Loki."
"Stark, no," Thor said, gathering Tony back into a strong grip.
There was a whine of hydraulics, and Tony was being marched up a ramp, and then pushed down into a seat, but he still couldn't quite figure out what was going on.
Thor knelt down in front of Tony and said, "Stark, do you know where we are?"
Tony looked round. "We're in the Quinjet. Why are we in the Quinjet?"
"Bruce and Natasha have gone to collect our belongings. When they return we will leave for Midgard," Thor said.
"We're leaving?" Tony asked. "But what about Loki? We can't leave him here."
"Clint and Steve has gone to arrange for him to be brought here."
Tony kept seeing the image of the sword in his mind, but his heart couldn't quite process what he was feeling. "Is he... Is Loki really..."
"I am sorry Tony, but yes, Loki is dead," Thor replied quietly.
Tony knew he should be screaming, or weeping and wailing, or doing whatever the hell it was that grieving people usually did. He should be throwing himself to the floor and beating it with his fists and screaming, "Why? Why? Why?" over and over again, but instead he felt... numb. He felt like a crack had opened up in the world and sucked out every last bit of feeling he had left, and he wondered how long it would be before it finally sucked him into the blackness too.
-.-.-
For an hour Tony sat in silence, contemplating the fact that Loki was gone, before the hatch of the Quinjet began to open, and revealed Steve and Clint, carrying a long stretcher between them.
They walked up the ramp, and gently placed the stretcher on the floor, and Tony let out a quite a sob, as he realised it was Loki's body, loosely wrapped in black silk.
"I'm sorry, Tony." Steve, who still looked like Loki, said. "None of us wanted it to end like this."
"Steve, can you turn around, or go sit up front or something?" Tony asked, as tears finally spilled over, and rolled down his cheeks. "I'm having a really hard time seeing you look like that right now."
"Sorry," Steve replied. "Of course I can."
"I know you probably won't believe me," Clint said, "But I'm sorry for your loss."
Tony looked up at him, and said, "You're right. I don't believe you."
"Have Bruce and Natasha sent word yet?" Thor asked. "I would like to leave this wretched realm as soon as possible."
"Actually we're here now," Natasha said, as she walked up the ramp of the Quinjet, followed by Bruce, and a dozen Dwarves who were all carrying luggage.
As the cases were safely stored, Bruce sat next to Tony, who could not take his eyes off the black wrapped body in front of him.
"How are you holding up," Bruce asked him.
"Oh, ya know," Tony replied. "My husband just died, so I'm alone now, and I don't think there's enough alcohol in the world that can cure this problem."
"You know we'll all be here to support you through this," Natasha said, as she closed the back hatch of the Quinjet.
Tony scrubbed his hands across his wet face, and said, "Can we go please?"
Through the front window of the Quinjet Tony saw pink sparks begin to flash, and finally the portal opened before them.
Clint started the engines, and manoeuvred the Quinjet towards the bright light. In seconds the pink faded, and Tony found himself staring at the New York skyline, and saw the tower on the horizon.
Home. They were almost home, although it would never quite feel like that again without Loki, and instead of planning a wedding, he was going home to plan a funeral.
"Are we back in Midgard yet?" Loki asked, as he drew the black silk back from his face, his own face, which no longer looked like Steve. "It is stifling under this sheet."
"Oh my god!" Tony shouted, as he threw himself onto his knees by his side, and the Avengers looked at each other in shock. "You're alive!"
"Brother! You live!" Thor shouted jubilantly.
"He's what?" Steve, shouted from the cockpit, and then he looked at down at himself, and said, "Hey, I'm me again!"
"There is no need to maintain the spell now that my plan has been accomplished," Loki replied.
"Wait, so that was an illusion?" Tony asked. "You weren't really decapitated?"
"Oh, no," Loki said, as his body sat up, and his head remained laid on the black sheet. "That really did happen."
"Argh!" Tony screamed, as Loki's body twisted to its side.
"Can someone provide me with a little assistance?" Loki asked, as his hands fumbled across the black silk.
The Avengers looked at each other, and Natasha said, "Don't look at me. He's your husband. You hand him his severed head."
Tony leaned over, and used one fingertip to gently prod Loki's head towards his waiting hands.
"Thank you, darling," Loki said, as he picked his head up, stood up, and tucked it under his arm.
"I knew you would come up with a plan, brother," Thor said with a grin, as he pulled Loki into an tight hug.
"Well, it would have been insanity to go in there without a back up plan," Loki's head said, from its position somewhere around Thor's side.
"You had this planned all along?" Natasha snapped angrily. "Why the hell didn't you tell anyone? You nearly gave Tony a heart attack."
"If I'd told you then the plan never would have worked. The reaction had to be real, or the Dwarves would have suspected it was a ruse."
"We could have acted shocked," Natasha said.
"Really?" Loki asked, and then he turned. "Tony, dear… Can you act sad for me?"
Tony stuck out his bottom lip, and went, "Awwwww."
"And now you see why," Loki said, holding out his free hand.
"Ah," Natasha replied. "Kinda see your point now."
The Quinjet touched down at the tower, and Clint turned round in his seat. He ran his eyes up and down Loki, then muttered, "I'm not even gonna ask."
-.-.-
Loki sat on the bed in the medical bay, with Tony and Bruce either side of him, and his head tucked under his arm still.
"How is this even physically possible?" Bruce asked.
"Oh, so now you are concerned with..." Loki put his head down in his own lap, as he raised his hands and air quoted around his next two words, "physically possible," and then picked up his head again before continuing, "In a world where gods and green monsters appear?"
"Is it magic?" Bruce asked.
"I really have no idea," Loki replied. "But this isn't the first time I've survived decapitation though, so I wouldn't worry about it."
"Aren't you in pain?" Bruce asked as he dragged his fingers across the lightly seeping neck stump of Loki's body.
"Pain?" Loki asked, and then his legs began to shiver and he let out a shriek. "Stop it!"
"Did that hurt?"
"No, but when you start prodding my spinal cord it tickles in the most alarming way."
"So, how do we fix this?" Tony asked.
"Fix it?" Loki asked. "Why are you in such a rush to fix it?"
"Well, your heads kinda off, and it looks a bit icky..." Tony mumbled,
"Yes, but imagine all the wonderful new sex acts we will be able to get up to now," Loki said. "You will be able to take me from behind and hold my head so I can su-"
"Must you have that conversation now?" Bruce interrupted.
"I dunno, Bruce, I think I'm kinda getting on board with the plan here," Tony said with a grin.
"Ugh," Bruce groaned. "I'm going to go unpack."
As Bruce left the room Loki let out a snorting laugh, and Tony said, "Hey, can you put your head back where it should be just for a second?"
"Of course, Loki said, as he raised his hands and placed his head back on the stump, holding it firmly by the sides so it wouldn't slip off. "Why do you want it back on?"
"Because I'm going to hug the ever loving shit out of you," Tony said, as he flung his arms around Loki, and tucked his face into Loki's neck. "I just didn't want your stump seeping all over me."
Loki let out a long sigh and said, "I've missed you, Tony."
"Don't ever pull this shit on me again, Loki," Tony said, as he gently rocked them from side to side. "And you better hurry up and plan that wedding, because I am never, ever letting you go again."