Competition/Challenge Block
Written for/Stacked with: Monthly Challenges for All (Year 4)
MC4A: Ship Bingo (5B [They Were Roommates]); Settings Bingo (5A [Laboratory])
Word Count: 4,190
Author's Note: Long overdue this is. Yup. But it was a complex and somewhat heavy conversation to get through, and I am sure I will pepper more in along the way, but this was an intense one. It is difficult to make sure that everything makes sense at the very least, anyway. Next chapter we will have SHIELD, the Avengers, and Fury to deal with, such joy! But I hope I have established a pretty solid groundcover that Tony would have to be killed before anyone takes Harry away from him.
Let us hope the next chapter won't take so dang long to produce, yeah? :)
Day 1
The hours ticked away and nothing changed. Voices came and went from the other side of the door, but Tony had to give credit to Thor on keeping everyone at bay despite the irritable and angry tones being exchanged. If any SHIELD agent breached, they'd demand to detain Loki, and Tony was not going to let that happen, and he knew Thor wouldn't, either. Not until he figured out what was going on between Harry and them at least. During the downtime, Tony went over the protocols for immigrants and what was required for them to not have the laws of the government coming down on them. Of course, it was the closest thing he could think of that would fit Loki's status, and he put a mental pin on his messy bulletin board to address this predicament when it came to off-world beings for later.
JARVIS kept himself busy with this as well, all while monitoring the restless Avengers that still lingered in the tower along with a select agent or three, and the two unconscious people Tony safeguarded. He wondered if he waited them out long enough the One-Eyed Pirate would show up himself to try and press his way in.
Tony found himself trying to search for a pulse on Harry multiple times on various arteries only to reluctantly do the same with Loki from time to time. Watching the dark tendril curl almost protectively around both of their wrists was almost unnerving when it pulsated every few, very long drawn out seconds like a very weak heartbeat.
Rhodey came and went throughout the night, keeping tabs on everyone and making sure Tony stayed hydrated. It was nearly three in the morning when JARVIS announced that Fury was on his way.
"Called that one," Tony said, rolling his head lazily to look at his care bear. "You owe me."
"And you need a shower," Rhodey deadpanned, making a dramatic pinched face like he had just smelled garbage. "At least look presentable for the impending tongue lashing."
"Gee, and here I thought you cared," he replied, making no motion to move.
Rhodey sighed, clapping a hand on Tony's shoulder. "I'll keep an eye on them, Tones… Go freshen up, I promise you'll feel more human after."
Finally giving in, Tony slipped into the en suite without even thinking about the lack of a change of clothes. He knew Rhodey would fix that problem without a second thought, and so he stripped and barely spent a minute looking over the many bruises littering him, more interested in the nonexistent cut on his temple Dr. Hale healed with his magic. No one would've even known if they didn't see it fresh, it was a deep one, too, and it was remarkable to not even have a semblance of a scar left behind.
The heat from the water stung, but in a good way. It melted off all the gunk, grime, blood, pain, and the strenuous day in general. It didn't damper his worry, however, and the ever growing pit in his chest of fear that told him he'd lost Harry.
"Sir," JARVIS said when Tony finally shut the water off. "It appears one of your charges is waking."
Tony went still in drying his hair. "Harry?"
"If it were I'd be more relieved, Sir," JARVIS replied hesitantly. "Please exercise caution as Colonel Rhodes has yet to return with your lounge clothes."
That wasn't something he anticipated. He went for his old clothes only to see they were gone. Shaking his head in frustration at this, Tony quickly finished toweling off before wrapping a dry one tightly around his waist, making sure it was secured around his hips, and briefly checking his appearance.
"I've been seen wearing worse in front of strangers," he muttered to himself. "Time to face the music. JARVIS?"
"They are still relatively asleep, but based on physical activity and vitals, they will not be for long."
Tony sucked in a breath and put on a brave face. He stood up to Thor already, he can stand up to another god easily, right? But this god… this god inflicted harm on his kid. He had to make sure he kept himself in check because answers can't come from an unconscious god… or a dead one. He stepped out of the bathroom and quickly got his gauntlet back on, holding it at the ready when he heard a groan coming from Loki.
He approached the foot of the bed slowly, stopping at a point where there was no real way to get by him without climbing directly over the bed. Unless they could walk through walls, Loki would be cornered.
Loki raised an arm, placing it on their head, letting out another strangled groan, they dropped their arm back to their side before slowly pushing themselves upward. They kept their face downcast once they were sitting upright, another hand rubbed at their forehead before they looked up, dark emerald eyes boring straight into Tony.
He twiddled his fingers in response, causing Loki to raise their hands at their sides in surrender.
"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Tony said quietly, flicking his eyes to Harry for a split second. "Don't worry, no one here tried the assault magic kiss on you or anything. You're welcome for that."
Loki didn't reply, only quirking a curious brow at him instead. They looked around the room before settling on Harry laying beside them, their posture stiffened at the sight. Lifting up their right arm, they followed the black tendril that coiled around their wrist down to the one that was around Harry's left one.
"It seems like quite a bit happened in our brief exchange, merchant," Loki said slowly, quietly, training their attention back onto Tony.
"Just a bit," Tony deadpanned, shifting his weight. "And I'd suggest you start talking because my patience is really nonexistent right now and I want to know what the hell you did to my son to cause this."
He grit his teeth, his voice was rising with each word. He needed to keep his head straight or he will blast Loki through the damn wall.
Loki kept their hands raised as they swung their legs off the bed. The tendril around their wrist appeared to tighten when they attempted to stand, however, and Loki flinched in response, deciding to remain sitting.
"Let's start with that black wispy ribbon, hmm?" Tony prompted, gesturing with his free hand at it. "What is it and what is it doing?"
"It's a lifeline," Loki said simply, flinching again when they tried to gently pull their arm away.
"Which does what?" Tony demanded.
"Surely you'd know by the name," Loki growled back, rolling their eyes. "I told the child I could help him…"
"Smart mouth me and you'll get blasted into the depths of the ocean," Tony snapped back, taking a heavy step forward and charging the repulser.
Loki seemed unfazed. "You fascinate me. Standing in nothing but a towel yet can still appear so menacing."
"Don't change the subject," Tony retorted. "You said you'd help Harry. Help him with what? You nearly killed him!"
Loki raised a defensive hand in front of them. "I did nothing of the sort. If anything, he nearly killed me," they corrected. "Alas, he managed to siphon the sceptre's influence it seems… and the connection to..."
"Stop speaking code," Tony warned, growing impatient. "Start explaining, now."
Loki took in a steady breath, scanning over Harry a moment before looking back to Tony. "Your child is gifted beyond your capacity of understanding. I am confident in even saying that he is also grossly unaware of who he is exactly."
"Try me. So far the whole space gods and alien army hasn't sent me over the edge just yet. Learning more about my kid isn't going to do it," Tony said. "Who is he supposed to be, exactly?"
"I have only heard of the legends. They seemed so obscure I was certain they were nothing but a myth, but they were about the being who birthed the universe and balanced all life and death..." they stopped, taking in a deep breath and flinched again in response.
They placed a hand over their side as if it hurt them. Tony cocked his head, looking over Loki more carefully now. The marks on their face seemed mostly healed from their encounter back in Germany, but Tony remembered their eyes were blue when they were conversing before Harry interfered earlier that day. They're green now, very green, just like Harry's. Either something else happened that could change them or…
It clicked then, and most of his animosity simmered out at the realization. He wished he'd noticed it sooner, if it were even possible.
"Wait. Did you say you were possessed?" Tony inquired, lowering his hand a fraction. "By your glow stick? Makes sense, I suppose. Considering what you did to the SHIELD employees with it."
Loki watched Tony's movements as he stepped closer to the bed. His attention was on Harry, however, and they looked at the child laying very still as well.
"Do you remember any of it?" Tony asked after a beat.
Loki inhaled, wincing again slightly. "I do, unfortunately…"
"And your eyes," he gestured at his own with his free hand, "They usually so green?"
"Yes." Loki tilted their head at this. "Why?"
"Sir, if I may?" JARVIS said calmly to not startle them.
"What's up, J?"
Loki looked toward the ceiling curiously, trying to scope out the source of the voice. Tony twitched a mild smirk at their reaction.
"It seems that the SHIELD facility was monitoring everyone's vitals in real time before the incident. I was able to pull up the medical data from their backlogs that were salvaged from the wreckage and found a file labeled as 'Intruder'."
Tony raised his brows, interest piqued. "And what does it say?"
"Well, currently your charge seems to maintain a body temperature of thirty to thirty-two degrees celsius, five to seven degrees lower than an average humans. I have this logged as their base," JARVIS stated. "However, these records show that the SHIELD intruder's core temperature was five to even degrees higher than this standard. Their blood pressure and heart rate were both highly elevated as well, and they were showing distressing signs of dehydration."
"Your charge?"
"Don't read too much into it," Tony said quickly. "I kind of barricaded us in here to keep the suits off you." Tony observed Loki who still favored their one side. "You alright?"
Loki didn't respond, lowering his eyes down to the floor.
"What's their status currently?"
"Heart rate and blood pressure appear somewhat elevated. Temperature is currently thirty-one degrees. They seem to have sustained some heavy injuries to their right side during the alteration, but their body is also going through some sort of healing factor, which could explain the slight fever, raised heart rate, and blood pressure," JARVIS stated, sounding unsure of how to recite the data he was gathering.
Tony dropped his gauntlet to his side, letting out a heavy sigh. "You were tortured."
Silence. Loki tensed slightly at the statement, but relaxing fully now that Tony lowered his gauntlet.
"You're jumping subjects, merchant," Loki said lowly, flicking their eyes back up to Tony. "Are you concerned about your child or me?"
"Both, actually," Tony quipped back. "I also want to understand you in order to find out why my kid decided to not murder you during his outburst."
Loki inclined their head, seeming to ponder this. "These outbursts, as you call them, have happened before?"
Tony raised a hand, waving it in the air before dropping it. "Twice before that I am aware of. He's passed out both times, too, but never this long or as severe." His gaze hardened some, shifting his stance. "What happened between you two?"
"He showed me who he was," Loki said, and Tony watched them rest their hand over his.
The tendril tethering them seemed to pulsate rapidly at the contact. "The legends from Asgard ring true after all."
"And what do those say?"
Loki kept their attention on Harry while replying. "Your child is the One Master of All."
Their words punched Tony in the gut and head simultaneously, but before he could even fully process them, a knock on the door had pulled both Tony and Loki's attention to it. Tony relaxed upon seeing Rhodey slip through the opening and promptly closed it, warily standing at the door when he saw Loki staring back at him. Rhodey tossed the backpack Tony's way, not taking his attention off the god.
"Clothes for you, Tones." He inclined his head some, taking in Loki's haggard appearance before glancing at Tony. "Do I need to chaperone?"
Loki raised a brow at the question, directing their gaze back on Tony while waiting for his response. Tony had caught the bag easily, sending a grateful smile Rhodey's way.
"Where would I be without you, honeybear?"
Rhodey casually shrugged, placing his hand on the door handle. "Probably passed out drunk and stark naked on the roof of Caesar's Palace. You good?"
Tony gave Loki a once over, chewing hopefully subtly on his lower lip as he considered his options. He was a tad perturbed Rhodey left Harry unattended already, but he also had JARVIS keeping tabs on everything going on. It is how he knew that the Tesseract and the Scepter were long gone by now, buried in some undisclosed bunker of SHIELDs, probably.
A problem for another day, there were more important things to address.
Tony met Loki's eyes, and he silently regarded the god and how they have made no threats—verbal or physical—since they woke up. It could do with that lifeline keeping them tethered and exhausted, but Tony knew that wasn't the sole case.
Loki had been tortured into leading this almost invasion, Harry knocked them out of the hold their captor had on them, and now Tony is being told that his son is the Master of something or another. It wasn't the most obscure thing that he has ever heard to date, he was currently in the presence of a god, having one for a son shouldn't be that difficult to handle.
Right?
Tony gave a weak shrug, addressing Rhodey with his full undivided attention.
"We're good if you're needed elsewhere."
"Alright, I trust you." Rhodey pulled open the door. "I'll be outside if you need me. Thor is negotiating with SHIELD, but I will let him know that his brother is awake."
Loki bristled at the mention of Thor, and Tony picked up on it immediately. He dropped the bag of clothes on the floor, heading for Rhodey so he could talk to him more quietly, completely uncaring on still only wearing a towel.
"Let's uh, keep that between us for now, yeah? Give me some time to actually get to know 'em and all, find out what's happening to my kid before we send in the stress-inducers. Please?"
Rhodes gave Tony a slap on his back, nodding. "Of course. But know that I can't fend off the badges for much longer. They are really adamant about debriefs and getting their hands on both of them by any means necessary."
"Not gunna happen, but they can sure try," Tony said dismissively. "Love ya, sugar."
Rhodey excused himself and Tony turned around to see that Loki had situated themself back on the bed, propped up by the plush pillows against the backboard, and their attention laid on Harry. Their hand was lightly touching Harry's wrist, the shock of pale skin contrasting against his brown skin. The black whispy thread looked thinner now, and Tony hoped that was a good sign to see. Not wanting to bother them, he grabbed the bag and quietly slipped into the bathroom to get in better attire for everyone's sake.
Tony somewhat managed to convert the corner where the small computer was nestled into a makeshift lab with the help of Rhodey bringing in a few things. It was barely enough workspace for him to run diagnostics on the new prototype suit he thankfully didn't need to do a blind run with after all, but there was still that possibility of it happening anyway depending on how the rest of the early hour went. He gave Loki space to rest for the time being rather than bombard him with too many questions about everything right away, which the god seemed to silently appreciate.
Seeing how gentle they moved and checked on Harry's motionless state was touching, giving Tony that assurance they were not going to ever be a threat to them anymore as a result. It was nice to not have to be so on guard and tense about it now that some of the dust settled. The worry of Harry not waking was eating at him still, but JARVIS and Loki were content with his vitals and general resting state. He still had an IV bag, something Loki had since declined to keep having themself once a little bit more color returned to their face, only to further enhance the dark rings around their vibrant green eyes and making their hollowed cheeks more prominent. Tony didn't even think about offering food or anything to them yet, and that pang of guilt and his own hunger quickly became known to the genius as well. He was never very good at balancing that in general, but had got better at it since adopting Harry.
Chewing on the end of a pen, Tony stared at the monitor in front of him, a leg draped over the desk while he leaned back heavily in the swivel chair. The light peeking out in the distance of the windowed skyline told him he needed to start really setting things in motion if he didn't want to have Harry swept off-world.
He dropped his leg and turned himself to address his temporary roommate, wiggling the pen in his fingers.
"You a bit more alert to go over that Master bombshell thing from earlier? Because it sounds a lot important, and I'd really like to know if my kid is going to be fine—is fine… and safe."
Tony's eyes scanned over Harry, noticing no changes aside from gently propping him up on his pillow and placing his weighted blanket on him several hours earlier. The physical indication of him still even being alive was the very slow rise and fall of his chest. Tony would need to remember to send for Dr. Hale to check on him again even though there wasn't much else to really do while Harry was in a comatose state. The only one with possible answers laid beside him.
Loki opened their eyes and looked directly at Tony. They casually licked chapped lips, seeming to debate what to say.
"As this child's father, you do have a right to know who he truly is," Loki said slowly, the pang of hurt ghosting over their expression. "The Asgardian legend tells the tale of the One who was responsible for the destruction and the creation of everything. This entity was said to go dormant after such a feat, and would one day return to monitor the balance of existence when it could no longer manage it alone."
They gestured toward Harry then, keeping their gaze on the boy as they continued. "He showed me who he was the moment he touched me. It was brief, but I knew the second I saw that glimpse of his subconscious. He himself is not fully aware of his birthright or purpose, but I suspect that this deep sleep he is in will hold the essential keys to this Awakening. Your child is the manifestation of the One itself; the Maker, Balancer, Destroyer of everything you know and beyond."
Tony couldn't help but let out a low whistle of the explanation, catching Loki's attention.
"You know so much about this," Tony acknowledged, still weaving the pen between his fingers. "Do you know why this whole thing between you happened? What it means?"
"That, I unfortunately only have an educated guess for," Loki said, shifting on the bed slightly and moving the pillow at their lower back. "I suspect it has to do with my relatively in depth knowledge and understanding of what he is that had him choose me."
"See," Tony interrupted, sitting upright in his chair more and dropping the pen on the table. "You keep insinuating Harry chose you. Chose you for what?"
"To be his Teacher," Loki said. "When I blacked out after he severed the connection and influence from me, I went… somewhere. Further than what my mind could hardly comprehend. It wasn't long, a few seconds at most, but the presence there told me I was endowed with the high honor to teach and guide the One."
Tony didn't say anything, instead he simply looked between Harry and Loki, pressing his fingers heavily against his lips. He knew Loki was watching him intensely, seeing even his more subtle movements of his fingers twitching to tap his upper lip. His stomach growled violently, protesting the lack of nourishment over the past day at the very least, he had been so stressed about everything and now Harry's in an unresponsive state… but he must be calm enough that he at least is noticing it.
"Alright uh… that's a lot for the noggin."
Tony got up, walking around toward Loki's side of the bed but stopped at the base. He tapped a finger against the wooden footboard, taking in the exhausted god before him who equally watched him in turn.
"We can do more of this intense talk later. I just need to know one thing."
Loki lifted their chin slightly. "Alright."
"I just…" Tony bit the pad of his thumb, looking at Harry now. "You say you'll help him with this… how can I be certain you won't…"
"Your concern is understandable considering the situation and our rather poor way of getting to know one another," Loki said when Tony didn't seem to know how to word his question. "But even I know to not try and test this youngling or you. I assure you that you and your child will never be harmed by my hand."
Tony let out a heavy breath, shaking his head while moving around to Harry's side. He lightly brushed his fingers over the dark curls on his head, closing his eyes for a brief moment.
"You swear? Because your brother has shared quite a few unpleasantries about you already, with you being an adept lying schemer and all that. I—I honestly I don't see it but…" Tony trailed off, simply looking at Harry as the quiet stretched on. He swallowed hard, trying to not tear up. "I'm pretty much blindly putting my faith and my kid in your care, probably against my better judgement, but right now I… I got nothing else to go on and I just… Want to make the right choice for him… and be a good father. I want him to be okay."
Tony scoffed at his own words. "Some parent I've become, allowing him to be in this state to begin with. Already royally screwed it all up."
A cool, pale hand covered Tony's resting on Harry's head. He turned his eyes to Loki, taking in the swirling emerald eyes gazing back. They nodded confidently, seeming to know what Tony was not willing to say.
"I have no reason to lie about this. It has given me a new purpose. This enlightenment will change both of your lives, so do not discredit yourself with how you have managed it until now." Loki gripped Tony's hand. "You have my word."
Deciding to box the heavy overworldy cosmic conversation for now, Tony shifted gears. The deep breath he took helped ground him, the tears ebbing and being blinked away, he eventually pulled his hand away from Harry and Loki. Clearing his throat, he turned away and ran a hand through his hair.
"You hungry? Sorry I never thought to offer you room service before, but considering we're pretty much roommates for the time being, figured it was appropriate considering it's morning now. Going through the whole…" Tony waved his hand, silently gesturing the baggage of torture, impriosonment, and having terrible parents possibly tarnishing his own ability to be one with it so it didn't have to be fully verbalized. "Shebang of the last couple of days or so, I am quite famished personally."
Loki appeared confused by the rambling offer, tilting their head in thought. "I accept your offer, and I suppose I cannot continue to hide behind you from Thor, either."
"You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to," Tony said quickly. "He is really adamant about taking you and Harry away. Already refused him, maybe threatened him a bit, not sure it was as effective as I hoped but…"
Loki chuckled, finding the comment amusing. "Well, if he didn't, he will take mine far more seriously then."
