Chapter 3: Acceptance

The road was hard due to the steep terrain and the limitations of his wheelchair, but in less time than he thought, Loki saw in the distance a small settlement composed of several tents arranged in a circular way. He saw it in the middle of a hollow, in a clearing hidden among the mountains.

When they arrived at the camp, Loki suddenly visualized several people gathered. They were standing near the entrance, motionless as if they were waiting for something to happen.

The small crowd, seeing them appear, seemed to brisk and then moved by a sudden impetuous clamor, exploded in a thunderous round of cheering.

They clapped with vehemence and shouts echoed among the people. Some children tried to approach the newcomers with an innocent curiosity and the adults greeted them waving their arms in enthusiastic gestures.

Loki's first thought was that Tony should be very famous to be received that way by his tribe, a kind of hero among them. But when the dwellers completely bypassed Tony, directing all the attention to him, Loki couldn't contain in his face, a look of genuine and total surprise.

The elders were the first to approach him. They gave him the most warm welcome.

"If you choose it, you can stay and live with us. You are part of the tribe" They assured him.

Then, the other members approached. Loki saw a parade of faces, all with friendly smiles, expressing the utmost respect and cordiality. Some patted his shoulder (apparently forgetting that he was unable to feel it) and others came personally to voice their sincere gratitude.

Loki was unable to articulate any word during the whole process. He just stood there, looking at everyone with his mouth open, immersed in the most supreme bewilderment.

He only came out of his reverie, when Tony began to laugh softly, apparently, mocking his shocked face. Loki, finally reacting, fixed him with one of his best angry glares.

Interrupting what presaged to be an incipient argument, suddenly, a teenager came forward. He was a young man with an affable face and an agile body. At that moment, a light of admiration radiated directly from his eyes.

"Oh! Wow, You're 'He', I can't believe you're actually here. I am very excited! I see that you are using the artifact that we built, has it worked well? I also helped in its construction! I hope not to bother you, but I simply can't contain myself, I have to ask: are you capable of doing magic? That would be pretty awesome! I'm so honored I..."

"Hey kid! just breathe."

"Oh, ye...yes Mr. Stark! Sorry. I'm Peter, from the Parker clan" The male child seemed to be overly nervous around Stark. Maybe he idolized him.

"I just came to thank you," Continued the boy, more calmly. "You saved my uncle's life. He was very sick. The healers told me there was nothing else to do, but then, thanks to the food you gave us, he recovered completely!

I wanted to tell you, that I will be there for whatever you need. I owe you a debt of gratitude and I will do everything possible to repay you" He said very seriously with a brief bow.

Debt? Loki found himself bewildered again, but this time, it did not take him by surprise. He prepared in his head a scathing comment, determined to make the boy desist that ridiculous notion.

He opened his mouth to speak, but just at that moment, Tony sensing what was coming, with a sudden movement, quickly push Loki's wheelchair, moving it away from the place.

"Come, I want to introduce you to someone," Tony said, trying to hold back a smile.

He signaled in the distance and then a woman approached, appearing from the crowd.

"She is Pepper Potts, one of my greatest friend. "

"I finally meet you, Tony has talked a lot about you," She said in an affable way.

"Nothing good, I gather" Loki said, with a snort.

" Humm, in fact, it's the opposite. Since Tony arrived, he has not stopped talking about you, naming how fantastic and wonderful it was to meet you and how terribly handsome..."

"Wow, wow! surely Loki does not want to hear that..." Tony said, with a nervous laugh and a slight blush on his cheeks.

With a mischievous smile, Pepper ignored him completely.

"Besides, Tony is not who to speak badly about anyone, you would be impressed by the number of crazy things he has done and from which I personally have had to rescue him..."

"If you permit it, I would really like to continue later this conversation about these 'crazy things' you talk about," Loki said amused.

"Fantastic! You have known each other for what? 5 minutes? And you are already planning to have fun at my expense. I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, you are going to get along just fine!" Tony said, irked.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you, Lady Pepper" Loki said and surprised himself by not hearing a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

At that moment, he realized that it was not just her, he had actually enjoyed meeting all that lunatic group of people who were part of this tribe.

All of them, with that enthusiastic disposition, had received him without reservations, as an equal. They did not care if he was paralyzed, or even that he was not human. They had offered him a place to call home.

A very faint expression like a smile flickered around his mouth and something in his eyes softened slightly.

Tony, who chose precisely that moment to pose his eyes on him, was suddenly unable to avert his gaze.

"Wow!" He thought, "That expression looks very nice on him."

Stunned, he was suddenly invaded by a sudden certainty.

"I want to see that smile again... maybe one day I'll achieve, to put it back on his face again..."

After that fervent reception, the people of the tribe, prepared for Loki one of the tents and they endeavored to supply it with everything necessary for his stay.

The tribe had decided (with no room for protest), that they would take care of him. Peter had volunteered as well and assisted him in his daily tasks, offering his help and support.

Even Pepper went regularly to verify that everything was in order, taking care of the distribution of his food and ensuring his comfort.

Tony, for his part, visited him daily in his new home. He even convinced him to take him regularly, on quiet morning walks. He pushed the wheelchair while both were engaged in extensive and invigorating conversations.

They talked about the most diverse subjects and despite coming from different worlds, Loki found himself enjoying enormously the company of a man who rivaled him in wit and eloquence.

Loki began to look forward to those visits, surprised by the ease with which they fell into a pleasant routine.

Time passed. Far away were those first lonely days in the empty sand.

Loki had helped and had been rewarded with the first true friendship of his entire life.

He realized that, for the first time in a long time, even more than he could remember, he really felt free.

Despite the irony of being trapped in a paralyzed body, he felt that freedom filling him completely as if something in him has loosened as if someone had opened a new window inside of him.

He felt as if fate had given him the chance to live a new life, one in which he was allowed to be what he wanted to be and not only what others expect of him.

In this reality, he was not a prince, not a son, not a brother; not even a being consumed by the abyss. Here, there were no unfulfilled expectations or roles to play.

This was a world, where he could begin to heal those fissures that for years he had seen opening little by little into his conscience.

With a gentle pulse of warmth radiating from his chest, Loki knew exactly what he had been given: The opportunity to start over.

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Yay! we introduce Pepper and Peter to this story I really love Spiderman! so I guess it could not be left out of this story haha

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Take care!