A/N: HERE ARE A LOT OF WORDS! So, this is the Big Explanation of Tony's crazy fabulous idea...and it is Big. Hopefully it'll make up for my delay in posting, right? For which I have an excellent excuse...it's my last week in my house-share with my group of best friends (I'm moving back in with my parents next Saturday because our contract expires and we are all insanely in debt...student life ahhh) and so we've been doing lots of fun emotional drunk things as well as packing and cleaning like crazy, leaving me with not many hours to write/edit...forgive me?

Also, I received the results of my degree yesterday, (I GOT A 2:1 IN CLASSICAL LITERATURE, HELLS YES) so finally finishing this chapter was sort of like part of my reward to myself! And all you lovely people for continuing to be lovely! Seriously, you make my days. Hope this satisfies you all...it has lots of feels and dialogue and THOR AND LOKI STUBBORNESS. Yum. Working on Chp 17 at the mo, it may be after the weekend by the time I get to update though, this house is going to take a LOT of work before we can hand it back to our landlord!

Disclaimer: Nothing mine. Title from song of same name by God Is An Astronaut. Fabulous background tune to writing/reading/tidying/life.

Chapter 16. Worlds In Collision.

By 7.30pm, Tony had paced around the kitchen approximately 23 times and drunk 4 espressos. He had tried to occupy himself in his workshop, but he just kept breaking things and burning himself and swearing and he couldn't concentrate. He thought briefly about making some food, before a series of faint spasms somewhere in his stomach region told him this probably wouldn't be the best idea. He was grateful to his head for telling him the same when he found himself looking longingly at the replenished bottle of Scotch in the nearby cupboard.

If he were an observer, and this was anyone else, Tony would have called nerves, but that was ridiculous – he was Tony fucking Stark, he didn't get nervous. Especially not around people who were supposedly his friends. No, he was just…excited, that's all. Excited to see them and hit them up with his plan. Because the plan hadn't just been to get them all to his house, that was just the beginning. Tony had something much bigger and crazier and more risky in mind for the Avengers. He only hoped they'd come armed with rationality and an open mind, and not just a shed load of arrows and anger and other assassin-y type attitudes. He figured if he could get Steve and Bruce on board, he'd be home and dry; and he was confident they wouldn't let him down.

Kind of confident.

He thought.

He hoped.

The message back from Thor just over 3 hours ago had been that the team had initially reacted with panic, then worry, and finally suspicion, before agreeing to make their way out to Malibu at the fastest possible opportunity. Apparently they'd all been at HQ in New York (surprise surprise, Fury was holing them all up together) and they'd promised to leave as fast as making a half decent excuse of escape allowed them to. He'd been perhaps a little too reliant on Thor's improvisation abilities, and as a result didn't really blame them for being suspicious – he doubted Thor would have sounded that convincing about any imperative danger when faced with Natasha's bullet fast interrogation techniques. Kudos to them though, they couldn't ignore a potential threat, however doubtful they were of it's truth, especially coming from the mouth of one of their own. Tony was ready to bet that Tasha and Bruce had seen his fingerprints all over Thor's phone call, but Steve, bless him, would not have taken any threats to Tony's life lightly, and would most likely be coming all guns (well, shield) blazing until he finally cottoned on that the situation was just a ruse.

Given the time now, the speed of SHIELD's Quinjets (although how they'd managed to get one of those out of base without Fury or any other agents noticing was beyond him, he really ought to give them his congratulations on that) and the approximate distance between them, the team should be arriving just before 8. He'd briefly filled Thor in on the planned order of action, and begged him not to overreact or go all overbearing and crazy when Loki joined them. To stop the god from getting too overexcited and loud about the whole situation, Tony had persuaded him to wait in the living room and finish watching Titanic; if that didn't get Thor in a sombre enough mood for the upcoming meeting, nothing would. Thor was very easily moved, and Tony didn't feel in the least bit bad about using the television as some kind of standby babysitter. He hadn't bothered to wake Loki yet, or even check if Loki was awake, he figured the amount of noise and stress that was soon to be filling his house would probably do that job for him.

As he paced around for the 36th time, he heard the familiar faint monotonous drone of an engine somewhere in the distance, and his throat squeezed. This was it. That was them. Hating how dry his mouth suddenly became, he got the feeling he was teetering on some of precipice that he hadn't even realised he was climbing up to. Giving himself a shake and downing a fifth espresso, he strode through into the hallway, ready to greet his friends.

Crunch time.

JARVIS had been instructed to remove all security alarms and alerts around the perimeter of the house, something else which was likely to rouse suspicion among the Avengers, if they didn't already doubt the danger in which Tony was apparently in. He could see the jet land some way off in a field adjacent to the beach, and watched as Steve, Natasha and Clint hurried across the grass towards him, decked out in full suits (as he'd expected), Clint's bow up and ready and trained straight on Tony's front door. Bruce followed a little behind, with Pepper – clearly she had been at Stark Industries and hitched a lift. Tony felt a little pang of hurt that she hadn't told him she'd left Malibu; then again, if his theory was correct, she'd probably been ordered away – and after all, she was Stark Industries CEO, she did technically have to be at the office. Seeing them pause at having the gate open automatically for them, he moved from the window to the door, wary of making any sudden movement in case Clint got too arrow-happy. Swinging open the door and stepping out onto the porch, he held his hands above his head, just in case Clint or any of them did fall prey to their super fast reaction times.

''Tony - ! What – Thor said – what's going on – where's Loki – are you OK - ?''

Steve had come to an abrupt halt halfway up Tony's path, the others gathering behind him, Clint lowering his bow by only the tiniest fraction.

''Guys, hey. Welcome to Malibu! I'm fine Steve, really. I got Thor to make that up, I needed to get you out here without risking contact myself, Fury's got me under some kind of surveillance, right? I missed you!'' Tony grinned easily, making a show of looking as natural and as relaxed as possible.

At his words, Natasha narrowed her eyes in a 'knew it' kind of way, Bruce smiled as though he had also known it all along, and Clint simply looked resigned and almost disappointed. Steve stood there, brow knitted, clearly wanting to make sure Tony really was OK and Loki really hadn't gone apeshit and flattened him or the house before he leapt forward with any greetings. Pepper was hovering at the edge of the group, remnants of tears in her eyes, and Tony felt bad for having told the lie to her, he knew she'd have been feeling worried and guilty all the way over here, despite what Natasha and Bruce had inevitably told her.

''What? You're OK? Really? But what…why…why did you need us to come out, then?''

Steve sounded as if he didn't really believe Tony yet, but before Tony could answer, he felt a shape moving in the hall behind before barrelling past him – Thor was now stepping off the porch, arms open, beaming grin on his face.

''Friends!'' He boomed, not seeming to care that he'd only spent about 3 days in the company of the Avengers, and didn't really get on with anyone for the first day anyway. It didn't seem to matter that no one returned his warmth with any noticeable gusto; Thor clearly had the part of 'welcoming host' ingrained into him, no matter that he was technically a guest here as much as the others were.

'Thor, Tony, what's going on?''

This time it was Pepper who spoke, clearly confused and almost succeeding but not quite in hiding a slight wobble to her voice.

''Look, why don't you all come inside and I'll explain then?'' Tony moved back to allow everyone space to enter the house; remembering his promise to Loki he held an hand out at the last minute, indicating the area next to the hall table.

''Weapons at the door please, and shoes. Cleaners orders!''

Shuffling around and somewhat reluctantly depositing his bow and arrows, Clint continued to glance suspiciously around the hallway, as if expecting Loki to suddenly jump out from behind a door and catch them all in a net. Steve balanced his shield next to Clint's bow, and Natasha very grudgingly unclipped her belt and set it down with the others. Tony stared at her, smirking – if she thought he believed that was all her weapons, she severely underestimated him. Catching his glance, she pursed her lips, raising her eyebrows in a challenge. Tony let it go, for this time – he trusted her enough to know she wouldn't pull a gun on him or Loki for no reason; besides, it was probably safer to let her keep them wherever she had them hidden than force her to part with them. It would be safer (and easier) trying to get a mother to part with her firstborn. Leading them all into the living room, Tony waited before they had all perched haphazardly and still a little hesitantly on the sofas and chairs before he spoke.

''Guys, firstly, I'm sorry I had to lie, well, get Thor to lie. It wasn't my best plan, but then again I didn't exactly have a plan as such – I just needed you all here, because I've got something important to say and something I need, well, want you all to do. I figured the deafening silence on your end this past week was SHIELD's doing – either I'm some kind of experiment that no one's allowed to tamper with, or you've all been led to believe I'm consorting with the enemy now and not to be trusted or something.''

A quick glance around the room confirmed his theory had been correct. Ignoring the frustration rising up, he carried on, his annoyance and the reasons behind it would be dealt with in a short while.

''So yeah, I had to get round that, and hopefully Fury. He doesn't know you're here, right?'' Tony had re-programmed the video feed going from his house to Fury's office to conveniently suffer visual and audio programmes until midnight tonight, when hopefully everything would be explained and he'd got some news to share with the Director personally. News Tony knew he wouldn't like, but he'd never been good at doing what he was told and being someone's pet.

''He won't stay ignorant for long''. Bruce's voice was calm and aimed at merely informing Tony, not threatening him.

''No problem. I'm going to hit up the guy myself later, just as soon as I've said my bit here. Frankly, it's pissed me off that he's cut me off, when we agreed that I'd babysit Loki we did not agree that myself, him and Thor would be under some kind of house arrest – the whole point of that plan was to not imprison Loki, right? And to be honest, what with turning my house into a fucking series of Big Brother and banning contact with the outside world, I don't see that SHIELD are keeping up with their side of the bargain. What's the point of me helping Loki if he isn't allowed any contact with anyone else? What's the point me helping him if he never gets to talk to anyone who isn't me or his brother, if everyone else still treats him like shit, if the whole world still looks on him with suspicion? What's the point in making him sorry if the whole world doesn't even get to see or hear from him? No fucking point at all. Do you see what I'm saying?''

Tony had got worked up despite his earlier intentions to keep calm, and he could hear his breathing raise up a few notches, coming thick and fast after his statement. The team were all looking rather shell-shocked, whatever they'd expected, it clearly hadn't been some kind of presentation on Loki's reformed character.

Bruce, again, was the first to speak. ''We haven't abandoned you, or Loki. We've been watching you. And him. We've seen everything''.

''You've been – what?'' Tony was thrown off track.

''Yeah. You think we've been having a sleepover back at HQ? Ignoring you for the fun of it? Tony, we've been monitoring all the feeds. Every day. We've been briefed on Fury's conversations with you. We've been tracking both of you. We've seen him, and we've heard him. We only haven't contacted you, because…well, Fury thought this whole thing would work better if it was just you at first, you know? Getting Loki used to normal interaction again. Rather than having all 4 of us butting in and making things complicated. See?''

Once Tony had got over the shock of Bruce saying something longer than 5 words, and then the shock of what Bruce had actually said, his mind started going into overdrive. So the team had been watching him? He wasn't sure how he felt about that…all those things he and Loki had spoken about…Loki breaking down…Tony being friendly with him…had they all seen that? Not that there was anything there that technically they shouldn't have seen, but still. Tony still felt uncomfortable, and the strangest thing was, he felt more embarrassed for Loki than himself. He felt oddly…protective of Loki, and he didn't like to think of them all sat there, gawping at him at his lowest.

''Tony, we wanted to contact you. Honestly, we did. Pepper especially.'' This time it was Steve who spoke, gesturing at Pepper curled up against the arm of the sofa across from him. ''It's been hard for us, for her. We want to help, even if…even if we still don't really know what's going to happen, with Loki. We're your friends, you didn't honestly think we'd abandoned you?''

Tony stared at Steve, the guy had such a sorrowful manner, Tony could tell the Captain was genuinely cut up about not having being able to keep Tony in the loop. His mind was buzzing, did this mean…did this mean they all did fully support him then? That they'd all wanted to come and help? If this were the case, his plan had suddenly got a whole lot easier.

''Mate, it's true. Much as I'm still not keen on the little shit - '' Thor growled – ''you gotta admit, he hasn't killed you yet. You must be doing an alright job.'' Heavy praise from Clint, if slightly misguided in front of Thor.

''Ok, so, what…you're all on board with this? Really?'' Tony had to make sure, before he skipped all his planned grovelling and imploring (and actually, thank fuck for that, he really wasn't the begging type).

''Sure'' said Bruce, whilst Natasha and Clint both gave a brief nod, and Pepper made an odd noise that was somewhere between disproval and agreement. Steve, however, had one final question. He knew Tony best, apart from Pepper, and he could sense that Tony was about to drop a bombshell, size as yet undetermined.

'' 'this' being you helping Loki? Or something…something more?''

Steve had a way of staring at Tony that was just loaded with expectation, as much as he tried, Tony could never get anything past Steve, the Captain saw straight through him. Whether he pulled Tony up on what he saw was dependant on the situation at hand, but Tony knew that he'd never be able to totally hide from Steve's judgement. On anything.

''I want Loki to be a part of this, not just a subject. I want him to be…one of us.''

Tony hadn't really planned how he was going to say that line, he'd kind of thought he'd just wing it when the time came, and as the time had apparently come, he'd opened his mouth and wait what had he meant that? Is that what he'd wanted to say? Seeing Steve's eyes widen in surprise and hearing Clint's snort of disbelief convinced him that actually, yes. It was. How about that.

Before he had time to ponder how the rest of the team would interpret it, he was pulled into a massive bear hug by Thor, who had crossed the room and was clapping Tony on the back, practically swallowing the smaller man in his arms. From around Thor's bicep he could just about see Natasha, looking impassive as always, and Bruce just sitting there, still calm, seemingly unsurprised by Tony's declaration. When Thor at last broke away, he glanced around the room again, wondering whether to say anything else or whether someone else would fill the silence. No one did, so he plunged on.

''I want him to be able to feel comfortable in front of us, I want him to be able to let his guard down with people. He's never going to mend if he never sees anyone. I want him to build bridges, with Thor and all of you…and himself. And I think he can do it. He's angry and volatile and messed up still, yes, but a bit of that is just down to his personality. The main thing is, he's not dangerous, not in a murdery way, anymore, and the longer we treat him as a threat the longer he'll believe he is one and behave like he is one. So…'' Tony took a deep breath. ''I want you all to stay here. With him. With us. At least for a bit, like a holiday or something – or a long weekend, or whatever. I want him to get used to being around people, and have them treat him like he's an equal, not worthless or a scrap of dirt. What do you say? For me?''

Steve's eyes had gone even wider, and Clint's were quickly following suit. Pepper had made to stand up out of her chair, and Bruce continued just to stare at Tony, blinking slowly. Natasha was the first to recover.

''You want us all to move in with you? Now? Fury would never allow it.''.

Ah, the flaw in the plan. Tony had hoped that with all their agreements, he could confront Fury later and tell him of their new developments. Collectively. Teamwork. He didn't have a problem disobeying orders, but he liked to know he had his back covered when he needed it.

''Ignore Fury. For now. Just go with it. See what happens, fuck, just try things out, yeah? Give it a chance. Give Loki a chance. I've spent the last 2 days convincing him he deserves one.''

Tony appreciated that what he was asking was weird, unexpected, probably not all that appealing – but he no longer cared that he was practically pleading with them to get on with Loki, or that they might find that odd. He didn't care if they thought he was crazy for being bothered about Loki. Suddenly, somehow, over the last couple of days, he found the thing he did care about was in fact Loki, and he could forgive the others for being wary; it had scared him too. It still did. Another reason why he wanted them all around him was so he'd have a few distractions, so he wouldn't feel so intense all the time. Or at least he thought that's what he wanted. Regardless, he knew that in the end, it was probably what Loki wanted, or at least what Loki needed, whether or not the god ever admitted it, now or in time to come.

Thor broke in.

''I assure you all that my brother will appreciate your efforts and your company, even if he has difficulty showing it. I remain hopeful that everyone can overcome their problems in time, and Tony has assured me that having you all around will help Loki, er, break his sand, I think the saying is.''

Tony could see looks of confusion flit across everyone's faces.

''He means come out of his shell. Loki's shell. Seriously, you know, I mean it. There's enough rooms here. I had JARVIS make them up…stay tonight, at least? Loki's going to…Loki's going to come down, soon, here, and we're all going to eat together and no one's going to threaten anyone and no one - '' he aimed his glance specifically at Thor '' – is going to blow anything up or shout or scream or get injured. OK? If you can't forgive him, just…just sit there. Just act like you don't hate him. Yeah?''

He directed most of his speech at Steve and Pepper, if he could get them to agree, the others would, all he was asking was that they be in the same room as Loki for one evening, that wasn't beyond them was it? And if they had seen the footage and whatnot from the past week, they'd know what the situation was. They'd know how Loki felt, how Tony felt. They'd have seen that Loki was no longer a threat or worthy of such hostility. They'd have heard all about the Chitauri and Loki's trauma. They had to see what Tony did, didn't they? At least if not to the same extent, they had to admit that Loki wasn't some kind of devil incarnate. He was just… Loki, a slightly messed up guy who made some bad decisions and fucked up a bit. OK, a lot. He wasn't perfect, but neither was Tony, and maybe that's why he felt so strongly that the team should accept Loki – they'd accepted him, hadn't they? They put up with his snarkyness and ego and narcissism and general assholery, and that was all Loki was, really, when you took away the evil world domination thing. Which Bruce, (well, the Hulk, though inadvertently) had.

''Tony, I'm not exactly happy about this, but…the bottom line is, I trust you. And I'm willing to put my hand up and give it a go. For tonight. And if no one gets hurt and nothing gets damaged…I'd be willing to stay longer. The weekend maybe. I'm in.''

Steve always was solemn when directing speeches of this nature, and right then Tony could have kissed him. He knew the Captain would be behind him, he always was. He knew he could count on his friends. They were a great bunch. They were exactly what Loki needed. Nodding his gratitude at Steve, they both turned to glance round at everyone else. Bruce held his hand up straight away, silently acquiescing to Tony's suggestion. Natasha was slightly tight lipped and had fixed Tony with a look that let him know that if he gave her any reason to regret this, he would regret his whole entire life, but she also nodded. Clint, seeing this, sighed and muttered something under his breath that sounded very much like 'fuckers need all their fucking brains examined' before making some kind of grunted agreement. Tony continued to stare at Pepper, who still hadn't said anything. Noticing she was the focus of attention, she sat up a little straighter, a tired and weary look on her face.

''Tony, I've known you for so long…I've known you make really bad decisions, really stupid ones. But I've also known things work out for you that wouldn't have had a chance in hell with anyone else. I'd love to be able to tell you to deal with your own problems and stop dragging me into your messes. But hey..'' she paused, with a wry smile, ''…your problems seem to somehow make themselves into my problems. And…and I've missed you. A lot. So OK, I'll stay. But just for a few days, your company won't run itself…''

This time, Tony did cross the room and kiss his friend.

''Seriously? You'll stay? Here?''

''Well, no. Not here as in, this house. I'll stay at the apartment, right? It's basically mine and already has my things there. And things are looking a little crowded here anyway.'' Pepper looked round the room, making a brave attempt to smile at everyone. ''Don't worry though, I'll come round for all the fun.''

Tony couldn't believe how well she was taking this, she sounded relaxed, and even upbeat. Knowing her as well as he did, he knew she would be tearing up inside, worrying for him, worrying for his sanity, worrying at the logistical nightmare that having all the Avengers and two Asgardian gods under his roof would entail. But Pepper, sweet, brilliant, wonderful Pepper, was dealing with it all for his sake. This reassured him more than anything else, and he knew he'd made the right call.

''A celebration!'' Thor boomed into the silence, breaking up Tony and Peppers hug. ''Man of Iron, do you possess any ale?''

''Err, I have whiskey, wine, gin, vodka, brandy, beer…but hang on a second. Before we start celebrating, let's get introductions out the way first, yeah? You guys all stay here, I'll…I'll go and get Loki.''

Thor fell silent, looking at Tony with a mix of excitement and anguish. ''My brother, of course…do you think…would it be better for me to greet him individually, alone?'' Thor sounded worried, obviously he was remembering the last 'conversation' he'd had with Loki as well as Tony was.

''No, Thor, it's fine. Stay right there. I spoke to him, I told him you needed – he needed – you both needed to patch things up. He's willing to try, I think. Just let him start, let him come to you. Don't, like…jump on him as soon as he comes in the room.''

Thors face split in half with a massive grin, and he practically bounced on the balls of his feet. Swallowing awkwardly and moving back across the room to the door, Tony paused, indicating the ceiling.

''I'll just, er, go get him then. Wait here. And Natasha, no shooting!''

Regardless of all the battles, scrapes, bizarre situations and outlandish places they had each found themselves in over the course of their lives, each of the team shared the same, silent thought – this was definitely the weirdest. Bruce, Clint and Natasha were sharing the large L shaped sofa, Pepper was curled up in the armchair, Tony and Loki had ended up on the smaller two seater sofa and Thor was perched on the floor at Bruce's feet, seemingly too large to squish onto any of the limited amount of cushion left available. The television was on, but no one was really watching it. The leftover remnants of take out pizza were strewn across the coffee table, although no one had really felt all that hungry, and basically just ate to give themselves something to do with their mouths that wasn't talking. Because the talking was strange, stilted, and on the wrong side of ever so slightly uncomfortable. Tony had returned down the stairs with Loki a couple of hours ago, and no one had really known where to look or what to say. Loki hadn't said a lot either. Tony made up for everyone's hesitance and talked too much, although that wasn't a surprise. However, it was hard even for him to have a conversation in which he only received one word back for every 10 he spoke, and in the end he'd suggested the TV to drown out the ever increasing awkward silences.

The fact wasn't that nobody wanted to talk, it was that they simply had no idea what to say – everything felt fake and wrong; and as Loki was vulnerable at best, volatile at worst, having a regular chat with him just wasn't an option, at least not yet. Not so soon. Tony knew it'd take a while for this whole thing to feel anywhere near normal, it had taken him almost a week to have a proper conversation with Loki, and so for now he just took it as a positive sign that they were even all in the same room, doing something vaguely domestic and 'friendly'; it was an even bigger plus that Loki was still there too. The god had been as good as his word and greeted everyone by name, except of course Thor who he'd resolutely ignored. Tony had noticed Thor's crestfallen face and could see the big guy was hurting, but true to his word, he'd left Loki alone. Apart from the 20 glances a minute he'd made in his brothers direction, which Tony was sure Loki had to have noticed, but if he had, he hadn't acknowledged them or even let it show that he was aware Thor was in the same room. This was a whole huge percent of the reason why the atmosphere could be cut with a knife, probably literally if Natasha had anything to do with it.

Just as whatever the hell programme that was on went off for an advert break and Tony was about to suggest a round of drinks (it wasn't exactly as if things could get more awkward, was it), Thor apparently decided he'd had enough of Loki's silence and turned to address his brother with a set, determined face.

''Loki. This is madness. Will you not look at me, or talk to me? Tony Stark is doing you a favour, brother, and it is for a reason. We all need to set our differences aside and that includes you and me. Will you let go of your poisonous thoughts? Brother, look at me!''

Loki had continued to stare straight ahead at the TV during Thors impassioned plea, although Tony noticed a muscle at his jaw working and his hands grip onto the cushion with renewed strength. The sharp intakes of breath from everyone else had been almost deafening in the charged silence that met Thors words, and Tony set himself on high alert, ready to begin damage control if it looked like things were going to get 'out of hand' again.

''Er, Thor, mate, look, this really might not be the best time, you don't have to do this now, why don't you try and have a chat with Loki tomorrow, just you guys yeah, you don't want an audience surely…Thor?''

Thor completely disregarded Tony's attempts to pacify him, and instead stood up from his crouched position on the floor, making a movement as if to get closer to Loki. Tony could feel Loki physically pull away next to him, and he rose to his feet too, acting like some sort of human barrier between the gods. He wasn't sure where Thor was going with this, but he was pretty damn sure Loki didn't feel like accompanying him.

''Tony Stark, I appreciate your concern, but this has gone on long enough. My brother will not ignore me any longer, not when he has my apologies, my support, my love – I am truly sorry for whatever I have done that has wronged him, I am truly sorry for any pain I have put him through that caused him to end up here – but it is no use being sorry if he will not partake in forgiveness, both in accepting mine and offering his own plea! Loki! Are you hearing what I am saying, brother? This must end!''

Thors voice was rough and desperate; reaching out to Loki, begging his brother to stop trying to turn himself into a stranger. Loki's jaw was working quickly and more furiously now, Tony could see his eyes darken and his lips purse. His hands seemed to be trembling. Uh oh.

''Thor – '' But Tony was cut off from whatever meditative advice he was going to offer by a choked snarl that came from the sofa beside him; it seemed Loki had cracked.

''You still deign to call me brother? How many times, Thor, I am not your brother and I never was! That is what's ended, and a long time ago! Your feelings do not concern me, no longer am I required to treat you as kin, and nor you me! No longer can you hurt me, you are nothing to me! Why can't you just leave me alone Thor!''

Loki's voice was high pitched, desperate to match Thors, angry and painful to listen to. Pepper had frozen on her chair, Bruce and Steve were looking worried, and Clint and Natasha were poised as though ready to attack. With what, Tony didn't know, or care. The evening wasn't meant to be going this way, this wasn't meant to happen, this was meant to be a chance for Loki to integrate himself, not be pushed further away or push himself further away.

''Hold on – whoa – Loki, Thor – '' But once again Tony was cut of by the older Asgardians booming voice.

''Have you forgotten everything, Loki? Our childhood, our family? I am your brother, I always have been and I always will be! Have you forgotten the times we played, worked, fought, drank alongside each other? Have you forgotten mother? Our friends? Have you really forgotten all the people who truly care for you?''

''There are none.'' Loki's reply was bitter, quiet.

''Loki, even for you that is an atrocious lie, and you know it! You cannot have forgotten it, us, I refuse to believe that you no longer care or think we care. We do care Loki, I care. I want you to come home. Have you forgotten what home is Loki?''

If Loki's eyes had darkened before, they were positively black now, pools of deep and almost unmanageable emotion. This time he faced Thor full on, and his voice had become a low hiss.

''You fool, Thor, to hold on to such memories, such sentiments. You think I can just go home? You think I have a home? Of course I have not forgotten it…it is it that has forgotten me. And it is because of that I can never go back. Not because I've forgotten, but because I remember too well. I remember the lies.''

''There were no lies Loki! If you saw such things, if it seemed that I was lying, then again, I am truly sorry and I beg your forgiveness. But you were wrong. You were wrong to feel slighted or forgotten! Why did you not explain to me, why did you not tell me? You assumed we would understand you, and you punished us when we did not, and now you've punished innocent people here on Midgard. And yourself. Loki, you have to stop, stop now, this is all just a huge mistake, allow it to be over!''

Tony had never seen Thor cry before, would never have imagined Thor crying. But he was, now, stood in the middle of Tony's living room, face red and tears running down his cheeks as he tried to reach out to Loki.

It's so strange, Tony thought, how someone could get so, so far away before anyone realised they'd fallen. Thor might not have realised how Loki felt, but Loki had wanted him to realise, needed him to, and when Thor let him down again and again, that's when he had given up. Tony didn't care that it was probably a really, really bad idea to interrupt just now, because he was going to. He hadn't planned this whole thing for nothing, he wasn't letting the evening go down this road. Not if he could help it. And again, if anyone knew the proper definition of 'help' where Loki was concerned, it was probably him.

''The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.'' Tony's interjection was meant with a confused stare from Thor, an appalled glance from Loki and a few nervous looks from the rest of his team. This was his definition of winging it, and he didn't do things by halves. ''Come on, that's Einstein. He's a great dude, you'd have loved him on Asgard. Seriously, though…Loki. This isn't the end, remember?''

Loki was now staring at Tony, probably wondering what the hell the engineer was on about and probably wanting to kill him for sounding so blasé after Thor had just ripped his massive 'adoption wound' open again. Tony forced himself to sound more sincere, it really mattered that Loki payed attention to this.

''I understand, Loki, you know I do. Probably more than Thor. But that doesn't mean you should ignore him, or fight him forever. If I've learnt anything, personally, it's that the only thing that matters is the here and now. If you let what's happened in the past drag you down, you'll never get up out of that hole. Never. Don't let the trap swallow you, no matter what lies and excuses it offers up. Bite the bullet and climb out, forget what's happened.. Before it's too late. Think about now, Loki. Because this is about the best chance you're ever going get to start again.''

Loki's eyes were searching Tony's face all the while he spoke; and as he finished he detected the smallest hint of a smirk flitter across Loki's lips.

''It is hard to wipe away a lifetime of pain, Tony. You also understand that, don't you? You want too much. All of you. I can't give you what you want.''

'Then don't. Give us what you want.'' Tony answered simply, daring once again to challenge Loki. Perhaps because Loki had called him Tony, and not Stark. That was new. ''We're all here for the long haul, buddy. Humans, we're resilient. We'll muddle through. And you're one of us now, except a bit more…special. Obviously.''

He didn't know if that was step too far, calling Loki special. For a moment he was convinced he'd blown it, blown everything, that Loki himself was going to blow up – but then he noticed the god's mouth was twitching, and most of the pain and the anger had left his eyes. He realised it was probably the first time Loki had explicitly being told he was part of a group, that he had people looking out for him. And Tony suddenly got the weirdest half desire to hug Loki, but then he remembered it was Loki, and that he wasn't Thor, and then Loki seemed to remember he was Loki, and his expression vanished, and he looked blank again, blank and resigned and exhausted.

But the Loki looked at Thor and he didn't flinch and there wasn't any malice in his eyes any more. And Thor seemed to understand, he gave Loki a hesitant smile and somehow restrained himself from saying anything at all, because he could tell Loki didn't want or need him to. And both Thor and Tony knew this was Loki's way of answering them; he wasn't promising to try and to be friends with his brother, he wasn't saying sorry, he wasn't offering anything, as such. But he was giving all he could, at that moment, and if that was silence in the place of arguing, assent in the place of hatred, resignation in the place of bitterness, then that was OK, and that was enough. For now.

And then they all seemed to remember that everyone else was still there, watching, listening, intrigued. An unspoken acknowledgement seemed to have fanned around the room during the last five minutes, and the atmosphere had lightened just enough to be noticeable. Tony didn't know whether it was him sticking up for Loki, him calling Loki 'special', seeing Loki have a conversation with Thor without attacking him, or seeing Thor profess his love for his brother, unconditionally and without hesitation, but suddenly it wasn't as awkward any more and Loki didn't stick out so much as 'the outsider'. The three of them slowly sat back down, but this time they seemed more relaxed, Loki wasn't tensely clutching his seat and Thor wasn't crouched as tightly and Tony didn't feel the need to blabber on about absolutely nothing.

In fact, none of them felt the need to say anything, and everyone seemed content to sit in silence, and Loki allowed himself to settle into his seat, surprisingly comfortable. He'd never once even let himself dream that he'd be in a situation like this. And he knew he wasn't yet 'one of them' and it would take a long time before he was, if ever, but all the same, he was happy to take what was being offered to him. It was the first time he'd been given something without the giver expecting anything back. Thor still had the potential to shatter his resolve, to break his slowly mending disposition, but he wasn't alone in dealing with Thor, because Tony understood. Tony had told him he could do what he wanted, and that it was alright to do what he wanted. And what he wanted, honestly, was to stay there, with Tony, with everyone, yes, even with Thor, and just see what happened. He felt no desire to escape or to be elsewhere. He'd been running away for so long it felt wonderful, finally, to find a place he felt at home in enough to stop.

Another programme announced its beginning with a rather inappropriately cheery jingle, and Tony shifted on the seat beside him, lifting him out of his reverie. As all eyes landed on the engineer, he turned and grinned at Loki, asking his question to the room but almost definitely directing it at the god.

''So, I guess I owe you guys a drink, yeah?''

Another little note: For page breaks I've started just using the split lines, the X's started annoying me. Hope this doesn't confuse anyone - it means the same!