Chapter Three
Tony found himself curled into a warm body as he rose from sleep, "Hmmm, Loki." he said burying further into his lover's warmth.
Loki's fingers continued carding gently through Tony's messy hair. "Morning darling," he softly replied not wanting to wake him up to the harsh reality quite yet. "Would you like to come to Asgard for Lithasblot? Mother and Father would like to meet you. We could stay a while."
Despite his best efforts Tony still stiffened when yesterday caught up with him. "That might be a good idea." the billionaire choked. Firming up his voice he continued, "It's the festival about magic isn't it? I'll get to see you perform?"
"Yes Tony." Loki smiled sadly.
"JARVIS lockdown on departure." Tony commanded, turning to Loki.
"Tony," Loki started softly, "you unplugged him last night."
"Oh. Well then lockdown will have automatically engaged." he swallowed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" prompted Loki.
"Nope. Nothing to talk about. Let's go. Move your booty. Asgard here we come! I'll be the first human to visit another realm! Suck on that Armstrong!" false cheer radiated out of the engineer.
"Okay. Pack a small bag."
As Tony moved off to gather his things talking about equipment to investigate the differences between the two worlds, Loki sighed.
The two had worked so hard on resolving both his and Tony's insecurities and issues and now here Tony was almost back at square one. Loki was more than frustrated at the Avengers and the damage they had achieved with a simply sentence. It is always the closest to us that can destroy our defences most effectively.
Upon their arrival on the Bifrost, Tony's brain went into overdrive.
The teleportation, the figure Heimdall from legend with his giant sword, the rainbow bridge, the falls, the golden buildings and palace, the multi-coloured sky stretched above him...
Loki was pleased that Tony was finding pleasure from the new puzzles presented to him. He dissected Loki's homeland like a physicist did with an atom as they walked towards the palace. Loki was happy to listen because it acted as a distraction for Tony allowing some time to heal his gaping wound a little.
As the pair approached the golden archway at the far end of the bridge Loki interrupted Tony in amusement. "Anthony, you can setup the altimeter and all your other equipment I have shrunk in your bag later. Right now I would like to take you up to meet my parents."
"Parents, okay. Royal parents - got it." The scientist gulped.
"Do not fret, I have talked of you to both Father and Mother and they have been looking forward to meeting you."
"Okay." Tony smiled at his partner and Loki squeezed his hand in response as the two entered the city and onto the palace.
Loki opened the majestic doors leading to the family quarters then followed closely behind Tony.
"My son!" Frigga exclaimed, "You are back so soon. We were not expecting you until the festival in a moons time."
The goddess moved forward to embrace her son, bestowing a kiss to each of his cheeks. "And who do we have here? You must be Tony Stark! My Loki has talked much about you. I am so glad to finally meet you."
"Thank you your majesty. It is truly an honour to meet you."
"Oh Loki he is a dear. Please call me Frigga, you are after all meeting the mother of your boyfriend, not the queen." the goddess smiled at the engineer.
"Mother," said Loki, taking enjoyment from Tony's flustered facade. He didn't think the playboy had ever met the parents before. "You cannot say his manners are perfect before you get to know the real Tony. A consummate slob we have here in our mist." he poked Tony in the ribs causing him to curve away from the tickling fingers.
"Hey mister God of Mischief, and don't forget we could say so much about your manners." Tony retaliated.
Frigga's joyful laugh reverberated through the hall and it broke the awkward tension, relaxing the three and the afternoon was spent in an exchange of Loki stories between Frigga and Tony, while the god himself attempted, unsuccessfully, to silence the most horrific.
Several months after the incident at S.H.I.E.L.D, Thor and Bruce were seated in Bruce's shack in Calcutta where he had gone back to treating those unable to get help. They were sharing a bottle of Tony's favourite scotch.
"Do you drink this often Doctor?" Thor broke the silence.
"No. It is mainly here to remind me. Have you had any luck finding him?"
"No, our search has been fruitless my friend. Steve and I have searched tirelessly across this realm for a location but alas nothing has appeared."
"What about Natasha?"
"She has gone to ground. Given me a family to contact should we find him. I think she is conducting her own search."
"What about Asgard? Have you searched your own realm?"
"The Man of Iron could not be there - no Midgarian has ever been to Asgard."
"It might be worth a look. He was after all dating your brother and Loki has also disappeared from Earth."
"I will look into it." Thor was contemplative. "It is an excellent idea my friend. When did you think of it?"
"I had my suspicions when Loki left the meeting. That is why I did not truly join you in your search."
"Why did you not voice this first? We could have found him very quickly if it is the case!"
"I believe Tony needed the space, and time and I hoped he would come back by now."
"Oh, well I will head to Asgard to enquire of my Father whether Tony has been by. Heimdall may be able to help too."
"Good luck."
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