Idle Hands Chapter 4
The next time Loki awoke it was not to the confusingly concerned voice of Tony Stark. Instead he found he awoke to the sound of one big dumb Asgardian attempting to be quiet. Loki had to describe it as attempting because if there was one thing in which Loki had always outstripped his once believed brother, it was stealth.
"Loki I know you have awakened." Apparently however his observational skills seemed to have improved since their last encounter. Loki cracked a single eyelid just enough to direct a poignant glare at the thunder god.
"Come to view me in my misery?" the mischief god rasped. "I regret to inform you Odinson, that there is little of me left upon which to avenge yourself and your comrades."
"You cannot truly believe that is why I have come. Brother whatever sins you have committed we are family and if the state I am told you arrived in is any indication, I would wager you have paid any debts you may have owed me in full."
The earnest tone on Thor's voice made Loki want to throw something. "So easily you forgive, but if these chains are any indication your comrades aren't nearly so foolish Odinson, your attachment to your memories of me is bound to get you killed someday." Loki attempted to lace his words with as much threatening venom as possible. Unfortunately it came out as something of a desperate raspy whisper.
"If there is even the slightest chance of getting my brother back, it is worth the risk." Thor said in in uncharacteristically quiet voice. "What happened to you brother?" Loki tensed, but quickly recovered raising a single sardonic eyebrow. "I paid the price for you and your merry little bands interference." Loki closed his eyes and said in an almost bored tone, "It may interest you to know that another army is on the way. Thanos did not appreciate you breaking his toys, though I suppose that honor technically goes to Stark."
This revelation was met with silence. "To this the future king of Asgard has no response tisk tisk, I did not think you could be shocked in to silence, though I admit I prefer you in this state." Loki again opened his eyes and pined his brother with his intense gaze. "Let me be plain, I expended a great deal of effort to remove myself from Thanos'… hospitality. At the time I sought only to end my own suffering but circumstances have changed. I have no desire to return to it nor do I wish to be hunted or imprisoned. To that end I will supply you and your companions the information necessary to annihilate the oncoming hoard. In return I want asylum from the punishment that no doubt still awaits me on Asgard."
"Loki you are my brother, but if this is a trick I will not be able to protect you from the Midgardian's wrath." Loki sneered "If you truly believe as you stated earlier that I have paid for my crimes give my proposal to those who hold me captive. I speak the truth, and if they believe in nothing else tell them to believe in my desire for survival. Regrettably my fate is now tied to theirs." Loki again closed his eyes and spoke no more.
Two floors up Tony was wearing a linear hole in the carpet of one of the medical facilities meeting rooms.
"What's got him so wound up?" Bruce asked Clint as he approached down the hall leading to the meeting room. Clint glanced down the hall through the glass wall and shrugged. "Don't know but I'm staying out here till the meeting starts just watching him makes me antsy." Now that Bruce thought about it Tony had been a little off ever since Loki had reappeared. Not as obviously off as he was now mind you, more distracted. He looked tired too as if he was getting even less sleep than usual. Bracing himself Bruce headed down the hall towards the conference room.
Tony knew he should calm down and at least try to appear normal, but he found, as he abandoned his pacing and flopped down in one of the many chairs, that he just didn't have the energy. Scrubbing his hands over his face he tried to tamp down his anxiousness. It had been weeks with Loki falling in and out of unconsciousness and Tony waiting for Thor to return. In that time Tony though he might actually go crazy, not just the eccentric kind that he was famous for, no legitimately cracked. When Loki had shown up on his balcony battered, obviously having undergone torture, Tony had been horrified.
It wasn't until he tried to sleep that night, however, that he realized just how deeply that sight had affected him. His dreams took him back to the cave, back to his own personal hell. He stood there once again watching Yensin die, then suddenly Yensin morphed into a battered Loki, with those startlingly green eyes and cracked bloody lips that whispered "kill me." These dreams had eventually driven Tony back the medical facility. This would be twice that Tony had entered a medical facility of his own free will for Loki''s sake. He just needed to see him. He needed to replace that battered image with something new. And so he had gone and tried unsuccessfully to talk his way into Loki's room. He reassured himself that his desire to check on Loki's physical state was entirely selfish and for his own peace of mind. Yet as he sat in the conference room waiting for a meeting, yes he Tony Stark was early for a meeting, a sure sign of the apocalypse, the images and his anxiousness had not faded.
His thoughts were interrupted by Bruce entering the room. "Hey," he said with his characteristic hesitancy, "something I should know about you being early for a meeting is like Thor saying no to pop tarts, it just doesn't happen."
Tony pasted on an enigmatic smile "Nothing of note just wouldn't want you guys to start thinking I'm predictable." "Mhmm" Bruce hummed taking a seat opposite Tony and making it clear he didn't believe Tony one bit but was willing to let it drop.
Just then Steve entered followed by Natasha and Clint. "Hey Tony, Bruce", Steve greeted "Fury and Thor should be down in ten to brief us on the Loki situation." The new comers took their seats and Tony took a minute to marvel at how Natasha could make the simple act of sitting down seem threatening. He'd have to ask her to teach him that. The next second she caught his eye, Tony felt a shiver run down his spine at the look he received. Then again maybe not. He decided to direct his gaze to safer territory, Rogers! The boy scout was always good for a distraction. "So Capsicle how's life in dullsville?" Steve rolled his eyes and shot his patented 'really Tony' look down the table. "If by dullsville you mean being the leader of the Avengers and YOU, it's not so bad." This Steve delivered with a smirk that Tony is pretty sure he lifted from Tony's own arsenal. Narrowing his eyes tony decided that bantering with Rogers was no fun if he was just going to be talking to a poor imitation of himself.
For the next eight minutes Tony tried not to fidget, with mild success, and waited for Fury and Thor to show. He looked through the glass wall into the hallway. Ah, he never thought he'd be happy to see that eye patch.
Opening the door there was an unmistakable tension to Fury's stance, well more tension than usual, which was saying something. Clearing his throat Fury began "Thor has just finished speaking with Loki, and according to him we have another army headed for earth." The table was briefly overcome with a stunned silence. Then Rogers broke in "Is there any way to verify this intel sir?"
"Not with our technology, but according to Loki a guy named Thanos is less than pleased that we destroyed his chitauri forces and is out for blood. He's asking for asylum in return for intel on their weapons and tactics as well counter measures."
At this the room erupted. "You can't seriously be considering this after all he's done." Clint declared incredulously "There are other ways to get the information we don't necessarily have to give him anything." Natasha stated with a scary calm. "How do we even know he's telling the truth sir?" Steve questioned. Bruce just looked like he was doing his best to stay human colored. While Tony directed a glare in Natasha's direction at her comment and said "Can we take the chance that he is?" "Alright everyone quite!" Fury yelled "Since Loki failed to provide them the Tesseract, it will take them several months to get here, according to Loki. We are going to use that time to try and verify his intel. Should that intel prove to be good we will enter discussions with Asgard to determine Loki's fate. However, until it can be verified Loki will remain in custody and be treated as the criminal that he is." This last part Fury directed at Thor and Tony got the distinct impression that he had missed a pretty hefty argument.
"I will return to Asgard and consult with my father as to how we might verify Loki's words. Know this Fury Loki is still my brother and whatever he has done, I nor my father will tolerate him being tortured for information." Fury fixed Thor with a glare but gave a tense nod nonetheless. "I will make haste; I expect to find Loki in good condition when I return." With that Thor left followed closely by Fury. Tony spoke into the tense silence. "Well that was interesting."
AN: Hey guy! Sorry for the delay in updating life kind of exploded on me. Thanks so much to my wonderful reviewers and to everyone who has put this tory on alert. I promise there will be more Tony/Loki goodness in the next chapter. They will finally meet again.