Day 3: Bravery

The next morning Tony was the first to wake up, and came out into the living room to find no one there, the couch empty. "Hello?" he called.

There was a scrambling from Bruce's bedroom, and soon Clint emerged, looking sheepish.

"Hey, kid," he said to Tony.

Tony looked thoughtfully at him. "You slept in Bruce's room. It makes sense, but the gossip magazines would be all over it. I don't know why, though." Tony shrugged expressively again.

Clint sniggered. "Your innocence is refreshing. Adult you would be teasing me horribly right about now." He padded over to the fridge. "Juice?"

Tony nodded, so Clint poured two glasses of orange juice, and they sat at the counter together. Bruce and Loki emerged soon after, Loki quiet and neat as always, but Bruce looking much more tousled than usual, and Clint couldn't figure out which sight gave him fluffier feelings. He grinned at them both. "Sleep all right?" he asked.

Bruce returned his smile with stifled but obvious glee. "Actually, yes," he replied. "I had a good night."

Clint's eyes scrunched in answer. Loki appeared near Clint's elbow, the lighthearted mood seemingly infectious as the little prince stole Clint's glass and drank from it. Clint couldn't stop smiling.

Bruce made orange herbal tea and pancakes, and they talked about possible plans for the day, which led into a discussion of the nature of life force, as Loki attempted to explain what it was and what it was not, and Tony and Bruce tried to frame that information in a scientific context.

Clint was starting to consider heading down to the range and leaving them to it, when the speakers overhead erupted into life.

"Avengers assemble," said Steve's voice. "We've got giant robots."

The boys' heads snapped up and they looked around in half-panic. "You go," Bruce told Clint. "I'll get them set up on the common floor and join you if necessary. Jarvis, is this in the city or do I need to catch the jet?" he was conferring, even as Clint hurried from the room.

"The situation appears to be centered in Harlem," the AI replied.

"Great," said Bruce, sighing. "Hopefully I won't have to break it again." He put a hand on each of the boys' shoulders. "I'll take you up to the common floor and put on a movie for you, all right? Jarvis will be here if you need anything. You'll be safe in the tower."

Loki nodded and gripped the belt he still wore over one shoulder. Tony scoffed. "You know I'll just get Jarvis to show me what's happening out there. I've gotta see."

Bruce nodded as they headed to the elevator, a hint of humor in his expression. "Yeah, but I had to try," he said. So Bruce ended up setting up the usual mishmash of news and surveillance footage that he usually watched when he was being held in reserve in the Tower, except without the omnipresent, conveniently located feed from Iron Man's mask. Without it, the footage seemed entirely too distant and thoroughly incomplete.

He watched it for a while, the boys clinging to his sides, until it became clear that these robots weren't going down easy.

"Bruce, we could use the Hulk out here," Cap's voice said, the comm audio piped through the speakers to narrate the footage.

"I'm coming," Bruce said. He gave each boy a squeeze, then went out onto the landing platform, where a small SHIELD helicopter was waiting for him.

In the absence of adults, the two boys now clung to each other, watching the footage in fascinated horror. Clint had gotten a lift up to his chosen vantage point with Thor, and lightning seemed to be doing the best against these robots so far, so Hawkeye was loading shock arrowheads and letting them fly as fast as he could, dropping body after shining body.

Steve and Natasha were doing what they could to keep the things contained, but there was a limit to how many Nat could reach with her short range widow's bite, and Steve's shield, although it knocked them back, didn't seem to do any actual damage.

It was when the robots started getting back up that they knew they were in trouble.

Thankfully, by then, Hulk was just around the corner, and soon he was tearing the heads of the mechanical creatures with enthusiasm. Thor also saw the merit of the hands-on approach, and began making more use of Mjolnir to crush the things into pieces.

In the Tower, Tony was muttering to himself. "Shock takes 'em out, but they must just reboot. Get right back up." Loki was watching Thor and Hulk with awe, but also made sure to keep track of Hawkeye and all he was contributing to the mission.

Hulk, not the most dexterous of fighters, was getting knocked around a lot, but it didn't really seem to bother him. It was only when Thor took one of their blows at full force, and was dropped, that the Avengers realized they might really be in over their heads.

"Jeez, that looked like it actually hurt," Clint said. "Don't get hit, Nat. One coming up on your five o'clock."

"Thanks," Natasha panted between movements. "Same to you - watch yourself."

Thor lifted himself off the ground, shaking his head to clear it, and threw himself back into the fray.

Then an even larger robot appeared, more advanced looking, like a giant metallic queen bee. It stalked through the streets, and didn't fall when Clint hit it with a shock arrow. It did, however, turn and head towards Clint.

Thor saw this, and hit it with lightning, but this particular model seemed very well insulated. It reached out a huge metal arm towards Hawkeye, who did not manage to dodge in time.

"Woah, hey!" Clint's voice was somewhat panicky as he was lifted from his perch. "Good news, I'm not a pancake. Bad news, this thing has got me wedged in here pretty tight."

Thor had taken another hit, and it looked like he would be down for longer this time. Hulk was swamped with his own crowd of robots. Natasha was having enough trouble just dodging to move in any particular direction. Cap threw his shield, but it barely fazed the more massive robot.

Loki was watching, near tears, his belt clutched hard in his hands. "Can no one save him? What kind of heroes are you?" he shouted at the screen.

Tony watched with the same desperation. Hawkeye was being carried away by the metal monstrosity.

"Tony," Loki said, "we have to do something! Clint can't die!"

Tony looked at Loki's panicked face, and found himself frowning with determination. "Jarvis, can the armors fly by themselves?"

"Although we are working on such implementation, at the moment, no, they cannot," the AI said. "Sir, I wish to warn you against any rash course of action you may be considering."

"Which functioning armor has the most compensation for differing body types, especially in its control system?"

The AI didn't answer for a moment. Tony looked at Loki, who was staring, white-faced, at the screen. Steve and an increasingly breathless Clint were on the comms, arguing about priorities and strategy.

"Jarvis, Clint is important," Tony said. "You don't help me with this, you're not really Jarvis." The boy's voice was strong, but not entirely steady.

"Since the Mark V is not flight capable, I suggest your most recently completed armor, which contains a g-force compensation lining which should enable you to pilot in your current form. Sir, you are not familiar with the control systems."

"So give me the basics." Tony strode out to the landing platform, where he knew the most recent armor was ready to deploy. It was a little problematic getting in, but he and Jarvis managed it, and soon they were flying. A little clumsily, but the flight controls were not just intuitive, they were built around Tony's natural reactions. He learned most of what he needed to know in the first three seconds, and in another ten, he was over Harlem.

"What the -" Steve's shocked voice said over the comm. "Who's piloting iron man?"

"The usual," said Tony casually.

Clint swore viciously. "No, no, no! Tony, go back to the Tower." But his voice was choked and painful, and the sound of it only made Tony more determined to continue.

He flew in tight circles around the largest robot, examining and theorizing. Next he tried the obvious - landing on the hand that held Clint and pulling apart its giant metal fingers. But even the suit's strength was no match for this thing.

"Tell me I have an electric shock weapon in this armor, Jarvis."

"No good," said Steve. "Even Thor's lightning wouldn't take it down. And now Clint's in contact with it."

"Yeah, well, the surface is probably grounded," said Tony, flying around the thing's head now. "Just gotta find a weak point." Tony focused in on a joint near the robot's lower back. "Like, maybe... here," he said, and zapped the robot.

The problem was, its upper body was swinging around to search for him, and when its power systems went down, it fell over backwards, much of its weight falling on, and trapping, the armor.

"Tony!" Steve's voice snapped. "Status!"

"... I may not have thought that through," the tiny voice replied. "... Ow?"

Jarvis came on the comms then. "Sir is seriously injured," he said. "I suggest you hurry."

Clint was crouching by the downed robot, his own injuries completely irrelevant in the face of what was happening. "Jarvis, when this is all over, you and I are going to have words," he said, staring at the monumental heap of metal he had no chance in hell of lifting. "You too, Tony. Putting on the armor was an idiot move. You have no experience with the suit, let alone in battle."

"But you were gonna break Loki again," the boy said, and coughed. "Think I broke me, instead."

Thor finally fought his way free of the knot of smaller robots, leaving the rest to Hulk and coming to help. He lifted the robot, which was a strain even for him. Clint couldn't imagine what all that weight falling on the armor might have done. Soon, he didn't have to.

The armor was mangled beyond anything he had ever seen, and it was hard to imagine that there was a living human inside, even such a small one.

"Tony, you still there?" Clint asked. "Hang on, kid."

"He is unconscious," Jarvis replied. "I fear he will not last."

"Thor!" Loki's voice screamed over the comms. "You will bring me to him now!"

"I would not have us lose two innocents in this battle, Brother," Thor replied, but he stood, swinging Mjolnir.

"I can save him! You will come," Loki said in an amazingly commanding voice for one so small, and when Thor saw him standing on the landing pad, tiny and tear-streaked, the contrast was stark.

Thor lifted his brother, expression grim. "I do not know what you can do to help Tony, but I have learned, centuries late, to listen when you speak." He flew quickly to set the small boy down beside the armor.

Loki knelt immediately beside it. "I need to lay hands on him," he said. Jarvis obligingly popped the faceplate to reveal the tiny, still, pale face inside.

Loki laid a hand across Tony's forehead. "I want this to work. I need this to work," he told himself firmly, then he closed his eyes and spoke solemnly, "Revert."

The crumpled armor fell away as the green glow of magic engulfed Tony's small form, and his ruined clothes fell away too, so that when Tony was quite suddenly a large middle-aged man with a glowing machine embedded in his chest, he was also very naked.

He blinked up at Loki, then looked down at himself, then laughed. "Just another day in the life of Tony Stark," he said.

Loki jumped a bit at the sound of his voice, and edged over to Clint, who put an arm around him, and said, "Welcome back, Tony."

Tony sat up and looked around briefly, just to check for robots, then he looked at the two of them. He smirked at Clint.

"I'd ask if I could have Bruce's emergency pants, but I see he's out here too, and..." Tony's brow wrinkled as he went over his memories again. "Something tells me I don't want to make you choose between us."

Clint chuckled. "On the other hand," he replied, "if I have to see one of you naked, it's gotta be him." He tossed some sweatpants to Tony, only cringing a little when it aggravated the bruises along his ribs.

Tony caught them, grinning. "Shoulda guessed he'd be a sucker for 'good with kids.'" Then he turned to Loki with a smile that was thoughtful and a bit intrigued. "Hey, Loki," he said. "Thanks for the save. I have to admit, that was not my most brilliant plan."

Loki smiled timidly at him. "You saved Clint," he said simply.

"Hey, it's what I do, saving Cupid's ass." Tony stood up and pulled on the pants, then surveyed the battleground more thoroughly. "Looks like Hulk's running out of hardware to obliterate," he commented. "Bruce might be back soon."

And, yeah, Hulk was making his way over, headed for the huge robot that had made a good attempt to crush both Clint and Tony. Soon it was more mangled than the armor. Hulk grinned, fierce and satisfied. Then he turned to the area where the others were gathered.

Thor loomed protectively, but Tony was not at all wary of the Hulk. He took a few steps toward the huge green figure, then stopped, saying, "Hey, Big Guy. Think you got all the robots?"

Hulk leaned forward to sniff him, then nodded his approval. Then he looked past Tony to where Clint and Loki stood. Clint smiled and gave a wave of greeting. "Hey. Think Bruce could come out now?"

Hulk sniffed in Clint's direction, then nodded in agreement. "Need doctor," he growled.

Clint laughed. "You could say that."

Hulk began to shrink down, and Tony ran over to catch him as he slumped, back to his usual human form. Bruce blinked his way back to consciousness, and Tony greeted him with, "Hey, Brucey. Hope you don't mind, I appropriated your pants. Unexpected changes in mass happen to the best of us."

Bruce took this in, then looked Tony up and down. "Hey, you're back," he said, smiling. "Spell wear off after all?"

"I changed him back," Loki said. Bruce's eyes went to Loki, still small and frightened and clinging to Clint's hand. "I told him to go save Clint, and he did, and he got hurt, and I had to revert him or he'd die."

"Hey, you didn't make me do anything," Tony insisted. "It was my choice to get in the armor."

"Yeah," Clint said. "We're all familiar with how much of an idiot Stark can be with his own safety." He ruffled Loki's hair again. "Nobody's blaming anyone but him. And maybe Jarvis."

Bruce was going over the conversation again in his head, and he said now, "Wait. Why did Clint need saving?"

"Got nabbed by the giantest of giant robots," Tony said. "Had him pretty tight. You might need to examine him. Extremely thoroughly."

Bruce shook his head, trying and failing to suppress a smile. "I see our walking innuendo generator is back online." He walked over to Clint and Loki. "Hey, Loki," he said, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks for helping Tony. I really do want to make sure Clint is okay. Would you mind sticking with Tony or Thor for a while?"

Loki frowned, looking up at his now much older brother and the man who looked vaguely like his new friend.

"It's all right, I wouldn't trust me either," said Tony with a crooked smile. His face scrunched in a bit of a wince. "I may not have grown up to be the most dependable person." He chuckled. "That's why Bruce is still my babysitter."

Loki smiled at the humor, then ventured closer to Tony.

"All right if I pick you up?" Tony asked, showing a little of the uncertainty he felt, not having an established pattern of behavior for this particular situation. Loki scrutinized him, then nodded. Tony hefted the tiny Loki, and they stared at each other for a moment. Tony quirked a smile, and Loki followed suit.

Thor approached cautiously. "Brother, that was a noble and valiant act. I must also thank you for helping my comrade. Tony Stark is a worthy and ingenious being. The work he does is far beyond what I once believed humans capable of."

"Aww, you're making me blush," Tony couldn't help interrupting.

Thor shot him a grudgingly amused look, then sighed. "The more I learn of the diverse types of beings in the Nine Realms, the more I come to realize that they are not so different, that each being has the capacity for greatness or for darkness, and that one's physical form has very little to do with that. I had forgotten how generous you could be, when those around you invite it."

Loki was looking at him blankly and slightly warily, so he finished simply, "I believe that you are, by nature, a hero. Nothing else is important."

Loki looked at Tony, who said, "Yeah, I didn't get all that, either. I got bored and stopped paying attention in the middle." Loki giggled, and so Thor did not begrudge him the jab.

SHIELD helicopters were soon ready to take them back to the Tower, so they piled in, Clint leaning on Bruce more than a little now that Loki seemed comfortable with someone else. Steve and Natasha had a few scrapes of their own, but nothing that required an actual doctor, and they all wanted very much to be back home.

"So, we never got to have our customary post-battle feast last time, I guess," Tony said as he stepped out onto the landing platform, still carrying Loki. "We were a little busy trying to figure out that you all weren't going to kill us. So what say we make up for it now. Whose turn is it to pick the place?"

"I believe it is mine," said Thor. "I suggest the palace of smoked meats that Clint chose after the incident with the sea beasts."

"Sounds perfect to me," said Tony. "Good with you?" he asked Loki. "They've got good sides, too. Ooh. I bet you've never had mac'n'cheese. We'll get a bunch of that, and one of everything else. Jarvis, you getting this?"

"Yes, Sir. Shall I make the order?"

"Yeah, do that. Also, we got enough ice cream to do dessert justice? Hey, I think I'm having that thing that happens to Bruce after he transforms when he gets really hungry." He glanced over at Loki, who was looking wide-eyed and rather lost. "Whoops, I am really not good at this not-breaking-Loki thing."

He looked around, seeing Clint on one of the couches, bruises forming across his shoulders but not looking too uncomfortable. Tony went and sat down next to him, so that Loki could stay on Tony's lap but wrap his small fingers around Clint's larger ones. Clint smiled at him and squeezed back.

Bruce reappeared from the elevator, then, wearing corduroys and a tee that were so worn, they had to be thrift shop finds. Through no fault of his own, Bruce tended to destroy clothes, and he preferred not to waste good ones. And anyway he looked very comfortable this way, and not bad. He flopped down on Clint's other side, taking hold of his free hand.

It caught Tony a little bit off guard, then, how much the feeling that the four of them were a family was still present. Loki's head was tucked under Tony's chin, and he'd gone limp, relaxed, when his hand met Clint's. Clint and Bruce were just so comfortable with each other, the contentedness rolled off them (and wasn't that interesting, because Tony could've sworn that Clint and Natasha were involved and that Bruce had sworn some kind of vow of celibacy, but now that this was a thing, it seemed like it had always been, and hey, as long as they were happy), and Tony just felt kind of... at home with it all, like being seven had been some kind of trust exercise, except the kind that actually worked because it was deadly serious.

He'd always trusted Bruce, had never doubted Barton after they'd fought together in the Battle of Manhattan, but those had very nearly been as much acts of defiance as any sort of real investment in their behavior. He'd trusted them because they'd needed someone to trust them, and Tony was too used to being let down to care whether they let him down. Here, now, was the first time he really trusted them, had faith that they wouldn't let him down. Bruce was so conscientious, and Clint so steady, and Tony trusted them, not just with his life, but with himself.

Loki... well, that whole set of feelings was an interesting knot in his mind. He'd seen a kindred spirit since the bastard decided to stage his invasion over Tony's tower, and he'd assumed that that was due mostly to his own questionable morality. But this Loki... trying and failing to fit the mold his father set before him, earnestly afraid that no one could like him on his own merits, a precocious and unconventional thinker... this Loki was still good, noble, empathetic.

Several things slotted into place in Tony's mind now, and he groaned inwardly, because now was not the time for that realization. Not when Loki was seven and carefree and had a chance at staying that way for a while.

He looked across the room at Steve, Thor and Natasha, who were standing around the bar chatting about the battle and new tactics it might inspire. They were all family too, if not in the same way, and Tony was sometimes confused about why he'd invited all of them to live here, but right now he was very glad he had.

Abruptly Tony decided he'd met his introspection quota for the day. "Jarvis, we got an ETA on the food? I need ribs. Like, now."

"I believe it is entering the lobby now, Sir. It will be here momentarily."

"Excellent." Tony shifted out from under Loki, and the kid scrunched up beside Clint, careful not to put too much pressure on him. Tony strolled over to the elevator, getting there only a little before the food did. "Hey, Thor, wanna help me with this?" he called over his shoulder.

There was a lot of food, and it filled the room with the smells of barbecue. Soon everyone was crowding around the table, trying things they hadn't got a chance at last time before digging into their favorites. Loki tried the macaroni and cheese obediently, and he liked it all right, but then moved along to try the smoked turkey, baked beans, some kind of pork thing with apples, and a spicy sausage. He looked across the table to see that Tony was elbow deep in some beef ribs and had mustard sauce all over his fingers. He giggled, and Tony smiled gleefully back.

What had started out as a late lunch/post battle feast kind of trailed off into hanging around watching TV, as no one really felt like leaving when so much was happening and everyone was finally getting comfortable with each other. Tony hadn't even left to put on a shirt, and once they were back on the sofas and in possession of ice cream, Clint propped up with his legs draped over Bruce's lap, and Loki wedged in between Bruce and Tony, Loki asked about the arc reactor.

"It's a power source," he said. "It helps keep me alive and powers the suit."

Loki frowned. "So it's meant to be there? I did the spell all right?"

"Yep, all back to how I was before the sorceress did her thing. All parts present and accounted for." He smiled and took another bite of ice cream.

"But you didn't have it when you were small?"

"Nope. It's... kinda a recent development."

"Why do you need it to keep you alive now?"

Tony bit his lip, trying to make peace between his conflicting impulses, being honest with Loki because he was family, edging around the harder parts because Loki was a kid, and being flippant because Tony was Tony.

"I got hurt pretty badly," he said. "Without this, my heart would keep getting damaged from that one injury."

"I wish I could have brought you back to before you got hurt," said Loki, petting Tony on the arm in a surprisingly protective gesture.

"No, that would have been no good," he said to Loki, shaking his head and widening his eyes to indicate wariness. "I'm right back where I need to be. Getting hurt was not fun, but the memories from that time are the most important because that's when I learned to be a hero." He smirked at Loki. "I don't think you'd have liked that version of me very much. Plus, I'd be like, 'Jarvis? Where am I? Is this my house? What are all these people doing in my house?' I didn't know any of them before. They only like me because I'm a hero now."

Steve gave him a reproachful look from the other couch, and Tony returned it with a shrug that said, 'What? It's true,' which made Steve shake his head.

"No, but you'd know them, because you remember being little," Loki argued.

"But I'd think that was a dream or some kind of trick, because I wouldn't believe in magic. Thor only came down to visit a year or two ago. It'd be all kinds of confusing. Plus, the arc reactor protects me from other stuff, too." Tony frowned. "Wait, I don't know if this makes sense. Older you once tried to cast a spell on me, but the reactor stopped it. Why that, and not Amora's thing?"

"I don't know," Loki said, touching the glowing thing seriously. His expression was so very similar to the one Tony had seen on the older Loki's face when he'd said, 'This usually works.' Tony had to laugh.

"What?" Loki asked, suspicious.

"You remind me of your older self," he said. Loki frowned worriedly. "No, it's good," said Tony. "I actually like the guy."

Loki scrutinized Tony to see if he was being made fun of. "But he did things. Killed people. Clint's friend."

"Yeah, well, Phil was my friend too, but he did kinda bring it on himself. Walked into the middle of a fight between you and Thor. By himself. No armor and an experimental weapon." Tony sighed. "I kinda think you had your reasons. Maybe not the best ones, but... a lot of people have died because I wasn't looking closely enough at why I did what I did. So you're in good company."

Loki studied Tony a little longer, then gave up, his eyes returning to the arc reactor. "This is a trap for magic. I think it might disrupt delicate spells, but what that witch did sounded like all force. No finesse."

"I don't think that's quite it," said Tony, looking at Thor. "This thing can take Thor's magical lightning and use it to charge up the suit. The lightning doesn't exactly say 'finesse' to me."

Loki looked at Thor now, too. "You called lightning on Tony?"

"When first we met. I had no wish to harm him, but he attacked me, and I thought it best to stop him."

Loki nodded. "Force of intention, then? You were not sure you wanted to strike him. Amora was angry. She intended strongly to do this."

Tony's smile slowly widened. "Then when you tried to cast a spell on me, you weren't sure you wanted it to work. Knew you had a soft spot for me."

Tony grinned, but Loki curled into Tony's lap, wrapping an arm around behind him. "I don't want to be him. Stop saying he's me."

"All right," Tony said, putting a hand on Loki's head. "For now."

Bruce told Jarvis to put on some Mythbusters, which was a show accepted by most Tower residents on most occasions. Pepper hadn't really appreciated it, when she still lived here. But Tony and Bruce liked to gripe about the lack of proper experimental protocol, Steve and Thor liked to learn about modern culture and science, and everyone appreciated the explosions. Loki followed the episode well, and a surprising amount of what Tony and Bruce were saying, too.

People walked in and out of the kitchen for the rest of the afternoon, getting more to eat or searching for some other entertainment. Bruce and Natasha played chess for a while, Tony found a tablet and did a little work, Steve drew.

Loki was intrigued by the fact that warriors here could be artists as well, and Steve gave him some paper and colored pencils to try his own drawing, but he soon got frustrated at his own lack of skill and gave up, curling up with his head in Tony's lap and his legs entangled with Clint's.

Soon he was asleep, and Bruce noticed and commented to Thor. "Do you think maybe doing that spell tired him out?"

"I am not certain," Thor replied. "I do not believe so, but then I am not very familiar with even the most basic spells of Seidr."

Bruce nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, maybe it's just that he's less keyed up than he has been. Kid's dealt with a lot. I'm glad he's relaxed enough to sleep when he needs it."

Thor smiled, a little bittersweet. "I am glad that he has you. It has been a long time since Loki has felt close enough to someone to trust them in this way."

Bruce chewed his lip as he thought about his reply. "I have to admit, at first I was only concerned for Tony, and the fact that they seemed so attached. But now, I can see why you kept insisting on protecting him and trying to change his mind. He's a complicated person, even when he's so young. So much of what he does is just to protect himself. I guess I can relate."

Thor nodded grimly. "I know I have never understood him, and was sometimes foolish enough to think that no one could. If he has found a home here that suits him better than Asgard... I can only be glad."

Bruce smiled. "We'll take care of him."

Loki woke again after a couple of hours, still clinging to Tony who was still doing his work, applying his trained scientific mind to the impressions of magic he had gotten as a child.

"You should probably sleep in a bed," Bruce told Loki. "What say we go and get ready?"

"Tony coming too?" Loki asked groggily.

Bruce looked worried, but Tony said, "Hey, Doc, your couch is free tonight, right? I'll play guard, bring down the Mark V and a tablet and I'll hang out."

Bruce smiled. "Fine with me. Just don't spend all night working just because you're not in a real bed."

Tony chuckled and winked at Loki. "What'd I tell you? Still my babysitter." Loki smiled in response.

Bruce went with Clint, to help him get cleaned up and into Bruce's bed, and Tony carried Loki around for a little while, going up to the workshop for the Mark V, to his room for some of his own clothes, and then back down to Bruce's floor, where he put his things down by the couch, then met Bruce coming out of his room, who took possession of Loki to get him ready for bed. Tony thought that was just as well. He liked Loki and hanging out with him was one thing, but the whole taking care of kids thing? Not all that high on Tony's list of fun ways to spend an evening. So he settled himself on the couch with his tablet.

Once Loki was pyjama-clad and otherwise ready for sleep, Bruce asked him if he wanted to go tuck in Clint. Loki nodded, smiling with the humor of it. So they went into Bruce's room, so Loki could say good night and pet Clint's arm where it was less bruised, and then they came out to say good night to Tony, who was deeply involved in wavelength comparisons and mumbled a goodnight when Loki patted him on the head. Bruce and Loki shared a smile at his preoccupation.

So Bruce tucked Loki in by himself in the guest bed, kissing him on the forehead and wishing him goodnight, and it actually didn't take Loki too long to fall asleep.

Bruce went back to his room, sighing with relief. It seemed like everything was falling into place, which was a feeling that Bruce was not familiar with and therefore wary of. But Tony was back, he had a little Loki to care for, he had Clint in his bed, and he decided to enjoy all these things while he could.