In the days that followed the odd story time, a truce formed between Tony and Loki. Loki accompanied Tony in his workshop, usually perched on the end of a worktable, watching him work. Every once in a while he would ask about an implement of Tony's technology, which Tony would explain in exchange for tidbits about Loki's magic. He learned how Loki converted the energy flowing through his blood into illusions to be crafted by his hands, how the magic was a part of him that his mother had taught him to hone in on. The magic was a part of him.
Loki was there often enough that some of the discomfort Tony had originally felt had started to fade. Tony still had no idea what Loki was planning, but as long as Loki wasn't actively destroying anything, Tony found he didn't really mind the company.
"The power in your arc reactor greatly resembles that which flows through my body," Loki said one afternoon, out of the blue.
Tony turned to him. "Really?"
Loki stepped next to him in front of the hologram that was currently displaying the chest piece of his newest suit design where it hooked up to the arc reactor. "With that arc reactor in your chest, you have manually achieved what many Æsir are born with. With your suit of armor, you have become like a god."
Tony blinked sideways at Loki. "I suppose you could say that… Wait, did you just call me a god?"
Loki studied the design for a moment longer, the bare bones of which were sitting on the work table on the other end of the room in the beginning steps of the assembly process. "You are nothing but a mortal, yet you designed armor that brings you above that. Humans may not be a race with immense strength, but they make up for it in determination and innovation. You work so hard for creatures with lives so short."
"It's not like the human race to just lie on its back and die when the going gets tough."
Loki eyed him sideways, expression carefully guarded. "You are perhaps the embodiment of these human ideals."
Tony felt uncomfortable at that statement. "Not really. I may be smart and creative, but my morals aren't exactly commendable. I may have an alter ego in Iron Man, but the heroic qualities that Iron Man has in droves don't reach as far as Tony Stark."
Loki's eyebrows furrowed. "You cannot think that the lives you save and the good work you do as Iron Man doesn't extend to you. Whether you are wearing your fancy suit of armor or not, you are still the same person."
Tony shrugged. "It's just the way it works. The suit comes off, and I'm not the iconic hero anymore; I'm Tony Stark, the billionaire with drinking problems and no impulse control."
Loki's gaze was trained on the hologram again. "Your suit does have its merits, and you created it, whether or not you believe yourself to be a hero."
"It keeps me from dying often enough. Especially when angry gods either throw fancy hammers at me, or when they decide to throw me out of a window."
"Those wishing to kill you would be foolish to do it when you are within reach of your suit. If I wished to kill you, I would do it at a time you are the most vulnerable and just like any other mortal, quite far from being the hero Iron Man." Loki's statement was offhand, but it served as a grim reminder to Tony not to trust the god, even if they had been getting along better. The words were a chill down Tony's spine, and the thought that Loki's visits were all an elaborate plan to get him killed ran through his mind again. He had really let his caution ease recently, and that was the quickest ticket to get him killed.
Tony took a step back from the table, studying Loki closely. The god wasn't even looking at him, still examining the hologram, and his posture was relaxed as if he hadn't just threatened Tony's life. When he realized Tony was staring at him, he glanced Tony's way and sighed at the expression he saw there. "Do not worry yourself, Stark, I do not mean to kill you."
"It'd help if you didn't threaten me. And you know I can't trust you."
Loki looked irritated. "It does not matter if you believe me or not. Like I said, I do not have the means to kill you, nor do I want to."
"If you don't have plans to kill me, why are you being so secretive?" Tony asked exasperatedly, gesturing jerkily. "You've never once hinted at why you've decided to stalk me, and I can't do anything about you being here, which sucks, by the way."
Loki seemed to be sizing him up and coming to a decision. "What if I told you that I have been intruding on your privacy because I'm bored?"
"Bored?" Tony echoed.
"Wouldn't you rather I came here and discussed science with you than wreaking havoc elsewhere? That had been the original plan." A wry grin twisted his mouth. "Actually, my first thought when coming here was to drive you mad with paranoia. I had assumed at the time that breaking your brilliant mind would be entertaining, yet you proved to be entertaining all on your own. For once, your running mouth saved you rather than getting you into trouble."
Tony swallowed. "Gee, thanks for that." Tony didn't doubt Loki's abilities to drive a mind to insanity, especially one like Tony who teetered on the brink and was currently living on his own. "You know, there are billions of people here on Earth. Why me?"
Loki shrugged, an action that looked strange on him. "I don't know many others on Midgard, and I remembered you to be quick-witted." He paused, shifting his weight and glancing away from Tony. "If you really wish me gone, you should say so. I had thought our conversations to be enriching, but I do not have the energy to argue with you."
Was this a chance to finally be rid of his intruder, to finally have the empty house he had been craving when with the Avengers? Tony could almost feel the echoing silence closing in on him, and he cringed.
Loki had a smug twist to his features. "I thought not. Whether you admit it or not, you are lonely here in this place, and I am more exciting than some broad you should pick up on the street."
Unfortunately, it was true, and it made him wonder just how far he had fallen. In his mind's eye he saw the terror of New York on that fateful day; saw the blood spatters on the Captain American playing cards.
"I am not an admirable character, Stark, but keep your own history in mind."
He was right. Tony had just as much blood on his hands as Loki did; he had just had more time to try to wash it clean. If Tony were truthful with himself, Loki was like a twisted mirror, an image of what Tony could have become with slightly different circumstances. Tony had found ways to cope, ways to make sure his demons didn't overtake him. Loki hadn't been so lucky.
And Loki, if logic served correctly, had either received or was receiving his punishment in Asgard, which Tony imagined was probably brutal. He wondered what it was, and how Loki was still able to appear in Stark Tower as often as he did.
"If it's any consolation, I'll not be able to come here indefinitely. There are restrictions that I, unfortunately, must abide by."
Tony wondered if this was part of Loki's punishment, but he knew asking would be unwise. Tony eyed Loki a moment more before turning back to his work, with more questions about the god in his head than had been there before.
It was not much longer until Tony was soldering the last pieces of his newest Iron Man suit together and setting down his tools in triumph. Of course, he wasn't really done until he took it for a test drive, so he only allowed himself a few moments of content before he waved the hand with the brand new electronic ring on it and held out his arms as the suit assembled itself around him. The ring had been a great idea, honestly. He could wear it at all times, and in emergency the suit would be called right to him. This was the closest he had ever gotten to a suit that was magnetized to him and him alone, and he figured it was a good compromise. The ring was fashionable too, if Tony said so himself.
It was when he was putting the helmet over his head that Loki appeared, standing in front of a worktable with his arms crossed over his chest, eying the suit.
"I see you've completed your project," Loki said in place of a greeting.
"Sure have. It's time for the test flight." Tony flipped the visor down and watched as the displays oriented themselves and synced to Jarvis's mainframe, dancing green and blue lights that labeled and ordered the environment around him in a way that was immensely pleasing to the inventor. He was given pause by the readings of the energy signature that was Loki, only because they were different than he remembered them. But then again, Loki could be using different magical energy than he had with the Tesseract and the scepter.
"The best view'll be from the roof," he said over his shoulder, and then he lit up his thrusters and expertly maneuvered out of the workshop, through the garage, and out into the darkening nighttime sky.
Tony gave himself a mental pat on the back for the smooth flight. With each new suit, it was more and more an extension of his body rather than a bulky weight encasing him. As he flew a long loop around Malibu, Jarvis ran diagnostics and made sure everything was in working order. So far there were no problems.
When Tony was sure that any terrible bugs would have showed themselves, he took a slow, wide path back to the house so that he could appreciate the clear night. The stars were just coming out, and they painted the sky with sparks of light. Tony reminded himself that he needed a little beauty in his crazy, petal-to-the-metal lifestyle, even if it came in the form of marveling at the sky during the suit's flight test.
As Tony neared the house, his displays zeroed in on the figure that was perched on the edge of the roof, looking up at him as he flew overhead and came in for a gentle landing. Loki stood and came towards Tony.
"I assume everything about the suit exceeded expectations?"
Tony flipped up the visor and gave Loki a winning smile. "Of course it did. I had no doubts."
"Such humility," Loki replied sardonically.
Tony chuckled and made his way back down to his workshop, missing the specialized landing ramp and machinery that allowed him to remove his suit so easily at Stark Tower. He wondered how difficult it would be to install the ramp here. It was much smoother than what he had in his workshop, and now that he was done updating his suit, he could take on a new project.
Once in his workshop, Tony stepped onto the platform and allowed the machinery to begin removing the successfully updated suit.
"Another project well done," he said as he stepped off of the platform, straightening his shirt.
Loki was back to leaning against a worktable as if he hadn't taken a trip to the roof to watch Tony test his suit. "From nothing but an idea to a fully-functioning, advanced piece of armor. What an extremely fascinating process."
"Yeah, well, it's not the first suit I've designed," Tony responded, attempting to control some of the organized chaos that was his workshop by moving tools back to their proper spots and running an already grubby rag over the greasy workbench before deciding that it wasn't worth it.
Loki gave a meaningful glance to the other suits lining the back wall. "No, obviously not."
"What brings you to my neck of the woods today?" Tony asked, finally awarding the trickster with his full attention.
Loki shrugged. "Perhaps I've been devising a plain to take over Midgard successfully, with my newly-acquired knowledge of human technology."
"Yeah right," Tony chucked. "You learned from your mistake the first time, right?" Tony hadn't expected a truthful response from the god of lies anyway.
Loki was extremely calm for Tony just having brought up his failed attempt at New York. "Midgard is not worth the effort. Besides, I do not have the resources or energy necessary to do any detailed planning." Loki shifted, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the bench, and Tony's eyes were drawn to what he was wearing. Gone was the leather and in its place was a simple green tunic and black pants that hugged his legs, making him seem much smaller and much less foreboding than his in usual outfit. Tony wasn't particularly sure what he thought of Loki in casual clothing, to be honest.
"Are you okay, Stark?" Loki asked with an eyebrow raised.
Tony shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's been a busy day, and all that." He looked away from Loki and finished closing out his work on the screens, feeling he deserved a break.
"You want to watch a movie?"
Loki looked surprised by the non sequitur. "It depends," he began cautiously. "What is a movie?"
Tony blinked in surprise and then laughed. "Just follow me. I bet you'll enjoy it." Tony made for the stairs and towards the living room, turning on lights as he went, and then plopped down on the couch in front of the large television.
"This is not the thing with the dresses, is it?" Loki asked as he eased himself down onto the other side of the couch. That he seemed willing to humor Tony was surprising. Tony hadn't even thought he would sit down.
"We have much more to watch than pointless reality television. That's something single moms watch." Tony paused. "And Clint."
Loki eyed him. "You were watching it, if I remember correctly."
"No, I was staring moodily as the screen changed colors," Tony responded. He picked up the remote and started flipping through the movies available on Netflix.
"Hmm… any recommendations, Jarvis?"
"Perhaps Mr. Laufeyson would enjoy a classic?"
"Ooh, James Bond! Perfect." Tony turned on a 007 movie and put his feet up on the coffee table. "I'm sure you'll enjoy this."
Loki didn't seem convinced.
As the movie played, Tony was impressed by Loki's ability to keep up a stream of comments cleanly overtop of what was happening on screen.
"That does not seem realistic."
"It's not supposed to."
"He would not have survived that."
"He's James Bond, he can survive anything."
"Who is human, and therefore mortal."
"Just shut up and watch, would you?" Tony said exasperatedly.
Eventually, Loki fell reluctantly silent, and they watched without interruption. Tony watched Loki out of the corner of his eye and saw that, through all the complaining, he was enthralled with the movie. Tony counted it as a win.
Halfway through, Tony got up to grab a soda and a bag of chips which Loki refused to partake in. By the time the movie ended, Loki was still sitting calmly on the couch.
"So?" Tony prompted, facing the god.
Loki tilted his head in deliberation. "Human entertainment is strange, yet fascinating," he responded with a twitch that could have been a shrug. "Completely unrealistic, but indeed entertaining."
"That's the point," Tony stated, standing. Staring at the empty can of soda on the table and feeling the dryness of his throat, Tony decided he wanted a drink. He moved toward the bar. "After movie alcohol?" he asked over his shoulder.
At the silence, Tony turned to see that the god had a strangely unhappy expression on his face. "No thank you, Stark."
Tony shrugged and poured himself a glass, and when he looked up again his living room was empty. With a sigh, Tony figured he would never really understand the god like he understood Thor. Thor was a warrior, and most of his emotions and motives were written on his muscled sleeve, while Loki was cloaked in shadow and hid everything under a smirk glimmering with mischief. The two couldn't be more different.
As Tony made his way back to the couch, sipping at the drink in his hand, he wondered why Thor's younger brother had formed a strange obsession with him.
Tony dreamed that night, but not of the usual horrors that filled his nighttime hours.
He was standing on a cliff that was overlooking a frosted plain, the full moon casting an eerie glow over the flat emptiness and making the grass shine like glassy water. Tony was looking for something in that emptiness, though, and he didn't know what it was. He felt lost and unsure of himself, and there wasn't a star in the sky to guide him. He was utterly alone in this haunted place.
"Looking for something?" a smooth voice ghosted into his ear, and the breath it cast over the side of his face was warm and spoke of life. Another life in this lonely place was something that should be held on to. Tony wished to turn and gaze at his companion, but he was rooted to the spot as the voice spoke again. "I admit I am also searching, though I think I have finally found what I am looking for."
Tony's shoulders were taken in a firm grip and the warm breath turned into soft lips tracing the shell of his ear. The voice was familiar, but Tony couldn't place it. Nothing was clear to him, and the touch of his admirer addled his mind. He was forced to remain in uncertainty and confusion, wanting but not in control.
The voice was now a murmur. "Perhaps I will win over my prize much sooner than I thought."
Tony woke up blearily, grasping at the wispy edges of the dream but unable to remember more than the impression of a warm body behind him and the feeling that there was something he was missing. He stared up at the dark ceiling of his room in bewilderment and then slowly fell back into a dreamless slumber.