Hey look, it seems you guys get a chapter a little earlier than normal! Sorry if it's a bit shorter than usual, that's just how the story ended up splitting.

Tony was surprised when he woke to the bland white of his own ceiling, and it took a few moments for the fuzz in his head to clear enough for him to remember what had happened. He felt as though he had been hit by a freight train.

"Tony," a warm voice said, and he looked over to see Pepper sitting at his bedside. He was in his room in Stark Tower, alive and in bed, and Pepper was here, her face worried but calm.

"What happened?" he rasped, coughing and accepting the proffered glass of water from Pepper. She spoke as he drank heartily.

"You almost died again."

Tony was unsure why he wasn't dead.

"I don't forgive Loki for what he did to New York, but if he's changed and continues to accept your help in changing, I think I can live with that." Pepper sighed and placed her hand over his on the bed. "He saved your life, Tony."

Tony's eyes widened. "He was human, without any magic."

"I saw the video footage after I flew out here, which I did as soon as I heard the news." Her expression grew more serious. "Loki begged his father for the magic to save you and then healed you as soon as he got it back."

Tony suddenly remembered clearly the distraught god bent over him and the tears that were left on his face. "You saw everything, huh?"

Pepper smiled a touch sadly. "He clearly loves you, Tony."

Tony was silent, staring.

"He stayed long enough to fret over you and make sure you were safe with us, and I've never seen anyone look at you like that. God, Tony."

"You used to. Actually, you still do," Tony responded.

"Yes, but I was going grey from staying with you. I love you, but I couldn't keep up. Loki has magic of his own and a much stronger constitution."

Tony smiled. "Where is he anyway?"

Pepper's smile slipped. "We haven't seen him or Thor since that day," she answered hesitantly. "Thor went off to look for him after he disappeared."

Tony's throat felt dry and he looked away from Pepper.

Pepper placed a soft hand on his cheek.

"Don't worry yourself right now, Tony, just rest and get to full strength. I'm sure Loki will be back to cause chaos soon enough."

Tony wished he could believe that, but his heart was in his throat as Pepper left him alone in the quiet of his bedroom. Luckily, sleep pulled him back under quickly.

XXX

Tony sat in the living room with the other Avengers, listening as they explained what had happened after Tony had gotten stabbed.

"As soon as we heard that you were injured, the Doombots all flew straight back into the subways," Steve said with a shake of his head. He was lounged back on the sofa next to Bruce, who was calmly reading a home renovation magazine. So Bruce was the one who read those.

"So I was the target, then? They were attacking my building, and they stopped attacking you all when I was finished." Tony really wondered what he had done to Dr. Doom.

"Seems the most plausible," Steve responded with a shrug.

"I barely even know the guy."

"Maybe he was testing the waters. Can my Doombots kill the famous Iron Man?" Clint was perched on the arm of one of the couches next to where Natasha sat, mostly watching the television, even though it was one mute. "I mean as tests go, we didn't really have any other options than to fight back, and they got Tony right where they wanted him."

"Stark is the only one who's ever actually met him," Natasha pointed out.

"Well, they would have killed me," Tony stated grimly.

"Doom didn't count on you having a magical savior," Steve said, his expression hard to read.

Tony looked down at the coffee table, aware that most of the eyes in the room were now on him. He wasn't sure what they all thought of Loki's display, and he hadn't brought it up on purpose. He was having trouble even thinking about it, and Loki's absence was a lot stronger a burn than he thought it would be. He had gotten used to the god's presence, and now he wasn't even sure if he would ever see Loki again.

"Tony?" Steve's voice was soft and it broke Tony out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"I asked you if you're okay." Steve's face was concerned when Tony finally looked up at him.

"I'm just peachy, Cap," Tony replied, attempting to look at ease by leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs. The movements were oddly mechanical, and he winced.

Bruce leaned forward in his seat. "Tony, I know Loki's disappearance is suspicious, but all of us saw the footage, and it would probably be a good idea for you to see it too."

"You all saw it, huh?"

"Yes, we did," Bruce responded. "And Loki was more distraught than any of us have ever seen him. He must have felt his magic return, because he practically jumped on you to start working his healing spells."

"It all happened so quickly," Steve added somberly. "You were calling for backup, and then the next thing we knew, Thor was flying you to the tower, trying to get there before you bled to death." Steve looked away, muscle in his jaw working as he clenched his teeth. "You would have died if it weren't for Loki."

Tony stared, at a loss for words.

"What we're trying to say, Tony," Bruce said softly, "is that we all have Loki to thank for your life."

"Are you two, like, a thing?" Clint asked, actually looking away from the TV and watching Tony. "I mean, I'm not sure how Asgardians do things, but he was pretty touchy-feely over you."

Tony steeled himself. "Uh, yeah we are." Tony was reminded of Loki's glaring absence. "Or we were. I'm not really sure what we are now."

Clint seemed to be sizing him up. "That's pretty badass."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to put an arrow through his eye."

Clint shrugged. "He faced Asgardian justice, and he did save your life a few days ago." Clint pulled a face. "I don't completely forgive him, of course. I will definitely be making fun of you guys incessantly."

Tony smirked. "Of course."

"As much as I doubted your reasoning at first, I do trust you, Tony," Steve said. "Loki will be welcome as long as you trust him. When someone saves the life of a friend, they deserve a second chance."

Tony glanced around the room at his fellow Avengers and saw the calm expressions on all of their faces, even Natasha. Whatever they had seen on that video footage had convinced them. Tony would have to see this for himself.

"Jarvis, pull up the footage of my almost-death." Tony had locked himself in one of the R and D labs, hiding from everyone. He had spent a good amount of time strengthening the armor plating on the abdomen of his suit to distract himself, but he had finally caved.

"Yes, sir." The display brightened.

Tony watched as SHIELD agents ran around in near-chaos as Thor stepped into the penthouse of Stark Tower, setting Tony's limp form down onto the blankets they had laid out. A medical team was immediately surrounding him, pulling his shirt out of the way and examining the wound. There wasn't much they could do outside of a hospital except put pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding.

That was when Loki stepped forward, his hands clenched tightly by his sides. He crouched down next to Tony and took the place of the woman holding her hands tightly over Tony's wound. The rest of the medical agents sat back as Loki took over. Tony could see Thor's figure in the corner of the room, watching.

The camera switched to one that had a clearer view of Loki's face, which was wide-eyed with worry. He was speaking to Tony urgently, begging him to try to stay awake. Tony could just barely remember this part. Tony remembered the begging Loki directed at both him and the Allfather.

Tony knew he had blacked out when Loki had kissed his forehead, and when Loki clung to him and pressed his face into the crook of Tony's neck, Tony felt his throat constrict. The slight shake in Loki's shoulders was painful to see.

Loki then lifted his head, surprise on his face that quickly turned to urgent hope. He lifted himself up from Tony and raised his hands, which sparked with green light. With quick motions, he pressed them to Tony's stomach, mouthing words in another language, his face still glistening with tears and his brows furrowed in concentration. The area around Tony's midsection began to glow green, and it swirled around the space between their bodies.

By the time the magic ebbed away, Loki's forehead glistened with sweat, which he wiped away with the back of a blood-covered hand. When he leaned forward and felt that Tony was breathing, his face broke into a genuine smile and he pressed his forehead against Tony's with a sob.

At that point, the medics had gotten there, and Loki was forced to back away from Tony reluctantly. Tony watched as the medics took his vitals, conversed with Loki, and declared it safe for Tony to stay at Stark Tower under observation from the team. There was nothing left of the stab wound on Tony's stomach but the blood. Loki watched as the medics helped cart Tony on a stretcher away to his room.

Loki skirted to the edge of the room and out of the way of the proceedings as the other Avengers finally entered. Thor moved over to where Loki was standing and spoke to him, but Loki didn't respond. The trickster looked exhausted and unwilling to speak with anyone. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he shook his head, starting forward quickly, only to disappear in a flash of golden light.

The footage ended. "Nothing much happened after that, sir."

"Thanks, Jarvis."

Tony sat in the semi-darkness, Loki's last expression burned into his mind. Loki had looked like he had been dragged unwillingly out of the tower.

Loki hadn't deserted him.

The lead weight that had settled in Tony's stomach eased slightly with the knowledge that Thor had gone off to look for Loki and hopefully watch over whatever happened in Asgard. He took a deep breath in an attempt to ease the nerves that had built up during the video.

"Sir, Pepper is requesting entry into the lab."

Tony rubbed a hand over his face. "Let her in."

The lights brightened as Pepper made her way over to him, skirting around the clutter and taking in Tony's bedraggled form.

"What's up, Pep?"

She eyed him with a worried expression. "I came to make sure you weren't dead in here," she responded.

Tony smirked. "I don't die that easily."

"The gods sure do keep an eye out for Tony Stark."

Tony's smirk faded and he toyed with a pen on the table. "They really do."

Pepper easily caught on to his mood and the reason behind it. "Leave it to you to fall in love with someone who doesn't even live in our universe." Her voice was gentle, but Tony winced anyway.

Tony turned to his CEO. "That's not helping."

Pepper shook her head. "I won't pretend to know Loki, but he seems like the kind of guy that will do whatever he can to get what he wants. He actually reminds me a lot of someone I know." She smiled.

"I know," Tony sighed. "It's just difficult being here when he's so far away. There's nothing I can do to help him, and I hate being helpless."

Pepper put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. "You've helped him so much already, you know."

Tony stared forward at his darkened displays and hoped Pepper was right.

XXX

Thor came back on a grey Tuesday when they were discussing tactics in the event that Doom decided to show his face again. He looked weary but in a good mood as he moved towards the group at the conference table.

"Hello, friends," he greeted, sitting down in the empty seat next to Tony, whose heart was in his throat at the lack of the trickster god by Thor's side.

There were various other greetings from the team, all of them curious about Thor's news but unwilling to push him.

"My brother is unharmed and of his own free will," Thor said without preamble. "I followed him to Asgard to learn he had been summoned by the Allfather. A retrial of sorts took place and Loki's terms were changed."

There was an anticipatory silence.

"The Allfather decided that Loki is on a path of change for the better. He is to have parts of his magic returned to him, as long as he continues to behave. He is no longer banished to Midgard."

Tony swallowed heavily, aware that he should be happy for Loki, but feeling as though the one thing that had connected them was now gone. Loki didn't ever have to come back if he didn't want to.

Tony forced himself to think about the reason he had gone in front of Odin and that what he had wanted to achieve had succeeded.

"So, where is he then?" Clint asked bluntly.

"He needed time to himself to readjust to having his magic back. That is a difficult process."

"So, he'll be coming back?" Bruce asked. Tony was grateful that his teammates were asking the questions he was too afraid to ask.

"I assume so." Thor glanced at Tony. "He asked me to come here to make sure Anthony Stark is unharmed and safe."

Tony felt warmth spread through his chest. "I'm just dandy, Thor."

"I am not familiar with-"

"I'm great."

"That is good. I was worried you would die from that terrible wound in your stomach. It was a large wound for a mortal." Thor clasped Tony's shoulder in a strong grip. "Luckily, you won my brother's heart."

Tony couldn't help the smile that spread on his face. "I owe your brother my life."

"And he owes you his freedom."

With that, Thor turned back to the charts on the display at the head of the table. "What is it you are discussing?"

They brought him up to date on what they fondly referred to as The Doom Disaster, and Thor added his own opinion and what he had noticed about the robots during the fight.

"The magic greatly resembles my brother's. It's amazing that a mortal can possess such power."

"It's a strange field of electricity he's somehow harnessed to fortify the outer metal layer, and since it's such powerful electricity, it messes with the power in my suit. I think that's what we need to target." Tony scratched his chin. "And we really need to check out the subways.

"SHIELD's already taken care of that," Natasha stated "They didn't find anything except a few scraps of metal from a Doombot. They're keeping eyes down there, though."

"So they just disappeared without a trace after they thought I was dead? I thought he was going for the whole city. Who exactly is this Doom, and why does he have it out for me?"

"I looked him up, actually," Bruce responded. "He's big businessman whose company went under a few years back. Robotics technology was his thing. Stark Industries put him out of business."

There it was. "He kills me, gets his revenge sort of thing?"

"Presumably."

"But we can't let him have this sort of power," Steve cut in. "He has all these powerful robots hidden away somewhere outside New York just waiting for when he gets angry again. It's a terrifying thought. Either he shows his face again, or we go out and find him."

"No one kills an Avenger and gets away with it," Clint muttered.

"But I didn't die."

"No one almost kills an Avenger and gets away with it."

There were a few scattered chuckles, and Tony couldn't help but feel better.

So, there are only 12 chapters to this story, which means we're getting close to the end here. Thanks to those who have kept up with me!