Fandom: Marvel (Tony/Loki)
Word Count: 452
Easter Egg: Watercolour Egg, Day: 30. Redeemed Villain
A Choice To Make (Everyday I'll Choose You)
He'd done terrible things over the many years he'd been alive. He'd tried to kill his brother—adopted or not, Thor was his brother in every way that mattered—countless times, he'd tried to rule Midgard, he'd taken over Asgard, he'd given his mother nothing but worry for so many years.
And yet, here he lay, in the arms of one he'd tried to throw out of a window once.
Tony Stark was an incredible being—not even just Midgardian, because Loki doubted that he'd ever find another like Tony, even if he was to travel the seven realms. He was so strong, a formidable opponent, and yet, he had the capacity for so much love and forgiveness, he was like none Loki had ever, or would ever know.
And he'd decided that Loki was redeemable.
He'd taken Thor's side, when others said he wasn't. When Thor told of his almost death when protecting the tesseract, the Avengers had been unmoved. It didn't matter that he'd done something good; it didn't mitigate the bad.
Loki hadn't expected it to.
And then in came Tony Stark, agreeing with Thor, saying one more number for them could only be a good thing, saying that the compound belonged to him and if he said that Loki could stay, then he could.
He'd stood firm, even when arguing with Captain America, who'd tried shouting, cajoling, even pleading with Tony to see reason.
"You're thinking deep thoughts, Lolo."
Rolling his eyes at the nickname—one in a long stream of them—Loki looked up to see Tony looking at him, his soft brown eyes filled with an affection Loki would never feel that he deserved.
"Nothing bad," Loki assured him, only just barely lying. "I'm just thinking about everything that led us here. From the very moment you stood in front of your own team—a team with every reason to hate me—and told them I was redeemable."
Tony sighed. "Ah. Those kinds of thoughts."
Loki huffed.
"If villains can't be redeemed, then everyone would forever be a villain," Tony murmured. "We all make mistakes, some bigger than others. If I didn't believe in redemption, then I'd hate myself forever. I have to believe in it, for my own sanity, but that means that I also have to offer that right to others."
"I do not believe you could have ever been a villain," Loki said, stroking his fingers down Tony's side.
"Everyone has a past, Lokibear. Even me. Perhaps especially me. But your past doesn't have to define you. Being good is a choice."
Loki smiled and nodded, turning his head to press a kiss to Tony's chest. "One I will make every day, if it means I can remain with you."