A/N: Internet's still being finicky or this would have been up days ago. *shakes fist*
In other news, lostterra25 has just posted their first story, Avengers Plus Two, which is something of a spin-off of the Abaddon/Ultimi plotline. It's off to a great start, so go check it out!
Also, for those of you interested in some more Loki/Tony slashy shenanigans, check out Lady Talla-doe's Come and See Me Again. It's wonderfully written and full of witty dialogue, so go lavish that with love as well! Maybe we can all guilt her into updating soon. *ahem ahem* (Just kidding, Talla. Take your time!)
Reacquainted
Loki heard the Avengers return long before he caught sight of them. He had dozed without meaning to, and a quick glance at the nearest clock told him that three hours had passed. He would have frowned if he could; where had they been in all that time? Again, Loki cursed his magic's slow return.
Loki's first impulse was to run to the door and see whether or not Tony was in one piece, but he recognized his brother's heavy tread and the muffled boom of his voice and found himself frozen in place. He wondered then why he had had that impulse to begin with. He had given Iron Man some of his more vicious battle scars and hadn't thought twice about them, but he supposed that his priorities had changed now that he was relying on – well, mooching off of – one of his enemies. It wouldn't do for Tony Stark to die while Loki needed him as a meat shield.
Loki supposed that he should hide away in some dark nook while Thor was here, but he could not fight off that gnawing desire to know. He crept up the stairs on silent feet and glided down the halls from shadow to shadow, following his brother's unnecessarily loud voice and the more subdued voices of a few other people, footsteps and what sounded like creaking wheels.
Loki peered around the corner to see Captain America, sans mask, steering a wheelchair containing a rather battered but sprightly Tony Stark. Behind them trailed Thor and a resigned-looking Agent Coulson.
"Mr. Stark," said Coulson, quite marvelously dwarfed by Thor's bulk, "for the last time, if you're not going to stay in the hospital, then at least let me assign someone to look after you while you – !"
Tony flicked his wrist and mimicked the sound of a whip's crack, craning to look at Steve as best he could with a neck brace limiting his movement. "Hyahh!" he shouted. "C'mon, Steve, let's see how fast this thing can go!"
"This isn't a toy, Tony," Steve said wearily. A smirk twitched at his lips regardless.
"Aw, you're no fun."
"Mr. Stark," Coulson pressed.
The parade wheeled past Loki's shadowed corner, and Loki's eyes followed them.
Tony rolled his eyes and waved away Coulson's concern. "Don't worry about me," he said. "Pepper will take care of me. She's good at that sort of thing."
Loki suspected that Pepper would give him an earful once those words got back to her. That would be fun to watch.
"Pain-killers are awesome." Tony's words sounded a bit slurred. Suddenly, it was a whole lot clearer why Tony Stark was in such a good mood.
Inwardly, Loki chuckled, only to wince when the sound came out as a loud purr. At the sound, Thor's eyes met his, and the Thunderer stopped, blue eyes flashing like lightning.
"You."
Shit, shit, shit.
Loki fled back the way he had come with Thor's heavy footsteps in pursuit.
"Look what I found hiding in the closet." Thor's voice was like a rumble of thunder, and Loki could imagine the scowl on his face. He held Loki aloft by the scruff of the neck, and the Trickster hung there like a thief at the end of his noose and awaited his sentence, limbs stiff at his sides.
Arranged stiffly on his bed, Tony shifted his body to look. "Well, Loki was bound to come out of the closet sooner or later," he said, his words still slurred. This close, Loki could see the mottled bruises that covered the left half of the human's face. Tony fought back a grin for a few moments before a series of giggles bubbled up from his chest. Loki glared at the human, but Tony did not seem to notice.
Twice, Thor sucked in a breath as though to say something only to let the silence lengthen. He looked helplessly at Steve, who shrugged in response.
"You said Loki," Thor finally said, speaking insultingly slow.
"Yes," Tony replied, waving aside the comment. "That is his name, you know." His eyes glittered wickedly.
Loki stared at Tony Stark and held perfectly still. Did the human suspect – unlikely with painkillers clogging his brain – or were he and Thor holding two completely different conversations?
"I thought..." Thor's mouth worked uselessly again. "How long has he been here?"
"Pepper found him outside about a week ago. He's a bit of a brat but not too much of a hassle. S'been helping me work on a new arc reactor." The words were spoken with a hint of affection, which seemed to reduce Thor to silence once more.
In his normal form, Loki would be laughing until tears streaked his cheeks. Fate had a bizarre sense of humor.
Tony patted the bed next to his hip. "Put him here," he said.
Thor looked at Steve for confirmation, and Cap offered him another shrug. "Are you sure?" Thor asked Tony, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Yeah, yeah," Tony groused, waving Thor over impatiently.
Hesitantly, as though afraid that Loki would sprout a scorpion tail at any moment – Loki considered doing just that for old time's sake – Thor placed the cat on the very edge of Tony's bed. Loki glanced over his shoulder and growled at Thor one more time for good measure before sashaying towards the head of the bed and curling up by Tony's hip. The human's hand scratched behind his ear, and Loki purred, staring at Thor the whole while and rubbing salt in the wound.
Stark's bed was warm, comfortable, and Loki saw no reason to leave it. He stayed curled by Tony's side as he dozed, kneading his claws into the softness of the comforter and squinting his eyes in a sly cat-smile at anyone who came to visit the incapacitated Man of Iron.
Steve Rogers had made the mistake of trying to pet him, and now the back of his hand was lined with livid claw marks. He had made a face like a kicked puppy that had immediately put Loki in mind of Thor. It had made the exchange twice as enjoyable.
Thor himself came to sit by Tony soon after – Steve had left, mumbling something about cats being the spawn of the Devil – and wore a grim face that indicated he was in lecture mode. The chair creaked under Thor's weight, and Loki blinked complacently up at his brother. Next to him, Tony's snores went up a decibel.
"I do not know what you are planning, brother," Thor pitched his voice low in deference to the sleeping human, "but if you hurt him in any way..." Thor trailed off but pointed an accusatory finger at Loki, a warning clear in his expression.
Loki sighed and rolled his eyes as best he could in cat form. A long, low meow was the closest he could come to saying, Oh, please.
Thor sat back – his chair groaned in protest – and stared at Loki with what he probably thought was a shrewd expression. Loki rather thought he looked like he was in pain. He folded his paws under him and returned his brother's stare.
After a while, Thor shook his head and chuckled, reaching out to pat Loki on the head. Loki hissed indignantly, irritated at this sudden, universal fascination with touching him; he did not like people invading his personal space as it was. Unlike Steve, Thor did not pull back when Loki swiped at him but merely chuckled again and scratched harder. Loki glared even long after Thor had taken his hand away.
"You are surprisingly patient with the mortal," Thor noted, tilting his head to the side. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were fond of him."
Loki bristled at the accusation, and his ears flattened back against his skull. With a regal sniff, Loki rose to his feet and walked to the end of the bed, this time curling up so that his back was to his brother.
Thor rolled his eyes but smiled.
In the doorway, Pepper exchanged glances with Steve. "He does realize he's talking to a cat, right?" she whispered.
Steve shook his head. "I've stopped asking questions."
Pepper nodded at the wisdom in that. "I really need a vacation," she sighed. Steve smiled sympathetically.
"Don't we all."