"Take those off, would you?"

The request was spoken with such casual nonchalance it took a moment for its meaning to sink in. Tony stood stock-still, frozen on his spot, and felt his eyes growing wide as his pulse quickened. Loki couldn't see it because he had already turned around and vanished into the other room. He hadn't expected that– not this soon, at least – and Loki... fuck, he had absolutely fallen for the guy's lovely-sweet attitude, and he hadn't been prepared for this, not at all, and he didn't know what to do now, there was –

Okay, Tony, stop this ridiculous fit and do something.

He looked around in the room, looking for an escape route. The doors he had entered through? No, too obvious, Loki would expect him to do that. Besides, this looked like a palace and as far as he knew from old Middle Age tales, there were going to be guards everywhere, so no option. He looked around in the large room (panic, panic, no, don't fucking panic, not now) and saw two other doors, apart from the entrance and the one Loki had disappeared through. So, left or right? Right or left? It didn't matter, he just needed to get out –

"Anthony?" Tony whirled back around to Loki who was standing in the doorway to the other room and looked at the engineer's clothing with a 'why is that still there'expression. Alright, Tony, don't panic, don't show him you're weak – you're not weak, this is just one out of many others, it's not like you haven't done this before. Everything's gonna be okay, so just keep up the act. "Get rid of those, now."

"You know what?", Tony asked, hating how thin his voice sounded. "I don't think I'm gonna do that." He took a small, careful step backwards. His heart was hammering in his chest and against the arc reactor. There was no way out, and god damn it, why was this happening right now?!

"I think you should –" Loki cut himself off mid-sentence and his eyes widened in something that looked like realization. "Gods, Anthony, no!", he blurted out, raising his hands so Tony could see his palms, letting a bundle of cloth drop to the floor. "Did you think I was going to..." He shook his head and exhaled slowly before kneeling down and picking up the fabric he had dropped earlier. "Look, I can turn around, or if it makes you feel better, I will leave the room while you change. I just wanted to get you some proper clothing since..." He made a vague gesture towards Tony's tattered shirt and the plain, thin trousers.

The engineer exhaled slowly, uncertain if he could believe what he had just heard. Adrenalin and panic were still running through his veins. But Loki just stood there, holding out the clothes and making no move to rush him. His heartbeat slowed down and he breathed in deeply. If Loki had really not intended to... rape or hurt him or whatever, then that meant...

...that meant he had made a total fool of himself. During the first half hour of his stay here. Well, that was just great.

Flushed with embarrassment, he crossed the room and took the bundle of clothing from the god, keeping his eyes trained on the fabric instead of looking up.

"I will wait in the other room. Just tell me when you are ready", Loki said and turned around, closing the door behind him. Tony exhaled shakily and took a few steps before slumping down into an armchair. Immediately, he cursed because of the pain flaring up in his raw back and sat up straighter, starting to examine the clothes: a dark green tunic, made of very soft material, and black leather pants. Apparently gods didn't have underwear, but he'd become accustomed to that by now.

Since delaying it wouldn't get him out of here, he pulled off his torn shirt, wincing as it scraped over the wounds, and slipped on the tunic. It was a bit too big (Loki was a bit taller than him after all), but that was alright since this way it didn't rub onto the lashes. The trousers fit almost perfectly, they were just a little too long. He could deal with that – more than just deal with it, because Loki was pretty much the first one to actually give him clothing. His friendly behaviour was something (no matter how pathetic that sounded) Tony just wasn't used to anymore. And he was sure, very sure, that there was something behind it he didn't even want to know about. For now... well, maybe he could appreciate it for now. It couldn't hurt after all, right?

He stared at his old clothes, unsure of what to do with them, and then settled for just laying them over his arm before calling out: "I'm... uh, done." A few seconds later, the door of the room Loki had disappeared into opened up again and the god emerged, his expression set into a small smile. He extended a hand with a pointed look towards the discarded clothing in Tony's hands, and when the engineer had handed it over, Loki made a motion with his hand and it was... gone. "Huh. That's handy."

The god smiled even wider and said: "It is, indeed. So, now you are properly dressed – or at least acceptable, we will, of course, need to get you some clothes of your own – I must introduce you to somebody." Tony blinked, still trying to catch up with... everything. His own clothes? Loki was a little... too friendly for his taste. Or, at that, too friendly for his sense of caution. But he wasn't going to complain about that now, he had already showed too much weakness to this guy. So he just nodded and followed Loki as he left the room and led him down a golden hallway into another golden hallway which led into... another golden hallway. What was up with this place and all that gold? It was unnerving.

Finally, they stopped in front of another door and Loki knocked three times before folding his hands behind his back and waiting patiently. After about half a minute, one side of the large (and, surprise incoming, golden) double door opened and revealed a blonde woman whose face lit up as she spotted the god.

"Loki, my dear, what a surprise to see you. Were you not out with Thor and –" Her gaze fell onto Tony, lingered on his face for a second and then dropped to the arc reactor. The engineer resisted the urge to cover it with a hand because the tunic didn't let it shine through, he had checked before. It didn't seem to bother the woman though, because she stared right at it (which was unnerving, because what was with these people and sensing his reactor?) before remembering her manners and looking up again. "I see you brought a guest", she said after only a second's hesitation.

"I did", Loki confirmed. "Mother, this is Anthony –"

"Tony", Tony cut in, but was ignored.

"- Anthony, this is my mother, Frigga."

"Um... hi?", he said. Very eloquent, Tony. Really, she's gonna be stunned by that display of brain capacity you just gave her.

If she was appalled by his lack of attitude, Frigga didn't let it show. Her answer was polite and her smile was... at least, seemed sincere as she said: "Well then, Anthony, it is a pleasure to meet you. Why don't you two come in?" She opened the door a bit wider and Loki made a small gesture with his hand, motioning for Tony to go ahead. In lack of a better option, he complied and stepped into the large (and, not to forget that, of course fucking golden) living room. It was accented with lighter colours, but still mostly bright golden (it was starting to give Tony headaches). But well, Loki had referred to himself as a prince, and since Frigga seemed to be his mother, she obviously had to be the queen.

Tony Stark in the chambers of an alien queen. If that didn't sound crazy, he didn't know what did.

When they all had taken their seats on a ridiculously soft couch, she asked curiously: "How did you two meet?"

Loki cleared his throat and looked subdued, almost... ashamed?... as he answered: "Well, actually, I just... bought him."

"You bought –", Frigga began repeating as her eyes grew wide. Tony crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back. "Wait, is he a slave?" She sounded appalled, like that was the last thing she would have expected from her son.

"Let me explain, mother", the god insisted defensively. "This is not what you think it is, you know I would not do things like that." Huh, this was getting more and more interesting. Apparently slavery wasn't all that common in this shiny golden... whatever it was. On the other hand, Loki's friends earlier hadn't seemed like they'd have an issue with their prince buying a slave, so perhaps it was just Frigga who disagreed? This promised to become really entertaining. "It was..." The god glanced sidewards at Tony. Apparently he hadn't planned to have this discussion in front of him (or at all). The inventor bit back his grin and leaned back, crossing his arms. "It was his energy", Loki finally said defensively when he realized there was no help coming from Tony.

Frigga's eyes immediately fell to the height of the reactor again, but she corrected her mistake a second later as she said: "And you could not just ask him about it."

"He wouldn't answer", the god responded and looked more like a child being scolded every second. Well, it wasn't Tony's fault, Loki didn't have to go all 'meet the mother' right away, right?

"So you bought him", the queen repeated slowly. For goodness' sake, weren't they over this already? She really seemed to hate slavery. Which was... kind of strange, seeing that she was an alien queen and probably got served by slaves all the time. (And what the hell had he become that he found people who didn't like slaves to be strange?)

"It was an impulsive decision", Loki admitted and then added defiantly: "But I won't to give him back."

"Yes", Frigga sighed, "I thought so." Then, she turned towards Tony. "Please forgive my manners, Loki merely... surprised me with his decision. Should we start over again?" Damn, she really looked too much like a mother, with that warm, soft smile and the distinct lack of... maliciousness he had been somewhat expecting. Again, it stunned him how easily he could be caught of guard with simple friendliness.

And somehow, for the first time in months, he didn't feel like answering snappily. Mostly, of course, because he had not been snapped at in the first place. So he replied, still with a bit of caution: "Yeah, why not. I'm Tony, nice to meet you." And yes, this did make him feel silly, but hey, Fri– this unknown person in front of him didn't seem to mind as she held out her hand. For a second, Tony hesitated, but then – alien space Vikings with remotely human traditions, why not give it a try? – he took the hand and leaned over to breathe a kiss onto the smooth skin.

Apparently, it wasn't the wrong thing to do, because when he retreated back into his former sitting position, he saw that she was smiling while replying: "I am Frigga, goddess of marriage and queen of Asgard. It is a pleasure to meet you, Anthony." And he hadn't ever said Anthony, had he? Goddammit, Loki.

"The pleasure is all mine", he replied as regal as he could manage and flashed her his most winning grin. This had started to spin out of control the moment Loki had exposed his reactor at the market and now he was here, chit-chatting with an alien queen in a golden castle. A golden cage. Well, if that wasn't fancy.

Frigga looked him up and down once and then turned towards Loki to announce: "I will have a tailor sent here immediately. He cannot keep wearing your clothes, love, they are far too large."

"I would have taken care of that, mother", the prince replied. "I am not as thoughtless as Thor."

"Don't speak of your brother in such degrading tones", the queen scolded (not actually looking very scolding because she had an amused twitch to her lips that showed that she maybe, maybe didn't even disagree with her son that much). "But since we are already here, we can take care of it now as well, can we not?"

Tony bit his tongue to hold back any comments he might have said out loud otherwise. Really? Clothes? Just how long did Loki think he was going to manage keeping him? He would give him back sooner or later, or maybe Tony would finally escape for good like he had tried so many times before. But well, if he could escape in neatly tailored (fancy alien leather) clothes, all the better, right? This actually looked like the most comfortable place he had ever been sold to – but no, wrong train of thoughts. Those places looking flawless were the ones with the dirtiest background.

Just a few seconds after Frigga had rung a small bell, a girl entered the chamber and performed a curtsey (aw, how cute. Good old Middle Age) before asking: "How may I be of service?"

"Annia, dear, please call in a tailor, would you? We need to have some garments crafted as soon as possible." Jesus Christ, she was even polite to her servants. She was really a package of motherly love. Heavens save him.

"Of course, your highness", the girl said, curtseyed again and left.

After that, Loki and Frigga began talking about elves and their fabulous tailoring, the conversation quickly wandering off to more abstract topics and Tony stopped listening, leaning back into the soft cushions and turning thoughts over and over in his head. Tony Stark was not an obtuse man, no, he was the farthest possible from that. But still, he couldn't help but wonder a third, or fourth, or possibly thousandth time about how this was so definitely not what he had been expecting. It was almost... nice, in a strange kind of way, and so far everyone here had been friendly. It was scary, because he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop and he sure as hell was not going to fall for every friendly facade presented to him. He was a lot of things, but an idiot was not one of them.

When the door to the chamber opened up again, Tony snapped out of his thoughts, sat up straighter and eyed the maiden and the man who had come with her, apparently the tailor, warily. Frigga greeted them warmly and then addressed him: "Anthony, come here, please." Wait a second. Tailor. They would take his measures. He hadn't even thought about that. That meant – fuck! He clenched his fists and frantically searched for a way out, but the only thing his mind supplied him with was a constant string of fuck, fuck, fuck, I'm so screwed, fuck... Yeah, thank you, not helping. "Anthony?"

He'd had worse. He would survive this. He had survived everything before this, so why make a fuss? He could do this. He could, he had to, because there was no choice but surviving. He had to stand this through, giving up was not an option. The person breaking Tony Stark had yet to be born.

With those thoughts in mind, he rose from the couch and stepped towards the two servants waiting for him, trying to suppress the shaking of his hands. He could do this. Nothing was going to happen. The tailor looked him up and down and then told him to take off the tunic. It sounded distant through the noise of blood rushing in his ears. As calm as he could manage, mindful of Frigga's and Loki's eyes on his back, he gripped the rims of the dark green fabric and pulled it over his head, wincing as it scraped over the lashes on his skin.

There were two sharp intakes of breath from behind him and then, he heard a rustle of fabric as Loki demanded: "What is that?" The next second, he was spun around with a firm hand on his shoulder and met the god's bright green eyes that were wide with... was that shock or anger?

Trying not to flinch away from the touch, he smiled as casually and flippantly as he could (he was sure it turned out to be a grimace) while replying: "Told you I'm not a good slave."

Loki just stared at him, apparently stunned to silence, and then turned him around again so Tony faced the two servants again. He quirked his lips in what was the equivalent to a shrug without moving his body while the prince said behind him: "Mother, please, I need your assistance."

"Of course, my dear." Another rustle of fabric, then he winced as one of the wounds was very lightly traced with a finger. "Please stay still, Anthony."

And that was so easy to ask for but seriously, it wasn't easy to do, like, at all, because Tony had no idea what was coming and there were people at his back who he couldn't see and they were seeing his scars, the proves of his failed escapes and pointless resistance, and the two morons in front of him were staring at the reactor and Frigga was fucking asking him to please stay still? He was panicking, okay? He had every right to do so because they were touching wounds that were not even healed yet and it was going to hurt and –

It didn't hurt. Tony blinked as he felt the strange tingle in his back, unlike anything he had ever felt before. But it was... good, somehow. Not hurting. Pleasant. And the burning, the pain of the lashes began to subside. It didn't even take one minute until it was over, but it was easily the best thing he had felt in months.

When it was gone, Loki turned him back around with his hands on Tony's shoulders (the inventor tensed at the touch, but it seemed to go unnoticed) and looked him up and down critically. It made Tony feel vulnerable and exposed in all the ways he didn't want to be, but the god didn't dwell on his obvious discomfort and asked instead: "Is there anything else I should know?"

There is nothing at all about me that you have any right to know, was Tony's first thought to that, but maybe he should really not stretch his luck too far right now, so he just answered: "No, I'm fine. Uh... Thanks, I guess."

"You could have just told me", the prince said, and suddenly he had a reproachful look in his eyes, like Tony had made him feel terrible with not telling him about his well-being. Which... which was ridiculous, because come on, he was a fucking slave, held against his will for months on end without any realistic hope to get back a normal life anytime soon or ever. So yeah, sorry not sorry. He had no obligation to care about somebody but himself, especially if that somebody had bought him and was responsible for him continuing to live as a slave.

"I said I'm fine", he snapped sharply and jerked away from Loki's hands, what right had he to touch him, took a step back and glared at him. Loki looked surprised, taken aback, but Tony really didn't want to care about that and he didn't even want to look at Frigga who had met him with all her motherly loveliness so far. Fuck, why was it so much more difficult to snap at somebody when it felt like that person cared about you?

But it only felt like it, she didn't really care. He knew that.

Tony managed to stay calm as the tailor took his measurements, and he even ignored the curious glances of every fucking person in the room that were thrown at the reactor in his chest. Nobody talked much, aside from a few questions about if he had any special wishes for the garments (he said he wanted something covering the reactor, because seriously, this staring was unnerving).

When the servants were gone, Frigga ordered her maiden to bring some food. It was served almost immediately and after his initial hesitance, Tony dug in enthusiastically. In the past few months, he had lived from scraps, the traders' tasteless mash or nothing at all. Now, he had something that actually seemed like food, soft bread and a wide variety of toppings, and it lifted his mood immensely, although he tried not to show it too much. The two gods noticed anyway and smiled more in return.

After that, Loki excused them and led Tony back to his chambers – scratch that, his wing of the damn castle to show Tony –

"Wait a second, I get my own room?!", the engineer asked incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Where else would you sleep?", Loki replied as if it was completely self-evidently. Like it was totally normal to give your slave a room. Yup. That's Loki for you, apparently. Because the guy didn't really seem to care about what was normal or socially established or something. Must be a prince thing.

"...Just forget that I asked, 'kay?", Tony muttered. "I'll just... whatever." He was tired. It was barely past midday, but this day was easily the most eventful (he refrained from calling torture and whatever else had been filling his time the past few months events right now) since a long time.

"There are some books in the chamber, I am afraid I will have to leave you for the time being. I have duties to attend to", the god said apologetically as he opened a door (golden, who's surprised?) and revealed a room that wasn't half as large as Loki's own, but still large enough for a bed, a couch and a desk, a bookshelf that was barely filled yet and two armchairs without looking even remotely crowded. A large window let in sunlight. It was far, far more than Tony had been expecting.

"No problem, I'll keep myself busy", he replied. Thank you was lingering on his tongue, but he didn't speak it out. He had no reason to be grateful. He was a slave, after all.

"Very good. I will be back soon", Loki answered with a smile that actually looked sincere, then he closed the door behind himself and left Tony alone.

For a second, he considered exploring the room and see what was behind the second door, but then he decided otherwise and flopped down onto the incredibly soft bed and was asleep in an instant.

When he woke up again, it was dark outside. The golden gleam of the city had receded to a faint glow and the black sky was filled with so many stars that Tony just stared at them for a few minutes before he slowly sat up. He had no idea of the time (how was time even measured here?), but apparently, it was too late for anyone to be still up as everything was eerily quiet.

A thought occurred to him, fleeting, but full of hope. Quietly he strolled towards the door, looking around as if someone could be watching him, took a deep breath and pushed the handle. He felt a faint laugh escape him. Loki had left open the door. What an utter idiot.

Grinning, Tony slipped out of the door, closing it behind himself softly, and hurried down the wide hallway.