Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a happy Halloween, mine was amazing! I dressed up as Spock and it was really cool. Next year I'm thinking about doing Iron Man. Anyways, this new chapter really ran away from me and is way longer than I expected it to be. I'm still debating whether to cut it in half and add more to the and but I think I might just leave it. I hope everyone enjoys this extra long chapter!

Not mine, never mine, usual disclaimers

The inventor's mind was filled with questions and equations and good recommendations as he rode the lift back down to Bruce's lab. Though he was quite distracted he probably would have heard Loki's question anyways, he was halfway down the hallway when it was asked. If he had heard it though, he would be hard pressed to choose whether to laugh or stand there astonished.

"JARVIS, what is pizza?"

o~*+*~o

"So pizza is essentially bread with tomatoes and cheese?"

"In its simplest form, yes."

However strange Midgard and its inhabitants might be they were strangely ingenious when it came to some of the strangest things. There were no dishes similar to pizza on Asgard nor was there any dish similar to Midgardian fare other than the large roasted turkey normally eaten during the human festivals but was very common on Asgard.

Midgard, though the youngest and likely the smallest of the nine realms, was extremely diverse, each of the land masses split into countries and the countries into provinces and cities and towns and something called neighborhoods that he believed was mentioned by Barton on his last visit. Kings and queens were a part of Midgard's past and was looked down upon or was cast out by the majority of the realm. It was a shame such change was not a common on Asgard.

Over the few thousand years available to them the humans had evolved, their significantly short lifetimes urging the beings to do as much as they could in their lives before they perished. What the humans lacked in magic was rapidly being completed with science at a pace that far exceeded that of any other realm.

The other realms, while rich in magic, lacked any significant change over the millenniums and the inhabitants lived drastically longer lives than humans. One single century, if they were lucky, was all a human got to influence their lives. It was no wonder there was such urgency to drastically influence the world around them.

It was strange how Midgard was lacking in magic when the other realms were so saturated with it, especially the elven realms. There were records of mages that cropped up in the realm every couple of centuries or so but they were few and far between when considering the humans rather lacking lifespan. Magic just did not stick in the realm of the humans and the attitude that mirrored the Ãsier on the matters of arcane was an apt reason.

Loki himself had always felt that it would benefit the realm if magic were gradually reintroduced to the realm so that over the generations it would grow slowly enough that it would not be noticed until it was too late for mages to be prosecuted. Midgard was, after all, the doorway between the nine realms and the others beyond, the only realm to simultaneously exist in both. Peculiar that of all the realms it was the one that needed the most protection from the magical that had none.

Of course, if magic were to be introduced to Midgard once again there would have to be a powerful mage to instruct the younger ones that would then, with the help of magic, live long enough to teach the upcoming generation.

Loki had always fancied that it would be him to save the self-destructive humans that were, bit by bit, destroying the realm they inhabited with the too rapid change to gain Odin's, who he had believed to be his father, approval or at the very least something more than a passing glance. That dream had died when the truth of his heritage had been revealed but now mages from Midgard could help him thwart Thanos and possibly defeat him. To find that the first mage of true potential in over thirteen centuries, the longest break in history, was the great Tony Stark was like the universe laughing in his face for ever hoping he had a chance.

The magical core that rested inside Stark was as large or larger than his when he was unlearned in the arcane but that it was Stark of all people with that large of a core, with that much potential, the person that was strikingly similar to himself in so many ways, made the probability of being able to teach the man nigh on impossible.

For if Loki taught Stark magic as payment for the goodness the man had treated him with then he would have no leverage on the human and be useless beside him. If there was one thing Loki would not tolerate it would be the uselessness he had felt standing in the golden Thor's shadow in front of Odin. The irritating thing was that Loki genuinely wanted to return the kindness Stark had shown him, the unbiased nature of the man refreshing.

Stark was genuinely interested in his true form, as repulsive as he believed it was, and didn't seem to understand that Frost Giants were hideous monsters that killed for sport. The stories that Loki had grown up hearing were nothing to the man and the curious nature of Stark made Loki rethink just how true the monstrosities that were told of the Jötun were. He was, however reserving judgment on the validity of the stories for later as the question Stark posed was far more interesting at the moment.

The inquiry about the validity of Thor's statement about his heritage was obviously Stark's second choice for an unlimited question with a guaranteed answer. Any inquiry about magic, the nature of it or how it could be translated into equations for his machines would have been the expected question, yet the man had refrained to spare him, from what he did not know. Loki was unsure if it made him more trustworthy or less.

The predictability of any actions that Stark made was next to none and that made him an unknown variable in any plans he had for escape or evasion of the Chitauri upon their return, because there would be a return and Loki had no doubts on that front. What Stark would do upon their return was a mystery but knowing how the man was currently playing hero he would likely at least attempt to protect him, a greater feat than what he could expect from SHIELD or any of the other Avengers. Stark was the only one with enough brains to put together his faked death and the only one to show him any kindness.

As if his train of thought had triggered it, JARVIS's voice began to speak through the many hidden speakers. "The pizza that Mister Stark ordered for you has arrived and is being delivered to your room presently by one of the bots."

Loki's eyes were locked on the door and he watched it closely as it swung open and a cardboard box appeared to float inside, hovering inches above the ground. The container moved towards him until it hit the side of the bed and could move no further. Loki reached down cautiously and lifted the box up to reveal a small, thin robot that scuttled along the floor towards the door again. Quite an ingenious construct.

The smell that wafted up from the closed container made the injured god's mouth water and his stomach growl, almost as if it were demanding the food in front of him. The pizza appeared to be plain, simply cheese and tomato sauce on bread, but that did not bother Loki and was, in fact, a relief. It was best not to try too many new things today, especially with what he had previously been considering.

After only one delicate bite of the plain pizza Loki was sure that it was better than nearly everything present in an Asgardian feast. Nearly only because his deceased mother made one dessert that would forever be his favorite no matter what he tried and despite the fact that she would never be there to make it for him again.

Loki was careful to consume each piece slowly and let himself savor each bite, his experience with being starved only to be presented with a feast all too real and this was not even the second time this had happened over the years. He had been young and foolish enough the first time to gorge himself when the abundance of food had arrived and had quickly made himself sick, something he was loathe to repeat with his healing injuries.

Not that Loki ever really felt the pain of the cuts and contusions, his pain tolerance was too high and the bed too comfortable to feel anything other than content. Looking down at his bound chest, the raven haired man noticed that the bandages would need to be rewrapped soon, especially with the multitude of grease stains that dotted the fabric no matter how careful he was.

Sadly it was all too soon before all that was left of the meal was an empty cardboard box that Loki sat down next to the bed. It was not ten minutes later that what looked like the same robot crept back inside and took the container out the door where the injured god followed.

Once he was standing up and moving around, the blood flowing stronger through his limbs, the more severe of his injuries began to make themselves known. The worst was the sharp pain that radiated from his chest from both his ribs and the line of red he knew was drawn in his skin under the bandages. Every step set off a chain reaction that resulted in small twinges of discomfort that seemed to emanate from everywhere. All of this was ignored with little difficulty.

The kitchen was just around the corner, the bright light of the midday sun streaming through the wall of windows. Turning his back to the light, Loki began to rummage through the many cabinets on the back wall.

"Five to the right and one up."

Pausing in his search, the injured god looked up at the ceiling before walking over to the designated drawer and pulled it open. Inside were rows of bandages, antiseptic, and other Midgardian medicines. Loki reached inside and pulled out a bundle of bandages, foregoing anything else, and leaned against the nearby counter with his back still to the windows.

After quickly shrugging out of the oversized, black t-shirt Stark had oh so graciously bestowed upon him, Loki began slowly unwrapping the bandages around his torso.

The wrapping was neatly done for him having been drapped unconscious on the couch when Stark had done it, not something that Loki was necessarily proud of-the falling unconscious part that is. The dried blood glued the fabric of the bandage to his skin making the raven haired man wince softly when each movement pulled on his skin and the healing slash across his chest, the deep wound that was already starting to seal itself, if dramatically slower than it normally would.

It appeared as though any magic that Loki had been regenerating over that past day or so was immediately being used to heal the many wounds he had accumulated. However, the rate at which his magic was returning was almost depressingly low and it could take weeks before he was completely healed and his actual magic reserves began to replenish themselves. The thought of spending that much time in Stark's company and at the man's mercy was not nearly as frightening as it would have been when he had just arrived.

Once the bandage was completely removed Loki absently mindedly balled it up in one hand and tossed it carelessly onto the counter behind him. One of Stark's constructs would likely pick it up later. The raven haired man then strode over to the sink and turned on the heated water, running a small cloth he had snagged nearby under the stream before wringing it out and using it to cleanse his chest and what he could reach of his back without stretching his wound uncomfortably.

Understandably, this was the part that Stark had neglected to administer his treatment to when he first arrived as their subsequent positions created difficulty.

By the time Loki believed the wound and the surrounding area was sufficiently clean, the cloth was bloodied and gritty with whatever remaining dirt was left after Stark had not removed earlier. It was strange for Loki to think of the events of his arrival as being only just over a day ago as so much had happened. Everything had changed within the span of mere seconds, the time it had taken to travel to Stark's tower in the first place though it was less traveling and more crashing.

Shaking his head, Loki stopped and snagged the overly large black shirt from where he had dropped it on the ground, ignoring the bandages on the counter. The injured god saw no reason to rebandage his torso or don the shirt when he was planning on locating the nearest bath and soaking himself in it for at least an hour now that the most demanding of his injuries was clean. The bloodied rag and dirty bandage were still laying on the counter as Loki strode swiftly back to his room in search of the baths.

o~*+~o

Later, when the injured god was relaxing in the jacuzzi that was hidden away in the back corner of his bathroom, Loki decided that Stark was definitely not a bad man and that simply telling Stark that he had a gift for the arcane couldn't be that bad. Especially not if he could stay here with the billionaire that practically controlled the realm on his own.

Loki stretched contentedly inside the overly large tub, the almost too hot water and jets heaven on his abused body. Thank the Norns his regenerating magic was already spread in up the healing process or else the beating of the jets would have been much less pleasant.

After another twenty minutes or so the raven haired man pulled himself out of the tub and dried himself with a nearby towel, attempting not to irritate any of his injuries but with so many it was inevitable there were a few sparks of pain now and then. Once he was done drying himself and felt truly clean for the first time since landing, Loki tugged back on the sweatpants and padded out to kitchen once again.

The sight of Stark hunched over the coffee pot made the injured god pause for a moment and he was suddenly self-conscious of how his state of undress revealed the true extent of his injuries, but he pushed through it and walked forward as casually as he could to the drawer with the bandages. The drawer that happened to be right next to the coffee pot. Loki looked around for the roll of gauze that he had left on the counter but it seemed to have been removed along with the dirty bandage and rag.

Stark didn't seem to notice his approach until the sound of the drawer opening woke him up from whatever trance he seemed to be in, making the genius spin around and, when noticing his sudden close proximity, jump backwards and almost trip and fall over his own feet. Luckily, Loki grabbed the other man's arm and dragged him upright before he fell but there was nothing the raven haired man could do to keep the small smirk off of his face.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Stark's bewildered expression only made Loki smirk turn more sincere, closer to a true smile. He raised an eyebrow as if to say that it was so obvious where he had come from because it was. He hadn't even bothered to completely dry his hair before exiting the baths, small rivulets of water still dripping from his hair and running down his torso or falling to the floor.

Stark's eyes followed the trail of one droplet as it fell to the ground with an inaudible splat. "Bath or shower?"

"Bath." Loki was still smiling faintly when he replied, the absent-mindedness of Stark reminiscent of his own time spent in the libraries of Asgard studying while Thor trained. His mind had always been so filled with spells and incantations that he was blind to the rest of the world.

"Good choice," Stark said lazily as his eyes roamed over the bare expanse of the injured god's chest and arms, his sharp eyes catching all of the contusions that he hadn't noticed before.

Suddenly Stark stepped closer, right into Loki's personal space and it was only surprise that kept Loki from taking a long step back when the inventor's hands reached out towards the gash on his chest only to stop centimeters away. "Looks like this is healing well." Stark looked up at him for permission and Loki nodded. If the man had wanted to harm him he would have earlier.

The faint touches that ghosted over his skin were so gentle for such calloused and strong hands that it stunned the injured god. The inventor was careful not to put pressure of the wound, likely for fear that it would open up again, but that didn't stop him from studying the smaller, less severe, cuts and bruises.

"Actually it looks like it's healing better than just well, it's healing far faster than any human would but," Stark glanced back up to his face for a moment before returning to study the wound, "you're not human."

"Obviously," Loki almost snorted with a roll of his eyes as Stark dropped his hands and straightened up to look Loki in the eye.

"Is it your magic that is helping it heal quicker or is your normal regeneration rate quicker than a human?"

"Both."

The look Stark gave him simply begged for more information and Loki graciously obliged. "My magic is gradually returning to me and is immediately used to heal myself unconsciously but my regeneration rate was already slightly higher than a humans would be."

"When do you think that all of," Stark gestured all over Loki's body, "will be healed up and you start having enough mojo to do stuff."

"It could take anywhere from a week or so to a month or longer. Everything depends on what happens during that time and how much my body is allowed to recuperate. And don't worry Stark," Loki's eyes locked on Stark's and refused to set them free, "I will refrain from attacking you or your fellow Avengers once my magic reserves are restored."

Stark was the first one to break the stare with a blink of confusion. "Fellow Avengers? The only one here is Bruce and I already have a plan to introduce the two of you."

At the glare Loki gave the shorter man he continued. "Gradually of course."

"And I guess it wouldn't hurt to wait till you get your powers back." Loki nodded slightly in assent before a slight shiver ran through his body. He was about to brush it off as the cold of the water evaporating but the slight pressure in his head was not something he could mistake as a head ache.

"Yes, waiting would be a fantastic idea but Banner is not the only Avenger in the tower." He could be mistaken, but the reminiscence of the tesseracts influence responded to that of anothers. There was only one other being under the cubes influence that would visit the tower without notifying ahead.

"What do you mean?" The other man appeared to be both confused and worried and that was reasonable, JARVIS had yet to pick up the other being on his sensors.

"Sir, it appears as though Mr. Loki is correct. Ms. Romanov and Mr. Barton have just been admitted into the tower and are entering the elevator now."

"How the hell did you know they were here?" Suspicion was written clearly on Stark's face but Loki was not about to reveal just how much he was still broken, not physically but mentally, so he merely grinned and let a bright glint appear in his eyes.

"One of my many titles is Trickster, why should I reveal my secret?"

With that parting comment Loki strode quickly back over his room where the door automatically closed and locked behind him with a loud click. The sound did not unnerve the injured god as it normally would as he was still caught up the incredulous look on Stark's face. It was only when he lay back down on the bed that he realized that he was still shirtless and had neglected to grab the bandages from the drawer.

It was all Stark's fault.

I'm sorry there was no drunk Loki or Loki telling Stark that he has magic potential but I promise that I will try and add that in soon. Right after I introduce more of the Avengers.
It would be fantastic if anyone that thinks that the rest of the Avengers should come to stay at the tower before Stark gets Loki drunk says that in their review and those who think they should get drunk earlier say so! Any suggestions or opinions would be fantastic and very helpful.
I am currently so busy with school that how fast I write and update and almost completely dependent on how many reviews I get. Reviews feed my inspiration and drive to write. Really, they do. For those of you who don't see the point in writing a review, write the shortest review in history about how you want a new chapter and be done but please write one because they do help. Please. It's for the story.

Please review!