THIS HAS BEEN EDITED: Sep/3/1013
This will have a M ( mature) rating
WARNING: some language/ violence.
Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own these characters. All rights belong to Marvel etc.
NOTE: The words in Italics that are not contained in "" are accidental thoughts, not intended for the other to hear.
The words in "Italics" are a conversation intended to be heard.
Chpt 4
(Nowhere to Go)
Loki stiffened, forcing his face to remain impassive. He couldn't trust his voice to not reveal the mixed emotions that swelled inside of him.
There was nothing beautiful about him, a blue creature with rabid looking eyes. His skin flawed with the markings of a monster. His true form was sickening. How could Stark lie about it with such ease?
Oh.
His voice crackling with frustration, he looked Tony in the eye and glowered. "Do not bother to try to flatter me, it is unnecessary. I shall return you to your home as soon as my magic is in full strength. Needless fake compliments will only irk me more."
Tony's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The god was actually offering to send him back? Is this kindness a natural state for Loki when he wasn't under mind control? His face hardened as he suppressed a shiver of fear.
No.
Regardless of his lack of control during the attack yesterday...Loki slaughtered an entire race beforehand. He's still a crazed killer, daddy issues and all .
Was it yesterday? How much time has passed since we went through the portal?
I mean, talk about an overreaction. I hated my father but I didn't kill him and, say, his entire scientific staff.
I'm thinking about this way too hard.
Tony glanced back into the god's red eyes and grinned before quickly leaning closer and bumping his nose against Loki's. "Chill out. Oh, wait, I can't say that to you now, can I? Cool your jets?"
Tony's face broke into a shit-eating grin. With a snarl, Loki pushed Stark away roughly.
"Ah! Hey there Frosty the Snow Man, be gentle." Tony said, laughing as he almost landed in the fire.
Loki snarled again, attempting to stand before he fell back once more against the cave wall. His breath caught in his throat as he slid back down the wall.
Eyes widening in pain, Loki clenched his fists and muttered fiercely, "Bölvaður dauðlega með tilgangslaus tilveru! Getur útlimum rotna burt og innyfli þín eta sig!"
Tony stifled a snort at the torrent of nonsensical words that filled the cave. Loki was clearly swearing in whatever-language-that-was, but as hilarious as it sounded, the god still had magic enough to cut Tony a new one. He held his breath to calm down and focused on the fire.
Loki closed his eyes again, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He struggled to keep awake, frowning in concentration at the sounds that surrounded him. He could hear the distant sound of water dripping somewhere in the back of the cave. Closer to him, the burning log crackled in short bursts. He held his breath as his concentration shifted to the breathing of the mortal near him. The short breaths of laughter slowed into a more calm pace. Loki breathed out in a long sigh, feeling strangely relaxed. It reminded him of when he and Thor were still children. Thor always fell asleep first, since he wasted so much energy during the day. Loki would listen to his brother's breathing until he fell asleep himself.
He focused on the old familiar sounds and felt himself drifting off.
That wasn't entirely the desired effect,
he thought before finally succumbing to sleep.
Tony finally calmed down enough to look at the god again. Much to his surprise, Loki had long since fallen asleep. He openly stared at the battered man in front of him, tracing the raised white lines on the god's skin with his eyes. It truly was magnificent, a form of art. Tony wasn't an admirer of tattoos, but this was something much more intriguing. As a part of Loki's biology, science and art.
I wonder what they feel like.
He didn't have contact with his nose long enough to discern a general body temperature. It had felt chilly, then again everything felt chilly. Tony felt a smile grow as he continued to stare at Loki's face.
How does he manage to pull off blue and handsome?
No. Nope.
Let's stay away from that word.
I should come up with some more Smurf references.
Not that he would understand any of them.
Tony started to feel bored as he looked around the cave, his eyes settling on the metal briefcase. He glanced back at Loki. He could go for an explore before Frosty woke up and sent him home. Tony stood and cracked his back. Wincing, he cast a glance down at the sleeping god. Loki was clearly past the point of anything waking felt a prick of concern at how still Loki had become. He watched carefully for a moment, finally catching the shallow rise and fall of Loki's chest.
Ok. Not dead. Let's go.
Tony relished the feeling of his suit around him, never realizing how much safer he felt with it on. He wasn't exactly weak, but all these fights with gods were showing him he wasn't exactly immortal either. He cast one last glance behind him at the god before stepping out of the cave.
Wow. Just, wow.
He let out a surprised laugh as he looked at the world around him. The landscape was almost the same deep blue as Loki's skin. It's surface was covered with cracks that opened up into deep crevasses. He could hear the sound of crumbling ice smashing down into the deep. It was way too beautiful to be so empty.
Unstable, frigid, and blue...
Sounds familiar.
He took off, flying toward the first ruins of a structure he could see. Filled with exhilaration to be flying again, Tony vaguely wondered how long he had been asleep, seeing as he had a lot more energy than he should. Having just fought an entire fucking army. Maybe saving New York from being blown up, and
oh yeah, saving the world.
Tony spun in the air before landing heavily inside some sort of grand hall. The moment his metal boots touched the floor, long cracks formed around him. It took a second for him to notice he was holding his breath. He let it out and gingerly put a foot forward.
Yep, guess it's safe enough.
He ambled along for a long while in no discernible pattern. He enjoyed looking into some rooms for only seconds, while rooting around others for hours.
After a while he settled into a room filled with scrolls. He was laughing at one of the images of a large blue man doing something that looked suspiciously like peeing on another giant when he heard a panicked voice.
"Stark? Stark?!"
He jumped up and whipped himself around, expecting Loki to be near.
Tony kept looking through a few doors before he heard it again.
"Stark!? If you are safe, please answer."
It finally dawned on him, the voice was in his head. Frowning, he readied himself to answer when a wave of words interrupted him.
Oh guðir he left. He's flown off and left me here. Given up. I shouldn't have spoken of... He's gone just like everyone el-
Tony forced a thought as hard as he could.
"Loki?"
There was a long pause before Loki's voice responded.
"Stark...you are still nearby?"
Tony felt a tingling pain in his chest and throat. Loki's voice had gone from panicked shout to an almost a begging whisper. The guy was still healing for christ sake, he probably though Tony had left him to die there. He clenched his jaw, frustrated with himself for spending so much time exploring.
"I'm coming right back, hold on."
Tony ran through the halls, launching himself through one of the tall open windows. He heard Loki's voice again.
"It's perfectly fine, you needn't come rushing back from your explorations. Just be...careful. Many of the buildings are falling to pieces."
Tony felt a smile creep on to his face as the mouth of the cave came into view.
"Why Loki, are worried about me?"
He landed and shouted happily into the cave, "HONEY, I'M HOME!" A large chunk of ice crumbled from the roof and shattered right in front of him.
Oops.
Loki was standing in front of the fire, his face in shadow. Tony could see how his body was still stooped and weakened. The silence dragged on until Tony lifted his mask and realized he could hear Loki's rasping breaths.
"Oh, hey, Lokes." Tony said as he rushed forward to catch him before Loki's body crumbled to the floor.
Too many raw emotions splayed across Loki's face. In a panic, he pushed himself away from Stark and turned his head away. He refused to let the mortal see more of his weaknesses. Stark's metal arms entangled him once again and he let out a squeak.
"Ouch. Stark, your armor is not exactly comfortable to be embraced in."
Tony chuckled and stepped back, doing something inside the suit that caused it to collapse. Loki watched as the plates of armor crawled off his body in a mildly erotic fashion.
Interesting.
Loki blinked at that thought and frowned, stepping away further from Stark as the man reached out to grab his arms.
Tony gave the god a pointed look. "Stop. Just come here, okay?"
"I do not need your comfort, Stark. I was simply alarmed that you were in danger. I was concerned..." Loki's voice faltered as he looked uncomfortable with where his thoughts were headed. Tony smiled at his stubbornness and pulled him close just as the gods knees buckled from underneath him. He practically carried Loki back to the edge of the cave. Tony felt he could risk imposing a small comforting thought into the god's mind without being killed.
"It's okay, you're not alone. Trust me, I won't fly off again."
Loki looked into Tony's eyes, his mouth open in surprise. He let out a chuckling sigh before he spoke. "I see you are getting more confident with the mind link." Loki's tone shifted into bitterness, "However, you will be heading back to Midgard soon and I shall ,inevitably, be alone."
Tony huffed and made a face. "Earth. Just say Earth so we both know what we're talking about. "
Loki's expression softened with confusion. "Why do we not both say 'Midgard'?"
"I'm not going to use a term given by aliens who don't even live on the damn planet."
Still looking confused, Loki mumbled, "You shall be returned to...Earth."
Tony's smile was that of a proud parent. He resisted the urge to pat the god on the head like a good boy. Loki tucked his knees up against his chest and peeked over them at Stark.
Slowly, Tony's thoughts caught up with him. "Wait a minute, what do you mean alone? You're gonna' stay here?"
Loki rolled his eyes dramatically. "I'm not exactly welcome elsewhere in the nine realms. I have what's left of the Chitauri army after me, Odin and his son still hunt me for my crimes, and then there is you and your Avengers. Who, undoubtably, will seek to 'avenge' your precious Earth." Loki ended with a tiny smirk.
Tony felt his heart drop into his stomach. He really hadn't been thinking straight since he got here. Loki had nowhere to go where he won't be pursued and punished for crimes he may or may not have committed.
What if he came back with me?
I could protect him and over time we could explain to SHEILD and the others that he was under Thanos' control.
Tony cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly, "You can come home with me?"
Loki let out a muffled snort. "What part of both the Avengers and Thor wanting me dead did you not understand? "
Tony pouted, "That's an insult to my intelligence. I know you are a 'wanted criminal', but I would keep you protected in my house until we can explain what happened. My security is the best on the planet, although it's not entirely god proof as you may have noticed. I can speak to Thor first, seeing as he still trusts you."
Loki snapped back at him, "You are a fool to think he still trusts me! You did not see his face when he first knew of what I am! You may think you know him, your little pet thunder-god, but his faith breaks just as easily as mine." Loki swallowed and looked at the fire before continuing. "These events on Earth will not be forgiven. I knowingly attacked before and this time I believe he will find trouble believing I was under a spell."
Tony scooted closer to the god and reached out to tilt Loki's chin upwards. He looked him in the eye. "Loki, he will forgive you. Forgiveness for him is as easy as eating an entire box of pop tarts. Which, according to the data provided by one Darcy Lewis, is sickeningly easy. The others may take a lot of time and effort but I am sure once they see..." his voice tapered off at the thought of the two spies being forgiving."Okay, so maybe Clint and Agent Romanoff will tolerate you, but I'm sure the other two will understand. Bruce gets possessed at least once every year by his own biology."
Loki, his face thoughtful, suddenly sat forward a little. Tony jumped but managed to keep his eyes on Loki, trying to calm god looked guarded, as though carefully choosing what to say. "You have said Thor forgives me, the two assassins will tolerate me, and the green beast and the Captain may forgive. What of you, Stark? I have done things to you one ever forgives."
Loki's eyes moved between Tony's brown eyes and mouth, searching his face for honesty. Tony frowned and before he could answer, Loki mistook his expression as a 'no'. The god's face fell, showing a sadness Tony had not thought the god was able to express.
Still frowning Tony quietly answered. "I've already forgiven you."
In case you're wondering what all that was:
"Accursed mortal with your pointless existence. May your limbs rot off, and your bowels devour themselves."
It's tradition to curse your enemy with failing health! Review! Any questions?