Pairing: Tony/Loki, Thor/Sif, Clint/Darcy

Rating: M

Word Count: Don't know and don't care

Summary: While his palace is under siege by Odin and his army, King Laufey sends his infant son away with a powerful and much sought-after weapon. His hope is that when he is old enough, the boy will be able to wield it and defeat Odin to save not only Jotunheim, but as well as the other realms that have fallen to the tyrant's rule.

Warnings: Coulson feels

Don't own The Avengers or Lord of the Rings. I got tired of making up reasons.

Favorite Author: Wanderingidealism

Favorite Story: Wanderingidealism

Story Alert: Wanderingidealism

Part 1: Chapter 8

After the meeting, Heimdall pulled Loki aside in order to teach him how to alter the size of the Tesseract. He explained that the spell was in the Ancient Tongue, which went out of use after Ymir's death. Ymir, the creator of the world, was also the creator of the Tesseract, and he wished for it to be an heirloom among his descendents. Because the All-Father is the offspring of the Frost Giant, Bestla, he believes it should belong to him. However, it was passed to Laufey.

The spell is never uttered aloud, should someone try to listen. It is cast through thought, which is rare among sorcery. Heimdall told Loki that the Tesseract is easily removable from the staff, should he encounter any danger, and the staff can either be shrunk as well or used as a walking stick. Whichever tickles his fancy.

"That is a lot to take in…"

"Do not worry. Phillip will be there to help you."

"Phil knows, too?"

"The three of us are the only ones who know. You study magic, correct?"

"Well, I suppose. The Norns gave me books and I learned pretty quickly. They were quite surprised how easy it came to me."

"Phillip might be willing to teach you if you ask him. He has not had a student in several years."

"Phil knows magic?" Heimdall patted him on the shoulder before showing him out of the courtyard area.

"The staff should be finished by the end of the week. You may come watch if you would like."

"No, that's alright. But thank you."

xXxXx

When he returned to his room, Loki saw Phil sitting on his bed scratching under Fenrir's chin. He walked over and sat by the headboard and crossed his legs.

"So what happened to you? To 'delay' you."

"What makes you think something happened to me?"

"You seem sad."

Phil's hand froze and he slowly pulled away. Loki patted his thighs and the wolf immediately crawled over and settled his head in Loki's lap. Fenrir flicked his tail against the mattress and snorted before Loki began combing his fingers through his fur and his eyes slid shut.

"Someone who I believed to be my friend betrayed me. Not only did he inflict emotional pain, but physical pain as well. He has allied himself with Asgard, and when I tried to leave, he attacked me. We fought and he held me prisoner in his fortress for several days."

"I'm so sorry, Phil. Other than Fenrir and the Norns, I've never had a friend before, so I can't even imagine what you're going through."

"You do not see your traveling companions as friends?"

"Well, I've barely known them for a week. It takes more time than that, right?" Phil nodded. "How did you know my father?"

"We met at the White Horse, actually. Fenrir was hidden around the side of the barn, but somebody spotted him and told the innkeeper. He was about to chase him off, then this young man wearing a hood told him not to. He was perfectly harmless and wouldn't attack anyone unless he or the wolf himself was threatened.

"When the innkeeper asked who he was, he said not to interrogate him or he would call the wolf's name. The subject was dropped and the man returned to his drink. I sat next to him and inquired about the wolf and where he got him. He said he found Fenrir injured while on a hunt and brought him home to treat his wounds. Once he was healed, the wolf refused to leave, so Laufey decided to keep him. His father was not happy about this.

"Laufey would leave home with Fenrir just to get away from his father, further and further every day. He eventually came to the Inn and we got along so well, we went back every night to get drunk and talk about how much we hate our home lives. He went by the alias 'Nal' while he was there, even though people eventually figured out who he was. But he seemed comfortable there because he didn't have to worry about keeping any sort of image, and he could just be himself. I was devastated when I learned of his death."

"I wish I could have gotten to know him."

"As do I."

xXxXx

As Heimdall promised, the staff was completed at the end of the week. The staff itself was silver with a round rod shape for an easy grip, and there were two hooks at the end with the Tesseract secured between them. In order to remove the Tesseract, it had to be shrunk, and vice versa to reattach it. An added bonus was that the smaller Tesseract was immediately drawn to the hand of the person who uttered the spell. The same applied to the smaller staff.

"Wow, this is all…really convenient," Loki said as he gazed down at the staff that he now held in his hands.

"We just want to make things easier for you. That way you have less to worry about," Heimdall explained.

"I see."

"Whoa. That's cool."

"Hello, Clint." Loki held the staff out to the side so the bottom end was touching the ground. The tip of the larger hook was aligned with his eyebrow. "What have you all been doing since I last saw you?" The man didn't respond, so Loki waved a hand to get his attention.

"Sorry. I'm too distracted by how cool that thing is," Clint replied, still staring at the staff with wide eyes.

"Well, maybe Darcy will tell me. Hey Dar-"

"So pretty!" The girl squealed, clutching Clint's shoulders.

"'Pretty'? 'Pretty'! You are crazy," Clint said. "And let go of my shoulders."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Do you know where Tony is?"

"Probably where he's been all week. Brooding in his room."

"You guys haven't made him angry again, have you?" They both shook their heads. "Okay. If you say so."

xXxXx

Loki left them in search of Tony's room, and when he found it, he knocked on the door, receiving no response. When he tried the knob, it opened for him, and he walked inside to see Tony sitting on the bed with his back towards him. All of the curtains were drawn and the balcony doors were closed, so the only source of light in the room was that of the Tesseract.

"So they finished it?"

"Yes." Loki walked over and sat a couple feet away from Tony, placing the staff next to him. The other male turned his head slightly to look at it.

"That's pretty impressive."

"Oh. Yes. It is."

"So how does it work?"

Loki hesitated again, but he knew Tony would never do anything to hurt him. He held his hand over the Tesseract, then recited the spell Heimdall taught him in his mind. Slowly, the cube became smaller and he picked it up between his thumb and index finger before fitting it into the setting he left in his earlobe for convenience. He did the same with the staff and it shrunk down to the size of a pencil.

"This is how I will be able to hide them, but I don't know where to put this."

"Here, let me try something," Tony said and Loki handed the miniature staff to him. "Turn around."

Loki could feel Tony doing something to his hair, and he really hoped he wouldn't have to re-braid it again. Even though it was nice to see Darcy so excited, she was a terrible hair stylist.

"There. It would look better if there were two, but at least it's not going to fall out."

Loki reached up and tentatively tapped at his head, not feeling anything. Tony grabbed his hand and lowered it to where he felt something pointy sticking out of his braid. He couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped his mouth.

"Hey, don't laugh! Something like this takes great skill!"

"My apologies then, oh Grand Master." Loki growled in warning when Tony lightly tugged on the end of his braid.

"So what happens now?"

"I don't know. I guess we go to Asgard. Odin needs to be stopped before he tries to take another kingdom."

"Loki!" Tony hissed, looking around the room.

"What?" The other male replied, rotating his body so he was looking at him. "While we are in Alfheim, we're safe from him. Besides, Tyr's already after me, so I can probably say his name as many times as I want and it wouldn't make any difference."

"Right, I forgot. I'm just so used to the censorship."

Loki turned his gaze down and slowly placed his hand over Tony's. When it wasn't shaken off, Loki looked up and saw that Tony was staring back at him. After a moment, he closed his eyes, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to Tony's. It only lasted for a couple seconds, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a thin smile on Tony's lips.

"I've never done that before," Loki said with a nervous laugh.

"Done what?"

"Kissed somebody." Loki bit his lip and bunched the sheets in his hand. "Was it good?"

"Yes. It was good."

The reason Tony's all moody is because he knows that they're leaving soon for Asgard and he's worried about Loki. Yes, it's supposed to look like Loki's staff from The Avengers, just taller. I suck at descriptions. And hooray for butchering Norse mythology!