"Why can't you be like him?"
"I don't really feel like dying my hair."
"Don't get sarcastic with me."
"Well soooorry, but I don't."
"You don't take anything seriously."
"It's not my fault you can't take a joke."
"It's like you don't even care."
"You wouldn't be wrong if you thought that."
Howard glared at Tony, who smirked back. He was way too cheeky. He had way too much confidence. He was nothing like Steve.
"What is your problem?"
"I don't have a problem. Why? What's yours?" Howard continued to glare.
"You never try to be the bigger person."
"I do. It's not my fault I'm short."
"Tony!"
"What?"
"Why can't you be more Steve?" Tony rolled his eyes.
"Because I'm not Steve Rogers! I'm Tony Stark!"
"I wish I had him for a son." Howard growled, and Tony rolled his eyes again.
"But you don't. You have me as a son."
"And what a disappointment you are." Howard snapped. Tony really did look hurt that time. As he turned around and walked from the room, Howard heard him mutter:
"I would've at least of crashed the plane in warmer water."
Steve quietly slipped into the room, shutting the door as he did so. As he looked across the room, he saw Loki, smirking down at the table. Steve shook his head. The guy was creepy.
"What was the point of it all?" Steve asked, and Loki just carried on smirking, not making eye contact with Steve. Steve sighed. "C'mon Loki, you've gotta give me something.." Steve pulled up a chair and sat down in it, opposite Loki. Still Loki didn't say anything. "Okay then. What about Loftus?" Loki spoke then.
"Loftus was a meagre ally." Loki said simply.
"What do you mean?"
"Like many people he had ambitions, and he was only a few steps off completing that ambition. He had power."
"What kind of power?"
"He had hope. He believed he could be the ruler of a new Earth. Deluded by the idea of fame, he let it empower him. Seeing this, I realised he could be a valuable resource to me. His dreams would never become reality, but he didn't need to know that." Steve put his head in his hand and sighed.
"Loki, I don't care about Loftus. I want to know what was the point of it all?" Loki raised an eyebrow. "Why did you take Tony and turn him into a kid?"
"Ah, you see, Stark has brains."
"So does Banner-" Steve butt in, but Loki continued talking.
"-And I like his style."
"Style?" Steve questioned.
"Yes, I only needed one of you, and Stark was my first option. He has brains, he has money, he has humour."
"Why turn him into a kid though?"
"I needed a fresh look on things. He wouldn't have taken well to being kidnapped either way, but a child is easier to deal with than an adult." Steve couldn't argue with the logic behind that one.
"I still don't see why, though."
"Why? Tell me, what did I come here last time to do? Wouldn't it be befitting if that was the same reason? Drawing out the Hulk last time- it had potential, but as your friend with the megaphone rightly said: I lacked conviction. With Stark, I could embark on a new phase. With a new on look of a child, coupled with his genius, my plan was fool-proof." Steve sighed again and put his elbow on the table, resting the side of his face against his fist.
"So basically you wanted to take over the world?"
"In short yes." Loki replied, nodding. Steve only just managed to suppress another sigh.
"Right. Well, I'm off. If you decide to be a bit more helpful, let me know."
Steve said, before standing up and turning around, opening the door. Loki didn't say anything as he walked from the room, but instead stood resolute in his grinning stature.
"Ayup daddy-o"
"What?"
"I said 'ayup daddy-o', ayup is a word commonly used in the Black Country, which is mainly Birmingham, Dudley, Wolverhampton, and a few other places in the West Midlands which is in the UK. It means hello basically. I said daddy-o because it rhymes and you're my daddy." Tony said, grinning at the stern look on Steve's face as he said 'daddy'.
"I'm not your Dad, Tony." Steve said, he attempted to walk out of the room but Tony called after him.
"Yeah you are! You can't keep avoiding me and Pepper, Cap. It's rude."
"I'm not avoiding you."
"Are so."
"Are not."
"That doesn't make sense."
"You don't make sense!" Tony raised an eyebrow as Steve got more and more frustrated. "Why aren't you taking this seriously?"
"I am taking this seriously. This is my serious face." Tony pulled a bored-looking expression and gestured at it.
"You can't take anything seriously. Can you?" Steve growled, and Tony mimicked an expression of hurt.
"I can. But this isn't one of those times." Steve turned on his heel and walked away down the corridor. He'd bumped into Tony as he left Loki. "What's your problem?" Tony called after him. "Why can't you just laugh about it?". Steve didn't say anything as he walked away.
Tony really did want to laugh about the whole thing, so he did. But part of him just couldn't laugh. It wouldn't. It was like the stroppy teenager at dinner while everyone else was having a joke.
Part of it was annoyance at Steve, for being such and complete and utter dick. Everyone always said it was good to be the better person, to try and rise above the situation. So much for that.
Another part of it was that he had no idea what was going on. He hadn't been allowed to speak to Loki. He hadn't been allowed to speak to Loftus. No one was telling him anything. The only people he could rely on was Pepper, Natasha, Clint, Bruce and Thor. But Thor wasn't being much use because Loki had expressed his desire not to come in too much contact with the blonde. Thor was in the dark as much as he was.
On a lighter note however, after a stern word from Pepper to Fury, Shield had backed out of Tony's genetics. Pepper had yelled at Fury, who seemed to be putting up a good fight. Apart from the fact that it was Pepper, and Pepper could win any argument.
There were so many things he wanted to know the answer to. He just didn't know how to phrase them.
what d'you think? Let me know! :)