The towers had settled into some strange calm over the next week. The three had formed a daily routine which was followed pretty well. They would wake up to Steve cooking a breakfast for them. They'd sit at the table, exchange small talk, and move on to whatever they wanted to do for the day. Tony usually went back to sleep then woke around lunch to work in his workshop. Steve would go outside to walk to a park. He'd play basketball with locals, work out, draw, whatever he could to stay active.

Loki would usually blend into the shadows and sulk. Of course he also did things like read, listen to music JARVIS played for him, and watch Steve draw on the couch from afar. He eventually got himself into chess. The frost giant had found a lovely glass set which he would play by himself in his room. But after a few times where he played alone, JARVIS informed Tony, and soon the engineer joined Loki for games. They played almost daily in Loki's room. Tony believed it got his guest to open up towards him just a little more.

Dinner was also always eaten together. They were having more home cooked meals now that Steve lived with them, and they didn't mind. Loki actually welcomed it. As much as takeout seemed convenient, it was often greasy and salty. Steve's dishes were the opposite. They were usually light on the tongue, the flavor rich. It reminded him of Frigga's cooking and he imagined the two exchanging recipes.

"I'm finished." Tony said as he repositioned himself back on the floor. The chessboard in front of them was nearly empty; they only had a few pieces left. The iron man watched as Loki claimed his king and he lost the game. He shrugged and gave Loki a small smile. He was good at the game, and an excellent challenger.

"Stark," his guest mumbled as he set the king at his side. He continued speaking after Tony gave him a small nod. "Do you miss your father?"

Tony blinked, taken aback by the question. He didn't expect that from Loki - how did he even know about that?

"Of course...yeah. Even though we had our crap going down..."

"Oh."

"Where'd you hear about my dad?"

"I read about it. JARVIS gave me these magazines and you were in them."

That explained it. Though the blasted things were so filled with gossip and usually only half-true.

"Do you miss yours?" Tony asked back. "Even though Odin - that's his name right? - is still pissed, right?"

"Odin isn't my real father actually," Loki said, practically spitting the first word as if it was vile on his tongue.

"Oh yeah," Tony said, remembering snippets of information from the past. "Thor told us you were adopted."

After a moment where Loki was unresponsive, Tony cleared his throat. "Do you know who your real father is?"

"...Yes. H-He left me in the cold to die when I was just born."

They were approaching more iced-over ground, and Tony was scared he might shatter it. It was sad the way Loki would bend his head with eyes clouded with so many emotion. Specks of envy, regret, sadness all seemed to be mixed into the deep green that were Loki's eyes. The iron man could even detect a great deal of self-loathing and that made him feel worse.

"Let's listen to mu-" he tried to change the subject but Loki interrupted him.

"I'm fine." he reassured though his tone was definitely not fine. It was halfway choked and low.

"Uh, okay, well that's good!" Tony stumbled over his words. He was not good at comforting people at all. He had no clue what to say or do. Should he pat him on the shoulder? Give him a hug? Grab some water or just walk away? He resorted to hesitantly putting a hand on the taller man's shoulder just like Loki had done during his tantrum. It seemed to help as Loki let out a heavy breath.

"Well, Lokes, if it makes you feel better, I bet that bag of dicks isn't doing so well at the moment!"

"Of course not..." Loki mumbled, keeping his gaze unfocused and but eyes aimed at his feet. "...I killed him."

Shit. Tony mentally slapped himself. That was not something he should have said. And he felt bad for considering his own daddy issues horrible. He did not know what exactly went down between Loki and his real father, but it was definitely worse than Tony pining over his father not giving him enough attention.

"Well! I think we need to get out the house."

"What?" Loki finally looked Tony in the eyes, confusion all over his face. It was an abrupt change in thought for him.

"Let's get out of here! I haven't been out the tower since you came. Only Spangles has, and it's sad that the old man is getting more time outside than I am!"

He jumped up and pulled on Loki's arm until he was on his feet too. "It's only a couple of hours past twelve! We can have a girls night out, Lokes!"

"We aren't female-"

"We could go shopping, clubbing, shopping while we are clubbing! I'm Tony freaking Stark, we can whatever we want!"

The iron man enthusiastically dragged the Asgardian out to the living room to meet up with the captain resting on the sofa. Though at first his "sudden energy" was faked just for Loki's sake of cheering up, it soon turned genuine for him as he explained a plan to Steve.

"Capsicle! We can have good old bonding time! First we can go over and shop some, get some new clothes," Tony waved his hand as Steve started piping up about budgets. "All expenses are on me because I have money growing out my toes. Don't worry about any pricing!"

"That's kind of you, Tony, but I really think I should at least pitch in-"

"No! Stop trying to be polite, I got this. We can head on over to a park if you want after hitting some stores. Then we can go to a few clubs."

"Gee, that's swell, but Tony-"

"Close your virgin mouth! It'll be fun," Tony reassured. Steve just looked shocked and frightened at the thought of them even going near a club. "We just dance a little, have some drinks, and come home! Boom! Simple."

"Okay, Tony. Just...no girls or fonduing or anything nasty."

"Fondue?" Tony chuckled. "Fine. But only if it's not too late."

"And... are you okay with all of this, Loki?" the blonde turned to him, raising an eyebrow at the man quietly sitting next to him on the couch. Steve gave him a slightly pleading look, hoping he'd also decline the part about going to a club. But Loki just nodded, throwing his opinion in to satisfy the two.

"I'm fine. I really haven't explored the more social part of Midgard in a long time. I guess...it'll be entertaining."

"Oh yeah! Loki knows how to have fun!" Tony shouted, a wide smile on his face. "I'm going to call up Happy."

Steve frowned but slowly nodded.

"Hey, Spangles," Tony said as he started to call Happy. "At least it's just a club. Next time we should go to a strip club. A male one."

He winked and Steve blushed cherry red.