It had been Pepper's idea. Sure she'd never actually said the thoughts out loud, but that was irrelevant. When it all came down to it the whole concept had definitely begun with Pepper. Or so Tony told himself as he headed down the hall to Fenrir's room.
Sure he might have been the one to actually put the thoughts together. And maybe he was the one who was going to act on them. But he and Pepper had been together long enough for her to know how his mind worked and this had definitely been her idea. Why else would she have made such a point to tell Tony how much Fenrir loved her paintings? Knowing that Tony had over a dozen paintings just like it sitting in storage. She may as well have been holding up a sign.
Tony smiled as he knocked on Fenrir's door. Confident in the fact that his plan had Pepper's complete support. Fenrir answered on the third knock.
"Hey, White Fang, what are you up to today?" Tony asked with a smile.
"I'm just reading a book," Fenrir said. He looked at Tony suspiciously and Tony quickly saw his mistake. He'd used 'White Fang' before. Not one of his finer moments. But really only so many wolf characters out there. He made a mental note to look up the names of the Game of Thrones wolves and pushed into Fenrir's room.
"In here?" Tony asked, as he stepped inside.
"Yes," Fenrir said, spinning around to keep Tony in sight.
"Wow," Tony said, taking in the room. "You really haven't done much with the place. If I didn't know you were using it I'd think this was just another guest room. Even Thor hung a few tapestries." Fenrir stood looking at Tony and at a loss for what to say.
"I know, I know, my taste in furniture is flawless, but this is your room," Tony continued. "You could at least toss around some pelts or one of those creepy antler heads that Thor has hanging on the walls."
"Thor brought those things with him from Asgard. I don't own anything like that," Fenrir said, watching as Tony continued surveying his room.
"That's what stores or, I guess in your case, online shopping were made for," Tony said, continuing to circle the room. "I could get you a credit card, and Pepper could set you up with that website where she orders all my furniture from. You'd have this place looking like Medieval Fantasy land in no time."
"That's…that's unnecessary," Fenrir said. "It's very generous of you but, I'm perfectly comfortable as I am." Tony could see that Fenrir was getting more and more uncomfortable with Tony in his room and decided to move in for the kill.
"Well you have to have something," Tony said, sitting down in a chair. "Otherwise it's not your room. You're just in a guest room all the time. Then we have all these freeloader issues, and it becomes a whole big thing." Fenrir just looked confused now and Tony quickly jumped back on track. B"ut if you don't want to go the furniture route there are other options. All this empty space, a couple of paintings would be perfect." Tony looked over at Fenrir. He had his complete attention now.
"You liked the one's in Pepper's room, right?" Tony asked. "You know that I have about a dozen of those in storage. I could have one sent up. Turn this place into a gallery in no time."
"I can't ask you to do that," Fenrir said, clearly wishing the opposite.
"Sure you can," Tony said with a shrug.
"Pepper said… I know that those paintings are valuable," Fenrir said.
"Why do so many people have trouble grasping the 'obscenely rich' concept?" Tony asked. "I had the same problem with Steve when he first moved in. Seriously, I could probably buy the Louvre and still have money for a few overpriced souvenirs in the gift shop." While Fenrir didn't quite understand everything Tony meant, he was clearly hooked.
"I could just… have one?" Fenrir asked. Tony again offered a shrug. Fenrir continued to hesitate and Tony moved in for the kill.
"Of course if the free gifts are still making you feel uncomfortable, we could always just trade for it," Tony offered, trying to make it sound like the idea had just occurred to him.
"Trade?" Fenrir said hesitantly. "I… don't think I have anything that would be worth a painting."
"You're wrong there," Tony said, looking down to Fenrir's wrists. "You have those." Fenrir immediately slapped his hands over his bracers.
"I can't give you these," Fenrir said, looking anxious. "I, I can't even take them off."
"I'm not asking you to take them off," Tony said, trying to explain what he wanted before Fenrir fell into a full on panic. "But I would like to take a look at them."
"Why?" Fenrir asked, still holding tightly to the metal.
"Because you and your dad aren't the only people around who use magic," Tony explained. "There are actually a few wizard wannabes who have tried to kill us. Having something that can stop them in their tracks would be useful."
"We wouldn't need to take them off," Tony repeated. "Just come down to the lab and let me run a few tests. See if there is anything in the cuffs that I could recreate. A onetime deal, a couple of hours, and then we're done. Do me this favor and I'll make sure you get a painting. You'll be getting paid to do sit around and do nothing. It's the American dream." Fenrir continued to stare at Tony.
"We could even bring your buddy Bruce down with us," Tony added. "Keep you company."
"It would just be one time?" Fenrir asked. "And…then I'd get a painting?" Tony just smiled.
Finding Bruce took all of a second and soon they were off to the lab for some tests. Even if Bruce did seem to be somewhat unhappy with the way that the deal had been made. Which, honestly, Tony could not understand. If he could figure out even a small percentage of how magic suppression worked then all of their lives would be easier. Fenrir had agreed and it wasn't like Tony wasn't paying him. Frankly it was a much better deal than the one he had going with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Tony hooked the bracers scanners and, since Fenrir and Bruce were talking about yoga or something, was free to indulge his curiosity.
Two hours later and he was running out of tests he could do without either removing the cuffs or potentially harming Fenrir. Adding to that the fact that Fenrir was getting a bit fidgety after having to hold his arms out straight for so long. Tony knew that he needed to wrap things up but there was one last thing that he needed.
For something that was meant to prevent Fenrir from using, what was believed to be, dangerous magic the cuffs were surprisingly ornate. While the actual material was something clearly not from earth, the appearance was silver and the cuffs were circled with raised designs that looked like vines. Tony couldn't help but wonder if these were the same cuffs that everyone would get or if Frigga had had a hand in getting something a little nicer for her grandson.
Either way the cuffs were covered with the designs and Tony was sure that it wouldn't hurt the designs at all if he were to remove a small piece. The metal was soft enough for Tony to take a sample and this way he could do more tests. Including several that couldn't be done while connected to a living person.
Tony grabbed a small hand held laser, picked a piece of the design that seemed separated from the rest, and began to cut. The next thing he knew he was across the room.
"AAHHHHH!" Fenrir screamed as he jerked out of his chair. Tony and Bruce watched in shock as Fenrir crashed, unconscious, to the floor.
"That can't be true," Fenrir said, feeling sick. "I would never hurt Thor."
"And yet according to the prophesy that's exactly what you're going to do." The man said, leaning against the wall. Not long ago he'd come into Fenrir's cell to remove the collar from around his neck. He'd then proceeded to tell him about a prophesy that had been made to Odin when he was a child.
"Odin is telling all of this to Thor now," He continued. "If he were a smart man then he'd give up on this plan and leave you here."
"He won't," Fenrir insisted, as much to himself as the man. "He promised that he would take me to Midgard with him."
"That was a promise made before he knew the entire truth. But then, you're probably right. Thor is known for displaying loyalty in the oddest of places," The man said. "Which is why you should do the wise thing yourself and tell him to leave."
"What?"
"Like you said, Thor made you a promise, and he'll want to keep it. Even knowing that you are fated to destroy him, he will want to stand by you. So when he comes you should tell him that you've changed your mind and that he should leave without you."
"No, I…I'm going with Thor," Fenrir said.
"The best place for you is in this cell. How long do you really think that you'll be able to resist the prophesy? You know what you are. Here there will be no chance of your losing control again. You would never have to fear betraying those that you care about.
"Things are different than they were before. Frigga is aware that you are alive and she would never allow for you to be treated as you were on Svartalfheim. I'm sure that she could even make your life here very comfortable. You would be well cared for, and Asgard and Thor would be safe from you."
"No," Fenrir whispered to himself.
"I'm sure that going with Thor would seem preferable. It is always possible that you could counter you fate. Others have before you; it's not unheard of. But it is a risk. The offer I am giving you, to stay here in comfort and safety, is only an option if you choose it now. If you choose Midgard, fail, and are returned to us then you won't be coming back to a cell. And if you were to lose control, and kill the son of Odin… I can promise you, that your death will not be quick."
Fenrir stood in silence for a moment thinking about what he's just been told. All he wanted was to get out of this cell but what if this man was right? What if he lost control again? Was it really worth the risk for the chance to live a life on Midgard of all places? Fenrir leaned against the stone walls for support. He didn't know what to do, but was sure that his entire future now depended on this one decision.
"Ultimately the choice is yours," The man said. "But I would think very carefully about what you do next." Fenrir pushed himself away from the wall as he made his decision.
"I will never hurt Thor." Fenrir said. "I'm going to Midgard."
"Well then," The man said waving his hand in front of Fenrir's neck. "I hope you'll be able to behave yourself." As he finished speaking the collar fell from around Fenrir's neck.
Once again Fenrir was in the new sick bay, but this time he wasn't waking up.
"The designs are part of what powers the gauntlets," Thor had explained. "As such they were designed to incapacitate anyone who tried to remove them. Much like the gauntlets themselves."
"Thor I'm sorry," Tony said. "I thought they were just decoration."
"He should have woken up by now," Thor said, barely even registering that Tony had spoken.
In the two hours since Bruce and Tony had brought Fenrir to the sick bay the entire team had gathered. So far Bruce hadn't been able to do much more than make Fenrir comfortable. He'd tried dumping a bucket of ice on Fenrir, on the off chance that it would help, but so far it hadn't done anything other than soaking his blankets.
"I swear, I never thought it would hurt him," Tony tried again.
"We know it was an accident," Steve said.
"Yes," Thor said, taking a second to look away from Fenrir. "You have been a true friend to Fenrir since his arrival. I know that you did not intentionally cause him harm." Despite Thor's assurance Tony couldn't shake the guilt for what he'd done and found himself sitting beside Thor as they all waited to see what would happen next. Suddenly Fenrir jolts up in bed with a yelp.
"Fenris!" Thor said, hurrying to his nephew.
"Thor," Fenrir said, looking around. "Are we going?"
"Going?" Thor asked, looking around at his teammates for help.
"You didn't change your mind did you?" Fenrir asked, looking sick. "You're still taking me to Midgard, right?"
"Midgard? Fenrir, you're confused, we-" Thor said.
"Please don't leave me here," Fenrir interrupted. "I know that Odin told you about the prophesy but he's wrong. I would never hurt you. Never."
"Fenris, you need to calm down," Thor said.
"You promised," Fenrir said, his voice verging on desperation. "You promised to take me with you. Please don't let them lock me up again."
"Fenris!" Thor shouted, grabbing his nephew by the shoulders. "Listen to me. You aren't on Asgard anymore. We left the dungeons weeks ago. I know that you are confused, but you need to calm down." Thor's commands seemed to have the desired effect and Fenrir's breathing began to slow.
"Do you know where you are?" Thor asked, after a few minutes.
"The tower," Fenrir whispered. "I'm sorry about that. I, I thought that I was back on Asgard."
"I never knew that Odin told you about the prophesy," Thor admitted.
"He didn't. The man who came to remove the collar said-" Fenrir stopped to look at Thor. "I meant what I said. I'd never hurt you. The propehesy… it's a mistake, it has to be."
"I know that," Thor said, wrapping his arms around his nephew. "I trust you."
It took a while but Thor was finally able to calm Fenrir down and get him to go to sleep. Once he left the room he found the entire team waiting for him.
"I think you need to explain a few things, Thor," Natasha said.
"Starting with why we all waited over two hours for him to wake up only for you to tell him to go to bed," Tony said. "Am I the only one bothered by that?" He asked, when he saw everyone staring at him.
"What did he mean about a prophesy?" Steve asked, ignoring Tony.
"I was only made aware of it shortly before I left Asgard," Thor began. "When Fenrir was a child a seer came to Odin with a prophesy. She said that one day Fenrir would grow powerful beyond control. That he would stand before the greatest warrior in the realm and bring him to his knees. And that he would bring Ragnarok to Asgard." Thor couldn't help a slight cringe at the last part.
"I'm guessing by what Fenrir said in there, that the greatest warrior in the realm is supposed to be you," Bruce said.
"Obviously," Thor said. "But it means nothing. Prophesies are like riddles. They rarely mean what they seem. As I said before, I trust Fenrir. Now, if you will allow, I'd like to return to my nephew." With a nod from Captain America Thor headed back into the sick bay.
"I can't believe Thor wouldn't tell us about something like that," Natasha said, once Thor was out of earshot.
"Can you blame him?" Bruce said. "Look at how much trouble he had just convincing us to let him move in in the first place. Why add in a death prediction."
"Bruce is right," Steve said. "If we'd known about this when he'd first brought Fenrir here then we probably wouldn't have let him stay. Which is why I'm glad I didn't know."
"Here here," Tony said. "We all know that I am by far the most generous person here. But even I would have had a little trouble inviting him to stay if I'd known that he was destined to kill me."
"You mean Thor," Natasha said.
"Were you listening to Thor?" Tony asked. "He said the "greatest warrior in the land". They aren't in Asgard anymore."
"So you think it was talking about you?" Steve asked.
"Why not? Thor isn't the default greatest anymore,"
"If we're really considering this then my bet would be the Hulk," Natasha said.
"Tony does have a point," Bruce said. "It didn't say Thor by name. It could have been talking about anyone."
"It only said warrior?" Clint asked.
"What?" Steve said.
"The prophesy, did it really just say warrior, and not soldier or hero or anything?"
"Thor said warrior," Tony said.
"So technically the person could be the crazy serial killer warrior?" Clint asked. "Is that right?"
"I guess, what's your point?" Natasha said.
"My point is that Odin's a psycho. Did it really never even occur to him that Fenrir might be the hero in the story?"
She could have gone immediately, Lord knows that Tony had wanted her to, but Pepper let three days go by before she went looking for Fenrir. Given all the chaos of his afternoon with Tony and Thor's constant presence afterward, she'd thought that Fenrir could use some time to relax. But three days, she thought, was more than enough.
As she knocked on his door she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the thought of her fiancé. To think that Tony had actually thought that she would approve of him bribing Fenrir into tests. As if Tony hadn't been itching to figure out a way to get Fenrir down to his lab since he'd first seen what he'd had on his wrists.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, when Fenrir opened the door.
"I'm well," Fenrir said, stepping aside to let Pepper in. "I've been fine. Thor, he worries about me too much." Fenrir said.
"He just cares about you," Pepper said, noticing that, despite his objections, the mention of Thor's concern still made him smile. "I was wondering if you were up for a trip with me."
Fenrir looked at her with confusion and Pepper was quick to explain.
"The painting that Tony promised you," Pepper said. "He wasn't exaggerating when he said that he has dozens of them in storage. I thought we could go down to the warehouse and you could pick out the one you want."
"I can still have one?" Fenrir asked.
"According to Tony, I'm supposed to give you every one that you look at for more than thirty seconds. But I think one is probably better to start with," Pepper said.
"One is, one is perfect," Fenrir said, unable to suppress an enormous grin.
"Get dressed and then we can go," Pepper said, turning to leave.
"I am dressed," Fenrir said. Pepper looked back and realized that what she'd thought was some sort of Asgardian sleeping tunic was actually just a shirt. Or really a dress, judging by the way it was hanging off of Fenrir.
"Is that one of Thor's shirts?" Pepper asked, recognizing the design.
"When I returned to Asgard I didn't have many possessions," Fenrir explained, blushing. "Frigga began to have outfits made for me, but I was there such a short time that only a few were finished."
"So when you aren't rotating through your Asgardian clothes, you just wear Thor's things?" Pepper asked.
"They're nice clothes," Fenrir defended. "And I just wear them when I'm alone in my room so it makes no difference."
"No," Pepper said, looking him up and down.
"No, what?" Fenrir asked.
"You're coming with me," Pepper said, striding out of the room.
"Where are we going?" Fenrir asked.
"Follow," Pepper called from down the hall. Realizing that he really had no choice, Fenrir hurried to obey.
"Are you sure it's alright for me to be wearing Tony's clothes?" Fenrir asked, pulling at the neck of the shirt Pepper had told him to put on.
"You needed to wear something. And I wasn't about to take you out in public in Thor's clothes." Pepper said, pulling Fenrir behind her.
"There wasn't anything wrong with Thor's clothes," Fenrir repeated.
"One strong breeze and you wouldn't have been wearing them anymore," Pepper said. "And you won't need to wear Tony's clothes much longer. Now what do you want to look for next, shirts or pants?"
"This really isn't necessary," Fenrir repeated for the fifth time since they'd entered the store.
"Fenrir, how long do you plan on staying on Earth?" Pepper asked.
"I, I was banished. I'm here for the rest of my life," Fenrir said.
"Which, since you're not human, is a very long time," Pepper said stopping to examine a display of collared shirts. "Three outfits and a bunch of Thor's hand me downs aren't going to cut it."
"I don't like making you pay for so much," Fenrir admitted. Pepper stopped to hold a shirt up in front of Fenrir before shaking her head and putting it back.
"Well, you're in luck," Pepper said. "I'm not paying for it. Tony is." Pepper was relieved to finally get a smile out of Fenrir and continued her search.
"If you don't have a preference I say we start with pants," Pepper said. "It's an improvement over Thor's clothes but you still have about five inches on Tony." Fenrir looked down at the pants that Pepper had given him.
"I always thought Tony was taller," Fenrir said.
"It's the shoes," Pepper admitted. "How do you feel about jeans?"
Pepper hadn't played with dolls since elementary school but over the next hour she began to remember why she'd loved them in the first place. There was just something strangely satisfying in taking what was essentially a human blank canvas and making it look good. And, though she would never admit it, she enjoyed occasionally spending massive amounts of Tony's money. She was only human.
Even Fenrir seemed to be enjoying himself a little more as the day went on. Though, since he wasn't familiar with Earth styles, he was mostly deferring to Pepper's judgment. Things were going well, until a salesman came over and tried to push a big ticket item off on Fenrir.
The biggest problem with using a credit card with a Stark name on it was that, inevitably, someone will try and unload the most expensive item in the store. In this case it was a leather trench coat. Now, Pepper didn't have anything against leather. But when you covered it in chains and strips of silver then you begin to leave the realm of fashion and border on armor. Or S&M depending on how you wear it. Thankfully, judging by the look Fenrir was giving the coat, he wasn't any more impressed with it than she was.
Pepper sent the salesman away where he no doubt went to find something else insanely expensive to offer them.
"Maybe we should switch over to shirts before he comes back," Pepper said.
"And miss out on the next display?" Fenrir said with a smile. "I was actually growing quite fond of the coat."
"I know I told you that you could pick out what you liked but, no you are not getting that coat," Pepper said. "Besides, I think the resemblance is strong enough without you looking like you're heading into battle." Pepper continued walking for a moment before realizing that Fenrir was no longer following her.
"Fenrir, what's wrong?" Pepper asked.
"You hate him too," Fenrir said, looking sadly at his feet.
"Fenrir," Pepper said, realizing what it was that she'd said.
"Of course you would. My father's the villain so that makes sense." Fenrir said, forcing a smile. "You said I needed shirts?"
"Fenrir, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"It makes no difference," Fenrir said, briefly glancing up at her before lowering his eyes back to his feet. "When I told you who I was you didn't seem upset so… I thought maybe you didn't hate him as much as the others. The mistake was mine."
"It must have been strange," Pepper began, pulling Fenrir out of sight of salesmen and other shoppers. "Finally getting your freedom and finding out how much everything had changed when you were gone."
"I always-" Fenrir began. "I never knew, when I was on Svartalfheim, that my family thought that I was dead. The guards tried telling me that I'd been cast off but I never believed that. I knew that they must have tricked my father somehow. I used to dream that one day my father would find out where I was and that he would come to bring me home. Now I'm finally free and he… he isn't here."
"I know that he has done terrible things to your world," Fenrir continued. "And I'm so sorry for that, but he's my father. I-" Fenrir stalled over his last words.
"You miss him," Pepper substituted.
"He isn't, I mean he wasn't always like what you think," Fenrir said. "He was a good father. He loved me…At least I thought he did."
"I'm sure he did," Pepper said.
"It's irrelevant," Fenrir said, his voice hardening. "Any feelings that my father may have had for me have clearly been lost to time."
"Fenrir, I'm sure he didn't just forget you," Pepper said.
"Then where is he?" Fenrir asked. "I've been on Midgard for almost two months. Out of Svartalfheim longer. So why hasn't he come looking for me?"
Pepper looked at Fenrir for a moment and tried to figure out what to say. This was by far one of the most surreal conversations that she'd ever had. While it was true that she didn't hate Loki, she was far from being a fan. He'd tried to kill Tony almost a dozen times and he was actively working to take over the planet. He wasn't someone she ever wanted to come face to face with. However seeing Fenrir standing broken hearted at the thought that he may have lost his father left her with only one option for how to respond.
"No one's seen Loki for almost a year. We don't know where he is, what he's doing, or if he'd have any way of knowing what has been going on here." Pepper said. "I'm sure that when he knows that you're back, he'll come straight here." Pepper fought the impulse to cringe at the thought of Loki making a beeline for the Tower. At least the thought seemed to be having the desired effect on Fenrir.
"Do you really think so?" Fenrir asked.
"I think-" Pepper was interrupted before she could finish.
"You finally get him out of the Tower and you take him shopping?" Tony said, walking over to them.
"I thought you had a meeting?" Pepper said.
"Some mandatory shareholders meeting," Tony said. "Like that's even a thing. Besides I had to hurry down here when I realized what you were doing. There is no way I'm missing out on Shaggy Dog dress-up day."
"How did you even know what we were doing?" Pepper demanded.
"Oh, I had Jarvis put an automatic alert on all my credit cards if they're used to buy men's clothes," Tony explained. "I have this reoccurring dream where you throw out all of my clothes and replace them with sale items from K-Mart. It's horrible." Tony finished with a shudder.
"So you came down here to protect your wardrobe?" Pepper asked.
"No, I realized what you were doing when I saw the sizes you were buying. Gorgeous and stately as I am I can't quite pull off the waif look. Speaking of our skinny friend." Tony said, turning to face Fenrir. "From what I saw she has been buying you all the wrong things. You're lucky I came when I did." Fenrir looked back and forth between Tony and Pepper.
"Did you know that there is an entire stack of The Clash t-shirts up front that you two just walked by?" Tony said.
"The fight was almost over and then, out of nowhere, Puck shows up," Steve said.
"To join the fight?" Bruce asked, as they continued down the hallway toward the kitchen.
"No, that would have made sense," Steve said. "No he just flew back and forth between me and Baron Blood and blew up cars."
"How long did that go on?" Bruce asked.
"About five minutes. I yelled for him to knock it off while I had the Baron pinned and he stopped." Steve said. "Of course before he left he set off every car alarm for two miles."
"You're kidding?" Bruce said.
"My ears are still ringing," Steve said. As Bruce chuckled to himself they both saw Pepper come down the hall carrying a shopping bag.
"How'd the painting hunt go?" Bruce asked.
"We got a little side tracked," Pepper said.
"Where's Fenrir?" Steve asked.
"He's right behind me," Pepper said. "Tony's giving him a few tips on the importance of hair gel."
"Hair gel? You got him a haircut?" Bruce asked.
"Haircut, clothes, shoes," Pepper said, holding out her own bag. "And a gift for myself, for not killing Tony when he showed up and tried to take over."
"How bad is it?" Bruce asked.
"He looks incredible," Tony said, entering the hallway and followed closely by Fenrir. "Even if Pepper wouldn't let me buy him any Armani."
"Tony you- " Bruce said, looking Fenrir up and down and fighting the desire to laugh. "You made him a hipster."
"The way I see it you can't be that skinny and then not wear skinny jeans," Tony said.
"But scarves, Tony? Fenrir, do you even know who Metallica is?" Bruce asked. Fenrir shrugged and smiled. In his time in the tower he'd come to enjoy watching Bruce and Tony argue.
"Pepper, I can see this from Tony but you actually have taste. How could you let Tony buy him these?" Bruce asked.
"It was either this, or he wanted a Jersey Shore look. I chose the lesser of two evils," Pepper said.
"I kind of like them," Fenrir admitted, his face beginning to turn pink.
"Don't listen to them Fenrir," Steve said. "It's a good look for you."
"Thanks," Fenrir said.
"I need to be heading out. I've been getting pages from the company for the last hour. Something about you leaving a meeting to go to the bathroom, and never coming back." Pepper said, her last remark clearly aimed at Tony.
"They'll be happier with you there anyway," Tony said.
"Fenrir, if you want to talk more later then you know where to find me," Pepper said.
"Thank you, but I believe that you were right… that coat would have looked hideous on me," Fenrir said with a smile.
"The offer stands," Pepper said, smiling back as she turned to leave.
"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Tony asked.
"We were just heading down to the lab to run some tests on Steve's new suit," Bruce said.
"Oh, fun," Tony said, turning to join them. "You want to come, Grey Wind? You might get to fire a gun at Captain America."
"No thank you. If it's all the same, I think I'll just return to my room," Fenrir said.
"You don't know what you're missing," Tony said, heading down the hall.
"The haircut really does look good, Fenrir," Steve said, holding back. "It's not too, uh, short."
"Nice one Captain Compliment," Tony said. "Now quit stalling so we can see if that new suit is fire proof or not."
"Can't wait," Steve said, with a sigh.
Fenrir watched the three of them leave before heading back to his room. Tony had explained the tests that they were planning for the suit earlier in the day. Why the Captain had to be wearing the suit during the tests had been noticeably absent from his discriptions. Still, Fenrir supposed that they knew what they were doing.
As he approached his room he couldn't help but smile. He had been nervous about leaving the Tower for the first time, but the experience had been more than worth it. The shopping experience had been pleasant; made all the more so by the chance to watch Tony and Pepper fight over clothes. But even more enjoyable was their return home and the reception that he'd received. It hadn't just been that they'd approved of him. Although he'd be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy the compliments. It was the way that they had been able to go into their normal routine with him involved. They'd treated him, not as a guest, but as someone who was just naturally supposed to be there.
Adding to it all was the fact that Pepper had told him that tomorrow they could go and choose a painting. It was one thing for Thor to go out of his way for him. Thor was his uncle and clearly felt a certain level of obligation, in addition to affection. Pepper had no such ties, and she had still been kind to him. It was clear that Pepper had to be, without question, one of the most generous women on the planet.
Walking into his room he went to lay down on his bed and realized that, for the first time in a very long time, he was completely relaxed. There was no sense of danger or doom waiting for him. Looking around his room he thought that maybe this time Thor had been right. Maybe this place could really be his home.
Fenrir was alive and he had been brought to Asgard. That was abundantly clear. The problem was that that seemed to be the only fact that anyone in the realm could agree on. Loki had come to Asgard with the simple intent of finding out the truth about his son. But weeks into his return to Asgard and he was no more informed about his son then he was on the first day back.
He could use his magic to disguise his appearance and his own skills to get people to talk to him. But magic and persuasion were proving to be all but useless when even the most well informed Asgardian had nothing to give him but rumors!
Fenrir was being hidden in the palace and refusing visitors. Fenrir had been found but had run away, preferring Svartalfheim. Odin had decided that if he couldn't have Loki then Fenrir should finish his father's punishment; and locked him away in the dungeons. Odin had never meant for Fenrir to return and had him banished. Fenrir had been found but due to injuries he had died soon after arriving on Asgard.
The only thing that people could seem to agree upon was that Fenrir was alive, had been brought back to Asgard, and hadn't been seen since. It was maddening and had finally pushed Loki to do the one thing he'd sworn he wouldn't. He was going to have to go to the palace. The risk of someone finding him was ten times as strong so close to Odin, but it was becoming distressingly clear that he wouldn't find his answers, or his son, anywhere else.
The palace was, of course, embarrassingly easy to slip into. Once there Loki wandered the halls, following the activities of the servants. If there was one thing he'd learned as a prince it was that no one ever knows more than the servants. Unfortunately the servants didn't seem to be in a gossiping mood and after a few hours Loki went off in search of other options.
Hearing the telltale sound or armor across marble, Loki ducked out of sight of a group of passing soldiers.
"Still don't have all the feeling back," A deep voice said. Loki looked out of his hiding place and saw that the voice belonged to Tyr.
"You're lucky to have the hand at all," Another soldier said. "All the magic it took for the healers to reattach it. If it had been one of us then Odin would have just told us to live without it."
"He owed me that much," Tyr insisted. "If it hadn't been for that cursed wolf of his I would be fine."
Loki immediately straightened up. There was no question in his mind about what Tyr meant when he spoke of a wolf. Loki waited impatiently as the soldiers continued talking about castle business. Finally, after what felt like an era, the soldiers began to move on. Luck was finally on Loki's side when Tyr bid the other soldiers farewell and went off alone.
Loki knew that he should try and cast a glamour on himself. Lure Tyr to a tavern or someplace where he could get him talking. But he had been on this search for weeks and the time for subtlety was over. He waited only long enough to be sure that Tyr was alone and then stepped out of the shadows.
"Greetings, Tyr," Loki said. Tyr spun around and, when he saw who was speaking, a cruel grin spread across his face.
"I never thought you'd dare to come here again," Tyr said.
"How could I resist?" Loki said. "Considering the stories that I've been hearing lately."
"Oh, so you finally heard about the little bastard's return," Tyr said. "You're late."
"Where is my son, Tyr?" Loki demanded.
"You didn't really think that Odin would keep him here did you? After all the trouble he went to to get rid of him the first time."
"Where is my son?" Loki repeated.
"They always said you were so smart. So brilliant. And you never even suspected that your son was sitting in a cell one realm away." Loki knew that Tyr was baiting him, but the man needed to be silenced.
Thankfully Tyr was always a predictable fighter and it only took Loki a few moments to have him pinned to the ground. He waited for Tyr to spit out a mouthful of blood before he continued his questions.
"Where is Fenrir?" Loki said.
"Gone," Tyr said. "Odin banished him months ago."
"To where?" Loki demanded, pulling out a dagger and pressing it against Tyr's throat.
"Thor took him," Tyr said with a sneer. "Word is that Odin gave him to Thor's little team. As payment for all the damage you've done to Midgard." Loki quickly cast a spell binding Tyr to the ground. Now that he finally knew where Fenrir was he couldn't have Tyr following him.
Loki was halfway down the alley when Tyr's laughter stopped him.
"Just think," Tyr said. "All those years you were living as a prince, and your son was the whore of the nine realms." Loki wasn't proud of what he did next. A body was sure to draw attention, and a spell to prevent Tyr from telling what happened would have been simple enough, but he couldn't stand the sound of that laugh.
When he finally left the alley he thought about his next move. If Thor thought that he would allow the Avengers to enslave his son than he was a bigger fool than Loki had ever suspected. If Fenrir was on Midgard, then that was where Loki would go. There was just one place he had to go first.