AN: So sorry for the long response time. I was all ready for this chapter and then when I went to update my laptop wouldn't turn on. This led to a wonderful saga of me trying to get it fixed only to be told that it was beyond hope. One new laptop later and here we are. I'll give you all chapter 26 this week to make up for it.

Fenrir had just kissed him. Clint was being kissed by Fenrir. Fenrir was kissing… What?! As soon as Clint's brain was able to catch up with what was happening he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Fenrir said, pushing himself into the far side of the ride. "Was I supposed to- did you want to do that?"

"I- what?" Clint said, having trouble even forcing that out. His brain was still having trouble functioning. "Did you just kiss me?" Clint asked, hoping that too much junk food had just resulted in a very bizarre hallucination.

"I thought you wanted to-," Fenrir stopped himself abruptly. "I think I made a mistake. I'm sorry," Fenrir said quickly, dropping his eyes down to his shoes.

"You thought I wanted to what? To make out on the Ferris Wheel?" Clint asked. This made no sense. How had made the jump from them hanging out at the carnival to kissing. Of all the bizarre things that Fenrir had been doing this had to be the worst. Unless Fenrir had- no, Clint thought as a very uncomfortable idea occurred to him. There was no way.

"Did you think this was a date?" Clint asked, looking Fenrir over for a response.

"Not…at first," Fenrir said, briefly looking over at Clint and back. "I was sure that I was misunderstanding something. But then we were at the carnival, and you did everything that the people in the movies did on their date so I just..." Fenrir trailed off.

Clint looked back on what they'd been doing that day and tried to figure out what they'd done that could possibly seem date-like. They'd just been hanging out at the carnival like everyone else. So maybe winning a giant prize for Fenrir was a little dateish. But the rest of it was totally just two guys at the carnival. Yeah, okay, he bought Fenrir dinner. It wasn't like Fenrir had any money of his own. And as for the Ferris wheel, it was just a ride. Lots of people went on the rides! It wasn't like he'd brought Fenrir flowers.

"Okay, so you thought that this was a date," Clint said, still trying to wrap his mind around the subject. "So you just decided that 'it's a date, better kiss him'?"

Fenrir shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looking more uncomfortable by the minute.

"The top of the Ferris wheel seems to be the traditional place for… such acts," Fenrir said.

"Jane's been showing you romcoms hasn't she?" Clint asked, looking over the edge of his seat and wondering if he could manage a jump from this high. He'd probably break a leg, but at least he'd get out of here.

"Yes she has," Fenrir said, and judging by the look on his face, Clint had the feeling that Fenrir was considering the same out that he was. Even with the fear of heights.

"Carnivals aren't always for dates. They can just be a place to go for fun. Hanging out. No other motives," Clint said, glancing over the edge again and seriously considering the jump.

"I'm coming to understand that, yes," Fenrir said.

Finally they seemed to be heading back down the ride. Clint honestly couldn't remember it taking this long in the past. Apparently awkwardness could slow down time. At least they were going to be off the ride soon. Then they could head back to the Tower and just forget everything that happened. And he was most definitely going to be talking to Jane about what movies she had been showing.

Then again, talking to Jane would probably lead to Thor finding out that he and Fenrir kissed. That would probably end up with Clint being slammed into a wall again. Especially if Thor thought that…Oh boy, Clint thought. The awkwardness might not be over yet.

"Um, Fenrir," Clint said, shifting in his seat at the knowledge there was no good answer for what he was about to ask. "Did you want this to be a date?"

"I don't understand what you mean," Fenrir said, suddenly looking very interested in the stuffed horse.

"You thought that this was a date and then you kissed me, but did you actually want to kiss me?" Clint asked, genuinely wanting to know the answer.

"I did, I mean, I didn't not want," Fenrir glanced over at Clint and then away again. "No, not… not really." Fenrir admitted.

"Then why did you do it?" Clint asked.

"I told you, I thought that it was a date," Fenrir repeated.

"So what? Even people who are on dates don't have to do anything if they don't actually like the other person," Clint said, feeling especially relieved when he saw that they were almost at the bottom of the ride.

"I don't dislike you," Fenrir said. "You were being nice. You've been nice and I was enjoying myself. If this had been something that you had wanted then I didn't really have any objection to it."

"Except for the small fact that you don't want to," Clint replied.

"Wanting is… not the point," Fenrir said in a whisper.

"Then what the hell is?" Clint asked. "Look, I'm not the guy to talk about this with. You should talk to Thor or Bruce or, I don't know, talk to Pepper about it. But trust me when I say that if both people involved don't want something to happen, then it's not a good idea."

"Yes," Fenrir said, sounding exhausted and sad. "And what if I don't want someone but they want me?"

"Then you tell them to fuck off," Clint said.

"And if that doesn't work?" Fenrir asked.

"Then you go tell Thor, or anyone else in the Tower, and we'll go castrate him for you," Clint said with a smile.

That got a laugh at least. It wasn't much of a laugh, but Clint would take what he could get. God this day had taken a weird turn. It was definitely time to head home.

Finally their car was at the bottom of the ride and they were able to jump off. "You ready to get out of here?" Clint asked.

Fenrir nodded his head and they began making their way out. Once again the awkward silence was back. Clint tried to comfort himself with the thought that, while Fenrir might have misread some signals, at least he wasn't actually harboring a crush for him. That, honestly, Clint had no idea how he would have dealt with that one. Although in a way it almost made it worse. Since he couldn't stop wondering how far Fenrir would have let things go if Clint actually had meant this as a date. Despite the fact that Fenrir openly admitted that he wasn't really interested. Uggh, best not to go there.

"Do I still get to keep the horse?" Fenrir asked, jerking Clint out of his thoughts.

"What?" Clint said.

"The… the horse, do I," Fenrir said, lifting the stuffed animal slightly.

"Oh, yeah, him. Yeah, that's yours. It was a gift," Clint said, as they finally reached the curb.

"Thank you," Fenrir said.

"It's definitely yours but do you think you could you do me a favor?" Clint asked, reaching out his arm to hail a cab.

"I suppose," Fenrir said.

"Do you think that when you tell Thor what we did today, you could leave out the last bit with the Ferris Wheel?" Clint looked over at Fenrir who seemed to be thinking over the request.

"It's probably for the best that he not know," Fenrir agreed. "He might react badly."

Yep, Clint thought, as a cab pulled to a stop in front of them. If Thor ever found out then he was definitely going to end up with another concussion.

It was time to break out the big guns. It was Tony's turn to cheer Fenrir up and his day was going to top everyone else's. Although, to be fair, he should be getting some credit for most of the things that Fenrir had already done. Considering that, according to the credit card statements Pepper had shown him, he'd apparently been paying for everything else. It didn't surprise him that Clint had stolen one of his credit cards, circus folk and all. But Bruce had been a surprise. And he still didn't know who was charging mass amounts of Girl Scout Cookies to his account, but that didn't really matter.

What mattered was the plan. Unlike Clint, Tony had taken the time to let Thor know that he was going to be borrowing Fenrir for the day. This gave the added bonus that he wouldn't get home and have a hammer thrown at him when he tried to reenter the Tower; like Clint had.

Tony got down to the lobby and there was the loyal pooch waiting just where he/Pepper had told him to be. Quick asked him if he was ready to go and then, barely waiting for him to finish his obvious answer, took him outside to meet Happy.

"First you call me in the middle of the night to drive across the country and pick up your trading cards. Now you tell me that you need me to take a day off and I get here and find out that you want me to chauffeur you around," Happy said, glaring at Tony. "I'm the head of Stark security now, Tony. I can't take a day off every time you need a ride to the airport."

"This was important," Tony insisted, holding up his hands. "I need someone I can trust on this."

"To drive you to the airport?" Happy demanded. Which, really, Happy?

"Important drive, important destination," Tony said. "I can't just have anyone knowing where I'm going today."

Happy's expression turned serious and he leaned in to Tony. "This Avengers business?"

"It's part of a project we're all working on," Tony said. "Now come here." Tony led Happy over to where Fenrir was standing on the steps. "Happy, I want you to meet Fenrir."

Happy looked Fenrir up and down for a minute before offering out his hand. "I guess this means that Pepper finally won the 'no more female PA's' argument."

Fenrir laughed as he shook Happy's hand. Which, not okay. He was not going to have these two ganging up on him.

"Fenrir's not my assistant, he's a guest. He's a friend of Thor's from Asgard," Tony said. That got a look from Fenrir. Not that Tony regretted the choice. There was no way he was going to bring up the Loki connection to Happy until he'd been around Fenrir for a while. Maybe after he'd had a drink. Tony hadn't really thought much about the timing but he'd get to it.

"I thought you looked familiar," Happy said. Damn, Tony thought, looks like he'd be explaining a little sooner than he'd planned. While Tony was still trying to figure out how to explain the situation, and Fenrir was doing his best deer in the headlights impression, Happy began talking again.

"You're the guy they keep putting in the tabloids," Happy declared with a smile. Tony and Fenrir both let out a breath. "I've been trying to figure out what's been going on with you. You would not believe some of the theories that are going around on line."

"And I'm sure we'd love to hear about those, in the car," Tony said, hurrying down the steps.

"Still don't see why you need me for this," Happy muttered as he went to open the door for them both. This was followed, what seemed like seconds later, with Happy opening the door for them at the airport. "Still don't see why you couldn't have gotten a cab."

"Have you been talking about that the whole drive?" Tony asked. "How about you bemoan your fate on the jet where we can at least have drinks?"

"You want me to fly the jet now?" Happy asked.

"Please, I have a guy for that," Tony said, motioning for Fenrir to follow him and making his way onto the jet.

"Tony, I work. I can't just drop everything and go on a trip with you. I have a lot to do. You should know that, seeing as I'm protecting your company." Happy said. Which Tony knew was all just nonsense. Obviously Happy wanted to come along. He was following them into the jet wasn't he?

"I'm your boss. Perks of being the boss is saying were to allocate resources. And this jet needs more security," Tony said, sitting down in what had to be one of the most comfortable chairs ever. He'd had to have everything in the jet replaced after a little run in the last year with a few remnants of A.I.M. but maybe it was for the best. The old chairs didn't make him feel like he was floating.

"I'll give you three extra paid vacation days to make up for it," Tony added. Happy shook his head and chose his seat. Which Tony had known he would; Happy always agreed with him eventually. More or less.

"So where are we going?" Happy asked, as the flight crew began preparing for takeoff.

"Not exactly sure. Somewhere in Europe I think," Tony said, lounging back as a flight attendant handed him his pre-takeoff drink.

"You don't know where we're going?" Happy demanded.

"Flight crew knows. They had it on file. I've been there before. You remember, it was that spa that Pepper sent me to," Tony said, noticing that Fenrir was still up and moving around. "You're going to need to sit down before we take off."

"Tony, that spa was in Spain," Happy said.

"I knew it was somewhere in Europe," Tony said.

"We're about to fly aren't we?" Fenrir said, reaching out for the chair next to Tony's and pulling himself into it.

"Can't get there by car," Tony said, listening to the sounds of the plane beginning to take off. "Don't worry, my jet is much faster than average. We'll be there in half the time it normally takes."

"You know that they have spas in New York, right?" Happy asked.

Tony just rolled his eyes at the questions. Yeah there probably were spas in New York, but they weren't this spa. This was the spa that Pepper had sent him to when he'd been getting over his palladium poisoning. She'd sent him there again after he'd flown a missile into space. Then one more time after he'd finally gotten his shrapnel removed. The point was that he'd been there before, and each time he'd left feeling incredible. Better than incredible. This had been pre-Afghanistan good. Which was exactly what Fenrir needed.

"How long will we be flying?" Fenrir asked, gripping the armrests of his chair.

"About three hours," Happy said, looking at his watch like he had somewhere to be. As if he weren't on the plane with his boss. That had to be a priority over working. He was, after all, the one that Happy was working for.

So next they had takeoff. Tony listened as Happy tried to convince him to up security protocols on the jet, which was not going to happen, and the flight attendants came to give them more drinks. All in all it was looking to be a pretty smooth flight.

"Hey, kid, are you feeling alright?" Happy asked. Tony looked over at Fenrir, who was looking a little green, and- shit.

"You don't like flying," Tony said, remembering Fenrir's reaction when Thor had first brought him back to the Tower. How the hell had he managed to forget an alien puking on his roof?

"I'm fine," Fenrir insisted. Though, judging by the fact that he wasn't releasing the death grip on his seat, Tony was pretty sure he was lying. "As long as I don't look out the windows I'm fine."

Okay, Tony thought, he could fix this. First he needed to get one of the flight attendants. Have them get Fenrir a drink, and close all of the windows. Then have them do something distracting. Have them play a movie or something. Did his plane have movies? Regular planes had movies so his had to have something.

"The theories about you are pretty all over the place. The most common ones are that you're stealing Pepper away from Tony. Then there are the people who are still insisting that you and Captain America are in some sort of S&M relationship. A few people have suggested that you might be from Asgard, but I don't think any of those stories have gotten any traction," Happy said.

"These are the people from the magazines?" Fenrir asked, sparing Happy a glance, before going back to that spot on the wall in front of him.

"That and the websites. There are a few that have started up to discuss theories. Some of them are actually pretty funny," Happy looked over to see what kind of reaction he was going to get, and continued when he saw that Fenrir was indeed listening. "Some people think that you're a new member of the Avengers, and that you're just hanging around the Tower until you finish training. One of my favorites is that you're Tony's secret love child."

"What?!" Tony demanded. Fenrir didn't even look like him.

"Don't act so shocked. With your history it's inevitable that someone's going to show up sooner or later wanting a blood test," Happy said. Fenrir smirked, and Tony was not okay with that. He had no kids and he never would. Ever. Never, ever, ever.

"I like that one," Fenrir said, relaxing a little. "People really haven't considered that I'm from Asgard?"

"There's a few but, like I said, it's more of a fringe theory," Happy said. "Most of them are just a sub group of you being a new Avenger. The idea's that Thor had you shipped in to join the team."

"How much time have you spent on this site?" Tony asked.

"Someone new was living in the Tower. Half of my job is overseeing security of the Tower and I needed to be informed so-" Happy tried to finish but Tony interrupted him.

"Yeah, yeah, security, safety, let's get back to these theories," Tony said. As stupid as most of them were, Tony did not and never would have a kid, talking about all of this seemed to be helping Fenrir relax. So if Tony had his way, and thank God he always did, then they would be talking about this until they landed. "Any other Asgardian theories?"

"There were a few people who thought you might be some sort of ambassador. And that's why Pepper was showing you around," Happy said.

"And why Steve thought you should try a fetish club," Tony added. Predictably Fenrir blushed.

"That didn't happen," Fenrir assured Happy.

"Have any of them been close yet? I mean obviously not you and Pepper dating, but is this some sort of political thing?" Happy asked.

"No, it's nothing like that," Fenrir said.

"Yeah, E.T. here, just decided that home wasn't for him and that he wanted to give Earth a try," Tony said.

"It's not as interesting as the escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. test subject theory, but at least it makes more sense than some of them," Happy replied.

"How strange do they get?" Fenrir asked, finding this more amusing with every minute.

"The craziest one has to be the Loki connection," Happy said. Oh boy, Tony thought, as he saw Fenrir's smile evaporate.

"Loki connection?" Fenrir asked quietly.

"Yeah, there's this one guy in Cleveland who keeps on pointing out similarities between you and Loki. He's insisting that you're his son or something," Happy said.

"Really," Tony said, watching Fenrir.

"I told you it was crazy. Loki really did have a son on Earth then I think it would be more of a hostage situation, and less of a houseguest," Happy finished.

"That would make more sense," Fenrir said quietly.

"Happy, since we have some time before we land, why don't you tell me about your plans for the security checkpoints in the Tower," Tony said. Admittedly it wasn't the smoothest subject change that he'd ever done, but Happy was so eager to promote metal detectors on every floor that he didn't register. Not to mention that he'd spent years working with Tony so he was more used to random changes in thought processes than most people.

The rest of the flight was mostly filled with Happy suggesting new security policies. The good news was that Fenrir seemed to have adapted to the plane and didn't seem as anxious. The bad news was that now he looked depressed and miserable. Thankfully they were going to a spa. The flight may have thrown things off track but the plan was still in place. Once they landed things would be okay.

"You remember how to get there right?" Tony asked as they were getting off the plane.

"You want me to drive you there?" Happy asked.

"I didn't even remember what country we're in, do you think I remember which route I took to get to the spa?" Tony asked. Happy grumbled at him but still went to drive the car.

"So you excited?" Tony asked Fenrir, once they were in the back of the car and on the move.

"What exactly are we going to do?" Fenrir asked.

"It's a spa," Fenrir just looked at Tony in confusion and Tony realized that he was going to have to explain. "Spas are places that people go to to relax. You spend a day in a spa and when you leave you feel incredible. The one we're going to today is one of the most exclusive spas anywhere. It's exactly what you need. Trust me, after a day of being pampered you'll forget all about that little argument you had with your dad."

"It wasn't really so little," Fenrir said sadly.

"I saw the security feed of what went down on the roof. The way I see it, your little reunion went pretty well," Fenrir just stared at Tony with a blank look on his face. "You got a hug didn't you? Okay, so you need to work a little harder on communication next time. The man's coming back eventually, and he didn't kill anyone. I'm counting this one as a win."

Fenrir stared at Tony for a minute and then shifted around to look out the window. That was a little rude but Tony decided not to hold it against him. The guy had been going through hell for the past few…well, actually if you counted the years of imprisonment and torture he'd probably been going through hell for more like a millennia. Or was it longer or shorter? He decided not to even go there. The math for Asgard was just too ridiculous. The point was that the guy deserved a pass.

"Alright, we're here," Happy said, holding the door open for Tony and Fenrir.

"Welcome back, Mister Stark," said a smiling woman in a white uniform. Tony smiled at how the staff here always managed to appear and disappear. Just like last time. He really did love this place. "The treatments that you've scheduled are all ready for you. If you and your guests will just come with me then we can get you started." The woman led them back through the spa and into the changing rooms.

"Robes have been provided for you. Just leave your clothes in a locker and come out when your ready. Members of our staff will be waiting to assist you," She finished, heading out of the room.

"Why did she keep smiling at me like that?" Fenrir asked, when the woman was gone.

"Spa people," Happy replied. "They're always a little too cheery for my taste."

"They're relaxed," Tony insisted. "Which is what we'll all be once we get out there."

Tony opened a locker and found a fluffy white robe. Tony wasn't sure what exactly the robes were made of. He was pretty sure that it was some sort of fur blended with cotton, but when he'd asked the last time they'd just told him it was a trade secret. He had a feeling that that meant he was actually wearing some sort of endangered animal. Part of him wanted to be concerned, but the rest of him was too comfortable to worry about it much. Unfortunatly it didn't look like everyone felt the same way he did.

"We're just supposed to wear this?" Fenrir asked, when Tony came out of the stall he'd been changing in.

"That's the idea," Tony said.

"But it's loose. And this belt barely holds it together," Fenrir said, still making no move to go and get changed.

"Don't worry, no one else here will be wearing anything either," Happy said. It might have even been reassuring if the person he'd told it to hadn't been Fenrir.

Tony quickly hurried Happy out of the room. Encouraging him to get a head start on the massage Tony had booked him for. Once his friend was gone Tony refocused on Fenrir.

"You won't be in the communal areas. I arranged it so you'll either have a private room or it will be just us. Even Happy won't be there. And the staff are all professionals. You'll be fine," Tony said. Hoping that he sounded reassuring.

Fenrir still didn't seem thrilled about going bare in front of strangers, but he took the robe Tony offered him and went to go get changed.

A few hours later and Tony had to admit that the locker rooms may have been the highlight of the day. He didn't know how it could have gone so wrong. He'd had a plan. It had been a good plan. It had been better than a good plan. He had made it, and it was brilliant.

Yet somehow the day had gone from uncomfortable, to bad to… whatever you'd even call what was happening now.

"I'll go call the flight crew," Happy said, after he'd helped Tonycarry Fenrir over to a lounge chair. "See how soon they'll be ready to take off."

"Good, you go do that," Tony said, holding Fenrir's shoulder to make sure that he didn't fall on his face. "Did you hear that? We're taking you home." Tony said.

"You can't," Fenrir said, so quietly that Tony wasn't sure at first if he'd said anything.

"I don't get to go home. I can never leave this place," Fenrir continued. "I'm being punished."

AN: I'm sure he'll be fine. On an unrelated note, I loved all the reviews I got for the last chapter. It made me feel all happy and writey. Keep it up and Fenrir may even survive his trip to the day spa. Not that I'd blackmail you for reviews or anything. Just saying.