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batsutousaiTitle: Like So Much Shattered Glass
Chapter: 2 of 7
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse)
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Tony Stark/Loki Odinson(Laufeyson), canon
Warnings: Spoilers for The Avengers (2012) and prequel films, angst of the self-hate variety,
Summary: Loki thought to break the Avengers, one man at a time, before killing them. His plans had never involved being broken in return.
A/N: Well, it's Monday somewhere. XD
Was talking to Aisling Siobhan and realised that some of you are probably quite hopeful for the FrostIron pairing. Well, minor bubble-burst: There is very little in the way of actual love in this fic of the series. There's a fair bit of flirting and teasing – it starts this chapter, even – which is partially because that's who these boys are, partially because it embarrasses the crap out of Steve and makes Thor twitchy, and entirely meant as fun.
There are hints that it's less fun and more serious in later chapters, but you can easily read that as friendship more than possible relationship, for those who aren't so much into slash or this pairing. (For those who are: By all means.)
-2-
Loki woke early the next morning, a crick in his neck from sleeping in a chair. He took a moment to stretch it before making his way to his bathroom. He vaguely considered hiding himself on his floor all day, eating out of his stocked kitchen until dinner, but he knew that Thor would eventually come find him, complaining about how anti-social Loki was being, and he'd much rather not face that.
Loki was just about to teleport up to the main kitchen when he remembered JARVIS' request from the night previous. "JARVIS?" he called.
"Yes, Loki?"
"I intend to teleport up to the kitchen."
"Thank you for the warning," JARVIS replied.
Loki shrugged and spun his magic. Almost as soon as he'd materialised, a tired voice behind him said, "No, really, we appreciate the warning."
Loki turned and found Stark and a woman he'd not yet met seated at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Stark had a pen in one hand, a stack of papers in front of him, and a mug off to one side, his hand hovering next to it as if he'd just set it down or was about to pick it up. The woman had her own mug set just to one side and a mobile in her hands, which she was ignoring in favour of watching Loki with distrust. "Good morning, Stark," Loki offered, watching the woman back. "I didn't expect anyone else to be awake."
"Everyone in this building is an occasional insomniac," Stark returned before taking a long drink from his mug. "Loki, this is Pepper Potts, my assistant and the person who's keeping my company afloat while I save the world. Pepper, Loki Odinson."
Loki inclined his head towards the woman. "Lady Pepper."
"Mr Odinson," Pepper replied tightly.
Loki's lips twisted with a frown for a moment before he smoothed his expression. "I prefer Loki, please," he requested. "If only to avoid confusing myself with Thor."
"Oh, I could never get the two of you confused," Pepper promised.
"Pepper, play nice," Stark warned with a hint of teasing in his voice, but his eyes were watching Loki in that same figuring-out-the-puzzle way from the day before.
Loki turned and set about considering his options for breakfast. He was mildly bemused by the line-up of cereal and Pop-Tarts, but he was familiar enough with Midgardian food after having controlled a few minds that he wasn't as much at a loss as he might have been. All the same, he by-passed the pre-boxed options and hunted down the eggs and bread. The stove was simple enough to work, but the toaster gave him a spot of trouble, which he sorted out easily enough.
"Okay," Stark interrupted while Loki was looking through the tea options, "I'm officially impressed. It took Thor three weeks to figure out the stove, and he still can't manage the toaster in the mornings."
"Thor is incapable of focussing on anything that doesn't involve battle before he has been awake for two hours," Loki replied drily. "It's the best time to leave tricks for him."
"I'm surprised he doesn't work at waking up more, then," Stark replied, sidling past Loki to reach a machine he thought might be called a 'coffee machine' and filling his mug with dark liquid from the pot at the bottom of it.
"He did, for some centuries," Loki allowed. "I believe he has since decided that it is simpler to put up with my tricks than to force himself awake so early."
"Okay, sure, I'll buy that," Stark agreed. Then, "You're cheating."
Loki glanced at where his eggs were scrambling themselves and smiled. "You only believe so because you lack the magic to act at your direction. Were you to have an extra hand, you would not consider it 'cheating' to use it, though another might."
"If I had an extra hand, clothes shopping would be an absolute nightmare," Stark deadpanned. "On that note, excellent fashion sense, and I do hope you're not magically stealing clothing from one of the stores down the block, because then I'll have to apologise on your behalf and we'd rather not advertise that you're back on the planet."
Loki glanced down at the casual human wear his outfit had changed to and shrugged. "Nothing of the sort. It is but an illusion." The image faded away, showing the Asgardian-style tunic, trousers, and jacket he still wore.
Stark blinked, then looked over towards the breakfast bar. "Pepper, get measurements from JARVIS and see that Loki has real clothing to wear?"
"I have clothing, Stark," Loki hissed as his illusion reformed.
"You have leather. Which, hey, always a favourite. Very BDSM-esque. Or more biker, maybe." Stark considered that for a moment while Pepper coughed and hid a smile behind her mobile and Loki stared at him like he wasn't sure if he'd rather kill him or just walk away and leave him to his crazy. "BDSM," he decided at last. "Goes great with the 'Kneel before me' shtick, I'll give you that, but not so good when you're trying to convince everyone that you've turned over a new leaf." Then he shot a blinding smile at Loki.
"Very well," Loki allowed, admitting the man had a point, if only to himself. He'd used the illusion to relax his new housemates in the first place, and there was nothing saying he had to wear the Midgardian clothing.
"Hm," was Stark's response before he returned to the breakfast bar with his mug and started in on the pile of papers. When he finished one, Loki noticed, Pepper would slide it into a briefcase at her side, which he hadn't seen before, and Loki wondered how many papers Stark had started out with.
Loki finished making his breakfast in silence and moved his things to the breakfast bar to eat, leaving an open chair between himself and Stark. They remained in silence – only the scratching of the pen, the ruffle of paper, and the clink of cutlery against dishes filling the air – until Banner stumbled in, bleary-eyed and shirt half buttoned.
"Pepper, Tony," he said in greeting, and the two mumbled their replies. Banner had paused to watch Loki for a long moment and the god ignored him in favour of his tea, which really wasn't so bad, for all that it had been made by mortals. Finally, as Loki was setting his mug back down, Banner said, "Good morning, Loki."
"Dr Banner," Loki replied evenly, and the scientist finally moved to collect sustenance.
Barton was next, slipping in to grab one of the Pop-Tarts and back out again without a word to anyone, which Loki found far more amusing than he probably should. Rogers followed on Barton's tail, looking like he'd come from the shower and offering cheerful greetings to everyone else, without pausing at Loki as Banner had. Rogers settled in between Loki and Stark as the latter finished signing off on his last paper.
Coulson and Romanoff entered together, greeting Pepper as she made her way out and not bothering to acknowledge anyone else in the room, instead continuing a debate about some weapon or another. Stark was quick to jump on that, much more awake now that the paperwork had vanished, and laughed when Romanoff threw a dagger just past his head for being a jerk. (Loki was only a little impressed by her accuracy.)
Thor stumbled in as Coulson and Romanoff settled at the breakfast bar, Jane smiling brightly at his side. Jane's greetings to everyone were cheerful, but Thor seemed too tired to do more than mumble in reply to returned 'Good morning's, until his eyes settled on Loki at the far end of the bar. Thor's eyes widened, then he broke out in a huge grin and boomed, "Good morning, Brother!"
Loki resisted the urge to sigh. "Lady Jane. Brother. I trust you slept well?"
"Fantastically!" Thor called, moving quickly past the breakfast offerings and grabbing Loki in a hug, which the younger had rather expected and held still for. When Thor pulled back, his smile was far less all encompassing and his voice was gentler as he said, "I had feared you would hide away, though you were the one to request the journey. I am glad that you thought to join us in breaking our fast of the night."
"You wound me, that you think me capable of such," Loki returned.
"He's already promised to be my lab rat – lab god? – and I fully intend to start my tests right away," Stark reminded them all as he stood. "On that note, it's getting a bit crowded in here, so, Loki? Bruce?"
Loki half expected that Thor would complain, wanting to spend time with Loki over breakfast, but the elder god simply smiled and moved out of Loki's way, saying, "Have fun, Brother."
Loki nodded and followed the two humans out of the room and into the lift. It let them out into a small atrium area set before a line of glass walls and a glass door, beyond which sat tables and a sprawling mess of machinery. Loki wondered how anyone could work in such an environment, never mind actually find things when they needed them.
Stark typed in a code against a keypad that appeared next to the door and pulled the glass open, waving Banner and Loki in ahead of them. "Just relax for a moment, Loki, while I clean up this mess," he directed as he brushed past and walked over to a particularly messy work station.
"I had a question," Banner offered, looking at Loki. When the god raised an eyebrow at him, he asked, "What did you mean, yesterday, by calling the...Jötun, you said? Why call them your people?"
Loki stilled for a moment before his eyes flickered between Banner's open curiosity and Stark's too-obvious disinterest. "I am not of Asgard," he allowed shortly.
"Oh, yeah. Didn't Thor say you were adopted?" Stark offered carelessly as he shoved something across the floor. "Loki, come stand here."
"I– When was this?" Loki requested, frowning. Thor was usually so determined to ignore their lack of blood relation.
"When we had you in the cage, right after Natasha made a comment on your recent kill-count," Stark replied. Then, because Loki hadn't moved, "Come on. Standing over here now."
Of course. Thor wouldn't be so quick to claim blood relation to a mass murderer. It made sense, even if a part of Loki that he'd believed long buried hurt at Thor's distant refusal. As if he should actually mind that Thor revoked his claim of family for even a moment. Loki scoffed at himself and moved to the position Stark was waving him towards. The shorter man took a moment to manhandle him until Loki was exactly where he wanted him, then he left to stand behind one of the many machines, Banner resting against a table nearby.
"So what's the difference between Jötun and Asgards?"
"Æsir," Loki corrected, watching Stark fiddle with his machine. "And there is a great deal of difference. There are few – if any – similarities."
"Not seeing a whole lot of difference between you and Thor," Stark called from behind his machine. "Well, other than the whole 'kneel before me, I am a god' thing. Or the, you know, 'rain fire and damnation down on your pathetic planet' thing."
"That should be more personality than species-based, I would think," Banner added.
"Exactly," Stark agreed, looking up at Loki. "Illusions off, please. I'd like an accurate reading of you at rest, as it were."
Loki motioned to drop the illusions around his clothing, then paused in contemplation. Was not his Æsir form also an illusion, after a fashion? Could he remove that? Did he want to remove that?
"Any time this century, Loki," Stark called, impatience in his voice. "Maybe you can live forever, but some of us have biological clocks ticking down."
Loki decided he should quite like knocking Stark off his game, and finished the motion to remove his illusions. He had to tug at the long-held shape-change before it revealed his Jötun form, but it fell away easily enough.
The humans were silent for a long moment, blinking at Loki. Finally, Stark said, "Okay, yeah, difference noted." He cocked his head to the side, surprise pushed away by curiosity. "You don't look half bad blue, you know. JARVIS, note to Pepper that she should get some outfits in cobalt, maybe with sky blue accents. Nothing formal, I think."
"Message sent, Sir," JARVIS replied.
"Darken the glass, JARVIS," Banner added and Loki saw the glass panels out into the atrium go opaque. His shoulders relaxed without him realising they'd been tense, and a glance at Banner showed him an understanding smile that left him torn between wanting to throw things and thank him.
"That was not the reaction I anticipated," Loki allowed instead.
"He turns green and smashes things," Stark said, pointing at Banner, who smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly. "Turning blue isn't really that impressive." Stark considered something on the table next to him, which Loki couldn't see. "The temperature decrease is new, though," he commented. "JARVIS, kick on the heater."
A quiet hum rattled to life off to one side and Loki noticed the faint change in temperature in a way that he hadn't while unleashing his Jötun form. It didn't bother him, thankfully, so he made no comment.
Stark flipped on his machine and fiddled with it some, then flipped it off and turned back to a holographic screen that Loki hadn't seen until that moment. "Cool. Okay, do something obvious, but small. Whatever small might mean in terms of magic."
Loki shrugged and raised a hand to call a flame – one of the first spells any magic-user learned –, but as soon as it appeared, his fingers burned and he ended the spell with a pained hiss, curling his hand against his chest.
Banner was there, then, carefully pulling Loki's hand away from its protective position and touching the pale red skin where the fire had burned. "Maybe stay away from fire in this form," he suggested lightly.
"I don't need your help," Loki snarled, tugging his hand away from the human and curling it against his chest again.
Banner took a step back, calm radiating off of him. "Sorry," he said easily enough. "I see a wound, I try to fix it."
"Drives everyone crazy," Stark called from behind his machine. "I keep almost wishing it transferred to Big Green, because the thought of him hovering over a paper cut like Bruce–"
"Only so long as it happened to someone other than you," Banner retorted.
"Whatever. I fly for a reason," Stark shot back before suddenly returning his attention to where Loki had uncurled his hand and was watching the red burn heal back to blue. "Is that overt magic? Like the flame?"
Loki shook his head and lowered his hand. "It is a product of our immortality; you would see the same from Thor."
"Huh. Cool." Stark moved his hand over an empty part of the air and the blue screen appeared before him, having vanished at some point. He typed rapidly against a keyboard that appeared beneath the screen, then moved something on the screen and looked back at his machine, the screen vanishing from sight again. "Right. Back to something small, then. If fire gives you trouble, maybe water? Is there anything small involving water?"
Loki shrugged and raised both hands, cupped. Conjuring water was supposed to be slightly more difficult than fire, but it had always been his better element, and it took barely a second for his hands to fill with water. Almost as soon as his hands were full, it had frozen over from contact with his skin and he let out an irritated sound before letting the ice fall to the ground at his feet, shattering on impact. A motion had it vanishing from sight and he glanced back up towards Stark.
The mortal was tapping against the screen of light again, expression intent. After a moment, he called, "Put your illusions back up?"
Loki didn't hesitate to be rid of his Jötun form, but he left his clothing as it was for the moment.
Stark's eyebrows raised at his machine and he looked at Loki. "That's a high-level spell?" he asked.
"Relatively," Loki agreed, impressed.
"What about your teleporting trick? Is that easier or harder?" Stark wondered.
"About the same," Loki allowed. "Slightly more difficult to cast as more mass is involved, the greater the distance is, or if I am unfamiliar with my intended destination."
"What's the most difficult spell you know?" Banner asked, waving a hand for his own screen to appear next to him.
Loki considered that for a moment. "Most magically draining, or most dangerous to my person?"
Stark looked up at that, a glint in his eyes that hinted at what the mortals called 'gallows humour'. "Both."
"Travelling the realms without use of the Bifröst and astral projection, respectively."
"Astral projection?" Banner asked, curious. "Like you send your soul away from your body?"
Loki shrugged. "Essentially." He looked towards where Stark was waving his screen away. "What, exactly, are you intending to learn from these tests, Stark?"
"Well, figuring out when magic's involved, mostly," Stark explained, attention again on his machine. "Do another trick?"
Loki summoned a flame – there was no pain in this form – and had it form unnatural shapes, which was far more difficult than one might imagine. Stark's eyebrows raised and he looked up at Loki with some surprise. "Your machines seem able to know the difficulties of spells already," Loki said.
"Well, yeah, that's not hard," Stark said. "Once I know what energy I'm looking for, measuring it's a piece of cake. I don't suppose there's a way to know from the energy readings what a spell is?"
Loki shrugged and absently vanished the fire, summoning a small wind vortex to play along his hands and arms instead. "I wouldn't know. I can often recognise a spell from the sight or feeling of it, but I have never thought to observe how much energy is involved. Why are you so determined to do so?"
"One of your replacements likes to mix technology with magic," Stark explained and Loki had to bite back a laugh of derision at that comparison. "I want to know how he's enhancing the bots, what else they can do. And maybe look into ways to disrupt the spells or whatever, so we waste less time taking swarms out and more time hunting Doomy-Baby down."
"You don't wish to know how to add this magic to your own weapons?" Loki wondered, frowning when his wind vortex caught a lock of his hair and he had to reach up to free it; he knew from past experience that if he didn't intervene, it would pull the hair out, and while it would grow back quickly enough, he hardly enjoyed it.
"Fury would like us to discover how to apply magic to our weapons," Banner replied while Stark scowled and ducked behind his machine, "but Tony and I both refuse to do so. I think Fury plans to steal our research once it's far enough along and see if his scientists can't figure it out."
"Won't let him," Stark called, still out of sight. "Built a program to keep him out."
"How long did it take Phil to break past your security system last time?" Banner asked in a teasing manner. "Five minutes, wasn't it?"
Stark leaned into sight long enough to shoot Banner a glower, then was gone again, saying, "Yeah, but that's Magic Fingers Coulson. And, to be fair, I wasn't planning against him because he was supposedly dead. Thank you, Fury, you bastard. Anyway, Fury and Phil both have been prodding at JARVIS' security systems for the past month, trying to get into my files, and they've yet to get anything. Right, JARVIS?"
"That is correct, Sir," JARVIS replied. "Although, I cannot tell if they're honestly trying, or only testing things."
Something clattered behind the machine and Stark straightened so they could see him again. "No, JARVIS. Come on. Don't tell me these things!"
"I will avoid bringing my uncertainties up in the future, Sir," the computer promised.
"You are an absolute worthless waste of RAM," Stark said. "I'm going to shove you into a vacuum or blender and give you to some poor mother with six small children."
"I'm terrified, Sir," JARVIS deadpanned.
"Yeah, whatever. Make a note: Work on additional security measures to activate only when Fury and Phil are actually trying to play with my work. Also, maybe design a new virus for their systems."
"Tony!" Banner called, failing to hide a smile with a disappointed look.
"If they break into my computer system again, they'd deserve it," Stark insisted. "Right, Loki, show me more tricks. Teleportation, maybe?"
"To where shall I teleport?"
"Uh... Far side of the lab, I think."
The rest of the day was spent with Loki performing all manner of magic. For the most part, Stark would just say, "Do something," and Loki would do whatever came to mind. Once or twice he made a request, like for Loki to teleport with Banner, or for Loki to make copies of himself. Jane came down at one point with food and they ate in the lab, Loki listening in as the three humans debated Jane's work with the Bifröst.
When they finally broke to prepare for dinner, Loki was surprised to discover that he'd honestly enjoyed his time spent in the lab. It had been many centuries since he last took the opportunity to play with spells, and it had been even longer since he held company with people who were interested in his magic; the warriors of Asgard had little interest in magic tricks, and Loki had learned early on that he impressed no one by being able to conjure fire, though Frigga had many times tried to be interested.
Beyond the interest in his magic, however, was the easy acceptance of his species. There had been surprise, certainly, but none of the disgust and hatred of the Æsir. But then, Loki reminded himself as he picked through the clothing that Pepper had left for him in his room, they do not know the stories of the Jötun. They do not know them to be monsters. They know not what a monster I am.
And Loki was a monster, he knew, for what but a monster would think to kill his own race? What but a monster would think himself able to rule a planet?
Loki shook his thoughts away and changed the illusion on his clothing to match one of the outfits Pepper had found for him, then took the lift up to join the humans for dinner. It was Barton's turn and he'd ordered in something called 'pizza', which came in large boxes. The boxes were set on the table before the television and everyone settled into the couches – Loki thought about grabbing a chair, but Thor dragged him down to sit next to him, going on about how delicious pizza was – to watch a ridiculous programme about young humans competing at dancing. The Avengers took great joy in mocking mistakes, and between the two of them, Stark and Romanoff seemed to know everything there was to know about the different dance styles, bringing them to discuss the dances with far more decorum than the others.
Loki left them before the programme was over, shaking his head at their nonsense and stealing a half-empty pizza box, having quite enjoyed the food and intending to finish what was left in the privacy and quiet of his rooms. There, he once again looked through SHIELD files, focussing this time on the new enemies of the Avengers, such as Stark's 'Doomy-Baby', who turned out to actually be named Victor von Doom, alias 'Doctor Doom'.
He only made it to his bed by pure force of will, not interested in waking again in a chair.
-0-
The next morning, it was Romanoff who resided in the kitchen when Loki arrived. She nodded in acknowledgement of his presence, then they both settled in to ignore each other, Loki making himself breakfast and seating himself at the far end of the breakfast bar, some seats down from her.
Barton and Coulson came in next. When Barton looked ready to grab food and run again, Coulson whispered something to him and they both settled near Romanoff with cereal, the three of them speaking in hushed tones and otherwise ignoring Loki, which suited him fine.
Stark stumbled in shortly after, looking like he hadn't slept a wink and drinking an entire mug of coffee in front of the coffee machine before even seeming to realise anyone else was in the room. He poured himself another cup, then slid onto the stool next to Loki. "Mornin'," he mumbled.
"Good morning, Stark," Loki replied. "Have you slept at all?"
Stark took a moment to consider that, then shrugged. "A few hours, sure. Coffee machine in my lab's broke and I've been too distracted to come up here and get more." He snorted. "Need to fix that."
"How many months has it been now?" Romanoff asked, staring down the length of the breakfast bar, unimpressed. "Four?"
"Two and a half," Stark muttered into his mug, sounding amusingly petulant.
"Aren't you supposed to be some sort of mechanical genius or something?" Barton threw in, grinning widely at the chance to torment his housemate.
"Shut up, Bird Brain."
"I can see the headlines now, 'Tony Stark, Defeated By Drink Dispenser'!"
"I will kick you out," Stark threatened.
" 'Brilliance Baffled By Beverage Brewer'!"
"Nice alliteration," Coulson commented.
"I will defenestrate you, á la Loki," Stark snarled, but he was smiling.
" 'Philanthropist Flummoxed By Fuel Machine'!"
"Really?" Stark said, giving up all pretence and chuckling.
Barton shrugged. "I ran out of words beginning with 'f'. Or 'ph'."
"Why are you two arguing this time?" Banner asked as he stepped into the kitchen.
"Stark's coffee machine is still broken," Coulson explained. "Barton is threatening to take it to the press."
Banner sighed and gave Stark a helpless look. "Tony, can't you just buy a new one?"
"Nope."
"It's his favourite," Barton mocked.
"It's custom," Stark insisted.
"What, did you set it to make your coffee just right?" Barton teased.
Stark scowled and took a long gulp of his coffee, refusing to answer. Which was, really, answer enough.
"You did!" Barton crowed before letting out a grunt and turning a sad look on Romanoff. She shot him a violent smile and he, wisely, held off on further comment.
"You can customise a new one," Banner pointed out as he took the stool on Stark's other side, having grabbed a pre-packaged fruit salad from the refrigerator. "I'll help if you want me to."
Stark sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just...like that one."
Loki bit back the urge to comment on the human's sentimentality; his standing in the building was still too uncertain for him to try pushing buttons. Perhaps in a week, when they were used to his presence and less likely to shoot first.
Stark shook his head and looked at Loki. "So, do I get to play with you all day again?"
"How forward of you," Loki replied, flashing the human a coy smile.
Stark laughed while the three SHIELD agents down the way let out varied noises of horrified amusement. Banner choked on a half-chewed grape and spat it out before looking at Stark and Loki. "Maybe we should rethink letting the two of you spend any time together."
"I've got dibs, and you know how I am about people taking my stuff," Stark said, grin wide and mischievous. "I might be talked into sharing him, if you're very good, but I'm not sure how either of you are about threesomes–"
"Tony," Rogers called from the doorway, face red, and all but Coulson – who just smiled into his mug – burst out laughing.
"Sorry, Cap," Stark said once he'd quieted his laughter enough to speak.
"No you're not," Rogers said, sighing and rubbing a hand over his face.
Stark considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, okay, I'm not." He jumped backwards off his stool and grabbed for his mug once he had both feet on the floor. "Right. Loki? Let's take this down to the lab, if you're done?" Loki nodded and waved his dishes towards the sink, moving from his stool with considerably more grace. "Big Green, you coming?"
"No, you two get started without me," Banner replied, turning back to his fruit salad with a smile.
"But don't finish before he makes it down," Barton called, moving his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
"There's nothing wrong with a bit of extra foreplay before round two," Stark replied easily and Rogers choked over by the coffee machine.
"Perhaps you would require the break, but I have a short refractory period," Loki informed them with a hint of a smirk.
"So a threesome would work well for you?" Stark wondered, sounding honestly curious.
"Out," Rogers ordered, face bright red and pointing towards the doorway. "Both of you, now. Before I do something I'll regret."
"Seriously, Steve, you need to get laid," Stark said over his shoulder before they stepped out of sight of the kitchen inhabitants. Barton was laughing behind them and Loki thought he'd seen a smile from both Romanoff and Coulson before the wall had hidden them.
It was uncommon for Loki to find someone willing to join him in playing jokes or teasing others, and he couldn't stop a grin, even as a small part of him wilted at the reminder of days long past when he and Thor would run through the golden halls of the palace, setting crickets and frogs on unsuspecting servants and members of the court alike. Weapons training and Thor's friendship with the Warriors Three had put paid to that practise, and while Thor had still been willing to take part in an occasional trick of Loki's, most of his fun was forevermore created by his hands alone.
"Really?" Stark asked, breaking Loki from his thoughts. At Loki's uncomprehending frown, he clarified, "You really have a short refractory period?"
Loki shrugged and nodded. "I believe four minutes was the longest I've had to wait."
"I need to learn that trick," Stark muttered and Loki let out a snort of amusement. "So, wait, is it an immortality thing? Or a Jötun thing?"
Loki blinked in surprise, thrown more by the ease with which the human treated his race than by the question itself. "I am uncertain," he allowed. "I have never known another of my kind, though I know Thor has taken lovers in quick succession before, so it is likely to be a product of our immortality."
"Okay, seriously? I need this," Stark insisted. "Like, it's a shame that I don't have this skill. Like, think of all the extra time I could be spending in the bedroom with beautiful women that's been wasted. Wasted."
"I'm sure you could make something that would help," Loki commented, amused.
Stark paused for a moment, half in, half out of the lift, then his eyes lit up and he nearly ran to the keypad to let them into the lab. "I have an idea!"
When Banner finally made it down twenty minutes later, an omelette held in one hand, Loki was sitting on a work table and watching with a smirk as Stark worked to build a new machine, soot all over his face from an explosion. "Do I want to know?" Banner asked Loki as he joined him on the table, the omelette set to one side.
"He's trying to create a machine to enable him to have sex more regularly," Loki reported.
"Of course he is," Banner said with a sigh. "Tony?"
"Hey, Green Giant!" Stark called. His machine let out a burst of dark grey smoke and he leaned away from it, coughing.
Banner sighed again and slipped off the table, grabbing the omelette to approach Stark. "Work on that more later," he ordered, holding out the plate.
Stark blinked in surprise at the offered food, then smiled a bit sheepishly when his stomach growled. "Oh, yeah. Coffee isn't real food."
"No, it's not," Banner agreed. "Eat this while you run some more scans of Loki doing magic. Unless you had other plans?"
"Not today," Stark decided, grabbing a cloth from a random table and rubbing it over his face to clean it before tossing it away. "Alright with you, Rudolph?" he asked, looking at Loki.
Loki blinked. "Rudolph?" he replied, not moving.
"We need to get you up to date on Earth culture," Stark decided, accepting the plate from Banner and continuing on to the machine he'd been using yesterday. "Seriously, we will be having a Culture Week. You'll be forced to attend. Thor and Steve too, because all of you are failures. It's actually a bit sad, really, how badly the three of you fail. I mean, last week Clint made that Friends joke and Steve just sort of stared. Yeah, no, this will be fixed. Next week. JARVIS, make a note on everyone's schedules."
"Of course, Sir."
"Right!" Stark spun in place and looked at where Loki was watching him disbelievingly. "You, here. Come on, mojo to make, energy output to record."
"Eat the omelette," Banner ordered as Loki finally slid off the table, shaking his head. He'd find a reason to stay in Asgard for the next week. Somehow.
Stark settled in behind his machine while Loki took the familiar position in the centre of the cleared space. Stark ate with one hand while his other hand moved between his machine and the holographic screen, which flickered in and out of sight at his wordless direction. After a bit of this, the machine whirred to life and Stark blinked at whatever it told him and peeked around the edge to stare at Loki.
"Yes?" Loki asked when Stark continued to stare.
"Hm," Stark offered before returning to his position behind his machine. "Do something awesome," he ordered before shoving more omelette in his mouth.
Loki frowned, irrationally irritated, and set about changing various pieces of machinery into living organisms.
"I said awesome!" Stark shouted, diving after a Midgardian rabbit.
Loki turned the leftover omelette into a snake while Stark was chasing after the rabbit. "I find this quite fun," he informed the human drily.
"Loki," Banner said, unamused; a bird was attempting to nest in his hair. When Loki turned to him with a smirk, the man warned, "You don't want the Other Guy to show up."
Loki wasted no time in changing everything back, motioning for the bird to leave Banner's head before changing back into a large pipe and dropping to the floor with a loud 'clang'. Stark grunted with pain when the rabbit he'd been chasing turned into a large metal box just as he caught it.
Sighing, Stark shoved himself to his feet and started back to his usual spot. "Right. Let's try that again. And, this time, let's try and keep the metal metal, okay?"
Loki pressed his lips together for a long moment, then shrugged and set his magic to organising the lab.
When Jane came down with lunch, she made the appropriate noises of pleasure at the clean lab while Stark complained about not being able to find something or another. Banner seemed in good spirits, though he'd shot Loki a displeased look when Stark wondered after the last of his omelette, having forgotten about it until he was handed food. Loki had smiled innocently and distracted Jane with a conversation about the Bifröst.
When they finally exited for dinner, Loki joined Banner and Stark in the lift for the upper floors, distracted by listening to Stark debate what he would need to stop magic, since he wasn't having much luck discovering what spell was being used based on the energy readings. Much of the technicalities went over Loki's head, but he caught more than everyone other than Banner and Jane, judging by the expressions Stark was getting from the others when they started towards the television.
"Tony, shut up," Rogers requested as they settled into the couches, Loki again being dragged into the open spot next to Thor.
"Also, explain the 'Culture Week' that appeared on my calendar," Coulson ordered, shooting Stark a sharp look.
"Oh, right, that. Well, Loki totally didn't get the reference when I called him Rudolph, which is just shameful. And you know Thor won't get it either." He looked towards Thor, who shrugged. "Exactly. And we all know the Capsicle is ridiculously behind, so I thought we'd have a Culture Week. We can sit around and watch stupid old tv shows and listen to Christmas music out of season and, yeah. Everything. You guys don't have to come, but I will totally send Angry Green after Steve, Thor, or Loki if they try skipping."
"You're not sending Hulk after anyone," Rogers said, irritated.
"I'll get this okayed by Fury," Stark threatened. "Don't think I won't."
"Can he do that?" Barton asked Coulson.
"If it'll get Stark to shut up, Fury will agree, especially as it's no skin off his back," Coulson replied, eyes flickering over Rogers, Thor, and Loki pointedly before turning to Stark. "However, you cannot stop everyone from responding to–"
"Avengers, assemble," Fury's voice said over JARVIS' speaker system.
"That," Coulson finished.
"But we were about to eat," Barton complained as everyone rose to their feet and started towards the lift, Jane turning to the kitchen to get herself something to eat.
"Should make you quicker, then," Fury said, unconcerned. "Coulson, Widow, you're both on Loki until he's here at base."
"I'm capable of teleporting myself to your base and not keeping your 'heroes' from their duties," Loki commented coolly, glaring out the window, since Fury wasn't actually there to glare at.
Coulson tilted his head to one side. "Loki, could you teleport both your and myself to the base? I need to be there, anyway."
"Yes."
"Good." Coulson stood and smoothed down his suit. "Sir, Loki and I will be at base directly. Widow, stay with Banner until he's safe to Hulk out."
"Understood," Romanoff said over the speakers from down in her rooms.
"Don't fuck around, Loki," Fury growled.
Loki spent a moment thinking about causing trouble just because he could, but then Coulson was at his side, eyes sharp and knowing, and Loki shook the temptation away. "Where is this base?" he requested.
"We're still using the helicarrier, for the moment," Coulson replied. "Do you need exact coordinates, or...?"
Loki shook his head. "I can manage with just that. I will need to be touching your skin," he added and Coulson held out his hand for Loki to take, which he did. "This may not be pleasant," he warned and Coulson nodded in understanding. Focussing on the bridge of the helicarrier he'd once been held prisoner on, Loki shifted them through space.
There came the sound of guns clicking into a ready position and Loki frowned at the line-up of armed men facing them.
" 'Not pleasant' may have been putting it lightly," Coulson muttered, rubbing a hand over his mouth and stepping between Loki and the line of guns. "Gentlemen."
"Sir," they replied as one and lowered their guns to point at the deck.
Coulson nodded and turned to Loki. "This is your guard detail. Try not to lose them; I don't want to explain to your brother why they had to shoot you full of holes because you had to take a piss."
"Noted," Loki replied drily, eyeing his guards.
Coulson walked over to Fury, joining him at the screens he stood before. Fury watched Loki with a single, violent eye until he shrugged and turned to leave the bridge; Loki knew when he wasn't wanted.
"Stay out of the way of my agents," Fury called to Loki's retreating back and the god waved an acknowledging hand over his shoulder.
It didn't take Loki long to find an out-of-the-way room with some of Stark's holographic computer technology, and he settled in to see what SHIELD would actually allow him to look at in their systems when he wasn't doing so through Stark's server. His guards looked rather uncomfortable to see him trying some of the paths he tried, and he always laughed when he was shut out of a file he'd already read. He laughed the hardest when the system locked him out of Thor's file, as if he didn't know everything there was to know about his not-brother already.
The system did let him into his own files and he took an inordinate amount of pleasure on reading up on himself from the perspective of these humans. Their fear of him showed through in the report, and the note to one side claiming him to not be a threat nearly had him giggling – he wondered if Fury had really approved that status.
Loki was just contemplating changing his file – he had no doubt he could manage it, though his guards might put up a fight about it if they caught on – when Coulson stepped into the room. "We can head back," he reported, nodding to the leader of Loki's guards.
Loki glanced at the clock to the side of his holographic screen before waving the whole thing away. "That didn't take as long as I'd thought it would have."
"More a false alarm than anything," Coulson replied.
Loki wondered what he wasn't being told for a brief moment before deciding he didn't care and shrugging it off. "Very well. To the tower?"
Coulson's mouth twisted with distaste, but he held out his hand for Loki to take. "If you would. Gentlemen," he added to the guards. They nodded and started to disperse as Loki pulled them back to the tower.
Thor was talking to Jane when they reappeared in the main floor, gesturing with excitement as he relayed the events of their battle. He stopped long enough to smile at Loki, booming, "How was your stay, Brother?"
"Not nearly as interesting as your fight," Loki returned drily as he dropped into the spot on the couch that Thor kept pulling him into. He was tired from teleporting himself and another twice after having spent all day performing tricks for Stark.
Thor returned to his story and Loki closed his eyes, just tired enough to find comfort in the familiar boom of his not-brother's voice. He didn't realise that time had passed until someone shook his shoulder. He blinked his eyes open and found Thor watching him with a worried frown. "Brother? Are you well?"
"I'm fine," Loki insisted, shoving Thor so he wasn't quite so close.
Thor reached up and ran a hand through Loki's hair, ignoring his attempt to duck the touch. "You had not stirred when food was offered, and you look tired, Brother."
"So I'm tired," Loki snarled, shoving Thor harder and rolling under his arm and along the empty couch, until he could stand without Thor being in the way. He saw the others coming out of the kitchen, bearing food, and bared his teeth at them before using his magic to transport him to his room.
As soon as the room formed around him, he sunk to his knees, drained, and closed his eyes against the flare of a headache.
"Loki, are you well?" JARVIS asked, voice strangely soothing.
Loki managed a nod, but a quiet grunt was the only noise he could make.
"Should I have Dr Banner attend to you?" JARVIS offered.
Loki shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. "Just sleep," he bit out. "Lights."
The room fell into darkness, the glass of the windows darkened against the New York skyline. Loki let out a quiet breath as his headache lessened and he stumbled to his bed, dropping onto it uncaringly. He was asleep before he could even consider moving his blankets over himself.
-0-
-0-
A/N: I feel like the more canon I get Tony, the less canon Loki is. ARGH.
~Bats ^.^x
The Shattered Glass Series:
Whatever Lies Beyond This Morning
Like So Much Shattered Glass Chapters:
One |Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven
Rough Edges Chapters:
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven
Christmas Tunes
..
Chapter: 2 of 7
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse)
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Tony Stark/Loki Odinson(Laufeyson), canon
Warnings: Spoilers for The Avengers (2012) and prequel films, angst of the self-hate variety,
Summary: Loki thought to break the Avengers, one man at a time, before killing them. His plans had never involved being broken in return.
A/N: Well, it's Monday somewhere. XD
Was talking to Aisling Siobhan and realised that some of you are probably quite hopeful for the FrostIron pairing. Well, minor bubble-burst: There is very little in the way of actual love in this fic of the series. There's a fair bit of flirting and teasing – it starts this chapter, even – which is partially because that's who these boys are, partially because it embarrasses the crap out of Steve and makes Thor twitchy, and entirely meant as fun.
There are hints that it's less fun and more serious in later chapters, but you can easily read that as friendship more than possible relationship, for those who aren't so much into slash or this pairing. (For those who are: By all means.)
Loki woke early the next morning, a crick in his neck from sleeping in a chair. He took a moment to stretch it before making his way to his bathroom. He vaguely considered hiding himself on his floor all day, eating out of his stocked kitchen until dinner, but he knew that Thor would eventually come find him, complaining about how anti-social Loki was being, and he'd much rather not face that.
Loki was just about to teleport up to the main kitchen when he remembered JARVIS' request from the night previous. "JARVIS?" he called.
"Yes, Loki?"
"I intend to teleport up to the kitchen."
"Thank you for the warning," JARVIS replied.
Loki shrugged and spun his magic. Almost as soon as he'd materialised, a tired voice behind him said, "No, really, we appreciate the warning."
Loki turned and found Stark and a woman he'd not yet met seated at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Stark had a pen in one hand, a stack of papers in front of him, and a mug off to one side, his hand hovering next to it as if he'd just set it down or was about to pick it up. The woman had her own mug set just to one side and a mobile in her hands, which she was ignoring in favour of watching Loki with distrust. "Good morning, Stark," Loki offered, watching the woman back. "I didn't expect anyone else to be awake."
"Everyone in this building is an occasional insomniac," Stark returned before taking a long drink from his mug. "Loki, this is Pepper Potts, my assistant and the person who's keeping my company afloat while I save the world. Pepper, Loki Odinson."
Loki inclined his head towards the woman. "Lady Pepper."
"Mr Odinson," Pepper replied tightly.
Loki's lips twisted with a frown for a moment before he smoothed his expression. "I prefer Loki, please," he requested. "If only to avoid confusing myself with Thor."
"Oh, I could never get the two of you confused," Pepper promised.
"Pepper, play nice," Stark warned with a hint of teasing in his voice, but his eyes were watching Loki in that same figuring-out-the-puzzle way from the day before.
Loki turned and set about considering his options for breakfast. He was mildly bemused by the line-up of cereal and Pop-Tarts, but he was familiar enough with Midgardian food after having controlled a few minds that he wasn't as much at a loss as he might have been. All the same, he by-passed the pre-boxed options and hunted down the eggs and bread. The stove was simple enough to work, but the toaster gave him a spot of trouble, which he sorted out easily enough.
"Okay," Stark interrupted while Loki was looking through the tea options, "I'm officially impressed. It took Thor three weeks to figure out the stove, and he still can't manage the toaster in the mornings."
"Thor is incapable of focussing on anything that doesn't involve battle before he has been awake for two hours," Loki replied drily. "It's the best time to leave tricks for him."
"I'm surprised he doesn't work at waking up more, then," Stark replied, sidling past Loki to reach a machine he thought might be called a 'coffee machine' and filling his mug with dark liquid from the pot at the bottom of it.
"He did, for some centuries," Loki allowed. "I believe he has since decided that it is simpler to put up with my tricks than to force himself awake so early."
"Okay, sure, I'll buy that," Stark agreed. Then, "You're cheating."
Loki glanced at where his eggs were scrambling themselves and smiled. "You only believe so because you lack the magic to act at your direction. Were you to have an extra hand, you would not consider it 'cheating' to use it, though another might."
"If I had an extra hand, clothes shopping would be an absolute nightmare," Stark deadpanned. "On that note, excellent fashion sense, and I do hope you're not magically stealing clothing from one of the stores down the block, because then I'll have to apologise on your behalf and we'd rather not advertise that you're back on the planet."
Loki glanced down at the casual human wear his outfit had changed to and shrugged. "Nothing of the sort. It is but an illusion." The image faded away, showing the Asgardian-style tunic, trousers, and jacket he still wore.
Stark blinked, then looked over towards the breakfast bar. "Pepper, get measurements from JARVIS and see that Loki has real clothing to wear?"
"I have clothing, Stark," Loki hissed as his illusion reformed.
"You have leather. Which, hey, always a favourite. Very BDSM-esque. Or more biker, maybe." Stark considered that for a moment while Pepper coughed and hid a smile behind her mobile and Loki stared at him like he wasn't sure if he'd rather kill him or just walk away and leave him to his crazy. "BDSM," he decided at last. "Goes great with the 'Kneel before me' shtick, I'll give you that, but not so good when you're trying to convince everyone that you've turned over a new leaf." Then he shot a blinding smile at Loki.
"Very well," Loki allowed, admitting the man had a point, if only to himself. He'd used the illusion to relax his new housemates in the first place, and there was nothing saying he had to wear the Midgardian clothing.
"Hm," was Stark's response before he returned to the breakfast bar with his mug and started in on the pile of papers. When he finished one, Loki noticed, Pepper would slide it into a briefcase at her side, which he hadn't seen before, and Loki wondered how many papers Stark had started out with.
Loki finished making his breakfast in silence and moved his things to the breakfast bar to eat, leaving an open chair between himself and Stark. They remained in silence – only the scratching of the pen, the ruffle of paper, and the clink of cutlery against dishes filling the air – until Banner stumbled in, bleary-eyed and shirt half buttoned.
"Pepper, Tony," he said in greeting, and the two mumbled their replies. Banner had paused to watch Loki for a long moment and the god ignored him in favour of his tea, which really wasn't so bad, for all that it had been made by mortals. Finally, as Loki was setting his mug back down, Banner said, "Good morning, Loki."
"Dr Banner," Loki replied evenly, and the scientist finally moved to collect sustenance.
Barton was next, slipping in to grab one of the Pop-Tarts and back out again without a word to anyone, which Loki found far more amusing than he probably should. Rogers followed on Barton's tail, looking like he'd come from the shower and offering cheerful greetings to everyone else, without pausing at Loki as Banner had. Rogers settled in between Loki and Stark as the latter finished signing off on his last paper.
Coulson and Romanoff entered together, greeting Pepper as she made her way out and not bothering to acknowledge anyone else in the room, instead continuing a debate about some weapon or another. Stark was quick to jump on that, much more awake now that the paperwork had vanished, and laughed when Romanoff threw a dagger just past his head for being a jerk. (Loki was only a little impressed by her accuracy.)
Thor stumbled in as Coulson and Romanoff settled at the breakfast bar, Jane smiling brightly at his side. Jane's greetings to everyone were cheerful, but Thor seemed too tired to do more than mumble in reply to returned 'Good morning's, until his eyes settled on Loki at the far end of the bar. Thor's eyes widened, then he broke out in a huge grin and boomed, "Good morning, Brother!"
Loki resisted the urge to sigh. "Lady Jane. Brother. I trust you slept well?"
"Fantastically!" Thor called, moving quickly past the breakfast offerings and grabbing Loki in a hug, which the younger had rather expected and held still for. When Thor pulled back, his smile was far less all encompassing and his voice was gentler as he said, "I had feared you would hide away, though you were the one to request the journey. I am glad that you thought to join us in breaking our fast of the night."
"You wound me, that you think me capable of such," Loki returned.
"He's already promised to be my lab rat – lab god? – and I fully intend to start my tests right away," Stark reminded them all as he stood. "On that note, it's getting a bit crowded in here, so, Loki? Bruce?"
Loki half expected that Thor would complain, wanting to spend time with Loki over breakfast, but the elder god simply smiled and moved out of Loki's way, saying, "Have fun, Brother."
Loki nodded and followed the two humans out of the room and into the lift. It let them out into a small atrium area set before a line of glass walls and a glass door, beyond which sat tables and a sprawling mess of machinery. Loki wondered how anyone could work in such an environment, never mind actually find things when they needed them.
Stark typed in a code against a keypad that appeared next to the door and pulled the glass open, waving Banner and Loki in ahead of them. "Just relax for a moment, Loki, while I clean up this mess," he directed as he brushed past and walked over to a particularly messy work station.
"I had a question," Banner offered, looking at Loki. When the god raised an eyebrow at him, he asked, "What did you mean, yesterday, by calling the...Jötun, you said? Why call them your people?"
Loki stilled for a moment before his eyes flickered between Banner's open curiosity and Stark's too-obvious disinterest. "I am not of Asgard," he allowed shortly.
"Oh, yeah. Didn't Thor say you were adopted?" Stark offered carelessly as he shoved something across the floor. "Loki, come stand here."
"I– When was this?" Loki requested, frowning. Thor was usually so determined to ignore their lack of blood relation.
"When we had you in the cage, right after Natasha made a comment on your recent kill-count," Stark replied. Then, because Loki hadn't moved, "Come on. Standing over here now."
Of course. Thor wouldn't be so quick to claim blood relation to a mass murderer. It made sense, even if a part of Loki that he'd believed long buried hurt at Thor's distant refusal. As if he should actually mind that Thor revoked his claim of family for even a moment. Loki scoffed at himself and moved to the position Stark was waving him towards. The shorter man took a moment to manhandle him until Loki was exactly where he wanted him, then he left to stand behind one of the many machines, Banner resting against a table nearby.
"So what's the difference between Jötun and Asgards?"
"Æsir," Loki corrected, watching Stark fiddle with his machine. "And there is a great deal of difference. There are few – if any – similarities."
"Not seeing a whole lot of difference between you and Thor," Stark called from behind his machine. "Well, other than the whole 'kneel before me, I am a god' thing. Or the, you know, 'rain fire and damnation down on your pathetic planet' thing."
"That should be more personality than species-based, I would think," Banner added.
"Exactly," Stark agreed, looking up at Loki. "Illusions off, please. I'd like an accurate reading of you at rest, as it were."
Loki motioned to drop the illusions around his clothing, then paused in contemplation. Was not his Æsir form also an illusion, after a fashion? Could he remove that? Did he want to remove that?
"Any time this century, Loki," Stark called, impatience in his voice. "Maybe you can live forever, but some of us have biological clocks ticking down."
Loki decided he should quite like knocking Stark off his game, and finished the motion to remove his illusions. He had to tug at the long-held shape-change before it revealed his Jötun form, but it fell away easily enough.
The humans were silent for a long moment, blinking at Loki. Finally, Stark said, "Okay, yeah, difference noted." He cocked his head to the side, surprise pushed away by curiosity. "You don't look half bad blue, you know. JARVIS, note to Pepper that she should get some outfits in cobalt, maybe with sky blue accents. Nothing formal, I think."
"Message sent, Sir," JARVIS replied.
"Darken the glass, JARVIS," Banner added and Loki saw the glass panels out into the atrium go opaque. His shoulders relaxed without him realising they'd been tense, and a glance at Banner showed him an understanding smile that left him torn between wanting to throw things and thank him.
"That was not the reaction I anticipated," Loki allowed instead.
"He turns green and smashes things," Stark said, pointing at Banner, who smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly. "Turning blue isn't really that impressive." Stark considered something on the table next to him, which Loki couldn't see. "The temperature decrease is new, though," he commented. "JARVIS, kick on the heater."
A quiet hum rattled to life off to one side and Loki noticed the faint change in temperature in a way that he hadn't while unleashing his Jötun form. It didn't bother him, thankfully, so he made no comment.
Stark flipped on his machine and fiddled with it some, then flipped it off and turned back to a holographic screen that Loki hadn't seen until that moment. "Cool. Okay, do something obvious, but small. Whatever small might mean in terms of magic."
Loki shrugged and raised a hand to call a flame – one of the first spells any magic-user learned –, but as soon as it appeared, his fingers burned and he ended the spell with a pained hiss, curling his hand against his chest.
Banner was there, then, carefully pulling Loki's hand away from its protective position and touching the pale red skin where the fire had burned. "Maybe stay away from fire in this form," he suggested lightly.
"I don't need your help," Loki snarled, tugging his hand away from the human and curling it against his chest again.
Banner took a step back, calm radiating off of him. "Sorry," he said easily enough. "I see a wound, I try to fix it."
"Drives everyone crazy," Stark called from behind his machine. "I keep almost wishing it transferred to Big Green, because the thought of him hovering over a paper cut like Bruce–"
"Only so long as it happened to someone other than you," Banner retorted.
"Whatever. I fly for a reason," Stark shot back before suddenly returning his attention to where Loki had uncurled his hand and was watching the red burn heal back to blue. "Is that overt magic? Like the flame?"
Loki shook his head and lowered his hand. "It is a product of our immortality; you would see the same from Thor."
"Huh. Cool." Stark moved his hand over an empty part of the air and the blue screen appeared before him, having vanished at some point. He typed rapidly against a keyboard that appeared beneath the screen, then moved something on the screen and looked back at his machine, the screen vanishing from sight again. "Right. Back to something small, then. If fire gives you trouble, maybe water? Is there anything small involving water?"
Loki shrugged and raised both hands, cupped. Conjuring water was supposed to be slightly more difficult than fire, but it had always been his better element, and it took barely a second for his hands to fill with water. Almost as soon as his hands were full, it had frozen over from contact with his skin and he let out an irritated sound before letting the ice fall to the ground at his feet, shattering on impact. A motion had it vanishing from sight and he glanced back up towards Stark.
The mortal was tapping against the screen of light again, expression intent. After a moment, he called, "Put your illusions back up?"
Loki didn't hesitate to be rid of his Jötun form, but he left his clothing as it was for the moment.
Stark's eyebrows raised at his machine and he looked at Loki. "That's a high-level spell?" he asked.
"Relatively," Loki agreed, impressed.
"What about your teleporting trick? Is that easier or harder?" Stark wondered.
"About the same," Loki allowed. "Slightly more difficult to cast as more mass is involved, the greater the distance is, or if I am unfamiliar with my intended destination."
"What's the most difficult spell you know?" Banner asked, waving a hand for his own screen to appear next to him.
Loki considered that for a moment. "Most magically draining, or most dangerous to my person?"
Stark looked up at that, a glint in his eyes that hinted at what the mortals called 'gallows humour'. "Both."
"Travelling the realms without use of the Bifröst and astral projection, respectively."
"Astral projection?" Banner asked, curious. "Like you send your soul away from your body?"
Loki shrugged. "Essentially." He looked towards where Stark was waving his screen away. "What, exactly, are you intending to learn from these tests, Stark?"
"Well, figuring out when magic's involved, mostly," Stark explained, attention again on his machine. "Do another trick?"
Loki summoned a flame – there was no pain in this form – and had it form unnatural shapes, which was far more difficult than one might imagine. Stark's eyebrows raised and he looked up at Loki with some surprise. "Your machines seem able to know the difficulties of spells already," Loki said.
"Well, yeah, that's not hard," Stark said. "Once I know what energy I'm looking for, measuring it's a piece of cake. I don't suppose there's a way to know from the energy readings what a spell is?"
Loki shrugged and absently vanished the fire, summoning a small wind vortex to play along his hands and arms instead. "I wouldn't know. I can often recognise a spell from the sight or feeling of it, but I have never thought to observe how much energy is involved. Why are you so determined to do so?"
"One of your replacements likes to mix technology with magic," Stark explained and Loki had to bite back a laugh of derision at that comparison. "I want to know how he's enhancing the bots, what else they can do. And maybe look into ways to disrupt the spells or whatever, so we waste less time taking swarms out and more time hunting Doomy-Baby down."
"You don't wish to know how to add this magic to your own weapons?" Loki wondered, frowning when his wind vortex caught a lock of his hair and he had to reach up to free it; he knew from past experience that if he didn't intervene, it would pull the hair out, and while it would grow back quickly enough, he hardly enjoyed it.
"Fury would like us to discover how to apply magic to our weapons," Banner replied while Stark scowled and ducked behind his machine, "but Tony and I both refuse to do so. I think Fury plans to steal our research once it's far enough along and see if his scientists can't figure it out."
"Won't let him," Stark called, still out of sight. "Built a program to keep him out."
"How long did it take Phil to break past your security system last time?" Banner asked in a teasing manner. "Five minutes, wasn't it?"
Stark leaned into sight long enough to shoot Banner a glower, then was gone again, saying, "Yeah, but that's Magic Fingers Coulson. And, to be fair, I wasn't planning against him because he was supposedly dead. Thank you, Fury, you bastard. Anyway, Fury and Phil both have been prodding at JARVIS' security systems for the past month, trying to get into my files, and they've yet to get anything. Right, JARVIS?"
"That is correct, Sir," JARVIS replied. "Although, I cannot tell if they're honestly trying, or only testing things."
Something clattered behind the machine and Stark straightened so they could see him again. "No, JARVIS. Come on. Don't tell me these things!"
"I will avoid bringing my uncertainties up in the future, Sir," the computer promised.
"You are an absolute worthless waste of RAM," Stark said. "I'm going to shove you into a vacuum or blender and give you to some poor mother with six small children."
"I'm terrified, Sir," JARVIS deadpanned.
"Yeah, whatever. Make a note: Work on additional security measures to activate only when Fury and Phil are actually trying to play with my work. Also, maybe design a new virus for their systems."
"Tony!" Banner called, failing to hide a smile with a disappointed look.
"If they break into my computer system again, they'd deserve it," Stark insisted. "Right, Loki, show me more tricks. Teleportation, maybe?"
"To where shall I teleport?"
"Uh... Far side of the lab, I think."
The rest of the day was spent with Loki performing all manner of magic. For the most part, Stark would just say, "Do something," and Loki would do whatever came to mind. Once or twice he made a request, like for Loki to teleport with Banner, or for Loki to make copies of himself. Jane came down at one point with food and they ate in the lab, Loki listening in as the three humans debated Jane's work with the Bifröst.
When they finally broke to prepare for dinner, Loki was surprised to discover that he'd honestly enjoyed his time spent in the lab. It had been many centuries since he last took the opportunity to play with spells, and it had been even longer since he held company with people who were interested in his magic; the warriors of Asgard had little interest in magic tricks, and Loki had learned early on that he impressed no one by being able to conjure fire, though Frigga had many times tried to be interested.
Beyond the interest in his magic, however, was the easy acceptance of his species. There had been surprise, certainly, but none of the disgust and hatred of the Æsir. But then, Loki reminded himself as he picked through the clothing that Pepper had left for him in his room, they do not know the stories of the Jötun. They do not know them to be monsters. They know not what a monster I am.
And Loki was a monster, he knew, for what but a monster would think to kill his own race? What but a monster would think himself able to rule a planet?
Loki shook his thoughts away and changed the illusion on his clothing to match one of the outfits Pepper had found for him, then took the lift up to join the humans for dinner. It was Barton's turn and he'd ordered in something called 'pizza', which came in large boxes. The boxes were set on the table before the television and everyone settled into the couches – Loki thought about grabbing a chair, but Thor dragged him down to sit next to him, going on about how delicious pizza was – to watch a ridiculous programme about young humans competing at dancing. The Avengers took great joy in mocking mistakes, and between the two of them, Stark and Romanoff seemed to know everything there was to know about the different dance styles, bringing them to discuss the dances with far more decorum than the others.
Loki left them before the programme was over, shaking his head at their nonsense and stealing a half-empty pizza box, having quite enjoyed the food and intending to finish what was left in the privacy and quiet of his rooms. There, he once again looked through SHIELD files, focussing this time on the new enemies of the Avengers, such as Stark's 'Doomy-Baby', who turned out to actually be named Victor von Doom, alias 'Doctor Doom'.
He only made it to his bed by pure force of will, not interested in waking again in a chair.
The next morning, it was Romanoff who resided in the kitchen when Loki arrived. She nodded in acknowledgement of his presence, then they both settled in to ignore each other, Loki making himself breakfast and seating himself at the far end of the breakfast bar, some seats down from her.
Barton and Coulson came in next. When Barton looked ready to grab food and run again, Coulson whispered something to him and they both settled near Romanoff with cereal, the three of them speaking in hushed tones and otherwise ignoring Loki, which suited him fine.
Stark stumbled in shortly after, looking like he hadn't slept a wink and drinking an entire mug of coffee in front of the coffee machine before even seeming to realise anyone else was in the room. He poured himself another cup, then slid onto the stool next to Loki. "Mornin'," he mumbled.
"Good morning, Stark," Loki replied. "Have you slept at all?"
Stark took a moment to consider that, then shrugged. "A few hours, sure. Coffee machine in my lab's broke and I've been too distracted to come up here and get more." He snorted. "Need to fix that."
"How many months has it been now?" Romanoff asked, staring down the length of the breakfast bar, unimpressed. "Four?"
"Two and a half," Stark muttered into his mug, sounding amusingly petulant.
"Aren't you supposed to be some sort of mechanical genius or something?" Barton threw in, grinning widely at the chance to torment his housemate.
"Shut up, Bird Brain."
"I can see the headlines now, 'Tony Stark, Defeated By Drink Dispenser'!"
"I will kick you out," Stark threatened.
" 'Brilliance Baffled By Beverage Brewer'!"
"Nice alliteration," Coulson commented.
"I will defenestrate you, á la Loki," Stark snarled, but he was smiling.
" 'Philanthropist Flummoxed By Fuel Machine'!"
"Really?" Stark said, giving up all pretence and chuckling.
Barton shrugged. "I ran out of words beginning with 'f'. Or 'ph'."
"Why are you two arguing this time?" Banner asked as he stepped into the kitchen.
"Stark's coffee machine is still broken," Coulson explained. "Barton is threatening to take it to the press."
Banner sighed and gave Stark a helpless look. "Tony, can't you just buy a new one?"
"Nope."
"It's his favourite," Barton mocked.
"It's custom," Stark insisted.
"What, did you set it to make your coffee just right?" Barton teased.
Stark scowled and took a long gulp of his coffee, refusing to answer. Which was, really, answer enough.
"You did!" Barton crowed before letting out a grunt and turning a sad look on Romanoff. She shot him a violent smile and he, wisely, held off on further comment.
"You can customise a new one," Banner pointed out as he took the stool on Stark's other side, having grabbed a pre-packaged fruit salad from the refrigerator. "I'll help if you want me to."
Stark sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just...like that one."
Loki bit back the urge to comment on the human's sentimentality; his standing in the building was still too uncertain for him to try pushing buttons. Perhaps in a week, when they were used to his presence and less likely to shoot first.
Stark shook his head and looked at Loki. "So, do I get to play with you all day again?"
"How forward of you," Loki replied, flashing the human a coy smile.
Stark laughed while the three SHIELD agents down the way let out varied noises of horrified amusement. Banner choked on a half-chewed grape and spat it out before looking at Stark and Loki. "Maybe we should rethink letting the two of you spend any time together."
"I've got dibs, and you know how I am about people taking my stuff," Stark said, grin wide and mischievous. "I might be talked into sharing him, if you're very good, but I'm not sure how either of you are about threesomes–"
"Tony," Rogers called from the doorway, face red, and all but Coulson – who just smiled into his mug – burst out laughing.
"Sorry, Cap," Stark said once he'd quieted his laughter enough to speak.
"No you're not," Rogers said, sighing and rubbing a hand over his face.
Stark considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, okay, I'm not." He jumped backwards off his stool and grabbed for his mug once he had both feet on the floor. "Right. Loki? Let's take this down to the lab, if you're done?" Loki nodded and waved his dishes towards the sink, moving from his stool with considerably more grace. "Big Green, you coming?"
"No, you two get started without me," Banner replied, turning back to his fruit salad with a smile.
"But don't finish before he makes it down," Barton called, moving his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
"There's nothing wrong with a bit of extra foreplay before round two," Stark replied easily and Rogers choked over by the coffee machine.
"Perhaps you would require the break, but I have a short refractory period," Loki informed them with a hint of a smirk.
"So a threesome would work well for you?" Stark wondered, sounding honestly curious.
"Out," Rogers ordered, face bright red and pointing towards the doorway. "Both of you, now. Before I do something I'll regret."
"Seriously, Steve, you need to get laid," Stark said over his shoulder before they stepped out of sight of the kitchen inhabitants. Barton was laughing behind them and Loki thought he'd seen a smile from both Romanoff and Coulson before the wall had hidden them.
It was uncommon for Loki to find someone willing to join him in playing jokes or teasing others, and he couldn't stop a grin, even as a small part of him wilted at the reminder of days long past when he and Thor would run through the golden halls of the palace, setting crickets and frogs on unsuspecting servants and members of the court alike. Weapons training and Thor's friendship with the Warriors Three had put paid to that practise, and while Thor had still been willing to take part in an occasional trick of Loki's, most of his fun was forevermore created by his hands alone.
"Really?" Stark asked, breaking Loki from his thoughts. At Loki's uncomprehending frown, he clarified, "You really have a short refractory period?"
Loki shrugged and nodded. "I believe four minutes was the longest I've had to wait."
"I need to learn that trick," Stark muttered and Loki let out a snort of amusement. "So, wait, is it an immortality thing? Or a Jötun thing?"
Loki blinked in surprise, thrown more by the ease with which the human treated his race than by the question itself. "I am uncertain," he allowed. "I have never known another of my kind, though I know Thor has taken lovers in quick succession before, so it is likely to be a product of our immortality."
"Okay, seriously? I need this," Stark insisted. "Like, it's a shame that I don't have this skill. Like, think of all the extra time I could be spending in the bedroom with beautiful women that's been wasted. Wasted."
"I'm sure you could make something that would help," Loki commented, amused.
Stark paused for a moment, half in, half out of the lift, then his eyes lit up and he nearly ran to the keypad to let them into the lab. "I have an idea!"
When Banner finally made it down twenty minutes later, an omelette held in one hand, Loki was sitting on a work table and watching with a smirk as Stark worked to build a new machine, soot all over his face from an explosion. "Do I want to know?" Banner asked Loki as he joined him on the table, the omelette set to one side.
"He's trying to create a machine to enable him to have sex more regularly," Loki reported.
"Of course he is," Banner said with a sigh. "Tony?"
"Hey, Green Giant!" Stark called. His machine let out a burst of dark grey smoke and he leaned away from it, coughing.
Banner sighed again and slipped off the table, grabbing the omelette to approach Stark. "Work on that more later," he ordered, holding out the plate.
Stark blinked in surprise at the offered food, then smiled a bit sheepishly when his stomach growled. "Oh, yeah. Coffee isn't real food."
"No, it's not," Banner agreed. "Eat this while you run some more scans of Loki doing magic. Unless you had other plans?"
"Not today," Stark decided, grabbing a cloth from a random table and rubbing it over his face to clean it before tossing it away. "Alright with you, Rudolph?" he asked, looking at Loki.
Loki blinked. "Rudolph?" he replied, not moving.
"We need to get you up to date on Earth culture," Stark decided, accepting the plate from Banner and continuing on to the machine he'd been using yesterday. "Seriously, we will be having a Culture Week. You'll be forced to attend. Thor and Steve too, because all of you are failures. It's actually a bit sad, really, how badly the three of you fail. I mean, last week Clint made that Friends joke and Steve just sort of stared. Yeah, no, this will be fixed. Next week. JARVIS, make a note on everyone's schedules."
"Of course, Sir."
"Right!" Stark spun in place and looked at where Loki was watching him disbelievingly. "You, here. Come on, mojo to make, energy output to record."
"Eat the omelette," Banner ordered as Loki finally slid off the table, shaking his head. He'd find a reason to stay in Asgard for the next week. Somehow.
Stark settled in behind his machine while Loki took the familiar position in the centre of the cleared space. Stark ate with one hand while his other hand moved between his machine and the holographic screen, which flickered in and out of sight at his wordless direction. After a bit of this, the machine whirred to life and Stark blinked at whatever it told him and peeked around the edge to stare at Loki.
"Yes?" Loki asked when Stark continued to stare.
"Hm," Stark offered before returning to his position behind his machine. "Do something awesome," he ordered before shoving more omelette in his mouth.
Loki frowned, irrationally irritated, and set about changing various pieces of machinery into living organisms.
"I said awesome!" Stark shouted, diving after a Midgardian rabbit.
Loki turned the leftover omelette into a snake while Stark was chasing after the rabbit. "I find this quite fun," he informed the human drily.
"Loki," Banner said, unamused; a bird was attempting to nest in his hair. When Loki turned to him with a smirk, the man warned, "You don't want the Other Guy to show up."
Loki wasted no time in changing everything back, motioning for the bird to leave Banner's head before changing back into a large pipe and dropping to the floor with a loud 'clang'. Stark grunted with pain when the rabbit he'd been chasing turned into a large metal box just as he caught it.
Sighing, Stark shoved himself to his feet and started back to his usual spot. "Right. Let's try that again. And, this time, let's try and keep the metal metal, okay?"
Loki pressed his lips together for a long moment, then shrugged and set his magic to organising the lab.
When Jane came down with lunch, she made the appropriate noises of pleasure at the clean lab while Stark complained about not being able to find something or another. Banner seemed in good spirits, though he'd shot Loki a displeased look when Stark wondered after the last of his omelette, having forgotten about it until he was handed food. Loki had smiled innocently and distracted Jane with a conversation about the Bifröst.
When they finally exited for dinner, Loki joined Banner and Stark in the lift for the upper floors, distracted by listening to Stark debate what he would need to stop magic, since he wasn't having much luck discovering what spell was being used based on the energy readings. Much of the technicalities went over Loki's head, but he caught more than everyone other than Banner and Jane, judging by the expressions Stark was getting from the others when they started towards the television.
"Tony, shut up," Rogers requested as they settled into the couches, Loki again being dragged into the open spot next to Thor.
"Also, explain the 'Culture Week' that appeared on my calendar," Coulson ordered, shooting Stark a sharp look.
"Oh, right, that. Well, Loki totally didn't get the reference when I called him Rudolph, which is just shameful. And you know Thor won't get it either." He looked towards Thor, who shrugged. "Exactly. And we all know the Capsicle is ridiculously behind, so I thought we'd have a Culture Week. We can sit around and watch stupid old tv shows and listen to Christmas music out of season and, yeah. Everything. You guys don't have to come, but I will totally send Angry Green after Steve, Thor, or Loki if they try skipping."
"You're not sending Hulk after anyone," Rogers said, irritated.
"I'll get this okayed by Fury," Stark threatened. "Don't think I won't."
"Can he do that?" Barton asked Coulson.
"If it'll get Stark to shut up, Fury will agree, especially as it's no skin off his back," Coulson replied, eyes flickering over Rogers, Thor, and Loki pointedly before turning to Stark. "However, you cannot stop everyone from responding to–"
"Avengers, assemble," Fury's voice said over JARVIS' speaker system.
"That," Coulson finished.
"But we were about to eat," Barton complained as everyone rose to their feet and started towards the lift, Jane turning to the kitchen to get herself something to eat.
"Should make you quicker, then," Fury said, unconcerned. "Coulson, Widow, you're both on Loki until he's here at base."
"I'm capable of teleporting myself to your base and not keeping your 'heroes' from their duties," Loki commented coolly, glaring out the window, since Fury wasn't actually there to glare at.
Coulson tilted his head to one side. "Loki, could you teleport both your and myself to the base? I need to be there, anyway."
"Yes."
"Good." Coulson stood and smoothed down his suit. "Sir, Loki and I will be at base directly. Widow, stay with Banner until he's safe to Hulk out."
"Understood," Romanoff said over the speakers from down in her rooms.
"Don't fuck around, Loki," Fury growled.
Loki spent a moment thinking about causing trouble just because he could, but then Coulson was at his side, eyes sharp and knowing, and Loki shook the temptation away. "Where is this base?" he requested.
"We're still using the helicarrier, for the moment," Coulson replied. "Do you need exact coordinates, or...?"
Loki shook his head. "I can manage with just that. I will need to be touching your skin," he added and Coulson held out his hand for Loki to take, which he did. "This may not be pleasant," he warned and Coulson nodded in understanding. Focussing on the bridge of the helicarrier he'd once been held prisoner on, Loki shifted them through space.
There came the sound of guns clicking into a ready position and Loki frowned at the line-up of armed men facing them.
" 'Not pleasant' may have been putting it lightly," Coulson muttered, rubbing a hand over his mouth and stepping between Loki and the line of guns. "Gentlemen."
"Sir," they replied as one and lowered their guns to point at the deck.
Coulson nodded and turned to Loki. "This is your guard detail. Try not to lose them; I don't want to explain to your brother why they had to shoot you full of holes because you had to take a piss."
"Noted," Loki replied drily, eyeing his guards.
Coulson walked over to Fury, joining him at the screens he stood before. Fury watched Loki with a single, violent eye until he shrugged and turned to leave the bridge; Loki knew when he wasn't wanted.
"Stay out of the way of my agents," Fury called to Loki's retreating back and the god waved an acknowledging hand over his shoulder.
It didn't take Loki long to find an out-of-the-way room with some of Stark's holographic computer technology, and he settled in to see what SHIELD would actually allow him to look at in their systems when he wasn't doing so through Stark's server. His guards looked rather uncomfortable to see him trying some of the paths he tried, and he always laughed when he was shut out of a file he'd already read. He laughed the hardest when the system locked him out of Thor's file, as if he didn't know everything there was to know about his not-brother already.
The system did let him into his own files and he took an inordinate amount of pleasure on reading up on himself from the perspective of these humans. Their fear of him showed through in the report, and the note to one side claiming him to not be a threat nearly had him giggling – he wondered if Fury had really approved that status.
Loki was just contemplating changing his file – he had no doubt he could manage it, though his guards might put up a fight about it if they caught on – when Coulson stepped into the room. "We can head back," he reported, nodding to the leader of Loki's guards.
Loki glanced at the clock to the side of his holographic screen before waving the whole thing away. "That didn't take as long as I'd thought it would have."
"More a false alarm than anything," Coulson replied.
Loki wondered what he wasn't being told for a brief moment before deciding he didn't care and shrugging it off. "Very well. To the tower?"
Coulson's mouth twisted with distaste, but he held out his hand for Loki to take. "If you would. Gentlemen," he added to the guards. They nodded and started to disperse as Loki pulled them back to the tower.
Thor was talking to Jane when they reappeared in the main floor, gesturing with excitement as he relayed the events of their battle. He stopped long enough to smile at Loki, booming, "How was your stay, Brother?"
"Not nearly as interesting as your fight," Loki returned drily as he dropped into the spot on the couch that Thor kept pulling him into. He was tired from teleporting himself and another twice after having spent all day performing tricks for Stark.
Thor returned to his story and Loki closed his eyes, just tired enough to find comfort in the familiar boom of his not-brother's voice. He didn't realise that time had passed until someone shook his shoulder. He blinked his eyes open and found Thor watching him with a worried frown. "Brother? Are you well?"
"I'm fine," Loki insisted, shoving Thor so he wasn't quite so close.
Thor reached up and ran a hand through Loki's hair, ignoring his attempt to duck the touch. "You had not stirred when food was offered, and you look tired, Brother."
"So I'm tired," Loki snarled, shoving Thor harder and rolling under his arm and along the empty couch, until he could stand without Thor being in the way. He saw the others coming out of the kitchen, bearing food, and bared his teeth at them before using his magic to transport him to his room.
As soon as the room formed around him, he sunk to his knees, drained, and closed his eyes against the flare of a headache.
"Loki, are you well?" JARVIS asked, voice strangely soothing.
Loki managed a nod, but a quiet grunt was the only noise he could make.
"Should I have Dr Banner attend to you?" JARVIS offered.
Loki shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. "Just sleep," he bit out. "Lights."
The room fell into darkness, the glass of the windows darkened against the New York skyline. Loki let out a quiet breath as his headache lessened and he stumbled to his bed, dropping onto it uncaringly. He was asleep before he could even consider moving his blankets over himself.
-0-
A/N: I feel like the more canon I get Tony, the less canon Loki is. ARGH.
~Bats ^.^x
Whatever Lies Beyond This Morning
Like So Much Shattered Glass Chapters:
One |
Rough Edges Chapters:
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven
Christmas Tunes
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