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batsutousaiTitle: Rough Edges
Chapter: 5 of 7
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse)
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: T
Pairings: Tony Stark/Loki Odinson(Laufeyson), Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanoff/Clint Barton, Thor Odinson/Jane Foster
Warnings: Spoilers for The Avengers (2012) and prequel films, angst
Summary: Sequel to Like So Much Shattered Glass. Loki has found a place amongst the Avengers as a member of their team, but he's made a great many enemies in the process and life is never easy.
A/N: I've been SO GOOD about writing every day out. But they're not really doing anything new for a couple days, so this chapter starts with a bit of a digest of a few days, an adventure in saving the world, and some TONY ANGST. (What the balls, right? XD)
Plot next chapter, should be. (I found the damn thing. Would have popped in this chapter, but TONY ANGST got in the way. ^.^")
Also, I finally got around to watching the Fantastic Four films, so that lot will appear in this chapter. (Mostly because I needed the Human Torch for my evil plans. You'll see.)
Sorry in advance for anyone that doesn't know anything about them/like them? Minor part. Honest. (The Atlanteans get a bigger part; and the individuals among them are made up, fyi.)
-5-
Sunday evening, Loki and Stark laughed at Thor's disapproving comments for having missed seeing Odin and Frigga off while Barton made snarky comments about what a 'healthy' sex life entailed and Rogers hid in the gym from all of them. Loki got the 'don't hurt him' line from Pepper, to which he made no promises, and only just kept himself from pointing out that, of the two of them, she was the one who'd most harmed him so far.
Monday was spent practising some magic with Jane and Banner before lunch, then the whole team curling up in front of the television for some films, only broken once by a minor incursion of Doombots, which took them all of two minutes to take out once they all agreed to pull out the AMF Mark II. (The agreement took them six minutes, Rogers arguing about the danger while Loki, Thor, and Stark insisted it would be fine, and Fury yelled at them to 'Just get the fucking job done and go back to your tower of Barney-love, or whatever you fuck-ups do in there'.) Loki and Stark may or may not have ended the day fucking in the office that was technically Fury's on the upper floor of the tower. Just for their own amusement. (And Barton's, once he found out about it. Two hours worth of blank camera footage were in JARVIS' systems by midnight, and Loki and Stark made jokes about whether it was Romanoff or Coulson that Barton had managed to talk into following their example.)
Tuesday morning, Loki left early for his transport to Asgard. The Bifröst site had been moved to over Avengers Tower on Odin's order, so Loki didn't have to teleport to leave, but he did make a comment to the Allfather about leaving it in so populated an area, especially with how often it was used and how noticeable the tower was. It wasn't until he pointed out that their enemies would quickly correlate the Avengers' decreased numbers with the Bifröst's activation and attack en masse while Loki was gone that Odin agreed to return the Bifröst site to New Mexico before Loki's next visit.
Wednesday dawned painfully early to the sound of Fury calling, "Avengers, assemble."
"I refuse," Stark muttered against Loki's throat as he curled closer to the god.
"Stark, so help me, you do not–"
Loki touched a frozen hand to Stark's stomach and he let out a shriek and rolled off the bed with a crash. "He's up," Loki informed Fury and the rest of the tower, earning him a chorus of laughter.
"I hate you all," Stark complained as he climbed to his feet. Then he sort of stared as Loki shifted to female. "Okay, yeah, no, not coming," he announced and hopped back into the bed.
"Yes. You are," Rogers insisted.
Loki caught Stark's chin. "Later," she promised before sliding from the bed, her Asgardian garb shimmering into view around her.
"Cock blocker," Stark muttered and moved to put on his protective under-suit
"Talk to the bad guys," Banner suggested as Loki teleported up to the common floor to await Coulson.
"You just don't understand, Brucy. We need to find you a woman so you can understand–"
"Would you fucking sex-a-holics shut up and get moving?" Fury snarled.
"The director needs a lady friend," Barton suggested.
"I am docking your pay, motherfucker. And if you're not on that quinjet in five minutes, I'm locking you in the cage up here for a week."
"Nice going, Abu," Stark offered as the lift door opened and Coulson stepped out to join Loki, a tablet in one hand.
"Both of you, shut up," the agent ordered. "Helicarrier, please," he added to Loki and she quickly teleported them. Coulson was moving as soon as they appeared, long used to the teleportation now, and asking, "Sir, none of this makes any sense. Why call the Avengers in for a rescue op?"
"Thirty minutes ago, a giant wave hit Florida. The Bahamas and Key West are completely submerged and everything along the eastern coast as far north as Fort Pierce is suffering severe flooding. Reports are coming in from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and other islands edging the Caribbean Sea about their own rash of flooding. Rescue attempts are already underway, but no one's managed to figure out the cause of the wave yet, and it looks like another one is coming." Fury turned to Loki, eyes cold and sharp. "I need you to get down there and stop that fucking wave before it hits. Use ice, teleport the water to Antarctica, I don't care, but you do not let it hit land."
"I won't make promises I can't keep, but I will do my best," Loki replied and teleported to the Florida coast. The water was at least chest-deep on her and she grimaced as she pushed away from the pavement, using the buoyancy of the water to help her magic get her in the air. Flying with magic wasn't her preferred method of travel – that had always been more Thor's skill-set than hers – but she could do it when needed. And this time it was needed, as she had to track away from the coast and see how manageable the wave would be.
"Shit," she breathed when she came up on it; the tower of water was at least twice her height and disappeared to either end into the distance.
"I don't like the sound of 'shit'," Romanoff commented.
"How bad are we talking, Emerald Frost?" Rogers asked.
"Pretty fucking bad," a voice said from behind Loki and she turned to find a human-shaped fireball behind her. "You are hot, by the way," the fireball added.
"Is that Storm?" Barton called. "If it's Storm, tell him he still owes me fifty bucks and I'm taking it out of his flamed ass."
"Hawkeye, keep your gambling habits off the radio," Coulson ordered while the fireball laughed.
"Noted, B-Eye," the fireball – Storm, apparently – replied and Loki realised he must have some sort of headset, though she couldn't begin to imagine how it hadn't burned up.
"Focus!" Fury snapped at all of them. "Emerald Frost, Human Torch, what can you two do to stop that wave?"
Loki considered their options as both she and Storm moved back, away from the quickly-moving wave. "Can you heat it enough to make it evaporate?" she asked the fireball.
"You got it, beautiful."
"Good. Go left, I'll handle the right side."
"And what are you going to do?" Storm asked. "Frost it a bit?" His burning lips turned with a smile.
"I will give her permission to frost you if you don't fucking move it," Fury snarled.
"Also, she's spoken for," Stark added, voice tight, and Loki flashed a cold smile at Storm as she motioned for the Casket of Ancient Winters to appear in her hands.
"Blue. Blue is new," Storm commented, then yelled and hurried away as the wave froze some feet from them and bits of it fell off to shoot at him. "Going!" he called, his voice clear over the comms in spite of the steam hissing at his passing.
Loki sighed and turned the other way, reaching out through the Casket to freeze only enough water to make something of a wall against further waves. She would never have had the time to do the whole length of wave on her own, and she'd have to run another wall along the other way if another wave came in, but their priority was keeping this one back, even if it meant more work later.
She flew past half-submerged islands until the wave subsided into nothing, then motioned the Casket away and teleported back to her starting point. Dark clouds were gathering over the line Storm had taken and she called, "Thor, you need to collect that storm and take it out over the ocean before it opens over land, or all of this will have been for nothing."
"I will do so," Thor agreed grimly and the clouds rumbled with the sound of his thunder.
The familiar sound of repulsors had Loki turning to watch as Stark came in for a gentle landing against the thick crust of ice she was standing on. "Hi. Interesting decorating scheme."
"You were running a little late, so I thought I'd redecorate without your input."
"It's to my tastes," Stark assured her.
"Oh, gag me," Barton complained.
"Save the kissing for later," Fury ordered, irritation warring with disgust in his voice and Loki smirked. "Iron Man, Human Torch, get out there and see if you can find what's causing these waves. Emerald Frost, tell me that wall can hold back the next incoming."
"It should be able to," Loki agreed as Stark took off and flew away from the coast. "I won't be able to complete it until the next wave reaches what I've got, however."
"You've got about two minutes," Coulson informed her as Fury turned his attention to the rescue efforts along the coast, assured that the worst of the danger was handled.
Loki took the chance to relax her magic while she waited. When she heard the storm of water, she motioned for the Casket and started along the wave going north, continuing her wall of ice.
She was just finishing when Iron Man let out a curse, then called, "I don't speak mermaid or giant sea snake, so I could use a little help out here!"
"Yeah, you're on your own," Storm commented.
"Useless fuck."
"I'm on my way," Loki replied and gathered magic for a blind transport, her heart thrumming uneasily in her chest; Jörmungand was here? Why? And why was he fighting with mermaids?
"I swear to God, Emerald Frost, if visiting your kid makes him cause natural disasters–"
"With all due respect, Director: Shut up," Loki snarled back before teleporting. She fell about a foot through empty air before a metal arm caught her around the waist and she was pulled against Stark's metal-covered chest.
"Not your best landing."
"Teleporting blindly," Loki informed him as she looked over the ocean beneath them for the creatures he'd reported. "Also, a lack of firm ground."
Stark lowered them closer to the water, saying, "Excuses, excuses."
Her eyes sharpened as she finally caught sight of the underwater battle and she snapped, "Jörmungand!"
Her son jerked in surprise, then lifted his head from the water – flinching at the blasts of energy the merfolk were shooting against his scales – and hissed, "Mama! You're okay!"
Loki sighed. "Yes, of course I'm okay," she told him, motioning to form a protective film of magic between Jörmungand and the merfolk.
"He was worried about you?" Stark realised as he brought them slowly to hover next to the serpent's head. "Of course. It's been almost a week since you last went for a visit."
"I'm sorry, Jör," Loki murmured as she brushed a hand against Jörmungand's head. "I didn't mean to worry you, my sweet. I was just...otherwise occupied."
"Save us the sordid love story," Fury growled.
"Shut up," Loki and Stark chorused, irritated.
"JARVIS, cut the outgoing," Stark added and the earpiece crackled for a moment.
"Mama?" Jörmungand said, uncertain.
"Don't you dare cut me off, you little–"
"On that note, cut off incoming too, unless it's important," Stark added tiredly and Fury's voice in Loki's ear fell silent.
"Midgardian technology," Loki told her son soothingly. "Concern yourself not."
Stark's visor opened and Jörmungand jerked back slightly, before he moved his head even closer, staring at the human. "Hi," Stark said. "What the fuck is up with the fish people?"
Jörmungand glanced down at the irritated party, who were still attacking the serpent's neck under the water, either uncaring or not having noticed that his attention had moved on. "I wanted to see Mama," Jörmungand explained, Loki translating for her lover when Stark's brow wrinkled at the hissing, "and I may have played a prank on them some centuries ago, but I meant no harm! I wasn't even anywhere near their city. Yet."
"Yet," Stark repeated, eyes dancing with amusement over his frown. "So you were going to be near their city. Yeah, okay. Underwater cities; weirder things have happened. What was the prank that ticked them off?"
"I moved their city. Three times."
Loki was laughing too hard to translate that for Stark and the human let out a helpless sigh as he let her laugh for a moment before threatening, "I will drop you."
Loki hit his chest plate and waved Jörmungand off when he hissed angrily. "Jör, it's fine. He wouldn't really drop me." She smiled at the human, silently promising retribution if Stark even considered dropping her and his arm tightened around her waist. "Jörmungand moved their city on them."
"I approve of this. For the record," Stark decided. "How far'd you move it? Like, just a couple miles? Or serious distance."
"They were originally to the south," Jörmungand told Loki and she translated again, "near the Little Jötunheim."
"Antarctica," Stark guessed when Loki didn't have another name for the land her son spoke of. "That is an awesome prank. I love it. Can I borrow it? I'll knock out, like, the entirety of SHIELD with sleep gas one day or something and set the auto-pilot to land them in... Actually, yeah. Antarctica. Can we make pretend Jötun? And then they'll wake up and–"
"Fury would have your head – both our heads, truly – when he finally figured out what had happened," Loki pointed out drily while Jörmungand hissed with laughter.
"Totally worth it, though. We can hide behind Steve. Or blame it all on Clint." Stark nodded. "Both, even; hide behind Steve while blaming it on Cli–"
"Shut up, Tony," Loki ordered and the human's mouth snapped shut, grinning madly.
"I like this Midgardian, Mama," Jörmungand informed Loki. "Is he one of the ones you live and do good deeds with?"
"He is," Loki agreed, ignoring Stark's confusion. "Jörmungand, your fight is flooding the mainland."
Her son sort of ducked his head closer to the ocean surface. "Sorry, Mama. I've been trying to explain that I don't mean harm, but they're not listening."
"Okay," Stark said when Loki translated that, "Language barrier? Maybe."
"It is...not outside of the possibilities," Loki allowed before sighing. "Very well. Tony, I will go down and speak to them, you regain contact with Fury and the rest of the team and tell them we are taking care of the disturbance."
"I thought I wasn't allowed to drop you," Stark returned.
Loki gave him a dry look. "You're not. Jörmungand, come here. Mama needs to speak with your friends."
Once Jörmungand was in range, Loki hopped over to her son's head, taking care to avoid any scales showing signs of shedding, as she knew they would be sensitive. Jörmungand obediently moved back down towards the water's surface – waiting until Loki had encased herself in a bubble of air before submerging – while Stark's visor fell closed and he, hopefully, opened communications again.
Underwater, it didn't take long for Jörmungand's attackers to recognise that there was now a human-shaped figure standing calmly on the serpent's head. They stopped their attacks at a motion from one of the men, who then swam forward, eyeing Jörmungand with distrust. He stopped just outside Loki's air bubble and made a series of motions before pointing between Loki and Jörmungand.
"This is Jörmungand, my son," Loki informed him, her magic carrying her voice to the humanoid, who she could now see looked very like a human, though he was blue and had gills to either side of his neck. The man narrowed his eyes, the grip on his staff tightening and Loki asked, "Can you breathe above water? I would speak with you and yours."
The man gave a jerky nod and motioned towards the others beyond him before they all started up to the surface, Jörmungand half a second behind them.
On the surface, Stark was waiting for them with his visor up and expression unamused. "I'll get a chewing out later, and the rest of the team is on their way since the rescue is being handled fine by the military. Thor should be here–" Stark closed his mouth and quirked a tiny smile as the blond god zoomed into sight, coming for a gentle landing on Jörmungand's head after checking to ensure he wouldn't hurt the serpent.
"Nephew," Thor rumbled to Jörmungand while he glared over the gathered blue human-like men who were treading water in front of them.
"We're not here to further a fight, Thor," Loki reminded her brother.
"If you've not come to fight, then why come with this beast at all?" the lead of the blue humans demanded. "You claim a familial attachment to such a–"
"You would do well to watch how you speak of my nephew, little man," Thor snarled, raising Mjölnir.
"Jeeze," Stark cut in before the blue humans could do more than raise the tips of their spears above the surface of the water. "Thunder, deep breath. You, Smurfs, stop attacking the snake – physically or verbally – before we all get fried with lightning, right? Alternately, frozen; Mama Loki makes the North Pole look warm. So, can it."
"Do all surface dwellers have attachment to monstrous–" the lead blue human started.
"And I will blast you out of the water for that word. Really. Didn't your folks ever teach you that if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all? 'Cause even I got that lesson. From a teacher, but still. Seriously. Shut up. No, wait, don't shut up. Or do, but–"
"Tony," Loki cut in, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. His mouth snapped shut over a nervous chuckle. Loki took a breath, then said, "I'm Loki Friggadottir, this is Thor Odinson, my brother; Jörmungand Lokison, my son; and Tony Stark. Tony is of this planet, Thor, Jörmungand, and I are of Asgard, another realm." She glanced towards the quinjet as it came close enough that even Stark could hear it with his limited human hearing. "Tony, I would create a place for them to land."
Stark picked her up and helped her to a clear patch of ocean not far from where the blue humans had drifted together. She motioned for the Casket and used it to freeze over a significant area of water, making it deep enough to hold the weight of the quinjet, ignoring the surprised sounds the blue humans made at her colour change. Once the quinjet had landed and the engines were quiet, Loki, Stark, and Thor joined the rest of the humans on the ice.
Rogers took the lead, holding out a hand of peace to the leader of the blue humans. "Captain Steve Rogers, leader of the Avengers. This is Dr Bruce Banner, and Agents Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. We're all humans – surface dwellers, you called us? – like Tony. And you are?"
The leader appeared calmed to be speaking to someone so obviously in charge and took Roger's offered hand in a shake. "I am Shamar, First Guard of Atlantis."
"Holy fuck," Barton breathed as Banner and Stark's eyes both widened.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shamar," Rogers replied without any sign of the awe the other male humans were showing. "If I may, why were you attacking Jörmungand?"
"It always leaves damage in its wake," Shamar spat, glaring at Jörmungand.
"Damage," Loki repeated, unimpressed. "He said he moved your city a few times as a joke."
"After his visits, things change, yes," Shamar agreed, anger in his beady eyes. "We must learn again our habitat and discover new sources of foods and required materials. We lose those who go out before a move and never return. We lose those who fall to new dangers in exploring new land."
"I'm sorry, Mama. I never meant harm," Jörmungand hissed, head hanging.
"You never do," Thor commented and Jörmungand flinched away from the frown of his uncle. His point made, Thor turned to Shamar, every inch the crown prince. "I apologise for my nephew, Shamar. He was much younger when you had crossed paths; our leaders had separated him from my sister before he was fully grown and it is only now that either of us have again seen him. He has been lonely, and creating humour in whatever place he might find it in his exile. He truly meant no harm. I would ask your forgiveness, on his behalf, for his actions against your people."
Loki admitted to being quite impressed by Thor's words; she knew he could act in a manner befitting of his title, but he had always been more inclined to acting before he thought. Midgard is good for him.
Shamar, too, seemed thrown by Thor's manner, paddling uncertainly in the water. "I cannot accept your apology on behalf of my people, and I cannot say that my king would accept it, either, not after all the damage done, the lives lost."
"How many?" Stark asked, his visor closed over his face.
"Excuse me?"
"How many of your people have been lost or died from Junior's pranks?"
Shamar looked back over his men and one of them offered, "One hundred seventy-some."
Stark's visor flipped back, showing his flat stare. "Your little spat out here killed sixty thousand humans and wounded over one hundred thousand. Almost two hundred ninety thousand are still unaccounted for."
They were all painfully silent for a long moment as those numbers soaked in.
"Junior was coming to check on his mom because she'd been unavoidably detained from visiting him for five days. He just wanted to drop by New York, freak out the locals, and check how Loki was doing. And you fuckers had to go and start a fight five hundred miles from shore. So, well done. Balloons, confetti, the whole party. You win a kill count."
"We were defending our home," Shamar snarled.
Stark smiled coldly. "Okay, no, because I know Junior's mom. So I have to ask, have you ever seen him before he moved your city? Were you ever expecting it? 'Cause you said you lost people who'd gone out before it was moved and never made it back."
The Atlanteans were silent.
"Didn't think so."
"Tony," Rogers interrupted before the armoured human could continue, "we get the point." He turned back to Shamar, who stared up at him in challenge. "We don't want a war with your people, Shamar. Jörmungand will swear not to move your city again if you can agree not to attack him in the future when he comes up this way to visit Loki and Thor. Can you at least make that much of a promise on behalf of your people?"
Shamar glared towards Jörmungand, then glanced over the array of humanoids on the floating patch of ice, past Thor's stare, Loki's icy smile, Stark's narrowed eyes, and the other three's silent frowns. He again met Roger's eyes, the challenge in his own eyes gone. "That I can make."
"Jörmungand," Loki ordered.
"I promise to stay away from their city, Mama," Jörmungand replied, nodding.
"And Loki and I will see to it that he keeps that promise," Thor added to the Atlanteans.
Shamar gave a jerky nod, then turned and motioned to his men. They all dove back under the water, swimming away.
"I hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the ass," Banner commented tiredly.
"We have a giant snake who can play hide-and-go-seek with their city," Stark replied drily. "I think we're either gonna be best buds, or agree to ignore each other."
"Either way, it's out of our hands," Rogers declared, rubbing a hand over his mouth. "Jörmungand, are you still going to come up to New York?" he asked the serpent.
Jörmungand looked towards Loki and Thor. "May I?"
"It would be well to show him where we reside," Thor commented.
"And set up a way for him to get in contact with you without scaring any humans," Stark agreed. "I can rig something up today and we can find a place to set it up tonight or something."
"I would like that," Jörmungand agreed.
"If we are no longer needed in Florida?" Loki asked the humans.
"It's all clean-up and rescue, now," Romanoff reported, touching one hand to her ear to show she was listening to her earpiece, and Loki had to wonder how many had been on for that conversation, since hers hadn't. "Coulson says he's going to take a helicopter back to the tower and for Loki and Thor to stay with Jörmungand until he's safely outside New York City and hidden away for whatever's left of the day by then. Everyone else, back to the tower for a debrief."
"Fun, fun," Stark muttered before snapping his visor closed. "See everyone back at home. Don't stay out too late with your kid, Smurfette, or I might get jealous."
"Hm. In that case..." Loki returned and Stark laughed before jumping and jetting away from the ice.
"Safe travels," Rogers offered to the three immortals while the humans all climbed into the quinjet.
"Likewise," Thor replied before turning to Loki and Jörmungand. "How shall we do this? I could fly overhead and give directions."
"I know where I'm going, Uncle," Jörmungand insisted. "You and Mama can ride my head under the water. If Mama can hold her spell long enough?"
"I will manage fine," Loki agreed. At Thor's sceptical look, she said, "It is a simple spell, Brother, and one translated to the Midgardian magic so I use none of my own stores. If I reach a point when I need to use my own magic, there is a Jötun variation I can keep up for some hours without danger."
"As you say, then, Sister," Thor agreed and Jörmungand lowered his head for his mother and uncle to climb aboard. Once they were situated, he submerged and they started the trip to New York.
-0-
By the time Loki, Thor, and Jörmungand got to the mouth of the Lower Bay, the sun was low against the western horizon, glinting against the buildings in the distance.
"Pretty," Jörmungand commented as they stopped before entering the Bay, his head raised enough over the small waves that he could speak and be understood by his relatives. "It wasn't like this last time I was up here."
"Humans evolve quickly," Loki commented as she dialled Stark's mobile. Thor was watching over her shoulder, looking hopeful and a little pathetic. "Ask Stark," she told him.
"I thought you were calling him Tony," Thor commented.
Loki grimaced. "I'm trying."
Thor shook his head, amused.
"Hello there, Princess. Back in town?" Stark cooed as he picked up on his end.
Loki rolled her eyes. "Near enough. Thor and I agree that the Bay might be a little crowded, so we're just outside. Is your device finished?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Just gotta install it and make sure Junior can activate it fine. Also, I'd like to see if I can't build a program to translate him for the rest of us. So, you know, if you or Thor aren't around, we're not stuck with one-way communication."
Loki blinked. "That would...Jörmungand would like that, I think."
"What? What? What will I like?"
"Something to translate your speech for the humans," Loki informed him.
Jörmungand hissed happily. "I'd like that," he agreed.
"It'll take a bit, and I'm gonna need you or Thor to translate for a bit until JARVIS and I find a pattern to the sounds he makes," Stark added, tone serious in spite of the sound of a smile. "If he's good with hanging out up here for a bit, I should have it finished inside a week."
"If you are willing to remain here for the next week, Tony believes he can have something put together," Loki told her son.
"I can!" Jörmungand immediately agreed. Then, quieter, "I might have to leave to hunt, but I can do that when Mama and Uncle Thor and their humans are sleeping."
"You assume we sleep at the same time," Thor replied with a chuckle.
"Tony keeps to my schedule, for the most part, and he's the worst of them," Loki pointed out and Thor snorted, resigned to Loki and Stark's relationship. "He can stay, though he may have to leave in the nights for hunting," she told Stark.
"Sure thing, makes sense." He paused for a moment and Loki heard a garbled noise coming through the speakers. "Huh. Clint wants to know if Junior likes pizza. He was gonna order it for dinner, and there's nothing saying we can't eat with your kid. Keep him company. And work on the translation program a bit."
Loki considered that, running a hand lightly against a shedding scale. "I do not know that I would trust your tomato-based sauce, but I see nothing else on a pizza that Jörmungand couldn't eat."
"What's a 'pizza'?" Jörmungand asked Thor.
"It's delicious," Thor replied.
"Though Barton will need to order many, I should think, to come anywhere near sating Jörmungand's hunger."
Stark laughed. "Yeah, figured that much. Well, we can order like we've got Snow White and the Three Dwarves in residence, and if he's still hungry after, he can get a hunt in tonight. See what sort of options he's got in the area when he's not starved, yeah?"
Loki smiled. "That would be appreciated. Do not give Barton my thanks."
Stark laughed again. "I'll say it's from Thor, then. I should be out there in five minutes or so to install my tech; everyone else should show up with the pizza in half an hour or so."
"We shall see you shortly, then," Loki returned and hung up. To her son and brother, she explained, "St–Tony will be here shortly to put together his technology for Jörmungand, and the others will arrive with the pizza in half an hour or so."
"They would do well to go to many shops, I should think," Thor commented worriedly.
"They will manage, I must assume," Loki replied. "Jör, you may still have to hunt tonight, but at least you won't do so in a new territory while starved."
"Thank you, Mama," Jörmungand replied happily.
Loki smiled and smoothed healing magic along the shedding scales within her reach.
"Sister," Thor started uncertainly. When Loki raised an eyebrow in query, he fidgeted for a moment before asking, "Might I see your phone?"
"If you break it–" Loki started as she held it out to him.
"Yes, I know. You'll fix it only so you might break it again over my head. I shall endeavour to return it as it currently exists."
Jörmungand hissed laughter and Loki rolled her eyes and returned to soothing her son's scales while Thor frowned in concentration over the mobile.
Stark flew up eventually, again in his suit, with a large, dull silver piece of technology in one hand. "Hey," he said as he hovered in front of Jörmungand. "This can go underwater. If you wanna dive down and show me a good place that you can reach it at, I'll install it and show you how to use it, yeah? Sorry, Genie, Thunder. Gonna have to borrow your ride."
"That's well enough," Thor decided, standing carefully. "Sister, do you require assistance to land?" he asked as he handed her mobile back to her.
"I've got comms open if I need a translation," Stark said when she looked to him, and his voice echoed in her ear. "I need to make sure he can do this without worrying about knocking you guys off. I promise not to hurt him, yeah?"
Loki sighed and nodded to Thor. "Very well."
As Thor lifted her away from Jörmungand and Stark, the human said through the comms, "Are you sure it was wise to let him at your phone?"
Loki snorted. "I wasn't about to argue over it."
"What are you two talking about?" Thor asked, sounding hurt.
"Your proclivity for damaging human technology," Loki informed him and Stark chuckled through the comms.
"I'm not that bad!" Thor complained as they settled on a small pier. "Am I?" he asked of Loki.
"You are better than their stories would have me believe," Loki allowed. "But I wasn't here when you first arrived. And your power is that of storms, Brother, which indicates an excess of electricity; Tony's suit might be able to handle it, but most of their technology cannot."
"Exactly that," Stark replied. "Thor, buddy, remember how long it took me to figure out a working headset for you? You'd fry them every time you called up a storm. And you're a little better with technology than Steve, morning debates with kitchen appliances notwithstanding."
"It was not my fault that the toaster exploded," Thor insisted.
Stark snorted. "You put the wrapper, with both pastries, into one slot. Steve and Clint both tried to stop you. Totally your fault."
Loki shook her head and patted Thor's arm when he looked pitiful. "At least you have since learned better," she commented and he smiled a bit sheepishly.
"Oh. Oh, wait. I need to tell you about the three times he blew up the microwave," Stark replied, sounding gleeful. "It was epic. I mean, the first time was as much Steve's fault as Thor's, and there's still some debate about whether or not a fourth time was Thor's fault, or Clint being a little fuck."
"I resent that remark," Barton cut in.
"You mean you resemble that remark," Romanoff returned drily and Thor and Loki joined the humans in laughing at the two agents. "We've got an ETA of ten minutes, assuming this next pizza place is as efficient as the first two."
"Hear that, Junior? Human food, ten minutes. Your taste buds will explode with joy. Boom!"
"Mama? Is that a good thing?" Loki heard Jörmungand hiss over the comms, as though from a distance.
Loki sighed. "Tony, take care to mind your human phrasings around my son."
"Whoops," Stark returned, sounding anything but sorry. "I didn't mean literally exploding, Junior. Mom says I need to speak like an adult, now."
"You know, I'm not sure you're capable of that," Banner commented and they all laughed again.
"Ha-ha. Funny. I'm going back to my job. If you skip on my pizza, Robin Hood, I'll have Smurfette hang you outside overnight."
"We'll build you a nest and everything," Loki agreed cheerfully.
"Can we...I dunno, veto the two of you spending time together?" Barton complained. "Also, Thor, buddy, you have got to give me blackmail on your sister. Like, seriously. Stark's giving her all the good stuff on us."
Thor glanced at Loki's amused smirk. "I fear Loki may well be providing Tony with blackmail of his own."
"See. We gotta team up."
"I can still hear you, Barton," Loki reminded him.
"We'll talk later. Go for a walk. Evil plans," Barton told Thor, who nodded seriously while Loki fought the urge to cackle.
"You're both pathetic," Romanoff told them.
"Hey, Tony's scared of you," Barton insisted, "You're safe. And Bruce and Jane are in Tony and Loki's good books. And no one's got blackmail on Coulson–"
"That's because I'm not an idiot."
"Yeah, thanks for that," Barton muttered. "So that leaves Thor and me. And Steve. Cap, join us."
"This is like a terrible, secret boy-band. Are you going to start dating around with each other's girl- and/or boy-friends?" Stark asked. "No, wait, not even dating around. Coulson can do the smart thing and dump you for Cap. And then we can all move past your weird, complicated like I can't even articulate–"
"Look who's talking," Barton cut in. "Your boyfriend likes to play a girl every few days."
"Women who kick ass are all the rage," Stark shot back without missing a beat. "And she looks hot while doing it. Bonus."
"Are you flirting with me to win an argument with a monkey?" Loki asked and Stark cackled while Barton groaned.
"Do I need to institute a rule about discussing relationships and your sex lives over the comms?" Coulson asked.
"Yes," Thor, Banner, and Rogers all insisted, while Stark and Barton quickly called, "Nope!" Loki decided she didn't care one way or the other, and assumed that Romanoff felt the same way; the reactions were amusing, but more so when she could see their expressions.
"Three to two, majority wins," Rogers pointed out. "And Phil's with us, aren't you Phil?"
"Oh, God. It's the Cap-Eyes. Come on, Coulson. Don't fall for his big blues," Barton complained.
"New policy," Coulson declared and Barton and Stark both groaned. "No discussing your relationships or sex lives over the comms. It's a security breech, as well as distracting to the team. First offence is a slap on the wrist, second offences mean time-out, third offences get turned over to Director Fury for punishment."
"...time-out for how long?" Stark asked and Loki saw him and Jörmungand rising from the water in the distance.
"At least twenty-four hours," Coulson returned. "Up to forty-eight hours if you're particularly obnoxious."
"What's my time-out?" Barton wanted to know.
"You don't want to know," Coulson and Romanoff chorused.
"Holy fuck. Yeah, I'll be good from now on," Barton promised.
"Spoil sports," Stark complained as he came down to stop next to Loki and Thor.
Jörmungand butted Loki with his nose and she smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Hello again, my sweet," she murmured to him. "Can you use Tony's toy?"
"Yes, Mama. I called your dwelling and some person named Jarvis answered. He couldn't understand me, but he said it's good it works."
"JARVIS is Tony's computer," Loki explained. "And we'll work on helping him understand you."
"Yes. I'd like to be able to speak with Mama's humans," Jörmungand agreed cheerfully. "Maybe I can share stories about Mama with them."
Thor burst out laughing behind Loki and she grimaced. "Why don't we share stories about Uncle Thor, instead?"
"Mama doesn't need any help with that," Jörmungand informed her, mischief in his eyes, "but Uncle Thor will need a lot of help."
"Uncle Thor would love the help," Thor agreed.
"Traitor," Loki muttered and Jörmungand hissed a laugh.
Stark touched Loki's shoulder. "Hey, Genie, wanna pop back to the tower and let me take off my suit? I can totally eat in it, but it's less fun. And, going with you, we can get back before the pizza."
Loki glanced up at him. "Very well," she agreed. "I need to be touching skin, though."
"I can do skin," Stark said before the visor retracted and he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. Loki smiled back at the sound of Thor's groan and wrapped the magic to teleport around them.
They appeared on Stark's walkway outside the common and he pulled away long enough to pull his helmet off and hand it to one of the mechanical arms. "JARVIS, outgoing off," he requested and Loki glanced back at him from where she'd been moving down the walkway ahead of him, intent on changing herself. "You're staying female, right?"
Loki cocked an eyebrow at him. "Have I need to?" she asked.
"You promised me later. You can't promise a man later and then not deliver," he insisted as he moved along, his technology removing his suit.
"Hm. Did I?" Loki returned teasingly, hopping back as part of the walkway opened beneath her feet to reveal a boot-catch. "And you're going to trust my word?"
Stark reached out and grabbed for her just before she got out of range and pulled her back for a kiss. "I'll be an absolute misery if you lied to me?" he suggested.
Loki laughed and pulled back, teleporting down to her rooms before he could grab her again.
"Please?" he asked over the comm.
"I would have something of you," Loki returned as she shifted through her Midgardian clothing, focussing on her female clothing.
"Uhm... Something of...me? Like, my body? 'Cause, really? Totally yours."
Loki laughed. "I would have a story of you, Tony."
"Blackmail?" Stark guessed.
Loki considered that for a moment, then shrugged and pulled out a soft green shirt and some black trousers. "Or a truth. Something I don't know of you."
"Such exists?" Stark replied drily and Loki laughed. "You've read through my file at least twice, and I have no idea what you've heard from the others, but I'd bet it's a lot."
Loki nodded absently. "That is true enough."
Stark sighed. "I dunno, Loki. You gotta be more specific than asking for just any story." The lift sounded in the main room and Loki knew the human had stepped off onto her floor by the tred of his shoes against the carpet. "I'll tell you something utterly embarrassing, if you really want."
Loki stepped out of her room and cocked an eyebrow at him. He grinned, caught, then looked her up and down with dark eyes. "Looking good," he told her. "Like always."
Loki's lips moved without her say into a pleased smile and she prowled forward until she was standing directly in front of him. Then she rested a hand against the hidden glow in his chest and he flinched away, as she'd known he would. "I would have you tell me of this fear," she requested lightly, eyes sharp.
Stark took a heavy breath and pushed back forwards, letting her hand rest against the arc reactor's hum. He shook under her gaze, fear and something old and broken moving behind dark eyes. He rested his own hand over hers, his shaking steadying at the added security against the reactor. He swallowed and managed one of his false smiles that were so like her own. "We should head back before Clint steals all the good pizza."
"Stark," she warned.
Stark's hand tightened against hers when she made to pull it away, smile slipping to show again that old fear. "Tonight," he promised. "Not–" He shook his head and the false smile was back in place. "We should get back."
Loki met his eyes, still too dark with old pain, and nodded. "We should," she agreed quietly and pressed a kiss to his lips. Stark kissed back, desperate, hand clenching against hers over his chest. When Loki pulled back, she turned her hand and laced her fingers with his. Some of the tenseness bled from his shoulders and his false smile came easier. "JARVIS, best to return outgoing," she added to the AI before weaving magic around them and returning them to the pier.
Almost the moment they returned, a limo pulled up and the Avengers, Coulson, Jane, Pepper, and the driver – Hogan – all piled out, each carrying their share of pizza boxes.
"It smells odd," Jörmungand commented and Thor laughed, brushing a hand against his nephew's nose.
Stark flashed Loki his liar's smile and turned to meet the rest of the team with loud greetings that made Barton complain about shouting in his ear.
"Sister, is all well?" Thor asked quietly over the laughter of the humans.
"Well enough," Loki agreed, shaking her head. "Come, let us find those pizzas for Jörmungand before they vanish down Barton's stomach."
Thor grinned. "I would not think him capable of eating so much, but this is pizza."
"My point," Loki returned and they moved together to go through the pizzas.
The group stayed on the pier for almost five hours, laughing and finishing the last of the pizzas. Loki and Thor translated for Jörmungand without having to be asked, and Stark played with a tablet – communicating with JARVIS to try and connect linguistic patterns, he swore – from between Banner and Pepper, across a pile of boxes from where Loki rested comfortably against Jörmungand's head.
A part of Loki was angered by the distance he'd placed between them, while another part – the part that had closed off from her family when her true origins had been revealed – understood why he'd pulled away. And, yet, she wondered if she hadn't pushed too hard, hadn't touched on too deep a wound, and she found comfort in Jörmungand's unquestioning love and the jokes and teasings of this human family.
When they finally packed up, Jane dozing in Thor's arms and Pepper blinking tiredly and stumbling as she stood, caught between Stark and Hogan. The two men traded looks, then Stark stepped back and left his ex-girlfriend for their driver and Hogan nodded his thanks before helping her to the limo.
"I will see you tomorrow, Jör," Loki promised her son as she pressed a kiss to his nose. Thor had already offered his farewells and hastened to the limo with Jane. Loki would have thought herself the last person on the pier – the others having taken piles of boxes back to the limo and started piling in, still laughing over one of Barton's bad jokes – but for the fact that she could smell her lover at her back as she saw her son off.
"Tony, Loki, you two coming?" Rogers called across the pier.
"I think we'll take the more direct route!" Stark called back, one hand catching against Loki's.
"My room, or yours?" she asked. It was always even odds where they ended up at night.
Stark shrugged, hand jostling in her grip. "Yours," he decided. "Happy'll probably drop Pep in her room, and at least if we're in your room, she shouldn't come bursting in, demanding to know who put her to bed and left her shoes in the middle of the floor."
Loki snorted and teleported them to her rooms, the lights slowly brightening around them as JARVIS recognised their arrival. Stark pulled away and set his tablet on a short table that had appeared one afternoon between the chairs – Loki still wasn't sure who to blame that one on, not with how many of her housemates had mysteriously gained unconditional access to her rooms in the past couple weeks – looking out the windows at the city spread out beneath them.
Loki was just thinking she would have to interrupt him – demand blackmail instead of this fear – when he said, "What do you know of Obadiah Stane?"
Loki frowned at Stark's back; she knew the official story about Stane – family friend of the Starks, kept the company moving while Stark finished school and invented on his own, died in a plane crash shortly after Stark's return from Afghanistan – and the classified SHIELD report – built a suit based off the original Iron Man design, almost killed Stark with it, was killed by Pepper overloading the full-size arc reactor built in one of Stark Industries' labs – but there were holes, lies unwritten that Loki had recognised, but been unable to decipher.
"He was a friend of your father's, helped run your company before dying in an attempt to use your design against you," Loki said, keeping her voice steady.
Stark laughed, hollow and tired, and turned to look at her, fingers of his right hand tapping uneasily over the arc reactor's hidden light. "Stolen designs for the suit, yeah. But also my arc reactor. He paralysed me, pulled it out, and left me for dead."
Oh.
Stark glanced over his shoulder, leaning against the window and still tapping against the arc reactor. "I generally avoid letting anyone touch it, you know. Drove Pep nuts. Drives Brucy a bit nuts too, especially if I'm hurt near it and he's trying to put a bandage or something on–"
Loki pressed her finger to Stark's lips, silencing him from further rambling. They were both quiet but for the quiet 'tap, tap' of the failed possession for a long moment before Stark's fingers stilled. It was only in that silence that Loki finally spoke the idea tumbling in her thoughts, "I might...create a spell. One that would keep another from removing your arc reactor. A security you do not have."
Stark's hand reached up from his chest and caught the finger over his lips, pulling Loki's hand down to rest between their chests, brushing the arc reactor. "Would that even work?" he asked, intelligence in his eyes. "I mean, the reactor sort of sucks in magic, right?"
"I could not say," Loki admitted. "It may work beyond my expectations, because it attaches so to your arc reactor. Or it may do nothing at all, simply add to the magics already powering your magnet. I can only try."
Stark shrugged. "I wouldn't refuse," he said with a broken edge to his smile, "but I'm not sure why–"
"This doesn't go one way, Tony," Loki reminded him and Stark smiled, bright and easier than before. "I would not sit back and watch someone rip your life from you, any more than you would give someone the designs to see me dead." She freed her hand and brushed it against Stark's jaw, thumb tracing the corner of his smile. "I will craft my spell tomorrow; tonight, I have a promise to keep."
Stark's hands attached to her hips. "You do, don't you?" he agreed, an ease to his stance now that they were moving on.
"I do," Loki agreed and nudged the human's chin up to catch his lips with hers.
They didn't quite make it to the bed until later.
-0-
-0-
A/N: FANART FROM Alex (AO3)!!! *dancing*
Scene of Loki threatening to turn Clint's cereal into veggies, from the beginning of chapter three
Loki in her dress from the charity ball at the end of Like So Much Shattered Glass
Three scenes from chapter three: Tony pouting while Jane and Bruce make magical fire, Loki and Thor visiting Jörmungand (with Thor hiding XD), and Clint complaining about Loki knowing the answers to the game show
Scene from the end of chapter three, where Tony's carrying Loki away from the AMF and she passes out
Alex's idea: A picture Steve did of Loki with his kids, to make Loki feel better after the rough week ♥
~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: 5 of 7
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse)
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: T
Pairings: Tony Stark/Loki Odinson(Laufeyson), Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanoff/Clint Barton, Thor Odinson/Jane Foster
Warnings: Spoilers for The Avengers (2012) and prequel films, angst
Summary: Sequel to Like So Much Shattered Glass. Loki has found a place amongst the Avengers as a member of their team, but he's made a great many enemies in the process and life is never easy.
A/N: I've been SO GOOD about writing every day out. But they're not really doing anything new for a couple days, so this chapter starts with a bit of a digest of a few days, an adventure in saving the world, and some TONY ANGST. (What the balls, right? XD)
Plot next chapter, should be. (I found the damn thing. Would have popped in this chapter, but TONY ANGST got in the way. ^.^")
Also, I finally got around to watching the Fantastic Four films, so that lot will appear in this chapter. (Mostly because I needed the Human Torch for my evil plans. You'll see.)
Sorry in advance for anyone that doesn't know anything about them/like them? Minor part. Honest. (The Atlanteans get a bigger part; and the individuals among them are made up, fyi.)
Sunday evening, Loki and Stark laughed at Thor's disapproving comments for having missed seeing Odin and Frigga off while Barton made snarky comments about what a 'healthy' sex life entailed and Rogers hid in the gym from all of them. Loki got the 'don't hurt him' line from Pepper, to which he made no promises, and only just kept himself from pointing out that, of the two of them, she was the one who'd most harmed him so far.
Monday was spent practising some magic with Jane and Banner before lunch, then the whole team curling up in front of the television for some films, only broken once by a minor incursion of Doombots, which took them all of two minutes to take out once they all agreed to pull out the AMF Mark II. (The agreement took them six minutes, Rogers arguing about the danger while Loki, Thor, and Stark insisted it would be fine, and Fury yelled at them to 'Just get the fucking job done and go back to your tower of Barney-love, or whatever you fuck-ups do in there'.) Loki and Stark may or may not have ended the day fucking in the office that was technically Fury's on the upper floor of the tower. Just for their own amusement. (And Barton's, once he found out about it. Two hours worth of blank camera footage were in JARVIS' systems by midnight, and Loki and Stark made jokes about whether it was Romanoff or Coulson that Barton had managed to talk into following their example.)
Tuesday morning, Loki left early for his transport to Asgard. The Bifröst site had been moved to over Avengers Tower on Odin's order, so Loki didn't have to teleport to leave, but he did make a comment to the Allfather about leaving it in so populated an area, especially with how often it was used and how noticeable the tower was. It wasn't until he pointed out that their enemies would quickly correlate the Avengers' decreased numbers with the Bifröst's activation and attack en masse while Loki was gone that Odin agreed to return the Bifröst site to New Mexico before Loki's next visit.
Wednesday dawned painfully early to the sound of Fury calling, "Avengers, assemble."
"I refuse," Stark muttered against Loki's throat as he curled closer to the god.
"Stark, so help me, you do not–"
Loki touched a frozen hand to Stark's stomach and he let out a shriek and rolled off the bed with a crash. "He's up," Loki informed Fury and the rest of the tower, earning him a chorus of laughter.
"I hate you all," Stark complained as he climbed to his feet. Then he sort of stared as Loki shifted to female. "Okay, yeah, no, not coming," he announced and hopped back into the bed.
"Yes. You are," Rogers insisted.
Loki caught Stark's chin. "Later," she promised before sliding from the bed, her Asgardian garb shimmering into view around her.
"Cock blocker," Stark muttered and moved to put on his protective under-suit
"Talk to the bad guys," Banner suggested as Loki teleported up to the common floor to await Coulson.
"You just don't understand, Brucy. We need to find you a woman so you can understand–"
"Would you fucking sex-a-holics shut up and get moving?" Fury snarled.
"The director needs a lady friend," Barton suggested.
"I am docking your pay, motherfucker. And if you're not on that quinjet in five minutes, I'm locking you in the cage up here for a week."
"Nice going, Abu," Stark offered as the lift door opened and Coulson stepped out to join Loki, a tablet in one hand.
"Both of you, shut up," the agent ordered. "Helicarrier, please," he added to Loki and she quickly teleported them. Coulson was moving as soon as they appeared, long used to the teleportation now, and asking, "Sir, none of this makes any sense. Why call the Avengers in for a rescue op?"
"Thirty minutes ago, a giant wave hit Florida. The Bahamas and Key West are completely submerged and everything along the eastern coast as far north as Fort Pierce is suffering severe flooding. Reports are coming in from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and other islands edging the Caribbean Sea about their own rash of flooding. Rescue attempts are already underway, but no one's managed to figure out the cause of the wave yet, and it looks like another one is coming." Fury turned to Loki, eyes cold and sharp. "I need you to get down there and stop that fucking wave before it hits. Use ice, teleport the water to Antarctica, I don't care, but you do not let it hit land."
"I won't make promises I can't keep, but I will do my best," Loki replied and teleported to the Florida coast. The water was at least chest-deep on her and she grimaced as she pushed away from the pavement, using the buoyancy of the water to help her magic get her in the air. Flying with magic wasn't her preferred method of travel – that had always been more Thor's skill-set than hers – but she could do it when needed. And this time it was needed, as she had to track away from the coast and see how manageable the wave would be.
"Shit," she breathed when she came up on it; the tower of water was at least twice her height and disappeared to either end into the distance.
"I don't like the sound of 'shit'," Romanoff commented.
"How bad are we talking, Emerald Frost?" Rogers asked.
"Pretty fucking bad," a voice said from behind Loki and she turned to find a human-shaped fireball behind her. "You are hot, by the way," the fireball added.
"Is that Storm?" Barton called. "If it's Storm, tell him he still owes me fifty bucks and I'm taking it out of his flamed ass."
"Hawkeye, keep your gambling habits off the radio," Coulson ordered while the fireball laughed.
"Noted, B-Eye," the fireball – Storm, apparently – replied and Loki realised he must have some sort of headset, though she couldn't begin to imagine how it hadn't burned up.
"Focus!" Fury snapped at all of them. "Emerald Frost, Human Torch, what can you two do to stop that wave?"
Loki considered their options as both she and Storm moved back, away from the quickly-moving wave. "Can you heat it enough to make it evaporate?" she asked the fireball.
"You got it, beautiful."
"Good. Go left, I'll handle the right side."
"And what are you going to do?" Storm asked. "Frost it a bit?" His burning lips turned with a smile.
"I will give her permission to frost you if you don't fucking move it," Fury snarled.
"Also, she's spoken for," Stark added, voice tight, and Loki flashed a cold smile at Storm as she motioned for the Casket of Ancient Winters to appear in her hands.
"Blue. Blue is new," Storm commented, then yelled and hurried away as the wave froze some feet from them and bits of it fell off to shoot at him. "Going!" he called, his voice clear over the comms in spite of the steam hissing at his passing.
Loki sighed and turned the other way, reaching out through the Casket to freeze only enough water to make something of a wall against further waves. She would never have had the time to do the whole length of wave on her own, and she'd have to run another wall along the other way if another wave came in, but their priority was keeping this one back, even if it meant more work later.
She flew past half-submerged islands until the wave subsided into nothing, then motioned the Casket away and teleported back to her starting point. Dark clouds were gathering over the line Storm had taken and she called, "Thor, you need to collect that storm and take it out over the ocean before it opens over land, or all of this will have been for nothing."
"I will do so," Thor agreed grimly and the clouds rumbled with the sound of his thunder.
The familiar sound of repulsors had Loki turning to watch as Stark came in for a gentle landing against the thick crust of ice she was standing on. "Hi. Interesting decorating scheme."
"You were running a little late, so I thought I'd redecorate without your input."
"It's to my tastes," Stark assured her.
"Oh, gag me," Barton complained.
"Save the kissing for later," Fury ordered, irritation warring with disgust in his voice and Loki smirked. "Iron Man, Human Torch, get out there and see if you can find what's causing these waves. Emerald Frost, tell me that wall can hold back the next incoming."
"It should be able to," Loki agreed as Stark took off and flew away from the coast. "I won't be able to complete it until the next wave reaches what I've got, however."
"You've got about two minutes," Coulson informed her as Fury turned his attention to the rescue efforts along the coast, assured that the worst of the danger was handled.
Loki took the chance to relax her magic while she waited. When she heard the storm of water, she motioned for the Casket and started along the wave going north, continuing her wall of ice.
She was just finishing when Iron Man let out a curse, then called, "I don't speak mermaid or giant sea snake, so I could use a little help out here!"
"Yeah, you're on your own," Storm commented.
"Useless fuck."
"I'm on my way," Loki replied and gathered magic for a blind transport, her heart thrumming uneasily in her chest; Jörmungand was here? Why? And why was he fighting with mermaids?
"I swear to God, Emerald Frost, if visiting your kid makes him cause natural disasters–"
"With all due respect, Director: Shut up," Loki snarled back before teleporting. She fell about a foot through empty air before a metal arm caught her around the waist and she was pulled against Stark's metal-covered chest.
"Not your best landing."
"Teleporting blindly," Loki informed him as she looked over the ocean beneath them for the creatures he'd reported. "Also, a lack of firm ground."
Stark lowered them closer to the water, saying, "Excuses, excuses."
Her eyes sharpened as she finally caught sight of the underwater battle and she snapped, "Jörmungand!"
Her son jerked in surprise, then lifted his head from the water – flinching at the blasts of energy the merfolk were shooting against his scales – and hissed, "Mama! You're okay!"
Loki sighed. "Yes, of course I'm okay," she told him, motioning to form a protective film of magic between Jörmungand and the merfolk.
"He was worried about you?" Stark realised as he brought them slowly to hover next to the serpent's head. "Of course. It's been almost a week since you last went for a visit."
"I'm sorry, Jör," Loki murmured as she brushed a hand against Jörmungand's head. "I didn't mean to worry you, my sweet. I was just...otherwise occupied."
"Save us the sordid love story," Fury growled.
"Shut up," Loki and Stark chorused, irritated.
"JARVIS, cut the outgoing," Stark added and the earpiece crackled for a moment.
"Mama?" Jörmungand said, uncertain.
"Don't you dare cut me off, you little–"
"On that note, cut off incoming too, unless it's important," Stark added tiredly and Fury's voice in Loki's ear fell silent.
"Midgardian technology," Loki told her son soothingly. "Concern yourself not."
Stark's visor opened and Jörmungand jerked back slightly, before he moved his head even closer, staring at the human. "Hi," Stark said. "What the fuck is up with the fish people?"
Jörmungand glanced down at the irritated party, who were still attacking the serpent's neck under the water, either uncaring or not having noticed that his attention had moved on. "I wanted to see Mama," Jörmungand explained, Loki translating for her lover when Stark's brow wrinkled at the hissing, "and I may have played a prank on them some centuries ago, but I meant no harm! I wasn't even anywhere near their city. Yet."
"Yet," Stark repeated, eyes dancing with amusement over his frown. "So you were going to be near their city. Yeah, okay. Underwater cities; weirder things have happened. What was the prank that ticked them off?"
"I moved their city. Three times."
Loki was laughing too hard to translate that for Stark and the human let out a helpless sigh as he let her laugh for a moment before threatening, "I will drop you."
Loki hit his chest plate and waved Jörmungand off when he hissed angrily. "Jör, it's fine. He wouldn't really drop me." She smiled at the human, silently promising retribution if Stark even considered dropping her and his arm tightened around her waist. "Jörmungand moved their city on them."
"I approve of this. For the record," Stark decided. "How far'd you move it? Like, just a couple miles? Or serious distance."
"They were originally to the south," Jörmungand told Loki and she translated again, "near the Little Jötunheim."
"Antarctica," Stark guessed when Loki didn't have another name for the land her son spoke of. "That is an awesome prank. I love it. Can I borrow it? I'll knock out, like, the entirety of SHIELD with sleep gas one day or something and set the auto-pilot to land them in... Actually, yeah. Antarctica. Can we make pretend Jötun? And then they'll wake up and–"
"Fury would have your head – both our heads, truly – when he finally figured out what had happened," Loki pointed out drily while Jörmungand hissed with laughter.
"Totally worth it, though. We can hide behind Steve. Or blame it all on Clint." Stark nodded. "Both, even; hide behind Steve while blaming it on Cli–"
"Shut up, Tony," Loki ordered and the human's mouth snapped shut, grinning madly.
"I like this Midgardian, Mama," Jörmungand informed Loki. "Is he one of the ones you live and do good deeds with?"
"He is," Loki agreed, ignoring Stark's confusion. "Jörmungand, your fight is flooding the mainland."
Her son sort of ducked his head closer to the ocean surface. "Sorry, Mama. I've been trying to explain that I don't mean harm, but they're not listening."
"Okay," Stark said when Loki translated that, "Language barrier? Maybe."
"It is...not outside of the possibilities," Loki allowed before sighing. "Very well. Tony, I will go down and speak to them, you regain contact with Fury and the rest of the team and tell them we are taking care of the disturbance."
"I thought I wasn't allowed to drop you," Stark returned.
Loki gave him a dry look. "You're not. Jörmungand, come here. Mama needs to speak with your friends."
Once Jörmungand was in range, Loki hopped over to her son's head, taking care to avoid any scales showing signs of shedding, as she knew they would be sensitive. Jörmungand obediently moved back down towards the water's surface – waiting until Loki had encased herself in a bubble of air before submerging – while Stark's visor fell closed and he, hopefully, opened communications again.
Underwater, it didn't take long for Jörmungand's attackers to recognise that there was now a human-shaped figure standing calmly on the serpent's head. They stopped their attacks at a motion from one of the men, who then swam forward, eyeing Jörmungand with distrust. He stopped just outside Loki's air bubble and made a series of motions before pointing between Loki and Jörmungand.
"This is Jörmungand, my son," Loki informed him, her magic carrying her voice to the humanoid, who she could now see looked very like a human, though he was blue and had gills to either side of his neck. The man narrowed his eyes, the grip on his staff tightening and Loki asked, "Can you breathe above water? I would speak with you and yours."
The man gave a jerky nod and motioned towards the others beyond him before they all started up to the surface, Jörmungand half a second behind them.
On the surface, Stark was waiting for them with his visor up and expression unamused. "I'll get a chewing out later, and the rest of the team is on their way since the rescue is being handled fine by the military. Thor should be here–" Stark closed his mouth and quirked a tiny smile as the blond god zoomed into sight, coming for a gentle landing on Jörmungand's head after checking to ensure he wouldn't hurt the serpent.
"Nephew," Thor rumbled to Jörmungand while he glared over the gathered blue human-like men who were treading water in front of them.
"We're not here to further a fight, Thor," Loki reminded her brother.
"If you've not come to fight, then why come with this beast at all?" the lead of the blue humans demanded. "You claim a familial attachment to such a–"
"You would do well to watch how you speak of my nephew, little man," Thor snarled, raising Mjölnir.
"Jeeze," Stark cut in before the blue humans could do more than raise the tips of their spears above the surface of the water. "Thunder, deep breath. You, Smurfs, stop attacking the snake – physically or verbally – before we all get fried with lightning, right? Alternately, frozen; Mama Loki makes the North Pole look warm. So, can it."
"Do all surface dwellers have attachment to monstrous–" the lead blue human started.
"And I will blast you out of the water for that word. Really. Didn't your folks ever teach you that if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all? 'Cause even I got that lesson. From a teacher, but still. Seriously. Shut up. No, wait, don't shut up. Or do, but–"
"Tony," Loki cut in, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. His mouth snapped shut over a nervous chuckle. Loki took a breath, then said, "I'm Loki Friggadottir, this is Thor Odinson, my brother; Jörmungand Lokison, my son; and Tony Stark. Tony is of this planet, Thor, Jörmungand, and I are of Asgard, another realm." She glanced towards the quinjet as it came close enough that even Stark could hear it with his limited human hearing. "Tony, I would create a place for them to land."
Stark picked her up and helped her to a clear patch of ocean not far from where the blue humans had drifted together. She motioned for the Casket and used it to freeze over a significant area of water, making it deep enough to hold the weight of the quinjet, ignoring the surprised sounds the blue humans made at her colour change. Once the quinjet had landed and the engines were quiet, Loki, Stark, and Thor joined the rest of the humans on the ice.
Rogers took the lead, holding out a hand of peace to the leader of the blue humans. "Captain Steve Rogers, leader of the Avengers. This is Dr Bruce Banner, and Agents Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. We're all humans – surface dwellers, you called us? – like Tony. And you are?"
The leader appeared calmed to be speaking to someone so obviously in charge and took Roger's offered hand in a shake. "I am Shamar, First Guard of Atlantis."
"Holy fuck," Barton breathed as Banner and Stark's eyes both widened.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shamar," Rogers replied without any sign of the awe the other male humans were showing. "If I may, why were you attacking Jörmungand?"
"It always leaves damage in its wake," Shamar spat, glaring at Jörmungand.
"Damage," Loki repeated, unimpressed. "He said he moved your city a few times as a joke."
"After his visits, things change, yes," Shamar agreed, anger in his beady eyes. "We must learn again our habitat and discover new sources of foods and required materials. We lose those who go out before a move and never return. We lose those who fall to new dangers in exploring new land."
"I'm sorry, Mama. I never meant harm," Jörmungand hissed, head hanging.
"You never do," Thor commented and Jörmungand flinched away from the frown of his uncle. His point made, Thor turned to Shamar, every inch the crown prince. "I apologise for my nephew, Shamar. He was much younger when you had crossed paths; our leaders had separated him from my sister before he was fully grown and it is only now that either of us have again seen him. He has been lonely, and creating humour in whatever place he might find it in his exile. He truly meant no harm. I would ask your forgiveness, on his behalf, for his actions against your people."
Loki admitted to being quite impressed by Thor's words; she knew he could act in a manner befitting of his title, but he had always been more inclined to acting before he thought. Midgard is good for him.
Shamar, too, seemed thrown by Thor's manner, paddling uncertainly in the water. "I cannot accept your apology on behalf of my people, and I cannot say that my king would accept it, either, not after all the damage done, the lives lost."
"How many?" Stark asked, his visor closed over his face.
"Excuse me?"
"How many of your people have been lost or died from Junior's pranks?"
Shamar looked back over his men and one of them offered, "One hundred seventy-some."
Stark's visor flipped back, showing his flat stare. "Your little spat out here killed sixty thousand humans and wounded over one hundred thousand. Almost two hundred ninety thousand are still unaccounted for."
They were all painfully silent for a long moment as those numbers soaked in.
"Junior was coming to check on his mom because she'd been unavoidably detained from visiting him for five days. He just wanted to drop by New York, freak out the locals, and check how Loki was doing. And you fuckers had to go and start a fight five hundred miles from shore. So, well done. Balloons, confetti, the whole party. You win a kill count."
"We were defending our home," Shamar snarled.
Stark smiled coldly. "Okay, no, because I know Junior's mom. So I have to ask, have you ever seen him before he moved your city? Were you ever expecting it? 'Cause you said you lost people who'd gone out before it was moved and never made it back."
The Atlanteans were silent.
"Didn't think so."
"Tony," Rogers interrupted before the armoured human could continue, "we get the point." He turned back to Shamar, who stared up at him in challenge. "We don't want a war with your people, Shamar. Jörmungand will swear not to move your city again if you can agree not to attack him in the future when he comes up this way to visit Loki and Thor. Can you at least make that much of a promise on behalf of your people?"
Shamar glared towards Jörmungand, then glanced over the array of humanoids on the floating patch of ice, past Thor's stare, Loki's icy smile, Stark's narrowed eyes, and the other three's silent frowns. He again met Roger's eyes, the challenge in his own eyes gone. "That I can make."
"Jörmungand," Loki ordered.
"I promise to stay away from their city, Mama," Jörmungand replied, nodding.
"And Loki and I will see to it that he keeps that promise," Thor added to the Atlanteans.
Shamar gave a jerky nod, then turned and motioned to his men. They all dove back under the water, swimming away.
"I hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the ass," Banner commented tiredly.
"We have a giant snake who can play hide-and-go-seek with their city," Stark replied drily. "I think we're either gonna be best buds, or agree to ignore each other."
"Either way, it's out of our hands," Rogers declared, rubbing a hand over his mouth. "Jörmungand, are you still going to come up to New York?" he asked the serpent.
Jörmungand looked towards Loki and Thor. "May I?"
"It would be well to show him where we reside," Thor commented.
"And set up a way for him to get in contact with you without scaring any humans," Stark agreed. "I can rig something up today and we can find a place to set it up tonight or something."
"I would like that," Jörmungand agreed.
"If we are no longer needed in Florida?" Loki asked the humans.
"It's all clean-up and rescue, now," Romanoff reported, touching one hand to her ear to show she was listening to her earpiece, and Loki had to wonder how many had been on for that conversation, since hers hadn't. "Coulson says he's going to take a helicopter back to the tower and for Loki and Thor to stay with Jörmungand until he's safely outside New York City and hidden away for whatever's left of the day by then. Everyone else, back to the tower for a debrief."
"Fun, fun," Stark muttered before snapping his visor closed. "See everyone back at home. Don't stay out too late with your kid, Smurfette, or I might get jealous."
"Hm. In that case..." Loki returned and Stark laughed before jumping and jetting away from the ice.
"Safe travels," Rogers offered to the three immortals while the humans all climbed into the quinjet.
"Likewise," Thor replied before turning to Loki and Jörmungand. "How shall we do this? I could fly overhead and give directions."
"I know where I'm going, Uncle," Jörmungand insisted. "You and Mama can ride my head under the water. If Mama can hold her spell long enough?"
"I will manage fine," Loki agreed. At Thor's sceptical look, she said, "It is a simple spell, Brother, and one translated to the Midgardian magic so I use none of my own stores. If I reach a point when I need to use my own magic, there is a Jötun variation I can keep up for some hours without danger."
"As you say, then, Sister," Thor agreed and Jörmungand lowered his head for his mother and uncle to climb aboard. Once they were situated, he submerged and they started the trip to New York.
By the time Loki, Thor, and Jörmungand got to the mouth of the Lower Bay, the sun was low against the western horizon, glinting against the buildings in the distance.
"Pretty," Jörmungand commented as they stopped before entering the Bay, his head raised enough over the small waves that he could speak and be understood by his relatives. "It wasn't like this last time I was up here."
"Humans evolve quickly," Loki commented as she dialled Stark's mobile. Thor was watching over her shoulder, looking hopeful and a little pathetic. "Ask Stark," she told him.
"I thought you were calling him Tony," Thor commented.
Loki grimaced. "I'm trying."
Thor shook his head, amused.
"Hello there, Princess. Back in town?" Stark cooed as he picked up on his end.
Loki rolled her eyes. "Near enough. Thor and I agree that the Bay might be a little crowded, so we're just outside. Is your device finished?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Just gotta install it and make sure Junior can activate it fine. Also, I'd like to see if I can't build a program to translate him for the rest of us. So, you know, if you or Thor aren't around, we're not stuck with one-way communication."
Loki blinked. "That would...Jörmungand would like that, I think."
"What? What? What will I like?"
"Something to translate your speech for the humans," Loki informed him.
Jörmungand hissed happily. "I'd like that," he agreed.
"It'll take a bit, and I'm gonna need you or Thor to translate for a bit until JARVIS and I find a pattern to the sounds he makes," Stark added, tone serious in spite of the sound of a smile. "If he's good with hanging out up here for a bit, I should have it finished inside a week."
"If you are willing to remain here for the next week, Tony believes he can have something put together," Loki told her son.
"I can!" Jörmungand immediately agreed. Then, quieter, "I might have to leave to hunt, but I can do that when Mama and Uncle Thor and their humans are sleeping."
"You assume we sleep at the same time," Thor replied with a chuckle.
"Tony keeps to my schedule, for the most part, and he's the worst of them," Loki pointed out and Thor snorted, resigned to Loki and Stark's relationship. "He can stay, though he may have to leave in the nights for hunting," she told Stark.
"Sure thing, makes sense." He paused for a moment and Loki heard a garbled noise coming through the speakers. "Huh. Clint wants to know if Junior likes pizza. He was gonna order it for dinner, and there's nothing saying we can't eat with your kid. Keep him company. And work on the translation program a bit."
Loki considered that, running a hand lightly against a shedding scale. "I do not know that I would trust your tomato-based sauce, but I see nothing else on a pizza that Jörmungand couldn't eat."
"What's a 'pizza'?" Jörmungand asked Thor.
"It's delicious," Thor replied.
"Though Barton will need to order many, I should think, to come anywhere near sating Jörmungand's hunger."
Stark laughed. "Yeah, figured that much. Well, we can order like we've got Snow White and the Three Dwarves in residence, and if he's still hungry after, he can get a hunt in tonight. See what sort of options he's got in the area when he's not starved, yeah?"
Loki smiled. "That would be appreciated. Do not give Barton my thanks."
Stark laughed again. "I'll say it's from Thor, then. I should be out there in five minutes or so to install my tech; everyone else should show up with the pizza in half an hour or so."
"We shall see you shortly, then," Loki returned and hung up. To her son and brother, she explained, "St–Tony will be here shortly to put together his technology for Jörmungand, and the others will arrive with the pizza in half an hour or so."
"They would do well to go to many shops, I should think," Thor commented worriedly.
"They will manage, I must assume," Loki replied. "Jör, you may still have to hunt tonight, but at least you won't do so in a new territory while starved."
"Thank you, Mama," Jörmungand replied happily.
Loki smiled and smoothed healing magic along the shedding scales within her reach.
"Sister," Thor started uncertainly. When Loki raised an eyebrow in query, he fidgeted for a moment before asking, "Might I see your phone?"
"If you break it–" Loki started as she held it out to him.
"Yes, I know. You'll fix it only so you might break it again over my head. I shall endeavour to return it as it currently exists."
Jörmungand hissed laughter and Loki rolled her eyes and returned to soothing her son's scales while Thor frowned in concentration over the mobile.
Stark flew up eventually, again in his suit, with a large, dull silver piece of technology in one hand. "Hey," he said as he hovered in front of Jörmungand. "This can go underwater. If you wanna dive down and show me a good place that you can reach it at, I'll install it and show you how to use it, yeah? Sorry, Genie, Thunder. Gonna have to borrow your ride."
"That's well enough," Thor decided, standing carefully. "Sister, do you require assistance to land?" he asked as he handed her mobile back to her.
"I've got comms open if I need a translation," Stark said when she looked to him, and his voice echoed in her ear. "I need to make sure he can do this without worrying about knocking you guys off. I promise not to hurt him, yeah?"
Loki sighed and nodded to Thor. "Very well."
As Thor lifted her away from Jörmungand and Stark, the human said through the comms, "Are you sure it was wise to let him at your phone?"
Loki snorted. "I wasn't about to argue over it."
"What are you two talking about?" Thor asked, sounding hurt.
"Your proclivity for damaging human technology," Loki informed him and Stark chuckled through the comms.
"I'm not that bad!" Thor complained as they settled on a small pier. "Am I?" he asked of Loki.
"You are better than their stories would have me believe," Loki allowed. "But I wasn't here when you first arrived. And your power is that of storms, Brother, which indicates an excess of electricity; Tony's suit might be able to handle it, but most of their technology cannot."
"Exactly that," Stark replied. "Thor, buddy, remember how long it took me to figure out a working headset for you? You'd fry them every time you called up a storm. And you're a little better with technology than Steve, morning debates with kitchen appliances notwithstanding."
"It was not my fault that the toaster exploded," Thor insisted.
Stark snorted. "You put the wrapper, with both pastries, into one slot. Steve and Clint both tried to stop you. Totally your fault."
Loki shook her head and patted Thor's arm when he looked pitiful. "At least you have since learned better," she commented and he smiled a bit sheepishly.
"Oh. Oh, wait. I need to tell you about the three times he blew up the microwave," Stark replied, sounding gleeful. "It was epic. I mean, the first time was as much Steve's fault as Thor's, and there's still some debate about whether or not a fourth time was Thor's fault, or Clint being a little fuck."
"I resent that remark," Barton cut in.
"You mean you resemble that remark," Romanoff returned drily and Thor and Loki joined the humans in laughing at the two agents. "We've got an ETA of ten minutes, assuming this next pizza place is as efficient as the first two."
"Hear that, Junior? Human food, ten minutes. Your taste buds will explode with joy. Boom!"
"Mama? Is that a good thing?" Loki heard Jörmungand hiss over the comms, as though from a distance.
Loki sighed. "Tony, take care to mind your human phrasings around my son."
"Whoops," Stark returned, sounding anything but sorry. "I didn't mean literally exploding, Junior. Mom says I need to speak like an adult, now."
"You know, I'm not sure you're capable of that," Banner commented and they all laughed again.
"Ha-ha. Funny. I'm going back to my job. If you skip on my pizza, Robin Hood, I'll have Smurfette hang you outside overnight."
"We'll build you a nest and everything," Loki agreed cheerfully.
"Can we...I dunno, veto the two of you spending time together?" Barton complained. "Also, Thor, buddy, you have got to give me blackmail on your sister. Like, seriously. Stark's giving her all the good stuff on us."
Thor glanced at Loki's amused smirk. "I fear Loki may well be providing Tony with blackmail of his own."
"See. We gotta team up."
"I can still hear you, Barton," Loki reminded him.
"We'll talk later. Go for a walk. Evil plans," Barton told Thor, who nodded seriously while Loki fought the urge to cackle.
"You're both pathetic," Romanoff told them.
"Hey, Tony's scared of you," Barton insisted, "You're safe. And Bruce and Jane are in Tony and Loki's good books. And no one's got blackmail on Coulson–"
"That's because I'm not an idiot."
"Yeah, thanks for that," Barton muttered. "So that leaves Thor and me. And Steve. Cap, join us."
"This is like a terrible, secret boy-band. Are you going to start dating around with each other's girl- and/or boy-friends?" Stark asked. "No, wait, not even dating around. Coulson can do the smart thing and dump you for Cap. And then we can all move past your weird, complicated like I can't even articulate–"
"Look who's talking," Barton cut in. "Your boyfriend likes to play a girl every few days."
"Women who kick ass are all the rage," Stark shot back without missing a beat. "And she looks hot while doing it. Bonus."
"Are you flirting with me to win an argument with a monkey?" Loki asked and Stark cackled while Barton groaned.
"Do I need to institute a rule about discussing relationships and your sex lives over the comms?" Coulson asked.
"Yes," Thor, Banner, and Rogers all insisted, while Stark and Barton quickly called, "Nope!" Loki decided she didn't care one way or the other, and assumed that Romanoff felt the same way; the reactions were amusing, but more so when she could see their expressions.
"Three to two, majority wins," Rogers pointed out. "And Phil's with us, aren't you Phil?"
"Oh, God. It's the Cap-Eyes. Come on, Coulson. Don't fall for his big blues," Barton complained.
"New policy," Coulson declared and Barton and Stark both groaned. "No discussing your relationships or sex lives over the comms. It's a security breech, as well as distracting to the team. First offence is a slap on the wrist, second offences mean time-out, third offences get turned over to Director Fury for punishment."
"...time-out for how long?" Stark asked and Loki saw him and Jörmungand rising from the water in the distance.
"At least twenty-four hours," Coulson returned. "Up to forty-eight hours if you're particularly obnoxious."
"What's my time-out?" Barton wanted to know.
"You don't want to know," Coulson and Romanoff chorused.
"Holy fuck. Yeah, I'll be good from now on," Barton promised.
"Spoil sports," Stark complained as he came down to stop next to Loki and Thor.
Jörmungand butted Loki with his nose and she smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Hello again, my sweet," she murmured to him. "Can you use Tony's toy?"
"Yes, Mama. I called your dwelling and some person named Jarvis answered. He couldn't understand me, but he said it's good it works."
"JARVIS is Tony's computer," Loki explained. "And we'll work on helping him understand you."
"Yes. I'd like to be able to speak with Mama's humans," Jörmungand agreed cheerfully. "Maybe I can share stories about Mama with them."
Thor burst out laughing behind Loki and she grimaced. "Why don't we share stories about Uncle Thor, instead?"
"Mama doesn't need any help with that," Jörmungand informed her, mischief in his eyes, "but Uncle Thor will need a lot of help."
"Uncle Thor would love the help," Thor agreed.
"Traitor," Loki muttered and Jörmungand hissed a laugh.
Stark touched Loki's shoulder. "Hey, Genie, wanna pop back to the tower and let me take off my suit? I can totally eat in it, but it's less fun. And, going with you, we can get back before the pizza."
Loki glanced up at him. "Very well," she agreed. "I need to be touching skin, though."
"I can do skin," Stark said before the visor retracted and he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. Loki smiled back at the sound of Thor's groan and wrapped the magic to teleport around them.
They appeared on Stark's walkway outside the common and he pulled away long enough to pull his helmet off and hand it to one of the mechanical arms. "JARVIS, outgoing off," he requested and Loki glanced back at him from where she'd been moving down the walkway ahead of him, intent on changing herself. "You're staying female, right?"
Loki cocked an eyebrow at him. "Have I need to?" she asked.
"You promised me later. You can't promise a man later and then not deliver," he insisted as he moved along, his technology removing his suit.
"Hm. Did I?" Loki returned teasingly, hopping back as part of the walkway opened beneath her feet to reveal a boot-catch. "And you're going to trust my word?"
Stark reached out and grabbed for her just before she got out of range and pulled her back for a kiss. "I'll be an absolute misery if you lied to me?" he suggested.
Loki laughed and pulled back, teleporting down to her rooms before he could grab her again.
"Please?" he asked over the comm.
"I would have something of you," Loki returned as she shifted through her Midgardian clothing, focussing on her female clothing.
"Uhm... Something of...me? Like, my body? 'Cause, really? Totally yours."
Loki laughed. "I would have a story of you, Tony."
"Blackmail?" Stark guessed.
Loki considered that for a moment, then shrugged and pulled out a soft green shirt and some black trousers. "Or a truth. Something I don't know of you."
"Such exists?" Stark replied drily and Loki laughed. "You've read through my file at least twice, and I have no idea what you've heard from the others, but I'd bet it's a lot."
Loki nodded absently. "That is true enough."
Stark sighed. "I dunno, Loki. You gotta be more specific than asking for just any story." The lift sounded in the main room and Loki knew the human had stepped off onto her floor by the tred of his shoes against the carpet. "I'll tell you something utterly embarrassing, if you really want."
Loki stepped out of her room and cocked an eyebrow at him. He grinned, caught, then looked her up and down with dark eyes. "Looking good," he told her. "Like always."
Loki's lips moved without her say into a pleased smile and she prowled forward until she was standing directly in front of him. Then she rested a hand against the hidden glow in his chest and he flinched away, as she'd known he would. "I would have you tell me of this fear," she requested lightly, eyes sharp.
Stark took a heavy breath and pushed back forwards, letting her hand rest against the arc reactor's hum. He shook under her gaze, fear and something old and broken moving behind dark eyes. He rested his own hand over hers, his shaking steadying at the added security against the reactor. He swallowed and managed one of his false smiles that were so like her own. "We should head back before Clint steals all the good pizza."
"Stark," she warned.
Stark's hand tightened against hers when she made to pull it away, smile slipping to show again that old fear. "Tonight," he promised. "Not–" He shook his head and the false smile was back in place. "We should get back."
Loki met his eyes, still too dark with old pain, and nodded. "We should," she agreed quietly and pressed a kiss to his lips. Stark kissed back, desperate, hand clenching against hers over his chest. When Loki pulled back, she turned her hand and laced her fingers with his. Some of the tenseness bled from his shoulders and his false smile came easier. "JARVIS, best to return outgoing," she added to the AI before weaving magic around them and returning them to the pier.
Almost the moment they returned, a limo pulled up and the Avengers, Coulson, Jane, Pepper, and the driver – Hogan – all piled out, each carrying their share of pizza boxes.
"It smells odd," Jörmungand commented and Thor laughed, brushing a hand against his nephew's nose.
Stark flashed Loki his liar's smile and turned to meet the rest of the team with loud greetings that made Barton complain about shouting in his ear.
"Sister, is all well?" Thor asked quietly over the laughter of the humans.
"Well enough," Loki agreed, shaking her head. "Come, let us find those pizzas for Jörmungand before they vanish down Barton's stomach."
Thor grinned. "I would not think him capable of eating so much, but this is pizza."
"My point," Loki returned and they moved together to go through the pizzas.
The group stayed on the pier for almost five hours, laughing and finishing the last of the pizzas. Loki and Thor translated for Jörmungand without having to be asked, and Stark played with a tablet – communicating with JARVIS to try and connect linguistic patterns, he swore – from between Banner and Pepper, across a pile of boxes from where Loki rested comfortably against Jörmungand's head.
A part of Loki was angered by the distance he'd placed between them, while another part – the part that had closed off from her family when her true origins had been revealed – understood why he'd pulled away. And, yet, she wondered if she hadn't pushed too hard, hadn't touched on too deep a wound, and she found comfort in Jörmungand's unquestioning love and the jokes and teasings of this human family.
When they finally packed up, Jane dozing in Thor's arms and Pepper blinking tiredly and stumbling as she stood, caught between Stark and Hogan. The two men traded looks, then Stark stepped back and left his ex-girlfriend for their driver and Hogan nodded his thanks before helping her to the limo.
"I will see you tomorrow, Jör," Loki promised her son as she pressed a kiss to his nose. Thor had already offered his farewells and hastened to the limo with Jane. Loki would have thought herself the last person on the pier – the others having taken piles of boxes back to the limo and started piling in, still laughing over one of Barton's bad jokes – but for the fact that she could smell her lover at her back as she saw her son off.
"Tony, Loki, you two coming?" Rogers called across the pier.
"I think we'll take the more direct route!" Stark called back, one hand catching against Loki's.
"My room, or yours?" she asked. It was always even odds where they ended up at night.
Stark shrugged, hand jostling in her grip. "Yours," he decided. "Happy'll probably drop Pep in her room, and at least if we're in your room, she shouldn't come bursting in, demanding to know who put her to bed and left her shoes in the middle of the floor."
Loki snorted and teleported them to her rooms, the lights slowly brightening around them as JARVIS recognised their arrival. Stark pulled away and set his tablet on a short table that had appeared one afternoon between the chairs – Loki still wasn't sure who to blame that one on, not with how many of her housemates had mysteriously gained unconditional access to her rooms in the past couple weeks – looking out the windows at the city spread out beneath them.
Loki was just thinking she would have to interrupt him – demand blackmail instead of this fear – when he said, "What do you know of Obadiah Stane?"
Loki frowned at Stark's back; she knew the official story about Stane – family friend of the Starks, kept the company moving while Stark finished school and invented on his own, died in a plane crash shortly after Stark's return from Afghanistan – and the classified SHIELD report – built a suit based off the original Iron Man design, almost killed Stark with it, was killed by Pepper overloading the full-size arc reactor built in one of Stark Industries' labs – but there were holes, lies unwritten that Loki had recognised, but been unable to decipher.
"He was a friend of your father's, helped run your company before dying in an attempt to use your design against you," Loki said, keeping her voice steady.
Stark laughed, hollow and tired, and turned to look at her, fingers of his right hand tapping uneasily over the arc reactor's hidden light. "Stolen designs for the suit, yeah. But also my arc reactor. He paralysed me, pulled it out, and left me for dead."
Oh.
Stark glanced over his shoulder, leaning against the window and still tapping against the arc reactor. "I generally avoid letting anyone touch it, you know. Drove Pep nuts. Drives Brucy a bit nuts too, especially if I'm hurt near it and he's trying to put a bandage or something on–"
Loki pressed her finger to Stark's lips, silencing him from further rambling. They were both quiet but for the quiet 'tap, tap' of the failed possession for a long moment before Stark's fingers stilled. It was only in that silence that Loki finally spoke the idea tumbling in her thoughts, "I might...create a spell. One that would keep another from removing your arc reactor. A security you do not have."
Stark's hand reached up from his chest and caught the finger over his lips, pulling Loki's hand down to rest between their chests, brushing the arc reactor. "Would that even work?" he asked, intelligence in his eyes. "I mean, the reactor sort of sucks in magic, right?"
"I could not say," Loki admitted. "It may work beyond my expectations, because it attaches so to your arc reactor. Or it may do nothing at all, simply add to the magics already powering your magnet. I can only try."
Stark shrugged. "I wouldn't refuse," he said with a broken edge to his smile, "but I'm not sure why–"
"This doesn't go one way, Tony," Loki reminded him and Stark smiled, bright and easier than before. "I would not sit back and watch someone rip your life from you, any more than you would give someone the designs to see me dead." She freed her hand and brushed it against Stark's jaw, thumb tracing the corner of his smile. "I will craft my spell tomorrow; tonight, I have a promise to keep."
Stark's hands attached to her hips. "You do, don't you?" he agreed, an ease to his stance now that they were moving on.
"I do," Loki agreed and nudged the human's chin up to catch his lips with hers.
They didn't quite make it to the bed until later.
-0-
A/N: FANART FROM Alex (AO3)!!! *dancing*
Scene of Loki threatening to turn Clint's cereal into veggies, from the beginning of chapter three
Loki in her dress from the charity ball at the end of Like So Much Shattered Glass
Three scenes from chapter three: Tony pouting while Jane and Bruce make magical fire, Loki and Thor visiting Jörmungand (with Thor hiding XD), and Clint complaining about Loki knowing the answers to the game show
Scene from the end of chapter three, where Tony's carrying Loki away from the AMF and she passes out
Alex's idea: A picture Steve did of Loki with his kids, to make Loki feel better after the rough week ♥
~Bats ^.^x
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 |
Christmas Tunes
..
