Payment in Chocolate
Tony was falling in space. Contrary to what actually happened in New York, the portal closed and Tony's held breath hitched. The darkness of the vacuum surrounded him and panic made his heart speed up. He was doomed, alone in space with no way out and no one to help him. Suddenly, he heard a rasping voice saying something he couldn't make out. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw what could only be described as an alien. It wasn't one of the Chitauri, though - instead, it was a pale creature with bloody teeth and six fingers on each hand. Tony shuddered at the sight of the alien, his breath hitching yet again when it spoke.
"You failed. You know what that means, don't you?" the gruesome creature said. "He'll come for you. I told him going after those wretched Avengers would be courting death, but he is set on finding you. You won't be alive for much longer, godling."
Breathing heavily, Tony woke up in a cold sweat. He swore he had never been so confused in his life. Why was he having a dream that seemed as if it was really Loki's nightmare? For some reason, they had likely shared a dream. Tony had no idea why that was the case - how could he be mentally connected to Loki? The thought made him cringe. If he was connected to Loki's mind, the Asgardian's issues and memories would seep into his mind and he might just go insane - or at least that's what he thought.
Tony was tired to no end, so as soon as he got into the special kitchen he had put in for the Avengers, he made himself a cup of coffee. He gulped it down as if he was doing a shot. After hearing footsteps coming towards the kitchen, Tony figured Loki woke up at the smell of the coffee.
"Good morning," Loki said. Though he still looked sickly and weak, he looked less tired than he did when Tony saw him. He sniffed the air and asked, "What's that smell?"
"Coffee. Want some?"
"I don't know what that is."
"Really? They don't have coffee on Asgard?" Tony said incredulously. "Well, it's a drink that makes you feel more alert. It tastes really bitter if you don't add anything to it, but it's nice to feel energized. You might crash later, though."
"I don't really want coffee," Loki replied. "I'd like the drink you owe me."
Tony rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. "I can't believe you remembered that. Okay, you can have it."
He poured a glass of whiskey for Loki. Though the Asgardian wasn't drunk, the alcohol seemed to make Loki relax.
"Look, I need to know more about who's coming after you," Tony stated. "I think I now know one of the guys coming after you - I saw this weird alien in a dream I had. It was talking about you."
"You had my dream too?" Loki said, his eyes widening a bit. "That's strange. Well, the creature you saw is one of my pursuers. The other one is much more powerful. His name is Thanos. For a while, he has been on a mission to receive the love of Mistress Death. Such a mission consists of him destroying everything in existence to please her. If he succeeds in that mission, nothing will be left except for the two of them. This is why it is important that you keep me hidden from him, because if he finds me, he'll find you and your team as well. And when he finds your Avengers, he'll take you all down, leaving no one to protect the world from the chaos he'll unleash after he kills all of you."
Tony processed that for a moment. "Alright, so Death is actually a person and my team and I are screwed if this Thanos guy finds you. But how could he ever destroy everything? That would be a lot of things to destroy, and I mean a lot. He can't possibly expect for his plan to work."
"If he gets all of the Infinity Gems for the Infinity Gauntlet, his mission will be quite easy," Loki responded. "He'll be able to steal souls, control minds, alter reality, and much more. Once he activates the gauntlet, everything goes. If you help me in return, I will be willing to help you and your team if he stages an attack on your world. For the time being, though, I am no more powerful than any of you and thus I am currently useless."
"Though this is still pretty mind-bending for me, I appreciate the information," Tony said. "Well, now that I know more about your pursuers, do you think you could tell me about who hurt you?"
Loki's eyes widened and he said, "I already told you I'll get in trouble. Besides, I shouldn't get him in trouble, because despite what he did to me, he gave me a place to stay."
"You want to protect him?" Tony asked. "Sounds very Stockholm Syndrome like to me. You're not going to get in trouble, I promise. And if you do get in trouble and he comes after you, I'm sure that Thor will give him a nice big whack on the head with his hammer. Please, if it's not going to upset you, I'd like to hear about it."
Loki sighed and said, "I guess abuse is the word for what he did to me, as much as I hate to admit it. At first, he was really nice and protective, but his true colors started showing after some time. He would find reasons to yell at me and threaten me. Then he would say he was sorry and be nice to me to make me forgive him, but then it would start all over again. It was a vicious cycle. He sometimes threw things at me and hit me if I ever did something that made him angry. He would throw insults and slurs at me whenever he was angry. And sometimes he would..."
As he cut off his sentence, Loki's eyes filled with tears.
"What? What would he do?" Tony asked. "I already told you that you're not going to get in trouble."
"He would... use my body for his pleasure without my consent."
Tony blanched and started sputtering. "Oh my god. That's sick. I-I'm sorry that happened to you. No one deserves that, no matter what they've done. How many times did it happen?"
"I lost count," Loki said, shaking a bit with the effort that it took him not to cry. "Well, it happened so many times because it wasn't just violation. He would touch me inappropriately as well. I would try to get away but it was no use. He said he wouldn't give me any food if I didn't let him do it. So one day, I got so sick of it that I punched him in the face hard enough to break his nose and ran out of that place. Being on the streets wasn't very enjoyable, but it was better than being abused."
"Do you need a hug?" Tony asked tentatively. "I mean, I really dislike the idea of hugging you, but it looks like you need one."
Loki nodded and despite how uncomfortable it was for him to do so, Tony hugged him tight and let the Asgardian cry on his shoulder. After he had calmed down, Tony made him pancakes, which he devoured without throwing up later. When Loki looked relaxed, Tony came up to him and asked, "Loki, would you like something to do?"
Loki nodded and Tony handed him his computer, praying to no one that he didn't break it. "Look, I think your hacking skills could help take down some bad websites. Ten Rings websites and websites that distribute illegal things, more specifically. Are you up to it?"
"If it keeps me from going insane with boredom, yes," Loki replied. He started doing his work as Tony watched him with fascination. He had never guessed that Loki would be so good at such a thing, but he figured that technology was advanced enough in Asgard that handling a Midgardian computer was easy for him. After a while, Loki grew annoyed of being watched and shoved Tony away.
Eventually, Loki announced, "I have taken down about a hundred websites distributing child pornography, as well as some Ten Rings-controlled websites. I do not know who the Ten Rings are, but the strength of their security is pitiful."
Tony smiled wide and pat Loki on the back. "Great job. Since you're great with technology, do you think you could help me design some new things for my suit?"
"Why should I help you improve something that is already more than good enough?" Loki said with a roll of his eyes.
"Well, thank you," Tony said, a little surprised. He never expected Loki to compliment him. "I just suggested it because it would give you something to do."
"I'm not doing it."
"I'll pay you in chocolate."
Loki's eyes widened as he repeated, "Chocolate? Well, okay."
Tony started laughing rather hard and laughed even harder when Loki glared at him. "Sorry. That was just funny. I'll stop now."
Because of his boredom, Loki spent the afternoon taking down more bad websites. By 5 PM, he had taken down more websites than he thought possible. He decided to relax in the guest bedroom Tony had granted him, but an announcement from J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted his relaxation.
"Mr. Laufeyson, there is an intruder on the premises who seems to be looking for you," the AI said.
Loki almost screamed.