Chapter 15
Stark´s words still echoed in his Mind from time to time, and it had been nearly a week since he´d seen anyone. He spent his days holed up in the apartment, waiting for his former allies to show up.
His books didn´t offer him entertainment anymore, and the same could be said for every other good in the flat. He ignored the temptation of going out by reminding himself of the risk it implied.
So he sat on the corner of his bedroom, and thought.
As much as he despised the directions his mind took, there was no way to stop it. His routine consisted of a few intertwined acts; getting food, going back to his corner until he found himself hungry again, and showering under two minutes, before daring to sleep, hoping he´d still be in Midgard in the morning.
He didn´t sleep much. If he hated the paths his mind strode over in consciousness, his sleep was plagued with nightmares that made his reluctant contemplation time much more desirable.
His corner was where Stark found him later. He had heard the footsteps, and prepared for the worst, gripping his sphere tightly and determined to take some Chitauri with him, when the mortal´s beardy, concerned face poked through the door, searching the room
The knot in his stomach loosened, and he fixed his gaze on him, until he felt observed, and his eyes squinted when he peered into the darkness.
"Is that you in there, Loks?
"What are you doing here?" And it was a sincere question.
"Ehm… Checking on you? Thor took a break to visit Jane."
"And he passed the baton, I see."
"Not really…" He turned the lights on, and noticed the way Loki flinched at the sudden brightness. "But well, I hadn´t heard of you in days, and I forgot to give you this."
Loki looked up to see him holding a small package. After Stark beckoned him to, he stood up from his spot and walked over. The mortal took a seat on his bed, forcing him to do the same. The god´s eyes fixed themselves on the small box, as Stark opened it to reveal… A leather wristband.
"Stark… Why are you giving me accessories?" He asked, arching a brow.
"How come you were the `smart´ prince up there?" Tony bumped him softly on the back of the head, earning a half assed glare. Then, he took the wristband between two fingers, and turned it. There was a compass-looking gadget encrusted in the leather. He let go of the strap when pale fingers went to graze it. "The detector is underneath. The compass is wired to it, it´ll tell you where the magic is coming from."
"Clever" Was the only thing Loki uttered, as he examined the band curiously.
"I prefer `genius´ " Tony shrugged. "You´ll have a bit more freedom this way."
"Is your captain comfortable with you giving me `a bit more freedom´, Stark? Or are you doing it at his back?"
Tony shook his head lightly. "None of them. Steve´s a dreamer. He wants us to introduce you to Earth living, I don´t have a clue of what he´s expecting, but I did promise I would watch out for you when you were having tour freedom time." He smirked. "But I´m a busy person."
"Yes, I´m sure…" He held the leather band in his hand, twisting and pulling it lightly, as if to test the material. Tony watched him out of the corner of an eye, feeling a knowing smile tug at his lips. This was completely priceless…
"Why are you doing this?" The god´s lips barely moved to voice his question. He kept looking forward, expecting an answer.
"Again, Loks? I don´t like repeating myself, I like challenges, that´s it." Tony nearly flinched when Loki turned his head to him so fast he was sure something must have snapped.
He was starting to get used to the stomach-pull feeling that came with being watched with those eyes, but seeing them so close was still a surprise. They were slightly narrowed, as they scanned him over once before nailing themselves to his.
"How much?"
Tony forced himself to smile, despite the solemnity the taller one radiated. "Just enough."
Loki´s expression softened somewhat. "We´ll see."
Before Tony could ask what he meant, he pushed the wristband against his chest, at the same time presenting him with his left hand, his sleeve pulling back to reveal what Tony thought of a sickeningly pale wrist.
"You need a tanning session, Loks." Tony smirked, as he pulled the band open, and wrapped it around the limb in question.
"You keep calling me that." It wasn´t even a question.
"Does it bother you? I´m not stopping."
"Not really." Loki let the matter slide, already distracted with more important matters, as it seemed. "Thor…"
Tony arched an eyebrow when the god´s voice broke, and decided to take pity on him.
"He just wanted to see his girl. Don´t over think it."
They sat like that for what seemed like an eternity, although it probably was just a couple of minutes.
As the mood became heavier, Tony prayed to whatever gods there were that Pepper didn´t choose that moment to call. Judging by the tension he saw in Loki´s hands, the man would probably fling himself through a wall with any sudden noises.
"I don´t need help."
There it was. That was the opening Tony had been instructed to wait for, his cue to go in and try fixing his teammate´s fucked up brother, to pretend he was not just as fucked up as him. He had prepared more than five comebacks to start a deep conversation, he was ready.
He panicked.
"Good, this time I need yours, for a change." His cheery (if somewhat strangled) voice broke the tension in the air, and he breathed deeply, relieved. Loki stared at him, confused.
"What?"
"The scepter. We have to… You know."
"Get it back, yes." Loki nodded, catching up. "How long do you think we have?"
"My copy´s perfect." Tony grinned proudly to himself. "But Steve won´t let me alone until we get it done, so…"
"This is why I work on my own. Companions are an ungrateful nuisance."
"Am I sensing a grudge there, Loki?" Tony rubbed his hands. "So? Are you free today? No board meetings?" He asked, teasingly.
"No, Stark. I´m an incredibly busy person, and I can´t just change my schedule for you."
Tony smirked.
"I´m sure your meeting with insufferable loneliness can wait, though."
"I had arranged a date with the bathtub, actually." Loki smirked back. "I have found her to be a marvelous company."
"I don´t know whether you´re trying to make me picture you naked or just didn´t want to say you were going back to the corner, but that was the saddest sentence ever said in regard to a date. Or a bath. Or anything."
Loki arched an eyebrow, doing a paper-thin impression of innocence. "Why would I ever want that?"
-
Pepper flipped through her stacked papers, thanking JARVIS for opening the door into Tony´s penthouse for her.
She sighed internally, she had to get him to sign multiple forms and permissions, and then somehow convince him that it was completely indispensable that he attended to some meeting that no, wouldn´t be boring at all.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the blink of a screen, and went to deposit the paper stack on the lonely desk on the edge of the room.
"… last time I was there, there were agents everywhere. I even bumped into Coulson. Any ideas?" Pepper winced at Tony´s words. Her boss was apparently planning another of his unorthodox escapades.
"An invisibility spell is not that hard. I can manage one even with Thor this far from here." However, she was not expecting the cold, slightly arrogant voice that spoke back.
She spun on her spot quickly, her pointy heels nearly digging a hole in the carpet. There they were, Tony had an arm extended towards the holographic screen, showing someplace´s blueprints. Next to him on the couch, she found Loki, staring at the projections with apparent interest.
As if sensing her gaze, the Norse turned to frown back at her, before nudging Tony with an elbow.
"Your maid´s staring at me."
At this, Tony turned, and frowned too.
"Don´t call her that." And he motioned at her to come closer, which she did only after much hesitation.
"Ah, I see. Your woman, then." Loki corrected himself, seemingly enjoying the way Tony´s shoulders sank lightly at the comment. Pepper spared him a cold glance, his grin clear from where she had her face to him.
"Jealous, Lokis?" Tony managed to smirk. "I´m sure your bathtub still loves you, though."
"Can we go on?"
"Why is he here, Tony?"
Both questions came at the same time, equally cold and demanding. Tony gave each a glance, and was surprised to see he hadn´t burst into flames just from being between them.
"He´s helping me with something, Peps." He offered. Pepper just arched an eyebrow, disapprovingly. "Steve´s orders?" Tony fought not to fidget under her gaze.
"As far as I know, this is not any of your business, woman. You´d do well to leave us alone." Loki intervened, not even acknowledging the way Pepper turned to look at him. Tony, however, trembled at the charming smile that spread across the redhead´s lips.
"As you wish, Mr. Laufeyson." And, just like hat, she turned and left the room, the clatter of her heels the only sound left behind. Tony was pretty sure that if he asked JARVIS to check the state of Loki´s account right now, it´d already be completely empty. He´d had to check later, to make sure she didn´t have his apartment seized.
He turned to look at Loki, finding him livid with rage, and paler than usual.
"Loki? Don´t kill my assistant."
"She…" The god started, his voice hoarse. "She has guts, this woman of yours."
Tony gave his arm a lazy slap, not in the mood for anything else.
"She´s not my woman, either."
"Not your woman, not your servant… What is she, then?" Loki watched as Tony rubbed his eyes with his pointer finger and thumb.
"She´s a friend." He muttered.
He had nothing left to say, and so he didn´t add anything. He focused his eyes on the holographic blueprints, his hands itching for something to grab.
"I´m sorry."
He would later have to check the footage to be reassured he hadn´t been hallucinating, for when he looked, Loki hadn´t moved an inch, and he gave no sign of having spoken.
He was about to ask whether he was sorry for bringing the matter up, for mocking him about it, or if he somehow knew his current situation with Pepper had been a consequence of his world-dominating shenanigans in New York, but he didn´t. He had avoided feeling-talk about Loki, and he wasn´t about to get involved in feeling-talk about himself.
"How long will your spell cover us?"
-
It rained that night.
It was a common, natural, not god-of-thunder-induced rain, picking up strength at times, and weakening just right after, drowning the apartment in soft clatter noises.
Loki fixed himself something for dinner, and, feeling oddly at ease, he pushed the one he now deemed as his "reading sofa" near the window.
He sat quietly, turning on just a tall lamp he placed next to the sofa, and letting the rest of the apartment darken gradually. As he dined in silence, he found himself the only inhabitant of a small island of light, and smiled. He was still a wanted criminal. He was still a runaway. His life still hung by a thread,
But right at that moment, everything was perfect.
His phone beeped in his pocked, and he pulled it out, touching the screen to bring it to life.
It was a text message, apparently. He tapped on the button, waiting for it to appear.
"Be safe tomorrow, brother"
He stared at the screen, unblinking, until his eyes burned, and he let his head fall against the back of the sofa, ignoring the way his chest got heavier.
Looking back down, he typed reply after reply, each one more stupid than the one before. It seemed his Silvertongue applied only to verbal matters.
Sighing internally, he went on with the one thought on the front of his mind.
-
Many miles away, Thor looked through the window in similar fashion. The room was only illuminated by the shining screen of his phone, the sky outside still dark from the storm he´d created.
Just as the device´s light dimmed softly, it sprung back in full force, signaling an incoming message. He picked up the small gadget, and placed it back a just a moment later.
Next to him, covered only in a light sheet, Jane glanced dizzily at him.
"Is something wrong?" She whispered, voice dampened in sleep.
Thor cleared his throat, smiling. He cradled the small woman in his arms, and kissed her forehead.
"All is fine, love." And he leaned back down, his lady in arms, letting sleep take over him. On the nightstand, the phone dimmed gradually again, a single sentence in its screen.
"I fear I will never understand you, Thor".