Night Time Musings
The moment Thor left Tony knew he was screwed.
After their short introduction Loki had seemed dead on his feet, and on closer inspection Tony could see the dark bags under the teen's eyes. How his arms were wrapped tight around himself in worry, with wide green eyes darting around nervously before moving to look outside; seemingly afraid that he would be attacked at that very moment should he even dare to move.
It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, as he wondered just how powerful this frost giant was to terrify the poor kid so badly.
He made a mental note to look up Norse mythology as soon as he could. After all, if he was going to have an actual Norse Prince living under his roof for the foreseeable future, then he better prepare himself.
There was no telling what may come knocking at his doorstep now.
Thor hadn't been able to stay long, he seemed as rush and frazzled as Loki had been, and Tony realized then and there that there was more going on then either of them had been willing to say or admit to. The Thunder God promised to return as soon as he was able before going back to Asgard, and Tony desperately hoped that meant he would be back soon.
He practically wobbled over to his mini bar and poured himself a drink. He was in so far over his head and knew that Pepper would be berating him about it all once she found out or made Jarvis spill the beans on this whole situation.
He'd never taken care of anyone before. Hell the only pet he'd ever had was a robot, and if that wasn't saying something he didn't know what would.
While it helped that Loki was a teenager and not some small brat he needed to take care of, it also made everything infinitely worse. He could freely admit that he'd been a menace as a teen. Getting drunk each night, and sleeping with whoever wanted their name printed next to his. He hadn't been picky, and even now sometimes he wasn't.
And that terrified him.
How was he supposed to take care of someone when he could barely take care of himself? When it took the combined effort of both Jarvis and Pepper to get him out of bed each morning, where still days would pass when he would forget to eat and end up passing out as a result.
Thor would kill him if he made the teen an alcoholic, what if his drinking habits made Loki curious and then bam! One alcoholic Prince and one flattened Iron Man for everyone's viewing pleasure.
He was sure Capsicle would get a laugh out of it, the uptight jerk.
He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, wincing at the feel of grease. When was the last time he'd showered again?
Oh god he was so screwed.
Could he really take care of a kid?
How could he possibly take care of someone without screwing them up as well?
He sighed before standing up and walking into the hallway, knocking his drink back and leaving it on one of the bar stools as he did so. Maybe he should work on something to get his mind off of things for now. He still had some suit outlines he had to look over, that should help distract him from his momentary lapse in sanity.
After all, why else would he agree to this if it wasn't for the fact that he had obviously gone insane?
He paused when he reached Loki's door.
“Oh dammit.” He grumbled before slowly opening the door and stepping in. The teen was asleep, his covers pushed off him as he held a book close to his chest, he was dressed in what looked like a dress but Tony was pretty sure was just a nightgown.
He had seen Thor in one before and could freely admit that it did nothing for the god.
Loki looked even younger in sleep, and it made Tony's heart clench as he tried to hold back his panic at this whole situation once more. The kid deserved someone way better then him. He was certain that he would be a crappy caretaker. Even Legolas would be a better person for this job then him.
He paused. Actually that was a horrible idea. He already had countless mini heart attacks from that wingless bastard hiding in the most bizarre places in his home, he didn't need to add someone else to that equation.
“I'm not sure what I’m doing.” He whispered, carefully moving to the bed and covering the teen up with his quilt. “And I’m pretty damn sure that I'm going to screw up big time and have your brother beat me up with that hammer of his.”
He paused, could he really do this? Was it really possible for him to be less of a fuck up then his own father had been? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “But I'll try...”
He smiled and finished tucking Loki in, his eyes glimmering with amusement at the old tome the teen held protectively to his chest as he snuggled into his covers. “I'll try my best to protect you, I did make a promise after all.”
He moved to walk out of the room, pausing once more by the door to look at Loki a final time.
Maybe… just maybe he could take care of someone.
He'd never tried it before, had never thought to try it…
But maybe this once, he could.
He closed the door behind him, not noticing the happy smile stretching across pink lips as green eyes looked back at the now closed door.
“Thank you.” He whispered softly, before closing his eyes and falling into Morpheus's realm.