Icy Problem
Tony sat in the kitchen for a long time, contemplating what just happened. He was there for almost 2 hours until the rest of the team woke up. The group made their way into the kitchen and saw Tony, who was staring at a wall. Nat went over to the billionaire and said, "Hey."
No response.
She softly touched his arm and he almost jumped out of his seat. "Why are you so jumpy? I said 'hey'."
He paused for a second before saying," Loki and I had a little talk earlier this morning...and I don't know whether he would want you guys to know or not."
"Know what?" Steve questioned.
"If we can find him, then we'll talk"
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Loki sat in the living room, asking himself why he let his walls come down with Tony. He has been imprisoned here for months. Hell, he threw Stark out the window! He has no reason to tell him anything, even if he is out of a cell now. Suddenly a soft knock came at the door before all of the Avengers entered the room.
Tony sat down next to him on the couch." You need to show them." Before he could respond Stark added, "They'll find out anyways, it's not like we don't have security cams in here. Also, they'll bother the shit out of me if you don't."
Loki just stared at his hands for a while before softly nodding. He stood up and turned to the rest of the Avengers. He closed his eyes and let the blue creep up his fingers and onto his face as he had done earlier. He opened his eyes to see everyone but Tony dumbfounded. Clint finally asked Thor," Did you know about this?"
Thor replied, "Yes, but I have never actually physically seen it."
Bruce said, "And what exactly is 'It'?"
"My frost giant form," Loki said before Thor could even open his mouth.
Tony looked up at them." That is what he showed me this morning."
Tony smiled at Loki before reaching out to touch his arm. He didn't know why but he wanted to see if it felt any different from normal skin. Loki and Thor both screamed"NO!", but Tony had already made contact with the skin. Tony doubled over in pain while grasping his hand. Yep, different. Loki reverted back to his original form before rushing over to Tony with the rest of the team.
"What the hell happened?!" Natasha asked, panicked.
"Frost giant skin burns people who touch it!" Thor said as he tried to make sure the burn wouldn't spread.
Everyone was trying to help him up to bring him to the medical wing. They eventually got him up before rushing to the medical wing, where they treated the wound and bandaged it. All the while, Loki watched from afar, guilt crushing him. When Thor tried to comfort him, he just shrugged him off. All Loki could do was think:
'What have I done?!'
Tony fell unconscious after they had finished treating his wound. Everyone was staring at Loki, who was now standing in the corner with his arms crossed. His face betraying no emotions. Bruce was the first to speak. "He'll be alright. Just a burn and some shock."
Loki nodded slowly, as if in a daze. He then proceeded to walk out of the room. No one followed him. They knew he needed time to himself.
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Tony woke up a few hours later. He was fine, just worried about Loki because he wasn't in the Med Bay when he woke, with the rest of the avengers still in the room. He asked, "Hey JARVIS? Where's Loki currently at?"
"The music room, sir" The British voice came from the ceiling.
"Thanks, JARVIS!"
He got out of the bed, to the protest of Bruce, saying he should rest. He ignored it and made his way down to the music room, to find it was locked.
"Open the door JARVIS."
"Sir, Loki has requested that the door remain shut until he tells me to open it."
Tony sighed but remembered there was a recording studio attached to the music room that he could access. He went in, and through the one-way window into the band room, he saw Loki. He was sitting on the couch, with his hands on his head and tear-stained cheeks. Tony felt guilty for touching him because he knew that Loki was blaming himself for the incident, but he decided not to disturb him and went back to the Med Bay to get his bandages changed.
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Tony had told the group what he saw when he came back, and Nat immediately went down to the band room to talk to Loki. She noticed that when she pulled on the door handle, it was unlocked. She went in and sat next to Loki. "This isn't your fault if that is what you are thinking."
Loki would have given anything to be able to teleport out right then and there, but the bracelets blocked his powers. "I'm a monster. I should have never shown stark my... other form."
"No, you are not."
"Yes, I am."
"I'm the only monster here." Loki looked at her quizzically before she continued."While you and Bruce have different forms, you are not monsters. I was trained to kill mercilessly from a young age to get what I want. I've tortured my friends. I've broken apart families. You still think you're the monster in this tower?"
Loki stared at her silently before asking, "How's Stark doing?"
"Great, Bruce thinks the wound will heal in a few days."
"That's good."
She could still see the tears in his eyes, so she put her arm around him and pulled him closer. He started to silently cry on her shoulder. Why was he crying. It was Stark's fault. He hated being seen like this, but her hug had made him feel safe and he could recognize this was not only from today.
"No more than another stolen relic..."
They sat like this for a little less than an hour, and as Loki stopped crying and began to calm down she said to him softly. "Why don't we wash up and head to dinner, alright?"
Loki nodded and he went to his room to change. A few minutes later, he came out to see Nat waiting outside of his door, waiting to go upstairs to dinner. They took the elevator, which was finally fixed, and went into the kitchen to see the rest of the group, who were already eating. The dinner was mostly silent, except for the clanging of the ceramic and silverware. They all made their way to the living room like they usually did after dinner.
It was mutually decided to watch a movie and Tony insisted on watching Lilo and Stitch. Aka, the story of a little blue alien, who, originally thought of as a monster, eventually found his home and his family. The analogy wasn't lost on Loki.
After the movie, Tony brought over shots for everyone.
"To our family. It's little and broken. But still good."
Loki smiled and everyone took their shots.