Chapter 2
Now that he had reached his goal, Tony suddenly felt panic rising inside of him. What if it’s a trap? he thought, imagining all the things Loki could do once he was inside. I can still take the 100 bucks and run. Or perhaps not, I’m so tired and out of breath.
Loki was regarding him with that strange look of curiosity again as if he were pondering a serious problem. Then the god started worrying his fingers, an odd nervous habit Tony had noticed before.
The cool, steady, and scrutinizing gaze was beginning to make Tony feel ill at ease though. He's looking at me as if I was another interesting specimen he'd like to pin for his collection, he thought. Just stop it, please?
‘It takes a lot of courage to come to me for help,’ Loki said after a while.
‘I’m just desperate.’ replied Tony.
‘Ah,’ the god breathed, adding, ‘Did Thor tell you that the laws of hospitality are sacred on Asgard and its protectorates?’
‘You’re not known for playing by the rules, Lokes.’
‘Indeed.’ Loki shrugged. ‘But remember, I, too, know what it means to lose everything.’
‘There’s always that.’
‘And perhaps I knocked on the wrong door for support.’
Tony could see he was dead serious now and would have liked to learn more about this, but the expression on Loki's face had turned totally blank after making this confession.
‘Also, I won’t risk a curse from some obscure entity only for the joy of spitting in your soup. I feel I carry enough of those on me already,’ Loki continued as if nothing had happened.
‘Gross, but I’m feeling much safer now.’ The sarcasm was completely lost on Loki.
‘Then come,’ the god finally urged, ‘be my guest. The least I can do is giving you some supper and a room for the night: I have fresh stew on the stove and bread to break, but please take your shoes off first. They look soiled.’
‘That might be a problem,’ Tony admitted while thinking on the state of his socks.
‘Yes, I can see you have joined The Great Unwashed since our last encounter.’
‘Now, look…,’ Tony started to protest, but then he felt a strange tingling sensation around his feet and when he looked down, his footwear had totally disappeared. ‘Whoa!’ he exclaimed.
Loki merely shrugged again and smiled smugly. ‘They’re on the balcony, Tony Stark,' he explained. 'Now would you like to come inside or do you prefer to camp in front of my door?’
Needless to say, Tony chose the first option: he hurried into the apartment on his bare feet and, despite his anxiety, felt kind of relieved when Loki closed the door behind him.
The inventor took a good look around and saw a vast living area to his right and a smaller open kitchen with an adjoining dining table to his left. Tony spotted two more doors and a narrow corridor. Looks like a perfect place to share. If one could stomach living with Loki.
The place felt surprisingly cosy, Tony had no other word for it. It was a place to come home to, with antique and vintage furniture mixing with new pieces. Someone had obviously paid much attention to detail and the result filled Tony with a feeling of warmth and welcome. There was a comfortable couch with plenty of pillows and plaids casually thrown on it and a huge armchair with matching footstool. The sight made Tony want to snuggle up immediately, but then he was distracted by what was going on in the kitchen where Loki was peeping into the oven.
‘Almost ready,’ the god said. ‘Apple pie, just like grandmother used to make it.’
Of course it would be grandma’s apple pie. You know, it’s is almost too much, Loki, but what a finishing touch, Tony thought while allowing himself to relish the lovely fragrance for a moment. Vanilla, he thought. Also cinnamon, cloves, and caramel. Caramel made from brown sugar which was sprinkled on top of the pie at the last stage of baking, probably. Then he managed to pull himself together and said flippantly, 'This is not the supervillain lair I expected.' It was hard to keep focusing on the opulent rugs on the floor but he needed to distract himself from the pot on the stove and the bread on the counter. Judging by the pile of neatly folded up bags, Loki must have done a lot of grocery shopping recently.
‘It is not? I’m sorry to disappoint. Do you have any luggage?’
‘No,’ Tony admitted. 'Everything happened so quickly. There was no time to salvage any of my stuff, and Obi didn’t even let me take dad’s old golf bag with me.'
‘I can surely understand the appeal of a nice round of golf in your situation.’
Heavyhearted, Tony tried to smile. ‘It was a disguised Iron Man suit, a variant of the Mark V, the Suitcase Armour, which I build for funsies.’ Feeling the need to relief his tension, he added in a badly faked humorous tone, ‘And for an emergency exit, of course. The golf crowd can be more angst inducing than you might think.’
Loki regarded the former billionaire with something resembling compassion. ‘Just let me show you your room then. I’ll find you something to wear while you’re taking your bath.’
For a moment, Tony thought his ears were betraying him. ‘Bath? You want me to go naked in your apartment?’ he asked despite wanting nothing more than to soak himself in a tub full of clean, hot water. That, and some of the nice supper Loki had prepared. But since he knew the trickster god and his mischievous ways only too well, Tony was still suspicious of his unexpected generosity.
‘This is what you worry about? Midgardians are truly much more entertaining than I suspected.’
‘I’m feeling vulnerable.’
‘That’s because you are vulnerable, Stark. But rest assured: if I wanted to finish you off, you’d be dead already. What protection do you think your miserable rags are offering you?’
‘Yeah, I should have left my armour on for that,’ murmured Tony. ‘My bad.’
‘You can have the spare room if you want to stay,’ Loki said indifferently, crossed the living area and opened the door to the right.
That didn’t sound too inviting, but when he followed his host, Tony relaxed. The lofty, spacious room they entered was well-aired, beautifully furnished, and spotlessly clean. The bed was huge, almost certainly custom-made for someone at least as tall as Loki.
Then the penny dropped for Tony. The vast amount of empty grocery bags in the kitchen, the large pot of stew simmering slowly on the stove, and the loaves of home-made bread cooling on the counter all made sense now: Loki had clearly been hoping for a guest with an enormous appetite. And today was Thursday.
Tony’s and Loki’s eyes met for a moment and, taken by surprise, the god let his mask slip for the fraction of a second; now he looked almost as tired and lonely as the former billionaire felt.
‘Been expecting a visitor lately?’ Tony asked softly. ‘Some close relative, perhaps?’
Loki visibly stiffened. ‘I don’t have a family,’ he replied, quickly recovering his composure and poise.
‘So, no news from Thor?’
‘The God of Thunder and I don’t converse anymore.’ Loki said. ‘Well now, are you staying? We haven’t got all night. I refuse to let my pie burn because of you.’
‘I’m sorry,’ whispered Tony. ‘I didn’t mean to...’
‘Never mind.’ Loki turned around to open a sparsely-filled closet and selected a few items. ‘Here,’ he said, carefully laying out a pair of large pyjamas and an equally large men’s morning gown on the bed. ‘Those are new and will do for tonight, I hope. We can go shopping as soon as you are feeling better.’
So he knows about my handing-quirk, Tony, who hated being handed things, thought. Scary. I wonder where he got this particular piece of private information. Someone is leaking to Lokiand this probably explains why he makes such a resourceful adversary. Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Suddenly, Loki threw something in his direction. Tony caught it easily and felt somewhat relieved that his reflexes were still working, but then his eyes widened with surprise: it was a pair of socks, showing off the logo of Stark Industries. ‘You have been shopping at one of my gift shops,’ Tony stated blankly.
‘Not just any of your gift shops, my friend. What on Midgard are you thinking?’ Loki said. ‘It was the flagship store next to Stark Tower, of course. I enjoyed a dish of ‘Tony’s Favourite Cheeseburger & Fries’ and a cup of ‘Tony’s House Blend’ at their eatery afterwards.’
‘I gather it’s not a coincidence the socks are exactly in my size?’
‘Of course not, silly. They’re amongst the best selling merchandise they have, I was told. Customers always ask for clothes in your size even though they don’t fit them, but they seem to make a desirable souvenir. Especially the socks, which are very cheap. Almost anyone can afford them.’
‘Hope you liked the coffee, then,’ Tony muttered and gathered the clothes Loki had offered him. ‘Would you mind if I locked the door while I’m bathing?’
Loki sighed but Tony could see a sly smile on his lips. ‘Just wash that smell off yourself, will you? I have a table to set and food to serve.’
I'm probably going to regret this, Tony felt, but somehow that little smile had made it much easier to give Loki some credit and he followed his host back into the living area where Loki showed him the way to the bathroom.