Schism

Loki heartily enjoyed Midgardian cleverness.  For such a short-lived species, their creativity was rather astounding. Thanks to the temporary closing of many buildings in Manhattan, he was able to make use of the resources of the New York Public Library he'd unexpectedly transported himself to. His only thoughts when he'd grabbed the tesseract had been safety/recovery/help - and surprisingly he had access to all three to some degree within the building's walls, at least temporarily.

Even so, with such little exposure to Midgard, Manhattan, etc., he didn't entirely understand why he'd ended up where he was until he accessed the internet with his magic, and then he laughed. 

Loki was in a precarious position and he knew it. He would not be safe in Asgard. He was in no condition to travel within the 9 realms. And he'd wreaked havoc on Midgard. He needed sanctuary, and a chance to explain what was really happening during "his" invasion of Midgard. The only person he thought he would have even a small chance of communicating with was within walking distance of his current location. 

Even being the so-called "God of Mischief", he found that hilarious. 

Loki shook his head, still chuckling quietly to himself as he considered what to do next.

* * * * * 

The tower was a bit of a mess, Tony thought. Well, that was a rather large understatement... but it could have been worse. Most of the floors were undamaged. Most of his penthouse was miraculously undamaged. He still had a rather large Loki-sized hole in his living room floor, but at least the windows were secured until they could be repaired. 

Bruce, his favorite science-bro, accepted his invitation to stay at the tower for the time being. The rest of the Avengers crew was bunking with Shield, and honestly, Tony was fine with that. Their in-the-field chemistry was impressive, for sure, but beyond that - he really was NOT comfortable with Super Secret Spies and a guy who didn't respect him until he'd nearly died - twice - first saving the helicarrier from crashing, then saving the city from a nuclear bomb. Tony could admit he was an arrogant pain in the ass occasionally, and maybe the Scepter had something to do with the tension, but there was only so much patronizing crap he was willing to deal with.

Shield could put his number on speed dial for emergencies, but that was as far as he was willing to go with Fury's SSHC (Secret Super Hero Club). 

***

He was still sore, but mostly recovered and working in the lab, with Dum-E, U and Butterfingers keeping him company when Jarvis alerted him of a "visitor" appearing in the living room of the tower. Tony only knew of one person who could just "appear" in the tower. 

"What's he doing?" Tony asked.

"He is sitting on the floor near the spot where the Hulk... deposited him previously." Jarvis replied as he pulled up the security feed of the living room  

Tony paused... his brain a bit of a blue screen at that. "I don't know what to say to that," Tony replied. "He hasn't been doing anything else? Pacing dangerously, waving weaponry, that sorta thing?"

"No Sir." Jarvis sounded mildly amused. "He appears to be waiting. Also, his eyes are green."

Tony made a decision then, and he hoped it was the right one. "Keep a suit ready, J. Let's find out what's going on."

* * * * *

Loki waited, somewhat nervously, for Tony Stark, the Man of Iron, to appear.

He wasn't used to being nervous, and he didn't like it. He'd been on edge for SO long - since even before his "fall". The desire to feel safe for more than a few hours at a time was bone deep. It felt like an impossible dream and he pushed it down.

He didn't have time for dreams. 

To say Loki was surprised when the Man of Iron appeared without the protection of his armor would have been an understatement of almost mythic proportions. His eyes widened in surprise, but he managed to keep his jaw from dropping (it was a near thing). 

"What?" Tony asked, looking down to make sure he hadn't spilled something disgusting on himself or left his zipper open. The look on Loki's face was hilarious.

"You are not wearing your armor", Loki said. 

OH - well, yeah, the great Tony Stark's protective instincts not activating. Truth be told, though, Jarvis was damn formidable, so Tony’d decided to skip the “I can totally kick your ass” posturing.

"Neither are you," Tony answered.

That response was greeted with the tension in Loki's body draining so quickly and so obviously, it added more weight to Tony's theory. That and the fact that Loki - basically a Prince, and pretty damn powerful in his own right - remained sitting while Tony was standing, putting the power in Tony's hands quite clearly. Tony's experience with Thor gave him the impression that body language was pretty similar between Asgardians and humans.

"So, what's up, Reindeer Games?"

Loki wasn't sure what 'Reindeer Games' meant, but he replied to the first part of the question honestly, "I have come to apologize, to seek amnesty, to make reparations, and offer my services against those who sent me." As he spoke, he squared his shoulders, aware it was possible that none of what he sought would come to pass. But he had to TRY. There was too much at stake. 

Tony paused, processing what Loki had said, what Tony himself had seen and experienced, running permutations and scenarios through his head. He looked at Loki - really looked - and recognized (unexpectedly) a bit of himself, post-Afghanistan - in the Asgardian. And he made a decision.

"Tell me everything." Tony replied. 

Loki did.