Schism

Tony enjoyed spending some time with Loki & Thor and their mom - she "mom'd" him too, which was nice (kinda melancholic, but nice), but he was glad when they headed off to Jotunheimen Park together.  

Of course he'd set up a place for them, complete with AI support. Jarvis was awesome enough to monitor their location in case they needed him, and they could use google for practically anything else. And he was independent enough to help them out in case they were a "little too Asgardian" for comfort. 

There weren't any issues re. Loki anymore, thank goodness. Once Tony'd given the evidence he'd compiled to the UN and the US government re the attack and related brainwashing, charges had been dropped. The fact that Loki had actively assisted in the recovery of NYC cemented his acceptance - there was even some talk of making him an ambassador, which Tony found unsurprising and hilarious at the same time. 

Eventually, Frigga and Thor gave Tony a head's up that they'd decided it was time to return to Asgard and have a "conversation" with Odin. OH, to be a fly on that wall, Tony thought. Loki was to remain on earth, under his own AND his mother's protective spells to keep him safe from prying Asgardian eyes - they covered Loki himself, as well as the Jotunheim Park house, Stark Tower, and Malibu locations. 

Did Tony say Frigga was awesome? Yeah, she was. 

They'd been gone for a few earth days when Jarvis alerted Tony that Loki was in distress. "Try my panic-attack protocols and see if they help", Tony responded. 

Tony hadn't been super excited about therapy - a few tell-alls from previous experiences in his youth had left a really bad taste in his mouth. But he'd done some research and found some... "interesting" people, and managed to find someone he thought he might be able to trust and might understand the rather special circumstances of the situation. (Seriously, what was his life where finding a therapist required someone who could deal with alien-attack-related-PTSD on top of the "generic" human stuff?!?". In the meantime, yeah - DIY panic-attack management. 

Tony asked Jarvis if he knew what triggered the problem, and in a million years, Tony would never have guessed what had Loki so unsettled. A movie - granted, a good one, one he'd enjoyed himself.  Now that Tony thought about it, he wasn't entirely surprised, because yeah, after their reasonably in depth conversation way-back-when, with the shitty family history and overall insecurity - it would have been a bit of a shock.

Seconds later he had a slightly panicked demi-god in his living room. Jarvis was still talking, and Loki seemed to be calming down, gradually becoming aware of his now-not-Norwegian surroundings. 

"Hey Reindeer Games," Tony figured calm and relaxed was the best way to go (hopefully not for too long, because, well - that wasn't exactly his default setting). 

Loki looked at him, and said in such a lost voice, "I don't know who I'm supposed to be!",  then just collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. And yeah, Tony could identify with that a bit. He'd been - literally - blown apart and had to remake himself - it was a work in progress. He said as much to Loki. 

"You can be yourself here", Tony reassured him, "and it doesn't matter what form that takes".  Tony meant it; he was 100% done with trying to be what other people expected him to be (media BS aside). It was still a work in progress because of the old baggage and new traumas that had piled on since Afghanistan. Tony was going to make damn sure Loki got the support he needed to be able to reach that place as well.

He joined Loki on the floor, looking out at the skyline, doing his best to give off an "I'm here for you" vibe and feeling pretty sure he was sucking at it as the silence stretched on. 

Until ice crystals started to form on the floor and the temperature dropped noticeably along his side. He turned to face Loki and couldn't restrain the hushed "wow" when he saw the deep blue of Loki's skin and the vibrant red of his eyes. Then he noticed the fear in those eyes and the expectation of rejection, and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I see you, Loki". Tony smiled - he was a smart-ass, yeah, but he was also completely serious. 

Loki managed to combine an eye-roll, an exasperated sigh, and an appreciative smirk in response. 

They were both completely aware that a single movie wasn't going to change the world, but a healthy shift in perspective, however minor, would never be taken lightly.

*****

Time passed.

Loki's case had been presented to the United Nations, along with every scrap of evidence Jarvis was able to discover, the power of Stark Industries Legal, and a magic user willing and able to provide reparations. Agreements were made to address the damage and to provide aid in future protections. It didn't hurt that part of that aid was the possibility of a relationship with Asgard. Loki was a skilled politician in his own right, and after a magically-facilitated back-and-forth with Frigga and Thor, Ambassadorship was on the table, and was an opportunity to make things right, improve earth's position on the galactic stage, and NOT be around Odin - a win/win/win all around. The only downside was having to head back to Asgard - however briefly - to make it official. 

While his "Bros-in-arms" were away, Tony built & tweaked suits, Jarvis continued digging through Shield, and the Spy-Assassin-Twins came and went (they were pretty fun for spies, Tony had to admit - snark to rival his own).

If his military schedule allowed, Cap visited occasionally - usually when Clint & Nat were in town. They'd do pizza and movies, and sometimes Cap would spend time with Jarvis to do more in depth "future" catch-up (Jarvis could answer pretty much any question without Tony's snark, so Tony had to admit that was the better choice). Both Tony and Steve had been hit with a "baggage" clue-by-four and dealt with their initial oil-and-water-personality conversation/glow-stick-of-destiny-inspired insult-fest. While they weren't expecting to be best friends, they saw each other as individuals instead of the caricatures they'd walked into their relationship with. It was a vast improvement. 

Things were going smoothly all around. 

Until Jarvis uncovered HYDRA.

***

Tony hoped Thor and Loki were having a better time than he was. 

Tony was tempted to reach out to Fury, but had to wait till the one-eyed pirate contacted him; the waiting was, ha - infuriating! Tony didn't envy the amount of crap the man was going to have to deal with, but considering their "ends justify the means" operating system and the fact the world's greatest threat was growing inside their supposedly "good guy" operation, yeah - he was hoping some introspection was on the horizon.

Wake up calls were a bitch, but he was glad he'd had his. 

Jarvis, of course, was still working his way through the system. There was NO WAY Tony was going to NOT keep an eye on Shield-ra now, with that threat level cranked up to 20 on a scale of 1-10. 

He did suddenly have a taste for calamari, though. 

****

Thor and Loki were not having a better time than Tony.