Goodbye
The three stayed awake for almost all night watching movies and eating junk food. The prince had the same look of awe as Peter the first time he watched TV. It was enjoyable to watch but still Tony whished he was gone.
As the two couldn’t hide their yawns anymore they agreed to stay the remainder of the night in his pool so they could safely return next morning. Loki didn’t like it the least but he agreed that he was tired and a tired merman was in danger to get attacked by a predator.
Tony helped them back into the pool and watched as they curled up together on the sand, now he officially hated the prince. Fuming he walked back inside and threw himself on top of his own empty bed.
Honestly it was kind of silly to be jealous of the prince, Peter was a merman and Tony was a human, even if they could make it work, he was not so sure what it was in the first place, he couldn’t possible keep the boy from his home. It would be cruel to do so.
Rather frustrated the genius hit his head repeatedly into his pillow huffing each time.
“Sir you seem to be distressed, may I be of some assistance?”
Tony lifted his head; of course, he was a genius was he not? There was a solution for every problem you only need to find it, “Jarvis oh yes, did you find something on the scans?”
“I fear not Sir, the sea is mostly unexplored and the cave system you are looking for appears to be well-hidden.”
Tony growled and flipped on his back, “alright, I want to make a few changes on the suit, no I want to make another one so get started on the calculations.”
“Very well Sir what did you have in mind?”
Tony jumped off his bed and walked downstairs into his workshop, “it needs to be capable of deep sea diving, meaning it needs to be resilient to high pressure; salt water and I need a constant supply of fresh air. I will stay underwater for a long time.”
“I will get to it immediately, also you will be happy to hear that Dr Banner had been safely arrived hours ago and was taken care of. Mrs Potts is in charge of him.”
Tony smiled as he looked through a few boxes with either abandoned projects or things he deemed useless, “good to hear, now where did I put it?” He pulled the entire tech out of the boxes until he found the small black case he was looking for.
“Oh yes,” he exclaimed opening the case and smiling at his invention. This would work he was sure of it.
“Sir I do need to inform you if you use this on Master Parker you will most likely lose his trust.”
Tony stopped for a moment but then he shook his head, his plan may hurt the boy but they would work through that, he was sure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The moment the sun rose, Peter awoke and sighed feeling utterly content. Mermen were used to the life underwater and the coldness that was part of it, but they did like the warmth too.
So normally family members who lived in a cave together huddled together to share what little warmth their bodies offered to each other. It was something every merman enjoyed.
Currently Peter was spooned by Loki, his long pale arms wrapped around his torso and their tails entwined. Under normal circumstances this would never been possible and Peter would probably be locked up by Odin if he ever found out but he couldn’t care at the moment.
The sun was rising and Peter managed to untangle himself from his friend and rise to the surface. The boy climbed out of the pool and into the wheelchair. Easily enough he rolled into the bathroom noticing that it was now a lot easier to get through the doors.
When he emerged again Tony was already in the kitchen and smiled at the boy, “morning Pete how did you sleep?” The merman rolled up to the kitchen counter and pulled himself up onto a stool, “good, I really like the new pool. In fact I like your new place everything looks great.”
Tony smiled and put a bowl of fruit into Peter’s hands, “I would like to show you around but I guess you want to go soon again don’t you?” The boy looked down on the bowl looking a little guilty, “I…well Loki will want to leave and I do miss my aunt dearly.”
The human patted his shoulder, “it is alright, I knew from the beginning that I couldn’t keep you here forever it is just…I wished we’ve had more time.” Peter glanced at the pool as he popped a grape in his mouth, “well Loki is still asleep and you better not wake him. His majesty doesn’t like it.”
Tony chuckled and went behind the merman, “very well then I shall show you around quickly, the new bathroom was also to your liking?” Peter smiled as he was pushed through the house, “oh yes it looked really nice.”
Tony showed Peter around and the boy was fascinated by almost everything, he was like a little child. The merman sat on one of the beds in the guest rooms.
“And you sleep on those?”
The human smiled and watched him, “yes we take the blanked and cover us so we stay warm and comfortable and we put our heads on those pillows.” Peter picked one up touching it fascinated like he had never seen something so amazing. It was almost too cute.
“I wish I could sleep in one of those beds, it feels really nice, we mostly sleep on the ground on top of some seaweed. The royals can afford to grow sponges large enough to sleep on.”
Tony knitted his eyebrows together, sponges? Well that could work in a way, he guessed. He sat down next to Peter, “sounds really uncomfortable to me, would you like to lie down for a moment?”
The merman blushed but nodded and Tony helped him getting under the covers, “hm if your tail wouldn’t stick out on the other end you would almost look like a human.” Peter snorted at that, “could you imagine that? Me? Human?”
He laughed and for some reason Tony felt an ache in his chest. Oh how he wished the boy was human. Peter stopped and looked up to Tony his hands caressing the soft fabric of the covers, “this is so nice I wish I had one down in my cave.”
Tony went to lie next to him propping his head up on one arm to look down on him with a smile, “I would say take it with you but that would look weird, wouldn’t it?” Peter laughed and nodded, “completely weird.”
They looked at each other for a moment and Tony moved his free hand to put it on top of the blanked that covered Peter’s naked chest, “you know there is still that issue that I haven’t kissed you yet.”
The silence in the room was almost deafening and Tony feared that he had overstepped some boundaries but to his surprise it was Peter who grabbed the back of his head to pull him into a kiss.
It was funny somehow Tony had thought that Peter would taste like fish, but he didn’t he tasted rather human but that was a good thing. Tony moved his hand to Peter’s cheek and deepened their kiss by pushing his tongue into the boy’s mouth.
Peter let out a sound of surprise but he didn’t pull away or worse bit his tongue, it was quite the opposite. He moved his tongue to meet his and so they danced with each other in a hot and quite wet dance.
Tony groaned and broke the kiss as he felt arousal rise inside of him. Was it wrong for him to want this boy so much? He was technically a minor and they were not even the same species let alone that they barely knew each other.
“I-I think I should look if Loki is awake, he surely will be hungry,” Peter said gasping for air. He saw the weird expression in Tony’s face and something inside of him stirred. It was strange, he of course had been aroused before it was a sign of fertility and becoming an adult but in their kind didn’t mate for pleasure it was frowned upon.
The fact that Tony was also a male and they couldn’t produce an offspring didn’t make it less confusing. He shouldn’t feel this, never; it was wrong, so wrong on so many levels. Loki would kill him if he knew.
Quickly he pushed the covers away and climbed back into the wheelchair while Tony stood and walked over to the door not daring to meet his gaze. The genius was glad that he had no idea how he would make this work between them or he would have probably kept going and ravished the boy right there.
They went back into the living room and as they looked outside they were greeted by a fuming Loki. The merman had his arms resting on the rim of the pool and his pale skin glistered in the sunlight as he glared at both of them.
With a guilty expression Peter rolled outside and Tony sighed internally before he followed. Loki shot Tony a poisonous glare before he focused on Peter, “where have you gone?” The boy opened his mouth to answer but Tony cut him off before he could speak, “relax princeling we just took a tour through the house.”
Loki now looked at Tony and the man almost winced at that look, damn that green eyed cockblock was really furious. The human swallowed as the prince bared his teeth, “just a tour huh, well human you had your fun but we will leave, now! I will accept no further delay.”
Peter looked down on his hands and nodded, “I think he is right we should leave.” Tony and he shared a look, “I’m sorry.” The human just nodded and Peter rolled over to the elevator waited for Tony to follow.
With a sigh Tony walked over and got down to the cove with Peter, “I am sorry because of Loki but he is just worried. Please don’t take it personal.” Tony let out a laugh as Peter slipped into the water, “not at all I understand.” Oh he was taking this completely personal.
Peter smiled and Tony went upstairs again, “you know little princess, you are one hell of a pain in the ass.” Loki sat on the rim of the pool his arms crossed in front of his chest, “and you are a filthy peasant.”
The human crossed his arms in front of his chest as he watched the prince. The merman looked at him the same way Tony looked when he was…could it be? Tony tilted his head, “gods you are jealous, aren’t you?” The prince blushed confirming his suspicion, “oh my god you have a crush on Peter!”
Loki bit his lip looking down on his hands, “if you say something to him I swear I will call my snake to destroy your house.” Tony threw his head back and laughed, “yeah threaten me all you want princeling but I tell you something, I have your fishy balls in my hand, wait does your kind have balls?”
Loki looked so confused that Tony didn’t need an answer to that, “well so if you want to keep your dirty little secret you will hop into this wheelchair, let me bring you downstairs and you will tell Peter that it is okay if he drops by once in a while.”
It was almost too funny to watch the merman think and curse in his mind, Tony knew he did. In the end Loki just nodded and climbed into the wheelchair and let Tony push him into the elevator.
“You know I think we could be friends if you were not so stuck up all the time.”
Loki scoffed, “and if you hadn’t caught Peter we would still be a secret and living in safety.” Tony hummed, “maybe but I doubt that, sooner or later your kind will be found, the world is getting smaller and smaller Loki, you cannot hide forever.”
The prince let his shoulders slump a little and Tony felt a pang of regret but as soon as the doors opened Loki sat upright again, “our kind is older than humanity will ever be, I am certain we will find a way to survive you.”
The genius rolled the prince into Peter’s direction, “I hope you are right because the key to survival is to evolve and to adapt to change. That is how humanity survived all this time.” Peter watched their exchange with some curiosity but didn’t get involved into the conversation.
Loki slipped into the water with more grace that Tony would ever possess and the mermen exchanged a look. Peter frowned slightly; he noticed that something had happened between them.
The human cleared his throat, “well you two I guess this is goodbye.” Loki swallowed watching Tony warily before turning to Peter, “yeah but I guess it is…okay if you drop in once in a while.” The boy’s eyes widened, “just don’t do it too often.”
Peter let out an excited sound and hugged his friend and Tony nearly growled at that but he managed to keep his mouth shut. Loki hugged him back but let go quick enough, “alright but now let’s go we still need to come up with a story to tell everyone.”
The boy nodded and looked at Tony again, “bye I promise I will visit.” Tony smiled and raised his hand, “yes see you kid.” With that the two mermen dived down and disappeared into the depths of the sea.
Tony sighed and put his hands in his pockets as he walked back to the elevator, “Jarvis activate the tracking device and keep a lock on Peter, I want to know where he is going.”
“Very well Sir, anything else?”
The genius closed his eyes as the doors slid shut, “those Hydra files, you made a copy didn’t you?”
“Of course Sir everything is inside your database.”
Tony smiled trying to banish his guilt out of his mind and walked straight into his workshop sitting down in his chair as the monitors came to life. He pulled up all the schematics Hydra had made about Peter, the x-rays and the detailed data about his DNA.
Tony was not well-versed in biotech or anything even close to that matter but he was a genius and genetic engineering as also just engineering in the end. He was determent to find a way to be with Peter even if he had to go against nature to do so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loki glanced at his friend as they dived deeper and deeper, following the familiar currents that would guide them to their home. Of course Peter noticed, “just ask dammit.” The prince sighed and stopped, Peter followed suit.
“I…we need to get up with a story to tell your aunt and everyone else who asks.”
Peter of course knew that was not was Loki had wanted to say but he would go along with it. Sooner or later his friend would talk to him, “how about I was locked in a cave?” The prince thought about that as he looked around, “yeah that could work, you were locked inside after a land slide and couldn’t come out.”
Peter nodded smiling brightly, “oh yes, but how did I survive? I need to eat.” They both thought for a moment before Loki shrugged, “you were lucky and able to catch whatever swam past the cave.” They both thought this adequate enough and continued on their way home.
Loki took a deep breath before they entered the cave system and stopped again looking at Peter, “I am glad that you are back Parker.” Peter smiled, “and I am grateful you came looking for me, my prince.”
They smiled to each other and looked around to make sure no one spotted the small entrance to their home before they slipped one after another through the narrow passage between the rocks. One reason why Peter’s friend Ned rarely used this entrance was because he barely fit through.
The guards spotted Loki at first and recognized him immediately by his green tail and the golden fins that marked him as royalty. Gladly they bowed and didn’t even glance at Peter as they swam past them.
The closer they get to May’s and Peter’s cave, the faster Peter swam. Loki had no trouble keeping up but he let himself fall back to not be in Peter’s way as he entered his home.
“May! I am back!”
The mermaid shot out from their sleeping chamber and Peter was immediately caught in her tight hug. Loki slid into the cave behind him letting the curtain fall so they would have some privacy.
“Gods Peter I was so worried. Where were you!”
The boy flinched and Loki was glad that he was not the victim of May’s wrath. Peter looked at her with guilt in his eyes, “I-I was caught inside of a cave, there was a landslide.” The young merman had never prided himself to be a good liar and under normal circumstances May would have probably seen through him but being as emotional as she was, she didn’t.
Loki exhaled, “yes I found him only through pure luck.” May let go of her nephew to look at the second prince, “you found him, you said you would but I didn’t believed it. I am so sorry for doubting you my prince.” The mermaid swam towards him and bowed down deeply touching the ground in front of Loki to show how thankful she was.
The prince managed a smile but he did look uncomfortable by it, “ah like you said I promised I would find, but now I need to go and apologize to my mother for missing breakfast.” May shot up thanked him again before wrapping her arms once again around her beloved nephew, the two mermen exchanged a look and a nod before Loki took off.
May let go once again and looked him over again and again checking him for injuries and was pleased to find none. Gladly the wound he had taken from Tony had healed without leaving a noticeable scar and Bruce had made sure that the scientists would treat him well and not hurt him unnecessarily.
“Now you will promise me to never explore caves again without telling anybody,” May said pushing the boy down to sit on a rock. Peter smiled and nodded but his aunt was not finished.
“And you will never again venture to the surface.”
Peter’s jaw dropped, “what how? I never went…”
The mermaid crossed her arms in front of her chest raising an eyebrow, “Peter please, do you think me stupid and blind? I saw the little things you collected and the look of awe in your eyes whenever you came back from a trip you didn’t want to tell me about. Peter you may be the smartest kid I know but I am not dense.”
Peter looked sheepishly at his hands, “I never intended to worry you. So I never told you.” His aunt nodded squeezing his hand, “oh Peter I always knew you would be drawn to the surface, your father was the same. He would always go and watch the land creatures and would tell your mother and me about it.”
Her voice was full of sadness and longing and Peter felt his heart hurt. Sometimes he wondered if she was lonely, if he failed as a nephew, failed in making her happy. It was his duty to be there for her, wasn’t it?
Suddenly he felt guilty for choosing to stay with Tony, for wanting to go back to him and spending time with the human. Tony was not part of their world and Peter should not try to force something that was never going to work out.
He moved closer to his aunt wrapping his arms around her, “I am sorry for leaving it wasn’t my intention and I promise to never get in such a situation again.” May rubbed his cheek with a gentle smile, “I know but now I will make you some lunch you must be starving for some proper food.”
A huge grin broke out on Peter’s face and he nodded, some proper merfood would do him some good, he was sure he would miss pizza though.
May rushed around the kitchen pulling out clams and crabs that they kept in a stone bowl and prepared them so they could be easily eaten. Peter watched with a fond smile his hand following the lines that were carved into the stone he was sitting on. Ben had marked all of his works.
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Loki swam back home ignoring his people as they spotted him and whispered words he refused to pay attention to. The people got easily excited if a royal ventured so far off the grand cave.
“My prince!”
Loki grimaced as he heard the call but stopped, “Sif what unpleasantness brings you into my company?” The mermaid stopped in front of him ignoring his words as usual, “your mother the queen requests your presence, immediately.”
She emphasised the last word and Loki knew that if he refused she would drag him to his mother. That woman was surprisingly strong and stubborn. Even after all this time she still tried to get Thor to notice her.
His big brutish brother was too stupid to notice though, he only saw her as his favourite sparring partner. It was hilarious to watch.
With a sigh Loki waved his hand, “lead the way.”
The warrior led him into Frigga’s garden at least that was what she called it. It was a larger cave that was exclusively for the royal family. The ground was covered in white sand and not a stray rock or pebble was to be seen.
The walls of the cave were covered in carvings of the major events in their history. The coronation of Bor, their first king, who claimed the caves for their people, the birth of Odin and how he defeated the Jotuns a race of merpeople that tried to take over their caves.
Loki let his eyes stray further until he spotted the carving of Thor’s and finally his birth both pictures showed Frigga with the infants in her arms. He always admired the craftsmanship of those carvings and wondered how Thor’s coronation would be portrayed.
“My son!”
The prince spotted his mother who sat in the middle of the cave on a rock and at a table. The polished piece of stone was circular and three other rocks were placed around it so the rest of the family could join if they wanted. They rarely did though.
Thor was mostly off to his adventures and Loki and Odin had never been as close as he and Frigga. The prince swam over to his mother careful not to disturb the carefully groomed sand and sat down in his usual place.
“Mother?”
Frigga chuckled and pushed a small bowl into his direction, it contained a few sea urchins that were hard to eat but delicious. Loki smiled, “thank you mother, what do you want to talk about?”
The queen tilted her head, her golden hair slowly floating to one side, “am I not allowed to spoil my son?” Loki took one of the spikey creatures and carefully broke the shell to get to the tender meat hiding inside, “I guess you are but I doubt you would sent Sif to get me for that.”
The mermaid chuckled and sighed theatrically, “ah I guess you are right, actually I wanted to ask if you finally found your little friend.” Loki chewed and eyed her warily, “who?”
Magic was said to be a gift that once every mermaid and merman possessed. Over the generations however this wisdom had been lost and only little magic was known throughout the vast sea and Loki was sure that his mother was the only mermaid still capable to curse someone.
He was pretty sure his mother possessed magic and used it to shape fate after her own taste. It was quite intimidating.
“You know who I am talking about, I talked to his aunt but I never had the pleasure to meet your friend personally, Peter is his name, isn’t it.”
Loki swallowed and weighted his options; well he didn’t really have options considering that lying to his mother never ended well for him. The prince picked up another sea urchin, “yes his name is Peter, since when did you know?”
Frigga smiled softly at him, “ever since you got that certain gleam in your eyes whenever you went off without telling anyone where you go; besides Thor told me that you made a friend.” Loki cursed internally; he would make his brother pay for spoiling his secrets.
The prince sighed, “where is my oaf of a brother anyway?” Frigga’s smile got a little strained, “he…he is…well we think he got captured as he tried to sneak into Jotunheim.” Loki dropped his food to gape at his mother, this was really bad news.