Chapter 7

"Is that a mixtape?" Loki removed his headphones, glancing up at the approaching Tony.

"It was Quill's," Loki informed, feeling a pang in his chest at the thought of his old friend. "He let me have it."

"It's ancient." Tony sat down beside him, taking the mixtape and examining it. "Good Lord, I haven't seen anyone use one of these in ages."

"I don't care how old it is," Loki replied, snatching it back. "Chances are I'm older."

"Oh, definitely," Tony chuckled, nudging Loki's shoulder.

A smile formed. "You act like that's a bad thing," Loki replied, nudging him back.

"Well, no, not bad just… you-you're old."

"So?" Loki shrugged. He observed his friend for a moment. "You know… you look like you would be older than me if you were Asgardian."

"Oh god, how old do I look?"

"Hm… somewhere in your two thousands." Tony's eyes widened. Loki smirked as he added, "Maybe getting close to three thousand."

"Holy shit…" Tony leaned back on the couch, placing his hand on his forehead. "And I thought fifty was old."

"Old?" Loki scoffed. He was unable to stop himself from smirking. "Fifty years would be an infant. Which is exactly how you act ironically."

Tony shrugged at the remark. "Eh, call me what you will. I'm still a genius."

"By Earth standards perhaps," Loki teased, nudging Tony.

"Oh really? How many aliens can build a fully functioning arc reactor out of scraps in a cave?" Tony pointed at his chest. Loki gazed at the arc reactor, his eyes filling with awe.

"You really… did that?" Tony nodded. Loki couldn't help but admire Tony for a moment. "Hm… impressive. I assume you made the suit under the same conditions?"

"Well, a prototype of it," Tony replied, with a shrug.

"You Midgardians sure do find creative ways to live without magic," Loki mused, raising an eyebrow. "Back on Asgard, they would've just healed you with a spell."

"You can heal me?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… n-no," Loki admitted, hanging his head low. "I was never very good at healing spells… I have my own healing factor but when it comes to healing others, I lack the skill…" Loki glanced at his fidgeting hands, muttering, "Might be my biology…"

"Hm?"

"Oh… nothing…" Silence followed. Loki reached toward Quill's mixtape.

"Loki." Loki turned to face Tony, who simply stared back into his eyes.

"Yes?" Loki prompted, scooting closer.

"Um… what colour are your eyes?" Tony asked.

Loki's eyebrow raised. "They're either green or blue," he answered. "No one can agree which. Why?"

"They were bright blue in New York." Loki's heart skipped a beat. "Like an unmistakable icy blue. I'm just curious, is there a reason for that?" Letting out a sigh, Loki stood up off the couch, unable to meet his friend's gaze.

"Tony, I'm going to admit something to you…" Loki paused, remembering Natasha and Steve's reaction on the ship. "And you're probably not going to believe me."

"Okay. Try me." Tony crossed one leg over the other, leaning back on the couch.

"That wasn't exactly me attacking New York… I was being somewhat controlled by Thanos. The scepter, it…" Loki's heart pounded in his ears. Memories began flooding back to him...of the Chitauri, the Other, and in the middle of it all, Thanos. "He-he knew it would influence me…" Loki turned back to Tony. "I-I'm not trying to make excuses, please don't misunderstand, I swear I'm-"

"I believe it."

Loki's heart stopped. "What?"

"Yeah, I mean it affected all of us, why wouldn't it affect you?" Tony tapped the couch, prompting Loki to sit back down beside him. "It would also explain why you're so different now… So uh, what set you free from his control?"

"The Hulk…" More memories flooded back. Loki pushed them away, trying to stop himself from shaking as he continued, "For the record, my actions still can't be excused. I was fully aware of what I was doing even if, after a while, I couldn't stop. The scepter took advantage of feelings I already had and bent them to its will."

"You must've been terrified facing Thanos then." Loki nodded. "So was I." Loki gazed at Tony, for the first time feeling a wave of empathy for him. "I used to get the worst anxiety attacks. I didn't know at the time that they were because of him… and what he just did." Loki rested his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"But you still fought him all on your own?" Tony nodded. "Then you're more of a fool than I took you for," he mused, removing his hand.

"Eh." Tony shrugged. "You call it foolishness, I call it courage."

Loki let out a sigh. "For some… they're one and the same."

"...Thor?" Loki nodded vigorously. Tony rested his hand on Loki's shoulder, making Loki's cheeks heat up like a fire. Loki jerked away, eyes wide. The warmth spread through his whole body, making his already thumping heart pounded in his ears like drums. "Loki?" Loki pushed himself off the couch, immediately booking it down the hallway. "Uh… goodnight!" Shutting the door behind him, Loki slunk to the ground. He gazed at his hands, now coated with sweat. Am I overheating?! He blew on his palms. Then pressed one of his hands against his forehead. To Loki's surprise, his temperature was normal. Even the warmth coursing through him didn't seem fatal. However, his heart still pounded and his palms were damp. What in the nine realms?! He let out a gasp as the door pounded behind him.

"Loki." It was Tony's voice. "You alright?" Loki's heart felt as if it would explode out of his chest and for the first time, he noticed how loud his breathing was. "You're not having an anxiety attack are you?"

"I'm alright," Loki answered, resting his hand on his chest. "I just panicked over nothing."

"You sure?"

"Positive," Loki answered, tearing off his shirt and walking to the bed. "Goodnight!" Loki closed his eyes. He didn't know what the hell that was and almost didn't want to know. It took him forever to fall asleep that night.

"Loki!" There was a knock at the door. Loki sat up, groaning as he forced his eyes open in the light.

"What?!" he called, rolling over.

"Someone sent you a letter." Loki raised an eyebrow. Putting on a shirt, he stood up and pushed the door open. Tony was there, holding an envelope.

"Who would send me a letter?" Loki asked, blinking heavily.

"That's what I was wondering," Tony admitted, handing the envelope to Loki. "But it's very clearly addressed to you." Loki's eyes popped open. His name was indeed written on the front, as well as Tony's exact address. Ripping the envelope open, Loki pulled out the letter.

Dear Loki,

The surviving Asgardians have made it to Earth and have made a home in the Midgardian country of Norway (city of Kristiansand). Recently, we caught word of your survival and presence on Earth and after doing some tracking, have discovered your place of residence as to make it possible to send you this letter. We require your presence in New Asgard as soon as possible. We are in need of a king and you are all Asgard has left after the death of Thor. Sorry about that by the way.

Sincerely, Brunnhilde (Valkyrie)

"What's it say? Who's it from?" Tony asked, attempting to read the letter from over Loki's shoulder.

"It's from Valkyrie," he informed. Tony tilted his head in confusion. "Asgard. It's from Asgard."

"What?"

"The surviving Asgardians went to Norway," Loki explained, handing the letter back to Tony. "They… they want me as their king."

"Norway, huh? Seems feasible." Tony put the letter aside, pulling out his phone. "What city is it? Does it say?"

"Kristiansand," Loki answered.

"Perfect," Tony replied, tapping his phone. "I'll find you a flight, pay for your ticket, and you can be on your way."

"Wait!" Loki protested. Tony glanced up from his phone, raising an eyebrow. Loki froze. "Uh… can you come with me?"

"...why?"

Loki hesitated again, pressing his hand against his pounding heart. "I'm only asking for a few days or so of your help and support. I swear I'll repay you in whatever way I can."

"I'm a billionaire, money isn't the issue. It's Pepper… I can't just leave her and Morgan here to go to another country."

"Bring them along then," Loki replied, walking around him. "I assure you, you'll all have a place to stay, free of charge." Tony hesitated, his gaze shifting between Loki and the hallway.

"Let me go ask Pepper first," he insisted before swiftly taking off. Loki marched into his room, slumping onto the bed. His gaze was fixed on the open door.

"Loki!" a voice called after what felt like an eternity of waiting. Tony and Pepper appeared outside, the former holding the sleeping form of Morgan.

"So… Norway?" Pepper inquired. Loki nodded. "Is there a particular reason why you need us all to go there?" Loki glanced at Tony.

"I thought you were going to tell her?"

"Well so did I, but she wants to hear it from you," Tony explained, gesturing to her. Loki conjured up the letter and handed it to Pepper, silently praying that Midgard had grown up since the last time he had been here and women were allowed education. Pepper scanned the letter before looking back at Loki.

"Okay, so it's actually important," Pepper confirmed, nodding. "But that doesn't explain why you need all of us to go."

"I just need Tony really," Loki admitted, pointing at his friend. "But he didn't want to leave you behind."

"You want me around," Tony corrected. "Something about love and support."

"Help and support," Loki growled, glaring at him.

"It's not a big deal if we all go," Pepper cut in, "Granted we can find an apartment or something to stay at."

"I can take care of that," Loki added.

"Okay… I'll go Google a flight then." Pepper and Tony both marched out of the room.

"Hey wait!" Loki called. Tony glanced back at him. "Where do you keep your quills?"

"What?"

"Quills," Loki repeated. "And ink… for writing?"

Tony cracked a smile, suddenly chuckling under his breath. "You can have a pen, Ancient One."

"Mocking my age again, are you?" Loki asked, his cheeks warming up.

"Sure am, Yoda," Tony replied, nudging his shoulder as he turned to leave. "If you still want a pen there's some in the workroom."

"No, that's alright." Loki summoned a quill, ink, and paper onto the desk and sat down to write.

Dear Valkyrie,

I will be coming as soon as I can, in the company of my friend, Tony, and his wife and daughter, whom I order are given a proper place to stay in while they are there. I look forward to seeing my people again.

Signed, Loki

Not knowing what else to write, Loki put the letter into an envelope he also summoned. Twirling his hands around it, the envelope disappeared in a green flash. Loki chuckled. That last part was such a lie. With his entire family dead, who the hell did Loki even have in Asgard to see? Sif and the Warriors Three were hardly his friends anymore. In fact, they always had been more Thor's friends that Loki just sort of hung out with a lot since Thor was always with them. He hadn't even seen them since Hela took over Asgard. I wonder if they're even alive. The only one he had ever been particularly close to was Fandral but that was for… different reasons.

"Okay." Loki turned around at the sound of Tony's voice. "So the best flight to Kristiansand, Norway I could find is nine and a half hours. It leaves at five till seven, meaning we'll be sleeping on an airplane, which I'm assuming you didn't have on Asgard."

"No, we didn't," Loki replied, shaking his head.

Tony let out a sigh. "We're really doing this?" he asked, sitting down beside Loki.

"Do you really not want to?" Loki asked.

"Not really, but you need my support," Tony replied, patting Loki's shoulder. "So for your sake, I'll suck it up." Loki rolled his eyes, though he was unable to hide his smile. "Besides, it might be kinda fun, traveling to a new place I mean."

"...You haven't been everywhere on Earth?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No?"

"Wow… big planet," Loki mused.

"So you've been to every country on Asgard?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know when it was still a planet."

Loki smirked. "Oh yes. My favourite was a very foreign country for you: it was called a library." He and Tony both laughed out loud, Loki even nudging him on the shoulder as he continued to gaze at him warmly. "I'm just kidding."

"Nah, it's true. I don't think I've ever touched a book in my life. At least not a book like you're thinking."

"You exclusively read picture books?" Loki teased.

"Stop it," Tony replied, though he was still smiling. Loki chuckled. There was silence between them for a while before Tony stood up. "Well, I'll see ya later, sith lord." Tony shut the door behind him. "Bye!" he called.

That night, Loki struggled to sleep through his intrusive thoughts. When he finally did fall asleep, it was haunted by dreams. It was a blur of moving shapes. However, in the centre of it, Loki could clearly see Tony, in his Iron Man suit, firing at the blurred shapes. Loki rushed toward his friend. Before he could reach him, a purple blur rushed between them. Thanos! Tony turned to him, his thrusters turning on. Thanos took the shot, easily grabbing Tony by the neck.

"NO!" Loki cried. His eyes snapped open. He was back in his room, panting as his heart pounded in his ears. Loki pulled his legs into his chest. Summoning a clone of himself, he sent it toward Tony and Pepper's room. Loki didn't care if it was creepy. He had to check on them… know that they were okay right then… His clone fazed right through the door. In the dark, he could make out the shapes of Tony and Pepper, curled up together in bed. Letting out a sigh of relief, Loki made his clone disappear. Then passed out.

Loki and the others arrived in New Asgard about two days later, the former wearing his armour with his hair in a braid, mascara adorning his eyelashes, and black nail polish on every nail. He decided to skip the helmet for now, as not to mess with his hair. Hopefully, that was enough. Loki made his way toward a small village by the ocean, that stood behind a sign with the words "New Asgard" plastered on it. Tony and Pepper trailed after him, dragging their suitcases and daughter with them.

"Loki!" a voice called. Loki squinted as Valkyrie marched into view, wearing her usual white armour.

"Greetings," Loki replied with a wave. Valkyrie stopped in front of him.

"Welcome home," she greeted. She turned to Tony and Pepper, pointing at the former. "You must be Tony. Nice to meet you as well." The two shook hands. Pepper also shook Valkyrie's hand. The two nodded to each other as they introduced themselves. Valkyrie turned to lead them all down to the village, which was obviously still a work in progress what with three houses still in the works. "You went all out," Valkyrie commented, pointing at Loki's braided hair.

"Does it look nice?" Loki asked, running his fingers over the braid.

"You look fine," Valkyrie replied, rolling her eyes. "Nobody would've cared anyway. You could've come in looking like a homeless person and they still would've wanted you to be their king." Loki cracked a smile, though it quickly faded.

"The people are truly that desperate?" he questioned.

"That's not what I meant." Valkyrie's response was quick before she turned to Tony and Pepper, pointing at one of the finished houses. "You guys can stay in that house while you're here." The two nodded, immediately splitting from the group with their luggage and daughter.

"Loki," another voice called. "Or, my king I guess…" Loki turned to see another thankfully familiar face.

"Sif! Ha, you're alive! Where are Fandral and the others?" Sif hesitated. "You know, the Warriors Three?" Loki prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"They… they were killed by Hela," Sif sighed, her gaze shifting toward the ground. Loki's eyes widened.

"Oh…"

"We lost a lot that day," Sif continued. "Most of our warriors were killed fighting Hela. Heimdall, Thor, and many innocent citizens were killed by Thanos." Loki flinched at the mention of his brother. He desperately tried to push away the image of Thor's limp body with its bulged eye and crushed neck. However, Loki was unable to stop himself from taking a step back. "We're just lucky one of the royal family members survived," Sif sighed.

"Would you have preferred Thor?" Loki spat, his eyes narrowed.

"Loki now is not the time for this." Sif's voice was sharp. "Yes, we all miss Thor, but Asgard needs you… now more than ever." Loki nodded, gazing out at the village. The people went about doing random tasks, farming crops or pulling carts of supplies. All of them were his to command… his to protect… His gaze was empty.