Chapter 8

The next week passed as slowly as it possibly could've as Loki did the bare minimum of what was expected of him. He knew he could do more, but the idea held no appeal. Even surrounded by his 'people,' talking constantly with Valkyrie about the kingdom, Loki felt oddly… empty. Like he was just going through the motions of each day with no real meaning. His thoughts were constantly dwelling on those who weren't here with him… Thor… Frigga… Odin… even the Warriors Three… Valkyrie was good support but she was no friend and Sif hadn't spoken to him since he arrived. All Loki really had was Tony. He was the only one who's company didn't make him feel that strange emptiness. Probably because Tony was the only one who wanted to see 'Loki' and not 'the king.'

"Loki," a voice called. Loki glanced at Valkyrie, who marched toward him with a sword in hand. "There are some humans on our land, demanding that we 'illegal aliens' need to leave."

"Probably American tourists," Loki muttered, rolling his eyes. "Tell them that we have the right to be here and that they should back off," he ordered. "If they don't, then make them."

"Your majesty, if we retaliate using violence won't we just be the bad guys?" Valkyrie asked.

"I'm not saying you should use violence," Loki replied. "Not unless they do as well but they are way out of line telling us to leave our own home. Just… do what you think will work." Valkyrie nodded, before taking off. Loki glanced at the sun, which was almost set, before returning to his 'house.' Tony and Pepper were in the front room feeding Morgan. Loki walked right past them. Sitting at his desk, Loki summoned some paper and a quill.

"Lokes?" a voice called. Loki looked up from his paper, nearly dropping his quill.

"Hey Tony," Loki murmured.

"Writing another 'royal decree?'" Loki nodded. His gaze shifted back to the paper. It wasn't true, but he thought it would make him leave him alone.

"What do you want?" Loki asked.

"I'm just letting you know that I'm leaving tomorrow." Loki dropped his quill.

"What?!"

"The plane leaves at ten in the morning," Tony informed.

"A-are you sure you can't stay for another few days?" Loki asked, his eyes huge.

"You've already talked us into staying for a week," Tony replied. "Pepper and I really have to go home." Loki's head fell onto the desk, his face burying itself in his hair and arms. "Loki?"

"I can't do this," Loki muttered, pushing the paper away.

"Do what?" Tony asked.

"Any of this." Loki gestured to the window. "I should've known I didn't want this. Why did I even try to lie to myself?"

"What are you talking about?" Loki stood up, brushing his hair behind his ears as he approached.

"I don't want to be king…" Loki admitted. "I never did…"

"What?"

"My friend." Loki rested his hands on Tony's shoulders. "If you'll allow me, I want to go back with you." Tony simply stared back at Loki, unable to comprehend what he was being told let alone reply. "Tony?"

"Why?"

"What?"

"Wasn't being king all you ever wanted?"

"It wasn't."

"Then why?" Tony growled, pushing Loki's hands away. "Why did you take over Asgard twice if you never wanted to be king?"

"I asked myself the same," Loki replied, turning away to look out the window. "But I've known the answer all along, I just chose to ignore it. My lies can convince anyone if I try, but apparently not myself. It wasn't the throne I wanted, it was Odin's praise." Loki bit his lip. "He paid more attention to Thor when we were children because he wanted him to be king."

"You were jealous," Tony cut in, his brown gaze softening.

Loki nodded. "But those emotions no longer matter… not when both of them are gone."

"Okay, but why don't you at least want to stay with your people?" Tony asked. "Why would rather be with me?"

"I thought it was obvious that I have come to enjoy your company," Loki replied, rolling his eyes. "As for my people… Well, that's complicated. Without Thor and Frigga, this place feels… empty."

"What about that woman you're always with?" Tony inquired. "Val-something."

Loki cracked a smile. "Valkyrie. And she's not really my friend… more like an advisor." Loki's smile quickly faded. "I mean, if you don't want me around, I can stay here."

"No, no I do… want you around." Loki's heart must've melted at that moment because the warmth he felt inside was more intense than a fireplace. "But your people do need a leader."

"I know," Loki sighed, turning away. "I'm going to get that sorted out right now."

"Right now?" Tony repeated. "It's the middle of the night. You can wait, can't you? You look like you haven't slept in days."

Loki let out a sigh. He turned back to Tony, resting his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Don't leave without me, please."

"Well since you said 'please,'" Tony teased, gently moving Loki's hands aside as he blushed. Tony turned away. "Goodnight," he called, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him. Loki laid down on the bed. However, he made no attempt to sleep as his mind ran wild with thoughts. What the hell am I doing? Why don't I want this? Why am I so open with him? Why am I so attached to him?! Why am I only realizing these things now?!

After another restless night, Loki forced himself out of bed and out of the house, limping right past Tony and Pepper who were packing their suitcases.

"Loki!" a voice called. Loki turned around.

"Valkyrie, perfect. Just who I wanted to see. Round up everyone in Asgard," Loki ordered. "I have something important to announce." Valkyrie nodded, immediately taking off in the opposite direction. An hour or so later, everyone in Asgard was gathered before him, exchanging whispers between themselves.

"What's so important that he had to call all of us here?" someone whispered. Loki gulped, his hands fidgeting with each other.

"People of Asgard." Loki stared at 'his' people. Some of them still exchanged whispers among each other, not even meeting his eye. "I have officially decided that…" No! I can't back out. I have to stay… I can't admit that I… In the crowd, Loki locked gazes with a familiar pair of brown eyes. Tony. His friend gave a small nod. Loki gulped before continuing, "I will no longer be your king." A chorus of gasps followed.

"Why not?!" a voice demanded.

"I...I…" Loki's eyes narrowed. "I'm not the one who should be questioned, so instead I ask you, my 'people,' did you truly want me as your king? Or was I your last resort?" The stunned silence that followed made Loki grin.

"Loki, that's not true," Sif insisted, breaking the silence.

"Isn't it though?" Loki asked. "Well, the feeling is mutual. I have no desire for the throne, so I will be leaving today with those I arrived with."

"You're just gonna leave us?!" a voice demanded.

"With no ruler?!"

"Coward!" Loki's eyes narrowed at the person in the crowd. If I weren't so nice, I'd stab you for that insult.

"I will not be leaving you without a ruler," Loki explained, rolling his eyes. "You will have a queen, one more well-suited to the position than I ever could have been." He noticed her standing near the front of the crowd, eyes wide with curiosity. "Valkyrie, can I entrust you to rule Asgard?"

Her eyes widened. "Uh… sure?"

"Alright." Loki turned away. "Then I'll be going."

"Wait!" she exclaimed. Loki glanced back at her, as she rushed to his side. "You're-you're serious?" Loki nodded. "Me? Why?"

"You're one of the few people who supported me and even helped me the whole time I've been here," Loki explained. "Not even my supposed friend Sif can say that much. You have it in you to be the ruler that Asgard needs."

"You know I'd make a lot of changes around here?" Valkyrie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm counting on it," Loki replied, dipping his head to her. "Your majesty. Now go prove to them that I made the right choice." Valkyrie nodded before Loki turned away, beckoning toward Tony and Pepper. The three made their way out of New Asgard side by side.

"You could've handled that less aggressively," Tony commented.

"Yeah, well so could they," Loki replied. Tony nodded in agreement before silence followed.

"Hey, I got no problem with you stayin' with us but you are gonna have to change a few things."

"Like what?" Loki asked, gazing at him curiously.

"First off, you gotta leave the house at least occasionally. It's not good to be cooped up all the time."

"And your other demands?" My king. Loki bit back that last part, not wanting to mock him.

"Just one more.�� Tony paused for just enough time to make the stare between them awkward. "You watch Star Wars." Loki raised an eyebrow. "Just… trust me on this." Chuckling under his breath, Loki took a step closer.

"Alright, I agree to your terms." He extended his hand to Tony, who accepted the handshake with a chuckle.

Loki, for the most part, did what Tony had asked. The second demand was easy enough, though Loki constantly ranted about how unlikely everything was and attempted to poke holes in their logic, even he had to admit that Star Wars is amazing. The first demand, however, was tricky at times, especially in the summer. Loki spent most of that season in the house, with the windows open and the ceiling fan blowing at maximum speed. Winter was similar. The rest of the house was like an oven compared to Loki's room, so he stayed locked up there with various movies and books to entertain himself with.

"Loki, why is it so damn cold in here again?!" Tony demanded as he pushed open the door. Loki glanced up from his book.

"I told you, that's how I like it."

"Why?! It's freezing outside!"

"And warm in the rest of the house." When Tony didn't reply, Loki decided to continue. "Why are you even bothering me? Don't you have a child to take care of?" Loki looked back down at his book.

"Morgan's taking a nap," Tony informed.

"And Pepper?"

"Wanted some quiet… Loki remember what we talked about with you leaving the house every now and then?" Loki nodded, licking his finger as he turned a page. "Well you suck at that over the winter. You barely even leave your room, sometimes I forget you're living here. Summer is better but you still suck at leaving the house."

"If you're that desperate for my company, you can stay here," Loki offered, finally gazing up from his book.

"Well can you make it warmer while I'm here?" Tony asked, gripping his arms. Loki bit his lip. "I don't know what it's like for Asgardians but this is cold for humans."

"Ugh, alright." Loki stood up, pulling the windows closed. "Is that better?"

"Get the fan too." Cringing, Loki obliged. "That's good, Frosty." Loki's entire body jerked, his side scraping the wall.

"Do not… ever… use that name," Loki growled, glaring at Tony. His eyes were wide. None of his nicknames had ever sparked this kind of response, not even 'sith lord.'

"I-I won't. I… I didn't know it hit a nerve."

"It's…" Loki let out a sigh. "Whatever, what did you want to do?"

"We could watch a movie or something?" Tony suggested, shrugging.

"Rise of Skywalker?" Loki's eyes brightened.

"Still not over it?" Tony asked, trying to hold back a smirk.

"Nope."

Tony chuckled. "Okay, I'll go get the DVD." He came back a few minutes later with the disc in hand and put it in the DVD player. Tony sat bat back beside Loki as the movie started. A little while into the movie, Loki's palms and hair were sweating like rainfall. He wiped away what he could. However, it did nothing but make a mess of the bed.

"Dude, are you okay?" Tony asked after this had gone on for about thirty minutes. Loki nodded, placing his hand on his now throbbing head. Why did I let him convince me to make it so damn hot in here?! Loki summoned himself a glass of ice water. Even drinking the whole thing only soothed him for a moment so he got another glass. And another. Then a popsicle that he took a bite out of without flinching.

"Loki, are you okay?" Tony repeated, pausing the movie. "Are you overheating?"

"I-I might be…" Loki admitted, wiping away more sweat from his forehead. "It's never been this bad before." Tony rested his hand on Loki's forehead, immediately recoiling with a gasp.

"Good lord, how sensitive are you to heat?!" His tone was more concerned than anything. However, Loki still looked away in shame. Tony stood up, rushing towards the fan and windows. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you needed it so cold."

"I-it's an Asgardian thing," Loki murmured, now rubbing ice packs against his skin.

"Is it? Thor was never like that." Loki flinched. "Sorry, but really, you do a lot of weird things come to think of it. You bite ice cream and popsicles like it's no big deal, you wait for long periods of time for food to cool down, you always have a fan on. Huh, now that I think about it, I've never seen you wear a jacket either and-" Loki's cheeks brightened as Tony took hold of his hand. "Yeah, your hands are always cold." Tony let go of Loki's hand, much to the latter's disappointment. "And I guess this is why you don't leave your room, cause we keep the thermostat higher in the winter and summer… sucks... but what does it all mean?"

Loki let out a sigh. "I should've known you'd figure it out eventually. You're a smart man, Tony… and I did make it fairly obvious…"

"Hey, I didn't figure out the logistics or anything," Tony protested, holding up his hands. "You don't have to tell me."

"No, no, it's alright." Loki met Tony's gaze. "I trust you." He paused, letting those words sink in before continuing. "But… I think it would be easier to show you." Loki glanced at his hands, getting an image of what he wanted in his mind's eye. Then, magically, it appeared in his lap. "The casket of ancient winters," Loki explained. "An ancient relic… predating the very existence of your planet."

"What does it do?" Tony reached toward it. Loki yanked the casket away, backing off the bed.

"Don't touch it!" He exclaimed. "It is incredibly dangerous for Asgardians. I can't imagine what it could do to you!"

"Asgardians? But aren't you…" Tony paused, glancing at Loki's fingers. "Wait-why are you turning blue?" Loki closed his eyes, allowing the blue hue to take over the rest of his skin. After a few moments, he opened his now bright red eyes. He struggled to meet Tony's gaze. The Midgardian stared at him with wide eyes, his back pressed against the headboard.

"W-what happened?" Tony asked, his eyes wide with confusion.

"This is my true form," Loki's voice shook as he answered. "A frost giant."

"Oh… that explains a lot…" Loki fell to the ground on his knees, dropping the casket. Tony rushed toward him. "Loki?"

"You…" Loki's eyes watered as he met Tony's gaze. "You're not scared of me?"

"No, why would I be?" Loki didn't reply. Letting out a sigh, Tony inched closer and rested his hand on Loki's shoulder. "Why do you keep this a secret? What have they said about you?" Loki immediately descended into sobbing, his head falling on Tony's shoulder.

"Frost giants are horrible monsters that killed thousands of humans and Asgardians. Odin had to take away the source of their power, the casket, to stop them from waging war on Midgard. I was only an infant when this all happened… I was too young to understand." Loki wrapped his arms around Tony, clinging to him like the sobbing child he had become. "My birth father abandoned me… because I was weak. Odin found me and took me in, only so he could form an alliance with Jotunheim. He wasn't my real father. Frigga and Thor weren't my real family…" Tony rested his hands on Loki's back. Tears finally started to pour. "I am nothing but a monster caged up and lied to most of my life. My father always said I was meant to be a king. Do you know what he meant by that? He meant king of the frost giants. I was nothing else to him. He always treated Thor differently and I finally knew why…" Loki backed away, meeting Tony's gaze even as tears continued to pour from his eyes like waterfalls. He gripped his friend's shoulders. "I'm sorry… about New York. All I proved by doing that was that I am no better than the other frost giants. I'm just another monster that attacked earth… and killed who knows how many innocent people."

"You're not a monster, Loki," Tony insisted, resting his hand on his friend's shoulder. Loki sniffed, wiping his eyes. Tony stood up. "Come here." Loki stood up as well. Before he could move away, Tony practically slammed into Loki, wrapping his arms around him. Loki stiffened. IS THIS A HUG?! After a few moments, he returned the gesture, his heart pounding like a drum. Warmth surged through Loki. However, it wasn't harmful or even unpleasant. In fact, Loki's lips turned up into a smile and he pulled Tony even closer, resting his chin on his head. More tears poured from his eyes. After a while, Tony backed out of the hug. Loki's eyes darted toward the ground where the casket lay, only inches from Tony's feet.

"Woah, woah, careful, careful." The casket was moved to the right. Loki took it in his hands, making it disappear in a flash. He sighed in relief.

"Uh… thanks," Tony replied. Before he could continue, the door creaked open, revealing Pepper. "Hey, Pep. Good timing, we need to keep the thermostat lower from now on."

"Uh… okay. Why?" Pepper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're housing a very heat-sensitive individual let's say," Tony explained, pointing at Loki. "He started overheating when I closed the windows and turned off the fan." Pepper's eyes widened. Tony's gaze shifted to Loki. "Is seventy-two degrees okay?" Loki tilted his head to the side. "You're kidding? They don't have thermostats on Asgard?"

"Not that I'm aware…" Loki replied. Tony let out a sigh, gesturing at Loki to follow him. Pepper trailed after them as well.

"This." Tony pointed at a square object on the wall. "Is the thermostat. Turning the knob changes the temperature of the whole house." Loki gazed at the thermostat, which displayed the number eighty-two. Tony turned the knob, changing the number. "There, a perfect seventy-two degrees. That should be better, let me know if you need it lower." Loki glanced back at Tony.

"Thank you…"

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Pepper asked. Loki gazed down at his fidgeting hands.

"It's… complicated…"

"He'd rather not talk about it," Tony explained, resting his hand on Pepper's shoulder. Loki's eyes narrowed. Deep inside, a new heat burned within him. This heat, however, was more like a wildfire: intense and angry. About what though? Tony glanced at Loki, instantly the weird anger faded.

"Well, wanna go finish that movie?" he asked. Loki nodded, following him into the room again.