Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was not a place he particularly liked, nor was it a place he planned on staying at on long term, but at least it was void of the revolutionaries that took down his empire after the two Asgardians, one of whom he thought an amusing enough pastime, had made their exit, taking his favorite orgy ship, the Commodore, with them.

Desolate cold mountains stretched out across the horizon under a dull grey sky covered in thick clouds. A cold wind was blowing, the chill crawling up his back and making him shiver involuntarily. The air smelled of rain, though there was none pouring down on him thus far to mock his state of disarray even further. His once bright golden robes were stained from rubble and dirt, torn at the hem where they got caught in a closing door when he made his swift escape, though he would rather label it a graceful retreat. His silver hair looked disheveled, the bright turquoise line running from his bottom lip across his chin smudged and the bright blue kohl around his eyes smeared like colorful shadows across his cheek.
He sat down on a nearby rock and crossed his arms, quietly staring into emptiness.

There is no revolution without someone to overthrow. True words, as well as the remark it had been a success, but certainly not from his standpoint as he was in fact the one being overthrown. Of course he would never give away his state of utter dissatisfaction. He was a being of many powers. If so he wished, the whole universe could be his playground.

Sakaar had been a fun enough project, and one that had lasted him throughout a couple of centuries, but it was still not irreplaceable.
On the contrary, he took it as a sign it was time for something new to begin and, once put into action, his rising new empire would be grander than the one that fell.
If only he did not have to deal with the slight inconvenience of being stranded in the middle of nowhere on a foreign planet with no one but his faithful servant and a broken ship at hand. Thinking about it that way he actually was displeased, very displeased, furious even, though to no avail.

His expression darkened, something rather uncharacteristic for him, given that he had been well known for his cheery and carefree demeanor amongst his people. But whoever could be cheery being stranded on a dull rock like that? He wanted glamor, loved the bright lights and blaring music, missed the attention and all the pleasures life had to offer aplenty.

“Topaz!” he called out to the sturdy, stone-faced woman standing a few feet behind him. She stepped forward and slightly bowed her head.

“Yes, Grandmaster?”

The title caused a frown to cross his features.
“Not so grand right now, wouldn't you say? I...I..I don't like it, no not at all” he brushed his chin with his right hand, smudging the blue paint even further. “This is boring, no? Course it is. Horribly boring uh...what shall we do about it. Gimme something to do about it?”

It took a moment for the woman to respond.
Carefully she offered “We could get out of this wilderness” but was cut off immediately.

“My ship...though it is nothing like the Commodore...don't you miss the Commodore too? Nah? You never allowed yourself some pleasure, good girl. Should have, you know? Would have done you good I tell you uh...well the ship is broken. How are we gonna fix this. We need to fix this, it is so boring here.”

“Maybe we could” Topaz hesitated and cleared her throat “Maybe we could walk instead?”

“WALK?” the flamboyant man sprang to his feet. “Have you seen my sandals... beautiful sandals, ruined, such a shame, such a shame...ah....” He shielded his eyes with one hand and stared into the distance “No civilization around. Where are we anyway? You did tell me before uh...Mid...Middiblard, wasn't it?”

The woman suppressed an exasperated groan and offered. “Midgard. Though I think the natives call it Earth.”

“Earth you say? Oh my” his nose crinkled “Sounds like dirt. You know I hate to be dirty Topaz. Help me out here” He whined and waved her over. “Other options. I need more options.” The man sank back down onto the rock, pouting like the big, spoiled child he was inside, though no one would ever dare to voice that opinion out loud, lest they were in favor of ending up as a puddle of stinking goo on the ground.

“We could...fix the ship?” she replied and ducked her head almost imperceptibly. As much as she had been feared by the slaves -ah, prisoners with jobs she reminded herself- in the arena of Sakaar for her strict regime and short temper, she also knew not to cross her master. He might have seemed eccentric, but he was even more dangerous when angered. Only it was hard to tell his moods apart behind that flashing smile he usually wore on his face, charming but all too deceiving.

“I am no mechanic, you know that!” He protested and shook his head, the motion tousling his hair even further.

“You could...use your powers?”

The Grandmaster sprang to his feet again. “I got it! I could use my powers. What do I have them for. Smart man I am, eh?” He flashed her a bright, toothy grin, then frowned and scolded his servant. “Why did you not suggest it before? Do you like to waste my time? You uh...you know how I hate wasting time, don't you my doll? Surely you must ah...you must know”

Topaz nodded “I do, Grandmaster”

“Come on then, come, come on, no time to lose. Gonna find us some good new place” he rubbed his hands together, suddenly full of energy once more.

“Ready or not, here we go. This is goin’ to be good.”
In a flash of light they were gone.

___________________________________________________________________________

Yes, there certainly was some kind of civilization, but it presented itself to be quite different to what they had been used to for the last millennia.
Instead of grand, towering buildings, the noise of a cheering crowd and bright spotlights, there was, well, nothing spectacular.
Small wooden shacks halfway covered in snow and withered away in some spots were lining a narrow dirt road left and right, though he could spot the end of it even by standing at the very outskirts of town to the other side. The air was crisp and clear, though from farther south a slightly unpleasant scent of salt and fish was wafting over to them, accompanied by the sound of waves hitting the hard stones of a cliff in the distance. Just as before the sky was covered in dark rain clouds giving the whole scenery a slightly eerie twist.

Topaz looked around and scowled, not daring to comment on their obvious predicament. Instead she waited for her master to make the first move, whatever it would turn out to be. This was by no means the sort of place they had meant to go to. After ages of leisure and sloth her master’s powers must have gotten a tad rusty. In any way she knew better than to add insult to hurt.

“Well uh...isn’t that just lovely, very lovely?” The tall man straightened out his collar while flashing her one of his trademark grins that immediately faded to a mixture of disgust and a frown. “We should go and have a look, shouldn’t we. Ah...come on,come on then.” He started walking towards the nearest abode, almost tripping as the hem of his already ripped robe got caught on a branch.
With an annoyed groan he tugged on it to free himself, tearing the fabric even further.

The stern woman shrugged and followed suit, treading carefully upon the moist, slippery stones that paved the way.

“Topaz doll, do you know where we uh...where we are?”

She shook her head no. The Grandmaster huffed. “Why didn’t you warn me?”

“About what sir?” she replied confusedly despite being aware the question might not sit well with her companion.

“About this place. This is...ew! What is that atrocious smell?!” He pinched his nose and went on, voice sounding distorted, just like a duck. “What, what is that? What is that stench?” He barely avoided walking into a short bush as he was too distracted complaining to watch his step.

“I think they call it fish.” she offered, face not betraying any kind of emotion.

“Fish you say? We did not have that on Sakaar, did we?” He released his nose as it was starting to ache from the tight clamp, flaring his nostrils to get rid of the unpleasant feeling.
After a few more seconds they reached the first house.

Silently the grandmaster inspected the building, painted in a dull reddish color and a muddy white around the windows, noted how the color was chipping off here and there and the window panes rattled from the slightest breeze as if they were about to break.

“Hello!” The Grandmaster called out. “Anybody here?” He turned to Topaz “Might as well say hello, wouldn’t you think?”

The woman gave a curt nod and waited. There was no reaction coming from inside.

“Are they ignoring us? They are ignoring us, aren’t they?” The tall man crossed his arms. “What do we do about that?” His foot was tapping impatiently.

There was a rustling noise to their right and they saw two men clad in thick, fur-trimmed coats coming out of another building farther down the street.

“Hey” Hey hey hey!” The Grandmaster shouted and waved at them, which gained him a blank stare.
Swiftly he made his way over to the men, stopping them in their tracks, Topaz following at a languid pace, staring them down as if prepared to pounce should any of them so much as raise a haid against her master. She missed the feeling of the heavy melt stick in her hands, but her bare fist would do if need be.

“Why hello there uh...furry guys” He giggled at his own remark and grinned. It was not returned, both men remaining silent, instead looking him up and down, scrutinizing the vibrant colors of his robes that made him look out of place.

A sudden gust of wind startled him and he emitted an indignant squeak as a shiver ran down his spine from the cold he had been able to ignore in his agitation so far.
It was answered with a hearty, deep laugh from one of the natives who slapped his companions back, and, pointing at the Grandmaster, made a remark neither the tall man, nor his servant understood. After that the men turned and continued on their way, leaving the strangers staring in disbelief.

“Did they just uh…”

“Shall I take care of them?” Topaz made a motion like pushing up her sleeves and getting ready for a fight.

“No. nonono, leave them. They were no fun anyway.” He turned and cursed as he stepped right into a muddy puddle he had overlooked.
“Ah! That is...it’s all over my feet! Gross!” He shook his foot to get off the dirt. “Why didn’t you warn me. I don’t like this place, not one bit. Goddammit!” The Grandmaster pouted.

“Maybe we should try again to find another place?” Topaz suggested in lack of a better idea. She did not expect any more hospitality from whomever was living in any of the other buildings. Besides, this place was too desolate for even her liking.

“Good good, lemme do all the work here” the tall man hissed. “To ah...what is a good place we could go? Somewhere fun and big and...hey! Are you listening? Listen to me when I’m talking to you” He poked her side to regain her full attention.

Had it been anyone else, they would have found themselves in a chokehold on the ground for trespassing, alas her master was a different matter. She merely sighed.

“There is a place called New York, I think”

“Newy Yack? What a weird name. Those uh...hoomens?”

“Humans sir”

“Right right, what I was saying, hummins” he went on and Topaz had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at this “have the strangest names for stuff, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Grandmaster” she replied dutifully.

“Now, where is this Noo Jack?”

“Off to the west, if I am not mistaken” the sturdy woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other in an attempt to create enough warmth through the movement. Her toes were starting to feel rather numb.

“You assume? Better not be wrong about it darling!” That said he grabbed her arm and they vanished once more, leaving a small girl watching from behind the curtain of a nearby window with her mouth agape in shock.

Chapter Text

He did not see the taxi coming up behind them as they materialized right in the middle of a busy street. There was a loud honk, followed by a crash and a shout of exasperation as the car lost the fight against Topaz who shielded her master from any kind of potential harm, leaving a huge dent in the bonnet.

All around them people stopped to stare in disbelief, traffic clogging up as more and more got out of their vehicles to check out the situation.

The Grandmaster however remained completely unimpressed, instead staring up at the high buildings and skyscrapers surrounding them.

“Now look at that darlin’. That’s what I was talking ‘bout” He waved his hands up in the air in an all encompassing motion. “I love it! Don’t you love it too? Of course you do uh...what...what are you doing there?” From the corner of his eye he saw his trusted companion holding back a gruff looking man with one hand, effectively preventing him from landing a hit with his flailing fists.

“Topaz! Come on, we can get acquainted with the natives later, I’m hungry!”

The woman in question shrugged and retracted her arm, throwing her adversary off balance and causing him to faceplant into the ground. There was a stream of profanities and insults fired their way, though to no avail as the Grandmaster’s attention had long shifted to a set of flashing billboards showing advertisements.
“What is that Topaz? A ah….a moosical? Less Miser…” The screen changed to the next one. “Hey! Hey hey hey! I was still gonna read that!” He shouted up at the sign. Topaz joined him where he was standing, still ignoring the crowd that had formed around them as well as the smoke emitted from under the crashed taxi’s hood. From somewhere in the distance she could hear the sound of sirens, but given there was no such thing as police or an ambulance on Sakaar, she hardly cared. After her recent display of pure brawn no one dared to approach her or the one she seemed to be protecting anyway.

Topaz crossed her arms and followed his gaze “I think what they mean is some kind of entertainment.” she replied to his question.

“Entertainment you say? Fabulous! I need to see it uh...be a doll and lead the way, will you?”
He lightly clapped her shoulder.

“As you wish.” She eyed the screen for a moment longer, then turned to a young woman with pink hair blowing a gum nearby. “You there. Where is this?” Topaz pointed up at the address on display. Before the teen could answer they were interrupted by the Grandmaster again.

“Whoa! Now look at that!” Just like an excited schoolboy he motioned at the side of a big red bus rolling by “Statue of uh..libbitty? They are setting up statues for their great ones! I need one!”

Without further ado he started down the street, effortlessly weaving his way through the masses as no one dared to get in his or his companions way who simply followed suit with a grim, unmoving expression on her face. No one even cared about the damage caused or the ranting taxi driver anymore.

By the time one certain Tony Stark arrived at the spot to check out the incident reported to him they were long gone.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

“Uncle?” The Grandmaster felt a tug on his long sleeve as he was standing in front of a Shop that read ‘Starbucks’ above the entrance.
He looked down and frowned upon spotting a tiny boy, maybe five or six years old, with curly brown hair.
“What?” he answered flatly.

“Are you one of the new Avengers?”

“Affeng- what?”

“Avengers!” The boy replied more insistently and stood on his tiptoes to get a better look at the tall man in the glittery robes. “They are the coolest superheroes ever! You look like them”

“Well uh…” The Grandmaster scratched his neck “Supaheeero? I am super, right Topaz?” He turned to look at his companion. As the boy spotted her he squeaked and let go of his sleeve in favor to take a few steps back..

“H-hello ma’am” he stuttered, clearly frightened as she stared him down.

“Ey! Leave...leave the little one be, will you? He said I’m super!” The Grandmaster ran a hand through his hair “I...I..I like this place! They know just how to treat a leader, wouldn’t you say so darling?”

Topaz did not react to his inquiry, instead shooting the kid another glance that would have caused hell to freeze over. The boy screeched and ran away. She laughed, a deep and dry laugh that oozed satisfaction.

“Why do ya have ta be so mean, Topaz?” The Grandmaster pouted.” I think I was about to make a friend here.”

She merely shrugged it off. The taller man wrinkled his nose in an expression of dismay.
“You are no fun at all, not one bit” having said that, he turned on his heel and strutted into the coffee shop.

Letting out a heavy sigh, his companion hurried along, pushing a few more people out of the way as she went, completely ignoring pained grunts and protests.

“Ah. Better, much better, wouldn’t you say? Smells good though uh...mind helping me out here?” As if nothing had happened he waved his hand towards the line in front of the cashier’s desk. “They are in the way.”
An elderly lady with blonde hair and clothes that must have come right out of a designer’s atelier standing right in front of him turned and snapped, “Excuse me? Who do you think you are? Wait until it is your turn.” She looked him up and down, face contorting in disgust as she took in his dirtied robes. “What are you anyway? A clown?”

“Topaz, darling..” He beckoned his servant to come closer. “What do we do about this? Isn’t she ah...what is the word uh…?”

“A complete waste of space?” the grim woman offered.

“Nah, that is too harsh. Why do you always do that?”

Topaz rolled her eyes “Rude?”

“That’s the one!” The Grandmaster snapped his fingers. “Mind solving this little problem dear?” He smiled at her sweetly. It made his servant gag, but she played it down. The next moment she shoved the elderly lady aside who complied without further complaints, being far too intimidated. Within mere seconds they reached the front of the line where another teenager was waiting impatiently for them to sort things out.

“Why hello there” He looked down at the much shorter girl and winked flirtatiously. She did not care at all.

“Order, sir?”

“Order? You are not meaning to...oh! I uh...take a...a...caaa...cooo...Micky Macky Latti…”

“Latte Macchiato?” She cut him off, earning a confused blink at such insolence.

“Are you still with me?” The barista prodded. “If you don’t know whatcha want, stand back.” She waved her hand dismissively and turned her attention to the next in line, an almost as tall, slender man with black hair and matching all black suit and shirt who had just walked in and straight by the staring crowd.

“Tea, Earl grey, if you please” the slender man raised his head, revealing an elegant, pale face with high cheekbones and eyes green like shining emeralds, which widened as they made contact with the Grandmaster’s honey-colored ones.

“YOU!” came the simultaneous outbursts of both men and the temperature in the room seemed to drop rapidly.

Chapter Text

Time seemed to stand still for a moment, at least for the two entities staring at each other with differing degrees of horror, disbelief and annoyance on their faces.

“You” Loki repeated again. “What are you doing here?” he straightened his back, hands at the ready to conjure his daggers if he needed them. He could almost feel the Grandmaster’s servant breathing down his neck, albeit waiting for her master’s order to attack.
The prince had been glad to get away from Sakaar, ungraceful as his exit might have been and yet fate, if there even was something like fate, had decided to bring the actual issue right back to him in the form of the Sakaarian leader he had unintentionally helped to overthrow.
In his mind he wondered if he really deserved such rotten luck, but he was certain that a few billion of beings in the universe would nod their heads eagerly in answer to that question.

“I could ask you the same.” For once the Grandmaster did not ramble, being too taken up by figuring out his next step. An uncharacteristic feeling of anger was slowly bubbling up inside him, though his face did not betray any of it. After all this was one of the men who caused him to lose his entire empire, his home, his riches and pleasures.

No, the Grandmaster was by no means amused to face the Asgardian prince once again.
He could take revenge. It would be so easy to take the other apart slowly. He was certain that Topaz, faithful servant she was, would gladly aid him in that quest. A darker part of him wanted it, was prepared to restrain the other and make him feel every bit of the humiliation he himself had experienced by the hands of the revolutionaries and everything that followed his escape from Sakaar. And yet another part of him held him back, if only for the reason it was not his manner to dirty his hands with those he thought beneath him. A third one even felt a deep hurt at seeing that pale face again.

He had thought Loki interesting, strangely beautiful even from the moment the prince had been brought to him.
That smile, the elegant curve of lips beneath high, sculpted cheekbones and the honeyed words had quickly made him burn with desire for the other.
He was a man who took pleasure in many a thing, in fact had built up his whole life around the enjoyment of the cheering crowd and parties and throes of passion and lust.
He had wanted to have a taste of the regal man, pure and pale like an angel having fallen into his realm of games and rubble, had desired to take him apart until he knew his innermost secrets.
Of course he had been aware it was equal to gambling with fire, but curiosity had driven him on until he had eventually tasted the forbidden fruit which marked the beginning of his downfall.
How sweet it had tasted for the time being, rich and heavy like a good wine clouding his rational mind as he lost himself in that lithe body. He should have know the other was a snake in his garden, but the headiness of the special and rare made him ignore the risk. In the end he paid a high price for it.

At last there was a tiny voice from the depths of his conscience that genuinely regretted losing something that could have been grand, which actually wished that what they had could have developed into something more, even if he was unable to name what it was he wanted.
He leaned against the counter nonchalantly and spoke up once more “I wish I could say it was a pleasant surprise to meet you here. Alas it is not.”

“Hear hear” Loki replied, crossing his arms in an attempt to appear more unimpressed than on edge. He had always been talented at covering up his true emotions. It had come in handy countless times. He hoped it would not fail him now.
“I can certainly return that sentiment from the bottom of my heart.”

“Charming, aren’t we?” The Grandmaster shot Topaz a quick glance, silently ordering her to hold back for now. He could see his servant was more than prepared to tackle the other man to the ground and strangle the life out of that thin...lean muscled, flawless...he shook his head to purge the image from his mind. Whatever they had, it was buried in the ashes of the past. He would not fall for the trickster again.
“And oh my, did you drop into a pit of tar?”

“You are saying?” Loki raised an eyebrow.

“I mean uh…” the taller man made a vague gesture towards his opponent “So dull. Are you trying to scare anyone with that?”

“It is called classy. But of course you understand none of that” Loki retorted “Is trashy the new trend on Sakaar now?”

“You little-!” Before he even knew what was happening, Loki found himself caught in a chokehold and desperately gasping for air as Topaz had not hesitated to make her displeasure clear. “How dare you defy the Grandmaster this way?”

“Easy Topaz” came the Grandmasters answer. “We would not want any uh...accidents…to happen, do we?

“Yes we do” she grit her teeth and squeezed a little tighter, unimpressed by Loki’s hands clawing at her arm in a feeble attempt to free himself. His vision was starting to fade, black spots dancing in front of his eyes.

“Leave him be Topaz. This is just a waste of time” A very attractive one though, with the suit just fitting him in all the right places. He cursed his libido and shook off the thought as well.

Finally he turned to the barista who had been watching them with wide, frightened eyes from her hiding spot behind the counter. “One Chai Latte and uh...one Latti Mackyatti please” He smiled at her as if nothing had happened and waited until she had finished his drinks with shaking hands.
Grabbing both he focused back on Topaz who was still restraining a struggling Loki.
“Come on darling. I want to take one of those bus tours.” With that he turned on his heel and left the shop. His servant dropped the demi-god unceremoniously, not caring that he sunk into a heap on the ground, gasping and wheezing as his lungs ached to be filled with fresh air. He felt nauseous, his head spinning from the exertion. Still no one dared to help him up, being too scared to be subjected to the stern woman’s anger.

Outside the Grandmaster handed Topaz one of the cups.
“What a surprise, wasn’t it?”

“An unpleasant one I must admit” She took a sip of the strange liquid, surprisingly not hating it altogether.

“Ah come on, I know you...you enjoyed it eh? Now about that uh...tour”

Shaking her head in disbelief, Topaz followed her master down the road.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It took Loki a long time to get up again from his crouched position. Not only were his legs feeling wobbly after almost being choked to death, but his mind was also refusing to wrap around the idea that the Grandmaster of all beings would have stranded on the same planet as he did, even come to the same goddamn city he had found some semblance of refuge at.

Of course it did not go without a lot of protesting from some of the Avengers and especially one Dr. Stephen Strange - Loki’s face darkened just thinking about the other mage and how he had humiliated him to the bone the first time their paths crossed - but in the end his brother’s pleading and Stark’s charming ‘we got this guys’ mannerisms had gained him the right to remain.
Certainly he could have ignored them and stayed anyway, he was a master of disguise after all, but playing along made things so much easier, at least for the time being, at least until that Elder had practically turned up on his doorstep.

Painfully slow, he dragged himself to his feet, heavily leaning onto the counter till his head stopped spinning like being on a merry-go-round out of control. Everything felt foggy, distant and muted as if wrapped in a thick layer of cotton, barely making him aware that everyone else in the room was still ogling him in either shock, aversion or pity.
He doubted that anyone still remembered his face from the failed attempt of taking over earth and building up a kingdom of his own, but most humans were smart enough to avoid him anyway, instinct telling them he was not one to be trifled with. In some way he was glad they did.
Yes, he wanted attention, needed it to a level of desperation he would never admit to, and yet he hated touch. It made him cringe and want to lash out if it came unbidden.
As proud and aloof as Loki might have seemed on the outside, especially since his every word was designed to be promising, luring in unsuspecting beings to bend their will to his own wishes, he was still hard pressed to relinquish the tight hold he had acquired on his life by even the tiniest bit. It gave him some semblance of control, something that over centuries had become essential to his very core. Losing it had brought him to the brink of madness more than once.

“Sir?” Loki was dragged out of his musings by a quiet voice to his left accompanied by a feather light touch on his forearm which, despite being very careful and well intended, caused him to startle and take on a defensive posture, catching the offending hand in a vice like grip.

“What?!” He snapped, making the elderly woman who had spoken up shrink back in fear.

“I..I was wondering if...” she swallowed audibly “if you were feeling alright?”

“That is none of your business!” He let go of her hand which she retracted quickly, rubbing the sore limb, then turned on his heel and stumbled out of the shop without further ado.

How he managed to find his way back to his studio, he would not be able to recall later, his feet moving on their own volition until he reached his final destination, climbing up a flight of stairs to the very top and, once inside, sliding to the ground with his back against the door.

Dim light and silence welcomed him as he stared at the barren wall across the room. Everything felt cold, a chill reaching down to the bone as the pale pink of his skin bled away into a vibrant blue, the floor and walls freezing over from where he sat, forming eerily beautiful shapes and flowers of ice on their way.