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When Tony woke up to a world of white, he pulled his blanket back over his head with a groan.
Snow.
Ugh.
It wasn’t that he disliked it, because even though he was all too aware of how much more difficult it made everything, causing delays and slowing the city down– that was mostly a good thing.
After all, snow generally meant that most villains would stay indoors – the only bit of sense they ever seemed to have – which, in turn, meant the Avengers could have something of a day off. And even though Tony worked two jobs, each of which had a tendency to beckon whenever he had a day off from the other, snow would always bring about an exception. Because while he only ever needed to take an elevator down to the conference room, the rest of the board members would need to struggle through the weather—
And sure enough, as he settled back into his pillows, JARVIS began to list the number of people who had already called ahead to say that they would not be able to make it in for the scheduled meeting. It wasn’t long before—
“Sir, Ms Potts has asked me to inform you that she will not be coming to work this morning. The meeting has been delayed until tomorrow.”
“Fantastic,” Tony sighed– and, rare for so early in the morning, his tone was not sarcastic in the slightest.
No, he didn’t mind the snow. It was just…
Cold.
He stayed wrapped up in his warm cocoon for a little while longer before throwing off the covers and making his way toward the bathroom. The temperature in the tower was as perfect as always, but the sight of the white outside the window just made everything feel colder– and besides, a hot shower was a pleasure that Tony would never say no to.
Once he was warmed and dried and dressed, there was something of a spring in his step as he headed downstairs toward the Avengers’ shared kitchen.
Now, to be honest, Tony was sure that there was some kind of conspiracy in the tower regarding the coffee machine, because the absolute best one lived in the shared kitchen– and no matter how often Tony tried to order one for his own floor, the order somehow wouldn’t go through. Even when he went and bought one himself from an actual store it just went missing, and his attempt to make his own was… catastrophic. Somehow.
Whatever. They could make him go to the kitchen for his caffeine, but that didn’t mean they could force him to socialise.
(Sometimes, however, he did give in and steal a little bit of breakfast. So long as Loki or Thor hadn’t cooked it, that is. Apparently, princes weren’t ever taught that particular life lesson.)
He made quick work of the coffee, filling his mug with practiced ease and staring spitefully at Steve as he drew in a long gulp. Steve rolled his eyes, faking innocence and turning back to his plate which rested on the counter before him.
Tony walked past him and was about to head back up to the penthouse when his gaze landed on Loki.
The god was standing by the window, staring out at the white-painted city below. Tony couldn’t see his face, but the tension in the taut lines of Loki’s shoulders was enough to change his direction. Instead of going back upstairs, Tony moved to stand beside Loki.
Loki didn’t react, but he didn’t move away, either. Tony could see now that there was something agonised in his gaze as he stared out at the snow, his green eyes full of torment. And Tony didn’t want to push, but there was one question he felt like he needed to ask.
“Are you all right?” Tony whispered. He wanted to reach out and brush his hand over Loki’s arm, or maybe clasp him on the shoulder– just so that Loki could know he wasn’t alone.
Loki didn’t reply, but it was clear that the answer was a solid no. His expression was pained enough to tug at Tony’s heart in a way that very little else could, and Tony wished that he could draw Loki into his arms, hold him close and just fix whatever was wrong– but he knew that such a gesture wouldn’t be welcomed.
No one else in the room seemed to have noticed, or, if they did, they took Loki’s silence to mean that he wanted to be alone. But Tony knew Loki, and he knew that if he wanted to be alone, he wouldn’t be standing in the living room.
So… Tony simply stood with him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have anything else to do, despite the weather. Oh, he had a hundred projects that needed his attention because snow day or not, his work wasn’t going to complete itself. But… none of that was important, really. Not when Loki so clearly needed someone.
So Tony stood beside him, sipping his coffee, staring out at the snow, and just wishing that there was something more he could do to help make him feel better.
—
When Tony woke the next day, it was to see that the snow situation had only worsened. JARVIS reported that New York was in for a bit of cold snap – which, yeah, no shit – and that the snow would not clear for several days yet.
Once again, JARVIS passed on the message that the SI meeting was further delayed, and Tony took his time heading into the kitchen. This time, though, when Tony walked out of the elevator and stepped out into the kitchen, his eyes darted first not to the coffee machine, but to the window.
Sure enough, Loki was there again, staring out at the snowy scene with tension lining his whole body.
And Tony was worried.
He didn’t know why Loki felt this way, but it was clear that whatever it was, it was serious. When Tony moved to stand beside him, he saw that agony back in Loki’s eyes, and he ached with the need to do something.
“Hey,” Tony said gently, his hand lifting though he didn’t quite give in to the urge to touch– and his fingers hovered in the air for a moment before falling back to his side. “Do you want to come down to the workshop with me? I have something that I need your help with.”
Loki turned to look at him, his brow creasing in a different kind of frown. Loki had always been able to read Tony better than anyone, and no doubt recognised that Tony was making up an excuse. But, despite Loki knowing, it seemed it didn’t matter. He considered Tony for a moment longer before glancing back to the snow– but only for a moment. Then he met Tony’s gaze with a grateful smile.
“Yes,” he said. “I think I would like that.”
And although Loki didn’t say anything when Tony asked JARVIS to raise the temperature, his smile deepened and his shoulders relaxed enough that Tony was able to smile as well.
—
On the third day of the thick snow, Loki wasn’t in the Avengers’ living room. Tony knew that, because when he walked out of his bedroom with the intention of heading down to fetch his coffee he found Loki in his penthouse, standing by the window not far from the spot Loki had thrown Tony through what felt like a lifetime ago.
Tony was surprised, but he moved closer nonetheless, taking up his usual spot at Loki’s side. He wasn’t planning on saying anything– he still hadn’t asked, and he was not intending to. He didn’t want to break the fragile thing that had sat between them over the past days, this silent understanding that Loki seemed grateful for, and which Tony was more than willing to offer.
But… when Loki began to speak, it seemed like he had other ideas.
“Anthony,” he said, Tony’s full name ringing deep and serious as it fell from Loki’s lips. “I think I owe you a thank you.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Tony replied instantly, shaking his head.
“Oh, but I do. You took me into your home even when the other Avengers remained hesitant, and you ensure that I never want for anything. You have become a close friend, and I… believe there are some things which we should speak about.”
Despite the apparent certainty in his words, Loki still sounded a little hesitant– and Tony couldn’t help but worry that Loki really was only doing this because he thought he owed something.
“You know, you don’t have to tell me anything,” Tony said gently. “Not if you don’t want to. We can just go back to the workshop and forget about everything that’s happening outside.”
But Loki shook his head. “No,” he said. “I want you to know. I… I think I need to talk about it.”
Realising what this meant – that Loki was trusting him with this, that out of everyone, it was Tony that Loki wanted to talk to – made Tony go a little weak at the knees, but he steeled himself. Playing out a fantasy or trying to search for deeper affection in this gesture of friendship would only be a distraction from helping Loki feel better, and that wouldn’t do any good at all.
“Okay,” Tony said, agreeing easily even though his voice was a little thick. “Come on then, let’s sit down.”
He led the way to the couch. Loki sat a little closer than Tony was expecting, though he figured that was probably just for the extra warmth coming of his skin, still hot from his routine scalding shower.
Pushing the thought away, Tony focused back on the conversation at hand.
“You said you wanted to talk?” he prompted. “What about?” He thought he had an idea, but… if Loki still needed an out then Tony was going to make sure he had it.
Loki sighed. “Did Thor ever tell you about my heritage?”
“No, he didn’t,” Tony said. “Well, he said you were adopted, but that’s it.”
“Adopted,” Loki echoed, his voice and gaze suddenly distant. “I suppose that is a rather pleasant way of putting it.”
Tony listened intently as Loki told Tony all about the Frost Giants, about the monsters of ice and snow that were weaved into every horror story that Asgardian children were ever told. He spoke about how Asgard fought a war with the Jötnar and won, but that no Aesir would ever be able to look upon the face of a Frost Giant without flinching back in fear.
And then Loki paused, as if the story had become too difficult to continue– but he still met Tony’s gaze, as if he were unworried about what Tony thought of it. His expression almost seemed like a paradox, like it didn’t make sense. A mixture of dread and trust, pain and relief, all blended together with something else that Tony couldn’t quite put his finger on. But Loki’s words were easier to make sense of, no matter how much the realisation pained him.
“So this weather…” Tony said, hoping his suspicions were wrong as he gave voice to his hope. “It reminds you of your nightmares?”
“In a way,” Loki told him, his smile cold and bitter. “You see, it’s not the Frost Giants themselves that I do not wish to be reminded of. It is the fact that I am one.”
Tony had worked it out already, but that didn’t stop the way that it ached in him. He wanted to say that it didn’t matter, that Loki was amazing just as he was, that it didn’t matter where he was born. But he knew that anything he could say in that moment would only make his own feelings very clear, and that certainly wouldn’t help. Loki didn’t need to be dealing with that right now– he needed a friend to support him, and Tony was going to do all he could to give Loki whatever he needed.
So as much as he ached to pull Loki into a hug, as much as he wished he could show him how loved he was, Tony opted instead to give Loki a soft smile.
“Are you going to be all right?” he asked tentatively, not knowing what else he could say.
“I will be fine. It is merely that it never snowed on Asgard,” Loki replied. “It reminds me of Jotunheim, of what I am. That is all.”
“What you are is my friend,” Tony said firmly, giving in the only way he could allow. “You’re an awesome mage, an insanely good chess player, and the best workshop buddy that I could ever ask for. You’re an Avenger and you’re a truly terrible cook. And… yeah. You’re Loki, and you’re the best person I know. Your birthplace isn’t going to change that.”
Loki’s eyes were wide by the time Tony was finished, and– it might have just been Tony’s wishful thinking, but it kind of looked like his cheeks were dusted with the faintest blush of pink. “You can’t mean that,” he whispered.
“Loki,” Tony said simply. “Have I ever lied to you?”
Loki paused at that, because he couldn’t deny the truth. Even back when they were enemies, Tony hadn’t lied, and he’d never been more glad for it than in that moment, as Loki’s lips curved into the kind of smile that would have warmed Tony all the way through even if he had been outside in the snow.
In the end, they moved back to the workshop again, losing themselves in puzzles that needed solutions, and in work that they both enjoyed. And when Loki grew bored with the metal, he conjured a spell book and began practicing his seiðr, weaving beautiful patterns through the air and creating illusions that grew more and more solid by the day– something Tony knew that Loki truly wished to accomplish.
Tony found it rather distracting, but that didn’t matter– he knew he wasn’t likely to get much work done anyway. His mind was racing with ways that he could make this situation better, because it was clear that even though he was doing his best to put on a brave face, the snow really was pulling Loki down.
But the snow wasn’t going to go away anytime soon, either.
So, really, there was only the one solution.
Tony just had to think of the best way to make it work.
—
The next day, there was a blizzard.
Tony didn’t bother with going to the common floor– the moment he found his penthouse empty, he took the elevator directly down to Loki’s rooms. JARVIS let the god know that Tony was coming, and assured Tony that Loki had said he was welcome. And when Tony arrived, he immediately began to cast his gaze over the large space.
It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for.
Loki was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a thick blanket with his arms around his legs and his chin on his knees, staring balefully out at the storm. He looked away only when Tony stepped up in front of him, glancing up with a tight smile.
“I suppose it can only get worse before it gets better,” Loki said.
“You know what?” Tony asked, arching a brow. “That’s something I would expect Steve to say, not you.”
Loki’s lips quirked, but the darkness in his eyes didn’t budge an inch. “And what is it that you would have me say instead?”
“Well, from you I’d expect something more like… I don’t know, maybe removing yourself from the situation entirely.” Tony grinned, but Loki didn’t look particularly impressed.
“And how do you propose I do that?” Loki asked. “I can hardly stop a storm—”
“No, but we could run away from it.” Tony held out his hand, and passed Loki the paper he had written on earlier that morning. “Can you teleport us both here?”
Loki’s blanket fell around his shoulders a little as he looked at the note. It was a simple longitude and latitude, and he frowned as he looked back up, a question in his eyes.
Tony just smiled. “Come with me,” he said, holding out his hand.
And then – gingerly, yet determinately – Loki took it.
—
Travelling with Loki was like nothing else Tony had ever experienced. It was a mess of colour and magic, it was flying and falling all at once, and it lasted an age but yet only a moment.
It took him a second to orientate himself when they stopped, his feet back on solid ground– and it was only when he opened his eyes that he realised just how close he and Loki were standing.
Tony swallowed and took a short step back, glad that Loki seemed to be too focused on their surroundings to notice Tony’s expression before he could get it under control.
Loki’s expression, though, was completely open. He was staring about in awe, looking at the green grass under their feet, the rolling waves below the cliff to their left, the white house to their right, and to the bright blue sky above them.
“This is my home,” Tony said softly, smiling when the words drew Loki’s attention back to him. “Well, my other home. It doesn’t snow in Malibu, and I thought that you might like it a bit better than New York.”
Loki’s eyes were wide, his lips parting in surprise. “Anthony,” he whispered, voice quiet and full of wonder. “This…”
“You can stay here whenever you want, for as long as you want. You don’t have to ask, I’ve already told JARVIS to let you in. So, whenever it gets cold up north, you can just come here and—”
Tony was cut off with a gasp by the sudden and unexpected press of Loki’s lips against his own. His mind was a mess of surprise and shock and holy fuck, Loki was kissing him, but he didn’t have time to start kissing him back before Loki jerked away.
“My apologies,” Loki said quickly, averting his gaze and backing away. “I was, merely grateful for the gesture, and I grew– a little ahead of myself when I—”
Tony stopped Loki’s rambling the only way he knew how, darting forward and kissing him with all the pent-up passion he’d been hoarding for months. Loki groaned against his mouth and buried his hands in Tony’s hair, pulling him closer as they deepened their kiss. They only parted when Tony needed air, and even as he fought to catch his breath Tony just stared up at Loki with a smile.
“You don’t need to apologise, Loki,” he said. “I’m definitely not going to.”
Loki grinned at that, and then leaned down to kiss him again– and it was slower this time, less hurried and far more languid than the first. It was the kind of kiss that Tony had dreamed about having, and when it came to an end they remained in a close embrace, smiling in the warmth of both the early morning sun and their own happy glow.
“You said that I could come here whenever I wanted,” Loki said, his voice quiet and hopeful. “If I do… will you come with me?”
Tony didn’t even have to think about it. “Yeah, Lokes,” he promised, “Whenever you want.”
And when Loki kissed him once more, Tony felt like his whole body was brimming with warmth.