Chapter Text
Fuck.
Tony groaned, sitting up and hearing the creak of his armor and the ruffling of sand, or maybe pebbles. He squinted at the sun, which shone over the sky in a hot blaze, nearly blinding him. Birds chirped in the background and he could hear the soft splashes of waves hitting the shore.
He tried to stretch, and realized he was still in his suit.
And God, was it hot in that suit.
He quickly tried to get out of the suit, failing the first three times and then finally getting it right on the fourth. Tony sighed with relief, as it was so much warmer than it was in the Iron Man gear, but soon noticed-
“This isn’t New York,” He muttered.
Well, any part of New York he knew- but Tony Stark knew New York like the back of his hand.
And was it ever this hot in New York City?
Tony turned around, trying to distinguish where he was, but his surroundings were completely unfamiliar. He was on the edge of a rocky beach that drifted into a beautiful lake, one that Tony had most definitely never seen before. Far beyond the lakes were other edges, caves, and beaches, with forests behind them. He looked around and saw that there was a forest behind him, too- one with trees so tall it gave him vertigo.
He sighed. “Welp. At least we have JARVIS- right, buddy?”
Tony waited for a response from the A.I. and frowned when he didn’t get one. He bent down and looked at his suit, trying to see if it still had any juice. After a few minutes of kicking the head and calling for JARVIS, he groaned again in frustration and stood back up.
“This is not going well,” He thought aloud.
He shook his head and put his hand to his forehead. Okay, sure, being an Avenger meant that you would end up in weird places, but he was seriously lost in a place that was seemingly abandoned with absolutely no way out.
Then he heard something from behind a rock.
Tony swiftly ran to it, hoping it was someone, someone preferably with a phone or professional combat experience-
“Thor?”
Oh, well. At least he was a fighter.
The God of Thunder hissed in pain, rubbing the back of his head and leaning against the rock. Tony winced when he saw the blood tangled in the blond man’s hair. Yeah, that definitely needed medical attention.
“Point Break, buddy, are you feeling okay?” Tony asked, leaning down to check on Thor.
His eyes fluttered open and he looked over at Tony. “Stark?” He chuckled. “Is that you?”
“Yeah, yeah, it is,” Tony answered, already worried that the heat and pain was getting to Thor. “Okay, big guy, do you mind helping me pick you up?”
Thor laughed. “How can you pick me up? You’re so… small. And short. Cute, really.”
Tony frowned. “I’m gonna let that slide because you’re losing blood, but you will pay for that when you’re in the right mind.”
After some laughter from Thor, Tony lifted him up and let the god lean on him, nearly falling due to the weight of him. Tony would never admit it, but that dude was heavy.
They trudged past the rock, going past the armour (he made a mental note to pick it up later) and walking through the beach. He wasn’t sure where exactly they were going, but he was pretty sure if Thor was here, other Avengers were, too.
And he was right.
On the way towards… wherever they were going, Tony spotted Cap, Natasha, Bruce (who was still a little bit green) and Clint. Cap had been leaning against a rock not too far from them, and Natasha was already standing and walking around with Tony. Bruce was flat on the ground, only just coming to consciousness when the group came around. Clint was lying on the ground, too, when they finally found him, but he was missing his hearing aids and his quiver.
No one knew where they were.
“Not even you, Nat? Our human compass?” Tony asked, giving the probably concussed god on his shoulder to Cap.
Natasha rolled her eyes, then shook her head. “No, Tony. All I know is that we’re somewhere in the Americas.” She signed as she spoke, waiting near the water as Cap tried to steady Thor.
“So we’ve narrowed it down to fifty states,” Tony concluded with a sigh.
“Actually… she sort of said Americas…” Bruce said hesitantly.
Tony groaned. “So we could be anywhere from Guatemala to Canada?”
“From Chile to Alaska,” Natasha confirmed.
The man tapped his foot and bit his lip. Shoot. How had they ended up here, again? Trying to go to someplace in California… Thor telling them he knew a way to travel…
Tony’s expression turned sour. “The Bifrost.”
“What?” Steve asked.
“The Bifrost,” Tony told him. “Thor said he knew a good way to get to Cali, and now, we’re here.”
Bruce’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. So, we have to wait until Thor’s conscious to get back to New York?”
Or until Fury connects with our location, Clint signed.
“I doubt Fury will have any leads for the next few hours,” Nat said.
“So, we’re just stranded?” The captain asked, letting Thor lean on his shoulder.
Tony nodded. “With no way out, Capsicle.” He sighed. He was already impatient, and it had barely been half an hour. “Look, why don’t we keep walking? Try and find shelter or a store or something.”
“Who says we’re anywhere near people?” Natasha prompted. “Look, I get you don’t do well in the wild, but there doesn’t seem to be a way out. Not until Fury gets here or Thor stirs.”
“Somebody say my name?” Thor slurred, his head bobbing up.
Bruce smiled. “Don’t worry, darling, you can sleep.”
“Oh. Okay.” Then he slept.
Tony ignored the scene that had been displayed right before him. “Fine.”
“But we need someone to treat Thor,” Bruce argued.
“Banner is right,” Tony said, pointing towards the scientist.
They have got a point, Clint told Nat.
The Black Widow put her hand to her forehead. “Alright. We’ll start moving. But once we find a place, we stay there.”
“No arguments there, Nattie,” Tony said, already on the move.
Nat rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Don’t call me Nattie.”
The six started walking along the beachside, only Bruce responding to the random comments Thor made. They walked for what felt like miles to Tony, but what Nat said was only a few inches. Clint snickered when she said that, so Tony highly doubted her.
Eventually, the sun got lower in the sky, and there was still no sign of a town or a store or anything.
It frustrated Tony to absolutely no extent.
But would he complain? Never.
It would mean Nat winning, and he hated losing.
“Nothing so far,” Natasha commented.
Tony grimaced and said through gritted teeth, “I know. It’s crazy. Seven billion people on the planet and none except for the six of us here. How funny.”
Bruce smiled and Steve stifled laughter, but nobody said a word. Clint signed something so fast Tony couldn’t read it, but Natasha’s smirk and answer made him think it was a bet. It made him even more frustrated.
After a few more steps, Tony snapped.
“Okay, fine!” He yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. “This is taking forever. I am not a nature guy-,”
Just as he was saying the last part, (when Clint’s eyes started to sparkle) there could hear a twinkle of laughter. They all turned towards the direction, and they could see smoke come from behind a few trees, near a coastline.
“Fire,” Bruce said.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and where there’s fire, there’s food,” Tony said.
“What were you saying earlier?” Natasha asked.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Nat smiled and Clint pouted.
Tony immediately started walking towards the smoke. Cap dragged Thor along, Bruce close next to them, with Clint and Natasha discussing something that seemed a lot like bank loans.
It was difficult to see through the trees, but eventually, they made it through a dense forest and saw the sand on the beach again. A house had been built up close to a hill, adjusted for the curves and rocks. There was a deck looking over the lake close by, with windows from floor to ceiling acting as doors. It was only one story tall, but it looked like it had a lot of space. The house looked cozy, and Tony knew that it had been built by hand.
There was a bundle of firewood near the building with a place for fire not too close by. It looked like the fire had been put out merely minutes ago. But there was still someone jogging back to the house.
The man had greying hair, a mustache and a smile plastered on his face. He wore a teal and green patterned shirt that looked like it belonged to some California surfer, with sneakers and khaki shorts.
“Well, someone lives here,” Tony stated. “Let’s go to them.”
Natasha opened her mouth to say something, but Tony was already moving ahead, so the rest of the group hesitantly followed him. They all hoped they wouldn’t get into any sort of trouble.
The man from before was walking up the stairs to the deck, dusting his hands off and looking at the now low sun. It wasn’t that late yet, probably six in the evening, but the man was heading inside, presumably for dinner.
Tony tried to follow him, but Clint grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
“Legolas!” Tony protested, but Clint was already signing.
We don’t want to scare them off, Clint told him. It would be best if one of us went in.
“He’s right,” Natasha agreed. “We would probably scare them off, especially if we told them a god was in their home along with two world-renowned scientists.”
“It might be best for Natasha to go in,” Steve said, trying not to drop Thor but wanting to avoid his drool.
Tony hadn’t been listening to any of that. “Okay, alright. But I’m still going in. Haven’t drank in hours and need something to drink.”
“Tony!” Natasha protested, but once again, for the fourth time, Tony was going up the stairs and walking up to the door.
The man was taking off his sneakers and putting them near the door on the inside, but he hadn’t noticed Tony yet. The engineer grinned and knocked on the door. That caused the man to stumble forward and look around him before his eyes finally landed on a smiling Tony.
His eyebrows raised to the roof, and he tilted his head back to yell something (Tony couldn’t hear it). Then, he came forward to the door and opened it.
“Tony Stark,” The man said. “Wow.”
The way he said ‘wow’ felt airy, and Tony smiled at it. It was cute.
“The one and only,” Tony said, standing straight and tall. “I apologize for the interruption of whatever you were doing, but it seems as though my friends and I crash landed here, wherever this place is- no offense.”
“None taken,” He told Tony. The man seemed to be a little out of it, his voice slightly shocked and his eyes dazed.
“Anyway, do you know where a nearby hospital is? Or where we can find a store, or do you have any professional medical training? My friend took a blow to the head and-,”
“I’m sorry, but who are your friends?” The man asked.
Tony chuckled. “Oh, yeah. Well, they’re the Avengers, really. Not sure they would like to be called my friends, but then again, who would? Now, there’s Natasha Romanoff, Steven Rogers, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, and Thor Odinson,” Tony listed. “Thor is the concussed one, and we’ve been here for a couple of hours, so we’re pretty worried about him. Although I’m not sure how much there’s left to damage, if you know what I mean.”
The man’s eyes widened. “Thor Odinson?”
“Yeah. Tall, strong, ridiculously good hair. Might have seen him on the news, saving the world,” Tony told him.
The man nodded, clearly trying to hide a frown. “I have medical training, and I have a healer in the house.”
“Oh, is there a missus?” Tony asked with a smirk.
It was nice to know that a man with such awful fashion taste could land a-
The man laughed. “Not right now, no.”
Tony nodded, thinking he understood. “Ah. You sleeping on the couch?”
“Not unless I warn them,” The man mumbled under his breath, but Tony could still hear him. The Avenger furrowed his eyebrows, but Mobius simply shook his head and stuck out his hand. “I’m Mobius. You and your coworkers can come in, I think I know how we can help Thor.”
Tony beamed. “Great. Fantastic. Thanks, M&M.” He turned to look down the stairs, where the rest of the five were waiting. “C’mon up, guys! Seems like we have a doctor.”
Natasha was the first to climb up with an eye roll at Tony and a smile directed at Mobius, which the man returned. Clint was second and waved at Mobius. Cap grimaced as he helped Thor up the stairs, the man still unconscious. Bruce helped Steve and thanked Mobius for helping them.
“It’s really no problem,” Mobius told them. “You can come inside. Lay Thor down on the couch, we have enough room.”
The six came in, and Tony was charmed by the home. The kitchen and living room were connected, but there was a dining room table separating the two areas. A comfortable looking L-shaped couch faced a TV and a radio, with a board-game filled shelf below it. Book shelves filled to the edge with books and papers were practically everywhere except for the kitchen. Windows looked at the beach, or at the forest behind them.
Tony was seriously impressed at the amount of books, and the craftsmanship of the place. It seemed like the shelves were hand-made, as well, and they must have been amazing builders. “Did you build this?”
Mobius smiled and helped Cap and Bruce get Thor onto the couch. “I had a lot of help.”
“Well, it’s beautiful,” Natasha complimented.
“Thank you,” Mobius said. “I’m sure my lover will be happy to hear that.”
Lover?
Tony had heard, and used, many terms of endearment over the years- sweetheart, darling, platypus, dude, weirdo, crapbag. He had also known terms to describe people in a relationship: girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, spouse, enbyfriend, significant other, and many more. But it was quite rare to hear the term “lover”. At least, for Tony.
“Speaking of which, I need to get your help.” Mobius started walking towards a hallway that was almost hidden behind bookshelves. Before he went out, he said, “I should probably warn you, though… this will definitely startle you.”
“Please, Moby-pie,” Tony said, waving it off. “We’ve seen a power-hungry god with a weird glowy stone try to take over the world. I think we can handle weird.”
He tried to ignore the memories that washed up- New York, flying up to the portal, the weight of the world on his shoulders-
“Funny you mention New York,” Mobius said, laughing nervously before walking down the hall. “Lokes!” Tony heard him yell. “We have some… guests.”
“I’m coming!”
Lokes? Mentioning New York? What did that mean? Tony furrowed his eyebrows. The voice sounded oddly familiar… but there was no way… the god had been defeated and punished on Asgard…
Apparently, Tony was wrong.
He hated being wrong.
A young looking man with black hair tied in a ponytail and a sharp jaw walked into the room after a few minutes alone with Mobius. He wore a green button-down shirt and blue jeans, which was a great contrast to what he had been wearing in New York. His hair was noticeably less greasy and there was a shine in his eyes that dulled when he took a look at the Avengers.
“So you weren’t kidding,” Loki muttered.
There was an uncomfortable silence, everyone staring at Loki, and then Natasha broke.
“You attacked New York!” She nearly yelled, throwing her hands in the air. Tony almost doubled back- he had never seen Nat like this. “You’re supposed to be on Asgard, being punished for the people you killed-,”
“I’m sure there’s an explanation for this,” Steve interrupted as he put his hand on Natasha’s shoulder. He turned to Loki. “Is there?”
Loki took a deep breath. “This might take a few minutes…”
“We’ll explain everything later,” Mobius told them, putting his hand on Loki’s shoulder. “For now, we need to help Thor.”
“What’s wrong with Thor?” Loki asked, then looked over at where Thor was sleeping. He gasped.
Tony hadn’t realized just how bad Thor looked. There was a large cut on his forehead running across the entirety of it, dried up blood mixing with the roots of his hair. There must have been another jab behind his forehead, because there was even more blood on the back of his head, dying parts of his hair red and black instead of blonde.
Tony frowned. This was a lot worse than he had thought.
Loki unfroze and practically teleported over to Thor’s side, leaning down and putting his hand on the god’s forehead. He seemed focused, and didn’t pay attention to the Avengers until he looked up again.
“He’s out cold,” Loki said, then winced. “I’m going to take him to one of the guest bedrooms and see what I can do. I know some Asgardian healing, but I’m sure Thor will end up alright.”
“Do you need any help?” Steve asked, taking a step forward.
“Is he going to be okay?” Bruce bit his lip and put his arms around himself.
Loki shook his head. “No. No, I’ve got this.” He stood up and sighed. “Thor has gotten into his fair share of ridiculous fights.”
He snapped his fingers, and Thor disappeared in sparks of green and gold. Some of the Avengers gasped, but then Loki snapped again and he disappeared, as well.
“Don’t worry,” Mobius said. “Loki took him to the guest room, like he said.”
“How do we know that?” Bruce protested.
Tony looked over at him. Bruce wasn’t usually one for holding grudges, but worry was clear on his face and Tony realized it was because of Thor. No one knew the torment Thor had gone through as a child because of Loki more than Bruce did, and it was clear that Bruce still didn’t trust Loki.
Well, to be fair, none of them did, but Bruce even more so.
Mobius smiled sadly. “You can check the guest room, if you’d like.”
Bruce stormed down the hall, swiftly taking up the offer and going to the room.
Mobius clicked his tongue after a few minutes of silence. “So.” He smiled weakly. “Anyone want to see a jet ski?”
…
After a few hours the sun was starting to set, and everyone was waiting for Loki and Bruce to come in and tell them the news. Tony had checked out the jet ski Mobius had been talking about and tried tinkering with it. Mobius didn’t want anything too fancy, so he ended up just making it go faster along with a direct line of communication in case he was ever stranded or something. (Maybe he was a bit inspired. Maybe.)
Natasha had been eating an apple when Tony and Mobius finally came back inside, while Clint was trying to teach Cap Uno. Steve didn’t know a lot of ASL, but he was trying. And, for Steve’s first time playing, he seemed to be doing pretty terrible, considering he had about twenty cards in his hands. Clint was clearly happy.
Tony plopped down on the couch and sighed. He looked around the somber room and felt the anxiety throughout it. No one was going to willingly trust Reindeer Games after what he did in New York, but it was their best shot, since none of them knew how Asgardians healed.
A bitterness washed through him and Tony had to force it down. Truly, he couldn’t stand being in this room and not being able to do anything about his… his friend.
Finally, Loki came back into the room with sweat on his forehead and a red-stained towel in his hands. Everyone straightened up and watched as he walked forward, in the spotlight.
“Is Thor going to be okay?” Cap asked, taking his attention away from the Uno game.
Loki sighed and nodded. “Yeah. He’s a god; he’ll heal in a few hours’ time. He just needed a few remedies to quicken the process.”
“Where’s Banner?” Tony asked, standing up and crossing his arms.
Loki bit his lip. “Bruce wanted to stay with Thor for a while longer.”
Tony nodded slowly, still unsure of whether or not to trust Loki.
The room was filled with an awkward silence, the only sound being the quiet crunch of an apple and the fiddling of cards.
“Alright, tell us what’s going on,” Tony said, his voice the strange neutral he always kept it in. “Why are you here? Thor told us you were on Asgard, doing your time in.”
Loki chuckled, a small smile growing on his lips, and it infuriated Tony; there was nothing funny about this situation.
“It… is a very long story.”
“A very, very long one,” Mobius affirmed.
“Well,” Tony said, not backing down, “We have a lot of time.”
Loki grimaced. “Have you ever heard of the TVA?”
...
“So, let me get this straight,” Tony started. “You’re basically saying that there was some ancient bureaucracy controlling all of time-,”
“Actually, it was Kang,” Loki corrected.
“Alright, ‘Kang’,” Tony said, “had control of the whole universe, and we didn’t know?”
“No one did,” Mobius told him.
Tony sighed. “Then, your- what was it called- ‘Variant’ killed him?”
“Defeated him, more like,” Loki muttered.
“This sounds impossible,” Tony said. “Even if we did believe you, how could you prove it? Where is there any sense in this?”
Loki chuckled again. Tony realized there was nothing that could get him more riled up than that stupid chuckle. It meant Loki felt like he was better than Tony, and he really couldn’t stand it.
“It’s quite difficult to show you all, as the TVA has been destroyed…” Loki put his hands together and started to walk around. “But, we live in the same universe as literal gods, beings you once thought were simply myth and legend. We live in a world where magic and science lace together, where super soldiers run amok, where gamma rays can create a supernatural being.”
Natasha leaned against the table. “That’s true. But we also live in a world of liars, and this world contains a God of Mischief… one who is standing right before us.”
Steve looked up and Clint bit his lip. Tony perked up. Loki winced, and Mobius took his hand. The two shared a look and then Loki took a deep breath.
“I understand that you don’t trust me,” Loki said. “There’s no reason for you to. But this you must know, even if you don’t trust it- Thor is my brother. No matter how many times I have betrayed him, I will always care for him and he will always be my family. As unbelievable as it is, it is true, and I will stand by him on all occasions.”
The room contemplated this reasoning, and was silent for minutes that felt like eternity.
Tony was pretty sure that, if there was a time bureaucracy, the Avengers would have known about it. But, looking at it realistically, there were few ways they could have known unless the- what- TVA intervened. And, according to the happy couple, no one who ever came to the TVA came out alive.
Until Loki, apparently.
Tony took a good look at Loki, who was nervously looking around at the Avengers and standing close to Mobius. He fiddled with the blood-stained towel and bit his lip. The engineer had never seen him look so nervous before.
Tony cleared his throat and walked forward, coming between everyone in the room so he would have their attention. Everyone looked up and focused on him, and he could see their worried looks.
He sighed.
“Take a look at Loki,” Tony said, gesturing towards the God of Mischief. “Would the Loki we know ever- and I mean, ever- wear something as casual as that?”
The group all looked over at Loki, who blushed and looked down at his feet.
“And would the Loki we know settle down in a random cabin in the woods without a kingdom?” Tony pressed.
“Where are you going with this, Tony?” Steve asked.
“I’m just trying to say,” Tony continued, “That whoever this Loki is? He isn’t the Loki we used to know. He’s some guy who settled down in a cabin, who relaxes in the woods, apparently, and holds his brother close to his heart.”
Mobius smiled, and it was clear Loki was grateful for each word. Tony looked over at them and nodded before turning back to the Avengers.
“I mean, there’s no way to know that this is real,” Tony said while he picked up an apple. “We’re just going to have faith, I guess.”
The room was quiet, until Steve stood up from the game. “Tony’s right.”
What? Clint signed as he stood up. Have faith in the guy that brought New York chaos?
“Clint is right,” Natasha started. “He killed eighty people in-,”
“If I may,” Mobius said quietly.
“We’ve seen worse, and we’ve seen weirder-,” Steve said.
Tony shrugged. “Steve isn’t wrong. Besides, how much of this could be fake? Why would he lie to us about this?”
He’s plotting something, Clint started.
“Would you all just shut up!”
There was silence once again. Everyone turned over to the source of the shout, and were surprised to see an angry looking Mobius staring at each of them.
“I honestly couldn’t care less if you believed us,” Mobius said. “We aren’t even supposed to be talking to you guys right now.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair and looking over at Loki, who gave him a comforting look. Mobius then looked back at all the others.
“But Loki has changed. I mean, I’ve- I’ve seen it all for myself.” Mobius chuckled. “It was such a long journey, but he’s changed. We’ve… both changed.”
Loki put his arm on Mobius’s shoulder, and then looked at all the Avengers.
“You don’t have to believe us,” Loki started, looking around to face all of them. “But it would be nice if you did.”
When everyone was quiet, Loki exhaled and pulled at his shirt to seemingly smooth wrinkles. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on Thor. I’m quite sure he’ll be waking up soon.”
The god left the room and disappeared down the hallway. Everyone was still silent, looking down at whatever they had been doing prior, and it was unbearably tense.
“I suppose…” Natasha said softly, “That everyone deserves a second chance.”
The man named Mobius, who was still standing near the hallway entrance, was smiling brightly. Steve smiled as well, and Tony followed soon after. The four in the room then looked at Clint, who looked back and forth in slight surprise. He soon sighed and signed, He doesn’t seem hostile. Plus, he seems genuine, and he’s hopefully healing Thor.
Nat nodded and began speaking to Mobius. “I’m sorry for all the trouble we have caused, Mobius.”
Mobius chuckled. “Loki might be mischievous, but deep down, he’s all bark, no bite.”
“I have multiple stories that say otherwise,” A deep voice said from the hallway.
“Point Break!” Tony exclaimed, walking over to Thor and slapping an arm on his shoulder. “Welcome back to consciousness. Did you enjoy the rest?”
Thor rolled his eyes. He was standing right beside Bruce, who was staring at his boyfriend with a troubled expression. One hand was holding what looked like an ice pack, and the other patted Tony’s hand.
“Trust me, Stark, that slumber was anything but restful,” Thor boomed. Even when recovering from a concussion, his voice echoed around the room.
“Loki says he’s alright,” Bruce started. Tony glanced over at him, and he could see a Banner Babble was coming on. “There were a few terms I didn’t understand, but from what I could tell, Loki said he would be fine by tomorrow, and that these injuries paled in comparison-,”
“Bruce,” Both Tony and Thor said at the same time. The two looked at each other, at first with slight bafflement, but then understanding passed through them when they realized that Bruce needed comfort. Thor put an arm around Bruce’s waist and leaned down to kiss his forehead, and Bruce blushed sweetly.
“I’m alright, Banner,” Thor told him, pulling him closer and hugging him.
Tony smiled. He remembered the conversations he had with Bruce and about how he should get out more. That was one of the few times he had ever opened up about his past. A woman named Betty Ross was someone he had fallen in love with, but their relationship started when the Hulk was beginning. There were few others Bruce opened himself up to, so Tony considered himself lucky to be one of the few who could hear Bruce.
When Thor and Bruce announced their relationship, Tony could not have been happier. (If Thor swears that Tony threatened him with his league of robots, well. It’s a coincidence if Tony’s robots come after Thor, if he ever breaks Bruce’s heart.)
But he was so happy they were together. They were truly wonderful for each other.
With Tony lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice Loki walking up to the group hesitantly. Thor watched as Loki made his way past the hallway and in front of his brother.
“Did you talk to him, Reindeer Games?” Tony asked with crossed arms.
Loki glared at Tony. “I had assumed we were past that nickname.”
Tony smirked. “Not at all.”
Loki scoffed- surprisingly, with humor- and looked back at Thor, who was clearly trying to put the pieces together.
“So I’m not hallucinating?” Thor asked, his voice once again echoing around the room. “Loki really is here.”
“Not the one you know, brother,” Loki said. He took a deep breath. “It’s a long story. I believe you might want to sit down for this.”
Thor furrowed his eyebrows, but went to the couch and sat down, along with Bruce.
“Loki explained a bit of this to me while Thor was unconscious,” Bruce said. “But do you guys believe this?”
Pretty much, Clint signed.
“Alright, then,” Bruce nodded.
“What’s going on?” Thor asked, his expression morphing into clear confusion.
Loki smiled and didn’t hesitate to pull out a chair in front of Thor and Bruce. On the floor, Steve (who had returned to the place he had been sitting) and Clint turned to face the brothers as Loki prepared to tell the story once again. Natasha moved over to one far corner of the couch near Clint, and Mobius stood next to Loki as he began to tell the story.
Tony sat on the edge of the couch, intent on listening to the story again to see if he had missed any details.
Loki looked around him, noticing that everyone’s attention was on him, and he laughed. “Humans are so strange.” Then he cleared his throat and started telling the story to a confused Thor, who looked slightly more and less baffled everytime Loki said something. Tony sat silently, which was a surprise even to himself, as he listened to the story and examined the details.
It was clearly one heck of a journey.
It was told longer than the last one was, mostly because some of the other Avengers added certain details or events that they remembered. Tony got at least two rounds of some soda he found in the fridge, and he was going to have to ask JARVIS to get a crateload of it at the compound.
At the end of the story, Thor pursed his lips and looked like he was deep in thought. Tony had never seen that look before, though, so he wasn’t entirely sure.
“So…” Thor began, still with a slightly confused look.
Everyone looked up at him expectantly, waiting for confusion or questions or things that they couldn’t answer.
Thor looked at Loki. “You’re happy?”
Tony frowned. That… was not expected. He would have thought Thor would ask Loki to repeat things, or if there was any leftover danger from the TVA, or really anything other than that. But, after Loki’s face turned from surprised to peaceful, he smiled.
“Yes, brother.” Loki took Mobius’s hand and smiled at him. “I’m very happy here.”
Thor nodded. “Well, then that’s all that matters to me.”
Tony opened his mouth, because he wanted to say how there were other things that might matter to him, but a scowl and head tilt of Nat stopped him. He looked to the place Nat was looking at, and saw the smile on Loki’s face. Tony’s expression softened. He bit his tongue and thought about what to say.
Then he thought that there was nothing else to say, really.
He simply smiled at Loki and stood up to get another can of soda.
…
“You can stay here for the night, you know. Loki wouldn’t mind,” Mobius told Tony as they started heading towards the jet.
Loki was still waiting inside, as they didn’t want to be seen by members of SHIELD- or anyone else, really, for that matter. The Avengers had all said their goodbyes to them, so only Mobius was seeing them off.
Before Tony said anything, Natasha spoke for him. “You have already done so much for us, Mobius.”
“Besides, California awaits,” Tony said, with an eye roll from Nat.
Mobius laughed. “Alright. Thanks for fixing up my jet ski, Tony.”
“My pleasure.”
“And thank you for letting us stay, Mobius.” Thor came up from behind the man, which caused a slight jump from him. Mobius turned around and saw Thor, who was right beside Bruce and Clint. “I would love to come again sometime, if you could,” Thor said.
“Yeah, I still have a few more ideas for your jet ski,” Tony added.
And you could always fix that creaky floorboard with a few materials, Clint put in.
Mobius smiled. “I’m sure you could come again- but you should be very quiet about the visits. As far as the rest of the world knows…”
You don’t exist, Clint continued.
Tony clicked his tongue. “Gotcha.”
“Well, farewell, Mobius,” Thor said. “It was wonderful to meet you.”
“Yeah, you too, Thor,” Mobius said.
Thor waved and walked ahead with Bruce and Clint. Natasha nodded in acknowledgement before heading off into the jet. But Tony lingered, just for a moment, to say-
“I hope you two keep being happy here.”
Mobius looked shocked, but he nodded. “Yeah. I think we will.”
“Tony!” Steve called, gesturing towards the plane.
“Hold your horses, old man,” Tony teased. He stuck out his hand to shake Mobius’. “As Thor said, wonderful to meet you.”
Mobius shook his hand. “You too, Tony.”
“See you!”
Tony jogged towards the jet, which already had Natasha and Clint waiting inside, with Cap talking to the pilot a lot. Bruce was sitting right near the entrance, but Thor was waiting right on the step, silent until Tony came by.
“You trust your sibling a lot, you know?” Tony said, hesitating to get into the jet.
Thor shrugged, but the slight smile on his lips betrayed his laid back look. “Even with all the stabbing and betraying, seeing Loki finally happy and content brings me more pleasure than having to keep him in prison for the next few years. And I’m sure we won’t have to worry as much about this Loki as we do our Loki.”
“Mm, true,” Tony said, watching as Mobius walked back up to his porch.
“Hey, there is something I remember before blacking out…” Thor started as the two walking into the ship.
Tony raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
Bruce stood up and started laughing as Thor smirked in a way that looked suspiciously like Loki.
The memory came back crashing to Tony, and he groaned as Thor and Bruce started laughing. “Shut up, I am not small!”
Clint swiftly looked at the group and asked, Wait, did Thor call you small?
“And cute,” Bruce added between laughs.
Clint snorted out a laugh and Natasha rolled her eyes, but with a smile. Tony couldn’t see Steve, but he was sure that he would have been smiling or laughing at the situation too. The genius continued walking up the plane, putting his hands up in the air and saying, “I told you that you’re going to pay for that!”
He sat down in a nearby seat and strapped himself in, already planning the prank he was going to pull on Thor back home. When everyone was in the jet, the pilot took off and they got one last glimpse at the scene below them.
Tony watched as the house below got smaller and smaller, until it was covered by clouds. He sighed, and thought again about how Loki smiled when Thor told them that their happiness was all that mattered.
As much trouble as Loki had caused in New York City, and as many people they hurt, Tony thought that this Loki was different from their own.
Tony hopes that both Mobius and Loki find their happiness.
“Wait, you bet on how long it would take Tony to complain?” Steve asked, bringing Tony out of his thoughts and into the conversation happening in front of him.
Natasha and I are debating on whether or not he complained before we got there, Clint told him.
“I did not complain,” Tony argued.
See? Clint smirked at Natasha.
“No, he did,” Natasha said, and started to rant about how he was about to complain, but then they arrived at the house.
Tony laughed.
These guys might have been random, and they might not always get along, but he was happy here.