Chapter Text
Tony yawned as his Maserati came to a stop at the area Shield had secured for the occasion – which, as he looked around, was the middle of nowhere. Shield, of course, had authorization from the government, but a welcome party for alien royalty was still a delicate (and somewhat unbelievable) matter, so Death Valley it was. The black and unoriginal vehicles formed a half circle, while agents buzzed about like worker bees on steroids.
Tony pressed the palm of one hand to his eyes, still feeling somewhat sleepy and tired. After some unhealthy number of hours in the lab, he had woken up to a rude phone-call from Fury demanding his ass here for some reason he still wasn’t sure about, then Pepper decided to pester him (like always) about attending one meeting or another for SI. Yes, she was CEO but he was still the biggest shareholder and head engineer/leader/mascot, so don’t you dare squirrel out of another meeting Tony.
Anyway, he got the fact that since relations between Earth (not Midgard!) and Asgard had become better thanks to the bonding between Dr. Foster and their resident God of Thunder, the government wanted to initiate some working relationships with other realms too; what he didn’t get was why his presence was needed here. He wasn’t exactly jumping to be on the same ship as Shield after the battle of New York and all that shit with Amora went down anyway. He’s not Captain Steve-perfect-Rogers who was so eager to work on missions with the shady organization for ‘classified’ purposes. Yeah, he kept track. Hacking was such a plebeian term.
“So, Nicky, explain to me again why I’m here?” The usually furious Director was talking with Capsicle and Point Break, with Mr & Mrs Smith standing a small distance behind, “I lost track of what you were saying two sentences in.”
Rogers gave him a disapproving look, which he ignored like always. Fury’s shiny eyepatch glinting against the sunlight got him distracted anyway, “Why am I not surprised to hear that?” sarcasm didn’t suit the one-eyed man at all, “if you bothered to listen, Stark, you would know it’s necessary to present the ‘strongest warriors’ of Earth as a united front. Plus, the Avengers have enough power to control the situation if anything goes south.”
“Aww, Nicky, admitting that your agents are incompetent?” That got him glares from almost all the people around in hearing distance, but whatever.
He turned to Thor, “Hey buddy, so who’s visiting? From that place you mentioned, Jo-ten-hem?”
“Friend Tony, it is good to see you made it here!” The blond’s beaming smile could rival the sun, seriously, “It is Jotunheimr, my friend, and their king will come to Midgard. We recently patched relations with them when the new king came into power, and I hope a fruitful relationship will come forward for your realm as well.”
“That’s nice, Thor.” He nodded, though not caring much, “they got a Bifrost as well?”
The desert sun was starting to become uncomfortably hot, so whatever alien it was needed to appear soon.
“King Laufeyson can travel anywhere he wishes on his own,” that got his interest piqued. So that king could, what, open portals or teleport extremely long distances? Maybe some warp speed technology? What were the chances of Fury shooting him if he asked ‘King Laufeyson’ to demonstrate, or better yet, come down to his lab for some energy scanning?
“…though it is true that the Jotnar can use the Casket as a travelling device.” Whatever long-ass speech Thor had going on was lost to him as the hot air suddenly got colder, and the fabric of reality was literally ripped open to form a gateway. Pretty similar to the portal that was opened from the top of his tower half a year ago, really.
>>>
So, the rules were like this. First, everyone had a soulmate. Second, you would only see colors after finding them.
Well, not exactly everyone, but 99% of the population, which was a very high figure. Soulmates enthusiasts and poets who had too much time on their hands loved to spew shit about how soulmates were two halves of a whole which had been split apart, and finding each other meant finding completion.
Tony was not so sure what his stance on the bonding thing was. Skeptical as he was about the general concept, he didn’t feel pessimistic enough to think he didn’t have a soulmate. Usually he tried not to think about it, he would meet them when he met them, right? On the other hand, sometimes he did wonder what kind of person his soulmate would be and drew up inconclusive, nonsensical ideas in his head. Jarvis would then tease him about daydreaming, and he would deny vehemently.
The internet was full of information (both fiction and non-fiction) on the sensation of seeing colors for the first time, and Tony could now verify that 80% of it was full of shit, now that he was experiencing the feeling for himself.
Nothing could have prepared him for the fact that his soulmate was not of this planet, about 12 feet tall, and had skin the same color as the stormy sky though.
>>>
Loki was a little surprised that his mate was this tiny-looking, fragile thing of a mortal, who looked like he would snap in half if handled a little too roughly. Even the delicate thing’s skin was this pale, slightly transparent shade.
The colors did not faze him, he wasn’t fascinated by them either. Though he did take note of the mortal’s pretty eyes. He did not recognize the color, of course, but it gave off a warm flavour, a rare thing on Jotunheimr.
Really, to have such a bizarre thing in common with the Odinson. Maybe the fool could give him counsel on mortal courting traditions? His mate was a mortal too, if Loki recalled correctly.
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The colors were making Tony’s vision hazy, so he closed his eyes. When he opened them, the grey-ish blue alien was still there. Hmn, not a dream then.
He was still having trouble holding on to reality, because, well, his soulmate was twice his height! Those muscles looked like they could snap Tony in half even unintentionally, and the blood red eyes gave him the creeps. Four horns on his head, one pair pointing upwards and the other downwards, along with visible fangs and big black claws to complete the feral look.
No use denying, Tony’s other half was an alien. King. Alien king? Wait – does that mean he would have to be queen – how would that work?
He could faintly hear the commotion around them, a cacophony he didn’t really register, so lost in his own head. His mind readily supplied the hilarious and inappropriate question of how their wedding night would play out in Jarvis’s sarcastic voice.
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Loki wondered what Midgard’s appropriate reaction to finding their mate was. His little mortal gave no visible response, standing frozen and unfocused and was of little example.
Now, on Jotunheimr, things were simple. After finding their intended, the dominant mate would carry their treasure back to their abode, ask for their kin’s blessings and perform a bonding ceremony that declared the two’s threads tied by the Norns. Then a feast and consummation would follow.
His instinct told him the little thing would not take well to being carried off to a frozen land where giants twice his size lived, though. Also, there was the matter of Loki being here to talk over potential relations between Midgard and Jotunheimr.
A glance at the Odinson served little purpose, as the Asgardian was alternating between talking to the mortals in identical clothing, and shooting glances between Loki and his mate.
>>>
How would one act in a situation like this?
Tony urged his brain to come up with something, but his limbs were frozen up and didn’t seem like they wanted to move any time soon. His eyelids twitched in tandem with his fingers, and he was too far gone to notice the hunky blue moutain man making his way towards him.
Large fingers grabbed his hand as the alien king went to one knee before Tony, so that they could be eye-level he guessed, instead of, you know, Tony looking at the other’s leather-clad crotch. That bulge was very noticeable, by the way.
Now that he was looking at that area, his thoughts turned back to the wedding night again. Was it scientifically possible for that to fit into him? Well maybe with enough lube –
“It pleases me to see you, my treasure,” Blue Hunk said as he pressed a kiss to the back of Tony’s hand, and wow was his skin cold, “the Norns have given you to me, and I promise to protect and cherish you to the end of my life.”
The wicked horns kinda made Tony scared they were gonna poke his eyes out when the blue dude leaned forward, but, well, no one had ever called him a treasure before…
…he guessed he could get behind that.