Fic; The Long Way Home, 5/6
Title The Long Way Home, 5/6
Rating PG-13/T for language and violence
Summary When Loki is reincarnated as a child on Midgard with dreams for memories, Thor searches to re-awaken his brother. When he finds him, he makes an executive decision. Instead of taking him to Asgard, he takes him to Avengers Tower. Journey Into Mystery & Avengers (Movie) AU.
Disclaimer Characters belong to their creators (Marvel owns everyone I love).
previous
oo5;
Tony explains it again but he can tell that Fury doesn’t like the sound of it any better than he did the first five times he heard it. “Wait,” Fury growls. “You let Loki live in Avengers Tower on probation?” Which is also the fourth time he’s asked this question. Is he expecting a different answer?
“Thor made a good case,” Tony says, now cleaned up and fed and hydrated. And gadgeted. They had made a quick stop at the Tower so that he could pick up a tablet and a fully charged phone. The other members of the Initiative are sitting around the debriefing table in a secure room at S.H.I.E.L.D. Every member except the Thunder God.
When the agents had put Loki into a different room Thor had followed, ignoring all protests. Now that they were together again, Loki looked incredibly small next to Thor’s bulk, which probably reassured Fury that nothing was going to happen -or that Odinson could take care of it if it did - while they chatted.
“He’s a reincarnated war criminal.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“He could have been working with Doom. They’ve worked together in the past. How’d Doom know you’d be alone in the workshop?”
“I’m always alone in my workshop. And usually no one’s insane enough to join me there, except Loki, lately.”
Fury narrows his eye.
Steve says, “He’s been with us for a few weeks now, Director. He’s had a lot of chances to put us in danger, execute plans, but he hasn’t taken any of them. From what I know he spends most of his time, way too much time, on that portable computer looking at inappropriate content.”
“He likes to troll people on Youtube,” Clint adds helpfully. Natasha’s eyebrow twitches.
Bruce offers in that gentle way he has, “You know with the other Loki, The Other Guy was always wanting to come out when he was around, because he was angry. With this one? He still wants to come out, but it’s like...I don’t know. It’s like He wants to play.”
Tony stares. “Okay. I’m going to pretend that’s not -“ Struggling for a word: “Creepy.”
Bruce shrugs.
“I don’t give a fuck if he puts you in your happy place, Dr. Banner. Is he a threat? Is he dangerous?” Fury demands, slamming his palms on the table for good measure.
“Yes,” Tony agrees emphatically at the same time that Clint says, “Absolutely not,” and they glare at each other until Clint looks like he’s about to foam at the mouth. Tony quirks the corner of his lip upwards. “Let me clarify: He’s dangerous, but not to us.”
Fury grunts. “Explain.”
“He’s really intelligent, and quick. Resourceful. And he’s manipulative. And he’s a liar. He’s a convincing liar. I’m still piecing together how we made our escape from Doom. He had my phone when I woke up in that cell. I know he found a way to link up to Jarvis to time how long my suit would get to us, and to interfere with the electromagnetic pulse from those cuffs, with the phone. While I was unconscious. So Norse Gods recuperate more quickly than humans - who knew? And then he lied to buy us time, and the timing! Couldn’t have been executed better, now that I think about it. So yeah, I’m glad that mind was working with me in that situation, and if you or S.H.I.E.L.D. do anything that makes him second guess what we as a team think of him, this kid, then I don’t want to be there when he turns against you.”
Clint says, “Plus, there was that one time I punched him in the nose and gave him a black eye and he wasn’t even mad!”
Fury looks around at his silent, determined team, takes their measure, and throws his hands into the air. “I’m getting too old for this shit. Let it be on your heads. He stays with you; he’s your responsibility.” And then he walks out.
Tony allows himself a little fist-pump under the table and catches Clint doing much of the same.
//
Loki huddles under Thor’s red cape in the starkly lit room across from where the rest of the Avengers are meeting with that angry one-eyed man. He wonders what this man had traded for his eye. It’s warm under the cape, and even though Loki had insisted that he’s half frost-giant and therefore the cold does not bother him, brother, he had let Thor drape it around him and it smelled of ozone and heat and apples. It smells of the feasts held in Odin’s great hall in Asgard, of the fields he had run through in a previous life, of stars and gold and shining things.
He breathes deeply, and feels Asgard like a yawning chasm in his chest. How can he miss a home that he has never really seen? And yet he does.
Loki peeked into the other rooms as they walked by them on the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound. This one they are in now is similar to all the others, furnished plainly by a long table and rolling chairs. He and Thor sit side by side, Loki curled into himself in the seat and turned toward the other. How he wishes he could climb into his brother’s lap and just breathe, surrounded by his warmth and safety. It’s been so long.
But he knows the physical affection he so craves is not something that Thor will offer. Thor thinks his presence is enough. Loki wills it to be enough. Something is troubling Thor, he can tell, even as Thor runs his hand through his younger brother’s tangled hair and returns his hand to the table. His silence is one of uncertainty. When they first saw each other again lightning and thunder had danced in the sky, and Thor had mumbled his apologies and Loki had forgiven him since it wasn’t his fault anyway and he had clutched at him until he was shaking and someone had said, “We have to go, now.”
And now they are here and the silence is suffocating him.
Mr. Stark assured Loki that they would be speaking of Doom in that other room, but he lied. Loki knows they are talking about him. He wishes he had something other than his mind to distract him; his thumbs itch for a tablet or a phone, at least.
Thor opens his mouth to speak and closes it again. “In Asgard,” he manages before stopping, eyebrows furrowing.
Loki leans into his words. “You have news,” he prompts. “I would hear it.”
The older rolls his shoulders back, as though steeling himself. “In Asgard I spoke with the All-Father. We spoke at length and came to many disagreements. Through it all we agreed on one thing, at least. That you are my brother and his son, and that you are welcome to come home.”
Home, Loki thinks, to Asgard. He imagines himself there, the smells from Thor’s cape not just smells but experiences. He walks through the fields west of the castle, skimming his fingertips along the tops of the tall grass and plucking flowers when he sees them. He feasts at Thor’s side and eats freshly hunted game roasted over a fire. He braids his mother’s hair with his quick fingers and twists flowers from the field into the silky rope. Idunn’s apples are sweet when he bites into them; the stars move before his eyes from where he stands on the Bifrost. And the Bifrost! It seems to be made of stars itself, shimmering so beneath his feet, but he looks closer and pictures the blue-orange shimmer of Mr. Stark’s blow-torch.
He thinks of Mr. Barton with pink hair, Dr. Banner in Lotus position, Captain Rogers with his sketches and inky fingers, Ms. Romanoff and her silent, secret smile. The lights of Avengers Tower may not compare to the golden halls of Asgard, but he finds himself curiously attached. Should he return to Asgard, then surely he would miss those walls. And those people.
“I do not wish to return yet,” he admits, surprising Thor, who shows it readily.
“But Asgard is home.”
“Asgard was home.” This statement rings true. At Thor’s worried expression, he hastily adds, “You are still my brother Thor and Odin All-Father remains, but I have changed. I would still like to see it, some day, to have many adventures there, but Asgard is my past. I know only of Midgard and its people. I want to stay here. Even if the one-eyed man wishes me gone, I would stay. I feel as though I belong here. I would carve out a cave for myself to dwell in if I have to.” He presses his lips together then, afraid he has spoken for too long, glancing uncertainly up at his brother, who had remained silent throughout.
“You truly wish for this?”
Loki sits up a little straighter, putting more force behind his words: “I do.”
His brother’s expression softens, his eyes crinkling at the corners and his lips turning into a smile. He runs his hand through Loki’s hair again but lets his palm rest at the nape of his neck this time, a ghost of a familiar gesture. “I have made a home of Midgard before,” Thor says. “We shall stay, brother, and have our adventures here.”
//
End.
just kidding. epilogue.
Rating PG-13/T for language and violence
Summary When Loki is reincarnated as a child on Midgard with dreams for memories, Thor searches to re-awaken his brother. When he finds him, he makes an executive decision. Instead of taking him to Asgard, he takes him to Avengers Tower. Journey Into Mystery & Avengers (Movie) AU.
Disclaimer Characters belong to their creators (Marvel owns everyone I love).
previous
oo5;
Tony explains it again but he can tell that Fury doesn’t like the sound of it any better than he did the first five times he heard it. “Wait,” Fury growls. “You let Loki live in Avengers Tower on probation?” Which is also the fourth time he’s asked this question. Is he expecting a different answer?
“Thor made a good case,” Tony says, now cleaned up and fed and hydrated. And gadgeted. They had made a quick stop at the Tower so that he could pick up a tablet and a fully charged phone. The other members of the Initiative are sitting around the debriefing table in a secure room at S.H.I.E.L.D. Every member except the Thunder God.
When the agents had put Loki into a different room Thor had followed, ignoring all protests. Now that they were together again, Loki looked incredibly small next to Thor’s bulk, which probably reassured Fury that nothing was going to happen -or that Odinson could take care of it if it did - while they chatted.
“He’s a reincarnated war criminal.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“He could have been working with Doom. They’ve worked together in the past. How’d Doom know you’d be alone in the workshop?”
“I’m always alone in my workshop. And usually no one’s insane enough to join me there, except Loki, lately.”
Fury narrows his eye.
Steve says, “He’s been with us for a few weeks now, Director. He’s had a lot of chances to put us in danger, execute plans, but he hasn’t taken any of them. From what I know he spends most of his time, way too much time, on that portable computer looking at inappropriate content.”
“He likes to troll people on Youtube,” Clint adds helpfully. Natasha’s eyebrow twitches.
Bruce offers in that gentle way he has, “You know with the other Loki, The Other Guy was always wanting to come out when he was around, because he was angry. With this one? He still wants to come out, but it’s like...I don’t know. It’s like He wants to play.”
Tony stares. “Okay. I’m going to pretend that’s not -“ Struggling for a word: “Creepy.”
Bruce shrugs.
“I don’t give a fuck if he puts you in your happy place, Dr. Banner. Is he a threat? Is he dangerous?” Fury demands, slamming his palms on the table for good measure.
“Yes,” Tony agrees emphatically at the same time that Clint says, “Absolutely not,” and they glare at each other until Clint looks like he’s about to foam at the mouth. Tony quirks the corner of his lip upwards. “Let me clarify: He’s dangerous, but not to us.”
Fury grunts. “Explain.”
“He’s really intelligent, and quick. Resourceful. And he’s manipulative. And he’s a liar. He’s a convincing liar. I’m still piecing together how we made our escape from Doom. He had my phone when I woke up in that cell. I know he found a way to link up to Jarvis to time how long my suit would get to us, and to interfere with the electromagnetic pulse from those cuffs, with the phone. While I was unconscious. So Norse Gods recuperate more quickly than humans - who knew? And then he lied to buy us time, and the timing! Couldn’t have been executed better, now that I think about it. So yeah, I’m glad that mind was working with me in that situation, and if you or S.H.I.E.L.D. do anything that makes him second guess what we as a team think of him, this kid, then I don’t want to be there when he turns against you.”
Clint says, “Plus, there was that one time I punched him in the nose and gave him a black eye and he wasn’t even mad!”
Fury looks around at his silent, determined team, takes their measure, and throws his hands into the air. “I’m getting too old for this shit. Let it be on your heads. He stays with you; he’s your responsibility.” And then he walks out.
Tony allows himself a little fist-pump under the table and catches Clint doing much of the same.
//
Loki huddles under Thor’s red cape in the starkly lit room across from where the rest of the Avengers are meeting with that angry one-eyed man. He wonders what this man had traded for his eye. It’s warm under the cape, and even though Loki had insisted that he’s half frost-giant and therefore the cold does not bother him, brother, he had let Thor drape it around him and it smelled of ozone and heat and apples. It smells of the feasts held in Odin’s great hall in Asgard, of the fields he had run through in a previous life, of stars and gold and shining things.
He breathes deeply, and feels Asgard like a yawning chasm in his chest. How can he miss a home that he has never really seen? And yet he does.
Loki peeked into the other rooms as they walked by them on the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound. This one they are in now is similar to all the others, furnished plainly by a long table and rolling chairs. He and Thor sit side by side, Loki curled into himself in the seat and turned toward the other. How he wishes he could climb into his brother’s lap and just breathe, surrounded by his warmth and safety. It’s been so long.
But he knows the physical affection he so craves is not something that Thor will offer. Thor thinks his presence is enough. Loki wills it to be enough. Something is troubling Thor, he can tell, even as Thor runs his hand through his younger brother’s tangled hair and returns his hand to the table. His silence is one of uncertainty. When they first saw each other again lightning and thunder had danced in the sky, and Thor had mumbled his apologies and Loki had forgiven him since it wasn’t his fault anyway and he had clutched at him until he was shaking and someone had said, “We have to go, now.”
And now they are here and the silence is suffocating him.
Mr. Stark assured Loki that they would be speaking of Doom in that other room, but he lied. Loki knows they are talking about him. He wishes he had something other than his mind to distract him; his thumbs itch for a tablet or a phone, at least.
Thor opens his mouth to speak and closes it again. “In Asgard,” he manages before stopping, eyebrows furrowing.
Loki leans into his words. “You have news,” he prompts. “I would hear it.”
The older rolls his shoulders back, as though steeling himself. “In Asgard I spoke with the All-Father. We spoke at length and came to many disagreements. Through it all we agreed on one thing, at least. That you are my brother and his son, and that you are welcome to come home.”
Home, Loki thinks, to Asgard. He imagines himself there, the smells from Thor’s cape not just smells but experiences. He walks through the fields west of the castle, skimming his fingertips along the tops of the tall grass and plucking flowers when he sees them. He feasts at Thor’s side and eats freshly hunted game roasted over a fire. He braids his mother’s hair with his quick fingers and twists flowers from the field into the silky rope. Idunn’s apples are sweet when he bites into them; the stars move before his eyes from where he stands on the Bifrost. And the Bifrost! It seems to be made of stars itself, shimmering so beneath his feet, but he looks closer and pictures the blue-orange shimmer of Mr. Stark’s blow-torch.
He thinks of Mr. Barton with pink hair, Dr. Banner in Lotus position, Captain Rogers with his sketches and inky fingers, Ms. Romanoff and her silent, secret smile. The lights of Avengers Tower may not compare to the golden halls of Asgard, but he finds himself curiously attached. Should he return to Asgard, then surely he would miss those walls. And those people.
“I do not wish to return yet,” he admits, surprising Thor, who shows it readily.
“But Asgard is home.”
“Asgard was home.” This statement rings true. At Thor’s worried expression, he hastily adds, “You are still my brother Thor and Odin All-Father remains, but I have changed. I would still like to see it, some day, to have many adventures there, but Asgard is my past. I know only of Midgard and its people. I want to stay here. Even if the one-eyed man wishes me gone, I would stay. I feel as though I belong here. I would carve out a cave for myself to dwell in if I have to.” He presses his lips together then, afraid he has spoken for too long, glancing uncertainly up at his brother, who had remained silent throughout.
“You truly wish for this?”
Loki sits up a little straighter, putting more force behind his words: “I do.”
His brother’s expression softens, his eyes crinkling at the corners and his lips turning into a smile. He runs his hand through Loki’s hair again but lets his palm rest at the nape of his neck this time, a ghost of a familiar gesture. “I have made a home of Midgard before,” Thor says. “We shall stay, brother, and have our adventures here.”
//
End.
just kidding. epilogue.