Tony puts his hands on his hips, chewing on the inside of his cheek absentmindedly as he looks around the room. He thinks he did a good job. With the time restraints, at least, this isn't too bad. It won't hold a god who doesn't want to be held, but Thor seems to think that won't be an issue — and it better not be, because he put too much effort into this for it to only last an hour or two.
"Sir," JARVIS says, his voice slightly distorted from the damage done to the building's speakers, "Thor and Loki have arrived."
Tony heaves a sigh. "Let's get this show on the road."
He takes the elevator down to the lobby, and the two gods are standing in the middle of it, hopefully far enough from the windows that nobody's seen them. That's something he would not want to explain to the press. Loki is still chained up, a muzzle over his mouth that does nothing to hide his amusement. Tony tries not to let that get to him.
"Alright, come on," he says, gesturing for them to follow him.
The elevator ride is far more awkward with just the three of them than it was when all the Avengers – sans the Hulk – shared it. Tony does his best to ignore them. They walk in silence as Tony shows them to one of the few parts of the tower that has remained mostly unharmed. He pushes the door to Loki's new room open and steps inside, gesturing for them to do the same.
Tony watches Thor carefully, gauging his reaction to the new set-up, but it's Loki who has the most interesting facial journey. His gaze firsts lands on the bed, much larger and much more comfortable than someone like him deserves, and with that, he seems content. Then his eyes scan the walls, presumably taking in the lack of windows. He catches sight of the cameras in the corners of the room, and he raises his brow, glancing behind himself to see if there are more in those corners, too. There are. Then he sees the bathroom...
Loki's eyes go wide, and he whips around, looking at Tony incredulously.
"Hey, it was either this or I put cameras in the bathroom," Tony says. "Take what you can get."
Loki looks back to the bathroom in disbelief. It connects to the bedroom — one thing Tony had made sure of; he wasn't going to tell the guy to leave the room for anything — but he removed the door that should divide the two rooms. There's a towel carefully positioned in front of the toilet, low enough that Tony can (hopefully?) still see if he's in there, but it should cover any alien junk he doesn't want to bear witness to. Watching the guy take a shit is not his idea of a good time, but he needs the assurance that he can see Loki wherever he is.
Thor pulls the muzzle off of his mouth. It doesn't take long for the sarcasm to return.
"This is a lovely arrangement," he says. "Not at all a waste of your time, I'm sure."
Tony just rolls his eyes. He's not even going to dignify that with a response. "Look, you stay in your room. You got a bathroom. I'll bring you food. There is literally no reason to leave. It'll make things go smoother for everybody."
"Wonderful," Loki says sarcastically. "How long will I be trapped here? If I am to be imprisoned, I would much rather it be in the comfort of my own home."
Tony and Thor share a look. So he's not even pretending he doesn't want to go to Asgard. It will be interesting to see what the Allfather does about that. As long as it involves dragging him out of Stark Tower, though, Tony approves.
"You will be here for as long as the Allfather wants you here," Thor tells him.
Tony raises a brow. Thor did say only a day or two at most. He's not ready to play prison warden any longer than that.
"Then you would do well to return to Asgard and talk to him," Loki says. "I am sure I will still be here when you come back."
"If you value your life, you will be," Thor says.
He walks out of the room without another word, and, after sparing Loki a wary glance, Tony follows him. He closes the door behind them, locking it for peace of mind though he knows it won't do anything to keep him where he is.
They return to the lobby without so much as a word spoken between them. It's only now, with the reassurance that Loki can no longer hear them, that Tony dares try to talk.
"If he leaves that room, you're coming right back," Tony says. "I don't care what your dad says. If he's not gonna listen to me, I don't want him."
"I understand," Thor says. "I will return as soon as my father has come to a decision as to what to do about my brother. Should he not listen to your instructions, I imagine that will be an easy decision. We will not let him wander free in your world. For that, you have my word."
"Good," Tony says. "Now get out of here. Talk to your dad and get him gone."
"I will," Thor assures him. "Thank you, Stark. Asgard is in your debt."
YOU ARE READING
Still Holding On
Fanfiction"I have built dozens of holes in this plan," Loki hisses. "Find them." When Loki tries to sabotage his own plan, the only reasonable explanation Tony can think of is that he wants to go back to Asgard, and that alone is more than enough reason to ke...
