Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 21

Steve is sitting at the kitchen table, just finishing up his breakfast when Tony comes in, snuggled up in an oversized hoodie. He looks tired, but he usually looks tired, so that doesn't mean much. He goes straight for the freezer, then throws his head back with an exaggerated groan and closes it.

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Everything okay?"

"He ate my ice cream."

Steve stares at him blankly. "What?"

"He ate my ice cream," Tony repeats. He turns to look at him. "There were, like, two bowls of ice cream left, and now they're gone."

"Okay...?" Steve says uncertainly. "I'll get more ice cream today." It's not that hard to drive to the grocery store.

"And how does that help me now?" Tony asks irritably.

Steve rolls his eyes. "I'll have it in time for lunch, but I think you'll survive without ice cream for breakfast."

Tony's eyebrows shoot up. "It's already morning?"

Steve nods slowly. "Yeah, it's, like, eight o'clock." He cocks his head to the side. "Were you up all night?"

Tony shrugs lazily. "Apparently."

"What were you doing?"

"At first, absolutely nothing," Tony says. "But then I started thinking about Loki and trying to figure out the..." He gestures vaguely in front of him while he tries to think of the word. "The spell. The enchantment. Whatever Thor called it."

Steve furrows his brows. "I'm pretty sure it's just a spell," he says. "It's magic. What's there to figure out?"

"I don't know because I haven't figured it out yet," Tony says irritably. "But there's something there. I've been running tests all night. Some of them pick it up. Some of them don't. So if I can just figure out what it is..."

Steve scoffs. "I know you don't want him here, but letting him loose —"

"No, no, not that," Tony says quickly. "I'm not an idiot. If I let him go, he becomes our responsibility out there instead of in here."

"Then..." Steve gives him a confused look. "What are you trying to do?"

"I don't know, modify it?" Tony says. "You know, change where he's stuck. Keep him off every floor below the kitchen."

"He doesn't go below the kitchen," Steve reminds him. He's pretty sure Loki quite literally never has. Magic or no magic, he just doesn't seem interested in it.

"I know that," Tony says, "but Pepper doesn't. and she doesn't listen to me when I tell her that — which, you know, I get; homicidal maniacs are my forte, not hers — but if I can prove he's not going to bother her..."

"Maybe she'll come back," Steve finishes, and Tony nods. "You know, you're allowed to leave. You're not stuck in the tower like he is. If you want to see her, go see her."

"Which is great," Tony says. "Short-term. I'm gonna see her in a couple days, actually, so yay me!" He gives a sarcastic pump of his fist. "But if he's going to be here for the rest of our lives... She's not gonna want to do this for the rest of our lives. She's just not."

Steve nods slowly. He really wasn't expecting to play therapist this early in the morning, but he'll give it a try. He definitely understands the problem. He doubts a simple "it will all work out" is going to make Tony feel any better.

"We could just ask him," Steve says finally.

Tony scoffs. "We could what?"

"Ask him," Steve repeats. "You could record it, send it to Pepper."