Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 56

Loki watches on as Tony sets up his new boombox, and shows him how to use it in the process. He explains the difference between the two power sources — batteries and the outlet in the wall — and the difference between the top and bottom outlet with how they relate to the lightswitch. (Why is it called a lightswitch if it can control a boombox? Isn't it just an electricity switch, then?)

"The CDs go in here," Tony tells him. He presses the top of the boombox, and a small, circular lid raises. He lays out the stack of CDs on the floor. "Which one do you want to listen to?"

Loki eyes them uncertainly for a few moments, then taps a random CD. It's one of the AC/DC ones, though that means very little to him. Tony seems to think it's a good choice, though.

Tony picks the CD up and rips the plastic wrap off. He cuts across the top with an open pair of scissors, slicing the sticker open with ease. He opens up the CD case and plops the CD into the boombox, then closes the lid.

"So the volume control's over here." Tony spins the volume knob up and back down. "And the play button's this one here." He presses the button to show him.

The boombox takes a moment to read the CD, and then it begins playing. It only takes the first few seconds of the electric guitar riff and the loud percussion for Loki to decide he absolutely hates it. He reaches for the volume control, but he turns it up by mistake. Immediately, he spins the knob the other way until there's no more so-called music to be heard.

"Hey!" Tony whines.

"Does this racket truly pass for 'music' on Midgard?" Loki asks, incredulous.

Tony scoffs. "That's a great song!" He turns the volume back up.

"It is not music," Loki protests. He turns the volume off again.

"God, you're annoying," Tony mutters. "Look, let me finish showing you how it works and then you can give the other albums a shot." He turns the volume back up, and Loki just rolls his eyes. "The play button pauses it." He presses it to show him that, then presses it again to resume it. "This button goes to the next song." He presses that button, then lightly taps the button next to it. "And this one restarts the song and goes to the song before it." He presses one last button, and the music ends abruptly. "And that one stops it." He looks over at Loki. "Got it?"

Loki hesitates. "That was a lot of information at one time, but I do believe so, yes." He takes the CD out of the boombox and puts it back in the CD case. He picks up one of the other CDs and looks it over. Does he even want to give it a try? He's sure it will be just as bad as this one.

"Great," Tony says. He crosses his legs in front of him and clasps his hands in his lap. He takes a deep breath, his demeanor growing more serious. "So, I guess I owe you an apology."

Loki shakes his head. "You don't owe me anything."

"No, I really do," Tony says. "Actually, I owe you a 'thank you' and an apology."

"You don't have to—"

"Just let me get through it," Tony interrupts. "So, first, thank you for helping me out with that whole thing with Killian. I know you didn't have to stick around, but I really did appreciate it, even if I didn't act like it."

Loki's not quite sure how to respond to that, so, after an awkward pause, he just says, "You're welcome."

"And I'm sorry for snapping at you," Tony says. "I know you were doing the best you could and I know that Killian taking Pepper wasn't your fault, and I shouldn't have yelled at you for it."

"It's alright," Loki says. That's one of the few times that Tony has pissed him off that he doesn't hold any sort of grudge for. If he wants to apologize for something, they have months of indiscretions to choose him.