Still Holding On

Chapter 12

Like clockwork, every four hours, Tony is back at Loki's door. He taps it with his foot and opens it without waiting for a response. Loki is seated by the wall, holding his head yet again. Tony hasn't seen him do that in a couple of days. Apparently he has good timing with the medication if his headache is starting to act up now.

"Advil?" Loki asks.

"Well, it is the only reason I come down here," Tony says with a shrug.

Loki reluctantly lets go of his head and looks up at him, which Tony takes as his cue to enter the room. He hands Loki the Advil first, then the cup of juice, then he puts the plate of toast on the ground. It's become habit at this point, he's done it so many times.

This time, though, Tony doesn't leave once he's done. Instead, he sits down on the floor, crossing his legs in front of him. If there was ever a time to get the answers he's been torturing himself about in his curiosity, now should be the time. Loki looks at him curiously, but he doesn't say anything, just swallowing his pills in silence.

Tony waits until he's done to speak. "How's your stomach?"

"Better," Loki says. "It seems rather counterintuitive, but the food has helped immensely, so thank you. I appreciate it."

Tony raises his brows. "Wow. You're surprisingly polite when you're not trying to take over the world."

That earns a small, tired smile. "I was a prince. It has been expected of me for a long time."

"'Was'?" Tony echoes. "Hate to break it to you, Loki, but I'm pretty sure you're still a prince, whether you like it or not."

But Loki shakes his head. "I was royalty of two realms; now a fugitive of both. If there was ever a crime worthy of losing one's title, I imagine I have committed it."

Tony cocks a brow, unimpressed. "Don't tell me you think you were a prince here, too."

"Of course not," Loki says. "I have ties to both Asgard and Jotunheim. Not very kind ties, but ties nonetheless."

"Jotun—" Tony cuts himself off, looking at the god blankly, but he decides not to ask. If it was important, Thor would have told him, and right now, he doesn't want to risk putting him off before he can ask about what he's really wondering. "You're very chatty today."

"I finally feel as though I can think," Loki tells him. "It makes speaking far easier."

"I wouldn't know," Tony says, a lighthearted lilt to his tone. "I've never had a thought in my life."

Loki huffs a laugh. "That's not what I've heard."

"Oh, yeah?" Tony says playfully. Hopefully it will disguise his genuine question as a jest. "From who?"

"Many people," Loki says. "Barton, perhaps, most of all."

Ah, that's the answer he was expecting. "So Barton did tell you about me."

Loki furrows his brows. "Of course he did," he says as though it's obvious, like Tony should have known it. "It is far easier to defeat your enemies when you know them."

But you didn't want to defeat us.

"You said he didn't," Tony reminds him. "When Rhodey was here. You said you didn't know the first thing about him."

"I asked Barton about you, not your friends," Loki says. "Why do you insist on arguing about this again?"

"Because I'm confused," Tony says. "You're confusing. And you're making it very hard to figure you out."