Still Holding On

Chapter 16

"Alright," Pepper says, her back to the doorway as she digs through grocery bags. "I got bread, milk, fruit, eggs, ice cream... There's enough Advil to kill an elephant in here, and a copy of the paper so you can see what the real world is dealing with while you're holed up in here."

"And that's why I love you," Tony says, a cheeky smile on his lips.

"Funny how you only ever say that when I do something for you," Pepper remarks. She turns around, and she jumps at the sight before her. "Oh! That's — Loki's here. Right there. Okay. Yep. He is right there."

Loki gives her a small, shy smile and a nod in greeting.

"Yeah, I'm keeping him with me," Tony says vaguely. So if he tries to do something stupid, Tony will notice — and he has to admit, in hindsight, he feels kind of bad trying to lock him in a room all day. For Loki's benefit, he adds, "This is Pepper, by the way."

"Lovely to meet you," Loki says. He's quiet, awkward, a sharp contrast from his cockiness and arrogance mere days ago.

"Uh..." She glances at Tony warily. She clearly doesn't want to agree. He doesn't blame her for a moment.

He swoops in, saving them both from more awkwardness. "Hey, Pep, when's your flight? Not 'til late, right?"

"Early tomorrow?" Pepper says uncertainly. "Why...?"

"You should hang out for a while," Tony tells her. "We're gonna play some board games."

Pepper stares at him. "You want me to play board games with..." She shakes her head, incredulous. "Tony, what–"

"Okay, interrupting that thought real quick," Tony says before she can say something Loki won't want to hear. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Yeah, no, I think that's a good idea," Pepper agrees.

Tony quietly and gently tells Loki to stay where he is, then ushers Pepper out of the kitchen, groceries be damned. (He hopes his ice cream doesn't melt. He's really looking forward to that.) With absolutely no concept of how good a god's hearing is, Tony probably brings Pepper much further away than necessary, but it's better safe than sorry. Loki's already in a fragile place. He doesn't want to make it worse.

Once he'd decided they're far enough away, Tony stops, so Pepper does the same, standing in front of him with her arms crossed and a brow raised in that way that so clearly says you better get talking because you are in trouble. It's a look he gets from her a lot. He's used to it.

"There's something wrong," Tony tells her.

"Oh, really?" she says sarcastically. "More wrong than playing board games with Loki?"

"No, there's something wrong with Loki," Tony insists.

"Right," Pepper says, and, unsurprisingly, the sarcasm has not lessened, "you said he's not evil and somebody's controlling him."

"Okay, well, when you say it like that–"

"There is literally no other way to say it," Pepper interrupts. "There is not a single other way of saying it. This is what you're telling me. That Loki is not evil and–"

"Because he's not," Tony insists. "Okay? He's not. He's scared."

"So's the rest of the world," Pepper says. "Because of him."

"Because of whoever made him do it," Tony corrects her. When it becomes clear that words aren't going to convince her of anything, he sighs. "Look, I know how it sounds, but I swear, Loki is not evil. He was not the mastermind. He was a victim — he is a victim."