Still Holding On

Chapter 23

"Sir, Thor has returned."

Loki jumps at that, sitting up straight and nervously clasping his hands in his lap.

Tony sighs. This time, he wishes Thor had taken a while to come back. He's not ready to see where this is going to go. "Alright, send him up."

Loki's gaze is glued to his lap, anxiously fiddling with his thumbs as he waits. Tony puts an arm around his shoulders and gently pulls him in. It's enough to put a small smile on his face, though it doesn't seem to calm his nerves.

When Thor steps into the room, Loki removes Tony's arm and sits up straight. He looks to be fairly calm, but he's still picking at his fingers, a nervous tell he hasn't thought to try to hide.

"I've spoken to our father," Thor tells him. "He's given you a choice. You can return to Asgard, where you'll be imprisoned for the rest of your life."

Loki nods solemnly.

"Or you can stay here," Thor says. "An exile of your own making."

Loki lets out a long breath. Tony clasps his hands in his lap, watching the god in anticipation. When he hesitates, Tony's gaze shifts to Thor, but he's still watching Loki contemplate his options.

Finally, Loki just says, "Well, I suppose we should go home, then."

Tony scoffs. "Seriously?" All that hard work, all of that persuasion and sending Thor on a wild goose chase time and time again, and Loki just wants to go to jail?

Loki seems taken aback by that. "I'm sorry?"

"You want to go home?" Tony asks in disbelief. "You want to spend the rest of your life in a dungeon?"

"Ideally, no," Loki says, "but actions have consequences, and these seem to be mine."

"But you don't have to do it," Tony says incredibly. "You have a choice! You can stay here! You don't have to go to jail!"

Loki shakes his head. "I don't want to intrude. You've done far more for me than I deserved. I cannot ask you for anything else."

"Oh my god," Tony groans, exasperated. Aren't princes supposed to be selfish? Why is Loki so not? "I asked if you could. Okay? It was my idea. I wanted you to stay here. That's not intruding."

Loki furrows his brows. "You want me to stay?"

"Yes, I want you to stay!" Tony says emphatically. "I sure as hell don't want you to go to prison!"

Loki just looks at him for a few moments. "Oh."

Oh.

That's it.

That's all he gets.

"Look, the tower is more than big enough for both of us," Tony says. "And, honestly, it's probably too big for just one person. So, I mean, I could really use the company if you want to stick around." It will mean he can't have much other company over, Pepper and Rhodey excluded, but he can handle that. To stop this bullshit prison sentence? He can definitely handle it.

"Are you sure?" Loki asks.

"Yes, I'm sure," Tony says. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't."

Loki hesitates. He looks up at Thor uncertainly, but Thor didn't try to persuade him either way. He thinks for a moment, until finally, he says, "If you truly do not mind, I suppose I would rather stay here than return to Asgard."

Tony grins. "Good choice," he says.

Thor nods. "If at any point either of you change your minds, the choice is still open to you."