Still Holding On

Chapter 33

"Hey, Loki, guess what I have."

Loki looks over at the grinning scientist in the doorway. He eyes him up and down, then answers, with a paradoxical mix of confidence and confusion, "A box."

Tony clicks his tongue. "You're not wrong." He puts it down on the coffee table in front of the god. "It's for you," he says. "It's your box."

"Oh!" Loki's eyes light up at that. "I can open it?"

"I would be disappointed if you didn't," Tony replies.

Loki tries to pull at the flaps on the top, but the packing tape is really holding them tight. He tries to stab a hole with his fingernails, but that doesn't work, either.

Maybe Tony should have thought this through better.

"I can go grab some scissors," Tony offers.

Loki shakes his head. "You don't need to do that." There's a flash of green light, and a dagger appears in his hand.

Tony jumps at that. "Where did you get a knife?"

Loki gives him a strange look, like he's the weird one and not the guy who just willed a knife into existence. "I always have a knife," he says, confused. "I always have multiple knives."

Tony stares at him. He's had this the whole time? He had this during that first day he spent here, back when he was still batshit insane enough to use it? Does Thor know this? Does he know the risks Tony's taken for him?

Loki doesn't seem to think there's anything weird about this, though, and he uses his knife to slice the packing tape open like it's nothing. It's nice that he knows better than to stab it, at least. Tony's not sure whether they have packages like this in Asgard, but given that Amazon seems to be exclusive to Earth, he suspects they probably don't. He didn't think to warn him not to stab its contents, so he's glad that's common sense.

When Loki's done with the knife, a flash of green takes it away, and Tony does his best not to think about his fucking weird that is. This whole experience has been weird, really. He should be used to it by now.

Loki opens up the flaps on the box and looks inside. He furrows his brows, and carefully, he reaches in and pulls the object out. He looks it over, turning it in his hands, squeezing it, maneuvering it to see what it can do.

Finally, he looks back at Tony. "What is it?"

"It's a teddy bear."

"I see that it's a bear," Loki says. "What is it?"

"Do you not have stuffed animals in Asgard?" Tony asks. What do they give to their children to play with or to hold at night if not stuffed animals? There's no way nobody up there has thought to make a stuffed animal.

"I can't say that we do," Loki says. "What is it for?"

"Whatever you want it to be for," Tony says. "Sometimes people like to hold them when they sleep or when they're upset. It's like holding a pillow, but it's better because it's a bear and it's cute and it makes you feel better." And it's mostly for children, but he doesn't mention that part. Maybe the world would be a better place if adults had a stuffed animal to hug when they're upset, too.

Loki gives him a weird look, but, after a pause, he decides to try it out. He hugs the bear to his chest, and a small smile grows on his lips. "This is nicer than a pillow."

"Isn't it?" Tony agrees. He knew Loki would love that teddy bear. (Yet another thought to be filed under "sentences he should never say in public.") He's found him hugging pillows when he's upset far more often than he'd like to. This might work better.

Loki sits the bear down in his lap. "Thank you," he says. "This is very sweet."

"Now you have to name him," Tony says. "Or her — your call."

Loki huffs. "You want me to name this stuffed bear?"

"You can't not name stuffed animals," Tony says. "It's the whole point of having them."

Loki shakes his head, amused. "You're ridiculous."

"Oh, am I?" Tony cocks an eyebrow. "Am I the one refusing to honor my new stuffed bear with a name?"

"No, you are the one claiming a stuffed bear must be honored at all," Loki says. "Is this a ritual thing?"

Tony fights back a laugh (and does so very poorly). "A ritual?" he repeats. "Is naming a stuffed animal a ritual thing?" This is a strong contender for 'funniest question he's ever been asked,' and the bar is not low.

"What other reason is there to name a piece of cloth?" Loki asks, maybe a little defensively, but it's all in good fun.

"Excuse you," Tony says, slapping a hand over his heart as though he's offended. "This bear is not just a piece of cloth. He is your new best friend, and he deserves a name."

Loki shakes his head to himself. "Alright, I will give him a name." He turns the bear around and sits it down on his knees so he can look at it. He thinks for a few moments, then looks over at Tony. "Would it be weird to name him Edward?"

Tony raises his brows. "Edward?" he repeats, dumbfounded. "Why Edward?" He was expecting something cool and Asgardian and godly and not... that.

"You said he was my new best friend," Loki explains. "And given that that is really your title, I thought..." He shrugs awkwardly. "You don't seem to use the name Edward, so if I have to honor this bear with something, I thought I would honor it with your name."

That puts a stupidly big smile on Tony's face. He's naming the bear after him. All the names in the world — all the names in both their words — and he chose Tony's middle name. God, he's so fucking cute. There really is not an evil bone in his body.

But instead of gushing about how fucking cute that is — because he is Tony Freaking Stark and Tony Freaking Stark does not gush — he says, "Careful, Loki. You're gonna give me an ego."

That puts a smile on Loki's face, too. "Maybe you deserve to have an ego."

"Mm, most people would disagree," Tony says. Most people would say he has far too much of one already.

"Most people must not know you very well," Loki replies.

That does actually raise an interesting question. Even the people who do know him well — so basically Pepper and Rhodey exclusively — would say he has far too much of an ego. If that really is a reflection of how well they know him, it looks like Loki's the oblivious one, but he'd really like to think that if Loki knows anything, he knows who Tony is.

Or maybe he does. Maybe that's the point. Maybe Tony's just a better person when he's with Loki.

Hmm.

A lot to ponder tonight that will inevitably keep him up for hours on end.

Loki turns Edward back around so the bear's back rests against his stomach. "Thank you," he says again. "I like him a lot."

"Of course you do," Tony says. "He's named after me. How could you not?"

Loki chuckles. "It seems you were right: I did give you an ego."

"I'm always right," Tony says with a grin.

Loki buries his face in his bear's stomach, though it can't hide the smile on his face. "Oh, Edward, I think we've made a mistake."