Still Holding On

Chapter 40

It has been three hours since they got to the mall, and they have made it through a total of five stores.

They haven't bought too much; not since they left Target. Loki really enjoyed Bath and Body Works so he has a nice big bag of soaps, lotions, and hand sanitizers that he liked the smell of, but for the most part, they've really only been looking around. Tony's had to explain what the vast majority of things they see are, and he's sure they've gotten a lot of weird looks in the process, but it's so fun to see Loki's fascination with everything that he doesn't care what people think of them.

As they approach the next store, Tony grins. "Oh, I think you're gonna like this one."

Loki doesn't even answer. His eyes are glued to the big monitor at the back of the store, displaying a very familiar movie. He walks toward it slowly, and even the greeting from the store employee doesn't garner a response. He's too distracted to notice.

Tony looks up at him, a small smile on his lips. "You remember that one?"

"The Princess and the Frog," Loki says quietly. "Why...?"

Tony chuckles. "Welcome to the Disney Store."

He finally tears his gaze away from the screen, looking at the other man with a puzzled look. "I beg your pardon?"

"The Disney Store," Tony repeats. "Disney's the company that makes those movies – you know, Princess and the Frog, Tangled, um..." He scans the store briefly. What other Disney movies have they seen? "Toy Story..." He shrugs. "Yeah. Movies. Store. Merch. Enjoy."

It's difficult to tell whether he takes enjoy to heart, because instead of his usual smile, there's a look of awe on his face. His steps are big, but they're slow, ensuring he gets to see everything before he moves on. He's arguably more overwhelmed here than he was in Target, though this time, it seems to be a good kind of overwhelmed.

He lets his fingers drift over the princess costumes, then his attention moves on to the next stand: cups and mugs. He crouches down, looking at each and every one of them, though he doesn't point any out before he stands back up and moves on. He looks over the jewelry, the bags, the knickknacks like the pens, and he never says a word.

And then, finally, he's made it to the walls of stuffed animals.

He's quiet as he looks them all over, and Tony finds himself wondering what's going on in his mind. He probably doesn't recognize any of them; other than the Toy Story ones and the little Pascal, he hasn't seen any of the movies they come from. If he was taking an interest in any specific ones, Tony would suggest they watch the movie they come from, but he doesn't. He's just... silent.

Finally, Tony has to say something. "You like any of them?"

"They're cute," Loki says, a remarkably boring answer for someone as excitable as he is.

Tony watches him carefully. What's he thinking about? He doesn't look upset, but that's the only explanation he can think of for him to be so dull right now.

Until finally, Loki says, "You should get one – so we both have one."

Under literally no other circumstances would Tony go out in public and purchase himself a stuffed animal, but it's not like he can – or, more accuraetly, would want to – say no to Loki, so he shrugs. "Sure. Which one should I get? You choose for me."

Loki looks at all the stuffed animals, and, after a pause, he picks one up. He turns it over in his hands, getting a feel for it.

"That's Winnie the Pooh," Tony tells him. "Super old character; super popular." Although he's not sure he's ever actually seen a Winnie the Pooh movie. Maybe when he was a kid? He's not sure. He feels like everyone just knows who it is through osmosis, but surely somebody's been watching the movies if he's still such a popular character. Are they movies? He's not actually sure.