Still Holding On

Chapter 46

"Your world is much different at night than mine," Loki remarks no more than two minutes into their stroll.

Tony looks at him curiously. "How come?"

"All these lights," he says. "The cars; the buildings; the street lights. Asgard doesn't have that."

"No?" He can't say he's surprised by that, but he hadn't really thought of it before. He's come to realize that Earth is a lot busier than Asgard during waking hours in every sense, but he hadn't so much thought about it at night.

Loki shakes his head. "It's much darker in Asgard. The moon is our guiding light most nights."

"So you guys don't have, like, flashlights?" It's a stupid question, he's sure, but they must have some sort of moveable light source. It's Asgard, for god's sake – emphasis on gods. They're not cavemen. "Torches or something?"

"We have lanterns," Loki says. "If we need light, we can certainly have it – and that's not even to mention magic. We're not ill-prepared; we just..." He shrugs awkwardly, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets. "There's something oddly comforting about the natural world in its darkest, quietest moments. I imagine you don't see that much here with all of this light and this noise, but..." He lets out a long breath. "I wish I could show you. After all the excitement you've shown me of your world, I wish I could show you the serenity of mine."

Tony's not quite sure how to respond to that, so he just says, "I'm sure it's nice." Probably a little too serene for his taste. He's all for quiet, but he's lived in big cities for the majority of his life. He's used to the hustling and bustling of city life at all hours of the day. This is serene for him, and they can't go 30 seconds without a car speeding by.

"It is," Loki says. "I take issue with its people, but Asgard as a place is beautiful."

Again, Tony's not sure what to say. Loki would see through any false assurances. It's not as though he'll ever see Asgard again; he's been banished. He's really out of luck.

"Midgard is nice, though," Loki says. "Different, but nice." With a slight smile, he adds, "I certainly like the people here more than those in Asgard."

With a smile of his own, Tony says, "Yeah, but there's at least one cool Asgardian." He bumps Loki's shoulder with his own as they walk.

Though it's supposed to be a lighthearted, friendly remark, Loki's smile falters.

Tony does his best to keep his same lighthearted tone as he says, "I'll be honest: not quite the reaction I was expecting."

Loki sighs. "I'm sorry; I..." He shakes his head to himself. "I suppose I should tell you now, for the sake of transparency. It won't mean much to you because Midgard is infamously oblivious to the other Realms, but..."

Tony cocks his head to the side. "Tell me what?"

Loki shrugs, an awkward and tense movement. "I'm not Asgardian."

Tony furrows his brows. "What d'you mean, you're not Asgardian? You're from Asgard."

Loki shakes his head. "I'm not," he says. "I grew up in Asgard, but I was born in Jotunheim, a realm widely considered to be that of brute savages. My biological father abandoned me in a temple in the midst of a war with Asgard, and the Allfather took me as a bargaining chip; a tool to win the Jotun throne."

Tony blinks a few times.

He...

Oh.

Okay.

"So when Thor says you're adopted," Tony says slowly, "he really means..."

"Stolen," Loki finishes.