Chapter Text
There was a fight.
Of course, that wasn't the actual beginning but it was the one that set off the events that followed and thus a good point to start.
Unlikely as it sounds, the fight in question was not between Loki and Tony, but rather one of many skirmishes taking place in New York that resulted in enough property damage and risk of civilian casualties that it was deemed necessary to involve the Avengers.
So that's where Tony was, somewhere in the middle of Central Park, doing his best at arguing his need to escape the situation now with J.A.R.V.I.S., while simultaneously trying to avoid any more of the flying boulders and tree trunks heading his way. What the fuck were those things? Why would they not get tired? Tony's armor reached its limits by now after several hours of this game. As if on cue, J.A.R.V.I.S. chimed up.
“Suit power at 17%, Sir. May I suggest a modicum of self-preservation and a retreat for minimum damage repairs?”
“Do I even have to answer that, J?”
“Unfortunately no, Sir.”
Tony dodged another boulder, trying to see where the rest of the team had gone. Of all the days for these things to fall through some damn portal, they had to pick the one where the team was two short, naturally.
“What I wouldn't give for a little lightning recharge right about now,” Tony murmured to himself, cursing their luck.
“You and me both, Sir. As it stands, Mr Odinson and Mr Friggarson are not due to arrive for another hour I'm afraid.”
Well, at least J.A.R.V.I.S. knew better than to follow that up with another suggestion of Tony's removal from the field.
Tony's luck didn't change that day. It was around the same time as they finally saw the light of the Bifrost hit the landing pad at Avengers Tower, that the Iron Man armor finally shut down, locked up due to the lack of energy. Just mere seconds later, an enormous alien tail connected with the chest piece plate and flung Tony several feet high into the air before a bridge crumbled under the impact of catching the red and gold projectile.
Lifting his arm to activate the manual release of his faceplate felt like the hardest thing Tony had done in a long time. Around him the noise went on like nothing had happened, the fight clearly still going strong, but Tony couldn't find it in himself to get back up just yet.
The armor was fizzled out and damaged beyond repair anyway, so it wasn't like he'd be of much use and he had to admit he had was having real trouble catching his breath. Being able to feel his legs might also be required to actually move, he thought fuzzily. Tony tried shaking it off, but his head wouldn't quite take the command. Instead, it simply rolled back against the pillar crumbling away behind him, filling his vision with bits of blue sky in between the clouds and trails of air traffic. Things were starting to get a little blurry around the time something blocked his vision and took most of the light, and it took a bit of concerted effort on Tony's part to make out the features of the face blocking his vision.
Worth the effort, though, as his lips stretched into a red smile, some of the blood falling off in rusty flakes at the corners.
“Hey Lokes. Took you long enough,” Tony rasped.
Was that his voice? Damn, those things had really done a number on him. Tony wondered why it didn't hurt more. It should definitely hurt more, he thought before becoming distracted by more wetness on his face. Was Loki crying? Tony tried raising his hand to Loki's face, but it was only with Loki's help that he managed to do so at all.
“Shhh, s'ok,” he mumbled, wondering if he would actually feel something if he'd taken off the gauntlet first. “ 's not hurtin' 't all.”
Tony closed his eyes, needing to rest them for just a moment, just one little moment, then he'd get back up. Breathing was getting really difficult, he thought, just before his last breath was about to leave his lungs.
*
“Not like this! You will NOT do this to me, you hear?!”
Loki forced the breath to stay still, stay there, trapped within Tony's chest, before his magic spread out and stilled that as well, until all of Tony was enveloped by Loki's magic, held in stasis.
“After all I have done to be with you, you will not leave me like this, you self-sacrificing bastard!” Loki hissed between his teeth, ignoring the tears that blurred his vision.
Red. So much red. Loki usually loved the color, well, he'd come to love it again quite recently, but this? There was so much of it, too much, and it was all wrong, spreading where it should not be.
“Loki.”
He shook off the well-meaning hand that had taken hold of his shoulder. There was no time for this.
“Asgard. We will take him to Asgard. The healers-”
“You know they won't, Loki.” Thor shook his head in resignation.
It pained Thor to see his brother like this, witness his breaking once again. After all they had been through to get Loki to where he had been but a day before, to see it all come crashing down, all the good come undone within moments of their return...
”You are exiled, Loki. Much as it pains me to admit. Father won't help you should you step back into Asgard now and he will not let the healers help your Man of Iron. You know this as well as I do.”
The despair in Loki's gaze tore at Thor's heart, but even he was no longer blind enough to believe their father would lift a finger to help a single mortal, no matter how much that mortal might mean to either of his sons.
“Of course not,” Loki finally smiled, resigned. “And definitely not for me.”
An ugly laugh made its way out of Loki's chest, as his magic curled up over Tony's body and sealed it in, for better or worse. The spell might last as long as Loki's magic would, but he knew all too well that there was only a set amount of time in which the damage might still be reversed. Without the Healing Halls of Asgard, Midgard did not have the technology or resources and Loki did not have the time to argue with them right now about what was to be done! Iron Man was a hero, but he was one of many to them. Replaceable. His death likely as useful as his life had been. Loki knew all too well how these games worked and Tony would lose this time.
“Not like this.” Loki promised once more, his head resting against the battered chest plate. He would find a way, he would fix this.
“You are not getting away that easily, my love.” Frigga's present weighed heavily in Loki's pocket as he finally stood up again, resolve firm in his face.
Still holding on to the armored hand of his lover, Loki turned towards his brother again.
“You will hear from me. Tell the others not to worry. I will fix this.” Loki gave Thor no chance to reply, simply gathered his magic and pulled, moving both him and Tony along the hidden path to one of his hideouts, vanishing before Thor could even try to reason with him.
There was no reason in this, and Loki would not let any take hold until he had fixed this mess and brought Tony back to where he belonged. Back to Loki.