A life together

Falling

So, after being nearly ripped apart by a giant turbine, helping the Captain and feeling Loki slip through his fingers, he was finally out of danger. At least for the time being.

Now, sitting in the chair next to the gurney that Coulson was on having just woken up after losing an alarming amount of blood, Tony was tired of this shit.

"Agent, how are you feeling?"

"As if a god had pierced me with a scepter. What 'bout you, Stark?"

"Peachy."

They were both silent for a few minutes until Coulson decided to break it. "I want to see the footage. I want to see the moment when it happened."

"I wouldn't recommend it, Agent. I know he's your friend, or at least he was, he feels or felt the same way. That's why I think it's not going to do you any good to see the moment when he impaled you with his alien weapon. I know I can't watch it," the last part he muttered under his breath.

"I don't care, all the more reason. I want to see him. I'm sure he didn't want to. I think Loki did the best he could with what little he could."

"Don't you understand? That's not Loki! Can't you see? He would never hurt someone he considers a friend, he would rather die than hurt us. And see him like this? With his eyes so... empty of emotions. That's not him Phil."

"Tony, I know that everything happening it's a lot, with gods and magic and Asgardians villains, but you have to trust me. Loki could have pierced my heart. Actually, that's where he was pointing at, if I remember correctly. But a second before that scepter touched my body, the trajectory changed. That's why I need to see the footage, I need to be sure, and I think you could use a little hope."

Half reluctantly, Tony handed him a tablet and waited for the agent to do what he needed. He didn't dare look until the other man asked him to.

"I knew it!"

Clear as water, the scepter changed trajectory a second earlier as Coulson had said. And better than that, Loki's eyes flickered between green and blue for a moment.

He let out a gasp, "He's still in there."

"He's still in there. Now, stop moping and go get your man."

"Is this the first time you've nearly lost a soldier?" Asked the Captain.

"We are not soldiers! I am not marching to Fury's fife!"

"Neither am I! He's got the same blood on his hands as Tyr does. Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done. Now, Tyr needs a power source, if we can put together a list-"

Tony looked at the blood stained wall and said, "He made it personal."

"That's not the point," he said, making him roll his eyes and reply sharply.

"That is the point. That's Tyr's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart."

"He had to conquer his greed, he sent his minions in different missions, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

Tony started to think about all the information he knew about the Asgardian. From that time he tried to frame Loki to when he fell from the bifrost and came to earth.

"Right, even though we only saw Thor's brother that time, I caught his act at Stuttgart. He was the mastermind behind it all."

"Yeah. That's just a preview, this is opening night. Tyr's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered- Sonofabitch!"