Working Title : Loki & Annie

97 An Offer He Can't Refuse?

Tony only wanted to convince Thor to come back to the Tower, bringing Loki with him so that they would be out of this female's clutches. As much as there was a slight tickle in the back of his mind that he might, just might possibly be very slightly wrong he still wanted Thor and Loki in the safety of the Tower. Because really? This place was about as safe as a house in the middle of a small suburb with only a couple of locks on the door. Oh, wait. Add into the equation the two Assgardians sniffing around and clearly, the only place safe was with Tony.

Loki let his head rest between Annie's Ladies Pillows, he could hear her heart beating and thought that it seemed to be beating faster than he had noticed before. He thought that meant she was mad or scared and he narrowed his eyes at Tony Stark because it was that man's fault because Annie's heart hadn't been this fast before he came. Loki liked the way Annie rested her chin on his head and held him wrapped in her arms because sometimes she rubbed her cheek on his head and she was lightly rubbing his arms which he liked. He looked down at her arms and moved his hands slightly so he could put them on Annie's hands. He used several fingers to lightly rub the backs of her hands while he watched as his fingers softly touched her skin. There were little scars on her knuckles and he used the tip of a finger to trace over them and wondered why she hadn't had a healer remove the scars but thought that perhaps she had gotten them honorably so she kept them. Loki knew that some Ladies had been Shield Maidens before they married so perhaps he would allow Annie to remain a Shield Maiden for a time once they were back in Asgard. 

Annie watched Tony and fought with her feelings of disappointment. How could he be such an asshole and a genius at the same time? She guessed that being smart didn't mean you were a nice guy. Sitting all the way back in her chair she still leaned forward as Loki leaned back against her chest. She kept her arms wrapped around the skinny little body with her chin resting on his head, every once in a while rubbing her cheek against his spiky hair. She glanced down to absently notice that it seemed to have grown more than expected for only a couple of days. Her eyes moved down to look where Loki's fingers traced over the little scars on her knuckles and hands that had come from learning how to work on engines. She wondered what about them had caught Loki's attention before looking back to Tony Stark who was glaring at her. 

Thor felt like he was stuck on a diplomatic task that he hadn't prepared for. Or rather he had prepared but then it turned out he had been sent to a different Realm with a completely different problem. He considered both Tony and Annie his friends, though Stark was a Shield-Brother while Annie was, well, she was his Brother's protector and that made her irreplaceable. Yet Stark was also someone who was needed. And now Thor was being placed in a position where he had to choose who he would keep. Once he came to that understanding he did what he simply always did when faced with an impossible choice and simply forced a third choice into being.

"Perhaps we could decide that together?" He looked between Annie who was still seated with Loki on her lap and Tony who was once more sitting on the couch. It was to Tony that he spoke next, "Now that you know where Loki and I are do you feel you can assist in helping us while not causing a conflict with your S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"What's that? Sheild?" Annie hadn't heard of whatever that was.

With a slight roll of his eyes, Tony explained, "A super-secret government agency that operates from the farthest, darkest, and deepest shadows to keep the world from being overtaken by aliens and other spooky groups." He involuntarily glanced at Loki who thankfully was staring at the hands wrapped around him before shrugging, "That incident in New York? Yeah, they were involved."

"You work for them?" Annie sounded incredulous.

"No." Tony was insulted, "No, I do not. I consult for them on occasion when I feel like doing charity work." He slouched back against the couch, "They couldn't afford me. Despite the fact that I fund a chunk of their budget." He folded his arms across his chest, he felt defensive about that fact. Maybe he needed to do more than kick S.H.I.E.L.D. out of the Tower.