Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 69: Thor Odinson (2)

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Thor Odinson Part II

Milky Way Galaxy

Sol System

Nine Realms / Planet Earth

Tony felt tenser than in a long while. Well, that was not entirely true, because he did have a couple of stressful weeks behind him. But Pepper and Rhodey were his to worry about and Tony knew them well enough to know what to expect. With the Avengers they tried their best to keep things civil and friendly, but Tony always kept in mind that he could move forward without them. He didn't necessary need them, being friendly just made things easier. It was what Tony wanted, but an alliance was not essential. It would've sucked, it would still suck, if things went wrong with them, but Thor... he was a completely different matter.

Yes, Thor was an Avenger and they fought Loki and the Chitauri together, but beyond that? Oh yeah, they tried to beat the crap out of each other the first time they met. That was fun. Good times. It didn't change the fact that the only things Tony knew about him came from his very limited personal experience or Loki and Hatchet. So yeah, Tony didn't know how to deal with him and a lot of things depended on him, too much, in Tony's opinion. Not that he had anything against the guy. In fact, he was pretty convinced that some of Loki's biggest issues with Thor were about things Thor himself had no control over. Not that Tony was in any position to be the judge of that. It was one of his reasons why he decided that he would keep out of this as much as possible.

He was pretty sure Hatchet did not share his sentiment, if the way he tried to drill holes in Thor's skull with just the force of his gaze was any indication. At least he was keeping quiet for now, it was already more than anyone could ask for. Thor glanced at him now and then, like he wanted to make sure he was still in the same place. With Hatchet's tendency to vanish into thin air and pop up someplace unexpected, it was a reasonable thing to do.

Mostly though, Thor kept his eyes on Loki. Tony couldn't even attempt to decipher all the emotions on his face. Loki's poker face was a lot better, but still not blank enough, those who knew him could see through it. Tony wondered if Thor could.

Thor was gripping his hammer's handle tightly. He did not look like he wanted to use it, but he didn't put it down either. Tony wanted to be annoyed about it, but he had to admit that it was pretty reasonable with Loki's penchant for trickery.

'You wanted to speak,' Thor said after a long stretch of tense silence. 'So speak then.'

Loki stood by the giant windows looking out at the ocean and Hatchet very strategically sat down on the couch closest to him. Tony kept himself between the gods, well relatively in-between them, he stood by the fireplace, out of their way, but not too far from either of them.

Loki did not turn around to face Thor when he started speaking.

'There is too much that needs to be said. I shall keep to the most pressing matters first,' he said. 'I'm not here to beg, to plead, I will offer you some information and explanations, then I will state my request.'

Thor's frown got deeper.

'A request? I do not believe you have room for requests, Loki.'

'And that's why I will speak first,' Loki said. 'It may change your mind.'

'Speak freely then,' Thor said, his frown was still deep and his face stern. 'But I am no foolish boy to be tricked by clever words, not anymore. Keep that in mind.'

'If you'd be a fool, you would be of no use to me,' Loki said. Yeah, Tony would've worded that differently, but he kept his mouth shut. 'You can prove your wisdom too while you're at it.'