Chapter 7

"Connection, a Secret, and healing of wounds."

Tony Stark heaved and pulled at the partly frozen door, stubbornly refusing to give up, even though he had yet to make to budge an inch. Loki was beside him chipping away the ice covering the hinges, still muttering in what Tony figured must have been Norse. He recognized a few worlds, mostly because whenever he and Thor went out drinking, the blond behemoth had a habit of singing in his native tongue after a few dozen beers. Loki swore darkly again beside him, frustrated with the lack of progress.

"Here, give me the spear for a while." Tony asked hoping it would stave off a Banner sized fit from the green god. Tony took the spear and jammed the butt of it on top of the keyhole, trying to shatter the lock. After a few good hits, he's rewarded with a satisfying crunch. He jams the point of the spear in the new gap and pushes it like a crowbar. The ancient wood squeals under his efforts, but sticks firm.

"Goddamn it, you open right now!" He says as he heaves on the spear. "Or I'll

-Totally pass out in the snow, I'm so tired-

chop you into little pieces and use you for toothpicks!"

"Are you indenting to mock the door to death?" Loki mutters sarcastically.

He growls and heaves with each word. "No, I Just." "Want." "It." "Open!"

"Here, let me try the lever, mortal." Loki shoves him out of the way, and Stark throws his hands up in frustration.

Fine! You get it! He thinks, but doesn't say. The last few hours backtracking in freezing cold and wet snow, with Loki as riled up as a rabid wolf, have done absolute wonders for his temper. Ever since Loki did his magic trick and made him resistant to the cold, all his emotions have been at an 15 on a scale of one to 5. It's like having emotions for two. He's not mad, he' s smoulderingly angry. He's not scared, he's absolutely-panic-attack y-scared. And worst of all he's not just aroused at the slightest gesture, he's intoxicatingly blinded with desire. What his brain thinks he does. No filter, no hesitation, just "OOPS! you've just enraged a god who can do nasty things to you while you sleep. BAM! You're having a panic attack now and are completely and utterly helps, Enjoy! AND OH LOOK AT THIS! You've kissed Loki. The god of mischief from myth and legend himself. Twice. And Goddamned enjoyed every minute of it . Have fun sorting this all out Tony, I'm going to leave you here without an ounce of control !" well screw you too Brain, we're supposed to be a team here. When I get home I'm going to drown you in the most expensive bourbon I have until we can't feel anything at all.

Tony knows it's a bad sign he's narrating a conversation in his own head, with his own brain leaving him to boot, but he's past the point of caring. Instead, he watches Loki give an almighty yank on the spear, and the door bursts open.

"Finally." He sighs and kicks a piece of splintered wood out of his way to step through the ancient temple. Tony in his impatience nearly crashes face first into a cobbled wall. The room he's just stepped into is outrageously tiny, and he nearly snaps at Loki, telling him that he picked the wrong door, when he sees the steps leading down. Tony tilts his head up now, and sees a webbing of spiral joints. His genius brain quickly deduces that they've entered into a tower far above the main hall, and judging by the height of the exposed tower and the heavily reinforced stone, it was going to be a long walk down.

Loki has snuck up behind him, hand on his shoulder, and whispers in his ear. "Once we begin our decent, there is no turning back. Are you prepared?"

Tony shivers at Loki's words, and his emotions spiral wildly from anger to fear and then finally settle somewhere around caution... and empathy? Tony shakes his head to clear the flood of emotions that Loki's touch has brought on. "As ready as I'll ever be." He whispers back.

Loki squeezes his shoulder in an act of reassurance, and Tony is now overwhelmed with want for the god, and It takes everything he has not to turn around and pin Loki to the wall and... nope. focus Tony, don't make it a third time, because you wouldn't want to stop-

Tony lets Loki pass in front of him, and they follow the narrow stairs downwards as quietly as possible. He feels like he's going to owe Banner an apology if he ever makes it out of here alive. I Wonder If this is what Bruce feels like all the time, the constant rush of emotions that are setting his mind to its most primal instincts. Tony runs his hand over the cool stone for balance, and takes in the rough design that is vaguely reminiscent of deeply veined marble. The dark grey majority of the colour is flecked with black so dark, that tony has to run his hand over pieces to make sure they are not holes in the stone itself. In regular intervals their are little rectangle alcoves carved into the walls. Most are empty, but as he progresses further down, Tony notices more and more are filled with tiny carved stones and some ordinate gold runes. He picks a little white one and rolls it along his fingers like a worry stone. A slanted "X" is carved into it, and Tony realizes its not stone at all, but polished bone. His curiosity engaged, he reaches for another stone at the next alcove. He picks up a round grey one and flips it over to see a "c" shape with both ends flicked away from the centre. He stops again at the following alcove and picks up one more. This time a roughly shaped gold one, with a little arrow carved into it. Loki stops ahead of him, and walks back up to where he is rolling the three runes in his hand.

"We do not have the luxury of examining every passing artifact, Stark." Loki whispers and Tony can hear a note of annoyance under his breath.

"Sorry." He replies softly. "It's in my nature." and he doesn't mention that rolling the runes in his hand is a good way of keeping him calm.

"What have you found then, anything useful?" Loki sighs and takes the runes from his hand. The spark of Loki's contact is back and Tony forces himself to breathe deeply.

"Gifu, Perth, and Tyr. An unusual collection Tony." Loki places them back in his hands and nods.

"What are these?" he questions.

"Hopefully good omens. Now if you are quite done sightseeing, we are nearing the bottom of the tower."

Tony places the runes in his pocket, and on some level he knows he must have picked up these runes for a reason. He really hopes that Loki is right about it being good, because he knows they'll need all the help they can get.

Soon, Tony can see the bottom of the stairs, and Loki is paused before a heavy stone door. Loki places his hands on one side of the slab and nods to him. Tony places his hands below Loki's and nods back.

Are you ready?

Yes.

Together they strain on the the heavy door, and bit by bit they open it. Tony figures the door must weigh a few thousand pounds, and had he not been in the company of a god, all he would have been able to do is beat at it until his hands were bloody. Loki gives one more push and a narrow wedge opens, just enough for Loki to slip past. As Tony follows Loki through the tiny gap, he gets caught up when the door connects with the steel casing in his chest. The tube moves slightly in his body cavity and he can feel it push against his heart. He tries to push the door just a few more centimetres, and forces all the air from his lungs in an effort to free himself. Loki is beside him now, and Tony can see the strain in his face as he pushes the door with everything he has. Tony is pushing with his legs, back and arms in a vain attempt to free himself before he gives into the panic that is threatening to send him into another episode.

"Easy Anthony, I will have you freed in a moment"Loki dares to whisper as quietly as he can into his ear.

Tony nods and screws his eyes shut, trying his hardest not to panic. Loki adjust his hands right around his heaving chest and whispers again. "I am going to push your ribs down. Take one deep breath and let out as much air as you can. I will guide you through." Tony fanatically nods and sucks in a shaky breath, and then forces all the air he can from his body. Loki begins to push down achingly hard on his chest and he can feel his ribs moving, bending and slowly Loki is pulling him across the threshold. Tony makes it half ways before the urge to breathe is overpowering. He tries to suck in a breath but can't. Loki is holding his chest down with a near crushing force and wont let go. Tony tries to mouth the words for help, but Loki is steel-eyed in concentration, and refuses to let go. Tony can feel his diaphragm twitching in great wrenches trying to draw in air, and he is starting to see stars in his eyes. Loki gives one last tug and Tony falls free, landing on top of the little green god on the floor. He sucks in a great lungful of frigid air and gasps with relief. Loki holds him gently across his chest, waiting patiently for him to calm down. He goes limp and simply breathes to steady himself. Loki begins to caress his back, urging him quietly to slow his breathing down.

"I am sorry Anthony, there was no other way to free you." Loki murmurs to him. Tony breathes through his nose and attempts to sit up. Loki follows his movements, supporting him, and Tony blushes when he notices that he is straddling Loki's hips. "I know." he rasps, and tries to stand, when Loki catches his arm. Loki's bright emerald eyes lock onto his own, and Tony is frozen in place. He kneels there, stock still ,and watches as Loki examines his torn shirt. "A few scratches here, and I fear I may have bruised you quite badly." He Looks up to him and Tony can see that Loki is upset.

"I'd much rather have the bruises than be stuck in that door forever. Don't worry about it." The rush of passion is back, and all Tony craves is to be close to his god and hold him , to feel his skin- Whoa Tony! Not going there. Back wayyyyy up. That's just and lack of food and magic shenanigans talking...

Tony plucks Loki's hand from his arm, and lifts himself off of the god's-

-absolutely perfect-

-No! Bad Tony. No!-

-body. He stands he extends a hand and helps Loki to his feet. Tony can see that Loki's cheeks have tinted pink as well. Loki starts down the corridor with out so much as a backwards glance, and Tony follows him alongside the rigid wall of ice and stone. As they progress in silence, Tony notices that the hallway has begun to tilt downwards, so much in fact that by the time they reach a little door at the end of the hall, Tony has one foot braced against the wall for balance. He watches Loki listen intently at the door for a moment, before slowly opening it. Loki heads in first again and holds his arm out to help him from falling forward. Tony catches Loki's hand and then braces his feet against a railing of stone.

Loki has led him onto a walkway above the grand atrium in the heart of the temple. Tony awestruck at the sheer size of this great room. Four rows of enormous columns span from end to end, the outer two are nearly merged with the larger than life carvings on the walls, while the inner set, made from what Tony assumes is solid ice, lines the central walkway. He can make out the snarling faces of Frost giants depicted in the wall carvings, poised over dying and dead humans, gleefully striking them down. More are filled with scenes of horror and depravity, all with the Frost giants victim's withering in agony. Tony is deeply sickened at these horrible images, and he is glad that he is spared most of the details by coverings of ice and frost. The ceiling is also entirely covered over with ice, and the dripping icicles remind him of hundreds of teeth lining the mouth of some great monster. But by far the worst is the floor. All along the sides, under the stone carvings, are piles and piles of corpses and skeletons. Some are large with shreds of tattered armor, and some are just skeletons with rags hanging limply from broken bones. Tony can tell most of them are Frost giants, but there are a few pieces of Asgardian armor strewn over bodies. There is no order to their placement, no other signs of a battle. Its as if the Frost giants were not content with stone representations of pain and anguish, they needed to have real ones as well.

Tony lets go of Loki's hand, and grasps onto the railing in front of him. He can see a set of stairs that lead down to the main floor, and awkwardly makes his way towards it. He has to walk with one foot on the edge of the stairs and one foot on the rungs of the railing in order to make it down safely. Tony lines himself up to hit the left wall and pushes off of the last stair. He briefly stumbles, but manages to catch onto part of the closest wall carving. He turns to Loki who is waiting on the last step and waves him over with his gloved hand. Loki shakes his head.

Come on Loki!

No.

Tony tries to wave him over again, but Loki is making frantic hand gestures ending with his finger over his lips.

Come on! Its fine!

NO! Look ahead, and be quiet!

And Tony turns ever so slightly and his heart drops to his stomach. Several Frost giants have gathered at the end of the atrium from a large gilded door at the end of the room. Tony slowly sinks down to his knees, and counts six of them. They are holding one of their own, a small one, on his knees before a stone alter. Tony makes a quick apology, and hides himself by carefully digging into the mass of corpses shoved against the wall. He moves an arm out of the way and wedges himself between a large pelvic bone and the upper body of a Frost giant. He places a rag over his head, to hide his face, but there is enough holes so that he can see. He looks back for Loki, who has managed to hide behind a large stature near the staircase.

A scream from the small giant catches Tony's attention, and he can see the four have pinned him to the table, while a fifth stands over him, spear in hand. The big one with the spear starts yelling in some guttural language, and then violently plunges the spear repeatedly into the smaller giant's body. Tony is revolted by this display of rage, and he screws his eyes shut until the screaming stops. There is a loud thump, and Tony sees the body of the small giant thrown against the wall with the other corpses. The other giants begin to laugh, and the big one with the with the spear lifts it above his head and jeers. Tony takes a quick glance back to Loki, and sees that the Asgardian hasn't moved an inch. Even from this distance, Tony can see Loki digging his hand into the stature, trying to contain himself. His eyes are closed and Tony can see his chest rising and falling quickly.

The big guy with the spear is yelling something else now, and the remaining giants stop laughing abruptly. Tony holds his breath, trying not to make a sound. His companion is not so fortunate. Tony saw the moment Loki's hand snaps off a piece of ice from the stature, and fall to the ground in a shattering crash. Tony is momentarily choked by a rush of fear and a flash of -

He is laid bare on the altar, the coarse ropes digging into his wrists and ankles. He struggles against the pressure of a knife, cutting ragged lines into his arms. He screams but the Jotun's just laugh at his anguish. One of them takes a dagger and begins to cut his hair in rough clumps. As his hair is ripped away he cries, ashamed and terrified. Once his head is scraped bare, the Jotun plunges the knife beside his face, and he can see his reflection mirrored in it. Dark black stubble across his head, hollow cheeks of pale white, angry buses around his slender neck, and piercing green eye's wide with pain –Loki's eyes/ HIS eyes./ THEIR EYE'S.-

-And Tony is ripped from the memory with a pounding ache in his head, and he touches a hand to his nose to find a warm trickle of blood. In the seconds he was in the flashback, the Frost giants have ran to his position, and are throwing the corpses aside, looking for the source of the noise. He can see the big one about to throw the spear at his Loki, and Tony springs from his hiding place and blasts the giant with his repulsor. The Frost giant goes flying and Tony spins around to hit a charging giant full in the face. Another one swings both hands down in an attempt to crush him, but Loki is there and rams his spear right through the giant's heart with an angry howl. Loki kicks up at the dying giant to pull his spear free, and Tony is right beside him, hitting another giant across the hall with his repulsor blast. Loki frees his spear, and puts his back to Tony's. The giants charge them again, and Tony reaches for his last flare and shouts a warning before lobbing it high in the air. They duck to the ground as a white light fills the cavern, and together they attack the blinded giants. Loki weaves his way around the battlefield, hitting the giants with both fists and spear in a feral rage. Tony bashes the giants with his armoured hand and knocks them over with pulses from his central arc reactor.

"Don't let them touch you!" Loki yells while blocking a thrust from the spear carrying giant.

"Wasn't planning on it!" he retorts and ducts under a wild swing.

Tony has managed to knock out, if not kill one of the giants, and is engaged with a reckless brawl with one he has badly weakened. Tony hears another strangled yell, and knows that Loki has managed to kill his last opponent. He tries to sneak a glance at Loki, when he is ripped off his feet by a giant who is now crushing his leg. Upside down now, he tries to get a shot off, but misses. He yells as the giant squeezes his calf ,and his whole leg begins to burn with cold. Loki is underneath him in a flash and thrusts up with his spear, cutting the giant's arm clean off. Tony falls roughly to the floor and frantically tries to pull the vice grip from his burning leg. Loki quickly finishes off the last giant, and turns back to him.

Tony's leg and most of his torso are numb in seconds, and his hands are turning rapidly blue as he pries the grip off his leg. Loki jumps down beside him and tugs at the arm, breaking a few fingers to pull it off his leg. He gasps and part of his pant leg, frozen to the arm, comes away.

Underneath, Tony braces himself for white and red frostbite, but his skin is smooth and dark blue in colour.

"Oh...what?.." he murmurs, and when he raises his hands to his face, he can see the same dark blue seep from under his skin.
"No!" He yelps and desperately tries to rub the continuously growing colour from his skin.

Loki attempts to wrestle his hands away from him.

"Stark! Calm down. It will pass!" Loki is holding his arms still, and Tony calms down enough to see that the Asgardian's hands are turning blue as well. He looks into Loki's eyes for an answer, and flinches when the blue works its way up Loki's neck, over his face and pools into his eyes. He watches Loki blink slowly, and when he opens his eyes, the light emerald has been replaced with a burning red.

"It is alright." Loki says in a soothing tone, and Tony rubs his watery eyes. He hangs his head and watches the colour bleed back into his skin. When he has composed himself he looks up again and he sees the blue colour drain from Loki's body as well. The god's eyes have also faded back to their original emerald hue.

Tony traces the ebbing blue colour from Loki's face. "What is this?"

The Asgardian's breath hitches. "My magic."

Tony shifts his feet so he is kneeling in front of the still siting Loki. "Loki, Just... tell me. Please."

"It is... what I am. A monster to be feared. These vile creatures are my kin."

"But why did I-"

"When I poured magic into you to keep you alive, that was my magic, Frost giant magic." Loki sneers at the words. "I shared my form with your mortal body, and thus you are protected from all manner of cold. As I am. As they are." Loki stands up, and Tony follows him as they walk past the bodies. "I was born a runt, unfit to live even as a slave or pet. It is custom for the giants to abandon their weak and dying in temples such as this." Loki gestures towards the bodies heaped on the sides, and Tony can see a tiny skeleton hand, no bigger than an infant's sticking up among the wreckage.

"Loki, I'm so sorry." Tony says his voice heavy with sorrow.

"I do not require your pity Stark." he snarls, and his voice begins to break. "My Father found me here and stole me away from this place, to sit in my brother's mighty shadow until he had use of me. I am a monster. I am a toy. I am a puppet. I AM NOTHING." He shouts and Tony watches the tears roll down the little god's face.

Tony cant stand seeing Loki like this any longer, and embraces him in a crushing hug. "YOU are not nothing!" Loki tries half-heartily to free himself from his embrace, but Tony refuses to let go. "You are the most powerful god I have ever seen, you survived the fall from the bifrost, you nearly crushed new-york, which was ok, a bad thing but still, You stood up to the goddamned Hulk and lived to tell about it, You were the most complex and intelligent opponent I have ever faced. You saved me from freezing to death, and magic AND giants, talked me down from a panic attack, and... you survived what they did to you here Loki. I saw what happened, or part of it anyways. Back there I felt what they did to you, Hell I was you for a moment. No matter what they did, you survived, because you are strong, you have heart, and you did not give up." Loki is absolutely shaking with heaving sobs against him, and Tony just holds him for a moment. He begins in a quieter tone this time.

"When you saved me from the cold, you said you did it by making me like you right?" Loki nods against his chest. "I think I got more than your skin colour. I keep getting overwhelmed with fear whenever you get scared, or anger whenever you are mad, and even... passion whenever you are close to me. It took me till now to figure out why, but it kinda makes sense. It's like a feedback loop." Loki has stopped crying and gazes up at him with emerald eyes shinning, and the faintest of smiles.

"I am sorry you had to experience part of my time here. I hope I did not cause you much strife." Loki says in a hushed voice.

"Its alright." He says and tucks a stray piece of Loki's hair behind his ear. "They can't hurt you anymore, I wont let them."

Loki tilts his head to follow Tony's hand, which has stopped just under his chin. "Thank you Anthony." he whispers, and leans towards him.

"For what?" Tony breathes, his lips achingly close to Loki's.

"For giving me a reason."

Notes

Disclaimer: I do not own any marvel characters or their movie interpretations, I've done this for fun and I hope you enjoy! Also this is set after Iron man 3 and the avengers. Loki escaped to earth and Tony never had romantic feelings for pepper. (Hence the arc reactor is still in his chest)