Chapter Text
It hadn´t looked that bad. They had had a Hulk. Tony had been sure that that was better than an army.
Even an army full of fucking floating space whales and sky-jet ski driving half robot, half reptile, and half something else things.
Hmm…
Those were a lot of halves…
Must be the blood loose, Tony decided. He was trapped under a steel beam which had most likely been a supporting part of the building in which ruins he was laying right now. And bleeding to death by the way...
He found it must be some kind of a cosmic joke that he was going to die because a part of his own armor had pierced his abdomen. The stupid thing should have protected him. That was the very reason of the suit.
He didn´t want to die…
Well it would be really nice if the horrible pain, not only coming from his belly but from his left arm, would stop. His legs were somewhere better off, Tony decided, at least he couldn´t feel them. It wasn´t if he was going to need them any longer, since he was dying just now.
He really didn´t want to die…
But he would. Nobody was around and the suit wasn´t functioning any more. The beam made it impossible to manually get out of it, even if he hadn´t been wounded.
He was trapped…
And nobody was there to help him. He was on his own. Hadn´t it always been like that. All the celebrities and politician and spies and it girl and other people, who were normally throwing themselves at Tony Stark and pretended to be his friends were never there when things went ugly. Tony couldn´t suppress a laugh. It ended in a cough as he spitted blood over the inside of his mask. Just great. Now he would die alone while his own blood was dripping into his eyes.
He didn´t want to die alone…
Tony felt something. The ground under him was moving a bit. Someone was there…
He wasn´t alone…
The thought only relieved him. He knew he should be scared, too. He couldn´t see a thing and considering how the battle had been going lately the chance that it was an enemy wasn´t slim.
But he was already dying, so what…
At least he wouldn´t die alone. Even if his companion would be a thing with too many halves.
But honestly he didn´t want to die at all…
The mask was ripped clear off and Tony blinked a few times to adjust to the sun shining right into his eyes.
A shadow appeared in his field of vision and Tony was surprised. Not in the pleasant way, because the newcomer looked too much like a certain god he had been fighting lately, but it was a surprise. He hadn´t thought that Loki would be wandering through the wreckage he had left in search of wounded. Perhaps he was just admiring his own work.
The god had leaned down on one knee to remove Tony’s mask and looked at the man with an unreadable expression.
The engineer met the deity’s deep, green eyes and all thoughts in his head reduced down to one.
‘I don´t want to die! ’
And he wouldn´t. They had called him a survivor, hadn´t they? And he would survive this, too. He had to. Right now he couldn’t do anything to fight, but that didn´t mean that he had to die today. A living coward could be a hero on a later day. A living hero. No a death one. Just let´s delay kicking Loki’s ass for a while.
Loki´s face above him was still a mask. The god seemed to be thinking about what he should do with him. Well now or never.
Despite the pain, Tony managed to crack his best Tony-Stark-Smile™. “Ah, hello there, beautiful.” Ok, perhaps not the best line to begin with… blood loose and so on. ”It looks like you got me. I give up!”
Tony coughed up more blood and Loki’s eyes narrowed. “What? The great man of iron surrenders so easily. What happened to all the great words you spoke not an hour ago?”
“Well, they kind of fled as you put Brucie in that magic bubble to cut off his air after the redecorated my penthouse floor with you face.” Hm, listening to his own words Tony started to understand why people thought that he has no preservation instincts.
”But really we shouldn´t let something as unimportant as a few word in the heat of the moment come between us. I’m sure a great man like you can take a childish joke like mine without holding a grudge. We kind of started our acquaintance on the wrong foot, you know. I think we should start over new. I mean you are awesome and I’m awesome, too. I´m sure we will go along well. I could be your assistant or tourist guide or something like that. Because you a kind of new around here. You know, show you around, tell you about customs and things and so on. And about tech. That´s important here on earth and I love tech and I’m really good with it. Not that this magic thing isn´t cool, but it´s just not what people are used to here on earth. Besides it´s earth now, not Midgard. It was renamed a while ago, I don´t know exactly when…
“You are rambling, Stark.” Loki’s voice was calm. Calmer then he had heard it until now. Cold und calculated enough to make a shiver run down Tony’s back.
‘I don´t want to die!’
“You are a mortal, your lives are short and you will have to, one day.”
Shit, had he thought that loud or was the god a mind reader? Tony didn´t care. “But I would rather not die today. And I can be really useful. Just ask around. Everyone will tell you that I´m a dick but I’m too useful to been thrown out of the club. You can even ask my worth enemies around here. They wouldn´t kill me, at least not before torturing me for information.” Great one, Tony. He really shouldn´t give the freak ideas. “And for the rambling: I know. It´s annoying and it´s happening when I’m nervous. And sorry, but I’m bleeding out right now. I’m I feel like I`m playing chess with the death. I think I have reasons to be nervous. Even if I’m quite good in chess. Perhaps we can play…
“Enough.” the god’s face split into a scary grin. “I’m kind of impressed. This was the most pathetic plea for one´s life I ever heard.”
“Hey, I don’t have much practice in begging for my life to be honest. What are you expecting? A ‘pretty, pretty please’? ”
Loki chuckled. It wasn´t a nice sound. “Well, perhaps I should really spare you. At least you are kind of entertaining. Be happy, Stark, now you are a spoil of war.”
Loki stood and began to walk away. After a few steps the engineer could hear the cracking of Loki’s leather armor as the god turned around. “And if I can´t find another use for you, I will just give you to one of your enemies you mentioned before. Perhaps in exchange for a boon or something like that.”
Tony closed his eyes.