Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 23

Pepper shakes her head to herself. "So, other than us and Loki, who's here right now?"

"Just Steve," Tony says. "Nat and Barton are off on some mission; haven't heard from them since they left."

"Do you know when they're coming back?" Pepper asks.

Tony feigns offense. "What, am I not enough for you?"

"No, you're not," she says teasingly.

Tony slaps a hand over his heart. "Okay, ouch." To answer her question, he adds, "And no, I have no idea when they're coming back. No one tells me anything. They just showed up and moved in and now they come and go as they please."

Tony finds it kind of annoying — though he's mostly gotten over it now — but Pepper just seems to find it amusing.

"Hey, JARVIS," Tony says. "Loki still in his room?"

"Yes, sir," JARVIS says.

"Good," Tony says, ushering Pepper into the elevator. "I'm starving."

"I could go for a snack," Pepper says. "And you're sure we won't see Loki?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Tony insists. "Steve always checks the kitchen before he brings him out. If we're there, he'll wait."

"And you're sure he won't get bored and come out alone?" she asks.

"I don't think he gets bored," Tony says. He seemed perfectly content laying in bed and doing nothing for three days until Thor showed up. The guy is, like, a billion years old. This probably feels like the blink of an eye to him. "Plus, he kind of hates us. He would literally rather starve than risk running into us."

"Except Steve," she says skeptically.

"Yeah, well, Steve's nice to him," he says with a shrug. "We aren't."

"I'm glad Steve has a sense of self-preservation," Pepper remarks. "Clearly that's not a common trait around here."

"But it's fun!" Tony says. "'Cause he can't do anything to get back at us. He just gives us this look, and you can tell he wants to do something but he can't."

Pepper is much less enthusiastic about that. "Just..." She sighs. "Be careful. You've seen what he can do. I don't want you to get hurt because you decided it would be fun to poke the bear."

"I'll be fine," Tony assures her. "If I think he's going to get violent, I'll back off, but I really don't think he will. He was this close to being executed in Asgard. One wrong move and he might be."

"They should've just executed him," she mutters.

Tony just nods. It would've been easier for everyone. Honestly, it probably would've been better for Loki, too.

They head to the kitchen, and Steve is already there with a bowl of ice cream. Huh. Maybe that's what Tony will have for lunch. (What? He never claimed to be healthy.)

"Oh, hi!" Pepper says, a big smile on her face. "It's nice to finally meet you!"

"Hey!" Steve gives a small wave. "So you decided to give it a chance after all!"

"Well, it sounds like you've got a good handle on him," Pepper says. "And you're doing pretty well with Loki, too."

Tony makes a show of rolling his eyes, but he can't deny that it's nice to hear her tease him again. It hasn't been the same over the phone.

Steve chuckles. "Well, they've been a handful, but I've managed." He points to the freezer with his spoon. "Stark, you should have some ice cream."