Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 41

Loki doesn't want to deal with any of the Avengers right now, so he teleports back to his room. He doesn't teleport out of sight often out of fear of teleporting into something (what would even happen if he did that?), but he doesn't have to worry about that in his bedroom that no one else ever uses.

That's why he's very surprised to find Tony in his doorway, crouched on the floor with a drill in his hand. There's a door halfway attached to the doorframe — but not the one that used to sit here; this one has no inconveniently placed hole in the middle — and he's working on drilling it in. He notices Loki as soon as Loki notices him, and, startled, Tony falls to the floor, dropping his drill in the process.

"Holy shit," Tony breathes, slapping a hand over his chest. "I was not expecting that, holy..."

Loki looks down at him and cocks an eyebrow.

"You suck at following directions, you know," Tony tells him. "I told you I wanted you to stay out of your room today."

"And I've told you I don't take orders from you."

"No, of course not," Tony pushes himself to his feet and looks up at the god. "Because that would be good for you, and you'd rather sit here and wallow in your own self-pity."

"Yes, actually, that is preferable to spending the day with you," Loki says, though he's sure Tony already knows it. "Unfortunately, it seems even my room is teeming with unwelcome pests."

"Hey, if you want me to leave, I'll leave," Tony says. "You never wanted a door anyway, right?"

Loki looks at the half-attached door. He should probably at least let Tony finish that.

"That's what I thought," Tony says. He crouches back down and returns his attention to fixing it. "I stole a door from down the hallway and a clock from downstairs. Try not to break these ones."

Loki eyes him for a few moments. "I admire your ability to be both kind and annoying simultaneously. I've only ever been able to do one at a time."

"Yeah, well, I've had a lot of practice," Tony tells him.

Loki debates making a comment about how he's sure Tony has had much more practice with the latter, but he's acutely aware that Tony doesn't owe him anything. He could stop fixing this door at any moment, and, unfortunately, Loki really does want a working door.

"Thank you," Loki says, as much as it pains him to do it.

Tony snorts. "Wow, you must really like this door."

"I don't just mean for the door."

Tony looks up at him with a carefree smile that they both know doesn't fit the situation. "What are reluctant housemates for?" He turns his attention back to the door, standing up to drill the top two hinges into the wall. He seems content to do that in silence, so, at first, Loki is willing to do the same.

After a minute or so passes, Loki decides to venture into potentially dangerous territory. "You have them, too."

"Mm?" Tony hums, only half-listening.

"Nightmares."

Tony tenses at the comment, and, for a few moments, it almost seems he's not going to answer that. Finally, he says a terse, "Everybody does."

"You more than most, though," Loki says.

Tony blows out a long breath through his mouth. "Well," he says, "when a homicidal god throws you out a window a few hundred feet off the ground..."

Loki nods slowly. Some part of him recognizes this as a chance to apologize, but he pushes that thought away. In a moment of hesitant vulnerability, the last thing Tony needs is a lie. Still, he feels he has to at least acknowledge that Tony is talking about him, so, after a beat, he just says, "Well, you survived."