Still Holding On

Chapter 2

When Tony suggested they get shawarma, he did not mean they should take Loki with them to the shawarma shop down the street that his army nearly destroyed no more than half an hour ago. And yet, here they are.

Now that they've finally had the chance to just sit down, the exhaustion is starting to sink in. They eat in silence, though Steve has no more than two or three bites before he stops, just propping his head up on his hand and letting his eyes glaze over. Tony has half a mind to offer to call him a cab now, because it looks like he's about 30 seconds away from falling asleep.

Meanwhile, Loki is sitting in the corner of the restaurant, Mjolnir on his lap to keep him from moving. It would be funny if the atmosphere in the room wasn't so gloomy.

Tony glances at the god, and Loki looks back at him, expressionless. There's something so creepy about that. They stopped him. They foiled his plan. All the effort he put into it, all those lives he took, and he failed. And he doesn't seem at all upset about it.

There comes a point when they've all finished eating, but nobody wants to say anything. Nobody wants to get up. Nobody wants to be the one that tells everybody else to get up.

Tony reaches over and taps Thor on the (very muscular, very chiseled) arm. "Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Of course," Thor says, already standing up. He looks at his brother warily, and Loki just raises his brows. It's disconcerting to say the least, but with Mjolnir on his lap, there's nothing Loki can do, so Thor reluctantly leaves him be.

Tony leads Thor out of the shop, out of earshot of the others but still within sight through the windows. Thor will doubtlessly want to be able to watch Loki, and Tony's offered to pay and he doesn't want anyone to think he's backed out of that.

"Is everything okay?" Thor asks.

"Uh... no," Tony says. There's no point in sugar coating it. "I think this is part of Loki's plan."

Thor furrows his brows. "Loki's plan had been to control your world and your people. We stopped that. He will return to Asgard with me, where he will likely spend the rest of his days in the dungeon, should he not be executed outright."

"Yeah, no, I don't think so," Tony says. He glances through the window where he finds Loki watching them. He shudders at the thought. "I think he wanted this," he says. "He wanted us to catch him in Germany, and I think he wants us to catch him now."

"Why would he do that?" Thor asks, unconvinced.

"I don't know," Tony admits. "But he told me when I met him in the tower. He told me to find the holes in his plan. He put them there on purpose."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Doesn't it?" Tony asks. "He mind-controlled Barton, and he didn't kill Fury. He mind-controlled Selvig, and he built a way to bypass the machine. He tried to mind-control me, and I'm probably the only person who can't be mind-controlled. He warned Romanoff about the Hulk. He put the machine on my house." He shakes his head to himself. "Do you want me to go on? 'Cause I can. If he really wanted to win, he was doing a horrible job at showing it."

Thor frowns. "If returning to Asgard is part of his plan..."

"Then he can't go back to Asgard," Tony finishes.

Thor nods solemnly. "Not until I've spoken with my father. He's caused enough harm to both your realm and my own. I would not want to play into his hands once more."

"You and me both," Tony mutters. "So what do you want to do with him? Give him to SHIELD for the time being? Come back for him once you've talked to your dad?"

Thor hesitates. "By SHIELD, you're referring to Alexander Pierce."

"Yeah, and Fury," Tony says. "Cap; Romanoff; Barton. All of 'em." It's a whole big party he wasn't invited to. Not that he's bitter. Nope.

"Alexander Pierce was not eager to give him up," Thor says warily. "I do not know that I trust him to watch over him – or to give him back when I ask."

"Then I think you're out of luck," Tony says. "SHIELD is the most secure organization in the world. Nobody can keep an eye on him like they can."

"Could you?"

Tony stares at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You have an entire tower at your disposal," Thor says. "You must have room for one more."

Tony scoffs. "Thor, he destroyed my tower. It's gonna take months to get that thing back in working order."

"And I apologize on his behalf for that," Thor says, though his sympathy is questionable. "But I only ask for a day or two of your time."

"And that's a day or two that I'm not gonna give you," Tony says. "I'm not watching your psycho brother."

Thor doesn't take offense to the insults the same way he did hours ago. He must have finally realized the accusations aren't without merit. "If you truly believe that returning to Asgard is part of Loki's plan, it is imperative that he not have his way. For the sake of my realm and your own."

Tony presses his lips into a firm line. He doesn't like this. He really, really doesn't like this. But, as much as he hates to admit it, Thor may be right about not bringing Loki to SHIELD. It was a fight just to convince them to let Thor take him. To give him up now... Well, SHIELD has been known to poke the bear once or twice. That's not worth the risk. And if Loki wants to go to Asgard, that idea can't be any better.

So, finally, Tony sighs. "If I stick him in a room, what are the odds that he's gonna stay there 'til you get back?"

They both glance through the window at the god, who's watching the other Avengers' meal with the same silent obedience as before.

"I believe he will," Thor says. "And should he not listen, I will return as soon as I get word of it. You have nothing to fear. He does not seem eager to hurt anybody right now – not until everything has lined up in his favor, whenever he believes that to be."

Tony nods reluctantly. Loki wants to go to Asgard. Why would he jeopardize that?

"Give me 30 minutes," he says. "I'll set up a room; put in some cameras. I'm not taking my eyes off him for a moment."

"That may be a good idea," Thor admits. "So in 30 minutes, I may join you at your tower with Loki in tow?"

"But be discreet about it," Tony says. "The only ones that need to know are you and me."

Thor furrows his brows. "Not your friends?"

Tony would hardly call them friends. He's only known most of them for a few hours. Now feels like the wrong time to mention that.

"Not if you don't want Pierce to take him," Tony says. "Nobody knows. Got it?"

Thor nods once. "I understand."

"Good." Tony reaches into his pocket for his wallet. He pulls out a wad of cash and hands it over. "Lunch is on me. Anyone asks, the shawarma didn't sit right and I went home to lie down." He gestures for him to go back inside. "I'll see you in half an hour. No sooner. I got some shit to set up."