Still Holding On

Chapter 26

Tony couldn't sleep, so he does what he always does when he can't sleep: he stays up until an ungodly time in the morning tinkering in his lab until he's ready to try again.

The only reason he's actually going to try to sleep a second time is that he's acutely aware that Loki's mother is coming in the morning, and he'd like to not be a walking zombie — or, worse, annoyingly eccentric in his sleep-deprived state — when he meets the queen of Asgard.

So, with a sigh, he pushes himself to his feet, his suits forgotten for the rest of the night. He can pick them back up another day.

Before Loki showed up, Tony would have assumed he'd pick his inventions up the next day. It's nearly all he's done since he became Iron Man: improve, improve, improve. It's a nice change, having Loki to distract him; give him something to do with his time besides tinker.

Speaking of Loki, he should probably check in on him, just to make sure he's doing okay. It's probably ridiculous — of course he's okay; he's been in bed for hours — but he just wants to make sure. It's been a while since he's had to sleep on his own. It seems worth the check-in.

Tony tells JARVIS to pull up the security camera footage from Loki's room, and he realizes pretty quickly that this arrangement is not working. It's been hours since Loki went to bed, but he's wide awake, sitting cross-legged on his bed and hugging his pillow. His blanket is draped over his back, pulled snug against him as he stares blankly at the wall in front of him.

Tony sighs.

Alright, time to check in on the local demigod.

Tony heads down to Loki's room, and he quietly knocks on the door. He doesn't want to be too loud; he'd hate to scare him when he already seems so miserable.

"Yes?" Loki's voice comes through the door.

That's enough of an answer for him. Tony pushes the door open, poking his head in. Loki gives him a small smile, so Tony returns it with one of his own.

"Hey, you okay?" he asks.

Loki nods, but the pillow he's squeezing like his life depends on it says otherwise.

"You know, most people are usually asleep by now," Tony tells him.

"You aren't," Loki remarks.

Tony chuckles quietly. He can't argue with that.

He steps into the room and closes the door behind him. He's not sure why — it's not like there's anybody else in the building — but it feels more private like this. He walks up to him and gestures to the bed. "Can I sit?"

"Of course," Loki says.

Tony takes a seat on the end of the bed, and he looks over at the god, a sympathetic smile on his face. "How you doing, Loki?"

Loki gives him a small shrug. "I'm alright, I suppose."

"Can't sleep?" Tony asks.

"Strange dream," Loki replies.

"About what?"

Loki lets out a long breath, resting his chin on the top of his pillow. "Magical rocks."

Tony furrows his brows. "What?"

"My thoughts exactly," Loki says. "As I said: a strange dream."

Tony nods slowly. Well, weird dreams are weird dreams. There's nothing much to it. "Were they cool magical rocks?"

"In hindsight, they were," Loki tells him. "In the moment, they came about with an inexplicable wave of fear." He huffs a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head to himself. "Very, very strange."