(no subject)

[st_ratagem]

Usually the increasingly-regular lunches with Stark started with at least a pretense of Stark coming into the clinic for a reason. It was actually funny that now, when both of them had injuries that might benefit from being looked at and checked, it was almost like they'd silently agreed to meet in the café area instead. Or at least, Stark hadn't turned up in his usual timeframe. It seemed entirely possible that Thor had communicated their break, and Stark had entirely reasonably decided that there was no further need to play nice.

Whatever the reason, Loki had gotten used to taking a break in the middle of the day, whether or not he actually spent that time eating. The café was as good a place as any.

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[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Since he was still down an arm, Tony had chosen salad for lunch. Waldorf Salad, another New York classic. A fork was easier to negotiate and far more dignified than struggling with a burger.

"So. You seem well." His tone was muted but more admiring than resentful. Gods and their expedited cell repair.

[st_ratagem]

"Well enough." Fewer obvious wounds, and he'd been able to almost completely avoid using magic, so his energy and reserves were approaching normal. His shoulder and ribs were still sore (occasionally ranging up to stabbing pain when he forgot to be careful) while everything knitted up, but that was still faster than human without magical healing.

He pointed briefly at Stark's salad. "You should add some protein." He'd chosen his own order at random, mostly because he knew that annoyed Stark. It had turned out to be a tuna melt and fries, which as usual was fine.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"This is the appetizer. Just hold your horse-children." Not a lie. Since getting swatted like a mosquito and cracking his head, Tony was fully committed to his own health. There was a lot of neglect to work off.

"Thanks. Again."

[st_ratagem]

"I didn't do much." It was strange being thanked, of all things. It had been a rare occurrence even before he'd stopped doing things that anyone might thank him for. "But I suppose you're welcome."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"I know you don't think my life is "much," but I do. So I'm appropriately grateful. You even broke my fall. With your body. That's some legendary-bro material right there." Tony was aware of this mostly-second hand and really hoped no one was having a giggle by making any of this up.

"You could have let me die. But you didn't."

[st_ratagem]

Loki shrugged. "It was in my best interest to stay on Thor's good side," less of an issue now, "and make sure he didn't lose his primary distraction," much more important now, "so letting you die would have been a tolerably bad move on my part." It had, in fact, been as simple as Stark thought: Loki simply hadn't wanted to let him die. The calculation and justification came later, as a method of saving face. "If you really want to assign more virtue than that, feel free. I'm always happy to take advantage."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony leaned in on his palm, gazing at the trickster over his meal. His smile was half-hidden.

"Þagalt og hugalt
Skyli þjóðans barn
Og vígdjarft vera."

[st_ratagem]

"Terrible. I despise silence." It was useful, at times, but that didn't make Loki hate it less. And remarking on it was better than mocking the man's pronunciation, which felt like low-hanging fruit at best.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony thought for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Ærna mælir
Sá er æva þegir
Staðlausu stafi;
Hraðmælt tunga
Nema haldendur eigi
Oft sér ógott um gelur."

More nuance in that one.

[st_ratagem]

Loki flashed a grin. "That's better. But now I have to go for the low-hanging fruit and tell you that your pronunciation is awful. You sound like an American speaking a dead language." Oh wait!

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Thanks for the feedback. Kindness is in truth and yadda yadda yadda." Tony turned his attention back to his meal.

"If you hate silence so much, I'll keep talking. That fair?"

[st_ratagem]

"I certainly have no objection." Loki had never exactly removed attention from his meal, but it turned out that fries were good for gesturing with, so he did that before eating one. "Silence isn't just not talking, it's no sound. Even if you decided to stop talking, there's virtually no chance of silence here."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"That's the beauty of poetry. You can interpret it however you want." Tony winked, nibbling on a walnut. "Also, my mouth goes before I do, but I think you knew that."

Even as he spoke, he still had some doubts about his own agenda just being there. Every game plan for getting more information out of the man fell short in his own mind.

[st_ratagem]

“Possibly your finest quality.” Whatever his feelings about the man, Loki had to admit Stark was decent company. He almost added a comment about Thor trying to communicate with eyebrow signals, but pushed it back. Clean break. “Unlike your troubled relationship with gravity.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Gravity is the least of my issues." Well, it sort of was now. He had taken his armor on a few test flights, with most of them ending in emergency landings. "I'm gonna be seeing Bonejangles in my goddamn sleep."

He coughed, picking a bit of leaf out of his teeth with his fork. Better move on from the subject before he gave himself indigestion.

"Enough about that. If we're talking about worries, would you laugh if I said mine were more existential lately?"

[st_ratagem]

“I might, but don’t take it personally.” Were they talking about worries, then? Fine. That was always a fruitful topic. “You’re funny.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Existential threats moreso than angst." There was Tony's first little untruth of the day. Knowing there was a high probability he would be Actually Dead soon put him into a weird head space when he wasn't distracting himself.

"Getting, as the kids put it, thoroughly wasted the other night makes one think of where the next one'll from. It's always been a serial escalation thing ever since I became Iron Man. If you don't know what the future holds, you plan for it. Get what I'm saying?"

[st_ratagem]

“Generally when I don’t know what the future holds, I’ll interfere until I’m the one who decides what happens, but yes. I follow your reasoning.” Whose idea had it been to put cheese and tuna fish on the same sandwich? It wasn’t bad.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony merely hummed in response. That didn't bode well.

"I'm sure Thor has barked up this tree enough so I'll keep it brief. Let's say we got back home with our memories intact. No more fishbowl." He gestured between the two of them. "We collaborate. Asgardians, Avengers."

[st_ratagem]

Thor and I are no longer speaking. Loki took another bite of sandwich rather than saying that, and used chewing and swallowing to consider matters.

Stark had specifics in mind, that was clear. What they could be was the real question. “I didn’t think you’d need to negotiate for my brother’s collaboration.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You know what I meant." Tony gestured back with his fork, blowing his bangs up from his eyes when they fell. Goddamn, they needed a trim.

"I have Thor's. I want yours. Not even for ideals like "justice" or "truth" or chump stuff like that. I'm speaking purely pragmatic."

[st_ratagem]

Hmmm. “I’m not much of a team player, recent events notwithstanding.” Whatever Stark’s point was, it was important to him. Important enough to take whatever this not-friendship was to a different level. “And I have no intention of spending any time on Midgard after getting out of here. I have other priorities.” Not being locked up, as he’d have to be on either Midgard or Asgard.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"My point." Tony lifted a hand. "You have your scope, we have ours. We've got our eyes on our corner, you've got your eyes on yours. If there's, ah, overlap we work together for a mutually beneficial outcome. Think less of a formal political alliance and simply a commitment to being neighborly."

Tony had a pretty good feeling that any talk of formalization would lose Loki immediately. Hell, it lost him most of the Avengers.

[st_ratagem]

“I don’t think you understand. When we escape from here, none of you will ever see me again.” The only real reason to stay in orbit had been Thor, and that thread was cut. “I won’t be neighborly, as I won’t be a neighbor.” Perhaps he’d actually go to Jotunheim and see what he could do there? Being one of them had to have some benefit.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

A beat.

Tony exhaled, slowly. He wasn't going to go chasing after Loki or get down on his knees on this one. His knowledge would have been of great benefit, but the man was as big a benefit as he was a risk. Even after Loki saved his life, Tony could see that.

'He saved your life.'

Oh no. No.

No.

No attacks of the conscience right now, thanks.

"Shame. For me, mostly." Another untruth. In spite of himself, he had a hard time reconciling he was letting Loki continue on in blissful ignorance.