The Reason Is You

A sequel, as mentioned, to my last story 'Don't Mistake Kindness For Weakness'. Since that name was based of TFK's 'Feel the place go Boom', I put this name as a song lyric being 'The Reason'. Listen to Weslife's cover of it and imagine IronFrost. FEELS. I will make many references to the song in here, so I would recommend listening to it. I HAVE NEVER SEEN WAR HORSE. Just thought I would let you guys know.

Chapter one - All you'll ever be

Thor's gaze grazed the figure before him, struck with empathy and tinted with sorrow. He himself carried the burden of truth. Concealing it from this man, now stammering in a drunken stupor, was more painful than he had previously anticipated. He could not tell them of his brothers last request, for that would put the blame on the billionaire and he refused to corrupt the man further.

"You must not loose hope, Man of Iron," He reassured, placing the bucket under Tony's mouth with no time to spare. After retching, the man just coughed and shook his head, disgusted with himself.

"What hope is that?"

The god hesitated, "That you and he will be reunited."

"Loki?" The mortal, through his drunken haze, was skeptical, "Hooow'd you know?"

"You have not been sober for days, and have failed to stop talking about him," Was the response. After a sullen beat he continued, "In two days a new...Movie(?) is released. I believe it was named War Horse. I would very much like to see it, and since you have not left this apartment, I suggest you lay off the drinks and accompany me. It is handy, the time difference, for to-morrow you will have a mighty headache."

A grunt in reply, but no audible argument. Thor, in his peripheral vision, spotted the sterilized containment room full of mechanical beasts - not dissimilar to several he had smashed in their last fight - that Loki had resided in temporarily. The blood trails were cleaned, but other than that it remained untouched. It was painful, to watch as a dust laced the objects, unsettled. Waiting. Expecting. And for what? A faded memory.

Thor trained his eyes on the charcoal carpet, "I wish to thank you, though I doubt you'll remember this. You gave my brother his humanity, something no Asier ever could. You should him how to love and I am certain he died still believing in you."

"What good is belief?" Tony snarled, stretching over the bed, head lolling back.

"Do not speak ill of it," The booming voice was edged with a sharp warning, "He thought it - you - were worth dying for. After all, he turned himself in to save your life."

That made him snap, "And what makes you think that? The man was an idiot, I told him to get out of there! He could - should - have lived! And I was there. I..." He lost his trail of thought to seething rage and concluded by slamming his forehead into the bar. A bronzed hand patted his back reassuringly, but this only succeed in stirring the contents of his stomach.

.oOo.

The day that passed after his constant drinking was painful. Face contorted with pain, he lay quivering under a blanket. Thor had provided a tin bucket and was being surprising affection, assisting him at any possible opportunity. No doubt his was to repent for his brothers death. Tony spent the day burrowed under the covers, either thinking or writhing in pain, intersected with hiatuses of seeing to his needs.

Yes he was overreacting. He knew that. There was a memory in his mind, not long after Phil's supposed death, 'First time you lost a soldier?'. Death had always rattled him to the core. Observing it effecting innocents was sickening, especially when his own inventions caused it. He had always held responsibility for the casualties, and always hated himself for that very reason. Loosing Loki was the worst possible scenario. Because he was useless. Because all Tony had achieved was elongating the gods life by mere minuets. Because had he not have distracted the former before Thor's arrival, they could have concealed himself. Because he had failed.

Night came too early in his mind and Pepper, doing a final check up, informed him that he best recover from the hang over since he and Thor were going out. It was a well known fact that when it came to the Thunderer 'loud' was an understatement.

.oOo.

His first impressions of the day were not positive. While sober, there was still a dull throbbing in his head. Pain would shoot through every time Thor went to speak, which was actually a lot. The cinema the god had requested was relatively low profile. Well, more than relatively. It was, in all honest, decrepit. He would not voice this, but it honestly looked like scraps. There was once a large nylon sign reading 'Cinedrome', but weather had eroded the edges and vandels shredded and stole from what remained. A tattered bollard hung over it, advertising an outdated energy drink that had been sued half a year back, casting the dismal building in an unpleasant shadow. The tarmac was laced with dust that spewed in a cloud at their tread. Thor, however, seemed to be enjoying the scenery. Which was one of the operative points, so Tony couldn't complain.

The innards of the 'cinedrome' was just as dilapidated as the outside. It had two workers, most likely scrounging for money. They held no apparent recollection of the duo, which was pleasant, as apposed to being bombarded with press. The genius knew the god loathed this, and tried to ignore the dampened stains or dead flies as they exchanged there tickets and passed through.

Sitting to watch the film, he failed to find anything that connected him with it. The first parts whizzed by without much care from him, until a certain character entered. Tony cocked his head inquisitively, noticing the present differences. For a start, this mans hair fell in very short, blonde curls. His eyes were a diluted sapphire, blending with a mildly tanned face. His cheekbones were less defined, but there was no mistaking that lean man.

The man on screen was Loki.