Tony: Age 6

Long Island, New York

Tony didn't have many friends growing up, despite being the genius son of Howard Stark. Most children around his age were intimidated by this higher intelligence, and as a result, avoided him. But the boy genius was content on tinkering with machines and electronics for the most part instead of being outside like most normal six year olds. It pained his mother to see her son cut himself off from the rest of world, well except for Rhodey.

One afternoon, while Tony was out working in the backyard of one of his father's vacation houses, the ground shook a bit, causing the boy to drop his screwdriver.

In a brilliant flash of light, a small body collided with the six year old, knocking both of them into the dirt. Wincing, Tony tried to sit up, but found the other boy to be too heavy. He appeared to be wearing light armor and a green cape, which Tony found extremely odd.

"Hey," Tony said while poking the other form. "Are you okay?"

There was some slight movement and the raven-haired individual sat up. Shaking his head, he inspected himself for any injuries. After finding none, he turned to Tony, his green eyes taking in his surroundings.

"Is this Midgard?" he asked, his voice small.

Tony made a face. "Midgard? No, this is America."

"Midgard," the youth said nodding while running a ringed finger through his messy black hair.

If there was one thing that bothered Tony, it was being wrong, even at six.

"No, I'm positive. This is Earth."

The other smiled. "That is what you humans call it."

"Humans?" Tony said incredulously. "Aren't you human?"

"No."

This one word confused the hell out of the young engineer. He knew of monsters, aliens, and other non-human things, but they were just stories that Rhodey told to scare him at night.

Right?

"I have never been here," the boy continued. "It is a very beautiful place, I'm glad I came."

"How did you get here?" Tony asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Magic," the green eyed boy smirked.

This caused Tony to double over laughing, which made the other boy frown slightly.

"What?"

"There is no such thing as magic," Tony gasped between breaths. "Only science!"

The mystery visitor raised an eyebrow. "They are the same."

"Uh-huh, okay," Tony replied, unconvinced.

Rolling his eyes, the boy walked around the backyard, inspecting everything as he went.

"Hey, you wanna play?" Young Stark said, perking up. He'd never had a friend outside of Rhodey, and he was away on vacation for a couple weeks.

"Play?" the boy responded. "With swords?"

"No!" Tony looked appalled. "Like with toys!"

"Swords are toys."

"Not on Earth," the genus child replied.

The black-haired youth just smiled.

They ended up spending time between Tony's toy collection and his robots, which were basically the same things. The little engineer showed his new friend his latest creation, Dummy, and told him that one day the AI would be the smartest robot in the world (despite its name).

As the sun started to set, Tony could hear his parents arriving back home from wherever they had gone. He instantly shot up and wanted to introduce his new friend, then he stopped.

"What is your name?" He asked slowly. Truth be told, the issue never came up.

The boy grinned. "Loki."

"Loki, huh?"

Loki nodded.

"Cool name. I'm Tony."

"Thank you, Tony," Loki said sincerely. No one had ever told him his name was cool before. Normally he was made fun of. "Most find my name…odd…"

"Nah, it's different. Different is good," Tony shouted as he ran to get his parents. "Stay there!"

Loki watched the human run off with sadness clouding his emerald eyes.

I'm sorry, Tony, he thought. A second later, he vanished.

A minute passed, and Tony returned, dragging his two parental figures behind him.

"He's right-"

They boy looked around the yard, but couldn't find a trace of his new friend.

Howard Stark looked at his wife, Maria, and sighed. "Didn't you say one of the Collins's boys have an imaginary friend?"

"He's not imaginary!" Tony protested. "He was just here! I don't…"

Maria looked sympathetically down on her son.

"It's okay Tony," she said. "It's perfectly normal to make friends up. I know, I did it when I was your age."

Tony frowned.

"Clean your toys up and wash for dinner," Howard said and walked back into the house.

Following her husband, Maria left Tony to his task.

They boy angrily kicked the dirt and went to do what his father had ordered. As he was cleaning, he saw something glint in the fading sunlight. He carefully reached down and picked it up.

It was a gold ring with emeralds stones adorning the outside. None of the gems were sticking out, giving it a nice smooth appearance.

He recognized it as Loki's from when his friend first appeared. He still thought Midgard was a stupid name for Earth, but he slipped it onto his right index finger anyway. Tony smiled. Perhaps Loki was telling him he would come back one day for it.

"I'll just hold onto it for him then," Tony said softly to no one.

Tony: Age 15

M.I.T.

While he was at MIT, Tony requested a private room, and when you were the son of billionaire Howard Stark, things normally went Tony's way.

It was a rainy Friday night, and Tony was busy working on his latest project. Dummy was "watching" from the corner, occasionally whirring and clinking.

"It's okay, Dummy," Tony said soothingly. "You're still my favorite."

Dummy whirred happily.

He was about to start soldering part of his new invention when a crack of thunder started him. Jerking his head up, Tony mentally scolded himself for being afraid of thunder, it was the lightning after all, that one should be worried about.

Going back to his work, Tony didn't even notice the figure appear behind him.

"Tony…"

At the mention of his name, the teenager swiveled around in his computer chair and pulled off his goggles.

"Loki?" he blinked rapidly.

The now taller, boy stood in the MIT student's dorm room on obviously shaky legs. Tony could see his pants and shirt were torn and pieces of his armor were missing.

Loki tried a smile, but he was too tired and it ended up looking like a sloppy grin.

"Are you okay?" Tony asked and rushed forward.

"Fine," the youth replied slowly. "Just ran into some trouble on Jotunheim, that's all."

As Tony helped his friend onto his bed, he noticed that there was blood running down the front of Loki's clothes.

"Loki you're- what's Yoyoheim?"

Loki rolled his eyes and winced. "It's Jotunheim, and yes, I'm aware I'm bleeding. I was there."

"Oh," Tony responded and tried to help Loki out of his wet and blooding clothing. "I think I have some gauze or something in the bathroom. Take your clothes off and I'll loan you some of mine."

"What?" Loki practically squeaked.

Tony returned with a first aid kit and smirked. "You'll catch a cold, now do it."

Loki obeyed and caught the black jogging pants and hoodie that was thrown his way.

"Let me bandage you up first."

Tony cleaned the wound, and it turned out the damage was actually minimal. It was a large cut, but it was shallow. Wrapping the bandage around Loki's torso, Tony taped it into place and helped the other teen into the sweatshirt.

Loki pulled the pants on and sat back on the bed, feeling much better now that he was warming up.

"Thank you, Tony."

"No problem," Tony called as he hung the damp clothing in the bathroom.

There was a silent moment before Tony came back into the room.

"Where have you been?"

The teen on the bed looked sheepishly at the floor and fidgeted with the strings on his sweatshirt.

"I had to leave," he replied. "Father would have noticed my absence if I had stayed any longer."

"Well you could have warned me," the human griped. "I thought I had made you up!"

"I apologize, Tony."

Tony's face softened. He could tell Loki was ashamed, he didn't need to beat the guy down anymore.

"So… where do you live?"

Loki looked up. "Asgard."

At that, Tony started laughing to the point where he almost started crying. They boy eyed his friend with confusion, much like the first time they met.

"What is so amusing?" Loki blinked.

Trying to control himself, Tony went over to his computer and sat down. He opened up Google and typed a couple letters into the search bar. After a second, he turned around and pointed at the screen.

"You're telling me you're the Loki? The God of Mischief and Chaos?"

From the bed, Loki only stared at his friend with large green eyes. "Yes," he said simply.

Tony frowned. "Nope, nuh-uh. No way."

Loki tilted his head to the side, clearly confused by the humans antics.

"And I'm sure Thor is in your world too."

"He is my brother, yes."

This caused Tony to start laughing again. "Did you really fuck a horse?"

Instantly, Loki turned a brilliant shade of red.

"N-no!" he sputtered.

"Well Wikipedia says you did," Tony snorted.

Loki glowered. "They are wrong! Where are these people? I shall have words with them!"

And with that, he teleported.

Tony stopped laughing. "Holy- Loki?"

A second later, Loki returned looking dumbfounded.

"I couldn't find anyone."

"Sit down before you fall down. I'm sorry I even brought it up," the student said quickly and stroked Dummy, who had wandered over to see what all the commotion was about.

Loki lay down and winced. "I think it was unwise to move so suddenly."

Tony eyed him. "So what were you doing on Whatever-you-call-it-heim?"

"Jotunheim," Loki repeated again. "Thor and I were looking for a sword, and he was a little too enthusiastic about killing some front giants."

"Sounds rough," Tony replied, and Dummy whirred in agreement.

Loki nodded. "He is always getting me into trouble."

"Makes me like being an only child," the genius mused aloud.

"Yes," the god muttered. "But I took slight detour to visit you."

Tony feigned shock. "The great Loki of Asgard, paying me a visit?"

This caused the other teen to glare. "Perhaps I'll leave then."

"No! I'm sorry," the engineering student said quickly. "I'll be good."

Loki smiled ruefully, and settled back on the bed. "So you believe me then?"

"About you being an all powerful Norse god?" Tony asked as he powered down his computer. "I'm not sure, I mean, you're only an inch taller than me. I thought gods would be- you know- taller."

"I am but a child compared to Odin and the others," the god snapped. "What do you expect?"

"I'm sorry your royal prickliness, didn't mean to offend your height."

The god pulled the green hood over his head and sighed.

"It is good to be away from home once in a while."

Tony nodded sympathetically. "I know what you mean. I'm not a huge fan of my family. My father doesn't have time for me, and my mother… well, she just follows what my dad does. All I really have is Dummy here."

The robot nudged his creator affectionately.

"Odin doesn't seem to see me," Loki said quietly. "He only has eyes for my dear brother, Thor. His golden prince, his favorite. I am not skilled in hand to hand combat, so he does not notice me aside from when I do something wrong."

Tony frowned, that didn't seem right.

"I'm different from everyone else back home, and I don't know why."

"Well, if it's any consolation," the genius smiled slowly. "I like you."

Loki returned the grin. "Thank you, Tony. It does help a bit."

Looking down, Loki noticed his ring on Tony's right pinkie. His smile grew larger.

"You found it," he murmured.

Tony looked up. "Oh, yeah, after you left like nine years ago."

He made to take it off and return it, but the god stopped him.

"Keep it, I'll come back for it another day."

"All right, thanks. I'm gonna take a shower then hit the sack," the student said and checked his watch. "Wow, is it that late. Geez."

He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Loki settled back and pulled a pillow under his head. It would be a couple of hours before his strength returned enough to get home, he just hoped Thor wasn't freaking out after he disappeared. That was going to be an interesting conversation when he returned.

Tony turned the shower head on and soon Loki found the spray of the water almost hypnotic. Trying to fight the lull of sleep was futile, and soon the god just gave in and closed his eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, Tony opened the door with a towel on his head. He smirked when he saw Loki fast asleep on his bed, mouth slightly open. Tiptoeing across the room, he quietly pulled out his futon and found a blanket. After putting Dummy to bed, he laid down and covered up. The last thing he thought about before he fell asleep, was whether or not Loki would be there when he woke in the morning.

A couple hours later, Tony awoke to the sun shining directly in his window. He mumbled something incoherent and cursed the star repeatedly. Swinging his legs over the futon's side, he glanced up at his bed.

The hoodie and pants Loki was wearing last night were folded neatly on the end of the blanket along with a note.

Tony,

I'm sorry, but I must return home. I promise to visit sooner, but time moves differently where I live, and I often lose track of what year it is where you are.

Also, most of the tales your people tell about me, are lies.

Loki.

Tony finished reading the note and smiled. Some of the things he read on the internet were a little weird, especially the horse thing. Sighing to himself, Tony began to get ready for his day of classes. He was sure Loki would be back before long.

Tony: Age 21

Malibu, California

Today was the 15th of March, the day Tony's parents died in a car crash, but Loki didn't know this when he landed in his friend's house that night. Anthony Edward Stark, just became CEO of Stark Industries, just twelve days after turning twenty-one. The god walked around the penthouse, trying to find a trace of the young man, but perhaps he was out.

There was a shattering of glass, and Loki ran towards the noise.

He found Tony sitting in a chair with a bottle of alcohol in his hand, with the remnants of a bottle splattered all over the opposite wall. The God of Mischief slowly approached.

"Tony?" He said quietly.

The newly appointed CEO looked sharply up at his friend. "Now you show up?" he slurred. "Where were you a couple hours ago?!"

Loki took a step back, his boots thudded against the hardwood floor. He had actually come in clothing almost appropriate for Midgard- no Earth. Not his heavy battle armor or royal garb as he was accustomed to wearing.

"I don't know," the god said. "What happened?"

Tony took a long gulp of his drink. "My parents are fucking dead! That's what happened!"

"Tony I'm-"

But the man cut him off. "No! I'm sick of hearing it from everyone! You're a god aren't you? Bring them back then!" Tony roared as he stood up.

In his drunken state, Tony had failed to realize Loki was now a good five inches taller than he was and a lot more muscular. Picking a fight with a god was not a really good idea, not that Tony would have listened anyway.

"It doesn't work that way," Loki said sadly.

Tony glared and tossed his empty bottle into the fireplace and opened another one.

"Perhaps you need to slow down, Tony."

"Fuck you," the CEO snapped. "You show up once every couple of years and expect me to listen to you? Hell no!" Pulling a chain out from under his shirt, Tony pulled the small ring off and threw it back at its owner. "This is yours."

Loki flinched visibly as he caught it. This was not the way he envisioned this going.

"Tony, just listen to me."

Shoving the god roughly away, Tony continued to down his drink in record time. Before Loki could stop him, he was already opening another. The Trickster could smell the amount of alcohol on his friend's breath, and it disgusted him. It reminded him of all the times Thor and his friends would get drunk and parade around Asgard.

The prince took one last look at the once sweet boy, and vanished into the shadows.

There was a banging at the door, before someone walked into the room. James "Rhodey" Rhodes spotted his friend passed out on the floor, bottles surrounding him. Shaking his head, he scooped his friend up and hauled him upstairs. He would call a doctor once he had Tony in his own bed, because he knew how much hospitals bothered him.

Back in Asgard, Loki stalked back to his chambers, passing Thor as he walked.

"Brother?" Thor asked, his brow creased in worry. "What is the matter?"

"Nothing," Loki muttered lowly and slammed his chamber door shut.

The God of Thunder frowned, but decided to leave his sibling alone for the time being. Loki could be most frightening when he was upset.

Tony: Age 35

Afghanistan

Tony slowly opened his eyes and tried to take in his surroundings. There was tightness in his chest and he looked down to see a car battery wired to his front. His eyes widened and his heart rate skyrocketed.

"Calm down, Mr. Stark."

After his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, Tony saw a man sitting across the room from him. "What the hell did you do to me?" he asked.

"What I did?" The glasses wearing man replied calmly. "I saved your life."

Tony still eyed him skeptically.

"I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left, and it's headed into your atria septum. Here, want to see?" the man handed Tony a small glass container. "I have a souvenir. Take a look."

Taking the vial from the other man, the CEO held it up to what little light was in this cave. Tiny pieces of metal rolled around inside the glass. Tony looked down.

"I assume this is keeping me alive," he deadpanned. "Wonderful."

The man smiled. "It is a minor victory, yes."

"What do I call you?" Tony asked after a moment of silence. "You did save my life after all."

"My name is Yinsen," the doctor replied.

"Yinsen," the genius repeated, committing it to memory. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Later that night, Tony was trying to sleep after the guards had rushed into their holding cell and told him to build them one of his Jericho missiles. After he refused, they practically drowned him until he agreed. Putting a hand to his chest, Tony felt the magnet shift a bit, and he grimaced.

Loki! He thought over and over. Loki, help me!

He silently prayed to his friend for an hour before giving up. Looking down, he missed the presence of Loki's ring, and wished with all his heart that he could have it back around his neck. If he were in Loki's position, he wouldn't answer himself either. The last time he saw his friend, he was shitfaced drunk and was incredibly rude. He could still remember the look on Loki's face before he blacked out. It was one of pain and sadness, and Tony had caused it.

Wishing he could change the past, Tony drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning, Yinsen shook him awake, and he sat up, trying to work the kinks out of his muscles. It was time to work on the weapon.

"Who is Loki?" Yinsen asked casually. "You mentioned him in your sleep."

Tony jerked his head up, causing it to crack.

"A friend?"

The billionaire looked down sadly. "I still hope so."

The doctor was going to press further into the matter, but he decided to keep quiet.

Tony: Age 36

Malibu, California

It had been fifteen years since Tony had seen his friend last. If Loki never wanted to talk to him again after what happened the last time, Tony didn't blame him. Besides, he was sure Loki had some princely matters to attend to on Asgard. Not that Tony totally bought into the idea of magic, but they guy fucking teleported in and out of his dorm room one night, it was hard to ignore that.

He had a giant telescope in his bedroom, aimed at the night sky. If anyone asked, Tony would say that the stars were fascinating, or it was for research. But he was actually trying to find Asgard, if that was even possible.

Pepper had informed him of some unusual activity in New Mexico, but he shrugged it off because Coulson was already on his way down there. It didn't concern Tony, he was still trying to figure out how to get into space quickly and easily.

That dream was cut short when he read about Yggdrasill, a giant tree or whatever, and Tony gave up on the telescope idea.

It was like having a pen pal in another country that you couldn't fly to.

Tony was sitting in his living room, a couple weeks after the entire Whiplash incident at the Stark Expo, playing with some designs on his Stark Pad, when something or someone crashed through his roof. The billionaire groaned, he had just gotten that fixed from when he destroyed it during his birthday.

The form on the ground sucked in a breath.

Loki.

The genius was instantly on his feet and at the god's side.

"Loki! What happened?" Tony said, worried. "Are you hurt?"

Tony turned his friend over and he didn't look much better. The god was pale, with deep, dark circles under each eye. There were numerous small cuts along his throat and face, and his clothing was in pieces.

"Tony?" Loki said slowly as he opened his eyes.

The playboy was silent as the normally green eyes were replaced by blood red ones. The god hissed as his skin turned a dark shade of blue and the temperature dropped a couple degrees. He was far too weak to control his cloaking spell. Loki tried to push away, but Tony held fast.

"Would you stop squirming so I can apologize to you!" Tony shouted.

Ceasing his movement, Loki looked up. "What?"

"Look, I'm really sorry. The last time you came to visit I was a total ass. I was rude and I never should have said those things to you. You're my friend, and I'm sorry."

Loki nodded slowly. "I accept."

"Good, because I was not saying that twice," the engineer said.

There was a bit of silence before Loki broke it.

"I have a lot to tell you," he said quietly.

"Like why you're blue?" Tony asked.

At those words, Loki flinched in the playboy's arms. "Yes," the god mumbled. "That and among other things."

After Tony had helped the Trickster clean up, he parked him on a sofa with some food and a cup of water. Truth be told, a shower helped, but Loki still looked like death warmed over. Sometime during the whole ordeal, the god had switched back to his human looking form, and Tony was a little sad.

Loki explained to Tony what had transpired after the last time they met and what had recently happened in Asgard. All the while, Tony listened without interrupting, which was amazing, in its own right. He listened as Loki told him about Jotunheim, the coronation, Odin's lies, and the Bifrost.

Apparently Loki was the son of the former king of Jotunheim, a race of Frost Giants that were mortal enemies of Asgard. He found it almost disturbing that Odin stole Loki from another realm and raised him as an Asgardian without even telling him. Loki had felt like he was an outsider his entire life, and it was true. The least his adopted father could have done was tell him of his heritage instead of hiding it.

The raven-haired mage had grown up feeling alone and different and no one would tell him why. It pained Tony to see his friend so lost.

"So now you understand," Loki concluded. "You probably hate me too."

Tony looked at him. "Why would I hate you?"

Loki scoffed. "Everyone else does, why not you?"

Tony actually took offense to that question. "First, I'm not everyone. And second, I like you just the way you are. Like I told you about your name, different is good."

Something burned in Loki's chest, it was an odd feeling.

"Though red is more my color, but blue is cool too."

The Trickster smiled a little as he leaned into Tony's warm embrace.

"Thank you, Tony," he mumbled as he drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

Tightening his hold on the god, Tony closed his eyes too, breathing in the scent of the others hair. Making sure he committed it to memory, after being apart for so long. For a long time he wished Loki would come back so he could apologize, but Tony realized that wasn't the only reason.

He wanted this.

He wanted Loki.

He wanted Loki as he was, Frost Giant or not.

It didn't matter one bit to Tony about what happened in Asgard, what matters is Loki is with him again. And maybe, if Asgard doesn't feel like home to Loki anymore, perhaps Tony can show him that Earth can feel even better.

Thousands of miles away, Thor and Odin stand with Heimdall on the edge of the broken Bifrost. The gatekeeper lowers his hand as he finishes showing the two other gods what he sees on Midgard. Thor looks down, worry clouding his storm blue eyes.

"He is well then," Thor said mostly to himself.

"It seems so," the all-seeing god replied without emotion.

Odin turned to return to the palace, but his son stopped him.

"Father," Thor pleaded. "What will happen to him?"

The Allfather eyed his son. "He will be punished."

Thor gasped. "That is unjust! Loki was not himself when he did those things! Surely you can't blame him for that!"

"Let me finish," Odin said, there was no touch of anger in his voice, only sadness. "Midgard served you well. Let us hope it does the same for your brother."

"You will allow him to stay with the mortal man?" Thor asked.

Odin nodded. "No one will know of his deeds. And if he decides to return, Asgard will welcome him with open arms."

Thor smiled a genuine smile as he watched his father walk back across the broken bridge. He turned his gaze back into space, wishing he could see as Heimdall sees. Loki was his brother no matter what, if not in blood, then in bond.

He silently makes a promise to go to Loki after some time has passed to right the wrongs he has made against his brother. But right now, it is best to give the younger god some space. Thor thanked the Gatekeeper and followed his father back to the palace, knowing in his heart that his younger brother was safe.

Back on Earth, Tony drifted off to sleep, still holding Loki close to his chest, a small smile playing on his lips.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

Nicholls