Tony was standing on top of the roof of his Tower, letting the wind whip through his hair while he looked down at the rushing lights of New York City far below him. He had always loved roofs. They had been a safe place for him, away from the yelling and screaming his parents, away from the stench of alcohol. With the wind rushing past him, it had given him the illusion of freedom. And even the illusion had been worth something at that point in time.

It was the one major thing that Tony wished he could change about his suit design in general, because despite how impractical it was for the sake of the armor, he wished that he could feel the wind rush past his face as he flew through the air. He wished he could just fly.

Just one more step forward, and, for a few seconds at least, he would get to experience that feeling.

Tony closed his eyes, inching a little bit closer to the edge.

Suicidal wasn't a word that most people attributed to him, and maybe under normal circumstances they would have been correct, but these were not normal circumstances. His friend and childhood hero had abandoned him. His girlfriend had left- for good, no matter what words had come out of her mouth. They both knew it had only been a matter of time. His best friend was paralyzed thanks to him, and he lived with an android that sounded like his other best friend who he had created as an homage to the man who had been more of a father to him than anyone else in his life.

Tony would grant you that so-called "normal" circumstances weren't really a thing in his life, but this was beyond even the abnormalities of daily life. This was hell, and Tony was ready for it to be over.

"Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?"

Nothing. He was nothing. Or, rather, he was the coward who'd never had the guts to end his life in the past. He wouldn't make that mistake again today.

Tony closed his eyes.

Just one more step.

He stepped forward.

For a moment, there was the air rushing past his face as he plummeted towards the ground. He kept his eyes closed and reveled in the feeling. It wouldn't last long, but it was all about to be over. All of it. The pain, the suffering, it would just end. He didn't have to fight any more.

There was a quiet thud and a gentle impact that was definitely not with the ground.

Tony opened his eyes in startled surprise and found himself staring into the face of a stranger. They were about the same height, the other man just slightly shorter, and he was wearing a black t-shirt, khaki pants, and a brown jacket. The stranger's arms were wrapped securely around him, and as Tony looked up in baffled surprise he found himself looking into beautiful hazel eyes and feeling something he hadn't felt in years- safe.

Tony ripped his own gaze away, breaking the moment.

"Who the hell are you?" Tony demanded, taking a step back from the intruder in shock as he realized they were back on the roof. Was this some kind of twisted dream?

"Loki!" The good-looking man responded brightly, and Tony jerked, reeling in surprise. The stranger noticed and rolled his eyes. "Not that Loki; do I sound British to you?"

Tony's breath was coming in shaky gasps. He'd just committed suicide for fuck's sake! And now he was facing a man who said he was Loki without being Loki.

The not-Loki took a step forward, holding out a steadying hand. "Whoa there, buddy. You doing alright?"

"I just tried to throw myself off of a fucking building!" Tony snapped. "What do you think?"

Not-Loki hesitated briefly and then shrugged. "We've all been there."

Tony just stared.

Not-Loki heaved a sigh. "Okay, so maybe not all, but, hey, I threw myself off of the top of my home too. Landed on Earth, so everything turned out alright."

Tony opened his mouth briefly and then closed it again. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah, that's fair." Not-Loki held out his hand. "Let's try this again, shall we? I'm Gabriel."

Tony looked at the offered hand like it was a snake before tentatively accepting the handshake. "I thought you were Loki?"

'Gabriel' shrugged. "Semantics. Now, do you want to tell me why you just tried to throw yourself off of a building?"

Tony wrenched his hand away. "Not particularly," he growled, and then suddenly frowned. "And I didn't 'try' to throw myself off of a building; I succeeded. And then you caught me. In mid-air?" Tony found himself looking for some kind of suit or tech that would explain that.

Gabriel grinned a bit sheepishly. "Yeah. I… wasn't expecting you to actually jump. Had to take drastic measures."

Tony furrowed his brow, looking at the slightly shorter man in confusion. "I don't…. Why the hell do you care?"

"I'm your guardian angel?" Gabriel tried.

Tony snorted. "Like hell you are."

Gabriel actually looked moderately offended by that for some reason. "Well, sure, I may not fit the stereotypical image, but would you really want some judgement douche with a stick up his ass charged with watching over you? Every glass of scotch you'd ever tried to drink would have mysteriously shattered before reaching your lips." Gabriel grinned. "I'm more fun."

"Fucking insane is what you are," Tony muttered. "Or maybe I'm just going insane."

"Neither, I promise," Gabriel said firmly, and Tony once again found himself looking into those hazel, almost golden eyes.

And he felt safe.

"Listen, I get that you're confused and are probably going to want many detailed explanations, but do you think we can do that outside? It's fucking freezing out here."

For some reason, Tony wasn't expecting the vulgarity to come out of the self-proclaimed angel's mouth, and it startled a small smile out of him. "Yeah, let's go inside." Because even if he were inviting a deranged serial killer inside his house, and least this way he'd die feeling like he was home. Even if that feeling made no sense whatsoever.

"Fantastic," Gabriel said with a grin before promptly snapping his fingers.

Tony jerked as he realized they were standing in front of the open bar in his penthouse. How the hell had he done that?

Gabriel steadied him as he swayed. "Easy there. Drink? I have a feeling you're going to need one."

Tony mutely accepted a glass of his own scotch (that no one had fucking poured) from Gabriel, still feeling a bit in shock. What was this?

"See, here's the thing," Gabriel said with an almost sheepish smile. "I wasn't being a smartass earlier. I really am your guardian angel. And… well, I seem to have dropped the ball." Gabriel looked Tony firmly in the eyes, "But that's never going to happen again."

Tony stared at him and, for some unknown reason, he actually believed the insane man in front of him.

Tony took a sip of his scotch.

Gabriel's eyes glowed.