Prequel Chapter 72

"Fandral has bedded many maidens. Even he could not resist a dark haired such as me." Loki smiled. "He was shocked when I turned him down."
“This Fandral guy sounds like the me of your world.” Tony said jokingly. “Well, I already think you’re pretty hot, so I guess female you can’t be that bad.”
"You have no idea." Loki left stark where he was in favor of the kitchen wanting something to eat.
Tony watched the god, staring at Loki’s ass before he chuckled and shook his head.
“He really slept here all night?”
“Yes Sir. He seemed quite keen on watching over you.”
"He carried you all the way back home and down to the med bay." Jarvis explained. "Even offered to carry you to your bedroom."
Tony felt a flutter in his chest but tried not to get his hopes up. He smiled a bit to himself.
“Well that was nice. How my other reactor?”
“It took quite a battering Sir. Had it not been for your recent upgrades, you could have died.”
“All right, show me the damage and I’ll fix it.”
"I'm awakening the lab now, Sir." Jarvis informed him.
Tony smiled as he headed into his lab and the entire room hummed quietly with life. “Hi Darling.”
Dum-E and Butterfingers both rushed over, beeping excitedly.
“All right you two, calm down. I’m fine.”
"You'll have to make another spare." Jarvis instructed. "In case you cannot repair this one as it once was."
Tony hummed in response, looking at the damage to his reactor. “I’d better just build two new ones instead. This one’s dead.”
"Bringing up the blue prints now, Sir."
Tony nodded and looked the plans over, tapping his fingers a bit. “All right, let’s add in an emergency mechanism. I want the suit to cut its line to my reactor if something like this ever happens again.”
“Right away Sir.”
“And let’s go ahead and put an energy store in the suits.”
"Should we perhaps make the energy store larger and able to hold more?" He asked.
“Yeah, let’s see how it would fit in with the original design of the suit.” Tony pulled up the plans and made the adjustments. “Implement changes.”
"Already under way Sir. Doctor Banner is on his way down to see you along with Captain Rogers."
“All right. Just let em in when they get here.” Tony got to work on his new reactors, setting aside the plans for his suit changes.
"Why are you up and out of bed, you should be sleeping and resting." Bruce frowned.
"Even Loki is smart enough to get some rest."
Tony just grinned at the man and shrugged. “I’m fine. When I start feeling sick again I’ll lie down.”
"You scared us not as much as Loki did but please don't do that anymore." Steve said.
“We’re all going to get hurt sometimes. Occupational hazard. And what happened to Loki?”
“Well, nothing happened to him, per say, but he had these things, shadows there while we were fighting off the guards.”
“Shadows?”
"Creepiest thing you've ever seen Tony. They moved like you me or even Bruce would but they modeled after Loki's fighting skills. They didn't disappear. You could see through them. You shot at them and they didn't budge." Steve explained.
Tony shook his head at the thought of the shadows. “Good thing they were on our side then.”
“Yeah, no kidding. How’s your reactor?”
“Completely fried. Whatever scrambled they attached to my suit, it did the trick. Thankfully Jarvis shut everything down before it killed me.”
“Is that what you’re working on now?”
“Yep. Building two new ones and upgrading my suit energy store.”
He nodded. "Okay." Bruce said. "So will be you alright?" he asked.
Tony looked at his friend and smiled. “I’m always all right. I’m Tony Stark, remember? I never get into trouble.”
Bruce couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement and he shook his head.
"Trouble is your middle name." Bruce replied.
"I thought his middle name was Edward." Steve commented.
Tony gave them both a tight smile then looked away. “I don’t like either of you right now.”
"You love us.” Bruce replied.
“Uhh, no.” Tony looked at Bruce and Steve then went back to working on his reactor. Steve watched, slightly amazed.
“It’s that easy, huh?”
“Well, for me it is.”
"I bet your dad would have been proud to see you harness something like this and repeat it."
Tony simply shook his head. “Clearly you didn’t know my father that well.”
Steve frowned at this. He’d only ever known Howard as a friend; he’d never seen what kind of father the man was.
“How can you say something like that?”
“Look Rogers, I get that he was your best friend but he wasn’t mine.”
"Calm down Tony. No need to get worked up okay?" Bruce said. Bruce looked at Steve mouthing 'I'll explain later.'
The super soldier sighed and nodded.
Tony glanced at the two then got back to work on his reactor.
“How’s Loki, by the way?”
“He’s fine. Probably in a little pain; he slept in a chair.”
"He's sleeping right now." Jarvis informed. "He asked me to warm up his room and then cool it if his body temperature started to get to high." Jarvis explained.
“Is he adjusting okay?”
“Thor got him something called a winter stone. I guess it helps him to maintain a good internal body temperature.”
"Was there a reason he needed it?" Steve asked.
“It’s too hot here for him.”
Bruce nodded. “That would make sense. He’s a frost giant, right? He’s probably need freezing temperatures to survive well.”
Steve looked at them slightly surprised. He hadn’t really taken that into consideration.
“That would explain why Fury kept Loki’s cell at eighty degrees all the time.”
“Trying to overheat him.” Tony scowled and shook his head.
Bruce frowned. "He could have killed him. Loki could have very well suffered from a heat stroke."
"Sirs, I would remind you that it is no point in getting worked up about it now. It's done and over with." Jarvis reminded them.
“Loki’s not there anymore, he’s here. And as long as I can, I’m going to keep him safe.”
“You’re not as selfish as I thought you were.” Steve said as he looked at Tony. “You take good care of the guy.”
“He doesn’t deserve what they did to him. I’m just trying to make it right.”
"No, that's not just it. You really do care. I thought you were self-centered and selfish." he said. "I'm sorry, I was wrong." He said.
Tony looked at Steve slightly surprised. He shrugged then looked away. “I can be nice if I want.”
“Which isn’t very often.” Bruce added in as a joke.
Tony gave Bruce a tight lipped smile.
"Then why were you such a jerk in the beginning?" Steve asked. "I heard from Natasha how much of your money you give to people and charities."
“It’s just what I do Rogers.” Tony looked at the soldier. “People can’t hurt you if you don’t let them get close, right?”
Steve realized that part of that being said was from how Stark ended up becoming Ironman.
Tony finished most of the first reactor then got the layouts for the second one started.
“You’re still a jerk though.”
Tony grinned smugly and shrugged. “It’s what I’m good for.”
"We'll see you later Tony." Steve said.
"Please take it easy." Bruce reminded him as they left.
“I will, I will.” Tony watched the men go then went back to working on his reactors.
He went upstairs to take a nap sometime later.
"So what did Tony tell you about Howard as a father?"
Bruce looked at Steve then away. “He doesn’t really like talking about the guy much, but from what he’s told me, he wasn’t really father of the year.”
“I can’t believe that. Howard was a great guy when I knew him.”
"Well he wasn't as great to Tony. Remember when you two met and he said, 'So this is the great man my father went on and on about.'" Bruce asked. "Tony said Howard never let him forget about it. Tony use to consider you his hero until his father almost started rubbing it in his face that you were great. Howard never told Tony how great he was."
Steve nodded and sighed quietly, feeling guilty about it. “Guess it wasn’t that easy on him then.”
Bruce shook his head. “Howard wasn’t the greatest parent, but Maria was. Tony can talk for hours about his mom.”
"When I went missing Howard wasn't married."
“He got married later on. I didn’t know them personally; when I met Tony, his parents had already died.”