Iron Will, Iron Heart

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Destiny was swiftly approaching its apex.

The final Infinity Stone was his.

Every ounce of his sacrifices, his will, and his ideals had built up to this moment. The salvation of the universe was written in stone, with him as its savior. The power surged forth, and Thanos could only behold it.

Suddenly, he was struck down. Lightning. Odinson. Defiant of destiny until the end, all for what? Thanos lifted raised his gauntlet to meet the god head on--

A sickening crunch. A burst of light following the clash of the Infinity Gauntlet against the God of Thunder's newly forged weapon--and the Mad Titan was looking down at Stormbreaker embedded within his chest. Odinson landed before him, and for the first time in his life, Thanos knelt.

Comments

[st_ormbreaker]

"And that's your problem, Stark," Thor says, waving an arm. "You think that how I know is somehow more deserving of a conversation about what you did. Over and over and over again, you do it alone, without talking to anyone, without considering anyone else because your personal ideals take precedence over everyone else."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Oh, okay, getting a lecture now." Tony tossed up his hands. "Cool, I'll play. So, tell me, was it 'personal ideals' going on with your plentiful secret-keeping? Was that you being a team player? This isn't me changing the subject, this is me not wanting to get a finger in my face from the man who kept my own goddamn death from me."

[st_ormbreaker]

"Yes," Thor says, shaking his head, lips curled up in a barely-holding-it-in sort of smile. "Let's talk about how selfish I am for wanting everyone to have the one thing I wanted myself and pretend it compares to you hiding things from me because you're ashamed of them."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"No, you know what I want to talk about? I wanna talk about how you act like the only person here who's ever felt pain." Tony's raised voice came, matching Thor's own. To hell with the neighborly reputation.

"You think the breakup of the Avengers isn't a painful subject? The team--the thing I spent the last near decade of my life building? You think being asked to spare a mass murderer who was complicit in my ongoing mental issues because he's your brother didn't enact some kind of toll? No, I don't regret it, don't try and pull that card, but I don't know if you really digested that ask."

He was on a roll, and he wasn't about to stop. "The breakup--yeah, that's for me and Cap to hash out. He was there. It hasn't happened for him. He needs the preparation. You and me? We're facing the genocide of half the goddamn universe and you really want to pin me on something I didn't even ask for."

[st_ormbreaker]

Tony's words sting and Thor knows it's because some of them ring true. He has been selfish -- tremendously selfish -- asking Tony to tolerate Loki, and he knows that Tony has done more than most people would have in the same situation. And maybe he's been self-absorbed, wallowing in his own pain, but there's one thing that he can't let go of --

"You want to stop Thanos?" he asks. "You start by making up with our friends. You start by not keeping secrets because we can't afford to keep any."

Thor takes a breath. He knows that he's calling Tony out on this, knowing all the while that he has his own secrets he's keeping from him. Secrets that Tony doesn't have the benefit of discovering through pre- or post-cognition.

But Thor forces himself not to think of that.

"I would go to war for you, Stark," Thor tells him. "But I can't do that if I don't have all the facts in front of me."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Yeah. Working on it. You wanna know the first thing I did upon seeing Rogers? Start the dialogue. You wanna know the first thing I did upon seeing the man who murdered my parents? Not kill him." Tony slowly entered Thor's space, stopping just a foot short.

"You remember the first thing I did upon seeing Loki again? Told him I chose you over revenge. And you come at me like you're the damn judge, jury, and executioner without asking me for my side." His jaw ground from side to side. "I don't pity myself. I've got plenty to answer for. It's the only reason I'm still breathing. But I thought I'd get a little benefit of the doubt from the man who I trust most."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor does not back down, even when Tony draws closer.

"Then tell me your side."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"I will." Tony stepped back once, then twice, then thrice. "But not right now."

[st_ormbreaker]

"Okay," Thor says. What else can he say? He sits down on the edge of the bed and runs a hand through his hair, still damp with sweat. He thinks back to that fight he had with the Hulk back on Sakaar. And then he figures his next words easily enough, though they're still hard to push forward. Thor doesn't even know why; they should be easy, but they're not.

"I'm sorry."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony shook his head.

"You push. And push. And push. And I let you. Because I know what's behind it all. But not this time." Tony looked at his partner like he didn't know the man. Without another word, Tony disappeared behind the door and slammed it shut.