December 18th, 2012

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Following the Battle of New York, Tony Stark and his brand were becoming many things. The days of being a no-accountability war profiteer were already well behind him, but he hardly anticipated playing landlord to a ragtag team of honest-to-god superheros. In the aftermath, that was one the first things he set about doing with Pepper. With her blessing, Tony had thrown himself into it. Never one to half-ass things, he oversaw the extensive remodeling to accommodate the specific needs of each and every Avenger. Several were essentially homeless and there was no initiative for the superpowerly-abled, even in a place as progressive as New York.

Including Steve. Even if he called Stark Tower ugly and immediately found an apartment somewhere in Brooklyn. Even though Tony set aside one of the top 12 floors for him like everyone else. Fine.

Today was all about adding that personal touch. He was giving free room and board, might as well be a gracious sugar daddy about it. Besides, who wanted to thwart crime with a guy or gal whose liquor of choice you couldn't name? Just bad form.

Stopping outside the luxury suite dedicated to the arguably most unique new friendly friend, Tony bounced on his heels. He contemplated just walking in for a split second, but he liked having his cranium hammer-free. And it was still about being gracious--as much as he could be. "JARVIS? Ping Point Break for me." Tony didn't feel like knocking. This was a compromise.

"Mr. Odinson, you have a visitor." JARVIS dutifully announced from within Thor's quarters.

Comments

[st_ormbreaker]

"Are you worried that people will think we're together?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony uncapped the water with a chuckle. "Heavily doubt they will. If they do, eh, I could do worse." And he had.

[st_ormbreaker]

Cue another puzzled look.

"I would have no problem if they did," he says. "Jane would have no reason to suspect me of any sort of infidelity."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"So holding hands is still in the equation." Tony tossed him a water. "You may need it."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor catches it with a single hand.

"I do not fear the ice, if that is what you're implying." When they were small, Loki often held his hand when he was scared or uncertain. Now as an adult, he held Jane's because he liked the way it perfectly fit into his own, like they were meant to be together. As an adult, he did not often hold hands with anyone else.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"For balance. It's like riding a bicycle. I'm the training wheels. Does Asgard...?" Tony squinted and gestured expectantly before waving that off. "Never mind. We'll get swarmed the moment people recognize us, doubt we'll make it two steps."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor has no idea what Tony's talking about, but he is certain of one thing:

"We need a disguise, then!" he says, clapping his hands together.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"JARVIS? Nearest Value Village."

"Hawthorne, Sir. Shall I reroute?"

"Please and thanks." It was approaching seven in the evening and a second hand clothing shop was bound to be quiet enough. "Probably a good idea. You're spilling out of those pants a little, there."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor gives his tummy a happy little pat. "Proof of a well-fought battle, though I would not object to more comfortable clothing."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

~~

It had been years since Tony had spent any time at the Rockefeller Center skating rink. The last time had been a mother-son outing--a rare spur of the moment escapade his mom had suggested in between some wholly unengaging museum trips. After a long day of feigning interest in relative values of art in the Northern Renaissance, he whinged he was too old to go skating only to end up enjoying himself.

'It was Christmas time then, too.' So many memories of his mother around this time of year. Ever since the incident, most of them had been colored with a grief so intense he long pretended that the holiday season barely existed. Celebrating year by year with Pepper had warmed him up to the idea once again.

"See the bunny ears?" Tony presented the two loops he created with the skate laces, gazing up at Thor from where he knelt in front of the man. He adjusted his second-hand Yankees cap to get a better look. He took a sip of the hot chocolate that had come complimentary as part of the package deal Tony purchased for them for morale. "We've crossed the bunny ears, we've had them run over each other, now they jump in the hole because they see the dog."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor listens attentively the whole time, clearly absorbing Tony's explanation involving Earth's array of animals. Bunny ears. Check. Hiding from dog, check. Loki had showed him many knots in the past, but nothing as strange as this one.

"I do not understand why you do this," he says, gesturing to his feet. "It'd be considerably easier to simply wear skates that fashioned after boots. What would you do if your knot became unknotted on the ice?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"If you tie it right, it won't. Drink your hot chocolate, buddy." Tony stood and patted Thor's arm as he looked him up and down. Count on Value Village for hosting a patchwork of clothes in Thor's size.

Tony gestured at the rink at large. As twilight fell, the golden statue stood resplendent as it lit up the ice. "See him? Greek God Prometheus. Legends say he bestowed the gift of fire and metalwork to human kind. Understandably, I am a fan. Some say he's a, ah, bit of a trickster."

[st_ormbreaker]

A trickster. Like Loki. Though he had steeled himself since the attack on New York, he still had mixed feelings about his brother and what he had done.

"Have you met him?" Thor asks, nodding towards the Prometheus statue. He takes a sip of his hot cocoa, and looks at Tony for his answer.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Last I heard he was bound to a rock while an eagle pecked out his liver on the daily. So no." Trying his luck, Tony offered his hand as he faced the ice. The throngs were still merrily oblivious to the two champions in their midst. "Let's impress him."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor looks at Tony's hand and then takes it, clumsily walking on the blade of his skates. As soon as he steps on the ice, he's comes dangerously close to slipping; when he finally manages to steady himself, he clutches Tony's arm with both of his arms.

"How are you supposed to do this? How is it possible to balance on such a thin blade?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony was on a smooth roll for all of a second before he was having to right himself as Thor's considerable mass dragged on his. "Don't look down. Bend your knees and--keep your weight forward. Basically the opposite of everything you're doing." Tony's voice was a bit gruff with the effort of keeping them both on an even keel.

Tony spun on his heel, bracing both of Thor's hands in his own, stroking backward to keep their momentum. "Come on, don't lean back. Nice and easy."

[st_ormbreaker]

Instead of leaning back, he leans forward to compensate. Knees bent, he moves clumsily forward, but somehow manages to keep his balance.

He still clutches Tony's hands tightly.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time," he says. "I saw this place the last time I was in New York." Which had been the battle. Thor had stayed there a little longer than he normally would, though Jane had fretted the entire time. It didn't feel right to leave the city immediately -- not when everything was in disarray.

It didn't feel right to leave the other Avengers alone, either.

"I love this city. It's not pretty, but it's chaotic. Everyone is always in motion. And even though it isn't pretty, there are places like this that are truly beautiful in it."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony managed to find a rhythm with Thor, moving his arms and legs in time to find a nice push and pull that kept them both upright and moving with the crowd.

"'I wanna wake up in the City That Never Sleeps.'" Tony sang--the talking, the steady breaths, it all helped. "Attaboy. Thirty more seconds on your feet and you get a pin."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor looks down at his feet, focusing on that motion and on the sound of Tony's voice.

"You sing well," he says. "You should do it more often."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Hm?" Tony cocked his head, returning the look. He waxed lyrical compulsively, but he was rarely called out on it, let alone complimented.

"'These vagabond shoes, they're longin' to stray. Right through the very heart of it! New York, New York.'" His singing attracted a few looks, but what was life without a little attention?

[st_ormbreaker]

"Is that a song of your own creation?" Thor asks. He's still clinging tightly to Tony's hands, though he glides a little easier than before. The edge of his skate blades don't catch the ice when his legs clumsily propelled propelled himself forward.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Not at all. I give it up to the greats." Tony, for all his egomania, was above taking credit for other peoples' work.

Every so often, he glanced behind himself to make sure he wasn't headed for a collision. Pivoting, he guided the pair of them into a curve where they nearly grazed the walls. "Ready to let go, Point Break, or are you content to stare into my eyes all night?"

[st_ormbreaker]

"I am ready to make it on my own," Thor says, feeling considerably more confident than he was the first time he stepped out onto the ice and nearly fell onto his face. Still, that doesn't stop him from reaching out for the railing with one of his hands the second they leave Tony's own.

"Are you going to show me how you skate when you don't have another person hanging off of you?" Thor skates a little forward, one hand still lightly pressed against the rail.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony was already carrying on ahead of him, stroking his feet across the ice with as much cool indifference as he did many other things. Pivoting gracefully on his heel, Tony watched Thor muddle along as he glided backwards--and caught himself on the railing, allowing the other man to catch up.

He was far from a professional skater, but he was just decent enough to feel like one in comparison.

"Like watching an eyas taking wing."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor feels a prickle of irritation at Tony's quip. Thor's skating without his hand on the railing now, though it still hovers a few inches over it. He's moving with less clumsiness, but the uncertainty is still there in the way he moves his feet, awkwardly, and true to Tony's words, like an eyas taking wing.

"And I suppose it is your first time on the ice as well."