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_arkravinghazelnut]

"They--nevermind, we'll watch 'em later." Tony patted Thor's shoulder appreciatively from the wrist down. He couldn't make out the man's face past his chin as he utilized his head for a windbreak, but Thor didn't have to know that.

As they made another arc towards the sky, Tony gave him another pat to garner his attention. "Not too high, not too high. I can't keep excited as a Starksicle."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor brings them down to lower heights as per Tony's request.

"I forgot sometimes how fragile humans are," he says. He really does. Asgardians are made of far sturdier stuff. Even at those heights Thor didn't have any trouble.

"Should I pull us in for a landing so you might warm up?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"As long as you help." Tony saw little point in playing macho here. He nodded towards a little crescent-shaped island some 200 meters away.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor hums in confirmation, then looks out to where Tony is nodding. Their speed begins to slow as they make their approach, and when they're a few feet off the ground, Thor drops, then sets Tony down on the ground.

"There," he says and he looks around, staring out at the rest of the beach. There's nothing particularly special about it; it looks the same as any other island on Earth. He turns and looks back at Tony with a befuddled expression, clearly looking for explanation.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Nothing fancy." Tony grunted as he shook his limbs to wake them up, presenting his chilled hands. "Just blow on them or something."

[st_ormbreaker]

"You really want me to warm you up?" Thor looks at Tony, incredulous. He hadn't believed that he was actually serious about it. Tony seemed unserious about virtually everything.

Thor takes Tony's hands into his own, then folds then sandwiches them in between his own. Tony's hands are truly cold against his much warmer ones. Thor runs his hands over Tony's in quick motion, then leans over to let out a hot breath over them.

He looks up at Tony, long blonde locks falling into his face. "Are you good?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony quirked his head in a leisurely affirmation. The closeness, the skin, the breath--they all brought questions Tony had long been mulling over to the forefront of his mind.

The thickness of his skin hadn't felt different, nor did it feel rougher, so how durable was it? How long would his digestive system take to process all that fat and protein? Thor's metabolism in general had raised some interesting questions all night long in and of itself. There was a theory that body size and metabolic rate affected the perception of movement and time. How true was that for a race so long-lived as the Asgardians? Even as Tony got older, a veritable embryo in comparison he was, the days seemed to blend together.

"A little more wrist action. Really get those blood vessels pumping." He simply smiled. "Please and thanks."

[st_ormbreaker]

"I don't know how you survive if you're this cold all the time," Thor says, rubbing his hands over Tony's faster than before. The friction of their hands against one another warms Thor's palms. He can't tell if it has warmed the other man any.

"If you need to, I can wrap you up in my drape."

No, Thor hasn't forgotten Tony's quip during their first encounter.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"What are you gonna do? Swaddle me?" Tony imagined Thor fashioning him into a burrito of an Iron Man, and he snorted. "It looks better on you, Prospero." Tony gave Thor's arm a good-natured pat.

[st_ormbreaker]

"I thought you would look cute with a hood like your Little Red Riding," Thor says. Swaddling Tony had never even occurred to him.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"I'd look what now?" Of all the many, many, MANY things people had called Tony Stark...'cute' was a first.

[st_ormbreaker]

"Like your Little Red Riding," Thor repeats for him, assuming Tony was asking specifically about who he'd resemble. "She has the grandmother who was swallowed by the wolf." An attempt to jog Tony's memory.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Yeah, I know who she is. Not seeing the resemblan--why am I even arguing with you?" Tony tossed up a hand.

[st_ormbreaker]

"It's because you don't have the hood yet," Thor argues. "You would agree if you tied my cape into a hood for yourself."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Yeah, beyond the fact I'm 5'9 and forty-two." Tony stalked off towards the water. "C'mon, Big Guy, let's ride."

[st_ormbreaker]

"You're very small. That's a start."

Thor follows after him, Mjölnir in his hand. "Little Guy," he says, with a nod of the head. He extends his free arm in a signal to join him.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You're enormous. You don't get an opinion." Tony adopted a few yoga poses by the water before moving to join Thor, wanting to keep the warmth flowing.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor grins at that, then pulls Tony in, then without warning, spins Mjølnir to send them skyward.

"Next time, you wear a bigger jacket," he says over the din of the rush of air around them. It occurs to him then that there isn't likely to be a next time. The magic Mjølnir ride generally was a one-time thing. Jane hadn't asked for a second ride after the first. He'd asked Darcy, too, and she backed out at the last minute. Selvig absolutely refused.

Tony, though -- Tony had been a surprise. Earlier, it sounded like he didn't have interest at all, but was using other things as an excuse. In the end, though, Tony had agreed and Thor was pleased to show him, in part because most didn't want to and in part because he wanted show someone else what it felt like to fly with only the power of Mjølnir propelling you forward.

You couldn't do that without actually showing them.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Only if--" Tony began, though the wind caught his mouth and he snapped his jaw shut.

Ah, well. Didn't need to be said.

Tony stuck close and watched the clouds grow close and the moon peek through the curtain. Huddled as he was, he could have drifted off at the sight the night sky.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor lands smoothly and sets Tony back down just as he had before. The cool night air completely obliterated whatever residual feelings of sickness he still felt.

He smiles at Tony. "Are you ready to go home?" Thor isn't entirely sure that he considers the Tower to be his home. It does not resemble Jane's flat, or any of the other houses he's been to.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

When Tony's feet hit the ground, he was somewhat dazed. He backed off a few steps, stretching and rubbing his limbs to life.

"Abouts. Coming with? Going to your missus?"

[st_ormbreaker]

"Coming with," Thor says. "Jane is a little miffed with me right now." Darcy had been the one to teach him that word, along with a plethora of other Midgardian slang. In many ways, she had been a better introduction to Midgard than any of the books written on the realm back home.

She had even given him her old iPod shuffle and helped him to create a Facebook.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"How about that." Tony mused, giving Thor a knowing clap on the back as he tread the sandy grasses to approach the vehicle in the distance. "Mine's out of town. Keep me company."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor has no objections. Some company is always better than no company. When given the choice, Thor prefers to be around other people, and if anything has been proven today, when he's not headbutting his soon-to-be-allies for retrieving their brother, he can be good company.

"Do you stay in that tower?" he asks as they continue to the limousine. "Is that where you live?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony nodded for Thor to slide in before him seeing as how the man had claimed the further side of the cabin. JARVIS welcomed them back cordially.

"Top suite." Tony crept in once his seat was free for claiming, the door shutting behind him. The headlights flickered on and and they were setting off on the quiet road back to the tower a good two hours out. "I've got a place in Malibu, but since Stark Tower got a makeover as a, uh, home base it's kept me here. You know. Daddy's gotta keep his eyes on the kids."