Perfectly Suited

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony Stark was too old to play games. Every time he ran hot and cold with his partner was never a calculated power play so much as a deeply embedded habit built around mitigating whatever anxiety he’d built up. Even the old days full of ninja crawling out of bed just to avoid the morning after spiel were motivated by the intimidation (in part) of having them at all.

He’d gotten better at that part, though. Far better. Tony was curled up on the side of the long-suffering pink couch that wasn’t bearing a warped arm rest caused by some make-up rapporto sessuale from earlier in the evening, followed by a shower and the ceremonial poptart.

“You know—“ Tony brushed off some crumbs from his dark sweater, “You are terrible for my diet.”

Comments

[st_ormbreaker]

"How would you feel if I asked Santa for a snake?"

Thor opens his mouth expectantly for Tony to feed him a blueberry of his own.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony thought for a moment--there had to be an index of snakes native to this region of California.

"I'd say...Santa would prepare his traps and cross his fingers." He dropped a berry in Thor's waiting lips.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor's eyes widen in surprise at Tony's answer; he was expecting some protest -- most people hated snakes, and a part of him was sure he could count Tony among that number.

Maybe he wasn't fond of them, but was willing to tolerate it. Thor wasn't sure. But regardless of the reason, Thor finds himself smiling as he chews away on his blueberry.

"What are you going to ask for from Santa?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony lowered another berry only to balance it on Thor's nose, recalling a trick he saw Rhodey's rottweiler do once. "Patience. Forgiveness. All those lame universal principles Kohlberg says I should've developed by now."

[st_ormbreaker]

"Santa can't give you those things," Thor says, trying to move his lips carefully so the blueberry stays right where Tony put it. It's in vain. Just as he gets the last syllable out, the berry falls and Thor only just manages to catch it before it hits the carpet.

Thor pops it into his mouth.

"I only started to learn the patience when father cast me down to Earth." He still had moments where his anger took hold and patience was thrown out of the window -- like that time he held Tony up by his throat. Those impulses had faded considerably over the two years he spent traveling the universe and Thor wasn't quite sure when it happened.

"Hopefully it doesn't take you as long as I did."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“You’re...however many years old in human years again? Come on. I’m still behind the curve.” Tony shot back, balancing a berry on his lips, only to claim it with his own anyway.

[st_ormbreaker]

"You're going to tell me after nearly 1500 years alive that you're behind the curve when compared to me?"

Thor opens his mouth for another berry. He hadn't been able to claim the last one before Tony took it for his own.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Making some kind of affirming sound, Tony placed one between his lips and nodded for Thor to lean up and claim it.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor takes the bait. He rises up and catches the berry with his teeth.

He bites into it and quickly swallows before pressing his lips against Tony's again, his mouth slightly parted.

Tony smalls faintly of blueberries.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony wasn’t a touchy-feely type, but the intimacy always soothed his nerves, even when it was the closest and willing pretty face. Trading breath and more, Tony tasted the faint sweetness on Thor’s tongue and was suddenly thankful he’d chosen fruit in favor of the shrimp chips.

“Where’s the honeymoon...?” Not getting ahead of himself at all, Tony shot Thor with an imploring look, making ready use of his expressive dark eyes.

[st_ormbreaker]

"Forest, desert, beach, or mountains," he lists off. There's astonishingly few options in their little pocket dimension and all of them involve camping. "I think the mountains would be too cold for you."

Depending on the time of year, the beach might not be much better with the cool ocean winds. They could conceivably camp a little further inland, Thor supposes. Earth's deserts could get pretty cool at night as well.

Thor lets out a thoughtful "mmm", but provides no other options or answers.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You know I can suit myself in thermoregulated clothing, right?" Tony balanced another blueberry between Thor's eyes and rose, sliding off the couch. "I just choose not to. It's cute when you fuss."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor looks at the blueberry as best he can, cross-eyed as he attempts to balance it there on his face. "Do you?" he asks. "I thought you tired of my mothering."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Yeah. But if you stopped I'd take offense. The duality of man." Tony pulled a granola bar out of his kangaroo pouch pocket and gestured at Thor with it before tearing it open. "I like knowing you're thinking of me."

[st_ormbreaker]

The blueberry was still perched on Thor's face as his eyes flicker over to Tony just in time to see Tony gesture at him with the granola bar.

"You're too busy taking care of everyone else," he says at the ceiling. "You need someone to take care of you."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Have you seen it out there?" Tony swallowed and gestured at the flowery door with his half-eaten bar. "Children running amok with no parents in sight. Life's hard enough in development without all the adults writing you off."

[st_ormbreaker]

"See?" Thor asks."Children. Earth. The Future. You're taking care of everything except yourself."

Though now that Tony was making a commitment to take better care of himself, it was probably going to be everything soon enough.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"I can't just do nothing. You know that." Tony paced about, woolen socks dragging on the plush carpet and creating little sparks of static electricity. "I can't distract myself. I see a situation, I've gotta..." He made little tinkering motions with his fingers before shoving the rest of the dry, sticky oats through his teeth.

[st_ormbreaker]

"You see too many problems," Thor says, somehow managing to keep the blueberry in place."There are some things that would sort themselves out if you didn't involve yourself. And I'm not talking about the kids."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony turned to face the Asgardian leisurely reclining, arms folded and brow furrowed expectantly.

"Well. Don't hold back on my account."

[st_ormbreaker]

"What?" Thor asks, the word coming out more like a statement than a question.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony took a deep breath and stepped back, tossing up his hands. ‘It’s in good faith. It’s in good faith.’

“Nothing. You might have a point.”

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor finally gives up balancing the blueberry; he plucks it off, sits up, and pops it into his mouth.

Thor munches away, thinking of how he wants to phrase this. He'd rather Tony fret over children then fret over the fate of the universe. He knows Tony would do the latter regardless, but maybe -- maybe he'd take some comfort in knowing there was a backup plan.

Quill seemed to.

"Quill and I have been talking," he says, once he's swallowed. "He thinks he knows where Thanos might have gone after..."

Thor gestures vaguely.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony squinted as he paced around to end up at the couch, bouncing as he fell rear-end first onto it. "What are you gonna do?"

[st_ormbreaker]

"If he's truly there, take the others and kill him," Thor lies easily. There probably wasn't going to be any others there. He had already been set on that path before his chat with Valkyrie, but her comments about Odin and leaving others to clean up the mess had cemented it for him.

It was his mess to clean up.

"Then, if possible, use the Infinity Stones to change the way things turned out."