Traditionals

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

The interior of Tony's lair had seen a few makeovers as of recent. Wherever he'd set up his workspace had been the most intimate space possible--a macrocosm of his mental world where everything was happening at once, decipherable to only him. However, the space had undergone a shift ever since he opened it up to the littler ones. He suddenly found himself having to make the space accessible to other people. Inviting, even. It was...exhausting.

And this next venture was, too. But the exhaustion brought the promise of reward. It always did.

Tony lounged on the sofa (the one piece of the room he still had the most affection for) as he awaited Thor's knock. He nursed a cup of warm rum as he lounged about in a robe, having indulged in the longest bath in ages. The snow was exciting, but it sucked the life out of him.

Comments

[st_ormbreaker]

A few months ago, Thor would barge into places without so much as a second thought, but Loki's influence changed his behavior. Not only that, but he had perfected his bang into a far more subtle knock.

And that's precisely what Thor is doing now. He taps his knuckle against the door in a gentle rap-rap.

"It's me." It is indeed Thor Odinson, in dry, newly-changed clothes.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"WALL-E. If you would." Tony snapped his fingers at his companion, watching the rolling robot make its way over to the door as soon as it was finished making him another drink with its motile 'fingers' at the end of its crane-like head. It kept its neck folded at the joint to prevent any collisions with the rocky wall protuberances, extending its head to unlock the door and open it up.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor steps inside, sets a hand down on WALL-E's head the same way he might a child. He looks over at Tony, dressed in his robe, lounging about like some Asgardian noble. Thor smiles.

"You look comfortable," he remarks as he briefly verifies no errant Stark feet are in danger of being sat upon, then plops down on the unoccupied third of the couch.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“So do you.” A good place to start. Whenever Thor infiltrated his room, stress tended to follow. Tony always had a weird mindset around his own space, and he tended to be wholly wrapped up in himself. Another party demanding his attention made his oft-cool temper flare—especially as aggressively as Thor did in the beginning.

“Thanks. For today.” Tony laid his calves over Thor’s lap.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor doesn't know what Tony is thanking him for, but he doesn't question it. "You're welcome. Let me know if you're ever in need of another weather-related event."

He didn't shape the weather often, but he had to say, he was pretty good at it.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“For tonight, I do.” Just as swiftly as he’d set his legs out, he was bringing them back in to reposition himself, curled at Thor’s side. Chalk it up to the rum or the season, but the touchy feelies were overwhelming.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor wraps his arm around Tony's smaller form and pulls him in, then sets his face against his hair.

"You smell nice, by the way," he mumbles against Tony's head. He plants a quick kiss there, then shifts Tony's face with his free hand so he can give him a proper kiss on the lips.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony sunk into the kiss, holding his glass out for WALL-E to take so it didn’t get lost in the mix of hands pressing and lightly squeezing across Thor’s front.

“Before I get ahead of myself...wait here for me.” Tony murmured as he pulled back.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor lets out a little needy whining noise as Tony pulls away.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

While Tony could have had his robot fetch it, he couldn’t handle the thought of anyone or anything else handing this gift off. He rose, approaching his work station and considered the small box that sat on it. After a moment of merely gazing upon it, he lifted it and returned to Thor’s side on the couch.

“Merry Christmas.” Tony held it up—a single, red box wrapped with a golden bow, just bigger than his palm. Opening it would be a simple task, simply tugging the knot free. Tony preferred the sleek and elegant.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor takes the present, looks down at it, and then looks up at Tony.

"But it's not Christmas yet," he says.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“In some places it’s tradition to give one gift away early, saving the rest for Christmas Day.” Tony crosses his legs, looking from the box to Thor. “Traditionals.”

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor looks down at the gift and it's obvious from a glance that like a child, he's eager to open it. He hasn't finished Tony's gift yet, and that guilt's the only thing stopping him from immediately opening the package.

Then, hesitatingly, he slowly pulls at the ribbon, then lifts open the lid to reveal two circular broaches.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

The broaches sat, one on top of the other. They were a regal silver—striking but not at all overstated. There were faint carvings within of twisting runes.

“May I?” Tony offered, nodding from them to Thor.

[st_ormbreaker]

They're beautiful. Thor gazes down at them appreciatively and only looks up when Tony speaks.

"Certainly."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

The brooches were backed by two study pin clasps, and Tony methodically pierced Thor’s loose sweater near his shoulders, setting them symmetrically to rest comfortably against his pronounced clavicle. Tony sat back to appraise the look of them—somewhat out of place, given his casual apparel, but he felt confident that would be forgotten in short time.

“Come on.” He smirked, rising as his robe shifted back into his warm peacoat. “The best part awaits.”

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor looks down at them as best as he can as Tony pins them on, then resists the urge to touch them as much as he wants to run his fingers over the grooves of the runes. He doesn't want to immediately smudge his new gift right out of the package.

Instead, he rises to his feet after Tony.

"What's the best part?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony took Thor by the hand, leading him out into the hall and out the nearest door leading to the outside. It was dark, and the remnant snow sat in a thick layer on the grounds. The wind howled in the distance, and Tony summoned a scarf to guard his sensitive throat against the chill that followed.

After orienting himself, he nodded upwards and took off towards the midpoint of the long stretch of flat roof.

[st_ormbreaker]

Tony doesn't give him an answer. Thor allows himself to be led by Tony, enjoying the weight of the other man's hand in his own. His grip on it tightens as they step outside into the cold, hoping to share a little bit of his warmth. Thor might be impervious to winter chill, but Tony is sensitive to cold. If he could, he'd bundle the man up in a half-dozen blankets every time he got cold and wrap his arms around him until Tony was warmed to his satisfaction.

There are no blankets here, though -- just Tony, his newly-materialized scarf, Thor, and his newly-gifted pendants.

Thor wordlessly follows after Tony, up to that fixed point on the roof and wonders -- knowing he'll never guess -- what Tony Stark has planned this time.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony hummed, feeling the wind soften in its fervor. Not yet. Instead, he drew back in close to Thor's front and ran his gloved hands up his stomach, to his chest, back to his shoulders--avoiding jostling the silver pieces as he brought them back in to warm the man's firm neck.

"I can't stand being one-upped." He admitted with a remnant of a chuckle in his voice. "I give you the starry sky, you give me the snow, and now I've gotta up the ante."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor sets a hand against the side of Tony's head and runs a thumb along the outer lobe of his ear. "This isn't a competition, you know."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"It's not?" Tony feigned surprise, drawing Thor down into a long and slow continuation of their earlier kiss.

[st_ormbreaker]

When Thor finally parts to answer, he's still close enough to feel Tony's breath on his face.

"Not unless we want to continue going to ridiculous extremes to attempt to one-up the other."

It would probably happen.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Yeah?" Tony whispered with a slight rasp, licking his bottom lip. His fingers curled as another gust swept through and picking up the top, loose layers of snow. He swiftly brought his hands back down, giving both brooches a firm pat as he stepped back.

The runes sparked to life in a shock of electric blue, pulsing through Thor's clothing and forming a billowing cape of dark crimson.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor is so caught off-guard by the sudden pull of the cape manifesting behind him that he staggers a half-step back in surprise. He turns and reaches for the cape, then holds it in his hand.

It's thick and textured and real.

He lets go of it, letting it drape heavily behind him, then spins around, as if testing it. When he finally stops, he's facing Tony.

Thor didn't think anyone would understand why he was so moved by the gesture. He's pretty sure if he had tried, he couldn't explain it to anyone's satisfaction. He'd started losing things one after the other when he started dreaming of Ragnarok: his father who dissolved into Odinforce, Mjölnir which had been destroyed by his sister, his cape which had been torn moments after he landed in Sakaar, his hair which was shorn off, his eye, his friends, brother, Asgard, most of its people, half of those that survived Hela's culling, and half again when Thanos snapped his fingers.

He had been given replacements for some of what he'd lost: Rocket had gifted him with an eye and with Eitri helped him to forge Stormbreaker. Though he appreciated both of them, neither could replace what had been taken from him. If given the choice between a synthetic eye and a real one, he'd choose having his own eye without hesitation; Stormbreaker, for all its strength was no Mjölnir and had not been his steadfast companion in over 1000 years of battles across the Nine Realms and beyond.

This, though --

This was the first thing that was better than the original it intended to replace.

"Thank you."