I come from a land of ice and snow

[throneenvy]

Asgard sat atop the branches of Yggdrasil since time began, and little had changed in their society in the years since. Each Asgardian was long-lived into the millennia, their lands were fertile, their people brave and strong. They had their vassals, their allies, and their enemies. Yet even those who opposed them respected the might of the Golden Dias, and the royalty who sat upon it. Currently that was Odin Borson, though he grew weary more easily now and had begun to consider passing the throne to his eldest son.

He had been blessed with many children, but only two that he considered worthy of his lineage and status. His firstborn, Thor, strong and honourable and everything an Asgardian warrior should be. His second son, Loki, was not natural born, though none knew that but his wife. He was different, a creature of magic and mayhem, of sharp intelligence. Both were worthy, but together they would take Asgard to a new prosperity, he was certain of it.

Midgard, where the mortals dwelt, was a land raided every few centuries for stock. It was seen as a breeding ground, much like a corral for cattle. Mortals were lesser, short-lived and weak, they were fit only as slaves. The last raid had taken place when Loki had been but a baby, nearly a thousand years ago, but the mortals that had been taken had been bred and cared for so that a healthy slave population still thrived. Slaves were given a weakened mixture of Idunn's crop with their food, to extend their natural lives to at least a few centuries in order to make them worth the effort to train. They had no rights, but they were taught well that this was their natural position.

All slave children were raised in a central pen and taught the same when small, those that then displayed talent at cooking, riding, hunting, housework, artisan skills, or singing were then measured off to be specially trained for higher masters. Every five years those who could afford to buy a slave, or those of high enough status to simply demand them, came to the corral and chose. Those who were chosen were special, were envied, and those who were not ended up working the fields out in the far reaches of Asgard, the most menial of work.

Anthony and Steven had been friends since they were little and being raised in the large pens together. Both had excelled, Anthony at crafting and Steven at warrior's skills, but neither were chosen when they were five, nor ten, nor even fifteen. Now, at twenty, it was their final chance to be chosen before they would be assigned to one of the meanest farmers beyond the borders of the great capital. Steven woke Anthony as the dawn rose, mingled excitement and nerves on his face.

"Anthony! Wake up, I've got news! I heard the overseer talking to one of the passing guards, and Princes Thor and Loki are coming to the corral today."

Comments

[starkingenuity]

The Council and Steve were there to greet the people that returned since FRIDAY had alerted the blond as requested. They were right at the edge of their new city, the sun just about to set, when Helblindi became visible from over the street. Clint had requested to fetch his bow but Steve told him to stand down. They had to trust this time. He didn't like it but there was little choice.

Thankfully, Tony was seen flying beside the giant as they came closer and Bucky and Bruce were no worse for wear, though Bucky was being followed by the armor, walking directly behind him. Tony really had to fix that. He'd just add it to the growing list.

Doing anything he could to avoid Banner, Tony made a dramatic landing and flipped up his visor to grin at Steve. He made a grand announcement of Helblindi's arrival and introduced their leader as well before filling Steve in on the details.

"I hate to leave you all here but I need to get one of the outlier buildings refrigerated for our Frost Giant friends and their comfort," he announced, bowing to Helblindi before flying off.

He wanted to be back by the time Loki returned.

[drsmash]

Unfortunately for Tony, Bruce was not an idiot and he knew an avoidance technique when he saw one. He stayed long enough to be sure that Bucky was assuring the other council members that Helblindi was not, at least immediately, dangerous. He then slipped off and followed on to the outlier building that Tony had decided to convert into a giant refrigeration unit.

He slipped inside and picked up a screwdriver to begin working before he could be told to go, leaving it a few seconds of silence before he actually began to speak.

"I'm fed up of you avoiding me, Tony. I thought you would have kissed enough people by now to not be awkward about it the next day, I know that I'm not. You're still my friend, nothing has changed, so stop this nonsense now."

Or he might have to get a bit annoyed, and nobody wanted that.

[starkingenuity]

"You knew where I was," Tony pointed out, glancing over at the other man. He shouldn't find him so attractive. He was short and mousy, nerdy and literally impossible to be with. The trouble was that Bruce put up with him. Even cared for him. That was always a danger, even before their intimate moments of friendship.

Making a grand gesture with a handheld welder he'd made for himself, Tony rolled his eyes.

"I was hosting a teenage alien princess. That's not avoidance. She was in my lab as soon as I got back from the reception, rifling through all my stuff. You'll have to forgive me for not hanging out with you while babysitting."

[drsmash]

Bruce would like to believe that Tony was telling the truth, but his bullshit meter was going off so hard that he was surprised it wasn't making an audible noise. He folded his arms and fixed Tony with soft brown eyes that held a lot of affection in them, as well as some wry amusement.

"Okay. So look me right in the eyes and tell me that was the truth and I'll believe you, tell me you weren't avoiding me."

Because he knew that if Loki hadn't come along, Tony would have found himself another perfectly plausible excuse for why he needed to sequester himself away and keep Bruce at arm's length.

[starkingenuity]

"I want you to know that I am a very good liar," Tony said, turning so that his shoulder leaned against the refrigeration device he was hooking into the whole ductwork of the building. He looked Bruce right in the eye to say that, and since by now Bruce knew him and was likely knowing what to watch for, seeing Tony's obvious affection for him would be hard to avoid. "I'm not avoiding you," he partially lied because he really was busy with Loki. If that night hadn't happened, though, it was likely that Tony would have parades Loki over to Bruce or called Banner over. "Your turn. Why didn't you come over to make sure I ate? Usually when you don't see me for a full day, you come to check on me."

Especially after that Asgardian touchstone plague. Bruce had been over quite a lot to do nothing more than look in on him and remind him to eat.

"Maybe you were the one avoiding me." It was just an alternate theory. Maybe Bruce had gotten busy himself. That happened.

He did not mention rejection. He did not mention the kiss. The ship has sailed and he'd fallen off the boat in the harbor. He could deal with wanting someone and never being able to have them just fine.

[drsmash]

Bruce still didn't believe him, but he had said that he would believe him if he looked in his eyes, so he couldn't pursue it any longer. It was a shame, he had been hoping that they could work past this, but maybe Tony was no longer able to be around him. If that was the case then Bruce would be oddly distressed; he hadn't got many friends, not real ones, and it had been nice to have one who even knew about the Other Guy and didn't treat him with kid gloves because of it.

"I was waiting." He said honestly, shrugging. "Perhaps it was stupid, but I thought that since the kiss had been initiated by you, then I should let you be the one to come back to me when you were comfortable with it."

He had been trying to be sensitive and not be a jackass. Apparently that hadn't worked out too well.

"It seems I got it wrong, sorry."

[starkingenuity]

"Just because I have money and fame doesn't mean every single person I've been interested in has wanted to drop their panties, Banner." Was he insinuating that Banner wore panties? Maybe. "I told you that I was just in a mood for... Romance, I guess. People always get that way at weddings. But we're friends. You're my soul mate. It was a one off. I wanted a kiss and you were there. Don't make it more than it was meant."

That was a little harsh, even for Tony, so he tried his best to smooth it over with a half smile and a tap of a very dangerous tool against Bruce's chest.

"But apology accepted. So stop avoiding me. I need you to stick around. You keep me sane in a world of frost giants and blue space princesses." And honestly, he couldn't lose Bruce.

[drsmash]

It was harsh, but Bruce wasn't offended, he knew that underneath the bravado and the bluster that Tony was a pretty insecure man with low self esteem. He probably needed to be harsh in order to make himself feel as though he might be in control of this situation, and so Bruce nodded affably and came over to clap a hand on Tony's shoulder gently.

"Don't try and lie about that, we both know that a blue space princess is a dream come true for us both. No scientist who ever lived hasn't dreamed of meeting a blue-skinned woman at least once, why do you think there were so many movies about it?"

He smiled, allowing Tony to pretend that this was all normal again. No problems, no issues.

"She really is small compared to them though, isn't she?"