At the door of Stark Tower

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He doesn't really have a phone anymore, at least not one that isn't a burner on the end of it's life, and that phone never had the number he needed in it, so he didn't call ahead. Instead, he's just there, heading for the front desk to see if perhaps, just maybe, he has a friend here. Or at least an ally.

"Steve Rogers for Tony Stark, please?"

Comments

[actuallyhasaheart]

Tony's been watching his security feed the whole way, but damned if it isn't still some kinda surprise when Steve Rogers walks through his front door. Well. His building's front door, there're floors and floors and all kinds of security to get through, but hey. He could just tell the doorman to let Rogers on through, but there's the temptation there to a little drama, and he never could resist temptation when it was offered up on such a shiny vibranium platter.

Ninety seconds and an express elevator ride later, Tony's striding out into the atrium, grinning and waving.

"Steve!"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

That was... about eighty times warmer than Steve was expecting. Which is why Steve was instantly wary. He'd had a strange relationship with Tony's father, and the son had proven to be very different but equally as mercurial. If he knew anything, he knew that.

"Hey, Tony," he said, keeping it low key, trying not to call attention to himself.

[actuallyhasaheart]

Tony's grin ticks a little wider at the guarded set of Steve's body language.

"Hey, c'mon up, lemme pour you a drink. You came at a good time; I'm bored stiff, and if it'd been five minutes from now, I'd probably have started taking something apart again."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He keeps himself from rolling his eyes just barely; Steve knows he can't get drunk and without the benefit, the taste isn't worth it.

"Sounds great," because contrary to popular belief, he can actually tell a lie. He doesn't like to, but sometimes, subtlety is necessary.

"I'll follow you."

[actuallyhasaheart]

"Of course you will," Tony shoots back, before turning on his heel, and heading back for the private express elevator. He doesn't look back once - not that he'd need to, with all the polished chrome fittings.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve sighs as tiredly as he ever does around Stark and slips into the elevator after him.

"So... how've you, uh, how've you been?"

[actuallyhasaheart]

Tony leans back against the elevator wall, gestures lazily to one of the sensors, and keeps on grinning.

"Oh, you know. Same-old same-old. Inventing, dodging assassins, defending the free world, you know, the usual. You?"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Pretty much the same thing, other than, uh... the inventing," he admits, glancing around. He's not quite sure what Stark knows about everything, other than what's been plastered all over the internet at this point, but he's happy to pretend like everything was hunky dory, or as close to it as it ever got.

[actuallyhasaheart]

"Well, we can't all be super-geniuses."

Tony refrains from giving Steve a friendly thump on the shoulder as the elevator comes to a stop, merely gesturing for him to follow out into his penthouse.

"Okay, so, this floor is totally secure these days," he comments as he heads behind the bar. "Just so you know. Did a complete refit during repairs, you know, about the time Fury chatted me up for some shiny new Starktech for those flying fortresses of his."

[godofbadideas]

There's a voice somewhere behind him, not far from the front door.

"Whoops, wrong universe."

It might sound a bit... familiar. And not necessarily in a good way.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Which has him spinning, the shield pulled off of his back and held up almost immediate--

Okay. Not who he was expecting.

What?

[godofbadideas]

Loki holds his hands up in a pacifying gesture; see, he's not holding anything!

"Whatever I did, I didn't do it. Like I said, wrong universe. I'll just... see myself out. Find a nice quiet spot to... get my bearings."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve isn't having anything of it.

"Wrong universe? Which one were you trying to end up in?"

He's hoping JARVIS has noticed the alien just outside the door.

[godofbadideas]

"I doubt you'd know it," Loki hedges, taking half a step back. "It's the one without any shrimp."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve can't help rolling his eyes.

"Right. No shrimp. And why were you headed there anyway?"

[godofbadideas]

"To see if it actually existed, of course. Why else would anyone go to a universe without shrimp?"

None of the other Avengers have shown up yet, which might be good, but which is also making him unreasonably nervous.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve just... sighs.

"What do you want here then, because you're still here."

[godofbadideas]

"Er, nothing?" Which is the truth, though he somehow doubts Captain America will believe him.

"Though I'm kind of morbidly curious now about what Other Me did."

[he_that_stands_it_now]

Definitely not a good way. In fact, there is a little red dot centered right on his chest within a couple of seconds.

[godofbadideas]

Lovely. Of course. Loki raises his hands a little, fingers spread, looking back along the path traced by the laser.

"I was just leaving."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve turns around, blinking, because someone said something and he's not sure who.

[he_that_stands_it_now]

Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes holds tight to the hook gun and waits for the cord to pull Loki Laufeyson up to his particular building top.

[godofbadideas]

Okay, he can live with that. Loki grins, and gives a cheeky wave to Captain America, before riding the line up like it was his own idea.

[he_that_stands_it_now]

Which is why there's a punch to the face aimed at him as he actually makes it TO the building top.

[godofbadideas]

Good thing Loki has the reflexes - and expectation of attack - to neatly dodge, and land on the roof.

"Hey! What did I ever do to you?"