st_ormbreaker | (no subject)

(no subject)

Thor is crouched down in a sit across from one of the targets -- at least until he hears the familiar whir of Tony's Iron Man suit overhead. He lifts himself to his feet, wipes the sweaty palms of his hands on the front of his shorts, then takes a few steps towards him, smiling lightly.

"Ready for your Q&A?"

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The crackling of the full fire spat as the wind blew debris through the parched land and took the heat away from them. Tony’s composed mask faded as a chill caught his skin. Pepper. Peter. The thought of never seeing them again when he returned suddenly stabbed him right in the chest and he clenched Thor’s hand to his ribs to dull the ache.

“Don’t go. Please.”

Thor wraps his free arm protectively around him.

"I won't go," he tells him, even though he's not sure if it's going to stay true. All he knows is that right now, he's not going to leave.

And he knows that even in the future, he'll have a hard time leaving too, so long as Tony asks.

The wind died and the fire stabilized and Tony collected himself with a deep breath. “Sorry. It’s...sorry.”

"There is no need for apologies," Thor assures him. He shifts his arm a little to a more comfortable position, but doesn't make to relinquish his hold on the other man yet. "I know you have lost a lot." Too much. "I'll do everything I can to make sure I'm not one of them."

“I love you.” That three-letter phrase that felt so right to say never failed, warming him back up from the inside.

"I love you, too," he says. "Are you okay?" Thor isn't sure that he is.

"Yeah." Giving Thor's hand a brief squeeze, Tony awkwardly shuffled out of the cradle and back to his feet, patting his jacket pocket for his cassette player.

"You're my Ziggy Stardust. I think I could live with that."

Thor frowns slightly as Tony retreats and shifts into a more comfortable position.

"What's a Ziggy Stardust?"

Taking a moment merely to stretch, Tony was back beside Thor with an offered earbud. “I’ll show you.”

Thor takes the offered earbud and sticks it in his ear, uncertain as to what Tony is about to show him.

The tape began to 'whir' to life and the nostalgic strumming filled the empty dessert air. Finding a warm nook against Thor's arm, Tony watched the sky through the haze of the flickering smoke.

'There's a starman waiting in the sky

He's told us not to blow it

Cause he knows it's all worthwhile.'

Right at the tail end of the song, Thor begins to hum along with the last few lines.

Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie

They lapse into a momentary silence after the song ends. It Ain't Easy starts to play and Thor pulls the earbud from his ear. "I like it," he says. It's definitely different from much of the Earth music he's listened to. Darcy's taste in music was very different. "I don't think I've ever seen you boogie, though."

“Don’t worry. You won’t.” His lips brushed the scruff of Thor’s jaw.

"Never?" Thor asks, disappointed.

"Never." Tony ejected the tape and replaced it with Thor's personal mix.

Thor hums at that, then sticks his earbud back into his ear. "You wouldn't have liked celebrations on Asgard, then."

“Oh, I’ll dance. But you’ll be waiting a few lifetimes before you ever catch Tony Stark doing the boogie.” Tony hit Play, Under Pressure picking up where it left off.

"There's a difference?"

“There is.” Tony’s eyelids settled comfortably against each other. He was tired, but it wasn’t that sickly, consuming fatigue that had been plaguing him for weeks.

Thor wraps an arm around Tony, holding him in place against him.

"You'll have to tell me the difference sometime," he says, and then he hums along to the music. It takes a few more lyrics before Thor realizes it:

"One of these is the singer from the other band."

On the precipice of sleep, Tony was met with his naked grief and it filled his chest. It’s size made it clear it wasn’t going anywhere—not for a long time. But Thor was warm and his arm was heavy and his voice had found its cheer. At the least, enormous affection resided in him beside the sorrow.

“It is.” He smiled.

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