Hey everybody. This is my FIRST avengers story. I plan to make it a long multichapter fic. I just finished my last one but hopefully I will be able to keep this one more up to date than my last one. However I ask you not to judge me because I have never written in this fandom. Not to mention that I don't have a Beta so the chances for mistakes is quite high. After all, inconsistency is my middle name. Well it's actually poppins but don't ask cuz I won't tell.

Disclaimer: I own many things but the avengers is not one of them. And I am most certainly not making any money off of this.

!

Tony Stark was in his mess of a lab lamenting over a half finished version of a new blaster. Then man was surrounded by empty take-away boxes and a multitude of equipment no normal person would know what to do with. Tony had been down here for a little over a week with only quick trips to the bathroom. He even slept on the work table, the few times he actually fell asleep.

Normally three days ago he would have been dragged out, showered and fed by an angry Pepper but that wasn't going to happen now. The woman, for that's all tony would call her now, left him seven weeks ago. She had once promised him that she would love him forever despite all his flaws. That turned out to be a lie because she handed in her resignation along with breaking up with him claiming she could not deal anymore with his problems.

So Tony stayed in his lab alone. No more did he have an assistant or CEO. He didn't really care about the CEO position thing, the board of trustees would place one in and JARVIS would judge whether or not they were good for the company. But Tony missed the company. He quickly realized that he had no friends to speak of, including the Avengers. Well that excludes Bruce but the man refused his constant invitation to fly him back from India so they could catch up.

Tony spent a lot of time thinking of what had happened in the war. After a lot of thinking he realized that he really didn't hate Loki for what he had done. After all he knew his brother and he knew what it was like to have a father that didn't care for you as a son. Tony thought back to all the times where he thought of trying to take over the world. He knew he could do it and Ton admitted to himself that if he had a race of aliens behind him he probably would've tried the same.

He also realized that Loki was not even. He analyzed every piece of footage they had of Loki in those battles. He noticed that Loki never tried to run away when he could. He saw how the demigod would pull his punches on everything that wasn't the group of super heroes. He also found a rare video that showed him protecting a group of people from the aliens.

SO in his dungeon of a lab Tony sat alone and decided that he did not hate Loki. He decided that if the man ever came back he would try to talk to him instead of blasting him again. It was actually this thought he was having when there was a bright flash of light in the corner of his lab.

"What the hell?! Jarvis, lock down!" Tony shouted, picking up his personal blaster and approaching. He saw two figures, one standing proud while the other was slumped as if they were dead. "Who are you? Why are you here?" Tony shouted as the dust settled.

"Anthony Stark." A voice grumbled. Out of the shadow the tall standing man walked out and Tony immediately noticed the Asgardian armor.

"Yes?" Tony answered hesitantly.

"I am Heimdall. I have come to ask you for your assistance." The man, Heimdall, spoke in a deep voice. Tony heaved a deep sigh. He was quite tired of people asking for his "assistance".

"What do you want?" Tony asked, slightly lowering the blaster.

"I wish to ask for your assistance with him." Heimdall said, stepping aside to show an unconscious, severely beaten Loki. Tony immediately dropped his weapon and went over to the prostrate body. He placed his hand on the war criminals neck, sighing slightly as he felt a pulse. Without a word or a thought he lifted the limp body and carried him upstairs. He lead Heimdall to a spare bedroom and laid Loki onto the sheets, not caring that it was going to stain the sheets with blood.

"What happened?" Tony asked. Heimdall started a little but smiled.

"Yes I knew you were the right choice."

"What do you mean, right choice?" Tony questioned.

"You are the only person in the universe that would not look at this boy and leave him to die." Heimdall explained. "I needed to find someone who would actually care for him as a person and you are the only one who could do such a thing." Tony scoffed at the man.

"Well you obviously have bad judgment. Ask anyone, I don't care for anything but myself." Tony sneered.

"And yet, without thought you gave a man who tried to kill you a bed. Even your Captain of America would not have done that." Heimdall explained lightly. Tony froze for a moment when he thought about it. Surely Steve wouldn't have hurt him, but he would have not given him any comfort. "Anthony Stark, you are the only creature that has spoken a nice word about Loki since the disaster. That is why I brought him to you for help."

"Spoken?"

"Who speak aloud when you are alone. I can see everything. I saw you forgive him for what he has done."

"So what happened here?" Tony gestured at the broken body. There was a lot of blood and grime covering his body. A glanced showed him that there were no open wounds or bones that were currently broken. But there were many scars that were easily seen through the few threads of clothing that was left on him. His ribs stuck out dangerously, as if he hadn't eaten in the months since he left Earth.

"His father decided his punishment and it was carried out with too much glee and excitement. Loki was supposed to be locked in the dungeon for three human lifetimes with simple food and no comfort. Instead the guards beat him continuously. Instead of simple food he was given none. Before I brought him to you, he was nearly dead. I healed him as much as I could but I am not the sorcerer he is." Heimdall sighed and glanced over to the still unconscious body.

"So I guess that this vacation from the prison was not sanctioned by the king?" Tony snarked. "You want me to hide an escaped convict who is not only going to be hunted by the other Asgardians but will be sentenced to death if he is found here on Earth."

"If I had another choice I would not be here. As I said, other than myself you are the only other person in many worlds who has a kind disposition of thought towards him. Please help him." Tony thought about it for a moment. Well truth be told, he really didn't think about accepting. He knew in his mind that he would. People may claim him heartless but Tony was not. He was thinking about how this would work.

"I cannot protect him by myself from both worlds."

"No you cannot. I will protect him from Asgard by blocking his magic. Right now he is drained of his magic but it will come back. Slowly. Soon though he will be able to cast spells that will change his appearance enough to be safe. After that it would just be up to you to stop him from getting recognized." Heimdall spoke softly. "You do not need to do much. Just give him a place to stay until he is healed. As long as he is no longer in that prison."

"Fine." Tony said quietly. "I will help him."

"Thank you Anthony Stark." And with that the man was gone, leaving Tony alone with the unconscious demigod. Tony sighed as he realized what he had just gotten himself into. Harboring an intergalactic criminal who happens to have tried to kill him more than once.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes sir." The computer immediately responded.

"Run a diagnostic. I want to see all of his injuries and how bad they are. Also order me some smelling salts and food." Tony ordered.

"Of course sir. Would you like me to order from your usual fast food places or from the grocery store?" JARVIS said in a snooty tone. The computer had said on many occasions that Tony should eat better.

"Some of both. A lot of take away for when he wakes up but stock up the kitchen as well. I am going to get a drink tell me if anything changes with him or when the stuff has arrived." Tony said before walking out of the room, leaving Loki on the bed to rest comfortably.

After taking a few shots of good scotch Tony stayed down in his lab until the food and goods arrived. After storing the groceries and leaving the many pizzas, Tony had no idea what compelled JARVIS to order seven of them, on the counter he returned to the room. Loki had not moved yet on the bad.

"Jarvis. Your diagnostic."

"Of course sir. It seems that Mr. Loki's largest problem is extreme malnutrition. Other than that it seems all other injuries are well on their way to healing. There are fifty lacerations to account for. Twenty third degree burns. And finally there were seven different broken bones. However they have all been mostly healed."

"Thank you Jarvis." Tony sighed and reached for the smelling salts. He knew this was going to be bad but he held the salts under Loki's pointed nose. With a jolt the man awoke, grimacing when he felt pain.

In a second all the drowsiness left the demigod and with a startled expression he scrambled off the bed and into a corner. With fearful eyes he stared at Tony, his arms wrapped protectively around his legs.

"Where am I!?" He shouted, a manic fright coloring his voice.

"well good morning sleeping beauty." Tony mumbled under his voice. "You are safe Loki. You are at my house. In Malibu." He said loud enough for the other man to hear. That didn't stop the shivering from the petrified sorcerer.

"Why am I here? Am I being punished more?"

"What? NO! Listen Loki. Your friend Heimdall brought you here. He rescued you and brought you to me to keep you safe." Tony explained in a rush. Loki hugged himself tighter but he did seem to stop shaking.

"Why? Why would you help me?" He asked in a hushed voice, his dirty black hair covering his face.

"That is a question that I have been asking myself." There was a silence as they both took the statement in. It was many minutes before Loki uncurled himself and looked up, even if his gaze was still frightened. Tony sighed when he realized just how damaged this once proud person is now. A year ago Loki would have just sneered at him and maybe even spit on him for good measure. Instead he was cowering in the corner like a kicked puppy.

"Come on then." Tony motioned him to stand. Loki hesitated for a second but stood anyway.

"Where are we going?" He asked in a shy voice.

"To the bathroom. You look like you could use a bath. Maybe after a soak you will be able to calm down and we will talk about what has happened." Tony explained leading him out of the bedroom and into his own personal master bath. Tony had always been quite the lover of baths. So in his giant bathroom there was a tub that could easily fit five people. There were specialized jets and the entire tub was heated so the water never went cold. When they entered JARVIS automatically turned on the bath.

"I will be right down the hall if you need anything. Take all the time you need." Tony said quickly before leaving the bathroom. He flopped down on the giant couch in the living room.

"Sir?" The mechanized voice interrupted his thoughts on Loki.

"Yes Jarvis?"

"I hope you do not mind but I took the liberty of ordering clothes that would fit Mr. Loki and had them delivered right outside the bathroom. They will be here shortly. I also put on back order an entire wardrobe if it pleases you I can move up the order."

"That's perfect Jarvis. What would I do without you?"

"Perish."

!

My god the first chapter is actually done. Just so you know, I plan to write the first 5 chapters before I post. Then I'm going to post the first 3 chapters, and the other two will come the following weeks, giving me a chance to actually write consistently. But I make no promises that way I tell no lies.

Toodles and may the odds be ever in your favor.