stopmjolnirtime | Gold Revels and Revelations

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Gold Revels and Revelations

As much as Thor would like to simply sweep Tony away to Asgard for the entirety of his celebratory revelry- there are public appearances to maintain, obligations to the Avengers and to Stark Industries, and smaller celebrations with his family of Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy on Midgard. It would have been impossible to find a time when he could abscond with his lover for any amount of time without reaching to the Lady Potts and attempting, to the best of his ability, subterfuge. Secrecy is not something Thor is well skilled in, but after the parties public and private, a light skirmish and a round of meetings and developments in his lab, Pepper helped coordinate a 'conference' that Tony needed to attend.

The normal round of 'you'll be emailed the details' and 'the car will get you where you need to go' is intended to follow, not that Thor is at all present for these moments. He is, instead, standing out in a wide field, eyes on the clear sky, waiting after having kept himself away for the duration of the usual obligations of the month. He'd kept in contact- busy making arrangements for Tony's visit in Asgard, in warning the court, his family, his friends to be mindful and be kind- but the work to make ready for the week long feast and festivities in Asgard kept him from spending this special day with Tony. The only gift he'd managed to send was another card, and five more billets of Mythril for his use.

So watching the car arrive is something of a delight. Thor is unable to hide his smile as the driver rolls to a stop, holding the door open for Tony, Jet nowhere in sight.

There is no plane, jet, or ship that will take them where they need to travel, after all.

"Tony!" Thor's arms are open, eyes alight, dressed in the usual adorned leather customary to time spent in Asgard. At least the weather will be pleasant, he cannot imagine forcing Tony to endure one of their winters without forewarning. "I've a promise I made to you that I intend to keep."

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Most often every year, especially the ones after announcing to the world he was Iron Man, Tony forgets his birthday. Tony forgets a lot of personal data, really. Other people's birthdays are often on that list, too. There's just too much going on in his brain for most of that stuff to matter. He's lucky, though, because other people will remember it for him. It used to be that personal assistants would remind him so that he could throw one of those parties that lasted way too long, had too much alcohol, and too much sex. Now, as the years go by, those parties have gotten smaller and smaller. Which fits his current life just fine.

So when May rolls around and people start giving him things and also the usual well what do you get for the guy that has everything and he has a few personal dinners interspersed with some friendly company, that's enough. More than enough. Even Thor, absent, though no longer mysteriously as their so-called courtship has progressed, not being around isn't a big deal to him.

...it might be, but not because it's his birthday. More so that he's trying to tread a very thin line between being overly invested and playing it cool. Unfortunately, it's already too late, he certainly is overinvested, and more than that, he's pretty sure he took a hard turn out of the gate and went and fell in love. Such is life. He thought it probably wouldn't happen again, after Pepper and all his mistakes there. That life would be easier if he just ran the rest solo with good friends. But. Well. Then there was Thor. With not just sweet words but honest ones, kind ones, ones that saw through him and drew him in over and over. One might say he has it bad. But he's not trying to be that guy.

Thor's a traveler. He has things to do and attend to, like all of them. Just on a much bigger scale. So Tony doesn't let it get to him that there are often absences which span more time apart than he'd like. Because it's always enough, when he returns. Or they text or call- which was a fun problem to solve in and of itself. So it's fine that he's not around, Tony's birthday isn't special. But it is nice when a card and some more special material shows up and Tony thinks maybe he'll spend the rest of the month, if having to do so alone, working on his new suit design.

But then Pepper tells him there's something important he needs to go do. Generally when she reaches out like that he doesn't argue. Many lessons learned over that one. Though he's not CEO anymore, and that was one of the better decisions he'd ever made regardless of the fact that he'd done it while believing he was dying, he still has duties to the company. Sometimes, unfortunately, those are in a personal capacity. Showing up. He'd much rather be in his lab, which he lets her know in more playful terms and she doesn't answer to that, smart woman that she will always be, and instead sets him up to be on his way to this conference that he already knows he doesn't want to be at. Such is life. His, especially.

He figures he can still work. Which is why his head is down, back of the personal car he's being toted around in filled with soft blue light as he works on some schematics and engineering blueprints for the thing he'd rather be doing. Lost in that to the point that he doesn't realize he's not being driven to a tarmac until the very last second when the car rolls to a stop and his door is being open. Tablet in hand he gets out of the car, dressed in a very sharp three piece suit- headed to a conference, he thought- and there's only a very minor moment of confusion. They're not where he's supposed to be which should be a big red flag. But.

Considering there's a warm thundering voice beckoning him a few steps away, he might let that go. It's immediate and he can't quite hide the smile that blossoms across his features. Bright and sunny. He purports to not be one for surprises, but clearly this was a very good one. Tablet locked and tucked under his arm he tries not to seem like he's in a rush as he makes his way from the car to where Thor's standing with such welcoming open arms. "Is that right?" He can't even hide the cheeriness in his tone. "Does that promise include getting Ms. Potts on board with unusual duplicitousness? Not that I mind, by the way. I'm very impressed."

Genuinely so, and he buries a wordless message of how much he missed Thor when he finally gets to him fully and doesn't really wait or ask permission to put his arms around him. Miss might be an understatement. But again. There's that thing about not wanting to appear clingy. That's not a thing he can be in this relationship and he's happy the way things are. Really. More time with Thor wouldn't hurt but he's not going to make demands Thor can't promise. He's here now, besides. Once he lets go, "Does that promise include an all expenses paid getaway for a week? I suddenly find myself with some booked out time," teasing, as always.

Never before, even with Jane, has Thor's heart felt so full. Had he felt so enticed and excited by simply spending time in another person's company. He's traveled the nine realms and across countless worlds, met beings made of starlight and magic- but this mind? This mortal, this man holds his fascination like none other. The way his eyes alight from within, the connections his mind makes between disparate points in leaps of logic so far apart that it ought to be baffling or impossible, the irreverence of his humor.

Tony's determination not to take himself or Thor too seriously does much for his mind and soul. "I may have promised a greater return on the investment of lending you to me."

For there is no possible way he can take Tony to Asgard, show him their libraries, show him their technology, and not have him attempt to recreate or even improve that which catches his eye. Underhanded? Perhaps. They are not meant to have what is commonly found on Asgard. But Thor finds it difficult to hold that rule in mind when he can pull Tony close, cradling his face in his hands to brush their lips together. His whim doesn't always alter the weather, but the skies are clear of storm or cloud, the sun shining brilliantly down upon them both in this unmarked field.

Thor sighs, melting into the contact, hand smoothing through Tony's hair without thought or care to the departing audience of his chauffeur. "Something to that effect. Today? I take you to Asgard for...on Midgard, it shall be a week's time."

On Asgard, where the days are long and the nights are lovely, where time can be fluid in comparison- it may be a week, it may be a month, Thor is not entirely certain. He hasn't made a point of studying the shifting of the tides of Yggdrasil, that was always Loki's fascination, not his own. Perhaps he ought to have made more attempts to understand.

No matter.

"I trust you have something to record your first experience with the Bifrost?" Because taking readings of his comings and goings is one thing.

Being in the middle of it? Another entirely, and he is certain Tony will make great use of that information.

There's no hesitation in the reciprocation as Thor leans in so close. He keeps his tablet tucked under one arm while his other lifts to wrap around those broad shoulders, hand locking him solidly in with a soft grasp while their lips connect. It could easily just be a day- or week- of this. That would be fine. He's almost of the mind to recall the driver and put in for a penthouse somewhere. Would it be so wrong to have a birthday week of marathon sex? Definitely harking back to his younger years, but with a single partner- with Thor- he doesn't think that's so bad.

Vacationing anywhere would be fine, with the understanding there might not be much sightseeing. But then Thor fills in the missing piece of the puzzle. He's not here as a surprise that everyone else was in on and they're not going to whisk away to somewhere on Earth. No. Thor's here for a very specific reason, and it's one that fills Tony with conflicting tides. There's a buzz of energetic enthusiasm. Traveling to Asgard definitely is an opportunity he's never had before. To see what there is to see, capture all there is to take- especially knowledge, but maybe he'll abscond with some certain other things- and be with Thor. On his homeworld. Finally get to see it after hearing about it with all the love Thor speaks for it.

But at the opposite end there's mild apprehension. Leaving Earth seems risky. Even though there's ways to be contacted so far away now. It still feels like something he shouldn't do. Especially when it's to go on a joyous celebration ride. Perfect time for life to remind him why he doesn't get nice things, or shouldn't, anyway. Then there's also the ghosts that still haunt him, every now and again, regarding space. In all its infinite dangerousness.

He feels a little caught between two worlds, almost quite literally. Thor diverts his attention slightly, though, and he pulls his tablet from under his arm to start tapping away at the screen. "It won't fry my devices, right?" Asking also as he taps the side of the colored lenses he's wearing, to no one's surprise also loaded with tech. "I think between the Starkpad and the specs I can get two sets of readings and compare," buzzing away, as always, when a new opportunity is presented to him. "Should get a lot of good data," this that and the other thing, talking away, mostly to himself, while he sets up both devices so that they can get readings for him.

When he realizes he's not in his lab working on a project, as easy as that is to slip into, he grins Thor's way. Barely here ten minutes and already this is very obviously the best gift he's been given this year for his birthday. No contest. Though he does ask, "Anything I should be worried about? How's the ride? Any worse than the suit?" Tony can take a lot of Gs and he's used to flying and maneuvering at ridiculous speeds and pulling lots of maneuvers that sometimes his body doesn't like, suit or not. But alien tech travel that he doesn't quite fully understand yet... "I'm not gonna show up and puke on someone's lawn, am I?"

There's a distinct lack of immediate elation which Thor finds mildly concerning, but if Tony truly has reservations? He would give them voice. It isn't in his nature to do something he doesn't want if it truly seems like a poor idea- at least outside of battle.

And his engineering.

...perhaps Tony goes along with questionable ideas regardless of the risk more often than Thor might like, but that is as much a part of Tony as his blinding smile, his wondrous mind, his good humor. They could, perhaps, talk about it, maybe springing the trip on Tony was not the best course of action. Before Thor can properly fall into worry, Tony perks up at the reasonable idea of collecting data from within the Bifrost and Thor sets his concerns aside.

This is to be a joyous trip meant for celebrating the man he cares for, deeply. The man he is courting. Perhaps it doubles as an opportunity to expose the court itself to Tony so they might delight in him as Thor does. A way for advocating, perhaps, for a right to an apple without having to make a formal petition. Thor puts this from his mind, simply watching and allowing the rise and lilt of Tony's voice to settle and sooth him. A most endearing patter that he has sorely missed.

Perhaps he has something of an indulgent, terribly fond smile on his face as he awaits for Tony's attention to return to him properly. Hands steady on Tony's hips, he leans down to nudge their foreheads together, murmuring in the intimate space between their lips with all due divine sincerity. "Your devices will survive safely and nothing shall harm you while you are my guest. From this moment until we part company, you are in my care and shall be protected. I swear it."

For he would not risk someone so dear to him if he could help it. "You've no reason to fear, the Bifrost is less jarring than your armor, more akin to a lazy flight with me. We will arrive in the core of the Bifrost- which you may examine to your heart's content before we ride to Asgard properly. How are you with horses?"

Slowly he guides Tony closer to the center of the field, where a familiar mark is already branded into the grass from Thor's earlier arrival. Heimdall but awaits the word of his prince before sending the Bifrost down to collect them.

Even as close as Thor brings them together, Tony's eyes stay with his. Warmth and that bright, intense curiosity swimming in his own gaze. And, sure, there might be a slight bit of apprehension remaining. Better sense and ghosts buzzing around, but somehow just a few words from Thor seem to calm all his ills. Tony can and most often does deal with his own problems. In his own time, in his own way, by himself. He's a grown adult, and more than that, he's somehow been chosen as someone that can be counted on to protect earth- for better or for worse that that decision was made.

He can take care of himself. Has, for a very long time.

But when Thor tells him he's protected it soothes an ache he's not sure he could ever begin to speak on. More than that, Tony believes him. Not even that he has to, that he's placing his trust in his beautiful beau, because he's being whisked somewhere very far away where he'll be a little out of his depths and without his usual self-made protection (no thought to bringing a suit to Asgard, too). Maybe it's the want. The need. Yet even still beyond all that, there's something intrinsic about it.

Thor says he's safe. Tony believes him. It never used to be that simple, but it is right now.

He goes, so very easily, following in a slow pace as he still taps and prepares the tablet and still listens to Thor, glad that the ride doesn't seem so rough. "As in- riding? I don't think I've been on a horse in a long time. Probably not like riding a bike but I bet I can figure it out." If he'd had lessons as a kid, one of those young rich boy things, they've surely been deposited somewhere far in the back of his brain. But like with most things, he exudes an easy confidence that he'll adjust to whatever life happens to be throwing at him.

"If you mean how am I with horses, I think I'd spook them more than they spook me. Unless your variation of horse is not what I'm imagining." For all he knows it could be something fifty feet tall that breathes fire. Maybe a little less ridiculous than that, but anything could happen. "In any case, I don't have enough pride to feel some type of way about riding side saddle with my arms around you, if it comes to that." Smiling up at Thor with a particular ease. There's a lot of things he could be concerned about but, honestly, this is so much better than being at a boring conference for a week. Far and above expectation. Which makes it that much easier to be excited and contented.

"Our mounts are much the same, if more durable. I have calm, agreeable gelding awaiting your arrival, but if you'd rather join me on my warhorse..." Not that he needs to ride a horse normally with Mjolnir in hand, but the idea of taking the long way into Asgard proper, of letting Tony absorb the marvel that is the rainbow bridge and the slowly growing sight of his home? Has him wanting to do so.

That and he'd read somewhere or another that it's a romantic gesture, riding horseback with one's significant other. He intends to make it quite plain to Tony and the people of Asgard that this is no mere guest, no mere shieldbrother or favored mortal- but his lover. Someone he holds dear to his heart, someone that is deserving of their respect and appreciation.

He cannot make the entirety of Migard look to Tony and see him as he does- but he can influence Asgard somewhat, and not unfairly. A clever mind and quick hands, a warrior's heart even if the means are unfamiliar? Tony has never balked at a challenge nor shirked his duty as a protector of his people. How could they not love him?

"It will be very bright, and may feel windy, but I have you, and I will not lose you." Thor laces their fingers together, squeezing gently. They don't need to be in contact for this part but- he feels better for having a hand on Tony as he tips his face skyward and smiles, feeling that crackling of ozone a heartbeat before Heimdall sends the Bifrost their way. Much as it appears like light slamming into the ground from the outside-

it feels more like being lifted from the inside. Faster than the lifts at the Tower had been, certainly, but not entirely unlike flying with Thor on a clear day. For all that they are surrounded by a tunnel of cascading color, the thrum of the cosmos, the very song of the stars in their ears, Thor looks not to the end of the tunnel but to Tony. Holding fast as he promised, watching his face for the entirety of the journey, how he is lit up by the spectrum of color, how his hair ruffles in the air carried with them from Midgard. The point where up becomes forward would be disorienting for anyone that isn't familiar with flight in the way he and Tony are, so he worries little as the pinprick of light at the end gives way to the golden sphere of the Bifrost gate.

Thor walks the last few steps, ready to steady Tony if he has need, and raises a hand to Heimdall; who lifts his greatsword from the fixed point in the center of the great golden sphere that houses the Bifrost, dips his head in greeting to Tony, and stands aside. Here the scent of ozone is diminished by the salt spray of the ocean below ever flowing and circling through the air, and the first spiced wind coming from the city proper. "How are you feeling?"

Jane hadn't been well when he'd brought her here before; Tony isn't in the same condition but Thor worries all the same, hands offered and smile ready. "Were you able to record the experience?"

"I'll hold you to that," a terrible sassy little joke to lighten the load before whatever happens happens. He's seen this thing more than a dozen times by now. Perhaps been itching to get inside it just to deconstruct it and figure it out. Wouldn't it be something amazing to figure it out as a mode of deep space exploration? And he's read Dr. Foster's papers on it, her Einstein-Rosen Bridge work. All connecting. But to be inside of it isn't really an experience Tony can quantify. Until he's there.

Until the air shifts around them and he feels himself being pulled in a way he's not immediately expecting. And. Sure. It's a little bit like flight. A strange sensation that he could free-fall at any moment with weightlessness, but at the same time very much feeling like something's got hold of him. If alien abductions are to be believed, it's probably something like this. The lights surrounding them are extraordinarily bright, something he blinks back a few times before surrendering to the experience as a whole.

What little glimpses he gets of space itself moving around them he holds onto, in a way that he might not have before. After Loki rained down war on the Earth, although just New York City at the time, and the wormhole Tony went through, are all experiences he isn't really looking to relive. This is close, but at the same time it's not. In small bits and pieces, being quite the traveler, and no less a true factual alien, Thor has mitigated some of Tony's deepest fears about what lay beyond the furthest reaches. All that could be out there, all that still is. At the very least not all of it bad.

So while he once otherwise closed his eyes to the blinding light as he free-fell back to earth on an unguaranteed return trip, now he looks. Finds himself absorbed in the great vastness of it all. The sensation of momentum is familiar and yet not quite so at the same time. Only slightly disorienting, but as a regular self-piloted user of flight, it's nothing he can't handle. Except for the slightly abrupt end. Maybe he should have asked for transit time, if that's even something he'd be able to measure.

Tony's not off-balance but he feels slightly- something. Maybe it's just overwhelmed. When that all encompassing color gives way to- well. Where they were headed, he guesses. He's not unsteady, but he holds on to Thor just a little tighter and for his own sense of regaining momentum takes a few pointed steps once it's very clear they're done traveling.

Lightyears away, he has to remind himself. So far away it's almost unfathomable, and they did it in a manner of seconds. It's got his brain going, same time as Thor asks him if he's got some data and oh boy does he. Far more important than asking how he is- and he'll come back around to that- but for a few moments he's electric with technobabble, even if no one cares to listen, which has never stopped him from talking endlessly before. Data, readings, comparison notes FRIDAY is already compiling for him-

Eventually realizing maybe he needs to cool it and winding down right at the end with, "Yes- a lot of recording happened." Grinning endlessly. And, finally, he stops being rude and raises a hand to, who he guesses must be Heimdall. "Hi. You run this thing? Maybe one day I'll be able to let you retire." Wouldn't it be utterly amazing if he could figure it all out and give them personal semi-instantaneous space travel? It's going to keep him awake for months. "Retire, by the way. I'm not after your job." Kidding around with the big important man holding a very big important sword who is also probably very important to Thor, for all he's heard about him.

But he does wheel back around to Thor with what must be residual starlight still shining in his eyes. "Getting data on the way back'll be important, too. Seriously. Maybe you should've saved this for our first fight. It's a fantastic present." Mostly kidding. But it truly would have been a good makeup gift, if there ever was one needed. Thor's never disappointed in that department, though. This just one more experience in a long line that Thor has brought to him. He'd never really be able to state the depth of his gratitude.

The last time he brought someone dear to him to Asgard, he'd been too concerned over her wellbeing to enjoy watching their face painted in the light of the cosmos. In this moment? Tony is incandescent, eyes brightly curious and gleaming with all the shades of the stars of the nine. As difficult as it had been to convince the Lady Potts that this was a trip worth making?

It was well worth the effort for the ebullient joy crackling through Tony upon their landing and reviewing all the readings he's managed. For what feels like an eternity but but a few moments Thor blissfully absorbs the lilt and cant of Tony's voice as his genius and observations wash over him, filling the otherwise silent hall. There is the bone deep thrumming of the Bifrost underfoot, the dull distant roar of the ocean falls ever filtering into the sea of stars before returning to Asgard, but this? Is an unfamiliar music to Heimdall. However familiar he might be from observation with Tony seeing it in person is entirely different.

And not all that difficult for him to parse, brows lifting at how much this mortal was able to glean in a single trip.

"If anyone is able to replicate the Bifrost? It would be you, Lord Stark." Wry and dry and with good humor, the watchman of Asgard inclines his head to Tony, golden eyes filled with a flicker of curiosity before they dart to Thor. "Perhaps for your first fight, Your highness, you might have him sit on the throne."

"That was going to be an anniversary gift." Thor ducks his head with a sheepish laugh- Heimdall has known him and helped raise and train him- if anything he is a dear friend, an uncle of sorts, which is why he is granted, well- leave to walk Tony up the stairs to the central dais, to better examine the mechanism that holds the sword Heimdall uses to direct all the force and weight of light with the same precision as Hawkeye with his arrows. "I'll have to think of something else, now."

"Is the throne that impressive? I guess I'll find out. Or are we talking about the other throne." More often than not, Tony can seemingly fit his way into any scenario. He might be far and away from home, literally, yet somehow he seems comfortable. So much so as to make a dirty joke right now. His sense for decency was never the best. "Now all I have to do is instigate a little tiff," teasing Thor with a little nudge. "Little lover's quarrel..." Tone wilting just a little when they step up and he focuses in a bit on the mechanism that seems to power all of this.

With his tablet up and a finger at the side of his glasses, he scans it with a holographic framework that projects out before disappearing. This will keep him busy and up at night for months no doubt, and while he talks a little bit more to himself- or maybe it's to FRIDAY- about some datasets he'd like to run and get together before they get home, he eventually stops because he's not in a lab. Sometimes he has to remind himself of that.

"Just think of one or two things that would make a good anniversary gift and pointedly don't take me to see them this time around," seeming like he just picks up the conversation where they left it. But then he addresses Heimdall with a little grin that maybe overly sells how cheeky he's about to be. "You drive this thing, right? You ever send somewhere they didn't wanna be to teach them a lesson?" He's kidding. Mostly. But someone that in charge should have some fun once in a while, right?

Reaching back, he affectionately pats Thor's chest while still grinning at Heimdall. "Certainly not this one. Who has only ever been kind and perfect all his life. Which makes us basically the same, in that way." Truly. These two men who have done no wrong in their lives and learned no great lessons that shaped them into the men they currently are today. "But seriously. We'll have to compare notes. After I have some notes to compare. Probably not the last you're seeing of me. Or hearing, for that matter." He's got a little bit of static he's still working off, brain going a million miles a minute, so he's a little on right now. Overly chatty, in that way he tends to get. But at least it's friendly.

"The throne enables any who sits on it to view whatever their heart desires in the whole of the nine realms." It is an artifact as old as Asgard itself, entwined with gold and magic beyond Thor's understanding. Heimdall's ability to do just that without the throne has never been explained to him either, but it is hereditary, passed down his line as power has passed down from Odin's. He'll wonder over it later, merely standing aside for Tony to scan, record, and catalogue as much as possible before they move further into the city. "Heimdall watches for you when I am away, sometimes. If I bother him enough."

And he does, frequently, earning what is the equivalent of an fond eyeroll from Heimdall, the barest flicker of his gaze before Thor rests a hand on Tony's back to guide him out to their horses.

"I expect to have you as a frequent visitor, Lord Stark. His Highness is fond of you." Simple statements of fact delivered with all the certainty and gravitas as only an ageless being can possibly manage, the faintest quirk of his lips offered in a smile. With as much effort as Thor has put into arranging for this trip and tour? He's certain that, one day, Tony will end up on that throne for more reasons than merely a gift. His prince's heart is large and horribly transparent that way.

Thor makes no commentary to Tony's- muchness. It is simply how he is, an attempt to control how he appears to those around him that are new and not yet entirely trustworthy. Once he understood the manner in which Tony began his extensive, convoluted test of character and mettle? It was easier to see, especially now that he's been allowed so close to Tony's inner circle. Never quite as far as Rhodes and the Lady Potts- but it is good that Tony has family.

In his opinion, Tony needs more people. Perhaps he can offer that. "Today is for you and me alone, perhaps tomorrow as well. I intend to introduce you to my friends, the Lady Sif and Warriors Three- if anything telling them to let us be for this first day has been a trial- but I wanted to show you my home first."

Thor leads Tony to a warhorse that certainly looks built for a god, massively tall and broad, paler than fallen snow with dark, intelligent eyes. She butts her head against Thor's shoulder, demanding attention, which he offers gladly- petting her nose and scratching gently behind her ears. "This is Ysra, and long did she carry me in battle before I was granted Mjolnir. Ysra, this is Tony. Behave."

The mare huffs, turning to nudge Tony's chest curiously, ears flicking forward, lipping at his coat. "...she's looking for treats, here-"

Pressing cubed sugar into Tony's hand, Thor beams quietly at the image of Tony standing on the long stretch of the rainbow road, his home beyond, and revels in the sense of rightness it is to have him here.

"And who better?" While they fall into step with each other, leaving Heimdall behind with a small wave, Tony's muchness falls away. Leaves the two of them the way they're meant to be, the way Tony's used to being with him. Which is the same man without all those extra layers. The one he cocoons himself in, sometimes to the point that he doesn't even realize it. All these masks he shifts in and out of, but laid bare with Thor has become easier and easier the longer they dance around that big four letter word.

He's more than a little excited- giddy, if he's allowed the use of the word. Thor's spoken of Asgard so fondly and so often that Tony really can't wait to see it all. But more importantly is seeing it in the way Thor wants him to. Through Thor's guidance and his memories. He's certain that there's no better candidate. And for a moment he only wishes he had any fond memories of his own home to show off to Thor in turn.

That thought get shelved when he lays eyes on that large horse. Tony isn't really a nature guy, but he can appreciate the picture of the two of them. Clearly fond companions. "Oh, you have to tell her to behave right away. Kindred- spirits-" Words a little bumpy as the horse bumps him in kind. He raises a hesitant hand to her forehead but then looks over at Thor when he offers what Ysra really wants.

So Tony takes it, and then holds his palm flat out for her. Attention successfully diverted, he gives her a much calmer pat along her mane and then casts his glance outward to the view before them. It's really like nothing he's ever seen, which is exactly what it should be. The bright, striking and pulsing colors of the bridge- and already he wonders what it's constructed of- what seems to be waters beneath them- and then that gleaming, beckoning city in the distance. Tall buildings, some he can't quite explain at first glance, beset by lush green. That view he keeps his sights on, though his eyes raise very briefly to the glittering sky that seems to wrap and stretch around them.

Turning his attention back he catches Thor smiling at him in a way that, if he were allowed to use the expression, definitely gets a fluttering of his heart. It feels juvenile to even think. But. Well. Maybe that's not really a bad thing. And fine, too, so long as he gets to keep it to himself. Sometimes he thinks Thor has the patent on fond, loving expressions. Sometimes, when he finds Thor looking at him, the way he is now, he thinks no one's ever looked at him like that. And he'd really like for no one else other than Thor to do so.

"Glad to be home?" He asks, knowing that that at least must have something to do with it. He'd hate to take all the credit for a gaze like that when Asgard sits behind them. Looking at it like this, Tony can't really fault Thor, for travelling back to it so often. "I don't mind sitting with you, by the way, if Ysra will tolerate it." Attention diverting back to said horse halfway through as if he's asking her permission, too.

"Glad to have you." Thor answers easily, his home is what it has always been- but having Tony at all? Lightens his heart in ways he's never before experienced. Having Tony in Asgard? Makes him feel centuries younger, more the foolish, brash warrior than the slightly less foolish, slightly more wise prince he has become. Especially watching Ysra take to Tony so quickly- he'd worried only a reasonable amount as to how Heimdall and Ysra would like his significant other but clearly? He need not have done so. Heimdall all but sang his approval in the incline of his head and Ysra-

Finds Tony as acceptable as she finds anyone that isn't Thor. Which is- well enough provided he continues to offer pets and treats, and does not dig his heels in. A marvelously well tempered horse with the odd bout of ill humor- she'll be glad for the ride.

"Let me give you a leg up-" He laces his fingers together, offering Tony a boost up onto the saddle without missing a beat, and Ysra does not so much as wicker at the foreign weight. Not that Tony weighs much compared to her usual fare. Thor swings up and on afterward, breathing in the salt of the sea and equally grounding and familiar waft of Tony's cologne, nuzzling his temple as he reaches around to gather the reigns. "Lean back, hold fast with your thighs, and think of riding me."

Which is as good an instruction to murmur, low and warm against the shell of Tony's ear as he nudges Ysra into a trot, then canter, the wondrous sight of Asgard's golden halls and statues growing closer and closer with every crystalline ringing of his horse's hooves. "Later I will take you down to where our defenses lie- also activated by Heimdall's sword. I think you may have thoughts on the shield."

And ideas for improvements, possibly. For now he lets all else fade from his mind but the warmth of Tony in his arms and the joy to be home, and to be sharing that home with someone he-

Someone he cares for deeply and dearly, more than he ever thought possible.

Maybe he had ridden one or two horses in his youth, maybe at the Academy, but never in his adult years, which have spanned much further than his childhood ones at this point. So, no, not like riding a bike. It's a little nerve-wracking, really, which might be silly considering he's strapped himself into devices of his own design, some crude at times before being built better and better, and ran full speed at things far more dangerous. But this is a live animal, even if one with a good temperament, and anything could happen.

Still, it helps that Thor is his leading guide here. Once Tony's up by himself for that brief moment, he slips his tablet into the larger pocket on the inside of his suit jacket and idly wonders if maybe he should have worn anything else. Those thoughts cease to matter once Thor is settled square behind him and he finds himself leaning back instinctively, almost at the same time he's being given that instruction. He follows the next, too, thighs squeezing just a little, and then-

A little laugh escapes him as they dart off, not much time to feel the heat that thrums through him at a suggestion like that. But maybe it helps a little. He stays back but sturdy and firm upwards while they pick up more speed. His hands lock around Thor's just so he has something to hang onto. If there was a better way to bring him towards Asgard, he couldn't possibly think of one. The way the scenery starts rushing up to greet them, along with Thor's strong, solid presence behind him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd start thinking you brought me here to do work," stated, a little bumpily, with all the amusement in the world. Maybe Thor did, but it's the kind that lights up his mind, makes him happy. "Not that I mind- by the way- and I do wanna see it-" Because of course he does. Thor knows him too well now. It also doesn't escape him that probably not a lot of outsiders get this sort of tour. This sort of treatment.

But then again. Not a lot of outsiders are currently dating the crown prince of Asgard.

As they get closer and closer, this vast, beautiful city creeping up on them, he can't help but seem to say, "Seeing it like this, kinda makes it easier to see why you're in and out all the time." Thor's not always here, he knows. Not always on Asgard. But he wouldn't begrudge him if he was. It's a gorgeous city. Definitely one Tony's going to want to take apart top to bottom. Some of its architecture a little puzzling. Things he can't wait to be shown, to get to the bottom of. To be led through, hand in in hand with Thor while he describes his favorite places.

"You're happiest when you have a new puzzle. Asgard is filled with them." Thor says simply, easily, because as much as everything else he adores of Tony? The way he lights up from the inside buzzing with inspiration and curiosity when faced with new information or potential for creation is one of his favorite shades. It is Tony at his most honest, the blinding need to know and understand. On occasion that awareness is overwhelming but on this visit Thor hopes to introduce him to enough to keep him riding the edge of delight and invention, rather than worry.

The very last thing he is meant to do on this trip is worry.

It may happen all the same but- he has backup diversions and plans prepared should Tony's mercurial mood twist somewhere somber or withdrawn. He'd spent the time he'd rather have enjoyed with Tony around his birthday making certain this trip would be a relaxing and enjoyable one, determined to show him the best of Asgard. And if Asgard happens to see the best of Tony in return? That's, as Tony says, icing.

"The golden city is a shining jewel of our realm, next time? I'll take you to Vanaheim, the realm of my mother's people." His mother's passing still aches in no small way, but it is easier to ignore when in his uncle's company, when in the woods and forests that taught her so much of her grace and wisdom. There is so much beyond Midgard that could learn from them- and so much in the Nine that Tony could improve, could better by reminding the rest of the realms that Midgardians are not so small or petty as to be easily dismissed.

That they are brilliant and brave and so much more than mortal, for all their short lives.

As they come close to the city's gate the guards lift their hands in greeting, which Thor returns with a princely wave as is expected of him. Ysra slows to a more acceptable walk once they pass through, guided by the flex and grip of Thor's thighs to enter the main thoroughfair of this golden city. "A choice- do you wish for the tour first, or to be taken to the royal tailors? They may be excited to craft anything your heart desires- not many of the house of Odin wear red quite as well as you do."

Tony will very unfortunately never be able to meet Frigga, though he's heard more than a few stories at this point. And thinks that if he ever were to meet her, he'd have to thank her for raising such an upstanding young man. He's not sure if she'd have liked him, but from the way Thor recounts her, she seems as kind and gracious as she did wry and a little mischievous. ...she did raise two boys who turned out the same, so maybe that's to be expected. "Just tell me when. The next time you won't have to get Ms. Potts' permission." The next time, if there's time, Thor will tell Tony he'd like to take him away, and Tony will treat it like the vacation it is.

Spending time with his lover. Whether that's in Asgard, or Vanaheim, or Bali, whose business is that but his own? He'll have to settle a little more into the idea that it's okay to literally step off the earth for a pocket of time. That they'll be alright without him. But knowing they can communicate, can recall him- and Thor- if necessary, and that travel back isn't a lengthy thing, it's really not so bad. Some of his much bigger fears assuaged, in light of all that.

When they slow, Tony eases a bit, leaning just a touch more back against Thor. Enjoying, rather visibly, his spot atop this big warhorse with Mr. Prince right behind him, walking him through the city like he's a treasure just brought back home from war. Tony wouldn't mind the idea for a night. He was also never one to help preen from time to time. Although their relationship he's been enjoying in its quietness. That it's one of the things Tony gets to himself, not for the general public to share in, like most of the facets of his life. All the details. Very little was he allowed to keep to himself growing up, and even still, being so public.

Thor is his in all ways, but he enjoys that, for now, on earth, Thor really is his. And their relationship is his. But on the other side? If Thor wants to parade him around a little? Some minor pretend trophy husband action? He'll play along with that.

"I was starting to wonder if I was a little underdressed for the occasion- ...overdressed? Dissimilarly dressed, anyway. Though I'm not sure I can really pull off the long flowing garbs as well as you do." Not sure about a cape or something similar. "But in the essence of fitting in, maybe we should stop there first. And then you can take me everywhere." He leans a little bit more back against Thor. "Show me off to your heart's content, too." Grin evident in his tone.

[ooc: I found some Tony in Asgardian garb pics because of course I couldn't help look around. One, two, three, four.]

"Or undressed, which is my favorite." A beat. "You are, however you choose to dress yourself- or not- perfect in my eyes, always."

If pressed, Thor would admit to parading Tony around a little. Possibly to gauge interest, possibly to prove to Tony that he matters to him dearly. Mostly? On Midgard what he shares with Tony is private. For them and them alone; and he understands. Invasive as Midgardian news-mongers are, they'd never have a moment's respite. But on Asgard...

Perhaps he ought to have asked before being so open an overt about his affections, but he wants somewhere to show that he is Tony's, and Tony is his, and have Tony watch people alight with envy and amazement both. There is no sordid history here as there would be on Midgard, and what there that could cross over? Wouldn't garner disrespect or shame from the people of Thor's golden city. This is a fresh opportunity for Tony to be accepted without hesitation, without scorn, and without condescension. A warrior, scholar, and smith of Midgard, Prince in his own right?

Thor wants, more than anything, for Tony to see and realize that here and in Thor's heart? They are equal. That he is worthy.

But their time together has been short yet, and Tony a lifetime of thinking to the contrary to wade through. Thor cannot change what has happened to cause this, but he can give Tony one realm in the nine that see him as he is and does as much as Thor to help him see it as well. Hence: the royal treatment. Spoiling him as much as possible with knowledge, with gifts, with attention.

And food. The first feast may or may not have the Asgardian equivalent of burger king cheeseburgers. Thor will admit to nothing as he guides them through the long paths to the centralmost tower, swinging off Ysra with a huff and offering Tony his hands. "I've told them of your preferences, size, and coloring, feel free to offer your thoughts and opinions to every sketch they show you- they haven't had someone discerning to fuss over in centuries."

It would be fussing, Thor opting for practical leather and armor more often than not, Loki particular to the point of being a menace- without lady Frigga to dress? They haven't had any real opportunity for innovation in quite some time.

[ Yes? Yes. Perfect! All this and more for Thor's ~~intended~~ boyfriend. ]

Thor is met with a exhale that's tinged with humor, and an all too knowing grin. Which is exactly why he warns, "If you want to get a tour completed, you have to keep from talking like that to me." Because that's twice now, that Thor has said something to him that struck a line of fire right through him. Maybe it shouldn't be so easy, but what can he say? He's got a very huge thing for Thor at this point. It's quite a lot more than a crush, but framed that way makes it easier to understand just how easy it is for Thor to get under his skin. Make him want. Because at all times he's working with a low simmer, so with a little fan of the flames they might end up getting a little lost in each other, before he can get lost in Asgard.

Before that, though, he supposes he should look the part. He doesn't mind travel and culture sharing or the clothes that come with it. No stranger to dressing up to fit in here and there. Or maybe for fun. This will be a little bit of both. Though he's not really sure he could pull off such a stunning set of armor and cape like Thor does. He's at least very open to the idea of seeing what theses tailors and seamstresses on this very foreign planet have to offer.

After Thor gets down, Tony swings himself the other way and then gratefully accepts Thor's help getting down off that very large mount. He's not quick to let him go, either, fingers slipping in between Thor's where he takes his hand in an easy but still somehow firm grasp. If there's culture shock or some sense of decency to be had, Thor will have to at some point tell him about any of it. Because as it is, with the idea that he's here not only to have a good time but to be introduced to the people of Asgard- a little bit of that showing off- he wants to play a role in kind.

Sure, his heart belongs to Thor, even if they haven't spoken so grandly yet like that to each other, but Thor just as equally belongs to him. And he's not exactly shy about that, either.

"So- give them a hard time? It'll be like the tailors back on earth." A process with which Tony is very familiar. "Are they gonna put me up on a box, take my measurements, and play Barbie with me?" He lets Thor lead him towards and into the shop, eager eyes absorbing just about everything he looks at. "Or maybe you'd like to? I don't think I'd mind at least one set of clothes picked out by you." That Thor thinks he'd look good in, wants to see him in. Yeah, Tony wouldn't mind that at all.

That thought immediately leads to another that he can't help but speak, "What's the lingerie situation like on Asgard?" Because Tony would definitely wear something deemed sexy for Thor, if that's what he wants. He only needs to ask.

"Better than." Thor murmurs, lifting their laced hands to openly drop a kiss to Tony's knuckles, ignoring the curious looks this attention has gained from the surrounding pedestrians. Often as he has spoken of Tony's warrior spirit and creativity, his humor, his grace- perhaps more than a few are hovering just to catch another glance at the man, another word from his lips.

Though in the distance one child is murmuring 'I thought he'd be taller' before getting scruffed by a flustered older brother.

"...we could certainly arrange for a set if you so desire." Because Thor? Wants. Very much he wants and the one thing keeping him from going on about how much he wants is the doors swinging shut behind them.

Once inside the atmosphere is decidedly more intimate, chaise lounges and bolts of fabric arranged in accordance with their color and texture, their weight and drape, a library of materials lit with gleaming golden chandeliers, hanging crystals scattering motes of light throughout the room where there is, in fact, a box in the center and mirrors angled along one side of the room. The tailors- a blonde, brunette, and redhead all draped in shades of blue and silver sweep to curtsy and greet Tony, complimenting his bone structure, his stature, his facial hair- 'so unique' 'start a new trend''we have to highlight those eyes'-

The blonde, Brun, guides Thor to a chaise to lounge, offering him a goblet of wine and a pat on the shoulder. The redhead scurries to the back to collect the initial garments they designed while the brunette, Revna, holds swatches up to Tony's skin, frowns, and pulls on a nearby dangling rope to change the intensity and tone of the light in the room- something less intimate and more natural, akin to what would be seen out and about in Asgard proper. "There we are- will you be wanting a smith's leathers as well? Prince Thor has mentioned you work the forge."

While he should probably be taking in Asgard in its entirety, people and all, when it's just the two of them on this street, and Thor's entreating him with that honeyed tone, the people watching them go by without notice. Which is how it is back on earth. He's used to being watched, more than that being judged. It all flies past his radar because none of it is important to him, anymore. All background noise. That might be a little disrespectful here, but if asked he'd at least be honest. He's a little wrapped up in Thor. Could anyone blame him?

"If you so desire," he teases as they head in. "I'd be more than amenable." Which is that if something showed up and Thor said yes that please, Tony would act with very little hesitation, most likely.

At least the world of fine tailor shops isn't that much different between planets. He's very used to fittings and dressings and putting together suits when it's events that he cares about. When it's not he used to leave the charge to Pepper to put something out for him. Maybe this is a little like that. He tries to keep up, quick and witty as ever while the shopkeepers are introduced to him and then immediately throwing compliments his way.

He at least has the decency to slip his suit jacket off his shoulders and hand it to Thor for safekeeping- not that he distrusts anyone else around, but his tablet- and his specs as he slips them off and tucks them inside- will be riding around in that for the rest of the day and he needs to return to earth with all that equipment unscathed. He also slips a finger into the knot of his tie to undo it. "Oh has he? I've been known to build a thing or two." Or three or four or a hundred.

"How much time do you have? Wouldn't wanna keep you here all day. Thor said something about sketches?" Tony's also not sure if they have things ready for him or if there's any certain... magical (or at least otherwise unexplained) nuance that'll speed up the clothing making process. He points a finger Thor's way, "I also want you to keep a close eye on him. If he so much as furrows a brow at something, it's off the table. Only because I wanna look good for him. Not a royal treatment thing." Finishing this statement at the same time he gets his dress shirt unbuttoned revealing the tight undershirt beneath, serving Thor a little wink with a sly grin.

Thor accepts the trust of guarding Tony's suit- and far more importantly his technology- with all due sincerity. His only addition to the proceedings other than smiling like a hopeless sap at Tony is to pull a golden sphere from a pouch at his belt and toss it into the air where it arcs up and then hangs as though caught on a hook, boobing gently, glowing and whirling. They'll come back to that later. For now he lifts his goblet to Tony and sips as he watches the tailors titter.

The redhead, Tove, returns with a thick tablet that appears to be a sketchbook to start, and several garments draped over her other arm. Brun, much like Thor, simply grips the hangers the garments on an lifts as though hanging them along a fixed point in the air- where they remain in a tidy row. Smiling she peers over her shoulder at Tony's build and demands, murmuring. "He's trouble."

"Fun trouble!" Revna chimes, grinning brightly as she offers Tony a hand up onto the central box. "And certainly built like a smith and a warrior. You're sure he's a scholar?"

Tove lift the tablet to walk in a wide circle around the central box, a gem on the surface glowing slightly before she completes the circuit- pinches the surface to pull away threads of golden light, and directs them to one of the mirrors on the far wall. Layered over Tony in the mirror, in what he'd see as a hologram, begins as a shimmering gold illusion of clothing that settles into the proper colors and reflectivity of the materials for the outfit in question.

"I am quite sure. He is the first Midgardian I have met to create something like this-" Thor gestures to the mirror and it's illusion with his gobleted hand, beaming with pride at the lifted brows and surprised gasp from Brun. "And far, far more. Without magic."

"...Robes?"
"Robes."
"Sheer robes-"

Three heads bend over the tablet, one mirror showing Tony as he is in slacks and undershirt, one showing him draped in something more akin to Thor's formal armored look with a long tunic and plating, in shades of red and gold very much pattered after the Iron Man armor- complete with a blue emblem over the chest as a way of honoring him. Another lights up in real time, showing every drag and sketch in three dimensions, the illusion swapping out quickly for length of sleeve and width of belt- and opacity of fabric at that last addition from Tove.

"You may need to speak up if you see something you like the look of- when they're inspired? They're very much like you in no small way." Thor couldn't sound or look more delighted if he tried, and he may very well.

It's been a very long time since Tony let people fuss over him to the level that these three are. It feels a little strange, too, because Thor is sitting right there, watching, with an expression on his face that makes Tony feel a little warm and melty inside. He tries his best to temper himself, though. Otherwise they'll slip into an endless feedback loop of just smiling at one another while people are actually trying to do work.

While he means to focus there's a lot of things going on around him. A lot of interesting things. Lights and tomes and this that and the other thing that he wants to immediately take apart. But he's not here to capture all of Asgard's secrets, only a few. The biggest one being when they first arrived, so he placates himself with that while otherwise trying to keep up with the three concurrent voices while pieces of clothing come and go, shape and shift.

"Oh. Unstoppable?" Tone light and kind because he does very much know exactly how he gets when he's in the thick of something. And that he appreciates, too, the talent and dedication they have for their craft. Because Tony was mostly sure he wasn't going to fit into the style of dress that Asgardian's seem to wear, but there are a few items and ensembles put together that he points out as they go. Reds, golds, and blacks. Colors he's comfortable in, that he knows he wears well.

It slips away from him how many garments he's agreeing to, the whirlwind of the three tailors sweeping him up. Which is also something he appreciates and recognizes eventually for what it is. There's a slightly more regal looking outfit that they slide on by, one with a blueish-grey cape with gold embellishments tying it together that offsets the red long tunic beneath it adorned with small bold buttons and a high collar and Tony has to halt them. Nowhere near his usual fare, he might not ever wear it again unless on world with Thor. But he does look over his shoulder to ask Thor, "What do you think? Too much competition? Too much period?" If not he might walk out of there wearing that one. Good for a first impression while they're going around, maybe? Definitely a call he's deferring to Thor for.

"Very much so, in the best possible way." Thor hasn't given the tailors a limit- a note that Tony will be here but for a week, however future visits are not at all out of the question. Still Tove wrangles a promise out of him that they'll be allowed to design a proper winter cloak and tunics for Tony before the season arrives. "Look at his skin, he is a Summer's child, surely you would not let him suffer without adequate warmth?"

"Perhaps his highness wishes to warm his lover in his bed-" Brun murmurs, showing a few of the more scandalous garments to Tony on the tablet tilted for his appraisal rather than letting Thor peek using the mirrored illusions. Sheer tunics and skintight leather trousers, bands and harnesses in shades of red and gold and black.

"The spring's hunting will be done in a few months, you'll bring him by for the first of the solstice celebrations- we'll have new furs available." Ravena nods to herself and sweeps into the back to begin stitching once Thor gives his word of approval- or rather he sits forward enough to set his goblet of wine aside, eyes tracing every lovely inch of Tony in the mirror's illusion of the last of the outfits. Suitable for a Prince of Midgard.

Or Thor's Consort.

"Perfect. You have spoiled both Tony and yourselves in this." Thor almost manages to get to his feet before Brun nudges him back into the chaise and Tove takes Tony by the arm to a changing area, the garments in question from the fastenings to the cloak to the leather tooled boots ready and waiting. There is some magic in the adjustments to the fit- taking it in under his arms, lifting the heel of his boots a touch to better show off his calves. While she's adjusting the drape of cape Ravena arrives with a tablet very much like their own- filled with the designs they agreed upon.

"Send a raven if you have notes or special requests." Tony's clothing he arrived in is folded and packed away to be sent to the palace- while Thor remains seated on the chaise with both Tony's glasses and tablet resting carefully in his hands, awaiting the new outfit and his lover breathlessly.

It's not very often that he's surrounded by people who are perhaps as brazen and scandalous as he is. Not recently these days, anyway. Usually he's the one in the room people have to tell to tone it down. It's nice, in a way. And for some reason even he can't help the duck of his head, the little helpless grin, maybe even just a very faint lick of heat across his face- though perhaps that's a little more due to the thought of the idea than any sense of shame which he's long since lost. Thor is the prince of these people after all and here they are talking about their potential bedroom escapades. It's amusing.

"Careful you don't spoil me too much, I might become a brat." Which he almost certainly is already. This is a little akin to the treatment he gets on earth if not knocked up several notches. And while he doesn't find it overwhelmingly necessary to be doted upon, fine on his own, this is an extension of Thor. So he accepts it all very happily and disappears with Tove and Ravena to get suited up, as it were. He's still not very sure he'll look the part of someone that fits into Asgard's greater landscape, maybe very obviously every bit the visitor that he is but...

Once everything is pulled together and he turns left and then right a couple times over to look at his reflection in the mirror, with these new garments literally made for him, the slight swish of the cape- while he wouldn't have thought of himself as a cape person before, and Thor definitely pulls it off, it's a look he doesn't mind. Maybe even likes. A little. "Will do," he says to her. "You never know. We might keep you busy." And maybe in that shameless fashion they'll request some more of those sensual garments.

After one final look, deciding this is as good as it's going to get, he steps out from the changing room, shoulders squared back like he feels like he has to carry the look. At the very least the few steps it takes to get back to Thor, who he smiles at as he puts a hand on his hip. "I'll take your complimentary commentary now. Especially with our tailor friends within earshot."

In their time together Thor has had the privilege of seeing Tony's many fashionable facets. The well tailored suits, the casual blazers and band tees, the devastating tuxedos, and his favorite: dressed down in denim and worn cotton, smears of grease on his hands, the light of creation in his eyes. Witnessing him step out draped in finery designed and crafted for him in the styling of his home, carrying it as well as any armor and radiant for it? Thor may need a moment.

Thor may need several moments, eyes bright with mirth darkening with a particular brand of heat Tony's grown familiar with over their courtship. Lips part for words that don't quite come until he swallows and clears his throat, smile blooming sweet as honey when he still cannot find anything to say. But he is a man of action first and foremost; sliding his hand to the small of Tony's back and cupping his jaw to bring him into a kiss is certainly proof enough of his appreciation.

There is a multilayered chorus of 'aww' from the tailor trio, which only prompts Thor to laugh into the kiss, nudging his forehead against Tony's when he parts for breath. "You know you look wonderful. Regal. I've told them you are a prince of your industry an they've truly taken it to heart. It'll make waiting to unwrap you later almost unbearable."

Almost- but not quite. He's learning the value of delayed gratification. Pouting about it now and then, certainly, but learning. With one last kiss he tucks the tablet Ravena gifted Tony alongside the tools from Midgard, and offers Tony his arm for the rest of the initial tour. "From here- there is the library, the tavern, or the armory. Which would you like to see first?"

Because he'll see all of it, Thor will take Tony to every spot he can think of save that one garden. Having Tony present will only intensify the temptation Thor works hard to ignore.

Tony has been to thousands of fittings, heard basically every compliment in the book about his looks or how he looks in any given outfit. He's been on the cover of hundreds of magazines, and perhaps more tabloid front pages than that. He's heard it all. He's seen it all. At least that's what he usually thinks. But there's this thing about Thor. Who always seems to prove him wrong time and time again. It's just the way Thor is, he thinks. The way Thor loves him, and the way he loves him in kind.

Being lost for words should spurn some sort of amused and maybe even overly confident shine in him, but instead he just feels this swell in his chest. The way Thor looks at him sweetly and yet hungrily at the same time burns all the way through him. Locks him in place as Thor gets up, and leaves him nearly breathless, desperate, and wanting all at once when their lips meet. Something he leans into eagerly, a hand at Thor's chest, his thoughts scattering away.

It's lucky their company reminds them they're not alone because otherwise Tony might have sought out a few more deeply hungry moments being lost in Thor. In very inappropriate ways. Even so, he swallows the mirth from Thor's lips against his own and finds himself smiling. "Is that what I am?" Choosing to focus in on the less sultry part of Thor's musings so that he doesn't lose himself to all of it and perhaps demand that their next stop be Thor's bedroom. "I wonder who I have to beat out to be king," tone light and teasing only.

There's no hesitation as he curls his arm around Thor's, thanking his new friends and tailors alike, sure that he hasn't seen the last of them, as they step out of the shop. The choices he's being presented with are enticing and he takes a moment to think about them. "Maybe we'll do the tavern last. If there's anything I'm even allowed to drink there." Regardless if there is, even if it's in a small dose, he's prepared for it to knock him on his ass. The Asgardians really don't mess around with their liquor, he's come to know very intimately. And no matter how much of a champ he is on earth, his tolerance for alcohol probably a lot higher than your run of the mill human, he's still got nothing on Asgardian mead.

"Let's go to the armory first. Which I'll be less tempted to steal from. Mostly because I think it'd be harder to hide weapons than books." But he's being incredibly honest about his intentions here. They've spoken about this before, and it's something that has him wildly excited. Tony's brain tends to gobble up knowledge at an alarming rate, not to mention how quickly he processes and understands it. While everything and anything he'd ever wish to learn on earth is accessible at his fingertips any time he'd like, Asgard and all its treasures have been, for most of his life, complete unknowns, and then for the rest of it, out of reach. But. That changes today.

The man he has to thank for that, arm in arm with him while they walk and for just a moment he stalls them, tugging Thor just a bit while he leans to press a sweet kiss at the corner of his mouth. There he also murmurs a very genuine, "Thanks. For all of this." Thor might sincerely have everyone beat out for best birthday present ever.

"Pepper." Thor answers without missing a beat, his eyes glimmering with affection and warmth. Arm in arm he leads Tony out to the familiar paths in the area around the palace- they'll retire there for the evening but today is for showing Tony everything his heart desires. Thor's suggestions are born more of what he thinks Tony would find most interesting to start rather than any true schedule. They've days to delight in one another and everything Asgard holds, and after the trip? He'll be lingering in Tony's company on Midgard to make up for not being present during his actual birthday celebration.

On this, Pepper was understanding, but emphatic.

The armory is a longer walk from the tailors, but the path takes them along many a shop front and clusters of Aesir draped in modest finery, children laughing and playing games with a hovering golden ball, mothers chatting and spinning thread so fine as to appear invisible, young men carrying crates of goods from one store to another. What notice they gather comes in waved hands and brilliant similes, bowed heads and 'greetings Your Majesty' or 'Hail, Lord Stark'-

For Thor has put in the groundwork for how Tony is to be addressed. More than once a child stills, dumbstruck and tugging on their mother or brother's sleeve, pointing emphatically. 'It is the man of iron!'

Thor may have also told many a tale of Tony's wisdom and bravery- it is only fair that he be given his due reverence for all his work. Does he care little for the slights and sneering of the Midgardian Media? Maybe. Is he at all ashamed of that? No.

Not when he can pause and turn, leaning into the kiss with his heart in his throat and his eyes, fingers tangled in Tony's. "You are welcome, Tony. I wanted to give you something no one else could." Experiences, a trip to another realm, peace of mind. Knowledge to spur on his own glittering creations. An understanding that here he is seen as the hero Thor knows him to be, without scrutiny or reservation.

"I was absent due to the time it took to arrange everything here, to ensure we would all celebrate you appropriately. Two nights hence, there will be a feast in your honor." He lifts Tony's hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to his palm, smile soft, tender. "So you have our time here- and me with you in Midgard for as long as your heart desires."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gold Revels and Revelations

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now i'm wondering what their first fight would even be about o-o

smth stupid like Tony purposefully destroying his communicator on his way to Titan...

TONY NO T^T

only leave a voicememo like "idk where you are but go to earth they need you I'm sorry. I love you"

yeah big argument about that, esp after he gets his ass stranded. t-t

he'd deserve it pretty heartbreaking that Thor wouldn't know he's even alive for that whole month

if thor had a nickle every time he mourned a brunette he cared about, he'd have- a lot, actually.

whipsmart brunettes just constantly orbit him, aside family he clearly has a type

short, smart brunettes that don't take him seriously at all and humble him- that's the type.

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