Passing By

FrostIron
Mild NSFW

He liked the streets of Asgard in the rain, when most of the population was dwelling inside and he could wander the streets alone. He kept his fleece coat drawn up about his face. It would be annoying if someone were to recognize him and force him to put up with their simpering shenanigans. That was not to say he didn't enjoy being fussed over for his royal title. But right now he was in no mood for it. In fact he wasn't in the mood for any sort of company at all.   
 
The AllFather had just made the announcement, complete with a banquet and all the right guests clamoring around like a bunch of toadying sycophants. Of course he should have known. Should have taken the time to prepare himself for the inevitability. No matter when their father had told them, a blind man could see that he looked at the stronger, more bully of the two and saw the future of their kingdom in the blue eyes. Naming Thor Heir Presumptive was a mere formality.   
 
To some extent, Loki wanted to be happy for him. He had never seen his brother look so... overwhelmed over something in his life. The accolades from the political vultures meant nothing as he stood there, floundering for purchase, trying to look as resplendent as possible while he realized the weight and responsibility of the throne was soon to fall on his shoulders. Even Loki had found himself swept up in the moment, applauding for him, smiling to know that what his elder brother had always striven for was finally within his grasp.
 
But as he moved forward to congratulate him, Thor had passed him by in favor of greeting the other dignitaries and nobility quickly crowding about to vie for their future King's attention. Loki had not been able to get closer, and Thor had not reached out his hand to speak to him.
 
Now, without meaning to, Loki found himself in a positively foul mood. Foul enough to skitter past the guards and out the back to wander the streets for a while. He doubted he'd be missed. And as was usually the case, whenever he found himself in one of his little snits of poor temperament, Loki started looking for some way to get into trouble. The most typical for him was to find a tavern which boasted characters of easy virtue with which he could take our his regressions on. But at the moment, that stuck in his throat. After his last visit, word had gotten around to those in the trade that if a dark hair, green eyed man who smelled of gold came by, demand extra for damages upfront. Nor was he in the mood to head back to the palace and find a willing servant to keep himself entertained. His mother had found out about the last one and tore into him. Not that he could really blame her for that. If the guild found out that one of their members was being mistreated, there would be hell to pay, royal family or not.   
 
So here he was, waiting for something amusing to happen.   
 
Loki passed through into the merchants distract, hardly looking at the notable houses of a newly coined in Asgard. They weren't nobility, of course, but this was the place where the shrewd and the connected had gathered. The bright colors and frankly useless little gardens of their villas made it clear that they wanted everyone to know they had money to blow. He peered in past the gates, mostly from boredom, looking at the hedges and flowers whipping back and forth in the rain.
 
In the garden of one particularly gaudy estate, he heard something moan.
 
Loki had never been one to pass by his curiosity. And as this was Asgard proper and nobody locked their back gate, he thought nothing of pushing the hinge and stepping in one the tile, peering around. Lightning flashed as he searched for what had made the noise, expecting to find a beggar or perhaps just a drunk after shelter.   
 
He did not expect to nearly trip over a steak in the ground.   
 
Loki followed the heavy chain of the steak over to a manacle which clutched so tightly at a foot that there was raw, old scar tissue apparently, even in the rain. He let his vision travel over the poor wretch with a certain curiosity, making out the figure of a man lying there, naked but for a loincloth clinging to him. He had not seen the royal personage hovering over him. Or perhaps the frost clinging to his unkempt hair made it difficult for him to see. He shook ferociously, moaning to himself, clinging onto his body to try and keep himself warm. When he finally looked up, the man jumped back, lifting his arms to block the expected blow.

Loki could not help but smile to himself. “Well well. Aren't you interesting.” He flung his cloak off with a grand flourish and covered the man with it, wrapping him up tightly. With a single jerk and yanked the post out from the ground and lifted the poor creature easily, headed for the back door of the villa. 

He knocked three times. A candlelight came on in the window and a serving maid opened the door while still in her night cloak. 

“I'm sorry sir but we don't accept night deliveries. Come back tomorrow when...”

“Do I look like a green grocer, girl?” Loki sneered and pushed past her, knocking the young woman to the ground as he shoved his way inside. He looked about the kitchen and took the man he'd gathered over to the fireplace, setting him down where he could warm him up. Loki stood and turned on the woman. “Who is master of this house? Answer me.”

“I...uh...this is the notable estate of Gealby, High Merchant of the Silks.” she stammered. It hadn't taken much for her to note the quality of his cloth. And she had no intention of refusing to address a noble. 

“Fetch your master. I don't care if he's sleeping. Tell him I wish to address the manner in which he keeps his servants.” Loki said pointedly. Really, he didn't care in the least. But the poor girl told him what he wanted to know with the next words.

“Him? He's no guild servant! He's just a...” She froze, realizing her mistake. She quickly grabbed the candle and bustled up the stairs. “I shall tell the master someone is here to see him.”   
 
Loki pulled himself over to the hearth, letting himself get warmed up as he peered at the poor creature he'd salvaged from the storm. Now that they were in the light, he could make out several marks on the man's skin. Beneath the hood was a face covered with hair, but he knew a good jawline and warm eyes when he saw them. Before he could question the bedraggled person, the master of the house trampled down the steps, looking as furious as one could for being dragged out of bed in early spring. 

“What is the meaning of this intrusion? I will have the guard called on you, sir! And what is this worthless trash doing back in my house! How dare you...”

Loki's thin smile revealed just how pleased he was to be recognized and perhaps even feared. “Master Gealby, I assume.” He stood up, taking on his stance of someone who now owns whatever rooms he is in. “Tell me, do you know what the penalty is for keeping slaves in Asgard?”

The man swallowed his tongue and had to fumble to bring it back up. “I...I would never...sir he is no slave. Not at all. Merely a...a badly behaved serving man. Yes. Very badly behaved! Caught him stealing silver!”   
 
“Ah. Then clearly a matter for the guard. I shall be happy to call them, and the Guild too. I'm sure they'd be interested to know how you treat one of their contracted members...” Oh how HARD he had to work not to laugh at how the mans face turned white! Most people would rather deal with the guard than the guild! The most the Aesir guard could take was your freedom. The guild if in a foul mood and crossed, could take your house, your livelihood, your property, and your holdings.   

Gealby lost air in his lungs. He shooed the serving woman away, trying his best to straighten himself up and clear his thoughts. “I am certain, your highness, that there has been some sort of misunderstanding here. Obviously it would be my honor to try and do anything I can to...alleviate any confusion. Perhaps I can offer you a glass of wine. I have a very fine elvish vineyard...”

“I'm not in the mood.” Loki waved his hand. He could see the poor man watching him closely, waiting to see how this would turn out. “But perhaps...well if it is all a misunderstanding, then I might be able to help you. I wouldn't want a fine, upstanding citizen such as yourself to face any repercussions for something simple.” He looked over at the messy creature now clutching at his robe, not looking up from the fire. “If I were to say, take him off your hands, clean him up a bit and put him in my employ...well I'd wager no one would recognize him.” 

Gealby sucked the inside of his lips, quickly seeing the advantage of letting Loki have his way. “Yes. Of course. What a very clever solution. But there is the matter of...well I did pay a rather substantial amount of coin for him...”

“Did you now? A very poor investment as he was left out in the rain. Does he grow some sort of valuable alchemic moss when wet?” Loki enunciated his words and the man predictably backed down. “I shall need a second cloak as he is currently borrowing mine.” Loki stood and waved his hand. “And your private carriage to return us to the palace. I'll have it returned once I've finished with it.” When nobody moved he scowled, and the scampering pleased him more than he could say. Within a short while, a new cloak had been brought and Gealby's carriage had been brought for them. The prince of Asgard easily picked up the weak creature again, noticing that no protest was offered, and said not another word to the lord of the household as he got into it and they sped off.

He could not resist a wry laugh as they clattered down the streets. “Well that was fun. I shall have to drop a hint to the city guard that they ought to investigate the Gealby estate for contraband and such. If he's gotten in the slave trade I strongly doubt you're the only ramshackled thing hanging about his residence.” Loki peered over at his guest and nudged the silent man with a boot. “I am accustomed to being answered when I speak.”

Brown eyes, dark and dangerous as the woods at night glared back at him from under the borrowed hood. “Yes I'm sure you are. But don't think I'm fooled into believing you've done me a favor.”

Loki's lips formed an intrigued 'O' shape as he leaned back on the cushioned chair, spreading himself out. “Well well. I think we're discovering why he had you out in the storm. Mouthy creature.”

“Yeah and I'm only gonna get worse from here on out.” Came the sharp tongues response. “So if you're gonna get a stick up your ass about trying to make me scrape and bow you've got another thing coming, Ass-gardian.”

If he thought this was going to repulse or upset the prince, he was dead wrong. Loki stared at him for half a second before he began laughing as if he might burst his gut! “OH you are bound to be more fun than the usual servants!” he clasped his hands and leaned forward. “By the nine realms. What are you under all that hair and dirty eh? I'd call you a dwarf but you're much too tall to be one. Some manner of elvish mutation gone horribly wrong?”

He sat up straighter. “I'm a human. From Earth. A place I'd like to get the fuck back to...”

Loki reached out and struck him harshly. Not so hard as he could have, but enough to send the poor man back to the other side of the carriage. “Careful. There's a difference between cheeky and offensive.” He warned as he traveled over the man's body with his eyes. There was so much potential for fun here. He hissed under his breath, the fellow trying to salvage his pride as he refused to rub the mark on his cheek. “Now...why don't we start again. “I...” he gestured to himself. “Am Loki, prince of Asgard. And for all intents and purposes, your new master.”

“I thought slavery wasn't allowed here.” Came the growl.

“It's not. But I think we both know by now just how far laws can be broken if you've got the connections or the coin.” Loki wondered privately who Gealby had meant to sell this man to. Hard enough to transport a slave through the realms without getting caught. But then, there were pockets of Asgard so far removed from the proper that, if he were to get the human that far out, no-one would know anything of it for decades. “Now, how about you introduce yourself. Go on. I want to know.”

The man glared at him again, but pulled back his hood. “My name is Tony. Tony Stark.”

Loki arched an eyebrow. “Should that mean something to me?”

“It just might.” Tony tilted his head to one side. “Depends on just what it is you think you're going to do with me.”   
 
Loki felt an absolute thrill chase it's way down his spine to his thighs. “Well...Master Stark...we shall have to see.”