2 Chapter 2: Opportunities

After the meeting, Loki could not stop thinking about Stark. He remembered the Midgardian with that ingenious eloquence and that irritating impetus. Surprised, he realized that he had really enjoyed his company.

How much time had passed since his departure? Loki had no idea; however, it did not matter, he was sure, Stark was not going to come back.

After all, why would he? Everything that Loki could have given him, he had already taken it, whether it was food, knowledge or just having been able to satisfy a whim.

But far from feeling resentful, Lok just felt grateful. While he lay alone in that bare wasteland, the fact of recalling their conversation had given him a pleasant distraction for those monotonous hours that crawled slowly, accumulating one after the other.

That man had taken him out of that apathy he felt had consumed him little by little. It seemed to him that although small, that gesture had allowed him to be something more than a being that although alive, had considered himself already dead.

He was convinced that Stark was not going to return, and it was for this reason that his heart skipped a beat, when suddenly he heard sounds of footsteps approaching and then that unmistakable figure appearing before his eyes.

"Stark!"

"Yeah! one and the same. Why so surprised? I said I was going to come back, didn't I? And call me 'Tony' please! We are friends, and they are referred to on a first name basis."

"Friends?" Loki said.

"Of course! We have even shared food together if that is not friendship, I do not know what it is" Tony said, with a smile of fun.

He then approached the still amazed Loki, and then looking directly into his eyes he said this time in a serious way.

"The bread you gave us did wonders for my people. Thanks to it we were able to reach new recollection sectors, many of which we couldn't before because of our fatigue and weakness. Those people who were sick, recovered from ailments that we thought were mortal. We had never felt so strong. All thanks to you! On behalf of my tribe, you have my most sincere gratitude" he said, putting one knee on the floor, then bowing deeply.

Loki was far from considering himself a humble person. He was never an individual who showed too much modesty when talking about his achievements, or someone who had reservations to monopolize the attention of people willing to exalt his virtues.

But now, seeing the enormous esteem and gratitude that Tony was giving him, he only felt a huge discomfort. There was something in that speech that made him feel enormously anxious, an emotion that, coincidentally, seems a lot like mortification.

Stark spoke of him as if he were a hero as if he had saved the life of his tribe in a brave and disinterested act. But Loki was not a hero, he was many things, but that title was definitely not among them.

All he had done was to give something that from the beginning, he had considered lost. There was no sacrifice. He had not done any extraordinary or honorable feat that deserved such acknowledgment.

"Get up," Loki snapped, unable to express his confusion in anything other than irritation. "No need to kneel, I didn't do anything..."

"Of course you did!" Tony said interrupting him "It may have seemed a small gesture for you, but it meant the world to us. I don't give my thanks to just anyone, so just accept it, okay? God! You're even more stubborn than me and that's saying something!" Tony said irritably.

A voice in his head told Loki that he ought to be offended by the nerve of this man, but it was immediately stifled by a sense of fun that arose from witnessing that irreverent and brazen attitude. Definitely Stark had some mischief inside him.

"Speaking of gratitude," Tony continued cheerfully "I have a present for you."

Loki watched as he walked away, to appear moments later with a curious object, a kind of transport that pushed to position in his direct line of sight.

Being able to appreciate it in detail, Loki noticed its structure: It was built with wooden framework, being possible to glimpse two circular blocks on each side accompanied by an axis and in its middle part, a support that made the base for a seat.

It took him a few seconds to recognize it but when he did it, he felt as if his breathing had frozen. In Asgard, they were not common and its design was something primitive, but there was no doubt... it was a wheelchair.

But how was that possible? From what Tony had told him about this realm, the available technology was almost nil. They had not yet invented the wheel and, therefore, the concept of "vehicle" was even more foreign.

"I designed it and everyone in the tribe helped to build it. We have never done anything like this, but what can I say? I am a genius. Also, being able to talk to you, gave me many ideas for its construction"

Was this for him? Had those of the tribe put all that effort into inventing something completely new just so he could move again? That meant he was going to be able to leave this place, stop being a complete invalid! An aid that, although it did not completely solve his situation, gave him an opportunity to survive.

He felt a knot settle in his throat and a strange emotion overwhelmed him, one that made his eyes itch and his chest contract. Was it a surprise? fear? joy? Loki supposed it was a bit of all of them.

Tony helped Loki position himself in his new chair and together, they emerged from the crater. Once positioned, he could see the landscape that surrounded him, for the first time since his fall.

What he witnessed was far from being a beautiful sight. It was a place too sterile, almost a desert and yet Loki thought it was impressive.

He saw how the dawn arose behind the imposing mountains and that sky of incredible blue color that stretched across the horizon. He closed his eyes, feeling the soft rays of sunlight caressing his face and the sound of the wind rippling on the sand. Everything seemed new, unreal. He felt as if he were a blind man seeing for the first time, or perhaps like a prisoner who has been granted the freedom that he had thought irretrievably lost.

Loki opened his eyes and felt over him the silent gaze of Tony resting on his face. In it, he noticed an almost palpable joy, a satisfaction that was also reflected in a small but sincere smile.

"Thank you..." Loki said in a mutter, one so soft that if he had not been close enough, Tony probably would not have heard it. It was a simple term, but Tony could appreciate in it all the veracity and the sincerity that it contained.

"Let's go, the tribe is waiting for us"

Together they left then, to a new beginning.