alphabet challenge - u

 Setup-ish for ghost story I’m working on. Actually kind of don’t like it, but that’s because I need to actually research and find the terminology for Tony’s spiel and it’s a drabble, so I didn’t. Ah well. This isn’t going to end up in the final story anyway.

 

U. Hatred

 

“You know, they say hate is just the other side of love,” he says, voice smug.

 

“And heroes are only idiots who live to tell the tale,” Steve returns, trying not to bristle. He doesn’t look up, instead continuing to fill in the details of his sketch.

 

“You must be the biggest idiot of them all, then.”

 

“What do you want, Tony?” Steve asks.

 

“Nothing, can’t a guy just talk? I’m just here to talk. But now that you–”

 

“Cut the crap,” Steve says, putting his pencil down and looking up at the engineer.

 

“Right, right, I forget, you want it simple and to the point,” and Steve can hear the implication behind it. His eyes narrow, but Tony is either oblivious or getting exactly what he wants. It’s hard to be sure when he’s wearing his sun glasses.

 

“Wow, look at you, you’re pretty pissed off about this situation, aren’t you?” Tony asks, leaning forward, peering over the sun glasses to look at Steve. Steve meets his gaze levelly. “Right, fine, since you want to the point, there was an anomoly over the Himalayas giving off gamma radiation that ceased at roughly oh-three hundred hours. Readings suggest it was an Einstein-Rosen bridge, rainbows, special effects, but there’s no footage of it. It lasted approximately three minutes and forty seconds. Which is to say–”

 

“You think someone or something that shouldn’t be from Asgard is kicking around the Himalayas,” Steve says, cutting Tony off. “We need someone to go look because there are SHIELD agents missing, and possibly civilain casualties. We need me because if it’s Asgardian, it might be Loki and if it’s Loki that might be nasty. I’m not stupid.”

 

Tony frowns, as if he wasn’t trying to imply that at all. Steve doesn’t feel bad.

 

If there’s one thing he hates, more than anything, it’s how everyone has been treating him like he’s stupid since he woke up. He’s never been stupid–he might not be a genius like Tony and Bruce, but he can think fast and he can remember things given only a short time. He has no idea how he works with these people and creates the plans he does and yet they all miss that he’s not actually stupid, only working on a culture gap near seventy years wide.

 

“Where’s Thor?” Steve asks.

 

“Asgard. Haven’t heard from him. He never did tell us what they did to Loki. Presuming it is Loki, and not some other crazy space viking out for blood. No telling, with space vikings.” Tony still looks confused, as confused as he can with his eyes hidden.

 

Steve nods.

alphabet challenge - v

 Oh hey look. Something that would have happened during Fractals. How about that. Just being self-indulgent really. Tony x Loki, If and Only If verse.

 

In computer programming, the number one is used to indicate ‘true’ while the number zero is 'false.’ There actually is also a law/proof that shows that the limit of any growth over time will be outpaced by exponential growth.

 

V. Joy

 

“So what’s joy?” Tony asks.

 

“Exponential,” Loki says from the kitchen floor. Tony doesn’t say anything about him tearing apart his laptop to get inside after only a declaration that it sounded 'uneven.’

 

“No,” Tony says, thinking about it. Joy has an end; it starts and then it crests and it’s done. Loki spares him a disdainful glance, then goes back to whatever it is he’s doing. “It can’t. Exponential growth just keeps going. Joy doesn’t just get–”

 

“The limit,” Loki bites out, bending over more to get a better look and Tony is only half-paying attention as he watches the skin draw tight over Loki’s spine, “as t approaches infinity will be zero.”

 

“Yeah,” Tony says, “but that’s just talking about exponential growth over-taking any other kind of growth.”

 

“Exactly.” Loki goes quiet; Tony can see him adjust something, barely more than a slight wiggle, then he’s smiling and sitting back up, starting to reassemble everything again. He pauses, thinking. “What was the question?”

 

“What equation describes joy?” Tony repeats, as close to patient as he ever gets.

 

“Ah. Yes.” Loki stretches, then leaves the laptop only half-reassembled on the floor. Tony suspects one of them is going to step on it later, swearing, but he doesn’t point that out. He’s more interested in Loki slipping up to him, arms wrapping around him from behind and nose running along his neck.

 

“Joy is,” Loki says, then pauses another moment. “Joy is this.” He squeezes Tony slightly. “It is cubic growth, modified according to various external data in order to determine if it terminates with the exact moment it would cross exponential growth–the inevitable buildup of ill events–or will, instead, turn into a convex growth pattern and gradually taper off. I would need a pen to appropriately write it out for you.”

 

“It can wait,” Tony says, twisting around on the stool to look at Loki. “I love when you talk dirty first thing in the morning.”

 

Loki’s eyebrow quirks up, but then he smiles, sly.

 

“Do you now?” Loki asks, moving so he can stand between Tony’s legs, crowding him and hands settling on the breakfast counter now at Tony’s back.

 

“That would be a one,” Tony says, and Loki grins, sharp and vicious and pleased, and Tony thinks

 

this is joy