Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tony was fine.

His day went like this: He woke up and had a drink. Then he went to his workshop and tried not to think. He tinkered until he couldn't focus, then had another drink. And another and another and another until he couldn't see straight anymore. Then he went out and found a pretty sub to bed for the night. He would take them and put them on their knees, and fake it and fake it and fake it, until he convinced them that he was meant to be there, standing above them. (But he couldn't convince himeself. Never himself.) And then he let himeslf get lost in it, imagining he was the one on the floor, imagining that far away look in his own eyes, until he could kick them out. And then he drank, and drank some more until he was able to pass out for the night, and then repeated the same thing tomorrow.

He was fine.

Pepper worried and fretted over him, but he shut her out, just like everyone else. She knew his dirty little secret, the one he had hacked into goverment databases to hide, but he acted like it was no big deal. As long as he had enough alcohol (and he kept a constant supply), he could pretend that everything was okay.

He was fine.

And then he met Loki, and everything changed.

-----

He was in the workshop when the call came in.

"Sir, Director Fury is calling."

Tony rolled his eyes, but it wasn't like he was really in the middle of anything. "Alright, Jarvis, put it through."

"Stark," Fury's voice echoed through the lab. "So nice of you to pick up the phone."

"Well I know how you get lonely without me."

Fury ignored his comment. "We need you to come in to the helicarrier. We have an emergency."

Tony scowled. "I've told you before that I'm not your fucking lap dog. Get one of your agents to do it." He was suddenly not sure why he had picked up the phone in the first place.

Fury sighed. "I've already got agents on it. But this is bigger than then. We need Iron Man."

"You only love me for the suit." He hesitated for a moment, then made a decision. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I'll give Jarvis the coordinates," he answered, then hung up the phone.

"Well, that was fun," Tony said to nobody.

He went to the bar and poured a drink. He downed it. If Pepper were here she would probably make a disapproving comment about flying while impaired, but she wasn't, so he poured another and drank it just as quickly. Then he got into his suit and headed off.

It took him about five minutes to get to the base, and he flew right past the security. They ignored him anyway, the armor itself getting him enough clearance to get onboard. Fury was waiting for him outside.

"Stark, this way. We have a meeting room set up already."

Tony followed him until they hit the room. Fury went to stand at the front of the room and Tony took a seat at the long table. He flipped up his face plate. He recognized everyone in the room. There was Fury, then Captain America, Bruce Banner (who he knew only from pictures), and Natasha Romanav. Her, he knew well, and he had to resist the childish urge to stick his tongue out at her.

Fury started speaking. "Thank everyone for coming here. I know it was a last minute thing, but like I told all of you, it's an emergency." He proceeded to tell them about the Tesseract, and about a god named Loki who had stolen it. He waited for a moment then answered his earpiece. "Thank you, Agent Hill." He turned back to the crowd. "And we've just located him through facial recognition. He's in Stuttgard, Germany. We'll start heading that way now. Everyone, suit up."

Tony began to pull his face plate down, but Fury leveled a stare at him. "Stark, can I have a word in private?"

He thought about saying no, and flying straight to Germany to deal with this guy himself, but his curiousity won out. "Sure."

Fury began to walk out of the room, and Tony followed him. Once they had reached an empty hallway, Fury turned to him. "Stark, I know I called you here, but I've since gotten new information that makes me think that you might not be the right man for the job."

Tony scoffed. "I'm always the right man for the job."

Fury shook his head. "Not this time. This guy is a dom, and from the videos we've seen a damn good one."

"So?"

Fury gave him a withering look. "Stark, I know your secret. I know you changed the records, but you can't change your nature." Tony opened his mouth, but Fury continued before he had a chance to speak. "Don't be stupid about this.We're not sending any subs out in the field with this guy."

"And I'm telling you that I'll be fine. The paperwork was wrong. I'm a dom. I've got probably a few hundred lovers that I could chase down that will tell you that."

"No. I don't particularly care if you lie to me, but you shouldn't be in this situation, and you know it. It's dangerous. You're not going."

Tony hadn't even wanted to come in today, but now this was a matter of pride, and there was no way he was backing down. "Well you're sure as hell not going to stop me."

With that he flew off. He heard Fury yelling after him, but he ignored it, talking to Jarvis instead. "Jarvis, find me the coordinates SHIELD has for Loki Laufeyson. We're going to get there first." Jarvis complied, and it wasn't long before they arrived.

The first time Tony saw him outside of a screen, he was smirking above a crowd of kneeling Germans. Objectively, he knew that this man was the enemy, the one he was here to capture; even so, it took all his willpower to keep him off his knees. Loki looked up at him, and those green eyes registered shock for only a moment before his lips curled in a slow, vicious smile. Tony’s breath caught in his chest and all his thoughts narrowed to one line - he knows, he knows, he knows.

Then he blinked, and Jarvis’ voice was in his ear. “Sir, should I begin charging the uni-beam?”

He mentally shook himself before answering. “No, Jarv, not yet.” Instead, he readied the guns at the suit’s shoulders. His next words were clearly directed toward Loki. “Make your move, Reindeer Games.”

The God raised his hands in surrender, but the glint never left his eyes. Tony knew then, without a doubt, that he was in serious trouble.

Loki was captured, and Tony made his way back to the helicarrier. The whole way back he tried to focus, but all he could think of was Loki's eyes and the smile that had spread across his face. He couldn't help imagining being one of those Germans, kneeling at his feet. The idea got his face hot. He forced the thoughts out of his head as he reached the base. Fury was waiting for him again.

Tony flipped up his face plate as he approached and gave Fury a cocky smirk. "I told you it would be alright."

Fury shook his head with exasperation. "Yeah, Stark, you did. Now come in the lab and help Dr. Banner work on locating the Tesseract. It's our main issue now."

Tony really wanted nothing more than to go find Loki, but he did as he was told. It wasn't long before Tony got his wish. Loki was flanked by armed guards, and Tony watched his procession from behind a thick pane of glass. He was working, absorbed in a digital screen, but as the god wlked by, his attention was pulled to him without his conscious permission, and then all he could were his eyes, which were green green green.

Loki was put in a cage, and it wasn't long before Tony went to see him. "Jarvis, disable all cameras in the room." He knew it would be done before he got there. He walked inside. "Jarvis, lock the door." He heard it click definitively behind him.

Loki was silent as Tony stared at the floor for a long moment. Finally, he brought his eyes up to look at him. His breath hitched in his throat. Loki was still in his armor, standing tall and proud. All his snarky words dried up before they could leave his mouth. Loki quirked his lips. That smile would be Tony's undoing.

Loki spoke first. "Stark, what a pleasent surprise."

Tony hated the way he purred when he spoke. The sound went straight to -- no, he had to focus. "I had to see you again." Shit shit shit. This was not the time for honesty.

Loki's smile widened. "And here I thought you want to kill me."

"Oh, I do, definitely." He had found his lies again. "But it would be a lot more convenient if you told me where the Tesseract was first."

"Oh, but that's not really what you want from me, is it?"

Tony froze. He forced bravado. "I guess that bug hat is pretty cool too. I'd take that if you're offering."

Loki hummed. "Did you know that they call me the god of lies?" He paused. "That means I can see Right. Through. Yours."

Tony forced himself to take deep, even breaths. "I tell a lot of lies, honestly. Which one are you referring to?"

Loki's smile turned into a smirk. "I know what you truly want, Stark. And I am more than willing to give it to you."

Tony didn't answer and instead fled from the room. The door opened for him as he approached it. He stopped in the hallway directly outside to catch his breath. He was a dom, he just had to keep reminding himself. He was a dom, he was a dom, he was- he was in so much trouble. He briefly considered taking himself off this mission, just like Fury had suggested, but no, he needed this. He needed- he wasn't sure what. Or at least, he wasn't willing to admit it to himself.

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring. "Jarvis, what's going on?"

"It appears the ship is being attacked, Sir." Tony ran back into the room, desperate to see that Loki was still in his cage. But it was too late. He was gone. "Jarv, do you know where he's going?"

"I do not, Sir. Dr. Banner hypothesized that he was going to need a large power source from somewhere, but he did not say where."

Power? Where would he get a big power supply in New York city? There was nowhere like that. Except-

"Son of a bitch."

With that he flew toward Stark tower as fast as his armor would take him.

As soon as he was at the Tower, he began taking off the armor. He knew this shoud be a fight, but he didn't want to walk into it as though it were one. He felt naked walking into his own penthouse, vulnerable with his heartbeat thudding in his ears. He was right - Loki was waiting for him. Tony could barely breathe.

Loki smiled, sharp and predatory. “Stark.”

Tony faked a grin. "Nice leather pants. Compensating for something?"

Loki grinned.

Tony regretted the comment when he started thinking about those leather pants and what lay beneath them. "I really need a drink. You want one?" He walked to the bar and poured a drink. His hand shook. He drank it. While he was there, he put on his bracelts. He turned back around, and Loki was still staring at him.

He smiled again, and Tony almost lost it. "Stark," he purred, "kneel before me."

Tony didn't even think. Before he knew it he was on the ground, kneeling at Loki's feet. It felt right. It had been so long since he had had a dom, and now he was falling immediately. His eyes were on the floor, and his hands were clasped behind his back. Loki put a gentle hand on his head.

"Good boy," Loki said. Tony hyperfocused on every word. He almost keened over the praise. "I'm glad one of you knows your place."

Tony realized he was hard. A spike of fear rushed through him and he worried that he had miscalculated horribly. "Loki..." Loki gripped his hand tightly in Tony's hair and pulled his head up. Tony gasped in pain.

"What did you just call me?" He asked in a low, dangerous voice.

The words rushed out of Tony. "I'm sorry! Sir!"

Loki let go of his hair. He grinned. "That's better. Mister Stark, you are a fascinating man. I rather think I should like to get to know you better. " He squatted down until his lips were at Tony's ear. He whispered. "If you can get rid of this army that seems to be following me..." He palmed Tony's erection. "Then we'll see what we can do about this."

With those final words, he tossed Iron Man out the window.

Chapter Text

Tony woke with a start. He sat up quickly, his heartbeat thudding in his ears. He had had that dream again. If only it could be anything other than memories. Obie's face still lingered in his mind. That was going to put a damper on his whole day. He tried to take slow, even breaths, the way Pepper had taught him. In, out. In, out. In- he blew out a hot gush of air, too fast. This wasn't working. He brought his hands up to his hair and tugged, the sharp feeling calming him a bit. It reminded him of Loki's hand in his hair the night before - sharp, but soothing. He felt sick. Time for a drink. He poured one from the bar in his room and drank it quickly. Then he poured another, and drank it too. He shook his head to try to clear the feelings mucking up his brain.

How could he have been so fucking stupid? He had never had someone bring him down that quickly. No one had even tried in years. Not since - no, don't think about him. I'm a dom, he told everyone. I'm a dom, he told himself. But he knew he was lying. He was always lying. He made a good match for the god of lies, indeed. His stomach heaved, and he was glad he hadn't eaten anything last night. Tears pricked at his eyes but he forced them back. Tony Stark did not cry. (Except when he did, but he wasn't thinking about that either.)

Ok, ok. He had to get a hold of himself. Another drink and he started coming down from it. He was Tony fucking Stark and he could look at this from a logical point of view. The first (the last) thing he needed to do was get more info on Loki. He got dressed - jeans and a t-shirt - and headed down to the lab. The lights turned on at his approach. He wasn't even quite through the door when he started speaking.

"Jarv, pull up everything Shield has on Loki."

"Of course, sir."

He walked into the lab to see it already pulled up. It wasn't much. A few photographs (Tony intentionally did not focus on how he looked decked out in his armor), and a single file with details about him. It was sparsely filled out. It looked like this:

Name: Loki Odinson
Classification: Enemy
Threat Level: Red
Point of Origin: Asgard
Age: Unknown
Weapons: Scepter
Abilities: Levitation, energy shots from scepter, super strength
Weaknesses: Unknown
Known family: Thor Odinson (see attached file)
Last known location: Stark Tower

So that didn't tell him much that he didn't already know. But he had a brother? He touched the name and his file opened up.

Name: Thor Odinson
Classification: Ally
Threat Level: Yellow
Point of origin: Asgard
Age: Unknown
Weapons: Mjolnir (hammer)
Abilities: Flight (with mjolnir), lightening (with mjolnir), super strength
Weaknesses: Unknown
Known Family: Loki Laufeyson (see attached file)
Last known location: 2435 Bradford Dr., Alberquerque, New Mexico 87102, United States

Tony tapped his fingers gently on the desk as he read. He needed to talk to Thor. "Jarv, save that address. We're going for a ride."

"Are you going to see him?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure that's wise, sir?"

"Jarvis, nothing I've done lately has been wise. Hold off on the lecture."

Jarvis didn't answer.

Tony didn't want to fly in his suit across the country, so he called for his personal plane. Once it showed up, 20 minutes later, he gave them the address; they advised him that the flight would take about 5 hours. That seemed excessive, but he was going across the country, and he knew this plane was the best that money could buy. Unfortunately, this left him a lot of time to think. Better have a drink instead.

He poured one, then another and another. He was trying to silence his mind so that he didn't have to think at all. Another drink, and he started to feel hazy. He looked down, and noticed his right hand, the one holding the glass, was shaking. He grabbed his wrist with the other hand to try to steady it.

Obie's hand on his wrist, squeezing, holding him down. No, no, no. Not like this. Not again. He could almost feel it again - Obie squeezing so hard he thought his bones might break. He threw the glass across the room and watched it shatter. Alcohol soaked the floor. He brought his hands up to his hair and pulled. Loki's hand in his hair. Obie's hand. He bit back a scream. He thought about slapping himself. Obie slapping him. No, don't think about it. That had always been his defense. He got up, grabbed another glass, and poured a drink. He drank it slowly this time, noticing both hands were shaking now. He let out a slow, deep sigh and closed his eyes. He was fine. He was fine.

One of the pilot's came back into his room. He stopped and stared at the mess on the floor, and Tony's shaking hands. He was professional enough to say nothing. "Mr. Stark, we're about to arrive in 30 minutes."

He managed a shaky smile. "Thank you."

He sat back down and put his head in his hands. He was just going to have to breathe through this. In, out. In, out. In, out. It was working this time. He could already feel his heartbeat slowing. In, out. He looked up at the room. The broken glass shined on the floor. He groaned. He was not supposed to have breakdowns like this. He should have known from the moment he had that dream that this was going to be a bad day. It was almost time to land.

By the time they landed, he had his shit together, more or less. He hoped. He still felt raw inside. Luckily the private airport they landed at was close to the address where Thor was staying. Once he was out of the plane he suited up and began flying, with Jarvis giving him directions as he went. When he was close by, he took off the suit. There was no sense scaring him by Iron Man showing up at his door. He walked the rest of the way.

When he found the address, he walked up to the door slowly. He still wasn't sure he wanted to do this. What was he going to say? Hey Thor, come tell me about your world-conquering brother. I have a hell of a crush on him. He sucked in a deep breath and knocked. There were a few seconds of silence, before he heard steps coming toward him. A young woman opened the door.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi, I'm uh...looking for Thor."

"Hi 'looking for Thor', I'm Darcy.” She laughed at her own joke before continuing, “Thor's at the coffee shop downtown. I can give you directions if you want. It's only about a five minute walk from here."

Tony wasn't sure he wanted to do this in public. "Can you just give me his cell number?"

The woman laughed. "Thor doesn't carry a phone. He always breaks them."

"I could probably make him one that would last,” he said absently. “But anyway, I really need to talk to him. Can you give me those directions?"

She did, and he thanked her and headed on his way. It wasn't far, just like she had said, and he decided to walk rather than fly. He didn't want to draw attention to himself - as much as he could avoid it, being Tony Stark - so suiting up didn't seem like a good idea. He got there in just under five minutes, just like she had promised.

He walked in and scanned the coffee shop for the man he had seen in the photos. He found him immediately, sitting in a booth off to the side sipping coffee. He took a deep breath and walked over to him.

"Hi," he said, putting on his most winning smile. Thor looked up at him. "I'm Tony Stark. I'm sure you've heard of me."

Thor just blinked at him. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met."

Tony gaped. He couldn't remember the last time he hadn't been recognized by name. "Tony Stark? Genuis, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist? Iron Man?" Finally, as a last resort, he tried, “Stark tower?”

“Oh, yes!” Thor exclaimed. “Stark! You do the fantastic work with clean energy. Jane will be so delighted to see you. You're kind of her idol. She will be here soon. Come, sit with me and wait for her to arive.”

It was Tony's turn to simply blink at him. Of all the things he was usually recognized for, that was not on the list. But he supposed it was as good as any. He thought about asking who Jane was, but that wasn't the point here, and if she was showing up soon, it meant he didn't have much time. “I'm actually here to talk to you, if that's alright.” He took the offered seat without waiting for an answer.

“Me? That's fine, but what for?”

“I'd like to talk to you about your brother.”

“Loki?” Thor suddenly looked fierce and he pulled up a large hammer from beneath the table. Tony was sure that it was mjolnir. “What business do you have with him?”

Tony raised his hands placatingly. “Woah, it's nothing bad. I just...I want to know about him.”

“Who sent you here?” Thor growled, still holding mjolnir.

“No one sent me. I sent myself. I had a...uh...run in with Loki, and I just wanted to get some more info on him. You seemed like the best place to go.”

Thor dropped his hammer, wide-eyed. “You've seen Loki? When and where?”

“A few days ago, and at my tower?” Tony asked it with a question mark at the end because he wasn't sure how that was relevent, but if Thor thought it was, he wasn't going to argue.

“Loki...” Thor said wonderingly. “He lives?”

“Uh. Lives? He did as of a few days ago. He was there at my tower, definitely very full of life.” Tony thought of that powerful gaze again, and shook his head to clear the thoughts. He couldn't be thinking about that while here with Thor.

“Yes. We...I...thought him dead.”

“Wow. Well, definitely not.” He had made Tony feel alive for the first time in many years and if that wasn't proof of his own life, nothing else was.

“Tell me everything. How did you two meet?”

Suddenly Tony began to rethink his choices. What was he doing here? How was he supposed to explain this to Loki's brother of all people? He decided to start from the beginning. “Well, Shield called me. You know Shield, right?”

Thor nodded. “Yes, I'm familiar.”

“Well, they called me and told me there was this guy trying to...I don't know...take over Earth? And it turned out to be Loki.” He tried not to think of him standing above those kneeling Germans, and his own nearly uncontrollable urge to be on his knees.

Thor's eyes widened. “Loki tried to take over Midgard?”

“What's Midgard?”

“It's my peoples' name for your realm.”

“Then yeah, I guess he did.”

Thor frowned. “I'm sure he had a good reason. Where is he now?”

Tony set his lips in a thin line. “I don't know. We had a um...private visit, and then he threw me out a window and disappeared.”

Thor laughed. “Now that sounds more like Loki. But I am glad to see that you survived, Tony Stark.”

Me too, he thought, even though he wasn't sure it was true.

Thor turned grim. “I shall have to find Loki soon, and take him home. But for now, what do you need to know about him?”

Tony shrugged. “Anything you can tell me. His past, his personality,” the reason he makes me lose all sense of self-control.

Thor was thoughtful for a moment. “Loki is...a good person, though many would tell you otherwise. He's been through a lot, but he will always be my brother.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “I'm not so sure on the good person thing. He killed eighty people in two days.”

Thor shook his head. “That is nothing to our people. We're a warrior race. Killing is in our nature. Eighty deaths? That's low for any war.”

“Low? That's not...” He started, but then cut himself off. “That's not the point.” He knew that his weapons had killed many, many more than that, so it wasn't his place to judge. He realized he was going to have to prompt Thor to get the information he needed. “He's uh...very dominant.”

Thor nodded. “Ah, yes. He was highly ostracized for that.”

“Ostracized?”

“Yes, it means to be left out of.”

Tony couldn't help barking out a laugh. Thor must have missed the genuis part. Either that or he thought all humans were idiots. “I know what the word means, Thor. I just don't understand why. There are plenty of doms in the world. What's the problem?”

“In your world, yes. And in mine too, in a way. All Asgardians are dominants, but that is not a role a warrior should take. It's part of our warrior training to learn to repress that side of ourselves. If you cannot repress it, it's seen as a shameful thing. Loki...well, he will tell you himself that he is not so much of a warrior.”

Tony let that turn over in his mind for a few moments. He was shamed for being a dom? That seemed crazy. It was a natural state of being. Some people just were. It made sense why he would want to leave his planet, though, if the people there treated him poorly. And he hadn't seen much better on Earth, but to be fair, his behavior had left quite a lot to be desired. This was so much new information, and he wasn't sure how to process it.

“Ah, I can see Jane now!” Thor stood up and waved. “Tony Stark, you must meet Jane.”

“No, no, I can't. Maybe some other time. But for now, I really have to go.”

Thor looked at him seriously. “I will soon go looking for my brother. If you see him again, please tell him where I am, and that I am worried.”

“Sure thing, buddy.” Tony stood and patted him on the shoulder. He hurried out of the coffee shop before Jane could make it in.

Chapter Text

Tony was back home by the time Fury called him. He groaned, but picked up the phone anyway.

“Stark, we need you down here.”

“Sorry, I'd love to, but my shows are on.”

“Your Golden Girls marathon is going to have to wait,” he insisted. “We found Loki again, and his brother is with him this time.”

“Loki has a brother?” Tony asked in mock surprise.

“Just get down here. I'll have backup to you as soon as I can. I'm sending you the coordinates.” He hung up.

Tony sighed. When Thor had said he was going to find Loki soon, he hadn't realized just how soon he had meant. He wasn't sure why Fury wanted him to get involved in their family drama, but he couldn't deny that he wanted to see Loki again. He got into the suit quickly and started flying that way.

When he got there, the two of them were in a large open field. Thor was speaking. “Brother, I don't want to fight you! Stop this!”

“I am not your brother,” Loki hissed. He threw something from his scepter that Tony could only imagine was magic.

Thor dodged it, but didn't fight back. “Loki,” he tried again, “come back with me to Asgard. Father will be glad to see that you're alive and well.”

Loki scoffed. “Is that really what you believe? Then you are a fool. Odin would never welcome me back. He never wanted me in the first place.”

“That isn't true. Our father loves you, just as I do. Please, stop this.”

Loki shot another bolt of magic at him. “Never.”

Thor shook his head. “Brother, I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to. I know you came to Midgard looking for acceptance, but this is not the way to do it.”

“You have no idea why I came to Midgard!” He yelled.

Tony stepped forward and they finally noticed him. “Woah, guys, let's all just calm down. Loki, put down your magic stick thingy. Thor, put down your hammer. Let's talk this out like adults. No stabbing or hammering required.”

Loki turned to him, scowling. “Stark, this is a personal matter. Stay out of it.”

Suddenly, Tony wanted nothing more than to do just that. He took a step back instinctively.

“Do not worry, Tony Stark,” Thor cut in, “I will soon be taking Loki with me back to Asgard, and you may put all this behind you.”

Tony tensed at that. “No, not going to happen. You can't take him.”

Thor looked taken-aback. “Why ever not?”

Tony gaped for a moment, trying to come up with a good reason. “Because I-”, he grasped for words, “I mean we - need him,” he finally came up with.

Thor looked no less confused, but Loki laughed. Tony stole a glance at him, and wished he hadn't. His eyes danced with mirth. Tony gritted his teeth and looked away.

“As amusing as this has been,” Loki said, “I do have somewhere I need to be.” And just like that, he vanished, leaving the space where he had been empty, both in the field and in Tony's chest.

Thor stalked up to Tony. “Tony Stark-”

“Most people call me Iron Man when I'm in the suit.”

“Man of Iron. I do not know what business you think you have with Loki, but he is family, and he belongs in Asgard.”

Tony shook his head. “Shield doesn't think so.”

Thor frowned at that. “Shield. What do they want with him?”

They were interrupted by the whirring of a quinjet as it landed in the field beside them. Captain America came running out in full regalia, shield shining brightly in the sun. “Where's Loki?” He asked immediately.

“Gone,” Tony told him.

Steve sighed, but looked like he had expected that answer. “We just can't seem to keep a hold on him.” He approached Thor and held out a hand. “You must be Thor. I'm Steve Rogers.”

Thor shook his hand firmly. “Well met, Steve. Can you tell me why you're after my brother?”

“Ah, it's probably better if Shield explains all that. They've asked me to invite you, even if we couldn't get Loki.”

Thor nodded. “I will go. I would have words with them as well.”

-*-*-

It took them less than twenty minutes to all meet up at the Shield base where Fury was waiting for them. Introductions were made between Thor and Bruce, though Clint and Natasha knew him already.

“Now that we're all friends,” Fury started, “it seems we have a lot to discuss.”

“Indeed we do,” Thor agreed. “Like why I wasn't called when you first found Loki here.”

Fury gave him a hard stare. “I'm sure you understand that we weren't quite sure where your loyalties would lie.”

Thor was thoughtful for a moment. “I can understand. But as I told the Man of Iron, I will deal with Loki. He will be back, as he always is, and I will then take him back to Asgard. He belongs at home, with his family.”

“That's not going to work for me,” Fury replied. Tony silently agreed. “We need something from him.”

Thor held his hands out, palms up. “And what do you need? Maybe I will be able to supply it for you.”

“He stole something from us,” Fury explained. “Something called the Tesseract. We need to get it back.”

“Not to mention,” Clint interjected, “that he killed a lot – and I mean a lot – of people, and you know, took over my mind.”

“We've all killed people,” Tony defended. “Many more people than he did.”

“And Loki did not mean anything by it,” Thor insisted. “It is just the way of our people. We are warriors.”

Tony thought he saw Fury's good eye twitch. “Murderer or not, our main goal is the Tesseract. Once we have that, you can take him wherever you like.”

Thor nodded. “That is acceptable. I will help you with this.”

That is not acceptable, Tony thought. But what could he do? There was no way he could tell them about the insane connection he had with Loki, the one he both craved and abhorred in equal measures.

“We have to find him again, first,” Natasha cut in. “That disappearing act he's got is quite something.”

“Loki is a talented mage,” Thor agreed. “He will not be caught if he does not wish to be.”

“Well that leaves us with some trouble, doesn't it?” Fury asked. “We can scan for him security cameras, and that worked the first time, but it hasn't worked since. Like Thor said, it seems he doesn't show up unless he wants to be seen. Even our best trackers don't have a chance when he just vanishes into thin fucking air. Thor, do you have any ideas?”

Thor shook his head. “No, I'm afraid not. He hides from even Heimdall when he wishes it. I do not know how to find him.”

“Well that's just lovely,” Fury snapped. “I guess we'll have to stick with the cameras and hope we get lucky.” There was a knock on the door. “Enter.”

Coulson pushed the door open, poised as always. “Director, you're not going to believe this?”

“What is it?”

“You know how we've been putting all our resources into finding Loki? Well, he just walked in the front door.”

Fury stood up at the same time Tony did. Natasha gave him a shrewd look and he forced himself to sit back down, trying to make it look casual.

“Where is he now?” Fury asked.

“In route to the containment field, if he's not there already.”

“Fat lot of good that's going to do us. What's he doing here anyway?”

“I don't know, sir. He says he'll only talk to Stark.”

Fury turned to look at Tony with a raised eyebrow. “You seem to have made an impression on the crazy bastard. Care to tell me what that's about?”

Tony gave a winning smile. “It's just because I'm so cute.”

Fury shook his head. “I don't like this. It's too early.”

“Come on,” Tony said, “I thought this was what you wanted.” It was certainly what he wanted.

“It's too easy. Why would he just show up? It seems like a trap.”

“I fear that may be the case as well,” Thor replied. “My brother is known for his tricks. But I don't see his purpose in being here either. Unless he's changed his mind and is ready to come back to Asgard with me. That would be a joyous occasion indeed.”

“However you slice it,” Fury rejoined, “we have to get more information. I guess that means the floor is going to you, Stark.”

“Sounds like fun.” The prospect of it sent shivers down his spine, but he was careful to keep a glowing smile on his face. A flash of him kneeling, giving himself fully -

“But,” Fury continued, interrupting his train of thought, “you will be watched. If you so much as think about messing with the cameras again we'll pull you out of there faster than you can blink. Don't think we didn't notice that shit last time. Do you understand me?” He gave Tony a hard stare.

“Aye aye, Captain,” Tony said, saluting him.

-*-*-

The guards parted for him as he walked through the door. Loki was standing there in the cage, looking bored. “I was wondering when you would show up.”

Tony grinned, forcing up bravado. “I'm a busy man. But I wouldn't keep a fan waiting for too long.”

“A fan,” Loki mused. “Is not too inaccurate of a term. You do have a certain appeal, for a mortal.”

“That's why they all say. Or something like that, at least.”

“I can see why. There is something quite...appetizing about you.” Loki looked him up and down slowly, appraising. Tony's face burned. He imagined Loki's teeth biting into his flesh and nearly groaned aloud. He glanced toward the cameras meaningfully, but kept his month shut. Loki followed his gaze and nodded once, softly. I will not give away your secrets.

“So you asked to speak to me?”

“I did. I believe I have something that Shield is looking for.”

Tony nodded his agreement. “I don't suppose you'd be inclined to tell me where it is?”

Loki hummed. “I might, for the right price.”

Tony's mind spun. There were many things he would like to offer the god, none of which he was willing to discuss in view of the cameras. He briefly thought about Fury, who would probably tell him that he was not authorized to make deals on Shield's behalf, but he soldiered on anyway.

“What are you looking for? A million dollars? An Iron Man suit of your very own? A lifetime supply of stuffy looking leathers? I can provide all that.”

Loki watched him for a moment, calculating. He chose to ignore his jokes. “There is someone,” he said finally, “that I find myself in debt to. I do not like being in other's debt.” Tony could understand that feeling well enough. “I would seek your assistance with this matter.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “What do you expect me to do about it?”

Loki smiled, showing his teeth. “He has sent an army with me. My price is for you and your band of heroes,” he sneered as he said the word, “to deal with them for me.”

If you can get rid of this army that seems to be following me, we'll see what we can do about this. Tony brushed away the memory of Loki's hand against his cock. It wasn't time for that.

“So you want us to fight your war for you?” He extrapolated.

Loki grinned again, a rough thing. “Agent Barton did say that you were a smart one.”

“And if we help you with this problem of yours, you'll give us back the Tesseract?”

“But of course. I'm good for my word.”

Tony leveled him with a disbelieving stare, but Loki only looked back at him innocently. “I'll have to talk to Fury,” he said finally. “A decision like this goes way above my head.”

Loki smiled. “Of course, Stark. But just remember, at the end of all this, who you'll be answering to.”

Heart thudding in his chest, Tony quickly left the room. Fury was not going to like this.

-*-*-

“I don't like this,” Fury told them. “We're not prepared to fight a fucking space army. We know nothing about them. We don't know their weapons, their strengths, their weaknesses. We don't even know if they can die.”

“And who says we can trust this guy?” Clint added. “He hasn't exactly been the friendliest person so far. How do we know he won't use to get rid of this army, then fuck off with the Tesseract?”

“My brother is good for his word,” Thor told them. “He is a trickster and a liar, but once he has given his word on something, he will not go back on it. He takes his oaths seriously.”

“What's the alternative?” Bruce asked. “We've been trying to track the Tesseract based on its energy signal, but we've had no luck so far. It's like it's just disappeared. We don't even know for sure that it's on the planet anymore.”

Fury groaned. “That's the last thing we need, for him to be carting it off to god knows where in the solar system. We could just keep looking. Banner, Stark, are there any more sophisticated ways we could be trying to locate this thing?”

“I could try to build something, but it might take some time, and I doubt he's going to wait for long. He doesn't seem like the patient sort.”

“And I fear it may be pointless,” Thor told them. “Just as my brother will not be found if he doesn't want to be, his things won't either. He can transform them into seemingly ordinary objects that you wouldn't look twice at, or even toss them into pocket dimensions that only he can access.” He looked troubled. “He used to do that with my things when we were children. It was often a point of contention between us. But I don't think that you will find this Tesseract if he doesn't wish it to be so.”

Fury rubbed his temples as though he was fighting back a headache. “Alright. Any other ideas?” He looked around the room, but no one volunteered. “Shit. I guess we're going to do this, with conditions. We help him, and he gives the Tesseract back, with no bullshit. And he stops with this trying to take over the world shit. I don't care if he goes back to Asgard or whatever, but he has to stop fucking with my planet and my people.”

Thor nodded. “I think he will agree to those terms. My brother is a reasonable man.”

Tony nearly laughed at that. Reasonable was not something that he associated with Loki. Crazy, charming, unbelievably captivating, sure. But reasonable? Not so much.

“Stark,” Fury continued, “would you be so kind as to give him the news that we'll accept his proposal?”

Tony stood. “I get the impression he already knew we would.”

Chapter Text

When Tony made his way back to the cage where Loki was being held, he had an entourage. Fury, Steve, Natasha and Thor walked with him down the winding hallways. Fury carried a large gun that,while impressive, Tony was pretty sure wouldn't even do anything to the god. When they opened the door, Loki was already smiling. Fury stared hard at him.

“So do we have a deal?” Loki asked, a self-satisfied grin stretching his face.

“You'll give us the Tesseract, in exchange for fighting this army of yours?”

“Indeed.”

“I still don't trust you.” Fury grimaced, his gun slipping slowly downwards. He knew when he was beaten.

“A wise move, Director.” Loki all but purred, green eyes glinting dangerously above his borderline feral grin.

“...But we have a deal. Now tell us where the Tesseract is.”

Loki shook his head. “Now, now - none of that. I'll take you to it.”

Fury's gaze hardened even more, though Tony hadn't thought it possible. “If I let you out of there, are you going to immediately try to kill us?”

“Brother,” Thor started, before Loki disappeared.

Fury began to swear, but Loki quickly re-appeared in front of them, just outside the cage. Fury lifted the gun and aimed it at him. “I've had just about enough of your damn magic tricks.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “I am not some mere street magician.”

“Well Houdini,” Fury continued, “if it's all the same to you, I'd like to skip the card tricks.”

Loki waved a hand dismissively, either understanding the reference or choosing to ignore it. “As you wish.”

Fury shook his head, and lowered the gun. “Steve, Natasha, and Thor will be going with you to keep you in line. The rest of us will be staying back, but we will be watching you.”

“No. Stark comes with me.”

Fury raised his eyebrows, turning to Tony. “Looks like someone has a crush on you.”

You have no idea. Tony just shrugged. “What can I say, most people do.”

“Fine,” Fury agreed. “Stark, I hope you know what you're doing.” He turned to the rest of the group. “Recover the Tesseract and come straight back here. You-” he pointed at Loki, “come back with them. You and I still have some more talking we need to do.”

“I look forward to it.” Something in his smile made Tony think that was actually true. Natasha watched them, shrewd but silent.

Fury handed out small earpieces to each of them. “These are communicators. They'll keep you in contact with each other and with me. Now get going,” Fury told them. “I'll have a quinjet waiting for you by the time you get out there.”

Tony gave Fury a mocking salute. “Yes, sir.”

Fury rolled his one good eye but left the room.

“So are we going to cuff him or what?” Steve asked.

“There's no point,” Natasha pointed out. “If he can escape the cage he can escape the cuffs. We don't have anything strong enough to hold him.”

Steve still looked unhappy. “Thor, do you have anything?”

“No, unfortunately not. I've never known anything that can keep my brother where he does not wish to be. But he will not be a danger to you. When he gives his word, you can be sure that he will keep it.”

Somehow, that wasn't reassuring. “Well come on then, darling,” Tony said, offering his hand to Loki.

Loki raised his eyebrows, either at the proferred hand or the endearment, but didn't say anything. Instead, he took Tony's hand. His skin was cool to the touch and Tony imagined what it would feel like running down his chest, over his stomach, down to his-

The others were leaving. Loki was looking at him with clear amusement, showing that he knew exactly where his thoughts had been leading. “Lead on then, sweetheart.”

The endearment sounded wrong in his mouth, twisted, like a threat and a promise all in one, and Tony barely kept himself from shuddering. Loki was playing with him, pretendng that Tony was in control, and Tony could play too. Games were his speciality. He smirked and ignored the heat pooling in his groin. He didn't drop Loki's hand.

Natasha, Steve, and Thor were already at the door, but he didn't rush to catch up, instead taking his time, letting himself draw this out. Steve cleared his throat from the doorway. “We're kind of on a schedule here, guys.”

“Right,” Tony nodded. He headed toward them, pulling Loki along with him.

Whenever they passed, SHIELD agents stopped what they were doing to stare, whispering to each other about them. Some of them actually fled the room. Loki made eye contact with each of them, his smile razor sharp. Tony kept a bright smile on his own face. This was turning out to be fun. Steve kept shooting them disapproving glances, but kept his mouth shut.

They made it to the quinjet, which was ready, just like Fury had promised, and Loki dropped his hand. He couldn't quite stop himself from being disappointed. They climbed inside.

“Does anyone actually know how to drive this thing?” Steve asked.

“I do,” Natasha told him. “Loki, where are we going?”

“Stark tower.”

Everyone turned to look at him. “What?” Tony asked incrediously. “Are you telling me the Tesseract has been in my building the entire time?”

“Not the entire time,” Loki said, fake innocence pouring out of his voice. “But that is where it is now.”

“So what's stopping us from dumping you right here and going after it ourselves?” Steve asked.

Loki tutted disapprovingly. “Now, now, do not think to betray me.”

And there it was. Loki was in control here after all, no matter how much the rest of them might like to think otherwise. Even if they did drop him here, he could just teleport to the tower before they got there and take the Tesseract somewhere else. A quick glance around the jet showed that everyone else realized that as well.

“Loki, do not antagonize them. You have your deal,” Thor chastised.

Loki waved a hand. “Worry not, Thor. I don't mean them any real harm.”

Natasha moved to the cockpit. “We're not far out. With the speed this thing goes, we'll be there in about ten minutes. You guys might want to buckle in.”

Steve took his seat and buckled up obediently. Tony, Thor, and Loki didn't bother.

“Brother,” Thor tried, “We haven't had much chance to talk. Tell me what's happened to you since your fall.”

Loki visibly stiffened. “Not now.” Tony heard the implied not ever.

Thor frowned. “Even so, it is good to have you back.”

Loki sneered, but didn't say anything.

Steve stared at them. “I get the feeling there's something that I'm missing out on.”

Loki turned to glare at him. “It does not concern you. Now be silent, or I will silence you myself.”

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it and closed it again, shaking his head. The silence began to grow oppressive. Loki was clearly in a bad mood.

“So my tower, huh? Did you leave it there as a present for me? I love presents.”

Loki smiled again, but this time it didn't quite reach his eyes. “I have reason for everything I do,” he answered.

Well that was vague and noncommital. He didn't have time to wonder about what it might mean before Natasha called back to them. “Almost there. I can see someone on the roof. Loki, is this your doing?”

“Yes.” There was a real smile. “Land beside him.”

Natasha did as she was asked, and they all filed out. Eric Selvig stood on the roof, eyes still bright blue. The Tessearct sat inside some kind of device that Tony itched to get his hands on, if only to take it apart.

“Loki,” Thor boomed, “undo whatever control you have over this man.”

Loki ignored him. “Selvig, have you done your job?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now open it.”

Selvig turned to the device and pressed a few buttons. A long blue streak shot towards the sky, and the color began to spread, opening a large hole in the sky. Inky black shown out through the hole to reveal a huge ship.

“Loki, what are you doing?!” Steve exclaimed.

Loki's grin was wild now, almost manic. “Surely, you didn't think I was going to give up the Tessearct without you holding up your end of the bargain, now did you?”

There was the twist none of them had seen coming. Countless numbers of aliens flew through the portal, down toward Earth. “So I guess this is the army,” Tony said. “Looks like a party.” As they got closer he could see their faces – their gray skin glinting in the sunlight. “Well that's a face only a mother could love.”

“Time to suit up, Stark,” Steve reminded him.

That actually didn't seem like a bad idea. He reflexively rubbed at the bracelets already on his wrists. “Jarvis, you heard the man. Deploy.” Less than ten seconds later the suit was shooting out at him, fully enveloping his body in the metal casing. Now he was much more ready for the fight.

“Fury, are you seeing this?” Steve asked.

“I am,” Fury's voice sounded in his ear. “I knew we couldn't trust that bastard. We're bringing in back-up now. Do what you can to hold them off.”

“What about Selvig?” Natasha asked, already scanning the buildings for a good vantage point.

Loki realeased Selvig from his hold and the scientist shook his head, looking around. “What?” When he turned back to the machine he seemed to come back to himself. “We've got to turn this off!”

Bright green light shone around it. “I'll release the shields once the army has been dealt with,” Loki told them.

Another quinjet flew up. Bruce jumped out, transforming into the Hulk before he hit the roof.

“Natasha, get Selvig out of there,” Fury ordered in their ears. She ushered the scientist into the quinjet. “Barton is a few buildings down, doing what he does best. Now take care of this.”

The Hulk took Natasha in one arm and Steve in the other, pulling them both close to his chest as he jumped to the ground. Tony had his own enemies to focus on. He flew up closer to the portal, hitting the soldiers with his blasters. He noticed the tell-tale crack of lightening behind him and grinned. It was good to have back-up. He heard a loud noise behind him and looked back to see Loki firing something at one of the soldiers.

“Good to see you're fighting with us, Rudolf.”

“You didn't truly believe I'd miss out on all the fun, did you?” The god quipped, his eyes glinting with mischief.

They kept killing the soldiers, their bodies falling to the ground with sick thuds, but the more they killed, the more came through the portal. Something else came through too, massive, hulking shapes that looked like husks of whales – Leviathans, Loki provided. They brought those down too.

“Man, I'm getting tired. I want a burrito. You like burritos?” Tony asked Loki, firing at another one of the Chitauri that got too close. “We should get some when this is over.”

“Focus, guys,” Steve said over the comms.

They ignored him. “What's a burrito?” Loki asked, green energy flying from his finger tips. Wow, that was definitely something Tony was going to have to introduce him to at some point. He could hear the fighting below, but he didn't really have time to check on them; he, Thor, and Loki were the only airborne fighters, so they had to thin the herd. If a few stragglers got by, he had to trust that the fighters on the ground could take it.

“We have a problem,” Fury announced, like that was something new. They had a lot of problems right now, and most of them were ugly aliens that kept trying to kill them. “The Council has just sent a fucking nuke this way. It's going to wipe out all of Manhattan.”

“Well, shit.” He couldn't afford to lose focus with the Chitauri still coming at him. He heard another blast, and realized Loki had shot one that had snuck up behind him. “Thanks for that.”

“You're welcome,” Loki said over his shoulder, shooting down two at once.

“J, hack into the missile trajectory system. I want to know how far out it is.”

“Yes, sir.” There was only a brief pause. “It is fifty-nine miles out. Estimated time of arrival, five minutes, thirty-four seconds.” A countdown appeared at the corner of his HUD. A Chitauri soldier flew too close and Tony quickly shot at him, making him lose his balance but not fall. He shot again, actually targeting this time, and the soldier went down. The time was down to four minutes, twenty-two seconds, which meant he had four minutes to come up with a plan.

He looked around. Everyone was still busy fighting off the Chitauri swarming down around them. Loki was surrounded, shooting in all directions, but he didn't seem overwhelmed. Thor was happily smashing through dozens of them at once with his hammer. Down on the street, Steve tossed his shield through several of them at once, cutting through their grotesque bodies. Natasha had stolen one's flying machine, piloting it around to fight them from the air. He couldn't see Clint, but he could see the arrows flying through the air to embed themselves in gray skin.

Two minutes, fifty-three seconds. He began to filter through plans in his mind. He could try to fly the missile out over an ocean, but he probably wouldn't have enough time to get it there, even if he put his repulsors at full blast. He could just take it as far from the city as possible, preventing as much loss of life as he could, but in New York, the death toll would still be far greater than he was comfortable with. Another soldier flew toward him and he ducked, coming back up to shoot at him. He looked up to see the ship from before closer to the portal. Now that he had a better view of it, the thing was mammoth. It looked like nearly half the size of Manhattan. That thing would destroy the city if it got down close enough.

Fourty-seven seconds. Well there was the plan. It wasn't long before he could see the missle coming in. He closed his eyes. It looked like it was time to do something stupid. That was his speciality, after all. He turned to look at Loki. “Loki-” He thought of all the things he wanted to say in that moment. I'm sorry we'll never see how things could have turned out between us. Fuck you for bringing this army here. Your green eyes really sparkle in this light. He shook his head and said none of it. He grabbed the nuke before it could hit and flew up toward the portal.

“Stark, what are you doing?!” That was Steve's voice in his ear, clearly in a panic.

“What I have to, Cap. I'm supposed to be the hero.”

“Tony, don't-”

But he tuned it out, flying higher and higher. He was glad he had made the modifications to the suit so that it wouldn't freeze over at this altitude. Chitauri were still swarming around him, but he ignored them, going higher and higher. He didn't know how his suit would fare in space, but it was time to find out. The ship got larger as he approached. Finally, but all too soon, he was at the portal. He kept flying until he got through it, then released the missile, throwing it with all the suit's strength toward the ship.

His suit gave out, and he fell. He looked around. Space was – well, huge. Despite the gargantuan ship, now shaking through the explosion, everything seemed empty. Even with the blast, it was quiet. He couldn't even hear his own breath. He felt himself falling, and falling. He thought of Obadiah.

He thought of the good days, when they had been friends. A pat on the shoulder, a congratulations for a job well done. Laughter between them. Board meetings and press conferences that actually weren't so bad with Obie by his side. Someone he could depend on. His chest felt tight and he realized he couldn't breathe. No oxygen in space. Of course. One last image of Obie smiling, his green eyes crinkling – wait, green eyes? - and then it all went dark.

Chapter Text

Tony was kneeling on the floor in front of Obadiah's chair. His thoughts were placid, a lake of calm settled over his nerves, unmoving. He wanted for nothing in this moment. He was doing what Obie had told him to do, and that came with a serenity - a certainty that he was exactly where he was supposed to be. He let himself float in it, his mind at peace for once from the usual whirl of thoughts and schematics and reasons to hate himself. All was still.

Obie carded a gentle hand through his hair. “Tony.” Tony looked up, an acknowledgment of being spoken to, but said nothing. Obie tapped the fingers of his other hand against the folder he was holding. Tony's eyes were drawn to it, and he let his gaze settle there. “You didn't sign that paper work I told you to today.”

A ripple of doubt spread across his lake. He remembered those papers. When he spoke, his voice was hesitant. “I don't want to supply weapons to that group. They have ties to terrorists.”

Obie sighed.“I've thoroughly vetted this company - just as I always do. I found no evidence to suggest they supply terrorists.” He paused, as if weighing his words. “Y ou do trust that I'm just trying to do what's best for this company? What's best for you?”

“I know, sir.”

“So you're going to sign them, right?” Obie coaxed.

Doubt flooded him, more waves than ripples now. He frowned. “Obie, you said you wouldn't bring business into our scenes. I don't want to talk about this.”

Obie stood up. “You're right. We shouldn't be doing this right now, not with you in such a vulnerable place. I've overstepped.” He stood, slowly, not looking Tony in the eye. “I'll be in the bedroom when you want to talk.” He pressed the folder on to the table beside him and made his way to the bedroom with sure strides. He shut the door with a soft, yet deafening click.

Tony was left on the floor, calm shattered. What had he done wrong? He knew he should have signed those papers earlier, knew that he never should have hesitated once Obie told him to do it. What had he been thinking? Obie always took care of him. He knew what was best. Why had he ever thought it was a good idea to second-guess him? He stared at the folder on the table. He opened it up to see that it contained only the papers that needed signing. He noticed the pen laying beside it. He opened the pen, signed what he needed to, and re-capped it.

Then, he went and had a drink.

~*~

Consciousness came upon Tony slowly. His eyelids fluttered as he opened them. He felt...fine. He had to blink a few times to reconcile that with what had happened as he had fallen back towards Earth. He had hurt, then, body sore from the fight, lungs screaming for oxygen. Now he felt almost good. Better than he had in a long while. He let out a long breath, then flexed his hands experimentally. He didn't even have the usual twinges of pain in his chest where the casing from the arc reactor rubbed against his skin. Huh. He sat up.

He was in his own bed, in the penthouse. It was still daylight outside. He was about to ask Jarvis what time it was when he noticed Thor sitting in a chair off to the side, against the wall. “Tony Stark, it is good to see you awake.”

Why was Thor here? Hell, why was Tony here? “What happened?”

“A glorious victory, my friend. Thanks to you, the Chitauri army was defeated.”

Not what he meant. “I mean, how did I get here? The last thing I remember is falling.” I thought I was going to die.

“Indeed, you did fall. We thought you dead.”

“So why am I not?”

Thor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “My brother saved you.”

Loki. He couldn't even begin to explore the feelings he had about that. “Why?”

Thor shook his head. “I do not know. There are many things I do not understand about Loki.”

Well that made two of them. Tony's thoughts raced. Why would Loki save him? He knew they had been flirting, but you didn't save someone's life just because of a little lust. (But he couldn't think about the lust, not now, not with Thor here.) He and Loki were supposed to be enemies. This was the guy who had personally killed eighty people. Who had stolen the Tesseract and let an alien army onto Earth. So why did he save him?

And why wasn't he here?

“Where is Loki now?”

“I do not know,” Thor answered, shaking his head.

Tony groaned. Of course Loki would save him and then disappear into the sunset. Why would anything in his life be simple? So he was gone again, and this time, Tony had no idea where to find him. Did he even want to? He was an enemy, he tried to remind himself again. A very sexy, very dominant enemy, whom he desperately wanted in his bed. But it was more than that, wasn't it? He asked himself again: Did he want to find Loki? The answer was an unequivocal yes.

He glanced back over at Thor. The more he thought, the more questions he had churning in his head. “Thor?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you here?”

Thor smiled, a soft thing, unlike anything Tony had seen on his face before now. “Because, Tony Stark, there are some things I do understand about my brother, and one of them is that he would want me here to make sure you were okay.” There was a long silence between them as Tony processed that. “And now that I have done so,” Thor continued, “I am wanted back on the SHIELD base for a meeting. A debriefing, I believe they called it.”

Tony groaned again. They would probably want him to attend too. “You know you don't actually have to go to those things, right? You're a god. There's nothing they can do to stop you.”

Thor shook his head. “I wish to maintain peace with Midgard. Much as I may not like it, sometimes it is a prince's duty to attend meetings of this sort. Especially, I fear, since all of this is my brother's doing.”

Okay, he could imagine why that would be a diplomatic nightmare. He didn't know much about inter-planetary politics, but an alien invasion caused by a prince couldn't be good for them. “Fine, but I'm not going. You can tell Fury that I'm stuck in bed still grievously injured. Or better yet, tell him to kiss my ass.”

“I do not think he expects you there,” Thor told him. So it seemed saving the planet did afford him some leniency, even from Nick Fury. That was good.

“Okay, good. I'll let you go so you can be a good little diplomat now.” He made a shooing motion with his hand.

Thor stood and began walking to the door. He turned back to look at Tony. “I do not know my brother's motives for saving you,” he reiterated, “but I am glad that you survived.”

“Me too, buddy.”

With that Thor walked the rest of the way to the door and shut it with a quiet click behind him.

Tony finally took the chance to sit up, marveling again at how good he felt. Was that what it meant to be saved by a god? He didn't know what that meant, or how exactly Loki had saved him, but if it meant feeling like this, he had no complaints. Well, except for the fact that Loki wasn't here now.

“JARVIS, what kind of news coverage is there of the battle?”

“There are numerous videos, sir. Would you like to see some of the better quality ones?”

He ran a hand over his face. “Are there any of after...after I fell?”

“Yes, sir.”

JARVIS obligingly began to play the video. It was shaky camera footage, probably from some civilian who wanted to get the video to get his fifteen minutes of fame. He saw himself falling, plummeting toward the Earth, his suit dead and unable to help him. He had already been unconscious by that point. He heard noise in the background, someone screaming. It might have been his name, but the sound quality was too bad to be sure. He fell, and fell, faster and faster as gravity kept it's hold on him.

And then, before he hit the ground, Loki appeared out of nowhere, his armor scuffed but still intact. He caught Tony, stumbling a little with Tony's momentum, before regaining his balance. He lay Tony down gently on the ground. There was more garbled sounds, but what definitely sounded like his name. He lay unmoving on the street. Loki stayed by him, focus intent on the body beneath him. He looked like he was waiting for something. When he didn't get it, he began tearing at the suit frantically, tossing pieces off behind him. Tony cringed. That was going to be impossible to fix. It was a good thing he had others.

Steve ran up, yelling something at Loki, but Loki turned to him with a snarl and kept pulling pieces of the Iron Man suit off. Steve backed up to give him some space. When he had the suit completely off, Tony could see himself laying there, still, bruises already formed across his skin. His chest didn't look like it was moving. Loki put his hands over Tony's chest, testing, before a green glow began to shine from his hands. He moved his hands up from Tony's chest to his head, the glow growing stronger. Then he moved back down over his chest, then further to his stomach. The bruises faded as his fingers slid over them. He continued down, past his hips, down his legs and finally at his feet. His body looked as good as new – better than he had seen it in a long time. Then, Loki disappeared, and the video ended.

“JARVIS, where did he go?”

“No footage found, sir.”

“Shit.”

He went and poured himself a drink.

-*-

Tony spent the rest of the day going through all the footage of the battle. He watched the early videos, starting soon after the Chitauri began coming through the portals, sounds of confusion and awe giving way to shock and panic as they started attacking. There were a lot of videos of the Chitauri themselves, the public eager to see what it regarded as Earth's first contact with aliens. Then there was the footage of the Avengers battling – a lot of Captain America, fighting through them with his shield, as well as him and Thor, brawling in the sky. There were also some of the Hulk and Natasha, though no one seemed to have any video of Clint.

But what he really focused on was the videos of Loki. He had been too distracted in the moment to pay too much attention to what Loki was doing, but now he watched the god obsessively. The way he moved was like art. He had never seen someone fight with such grace. Even his magic seemed like just an extension of himself, flowing neatly where he gestured, part of the smooth lines of his dance. It was phenomenal, and Tony watched it over and over again, from every angle he could find. Then, he watched the videos of Loki saving him. The way he looked as he tore the Iron Man suit off was almost desperate, and Tony searched for some kind of meaning behind that. Why should Loki care about one little human? He added that to the list of things Tony didn't understand about him. He drank as he watched, and he watched until he couldn't see straight. Then, he went to bed.

The next day, he looked through SHIELD's files on Loki. Then he opened the video of the debrief. (Coulson had called yesterday to get his opinion on it; Tony had ignored it.) The video started in a generic SHIELD meeting room. Fury was at the front of the room, hands out, palms pressed against the table. To the right sat Bruce, then Natasha.

On the other side, Thor sat in a chair that looked too small for him, and Steve sat next to him, fingers steepled on the table. Clint leaned against the back wall, arms folded across his chest.

“Since Loki hasn't deigned to show up,” Fury started, “we're just going to have to do this without him.”

“That's a good thing,” Clint replied. “I don't think any of us want to be in the same room as that bastard.”

Thor grimaced. “My brother is not a bad man. He kept his word and returned the Tesseract to you, as I said he would.”

“But not before unleashing an alien army in the middle of New York,” Natasha reminded him.

“I am sure he had good reason for that,” Thor defended.

Steve shook his head. “I'm not sure that there can be good reason for that.”

“I get that he's your brother,” Clint said, “but you have to face the fact that he's the asshole here.”

“There is much you don't understand about him,” Thor argued.

“So why don't you tell us what we don't understand?” Fury asked.

Thor took a slow, deep breath. “He was not always the way he is now. When we were children, he was-” he broke off, staring at the table. “He was gentle. Mischievious, sure, but he didn't have the same sharp edges that he does now.”

“So what changed?” Steve prodded gently.

“I was meant to be coronated as king,” Thor continued. “Loki...he knew that it was a poor idea. I was still young, and naive. Headstrong. I was not ready to rule a realm. So he staged something to make sure I would not ascend to the throne. He allowed the Jotun, Asgard's sworn enemies, into the ceremony, disrupting everything. Furious with their intrusion, I, along with several of my comrades, went to wage war with them. Loki tried to tell me not to go, that it was a stupid idea, but I did not listen.” He paused, looking at each of them in turn. “He tried to stop me,” he insisted.

“Yeah, let's pretend like it wasn't his fault in the first place,” Clint interrupted.

Thor shook his head. “He meant no harm. All of our strongest warriors were in the palace at the time of the invasion. There was no way the Jotun could have beaten us.”

“So is that your story?” Fury asked. “That's why we should take pity on your poor little world-conquering brother?”

“No, I'm not finished,” Thor answered. “I went to war with Jotunheim, despite all of Loki's warnings. While there, through an unfortunate turn of events, he found out that he was not Asgardian.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “So he's not actually your brother?”

“He is,” Thor replied. “By soul if not by blood.”

“So what, he was adopted?” Steve asked.

“Yes. He was taken as a child from the Jotun. Father meant for him to be a way to keep peace between our races. But when Loki confronted him, things went...poorly. My father fell into Odinsleep-”

“Into what now?” Steve asked again.

“It's a long rest he sometimes has to take, to recover himself,” Thor explained. “But by this time, I had been banished to Midgard for my foolish attempts at war, and only Loki was left to take the throne.”

“So he's always had a thing for being grand ruler,” Clint supplied.

Thor shook his head. “No, Loki did not want the throne. He took it out of necessity. But then, blinded by grief, he tried to take revenge on Jotunheim by destroying them. Odin woke up just in time to stop him, but Loki...he ended up falling from the Bifrost.”

“How did that happen?” Natasha asked.

“I...” Thor hesitated. “It was a very difficult time for him.”

Steve's voice was soft. “He didn't fall, did he, Thor?”

Thor let out a broken noise. “No. He let go. I saw him fall and fall. We thought him dead. We had no idea someone could survive that kind of fall.”

Fury asked the next logical question. “So how did he end up on Earth with an army?”

Thor shook his head again. “I do not know. But when he arrived here, something had changed once again. Whatever happened after he fell changed him greatly. He was not the brother I had known.”

“I'm still not seeing why we should be having a pity party for the fucker,” Clint argued. “So he had a shitty time of things. That doesn't give him any excuse to come down here and fuck up our world.”

“I know,” Thor said. “But there must be more to it. Loki would not just do something like this without reason. Not the man who tried to keep me from going to war. There is more to this than meets the eye.”

“It'd be nice if he had bothered to show up, so we could get his side of the story,” Fury said.

Thor shrugged. “My brother has always done what he will. There is no way to make him do otherwise.”

“Yeah, I'm starting to get that,” Fury supplied. “But he did fulfill his end of the bargain, so there's not much we can do about it now. If he shows back up, we'll deal with it then.”

The rest of the video was them talking about the Chitauri – the attack itself, the clean-up, and the press control they were going to have to do. Tony ignored it. He went and drank until he passed out.

The third day, wanting a more objective source, he researched the old Norse myths. He turned to the internet first, for as much information as he could find. There was a plethora of it, but he had no idea what was true and what wasn't. Then he read the Eddas, which seemed to speak of a misunderstood Loki rather than a bad guy. Sure, he had his own set of morals, but who didn't? And if the other stuff in there about how he was treated was true, yeah, Tony could understand a little anger.

So he had seen the good (because Thor seemed to believe Loki was good, no matter what he did) and the objective (or as objective as a thousands of years old collection of stories could be). Now he needed to see the outright bad. He needed to talk to Clint. It took him a matter of seconds to find his personal number in SHIELD's files.

“Jarvis, call this number.”

“Yes, sir.”

Clint picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Hey Clint, Tony Stark here. I'm sure you've heard of me.”

There was chatter in the background for a moment before it faded. “How did you get this number?”

“I hacked SHIELD, obviously. You guys should really get some better security. Not that it matters, since I would just hack that too. Anyway, you and I need to have a talk.”

“Do we now?”

“Yes. Can you come to my tower?”

Clint grunted. “That big flashy thing in the middle of New York? Yeah, I don't think so. What do you need to talk to me about, anyway? I'm not giving you archery lessons.”

Tony was quiet for a moment. “I need to talk to you about Loki. I can come to you. Give me just a second to find your address-”

“No,” Clint interrupted brusquely.. “I'll meet you in public. There's a restaurant called Sapphire down on the corner of 12^th and 19^th. I'll meet you there in an hour.” The resulting silence made it clear he had hung up the phone.

“Jarvis, map.” Jarvis obligingly pulled up a map of the area. It was on the edge of town, and it would be a challenge to get there in time. Luckily, Happy knew all the back roads, and should be able to get him there with a few minutes to spare, even at this time of day. “Have Happy pull the car around,” Tony muttered.

“Yes, sir.”

He looked down at his outfit. He was wearing some torn jeans and an old band t-shirt. That wasn't going to work. He redressed in one of his best suits, straightening it just so. He stared at himself in the mirror, putting a smirk on his face. There was the classic Tony Stark. He frowned. He wanted to make Clint comfortable, and from what he had seen on the man, this probably wasn't the way to do it. Not to mention, going to that part of the town, he didn't want to get mugged. He glanced back at the jeans and t-shirt still laying in the floor. No, that was too casual. Eventually, he settled on a pair of slacks and a new, cleaner t-shirt, throwing a suit jacket on over it for good measure. He nodded at himself in the mirror and headed down the elevator toward the garage.

Happy got him there on time, just like he had expected, but he stayed in the car for a few minutes anyway, because Tony Stark never showed up anywhere on time. It was a matter of principle. It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that he was dreading this conversation. Eventually, at ten minutes past the hour mark, he got out and walked inside the restaurant. It was a small affair, more of a diner than a restaurant, and he spotted Clint quickly, sitting with his back to a wall, sipping coffee. Tony walked up to him and took a seat at the other side of the table. Clint downed the rest of the coffee, and gestured to the waitress to bring him another.

“Hi,” Tony said, reaching a hand out, “I'm Tony.”

Clint stared at his hand for a moment before shaking it once, roughly. “Clint.”

“Yeah, kind of figured that out. You look just like your pictures.”

“And you look like an ass. What's your point?”

Tony laughed. “That's not an inaccurate assessment.”

The waitress came over with a fresh pot of coffee for Clint. She poured it in his cup while looking at Tony. “Hey, sugar,” she said, looking him up and down. “What can I get for you?”

Tony put on a winning smile. “A coffee, please. And uh...whatever you would recommend off the menu.”

She smiled back at him. “I'll get something special for you.” She winked, then headed back towards the kitchen.

It didn't take long for her to come back with a plate of what looked like chicken. Tony smiled appreciatively. “Thanks, darling,” he said.

She giggled. “You're welcome. It's on the house.”

He nodded. He didn't mind getting a free meal now and then, even if it did mean some nameless waitress flirted with him the entire time. It wasn't like he wasn't used to it. She walked away, swinging her hips, and Tony started picking at the food. The chicken was a little dry, certainly not the quality that he was used to, but it was edible, and he wasn't going to complain. “You sure you don't want something?” he asked Clint. “It's on me.”

“I'm sure. Even if I hadn't eaten, talking about that asshole doesn't give me much of an appetite.”

Tony hid a wince. Loki was definitely an asshole, but he still didn't like to hear anything negative about the man he maybe probably certainly had a hell of a crush on. Clint stared at him, hard eyed. He was going to have to get over that.

“You're not going to like what I have to say,” Clint confirmed, apparently seeing right through him. Damn spies and their ability to zero in on his insecurities. Natasha was the same way, and he hated it with her too. “But I'm going to say it anyway. And you need to hear it. I don't know exactly what's going on between you and Loki, but I know enough to know that you're in over your head. He's not a good guy.”

Tony nodded. He wasn't actually sure that he disagreed. “Yeah, okay. I know you don't like him. And you have good reason not to. I'm not asking you to lie.”

“Good, because I'm not going to. You saw the debriefing, right?”

Tony took another bite of chicken, chewing it thoroughly before swallowing. “Yeah, I watched it. I wasn't supposed to, but hey, when has that ever stopped me?”

Clint snorted. “I figured. SHIELD knows all about you hacking into their files. I'm not sure if they can't stop you or if they just don't care.”

“Probably the former. I'm damn good.”

Clint rolled his eyes. “So what did you think about Thor's sob story about his little brother?”

Tony shoved a handful of french fries in his mouth. How did he feel about it? He still wasn't sure. Thor had made it clear that Loki had a lot going on – it was clear he was going through some stuff – but that didn't change the fact that he had done some fucked-up shit. And wasn't that what it came down to here as well? There was this tumultuous balance between good guy and bad guy and he didn't fall into either side. He wasn't even straddling the middle. It was like he had his own category all together. “Mm,” he finally answered. “I don't really care about the treason, but the slaughtering of an entire race? Not really cool. But then again, who am I to judge?”

Clint took a long swig of his coffee. “I think you're in a perfect position to judge him, but if you won't, I'll do it for you. His actions in Asgard are just the prelude to all the shit he did here.”

“Yeah, that's really what I wanted to talk to you about.” He had cleared half his plate, but suddenly, his own appetite was gone. He downed his coffee in one gulp. “So what's your opinion on him?”

“My opinion on him? He's a war criminal, and an all-around asshole. He tried to enslave humanity, but you know what? No big deal. He's not the first person to try that, and I'm sure he won't be the last. I could be forgiving of that. But what he did to me? No, that's not something I'm ever going to be able to forgive.”

Tony gestured to their waitress for more coffee, and she brought it to them with a smile. He waited until she was out of ear shot before answering. “What was it like? When he hypnotized you or whatever?”

Clint sat back and crossed his arms defensively over his chest. “That wasn't hypnotism. I've been hypnotised before, and this wasn't like it. He reached into my soul and changed who I was, almost on a chemical level. I was suddenly only loyal to him, moreso than I ever had been to SHIELD. All I cared about was doing his bidding. Yeah, I was still there, but I didn't care about the same things anymore. He took out everything that made me me and replaced it with something else. I still recognized everyone. I knew all the same things as I had before. I knew Tasha and Fury and every one of SHIELD's damn weaknesses. And I told him everything. Not because I had to but because I wanted to. I wanted nothing more than to help him.”

Clint stopped to take a breath and Tony noticed how he was gripping his coffee cop, fingers tight around it. He threw the cup back and downed it. He didn't call for more.

“That sounds scary,” Tony offered.

“It wasn't,” Clint argued. “Not in the moment. In the moment it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. And afterward I guess I was too pissed to be scared. So you want to know how I feel about him? I hate him. I hate him for what he did to me, and for what he nearly made me do. He nearly made me lose everything that I've worked for, everything that I love. And the rest of it? Trying to take over the world and leading an alien invasion? That just proves that he's a fucking psychopath. So yeah, I hate him, and I'm okay with admitting that I'm scared of him. And you should be too, if you know what's good for you.”

Well Tony had never known what was good for him and it wasn't likely that he was going to start now. “Yeah, okay, I know he did some pretty fucked up stuff-”

“I don't want to hear it,” Clint interrupted. “I've heard SHIELD's and Thor's excuses, and I know yours will be more of the same, maybe personal because of whatever the hell you've got going on with the bastard, and I don't want to hear it. You called me to ask for my opinion and now you've got it.” He pulled out two dollar bills and laid them on the table. “And now I'm out of here.” He stood up, starting to walk away. After only two steps, he turned back. “Stark, I'm serious. Stay away from him. Or one day you're going to wake up and be something you don't want to be. And that's even without the mind control.” With those parting words, he turned and left the restaurant.

Chapter Text

Tony pressed a hundred dollar bill down on the table and walked out of the diner. The conversation with Clint had gone about as he had expected, but that still didn't mean he liked it. He needed to clear his head. He pulled his phone out and dialed Happy.

“Hey, I think I'm going to walk for a little while.”

“Sure,” Happy replied, used to his whims. “You want me to pick you up later?”

“Maybe. I'll let you know. Thanks.” He hung up, tossing his phone back in his pocket.

He headed – well, he wasn't sure what direction it was. North, maybe? He headed possibly north, head down, hoping no one would recognize him. He put his fury into his footsteps. What was he even angry about? He was angry at Clint for putting Loki in such a negative light, even though he had thought he was ready for it. He was angry at Loki for putting him in such a stupid position that he was even thinking of this right now. And, if he really dug at it, he was angry with himself that he was this caught up over a single person – okay, god. Like that somehow justified it. Even he had to admit that this was becoming an obsession.

He looked up in time to find himself outside of a bar. He didn't even pay attention to the name. This was exactly where he wanted to be right now. He walked in and made his way up to the bar.

The bartender looked at him appraisingly. “You can't come in here.”

Tony looked up at him, unimpressed. “Okay, it's been a long time since I wasn't allowed in a bar. I appreciate the compliment, but let's face it, even I don't look twenty years younger than I am.”

The bartender stared back at him. “I know you're old enough. But no sub gets in here without a dom. Those are the rules.”

Tony balked, straightening his back to make himself taller. “And what makes you think I'm a sub?” He pulled out his wallet as he spoke, flipping to his id, which he showed the bouncer. “See this D right here? Contrary to what some people will tell you, that doesn't stand for 'dick'.”

The bartender crossed his arms over his chest. “That's a nice fake, but I'm not buying it. I know a sub when I see one. Now get out of here. This is no place for a pretty boy like you.”

Tony felt his fury flare brighter. It went from a spark to a roaring flame, ready to be unleashed. He clenched his fists, and thought about taking a swing at the guy. “Listen, you fucker, I don't know who you think you are, but-”

Suddenly a strong hand appeared on his shoulder, pressing down lightly. He froze, body tense beneath the fingers.

“It's fine; he's with me,” a cool voice purred behind him.

A shiver made it's way up Tony's spine and he forced himself to hold still. His heartbeat thudded heavily in his chest. Loki. Just his voice had an effect on Tony. He could feel the light touch on his shoulder radiating down to his toes. He glanced back at Loki, trying to make himself look calmer than he felt. He forced a smirk onto his face. “Hello, darling. Fancy seeing you here.”

Loki smiled back, his fingers squeezing just a little tighter. “Did you miss me?” Oh, if that wasn't a loaded question. Tony had missed him with his whole being, desperately, lustfully, more than he wanted or understood. Loki turned back to the bartender. “We'll be getting a seat now.”

“Sure,” the bartender answered, nodding to him.

Tony bristled a bit at the fact that it was that easy for Loki when the bartender had given him such a hard time, but he was too distracted by Loki's presence to let the feeling really settle within him. Loki moved his hand down to Tony's lower back, pressing firmly as they walked away from the bar. Loki led them to a booth near the back, away from the crowd. He nudged Tony into his seat first, then took the one opposite him. A waitress appeared nearly immediately.

“What can I get you gentlemen to drink?”

“Sangria, please,” Loki answered smoothly. Kind to the waitress, Tony noted. He wasn't sure if that surprised him.

The waitress tilted her head, looking at Tony. “And for you?”

He glanced over at her, forcing his eyes away from Loki. “Vodka for me, thanks.” It wasn't his usual drink of choice, but right now, he needed the alcohol to fortify him. He still wasn't sure what he was doing here, or where this was going, but he knew he wanted to be drunk for it.

“Sure thing,” the waitress agreed. “I'll be right back with those.”

They sat in silence for a long few moments after she left. Loki looked like he was studying him, and Tony tried not to flinch under the scrutiny. He was used to being stared at, used to the press and his fans trying to take him apart. But they never stared at him quite like this – like they wanted to tear him down to his smallest pieces and see inside his molecules. It made him uncomfortable, to say the least.

“Thanks for helping me with the bartender,” he said finally, when he couldn't take the silence anymore. “It's not often – okay, ever – that I have trouble getting into a bar. I guess I was just having an off day.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “Don't tell me you let Barton get to you.”

At that, Tony did jerk back. “How do you know about that? Have you been following me?” He felt the anger burning it's way back up from his stomach into his throat.

The waitress came back with their drinks before Loki had a chance to answer. She sat them down in front of them with a smile.

“Thank you,” Loki told her, giving his own smile. It was undeniably charming, and Tony had to fight to hold on to his anger at the expression.

Tony downed his vodka in one drink. “Can you go ahead and bring me another one of those? In fact, bring me two.”

She nodded. “I'll be right back with those.”

He turned back to see Loki sipping at his drink slowly. Tony tried to remember what he had been angry about. “So were you? Following me, I mean?”

“I wouldn't say that,” Loki answered, setting his drink down gingerly. “But I have been keeping tabs on you.”

Tony was torn between the anger and glee at the fact that Loki apparently had enough interest in him to be paying attention to what he did. Then he thought of all the digging he had done over the past few days trying to find more information on Loki. “Uh. So how much did you...?” He let the question trail off, hoping the implication would speak for itself.

Loki laughed, a low rumble, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “Enough. Did you enjoy the Eddas?”

Tony felt a blush rise on his cheeks. Christ, how long had it been since he had blushed? This really was an entirely new experience. “They were definitely...interesting,” he hedged. He downed another of the shots of vodka, the alcohol burning its way down his throat and into his stomach.

“About half them are true,” Loki said, sipping his own drink.

“I don't suppose you're going to tell me which half?”

Loki laughed again. “No.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Fine. So are you at least going to tell me where you've been? There was the big battle and then you just disappeared, no word to anyone. Even Thor didn't know where you were.”

Loki tsked. “Now, Tony,”, he purred, “that's not the kind of relationship we have.”

“Sorry, princess, but we don't have a relationship at all. We've had some flirting, some defenestration, and then we fought together once, but that's it. This is the first time we've had a real conversation.”

“Princess?” Loki asked. He sounded more curious than dangerous, but Tony heard the warning note in it all the same.

“I snark,” he explained. “It's what I do. Kind of a character trait. Especially when I'm uncomfortable. It's a defense mechanism.”

This time Loki's smile was more a baring of teeth. “Are you saying I make you nervous?”

There was a denial on the tip of Tony's tongue, but Loki's stare made it clear he saw right through him already. He drank his third shot instead. The burn was less noticeable this time, and he realized vaguely that he was tipsy.

Loki laughed. “Now what would the world think, to see their great hero Iron Man afraid of me?”

Tony bristled, slapping his hands down on the table. He couldn't let that stand. “I never said I was scared of you.”

Loki raised his eyebrows, a slow smirk forming across his face. “Really? Not even a little bit?” His voice was low but sharp, the threat in it clear this time.

Tony drew back, folding his hands in his lap. Okay, maybe a little bit. No way he was going to admit that, though. “Nope. Just a little...uh...turned on.” The last two words came out as nearly a squeak, and he cursed himself internally.

Loki's smirk grew into a full grown smile. “And here I thought we were just having a conversation.”

Tony pulled lightly at his hair. “Yeah, but a conversation with you...” He trailed off.

“Yes?” Loki prompted.

“It's just. You. The way you look and the way you smile and your voice and-” He bit his tongue, forcing himself to stop speaking.

Loki laughed again – a full-bellied laugh that nearly left him bending in half over the table. It took awhile for him to get his breath back, his eyes still shining with mirth. “So if you're still so aroused...Well, I did make you a promise if you got that army off my back, did I not?”

Tony's mouth was dry, but he was out of drink. He thought about calling the waitress but he couldn't take his eyes off Loki long enough. Oh, he was in so much trouble.

“So what do you say,” Loki continued, “that we get out of here?”

Tony nodded furiously. “Uh-huh. Yep. Sounds like a great idea.”

Loki reached across the table to grip his arm and before Tony could ask questions there was a lurch – a feeling of each atom of him being stretched and pulled apart, then rearranged – and suddenly they were in the penthouse of his Tower. He looked around in awe for a few seconds. “That was...wow.” Then his brain caught up. “Wait. Did we just walk out on the bill? I've never done that.”

“After how they insulted you, you want to pay them?”

“Well, yeah. It's not our waitress' fault that the bartender was a dick.” He briefly thought about going back later to pay her, maybe give her a few hundred extra for having to deal with them, but he had never looked at the name of the bar and he wasn't sure he would be able to find it again.

Loki hummed. “Is the waitress really who you want to be thinking about right now?”

Loki stalked forward, all lithe lines, fluid, a predator's gait. His smile showed teeth and Tony took a step backward, bumping into the bar behind him. “We could have another drink. You didn't even finish yours at the bar. What would you like? I've got a little of everything, if they make it I have it-”, his mouth ran on autopilot while his body stayed frozen, eyes glued to the god striding toward him. “I'm particularly inclined toward scotch myself, it has just the right amount of burn as it goes down to-” Loki stopped two feet in front of him and raised a single eyebrow, radiating how unimpressed he was. God, how did he do that? How did he make a single facial expression look so enthralling, Tony was losing it-

“Tony.”

“Oh god.” Had he said that out loud? He finally ran out of words. His heartbeat thudded loud in his ears and adrenaline sped through his veins like poison, leeching out the coherant parts of his brain.

Loki's voice was a whisper. “Kneel for your god.” And then Tony was on his knees, hands folded neatly behind his back, not thinking about shouldn'ts and won'ts, just existing in this moment at Loki's feet with his eyes closed and the floor cool against his knees. Loki's hand rested lightly on his head. “Very good.”

A shiver ran through him and his head swam. Loki used the hand in his hair to jerk, pulling his head back and exposing his throat. Tony swallowed (doubts and misgivings, it was too late now), and Loki used his other hand to trail softly down Tony's bared throat. The touch was so fine, delicate, almost as if he weren't touching him at all, and Tony could feel the threat implicit in it. He bit down around a moan. Loki's hand squeezed lightly, just the slightest hint of pressure, not enough to hurt or impede his airway but Tony felt light-headed none the less.

“We're going to the bedroom,” Loki told him firmly.

Tony nodded, already halfway gone.

“Use your words,” Loki corrected.

“Yes, sir,” Tony whimpered.

“Better. Up. Lead the way.”

“Yes, sir,” he repeated, standing slowly on shaking legs. He held onto the bar for support for a long moment before walking toward the bedroom. He could feel Loki's stare on his back and all his blood was pooled in his cock already.

They had barely crossed the doorway when Tony found himself on his back on the bed, staring up at Loki. It took a few seconds for him to adjust to the new position, but once he had, he couldn't complain. Loki looked regal up there, and Tony felt small beneath him. A glance down showed that Loki was just as hard as he was. Loki snapped his fingers and suddenly Tony could feel the cold air on his skin. He looked down at himself to realize his clothes were gone. Well, that was a neat trick.

Loki, still clothed, knelt over him on the bed. He ran a cool hand down Tony's neck, over the pulse point, then further down his chest, his nails digging in just enough to leave sparks of pleasure where his fingers trailed. Tony's breath was ragged; he could hear himself panting in the silence of the room. Loki leaned down until their faces nearly touched. With a wicked smirk, he brought their lips together. His tongue slipped inside Tony's mouth easily, immediately taking control of the kiss, and Tony moaned into it. Loki pressed deeper and Tony let himself get lost in the kiss, relaxing back into the bed.

All too soon, Loki pulled away, his lips still wet. The smirk had not left his face.

He reached down and gripped Tony's hair again, pulling his head to the side. He brought his lips to his exposed throat, kissing gently, then sucking on the skin there. Then he bit down, rough, his teeth tearing into the sensitive skin. Tony keened and tried to jerk away, but the hand in his hair held him tight, and he had no choice but to lay there and take it. Tears welled in his eyes, but he was still completely, painfully hard. Loki laughed against his throat, letting up from the bite.

“You are mine,” he growled, nipping lightly at his jawline.

Tony moaned again, lost to the sensations. “Yes, yours, yes, yes, sir, I-”

His words were cut off as Loki's hand moved down to his thigh, so close to where he wanted. He could almost feel it, and he moved his hips eagerly, desperate to get that touch where he needed it. Loki laughed, and brought his hand up to grip Tony's hip, and then -

And then Tony couldn't breathe. Suddenly it was Obie's hand holding him there, holding him down while he fucked him. It was too much, too painful. He didn't want this. Obie's other hand was wrapped tightly around his throat, cutting off his air supply, and darkness pushed in at the edge of Tony's vision. He could feel Obie's cock inside him, overwhelming, hurting him, and he wanted to sob. He wanted to please him, wanted to be good, but this, this was too much. Obie hadn't prepared him, had just shoved himself in, and he could feel the blood dripping down his thighs from where he had torn inside. Each thrust was agony, and he hated, hated, hated this.

Obie's hand left this throat and he gulped down precious oxygen. He wanted to beg for it to stop, but he knew better, knew that that would only make things worse. So he laid there, tears finally leaking down his face, while Obie fucked him. Then finally, finally, Obie's hips stuttered as he came, and he pulled out (his cock's exit pulled at Tony's sensitive ass, one last pain to make him remember), and he fell over to the other side of the bed. He left Tony there alone, crying, gasping for air in the darkness.

“-ny. Tony!”

He opened his eyes and Loki was there in front of him, an expression of panic clear on his face. He blinked a few times, trying to understand what had happened. Loki's hand was gone from his hip – he wasn't touching him at all – and Tony took a few shaky breaths.

“Yeah. I'm here.” He sat up on the bed.

“What happened?” Loki demanded. He did not move to touch him again.

“Shit.” Tony let out a long puff of air, running his hand through his hair. His scalp was sore. This wasn't the first flashback he had ever had, but it was never easy to come back from, and he sure as hell didn't want to explain all that to Loki. “I need a drink.” He glanced down at himself. “And some clothes.”

Loki nodded. “Your clothes are over there,” he said, gesturing to a chair to the side of the room. “I'll...I'll go.” He sounded unsure, but stood to leave none the less.

“No,” Tony argued. “Don't.” Loki hesitated. “Just. Stay.”

“I'm not certain-”

“Please.” The word sounded small as it came out of Tony's mouth and he wished to take it back, but he couldn't, so it sat there in the air for a few long moments before Loki relaxed a bit.

“Alright.”

“Cool. So I'm going to get dressed and then...then we'll drink.”

Loki nodded. “If that's what you want.” He still looked uncomfortable, but there was nothing Tony could do about that now. They were both powerless here.

Tony found his clothes folded neatly on the chair, and he slipped them on quickly, not wanting to be naked for any longer than he had to. By the time he turned back to Loki he had pulled a mask over his face, something that looked a little less broken and a little more Tony Stark. He grinned. “So. Let's drink.”

Loki raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on his obviously fake demeanor. Tony made his way over to the bar – much smaller than the one in the living room, but stocked enough for his purposes – and pulled out two glasses. “What are you drinking, Bambi?”

Loki either didn't get the reference or didn't bother to respond to it. “I've got my own.” He pulled out a large bottle of something Tony had never seen before.

Tony's eyebrows went up. “What's that?”

“It's Asgardian. Much stronger than any of your Midgardian drinks.”

Tony glanced back at his bar. “Can I try some?”

Loki looked doubtful. “I don't really think that's a good idea.”

“Come on,” Tony insisted, “after that, I think I deserve it.”

“And 'that' was...?” Loki prompted.

Tony shook his head. “Alcohol first.” Loki nodded. He walked over to the shot glasses Tony had pulled out for them and poured a tiny sip of his drink into one of them. “That's pathetic,” Tony complained. “I am a seasoned alcoholic, and I don't care how strong it is, that's not going to be enough to get me drunk.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Just trust me. Drink it, and if you want more, we can discuss it then.”

Fine then. He would down it and then immediately ask for more. That would show him. He drank it quickly, savoring the burn as it went down his throat and into his stomach. It warmed his belly as soon as it was down, and his head began to spin. Okay, so that was unexpected. Loki raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, okay, it's a little stronger than I anticipated,” Tony acknowledged.

Loki took a long swig from the bottle, not bothering with a glass. He drank so deeply that Tony began to wonder when he was going to breathe. He refused to admit that he was impressed.

“So,” Loki began, “what just happened?” His voice was level and his face was blank, leaving Tony to guess at what he was thinking.

“Nothing. It's fine.”

Loki shook his head. “No, that's not how this is going to work. If you ever want to continue what we started, you have to talk to me.”

That sounded like the single worst idea he could think of right now. Well, that probably wasn't true; he was great at thinking of bad ideas. Even so, talking about his panic attack was pretty high up there on the list. Loki continued to stare him down, and he nearly squirmed with how uncomfortable it was.

“Look, I just...I remembered something unpleasant. That's all.” He thought seriously about asking for another drink, but the more time went on, the more he felt the effects of the first one.

“Right,” Loki said. “But bad memories don't do that to a person. That takes something more extreme. I would know.”

That led to a lot of questions. What exactly had Loki been through that he thought he could understand? Tony was sure that he couldn't. Afghanistan had been hell, but it was nothing compared to what Obie had put him through. He bit his tongue until he was worried that it would bleed. Loki clearly wasn't going to let him get away with glossing over this. Now he had to decide how much he wanted to share. Did they have things like PTSD on Asgard? Somehow it seemed like they would be above that.

“There was this guy I knew,” he admitted, “that did some pretty shitty things to me.” He knew that was an understatement, but he still didn't want to talk about this. He didn't think he ever would.

Loki looked unimpressed. “Okay. Who was he?”

Tony took a deep breath. “His name was Obadiah.”

“Obadiah,” Loki repeated. “And who was he to you?”

No one important. The only one important. He grit his teeth and wished for something to do with his hands. “My mentor when I was young. Then when I got older, he became my dom. My only dom. It transitioned naturally, it felt like -” He did not say the word 'grooming'. “He was one of the few people who knew that I was really a sub. I started hiding it as soon as it showed. It just wasn't fitting of someone in my position. But I think he took advantage of that.” It turned out that once he actually started talking, he couldn't stop. “He took advantage of a lot of things. Anyway, I remembered something that he did to me. It felt like I was there again, feeling it, feeling the way he -” He stopped.

Loki was quiet for a long moment. “And I...I made you re-live that?” His voice was quiet.

“I mean, it wasn't your fault. It was just a little similar, and my brain made the connection and-”

“Fuck,” Loki interrupted. “I thought...maybe the Aesir were right.” He took another long swig of his drink.

“Wait. Right about what?”

Loki shook his head. “About me. Maybe being a dom is just a weakness. If this is what it leads to...If it only hurts people...” His voice was beginning to have an edge to it.

“Hey, hey,” Tony tried, “it's not your fault, like I said. You didn't hurt me. I mean, you did physically, but I totally enjoyed it.” Suddenly he felt like he wasn't the one freaking out here. “Look, let's sit down.” He walked over and sat on the bed, patting the spot beside him. “Come on.”

Loki walked over as well, swaying a bit as he moved. He took the seat next to Tony.

“So,” Tony started again, “are you going to tell me how you've convinced yourself that my years old trauma is somehow your fault? I mean, I like you and all, but we've met what – six times?”

Loki took another drink, then put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. “I don't think your trauma is my fault.”

Tony waited for him to continue speaking. When he didn't, Tony sighed. “Okay, well, you obviously feel like you've done something wrong here. Talk to me.” He only half expected that to work, but it was worth a try.

“In Asgard,” Loki said, slurring slightly, “being a dom is not...it's frowned upon.”

Tony remembered Thor saying something about that. He hadn't understood it then, and he didn't really understand it now. “Okay,” he said, drawing out the word, “why?”

Loki laughed lightly, but his usual humor was completely lacking. “It is not right to subjugate another being. It only leads to pain, and war, and – it is a weakness, as I said.”

Tony shook his head. “No, that's bullshit. There's nothing wrong with it. I get that you've been brainwashed by the Asgardians or whatever, but that's just not true.”

This time Loki's barked out laugh was full of bitterness. “And how would you know?”

“I've met a lot of doms in my life. Hell, I've spent all my life pretending to be one. And yeah, sometimes, subs get hurt. That's life. Sometimes doms get hurt too. We're all only human. Wait. That doesn't really apply here, does it? Well, the concept is the same. No one is perfect. People get hurt. Humans, Asgardians, it doesn't matter. That doesn't make it wrong to follow one's nature.”

“You just don't understand,” Loki argued.

“No, I get it,” Tony disagreed. “It's kind of different, but I've been hiding that I'm a sub all my life. Did you never wonder why?”

“I had,” Loki admitted. He took another long drink.

“I wouldn't say it's seen as a weakness exactly, not in the way being a dom apparently is in Asgard, but...It's not fitting for someone in my position.”

“Your position?” Loki questioned.

“Yeah. I'm head of this great big company. I'm super famous. I'm sure you've noticed. I'm meant to be in control of myself. I can't just give myself to someone else like that.”

“And yet you were willing to give yourself to me.”

“You're different,” Tony offered.

Loki hummed. “Different how?”

“Ah. Well, that's kind of hard to answer. I can't quite put my finger on it. There's just something about you that I can't turn away from. It's like you're magnetic. I see you and I...I want to submit. More than I ever did with Obie. Hell, more than I ever have with anyone else. It doesn't seem wrong anymore. I'd say it seems like about the rightest thing there is.” That was hard for him to admit, but it seemed like Loki needed to hear it, so he forced the words out.

“No,” Loki argued again. “I hurt you. There is nothing right about that.”

Tony bit back a groan. It felt like they were going in circles. “No, seriously, you didn't hurt me. Obie hurt me.” He tried not to think about how Obie's hand had felt on his hip. “What we did it just...it just reminded me.”

“Fine, so it reminded you,” Loki conceded. “That still led to you getting hurt. You can't tell me it didn't. I recognize that look in your eyes, Tony.”

There was that reference again, to something Tony didn't know about. He wasn't sure he could ever hope to understand the trauma of a god. One who had lived so long must have many stories. He didn't feel like it was the time to ask.

“Yeah, okay, so what we did technically led to me getting hurt. But it's not like there aren't ways around that.”

Loki lifted his head to look at him for the first time since they had started this conversation. “Are there now?”

“Yeah, sure. We're sitting down like two adults and talking about this. That's a good start. Obie and I, we never had this conversation. And we can always have a safe word.”

Loki looked confused. “How can a word be safe?”

Tony resisted the urge to laugh. It seemed that Loki really knew nothing at all about how dom/sub relationships worked here on Earth. He supposed that made sense, but it meant that he had a lot of educating to do. “It's where a dom and a sub talk and pick a special word. The sub can say that word at any time and the dom stops what they're doing, no exceptions. It's meant to guarantee the safety of the sub.”

Loki stared at him. “How do you know the dom will respect the safe word?”

Tony shrugged. “Trust. It's a pretty vital part of any dom/sub relationship.”

“And did you trust Obadiah?”

Tony was quiet for a long moment. “That's different.”

“How is it different?”

“Obie, he...I didn't know at first that he was abusing me. Like I said, it seemed so natural. I didn't know what he was doing was wrong. I had grown up with him. Of course I trusted him.”

Loki considered that for a moment. “Do you trust me?”

Tony thought about it. “Yeah, I do. I maybe shouldn't, since I barely know you, but I do. The fact that we're talking about this has a lot to do with it. But it's not just about me trusting you. You have to trust me too.”

Loki looked skeptical. “What does me trusting you have anything to do with it?”

“Because you have to trust me to be honest. You have to trust me to use that safe word when I need it. And believe me, I will. I lived through Obie, but I will never, ever live through that again. I will not let you hurt me the way he did.”

Loki laid back on the bed. “I'm not sure I would give you a choice. You're so...” He searched for the word. “I don't think you could stop me, if I tried.”

Tony shook his head. “That's my point, though. I think you would stop yourself.”

Loki laughed again, but it seemed hollow. “You seem to think you know me.”

“I know enough,” Tony answered. “I've known abusers, up close and personal. And you're not like that.”

“You don't know what I'm like. We've only met six times, as you said.”

“Yeah, but drunken conversations can tell you a lot about someone. And I'm not oblivious to the fact that you are very drunk.”

Loki didn't reply for a long time. “Maybe so,” he finally said, his voice quiet.

When Tony looked back down at him, he was asleep. Tony stared at him for a few long moments. People talked about others looking peaceful in their sleep, but Loki still looked troubled. Tony wished he wasn't laying on top of the comforter so that he could cover him up. He thought about it for a moment, then made his way quietly to the guest room to grab a blanket. He came back and laid it over Loki lightly. He was still in his clothes and his shoes, but there was nothing Tony could do about that.

He looked over at the bottle of alcohol Loki had discarded beside himself on the bed. Tony opened it, and took another sip. Then he laid down on the bed beside Loki, and waited for sleep to take him.

Chapter Text

“Tony Stark, you were supposed to be up two hours ago!”

He woke up to the sound of Pepper's loud voice berating him. He rolled over groggily to look up at her annoyed face. Why was he sleeping in his clothes? And why did he have such a banging headache? Suddenly he remembered - Loki. He sat straight up in bed (which his head protested, spinning wildly before he could get control of it) and gasped. “Pepper, I can explain.”

“Explain what,” she fussed, “why you ignored JARVIS for hours and slept in after a drinking binge instead of making this meeting I've been telling you about for weeks?”

“No, I -” He looked over at the bed beside him, expecting to see Loki still sleeping there, in full Asgardian clothes, barely covered by the blanket Tony had thrown over him last night. There was no one there. “Oh.” And he was suddenly very angry, angry that Loki had left without a word, that after all they had talked about last night, he had still – it didn't matter. “So what did I miss?” He asked, turning back to Pepper.

“A meeting with your company. You can't just ignore things like this, Tony. We were looking to get your opinion on the new energy technologies. You know, the ones that you're funding?”

He ran a hand over his face, trying to ignore the pounding in his head. “Yeah, I know. Sorry, Pep. I had a bit too much to drink last night.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “I guessed as much. It's weird for you not to have someone in your bed, though. Did you kick her out last night?”

“No, he left early this morning, apparently.”

She raised her eyebrows. “He?”

It wasn't that Pepper didn't know that he was bisexual. It was just that he hadn't been with a man since Obadiah, and she knew that too. He didn't know how to explain that this man (god) was different.

“Yes, he.”

“Oookay,” she said, drawing the word out. “Is this something we need to talk about?”

“No. I mean...no? I don't think so. Maybe.”

She came to sit down on the bed beside him. “That sounds an awful lot like a yes. What's going on?”

He groaned and put his head down in his hands. “So I may be in way over my head.”

“Yeah, that sounds like you. What's so different this time?”

“I might have gotten involved with someone that is...inadvisable.”

“Inadvisable,” she repeated, voice flat. “You fight super villains in a metal suit and you think it's fine, but now you've done something inadvisable. Did you sleep with Justin Hammer?”

“No,” he muttered, head still buried in his hands. “I would never sleep with that jack ass.”

“Then who?” She insisted.

He took a deep breath then looked up at her. Worry lines creased her face and he tried to ignore them. “He may be uh...wanted.”

She scowled. “Like by the police? That's not good press for Stark industries but it's by far not the worst kind of person you've had sex with.”

“Not by the police. I mean, probably by the police, too, but this is bigger than that.” She raised her eyebrows, but waited for him to continue. “He's kind of wanted by SHIELD?” His voice raised at the end of the sentence, framing it as a question, hesitant to give her the information. He really didn't want to be talking about this, but he knew he needed to. And how long could he realistically hide something like from Pepper anyway?

She took a deep breath. “Okay. That's pretty bad. I assume no one knows you've had sex with him?”

“Okay, technically, we didn't have sex.”

“What?”

“We didn't have sex. We started to and.” He paused, not wanting to say what came next. “We were in the middle of it and I had a flashback.”

Pepper's eyes got wide. “Oh, Tony. How bad was it, on the one to ten scale?”

He shook his head. He could still feel the faint brush of Obadiah's hand on his hip. “Maybe a three?”

“Still. It's been awhile since you've had one. How are you coping?”

“I'm okay,” he answered, biting his tongue lightly, “I got pretty drunk afterwards.”

She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “You could have called me, you know. You can always call me.”

He shook his head again. “I try not to call people when I'm trying to get my sex on. Unless I'm calling more people to come have sex with me.”

She rolled her eyes. “So you didn't have sex. If he's wanted by SHIELD, that sounds like it's probably a good thing.”

He laughed. “Probably.”

She stared back at him, suddenly shrewd. “You're planning on seeing him again, aren't you?”

He smiled. “Probably,” he repeated. “Though he has a habit of just running off and showing back up again whenever he feels like it.”

“Yeah, sounds like someone I know,” she said, laughing lightly. “So seriously, who is it?”

He cringed. He had hoped she would just forgot about that part. He couldn't keep it secret from her for long, he reminded himself. He scrunched his eyes closed tightly. “So do you remember that guy a couple of days ago that kind of brought an alien invasion to New York?”

“Loki?” She asked quietly, her voice wavering a bit, but not angry.

“Okay, but just remember that I didn't actually have sex with him.”

She sighed and took a long, deep breath. “Yet.”

“Right. But it's not that bad.”

“Is this the part where you try to tell me that he's actually a good person?”

“I don't know that I would say that,” he answered truthfully. He wouldn't say that he was a bad person, necessarily, but he didn't know enough about him to really say one way or the other. Though if he based it on the Eddas and what he had seen so far, he definitely leaned toward interesting.

She sighed again, a long exhalation of breath. “Right. At least you're aware of that, I guess. Okay, who else knows about this?”

“No one.” He thought about it for a moment. “I mean Fury may have accused us of some flirting when we first met a few days ago,” he admitted. “And we kind of held hands walking through SHIELD for awhile. But no one knows he's been with me recently. I'd have woken up to SHIELD instead of you.”

“Okay,” she repeated. “For right now, you need to keep it that way.”

And that was the Pepper he knew and loved. There to listen to his problems and his stupid ideas, but also ready with the best advice on how to deal with. She would help him hide his dalliances from SHIELD the same way she helped him hide them from the press.

“I will,” he agreed.

Pepper worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Tony, I know that since Obie...”, she trailed off.

“Yeah, yeah, it's the first time I've been with a man. It's not like I've forgotten how the mechanics of it work.”

She blew a breath of air out her nose. “That's not what I meant. Loki is...he's a dom, right?”

Tony sucked in a breath. Pepper was one of the very few people in the world who knew that he was truly a sub, and it was clear what she was really asking.

“Yes.”

“And you're okay with that?” He thought again of Obie, of his rough hands and stern voice, and the pain -

“It's hard, sometimes. But mostly it's just nice. You know how hard it is, to go without it for awhile. And it's been a damn long time for me.”

“I understand.” And she really did. She was in the same boat he was – pretending to be a dom for a world that treated them better. It would be nearly impossible to run a company as a sub. She had come to him early in their business relationship asking him to change her paperwork. How she had known that he had changed his own he had never figured out, but he had been glad to do it for her. It just got you farther in the world if they thought you were a dom. It was discrimation, and it was wrong, but that was one thing about the world that he just couldn't fix.

There was a loud song that Tony recognized as Pepper's ringtone. She fished her phone out of her purse and looked at the caller id. Tony couldn't see who it was, but she frowned, then held up a finger to Tony before answering it, standing up and walking across the room as she did so.

“Hello?” She waited a few moments as whoever was on the other end answered, walking back toward him as she did so, then back toward the other end of the room again. Pepper had always been one to pace as she talked on the phone. He found it endearing. “Yes, I'll be there. Give me -” she pulled the phone away from her ear to glance at it, then brought it back up to her mouth “twenty minutes and I'll meet you there. Great. Thank you.”

She brought the phone back down from her ear and swiped to end the call, then turned back to Tony. “I need to go. But first I'm going to give you some advice.” He groaned. He knew what was coming even before she said it. “I don't know Loki, so I can't tell you if he's a good guy or not. But I want you to remember that you don't know him that well either. He's literally from another world, Tony. He's dangerous.”

And there it was – the thing that everyone kept telling him. Loki was dangerous. He was alien and unknown and he tried to conquer the fucking world. He tried to remind himself of those things as well. But what was inescapable was that he was also smart, and charming, and weirdly caring.

“I know, Pep,” he answered her.

“Do you?” She questioned. “Because I think that as usual, you don't know what you're getting yourself into it.”

And she was right. He had no idea where this was headed. They had started to fuck the night before, then they had alcohol-induced feelings time, and then Loki had disappeared, again. He wasn't even sure if he would show back up again. And if he did, there was no garauntee that he wouldn't be back to trying to take over the world again. They still hadn't had a chance to talk about that.

“I rarely do. But it usually works out for me anyway.” He gave her his best press-smile.

“Alright, Mr. Stark. Just remember to think with your brain rather than -” she glanced down, “the other thing.”

“Goodbye, Ms. Potts.”

She nodded at him before turning and leaving the bedroom. He let out a long breath of air and shut his eyes tightly. That hadn't gone too horribly. She didn't yell at him like he had expected, and the conversation had been mostly peaceful. It was as well as he could have asked for. When he opened his eyes again, Loki was there, standing at the foot of his bed, arms crossed over his chest. If Tony hadn't already been laying down, he probably would have fallen back in shock.

“What the fuck?” Tony muttered.

“I'm not sure that telling her about me was such a good idea.” Loki responded, ignoring the question all together.

“It's fine, it's just Pepper. I trust her. Now what's up with the disappearing act? Were you hiding in my closet or something?”

Loki scoffed. “Of course not. It's a form of magic.”

“So you can what? Turn invisible?” Tony asked incredulously.

Loki rolled his eyes. “No. It's more of a blending into the shadows of a place so that you go unnoticed. It's a fairly simple form of magic. Back to the point, what if this Pepper runs straight to SHIELD and tells them about me?” Tony started to answer, but Loki cut him off. “I hope you do not think I will sit here and wait for them to capture me,” he hissed.

Tony sat up in bed. “Of course not. They're not going to be coming at all.” He was starting to grow annoyed. Pepper wouldn't do something like that. Out of everyone, she wouldn't be the one to betray him. You didn't think Obie would betray you either, a traitorous part of his mind supplied. The thought only left him feeling angry.

“You don't know that,” Loki insisted, scowling.

“I do!” Tony realized he was raising his voice, but he couldn't stop it. “You're just going to have to trust me.”

“Trust you?” Loki replied, voice scathing, “as you pointed out last night, we barely know each other. But I have given you the benefit of the doubt so far. But her? Her I don't know at all. So no, I don't trust her.”

“Well I do,” Tony answered, his own scowl now firmly in place.

“The world is not as simple as your childish belief that everyone has good in their heart -”

“Childish? You have no idea. I don't trust easily, at all, so for me to say your secret is safe with her is a big deal. Don't undermine that,” Tony nearly snarled.

“I have to look out for myself,” Loki rejoined, raising his own voice. “With SHIELD comes Thor, and Odin knows he probably wants to take me back to Asgard. Well, I'm not going.” He sounded petulatant and Tony didn't manage to fight back a bitter laugh.

“What's so bad about Asgard? From what I've been told, it's pretty damn awesome up there.”

Loki took a menacing step forward, eyes narrowed. “You know nothing of Asgard, you imputent human fool -”

Tony's heart raced. He was growing angrier by the second. “Don't try to pull the human card now. Just because you're from Asgard doesn't make you better than me -”

“Being a god makes me better than you.”

Tony bit down on his lip, hard. This was getting too bad. It wasn't safe, but he couldn't stop himself either. He clenched his fists in his lap. “I don't know what -”

“Sir,” JARVIS interrupted, “you have company. Ms. Romanav is on her way up now.”

“Fuck,” Tony replied, still seething. His eyes never left Loki. “You've got to get out of here. Or hide, or something. Fuck Natasha and her bad timing.”

“I'll be going,” Loki said, voice still terse.

“Christ, you're not running away just because we had a little argument, are you?” Please don't be running away.

Loki sighed, deflating a bit. “I'm not running away. I just don't want to be here with that woman. She's surprisingly shrewd for a human.” Tony tried not to be offended by that. “But I will be back.”

“Fuck. Fine,” Tony reluctantly agreed, huffing.

When he looked up again, Loki was gone. Tony ran a hand through his hair. His heart was still beating fast from their conversation. He generally made a point of being loud and obnoxious (sometimes openely argumentative), so it wasn’t often that he felt fear, but with someone who reminded him so much of Obadiah… Fuck. He definitely didn’t want to face Natasha like this. Whatever she wanted (and he had a good guess), he needed to be on his toes for it.

“JARVIS, stall our least favorite assassin for a few minutes.”

JARVIS didn’t bother responding, but Tony knew that it would be done. He got up out of bed, taking in his rumpled appearance in the mirror across from his bed (because no one had ever said he wasn’t vain). He went to his closet and glanced at the selection for a moment before grabbing a suit. If he wanted even a chance at holding his own against Natasha, he needed to look the part of someone who was put together. He didn't have time to take a shower, but he could at least get dressed. He took the suit to the bathroom with him, where he shaved, then got dressed. He combed his hair and pulled a cocky grin at himself in the mirror.

“Sir,” JARVIS intoned, “Ms. Romanov is growing impatient. SHIELD is beginning to overwrite my protocols.”

He didn’t like that they could do that. He wasn’t aware they could up until the Tesseract incident when Agent showed up in the penthouse while he was celebrating the successful arc reactor powering the tower. He sighed. “Let her on up, then.”

He was walking out into the main area of the penthouse when the elevator doors slid open. Natasha began to walk out, and he shot her a wide smile. “Ms Rushman. Or,” he mused, “is it Romanov now? You know I have trouble keeping up with these things.”

She ignored him. “Stark, I know I’m not your favorite person, but I’m here as a courtesy.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “A courtesy, huh? Well, then I’ll offer you a courtesy as well - would you like a drink?” He made his way to the bar as he asked, noticing halfway there that his and Loki’s glasses both sat there. Oh well, she would think it was just another one of his one-night stands.

“Sure,” she shrugged lightly.

He glanced back at her sharply. “Drinking on the job, agent?”

She smiled back at him. “I told you, I’m here as a courtesy. Consider this a friendly visit.”

He poured himself a scotch and another for her. Turning back, he handed one to Natasha and sipped at the other. “Okay, so what’s this friendly meeting about? I don’t imagine you broke into my tower just for a chat.”

“I didn't break in,” she objected. “I came through the front doors.”

“You were overriding JARVIS' protocols!” he complained.

She shrugged. “You should know better than to make a lady wait.”

“Why are you here,” he asked, taking another drink.

She took a sip, mirroring him. “I’m just here to tell you… SHIELD knows.”

Chapter Text

SHIELD knew? He was pretty much aware of that already. It was obvious that Natasha had some kind of ploy going on, but he wasn’t sure what it was. He decided to play it safe for now.

“Right. And what, exactly, does SHIELD know?” he asked, being purposefully obstinate.

Natasha took a step forward, and he honestly felt a little threatened. He had almost allowed Loki, a god, into his bed, but he was still old-fashioned scared of Natasha Romanov, and he had no shame in that.
“About you and Loki,” she clarified. “They knew you’ve seen each other since the invasion. And that you’ve been asking around about him to Thor and Barton.”

“Why are you guys even after him anyway?” Tony asked, ignoring her completely. “He gave back the Tesseract, so he kept his end of the deal. What’s up with you hunting him?”

She stared at him, clearly unimpressed. “He tried to take over the world - with an impressive body count, mind you - and he brought an alien army to Earth. Not to mention he’s running around out here with these crazy powers. You can’t really expect SHIELD to just let that go.”

Well, he supposed not. Even so, he remembered Loki’s reaction when Tony had talked to Pepper, and he wasn’t about to start telling SHIELD his secrets.

“Yeah, I mean, I get that. That’s why I’m so interested in him,” he lied. “Gotta keep an eye on that kind of power and all that.”

Natasha put her hands up, placating. “Stark, I’m not here to report back to SHIELD. I told you, I came here as a friend. I just wanted to let you know.”

Somehow, he didn’t believe that. Still, this wasn’t turning into some interrogation (or worse, torture) session, so he couldn’t complain too badly. He gave her a smile that he hoped looked easier than it felt.

“Alright. Friends,” he agreed, even though he felt like anything but. “Thanks for letting me know they’re keeping an eye on me. Seriously, though, there’s nothing going on.”

“Good. Because as a friend, I also want to remind you that he’s very dangerous. You wouldn’t want to get mixed up with someone like him.”

“So everyone keeps telling me,” he muttered. “Now please get the hell out of my tower.”

“Sure.” She walked back to the elevator, taking it down so that she was out of his sight.

Tony sat down hard on a couch and dropped his head into his hands. This was bad. He wasn’t sure what SHIELD would do if they caught the two of them together, but he knew it was nothing good. They would probably both be brought in, and while he was sure Loki would be able to escape, Tony likely wouldn’t be so lucky. Would Loki bother to save him? He didn’t know, and that shook him just as much as anything else about this situation.

After awhile, he sat up straight and downed the rest of his drink. Natasha had left hers sitting half full on the table, so he took both glasses back over to the bar. He emptied hers into the sink and refilled his own, drinking it quickly. Scotch was really meant to be savored, but right now he just wanted to get the alcohol in his blood stream. He set the glass down on the bar with a heavy sigh.

“Alright,” he said to no one, “time to get some work done.”

He made his way down to the workshop, his mind racing on the way. Loki had said he would be back, but he was having some serious trust issues where that guy was concerned. (But he trusted him more than he trusted most people, especially doms, his traitorous mind insisted.) Regardless, he couldn’t be sure that Loki would show back up at all, or if he did, when and where it would be. If he could, Tony would have warned him that SHIELD was on their tails, but Loki hadn’t left him any way to contact him, so Tony was stuck waiting for him to come back. He would really have to talk to him about that next time he saw him. Actually, he realized, why wait?

As soon as he was down in the workshop, he began talking. “Jarv, start a new file. Name it Reindeer Games. Gather everything we know about Loki. I mean everything - the mythos, the conversations with Thor and Clint (because, he thought, of course he had shared them with JARVIS), and everything that’s happened here between us (he pointedly did not think of the flashback). Also, do we have any sort of readings on his energy signature? Magic is just a different form of science, I refuse to believe otherwise,” he rambled, “so it has to leave some sort of residue, right?”

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS answered. “I’ve been tracking Loki’s energy signature since the first time he showed up here.”

“Great. I knew I could count on you. Do the readings change when he’s doing that invisibility thing?” He knew Loki had told him that it wasn’t real invisibility - it was a blending with the shadows, or something like that (and he cared, he really did, because hello, magic, but he had a lot going on), but for all intents and purposes, it was basically invisibility.

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS replied.

“Awesome,” Tony continued. “Wait, is he here now?”

JARVIS was quiet for a moment while, Tony assumed, he searched for that signature throughout the building. “No, sir,” he answered eventually, “Loki is not currently on the premises.”

Tony wasn’t sure if that was a relief or not. He needed to warn Loki about SHIELD, but it may have been a good thing that he wasn’t here for the conversation with Natasha. Loki was always a wild card, and he had no idea how he might have reacted. Even so, he missed him terribly already. He remembered the way Loki’s weight had felt in bed beside him (and on top of him), and he craved it again. It had been so long since he had had a dom, and it was like now that he had had a taste of it, he couldn’t get enough.

“Okay, Jarv, start tracking that. Any time he shows up I want to know about it.”

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS answered obligingly.

The next step, he knew, was to find a way to actually track him outside of the tower so he could hunt him down if he needed to. Like right now would be nice. He gestured for a keyboard to show up and began typing, throwing out ideas as quickly as they came to him. What he eventually came up with was a rudimentary tracking program that might or might not be functional. He really had no idea.

“JARVIS, run program. If anything comes up, no matter how small, let me know.”

It took several seconds before JARVIS responded. “Fifteen signatures found worldwide.”

There was no way Loki could be fifteen places at once. Right? “And that’s for Loki’s energy?”

“No, sir. That’s for the general energy signature that magic seems to give off.”

“Magic, huh?” That was still weird. There must have been a problem with his program. If only he had a little more information to work with.

“I should mention,” JARVIS continued, “that one of those energy signatures is currently in the tower.”

“What? Does that mean Loki’s back?”

JARVIS was quiet for a moment before speaking. “I don’t believe so, sir. The energy signature seems to be concentrated around you.”

“Around me?” he asked with a note of surprise.

“That’s because you have a protection spell on you,” came a female voice from behind him.

He turned as JARVIS said “Sir, there’s another energy signature in the tower.”

The woman was beautiful. She had long blond hair that she wore tied up, and a flowing golden dress. She reminded him of something, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Uh,” he finally managed, “who are you?”

She smiled kindly. “My name is Frigga. I believe you know my son.”

“Right. Who’s your son?” He glanced over to his armor and wondered if there was any way he could get it on in time. This woman, whoever she was, clearly had something to do with magic, so that meant she could very well be a threat. But even if he could get into a suit in time, he had no defenses against things like that. He didn’t like his chances.

“Loki Odinson of Asgard.”

“Wait, you’re Loki’s mom?” He blurted out.

“Yes. I’ve been looking for him. I tracked him here,” she explained.

“Woah.” He needed another drink. “Okay. JARVIS, are you getting readings on this?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you know where Loki is?” Frigga asked.

“Uh, no, I don’t. I was just trying to figure that out actually.”

“But he was here some time ago?” she questioned. “And put a protection spell on you before you left. I would recognize my son’s magic anywhere.”

“Okay, first, in my defense, I didn’t know anything about a spell. I feel a little violated. Second, I don’t know who you are. You could be anyone. And I’m not betraying Loki by giving you any more information than I already have.”

Suddenly, she turned fierce. “Listen to me: I thought my son was dead. Now you’re trying to keep him from me. It is only the fact that he clearly cares for you that is keeping me from ripping you into pieces. Now tell me what you know about Loki.”

He put his hands up and took a step back, wondering again about access to his suits. “I’ve already told you everything I know. He was here, now he isn’t, and I don’t know how to find him.”

“Who are you, that he would go to such an effort for you?”

Tony gave her a practiced smile. “Tony Stark. Genius billionaire playboy philanthropist,” he said on auto pilot. He stepped forward again and offered her a hand.

She stared at his hand for a moment before hesitantly putting her own hand out as well. He grabbed it and shook it. She looked confused, and a little concerned.

He laughed. “It’s how we say hello here on Earth.”

“Ah,” she said, smiling again. “Your customs make little sense. It has been many years since I’ve been to this realm. Even so, I appreciate your hospitality. Still,” she continued firmly, pulling her hand back, “I must re-direct our conversation. Do you know when Loki will be back?”

The assumption that he was coming back was comforting. “I don’t,” he admitted. “He seems to come and go as he pleases.”

Frigga smiled. “Loki has long been the keeper of his own time.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “Kind of annoying. So, do you want to uh…wait for him?” He wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Even if this woman were his mother, he had no idea what kind of relationship the two of them had, and Loki might not even want her here. But it would be rude at this point not to offer for her to stay and rude might just get him killed.

She sighed. “No, I can not be away from my realm for too long. There are those there that need me. But I want you to give a message to my son.”

Tony tried to hide his relief. “Yeah, sure.” That at least shouldn’t hurt (he hoped).

“You tell him,” she said, fierce again, “that I love him, and he can come home. I will protect him.”

Tony stood there gaping for a moment, unsure of what to say. What did that even mean? Protect him from what? Thor had said he wouldn’t be in any trouble if he went home. Had that been a lie? He realized she was still waiting for a reply.

“Uh, okay. I’ll tell him.”

She smiled again. “Thank you, Tony Stark. Now, I must go, before it’s noticed that I’m not home. Please, be kind to him. He is good, underneath it all.”

He wasn’t sure if he believed her, but he also wasn’t sure if he cared. The good or bad guy argument that everyone insisted on having was becoming less important by the second. Then, between one breath and the next, she was gone.

“Woah. I have really got to figure out how they keep doing that,” he said to himself. “Okay, refocusing. JARVIS, take a better scan of me and see if we can isolate Loki’s magic from everything else.” (And how weird was it that he had to say that? He hadn’t thought magic was real a few days ago, and now he had to face the fact that there were apparently fifteen instances worldwide, including something on him specifically.)

“Processing, sir,” JARVIS replied. Tony waited for the scan to complete. It took less than a minute. “Scan completed. Isolating energy signature.”

“Good. Now let’s try to run that against all those signatures we got last time.”

“Yes, sir.” There were several long moments of silence as JARVIS ran the program. “One result found.”

“Score. Okay, where is it?”

“Las Vegas, sir.”

Huh? What was he doing in Vegas? “Pull me up a map, J.” A map of Nevada sprang up in front of him, quickly zooming in until he could see Las Vegas, then specific streets, then a building - a casino. “Are you telling me Loki is in a casino?”

“It appears so, sir.”

“Yeah, okay, weirder things have happened. Time to suit up.”

He stood in place and waited while the suit formed around him. He had to be careful to be still or it could pinch, no matter how well he had formed the machinery that put it together. Once it was on, he said, “Okay, Jarv, set me a course for that building.”

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS agreed.

He flew out of the tower and began making his way southwest toward Nevada. It would take him a couple of hours to fly there, but he couldn’t be bothered to wait on a private jet. Besides, he didn’t know what he was going to run into when he got there (or on the way). Having the suit on him seemed like a good precaution to take.

On the way, he tried to figure out what he was going to say. He didn’t know how Loki was going to feel about the fact that he had tracked him down. Would he be angry, or pleased with Tony’s ingenuity? And what would he say about SHIELD being on their back? Or worse yet, what if he freaked out after hearing what Tony had to say about his mother? Thor had mentioned that he had some family drama going on, but he hadn’t gone into more detail. Now Tony wished that he had asked more questions when he had the chance.

How had this become his life? Sure, his life had always been a little weird. He had been famous even as a child, then he got kidnapped and tortured, and then things just got weirder once he picked up Iron Man. But now, there were aliens running around, and he had this crazy sort of - thing (he did not think relationship) with one, and he was hunting him down cross country based on magic. He got the feeling that things were only going to get weirder from here on out.

Once he got into town, he slowed down a bit. He had been to Vegas plenty in his life, but that didn’t mean finding a single casino was going to be easy. Luckily, he had the perfect built in navigation system.

“J, give me a detailed map.”

A cross section of the roads he was flying over came up across view and he tracked it. The casino in question was highlighted in red, three streets down and one over. He came to it in no time. He landed in front, sending the crowd into an uproar as they realized who he was. There was screaming, and then he saw cameras start to flash. Great, this was really going to help him keep his cover. He left the mask down. He tried to move forward but the crowd surged around him and kept him from walking.

“Hey, guys,” he tried, “cut it out.” No one listened. Shit. He was drawing way too much attention. Well, nothing for it. “This is official Avengers business, let me through.”

The noise level didn’t die down any but the crowd parted to let him through. He had just gotten through the front door when a man in a suit opened the door to greet him. “Mr. Stark, we weren’t expecting you. Should we clear out the presidential suite for you?”

He smiled under the helmet, lifting the faceplate. “No, that’s okay. Actually, I’d just like to go to the bar.”

“Of course sir, right this way. He followed the man to the bar, looking around the room. There were still people swarming him, gossiping and pointing fingers. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to come here in the Iron Man suit. If the press found out he was here, they would have a field day. But it wasn’t like he wouldn’t likely be recognized just for being Tony fucking Stark. He tried to see through the haze of people.

“Jarv, can we zero in on that energy signature?”

“No, sir. It’s too crowded in here.”

“Damn.”

Well, when in doubt, might as well order a drink. He got the bartender’s attention (immediately - perks of being famous), and ordered a scotch. It came to him quickly and he sipped at it, looking around again. Suddenly, he heard a commotion behind him.

“CHEATER!” someone screamed.

Tony turned to look. The crowds parted, many of them staring as well, so that he could see a poker table. There were several people surrounding a tall man with black hair and - wait, was that Loki? Tony abandoned his drink at the bar to make his way over. As he got closer, he saw a wide grin on Loki’s face and a large pile of chips on the table in front of him. God of lies, he remembered. Of course he would be playing poker.

Tony came up behind him and threw an armored arm around his shoulder. “Hi, honey.”

Loki turned, incredulous, and Tony wondered for a moment if he was about to lose his arm. Then, Loki’s smile spread again. “Tony. How nice to see you.”

Tony matched his smile. “I don’t like to be kept waiting. And you and I have a lot to talk about.”

Loki leaned into his hold. “First, we need to get you into something more comfortable.”

And then the world folded in on itself and the next moment he found himself standing in the penthouse of his tower.

“Welcome home, sir,” Jarvis intoned.

Tony stumbled slightly, only held up by Loki. He was never going to get used to that.

“Get out of the suit.”

“JARVIS, you heard the man. Er. God.” Metal arms began coming out to strip him of the suit. He wasn’t sure that was the best idea, but he wasn’t going to go against Loki, not now, not like this. Even if he felt vulnerable without the suit (as though he didn’t feel vulnerable every moment Loki was around), he would obey. That’s where they were.

Once he was standing there in only his Armani, Loki spoke again. “How did you find me?”

Tony grinned. “Genuis, remember?”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “I’m not questioning your intelligence, Tony. I’m asking how specifically you managed it.”

“I traced your energy signature,” Tony said, unable to hide that he was a little proud.

Loki hummed. “So you thought it was okay to just hunt me down? I thought I had made it clear that I’m the one in control here.” His voice lowered, and danger signals flashed behind Tony’s eyes.

“No, no, you definitely are.” And since when did he admit that to other people? To doms, specifically? Since that dom was Loki. “It’s just that uh…like I said, we have a lot to talk about.”

Loki sighed. “I suppose you want to finish our conversation from earlier?”

Belatedly, Tony remembered that the last time they had spoken they had been arguing about whether or not it was safe to tell Pepper about what was going on between them. That all seemed a world away now.

“Yeah, no, not exactly. I need to talk to you about some other stuff.”

Loki raised an eyebrow again. “Out with it, then.”

Tony laughed nervously. Since when was he nervous? He didn’t even know where to start. “Actually, do you want a drink? We should probably get a drink first.”

“Tony.” Loki’s tone left no room for disagreement, and Tony groaned.

“Okay, first, SHIELD knows that something is going on between us.”

Suddenly, Loki’s voice was icy. “I told you that telling that woman about us was a bad idea.” Tony could feel the anger radiating off of him and he took a step back.

His own anger spiked. “Hey, this has nothing to do with Pepper! I told you, I trust her.”

“Then how else would they have found out?” he hissed.

Tony ran a hand over his face nervously. “I might not have been the most subtle when I was looking for you.”

“Oh, so it’s your fault,” Loki fussed. “You have put me in danger, Tony Stark.”

“Danger? Since when is SHIELD a danger to you?”

“SHIELD is not,” Loki corrected. “But there are others who I do not wish to know my whereabouts. Thor is among them.”

“Okay, that kind of segues into my next topic. Your mother came to see me.”

The anger on Loki’s face disappeared, replaced by a look of pure astonishment. “What did you say?”

“Yeah, your mom, Frigga, I think?” Tony didn’t get a chance to say anything more because Loki surged forward, a hand around Tony’s throat.

“You lie, mortal.”

Okay, he hadn’t been called mortal in a little while. That was different. Maybe Loki’s relationship with his mother was even more complicated than he had realized. He could barely breathe past the hand on his throat, trickles of oxygen just reaching his lungs. He gasped, trying to form words.

“Who are you, to speak to me of that woman?”

Loki tossed him backward. Tony hit the ground with a thud. That was sure to leave bruises for tomorrow. “Hey! I don’t know what your deal is, but this isn’t cool. I’m just trying to give you fucking message and you’re treating me like a punching bag.”

Loki seemed to consider that for a moment. “I don’t believe you. I don’t have a mother. At least not one that I ever knew.”

Tony shook himself off and stood back up, ignoring the twinges of pain. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but she seemed to care about you a lot.

Loki faltered, but didn’t give in. “What have I done to you to deserve for you to torment me so?” He closed his eyes tightly.

“Wait, wait,” Tony argued, “I can prove it to you. JARVIS, pull up the video.”

A screen appeared in front of them showing Frigga from the moment she arrived.

“What is this magic?” Loki asked.

Tony shook his head. “It’s not magic. It’s a recording.”

“A recording?” Loki echoed.

“Yeah. It’s like a camera but it takes videos.”

Loki looked aghast. “I do not know of what you speak.”

Tony sighed. He wasn’t used to dealing with people who weren’t up on the latest technology, and this was just ridiculous. How was he supposed to explain technology that was decades old?

“Okay, video. It’s like…it keeps a visual and audio record of what’s going on, and you can look at it again later.”

Loki stared harder at the screen and the woman on it. He moved forward slightly and reached his hand out toward it, dropping his hand in an aborted movement. “Frigga…” He trailed off.

“JARVIS,” Tony interrupted, “play video.”

JARVIS played through the encounter, Loki watching raptly throughout the entire thing. When it got to the part of Frigga’s message, his entire face went blank, a careful mask slipping down over whatever he was feeling. He was silent for a long time after it finished. Finally, he turned back to Tony.

“I believe you.”

“Finally. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if the video didn’t work.”

“Your video technology is still foreign to me,” Loki admitted, “but that was definitely my mo- Frigga.” He sat down heavily on the closest stool available.

“So what now?” Tony asked. “Are you going to go? Back to Asgard, I mean?”

He hoped he wouldn’t. Whatever there was blooming between them was important, and he didn’t want to let it go. It wasn’t something he thought he would find ever again. Even so, if this was what Loki wanted - no, needed - then Tony wouldn’t be selfish enough to keep him from it.

Loki shook his head. “No. No matter what she says, I am not welcome in Asgard. I am sure she would do her best to protect me, but there is no respite from the word of Odin All-father, and he would not be so lenient.”

“Thor said Asgard would be kind to you,” Tony rejoined. “Maybe you’re thinking too much into things. I get what having a fucked up family is like. But maybe they’re not as bad as you’re making them out to be.” Somehow, he didn’t believe it.

Loki laughed, a hollow, broken thing. “You have no idea.” He was quiet for a long moment, then finally, “Thank you, Tony. I can’t tell you what it means to hear from her, even if I can’t believe what she says.”

Tony’s voice was gentle. “She’s really important to you, huh?”

Loki’s face closed off again. “It is none of your concern.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Okay, like it or not, I’ve been pulled into your family drama, so it is my concern now. I’ve got three different Aesir coming to my planet and threatening me, all over you. So yes, I think I have a vested interest.”

Loki laughed again. It came off slightly hysterical. “You know nothing of the affairs that you meddle in, mortal.”

So they were back to the ‘mortal’ thing again. Tony sighed. “Look, Loki, I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m involved in this, whether you like it or not. Now you can either start trusting me, or keep trying to fight this battle alone. It’s up to you.”

Loki didn’t have a chance to answer before JARVIS interrupted them. “Sir, SHIELD agents have just entered the premises.”

“Well,” Tony exclaimed, “shit.”

Chapter Text

“JARVIS,” Tony said, “initiate Fuck You protocol.”

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS answered.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Fuck you protocol?”

Tony grinned. “It locks this place down. They may be in the building but they won’t get to us. At least not for a while.”

Loki shook his head. He said something in a language Tony didn’t recognize, but it sounded like a curse. “For awhile is not good enough. I’ve got to go.”

“Hey, no. Enough with this running off shit.”

“It is your fault this is happening,” Loki hissed.

“My fault? How the hell is it my fault?”

“You told Pepper about me! I told you that was a bad idea. Now she’s told SHIELD and they’re on my tail,” Loki growled.

“No way,” Tony said, his voice raising slightly. “This wasn’t Pepper. This was Natasha.”

“Then it’s still your fault,” Loki insisted. “You must have told her something to make her think I’d be coming back here.”

“Argh!” Tony exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

“I should never have come here,” Loki muttered.

“Yeah, but you did,” Tony answered, “and this is where we are now. So what are we going to do?”

“I am going to leave,” Loki replied. “What you do is up to you.”

“Uh, no. You can’t just leave me here. SHIELD will take me in and then all manner of bad things will happen.” He purposefully did not think about what those bad things would be. Images of a cave flashed behind his eyes and he shook them away forcefully.

“I don’t care,” Loki said.

“I don’t believe you,” Tony rejoined. He hoped he was right.

Loki cursed again, tossing his hands skyward, just as Tony had before. “Tony Stark, you are a pain in my ass.”

He grabbed Tony by the arm, then Tony blinked, the world tilted and -

“Woah. Where the hell are we?”

The first thing he noticed was the changing of the light. His workshop had been well lit, sure, but this was something different entirely. The light was so bright it nearly hurt his eyes. The air almost seemed to glow. The next thing he noticed was the flowers. They were in a large clearing, but there were flowers as far as he could see - a rainbow of colors, swaying gently in the wind. The fresh air felt cool against his face.

“Alfheim,” Loki answered, his tone obviously less tense now. “The land of the light elves.”

“Elves? Like, pointy ears?”

Loki sighed. “Yes, like pointy ears. But it’s rude to talk about them.”

“Right,” Tony answered, “next question. Why are we in…Alfheim, was it?” The pronunciation felt weird in his mouth.

“Because from what I understand of your SHIELD, there are very few places on Midgard where they wouldn’t be able to track us down.”

“Okay,” Tony said, still looking around, trying to make sense of this new place. “And all of this is to avoid your bro-” He aborted the word halfway through, knowing what kind of reaction it would get him. “Thor?”

Loki glared at him for the slip up but didn’t call him on it. “It’s not Thor I am avoiding. It’s Asgard.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “There’s someone searching for me, and Asgard is the first place he would look.”

Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise. “It’s hard for me to imagine someone that you’re scared of.”

Loki smiled humorlessly. “There are those much stronger and much more frightening than me in this world.”

That was saying something, since Loki was pretty damn frightening. “Okay,” he said instead, “so Alfheim. Am I the first human to come here?” He itched to have JARVIS run some scans on this place. He wanted to know about everything - the atmosphere (which, okay, it was obviously breathable by humans), the food, the people - “I wish I had my lab equipment.”

“Probably,” Loki answered, interrupting his thoughts. “It is not a simple thing to travel between worlds.”

“Seemed pretty easy for you,” Tony pointed out.

Loki grinned again, showing his teeth. “I know of the secret paths. They call me Skywalker.”

“Skywalker,” Tony echoed, feeling the way the word sounded in his mouth. “That’s a pretty cool nickname.”

“You’re one to talk, Iron Man”, Loki joked. At least Tony hoped he was joking.

Tony laughed. “Yeah, the media came up with that one for me. It’s not accurate, but even I have to admit it sounds cool as hell. Wait, what about my suits?”

“What about them?” Loki asked.

“What if I need them? I mean, SHIELD can’t get to them,” because he had made damn sure of that, “but you never know what kind of threats you might encounter in…you know…Alfheim.”

Loki frowned. “Do you doubt my ability to protect you? Besides, you were the one who insisted on coming with me.”

“No,” Tony argued, ignoring the first question, “I actually insisted you didn’t leave at all.”

“And we have discussed why that wasn’t an option. Are all mortals this infuriating?”

Tony shot him a winning grin. “I’ve been told I’m actually more infuriating than most.”

“I’d believe it,” Loki muttered.

They were silent for a moment as Tony breathed in the air. It felt fresher somehow. Cleaner. Like they hadn’t had decades upon decades of pollution fucking up their ecosystem. “So what now?” he finally asked.

“Now,” Loki answered, “we go find civilization and get some food. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t eaten since last evening.”

“Oh, yeah, food. That’s a thing.” Tony paused to take a breath. “Can I even eat the stuff here? Will it poison me?”

“It is safe. I would not put you in danger, Tony.”

At least not in anymore danger than he was in cavorting around with a god (who was apparently on the run). Somehow, he didn’t mind. There was almost a thrill to it, the unknown and the forbiddenness of it.

“Right,” Tony eventually answered. “But how are they going to react to seeing a human? Will they just assume I’m Asgardian? I mean we look pretty much alike, but I don’t know about the physiology. Do you guys have two hearts or something? Wait, that’s Time Lords. Actually, are you guys secretly Time Lords? That would make so much sense.”

Loki shook his head. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. But to answer your original question, they would probably assume that you were Asgardian. But it won’t be an issue, because I’m going to disguise us. As I said, I am in hiding. I don’t think anyone here would report back to The Other after seeing me, but I’m not willing to take the chance.”

“The Other?” Tony immediately jumped on the name drop. (That was a name, right? A weird name, but a name nonetheless.)

Loki growled. “Let it go.”

Tony wanted to push, but the words were spoken like an order and he couldn’t quite bring himself to disobey. He swallowed the ‘yes, sir’ on the tip of his tongue.

“Okay, different question,” he said instead. “What did you mean you’re going to disguise us? Do you have some sort of super secret costume shop? Because I’m not wearing a mustache. I’ve tried it out and I look like a pedophile.”

Loki laughed, then muttered something under his breath. The change was immediate. He grew paler (as though that were even possible) and his eyes changed to a light blue. His hair changed to blond and flowed halfway down his back. His features re-arranged to become longer and sharper. But the most noticeable difference, the one that had Tony staring, was that he indeed had long, pointy ears.

“Wow,” Tony responded. “Can I touch them?”

“No,” Loki answered, and Tony started to pout. “You may, however, touch your own.”

“My own?” Tony brought his hand up to feel at his ear and realized that they too had grown pointy. “Woah.” He ran his fingers over the sharpened tip, feeling the way the cartridge had reshaped itself. “Wait, does that mean the rest of me has changed too?” He suddenly wished he had a mirror.

“Yes,” Loki confirmed. “Do you want to see?”

“Um, duh.”

Loki made a gesture that was too quick to catch and a small mirror appeared in his hand. He held it up for Tony to see.

Tony stared at himself for a long moment. “Did you make me taller?” he finally asked.

Loki smiled. “Elves are generally on the taller side. And you’re short, even for a human.”

“Hey!” he protested. “I am absolutely perfect just the way I am. I have references.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Perfect though you may be, I don’t want you drawing undue attention while we’re here.”

Tony took the chance to look over the rest of himself. He looked much the same as Loki did, with the pointed ears and elongated features, but while his hair was blond like Loki’s, it only reached his shoulders.

“Why do you get longer hair?”

“I’ve had it this long before. I only cut it recently because - ” He paused. “Nevermind. Do you want longer hair?”

Tony thought about it. “No, actually. It seems like it would be difficult to manage.”

“It might be, without magic,” Loki agreed.

“Okay, so any elven customs I need to be aware of so that I don’t start a diplomatic incident?”

“Don’t talk about their ears.” He paused, considering. “Actually, it’s probably best if you just say as little as possible. I’ll find us lodgings and a meal. You just stand there and be quiet. Can you do that?”

“Um. Probably not,” he answered honestly. “What am I to you anyway? Are we supposed to be brothers? We look close enough alike that we could probably get away with it.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “You’re my sub, obviously.”

Tony’s brain short-circuited at those words. He was still uncomfortable with it, but he couldn’t deny that it felt good to hear him say it. “How does that work here? I mean, you said on Asgard you’re all doms. Is that common?”

Loki shook his head. “No, not really. Every realm has their own customs. Alfheim is full of switches.”

“Switches?” Tony asked. He wasn’t familiar with the concept.

Loki nodded. “It’s just like it sounds like. They switch. They can be whatever they’re needed to be.”

“That sounds convenient. Doesn’t it get in the way, though? Like on Earth there are some jobs that subs can’t do, or, as you saw, some bars they can’t get into.”

“It isn’t like that here,” Loki explained. “This place is often considered to be paradise. I believe your people call it Heaven.”

“Heaven?” Tony asked. “This is where we go when we die?”

Loki shook his head. “No. That’s - well, there are a few different places. But this is the paradise you speak of. It is, as some say, the perfect world.”

“Do you think so?”

“No. I don’t think there’s any such thing. But I have spent many hours here when I needed to get away.”

“Okay.” Tony considered himself to be a pretty flexible guy. He could deal with this change in scenery, even if it meant he had ended up in some weird realm that was kind of Heaven. “Weirdness aside, now that we’ve been elf-ified,” he said (which was weird on its own), “how about that food? I actually am hungry.”

Loki nodded. “We will have to go to a populated area, of course.”

Tony looked around again at the empty field. “Are we walking? Because I don’t know about you Asgardians, but my tiny mortal legs can’t handle all that much exercise. I usually just fly.”

“No,” Loki answered, “we will teleport. It is not unusual for elves to be mages.”

This time when Loki grabbed his hand, Tony was prepared for the way the world folded. It was no less jarring. Once he had his bearings again, he looked around. They were in what looked like a busy plaza, surrounded by what had to be elves.

“Woah.” He had said that a lot today, but he felt like it was applicable.

The second thing he noticed, aside from the people, was the architecture. He had always thought he was the biggest name in town with his tower (as with everything else), but this was something else entirely. First, most of the buildings seemed to be built out of or maybe into huge, twisting trees. There was what might have been metal in silver and gold for decoration, with intricate loops and curves towering up toward the sky. It was like the world’s best tree house. He was eager to go inside one.

Loki put a hand on his back and firmly steered him toward one of the buildings on the right. It was long, and looked like it had been built in between the path of two trees that crossed over it. It was made up of what looked like stone, though it hadn’t been eroded by time. There was a sign outside but Tony couldn’t read it.

“What does that say?” he asked.

“I can’t translate the word directly but it roughly means a form of public lodging,” Loki explained.

They walked inside. The first thing he noticed was the ceiling. It was made out of what he thought was glass, showing the huge trees twisting up above it. He was worried for a moment about the safety of it, but he realized that Alfheim probably had something better than safety glass. The rest of the room was decorated just as extravagantly, but the glass ceiling was obviously the centerpiece.

There was an elf behind a desk, sitting on a stool. She looked elderly, but Tony wasn’t sure that he would be able to tell. She smiled at them as they walked in and said something in a lilting language that Tony couldn’t understand. He gave her a smile back, being well used to being in the room with people he couldn’t understand. Loki said something back to her in the same language and gestured to Tony. He thought he heard his and Loki’s names. The woman pulled out some paper and checked something, then nodded and put the paper away. She came out from behind the desk and led them down a hallway. It wasn’t built with the same glass ceiling, but it was still beautiful. The tall ceilings held ornate arches with flowery designs studded with stones that shone like diamonds.

They came to a door, which Loki pushed open. The woman said something else and then left. There was a large painted domed ceiling with an open ceiling to let light in, but the main focus of the room was definitely the behemoth bed in the center. It was square, instead of the usual rectangle, but it was big enough that it didn’t matter. It was a four poster, with flowing designs all over it. He stared at it in awe for a moment.

Tony turned to Loki, immediately noticing that he had dropped the elf form. “So did we pay? Do you have magic money? Because I want magic money.”

Loki laughed at him. “This is paradise, Tony. Did you really expect there to be capitalism?”

Tony was bewildered for a moment. He wasn’t used to a world where he couldn’t just buy anything he wanted. “I don’t understand,” he confessed.

Loki shrugged. “This is public lodging, like I said. You come here when you need a place to stay and if there’s an opening, you get a room.” He said something in the weird language, then “was only there to help direct us toward an open space.”

“Is that her name? The woman downstairs?”

“Oh, yes,” Loki replied. “I forgot you don’t have the Allspeak. I’m not used to spending time with mortals.” He shook his head. He made a gesture and produced a thin golden bracelet. “Give me your arm.”

Tony looked at it. “I’m not a big jewelry person, actually.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “It’s not simple jewelry. It is what the elves wear to show that they’re in a submissive role. Did you not notice the one on -” he said the name again “ - downstairs?”

Tony shook his head. That definitely wasn’t what he had been focusing on.

“But this bracelet is made specially with my magic,” Loki continued, “to gift you the Allspeak. With it you’ll be able to understand the languages of all realms.”

Tony stared at the bracelet. The Allspeak would be very cool, but he hadn’t missed the implications of the gift. He liked the idea of being Loki’s sub, craved it even, but he had spent so long denying his submissive nature that he balked at the open display of it. It was more than just for appearance’s sake that he had pretended for so long; he didn’t want to even think about the part of him that longed to submit. If he thought about that, he opened himself to be hurt again. An image of Obie flashed in his mind and he shut his eyes tightly.

“Well?” Loki prodded, snapping him out of it.

Tony swallowed, his throat dry. Wordlessly, he lifted his arm. Loki fitted the bracelet over his wrist, clicking it together. Once it was together it sat seamlessly against his skin. It was very light, but it felt heavier with the weight of what it meant. Tony looked back up at Loki to see him smiling, and it suddenly seemed very worth it.

Tony looked toward the left at an opening in the room. He craned his neck to see inside to what looked like a bath. “Is that a bath?” he asked. “Because I would seriously like a bath. And a shave. I didn’t have one this morning. Shame I didn’t bring my razor. I’m really starting to wish I had packed for this trip.”

Loki laughed. “Yes, it’s a bath. And after you bathe, I will help you with your beard.” He gestured for him to move toward the bathroom. There was a large pit of water in the floor.

“How do I adjust the water temperature?”

Loki smiled. “It’s done with magic. If you do not find it amenable, I can easily change it.”

“Cool. So are you going to be waiting for me in the bedroom or…?” He let the tail of the sentence drift off.

“Unless you would like me to stay,” Loki answered noncommittally.

Tony’s throat was still dry. He looked at Loki and remembered the way it had felt to have him on top of him. He felt his cock stirring in his pants. “Oh, we really, really shouldn’t fuck right now,” he answered. “And I am seriously not one to say that very often. Or like ever. I think this might actually be the first time.”

Loki smiled at his nervousness. “We don’t have to fuck,” he said, nearly purring the last word. “I’m just asking if you’d like some company for your bath.”

Damn. He really would. “Okay,” he acquiesced.

Loki grinned at him. “Get undressed, then.”

Tony did, feeling weirdly self-conscious as he shed his clothes. He had never really been embarrassed about his body. He wasn’t super bulky, but he worked out, and he had certainly never had any complaints. Even so, he was hyper aware of every one of his scars, and each article of clothing he took off made him feel like he was baring his soul. Loki watched him, still grinning. Then Loki began stripping as well, and Tony was no longer focused on himself. The elven outfit he was still in was a lot simpler than the Asgardian wear Tony was used to, and it fell off him easily. First he took off the shirt, revealing a smooth, well-defined chest. Then, he slid off the pants to show well-muscled but lithe legs. Tony stared at the dip by his hipbone, wishing to press kisses there. Finally, Loki slid off his underwear, and Tony got to see his cock. It was large, but not overly so, but it was wide in girth. It was half hard, and suddenly Tony had other places he wanted to put his mouth. Not now, he reminded himself. He looked up to see Loki still grinning at him.

“You got distracted,” Loki told him.

Tony looked down at himself to realize his pants were halfway down his legs, his hands paused in the motion of pulling them down as he stared. He finished pulling them down, kicking them off away from the water with his shirt and shoes. Loki looked him over to toe appreciatively, and Tony couldn’t help the shiver that went down his spine.

“Get in,” Loki instructed.

Tony walked over to the water and dipped his toes in experimentally. Loki had been right; it was the perfect temperature. Even so, he was almost tempted to say that it wasn’t just to get Loki to do more magic for him. He slipped down into the water instead. He instantly felt his tense muscles relax in the warm water and he sighed, closing his eyes. There was a splash and a ripple of water and when he opened his eyes again, Loki was descending into the water with him. The water glistened on his skin and Tony was tempted to reach out and touch him, but he didn’t know if that would be okay. He didn’t know if he was allowed. And just that thought made him swallow again, averting his eyes. The splashing continued, and when he looked back, Loki was directly in front of him.

“You look tense, Tony,” Loki said. “Shall I do something about that?”

“H-hey, I said no sex,” Tony stuttered, though he was seriously starting to rethink that.

Loki smiled. “Of course. And I respect you. I was only suggesting that I give you a massage to help soothe your muscles. I know this has been a lot to see and it must be a stressful time for you.”

“Okay, sure.” Tony smirked, recovering himself. “You wouldn’t be the first one to give me a massage.”

“Oh, but I can guarantee that I will be the best.” Somehow, Tony didn’t doubt it. “Turn around,” Loki instructed.

Tony did, lamenting the loss of the view of Loki’s body. The warm water sloshed around him and he leaned his arms against the top of the bath. It was only a moment before he felt Loki’s touch on him, his hands cool even after the warmth of the water, gently running up his spine. It made him shiver, though he thought it may be more from anticipation than the cold. Loki started gently, running his hands out from Tony’s spine to his shoulder blades, feather light touches meant to entice. This, Tony realized, was a seduction, and he was in no position to try to stop it. Luckily, he didn’t think he wanted to. Loki began pressing into the muscle around his hands, easily finding the spots where Tony was most tense and teasing them loose. Tony couldn’t deny that it felt divine.

“Close your eyes,” Loki said.

Tony closed them and it made the sensation all the more intense. He could feel the dichotomy of the warm water and Loki’s cool hands against his skin. Loki pressed harder as the muscles relaxed, seeking out the deeper tension and dispelling it. Loki had been right, Tony thought; this was definitely the best massage he had ever gotten. Loki’s hands slid tenderly up further on his shoulders, and Tony was struck by the fact that with Loki’s strength, he could easily maim or even kill him like this. But he didn’t. He simply continued his slow trek upward and when satisfied with his position, resumed prodding at the muscles there. Tony relaxed into the touch. When Loki had finished with his shoulders, he moved on to his neck. Tony hadn’t even realized how tense it was until Loki started to work at it. The muscles came loose easily in his skilled hands, and Tony had to stop himself from moaning aloud at how good it felt.

“Enjoying yourself?” Loki asked.

“Mm,” Tony murmured. Intelligible words weren’t big on his mind right now. Loki’s hands were still rubbing at his neck.

Loki hummed. “Tony,” he said, pushing into a muscle slightly more roughly, “you will answer me when I speak to you.”

The increased pressure wasn’t enough to hurt - merely to draw his attention to the area. “Yes,” he tried.

Loki didn’t say anything, but his hands froze where they were. “Not quite,” he prodded.

Tony squeezed his eyes shut tighter. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he knew he shouldn’t say it, shouldn’t let himself be vulnerable like this, but - “Yes, sir.” And the words feel like a relief, a release of something he had been holding inside himself for so long. It was as natural as exhaling.

Loki’s hands started moving again, gentle circles pressing into Tony’s skin. “That’s a good boy,” he replied. Tony could hear the smile in his tone. It felt good.

Loki rubbed for a few moments more before pulling his hands away. Tony immediately mourned the loss of the touch. Loki snaked an arm around and rubbed down Tony’s chest, carefully avoiding his nipples. “Do you want to wash?”

“Uh, yeah,” Tony said, forcing himself to find his voice. He had never stuttered this much or been so awkward in anyone’s presence. It wasn’t a feeling he relished.

Loki grabbed Tony’s shoulders and applied light pressure to indicate that he should turn around. Tony obliged, twisting until he was facing Loki again. Loki’s green eyes pierced him and he felt unable to look away. Transfixed, his mind supplied. Loki made a gesture that Tony saw out of the corner of his eye and bottles appeared on the edge of the tub where he had been laying his arms before.

“Wet your hair,” Loki told him.

Tony slid down in the water until it was up to his neck. It was still just as warm as it had been when he had gotten in, and he took a moment to thank whoever had set it up for their magic, briefly wishing that he could learn how to do it. He had all that automated at home, but it would be cool to just be able to wave his hand and have it happen instead of going through all the programming. Not to mention that he wanted to study magic from a scientific standpoint as well. For now, he leaned back so that the water soaked his hair. Water dripped from his head as he came back up, standing again in the bath. He looked up to see Loki still watching him. Loki reached for a bottle behind him and poured some out in his hand. Then he gestured for Tony to come closer.

“What are you doing?” Tony asked. He had a pretty good idea based on context clues, but it never hurt to ask, especially since this seemed so wild.

“Washing you,” Loki confirmed.

“I can do that myself,” Tony supplied. Though he really wanted those hands on him again, running down his body, touching his -

“I know. But I want to, and you’re going to let me.”

Tony froze. Of course. Of course he would. He wanted nothing more. He took a deep breath.

“Yes, sir.” The words felt good in his mouth, even if they still felt foreign with a hint of shame, and he wondered why he hadn’t been saying them before now.

Loki smiled. “See, we’re getting somewhere. I knew you would get it.”

Tony stepped closer as Loki had commanded, getting within about a foot of him. Loki hummed approvingly and began massaging the shampoo into Tony’s hair. His fingers felt great in his locks, and Tony leaned into it. Loki made sure it was washed thoroughly, then told him to rinse. Tony did, coming back up and closer to Loki again. Loki grabbed the other bottle and a cloth and poured some soap onto it.

He started with Tony’s arms. He washed down the left arm gently, turning it as he did so that the inner arm was facing up. Loki rubbed the cloth gingerly down Tony’s arm, caressing his inner wrist as he did so. Tony stayed still, enjoying the touch. Loki repeated the process with his right arm, washing and brushing against the newly clean skin. Then, he moved to Tony’s chest, washing his upper chest carefully. He rubbed the cloth over one nipple at a time as part of the washing, but each touch sent fire racing down toward Tony’s cock. He fought to keep still, but he thought his face might have given him away. Loki traced around the arc reactor, looking curiously at it.

“Last time we were together,” Loki began, “I did not ask of this. I know it is not something all mortals have.” He left the sentence there, but it was obvious that he was waiting on Tony to explain.

Tony sucked in a deep breath, his comfort with the situation officially gone. He had been naked with plenty of people since Afghanistan, and while they might have been curious, at least they all knew the basics of what it was and why they had it. He had never had to explain before.

“It’s…” he trailed off, unsure of how to proceed. How much could he get away with not sharing? There was so much he wanted to hide. The bomb, the cave, the torture, Obie. He felt like this was a test of the growing intimacy between them and he wanted to fail. “There was a bomb,” he ground out, teeth clenched together. “That is an electromagnet that keeps the shrapnel out of my heart.” Succinct and vague, but honest. Hopefully it would be enough.

Loki looked thoughtful for a moment like he was digesting that information. “It pains you to speak of it,” he said. It was not a question.

“It’s not exactly a happy memory,” Tony admitted.

Loki hummed. “Then we do not have to speak of it,” he conceded.

Tony let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Loki ran his hands over his chest apologetically, giving the arc reactor a wide berth. He skimmed his hands down Tony’s sides, following the line of his hips down to the water’s edge, then moving back up to run his nails gently across the skin of Tony’s stomach. This was quickly moving from comforting back to arousing, but Tony didn’t mind. Loki continued washing, staying on his stomach, cleaning down across his hips, but carefully avoiding the rising interest of Tony’s groin. But the look on his face said that he very much noticed it.

“Turn around.”

Tony turned, and Loki washed his back just as carefully. When he got to his ass, he grabbed at it through the cloth and Tony did moan, unable to stop himself. Loki ignored it, continuing to wash. He brought the cloth up between his cheeks, under the guise of cleaning, and Tony nearly keened at the sensation.

“Turn,” Loki said again.

Tony did, and Loki washed his upper thighs, ghosting around the area Tony really wanted him to touch. He had said no sex, but this was just washing, right? He didn’t have to be worried about this. And then finally, finally, Loki reached his cock. He rubbed the cloth over it, grabbing it to run the fabric over it softly, pulling the foreskin down to clean under it. He slid on down the shaft to Tony’s balls, rubbing the cloth lightly over them and rolling them oh so gently in his fingers. Tony fought not to thrust into his touch, his cock more than half hard now.

“Loki,” he bit out.

Loki was grinning at him. “Yes, Tony?”

“Don’t stop,” he panted.

Loki tutted. “Ah, but we can’t have sex right now. That was your decision, remember?”

Tony did remember, and he shook himself, trying to remember why he had ever said that. Then he remembered the panic attack last time they had tried and he cooled himself off a bit. “Okay, okay,” he said, still trying to get himself together. He had never been affected by anyone sexually as much as he was by Loki, but he didn’t really mind. Even the sensations of being washed by him were phenomenal, and he found he wanted more.

Loki stepped back. “Rinse.”

Tony lowered himself back into the water, leaning his head back again to get the soap out of his hair. He ran his hands through it to dislodge the soap. His fingers didn’t feel as good as Loki’s had. Once he was rinsed, he came back up. The water dripped off his body. Loki was still smiling at him.

“Get out, then we’ll do something about your beard.”

Tony climbed out of the bath, the air cool on his skin. Loki provided a towel and he dried off quickly, making sure to get each drop of water out of his hair and off his body. He felt cleaner, but still exposed as Loki stared him down, not even trying to pretend that he wasn’t looking at his groin. Tony had the sudden urge to cover up, but he resisted.

“So do I get some clothes?”

Loki inclined his head. “Do you need them?”

“What if someone comes in?” Tony questioned.

“I’ve put a spell on the door to keep them out,” Loki explained. “But if you would feel more comfortable in clothing for now, that’s fine with me. Would you like what you were wearing before, or a new outfit?

Tony thought about that. The clothes he had had on before were dirty, but he wasn’t sure he would like whatever Loki picked out for him. Would it be the complicated Asgardian clothing with all the buckles and hooks? Or maybe the lighter, more flowing clothes of the elves?

“Can you just give me some jeans and a t-shirt for now?” He knew they would have to disguise themselves as elves again before they went out, so he might as well get some comfortable clothing while he could.

“Of course,” Loki agreed.

He gestured and clothes appeared in his hand. Taking them and unfolding them, Tony realized they were actually from his own closet. There were a pair of his work jeans (with the grease stains) and an old but well loved ACDC shirt.

He grinned. “Thanks, Loki.”

Loki nodded. “I wasn’t sure what kind of sizes you mortals have, so I just picked something out of your own clothes. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s perfect.”

“Now,” Loki said, “to get you shaved. Would you like me to do it for you?”

Tony went quiet as he thought about the offer. Loki was really doing his best to pamper him. It was sweet and he couldn’t deny that he liked the attention, but the idea of someone, especially a dom, with a razor at his throat just set him on edge.

“No, thank you,” he said, trying to be polite about it.

“Okay,” Loki answered, not showing any displeasure, “I will get you a razor.”

He gestured and a straight razor appeared in his hand. Tony stared at it for a moment.

“That’s not going to work.”

Loki tilted his head. “Why not?”

“People haven’t used those in forever. I don’t know how.”

Loki hummed. “I don’t know what other kind there is.”

“Can you just get me the clippers from my bathroom?” Tony asked.

“I can,” Loki replied. “What does they look like?”

Tony struggled for a minute with how to describe it. “They have a black and silver thick handle. The top has a serrated edge. They’re on my sink.”

Loki nodded. “One moment.” He was quiet and closed his eyes, apparently searching. Finally, he produced the clippers as requested. “Here you are.”

Tony accepted them. He didn’t normally like being handed things, but for Loki, he would make an exception. “Hey, wait, if you can see inside my house, does that mean you know if SHIELD is still there?”

“They are not,” Loki answered. “Your workshop is still locked down, so it seems they never got in.”

Tony had expected that. He had strong defenses on all of the tower, but they were strongest around his workshop. He kept the Iron Man suits there, and he didn’t want anyone coming in to try to steal them. There was always the chance that someone could reverse engineer them, and he didn’t want anyone taking anything of his ever again.

“Guess they didn’t find what they came for,” he said, grinning.

“Does that mean you want to go back?” Loki asked. He frowned. “I really shouldn’t stay on Midgard any longer. After my faux attempt at a takeover, that’s the first place the Other will look for me. I only stayed as long as I did for you,” he admitted

Tony wanted to ask about the Other again, but Loki’s stormy face made it clear he didn’t want to talk about it, so Tony wisely kept his mouth shut. Instead, he said, “No. I’m on an alien realm. How cool is that? I want to explore.”

Loki smiled again. “Then explore we shall. I believe I promised you something to eat. But first, do your shaving.”

“Mirror?” Tony asked.

Loki did the gesture thing that Tony still wasn’t quite used to, then handed him a mirror. “You may do it by the bath if you need water.”

Tony nodded his thanks, and walked back into the room with the bath. He shaved quickly, the practiced movements taking the hair off his chin easily. He walked back out to Loki, who was sitting on the bed waiting on him. He almost wanted to go over to the bed and sit with him, but the promise of food had made his stomach rumble.

“Are you ready?” Loki asked.

“Yeah,” Tony replied.

“Then I must disguise us again,” Loki told him.

“I know.”

Loki gestured, and suddenly his features changed again, the long blond hair coming back. Tony glanced at the mirror still in his hand and saw that his face had changed as well, and he was back in the clothes he had been before. He grinned. At least he looked good as any species.

“Okay,” Tony said. “Let’s go get some food.” His stomach rolled with what might have been hunger.

Loki led him back out into the hallway, shutting the door behind them. He grabbed Tony’s hand and pulled him along behind him. Tony looked down at their joint hands, warmth radiating out from the contact. He stared at the way the new bracelet glinted in the light of the hallway. He liked the way it shined, even if the implication that he would be identified as a sub still made his hairs stand up on edge. Once they were out in the main room again, with the woman from before, Loki smiled at her.

“Do you have a place to eat here?”

Tony realized that he could understand him now. So at least the magical bracelet worked and wasn’t just a sign of ownership.

“Yes,” the woman replied. “Right this way.”

She held her arm out to show them a hallway behind her, then walked down it, obviously expecting them to follow her. They did, hands still linked, until they reached a large room filled with tables. About half of them were full, some with elves, some with what looked to be other species. Tony tried not to stare, but he was pretty sure he was failing.

“Thank you,” Loki said to the woman, smiling at her.

She smiled back. It seemed that no matter the species, everyone was charmed by Loki. Tony could understand why. Loki brought them to an empty table and gestured for Tony to take a seat. Tony was a bit surprised Loki didn’t pull out his chair for him, but he supposed that might only be a custom on Earth, so he didn’t feel too bad about it.

“So do we order or what?” He asked.

Loki shook his head. “No. They will bring us whatever they have available for the day.”

“Okay, that’s weird.” Tony was used to having choices; he could generally have anything he wanted.

Loki shrugged. “They freely give what they have available, to residents and travelers alike. You should be grateful for what they give you,” he chided lightly.

Tony ducked his head. He had always been selfish (and had always known it). He reminded himself to be more sensitive to cultural differences. That was something he was going to have to get used to here.

He laughed lightly to cover the momentary discomfort. “Yeah, of course. You can’t complain about stuff you’re given for free, right?”

Loki nodded.

Before he could say anything, an elf came by with two large cups. “Here’s your wine, gentlemen,” she offered, sitting one down in front of each of them. “I’ll have some food brought out shortly.”

She walked away, leaving the two of them to stare into their drinks. Tony picked his up, sniffing at it. It smelled fruity.

“So is this going to get me super drunk?” he asked. “Like what you’re stuff did back on Earth?”

“No,” Loki answered. “What I gave you back then was strong, even by Asgardian standards. I carry it with me when I intend to get very drunk, very quickly. But here on Alfheim, the intention is to take pleasure from drinking rather than get sloppy drunk with it. It’s a drink based more on taste than alcohol content.”

Tony wasn’t sure whether or not he liked that answer. He had always been a fan of drinks that tasted good, but it had been awhile since he had had a strong drink, and he couldn’t say he didn’t miss it. Still, he remembered what Loki had said about not complaining, so he kept his mouth shut. He took a small sip of the wine, swirling it around on his tongue. Loki had been right - it tasted divine. He took another sip just to enjoy the taste. He resisted the urge to down the whole thing, eager to get some decent alcohol in him. He pushed down the nausea.

Loki looked at him approvingly, sipping at his own wine. Soon, the waitress returned with two large plates for them, sitting them down in front of them. Tony looked at his, trying to identify the food. There was what looked like meat (maybe beef?) and then two sides that he could only guess were vegetables or something of the like. They weren’t similar to anything he had eaten before, and he had eaten pretty much everything Earth had to offer.

“Thank you,” he said to the waitress, remembering his manners.

“Yes, thank you,” Loki echoed.

She left, and they were left looking at their food. With the plates she had brought some wooden utensils that looked similar to a fork and a knife, so Tony picked them up, carefully cutting off a small piece of his meat. Loki did the same, eating a delicate bite. Tony followed his lead, popping the bite into his mouth. It tasted like something he couldn’t put his finger on, but it was good. He cut another piece and ate it as well.

“This is surprisingly good,” he admitted.

“I told you,” Loki said between bites, “this is paradise. Did you expect the food to be bad?”

“Why did we come here?” Tony asked suddenly.

Loki frowned. “Because your SHIELD was invading your tower and I did not wish to be caught by them,” he explained again.

Tony shook his head. “No, I know that. I mean why did we come to Alfheim specifically? You can travel anywhere in the realms, right? So why here?”

Loki smiled at him, taking a moment to take another bite of food before he answered. “Only the best for you,” he told him.

Tony smiled as well, oddly touched by the gesture. He was used to people going out of their way to do things for him, but somehow, with Loki, it was different. Tony felt like he actually meant something to Loki, like he was something to be cherished. Which was a weird thought to be having at this point in their relationship, but it was one he had to face. He continued eating, finishing off his meat and having another drink of wine. He moved on to one of the sides. It tasted vaguely like potatoes and he scarfed it down. When he looked up again, Loki was silent, watching him eat with a smile on his face. He looked away when he realized he had been caught. It made Tony smile again. He didn’t comment, instead finishing off his plate. When he finished, he realized Loki had been done before him and was politely waiting for Tony to complete his meal.

Tony grinned at him, downing the rest of his wine as well. He wished he could ask for another cup. “Did you enjoy it?”

“I did,” Loki agreed.

After a beat of silence, Tony asked, “So what now?”

Loki hummed. “Would you like to see more of Alfheim? Or if this has all been too much for you, we could go to bed.”

As much as the thought of going to bed with Loki thrilled Tony (and terrified him in equal measures), he had never been one to back down from a challenge, and this would not be an exception.

“No, no, I’m all down for exploring,” he said with a grin.

“Is there anything in particular that you’d like to see?” Loki offered.

Tony hummed, considering it for a moment. “Do they have science here? I mean, do they build things?”

Loki shot him a look. “Of course they build things, Tony. Every realm builds things, just in their own unique ways. Do you mean do they build things in the way that you build the Iron Man suits?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “Or not exactly like that. I build a lot of other things besides just my suits. I build cars and AI’s and -” Not weapons. Not anymore.

“I think I know just where to show you,” Loki answered, apparently unaware of Tony’s moment of discomfort.

“Great,” Tony answered, throwing him a well-practiced dazzling smile. “Do we need to let our waitress know we’re leaving or anything? Or take our own plates to the kitchen?”

“No,” Loki answered. “The waitress will be happy to do it. She’s a sub.”

“I thought you said they were all switches?” Tony asked.

“They are,” Loki agreed. “But right now, while she’s at work, she’s in the position of a sub. So she’s enjoying serving, whether that means giving people their food or cleaning up afterward. She may be a dom at home tonight, but for now, she’s exactly where she wants to be.”

“Huh. That’s actually pretty cool. I kind of wish we had something like that back at home. It would definitely make everyone a lot happier.”

Loki nodded. “It’s a good system. The elves have evolved this way naturally over thousands of years.”

“It truly is a paradise,” Tony said with wonder.

“Come on,” Loki said.

He started walking back out of the restaurant area and through the place where they had first found their lodgings. Once they were back to the front room, Loki asked the woman, “Excuse me, but could you direct us to the nearest temple?”

Tony raised his eyebrows incredulously. This was not what he had asked for. “Uh, Loki, I don’t really do religion.”

Loki smiled. “Ah, but you will like this.”

**

Tony was still dubious. He didn’t know what religion would look like on a different realm, but he didn’t imagine it could be all that different from what he was used to on Earth, and that just didn’t appeal to him. Even knowing that the old Norse gods were real, he still didn’t fancy himself as much of a believer. He had always been more focused on things that could be proven, or at least researched. He wasn’t much on taking things on faith. But he was already putting a lot of faith in Loki, he realized - faith to keep him safe not just from SHIELD but in a foreign realm. Did that count as religion?

He realized the woman was talking. “- south by about four grings.”

Tony wasn’t sure what a gring was, but it sounded like a unit of measurement. He guessed there were some things the Allspeak just couldn’t translate. He looked over at Loki to make sure he understood, but he looked like he was following just fine.

“Thank you,” Loki told her, giving her a smile. He turned back to Tony. “Are you ready?”

Tony nodded. He was as ready as he was going to be to go to a temple. He still thought Loki was misreading him and his interests, but there was a growing trust between them, at least on his end, so he was willing to go along with it. He ignored the headache that was starting to form.

Loki took his hand (which Tony was really starting to like), and led him out of the building back into the plaza. There were still plenty of elves milling around, and Tony had to try not to stare. He wanted to understand everything about them - their physiology, their circulatory system (did they have hearts? Or more than one, like he had joked about earlier?), even their digestive system. He had never had a huge interest in human bodies, but this was an entirely unexplored world. He wanted to know everything. Maybe he would get the chance to ask Loki about it later. He seemed like he would know.

For now, he let Loki pull him through the crowd. He watched the buildings as they went by, each of them artfully crafted, letting his gaze linger approvingly on the architecture. That had never been a big interest of his, either, until he built the tower, but now he had a healthy appreciation of the art. Eventually, Loki stopped walking, turning toward a building on the right. It was tall, maybe as tall as his tower, with the same beautiful decorations as everything else in the area.

“Here we are,” Loki told him.

Tony hummed noncommittally. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to be here, but he had to admit that he was at least curious. What was it here that Loki thought he was going to be so interested in?

“So let’s go in,” Tony said.

The inside was just as gorgeous as the outside. Instead of the pews and pulpit he would have expected from a church on Earth, the long hallway they walked into was lined with books from floor to ceiling. There was no way he could count, but there must have been thousands of them. He looked at them with awe.

“This is…not what I expected,” he admitted.

Loki smiled. “No, I rather thought it wouldn’t be.”

“So this is their temple?” Tony asked. “A library?”

“No,” Loki answered, “this is only the first floor.”

Tony’s eyes widened. There was more than this? He had noticed that the building was tall, but coming in here he hadn’t imagined that there would be more than just books.

“Okay,” Tony said, “but why a temple? This is nothing like the religion on Earth.”

“No,” Loki said, still smiling, “it isn’t. There they worship beings. Here, on Alfhiem, they worship the concept of knowledge.”

“Huh,” Tony replied.

“Come on,” Loki told him, “there’s still much more to see here.”

They walked on down the hallway until they came to a door to the left. He steered them into the room so that Tony saw an elf sitting behind a desk, much like the woman at the first building had been.

“Good evening,” Loki said.

The elf looked up from reading the book in his hands. “Good evening,” he echoed.

“Could you tell us about the floors of this temple?” Loki asked.

“Of course,” the elf said. “This floor is the library. It has every book every written, in all the realms.”

That was impressive. He didn’t know how big book writing was in the other realms, but just having all the books ever written on Earth would be unheard of.

“The second floor,” the elf continued, “is life enrichment.”

“Ah,” Loki interrupted. “That’s where we want to go. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” the elf replied.

“Life enrichment?” Tony asked.

“It’s the research floor,” Loki explained.

“What do they research?” Tony asked again.

“You’ll see,” Loki told him with a sly smile.

Loki directed them to walk into a large box that looked vaguely like an elevator. Once inside, a menu popped up with a list of numbers. It looked a lot like the screens Tony used at home, so he wasn’t surprised by it. Loki pressed the button for the second floor and the screen disappeared. Tony had just a moment to recognize the increasingly familiar sensation of the world tilting before he looked up to see that while he was still in what appeared to be the same box, the room outside was different.

“Did we just teleport to the second floor?” He asked in wonder.

“Yes,” Loki confirmed.

“Wow. I thought this place was supposed to be about science, not magic.”

Loki gave a small smile. “They are not different things. Your world simply understands magic in a certain way and calls it science.”

Okay, so Tony had already suspected that, and it was nice to hear his theory validated. That still didn’t make it less weird that their elevators apparently had teleportation technology. Was that a common things throughout the realms? Maybe it was something he should start working on when he got back to Earth. If he could study it enough while he was here (and ask Loki plenty of questions), he might just discover something else to make him famous.

He focused on the room in front of him. It was large and teeming with different creatures. He said creatures, because not all of them were elves. There were plenty of elves, sure, but there were also those who looked humanoid (where they Asgardian?), as well as smaller, but stout creatures that he would hazard a guess to say were dwarves. He hadn’t learned a whole lot about the other realms from reading the Eddas, but he had read enough that he could at least figure that much out. He hoped. Probably better to keep his mouth shut in case he accidentally offended someone.

He couldn’t see a lot of what was going on due to the mass of people wandering around, but he was drawn to something nearby. It looked like a series of pods - some small, about half a foot long, while others looked large enough to hold a human body. He found himself moving forward it before he could stop himself and he stopped mid-step to look guiltily back at Loki, but Loki was smiling at him indulgently.

“Go on. I brought you here to explore.”

Tony nodded his thanks and kept walking. Once he got to the smaller pods he saw that one of them had something in it. What was that? He looked closer through the clear top. Was that…a hand? Or at least, it was part of one. The hand was missing all its fingers other than the thumb and pinky but the wounds didn’t look raw. In fact, the skin had grown over the missing fingers as though they had been missing for a long time. Even though the hand was detached, it had not rotted any - it looked as though it had simply been pulled off a human (or an Asgardian, or maybe an elf), and laid to rest in this pod.

“What is this?” Tony asked, turning back to Loki.

Loki looked down at it. “They seem to be researching regeneration.”

Tony’s eyes grew wide with awe. “Regeneration? Like to regenerate the missing fingers?”

Loki nodded.

“Can they really do that here?” Tony asked.

Loki shrugged. “They’re working on it. Sometimes they’re able to, but sometimes it just doesn’t take. This sample is obviously still in the early stages. The fingers will grow, that’s for certain, it’s just a matter of whether or not the hand rejects them and they stop functioning.”

“Does it usually work?” Tony asked, still staring down at it.

“With things like this, yes. It can be more tricky when it’s attached to a live person. Then their body is more likely to reject it. It takes specialized care when it’s a real person, but obviously that is the eventual goal.”

Tony glanced down at the longer pods and wondered if there was a person in there right now. “Can’t you just do that with magic?”

“Sort of. Like I said, this is magic. It’s just science in a different way than you understand.”

“Okay,” Tony said, moving on to see the larger pods.

There was, in fact, a person inside. It was an elf who was missing an entire leg.

“What even happens in paradise that causes someone to lose a leg?” Tony asked.

Loki shrugged. “I don’t know in this particular case. It was probably an accident.”

“Is he…alive?” Tony asked again.

“Yes,” Loki answered. “It makes the process harder, but you can’t tell if it will work if you don’t test it on live subjects.”

“So wait,” Tony said, “if they’re working on regeneration, does that mean they’re also working on something to cheat death? I know on Earth we talk a lot about never wanting to die. It comes in a lot of forms. Cancer treatments, foods that help with longevity, that sort of thing.”

Loki shook his head. “No. Midgard is alone in that, as far as I know. It may be because of your lack of understanding of death. The other realms realize that it is simply a part of the life cycle. It is not something meant to be avoided. You die, and then your soul moves on to another realm. That is simply how it is meant to be.”

“So they’re not scared?”

“I’m sure some of them are,” Loki replied. “But it’s not the great unknown that it is for you on Midgard. The other realms know what happens when they die. Besides, there are worse things than death. The spaces in between the Yggdrasil are one of them.”

“What’s -”

“Let’s move on,” Loki interrupted.

Tony wanted to pursue that question in more detail, but Loki obviously didn’t want to talk about it, so he would save it for another time. There was plenty of things on the talk about later list already; adding one more wouldn’t hurt. Loki was walking away to another room, so Tony followed. The nausea popped up again and he swallowed a mouth full of saliva. When they reached the next room, there were dozens of holograms of different people, mostly elves. They were three dimensional models and Tony began walking up to one curiously.

“What’s so special about this? We have holograms on Earth. I mean kind of. I have holograms. Most people don’t, but that’s just because I’m a genius.” No one had ever accused him of being humble.

“They don’t avoid death,” Loki explained, “but they do try to immortalize themselves. These are the stored data of those who have passed.”

“Stored data?” Tony asked.

Loki nodded. “You can choose whether or not you want it done, or how much you want done. Basically, when a person passes into the next realm, their information is quickly scanned and made into an interactive database.”

“A database, huh? What kind of stuff does it store?”

“More every day. That’s where the research part comes in. But they can do a lot already. They can take a lot of your memories. Especially procedural memories, such as how to make a recipe, or how to do certain types of magic. But they’re working on more complex things, like trying to capture the personality.

“Okay, that’s a lot cooler than a hologram,” Tony admitted. “How do you sign up for it?”

“You have to come to the temple and request is specifically. But it’s well known. The people here keep up a lot with the research that is done. As I said, knowledge is highly important to the elves. They may be considered the most knowledgeable in all the realms.”

Tony prickled a bit at that. He was used to being the smartest one in the room, if not on the entirety of Earth, so to think of an entire race being smarter than him was a bit of an ego crusher. Even so, he supposed it couldn’t be helped. The elves simply had more access to information than he did. If he could stay here and read all these books, hang out in the research floor forever, he would probably be just as smart as they were, if not smarter. That made him feel a bit better.

“Okay, what else?” Tony asked. As interesting as this was, he knew there was so much more to see, and he was eager for all of it.

“Come with me,” Loki said, walking into another room off to the side.

Tony followed. The next room didn’t have anything immediately noticeable about it. Instead, there seemed to be a lot of small sections with people surrounding them.

“Are all these people researchers?” Tony asked.

Loki had said that knowledge was worshiped here, but it still seemed unlikely that all of these people were scientists. If they were, how did they ever get any work done? Tony hated sharing his work space with other people. Unless it was Bruce. Maybe he just didn’t like working with people who were dumber than him. He didn’t think that would be a problem here.

Loki shook his head. “No. All of the temple is open to the public. Many of these people are here just to observe, like you and I.”

Tony considered that. He hadn’t been to many places like this on Earth, but he knew that they existed, even if they weren’t very popular with tourists. But to be fair, the only reason he didn’t frequent them was because he made things that were bigger and better than anything he would find in some external lab. Why should he check out the competition if the competition was shittier than him? Besides, he had people on the payroll for that.

As they talked, Loki had been walking, and Tony followed closely behind. He didn’t want to get lost in here in the throngs of people, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to find Loki again in his elf form if they got separated. In addition to the regeneration pods and the data mining holograms, Loki also showed him automatically refilling water pouches for travelers, a sphere that showed a literal representation of the weather, and some sex toys that made even Tony blush.

Tony felt his hands start to shake and he clasped them together to try to stop it. Loki noticed, because of course he did.

“Are you okay?” Loki’s eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Just peachy,” Tony lied with a bright smile.

Loki frowned. “Tony, I am the god of lies.”

Well that made Tony feel like an idiot and an asshole at the same time. “I’m not feeling great,” he admitted.

Loki’s eyebrows scrunched deeper. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?”

Tony knew what this was, and he really didn’t want to be talking about it. Not here, not now, not with Loki. He had gone through withdrawals twice in his life before - once at a rehab center Pepper had forced him into that no one else knew about, and once years before when he hadn’t realized how much alcohol he had actually been consuming until he went off it for a few days and it kicked his ass. This was only the beginning stages, but he knew it would only get worse from here. That wine at dinner just hadn’t had enough alcohol in it to stave it off. He racked his brain for a way to explain this to Loki without having to use the word ‘alcoholic’.

“Not exactly,” he hedged. “It’s a…human thing.” That was a lame excuse and they both knew it, but Loki let it go for now.

“Alright. Let us just go back to our lodgings then, and see if we can make you feel better there.”

Tony nodded his agreement. “Thanks.”

Loki grabbed his arm and then the now familiar feel of teleportation tore through him. When he opened his eyes again, they were back in the bedroom. He felt like he was going to throw up. What he really wanted (besides a stiff drink) was to crawl into that huge bed and never get up again. One look at Loki’s face told him that wasn’t going to happen.

“What are you hiding from me?” Loki asked, scrutinizing him.

Tony groaned. There was no way he was going to get out of this, was there? “Look, I drink a lot…” He trailed off, hoping Loki would get the implication. He didn’t.

“Are you thirsty?” He asked.

Tony sighed, running a hand over his face. “No, I mean I drink a lot of alcohol.”

Loki nodded. “Right. I had noticed that. What has it got to do with you not feeling well?”

Tony brought his hands up to his hair, wishing it was longer so that he could pull it properly. His head was still pounding. It looked like he was going to have to go through this the hard way.

“Humans aren’t really meant to drink this much,” he tried. Loki was silent, clearly waiting for Tony to continue, though his eyes were shrewd. “Fuck. I’m going through withdrawals, okay?”

“From alcohol?” Loki asked, voice level.

“Since I haven’t taken any other drugs recently, yes.” He tried not to let his discomfort come out in his voice, but he knew it sounded snappy.

Loki didn’t respond to the tone. He sighed. “I don’t know anything about this withdrawal. Tell me about it.”

The words were an order, and even though Tony felt like shit, he couldn’t just ignore that. He grimaced. “When humans drink too much alcohol and then go without it, they get physically sick.”

Loki gave him a look as if to say ‘I understood that much’. “Go on,” he said.

Tony really just wanted to lie down. “It can cause sweating, tremors, nausea, mood swings, headaches, blah blah blah.” Loki continued to stare him down until he added. “In extreme cases it can cause hallucinations and seizures.”

Loki looked distinctly unhappy at that. “How long have you been hiding this from me?”

Tony knew he looked guilty. “Not long.” Loki stared. “Okay, a few hours. Since dinner?” He said it as a question, hoping it sounded better that way.

Loki sighed. “Come here.” He sat down on the bed, motioning for Tony to follow him.

Tony sat down. “Yeah?”

Tony look up at Loki. He looked weary. “What’s your preferred drink?” Loki asked.

“Scotch,” Tony answered, feeling like he had done something wrong.

Loki twisted his hand and a bottle of scotch appeared in it. Tony took it from him gratefully and took a long swig directly from the bottle. He felt a little better immediately, but took another swig just to be sure.

“Thanks,” he said, and meant it.

Loki was quiet for a moment. “We will have to talk about this, Tony. If you are drinking enough for it to be detrimental to your health…” He trailed off.

Tony groaned again. This was precisely the conversation he didn’t want to have. “Look, Loki -”

“But,” Loki said, interrupting him, “we can do so tomorrow. Sleep now.” He gestured to the bed behind him.

Tony had no issue with that. He took his shoes off, then climbed into the large bed, pulling the covers up over him. He fell asleep in his clothes for the second night in a row.

Chapter Text

Tony woke up to bright sunlight hitting his face. “JARVIS, close the blinds, would you?” He didn’t remember leaving them open, but depending on how much he had had to drink last night, it was very possible that he had. Usually JARVIS would have closed them automatically for him, though. He might have to check the programming on that.

“Your machine is not here,” said a smooth voice from beside him.

Tony didn’t remember bringing a man home last night. He opened his eyes, still groggy. Then he saw Loki, and all the memories came flying back to him. He groaned. “Shit.” Loki let him take a few moments to wake up properly, and he was grateful for it. He blinked blearily at the room around them. “Do they have coffee in Alfheim?” He had a feeling he was going to need it to get through the day.

“They do not,” Loki replied, “but if you wish I can conjure some.”

“Seriously?” Tony asked. “That’s actually pretty cool.” He was more impressed by what Loki’s magic could do by the day.

Loki waved his hand, and a cup of steaming coffee appeared in his it. Tony frowned a bit. It probably would have been better if it were made fresh, but looking around the room, he realized there weren’t any outlets to plug a coffee maker into. Did they even have electricity here, or was everything done by magic? He hadn’t had a chance to ask. Besides, he shouldn’t judge Loki’s coffee without tasting it. Grabbing it with a “thank you”, he saw that it was black, which was fine. He drank it with cream and sugar when he could be bothered to put it in, but he drank it black most of the time, simply because it was less work. Coffee was generally something he grabbed on the way to work, not something to be enjoyed. He took a sip. Okay, that was actually good. Hot, but good. He drank the rest before he spoke again, ignoring the way it scalded his throat.

“Okay, I feel vaguely human now.” He almost wished for another cup, but he knew Loki wouldn’t let him avoid this conversation forever, as much as he might like to. He sat up in bed, steeling himself for what he knew was going to be a very uncomfortable talk.

“Are you ready for breakfast?” Loki asked instead.

Tony blinked at him, trying to catch up with the conversation. He had expected Loki to immediately start interrogating him, the way Pepper would. Actually, Pepper probably would have forced him to talk about it last night, so he supposed he should at least be grateful that Loki hadn’t done that. He thought about asking for a drink now to fortify him, but all things considered, it seemed like a bad idea.

“Yeah, let’s get breakfast,” he said, even though he had never been much of a breakfast person. It wouldn’t hurt to avoid the conversation for as long as possible. He pushed the covers off himself and stood up.

Loki twisted his fingers and turned back into his elf form. Tony looked down to see that he was also back in the beautiful flowing elf clothes (though not the same outfit), and he looked much less rumpled than he had five minutes ago.

“Got a comb?” Tony asked.

Loki provided one (out of thin air, of course) and handed it to him. Tony took it and ran it through his hair. He didn’t really need a mirror for that. As vain as he was about his appearance, he was also used to getting dressed in a hurry so he had learned to do it without looking. It was a skill he was glad he had perfected, especially now. He looked back up at Loki, who looked impeccable as always, even in his elf form.

“Let’s go,” Tony finally said.

Loki nodded at him, then headed for the door, opening it for Tony. Tony stepped through first, waiting for Loki to follow behind him. Loki did, shutting the door, then stepping in front of Tony to lead the way. Tony was glad for it. Even though they had traveled these halls just yesterday, this place was large enough that he still could have gotten lost, and that would be beyond embarrassing. Luckily, Loki led them straight to the restaurant portion of the building. It was less crowded than last night, but still not empty by any means. Loki chose a seat for them near the door. It wasn’t long before a waitress, a different one from last night, came by and brought them two drinks. It wasn’t the sweet alcohol from last night and Tony wished for it. If Loki noticed, he didn’t say anything.

“So,” Loki started. Tony stared down at the table. “How long can you go without alcohol before you start experiencing symptoms?”

Tony looked around at the dining room. “Do we have to have this conversation here?” he asked tersely.

Loki followed his gaze. “They can’t understand you. Though the Allspeak translates for you what others are saying, it doesn’t translate your language to theirs.”

Tony looked at him dubiously. “If you’re sure…” he trailed off. Loki was silent, looking at him expectantly. Tony understood that he was waiting for him to answer his previous question. He bit down on his tongue. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Yesterday it took about eight hours, but it’s been a long time since I’ve gone through it, so I’m not sure if that’s an average data point.”

Loki hummed, gesturing toward his drink. “Drink that.”

Tony did, glad to find out that it was scotch. Pepper had always said this was too early to drink, but he had always ignored it. Actually, he wasn’t sure what time it was. “What time is it?”

Loki was silent for a moment, apparently thinking. “By Midgardian standards, about nine in the morning. By Elfin standards, it’s about thirteen shron.”

Tony nodded, again assuming that was one of their weird forms of measurements that simply wouldn’t translate. The scotch realistically wasn’t enough to even get him buzzed, but he felt better having it in him none the less. He was more comfortable now even with only the idea of alcohol in his stomach.

“How long have you had a drinking problem?” Loki continued their earlier conversation as though their hadn’t been an interruption.

Tony grimaced. He didn’t like the idea of Loki calling it a drinking problem. He had never liked that, even when Pepper (or Steve or the rehab workers) had said it. He wondered if they even had people with drinking problems on Asgard, and if not, where Loki had learned the term. Maybe it was just a trick of the Allspeak. He decided to ask. “Do people even have drinking problems in god land?”

Loki ignored the jibe against Asgard. “Of course they do. Aesir imbibe a fair amount more than most Midgardians do, but there are always those who take it too far so that it impacts their life. However, they do not experience withdrawal the way mortals do.”

Tony noted that, also filing away the fact that he referred to the Aesir as ‘they’ instead ‘we’. He wasn’t sure what that meant just yet, but he knew that it was something they should probably discuss at some point. He wished that point was now, if only to avoid the conversation about his own failings, but he knew Loki wouldn’t let it slide that easily.

“How long have you had a drinking problem?” Loki asked again calmly.

“I would argue that I don’t have a drinking problem,” Tony pointed out.

“Right,” Loki said, taking it in stride. “How does it affect your ability to function?”

“It doesn’t,” Tony said. He still didn’t want to be having this conversation and he intended to make that very clear.

“It did yesterday,” Loki pointed out.

“No,” Tony argued, “I had a headache and shaky hands. That is nowhere close to not functioning.”

Loki hummed. “So it’s not going to be a problem?”

“Not as long as I can keep drink in me at least a few times a day,” Tony assured.

“And you’re okay with that?” Loki asked.

“Yeah,” Tony answered.

Loki nodded. The waitress came back and set two plates before them. The food was mostly unrecognizable, but Tony dug in anyways, refusing to meet Loki’s eyes. Despite not being able to identify it, it was quite good.

Loki was still studying him silently. “Then we don’t need to discuss this any further.”

Tony sighed with relief. That conversation had actually gone a lot easier than he had expected it too. Everyone else he was forced to have it with lectured him about health effects and safety in the field and another list of things he didn’t actually care about. This was a refreshing change.

“So what are we doing today?” Tony asked, hoping that it would that easy to switch subjects.

Loki let him get away with it. “What do you want to do?”

Tony thought about it for a moment. His answer should really be that he wanted to go back to Earth and assure everyone (meaning Pepper) that he was okay. She would probably be very worried. A flash of guilt stabbed through him. He ignored it. Loki had said he needed to stay away from Midgard, and Tony surprisingly didn’t want to put him in any danger. He didn’t know who the Other was, but it didn’t sound like someone he wanted to meet very much. He wasn’t sure about when he started caring about what Loki needed, but now that he did, it had become his top priority. So if they couldn’t go back to Earth, what did he want to do?

“Do they have shopping? I want to go shopping.”

“They have markets, yes.”

“Wait. I don’t have any money,” Tony replied, exasperated with himself. That was a problem he had never come across before, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.

“I’ve already told you, they don’t have capitalism in Alfheim. That’s pretty specific to Midgard, actually. Other realms recognize it as…inefficient, if not downright cruel.”

Tony nodded. He had forgotten that already, even though it had been just a couple days ago that Loki had told him. It seemed like so much had happened since then. “So if you don’t spend money, how do you buy things?”

Loki sighed, but it seemed more fond than annoyed. “Some things are free to anyone who needs them, like lodgings and meals are here. Other things work on the barter system. You know what that is, yes?”

Tony managed not to roll his eyes, but just barely. “Of course I do. But I still don’t have anything with me to trade.”

Loki smiled. “I have plenty. That’s not something you need to worry about.”

“Okay.” Tony wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with that. He had never had someone buy something for him before. It was a weird concept, but he wasn’t quite offended. He was almost…charmed? The word fit better than he thought it would. He supposed it would be alright to have someone else take care of him, just this once. “Okay,” he repeated, “let’s do it.”

Loki nodded, finishing up his drink. They left the dining room, and then the building, walking out into the large plaza directly outside. Tony just stared for a moment, once again amazed by how beautiful everything looked in the dazzling sunlight. Loki grabbed his hand - the one with the bracelet, which made him smile despite himself - and rubbed his thumb lightly across Tony’s knuckles. The contact made him shiver.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Tony asked.

“I do,” Loki replied. “At least, I know where some of the markets are. Alfheim is a large realm, so there are many here, but I will take you to the ones I am most familiar with. I think there will be things there that catch your interest.”

Tony realized that he was excited. Buying things had always been something he liked to do, and the idea of doing it with someone’s else money (or the Alfheim equivalent) turned out to be just as exhilarating. “Let’s go.” He didn’t have time to prepare himself before the dizzying tilt of the world came over him again and they were suddenly in a new place. “Wow. Didn’t realize we were teleporting.”

Loki shrugged, apparently unconcerned. “It was the fastest way to get here.”

Looking around, Tony realized that the market was actually pretty close to what he had been expecting. He spun in a circle, taking everything in. They were in the middle of a long strip surrounded by merchants - some with stalls, some with their wares under things resembling open-fronted tents, and some simply set up on large tables. “Where do we start? Is there some kind of organization here?”

“Yes,” Loki answered, “but it’s something you really learn from experience. Luckily for you, I’ve spent my fair share of time here. Currently, we are in a section I think you’ll particularly like. Come.”

Loki began walking toward one of the tents, his hand still gripping Tony’s, so Tony trailed along obligingly. He wasn’t used to being led like this, but he couldn’t say he minded it that much, especially when it was Loki. Something about him just made Tony want to follow. They ended up at one of the tents close by. As they walked inside, Tony saw rows upon rows of shelves lined up across the tent walls. There was nothing obviously holding them up, and he was tempted to try to pull them off to see how they worked. He started moving toward one to do just that when he finally noticed the elf sitting at the back of the tent.

“Hello,” he remarked, smiling. “Are you looking for anything in particular?” He stood and gestured around the area. “As you can see, I have a wide variety of materials here.”

Tony took the chance to look around more carefully and actually pay attention to the items on the shelves. There were some that looked like simple sheets of metal, as well as some that looked like plastic and others that he couldn’t identify. He could recognize them as raw materials, meant for building, and he itched to take them to his lab to test them. How would they work? How would they differ from the things he already had on Earth?

“We’re looking for some sarblone,” Loki told the elf, drawing Tony’s attention back to the two of them. Tony didn’t recognize the word, but he assumed it was just one more thing that wouldn’t translate. “Do you have any?”

“Ah, of course,” the merchant answered. He headed to one of the shelves and tapped a spot in the middle, causing the shelf to slide out further into the room until it took up nearly the whole tent. It held several large globs of - was that Play-doh?

“Thank you,” Loki said, walking over to inspect them.

Tony followed, though Loki had let go of his hand once they entered the shop. The shelf - more like a table now, with how far it had expanded into the tent - was full of the globs of Play-doh like substance, in every color of the rainbow. “What is this?” Tony asked, turning to Loki.

“It’s sarblone. It’s a building material.” He picked up a red ball, squeezing it in his hand. His fingers left imprints in the sarblone, and he continued working it for a few moments. Tony watched as the thing slowly took form, realizing eventually that Loki was making it into a miniature version of the Iron Man suit.

Tony grinned. “You’re pretty good with your hands.” The smirk Loki gave him was full of innuendo and Tony felt himself flush at the implications. He was suddenly a teenager again, aroused by simple glances. He shook his head to clear it. “So this sarblone,” he said, refocusing, “it’s basically putty?” As impressive as it was that Loki could apparently mold it easily, it still didn’t seem that different from anything he could find on Earth, and he found himself almost disappointed.

“Not exactly,” Loki answered. “It’s malleable in the same way as putty, but it’s unique because once you heat it in a fire, the material changes to become a strong metal.”

Tony took a few moments to consider the possibilities. “How strong are we talking?”

Loki shrugged. “Stronger than anything on Earth, certainly. You can make it as thick or thin as you like and the strength will remain the same. You could do much with it.”

Tony thought of all the trinkets he could make with it, but his inventor’s brain couldn’t help thinking bigger - could he use it to build? Hell, if it was so strong, could he use it to improve his suits? “That’s actually really fucking cool,” he admitted.

Loki smiled. “We’ll take it all.”

The merchant’s eyebrows rose and Tony felt his own mirror the action. “What do you need all of that for?” Tony asked.

Loki turned to him, smile still in place. “I don’t. It’s a gift for you.”

By the time Tony had wrapped his head around that, the merchant was already speaking. “Gladly. What do you have to offer in exchange?”

Loki gestured, and a long golden comb appeared in his hand. It was encrusted with several blue stones. He held it out for the elf to examine. “Would this be appropriate?”

The merchant’s eyes widened, but he shuttered them quickly, offering a smile instead. “Yes, this is well worth it. Thank you.” He reached for the comb and Loki handed it over with a nod.

Loki made another gesture and all of the sarblone vanished, including the one he had shaped into the Iron Man suit. He began walking out of the tent, and Tony hurried to catch up. “How does that work, anyway?” Tony asked.

Loki looked back at him. “How does what work?”

“The disappearing act. And the appearing act, too. Where are you pulling all this stuff from?”

Loki stopped walking to turn to face him fully. “I transport things to and from a pocket universe that I keep solely for my possessions.”

Tony chewed on that for a moment. “Wait, what do you mean pocket universe? Are we talking like another realm or parallel realities or what?” Loki was an entire wealth of knowledge about the world that humans just didn’t have access to and Tony would be damned if he didn’t take full advantage of that.

Loki hummed as he thought about his answer. “Neither. There are the nine realms on the world tree, but there are also the spaces in between.” Something in his expression grew cold. “In general, it is not a place one wants to visit, but it does have it’s uses for storage.”

Tony noticed the sore spot like a thread he knew he shouldn’t pick at, but he couldn’t help himself. “Why would no one want to visit? What’s there?”

Loki was quiet for so long that Tony thought he wasn’t going to answer at all. “Things and creatures that I would not speak of,” he finally said. “Just know that they are terrible, and will leave you with crevices in your soul that you will never be rid of.”

Tony didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything. They stood in silence for a few moments before Loki began walking again, and Tony followed him wordlessly. Loki seemed lost in his own thoughts, his eyes shuttered and dark with something Tony didn’t understand, but he knew he wanted to pull him out of it. “So what’s next?”

Loki looked over at him as though he had forgotten Tony was there. “What would you like to see?”, he asked monotone.

Tony frowned. He recognized that something had upset Loki and that it probably had something to do with the world tree or whatever, but he didn’t know what to do about it. Normally, if a friend was having trouble like this he’d offer them a drink, but he didn’t exactly have the power to do that here and things were still a bit awkward where alcohol was concerned. He hesitantly put a hand on Loki’s shoulder, trying to offer comfort in an unfamiliar way. He faked a grin. “You found me something to build with, so how about a toy? There has to be something here that would keep my interest for a little while, right?”

Loki smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I can think of something. Do you mind walking?”

Tony shook his head. He wouldn’t say he minded teleporting in general, but it did leave him feeling a little queasy, and he wasn’t eager to do it again so soon after they had arrived here. So walking sounded good. “That’s fine.”

Loki pulled ahead slightly, just enough to gently dislodge Tony’s hand from his shoulder, and continued walking in silence. Tony frowned at his back but followed behind. After a few minutes, Tony gave up on waiting for Loki to speak and decided to just fill the silence himself. If there was one thing he was good at, it was mindless chatter. “So what’s up with the other realms? You said there are nine, right?” It was really a rhetorical question. When he had done his research into the Norse mythos he had studied up on the realms, but it wouldn’t hurt to give Loki the chance to teach him something.

Loki sighed, but fell back into step with him and gave Tony his attention. “That’s right. There’s Asgard, Midgard, Alfheim, Helheim, Nilfheim, Muspelheim, Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, and Jotunheim.” His lips curled as he named the last one in a look of unmistakable disgust and Tony bit his tongue to keep from asking about it. He wanted to know, but pulling Loki out of his funk was more important at the moment.

“Which one’s your favorite?” Tony asked to keep the conversation moving.

Loki looked sideways at him as he thought about his answer. “Many of them have their own benefits. Asgard is beautiful and the royal libraries are full of great knowledge, but…”, he trailed off. He shook his head. “I think Alfheim is my favorite.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Is that why you brought me here?”

Loki gave a smile; it was small, but it reached his eyes this time. “This was the first place I thought of to go. I suppose you could say I came here instinctively.”

Tony grinned and made a grab for Loki’s hand, swinging their arms lightly. Loki didn’t let go. “Are you sure you’re not just showing me your favorite vacation spot? You seem to like spoiling me.”

Loki laughed. “Yes, you are right about that.” He stopped walking and Tony looked around to realize they had actually traveled a fair distance while they talked. They were standing outside a shop that looked like a bunch of tables pushed together.

“Buying for a little one?” the elf manning the tables asked.

Loki laughed again, mirth actually dancing in his eyes this time, and Tony started to ask what was funny, but Loki spoke before he could. “We are certainly looking for a learning experience.” He picked up a golden headband that looked about five sizes too small for an adult head.

“Okay,” Tony said, “even ignoring the fashion nightmare that that thing is, there’s no way it would fit me.”

Loki pulled gently at the edges of the thing and it expanded. “It’s meant to stretch,” he said, voice unimpressed. “And it isn’t meant for fashion. It’s a learning tool.”

“Learning what?” Tony prompted.

“It’s an immersive educational experience. There are many different types, but this one teaches you about the different realms. It’s a lot simpler than traveling them. You put it on and it sends electrical impulses to your neurons to simulate exploration of the realms. It engages all of the senses so that you can have a full encounter without ever leaving your room. I thought it might be fitting given your interest.”

Tony had to admit that that was actually really thoughtful. He had just been asking about the realms to distract Loki, but the fact that he had latched onto it as something Tony cared about was sweet. And he did want to know more about them. “I like it,” he offered.

“We’ll take it,” Loki told the merchant. “And also these.” He picked up a sheet of paper with several repeating black symbols on it. It had a flame, a water droplet, a tree, and some squiggly lines that Tony guessed from context were meant to represent air.

“What are they?” Tony asked.

“I believe Midgard calls them tattoos,” Loki offered.

Tony laughed. “Like the kind you put on with water? I can get those for fifty cents in the lobby of a restaurant.” Not that he had ever spent as little as fifty cents on anything in his life.

“Ah, but these are made with magic.”

Tony considered the tattoos. “Magic, huh?”

“Yes, they’re imbued with a small amount. They’re meant for children who are just coming into their magic. Each one grants you control over the corresponding element for the time that it’s on your skin.”

“Control? What do you mean?”

Loki laid his palm out flat and a small flame appeared above it. He twisted his fingers and the flame grew higher, arching up in a dance. He closed his hand and when he re-opened it it was wet instead. “It’s basic elemental magic. Even you could use it.”

Tony wanted to be offended by the idea that he wouldn’t immediately be great at magic if he tried it, but he was too charmed with the idea of a cheat to get there to really be bothered. “Ok, that’s really cool.”

Loki moved his hand and a dagger appeared in it. It was silver, but encrusted with multi-colored jewels. “Is this acceptable?” Loki asked the merchant.

The merchant nodded. “Yes, this does nicely.” He took the dagger, and Loki vanished both the headband and the tattoos to his pocket dimension. “Thank you for your business.”

Loki nodded and walked away. Tony took his cue to leave as well. “So can I have one of those tattoo things now?”

Loki shook his head. “It’s not a good idea. You will need time and attention to practice your skills.”

“Okay,” Tony said, but even he could hear that it sounded like a pout.

“Let’s get lunch,” Loki told him, apparently ignoring his tone.

Tony’s stomach grumbled at the reminder of food. He hadn’t even realized he was hungry. How long had they been shopping? He looked up at the sun. It was still high overhead, but he knew nothing about what the day/night cycle was like on Alfheim, so that didn’t actually tell him anything. “Sounds good,” he agreed.

As they walked they talked about the wares they passed, Loki pointing out some things and their uses, while Tony asked questions on his own about other things. Eventually they came upon some food vendors and Loki got them something to eat. It was free, just like he had said. He vanished it to his pocket universe, then turned back to smile gingerly at Tony. “Shall we go?”

“We shall,” he agreed, offering his hand. Loki took it and everything twisted before they were suddenly in an open field, much like the one they had been in when they first arrived in Alfheim. The difference was that instead of endless flowing plains, there were trees above them - beautiful and tall, offering shade from the blinding sun. Loki led him to the nearest one, then made a motion and a large blanket appeared in his hand. He laid it gently down on the ground and gestured for Tony to sit. “Are we eating here?”

“Yes,” Loki answered. He made another motion with his hand and the food they had purchased appeared. He laid it down on the blanket and gave a light pulling pressure on Tony’s hand to nudge him to sit. Tony obliged, letting the cool breeze of the tree above wash over him. This was nice. Loki let go of his hand and sat across from him, smiling. Loki produced a glass of scotch and handed it over to him. “Drink.”

Tony took it, gladly letting the liquid pour down his throat. He (always) wanted more, but he didn’t want to ruin this good day by asking. Instead, he gave a grateful smile. “Thanks, Loki.”

“You’re welcome, Tony.” The way his name sounded in Loki’s mouth sent a warmth spreading out through his chest and into his stomach. Or maybe that was just the scotch.

Loki quickly explained the food in front of them: it was picnic food, meant to be eaten with your hands. Loki showed him how to make a sandwich with something that only vaguely resembled bread, and Tony copied him, finding that he liked the taste. They chewed in silence for awhile before Tony offered, “It’s been a nice day.” And it had. There was the brief blip in the middle where Loki had been triggered by god knew what, but it had passed fairly quickly, and overall, things had been good.

He looked up from his food to find Loki giving him a soft smile. “I’ve enjoyed myself as well.”

They ate in silence for a minute, enjoying the weather and the taste of good food on their tongues. Finally, Loki looked up, something wistful on his face. “Tony, do you want me to take you home?”

Tony froze, a bite of food halfway to his mouth. Where had this come from. Did Loki not want him anymore? Had he done something wrong? He searched feverishly over the past few days trying to come up with what the problem could be. Was it his alcoholism? The thing with the spaces in the tree? Had he done something he didn’t realize to much up Alfheim culture? “I don’t understand,” he admitted. “What did I do?”

Loki sighed. “No, you haven’t done anything wrong.” Tony waited for him to say something else. If he hadn’t done anything wrong, why was Loki saying this? Why now? “It’s just that I’m not sure I’ve been very fair to you. When SHIELD showed up in your tower I teleported you away with me into another realm. Since then I’ve been feeding you Alfheim’s food and showing you their sights, but I haven’t once asked if you want to be here.” He looked apologetic. “I do not want to force you into anything you don’t want to do.”

“No, it’s okay,” Tony re-assured. “I-” But he stopped, because he didn’t know what to say next. Did he want to go home? There were things and people there that he couldn’t just abandon. And he had know Loki for two weeks. He couldn’t very well give up his life to run around the realms with him. What about Pepper? They had been broken up for ages, but he still considered her a good friend. And what about Iron Man? He couldn’t just give up on being a hero. So he did want to go back to Earth. But…he stared at Loki. He wanted to stay here as well. “I don’t know,” he offered, when he couldn’t find anything better.

Loki nodded. “I understand. Alfheim is a fascinating place and as a man of learning I can imagine you would be loathe to leave it. There is much to learn here.”

Tony shook his head. “No, that’s not it.” Sure, he could spend weeks in the temples just soaking up their knowledge, and probably longer in the markets taking in all there was to see, but that wasn’t the appeal of staying off of Earth. The appeal was sitting right in front of him. Even as an elf, Loki had a certain glow about him. Tony wanted to bask in that light.

“Then what is it?” Loki asked. He made another sandwich for himself and Tony took a bite of his own, having forgotten it was still in his hand.

“I like being here with you,” he confessed.

“Ah.” The noise was more a soft exhalation than a word, but Tony caught the wonder in it all the same. “I like being with you as well.”

Tony took another bite, chewing slowly. He swallowed. “You know it’s been…” he hesitated. “A long time, since I’ve been with…” He trailed off for a moment. “Someone serious.” That wasn’t entirely true. He had been with Pepper, and that was as serious as it had really gotten since Obadiah. He really meant that he hadn’t been with a dom. He hoped that Loki would understand the implication behind it.

Loki just nodded. “Does that mean you see me as someone serious?”

Tony inwardly cursed. He hadn’t meant to give that much away. Talking about feelings had never been his strong suit, and that obviously wasn’t going to start now. “What do you see us as?” he deflected.

Loki hummed. “It’s more of how I see you. You are fascinating. The most brilliant mortal I’ve ever come across. I find that I can not get enough of you.”

Tony let the silence stretch. He was used to be complimented, but never with quite this much reverence. It was almost heady, hearing it coming from a god. He didn’t know what to say in the face of such sincerity. Nothing he could come up with seemed right, so he stayed quiet.

“Do you want another drink?” Loki asked.

“God, yes,” Tony answered quickly.

Loki conjured two glasses for them. “Scotch?”

“What are you drinking?”

“A sweet wine for a sweet meal.” He smiled.

Tony matched his smile, his lips curving upward of their own accord. “Then I’ll have what you’re having.”

Loki nodded, making a bottle of amber liquid appear, and pouring some in each glass. Tony took his and sipped it slowly. It was sweet, just like Loki had said, but alcoholic enough to burn on the way down. He nursed the glass as a form of comfort.

Loki took a sip of his own. “We can stay here for awhile, if you wish. Not indefinitely, but…” he trailed off. Tony was left once again wondering what he was running from and opened his mouth to ask, but realized that would ruin the mood, so he shut it again, taking another drink to cover the motion.

“Well we obviously can’t stay forever, unless you have some kind of magic sunscreen,” he settled for eventually. Loki raised an eyebrow and Tony was suddenly unsure if Asgardians even got sunburns, but Loki didn’t comment, so he continued on. “Speaking of magic, can we go play with the new toys?”

“Of course,” Loki agreed. He downed his drink and Tony did the same. Then Loki gestured and the food disappeared, leaving only the blanket they were sitting on. Loki stood up, offering Tony his hand, and Tony took it, letting Loki pull him up. The two of them stepped off the blanket and then Loki made it disappear as well. “Are you ready?”

Tony hesitated for a moment. Teleportation wasn’t something he was sure should ever be done on a full stomach, but it was either that or walk god knew how far, so he supposed he would just have to deal with it. “Yeah.”

There was a rush, a twist, and then they were back in their hotel room. Tony didn’t stumble, and he didn’t chuck up his lunch, which he considered to be a success. A look to the side showed that Loki had deposited their purchases down on the bed. Tony stared at them for a moment, trying to decide what he wanted to play with first. He knew he wanted to wait until he was in his workshop to deal with the sarblone; there was just so much to be done with it that he wanted JARVIS there to help with. He eyed the virtual reality headband but if it was anything like teleporting, he was going to need a few minutes. That left the tattoos.

He picked one up at random, noticing it was the one with the water droplet. “So how do these work?” he asked, turning back around to see Loki staring at him with a smile. He had dropped his elf form and Tony looked down to realize he was himself again as well. Wearing the second skin had become so natural to him that he hadn’t even noticed the change.

“Come to the bathing area, and I’ll show you,” Loki answered, drawing him back out of his thoughts. He started to walk that way, and Tony followed behind, the tattoo still in his hand. Loki sat at the edge of the bath, crossing his legs beneath him, and Tony mirrored the movement. “Let me see it.”

Tony handed the tattoo over and Loki grabbed his hand to hold it still. Loki’s hand was cool, but Tony’s skin somehow still felt warmer with the contact. Loki didn’t seem to notice. He took the tattoo and pressed it image down on the back of his hand, smoothing the paper down across his skin. He tapped it lightly in the center and the paper disappeared, leaving only the symbol of the water droplet on Tony’s hand.

“Okay, that’s pretty cool,” Tony admitted.

Loki smiled. “I don’t think that will be your favorite thing about it.” Tony just grinned, ready for Loki to be proved right. Loki, still holding on to Tony’s hand, dipped it gently into the water.

“Won’t it wash off?”

Loki laughed. “No. It will stay on for a few hours, regardless of what you do to it. You could cut your arm off and it would still remain.” Loki brought their joined hands up so that they were just under the surface of the water. “Focus on the feel of the water in your hand,” he instructed, dropping Tony’s hand. Tony did so, trying to feel some inherent magic in it. He couldn’t. “Now, think ‘up’.” He did it, and suddenly the water shot up in a stream that went higher than his head. Tony laughed, breathless with delight.

“Did I do that?”

Loki nodded. “Go on, you can do it again.” Tony repeated the process, thrilled when the water rose again. “With practice, you can gain more finesse over it.”

“How?” Tony asked, still playing with it.

“It’s all linked to your intention. If you tell the water to rise, it will. If you tell it to go gently, it will do that also.”

Tony tried it, but the water still leapt up quickly. He frowned, but tried again. This time it went up just as quickly, but it went sideways as well, dropping back down into the bath beside them instead of into his hand. “I can’t do it,” he said, frustration quickly getting the better of him.

“You can,” Loki soothed. “But you must be calm. Intent and emotions are inherently connected, and the magic reacts to them both. The water goes high when you’re excited; it goes sideways when you’re agitated. Try again.”

Tony took a few deep breaths before giving it another attempt. This time the water rose gently and came back to rest directly in his hand. He smiled. “This is amazing. What’s next?”

“Normally, beginners would practice that for awhile. When they get more adept, they can move on to harder things, like braiding the water, or making shapes.” Tony focused, and took a couple more deep breaths. A long oval grew gently above his hands, and a moment later, two small circles formed at the base. Tony laughed. Loki raised an eyebrow. “Is that a penis?”

“Yep,” Tony replied, still laughing.

“You are a child,” Loki chastised, but his lips quirked up.

Tony brought a hand up to his chest and did his best offended face. “But Loki, I thought you liked my penis!”

This time Loki did laugh, a low chuckle. “Unfortunately, we haven’t had much of a chance to become acquainted.”

Tony grinned, changing his expression into the one that had gotten him laid hundreds of times. “We could change that.”

Loki’s smile changed into something sharper. “Oh, could we now?”

Tony looked him in the eyes. “Unless you’re scared.” He let the water penis fall only to flick water in Loki’s face.

Loki blinked twice, so quick that Tony almost missed it, before he was slamming Tony down on his back on the floor beside the bath. Tony barely had time to register the hand behind his head, keeping him from hitting it too hard before he felt the ache in his back from the impact. Loki brought their faces close together before speaking, his voice low, “You seem to have forgotten who you’re speaking to.” He looked considering for a moment. “Hands above your head,” he settled on.

Tony bit back a moan at just that small command. He forced himself to make eye contact again, giving his best bratty smile. “Make me.”

Loki looked shocked for a moment before he schooled his expression into a slow smile. “Oh, Anthony, you are going to pay for that.”

Chapter Text

“Make me,” Tony said with his best I'm-Tony-Stark-fuck-you smile.

Loki's expression morphed from shock that anyone would dare question his general authority to a darkly delighted grin. “Oh, Anthony, you are going to pay for that.”

Lust curled low in his stomach in a way he hadn't felt in years. It was a feeling only a dom could provide - lost and found at once, endangered and protected. He felt like he was in the eye of a storm and he was desperate to walk into the lightning. Oh, how he needed this. He needed it like air, like alcohol, like a brush fire needed rain. Like - "Oh."

Loki's hand snaked under his shirt to caress his chest, fingers firm and sure, running a finger over a nipple which made his cock twitch. He drifted down his stomach, catching lightly in the hair above his cock, moving farther until it drifted just beneath his pants, and he thought he might lose his mind, maybe come in his pants in a way he hadn't done since he was a teenager. And then Loki pulled his hand back, leaving Tony bereft and trying not to reach up to bring him back down where he wanted him.

"I said, hands above your head." Tony obeyed this time, unable, unwilling to do anything else. His arms moved of their own accord until they were stretched above him, hands clasped together. "That's a good boy."

Tony thrilled at the praise, biting his lip to keep from actually whimpering. God, it had been too long since a dom had said that to him. Loki rewarded him by bringing his hand back, tracing it from Tony's elbows to his wrists, then grabbing them roughly and holding him tight. Tony shuddered, trying to hold in a moan. He couldn't give in this easily. He was supposed to fight this, he knew he was -

Loki used his other hand to pull Tony's shirt up past his chest and brought his mouth down to a hardened nipple, setting his lips around it and sucking in a way that Tony could only describe as sinful. He flicked his tongue over it, then bit down, just on the right side of pain, and Tony did moan, unable to hold it back any longer. Loki raised his head long enough to smirk at him before moving back down to the other nipple and repeating the process.

He licked a long stripe down his stomach then came up to meet his lips. Tony opened his mouth eagerly and Loki pushed his tongue inside, exploring. Then Loki’s hand snaked down between his legs to finally, finally open his pants. He slipped those and his boxers down over his hips, just enough so that he could pull his cock free. The moment Loki touched him his breath came out in a harsh stutter and he thought he might never be able to breathe again. But then Loki wrapped a hand around him that was somehow already slick and when he twisted Tony took a deep gulp of air like he had been without it for too long. Loki began moving his hand and Tony’s hips jerked up off the floor, desperate to get further into that grip. He kept moving until the entire length was slick, then pulled back both hands, leaving Tony touch starved on the floor. He gestured, and Tony’s clothes disappeared.

“Wha-” Tony stared up at him, trying to come to terms with the fact that he was hard and aching and suddenly not being touched. This was not what he had signed up for.

Loki stared down at him for a few moments wordlessly, like he was searching for something but he didn’t know what it was. Tony stared at his face, trying to parse the emotions there. Before he could, Loki stood. “On your knees.”

And then there was less thinking and more desire as he pushed himself up, settling on his knees with his hands clasped behind his back the way Ob- He stopped. His heart beat sped up and he felt something unpleasant twist in his stomach. But no, this wasn’t about him.

Loki grabbed him by the hair, not too hard, just enough to draw his focus. “Look at me.” Tony did, and he felt himself calm down. Obie wasn’t here. This was Loki, and he was better, and this felt… great. He stared at Loki, letting himself enjoy the way he looked, his regal posture and the intensity in his eyes. He let it ground him. “Good boy.”

Tony let his breath even out again, bringing all his focus back to Loki. The praise, at least, wasn’t tainted by Obie. Everything twisted and then suddenly there was something soft beneath him. All he could see was black. What? After a moment he caught up, realized that he was on the bed, face down, staring into the covers. He began to push on his arms to turn over, but a weight settled over him and he realized Loki was on top of him. Loki’s lips brushed against his ear. “I think,” he purred, “that I’m going to tie you down and have my way with you. Would you like that?”

Tony whimpered. “Yes, sir. God, yes, please.”

Loki ran a hand down his spine. “I could,” he continued, “do it with magic. Put you any way I like and then make it so that you can’t move a muscle. Just laying there helpless to my whims.” Tony felt him smile against the shell of his ear. “But, I think you’ll look pretty in real bindings.”

Tony felt something soft slip down his back, tracing the path where Loki’s hand had gone before. The sensation made him shiver, anticipation curling in his groin. Loki pulled his arms together behind him, showing Tony how he wanted him to stay – arms pulled parallel to each other, palms turned opposite but touching falling just above his ass. Hands in place, the soft fabric began to wind it’s way around his wrists and arms in loops. It felt like it was forming a pattern, something similar to shibari, but the firm press of the material against his skin distracted him from the image. The twisting stopped and he found his arms immobile. The harsh pants of his breath slowed to a more even rhythm, and he realized distantly that if he wasn't careful he could be in subspace just from this. Christ, but it had been too long. Loki quickly distracted him by pulling him up by the shoulders so that he was sitting back on his feet. Loki spread his legs, and Tony felt himself get harder at the thought of how exposed he must look. The binding on his arms tugged and he soon realized they were wrapping around his ankles as well, connecting his limbs so that he couldn't slump forward. He could feel wet precome dribbling from the slit of his cock.

"Now isn't that nice?" Loki mused once he was finished, hands rubbing over Tony's bound flesh to check his handiwork. He was apparently satisfied with what he found as the touch left Tony's skin. Tony mourned the loss of his touch for a moment before he reappeared in front of him, the bed dipping with his added weight. Loki brought his face close and Tony could see how blown his pupils were, the green nearly completely eclipsed by the black of his pupils. Tony was sure that he looked much the same. "How does it feel?" Loki asked.

And he was lost for a moment, unsure how he was supposed to answer that. It felt... Safe. Consuming, like he could lose himself in this and come out as a different version of himself, newer, better in all the ways he didn't know he needed. It felt necessary. Like a pull on his soul that he had ignored for way too long. He couldn't answer the question. “I need -”

“I know what you need,” Loki growled, pushing further into his space. “And I will give it to you.”

He brought their lips together again, a crash of their mouths together, his tongue pushing in, claiming, mapping out all the areas that Tony didn't know could feel like this again. He tugged against the bindings but there was nowhere to go. He didn't want to. Loki pulled back and he gulped in air, not even aware that he hadn't been breathing. Loki's own breath was ragged in front of him. He tried to focus on the way his chest moved, but he couldn't. Everything was swimming, coalescing into lust and need; he needed Loki's hands on him, needed -

And then suddenly they were. One hand on his throat, gripping, not so tight he couldn't breathe, but tight enough to make him dizzy (but oh, that wasn't the loss of air at all, was it?), harsh enough to make his blood sing. His other hand trailed down his chest, then over his ribs, and Tony thought he might touch his bones, crush them, and that was fine, it was his, all his, and then his hand was lower, lower, and when it touched his cock Tony stopped breathing again.

Loki brushed his finger over the slit, smearing the precome that had gathered there, letting his fist travel down over the head and down, down until he reached the base. Tony gulped in air, hardly aware of himself, knowing only this moment, only this touch, only - “Loki.”

Loki hummed, continuing to move his hand, slowly, setting Tony's nerves ablaze. “Tell me what you want.”

Tony didn't know how. He didn't know how to breathe, how to speak, how to think, how to experience anything past the pure sensation he felt. He tried to force the words out. “Please.”

Loki smiled, dark and dangerous. “I gave you an order.”

He was suddenly hyper aware of the ropes around his arms and ankles, pressing into his flesh, sure that they were leaving indentations that he would be proud of. They felt tighter, harsher, and he moaned into the sensation. He tried to speak again. “I want -” What did he want? Those fingers, pressing into his skin, around his cock (more, faster, please), Loki's mouth, everywhere, his own mouth tracing the lines of his dom's body, fingers, and Loki's cock in his - “I want to please you, sir.”

Loki's smile spread. “Good boy.” His hand sped up, slick and sure over Tony's length. The hand on his throat moved back into his hair, gripping and pulling his head back. Loki took advantage of the new position, pressing his lips to Tony's throat, gently, a cascade of kisses from his ear to his collarbone. He repeated the set, stopping to suck, drawing blood to the surface, leaving Tony to gasp and try to buck up into the hand on his cock. The ropes holding him did not give him the chance.

Loki changed the angle of his hand, twisting on the upstroke so that his thumb rubbed perfectly over the head and then there was the white hot wash of pain as he bit down on his throat, hard enough that he knew distantly that it woud bruise, and he whimpered with the pain. Loki pulled back and laved his tongue over the bite as if in apology, and Tony could hear him breathing hard against his ear. “You don't know what you make me want to do to you.”

The hand in his hair let go and his head fell forward, loose and uncontrolled. Loki drug his hand down his chest, nails digging in, sharp lines of pain that made his cock throb under his hand. He let out another whimper. Loki moved faster and his entire world narrowed down into his cock, the slick, hot, pressure there, and he was so close. The world was going to explode and he was ready, ready -

"Do you want to come?"

He could feel the crest of his orgasm about to wash over him and he forced himself to focus on getting words out. "Yes, please, sir, I -"

Loki pulled back down, and wrapped a tight hand around the base of his cock, cutting off his orgasm. "No. Not until I say so."

Tony groaned and bit back what might have been a sob. "Fuck." He tried to regain control of his breathing, his heartbeat drumming wildly in his chest. "Fucking hell."

Loki grinned, shark like. "Is something wrong?" he asked, all false innocence.

Tony glared at him. "Fuck you."

Loki laughed, and he felt the ropes tighten again, and okay, that was definitely intentional. The length between his wrists and his ankles shortened so that his back was bowed backward and he forced himself to breathe through the pull of it.

Loki's smile was sharp, but his tone was low and pleased. "I'm glad to see I haven't taken all the fight out of you just yet. You look good with some fire in you."

"Bet I'd look good with something else in me too," Tony quipped, trying to pretend he had control of himself.

"You would," Loki conceded. "But you will get what I give you. Do you understand me?"

Tony gritted his teeth, considering his answer. He knew he wasn't in charge here, knew that fighting back wouldn't get him anything, and yet - "I don't know. So far all I've seen is that you can't even make me come."

Loki just laughed, and the ropes got tighter again. His back arched painfully, and it got harder to breathe, but he still couldn't help the moan that came out. He was torn between apologizing and pushing harder, pressing against his bounds just to see what he would get back. In the end he just stayed silent, focusing on keeping his breaths even.

Then Loki's hand was back on his throat, squeezing, clearly a threat. "You have no idea what I can do."

That sounded dangerous, and Tony couldn't stop, couldn't help himself. "Prove it."

Loki came in close to his ear and muttered, "I will make you beg for me, Tony Stark." And Tony knew it was true, knew that he would give up everything for this man, and he would revel in it. He was eager, desperate for it, and his cock throbbed, still held tight in Loki's grip. It didn't go unnoticed. Loki began to move again, slowly, teasing his fingers over the sensitive flesh. "I know how much you need this," he breathed against his ear. "I can feel how desperate you are."

Tony keened, and he knew he should hate himself for the sound, but Loki's hand felt so good moving against him that it was getting hard to think again. Instead, all his attention was on that hand on him, moving faster now, but still gentle, caressing him instead of giving him the pressure he needed.

"Tell me what you want," Loki repeated.

Tony closed his eyes tightly, because damn it all, the answer was the same. "I want to please you, sir."

"So good," Loki murmured. He rewarded him by speeding up his hand, gripping harder and swiping his thumb over the head. He brought his other hand down his chest, his fingers flitting over a nipple. He worked the nub between two fingers and squeezed it, increasing the pressure until Tony gasped, then letting up.

He made the hand on his cock slick again, keeping the skin there from getting raw, and brought his other hand down to cradle his balls. He rolled them in his fingers and Tony felt them tighten as he got close to another orgasm. He wanted, and a moan caught in his throat as he chased the feeling. He got closer, closer, and he very nearly hit the peak before Loki held his hand tightly at the base, cutting off his pleasure again. He panted, trying to move his hips, but he only reminded himself of the ropes that held him, taking control of his own body from him.

“Fuck. I -” But he wouldn't beg. Not yet. He was Tony Stark, and he could take a little edging. Except, a little voice reminded him, Loki could keep doing this as long as he wanted to. He could pull Tony apart piece by piece until there was nothing left but the whisper of Loki's name on his lips, and oh, Loki would get what he wanted in the end. There wasn't really any point in fighting him, was there? He wanted to give in, needed it, needed -

Loki pulled his hand away completely, and a whimper slipped out of Tony's mouth. Loki smiled, softer, but no less dangerous. “Worry not, Tony. I told you, I know what you need, and I will give it to you.”

And then Loki leaned down and Tony's world went white as a smooth tongue darted out to taste him. He took just the head into his mouth and if Tony could have bucked his hips he would have. He needed that wet, hot mouth on him. As it was, he was held still, left only to tremble as Loki rolled his tongue against the slit, taking his time to taste the precome gathered there. Then he sucked, gentle, and Tony thought he was going to lose his mind. He had had plenty of blowjobs before, but always from subs, who were eager to please and dove into the task with a neediness that was nothing like this. This was slow, and meant to torment. Even with his mouth on his cock, Loki was still completely in control.

Tony panted as he moved his lips further down the shaft, sucking as he pulled back up. He repeated the motion, going down further each time until the whole of Tony's cock was in his mouth and Tony could feel it hit the back of his throat. Loki didn't stop, instead swallowing around his length. Tony let out a long moan as he continuined to suck him from root to tip, working his tongue against the sensitive vein on the underside. Loki's hands explored the rest of his body, moving from his neck to his chest and across his ribs.

His hands were moving over his shoulders when the sensation changed. Tony wasn't sure of it at first, it was so subtle, but after a moment he was sure – his fingers were getting colder. They stopped once they got to a temperature that was uncomfortable, but not painful. Loki ran the now chilled fingers down his arms, over his stomach, and back up to his nipples, pinching them lightly. The cold made it more intense, and Tony felt himself getting lost in the feeling. The contrast between the warm mouth on his cock and the cool fingers against his nipples only served to make him more aroused.

He heard a high keen come from his mouth, but he had no control over it. He could only feel. Loki hummed around his length and he imagined he could feel the vibrations all the way up through his spine. One of Loki's hands came down to grasp at his balls again, and he knew he was close. He could only hope that Loki would let him come this time. He wanted it so badly, needed it more than anything he could imagine. He would have given anything just for the orgasm he felt approaching. Loki must have known, because he sped up, moving his mouth faster up and down his cock. He gave a light scrape of teeth and Tony gave a cry, ready to give himself up to his orgasm, rocketing higher and closer to the feeling until -

Until Loki stopped, cutting him off from coming again. Tony felt something wet on his face and realized that he actually was crying. It was so much, so intense, and he wasn't sure that he could take it. Loki pulled back up until he was level with his face, licking his lips. “I could devour you,” he said, low and husky. His hair was mussed, and Tony wanted to run his hands through it, maybe force his head back down, but the ropes left him immobile. He relished the bondage as much as he hated it.

“Fuck. Please let me come, sir.” His voice come out ragged, more of a whimper than words. His whole body ached, from his hypersensitive cock to the arch of his back and his bound wrists and ankles. “Please.”

Loki placed several kisses up his neck, ending up against the shell of his ear. “I could leave you like this, you know. Hard, and desperate to get off. Tied up, unable to move even to relieve yourself.”

Tony moaned, more turned on by the idea than he liked to admit. He needed, needed this so bad, but he knew he was helpless in Loki's hands. And, he realized, he was okay with that. He had craved this loss of control for so long, and it was just as good as he had imagined. Better than with Obie, better than when it had come with fear, better than he could have hoped.

“You look divine like this,” Loki murmured. “It would be so easy to lose control.” Loki brought a hand to trail down his chest, dragging his nails down the skin there. Tony could feel blood welling up in the spaces his fingers left behind. He cried out at the feeling. It was so good. Loki took a deep breath and stilled for a moment, but his hand was already moving back toward Tony's cock before he could notice.

He stroked him softly but quickly and Tony was soon lost in the movement of his hand. “Please, sir, please, I -”

And then words failed him as his orgasm washed over him. The world narrowed down to an explosion of feeling and he trembled through it, Loki stroking him gently until he came down. The world felt light, and he thought distantly that this must be what clouds felt like. After a moment he realized the ropes on his wrists and ankles had been undone and he slumped forward, leaning into Loki's hold. Loki held him, and Tony breathed in the scent of him – something like apples and winter. There were no thoughts in his head. All that mattered was Loki's touch on him.

The world went sideways and he realized that Loki was laying him down in the bed, coming down to wrap himself around him and pulling the covers up over him. Head against his chest, he could feel Loki's heartbeat, fast but steady, and he let the rhythm of it lull him toward sleep. He drifted, only aware of Loki against him, the thudding of his pulse, the pressure of his arms, the soft puffs of breath against his hair.

Sleep crept close to him and he welcomed it's embrace until he felt Loki shift away from him. He unwound his arms and quietly got up from the bed. An annoying buzz of thought pierced through Tony's calm. Where was he going? Had he done something wrong? He opened his eyes to see Loki shutting the door behind him. He slowly sat up, dread forming a knot in his stomach. It was suddenly hard to breathe, and the arc reactor ached, and this was all wrong. Thought began to come back to him, too quickly, leaving burning trails in its wake.

What the fuck was going on? Loki had done this, had taken him down, and then what, just left? It had to be something he had done. His mind whirled over the entire scene, trying to figure out what it had been. Had he said something wrong? Was he too bratty? Nausea caused his stomach to roll and he had to slow his breath to keep from vomiting. He could still remember the way it felt to float down into subspace, so peaceful, but that was far away now. This was more like freefall, and there was no Iron Man suit here to catch him.

He needed a drink. But he couldn't have one, because he was here alone, in another realm, having a drop and he couldn't fucking breathe. An image of Obie threatened to push at his mind and he shoved it down. He had come here willingly. He had trusted Loki. Trusted him to take care of him, to keep him safe, and he had just left without a word, and -

And then the door was opening and Loki was stepping back through, and Tony was on his feet, anger coursing hot through him. “What the fuck, Loki? Seriously?”

Something flitted across Loki's face for just a moment before he cooled his expression. “I apologize; I didn't think my stepping out would wake you. I had important business to attend to.”

“Important – I trusted you. I let you take me down and then you abandoned me. Do you have any idea how that feels?” The world felt wrong and suddenly he wished he could hit something. Loki was looking like a very good target.

Loki's face softened into something like concern. “Anthony, truly, I am sorry. I didn't know -”

Tony cut him off. “You didn't know? So what, you thought that after all that I wouldn't need support, I wouldn't need my dom to -” He realized he was crying, and that stopped his thought in its tracks. He suddenly felt like a child throwing a tantrum and he hated himself for it. “You know what? It's fine. It was my fault for trusting you. I knew better.” He had thought Loki was different, different than Obie, safe, and this was where it had gotten him. He wouldn't be making that mistake again.

“Tony, my darling, come sit down.” The words weren't an order. In fact, they were soft, meant to soothe, and surprisingly they worked. Tony felt something breaking inside him, a barrier he hadn't even known was up, and he wanted nothing more than to be in Loki's arms. He came to sit at the edge of the bed. Loki followed him, sitting gingerly down beside him. “May I hold you?”

Tony felt small, like a child. He almost wished for the anger back. “Yes.”

Loki's arms folded around him and Tony leaned into him, burying his face into his chest. Loki rubbed his back slowly and Tony cried harder, a release of emotion instead of a flood. Everything began to even out, his heart beat slowing down and the rush in his mind slowing to a more manageable level. Eventually, the tears stopped, but he stayed where he was, up against Loki like he was a lifeline.

“I'm sorry, Tony.” Tony sighed out a breath. The words sounded true coming out of his mouth and Tony knew that they were.

“You can't just leave me like that.” His voice wasn't as even as he would have liked, but Loki had already seen him vulnerable, so it didn't really matter. “I needed you.”

“I know,” Loki muttered. “I see that now.”

Tony let out a small laugh, even though there was nothing funny about it. “You really don't know anything about having a sub, do you?”

“I'm afraid I don't,” Loki admitted. He was slow to continue. “On Asgard, we're taught that the kind of power we hold over subs is dangerous. I just didn't know it was dangerous in this way.”

“That's not -” He took a breath, trying to figure out his words before he continued. “Subspace – do you know what that is?”

“I've read about it, yes.”

“Well, it's a very emotional experience. I let go completely. I am dependent on you.” Something inside him still twisted at that. “I need you to stay with me.”

“Okay, Tony. I'm sorry. I won't do that again.” Tony believed him. “What can I do for you?”

He was tired, all out of energy since the anger subsided. “Can we just sleep?”

Loki sighed beside him. “I'm afraid not. I received word from a friend. He has reason to believe the Other knows I am on this realm. We need to leave tonight.”

That got Tony's attention and he pulled away to look up at him. “How? We haven't been out of this room without our disguises.”

Loki shook his head. “The Other has powers that you wouldn't understand.”

Tony didn't like being told he couldn't understand something – the genius in him railed against it – but he let it go for now. “Why are you running from him?”

“He -” He hesitated for a moment. “He works for someone else. Someone who I never want to see again.”

Tony tried to work out what someone like Loki, a god, could possibly be afraid of. “What did he do to you?”

Loki was quiet for a long moment, as though considering his answer. “Pretending to be a dom may come easily to you,” he started, and Tony pushed down the urge to tell him he was wrong. “But being forced to submit is not...it's a different experience,” he said with a sneer.

Tony tried to get his head around that. He had taken on the role of a dom, but he had done it willingly, had stepped into it fully intending to fool the world. He tried to imagine what it would feel like to be forced into that. And for a dom... He could only assume that it would be horrible. Submitting to him came so naturally, but for Loki... He thought he was beginning to understand.

“I will never treat you the way he treated me,” Loki continued unbidden. The words sounded like a promise.

“Okay,” Tony said. “Okay.” He knew there was more to this, more to be talked about and explored, but he also knew it wasn't the time. “When do we need to leave?”

“Now. We really shouldn't have stayed this long, but I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“Okay. Then let's get ready.” He stood, finally steady on his feet. “Where are my clothes?”

Loki gestured and then a new outfit was lying neatly on the bed. It consisted of underwear, pants that looked like they would be loose on him, and a dark shirt. “These will help you blend in where we're going,” Loki explained.

Tony began putting on the clothes. “And where's that?”

“Svartalfheim.”

Tony struggled to remember the realms and what he had learned about him. He hadn't had a chance to use the new toy Loki had bought him to really get more information, so he was relying on what Loki had already told him. “Land of the dwarves?”

“That's right. They're master craftsman, and there's something I wish to have crafted for you.”

Tony had finished getting dressed and looked up at him with a smile. “Another present for me?”

Loki smiled back. “Yes. This one is special.” Tony was about to ask for more details, but Loki continued before he could. “Time to go.”

Tony nodded. “Okay.”

Loki reached for him and grabbed his hand. Then the familiar feeling of teleportation washed over him and they were gone.

Chapter Text

Tony's first impression of Svartalfheim was that it was hot. Compared to the temperate climate of Alfheim, this felt more like his workshop. So it wasn't unfamiliar, really. He started to ask Loki about it, but once he got a good look around he realized he didn't need to. There was something large all around them, with what appeared to be glowing orbs stationed at regular intervals against the walls. He originally thought it was just an oddly shaped building, but then he saw what looked like lava streaming down a nearby wall. Not that he had ever seen lava in person, of course. But it certainly looked like it based on what he had seen in movies.

He decided to ask. “Uh, Loki?” Loki turned to him. “Is that lava?”

A smile spread across Loki's lips like he had asked something funny, though it was thin. “Yes. We're inside a volcano.”

Tony nodded. Of course. “Uh-huh. That makes sense.” It wasn't any weirder than any of the other things he had seen over the past few days, starting with an alien invasion in New York and ending with the magical world of Alfheim. “Why are we in a volcano?”

This time Loki did laugh. “This is where the dwarves live. They work in the forge, so they need the heat to build.”

Right. Loki had mentioned that they were here to have something made. He looked around again, this time paying more attention to his surroundings. They were at the door to what looked like a set of rooms. “So is this it? The forge?”

Loki shook his head. “No. This is some of the guest quarters. The dwarves get a lot of traffic here from people wanting dwarven made armor and weapons. It costs a lot, but it's the best you'll get.”

“Can I see the actual forge?”

“Yes, eventually. But right now it's late evening, and the dwarf I want to see won't be back at work until tomorrow morning. So for now, we rest.”

At the mention of sleep, Tony's eyelids drooped. He hadn't realized that he was tired, but after that round of sex and the resulting subdrop, he was actually pretty exhausted. It had been the middle of the night when they had left, so it was probably a good thing that it was late here as well. Though that did lead to more questions. “What's the time exchange like across the realms? It was pretty much the same from Earth to Alfheim, right?” He seemed like he remembered that, but it seemed like so long ago now that he couldn't be sure.

“It doesn't work like that,” Loki explained. “The entire concept of days and nights is different across the realms. The suns are different. The idea of time itself is different in some cases. And here, the time of day isn't based on the rotation of the sun at all. Since life exists down within these volcanoes, there'd be no point.”

“Okay. So how do they keep up with it?”

“They have timekeeping devices much like your clocks on Earth.”

“Yeah, but I mean, what are they based on? If there's no sun?”

Loki shot him a look, shaking his head. “Your clocks aren't based on the sun, either. It's just a set time frame. Hours, minutes, and seconds, right? On Svartalfheim their units of measurement are balores and cremains. I'm not sure exactly what the conversation rate is because I've never needed to know but I could probably figure it up if you're that interested.”

Tony let out a puff of air. “I'm not. I am? No, really, I'm not. I'm just fascinated by this whole other realms business. It's all so different. But the same too I guess? I just like to learn.”

Loki smiled at that, a soft thing. “I think the best of us do.” His lips turned down. “Though not everyone would agree.”

Tony could hear the unspoken 'Thor' in the word 'everyone' but he was wise enough not to mention it. “I'm sure that you have a lot you could teach me.”

Loki put a firm hand on his shoulder. “And in time I shall, if you like.”

Tony looked askance at him. It was an innocuous statement, really, but there was also a weight to it, an implication that there would be a later in their relationship. He knew that he should feel more conflicted about that but all he felt was the flutter of butterflies in his stomach. He wanted this more than he should, he knew that, but the wanting and the taking and the feeling were just so good.

“But for now, you should rest,” Loki reminded, squeezing his shoulder gently.

“Yeah,” he agreed, though he had forgotten already. There was just so much to see here, even inside a volcano, that he couldn't focus on any one thing, especially something as unnecessary as sleep. But he really was tired, and if Loki said it was for the best... “How do we get a bed?”

“I'll take care of it,” Loki assured. He moved his hand down to Tony's lower back and exerted a gentle pressure, a suggestion more than a push, so that they moved forward toward the nearest building, or what passed for it.

Its front was made of something that looked a lot like frosted glass – just on the wrong side of transparent, thick and cool. Once they were close enough, he reached out to touch it just to see if it really did feel cool. It didn't, of course, being in a volcano and all, and he felt foolish for thinking that it would. It was smooth, but warm, like the glass on a car that had been sitting in the sun for hours. They continued walking along the line of the building until Loki stopped at an apparently arbitrary spot.

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Did you decide to give up? What, are we just sleeping outside?” It was a weak attempt at sarcasm, he knew, but he really was tired.

Loki glanced over at him, but didn't answer. Instead, he held a hand up to the almost glass and made a complicated gesture where he twisted his pointer finger and slid his ring finger under his pinky at the same time, then pushed down. It was like the weirdest version of sign language Tony had ever seen, and he tried making the movement with his own hand but it was awkward and he was pretty sure he didn't do it right.

But for Loki it worked, and the wall faded (he would almost say dematerialized, if that weren't so insane), from in front of them, revealing the inside of the building. It was mostly quiet, but there were a few people milling about. Well, calling them people might have been a bit unrealistic. They were dwarves, he supposed. Short, like he would have imagined, and stocky. They seemed to have long hair and bushy beards that were surprisingly well tended to – as thick as they were, they seemed to be combed and cleaned thoroughly. One of the passing dwarves even seemed to have his braided, which made Tony quirk his lips.

Once he tore his eyes away from the dwarves themselves, he was able to examine his surroundings. The inside of the building looked a lot like the outside had. They were surrounded by what he assumed was glass (and he would have to ask about that, when he remembered), on all sides, like a solid, smooth box. The only difference was a series of small lights that lit the top of the wall at regular intervals. They were too small and dull to actually provide much light, so he assumed they had some other purpose. As he looked closer, he realized that some of the lights were blue, and others were orange. There didn't seem to be a pattern between the two.

“Sooooo,” he drawled, “what now?”

“Now, we find a room,” Loki informed him.

“Uh, that's great and all, but there don't seem to actually be any rooms. Are you sure we're in the right place? What's even with this big square of a room, anyway?”

Loki took his hand off Tony's back but moved toward one of the walls and Tony followed. They stopped under one of the orange lights and Loki made the same odd hand movement against the wall. This one faded as well to show the room inside.

It was large, much larger than the room outside (would it be considered a lobby?) would suggest, and Tony was immediately reminded of the TARDIS. Inside there was a bed that looked too short to actually sleep in, maybe four feet long. “Uh, how are we supposed to sleep in that?”

Loki looked over at him and smiled, but it seemed forced again. He answered before Tony had a chance to comment on it. “It adjusts.”

There was plenty of space between the bed and the far wall, so it wasn't hard to imagine that it might pull out farther like a pull-out couch. Loki moved over to the bed, gesturing for Tony to come farther into the room. He did, and the door rematerialized behind him to look like a solid wall again. He once again itched for his lab, so he could get some sensors to figure out how all this worked. He turned back around to pay more attention to the room. Loki was sitting on the bed sideways, his long legs dangling off the edge. He was turned toward the wall the bed was against, and he looked like he was concentrating. He touched the wall with a closed fist, and slowly opened his hand. As he did, the bed elongated, stretching toward the far wall, until it was about seven feet long.

Tony just stood there gaping for a moment. He had always been of the belief that anything was possible with science, even if it was science that you didn't understand yet, but this was stretching even the limits of his own belief. He let out a little chuckle. “Okay, that's actually pretty amazing.”

“Hm?” Loki glanced over at him, but he seemed distracted.

Tony frowned, walking over and sitting down on the bed beside him. It was getting hard not to notice that something was up. “Hey, what's wrong?”

“I'm fine,” Loki assured, but his eyes were pinched.

Tony turned, crossing his legs so that he sat facing Loki. “Uh-uh. Not going to work. If we're going to do this thing, and apparently we're doing this thing, you're going to have to be honest with me. I've made myself really vulnerable to you, and that's seriously not a thing I do, so you're going to have to give me something back.”

Loki sighed, giving him a long suffering look. “It's fine, Tony. I just don't do very well with heat.”

Tony blinked at that. “Yeah, okay. I mean, it's a little hot here, sure, but not even as bad as I would have expected, being inside a volcano. They must have some insane kind of air conditioning.”

Loki laughed, but it sounded hollow. “It is much hotter than you realize. I spelled your clothes before we got here to have cooling properties so that the heat didn't damage your fragile human skin.”

Tony considered that for a moment. “Is there anything your magic can't do?”

Loki stared at him. “Yes,” he said simply. Tony waited for a moment but he didn't elaborate.

“Right. Okay. So, let's get some sleep, yeah?”

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” Loki answered. He sounded relieved, though Tony wasn't sure why he felt that way.

Loki slipped his shoes off and climbed properly onto the bed, sliding the covers down so that he was sitting above them. Tony stared at him for a little longer, trying to figure out what he wasn't saying. When nothing was forthcoming, Tony kicked his own shoes off and left them sitting by the bed before climbing into bed beside Loki. Loki laid down facing him, and pulled the covers up over them. Tony considered for a moment, then turned over and pressed his back up against Loki. He didn't often cuddle, but this seemed like it should be an exception. Loki didn't respond for a moment, and Tony had a nasty second of self-doubt. He was just about to apologize and pull away, when Loki wrapped a gentle hand around his waist and curled himself around Tony.

It took Tony only a few minutes to fall asleep, and he did so with a smile.

-*-

When Tony woke up, he initially didn't know where he was. He opened his eyes, but there was only the glow of the arc reactor for light, and it didn't illuminate the place well enough to be able to really see anything. His heartbeat pounded in his chest as he tried to figure things out. Memories of a dark cave crowded in at the edge of his mind, and he forced himself to take a few deep breaths to keep the panic at bay.

Once he was calmed down a bit, he took a better stock of his surroundings. He was in a bed. There was another person wrapped around him and he was...cold? That didn't seem right. As memories began to come back to him he realized he was in Svartalfheim, with Loki. But it was supposed to be hot here. His brain worked overtime trying to figure out what had happened. Loki had said his clothes were spelled to keep him cool, but this was beyond that. He was almost shivering. He pulled the covers up closer around him, and in the process touched Loki's arm still around his waist. He found that it was ice cold, and he flinched back. Paying more attention, he realized that Loki's entire body pressed up against him was cold. Huh. That was different.

Slowly, gingerly, he turned around in Loki's hold. The light of the arc reactor cast a faint glow against his skin, and Tony struggled to see in the dark. He looked different. Was he...blue? That might have just been the reflection of the arc reactor against his skin, but Tony had seen plenty of bare skin in the light of the reactor, and it had never looked like this. Maybe it was different because he was Asgardian? But no, it was more than that. When he looked closer, he could see raised lines in patterns across Loki's skin. He couldn't see much of them, but from what he could tell, they were beautiful. He reached out tentatively to trace one that ran the length of Loki’s cheek.

Loki jerked back, eyes wide open. He was immediately on his feet, a dagger pulled from nowhere in his hand and pointed toward Tony defensively. After a moment when his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he sighed, putting the dagger away. “I'm sorry, Tony. I'm not used to sleeping with another.”

Tony raised his eyebrows, his hands up in surrender. He slowly lowered them. “I got that. So, uh. Can I ask a question?”

Loki sat back down on the bed. He looked less cagey than he had earlier that night, but it was hard to tell if that was just the vestiges of sleep clinging to his face. “Go ahead.”

“First, can we get some light in here? I'd like to see you better.”

Loki gestured with his hand (and really, one day, Tony was going to figure out what each of these small gestures meant), and a low light came up. It wasn't enough to make Tony squint his eyes against it, but it was enough so that he could see. He examined Loki more closely, his head tilting to the side. He was definitely blue. The raised lines seemed to extend all across his visible skin, and yes, it really was beautiful. He took a moment just to behold the sight in front of him before he said anything.

“So, let me start by saying, this is really awesome.”

Loki raised his own eyebrows, and looked at him expectantly. “While I'm glad you're pleased with the

situation, that's not actually a question.”

Tony grinned. “Right. So – why are you blue?”

Loki's eyes widened in horror, and he slowly looked down at himself, bringing his hand up to stare at it in shock. A snarl formed on his face, and he glanced back up to Tony, his gaze searching for something. Tony looked on in shock, unsure what was happening. Had he said something wrong? He took a breath to begin to apologize, but Loki beat him to it.

“I apologize,” he said, voice tight. His skin slowly bled back into the pale shade Tony was used to. “I didn't mean for you to see that. The heat, I -”

Tony shook his head. “No, it's… what?” He took a moment to gather his thoughts, hoping something would somehow make sense. “I don't understand.”

Loki's face was still shuttered. “It is nothing.” He sounded like he was trying to pass off nonchalance, but there was clearly something roiling beneath the surface.

“Loki -” Tony tried again. He wasn't sure how he had planned to finish that sentence, because Loki stopped him before he could.

“It's nothing!” He screamed, hands balled into fists at his sides.

Tony was silent, staring, trying to figure out where this outburst was coming from. He felt anger well up in him, an instinctual response to being yelled at, and he tried to push it down. Obviously Loki was going through something right now, and he needed to be the mature adult about things.

“Okay, why don't we just take a few deep breaths -” And he knew that was the wrong thing to say before he even finished saying it, because when had that ever helped? He remembered the explosion he'd gotten from Pepper when he'd try it and he cringed, waiting for the same from Loki.

He got it.

“A few deep breaths? You think a few deep breaths is going to change what I am?” Loki's hands fisted at his hair, twisting it within his grip. “You don't know me, Tony,” he said, voice quieting. A broken laugh bubbled up out of his throat.

Tony tried to figure out what to say. This was a delicate situation, even if he didn't quite know what had caused it, and he knew that it was a landmine. “Loki, I don't know what you're talking about.” He shook his head. “I mean, humans change colors too, you know? Like sometimes I spend too much time outside – okay, admittedly, not often, since I spend most of my time in the workshop – but occasionally I do, and my skin turns all red. Is it like that?”

Loki stared at him incredulously. “You would compare this to – to a sunburn? You don't – you truly don't understand.”

“Of course I don't,” Tony agreed, running a tired hand through his hair. “You haven't actually explained anything. I just...woke up and you were cold and then I turned around and you were blue -” and at that, Loki sneered, but Tony kept going, “and then you kind of tried to stab me, and that's where I am, so far today.”

Loki shook his head. He seemed like he was somewhere else, like only half of his attention was on Tony. “I just wanted to have a nice thing,” he muttered. “I've always been considered a freak in Asgard, as a dom and as a -” He broke off again with a choking sound that might have been a laugh or might have been a sob. “I thought that I could truly have a nice thing with you.”

Tony pushed down his own panic at that. Why couldn't they still have a nice thing? Had he messed things up that badly just from a question? He wished he had asked Thor more questions about his brother. Maybe that was the way to go about this. “I don't know much about Asgard, but your brother doesn't seem to think you're a freak,” he offered.

Loki roared, wordlessly. He took a few breaths, but they were quick and hollow. “He is not my brother!” He yelled.

Tony took a deep breath. He hoped these rooms were soundproofed, because if not they were going to have people running in asking what all the screaming was about, and he didn't think either of them were in a state to try to explain it. He had to get a handle on this. “Yeah, he mentioned that you were adopted, but is that really -”

Loki cut him off again. “Adopted?” Another hysterical little laugh. “Is that what he told you?”

“Yeah? Do you not have that on Asgard? It's where two parents – er, not necessarily two parents, but one or more parents I guess, take someone else's kid and raises them.” It was a lame explanation, but from the way Loki was looking at him, that didn't seem like the problem.

“I know what adoption is, Tony.” His voice sounded small again, and Tony was starting to get whiplash from the changes in volume. He was hunched over into himself, and his posture looked as small as his voice. “I was not adopted.”

Tony turned that over in his mind a few times. Had Thor been lying? He had seemed so earnest when it came to Loki that it seemed hard to believe, but there was obviously something more going on here. “So what, is it – is it different for you guys?”

Loki's hands had returned to his sides but he clenched and unclenched his fists harshly. “I need – I need to go for a while. You'll be safe here and -”

“No,” Tony argued. “I don't know what's going on, but you can't run from it.” Loki shook his head, but Tony continued. “Don't run from me.”

A broken noise escaped Loki's throat. “That isn't fair. You don't understand,” he repeated.

“But I want to,” Tony assured.

Loki just shook his head again. “No, you don't. You think you do, but -” He bit off whatever he had been going to say. “I do not want you to think differently of me.”

“Look, Loki, this is obviously important to you,” he tried again, “but I need you to know that I'll support you.”

“I am a monster,” Loki whispered, and there was so much pain in his voice that it made Tony ache just to hear it.

He suddenly wanted to hold Loki, clutch him tightly so that he didn't feel this way anymore, but he wasn't sure if the gesture would be welcome. Instead, he took another deep breath. “You're not a monster.”

“You don't know that.”

Tony pushed down a groan of frustration. “I do. I've spent a lot of time with you now, and I can tell. You've been so good to me. Monster's aren't – I've known monsters, and you are not it.”

“I have done things that would drive you mad.” His eyes went dark, haunted, and Tony wished he could see into his brain, to understand.

“I'm not saying you're a good person. We probably wouldn't work out if you were. I'm not a good person, either. I've done a lot of fucked up shit.”

“It's different. It's not just about how many I've killed – and I've lost count, by the way – it's the matter of my very essence.”

“No,” Tony shook his head vehemently. “That's bullshit. There's no such thing as an inherently good or bad person. Hell, if we even have souls -”

Loki gave him an odd look. “Of course we have souls.”

“That's not – that's not the point.” He was starting to get the gist of this, and he didn't like it. “You're not a bad person because of the circumstance of your birth.”

Loki was quiet for a moment. “You would not think so highly of me if you knew the truth.”

Tony fought not to roll his eyes. They were seriously going in circles here. “That's not true, but fine, tell me, then.”

Loki took a long, deep breath, then shut his eyes tightly. “I am...” his breath shuddered out of him. “I am Jotun.”

Tony waited for him to continue, to explain what the hell that even meant, but Loki just stayed silent. He opened his eyes expectantly, clearly waiting for some kind of judgement. “Huh. Okay,” Tony offered, unsure of what he was supposed to say. “I'm not actually familiar with that one.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “Jotun, the ancient enemy of Asgard. The monster parents tell their children about at night. That's why Thor said I was adopted,” he sneered. “I was stolen at birth. Just a pawn. And no one on either terrible realm ever loved me.”

“I don't think that's true,” Tony replied. “And even if it was, I lo -” and he stopped right there, because he was about to say something that he knew he would regret, but he thought it might actually be true. He had known Loki so little time, he knew he had, but there was something so special between them. He could love him so easily. But he had pushed away everyone he'd ever said that to, and this wasn't the time for that. “I know there are people who love you,” he finished lamely.

“But they shouldn't.”

Loki hadn't seemed to notice his near slip up, and he was glad for it, but it still left him not knowing what to do next. Loki didn't seem to be really listening to him anyway, caught up in his own pain. “What can I do?”

Loki let out a soft puff of breath. Suddenly, he looked more tired than angry. “There is nothing.”

“I might not get this whole situation,” Tony said again, “but I know that you're not a bad person, especially not because you're Jotun or whatever.”

“You are very kind to say that,” Loki said quietly, a near whisper.

“Do you want a hug?” Tony asked. It wasn't really in his nature to give them and he felt awkward asking, but it seemed like Loki might be seriously in need of one.

Loki looked up at him, still dazed. “I don't -” He stopped, seemingly lost in thought. “I haven't been hugged since I was a child.”

Tony's heart broke a little at that admission. He hadn't been hugged often, sure, but Pepper had hugged him, at least. Loki must be so touched starved he could barely stand it. “Do you want to try it?”

Loki hesitated. He looked like he was warring with himself. He hummed noncommittally.

“It's not that bad,” Tony offered, trying for a touch of humor. “A lot of people actually really like it.” He wasn't really one of them, but he was willing to put himself out there for Loki. Loki still didn't answer, so he stood from the bed and made his way over to where Loki was standing. “I'm going to hug you now. If you don't like it we can stop. Just...maybe tell me you don't like it, rather than stabbing me.”

Loki just stared at him, so he hesitantly stepped into his space and closed his arms around him. Loki was tense, and it reminded Tony distantly of a bowstring ready to snap. “It's okay,” Tony murmured. Still no response. “Loki, it's okay.”

Suddenly Loki melted against him, his entire body relaxing at once. He leaned his head down onto Tony's shoulder, and brought his own arms up to wrap around him. They stayed like that for a few moments, and Tony had to resist the urge to pull back. He wasn't used to touching people for this long except for sex, and this most definitely wasn't that. But he knew Loki needed this, so he stayed.

“When I was a child,” Loki started, leaving his head on Tony's shoulder, “my mother would hold me like this.”

Tony processed that for a moment. It seemed like the whole family thing was fraught with pain and more than a little bit of trauma, but if Loki was willing to talk about, that was probably for the best. At least that's what his therapist had said. He wasn't sure he believed it, but if he could be the one to help Loki, then... “Were you close?”

“We were,” he agreed. “But I haven't seen her in a long time.”

The memory of Frigga standing in his workshop, asking about her son stood out in his mind. “Why not?” He intentionally made his voice gentle, but Loki flinched all the same, pulling back from him.”

“It is...complicated,” he said.

Tony allowed him a moment to gather his thoughts, but spoke when he wasn't forthcoming. “Because of the adoption – er, not adoption – thing?” He struggled for a moment with what to call it. 'Kidnapping' seemed a little harsh, even if that's what Loki insisted had happened, so he stayed away from the word.

“Partially,” Loki admitted. He shook his head. “This is not a subject I talk about lightly.”

Tony considered suggesting alcohol. It helped him process his own trauma so it was possible it would help Loki as well. But they were on shaky ground with alcohol since he had had to have the alcoholism talk, so he wasn't sure where they stood with that. Even so, the thought of a drink was tempting. He had weaned himself off so that he wouldn't have withdrawals without it anymore, but the weight of it in his stomach was still a familiar comfort that he wasn't ready to do away with. But for now, he would keep that locked up tight inside his head.

“These things usually aren't,” he reached a hand out to put it on Loki's shoulder, “but I'm glad you're talking about it with me.”

Loki smiled. It looked brittle, but real, and Tony was suddenly, deeply grateful for this moment between them. It was a little thing, but a big thing at the same time. There was sex, and there was friendship, and there was talking about your trauma together, and he wasn't used to having all three experiences with the same person. It was nice.

“As am I,” Loki confided. “It is nice to be able to speak of it. I used to speak of my pain with Frigga, before...” He trailed off.

“Before?” Tony prompted.

Loki sighed. “Before everything. There's much you still don't know.” He paused. “And while I appreciate the openness and kindness you've shown me, there are things I'm still not ready to talk about, even with you.”

Tony nodded. “That's fine. There are things I don't talk about too.” A memory of Obie standing beside him at a press conference, Tony's wrist held too tightly in his hand, a warning to say exactly what he had been told, surfaced in his mind and a flash of nausea pushed up within him. He shoved it back down the way he always did, wishing again for a drink or five.

“I should still like to hear them, whenever you decide you're ready,” Loki assured.

And that made Tony pause, because it reminded him that Loki seemed to want to be in this for the long haul, and weirdly enough, Tony did too. He was so used to relationships (okay, sexual flings) being brief (because how could he stay with a sub for too long and not give himself away), that the thought of something long term was both exciting and terrifying. But he thought that if he was going to have a more permanent relationship, he would want it to be with Loki. The L-word came up in his mind again, and he turned it over a few times, silently, examining it. It had been so little time, and there was no way Loki felt the same. And yet...

“I think I might like to tell them to you,” he said softly.

Loki reached out to ruffle his hair and Tony couldn't help the smile that came unbidden to his face. “But for now,” Loki said, “let us go back to bed. It's still early, and the dwarf I want to see won't be in for some yet.”

Tony sighed. He wasn't really tired anymore, unused to the amount of sleep he had been getting (sleeping every night? Ridiculous!), but he didn't want to turn Loki down. Besides, the prospect of cuddles was one that appealed to him more than he would have liked to admit. “Okay.”

Loki made his way back over to the bed and climbed in. Tony followed. Loki turned away from him, so Tony considered for a moment before climbing in facing him and curling up behind him, opposite of how they had laid before. He tossed an arm over Loki's stomach and pulled him close. Loki tensed, but allowed Tony to move him.

“Good night, Tony.”

“Good night, Loki.”

He fell asleep quickly and stayed in the same spot all night.

Chapter Text

When Tony woke up, the lights in the room were still dim and Loki was still asleep beside him. His skin had maintained its pale hue this time, but Tony still spent a few half-awake moments studying him. The low light didn't do anything to dim his overall beauty. As a blue – Jotun, was it? - he was breathtaking, but like this he was just as lovely. Tony was tempted to reach a hand out to touch his face, relaxed in sleep, but remembered the response he had gotten for that last night and kept his hands to himself.

He lay just like that for a few minutes, watching the rise and fall of Loki's chest and the way his eyes flicked beneath their lids. What was he dreaming? Hopefully happier dreams than Tony's own. He had dreamed of Afghanastan, of a hot cave and freezing water and burning lungs. And Obie sat at the head of it all, smoking a cigar and watching him in that way that made him feel like he had done something terrible.

So waking up to Loki was nice, despite the chaos of the night before. He rolled over on his back, idly wondering what time it was. Or, well, what time it was on Earth, since time apparently was different here. Was it day time? Night? His mind slid to those who would probably be worrying about him. Pepper would have set a press conference within a few days and reassured everyone that things were fine, but she would be lying awake at night wondering what had happened to him. They weren't together anymore, but that didn't mean she didn't care. Guilt lanced through him.

He was off having a great time with Loki (and it was a great time, despite everything), and the people at home were probably worried sick about him. After Afghanastan, and after Obie...he really had no business disappearing again, especially with a wanted-by-SHIELD Norse god. He sighed. No matter how many times he had tried in the past, he knew you couldn't just run away and pretend your problems didn't exist.

But this...wasn't it different? This was with Loki, who he (maybe, just possibly, kind of,) loved, and god, was it great to have a dom again. Not that they had really done much in the way of dom/sub things, but the very concept of it, to know that he had a dom to take care of him, soothed him in a way he had only dreamed of for years. Many times in the years after Obie, he would miss him, abuse and all, just for the feeling of a place where he belonged.

He had that now with Loki, and he was loathe to give it up. He let his mind drift to thoughts of submitting to Loki – not sexually, because this wasn't about this – but simply, in all the ways people dreamed of when they were a teenager and their orientation was starting to make itself known. He imagined what it would be like to kneel for Loki, not in the heat of the moment like it had been before, but calmly, domestically, while Loki read or practiced magic, or -

Loki opened his eyes and blinked slowly. Tony's attention was quickly drawn back to the way his eyelids fluttered. Loki still looked tired, but he smiled at Tony, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

“Good morning, Tony.”

“Good morning, Loki.” And if he sounded a little breathless, that was okay, it was just the way he was laying, hard to catch his breath, hard to think of anything but those brilliant green eyes. He gave his own smile back, unable to hold it back from his face.

Loki drew a slow arm around him, pulling him close. Tony felt him take a deep breath and found himself momentarily unsure if he was trying to cope with some unseen force (maybe the weight of last night, or of his own dreams), or if he was just sniffing his hair, but he didn't think he really minded either way. It felt good curled up close to his chest, safe and warm in his embrace. They laid like that for long enough that Tony was nearly back asleep before Loki pulled back.

“How are you this morning, my love?” Loki asked.

And something fluttered in Tony's chest because, sure, he had been called pet names by plenty of lovers before, but it never felt like this. His smile grew.

“Better, now that you're awake.”

Loki gave a small laugh, bringing a hand up to wipe at his eyes. He seemed soft today, a dichotomy against the raging, broken creature of last night. Tony was glad for it. He knew that creature well, had seen him often in the mirror, and yeah, there were some people he would wish it on (because he wasn't a hero, seriously, he wasn't), but Loki was definitely not one of them. He deserved only good things, and Tony never wanted to hurt him.

Loki rolled them so that Tony lay on his back and Loki was over him. He brought his hands down to hold Tony's, his grip gentle, an intimate embrace rather than a forceful one. He leaned down to kiss him, and Tony closed his eyes as he felt the press of lips on his own.

“I'm glad you're still here,” Loki muttered, pulling away slightly. Tony could still feel the puff of his breath on his cheek, a chill in it that wouldn't let him forget the night before. “I wasn't sure you would be.”

Tony stared at him, tempted to tell him how stupid that was. Where would he have gone? He had no way of getting back to Earth, and certainly no way of getting around Svartlheim. He had the Allspeak, thanks to Loki, but he wasn't even sure if that would continue once he was out of Loki's direct presence. It didn't really matter, because he wasn't inclined to find out. He didn't want to leave, especially not after last night. Loki was sharing his pain, willingly or not, and that had to be respected and cherished.

God knew Tony didn't share his own often enough.

“Of course. I'll always be here.”

And that rang true, despite all the reasons it shouldn't. Despite his Iron Man suits back on Earth, despite the hero business, despite Pepper and Rhodey and uh... there were probably a few other people that cared about him. But despite everything, he only wanted to be here with Loki, even if Loki didn't believe it.

Loki shook his head, but didn't argue the point. “Thank you, Tony.”

“Yeah, of course, Loki.”

They stayed there for a moment, staring at each other. Loki looked like he was searching for something in his gaze, but Tony didn't know what, so he had no idea if he found it. Eventually, Loki leaned down to kiss him again, pressing his body against Tony's with a new intensity. His hand wound into Tony's hair, gentle and soothing. He ran his hands through his hair, and Tony just lay there, kissing back, enjoying the feeling of Loki's fingers curling through his hair.

Loki's hand drew to a fist in Tony's hair, gently, using its grip to turn his head to the side; it didn't hurt. Loki peppered kisses down the side of his neck. The first few were just soft presses of his lips, the slight suggestion of breath against his skin. Then Loki opened his mouth to suck, gently, then harder until Tony groaned. Loki pulled back only to lave his tongue over the inflammed area. He moved up to such an earlobe into his mouth, then nibbled on it.

Tony shuddered pleasantly at the feeling Loki's breath against his ear. “Mm. Loki...”

Loki came up to look at him, grinning. He kissed him again, and ground his hips down, creating a friction that made Tony's breath catch. Loki did it again, and he moved up into it with a thrust of his own, drawing their bodies together. Loki's grip tightened in his hair so that delicious lines of pain ran straight down his nerves.

“How much time do we have before we have to meet that dwarf friend of yours?”, Tony asked.

Loki hummed, still grinning, but with a darker look in his eyes. “Enough for me to do some very bad things to you.”

He punctuated the sentence with another thrust of his hips and Tony moaned, his own hands coming up to grip at Loki's shoulders. The muscle there was firm, and he dug his fingers in, not hard enough to cause pain but enough to give him a solid grip. Loki didn't seem to mind, if the way he rucked up Tony's shirt was any indication.

His hand drew smoothly over the skin of his stomach, moving up to his chest and gently rubbing his nipple. After a moment, he pinched, and Tony gasped, arching up off the bed. He had always had sensitive nipples, but during his time masquerading as a dom, he hadn't had much chance to have them played with. This was a nice change.

He dropped his hands from Loki's shoulders and lifted his shirt as well, rubbing his abs. He wished his tongue was down there. Heat was quickly pooling in his groin and he moved his hands down to go under the waistband of his pants, but before he could, Loki let go of his hair and his nipple to grab both of his wrists in a tight hold, pressing them into the mattress.

“I wouldn't want you to forget who's in charge here,” he tutted.

He pressed his thumbnail gently into the skin of one wrist, just enough to send sharp pain sliding across his nerves. He tried to twist his wrists in Loki's grip, but he was too strong, and he was forced to lie there where he wanted him. He really didn't mind the situation he had found himself in. He laid there panting, then realized he could still move the lower half of his his body and he rolled his hips again.

Loki growled, letting go of one wrist to go back under his shirt, scratching five lines down his stomach and beneath the waistline of his pants, stopping just before he reached his pubic hair. Tony just stared up at him, breathless, pupils blown. Every inch of him was alive, and it was all focused on Loki.

He flicked his hand and Tony's pants disappeared. He had just a moment to worry about the heat from Svartlheim hurting him, but then Loki's hands were gripping roughly at his thighs, kneading them in a parody of a massage, much too hard for a masseuse. His fingertips left sharp points of pressure, and he was pretty sure they would bruise. He wasn't sure if Loki knew how sensitive human skin was, so he didn't know if it was intentional, but he didn't really mind either way.

And then Loki's hand wrapped around his cock and all thought went out the window in favor of pure pleasure. His hand was slick and moved down his cock smoothly until he reached the base, where he squeezed lightly. He went up and down a few times, his thumb dragging over the sensitive bundle of nerves just under the head to make him thrust his hips up.

“So pretty, laid out for me.”

He threw his head back and closed his eyes, the sound of Loki's voice on top of the feeling on his cock overwhelming him. He continued to stroke him and he mewled, the sound breaking out of his throat before he could stop it. He opened his eyes to see him staring down at him with an expression that he could only describe as predatory. His eyes were hooded and the pupils were blown so wide that he could barely see the green of his irises.

Loki sped up his hand and brought the other hand up to rub gently over Tony's throat, the suggestion of a threat rather than a blatant one. He spread his fingers to grip his throat and Tony leaned eagerly into his hand, but he pulled back, huffing out a heavy breath.

“No, it's okay,” Tony told him. “I like it.”

Loki frowned slightly, but didn't stop stroking him. “I don't want to hurt you.”

“It's okay. I'll show you.”

He grabbed his hand and put it back at his throat, moving his fingers so that his thumb was on one side and the rest of his fingers were on the other.

“Like this. Squeeze the sides rather than putting pressure on the trachea and it's safe. Not too hard, just enough to restrict breath intake.”

He loved breathplay, and he had had enough practice with the subs he had slept with that he felt comfortable leading Loki in this.

“Like this?”

His grip tightened just slightly and he felt his breathing depress a little. He tried to take a breath in but it ended up shallow and a little gasping.

“Yup, just like that,” he wheezed out.

Loki eased up, clearly unsure of the movement, and Tony took a deep breath and smiled. His cock was throbbing where Loki was still stroking it.

“Again, please.”

He began to squeeze again and Tony leaned into the touch. He began to ease off too soon, and Tony reached up to place his hand on top of Loki's to keep it in place. He nodded as well as he could with their combined hands on top of his throat. Loki took the hint, and squeezed harder, just slightly, but enough.

He gasped for breath again as he felt the pressure building up in his head. He rode the high of it, the static in his face and his lungs pressing in on him, narrowing his world to just the feelings in his body and suddenly his legs convulsed and he was coming into Loki's hand. He tried to scream, but there was no breath left in his body and it came out as a choked noise that made Loki moan.

Loki let go of both his throat and his cock and he lay there breathless and boneless, barely aware of the world. When focus came back to him, it was to Loki running his hands up his ribs.

“Loki,” he slurred, already half asleep, “come cuddle.”

Loki grinned above him, showing his teeth, and a spark of pleasure ran through him despite himself. “I”m not done with you.”

Tony brought his hands up to rub at Loki's chest. “Sounds nice, but I'm not getting it up again for awhile.”

Loki ignored him, moving down to place gentle kisses on his cock before taking the head into his mouth and sucking gently. It was sensitive enough to almost be too much, and he started to pull away, but Loki grabbed one hip and held him in place. His cock twitched at the pressure and he brought his fist up to his mouth, pushing out a shaky breath into it.

“Loki, seriously, I can't...”

He cut himself off as he felt the barest hint of teeth against his cock. He lay very still, arousal laced with fear washing like a current through him.

“I didn't ask,” he finally said, voice low.

He could feel the vibrations across his cock. He closed his eyes, letting his breath out through his nose. He knew his body, knew what he could do and what he couldn't, but Loki's words sounded so real, so believable...

Loki pulled off his cock only to move to his thigh, biting down on the skin there. Tony tried to buck up into him but he was still held down by his hip and he ended up just moaning deep.

“Please, sir, I can't-”

Loki looked up at him. “You will do what I tell you to. And I'm telling you that you're going to get hard again.”

And it shouldn't have been possible, he knew what he could handle, but he could feel the blood surging through his groin and oh, he was half hard already.

“Yes- Yes sir,” he stuttered.

Loki laved his tongue over the bite mark. The heat of it somehow felt good on the swollen skin. “Good boy.”

Pleasure lanced through him at the praise. He wanted nothing more than to please him, to obey, to do good, to submit, to serve-

He realized that Loki had let go of his hip only when he grabbed him behind both knees and lifted his legs up over his shoulders. The new position was a bit of a strain on his muscles, but the stretch felt good. Loki kissed down the back of his thighs and he relaxed into the gesture of affection.

Then Loki licked at his hole and his breath stuttered out of him with a sharp noise. His eyes flew open.

“Fuck, Loki, sir, I-”

He cut himself off as Loki did it again, flicking his tongue over the hole until Tony moaned helplessly. He was so focused on the feeling of that wet appendage that he didn't even have time to pay attention to his now fully hard cock. Loki dipped his tongue inside and Tony's legs jerked and he let out a high-pitched keening noise.

“FUCK.”

Loki pulled back, eyes glittering. Tony lay beneath him, panting for breath. The world was hazy, unfocused, and he didn't care to bring it back into clear view. His cock dripped precum against his stomach and he felt like one more touch might bring him over the edge. And he wanted it, wanted it so bad, but it was more important that he do what he was told, that he please Loki, that he do the best he could.

“Hmm.” Loki ran his nails down the back of one thigh where he had kissed before. “All this unmarked skin. I could...” He trailed off, then shook his head. “No, maybe another day.”

Tony barely heard him, as caught up as he was in the humming over his skin.

“But for now,” he continued, “you will be mine.”

He punctuated the statement by sliding the tip of a finger into Tony's entrance. Tony gasped, barely aware that his hand had even made it's way down there. It was well lubricated, and Loki went slow, letting him adjust to the instrusion before pressing farther in. He got about halfway before he stopped and pulled back out, repeating the process.

It had been a very long time since he had been penetrated, and it felt odd, but he couldn't say it was unwelcome. It was almost unfamiliar. Obie had never been this gentle. He pulled out again, then pushed the finger in all the way this time, holding it there. He tried to relax, but he couldn't help squeezing around the digit.

Loki waited him out until he managed to relax, then pulled out again. He repeated that a couple times until he was comfortable with the finger, then slowly added another. Tony groaned, but Loki kept going, pressing deeper, then waiting until he relaxed again. Once he had, he began to work his fingers in and out of the pliant body beneath him.

Tony tilted his hips to allow him deeper access. He began to stretch his fingers apart, stretching him farther, and Tony groaned at the sensation. It hurt, but it was worth it, worth it, worth it.

Loki pressed back in and crooked his finger so that it hit that spot inside him that made everything else unimportant. He made a sound that might have been a yell, and bucked as much as he could with his legs over Loki's shoulders. Loki pulled back and pressed over the same spot again so that he didn't have the chance to catch his breath again. Then he was putting three fingers in, and it was too much, too big, but then he hit that spot again and it was just pleasure, pleasure, pleasure.

He felt a hand stroking his cock and he thought he might just lose his mind. He twisted his hand on the upstroke, and oh, this was it. He couldn't hold on any longer. He stroked him one more time and then-

And then pulled away, just before he could come. Tony whined deep in his throat, but he didn't complain. It didn't matter. If this was what Loki wanted, it was what he would have. He would wait for him. He would suffer for him. Anything, anything, anything.

He felt a pressure at his hole again and realized this was something larger than the fingers. He relaxed and let it in. Loki moved in slowly until he was fully seated, then stayed there. Tony groaned, and Loki held very still, panting.

“Loki...”

He began to move, slowly, drawing out the sensation. “That's right. Just lay there and take it. Such a good boy.”

His eyes fluttered closed and his cock throbbed. Loki took his time so that they could both adjust, but once they had, he pushed back in harder and faster and Tony struggled to draw in breath. His body rocked with each thrust and he whimpered with each one, the force of it knocking the sound from his throat. Loki reached down to grip his hips, holding him still, and once he did he immediately hit that spot again, and Tony's entire world narrowed into that piercing spark.

“You're mine,” Loki growled. “Mine. Do you understand me?”

He hit his prostate again as he finished the sentence.

“Yes, yes, yours, sir, please, please, please, I-”

Loki thrust in again, scraping against the bundle of nerves and brought his hand up to stoke Tony's cock one, two, three times, and then he was over the edge, coming into his hand with a sharp inhale. Loki pumped his hips twice more and then followed.

They stayed like that until they both caught their breath, and then Loki pulled out and cleaned them up with a wave of his hand. He let Tony's legs down gently then laid down beside him.

He didn't care. Nothing mattered. He floated, content with the world. There was only Loki and Loki was here, wrapping him up in his arms. He rubbed his back in soothing circles.

“There we are. That's a good boy.”

He hummed at the praise and let it sing through his body. His heartbeat slowed and he let himself exist solely in Loki's arms.

“So good. Such a good boy.”

He snuggled closer, burying his head in his chest. He let his eyelids flutter closed, and soon he succumbed to sleep.

When he woke up again, it was to Loki stroking his hair. The world came into focus and he smiled up at him.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, my love.”

He sat up slowly, expecting to be sore after their round of sex. Surprisingly, he wasn't. In fact, he felt refreshed. Perks of dating a... Was it magician? Witch? Wizard? He was about to ask when his brain caught up. Wait. Dating? Is that what they were doing? He hadn't dated since Pepper. Somehow, it didn't bother him as much as it probably should.

“How are you?” Loki asked, drawing him back to the present.

“Mm. Good, actually.” He took a moment to marvel at that, but then continued. “You?”

Loki smiled wide. “I'm great, with you by my side.”

He gave his own grin. This was turning out to be a pretty amazing day.

“When do we have to meet your friend?”

Loki looked thoughtful for a moment. “Now, ideally.”

He nodded. He looked down at himself, still naked. “I uh... don't think I can go in this.”

Loki laughed, then gestured and a new set of clothes appeared on the bed. He dressed leasuirely, appreciating the feel of the well-made fabric against his skin. When he was done, he leaned forward and kissed Loki.

Loki returned the kiss eagerly. It was slow and charged, though not sexual. It was just sweet. He reveled in the feel of their lips pressed together. They pulled apart, both still smiling.

“Are you ready, my sweet?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded.

“Then let's go.”

When they left the building, the heat outside began to wrap around him again like a familiar cloak in winter – pleasantly warm, but not oppressive, thanks to the spelled clothes he wore. Loki, on the other hand, had gone back to looking like there was something seriously wrong with him and dwarves and everyone else gave him a wide berth as they walked.

“If it's too hot for you, why don't we just teleport?”

Loki turned to him, nose twitching. “It's considered rude.”

“What? It seemed fine in Alfheim.”

Loki sighed, turning more of his attention to him. “It's a cultural thing. The light elves are very open about all their knowledge. The dwarves, on the other hand, are masters of their craft, and they protect their secrets dearly. While it's not disallowed to teleport into their working spaces, it is considered impolite.”

Tony turned that over in his mind. “What kind of secrets? Do you know them? Will you teach me?” He let excitement color his tone. “Am I going to learn new ways to build things?”

That would be awesome. He had learned new things in his youth, of course, but since then every new innovative technique had been one he had come up with himself, so he didn't much chance for pure learning anymore. He missed it. It had been nice to have the chance to see otherworldly knowledge up close in Alfheim, but this was different. This was engineering. He wanted to meet the dwarves just to see what they could do. Was this what it felt like to a kid when they came up to him in the street?

“I'm sure they can teach you some things, yes,” Loki replied, but he already seemed distracted again.

Tony grabbed his hand as they walked. Loki looked down at it, surprised, but then a soft smile stretched across face. It left a warm tingle in Tony's stomach and he thought he might be blushing like a schoolgirl. Embarassing. Luckily, Loki was still staring at their entwined hands.

“You don't have to wear it anymore, you know,” Loki said.

Tony looked down at their joined hands again, trying to figure out where Loki had taken the turn in the conversation. He blinked a few times.

“The bracelet?”, he finally realized.

Loki nodded. “The dwarves are much more reserved about such things.”

“Why? Are they ashamed of it?”

People were often ashamed of their submissive status on Earth, due to society catering to dominants more, as well as a widely held but not universal belief that doms were just genetically better. After all, how could it be better genetically to be predisposed as submissive? It was something most subs grappled with in their lifetimes, often right after their testing, if they hadn't come to realize their alighment sooner. Tony had certainly spent plenty of time grappling with it, both before and after Obie. He wasn't sure that he had ever found a satisfactory answer.

He shook his head. It didn't matter.

“No,” Loki answered. “But they are taught to suppress it. They take lovers among each other, of course, and sometimes with those from other realms, but their alignments are generally kept secret up until it comes time to define places in the bedroom.”

“Okay, but why? Being a sub or a dom is about way more than just what kind of kinky stuff you like in bed. It's about...”

He thought of Loki's hands on his throat that morning. It was about a lot of things, really.

“Trust,” he finished.

Loki nodded. “I know.”

And maybe he did, even though he had been raised in a society in which the whole dynamic had been frowned upon. Tony remembered the reverant way he had touched the skin of his throat afterward, fingers gliding over the blooming bruises before he healed him.

“But it's not about that,” Loki continued. “Races come from all over to commission the dwarves. It wouldn't do to have the subs be bullied into building things for unfair prices.”

Tony nodded. Nobody liked it, but it wasn't unusual for doms to intimidate subs back on Earth to try to get their way. It was part of why subs just weren't allowed in some positions. The other part was pure bigotry, of course, but there was something sound behind the thought process.

Loki squeezed his hand. “The bracelet is not something to be ashamed of, here or anywhere else. Most will probably know what it symbolizes, though, so if your orientation isn't something you wish to be made public while we're here...”

He knew he should care. He had spent so long pretending to be a dom, creating this world around himself that made him look better and stronger and more dynamic than he really was, and the old shame should be creeping in on him here as well, but somehow it wasn't. Somehow, with Loki, it just felt right, in a way it never had with Obie.

“I don't mind,” he said decisively. “I kind of like it.”

A wide smile spread over Loki's face. “As do I.”

Loki stopped walking, and Tony instictively looked up. They were at the entrance of what looked like a cave, though the ceiling was tall. There were bright white orbs floating about halfway down, still several feet above his head, that illuminated the place. He could hear loud banging echoing from further down the path.

“Are you ready?” Loki asked.

Tony nodded. “Yeah, why wouldn't I be?”

He was actually pretty excited. Seriously, a cool workshop on another realm? What was there to be nervous about?

Loki shook his head. “Ah. The dwarf we're going to see can be a bit...antisocial.”

Tony laughed. “That suits me just fine.”

Loki shrugged, but started walking again.

The farther they got into the tunnel, the warmer it got, and Tony saw Loki pull out a cloth and wipe it across his forehead a few times. Tony kept shooting worried glances at him, remembering how he had said he didn't do well in the heat. But while Loki was sweating, Tony was still comfortable. It felt like a particularly sunny day in summer.

After awhile, the tunnel opened into a large round room. The first thing Tony noticed was the bright red lava coursing down the wall.

“That can't be safe.”

The dwarf working at the table in near the wall looked up at his voice. He frowned when he saw Tony, and was clearly about to tell him to get out, before his eyes alighted on Loki.

“Ah, Loki,” he said. His voice was low, but friendly and Tony had a moment to wonder why Loki had said he was antisocial.

“Hello, Sven. It's nice to see you.”

Loki's tone was polite, and Tony was about to follow suit, but Sven spoke again before he could.

“And you as well. And your...friend,” he offered, giving Tony an appraising look.

“Tony,” he supplied, giving a winning smile.

Sven nodded. “Then welcome, Tony. There are not many I would allow in my forge, so I assume Loki trusts you. That is not an honor to be taken lightly.”

Tony shot Loki a look, but he just smiled. “I do trust him.”

Warmth spread through Tony's chest at the admission. He trusted Loki too, of course. He kind of had to at this point. But he found that wasn't as scary as it should have been, or would have been just a few years ago.

“So what can I do for you?” Sven asked.

“I have a commission,” Loki explained.

Tony turned toward him, paying more attention. Loki hadn't told him what they were here to have made, other than that it was a present for him, and Tony was curious. He had thought about asking, but Loki seemed to want to keep it a secret for now, so he hadn't.

“What do you need?” Sven asked.

Loki glanced over at Tony. “I would speak to you privately,” he told Sven.

Tony raised his eyebrows. Now he really wanted to know. But he respected Loki's privacy, at least to an extent, so he would force himself to be patient.

“Of course,” said the dwarf.

“But first,” Loki told him, “I have another request. Might my sub here be able to make use of your forge? He is a craftsman on his own realm, and I believe he would greatly enjoy the chance to work with your materials. I will pay you handsomely.”

The dwarf was quiet for a moment. “I have never heard of an Asgardian taking a submissive,” he finally said.

Loki's lips twitched downward. “I have never fit in well with the Aesir, now have I?”

Tony was reminded of the night before, of the adoption story, and everything Loki had told him about how he really didn't fit in. There was no way that wasn't miserable.

The dwarf shrugged. “He may use my forge.”

Tony's eyes lit up. He really had been excited by the prospect of being able to build here, though he still wasn't sure how he was going to do it. He didn't have JARVIS or any of his machinary. He could work on his own, of course, had for years before he had built the bots, but it was significantly harder. Add in the fact that he was unfamiliar with this workspace and the tools available to him, and it would be quite the challenge. But he generally liked that.

“Thank you,” Loki said.

“Thanks,” Tony echoed, because it felt polite.

Loki moved further into the cave and Tony followed. Sven moved what he was working on (Tony couldn't tell what it was meant to be yet) to another table, clearing off the larger one. Loki pulled some of the sarblone from his pocket dimension and deposited it on the table.

“If you need more, just let me know.”

Tony nodded, still looking around. He stared at the flowing lava for a moment, unsure of how he was supposed to use it.

“Uh, about that lava...”

Loki gestured and pulled something else out of the air. They looked like large brown gloves and Tony looked at them, waiting for an explanation.

“These will protect your hands.”

Loki handed them over and Tony took them hesitantly. They didn't seem to be particularly thick and he worried that they wouldn't keep his hands safe. They might even melt in the hot lava.

“Are you sure?”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “Are you unsure of my magic?”

Tony considered that. He was unsure of all magic, in the vaguest sense, but if there were any magic he trusted it would be Loki's.

“No, I guess not.”

Loki's lips quirked up in a smile. “Even if you are doubtful of my magic, trust in me. I would not let you get hurt, my dearest.”

Tony's heart fluttered at the endearment. It seemed like that was going to be a pattern from now on and he couldn't deny that he liked it. There might have been a slight blush rising on his cheeks, but he ignored it.

“Yeah. I believe you.”

And he did. Loki had protected him so far, and he trusted that he would continue to do so in the future. He would prefer to be able to take care of himself, but if he couldn't, he wanted Loki to be the one to do it.

“Get started, then,” Loki told him. “Sven, if you would?”, he asked, gesturing to a far wall.

He and the dwarf walked over to the edge of the room, and though they weren't that far away, Tony couldn't hear them talking. He assumed Loki had put some kind of shield up so that they wouldn't be heard. The curiousity gnawed at him again. What was Loki having done? He pushed it aside. He had plenty of work to do on his own.

He started working, letting his hands do what they would. There were plenty of moulds around the room, and large hammers, obviously meant for striking the metals into shape. He grew used to them easily, and his mind wandered as he worked.

Loki's freak out from the night before was still fresh on his mind and his thoughts twisted through it, trying to process what had happened. Loki had obviously thought he was going to be angry about the whole thing. No, that wasn't right. Not angry. Upset? Disgusted, maybe? It was clear that he had been expecting some kind of negative reaction, and a visceral one at that.

But Tony hadn't cared, because really, why would he? Aliens were aliens and the different species were fascinating, sure, but he didn't think any of them were really any better than the others. They probably all had their better and worse qualities, just like humans.

But Loki didn't see it that way. He had said he was raised to hate the Jotun (to hate himself), and that, that Tony could understand. He had always hated himself, first as Howard's son (because his father hated him, and how could that not make an impact on his child's mind?), then as a sub, then as the Merchant of Death. The rest of the world loved him, but he had never been able to extend that same favor to himself.

But for Loki, he was missing the admiration of his people. He had been shunned by the Aesir for his dominant nature, and the Jotun saw him as an Asgardian, their natural enemy. And then he came to Earth, where he brought an alien invasion and he became a detested face of the world. Public enemy number one. That couldn't have been good for his self esteem.

It wasn't like he was a bad person. There was a lot Tony didn't know about him, sure, but from what he had seen, he was pretty amazing. He was kind to everyone they had come across, doms and subs alike. There were plenty of people in the world that couldn't say that. And he may have made some mistakes as a dom, such as leaving so soon after their first scene, but he had never been raised in a society that taught those things, so how could he have known? And he was quick to learn from his mistakes. He had given him plenty of aftercare this morning, laying with him and soothing him until he came up. It had been nice. That wasn't even to mention how Loki had gone out of his way to do nice things for him, like taking him to the temple in Alfheim, or providing him with alcohol once he realized he was going through withdrawal.

Which led to another line of thought – he really missed drinking. He didn't need the alcohol to avoid withdrawal anymore, as he had stepped down from it gently enough, but that wasn't the reason he drank in the first place and it wasn't like his problems had just disappeared. There were still the demons at the edges of his mind (dark cave, machine gun fire, Obie's fingers full of thick rings), and he longed for the chance to forget them. Loki distracted him, but he couldn't make it go away. Only the alcohol could do that. He knew he could ask Loki for it, and he would almost certainly give it to him, but he felt like he shouldn't. Like this was his chance to do better and get away from that life and what would it say about him as a person if he were to waste it?

Because of course he wanted to be a better man. For himself, for Pepper, for Rhodey, for all the people who looked up to him. But mostly now for Loki. And that was weird, because he suddenly cared so much more. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and he didn't particularly want to dwell on it.

He looked back down at his hands to realize that he had formed several of the slabs of sarblone into careful pieces. It took him only a moment to realize that they were the first parts of an Iron Man suit. It would be a difficult thing to make with these unfamiliar materials, but it wasn't like he hadn't done it before. He made the first suit in a cave with little more than this. The only real question was whether or not he would be able to connect JARVIS to it. That would be tricky with minimally electrical parts, but he thought he could do it. Maybe Loki could put some magic into it to replace the electricity.

He started to ask him, but as he looked up he realized he was nowhere to be seen. Sven was working silently at another table but otherwise the room was empty.

“Uh, where's Loki?”

Sven looked up at him. “He had other places to be. He asked me to show you back to your guest quarters when you were done for the night.”

“Night? What time is it?” He immediately realized that Sven wouldn't be able to answer him in any way that would make sense. “Never mind. Did Loki say where he was going?”

He didn't love the idea that he had just left him here alone (or with Sven, but he wasn't sure how much he trusted him), but he assumed he had a good reason.

Sven shook his head. “No. But he has always been secretive.”

Tony thought of the truths that had been laid bare between them. His own submission, Loki's ancestry. Hints of his PTSD and Loki's childhood. But he would bet that there were still plenty of secrets between them, on both of their behalfs. He hoped that they would disappear with enough time.

“Yeah, okay.” He rubbed his eyes. “I guess I am tired.”

Sven nodded. “Come with me, then.”

Tony glanced down at the pieces of the Iron Man suit he had created. “Should I take this with me, or...?”

“It will be safe here,” Sven assured.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He had always been very reserved with his Iron Man technology, and with good reason. There were plenty of people who wanted to use it for their own ends, ends he didn't agree with. This was something for him and him alone. He wasn't sure that he trusted Sven with that. Loki seemed to trust him, but what if he was wrong? But he probably wouldn't even know what he was looking at. And it wasn't like Tony could just carry it with him. There was way too much of it for that, even though it was light. It looked like he didn't have a choice.

“Okay. Just take care of it, please. It's...special.”

“Of course. There is a magical barrier around my cave. No one gets in without my knowledge and will. I was surprised when you came in, but Loki has always been a welcome guest, and that makes anyone he travels with one as well.”

That offered at least some measure of protection and Tony had to admit he felt better about it. It wouldn't protect the technology from Sven's own hands, but there was nothing he could do about that.

“Then lead the way.”

Sven started to leave the cave, turning around once he reached the front to make sure Tony was following. He was, and let Sven lead him down the long tunnel he and Loki had come in through. The white orbs above their heads shone just as brightly as before and he was almost surprised when the came out the front and he saw that it really was night. He tilted his head upward and felt his breath whoosh out of him. There were so many stars. There was no moon, but tiny pinpricks of light covered the sky, hundreds, maybe thousands more than he would have seen on Earth. He had never cared that much about astronomy, but this took his breath away.

“They say Svartlheim has the best view of the night sky in all the realms.”

He could easily believe it. He forced his gaze back down to Sven's level. “It's beautiful.”

Sven nodded. “I've never been off the realm, myself, but I can't imagine anywhere else could have a sight like this.”

Tony found himself to be in agreement, but before he could speak Sven started walking again. They walked for a few minutes in silence before Sven spoke up again.

“Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?”

Tony was quiet for a moment, considering his answer. He knew Loki was on the run, and he knew he had said it was best not to let people know the truth about them. But Loki seemed to trust this man, and he didn't have the knowledge to back up a lie anyway.

“Earth.” Sven looked at him quizically, so he corrected himself. “Midgard.”

“Ah. I don't think I've ever come across a Midgardian before.”

Tony grinned. “And you'll never find another one like me.”

Sven chuckled. “Now that I believe. If you've convinced Loki to take you on as a sub...well, that's quite the achievement.”

Tony laughed as well, but it was pensive. “I don't know how I managed it, to be honest with you. I think he chose me rather than the other way around.”

“That's probably true, with him.” He was quiet for a moment. “How well do you know him?”

Tony took a minute, unsure of how to answer that. “More so every day,” he finally settled on.

Sven hummed. “Be careful with him. He is a good man, but he takes care of himself first.”

He wasn't sure that that was true. It certainly hadn't been his own experience.

“How well do you know him?”, he quieried, parrying the question back at him.

“I've known him for a few hundred years,” he answered.

That stopped Tony's thoughts in their tracks and he nearly stopped walking before his feet caught up with his brain and kept moving. A few hundred years? How long had Loki been alive? Suddenly his forty some years of life seemed so small in the face of what seemed like an eternity. The vastness of it was hard to cope with for a moment. But then Sven was speaking again, and the moment passed as quickly as it came.

“I've done many commissions for him over the years. Some weapons, some trinkets...” He trailed off, then picked his sentence back up. “From what I understand, I'm the only dwarf he'll work with.”

“You were the first one he ever came to, then? That's some kind of loyality.”

Sven grinned. “Not the first. Just the best.”

Tony smiled to himself. So Loki had a thing for master craftsman. That at least made sense as to why he had chosen him. Not that he had really known at the time that Tony was an engineer, and the best at that. It had to be more than that. He thought of the first day in the penthouse, falling to his knees and how very right it felt. Maybe it was like that for Loki, too.

“We're here,” Sven said.

When Tony looked up they were in front of the building he and Loki had stayed in the night before. “Thanks for walking me home.”

But this wasn't really home, was it? Home was on Earth, with JARVIS and the bots and Iron Man. But if he could have Iron Man here, wouldn't that be nearly as good? It might be worth it to stay with Loki, if he would have him.

“You're welcome,” Sven answered, starting to walk off.

Tony turned to go inside. “Wait!”

Sven turned back to him. “Yes?”

Tony looked at him sheepishly. “I don't know how to get in. Loki used magic but I don't know how to do that.”

“Ah. I forgot about that. Loki said he keyed the magic to the bracelet on your wrist. Just hold it up to the door and it will open for you.”

Tony did as he was told, lining the bracelet up with the door, and it opened for him without any trouble.

“Thank you.”

Sven nodded and walked away. Tony took that as his cue to go inside. The building was just the same as he remembered, and he turned in a circle trying to figure out which door he was supposed to go into. They all looked the same. How was he supposed to know? Hopefully his bracelet would only work its magic on the correct door.

He went up to one at random and pressed the bracelet against the door. Nothing happened. That was probably a good sign, unless it meant that the bracelet wouldn't work for the inside door at all. Then he would be stuck out here in what was essentially a lobby, and that didn't seem very safe. He tried another door with no success. He turned in another circle, hoping to see some kind of distinguishing feature that he hadn't noticed before. He didn't. He tried four more doors before he found the right one, but once it did the door disappeared and his room opened before him.

He stepped inside to see that the room was mostly as he had left it, except for a large table up against the wall. It was ornate, with green jewels down the legs, and he knew at once that it must be Loki's. On the table sat three things: several plates of food, the magical tattoos, and the headband they had bought at the market in Alfheim. He grinned. Loki had obviously left those for him to play with.

But first, food. He hadn't realized that he hadn't eaten all day, since he was used to going hours upon hours without food, but now that it was in front of him he was hungry. He slid the chair out and moved a plate closer to him. It looked vaguely like steak, and he wondered if it was the meat of whatever kind of animal lived in Svartlheim. Maybe he should have been hesitant to taste it, but he had always been the adventurous sort, and he trusted Loki not to give him anything dangerous.

Loki had left him with a fork and knife, which he must have gotten from Earth, and he cut off a piece of the meat and ate it. He couldn't describe the taste, because it was unlike any meat he had ever eaten, but it was good, and he devoured the entire thing. The other plates held food that was less familiar, but he ate it anyway. The only thing he didn't like was something green and mushy, which he found tasted a lot like what he imagined moss would taste like, and he ate one bite of it and then pushed it away to the far end of the table. He was full by the time he finished, and he went to grab the glass of drink.

He got it close to his mouth before his nose kicked in and he realized it was scotch. He smiled. Loki probably still thought he needed alcohol to avoid his withdrawal, but it was still sweet that he had remembered his favorite kind. He sipped at it slowly, trying to enjoy each moment. He focused on the burn as it went down his throat and into his stomach, and it felt like coming home after a long, tiring day. Soon it was gone, and he wished for more, but there was no more to be had.

He leaned back in the chair, surveying what was left in front of him – two and a half empty plates, an empty glass, and the magical toys. He started to reach for the headband, curious as to what it could do, but as he leaned forward in the chair again his body drooped and he realized he needed sleep. He hadn't needed sleep this regularly on Earth, but maybe things were different here. Maybe the atmosphere was different, or the length of the day. How long had he been working? He really had no idea.

Regardless, it was probably best that he get some sleep. There would be plenty of time to play with his toys later, maybe even when Loki was around to show him how it worked. He stood up and started to climb into bed before he noticed that Loki had left him some pajamas laying on the covers. He smiled. Of course Loki would think about everything he needed.

He stripped off his clothes, and was immediately aware of how absolutely hot it was. Sweat began to form above his brow, and he knew that if he were on Earth and outside in this heat, his skin would burn quickly. He could only hope that Loki had remembered to spell the pajamas to cool him. He put them on as quickly as he could, and once he had them on, the heat dissapated easily so that he was a comfortable temparature again. He sighed in relief.

So that was the kind of heat Loki had been feeling this entire time? That must be especially hard for – what had he called it? - a Frost Giant. He couldn't imagine the toll it must have taken on him. But thoughts of Loki led him to thoughts of where he had gone. He hadn't left him alone a single time during their time together, except for a few minutes after their first scene when he was getting information about the Other. Was this like that? Was he closing in? He had no way of knowing, or even when Loki would be back, so there was nothing he could do about it now.

He climbed in bed and pulled the covers up over him. It wasn't too hot, and he wondered if Loki had spelled those as well, or if it was just something natural they did in Svartlheim so that visitors wouldn't melt. It didn't matter. He rolled over. The bed felt empty without Loki in it. It took him a long time to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

When Tony woke up, he was alone in bed. He reached over to Loki's usual spot. It was warm, but that may have just been because the bed was magically temperature controlled. He had no idea what the people around here could do, much less Loki himself. He grabbed Loki's pillow, which was cooler. He hugged it to his chest. He could only remember fragments of his dreams. On his knees, cold floor, Obie sitting at the table doing paperwork. Tony was looking up at him, and he thought this isn't so bad. Ropes around his wrists, gentle kisses just before teeth bit down. Of course he missed it.

He sat up and threw the covers off, suddenly angry. He wanted a drink. He wanted Obie. Hell, he deserved Obie. Fuck. He stood up and stalked toward the bathroom, shedding clothes as he went, tossing them on the floor with what was probably more force than was necessary. He slid down into the bath – still large, about the size of the one in his master bedroom, but smaller than the one in Alfheim had been. The water was warm, which he was glad for. He hated cold water on a good day, and this was not turning out to be a good day.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to chase away the image of Obie smoking a cigar – Tony had hated the smell, but never said anything, because that really wasn't his place, now was it? Sometimes he thought he was better than this. Sometimes he thought it didn't matter. He was a sub, no matter the lengths he had gone to to hide it. Subs were made to be used, right?

He knew he didn't mean that. He was all about subs rights for the rest of the world. He had publicly campaigned for them on more than one occasion. He had power, so he might as well use it for the right thing. But it didn't feel that way when it came to himself. He felt small and worthless and hopeless and a lot of other words that he didn't really want to focus on right now. He hated being a sub. But at the same time, he needed it. This time he had spent with Loki had only cemented that. This was who he was, and he knew he should work on accepting it, but no, no, Stark men are made of iron.

He closed his eyes and kept breathing. This wasn't a panic attack. It didn't feel like that. His chest wasn't tight – instead, it was heavy, like there were rocks inside instead of on top. His heartbeat was slow and steady. He wanted a drink. He wanted to throw something. He opened his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face, the water dripping from his forehead down to his chin. He stared at his hands, watched as one hand moved toward the other, out of his control, everything was out of his control, and wrapped around the opposite wrist, squeezing just tight enough to remind him it was there. He hated himself for the way it soothed him.

He heard a noise behind him and turned to see Loki coming into the room. He swallowed hard. He didn't really want Loki to see him like this, but there was nothing he could do. Maybe he could try to hide it, but that didn't seem like it would work very well. He wasn't sure how literal the god of lies thing was, but he didn't want to test it, not now. He didn't have the energy or the will.

“Hey, Loki.”

Loki hummed behind him. “What's wrong, Tony?”

Tony huffed. So much for hiding it, even if he had tried. He looked back down to realize that he was still holding on to one wrist. He quickly pulled it away and glanced back to Loki, hoping he hadn't noticed. His expression said that he had.

“What's wrong?” he repeated.

His voice was gentle, but it held the undercurrent of a command. And what was Tony supposed to do with that? He felt helpless again, but it was laced with something pleasant, the weight in his chest lifting slightly.

“Just bad dreams,” he finally said.

Loki walked further into the room so that he stood in front of Tony. Tony's eyes followed him across the room.

“Do you want to talk about them?”

The note of command was gone, and Tony immediately missed it. He didn't want to need this.

“No.”

Obie's hand on his lower back, leading him into a Stark industries event. A hand too tight in his hair. His hands moved unconsciously to his own hair to replicate the feeling, but he stopped halfway through, staring up at Loki helplessly.

Loki considered him for a moment. “Get out of the bath.”

He stood up. It wasn't worth arguing. That was the only reason he moved so quickly, lifting himself out of the low tub. Water dripped down on the floor, leaving dark circles where it hit. Loki was holding out a towel, and he took it without a word. What would he even say? The material wasn't anything that he was familiar with and for the briefest of moments he wanted to test it, see if he could recreate it, but the thought passed quickly, like a leaf flying by on a windy day. What did it really matter what he wanted?

He dried off, hands probably a bit rougher moving over his skin than they should have been, and handed the towel back to Loki. Loki tossed it in the corner rather than just making it disappear, which was probably weird, probably something he should care about, but he was so caught up in his own head that he barely noticed.

“Come get dressed.”

Tony nodded and made his way back into the bedroom. The clothes he had abandoned on the floor were neatly folded on the table, but there was a fresh outfit laid out on the bed. He put it on through rote, barely paying any attention to what he was doing.

“Tony, what do you need?”

He turned back to Loki. He needed... He shook his head. Obie's hand on his shoulder, smile for the cameras, fingers digging into his flesh to remind him who was in charge. He took a deep breath.

“A drink.”

Loki hummed again, but didn't argue, pulling a drink from the place where he kept things. Or did he just create them out of thin air? It didn't matter. He handed it to him. Tony hesitated, staring at his outstretched hand. He didn't like being handed things. But this was Loki, and Loki was safe, right? He looked up at Loki's face. He was waiting patiently. Tony swallowed, but took the drink. He knew scotch was made for sipping, but he downed the whole thing in one drink anyway.

“Another, please. Maybe two fingers this time.”

Loki stared. “I do not think that is wise. If you keep drinking, you'll just be drunk and upset.”

“Fuck you.” He regretted it as soon as he said it.

But Loki just continued looking at him, a small frown flitting over his face, so fast Tony wasn't sure it had been there at all. Loki grabbed him by the wrist. He started to pull away, but his grip was firm, though not painful. He led him over to the chair, where Loki sat. He let go of his wrist.

“Kneel.”

Tony looked away, gritting his teeth. “No.”

Loki was silent for a moment. “No?”

There was no rebuke in the question, just curiosity. Tony hated himself.

“I don't have to do what you tell me.”

He was rebelling like a child. Like a bad sub, like a... A whip smacking against his back, Obie's voice cutting through the pain. I don't want to have to punish you, Tony. I wouldn't have to do this if you would just behave.

Loki tilted his head to the side. “No, you're right, you don't.”

Tony huffed out a breath. This wasn't working. This wasn't what he wanted, certainly not what he needed, not what Loki wanted either. He was tired even as he was keyed up.

“You can do whatever you like,” Loki continued. “I don't believe in taking complete control from subs. Consent is important to me.”

Tony bit his lip. It was the right thing to say in the moment, and he recognized that.

“But I think you want to, don't you?”

The words were a question but the tone beneath them was more like saying something they both already knew.

“Loki, I can't...” He trailed off, not sure what he was going to say, or how to say it, or how to do anything with this whole mess.

“Why not?”

He gestured at nothing, the words stuck in his throat. He didn't want to talk about this, didn't want Loki here at all, didn't want to be conscious or sober or breathing. But he was here, and so was Loki, and the moment stretched on, Loki waiting for him to figure out how to speak again. He shook his head.

“Turn around,” Loki said, no longer a question.

Tony turned, eyes fixed on the wall in front of him. Loki grabbed both wrists and a spark of something moved through him, but he shoved it down. Loki brought his arms back behind him and he felt ropes wrap loosely around them. He ached for them to tighten as much as he wanted to pull out of them, which he could with them this loose.

“Do you want this?”

It wasn't sexual. He knew that, and he didn't want it to be. He didn't want...

“Please.” He almost whimpered at how needy he sounded.

“I need you to say 'yes', Anthony.” Loki's voice was firm, but somehow still so gentle.

“Yes. Yes, sir.” His mouth betrayed him and he closed his eyes.

The ropes wrapped tighter around his wrists. They weren't painful, just firm enough to remind him that they were there. He could feel the weight in his chest ease even more.

“Come on, turn back around.” He did it, wordless. “Do you want to kneel for me?”

There was no command in it, only a question, an offer, and Tony found himself nodding. “Yes, sir.”

“Kneel.”

There was the command, and he sank down, both physically and metaphorically, feeling almost light now. He waited to see what Loki would do next, but he didn't move for a while. Tony's breath slowed, and he felt all the anger evaporate. This was better. This wasn't Obie. And maybe... Maybe he did deserve better. Maybe he deserved Loki.

And then the thoughts slowed down as well until there was nothing but this moment, and this moment was peace. He drifted that way for a while. At some point he realized that the ropes had fallen away from his wrists, but he kept them behind his back.

“Tony.”

He looked up, still half in a daze.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, sir.” He nodded as he spoke.

“Come here. Lay your head on my knee.”

Tony did it, and it was suddenly the most comforting position he had ever been in. He wanted to stay here.

“Can you tell me what happened to upset you?”

He thought momentarily about arguing, but why would he? Loki was safe. Loki cared. Loki was not Obie.

“I had nightmares.”

Loki waited for him to continue, but when he didn't, he spoke again. “You seem to have those quite frequently.”

“I do.” He left it at that, not wanting to elaborate.

“Tony, I...” Loki hesitated. “I've never done the dom thing for someone before, but I've traveled a lot. I know subs need...” He was quiet again. “And I just want you to know that you can always come to me for this, okay?”

Something told him that was untrue, but it was far away. Right now, there was only Loki. And if Loki said it was okay, then it must be.

“Okay.”

~*~

It was midday by the time they made it to Sven's cave again. Tony felt much more centered than he had that morning, but there was still the undercurrent of guilt (worry?) that he had let himself be that vulnerable. He trusted Loki, wise or not, but it was a built-in coping mechanism to ignore that side of himself. Subspace was something so personal for him. It was special. He had always struggled with it, even with Obadiah, but with Loki it just felt natural. His defenses fell so easily. He wasn't sure that he liked it. But still, he couldn't deny that he felt better.

Sven greeted them warmly, leading them into his cave again. Tony found his half-formed Iron Man suit exactly where he had left it. It didn't seem to have been touched, and he was suddenly grateful that he had been able to trust the dwarf after all. With everything else, he had forgotten to be worried about it, but the relief crashed over him like a wave now. Of course he could trust him – Loki had said as much. Speaking of...

He turned back to Loki. “Will you be staying today?”

Loki looked momentarily surprised. “Do you want me to?”

“Yes.”

The answer was quick. He wanted Loki everywhere that he was. He wanted him beside him in bed, beside him while he worked, beside him while he ate, hell, beside him while he bathed, and that wasn't even a sexual thing. He started to tell Loki that, but the small smile on his face cut the words short. He would give anything to make him happy.

He was distracted from staring at Loki's lips when Sven spoke. “Well, you're welcome to stay. We've known each other long enough that I trust you with my secrets.”

Loki turned and smiled again, but it was a different smile, less personal, less shining. Tony found that he liked that there was a smile reserved for him alone.

“I will stay,” Loki confirmed.

It turned out not to matter after all, as Tony got caught up in the work on the Iron Man suit and forgot anyone else even existed. He preferred to have music when he worked, but he could focus just as fully without it. The pieces came together slowly, but they fit into each other perfectly. He came out of his daze only once to ask for more of the sarblone, but once he had it in his hand he was right back to work. He had nearly finished the headpiece, the last of what he had to do when Loki spoke, pulling him out of his workspace.

“Tony.”

He looked up. “Yeah?”

“It's late.”

“Uh-huh.” He was still half distracted and didn't catch the implication at first. He kept working at a piece of the sarblone, trying to get the eye holes just right.

Loki laughed. “Do you want to go to bed?”

Tony frowned, glancing between Loki and the nearly completed headpiece. “I'm almost done.”

Loki walked over to him, examining his work carefully. Tony doubted he knew what he was looking at, but he looked at it in wonder all the same.

“It truly is a marvel.”

“Yeah, it is.”

He had never been the humble type, and this wasn't an exception. He knew the skill he had in the work he did, and the Iron Man suits were arguably his greatest creation. They were his most personal at the least, and thus they would always have a special place in his heart.

“I'm not so sure about this version, though.”

Loki tilted his head to the side. “Why not? It looks perfect.”

“Yeah, but it's built without my usual materials.” Memories caught him for a moment, his hands running over napalm in a hot cave. He pushed them down and continued. “Even if I don't think about JARVIS, there's so much more that goes into it. Electricity to say the least. That's not something I can just make.”

Loki moved his hands down the nearly completed suit, looking contemplative. “Electricity... it's not a term the Allspeak is very familiar with. But it's, at its essence, a form of energy, yes?”

Tony grinned. Leave it to Loki to get it, even if the Allspeak bungled the meaning. “Yep. I'm not quite sure I'm going to be able to make the suit work without it.”

“Would a different form of energy work? Say, my magic?”

He had considered that, of course, but he wasn't sure if it would have been rude to ask. But if Loki was the one who brought it up...

“I think so. I mean, I don't really understand magic at all, so I can't be positive. But energy is energy, right? The question is whether or not you can understand the Iron Man technology well enough to adapt your magic to it.”

“Never doubt my magic, Tony.”

He didn't, not really. There was very little that he believed Loki couldn't do. That trust may be misplaced, but he had no proof of that so far, and he didn't expect to. So yes, he thought that Loki could do it, no matter how advanced the Iron Man technology might be.

“Show me how it works,” Loki told him.

Tony lit up. He loved explaining his work, even if he didn't do it often. There were very few he trusted with trade secrets, and even fewer who would understand a word out of his mouth. But Loki was smart. There was no denying that. So he went over the basic parts, the repulsor technology, the way the plates fit together, even how the HUD was ideally supposed to function. Loki listened intently, nodding at appropriate places along the way. By the time he had finished his speech, Tony had finished up the headpiece and he slotted it into place triumphantly.

“All you now, darling.”

Loki ran his hands over it again, more thoroughly this time, checking the seams, the material, the mold of the sarblone. He paid special attention to the areas Tony had focused on, fingertips moving carefully across the palms where the repulsors should theoretically work. He hummed to himself as he checked it, a habit that Tony had already learned to find endearing.

Loki's hands began to glow, something Tony knew wasn't generally necessary with his magic. Either this was a different kind of magic, maybe more intensive, or the glow was for show. There was no way of knowing with Loki. Either way, he found he liked the way the blue lit up his hand. He would have expected it to be green, but it was still familiar – Oh. It was the blue of the arc reactor. Probably intentional, then. It made him smile.

Before Loki could even say anything, the eye holes lit up. There was no JARVIS in it obviously, but if there was power, then he could probably add him in later. He whooped with joy.

“You did it.”

“I think so,” Loki confirmed. “But I'm not sure. You should try it out to see if it works.”

The glow faded and Loki seemed to droop, his shoulders slumping out of his usual good posture. Tony focused on the suit, clicking the latches to open it so that he could step inside. It fit him as perfectly as usual, and he let out a giddy little laugh at being inside the suit again. It was like coming back home, except better, because now he had Loki with him.

Once he was fully enveloped in the suit he took a step, then another, just testing how it moved. It was smooth, and he repeated the movement with his arms, then spun around a few times. His head spun with him, the beginning of dizziness flirting with his skull, but he stopped before it could hinder him. Then it was time for the big test. He tried to start the repulsors, and was delighted to find that not only did they work, but there was also more power to them than he expected. It threw him off balance for a moment and he flew up higher than he meant to, but he caught himself before he hit the roof of the cave. He spun around again now that he had gained his equilibrium. He flipped the faceplate up.

“It worked!”

His excitement was palpable, and Loki grinned at him. “I'm glad, little one.”

Sven approached from the side. Tony had gotten so caught up in the joy of being in the suit that he had honestly forgotten that the dwarf was even there, but he turned to him now.

“This is a fascinating thing you've built.” He looked at him in awe. “Loki was right. You truly are a master craftsman.”

“So they say,” Tony chuckled.

“I think that there is much I could learn from you if you only had the time to stay here.”

“Probably,” Tony answered. “But from what I've heard, I could learn quite a bit from you as well. But I don't think we'll be here long.” He turned to Loki for confirmation.

Loki shook his head. “This realm is very draining on my magic. It is best that we do not linger here. But, we can at least stay the night so that you can get some rest.”

He didn't want to rest. He wanted to stay up and fly, maybe test the weapons systems in this suit, though it wasn't made with weapons in mind. But he knew Loki had a point, and it really would be nice to curl up in bed with him, so he nodded in agreement. He let the suit fall gently so that his feet were firmly on the ground, then began the process of manually unhooking each clasp so that he could step out of it.

“Thank you, Sven,” Loki said with a small bow.

“Yes, thank you,” Tony echoed, attempting to execute a bow of his own. It was much clumsier than Loki's, but Sven seemed to accept it all the same.

“May your future be bright,” Sven said in response.

Loki nodded, then began leading Tony out of the cave. He disappeared the Iron Man suit, but it looked like it took a toll on him. Tony had just a moment to worry, but it didn't last long because Loki was still walking and Tony was talking animatedly, a skip in his step.

“That was so cool. You've totally got to let me test out your magic sometime. That's allowed, right? It's just so fascinating. I knew it was just another form of energy. I knew it.”

Loki laughed. “It's not quite that simple.”

“Bullshit. I bet I could understand if I was just given time and the right tools.”

“Maybe,” Loki conceded. “I hope that one day we're able to find out.”

Tony was a few steps ahead before he realized that Loki had stopped walking. He turned to see him staring ahead, watching Tony.

“What's up?”

Loki smiled, coming up to meet him on the path. “I have something for you.”

“Ooh, a present.” Tony bounced on the balls of his feet.

“Yes, love, a present.”

“Is that what you commissioned Sven for?”

“Yes, clever boy. It's something special.”

Tony waited for him to continue, trying to stand with patience that he didn't feel. Loki reached forward and grabbed his arm. He brought it up and slipped the Alfheim bracelet off. Tony frowned, not liking the direction this was going, but willing to see where it ended up. Loki pulled out another bracelet, this one far fancier, and slid it onto his wrist instead. It fit perfectly. He pulled it up to his face to examine it closer.

The band itself was made of some kind of metal, though he couldn't identify what it was exactly. There were four silver beads running across the top with carefully carved runes. He had done enough research back in the beginning that he knew that it was a name. Loki. That in itself was enough to make him smile bright and wide. But as he turned the bracelet over, he realized that the back half was covered in bright stones, an alternating pattern of the green Loki was so fond of and arc reactor blue. It was such a thoughtful gesture that he thought he might burst.

“I wasn't sure if you would like it,” Loki started. “I know you said you liked the Alfheim bracelet for what it represented, but I wasn't sure if this would be too personal. It's also imbued with protective magic, so if you should ever find yourself in trouble without me it will endow you with a certain level of safety. Of course, if you don't like it you don't have to -”

Tony cut off his babbling with a kiss. Loki returned it eagerly until he pulled away. “No, I love it. I will never in my life give it up.”

Loki smiled, but it was a little sad. “I hope not. But you never know what the future holds.”

“Yeah, but at least we'll be together.”

Loki didn't answer.

Chapter Text

The next morning when Tony woke, he was alone in the bed again. He rolled over, eyes opening blearily until he could see Loki sitting in a chair beside the bed. He was reading a thick book, too engrossed in the pages to notice that Tony was awake. He took a moment to stare at him. His green eyes flicked carefully over each sentence, intent on the words. He looked soft like this. Tony had seen him soft before, of course, even so recently as yesterday, but there was something special about the way his face relaxed while he read; it made Tony smile, the gentlest upturn of his lips.

“Good morning,” he said, nearly a whisper. He loathed breaking the moment.

Loki looked up at him. “Good morning, Tony. How did you sleep?”

“Really well, actually.” He sat up with a yawn. “I don't think I dreamed at all.”

“I'm glad.”

He put down his book. Tony took a look at the cover, but it was indecipherable. It seemed the Allspeak didn't translate to written text. Loki sat down beside him on the bed, reaching over to run a careful hand through his hair.

“We need to go today.”

The last of the sleepiness fled from Tony's mind at that. “Why? Is the Other here?”

Loki shook his head. “No, not yet. But I had... a visitor during the night.”

“A visitor? Your informant?”

Loki sighed. “No, not as such. It was Frigga.”

“Your mother?” Tony called out with surprise. He wasn't aware that the two of them were on speaking terms.

Loki closed his eyes and visibly swallowed. “She... Yes. My mother.”

It obviously hurt him to say it, but Tony didn't understand the nuances in the word. It seemed so complicated, the adoption thing, and he knew it wasn't something they had time to get into at the moment, so he pretended not to notice.

“Okay. Where are we going next?”

He mentally sifted through the realms he was familiar with. He still hadn't had a chance to use the headband Loki had bought him that was supposed to let him explore the realms. He made a note to himself to ask how to use it as soon as they got the chance.

“Midgard,” Loki answered.

That snapped Tony's attention back to him. “Midgard?”

That was dangerous. His friends were there, and JARVIS, but so was SHIELD, and Loki couldn't afford to be caught by them right now. He needed to be free to move around, to escape quickly if the Other came around. Tony would have his bots and his tower, but he wasn't sure that that would be enough to protect both of them from the might of all of SHIELD.

“Are you sure that's the best idea?”

“No,” Loki admitted. “But it was what my mother advised.”

“I would have thought you were the type to make your own choices.”

It wasn't meant to be a barb, but he was pretty sure it had come across as one, but Loki didn't seem to mind.

“I am. But Frigga has the gift of a seer. It is more important to heed her advice than most.”

“Oh? And what is it she saw?”

Loki shook his head. “She didn't tell me. She never does. I think that's a rule from the Norns themselves. She can never speak directly of the future. She can only offer vague advice, and those she offers it to have the choice of whether or not to take it. I choose to do so.”

“Okay. When do we leave?”

“It doesn't have to be immediately. You have time for a bath if you wish for one.”

“That would be nice.”

He hadn't had a chance to bathe yesterday, and while he had certainly gone far longer without it, it wasn't his preference. Baths had always soothed him, as long as his head didn't have to go under the water.

“You'll find everything you need already in there,” Loki said with a gesture toward the bathroom.

“You won't be joining me?” That was vaguely disappointing.

“No. I've already had a bath this morning, and I have a few things I need to take care of on this realm before we leave.”

Tony wasn't sure what that meant, but it didn't sound like he wanted to discuss the details, so he just nodded in acceptance and went to get clean.

When he got out of the bath some indeterminate amount of time later (because he might have spent quite a bit of time just enjoying the steam and the warm water against his muscles, which were always sore these days), he walked back into the bedroom to find clothes waiting for him. They were typical Earth clothes – jeans and a band tee. Wait, were those clothes from his own closet? Upon closer inspection, they were. He smiled to himself while he put them on. Loki was so thoughtful.

Thoughtful and not here. Once he was dressed, he sat in the same chair Loki had been reading in earlier. It was comfortable, and he found himself relaxing into it. He let his mind drift to what he would

do when they got back to Earth. Would he be able to speak to his friends, to Pepper? It might not be a good idea if they were trying to stay off SHIELD's radar. Did that mean he couldn't go back to his tower at all? He desperately missed JARVIS. But he couldn't really make any plans of his own until he figured out what Loki needed to do there.

Which led to a new train of thought. Where was Loki? He had said he had some business to conclude on this realm, but Tony didn't know what that meant or how long it might take. Would he be stuck in this room for a while? He was left with nothing but the book Loki had been reading earlier, which was sitting on the table beside him.

He picked it up carefully and leafed through it, trying to see if there was anything he could understand. The words were all foreign, just like the title, but the pictures inside seemed like something he could almost understand. It was just beyond his grasp. Was it science? Or magic? Or maybe they were the same thing. He traced his finger over one of the symbols, an intricate shape with swirling curves and sharp jagged lines interspersed with thick dots.

The door slid open and Loki came back in, his eyes following Tony's hand.

“Ah, I see you found my book. Interesting that you choose that sigil. It's generally used as a symbol for technology.”

Tony closed the book. “You have technology on Asgard?”

Loki nodded. “Not in the same way you do on Midgard, but we do have something similar.”

“Maybe you can show me one day.”

Loki hummed, but he looked uncomfortable. “Maybe.”

Tony chose not to comment further. “Have you finished your stuff here?”

“Yes. We can head back to Midgard now.”

“So what's the plan?” he asked, standing. “Are we still hiding from SHIELD? That probably means we shouldn't go back to my tower. I have a house in Malibu but honestly, they've probably overtaken that too. I have a couple of other places, but I don't stay there very often so they won't be well equipped.”

“It's fine. We will go back to your tower. I can keep prying eyes away from us. There are things we need to do there.”

“Okay.”

He really was excited to see his bots again, even if he couldn't contact any of his friends. Maybe there would be time for that later. He hoped there would be. He cared deeply for Loki, but he cared deeply for several people on Earth as well, and he didn't want to lose them permanently, even if it meant getting to keep Loki. If he had to choose, he wasn't sure what choice he would make. He pushed the thought aside.

“I'm ready.”

Loki nodded and took his hand. His palm was warm against Tony's. He blinked, and then they were suddenly back in the tower, in his lab. The temperature was immediately much cooler, as though they had gone from South America up to the Arctic. He shivered for a moment while his body adjusted to the change.

“Welcome back, sir.”

He grinned wide. “Hey, JARVIS. I missed you, buddy.”

“I missed you too, sir. Are you well?”

“Yeah. I'm good. Is SHIELD still in the building?”

“No, sir. They left about a week ago.”

His eyebrows rose. “A week? How long have I been gone?”

“12 days, 14 hours, 17 minutes, and 23 seconds.”

It didn't seem like it had been that long. Inter-realm travel had obviously really messed up his sense of time.

“Okay. What have I missed?”

“You have 39 missed calls, 498 missed e-mails, and you were not present for 3 meetings. Miss Potts has cleared your schedule for the foreseeable future.”

He groaned. “Pepper. How's she doing?”

“She's been worried, sir.” He hesitated. “Shall I contact her?”

He turned to Loki in a silent question, but he didn't answer.

“No, not for now. You haven't told anyone else I'm here, have you?”

“No, sir. My protocol is to keep your location secure unless you give me specific permission to share it.”

“Good.” He really had done a good job programming him. He turned back to Loki. “What now?”

“Actually, I need JARVIS' help. I wanted to see if he could be integrated into your newest suit along with my magic.”

“That's a great idea.”

He moved quickly, pulling up a holoscreen to begin working on it before Loki even pulled the suit out.

“JARVIS, load a scan of Mark VII.”

The two suits were built differently, but it was easier to start with the most recent version than to start from scratch. Once it was up on the screen he began tweaking it, pulling bits aside here and there and adding things in other places. He flicked his hand to open the display and changed the parts inside as well.

“As for materials...” He turned around to see Loki lounging against a worktable, playing with Dum-E. The sight made him smile. “Loki?”

“Hm?” He turned.

“Can you give me a piece of the sarblone? I don't need much. I just need JARVIS to be able to analyze it so I can give him a good idea of what this suit's really about.”

“Of course.”

He handed a piece to Tony, who sat it down on the table. “JARVIS, go ahead and scan that. Tell me what you see.”

“Scanning now.”

It was quiet for just a moment before Loki spoke up. “Do you think you'll be able to integrate them?”

“Hard to tell at this point. The sarblone is such a foreign thing, not to mention the magic you put into the suit. I have no idea how my technology is going to react. I'm going to give it my best shot though.” He thought for a moment. “I really like the idea of having JARVIS in here, though. He's been in every suit I've built, not counting Mark I.”

“I hope it works,” Loki agreed. “Beyond it being a familiar comfort for you, it is my hope that JARVIS will offer you an extra layer of protection should you need it.”

“Scan complete.”

“What've you got for me, J?”

“The material is unlike anything I've ever seen. Where did you get it?”

“In Alfheim. It's this cool place where... Nevermind. I don't think I have time to explain everything right now. I will eventually. What else can you tell me about it?”

“It's strong, stronger even than vibranium. It's nearly weightless, this sample coming in at only 11 micrograms. It seems that it would be incredibly moldable, but I would need to see it moved before I can be sure. Would you like me to do further testing through touch?”

He shook his head. “No, not right now. I already know exactly how moldable it is. There's something else I want you to scan. Loki?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Can you bring out the full suit? JARVIS being able to scan the sarblone is a start, but the whole thing is hopeless if he can't get a read on your magic.”

Loki wordlessly pulled the suit out, letting it hover gently above the ground through the repulsors in its boots.

“JARVIS?”

“Yes, sir.”

“He won't be able to understand it,” Loki warned.

“If any computer can, it will be JARVIS. And if he can't, given enough time, I'll be able to.”

“That I believe. But I'm afraid time is not something we have an overabundance of.”

Tony turned to face him again. “Why? Where are we going after here?”

“I have to retrieve something from this realm before we move on.”

“Yeah, where is it?”

“I'm not entirely sure. It's been shielded from me by a mage. But he is nowhere close to my caliber, and I know just the spell to find out its hiding place.”

“Okay. So what is it?”

Loki frowned. “It's better if you don't know that.”

Tony hadn't really expected him to answer, but it had been worth a shot. He began to ask another question, but was interrupted by JARVIS.

“Scan complete. It seems that the sarblone is just as flexible as I imagined it would be if you've managed to make an entire suit out of it. But of course, I had faith in you, sir.”

“Yeah, I know about the sarblone. What I really want to know about is Loki's magic.”

“It seems to be a form of energy that we have yet to harness on Earth. It's a bit like electricity, but thicker. I do not have the terms to explain it properly.”

“That's okay,” he assured. “What I really need to know is if you can work with it.”

“I think so. Would you like me to try?”

“Go for it.”

They sat in silence while JARVIS worked. The robotic arms that normally made his suits at this point came out to examine it further, pulling apart the pieces. Finally, they all snapped back into place and the eyes lit up blue.

“Integration successful, sir,” the suit's speaker said.

He whooped for joy. “It worked. I knew it would! Okay, so I didn't know, but I was pretty sure. There's very little my technology can't do, even if there's magic involved.”

Loki smiled at him. “That does seem to be true. Would you like to test it to see how the two work together?”

“Fuck yeah. JARVIS, lay it on me.”

The suit broke apart only to reform around him. The suit didn't pinch at all, and he was glad to know that he was still skilled enough at building the armor by hand that he had the measurements right. The faceplate slid down and he was caught in a whirl of blue.

“Woah.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Loki asked.

“No. It's just... weird.” His normal HUD was there, but the suit felt strange. “JARV, is this running on the arc reactor?”

“No, sir. The suit is running on whatever energy it was using before I became a part of it. I believe you called it magic?”

That term was still weird to him, but he let it go. “Yeah. Okay. So what changes have you made now that you're connected?”

“It would be more accurate to ask what changes the magic has made to my operating system. This suit has much better energy efficiency, as well as aiming, offensive, defense, and emergency protocols. Basically, if it could be improved upon, it has been.”

“Awesome.”

He did a small, controlled spin, getting a feel for the new sensation of the suit around him.

“This is so cool. I wish I could test it further, but I would have to go outside for that.”

“You may experiment with it while I go retrieve the stone, so long as you don't let anyone know you're here. I won't be gone long.”

“Uh, I think someone is going to notice if I just go flying around. Pretty sure my airspace clearance has been revoked, considering, you know, everything.”

Loki smiled. “I can shield you.”

“Hah. Shield me from SHIELD.”

“I will be back as soon as I can,” he promised. “You're free to go out and do what you will.”

With that Loki disappeared.

“Okay, JARVIS. Open up and let's see how this thing does.”

The ceiling opened and he shot up through it, twirling in mid-air then doing a few flips before speeding off. It was nice to fly like this again. He did a few tricky maneuvers, getting a feel for this new, lighter suit. He had just gotten the hang of it when something hit him hard and he spun out of control. The HUD lit up with warnings and the alarm went off.

“Wha-”

He got his bearings around him long enough to look up and see a large Chitauri ship coming out through a hole in the sky.

“Well, fuck.”