Hi... I know, it's been a long time. Unfortunately, this is not exactly a comeback. I'm way too busy with school and exams. So instead, I'm just posting a couple stories I had lying in my files.

ONE:
It was only two months after Thanos' fall when Loki, bored and raring to play pranks, found himself in the kitchen, planning out an elaborate trick. That early in the morning, Antonia was the only one in there with him. She had a fresh cup of coffee in her hand, her black shirt pristine, her hair and make-up immaculate for a day of board meetings.

Loki didn't realize he was staring at her (who could blame him? Antonia was a beautiful woman) until, without looking up from her tablet, she quipped, "You know, if you keep staring at someone like that, they might think you're up to something."

He didn't startle, he had better control than that, and he considered ignoring her. But he didn't like not having someone's complete attention, so he answered, "Well, it's hardly my fault if people can't keep their minds open to other considerations. Besides," he challenged. "Perhaps I want them to get the wrong idea."

Antonia looked up at him and clicked her tongue. "Oh darling," she drawled. "I'm the last person you want to get the wrong idea."

The slight upward tilt of her lips, painted a dark pink, was just as clear a threat as the one she'd verbalised and Loki moved her name up to second position on the List Of Dangerous People in his head. But he also winked at her and laughed, feeling warm when she laughed with him.

TWO:
It was pure luck (good or bad, he wasn't sure) that Toni's (and when had she become 'Toni' instead of 'Antonia'?) room was on the way to his. Loki had had his nose in a book, immersed in the story of the orphan boy who had found his dearest friends in a train compartment, when he knocked into someone and dropped his book.

The apology died on his lips at the sight that greeted him. Long hair tumbled down her back, arms bare in the sleeveless top she had on, long legs exposed in the skirt that clung to her hips. Desire flooded him at the sight of the olive skin and he had to consciously remind himself to stay still.

But Toni smirked at him and crooked a finger at him, beckoning him closer. Loki obeyed, stepping towards her. His arms were clenched at his sides, so when she closed the remaining distance between them, the fabric of the skirt brushed against his knuckles, causing her to tense slightly. He returned the smug look with his own and she grinned, the vivid orange colour of her lips bringing out the gold of her eyes that matched her armour. He resisted the urge to suggest she wear that shade in battle. Most of their enemies would be either too intimidated or enamored to attack.

"Careful, babe," she chided, her breath wafting over his skin. "You'll give a girl the wrong idea the way you're staring right now."

Loki simply shifted his hands to graze her waist and smiled pseudo-innocently. He wasn't sure if he was enamored, but he knew he wasn't intimidated.

THREE:
The child, Peter, was unconscious in the gunman's arms. Whatever sedative he had hit with had worked, overcoming his enhancement and rendering him helpless. There was a deep gash down his right cheek and a bruise forming around his temple. Loki could practically feel the anger and guilt radiating from Antoni.

"Let. Him. Go!" She growled, shaking off the Widow's hold on her elbow to restrain her. Loki hoped, for the man's sake, that he would recognise the foolishness of holding Iron Woman's son hostage and let the boy go. But, no, the fool simply adjusted his grip on the weapon in his hand, shifting it against Peter's head.

"Fine," Antonia snarled, low and harsh. "Fine." With zero warning, she drew a gun from the waistband of her jeans and fired three rapid shots, then lifted her other arm, the gauntlet already wrapped around it and released something small. It all happened too quick for even Loki to comprehend, but he looked at the shooter lying on the floor, both his kneecaps and one arm bleeding, and a dart embedded in his chest.

Antonia rushed to Peter, barking orders for somebody to call the medics. Loki watched the rage fall away as she checked Peter's wounds. Her eyes were suddenly wet with tears and her burgundy lipstick had worn off from biting, but nobody approached her, clearly seeing the threat she posed. Woe be the person who tried to take something precious to Antonia Stark.

"Don't take my stuff," she'd once threatened Thor, in reference to the mage. Did that mean...? He dismissed the thought. Attraction was one thing, but it wouldn't do to get attached to a mortal. The thought pained him, though, and he realised it was too late. He was already attached.

FOUR:
He wasn't quite sure what to make of this scene. One of the most powerful heroes of the universe and here she was, giggling like a child as she chatted on the phone with some boy she'd informally adopted.

"I'm not sure that's gonna work, Harl, your mom might just ground both of us," she laughed. "But you can try asking for the summer, it'd be great to have you here."

She ended the call with a grin and turned to look at him. "Hey, Lokes," she greeted. He ignored the skip of his traitorous heart at the pure joy on her face and smiled back.

"Toni," he parroted back.

"Got somewhere to be?"

"No."

"Great, I wanna run a few tests on that magic of yours-"

"Seidr," he corrected.

"Right, sorry, seidr," she agreed. "I've already worked with Thor and Stephen. Your turn, now."

"Last?"

"Well, you know what they say," she winked at him. "Leave the best for the last."

For a split second, Loki wondered what would happen if he bent slightly and captured her lips in a kiss. Then, he cleared his head of the disastrous idea. It was obviously just a little attraction, nothing else at all, possibly because she always wore such flattering shades of lipstick.

"Just wait for me in the lab, please? I just wanna go get cleaned up a bit." She rubbed at the rose pink colour on her lips as she walked away and Loki groaned in frustration.

"Sure, blame the damn colour, of all things," he muttered sarcastically to himself.

FIVE:
The charity gala was boring, filled with old rich men and woman, as well as young wealthy gold-diggers. But Toni had needed a date and nobody else had been willing. He wasn't too eager to examine why he was.

At any rate, when Toni found him again and asked him to dance, he sighed in relief. Taking her gloved hand, he led her out to the floor, where he drew her as close as he dared with a hand on her waist.

"Thank you," she said quietly as they spun around, her long blue dress swaying with their movement. "Thanks for coming tonight."

"It's not a problem," he told her honestly. He neglected to add that by this point he would happily accompany her to the depths of Hel if she asked.

She smiled up at him and he let go of her hand to drag away the dark curls loose around her exposed neck, the rest of her hair done up in a sophisticated do. His heart thudded in his chest when his thumb breezed over her jaw.

"Antonia," he mumbled in warning, as she leaned into his touch.

"Yeah?" She whispered and she was so, so close. Her scent was seductive as ever, her gold eyes dark under her lashes and her mouth was a sinful red that had Loki aching to get a taste of it. Her body was pressed against his, not enough to be indecent, but enough that he knew she could feel his growing interest. She was the very personification of temptation, of lust, desire, want, of love and Loki was tired of denying himself.

So when she leaned up on her toes to whisper in his ear, he nodded without thinking twice and followed her out. Temptation was a dangerous thing to fall prey to, but Loki was done resisting. He spent the rest of the night buried in her heat, licking away the red from her mouth in a searing kiss, feeling her scarred skin catching against his smooth one and loving the feel of it, cherishing every second of the night, relishing every inch of her body.

He pretended it didn't fill him with relief when she stopped him from leaving with a simple whisper of, "Stay, please?"

+ ONE:
Loki looked out at the expanse of Asgard, standing on his balcony late in the evening. He felt her presence before he heard it and smiled. It was a natural reaction to Toni, even after almost two centuries.

"What're you thinking about in that head of yours, Bambi?"

"You," Loki answered truthfully. It wasn't as if there was any point in lying to her. For one thing, she knew him too well, and for another, he seemed to be physically incapable of anything but honesty with her. He turned slightly and brought his arms around her, tugging her closer. She came easily and looked up at him with a smile that was equal parts mischief and curiosity.

"I was thinking about how lucky I am," he confessed, running his fingers gently through her wet hair. "How lucky I am that you chose me above everything else, everyone else." She smelled of soap and metal and fire and he breathed it in deeply. "That, even after all these years, you continue to choose me. Even knowing that I would never stop you from leaving if you so desired."

Toni shook her head in wonder. "It's funny, because I think the same things about you all the time," she said. "It constantly amazes me that you ever looked twice at me, a simple human, and wanted me." She paused briefly. "Guess we both got lucky, huh?"

Loki hummed in agreement and ran his thumb over her full lips. They were bare of any artificial colour, just their natural coppery-bronze shade. She was still dangerous, Loki reflected. Just not to him. He knew where to find the love she kept hidden in every crevice of her body. He had her love. Her heart. Or maybe he was wrong. Maybe that was what made her dangerous. Maybe she was more dangerous to him than anyone else and he was simply too deeply in love with her to know it.

Either way, he decided he didn't really care and, abandoning his thoughts, kissed her softly underneath the summer stars.

Female Tony Stark is a favourite of mine.

R&R please.