A/N: Hello! This is my first FrostIron fic - or should I say my first successful FrostIron fic. Thank you and hope you all like it! Please read and review!
Based on the song I Hate Everything About You by Three Days Grace
I do not own the Avengers.
Dreaming of a Memory Once Lost
Tony Stark was sat in the lab, one arm leaning on the worktop, propping up his head as his eyes danced wearily over his latest creation - a cup that glowed brightly in the dark room faded from colour to colour before him. He could hear the rain pattering gently agains the Avengers Tower and his head felt heavy.
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity."
"Actually I was going to threaten you."
Tony ran a hand through his ruffled hair, becoming lost in his thoughts.
"Care for a drink?"
"Stalling won't change anything."
He tried to break out of his reverie, not desiring to dwell on the encounter that had played over and over in his mind.
"No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one."
His eyes drooped slightly - the colours caught his attention as they faded into each other on the cup before him. First, a cheeky blue, to a grand purple, followed by a magnificent red, then a vibrant orange, turning quickly into a shining yellow. Tony's eyelids closed slowly, as the mischevious green flashed before him, fading to an eerie blackness into which he fell, letting sleep wash over him gratefully as his head dropped to the cold surface of the worktop.
He watched him intently, taking in the smug smile upon the pale features and the jet black, shoulder-length hair, slicked back off his face.
Tony half-remembered waking up halfway through the night and dragging himself to his room, only partly awake. He flopped down on his bed, on top of the scarlet silk sheets, still fully clothed, taking the time to kick his shoes off. He ripped his top off, feeling the cool satin softly tickle his bare chest before he was once again immersed in his dream.
"The Chitauri are coming! Nothing can stop that!" said the god, triumphantly.
"I have an army." he told Stark, who shrugged.
"We have a Hulk." he retorted causing Loki let out a laugh.
"I thought the beast had wandered off..."
Oh, how he had irritated Tony. He was blatently ignoring the facts, the statistics, the odds - which were all stacked up against him. As Stark told him this, Loki kept smiling. He honestly felt like pulling his hair out, trying to make the other man see. But he kept his cool, raising his voice only so much, keeping his tone firm. He tried not to let Loki see how much he was working him up.
Stark realised that their conversation was ending. Suddenly, he didn't want to have to go into the battle that was about to rage outside. He wanted to stay here, talking to the man he loathed - which was strange, when he thought about it. He pushed that thought out of his head, ashamed.
He was spread-eagled, one leg draped out of the covers and his arms were on either side of his head when the alarm clock woke the shattered scientist in the early morning. He smacked a hand on top of it to shut it up and turned his head away.
"Five more minutes, JARVIS," he muttered, burying his face into the pillows.
"As you wish, sir."
"How will your friends have time for me, when they're too busy fighting you?" Loki asked, a smile playing on his lips, advancing a step closer to Stark than he already was and tapping his spector against Stark's chest, but nothing happened. He looked down, frowning. He had tapped the arc reactor, the thing that stood in his way. Tony smiled to himself inside. He watched as Loki tried again, perplexed. "This usually works..."
"Performance issues?" suggested Stark, carrying on with himself, watching the rage grow in the green eyes so much until Loki reached out a hand and grabbed him by the throat. At first, Tony was too shocked at the contact to contemplate what exatly Loki was doing... He hardly had time to, well, enjoy the contact, however, before the Loki hurled him to the floor.
"JARVIS, anytime now..." he muttered, picking himself back up and just managing to stand before Loki had a hold of his chin and throat, suddenly close to Stark again. Tony grabbed the arm that held him there, gripping onto the other man in panic. But somehow, he felt he just didn't want to let go. Even though it was painful, he couldn't deny, he was enjoying the contact from the other he claimed to hate so much. Loki brought Stark closer so that he could whisper in his ear as Tony struggled.
"You will all kneel before me." he stated, slowly, his breath tickling Tony's ear. However, he didn't have long to enjoy the intimacy before Loki lifted him up with his hand, Tony calling out to JARVIS once again as Loki, with great strength, threw Stark through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
Tony remembered falling, falling - his greatest concern not actually that this plan would work. Although it was a great relief as the suit encased him. He flew back up to the floor of the tower where he knew Loki was...
His alarm clock began to sing.
Just a few more floors.
He really needed to shut that alarm clock up before it woke him up, he thought groggily as he opened his eyes once again.
He slammed his hand down on top of the clock, flopping down and trying to go back to his dream. He groaned as the realisation that he could no longer disappear back into the past events unconsiously sunk in. If he wanted to think about it, he would have to admit to himself that he was thinking about it. He propped himself up on one elbow, looking at the time.
Shit. It was nine o'clock and Banner was off to some science thing - Tony hadn't really been listening - but he was driving him. He jumped out of bed, grabbing some fresh clothes and pulling some shoes on quickly. He headed out towards the lab, where he knew Bruce would be.
"Morning, Banner," Tony said, pulling a coat on as Bruce looked up.
"Good morning, Tony - late night?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he took in the sight of Tony and his dishivelled look, picking up his rucksack and following the other to where he kept his many cars.
"Something like that..." Tony muttered.
An hour later and Tony returned home to the now-empty Tower, having dropped Bruce off on the outskirts of town, where his lift from a couple of members of S.H.I.E.L.D awaited.
It was a rather strange coincidence that the Tower was empty. Clint and Natasha had had some work to do together in another part of the world, after a call from Fury, so they had already been gone a week. Old Steve had left yesterday, off on a personal trip to Brooklyn - he'd asked Tony if he'd wanted him to stay when he heard the other's weren't going to be in the tower. Tony had said something on the lines of, "What, so you can make your move, spandex?" and Steve had sighed, giving up with the self-obsessed Tony Stark, muttering that he probably needed some alone time with his one true love - himself.
It was as Tony casually shrugged his jacket off, that JARVIS had alerted him. He'd let it drop from his shoulders, leaving it to fall on the floor as he strolled down one of the corridors, heading towards the bar.
"Mr Stark, you have a visitor."
"Well, tell them to come up." he said in a bored voice, drawing closer with each step to the drink he felt he deserved.
"They already are." JARVIS warned him, as Tony pushed open the door and his eyes widened.
"Oh."
The figure that was stood, looking out of the floor-to-ceiling glass, on the opposite side of the room, turned around slowly. He flashed Tony a wicked smile, and he felt his stomach lurch as the green eyes looked him up and down. Oh, how he hated those eyes. Those eyes and that stupid, cunning face. But how was he here?
Tony tried to contain himself as he sauntered into the room, keeping himself composed. He crossed to the bar, acting as though the other's presence wasn't making his heart race - though with anger or some other damn emotion, Tony did not know.
"Hello, old friend," Loki said, finally and Tony bristled at the sound of his voice... The same voice that had taunted his dream last night - but so much clearer and so much more real.
"I wouldn't go that far," Tony said, jovially, pausing with a glass in his hand, his back to Loki... "Care for a drink?"
Loki let slip a smile at the familiar offering. He knew what Stark was doing and he was going to play along for all it was worth.
"Stalling won't change anything." came the word-perfect reply, much to Tony's surprise. He began to wonder... Perhaps the scene had been overrun as many times in the god's head? Mmmm... Doubtful. He probably just had an extremely good memory, Tony decided, pouring himself a glass of something strong.
"No, no, no! Threatening." he reminded Loki, who was smiling as Stark turned to face him with an innocent look on his face. "No drink? You sure?"
He watched the god hesitate a moment, before a grin spread across his features once again.
"Oh, go on then. I'll have it, now..." he sauntered over, leaning an arm on the bar, "I feel I've earnt it, after all." Tony frowned.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that," he murmured, pouring Loki a glass of the strong stuff, holding the glasses up to each other and he brought the one with the most in to his chest, putting the other one next to Loki, who smiled.
"You haven't changed." raising the cold glass to his lips and taking a sip of the warmer liquid, cautiously.
"Neither have you," Tony retorted, searching Loki's eyes and finding the mischevious glint. Nope, definitely no change.
"I haven't poisioned it, you know," he added, gesturing to the glass in Loki's hand, "Although that would have probably been the smart thing to do."
Tony downed half his glass and leaned against the bar on his arms.
"Probably," Loki agreed, taking a larger swig of his drink as Stark downed the rest of his. Tony moved put his glass back, talking as he did.
"Anyway, I thought you were supposed to be in Asguard?" Loki let out a snort of laughter at the question.
"Yes," he said, "I suppose I am."
"How did you escape? And won't they come looking for you?" Tony didn't wait for an answer, before he continued talking, "Because I've quite missed goldilocks..."
Loki ignored him.
"They won't know I'm gone until I need them to," he assured Stark, finishing his drink and sliding it across the bar towards Tony, who caught it smoothly in one hand, washing it and putting it back.
Turning back, Tony looked Loki up and down. He didn't seem to be much different at all from the last time Tony had seen him. Infact, the green and black suit was brighter, if anything. The black leggins clinging to the slim hips and fitting perfectly to the long legs that they covered - he must have had plent of time to clean his clothes back there, Tony found himself thinking. He shook himself, quickly, coming back to the present situation.
"So, how did you escape?" he asked, unable to keep his curiosity at bay. Loki tapped his nose.
"That's for me to know," came the hushed reply, much to the annoyance of Mr Stark.
'Little bastard...' he found himself thinking, gritting his teeth as Loki sensed his frustration.
"Okay," Stark said, matter-of-factly, "Why come here, then?"
Loki hesitated, looking down quickly, as though hiding something. Stark felt his heart give a quick leap, completely against his will.
"Well, you see, I've heard this saying... Keep your friends close," Stark recognised the quote immediantly.
"But your enemies closer." he finished Loki's sentence with a flourish.
"And seen as the only other enemy I have is not only coming after me, but they are many, outnumbering me by quite a number - so I thought that I'd pay you a visit. Lucky I caught you alone." He winked and Tony raised his eyebrows.
"The Chitauri?" he questioned, waiting for Loki's nod before he continued. "And just me? Why just me?"
"Never quite got the chance to pay you back for insulting me," his voice had a hint of his usual mischief, now. Tony frowned, the god looking pleasantly surprised at his confusion. "Oh, really? You don't remember? First time we met."
Realisation washed over Tony's face.
"Oh!" and then he raised an eyebrow, "Really? Reindeer Games? Trust me, I could have said so much worse."
"I doubt that." Loki scoffed, and Tony chose to ignore him.
They paused for a moment, glancing round as raindrops began to fall against the tower.
"Besides, you threw me out of a window - isn't that payback enough?" the god shrugged.
"I wanted a bit more of a... Personal revenge."
Stark nodded sarcastically, turning around and pausing briefly to admire his reflection in the reflective wall. "Still self-obsessed, I see." Loki remarked, lazily.
"Yup."
"And arrogant."
"As always."
"You know, you really are unbearable," Loki began, leaning his other elbow against the bar.
Stark was unsure whether he was being mocked or Loki was deadly serious as he listed Tony's self-absortion, ignorance and other annoying traits.
Tony let him continue, doing nothing to defend himself. Loki gave a dry laugh as he downed the rest of his drink.
"I don't know why they class you, or you class yourself, as an Avenger or a superhero - true, you helped save the world, took a great chance for the good of humanity and the rest," Tony's muscles twitched, irritated, as did the corner of Loki's mouth as the god fought the urge to smile, "- but outside of the suit, to be honest, face it, Stark - you're just as bad as me -"
Loki broke off, mid-sentence as Stark had slammed two hands on the other side of the bar, looking as if he could jump over it, rage flaring in his eyes.
"Don't," he said, his tone suddenly dangerous, breathing heavily as he glared, "... Compare me to you. Ever."
He paused, composing himself mentally as he searched Loki's face for a hint of fear. When he found nothing but a self-satisfied smile on the other's face, he carried on relatively calmer.
"And if that's your plan; to get me angry or to upset me - then forget it. I've caught on. There's no point. I'm not going to chance the world. Not for scum like you." Loki raised an eyebrow.
"For scum like me?" he asked, as Tony made his way casually around the bar, containing himself once again, "Honestly, I grew up a prince." Loki's voice was laced with mock-indignance. Tony scoffed.
"Yeah, that's what you grew up as. And even that didn't turn out to be real in the end, did it?" a slight frown shadowed the pearly-white features. Tony was suddenly grateful for his decision to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D's files and read up on the trickster. Oh, he knew all his family background.
He kept the silence a while longer, fingers tapping against the arc reactor, which shone brightly underneath his shirt. He only continued when Loki pushed himself away from the bar and stepped closer to Tony, cocking his head.
"From Odinson to Laufeyson. That must have been a kick in the teeth. Understanding why you lived in Thor's shadow. Must have been pretty damned devastating. Not your fault, I admit -" Tony let out a yelp as Loki had advanced towards him rapidly, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling the smug scientist towards him, his lips suddenly at the ear of the genius.
"I warn you, Stark," he whispered into his ear, that same warm feeling spreading throughout Tony's chest. "One more damn word."