My original plan was to not post any of these until I had finished all 30. Well, I am impatient, so that is not going to happen.

I'll be posting the link to my list on my profile in a moment for anyone who wants to check it out.

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Safe In the Dark - Ludo

The darkness was closing in, consuming everything in its wake. He was falling, falling away, but the darkness was coming on fast. There were things in the darkness, waiting to catch him, wanting to tear him apart. He wasn't falling fast enough. Wait, the suit was down. There was no way for him to stop falling. Faster, faster, faster. The darkness was so close, speeding up like some demonic thing desperate to catch its prey, desperate to catch him. He was okay with falling, he was okay with dying, just so long as the darkness didn't catch him.

It was coming, closer and closer. It was coming for him. Always for him. The void, the defeating silence, the maddening silence, so loud he could hear his blood pumping in his veins, swallowed up everything around him. He wanted to scream, but all he could do was close his eyes and let a completely different kind of darkness overtake him.

Tony awoke with a start, a small scream escaping his lips as his body shot upright. When he realized where he was, safe in his own bed, in Avengers Tower surrounded by the greatest superheroes in the world, he covered his hands with his face and groaned.

"JARVIS," he called out, his hands still in front of his mouth, "what time is it?"

"2:43a.m., sir," the A.I. reported.

Tony groaned again and fell back on the covers, arms going limp and sprawling out in ever which direction.

"Nightmares, Stark?" a smooth voice asked.

Tony shot back up. He knew that voice. When he didn't dream of the void, he dreamt of glass shattering around him and that voice echoed in his ears. Always, always he was falling, the world rushing up to meet him. "This had better not be one of those stupid double dream things."

"Do you believe you are dreaming?" Loki asked. The Trickster stepped out of the shadows to take a seat at the foot of Tony's bed.

"No," Tony answered, eyes locked and glaring on his uninvited guest. "That just wouldn't be my luck."

"Oh?" Loki seemed genuinely surprised, but Tony didn't believe that for a second. "Your suit caught you before your bones shattered against the ground. You escaped the void just before the portal closed. And when your suit failed you, the beast came to your rescue."

Tony blinked a few times in confusion. "Your bedside manner could use some work."

Loki actually laughed; not humorous and light, but dark and broken. "Most likely, but it was not my intention to comfort you this night."

"So what was?" Tony snapped. "You get your kicks from my nightmares?"

Loki remained silent for a long time, looking away from Tony. He was seriously beginning to think that he should call someone when Loki finally answered. "I fell through the void as well, for more than a year."

Tony's mind immediately rebelled against the very thought. Everything, his racing heart, clammy skin, tense muscles, all screamed against such a thing. There were things in the void, he had seen them out of the corner of his eye when he fell, and Loki had spent more than a year in that environment. No wonder he was so broken and fucking crazy. What the fuck had found him within that darkness?

"I know what it is to wish to be safe in the dark," Loki said softly, just above a whisper.

"Why did you come here?" Tony asked again, this time with less hostility.

Loki finally turned back to him. Those green eyes were tired, so different from the crazed expression Tony had first seen in them. Tony paused to study the god, to actually look at him. His eyes were framed by dark bags set against too pale skin. Loki's hair turned up at odd angles, and his shoulders slumped in obvious weariness. So, the god wasn't sleeping either then. He was doing absolutely nothing to hide his condition, one just had to be willing to look. "I guess I wanted to see if it had affected you the same way."

And oh, did that revelation hit like a ton of bricks, or what. Tony's brain was quickly sent recalculating everything he knew about the Trickster.

After moment Tony sighed, and fell back against the covers. He had a sneaking suspicion that this was the most honest Loki had been with anyone in a long time, and that was kind of terrifying. "I'm insane."

"Most likely, yes."

Tony threw back the covers in a highly dramatic fashion. "Oh shut up, and get over here." Did he really just invite a guy who had nearly killed him a few months ago to sleep in the same bed as him? Yeah, that didn't do anything for the argument against his insanity. But fuck it, Loki was right, Tony wanted to feel safe. He hadn't been able to explain that to Pepper, and it had driven her away. But Loki knew, Tony didn't have to explain anything, and he was so desperate for someone who understood.

Loki hesitated for a minute. Tony took a great deal of pleasure from being able to shock the God of Mischief. The god eventually started to crawl up the bed slowly, armor disappearing as he went, and settled himself on the other side of the bed, eyes never leaving Tony.

Neither of them said anything when Tony threw the blankets over them. Tony was falling again, falling and crashing over and over. This time when he woke panting, tears in his eyes, lithe fingers reached over to rub circles against his shoulder. It didn't stop his heart from trying to leap out of his chest, or the tears sliding down his cheeks, but it was different.

Yeah, it was better.