A/N: For giggle-like-crazy. It was both of our birthdays last Monday, and she likes FrostIron...so I wrote her a short fic. I don't really ship FrostIron, I'm more of a Stony shipper, but it's okay. Loki is hard to write and this is my first attempt. I love you, giggle-like-crazy. You so cray cray. 3
Tony thinks he's pretty good at knowing what people are like, their next move, how they think, all that. He's a genius, of course. But it's been 6 months since Thor had invited Loki into their Avengers mansion, and for the life of him Tony just can't decipher Loki, a former enemy of Earth and many other realms that the god has laid his destruction fueled by jealous rage and powerful emotions reigned by a more complex enemy, Thanos. After Thanos was defeated after a long, tiring battle filled with blood, explosions, and superheroes Tony hadn't even heard of that came to light in the effort to put it all to an end, Thor sought out an emotionally crippled Loki that had exiled himself in the far ends of God knows where. Tony had outright refused to let Loki live in their mansion, because his team, his original team from way back 5 years ago to the battle with Loki and the Chitauri, still had untouched fury with his faults. Tony thought he did too, after all, the guy had thrown him out a 100-something floored building, but he questioned that when Thor pulled the second chance card and he agreed with not much argument after that.
Tony wasn't one to deny second chances, and Thor apparently knew that too (when you stopped and told yourself and everyone around you that manufacturing weapons for profit was not your destiny, did you not feel helpless when people doubted your decision, Friend Stark? Help him, and do not be the ones who doubted your redeeming.) Explaining this reasoning to the others had been the hard part. It worked out in the end, however, and on the first day Loki hid in his newly appointed room and stayed there. No one, including Tony, minded this.
On the second day, Thor told Tony to bring him food. Tony knocked on the door, tense and his fingers clenched tightly on the plate, and Loki had opened the door, studied him, and then looked at the plate of food. "Hungry?"
Loki said nothing.
"Banner is good at cooking, believe it or not. Can't image the big green guy grilling a steak, though." He smirked, and realized that mentioning Bruce had been a bad call. Loki snapped his head up at him, eyes fierce with pain and hate that Tony was pretty sure wasn't directed at anyone but Loki himself, and snatched the food out of his hands and slammed the door.
Loki didn't come out until the sixth day, and Bruce went up to him immediately, put a hand on his shoulder and told him it was okay, it was in the past and whatever had happened between them could be wiped clean off the slate. Loki had said his thanks and went back to his room.
But each day after that, his visits out of the room were longer.
At one point, he makes it Tony's lab. Tony asks what he's doing there, and Loki says he's curious of Tony's ability to make such advancement in technology. The genius is skeptical, yet he launches into a constant chatter as he works on his suit, adjusting the security mainframes in JARVIS's programming, the physical enhancements for the stability for bad hits of the things they face, and when Tony looks up from his work to see that Loki isn't looking at what he's doing. He's looking at him. The gaze is so intense and filled so much of what Tony understands and knows makes his heart twist and he asks Loki to leave.
He does, but the next day he comes back. Tony lets him in, and lets him do his own thing. Loki asks what he's doing again, and Tony explains again. This time, he doesn't feel weirded out by Loki's gaze.
And nearly each day after that, Loki comes to the lab and watches him. Sometimes they exchange words, sometimes they don't. But Tony feels closer to Loki than he ever thought possible. Soon enough his presence is soothing and something he doesn't have to worry about.
"Man of Iron." Loki says 3 months after his arrival, "Do you believe in redemption?"
"More than you know," Tony replies, and Loki's pale lips curve into a small, oh so small, smile.
"Are you lonely?"
Tony's hands freeze, fingers squeezing a large wrench. "Why do you ask?"
"Pepper Potts has ceased coming down to see you. You're…quieter. Your spirit is darkened." Loki's head cocks to the side, sincere and inquiring.
"Pepper and I aren't in a romantic relationship anymore. I'm not lonely, just disappointed in myself." Tony says defensively.
"As am I. And I'm lonely because I loathe my faults."
Tony wants to argue that he's not Loki and they're different, very different, but his mouth stays shut.
"I'm here, Man of Iron. We can be lonely together, yes?"
Tony smirks, looking into those green eyes, "Desperate measures, right?"
"Somewhat, Man of Iron."
"Call me Tony, mkay?"
"Yes, Tony."
Things stayed pretty neutral from then on. Until today, that is. 6 months after his arrival, Loki abruptly slides in between Tony and his latest project, looking entirely serious, and places his hands on Tony's cheeks. "We don't have to be lonely anymore."
Tony's so shocked he's frozen, staring in a daze as Loki leans forward closer to his face. "Loki…no."
Loki stops. He stares at Tony with not a spark of hurt in his eyes, as if waiting for Tony to give his consent.
"This isn't…" he struggles, "right. I'm not...I don't know. Just no. What the hell brought this on?"
"Thor was telling me about you, and how we spend our time together. He says we should kindle a new kind of relationship." He pauses, "a romantic one."
Tony feels anger bubbling up, anger at Thor for arranging this, anger at Loki for being Loki, and anger at himself because he can never even handle a relationship. "It's not going to work. Us won't work. I'll kiss you when pigs fly!"
This time there's hurt in Loki's eyes, and Tony thinks he probably should've swallowed his insecurities and accepted the kiss (what's he got to lose?) but Tony turns away from Loki's face. Loki leaves.
Loki doesn't come back the next day.
There I went again. Destroyed yet another friendship, almost romantic relationship, again, again…
Tony's in his office at Stark Tower, staring across the view of New York City, all glistening skyscrapers penetrating the blue sky as the sun hits the glass and metal. Pretty normal, pretty magnificent as always.
Then he sees something in the sky. It's not a plane. Much smaller. He's still squinting at it to figure out what the hell it was before a fucking pig is in his field of vision in front of the window. His glass of scotch in hand drops to the floor, shattering. His mouth drops.
There is a flying pig in front of his window. The pig drops low, and Tony can see a good dozen more of flying pigs, small, big, black, pink and Tony just stares. What the hell-?
There's a laugh behind him and he turns to see Loki, dressed in black pants and black coat and green and yellow scarf. There's the biggest grin Tony has ever seen on the god, his eyes twinkling with the same kind of mischief and affection Tony has seen on himself in the mirror when with Pepper.
"Your facial reaction was worth it all, Tony."
It clicks then, what Tony had said a few days earlier. When pigs fly. Pigs were flying over New York City. "You…?"
Loki's grin grows bigger, showing perfect white teeth and all. Tony's filled with such giddiness and (maybe love, maybe his imagination, he couldn't be sure) and awe and Loki's so tantalizing Tony shatters the wall in his head that protects himself and he launches forward, holds Loki's shoulders with both hands, and looks at him with what he hoped was a fierce expression. Loki's grin falters, and Tony takes satisfaction in that because you don't pull one over Tony Stark and get no revenge from it, and then presses his lips to Loki's silk ones hard.
Loki stiffens in surprise, but then one cold hand sneaks around to Tony's back, and pulls him closer. They're pressed tightly together, lips locked and Tony hopes this lasts forever, but he needs to breathe. He leans back, breathing hard.
Loki takes his hand, and Tony squeezes it, shivering against the cold.
"I don't go back on my word, you know."
Loki grins again. "I know."
Tony's pretty sure he hears a pig oink and the clattering of hooves on his window, but he ignores it and lets Loki kiss him again.
Let me know what you think?