Solace and a Smokescreen

by gothraven89

It's like Avengers Tower gets turned into a battlefield when Loki and Bucky meet. More often then not they are at each other's throats. However, do these two former villains really hate each other as much as they want the world to believe. WARNING: SLASH! Don't like don't read. FLAMES WILL BE IGNORED BUT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM WELCOME. Reviews are Love! Apologies for any OOC.

1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Marvel Universe or Disney, The Amazing Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, or anyone else involved with the movies or comics are the ones who do. I am not making any profits from this writing, it is all for the purposes of fun and creative writing.

Author's note: Sorry if anything seems OOC, just wrote what was in my head because I like this pairing.

Solace and a Smokescreen

Chapter 1

It was early evening over New York City, while the city itself when about its business with regular shops winding down after a long day while the night clubs and other establishments that stayed open late were all winding up for another busy night in the city that never sleeps, at Avenger's tower, which stood tall and gleaming against the city-scape, chaos had erupted in the communal living room where everyone had gathered. It had started off normal enough, but just a supposedly wrong look had set off yet another appalling row between two of the newest members of the Avengers.

" You would do well to curb your tongue, you one-armed ant, for I am fully capable of ripping it clear out of your miserable skull if I so pleased!"

Loki's poison green eyes flashed dangerously with anger as he pulled at the restraining arm his brother Thor had around him. The cause of his anger was a few feet across, being restrained by Steve Rogers. Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, former weapon of Hydra.

" I'd like to see you try you slimy overgrown eel, Norse God or not, I will bash your face in." Bucky growled with his long chocolate-brown hair almost fanned out about his head as he tried futilely to tear himself out of Steve's firm and unyielding hold. Around him the other Avengers stood gathered, watching the confrontation between two of the team's more recent additions.

Clint Barton was glaring daggers at Loki, but that was nothing new, while Natasha Romanov was staring at the scene as cool and impassive as ever. Tony Stark was watching the almost fray between Thor's "reformed" megalo-maniacal, trickster of a brother and Steve's recovering, ex-super assassin best friend with an amused glint in his brown eyes. And finally, Bruce Banner was quietly sitting on a sofa watching the scene, for once not having a foreboding green tint to his skin and features, it was like even the Hulk knew at this point better than to get in between Loki and Bucky.

It had been a good nine months since Thor had beamed down from Asgard with a sour-faced Loki in tow, informing them that their father, Odin had decreed that as part of his rehabilitation and reformation, Loki was to fight alongside Thor and the rest of the Avengers, and to help rebuild the city he had nearly toppled, with the added stipulation that his magic would be taken should he use it to harm any of his teammates or innocents. The Avengers, except for Thor had not been very pleased by this, and neither had Loki from the way he had stayed silent and only glared back at them.

Then after the whole mess with Hydra and SHIELD, Steve had gone searching for his own lost one, and found Bucky some seven and a half months ago, ironically at the Smithsonian in Washington one day. After a stint in the medical wing to deal with a nasty infection that had set in where his metal arm was attached, Bucky had been given a clean bill of health and was dealing with his memories slowly coming back to him, both the good ones and that bad. Since the Avengers no longer answered to SHIELD, Loki and Bucky were both brought into the fold without any red tape or what have you. Things had been alright for the most part, while Loki never did anything to ingratiate himself to those he lived with, he would always be there in a battle watching out for everyone, and they in turn would begrudgingly thank him and leave him alone cause he seemed to prefer it that way. That all changed when Loki and Bucky first laid eyes on each other. Sure, whenever they were on call to defend against any threat to the city, everyone worked together, but when it was the off hours and everyone was home...

To say that it was like a spark to a tinderbox soaked in gasoline would be an understatement. It was like Loki and Bucky were at each other's throats in the blink of an eye, when in truth it had actually taken the two a couple of months to finally blow up at each other, with Steve and Thor scrambling to keep their respective loved one from either being fried by magic or pummeled by a metal arm. This was just the latest row that they were all witnessing, somebody just looked at the other the wrong way, and then Bucky grumbled something quietly and it equaled to a fist fight almost breaking out between the Norse God and the former assassin.

" Brother, you will calm down now!" Thor ordered sternly as he tightened his hold around Loki.

" Bucky, stop it! C'mon man, just calm down! "Steve shouted himself as he started dragging a still fuming Bucky out of the communal living room area towards one of the elevators, no doubt taking Bucky back down to his rooms on the floor below Steve's to cool off.

Thor did the same, dragging a still very much irate Loki off down the other hallway towards a different elevator, no doubt to take Loki back up to the floor they shared near the penthouse.

" Well, that was the usual." Tony said flatly as he headed towards the bar to get himself some scotch.

" At least they haven't killed each other... yet." Clint said before he headed into the kitchen to grab a beer. Natasha simply rolled her eyes and headed to where Bruce was already sitting with the remote in his hand.

" I don't get it, why can't those two ever stand to be in the same room together?" Bruce asked.

" Some people just can't get along from the get go." Natasha said simply with a shrug before she asked Bruce to turn to a good movie channel, may as well watch something interesting since dinner would not be for another couple of hours.

When dinner time finally came along, surprisingly everyone came for the pizza and tacos that had been ordered. Loki was dressed in a less formal version of his Asardian armor, much like Thor was as well. Thor kept Loki by his side as they sat with everyone else at the large round dining table. Steve and Bucky were seated at the opposite end, Steve in a button up shirt and khakis while Bucky was in a large baggy hoodie and jeans with his long hair had been pulled back in a loose ponytail. Neither Bucky nor Loki looked across at each other or anyone else as they ate in silence, but everyone could feel the tension crackling in the air. Thankfully, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Tony were all seated on either side of the two pairs, providing some much needed space. There were quiet conversations going on around them, but Loki and Bucky were hyperaware of only each other and silent for the most part.

Loki used a knife and fork to cut and eat his slice of pizza while Bucky quietly munched on a crunchy taco. After dinner, everyone went about their separate ways. Clint and Steve decided to stick around and watch a movie in the living room, Bucky opting to stick close to Steve while Natasha headed off to her room. Tony headed off for his lab with Bruce by his side.

" I am going to my room." Loki said flatly, and before Thor could even reply, the Trickster teleported away in a flash of green light.

Looking sad for a moment, Thor shook his made a B-line for the communal kitchen area and reached for one of the cupboards, pulling out a box of his favorite Midgardian treats, pop-tarts before he joined the three guys in the living room to watch the movie, something called 'Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls.'

While the others laughed out loud at many of Jim Carrey's wild antics, Bucky allowed himself only a small smile at the appropriate moments. In all honesty, he really wasn't in the mood for humor. About halfway through the film, Bucky took his leave, telling Steve that he would be turning in. He gave Steve his reassurances that he would be fine, to which Steve reluctantly let him go. He said his goodbyes to Clint and Thor and then headed for the elevator. With a sigh, Bucky asked JARVIS to take him down to his floor.

It was still unnerving to Bucky just how advanced technology had become, to where there was now a disembodied voice you could ask for anything, even the floor you wanted to go on an elevator. With a posh British accent no less. Bucky let out a small sigh through his nostrils as the elevator came to a smooth stop on his floor and the door slid open with a soft chime.

" Thanks JARVIS." Bucky said as he looked up towards the ceiling of the elevator with a small smile.

" Of course Mr. Barnes, have a good night sir." Came JARVIS' crisp voice from above.

Bucky stepped out of the elevator and walked past the dimly lit private living room area, heading for his bedroom. At first Steve had been adamant that they share a floor, but in the end he had relented when Bucky had simply told him that he needed his own space. With a light groan, Bucky unzipped his hoodie and pulled it off, leaving him in the plain white t-shirt he wore underneath, and with his bionic arm no longer hidden as he reached the door to his bedroom.

Bucky pushed the door open and stepped inside his dimly lit bedroom. It was simple and sparsely furnished with the essentials, a queen-sized bed with white sheets and a charcoal gray comforter, a night stand and drawers for storage, not that he had anything really. And there was a hidden compartment behind the wall across from his bed where he kept his battle armor. Other than that there really was nothing about the room that was out of the ordinary, and its owner hadn't really been much for decorating as of yet.

Bucky pulled the door shut behind him and locked it before he made a B-line for the drawers that stood by the wall parallel to his bed. With a sigh, and feeling worn from a day full of training with Steve and Natasha and medical check-ups with Bruce, Bucky pulled open one of the middle drawers and pulled out a pair of simple black sleeping pants. Wordlessly, Bucky headed across the room and ducked into his bathroom. Like everything in the tower, the bathroom was of a good size and fully stocked. Bucky divested himself of the clothes he had on and quickly placed them in the hamper, donning the sleeping pants and then going about his nightly routine. He mechanically brushed his teeth and washed his face. He pulled his hair free of the ponytail and ran his hands, one of flesh and bone, the other of hardened steel through the dark brunette lock that just reached his shoulders.

Steve had been trying to get him to cut it but Bucky had grown partial to the length and wouldn't budge. Bucky stood before his bathroom mirror and simply looked at himself for several long moment. At times it felt like he was looking at a ghost, that he was the Winter Soldier looking back at Sgt. James Buchanan Barnes, the hardened killer staring back at the ordinary man he one was. Other times it was the other way around, and he was Bucky and the Winter Soldier staring back at him with cold, dead eyes. Some days were harder than others, today was just one of those tiring ones. Today he almost felt like he was just Bucky staring at Bucky... almost. With another sigh, Bucky turned away from his reflection and turned off the light as he exited the bathroom.

Instead of calling on JARVIS, Bucky hit the button on the wall to lower the blinds so that only a few slivers of light from outside could come in. Once that was done, Bucky made his way over to his bed, shutting off the bedside lamp that was the only other source of light in the room before he climbed under the covered of his bed and lay silent on his back, gazing up at the blank ceiling. He gave a quick glance to the alarm clock that accompanied his bedside lamp.

It read 11:30 PM, late enough. Bucky turned away from the clock and settled onto his side under the covers. He closed his eyes and simply breathed, willing sleep to come.

Except it simply wouldn't, because an hour later with it well past midnight found Bucky laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling once more, not really looking at anything.

There was a stillness in the entire room, the only sound being Bucky's mildly agitated breathing. Then without any warning there was a soft flash of green light off to Bucky's left. The former super-assassin however, didn't startle or give any other kind of alarmed reaction. He just kept staring up at the ceiling even as the sound of feet shuffling across the room toward the bed caught his sharp ears, followed by the bed dipping as his late night visitor joined him. This other person lay beside him, just as silent, and just as still, the only sound being their breathing mingling with Bucky's own. It was Bucky who finally broke the impasse.

" Sorry for calling you an overgrown eel earlier." Bucky's words brought out a light huff of laughter from his companion, who replied in kind.

" There is no need to apologize, I was the one who called you a one-armed ant first. As your Midgardian saying goes, I believe that makes us even." Bucky finally turned his head to his left to lay eyes on his bedfellow, his shadowed blue eyes meeting those of a soft emerald green, no longer bright and poisonous with anger.

Across from the Winter Soldier lay Loki of Asgard, clad in a loose green tunic and black sleeping pants. Almost as one, the pair each turned onto their sides so that they were facing each other with only sparse inches between them as Bucky spoke.

" Yeah, I guess it does." He paused before continuing.

" I didn't think you would come tonight." To this, Loki's lips quirked in a half-smile as he explained.

" It was tricky, Thor was up late tonight so I had to wait until he had carried out his expected poking of his head into my room to see that I was still in it. I conjured a copy before I teleported here, just in case. Sir JARVIS would have sounded the alarm only if had I teleported clear out of the tower."

Bucky nodded and then grew serious, his blue eyes gazing intensely back at Loki, the desire in them clear for the Asgardian to see. There was a beat of charged silence, and then Bucky was leaning forward, closing whatever distance remained between him and Loki. Loki leaned in too, his lips parting for Bucky as the mortal sealed his own to them. Loki smoothly turned onto his back, his arms wrapping around Bucky with his long fingered hands splayed across the smooth expanse of Bucky's bare back.

As they kissed, it was not the rough battle for dominance one would have assumed given the individuals who were involved. Instead, it was slow and searing. Bucky kept himself braced up above Loki with his bionic arm, while his flesh and bone hand reached down and snaked under the hem of the forest green tunic Loki was wearing. Loki broke away from the kiss with a gasp, his body arching magnificently at Bucky's touch.

" James." Loki breathed, tilting his head back and baring his throat to Bucky, who took the wordless invitation gladly as he surged forward and started ravaging the smooth and pale flesh with his teeth and his tongue.

" You're... You're very lucky I don't bruise from any of this." Loki breathed smugly, gasping as Bucky pressed a particularly hard bite to the place where his neck and shoulder met before the ex-assassin drew back so that he could look Loki in the eye, a light frown marring his brow as he spoke.

" I must be doing something wrong if you can still string a sentence together." Loki grinned brightly up at Bucky, who allowed his mock-frown to turn into a full grin of his own, the kind he never showed to anyone, not even Steve.

If anyone were to have seen them and the way they were smiling at each other, they would have thought that they had stumbled into the twilight zone where Bucky and Loki, two people who were both dangerous in their own right and each with issues that had issues, were actually two buckets of sunshine. It was ridiculous, unbelievable, and any other synonymous adjective, and yet there they were, two people who made a show of loathing each other so bitterly in front of the rest of the world, grinning at each other with nothing but a pure kind of joy at simply being with each other. With a chuckle, Loki reached up and cupped Bucky's cheek, a mischievous glint in his green eyes as he spoke.

" I have many names, among them is Silvertongue, it'll take more than a few kisses on the neck to make me lose my ability with words, dear Soldier of Winter."

The quirk of one onyx eyebrow just confirmed to Bucky the challenge that had been thrown down. It served to push all of the right buttons for Bucky, who never could back down from a challenge. Loki grinned widely when he heard the low growl that emanated from Bucky at his words, and Lok was still grinning when Bucky surged forward and sealed his mouth firmly over the Asgardian's. And yet, there was still gentleness in this kiss despite the steadily rising head. Loki returned the kiss fervently, his hands traveling all along the smooth expanse of Bucky's back, feeling the powerful muscles coiling beneath the skin.

A few moments later, two sets of sleeping pants and a green tunic were tossed over the side of the bed to land on the floor, totally forgotten by their owners.

After that the once silent room was filled with the loud gasps and moans of its two occupants, and also the soft whirring noises from Bucky's arm as hands, flesh and bone, and metallic alike sought out heated flesh and mouths traded deep, hot kisses. While he could easily over-power his enhanced but still mortal lover, Loki gave just enough resistance to make Bucky really work at trying to render his silver tongue speechless. However, Loki was taken off guard when Bucky expertly grabbed him and flipped him onto his front. Loki could not hold back his groan of pleasure this time as Bucky started at the base of his spine and kissed and bit his way up the entire length of Loki's back before going to town on the back of the Asgardian's neck. Things quickly began to escalate further from there, Loki showing Bucky a few of his own moves as he now flipped Bucky onto his back and straddled him. Bucky lashed out and hooked his metal arm around the back of Loki's neck, roughly yanking the Tricksters head down so that he could plunder Loki's mouth.

But as he kissed Loki breathless, Bucky also positioned his body for what he really intended to do. Bucky suddenly pulled away from the kiss, and before the Asgardian could react, Bucky gripped Loki by his pale shoulders and pushed him down while he canted his hips upward. Loki's harsh cry echoed through the room as Bucky finally joined their bodies. A violent shiver wracked through Loki's entire body as he stared down at Bucky with wide eyes, his pupils blown. Bucky gritted his teeth to hold back his gasps at the sensations that were blazing through him, it was like every nerve ending was ignited just from the feel of the Trickster's body above him. With a small snarl, Bucky surged up into a sitting position with his hands going to Loki's hips, pulling down on them to make the Asgardian sink further onto him.

Loki threw his head back and let out another harsh cry of pained pleasure at Bucky's actions. Bucky bit back a moan of his own as he beheld the sight of Loki like this with his pale and lithe body arched magnificently in his arms. With a small sigh of his own, Bucky released the hip he was holding with his bionic arm, trailing his metal fingers up Loki's quivering stomach and heaving chest before finally gripping Loki by his jaw, pulling him down for another searing kiss, which the Asgardian returned whole-heartedly. As they kissed, Bucky growled against Loki's lips and used his body weight to flip them. They broke apart with a harsh gasp and Loki landed on his back with Bucky laying on top of him, their faces flushed and mere inches from each other. Letting out a harsh breath, Bucky spoke.

" Got anything to say now?" He growled as he gasped down at Loki with eyes burning bright with promise.

Loki's face instantly morphed into one of his signature smirks, and he parted his lips to say something, but his voice died before it even got past his vocal cords when Bucky drew his hips back and then surged forward. After that Loki could only let out a choked sputter that ended in a low groan as Bucky started to move above him. Instinctively, Loki reached up and wrapped his arms around Bucky, pulling the other man flush against him as he canted his hips to meet Bucky's thrusts.

Seeing as to how this was the lovemaking between a Norse God and a scientifically enhanced human being, the moans and other sounds of pleasure from the lovers began to get louder and louder a very, very long while later, the tempo slowing getting faster and faster until it finally reached a crescendo. Loki let out a strangled scream, muffled against Bucky's shoulder as he held the mortal tightly. As he felt Loki's body go rigid beneath him, Bucky felt his own release wash over him.

Bucky cried out as with one final surge forward he too went rigid with his back arching, waves of what felt like pure lightening washing over him.

Loki fell backwards onto the bed and looked up at Bucky with hooded eyes, his lips parted and taking in harsh gasps of air. He was mesmerized by the sight of Bucky above him while the ex-assassin was riding out the waves of his climax, the panels of his bionic arm flaring and glinting in the dim light. Loki reached up with trembling hands and took Bucky's face between them as the brunette began to slump forward, finally spent. The pair looked at each other, almost glowing green eyes meeting stark blue even in the darkness.

Gasping to catch his own breath, Bucky gave no resistance as Loki pulled him down on top of him so that his head came to rest over Loki's shoulder. The last few shudders of pleasure washed over the pair as they came down off of their shared high. As he lay their feeling one of Loki's hand rubbing soothingly along his spine, Bucky reached for Loki's other hand with his bionic arm, his metal fingers trailing up the pale and long limb until he reached Loki's elegant fingers and twined them together with his own, squeezing almost painfully hard. Loki smiled into Bucky's dark chocolate colored hair and squeezed Bucky's hand back just as hard, enough to make the metal creak together a little but thankfully not enough to bend anything out of place. The last thing either of them wanted was for Bucky to have to go get the damage repaired and then come up with a plausible story as to how said damage happened.

Bucky suddenly pushed himself up a little so that he could be face to face with Loki, gazing down at Loki with an expectant look on his face. At first Loki frowned, wondering what Bucky wanted and he parted his lips to speak, but in an instant he was letting out a breathless huff of laughter in realization before giving Bucky that soft smile he only ever showed the Winter Soldier. Without uttering a word, Loki leaned up to nuzzle and mouth at Bucky's lightly stubbled jaw. Bucky practically beamed in triumph at the confirmation that silenced the Silvertongue so to speak, smiling in a way that was almost like how he'd grin before every horrible thing that happened to him, both from the war and from HYDRA. Bucky leaned into Loki's ministrations before taking the god's lips in a surprisingly gentle yet probing kiss. Loki let out a soft laugh between kisses as he sank back down onto the mattress, taking Bucky with him.

Bucky nuzzled his face into Loki's pale collarbone, smiling against the alabaster skin. For a while, the pair just breathed, nestled in each other's arms. It was Bucky who finally broke the silence some while later.

" Do you think we should tell everyone about us?" Bucky drew back so that he could look Loki in the eye. The Trickster sighed, his eyes never leaving Bucky's as he reached up to stroke his finger tips along the ex-Assassin's jaw as he spoke.

" It was you who deemed that we keep this relationship a secret, to which I agreed wholeheartedly, so I leave it up to you if you wish to inform our teammates." Then Loki leaned up and pressed his lips to Bucky's in a surprisingly chaste kiss, one that Bucky returned before they drew away and the Trickster continued with steel in his green gaze.

" You know full well I care not for their opinion of me, I fight along side you all as the All-Father dictates, but I still do what I want, and I am with who I want." Bucky smiled softly before he leaned forward so that he too could place a chaste kiss on Loki's lips before he drew back and hovered above the god and he spoke.

" You care about all of us, even Thor. You'd just drop dead before ever admitting it." At this Loki let out a snort, but pointedly did not deny Bucky's words. Bucky's smile turned into a full, triumphant grin. But then it fell away from Bucky's face, a look of uncertainty coming across his features as he spoke.

" What if they separate us?" Loki's eyes grew hard like to emerald as he spoke.

" I'd like to see them try. They would do well to remembers that I am a god who has lived for thousands of years, and that you are no young and naive maiden either. We both wanted to be together, and we have as much right to be as anyone else. They can do nothing, and if they try, all they shall do is lose in the end." Loki growled. Bucky gave Loki and pained look.

" What about Steve? He's my best friend."

" Exactly, he is your best friend, not your father or your keeper. He cares for you greatly, like a brother would, no one can deny that, but that does not mean he gets to have free reign over your life and your decisions. I will readily admit that I am undoubtedly the last person he would ever wish for you to be with, but that is what he thinks, and ultimately it's what you want that matters truly matters to me." Bucky nodded silently at Loki's words, a sadness settling over his features as he spoke.

" Do you think Thor would smash me with that hammer of his if he found out?" The smile dropped from Loki's face, replaced by a deadly serious expression as he spoke.

"He and I may have been able to reconcile our differences and call each other brother once more, but if that blond oaf ever dares to threaten you, then I will forget all such restoration and bring fresh Hell down on his head, and make the altercation with that glider riding imbecile, Green Goblin was it? shortly after we got together look like child's play." Bucky ducked his head to hide that Loki's words had touched him deeply. Wanting to deflect things, Bucky spoke without looking at Loki in an effort to change the mood.

" Cause you love me so much right?" Bucky looked up in time to see Loki with a perplexed look on his angular features that was similar to the one he had worn when Thor had asked him if he thought himself above the Midgardians as the Asgardian spoke.

" Well...yes." Bucky's face grew slack with astonishment at Loki's casual admission, but before he could properly respond, Bucky found himself flat on his back with Loki looming over him, the god having expertly flipped their positions.

Bucky was expecting there would be one of those sardonic smirks on Loki's face, his trademark if you would. Instead the expression on Loki's face could only be described as warily hopeful. It was a sincerely truthful expression on the face of the being known as the God of Mischief and Lies. Bucky stared up at Loki with disbelief written across his face. With his own expression softening, Loki leaned down until his forehead was pressed to the other man's as he spoke.

" I may be known as the God of Lies, but as for right now I speak only the truth. You have my love James Buchanan Barnes." Bucky found his throat was suddenly very tight. Swallowing a bit, Bucky finally spoke.

" Even...Even after everything I've done?" He asked softly as he looked up at Loki with self-loathing swirling in his blue eyes. Loki drew back and smiled down at Bucky sadly before he shook his head.

" What you did in you past was not by your own will, you were under the influence of those who used you as a weapon. What you did was nothing compared to my own actions. No one holds any of your past actions against you, and rightly so. If there is anyone who should be asking it is I."

Then with a sigh, Loki lowered himself onto the bed so that he lay on his side, Bucky turning onto his own side to face him and wrap his bionic arm around Loki's waist as the Asgardian spoke.

" I will not waste time with sugary sentiment and simply say that the blood on my hands trumps that which stains yours a hundred fold. I have darkness in me, and darkness around me. There are few bright spots that I can turn to to get away from this darkness, but one of them is most definitely you James."

Bucky blinked owlishly at Loki, feeling his face heat up at the god's words. Before Bucky could say anything, Loki reached up and cupped his cheek as he spoke.

" So now I ask, can you give me your love even after all that I have done?" Bucky looked Loki in the eye at this, really looked. He could see that behind the pain, and the Asgardian's own self-doubt and loathing, there was this hope, this fragile, almost crystalline hope within those emerald green depths.

Bucky told himself that he would be damned if he were to crush that now or ever.

" I know you're screwed up, and so am I but I can give you this." Bucky said, leaning in for a kiss only for Loki to pull back and smile at him with hooded eyes.

" Give me what James?" Bucky let out a huff of laughter as he smiled back at Loki shyly and spoke.

" My love Loki, I can give you my love." Bucky then reached up with his bionic hand and wrapped a few strands of Loki's silky raven-hued hair between his fingers before giving them a gentle and playful tug, causing Loki to laugh brightly and tilt his head back, baring his throat to Bucky.

" You're such a demanding prick." Bucky said against Loki's throat as he started kissing and biting his way up to the Asgardian's jaw. Loki let his eyes flutter shut as he enjoyed his lover's ministrations before he spoke.

" Your demanding prick." Bucky pressed his lips against Loki's temple as he spoke.

" Yeah, mine." Bucky then pushed Loki onto his back and straddled him, looking down at the god with a predatory glint in his blue eyes as he spoke.

" Now, we got a few hours before sun-up, and there are some things I'd really like to do to you before that, and talking isn't one of them." Loki simple smirked.

" Then by all means, get on with it soldier." Bucky gave another half-laugh before he dove forward and silenced the famous silver-tongue yet again.

It was hours later, with the sky just starting to brighten with the oncoming sun that Loki and Bucky parted. Bucky watched from where he sat propped up against the headboard and with the sheets covering his lower half as Loki dressed. As the tall norse god pulled the green tunic he was wearing back on after he had donned his black sleeping pants Bucky's blue eyes turned their gaze to Loki's long black hair, not slicked back and spiky as he normally wore it, but falling around his shoulders in soft waves and a few curls here and there. This was Loki as he allowed no one but James to see, not even Thor despite their somewhat mended relationship. They may have gotten to the point of calling each other 'brother' again, but there were still a few walls left that Thor needed to break through or maybe even burrow under.

Once he was fully dressed, Loki turned and gave a smile to his silent admirer before stepping over to the bed and taking a seat of the edge along side Bucky. Metal fingers reached out and cupped the side of Loki's neck before gently tugging the raven-haired man forward. Loki gave no resistance and he met Bucky's lips in a last, lingering peck. When they drew away some long moments later, Loki reached out to cover the metal hand on his neck, turning so that he could press and kiss into the palm before he stood up.

" I shall glare at you when we all congregate for the morning meal." To this Bucky just gave a half-smile and nodded as he replied.

" I'll call you something horrible in Russian." Loki gave Bucky one of his best grins before he teleported out of Bucky's room in a flash of soft green light.

Bucky's blue eyes lingered on the spot where Loki had stood for a few moments linger before he gave a small sigh and lay down on his bed. There were a few hours left before sun-up, he may as well get some sleep. Bucky settled in and drifted off for the few hours of sleep he could still get with relative darkness.

When sunlight finally filled the room, Bucky was up when Steve, without fail was knocking at his bedroom door for their daily morning work-outs. As promised, when hours later he and Steve were walking into the communal area to have breakfast with everyone, Loki sent Bucky his best glare across the table as he served himself a fluffy omelette. Bucky in turn called Loki something horrible in Russian that roughly translated to "Ugly Worm Face." It had Natasha smirking from where she was eating her oatmeal, while the other Avengers sat back and watched as Thor and Steve had to once again restrain Loki and Bucky respectively as the two former super-villains tried to get at each other across the breakfast table.

A few moments later found Loki and Bucky being herded out of the communal area by their respective blond, overly protective brothers, both literal and figurative. What no one saw before they disappeared down separate hallways was the loving look Loki and Bucky shared before they schooled their faces. This was their arrangement, this was how they wanted things to be for the time being, everything in their control. But there was one thing that neither Loki or Bucky could control, and that was fate. Fate would soon put these two unlikely lovers in such a situation that their carefully laid smokescreen would be blown away with the wind.

Two weeks later...

Chaos.

That was the only way to describe it. All around there were the roars of flames and the screams of innocent civilians as they ran for their lives from the menacing army of green colored Doom Bots that were laying waste to the Manhattan streets.

Doom was at it again. The metal faced mad scientist had unleashed a small army of Doom Bots onto the city, disrupting what had been a peaceful morning. Now the streets of New York were littered with shattered class, upturned and smashed cars, fires had broken out, and people who were injured or dead as the menacing machines trudged through the city, shooting and smashing at everything in their path.

One of the bots was just about to shoot its hand cannon at an abandoned taxi, but instead, the bot was flying backwards and crashing to the street with a hole through its chest.

" You're done shooting." Came Tony's voice through the Ironman suit as he flew onto the scene, using his repulsor cannons to start shooting at several more Doom bots. A few moments later in a flash or blond hair and bright read cape, Thor swooped in and smashed into a large bot, hammer first, landing with a gleeful grin on his face as he started swinging his hammer and taking out bots. With a flash of green light, Loki, clad in his signature horned helmet and golden armor teleported in and started throwing burning hot fireballs at the bot, watching Thor's six. A few minutes later the quinjet was pulling in, bringing the rest of the cavalry. The back of the streamline aircraft opened. Captain American, in his red, white, and blues and with his shield in hand was the first one out, easily jumping down and landing on the street from such a hight. Not a moment after him, Bucky Barnes, clad in a dark blue version of the battle suit he had worn while under Hydra, and with a black mask around his eyes easily made the same jump with his bionic arm gleaming. He landed a few feet away from Steve and fluidly pulled out one of his many guns, shooting at the bots and taking them out with deadly accuracy. Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye was the next out, using a line and repelling down onto the roof of a nearby building, providing eyes above and shooting arrows before he feet were even firmly on the ground. Black Widow was the one who remained in the quinjet, piloting it and providing air-support as she use the airships big guns to take out as many bots as she saw. And finally, the deep shaking of the ground beneath everyone's feet heralding the arrival of the final member of the team. With an inhuman roar, the Hulk in all his green and enraged glory burst onto the scene, the fact that he had had to run all the way to the place the attack was happening only pissing off the rage monster further. Bruce had hulked out before he could get to the jet, so he had had to jump from his floor of the tower and go through an airborne transformation into his green and mean counterpart.

Now the Avengers had arrived, and the brawl could truly begin. But even through the chaos and metal parts flying every which way, and their team mates smashing bots left and right in their own ways, Loki and Bucky both kept an eye on each other. Even as he smashed the bladed end of the spear he had conjured into the face of a bot, Loki was admiring Bucky as the super-assassin punched a bot through the chest with his bionic hands and ripped out the inner wires with his face grim and his blue eyes blazing. Loki bit back a smirk because he knew full well that Bucky was doing the exact same thing. From where he had just killed a Doom bot, Bucky spared a quick glance at Loki, taking in the Asgardian as he expertly swung his spear, with his green cape billowing and his golden armor gleaming. They both found each other insanely hot, as always when they were in battle. But the admiring had to be cut short when there was a loud roar of screeching metal, and the orchestrator of this entire surprise attack made his grand entrance.

Victor Von Doom, otherwise known as Dr. Doom literally rolled in on what looked like a massive juggernaut of a tank with three cannons ready to unleash destruction and death on the city. All of the Avengers, from those who were in the air to those on the ground all faced the canons head on. Loki was only half paying attention to whatever crap Doom spewed about how he was going to win this time for sure, that the Avengers were all gonna die and yaddi yaddi yadda, because his gaze immediately went to Bucky, who returned it with a grim look of his own.

They both thought the same thing, and that was that those canons looked like they were going to be trouble. Thinking fast, Loki turned his attention back to the enemy, hearing Tony's comment about how JARVIS's scans came up with the cannons being filled with burning hot plasma through the com-link they all shared.

Thinking fast, Loki summoned his seidr, his hands glowing green as he raised them high and made a spreading motion just as Doom fired his first volley at the Avengers, both in the air and on the ground. With a loud boom, the cannons unleashed glowing, purplish white energy projectiles at them. But just when these deadly shots were about to hit them, they were stopped by a green forcefield. Everyone turned their eyes to the source of the magic barrier. A grim faced Loki who looked like he was getting more pissed by the second as he held up the magic shield and protected everyone. While many of the Avengers were stunned, Thor looked at his brother with pride, while Bucky let the corner of his mouth quirk up ever so slightly.

This was the first time that Loki had shielded everyone without being demanded to. Loki himself paid no one any mind, because he did whatever the Hell he wanted damn it.

From where he stood atop the tank, Doom growled in frustration that his plasma cannons could not break through the barrier, but his cold eyes did zero in on the reason why this was so as well. With a snarl, Doom concentrated all three cannons directly on Loki. Seeing that he was now the target, Loki turned to his teammates and roared.

" GET OUT OF THE WAY, ALL OF YOU!"

" Brother wait!" Thor began to say, but Loki gave him a stern look, and when he saw that they weren't moving fast enough, he took matters into his own hands.

With a loud yell in some foreign language, a burst of white energy pulsed of Loki that effectively sent his fellow Avengers flying sideways. Except they weren't knocked off their feel, more like they were all being pulled away from the assumed blast radius. Steve and Thor had just enough time to yell out Loki's name before Doom was firing all of his cannons at Loki. The light was blinding as the combine shot careened towards Loki. But just as it was about to hit him, there was a bright flash of greenish gold light. The others all ducked against the massive shockwave and shielded their eyes against the roaring blast. Thor yelling desperately for his brother while Bucky had to force himself not to do the same. When the light finally faded, there was a giant, smoking crater where Loki had been standing. For one terrible moment, Bucky felt his world collapse. But then he was snarling and pulling out his gun, ready to pump Doom's ugly metal face full of lead. Doom for his part laughed at his supposed triumph while the Avengers are looked frantically for any signs that their reluctant Trickster had not just been blown to kingdom come.

The Avengers, especially an irate Thor and secretly so Bucky all turned their gazes to Doom, ready to unleash hell when the smarmy metal bastard's grating laughter was cut short by a blast of acidic green magic that came from some place to their left, knocking the mad scientist down onto his tank. All eyes turned to see Loki standing in the middle of the undamaged street, without a hair out of place, and a truly annoyed look on his face.

Bucky let out a quiet breath of relief, that did not go unnoticed by Steve, who frown in confusion behind his cowl for a moment before Doom captured his attention once more.

With a roar and a scrambled to his feet, Doom aimed his cannons at Loki again, but this time the other Avengers were having none of it. As one, they all converged on the super villain and his colossal war machine. It was a full on melee with Doom trying to aim at any Avenger he could find, sending plasma shots all over the place. After one of those shots nearly took out Tony, they all collectively agreed that it was time to end this. Thor and Loki teamed up and aimed a blast of lightening and magic at the middle cannon, while Tony and Black widow did the same for the cannon on the right and finally, Steve, Bucky, and Hawkeye all aimed for the cannon on the left, the archer bringing out one of his special incendiary arrow heads. Hulk stood growling and glaring, understanding that he would be the one to finish things up.

Thor and Loki were the first to fire, taking out the middles cannon and leaving it a twisted, sputtering mess of metal and spilling plasma. Then Natasha and Tony were up next, sending repulsor blasts and heavy fire at the next cannon, leaving it a dented and hole-ridden mess. And finally, Steve sent his shield flying first, followed by Bucky showing off his deadly marksman skills and he shot out the wires that were connected to the cannon with metal piercing rounds, watching with grim satisfaction as the cannon's plasma supply bled out. Lastly, Clint finished of the cannon by sending his special arrow flying, straight into the mouth of the cannon. Naturally, a few seconds later the cannon was exploding, almost like a flower of metal and purplish-white plasma.

Before Doom could even let out an irate bellow and cuss out the Avengers, there was a loud, inhuman roar and a large shadow of something big flying through the air. The Avengers all watched, some of them smiling, others a bit wide eyed as Hulk came to the forefront and hurled a slightly crushed SUV at Doom and his cannon. Doom let out a rather shrill cry as he jumped out of the way and clean of his cannon to avoid being turned into a pancake. The SUV slammed into the tank and crushed the top, effectively killing the war machine. But what none of the Avengers realized was that one of the cannons, the one that Tony and Natasha took out, still had plasma running through it, meaning that it could still get off a final shot.

Doom found himself loosely surrounded when the dust finally cleared, the Avengers, even Loki glaring at him. Bucky was only half-listening to Doom spew his vitriol at them because something didn't seem right, and a quick glance at Loki told the Super-assassin that his norse god was picking up on it too. Bucky turned his gaze to the disabled tank just in time to see the remaining plasma cannon sputter with tenuous life. Within the span of a few seconds that seemed more like hours, Bucky realized that the cannon was going to fire one last, dying shot, and it was aimed right Steve, who was busy shouting back at Doom to notice.

Without thinking, Bucky yelled out Steve's name and lunged forward, using his metal arm to push Steve away with as much force as he could muster. Bucky thought he heard someone scream out his given name before everything went white and there was a burning hot pain over his side and back, his human arm a light with it.

The rest of the Avengers, from Steve to the Hulk on the ground, to Tony and Natasha who were still in the air watched in horror as Bucky was hit by the plasma and blow backwards, careening through the air until he slammed into the side of a parked van, slumping onto the ground and not moving. Before a horrified Steve could even get back to his feet, there was a flash of a green cape and everyone was stunned speechless as they saw Loki, a look of pure anguish on his face as he ran past them as fast as his legs could take him towards where Bucky lay.

Loki's entire battle outfit glowed as the mage summoned it away, leaving the Asgardian in his less formal leathers as he slammed onto his knees before Bucky and reached out.

" James!" He yelled as he carefully took Bucky's face into his hands. Loki's green eyes darted frantically over Bucky, assessing the damage.

Thankfully, it appeared that the plasma shot had glanced off of Bucky, otherwise it would have surely vaporized him. But the damage was severe. The right side of Bucky's face was singed and an angry red, his right arm and side were totally scorched with what looked like third degree burns. His breathing was labored, and he was barely conscious as he stared up at Loki with rapidly glazing eyes.

Steve seemed to snap out of his paralysis and yelled as he climbed to his feet and barreled towards where Loki and Bucky were, the others following close behind. As they beheld the frantic scene, everyone was wondering just what the hell was going on, why Loki and Bucky were looking at each other like that, like they cared deeply for each other when just yesterday they had nearly gotten into another brawl with each other, spewing mutual hate.

But all of that had to be put aside as Steve knelt beside Bucky, eying Loki with confusion when the god gently eased Bucky sideways into Captain America's arms. Thor was stunned to see his brother, usually so aloof and collected even after the worst battles, looking so frantic and afraid, his green eyes wide and never leaving Bucky as the injured mortal lay gasping in Steve's arms.

" St-Steve." Bucky gasped, his eyes and burned face alight with searing agony.

" Hey Buddy, try not to talk." Steve said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile before he looked up grimly. He was about to start barking orders when Bucky started coughing violently. Everyone was chilled when they saw the deep, crimson liquid that came pouring out the corner of his mouth.

" James?" Loki said softly and he came forward, looming over Bucky and not giving a damn that Steve and the others were staring.

" L-Loki." Bucky let out a pained gasp as he reached out to the Asgardian with his burned hand, Loki quickly leaning in so that Bucky could press his injured hand over the center of his chest.

Tears began to stream from Bucky's eyes, from both the pain and from the feeling in his gut that he wasn't going to come back from this. Gritting his teeth, Bucky spoke with waning strength.

" L-Loki I... I don't think I'm gonna..." He began when Loki's eyes suddenly hardened into two orbs of jade as he leaned down and got right into Bucky's face.

" Shut up James." Steve was about to rail of Loki for talking to Bucky that way, but he stopped when he saw the way Loki's eyes suddenly lost their hardness and gazed at Bucky with unheard of warmth.

" You're not leaving us." He said, before his face grew grim. " You're not leaving me."

The words left everyone stunned and gawking, Thor nearly dropping Mjolnir as he stared at the scene between his brother and Steve's best friend. Before anyone could even articulate any kind of response to this, and before Steve or Thor could demand answers, a grimly determined looking Loki lashed out and roughly grabbed Bucky by the front of his burned battle gear and yanked him up out of Steve's arms. Steve was about to scream at Loki for daring to pull Bucky so roughly, but his angry words died in his throat as the sight he and the rest of the Avengers now beheld. With both of them on their knees, facing each other with Bucky being more or less held up by the god, Loki had his lips sealed firmly over Bucky's in a deep kiss.

" Is this the twilight zone?" Tony asked, naturally receiving no answer as everyone watched Loki kissing Bucky.

Then, like a spark igniting a wild fire, a golden energy seemed to radiate out of Loki and swirl around Bucky's entire being. Bucky's once glazing eyes suddenly flew all the way open, clear and coherent as he gasped against Loki's lips. His entire body was tingling with whatever it was that was radiating from Loki. To his amazement, the agony of his injuries soon started to fade into nothing. Around the pair, everyone was stunned at what they were seeing. The horrifying burns that had just moments ago marred Bucky's body were slowly but surely fading away, leaving only torn fabric and undamaged skin. The burn over the right side of Bucky's seemed to almost recede like the tides of an ocean, fading away into nothing and leaving only a pale, lightly stubble covered cheek and jawline.

" Brother." Thor said, almost reverently, his eyes wide with the realization that Loki was expending massive amount of his seidr in order to heal Steve's best friend, now revealed to be Loki's lover. The Hulk just scratched his head for a second and then shrugged to himself.

With the golden seidr still swirling around them, Loki pushed himself onto his feet, pulling Bucky up with him, never breaking the kiss they were sharing.

" This is unreal." Clint said quietly as he watched Bucky be fully healed of his grievous injuries.

When the golden energy finally dissipated, Loki and Bucky broke apart with a gasp. Bucky staring up at Loki with wide, disbelieving eyes. Loki kept his face carefully neutral, and everyone else could only see his profile as he reached up and cupped Bucky's cheek. But before Bucky or anyone else could say anything, there was a flash of green magic and Loki teleported. Everyone was confused as to where the Hell Loki would go all of a sudden when a loud, and pained yell filled the air and had everyone turning in time to get their answer.

Doom let out another loud wail from where he was suspended in the air with tendrils of poison green seidr around his wrists and ankles, Loki standing on the ground below him with his pale fist raised and his back to everyone. Bucky immediately rushed forward, Thor, Steve and the others quickly following. As they neared Loki, they heard him speak.

" I should rend you limb from pathetic limb and them sell your parts for scrap."

Steve was about to plead with Loki not to carry out his threat, but his fears were nulled with Loki's next words.

" But I will not sully my hands or my seidr with you sorry carcass, so this will just have to placate me for the time being."

With that, Loki's raised fist glowed red with magic. Everyone watched on in silent awe as the magical tendrils that bound Doom and suspended him in the air started to spread to his whole body, turning a furious red color in the proceed and radiating molten heat. Doom let out another loud yell of agony, his metal skin burning so hot it felt like his whole body was melting. In actuality, nothing seemed to be happening to Doom's skin, nothing was turning bright orange with heat, or even denting, such was Loki's power. Still without turning, and his long black hair billowing about his head, Loki let out a disgusted snarl before he jerked his raised fist sharply to the right, seemingly yanking on air. The effect was instant for Doom though, as he was hurled sideways. The Super-villain had enough time to let out one last pain-filled yell before he was careening into the side of his own disabled tank with a sickening smash of metal on metal. Doom hit the tank so hard that the metal bended and broke in such a way as to curve around its vanquished maker. The few groans emanating from the demolished tanks were enough to let them all know that despite it all, Doom was alive, if roasted.

Things grew eerily quiet after that, all of the Avengers turning their gazes from the destroyed pile of steaming metal, to the Asgardian prince who had done the destroying. They all stood paralyzed, unsure what to do, how to approach Loki who was still radiating with this dangerous, magic fueled rage. But it was Loki who made the first move for them. Something seemed to shift in the air around the second prince of Asgard. The dangerous rage seemed to be doused by a sudden wave of exhaustion that everyone from those on the ground to Natasha who was still manning the quinjet could somehow feel. Loki himself seemed to slump a bit, his rigid posture fading as he slowly turned around to face the rest of the team. And when he did finally face them, the floor seemed to get pulled out from under all of them.

The scene before them would haunt Bucky's mind for as long as he lived and horror filled him to his very soul. It was with a sickening realization that Loki had indeed healed him, but not without paying the price.

The right side of Loki's usually pale, unmarred face was now a ghastly, reddish purple, burnt mess, as was his right hand from what they could see. It was not the whole thing, but it was enough for all of them, especially Bucky, Thor, and Steve to realize what had happened. Loki had taken Bucky's injuries into himself, and was now suffering them in full force. Loki took in every silently horrified face, but it was like he was in a haze, and everything was so very far away, even the pain.

At least James was safe.

It was the way Loki's usually vibrant green eyes were rapidly glazing and how unsteady his stance was growing that finally seemed to snap everyone out of the paralysis that gripped them. Naturally, it was Thor who moved first. The Thunderer let out an anguished cry as he ran forward as fast as his legs could carry him.

" Brother!"

Thor reached Loki just as his younger brother's knees collapsed from under him. With a distressed yell, Thor caught Loki as gently as he could, his eyes prickling with tears at the harsh cries of pain Loki made at the contact before he eased his raven-haired brother down the rest of the way, gently holding him in his arms, against his armor covered chest.

Loki groaned loudly, writhing in pure agony as wave after wave of searing pain crashed over him. He looked up at Thor with bleary eyes, and he would have had a sharp rebuke for Thor's over-dramatics, but something in the way his brother was look at him gave Loki pause. He must look particularly ghastly if the naked panic and the tears that were glistening in the blond oaf's eyes were anything to go on. Instead Loki swallowed, with great difficultly because it felt like there was a cactus lodged firmly in his throat, Loki spoke.

" I'll... I'll be alright brother... You know... You know t-that I have survived worse."

Loki grimaced at just how hoarse and garbled his voice sounded in his own ears. The world itself started to seem so very far away, his own mind growing dull from the pain, his grip on consciousness growing tenuous as the moments past. Thor looked up in time to see the rest of the Avengers rushing towards them, Bucky at the forefront with Steve right beside him, a look of full-blown terror on his face.

Loki started coughing violently in Thor's arms, and much to the Thunderer's horror, bright crimson liquid bubbled up past Loki's colorless lips. When the fit ended, Loki forced himself to speak.

" Is... Is James alright?" He asked softly, gazing imploringly at his brother. Before Thor could answer, Bucky himself was crashing to his knees on the street beside them, his hands going to Loki's chest, resting reverently over the chest guard Loki was wearing. Thor watched as Loki turned his gaze to Barnes and looked so utterly relieved to see the mortal that it silence any protest he was going to make regarding said mortal touching his injured brother.

" Loki you idiot, what the hell did you do?" Bucky demanded, his eyes bright with anguish as Steve knelt down beside him, gazing between them in both concern and confusion, a million questions on the tip of his tongue.

" As... much as you have b-been enhanced... I am s-still more hardy... than you m-mortal." Loki replied, sending Bucky a small, bloodstained smile.

" God you stupid son of a bitch." Bucky said softly through gritted teeth as he reached up with his non-metal fingers and ran the backs on them over Loki's unburned cheek. Loki leaned into the caress and looked up at Bucky with pained, yet warm eyes. Bucky did his best to keep his jaw from trembling as the gravity of the whole situation dawning on him.

The jig was up, in one fell swoop the fascade was shattered, leaving only the truth. Before Steve or Thor could ask any questions about what they were seeing, Loki's eyes suddenly lost all focus, gazing blankly at some point while his whole body just seemed to suddenly loose all tension to where he was no longer even writhing from the pain as he had been. Loki's breath became erratic gasps as his overtaxed lungs tried to pull in oxygen.

There was a loud roar from behind the four of them, Steve, Thor, and Bucky looking up in time to see the Hulk grow smaller and less green until a barefoot Bruce Banner clad in the stretched and shredded remnants of his pants. Without wasting a moment, Bruce ran forward as fast a he could with all the debris under his feet and knelt down before Thor, silently making Bucky and Steve back off a bit and give him some room.

This was Bruce Banner in full doctor mode, and there was no barrier that could withstand that. He may not have been a medical doctor, but he remembered the basics as he quickly assessed their grievously injured trickster. Bruce frowned before he looked up and met the three expectant pairs of eyes that were zeroed in on him. Bruce's face was grim as he spoke.

" He's gone into shock, we need to get him back to the tower asap cause he's in major trouble!"

Bruce's words seemed to finally snap everyone out of their collective paralysis. Now came the frantic chaos of saving one of their own. Thor hefted his gravely injured sibling over his shoulder and raised Mjolnir above his head, vaulting into the air and flying off towards Avenger's tower as fast as he could. Not a moment after Thor took off with Loki, Tony touched down beside Bruce just long enough to hook his metallic arms under the startled doctor's underarms before taking flight again. Like Thor carried Loki, Tony carried Bruce as the pair of them followed after Thor back to the tower.

Natasha landed the Quinjet and Bucky was taking off, not sparing anyone else a glance as he frantically climbed into the back of the aircraft before the door had even fully come down. Steve and Clint made quick work of getting a battered and unconscious Doom out of the remnants of his tank and into the jet as well, Clint coming to take the co-pilot's eat beside Black Widow while Steve placing an unconscious Doom into the special containment cell of the jet before strapped himself in beside Bucky. Steve pulled back his cowl and silently eyed his best friend while the jet took to the air once more. Bucky's normally pale face was now completely devoid of all color, his hands, both metallic and flesh were clenched tight in his lap, and his lips were held in a thin, grim line. But it was Bucky's eyes that had something in Steve's own heart clenching. While the rest of Bucky appeared calm enough, his eyes gave away how he really was. Bucky's blue eyes were wide and haunted, holding within them a frantic desperation. The kind of desperation one could only feel when someone they loved deeply was in trouble and they needed to get to that person by any means. Bucky was so focused on this, that he didn't even spar a moment to glare at Doom who was slumped over and handcuffed behind the glass plate of what was essentially a giant-sized mail tube

Even though Steve had a million questions he wanted to have answered about what had happened today, the super-soldier didn't voice a single one of these. Instead he reached out and gripped Bucky's shoulder firmly. Steve still stayed silent when Bucky turned to meet his gaze, the two of them staring at each other until finally, Bucky's blue eyes filled with a gut-wrenching pain and also a silent plea for help. Steve fought off the urge to turn away from this look Bucky was giving him and forced himself to speak.

" It's gonna be okay Buck... He's gonna be okay." Steve said softly, a part of him not really believing that he was giving his best friend reassurances that Loki was going to be alright. But after witnessing just what Loki had done, what lengths the seemingly unfeeling and uncaring Asgardian was willing to go to to save his best friend from what had certainly been fatal injuries, Steve quickly banished the feeling. For the remainder of the break-neck ride home, and while they all remained silent, Steve never let go of Bucky's shoulder.

When the jet finally made it to the tower, Bucky was again out the door before it had opened fully, Steve tasking Natasha and Clint with making sure Doom was detained before he scrambled after his best friend. Steve barely made it in time to squeeze through the rapidly closing doors of the elevator before he and Bucky were riding it down to get to the medical wing of the tower. Again, Bucky was the first to shoot out of the elevator when he and Steve reached the medical wing, were several doctors and nurses were on staff, Tony sparing no expense.

" Bucky, let's head to the emergency area." Steve said, deducing that that was probably the best place to start looking. Bucky nodded mutely and followed Steve as they headed for said area.

Thankfully, Steve's gut led him well, for no sooner had they entered the emergency area, they spotted Thor still in his red cape with a de-suited Tony standing beside him, the both of them looking into a room that was separated by a large glass pane.

" Thor, Tony!" Steve called to get their attention as he and Bucky hurried toward them.

Thor and Tony both turned to see Steve and Bucky coming towards them, both of them looking grim as Tony crossed his arms, while Thor zeroed his blue-eyed gaze on Bucky.

Bucky didn't pay this any mind, his own blue eyes going to what happening on the other side of the glass. It made his heart first freeze, and then drop all the way to his feet. On the other side of the glass was an image that would haunt Bucky for as long as he lived.

The room itself was like any other high-tech and brightly lit operating room, but it was who lay in the middle of it that had Bucky's attention.

Loki lay pale and unmoving on a large hospital bed, doctors dressed in white medical scrubs all milling about him. He was unconscious, and there was a wicked looking tube down his was bare from the waist up, a white sheet covering his lower half, and he was laid eagle spread.

It left the full extent of the injuries he had taken from Bucky on vivid and nightmarish display.

It was like the entire right side of Loki's body had been broiled. The doctors were carefully applying some kind of balm over the burns and then carefully wrapping the terrible wounds in bandages, gauze having already been carefully taped over the burns on Loki's face and neck. Bucky looked on for several long moments, watching as the doctors began to carefully wrap Loki's savagely burned right arm.

" It's supposed to be me in there." Bucky thought, his gut giving a painful lurch as he watched the tube that was down Loki's throat force air into him, his pale chest, carrying a light singe along the right side, moved up and down steadily, but mechanically. Fighting back the burning behind his eyes, Bucky forced himself to turn away and face the other three people who were there, noticing that it was in face five people, since Natasha and Clint had joined them and he hadn't noticed. His eyes immediately went to Thor, who stood with his arms crossed over his still armored chest and his entire face pale and grim.

" What did the doctors say Thor?" Bucky asked as he took a step forward.

Thor's eyes hardened for a moment as he stared at Bucky, but he must have seen the barely veiled desperation in Bucky's eyes before he seemed to deflate and uncrossed his arms, the hardness leaving his features to where he just looked completely heartbroken as he spoke.

" The healers said that they would do all that was in their power to treat my brother's injuries, but that these were severe burns he has taken into himself. The damage from the substance they called plasma was severe. Loki's breath became so shallow by the time I reached the tower, they shoved that tube down his throat. At first I was wondering why Loki did not simply use his magic to heal himself like he always did, but I realized that perhaps he overtaxed his seidr when he healed you and then dealt with Doom all in one fell swoop."

At this last part, Bucky, as well as Steve and the others were all glad to see that Thor's tone had not turned accusatory towards his brother's newly revealed lover, instead Thor was eyeing him with guarded curiosity. It made Bucky feel the urge to squirm anyway. He quashed it down though and bowed his head.

" This is all my fault." Bucky said softly as he turned away.

Steve was instantly as his side, gripping his shoulder tightly as he spoke.

" Don't do that Bucky, don't go blaming yourself. You saved me from that last blast from Doom's cannon, and then Loki saved you from the burns you took. Even though I am at a complete loss here about what the hell's going on, it's obvious Loki cares about you a lot if he was willing to risk his own life to heal you."

Bucky looked up to meet Steve's concerned gaze as he spoke, his voice quiet and crumbling.

" H-He loves me Steve and... and I love him."

There was a shocked silence at these softly spoken words, everyone in some way or another gaping at Bucky and what he had just revealed. It was Natasha, every quick to recover her composure who shook off the shock first.

" Alright Barnes, you have got some explaining to do." She said, taking charge. Bucky nodded mutely to Natasha before his eyes went from Steve to Thor and back as Steve spoke.

" Hey guys, think it'd be a good idea if we all went upstairs and freshened up a bit and then came back down here." He said, eying Bucky's torn and burnt battle suit.

Everyone all agreed that they would all change out of their battle gear and them come back down here, Tony pointing out that there was a conference room down the hall from the emergency operating room that had put in a few months back. Everyone left, and then came back later dressed in regular clothing.

Silently, but with a tension starting to crackle among them, the Avengers all started to proceed down this hallway, but Bucky paused a moment to take one last look at Loki as the doctors started wrapping the burns on his chest, everyone else doing the same when they noticed Bucky do this. Bucky forced himself away, and with Steve's reassuring yet also quietly tense presence beside him, Bucky followed the rest of the group as Tony led them to the private waiting area.

A few minute later had Bucky sitting both literally and figuratively in the hot seat at the head of the conference table with Steve and Thor flanking him on either side, with Tony and a tired looking Bruce sitting on Thor's side, while Natasha and a mutely grim looking Clint sat on the same side as Steve.

" Start taking Barnes, cause I really would like to know why you're suddenly all lovey dovey with our resident psycho." Clint said flatly, earning some unamused looks from both Steve and Thor, while Tony just smirked. Understanding that Clint and the others all wanted answers as much as he himself wanted them, Steve spoke.

" Bucky, just what is going on here?" He asked.

" Indeed, from my understanding, you and my brother seemed to dislike each other quite intensely almost immediately after you met all those moons ago." Thor said as he too looked intensely at Bucky.

Bucky forced himself to look up and meet the many gazes that were leveled on him. Taking a deep breath, he spoke, addressing Steve first.

" What's going on here, is that me and Loki have been together since about two months after you brought me here from Washington Steve." Bucky then turned his attention to Thor, ignoring the way Steve and the others were all gaping at him in their own ways, when Thor cut him off.

" My brother must have influenced you with his magic somehow." Bucky resisted the urge to roll his eyes, Loki having warned him that this would happen, that Thor and the others would immediately assume that there had been some magical manipulation on Loki's part. With a sigh, Bucky shook his head and reached for his metal arm. Bucky pushed back one of the metal plated just under the bicep and pulled something out from underneath. It was a delicate looking chain of what appeared to be braided silver, the end still attached to the inside of Bucky's arm, with a small ice-drop shaped crystal hanging from the end of it that seemed to be glowing with an otherworldly green light.

Thor's sharp intake of breath, and the way his entire face grew even more shocked had the other Avengers all looking questioningly at Bucky.

" Thor, what is it?" Clint asked as he eyed the crystal warily.

" That is a warding crystal, used by the highest order of Mages in Asgard to keep away any seidr that means to subjugate the will of whoever it is aimed at." Thor said, before his face turned into a disbelieving frown at Bucky.

" Loki gave that to you willingly?" Bucky nodded before he tucked the crystal back under the panel of his metal arm.

" He gave it to me the second time we were intimate. I never once thought Loki would try anything with me but given both our histories, me with basically not having my own mind for decades, and he with having taken over minds during the invasion he led, I guess he didn't want to take any chances. " Then with a sigh, Bucky sat back in his seat and shook his head before he looked back up with a sad sort of half smile that made Steve's heart ache, while the others lost some of the hardness in their eyes for some reason.

" I didn't hate Loki at first sight, honestly I... I thought he was one of the most gorgeous things I'd ever seen in a really long time. And now I'm allowed to remember that I'd seen him." Bucky said with a nostalgic little quirk of his lips before he grew serious again.

" And before any of you jump to the conclusion that Loki must have taken advantage of me or seduced me somehow, you should know that Loki didn't do anything. Sure I'd notice that his eyes lingered on me sometimes when we were in the same room when I was settling in, but he never came near me, never approached me to even say "hello". And I was the same, I'd look at him from far away and never try to make contact. Finally I just couldn't keep doing that, so I made the first move." Bucky revealed.

There was a stunned silence over the room at this, even Natasha's eyes growing a bit wider that normal. It was she who asked what everyone else was thinking.

" What move did you make?" Bucky bit back a fond smile and kept his face stoic as he replied.

" I climbed up the tower and snuck into his room one night."

" You did what now?" Tony said, sitting up and staring incredulously at Bucky.

Steve watched, stunned as Bucky met Tony's gaze with a bright, amused glint in his blue eyes and the ghost of a smile on his lips. It was like the Bucky Barnes he had always known and grown up with was suddenly sitting in front of him, the man he was before the war, before Hydra, before everything. Steve forced himself not to jump up and hug Bucky right then and there, and instead look a look around the table in time to see the everyone else was also staring at Bucky, no doubt having never seen this side of the usually very reserved and silent ex-assassin. The new-found brightness in Bucky's eyes dimmed for a moment before he shook it off.

" I've been trained to get to my target by any and all means necessary, scaling a building like this one isn't hard when you know where to grip it, and besides that, I didn't climb all the way up from my room, it was late that night so I took the elevator up to maybe three or four floors down from the floor he and Thor share and climbed up."

" Why the hell didn't JARVIS raise the alert?" Clint asked.

" Because I asked him not to." Bucky replied.

Tony's mind was reeling at this, and he was instantly looking up at the ceiling with hard eyes.

" JARVIS you got some explaining to do." A few moments later a familiar British accented voice of the A.I. sounded.

" Sir, your orders were that all the Avengers who live in this building were to be afforded their privacy. When Mr. Odinson was brought back to this building by his brother, you did not allow him this privacy and ordered that he remain under round the clock surveillance and I have been doing as you have ordered thus far. On the other hand, you did not order that I keep Mr. Barnes under such constant watch. On the night in question, Mr. Barnes entered Mr. Odinson's bedroom via a window and asked that all video surveillance be halted for the duration of his say in Mr. Odinson's room. I complied with Mr. Barnes' wishes as the rules you set into place dictated Mr. Stark."

" Thank you JARVIS." Bucky said quietly as he sent a grateful look up at the ceiling, seeing as to how JARVIS was like that voice from up above and everywhere.

" Happy to be of service Mr. Barnes." Came the simple reply.

" Unbelievable." Clint sigh in exasperation while Tony smirked up at the ceiling.

" So you found a loop-hole." Bruce said with a small smile, Bucky nodded wordlessly.

" What transpired between you and my brother?" Thor asked, the air around him literally growing charged as he gazed at Bucky with the hard eyes of an over-protective brother. Bucky met Thor's gaze without flinching, not intimidated at all. Without looking away, Bucky began to recount what happened after he had snuck into Loki's room.

Several months earlier, on the night in question...

Bucky carefully pulled the glass pane of the window shut, sending a silent thank you to JARVIS for opening it for him when he had given it a light tap from outside. Now he found himself in Loki's bedroom, feeling equal parts excited and nervous after he had whispered for JARVIS to cut all surveillance on the room. He had just snuck into the room of a man that had tried to subjugate Earth itself, and always gave off an air of warning not to get too close, or there would be unpleasantness. Said man was no where to be found in the at the moment, but the light coming from under the door located at one corner, along with the noise of water running from behind it was enough for Bucky to deduce where Loki was.

Feeling his heart-rate speed up with anticipation, Bucky took in the room, noting how it was much like his own room, filled with the generic furniture Stark had placed in all of the other room, with hardly any personal touches save for a few sparse details like the deep, forrest green comforter over the bed, the small stack of old-looking leather-bound books on the nightstand where a generic lamp was on, but only dimly lighting up the room, and more books neatly lined up along the upper edge of the desk by the wall beside the windows.

Eying the single couch chair in the darkened corner of the room that was right by the door to the bathroom that was currently occupied, Bucky made his way over to it and sat down. Shrouded in the shadows, Bucky sat back and waited, keeping an ear on the still closed bathroom door.

The minutes kept ticking by, but Bucky simply sat still as a statue and waited. Sure enough, the sounds of water running ceased and there was shuffling and shadows moving around the sliver of light coming from under the door before it too went out. Bucky leaned back further into the shadows as he heard the bathroom door open, staying absolutely silent while he watched out the corner of his eye. A few moments later, Bucky had to clench his jaw to keep from gasping out loud as Loki, the would be conqueror of Earth stepped out of the bathroom, clad in nothing but a think gray towel around his narrow waist. The freshly showered god was using another towel to dry his long black locks as he walked across the room to the foot of his bed, not noticing that he had an unexpected visitor.

From where he sat, Bucky was mesmerized by the sight before him. In the dimly lit room, Loki's pale skin seemed to almost glow. Bucky wracked his eyes down the flawless expanse of Loki's bare back, taking in the water droplets that lingered over his shoulder and dripped from his still damp hair. Bucky could have sat there and stared at Loki for the rest of the night, taking in that strong and lithe body in such a state of undress, but his ogling would be cut short. Bucky nearly jumped when Loki spoke without turning around, now casually drying his shoulders.

" Is there a reason why you've come into my bed-chambers without any sort of invite mortal?"

Seeing that there was no point in hiding, Buck steeled his nerves and stood up from his seat, stepping into the light. Dressed in a baggy black hoodie zipped up over a simple gray t-shirt and equally baggy sweats, and his special scaling boots that had helped make the climb up possible, Bucky still found himself being the one who felt over-exposed in the presence of the barely covered Asgardian, who at this point had not even turned around to face him. Not really knowing what to say now that he was on the spot, but knowing that if he said something wrong he was most likely going to get himself fried, Bucky decided to answer Loki's question first.

" I just... I wanted to see you." He began to say when Loki cut him off, still with his back to Bucky and still non-chalantly drying himself.

" You have seen me several times today, at all of the communal meals that are so vehemently insisted upon here. Have you not had your fill?" To this, Bucky felt the first stirrings of heat rise within him, his eyes taking in the way the muscles of Loki's surprisingly powerful looking back coiled and shifted under his pale skin. While Loki was giving off the air of aloofness, Bucky could see that his body had a telling tension about it as he spoke.

" No." That single word made Loki stop wiping at his arm, yet he still did not turn around. Bucky was rapidly getting tired of this, he had risked his life to climb up to this room, the least the person he had worked so hard to visit could do was face him.

" Turn around and look at me Loki." He demanded, his voice holding no room for anything but full compliance as he stepped forward.

" Your mind must be well and truly fucked indeed if you think you can order me around mortal." Loki said, a promise of pain in his voice, and yet he still did not turn to face Bucky. At this point, Bucky had had enough. Without really thinking things through, Bucky strode forward the rest of the way, grabbing Loki by the upper arm and pulling him around.

" Look at me damn it!" Bucky growled, getting right into Loki's face despite the moderate height difference between himself.

He had enough time to see Loki's poison green eyes turn murderous before they flashed with energy. The next thing he knew, Bucky was letting out a started yelp as he was flying backwards, viciously yanked clear off his feet by some unseen force. Bucky let out a small grunt as his back made contact with the wall, and yet it was not with as much force as he had expected. His arms and legs were pressed firmly into the wall by Loki's magic, and yet he hadn't had the wind slammed out of him as one would expect from Loki. But Bucky didn't have time to think about the fact that he hadn't been sent clean through the wall because Loki was suddenly right in his face, seething.

" I'll crush you bones to dust for thinking you could ever dare touch me." Loki growled before he leaned in closer, his breath hot over Bucky's face. " Insignificant little slug." To Loki's silent astonishment, Bucky met his fiery gaze unflinchingly, a fire burning bright within their blue depths as the human spoke.

" My name is James, and if you were going to crush me then you would have done it already, you would have sent me straight through this wall or clear out the window without a second thought, so why haven't you?" Bucky glared at Loki defiantly, having thrown down the challenge, his metal arm whirring and clicking in protest to the restraint. Loki blinked and jerked back a fraction, shock crossing his face before he caught himself. Bucky didn't give him a chance to make some sharp-tongued comeback. Straining against the invisible restraints that were holding him a few feet above the floor, Bucky spoke again.

" Answer me. Why haven't you?" Loki just continued to glare daggers at him, but as he looked into those captivating green eyes, he could see that swirling under the anger and the arrogance there was something deeper, something that spoke of eons worth of unimaginable pain. It was something Bucky instantly recognize because this was something he often saw staring back at him whenever he stood before a mirror. But before Bucky could say anything, Loki seemed to notice the way he was staring at him, the recognition must have shown on Bucky's face because the invisible restraints were suddenly vanishing. Bucky landed on his feet with a small thud and looked up in time to see the pained look that flashed in Loki's eyes before they hardened back into their glare.

" I don't answer to you mortal, now leave, go seek out someone else to fulfill your apparent death wish." Loki turned away in clear dismissal.

Bucky stood silent as he watched Loki pad across the floor back to the foot of his bed. Gritting his teeth together, Bucky pulled the hood of his hoodie up over his head and moved, except he didn't walk towards the window, instead he reached for the hem of his hoodie and pulled it off completely. The t-shirt he was wearing under it soon followed. Bucky paused to pull off the ankle length boots he had on before he walked forward fast across the room to get to Loki.

The sound of things softly hitting the floor caused Loki to drop the discarded towel he had just picked up, He was about to turn around and see what his unwanted guest was up to, but instead he felt all the breath leave his lungs as arms, one warm and made of flesh and bone, the other of hard yet surprisingly warm metal wrapped around him. The metal arm went around his waist while the natural arm went up diagonally over his bare chest, till the palm was resting right over his heart. Loki was too stunned to put up any resistance as he was gently, but firmly pulled backwards until his bare back was flush against a warm and solid chest.

In a split second Loki's entire body was tensing and also getting ready to unleash fiery hell on Bucky for having the audacity to touch him again, but Loki's heart stopped cold inside his chest when he felt a pair of lips press a kiss between his shoulder blades. Bucky let his lips linger over the smooth skin before he drew back, but only so that he could press his forehead firmly to the spot he had just kissed. Letting out a shaky breath to reign in the many emotions that were going through him, Bucky spoke. The words that came out of Bucky's mouth had Loki's very soul lurching in bright agony.

" I didn't come here because I have a death wish Loki, I came here because I'm lonely, and I know you are too."

Loki was speechless for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

" What in all the nine realms makes you think I care for such sentiment mortal? In case you somehow failed to notice, everyone in this tower loathes me for I have done many unforgivable things, yet you do not see me loosing any sleep over it. I care not for what anyone thinks of me."

" You're amazing at hiding it, at being nonchalant, but I know full well it hurts you that the only time anyone ever talks to you is when they're reaming you out or insulting you. That while they're a team, you're on the outside looking in. " Bucky said, before he minutely tightened his hold around Loki, taking a moment to revel in the feel of the Asgardian's skin against his own before he sent a thrill through his whole body that Loki hadn't shoved him away as of yet, but Bucky wasn't

" I know, because it's the same with me. I may not get screamed at like you but other than Steve, no one wants to spend time with me other than to get all the information about Hydra they can out of me, or study my arm while Stark keeps making these jokes that really aren't funny. Even Steve, sometimes all he does is try to get me to remember that we were best friends a lifetime ago. He's so desperate to get Bucky back that he doesn't want to see that all that's left is the broken pieces of the Winter Soldier sitting across from him. I can't ever be who was before I was turned into the killer I am now."

Bucky felt Loki grow tenser in his arms, taking in an almost inaudible intake of breath, the mortal man's words unexpectedly resonating with him because what he had just revealed about himself and the Captain was the exact same state his relationship with Thor was currently in. Even though Thor was clearing angry with him over the Chitauri invasion, Loki could still see the barest glimmer of hope in Thor's eyes that they would be brothers again. If Loki were honest with himself, there was a part of him, very small mind you, that yearned desperately to be by Thor's side as his brother again. But like James had just said, the Loki that Thor knew was long gone, lost to a void of despair and cold, black space. All that was left was what stood here now in the arms of a rather brave mortal, the Trickster, the cold-blooded killer, the defeated would be subjugator of Midgard now ordered to make amends. But then a thought suddenly struck Loki, a thought that made him deflate instantly as he spoke.

" Your actions were not your own, contrary to popular belief I was listening when we were all debriefed about your situation before you were brought to the tower. You cannot be held accountable for being nothing more than a pawn for Hydra. Redemption is something that is possible for you, but not I. There is no going back for me, I have become a true monster."

Loki felt Bucky sigh against his skin, then there was the sensation of light stubble against his shoulder blade amidst his now lightly damp black hair. With a small thrill, and resisting the urge to shiver because it was a very nice sensation, Loki realized that Bucky was rubbing his cheek against his skin. Bucky kept his cheek pressed to Loki's shoulder as he spoke.

" I don't think that, I wouldn't have climbed up the tower to get in here if I thought you were nothing but a monster." Then with a sigh he added.

" Now will you please just turn around and look at me?"

There was an incredibly long feeling moment of tense silence and then, Bucky was drawing back and reluctantly releasing his hold around Loki as the latter finally turned around to face him. Loki stared down at Bucky with an unreadable look on his face, his green eyes no longer bright with anger, but guarded. Bucky carefully reached up with his metal hand. It warmed Bucky when Loki didn't flinch away from the metallic touch as he gently cupped the Asgardian's cheek. Running his metal thumb over the graceful arch of Loki's cheekbone, Bucky finally spoke.

" You made me feel like an actual person again just by looking at me. You see me as I am now, you aren't chasing any ghosts, or seeing nothing but the freak with the metal arm. I feel like I'm just James whenever I catch you looking at me, just James."

Loki, who had been resisting the urge to revel in the first kind touch he had had in month, felt his eyes widen at these words because out of everything he was expecting to hear regarding just why this crazy mortal had come into his room, this was by far the last thing he had ever thought he'd hear. Loki was so unbalanced by what Bucky had said that it took him a moment to notice when Bucky's metal hand moved away from his cheek to gently hold the side of his neck, much like Thor used to do. Loki resisted for a second when Bucky gently started to pull his head downward, by then Loki could only part his lips as Bucky gently sealed his own over them. At first Loki just stood there, letting the sensation of being kissed after so long wash over him. Bucky himself felt like his entire body was on fire the moment his lips finally touched Loki's. He had often dreamed of this moment, in the brief respites between the awful, disjointed nightmares that had plagued him in the two months he had been at Avenger's Tower. The real thing was by far more heavenly. Bucky felt his heart surge with triumph when Loki started to tentatively kiss him back. When the need for air was to much to ignore, Bucky pulled away, but stayed closed as he spoke.

" You wanna know what I see when I look at you?" Loki gave a slow wordless nod, for once at a loss for what to say. He watched as a sad smile spread across Bucky's face. It was the first and only time he had ever seen the mortal since he had come to the tower.

" I can see that you are dangerous, that you're capable of a lot. But what I choose to see is that you're on your second chance, just like I am. That even though you put up the front of not caring and being cold, you do care and you do feel and above all you are trying."

Loki blinked slowly and his nostrils flared, his entire face growing hard, but his vivid green eyes giving away that Bucky's words had struck a cord. Bucky's smile remained sad, but also grew hopeful as he gazed at Loki.

" I'm trying too and like I said, I'm lonely even though I'm surrounded by a lot of people. You understand how I feel because you were the bad guy too before, and like you, I am trying. Can we try together?"

Loki remained staunchly silent, but Bucky could see the war that was going on behind those deep green eyes. Squeezing the hand he had cupping Loki's neck, Bucky waited until Loki turned his conflicted eyes back onto him.

" Can we Loki?" Loki just continued to look at him for several long moments before finally, finally something seemed to shift in the charged air between them, and Loki's eyes seemed to clear of their war, filling with pure desire that was aimed completely at Bucky. Still without making a sound, Loki reached out and finally touched Bucky, his long and pale fingers gently carding through the mortals long dark brown locks before he splayed his palm over the back on Bucky's head and pulled him forward closing the few inches that had remained between them.

Things quickly devolved after that, the towel that had been wrapped around Loki's waist falling forgotten to the floor, Bucky's black sweat pants soon following after as the bed dipped with the weight of two bodies. Flesh was touched, barriers were broken, and bodies were joined. That night marked the true start of Bucky and Loki's relationship.

" That was the first time we were together. We've been with each other ever since." Bucky said as he leaned back in the conference chair.

His words were met with silence. Bucky took in the looks on each of his teammates faces in the wake of his revelations. Steve looked completely heart broken, Thor looking just as doleful, but with the barest hint of gratitude in his bright blue eyes. Natasha looked as neutral as ever, Clint looked a bit disturbed but otherwise alright. Bruce was looking guilty, while Tony was smirking which was nothing new, except there was a dimness in his eyes that usually wasn't there. It was Tony who broke the silence.

" So you and Reindeer Games have been twisting the sheets for like six months now?" He asked with an incredulous look on his face. Before Bucky could reply, a sour-faced Clint spoke up.

" What's it like spreading your legs for that psycho?" The Archer sneered hatefully. Steve and Thor were both about to shoot to their feet to give Clint Hell for being so crass, but Bucky's next words had everyone stopping cold.

" Who says I'm the one on the bottom?"

Thor and Steve both turned sharply to gawk at Bucky while Clint sputtered in shock, the three of them gobsmacked, clearly not having expected the former assassin's rather revealing retort. Natasha looked as neutral as ever, but the corner of her lips did quirk for split second. Bruce just turned beat red and ducked his head to hide his smile, while Tony threw his head back and laughed out loud. Then with a growl and with his hammer in hand, Thor stepped forward glaring at Bucky.

" You dare defile my brother you cur!" Steve stepped forward, ready to defend Bucky from Thor in over-protective brother mode but he and the others were stunned when Bucky didn't so much as bat an eye at Thor, calmly gazing at Thor from where he was sitting with an almost serene look on his face. With a sigh, Bucky unhurriedly rose to his feet and walked right up to Thor so that there was maybe little more than an arm's length between them. Even though Bucky was five foot eleven inches, Thor still towered over him at six foot four. Bucky still met Thor's hard blue eyes and spoke, the metal plates of his bionic arm flaring as he clenched his fist.

" You can't defile the willing, and if you ever say something that horrible again, Asgardian or not, I'll forget that you're his brother and my teammate, and bash your face in so help me God."

Thor's eyes widened and he jerked back a bit in shock at both Bucky's words and the seriousness with which he had said them. Around the table everyone else was stunned to see Bucky face off so fearlessly against the Thunderer. Even Clint found himself feeling begrudging respect for the former assassin's backbone. Thor was ready to unleash hell on this impudent mortal for threatening him, when said mortal closed the distance between them and got right up in his face, glaring harshly as he uttered a single word, a name.

" Sigyn."

The other Avengers were stunned when Thor seemed to freeze solid where he stood, the color draining completely out of his face, his mouth falling open and his eyes growing wide as he gawked at Bucky like he had never seen the mortal before, all righteous anger seemingly evaporated. Bucky's glare did not let up as he spoke.

" Like I said, what me and Loki have isn't just sex. We know each other, the people we are behind the masks we show the world. I don't yell at him or curse him out, I talk to him, and he talks to me. He told me about Sigyn and him, and what you did. The only thing I have left to say to you is that you are the last person to cast any kind of judgment on me Thor, so shut up and stand aside."

Steve felt pride wash over him despite his shock at seeing Bucky stand up for himself. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around this entire situation and all that had been revealed, but seeing Bucky with so much fire in his gaze and not backing down while he was facing off against an actual norse god made him really not care so much about all that.

He and the others all watched the silent impasse between Thor and Bucky continue for several agonizingly long moments until finally, Thor averted his gaze and stepped aside. There was no look of satisfaction of Bucky's face, in fact, all he did was stop glaring and instead look incredibly sad as he walked past Thor and started making his way to the door of the conference room.

" Bucky wait!" Steve called as he trotted around the conference table and met Bucky at the threshold. Bucky sent Steve a warning look, to which the Captain held up his hands in a placating gesture.

" Bucky it's alright, I'm not gonna stop you. I know you're going to Loki and it's alright. I just need you to know that you and I are gonna have to talk later okay?" Bucky relaxed and nodded.

" Okay Steve." Bucky said softly, the hardness in his features morphing into such a tired and silently worried look that it made something in Steve ache. Before Steve could reach out to his best friend, Bucky was out the door and gone.

He left a conference room full of people still wanting answers. Steve tiredly padded back across the room and sank down wearily in the seat he had been occupying. The entire room was silent as everyone but Thor turned their eyes to Steve. Steve rubbed tiredly at his face before he let out a deep, cleansing breath and looked up, his eyes going around the room as his face grew serious.

" We are all going to give Bucky and Loki some space right now, I don't know how the hell this all happened, but it did. Somehow my best friend and Thor's little brother ended up in a relationship that as far as I can tell is actually based on love. Loki saved all of our asses today, he shielded us from the blast from Doom's cannons, and then he risked his own life to save Bucky from those burns. We'll have plenty of time to grill Loki when he wakes up, but right now there's something I wanna ask you Thor." Steve said as he turned stern eyes to the very haunted and penitent looking Asgardian sitting across from him. All other eyes went to Thor as well as Steve waited for Thor to finally look up and meet his firm gaze with his pained blue eyes. Feeling a cold dread start to pool in the pit of his stomach, Steve spoke.

" What did Bucky mean by what he just said? Who is Sigyn and what exactly did you do?