A/N: Hello there, those of you still left alive. Sorry it's been so long since I've last updated, but I'm lazy. Really lazy. I'd make a sloth look like the Flash. Anyway, on with the disclaimer and such things so I don't get my ass sued…
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this except the plot bunny. Loki and Iron Man belong to this huge corporation set on sucking the souls of hopeless nerds everywhere, yada yada yada…
Warnings: Fluff, sadness, established Tony/Loki. Also this may be considered AU because it's so vague. Please enjoy, Toki fans of all ages.
The night is warm here, much like the body draped so carefully over my own. Large French windows stand open as if to invite the very essence of night into the room, giving me a perfect view of soft waves lapping gently at moonlit sand. I sigh lightly, cautiously, as not to wake the sleeping form atop me. I feel him stir ever so slightly; shifting so that his head is nuzzled comfortably under my chin, tanned arm slung over half my rib cage. The hold is almost protective, and the thought brings a rare smile to my lips.
I turn my attention to the waves once again, soaking up the warmth offered so willingly by my... my… lover? The word seems to catch as the thought passes, the word itself reflecting more emotion than I had thought possible. I busy my free hand with stroking the expanse of tanned skin exposed to me, the contrast of white on gold holding my attention. I look as though the moon herself had bathed me in silver waters. The notion made me scoff, albeit quietly. I run my fingers ever so gently up his spine, feeling the flesh and bones beneath golden skin, so delicate and easily broken. I remind myself to be overly gentle.
I feel the slight roughness of an old scar under my sensitive fingertips, not having to look down to know its origin. I feel phantom pain on my own shoulder blade, the very thought of the wound making it seem my own. My fingers continue their aimless path along his spine and over his shoulders, flawless except for a few small marks scattered about. I look down at him with mild curiosity as he has twitches again, muttering some sort of equation into my neck. I smile again, stroking the messy brown curls he refuses to groom. A hint of silver claims my attention, and I feel my chest tightening with some unknown emotion. Under any normal circumstance this sign of age would be nothing, but our circumstances were never normal.
I stare at the tiny silver hair, the pieces falling into place far too quickly for my liking. He was only human. I had reminded myself of this many times over, though the simple fact seemed to keep crawling to the back of my mind, gnawing at whatever walls my subconscious put up around it. He was aging, as humans did. Aging too fast. It seemed only yesterday we were new lovers, exploring one another as we fell into something far greater than either of us could have foreseen. And now this. The thing, while innocent in and of itself, was a harsh reminder of his mortality and impending death. The thought of having only a few short decades left with him made my throat clench, tears threatening to spill at any moment.
I am pulled from my grief by another movement, a pair of dark eyes meeting my own, a question dying on his lips as I captured them with my own. He seemed more than willing to return my affections, as the kiss was anything but chaste. I chuckled into his flesh as I ran my lips over his defined collar bone, shivering as calloused fingers trailed the length of my back. No words were needed as I rose, pulling him towards the beach so that we may lay in the moonlight. Another pang of sorrow flashes in my chest as I think of how well I know him, how well he knows me in return.
Some hours later we lay in the sand, pleasantly exhausted and watching the colorful sunrise over the ocean. I am leaned up against his chest, content to just listen to the steady beat of his mortal heart, the sound offering comfort to my troubled mind. I felt gentle fingers stroke over my cheek, tilting my head back even further so that my lips may be graced with yet another slow kiss. He pulls us both down onto the sand, my head tucked neatly under his chin, our fingers intertwined on both sides. I close my eyes; sleep finally coming to claim my consciousness. But there is something important, something I must say before I am whisked away from the light… something… to remember…
"I love you, Anthony." My admission is met with a comfortable silence and lips pressed against my forehead, a tingling warmth left from the brief contact.
"And I you." I half expected him to make a crude joke, something, anything other than the blunt statement awarded me as he places a hand under my body to carefully palm my stomach. "Always…"
I smiled once more, the expression 'reaching my eyes' as he always says. I resume my place under his chin after a swift kiss turned slow, fingers tightening slightly around his larger ones, the other resting atop his over my soon to be swollen belly. However short these decades may be, I know that I will forever cherish them to be the most important in my existence as we drift off, nestled together in feather soft sand. Forever loved.
A/N: I quite literally cried while writing this. The thought occurred to me while reading frostiron or toki if you prefer. I knew that no happily ever after existed for these two, Tony being human and all… and yes, Loki is with child for those of you who didn't catch that. Sorry, the idea wasn't even planned. Just… fit. Anyways, please please please leave a review! Thank you so much!
-Goldenpaw