This is a direct sequel to Private Encounters, which a remarkable amount of people asked a continuance for. I was tempted by the notion myself, so-here we are! I hope it's as enjoyable as the first. And I deliberately left certain thing/s vague, just to see how you lovely people responded. I'm mean like that. ;D
Cheers! Please remember to comment/etc at the end. I'd really appreciate some feedback 3
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. I do NOT own Marvel!
The differences were subtle, but not without weight. They accumulated one by one until it was astonishing to Loki that none other had noticed. Were these not meant to be the very best intelligent and skilled mortals humanity had to offer? Each of the Avengers had been chosen for a select purpose, their role within their little team all but preordained, though they all were meant to be in possession of a clever mind. Loki didn't see how. This cuckoo in their nest was playing at being the real thing right under their noses, and none of the Avengers seemed to notice. Not even the genuine article himself. It was really rather embarrassing.
Yet it made him wonder. Loki was the master liar, a weaver of mistruth and forgeries of the highest caliber. It was hardly wondrous that he'd noticed the changes, sporadic or not. Was that the point though? Perhaps he was meant to see, to realize, while the others were left in the dark. It was a calculated scheme, relying solely on his silence.
Loki's mouth curled into a cool smile. No doubt about it then. Stark was playing a most dangerous game. "You are either incredibly foolish, or very clever." Loki settled back against the chair's cushioned back and looked out the kitchen's glass wall, catching the eye of the shrouded reflection as it came up behind him. "I've yet to decide which."
"Clever. Definitely clever. You should see my test scores." Tony grinned like a wolf and came up beside him, claiming the other chair to Loki's left. "I was wondering how long it'd take you to say something. What's the deal Lokes? I never had you pegged as someone to hold their tongue. You had to know it was me pretty early on. Or, not me really."
"Indeed. As I told you before, you are different from the Tony Stark of this world. And though you've made clear efforts to disguise yourself," Loki's eyes flicked towards the faint streaks of silver in Tony's hair, "anyone in your company should realize something is amiss."
"Anyone like...the Avengers?" That sharp grin flared at the corners, exposing more of Tony's teeth. But it was the darkness of his bourbon hued eyes that stole the spotlight. Within them was an entire cosmos of emotion, thoughts and feelings even Loki wasn't certain he could decipher. "You know, I was expecting more from Earth's mightiest heroes. I mean, Rogers not noticing is one thing. But the Widow? So much for being a super spy."
Despite himself, Loki chuckled. "I had wondered about that myself. But you are both arrogant, impulsive creatures. Perhaps the superficial similarities are enough to dissuade them from looking closer." Or they were truly more foolish than he'd imagined. It was a disconcerting thought. Loki lost his smile and matched gazes with the man at his side, well aware of their closeness. Their knees would touch if he so much as shifted an inch. "If you seek to rattle me, you're going about it all wrong. Your physical proximity is hardly threatening."
"You think I'm trying to threaten you? I mean, we've all got our kinks gorgeous, but I like my partners more on the willing side. The only thing I want you doing is screaming is my name." Tony scooted his chair closer and eyed the trickster, his chin cupped in a tanned palm. "You've got no reason to be afraid of me Loki."
"Is that so?" Fear was not what Loki felt when he looked upon this particular mortal. It was more akin to...unease. "You reek of the tesseract. You claim to desire me for your own nefarious purposes. And you've gone to great strides to integrate yourself into the life I possess here, despite knowing the risks." Loki stubbornly lifted his chin. "These are the actions of a madman. Yet you say I should not fear you?"
"Yup. Fear's for the masses. You? You're special. I need you able and willing, not cowering on your knees." Leaning forward, Tony called forth his devil's smile and brushed a finger down Loki's cheek. "Not that I'm opposed to you being on your knees."
Of that, Loki had no doubt. "You've made it very clear the position you would have me take in your life. But my concerns are still valid. You have given me no reason to trust you, Stark. Even this..infiltration of my life is but one more reason to keep my distance. You're a threat." A dangerous one. One he should logically inform the Avengers about. Why then did he keep his silence?
That callused finger slipped down his chin, caressing the swell of his lower lip. "Not to you. You're a powerhouse. I know exactly what you're capable of, and there's nothing I can do that you haven't seen before." Which was a warning in of itself. What did this Tony Stark know? Loki frowned at him, pulling away from the gentle touch. Tony let him, his dark gaze raking over every inch of Loki's face. "Here soon, you'll realize that I'm being genuine. I'm the least of your problems, Lokes. Do you still have my gift?"
The vial. Of course he did. "I was hardly about to give it back. The last thing I need are the Avengers adding the crime of theft to my ledger." Loki thought of the wretched poison he'd hidden away, its debilitating effects. He was...reluctantly grateful to Stark for giving it to him. The horrors that might have occurred otherwise-he didn't even want to think on it. "Why do you ask?" Loki suspiciously met the inventor's gaze in the window, a crash of lightning and thunder illuminating his features. He looked so much younger than the Tony Stark of this world. How had no one else noticed? "If you wish its return, you'll be in for a challenge. I-"
"Don't get your knickers in a twist. A gift's a gift babe. No returns or refunds accepted." Tony edged his seat over and laid a hand on Loki's thigh. But where the god expected him to caress and explore, as he had before, Tony kept his touch chaste and simply moved his thumb in a soothing circular motion, expertly joined by his husky voice. "I just wanted to be sure it was still in good hands. Can't have my other self getting the best of you. Where would that leave us? We're just starting to get to know each other. I don't need anything getting in the way of that."
Norns, this man was a loon. "And they call me silvertongue. Your words are far more poisonous than mine," Loki drawled, peering out the window to the dark horizon. The shadowy clouds and black sky were a fitting testament to his mood. "Surely you don't expect me to believe a word you're saying?" It would be foolhardy to do so. This was not a man he could trust.
"Have I given you a reason not to?" Seeing the look on Loki's face, Tony scoffed. "Oh please. Are you still holding that over my head? Yes, I drugged you! So what? If my Thor's anything to go by, drugs have been the least of your problems. You've had a shit life Lokes. After the whole spectacle with your kids, finding out you're adopted must've really been the straw that broke the camel's back."
A cold trickle ran down the column of Loki's spine. At first he wasn't certain he'd heard Tony correctly, but he wasn't the master of words for no reason. He knew, and it struck a chord in the very pit of his chest. "Children..." Loki whispered, suppressing his fury as he turned to face the billionaire in his chair. "How do you know of them? No one was meant to know!" They were Odin's worst sin, and the trickster's greatest heartache. No one was ever meant to know the truth of their existence, by the Allfather's decree.
"I didn't. Not for sure anyway. Thor told me the whole story of how they were taken away during his little sob fest. I guess he feels guilty for what happened, go figure." Tony smiled, sharp as a hunter's blade. "I couldn't be for sure about whether or not you experienced anything similar, but up until the bifrost incident you and my universe's Loki had a lot in common. It made sense that you both might've popped out a kid or two. It definitely explains a lot. Nobody's as moody and homicidal as you are without a good reason, Loki. And having your children taken away is a really good one in my book." He stopped his spiel long enough to see how Loki stared at him, hurt and anger two raw wounds in his viridian eyes, and then his lips pressed into a thin line. Not unlike Thor, it was akin to watching an incoming storm, save that Tony's was naught but slumbering, heated fury. "Listen, you can not trust me if you want. I can't blame you. But you need to know this Lokes. I grew up with a shit father. I know what it's like to be neglected and mistreated, and to have everything you ever cared about ripped right out from under you. What happened to your kids? I could never fucking do that. They didn't deserve that. YOU didn't deserve that."
All of the air rushed from Loki's lungs in one fatal swoop. Never once in all his centuries of living had he ever heard those words spoken. It had always been his fault, whenever fate delivered its recompense upon him. Whose silvered tongue had gotten him into trouble, again and again, despite his attempts to help those who hurt him? Who was forever in the wrong for attempting to carve out a place for himself outside the misery of Thor's shadow? And who had birthed creatures so terrible and monstrous in the eyes of Odin that he'd had no choice but to lock them away?
"...If you seek to endear yourself to me, then your efforts are for naught." Loki touched Tony's chest, feeling the thrum of energy pulsing within his arc reactor. It was so much more powerful than the one of the Tony he knew here, and it was equally intoxicating. Dangerous. Much like its owner. "I am a god of lies, mortal. Your falsehoods possess the fragility of a lily in a winter storm. I cannot, and will not believe they hold any truth."
"You say that, but you haven't pushed me away yet." Tony closed a hand around Loki's neck and tilted his head back. There was a strength to his touch that was unusually out of place for a human, which only served to strengthen Loki's concerns. "I can see your brain going a mile a minute. Stop thinking, Loki. That's part of your problem. You think too much. Let your instincts guide you for a bit, won't you?"
"My instincts are telling me to cast aside all your tender promises and do what I should have done from the beginning!"
Tony caught a strand of his hair and toyed with it, twisting it around his finger as if it were a piece of silken thread. "Yeah? Because I think they're telling you something different. You know I'm not lying. I bet you can even sense it, being the god of lies and all. You just don't want to admit to yourself that after all the shit you've been through, there might finally be a light at the end of the tunnel. You're afraid of it-all those tantalizing little possibilities," Tony murmured slyly. "There's nothing we can't accomplish together. The sky's the limit!"
"Hardly. You possess the tesseract. For you, there are infinite opportunities to explore, conquer. Whatever it is your heart desires." Loki's neck arched as Tony continued to toy with his hair, forcing the god to lean forward, exposing the elegant sweep of his throat. There had been a time where he'd done something rather similar, but to a blade as sharp as volcanic glass as a titan loomed over his shoulder. Merely the memory of it made his stomach knot in fear. Loki licked his lips and made to pull back, but Tony's hand suddenly buried deep in raven tresses and held him still. "Stark. Release me."
He didn't. "Normally I'd be ok with all this 'me' talk, but this isn't about ME. It's about US. Us two, and what we can do together." Tony was on the edge of his seat now, impatience creasing a few lines across his brow. "I didn't come to this universe for selfless reasons Loki. You already know that. I'm not a good guy. But neither are you. You want your damn throne? Then help me! My dais is big enough to hold two seats of power. I'm tired of flying solo anyway. What's the point in ruling the world if you don't have someone to gloat with you?"
"...Surely you jest." Just like that, the fool was offering him a crown? It was too simple. "Why," Loki frowned, fighting the hold on his hair so he could properly meet the man's eyes. "Why would you offer this to one such as me? You barely know me."
Tony snorted. "Isn't that how most arranged marriages start? And don't you give me that look. I'm not proposing marriage! Sex first, Lokes. Get your priorities straight. I'm only offering you a deal. Quid pro quo. A throne in exchange for your help." His grip softened, leaving room for fingertips to stroke down the length of his scalp. It was a lover's caress, and it made Loki...unsure. "Should I sweeten the deal? Yeah, I should. You're the greedy sort. Perfectly understandable. Alright. What if, beside the throne, I help you get something you really want. Will you consider my offer then?"
"Does your offer still end with my presence in your bed?" Loki didn't need to ask. The answer was there, emblazoned all over Tony's face. Still, he was intrigued. "You're already offering me the world. What more can the great Tony Stark grant?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Tony curled his finger, gesturing the trickster closer. Loki warily leaned in, refusing to shirk back when a set of warm lips caressed the corner of his mouth, shaping words. Specifically, two words that drove his heart to a standstill, the rush of blood loud as a war drum in his ears. Loki hesitated, repeating them in a vague sort of kiss, the curtains of mistrust drawn back despite his wishes.
"What you offer is impossible."
"Improbable. Not impossible. And me and improbability have a long standing relationship together. It usually works out in my favor." Tony pecked his lips and settled back in his chair, arching a brow. "Don't tell me you're not interested. You are. I can see it in your eyes. You look like a kid that just got told Christmas came early this year. For you, I guess this is even better than Christmas though, huh?" He nudged Loki's knee with his own, amusement dancing across his features. "So lets talk shop. I help you, you help me. We both walk away happy. Or, you can keep things as they are. I'm sure the Avengers will accept you eventually. You know, if you get a complete personality change first, maybe a new look to go with it. How do you feel about scales?"
"My youngest son is a serpent, you daft idiot." Still, Tony tempted him. Loki forced a smile and conjured two crystal glasses to his hand, both filled to the brim with ruby claret. He offered one out, matching Tony's stare perfectly. "I believe a discussion is in order after all."
"Finally. Now we're getting somewhere! You won't regret this gorgeous, trust me on that. This is the best for both of us." Tony lifted the glass in a cheeky salute. "Here's to good fortune, and wicked schemes."
"Yes...as you mortals say," Loki touched the rim of their glasses, feeling a surge of wicked delight brewing inside him. Perhaps this would end well after all. "Cheers, Anthony."
