Tony Stark couldn't believe he was here of all places. He couldn't believe his fight with Pepper had driven him to the one place he had sworn he'd never go. He shouldn't of been here, and he knew it would benefit a whole lot more if he just walked away now. Yet he couldn't.
Instead here he was, on the deserted beach at midnight, staring up at the night sky, waiting for some kind of sign, something to show that he'd keep his promise to Tony.
It was March eighteenth of the year 2014. Exactly one year since the battle of Manhattan. Exactly one year since what should've been the best day of Tony's life but in reality had been the worst. The day Loki had gotten transferred back to Asgard hurt him more than it should've.
Tony had sworn to never speak of what had happened, and he tried not to think about it. He couldn't let anyone realize the effect he had on him. Tony wasn't supposed to be affected by anyone like that. No one was supposed to give him the chills he experienced when those green eyes cropped into his mind.
Loki of Asgard. Oh how he had changed Tony's outlook on life. Oh how he had caused Tony to rethink everything he had ever held to be true and just. Just what made him so entrancing, Tony couldn't be completely sure. Maybe it dealt with that snarky attitude or the fact he was unafraid to go after what he wanted, but whatever it was, Tony couldn't help but thinking of him. Especially after this fight with Pepper.
He'd been working in the lab again, throwing himself into his work even more than should be considered healthy; even on Tony's standards. He'd been working hard, trying to forget everything he didn't want to remember, which if he was being completely honest was almost everything that had happened this past year. The best way to forget, he'd discovered a long time ago, was to not give himself the chance to remember.
Apparently he had been down in the lab for nearly three days, with no sleep or even a bit of food. He had his water bottle which JARVIS filled when needed and he had a bathroom. That was more than enough for him. Anyways, he'd stopped noticing hunger a while ago.
It hadn't been until Pepper had literally forced JARVIS to open the door to Tony's lab (he had long since made it almost impossible for her to get into the lab) that he'd realized just how long it had been.
"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded.
"I need to finish this," he murmured, not completely sure if he was talking to her or himself. "I need to."
"What you need is food and sleep! You've been down here for days Tony and I've been worried sick about you! We're supposed to be one, supposed to be dating."
"You don't get it!" Tony snapped. She wasn't in his mind. She didn't understand how everytime he saw the color green, especially that forest green of his cape and eyes, Tony felt like crying. She didn't get it that unless he threw himself into his work, the nightmares of never seeing him again would come. Sure, he'd made his promise but Tony couldn't see anyway he'd be able to keep it. It just seemed impossible.
"Then explain it," Pepper insisted, sounding a bit calmer.
"You wouldn't understand either," he told her simply. "No one would. Just let me finish this."
"You're being selfish, Tony. You're supposed to share problems in a relationship, not just keep them to yourself! Can't you see how this feels to me? I can't help but feel like I'm the only one trying to keep this relationship working!"
"Maybe I don't want it to work!" He snapped, losing it. "Maybe it's time to leave fantasy land and realize that this doesn't work. Maybe we're not as perfect together as you think."
She stared at him, shocked he would say such a thing. Tony regretted nothing, even though he knew that he should apologize and say he didn't mean it. But he was tired of the games, tired of pretending that this thing could work when he'd stopped wanting to make it work a long time ago. Exactly a year ago.
And that was how he came to be on Miami beach, counting down the minutes to midnight, staring at the sky, praying for a miracle to happen and for his god to come to him.
He couldn't go on any longer acting as though what had happened at Stark Tower that day just simply never happened. He'd tried convincing himself that what he had told the rest of the Avengers had been truthful, had been honest. That he hadn't lied straight out.
Because the day he'd offered Loki, god of mischief and lies, a drink, had gone so much differently than he'd told the team. He'd made it seem like Loki was the villain the rest of the Avengers believed. Yet, it had been the best day of Tony's life. He assumed it was the best day for the green-eyed god as well.
Tony Stark had a plan. It was a brilliant plan by the way, not that any of his plans weren't brilliant. But he knew that if he could somehow distract Loki enough to give the rest of his team time to get ready, then they could win.
Of course, perhaps his plan should've been better thought out, although to be quite fair most of his plans that went brilliantly were thought on the fly. At least this time, he'd planned a little bit.
Loki spoke first as he started walking towards Tony, as Tony headed towards the bar. "Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." Tony was watching the god carefully, and could've sworn he saw something else in those green eyes other than the mockery his tone was implying. What was it? Pity? Hope? Nah. The right word fell into Tony's mind quickly enough: begging. Was the god of lies actually begging Tony for something? But as soon as the feeling appeared in his eyes, it disappeared, so that Tony wasn't sure if he'd imagined it or not.
"Umm…" Tony stuttered quickly before regaining his composure. "I'm planning on threatening."
"You should've left your suit on for that." His tone suggested awe and wonder at Tony's stupidity at his plan.
"Yeah," Tony muttered, making it all up on the fly, but making it seem as though he'd rehearsed it a million times. "Well, it's seen a bit of mileage and you've got the glowstick of destiny."
Loki glanced at his scepter, a smile tugging at his face.
"Would you like a drink?" Tony asked passively, as though it didn't matter if the god did or didn't.
Loki chuckled. "Stalling me won't change anything."
"No, no, threatening. So no drink?"
And then something changed about Loki, his face broke out into a smile, and his green eyes shone brighter than Tony would've expected. It should've freaked him out, should've frightened him, yet he couldn't help but feeling excited for some reason, being drawn to the god. But why? His mind wasn't making any sense.
"We both know where this is going to end," Loki whispered, using a tone that sounded so familiar to Tony, yet for some reason, he couldn't think of where he'd heard it before, which in itself was odd.
"With you surrendering?" Tony asked hopefully, although, even without these confusing vibes Loki was throwing at him, he knew that was completely unlikely.
The god cracked another smile. "Think harder, Anthony," he whispered.
Tony still didn't understand. But Loki was coming closer, and he was a bit too close for comfort, yet Tony wanted him closer. He couldn't understand this feeling inside of him either. Why was he thinking like this anyways? He should stick to his plan, even though it had been thrown astrew already.
Just then, Loki cupped Tony's face with his hands, and pulled the inventor closer to him. "You are quite the man," he whispered. "Even for a Midgardian, you're quite...spectacular. I've never met anyone quite like you, Anthony."
Tony couldn't help but leaning in towards Loki, soaking in the warmth that being close to the god brought. Suddenly, their lips met, and Tony could feel himself pressing against Loki, trying to get as close to him as possible. No matter how close he was though, it wasn't close enough, and all too soon, Loki pulled away.
"This never leaves this building," he whispered. "Now, if you excuse me, I have a world to rule. When I win, I'll let you live." He pressed another kiss against Tony's lips, this time a light one. And then, he threw Tony out the window, after giving him time to tell JARVIS to deploy the Mark VII armor.
Tony was just about to give up, to realize that his green-eyed god was never coming back, when a flash of light appeared out of nowhere, landing softly on a cliff overlooking the sea. A dark figure, which Tony couldn't make out, appeared out of the light. As it came closer to Tony, the dark silhouette took shape, the most noticeable part was the horns protruding from the head. Tony couldn't help but grin, it was his green-eyed god, who had finally come for him. Loki had kept his promise in the end.