A/N: It's still in a trial period, but I couldn't stop writing when I started this chapter so it's out sooner than I thought it would be. If I do continue this, then I should let you know that the rating will go up in later chapters. Anyway, please read and review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 2

Dinner and a Party

Loki found Tony the next day on the third class deck. The man was leaning against the railing talking with a couple of men. Loki could hear Tony's laughter from where he stood. It was loud and easily carried over the conversations around them. It made Loki smile. He approached the trio and cleared his throat, making them look up at him.

"Good afternoon, Anthony," Loki said, nodding to the other two with him. "I was hoping you would come and walk with me before dinner." Tony smiled and pushed away from the railing, holding a sketchbook close to his side.

"I'd love to," He said following Loki. "Oh!" He exclaimed before stopping, catching Loki's attention. "Loki, these are my friends Rhodey and Steve. Guys this is Loki." Steve and Rhodey gave their hellos before the pair of them left. Loki and Tony went up to the first class deck to walk.

"So, Anthony, where are you from?" Loki asked as they walked.

"New York," Tony answered, looking over at the man beside him. "I left when I was sixteen. Me and Rhodey ran off and used my dad's funds to get to Europe. Dear dad stopped funding me about a year ago and now I have nothing except a few pairs of clothes, a bit of money and this." He motioned to his sketchbook. "What about you?" Loki shrugged.

"My father is what you would call 'Old Money,'" He explained. "He adopted me when I was an infant. My brother is of course the favored one-being older and more…" He chuckled humorlessly, "obedient." Tony laughed.

"Yeah, I have that problem too," He said. "I was never very obedient either. When I ran off I knew it would only a matter of time before the old man stopped giving me money." Loki smirked and looked over at Tony, his eyes taking in the way his dark eyes bent the light of the sun-the way they sparkled. He saw the soft curve of his mouth as he smiled at him. Tony was a very handsome man. "I guess he's mostly disappointed about my reputation with women."

"I take it you are quite popular with the fairer sex," Loki said with a teasing smirk. Tony laughed and pushed his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, real popular," He said, hinting at his playboy nature. They walked in silence for a few minutes before the curiosity got the better of Tony. "What were you doing last night, hanging over the rail like that?" Loki sighed.

"Everything was closing in on me it seemed," He explained softly. "The people around me and the dullness of it all. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Before I even realized what was happening I was…" He looked over at Tony and smirked, "standing on the wrong side of the railing." Tony laughed and scratched the side of his goatee.

"Well, you're on the right side of it now," Tony said grinning. "I must've done something right." Loki smirked.

"Yes, you must have," He said. His eyes fell to the sketchbook under Tony's arm. "May I?" He asked holding his hand out towards the sketchbook. Tony looked down at the sketchbook as though he'd forgotten he'd even had it.

"Sure," He said holding it out to Loki. The taller man smiled and took it carefully from Tony's hand. They went and sat down on a couple of the deck chairs while Loki went through the sketchbook. He stopped on a particular page and tilted his head to the side.

"Anthony, what exactly is this?" Loki asked looking up at the other man and shifting the sketchbook so that he could get a better look. Tony looked at the page and saw that it was the drawing he'd done of the flying suit he'd wanted to try and make.

"That's kind of a dream of mine," Tony explained. "I haven't quite figured out how it'll work yet, but it's supposed to fly." Loki frowned slightly.

"On its own?" He asked skeptically. Tony laughed and shook his head.

"No, it's supposed to have someone in it," He said grinning. "I know it's pretty farfetched, but I want to see if I can actually make it when I get to New York. Maybe get on my dad's good side so that he'll fund me again." Tony shrugged. "Just a thought." Loki smirked.

"If he does not fund you, I would gladly use my father's fortune to do so," He said turning to the page of the book. His head tilted to the other side and he quirked an eyebrow. Tony chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Exquisite," Loki said looking over at Tony. The picture was of a naked woman standing in what looked like a dance studio, up against the bar before the large mirrors.

"She was one of the few women I actually didn't sleep with," Tony said with a laugh. "I think anyway." Loki chuckled softly and continued through the sketchbook.

"You do wonderful work, Anthony," Loki said, running his finger over the hands of a woman sitting at a table with a faraway look in her eyes.

"It's just a hobby," Tony said with a shrug. He looked over at Loki, watching the way his emerald eyes slowly moved over the pages. His next words came unbidden from his lips. "Maybe I could draw you sometime." Loki looked up at him, a look of slight surprise etched on his pale face. Their eyes met and Tony was once again struck dumb by the man's beauty. A gently smile pulled at the corner of Loki's lips after a moment.

"I'd like that," He said softly. Tony grinned and continued to show Loki the rest of his drawings.

Frigga and a group of ladies were just finishing their tea when Pepper Potts came to join them. The others couldn't stand the red-headed woman, but Frigga through she was intriguing. The young woman was strong with a charm of her own that she hadn't seen very much. She was proud of herself and was independent in ways that Frigga had only seen in her sons and husband. She was a breath of fresh air to the older woman.

"Afternoon ladies," She said pleasantly.

"Hello, Pepper," Frigga greeted with a small smile. "We just finished with tea and were about to take a walk around deck. Would you like to join us?" The women around Frigga stiffened at her offer, hopeful that she would say no.

"I'd love to, Frigga," Pepper said. "I need to catch up on things anyway." She grinned and stood at Frigga's side as they walked from the room. They passed Captain Fury and Mr. Ismay as they left, the two men deep into a conversation.

"You have yet to light the last four boilers," Mr. Ismay said looking over the report in his hand. Fury looked at him skeptically.

"We're making good time, there's no need for that," He explained. Mr. Ismay sighed and folded up the paper. He leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table in front of him.

"The papers know of Titanic's size," He said bringing his cigarette to his lips. "Now I want them to marvel at her speed. We have got to give them something new to print." He leaned back and looked at Fury meaningfully. "This maiden voyage must make headlines." Fury glared at the other man.

"Mr. Ismay, I would rather not push the engines until they have been properly run," He explained evenly. Mr. Ismay sighed and leaned against the table again.

"Of course, I'm just a passenger," He said with disdain. "I'll leave it to you and your officers to decide what is best. But wouldn't you rather end your career by getting to New York on Tuesday night and surprise them all? Make the morning papers and retire with a bang, Fury?" The Captain glared harder at the man, but after a moment he nodded. Better to give the man what he wanted than to deal with the repercussions should he not.

"Rhodey and I mostly just get by with gambling and a few odd jobs," Tony was explaining to Loki. They were leaning against the railing of the deck, watching the sun as it began to set against the ocean. They had talked for most of the day about their lives and other things. "I have seen enough damn dirty horse stalls to last me three life times." Loki chuckled and shook his head.

"I have ridden my fair share of horses," He said looking over at Tony. "Never had to clean them myself, however."

"You're lucky then," Tony said chuckling. "It's disgusting! Never again." Loki laughed and looked back out at the setting sun. "Have you ever been to America?" Tony asked turning fully to look at Loki. The taller man's body was bent at the waist as he leaned against the rail, the wind played gently in his raven tresses. His long, elegant fingers were laced together and his long legs were crossed at the ankle. Loki turned his head to look at Tony.

"Never," He said shaking his head. "I have wanted to for a long time. They say it is the land of the free. Is that true, Anthony?" Tony smiled and put a reassuring hand on Loki's shoulder.

"It can be," He said, gentler than normal. A small, barely there smile graced Loki's lips. "If you have the right guide, of course." Tony pressed a hand to his own chest in a boastful way. He was back to his normal self. Loki laughed and shook his head at Tony.

"And who might the right guide be?" Loki asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. Tony sputtered, as though offended.

"Me, of course!" He said a bit loudly. Loki laughed again and turned fully to Tony, leaned his arm against the railing. He tilted his head to the side, a wide smirk on his lips. He couldn't help but become lost in the other man's round dark eyes, just as he had when he'd met him the night before.

"Loki," A feminine voice said from behind them, making them turn. Frigga stood there with a few of the other women.

"Hello mother," Loki said standing up straight and nodding slightly to her. The woman came closer to them and smiled warmly to him. "Mother, I would like you to meet my dinner guest, Mr. Anthony Stark. Anthony, this is my mother, Frigga Odinson." Tony smiled and took Frigga's hand in his, kissing the back of it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Odinson," He said putting on a charming smile. Frigga smiled approvingly at Tony.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Stark," She said, glancing to Loki with a little smile. Frigga knew that Loki's tastes leaned more towards the male gender than the female when it came to significant others. And for some reason the woman didn't care. She was just glad that something made her son happy. Odin didn't know of course, and neither did Thor. They preferred it that way. From the look that Frigga gave Loki, she approved of Tony immensely.

"Just call me 'Tony,'" The brunette insisted.

"Well, Tony, this is Miss Pepper Potts," Frigga went on with introducing the other women. When the introductions were finished the others left, giving excuses about getting ready for dinner or things such as that. Frigga and Pepper stayed to become acquainted with Tony. "Tony, Loki was telling me about what happened last night. I'm glad you were there, or I might not have a son." Loki looked down at his shoes as a slight dusting of pink graced his pale cheeks.

"Well, like I told Loki, I must've done something right," Tony said grinning. Pepper was about to say something when the trumpet sounded, announcing dinner. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Why do they have to do that? It's like we're in the army!" She exclaimed. Tony laughed and pushed his hands into his pockets.

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Tony," Frigga said. "We will see you at dinner."

"Goodbye, Anthony," Loki said offering his hand. "See you at dinner." Tony took Loki's hand and shook it. Loki smiled before Frigga hooked her arm with Loki's and they began walking away. Tony grinned as he watched Loki leave. He couldn't get over how unearthly Loki seemed. He really was an angel as far as Tony was concerned.

"Tony!" Tony snapped out of his admiring when Pepper stood in front of him. "There you are," She said giggling. "You seem to know what you're doing when it comes to charm, but you don't seem to have anything to wear." Tony laughed weakly.

"I don't," He admitted. Pepper grinned.

"Come on, you might fit into one of Phil's suits I'm bringing to him," She said motioning for him to follow her to her stateroom to change. She pulled out a three piece suit and handed it to Tony. He went into a separate room to change while Pepper changed into an evening gown as well. When Tony came back into the room Pepper couldn't help but grin.

"It fits," Tony said examining himself in the mirror. He ran his fingers through his hair, straightening it so that it wasn't in such disarray. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"Well, we wouldn't want Loki's dinner date looking shabby, now would we?" Pepper said, beginning to fix her hair. Tony stared at her in shock. She caught the expression in the reflection of the mirror and laughed. "I saw the way you were gazing after him like a love sick puppy! And the way he was looking at you." She pointed at him with her comb.

"I was not looking at him like a love sick puppy," Tony said indignantly, shoving his hands into his pockets. Pepper laughed.

"Oh, bull!" She said waving him off. "Just be careful with that around that Fandral character. He acts like Loki's his fiancée or something, treats him like he's a woman." Tony frowned, recalling the man from the night before.

"Loki doesn't like him, does he?" He asked. Pepper scoffed and began to put her hair up in an elegant up-do.

"Of course not," She said turning to Tony. "He annoys Loki. You go on, I'll be there soon." Tony smirked.

"Thanks again, Ms. Potts," He said starting to leave. He left the staterooms and made his way to the dining room. He took a deep breath before walking through the glass doors as they were opened for him. It had been a few years since he'd been in a fancy place like this. He glanced at the clock at the top of the staircase before walking down the steps. He stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited. The first to come down was Frigga and her husband, a formidable looking man with gray hair and beard. He was missing an eye that was covered in an eye-patch, but the eye that he still had looked cold and unfeeling. The man behind him was laughing hardily with a group of three other men. On his arm was a young woman with light brown hair and a sweet disposition. Behind them all was Loki.

He walked down the staircase with a natural grace that his father and his brother didn't seem to have. Odin seemed stiff and Thor wasn't much better. Amongst these men, Loki seemed out of place. He should've been placed on a throne rather than at a dinner table. Odin and Frigga began to converse with a group off to the side of where Tony was standing and Thor and his group were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice him as he approached Loki.

"Thank you for coming, Anthony," Loki said with a gracious smile. Tony grinned.

"No, thank you for getting here soon," He said chuckling softly. "I've always hated these things." Loki laughed and touched Tony's arm softly.

"So have I," He said folding his hand behind his back. "I'm sure we'll survive, however. Father is not very please that I've invited you. He's afraid it will ruin his reputation as most heartless man on this ship." Tony snickered.

"I doubt he'll ever ruin that," He said as they began to walk. Every now and then their arms would brush and Tony would have to resist the urge to intertwine their fingers together. As they entered the main part of the dining room Loki introduced Tony to different men and women. The women seemed fawn over Loki like young teenagers. He took it was a practiced ease and was never caught by them for longer than he wanted to be.

"Good evening, gentlemen," A familiar voice caught the pair's attention. They turned and smiled at Pepper as she approached them. "Care to escort a lady to dinner?"

"It would be an honor, Ms. Potts," Loki said offering his arm.

"It's the least we can do," Tony added, offering his as well. Pepper giggled and looped her arms through each of theirs.

"Well, this is a treat," She said as they began to walk towards their table. "It's not every day a girl gets two very handsome escorts." They made it to the table and Pepper found herself between Tony and Frigga. On Tony's other side was Loki, who had Fandral on his other side, unfortunately.

"Gentlemen, Ladies, this is Anthony Stark," Loki introduced before they sat down.

"Anthony Stark?" A man named Aster questioned. "Any relation to the acclaimed Howard Stark?" Tony put on his most charming smile before answering.

"I'm his only son, to be exact," He said truthfully.

"Really?" Fandral questioned quirking an eyebrow as he leaned over Loki a bit to look at Tony. "I heard that Howard disowned his only son." Loki glared at Fandral, the man only grinned smugly. Tony returned the grin with one of his own.

"Not disowned, he just stopped paying for my travels," He explained. "Decided I should be humbled. It paid off well, if you ask me." Well natured chuckled reverberated around the table.

"Anthony has a knack for art," Loki said when conversation began to dwindle. "I had the honor of looking at some of his work. I believe you would greatly appreciate it, mother." Frigga looked over at Tony and smiled.

"I would love to see your work, Tony," She said. "Perhaps you could bring it by the stateroom sometime."

"Oh, god," Fandral scoffed. "You aren't going to go on about that dumb art again, are you? I still do not see the point."

"That's because you have horrendous taste, Fandral," Loki said smoothly. Fandral faltered for a moment before leaning back in his seat with a glare.

"What do you hope to do once we dock in America?" Odin asked, finally making his voice heard. Silence fell on the table and all eyes fell to Tony. Loki nodded encouragingly when the brunette looked over at him.

"I'm hoping to get back into my father's good graces and start working on some of my own projects," Tony explained, meeting Odin's one-eyed gaze. "But, if my father refuses…then I'll just have to find funding somewhere else." He glanced at Loki with a smirk. "Or fund myself. It's something I'm determined to do."

"A man with ambition," Odin said with a small, approving smile. It only made him more intimidating. Dinner conversation revolved around Tony for the most part. The man took it well and easily answered every question. Loki could barely take his eyes off of him. The way he gestured and charmed everyone at the table was amazing. Even Odin seemed taken with the loud young man. As time moved on, Odin stood. "Gentlemen, I would ask that you join me for a brandy," He announced. As he spoke, Tony slipped a piece of paper to Loki under the table.

"Mr. Stark, will you be joining us?" Thor asked as he stood. Tony stood but shook his head.

"No, I should be getting back," He said with a charming smile. "Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure. Ladies." He turned to the ladies and gave a light nod. He turned and walked from the table. Loki glanced down at the paper and quickly read the words written in slanted lettering.

Meet me by the clock at the top of the stairs.

-Tony

Loki pocketed the note and stood. He tried to hide the smirk threatening to spread his lips.

"I must apologize, gentlemen, but I will not be joining you for brandy, either," He said folding his hands behind his back. "I will retire early this night. Good evening and goodnight." He turned and walked away from the table, feeling Odin's one-eyed glare on his back. He found his way easily to the staircase that led to the clock and stopped. His breath hitched at the sight before him. Tony's back was turned and he was leaning against the wooden railing. His legs were crossed at the ankles as well as his arms, and his head was tilted back to look at the glass ceiling. Loki drew in a breath before starting up the stairs. Tony turned around when he heard his foot falls and grinned.

"Come on, why don't I give you a taste of that freedom?" He asked nodding towards the exit. Loki grinned.

"Why not?" He said following Tony out of the dining room. They made their way from the first class to the third class area. Music like nothing Loki had ever heard before came pouring out of the third class dining hall. "What is that?" He asked, his head tilting to the side to get a better listen at the music.

"Hm? Oh, that's where we're headed," Tony said with a grin. He grabbed Loki's wrist and pulled him down the steps into the dining hall. The smoke made Loki's eyes water and the music was so loud he could barely hear Tony's footfalls in front of him.

"Tony! There you are!" A man hollered running over to wrap his arm around Tony's shoulders. "What's with the suit?" The man was a bit shorter than Tony with dusty blonde hair and blue eyes. He spotted Loki and grinned.

"I was invited to dinner in first class," Tony explained. He took off the suit jacket and the vest and undid the bowtie around his neck and tossed them over the back of a nearby chair. "Loki, this is Clint Barton, Clint this is Loki Odinson." Clint grinned at Loki.

"Hey! Nice to meet you," He said shaking Loki's hand.

"Same to you," Loki said shrugging out of his own suit jacket and loosening his tie. "So this is where you spend you evenings?" He quirked an eyebrow at Tony. Tony was about to answer when Clint answered for him.

"Either here or in another lady's bed!" He said with a laugh. "Come on, we need someone to beat Tasha at poker. She's taking all our money." Tony barked a laugh and put his arm around Loki's shoulders.

"You ever play poker?" He asked as they approached a round table where three people sat. Loki shrugged.

"Every now and then," He said sliding into a seat beside a woman with short red hair. He recognized Steve and Rhodey from earlier.

"Alright, then you're playing," Tony said grabbing a chair and situating himself beside Loki. "You already know Steve and Rhodey. This hard headed thing is Natasha Romanov, Clint's girl." The red headed woman turned to Loki and nodded.

"Hi," She said shortly. "It's nice to meet you." Loki nodded to her as well.

"And you. I'm Loki," He offered his hand and she shook it shortly before turning back to shuffling the cards.

"Deal me and Loki in on this one, Natasha," Tony said grinning. Natasha looked over at the two of them with stormy gray eyes before nodding and starting to deal out the cards. At some point it was a show down between Natasha and Loki. Each was bidding higher until finally Natasha made the choice to fold. Loki grinned deviously and put down his cards, showing that he had won with nothing more than a single pair of threes.

"How the hell do you have such a damn good poker face?!" Tony finally demanded after the fourth hand. Loki chuckled and leaned back in his chair, tilting his head towards Tony.

"Years of practice," He said smoothly. "That's the advantage of being the adopted son of Odin. You always have to keep them guessing." Tony laughed and ordered another round of that Irish beer. They were all rather tipsy already, but why not get drunk? Loki was explaining to Tony that it was Bruce Banner who designed Titanic when a shadow appeared on the stairwell. No one noticed them.

Hogun stood against the wall watching as Loki and Tony interacted with each other. They touched more than was necessary and as they continued to drink they would lean against each other to talk and laugh. After watching them for another half hour, Hogun the Grimm walked silently back up the stairwell to report to Fandral.

A/N: Don't forget to review! :D