Disclaimer: I do not own, nor profit from.

Author's Note: This chapter did annoy me a bit, but I refused to let it get the better of me, so it is up on time (just!). Thank you to everyone who has already reviewed, favourite storied and story alerted this fanfiction already. In case you didn't already know, I am also charanteleclerc on tumblr, so prompts are welcomed! Enjoy!

Romantic at Heart

Tony stumbled out of his bedroom, and headed straight for the bar. He needed something strong, his headache worse than ever. He yanked opened a cupboard. Bare. He tried another one. Bare. He slammed the door, turning around and kicking the door.

"JARVIS? JARVIS?" Tony yelled at his AI, stalking around aimlessly.

"Yes Sir?" The cool, sardonic voice sounded.

"WHO HAS STOLEN MY DRINKS?" Tony roared.

"I believe that Mr Laufeyson has confiscated all known alcohol in the house." Tony glared.

"All known alcohol? Who told him?" Tony asked, even though he knew the answer.

"It's for your own good, Sir." Tony snarled.

"Right that's it. I'm giving you a cockney accent."

"Sir!" The AI sounded horrified.

"And who is Mr Laufeyson? And what right does he have to give orders in my house?" A small cough sounded behind him. He span round, and was promptly face to face with Loki.

"Who is this guy Laufeyson? And where is the alcohol?" Loki frowned.

"You promised you wouldn't touch the stuff. And I'm Laufeyson." Tony stared at Loki.

"Your surname isn't Laufeyson. It's Odinson." Loki grimanced.

"Apparently not. I'm adopted. My father was Laufey. So my surname is Laufeyson." Loki looked pained.

"Your life really is fucked up, isn't it? And I thought I had it bad." Tony flopped down onto the sofa, leaning his head on the back. Loki sat down beside him, leaning his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony raised his hand, and ran his fingers through Loki's hair. Loki looked up at Tony.

"Please stay away from the alcohol. I know you're upset over Pepper, but there are other ways to deal with it." Tony's face creases into a frown.

"Like how? It's all I know. If in trouble, go get hammered. Or laid. Or both." Loki sighed.

"You need some new way of dealing with depression." Tony shook his head.

"It's always worked before. Enjoy so you can't remember your pain."

"I wish it was that easy." Tony stared, then brought his hand up to Loki's neck, rubbing it gently.

"Loki. Don't worry about your family. If they think less of you than Thor, then that's their problem. You're here now." Tony tugged at Loki's black hoodie, pulling it off his shoulder. Loki smiled.

"You are such a child, Tony." Affection seeping into his voice. Tony laid his head on Loki's shoulder.

"That's why you love me." Tony waggled his eyebrows, causing Loki to splutter with laughter.

"Yes, it is." Loki giggled.

"Hah! So you do love me!" Loki was still laughing.

"Of course I do, you idiot. I'm your best friend!" Tony wrapped his arms around Loki's waist, and snuggled into his chest. Loki smiled into Tony's hair, and rubbed circles into Tony's back.

"You big softie." Loki murmured. Tony chuckled.

"I'm a romantic at heart."

"Would the 'romantic at heart' like a movie?" Tony leaned his head upwards.

"You know me too well, darling."

o0o

5 films later (Love Actually, Lion King, Lion King II, Avatar and Pearl Harbour – Tony really is a romantic, and Loki was all too happy to oblige to Tony's whims), Tony was draped across Loki's chest, both men lying full stretch across the sofa.

"Loki?"

"Hmmm?" The god made a non-committal noise, throaty. Tony buried his face further into Loki's chest.

"Would you date me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Would you date me if you weren't my best friend?" Loki turned his head to face Tony.

"Of course I would. You are an intelligent, funny, unique man who deserves only the best." Tony smiled into Loki's green Loki t-shirt. The god is nothing if not modest.

"Would date me now?"

"You are my best friend. I just want the best for you." Tony propped his chin up on his hands.

"So, what's the best for me?"

"Someone who can outsmart you." Tony chuckled.

"Good luck with that. The only people I know that are around the same intelligence as me is you and Bruce. And I'm not kissing Bruce. Tasha will kill me very slowly." Loki burst into laughter, pinching his nose.

"I would love to see that." Tony joined in the laughter, both the god and the genius fighting for breath. Of course, that's when Tony had to go mess it all up.

He leaned in, quickly placing his lips on Loki's cool ones. Loki put a hand on Tony's shoulder, roughly pushing him back. Loki's face was shell-shocked, his face ashen. Tony froze, his eyes panicked.

Fuck.

He quickly sat up, moving off the unnaturally still god. Loki gripped the sofa, slight tears appearing in the fabric. Tony put his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Loki, I don't know..." Tony looked up, and was met with an empty room.

Loki had gone.

Tony just resisted the temptation to head bang against a wall from now until 2029, but it was a narrow thing. How could he be so stupid? Yes, he was a playboy. Yes, he was portrayed as having sex with anything that moved. He didn't care. But he messed proper relationships up. Rhodey still wasn't speaking to him (they had argued about the Avengers staying at Stark Towers), Pepper had walked out on him, and now he'd just tried to kiss his best friend. He couldn't handle commitment.

But the pain of the disappearance of Loki seemed to be stopping the depression of losing Pepper. Loki had always been there for him, ever since the tender age of ten, when he had seen Loki crying that time in the clearing. That time when Tony was in pain, Loki was in pain. They had needed each other then. Tony still needed Loki now. He needed the hurt, spurned Loki when he was ten, he needed the messed-up, misunderstood, part-time super-villain Loki now.

And he'd just gone and lost him.

One stupid idea, one insignificant second.

A lifetime's friendship gone.

And that shattered him. More than Pepper. Pepper paled into nothingness compared to this. Because he'd never loved her. Cared for her, yes, deeply. But he didn't love her.

He loved Loki. He wasn't sure how he loved him, but Loki had been a part of his life for more than half his life. They had grown up together. They used to spend every day together, laughing and playing and creating. They may not seen each other as much these days, but they still clicked, they were relaxed around each other like no-one else, they understood each other, they completed each other.

And Tony had just gone and thrown it all away.