Loki slept until 2pm, meaning about 16 hours. After he got dressed, JARVIS led him into the kitchen where he started to chew on an apple that had been situated in a fruit bowl on the table.
"Good morning, sweet princess", Tony greeted from the door and Loki spun around.
"Kiss my ass", he mumbled as he recognized him and took another bite.
"Oh, I see. You are one of these morning persons, aren't you? Those who wake up and are happy, motivated and hug the new day with..."
"Cut it out, Stark", Loki growled. Tony however couldn't help the grin on his lips when he saw the god sitting at his kitchen table, nibbling an apple with black raven hair still tousled from the sleep which still lingered in his eyes.
"I get it. Want a coffee?", he asked walking over to the counter. He did not get an answer and turned to look at Loki who stared at him in confusion. "What's the matter? No, wait. You do not mean to tell me you don't have coffee in Asgard, do you?" The god shook his head slowly and Tony gasped in disbelief: "How the hell do you survive that long?!" His guest just kept glaring at him, so he sighed and announced: "We've got some education to do. Be prepared."
"Does education mean I will be laying in a corner after this with a headache and puking on everything that gets too close? Because if it does, I do not want to", Loki stated.
"You... what?", Stark asked, blinking.
"The last time Thor told me we had education to do and it was about drinks I ended up with a hangover, a laceration at my temple and lots of people hating me plus I couldn't even recall why", the god explained casually and took another bite of his apple. His gaze became rather annoyed as he heard Tony laugh at the idea of a hungover Loki.
"No, this is only going to help you wake up", he finally managed and, after a minute, set down a cup of hot coffee in front of his sleepy guest who only glared at it suspiciously.
"Oh, come on. What is it this time?", Stark sighed after another minute.
"This could be poisoned", the god muttered.
"Really, Loki? Really? Listen, if I wanted to kill you, I could have done it while you were practising for your role as the Sleeping Beauty instead of making the effort to poison the damn coffee!", Tony groaned.
"I am the god of lies, that includes that I tend to see them everywhere. It's just a strategy to survive."
"Oh, c'mon. Not everybody on this planet is planning to murder you", the millionaire sighed and started to cut a salami in tiny pieces, having his back turned to the table his guest sat on.
"Why should I trust you out of everybody?", Loki countered.
"Why can't you just try to?", Tony suggested slightly annoyed.
"Why should I?", the god shot back.
"Because, if you didn't notice, I am basically protecting you from those I am allied with. Maybe you should grant me a little more of your trust!", Stark growled.
"Or maybe you should grant me a little less", Loki whispered right into his ear and made the millionaire spin around in shock.
"When did you... fuck, Loki! You scared me!", he cursed, gasping.
"That was my intention."
"You... just... just stop fooling around, it's not funny."
"It isn't? Well, I think it is. Actually, I find it rather amusing", the god of mischief stated with an insane grin spreading over his face while he shifted even closer. Stark fought back the urge to flee and pushed the other away.
"Well, you've had your fun, now drink this coffee and..."
"I won't."
"Oh, you will. Get away." Tony tried to control his breath and ignore the images in his head. No panic attack, he reminded himself. Not here, not now. Just... no.
"Force me."
"This is ridiculous." His voice sounded stable... somehow. No, not really. But better than he had expected.
"Is it?"
"You're the worst, annoying person I've ever had the misfortune to meet."
"What about the Blonde?" Loki asked.
"Thor?!"
"No, this girly little..."
"We are not mentioning Pepper", Tony interrupted automatically.
"Aren't we? Oh, do I smell a tragedy here?", the god teased, taking his chance.
"Shut up", the millionaire snapped. His fist clenched around the knife he still was holding.
"What if I do not?"
"Better not ask or you might find out."
"I could swear you are turning a little green here, Mr Stark", Loki provoked further.
"Again: shut up!", Tony repeated, obviously agitated. Maybe it was good that he made him angry. It drove away the fear.
"Oh, I see. You tell me to trust you, but aren't able to open up enough for your girlfriend to keep her close", the god grinned. Well, no. This was definitely not good.
"Loki, I am going to..."
"A playboy, that's how you call it, don't you? Cannot stand the women for more than one ni-"
"Shut the fuck up, you goddamn bastard!", Stark shouted and threw a well-aimed punch at Loki's jaw. The trickster was caught by surprise and did not find his balance fast enough so he fell backwards and had his head connecting with the ground with an audible thud.
He moaned and muttered a curse under his breath, meaning to get up, when he felt Stark's weight upon him. Confused he opened his eyes to see the man kneeling on top of him, the knife still in his trembling hand and raised above his head.
"Wow, you're overdoing things here", the god soothed and raised his hands in defeat. "It's alright, I won't let a word slip about your sweet, oh-so-lovely..."
"Loki!", the millionaire hissed.
"Whoops. Seems like I can't help it. My bad", the trickster shrugged, grinning.
"I am... going to... stab you." The engineer was panting heavily. It's only the anger, he told himself, only the anger. I'm not scared.
"You do not sound healthy. Should I get the doctor? Wait, no... Then we'd really have problems about people turning all green and-" The millionaire attempted to ram his knife between the god's ribs.
"Stark, stop it!", Loki gasped. Uh, suddenly he didn't look that smug any more.
"Why should I?", Tony hissed in reply. Suddenly there was a lost, dark nuance in the eyes of the god, the mischief and the grin was gone.
"Because you are doing it wrong. I am really not in the mood to bleed out slowly so", the god grabbed Stark's wrist and directed the blade at a point slightly further above, "if you want to stab me, do it right."
"You... you are insane", the millionaire mumbled, his hands trembling in a mixture of rage and... something else. "Why are you doing this? You are supposed to to defend yourself, toss me out a window or something! Why are you so... so... apathetic?"
"Because I think this is better than the options I have", Loki answered faintly, staring at the ceiling. "So, are you going to use that knife now or should I take another nap until you decide? Because my legs are going numb."
For something that could have been a minute or just a few seconds, Stark remained silent, then he slowly got to his feet and turned his back towards the god to continue his work on the salami as if nothing had happened.
"See? This is where education goes", Loki mumbled. "I've got a headache, feel nauseous and there are people hating me for no apparent reason."
"I recommend you not to push this any further or I might rethink my decision not to stab you. Besides, you did not take a wee sip of your damn coffee", the millionaire replied.
"I get it, we are not mentioning Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Tony turned around in confusion.
"Did you watch Harry Potter?", he asked.
"Harry what?"
"Never mind. Wanna have... would be a lie to call it breakfast, so... lunch?", Stark suggested.
"I guess you're not going to kill me right now, so... why not", the god sighed.
"Good boy. So do you..." Tony was interrupted by the sound of an explosion somewhere inside the building. "What the bloody hell was that?!", he blurted out, but didn't get an answer. "Would you mind to explain what's going on here, Reindeer Games?" Still, Loki didn't reply. Instead he just stared at the wall with wide eyes, his face pale and his hands shivering. "Loki? Hey, Rudolph, do you even hear me?! Wow, your helping mind blows your head." the millionaire groaned sarcastically. "JARVIS! What's this all about?"
"It seems, sir, that the intruders are the so-called Chitauri", the AI replied and Loki winced. "Although compared to the other data available to me they appear to be faster and also acting more strategic than those who attacked New York lately."
"Well, that's just great", the millionaire growled and turned to face the God, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him upright. "Do you feel like explaining this about right now? I thought you were not in charge of your powers!"
"I am not", he whispered. "They do not obey me. They are here for their own reasons."
"What does that mean? There's no time for your god damn games, Loki!"
"Remember me talking about options? This is one of them", the trickster said. Tony froze.
"The one you didn't like?"
"The one I didn't like at all", Loki confirmed.