HUD: I haven't forgotten all of you! I'm an assistant store manager, so last week was stupid busy. Like, insanely. I forgot who I was and had no time to myself. It sucked. But I'm back! And here's the next chapter. :3 Enjoy!

- Part 4: Details -

Six hours later, Loki's eyes snapped open. He was again reminded of his solidarity as he recalled the night before. The god had crawled into his lover's side of the bed and there he had awoken, having not moved at all even to roll over. Tony wasn't milling about in the kitchen, burning breakfast to try and be sweet; nor was he downstairs, tinkering away in his lab over some project or other. No, Loki was again alone for the second morning.

The god huffed, scratching the top of his scalp. He blinked at the ceiling, noting the lack of light from the windows. Loki had fallen into bed only minutes after ending his call with Tony. Instead of using his own gifted mind, he stifled a yawn and spoke.

"Spirit, the time?"

"It is four fifteen ante meridiem, pacific time."

"In London?"

"Twelve fifteen post meridiem, Greenwich mean time."

"I wonder if he is still asleep..." Loki muttered. The elixir Loki made for Tony's tea was timed for a minimum six hours of rest. However, given what Loki knew about his enigmatic lover, six hours seemed to be the maximum for him. "Spirit, ring Anthony."

"Certainly, Mr. Laufeyson." Loki yawned and sat up, running his fingers through his hair as his eyes settled on the large television before him. The screen lit, displaying the connecting screen for Tony's self-developed communication software. He called it HUD, which wasn't short for anything (he just enjoyed the actually acronym), as opposed to Stark-something-or-other. Loki enjoyed it when Tony displayed the slightest creativity in his naming.

The screen displayed the Stark Industries logo behind the blinking connecting text. After a few more blinks, the screen turned black.

"Good morning!" Tony's voice called out first before the video feed kicked in. He was grinning with his hair wet and shirtless, and Loki's stomach flipped. "You're up super early."

"I could not sleep," Loki confessed. "How was your rest?"

"Oh, amazing after some of your tea," Tony said, setting his tablet aside. Loki's view shifted a little while Tony settled the device. "I'm gonna set you on the counter."

"Have I caught you at a bad time?" Loki asked. Tony shook his head.

"Nope. I'm just getting ready for those meetings. Pepper wants to meet early, so I have to be there earlier," he answered, squirting some toothpaste onto a toothbrush. "You said you couldn't sleep - what happened?"

Loki hesitated a moment. Tony was flicking between his mirror and tablet as he brushed his teeth. Loki wanted to tell him everything - the feeling to do so was becoming a little too strong. There were still several videos left, however, and Loki was shamefully curious.

"I missed you, Anthony," he answered truthfully. Tony's eyes crinkled at the corners as he fought his smile. Even with the white foam leaking from the corners of Tony's mouth and staining his goatee, he still looked just as handsome to Loki.

"Awww, Lo'," Tony answered, losing the fight to his broad smile. The foam spread to dribble and almost completely coat his goatee, and Loki smirked. Tony spit into the sink and wiped his mouth with the running water. "You're too good to me."

"And you look ridiculous," Loki said affectionately. Tony grinned again and Loki's smirk turned to a soft smile.

"See? You always got my back." Tony winked and cleaned his goatee, wiping away the water with a hand towel.

"That I do," Loki muttered. He wasn't sure if Tony heard or not, but the genius continued to grin.

"So what all do you have planned today?" He asked. He dropped the towel from his waist and moved it to his hair. The action immediately drew Loki's attention to the sharp dip in Tony's hipbone and the soft trail of pubic hair barely in the shot. Tony was largely devoid of body hair - much like Loki - and the god was grateful. He lacked on his chest and back, and even his forearms and legs were only lightly coated in a soft hair that rivaled the wild locks on his scalp. That thin trail just below his navel was the softest on the genius' body, almost like feather down, and Loki absolutely loved teasing the man with soft caresses and lingering strokes - Loki swallowed thickly.

"Perhaps another film in your lab," the god answered, shifting the covers slightly. Tony nodded and tossed aside his towel, once again completely naked.

"I don't think I've shown you 'Bowfinger' yet - have JARVIS pull that up for you," the genius said, turning around for a moment and flashing his bare ass to Loki for the briefest of seconds.

"What is the plot?" Loki asked absently, eyes roaming every inch of his lover's naked form while he wasn't paying attention.

"This filmmaker is down and can't catch a break," Tony said, dabbing a bit of shaving cream along his jaw. "So this guy brings him a new screenplay that he absolutely loves, but he needs to get a big actor in on it or this hotshot producer won't pick him up. That guy kinda looks like me, actually."

Loki smirked. Watching Tony get ready was a show all by itself. He was done trimming his goatee and now was styling his hair - which consisted of several flurried run-throughs of just his fingers without any product. Loki had been surprised to find the hair stood up very naturally. Tony prattled on about the movie, staring into his reflection as Loki just watched.

The god smiled softly, listening to his lover. He really did miss him, and the feeling was leaving a hollow section in his chest that even the HUD chats and the secret videos couldn't fill. Loki never would have expected such depth of feelings from himself, let alone for a mortal. Tony had already meant a great deal to him, and now with the secrets of his tribulations in the videos, Loki's affections had only grown.

"So I'll stop so you can actually watch it," Tony said, grinning at the tablet. Loki smiled back, having hardly heard anything the man had said during his show. "Hey, Loki?"

"Yes?" Loki asked, still smiling softly and feeling slightly warm.

"I know I say it every time," Tony began, hand dropping absently to scratch around his reactor. "But I really do miss you. I don't want to be here."

"I know, Anthony," Loki answered. "You are not to be blamed."

"No, I could have fought harder against it," Tony sighed, looking down at his sink. Loki wanted nothing more than to tilt that dejected expression up and kiss it away. Tony always had a knack for blaming himself far too much. "I should be there with you for our vacation. Not here, alone, with you there, alone - "

"Anthony," Loki chuckled, drawing the genius' attention. "You will be back soon enough, and we shall make up for the lost time, yes?" Loki's expression turned coy, and Tony couldn't help but grin back.

"Uh, totally," he smirked, cheeks tinted slightly red. Loki smirked back. "As much as I'd love to have some HUD sex, I have to get going."

"I understand," Loki answered with a nod. Tony picked the tablet up again and went quiet, just watching.

"I miss you, Loki," he said softly. His tone was different, heavy. Loki's breathing hitched. "I'm counting the hours until I can see you again. You can make fun of me all day, but I mean it."

"I know," Loki whispered, smiling shakily. Tony didn't pick up on it but smiled back crookedly.

"I'll let you go, babe. I'll call you before bed, alright?"

"I look forward to it," Loki answered. Tony nodded and waved with his free hand.

"Wish me luck!" Loki waved back slowly, even after the feed had ended and he was staring at the HUD display with Stark Industries across the background. His hand eventually dropped to his lap, and Loki just sat there. He was feeling the same thing he had last night, and he still didn't know what to call it. He had a name for the majority of his feelings towards his mortal, but there were still some he didn't understand himself. Perhaps this time apart was required to analyze - oh, he couldn't fool himself for much longer, let alone Tony. The genius was just that - a genius - and Loki was surprised it was taking this long.

Loki threw back his comforter and dropped his feet to the carpet. He moved into the bathroom, finding just his toothbrush in the holder and feeling his stomach flip. Such a small detail, but it had such a large affect. He ignored it, mimicking Tony from the HUD chat but with far less white foam dribble. When he was done, Loki moved into the kitchen where he was pleased to see JARVIS had already started the kettle. The god leaned against the counter and watched the steam billow.

Minutes later, Loki was settling into Tony's plush chair in the lab, tea cup in hand. He sighed as JARVIS logged him in (the AI was being rather quiet this morning), staring for a few seconds at Tony's hot rod desktop. Loki opened the folder and scrolled to where he had paused the night before. The clock in the corner of the screen read four fifty-seven. Loki knew he would have quite a bit of time to go over the videos, maybe even finish them before Tony called him later. With a soft smile, he clicked the next folder and settled back with his tea.

"So it's been literally five days since I gave Loki that book," Tony grumbled. He was wearing a sweater rolled up at the sleeves. It wasn't quite dark enough to hide the glow from his reactor, and Loki smiled fondly. "I'm starting to wonder if I'm being stood up. I mean, we never really agreed to a meeting time, or place, or much of anything, really, but I thought for sure I'd hear something by now." He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. "I'm totally being stood up. I mean, who the fuck stands up Tony Stark, seriously? I'm fucking awesome!"

"Sir, Dr. Banner is approaching," video JARVIS called. Tony bit his lip - still a habit, even now - and frowned.

"Okay, so?"

"He does not seem pleased."

"Of course not," Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh, you have no idea what's going on. How rude, sorry - I'm trying to work on my manners." The genius was speaking to the monitor as if it were a person, and Loki actually did laugh out at that. This man...

"Okay, so, like...three weeks, now? Geez, it's been awhile. Anyway, the bridge thing, with Loki. Whenever the fuck that happened. So, he's levitating cars and shit and I'm just standing there, doing nothing. This, of course, looks really bad. I knew what I was doing, but no one else did, and the press wasn't too pleased either. Pepper and I were able to spin this thing that Loki's magic was causing the suit to lock up, but the Avengers didn't buy it." He waved his hand in the air and rolled his eyes.

"Natasha corners me later and demands an answer. I stuck to the suit locking thing, but I know for a fact she didn't buy it. Everyone has kinda been looking at me funny since then, except Bruce. He's still trying to understand everything. He doesn't want to believe that I'm lying, but I have to stick it out, I guess."

"Sir - "

"Yeah, rant's over. Let him in." Tony tapped a few things on the screen and pretended to busy himself as the good doctor came into view.

"Hey, Tony," he greeted, grinning nervously.

"Oh hey, Bruce," Tony said, spinning in his chair. "What's up, bud?"

"Nothing really, I just..." Bruce paused and sighed. "It's not nothing, Tony. We're worried about you."

"Please, Bruce," Tony sighed, turning back to the monitor. "If by worried Natasha means she wants to commit me, then yeah, they are pretty worried."

"No, I am," Bruce said. He grabbed a free chair and slid it beside Tony. "Natasha and Clint are trying to get into your lab, Tony. Fury seems to think you're trying to help Loki." Tony bit back a smile that Bruce couldn't see. "He has them following you when you leave, trying to get into the ducts above your penthouse - "

"Yeah, good luck with that," Tony answered, grinning.

"That's true," Bruce admitted, grinning a bit himself. "You never really leave the lab these days."

"I'm busy," Tony answered. Bruce's soft grin fell a little.

"What are you working on that's keeping you down here? Usually you tell me everything - "

"Usually, yeah, but not this time, Brucey," Tony answered, turning from the monitor. "I can't risk S.H.I.E.L.D. finding out."

Bruce frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "Do you not trust me, Tony?"

"Fuck no!" Tony snapped. "Of course I trust you, Bruce, I just..." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "This isn't really something you can help me with this time, pal." Loki shook his head. He knew how important Bruce is to Tony - for the man to shoot his best friend down for him was intense. Even now, a year or so later, Bruce was still the only one who actually tried to keep a conversation with him. Seeing Tony push Bruce away because of him caused a new flare of guilt.

"Why?" Bruce pleaded. "Tony, everyone sees something is going on. You're down here for days, you go out at random times during the night - I know this isn't a bender because you're actually showering and taking care of yourself. It's almost like - " Bruce's eyes widened a fraction. "Are you hiding someone down here?"

Tony laughed, unable to help himself any longer. He had been wincing with the effort to stay silent, but that last phrase pushed him over the edge. He shook his head, holding up a hand when Bruce started to ask again.

"I'll tell you, Bruce, but you have to swear on the Science Bro Code that this is strictly between the two of us," Tony said, tone suddenly serious. Bruce nodded.

"Absolutely. I'd never betray your trust, Tony, you know that," Bruce answered. Tony paused, working his bottom lip again. Loki knew that expression well - that was Tony's 'How-to-phrase-this-without-sounding-like-an-ass' look.

"Now hear me out," Tony began, holding both his hands out. "I'm kind of trying to convince Loki to...go out with me?"

Bruce's eyebrows shot to his hair line. He sat back against the chair he was in, eyes wide. "Wow, okay. I had no idea."

"No one knows, Bruce," Tony said quickly.

"I totally believe that," Bruce answered. His tone caused Loki to snort and Tony to roll his eyes.

"I can't have Natasha and Clint snooping around down here, which is why I'm here all the time."

"How is it going?" Bruce asked. He leaned a little further back in his chair, hands folded over his chest. "Also, I'd like to say that I'm not supporting this just yet, only curious."

"Understandable," Tony said. He drummed his fingers on the work table. "Well, it isn't going...terrible?"

"Does he know?"

"I'm being a bit vague on all the details," Tony said sheepishly. He scratched the base of his neck, eyes cast down to the floor. He was being shy, and Loki absolutely loved it. "I've only really had one uninterrupted conversation with him."

"And how was it?" Bruce asked. Loki could tell the doctor was trying to keep the air light. The slight clench in his jaw told the god all he needed to know - Bruce was upset but trying very hard to hear Tony out. Loki silently thanked him for being such a good friend.

"Oh it was awesome. No buildings were destroyed and I wasn't tossed from a window," the billionaire joked. "But I brought a peace offering, only asking to see him again outside of battle."

"How long ago?"

"Five days."

Bruce blew out his cheeks, eyebrows raising. He pushed his glasses up his nose and tilted his head. "That's a while, Tony."

"I know!" The genius groaned. "Nothing. He hasn't attacked, and not even so much as a blip on my radar. I keep sitting down here, thinking he'll just be there whenever I turn a corner."

"That's why you're showering and don't smell like a pig."

"Exactly. I can't have him be here and me look like an idiot," Tony sighed. Loki began to grin again.

Tony had his own unique style, and walking out in a wrinkled shirt and his hair sticking out at all ends was in the top ranked. To see and hear the man literally changing his habits just for him made Loki's smile grow. Since they began their relationship, Loki had definitely noticed a shift in the other's grooming habits. Tony still maintained his wild hair, but he trimmed his goatee a little more often, wore nicer suits when they went out, and even cleaned all the dirt from under his nails that would normally be forgotten after hours in the lab. It was almost as if he were preening out of fear that Loki would leave if he didn't maintain a certain standard.

"Hopefully, if all this works out, I'll make a habit of going a little extra to clean myself up a bit," Tony said, looking over at Bruce. "I'd really hate to lose him because my fingernails are nasty or something stupid." Loki actually laughed.

"You honestly think he cares, Tony?" Bruce chuckled, shaking his head. "I've seen that guy almost bathed in blood before."

"Yeah, well, dirty hands may be a turn off, you never know."

Bruce shook his head and laughed, rubbing his cheek. "Well, I guess I see your point."

"Damn straight."

"Now, I have a question," Bruce said, sobering slightly. "Now that I know the truth, what really happened on the bridge?"

Tony tilted his head to the side, thinking. Loki knew he was still debating on being honest with his answer. Loki also knew he would be, and he settled back again when Tony began to speak.

"Well, I tried talking to him a few other times, and this was the first time I could without anyone else around. Thor wasn't even here during the time, so I got there first. Initially, I was going to talk, but there was something in the air that stopped me. And the further it went, the more intrigued I became. I just knew he wasn't going to hurt anyone. There was like this unspoken bond. He wasn't going to do anything, and it was almost like he was daring me."

"That's a little...odd," Bruce mused, rubbing his chin.

"I thought he did it just to get under my skin," Tony confessed. "But the longer I watched, I began to know there was something more to it. I think he was testing me."

"For what?"

"I don't know yet," Tony said, leaning back in his chair to stare up at the ceiling. "But I think he may be interested in me, too, as dumb as it sounds."

"It doesn't sound dumb, Tony, you could very well be right," Bruce said as he dropped his palms to his knees. "Maybe he doesn't know what it means. We all know from Thor that he had it pretty rough up there."

Tony nodded. Loki blinked - after the rooftop, he and Tony had never again discussed the bridge. Loki knew he was testing the mortal, that had been quite clear. He had been disturbed and angered by the man's previous statements, and instead of reacting negatively like the forest, Loki had decided to let it play naturally. The scene had been far more powerful than he had anticipated, especially with Tony still trying to decipher the meaning weeks later.

The fact Tony had never attempted to stop him on the bridge had been the only reason Loki had stayed on the rooftop even as he felt Tony drawing near. They were correct - he had been interested.

"Thanks for telling me, Tony," Bruce said. Tony nodded again. Loki knew he wouldn't again say that no one could know. As is the bond of best friends.

"I wanted to tell someone, Brucey, and you're my science bro. I just needed some time," he said, smirking. Bruce smiled back and stood up.

"Well, you've been neglecting your science bro for a week. How about you set up a quick experiment and I'll be back with some food?"

"Oh hell yeah, I am so down!" Tony grinned, all but forcing Bruce into a high five. The doctor just chuckled and turned away.

"I'll be back!" He called, and in another moment he was gone from the screen. Tony continued to pause, waiting until he heard Bruce leave entirely.

"Well, Bruce is on board, which is awesome. I needed someone to talk to; not seeing Loki again for almost a week is literally driving me up a wall. I hope he comes around soon. Maybe blowing some shit up will be just the distraction I need to not think about him for awhile," Tony said. He stared at the screen, lost a moment in thought. "I miss him."

The video ended. Loki inhaled sharply. Video Tony had said that with the exact same emotion a year and a half ago as Now Tony said just thirty minutes ago. The tone was nothing but raw emotion, vulnerable only because he thought he was alone. Loki's stomach flipped - how had he not noticed this sooner?

For some reason, Tony had felt inexplicably drawn to him. Loki had been his enemy and attempted king. Why would he feel anything more than hatred? Hearing that tone, seeing that expression, Loki knew why because it had been the same for him. They felt drawn to the other, without so much as a reason. It just was. The bridge had helped solidify it for Loki, and the rooftop had been even more clarification. Tony had gone out of his way to find something he thought Loki would enjoy, just to have an excuse to see him again.

Loki could punch his past self for making such precious of a man wait even the tiniest bit. The god clicked the next folder with more force than was actually necessary and frowned. He had been such a fool.