Disclaimer: I do not own, nor profit from.
Author's Note: Make up time! This chapter came quite easily, so hopefully you all like it! It shouldn't actually be finished yet, because I haven't finished my homework yet, but this was just much more interesting! Enjoy!
Kiss the Pain Away.
Loki watched Tony pull away, stuttering "I'm sorry Loki, I don't know...", he watched his best friend break down in front of him. What else he would have said was lost. Loki left.
He appeared in his apartment, thrown off slightly, his magic reverberating. He felt shaken, confused. He walked to his sofa, tripping slightly on the laces of his Converses. He collapsed onto the seat, his hands shaking.
Why did Tony kiss him?
He was drunk. Or hungover. He'd just split up from his girlfriend. His girlfriend of 8 months. Loki had known Tony since they were both little. He knew Tony didn't do commitment. He picked them up and kicked them out the next morning. The amount of times he had visited his best friend to find him in bed with some girl. He knew Tony's reputation may be slightly exaggerated, but a vast majority was the truth. Was Loki supposed to be another drunken conquest?
But he had seemed genuinely sorry. But sorry for what? Tony wasn't exactly predictable. He may have been sorry he kissed him, or he may have been sorry he just hadn't asked his permission.
"Tony, what are you doing to me?" Loki clutched at his hair, sighing at the floor. Did Loki himself feel anything back? They were best friends. Loki did love Tony. He just wasn't sure he loved Tony.
Brrrrring
Loki's phone vibrated, causing the god to jump. He picked up the phone, knowing full well who it was. Very few people had this number, only one person used it regularly.
I'm sorry. Please come back?
A smile tugged at Loki's lips. That was eloquent for Tony's standards. It tended to normally be just come here. Loki flexed his fingers, feeling his magic slither in and out of the gaps.
Just precautionary.
o0o
Tony paced in the living room, anxiously waiting. He'd sent a text to Loki, hoping he would return. Tony could explain. Sort of. They could go back to the way they were, just mates. If Tony hoped for more, he'd cope without. He'd prefer Loki as a friend to Loki as nothing.
Loki wouldn't blast him, would he?
He didn't really want to go as a pissed-off god's target practice.
That would be awful.
"What would be awful?" A cool voice sounded behind him.
Tony didn't jump.
Did he speak out loud?
He turned to face Loki, who was were a small smile, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"You don't look pissed-off." Loki chuckled, low and inviting.
"I can assure you I am not 'pissed-off', as you so nicely put it." Tony deflated with relief. He looked back up at the taller man.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... you know." Tony waved his hand. Loki raced a delicate eyebrow.
"Kissed me?" Tony started, then nodded.
"Yeah. That." Loki chuckled again.
"How are you a public speaker? You sound more like a child who's been caught eating out of the biscuit jar." Tony huffed.
"I was never caught eating out of the biscuit jar." Loki looked disbelieving. "I was far too clever to get caught." Loki laughed, shaking his head.
"I have no doubt." Loki sauntered over towards Tony. He stood no more than centimetres away from Tony's face. Tony felt his breath hitch, get shallower.
"What would you have done if I had disappeared?"
"I don't know." Tony answered truthfully. Loki smiled.
"You don't know what you would have done, or there is more than one scenario?"
"The second." Loki nodded.
"What if I hadn't wanted you to kiss me?"
"I would have apologised until you forgave me. Which may have been a long time, as you hold grudges." Loki granted.
"What if I had wanted you to kiss me?" Damn, did he have to drop his voice?
"I would have probably leaned back over..." Tony leaned slightly closer, their noses touching now, "And I would have kissed you."
"Is that the truth?" Loki breathed.
"Yes. The absolute truth."
"Then I want you to kiss me." Tony's eyes flickered to Loki's. No hint of a lie. He leaned up, and captured the cool, cool lips in a brief kiss. He pulled back, and Loki put his hands to Tony's face, pulling him back into a ferocious kiss.
Oh. Ah well.
o0o
Tony gazed around at what was once his bedroom. Loki was curled up into his side, sleeping. Or dozing. Or whatever it was Loki did.
They hadn't gone any further than making out, and all clothes had stayed on. But Loki's magic had gone into overload. It wasn't just the bedroom. It was the kitchen, the lounge, the guest bedroom... They hadn't even gone into half those rooms. Loki's magic had turned into an earthquake, pulsing out and destroying half his house. Furniture was upturned, windows shattered.
He'd get Pepper... wait, no, he'd get JARVIS to call someone to tidy this up. And make a mental note not to let SHIELD hear of this. He'd managed to keep his friendship with Loki under wraps so far. He could keep this development quiet as well.
Hopefully.
Maybe he'd get Loki to charm his tongue into not giving anything away. Surely that was possible.
Loki shifted in his sleep, murmuring something in Norse. Tony smiled into Loki's messed hair. This was a little bit of perfect. Loki here, relaxed. Every time he had recently seen the god, he'd been tense. Tony knew that something had gone badly wrong between Loki, Odin and Thor, but he wasn't going to pry. If the taller man wanted to tell him, he would do it in his own time. He'd learnt early on that pushing Loki for answers was only going to shove him further into that shell, the shield that Loki had built up around himself. A shield that never quite disappeared, no matter what was happening, where he was. Tony wished he could kiss away the pain, all the heartbreak Loki had suffered.
He wished he could make it all okay.
Maybe one day he would. Maybe Loki would heal from whatever he had suffered at the hands of the Asgardian Allfather. At the hands of his own brother.
But he was content to let it happen in good time. He was content to keep Loki right here, away from everyone, away from the world.
Because he wasn't prepared to lose him to the world.
