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Loki did not emerge from his room that night or the two nights following. While Tony would probably never admit it out loud; he was a bit worried about his house guest. The anger had long since subsided and he felt guilty about it now. Of course the god would not trust him. Loki had been betrayed far too often and he was, after all, the god of lies. Liars hardly ever were able to take a truth at face value. Tony was sure the taller man had some sort of gift to see whether you were lying or not, but a wounded animal would lash out at everything and forget about logic.
"Jarvis, where is Loki now?" He asked his computer while screwing a bolt into his suit where it had gotten loose after a particular annoying fight.
"Sir, the god is currently at the swimming pool." The genius almost dropped the arm he was working on.
"You mean he has left his room?"
"Unless he has a swimming pool in his bedroom, yes." Came the sarcastic reply.
"Do not get smart with me or I'll change you for a better model." Tony bit back as he moved out of the lab and up the stairs. Of all the places the god could have gone he went to the pool. The pool was hardly used really. The only time the genius could remember was when the entire Avengers team had decided some R&R was necessary and swimming was the best option. Tony had not minded it, but he still retained a dislike for water after the multiple drownings he had suffered in Afghanistan. He felt rather ridiculous that he was sneaking around in his own house, but he didn't want to startle the immortal. He just wanted to see if he was okay.
The room was empty it seemed until Tony noticed a pale blue shape at the bottom of the swimming pool. Even if he hadn't known it had to be Loki, the black hair certainly gave him away. He had no inclination to get the man out of the water so he settled himself on one of the sunbeds near the edge. He would need to come up for air soon enough, right?
After nearly six minutes Tony had enough. Stripping down to his underwear he jumped into the pool. Bright red eyes met him as he gasped for breath. The water was positively freezing which had shocked him into opening his mouth, letting out all the air. The blue version of Loki had a feral smile on his face as he watched Tony struggle. After a couple of seconds he changed his looks back to his more human form and with it the water warmed back up to a more normal temperature. All his muscles screamed against the lack of oxygen. A strong hand grabbed him by his biceps and dragged him up to the surface. The moment they broke the surface Loki moved away from him.
"What the hell was that?" Tony gasped, still sucking in the sweet taste of air.
"That Stark was my true form." Loki commented as he pulled himself out of the pool. The billionaire was silent as he watched the muscles move underneath the white skin. There were pink lines crisscrossing on the god its back. 'Severe whipping' his mind supplied. For a moment Tony wanted to reach out and touch them, but he quickly reminded himself that he would probably become a flambé if he tried that. Water droplets flowed down the man's body as he grabbed a towel from one of the sunbeds. There was still an angry red line on Loki's stomach but most of the bruises were already gone or in the yellow/green state of healing. Still the skin was a beautiful snow white, the eyes a clear green and he had cheekbones to die for. He wasn't quite as build as Thor, but he certainly did not lack muscles. The man was…well... beautiful. For a moment Tony felt inadequate, but he soon reminded himself he was dealing with a god here. Of course he would look worse.
"Then what are you exactly? Because strangely enough I don't think Thor is able to do that." With a few quick strokes he was at the edge of the pool. Loki gave him a glare that would have most people quivering in their boots. It was a good thing that Tony wasn't most people.
"While I appreciate your hospitality I do not feel the need to have a 'heart to heart' with you Stark, and I would appreciate it if you refrained yourself from mentioning my brother."
"Could you at least tell me what you were doing on the bottom of my pool? Or was that just some strange god thing." Tony grabbed a towel for himself as well, trying to act suave in front of the annoyed god. He was not intimidated by another man's beauty, no way.
"It was merely an exercise to calm my mind. A state between awake and sleeping." There were bags underneath his green eyes and a certain strain in the muscles around them. Loki had not been sleeping well Tony concluded.
"You usually do that in freezing water?" It was clear that Loki rather wanted to leave instead of having a 'normal' conversation with him. The genius rather wanted to be somewhere else as well, but the man was living in his house and they could not keep avoiding each other.
"The water was merely to drown out noise." There was an awkward moment of staring at each other before they finally decided they had spent enough time together. When Tony went to go upstairs to grab some dry clothes he turned around to Loki who was just about to head the other direction.
"It is normal to have nightmares you know."
"I don't have nightmares, Stark." The god bit back, but it lacked its usual venom. Deciding not to argue about it Tony continued the walk to his room.
Loki had never slept well. He could not remember a single night in all his centuries of living that he had slept more than a few hours and awoken refreshed. Magic always helped him to look revived and stay awake during boring meetings. The older he got the more worse his dreams became. Spells, memories of murders, lies he had told; they all haunted him. Yet, his dreams back then seemed peaceful and serene to the memories that haunted him now. He feared closing his eyes for the images would come. The pain would be remembered, the degradation. The screams he had wanted to let out but was not able with his mouth sowed shut. The meditative state was a much better option, even if it meant that his magic and physical healing would take a setback.
He groaned as he tossed once again on the bed. It was comfortable and his mind was having trouble rebelling against sleep. The iron man had interrupted his meditation leaving him more exhausted than he had been before the session. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but after several more tosses they finally slipped closed.
No, no please don't! Not that. Excruciating pain as the whip descended on his skin. His screams as Sif held his face while Balder sowed his mouth shut. The pain in his lower back as someone or something penetrated him. The wetness on his cheeks as he cried out. The humiliation of being caught crying. The taunting.
With a gasp Loki shot up in his bed. Sweat dripping from his skin as he tried to regain his breathing. The memories always seemed so eerily real. The sheets stuck to his skin and with an annoyed growl he tossed them off the bed. Sleep would not be coming any time soon and there was too much adrenalin in his body to even try to think about meditating. Refusing to ponder the reason he was awake, Loki swiftly made his way to the living room. Maybe that 'tablet' would keep him occupied. It had been rather fun earlier, till he had found that terrible file.
The city lights twinkled merrily outside the windows and Loki could clearly see why Stark liked to live so high up. It must have given the man a feeling of being a god, if his ego hadn't gotten him there already with the flying. He stretched himself a little, the normal Midgardian clothes still felt strange to him. They made him feel a lot more vulnerable than the heavy armor he had been used to wearing. Then again he hadn't truly felt strong in years now. His magic was still depleted and his body was on the mend. One day he would return and take revenge on everyone that had come into his path.
AN: Once again let me know what you think and whether there is something you would like to happen. Hope you guys liked it at least :D.
