Trick of the Light
Rated T
A/N: Would just like to say thank you for all of the lovely comments I've been getting!
AllThingsAreBene – Your comment made me especially happy, thank you very much!
Kowy – I have been working on trying to add more dialogue in now, after reading your comment I realized that the dialogue was a bit patchy, so thank you for mentioning it and I hope it's improved! :)
…
Loki wavered a moment, rocking slightly on the iron mans lap as if being deep in thought drained his inability to sit still.
"I like horses. Why?" He asked eventually, completely oblivious to the snickers and wide eyed stares around him. Natasha smiled wickedly and reclined back in her chair.
"Is it true that you have a horse for a son?" Direct. As per usual Stark thought sardonically. The last time he had enquired about Sleipnir, it had resulted on him sleeping on the couch.
"Yes, he's called Sleipnir." Loki replied, slightly more guardedly this time. Natasha's smirk grew even wider, if that were possible. Thor's slightly glazed stare regained a little of its focus once he realised where this question was headed.
"You mean you really slept with a horse? How did that thing not split you in two, there is literally nothing to you!" Clint roared, slapping his knee as if to punctuate the ridiculousness of the statement. Loki tried to frown, the look he achieved however was decidedly more… squinty.
"I was a horse at the time. A female one. I had to lure him away and then…" He trailed, a slight flush gracing his cheeks. Thor stood abruptly to his feet, wagging his finger as if lecturing a naughty student.
"You did no such thing brother. You were drunk!" He slurred, a broad grin plastered across his face. Loki shook his head violently.
"Not true Thor! Lies! All of it. It was a… noble thing that I did. If I didn't then that thing would have happened. Which would have been bad."
"Nonsense brother! You were so drunk you made a wager with the warriors three and Sif that you could outrun that horse, and when they asked how you would get it to follow you, you turned yourself into a mare!" The thunder God corrected. "After you ran off into the woods we waited around for hours and just as we were about to give up, thinking you had gotten bored and left, you re-appeared from the forests looking…. Dishevelled."
Loki stammered for a moment, his mouth opening and closing, yet no words escaped. This, Tony thought, had certainly been an enlightening night.
"Did not." The cocktail sipping God fainlly shouted back, his silver tongue apparently having lost its edge. Had he taken the time to look around, he would have noticed the way the Avengers were barely managing to contain themselves. Stark included.
"That's not what happened at all!"
"Then tell me brother, what did happen?"
There was silence.
And then:
"I've got nothing." Loki admitted, defeated, slouching back to rest against the now well and truly pinned Tony, arc reactor humming soothingly against his spine.
"I thought I could outrun him, but I was still drunk, and it's hard enough to stand on two legs never mind four. And then I fell, and then… Svadilfari really wasn't that bad. I've slept with worse." He mused aloud, looking at Tony afterwards, a wry smile clinging to his slightly purple stained lips.
All the pent up laughter that had been building since the conversation began exploded into the room like a mini nuke. Finally, after a long while of nobody being able to do much of anything besides hold their sides and wipe tears from their eyes the room quietened again, Tony struggling to lower the eyebrow that was heading dangerously close to flying right off his forehead.
"So what, I, the great Tony Stark do not compare to a lowly mule? I find that hard to believe. This man is a drunk and a liar, believe nothing he says. Apart from the bit where he got knocked up." The former playboy declared in a vain attempt to sooth his dented ego.
"I didn't want to ask at first but I did wonder why you were walking bowlegged back to your room afterwards, little brother." Thor stated as Loki placed both his hands over his face, only a little bit aware of the enormous hole he had dug for himself.
"And I still remember the mood swings. I have never seen the All-Father quite so terrified in all my life as when he mentioned how big you were getting and you raged so hard Frigga thought you might give birth on the spot. And the crying! What was it you turned up at my door in the early hours wailing ab-"
"THOR. SHUT UP. I am a GOD. You cannot go around just telling people these things!" Loki screamed from behind his palms.
"I hate to spoil the party, but I think maybe we've all indulged enough for tonight. And I'm sure Loki will agree that the sooner he goes to bed, the sooner he can attempt to block out all memories of tonight." Steve suggested after the howling had finally died down. He noted the relieved sigh from Stark and nodded in acknowledgement.
It was only as the rest of the crew began to drift off into their various alcohol induced slumbers that Natasha and Steve questioned whether they had ever actually laughed as much in their entire lives. They watched, small smiles and all, as one Mr Tony Stark, former player and certified bachelor, bridal style carried his paramour to bed. They didn't comment on the small patch of drool the God of Mischief had left on his lovers shirt as he nuzzled the broad chest currently doubling as a pillow.
"Night all. Try not to deface Clint too much before he wakes up." Stark said, nodding in the general direction of a heap of coats that occasionally seemed to snore, the door sliding shut behind him.
Thor stood unsteadily to his feet, shaking his head momentarily before staggering out onto the corridor. He waved his goodbyes as he tried to remember which one of these doors lead to his room. Steve made to guide his Norse friend, but was quickly stopped by Bruce and Natasha as they each grabbed a hand and pulled him back down.
The three sat in a companionable silence for a while, each mulling over the events that had just transpired. It was Bruce, surprisingly enough, who finally broke the silence.
"You know guys, I hate to admit it, but Loki isn't actually that bad. I mean, ignoring the murders and that whole inferiority complex thing." He said, a little shocked at hearing himself uttering those words. Natasha nodded in complete understanding.
"I didn't particularly want to have to agree, but I think the Svadilfari comment won me over."
"He had me at Shut up Stark." Steve admitted.
Shaking her head, the Widow shoved Clint from his precarious position on the edge of the couch, coats and all and shook her head when he didn't even stir as he hit the floor. After several more minutes of waiting to see if Stark re-emerged, Steve walked over to the bar and drew three beers from the fridge before sharing them out.
"To new friends?"
"To bestiality."
"To the laws of nature weeping quietly."
From within the confines of his bedroom, cradling a faintly snoring God to his chest, Tony Stark smiled at the clinking of glasses. He had done it. He was a fucking genius. Closing his eyes, enjoying the refreshing sensation that entailed he quietly asked "JARVIS?"
"Yes sir?" His automation replied.
"Am I right in guessing that by some small chance you may have recorded tonight's proceedings?" He asked wryly.
"If you mean did I manage to capture your partner admitting he slept with, and consequently gave birth to a horse over a drunken bet, then yes, sir, you would be correct."
"Thanks JARVIS, that's all I needed to hear. Make back up copies of it though, and send some of them out to outlying devices, I don't think Loki will be all too impressed in the morning."
"'m not gonna be 'mpressed with wha?" A small voice mumbled from somewhere beneath the glowing cavity in his chest. Tony smiled and raised the bleary eyed face so he could see it clearly.
"Nothing babe." He replied without skipping a beat.
Forcing himself to his knees, Loki shuffled forwards until he collapsed next to his bed mate so their heads were level, trying desperately to keep his vision on the millionaire. After a moment of intense almost staring, Loki tried to gently place a hand across the others face, instead almost slapping him. "Did I win?" He asked, stifling a yawn. Tony chuckled quietly, pulling the lanky form besides him onto his lap.
"Darling, you were fabulous. And I mean that from the very depths of my arc reactor. Never have I ever been as sincere in fact as when I tell you that you were, Princess, the belle of the ball." In response, something like a strangled giggle escaped the Gods usually guarded lips which quickly turned into something a little more guttural. Diving in for a kiss, clinking teeth painfully in the process, Tony took part in what was probably the sloppiest make out session to date. Not so much on his part.
"What have you done to me, Stark?" Loki asked during a moment of frightening lucidity as he struggled out of his too small top.
Man of iron that he was, Tony Stark was not one to just sit back and just watch someone struggle needlessly, and so did the only gentlemanly thing possible and helped his cohort out of his slacks.
Never let it be said that Tony Stark was anything if not a gentleman.
"Come on reindeer games, let's see if you remember thisin the morning." He smirked, throwing Loki beneath him.
Natasha, Steve and Bruce tried desperately to ignore any ragged breathing from the adjoining room. But couldn't help but laugh at the cries of "too fast!" quickly followed by a short bout of dry heaving and a final, resounding battle cry of:
"TAKE THAT SVADILFARI!" Followed by what could only be described as a very un-Godly snort and the echoes of more retching.
…
Well guys, there's another one down! ;) Again, hope you enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it!