A/N: Happy Birthday to the smartest, kindest, overall best (not to mention most attractive) superhero ever! This isn't exactly the best chapter to be posting on Tony Stark's birthday, but I'm hoping to get a one-shot up with some feels today too.

Thank you very much to everyone who has followed, favorited, or especially reviewed this story! It means a lot to me! A particular thanks goes to LiulfrLokison for chatting with me about this. Her own story, "Who's Afraid of the Dark", is a fantastic mixture of humorous and creepy with an awesome characterization of Loki. I hope you enjoy!

Tony was happy. He didn't think he had been this happy. . . maybe ever. He had just spent the last three hours talking with the God of Mischief about science and magic, showing him his various projects and the painstakingly coded source of JARVIS. He hadn't had that intelligent of a discussion in years. Probably not since the last time he had talked science with Loki almost two decades ago.

For not being a native of earth or starting out with any clue about their technology, the god was a ridiculously fast learner, and it had only taken a few nights of Tony talking to him back when he was a teenager to gather a foundation upon which he readily built. Loki had once told him that physics wasn't so unlike magic, and that the rules of the universe were basically the same no matter where in the universe you went. He was practically the only person Tony had ever met who had been able to keep up with his own intellect.

Tony sighed, reclining contentedly on an old, ripped couch in his lab. Loki had left just a few minutes ago, but with a promise that he would return as soon as he was able to escape from the watchful eye of the All-Daddy. In the hours previously, he had had some of the best sex of his life and then had proceeded to have one of the most intellectually challenging conversations he'd had in years. He was relaxed, satisfied, and happy.

It lasted for about five minutes. "What's on the agenda for today, JARVIS?"

"Sir, perhaps you ought to get some sleep first. It has been over thirty-six hours."

Tony scoffed, "You're kidding, right? That's a piddly amount of time. Anyway, I can't possibly sleep with all the ideas Lokes gave me. What're we supposed to be doing?"

JARVIS sighed. "You currently have thirty-one missed calls from Colonel Rhodes and sixteen messages. I believe he wishes to discuss arrangements for the upcoming trip to Afghanistan. Miss Potts has left you a message detailing your schedule for the following days. You have a meeting with the board set to take place at three this after-"

"Boring!" Tony cut him off. "Projects, J, I want projects."

"Don't you think you ought to at least listen to the Colonel's messages?"

"JARVIS!"

Another sigh. "Very well, Sir. These are five of the most current Stark weapon designs."

"Ah, now we're talking." Tony grinned, "Now, let's see about incorporating some of the new ideas. Create a new folder for the modifications I want to make, J. Call it. . . Mischief."

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

Loki visited often over the next few weeks always leaving before too long. There were lots of awesome science discussions, and even more mind-blowing sex. Tony wasn't exactly certain when it had happened, but, for some reason, the topic of Asgard seemed to be off limits now that he had returned. Tony would gripe about his meetings, or responsibilities, or sometimes even Pepper, but Loki never spoke of his home anymore. Tony wondered why, but he didn't ever broach the subject.

Meanwhile, life aside from his visits with the Norse God continued on, and both Obie and the board were getting rather annoyed with him for spending all his research time either sleeping or trying to turn some of the hypothetical ideas he and Loki had come up with into a reality. On the plus side, they no longer had to be concerned with his dragging home random women as his liaisons with Loki kept him more than satisfied. He was pretty sure they were getting suspicious about it, but the god was incredibly good at keeping himself hidden.

The trip to Afghanistan was growing ever nearer, and Tony realised that he should probably tell Loki he'd be out of the country for a few days, just in case the god wanted to visit him while he was gone. He didn't want to go. But then, he hadn't much wanted to leave his mansion at all since Loki had come back, always worried that the god would arrive when he was out and that he would miss the opportunity. Another thing that Pepper wasn't happy about, since he was even more reluctant to make appearances at the various social gatherings he was meant to enjoy.

He was forced into one such party the night before he was meant to leave on the dreaded trip- they wanted to give him an award for something. He didn't know why they were making him fly all the way out to Afghanistan just to give a weapon's demonstration, but he supposed it didn't really matter. A few reporters were at the event, of course, tossing their new names and insults at him. One happened to be a curvy blonde that he normally would have taken home with him. She even seemed to be aware of that fact, flirting with him openly.

But every time he thought about bringing her back to his penthouse, an image of Loki popped into his head, most of them incredibly indecent, and even though they had never exactly said they were in any way exclusive- or even classified what they were doing as a relationship- Tony kept picturing this look of betrayal and hurt on his best friend's face. So he ended up getting the blonde drunk and then slipping out on her as soon as possible, practically fleeing back to his mansion.

"JARVIS," he queried once he was safely locked away back in his lab, "why aren't I in bed with a really attractive woman right now?"

"Because you've never asked me to demonstrate that particular ability of mine?" an amused voice came out of nowhere. "Or rather, haven't made that request since you were thirteen. Tell me, did your thoughts run so quickly down the gutter even then?" There was suddenly a shimmer of green and gold in the middle of the lab, and Loki was revealed, standing there fully clad in his leather regalia.

"Geez, Lokes, don't do that!" Tony exclaimed, jumping in surprise. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Only long enough to hear your most recent inquiry, I assure you," Loki responded, smirking as he came to sit on the corner of the table at which Tony was working, the leather creaking as it bent.

"Quite the gettup you've got there," Tony noted, looking him up and down shamelessly.

Instead of reacting to the leer, Loki sighed heavily, his eyes dropping, and Tony realised for the first time how tired he looked. "The barbarian tribes of Vanaheim decided to try and rebel against Asgard; Thor was sent to stop them." His armor vanished in a flash of magic, leaving him shirtless and wearing a pair of Tony's sweatpants instead. "Of course, he ended up causing almost three intergalactic incidents in the process. I've been in diplomatic meetings on and off for the past four weeks," he groaned. "I can't stay long. The Tribal Leaders are reconvening in five hours, Midgardian time."

Tony's eyes grew wider and wider as Loki spoke, and he licked his lips when Loki suddenly changed his clothes. However, by the time Loki finished his tale, he felt more sympathy than lust for the god. "Oh, god, that sounds awful." Despite it, he felt a little part of him cheering that Loki was actually speaking to him of his home. "What do you need? Nap, shower, massage?" He waggled his eyebrows, "Some stress relief?"

Loki chuckled softly, but not nearly as animatedly as he might normally have. "Intelligent conversation in which I must not watch every word for the barest hint of duplicity." He slipped off the desk and collapsed on the worn out couch, his eyes slipping shut.

Tony nodded, "Okay, well, these are the designs for my new Jericho Missile, the one I was telling you about? I'm just going over them one last time to see if I can spot any flaws."

"Oh? Is one of your demonstrations coming up?"

"Yeah," Tony paused, and then sighed, going to sit on the couch with Loki, picking up the gods legs and settling them on his lap when he was fully seated. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I'm going to be going away to Afghanistan for a few days for the demonstration. Sorry."

Loki opened his eyes to look at him, arching an eyebrow. "Why are you apologising for that? I have given you absolutely no information on when I may or may not be dropping by since we started this arrangement." He breathed a laugh, "My mother would be horrified if she ever learned."

Tony blinked briefly in surprise. Loki had never mentioned his mother before; of course, neither had Tony. "Your mom, the queen, right?"

"Aye. Queen Frigga," he smiled softly, sadly, "she is the one who educated me in my use of magic as a child. A wiser woman has never walked the stars."

"Sounds. . . cool."

Loki chuckled wearily. "Indeed. But you're avoiding the subject."

Tony actually had to think back to remember what they had been talking about in the first place. Then he sighed, "I guess I just didn't want you wandering around the tower without me. Not that you're not welcome! I just-"

"Forgot that I would simply ask JARVIS?" Loki queried, amused. Then he smiled, "Regardless, I thank you for your concern. Believe it or not, Stark, I did actually survive without you for several hundred years. I think I shall carry on despite your absence."

Tony grumbled nonsense under his breath. "Well, pardon me for trying to be considerate."

"I said thank you!" Loki immediately objected.

"Right, because that wasn't at all sarcastic."

"Not at all," Loki replied smugly. "Much how your previous statement was also one of fact."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I probably should have known better than to get into an argument with the God of Lies." It was supposed to be a joke, and, in fact, one he had made in the past, yet for some reason this time the comment brought a grimace to Loki's face.

"Right. Can't possibly trust a single word that comes from my mouth," he muttered bitterly.

Tony blinked, "Hey, Lokes, I was kidding. What's going on?"

Loki sighed, "My apologies, Anthony. I have simply grown weary of every suggestion I offer that one negotiating party does not like leading to accusations being hurled of how I cannot be trusted. Never mind the fact that I'm the only one actually doing anything to further peace- 'Oh, no, we need the crown prince to insure that his little sorcerer brother isn't lying!'"

Tony's eyebrows climbed up almost into his hair as Loki ranted. Seeing how his feet were there, and he needed to do something to make the god feel better, he started gently massaging them. "You know I didn't mean it like that, though, right? I trust you." As soon as the words left his lips he marveled at them. Tony had trust issues, always had, ever since the policemen hadn't believed him when he said that his father shoved his mother down the stairs, and he had ended up with bottle shards in his back when they had informed his father. But he trusted Loki- not the God of Lies, he trusted Loki.

Loki got a weird look on his face for a moment, something that Tony could only interpret as surprise and maybe- but that couldn't be right- awe. Then the mask came back and he just smiled slightly. "I know you didn't, Stark, and I am grateful for your consideration."

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Tony offered. "I promise to wake you before you have to leave."

Loki blinked at him slowly and then agreed with a slight nod. "Thank you. That would be. . . appreciated."

Instead of magicking them up to the bedroom like he sometimes did, Loki stood to do it the mundane way, actually leaning on Tony as he swayed when he rose.

Geez, Tony thought to himself, he's more tired than I realised. In fact, tired didn't even seem to cover it. Exhausted was a more apt description.

Since they weren't to the bed anyway, Tony couldn't restrain his curiosity or his concern. "Hey, when's the last time you slept?"

Loki paused, frowning slightly down at him as he thought. "The last time we were in Asgard," he finally responded. "I believe it's been a week? Perhaps two."

Tony cursed, "Shit, Loki, what were you thinking? I'm hardly a prime example of a healthy person, but not even I pull that kind of stunt."

"You are mortal," Loki responded, like that explained everything.

"And you aren't fucking indestructible! You could have gotten hurt! Haven't you been fighting?"

The god snorted. "Yes- with my shadowy, female tricks that none of those true warriors could possibly ever need. They all very conveniently forget the times that I've saved their lives." He didn't even sound bitter when he said it, just like he was stating facts, musing about their comments like he was an outsider.

Tony wasn't nearly as calm. "What the fucking hell is wrong with those people?" he hissed. He'd always had a nagging suspicion that Loki's situation at home was less than ideal, but he'd never imagined that they actually belittled his abilities. He was fucking amazing. "You're awesome!"

Loki chuckled at the outburst, but it turned into a sad smile quickly. "You wouldn't say that if you'd met Thor," he murmured, sounding like he was half asleep already. "You'd fall in love with Asgard's golden prince, just like everyone else."

"Come on, Lokes," Tony growled, unable to handle this. . . this. . . self-depreciating, depressing as hell shit that Loki was saying. It just wasn't right- not from the pompous, wise-ass, snarky god that made him beg when they were having sex. "Let's get you to bed."

Loki was still muttering, but it had switched into another language, so Tony had no idea what he was saying. He half-dragged the god to his bed and dumped him on it unceremoniously. Loki curled up into a ball on one side around Tony's pillow almost immediately. It was an odd way to sleep, but it was pretty normal for Loki, so Tony didn't question it.

He hadn't slept in a while either, so he pulled off his shirt and slipped into the bed alongside the god, gently stroking a few stray black hairs from his face.

Holy shit! He was cold as ice. Was that like the Asgardian version of running a fever? He was kind of acting that way, looking like he was hot when he was clearly cold as a frozen hell.

"What do I do?" Tony whispered, completely uncertain. When nothing presented itself, he eventually just laid some blankets on top of the frigid god and hoped that some rest would help. He slept quite fitfully that night.

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

Tony woke to JARVIS' voice. "Sir, your plane leaves in two hours and you haven't finished making the adjustments to the Jericho Missile."

Tony groaned and rolled over, momentarily wondering why half his bed felt like ice until he remembered. Then he bolted upright, "JARVIS, where's Loki?"

"He left an hour before he was required to, Sir, but I believe he left a note."

Tony blinked at that; Loki had never left him anything before, yet, sure enough, on Tony's dresser there was a small sheet of paper with Loki's distinctive, loopy handwriting.

My apologies for running out on you like I did, but you appeared to be resting peacefully. You have my gratitude for allowing me to make use of your bed last night. I will likely not be returning for some time, as Thor is to be making a circuit about the Nine Realms before his upcoming coronation, and I am to accompany him. You have my word that I will come when I am able. I do not remember much of what I said last night, but I would ask that you disregard it. It was simply a long and stressful few weeks. Rest well, Anthony.

Loki

Tony stared at the note for a long time before tucking it into his wallet as a reminder. Like hell he was just going to forget everything that Loki had said. As much as it had hurt to hear it, he had absolutely no doubt that it had all been completely true. He made a promise right then that if he ever met Thor, he was going to clock the guy right in his perfect face, god or no.

Unfortunately, he was then forced to put the issue of Loki aside. His trip was pressing, and he needed to hurry up and get ready to leave as well as do his last minute adjustments to the missile. He had no doubts that it would do what it was supposed to do; after all, he was Tony Stark. He just needed to actually finish the addition.

He showered and dressed in a suit, finished the final version of the Jericho Missile, and then headed off to the airport and his private jet. Pepper was in the limo, talking to him about this or that. He wasn't really paying attention. Rhodey met him at the plane and informed him that he was late. He really hadn't meant to be, but he'd lost track of time in the lab.

The plane ride was smooth, the demonstration equally so. Then he was in a humvee on the way back to the base, trying to get some kind of conversation out of the soldiers who had been grouped with him.

Then everything went to hell.

The humvee in front of him was blown up, bullets were flying, and the soldiers were yelling. And dying. It was loud and chaotic, and his heart was pounding in his chest. He had to get out of that car.

It blew up behind him, and he curled up in a ball on the ground only to see- no. It couldn't be. There, landing a few feet away from him, was a weapon- a missile with the name "STARK" written upon it in bold letters. It blew up, and all he could feel was pain.

The last thought that crossed his mind before the blackness took him was that Pepper was right- he was going to die by his own hand.

A/N: So. . . yeah. Short and very little Tony/Loki interaction. My least favorite parts of this story so far have been the points where I have had to deal with the movie scenes. Writing it was stressful because I just knew I was gonna screw up in some places and that all you awesome people would notice. You have my apologies for all of it. Because of this, I tried to get through them as quickly and concisely as possible, so there will be very little lingering on the movie stuff. I hope none of you mind.

(Oh, and if Loki seems a little OOC in this chapter, I do actually have a reason for his behavior that will be explained later.)