I thought it would be very interesting to post this on a Monday morning, (the reason for that should be obvious from the first sentence XD) Once more, THANK YOU to those of u who left a comment before and know that i appreciate them all. I did suffer some sort of malfunction with my e-mail and i only realized there were any reviews this morning... U can imagine how crappy i felt all week thinking everyone of u readers quit on me simultaneously only to realize it was yahoo's fault... XD

Either way, I hope u continue to like this and please continue letting me know what you think. ENJOY! X3

(Also, to those of u wondering, I don't actually deal with Odin in the rest of the story. He just gets phased out, mostly because i can't stand him as a characters...)

4

Tony Stark hated waking up in the mornings and what made that particular morning worse was the fact that it was a Monday. What normal human being actually enjoyed getting out of their soft bed, warm and comfortable, at the god forsaken hour of one in the afternoon after a night of hard parting and excessive drinking? Perhaps combining wine and vodka had been a bad idea. One of those days he was going to learn from his mistakes... Soon. He ran his fingers through his messy hair and pulled a t-shirt over his naked upper body. His feet dragged lazily behind him as he left his bedroom, the sheets crumpled and unmade of course. Well, there was only one cure for a Monday morning so awful he considered pulling out his arc reactor... Coffee. Lovely, sugar saturated, dark coffee. He felt better at the simple thought alone.

He didn't meet any of the others on his journey from bed to kettle and he offered a silent thanks for that to whatever deity chose to listen. It wasn't like he didn't like the company of the other Avengers but he was simply not in the mood to switch on his wit, because he did have a reputation to keep and unfortunately it being Monday morning didn't excuse the absence of his sass. Banner rarely left the top of the tower, cooped up with his life's research like some princess waiting for a knight in shining armour. Natasha and Clint were on some top secret something or other, S.H.I.E.L.D. related. It would take Tony all of ten minutes to hack into their system and find out what this secret was but then he risked another scolding from papa Fury... Definitely not in the mood for that... Thor was still in Asgard of course and he was grateful for that. He really liked the guy but every time he made an appearance things got destroyed and he'd just finished re-building Stark Tower. Which left the good 'ol Captain. He was somewhere around the base as well unless he stepped out to familiarise himself with current events. It seemed every time he returned from one of his walks he was ten times more confused and Tony simply loved messing with him. He'd even managed to convince him JARVIS could read his mind unless he wore an aluminium hat until Natasha took pity on the poor chap and spoiled Tony's fun.

He rubbed his eye with the back of his hand when he finally arrived at his destination and made his way to the kettle. His finger drummed impatiently against the counter for the water to boil faster. There was a faint throbbing keeping the beat of his own drumming across his temple and he hastily stopped. He was no stranger to a hang-over though, so he made peace with the fact that every tiny noise would send a spark of pain through his nervous system. The birds outside his window, the scraping of his cup as he took it from the shelf, the sound of Loki sipping his own drink... It actually took him a moment to realize what his muddled mind was trying to tell him. He turned slowly to the table behind him and sure as the sun set every evening, there sat the god of lies in the flesh and blood, in one of his chair, drinking from one of his cups. He openly gawked at the figure, too surprised to say anything and Loki smirked at his expression.

'Don't you know staring is rude?' He brought the bright red mug to his lips, giving Tony time to recover from his initial shock.

'Wh-What are you drinking?' He had no idea why that was the first question he needed to ask but it happened regardless. Loki raised an eyebrow and his smile widened a little more.

'Mint tea. I do hope you don't mind me helping myself.' The genius looked in the direction of the tea cabinet before moving his eyes back to the cup held between Loki's pale fingers.

'I do mind. I most certainly do mind.' His brain was already assessing the situation and putting the puzzle pieces into a tangible picture, though a lot of the fragments were missing. His voice easily adapted that devil-may-care tone he was so famous for and his frame looked deceptively relaxed, like Loki popping into his kitchen was one of the most natural things conceivable. He even leaned back against the counter as if bored. 'Since when are you here anyway?' He meant Earth but Loki wasn't one for straight answers.

'If your clock is correct, since three hours ago. My, you sure do sleep a lot. Oh and Thor is going to make an appearance shortly. You may want to hide all the breakable items around your home.' Loki sighed, remembering the amount of times his brother ended up destroying his own things. The man couldn't exercise finesse if his life depended on it!

'Thanks for the advice.' Tony wondered if he could call Banner and, more importantly, if Banner would have enough time to get there before Loki killed him. Why else would he be there after all, if not to kill them? 'JARVIS?'

'Yes sir?' The British voice filtered through the walls and Loki barely resisted the impulse to turn and look behind him, even if he was already aware of Stark's artificial butler.

'Why is there a psychotic Norse mythological murderer in my kitchen and why didn't I get a heads up?'

'That's harsh...' Loki mumbled under his breath but his smile didn't dissipate in the slightest.

'But true.' Tony did not take his eyes off of the other, like one wouldn't take their eyes off a venomous viper.

'Not my forte.' Their back and forth was interrupted by JARVIS' reply.

'Sir, you are the one who specifically told me not to bother you after a night of wild partying. I believe you mentioned I shouldn't bother even if Freddy from Elm Street was waiting outside your door to kill you.' That did sound vaguely familiar...

'That didn't apply to insane aliens JARVIS. For future reference, file everything I say under sarcastic.' Loki chuckled and relished the peppery taste of mint coating his tongue.

'Sir.' Tony regretted his earlier wish to be alone... What was the point of having a base where the Avengers could assemble if someone like Loki could literally just walk in?! It defied all purposes of the group's creation. Damn, it was too early for him to think properly... He rubbed his hand across his forehead but it didn't do much for the growing pain inside his skull.

'Drink camomile tea. It helps with headaches.' Tony glanced at Loki whose eyes were looking around the kitchen, anywhere but at him. Why had he said that? Why did he even care if the mortal was suffering? He should be happy, not worried. 'It's a relaxant I believe.'

'Thanks... I think.' The human looked at Loki for a few more seconds before he shrugged, deciding to deal with the shock of receiving actual helpful advice from Loki of all guys. It was strange to say the least! Tony turned to the kettle and poured the hot water into his cup, one hand reaching for the coffee pot but then he changed his mind and grabbed a bag of camomile tea instead. He was already sufficiently awake anyway, courtesy of Loki's impromptu appearance. He missed the slight curve of the god's lips, not in a smirk but a small smile which he quickly turned wicked when Tony turned towards him once more. 'So why exactly are you here anyway?'

'That is a good question-'

Before Loki could string together a plausible lie, a noise that sounded suspiciously similar to glass breaking came from the adjacent room. Tony startled and took a step towards the door but Loki looked at the heavens in frustration.

'What was that?!'

'Thor is here.' The owner of the tower glanced at Loki who only crossed his legs and took another drink from his calming tea. Sure enough, a moment later the blond thunderer barged into the kitchen while securing Mjolnir at his side.

'Loki! Is this where you went? To the Midgardian glass tower?' The trickster glanced at Thor and sneered. Oh how he yearned to turn him into a frog... But he really didn't wish to anger the mortal, Tony Stark. Why? Hel if he knew.

'I always knew you were dumb but apparently you're blind too.' He resented Thor's presence even more than usually for some inexplicable reason. He wanted to be alone with the man of iron because... His mind drew a complete blank as to that.

'Are you sure you want to be here? Think about this carefully!' Tony didn't understand what was going on at all but he decided to keep out of it for the moment at least. Who knew, maybe their senseless conversation would shed some light on a few things. Loki was silent as he contemplated the question only to arrive at the conclusion that yes, he wanted to be there and no, he didn't know why. They, Thor and himself, had left Asgard early that morning, receiving safe passage from Heimdall after Thor gave him direct orders from Odin himself. It seemed Frigga did manage to convince him that Loki deserved a second chance though how, Thor had no idea. Loki voiced his expressed wish to go to Midgard, much to Thor's surprise, and refused to say anything else on the subject. Fortunately the older god knew exactly why the trickster was behaving so oddly and seemed unable to keep still. As soon as the Bifrost zapped them through the space between the two realms, Loki vanished. Freya told Thor the potion would bring Loki to his soul mate and he'd spent much of the morning looking for his brother, only to find him in the last place he'd ever dream of seeing him. The Avengers' household! Loki's soul mate was one of the Avengers! Thor glanced at Tony and his eyes widened in shock and maybe a little horror. What were the chances that someone as intelligent and aware of Loki's many, many antics was ever going to fall in love with him?! They were all doomed!

'I... If I didn't want to be here why would I be here?' Loki found himself growling the words, something inside him suddenly become defensive. He hadn't done anything wrong so why was Thor interrogating him?! Hadn't he been the one to bring him to Midgard, Odin having specified directly he wished the older god to look after him like he was some misbehaving child? He felt his skin heat up and he barred his teeth viciously at Thor, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

'Not that this isn't very entertaining, but mind bringing me up to speed?' Tony was certain that if he didn't intervene anytime soon he would have to spend another few months repairing his precious tower. Loki looked about ready to slit someone's throat and he wasn't crazy enough to put it past him. He'd done far worse after all...

'It's a little complicated...' Thor looked sheepish all of a sudden and he glanced at the floor, his hand running through his long hair. Loki inhaled a calming breath and resumed his stoic posture while Tony remembered why he hated Monday's so damn much.

'That tells me nothing. Why is he out of jail, or whatever you guys have in...' He waved his hand searching for the name of their home.

'Asgard.' Loki supplied the answer.

'Right. I though you said you'll take him back home for a befitting punishment. What happened to that?' Tony and Thor regarded each other and Loki enjoyed being left on the side line. He regarded the conversation with amusement, very curious to see the human's face when he'll learn he'd been pardoned for his crimes.

'Loki has been trialled according to our laws and sentenced to incarceration but...' Thor trailed off, having forgotten to consider how he was to tell his human friends about Loki's pardon. They'd made no attempt to hide their contempt for the trickster, and rightfully so, and bringing them news of his freedom would be insulting. They didn't know Loki like he did. They hadn't been raised with him, played with him, cried with him. They wouldn't be so quick to forgive his wrongs.

'What? Why isn't he still incarcerated then?' Loki smirked, drawing Tony's attention to him.

'He has been pardoned for his crimes because of him. I also received my freedom back, just so you know.' He didn't hide his smugness as he gestured towards the reason of his absolution. Tony's jaw dropped and he looked accusingly at Thor. It was exactly the reaction Loki had hoped for.

'You've got to be joking. A few months? That's what you people think a few thousand lives are worth? Or are we ants just not important enough to you boots? Your analogy, not mine.' Loki was quite fond of that one, if he was being honest, but he didn't feel like making a snide remark. He wasn't sorry for his actions, maybe a little, but they didn't seem quite as glorious as before... He glanced at his reflection staring back at him from the dark green liquid in his half-empty cup, feeling Tony's hateful glance on him the entire time.

'That isn't it at all. Midgard is under my protection and I can assure you I care very much for its safety. It is because of that Loki has been given this second chance.' Both men turned to look at Thor, neither entirely sure how that made any sense. 'I understand this may seem absurd but trust me. This is the only way.' Tony and Loki glanced at each other, sharing a moment of kindred bewilderment, but Thor didn't elaborate. Frigga advised him to keep quiet about the love potion, at least until he was certain Loki's mate was hopefully showing signs of affection towards the trickster. She hadn't known that mate was going to be an Avenger and one of Thor's closest friends who was as adapt at being sly as Loki himself. This was not going to be easy at all...

'Stark? Why is there glass everywh- What is he doing here?!' And they were going to get even more difficult, go figure. The three turned to look at the new arrival and Steve immediately assumed a defensive position when spotting Loki. Unfortunately he was missing his shield or the trickster would be flying through a wall right about then.

'Ah, Captain. It is good to see you again!' Steve only noticed Thor then and he looked from Loki to Thor to Loki to Tony who shrugged, resigned to drinking his camomile tea while all hell broke loose around him. Mondays were fucked up and this was proof.

'Thor? Why are you here? Isn't he supposed to be in jail or something?' The god of mischief grinned at the deja-vu and threw Steve a mockingly hurt look. One which was rewarded with a hostile glare.

'I think I've worn out my welcome here.'

'What welcome?' But only Loki heard Tony's input and he smiled to himself at the question.

'Therefore I shall take my leave, for now. Have fun explaining the situation to them Thor.' Loki chucked softly before vanishing, taking the cup of tea with him but only Tony noticed that and he made a mental note to ask for it back later. He was amazed at his own nonchalant behaviour... He was acting like having a god of chaos around for tea was something which happened quite a bit these days. Well it wasn't like he hadn't been through worse and, at least for the time being, Loki seemed to behave himself. He wondered how long that would last...

'Guys? Why is there glass all over the floor and why is Thor here?' They all glanced at Bruce and Tony burst into laughter.

Loki studied the empty cup as if he was trying to decipher its intended purpose. Why was he still holding it and what was preventing him from throwing it over the side of the roof he was currently standing on? A small voice inside him whispered the name of the original owner and he cringed, feeling his blood heat up in that strange way again. What was the matter with him? Finally he placed the cup, very gently, on the brick edge rising to his waist and turned his attention to look over the Midgardian settlement. It was a bright and busy day and the tiny humans rushed about like busy bees. Loki wondered if they were in such a hurry precisely because they were aware of their fragility and their short existence? He had to admit, even if he would never say it aloud, it was impressive how they managed to achieve so much considering one human life-spam was no more than a week when compared to his centuries of life. Tony Stark was practically a child compared to him yet his intelligence was to be admired. There it was again! That warm sensation when he thought of that man! Why?

Loki shook his head, hoping to physically dislodge those confusing thoughts and emotions, and wondered instead why he was there at all. He'd felt that inexplicable pull towards Midgard the previous night and as soon as he set foot on this realm's soil he felt himself rushing towards a destination he couldn't even name but one he couldn't resist. It took him over an hour to realize the pull was bringing him towards Stark Tower, the bright letters attracting attention from miles away. Even if he didn't want to go anywhere near there, at least so he told himself, he found himself in the hallway, the one which Thor destroyed with one fell swoop, pacing the vacant room furiously. Something about the area calmed him and that insufferable boiling began to cool down. Loki would have immediately suspected sorcery but then he remembered this was Midgard... He'd eventually resigned himself to whatever was controlling him like a puppet and drowned his anxiety in mint tea. He was actually at the third cup by the time Tony woke up.

He visibly flinched when he re-played the moment when the human walked into the kitchen. For a second he'd been petrified, turned into a living statue, the cup half raised to his lips. Fortunately Tony seemed too dazed to notice his presence until he managed to compose himself, at least on the surface, but his emotions were running rampart. He'd never felt so chaotic before. His heart drummed furiously, his blood warmed and cooled hectically, thin rivers of perspiration ran down the back of his neck which were luckily out of the human's sight, even his toes curled inside his boots! For that one petrifying second, his eyes had been unable to stop studying the smaller man, running over the body hungrily and his tongue flicked out to lick his lower lip before he understood what was happening. It was doing the same thing from the memory alone and he nearly bit it off in his frustration.

He wanted to go back...He'd barely left, but he wanted to return to the ugly tower and be near the human who so easily resisted his control before. He wanted to touch his glowing heart and kiss his lips... His eyes opened in horror. Had he just thought of kissing the mortal man? A faint blush crawled up his neck and he pressed his palm across his mouth to muffle a gasp. Realization struck like one of Thor's lightning bolts. Thor... this was Thor's fault!

The love potion worked...

TA-DAH! we have an epiphany ladies and gentlemen! XD Things can only get better from here... (you would think...)

HAVE A LOVELY DAY!