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Chapter Six

When Loki woke up and opened his eyes, he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. It took him roughly one second to remember where he was and the events of the previous night. Looking over, he saw Stark also on his back, their bodies pressed together from shoulder to knee (unfortunately not Stark's doing, he had to admit), but fortunately the man was still asleep.

He slowly edged himself slightly away, leaving their arms touching and nothing else. He was relieved that he had woken first, saving himself the embarrassment of Stark knowing he had practically cuddled up to him.

Still looking at Stark's sleeping form, he was afforded the rare opportunity to examine the glowing circle in his chest, normally hidden by clothes. Apart from the fact that it seemed to protect Stark from possession, at least by way of his staff, he knew nothing about it. He had to admit the soft blue glow was rather mesmerizing. Studying Stark's face once more to confirm that he was still asleep, Loki rolled up onto his side to get a better angle to view the strange object. Looking down on it, he could see more details of the shape. There was a smaller circle in the middle with multiple spokes coming out from it. The center seemed to glow more brightly than the rest…

He leaned closer, drawn in by the light that seemed to grow brighter the longer he looked at it. Without much thought, he reached towards it, resting two fingers in the center. The circle almost seemed to buzz against his skin, not dissimilar to magic. A more mechanical energy, certainly, not the untameable rush that was magical energy, but there was something there.

Fascinated, he dragged his fingers to the edge, tracing around where metal met flesh, trying to see how it was connected.

He was disrupted by a shout, and the torso beneath his fingers jolting up and away from his hand.

"What the fuck, Reindeer Games?" Stark shouted at him, eyes wide, chest rising and falling with rapid breaths.

"I-"

"No. No. I don't even care. Just don't. That is absolutely off limits. Never, ever touch my reactor again, got it?

Loki stared, slightly taken aback by Stark's violent reaction. His eyes seemed alight with anger and a significant amount of fear.

"I apologize. It interested me, so I looked more closely at it. I didn't realize-"

"Oh, it interested you, okay, I'm sorry, you're right, that gives you every right to start pawing at it!"

"I wasn't pawing at anything, Stark, it hums with energy I'm unfamiliar with, I simply wanted to-"

"I don't care if it hummed your goddamn name out loud to you, don't fucking touch it."

"Why not? What is it?"

Loki was legitimately intrigued now. Anything important enough to Stark to set him off this badly was worthy of his interest.

"None of your fucking business, that's what. All you need to know about it is that it is mine, I created it, it stays where it fucking is, and you don't go anywhere fucking near it. Understand?"

"Well, no, not really. It clearly is a power source. But if it was simply a power source for your suit, it would be built into your suit, not into your person, no? So what is it, Stark? What is its purpose? I've been curious about it ever since it protected you during my first visit to this tower…"

"Yeah, a visit during which you, one, tried to take over my mind, and two, threw me out of a goddamned window. So forgive me for not wanting to tell you all of my secrets."

"That was quite a long time ago. I believe you and your team agreed many months ago that I was not entirely myself then? The fact is, your…reactor, did you call it? Yes, your reactor has an energy to it not unlike magic. Magic does not exist in this realm and cannot be wielded by Midgardians. As magic is my expertise, I would appreciate an explanation."

"Too damn bad. It's not magic, I'll tell you that much. So you can feel free to back right off about it."

"Why does it glow?"

"What about this conversation are you not getting? I don't want to talk about it, it doesn't concern you, leave it."

This was a game Loki could play all day. As the god of lies, verbal sparring and dragging out facts that people would rather keep hidden was right up his alley. Especially when the secret was so alluring. It practically made him feel like his old self, drawing out the truth bit by bit. He smiled.

"Well, in a way, it does concern me. It glows very brightly at night. Quite difficult to sleep with it lighting up the entire room. So an explanation of it's significance-"

"Oh, yeah right, I'm sure it's the nightlight that's making it difficult to sleep, not those debilitating nightmares of yours. I'm sure if it wasn't for my reactor, you would have slept like a baby last night…" Stark trailed off, smirk fading, as he looked back at Loki's face, which was morphing from borderline playful to downright furious.

He could feel the anger bubbling up in him. Of course Stark would use last night's incident against him. Of course he would throw that back into Loki's face. He had been an absolute fool to divulge anything at all to Stark last night, never would have if he hadn't been so vulnerable from reliving those horrors, if Stark hadn't opened up to him first, if Stark hadn't been rubbing his back...

He surprised even himself by the amount of betrayal he felt at having his weakness thrown back in his face. This is why he couldn't trust anyone. This is why he was better off alone. Because it didn't matter if it was family, a friend, a soul mate, if such a thing even existed, no one could truly be trusted. In the end, the only one he could trust was himself. He should be ashamed for ever divulging anything to this man.

He refocused his glare on Stark, trying to mask his hurt with his anger.

"Might I remind you, Stark, that I am a god. I possess powers you could never even dream of. I can end your pathetic existence with the snap of my fingers. I've been benevolent so far in this miserable predicament, but push me, and you won't like how hard I will push back. I don't have any particular desire to murder you, but please do not mistake one tired moment of misjudgment for any sort of weakness to be exploited."

Stark's face was deceptively impassive, but Loki could see the man's pulse pounding rapidly in his neck and his nostrils flaring with quick, shallow breaths.

"Loki, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. You just startled me, I wasn't think-"

"No, clearly you were not thinking. You also clearly weren't thinking when you refused to answer my extraordinarily reasonable question about the object in your chest. Surely you realize, one way or another, that if I want an answer I shall get one."

"Hey, you're in the Avenger's Tower, surrounded by the team that already defeated you once, I'd be more careful about making threats. Do I need to call your dear brother in here?"

Fury still boiling in his blood, although he had to admit it was aimed in equal parts at Stark and himself, he still felt the need to prove he had no weakness. To prove he was not someone to be betrayed without consequence. And to prove (partly to himself, if he was honest), that even though he might be on the Avenger's soil, Stark did not have the upper hand on him. This bond was horrible enough, practically making him claustrophobic with how trapped he felt in it, without having Stark dangling threats over him.

He and Stark were sitting upright on the bed now, facing one another, both having taken on more defensive positions during the argument.

With a snarl, Loki put both hands on Stark's shoulders and shoved him down onto his back using one hand to hold both of his wrists over his head, and pressing a shin across Stark's thighs, leaning over him and effectively pinning him down.

Stark's eyes were wide as saucers, staring up at him in shock. Clearly he had thought Loki was tame now, thought he could be manipulated, be bullied, after just one bad night and one fucked up binding spell, he thought he had some sort of power over him. Loki hated to feel weak. Hated to feel manipulated. Certainly hated to feel bullied. And most of all, hated to be ashamed. And he was ashamed. Horribly ashamed that he had opened up to Stark, and with so little effort on the man's part. A gentle touch on his back, whispered words of comfort, clearly all a ruse now, and Loki had cracked, his story spilling forth. The god of lies, fooled by a mortal with the subtlety of a brick. Pathetic.

He focused back on the man he had pinned, making eye contact briefly and enjoying the fear in Stark's eyes, before dropping his gaze to the reactor in his chest. He reached out and laid his fingers upon it again, taking a moment to savor the buzzing energy it was emitting, before resuming his path from earlier, tracing his fingers around the edge of it.

Stark jumped under his hand, torso twisting, but couldn't move away. It took virtually no effort on Loki's part to hold him down. He might not be as strong as Thor, but his strength certainly still far surpassed that of a Midgardian.

"Loki, please don't," Stark gasped out, panic lacing his voice. "I'll tell you what it does, just don't touch it, let go…"

Loki looked back at Stark's face and smirked at the fear there, too pleased by this redemption of last night's humiliation to really take into account how much panic was dancing in those eyes.

"Please don't trouble yourself, at first I was hoping to hear from you what it did, but now, I'm more inclined to figure it out for myself. Now stay still," Loki breathed out, mischief dancing in his eyes.

He spread his hand out so that it covered the entire object, then gripped his fingers around the edge. He would take it out, examine it, let the mortal sweat for a minute, and return it to him. He would have his answers, would make Stark aware of the fact that, spell or no spell, he had no control over Loki, and would cause no real harm, just a healthy dose of fear on the part of the other.

Tightening his fingers, he began to pull.

Tony felt Loki's fingers spread out across the reactor and felt panic wash over him in a wave. This was it, Loki was going to kill him. Finally one of his stupid, half assed remarks had been too much, and now he was going to die for it. He had been so idiotic to think that he and Loki could work together to figure this out, that they might be able to have some sort of truce, that he might be able to trust Loki for at least long enough to break the spell.

And now the fingers were tightening around the edges and he felt a horrible, gut-wrenching sensation of the arc reactor being tugged on. He felt every fraction of a millimeter of movement, felt metal scrape metal and tug on his skin, felt his heart rate accelerate to the point that it was a miracle he wasn't in cardiac arrest already.

"Stop!" He gasped, "Stop, Loki please, please, you're going to kill me, please don't do this, God, Loki, wait, please…" he begged his stream of consciousness out loud, too freaked out to form coherent sentences. Panic was sweeping over him, making him feel too hot and too cold all at once, making his pulse pound in his ears and his breath come in short bursts. His throat seemed to be getting tight, making him choke on his own words and he could feel his wrists twitching in Loki's grasp.

Loki halted his movements, and looked back at Tony's face, a tiny bit of confusion written in his features. He seemed to finally take into account how panicked the man lying beneath him was, and looked back down at the reactor, then back at Tony's face.

"Stark, don't be dramatic. I'm not going to kill you, I just want to look at it, I'll give it back."

"If you take it out, I'll die before you could even hope to put it back," Tony said, still terrified, but able to form somewhat coherent thoughts now that Loki seemed to be listening to him, and didn't seem set on killing him right in this instant.

Loki recoiled violently at Tony's words, as though he had been struck, immediately letting go of the reactor, although not yet letting off Tony's wrists or legs.

"How is that possible? What is this? Other mortals don't require one to live," Loki said, meeting Stark's eyes and looking genuinely puzzled, and maybe even a tiny bit regretful.

"No, others don't. I do. I have pieces of shrapnel, sharp metal, in my chest. The arc reactor prevents them from migrating into my heart and shredding it. It's a magnet. It's just a complicated fucking magnet, but if you take it out, I will die. So please, please leave it where it is," Tony said, his breathing evening out slightly now that it seemed clear that Loki had never intended to kill him. Scare the shit out of him, yes, manhandle him into submission, yes, but maybe not actually kill him. Actually, now that Stark had a chance to study his face since it seemed Loki had given up on touching the reactor, he was pretty sure he could see a tiny bit of remorse and uncertainty creeping into his features.

"Ah. In that case, I believe my actions were perhaps more threatening than I had originally intended."

"No shit," Tony breathed.

Loki glared at him for the comment, but it lacked the malice of a few moments prior, for which Tony was incredibly grateful. Now that he had a moment to reflect, he was feeling worse and worse about his comment that had set this whole thing off. Really, it wasn't fair of him to harass Loki about the nightmare thing. After all, Tony was practically an expert on them, and knew how exhausting and emotionally draining they could be. And he had certainly felt embarrassed before when anyone caught a glimpse of them, even if it had only ever been Pepper or Bruce. So to have a total stranger, once enemy, even, bare witness to one…yeah, he could see how that would be upsetting. And he knew from what Thor told him that Loki already had issues with inferiority and trust. Tony doubted he had helped things with his wiseass comment.

"Look, what I said earlier, I really am sorry. I didn't mean it, you just had me a little defensive with all of the reactor stuff," Tony said. It was as good of an apology as he was capable of.

Loki glared at him, but with none of the ferocity from earlier.

"I understand," was all he said. But his eyes looked blank, his face seemed closed off, and his lips were in a very thin line.

No, Tony didn't think he understood at all. Somehow he felt like he had crossed some invisible line in the sand, had somehow done more damage than he realized. But he didn't have a clue as to how to fix it. Or if he even wanted to. This whole incident had made him feel that perhaps it would be better if they kept as much distance...metaphorically speaking, of course…between them as possible.

Loki was still staring down blankly at him, still halfway hunched over him, when Tony began to notice how much his shoulders and wrists were aching. Being pinned by an immobile god while trying to thrash around was apparently rough on one's joints. He shifted his hips and shoulders a bit, trying to help some of the strain they were under.

Loki seemed to snap out of it when Tony moved, gracefully swinging his leg off of Tony's and letting go of one wrist, using his hand wrapped around the other to pull Tony upright once more. He left his hand gripped around Tony's wrist, but in a loose enough grasp that had Tony wanted to pull away, he would have been able to.

Tony rolled his shoulders a few times, and bent and flexed his legs, trying to loosen everything back up. Loki's strength was actually mildly frightening.

"I've marked you," Loki said, breaking the uncomfortable silence with a somewhat equally uncomfortable statement. Tony blinked at him.

"Um, what?"

"Your wrists," Loki clarified, looking down at them. Tony followed suit, and saw that purple bruises were indeed forming around his wrists where Loki had crushed them with his grip.

"Oh. Marked. Right. Well, I've certainly had worse, don't worry too much about it," Tony said, but don't fucking do it again, he thought.

"I can heal them, if you will allow it," Loki offered, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"What do you mean, heal them?" Tony asked, puzzled by what was apparently being offered.

"Not all magic is destructive. There are healing spells, as well. It would be simple to heal bruises such as these," Loki explained, "But I believe I've done enough this morning without your consent, so I did want to ask before I did anything else."

Tony stared at him. Honestly, mood swings much? One moment he's a big ball of fury, snarling and threatening, the next he's offering to heal him, but only with his permission. Well, better late than never.

"Um, it's really no big deal, I didn't even notice-"

"It won't hurt."

Tony stared at Loki, and Loki stared back at Tony with something that almost looked pleading in his eyes. Like he actually hoped Tony would let him heal him with his voodoo shit. Well, fine, if he was so determined, so be it.

"Okay dude, whatever, have at it."

Loki wrapped his long fingers around both of Tony's wrists, gently this time, although it still made his stomach lurch and his pulse jump, and closed his eyes. If he felt Tony's change in pulse, he was kind enough not to comment.

Then, as Tony looked at Loki's hands wrapped around his wrists, he saw green light begin to engulf them. His eyes widened of their own accord. Sure, he knew Loki could do magic, he had even witnessed it a few times, but it was another thing entirely to have it affect him so directly.

His wrists were tingling, not in an entirely unpleasant way either, and a soothing cool feeling was spreading over them. Slightly awed, he watched as the bruises faded away in a matter of seconds. Loki opened his eyes back up, and lifted Tony's wrists up to eye level, turning each one over and examining it, bending each of the joints, and finally, releasing them back to Tony.

"Any lingering pain?"

"Uh, nope," Tony said, still somewhat shocked by the whole experience, "All good, thanks very much."

"Don't thank me too much, I was the cause of it to begin with," Loki said dryly. "And your legs? Are they harmed as well?"

Tony stared at him, trying to imagine Loki's tingly magic creeping around his upper thighs where his shin had pinned Tony down, and nope, no thank you, that did not need to happen. A few bruises were really no big deal.

"Ah, no, all good down there, thanks," Tony said quickly.

Loki was eyeing him suspiciously. Tony stared back trying to look innocent. Because, in fact, his legs hurt worse than his wrists did and he was fairly certain they would be bruised worse as well.

"I find that difficult to believe. I was leaning more heavily on your legs than on your wrists."

"I guess I just have strong legs. Nothing to worry about. Are you hungry? Let's get break-"

"Stark. I will not have you suffer like a martyr due to one ridiculous argument. I can heal something as simple as bruises through your clothes if that's what you're so worried about."

"Worried? I'm not worried. I'm fine. I just don't really feel the need to heal my legs when they already feel this great."

Loki tilted his head back with an exasperated sigh, then leaned forward, without his consent, Tony noted dryly, and placed one hand on each leg, just below what Tony believed constituted dangerous territory.

"Really not necess- ungh!" Tony grunted, as the tingling started anew. And yep, it was as uncomfortable as he had thought it would be. He really didn't need a criminal mastermind putting his tingly magic anywhere near below the belt on him, but he hadn't been given much of a choice.

Thank god for small favors, Tony thought, as he saw that once again Loki's eyes were closed and he seemed too focused on the green magic flowing out of his hands to notice much else. Meanwhile, Tony was trying his best not to let out a moan, or anything equally embarrassing. Because really, that was a pretty exquisite feeling. So good it made him want to slam his head backwards into the wall, repeatedly, until he fell unconscious and got out of this ridiculously uncomfortable situation.

Quicker than expected, it was over, tingles fading, and Loki opening his eyes and removing his hands.

"After you have breakfast," Loki said, apparently completely unaffected by the entire situation, "I need to continue work on breaking the spell. I have a number of texts at my apartment that may prove useful, and I would leave to work on it alone, but I'll be able to focus much better if I'm clearheaded and not in pain. So, I will teleport us both there."

Tony stared at him as though he had grown two heads. Teleport? To some mystery enemy apartment? Alone with said enemy? Danger, Will Robinson, danger.