The votes are in and we have a ship. Doesn't mean we can't have caring Tony. So review and let me know how it sits.

~JM

Blood ran in rivulets, changed from red to black to brilliant blues. It made patterns of pinned butterflies that moved against reason to imprint themselves on paper made soft with wear. Butterflies screamed in their dying, the sound of it echoing through the empty spaces of the trickster's mind to create a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors that twisted and writhed until it formed the keen edge of a knife. And Loki was staring down the blade with a blank expression. The cold weight of it sent shockwaves travelling through his arm. On the tip, where dust motes danced like angels encased in a pale blue light, he heard his name being called in a cacophony of voices.

Loki envisioned tear-streaked faces and bloodied lips before his senses were overwhelmed. He could smell blood and burning skin. The sound of his own screaming resounded in the heavy air.

"Loki," Tony's muffled voice called.

The trickster blinked and reality came back to him. He was surrounded by a heavy blanket that was pulled from over his head.

"Still alive, princess?" Tony sat on the edge of the bed. Dark circles around his eyes showed lack of sleep but even still he gave a half-hearted smile.

"Did you put me here?" Loki asked as he realized he was in the billionaire's bed.

"Nope, this is all you. That's what four days with no sleep does."

"How long was I asleep?"

Tony looked at his watch. "Fourteen hours. I haven't seen anyone sleep that long since my roommate at MIT after his finals." He took a breath and seemed about to add something when there was a knock at the door.

"Tony, it's me," Banner's muffled voice came through the door. He opened it with Tony's permission and leaned against the doorframe. He held his glasses in his hand as he looked at Loki and said, "Thor's looking for you."

"No," Tony replied quickly, his face hardening. "Tell him he's sleeping."

"I'm not going to lie to him."

Tony shrugged indifferently. "Then I'll tell him."

"Neither of you need lie for me," Loki interrupted as he stood. "I'll see him but after I've cleaned. I smell of Stark."

Loki stood beneath the warm spray of the shower as he leaned against the tiled walls, hands clasped over his face. The water bounced off xylophone ribs and razorblade shoulders, easing tension from muscles until Loki gave a quiet sigh.

"Breakfast," Tony exclaimed setting down a plate of what seemed to be everything in his refrigerator. "Well, technically it's lunch now."

Loki glanced between the food and Tony. "I'm not hungry."

"You can't not eat. Have you looked at yourself lately?" Tony asked, a touch of anger in his voice. "I see you're really working on your concentration camp physique. Congratulations, you look like hell."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "Are you angry with me?"

"No, I'm not," Tony snapped, short of patience born from lack of sleep. He paused to take a breath and folded his arms tightly over his chest. "I'm not," he repeated calmly. "Just eat something. Please."

Loki shifted to look at Tony over his shoulder. "I'm not a child and I certainly don't need you to tell me what I need to do."

Tony nodded slowly as Loki walked away, his lips pressed in a thin line. Before the trickster could make it to the elevator, Tony was picking him up in his arms despite violent cries of protest.

"I'm not eating your week old leftovers," Loki snapped, pushing vainly at Stark's chest in an attempt to get down. "Put me down, you insipid mortal. You arrogant, egotistical, waste of—"

"You know that might actually hurt if I knew you meant it," Tony snorted.

"Of course I mean it." Loki's lip went up in a prideful sneer.

"Except that it was my bed you wandered into," Tony replied, meeting Loki's indignant stare. He set him down but kept him close by grasping his hand gently. "And it's my name you called last night. I care, you know."

The nape of the god's neck was turning pink and his eyes dropped to the floor. "Be quiet, Stark."

Tony shook his head. "I want you to hear it because he was a liar."

"Stop," Loki ordered quietly. "Let go of my hand."

"Tell me he was a liar. Thanos," Loki's hand gripped Tony's tight at the name, "said that no one wanted you, no one cared. Thor cares, your mother cares."

"They want something that no longer exists."

"Hey, I care. I want you here and I—"

Loki looked at Tony from beneath his lashes, eyes blazing with a mix of anger and pleading. "You're taking liberties with me, and you forget who I am. I'm not a friend, Stark, and I cannot be consoled with mere words." He took his hand from Tony's grasp. "It seems we have both confused our feelings. I cannot let that continue, but I do give my thanks for your kindness, however misguided it may be. I'll return to my own rooms. With your…computer watching, I doubt you'll need to worry about anything I may do."

Tony paused for a fraction of a second before he said, "You're scared. Don't tell me you're not because I see it every damn day. I can help fix this."

"I'm not one of your machines, this cannot be fixed."

"Bullshit. Don't you trust me?"

"The more pressing question is do you trust me?" Loki asked. "Even though it's been told that I am the father of lies and my nature is deception." He paused for a second but did not wait for an answer. "My mother convinced Thor the best course of action is to return to Asgard. That is what he wishes to talk about."

Tony glanced to the side then back at Loki, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "You're not going."

"I should face Odin. Besides, the fact remains that I cannot stay here, not as powerless as I am."

There was a heavy silence that occupied the span of several heartbeats. They stood there, neither looking each other in the eye but fixed on mouths and hands. Loki clenched his hands into fists, breathing slowly as his head swam with exhaustion. Tony's jaw worked in some semblance of anger and disappointment while he thought through the maybes and could have beens of the both of them.

"We can protect you," Tony said quietly.

"Who am I to meekly rely on others?" Loki replied. "I can return to Asgard and regain some of my power. What Odin decides—"

"You're an idiot. Thor said if you went back to Asgard there would be a greater chance of Thanos finding you. What if he tries to take you again? What if, even against Thor, he manages it?"

"I'll die before I go back to that."

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep steadying breath. "That's it; you'd rather die a god than stay here like the rest of us." Tony glared. "There aren't nearly enough words to describe the type of idiot you are."

Before the trickster could reply, Tony turned to walk away with his shoulders tight with irritation and his hands clenched unconsciously into fists. The god watched him for a moment, jaw set and eyes following with a look of distress. After a second, he looked determined not to pursue the conversation, but his eyes took on an edge of determination and he stalked after him, mouth twisted in a snarl of frustration as he grabbed Tony's arm to make the billionaire look at him.

Tony wretched his arm from Loki's grasp. "I dragged you down to the lab while you were screaming and choking on your own vomit. I had to listen to you scream in your sleep and call my name. And you're going to risk going back to him just so you can have your powers back. He wouldn't let you kill yourself before what makes you think he wouldn't stop you next time?"

"Why does this matter so much to you? What do you want of me?" Loki demanded in a low growl. He grabbed fistfuls of the other's shirt and shook him desperately. "I've done nothing, am nothing. There's no purpose for me, no usefulness except to be kept as a trophy. Is that what you want?"

Tony was about to shout back, his face all twisted in a rage. But he took a breath and counts back from five. He puts his hands lightly on the other's forearms. "If I wanted a prize I'd dig through a cereal box," he replied softly. "I just want you."

"Why?" Loki asked in a breath. "What do you think I can give you?"

Tony closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't want anything from you."

"We both know that's not quite true." Loki pressed his lips to Tony's softly, his hands loosening their grip on the oil-stained shirt.

It was a soft and easy kiss but they were losing themselves in it. Tony put his hands to Loki's waist to press hips to hips while the god cards his fingers through unruly hair.

"Stop," Tony said as he pulled back slightly, a paper thin distance between their lips. "Don't do this just because I want—"

Loki kissed him, if just to stop his talking. "Who ever said I didn't want to?"

"Still, this is distracting." Tony pulled back, kept one hand on Loki's hip and rub the back of his neck with the other. "I'll give Steve a call, tell him to pick something up."

"If I'm to eat then I suggest you give your body time to rest," Loki replied with a quiet sigh.

Tony shrugged. "I'm not tired."

"You have watched over me as I slept, I can return the favor. Unless…I can leave if that would make you more comfortable." The way he said it sounded like a fact but he didn't seem hurt by it. He looked at Tony, head tilted slightly in curiosity as he waited for an answer.

"Are you asking if I trust you?"

"Yes."

Tony replied by taking the god's hand and slipping it beneath his shirt to let his fingers rest on the Arc Reactor. "I know you haven't just been sitting around since you've been here."

"Was it wrong of me to be curious?" Loki asked with genuine interest.

"No, but that means you know what this is and what it does."

Loki slowly lifted Tony's shirt to reveal the glowing life support beneath. And he traced the edge of it with his thumb, gazing from lowered lids were a reverent stare. There was a melancholy in his look. And Loki kissed Tony again as he hands roamed the billionaire's bare skin and settled on the small of his back.

"You could kill me while I was sleeping," Tony murmured around the kiss.

"I could."

"But you won't."

"I would never."