So I just saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier yesterday and I kind of feel bad for making Bucky a douchebag in this story. Sorry Bucky!


Tony zoomed down the road, letting the roar of his engine calm him as he went 20 miles over the speed limit as he drove home. Tony was royally pissed. What made Loki want to go with Bucky of all people? What did that jackass have over Loki?

Tony's temple pulsed with frustration and he pressed down on the gas pedal even more, allowing the world to flash by. No one has ever ditched Tony Stark for anyone else. People usually ditched to hang out with him! Tony gritted his teeth, slammed on the breaks just as he came to his street and swung haphazardly around the corner. Tony slowed down by Loki's house just to glare at it purposefully before he pulled into his driveway.

"Jarvis, remind me to egg Loki's window," he said just as he switched his car into park.

His phone, which he had plugged into the car, lit up and Jarvis's voice boomed through the stereo. "I would advise against it, sir."

"Since when do I ever listen to you?" Tony said, rolling his eyes. He cut the engine and pulled his phone from the port.

"You don't," Jarvis replied honestly. Tony laughed. It was the truth. The only person Tony would ever listen to was his self. Tony silenced his A.I. by switching his phone off and placing it in his pocket.

Tony let himself into his house and kicked off his shoes off at the door. The place was still completely empty besides the boxes stacked in each room and the furniture that was all waiting in the living room. Tony dropped his backpack in the hall before walking down the hallway on his way to the kitchen.

Entering the kitchen, Tony's footsteps echoed across the tiles. The boxes covering the kitchen counters were accompanied by Tony's take-out boxes from his last few meals. They were starting to fill the kitchen with a rancid stink that almost had Tony gagging.

He went to the nearest box and ripped it open. Tony had been looking for garbage bags but all that were in this box were stacks of serving bowls. Shrugging, he grabbed one and placed his crumpled fast food bags in it. He set the bowl of garbage down outside the back door. He was too lazy to do anything more.

Pacing back into the kitchen, Tony eyed the fridge. He paused by it, contemplating. Maybe he should plug it in. That's what normal people do, right? Nah, when was he ever going to use it? He would probably order pizza or Chinese again tonight.

Tony made his way upstairs and his steps echoed across the empty house as he dragged himself up to the second floor. He walked past his father's completely empty room on the way to his own and he tried not to look in it as he passed. In his own room, Tony came to a complete stop, staring in dissatisfaction at the state of his room. Boxes everywhere with things only partially unpacked. His mattress was bare except the single comforter and pillow on top of it. His dresser stood on the other side of the room, untouched. Depressing.

Tony grumbled quietly to himself before going to his window. He looked out of it without thinking and he came face to face to the one person who had him in this crappy mood. Loki.

Loki looked up in surprise, moving his head away from where it had been pressed against the glass. His black hair fell into his eyes.

Tony adverted his gaze immediately and he took out his phone, activating Jarvis. "Play me some music, Jarvis. I'm in a cleaning mood." He threw the phone onto his bed.

"ACDC, I presume?"

"You know me so well," Tony grinned and he bent over a box and pulled out an ACDC poster and his box of tacks. He immediately went about the task of pinning the poster over his bed as Thunderstruck played on his phone.

After a moment, Tony stood back to admire his handiwork. Good, it was straight. He stared at it a good three seconds before he found himself glancing towards the window, searching out Loki. Huh. Loki was sitting out on the roof now, window wide open. He hoped that wasn't Loki's way of trying to talk to him. Tony scoffed and went to pick another poster out of the box.

Suddenly a soft thud hit the window. It startled Tony and he looked up, completely forgetting about his posters for the moment. Tony watched Loki gear up to throw another object at Tony's window and whatever it was hit Tony's window lightly.

Curious, Tony went to the window and took his time opening it. "You called, dear?" he said, leaning over the window sill to look at Loki.

The poor guy looked like a deer caught in headlights. Tony glanced at Loki's hands and noticed that they were full of marbles. "Why the hell are you throwing marbles at my window?"

Loki smirked at the marbles in his hands and said, "It's Thor's marble collection. I felt it was time for him to grow out of his obsession." He looked up at Tony and his smile wavered.

Tony smiled wryly back. "Did you have fun with Bucky today?"

"I didn't go with him," Loki said. He dropped his eyes and dumped his handful of marbles into the gutter. Tony watched in mild amusement as the marbles rolled down into the drain with a clang and dropped onto the lawn below.

"Why not?"

"Don't worry about it, Stark."

"I still don't see why you hang out with that jackass," Tony said.

"I don't hang out with him and he's not a jackass. He's just Bucky."

Tony frowned at Loki. "I'm not seeing your reasoning here, Loki. The guy dumped soda on your head today and made it very clear that you are his little bitch. Why don't you just sock a good one in his stupid, smug face?"

Loki was staring at Tony like he was the crazy one. "Are you quite done?" Loki asked, pulling himself to his feet and sweeping off the dirt on his jeans. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm coming over."

Tony shot straight up, hitting his head on the top of his window with a painful slam. The window shuttered and slipped down a few inches. Tony clutched at his throbbing head but glared at Loki. "Says who? You ditched me earlier."

"I need a place to lay low for a while," Loki said, eyeing Tony's roof.

"Hold on, you don't plan on jumping this gap, do you? It's got to be at least seven feet!"

"You say that like it's a lot," Loki replied, moving his feet into a position that made him look like he was about to start a marathon. "It'll be easy."

"Loki," Tony started but Loki wasn't listening. Tony held his breath as Loki ran two steps before launching himself across the narrow space between their houses. Loki hit Tony's roof hard but he landed easily and somewhat gracefully. "If you put any holes into my roof, you will pay for it."

Loki grinned triumphantly and made his way to the window. Tony stepped back to allow Loki to slip through. He dropped lightly onto the floor and he glanced around, scrutinizing Tony's room. "I think this is the room the old lady died in," Loki said nonchalantly.

Tony looked at Loki in horror. "How cruel! Why would you tell me that?"

Loki laughed and Tony almost felt his heart stop as he listened to the light, breathy sound. Tony pushed away the feeling to really look at Loki, trying to gage what Loki was up to this time. The kid really was bipolar.

"So what are you doing here, Loks?"

"Laying low, just like I said," he replied, going to one of Tony's boxes and peering inside. "My father is going to have a fit when he gets home."

"I wish my dad would yell at me," Tony said in response and suddenly he felt all of his air leave him as realized what he had just said. That had to have been the saddest and most pathetic thing he's ever said. Quickly, he tried to backpedal. "I mean, you know, because my dad is never around?" Damn it! Damn it! Damn. It. That was the opposite of what he wanted to say.

Loki was looking at him steadily and he didn't say anything. Instead, he blinked a few times before reaching down and pulling out a poster of a car, which Loki looked at scathingly. "You really have terrible taste in decorations, Stark." Loki glanced over at the phone and added as a second thought, "And in music."

Tony was grateful for the change in subject. "We take offense in that, don't we Jarvis?"

"We do, sir," Jarvis replied. "Even though we spend five hours a day listening to the same twenty songs."

Loki laughed. "What was that?"

"Jarvis," Tony said.

"You talked about it earlier at school… What is it?"

And that's how Tony was sucked into a long speech on how he had created Jarvis in the eighth grade and his interests in A.I. creation and his intense love for cars, computers, and 80's movies. In turn, Loki talked about his adoration for Harry Potter, science, and mozzarella sticks. Tony couldn't help but marvel at how dorky the school's punching bag was.

Before he knew it, Loki was helping him set up his room. Loki hung up all of Tony's posters which he proclaimed were all horrendous, or vile in the case of the poster of a naked chick on a Ferrari. An hour passed or maybe more (Tony wasn't keeping track of the time) when a loud crack was heard from the house next door.

Tony's eyes went to Loki and he found him glancing out the window with a short flash of fear in his stony expression. The alarm clock in Loki's hands slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a clang, only causing Loki to jump even more.

"Silence the music," Tony commanded Jarvis and he went to the far side of the room to flip of the lights. He didn't know why he did it, but it was his first instinct. The room was plunged into quiet dimness. The natural light outside wasn't completely gone but it certainly had faded and it casted a creepy glow over Loki's silhouette.

"Loks," Tony hissed.

Loki's head turned his way but Tony couldn't make out the expression on his face. Too dark. So Tony went to Loki just as light flooded from Loki's window and yanked the boy out of view of the window. Loki slid down to side against the wall just below Tony's window and Tony sat down dutifully next to him, watching him closely.

"Loki!" was Odin's growling call into the empty room.

Tony could feel Loki tense beside him. A protective flare fizzled through Tony's veins but he did his best to ignore it.

Odin continued to call Loki's name but left the room, leaving the light on. Odin's voice boomed just as loudly no matter where he was in the house.

"Where's Thor?" Tony whispered.

"Out with friends."

"Your mom?"

"Works late."

"What's Odin going to do to you?"

Loki finally looked at him and he smiled weakly. "I have absolutely no idea. Give me a good swat? Nothing I can't handle."

Tony froze at the confession. Or was it a confession? Loki could be joking, but the desperate look on Loki's face said otherwise. Odin was hurting Loki.

"And by 'a good swat' you mean…?"

"My father likes to get a punch in now and then," Loki said, shrugging. "Not a big deal."

Tony huffed angrily. "Not a—"

"Relax, Stark," Loki said forcefully. "I get my own punches in. Now shut up, would you?"

They sat there waiting for what seemed like hours. Odin raged on for a while but things went eerily quiet abruptly. Soon after there was a harsh, shuddering pounding on Tony's front door. Neither of them moved.

Sometime after Odin left and things went quiet again, but still neither moved. They just sat side by side as the room progressed into the dark.

And if Loki fell asleep on Tony's shoulder, well… let's just say Tony stayed still all night.


Sorry for taking so long to update! My semester is winding down and that means PROJECTS PROJECTS PROJECTS! I hate school.