Loki Carrots

I finished early! This is the last chapter! Of course, guys, chill. I have planned a sequel. The story may continue. May. Probably. Almost definitely. Okay, now I'm stalling. No, I didn't think I had hurt your feels enough, so I wrote about poor Tony. This is more of a bonus chapter, and will have more thank-yous and detail than actual writing. Also, it needed 9 chapters for the coed to work. So yeah. I'm stalling. Sorry.


Chapter 9 - Sorrow

Tony nursed the beverage tenderly in his left hand with pulsating figures, the right outstretched on his temple to ease the ache blossoming. His chest was contracted tightly. Too tight. He was physically pained, and no matter how much reassurance he could conjure, no matter how many times he remembered Loki's evil action, he had to fight back his emotions. The little devil was a villain, something foul and abhorrent. That was what he told himself, over and over, but they were merely words and held no substance. No amount of denying would change his feelings toward the latter, no matter how much he tried.

'Caring is not an advantage, Stark'.

He understood that now. He knew exactly what they had meant, and also came to realize over the time, Loki had always spoken to him so formally, only ever referring to him by his full or last name. At that moment, he remembered all those little things they had said, from the first meeting in Stuttgard to the very last line he had heard. He swallowed the lump in his throat and took another swig.

"Sir, it's 3am and you haven't slept."

"I am aware of this," He stated, ingesting what remained and groping for another bottle that Dummy, now let loose around the building, had so kindly provided. The inebriated mortal stumbled through the now opened lift doors, running his hands along the wall and locating what had become Loki's bedroom. Several hours before, when he was more sober, he had redecorated, changing the colour scheme to gold and emerald to suit the god's taste. Now, as he settled upon the memory-foam bed, he inhaled deeply scent of Loki's bloodied prison clothes that had been discarded in the laboratory. The residue of the crusted, dried substance left a mahogany mark against his skin though for this he cared not. The fabric was tattered and muted a sickly grey, but he cradled it like it was the most precious, fragile jewel. To him, it was more important. To him, it was more than just a rag. It was the last essence of Loki left. It smelt like him, strong, compelling, musty with perspiration and yet cold and crisp like a winter morning. It was sun-break and dawn, the ocean, the sky and clouds, the dew drop on grass all packed together. And, underneath it all, it was so human, yet so...not. It was something perfect and celestial, something old and wise.

And it just made him long for the god. The sensation of loneliness that rattled his form was so terrifyingly powerful against the alcoholic haze he had to rest. Tumbling onto the bed, Tony just lay there, clutching the cloth to his face, letting it circle out into and almost halo.

Had it not have been for the discomfort in his hip, he might not have noticed the rose until it was wilted. But, as he tossed over and onto it, he retrieved the flattened flower and placed it before his face. A spinderly, golden stem held a vibrantly green bunch of petals, all so delicate. Flecks of blue and red littered the overall diameter, but what stunned him most was the dim oceanic glow it emitted, radiating from the core, a perfect replica of his arc reactor. When he pressed it to his nose, it was a sweeter version of Loki, though the plant itself was - while spectacular - not nearly as beautiful as the trickster himself.

Stark's thumb ran along the stem, touch gentle and tentative. Biting back tears, he spoke into the rose as sleep embraced him.

"Come home. Just come home, Loki."


Okay, so I was going to put all the names of people who followed, Favorited and reviewed this story, but decided actually that would be a bit pointless to have this list at the bottom of the story so I've decided I'll send you all a 'thank you' pm. This may take a while since out of habit I will hand write them all - I don't copy and paste. I just don't - so yeah if you get yours late it's nothing personal, it just took me a while.