A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm really sorry about missing last week's update. Sunday night I got food poisoning, and then I had to walk in a parade for my cousin who's running for state representative on Monday, and then I had to go to a family gathering later on the same day. Happy belated Fourth of July to those of you in the states.


The first time Tony woke was to the feeling of water filling his lungs. He gasped and choked, coughing and hacking, when a soft, gentle hand rested on his shoulder and a quiet voice whispered, "Anthony."

He sat upright, gasping, the god gently rubbing his back in soothing circles. Tony didn't have nightmares every night, but they weren't exactly uncommon either. Sometimes Loki could get rid of them before he ever noticed; he didn't quite know how the god did that, but he wasn't complaining. Sometimes, though, particularly when Loki was exhausted like he had been, Tony had to be woken manually.

Tony wasn't generally very nice when he woke either, snapping and once he'd even tried to hit the god, but Loki was eternally patient, and by this time they had slipped into a semi-normal schedule when Loki was staying with him.

Tony might have felt bad, if it weren't for the fact that Loki had nightmares too. Like Tony, he never wanted to talk about them, and so the inventor had no idea what they were about. He did know that they were about different things though, because Loki reacted drastically different at various times.

Sometimes he would just flatly stare at everything for long moments after he woke, eyes unblinking, and use his hands to trace the contours of the bedcovers, and, once, Tony's face. Sometimes he would wake with a jolt and just lay there for a few moments, eyes closed or staring blankly at the ceiling, like he was trying to assure himself that it was in the past. Once he'd woken with a half muffled scream and started clawing at his own face. Tony had had to hold on to his arm, less to restrain him and more just to make him wake up, and Loki didn't stop freaking out until Tony's own name had come from his lips. Then he seemed to realise something and had immediately calmed.

Those were bad. Uncommon, but bad. Tony hated it, seeing evidence right before his eyes of how screwed up his best friend's life had been and how much he needed someone to look out for him. When they had become friends, Tony had gained someone to watch his back, something that Loki had done consistently. Tony hated that he couldn't repay the favor. So, yeah, those were bad. But they weren't the worst.

The worst was when Loki didn't fight back. Usually, he flailed around, fought and struggled and generally smacked into Tony a few times. But Tony honestly preferred that to the other. There was one dream where Loki didn't struggle or fight, didn't scream or yell out in garbled Norse. He just laid there and whimpered, his entire body shaking and tensing. When Tony tried to wake him up from that, Loki would just whimper louder and pull away, curling on himself, and generally make Tony feel like an abusive ass because he was reacting that way to his touch.

The first time, Tony had tried to shake him awake, but that just seemed to make it worse. Loki didn't wake up, and he just started silently crying, tears pouring down his face. Later, Tony had learned the best way to wake him from those dreams was to yell at him. Eventually, Loki would react to Tony's voice and wake up. He always did so with a shuddering gasp followed by leaving the room. He would go out on the balcony and take long, deep, cleansing breaths. Tony had learned the hard way not to touch him until he was ready for it. A few minutes later, he would come back to bed and snuggle up with Tony. They never spoke of it, but it wrenched Tony's heart every damn time.

What the hell did they do to you? was always what he wanted to ask. But he never did, just like Loki never asked details about his capture in Afghanistan. They were just there for one another, like friends were supposed to be. Like no one else in their lives ever were.

It was several hours later when Tony woke the second time, this time to an insistent hard-on within the boxer shorts in which he had gone to bed. Said hard-on was also pressed up against the curve of a really, really fine ass. Tony slowly opened his eyes, his blurry mind met with the sight of a pale, naked back full of lean muscles resting in front of him. Without really thinking about it, he leaned forward and kissed one of the vertebrae showing through his skin and then the next one after that. He left a trail of wet kisses across Loki's back, and it wasn't until the god moaned and shifted lethargically that Tony realised he was still asleep.

Well, that was novel. Loki was always, always awake before Tony. That usually wasn't a bad thing, because the Trickster often saw fit to wake Tony with a really spectacular blow job first thing in the morning. Occasionally, when he was in a bad mood, he would wake him by kicking him out of his own bed, but that didn't happen often, just after Loki had had a rough night. This was the very first time Tony had ever had the opportunity to wake Loki, and a mischievous grin crossed his face at the possibilities.

Right now, though, he really just wanted to keep tasting him. There was something incredibly fresh about his taste and scent, something cold and highly addictive. It wasn't like anything Tony had ever experienced before, but he just figured it was a god thing. Or a Loki thing. He was never sure which was which, but it didn't really matter, because he loved them all.

Liked. He liked them all.

Tony ran his tongues in swirls across Loki's back, grinding up against that fine ass and teasing him with gentle touches until, finally, Loki started pushing back against him too. Tony glanced around his head to check and see if he were still sleeping and grinned when he found that he was. He licked across a patch at Loki's neck and then grazed his teeth over it, causing Loki's hips to buck forward rather uselessly.

The god moaned in frustration, but when he was sleeping it was surprisingly easy to get him to stay where he was with a simple hand on his bicep, holding him loosely in place.

Tony's grin widened and he continued his slow ministrations, kissing and licking and sucking along his neck and shoulder and back while he alleviated his own discomfort by grinding into his ass. One of his hands slipped around the front to play with the gods nipples, coaxing them into tight little nubs and then raking his nails across them lightly.

Loki's hips jolted and a low, deep groan came from the still slumbering god.

Wow, he must have been really tired. Tony felt guilty for just a moment, remembering how exhausted he had been the night before, but, then again, the god had said "tomorrow". Well, it was tomorrow.

He gave Loki's nipples another twist before letting his hand wander further down, dipping into the sweatpants that Loki had borrowed. He wrapped his hand loosely around the god's hard member and then just held it. In his sleep, the god was highly impatient, and he bucked up into the hand almost immediately. Tony grinned and tightened his grip as a reward, allowing Loki to do all the work and fuck himself into Tony's hand.

A sudden thought occurring to him, Tony grinned massively and started sucking on his own fingers. He loosened his grip around Loki's member when he felt the god start to get close, holding off his orgasm. Then he took his two fingers and started to slip them down the waistband of Loki's pants, in between the cheeks of his ass. He had just started to dip one finger inside that tight, uncharted territory, when Loki suddenly jerked away from him.

Barely a second later, the god was lying on top of him, with his hair ruffled and cheeks bearing the marks of the pillow, yet those green eyes were perfectly intense as he pinned Tony's arms above his head and glowered down at him. "That was incredibly brash of you, Stark," he growled, his voice way too deep and fucking perfect for being the first words he had spoken that morning.

"Um. . . sorry?" Tony tried, despite knowing that it wouldn't get him anywhere.

Loki smacked the outside of his thigh, presumably because he couldn't get to his ass the way they were positioned, and Tony yelped, squirming. Loki had obviously held back, but it still stung like a bitch.

"Fuck! I'm sorry!" he tried again.

"Not yet you're not," Loki growled, and then he promptly flipped Tony over with one hand, using the other to support himself and balance. He used magic to basically cuff Tony's hands together and to the headboard, while he sat down on the human's legs. "But you will be," he threatened cheerfully. Then he smacked Tony's ass. Hard.

"Ah! Shit, shit, shit. Loki, I'm really not-" He was cut off by another loud slap, and he jumped, trying to pull away from the god, which was, of course useless.

Now, Tony had done a lot of things over the years, so over course he had tried some BDSM roleplay. He'd played both sides with men and women. It hadn't taken him long to realise that no matter how hot the chick was in leather with a whip in her hands, he really preferred being on top if they were going to do this. Even then, it just wasn't really his thing. He had no problem with toys or whatever, but he generally just liked fucking; no spanking or roleplay required. This wasn't his scene, and he was planning on telling Loki just that.

But then the god smacked him again, making him yelp and give a rather unmanly squeak, before leaning down and whispering right next to Tony's ear. "You like it, don't you? The feeling of my power over you, knowing you have absolutely no say over what comes next. Tell me, how does it feel? Knowing that you won't be able to sit down for the rest of today without wincing, without thinking of this moment. How does it feel, knowing that when you look in the mirror, there will be my mark on you?"

And, fuck it, Tony moaned, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the sting spreading throughout his entire ass. Or maybe it did? Either way, his hard-on was growing painful again, and he tried to rut against the bed only to have Loki smack him again- harder this time. "Fuck! Loki!"

"Stay still, Stark," Loki cautioned in a no nonsense tone. His voice was deep, and dark, and sexy as it gave him orders, and Tony shivered at the sound of it.

The next two slaps, alternating between both of his cheeks, were of the normal, more reduced pressure. The sting had started to spread out over his entire ass, giving it a sort of collective warmth that would burst into fire when Loki smacked him again. Suddenly, it was like every slap was going straight to his cock, and Tony had to fight really hard with himself not to move.

Loki seemed pleased though, and there was clear praise in his next words. "Good boy, Anthony," he purred, and Tony shivered again. The way he said his name had always been sexy, but now, the way he said with such approval. . . . Well, Tony probably would have done just about anything Loki had asked him to for that praise again. He flushed deep scarlet at the realisation, but Loki wasn't done. He continued applying smacks to his buttocks while he continued to speak, his voice taking on a conversational tone. "I think maybe next time we do this, I'll bend you over my knee properly. You'd like that, wouldn't you? And you'd take it all, just like you are now, just like a good little whore."

Damn it, Tony would. He moaned, somehow not even questioning the fact that Loki assumed there would be a next time. Seriously, he had never been a masochist, where the hell was this coming from? As Loki continue his ruthless treatment of his ass, Tony eventually decided that it just didn't matter. Maybe no one else had done it right; maybe he'd never done it right, but apparently Loki was doing it right, and Loki, somehow, just knew. He was with Loki, he trusted Loki, and Loki wouldn't hurt him. The moment he came to that sudden realisation, it was like all the tension just bled out of his body. Three slaps later, Loki stopped.

"Good boy," he praised again, gently rubbing circles into Tony's back. "Did you finally figure it out?" the god whispered.

"You knew?" Tony tried, shocked at how utterly wrecked his voice sounded.

Loki chuckled softly, lovingly, in his ear as he ran his tongue along his hip, right above the elastic waistband of the boxers that he hadn't bothered to remove. "I suspected. You need to let go sometimes, Anthony."

"I've never enjoyed this before," Tony admitted softly, hissing as Loki removed his boxers over his heated flesh.

"There's something very important missing from the equation when you try it with a one-night stand," Loki informed him, gently rolling Tony over and making him groan again as his ass hit the bed covers. He waited until Tony met his black eyes before stating simply, "Trust. This doesn't work if you don't trust your partner."

Tony smirked, "And you assumed that I trusted you?"

Something flashed through Loki's eyes before he smiled softly. "I hoped," he whispered, leaning down and given Tony a gentle kiss. "I trust you."

Tony grinned when he pulled back, "And I you. In case that wasn't obvious."

Loki chuckled and then pushed a finger inside of Tony's rather tight ass with no warning. It was lubed- fucking magic- but it still stung, less because of the stretch and more because when Tony pulled away instinctively he rubbed his sore ass on the bed.

"Oh, fuck," he whispered, as the stimulation made his cock jerk and leak out unto his chest. "What did you do to me?"

Loki chuckled softly, leaning down to lick up the precome from his chest. He added another finger without much preamble and then curled them to brush against Tony's prostate.

The shorter man moaned loudly and shifted, caught in a perfect mix of pleasure and pain that was making it hard to think. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, Loki, fuck," Tony panted as the fingers continued working in and out of him quickly before adding a third. Tony fucked himself down on the fingers with abandon, heedless of whatever nonsense or filth was spilling from his mouth, his eyes closed because he couldn't keep them open, even to watch Loki's beautiful face. "Please," he begged, utterly uncertain as to for what he was asking.

"Please what, Anthony?" Loki whispered. "You're being such a perfect boy; what do you want?"

Tony moaned again at the words, his breath coming in short pants as though he had just run a marathon. "Please, Loki, just, please. More," Tony whimpered, unable to think. It was all so perfect, but he just needed more.

"Now how could I deny my beautiful Anthony?" Loki whispered, and Tony didn't have the presence of mind to deny Loki's statement about him being beautiful. The fingers left him, and Tony whimpered pitifully at the loss right before it was replaced by by something bigger.

Loki's cock was long, thick, hot and perfect, and Tony gave out a hoarse shout as Loki bottomed out in a single thrust. "Oh, gods, please, Loki, move," he cried out, his voice broken and completely wrecked.

The god didn't make him wait, finding a rhythm quickly. As he fucked into him, Tony's sore ass rubbed against the covers, sending more shots of arousal straight to his weepy, needy dick. Then Loki shifted and started hitting his prostate on every thrust with an insane amount of strength and Tony howled.

"Oh, fucking gods! Please! Please, Loki, please!"

"Please what Anthony?" Loki whispered, polite as you please, but there was a hint of strain in his voice.

Tony didn't care. "Loki, please, just, please! Let me come! Please, please, please!" Tony had never begged this much in his life, not for anything or anyone.

Loki didn't make him wait much longer, though. He leaned down and brushed a kiss against Tony's forehead before wrapping a hand around his length.

He moved his hand up and down maybe twice before Tony was coming, shouting hoarsely as Loki fucked him through the best orgasm of his entire fucking life. Tony slowly came down from his high, his entire body oversensitive as Loki continued to fuck into him. He winced; it hurt now, damn it! He wrapped his hands through Loki's hair and did something he'd never tried before- he pulled.

Loki looked stunned, and then suddenly his rhythm stuttered and he came inside Tony with a muffled groan. His orgasm lasted quite some time, Tony noticed before he finally slipped out of him.

Tony winced at his hypersensitivity but wrapped his arm around Loki, holding him to his chest and preventing him from going far. When he could finally breathe again, he exhaled harshly. "Damn."

Loki chuckled softly, just as out of breath as Tony was. "Indeed."

"Thank you," Tony said seriously, turning to look at him. "That. . . . Wow."

Loki laughed again, "You are welcome." He smirked suddenly, "I've woken up in worse ways."

Tony laughed too.

They just laid there for a moment, before Tony's seriously sore ass started messing up his afterglow. Not to mention the fact that they were sticky. He winced. "Hey, Lokes, do you think you could. . . ?" he trailed off, but the meaning was clear enough as he waved a hand at his own seed splattered across his chest.

Loki blinked, "Oh, right. Sorry." He smiled somewhat sheepishly and magicked away the mess they had made. Then he suddenly frowned. "Stay there," he ordered, before slipping out of bed.

Tony was only too happy to comply, watching Loki walk naked across his apartment floor, his ass sashaying as he moved. He disappeared into the bathroom, and Tony frowned as he heard him rattling around in there. What was he doing?

Loki emerged several moments later with a bottle of aloe lotion in his hands. He squirted it out both his hands and then settled down behind Tony.

"What're you doing?" Tony asked him, voice somewhat slurred. He was still seriously blissed out.

"Hush, now," Loki murmured softly, and then he gently started working the lotion into his sore, red ass.

Tony hissed at first, and then slowly relaxed as the oil began to take effect. "I thought I was supposed to feel it for days," he muttered.

"You will," Loki responded, somewhat amused, "but never believe I wish to hurt you, permanently, in any way, Anthony."

"I know, Lokes," Tony responded with a soft yawn. "You wouldn't hurt me. Not really."

Loki smiled gently and continued working the oil into his skin. When he was satisfied, Tony was already nearly asleep, and the god simply moved the lotion aside and slipped around him, hugging the shorter man to his chest. "Sleep well, Anthony."

"Mm." Tony was out in less than a minute, the god holding him close and gently running a hand through his hair.

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

"Did you know about Obie?"

It was a shockingly blunt question, and it had come rather out of the blue. Loki had just been helping out Tony in his lab after he returned from one of his Iron Man missions; they were repairing his suit in mostly companionable silence intermixed with the occasional curse word- Tony- or snarky remark- Loki- when Tony just blurted out the inquiry.

Loki froze in the midst of fixing the wiring on Tony's left gauntlet and turned wary green eyes on the inventor. "I did not know that he planned to hire people to kill you, if that is to what you are referring. I would have killed him on the spot."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, I kind of figured that. But the first night, when you came back, he tried to stop us when we were going out to the back alley. You said something that made him turn white as a sheet, and then you wouldn't tell me about it. What was that about?"

Loki winced, his eyes falling. "I. . . didn't know anything in particular."

"Loki," Tony's voice was low, the single word a warning.

"He said that he wanted what was best for you. I have informed you that I can tell when most people are lying. He was," Loki said simply with a shrug. "I threatened him, but he clearly did not take it to heart."

"You didn't think to mention it?" Tony growled, annoyed.

Loki winced again. "I. . . I am sorry. I did not know he meant so much to you at the time, and then, later. . . I didn't want you to know that betrayal. Just because he didn't love you as he claimed didn't mean he was trying to assassinate you. I had no idea, Anthony." Tony could see the intensity in his expression, the brief removal of some of his masks so that Tony could see how much he really meant it.

The inventor sighed. "Yeah, okay. I guess I figured it must have been something like that. You know, after the fact."

"So. . . I am forgiven?" Loki tried timidly.

Tony breathed a laugh, "Yeah, Lokes, you're forgiven. Can't ever stay mad at you anyway."

Loki fucking beamed at that, but Tony just couldn't be irritated with him.

He chuckled softly instead, going back to working on the major damage done to the chest piece of his suit. It was a few moments later when he spoke rather quietly, but seriously, not looking up from his suit. "Hey, Loki?"

"Yes, Anthony?" Loki responded, voice equally serious. Tony could feel the god's eyes on his back and imagined his arched eyebrow.

"Don't ever pull that shit where you lie to me to protect me, yeah? I hate it when people do that, and it never turns out well."

Loki considered for a moment. "I cannot promise never, Anthony," Loki began, "but I shall keep it in mind and endeavor not to do such a thing. Is that satisfactory?"

He always sounded so formal on the rare occasions when they had serious discussions. Tony supposed it must have been a by-product of being a head negotiator between various planets and races. "Yeah, I guess," Tony sighed. "I'll do the same."

Tony knew the god well enough not to jump when cold, pale arms slipped around his body, pulling him close. Loki was rather clingy at times. He had explained once that physical contact had a soothing effect on his magic or something. Tony had made a joke that using magic made him horny and had been fucked into the workshop table for it. Good times.

"Where has your mind gone, Anthony?" Loki queried suddenly, sounding amused.

Well, it was better than him being pissed at his distraction. "Sex," Tony responded immediately, turning around in the god's arms and waggling his eyebrows.

Loki chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Are you so insatiable?"

"Would you have me any other way?"

Loki leaned down and kissed him gently. "Never."

This time, Tony was the one beaming.


A/N: Okay, so this is the first BDSM related thing I've ever posted, and, honestly, I don't think it came out very well. I almost didn't post it at all, but I didn't want to make you wait another week and I haven't been feeling like writing at all lately, so it stayed. I apologise anyway.

Thanks for reading!