A week ago, Loki could count the amount of people who knew his secret to just two: him and Tony. Now there were at least… two and three, add Bruce and Thor – does Fandral count? – seven. Not counting the slime ball.

Tony was positive that his friends would keep the secret but Loki wasn't one hundred percent sure about that. Loki knew all about these teenagers. They were mean and brutal and didn't care who they hurt as long as they hurt. Others, at least. So maybe a lot of what he knew came from outdated 80's films.

Although some was from experience. He wasn't a social outcast for his health.

Loki briefly regretted ever agreeing to this relationship. Not that he truly wanted it to end. It was the part of Loki that disliked the attention and the insinuations, the part that didn't enjoy lying and pretending, the part that was opposed to change.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tony watched Loki process the information. He wasn't sure how this changed things, if at all. Tony wasn't much of a relationship guy. Nor was he much of a secret keeper. He was more of a 'look at me, aren't I marvelous and special and see this gorgeous fella, he's my boyfriend' sort of a guy.

Loki made a face before slumping over and laying sprawled on the floor. "Um…?" Tony asked. "Are you ok?"

"I give up," Loki mumbled.

Tony laughed, poking his side. "It's not that bad, you know. Steve would never tell anyone. And he's pretty good at guilting people into doing whatever he wants." Tony leaned over Loki and nuzzled their noses together. "Please don't give up."

Loki swatted at Tony's head but the teen didn't move. Exasperated, Loki let out a sigh. "Will they truly keep it secret?"

"If they don't, you are allowed to do with me as you wish," Tony smirked.

Loki wrapped his arms round Tony's neck, his fingers playing with his hair. "I thought I was already allowed to do with you as I wish."

Tony smiled, planting a kiss on the side of Loki's mouth. "Oh yeah. I forgot." He kissed Loki again, wondering how soon was too soon to try tongue as they broke apart.

"Oh."

Tony looked up to see Thor standing in the doorway, a look of pure shock on his face. Tony jumped back, and fell over, knocking his head against a bookcase. As Tony groaned in pain, Thor muttered, "Lunch is ready if you wish to…eat."

And then he just stood there. Uncomfortable beyond description but he stood in the doorway, staring at Loki who hadn't budged bar his hands over his eyes in embarrassment.

When enough was enough, Loki growled, "Thor!" before getting to his feet and shoving the big guy out of his room, slamming the door for good measure.

Tony ran his fingers through his hair, offering an empathetic look at Loki who was fuming at the door. "Doesn't he knock?" Tony asked.

Loki huffed, sliding his back against the door until he plopped onto the ground. "No."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Thor slowly made his way back down the stairs, sitting down at the kitchen table by rote, trying to forget what he just saw, but to no avail. He knew that the image of Tony violating his brother would forever be ingrained into his mind.

"Thor?"

Thor looked up from the table and looked at his mother. "Yes?" he asked, eyes slightly glazed and his mind a million miles away.

"Are they coming down?"

He blinked. And then he remembered he had gone up to bring Loki and his… Tony, down for lunch. "Oh, uh… I believe so," Thor sputtered, his cheeks going red as he avoided his mother's gaze.

It was then that Loki entered the kitchen followed closely by Tony. The shorter boy met his gaze, looking completely unaffected by Thor's earlier interruption. Thor fidgeted in his seat and was glad to find a bowl of mac and cheese before him. Thor was more than pleased when his mother started a conversation with Tony.

It wasn't until Odin took his seat at the table that Thor wished he was somewhere else. The table quieted down and there was an uncomfortable air about lunch.

Odin cleared his throat. "Anthony," Odin gruffed, turning his attention to the boy who was taking a large bite out of a bread roll Frigga had just passed him. "How nice of you to visit us."

Thor couldn't help but feel that his father was not at all pleased as his sentiment seemed to suggest. He slowly began to panic. Was he going to question Tony? Did he know about Loki and Tony's relationship? He couldn't.

"Thank you," Tony replied as he swallowed.

"Has your father returned from Japan?" Odin asked.

Tony seemed to tense slightly before catching Odin's eye and stated, "No."

"When does he return?"

Thor watched Tony harden his expression, setting aside his plate and replied, "I don't know."

Odin nodded his head, completely unaffected by the tension that seemed to grow around them. Odin took a sip of water before continuing. "I spoke with him the other day." He sniffed. "Asked if I had seen you. He was quite relieved when I said I hadn't."

Loki bit his lip. Tony's voice didn't so much as quiver as he said, "My father is generally glad to not see me. It is no surprise he has extended the sentiment to others."

Thor wanted to know why his father was being so cruel to Tony. Though his questions weren't threatening nor filled with malice, Tony's attitude to them set Thor on edge. This was not the Tony Stark he knew of.

Odin chuckled to himself. Thor saw Tony's lip twitch upward. "Howard is right, you are quite an entertaining young man."

Tony stood up suddenly, his chair toppling over behind him. Loki grabbed his hand just as quickly, drawing his attention from his father to himself. Tony let out a loud breath before whispering, "Excuse me," tearing himself from Loki's grasp and out of the room.

The slamming of the front door echoed into the kitchen. Loki removed himself from the table, the door closing quietly behind him as he followed Tony out the door.

Frigga didn't even look at her husband as she said, "I hope you're pleased with yourself."

Thor turned his head towards the hall where his brother and his boyfriend before him had disappeared.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Tony threw his scarf onto the salt stained sidewalk, yelling out in frustration. Fuck the whole goddamn world. God, no wonder Loki hated him so much. Wasn't it bad enough he had one fucked up life with one jackass of a father? He didn't need his boyfriend's dad to remind him he wasn't worth shit.

He yelled again, kicking at his scarf. When that wasn't enough, Tony ran up to one of the trees that stood in front of Loki's house and began kicking it, hitting it; trying his very best to hurt it. But it was a tree and trees were a strong and sensible plant. Tony clawed at it, hoping to mark it in some way.

"Tony!" Loki cried.

Tony began hitting his head against the tree. If he couldn't destroy it, than at least he could prove that he was alive. Hurt himself to feel like he was something more than useless flesh. "Tony," he heard Loki repeat. "Stop it!"

"Why?" Tony spat back, turning round to face Loki. "Why should I? 'Fraid I'll hurt the fucking tree?"

Loki took hold of Tony's shoulders and held him close to his chest. Tony fought him off, trying to push away, but Loki held tightly onto him. "Let me go," Tony shouted, his words muffled by the wool of Loki's coat.

The boy didn't reply, only holding on tighter as Tony struggled against his arms.

Tony wanted to die. It was a truth that he had told no one, not even himself. Sometimes, he'd get into his car and drive at an obscene speed, hoping that maybe he wouldn't brake fast enough or he'd miss a turn and then CRASH. He'd be dead.

And wouldn't life be easier? His dad would be happy. He wouldn't have to play second fiddle to a company that he was one day going to inherit. He wouldn't feel like the whole world was mocking him. He wouldn't feel unloved, uncared for; completely and absolutely alone.

"You're not alone," he heard Loki say. Tony let out a pathetic snort, holding tightly to the lapels of Loki's coat, the tears he didn't realize were running down his cheeks being wiped away on Loki's shoulder.

Loki held him tighter, running his fingers through his hair. "I hate him," Tony whispered.

"My father?" Loki teased.

Tony chuckled, shaking his head in disagreement. "Howard."

Loki let out a sound of agreement. "Well, as a son of Odin, I know exactly what that's like."

Tony pulled away and Loki let him. He leaned against the tree he had been abusing, staring down at his bloodied hands. Despite the rough skin and calluses, his hands were no match for an Oak. Loki took his hands in his own and wiped them clean with a napkin he had in his pocket.

Once Tony's hands were clean, Loki took the napkin and wiped Tony's face.

Tony rolled his eyes. He wasn't a girl to be pampered, and he nearly said it before recalling all the times he himself had treated Loki in such a way. It wasn't that he thought Loki was defenseless, just that he wanted to protect him, and that was what Loki was doing for him now.

"Thanks," Tony sniffled.

Loki nodded, placing a kiss atop his forehead. "Perhaps we should go back inside," Loki muttered.

"I wanna get out of here," Tony admitted. Loki looked back at his house. He'd have to tell his parents and Tony knew he wouldn't leave without permission. "Please."

Loki looked back at Tony and nodded. Tony smiled, planting a soft kiss on Loki's neck before digging into his pockets for his car keys.

Author's Note: And I bet you thought I wasn't going to post didn't ya? Well, ha! I did. This is week 10, in other words: crunch week. I have to write like four papers, finish the first twenty pages of my feature, fix my experimental edit, and try not to kill myself. So... yay week 10!

I was suffering from some serious writer's block. Also doesn't help that I decided to do Nanowrimo. Once again: writer's block. If you wanna follow me my username is... andquitefrankly, surprise, surprise. I can follow you back and everything. We can be writing buddies if you're also doing it. So...yay! Now...REVIEWS.

cara-tanaka: Look. More! Yay!

Me and My Shadow: Jealous! I hope you looked as fabulous as I'm sure you were.

GreenLoki: Because Xmas is magic. And everyone loves magic. I'm trying to stall the whole telling as long as possible. Mainly because I don't want Loki's Xmas ruined, but also because I'm not emotionally prepared to write that chapter.

forgettingxyou: You were conveniently listening to Xmas music? Um...my hero. I feel like as much of a nerd as Loki is about other things, he is the same with Xmas. A Xmas nerd. It has happened.

littleblackneko: AUGH! Thank you. I'm in a state of squeals and please tell me you were wearing the purple shirt of sex. Sherlock Holmes is the best. It doesn't even matter which version you are. I'm so jealous.

xRDJ603: All of the feels. Thank you so much. And yeah, sex is always questionable. To write or not to write. That is the question. And I will stay awesome. But only because you told me to.

Doctor Maz: You mean you don't love me now? :( Alas, life has made its way into my world and as hard as I try shove it away it sneaks through and ruins everything. Next week I'm going home for Thanksgiving so there might be a bit more updates. But don't hold me to it. I'm also forced to do things at home.

quibble: I don't want your death on my conscience. And I'm glad you are enjoying the story and I love first reviewers. Sweet! Loki! Hope you won something. Like sexiest villain or something akin to that. And some have argued that I don't have a soul so missing a piece is ok with me. Just remember to water it every now and then.

xTheKidWhoKilledTheDancefloo rx: You called me hunny. I approve. I'm so glad you love this fic so much. It's not stupid at all. I love hearing about people's reactions. When I think my writing sucks, I just read all my reviews that are nothing but ego boosting. I'm so glad I have helped establish FrostIron as your OTP. Loki and Tony are just... UGH. Perfect. Just so you know, if we have babies, they will be the most adorable creatures to ever grace this planet. So glad I made your day.

Tomazine: You have inspired me to write all of the cliffhangers. And then you will hate me. Augh, yes. Hurricane Sandy. I was up in Rochester and we got all of the excess rain. All my family back home was all: Are you ok? And I was like: I'm practically in Canada. I'm totally safe. Hope you're super safe and warm and have power and stuff. Heard it was pretty rough. I'm so glad you liked the chapter and the minute I decided that Loki was gonna wear a reindeer headband, Tony had to see it and call him reindeer games. I don't know what DragonFables is but it sounds super cool. Like, really super awesome cool. And as long as you looked super awesome, I don't think it matters that your classmates have no idea what you're dressed as. Yay, to friendship! And in the spirit, you may call me Monze, if you so wish. And I can never be mad at kitty faces. Hasta later, Tom.

NoOne: I hope you looked totally badass. And I hope everyone was totally jealous. We make our own Halloween.

Em: I wish it was a year. That anniversary scene would be adorable. I also wish Frigga was real. I like adding a bit of Marvel world into it.

aindarayshin: Thanks... and... welcome to the fandom! I have cake here for you. Oh... um, nevermind. My roommates at it. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Abandon-Mortality: Glad you're enjoying the story.

aardbeien: Sorry bout the Frigga feels. Odin-sleep strikes again! I'll try my best not to be evil, but I make no promises. They are the worst secret keepers. I agree. Though I like to think Tony's friends are super perceptive. So basically, you want all of the make out scenes? I'll see what I can do...

So I went a little overboard with the reviews. I sort of messed up the formatting a bit of the last chapter and there was that whole... stupid signing me out thing. So yes. We're good. Watching Aladdin. Like a boss. Like an adult.

On another note, the Bears totally slaughtered the Titans, 51-20. So...WOOOH! And... if you live in the US and are eligible to vote, hope you're registered and will make your ways to the voting booths on Tuesday. Exercise your rights, people.

Love to my readers and reviewers. Until next time my loverlies. Aardvark!