Chapter 14 – Worry

Loki had ran out of the apartment the moment he realised that Tony wasn't there, in hope that he'd be able to catch up with the kitten, but he was too late; he'd obviously spent too long sulking in his room and the billionaire could be anywhere in the city by now. By the time he bothered to look up, the sun was setting and casting an orangey-pink glow across the tops of the New York skyscrapers.

The nearest building was Stark Towers, its unique shape making it stand out amongst the other average skyscrapers. It looked as outrageous as some of the architecture in Asgard – and them buildings were all made of solid gold and on a floating rock that had a rainbow bridge coming off of it, correction, did have a rainbow bridge until Thor destroyed it along with Loki's dreams. The bridge was destroyed with my dreams... I should be a poet.

He carried on walking down the road, with his head down to draw any attention away from his face, and checked the spell that he had cast to allow him to hear what Tony was saying. There hadn't been anything said by the billionaire since he had replaced the spell when he left his apartment; either Tony hadn't said a thing or he was too far away to be heard. The latter seemed like the most sensible answer because Stark never seemed to shut up, ever.

Hours later, it was well into the night when the god slumped down on a bench in the park and buried his head in his hands. There wasn't anybody in sight for miles, the headlights of cars visible on the far side of the park where there was a main road, and it wasn't helping the loneliness that Loki felt one bit. There had been no sight of the little brown kitten for hours, although he did think he had seen Tony down an alley way but when he looked again, there was just two fully-grown stray cats in the darkness.

The guilt was definitely worse than it was earlier when he was sulking in his bedroom, he thought he was going to be sick and even had to stop his search earlier so that he could lean against a wall because he felt dizzy. Never had he felt so bad for upsetting someone before. Never had he felt any remorse for lying. He vowed that when – if – he saw the billionaire again, he would tell him the truth right away and apologise until Stark saw how much he meant to the god. Since when was he willing to apologise?

His stomach churned even more when he wondered what had happened to the little kitten in what the mortals called the 'Big Apple'. Normally he liked apples but he was starting to dislike this one – well, at least they weren't lying when they say 'big' although 'huge' would have been a more apt decision. What if he had been kidnapped? Or what if he was lost?

What if he had been hit by a speeding taxi?

What if Tony had been killed?

What if he had been taken back by the Avengers?

What if he was human again already?

What if he was trying to get back with that ginger woman with the weird name?

Why did that bother him so much?

When did he get distracted from the task of searching? Oh yeah, he still had to find the kitten.

~x~

He felt useless and even more guilty when he returned to his apartment during the early hours of the morning alone – the sun would be out within the next hour, he assumed – and wasn't concentrating fully while he unlocked the door with a green flash of magic; his mind was still racing with all of the possibly situations Tony could be in and why he hadn't found the kitten after hours of searching. As Loki pushed open the door to his empty apartment, he heard the scratch of nails along the floor along with a ruffle of fur down by his feet, and the breath caught in his throat when he looked down to see what had interrupted his thoughts.

There was a little brown kitten glaring up at him, the same worry he felt written in the large brown eyes.

The emotions in Tony's eyes were quickly covered up by a mask of indifference as he quickly looked away, glaring at the wall opposite with such intensity that Loki was scared that it would melt. Stark was pissed off.

"I'm not here for you."

The trickster felt relief flooding through his body in a tidal wave of emotion when he realised that Stark had no malice or anger in his voice, a hint of worry laced through the attempt to be emotionless. He didn't know what to do; did he hug the kitten and tell him that he's so glad to see him again? Did he get angry and yell at Tony for being stupid? Or did he correct the mistake that got them both into this mess and stick the vow he made to himself earlier?

"Tony, I am really sorry that I lied to you earlier. I only said I have no other feelings because I... was scared of what your reaction would be. I do care for you too, why else would I still be putting up with you? The thing I'm trying to say is... Don't ever run off again, I was worried that something bad would happen to you considering you're only a kitten in a far too busy city! And don't ever make me say this mushy stuff again or I will give you to an animal shelter on the other side of the world."

"Sorry, I didn't hear any of that. I was too busy counting the bricks in that wall over there."

Anger started to bubble inside of him. He'd just poured his heart out and the bastard wasn't even listening! "You ignorant, narcissistic-"

"I'm only kidding, jeez. And because we're admitting stuff right now; I didn't run away fully. I just sat outside the door and waited to see if you'd throw a party; when you went to search for me, I followed you until I got bored and came back here."

"I thought you were mad with me."

"I was until I stormed out, realised I couldn't do anything and then realised I was a jerk for not listening to you... Sorry." The way the kitten bowed his head in shame tugged at the god's heartstrings.

"I looked around theentire city for you!"

"Consider that payback."

"Payback? Right, you're staying out here for the night then." He made sure that the joking tone was clear in his voice as he stepped into the doorway and started to shut the door behind him, not really planning to lock out Tony but just to see what the billionaire's reaction would be.

"I'm ever so sorry, oh almighty god, for the troublesome times I caused but, if you would be so kind, I would like the honour of sleeping with you rather than out here, please?"

He glanced back out at the kitten giving him puppy-dog eyes and let out an over dramatic sigh, "Fine. Come on in then."

Stark immediately jumped up and sauntered into the apartment before Loki could change his mind,"This has been the most eventful day of my life, I think..."

A/N: I may not reply to all of your reviews but I do read them all and I love each and every one of them. You're all awesome!

And, just a warning, don't believe everything Tony says... (spoilers!)

- Anthony E. Stark (I love being able to sign things as Tony)