Sorry, for the delay. Lack of motivation.
Los Angeles, Long time ago.
"Loki," the man called, but his companion waved him away, face buried in some documents.
"Not now, Howard, I need to finish this before tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Because you won't do it." He finally set the pen aside and lifted his head. "What do you want?"
With a wide grin and demonstrating a total lack of education Howard Stark sat on his table and pushed a paper right under Loki's nose.
"Here, we took that one for Christmas and I wanted you to have a copy."
"Howard, you know I don't like those kinds of things."
"Yeah, yeah! Mister no sentiment, I'm aware. But take at least this one, do it for me."
Loki sighed and accepted the photograph, looking at it with some curiosity. An unexpected smile almost escaped his lips at the memory of that evening. "Claus looks fat," he commented about one of their teammates.
"He doesn't look it, he is. We should put him on a diet."
"Howard, you are our boss, not our babysitter. And you pay us for the job we do, not for our looks."
"Says the immortal supermodel. Seriously, you haven't changed a bit since the first day we met, and look at me, look at those wrinkles, look at them and tell me what your secret is!"
Loki chuckled; he didn't like useless talks much but it was late and he was already tired, so he let go of the photograph and leaned back on his chair, letting a relaxed hum escape his lips. He'd lost track of how many years he'd spent on Earth with those people. He'd arrived there before the Second Great War, met Howard and remained in his team since then. For a Jotun a thousand years old ten or fifty mortal years made no difference. And still every time he got a false life the time weighed upon him. Upon his mind, upon his heart…but not upon his body. And sometimes people noticed it, and every time was more difficult to make excuses.
"Good genetics and blood of virgin boys." He opted for his favourite technique - the jest.
"Hahahaaa! Sure! It sounds like you. Should I hide Tony, just in case?" Howard patted his back lightly, letting it go.
"Don't worry Stark, I have no intentions of slaying your son. For now."
"That's good, because it would leave him heartbroken, you know he adores you."
"He is a smart boy."
"Yes, a son to be proud of."
Loki arched his brow and sighed. "That you should tell him personally."
"And I will, in due time, my friend, in due time."
Jotunheim, now.
Loki held the picture in his hands, his head buried in memories from years left behind. Thor cleared his throat, unsure of what to do. He hadn't really thought it twice before running after Loki, asking if he truly knew Tony Stark. And now another wound in Loki's heart lay open before him. "The last time I saw him was at his father's funeral," had been the Jotun's answer, and his eyes lost a part of their glitter then.
"I heard he became a fine man."
Thor smiled. "He is, and one of my best friends. Have you ever heard of the Avengers?"
"Something, I think. I wasn't on Earth when all the mess happened and only dropped by Norway to get some vegetables, so I didn't get much information either." He set the photograph on the table and went to the kitchen, starting to chip a piece of meat. "Could you clean those carrots, please?"
"Sure." Thor closed the gap between them and gave Loki a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder before turning to help him with their meal. It wasn't good if Loki dove too deeply into the memories of his dead friends. Even though he said in their first talk about the matter that he tried not go get too close to people, Thor learned the hard way that he actually had some good friends besides Erik, and lost them all. In moments like that his natural shine faded and melancholy took over him like a heavy blanket of bitterness. And seemingly the father of Tony Stark was one of those people that now were just dust and a weight on Loki's heart.
And Thor hated it.
He hated the dullness in Loki's eyes, how it made him feel powerless, unable to spare the suffering of the one person he loved the most. He wanted to kiss away the indigo in his lips, to tell him he would not have to lose anyone ever again, because Thor would be his everything, and Thor would stay with him for all the eternity. But all he could do was wrap his arms around Loki from behind, kissing the tip of his horns.
Loki turned and smiled slightly. "I'm fine, my dear. You have nothing to worry about."
"I shouldn't have found that photo."
"Thor it's okay, and it's not your fault. Besides, my phantoms are only mine, not yours."
"But I don't like seeing you like that."
"Like what? I already said I'm okay, now drop it before you definitely annoy me."
"But Loki…"
"Thor Odinson, one more word on that matter and I'm stuffing your ass with those carrots you refuse to wash."
"Taking notes for later."
Loki huffed, but his mood seemed to rise, so Thor kissed him again and returned to his task.
"How did you and Tony meet anyway?"
"Long story short, there was a wicked being named Thanos who tried to take over Midgard with an alien army of horrible ugly creatures called Chitauri. His slaves controlled the Tesseract, a powerful source of energy and magic similar to your Casket. Midgard is my protectorate so I came to help and met the Avengers, a group of mortal heroes and very interesting people. Together we defeated the alien threat and I've been coming to see them a lot since then. Tony is one of them, the Man of Iron."
Loki left the meat and blinked a couple of times. "Wow, I was expecting a drunken fight, but you really met in a fancy way."
Thor laughed "Yes, you could say it like that."
It was deep in the night when the stars greeted the moon and the lovers lay engaged in the heat of desire. Thor's arms were wrapped around Loki's torso, spooning him in a sweet roll of hips and butterfly kisses delivered on his beloved's shoulders, now as dark and the night itself. He kept a slow and intimate peace, barely leaving the comfort of Loki's insides, sucked on his neck and caressed his member slightly, enjoying how their bodies fitted perfectly together, bathing in the feelings that intoxicated his senses and the soft gasps coming from Loki's mouth with his hands tracing the patterns on Loki's skin. Thor wanted to treasure that moment in his soul forever, to cuddle it and make it a part of him, because later, when the bliss of their orgasms gave room to sleep and his handsome Jotun partner succumbed to it Thor kissed his temple one last time and slid out of the bed.
Trying not to wake Loki up he trailed to his former room and with heavy heart put on all his armour, piece by piece as if building his own cage, leaving behind that little paradise that welcomed him and gifted him the best moments of his life. Mjolnir rested peacefully on the floor. He picked it up, feeling the familiar weight rest comfortably in his wrist, and inhaled deeply.
Asgard awaited.
Ok, It will be merely a chapter (and far ahead from this point) but I need you to tell me what do you prefer, Stony or Pepperoni? I like them both, so I can't choose actually.