I'm glad no one seemed to mind me writing another sort-of lemon.

Twenty-First Installment: A Dangerous Dance

Tony woke pissed. "Jarvis!" he snarled. "What the hell!"

"You requested I wake you at six a.m.," the AI said, droll as ever. "It is six a.m."

"Fuck," Tony swore, raking hands through his hair. He'd so seriously thought about telling Jarvis to wake him at seven.

Why hadn't he said seven? Then the sexiest dream in the history of dreams wouldn't have been interrupted. God damn it. The beginning of his dream had been weird and random. Then, there was Loki. Looking so bloody sexy and edible, and then . . . Fuck. He let me fuck him. Why can't my Loki be like that?

Tony blinked. Whoa. Shit. Slow down there, lover-boy. Loki ain't my anything. He'd castrate me and make me eat it if he knew I even thought that.

And what was with his overly familiar attitude, anyway? He was treating Loki more like a lover than a simple comrade-in-arms. Someone he just happened to have fucked once. He rubbed his hands over his face. Shit. I need to stop thinking about him so much. How does he even manage to stir me up so much?

Beyond irritated, Tony flung back the blankets. Hello, little problem. He hated waking up like this and not having some pliable body next to him to help him with it. Why the hell didn't I tell Jarvis seven? I didn't even get to come in my dream. He shivered to think of that low, almost breathy promise,

"Keep going, Stark. Bring me to climax again, and perhaps this time I'll let you come inside me."

"Jesus, Loki," he whispered, rising and half stumbling to his bathroom.

Maybe he needed to go call Pepper and say they shouldn't have broken up eight months ago. It'd been an amiable break up. They'd been through too much together for it to end badly. She was still his closest and most trusted friend, but Tony had been afraid of her getting hurt. Baddies from Earth were one thing. Baddies from space were another thing altogether.

But right now, Tony really needed someone else to fixate on. Someone safer. Someone saner. Shaking his head with a rueful smile, Tony took a quick—and cold—shower and got dressed. He headed to his lab to work on a few more specs, then just before eight he headed up to his lounge.

To his relief, Loki was there. Sprawled like a fucking goddess on the leather sofa, reading another fat tome of some sort. He wasn't effeminate, but the mental image of a god brought someone like Thor to mind. Too big and clumsy and hairy to be associated with Loki. Goddess was the only word close enough to capture Loki's grace, elegance, and fucking ridiculous hotness.

"Glad you're here," he said as he strolled to the fridge. "Got an idea I wanna run by you."

Loki's green eyes lifted from his page, and did it seem like there was a knowing glitter in them? "I'm all yours, Stark."

Tony blinked, then he realized a split second later he'd misheard. I'm all ears. I'm fucked. I need a girlfriend. Or a hooker. "I was thinking about us leaving Earth—Midgard—to go chase after this witch. There probably won't be a generator for me to plug my suit into when the power levels get low."

Loki's pale lips curved in a slight smile. "Regrettably. Are you about to ask if magic can be used as an alternate power source?"

Tony half smiled. Quick on the uptake, as usual. "Is it possible?"

"Possible?" Loki repeated. "Yes. Realistic? Likely not. Your technology isn't compatible with crystals, and crystals are the best storage and delivery system for magic."

Now Tony's smile was broader. "This is me you're talking to. I'm brilliant, remember? As soon as I watched you finish your damn Aether staff, I started researching. I was real curious about that crystal you called god's tear, and I made a couple special orders. And last night, Bruce and I ran some simulations. I think if I had your help with interfacing, I could have a working prototype . . . by the end of the day."

Loki almost looked surprised. Then he closed his book and rose. "How . . . forward-thinking. Let me see."

"Soon," Tony promised. "I haven't eaten breakfast. And I'm betting you haven't either."

The god of mischief made a dismissive gesture. "I can go days without eating."

"Hence why you're skinny as a twig."

Blinking, Loki glanced down his own body. "I'm not skinny."

"Yes you are," Tony said, going to his side and wrapping an arm (hey, it was necessary) around Loki's waist to guide him to the bar. "Sit. Let me make you a nice meal." He tried not to lament how, in his dream, he'd been taller than Loki.

Unusually compliant, Loki simply sat without arguing. "What varieties of crystal grow in Midgard?"

"A lot," Tony replied. "It would take me a year just to go over them all. I ordered mostly various quartzes, hopefully you'll like one of them for energy conferring."

"I'm sure," Loki murmured, watching as Tony prepared oranges for squeezing. He accepted the glass of juice when Tony was done, looking curious. He sampled it, and his eyes fluttered shut in appreciation.

Tony's body gave a completely inappropriate reaction to the sight. He cleared his throat. "Glad you like it."

Loki's eyes opened, and he gave Tony a rather sultry smile over the rim of the glass. "I believe this is the best drink with which you've plied me, Stark. Finally learned I don't enjoy drinking swill?"

Snorting, Tony poured himself a glass. This was the Loki who'd so gotten under Tony's skin. Content, relaxed, demanding, and a smart-ass without that usual edge of malice. Everyone's taken care of me pretty much my whole life, the thought came unbidden. Even Pepper. Once, Tony wouldn't have realized he wanted to take care of someone else, for a change.

Turning away from Loki, he closed his eyes and took in a slow, deep breath. Okay, I've gotta stop. Just stop. This is so not healthy.

"Thor didn't tell us what you talked about," he said abruptly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Loki stiffen. When he turned to face the god, his entire countenance had changed. Anger bloomed viridian in his eyes.

"What reason did he give?"

The reaction threw Tony off balance. "That it was too personal and painful," he replied, folding his arms.

Loki let out a sound that was half laughter, half growl. "So he puts me through that and then doesn't even have the decency to tell you himself—"

"Actually," Tony said, reaching over the bar to grab Loki's chin, "he didn't want to break your confidence. So stop getting mad by yourself. He was looking out for you."

Loki grabbed Tony's wrist and slammed it down on the counter—and yeah, it hurt. A lot. "Do not ever speak to me like that again, Stark."

Tony winced but didn't try to free himself. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. I'm an ass without thinking, sometimes. Most of the time."

The fire in those incredible eyes flickered down to embers as Loki released him. The tension in his frame didn't melt away, though. "The whole point of that apparent exercise in futility was to satisfy the insatiably morbid curiosity of you fool humans so you would leave me alone."

"Which Thor made us all agree to," Tony said. Bruises were already blossoming on his wrist. "He did say you planned your own defeat to prevent something much worse from happening."

Loki gazed at him in silence for a few seconds, expression pensive. Then, "Never speak of it to me again. I don't care to hear your thoughts on the matter. Gossip amongst yourselves if you cannot let it lie."

He was losing Loki, Tony could feel it. All the comfortable rapport he'd been building with the god was crumbling before his eyes. And Tony simply could not let it happen. He knew better than to give in to baser impulses right now and kiss Loki like he half wanted. So all he said was,

"You're safe with me, Loki. I'm in your corner, all right?"

Whether Loki appreciated the sentiment or not, he couldn't tell. The Aesir turned so he was sitting sideways on the barstool. "I thought you were making a meal for me."

Tony obediently went back to that task, mentally cursing himself for bringing it up at all and scrambling for another topic. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You're way more amenable in my dreams, you know."

Success. Almost imperceptibly, Loki's shoulders relaxed and he looked at Tony with an amused half-smile. "Oh?"

"Yeah. It might do you good to take a lesson from dream-Loki."

Loki looked away with a soft snort, but it seemed the tension had at last drained away. "Please get on with breaking your fast, Stark. I'm more interested in working on this project than eating."

"All right, all right," Tony grumbled, focusing. "Demanding bastard."

The quiet sound he heard from Loki could have been the faintest chuckle. Tony chose to believe it was.

o0o

"I've made all the necessary preparations for leaving," Thor told the Avengers. They were all gathered except for Tony, but Thor suspected the Iron Man was with Loki. At least, he hoped so.

"Do you have any idea how long we'll be gone?" Steve asked. "I'd like to give Director Fury an estimate."

Thor paused, looking at the captain. "What do you plan to tell him?"

Steve offered a slightly rueful smile. "A modified version of the truth. That we're going to take the fight to the witch."

Nodding, Thor didn't bother to hide his relief. "I suspect this will take us from Midgard for at least a few of your weeks. Loki will be better able to answer that question than I. Do any of you know where Stark is?"

"In his lab," Bruce said, "working on a way to modify the power requirements for his suit. He wanted me to ask. Would you be able to charge it with your lightning? He said you struck him with it once and it worked pretty well."

Thor couldn't help but smile at the memory. It had been a good fight. He wouldn't mind a repeat just to stay sharp. "Yes. As many times as needed." He was glad his friend had thought ahead.

"What are we going to do about food?" Natasha asked.

Beginning to pace, Thor clasped his hands behind his back. "Loki will take care of that tonight." And he wouldn't like the how of that, either. It would require returning to Asgard for a time.

"And when are we leaving?" Clint asked.

"As soon as Loki is ready," Thor said, "which should be tomorrow morning." He wasn't even sure where they were going. He turned toward the door. "I'm going to speak with him. Take this time to ready yourselves, my friends."

Tony's laboratory was quite a large room, and Thor couldn't fathom the use for any of the equipment therein. The door opened for him without touching it, and when he crossed the threshold he didn't immediately see his friend and brother. Across the room was an enclosure walled off by glass, and there were Tony and Loki, apparently working on one of Tony's suits.

Thor paused, watching the scene before him. There was no tension in Loki's posture. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a red tee shirt. The rich color was striking against Loki's pale skin, but the thing that caught his attention and held it was Stark.

The man was completely attuned to Loki. Everything from the position of his body to the way his shoulders leaned toward Loki to the way his eyes stayed on Loki's face said there was only one important thing right now. It surprised Thor. He was used to seeing men act this way around a woman they deeply admired—a woman whose attention they desired.

And more shocking still, as Thor watched, Tony kept touching Loki. A hand to the other's wrist. A hand on his waist. Reaching up to brush ebony hair off a slim neck. A hand on the back of his shoulder to turn him to face where Stark wanted. The shock was in that Loki allowed it. More than allowed. Tolerated. Enjoyed? Loki's countenance spoke only of contentment.

Unexpected emotions welled up in Thor's breast. Once, Loki had been that way with Thor. He longed for a time when that part of Loki was his again. And he felt a rush of something much deeper than gratitude that Tony had somehow coaxed this gentler side of Loki out of the frozen walls around his heart.

Even as he wondered how deep Tony's seeming affections went. Was it more than camaraderie? If so, that made Tony both brave and unwise. Thor simultaneously wished Loki had someone like that and disapproved. He knew Tony had a sexual reputation to match the bawdiest Aesir warrior.

Loki needed love. Not lust.

Though he couldn't hear them, Thor saw Loki's lips move as he said something. Tony's eyes went to Loki's mouth, and Thor's question was answered. That is desire. Tony wasn't even bothering to hide it. Of course, he wasn't aware of his audience. Loki didn't appear to notice.

Deciding he'd seen enough, Thor strode across the lab and rapped his knuckles against the glass. Startled brown and displeased green eyes looked up at him. Tony reached to the panel beside the glass door, and it slid open.

"What's up, big guy?" Stark inquired. There was no guilt or shame on his face.

Thor decided to hold his peace until he knew more. Loki was hardly a wilting violet who needed protection. "Loki, I have need of your knowledge."

Expression inscrutable, Loki stepped out of that small room—really, did he need to be standing so close to Stark?

"What is it, Thor?"

Thor removed the amulet from around his neck and held it up for Loki to see. "Father gave this to me. Do you know what it is?"

Loki didn't even look at it, anger beginning to darken his features. "Of course I do. Not everyone disdains learning as a pastime of the weak."

Loki's bitterness didn't seem to have the power to rouse Thor's anger, any longer. No, he just felt sadness. How often had he mocked Loki's penchant for burying his nose in Mother's books as just that?

"I'm sor—" he began.

"Don't," Loki snapped, making a slashing gesture as he stalked past Thor.

Giving Stark a last look, Thor followed him. Loki didn't stop until they were on the roof of Stark's tower, and he faced Thor with a calmer expression.

"Stop trying to placate me, Thor," he said in a low voice. "Stark told me you decided to treat everything I told you as some sort of secret told in the utmost confidence. What in the Nine possessed you to do that? The whole reason I put myself through the ordeal was so your fool human friends would be satisfied and leave me be. And you choose to keep it to yourself?"

Thor carefully organized his thoughts before speaking. "I am not trying to placate you, Loki. I want you to understand I care about you. That I deeply regret how I've treated you in the past—"

"I don't care about that," Loki cut him off. "It's over. It's done. Do you think I'm so pathetic as to hold onto a grudge?"

Striding forward, Thor grabbed Loki's upper arms. He resisted the urge to shake his little brother. "I don't know what to think, Loki. You keep your heart sealed so tightly away I don't even know why you're angry with me!"

Loki's face contorted in a snarl as he hit Thor's hands away. "Of course you don't. You're an utter fool, Thor."

"Talk to me, Loki," Thor growled, frustration bubbling up in his chest. "Yes, I'm a fool. So help me understand why we can't put this behind us! Help me understand what happened to my brother!"

"That is why I'm angry, Thor," Loki hissed. "You look at me at see your younger brother. The second prince. The other Odinson. Your faithful shadow. Your most loyal supporter. Do you ever look at me and just see me?"

Thor stopped. Memories began tumbling through his mind. Hurtful, hateful words. Mischievous pranks with far more malice than fun. Green eyes looking at the Allfather with something akin to betrayal making them dark and dull.

He learned of his heritage in the worst possible way.

Thor felt like his heart was breaking. "Do you truly believe I think you inferior to me?"

Loki's rage did not relent. "You have acted that way for centuries. Do not try to deny it."

Thor didn't. "Loki, I would be nothing without you. How many times did you save my life? How many times did you quietly console me when I suffered some slight—real or imagined? How many nights did you sit at my side and tell me I would be a great king? How many feasts to honor nobility from the Nine did you whisper names in my ear so I did not look the fool? Do you know how many times I said to Mother and Father I could not be king without you? My confidence was bolstered because of you!"

A twisted smile. "So the fault lies with me, then? Perhaps I should have been more careful with my words. Even your pathetic attempts at flattery demean me. You would be king, and I would be what, exactly? The advisor who whispers names in your ear to keep you from looking the fool?"

Thor refused to be baited. "I was always envious of you."

That threw Loki off balance, but only for a moment. "And now you appeal to my vanity?"

"Are you going to deny every word that comes out of my mouth for the rest of time?" Thor demanded. "Loki, all of Asgard was envious of you. You are the silvertongue. The one who could achieve anything."

"I was feared, not envied," Loki corrected with no small amount of spite. "The strange, un-warrior-like brother of Thor who spent too much time reading and not enough time trying to be a proper Aesir son of Odin. I believe it was you who said my study of magic was a womanly pursuit, dear brother. Loudly. In front of your barbaric friends."

A knife to the heart, that. "If I could take that back, I would—"

"But you can't," Loki interrupted again, "so this is a pointless exchange. Neither of us can change what has already transpired."

For the first time, Thor was absolutely certain Loki's poisonous words were a defense and nothing more. He wasn't sure what Loki was afraid of if he let Thor in, but all he could do was prove over and over to Loki he had nothing to fear until at last his brother believed it.

"No," he murmured, "we can't. All I can do is heal the wounds I've caused. I love you, Loki, and I am deeply ashamed of how I've hurt you. I am truly sorry, and I will say it until it is ingrained in your very soul and you cannot doubt it."

His warm, gentle tone of voice seemed to unsettle Loki more than intensity. "Don't flatter yourself, Thor," he sneered. "You don't have the power to hurt me." He vanished in a haze of green mist.

Thor looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. "Mother," he whispered, "I wish you were still here. You would know how I could reach him."

"Hey," Stark's voice said behind him. "I thought Loki was with you?"

Given a sudden outlet for his frustration, Thor turned to face the human. "What are your intentions toward my brother?"

Tony froze. "Uh . . . what the hell? Way to throw a guy a curve ball."

"Answer my question."

"Mind telling me where this is coming from?"

"Just now, in your lab. I know what desire looks like on a man's face."

Stark's complexion seemed to lose a bit of its color. "Look, Thor. I'm just trying to get Loki to loosen up a little, okay? Let him know he doesn't need to be so guarded. We aren't his enemies, right? You wanted me to get him to open up, remember?"

"That does not include leading him on," Thor snapped. "He's been through enough. Do not ever let me see you touch him again." With that warning, he brushed past the human.

The Avengers needed to be prepared for the first journey through the Bifrost.

So many feels. T^T

Apparently I keep lying about the action.