disclaimer i do not own marvel, but ohhh if i did...

Chapter 25

Somewhere between the early hour of four and the rising sun, Loki awoke to find himself still sharing the bed with Anthony, who was sleeping peacefully. Their limbs were entangled and the engineer's head lay in the crook of his neck. The ex-god's eyes adjusted slowly to the bright blue light of the arc reactor, now uncovered by a shirt or suit. He caught himself studying the illuminated features of the brown-haired man and smiling.

Without waking the sleeping genius, Loki slid out of bed, heading toward the bathroom to relieve his bladder. Still sleep-drunk, he rubbed his eyes and when he opened them, the trickster looked straight into the large mirror. As much as the ex-god still despised the cold blue of the eyes staring back at him, they stopped being surprising after a while. Loki had however, grown used to, and became even fond of, his unruly blond hair. It had a delightfully defiant nature, just like its master, doing what it wanted even if Loki meticulously styled it in the morning. That one annoying lock of hair always hung in front of his vision and the rest of the slightly curling strands rose as the day progressed, giving him bed hair before he even hit the sheets. It was extremely pesky at first, yet quite enjoyable once he got used to it.

Loki frowned slightly, touching his long neck after noticing a spot on it. Wetting his finger, he tried to rub it off in vain. He blinked and removed his hand, giving the mark closer inspection. By the Nine, that fool! Anthony had marked him without his consent and in such a visible place, it would prove difficult to hide from prying eyes...if he hid it at all, that was. A mischievous smile played along the corners of his mouth; with this, he could certainly place the engineer in a compromising situation and feast on sweet revenge while doing so. Ah yes, he would have fun embarrassing Stark with this once morning came.

Then he realized that he wasn't actually feeling any anger toward this unsolicited mark. On the contrary, he was actually feeling quite content at its presense. This did nothing to diminish the urge to seek revenge for such an act, however. With haste, Loki turned off the bathroom lights and left. He needed to head back to his own quarters, it wasn't right to be here. He just needed to…

The ex-god froze on the spot when he saw his imprint on the bed sheets, a distinctly empty shape left behind by him. Anthony had stirred while sleeping, his calloused hand now settled where Loki had lain, taking in the last of his remaining body heat. Loki could swear the expression on the brown-haired man's face had changed into something that portrayed longing. Here lay Anthony Stark, as naked and vulnerable as the day he was born.

Loki had an endless list of deceptions, schemes, and gruesome actions - blood was on his hands without a doubt - yet the engineer had simply accepted him. Either not caring or ignoring his previous actions, Stark chose willingly to let a person who tried to murder him, in his house no less, in his bed. He could not have been unaware that Loki could remove his lifeline and watch him die a slow torturous death as the shrapnel pierced the most vital organ in his body. Yet here he lay, disturbed by Loki's absence.

Once, the trickster would have done the deed with great pleasure. Stark would have begged to live and the ex-god would have watched and smiled in madness. But now, he was slightly stunned by the fact that Anthony placed this amount of trust in his hands. The opportunity was here, laying on the bed before him, yet Loki did nothing more than return to that bed, refilling the empty space he had left behind earlier.

The trickster tugged on the thick, fluffy sheets, covering their naked bodies before the cold air chilled them. Automatically, the genius moved closer to him without waking from his slumber, his leg draping over Loki's and one of Anthony's hands curling on his chest. The light of the small arc reactor created a shadow-play over Loki's body. The engineer's face was so close that Loki could feel the other man's soft, warm breaths tickling his ears.

Sleep washed over him and Loki closed his eyes as he slowly drifted away. Perhaps he really should have torn out the arc on the first day, shattering and crushing any hope with it in the process. It was days, weeks too late now. Both of them were foolish men, Loki thought, while yawning. For no longer did he want to tear and smash that piece of technology keeping the engineer alive. Not when Anthony made him feel so…

The bright "A" of Stark Tower spread a light of hope over the half-slumbering city. It was a beacon for them now, a sign that out there, extraordinary people worked hard to keep the inhabitants of the city safe from harm. And like the city, where people always worked all night, the large tower never truly slept either. At any given moment during the day, be it early afternoon or an ungodly late hour, there was always somebody awake in the modern glass and steel structure. This dark night was no exception to that rule for inside, Dr. Bruce Banner was still working in one of the laboratories and Thor was standing outside on one of the balconies, his unfaltering gaze peering over the city and its almost endless lights.

Each of the heroes had felt the trouble that was brewing underneath their feet. They knew Chitauri had crawled and searched the surface of this place, their reptilian eyes watching from the dark shadows of the city. The creatures wanted more than just petty revenge and finding Loki was just an added bonus now. Thor and the other Avengers would face this battle courageously, wielding weaponry and knowledge against them. He had his mighty hammer Mjolnir to summon forth bone-shattering lightning. He would deal deadly blows to any enemy brave, or stupid, enough to face the Asgardian warrior head-on.

Thor frowned at the lights sparkling in the city, the lights cutting the darkness into shadow and obscuring the stars of the sky. Any danger heading Loki's way - and oh, it was surely coming for the mischievous ex-god - would have to be faced alone, or at least, without his aid. For the broad-shouldered Asgardian had made a vow not to interfere with the dealings of the cast out prince, even if his brother faced a foe who was entirely capable of rendering him cut him into tiny pieces given his newly-found, and very human, mortality. And if Loki's true nature was discovered? Thor knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be less than accepting of Asgardian justice and this particular form of punishment - Loki would be caught and placed in a dark, damp cell, left to rot for his crimes. Loki would receive no chance at redemption then and there was nothing Thor could do to stop any of it from happening. His only comfort was that he could still say good morning to his little brother, even if he had to greet Locke rather than Loki.

And then there was the Man of Iron, with his will to keep the trickster safe. It had been unexpected, unbelievable, but very much a reality. Thor had been full of doubt regarding this strange showing of comaraderie, so he headed toward the quarters of his friend. Surely the Man of Iron would recognize the question on his mind even with this imposed silence on the matter.

As Thor entered the penthouse suite, the undeniable sounds of enthusiastic mating coming from the man's private chambers stopped him from advancing. No sane man would disturb another during the act of sex, it was not something to be done except in the most dire of circumstances. Stark was well-known for having a reputation of bringing home women when it pleased him and Thor grinned at his friend's carnal appetite. His questions would wait until morning.

Thor was ready to leave until he heard a familiar name groaned in ecstasy. Anger rose in him and his hold on Mjolnir became stronger. Could his friend be so unwise that he would dare try and take advantage of Loki? But there was no interfering, no storming in and asking what the other Avenger was doing with his brother, as another voice, dark and melodious, cried out from inside the room, "Anthony!"

Thor left immediately, ashamed for thinking badly about the Man of Iron and his instinct to interrupt what was obviously consensual. Because what they were doing in there, those vocal sounds, were not those of a person doing something truly unwanted. As the Asgardian waited outside after the volume and sounds had diminished, he took note of the fact that Loki had not left the room. By all means, it surprised Thor that his younger brother willingly stayed and slept there with the other man.

He hoped Loki found a shard of happiness, even if he feared that it was bound to end one day.

I know that this was a strange chapter, but neither of these pieces seemed to belong to chapter 24 or the next. So instead of trying to fit them in a place where they obviously don't belong i took the liberty of posting them like this.

After this contemplative chapter we are back in action.

Thank you readers for your patience.

Feel free to leave a review, if you like.

Beta for this chapter was xenia007 and swordmisstress