They had made it to the bedroom, somehow. Tony suspected there was a dose of Loki's teleportation magic involved. They landed on his bed, Loki underneath Tony, and their clothes vanished into a neat heap next to the bed. Normally Tony would have made a snarky comment on that, but now the tension and desire were so strong he could hardly think. It was not something he was used to, at all. The more he felt Loki's skin, sensed his scent and tasted his lips, the more his mind gave in to an almost animal instinct. Loki appeared to be in a similar state, kissing with the hunger of a starving man. Tony buried his face in Loki's neck, inhaling that delicious scent, letting his tongue and then his teeth trail over the sensitive skin. It drew a moan from Loki's lips, and Tony felt how the god's nails planted themselves in his back as he bit him.
Their hands slid over bare skin, entangled as they met each other, sending shivers of delight through both men… it wasn't long before their hands found the way to the lower anatomy. There was no talking at that point; it wasn't necessary… they knew what to do on pure instinct. As Tony teasingly caressed Loki's penis, the god trembled, heated eyes full of lust. He whispered against Tony's lips.
"Please take me…"
It wasn't just a sex proposal… it was a plea. And Tony was no man to ignore a plea… The basic preparations were quickly made, and the moment Tony started readying Loki for penetration, his fingers slipping in the god's tight cavern… it was then that Loki realized the sheer magical strength of Ekteskap. His whole body was willing and arched in the correct position without a single thought. Not much thought was left anyway… Loki screamed when Tony penetrated him, in a combination of pain and pleasure he hadn't imagined possible. The sensation incapacitated all what was left of their rational minds, leaving them fucking like animals, writhing bodies entangled in a knot of lust and passion…
(Pagebreak)
Peter found Hela in her room after the decorating efforts. The room she had been given was very much like the one in her apartment: black walls, black velvet, black silk, black wood… With the help of JARVIS –and Tony's credit card- they had decorated the place. Now Peter found it wasn't as dark as usual though. Several strings of green fairy lights lit the place, giving the usually depressing room something of an evil lair, or a secret facility… If it weren't for the music that blasted out of hidden speakers at a volume higher than what otologists condone. Peter had knocked and knocked on her door but no one answered, and when he opened the door himself the music had practically deafened him on the spot.
"Kings and Queens and Presidents, Ministers of Governments! Welcome to the future of your world… Through talking heads that took liberties, the monkeys learnt to build machines. They think they'll get to heaven through the universe…"
In the middle of all that, on the floor, sat Hela. Peter's eyes widened at her. She was in her true form and wore her regal robes, heavy dark brocade and many layers, and he could almost feel the nauseating magic that clung to her like a veil now. Around her floated books and scrolls. In front of her floated an enormous, thick book with eerily thin pages written from top to bottom with a teeny-tiny handwriting. Hela herself was holding a large black quill.
"There'll be trouble when the kids come out. There will be lots for them to talk about.
There'll be trouble when the kids come out, when the kids come out, when the kids come out, when the kids come out…"
"Hela!?"
The goddess didn't hear him.
"HELA?!"
Now she looked up.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"ADMINISTRATION!"
They had to yell to understand each other, while they were only about six meters away rom each other. Annoyed, Peter yelled.
"JARVIS, TURN DOWN THE MUSIC!"
Hela violently shook her head, but the deed was done, and the ear bursting sound of Take That faded away.
"Now why did you put it so loud?"
Hela frowned.
"I have sensitive hearing."
"What?"
Peter quickly understood what she meant though when another type of loud noise filled the room.
"Oooh! Aaah! Oh yes, Aaah! Oh my fucking GOD! AAAH! …"
The red was present on his cheeks before he could say a word.
"Well… This is awkward…"
Hela sighed.
"Can we put the music on again?"
Peter shook his head.
"Even godly eardrums can't withstand that much decibels." Then he looked curious. "Where did you find that music?"
Hela shrugged.
"Justin gave me a stick-shaped device full of music he thought I might like a while ago. According to JARVIS all of it was rather loud, so I thought it was suitable for the situation."
"Aha… And what is this?"
Peter pointed at the big book. Hela gave him a sad half-smile.
"As I said, administration. It's not because I'm not sitting on my throne in Niflheim that people stop dying…"
"So… what exactly do you administrate then?"
Hela softly patted the big book.
"This is the Book of the Fated Dead. Everyone who will die on a certain point has his name written in this."
"It's rather small to contain that much…"
"It's an illusion. The true magnitude of the Book would fill this whole room, at least."
"So… Everyone is in there?"
Hela softly nodded.
"Everyone in the nine realms who will be granted the permission to die."
"Permission?"
Peter didn't understand, but he found it incredibly fascinating. Also, concentrating on Hela's administration kept the sounds of their caretakers doing the nasty a bit at a distance. Hela looked at him, her emerald eye piercing his mind.
"To die is a gift, Peter. When one's name is scratched from the Book, no afterlife can contain him anymore. One is then to suffer and rot without the soul being capable of leaving the body. It is the worst fate."
That sounded… unpleasant indeed. Peter nodded.
"And you write in that book?"
"Sometimes. Mostly I use it to check the new arrivals."
She pointed at the floating scrolls with her black quill.
"And you use a quill?"
Hela nodded and stroked the large feather.
"Yes. These… The only friends I had when I was little were the ravens of Odin, Huginn and Muninn. Ravens are omnivorous, but as they often followed Odin to war, they mostly ate from the cadavers of the fallen. I suppose they understood the dead a bit better than most of Asgard. When I left to Niflheim they gave me a few of their quills as a goodbye present."
Hela smiled at the memory.
"I think they were the only ones that were actually sad to see me leave."
"I think your father was sad too."
Hela bent her head.
"Yes. I…"
The sounds of the lovemaking of said father made concentrating rather hard. Peter couldn't help but chuckle.
"They are so loud."
"Yeah… Do you know they've been at it for over an hour now?"
"Really?"
"Groaning, grunting, screaming, moaning, the whole package."
"Damn. This is so awkward."
Peter looked at Hela, half-skeleton and wearing an enormous gown, and as their eyes caught each other they started laughing out loud.
"Awkward doesn't cover it I'm afraid…"
(Pagebreak)
Loki didn't remember what time of day it was, what day, where he was or how he had gotten there… and never complete disorientation had felt quite so delightful. His whole body tingled with a wonderful feeling and his head was filled with pretty colors and bright lights and other things you usually only see when you're completely drugged up. As he turned his head his eyes caught Tony's, and immediately a wave of utter happiness came over him. The engineer looked at him with that same mix of drowsiness and affection he felt as well… Loki knew he must have a seriously goofy grin on his face at the moment, but he didn't care.
"I love you."
Those words sent shivers through Loki. He crawled closer to his lover and answered.
"I love you too…"
No more words were needed. The magic that still rushed through their veins sent them both into a blissful sleep. The last thing Loki saw before exhaustion overwhelmed him like a warm blanket was Tony's face… and in a final bout of clarity he understood why his mother had hoped he would bond like this. Then there was nothing but beatific dreams…
(Pagebreak)
The next morning Tony woke up feeling… drunk. The good kind of drunk, the slightly-lightheaded-and-cheerful kind of socially acceptable intoxication. He looked at Loki. The god was curled up in his arms, still asleep with his lips folded in a relaxed smile. It was an endearing sight, and Tony couldn't help himself but press a kiss on those beautiful lips. Loki slowly opened his eyes, his smile widening when he saw Tony.
"Good morning Reindeer Games…"
"Is it morning already?"
"Mhmm."
Loki tangled his legs with Tony's. He didn't want to get up yet… Tony understood without explanation.
"We can just stay in bed if you like…"
Loki pulled Tony closer for a kiss that was more than enough answer.
At the breakfast table, Tony and Loki were –not surprisingly- missing. There hung an awkward silence in the kitchen, and Frigga clearly noticed while serving everyone a portion of omelet. She raised eyebrows at the bizarre behavior of her newly adopted family, but didn't ask. Clint –of course- was the first to say something.
"Maybe they're so sore they can't walk anymore."
Natasha poked him.
"Clint!"
"What?"
The archer pulled his least convincing innocent face. Justin chuckled, and Peter and Hela –who had followed the audio of the spectacle all to the very last moan-, quickly joined him. Steve blushed. He had no problem with gay people, but he still found it odd… and to know one of his best friends and a former enemy were doing exactly that just a few floors away… That was really pushing it. Good thing Thor was sleeping over at Jane's place… Frigga saw how uncomfortable he was and she put a hand on his shoulder. Then she spoke to the whole group.
"I know it should not be my task to reveal this, but I fear perhaps the behavior of my son and his chosen mate will seem strange to you if I don't."
Bruce spoke up.
"I'm pretty sure we all know what Loki and Tony are doing upstairs, lady Frigga."
"We for sure heard it…"
Frigga blushed a little and shook her head.
"No, that is not what I mean. They are currently under the influence of very powerful marriage magic, you should understand they truly have no choice but to behave as they do."
Their eyes widened.
"Wait… did you say… marriage?"
Frigga nodded.
"Ah, yes. I was under the impression you have a similar ceremony here on Midgard."
Clint, who was probably imagining Loki in a wedding dress, burst out in laughter.
"Seriously? I mean, are you for real? Oh my…"
Natasha punched him to shut him up and asked the Allmother.
"But when did they get married? And why didn't they tell us?"
Frigga smiled apologetically.
"I'm afraid the marriage was a bit of an accident. Asgardians –and Jotun too- have a lot of intrinsic magic embedded in their being, and sometimes this heritage is strong enough to handle according to the subconscious wishes of the people involved."
Bruce tried to see some logic in it all.
"So… are you saying Tony and Loki accidentally got married because they subconsciously wanted it and Loki's magic just made it happen?"
"Something like that indeed. Don't think it is Loki's fault though, he was terribly embarrassed by it and caused himself a lot of pain trying to fight the spell."
"Oh…"
"I think what they are going through now is what you call the honeymoon period. It will last for about a week, and is very important to solidify the bond they share."
Frigga seemed so serious about it that no one dared to laugh at the visions of Loki –or Tony- in a wedding dress, which definitely crossed all of their minds. Peter and Hela looked at each other. This was awkward…
"Hello sister."
"Good morning brother."
As always, the best remedy for awkwardness was a strong dose of laughter. Hela and Peter laughed, while the rest stared at them uncomprehendingly.
(Pagebreak)
The living room looked like WWII: Christmas Edition. There was glitter literally everywhere, shards of broken ornaments on the ground, a stray string of fairly lights here and there, packaging material from the decorations lying around and ripped garlands hanging on almost every piece of furniture.
"Wow."
"We… we have to clean this, no?"
"I'm not doing it."
"Neither am I."
"I still have work in the lab, and cleaning is so terribly annoying…"
"Err…"
Eventually, Steve and Justin were the only ones left behind. Steve noticed the little nerd was a whole lot less hyperactive than the day before… While they gathered packaging material, he asked.
"Hey, is something wrong?"
Justin shook his head.
"No, nothing's wrong."
But the melancholic atmosphere remained. A little later, Steve prodded again.
"Come on, you can tell me, I won't tell the others."
"It's stupid."
"When it makes you feel bad it never is."
Justin looked at Steve and sighed.
"You know what day it is?"
"Err… 18 December?"
The boy nodded.
"I've been living here for two months now, today exact."
"And…?"
"Did you know my dad hasn't called me a single time? I just said I was going to fucking live somewhere else and he shrugged and said I could do what I wanted as long as I didn't break my credit card limit."
"How old are you again?"
" 15, almost 16."
Steve found it hard to imagine Justin's parents showed so little concern for their child. He shook his head.
"Perhaps there is a reason he never…"
"No Steve. My father is an asshole and he cares more for his money than for me, or for that airhead of a mother I have."
"So… you're sad because today it's been two months since you last spoke him and he hasn't shown any concern?"
Justin shook his head and whispered.
"No. I'm sad because it's almost Christmas."
"Huh?"
"Christmas always was the only time of the year my family felt a bit like family should. My dad would come home earlier, my mother wore this hideous sweater vest with reindeers on it, and they would for a few days pretend to actually like each other for the sake of the holidays. It was an illusion, but a pretty one. You can see why I like Christmas, right?"
Steve nodded, and Justin continued.
"When the tree arrived I was so happy, because I thought 'yay, Christmas again!'… and I hoped that perhaps my dad would call and tell me he wanted me to come home for the holidays, or that my mom would call and ask what I would like as a gift, anything really, anything to show that they do care a tiny little bit!"
Steve put an arm around Justin, who appeared to be a bit upset.
"And then today I realized it's been two months, and… that I just have to accept they really don't give a damn."
The super soldier had no idea how to comfort Justin, but he did understand his sadness now…
"Don't think you don't have a family. Look at us! Two assassins with fake pasts and more issues than the Encyclopedia Britannica, a guy with the most breathtaking anger management problem ever, a spider-boy, an alcoholic with a metal suit, an alien family that can rival the Addam's family, and then me, a man so out of time that I don't even know how to work the microwave. We all have family issues. Sometimes because our family sucked, or because they're dead, or because we have a fight with them… If anything I would say welcome to the club."
Justin grinned faintly.
"Thanks."
"I promise you this will be the best Christmas ever."
Now the boy's grin became wider. On a whim he hugged Steve.
"Thanks man. You're seriously awesome."
(Author's Notes)
Sorry there was so little smut... I wanted to keep it T for now, but if you are in favor of more descriptive sex scenes just met me know!
And... JustinFeels. It was a bit of a filler chap, I know that, but it had reason. I found I had to explain some things, like Justin's Christmas-Mania and the few mentions of the Book of the Fated Dead in previous parts. Also, send me apples (or corpses) for Huginn and Muninn, they're hungry! (Ravens FTW!)
REVIEW PLEASE!
I love reviews and I try to answer them all personally! (I could also go threaten and say that Odin's Ravens will come and poke your eyes out if you don't, but I'm too nice for that.)