Life is never gentle

by Cip

No-one ever said life was kind or gentle and Tony is about to find out the hard way just how difficult it can be. And this time he can't call on the Avenger's for help and can't tell Pepper the truth - he has to do this alone, and that thought is terrifying. FrostIron, warnings inside.

20. Chapter 20

I'm very sorry this is late guys! So much for my new years resolution, huh? In between panto rehearsals and being really quite poorly the ol' creative juices have been rather dry. Hopefully I'll be back on track now, though!

The last part might be controversial to some (if you've survived this far, I'm sure it should be fine) but incase my reasoning wasn't clear enough in the story I am happy to have a private chat with you about it. You'll see what I mean when you get there, I think. Let's just say, alien's heal real quick.

Anyways: enjoy!

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Evie was curled up against Tony's side, fast asleep, when Loki finally came back. The man glared at him, but it was half-hearted at best.

"May I come in?"

"You're a God; I'm pretty sure you can do what the hell you want." The anger in Tony's voice faded as he saw Loki flinch and he gestured at the empty seat. "But you can if you want."

"How are you feeling?" The trickster accepted the offer to sit, although his body language was still proclaiming that he was less than happy.

"Eh, tired. A bit sheepish; I should have thought to turn my bloody phone back on."

"Why would that have made a difference?"

"Jarvis routes through my phone; if it had been on he would have been monitoring me and have cut in when I needed him to." Tony shrugged. "I turned the wretched thing off since who knows what the Bifrost would have done to it, and what with you and Evie and everything it never occurred to me to turn it back on."

"We all make mistakes." Loki said mildly.

"Yeah…" The man looked away, absently running his fingers through Evie's hair as she slept soundly against him. "Look, I'm sorry. I was going to tell you; there just hadn't been a good time. I didn't want you to find out like this."

"No, I can't imagine you did. But that is the past, I know now."

"I'm sorry." Tony looked up to see that Loki was staring fixedly at the door and reached out to touch his hand. "Hey, I'm sorry. Really."

For a long moment the trickster didn't respond, stone faced and silent. It was only when Tony leant forwards slightly, beginning to feel somewhat desperate, that he relented and glanced at the man.

"I know." He twisted his hand so that it was palm up and gripped Stark's. "I was angry and irrational earlier, I am sorry too. I should have given you more time to explain."

"Eh, shit happens."

"Will you be alright now?"

"Jarvis has got my back. As long as I remember to keep my phone on I should be fine." Tony settled back against the pillows again, looking more relaxed now. "Hey. Does this mean we've just successfully navigated out first argument as a couple?"

Loki looked amused. "We're a couple?"

"Sorry sugar, sometimes you just have to face the tough truth." Tony laughed as Loki dropped his hand like a stone, looking revolted. "Okay, okay, no calling you sugar."

"Do I need to write up a list of all the pet names you have attempted and that I have shot down?"

"I'm pretty sure I remember most of them." Tony began ticking off on his fingers. "Sugar, honey, cupcake, babe, rock-of-ages, goat-horns, darling, honey-bun, Loke, Lokes, Lolo, lulu, lolly-pop-"

"You've never called me Lolly-pop."

"Not to your face; I don't have a death wish."

"Hmm." Loki's death-glare had the edge to it that usually meant he was seconds away from laughing. "There is still a window close enough for you to be thrown out of, you know."

Tony waved is hand airily. "Oh pshh, you keep waving that threat around, but you've only done it the once." He grinned. "I still think of it as our first date."

"A memorable one."

"Yeah. Can't say the Hulk or the chitauri lent it a romantic atmosphere, but beggars can't be choosers."

Something in Loki's expression closed off, and he looked away. The motion didn't go unnoticed and Tony reached out to grab his arm.

"Hey, what? What did I say?"

"The chitauri. Heimdall has informed me that they are on their way. We have a couple of days at best before they arrive."

The man slumped back, looking horrified. "Shit! I thought I'd got most of them with that nuke!"

"You took out a significant number; which will certainly be useful. However, the ships circling the planet apparently survived." Loki's shoulders hunched as he looked down at his hands. "I have asked my father not to let anyone interfere when they arrive. This is going to be my fight and mine alone."

To his credit, Tony didn't butt in with the horrified 'you can't be serious!' that Loki expected. Instead his eyes narrowed as he stared thoughtfully at the prince.

"You have a plan." He said slowly.

"Yes, although…I do not have all the pieces in place yet. There is still information I lack."

Tony smiled slightly. "I can't imagine there's much that you don't already know."

"There are some things in which you are the master."

The man laughed quietly. "Oh, I'd like to have that in writing! Okay, what do you need to know? I'll get the old memory banks going. Although if you want to build another nuke you're pushing it fine time-wise. Those things take a while."

"I am not planning a nuclear weapon."

"Can I say I'm relieved? To be honest the thought of you with atomic power is kinda…scary."

Loki grinned, all teeth and malice. "I am after something far more powerful than anything atomic. And you have the knowledge that I need."

Stark – to his credit – only rolled his eyes. "This won't involve pulling my brain out or something like that, will it?"

"No. But if you will let me I would like to search through your knowledge to find what I need. It won't hurt, and will not tax your body in any way – I will not put you in harm's way."

Tony glanced down at Evie – still fast asleep – then back up and nodded. "Sure, go for it." He settled back against the pillows, looking expectant.

"I will not do it now. You need to rest."

"I feel fine!"

"Tony!" The God leant forwards to cup his partner's cheek. "Rest. It can wait. Right now I just want you well."

Stark smiled grimly, raising a sceptical eyebrow. "Yeah, you and me both know I'm not getting better any time soon. I'm stable; that's the best we've got."

"For now. Do not think I am not working on that also." Loki tapped him on the forehead in a somewhat condescending manner. "I just need to remove the threat the chitarui pose first."

"Have I mentioned that I love you?"

"Oh, maybe once or twice."

Tony laughed and snagged him by the collar of his tunic, pulling the God into a quick kiss. "Yeah, well, I'm a broken record on that account. Now for God's sake sit on the bed so that I can fall asleep and drool on you."

"How did I ever survive without such romantic encounters?" Loki sounded annoyed, but slid from the chair to the bed so that the human could lean against him. "Comfortable?"

"Mhmm, very, thank you."

The prince smiled slightly and tipped his head so that it was resting on his partner's. He would not pass up on a chance to be with his little family, even if it brought the risk of drifting off to sleep and falling off the edge of the bed…

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"I found him, but he was with his mortal in the infirmary, asleep – I did not wish to wake them." Frigga said softly.

Odin nodded, as if he expected the answer. "I suspected he would be." He smiled up at his wife as she came to join him at the window that looked out over the Bifrost. "You have more intuition than I; what do you make of Tony Stark?"

"A most singular man, I must say." The Queen sat down on the window seat, pulling the cloak from her shoulders as she did so. "No real concept of any hierarchy other than one with himself at the top."

"Not much difference from Loki then."

Frigga laughed. "He is very similar to Loki in many ways, and I believe that between the two of them they would be able to easily take command of the full Nine Realms if they put a mind to it."

"Then let's not put that idea in their heads."

"I do not think we will need to be concerned any time soon. Loki is far more focused on his daughter than taking over another Realm." She smiled fondly. "I believe Tony Stark is very good for him. I have not seen our boy this happy for many years. Despite all that has happened, these past terrible years and all that he has suffered through during them, there is a light inside Loki that I have not seen for far too long a time. He has been battered and torn apart, and yet the thought of this simple mortal man kept him from being broken." Frigga looked down at her hands, tangled together in her lap. "When Thor brought him back here all those years ago, Loki was a broken and desperate creature; mad with pain and horror and guilt. I feared the worst when he escaped; that he would lash out again and cause more damage. But instead he found someone who could piece him back together and heal up the wounds to his soul." She looked up at Odin, smiling although her eyes were wet. "I believe we owe Tony Stark everything."

"You may well be right, my love." The King looked all of his many years in that moment. "I never thought I would hear Loki call me Father again. It is more than I could ask for."

"Do you suppose that he may allow us to meet Evelyn? I so wish to see my grand-daughter!"

"We can but hope. She may well wish to meet us too."

Frigga leant back against her husband with a sigh. "As long as Loki is happy. He was ever a lonely child and a lonelier young man. He deserves this happiness now. He deserves a family."

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Tony woke slowly to find his neck sore but, always a blessing, he hadn't actually drooled. He was still leaning against Loki, and could feel the gentle vibrations in the trickster's chest as Loki spoke quietly.

"-never been particularly fond of them either."

"What about parsnip? I hate parsnip!"

This time there was more than just a vibration, as Loki laughed almost silently. "Me too! My own mother could never make me eat them as a child."

Evie giggled, equally quietly. "I'm not a fan of cabbage either."

"Ah, now I do not actually mind that so much. Carrots on the other hand…"

"Oh, I like carrots."

"Horrible things! Now honey on the other hand…"

"Hell yeah! Anything sweet to be honest!"

Loki laughed again. "Yes, my sweet tooth is ridiculous too! I had such cravings for those Danish cinnamon swirls when I was pregnant with you. There was this lovely patisserie a block from where I was staying at the time, they catered quite adequately."

Tony finally raised his head a little. "Okay, you two are making me ridiculously hungry!"

Loki looked sideways at him and smiled. "Oh, hello you. Welcome back, you've only been sleeping these past seven hours."

"Seven hours? Really? Wow." The man sat up properly, rubbing one hand across his eyes. "Didn't think I was that tired."

"You missed breakfast and lunch; that would be why you are hungry. I have had the servants send supper to our rooms. The medics said you could leave once you woke."

"Great!" Tony half made to raise himself up, then stopped to look at his partner. "Our rooms?"

"There are three of us staying there now. I can hardly claim them all to myself any more now, can I? And to be fair, Sleipnir has always considered them half his as well."

"Fair enough."

Once they returned to Loki's – no, their – rooms Tony dived immediately into the bathroom to attempt to return to something approaching human and Evie started moving the dishes of food from the table where they'd been placed to the rugs infront of the fireplace. Admittedly the fire wasn't lit, since Asgard was currently in its summer season, but it was still a good area for a picnic dinner.

Loki took advantage of his family being otherwise occupied and slipped back out of the room with Tony's phone in hand. Since the machine was permanently on – solar-powered to save on battery – he only had to press the button on the side for the screen to light up. However, it was a far newer model than he was used to and he then stared at the new layout in confusion.

In the end he plumped for looking like an idiot and just hoping his hunch was correct.

"Jarvis?"

"Hello sir."

Thank the Norns for that! He would have looked particularly stupid had the AI not replied.

"It is wonderful to hear your voice once more Mr Loki, I have yet to offer my personal greetings and express how pleased I am that you are alright."

Loki smiled at that. "Thank you, Jarvis, it is good to hear from you too."

"How may I help you, sir?"

"Two things. First, I wanted to thank you for looking after Tony and Evelyn so well. I have it on good authority that there are many occasions on which Tony would have died if not for you."

"I was just doing my job, but I do appreciate the sentiment, so you are welcome. The second thing?"

"Uh…" Loki cleared his throat and looked down the corridor again to double check that there was still no-one in listening distance. "Tony's heart condition; does it prevent him from…doing certain things."

Jarvis sounded slightly condescending in his reply. "Well, yes sir of course. For example, he should avoid heavy lifting. You will have to be more specific if there is something in particular you have in mind."

"Can he still…Are we still able to…"

"If you are trying to ask if Mr Stark is still able to engage in an intimate scenario with you, then the answer is yes." Jarvis was far too smug. "Provided you aren't planning a sex marathon, he should be fine."

Loki smiled, feeling his cheeks redden and glad that there was no one around. "No marathons just yet. I do not believe I am up to that either."

"Too much information, sir."

"You started it Jarvis."

The AI didn't reply, but an emoticon suddenly appeared on the screen of a little smiley face poking its tongue out. Loki laughed.

The little family unit ate their dinner picnic-style on the fur rugs infront of the empty fire-place. It wasn't the grandest selection of foods, but Tony had missed two meals and was starving so hardly cared and it seemed that Evie and Loki had been snacking throughout the day whilst he had slept so they didn't want much anyway.

During the day the spare bedroom had been aired and set up so that it was fit for the daughter of a prince – a moniker that delighted Evie no end. It was all very well the three of them falling asleep in a big heap the first night that they were reunited, but any teenager needs their space so the girl was pleased to have her own room. She was also pleased that it was still next door to her parents though. It was going to be a long time before she stopped needing to check that Loki was still real every few minutes.

After their daughter had gone to bed Tony and Loki sat up a little later, Tony intrigued about what his lover had mentioned earlier about needing help with the oncoming fight against the chitauri.

"I don't see why you can't just ask me questions and let me answer them."

"Because that will not give me the detail of knowledge I require – what I want to attempt will be quite dangerous."

"Yeah, see, it's your use of the word attempt that has me worried here. I'd rather you had a sure-fire plan."

Loki rolled his eyes. "No plan is fool-proof, you know this."

"I know." Tony sounded like a petulant child as he slumped back against the pillows of the bed with a pout. "But I still hate the thought of you facing those monsters with nothing more than some thoughts out of my head."

"Believe me when I say I will be more powerful than I have ever been by using the thoughts from your head."

Stark smirked slightly. "Now there's an absolutely terrifying thought. Go on then. Let's do this now so you at least have time to work on your master plan of doom."

"If you are sure." The trickster knelt up on the mattress so that he was facing the man rather than sitting next to him. At Tony's enthusiastic nod he continued. "As I say, this will not hurt, but I will be going into your consciousness, and that may be unpleasant. Should you feel uncomfortable or if there is anything you think I am accessing that you do not want me to see, just tell me to stop." Loki leant forwards and touched his fingers to Stark's temples. "Are you alright with those conditions?"

"Yeah, sure. Need me to think of anything specific, or can you find your own way?"

The God smiled. "Think of your workshops and I should be able to access the scientific information stored in your mind."

There was something about the smile that made Tony glare at him suspiciously. "Really? Because that right there sounded like a whole load of bull-shit."

"That would be because it was. Have you any idea how complex a human brain is? I am going to have to sieve through until I find what I want. Just shut up and let me concentrate."

"You have done this before, right?"

Loki's smile became a grin. "I spent my youth using this trick on Thor when he was asleep so that I had blackmail material on him. Do not worry; it is perfectly safe."

"Who's worrying? I'm not worrying! I just – woooaaahh…"

The man trailed off as Loki – fed up with his rambling – simply unleashed the simple spell and plunged in, mentally speaking. He had, after all, done this sort of thing before.

The big difference being that Thor – as nice a gentle giant as he was – was thick as two short planks (In Loki's informed opinion at any rate) whereas Tony was on the complete other end of the intelligence spectrum. Still, at least the man's mind was surprisingly well organised. It was rather like leafing through an encyclopaedia actually.

However, as unusual as it was for Loki to have an intelligent brain to view, he was still in familiar territory. Tony, on the other hand, had never felt anything like it.

It was impossible for him to keep up with the mental images sluicing through his mind as Loki rifled through anything that could vaguely be attributed to physics. There were snatches of things; a brief burst of the Starwars soundtrack, Steven Hawkings speaking, a snapshot of the Mars Rover.

"Astrophysics..?" He mumbled.

"Shush."

Loki's faced was creased in concentration as he carefully waded through the stacked knowledge, making certain to look only and not disturb anything in the process.

Ah, there.

Tony felt the change, the sudden more purposeful slant that the trickster was making as he felt his own memories wash over him. Black-hole theories, event horizons, wormholes, the Foster-theory…

"Can't you just blast 'em with the Bifrost?"

"Not powerful enough anymore. Thor did too much damage when he broke it." Loki murmured as he continued. The black-holes in Tony's mind vanished as the God changed track and moved on.

"Why am I seeing pictures of Switzerland?"

"Can you not shut up for a few minutes? You are making this much more difficult than it should be."

"Sorry, sorry." Tony bit back any other questions he had and tried to keep quiet. It was hard though, considering he was now seeing images of Geneva shoot across his mind. It wasn't what he expected. And then – weirdly enough – an image of the Vatican. "Okay, what the hell are you doing?"

"Shut. The hell. Up."

"But…"

Loki pulled back and the connection broke, leaving Tony feeling dizzy and slightly drunk.

"Thank you, I think that will do the trick."

"Uh…Great? Can I ask what you found?"

The trickster smiled brightly. "You may ask. I will not answer. It still needs some work."

"What?! You just poked around in my head! I should get to know what you found!"

"All of the answers I needed." The prince leant forwards and pressed a kiss to Stark's forehead. "One with your intellectual capacity should be able to work out my solution."

"Hmm." Tony narrowed his eyes, stuck between his own curiosity and the trapping compliment Loki had just paid him. "I'll work it out."

"Feel free to try." Loki smiled serenely as he laid down, head propped up on one hand as he looked up at the man.

"You're a minx, you know that, right?" Tony grumbled as he settled down himself and started pulling at the covers.

"A minx?!" The trickster burst out laughing. "Norns, it has been many years since I was called that!" He rolled right up into the man and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist. "Now do be quiet. You may have slept all day, but I did not and I happen to be quite tired."

It was true, although Stark wanted to protest that he had slept the day through for a very good reason. After all, a heart-attack was a damn decent excuse to spend the day in bed in his mind. However, with Loki curled up against his chest and already seeming to slip into sleep, Tony didn't really mind the joking criticism. And truth be told, lying awake with a warm body snug alongside him could hardly be called a hardship, especially when he could open up one of his many projects on his phone and play around.

He was engrossed for about half an hour before he felt Loki move against him with a sudden high whimper, the prince's relaxed body tensing up. For a moment he wondered – and hoped – that it was simply a passing moment, but when Loki began to twist and roll to face away, curling tightly into himself he knew that this was going to be a full blown nightmare.

Dropping his phone the man wrapped both arms around his trembling partner, rubbing his hands along Loki's arms.

"Hey, hey Loki," He kept his voice soft – well aware of what the trickster responded to best by now. "You're safe. You're home and safe."

"…cold…dark cold…"

Oh, it was that one. Of all of Loki's nightmares it was possibly the easiest to deal with – which was depressing because it meant Tony had actually memorised each one as an observer and put in strategies for each. He grabbed the heavy quilt, which Loki hadn't pulled over himself initially, and wrapped it around the trickster, doubling it up in the process.

"…cold…don't…pain, please…NO!" Loki screamed, sudden and all the worse for it. His fingers twisted in the material of the quilt, clinging desperately to the first thing he could grab hold of. Tears were beginning to make their thin tracks down his cheeks as he shook his head hopelessly, chanting 'no' over and over.

"Shhh, you're okay, you're safe now, you're safe." Tony ran his finger through the trickster's hair, his other hand resting over Loki's stomach and rubbing soothing circles. "Shhh. I'm here and I've got you."

"…stop, hurts…hurts…hurts…" It was like a plea from a child, and with a sudden movement Loki rolled back over so that he was pressing his face into Tony's neck, his hands grasping the front of the man's borrowed Aesir tunic. "Make them stop, they're hurting me…" Although the words sounded lucid enough it was still clear to Tony that the prince was deeply asleep.

There was little more that he could do beyond whispering soothing nonsense and rubbing his lover's back whilst Loki whimpered and pleaded with his remembered assailants. This was a pattern they had played many nights over since the rescue and so far the most effective way to deal with it was to wrap Loki up as tight as possible in an embrace and wait it out. He was coming out of it quicker each time, at least, which was a minor blessing.

This time it was another few long and painful minutes before the prince stopped trembling and his breathless pleas for the pain to end faded away into small whimpers.

Tony unwrapped one of his arms and gently brushed the backs of his fingers against his partner's cheek. "Loki? Hey, you with me?"

Loki breathed in deeply for a moment, before swallowing and nodding. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out beyond a shaky exhalation.

"You don't need to talk, it's okay, I've got you."

The prince nodded again, his tense body relaxing and uncurling so that he was snug against Tony's side rather than clinging to him.

"I love you." Tony whispered the words into the dark hair his face was pressed against, and felt Loki's grip on his tunic tighten in reply.

It was a long while before the trickster finally relaxed back into sleep again, although he didn't speak or even open his eyes during that time. Tony couldn't pretend to understand why, but he simply accepted it and held his partner close.

It was a long time before the man followed him into sleep.

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"You should get some rest, y'know."

Bruce had been staring out of the window at Asgard's night sky in rapt fascination, but turned when he heard Steve step up behind him. There was an A3 sketch pad open infront of him, half covered with a rough map of the constellations.

"Yeah, I know. Just wanted to jot a few more down."

"They will be there tomorrow."

The physicist beamed. "Ah, but they might not be! That's the beauty of it; I just don't know! It could all look completely different tomorrow night!"

Steve had to smile at the infectious enthusiasm, even if he didn't share it himself. He leant against the wall beside his friend, glancing out at the stars. He couldn't deny their intrinsic beauty – he was an artist after all – but he couldn't say they would be able to glue him to the window like they had Bruce.

"How was Tony?"

Bruce placed his pencil down after adding one more area to the quadrant he had drawn out. "Out of the hospital – or infirmary, or whatever medieval thing they called it. Once Jarvis was back on he was fine, but it should never have got to that stage. Stupid git should never have turned his phone off."

"As long as he's okay."

"Yeah, he is. Although from what I heard Loki was furious. Apparently Tony had forgotten to mention the whole heart thing."

"Sounds like Tony." Steve sat down on the floor by Bruce's knee, seeing that he wasn't going to drag the scientist away any time soon. "Is it just me, or is it really strange to be throwing Loki's name around in normal conversation like this?"

"We've been doing it for long enough." Banner said absently, picking up the pencil again as another section of the sky caught his eye.

"Not in the context of actually having him around. I don't feel entirely comfortable knowing that Tony is laid up in hospital with that sociopath –"

"You mean psychopath, and I think you'll find that he is in safer hands with Loki than with any of us. I don't know about you, but I haven't had a child with Tony, and as science bros we're pretty close." Bruce shrugged without taking his eyes of the paper. "I believe we need to give Loki the benefit of the doubt right now. For Evie's sake if for nothing else." He glanced over at the super soldier. "And I thought we had all agreed to that."

Steve thumped his head back against the wall. "I know. It's just much harder after actually seeing him in the flesh. I still keep thinking of him flying over New York; all those people dying…"

"Well don't."

"You can't honestly expect me to think you don't have any concerns about him."

Bruce sighed and placed his pencil down again. He turned to look at his friend, clasping his hands in his lap.

"Actually, right now, I don't. I may not be a medical doctor in terms of university degrees, but we are all aware of my medical expertise nevertheless. And as someone with that experience I can tell you that when we saw him yesterday he was in so much pain he was barely standing on his own two feet." Bruce glared down Steve's attempt to interrupt him. "Loki is a damned good actor, you said that yourself, and he may be trying to look like the imposing and deadly person we first met, but he really really isn't. The guy's a mess. Whatever was done to him, he hasn't physically recovered yet and I'd be surprised if he's up to anything more than walking at this point. And from the few things I've gleaned from Tony, it's fair to say that even Gods can suffer from PTSD."

"PTS-?"

"Shell-shock, Steve. I'd bet my life that Loki's got some serious shell-shock going on there."

"Oh." Captain America scratched the back of his head, wrinkling his nose. "So do you think Tony's really a good person to leave with him...? I mean the guy has enough issues of his own to deal with…"

"Steve, drop it. Yeah, Tony has issues coming out of his ears, but he's also managed to raise a child with very little help from any of us. I think it's safe to say that if he can deal with a teenage daughter he can cope with helping the person he loves to recover from something he has personal experience of." Bruce then grinned. "And if we do feel that we need to do the whole 'if you hurt him we'll kill you' speech with Loki, I'll happily do it. I've smashed him to a pulp before, I think he'll think twice before crossing me."

That made the super soldier laugh slightly, since it was certainly true. Glancing up at the stars again he stifled a yawn behind his hand.

"Look, I need to go to bed, promise me you'll at least get some sleep tonight?" He stood up, stretching his arms.

"I'll promise if you promise to stop worrying about the currently incapacitated God of mischief."

Steve agreed with a tired smile before leaving the scientist to his stare gazing. The group of humans had been given the use of a large guest suit; which included separate bedrooms and bathing rooms for all as well as a large common sitting room. Steve left Bruce at the large window of the main room, knowing there was every chance he was going to come back the next morning to find the physicist asleep where he left him.

It wouldn't be the first time; Bruce was as bad as Tony when it came to work.

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Stark woke up the next morning to the much missed sensation of someone's hand dancing along his chest. Not quite awake he reached up to grasp the questing fingers and pulled them up to kiss each one.

"Still not quite used to you being real…" He murmured.

"Oh I can assure you that I am." Loki's voice was low and teasing. "So you should probably grow used to it."

Tony opened his eyes to see the trickster raised up on one elbow and leaning slightly over him. He smiled sleepily and reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair back behind Loki's ear. "I don't think I'm ever going to grow used to it, but I am really going to enjoy trying." He wrapped an arm around his lover's neck, pulling him down into a tight hug which caused Loki to sprawl on top of him. "I can't believe you're here…"

"Stop it. Right now." Loki managed to lever himself up slightly to look down at Stark seriously. "None of that. I am here, you are here, that's all that matters. Why question perfection when we have it?"

"Perfection?" Tony smiled up at him, his sleepy gaze happy. "That's what this is, huh?"

"Well, nearly. We still have to get up and face the day, and I do not relish that thought."

Tony turned his head to catch the time on his watch. "Nah, we can afford a few hours yet. And I assume Evie isn't up."

"She isn't. There's a monitoring spell on all the doors so that I could always make sure I was up and about before whatever guest was using that room."

"That's way too efficient." Stark snuggled back down into the pillows. "But at least it means more sleep." He closed his eyes again, only to feel the tickle of lips over his jawline. "What are you doing?"

"What does it feel like? I see no need to sleep again when we could be doing other things. The walls here are sound proof, you know."

Tony reached up and gently pressed a finger against Loki's lips, stopping the line of kisses. "Wait, what?"

The trickster smirked at him. "Is it truly so early in the morning that the great Playboy of New York needs to be told when someone is trying to bed him?" He asked playfully. "Honestly, Tony, it's been some years I will grant you, but surely you remember how this goes?" He leant over to nip gently at his lover's ear lobe. "I want you, Tony." His voice was low, a purr that had once been so familiar and usually a precursor to other things. "I want to feel you; just like we used to. I want to feel you inside me again." The trickster pulled back enough to smile down at his partner.

However, far from seeming to be happy with Loki's plans the man half sat up, dislodging the prince. "What? No!"

"What?" Loki's jaw dropped. It would have been comical had Tony not looked so serious. "Please tell me you are joking." He moved to cup his partner's cheek, only to be gently but firmly pushed back.

"I said no, Loki."

There was stunned silence for a long moment before the prince took a steadying breath, obviously composing himself. "Alright. What is wrong? Are you unwell, or is it something about me?"

Tony rubbed a hand across his eyes with a groan. "Seriously? After everything that's happened to you and you're wondering why I don't want to sleep with you?" At Loki's sudden furious expression he shook his head hurriedly. "Oh God no! Not like that! I mean that I don't want to hurt you; it's too soon for you."

"Surely I am the best judge of that."

"I saw the foetuses, Loki! I saw those things they made you carry; do you think I don't know where babies come from? That I don't know what they did to you in order for you to fall pregnant?!"

Loki stared at him, the colour draining from his face. For a moment Tony thought it was from fear – the memories perhaps – until the prince's expression hardened, making it very very clear that it was pure cold fury. "What?! Do you believe me to be some sort of damaged goods? Am I that broken in your eyes?"

Tony scowled. "Don't put words in my mouth! I never said you were damaged, I simply think that this is too much too soon. You were hurt, terribly, and not just in the physical sense. There's no need to push yourself."

"I am not pushing myself!"

"Jesus, Loki, I had to pull you out of a nightmare last night; do you even remember that? It's not even like Asgard has therapists or something similar for you to talk to."

"Therapists?!" Loki spat the word out like it was a repulsive thing. "Is that what you think I need? I have no care for your mortal mind doctors; do you think me incapable of healing my own mind?"

Tony glared at his partner. "Stop putting words in my mouth! I'm just trying to explain that I'm being responsible! I don't want to make things any worse for you!" He slammed his hand down on the covers in frustration. "Can't you accept that I'm worried about you?! You were raped for God's sake! I have to pull you out of nightmares every time you fall asleep! Don't give me that self-healing crap, people do not recover from that sort of shit so quickly!"

"People." The trickster repeated the word almost emotionlessly. For a moment he simply stared at Stark, before his skin flushed a sudden vivid blue. Frost crackled across the bedsheets, causing the man to yelp and scramble backwards in shock – it was the first time Loki had revealed his true form without keeping up a protective spell to ward off the cold.

"Do I look human to you, Stark?! Do you think I conform to your little ideas of medicine? Do you really believe my mind works in any way similar to yours? I am not human, I am not even Aesir; and you cannot presume to tell me how I should go about healing, and when you deem that I am 'fixed'! I and I alone can decide when I am well!"

Tony was wide-eyed, staring at the ice creeping up the blankets. "For God's sake, Loki! You're completely misconstruing what I mean!"

"You think that I am weak!"

"I think you're hurting! It's a completely different thing! Bloody hell, I just want to help!"

"Well stop trying because you are failing!"

"I'm never going to stop trying!" Tony shouted back. "I've been doing it for so long I don't know how to not try anymore! I love you, Loki, surely you can understand that, and that it means I – Ow! Fuck!"

Out of instinct he had leant forwards and grasped Loki's arm to emphasise his words. Loki's blue, frozen arm.

Stark had worked with freezing temperatures before; he knew the burn of carelessly spilled liquid nitrogen or a leak from a liquid hydrogen pipeline. This was worse. So much worse. Part of his mind wondered how it was at all possible that a Jötunn's body temperature could be colder than those substances, which would put them at below -250°C. The rest of him was occupied with the crippling pain that shot through his hand as he snatched it back from Loki's bare arm.

He had never had true frostbite before, so it was a shock to see the palm of his hand black and dead. He gripped his wrist tightly, trying to breathe over the horrendous pain.

"Tony…"

"No, point proven. You're not human, that's pretty damn clear." The man's voice was tight and harsh through gritted teeth. He tried to move his burnt fingers and swore when they barely responded. It was his right hand and all, and he'd be damned if he was going to have to reteach himself to use his left after all these years.

"Tony, I – " Loki – pale and green-eyed again – reached out tentatively towards his partner, horror clear in his voice at the sight of the wound. However he froze when Stark visibly flinched back, rather than allowing the contact.

The two stared at each other for a long moment, the argument and corresponding injury heavy in the air between them. Loki was trembling, his gaze moving to his partner's wounded hand whilst Tony desperately tried to bite back the crippling pain.

"I…"

"It's fine."

"Tony, I can…"

"No, it's fine."

Loki took a deep breath, and then simply vanished.

One moment he was sitting there, next he was just gone. Tony gaped at the empty spot, still grasping his wrist tightly.

"Oh, well that's mature!" In most circumstances he would have gone after Loki, but being on Asgard he simply had no idea where he would have gone. He reached one-handed for his phone and unlocked it. "Jarvis, how do I deal with frostbite?"

"How have you managed to get frostbite, sir?"

"Long story. And I'm not even sure I know what happened."

MWMWMWMWMWMWM

Tony spent nearly half an hour in the bathroom with his hand submerged in a bowl of warm water. Jarvis had advised him to seek proper medical aid, but he didn't want to drop Loki in it; especially since it still wasn't widely known or accepted that he was a frost giant. He bandaged it himself, worryingly good at using his non-dominant for such a task which suggested that he had had to fix similar wounds before. His fingers had regained a little movement, so it was possible he wouldn't lose function.

Evie, when she finally surfaced a few hours later, questioned both the injury and Loki's whereabouts but didn't connect the two. Tony told her he'd had an accident shaving, since the nature of the wound was unclear under the bandages.

Evie had picked something slightly more conservative to wear, although denim most certainly wasn't an Aesir material. Tony was back in his own clothes again since Bruce had thought ahead and brought things for both the inventor and Clint. However, since it was all picked out by Bruce, Tony now had a surplus of smart trousers and plain shirts rather than the old jeans he favoured. Probably more fitting for the consort (really? Was he a consort? He'd have to ask) of a prince.

It was unnerving going down to breakfast without Loki. They were stared at in the corridors, although mostly it was curiosity rather than anything antagonistic. Thankfully they were quite late for breakfast, by Aesir standards, so it was nearly empty in the great hall.

Anyone who was still there were crowded around one table which, they realised as they drew closer, was mostly comprised of the group of humans and Thor's friends. Tony was first relieved to see Loki there, and then surprised when he realised that the trickster was the centre of attention. He sat down in the next free seat, whilst Evie wormed her way through the group to sit with Loki.

"Morning." Natasha passed over a large mug which had the enticing scent of coffee wafting from it. Tony's delighted yet gobsmacked expression made her smirk. "We brought more than just clothes with us. Steve even thought to pack toothpaste."

"Have I mentioned recently that you guys are my saviours?" The inventor took a deep drink, caffeine deprived after so long in Asgard. "What's everyone talking about?"

"The Asgardian's are experiencing culture shock."

"Always funny." Pulling some toast close, Tony settled down to listen to the general talk.

Loki was in deep conversation with Bruce, the man quizzing him relentlessly about his various magical abilities. This was evidenced by the myriad of unusual objects scattered across the table infront of them that had probably once been harmless breakfast utensils until Loki had begun his demonstrations.

"But how do you factor in the differences in mass? It's breaking all the rules of physics!" Bruce sounded absurdly excited about this.

"I used to syphon off the extra particles into a pocket dimension until I learnt to annihilate excess matter during the transformation process." Loki picked up a bread roll and it turned into a flower, which he tucked behind Evie's ear. "Of course, in the early years, the annihilations were particularly violent and Father would not allow me to even try anywhere in the vicinity of the palace, but as you can see I eventually got the hang of it."

"Annihilation sounds quite violent." Fury injected. "Doesn't that lead to side-effects?"

"Not as it used to. Some areas of the countryside around here have never quite recovered, though." The trickster grinned and touched a forefinger to the table, causing the entire length of furniture to flush a vivid green. There was an outburst of disgruntled sneers from the Warriors Three and Sif, but they were drowned out as the humans all laughed, and asked more questions.

"That's so cool, can you do that to living things too?"

"That could come in handy for camouflage in the field."

"Can you show us something else?"

Loki looked overwhelmed by the positive reaction, especially considering that no Aesir had ever had anything good to say about his magic. He tried to answer what he could, whilst turning Thor's cape bright pink to the amusement of the Avenger's.

Sif rolled her eyes and turned to Steve, who was sat next to her.

"Honestly! All this talk of parlour games and children's tricks as if they were something amazing."

"We don't have magic on our world, to us it's incredible." Steve, ever the diplomat, opted for the middle ground.

Fandral leant over Sif, gesturing with his fork. "It's hardly in keeping with a warrior to use such tricks, though. As a soldier you should know that."

Steve frowned. "As someone who's fought Loki in a battle situation; he's a formidable opponent and even the Hulk couldn't keep him down."

Fandral snorted. "Yeah, sure." He rested one elbow on the table, perilously close to Sif's plate. "Come, enough talk of magic and childish things; tell us something more interesting."

Sif knocked him out of the way of her food, but nodded in agreement. "Yes, Thor told us you fought in the second war to engulf your world, tell us of that."

"Uh, well…"

"It must have been a rare fight." Volstagg cut in, his mouth full of food. "A whole realm at war; we have never had a chance to experience a battle that large! Tell us tales of your heroic exploits! What glories did you win? How many did you slay?"

Steve stared at them. "I beg your pardon?"

"Yes, tell us about that!" Fandral pushed his own pate aside and looked expectant.

"I'd really rather not…"

"Do not be ridiculous; there is no place for modesty in a warrior's arsenal." Sif punched him playfully in the shoulder, an action that would have possibly broken a lesser man's arm. "Give yourself the credit you are due. You must have slain many to have become the hero that you are today!"

Steve shook his head incredulously. "I don't know when you last had a proper interaction with some humans; but we don't glorify war anymore. We haven't since the gun was invented, really. I'm not modest about the part I played in the war; I just don't want to remember it. It was absolute hell!"

Fandral snorted. "Well what a stupid way of going about things!"

"Not stupid, just different." Steve shot back. "We simply don't appreciate hearing how many people someone has viciously killed. Times have changed. We aren't Vikings anymore. War is a terrible thing that most of us are ashamed of, and that scars generations. We don't glorify it, or love it anymore. These days we prefer stories with intelligence, stories that move us. We don't like hearing ego trips and boasting. So I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about the battles I've been in; I'd like an intelligent conversation."

Tony, who had been watching the discussion with interest, almost choked on his drink at the expressions on the warriors faces as Captain America turned away and returned to listening to what Loki was saying with fascination. It was quite possible the four Aesir had never been turned down before as conversationalists, and especially never in favour of the second prince. He caught Thor's eye and exchanged grins.

Loki could fight his own battles with the people of Asgard, but it didn't hurt his reputation that the renowned and fascinating humans much favoured him over the seasoned warriors.

Thor kept Tony's gaze and nodded his head towards the door; evidently requesting that the two of them meet. The man grabbed another couple of slices of toast and followed the blonde from the hall.

"What's up?" He let Thor lead him a little way down the corridor to a small alcove where they were less likely to be overheard.

"Is everything alright with Loki? He arrived alone to breakfast this morning, and in a most frightful mood. Bruce cheered him up, but he still seems displeased to one who knows him well."

Tony snorted. "Only a frightful mood? I'm surprised he didn't incinerate anything to be honest."

"What happened?" Thor's gaze turned to the man's bandaged hand. "And does it have anything to do with your injury?"

"Uh…Yeah." Tony realised that whilst it was potentially embarrassing to discuss his love life with his partner's brother, at the same time Thor could shed some light on what the hell had happened and why Loki had been quite that angry.

He decided that he could live with the embarrassment and quickly told Thor what had transpired that morning; including the accident with his hand. The God didn't interrupt the tale, but his frown steadily deepened throughout it.

"What did I do wrong? I was only trying to look out for him." Tony finished hopelessly.

"Have you still no idea how prideful Loki is?" The question was rhetorical, and Thor held up a hand to stave off any comment. "He may well not yet be fully healed, but you cannot believe he would thank you for pointing that out."

"Well, what the hell was I meant to do?!"

"Sleep with him?"

"Thor! He was –"

"Loki is over half a million years old, do you not think that this sort of thing has not happened to him before?" Thor asked mildly. "He and I were both young once, and neither as good at the art of war as we are now. What do you supposed happened to prisoners of war after a battle was over?"

Tony gaped at him. "Bloody hell…Thor, I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"You weren't to know, and as I say; such things are sadly hardly unusual for the survivors of the Dark Elf prison camps." The blonde God shrugged, looking slightly awkward. "You are shocked."

"Well, yeah…"

"Do not be. You often joke that Aesir are like a past culture to you. I believe your favourite quip is to call us Vikings. Well, our civilisation may be many millennia older than yours, but it is a stagnant one; things that seem cruel or barbaric to you are still our way of life."

"Yeah, but-"

"I believe such things are still common place in certain areas of your world too." Thor added, causing his companion to grimace.

It was true after all; there were sadly still more places than there should be on 21st century Earth where a woman considered rape as a sad fact of life and something that she had no choice but to put up with. It was terrible, but true.

"So, as Loki said to you; he knows his own mind and has experience of knowing when he is and is not healed from such things." Thor smiled sadly as Tony continued to stare at him in horror. "When someone is as old as a God, they tend to recover remarkably well from physical torture. It is the torture of the mind that takes its toll, and I believe you are doing an admirable job in helping my brother through that."

"I still think I did the right thing this morning." Tony was sticking to his guns on that one, no matter what Thor said. "A person simply can't recover that quickly! It's only been a matter of weeks!"

The blonde shook his head with a frustrated sigh. "Have you listened to nothing I have said? You cannot treat Loki as a human. He is not-"

"Yeah, he made it really clear that he isn't." Tony cut in, holding out his injured hand.

"Quite. He made it extremely clear that he is Jötunn. A half a million years old Jötunn. You would not expect his physical anatomy to be like yours; so why do you assume that his brain works in the same way?"

"I don't, I just…Look, I've spent years trying to save him, he can't expect me to simply stop worrying just like that."

"I am sure that he does not, but you should also realise that he has spent those same years with memories of you as his only comfort. Do not now deny him that when he finally has you back."

That was a point well made, and shut Tony up long enough for Thor to change the subject to something less intimate.

"Think on it. Now; what of the chitauri? I am drawing up rank formations for when they arrive and the armoury is well prepared for-"

"That won't be necessary, brother." Loki himself appeared around the bend of the corridor, his expression blank. It was unclear if he had heard any of their previous conversation, but there was no anger in his gaze, even if he had.

"Of course there is need." Thor turned in his seat to face the younger God, almost as if he had known he was there. "It will not be a long battle; there cannot be many left. I know what you said to Father about wanting to fight them and-"

"Holmgang."

The single word shut Thor up so quickly that it would have been comical were it not for the situation. The blonde opened his mouth to retort, only for Loki to wave a hand and silence him entirely with a swift spell.

"Listen to me, Thor, and listen well. I am invoking the right of Holmgang, and you will not deny me my revenge."

Thor gestured wildly; not at all perturbed by his lack of voice, which meant that this had probably happened to him before.

"No, I do not care for help. I am perfectly capable of taking care of this threat on my own." Loki's poisonous green gaze slid over to his lover, keeping Tony silent without the need for a second spell. "I spent seven years in their most excellent company, and for every moment that I was lucid, I planned. They will not find me wanting when they arrive here."

Tony raised his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I never complained about you trying to take on an entire army single-handedly."

"You still are not certain though." Loki switched his stare back to his brother again. "Do not doubt my abilities Thor. I am more than able to do this. Tony destroyed much of their fleet when you pulled me from that place. I am not going in without a plan. There are at most five ships left, more likely only three. That is between one to two thousand chitauri soldiers."

Thor gestured again, his meaning quite clear. How can you expect to fight two thousand all on your own?! He had a point too; far from being long odds, it was a frankly ridiculous mental image. Loki was strong, and a fearsome warrior in his own right, but that was still far beyond even a God's capabilities.

However, the trickster merely smirked. "What? Did you have some picture in your mind of myself trying to fight every single chitauri with just my stave?" He folded his arms. "Really, Thor. Am I not known for my trickery? Even you would fail to take on an army like that alone. Have a little faith in me brother." He waved his hand again and the silence fell away, allowing Thor to talk again.

"Then what is your plan?" The blonde God snapped.

"Mine. And therefore not one I will tell." Loki grinned at him serenely. "But to appease your minds I will tell you that those creatures will never make it off their ships. I did not spend seven years with them to not understand a little of how they think. Believe me when I say that there will not be a battle; there will be a slaughter and it will be at my hand."

Tony had given the trickster the benefit of the doubt from the beginning, so didn't question, but Thor was still frowning.

"I do not like it, Loki! It would be much simpler to just let me lead the army to-"

"This is my fight, Thor. Keep your big hammer out of it! There would not even be anyone for your army to fight; None will make it off of those ships. The worst case scenario is that the Other comes ahead of the fleet, and I am confident that I can defeat him on my own."

Thor's expression said that he thought otherwise, but Loki was having none of it.

"At least have some faith in me, brother, and in my plans."

"I still do not see how you can possibly hope to destroy multiple ships all on your own."

Loki's gaze flickered to Tony momentarily and the man realised that the trickster was planning to use the information gleaned from the man's mind for the endeavour. Something more powerful than a nuke…He still hadn't worked out what the God was up to, but as long as it was explosive it would more than likely work.

"Leave it to me, Thor. Surely after all these years you must know that when it comes to whole-sale destruction I am the one to come to."

Thor offered a small smile in acknowledgement of that fact. There was no one in Asgard with a better reputation for the ability to wipe things out than Loki.

"I will concede you that point, but I am still unhappy with your decision to do this alone."

Loki's expression softened marginally. "I understand that you are anxious and worry for me, and after recent events I cannot blame you. But I do ask for your trust in this matter, brother. If you were in my shoes would you not wish for your revenge all to yourself?"

The elder God bowed his head slightly at those words. "Fine. But do not think you have heard the end of this."

Loki heaved the sigh of the much-suffering younger sibling. "I would not dare to dream I had." His gaze moved back to Tony, who rolled his eyes in sympathy.

"I dread to think what you two must have been like as kids." The man said cheerfully.

"A pain to our parents if nothing else." Loki got his reply in before Thor could, although it looked like the blonde God would have said the same and Tony chuckled. The trickster turned to his partner, his smile dimming a little. "Tony, we need to talk."

The man sighed, heaving himself to his feet. "Yeah, I guess we do." He nodded at Thor, who smiled reassuringly back. "Thanks for your help."

"Any time."

"Evie is still eating, but was near finishing when I left. Could you take her to see Sleipnir, brother? She said she wished to see him again." Loki smiled slightly. "And she is allowed to go riding but only if he promises to stick to the fields."

There was probably a story there, but Tony decided that now wasn't the time to ask. He let Loki grasp his elbow and lead him down the corridor back towards the prince's chambers, even though he was pretty sure he knew the way by now.

"Um…You know Evie wants to meet your parents, right?" It wasn't the best thing to say considering the atmosphere between them was tense enough already, but Loki merely nodded.

"I am aware. I have been giving it some thought."

"And?"

"I do not know yet. As with a lot of things I want to get the chitauri out of our lives first."

"Fair enough."

Tony shut up, letting the awkward silence engulf them both again. Once in their rooms Loki curled up in one of the chairs infront of the cold fireplace, twisting his fingers so that a blue fire sprang up, not producing any heat on the warm day, but pretty none-the-less. The single seat meant that Tony had to sit in the other one on the opposite side of the rug, creating a barrier of distance between them.

"So, uh, I spoke with Thor."

"Yes, I know."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Hey, just trying to make conversation."

"Did Thor have any answers for you?"

"Don't know if you could call them answers. He freaked me out though." The man looked down at his hands, pulling at the bandage around his wound. "You never told me about the prison camp thing when you were younger. What were they? Elves?"

"Dark Elves. Do not be fooled by the name. If you are thinking of the Elves from the Lord of the Rings books then you are far from the mark." Loki smiled grimly. "The Dark Elves are a cruel and vicious race without justice or mercy."

"Yeah, Thor gave that impression. I'm sorry, I didn't know what they had done to you."

"Both of us, Thor was there too. But it is many ages in the past." The trickster shrugged lightly. "A few hundred thousand years and the memories are barely there are anymore. Much as these ones of the chitauri will likewise fade." He looked up at his partner, his expression guarded. "You did not trust that I could look after my own wellbeing this morning."

"No, although I refuse to be sorry about it. It's been my job to rescue you all these years; you can't must expect me to lose that mindset so soon."

"I suppose not." Loki saw him fiddling absently with the bandage and bit his lip. "Why did you not go to the healers with that?"

Tony shrugged. "They'd have asked how it happened. Even I would struggle to explain away severe frostbite in the middle of an Aesir summer." He smiled, lopsided but genuine. "And it's no biggie. I've had far worse, and Jarvis talked me through looking after it."

"He shouldn't have had to." Loki's formal speech lapsed as he slid from his chair and crossed the rug to kneel infront of his partner's chair. "I'm sorry, Tony. I should have thought and I should have been more careful."

"Meh, you weren't the smartass who grabbed the sub-zero arm without thinking first. It wasn't your fault."

"I should have put up the normal temperature charm. I was angry and had no right to be." The trickster was in the process of unwrapping the bandages when a strong hand caught his chin, forcing him to look up.

"Hey, don't blame yourself. I was being an idiot and not listening, and since you had iced the bed I really should have realised you were a bit cold." Tony wasn't really a fan of sitting on floors - too much effort getting back up again – but he didn't like being taller than Loki so forced the trickster backwards as he levered himself out of the chair and down onto the fur rugs.

"A bit cold?"

"Well…I'd actually love to shove a thermometer in your ear the next time you go all Frosty the Snowman on me."

Loki smiled wanly. "I'm sorry, Tony, I never meant to hurt you."

"I know. It was an accident." The man winced as his palm suddenly burnt hot and when he looked down at the unwrapped flesh he saw that the frostbite was looking considerably healthier, the blackened skin pink and healing. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I can heal wounds I have inflicted."

"Hey, don't go all guilty on me. Guilt really isn't your colour." Tony grinned hopefully, trying to garner a similar response. When the prince wouldn't meet his gaze he sighed. "Look, Loki, I've got as much to be sorry for as you have. You were right; I didn't trust you with your own wellbeing, and I understand now that that was wrong of me. Twenty years ago I didn't even know aliens existed and sometimes I realise I'm still getting to grips with how different you really are from me."

"Giving birth infront of you didn't give you a clue?" Loki asked, a shaky smile playing around his lips as he looked up to finally meet Tony's gaze.

"Yeah, okay, that was a bit of a giveaway." The man returned the grin. "I'll admit that because you look so, well, human, I've been assuming all these years that your thought processes are the same as mine. This morning was a bit of an eye-opener. I guess there's still quite a lot I don't get."

"Oh I don't know, you seem to understand me better than most." Loki shrugged elegantly. "Sometimes we both just have to remember that our cultures are entirely different. Your culture doesn't take so kindly to vainglorious boasting about killing in battle; you don't put much store in death counts unless they are in computer games these days. And in the same way, my culture does not consider some things atrocities whereas they very much are in your world."

"Yeah, but-"

"Tony; I may be an alien to you, but you are also an alien to me. Please remember that."

The man grinned and immediately clamped his hand over Loki's mouth. "Facehugger!"

"Not that kind of alien!" The trickster batted his lover away only to be tackled again and for both of them to end up on the rug, laughing like children. "You are unbelievable!"

"Oh I know." Tony propped himself up on one elbow, still laughing. "But would you want me any other way?"

"Perish the thought." Loki's eyes gleamed, much as they had earlier, and he leant forwards slightly; body language changing from relaxed to sensual.

Tony didn't miss the sudden shift in the conversation, and so wasn't surprised when the prince grabbed his arm and pulled so that he ended up half lying on top of his partner.

"Are you angling for something here?"

"We have unfinished business from this morning."

"Oh do we."

"Mmhmm." Loki's hands were wandering down Tony's back, making quite clear what he had in mind. However, he seemed to sense that his lover was still uncertain and paused, reaching up to run his fingers through the man's dark hair. "Must I convince you further that I truly am alright?"

Tony looked down at the smirking green eyes, a sight that was so painfully familiar. "I believe you, I'm just worried. I can't help it."

Loki nodded, still playing with the man's hair. "It is rather endearing to see you so nervous about copulation."

"Do you have to call it that? You sound like Sheldon Cooper!"

"Fine. It is endearing to see you so nervous about fucking someone through the mattress."

Tony had to laugh, "I love hearing you swear in that accent! How is it that a Norse God sounds British?"

"I like to sound refined."

"O! You sayin' I'hm nose good for youse? Bein' 'Murican an' all?" Tony outrageously parodied his own accent into something that was a mashup between Southern Drawl and New York ganster.

"Not when you speak like that." The trickster said sternly. He leant up and nipped at his partner's jawline. "Stay yourself, for goodness sake."

The man rubbed at the sore spot on his chin, although it was for show rather than because it had actually hurt. "Wrinkles and all?"

Loki's gaze tracked the fine lines that had appeared around his lover's mouth and eyes over the past seven years before moving up to the sprinkling of grey that swept back from his ears. He ran his finger along Tony's goatee, following the familiar shape. "Wrinkles and all. Now for Norns sake kiss me!"

It would never be said that Stark didn't follow orders; or at least the orders he wanted to follow. In the past they had often treated sex as a type of war-fare, but things were very much different now and whilst they didn't treat each other like glass there was certainly a tenderness that had developed. And there was the wonderful knowledge that they could take their time with each other.

Loki shifted slightly, a subtle movement that meant that his partner was now fully settled on top of him and he was able to run his hands down Tony's back, creasing up the shirt the man wore.

"I want this off of you." He whispered into his partners' ear. "I can still vanish clothing, you know."

"Don't you dare! I want to do this the good old fashioned way." Tony emphasised that by beginning to pull at the ties on the prince's tunic, slowly unlacing it. "This has been too long in the waiting to do things quickly." He leant down to follow the line of exposed skin with his tongue, nipping to bring a little colour to the pale surface. "If we're doing this, we're doing this my way."

"Oh fine then."

It wasn't exactly a hardship for Loki just to lie back and let himself be loved. He arched up enough to let his partner slip his tunic down his shoulders, then shrugged the item of clothing off so that he was lying on it. There were still a handful of faint scars running down his chest and stomach, but they were silvery lines – nearly gone and not something that he could feel any more. However, he could more than feel, and enjoy, Tony kissing along the snaking lines.

The man felt insistent hands tugging at his shirt again and he paused to allow it to be pulled over his head before leaning back down and nipping along Loki's stomach, feeling the muscles ripple and contract. It was a gentle exploration as he reminded himself of each little spot that made his partner gasp and moan, nosing along each bump of a rib. Loki's hiss of surprise as he drew the prince's left nipple into his mouth made him smirk, applying his teeth just enough to draw the sound out for a little longer.

"Did you memorise how to make me sound like an idiot?" Loki was breathless as he lifted his head enough to smile down at his partner.

"Hell yeah I did." Tony nipped at the little bud again, causing his partner to gasp loudly. "How did you think I kept myself amused all those years? Jarvis has everything on the security cameras."

"Everything?" The trickster dug his nails into the man's bare back. "Should I be, ah, embarrassed?"

"You've got nothing to be embarrassed about, trust me." Stark traced another thin scar with his tongue, snaking down from Loki's throat to his navel. "We'll have to have a look together sometime."

"Mmm, sounds romantic."

"Oh it will be." The man smirked when he felt Loki's obvious interest against his stomach as he slid down the prince's body. Loki arched under him as he sucked a deep bruise into the curve of a hip bone and he nosed along the smooth line down to the waistband of the trickster's suede trousers. "Still not invented the zip in Asgard?"

"I'm certain you know how to undo a knot."

"I used to be able to do it with my teeth."

Loki propped himself up on his elbows, looking down at his partner. "Go on then, impress me."

"Uh…" Tony rather wished that he hadn't said it, since the prince was smirking at him, but he wasn't one to back away from a self-issued challenge. It had been decades since he'd last tried to untie something with his teeth alone, but he still routinely knotted cherry stalks with his tongue so that had to count for something, right?

Obviously not, since his fruitless attempts caused Loki to burst out laughing. The leather tie was in a complicated knot that was a lot more intricate than it had first seemed. Tony pulled at various likely looking loose ends and loops before having to concede defeat with grace and a self-deprecating grin as he was laughed at.

"Alright, so I'm not perfect."

"I don't believe I ever said you were."

"Oi!" Tony shut his sniggering lover up by crawling back up and kissing him into silence. He slipped a hand between their bodies to finally pull the wretched knot open, still trying to ineffectively muffle Loki's chuckles. "Shut up."

"You are such an idiot." The prince pushed the man up enough to wave his hand and vanished the rest of their clothing, ignoring Tony's indignant 'hey'. "There, see? Much better."

The man couldn't deny that the view was fabulous.

That was one of the weird things about Asgardian medicine, or maybe just alien physiology. A human would have taken years to recover from the muscle wastage Loki had suffered from. Years of a restricted, heavily monitored diet and exercise regime just to return to a healthy weight, let alone rebuild the muscle density Loki had regained. That wasn't saying the prince was muscular by any stretch of the imagination; but then he never had been. Instead he had regained that wiry, sinuous strength and well-toned physique that no human could ever have hoped to recover so quickly.

He was certainly something to behold.

"You're gorgeous…" Tony breathed, dipping his head down to ghost hot air across Loki's stomach.

"And you're ridiculous…" The prince closed his eyes as his lover moved lower, letting out a quiet moan as a hand ran up his thigh. The hot mouth was whispering along his hip bone, not quite where he wanted it to be, but bringing its own gentler pleasure in the build-up. He didn't realise that he was shaking until a hand rested firmly on his stomach – grounding him.

"Relax." That was all the warning Tony gave. Loki's reactions were just as he remembered and from that he knew exactly what his partner wanted at this point. And he gave it to him.

Loki arched with a sharp cry, hands clenching in the rug he was laying on. Tony's mouth was searingly hot, almost painfully so, but in such a good way. It had been so long since he had last engaged in anything like this that his mind couldn't actually pick apart the separate sensations from the overwhelming feeling. All he knew was heat and suction, followed by a sudden burst of cool air, then burning heat again.

Tony recognised that his lover was over-sensitised and so didn't go overboard. He lapped at the head of the trickster's arousal before taking it as far into his mouth as possible. There had been a time when he'd have been able to go all the way down, but that had been years ago, and now his throat was complaining. However, his efforts seemed to be almost too much for Loki as it was so he didn't berate himself too much.

He continued along the same vein for a few minutes longer, but Loki was already moaning breathlessly, obviously unable to handle too much. The man drew back, kissing his way up his lover's heaving chest as Loki tried to slow his breathing.

"Relax…" Stark repeated the single word in a whisper, his lips barely brushing against the prince's. "We can stop if you want to..?"

"Norns…no…!"

"Then you need to calm down."

"I am calm!" Loki took a deep breath, then laughed slightly as he heard how much it shook. "Alright, I see your point. But I am fine." He drew Tony's hand up and kissed the man's fingers, one at a time. "Are you going to do something with these?"

"That wasn't asking very nicely."

The prince leant up and pulled the man's earlobe with his teeth, drawing the captured hand slowly down his body and bringing it under his thigh. "Tony, Please." He breathed.

Although Loki had positioned him there, Stark could still feel the tremors running through the leg he was holding. It was obvious that despite the trickster's insistence that everything was fine, there were still nerves there that had never been a problem before.

The man began to dip back down, but Loki stopped him, gently tugging on his chin to keep them face to face.

"I want to be able to see you." He said quietly.

"Okay." Tony kissed the end of his nose, not questioning the request. He ran his fingers along the underside of Loki's thigh, noting that despite the sudden insecurity, the trickster's arousal hadn't waned.

Loki couldn't make himself relax entirely, although it was more of a nervous feeling than from fear, which was a good thing. It helped, being able to see his partner, rather than getting washed away in the overload of sensations; it was something to ground him. Normally being overwhelmed was a good thing, but not after everything that had happened; Tony had been right in that respect.

These thoughts were fleeting as it was hard to concentrate on anything other than the fingers ghosting under his thigh and dancing across his opening. It was hard not to tense up at the best of times, but he hardly got a chance to before Tony's hand moved away again.

"Do you have anything we can use as lube?"

"Here."

Tony suddenly found his fingers slippery and oiled with something that smelled of pine. He rubbed them together experimentally and found it to be the perfect consistency.

"That's neat! You never said you could do that!"

"You never asked." Loki laughed at his partner's reaction. When the fingers returned to their previous spot he forced himself to breathe deeply and relax.

"Loki, we can still stop, or at least swap positions; you take me?"

"No. I want this, and I want you inside me."

"Okay, okay." The man nipped at his jawline. "But you've got to relax; I refuse to hurt you." He didn't wait for a reply, and simply kissed the prince deeply. He felt some of the tenseness in Loki's body fade slightly and used the opportunity to hook his arm under the trickster's knee, lifting his leg slightly.

The kissing helped. Loki knew that his lover was trying to distract him, and it was working as he sternly reminded his body that the questing fingers were a good thing that would feel amazing as long as he let himself accept it. Some part of that thought process must have registered since the next thing he knew Tony had gently slipped a finger inside.

Loki gasped, tensing despite everything his vast experience was telling him. Tony stilled, although didn't retreat, allowing the prince to take his time and accept the intrusion. It helped that it didn't actually hurt. His body had obviously been expecting pain, despite everything, and the lack of it was a momentary confusion. It made it far easier to relax, though.

Tony felt the tight heat slowly stop clenching and the tremors running through Loki's body faded enough for him to feel confident that the trickster was alright to continue. Loki verified this by arching slightly and whispering 'move'. So he did.

It was only when he'd slowly introduced a second finger that Stark searched out the spot that had his partner suddenly buck and gasp out his name. He grinned, crooking his fingers and making the trickster yelp again. There had been a time when he'd have brought his mouth into the party too, using everything at his disposal to make his lover melt into a puddle of goo. However, with how overly sensitised Loki was, it would be far too much to go overboard, however much Tony wanted to.

Loki was beginning to rock with the man's movements, relaxing into it. He was moaning freely, punctuated with harsh gasps when his partner hit that spot inside him particularly hard. When Tony slipped in a third finger the stretch was welcome.

"Tony…ready…"

The man kissed him again. "Are you sure?"

"More than…"

Tony nodded, but he could feel Loki start shivering again. The trickster might want to go further, but his body was still betraying him in that respect.

"I've got an idea."

"I'm fine…"

"I know." The man grinned and rolled them both over so that his lover was on top of him. "But I think you should be in control here."

The thought behind the gesture was touching and Loki nodded slowly, leaning down to rest his hands on his partner's shoulders. He recognised that Stark was putting everything into his hands, which was exactly what he needed at this point. He was fine, but needed to convince himself of that fact.

Tony held himself steady in hand which let the lube spread liberally, allowing the trickster to do everything at his own pace. He had completely ignored his own arousal in favour of looking after his partner and now it was intoxicating as the God moved against him. Loki brushed over his lover's erection a few times before taking a deep breath and slowly pushing against it.

The moment seemed to last forever for the two of them. Tony had a hand on the prince's hip, a light touch to reassure but not guide whilst Loki slowly lowered himself down. The trickster's expression was hidden behind the curtain of his hair as he was finally seated in his lovers lap, but his back was rising and falling rapidly.

Tony was having a hard time controlling his own reactions as his erection was engulfed in the tight heat, but he forced himself not to buck up into it. He reached up and brushed the dark swath of hair out of Loki's face, anxious to see the trickster's reactions.

Burning green eyes met his own, the trickster's pupils blown wide. Loki's hands left the man's shoulders to tangle their hands together and press Tony's back into the mattress above the man's head. Tony laughed breathlessly, allowing himself to be effectively pinned down. Now that they were past the hypothetical worst part of it all Loki was obviously relaxing, his body accepting that this wasn't what it had been expecting at all.

The trickster shifted and raised himself up slightly, his eyes gleaming as he met his lover's gaze.

"Move…" He whispered.

Tony didn't question him this time and simply obeyed.

Their bodies worked in tandem, slow and steady. There was no need to hurry through anything and they could simply get lost in the moment together. Loki had leant forwards so that they could kiss and his arousal was rubbing between their stomachs, a gentle friction that was not too overwhelming. Tony's hands were released and started roaming up the prince's back and into his hair, seemingly everywhere all at once.

Loki kept the pace slow as he moved fluidly. Being on top meant that he could also have greater control over the angle and by leaning forwards he could ensure that Tony was brushing against that spot inside him each time he moved. His moans were mostly muffled by his lover's mouth but still loud enough to make it very clear how much he was enjoying it.

It was a good indication to Tony how close his partner was, and he slipped a hand down between their bodies to grasp the trickster's leaking erection. Loki whimpered and bucked against him, gasping and thrusting into the grip.

It didn't take long at all before the prince buried his face in Tony's shoulder with a shrill cry as his orgasm ripped through him, his body shuddering in the man's hold. Stark followed only moments later; quieter but no less intense as he hugged his lover tight to his chest.

"I…" Loki was shaking as if he was going to fall apart, his chest heaving.

"Shh." Once again Tony was reminded that his partner was actually far heavier than he looked, but he really couldn't care less at this point. He wrapped his arms tight around the trickster, feeling every little tremor and shudder breaking through Loki's body.

"I never thought I would feel that again…"

"I know." The man had never been one to believe in predictions of the future, but suddenly he simply knew what was going to happen. It was something he'd been expecting from the very start since they'd rescued the God, and now with total clarity he knew that this was the time and place.

Therefore it came as no great shock when Loki suddenly broke against him, huge sobs ripping through the prince.

And Tony knew and understood. It hadn't been real for Loki up until this point. Some part of him had obviously still been expecting to wake up and find this all a wishful dream and that he was still trapped in silent darkness. Up until this point, whilst emotions had been running high, physically he had still been in a lot of pain and that didn't help the insidious little thought that none of this was real. It took something a lot bigger to really hit home that he was safe, and this had been what he'd needed; whether he'd consciously known that or not.

And Tony was there for him.

"I've got you, my love, I've got you and I'm not letting go.

Loki nodded his head into the man's shoulder, completely unashamed of the tears. "I know."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

See what I meant now about the controversial stuff? A human would never be ready to have sex again that soon after an experience like that, I'm certain, but hopefully Loki convinced you guys as well as Tony. The key word is Alien.

See you next chapter (and hopefully much sooner!).

xoxoxoxox