He isn't sulking, he's brooding. It's….manlier. He's brooding because Loki has snuggled up in a seat all the way over on the other side of the aircraft and hasn't said a word for the past half hour.

Tony's chest raises and falls in a dramatic huff from underneath his crossed arms. He sits in his seat twenty feet away, rigid, legs crossed, not knowing what to do with himself. His mind runs over what Darcy had said earlier.

Just be careful around that stuff.

Tony is annoyed. Loki is unabashed about his femininity on a regular basis—the waxed legs, the nails, the theatre—why on earth would Tony's stupid little comment upset him so much? He finds it unfair. Tony has always presented himself an open book when it comes to what he thinks of masculinity—the mascara, the drinks with straws, being the little spoon every now and then. He thought that was something they shared. He thought they were on the same page. It seems like they aren't even reading the same book.

He swings his gaze over to their makeshift body-guard for the rest of the evening. The man is six feet of pure bulk, his shirt tortured with the task of containing his massive arms.

"So," Tony says, tired of the silence and hoping to fish at least a glance from Loki, "you fly much?"

Heimdall looks up with his unworldly eyes. Then, with a voice like velvet, "No."

"Ah."

Tony hasn't planned any further than that. He desperately looks at Loki's silhouette, wanting to say something that could somehow make him feel better, but nothing comes. Not a second later Heimdall stands and retreats to the hostess cabin and Tony is once again left with his thoughts.

Okay, so maybe insinuating that Loki was replaceable with a female was a little too emasculating. Maybe he thought Tony was making fun of him. But back on the couch, wasn't he the one who told him to not hold back? That he wouldn't get angry at whatever Tony said? It irked him. Loki is treating him like the bad guy and he isn't.

Either way, no matter how rattled Tony feels, he still has a sullen Loki on his hands and that will not do. Bad things happen when Loki is grumpy and in the end Tony wants to enjoy the rest of the evening. If Loki thinks Tony is making fun of him, he's wrong. Tony loves Loki's more feminine traits. If Loki doesn't believe that then he's going to have to show him. He quietly comes up with a plan.

Silently, he gets up and walks into the rest room and takes out his phone.

When he comes out Loki is sipping on some champagne (the very drink his jacket still reeks of, thank you very much) and at last looks at him. No one moves for a second until Loki picks up another glass that was sitting on his arm rest and holds it out. Tony raises his eyebrows. A peace treaty, then. He thanks him quietly and takes it and Loki smiles, but doesn't offer him a seat. Right. A very small peace treaty.

He returns to his seat respectfully and watches Loki for the rest of the flight. By the time they land there's an empty bottle on Loki's table.

Los Vegas is as loud and nonsensical as Tony remembers; as soon as they step out of airport they enter a world of neon. An already tipsy Loki tries to look at everything at once with shiny eyes until Tony has to manhandle him into their awaiting car.

"So pretty," Loki whispers as they glide through the vivid city, rubbing his bottom lip between finger and thumb. Tony smiles sweetly, liking how the alcohol has smoothed out some of his coarse edges. He itches for a drink himself.

They're dropped off at the side of a giant club district, not the fanciest but certainly nothing to scoff at. A young man with golden hair is leaning against a row of palm trees and when he sees them he beams. He starts making his way over and Tony really hopes it isn't Loki's brother because he is enormous.

"Loki!" Thor says cheerfully with a wave. Okay, not just enormous, but gorgeous. His eyes are sky blue, his skin is bronze and he's killing that red blazer. He looks as if god himself had handed him down to dwell with the mere mortals.

Tony's starting to see where Loki's self-esteem issues may have first taken root. No one grows up next to that and makes it out unscathed.

When Loki finally does see his brother and pull himself from the car it's almost immediately into Thor's arms. Thor seems just as surprised at Tony—judging from the party, he was expecting more piercing looks and sharp words. But Loki hugs Thor with vigour and hunger and Thor is all too happy to return the favour.

"Hi," Loki says into his shoulder. Thor chuckles, the sound echoing deep from in his chest and just hearing it makes Tony feel warm and fuzzy. How could one man be so good?

"Hi," Thor says back. Eventually Loki peels himself off of him and rubs his eyes. Thor frowns. "Are you alright?"

Tony almost shits himself. If Loki complains about him and puts him on Thor's radar then he doesn't think he's going to survive the night. The man's arms are glorious but most surely lethal.

"I'm fine," Loki says without hesitation and Tony releases a breath. "It's good to see you."

"And you too," Thor grins. He looks at Tony and the grin falls into a line. "Anthony Stark, I presume?"

Tony swallows thickly and offers out his hand. "Yep." He tries not to look like an asshole.

Thor takes his hand in a firm shake and just feeling the strength beneath his palm makes Tony a little dizzy, but luckily it's accompanied by another smile.

"I trust you're treating my brother well?"

"You betcha."

"Good." He squeezes his hand once before letting go and begins leading them towards the glowing building. "Now come! I've organized the best bachelor party of the decade! You're going to love it. I've invited all your friends and—"

"All my friends?" Loki asks with a raised eyebrow.

Thor's brows scrunch. "Of course. Everyone from high school, Sif, Fandral, you remember?"

Loki blinks slowly, then forces a smile. "Ah. Yes. My friends."

Thor shakes his head at the sarcasm but can't muster a scold. "Come on, they've missed you!"

"I'm sure they have," Loki muses.

They all continue walking towards the crowded entrance when Thor suddenly stoops in low to Tony's ear. "If I ever hear a word of complaint from Loki, we will have a problem…yes?"

Tony nods carefully, not comforted at all by the playful slap on his shoulder that follows.

Thor takes them into a dance bar with loud thumping music and hot pink lights. The walls are thrumming, the air is thick and the floor is filled with hundreds of people trying to share as much sweat as they can.

Somehow Thor has secured a tiny table and it's there Tony's introduced to Loki's 'friends': there's a smirking dark-haired woman who instantly reminds him of a feral cat, a preening blond man, a bored looking Asian guy and another man so big he takes up his own square foot of the floor.

The table is already filled with empty pint glasses. When they approach their faces light up but Tony suspects it's aimed more towards Thor than him or Loki.

"The Odinson's, together again!" the large one cheers.

Thor laughs with them and takes a full glass of beer (what dance club has beer?) from the dark-haired woman's hand.

"Loki, you've gotten taller," the blond one says.

"Mmm, that ridiculous growth spurt has to end someday." Thor joins in with the fat one's laughter. Loki's smile is stretched thin.

"And you haven't changed at all," he says, feigning cheer. The lights make his cheeks all the more pinker.

Ignoring the comment, the woman nods towards Tony. "You're the groom, I hear? How did you meet?"

Before he can answer Loki drawls, "he got me drunk and I decked him."

Laughter erupts.

"I'll drink to that!" The fat man declares, lifting his glass high in the air.

The party kicks off from there. After a bumpy introduction Tony finds the company of the Warriors' amusing, if not loud. They yell and cheer and Thor urges everyone to get up and dance. It seems no-one is really interested in the details of Loki and his relationship at all—they've simply heard the word celebrate and plan to do just that, whatever the reason. Not gonna lie, Tony is enjoying himself.

In between the bouts of moshing he overhears Fandral attempting to engage Loki in little conversations. It's obvious the Warriors don't like Loki as much as Thor, maybe not at all, judging from Sif's snippy comments and the overall disinterest. But Loki couldn't care less as he orders another tequila sunrise.

It worries Tony. Instead of mouthing off or retaliating to any vague insult sent his way, Loki simply closes his eyes, smiles, and downs his drink. He's clearly on a mission to forget this day by any means.

Tony's not judging. He wrote the book on self-medicating with a bottle. Which is why he doesn't say anything and gets a drink himself. Thor finds him at the bar and they agree to a little manly drinking challenge (such a cool guy) and eleven shots later Tony respectfully gives his crown to Thor.

God, how everything feels so much better once you're inebriated. Slowly, as the hour passes, Tony's face get hotter, his eyelids get heavier and his smile appears easier. Somehow they've all found themselves outside by the mammoth pool with the black night sky hanging over them and the smell of chlorine in the air. The drinking competition seems to be continuing as Thor, Fandral and Volstagg all crowd around the wet bar, spilling as much lager into their bellies as their swollen guts will allow.

Loki and Tony lean under an umbrella, watching as the friendly competition turns treacherous and Fandral goes falling backwards into the water.

"They're such idiots," Loki mutters, playing with his straw and empty cup. Tony takes pity. He slides around to him and slips his arm around his waist.

"You wanna get lost?" he murmurs in his ear.

Loki smiles genially for the first time that night.

With a few whispers in the right ears Tony sneaks Loki into a far more high-end club way up on the upper floors of a building and away from the commotion and noise of the ground. The jackets have come off by the time they enter the club, leaving Loki in his white dress shirt and Tony in his shirt and waist coat. The lights are cool and blue, spilling down the walls like water and the music is more sombre and….abstract.

Tony escorts Loki to a personal booth with white leather seats and orders him a brightly coloured drink.

Ah, drinking. Something, Tony observes, Loki doesn't do much of. He orders anything at random, not caring about mixing his champagne with his tequila, not caring to wait even a second after finishing one drink before he's stumbling for the next one. It's self-destructive and more than a little dangerous and Tony should tell him to slow down.

But he's having fun. Tony's on the better side of tipsy now anyway and if he can share one thing with Loki, let it be this. He's having fun.

Loki dances fervidly a few steps from where Tony sits, arms reaching high, eyes closed, hair flying. A few minutes later a large muscled man is dancing with him in the crowd and Loki willingly grinds back, looking to Tony as he does so. Tony smirks and raises his drink. Then Loki is saying something to him and it takes Tony a while to hear it.

"Cheating scandal," Loki shouts, running his hands over the other man's chest. Tony spits his drink back into his glass. Even seconds away from passing out he's still so fucking dedicated.

Soon he has Loki back in his booth, looking flushed. "You having fun?" Tony asks, amused.

"Mmmm, so much fun," Loki says. He goes to finish his cocktail and this time Tony takes his hands away.

"Nah-ah. You've had enough for now."

Loki finds the gesture instantly entertaining, lifting both their hands high into the air. He shuffles closer. "Mm. I like beards," he says, sliding his hands down to cup Tony's stubbled cheeks.

Tony huffs a laugh. "Really now? Why…..thank you."

And damn, he is much more drunk than he planned to be.

Loki lets go of him and buries his face on the table. "I'm saying stupid things…." he mourns. "I'm saying stupid things that are stupid."

"That's okay," Tony comforts.

"No," Loki says. "My thoughts aren't thinking of what I'm saying right."

"That's called intoxication, sweetie." He pats Loki's back, wondering if now is the time to head back to the hotel and give him his gift (shhhhh).

Suddenly the music changes and Loki springs back up like an elastic band. "Ooooo, I want to dance." He tugs on Tony's collar. "Come on, I want to dance."

Tony groans. "I'm so tired, you don't understand."

"No, come on, dance with me." He scampers up until he's almost sitting in Tony's lap. "Please, please, please…" He even sticks his bottom lip out and everything. "I want to dance with you."

Tony sigh drearily and quirks a brow. "….fine. How could I say no to that face."

Loki lets out a delighted squeal.

Dance they did—for how long? Tony doesn't know. They jump and punch the air and rock side-to-side with one another until Loki is so dizzy he doesn't even register Tony escorting him out of the club and into their hotel room to retire for the night.

The room is luxurious, with high windows and cream carpet and a flat screen TV that takes up an entire wall. It's got one of those fancy narrow fire places filled with black pebbles and Tony immediately turns it on, not because he's cold but just because he can.

Loki twirls into the room with arms spread wide. "I like this place," he grins.

"I'm glad," Tony says, ushering him into the bedroom where his present should be waiting. And it is, laying there on the giant bed just as he asked, but Loki skips right past it and goes straight to the stereo instead. "Hey, Loki, come look at what—"

"Shhh."

It's top of the line, Stark Industries, and Loki takes no time finding the song he wants. As the guitar and beats start playing Loki seemingly arches into the music, eyes closed and completely content. Tony gives an exasperated sigh, but can't be angry as Loki slowly dances his way over.

"This is….Bowie, yeah?" Loki nods, a serene smile on his lips. "Right. Of course it is." Loki happily continues moving his body in small movements, his hips tugging to the beat with hands in his hair. Tony coughs. "So hey Lokes, I know I fucked up at the engagement party so I got you this—"

Loki holds his hand out. "Spin me."

Begrudgingly, Tony complies. He holds their hands high as Loki spins under them, stretching himself away before rolling inwards to Tony's chest. With his arms being securely locked around the other man's figure Tony is forced to rock slowly with him.

He tries again. "Loki. Hey. I got you a present."

"Really?" Loki asked, disinterested.

"Yeah. If you'd just look over on the—no don't spin again."

He's too late, of course, and Loki twists underneath his hand elegantly, looking very pleased indeed. This is getting ridiculous. "Loki. Present. On the bed. Please."

"I don't want anything," Loki resists, continuing to twirl. Tony changes tactics and leads Loki carefully to where his gift sits and when Loki finishes Tony makes sure he's facing it and holds fast to his shoulders to stop him from moving again. Finally, Loki looks at what's on the bed.

And becomes very still.

"It's modelled after one of Audrey Hepburn's famous dresses," Tony says. It's true—he did his research in that restroom on the plane and found the perfect one: the dress was black and velvet with cute straps and a simple skirt that would reach, he guesses, just above Loki's knees.

Loki still hasn't moved so Tony gives his shoulders a little squeeze. "I thought—I just—I don't want you to feel embarrassed about….anything about you. You like Audrey so I thought I'd buy you a costume. You can wear it, if you want." Not even another squeeze will make Loki snap out of his silence and Tony starts to get worried that he's completely missed the mark and Loki is now the most confused drunk person on the planet. "You okay babe?"

At last Loki moves. He reaches out with a shaking (shaking, why the hell is he shaking?) hand and gently strokes the hem of the dress. Tony gives his shoulders an encouraging rub and smiles. "I didn't want to give you one of those shitty dollar costumes so I made sure it was handmade. It's velvet, see?" He touches it with him.

God he wishes Loki would say something. He'd even take cruel laughter at Tony's stupid idea at this point. Anything but the stillness.

"You wanna try it on?" he asks quietly. "Come on, it'll be fun." He sees Loki's brows drop into a confused expression and Tony thinks maybe Loki is just too goddamned drunk to play dress up right now. He picks up the dress and puts it in Loki's hands. Loki flinches when it's given to him, as if the garment is on fire, but eventually grips the fabric close. He looks at Tony.

"Um." He licks his lips as if taste-testing the words he's trying to say. "I…." He looks at the ground. "The cameras."

Tony blinks. "What?"

Loki shuffles uncomfortably. "The room cameras. The cameras."

Tony's mind ticks slowly. "No one's going to see you, Loki," he says. It takes a while, but Loki nods, although doesn't look convinced. "Look, you don't have to try it on. I just thought it'd be a nice gift, I might be wrong, I don't know." He releases a long breath and scratches his neck.

Again, Loki is reduced to silence, staring at Tony's feet. Tony is ready to take the dress out of his hands and put him to bed when Loki suddenly nods.

"Okay." And he quietly walks into the ensuite.

Half an hour later Tony is lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling and tapping his leg to the Bowie playlist that continues to fill the room. He hears the bathroom door slide open and he quickly gets to his feet.

Loki looks….strange. The dress is too big around the middle where a woman's hips should be and the black makes his skin all the more pale. He's used one of the hotel's shitty packets of mascara on his lashes and although it's lumpy in places his green eyes shine from underneath them. Hmm. The more Tony takes in the image in front of him the more he likes it. Loki in a dress is…strangely more arousing than he first thought.

His throat tightens. "You look very pretty."

Loki fidgets with the skirt nervously. "Thank you," he says weakly.

"Do you like it?"

He nods once, swallowing.

The mood is a foreign one. It's not awkward or unpleasant but it's so intensely intimate that it makes Tony's head whirl. They're not just playing dress up.

He walks forward. Without really thinking about it, he slowly sits his hands on Loki's waist. Loki doesn't reject him—in fact Tony hears his breath quicken. He licks his lips, wanting to say something to make him snap out of whatever is happening, but instead runs his hands down to Loki's hips. He's sure that was the right move.

When Loki lunges at him and snatches his lips it's too quick and their teeth clack together. Tony lets out a surprised laugh but recovers quickly so he can meet his lips again, this time to more success. Soon he has Loki's arms around his neck and they're kissing with vigour.

It's different from when they practised. Loki isn't smiling against his stubble or taking breaks to shoot teasing comments or laughter. Loki clings to him like something obsessed, almost desperate in the way he presses himself to him. After a few more seconds of hungry embrace and sloppy making-out Tony all of a sudden tastes salt.

"Wait wait wait," he says, pulling back. "Are you crying?"

Loki immediately shakes his head, ignoring the few black-stained tears wetting his cheeks. "I'm not."

"Uh, okay—" Tony can't finish before he's promptly dragged onto the bed and then Loki's mouth is back on his. He can only manage a muffled grunt as Loki twists them until he's lying underneath him, arching upwards to grind their bodies together. Tony completely forgets what was worrying him for the next few minutes of porno-worthy foreplay, but eventually the kisses get less urgent and fewer between.

Tony breaks away altogether and looks down at the velvet clad body beneath him. Loki looks up with red cheeks and hooded eyes and as Tony stares at those dilated, glazed pupils, he sighs. Loki is so, so drunk.

Loki stares back, breathless, confused. Tony releases a breath in defeat and shakes his head. "Come on kiddo," he smiles tiredly. "Let's get you to sleep, yeah?"

Loki takes a while to register what he's saying. Eventually, he nods, but Tony doubts he's aware of what he's agreeing to. "Mmm."

"Okay." Gingerly, Tony sits up and tugs the quilt out from underneath them and readjusts the pillows for them both. Sliding next to Loki and throwing the covers over them, he snuggles down. Loki seems completely on board with the idea and curls into his side. After a few seconds his eyes close and his breathing evens out.

Tony gives him a chaste kiss on the forehead and lies his head down. In the end, he thinks his present was a good idea.