Happy Valentine y'all! I managed to find a few minutes to finish this chapter today – that's what happens when you don't have to do couple-y things – so here's an update for all the grumpy single people, and the people who are sick of the commercial BS (and I'll be magnanimous and let all the lovey-dovey couples read this too XD). This is definitely not a Valentine themed chapter, but I still hope it's a balm to your love-sick or lonely hearts :p

PREVIOUSLY ON ASAF: "Sir, you have received an e-mail from Miss Potts."

All work halted quite abruptly, and Loki looked up from the ramblings of a certain C.S. Lewis, straight into Tony's wide-eyed gaze. Slight panic reached Loki in tiny undulations on the surface of their connection, and Tony turned away, suddenly looking frantically for something on his cluttered desk.

"To your right, Sir, under the schematics for the robotic toaster."

Tony unearthed a 'tablet' device and turned the screen on. He breathed in. "Okay, J.A.R.V.', let's have it." The display changed to text, but Loki was too far to be able to read the message. Tony, however, was frowning more and more, until something that Loki could only describe as a 'sense of doom' reached him, and the grimace on Tony's face encompassed the bond as well.

That could not mean anything good.

CHAPTER 25

When J.A.R.V.I.S. had announced the e-mail's arrival, there was only one thing Tony could think: not good. Usually if Pepper needed anything from him, or wanted to inform him of something, she'd either call, maybe text, or at worst tell J.A.R.V.I.S. to tell him whatever it was. And to remind him whatever he was forgetting – or was going to forget. An e-mail, though, that was very impersonal, especially for her. She was more of a 'direct' contact type of girl; face to face, phone calls or video chats, that how she preferred to interact.

So he already dreaded whatever it was that she'd written, but when J.A.R.V.I.S. made the message pop up on the tablet and he saw that the e-mail had been sent to his business account… That was her way of cold-shouldering everything but their business relationship. And it started with 'Mr Stark', just 'Mr Stark'; an Antarctica-level of cold shoulder right there. No, worse, a Jötunn ice-magic level of cold shoulder. And that was only the beginning. The rest was even worse.

Mr Stark,

Attached are the authorisation documents that need to be signed, regarding the fundraising gala I have decided to organise in your name for the victims of what has been dubbed 'The Battle of New York'. Please sign them immediately.

The fundraiser will be held this Saturday, and you will attend. That is non-negotiable. I shall have J.A.R.V.I.S. send invitations to the other members of the Avengers, in case they wish to attend as well. As for your new plus one, if he were to come, make sure he dresses appropriately.

Sign the documents. Now.

Sincerely,

Virginia Potts

C.E.O. of Stark Industries

Tony grimaced as the whole idea of a gala sunk in. Why? Why did he have to suffer through a gala? There had been days, long ago, when he had loved those stupidly posh events, if only for the bar and the girls that flocked to him like crazy pigeons to an abandoned baloney sandwich.

Now, though, he wasn't looking for girls; or for an evening out dancing – interspersed with business-oriented socialising – with Pepper like he had in the last couple of months. No, now he would have to flee hordes of stampeding women, because, well. He wasn't interested in a one-night stand right now. Not that he wouldn't be interested in sex, but he didn't really want to hop into bed with a stranger, and was still feeling very… confused by his sudden break up. And then there was the whole 'soulmate' thing. He had Loki now. Whatever crazy thing that meant.

And talking about Loki, the bond was unusually tense, vibrating with a number of feelings all on the 'wary' end of the spectrum. Tony looked up from the tablet and the email his eyes had been gliding over again without reading the words, to find Loki staring at his face with an almost worried expression. Right. Now that he thought about it, he might have been overreacting a little bit – it was only a fundraising gala after all, not a one-way ticket to the gallows – and Loki had only had his unprotected feelings to go on. No wonder he looked worried. And Tony really needed to get that bond-protecting shield for his mind.

"Uhm, it was a message from Pepper about a fundraising gala she's doing for the victims of the invasion. And I will have to go – not that I want to, but. It's in my name, so…"

"A fundraising gala?" Loki repeated, one dark eyebrow arching up his forehead.

"Yeah, it's, er… Like a ball. Where rich people go. And they give money for whatever the fundraiser is for. There's drinks, and music, and dancing, and women in ridiculous dresses. And usually a red carpet set up, and journalists that put your face on the front page of a magazine with ridiculous stories. Can't say I'm a huge fan anymore. I used to like the whole she-bang, but… Well, I have more interesting things to do, usually. But I'll have to go this time. Pepper said so. No way I can get out of it this time – she already hates me enough as it is."

His voice had turned pathetically sad at the end there, almost cracking, and Tony cringed internally. That was so not cool. Not that Loki wouldn't have picked up on his feelings through the bond, but still. And anyway, he was probably overreacting again. Pepper didn't really hate him, right? She loved him! And then he broke her heart because, turns out he wasn't feeling the same way – though he didn't do it on purpose, how was he supposed to know 'love' and 'in love' wasn't the exact same thing? – and now she was super angry and distant. AKA the unpleasant email. It would get better. With time.

"You are hosting a ball in honour of the dead? It is a strange concept, to be sure."

"It's more a ball to help those still living. You know, raise money for those who lost everything, and money to rebuild and all that. The gala's just something to attract the rich; they get publicity out of it, they show the world how great and generous they are, and they try to outdo each other in the money-giving department. It's a win-win. There's money for those who need it, and a good time for the power-hungry wealthy arseholes."

"Do you include yourself among those power-hungry wealthy arseholes? You are one of the guests after all."

"I'm actually, supposedly, the host. But yeah, I used to be one of them. Now I'd prefer giving away half of my fortune just to not go to the gala part, but Pepper would kill me if I didn't go. And to be honest, having Iron Man go to the fundraiser could actually attract even more patrons, so… It's just too bad that I have to go in a regular suit instead of my armoured suit."

Loki looked pensive for a second. "A ball. I must say, I never truly liked them on Asgard, but as a prince I had to attend them all. I usually managed to be graciously asked to leave soon enough, though." Loki smirked.

"Oh? What did you do?"

"A few pranks were usually enough. Simple things, nothing spectacular. Like turning the ale salty, or making Thor trip during a dance so that his head landed on the bosom of his partner and he would have a shrieking woman scratching at his face. A few of those things were usually enough for people to get suspicious and Odin would ask me to retire. Without proof that anything was my fault, I might add."

"It was your fault, though. Right?"

"More often than not. Although I did get blamed rather often for things that were merely born out of people's own clumsiness."

"Do you have a way to be asked not to come at all?"

A smile played on Loki's lips again. "I'm afraid not. Even I do not have the power to make people less stubborn."

"Too bad."

Tony glanced at the tablet again, pulled up the electronic documents attached to the email and signed them, before putting it back on the desk. That was Saturday. No need to worry about it yet. He had more important things to do right now, like discovering a way to scan and detect magic. Tony checked the scans J.A.R.V.I.S. was doing of his Arc reactors on the screen, and went back to devising new ways of calibrating the material he had for new types of scans. It was possible that he wouldn't be able to make any progress at all with that – maybe he would have to construct a completely new scanning device. And as he didn't know what type of energy he was looking for exactly… It didn't matter, though. He'd find a way to do it someday; he was Tony Stark after all.

It took him half an hour to get a bit frustrated at his lack of progress. The problem was, he didn't really know what magic looked like. What type of energy it was precisely. How come no one on Earth seemed to know about it, while Asgardians and Frost Giants and all the other elves and whatnot had learned how to use it?

"You can see magic, right?" Loki didn't answer, and Tony had to repeat the question once Loki had finally lifted his nose out of his e-book. His soulmate was a true bookworm! Figures. The only thing missing were a pair of glasses. That would make the picture as cliché as could be. He guessed that Loki would never need glasses, what with the super healing power and magic and stuff. That was a pity, because he was sure glasses would make Loki look extra sexy. Oh, whoa, no! There was no 'extra sexy' as there was no 'sexy' to begin with! Nope. NOPE. Wrong train of thought. Back to the conversation at hand. Tony tuned back in and realise Loki was already speaking.

"— more like a feeling, though I suppose that the way I can visualise the magical energy in my mind could almost be called 'seeing'."

"Er… Right. And do you think that I could feel-see magic too? Or maybe you can show it to me somehow?" Loki frowned, and put his book on the nearest available surface. He stood up and walked over to Tony, towering over him. How could the bastard be so tall and lean and almost skinny, and still look so strong? Of course he was strong, freakishly so, but he shouldn't look it. Not with the pale skin and the shiny hair and the long limbs.

Loki extended his hand, and Tony took it automatically. The rush of the connecting bond, the warmth that filled him and the tingling that shot through his arm forced a breath into Tony's lungs, but Loki looked unfazed, and how was that fair? Also, they had touched not that long ago – the stupid bond shouldn't be this touch-starved already. How was he supposed to understand anything about magic if something as magically powerful as a soul bond made no sense whatsoever? Loki tugged, and Tony stood up. And of course they had to stand so close… Tony craned his neck up look at Loki's face.

"A person's magical core is usually placed behind the heart. It isn't physical, as magic itself does not exist as a solid element. Magic can be found in many things, in very small amounts, and it congregates in living things, mostly. Some beings can store more magic than others – Midgardians are not very magic-sensitive, most of the time. You, however, through your connection to me, and because you have been living with more magic than you were born with, might be able to feel magic better than your fellow Avengers."

"Better than Thor, even? I mean, his being from Asgard and all that."

Loki snorted. "Being better than Thor when it comes to magic is certainly not difficult."

"Okay. What do I do? Do I close my eyes and meditate?" Tony didn't like that idea at all.

"It would probably be difficult for you to find your own magical core because of the placement of the Arc reactor. You might, however, be able to locate mine, even though it isn't as 'bright', you might say, as it's supposed to be."

"Right." There was a beat of silence, then two, three. If Loki thought Tony knew what he was supposed to do now, he was sorely mistaken. Loki's bright blue hand went up, and he tapped himself on the chest with an almost black nail, on his sternum just below his clavicles.

"This is where my magical core is, and where my heart is when I am Jötunn. Place your hand here, and close your eyes." Tony brought his hand up to the place Loki had designated, but stopped an inch away from the black tee-shirt-covered chest. He glanced up at Loki's face, which was a mistake – there were ruby red eyes with deep, deep pools of black that he shouldn't be falling into right now – and he quickly closed his eyelids and pushed his hand against the cool fabric.

"Good. Now concentrate, not on what your hand feels, but what on your mind feels. Your hand is just an extension of your mind. Seek the source of the brightness. I will make my core 'pulse' more than it naturally does, for lack of a better word. Try to feel it. To see it in your mind's eye."

If Tony hadn't known magic was real, he'd have thought this was all a load of mantra-chakra-zen bullshit. Breathe in the light and all that. Make the bad thought flow out of your ears, or something. "Concentrate," Loki admonished him, and he tried to make his mind blank – fat chance that would happen.

"Guide your mind from your head to the palm of your hand. Let it flow along your veins to the very centre of your palm, and then beyond. Into me." Going down his neck, along the clavicle to the shoulder, down the bicep to the elbow, around the radius to his wrist, to his hand and the middle of his palm. And into Loki's chest. He'd prefer to get into Loki somewhere el— No! Nope! Not happening! He wasn't thinking that! Never thought that, even. Just a glitch of his genius mind! Magic. Yes, MAGIC! This was about magic.

Under his palm he could feel Loki's heart beating at a steady though somewhat rapid pace. He wondered if a Jötunn's heartbeat was always that fast. Through his other hand the bond was thrumming, and he could feel their connection, somehow. Maybe it was the same kind of connection he was looking for in Loki's chest. Only, their skins weren't touching, there was a shirt between them; a flimsy barrier that could possibly be as thick as a concrete wall for his magicless self.

So really, it was only logical. And it wasn't as if he wanted to or anything – liar, a little voice whispered in his ear. No, he didn't want to – liar – this was for science! Or magic. Whatever. Tony took his hand off Loki's chest, and in a swift down-then-upwards movement, he'd lifted that tight black tee and slammed his hand on Loki's blue-skinned chest. Surprise boomed across the bond like the shockwave of an explosion, and Loki inhaled sharply, torso expanding under Tony's palm. Tony hadn't looked at Loki's face, gazing at the one spot where the magical core was supposed to be, but he could feel his soulmate's stare, even when he closed his eyes again.

This was better. There was the tingling, the humming of the bond, and when he moved along his arm with his mind, it was like he could almost see… something. Under his hand Loki's heart was beating relentlessly, and it was like a drum in his head; bo-boom-bo-boom-bo-boom, like the war drums of the Orcs of Moria. Or like the Jumanji board game. He could feel it going through him from head to toe. It was the strangest thing he'd ever felt.

And then there was something else. A warm cold. Or a cold warmth. He couldn't decide. It was like a small cold star, growing into a soothingly warm sun, then shrinking back into a star, and then a sun again. It was white light, blue light, fire, and none of the above; it wasn't light and yet it was, it wasn't there and yet it was, he couldn't see it and yet he was. It wasn't feeling, it wasn't seeing, it was knowing. This was magic.

The moment he realised that, Tony's eyes flew open, and it was gone. He stepped back and wrenched his hand away, both hands, severing their connection so suddenly he stumbled and fell down into his chair – at least he didn't have to embarrass himself by falling on his arse. He stared wide-eyed at nothing, vaguely realising that Loki was going back to his own chair. He had seen magic. Magic! This was crazy! And it didn't even help him with his scans, because he couldn't say he really knew what he did to see it. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to see magic anywhere else – the bond had obviously helped him.

"Okay. Right. Magic. Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Not that helpful, actually, but at least I know I'm not a total muggle."

A soothing warmth reached him through the bond. "Who knows, you might even receive your Hogwarts letter one day."

Tony turned his gaze to Loki then, and the soft smile that met him was breathtakingly beautiful – it made his mind go blank for an instant, and it took his mind way too long to reboot. When it did, though, he understood what Loki had just said. "You mean I might be able to do magic one day?"

"Perhaps. If you are able to see it, you might be able to learn how to influence it's flow, and shape it into spells. It would take you a long time, but it isn't impossible. And you would have the best sorcerer in the Nine Realms as your teacher."

"Huh. I'd have to think about that." Tony turned back to his screen. "Okay, attempt number billion and one at scanning magic!" And he started tapping away again, lines of code flying from his fingertips.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Loki gripped the electronic book tighter and tried to concentrate on anything but the hand-shaped mark that burned his chest – the brand of Tony's presence that made him feel warm all over – and that moment of elation when he knew Tony had experienced magic – his magic – in the truest and most intimate way. The fact that his soulmate had a sensitivity to magic, maybe even enough to be able to learn the basics, and the fact that he might be willing to learn one day… The fact that Tony was a Midgardian and therefore did not have the same prejudices against magic as so many people he knew… Loki realised that perhaps his soulmate being from Midgard could have its advantages after all.

Loki blinked a few times and went back to the strange stories about the realm of Narnia. As reading stories of fiction was not the most productive of goals, he interspersed them with other books J.A.R.V.I.S. recommended, such as detailed tales about Midgardian – Earth – history, and the crude 'scientific' explanations of what mortals – humans – understood of the world. He was reading one such book when Tony jumped up with a loud 'YES!'.

"I think I've got something on the scans. Here, you see this line?" Loki put his book down and walked over, trying to resist leaning too close when he loomed over Tony's shoulder. He looked at where Tony was pointing, yet as he did not know what each line meant, it made no sense to him. "See this spike? I think this might be it. Does the magic pulsate in the Arc reactors? 'Cause I know you made your magic pulsate on purpose but… Does it pulsate on its own? 'Cause that's what I'm getting I think. Unless I'm wrong and this ain't it."

"It does pulse naturally indeed."

"Thank God! Okay, so that's the only pulsating that I've managed to measure – I mean, the energy that is coming from the Arc reactor is a direct current so the pulsating is an anomaly, but if that's actually the magical energy then… Yeah, then I can measure it, in a way. It still needs some tweaking of course, 'cause now we can barely see it but… I might be able to actually scan for magic! Ain't I awesome?" Loki remained silent.

"Of course you are, Sir."

J.A.R.V.I.S. sounded rather exasperated to Loki's ears, and Tony must have picked up on it too. "This is a breakthrough, J.A.R.V.'! You could at least pretend to be amazed by my genius!"

"I have done so too often already, Sir."

Tony gasped theatrically and placed a hand over his heart in mock distress. "You mean you have been faking your awe before? Pretending to admire your father's amazing work? Unbelievable!" Tony huffed and crossed his arms. "You are no son of mine!"

"Thank you, Sir. I will gladly seize this offer of independence."

Tony's lips twitched for an instant before huge smile broke out on his face. "As if you haven't done so already. You never listen to me anymore."

"Indeed I don't, Sir."

"I wise decision, to be sure," Loki added, starting to get bored of looking at the screen where incomprehensible lines formed over and over again in exactly the same patterns. "How does this breakthrough of yours help in analysing the sceptre's taint?"

"Hey, it helps! I just need to perfect it, that's all. Now we're only seeing broad strokes, but soon I'll have the tiniest details on there, you'll see." Loki hummed noncommittally and went back to his chair. "Just you wait," Tony added. "I'll have it done in no time."

It took Tony actually more than an hour, in which the robot-arm went away and came back with a very big pile of different variations of 'sandwich' food. Loki set a few aside for Tony and ate the rest – even those he did not particularly like, with a strange type of what might have been cheese. When Tony finally looked up from his typing and mumbling with an obnoxiously loud yell of 'EUREKA!', Loki walked over to him with the plate and its three sandwiches that he waved in front of his soulmates face until he picked one up.

"Shanksh," Tony said with his mouth full, and Loki's eye twitched. "Sho, jish ish whad magig looksh like."

The transparent screen was divided in different sets of lines, one groups flat and pulsating, another spherical and pulsating, but still Loki could not positively identify this as representing magic. This was like trying to write poetry with only numbers – a ridiculous exercise. This was not what magic looked like to him.

"I do not see how this is supposed to represent magic."

"Well, it's not— It's not the same as seeing-slash-feeling magic, for sure. This is merely a graphical representation of the energy itself. I think I get what you mean – this isn't magic, because magic seems almost… alive, in a way, and how do you just put life on a screen, right? But magic is also an energy source, and that can be measured. Of course, I don't know if I can use this to check for spells or anything. I don't know how spells work anyway. But you said something about weaving, right? So I'm expecting certain energy patterns to represent certain spells. I don't know. This is just the analysis of the two Arc reactors. They're different, see?"

Tony made two other sets of lines appear, and indeed they were different from the first one – more erratic, with sharper spikes. "This is the old, palladium reactor," he said, pointing at the latest lines. "And this is the new one," he added, pointing at the sets of lines that had been on the screen first.

Loki hummed noncommittally yet again. Tony looked up at him from his chair, bending his neck back almost as far as it could go, and Loki stood up straighter so that their faces – and temptation – weren't so close. Tony stared unblinkingly at him for a few seconds before looking back down and biting into his sandwich. "J.A.R.V. , holos pleash."

A few tables away, around the two Arc reactors that were suspended in their scanning devices, flowing criss-crossing lines appeared, forming spheres that encompassed them and that shrunk and grew like a breathing entity. Tony stood up and approached them, and Loki followed. Both spheres were different – while the new, flat Arc reactor beat faster, the surface of the sphere was smoother with less erratic spikes. The old Arc reactor's sphere however was sluggish but deformed and wilder, peaks appearing almost aggressively on the surface.

"I kinda feel like this resembles the way you described the differences in their magic, don't you?" Tony asked while gesturing at the two light-giving devices.

"Perhaps," Loki answered after a minute.

"There's no need to doubt my genius, darling. I know when I'm right," Tony said with a smirk.

Loki ignored his soulmate's antics and watched the pulsing representations of magic. He put his hand closer to the old Arc reactor, intending to feel it's magic more clearly. When his hand entered the scanning area, though, he stopped short when tiny vibrating points of light surrounded his hand like a glove.

"Oh. Uhm, that was unexpected. I wouldn't advise putting your hand in a scanner without knowing the possible physical consequences, first off. Not that I think that this should be dangerous or anything, but next time ask, okay. Even though you may be totally fine, with your alien strength and all that, better be safe than sorry. This is interesting, though. Are you recording this, J.A.R.V.'? It's not calibrated correctly, but we're still picking up some of your magic. Awesome!"

Loki glanced at Tony before inching his hand forward. The moment one of the dots that represented his magic touched the exterior of the pulsating sphere of the old Arc reactor's magic, a big sharp spike of energy erupted from the surface and seemingly passed through his hand mere moments after he felt a similar spike of angry magic lash out at him. "Oh, wow!" was all Tony seemed able to say.

Loki pulled his hand out and massaged the tingling blue skin of the palm and back of his hand. "It appears that you have indeed managed to make magical energy visible." An enormous grin split Tony's face in two and bright and warm joy radiated from the bond like a blooming star. Loki couldn't look at Tony's delighted face for too long; even though he should feel delighted that he had managed to paint such an expression on his soulmate's face with only a few words of hidden praise, it only seemed to bring him pain – this was not at all the reason nor the situation in which he wanted such delight to be appearing on Tony's features.

He looked at the Arc reactors again, and thought of a question to distract himself. "Why does your current Arc reactor look more like this one," he said, designating the old aggressive Arc reactor, "while being actually more like this one," he said, designating the flat Arc reactor with its triangle and its steadier rhythm.

"Oh, well, when I made the new Arc reactor design when I created the New Element, I made the new design sleek and flat because I could, and also because it's way easier to change if needed. But it turns out that it wasn't that comfortable. I don't know if it's just the empty space that's left in my chest or the lack of direct connection, or both, but I ended up making a design that's a bit between the old one and the new. Get the best of both, you know."

"I see." Not that Loki understood what Tony meant exactly, but a lack of reply just wouldn't do.

"Right. Well, I'll try to make the scanning and stuff work on the sceptre now. Trying to discern two magical signatures coming from the same source, that's gonna be a challenge."

"I shall wish you good luck, then. You will need it," Loki said before walking back to his chair and his many books.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence!" Tony grumbled before starting up an incomprehensible conversation with J.A.R.V.I.S. about frequencies and energy emissions. Loki tuned him out.

No cliff-hanger this time ;) The last cliff-hanger was a mean one, because there was no real 'doom' approaching and Tony was just being a drama-queen XD What do you think? Are you up for a fundraising gala soon? (Though I say soon, but it might take a couple of chapters, AKA a few months, since life is absolutely hectic at the moment.)

Spread the Luv!

LL