Chapter 22

The fact that when Tony laid eyes on Loki he looked amazing really bothered him. Why did he have to look so attractive when Tony couldn't even walk over and kiss him? Life sucked. When Loki saw them approaching, he smiled and greeted Clint before shifting his gaze over to Tony. They sort of stared at each other for a few seconds until Natasha jogged Loki, bringing his attention back to her. The two then disappeared into another room, again leaving Tony and Clint alone together.

"Dude you either need to move on or sort this shit out because I swear to god I can't take another week of your puppy dog eyes every time you see him."

Tony glared at Clint. "I'm working on it." And with that he disappeared to, leaving Clint standing by himself.

He'd made the decision that he would talk to Loki that night even if he had to lock them in the same room together. Yes he knew he was terrible with words and feelings, and putting feelings into words but he had to try, right? If you want something, you work for it. And he wanted Loki. He wanted them to sort out this shit between them so they could actually act like a proper couple for once. Even if that meant telling everyone. Tony was ready. He could deal with the dicks who wouldn't be cool with it. What he couldn't deal with was more time without Loki. He missed him.

For a while he chilled with Steve and Bruce thinking that it wouldn't be very smart to corner Loki so soon into the party. At least let it get into full swing so they could slip away and remain hopefully undisturbed when they talked.

When Darcy arrived with Jane, Steve was dragged away to dance leaving Bruce and Tony alone. Thor came to join them for a while but left when Jane said she needed to speak to him. That sounded ominous, Tony thought to himself as he watched the pair depart. She didn't look unhappy though so he assumed it was nothing too serious.

It seemed that Loki had disappeared off the face of the earth because, when Tony actually started trying to find him, he couldn't locate him anywhere. He even asked Natasha but she hadn't seen him in a while either. Feeling a little downtrodden, he headed back towards the kitchen where most people passed through at least once every half an hour. He assumed that if he was going to find Loki, that would be the best place to start. On his way, though, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Turning he came almost face to face with Pepper.

"Hey Tony," She greeted with a smile.

"Hey Pep, enjoying the party?"

"Yeah it's cool, I've been looking for you for ages. Where've you been?"

"Just around, the music's really loud so I took a break outside."

Technically it wasn't a lie; he did go outside but only to look for Loki, not to escape the noise. Though, now that he thought about it, the music was extremely loud. He could barely hear himself talking, or Pepper for that matter.

"Sorry, what did you say?" He asked loudly having realised that Pepper had been speaking but he hadn't heard a word of it.

"I said..." again her words were lost due to the immense volume of the music.

"Can you please just repeat that one more time?" Tony asked, being polite as possible. He hated asking people to repeat themselves.

Just to make sure he actually heard her this time, he leant in close so their faces were almost brushing together. Yes, if someone walked past it probably looked like a) they were about to kiss, or b) they already had. And, of fucking course, because life's a bitch and the world apparently hates Tony Stark, Loki chose that moment to leave the kitchen. As he turned he was met with the sight of the two standing exceptionally close, faces centimetres apart. For a second or two he just stared, expression flashing through different emotions at an alarming rate. Anger, hurt, regret, sadness, betrayal, defeat. Then he was gone, pushing through the hallway packed with people.

Without a second thought Tony followed, ignoring Pepper as she called after him. It barely took any time for him to fight his way through to Loki yet it was much harder from him to actually communicate with him. In the end he grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled hard enough to make him turn.

"What?" Loki snapped.

"We need to talk. Now," Tony said, looking around for somewhere they could go. A place where he could actually hear himself think because the music was so damn loud he could barely form one thought. "Up here," he gestured upstairs.

Not really waiting for a reply he dragged Loki upstairs and into a dark room. Clint's bedroom. He shut the door and switched on the light. Now they were alone. And it was quiet. Well, quieter. And he had no idea what to say. Fuck. Though at least Loki was there. Tony was surprised he had followed and allowed himself to be told what to do.

"What? What do you want, why did you drag me up here?"

"Because we need to talk. Should we sit down, maybe we should sit down." He knew he was babbling but couldn't quite stop himself. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he watched as Loki remained where he was. "Fine, look, if you don't want to sort this out then go. If talking to me causes you that much strain then go, that'll be it, okay?"

Loki didn't move. Thank god.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Are you kidding me?" Tony laughed.

"No," Loki snapped again, eyes blazing. "I'm not kidding. I'm not playing games. All I want is to know is if it is a recent thing or whether it was going on while we were."

Now Tony was thoroughly confused. "I don't understand. What thing?"

"Don't play games, Tony." This time when he spoke it was without venom, without much emotion really. Loki just looked resigned...and like he was about to cry but Tony tried to block that thought out.

"I'm not playing games Loki," He replied, lowering his voice to a softer tone. "I just-"

"You dating her," Loki suddenly erupted. "I just want to know if you started dating Pepper while we were together or whether it was after, or whether I was just some extra on the side, like an experiment or something."

Well that was definitely not what Tony was expecting to hear. And yes, he was sure at this point that Loki was really trying to hold back tears. He was awful with emotions, something they had already agreed upon, and now this situation was getting out of hand. It was supposed to be a simple discussion to clear the air. Now it had turned into something much more complicated.

Him dating Pepper. Really? Now that he thought about it he could understand where Loki would get that idea from but why would he believe it? They were still dating. At least Tony considered them to be. It seemed, however, Loki did not. This was vast becoming a problem that far rose above his skill set at being dealt with.

"Oh my god, you can't be serious! I'm not dating Pepper," he insisted with as much force as he could muster without sounding rude or angry. "I was still under the impression that you and I were together. No you are not something extra and I'm very sure you're not a damn experiment. I like you Loki. I like you. I wouldn't have asked you to be my boyfriend if that wasn't the case."

"But-"

"No. I'm serious, one-hundred per cent." He paused for a moment. "I am kinda starting to worry right now though...you really don't trust me do you?"

Loki's eyes widened as he stumbled to answer. "I do trust you, I do. It's just that, after all this stuff that's happened, which I made significantly worse without actually meaning to, I didn't think you'd even care anymore. Why bother with someone so awful and worthless when you can have someone else so easily who is so obviously better for you?"

"I can't believe you're really saying these words. Pepper is not better for me, or even good for me. Yes we used to sorta date but that's past and you're present. I like you and that's that. And if that's not enough then I'll make it clearer. Loki, you're smart, you make me laugh. I could talk to you for months and still not know everything about you. You're dramatic." Loki snorted at that. "You're very attractive and sexy as hell. You were my sexuality crisis and yet were so amazing I didn't even care. You haven't pushed me or made me feel uncomfortable. It's really a shame we're both terrible at relationships but it's something we've gotta deal with in a better way than ignoring each other. I want this to work because I want you and so really this is just me apologising for being a dick and to convince you that you are important. And know if you ever call yourself worthless again I will be forced to do another one of these shitty speeches." There was silence again within the room. Loki just stared at him, mouth slightly open as though he wanted to speak yet wasn't quite sure what to say. "Okay...you're not saying anything and I don't honestly know if you're about to laugh or cry so is it okay if I kiss you so that I don't have to find out?"

Before he could even take a step closer, Loki had already closed the distance between them, kissing him without hesitation.

"I'm sorry too," Loki muttered against his lips. "I've been really stupid."

"No more sappy shit now, all I need right now is for you to kiss me again."

Loki complied happily with his request. With his hands on either side of Tony's neck, he guided the man into another kiss. It was a long time before they separated again. He allowed one hand to creep up into the back of Tony's rich brown hair while the other held its place on his neck. Tony's own first landed on his hips, pulling Loki flush against himself. Soon after they started to wander, one stayed on the small of his back while the other brushed up his sides then slipped under his shirt, running over Loki's pale skin. Letting out a small gasp at the contact, Loki deepened the kiss. Tony ran his tongue along Loki's bottom lip, asking permission to enter, and, when granted, started exploring his mouth.

Not much longer they found themselves lying on the bed, totally uncaring of the fact that it was Clint's. Their friend really wasn't the thing on their minds at that moment in time. The thing actually occupying their brains was how to remove each other's shirts as quickly as they could. A minute later they were stripped of their shirts that were left to just drop to the floor.

"Maybe we should-" Loki began but was cut off by Tony's lips on his.

When Tony pulled back he said, "for once just be quiet. No questioning or over thinking, please?"

To his surprise Loki nodded then reared up to steal a quick kiss. As he drew back, he smiled cockily up at Tony, who was straddling his waist.

"And what are you going to do to make me be quiet?" Loki smirked, a challenging tone to his words.

Fine if he wanted to play games, Tony was happy to comply. Taking his time, he worked his way down from Loki's lips, placing kisses all over the column of his neck, sucking at the base to leave a bruise. When he ran his tongue over the spot to sooth it Loki let out a moan which made Tony hesitate where he was. That had probably just been the hottest noise he'd ever heard and damn he wanted to hear it again.

Making it his mission to get Loki to make more of those delicious noises, he set to work. For a while he just hovered over him, taking in the perfect picture of Loki below him. Despite the darkness Tony could still see his flushed cheeks and swollen lips, hear his rapid breaths, feel his erratic heartbeat when he ghosted his fingers over his chest.

Sudden shouting erupted downstairs, accompanied by whoops and cheers. Both Tony and Loki jumped, sitting up and staring at each other. Tony checked the time and, sure enough, there were four zeros on the clock.

"Well I guess we missed the whole romantic midnight kiss thing. Ah well, happy New Year anyway."

Laughing lightly, Loki rolled his eyes as he said, "Happy New Year."

For a moment they just sat there, both very much shirtless and now very much confused as of what to do.

"You know, I really don't feel like going down to join those guys. How's about we stay up here and celebrate New Year alone?"

It seemed Loki was very enthusiastic for that plan. In a flash he had Tony flat on his back while he hovered above him, pupils dilated. And, in no time at all, he had Tony in just the same state, moaning softly into a kiss while Loki slowly rocked his hips against him. This was the furthest they had gotten in any sexual situation yet neither of them was willing to stop it now.

Still, Tony was feeling at a disadvantage. Not that he didn't love Loki's hands on his skin, nimble fingers working up over his chest closely followed by his lips, he missed being the one doing it to Loki. Without warning, he flipped their positions, leaving Loki once again beneath him.

"That's cheating," Loki said, feigning annoyance.

"Aww poor baby," Tony mocked, leaning in and nipping on the man's bottom lip. Shifting his lips to Loki's ear, he whispered, "Who said I ever play fair?"

A small shiver ran down Loki's spine at that and effectively shut him up, allowing Tony to take charge. He honestly had no idea how far they would go, though he doubted it would be all the way. That would be a bit extreme and he wasn't entirely sure that this was the situation that he wanted to have his first time with Loki in. Anyhow, they could still take full advantage of this moment seeing as it had been so perfectly presented to them.

Growing bored of not being the centre of Tony's attention anymore as he seemed too lost in thought, Loki thrust his hips up harshly catching the man off guard. Tony moaned, ashamed that Loki was able to get such noises out of him so easily.

"Now look who's cheating."

"That's not cheating," Loki blinked up at him innocently. "This is though."

Slowly, so Tony could see exactly what he was doing, he brushed his hand down the man's side, over his navel, settling on his groin. He didn't break eye contact once and only proceeded when he received a nod from Tony. He sat up, shifting slightly into a better, more comfortable position than just being flat on his back. Bringing up both hands this time he made quick work of unzipping Tony's jeans and slipping his right hand inside. He began to stroke the man through the fabric of his underwear, watching his face intently for any signs of unease. Thankfully, though, all he received was a stutter in his breathing and Tony's eyes briefly flickering closed. A definite sign that he was enjoying the ministrations.

There was suddenly a loud noise outside and the closed door was thrown open, flooding the dark room with yellow light. Quick reflexes kicking in, Loki withdrew his hand while the two remained on the bed frozen in horror, waiting in trepidation to see who had entered. The light was flicked on and then-

"Seriously you two? You couldn't even wait till another night? Christ I'm all happy you're back together but really? On my bed?"

Both Tony and Loki released huge breaths that they had been holding, sagging against each other in relief as Clint continued to hold his hands over his eyes. When he felt it safe enough, he peaked between his fingers to glare at the two, specifically Tony who was still straddling Loki.

"Tony, man, you're supposed to be my best friend. I would never do this on your bed, I'm gunna have to burn the sheets." He started to look around the room as though trying to find a fire already burning for his needs.

"Quit whining," Tony groaned at him, finally moving off of Loki. "It's not like I was fucking him...or him fucking me." He added after a look from Loki. The man just smiled at that but made no comment.

"Dude I don't need details. Put your shirts back on and go downstairs. You two are banned from coming upstairs for the rest of the party and you now have to be accompanied by another of our friends whenever you are together.

"Seriously?" Tony asked, buttoning up his shirt.

"Yes," Clint smiled at him. "And if you don't think you can handle that then go home and finish whatever it was that you two started."

"Spoil sport," Tony muttered childishly.

"Don't worry, he's just jealous because we were having more fun up here than down at his party," Loki chimed in rewarding him an unimpressed look from Clint.

"Ha ha you two are so funny," he said sarcastically. "I think I preferred you when you were fighting."

Tony pulled a face at him yet chose to make no further comment. If he had they would have just gotten themselves into a vicious yet childish circle of petty insults. In the end Loki suggested that they all just go back downstairs then proceeded to take a step in the direction of the door.

"Hey wait a second," Tony called, grabbing the man's hand and turning him back round to face him.

Before Loki could form another thought, Tony's lips were on his and the world melted away, accompanied by a huff from Clint. To his disappointment it didn't last long. Though what made him feel better was the fact that Tony didn't seem too pleased to end it either.

There was an unexpected flash from the side causing them both to jump and blink, momentarily blinded. Looking towards the door – once their ability of sight had returned to them – they saw Darcy standing with a wide smile on her face and a phone in her hand.

"Sorry, couldn't resist snapping a picture. It's pretty cute actually," she said, admiring her screen. "I'll send it to you, if you want," she added when Tony went over to look.

"You weren't lying, we do look cute," he laughed, smiling across the room at Loki who returned it.

"We are digressing from the point," Clint suddenly piped up. They all stared at him in confusion, having seemingly forgotten that he was there. None of them said anything, either because they'd forgotten what the point was or they were just being difficult, no one would ever know. "Get the hell out of my room." And in one swift move he ushered them all out and shut the door.

The rest of the night, or rather early morning, went without a hitch. The only downside for Loki and Tony was that they couldn't just sit on a sofa and make out for the remainder of the party. One because outing themselves in that way would probably not be a smart move (despite how fun it would be), and two, Clint would most likely end up decapitating them both. Still, all in all, it had been a great start to the year. They had successfully reconciled which was all either of them had wanted in the first place, they were just awful at saying as so.

When Loki was dragged home by Thor at three in the morning, Tony was left alone and sulky with Clint who would not stop berating him for nearly sleeping with Loki on his bed. No matter how much he reassured his friend that that would never have happened he still carried on, rant after rant. In the end Tony had had enough and the argument culminated with himself shouting at Clint that if he ever had the urge to fuck Natasha while they were at his house then they both had full permission to the use of his bed (provided that he was not sleeping in it himself at the time). To his surprise, Clint accepted those terms and fell silent a second later, a large smile on his face. Tony was pretty sure he didn't want to know what was going on in his head to have caused such a smile. Either way, it only took him a second himself to think of Loki before he too had a similar smile curl itself onto his face. Yes, he thought, this year was going to be great.


Possibly one of my favourite chapters so far...leave a comment with your own thoughts please if you can and thankyou for reading! :)