Chapter 23
With such a positive start to the New Year it was hard to see how it could get any better. Yet somehow it did. Thor wasn't exactly helpful. Jane had let slip to him that they were back together that resulted in him capturing Loki in a suffocating embrace that left Loki trying to squirm free while Tony looked on in fits of laughter. Afterwards he had sustained a harsh shove that left him stumbling in the middle of the street. He scrambled to steady himself, dragging Loki into his body for support. It is safe to say it ended up turning into a make out session that had Thor almost forcibly removing Tony from his brother.
"Leave them Thor," Jane chided him.
"Yeah leave us Thor," Tony mimicked when the two broke apart.
"I just wish you wouldn't do that in front of me. I don't like to think about what you do to my brother when I'm not around."
Both Jane and Tony started to laugh while Loki looked on disapprovingly at Thor.
"Look can we just go, I'm freezing," Loki grumbled, fixing his eyes on Tony.
"Yep sorry babe, see you guys later."
Having a free last period led to them making some plans together for a few hours. Since Christmas was over their workload had increased dramatically. Apparently the teachers needed to give them a constant reminder of their impending exams by filling all their available time with homework or revision. Still, Tony and Loki had agreed that they had at least a few hours to spare and so decided to spend them with each other.
Thor had insisted on giving Tony the 'big brother' talk as they left school together saying it was his duty to protect his brother now that they seemed to have worked out their differences and were finally in a semi-stable relationship. For the entirety of his speech Tony had to hold back laughter, firstly due to the words that were actually coming out of Thor's mouth and secondly because Loki and Jane both took it upon themselves to try to distract him as much as they possibly could just to try and make him crack. Luckily, though, he escaped before his internal hysterics turned into actual laughter.
"Don't be late for dinner!" Thor called after them as they jogged away in the direction on Tony's car.
Loki shouted back some form of an answer that Thor assumed was a 'yes' or 'I won't.' Satisfied, he took Jane's hand and proceeded to walk her home.
It was a few hours later when he was spread-eagled across his sofa cushions at home that he heard the front door open and close. He knew it was Loki, who else could it be? And with such silent footsteps there was no one else it could be. Unless it was some kind of axe murderer because he assumed that they too had quiet footsteps. But still, his assumption remained that it was Loki because he very much doubted that an axe murderer would enter his house politely through the front door.
"Loki you're home," Thor stated when Loki finally entered the room.
"No kidding," Loki replied sarcastically. "Who did you expect it to be, an axe murderer?"
The blond couldn't help grinning widely at that. They may have different parentage but there was no denying there were brothers despite Loki's continued insistence.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing," Thor shook his head, still smiling.
Loki just rolled his eyes and dropped onto the opposite sofa. Whipping his phone out, he sent off two texts and received one back almost instantly. This time it was his turn to smile, though he tried to hide it at least.
"And what are you smiling at?" Thor said, attempting to mimic Loki's earlier tone.
"Nothing," Loki snapped, dropping his phone down on the cushion next to him.
Yes, maybe not by blood, but they were brothers through and through.
Dinner began as subdued as it usually did. Odin sat at the head of the table, eating quietly and speaking to no one. Frigga sat beside him, next to Loki, and Thor sat opposite them, eating with gusto that none of the others possessed. Light conversation was shared here and there, mostly just comments on how delicious the meal tasted or what they had been up to that day. Nothing engaging. Nothing interesting.
That was until...
"Thor, how are you and Jane? You haven't invited her round recently."
The blond in question glanced up from his plate, swallowing thickly. "We're fine, I walked her home after class today. She has been quite busy with studying that we haven't had much time to make plans. She wants to be an astrophysicist."
"A very worthy profession, I hope she does well." Thor nodded and smiled, happy to be able to focus back on his plate. "When she has time though, don't hesitate to invite her round. She is always welcome."
To everyone's surprise, Thor stopped eating and looked directly at Odin when he said his next words. "I'm afraid I don't want to. At least, not until Loki is just as free to bring Tony home as I am to bring Jane."
Simultaneously, Loki and Odin dropped their cutlery as the tension in the room increased until it was almost suffocating.
"You idiot," Loki hissed at Thor. "I told you not to tell them."
"Tell us what, that you and Tony are back together? I already guessed myself." That came as news to Loki and he stared at Frigga in surprise, who just shrugged. "A mother always knows." Then she smiled widely.
Odin had remained resolutely silent so far. But his temper was running thin, particularly when everyone silenced themselves and turned towards him. Obviously they were waiting for his final word on the matter. Well this could only end badly, it usually did anyway. However, it was still a surprise that this had actually been caused by Thor who usually was reserved in these situations. Apparently even he had had enough of Odin's terrible parental decisions.
It wasn't so much that Loki had been seeing Tony again that annoyed him, but more the fact that everyone knew except for him. Frigga had guessed. GUESSED. How had he not? And even if he hadn't, why hadn't she told him? Then he noticed Loki's awkward shifting, the man's gaze faltering to stare instead at the oak table where his dinner was now most likely cold. Frigga too looked the same, somewhat more hesitant to keep looking at him. But why? Then it hit him, they were scared, nervous at what he may say or do. His family shouldn't look at him like that, Odin told himself. It wasn't right. He wanted to change it but that involved facing the harsh reality that he was, in fact, the problem. He had been the cause of all these problems, the catalyst of all these troubles.
In a strained, yet steady voice, Odin finally spoke. "Loki is as welcome as you are Thor to bring his friends home or...in fact..." he swallowed hard before continuing. "His boyfriends...or girlfriends. Whoever he happens to be in a relationship with, they are welcome at this table just as you all are."
Anyone else would have been offended by the utter shock on all their faces, seemingly so surprised by his words, but Odin knew better. He deserved this shock. He deserved the pain from the realisation that he had messed up. At least now he realised that he had time left to make amends. It would take some time but he could be patient. To gain back to the trust and love from both of his sons, he would give all the time they needed.
"Thankyou."
The whispered word came from Odin's left and he looked over to see Loki's eyes on him, a small smile playing on his lips. He nodded in reply accompanied by his own smile.
"Now let's eat, too much time was spent on this meal to let it get too cold and inedible."
They all were quick to comply, realising it as the queue to begin pretending that this heartfelt moment hadn't happened. Neither Odin nor Loki were the type to want a moment like this be dwelt on. It was better to be remembered silently and come back to the memory whenever things were difficult again. It would serve as the reminder that things could get better. That people can change.
Dinner followed its usual silent route after that, though the tension was somewhat lax. The ever present veil of tension had dissipated leaving a pleasant silence in its wake. They may not have been talking but it was a start. It was progress. And Loki felt comfortable eating at the table for the first time in years. That was definitely progress.
Afterwards, as normal, Loki still wanted to escape to his room. One, because his warm bed was waiting for him and currently he was freezing and no amount of jumpers could cure that. Two, he had mountains of work to because of exams. And three, he really wanted to message Tony because why the hell not? Unfortunately, he was prevented from fulfilling his plans by his mother somehow talking him into an evening spent in the living room, watching a truly awful movie while Thor laughed hysterically every other minute.
Loki understood the importance of 'family time' and recognised this as simply another of Frigga's attempts at bringing them all together. He had to admit it was a fairly smart option. It didn't involve much talking or paying attention to each other and, of course, the best part, they got cool snacks to nibble on as they watched. And ultimately it wasn't too bad. Almost two hours later it was over and he was able to go back to his room uninterrupted.
It could have been a lot worse, Loki reassured himself as he finally got around to texting Tony. Maybe he could bare this whole 'family bonding' thing after all.
"This is a terrible idea," Loki said.
"This is an awesome idea," Tony laughed.
They both sat in Tony's car, side by side, staring at the building in front of them and the large expanse of woodland that lay beyond.
"It was yours wasn't it?" Loki asked, knowing full well that only Tony could come up with an idea such as this.
"Maybe," he cackled, throwing the door open and walking off towards the entrance.
Grumbling something, Loki followed close behind, closing the door of the car with slightly more force than was actually necessary. The others were waiting outside as well, waving and smiling as they got closer.
"Ready?" Clint called excitedly, practically bouncing from where he stood.
"Let's get this over with," Loki replied, pushing the door to the wood panelled building open and holding it so the others could enter the surprisingly dark room as well.
"He seems cheerful," Clint laughed, avoiding the foot that was casually left for him to trip over as he walked past Loki.
"That's because he doesn't like competitions. That is, he doesn't like them unless he can ensure that he will win."
Both Clint and Tony chuckled as Loki glared daggers at them before letting the door swing shut with a snap. Then he marched over to Natasha and refused to speak to the others until the instructor told them to organise themselves into teams.
It was Clint's birthday and he had said to Tony that, because he was turning eighteen, he wanted to do something he'd never done before. After much discussion, they had agreed that paintballing was something fun to go with. One because Tony was totally shocked because Clint had never been and two because he was then completely baffled when he discovered that no one else had been paintballing either out of their close friends. After that it had been decided. Luckily his actual birthday fell on a Saturday meaning they could spend their afternoon shooting at each other for fun all in the name of birthday festivities.
An instructor had come to join them not too much later, signing in the group to make sure it was their booking. Then they were given a tutorial on how the guns worked and what they fired and such before having a serious lecture about safety. Finally, after all of the procedure bits and pieces were complete they were finally released into the woods. They'd split into two teams, Darcy, Loki, Clint, Tony and Jane on one and Steve, Natasha, Thor, Bruce and Pepper on the other. They were set up on different games and activities throughout the afternoon. The rules being you can't shoot someone too close up, keep all shots from the shoulders down and three direct shots and you're out of the game. The last team with members still standing were the winners.
The first to be fully removed from the games was usually Bruce after being struck consecutively one after another. He didn't seem too bothered. Not like when Clint managed to nab Natasha after she had avoided being hit multiple times. After she had been struck once, bright blue paint exploding over her right thigh, it seemed like a war had begun between them and everyone may have started to take the games a little too seriously.
In the end when the instructor had run out of games for them to play, they were free to waste their last bullets however they liked. If you got hit you weren't out, you just had to keep on shooting until all yours bullets were gone. Loki practically cackled when he took a well aimed shot that struck Tony directly in the back causing him to stumble over onto his knees from the force of it. Taking pity on him, Loki went over and offered him a hand to help him up. He took the opportunity to whisper in Tony's ear, "I'm starting to like the thought of you on your knees," as he pulled him to his feet.
Tony stared at him wide-eyed, though that wasn't necessarily from shock. Judging by his dilated pupils, Loki guessed it was due to another reason entirely. Smirking over his shoulder, Loki walked away giving him wink before turning back to join the fray.
Not long later they were all out of bullets and shattered. They walked slowly back to the main building to return their equipment, talking, remembering the highlights of the day.
"Come on 'Tasha you can't stay mad at me for those shots I managed to score on you," Clint laughed, jogging up to walk beside her.
"I can when one hit me directly in the boob. And I know that was deliberate so don't even try to deny it."
At that everyone laughed. It was true; there was no denying the huge red paint splatter across her chest.
"You were great," Steve said to Darcy with a smile, shoving her lightly on the arm. He seemed to not have realised his own strength, or else she was just taken completely unawares, because she went stumbling into Loki, who caught her and held her tightly against himself to stop her falling down.
"Are you alright?" Loki asked when she was back on her feet, his hands still stabilising her.
"Yeah fine," Darcy said breathlessly. "And it's fine Steve, I'm fine," she insisted as he repeated 'I'm sorry' over and over again.
They all continued their walking, Darcy now walking beside Loki as they talked avidly about something or other. They talked so fast no one could really work out exactly what it was.
"You two would make such a cute couple," Pepper suddenly said causing everyone to stare at her in shock, though no one turned as fast as Tony who would've been in danger of breaking his neck if he'd turned any faster. "What? They would," She added, confused by everyone's stares. Only her, Bruce and Steve didn't know that Loki and Tony were dating, everyone else was aware of the slight tension that had developed as a result of her speaking.
"I really don't think so," Loki replied quickly. The expression on Tony's face unsettled him and he wanted to sort this situation as fast as possible. "We're good friends but she's not really my type."
"Hey," Darcy laughed. "I'm everyone's type." After a pointed look from Loki, she feigned a sigh. "Okay fine, but you're not my type either."
"It's a shame, you'd make a great pair," Pepper shook her head but luckily the subject was dropped shortly after because they had finally arrived back at the entrance.
After depositing their equipment and saying final goodbyes and such, they separated, making their own ways back home. No one questioned Loki and Tony leaving together which was probably a good thing seeing as Tony didn't appear as though he wanted to talk to anyone. Loki endured his silence all the way home until they were pulling into Tony's drive. When he made to get out of the car, Loki put a hand on his arm.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Tony said, not making eye contact, trying once again to get out of the car.
"That's not true, tell me please."
Tony sighed, dropping his head back against his seat and screwing his eyes shut. "It's really stupid."
"I think I can guess," Loki said, and at a look from Tony he continued. "It's because of what Pepper said?"
"It just really bothered me, I don't know why. It's the way she said it and like, I don't think of you as my property or anything, because that's weird, but I do think of you as my boyfriend. No one else's, just mine and I like that. What I don't like is thinking of you with someone else. God I'm sorry if I sound really petty or creepy and overbearing but it just bothered me."
There was a kind smile on Loki's face when he replied. "I don't think you're petty or creepy. I understand what you mean, I used to think about you and Pepper and it made me feel awful."
"You don't think about that stuff anymore?"
"Not really, I trust you not to run off with her unless we break up and I hope that doesn't happen for quite some time. What else is there to worry about? We're together, we're happy and I doubt Pepper would have said those things if she knew about us."
"I will tell her sometime," Tony said, suddenly turning to look Loki directly in the eye. "Soon, I will tell her."
Loki leant forward and stole a kiss before whispering, "I know."
They got out of the car and entered the house, heading straight upstairs. Rhodey wasn't home but they decided to stay in Tony's room anyway. After all, the bed was more comfortable than the sofa. Loki flopped down next to Tony, his head resting back on his shoulder while Tony wrapped an arm around his waist.
"So," Tony said, dragging out the 'o' as he spoke. "What do you wanna do?"
"I can think of something but it depends if you want to."
"You're being very cryptic. What do you have in mind?" He didn't have to wait much longer to find out as next second Loki moved, switching positions so he was straddling Tony's lap instead. Tony said nothing but he didn't protest, on the contrary, his silence was the perfect invitation for Loki to carry on with whatever his plan was.
Their lips connected lightly at first but soon picked up pace as the tension started to build. A hand buried in Loki's long hair and the other resting on his lower back, he subconsciously started to move his hips up as Loki's ground down lightly creating the perfect amount of friction. It was the perfect amount, that is, until they wanted more. Before Tony totally realised what was happening, Loki had stripped out of his own shirt and trousers, leaving himself clad in just his underwear. He noticed Tony staring.
"Is this okay?" he asked.
Tony nodded vigorously. "I'd tell you if it wasn't. Now get over here."
Loki happily complied. He helped Tony shed his own clothes until he too was down to just his underwear. This time, when they rocked against each other the intensity was far more pronounced that it left them utterly breathless.
"How far do you want to take this?" Loki whispered against Tony's lips before he kissed him.
"You just lead. Do whatever you want to do."
Though that sounded like a thoroughly enjoyable idea, Loki declined in doing what he truly wanted. He wasn't entirely sure Tony was okay with it and he didn't want him to regret so decided to postpone going all the way. At least for a short time. Instead, he decided to do something that he'd wanted to do for a very long time.
Shimmying down, Loki settled himself on his knees between Tony's partially spread legs. After that point everything blurred, becoming a rush of pleasure, movement, intense feeling, and Tony realising he had the best boyfriend in the world. And said boyfriend was amazing, especially when he had his lips round Tony's cock. The way he hollowed his cheeks, how he occasionally ran his tongue slowly over the head, how he took Tony's entire length in his mouth and swallowed was simply divine. Tony had never even thought of the word divine during any act remotely sexual before and yet here he was moaning and writhing under Loki's touch until finally it came to an end.
If he hadn't been wearing a condom –because they were all about safety – Tony was pretty sure that Loki would have swallowed everything and that thought alone and the images it brought almost made Tony rock hard again.
They lay panting on the bed, Tony having disposed of the condom and redressed in his underwear. Loki's lips were red and swollen yet he made no complaint when Tony kissed him. Both of them had reached their release, Loki having used one of his hands on himself while the other had aided and abetted Tony, and now they were shattered.
"You are fucking good at that which makes me happy and sad. I'm irrationally jealous of where you got all the practise from."
Loki let out a laugh. He rolled over, crossing his arms on Tony's chest and resting his chin upon them. "Don't be. I much prefer you to all of them put together. English boys really aren't as polite as you may think."
"Either way, you're my boyfriend now so everyone else can piss off anyway."
Loki rolled his eyes but his smile betrayed him.
"Just be quiet and go to sleep," he said, shuffling around a little until his head rested comfortably on Tony's chest with his arms draped loosely around him. He listened to the thump of Tony's heartbeat settling into a steady rhythm, allowing it to carry him away into the darkness of sleep.
Before he fell totally asleep however, he felt the soft brush of lips on his forehead and a heard gentle mutter. Though he didn't hear what was said, a sudden warmth bloomed to life in his chest. He had no idea what it was but there was no denying the all-consuming happiness that he felt in that moment.
And the excuses for the lateness go as follows, my A levels are killing me, I had to revise for mocks (and still have 1 exam left), and generally life is hard at the moment but I'm working on it so hopefully the next update won't take as long. Still hope you enjoyed, thankyou for sticking with me, your support means so much to me you have no idea and please tell me what you think?! :)
