Okay guys, hope you enjoy this. It might well be the last chapter, unless someone really wants me to continue it and has a prompt spark to get me going on this again :P btw, i own nothing.
Oh god.
Tony Stark was not freaking out. Tony Stark doesn't do freaking out.
Except he was.
Because freaking hell, he was going to propose. To Loki. To a God. He needed a drink so badly right now.
"Tony calm down. You already decided you were doing this, you told him you were doing it, you know you want to do it. I don't see what the big deal is here, we all like Loki well enough by now, Thor isn't going to punch you through a wall over this, he fully supports it, so why are you panicking?" Steve sat in the corner of his Lab, playing the voice of reason as usual whilst Tony paced the room. The ring sat on the table between them, taunting Tony whenever he saw it.
"You don't get it Cap. Loki's fragile. He'd kill me if he heard me say it but it's true. The guy has an eating disorder that was stimulated by a comment from me, what if I mess up like that again? I'm only going to hurt him, Steve, and he deserves better than that! And what if i'm not good enough for him, and he says no? What if-"
Tony was cut off by a sharp slap to the face, snapping him out of his haze of panic. He blinked back to reality to see Steve stood over him, looking disapproving as usual.
"Tony, this isn't about you. Loki loves you, and it'll hurt him even more if you turn back on your word now. Why don't you let him make the decision about whether or not you're good enough for him by way of his answer? And truth be told, anything could've sparked his insecurities. If it wasn't your comment, it only would've happened later down the line. Loki was a walking time bomb waiting to turn into an insecure mess. But with you, he's getting better. You're healing him, Tony, do you really think you're bad for him? How will he feel if you refuse to show him your dedication now? Is that really the message you want to send?"
Tony sighed, knowing the Captain was right, as usual. He loved Loki so much it hurt, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him, but it was all down to Loki's response. Noone could make that choice for him. If he was ready, he would say yes. God he hoped he would say yes.
Steve saw the understanding in Tony's eyes and decided they were ready to move on. "Now, where are you taking him?"
Tony insisted on their taking the jet to their destination, rather than letting Loki teleport them, as he offered to do. This wasn't just any old night, where Loki's magic came as a huge convenience, this would be the night he proposed. It deserved every ounce of effort and expense he put into it.
Tony hopped out of the car, jogging round to Loki's side to open the door for him, stopping only briefly to grab the picnic basket from the back seat. (He'd had Pepper make the food, he didn't think giving Loki food poisoning would be a very good proposal)
Loki stepped from the car, timidly, Tony noticed, looking slightly unsure of himself. He sighed, realizing that just because Loki was having a good day today didn't mean his issues had disappeared. He was still highly reluctant to eat most foods, and sometimes, when he thought noone was looking, Tony caught Loki pulling up his shirt in front of the mirror, grasping his skin, tears rolling down his cheeks. It made Tony's heart ache when he saw these little, vulnerable moments that the God had, but it didn't stop him loving him.
Tony spread the picnic blanket on the surface of the hill he had driven them to, getting out two punnets of strawberries, one of cherries, a bushel of apples and a bottle of red wine. Champagne could come later, and as far as the fruit went, he was going to try his hardest to make tonight as easy for Loki as possible, so that meant no triggering foods like chocolate or pastries. That was fine. He could handle fruit, and if Loki could tie a cherry stem in a knot with his tongue...well. All the better.
The two men lay together under the stars, and Loki sighed contentedly. Tony had decided to bring them to Sark Island, a beautiful island off of France, where at night, you could see the entire milky way stretching from coast to coast, billions of shining stars glistening at you. Loki's eyes were glistening themselves as he thought of his fond memories of stargazing with Thor and Frigga, and sometimes Sleipnir. He found himself reminiscing over his lessons about Yggdrasil, about the Nine Realms. He slipped his hand easily into that of the billionaire playboy he lay beside, eyes roaming the sky, mapping the constellations.
"It reminds you of home, doesn't it?" Stark's voice cut across his musings.
"Yes. No. It reminds me of Asgard, but Asgard is not home."
Tony frowned. He thought Loki and Thor were moving past this. "Loki..."
"Here is home. You are home."
The words resulted in a face-splitting grin emerging on Tony's face. He rolled onto his side, carding his hands through the ebony hair of his love, occasionally pressing a warm kiss to the cold forehead beneath him. Green eyes followed every moment for a while, eventually slipping closed in relaxation. Tony decided now was the time. He could do this.
He hoped.
"Loki, look at me, would you?"
Under the sudden stare of the emerald orbs, he felt his throat dry out, and took a quick swig of wine to moisten it. He took a deep breath to calm himself, ignoring the perplexed look in those eyes, and continued.
"Before I met you...well, my life was a whole lot more boring, even with the iron man suit. When you dropped into my life, I was intrigued. I had never felt such honest, open curiosity about anything before. And when you had to go back to Asgard...I was crushed. I know time runs differently there, and it seemed alot longer to you than to me, but trust me Loki, it seemed long enough down here too. The light had gone out of my life, because I had no drive for anything. I knew someone like you existed, so full of magic and wonder and possibilities...nothing else mattered anymore. And then Thor brought you back...I never wanted to let you out of my sights again. I had had a taste of something beautiful, and it had been wrenched away from me, and I didn't like it. Loki...I want you to know that I still think of you as the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes upon. You get more and more beautiful every time I open my eyes to realize I really am that lucky, that I get to see you again today, and every day, that you have decided, for some reason, that I am good enough for you. Every day you are more and more perfect, and it's not to do with your body, or your magic, or anything like that. It's all of you Loki. Just you. The past few months have been a blessing, a true blessing from Odin, or Frigga, or the Norns, or whoever it is that let me be lucky enough to have you. And with your permission, and only your permission, I would like to carry those months on into the rest of my existence. Will you have me?"
Loki stared at him for a good minute, although it felt like a century to Tony. The green eyes shone with tears threatening to spill forth, and Tony tried to still his rapidly beating heart. Had he said the wrong thing? Did Loki not feel that way? He was cut off by a pair of lips on his own, slightly wet from fallen tears, but eager. As suddenly as they came, the lips were gone again, replaced by a hand either side of his face.
"Anthony Stark...nothing would bring me greater joy than to wed you. Yes, I will be yours, for eternity, my love."
Tony huffed out a breathless laugh, sagging with relief. He straightened up after a moment though, pulling from his pocket a deep green velvet box, which he opened to reveal the engagement ring he wanted Loki to have. It was a tiny version of his arc reactor, surrounded by sparkling diamonds, set in a strong platinum band. He was surprised to see Loki doing similar, presenting him with a box. After placing the ring on Loki's ring finger, he opened his own box. Set in a velvet cushion was a gold band, in the shape of a serpent, set with emerald eyes. However, the gold had a slightly...rainbow sheen to it. His eyes were transfixed until Loki pulled his chin up, their eyes meeting.
"It is imbibed with the same material the rainbow bridge to the bifrost is forged from. It is said to be the strongest material ever existed. I would not have you part with this ring against your own will, for it binds you to me, and I to you. Should you ever be in immediate danger, the ring will summon me, or alternatively teleport you from there. The serpent is modelled after Jormungandr, who I hope to take you to meet someday. He has vowed, as a gift to me, to act as your eternal guardian, and so the ring links you to him also. With this on, you shall always be safe, and you shall always know how much you are loved."
Tony, overcome with emotion, was speechless. How could he have ever doubted Loki's love for him? This ring, this one small token, proved more to him than a thousand declarations of "I love you". He let tears slip down his face as their lips collided once more, passionate, yet chaste. The two men, now engaged to be wed, fell asleep that night, hands linked, laying in the grass. When the sun rose in the morn, they would know nothing but happiness.
Happiness, and love.
Now they just had to tell the other avengers.
Review please :D
