Obviously I own nothing. Except my imagination, which is running wild with this story ^^


Finding himself bored and taking a day off from his other pursuits, Loki decided to pop into Tony Stark's living room, invisible of course. He discovered the red haired assassin and the man they called Captain sitting at the table, with the latter ranting about something or another. Loki was about to teleport out before he heard Tony's name. He paused and listened for a few minutes, eyebrows lifting before he transferred himself to the lab where they had mentioned him being in.

He found himself in the corner of the lab, Tony unaware of him being there as he was still invisible. Glass shattered, and there was a curse.

"Dummy, don't you dare move to clean that up, or I swear I'm taking you apart and donating you to some homeless waif who doesn't know shit about what to do with your parts." Tony hissed. Loki watched as the machine whirred, but didn't move, while Tony stalked around looking for something else to throw. There was a bottle of unopened whiskey on his desk, Loki noted.

Another few objects flew through the air and shattered, one hitting the wall near Loki. Eyeing the destruction with distaste, Loki made himself visible and waited.

"Steve's just an ignorant fucker anyways, what the hell does he know about running a business?! We're not all goody two shoes, to fall in line with a 'Yes sir' at the ready. This is all such stupid shit." Tony snarled, pacing like a caged tiger.

"I believe I have experience in others making your business theirs... it generally means they care." Loki put in quietly.

Tony stopped, a curse escaping his lips. "Jesus, don't you know better than to do that to me?" the billionaire asked, turning around with a hand on his chest. Loki saw that it was rubbing absently, as if there was a persistent ache that was so familiar it had been forgotten.

"If you do not care for company, I will leave." The god said after a pause. Tony sighed and sat down, waving a hand.

"No, no, stay if you want to. Gives me an excuse to avoid the others." He muttered.

Loki paused, then sat down as well. Feeling awkward without knowing why, he ventured out with "How is the Lady Potts?"

Tony barked a laugh. "You mean Pepper? She's fine. Been giving me these looks like none other, but then again she does that a lot. I've been trying to stay in her good graces and keeping up on company business ever since that incident, so she says if nothing else it's making me more responsible."

"Was that the issue with the Captain?" The trickster prodded at the problem, curious.

"It was some of the old 'Without the suit, who are you really?' shit." Tony growled.

"Who are you without the suit?" Loki asked, curious as to the answer he would get.

The bitter smile the inventor turned on him sparked an uncomfortable feeling in Loki, having felt it on his lips more than once.

"I'm nothing without the suit," Tony said softly, eyes going dark with self damnation. Obviously the words he'd had with the Captain had gone deeper than the others might've realized. Loki felt a twisting in his gut at the expression, one he'd also worn.

"Come now, I've heard you boasting more than once about being a billionaire, philanthropist and playboy, haven't I?" Loki said coolly, not wanting it to seem like he was comforting the man.

Tony snorted. "I've inherited everything I have. The money, the power, the fame... perhaps Steve has a point sometimes. I'm not exactly citizen of the year if I can't invent stuff, or be Iron Man. The suit has become my life."

"Don't let it do that," Loki said sharply.

Tony looked up, surprised. "Don't let it do what?" he asked.

"Let it become what you live for. It isn't alive, it will not give anything back." Loki said, eyes sharp.

"Yeah, it's dependable like that. I don't disappoint it, there's no emotional shit from it..." Tony laughed with an underlying edge. Loki rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Pepper saw it, you know. She saw that I was becoming a part of it, I wasn't able to keep Tony Stark and Iron Man separate identities... she broke it off. Told me to find myself." The billionaire said quietly, somberly.

"And have you?" The god asked, curious and wanting to learn more about this man who kept surprising him, cracking all his defenses.

"I don't know yet. I haven't found anything worth it. I thought perhaps having the Avengers living here would help, but while they're all great, there's nothing deeper. If I can't stop the downward spiral, I wonder what will happen," Tony mused, looking at the suit stationed at the far corner of the lab. He suddenly laughed and shook his head.

"You know, at times like this I would drink myself senseless to keep all the deep thoughts and emotional garbage locked away where they didn't matter. Now, in the past week I've done more deep thinking than what I'm sure is healthy." This was said with amusement, although bitterness was laying underneath, poisoning it.

The trickster shifted. He had found a broken shell of a man and made him act normal. Taken away the vices that took away the pain. What would happen now that the darkness was uncovered and able to eat away at the mans soul?

Loki had been like this himself, once. The darkness had gnawed on him continually until his mind shattered when he fell from the Bifrost. What ensued had been partly because of the darkness, the madness that consumed him, and part was a twisted thought of it he could just prove himself...

Odin had seen it, and ripped the shadows from him. It hadn't been that easy, but after several months Loki was declared once again an accepted member of the royal family. The sentence passed down on him after the shadows had been torn away had been relatively lax. Protect and serve what you once sought to destroy.

"Remember who you were before you had the suit." Loki said abruptly. His eyes flickered to the light glowing in Tony's chest, always having associated it with the suit before he came across the mortal without it and saw it was attached in his chest.

Tony looked up, eyes glinting. "I wasn't worth a lot before the suit. Only thing I was good for was inventing weapons, and that left me with shards in my chest, trying to kill me. This baby," he tapped the light, "It keeps me alive as long as I have it in my chest and it's running. It reminds me of all the death I caused before I..." his expression faltered and he paused suddenly before continuing. "Before I was kidnapped and almost died." This last part was with him staring Loki in the eyes, challenging him to comment on it. Loki stayed silent, seeing the vulnerability that was being laid before him for what it was and simply curious as to the tale behind it.

"No, thank you, I won't be finding myself by going back to that person. Even I know that I'm better now than I was then. If I become Iron Man, how is that a bad thing when the alternative is a Tony Stark drunk on power, money, and loose women? At least I can do some good, instead of killing innocent people with what I make, I can protect them." Tony ground out.

Loki stilled, watching the mortal with a cat like intensity at the information. Finally he stood up and strode over to Tony before leaning down. "You still seem to be in quandary as to who you are. You are Tony Stark. You care about all the innocents you killed, as well as the ones you can protect. You are the one who guards this world as Iron Man, and fears letting down those he loves. Your father might not have shown his love, but it was there. I never knew my actual father, and then I killed him. Give some thought to what you hold dear, and as long as the people you care for believe in you, redemption is in there somewhere for you. Don't think about what will happen down that path. Think about those who wouldn't see you gone."

The speech was delivered with Loki staring Tony fiercely in the eyes. The words were breathed against his lips, and when he stopped, Tony kissed him. The god attempted to resist, weakly pushing at Tony before succumbing and leaning into it. Hands fumbled at clothing, teeth nipped and tongues soothed.

This time it was fierce, fueled by passion that burned hotter with every touch. Loki took Tony against the table, pounding into him with a blinding need that drove him up higher and higher until Tony clenched around him with a cry, Loki finding his release seconds later with Tony's name silent on his lips. They both slumped over the table, breathing harshly. Neither spoke in the aftermath, the blood rushing hot through their veins, with emotions running high and confusing them both.


Oh my goodness, I was writing this and Highway to Hell came on. This song is all Tony to me, so I instantly turned it up XD (My playlist was then all AC/DC so I could continue the inspiration it gave me :D)

Guys, we're almost to the good part, bear with me! -throws followers life preservers- And hopefully you like it ^^; Much love everyone who's been so patient and has followed/favorited/reviewed this story! Can't express my appreciation enough!