Tony slumped back in his chair, exhausted from fighting all the magical enemies they'd had to handle as of late. It had been one wave after the other of strange magical creatures, and while the team had been able to eventually take them down, too often it ended up with one of them injured, or went on for a day or longer.
"What troubles you, lover?" A smooth voice broke his reverie and he cracked open an eye to see Loki gazing down at him in concern. There was a soft caress, fingers brushing over a gash on his forehead before a cool sensation washed over it. Tony knew it would be gone when he next looked in the mirror and just sighed.
"I have to explain to everyone where these things are going, you know. They're starting to think I'm trying to copy the potion they put into Steve for some reason." He told the god matter of factly. Loki just chuckled and somehow fit himself into the chair with Tony, settling against his side comfortably. Tony groaned as his cell phone rang with a specific ringtone he dreaded.
"Ignore it," Loki mumbled against his chest.
"Can't. It's Fury." Tony grunted, attempting to get his phone out of his pocket without pushing the god out of the chair. Loki growled and held out a hand, phone appearing in it, still ringing. Tony smiled and pecked him casually on the lips before he took it and flipped it open just before it stopped trilling at him.
"You have reached Tony Stark's answering machine. Please leave a message at the click." He quipped into the phone.
"Stark. Do not mess with me, I'm not in the mood for it." Nick Fury snarled. Tony raised his eyebrows. It must be bad, he thought with a wince.
"I need you to come in. We're having technical difficulties and I have a feeling it's related to the magical attacks we've been having." Fury barked into the phone.
Tony closed his eyes in resignation. He never had any time to himself these days. Opening them, he noticed Loki paying close attention to the conversation and raised an eyebrow.
"Shall I bring donuts, or will I have a keeper?" He asked drolly.
"If you're not here in 10 minutes at the max, I'm not going to be very happy, Stark." Fury said, giving him permission to use his suit to get to the helicarrier instead of being flown with Hill or Natasha watching over him. He shuddered at the thought.
"Righto, I'll be there in 9 minutes and 50 seconds." Tony said solemnly before hanging up to Fury's outraged voice yelling at him through the phone. He smirked at Loki before heaving himself up with a grunt, having all kinds of bruises from fighting, as well as just generally being exhausted.
"Tony, you need to be more careful." Loki told him, eyes narrowed as he looked at Tony when he hobbled away to suit up.
"You try being mortal and dealing with these things that have been attacking day after day," Tony retorted, exhaustion making him sharper than he intended. He stopped and sighed, rubbing a hand over his face wearily. "Sorry," He said quietly. Loki was suddenly there, arms around him.
"No need to apologize," He said softly. "I can sense your exhaustion even now. You won't be as sharp in battle when you're tired like this, and I can't have that happening, because I swear retribution against any who harm you."
Tony looked up and felt a tingle run through him at the sight of Loki gazing at him so possessively.
"Yes, well, let me just call Fury and tell him I no longer have time for him on my calender," Tony said drily. "That would go over well." He snorted at the thought before glancing at the clock and cursing. "I need to go."
Loki nodded, then grabbed him for a kiss before breathing against his lips, "Do not endanger yourself unduly, or I won't hesitate to take action."
Tony stilled at this not so new information before nodding with a smile tugging at his lips and trotting down to suit up. Loki heard the rumble of the machinery moments later and went to amuse himself until Tony came back.
/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\
When Tony walked into the technical control room on the helicarrier, he was met with chaos. There was flashing lights, alarms beeping, and people running all over the place.
"Stark. Good of you to join us." Fury growled behind him. Pretending he hadn't just been frightened out of years of his life, Tony turned and nodded at him before gesturing.
"Really, this is too much, no need to make my time here any more special than it already is." He said with his trademark smirk. Fury just glared at him before walking over to the nearest computer and asking the girl sitting at it what the status was. Her face was pale as she darted a look up at him and said 'Not good.'
Tony raised an eyebrow and walked over, leaning over her shoulder to read what was going on. He caught a glimpse of the readings right before the screen went black. Fury let out a few choice words that made the girl at the computer turn red. Tony just snickered and shook his head at the man before nudging the girl aside as politely as possible so he could attempt to work his magic.
After a few minutes, he bit back an exclamation, and his fingers started flying over the keys. Fury turned to look at him, eyes narrowed.
"Stark, care to let us in on the secret?"
"There's magic trying to hack your system. Don't bother me and I might be able to counteract it." Tony said quickly. Fury stared at him before snarling and striding away. Tony became completely absorbed in what he was working on, the sounds of the helicarrier fading behind him. His eyes burned into the screen, reading what it was saying as he typed before he froze as the screen turned black.
There was silence in the room when a face appeared on all the screens in the room suddenly. All he could really make out was some glint of metal underneath the cowl, and a pair of glowing eyes. It spoke, and really, he shouldn't have been surprised.
"People of S.H.I.E.L.D. It is in your best interests to submit to my magic before I am forced to use extreme measures." It intoned in a cold emotionless voice. Tony shivered then jumped as Fury's voice barked out over his shoulder.
"And if we refuse?"
The eyes seemed to pin Tony to his chair. "I will do whatever I must. My terms are that you desist your futile efforts in combating me, and stand down. I have tracked a source of extremely powerful energy to your location. You will hand it over."
Tony felt a chill as he glanced down at his arc reactor. Barring any surprises from SHIELD, he had the most extreme source of energy in his chest, keeping him alive. He glanced up at Fury almost hopefully, but saw the man looking at him already. He grimaced, feeling incredibly vulnerable. He itched to run and get his suit.
He suddenly glanced around, eyes spotting exactly what he was looking for. He slipped out of his chair and calmly strode over. Fury had his eyes trained on the thing on the screen, and was currently telling it exactly where it could put its demands. Tony smiled, feeling almost fond of the man at the moment.
Seconds before he pushed the button, the thing growled, the sound reverberating throughout the room. "You will rue the day you refused to cooperate with Dr. Doom." It said just as Tony pressed the button and the image fizzed out. Fury spun on him, spotting what he had done.
Tony braced himself for a scathing demand to what he was thinking, but instead Fury strode away, face thunderous. Tony raised an eyebrow, and, damning his curiosity, trotted after him.
"Nick, what the hell? Did you send out a flare, advertising our particular disadvantage when it comes to all things magic? Because there sure as hell have been a lot of things popping up that use magic, and the tam is at the end of its rope when it comes to dealing with these things. So tell me. Why the hell was that thing targeting us?"
"Apparently it wants your reactor technology, Stark. Better keep a close eye on the thing." Nick replied morbidly. Tony just snarled, walking faster to catch up with Fury as he turned a corner. What he saw when he turned the corner stopped him in his tracks. Fury already had his gun out in a lightning fast motion, trained on a... Tony wasn't quite sure what it was actually. Just that he recognized it as something from the face that had been on the screen moments ago. It had the same cowl, but wasn't big enough to actually be the mastermind behind that little stunt.
"Tony Stark, you have something I want. You will hand it over immediately." The thing droned. Tony was just cursing his luck at being caught without his suit. He rubbed his chest, feeling his heart rate pick up to a slightly uncomfortable speed.
"Get in line mister. It's not going anywhere." Fury barked. "Stand down and tell your master we won't comply to his demands."
Tony grimaced. His chest hurt with how fast his heart was beating, but he spared a thought to find it oddly touching that Fury would be so protective of the arc reactor technology. It figured that if he couldn't get his hands on it, he wouldn't let anyone else touch it either, which worked for Tony. The thing raised an arm, and Nick was thrown back, slamming against the wall before slumping down. Tony was calm as it turned its attentions on him.
"I'm flattered, really, but I have someone else at the moment. I doubt they'd appreciate you harming their goods. It's probably best if you stop right now. Or you can wait while I get my suit and we can duke it out properly." He babbled, backing away slowly. The only warning he got was the creak of metal as it raised its arm before he was thrown backwards, rolling before he hit a wall, head thunking against it. He saw stars, and almost passed out, but somehow didn't.
His chest was now seizing up, and his breath started coming in little gasps. His eyes rolled frantically towards the bot, for that was what it seemed to be, all mechanics and pieces of metal bolted together, commanded by magic. It came towards him, and Tony felt himself float into the air so he could look it in the 'eyes'. He saw that Fury was still unconscious out of the corner of his eye, and cursed his luck.
"Little human, you are at my mercy. Hand over your technology, or I will tear it out of you." Came the voice of Doom through the bot.
"You will do no such thing." Hissed a voice from behind it. Tony closed his eyes in relief as he was dropped. He could only watch as the robot turned to face Loki and raised an arm to throw the god back, only to suddenly let out a beeping sound. Frost coated its edges, and Tony watched with interest as the bot started to jerk spasmodically.
"What have you done?!" Came Doom's voice through the bot, the transmission fuzzy with static.
"I have protected what is mine. If you dare to touch him again, I will see that you die a slow and painful death." Loki snarled, eyes red and the air startlingly cool. Tony knew what it was of course. He had read the myths, knew of Loki's true heritage, as well as hearing snippets about it from Thor when he talked about his brother in the past. However, seeing it with his own eyes was understandably a bit different than reading or hearing about the side of Loki that could turn blue.
"You have no right-" The bot was cut off as Loki froze it completely, snarling a "I have every right." before making a twisting motion with his hand and shattering it. Ice and metal flew, and Tony felt one cut into his leg. He shifted to take a look, finding a small piece imbedded in his thigh. He grunted in pain just before Loki came out of his battle rage and saw him on the floor.
"Tony!" was followed by a string of curses in Old Norse as Loki appeared at his side, eyes focused on the piece of metal in his leg. "Tony, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking, I didn't realize they would do that." He leaned over Tony, hands glowing green before he grabbed the metal out and quickly healed the wound, the only evidence of it being the blood on Tony's pant leg.
Tony was having trouble focusing, the pain in his chest making him zone out. He was sweating, even with how cool it was in the room, and having a still bluish god at his side. His chest throbbed and he cried out, hands clutching at it, scrabbling over the reactor, anything to make the pain go away. Loki cursed and a hand glowing green covered Tony's chest. Loki put Tony's head in his lap, exclaiming softly.
"Tony, try and relax, your heart is under stress." He said quietly, eyes holding the mortals. Emotions were warring in both their eyes, but Tony kept his eyes on Loki as he slowly felt the pain subside, a cool sensation creeping in and replacing the burning. He took a deep breath, still wincing in pain, but able to think and move.
"I hate to break up this touching little scene, but I think you can understand when I ask, what the mother fuck is going on here?"
They both jerked at the sound of Fury's voice. Two heads turned as one to look at the director, currently propped against the wall and staring straight at them. Tony gulped, the pain in his chest forgotten as he realized what could happen. With what had just transpired, Fury probably had more than enough reason to take Loki into custody, even if it was in defense of Tony.
He sat up and attempted to pull the god behind him. Fury still had a gun within reach, and Tony didn't trust him when there was anything that could be a weapon within his grasp. Loki snorted and batted his hand away, eyes never leaving Fury.
"Director Fury." He acknowledged coolly, body tense.
"Loki. Didn't expect to meet quite like this I must say." Nick said amiably. Tony didn't like the look in his eyes as he looked at Loki. Like a cat that got the cream, Nick was mentally licking his lips, Tony thought. He was equal parts amused and disturbed by the thought and image that brought him. Loki looked back at him in concern when he started shaking, attempting to repress laughter, before rolling his eyes and turning back to Fury, assuming the mask of a god once more.
"Director, before you take action, I would appreciate it if Tony could get some medical attention if I must be away from his side. The way his heart is acting, he shouldn't be put under any stress at the moment." There was an underlying steel to Loki's voice, one that made Fury glance at him and then back at Tony sharply before raising an eyebrow.
"I just need one or two questions answered before I decide exactly what I will be doing." And if there's steel to Loki's voice, Fury's is hard with a promise that sounds almost like a threat.
Loki narrowed his eyes at the man, but Tony tugged at his sleeve and shook his head when the god looked down.
"Very well." Loki acquiesced. He eyed Fury expectantly, not about to move until he had to.
Fury just sighed and glared before opening his mouth, not getting a chance to say anything before Tony spoke up.
"Nick, I'm still here, and I will personally haunt you if you dare do or say anything that I haven't approved." Tony spat from his place on Loki's lap.
"Relax Stark. What I have in mind should benefit all of us," Fury drawled. And that was a chilling thing to hear, Tony thought to himself fuzzily.
"Director, I am waiting, but perhaps this can wait if you plan on delaying much longer. I'm afraid my first priority is Tony, whatever you have planned. I hope you can make it quick." Loki said darkly. Fury raised an eyebrow, but nodded after a quick glance at Tony.
"What are your plans? Best not lie to me, god of lies, or I'll have you guys locked up quicker than you can blink." Nick asked, as pretty as you please, as if he were asking for cream and sugar with his coffee. Not that Tony thought he took cream and sugar with his coffee. Nick seemed more like a straight black type, so thick and strong silverware stood up on it. He was outraged over Nick's words, but Loki merely pressed a hand on his shoulder and he grumbled to himself, but kept quiet.
"I have been on your planet for the past couple months with only peaceful intentions Director. This is only aided by having found myself as enjoyably occupied as I have these past few months." He purred the last part, eyes going dark and hooded, testing Fury to see how he would react.
"I'm sure I can find some appreciation somewhere, but I don't have it at hand right now, Laufeyson. Why are you here?"
"Loki Liesmith, Director. I would appreciate it if that name was used instead of the ... others. I'm here to make amends. I've been trying to go about that peacefully these past few months, until I stumbled upon one of your team in a less than savory situation and found it within myself to come to his aid." This last part was said in a softer tone of voice, looking down at Tony, who had his eyes closed and was attempting to breathe through the pain.
"You're both still in trouble for this. Loki, you've just been recruited as our magical consultant given recent occurrences in which we admittedly have little expertise." Nick Fury told him. It wasn't a question, Nick Fury didn't ask. He commanded. There was a resource here, and he was making use of it.
Loki snorted at his words but kept silent, eyes watchful. Tony cracked open his eyes and looked up at him, a breath catching in his throat as his chest throbbed. The god looked concerned briefly, before he smiled smoothly and nodded once at Fury.
"Very well, Director. I will be in contact for the... terms of our agreement soon."
"Not until I'm able to be there," Tony snapped at him before turning even paler and gasping a bit.
Loki growled at him before gathering Tony up into his arms bridal style, and, nodding to Fury, he teleported them from the Helicarrier.
"Damn Norse gods," Nick Fury muttered as he stood up and went to check on the damage to his computer system.
Loki teleported them to Tony's bedroom, Loki clutching Tony to him as the man gasped for air.
"Tony. Tony!" Loki called. Tony cracked open his eyes, moaning at the light.
"Jarvis, dim the lights please." Loki requested, settling Tony onto the bed gently. They dimmed accordingly, and Tony opened his eyes again.
"Fuck, this hurts," he groaned. Loki climbed into the bed beside him and lay a faintly glowing hand over his chest. Tony sighed in relief as Loki worked at calming the internal chaos.
"How'd you know to come?" Tony asked him, the thought suddenly springing on him.
Loki gave him a cool glance. "Surely you did not think I would let you run about unsupervised."
Tony lifted an eyebrow at this. "What exactly is supervised? I think I would've known if you were there."
Loki snorted at this. "No, I was not there personally, but my magic monitors you and your physical state. It warns me if you seem to be in danger, and when it started going off, I wasted no time."
Tony shuddered at the look in his eyes. Sometimes he forgot just how dangerous Loki could be, but seeing the look in his eyes was always a good reminder.
Loki took his hand off Tony's chest and sat back, looking at him cryptically. "I've noticed you rubbing your chest quite a lot lately. Does it bother you frequently?"
Tony looked away. "It's always going to hurt," he said quietly.
Loki furrowed his brow. "I can help Tony, my magic is quite powerful."
Tony sighed. "It's not that. It's just... the reactor. They had to remove and shift a lot of things putting it in, and it will never stop hurting. I guess my heart is probably just reacting to the strain of it all."
Loki gazed at him silently for a few minutes. Tony shifted, getting nervous at the indescribable look in his eyes. Finally, Loki sighed and lay down beside Tony, dragging him close.
"I won't let you die." He mumbled into Tony's neck.
"We mortals all have to die eventually," Tony reminded him softly. Loki simply nipped his neck in response before heaving a sigh and closing his eyes. Tony looked at him out of the corner of his eye and smiled just a bit when he saw Loki asleep.
'So going frosty drains him...' He mused. With a grunt, he shifted a bit and closed his eyes to follow the god into slumber.
Dedicated to all those who are still reading the story ;) We're going places now folks! Please review! Honestly, they spur me on like nothing else, and not many people take the time to say a few words, but I appreciate everyone who does! Enjoy, I'll probably have another chapter next weekend ^^
