Hello all! As promised, a new chapter! Not much of an author's note, just a quick stop in before I attempt to see if I can find Sherlock online somewhere (yay! :D). Hope all of you caught in this winter storm in the Midwest are staying safe and warm!

Read, review, and enjoy! :D

He watches the world burn. He feels power thrumming through him, unlimited power, and he could use it to stop the flames, but for some reason he doesn't move. Something isn't clicking in his brain.

Tony, his mind snaps to him. Find Tony.

He scans the landscape below him. He has seen the other Avengers, trying to contain the damage, even though they must know they are fighting a losing battle. The red and gold blur should not be hard to spot, but his heart pounds faster as the seconds tick by and he cannot find him. Finally he catches a flash of metal and the tension releases from his body. There is time still to remove Tony and bring him to safety.

He wants to move forward, but something ties his body to where he floats over the scene. He is here to observe, then, not participate. This dream has a message and-

He feels the energy cascade out of him, he sees where it is directed, but he can do nothing to stop it, and strains against whatever holds him back as the energy crackles around the metal suit, finding dents and cracks and attacking the man within.

Tony is down and he has done it.

His suit should power up again, unconscious or not. His A.I. should take control, should get him to safety until he awakens again, but he is still falling. He can do nothing as Tony hits the ground. All he can do is watch the flames as they cover Tony, wishing that it was him down there, knowing that he has done this, he has killed Tony-

Loki wakes with a start, heart racing.

"Good dream?" he hears a familiar voice say, one he thought he would never hear again because the dream was too real. He can still hear the screams of the civilians, feel the heat rising from the flames, smell the scent of burnt metal.

Tony is sitting up in bed, a tablet joining the shine of the arc reactor as he works. Loki's heart swells with unexpected happiness at seeing him still breathing, still alive.

"Did I wake you?" he asks instead, because Tony does not really expect an answer.

"Nah," Tony says. He still hasn't looked up from his tablet, so Loki knows he's not the only one having one of those nights. "Couldn't fall back asleep."

Loki turns towards Tony, who moves automatically so that Loki can rest his head on Tony's stomach. "How long did you sleep?" He always asks, because Tony will not worry about his health, so Loki must. Predictably, Tony shrugs.

"An hour or so," he says, and Loki automatically reduces it to a half hour. "You don't get to judge. You only slept an hour longer."

"I am a being that needs only energy to survive. As I have not used any lately, I do not need sleep to replenish it. You, however, are mortal," Loki says, and he closes his eyes as Tony begins to run his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, yeah, as you frequently remind me," Tony says, but there isn't any heat behind it. Too tired to pick a fight then.

They sit in silence for a while, while Loki half dozes, lulled by Tony's expert fingers. Tony mumbles while he works, something that always amuses Loki.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Tony asks quietly. It takes Loki a second to realize that he has spoken.

"No," he says, because he likes this Tony, alive and sarcastic, and he does not want to remember the dream Tony, dying alone and in pain because he could not control himself. They have shared a bed together enough that they cannot avoid each other's nightmares. They always leave discussion open after they wake.

"Bad then, huh?" Tony says in an indifferent tone. He's still focused on the tablet, and after a few seconds, the muttering starts up again.

"Would you like to discuss yours?" Loki challenges and immediately regrets the words as soon as he says them.

"Sure," Tony says in that self-loathing voice that Loki hates. "Do you want to start with the surgery where I was lucky they had antibiotics and alcohol to keep the infection out and me alive, but not lucky enough to have anything strong enough to knock me out? We could talk about what it feels like to have foreign hands inside your body if you'd like."

No, he would decidedly not like that. It makes him border on mind-numbing anger and nausea to picture the scenes Tony describes.

"Or we could talk about the waterboarding and not being able to breath while you feel electricity coursing through your body because you're hooked up to a god damn car battery."

"No," Loki snaps before Tony can go on. Tony raises his eyes to meet Loki's for a second before he shrugs one shoulder.

"Alright," Tony says, easily going back to his tablet, but Loki knows all about lies and masks, knows when Tony is hiding his pain and fear. Loki lets the air of the unfinished conversation hang for a few seconds before he moves, rolling over the top of Tony and moving forward. Tony looks up in surprise before allowing the tablet to be pulled from his hands. Loki's kisses are gentle and slow, a complete opposite to his nature, to the very thoughts that are racing around in his head, but he needs to know that Tony is there, protected beneath him, that he is alive and thankfully whole. Tony is slow to respond, but eventually his hands rise up to begin combing through Loki's hair. He doesn't rush the advances, and for that Loki is grateful.

Loki's mouth lingers over Tony's. "I dreamed you died by my hand," Loki breaths into Tony. Tony stiffens under him, but only for a second before he relaxes.

"Been there, tried that, remember?" Tony asks and yes, Loki does remember, especially on the nights when he finds Tony staring out into the abyss that is space, his eyes lost and distant, fingers tapping steadily over the arc reactor.

"I killed you with my own power. I tried to stop myself but my rage was too strong and-" Loki is silenced by Tony's lips and part of Loki wants to pull away because he is a monster and should be banished from any interaction with a living thing, but Loki has always been selfish, has always taken what he wants, and despite everything he has ever known, has ever learned, has ever said, Loki wants this man that lies underneath him.

"I think it's safe to say that you're not the rampaging murder god you were a couple years ago, yeah?" Tony says when pulls away.

"You should fear me," Loki insists, even though he knows it's futile. Tony invited a man who turns into the manifestation of rage to live in his house without a single ounce of fear. Tony has a hard time understanding what fear is on most days. "You should banish me from this tower; from your presence."

Tony draws back to study him and Loki thinks he sees a flash of pain in his eyes. "Is that what you want? To leave?"

Loki hurries to back track because no, please no, don't make him leave. "Of course not. But I would have you be safe, even if safety means me leaving."

"I don't know if you realize this, but you've saved my ass several times since coming into my life. I'm pretty sure I'm safer with you in it," Tony says. He steals another kiss. "I distinctly remember telling Bruce that we're all monsters inside. It's what we do with our monsters that make the difference. Just, in Bruce's case, his monster is a little more literal," Tony says, slipping into the ease of his wit that Loki has become so used to. He smiles against Tony's lips.

"Look at how much you've matured. Talking about feelings and such," Loki says, and feels Tony grin in response.

"What can I say? Crack-of-dawn conversations get the best of me."

Loki rolls his eyes. "It is only two in the morning Tony. Sunrise is many hours away yet."

"What, do the Aesir have a clock programmed into their brains? What a ridiculous skill to have."

"You're beginning to speak strangely love. Perhaps you should try for sleep again."

"But there's so many fun things we could do instead," Tony protests weakly. Loki has always enjoyed having this small power over Tony, to be able to ease the man until he felt comfortable falling back into the depths of sleep. It is a small thing he can do to repay him for all of the love he has given Loki freely. He drops beside Tony, taking him back into his arms.

"We will have plenty more opportunities. However, think of what Clint would say, should he find out you fell asleep during sex."

Tony gives a strangled gasp of mock outrage but Loki can tell that his mind is drifting away. "I would never fall asleep during sex. On a date? Yes. But never during sex."

"Mm, but you could never prove I was lying," Loki points out. "It would be my word over yours, and Clint will always believe whomever's word made you look more of a fool."

"You are an evil, evil man," Tony says, but there's only affection in his tone. To prove the point, he snuggles closer to Loki, something he usually only does in his sleep. "But you are my evil man and I shall someday unleash you upon the world."

"The world trembles in fear of your diabolical plans, I am sure," Loki says indulgently, but Tony is already asleep. Loki taps his fingers against the arc reactor, something that would have Tony on his feet and halfway across the room should anybody else try it, as he listens to Tony's steady breathing. He can't protect Tony from nightmares any more than he can protect himself, but he can be there when Tony wakes to soothe his love back into the waking world.