"Thanks for coming Lo." Loki looked down on the person he sat beside, smiling softly and nudging the boy with reassurance.

"What are friends for right?" Loki leant against the cream wall of the lounge; tipping his chair till it sat on the back two legs and he was balancing softly. Looking around the room he saw no memorable faces. The few hundred that were in the room were all older than the two students who sat in the corner. They all were either smoking or creating small talk, unable to find a decent convocation but thankfully they all seemed to stay away from the two. It hurt Loki a little, no one wanting to spare the time to talk to their only child and now orphan, the more he thought of it the more his insides boiled. Tony was sipping his drink when he warmly patted Loki's arm.

"Hey, this communication thing works two ways you know, stop working yourself up." Loki sighed softly, nodding an apology. "Don't worry about it honey." Loki coughed politely, leaning forward on to his knees.

"Honey…?" Tony smirked, pushing his glasses up his nose and shrugging ever so softly.

"Well because you're so sweet obviously." He took another sip from his scotch. It worried Loki how well Tony was coping with his parents death, Loki knew he had his problems with his parents and that he was never truly close to them, but Tony was a master of hiding emotions, almost as good as Loki himself. The teenager caught him staring, raising an eyebrow and handing him the scotch. "Want my drink?"

"I'm alight sugar." Tony scoffed, downing the remains of his alcohol without much thought. Suddenly a large man stood in front of them, blocking the artificial light from their eyes.

"Ah Tony, I've been looking for you- Is that scotch? Tony you're just a kid!" Tony looked at the glass in his hand, rolling the melting glass in the cup and shrugging. Loki hunched at the sight of the older man, his face falling to a scowl. The bald man did the same when their blue eyes met in the shadows.

"Having a good evening Smith?" Not only did Loki hate Obadiah, he hated small talk even more. Loki rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders and apparently that was an answer as he turned back to Tony, smiling sadly.

"Excuse my bluntness Obadiah but what do you want?" Loki couldn't hide his smile as Tony asked his question.

"Well, you know that your father and I worked together for a very long time…" Tony nodded, his head falling to the floor. "…and I'm aware of your convocation with your father a few weeks ago about taking over the business. The plan was for you to take on the business when you turned twenty-three, but because of the complications..." Loki's head burnt suddenly.

My parents dying is considered a complication?!

Tony's thoughts flowed like water into Loki's empty mind. Obadiah's eyes fell between the two with an uneasy gaze, reading their confused and angry faces before continuing. "…can we talk about this in private?"

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say to him." Loki blushed, his head falling to avoid the men's eyes.

"…very well. I have convinced most of your fathers colleagues to give control to me until you are twenty, but until then you will have to live with a foster family...I'm sorry Tony." Loki looked at his friend, Tony just shrugged, a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry about it; I appreciate what you tried to do. I mean it." He stood up, stretching his limbs and gently hitting the man's shoulder as he left to get a re-fill. Obadiah was smiling at himself, but the smile melted as his eyes met Loki's.

"What are you staring at Smith?"

"…you're happy he's being adopted. Your looking forward to holding the title of Stark industries you sick fuck." Loki's raised voice caught some of the guests attention, but he didn't care as he pushed himself off the chair and stood up to the man. "…I wouldn't be surprised if you killed his parents yourself."

"Are you accusing me of murder?" The man took a drink from his own scotch before placing it on one of the tables beside them.

"No but you're not denying it."

"Listen you little spoilt brat." He grasped Loki's shoulder squeezing hard till his knuckled drew white. "I know what you psychologists are like; you twist the truth to your own exotic story line to put the greater good to shame."

"You think you're the greater good? And you won't influence Tony as you think you will, he's a strong man...stronger than you."

"At least I won't have to deal with you in a year's time…he would have moved on to greater things, even though a rat is a step up from you, you sad-" In one movement, Loki punched the man in his stomach making him release his grip on his shoulder and collapse on to his knees. He ignored the few more people turning to watch in horror, masking their faces with their old hands. One of the faces was Tony, his eyes full of both amusement and fear as he watched on.

"You're nothing but the scum of man!" He spat down on the kneeling man before walking towards the exit, his blood boiling.

"That…" Loki looked up from the bottom of the stone stairs.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just lost it." Tony jumped down from the stone stairs, grasping Loki by his neck and pulling him down so their lips collided. The kiss was brief, lasting measly seconds before Tony pulled back, staring at his friend with wide eyes.

"You have no idea how long I have wanted to punch that man." He laughed softly, but Loki was still recovering from the kiss. His lips were numb, fizzing when he tried to move them. "Are you alright? You're a little pale-"Loki pushed forward, reconnecting his lips to Tony's and the controls returned to his mouth and his eyes fluttered shut. His hands trailed to Tony's neck and hair, supporting the man's head as he tilted to deepen the kiss while the other pulled at his soft roots. Thankfully Tony kissed back, eventually gaining enough confidence to graze his tongue across Loki's bottom lip, asking softly for permission that Loki allowed at an instant. When they eventually parted for air, Loki was suddenly fueled with a new kind of happiness. Confusion filled Tony's eyes, sparkling softly when he pressed his arms around Loki's waist.

"…you have no idea…how long I have wanted to do that."