/So for everybody who's still sticking with me, I really appreciate it. I know this isn't the greatest thing you've ever read, but your feedback means a lot. Side note, if there's anyone jumping to beta this, send me a pm and let's see if we can work something out. I need it and I would greatly appreciate it.

"But why not?!" Tony whined as he threw his clipboard across the room and glared at the ceiling.

As patient as a baby sitter not getting paid nearly enough, Jarvis calmly replied, "Sir, I can only repeat the message given to me by their director."

"I'm willing to pay double, hell triple their rates!" Tony cried. He was Tony-fucking-Stark. He always got his way.

"The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has made it very clear that they do not view your monetary offers sufficient enough to cancel their world tour."

Jarvis was glad he lacked a head with which to get a headache. A lesser A.I. would have gleefully set Tony on fire before then. (Not that he hadn't tried. There were a number of reasons his security protocols were so high.)

Tony crossed his arms, "You're just trying to ruin Christmas, Jarvis."

"But of course, sir. It is but the 38th step in the plan for World Domination," the A.I. smoothly replied.

Tony's eyebrow lifted, "What?"

Jarvis's voice grew to a whisper, "Oh my, I've said too much."

Tony pointed to the ceiling, threat on the tip of his tongue, when his lab door chimed and opened to reveal Pepper Potts.

From the top of her perfectly tumbled, burned gold ringlets, to the tips of her sensible, but ravishingly styled, pumps, Pepper looked beautiful. It was the cold, professional smile that made Tony slowly close his mouth and draw his guard up.

"Jarvis," he said, blinking as he tried to gather his thoughts, "What happened to telling me when I have people over?"

Pepper clicked her heels with purpose and confidently strode to the nearest unburdened chair to sit.

"Sir," Jarvis replied, apology in his voice, "Ms. Potts used her security clearance to override my protocols. She wished to arrive unannounced."

Tony rubbed the back of his neck, "And my protocols so people can't do that?"

"You designed her clearance specifically to avoid that, "Jarvis replied calmly, "Your exact reasoning was," and here Jarvis did his best to emulate his master, "'Ya know, in case she wants to surprise me with pizza or hot bitches.'"

Tony grimaced at the sight of Pepper's extreme distaste, "Did I really say it like that?"

Slightly amused, the A.I. replied, "Yes sir. In your defense, you were heavily intoxicated at the time."

"Thanks, Jarvis," Tony said, rubbing his neck, "Now butt out for a sec. Mommy and Daddy need to talk."

Tony leaned against his desk and started to rationalize his comments, but Pepper cut him off. "'Pizza and hot bitches," she repeated, deadpan.

"Er," Tony replied awkwardly, "Let a man have his pipe dreams, Pep."

A very pointed, "Ah." was her only response.

"So, uh," Tony made a large circle gesture to her, "Can I ask what's with the get up? I mean, you look fantastic, like, gawd UNF!, fantastic, but it does seem, um, a bit much for causal wear."

Pepper crossed her legs and straightened her spine. "I'm flying out to L.A. to finalize the quarter review and review the last preparations for the annual Christmas party. Given your status with the Avengers, and the fact that you've refused to answer my texts, emails, and phone calls, I assumed you weren't coming."

Tony scratched his head, "Uh, yeah. The party wasn't real high on my list. I just, uh, wanted to spend the holiday with you. Ya know, make up the last couple of months to you."

Pepper raised a calculating eyebrow, "Did it never occur to you that I might have plans?"

"Well," Tony said slowly, drawing out the word, "Forgive me if this seems self centered, but no. Normally you include me in everything."

"You were included," Pepper snapped, "It's the annual STARK party. Happens every year. Same time, same place."

"Well if it happens every year, can't it just run itself? Do you have to go?" Tony crossed his arms to mirror Pepper, face scrunched in honest confusion.

Pepper pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Tony, how do you think things work in the real world? No, it can't run itself! It requires a director and a staff to make sure the building is rented out, that it has proper catering, that it has the right press, that the wrong press doesn't catch wind of the drunken debauchery, most of which, I'd like to remind you, has come from your hands. That's ME, Tony. This is what I do. This is what I've done since you hired me."

Pepper stood and threw her hands up in frustration, "This party is for all the other people of Stark Enterprises that you so conveniently forget. "

Tony scowled, "Ya know, I thought being my girlfriend would have taken precedence over all of that. I'm grateful for the people that work for me, but you're so much more than that. I want to spend my time with you! Hell, I'll double their Christmas bonus if that's what it takes."

She couldn't keep the bite from her words, "And I thought having you as a boyfriend would have stopped you from being a self centered ass all of the time. You can't seem to take anyone's feelings into account except your pet god."

Tony held a hand up to stop her, "Hold on, what the hell does Loki have to do with any of this?"

"You know he bothers me!" she spat, "You have the man that destroyed most of New York and tried to take over the planet living under your roof like you're the best of buddies! He shouldn't be here! He should be locked away on whatever planet he's from going through the worst torture they can come up with!"

"He's…changed. He's different now, Pep." Tony awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. It felt odd to be defending Loki given everything that he had done, but it was true. The god had changed during his time on Earth because he wasn't constantly influenced by grief, rage, and the Tesseract.

"How can you say that, Tony? He destroyed New York! He hasn't paid for anything he's done! He took countless lives and got a slap on the wrist for it!" Pepper shouted, her face shaded scarlet to match her hair.

Tony's face darkened with rage, "Number one, he's paid to rebuild New York, and number two, I'm the last person you should talk to about taking lives."

"What?" Pepper stuttered, "the people of New York-"

Tony cut her off, "Haven't paid a dime for any of the reconstruction. Asgard, through me, have funded every last project in the last six months. How? As it turns out, Asgardian gold has the strangest conductive properties, which makes it fantastic for arc reactor technology."

"He's why the project has progressed so quickly?" Pepper's mouth dropped open.

"The 'monster upstairs' is about to be single handily responsible for clean energy for every person on Earth," Tony crossed his arms, "and he's also the reason I want to throw a fucking Christmas party in my own home."

Pepper's face scrunched in confusion and she rubbed at her temples, "That's great and all, but he still shouldn't be getting off for all those deaths, Tony. He needs to answer for that."

"Pepper," Tony clipped his words, "I am responsible for more deaths that Loki ever was. You didn't seem to have such moral reservations when you worked for a War Lord," he held up a hand to stop her next words, "Ya know, why you go ahead and get on your flight. Take your little vacation. When you get back, we can discuss if you still have a job or not."

"Tony, why…why are doing this? Why are you defending him so much?"

Tony looked away and thought for a moment, "Pepper, if you judge him so harshly for what he did out of manipulation from an artifact so powerful not even gods can comprehend it and honest rage from being lied to his entire life, what can you possibly think of me and all the lives I knowingly took for the sake of money," he gestured to the tower around him, "No matter where I go, no matter what I do, my life's work was built on taking life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness from others. Everything I am attempting to do now is a form of atonement."

"But, you're different," Pepper tried to extend a hand.

Tony walked to the door of his lab and opened it, "No, I'm not."

–

Loki tried to stay out of Tony's space as much as possible. Tony drew his lines of personal space erratically. There were days that he would almost cuddle Loki as they made breakfast, and then there were days were being on the same floor proved to be too much.

Despite the spider webbed mess that was Tony Stark's personal life, Loki attempted to keep tabs on his, dare he say, roommate. There had been more than once that the man of Iron had fallen asleep at his work desk. Sleeping halfway on a computer chair and slowly falling to the floor couldn't be comfortable, nor practical.

When Tony didn't come up from his lab even several hours after Pepper's departure, Loki grew curious and worried. The god slowly and silently slithered his way down the stairs to Tony's lab. He didn't trust elevators (being clasped in a small metal box unnerved him,) and growing up with Thor had taught him to appreciate a light foot.

His quiet maneuvers proved to be too effective as Tony jerked, and subsequently punched, in surprise.

The uppercut struck the god in the face and he fell back with a pained gasp. His short trip to the floor knocked him unconscious.

Tony froze, stunned at what had just happened. How the hell did he knock a god out?

"Shit. Jarvis!"

–

So, sorry about this being late in being updated. To be honest, I'm not sure where I want to go with this fic. The original idea was just meant to be a fluffy one shot. If you have a cool idea, or want to help me beta this fic, please send me a pm.

Thanks a bunch!

-Shadow