AN: Holy crap I did not expect this to get as much attention as it has. Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews, the alerts etc...Every single one makes me want to write more. I spent longer on this chapter than I anticipated, watching quite a few videos. For your enjoyment, sexy pole dancing Loki!
Leather had a wonderful way of making a very bold, very purposeful statement: I'm here and you can't take your eyes off me. Loki decided leather was a wonderful tool, especially when it contrasted so very nicely with his skin. He smiled into the mirror, adjusting the way the costume clung to his shoulders and down to his calves of his legs to flare dramatically. The garment fit against him snugly, adorned with brass and made to look as otherworldly as possible without being too heavy, (these garments were meant to be removed as quickly as possible after all). It did not quite scream superhero. Tony had simply stated that with an attitude like yours you make a better supervillain.
Loki hummed, smirking as long fingers released the first flimsy clasp upon his jacket to better reveal his neck and part of his naked chest. He was not as upset over the word villain as he should have been. It was all in good fun really.
He had taken the stage from some man he could not even recall the name of, they all had their set time slots but really the audience wouldn't notice a difference. Tony would, but he would deal with that later. For at the present moment the song had started up and Loki strolled from backstage to the catwalk.
The heavy beat thrummed against the floor, vibrated beneath his feet and like a strike of electricity coursed through his body. He hadn't anticipated or practiced to this particular song but it was no matter, as soon as he approached the end of the stage with the cold steel pole he managed to twist the music to his own command, body nearly one with the steady bass line as he manipulated the pole like an extension of himself and forced it to work around his body instead of the other way around.
Nimble fingers moved delicately down the surface of the pole in an imitation of a gentle caress as he approached, slowly circling it, eyes lidded at first until he turned them upon the audience as soon as the lyrics ripped from the chords of the song. His smirk was playful, eyes nearly glowing beneath the colored lights that moved down his body. Shifting to the front he pressed his back against the cold steel, arching it appropriately, like some coy lover.
As the tempo sped up he lifted his body off the floor with his arms and pulled himself slowly around, a strand of hair slipping from his carefully slicked-back style falling across his face. His hands gripped with fierce intensity as he arched and pulled around the pole, body contorting and muscles stretching in a show of flexibility.
As his boots touched the ground again he whipped himself around and slipped his jacket off, inch by tantalizing inch revealing white skin beneath the dark and confining leather. He felt the eyes of the audience burning in interest as the song slowly progressed. And as if their attention fueled him, he let the adrenaline pull him with full force into the dance.
The jacket discarded, he was left only in leather pants and the gilded boots. His smirk only widened as he noticed hungry eyes upon his body and he harnessed that energy to effortlessly lift himself upon the pole and spin around, legs locking securely in place as he arched his back and spread his arms, eyes burning with heady desire as he drank in every last cheer.
They wanted him.
More precisely they wanted to fuck him but the attention and the lust were enough to sate his appetite.
The cold metal quickly heated as his arms sensuously wrapped around the base of the pole, body on display in a perfectly teasing manner. Suddenly he saw Thorglance his way, just for a moment. Loki slowly, wickedly licked his lips. Long limbs moved to entwine around the pole to give him a better grip as he pulled his body out and swung slowly around the pole, legs extended and straight as if such a strenuous move was effortless. Once on the ground again he spread his legs and arched his back in a long line, throwing his head back as if with wanton release. He was breathing hard, chest heaving, and he felt a drop of sweat slide down his neck. It was hot, increasingly so, upon the stage.
He snaked forward, on hands and knees as he approached the first row of the audience, smirking as a generous amount of tips were carelessly waved around. He leaned back on the palms of his hands and lifted his hips enough for such customers to slip said tips into the waist of his tight pants.
As the song came to an end he lowered himself off of the stage in one languid movement, allowing more hands to wander and slip more bills not-so-casually into his back pockets, some hands lingering longer than others. Practiced as he was he knew just how to lean into the touch and for one particularly generous customer he purred in his ear, entwining his arms around the man. There were going rates for each and every amount of money and though there were rules, of course the right amount could really buy a customer just about anything.
Suddenly he caught sight of Thor, who had returned to a particularly demanding (and touchy) female customer. He frowned, eyes practically burning. He had forgotten for a moment his customer and realizing his mistake he smirked mischievously and leaned forward, whispering in his ear.
"Would you care to see a show?" It was easy enough to draw interest, he noticed. A heavy hunger had settled in his customer's eyes. Really, he had drawn himself a lovely little crowd that were all ready to practically kneel before him and he still remained unsatisfied. He couldn't fathom why he still remained agitated, why it still felt as if a fire burned underneath his skin.
Another song started playing, and another performer appeared on stage though (Loki noticed with smug satisfaction) that the crowd was not nearly as interested. He released his arms from around the customer and approached the newcomer with a dangerous smile on his face. Thor was tending to a young brunette woman and her group of friends, all chatting and laughing and slipping bills towards the well-muscled waiter.
"Pardon me, may I borrow him for a moment?" Loki turned his smile towards the group of women, with a feigned charm. "I will make certain your table is well taken care of, in return." Before the group of women or Thor could protest he had wrapped his slender fingers around the man's arm and pulled him towards the bar with surprising strength.
"What was that supposed to be? Who are you?" Thor furrowed his brows and drew his features into a guarded, almost angry expression as he pulled his arm back indignantly.
Loki offered a slow smile in return, acerbic in nature though it was. He noticed the man was taller than him, but just by an inch or so. His physique was impressive. It was no wonder so many eager eyes were drawn to the man, he did indeed look like a god.
"I am Loki. You do not seem to understand how things are run here, perhaps I shall show you." It was not a question.
"I do not understand. I thought it was Mr. Stark who ran this business? You are but a dancer are you not?" Thor's expression became clouded with confusion, blue eyes looking to the stage where he had seen Loki not moments before.
"I am far more than Stark's obedient little employee." Loki's eyes turned towards Thor for a moment before he approached someone behind the bar. Upon seeing Loki the bartender frowned, almost as if he could tell what he was up to.
"Loki, what are you doing?" The bartender kept a wise eye upon the other man while sliding a customer at the bar a glass of scotch. He stood back and grabbed a towel to clean a bit of condensation from the surface of the counter top. "Tony is not going to be happy if you cause trouble here. Last time you nearly caused a riot."
"Calm yourself, Banner. I am merely here to give a little show. To prove a point." Loki lithely pushed himself atop the bar, standing above a startled Thor and a few cheering and drunken customers.
"Loki…" Bruce warned, already throwing aside the towel in his hands underneath the bar. There was no point in arguing with the raven-haired man. Though he hoped speaking to Tony would rein in his behavior. Loki's actions were begging to rake upon his nerves.
"What point?" Thor did not move, though he looked a great deal more confused than before. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited, expecting.
Loki did not answer but as the song ended and another began playing he dropped to his knees, legs spread apart. His arms raised slowly, fingers one at a time slowly entwining around the waist of Thor's pants, knowing how many women had done the same to slip in their dirty money. Smirking, he slowly tugged forward, and Thor took a few mesmerized steps towards the bar still watching. Watching. Loki realized with smug contentment.
He heard shouts and whistles, cries for more from the floor and the customers that had gathered to watch with interest. Loki raised his arms and entwined them around those tanned, broad shoulders. They were tense, he realized. Suddenly he wanted to take that tension between his fingers and yank until the man in front of him unraveled, unraveled and released everything inside of him.
"Are you enjoying the show?" Loki purred, placing a finger upon Thor's lips as he opened his mouth to speak. He shook his head, not allowing a word to escape the blond until the song was over. He leaned forward, body moving in almost perfect synchronicity to the music. Green eyes locked with blue and he slowly ran a tongue across his lips, and without missing a beat his legs had wrapped around Thor's waist locking him in place. Loki grabbed one of the man's hands and guided it towards his chest.
For a moment he shuddered, surprised at how warm it was against his skin. Naturally warm, not the sweaty palms he was used to feeling from the customers. He had played the role of seduction on stage night after night, drawing a positive reaction from the crowd, but for a moment the sound of the crowd faded into background noise as if they did not matter. He faltered, confusion flashing I his eyes as he looked into Thor's face and felt another hand wrap around his waist without any coaxing at all. But this was a performance, just like all the others.
"Loki! You, me, office now." Loki snapped out of his thoughts and turned a pair of acerbic eyes upon Tony. Thor immediately dropped his hands as if they were on fire and stepped back, looking apologetic.
"If you insist." Loki lowered his legs and easily slipped off of the bar top, ignoring the cries of protest. Bruce immediately began to placate the customers, sighing and shooting Loki a weary look. He was not there because he wanted to be but because Tony had asked him to do him a favor. Tony always had a way of getting what he wanted.
"I'll just go back to the customers then." Thor wandered away from the bar and back to the crowd. Loki kept a fairly straight face, though there was clear agitation in his eyes. He followed to the office, though once he turned and watched the blond figure disappear through the crowd of people.
x x x
Tony sighed as he closed the door to his office, office being a very loose term. He left all the paperwork and general responsibilities to his secretary. That was what he paid her for after all, and he paid her damn well too.
"How about a drink?" He headed towards the mini bar and poured himself a glass of scotch, holding it up.
"You said yourself, Stark, we're not to drink on the job." Loki leaned against the wall, sneering.
"Yeah, and you've always been one for following the rules." Tony's tight-lipped smile and sarcastic tone caused Loki's sneer to fade.
"You were one step away from grinding on Thunder Hamma there." Loki's expression became one of incredulity as he interrupted.
"Truly your talent for creating the most outlandish stage names knows no bounds, Tony Stark. Perhaps you should leave the names to Miss. Potts." Rolling his eyes, the raven-haired man took several slow and calculated steps towards Tony.
"I was simply creating a show; the audience seemed to enjoy it. Particularly the women. It is no different from any other stage performance. Is there truly a problem?" He tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, raising a brow.
"Yeah." Tony snorted, "It was a show alright. Loki, why are you still working here again? You've made more on tips and your paychecks than any other employee of mine."
"You know why I am here, Stark!" Loki's expression twisted into a scowl, and there was the tiniest note of panic in his voice. He quickly covered it up but not before Tony noticed.
"If you are firing me you should do it properly. Although you realize my performances bring you quite a lot of revenue. Speaking of money how is that boarder you took in doing? I wouldn't think of you as the compassionate type especially when you have no need for cash. It begs the question, is he truly only just your boarder?" Tony fell silent. He shrugged, nonchalantly and took another swig before answering.
"He's a bit annoying, honestly. He's like a lost puppy, wandering around messing with things, generally being in the way when I bring home company." It was too much of a headache to explain what a man was doing in his condo when he was trying to spend a nice, pleasurable evening with a woman. Or two. The twins were a nice touch last time.
"We're talking about you here, prince charming. You have the hots for my new employee." Tony set his empty glass down before pouring another one.
"What are you talking about, Stark?" Loki raised one eyebrow elegantly. Tony barked a laugh, eyes wide with incredulity.
"Are you serious—you're joking right? With bedroom eyes like yours it was obvious you wanted in his too-tight pants." The startled and offended look Loki gave was really priceless; if only he had thought to bring his camera with him it would have made a great snapshot. Tony smirked, taking another swig of his drink.
"That is preposterous! I have no such intentions. If you wish to truly know, I wanted my customers back. They are rightfully my regulars, I couldn't have them wandering off with this greenhorn." Loki snapped, body going rigid.
"Sure, keep telling yourself that." Tony rolled his eyes and set his empty glass down, smacking the taller man on his back just to get the glare and the hiss from him. It was satisfying to see Loki's usual collected and calculated demeanor crumble. "Go take a shower and head home. I'm taking you off of the last show with Black Widow."
Tony could practically feel the look of protest on Loki's face. But as he opened the door to shoo the raven-haired man out he nearly smacked a very out-of-place, tall, fit and wholesome blond man. Looking up he was surprised to see the very boarder Loki had mentioned—Steve Rogers. Of course, he could have guessed from the khaki's and button down shirt the man was wearing—he looked far too domestic to be in a place like this.
"Tony! Someone told me I could find you here. I uh, I needed to speak with you. I'm really sorry but I think I may have broken your computer. I'll buy you another one as soon as I can get the money, I promise." Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on that had nothing to do with the alcohol. Why the hell was he keeping Steve around?
"You came all the way down here to tell me that?" Tony lowered his hand and looked skeptically towards the man. It was a real shame Steve didn't work for him, he would have rivaled Thor with his build. It was a shame because Steve started turning bright red anytime something remotely inappropriate was mentioned. Half naked women seemed to make him fidget like a five year old that still believed in cooties. He wouldn't be cut out for the job. It was cute, in some lost puppy kind of way.
"I actually, wanted to see you. You've done so much for me I figured I owed it to you, Tony." Loki chuckled, moving across the room, all grace once again, and heading towards the door. Tony did not like the smug look on the bastard's face as he looked over at Steve. What was he thinking anyway?
I thought so. Loki said nothing at all but his damn eyes were practically singing those words. Tony swore underneath his breath, but he didn't get to say anything as Loki headed outside and closed the door behind him.
Fuck.