Notes: A wee bit later than the others but I had a brief writer's block come up and that stalled it a bit. Nonetheless its still out~

Loki had fallen asleep soon after Tony had left, burrowing into the blankets to the point where only the top of his dark head was visible. Every once in a while he'd cough for a minute before his breathing would even out once more and he'd be back into a deep sleep. His mind was blissfully free of any dreams and he slept better than he had the previous day. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last as he heard people enter the living area. When he pulled the blanket down and cracked open an eye he found Tony looming over him, Pepper standing a bit farther back.

"I presume the hunt went well then?" Loki asked, voice scratchy. He sat up and reached for his water, taking a swig at it and frowning at how warm it was. He took in the couple's expressions and sighed. Something was wrong…

"You could say that." Tony replied, holding up the suitcase with one hand before setting it down beside the couch with a muffled thump that made Loki wince. "Why didn't you just tell me what you did?"

"Ah, so you found out. I guess it was only a matter of time." Loki sighed, setting the glass back down and folding his long hands in his lap. He gave Tony a wry smile. "I didn't think it was any of your business. It wasn't as if I was trying to get you to buy me. This entire affair is completely coincidental. If you wish for me to leave now that you know my occupation, I'll do so without complaint."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic." Tony slapped a hand on Loki's shoulder, nearly tipping the man over in the process and receiving something that could be described as a surprised glare. "I'm not going to boot you out for that. I am curious why on the job choice. Though, as you seem to love pointing out, it isn't any of my business."

"And you would be right. However, I think that ship has sailed." Loki pushed the blanket off him and wobbled to his feet, not used to standing. He paused for a moment, blinking as his vision swayed then headed in the direction of the bathroom once it was steady again. "I may tell you at some point why this is, but I wouldn't advise you to put all your chips on that."

In the bathroom Loki could faintly hear Tony and Pepper discussing him through the door, their voices hushed so that he wouldn't overhear them. Too bad for them his hearing was surprisingly good.

"Tony, while I would normally applaud you for thinking about someone else besides yourself, I have to ask if you think it's a good idea to let him stay here." Pepper asked, her voice professional, but he could sense the concern for her boss in its undertones. If Loki didn't know better he would have thought they'd once had a relationship that wasn't completely business related.

Tony answered her a moment later, and Loki could picture him rubbing at his goatee, avoiding Pepper's stare. "Probably not, but I don't know. He's not really hurting anyone and it's only until he's healthy enough."

"I know how this works, Tony." Pepper's use of his given name proved just how concerned she was on the matter at hand. Loki had to give her credit for it. After all, he could be anyone, and he was in an illegal occupation. If Tony was caught with him he could get jail time for soliciting a prostitute. Loki had seen it happen before to previous clients who didn't cover their tracks well enough. "It's not like adopting a stray off the streets."

Loki rolled his eyes, washing his hands. Did the woman not understand the fact there was nothing between them besides charity? Not to mention Loki hadn't even asked to stay there. He felt well enough now that he'd slept off most of the cold that he could easily go to his own home. Whatever Tony was doing had nothing to do with him, of that Loki was relatively certain. He dried his hands off and left the bathroom.

As he came into the room, the two of them stopped talking in mid-sentence and stared at him almost guiltily. Loki tossed on an innocent expression just to watch them squirm. "Did I miss something?"

The enthusiasm in Tony's voice pretty much gave it away, "Nope! Just having a casual conversation."

"I see…"

"I guess now that we're all figured out I should show you you're room." Tony picked up the suitcase, went over, and grabbed Loki's upper arm, leading him through the house to the guest room. The room looked much like the rest of the place, furnished with modern furniture in light colors that made it seem much bigger than it was. It was already bigger than Loki's room by an impressive margin. There was even a large flat screen on the wall. "Think this'll work?"

"It'll be more than sufficient." Loki tugged his arm out of Tony's grasp and took the suitcase as well, setting it on the bed. He opened it and looked over the items inside. At least he'd grabbed the right things.

"There's a bathroom in here too, so you don't have to walk all the way to the other side of the house to use it or to shower. I have one in my room too. The tub is even big enough for a bath, so enjoy it." Tony opened a door at the front of the room and Loki could see the equally spacious bathroom with a separate tub and shower stall, all in porcelain and chrome designs. There was a wall covered in glass that functioned as a mirror.

"Why are you letting me stay here?" The question left Loki's mouth suddenly, and he averted his gaze to the bed, picking up a bottle and letting his fingers run over it. He could feel Tony's eyes on him. "I heard what you and Miss Potts were discussing. It would be stupid to allow me to remain here. You know as well as I do that I'm perfectly fine to go to my own home. Perhaps not to work, but I'm not completely invalid."

"To tell you the truth…I honestly have no fucking idea." Tony let out a forced laugh and shut the bathroom door. "I know this might be hard to believe, but you aren't the first person of questionable occupation to stay here. First male one, yes, but there's a first for everything."

"I'm well aware, but it doesn't make me understand any clearer. You don't know me, I don't know you. You are a notoriously selfish person, and I am not much better. There is nothing here that could ever really work. So why?" Loki pinned Tony under a stare, lips twisting as he struggled to make sense of this. Feeling childish, he fell back onto the bed, mentally admitting that the mattress was ridiculously comfortable. He stared up at the ceiling.

"Look, I don't trust many people these days, and I get the very sneaking feeling that you're the same way. I admit that I'm a bit apprehensive because Pepper does have a point but…" Tony made a growling sound and drug a hand through his hair, making it stick up wildly around his head like some sort of bird. He was at a loss for words.

"This is new; I think I made Tony Stark speechless. I'll take it as a personal achievement." Loki grinned up at the ceiling, stretching his arms out above his head. It occurred to him that Tony was getting a full view of his long and lean form, but before he could make a snide remark his stomach growled loudly. He slapped a hand on it.

"I think that's a sign that we should leave this conversation for another time. I'm guessing that I should order some pizza." Tony looked at him thoughtfully, tapping a hand against a dresser that sat beside the door. "When's the last time you had a New York Deep Dish?"

Loki turned his head and a look of distaste crawled its way over his features, "Unlike you, I make money off of my body. I can't afford to fill it with grease and fat." He squinted at Tony. "Through the way you go through women, I'm surprised you don't. Have you ever considered prostitution as an alternative means of income?"

Tony stared at him. Just stared. Then let out a loud laugh. "I'll take that as a compliment. While you're under my roof you will eat pizza, and you will like it. And besides, you look like you could stand to gain a few pounds."

Loki stuck his tongue out at him.

And that was day one.

The next few days went by with very little happening.

Loki spent most of his time in his barrowed room doing God only knew what, and Tony divided his between work and the shop. The only time they really saw each other was when they'd each slink out of their areas for food. Their last major conversation went unmentioned, but they both knew it would only be a matter of time before it was brought up again.

Loki was well now. His cough was gone and his skin tone was back to normal, Tony noted on one of the rare occasions he saw him. It had slowly occurred to him, almost as soon as they last really spoke, that he knew why he wanted Loki to stay, besides the curious need to know him. Loneliness was something that was familiar with him; he ignored it most days by throwing himself into his work or drinking enough that he didn't feel it as strongly. Yeah, sure Pepper was around pretty often to go over business-related things, but it wasn't quite the same thing.

He'd never mention this out loud to anyone, let alone Loki, but at least he could internally mention it to himself. A part of him wondered about that man. Loki could leave at any point now, but he hadn't tried or even mentioned it recently. If Tony was to throw a theory out there, it would be that Loki felt the same sort of loneliness. After all, he lived alone, mentioned no family at all, and the only people he probably ever saw were clients and that spooky blonde woman. That was a pretty sad existence; not to have any real connection with anyone regularly.

This train of thought was what brought Tony to his door that evening after they'd already had a dinner of Italian food, hand poised to knock as he hesitated for a moment. He was tempted to walk away, claim it as a waste of time, and go on with his night, but before he could do it, the door swung inwards and there was Loki looking at him expectedly.

"Yes…?" Loki raised an eyebrow as he leaned on the doorframe with his arms crossed, dressed in just a pair of cotton pants that fit him much better than the barrowed one's had.

"I decided something recently; an idea." Tony started, trying not to stare. He shifted one foot to the other, watching as Loki's thin lips twitched with humor. Okay, now he was just feeling like a jackass. He took a breath then continued, "If you're going to be staying here I figure that maybe you could….get a real job?"

"A real job?" Loki's expression shifted from amusement to skepticism. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean a real day-to-day job. You can go back to your other 'job' when you leave if you want." Tony shrugged as he explained, watching Loki for a reaction. He didn't look too impressed by the idea of it so far. "I just…Pepper was right. It is a huge risk. What you do when you leave is your prerogative."

"Where you do you expect me to work, Stark? I never said I was staying long, and I'm not sick; this is completely pointless…" Loki muttered, moving back into his borrowed room, and Tony watched as his fingers fiddled, clenching and unclenching.

"Okay, so just do it for as long as you stay. That's all." Tony joined Loki at his side, and clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder. He felt him tense up as stiff as a board, and he quickly removed it. Okay, don't do that. "I'd offer you a place in my company, but you aren't…qualified. Why not try that coffee shop? I saw they have a help wanted sign out. I mean… it's not fantastic, but it's a job."

As Loki turned his back on him Tony noticed for the first time, scars running over the fair skin. They were light and nearly invisible until the light hit them the right way. They ran up from his shoulders downwards. Where'd those come from? Tony felt a sympathetic pull as he pondered what could have caused something like that. They weren't in any specific pattern which led him to believe it might have been an accident.

"Fine." Loki groused and dropped onto his bed to stare up at Tony with the irritation he was so used to seeing on his face, "I'll do it. Just be warned it will be a very short lived occupation."

Tony had to ask, "You can't tell me you're honestly happier selling your body out. Why prostitution? You seem smart enough, why didn't you go for something more legal?"

Loki sighed.

"I make my own schedule; I'm my own boss and make good money for it. It suits me well so I can't complain." Loki cast Tony a charming smile but there was sadness behind it that told him that there was a whole lot more he wasn't saying. "There's the added bonus of not having to see the same people every day. I believe I would scare them off if I did. I'm attractive, but I'm hard to put up with."

It sounded truthful, and in a way it made sense. Still what made someone want to do something like that? It couldn't be enjoyable. "Touché."

"Is there anything else you wished to say?" Loki asked, picking up the book he'd apparently been reading before Tony showed up, "I planned on going to bed, and if I am going to go through with this wretched job of yours I will need all of my wits about me."

"Fair enough. I'll leave you alone then."

"Good." Loki yawned, waving half-heartedly at Tony as he left the room.

Well it seemed like Loki was officially living there now, he just wasn't sure for how long that would be.

After Tony left, Loki grabbed his phone and flipped through the texts he'd received from Amora earlier with a frown.

'Haven't heard from you in a while. Just making sure you haven't dropped dead or anything yet.' He'd gotten that one when he'd still been incapacitated from the cold and could hear the sarcasm in her words as loudly as if she was sitting next to him. He scrolled on.

'Alright it's obvious you don't plan on returning these so I don't know why I'm wasting my time.' Then why did she keep sending them? Loki rolled his eyes and read on. 'I saw Thor the other day. Seemed to be doing well. I guess he has a girlfriend from around this area. She's a professor of Astrophysics at the college from what I understand.'

Personally Loki was surprised. Thor was good with women; they flocked to him for his apparent charm and good looks, but were completely blind to it. He flirted with them and left a slew of broken hearts in his wake. At least Stark was honest about his intentions as far as Loki was aware. He couldn't believe he'd even thought that. He went to the next text.

'Your parents are doing well. Your father just hit another shit load of product and is rolling in the dough. Big surprise there. Your mother sends her regards. Thor says she's still taking your absence hard and wants you to call. I know you won't though.' Loki pushed down the feeling of guilt that was threatening to rise in his chest. He couldn't contact her. They'd come looking for him, and he didn't want to be found. Why didn't they understand?

Loki closed the phone before he could read the final one and tossed it on the nightstand. Why did Amora insist on sending him these things? She cared about as much as he did, so why would she bother with the guilt trip? He reached over and switched off the side lamp, pulling the blankets over his body. The only sound in the room was his own breathing, letting his mind fill the void left by the silence. He thought over Tony's proclamation with a furrowed brow.

Would normalcy be such a bad thing? He'd told himself he wasn't worth doing anything besides what he had been; good only for his body, but really he knew it to be only something to give his mind solace. He'd been told time and time again that what had happened that night hadn't been his fault, but he'd never believed it. The point was that his younger brother was dead, and his whole family had mourned for him, perhaps even still mourning. If Loki had been doing what he was supposed to have been doing, it could have been completely avoided.

Loki stared up at the ceiling, aware of the wetness at the corner of his eye and angrily wiped it away. No, he wasn't going to cry. He hadn't since that day, and he wasn't about to do it now. He replaced his resolve with steel. He'd leave Tony's by next month if he wasn't kicked out by then. He'd go back to the way things were destined to be. And that would be the end of it.