Notes: A little shorter and later than usual but yesterday was hectic due to my kitchen ceiling deciding that it was a fantastic day to fall in. Don't worry, the whole thing didn't go, just a section. The landlord came and the worst of it today thankfully. Its kinda scary having a big gaping view of the attic. All I can say is thank god I'm moving in two weeks. This place is falling apart around us.

With that little life update I bring to you chapter 6.

The next day found Loki dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a green button up shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His hair had been smoothed back for the first time since he'd started staying at Tony's and it made him feel more like his old self. He gave the mirror a final glance to make sure he looked acceptable to go in for a job inquiry and, when he was happy with his appearance, exited into the bedroom. He threw on his boots and grabbed his jacket before joining Pepper in the front room.

Loki could tell by the gazes she sent him, when she thought he wasn't looking, that she was still distrusting of him to some degree. He applauded himself for not giving away the fact that he had seen it as he sent her a smile he hoped was cordial and watched as she returned it with some hesitation. At least she was trying. He had to give her a bit of credit for that. Though, he had to wonder why she was here and not with Tony at Stark Industries. Probably to keep an eye on him, not that he was going to play thief and steal something. That was just a ridiculous notion.

"Good luck with the job applying; I'm sure you'll do fine." She told him, patting him on the shoulder in a friendly manner. Pepper came around in front of him to look into his eyes with sincerity, "I know we might not have gotten off on the right foot, so I'd like to apologize. I didn't mean to out you. "

Loki gave her a small nod and threw on his most personable tone, "Really, it's nothing to worry about. My occupation does tend to draw some manner of distaste. I'm fairly used to it."

Pepper sighed and took a seat on the couch. A moment later, Loki came over to her side as he sensed an impending conversation and he braced himself as she spoke again, "It's not just that. Tony, as you know, has a history of being a bit wild. He makes mistakes and he does learn from them but sometimes it takes him a while to do so. Tony likes you, Loki, he really does and when he likes something he tends to pursue it."

"Yes, I've noted this and it's something I have considered what with his offer for me to remain here." Loki sat down beside Pepper on the empty spot on the couch and folded his hands into his lap as he had when he'd been confronted. "I'm not exactly sure what about me has ensnared him so. I did not ask for his charity."

"I don't know what it was either but he's likely to deny it. He likes to be stubborn." Pepper cast him a dry smile but soon her expression turned serious again. "Please, try not to lead him on if you can help it. I really would hate to have to deal with the collateral damage afterwards if you know what I mean."

"Yes, indeed." Loki didn't plan on doing anything to misinform Tony but he wasn't going to change his entire character for this woman's benefit either. "I'm sorry for all the trouble, Miss Potts, I'll try to keep my occupation as short as possible if it can be done."

"Thank-you, I'll let you get back to your plans then."

After Pepper stood and left, Loki's friendly smile dropped and he scoffed out loud. She really didn't understand what was going on completely but her theory was at least partly true. However he doubted that Stark was perusing him for anything more than for the fun of the chase and the possible outcome. Besides, there couldn't be anything about Loki's character that could be remotely attractive to anyone besides the detectable physical traits.

Loki left the building a few minutes later, eating an apple as a light breakfast, and decided to walk the short distance, the bite of fall not bothering him as usual. It took him only a few minutes to reach the coffee shop and when he entered he immediately recalled why he didn't want to peruse this avenue of employment: the people. There were people everywhere, sitting around chatting or consuming and just generally annoying him with their presence as they always had.

Fitting the urge to just go ahead and leave, Loki walked up to the receptionist counter where the same woman as his last visit stood. He watched as recognition flashed over her face and struggled to hide exasperation. He'd made quite the impression on her he supposed. He hadn't been quite friendly to her. It was another reason why this job was a horrible waste of time. He knew if she had a say he wouldn't be receiving it. This was going to be disastrous.

"What do you want?" Anna said, sourly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring pointedly at him.

"I…should apologize for being so rude to you the last time I was here. I was under a bit of stress. It was wrong of me to taking it out on you." He threw on his charm; giving her a bright smile that he found won over people the most and watched as her anger melted away.

"I accept you apology, thank-you. Now, were you also here to order something?" Anna took her pad for taking down orders and sat it down in preparation.

"No, but I would like to have an application. I was suggested by a friend to send one into your charming establishment." Loki fought to keep his smile on his face, his hands clenched into fists where she couldn't see them. Just play nice, keep smiling. While all the while there was a voice yelling in his head in revolt.

"Right, sure, one moment please…" Anna looked behind her and called out in a voice that made Loki want to bludgeon her to death with the register, "DARCY, TAKE OVER WOULD YOU?"

A moment later the woman in question appeared, grumbling under her breath. She paused when she saw Loki and he watched as the same sort of exasperation appeared, "Oh, it's him."

"Yes, it's me." Loki deadpanned. Was he going to be met with the same reaction from everyone today? "I've already apologized for my behavior to your friend. I'm just here to apply for a job. I hope that's not too offensive to you."

"Oh, I see. Well, I guess I'll get you an app then and you can go ahead and fill it out." Darcy disappeared and then reappeared with an application in hand, handing it over the counter to him. "You can either do it here or you can do it at home and bring it back tomorrow. It's kinda weird for you to want a job here. You seem over-educated."

Anna elbowed her in the ribs and sent her a sideways glance, "Sorry."

"It's, uh, not a problem. I'll just take it home and do so." The sooner he could get out of this infernal place the better. If he had to spend more than the required amount of time with these chattering women he was bound to commit homicide and he would gladly go to prison for it. 'Please, let this end', he thought darkly as he took the application and left.

When he returned to the tower, he found that there was no one there. Instant gratitude sprung up from his boots and he grinned widely, face dimpling at the corners from the force of it. After spending the days here where Pepper or Tony were always around, Loki didn't think he'd ever have true solitude again. This was a welcome find. Still grinning, he went to his room, stripped out of his clothing, not bothering to shut the door, and went into the bathroom to start water for a bath.

Loki normally stuck to quick showers these days, not wanting to use up all the water on filling a tub, but he was going to take advantage of this. He poured some bath salts into the water as it filled and switched on a small radio that sat on the counter by the sink. Classical music poured out from the speakers and he hummed along with the familiar tune as he looked into the large mirror, taking in his appearance with a critical eye.

His cheekbones looked a little filled out, less sharp, which was a strong testament to Stark's dinner preferences, and his green eyes gleamed brightly back at him. He actually looked healthier than he had before he'd taken residence here. The idea that he was doing better now than he was at home made him bristle. Feeling his calm disappearing, Loki stepped away and turned off the water. Steam rose from the bathtub, filling the air with moisture and he only wished he'd had candles to really indulge.

The warmth seeped into his bones and relaxed his muscles as he stepped in and sunk down as far the tub would allow with a sigh of relaxation. He tipped his head back, wetting down his hair and smoothing it back. The sound of his cellphone going off briefly broke him out of his reverie and his head snapped in its direction, eyes narrowing. Yeah, he wasn't getting out of the water to answer it and his voice mail would.

Loki sat there until his skin began to get prunish and the water became cold. With a large amount of reluctance, he stood up, pulled the plug and grabbed a towel off the rack. After quickly patting himself dry, he wrapped it around his waist and left the bathroom; the temperature difference between the two rooms making goose bumps rise on his arms. Instead of getting dressed, Loki made sure the towel was well secured around him and left for the mini bar Stark had in the main living area to get a glass of wine. One of the first things Stark had done on the second day of Loki's occupation of his home was give him a cheery, "help yourself" regarding the liquor stored there. It would figure that the sometimes drunk would have such a collection of drinks, Loki had thought, keeping any and all comments in his head. Now it was something else he was going to take advantage of.

Among the assortment of alcohol, there was a stock of high vintage wines that put to shame anything Loki could afford on his rare drinking binges. He grabbed a wine flute, choosing an Italian brand he'd heard of and poured himself a half a glass, swirling it around for a moment before taking a testing sip. The taste was strong and bit down his throat but it was pleasant. Making a sound of delight, Loki took another sip.

"Enjoying yourself I take it?"

Loki let out a strangled yelp, dropped the glass and twisted around to look at Tony whom was clutching his chest, nearly falling over from laughing so hard, "It's not funny, you idiot! You're lucky that the glass did not go for your head."

Still chortling, Tony looked down at the spilled wine and broken glass lying on the carpet, "What a waste of good wine." He sighed; seeming more upset at that then the stain spreading out of the beige surface. "I'll have to hire someone to clean that up…"

Loki's lips pursed and he leaned down to pick up the pieces carefully, thankful that it only seemed to break in bigger sections instead of in a million shards that could take forever to get up from the carpet's fibers. He sat them down on the bar, all the while aware of a set of brown eyes staring at him in a way that made him wish he'd taken the extra minute or two to put on proper clothing. When he turned to look at Tony, the watching gaze was still there. There was an unexpected jolt of self-consciousness that shot through Loki and he wrapped his arms around his waist, shifting from foot to foot.

He'd never really felt the need to be worried about who saw him in state of undress before and the sudden revelation that Tony was now effecting him in this way replaced the embarrassment with resentment. Loki glowered as his arms dropped back down at his sides and he asked, "What are you home so early for?"

"To be fair I did call you but I guess you were too busy to answer your phone." Tony told him, having pried the number from Loki a few days before. He watched as the discomfort vanished and the walls returned. It was hard to focus knowing that there was only a towel covering Loki from view and a towel that left little to the imagination at that.

Tony could see the sharpness of his thin hips and the fine dusting of dark hair that ran from his navel downwards, disappearing under the top of the towel that reached mid-thigh. It left a lot of leg open to view and he took in the long span of firmness and muscle, filing it away in his brain for future viewing. He had every right to do so; it was Loki's fault for prancing around his home in little more than a piece of cloth. Okay, that was one hell of a mental image. He had to force down the urge to mention it but one look at the emotionless mask took away that temptation.

"Excuse me for not sitting around just waiting for the possibility that you'd phone." Loki grabbed another glass and poured more wine, downing this one a lot quicker. He narrowed his eyes as Tony continued to openly stare at him and he added in a venomous tone, "Would you mind quitting that or would you rather I gouge your eyes out?"

A grin played on Tony's lips and he crossed his arms, running his eyes obviously down Loki's lanky form just to spite him. To his amusement the brunette's face flushed, a dusting of pink appearing on his cheekbones, and he turned his head away with a huff. "Stop being so defensive. You're the one who chose to walk around dressed like that. It's not my fault you're sexy and being a tease."

"So help me, Stark, one of these days you're going to wake up missing a vital body part," Loki growled lowly, head swiveling to glare at him. He walked the few paces to stand in front of Tony so that he towered over him and stabbed him in the center of the shorter man's chest with a long finger, "And I will be the one who removed it. Don't presume I wouldn't do such a thing, you insufferable man, because I would and I would enjoy it greatly."

The grin turned lecherous and Tony's eyes glinted wickedly, "Would you really want to do that without getting to experience that 'vital body part' first? I've been told on numerous occasions that I'm very good."

A look of utter and complete astonishment flashed onto Loki's face and he took a step back, opening and closing his mouth several times before he managed to form words, "Wha- HOW DARE YOU?"

That was all it took to start another bought of laughter from Tony. That had been worth the provocation. Loki now looked like he couldn't decide if he wanted to stomp away or slap him and Tony would have taken either one with absolute glee. That had just been too damn perfect. H felt a little bad for coming onto Loki like that but couldn't find it within himself to apologize. It was only a joke anyhow, wasn't it? Tony liked to believe so. Whether or not Loki took it as one was the question.

He got his answer as Loki's hand connected with his face, sending him stumbling back and he looked up at the fuming prostitute. "Oh, relax, I was only joking."

"That was not humorous, Tony Stark." Loki's chest rose and fell in angry swells while he attempted to reel in his temper. No one had ever had such gull to say that to him. "I should throw you through a window for your words."

"That wouldn't be very nice." Tony pointed out and Loki's teeth bore at him. Maybe he'd pushed him too far but it wasn't even that good of a solicitation. If Tony had been serious he could have used a much better advancement than that. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd take it so seriously. Forgive me? "

"I shouldn't but I will." Loki glided back to the bar and sat the glass down, "I need to get dressed. Now, if you'd excuse me…"

Loki quickly breezed past Tony with his lips taunt and slammed shut his bedroom door, the sound reverberating throughout the floor. Once inside, he leaned against the door and slid down to the floor. He tipped his head back with a groan, arms resting at his sides and his legs spread in front of himself. He shouldn't have let Tony's infuriating words get to him and if it had been anyone else he would have ignored them.

For some fucking reason it mattered what Tony Stark said and that in and of itself was enough to upset him even more. If that wasn't bad enough, he'd felt a stirring in his stomach when he'd been under his gaze as if he were a teenage girl with some stupid high school infatuation. He clenched his jaw. If Tony wanted to play that game then so be it but he was going to lose. No one was better at the game of seduction than Loki Laufeyson and he was going to turn that man into a pleading mess one way or another.

Loki grinned widely as he studied his black nails. Let the games begin then and may the best man win.