Notes: Oof, I'd like to apologize for any grammatical oops in this; I wrote most of it during the wee hours of the morning and never got a chance to get it beta'd. I hope there's nothing too horrifically off in this...

The effects of Loki's influence slowly began to fade as Tony tried himself off. He had, in fact, taken that cold shower and scrubbed himself to the point his skin was red and raw. He could still feel Loki's hands on him, the breath against his ear, and his lips pressed against his own. Tony had never really thought to underestimate Loki's seduction abilities but it had never occurred to him that he'd be made a target of them. Clearly, the prostitute thought he was deserving of that sweet torment. Tony supposed he did since he continuously baited him.

What comes around goes around.

When he exited the bathroom he found Loki sitting on the floor by the coffee table, application sat in front of him and a pen poised above it while his face was the perfect picture of concentration. Tony didn't know how long Loki had been sitting there but judging by the emptied glass sitting just off to his side; it must have been a while. He didn't even look up as Tony came around to his side and peered over the document. He caught the name at the top and date of birth.

'Loki Laufeyson, 31.'

It was only filled out a bit, leaving plenty of blank spaces and Tony watched as Loki's tongue darted out to lick his lips, making him almost fall over. That just wasn't nice but it was clear to him now that Loki wasn't one to play nice and besides, as far as Tony knew, he wasn't even aware that he was there. Loki let out a sigh, dropping his head down onto the table with a thump. Tony snickered.

"You took a while, Stark. Did you think about me while you were in there?" Came Loki's muffled voice asked and Tony could hear the smirk in his voice. "I should have done that a week ago if I knew I could get you so hot and bothered. Do I get a reward for all my hard work?"

Tony got the distinct impression that the tables had turned. Normally he was the one cracking snarky remarks. Couldn't say he liked this very much. "How goes the process?"

"How do you think it's going?" Loki replied dryly, tilting his head so that he could see Tony's face, dark hair curling around his neck. "I've never had to fill one of these blasted things out."

"Seriously? Never? Have you ever had a normal job? I mean I didn't think you hookers had a union or anything but you have to have had a run-of-the-mill sort of occupation at one point." Tony stared down at Loki, watching as exasperation formed.

"No. Before I was a 'hooker', as you so put it, I worked for my family. They never required me to complete one." Loki said flatly, lifting his head and staring at the thing as if he wished for it to burst into flames. "This would be a first for me. I hate not being able to do something as menial as this."

Tony patted Loki carefully on the shoulder, "There's a first for everything. You'll be learning a lot of new skills. We'll start with this."

So Tony sat down beside Loki, taking the pen, and they started at the beginning.

"Here, put down my address." Tony pointed at the line with the top of the pen at Loki's confused look he explained, "Well, you are staying here after all. When you go back to your home you can either change it or quit. Whichever floats that boat of yours."

It continued like this for a half an hour as Tony explained what each slot meant and helped him organize and figure out what to put into them. In the end, he had Loki put in his cellphone number as the person to contact in an emergency and there were still some things that had to be left out due to not having the information needed. Loki was still afraid of letting people into his past which included future employers apparently. All they could really hope was that it was enough to be hired on.

"And done." Tony looked it over once and sat it down with a satisfactory nod. A job well done if he'd say so himself. Not bad for having to BS their way through bits of it.

"Is that all there is to it?" Loki asked, reading through the application. "Will they hire me?"

"I thought you didn't want this job anyway?" Tony raised an eyebrow and Loki looked away, setting the paper down. "To be honest, I think they will hire you. You're smart and it's not like learning the process is rocket science."

Loki cast Tony a doubtful glance, fingers twitching against the table, "You seem so certain. You can't know for sure that they will. Why would anyone hire someone without experience?"

Tony rolled his eyes and, on a whim, wrapped an arm around Loki's lithe frame. For once the man didn't remain tensed up and after a moment relaxed into the embrace with a sigh. It felt natural, Tony realized with a small amount of surprise, to be sitting like this with him. He ran his hand up and down Loki's side in a relaxing manner and Loki leaned into the touch. There was nothing sexual about it, different from the teasing seduction that had been played on him, and instead was gentler, romantic even. Tony blinked at that. Since when was this supposed to be romantic?

"Because everyone's got to get experience at some point." Tony reassured Loki when he could work his tongue again. "You've got a diploma and some business experience under your belt. It might not have been as a barista but that shouldn't matter."

Loki smiled shyly, casting his eyes downwards. One of his hands moved to sit on Tony's leg, resting his fingers on his inner thigh. It sent a shiver through Tony. How could one small touch from the brunette cause his body to react? Tony stared down at Loki's profile, taking in the gentle slope of his nose, the curve of his lips, the way his hair frame his face. Any idiot could see that Loki was physically beautiful and he could bet that this was the sort of beauty artists would have modeled their pieces off of. Tony knew that if he had more traditional artistic skills he would have been sketching him right then.

It was remarkable how Loki could go from standoffish, to sexy, to affectionate in the span of a day. Tony had spent the time in the shower pondering why and every time it always came back to his past theories. Loki was the type to use his attributes as a shield and Tony had always done the same, using sarcasm and flirtation combined with flippant remarks to keep people at an arm's length, Pepper being the exception to that rule. He knew where Loki was coming from and felt a strong sense of understanding because of it. He just wasn't sure he could say it to Loki without chasing him off.

Loki let out a humorless laugh and tilted his head up to look at Tony, "I wish I had your confidence, Stark. I used to be so damn sure of myself and yet these days I find me questioning everything. I have the ability to bring men to their knees but I sit here bemoaning my choices. What I did earlier was instinctual but it's true. While I came off as…overly harsh, I only meant that I cannot afford to get close to people. I cannot and I will not. I wanted you to see that because I'm afraid that we're heading down a bad road, Tony Stark."

Tony scoffed and shifted, grabbing Loki by the arms and moving him so that they were facing each other. He met Loki's eyes firmly. "I don't give a shit about what you did in your past. Yes, I want to know it because I want to know you but that's not the point. I'm not going to let you run away because you're scared of something. Yeah, sure, we may not 'get together' but I don't see why we can't be mutual friends."

"You have no idea what you're asking, Tony Stark." Loki told him flatly, pulling his arms out of his grasp.

"Yeah, I kinda do." Tony replied evenly, crossing his arms.

Loki let out a huff like he did sometimes when he'd been beaten but didn't want to admit that fact, "You're impossible. Is this why you asked me to stay; so that you could befriend me?"

Tony flinched and smiled sheepishly, "Possibly. I knew if you left there was a good chance that I wouldn't see you again. You'll run and hide, going back to live in that shithole."

"That 'shithole' is my sanctuary." Loki said defensively but it came out sounding rather unconvincing, even to his own ears.

"This place can be a sanctuary just as well but in a better neighborhood." Tony lightly caressed Loki's arm and felt the hair rise on the bare skin. "Give it time, you'll see."

Loki sat there for a minute before he stood up, "I'm going to go lie down, please refrain from bothering me."

Tony nodded and watched Loki leave.

Once alone, Loki dropped down onto his mattress, flinging himself back to lie on it and stared up at the high ceiling. This wasn't supposed to be happening, he wasn't supposed to find comfort in Tony's embrace but that was exactly what he'd done. Sitting there with Tony's arm wrapped around his waist had put him into the most ease he'd felt in some time and the first time ever with another person. It had been mutual and almost loving.

Loki let out an ugly sound and sat up, dark waves wildly hanging around his head. Yes, right, loving. As if that was even a possibility. He shook his head and grabbed his cell, flipping through the usual parade of client and Amora texts. He considered actually texting her back for once but more than likely she was just going to be asking him where he was and what he was doing and with whom, all of which wasn't anything she needed to know. Loki paused at one client, one of his few regulars that didn't run when he'd dropped the polite act.

There was one time, one day in the far back past, that Loki had considered having normal relationships. It was shortly after he'd learned that his preferences leaned to the male persuasion, getting together with one or two for a short amount of time in his attempts. It was so that he could have someone to talk to who'd understand his words and could offer him comfort when he'd grown fed up with Thor's antics and the all-consuming jealousy that came with it. After the accident he'd sworn off any sort of association beyond the carnal and even that had lost its pleasure after a while, the act becoming nothing more than a way to earn money.

Sitting with Tony had felt like how it should have been if his live had been different and for some reason this fact alone frightened him. He was scared that as soon as he had gotten close something would come along and disrupt his peace or that Tony would come to see him only as some broken whore to be used and abused. What would that man think once he ever found out about that day? It was Loki's worst fear that that would be it.

Running on autopilot, Loki dialed in a number on his phone, sending out the text, "I received your message; meet me at the usual location. I'll be there."

After hanging up, he quickly went about changing into a pair of black, soft leather trousers, a green shirt that laced up at the chest, opting to leave it loose, paired with his usual boots, a brown leather wrist band with golden studs and a wolf-headed pendant on a golden chain. When his hair was fixed and his coat thrown on, Loki left the room quietly, on the lookout for Tony who, luckily, didn't seem to be nearby. That didn't mean that he didn't see Loki, only that it meant that by the time he realized it, Loki could be long gone.

Guilt filled him and made Loki feel like a teenager sneaking out after curfew despite the fact that he wasn't required to constantly be in the penthouse. When Tony had gone over the list of rules he'd never specified that his guest wasn't allowed to leave in the evenings to do things on his own. So Loki took advantage of this opening and slipped into the elevator, taking it all the way to the ground floor. The entryway was dark and quiet with the twilight hour.

He didn't get far before a female's voice spoke up, making him whip around where he saw a short, red-haired woman, dressed in a pair of dark pants and sleeveless top. She gave him an unimpressed look, crossing her arms, "Where are you going?"

"Out." Loki responded flatly, eyes narrowing with challenge, daring this slip of a female to prevent him from leaving.

"Yes, I see this, but when you sneak around like this people are bound to ask." She told him, tucking hair behind her ear, her expression shifting to neutral. "You must be Loki. Tony mentioned you were staying here. I'm Natasha and I'm one of Stark's head of security."

Loki stared at her, "Yes, well, if you'd excuse me…"

"Of course." Natasha gave him a small nod, dismissing him. She'd let Tony know, though he was probably already aware.

Loki slipped out the door and out into the chilly air, catching a taxi. He gave the driver the address and watched the lights of Manhattan zoom past the moving vehicle. It was too late for regrets now; he had to get this stress out of his head the only way he could. Would Tony even care that he was about to briefly go back to his old ways? Probably not. Loki let out a sigh, fogging up the window, and waited until he reached the destination, paying the driver and getting out back into the cold. A breeze caught his hair and blew it around his pale face.

The building looked just like it always had with its neon sign and a stream of people heading inside to escape the air. He knew when he went in there that he had to go forward with his plan. Taking a deep breath, he entered. He could see a few people that were always in there and he paid them little attention as he walked by until he found whom he was looking for.

"That was quick." Loki said as he slid onto an empty stool beside the man. "I thought I'd be waiting for you."

The man grinned at him, "I was already here when I got your text. I wasn't expecting you to actually reply when Amora told me you were staying with Tony Stark of all people."

Loki frowned, "Why am I not surprised she told you…"

"So why did you decide to come? Things not working out with your boyfriend?"

Loki nearly spat out the drink he'd ordered and sent the man a dirty look, "He's not my boyfriend, you idiot. You know better than to listen to that woman's gossip, Alexi."

Alexi grinned back at him and waved a hand dismissively, "Whatever you say, love. So are we going back to my place or is this just a 'date'?"

"Not a date."

"Right, right, I thought it was worth asking. I never know with you and all your unpredictability." Alexi replied, sipping his drink. "You disappear off the radar even more than usual only to text me back. It's kinda strange."

"If you want to give your opinion you'll have to pay extra." Loki told him wryly, casting a sidelong glance at the sandy brunette.

"Hey, can't blame a man for trying. You're pretty enough to be a woman, have you considered a corset and stockings? I'm sure your Mr. Stark would love that." Alexi dodged a fist full of peanuts that were launched at his face and he let out a hearty laugh. "Close but no cigar."

Loki was practically growling, "I will kill you if you don't stop. Could we just leave?"

Alexi wrapped an arm around Loki, still grinning, his blue eyes bright with mirth, "I'd hate to keep you waiting. I know how impatient you can be. You'll rip my clothing off before we even get in the door, I bet."

"And you won't complain."

"You bet your sweet ass I won't."

Tony had seen Loki leave, watching through the video cameras, brows drawn and mouth frowning. He could easily tell by the clothing that Loki was going out to do something he probably wouldn't approve of. It wasn't as if he had a leash on the guy, he was free to do whatever he wanted whenever. For the most part. So what if Loki wanted to go out? Tony tried to tell himself that he wasn't jealous at the idea of Loki being with a different guy. They weren't exactly in a relationship. Clearly, they weren't even the relationship type.

Tony grumbled under his breath and pounded codes into his computer.

As much as he tried to think otherwise, he still enjoyed their small moment as they worked on that application and wondered if this was now Loki running out of fear. Running into a more familiar world and running away from being close. Tony knew exactly how he felt.

He looked up when Natasha's voice filled the speakers and he looked at the screen to see her face, "I take it you saw him leave?"

"Yep, I did."

"Do you want me to do anything about it?"

"Nah, just let him do his thing. I'm not his mother. He's free to go out when he wants to." Tony replied, still going about his work. "I'm sure he'll be back later some time. If he's drunk I'll beat his ass."

"Tony, I highly doubt you could kick his ass. He's got you beat by half a head in height."

"Shush you, you're supposed to be on my side, remember?" Tony half-heartedly grinned into the monitor.

"Of course I am. I must have forgotten." Natasha said airily.

"Miss Romanoff, sarcasm doesn't befit you."

Tony realized that he wasn't going to get any sleep that night.

'Goddamn it, Loki…'