Notes: Thank-you for the feedback on the last chapter. This one is a bit shorter and more filler-ish but there's a surprise at the end~
Tony and Loki spent the rest of the evening and that night recuperating from various activities. Loki rested his head on Tony's chest as he stroked his hair and he smiled quietly to himself. That sense of ease had returned to him as he laid there listening Tony's steady heartbeat beneath his head and he never wanted to end but he knew that eventually it would. He'd given a lot up already, he'd admitted to Tony how he felt, slept with the man whom he'd told he'd never do so with. All without asking once for money. He sighed, tracing circles on Tony's stomach.
"So what now, Mr. Stark? You've gotten me in your bed, we both agreed to something that is, quite frankly, a truly idiotic notion. What are we to do now?" Loki asked and he felt Tony's hand falter for a fraction of a second on his head. Loki shifted to a sitting position and fixed him with a stare. "Sentiment is a weakness that can be exploited, something others can use against you. I taught myself not to show it."
"I understand that, Loki, but you can't spend your entire life avoiding things you want out of fear and the chance that it'll be abused. Gotta live a little. Fast cars, bad food, good drink; that sort of things. The little things in life. They're bad for you but there's nothing wrong with indulgent." Tony brushed his hand over Loki's cheekbone, watching as his eyes flittered shut.
"Yes, I think I've heard that before." Loki smirked then stretched, arching his back and raising his arms above his head. "I think a shower is due. I'm sticky."
"Alright, you go do that. I'll just lay here and watch your fine ass as you leave." Tony tilted his head for comedic effect as Loki rose to his feet and flipped him off. "I thought we already did that?"
Loki made a strangled laugh and shook his head as he went into the bathroom to wash up. Unfortunately he didn't remain clean for very long after Tony decided he'd taken too long and joined him in the shower. After that little encounter they both rewashed and dressed before going to the kitchen where Loki cooked up a simple breakfast of pancakes and bacon with fruit. He was actually a bit surprised that there was even any food in the house since Tony spent so much time in New York instead of Malibu.
"I had someone come in and restock before we showed up." Tony explained around a mouthful of pancake drenched in syrup. Loki cringed at the amount of the sugary substance he used. "I know my lack of cooking skills would have made food completely worthless but oh well."
They spent some time eating and chatting until Loki's cell went off. He'd forgotten he'd even brought that with him and ran to his room to answer it. He listened in surprise as the owner of the coffee shop told that he'd gotten the job and that he should come in whenever he could. Once the call was ending he returned to the kitchen, giving Tony the good news.
"See, I told you that you'd get it. You shouldn't worry so much." Tony pressed a kiss to Loki's lips and Loki returned it.
"Yes, I suppose you're right." He murmured after pulling away and running a hand through his wet hair nervously. "They want me to come in soon. Maybe even today. I would feel bad to cut your vacation short for my benefit."
"Peh, its fine. We had a nice night. We can always do this again. The beauty of having money and a private plane I suppose. Next time you have time off we'll come back here and celebrate properly. With good booze and better food. Sound good?"
Loki gave him a small smile and nodded, "Yes, it sounds fine to me. I'm looking forward to it."
The two of them packed up quickly and left back for New York, Loki lamenting having to leave the pleasant beauty of California so soon. He wasn't exactly looking forward to working a normal job but, he supposed, it would be good for him. At least Tony had thought so and by this point he was gathering that it wasn't always necessary to question the genius in things such as this. At the very least Loki planned on giving it a shot. If it didn't work out, that was that and nothing could be done about it. He wasn't certain if that applied only to this new job.
Loki still felt some of that old worry in the back of his head about their relationship or whatever it could be called, as he leaned against Tony on the plane ride back. Tony had dozed off and Loki gazed at his sleeping face wistfully. Tony spoke about how it took a long time for someone to earn his trust but it felt like the man had grown trusting of Loki too quickly. It made suspicion join in with the worry and he quickly tried to squelch it before it attempted to ruin what could be a very good thing. He thought back to Alexi, Alexi who'd been the closest thing to a normal relationship he'd had since he'd left his old life behind.
Alexi had told him that Tony probably wouldn't care about what had happened to Loki in the past and that it wouldn't hurt to just tell him the truth. But Loki couldn't, not yet. He needed to spend time with Tony as a lover, as a, well, whatever. He needed to do this first and foremost before he could willingly take such a step. Sleeping with him had been amazing and had given Loki back something he'd thought he'd lost; the ability to make love with someone in a way that wasn't just for sex and not run; to trust someone enough to give into vulnerability. It had been done out of caring, out of mutual attraction. He'd enjoyed it actually, the things Tony could do with those callused fingers, the way he looked at him as no one else had. Tony had looked at Loki as if he was a God and it had made Loki feel like one too.
The plane ride felt shorter than it had the first time around and before long they reached the airport, caught a cab and made it back to the tower. Loki changed into a pair of dark slacks and a black button-up, fixed his hair and threw on his boots. They'd told him that the dress code for the employees was 'dressy casual' and to keep things in dark colors, preferably black. Loki was just glad he didn't have to wear a ridiculous uniform on top of working at a place he'd deemed as irritating. The perk was employee discounts though he had the sneaking feeling that Tony would be making more use of it than he was.
When Loki walked into the shop he was greeted by the same merry jingle of the bell above the doors and the smells of baked goods and coffee. It was busy as usual, everyone avoiding the chill and rain of typical falls in New York, and he made his way up to the reception area where Darcy stood at her post, curly brown hair tied back in a messy braid and face framed by both her glasses and hat. She grinned and waved as she spotted him.
"I heard you got the job. Congrats."
Loki crossed his arms and inclined his head, "Thank-you. Who am I to speak to about starting? I was told to come in at any time."
Darcy pursed her lips in thought, tapping her pen against the counter. "Right, well, if the boss said you could come in at any time and start, you might as well come over here and I'll get you started. Or try to anyhow. I haven't had to instruct anyone yet."
Loki sighed internally and lifted the door leading to behind the counter, joining Darcy. She was still grinning as she wandered around for a moment for apron in a dark green that once found she handed to him. He stared at it for a moment before slipping it over his head and tying the straps behind his back. Darcy looked him up and down with appreciation then gestured for him to follow here where she proceeded to show him how the machines ran and how to set them up, the ovens for the pastries that were baking and how to make certain simple drinks.
"Start with the basics like getting the coffee and pastries. I'd have you do the cash register but I think it's for the best you to be more behind the scenes for now, considering your…temperament." Darcy explained after the tour and Loki had to agree with her. He wasn't sure he could deal with idiotic customers so soon into a new job. He probably would have dumped steamed milk on someone out of spite. "So you understand everything so far?"
"Yes, it's relatively straight forward."
"Then you can go ahead and get busy refilling some of the machines."
The rest of Loki's day was long and tiring as he did what was asked of him with grim irritation but acceptance. He supposed he had his intelligence to thank for his learning so quickly on how what coffees where mixed with what and the different names and how to care for the machines. He stuck in the back, mostly not saying anything to the other workers. He'd catch a few curious looks as a few remembered the couple of times he'd come into the place and frightened the unfortunate baristas working that day. To them it probably felt like the shoe was on the other foot for him.
Thankfully the day ended and Tony arrived there to pick him up in his own car, "So how does it feel to be working a blue collar job?"
Loki gave him a tired glare as he hung up the apron and sipped a latte, "Well enough I suppose. Though I still wonder why you coerced me into this. I will never get the smell of coffee out of my hair."
Tony grinned and patted him on the back playfully, "Because you needed this remember? And as far as your hair goes I could think of worse things it could smell like. Count your blessings there. Now, are there any leftover goodies I can help myself to?"
Loki pointed him towards a folding box filled with a few donuts and other pastries, "I already packed up a few for you." He folded his arms over his chest. "You shouldn't eat so much junk food. It's bad for you."
"Thank-you, Dr. Oz. And so is the drinking but I don't see you stopping that either." Tony pointedly grabbed a glazed donut out of the box and tore a bite out of it, chewing smugly.
"To be completely fair, Stark, I hardly drank before I met you and most of the time it's you enabling me." Loki grabbed a honey and wheat muffin out of the box and nibbled at it, snickering at the look on Tony's face, "Yes, these ones are mine. I wouldn't dare force them upon you."
"That's good because I would have thrown them at you. I don't know how people can eat things like that."
"Some people enjoy them and being healthy. You've been feeding me fattening foods so I have to counter it somehow." Loki shot back just in time for Darcy to come over to join them. "What do you want?"
"Hello to you to. Are you lovahs having a nice chat?" Both Tony and Loki sent her a twin pair of withering glares. "Ooh, sorry I asked. Are you going home, Loki?"
"That's the plan." Loki replied, eating more of his muffin. "When am I needed again?"
"We'll make you out a proper schedule and call you." Darcy explained casually, stealing a donut out of the box and ignoring Tony's annoyed 'hey!', "You did well."
All Loki could do in response to that was give another small nod and smile as Tony picked up the box of pastries and followed him out of the café. Once outside, Loki wrapped his arms around him and pressed a series of kisses down his neck then, whispering huskily into Tony's ear, "We should try to hurry back. After spending that much time in there I require some much needed relief."
He was fairly certain that Tony broke several speeding laws on the drive back to the tower.
The following days passed slowly, almost agonizingly so, as Loki alternated his time between the tower with Tony and working at the coffee house with, most of the time, Darcy. He was learning that despite the woman's occasional ditzy air-headed moments, she was strangely perceptive and he slowly let his guard down around her as she made him feel comfortable with her easy-going nature. Between Tony and Darcy Loki was finding himself relaxed and enjoying the normality that came from a mundane job and being in a relationship with someone that made him happy.
Yes, he had come to the conclusion that what he and Tony had was in fact a relationship. They slept together, ate together, watched movies together, and just spent a general amount of time just talking about nothing. They hadn't discussed anything about their relationship, hadn't even confirmed it together. It just sort of happened and Loki was more than happy to just let it form in its own way. Being in a relationship like this felt so much better than any other he'd had in the past and he didn't want to risk ruining it over a possible confirmation. Who knew if Tony would run from the idea.
That thought was a lie. Loki knew that if anyone was going to run it was going to be him. He was so good at it, avoiding things that made him uncomfortable by being overly aggressive and pushing it down until it broke. If he admitted it to Tony there was a valid chance that Loki would unconsciously sabotage the whole affair. It was what he did to Alexi (though they pretended that nothing happened and it was only ever sex) and it was what had happened between himself and his first real relationship before that fateful day. When Loki got to close he ran rather than to stand his ground and do what he really wanted. It was his greatest flaw. Being frightened and selfish.
"Everyone gets afraid." Amora told him the day she'd come in after learning where he was currently working. He didn't know why she was being so nice to him while she flipped her golden hair as she sat in one of the stools. He'd expected her to be more passive aggressive after he'd ignored her texts and refused to tell her anything before that moment. If he could have done it, he wouldn't have even told her where and with whom he was living with. Unfortunately that ship had sailed when she'd run into Tony when he'd come in to get clothing. "It's kind of a fact of life if you haven't noticed."
Ah, there it was.
"Why are you here, to lecture me? I have only a short break and I'd prefer if I didn't spend it arguing with you over this." Loki replied, picking at another muffin, a mug of coffee sitting beside him. "Well?"
"It's about your brother. He's been asking about you a lot more the last few days. I don't know why this is. He mentioned something about coming into town soon to visit his girlfriend and he wanted to know if I knew where you were." At the pinched look on Loki's face she added, "Don't worry; I didn't tell him anything. As far as he knows I haven't seen or heard from you either. Which is the truth. So stop looking like you want to kill someone."
Loki relaxed into his seat, cupping his face with his hands, "When did he say he'd be here?"
Amora shrugged, "No idea. He was pretty vague about it and I didn't ask. So who knows?"
Loki made a strangled noise of frustration, "What if he finds me? I don't think I could handle that, Amora. I'd likely kill him or at the very least throw my coffee into his face. I haven't spoken to him in almost two years for a reason. You know as well as I do about how he acted…"
"Yes, I do know. This whole thing is just ridiculous. He's not that narrow-minded, spoilt man-child you last saw. From as far as I can tell he's changed quite a bit since then. Maybe you should just give him a chance and see for yourself." Amora suggested, resting her hand on Loki's shoulder only for him to shrug it off of him with a snarl. "Loki…"
"Would you just leave? I told you I didn't want to talk about it."
"Fine." Amora stood up and pushed her chair in before fixing Loki with a glare, "You want to be a child? By all means. Just remember that there'll be a time when you won't be able to run anymore and you'll have to make a choice. When that time comes, don't say I didn't warn you."
Loki stared after her as she left. She was right, as always, but he couldn't admit it out loud. He chose to ignore the nagging voice in the back of his head as he went back to work.
More days passed and he didn't see or hear from Amora again, telling him that he had sufficiently pissed her off to the point that she wanted nothing to do with him at that time. 'All for the better', he thought, 'I'm better off without her.'
Everything had started going downhill since his argument with the blond, to the point that he'd even started avoiding Tony on the worst days, hiding in his borrowed room again instead of sharing Tony's bed at night. He could see the confusion in his eyes each time it happened but he didn't bother Loki when he was in a mood. He was grateful for it as he tucked his legs up to his chest, staring at his cellphone and reading all the past texts he'd gotten from Thor shortly after he'd left and before Loki had blocked his number.
On top of this there were the bad customers who thought their opinions meant everything to him which, suffice to say, they didn't. Darcy had told him more than once to resist throwing their orders into their faces. Easier said than done, especially when are particularly irritating patron took various demands of him. Loki glowered and slammed down a cup in front of him and walked away. If he didn't get away from him something was going to happen and Loki would probably be out of a job.
He took several cleansing breaths and turned around when he heard the bell above the door ring out.
And nearly fell over out of surprise.
Standing in the doorway staring at him was the tall and impressively built figure that h was so familiar with, dressed in a pair of jeans, boots, t-shirt, and open plaid shirt over that. His hair was the same shade of blond, though a bit longer, and his eyes were just as bright a blue. Loki watched as he blinked and his mouth pulled into a wide smile, "Loki."
"Thor?"
Oh this was only going to turn out badly, wasn't it?