Natasha stayed in Loki and Clint's apartment until two in the morning talking with Clint. There may have been some kissing and some over-the-sweater action, but she would have shoved bamboo sticks into her eyeballs before she admitted to it. As much as she tried not to, she found Clint to be quite irresistible and intelligent, which she gathered was a side most people didn't know about because he was so quiet and formidable looking. She advised him to fix that angry look he always had and he was genuinely confused, calling it his "resting face." He countered that she often shot daggers through those pretty forest green eyes—even his description of her eyes had her fighting a smile—and that she should smile more often, because it was "actually a pretty beautiful thing." They discussed her aversion to being called Tasha; after she explained it was what a particularly horrible foster mother called her antagonistically, he promised he wouldn't do that. He just liked it better as a nickname than Nat, because he didn't see her as a pest—like a gnat. She decided he would be the only one allowed to call her Tasha. They spoke about Loki and how much they both enjoyed him, even if he was a little weird at times, and then somehow she found herself, like a teenager in a cheesy movie, necking on a sofa in a dorm room.

Still, when she finally tiptoed out of the dorm, carrying her high-heeled boots in her hand, Loki was the one on her mind. He had been acting strange for more than a week and then tonight he turned down pizza. She happened to know that Loki loved pizza; it was the one bit of junk food he allowed himself to give in to. So now, she wondered, what else was he allowing himself to give in to? She had bets—only with herself, of course—on what was going on with him.

He was into someone.

Who, she couldn't say—yet. But she was almost positive she would find her answer in a few well-placed questions. When—that was the problem. Only about a week of classes were left, then finals, then everyone would be leaving for the winter holiday. She would be taking a vacation by herself to Los Angeles—might as well go somewhere warm and she had no family to visit; but she wondered, a small frown contorting her face, if Loki planned to go home. With everything still unsolved and messy with Odin and Thor, she doubted it, but where else would he go?

Finally, arriving at her own dorm, she shot a quick text to Clint that she got there safely, and decided to deal with it all in the morning.

Just to be safe, Tony waited a good twenty minutes after Natasha left before he poked his head out of Loki's room. It was dark in the communal area and there was no light on in Clint's room, so he figured he was safe. He crept across the room and threw out his arm in search of the door. He froze when a jingle from Clint's room sounded. When nothing happened he continued his search. As if showing off, Loki strolled right past him then and swung the door open enough to have light from the lit hallway flowing into the room.

"Whatever," Tony muttered, dropping his arm to his side, feeling a little foolish. He was almost through the door, but Loki stopped him, giving him one last, long kiss that had Tony's juices flowing again. Playfully, he shoved Loki back, uttered a light, "Knock it off," and shuffled across the hall to his own dorm, to his own bed.

It had been a night to remember. Tony Stark had made out with a man. A lot. And it was exhilarating. It was his new favorite pastime, he thought, lying wide awake in bed. He could—and did—do it for hours. In his mind, he quickly scanned through his schedule for the next day and the day after that, and the week after that, looking for free time he could spend with Loki. He was a genius; he didn't need to study for finals. Any free second he had, he wanted to now spend it in Loki's arms, kissing Loki's lips, inhaling Loki's scent.

He didn't even particularly care if Loki didn't want to spend all of his free time with him. Tony was a charmer, a sweet talker. He would just have to convince Loki it was what he wanted. Then he remembered winter vacation and his elated mood started to dwindle. He was spending the time at the mansion in New York. He didn't even know where Loki would be. If Loki stayed behind again maybe Howie wouldn't mind—or care—if Tony stayed behind, too.

Then he and Loki could…what? Obviously, this dalliance with Loki was going to escalate quickly, as if tonight wasn't proof enough. But a little bolt of panic made his heart stop for a second when he thought about sex with Loki. Was he interested? Absolutely. But…how did that work exactly? Exhaustion, from his 'workout' with Loki, and the overthinking that usually brought on fatigue, finally washing over him, Tony rubbed at his eyes and rolled onto his side. He would bring up the whole sex thing to Loki later when the moment presented itself. He didn't like touchy-feely subjects—the one thing that made Tony Stark fumble—so he would just ignore it until it brought itself up again. For now, he would just enjoy the kissing and the touching and the amazing way it felt and they would work their way up to the rest.

It had been a glorious week. Loki was pretty sure he had aced every one of his final exams and could now barely remember what was on them. The best part of his week was all the time he had spent with Tony. Sure, they were sneaking around, hiding from Clint and Thor, and now nosy Natasha since she seemed to be spending a lot more time at Loki's place with Clint—he really needed to find time to talk to her about that. He had initially thought that first night was a fluke, a one-time thing, especially since all they had done was a lot of PG-13-rated kissing and touching. But then Tony showed up again the next night, not even bothering to give Loki an excuse for showing up unexpected—and uninvited—again. In the short span of a week the two of them had managed to form a routine. When it was clear, Loki would text Tony; he would sneak across to Loki's room and then…ecstasy…

When one or the other got sleepy, Tony would simply sneak out again. Sometimes it would start early in the day through the exchange of a series of dirty text messages. And the next day it would start all over again. Loki knew the high of all this stimulation and excitement wouldn't last, but he wasn't concerned about it. He was going to enjoy it while it did.

He wasn't planning anything special for their last night together before winter vacation. They got lucky that Clint decided to go over to Natasha's for once—and, overconfidently Loki thought, told him not to expect him back that night. Clint had no idea how long Natasha would make him work for it. Then again, classes were over and they, too, would be separated for a few weeks.

Loki didn't bother with dinner. They wouldn't make it through the first bite. But he did have a plan to take them past this junior high stage they seemed to be stuck in of making out while fumbling around in pants and underwear. They were consenting adults, for gods' sake. Loki kept in mind that pushing Tony too quickly could result in him running away, but from what he had gathered from their time together so far, if whatever Loki showed him felt good enough there was a fair chance that Tony would just roll with it. His face split into a wicked grin as the thought of what he had planned for tonight, played out in his head.

He was in his kitchen brewing tea, after texting Tony, and waiting for him to make his way over. He was pouring the hot water into a mug when his door opened and closed quietly, and a shadow fell over the counter he stood at. Tony pressed his mouth to Loki's shoulder, his hand resting lightly at the small of his back, and uttered a muffled, "Hi."

Loki glanced at him as he wrapped the string from his tea bag around his spoon. "Are you all right, darling?" Tony made a noise accompanied by a lazy shrug of his shoulders and turned to rest his back against the counter. "What's the matter?" Loki asked, taking the bag to the trash and dropping the spoon in the sink. He eyed Tony over the rim of his tea as he blew on it then sipped. Again, Tony didn't really give an answer. "Chatty tonight, aren't you?" The un-amused glare Tony gave him made him smile. "Would this have anything to do with the fact that it is our last night together?"

Tony crossed his arms, his mouth drawn downward, and nodded.

Loki swallowed some of his tea and set the mug aside. "It's only a few weeks. We will survive. But since you're here now, I wanted to speak with you about something."

"Talk to me?" Tony finally spoke. "Why? Why can't we just do what we normally do?"

Both Loki's eyebrow and head twitched. "And what is it we normally do?"

Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes. Loki was glad to see him back to his normal self, but kept his face neutral. "You text me, I come over, we go to your room and we…do…stuff." He motioned awkwardly with his hands and Loki fought not to laugh out loud. "I have to leave early in the morning. I don't want to waste time talking." He sprang forward, arms outstretched for him, but Loki stepped to the side evading him.

"I want to ask you something."

Tony slapped his hands to his waist and sighed loudly, overdramatically throwing his head back. "Ugh. Fine, then—ask."

"Do you really believe the ulterior motive behind all of my actions traces back to Thor?" Loki's eyes stayed fixed on Tony's brown eyes, even as the shorter man visibly jolted back from the question as if Loki had punched him in the chest.

"What?" he asked after a long moment of silent confusion.

"I don't believe I stuttered, dear."

"No, but…" He dropped his hands to his side and frowned. "Do you really want to talk about that? Right now, tonight? I'm not going to see you for almost a month, Loki. I don't want to be talking about Thor. Fuck Thor. I want to be with you! I want to enjoy my time with you, not get into some serious discussion about your sibling rivalry issues. I don't even know how to talk about that shit—I don't have any siblings! This is ridiculous! How could you want—why are you looking at me like that?"

Loki's mischievous grin grew at Tony's narrowed eyes. Unable to fight it, a chuckle bubbled up his throat and he covered his mouth with the back of his hand. Tony stared, aimed a finger at him.

"You little shit. Did you do that on purpose?"

Loki moved toward him, reached for his face, laughing still when Tony slapped his hand away. "I would apologize, but it would be a lie." He took Tony's face in his hands even as Tony pouted and tried to turn away. "I enjoy it when you're worked up, Anthony." Tony stopped resisting and eyed him, mistrust and curiosity mixing together in his chocolate gaze.

"You do?"

"Hm." Loki's hands turned caressing, gliding over Tony's jaw, his fingers slinking down his neck to his chest. "It makes you feisty."

Tony snorted, the end of it muffled when Loki laid his lips over his. Loki's brows drew together at the taste of whiskey on Tony's tongue. He wanted to ask why he was drinking but the thought was lost when Tony's hands latched onto his lean hips and brought them up against his own.

Together they staggered to Loki's bedroom, where music played low, mouths separating only to pull t-shirt and long-sleeved tee and sweater and undershirt over their heads. All four items were tossed into a heap on the floor once in the bedroom. Tony reached for the light, but with a small grunt Loki kept pushing him toward the bed. Loki instructed Tony to lie down and as he did, he opened the blinds of the window next to his bed, letting in the light from the moon and streetlamps. The sound of the rain pouring down grew from soft pattering to mild tapping, adding an almost romantic soundtrack.

Loki knew Tony's eyes were on him as he leaned over him and unbuttoned his jeans with delicate fingers. His lips curved ever so slightly when Tony's semi-hard cock sprang out as he dragged his jeans and boxers over his hips and off until Tony was naked on his bed.

"Loki."

Loki looked at him, quieted him with a soft smile. "Trust me." He threw Tony's clothes onto the pile with the others, his eyes taking in Tony's naked form, and moved to join him on the bed.

"Aren't you gonna—?"

"Shh." Loki pressed his fingers to Tony's lips and slid his still-clothed leg over Tony's. "Just trust me."

He brought his knee up, just brushing against Tony's thigh, and used the leverage to lift his body over him. He brought his mouth down, kissing Tony so slowly, so tenderly, it made Tony whimper. Loki's hand slid down to cup Tony and to stroke until he was a pulsing, throbbing steel rod in his hand. He placed open-mouthed kisses along Tony's jaw, his neck, his chest, stopping to flick his tongue over a dusty brown nipple until it was a hard, slick pebble. Fingers slipped into his hair, gripping tightly, as soft moans and sighs passed through Tony's lips.

Loki lifted his hand to entwine their fingers, removing Tony's hand from his head and he moved further down the length of Tony's body, licking and kissing his torso, his abs and circling his tongue around his bellybutton, eliciting a shy chuckle from Tony. Close to where he wanted to be now, Loki looked up at Tony's face, but the other was lost in pleasure, his eyes closed, bottom lip caught between his teeth, one hand's fingers clenched in Loki's sheets beneath him. He smiled to himself as he built up saliva in his mouth, slathering it onto his open palm and fingers then wrapping his hand around Tony's length, his lips hovering at Tony's inner thigh.

"Shit."

Loki watched Tony's eyes fly open and waited. Tony's head lifted from the pillow and he stared wide-eyed down at Loki. Loki's mouth curved until his teeth showed and, turning his head a fraction to the side, his eyes on Tony's, his tongue poked out between his teeth and slicked up and around his balls, pulling them into his mouth.

And Tony was lost.

Tony felt completely exposed. Of course, he completely was. He was lying on Loki's bed stark naked—ha ha—and laid out like a feast for Loki's eyes. And, boy, was he feasting. Tony felt every inch of his skin getting seared by those tricky green eyes as they traveled up and down his almost five-foot-ten-inch frame, growing darker, even flaring, as they focused on his crotch. It made his cock twitch. He wanted to squirm but he resisted. Whatever it was Loki had in mind for tonight, it terrified him in the most exciting way. Then Loki started lowering to the bed…with his pants still on.

Tony started to question him, but Loki silenced him with his fingers. He pressed a kiss to them when Loki told him to trust him. He already did. Implicitly. More than he trusted anyone else. He trusted Loki with his life. That was why he would lay there and do whatever he was told. Loki wouldn't do anything he knew Tony wasn't ready for, but there was a small part of him that wished, hoped—needed—Loki to force him past his comfort zone, to introduce him to this world he already knew so well. As long as it felt good, Tony was okay with it.

Loki rose over him and kissed him in a way he hadn't before. He made a noise and felt his cheeks heat up because it wasn't even remotely sexy. Then Loki was moving away, his mouth was all over his skin, his hand working him until he was painfully hard again. He was drowning, soaring, floating, rising and Loki was the one carrying him. He hissed in pleasure when Loki's tongue slid over his nipple, and he needed to touch, too, so he slid his fingers through that thick head of soft, jet black hair, curling his fingers as he made those noises he usually got Loki to make. Loki was on the move again; torso, belly, bellybutton—he unintentionally laughed at the tickle—then all of a sudden something slick was gripping him. And he realized what Loki had set out to do.

"Shit." He lifted his head and looked down, locking eyes with Loki. The only movement was the rise and fall of his own chest, which started to rise and fall faster as his heart started to race, and Loki's hand, stroking him up and down in a twisting motion. Then he smiled. And Tony felt his tongue on his balls before they were in his mouth, and he threw his head back with a loud swear, his back arching, lifting off the bed.

He felt Loki's hand first on his ass then up his thigh, pressing into it, signaling to Tony that he wanted him to lift it, bend it at the knee and when he looked down again, Loki's head was buried between his legs. He cried out Loki's name when his cock was deep inside something hot and damp, and when Loki's tongue slid up the length of his hardness, he realized it was that pretty little mouth he so enjoyed kissing.

"Holy fuck…" he muttered through gritted teeth as Loki's mouth worked up and down, his tongue swirling around the head, his fingers alternately massaging his balls and stroking in time with his mouth. Tony's fists tightened at his sides, along with the rest of his muscles. His hips bucked up once and he sighed out an apology. Loki's hand slid up to cup his knee and he shifted below Tony, his mouth releasing his cock with a soft pop.

"No, don't…" Loki said, his voice muffled because he spoke into Tony's flesh. He laid his hand over Tony's clenched fist and unfurled it, laying it on his head again. "Show me, Anthony. Guide me."

Tony made a strangled noise, but both of his hands found their way to Loki's hair, gripping onto his scalp and pressed him down. Loki's arms came around each of Tony's thighs and he deep-throated him with ease, sucking in his cheeks, teeth lightly scraping. The suckling noises coming from Loki's actions, and the actions themselves, had Tony's moans and pants growing louder and Loki's name was mixed in with other short, grunted phrases, like yes, more, and there.

A rhythm quickly developed between Tony's hips and Loki's mouth, and Tony could feel himself getting closer, but he wanted Loki's mouth on his. And he demanded it. He sat up and pushed Loki's head away, cupping his hand at the back of Loki's neck to bring his mouth to his. He could taste himself on Loki's lips and tongue, even when his own tongue slid across Loki's teeth. Before he realized he had done it, Tony had unbuttoned Loki's pants and shoved them down enough to begin stroking him—the only part of Loki that was long but by no means lean. Up to this point, Tony hadn't touched Loki like this, had only massaged him through his clothes. Not for the first time, Tony wished he wasn't so hesitant with Loki, and realized that he should have done this sooner, if only because of the reaction he got.

With a nearly pained moan, Loki rose to his knees to remove his pants completely, glad at that moment that he never bothered with underwear, and not once interrupted Tony's hand's pace. He settled himself over Tony's leg, resuming his own steady stroking of Tony. Their mouths came together and pulled apart, alternately tongue-battling and moaning into each other's mouths.

Tony tried to concentrate on his hand stroking Loki's thick cock but found it difficult to focus on anything but his own building pleasure. He could feel his orgasm building and it made his toes curl, and, weakly, his forehead fell against Loki's chest. He was vaguely aware that Loki's hips were working as well, thrusting himself into Tony's hand. Then he felt Loki's cool breath at his ear.

"Come for me, Anthony," he murmured.

"Ohh…fuck, Loki…my hand…it's getting tired…but…" Tony grunted and his hand was pushed away from between Loki's legs and his arms went around the thin frame, his fingers digging into the skin of his back. "Oh god…Loki…Loki…!" With another loud cry Tony came, spilling hot, sticky wetness over Loki's hand and his bed, his hips rolling up, riding out the orgasm, his teeth fastened onto Loki's bicep. Seconds later, Loki moaned long and loud by his ear as he too found his release, spilling himself over Tony's thigh and his sheets.

Tony's arms tightened around Loki when his body began to shake as he rode out the wave of his own orgasm. His muscles too sore to hold up his sitting position and support Loki's weight, he fell back onto the bed, cradling Loki close to him. They lay together like that, legs entwined, Tony's hand resting on Loki's arm across the smaller man's chest, his head nestled in the crook of Tony's shoulder, long enough to let their hearts' racing beats slow to normal again. Tony's fingers were idly combing through Loki's hair as he listened to the soft music playing and watched the rain hitting the window. He felt Loki shiver again and then the goosebumps pop up on the skin under his fingers.

"Are you cold?" he asked quietly.

"Mm-hmm…"

Tony moved first, sitting up and reaching toward the foot of the bed to shake out the folded blanket their feet were on top of, and Loki rolled away until Tony could wrap the green, gold and black throw around them both, as they settled into the same position. After a while of this comfortable quiet, Tony glanced at the clock.

"I should go."

"Already…?"

Tony grinned when Loki's arm tightened around him. "I still have to pack. Howie will be here around seven. Well, a car will be here around seven. Howie's optional." He opened his eyes when Loki lifted his head from his chest and pouted slightly. "I thought you were the one who said we would survive."

"That doesn't mean I have to like not being able to see you. Or kiss you." He pressed a finger to Tony's bottom lip. Tony playfully nibbled on it before bringing Loki's mouth up to his. "It's going to be a long few weeks," he complained once Tony pulled away.

"At least you gave me something to look forward to coming back to." That familiar smirk curved Loki's lips and Tony kissed him again. "Tonight was the best night of my life," he said against Loki's lips.

"Mine as well." Loki pressed his lips to his again, briefly, before lightly pushing him away. "Now, go on. Leave me. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll come back to me." Tony chuckled and sat up in the bed, tossing Loki's blanket off of him. When he stood, turned to look at Loki again, he was propped up on his elbow, still slightly pouting.

"I'll always come back to you. Remember that." He pressed a hard kiss to Loki's lips, dragging himself away even as Loki tried to pull him back down, and went in search of his discarded clothes.

"Have I told you how much I enjoy watching you walk around my bedroom nude? I most especially enjoy your backside."

"Stop staring at my ass," Tony tossed over his shoulder.

"But it's so lovely."

Tony scoffed as he tugged on his boxers and jeans. "My ass is not lovely. Nice, hot, I'll even take curvy, but it is not lovely."

"It is to me." Loki sat up, dropped his feet to the floor. Tony watched him slip his long legs into his pants as he pushed his head through his long-sleeved tee. Loki stood and zipped them up, but left the top button undone and Tony could feel the stirrings of desire again. "You're staring, Anthony."

"So?"

Loki grinned and walked to him, bending to pick up his Black Sabbath 1979 tour t-shirt at his feet. Tony watched him turn it right side out and bring it to his mouth and nose, inhaling deeply. "I shall miss your scent," he said before holding it out to him. Tony debated for a moment, only a moment, before grabbing it and shoving it over Loki's head. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you my most favorite shirt in the world."

"I'm aware it's your favorite." Tony yanked it down over Loki's arms before he could remove it. "Anthony."

"Keep it warm for me." He winked as Loki put his arms through the sleeves. The shirt, a good fit on Tony's compact frame, hung loosely on Loki but the hem barely reached his jeans. Tony slid his fingers across the small gap exposing pale skin until he could frame Loki's hips. "Now you won't miss my scent."

Loki lowered his mouth again, fisting a hand in the shirt Tony still wore. "You're very sweet."

"I know." He started out the room, pressed a hand to Loki's chest when he began to follow. "Don't. I don't do goodbyes well. So just…stay here and, I don't know, count to thirty."

"Anthony…"

Tony lifted to his tiptoes and gave Loki one last, long kiss. "I'll call you," he mumbled before practically running from the room.