That first weekend, they spent the entire time in Loki's bed, leaving only when it was necessary to eat or relieve themselves. Phones were ignored, food was delivered, homework was put on the backburner; it was just about the two of them—everything else could wait until Monday.

And when Monday came Tony still didn't want to leave. Loki half-heartedly forced him to, explaining that they still needed to maintain separate spaces and he was sure Thor would be worried because Tony had been gone for four whole days, with no word of where he had gone. So Tony left and returned to his own room. For most of the day.

When Loki wasn't paying attention, Tony swiped the key to his dorm, and later that night he snuck out of his own room and into Loki's. He learned that sneaking up on Loki wasn't his greatest idea when he got a sharp elbow right in the solar plexus. Luckily, Loki appreciated the gesture and felt bad enough to let him stay. And Tony still got what he wanted.

The next week they went back to being hermits, spending every free moment locked away in Loki's room, in Loki's bed. Until Thor learned how not to barge into Tony's room, he thought they should keep their sexy times in a room that had a working locking door. Then they had to take into consideration Clint and Natasha. It was only mildly embarrassing when, in the middle of one of their afternoon indulgences, Natasha had loudly knocked on Loki's door and asked them to keep it down. That night, Clint was making over exaggerated noises in his room, and when Loki popped his head in, Clint was jumping up and down on the bed, while Natasha sat at his desk watching him with a bored expression, popping grapes into her mouth.

"You can't prank a prankster, Barton," Loki had said and bid them goodnight.

A couple of weeks later, the burden of school put a slight damper on their schedule, but Tony still spent most nights at Loki's, even just to sleep. The door to Loki and Clint's room was being kept unlocked again, but now it was so Tony could shuffle over in the middle of the night—whenever he decided to call it a night—and crawl into Loki's bed.

Thor hadn't questioned him yet, but since he kept odd hours himself, often returning from Jane's or the gym at a late hour, Tony knew it was going to be sooner rather than later that he would notice Tony wasn't sleeping in his own bed very often. He needed Loki to talk to him soon, for other reasons as well.

They were lying in bed after a particularly rigorous workout. Loki's head rested on Tony's arm while Tony toyed with Loki's fingers above the head of black hair. His breath was just starting to slow down and he was thinking of the best way to bring up the subject.

"Have you talked to Thor yet?" By the way Loki's fingers stilled in his, he thought maybe that wasn't the right approach.

Loki lifted onto one elbow and glanced down at him. "Anthony, please tell me that you were not thinking of Thor while we were—"

"Ew, gross, no!" Tony smacked the back of his hand to Loki's shoulder and Loki fell back to the bed, turning on his side to face Tony. "I don't go for blondes." Loki sent him an incredulous look and Tony rolled his eyes. "I don't go for blond men. I only go for one man." He mirrored Loki's position and rolled to his side, cupping a hand to Loki's face, which was still rosy from exertion. "But I'd still go for you even if you had crazy blonde curls, like…I don't know, Gene Wilder or something." He kissed Loki's curving lips and lay on his back again.

"Then why would you bring him up right now, while we are in sated bliss?"

Tony snorted. "Sated bliss? You mean in the afterglow of orgasm?" He looked at Loki and poked his finger at his pouted lips with a giggle. "I was just wondering." He hadn't realized he was stroking his goateed chin, until Loki pointed it out.

"You only rub your chin like that when you're thinking. What are you thinking about, Anthony?"

Tony took his hand from his chin and held up two fingers. "Two things: number one, why do you only call me Tony when you're in the throes of passion?" He paused when Loki laughed and lightly blushed. "Number two, have you heard about the big St. Patrick's Day party they're having on campus a couple of Saturdays from now, on the sixteenth?"

Loki grinned. "Does it bother you that I call you Tony when I'm in 'the throes of passion'?" he asked making finger quotes with one hand.

"Nope. I love it." Tony turned his head to look at Loki. "'Cause I know when you're saying my name that way, in that moment, it's 'cause you're really fucking happy."

Loki smiled, ran a finger along Tony's bicep. "I am aware of the party. I am not aware of what it has to do with us, or Thor, for that matter?" With the heat of lovemaking gone, Loki reached down for the sheet to cover himself.

"Well…I was hoping you could talk to Thor before the party."

"Why before?"

"Because…" Tony busied himself picking at a loose thread in the sheet he had pulled up over himself as well. "Then...I could take you...and he won't have a conniption in front of the whole world."

Loki watched Tony though Tony avoided looking his way. "You want to take me to the St. Patrick's Day party?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah…"

"As your date?"

"Yeah…" He glanced Loki's way briefly. "And I know it's a big drinking day, but ever since Bucky nobody really drinks at these things anymore, so I figured if we went there, you wouldn't have to worry about me drinking too much. Because I won't be able to, like, at all." As he spoke, his eyes roamed every which way except toward Loki. Then his face was full of Loki when Loki placed his chin on Tony's chest.

Loki was grinning softly and tenderly kissed Tony's lips. "I would love to go with you, Anthony."

He grinned. "Yeah?"

Loki nodded. Then his smile faded a little. "Have you spoken to Pepper?"

Tony's face fell. "I've got plans to see her this week."

"How do you suppose she will take it?" Loki asked, lazily tracing his finger along Tony's skin.

"Well," Tony scraped his fingers through Loki's hair, "if I come back from seeing her with a black eye, you'll know. If I can walk after, of course."

Loki frowned at him. "And you would let her strike you?"

Tony lifted a brow, curled up his lip. "I kinda have to, don't I? I mean, I can't hit her back."

"You could stop her."

"Yeah, I know. But I kind of deserve whatever she does to me." He sees the line form between Loki's eyebrows and rubs his thumb against it until it disappears. "Stop it. I wasn't very nice to her, babe. Her anger is totally justified. I mean all we ever did was fuck."

Loki smirked, laughed, and sat up to return to a sitting position on his side of the bed. "I believe Clint and Natasha would argue we do nothing but the same."

"No, Loki." Loki's smirk faded at Tony's serious tone and he glanced at him. Tony pushed up on his elbow again. "That's not what we do. Don't get me wrong, we fuck; we fuck really good."

Well, Loki mentally corrected him.

"But it's not just that. There's a hell of a lot more to what we do than just sex. That's literally all Pepper and I would do. I didn't stick around and talk, like this. I didn't sleep over—at least not to sleep. Loki…" Tony took a moment to form his words, settling on his belly then finally looked into Loki's eyes. "What I'm doing with you…? It's the first time I've…I've never done this before."

Loki could see the emotion coming into Tony's eyes and slipped his fingers through his hair before pulling Tony into his arms. "I will speak to Thor before the sixteenth," he mumbled into Tony's hair. He pressed a kiss to his hair and they stayed like that until they fell asleep.

Loki didn't have Thor's number. He deleted it a long time ago and he didn't feel like asking anyone for it. So, on a night he and Tony decided to set aside to study, separately, he picked up his worn copy of Henry V and walked over to Tony's place.

To say Tony was surprised was an understatement. He was sitting on the floor at the coffee table, papers covering its surface, a pencil in his mouth, a pen above his ear, a ruler in his hand and a pair of black-rimmed glasses perched low on his nose. It was his usual "I'm busy inventing, leave me alone" look.

He had just pulled the pen from his ear, and the pencil dropped from his open mouth, when Loki waltzed in. "I thought it was study night."

"It is. I've only to read through a few acts of this." He held up the Shakespearean history play. "I assumed I could do that here. I won't be in your way."

Tony reached down to his crotch and he shifted on the floor. "Too late."

Loki chuckled, tilted his head. "Why have I never seen these?" He wagged a long, pale finger at Tony's glasses.

Looking self-conscious—rare for Tony Stark—he removed them, dropping them and all of his utensils to the table where various sketches and schematics were scattered. "I just got them. I was getting headaches in that computer class. Turns out I was straining my eyes." He made a face, curling his lip. "Do they make me look like a dork? Like a science geek?"

Loki moved to the sofa, sat and replaced the glasses onto Tony's face. He cupped the goateed chin, lifted his face up, and smiled. "No." He leaned down until his lips were hovering just above Tony's. "You look sexy." He laid his lips on Tony's for moment and planned to leave it at that.

Tony had no such plan. When Loki started to pull back, Tony's hand flew to the back of his head to keep him right where he was and he deepened the kiss. Holding him there, and never lifting his lips, Tony got to his knees and pushed Loki back onto the sofa, following and crawling over him. Loki's laugh rumbled under him.

"You are supposed to be working."

"I am." Tony moved his mouth down to Loki's neck, inhaled that forest scent deeply. "I'm working you. Besides," he moaned when Loki opened his legs so Tony could press his hard-on against Loki, "you don't seem to be fighting me."

Loki's hands slid down to Tony's ass and pushed down as he lifted up. "I don't know how to fight you, Anthony."

"Ah…fuck!" Tony's cry was muffled in Loki's hair, his hips grinding into the ones beneath him.

Then the door opened and everything went quiet.

Tony looked at Thor with wide, frightened eyes and pushed himself off of Loki. Thor's blue eyes, wide and unblinking, moved back and forth between them, much like Clint's had. Loki swiped a hand over his mouth and turned his head, smiling wide.

"Hi, Thor!"

Both Thor's and Tony's eyes dashed to Loki, confusion and shock both apparent on their faces. Loki sat up, discreetly used his book to cover the bulge in his pants, and moved to Tony.

"Well. I suppose we will have to cut this short. But you may join me later tonight if you like." Before Tony could respond or react, Loki bent down and placed a long, slow intimate kiss on his lips. And completely ignored Tony's over-wide eyes and stiff posture. "Until then." He caressed Tony's face, headed for the door, and when he passed by Thor, he stopped and placed a hand on the taller man's shoulder. "Tell Odin I said hello when you call him."

With a smug smile on his face, Loki strolled out.

Oh, god. I'm dead.

Tony wanted to turn and jump out the window. Not only did Thor catch him with his brother, he caught him making out and practically humping his brother on their sofa. And he totally forgot about the No Sex in the Communal Area rule. And now Loki's kissing him again. SO DEAD. And he's walking out like he didn't just stick his tongue down Tony's throat in front of his very large brother.

Once Loki was gone, it was silent again. Dead silent. Tony was expecting Thor to clomp over and bop him on the head or something. But he looked so confused. And sad. Whatever Loki had said as he walked out—Tony hadn't heard because he was too busy thinking about how he was about to die—left Thor looking like his dog just died.

"Uh, Thor…?" Thor's eyes rose to him and immediately his face changed. Shit. Should've stayed quiet, Tony. "I can explain."

Thor dropped his gym bag where he stood and kicked the door closed with his foot. "I would have words with you, Tony Stark."

And now he was clomping toward Tony. FUCK, FUCK, FUCK. "Thor! I can explain, really." Tony moved behind the coffee table then jumped up on the sofa when Thor reached for him. "Thor! Wait!"

"Stark!"

Tony scrambled around the room toward his bedroom, slid inside and slammed the door shut. He used his back and all the strength he could muster to keep Thor from pushing his way in. Thor pounded on it with two very heavy fists.

"Stark! Åpnedøren nå!"

Tony jerked in surprise. "What?"

Thor grunted, like he was angry with himself for slipping into Norwegian. "Open this door now!"

"No way! So you can turn me into a bloody, albeit extremely handsome, pulp? I don't think so, Point Break!" Tony's eyes went wide when the pressure he was fighting against and the pounding of fists ceased.

"Tony Stark." Thor's voice had softened and seemed far away. "I do not wish to harm you."

Cautiously, Tony cracked open the door and peeked through. He spotted Thor standing a few feet away, breathing heavily. "You mean it?"

"Yes," he said with a nod. He held out his thick, muscled arm, shiny with sweat from the workout he had just come home from, and from chasing Tony. "Come out. I must speak with you. Please," he added when Tony didn't move.

Taking a deep breath, and saying a prayer to a god he didn't really believe in, Tony opened the door and stepped out.

"LOKI!"

Loki lifted his eyes from the American Lit paper he had just started to outline about John Steinbeck, and smirked softly. He didn't respond; he just waited patiently for Tony to come bursting into his room. He wasn't disappointed.

"Are you fucking nuts?" Tony bellowed once he pushed open the door. He stood in the center of the room, looking down at Loki, hands on his hips.

"Why, darling, whatever do you mean?" He set aside the notebook, swung his legs off the bed and got to his feet.

"Don't even, Loki. Was that your idea of a joke? You knew Thor was on his way home, didn't you?"

Loki shrugged, shook his head. "I had no idea."

Tony smiled sardonically. "You lie so well sometimes, babe. Tell me."

Loki cocked a brow, but grinned. "I assumed he would be home eventually. However," he raised one long pale finger, effectively silencing Tony's rant, "it was not part of my plan to have him catch us very nearly in the act on the sofa. That…" he stepped forward, cupped Tony's cheek, "was all you, sweetheart."

Tony's brows came together and, weakly, he brushed Loki's hand away. "That wasn't funny, Loki. I thought he was gonna kill me. I thought all that would be left of me was a boneless really good-looking sack of skin!" He got to do his rant, arm-waving and stomping around the room and all.

"Did he harm you?" Loki asked calmly, practically rolling his eyes. Just like Tony didn't give in to his snark and little white lies, Loki didn't give in to his tantrums and fits.

"No," he snapped petulantly over his shoulder. "But he could've if he wanted to."

"He wouldn't have," Loki said simply.

Tony scoffed, spared him an irritated glance. "How do you know?"

"Because he would have had to answer to me." Loki nodded arrogantly when Tony looked at him. "We both know he avoids that as much as I do." Tony's silence told Loki he knew Loki was right. But the angry pout was still on his face. Loki moved to him, pressed his lips to his. "I am sorry, darling. Had I known you would be this upset, I would have thought of some other way to get to Thor."

Tony still frowned. "I thought you were gonna talk to him in person or at least call him on the phone. You know, like, 'Hey, Thor, I'm kinda sorta dating your roommate.' Not 'Excuse me while I let your roommate fuck my brains out in front of you.' I still have to live with him, you know?"

Loki's lips curved. "Stay with me, if he is that upset."

Tony's eyes slid away and he crossed his arms, turning slightly away from Loki. "What if I don't want to? I'm still mad at you."

Loki breathed out a quiet laugh, slipped his arms around Tony's middle, and moved behind him, dropping his chin to Tony's shoulder. "Is there something I can do to make it up to you?"

Tony let Loki pull him close but still kept his arms crossed. "I dunno…"

"Oh, come, Anthony. I am not fond of when you are upset with me." He nuzzled Tony's neck with his nose, pressed a light kiss to the skin behind his ear.

"Maybe you should've thought of that while you were planning your little game of mischief, huh?"

Loki smiled and slid his hands under Tony's shirt. He could feel Tony softening under him. "Anthony…I am very sorry that I have upset you. You tell me what I can do to make up for my 'game of mischief' and I will do it."

Tony's arms unfolded, his hands covering Loki's, and moved one of them down to the pronounced bulge in his pants. Loki took his cue and began to massage it. Tony's head fell back to Loki's shoulder with a soft sigh. "Anything?"

"Anything," Loki whispered against his ear before taking the lobe between his teeth.

"Promise?"

"I swear it."

"Good." Tony spun away from Loki with a shit-eating grin spread across his lips. "Then you're meeting Thor tomorrow morning at nine am at the campus restaurant." He took one step forward, planted a smacking kiss on Loki's mouth, and walked out the door.

It took Loki a moment to comprehend what just happened. "Anthony!" He followed, stopping in his doorway just as Tony stepped into the hallway. "I am not having breakfast with Thor."

Tony swirled around, shrugged. "You don't have to eat. Just talk to him. Besides, you promised."

Loki's eyes flared. "You tricked me, you vain—"

"Ooh, careful." Tony shook a finger at Loki, joined him in the doorway, their bodies just inches apart. "Don't call me something you'll regret later. And welcome to my world, trickster." He grinned again. "I learned from the best, didn't I?" His eyebrows bobbed up and down.

Loki's curled lips straightened. And then his face contorted into a sad frown. "Anthony. Please don't make me do this," he said softly.

"You brought it on yourself, babe." Because others had come into the hallway, Tony put some distance between them, but playfully chucked Loki's chin. "This is long overdue. And think how happy your mom will be!"

Loki pressed a hand to his face, pushed it through his hair.

"I would kiss you goodnight, but…" Loki looked up at him. "People. Just think. Once all the people we need to tell know, we can do whatever we want, whenever we want. 'Night, babe." He winked and slipped inside his dorm.

Loki stood at his door for another moment, staring at Tony's, wishing he would come back out and say he was just kidding. That he wasn't going to force Loki to do something he didn't really want to do, no matter that he promised Frigga he would.

"You two lovebirds have a fight?"

Loki stepped back at the sound of Clint's voice, closed the door and glanced at him. He was leaning in the doorway of his room, munching on some cereal. Loki sighed and gestured helplessly with his hands. "In a manner of speaking."

"Need to talk?"

Loki lifted his eyebrows. "What?"

Clint swallowed, shrugged. "That's what roommates do, Loke. They listen to each other bitch about their girlfr—um, significant others."

Loki chuckled. "I've had girlfriends, you know."

Clint blinked. "Really?" Loki shrugged one shoulder. "See, this is why we should talk more. Who knows what you could teach me? Since, clearly, you have a lot more experience than I thought."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "Clint, are you having a problem with Natasha?"

Clint spooned some more Lucky Charms into his mouth and laughed. "You see right through my bullshit, don't you?" he asked as he chewed.

"What happened?"

Clint carried his bowl to the sink, rinsed it out, and faced Loki again. "I told her I loved her."

Loki's eyes grew wide. He wasn't expecting that to come out of Clint's mouth. And if he wasn't expecting it, he could only imagine what Natasha felt. "You said…did you mean it?"

Clint nodded once. "Well, yeah. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't. Sucks too, cause that's the first time I've ever told a girl I loved her."

Loki felt a pang of sympathy. He wanted to say it himself, and it, too, would be the first time he would have said it to anyone. "Did she not take it well?"

"I told her three days ago. I haven't heard from her since."

"Oh, Clint…" Loki pressed a hand to his heart. That was exactly the reason he had kept his mouth shut.

Clint nodded in agreement. His face didn't reveal much, but Loki could see the hurt in his eyes that he tried very hard to hide. He sighed again. Guess he wasn't going to be getting very far on the paper tonight.

"Sit down, my friend. I shall make some coffee for you and brew some tea for me and we will have a nice long chat."