A/N: Thank you guys for everything! Really, we love you guys. I'm sorry for the semi-bore but we're just building up to some fun. You'll love the next few chapters. And to a friend of mine, not like you're reading this, I do not think, but this sweetened Sigyn is for you my dear sweet, Anomaly. As always, thanks goes to Shakespeare42 (I wonder if that is clickable. Hmm. Well anyways look for her, she is awesome!) for dealing with my madness. But then again, aren't we all mad?

Disclaimer: We do not own any of these characters. Though we would like to.

Allons-Y! (French for, let's go!)

Tony sighed, frustrated at himself. He sat again, ignoring the stares and murmurs. He carefully reached out a hand and laid it over Loki's, trying to coax his friend into looking at him.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you. I've never let anyone touch the reactor before." He whispered. Before he could further repair the damage his reaction might have caused, someone blocked out the light.

Both boys looked up to find Thor Borson standing between them. His expression conveyed a neutral opinion; this was a trick he had learned from Loki. "May I speak you, Anthony?" Thor asked, staring instead at his brother. Tony also looked at Loki, whose expression mirrored Thor's.

"Um, yeah, uh I guess." Tony said, trying to meet Loki's eyes. His friend had cast them down at his half-eaten sandwich. Tony swiveled in his chair, his face calm and controlled. He wasn't sure how much of his life hung in the balance. Tony had never been in a fight with him, but his reputation (both in combat and on the football field) had earned him the nickname "The Thunderer". Tony followed Thor outside the cafeteria doors.

Thor had tried to compose himself on the short walk to their table, and then outside. "I saw your kissing," He began, "and you do not have to worry, my friend. I am not against my brother's choices. If he prefers men, then so be it. But I must protect my brother from whomever he chooses to get personal with, less they harm him. But I can trust you, right?"

Tony chuckled, a tad nervous. "I'm Tony Stark, Thor! 'Course you can trust me. I ..." He couldn't say it. Couldn't quite say it. He coughed.

Thor must have taken this as a moment of awkwardness, which he also seemed to share. He smiled and clapped Tony on the back before making some random excuse and striding off in the direction of the bathrooms.

Tony watched him go. He slumped against the wall to collect his thoughts.

Loki remained at the table, ignoring the shouted insults from around the cafeteria. He hunched over his try, picking at his food. He looked up when a shadow passed by him and someone dropped into the seat next to him, a strong perfume wafting from them. Loki looked up and stifled a groan, for sitting next to him was Sigyn.

Sigyn was the head cheerleader for the varsity squad. The two had dated last year. It had caused quite the stir because he was a lowly freshman and she was a popular junior. But then, at Prom, he had been viciously humiliated when he learned it was all just one huge, horrible trick. Of course, then Thor had introduced him to Sif, which was another horror story in itself.

"What do you want, Sigyn?" He asked, trying to keep his emotions and his voice level.

"I just came to check on you." She said, putting on her most innocent of expressions.

"Please, just get the nastiness over with and leave me alone." Loki asked, looking up at her.

Tony searched the cafeteria, listening to the loud remarks that were being hurtled towards Loki. Damn, these kids were brutal. Brutal and ignorant. All Tony would need to do would be to just use a few select pieces of technology, and they would no longer even dare to think ill of Loki or himself. He had to physically shake his head to clear it of the dark thoughts. Better to shy away from being a homicidal psychopath.

He walked towards Loki purposefully, sending death glares to all who looked from Loki to him. The homicidal glare seemed to shut up most of the taunters. When he finally neared Loki, he saw Sigyn sitting next to him. Not good. He walked behind her and crossed his arms.

"Hello Sigyn." He said charmingly, a slightly menacing edge to his voice.

The girl turned around, startled. "Tony! What are you doing here?" She asked as she perched on Loki's lap, despite his attempts to ward her off.

Tony looked at her, sending the silver-haired girl a look of sheer disdain and pity. "Seriously, O Faithful One, get off of his lap before I throw you. This is low Sigyn, even for you." He waited as she scurried away, and he watched as her friends enveloped her into their little cluster as she regaled them with grand stories of sitting in Loki's lap. Ton took his seat again and put his head in his hands.

Loki smiled before returning Tony the remnants of his sandwich, suddenly aware that he had begun to eat the food after consuming his own tray. "Can we please leave early?" He asked as he placed a hand on Tony's back.

Tony considered the options. He could easily arrange something with the principal, and all the teachers would gladly give them their work. The two could easily test out of all their classes. "Sure," he said tiredly. "I'll go grab our stuff. Get ready to go." He looked over at his companion, and he could see that his friend had donned his emotional battle armor. He could hear it in his voice and his body language betrayed that he had closed himself off completely. But in his eyes, Tony could see the steadily growing crack in the façade. They really did need to get out of here. He gathered his stuff and hurried through the hallways getting the next few days work from all the teachers.

Loki didn't want a repeat of the Sigyn-incident and stood up as Tony left, settling himself over the crutches. He quickly moved through the crowded lunch room and leaned against the doors, waiting for Tony to return.

Tony came back as quickly as he could, bag overflowing with books and extra work. "Come on," He said to Loki, reassuringly. "I cleared it with the principal. I'll just need Jarvis to sign some forms, but they'll allow us to do our work at home. I texted him and he's in the parking lot now."

Loki fought a grimace as he hobbled after Tony. "I'm sorry." He whispered, aware of the stress he was causing.

Tony smiled and helped Loki to Jarvis's car. It was quite different from the extravagant cars his father had collected. Jarvis drove a very practical Highlander, although it was not the sleekest, he utilized the great storage capacity. They got in the car, and Jarvis remained relatively silent, except for asking Tony who he had killed. Tony just shook his head as they retreated home.

"Thank you for letting me stay Mr. Stark." Loki spoke up.

"You are most welcome, Loki." He replied in his crisp way. He certainly didn't mind the new guest in the house. Since Loki had arrived, Tony had been preoccupied enough that nothing had been broken. No shattered windows, no explosions, and no fires. They arrived at the Stark residence and Jarvis helped carry their bags inside.

Loki followed, still feeling horrible. He had burdened these two people with his problems. "You do know they won't forget this by tommorow." Loki said, collapsing onto the sofa a she reached their quarters.

Tony sat down heavily beside him. "I know. But what do they matter?" He said, trying partly to convince himself. Over the years, he had learned to disregard the remarks and dismiss the opinions of his peers. He was Tony Stark, genius, millionaire ... the criticism of a few uneducated high schoolers didn't really affect him anymore. Loki was a different matter entirely.

"But I don't care. It was fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat." Loki laughed. "How did your talk with Thor go?"

Tony chuckled and said, "I didn't get hit, which is a definite plus. He just asked me some odd questions and told me if I hurt you he kills me."

Loki smiled. "May I have some pepper spray or a taser perhaps for when we return? For self-defense purposes, of course."

Tony looked over at his friend and smiled a genuine smile. "No Loks, I'm not going to give you pepper spray. Definitely not a Taser. They'd have to bring a SHEILD team to get you to stop spraying everyone." He stood up and helped Loki get his leg propped on the glass table in front of the couch. Gently he removed the brace. Loki's ankle was most definitely looking better. He gingerly felt the area, just to make sure everything was healing correctly.

Loki pouted at Tony's rejection. "That isn't fair. Am I supposed to take up the fun sport of hitting them with whatever I'm currently holding?" He looked down at his ankle. "Is it nearly healed?"

"Yeah, you'll be up and running within a few days. Oh, and you can learn to hit people with your crutches. Always a valid option." Tony joked, fixing the brace and walking back around to sit next to Loki.

"I love you." Loki breathed as he reached over as Tony sat and brushed his fingers over Tony's hand.

Tony looked over, an internal battle raging. "I ... know. And you're crazy for it." He smiled slightly. Someday he would let Loki in and he would utter those three tiny words. He knew he would. He felt it, definitely, but he could not completely accept the fact that he was "in love". Because love meant trust, it meant stability, and it meant emotionally letting the other person in. "Thank you Loki." He said softly as he took Loki's hand and held it.

Loki looked into Tony's eyes and could see the love but he knew it could be a very long time before Tony returned his admiration verbally, and to this he smiled sadly. "Like I said earlier, I am sorry about everything. I can see you're tired. I ... I can go home if you want."

Tony gave Loki a stern look and turned his body towards Loki. "Don't even," He said, taking both of Loki's hands in his. "These past few days have been the happiest of my life. So stop freaking apologizing, Shakespeare. If I didn't want you here, I wouldn't have gone out to see you Saturday night. I just would have talked to you over the phone, and not hiked out into the woods."

"I am eternally grateful to you." Loki whispered, leaning forward to kiss Tony's soft lips.

Tony made a small content noise as their lips met, his hand reaching up and resting on Loki's neck. He savored the slight taste of mint that Loki had about him and he felt intoxicated by the sheer closeness. When he rested his forehead against Loki's to get a breath, he muttered "I could get used to this."

Loki drew back, his smile brightening, "I know, as could I. May I help you with your current invention or must I do my work first?"

Tony ran his thumb over Loki's pronounced cheekbones and he smiled. "You can help out. Besides, I need a test subject." He said with a small smirk.