Chapter 14.

A/N No excuses, really, being sick and all should only give me more time to work on this, but yeah. To make it up, as soon as I post this one, I'm already typing next chapter, I will update it this weekend for sure.

Oh Anon reviewer, you are SO right and I'm SO ashamed I mixed that up, and I have no idea why either, I KNOW that stuff, but… somehow Seth budded his way in there. It's fixed, and I wanted to thank you! *hands you cookies*

ooOOoo

Stieth was pacing in his house when Bukhee came downstairs.

"Father? What is wrong?" he asked, curious what could have his father so worked up about.

"It's Loki. He didn't return last night and a man from the group he was with told me he hasn't returned to them either. He was afraid the Pharaoh may have demanded his presence in the palace, and… I fear for him."

Bukhee took that bit of information just the way Stieth expect him to. Bad.

"But… maybe… maybe he was just drunk and didn't find his way back here, and… no that would not be like Loki. Maybe someone knocked him out on his way here, and he's somewhere out there on the road. We have to look for him!" Bukhee was halfway out of the house when he bumped into Peghee.

"Bukhee… as it pains me to say it, I think he's still in the palace. It's not uncommon for something like that to happen. Especially to someone with such… rare looks like Loki." Peghee tried to explain.

"But… they have no right, they can't hold him against his will!" Bukhee all but yelled, tears forming in his eyes. He was quite fond of the tall pale man who had been nothing but good to his family, who he considered an uncle of some sorts. He was family, and now his family was in danger. He threw himself against Peghee, trying to hide the tears from her. But she knows, she always does. She wraps her arms around him.

"They don't, Bukhee, so I'm sure the gods will have a way to make things right for him, for us, again!" She said. And she was so sure of that. She believed it with all her heart. She knew Stieth had gone out of the door, on his way to the palace to find information. It was best if she stayed here, with Bukhee, keeping an eye on him so he wouldn't do anything stupid.

ooOOoo

Thor had been pacing as well, back in his room. He wasn't sure what he was going to have to do, but if no one was going to help him, he had to do this himself. Finally he had an idea and he saw the man he needed just walking past his room.

Walking was an exaggeration though. Rhodey was never one to hold his liquor well. He could handle a beer or two… but not ten, or was it eleven? He forgot. His eyes were puffy and every bit of sunlight that would make it to them hurt as if Apep himself had spit in them. He wasn't ready to go back to duty, but he wasn't going to stay in bed either, even if most of the other people seemed to.

He was quite startled when a heavy hand rested on his shoulder.

When he turned around, facing Thor, he groaned. "Just because you're wide awake, my friend, doesn't mean I am. Be happy you missed the party, the only good part was the entertainment group, the dance was quite spectacular."

"I don't care much for last night… Have you got any news about my brother, Loki!?" Thor asked him.

Rhodey knew this was coming, had been waiting for Thor to bring it up. "I'm sorry, Thor, but I really don't think he's still alive. A man with such prominent features would stick out like a sore thumb, and no one has seen someone like that!"

"But have you looked for him? Have you asked around?" Thor asked.

"Well, I have duties, and some of them asked me to be far away from here, so I haven't had the chance, but I will do so before I have to leave again!" Rhodey was actually kind of sorry for Thor, but right now Thor was speaking so loudly… or it was his headache… but it was hurting so much.

"Would you ask Tony if I would be allowed to look for him myself, I promise you I will return!" Thor all but puppy-eyed the man.

"Alright, I will ask, but I'm pretty sure the answer will be no." Rhodey said, walking away from Thor, rubbing his head. He heard Thor return to his chambers, waiting for Tony to wake up, no doubt. Not that it would be soon, he was probably still tired from certain activities with a certain pale, raven haired, green eyed boy from last nig… hang on… green eyed… pale? Rhodey all but threw his head against the wall, only missed because he was so dizzy from his hangover, before he ran his way to Tony's quarters.

ooOOoo

Thor decided instead of going back to his rooms he was going to see if he could help Pepper, and eventually after getting lost several times, he found her standing in the hall the feast was last night.

"Oh Thor, great, would you mind helping getting this cleaned up, nobody's up yet, besides us girls, and I have no clue where to start." Thor nodded.

"What would you have me do?" he asked.

"Let's start with the plates, don't we? Then we can go…" But Thor wasn't listening anymore, his mind was with Loki. He was so sure he was still alive. He couldn't be the last of their family. Simply couldn't. Loki was the smart one, Loki was the one who could read, surely he was meant to outlive Thor and be someone important someday. He went through the tasks Pepper gave him until it was almost time for dinner. He chuckled as he heard Pepper sigh and complain how surely Tony was going to get up expecting dinner not even knowing how hard they had worked to clean the place up. Knowing him, she said, he'd make a mess not caring how much trouble that was for her.

ooOOoo

Tony was stroking his fingers through the long raven hair of Loki as he was still asleep. He must have been so tired to not wake up from this. Tony was simply admiring his beauty, the rarity of someone so pale under this scorching sun. He was like ivory, pressed against his tanned skin. He let his fingers travel over the pale chest as it raised and fell with every breath Loki took. How could the gods be so cruel to make someone so vulnerable and poor with such beauty. He had looked like a caged beast when Tony had approached him last night. He understood why, Loki must be used to being approached by men with lust in their eyes. What had he said? 'you won't have me because I may be ridden with diseases?' something like that? Does that mean he was? He sort of looked insulted by the notion, so maybe he wasn't but how did you know you weren't if you weren't a vir… oh… oh my. Tony licked his lips and looked again at how pretty his new addition to his palace was. He leaned his head forward to place a soft small kiss on Loki's lips as Rhodey stormed into his chambers, effectively waking up Loki who, wide eyed stared into Tony's pouted lips, about to kiss him. In his panic he pushed Tony off him, who landed, quite roughly on his butt on the floor.

Rhodey's first instinct was to poke a swords at Loki for that, but the longer he thought about it the more he thought Tony deserved it.

"You knew!" Rhodey roared at Tony, who was now looking at him with confusion and irritation on his face.

"I know quite a lot, but what are you accusing me off now?" Tony said. "And your timing is way off, you partypooper!" He glared at Rhodey, that would teach him.

"My timing is perfect, my timing stopped you from kissing Loki, Thor's brother, you know the one person he has been asking for the whole time he has been here, the one person he really cares about, besides the rotten person that is you, Tony. You knew" he hissed now "it was him, last night, didn't you?" Rhodey was pointing at Loki now.

Before Tony could answer though, a small voice from the person he was pointing at interrupted. "He has been asking for me? He did not forget me?" Loki timidly asked.

"Yes, he wouldn't shut up about you. Loki this, Loki that, man…" Tony raised one hand to his head. "It's too early to shout so loud, Rhodey!" he whined. "Besides, no I didn't until he was here, in my bed."

"Too early? In another hour or so we'll have dinner!" Rhodey yelled. "I can't help but shout when you're being stupid. Please tell me you didn't force him to do anything? Please?"

"I didn't" Tony said and looked annoyed at Rhodey as he made a sound that said 'I don't believe it'

"I didn't, alright!? We talked a little and we made a deal." Loki sort of coughed.

"Okay so, I did wanted to do a little more than that, but I didn't and we made a deal." He looked at Rhodey. "Please tell me you're proud, mum?"

Rhodey was actually, he wasn't sure what the deal was, but the mere fact Tony didn't rip the poor lad's clothes off and had him several times and ways last night was astonishing to him.
"Alright, I am." Rhodey said. "proud that is." He then looked at Loki. "So what did he trick you into doing for him?" he asked the dancer. He sure hoped it was worth it for the guy, Tony could be very devious.

"He is to follow me everywhere I go, not leave my side, unless I ask him to, of course. In short, he can't leave the palace without me." Tony answered before Loki could.

"And you agreed to that?" Rhodey asked. Loki nodded. Who was this man who could tell the Pharaoh what to do, and what not. He was thankful for this possible ally, but he wasn't sure what to think of this. "I did, yes. For one year." He added. Tony had forgotten to mention this detail.

"Yes, for one year." Tony sighed.

"That is some devotion you and Thor have, man." Rhodey shook his head. "You have no way what you signed up for. Tony can be such a pain in the ass. But if you're going to stay here, you might as well get used to me storming into this room to drag his royal ass out to do what the people expect him to do. Rhodey's the name." And he held out a hand to Loki, who had crawled to the edge of the bed, sitting there and who took his hand hesitantly. "Loki…" he said. This was quite pointless everybody had already thrown each other's name through the room, but at least it was common courtesy to do so.

"Well, Loki, if he is being an ass, and I mean more than normal, to you, come to me, okay?" Rhodey offered.

"Hey, no fair. Is the whole world against me, or what?" Tony complained. "Damn Rhodey, I ought to throw you in jail for your insolence."

"But you won't because you'd lose one of the few friends you have." Rhodey grinned.

"I have plenty of friends!" Tony spluttered.

"I meant real ones." Rhodey said before he left the room.

Loki was still sitting on the edge of the bed, as Tony tried to glare down the point on the wall Rhodey had been standing. Truth was, he had been right. Besides Pepper and Rhodey, who did he had? He had Thor, who was forced to be there, and no matter how friendly they were to each other, the fact he was forced to be there sort of nullified it all. He sighed as he turned to Loki. Yeah, well, Loki was also only going to be there because that was the deal. What was wrong with him? He knew that being a person with power he had to be careful with whom he trusted. But he felt lonely at times. He sat himself next to Loki, who had been following his every movement with wary eyes. Great! The guy still half expected him to rape him, this wasn't going well either.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He half whispered. This got Loki's attention who's eyes went from wary to curious. "I don't want to be alone right now, I don't want to scare anyone away, I want to have real friends." He hung his head. "Would you go with me to the bathhouse? I seriously need a bath, and no offense, but so do you." He made a sniffing sound with his nose as to point out Loki smelled. No wonder after all that effort from last evening's dancing.

"It's not like I have a choice in the matter, do I?" Loki asked.

"I suppose you don't" Tony said, regretting his deal already. If anything it was only going to chase away Loki further from him. "But I still felt like asking nice." He said with a smug smile on his face as he dragged Loki to his feet to drag him out of his room.

A/N

Well then, you guys must be excited about a bathhouse scene? I know I am! Please let me know what you guys think, as always.