Sorry it's been so long everyone, I've been obsessively writing in my book, which is good. Yayy for me. I've been working on my crowning achievement for 12 years, 'bout time I got somewhere with it. I have not abandoned this story, I promise!

There's a wee bit o' citrus ahead ;)

Eighth Installment: Quiet Moments

It felt good to have a plan.

"Admit it," Stark said, lying on his side on their bed propped up on one elbow, gazing down at Loki. "You're glad I'm here because without me, things wouldn't be moving forward."

Loki captured the callused hand tracing idle patterns over his chest and raised it to his lips. "Yes," he said simply, because there wasn't a whole lot of point in denying it any longer.

And because his mood was exceedingly mellow. Not only had their first jaunt to the city (locals called it Vign, which Loki loosely translated as blue) been a good one, but Stark was as brilliant an engineer as Loki hoped. After two days during which he procured some raw materials to build an energy conductor like the Arc reactor, Stark already had a working prototype. But even better, Loki had procured some of that blue crystal and managed to successfully channel some of the gold energy from himself.

Not in any meaningful amount, to be sure. That didn't matter. It signified what Loki had fervently hoped since hearing about the blue orbs. The energy of Yggdrasil could be channeled out of him, given a big enough vessel. That gave him hope. He knew this part of the universe, so far from the Nine Realms, was teeming with magical energies. He could sense them. With a ship, he could leave this small world and go find them.

If he found them, there was bound to be a place somewhere with the things he needed to finally purge this poison from his veins. And then one day, perhaps, he could go home.

He realized Stark was giving him a strange look. "Wow, I can't believe you agreed with me."

"I'm not unreasonable," Loki said with a small smile. "I told you to be useful, and you have been."

Stark snorted and leaned down, brushing his lips down the bridge of Loki's nose, over his eyelids, and across his cheeks. "Mind if I ask you something?" the man asked.

"Mm," Loki acquiesced, not opening his eyes.

"Are you worried that if you try to go home, Thanos will sense the gateways opening and try to come back through?"

Blinking open his eyes, Loki looked up at Stark in mild surprise. He'd not even considered that. "No, but it's something to keep in mind," he mused.

Stark raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you are considering going home some day."

"Perhaps," Loki said, feeling a minor flare of irritation, "I'm considering sending you home."

Stark just grinned. "You ain't gonna do that."

No, Loki thought with a faint sigh. He really wasn't. "I suppose not," he agreed. "Too much effort." He shook Stark's hand off and flung an arm over his eyes.

A warm hand fell on his chest, palm down. Not stroking, just sitting there. It was an intimate, grounding touch. "Jesus," the man muttered.

In spite of himself, Loki's lips twitched in a small grin. "What is it now?"

That hand lightly caressed up to his throat, then down to his sternum. "You're beautiful, Loki. You aren't even doing anything and it's the most erotic thing I've ever seen."

Chuckling, mood bettering further, Loki lowered his arm to peer into dark-chocolate eyes. "You're only lying at my side and you feel heat rise in your flesh? What am I to do with you?"

Stark leaned down and gently bit Loki's lower lip. "Hey, I'm not asking for anything. I just . . . I like letting you know now and then I think you're beautiful. A man likes to compliment his lover. I'm romantic like that."

Oddly moved by the sweet words, Loki reached up and stroked long fingers across Stark's jaw and back into his hair. There was nothing he could give to the man right now, but perhaps he could satisfy at least one of his more carnal needs. "Touch yourself, Anthony." Barely a breath of a whisper. "I want to watch."

The black of Stark's pupils swallowed the brown of the iris. He looked torn between lust and shock. Loki just held his gaze, heat simmering between them. There was something intensely intimate and even vulnerable about such an action, but Loki meant what he'd said.

He really did want to watch.

Sucking in a breath that sounded altogether labored, Stark leaned down and pressed his forehead to Loki's. "I'm not sure I can keep from touching you if I do that," he rasped.

Loki snorted faintly. "You will."

"Can I kiss you while I do it?" Stark asked, already nibbling along Loki's lips.

"Only a little," Loki replied, tipping his chin back to break the contact. "This is more for you, Stark. Watch me watch you come undone."

And there went Stark's hesitance and self-control. Loki almost laughed at how easy it was.

"Fuck, you make me crazy," Stark panted, already fumbling to undo his pants.

Loki looked down and almost laughed when the man pushed the material down his thighs. "Already half aroused? I didn't even touch you."

"Haven't you been listening when I say you're really fucking sexy?" Stark demanded, not hesitating to curl his fingers around his sex. "You look at me and I get turned on. Hell, you breathe and I get turned on."

Once again, Loki reached up and lightly cupped the man's face. "And you're certain you want to wait around until my body is healed enough for us to be intimate?" Right now, it wasn't even possible for him to feel arousal, let alone participate in sex.

"I'll be fine," Stark said, leaned forward to nuzzle along Loki's jaw. His hand moved over his arousal with confidence. "I'm with you, it's enough."

Loki rewarded the sweet words with a kiss, then he rolled onto his side. As Stark pleasured himself, Loki more watched his face than the ministrations of his hand. The sensations played over his attractive face in waves, and every time their eyes met it felt like electricity tingled down Loki's spine. He found himself wishing he could get aroused.

Instead, he gave the man the only thing he could. The heat of his eyes communicated without words how much he appreciated the sight. Anthony Stark truly was one of the most attractive humans he'd ever seen. Stark's eyes stayed locked with his, and the arousal in them heightened more and impossibly more until he abruptly curled forward and buried his face in Loki's neck.

"Fuck, Loki," he gasped. "Touch me. Please."

With a soft chuckle, Loki obliged. The man's heavy arousal felt incredibly warm against his cool hands, making Stark hiss. He tangled his fingers with Loki's and moved them both, and in moments precum had made them both a sticky, slippery mess. Loki had only to tilt his head a little to nibble Stark's ear.

"I'm glad you're here," he breathed.

Stark bit his neck so hard Loki grunted, and his orgasm overtook him in a liquid wave. Aftershocks of pleasure shuddered through him for several long moments, and Loki patiently waited until the man recovered enough to unfasten his teeth from the god's pale flesh. Dark eyes gone hazy from bliss met emerald green, and Stark gave him a sweet and goofy grin.

"Thanks for that, babe," he purred, giving Loki a sloppy kiss.

Loki disentangled his hand and raised it, eyebrow arching. "This is why I said I wanted to watch." His voice lacked any rebuke.

"Too messy for ya?" Stark teased, grabbing his wrist and promptly licking each finger clean.

Torn between surprise and mild disgust, Loki just watched with a small smile. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Immensely," Stark confirmed, and when he was done he dropped Loki's hand. Then he leaned forward and sealed their mouths together before Loki could pull out of reach.

For several moments, Loki was so startled he simply allowed the kiss. The taste was new, different, and not as repulsive as he might have thought. He finally tilted his chin back, causing Stark's lips to drag down his jaw. "I will throw you out if you keep taking advantage of my good mood," he warned.

Apparently assured his position here was permanent, Stark only snorted and made his way down Loki's throat. He nipped at the pulse point before straightening and peering down into Loki's eyes. "What are you hoping to find when we go exploring?"

Loki watched him climb off the bed to tidy himself back up. "I know what I need to do to heal myself, there's just nothing here to help me do that."

Stark nodded and flopped back down, pulling Loki tightly to his side. Offering not even token protest, Loki laid his head on the man's shoulder and closed his eyes. A warm hand tangled in the ebony strands of his hair, caressing and tugging very gently.

"Feel like telling me why you don't want to go home?"

The tone was idle curiosity, and Loki sighed and finally yielded. "I cannot."

A slight pause. "As in, physically unable?"

"More or less," Loki confirmed. "The second I reenter the Nine, Yggdrasil will seek its own. The connection between it and me will be reestablished."

Stark's arms abruptly tightened around him, and the man laughed. "That's great news!"

Loki wriggled a little, trying to look at him. "Have you taken leave of your senses?"

"Not at all," the man said, still chuckling. "That means we can go back home. Once you get that damn poison out of you, we can go home. All I wanted to know was that the possibility existed somewhere."

"I suppose it does," Loki said with a sigh. "Now would you go to sleep? We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

With a last kiss to Loki's forehead, Stark settled into the bed. Presently, his breathing evened out into the rhythm of sleep. Loki stayed awake a while longer.

I will eventually purge this energy from my body. When I do, do I even want to return to the place I once called home? He found himself trying to imagine what it would be like. Would he still be a criminal in the Allfather's eyes? Or would his actions have granted him a pardon? Would Thor still treat him like a younger brother? Would he build a new relationship with the woman who had raised him and whom he still considered mother?

And what would happen between him and Stark? Would the man want to return to Midgard and continue his business, or would that seem too boring? For that matter, Loki thought with a rueful smile, what will I want?

His troubled thoughts chased him to sleep.