WARNING: some language.

Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own these characters. All rights belong to Marvel etc.

NOTE: The words in Italics that are not contained in "" [and that stand alone, not in a sentence] are the characters thoughts and not intended for others to overhear. [ although it does sometimes happen.]

The words in "Italics" are a conversation intended to be heard between the 'mind link'.

[ still not beta-d]

- A quick thanks to those who are reviewing! Thank you for your support and noticing when I misspell things. [ No, seriously, thank you. I miss stuff all the time.]

Chpt 8

(When he's bad, he's very very bad)

Tony's cheek was pressed against the marble counter in the smaller kitchenette near his room. This could be listed as his permanent address, considering how much time he'd spent there lately.

Placed strategically in front of his eyes was a glass of Crown Royal whiskey. He watched as an air bubble drifted up past the ice and lingered near the surface.
It had been three weeks since the two gods and himself drank themselves stupid to celebrate not being dead. It had started out a mellow and almost sullen event, until Tony found out that it took a lot stronger drink to get the gods drunk.

"What do you mean, Midgardian WATER?!" Tony had yelled angrily.

Tony was never one to turn away from a challenge, and so over the course of a night they drank his entire collection of alcohol. The majority of the three liquor cabinets, one mini bar, and one full bar ended up in Thor. They had settled outside on one of the expansive decks, their drunken voices reaching up to the stars. At some point Thor started singing poems about his lady-love.

Thor bellowed in a sing-song voice,
"My fair Lady Jane,
You are not plain.
Your laughter bright
Your eyes alight.
And your lovely rear
I hold so dear!"

He burst into torrents of laughter, with Tony joining in and slapping his shoulder. Loki snorted with distaste as he took a sip of his drink. "Thor, I'm sure if she heard of this you would be very much alone in the world. " Loki smiled sarcastically and pressed the cold glass to his cheek. Thor pouted at his brother while Tony looked thoughtful.

Tony's face became serious. "I have a poem about love," he said.
He looked down at his drink and took a swig, finishing the glass. He stood, swaying slightly. The gods cast a concerned glance at one another. Stark looked up into the night sky and sighed softly, his hand moving over his heart.
He spoke slowly, "Your skin is as pale as the moon in winter. Your delicate fingers, strong yet feminine. " There was a pause in which the gods looked at each other again, frowning. Tony continued, "I always dream of running my manly digits through your greasy hair. Your posture is that of a woman, which you are not. "

There was another long dramatic pause until Thor grumbled in confusion, "Not?"

"Loki, let me be your Brokeback Mountain. Let us ride off into the sunset, like cowboys." Tony stood still as he finished, his hand still over his heart.

"Ow!" Tony shouted as Loki's glass bounced off his head. "Is this how you show your love for me? I recite you poetry and you abuse me."

Thor and Tony burst out laughing, each giggling to the point of tears. Loki glared at Stark, his eyes flashing dangerously before a sly smile formed.

"A man with an Iron will.
Often spouts amounts of swill.
He has no class
And shall not last.
For he has so little skill."

Loki ended with a bow. Thor fell off of his deck chair, clutching his stomach with laughter.

This went on for longer than Tony could remember. The poetry battle eventually came to a point where they needed paper to work things out, as their minds had become far too intoxicated to remember one word before the other. The next thing Stark remembered was sunlight glaring through his eyelids. Expecting a massive hangover, he lifted his head cautiously. He groaned and peeled off a piece of paper from his cheek and peered at it. It read:

To Lokers:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Put them together
And it makes you.

The lies they told you
About being a beast.
None of it was true
Believe me.

The last part was mostly scribbled out and smudged with what looked like tear stains. Tony frowned at his inelegant writing and looked around him. They were still on the deck, all three of them surrounded by crumpled papers and bottles. Tony let out an exhausted laugh, causing Loki to stir. The raven haired god turned over on his deck chair, his eyes blinking at the bright sun.
Tony smiled down at him.
"Good morning my most formidable poet," he said,his eyes falling on Loki's hair.
"In the bright sunlight
Your greasy hair is set alight.
Not unlike when you set it on fire
This time it is less dire
I love the- "

Loki leapt up and covered Tony's mouth with a hand. His eyes were narrowed in anger but his lips were tilted up at the edges.

Loki let out a breath and said wearily, "I think it is time we stop with the poetry. Your mangling of the tempo and phrasing is atrocious." He shifted closer, leaning out of his lawn chair. "Besides, Anthony,if you wanted to tell me you love me..."
Loki murmured, bringing his face inches away from Stark's. "… Actions speak louder than words."

Tony sighed at the memory, recalling the cold feeling of Loki's fingers on his lips. Things had been strangely comfortable between them over that first week. In the week after, however, everything changed.

"TONY!?"

Pepper's voice could have cracked glass. As it was, it shattered Tony's eardrums. He had been in the middle of chasing around Dum-e after the robot misunderstood an order and pulled out half the wiring from one of his suits. He froze mid-step and let his outstretched arms drop to his side. Turning around slowly, his gaze met her watery eyes. He thought,

She looks even more beautiful.
Maybe it's because I haven't seen her in a month.

Maybe it's because she's married.

He didn't have long to look at her before she threw herself into his arms. He didn't bother to hold back the happiness he felt. Hugging her tightly, Tony chuckled into her shoulder. "Hello again, Mrs. Smith."

That apparently had been the wrong thing to say. She thrust herself out of his grip and looked at him with a mix of fear and guilt in her eyes.

"Oh god. You know..." she said, panic rising in her voice. Her mouth trembled a little as she gazed at Tony.

He smiled weakly and put his arms up in mock surrender. "Hey, I understand completely," he insisted. "I had no idea I would be gone for so long. For me it was only a few days, for you it was too long."

Her eyebrows flew up. "A few days?! You were gone for over a year ,Tony! "

Tony stepped forward and placed his hands her shoulders, rubbing them in a calming manner. His eyebrows creased as the smile slipped from his lips.
"Peps, I know it was a year for you," he said, trying to keep his voice level. "Time moves differently when you space travel, apparently. I was on a planet for a few days—I come back and it's been a year. I know I can't understand completely how you feel, but I get it. I get why you're upset and I understand why you married Jonas." He paused and bumped his forehead against hers gently before continuing, "I don't know if this is what you want to hear, but I'm okay. I've been okay with it for a while. "

He heard her let out a shuddering gasp before she wrapped her arms around him again. Tony nuzzled his face into her shoulder and breathed in her familiar scent.

She's so warm and smells like apples.
Must be some sort of shampoo.
Loki's hugs are fucking freezing and He smells like...

leather...and spices...and something else.

There was a soft gasp from the doorway behind Stark. Tony let Pepper go and turned to see Loki standing there, his eyes went wide with caught a flash of confusion and pain. Without thinking, he rushed over to the god and gripped his shoulders. Tony looked into Loki's eyes and thought,

"Lokes, she just found out I was back. I wasn't trying any moves on her or any shit like that, okay?"

Loki's face changed into the usual veil of disinterest. Even through the mind link, his voice sounded impassive.

" There is no need for an explanation, Stark. What you do with her is none of my business. "

Tony frowned and squeezed the god's shoulders more urgently.

" So it's back to 'Stark' now? Look, I can't explain it but I need you to know that there's nothing between us anymore."

Pepper cleared her throat and spoke up. "Directory Fury had mentioned that Loki was here under watch of his brother, but didn't say a word about Tony," she said. "I came to see how Thor was doing and to check up on the house. I didn't expect to see Tony, much less find the house still standing."

Tony smirked at the unspoken message and thought to Loki,

"Go figure. Thor is the one destroying my house, not you."

Loki let out a huff of laughter before responding.

"I believe you have been doing some damage yourself."

The god glanced at Pepper with a bitter smile before twisting out of Tony's grip and walking out of the room. Frowning in confusion, Stark turned around to a curious Pepper. "Sorry about that, he's not bad. Well, he's not as bad. There was this whole mind control thing and all that."

Pepper tilted her head and crossed her arms with a smile. "I see. So this is why you are 'okay' with everything? Moving on a little fast aren't you, playboy?"

Tony's mouth dropped open a moment before quickly snapping it shut. He turned away and busied himself at the bar as he gathered his thoughts.
"Okay, so maybe I've thought about it a little bit. It doesn't matter though because he won't ever..." He faltered. His hands stopped moving, standing there and staring at the heard the familiar sound of her heels as she came closer and smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry," he said solemnly, "for everything."

"Everyone is alright, Tony. Things worked out on their own as usual," she said. Her hand gently patted his back. "I'm going to leave now before Loki comes back and sets me on fire for hugging you. I'll see you again with some paperwork to set you back up with the company. You're going to be really busy once everyone knows you're alive."

She hugged him tightly and headed towards the door, before looking back once more. "And Tony, I think you have a very good chance with him. From what I saw, I don't think you're the only one 'thinking' about it."

The next week was hell. Tony didn't see the god for the rest of the day after Pepper's visit. Admittedly, he hadn't looked very hard for him. They had been spending so much time together that he had become used to finding Loki suddenly right in front of him. The next morning he woke up to find his hair bright blond. He stared at it for several minutes before screaming wordlessly at the bathroom mirror.

Tony ran from his room into the hallway yelling, "LOOOOKKKIIIII!?"

Thor exploded out of the room he had claimed as his own, hammer in hand and hair a mess. They collided into each other in the hall, sending Tony flying. In the confusion, Thor failed to recognize him and raised his hammer to attack.

Tony squeaked and put his hands up in defense. "Thor! Thor, it's me goddammit! Loki changed my fucking hair!"

Thor stumbled to a stop and squinted at Tony. His eyebrows went up before the hall echoed with his loud laugh.
"Oh, Tony. You have my apologies." he said, not sounding remotely apologetic. "It does not look bad, though!"

Tony glared. "I look more like you than I would ever want to. Where is your dearest brother so that I may pull out all of his greasy hair?"

Thor pouted at the comment and shrugged. With a mutter, he turned to wander back into his room. Tony continued to glare at the god's receding back before he stomped off down the hall. Though he stopped stomping shortly after he realized he had no idea where Loki had been sleeping since they returned to earth. The room he had offered him never looked slept in. Tony frowned and decide to take a chance.

"Loki? Mind meeting me in the training room? We need to talk."

He waited for a response for a while before giving up and heading to the elevator. He found a dark training room and frowned further, disappointed at being avoided. Sitting down in the corner, he sighed.

"Stark."

Tony jumped about a foot in the air, his heart racing. Squinting his eyes, he could just make out a form in the other corner. Tony crawled closer and realized it was the god wrapped up in a blanket.

"Hey, what are you doing down here like this? Please tell me you aren't sleeping here," Tony said. His only response was a soft chuckle.

Tony remembered his hair with irritation, yet crawled closer. "Also, what the fuck!? You didn't seem that mad about Pepper, so what's with my hair?"

Tony was close enough so that the light from his reactor lit up Loki's face. His heart stopped at the sight. The god's eyes were clouded with that half-crazed loathing look, as they had back in New York.

Loki's face split into a nasty smirk. "Why, Stark," he said, his voice dripping with acid. "I believe I told you it was none of my business what you do with that female mortal. About your hair, it was a simple prank because I simply dislike you."

Tony's voice rose angrily. " Dislike me? Since when, exactly, have you disliked me this much? We were fine until yesterday, so don't tell me there's not a fucking correlation between the two."

Loki barked out a cruel laugh before jerking Tony closer by his chin. "I have always disliked you, Stark," he hissed. "I was simply treating you as respectively as possible seeing as you are my host. Since I am no longer in any immediate danger from Director Fury and his toy soldiers, I see no reason to keep up this game with you."

Tony felt some large and happy part of him shatter. He was unaware of the exact moment when he had stopped breathing while the god spoke his poison. Tony stared into the god's cruel eyes for a long while, searching for any sign that what he had said was untrue. When he found nothing, no hint of a lie, he let out a strangled sound in dismay.

Loki gazed back angrily into the mortal's eyes as the man seemed to search desperately for something. There was sudden choked sob before Tony pushed himself away. Confused, Loki looked up at Tony's anguished face looking down at him. As he watched, Tony's features morphed into an impassive mask. The only hint of his emotions lay in his sharp eyes.

Tony stood for a moment longer before he said in a quiet voice, "I understand." He walked away without another word.

Loki sat staring at the door for hours after the mortal had left. A dark, painful weight had settled into his chest and would not leave. Loki's mind was tormented by Stark's obviously pained expression before he spoke.

What do I do now?, thought Loki.

It's too late, and you know whatever friendship you had was born out of a foolish situation.Tony is home now with his woman. He has no need for your company.

Yes, but she's married. She has no need for him.

Loki stood up sharply and gritted his teeth. None of this mattered to him, it was meaningless.

Everything is meaningless.

Tony had escaped the situation the only way he knew how.
He drank and drank and drank.

He drank through Thor's worrying and pathetic attempts at patching things up between Loki and himself. He drank through a weird speech from Rogers. Steve seemed to be torn between sympathy and stern mothering. Tony even drank through Pepper's visit, although he was considerably nicer to her than the other two.

Here I am, still drinking.
Thank god they don't expect me to give any speeches yet.

He stared at the glass from his place on the counter before sitting up abruptly and throwing it across the room. Tony gave a satisfied giggle when the glass shattered dramatically all over the wall and floor.

Jarvis spoke up in a worried tone. "Sir, I've tried to warn you for some time now that your blood alcohol levels are now at the point of alcohol poisoning. Shall I call for an ambulance?"

Tony laughed and tried to stand up, his hand slipping off the counter and sending him sprawling on the floor. He continued to laugh hysterically even as Thor came rushing in to see what was wrong. When the god was unable to stop his manic laughter, he pinched Tony's nose, causing him to choke a little and gasp for air.

Tony gazed up at Thor with unfocused eyes. "I don't... I didn't mean to laugh."
His eyes started to water. "I don't even want to laugh."

Thor frowned and rested Tony against the cabinets. His eyes began to darken with anger and disappointment. "Tony, if I had known you would have become so attached to my brother, I would have stopped this," he said quietly before looking away. "No, I lie. I would not have warned you. I thought he had felt something towards you as well. You have my deepest apologies for the suffering his actions have caused, yet again. "

Tony coughed and let out a weak laugh. "Don't bother apologizing, Goldy Locks. It's my own damn fault for not understanding a damn thing about him. I'm an idddiioott... as usual. A geenaasss id..." Tony started to slur heavily as he spoke before his eyes dropped closed and his head fell on to his chest. Thor shook him gently, concerned at his sudden unconscious state.

"Thor, sir," said Jarvis. "I'm afraid Mr. Stark is suffering from alcohol poisoning. If he isn't treated soon he may die."

Thor looked around in a panic before scooping up Stark in his arms and rushing out of the small kitchen.

Running into the hall, he screamed, "BROTHER! I am need of your assistance!"

Thor hurried into the living room where he found the dark-haired god sitting on a couch with a book. Loki looked up surprised at his brother's sudden appearance before glancing at the body in his arms.

His eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "What, pray tell, is that? What is going on, Thor?"

Thor came rushing up to him, nearly shoving Tony's limp body into his face.
"Please, Loki, heal him! The voice says he is going to die! That he has been poisoned!"

Loki's lips drew together tightly before he stepped forward off the couch and placed a hand on Stark's forehead. He sent his magic throughout Tony's body, feeling the poison within that was slowly destroying his system. Loki's eyebrows came together more sharply.

"He really is dying..."

Thor's face filled with anguish as he looked down at Tony's pale visage. He said, his voice barely a whisper, "Please heal him... he has poisoned himself because of what you said to him."

Loki's eyes went wide as the hand on Tony's forehead began to tremble just a little. Swallowing his fear, Loki directed his brother to the couch. "Lay him here, then. This isn't going to be easy," he said softly.

Thor's concerns grew as he lay the mortal down on the couch. He stepped back and let Loki do his work. Loki moved in quickly, touching different points on Tony's body and muttering a spell under his breath. Each location he touched started to glow brighter as he spoke. Loki paused with his fingers over Tony's heart, sensing the ever slowing beat.
He turned to Thor and spoke again softly. "Parts of his body have already shut down. I honestly do not know if this will work completely."

Thor shook his head. "Try, it's better than letting him go."

Loki turned back to Tony's body and paused in his work, thinking,

Calm yourself before you mess up.

He breathed out a sigh of air and touched a finger over Tony's heart.
There was an electric snapping sound as the points connected in a stream of light. Stark's body suddenly convulsed as the last current of light met up with Loki's finger over his heart. Tony's eyes flew open as his body violently jerked up, knocking Loki backwards.

The room filled with Tony's scream.

Thor rushed forward at the sound, reaching out to calm Tony. The mortal flinched away with a startled squeak and scrabbled backwards away from the hands coming towards him. Tony's wide and sunken eyes looked all around the room in a panic before settling on Loki. A look of recognition flashed across his face and he jumped forward, grabbing Loki's shirt in his fists.

"Loki ah Loki..." he babbled, moving closer to Loki's face. "I saw it. I saw it. I s-saw... Loki. It's there. It..."
Loki reached up and touched Tony's face gently, his eyes filled with concern. He stroked Tony's cheek with a thumb. "Anthony, calm down now please," he said soothingly. "You're body just went through a massive shock."
Loki's mind was abruptly bombarded with Tony's panicked thoughts.

There's something there. There's something speaking and singing and it's there all the time. Loki. Loki it knows you. It's there.

Loki stared at the man as fear crept into his body. Tony's eyes continued to stare at Loki with a fear the god had never seen in the mortal before.

Tony, still inches away from the god's face, whispered,

"There's something in the darkness calling your name."

Sorry sorry sorry for almost killing Tony.

Almost. Barely. I mean, a bit.

REVIEW PLEASE!

Much love. :)