WARNING: some language/ violence.

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 9

(In sickness and in health)

There's something about a shared fear that draws people together. Tony had collapsed into a small coma for a few days before waking up starving and irritated. Afterwards, he and Loki grew closer than ever. Well, after the god changed his hair color back to normal.

Tony outright refused to talk about what it was he saw or heard when he was dying. Thor begged Tony to tell him even the smallest of things about it. Seeing how hard it was to scare his brother, Thor was very concerned. Loki didn't seem to bother asking the mortal more about it, as though he already knew enough. On occasion, Tony seemed he might tell something to Thor before Loki swooped down and said something to him via mind link, promptly shutting him up. Thor noticed that the two of them hardly spoke out loud anymore. It irritated him to the point where he made it mandatory for them to speak when they were around him. At least at dinner.

"I'm not trying to break up our dinner party, but I have a press conference in ten minutes. No time to chat!" Tony said, already half-dressed in an alarmingly pink dress shirt and gray trousers. He shoved a roll into his mouth and wandered off to find the rest of his outfit. Loki looked after him longingly before he noticed Thor watching him.

He glared at his brother and snapped, "What is it?"

Thor chuckled and smiled warmly at his younger brother. He felt jealous, at first, of the mind link that Stark and Loki shared. It was much stronger than the one he had with Loki when they were children. He made that discovery when Stark had gone to a meeting in New York to confirm that he wasn't dead. Two hours after Tony caught his plane, Thor found Loki sitting on the couch chuckling to himself. Thor had tilted his head with confusion as Loki ignored him, his face showing an array of expressions. He realized his brother was speaking to Tony, even though the man was half way across the country already.

Thor now picked at his dinner, feeling a mix of emotions. "Although I am glad you and Tony have become close again, I am still unhappy about the circumstances that caused you to become close. He should not have been pushed into such a tormented state. He truly thought you did not care for him," he said before looking his brother in the eye wearily. "You never fully explained this thing that now haunts you both. Loki, if I can help you, let me!"

Loki stared at his brother, thinking hard. He knew that Thor would be unable to help, seeing as he wasn't even currently sure how to name the threat. But he also knew that his stubborn older brother would never let it go.

He returned his focus to Thor. "I know youmean well, but it is not something you can fight. I will explain more when I know more. So, until then, be patient," said Loki, his lips holding a shadow of a smile. "As for Anthony, you know I regret being the cause of that entire situation. I do not promise anything, but I don't plan on letting things go that way again."

"Let what go what way, Lokes?"

Loki twisted around quickly, seeing Tony standing there adjusting his cuff links. He eyed the man to see how much he heard, but there was nothing in his face that gave it away. So Loki lied. "I don't plan on letting Fury do anything to me."

Tony strode forward and swatted Loki's hair, flipping it up into his face. Loki remained still, frozen in confused horror. "What... did you just do?"

Stark laughed and took out his phone to snap a picture. Loki flipped his hair back quickly and stood up, looking at the device with peeved curiosity. Tony laughed again after seeing the picture and showed him his phone.

"There," said Tony, " A new background picture. I needed something to go with my 'Loki's Ass' ring tone."

Loki growled and grabbed his phone out of his hand, squinting at the picture. He stood for a moment holding the phone to his face before sighing and handing it back. "I'm glad you find amusement from such simple things. You truly are much like my brother. I think the blond suited you."

Tony made a face at Loki and turned to Thor saying, "See how much he loves you? He wants two of you. One of you is just not enough, buddy. Time to make some copies." He gestured to Thor to get a move on.

Thor laughed and shook his head. "I'm afraid my brother is the only one of us who can make duplicates of himself. It is a part of his magic, not some godly power."

Tony raised and eyebrow and gave Loki a leering smile.

The things we could do with that...

"So," Tony said cheerfully. "let's make a soccer team and call it 'The Blue Man Group'."

Loki shook his head and looked over at his similarly confused bother. "Do you understand any of the references? I only now know what a Gonzo is. Which, by the way," he said as he turned to glare at Tony. "Is nothing remotely like me. For one thing, it's not even alive. I don't particularly find it pleasant to be compared to inanimate objects."

Tony's grin grew wide. He had waited eagerly to explain his references. "Lokes, he's a blue alien who is the last of his big nose is just a plus!" Loki snarled as Tony patted his back."If it helps, he isn't inanimate at all. He has a nice human hand shoved up his butt that—"

Loki jabbed a finger into Tony's forehead before stalking off. Tony let out a nervous laugh that sounded flat and lifeless. Thor looked at the mortal and realized Tony's hands were shaking."Tony... Tony, what is wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Stark glanced at him, and for a moment the god could read panic in his eyes.

Tony managed to respond with his usual flippant tone. "Nothing's wrong, Blondie. Since when haven't I made fun of your brother?"

Thor stood up, coming around the table to get a better look at Stark. He noticed Tony's dark shadowed eyes and the fact that his whole body was shaking with small tremors. His eyebrows creased with worry.
"Tony," Thor began. "The press conference is not what is bothering you, is it?"

Tony smiled at the god's concerned voice. It was oddly comforting to know some people could see through his façade. He looked down and adjusted his cuffs for the sixth time. "You know what's bothering me. The same thing for the past week. I just get a little twitchy leaving my house is all. "

Thor slapped Tony's back with his usual rough manner. "Tony, my brother should come with you then! His magic can protect you, should you need it."

Stark laughed a real laugh this time and raised an eyebrow. "How well do you think that would go over? 'Hello everyone, I'm back, oh yes look! The very same Loki who blew up New York. Don't mind him, he's just here formoral support.'"

Thor snorted as he looked over Tony's shoulder. "You needn't worry about people recognizing him," he said, nodding his head towards the door. "It seems my brother was already planning on going anyway."

Tony spun around and stared at the figure in the doorway. A woman was leaning against the frame, smirking an oh-so-familiar smirk. His eyes moved down the shorter body and noted that it was clothed in Loki's shirt and leather pants. The clothes suddenly rippled, changing into a smart gray suit jacket and skirt. As always, there was a hint of green peeking out in the form of a lacy shirt. After the change in outfit, she came forward and stood in front of Tony. Her height was nearly the same as his.

"Wait, what did you do with your height?" Tony burst out loudly. "Where does the mass go?" He waved a hand over her head to illustrate the lack of Loki length.

The woman—Loki—laughed in a higher pitch than Tony had expected. "If you must know, Anthony, the mass is displaced by magic. I carry it with me just as I carried the casket."

As amused as Loki felt from watching Stark's face move through awe and confusion, he was finding himself slightly uncomfortable. Usually towering over the man, Loki was unaccustomed to being on the same level as Stark. He was unsure if he liked it or not. The man dominated the room by his presence alone. Being at eye level let Loki see how the mortal held himself with a powerful grace that reflected in every movement.

Except when he's drunk, thought Loki.

Tony looked taller, stronger, and his eyes held more confidence than he normally showed around the god. Tony was standing over him without actually being a inch taller than Loki's female form. Loki did not like to be dominated, ever.

Well, maybe just this once.

At this level he could also see the tremors that shook through the mortal's hands. He had noticed Stark would stay awake at night down in his workshop. He hadn't slept more than a few hours here or there ever since he awoke from the coma. Loki knew what Tony was afraid of, just as he knew no one but himself could help him with it.

The god sighed in his feminine voice. "Anthony," he began before Tony shivered. Loki took note of it and tucked it away in the back of his mind. "If you are done ogling my body in the name of science, we are going to be late."

Just as they were leaving, Dr. Banner arrived waving some papers at Stark. Tony tried to cling to Bruce, claiming science was more important than press, but the woman-Loki dragged him away.

Whining, Tony yelled back at his friend, "Bruce! I shall return to thee asap!"

The press conference was its usual boring self. The few exceptions were when a few fan girls screamed about how happy they were that he wasn't dead. He performed his usual wink and smile but felt more hollow than he used to. He thought to himself,

This used to make me feel great, what the fuck is missing now?

The second interesting thing was when Nick Fury showed up at the end and hauled Tony's ass to an 'Avengers Meeting'. He had tried to include his lovely lady friend but the director just glared. Apparently this was a capital 'M' meeting, no outsiders allowed.

"Leave your date at home, Stark." Fury said. "Unless you're afraid Loki will steal her away?" He eyed the shorter woman with distaste. Or perhaps he was just looking at her, as it was hard to tell when his expression only had one setting. Tony let out a snort of laughter and looked over at the woman.

He smiled knowingly and thought to Loki,
" Don't go stealing my date, Lokes. I'll be back soon."

The woman rolled her eyes and waited until the director's car was out of sight before disappearing. Loki reappeared in the living room of the California penthouse in his normal form, once more in his favorite green tunic. He enjoyed a few seconds of normality before he heard a strangled squeak from behind him and turned around to investigate.

Oh... the scientist was still here.

He smiled and sat down in the arm-chair furthest away from the beast. "Hello again, Dr. Banner. Why are you still here if there is an Avengers meeting? "

Bruce's forehead creased with confusion. "What Avengers meeting?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably. "Thor just said he was going to see Jane."

A small thought began to grow in the back of Loki's mind. "Director Fury just dragged Anthony away to a supposed meeting only moments ago," Loki said as he observed the doctor taking out his cell pone. Loki watched him, hiding his nervousness behind a calm but unamused expression. Before Bruce finished dialing, there was the deafening sound of the front door being blown open.

Tony propped his expensive shoes on the meeting table, much to the obvious annoyance of Fury. He lived to piss off the director.

"So, not much of an Avengers meeting when the two big guys aren't here. Did they miss the call?"

Steve's eyebrows went up as he said with a hint of surprise, "I'm surprised even you are here. I assumed you were still passed out from binge drinking."

Tony looked at Rogers with a small frown. "I will not be drinking again. You can stop worrying, mom."

Both spies and Fury joined Steve in giving Stark an incredulous look.
"You aren't ever going to drink again?" Steve said, laughing in disbelief. "What on God's green earth could make you to do that? Did pigs fly?"

Tony flashed a quick bitter smile around the room. "I died a little bit. Anyway, what's this meeting about?"

"You DIED?!" Clint shouted, jumping out of his seat. Natasha leaned forward a little and pulled the man back into his seat. She shared a similar expression of worry.

Steve was clenching the edge of the table, his inhuman strength causing small dents in the metal. "You almost died and you didn't tell anyone?! Stark, what happened?"

Tony sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I actually died. Not 'almost' died. I flat-out was gone for a few minutes there." He groaned with irritation before continuing, "Loki brought me back since I wasn't that far gone. Whatever that means."

Everyone around the table continued to stare at him in disbelief. Tony's expression became more serious. "I won't be drinking again. At all. Ever. There was something..." he tapered off, his face going pale. Tony tried to stay nonchalant about it and forced his body to stop shaking.

He said in a smaller voice, "Look, can we just get on with this meeting? "

Rogers looked as though he'd keep pressing the matter, until a smack in the chest from Clint stopped him.

Fury cleared his throat. "I wanted to talk to you guys all together, but I'm not exactly gonna leave the psychopath home alone. Thor can stay with him. And as for Doctor Banner, he should be here." He looked at his watch and then at the door, as if Bruce would magically walk in on command.

Tony raised and eyebrow and leaned further back in his chair. "Brucey," he said, "is at my penthouse right now waiting for me to get back."

Fury tensed, shouting, "Why the fuck is he there?! I called him in!"

Tony couldn't suppress a sneer. "Don't get your panties in a knot. He had some things to show me. Give him another call... or, hang on, " he paused as the director's voice filled the room repeating "Loki's Ass", "...someone's calling me."

Fury's eyes narrowed as Tony snapped open his phone to answer cheerfully. "Hello you Mean Green Smashing Machine, why aren't you at our super secret Girl Scout meeting?"

There was a pause before Loki's voice purred through the phone. "I'm afraid your scientist friend is trying not to turn into the green smashing machine at the moment."

Tony frowned and sat up, taking his feet off the table. His sudden change in posture and expression caught everyone's attention. "Whhhhyyyy is Bruce like that, Lokes? Did you pull some shit on him?"

There was a bitter laugh from the other end of the call before the god responded.
"You think I want to deal with the green beast again?"

Tony could hear a very stressed out voice nearby say, "Shut up Loki, calling him a beast is not exactly helping right now!"

Tony snickered and leaned back in his chair again. "So what's eating Gilbert Grape then? Why did you call me and not..." He trailed off and glanced at the others, thinking,

Use the Mind Link.

"...Uh, call your brother or something," he amended lamely.

"Your friend here was already calling you when about thirty SHIELD soldiers burst in and surrounded us," Loki said, his voice sounding irate. "He handed me this device in a panic and is currently sitting down doing something that looks like breathing exercises."

Tony glanced at his phone before putting it back to his ear and saying, "Hold on, let me ask Daddy why he has you grounded. Call you back?"

Loki muttered something along the lines of, "Do what you want," and hung up clumsily.

Stark looked at his phone for a long moment before looking at director Fury.
"So, Captain Hook, mind telling me why my house is full of SHIELD agents right now? I'm warning you now, you're paying for any damages. Oh, and for anything the Hulk breaks when he freaks out."

All their eyes were on Fury. Steve looked worried while the other two looked strangely angry. The director cast his glare at all of them before turning around to speak to the window behind him. "I wanted to test something with Loki and yourself. You two have acted a little weird since you came back. Banner was not supposed to be involved."

Tony gritted his teeth and glanced back at his phone before thinking to Loki,
"Hey Lokes. I think Mr. Fury here has noticed our little private conversations. This whole thing stinks like a lab test. What do you want to do? I personally don't want to be stuck in a cell with SHIELD assholes poking and prodding me."

He felt the humor in Loki's voice as it filled his mind,
"I do not find that prospect any more appealing than you do, Anthony. Proceed as you see fit and I will follow your lead... unless one of these mortals decides to start something."

Tony chuckled quietly before he realized that he was doing it out loud. Fury whipped around quickly and stared at him.

Tony flashed another grin and wriggled his eyebrows at the others before flipping open his phone again. "Hi Honey," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "So apparently this is a little test by our very own director here. The California Raisin seems to think there's something funky going on between us and felt that the best way to handle it was to break into my home and attack you. You know, instead of asking me what was going on."

Everyone around the table heard the burst of laughter from the other end of the line. Tony stood up, ignoring an unsatisfied grunt from Fury, and nodded to the two spies. He paused long enough to wink at Steve before starting to walk out.

"Should we kill one of them?" Tony said, as loud as possible. "I mean they are trespassing. You don't think it's a good idea? I think it's a great idea. We can hang one upside down and cut him... No no. In the bathroom. Tile is SO much easier to clean... " He continued on until he was out of earshot.

The Captain watched him leave with a look of sheer horror. He cleared his throat and turned to the director. "Uh, director Fury, I don't know what you were trying to do there, but I think you proved that Tony can murder someone and hide the body without us ever knowing."

Clint let out a short laugh and said, "That, or he will put someone's head in our bed."

Fury ignored both of them, looking down at his communicator to push a button. Steve glanced nervously at the other two, asking with his eyes what to do. Natasha flicked her eyes to the door and Clint did a shooing action under the table. Rogers stood up awkwardly and ran out after Tony.

Once out of ear shot, Tony hung up the phone and continued on through the mind link.

"I'm coming back now, Lokes. Has he called them off yet?"

Loki's voice sounded faintly amused.

"They just spoke to someone and seem to be leaving now. Your friend also calmed down considerably once I explained the reasoning for this. He seems to have thought they were here for him."

Tony sensed a hint of sympathy in the god's voice and smiled. He was about to respond when the Captain's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Stark, wait up a moment," Steve said as he ran to catch up, then paused a moment to take a breath. "I don't know what actually is going on between Loki and you..."

Tony opened his mouth to say something but stopped as Steve put a hand up.
"I don't really care right now," he said. "You two aren't actually hurting anyone. I just want to warn you, Director Fury is up to something else. Be careful on your way out, alright?"

Tony smirked and saluted him sarcastically. "Will do. Thanks for the warning, Captain!"

Steve gave him a look of disappointment before turning back to the meeting room. As he turned the corner, a few agents rushed passed him, heading in Stark's direction. Steve felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He felt something bad was going to happen.

While he rushed back towards Tony and the agents he could hear the snarky sound of Tony's voice. He turned the corner just in time to see one of the agents taser Stark in the back of his neck. The two agents caught Tony as he fell and started to haul his body towards Steve. Ducking into a door on his right, Steve closed it gently and remained silent as they passed. After a few moments he took out his phone and looked at it.

He still hadn't gotten the hang of the device yet and he wasn't yet sure if he even wanted to get in the middle of this. He stared at the phone a moment longer before flipping it open and finding his contacts list.

Loki was stretched out across the arm chair with his legs dangling over the side. He had sat like this since the agents burst into the room, and had stayed there long after they left. Loki was still looking at Bruce's phone when it rang yet again. He glanced over at the scientist who shrugged and gestured for him to answer it. Loki looked back at the phone and answered,
"Yes?"

He was expecting Stark's voice, but was surprised to hear that it was the Captain calling.
"Loki? Why are you still answering Banner's phone? Is he alright?"

Loki felt a sneer settle into place automatically. "He's fine," he drawled. "What do you want, Captain?"

There was a long pause before Steve spoke again, his voice filled with concern.
"I don't know what's going on, and I want to stay out of it as much as possible. But Fury has crossed a line and attacked our own. That makes it my business. "

Loki's heartbeat quickened at his words. "What in Óðins heiti is going on?"

Steve let out a breath, saying quickly, "Two agents just knocked Stark out and carried him off. I don't know what's going on yet, but I'm gonna' find out. I don't want you to make any moves on this yet. It's obviously some sort of trap or test for you. You do anything, it's playing right into Fury's hands."

There was a long silence before Loki spoke again. Steve could almost feel the chill crawl through the phone.

"My thanks for your...concern, but I always do what I want. Fury has something that is mine, I will be taking it back now."

"The casket?! No! You can't take that back now. He will just see it as an attack!"

There was a chuckle from Loki.
"I didn't mean the casket."

The call ended suddenly, leaving Rogers looking confused.

No, not sleep.
I've avoided you for so long, where did you come from, you bastard?

Tony felt restrained in the darkness, and his pulse quickened with the usual fear. For the past week, as soon as he closed his eyes at night, the darkness crawled close with a rustle. This time he couldn't escape, and his body refused to wake up.

I'm trapped.
I'm trapped with the thing.

He clawed his way through the dark, whimpering. He needed something, someone, anyone to save him.

I've got to try harder to wake up.

He forced his eyes to open with every ounce of strength left in his body.
The room was dim and he could just make out a form of someone in white standing over him. The figure leaned closer and said, "You're not supposed to be awake yet."

Tony tried to speak, to beg the man not to let him sleep. He whimpered as the darkness washed over him again.

Directory Fury was actually feeling a little bad. He watched the other room on the monitor as Stark forced himself awake, only to be put to sleep again by the doctor. Fury had no fight with Stark. As much of an annoying asshole as he was, the guy had been through hell and back, and still ended up doing the right thing. Mostly.

Fury kept watching the screen thoughtfully even as the room started to grow colder. His forehead furrowed and he glanced at the agent next to him, noticing that the man had frozen solid, as if time had stopped. Taking only a second to register this, Fury spun around, his gun ready and aimed at Loki's face.
The calm mask that had graced the god's face during their last meeting was gone. There was nothing but pure hatred radiating from every part of the god's body. The room grew even colder as Loki stepped forward, Fury watching him carefully with his one eye, waiting for him to make the first move.

"What are you doing in here Loki? This isn't a good way to make us trust you," he said quietly.

Loki smiled slowly, like a cat. "As you have already proved to be untrustworthy, I feel that my actions are fair. Now tell me what you want before the next minute is up, or your agent," he said, gesturing towards the frozen man," will run out of air."

Loki had never felt so angry. The only thing that ever came close was his uncontrollable madness when he was lost under Thanos. This time he felt a rage that belonged only to him. He was more aware and in control this time.

This made him a hundred times more dangerous.

He watched Fury's face run through tactics, thinking behind his small gun. His body never trembled or showed any sign of fear, but Loki could smell it.

"I want to try our machine on you. It would only be temporary, but I want to remove your magic." Fury spoke calmly, as though to keep Loki from getting angrier. "We tried it a few months back on Thor's hammer, and it worked for a day or so. The power eventually sucked itself right back out of the machine and into the hammer again. I'm assuming it will do the same for you. We just need to know that it works, for the future."

Loki scoffed and stepped closer, flicking a wrist at the agent next to the computer. The young man gasped for air and looked around, confused. There was a puff of smoke around him in the moment before he disappeared. Fury grunted in anger and stepped closer with his gun.

"What did you do to him?" he demanded, as Loki leaned closer to the monitors. Loki found Stark's screen and watched him with a small frown on his face.

"You made him sleep..."

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Him?" Fury growled.

Loki shrugged and faced the director. "I made him leave to another room. There was no reason to keep him here."

"Don't you need some sort of collateral?"

"This entire complex is my collateral, Mr. Fury. Now tell me again, why was it necessary to kidnap and hurt one of your own precious Avengers?" Loki's voice dropped into a hiss as he stepped even closer, the gun inches away from his face.

Fury frowned and dropped his gun before he spoke. "You two have some sort of a connection. It's like you're talking in your damn minds or something. I wanted to test it out or at least catch you two while you did it."
He sighed at looked at the screens again. "There are things we need to keep secret here. I need to know if you have the ability to snoop around in our heads."

Loki was silent for a moment before muttering something. A moment later Fury felt a pressure in his head as Loki's voice spoke inside of it.

" I can do many things with mortal minds. I do not 'snoop', seeing as humans tend to leave more open and obvious trails of information. I already knew of your 'secret' plans without ever touching your brain."

Fury's eye narrowed, trying to force him out of his head with sheer stubborn will.

Loki chuckled and spoke out loud. "I do not enjoy the experience, for it is a painful one to enter someone's mind against their will. With Anthony, it's a different story. " He turned to look at the monitor again.

He muttered softly, more to himself than to Fury. "It will hurt. Removing my magic..."

The director glanced over at him and smiled. "Honestly? A lot of people here need to see that. There's gonna' be a crowd after what you did to agent Coulson."

Loki visibly flinched, causing Fury's trigger finger to twitch slightly. The god stared at the screens, lost in thought.

"I understand your conditions," Loki said quietly. "May I go pick up what is mine now?"

Fury's eyebrow went up again at the wording. "Sure, go take the playboy home. Be back here tomorrow with everyone. I want all of the Avengers present for this."

Loki nodded and looked into the director's one good eye before disappearing. The temperature rose immediately after his departure. Fury quickly looked at the screen with Stark and turned up the volume.

Loki appeared in the room and sat carefully on the edge of the cot. Gently placing a hand on Stark's chest, he reached out into the mortal's mind to search for any sign of his presence.

"Anthony, can you hear me? I'm going to try to wake you now..."

He heard a faint whimper echo from somewhere deep in Tony's mind. Loki sent a small burst of magic into Stark's body to wake him up. The mortal's eyes snapped open and widened as he stared at the white ceiling above him. Sitting up quickly, Tony looked around the room in a panic before his eyes focused on the god next to him.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Stark exclaimed, leaning forward and resting his forehead on Loki's shoulder. "Oh fuck, thank god... literally."

Loki chuckled and wrapped his arms around Tony to comfort him as best as he could. He knew there was no comfort strong enough to dispel the filthy feeling one got after dealing with that thing. The man was trembling again, his hands clutching at the god's clothes.

"It's alright now, Anthony," Loki said before lowering his voice. "But we shouldn't speak out loud about it."

He leaned back and smiled at him reassuringly before flicking his eyes toward the corner of the room. Tony frowned and glanced up to see a small camera. He spared a moment to flip the bird to whoever was watching before looking back at Loki.

"I can't sleep anymore, Lokes. It's always there. Whether it's a memory or not, it makes it impossible to sleep," Tony thought, his voice softening near the end. "I don't know how you do it."

Loki forced a weak smile, his fingers running gentle circles on Tony's back.

"It took a long while for me to sleep again after I left the void. Why do you think Thanos was able to get inside my mind so easily? I had no peace while I was adrift."

Tony looked more afraid at hearing that. Loki touched his arm and smiled with more meaning.
"I will help you sleep, Anthony. For now, let us go home."

Tony felt his face go red as the god called his penthouse 'home'. He grinned nervously and pushed back from Loki to swing his feet over the edge of the bed. Tony stopped himself and glanced at the camera.

"Wait, are we sneaking out of here?" he asked, looking at the door with curiosity. "I was kind of expecting a bunch of angry guys to come busting in any moment now."

"I spoke to Fury," Loki said in a flat, emotionless voice. "I will return here tomorrow as a part of a bargain."

Tony stiffened as he whipped his head around to look at Loki. His eyes sparkled with anger. "I don'tthink so," was all he said before he stood up.

Loki stood and touched the mortal's arm again gently. "Anthony," he said. "I will explain it all when we return home. Come closer so we may go." Loki's voice was soft, nearly pleading. Tony started to worry more at the tone of Loki's voice. His stomach full of dread, he turned his body into the god's, and wrapped his arms around him tightly.

Fury is watching this, that little creep.

He decided to give Fury one last bit of showmanship and glanced up at the camera. Keeping his eyes fixed on that corner, Tony ran his tongue along Loki's neck before biting it gently. The next second they were gone.

Back in the monitor room Fury leant back in his chair, one eyebrow arched.

"Jesus Christ, Stark."

Tony hit the floor rather hard when they arrived in his living room. With a groan, he and sat up and said, "Déjà vu. I think we've done this before, Lokes."

Laughing, he ran his hands over his face. When Loki said nothing, Tony looked over at where the god was sitting. Loki was frozen, staring at Tony with a blank look and pink tinted cheeks. Tony blinked at him in silence before it dawned on him that Fury wasn't the only one affected by his little act.

Oh Christ. Oh shit.
I can't believe I just DID that!

He blushed and then panicked, and then blushed some more. Tony decided to risk death and crawled over to the god.

"Oh man, Lokes, I'm sorry," he said, looking into the god's eyes with worry. "I shouldn't have done that. At least, I should have asked first. I won't do it... "

A voice spoke up from behind him, causing both of Tony and the god to jump.

"What did you do this time, Tony?"
There was a collective laugh from several people when Tony turned around. Spread out across Tony's expensive furniture was the entire Avengers team.

Well great, everyone is here to watch my precious moment with Loki.

"He did nothing wrong," Loki said suddenly, interrupting everyone's laughter. There were a few raised eyebrows and a snort of disbelief from Clint. "He simply angered Director Fury once more before we left."

Tony turned to direct a silent question at Loki. The god smiled slowly and winked in response.

"What the fuck?!" Tony thought "Did you just—?!"

"Nothing wrong?" Clint asked. "Then why is he apologizing to you like he cheated on you or something?" Natasha smacked him on the back of the head to shut him up.

Steve glanced at the archer before turning back to the two still sitting on the floor. "We've got more important things going on than this. Stark, are you alright? They zapped you pretty good back there." Rogers leaned forward on the couch to get a better look at him. Tony blinked a few times before he caught up with what was going on.

He reached and touched the back of his neck, flinching as his fingers touched the burn. "Those fuckers, I should have got their names."

Loki tsked and gently placed a cool finger on the back of Stark's neck. Little sparks of green snapped and glittered before sinking into the burnt skin. Tony felt his cheeks blush against his will as everyone one in the room watched. Natasha gave him a knowing look that sent him scooting to get away from the god. He stood up, ignoring the fact that he swayed as he moved, and hobbled over to the left over armchair before throwing himself into it.

Tony's exhausted face changed suddenly, his features hardening. Tony turned to Loki and said in a cold, angry voice, "You have some explaining to do, Loki. What did you give Fury to get me out ?"

"I'm sorry Stark," Steve interrupted. "But could we start with what Director Fury was talking about at the meeting? What was he 'testing' between you two?"

Loki stood and dusted himself off with careful, precise movements. He looked around the room before a small smile settled on his face.

"Anthony and I speak through our minds," he said, ignoring Stark's surprised grunt. "It is something that we discovered on the planet we were stranded on before returning here." Loki's smile wavered slightly. "It is more complicated than that, but I'm afraid that is all I am willing to say on the matter."

Bruce raised his hand a little before asking, "Is this just something between you two, or can you talk to everyone using your mind?" He paused, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Actually, the more important question is: does this mean you can read our minds?"

Loki chuckled, causing Bruce to smile sheepishly. "Yes and no. It is easiest to speak with Anthony in comparison to others due to... certain aspects. I do not wish to ever 'read your minds'. It can be a painful experience for me to attempt to enter another's mind when one is unwelcome there. I have no wish to see your thoughts," Loki said. His eyes flicked to Stark before continuing, "I would however, like to offer you the ability to speak to me this way."

Everyone shifted in their seats, looking uneasy. Loki ignored their discomfort and continued on, "If there were ever a situation where communication was unavailable, I offer you this opportunity. We would have to make a connection now to establish a link. It would be a weak connection, and would take a lot more effort to connect than with Stark, but I feel that in an emergency it could be quite useful."

The group glanced at each other thoughtfully. Oddly enough, Clint was the first one to speak. "I'll do it. Let's make a connection."

Steve asked in surprise, "You, of all people? You either are all guts, or no brains." He chuckled at the face Clint made in response. Clint turned to Loki again, his expression expectant. The god mumbled something softly before pushing a thought into the agent's mind.

"Respond to me carefully."

Clint's expression went serious as he seemed to be trying hard to think back. Tony let out a laugh, covering his mouth when Natasha glared at him. He then secretly took out his phone and snapped a picture of Clint's constipated look. The archer continued to look strained until Loki suddenly laughed. Opening his eyes, Clint gave Steve a smug look and a thumbs up to the rest of the group before leaning back to relax.

Natasha sighed and readied herself, sitting up straight and looking directly into the god's eyes. Loki began gently, but eventually had to force his way into the red-head's mind. She gave a lot more resistance than Clint, causing him to grumble audibly. However, it wasn't long before she also smiled with success and leaned over to whisper into Barton's ear, causing the man to blush a little. Loki paused at Steve, as though unsure whether to proceed.

Rogers returned his look, then sighed in a resigned manner. "I don't really want you in my head, but I don't want to be the odd one out if something does happen and we can't communicate. Let's get this over and done with," he said before leaning his elbows on his knees and looking down. Loki smirked and pushed a little harder than necessary to the soldier. The Captain startled and looked up at Loki with a bemused expression.

"You can... do that?" he asked out loud. Loki shook a finger at him, and then pointed to his own forehead. Steve concentrated for a long while before Loki gave the nod of approval.

Turning to Bruce at last, Loki smiled. "Dr. Banner, might I suggest you move away from everyone else?" he asked. "Just as precaution, in case my meddling causes the more angry part of you to react."

Bruce smiled sadly and removed himself from the couch to stand away from everyone. The god's face was gentle as he probed the man's mind as carefully as he could. As soon as he breached the barrier he was met with chaos. Loki's eyes grew wide as his mind was twisted around inside the crashing waves of Bruce's thoughts. Loki felt for the eye of the storm and, entering it, found the human form of Bruce sitting there alone. He spoke to him quietly and left his mind as fast as possible. Bruce sent a careful thought back that seemed to take a long while to reach Loki. The god stepped back and away from the man, his face paler than before.

"Góður Gods ofan okkur öll..." he said, his eyebrows drawing together in concern. "Is that what your mind is like all of the time?"

Bruce let out an exhausted laugh as he sat back down on the couch. "Yep. Every minute of everyday. Frightening isn't it?"

Loki smiled weakly and nodded, glancing back at Tony who was eyeing Bruce with a worried look. Stark turned his attention back to Loki and narrowed his eyes before saying quietly, "Now that the party tricks are done, can we move on to the part where you go into SHIELD tomorrow to become Fury's bitch or something?"

Loki stood tall in front of the mortal and refused to look away from Stark as he began to speak. "I went there to speak about the mind link and to inquire as to why he was attacking you, Anthony," he said. "He made a deal with me that requires I return tomorrow with all of you."

Thor, from his usual spot by the door, asked, "What is it they wish you to do, brother?"

Refusing to look away from Tony's eyes, Loki responded, "They are going to take away my magic."

I'm sorry! So much Tony torture ;_;

Now it's Loki torture.

I'm horrible.

REVIEW! Yell at me! Correct my mistakes!

See you next chapter!