WARNING: Language/ Mild graphic imagery

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'.

[Note: "Loks" is being changed to "Lokes". It will be edited in previous chapters asap.]

Thank you to all betas and reviewers!

Queenie: Thank you! I hope you continue to read with us. :)

The morning light crawled across his bare back, warming the skin as it traveled across the bed. Loki rolled over with the expectation of snuggling into his lover's body, only to find nothing but cold, rumpled sheets. His eyes wrenched open to stare in sleep-logged disbelief.

Something must be wrong. There was no plausible way Anthony was physically able to drag his body from bed at this hour. Sitting up, he looked around for any clues as to where his love might be. The room was eerily sparse of any evidence that Stark had been there. This was impossible, considering that the man had completely moved into his room. Tony refused subtly, at first, to sleep in his own room. Putting it off with "Maybe tomorrow," or "I want you tonight." His refusals became more pronounced until he outright said, "No fucking way am I ever sleeping in that bed again."

Loki untangled himself from his green sheets, once more eyeing the floor for Tony's usual mess of clothes. Nothing. The room was as bare as it was before Stark began sleeping there.

Something must be horribly wrong.

A hiccup of fear threatened to erupt before Loki managed to swallow it back down. Sensible actions first; irrational fear second. Clothes eased their way onto him in the usual glitter of gold. He wore his Asgardian leathers as his confidence in behaving 'sensible' only went so far.
Loki ran through the halls, his footsteps echoing with no answer. He quickened his pace with each step, his calm demeanor slipping.

"Anthony!?"

His heart nearly stopped when he heard Tony's voice from the living room.
"I am here, Lokes."

Slowing his pace, Loki tried to keep from showing the panic that had welled up since he awoke. He stalked into the room and forced a calm, inquisitive tone. "Where have you been? I thought you were gone."

"I never go far, Lokes. You needn't worry," answered Tony from where he faced the window.

"You are up sickeningly early and that is enough to worry me. It is so unlike you, I thought I was..." Loki faltered as he watched Tony's back shudder with quiet laughter. Somehow, the mortal seemed taller, unnaturally lithe.

There was a soft snicker from the unmoving form at the winder. "I am always here, Lokes. Aren't I often in your dreams? You are so busy protecting him, you have not spared a moment to protect yourself."

Pure cardinal fear gripped Loki's heart with the realization of what was standing there.

Impossible.

It is utterly impossible for him to be in here!

Stepping back, he continue to stare at the back of the man as a wave of anger pushed the fear from his mind.
"Remove yourself from Tony, or I shall remove you from him myself."

There was another childish giggle.
"Oh, Lokes, I'm not in Tony," the figure said as he turned and green eyes met green, "I'm in you."

Pain seared across Loki's face before he screamed.

"Lokes! Lokes?! God dammit, stop it!"

Loki's eyes snapped open and tried to focus on the blurred face in front of him. Pain and fear turned once again into rage, a wild snarl escaping him as he lashed out. His fist made contact, although it was much weaker than it should have, for a god. He nearly whimpered at the weakness of his defense and rolled backwards off the bed. Toppling over immediately, Loki's legs gave out under his weight.

"Funcking hrell, Lrokiiii!" Stark grunted, clutching his bleeding nose and rolling off the other side of the bed.

Loki stared up from the floor in confusion, trying to catch bis breath. His eyes settled on a pair of red and gold boxers on the floor nearby. "Oh...this is real?"

Tony grumbled and grabbed a few tissues, stuffing them up his nose. "What gabe it away? Did you dake deh red pill from Neo?"

A faint smile formed on Loki's lips at the familiar banter as he sat up gingerly. "A small similarity. It was your red boxers. I am sure the concept is the same."

Tony snorted, accidentally sending one of the bloody tissues flying across the room.

Loki sneered in disgust at the mess. He rose, managing to stand on his shaking legs. He limped closer to investigate the damage. "Anthony, I am so, truly sorry."

Loki placed his hands on either side of Tony's head, but flinched when Stark ran a thumb gently down the side of his own cheek.

Wearily, Stark took Loki's hand in his, pulling him towards the bathroom. "Worry about yourself first, dear. You clawed your face to shreds in your sleep."

Following the mortal in silence, Loki slowly starts to register the stinging pain from his cheeks and lips. Loki reaches out for his magic to heal and finds very little available. He scowled as his memories of the previous days trickle back into his mind.

They had gone home and had time to enjoy one delicious hour to themselves before the group returned. Planning pranks for everyone, they sadly only managed to set up three in time. The couple hid in one of the spare bedrooms to watch live on-screen as Steve stepped through his bedroom door, right under a falling bucket of honey. Roaring with laughter as the captain's mild curses screamed through the audio, they almost missed Clint's mishap. Loki had gotten clever with a little mass displacement inside the archer's bedroom. Not only had he moved everything around to opposite places, there was an invisible hole in his bed.

Tony commented drily, "Such a practical use for your magic, Lokes."

"I don't hear you complaining when I duplicate myself during some of our more adventurous nights."

Loki snickered.

Blushing, Tony went back to watch eagerly as Barton stripped down to his appalling purple boxers, apparently unaware of the changes to his room. Clint muttered something sleepily before diving into the bed. They could barely hear the muffled shouts above their own laughter.
Unfortunately, Thor was not returning to the tower until he visited Jane. The trap would have to wait; hopefully the cream wouldn't sour too much.

The tricks had been, admittedly, childish things to do. But he was the trickster, after all, and it seemed to lift Tony's spirits. They stayed hidden in the room as the two angry, now wide awake men scoured the penthouse rooms for them. It was amusing up until the point where Loki suddenly became sick.

It started with an ache in the back of his neck that grew into a throbbing pain. Nausea suddenly gripped his insides as a pressure grew in his head. Grunting, he fell forward and pressed his forehead to the cool floor. He tried to speak but found his tongue a dead weight in his mouth. Unable to move, he groaned as his entire body started to stiffen.

"Fuck fuck fuck, this is the god damn poison, isn't it?!" Tony demanded as he jumped up.
"I bet you didn't check your god damn body after you healed the leg. You just ran off, even after I warned you."

Loki struggled to speak and gave up, forcing a thought through the growing pain.
"I...did...check. Nothing was there at the time..."

Tony ran both hands through his hair and closed his eyes.
"Jarvis, wake up Bruce. Let those two angry guys know what's going on, too." He sighed and squatted down next to the god, laying a hand on Loki's body gently.
"The last thing we need to deal with is sticky and pissy."

It was a long night of pins piercing his flesh, fire burning through his tense muscles, and a constant pressure in his skull. Unable to scream, he had no release for his tension. Loki had to force himself not to vomit, as it was likely that he would choke on it due to his tightly clenched jaw. At some point Dr. Banner injected him with something that finally let his rigid body relax. As soon as his jaw relaxed, Loki let out a long overdue series of screams.

Now free to speak, he began to rant, half mad with pain and beginning to hallucinate.
"I will rip his flesh from toe to ear. Bleed him until he is close to death, and start all over again. Ég ætti að hafa rifið hann í sundur!" He screamed again before falling into a fit of maniacal laughter. "Borða augun. hlæja mæður andlit hans. Hann mun dine on his own innards!"

Tony swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and looked away from Loki. "Bruce, please tell me that you got something to knock him out?"

The doctor grimaced, his face as pale as Tony's. "I'm afraid I haven't found anything strong enough yet. He's still a god who considers "mortal" vodka to be water. "

Tony nodded and tried to ignore the insane raging coming from his lover as he turned to leave the tower's medical room. A soft whimper drifted through the air, causing him to glance back at the god. He found Loki's eyes focusing on him desperately.

"D-do...not l-l-leave... me..." the god begged, trying to reach out to Tony and failing.

Forcing a smile, Tony moved over to the operating table and grasped Loki's hand firmly. Bruce quickly found a stool for him and left the room to run some tests in his own lab.

"I'm right here, Lokes," Tony whispered. "I'm not leaving you."

Loki grimaced and forced his eyes to remain open, watching Tony carefully. The god muttered under his breath at something only he could see. Tony frowned as Loki glared at the empty space next to him and started to growl curses again.
Tony squeezed the god's hand, drawing his attention back. "Hey, you should focus on me, okay?" he said, holding Loki's gaze. "I don't know what or who you think you're seeing, but they can't hurt you."

Loki managed to roll his eyes even though his body was still wracked by spasms. He let out a shuddering laugh. "Anthony, I know what I am..."

With a sudden snap, his head changed direction. A snarl emitting from his cracked lips. One trembling hand rose to wave another invisible thing away.

Tony bit his lip to keep a hopeless sob from spilling out at the sight of his boyfriend. This was the most pathetic he had ever seen the god. Unable to move his body, surrounded by insane hallucinations, and all he could manage to do is swear and a desperately wave his hand.

He tried again to gain Loki's attention. "Lokes, why don't you try to sleep? Let me in and I'll fight the bad guys, okay?"

The god's neck snapped as he wrenched it back to look at Tony. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he gargled,
"No... It's not safe... Right now."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked carefully, keeping his voice calm.

Loki gritted his teeth. "All the...traps... are open. You would not...be safe."

There was a small squeeze of his hand from the weakened god before his eyes fluttered closed. Tony continued to watch his love twitch and cry in his sleep as he bit back the screams of frustration and desperate tears that threatened to escape.

Bruce showed up a few hours later looking exhausted and a tinge green. He injected a formula into Loki's arm before muttering something about sleep and stress levels. Tony gladly let him go, patting the man on the back before sending him off to get some rest. The body on the table still twitched every so often, but whatever Bruce had drugged him with dampened the screaming and thrashing around. Standing, yet careful not to let go of Loki's hand, Tony grabbed a blanket from the shelf. He gently tucked the blanket around the god, then smiled at his action, choking on a bitter laugh.

Huh, That was strangely affectionate...for me. Loki is turning me into a big goddamned fluffy Care Bear.

Taking out his phone with his other hand, he makes a note to force Loki to watch Care Bears. A little revenge for the god's carelessness. He tried not to admit that it was just an excuse to watch the god's expressions. Loki still kept most of his emotions to himself, the usual confident expression masking his face. It was a rare pleasure to see him lose concentration and let out an honest smile, or a look of dry surprise. Tony had gotten him to cry at the movie 'Sea Biscuit' and made a special note about Loki's affection for horses.

Loki jerked again in his sleep, hissing in pain. Tony dragged himself from his thoughts and squeezed the trembling hand, trying to focus on calming thoughts to the god. He managed a smile as the god seemed to relax slowly.

Huh, so that does work.

An abrupt sharp pain in Tony's chest nearly sent him to the floor. The shock sent his heart rate skyrocketing to dangerous levels, drawing the shrapnel ever closer to puncturing the organ. He gasped for air as the pain increased. Sparks of blue light radiated from the arch reactor, spreading like veins through his arm and on into Loki's. After a final spike in energy, the light from his chest began to flicker.

Uh oh.
That's not good.

A groan from beside Tony let him know the god was awake. He felt almost relieved before his reactor gave one last feeble flicker, and died. He slid to the floor with a thud and grunted, finding it harder than usual to move. It was strange, he thought idly, usually he had enough time to at least attempt to get his back up reactor.

"Anthony..? Anthony!?" Loki's voice was raw from screaming. The god rolled from the table and landed wearily beside him. Cold hands turned him over as Loki's sickly gray face looked down in concern.

Tony shuddered as his body started to shut down. "Hi, Lokes. Nice...to...see you."

Loki's expression went from concern to panic the moment his eyes fell on Tony's chest and failed to see the usual blue glow.
Ripping open Tony's shirt, the god taps the reactor gently.
"It is...empty."
His hand sent a tingling sensation into Stark's already numbing chest. "Tony, you are quickly starting to die." Loki licked his cracked lips and looked at Tony soberly. " Tell me, what can I do?"

Tony attempted to laugh, it came out as a wheezing croak. "It's not a huge deal. Just run over to the lab next door and grab me my back up. It's..." he groaned, "Shit, it's probably someplace stupid."

Loki grimaced as he stood too quickly, trying hard to balance. "Wait for me, Tony. Do not die again."

Tony attempted to answer but found he was having trouble breathing. The god had already left anyway, leaving Tony to wonder what the hell just happened.

It's like something sucked out all the juice.
Loki just got better REALLY fast.
Oh. Not 'something', someone' sucked out the juice.

God dammit.

His vision had started to dim when he felt the dead reactor twisted out of his chest. Tony groaned as the god clumsily shoved the new one in, first turning it the wrong way, and then failing to do the final turn. Shuddering, he reached up and wrenched it in himself, giving it the usual smack to pop it into place.

He gasped and let out a weak laugh as the magnet began to work immediately. "Another day, another near death. I'm starting to think I'll be seeing your daughter before you do, Lokes."

Loki smiled weakly, his eyes devoid of humor. There was something in his look that worried Tony. He decided to pass it off as leftover hallucination angst when Loki remained quiet as they moved into the tower's common room.

Banner was up at six, rushing from his room to head to the lab to check up on Loki. He jumped when a muffled groan came from one of the common room couches.
Upon seeing the two of them stretched out on the couch, looking half dead, he sighed with relief.
"You guys look like shit. Actually, Tony, he looks better than you do right now. What happened?"

Before Tony could begin his explanation, Loki growled.
"You are not looking very well yourself, mortal."

Bruce rolled his eyes.

"I was up all night-"

Loki snapped, "Leave us be you groveling whelp. I doubt one who cannot even control his emotions enough to stay human can help a god. Why don't you find another hovel to hide in while you play doctor to the helpless. Quit your miserable farce; the helpless one is you."

Bruce looked at Tony and raised a finger before rushing out of the room, sporting a greenish hue.

"Okay. Loki, I know you're in a huff about having no magic right now, but don't take it out on the guy who was up most of the night trying to help you." Tony attempted to keep his anger in check.

"Don't you dare pretend to understand how I am feeling right now." Loki's voice was filled with ice. "You think a quick fling entitles you to assume you know my thoughts? You are a greater fool than I imagined."

Tony tried. He really did. He wanted to smile and snap back with one of his usual quips. Maybe call Loki one of his choice nick names and make some comment on his greasy hair. Well, he just couldn't.
Tony was heart-wrenchingly hurt. The god had questioned what they 'had' between them previously, even pushing him away before they really settled into something like a relationship. But to come right out and call it a 'fling' to his face, that just hurt. His face must have clearly shown his pain, because Loki's rage seem to falter with hints of doubt in his eyes.

"You know, that's a good question." Tony smiled bitterly. "But I never even considered that I would ever really know you. Would you look at that, you proved me right."

A spasm of shock flashed across the god's face before cold anger returned. "You have not even begun to delve into the recesses of my mind. I never intended to stay on this hopeless wreck of a planet forever, Stark. Just because we are soul mates, does not mean we must remain together."

Tony's expression melded into frigid contempt as he stood.
"You're right again, Laufeyson. After all, 'soul mates' doesn't mean a whole lot to an Atheist. You know, I'm a little sick of dying so often since you showed up. I think it's about time you got the fuck out of my tower and off my planet."

Loki's face paled in shock. They both froze for a moment, the god staring at him in horror at Tony. "You...You do not truly mean that."

Tony's anger easily slid away at the sadness in Loki's voice, leaving a dull ache in his heart. "No, I don't mean all of it. But if you keep stabbing me in the back with this bullshit, I will mean it."

Loki deflated, sinking down into the couch. He smiled ruefully as he watched Tony move closer. His voice nearly a whisper, Loki looked down at his hands. "I do not understand where this anger is coming from inside of me. I can't...I never intended any harm to you, Anthony. If I had known the creature had followed me, I would have never expressed any affection towards you."

Tony flung himself onto the couch and let out an explosive sigh. "Yeah? Well I sure as hell would have still shown you my affections. How well do you think you would have held out before caving?"

At this, the god jeered and leaned back into the cushions. His gaze slowly lifted from his fidgeting hands to smile weakly at Tony. "You have an awful lot of confidence that you would sway me so easily."

"For once, this isn't self confidence. I'm confident in you." Tony smiled and winked at the god.
"I knew you had a soft spot for me before we ended up in that freezing-ass cave."

"A soft spot?" Loki scoffed. "Whatever makes you say that?"

Tony smiles with pride and reaches over to play with Loki's hair. He never mentioned his theory on Loki's blue eyes. Knowing him, there would be a well reasoned response on how impossible and foolish his idea was. Absolute denial.

"Your eyes turned green when we were being all flirty and clever at each other. Before, you know, you threw me out a window." He grinned as if that explained everything. The gods eyes narrow at him before he leaned into Tony's hand. Waiting for him to respond, Tony continued to fidget with his hair.

Loki exhaled slowly, his brow furrowed,
"Is this true? What were we speaking of when it happened?"

Tony, leaning his head back on the couch, replied, "Something about you not having a throne here. Give it up, yadda yadda yadda."

There was a sharp movement from his side, causing him to glance over nervously.

Loki was sitting straight up, a look of smoldering disgust apparent on his features.
He snarled, " It would be appropriate that I would return to my pitiful self in that moment. It seems my memory of betrayal was strong enough to fight the Tesseract's power." His expression softened slightly. "I do not think it had anything to do with you, Anthony. Although..."

Tony sulked. He arched an eyebrow to feign interest but grumbled on the inside.

I knew he would shoot it down.
And here I though we had a connection before all the crazy intergalactic travel shit.

Loki continued a moment later, sounding embarrassed. "I was oddly interested in you. Even through all the persuasions of Thanos, I kept a few personal interests. One would be my fascination with you." Loki flushed slightly. "Even when I first arrived, I did the bulk of my research on Anthony Stark."

Tony grinned again, his internal funk now appeased.
"Awww! In a sort of creepy stalker way, I feel loved!" He laughed.

Loki's blush deepened as he looks down at his hands again, his fingers picking at a hem of the sleeve. Tony watched him, curious of his change in demeanor. After a moment there was a soft mumble from the god.

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't hear that." Tony smiled and leaned closer to hear.

Loki bit his lip and glared half heartedly at Tony before glancing back down. "I said...you are loved."

Loki had not expected Tony's reaction at all. At worst, he knew the mortal's ego would expand considerably wider. The least he expected would be a never ceasing torrent of mockery.

But Tony had all but exploded. His face went a dark red, jaw dropping in surprise. He stood up, paced, sat back down, fidgeted. Then the largest, most genuine smile stretched across his face. Loki looked on, bemused at the race of emotions passing through the mortal's face. It looked as though there was some excitement, but Stark seemed more nervous than the god had ever seen him.

"Oh shit, did I really just hear that? I hope I'm not hallucinating too. If I am, I want more, please. Some nudity thrown in, maybe some lasagna." His grin never faltered as he babbled at Loki. There was a question burning in Tony's eyes.

Loki was more than glad to answer it. "I said I love you, foolish brat-."

Tony lips crashed against his own at a painful velocity, his tongue forcing its way into Loki's mouth. He shuddered, pleasantly surprised, before slipping his fingers through Tony's hair and greedily sucking on the explorative tongue. The feverish kiss continued, their bodies pressing close in need of more contact. Loki groaned in appreciation as Stark bit his lower lip, pulling back slightly to look into the god's eyes. They both paused a moment, the nervousness returning to Tony's eyes. Frowning, Loki ran a reassuring thumb down his cheek.

The corners of Tony's lips quirked up as he leaned into Loki's touch.
"Well, I wanted to tell you first. In a lot less of a weird situation, mind you. Poison and death aren't as romantic as I would like." He babbled on nervously. "I guess that's just our daily business though. I doubt I could find the perfect situation to say this considering we were enemies not too long ago. I mean, the only thing that could make this more awkward is if I started talking about your liver and fava beans. I mean really, nothing ruins romance like a ca-"

Loki pinched his cheek. "Anthony, you are blithering."

Tony bit his lip and burst out, "I love you!" He blushed a furious red.

Loki chuckles, and caresses his lover's cheek. "I know."

Tony glared at him playfully. "Whatever, Han Solo."

The next day was relatively quiet. There were a few moments where Loki simply exploded for no reason, flying into a rage at some poor soul who was near. It became apparent that it was some after effect of the poison. Regardless, he wasn't making any friends.

"The mere fact that you throw a shield in battle is ridiculous. Do you not even grasp the fundamentals of battle? An Asgardian child could take you in a fight with ease!"

Steve looked desperately between the shouting Loki and Tony. Tony noticed the solder's still sticky hair and grinned, giving him a thumbs up. Steve moved slightly closer to the two of them. The raging god was slightly less threatening when sitting slumped on the couch, snuggled against Tony.

Steve frowned."Uh, Tony, why is he yelling at me as soon as I walk in the room?"

Clint came in yawning. "Oh, looks like you're alive, Trickster. Good, because I have a 'hole' lot of questions that need answering."
Both Steve and Tony made quick, furious hand gestures to stop Clint from poking the angry bear. Especially with bad puns.

"What did you say, you talentless sack of hestur skítur?" snarled Loki at his new target. Tony burst out laughing, startling everyone.

Clint stared at the two of them in confusion. "Okaaaay. What did he just call me, and what hell is going on? " His eyes drifted to Stark's ripped T-shirt. "And... why do you have a new reactor?"

Tony shrugged and grinned at the archer. "He called you a 'sack of horse shit'. I have a new reactor because he sucked all the power out of my old one to kick the poison out of his system." He stretched and yawned loudly. "As to what's going on, Loki's having a piss fest as a side affect from being poisoned. I think. That, or he's just an angry wittle Smurf."

Loki turned and glared at him, earning him a smirk from Tony. The god's expression softened before he turned his glare on the other two again.

"Since when can you understand that gibberish he speaks?" asked Clint, a bit of distaste in his voice. Tony's eyes widened slowly as the realization dawned on him that he could, indeed, understand the god's language.

"Holy shit, what?!" He grabbed Loki's head and forced him to look at him. "Say something in nonsense again!"

Loki hissed between his squished cheeks, "It is not nonsense, is it the ancient tongue of Asgard."

"I. Do. Not. Care. Say something!" Tony demanded, refusing to let go of the god's head.

Loki attempted to kill Tony with a better 'Death Glare' than Natasha.

"það er ómögulegt fyrir þig að vita þetta tungumál," he muttered.

Tony remained frozen long after the god spoke, his head tilted slightly to one side as if still listening.

A bemused smile grew. "Oooh, Lokes, I think I do understand it. I can hear it all normal in my head after you speak. It has your creamy British voice and everything. It's like you're 'Mind Link' has upgraded with translation services now." He wiggledeagerly, nearly ending up in Loki's lap. "Do it again!"

Loki continued to playfully insult his boyfriend in an ancient tongue. After a few worried glances between one another, Rogers and Barton started making suggestions for things Loki could say. The god's mood seemed to lighten towards them as they all joined in.

Thor arrived on the roof in a pleasant mood. He and Lady Jane had spent most of the night looking at the stars and talking about their childhood. Thor did most of the talking, considering his childhood was considerably longer. Stars still reflected in his eyes, he wandered down to the common room greeted by laughter.

"þú ert hrjóta er ekki sætur," Loki was saying happily.

Tony pouted. "I'm always cute, and I don't snore."
Thor stopped in the doorway, his mind catching up with what he just heard. He stepped farther into the room, his confusion growing. The group continued on, failing to notice the blond god behind them. After another exchange between his brother and Stark, he stepped up behind Steve.

"What has transpired while I was away?" he asked, looking between his friends. Steve attempted a modest cough to cover up his manly squeak of surprise. Tony's happy expression faded as a hint of fear crept into his eyes.

"Thor," drawled Loki, "you have missed many things. Perhaps you should head to your room to relax first, before we discuss them."

A grin snuck its way back onto Tony's face.
Spotting Stark's smile, Clint suddenly grabbed Thor's arm. "Don't do it! It's a trap!"

A pillow hit the archer's head with a disappointed 'awwww' from Tony and a snicker from Loki. Thor frowned as he eyed his brother, still lounging against Tony on the couch. Loki looked paler than usual, a hint of blue in the shadows of his face. Thor noticed the trickster's body twitch a few times, a sign that not all was well. His frown deepened when he realized he could not feel his brother's usual energy in the room.

"Brother..." Thor began, before his eyes returned to Stark. The mortal clearly faired worse than Loki. His usual tanned skin was a nasty yellow, purple veins running up his neck from his new reactor. Tony's red, sleep-deprived eyes were shadowed heavily and Thor could see the hint of pain in them.

"Will someone please tell me what has happened? Everyone was well when I left last night. Why does my brother and his mate look so poorly?" Stepping closer to the couch, he crossed his arms, clearly done waiting for answers. A hand briefly squeezed his shoulder as Steve and Clint left the room, leaving the explanation to the two on the couch.

Tony shouted after them, "Thanks a lot, jerks. Make the sick guys do all the talking!"
Sighing, Tony turned to Thor while tucking his feet up into the couch.
"First, I gotta' warn you, Loki's chosen side effect of being poisoned is be an angry snow man. If he starts yelling at you, ignore it. Considering that he usually yells at you, I'm pretty sure you can handle it."

Thor blanched. "P-poisoned?! Why was I not called back here?"
He waited for a response while the couple glared at each other in silence. The minutes dragged on as the two had some sort of silent exchange.

Tony exploded, "I am not! Also, you can stop swearing at me in my head with your old man Asgard language, it's all English to me."

Loki turned abruptly away from Stark, crossing his arms in frustration. " You forever ruin everything, Anthony," he hissed.

After a vague and snarky explanation of the previous night's events from Loki, Thor growled, growing more offered a less snarky, but still vague version of his own.

"The reason Tony can speak our ancient tongue is due to poison?" Thor asked, his annoyance growing. He was not prepared for this after a long, sleepless night. Stark let out a bark of laughter, covering his mouth when both gods glared at him.

Loki, turning to face his brother, said with a newly amused smile, "Tony can not speak the language, and I refuse to allow him to try again. As for the reason he can understand it, there have been some...changes since last you were here. " A hint of pink tinged both of their cheeks as they glanced at one another.

One blond eyebrow raised in question, Thor asked, "What changes?"

Tony coughed. "Our connection...deepened. Let's just leave it at that. Oh,there was some sparkly energy transference that might have had something to do with it. Loki sucked me dry."

The dark hair god choked, pulling his knees up to shield his face from his brother's eyes. A blush blossomed across Thor's face before he muttered, "I...see. I hope you both continue to heal. I shall...leave for bed now."

The couple left soon after Thor had shuffled away, heading up to Loki's room to get some much needed rest. After collapsing into bed together, neither bothering to remove their clothing, a small roar burst through the tower.
"WHAT IS THIS DISGUSTING SUBSTANCE?!"

And as exhausted as they were, they laughed for hours before they managed to fall asleep.

The face in the mirror looked as though a wild animal had played with its food. Loki grimaced down at the chunks of his own flesh being washed from beneath his nails. Stark had already cleaned the wounds, applying a stinging liquid remedy before he left the bathroom to find gauze.

The nightmare, had it been real? Did the beast manage to break his spell somehow and enter his dreams? He was unsure of anything after the previous night of hallucinations.

"Hey, don't just zone out. Come here and let me patch you up."

Tony's voice drew Loki away from his thoughts. Grunting in response, he shuffled into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. His thoughts wandered once more withTony dancing around him, sticking gauze pads across his wounded face.

Tony babbled about hallucinations, a drug trip he had once, and how they fade after time. Loki smiled faintly at his lover's attempts to fix him, body and soul. Turning to look out the magical, tinted window, he wonders if he will get through another day.

Hello again. :3 Thank you for so many wonderful reviews and comments.

I always feel inspired to start writing another chapter as soon as I finish the last..mostly thanks to you wonderful people. X3

Review! Suggest! Point out mistakes! Eat Lasagna.

Note: This will be posted up on AO3 after the first couple of chapters get re-booted. I'll let you guys know what's going on when. Feel free to check back at the earlier chapters once they are edited.

Something everyone has been looking forward to, next chapter ;)