Sorry if there are any mistakes, I didn't proof read this chapter!

Chapter 31

"But what about us Loki? what about your family?"

Loki closed his eyes then reopened them, turning to look at Frigga who was staring at him with tears in her eyes.

"Mother I do not want to hurt you but I have another family now. It is smaller and very dysfunctional but it is my own and I feel a part of it. Though I love you very much that is not enough of a reason to change my mind."

His mother gasped for breath, unable to reply because of the sobs raking through here body. Odin stepped over to her and took her in his arms so that she was crying into his shoulder. He rubbed her back soothingly and muttered soft words of reassurance to her. Loki stood to the side, unsure of what to do.

He was the cause of this and he knew that. He knew this would haunt his mother forever but it was his choice, his life, and he fought hard against the guilt that was forming in the pit of his stomach. All he wanted right now was to be beside Tony. Just to know that he would be waiting for him to come back was enough. But he didn't know that. When he did finally get back to Midgard he wasn't even sure if Tony would take him back. What if he didn't? What if Loki was doomed to spend his mortal life alone, forced to watch Tony move on and find another that didn't break his heart over something so stupid?

A wave of nausea washed over the dark haired god and he stumbled to a nearby chair, suddenly unstable on his feet. Frigga glanced up at the noise and saw her son looking far paler than usual. She noticed his shaking hands and saddened eyes and realised that it wasn't the time for her tears. It would be her time to grieve when the moment would come where Loki would actually move on from this world but for now she needed to be there for him. He was giving up a lot for a very small chance. He was giving up everything for one person.

"Loki," She whispered, kneeling in front of him.

He raised his head and met her gaze. "What if he doesn't forgive me? What if I am to live out my days alone?"

The way he spoke was so slow and cautious, almost as though he was scared of voicing his concerns. As though putting them into words would seal his fate and that they would definitely come to pass.

"What if he finally realises that I am not worthy of his love? What if he realises what a fool he has been to ever love me?"

"Stop this now," Frigga scolded, but it was not said harshly. She continued to speak with her soft yet commanding voice. "You deserve love, never even think that you don't. Never doubt this man's love for you either. It is clear to me that he adores you and I am sure that he will take you back in a heartbeat. If, however, he does not then you must learn to live with that. It will be tough but you are strong and I am sure you will be fine."

Loki wanted to thank her but he couldn't bring himself to speak. Instead he gave her a small smile and got back to his feet, relieved that his legs supported his weight. He turned to Odin who was standing a few steps behind Frigga.

"Will it take long? Removing my immortality?"

"It will take some time, yes but not too long. You will be back on Midgard soon. We must separate your immortality from your magic which can be very uncomfortable but after that the process is quite smooth."

"Good," Loki whispered, subconsciously counting every second that he was away from Tony. When he next spoke his voice was back to its normal strength. "Shall we get started?"

Odin nodded and lead the way out of the room, Frigga trailing behind. She stopped in the doorway and slumped against the frame, tears welling in her eyes once more. A hand wrapped around her own ad she looked up to meet sparkling green eyes.

"Come on mother, everything will be okay," Loki smiled.

She smiled back and followed Odin down the corridor outside, holding tightly to Loki's hand.

Pepper tapped her foot impatiently and bit her lip. It was not a habit she liked to indulge in but she always seemed to do it whenever she was particularly stressed. At this moment, she was very stressed. Loki had promised that he would be back soon and yet it had been two days. In those two days Tony had gotten worse and it hadn't been a gradual process either.

When she had arrived back in Malibu Tony had been awake and at his most sober for the whole period of time. This also meant he was in control so when he started throwing all the bottles lying around him so they shattered across the floor, Pepper knew that Loki needed to get back quickly. Tony shouted abuse at her and Rhodey before he settled back with more alcohol until he was again passed out on the sofa.

While he was unconscious, the two tidied the living room, sweeping up the broken glass and removing the unbroken ones so that when he awoke again there wouldn't be any immediate danger. Still, they had no idea what to do. It seemed that drunk Tony was a better Tony than sober Tony at the moment. At least when he was totally out of it he wasn't able to remember why he was drunk in the first place.

"How's he doing?"

Pepper jumped, her heart thumping heavily in her chest. She turned round and looked at Rhodey who was standing behind her.

"He's just the same as before. He's still sleeping at the moment."

"What are we gunna do about him?"

"We don't have to do anything except make sure that he's still alive and relatively unharmed by the time Loki gets back."

"And when will that be?" Rhodey asked impatiently.

Pepper shrugged. "Soon."

Rhodey sighed and walked over to Tony, sitting on the sofa opposite the one he was sleeping on.

Pepper left, planning on getting some rest, knowing that Rhodey would look after Tony, when she heard a loud rush of air and a bright flash of light from outside. Picking up speed, she ran to the front door and opened it gingerly, peering outside. He eyes fell on Loki standing in the middle of the driveway and looking extremely drained.

She hurried over to him and he just stared down at her, looking like he was about to topple over.

"He's inside, but he's...err...he's sleeping," Pepper said, answering Loki's unsaid question.

Giving a brief nod as a reply, Loki brushed passed her and walked into the house. As he stepped over the threshold he hesitated. He wasn't sure what to expect when he went in there but he knew this would be the deciding conversation of his now shorter life. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly through his mouth and walked into the house.

He headed straight for the living room and found Tony asleep on the sofa and another man sitting opposite him. The man was dark skinned and, as he entered, sent Loki a calculating look. It wasn't full of hate, it was more curious but there was an underlying bitterness to it.

"You must be Loki. I recognise you from TV," he said, standing up. "I'm James Rhodes, Tony's friend."

"We've met I believe, you were just unaware it was me at the time. You saw Tony and I eating at a restaurant but I was in the form of a woman."

"That was you. God well I suppose it all makes sense now." There was a pause. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to talk to Tony." Loki glanced down at his sleeping form. "I just have to wake him first."

"Right okay. Actually not okay I need to talk to you first."

Rhodey gave him a pointed look then marched into the kitchen, hoping that Loki would follow him. He did. As soon as they were out of earshot of the kitchen, Rhodey rounded on Loki with an angry yet determined expression on his face.

"Listen to me, I don't really know you but from what you did to New York I don't like you. However Tony does, hell he fucking loves you and has been a mess since you broke up with him. When you go in there and you beg for him to take you back and he does because he is a good person, you better be bloody grateful and keep in mind that if you hurt him like that again I will find you and you will regret ever coming to this planet in the first place. Hopefully Tony will have half a brain and not take you back but I don't have much hope for that considering he's never been this crazy about someone before and I don't think he wants to throw it away yet." Rhodey paused for breath and sent Loki another death stare. "Do you understand?"

"Yes Mr Rhodes, I understand perfectly and if Tony takes me back I have no intention of breaking his heart again. I was a fool to let him go in the first place," Loki said softly.

Rhodey nodded firmly then gave a small smile. "Just go put a smile back on his face please, I hate seeing him like this."

"I will try."

With that Loki left the kitchen where Rhodey remained. He wanted to be close enough in case things got bad but not in the same room because this was between them and it was up to them to sort it out. Though he didn't like Loki, he trusted him to a degree and after what Pepper had told him of their relationship and of his attitudes towards humans since he attempted world domination, he didn't seem too bad. Well looks could be deceiving. This wasn't his business no matter how much he wanted it to be. This was Tony's private life and he hadn't been invited to get involved so he wasn't going to interfere.

Approaching the arm of the sofa, Loki bent down in front of Tony so they were face to face. He shuffled back slightly before he roused the man, knowing full well that it wouldn't be wise to be too close.

"Anthony," Loki said softly. When he didn't respond, he said it louder, pushing on his arm lightly. Still nothing. "Anthony, please wake up."

Tony's eyelids fluttered then he opened his eyes, but they were no wider than small slits. It was clear he was still mostly unconscious.

"Oh fuck..." Tony mumbled. "I thought we had a deal."

"What? Anthony, wake up."

"I'm trying, it's not working. Shit, we had a deal. The drink was supposed to stop this crap." Tony's eyes started to water and his voice started to rise in pitch, becoming more hysterical.

"Anthony?" Loki tried but was cut off by Tony.

"No shut the hell up. You ended it and now all I want to do is sleep in piece and drink till I can't remember. Is that too much to ask? Leave me alone."

Loki sat stunned for a moment. Would Tony really say this? Would he lie there and tell Loki to leave? No, Loki didn't believe that he would. Though he might not want to forgive him, Tony still would want to hear him out. The drink and sleep was talking now. The genius didn't know what he was saying. He was still in a world of his own invention. Or perhaps he didn't believe what he was seeing. Maybe he thought that this was his minds creation and Loki wasn't really there.

He tried again to reason with Tony, to wake him from his current state but it was to no avail. Tony was determined to not see the truth that Loki was actually in front of him. Sighing in annoyance, Loki got back up and strode back into the kitchen. A stunned expression crossed Rhodey's face as Loki entered and Pepper sent him a questioning look. Apparently she had joined him just after Loki had left.

He went over to the sink and opened up the cupboards surrounding it until he came across one filled with glasses and mugs. Snatching a particularly large glass off the self, he promptly shut the door and filled it to the brim with water. A few drops splashed over the top as he walked back into the living room, his pace slower to keep his hand steady.

When he reached Tony, he looked down at him. He was fast asleep once again. Loki let out a huff of breath knowing he would be made to regret this later but for now he did not care, he needed Tony to wake up so they could have a serious conversation.

In his head he counted down from three, once he reached zero he tipped the glass on its side and poured its entire contents over Tony's head. The genius spluttered and gasped, jerking forward and springing to his feet, raising his arms in an attempt of defence against his unknown attacker. He used his sleeves to mop at his face, drying up the worst and rubbing his eyes so that he was actually able to see. When his dark brown eyes fixed on Loki his movements faltered. He didn't say a word, just stared at the god in front of him.

"You're awake," Loki commented, not able to keep the small smirk off his face.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. You know it's dangerous to wake someone like that. I could've died from the shock," Tony replied angrily. "Not that you would care," he muttered as an afterthought.

Loki's face fell. "What?"

Tony didn't bother repeating himself, knowing full well that Loki heard him. Instead he chose to ask his own question.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway? Isn't this." He gestured between them. "Breaking some kind of rule or something?"

Tony was definitely pissed, Loki could tell that without even hearing him speak. His breathing was hard and his face was set in a passive expression but his eyes gave him away. They were ablaze with emotion, the brown becoming a swirl of different shades, each one a different emotion. The darkest shades were the hurt, the pain, the anger, the resentment. The unwillingness to forget and the battle to forget, the part that writhed at every memory, at every brief thought. The lightest shades, the ones that reminded Loki of dark rich honeys, were the joy, the good memories, the relief. The hope. Loki clung to those, finding a way to not see the dark side, wishing more than anything that he could find the words he needed to say.

"There are no rules and I came here of my own choice."

"Well it's my own choice for you to leave please. I think everything will be easier that way, you were the one to start this so I don't know why you're having such a problem sticking to it. Just...shut the doors on your way out."

Tony turned on his heel and headed towards the opposite side of the room, his back deliberately turned to Loki. He didn't like seeing those eyes. They were ever so green. They were the shade of Loki and the shade of home and he couldn't allow himself to be lost in them and forget everything so suddenly.

"Anthony will you please just listen to me?"

"Listen to you? You just barged into my house and threw water over me, would you want to talk to the person that did that to you?"

"I just need to say something, will you please just listen for a few minutes. That's all I ask and then I'll be gone. You won't see me again, I promise."

Tony felt a cool hand wrap around his wrist. Loki must have walked across to him while his back was turned, his footsteps were always so quiet. Turning to face him, he realised how close they were, almost chest to chest. Clearing his throat quietly, he took a step back.

"Okay shoot, but make it quick, I have things to do."

"What? Get drunk?" Loki hadn't meant to say it but it had just slipped out.

Tony's expression darkened and he pushed past Loki hard, strutting to the other side of the room so there was a big enough gap between them again.

"What I do in my spare time has nothing to do with you. Now say what you wanted to say."

Inside, Loki felt all his hope melting away. Tony was never going to forgive him. He was so angry and bitter and hurt that it was impossible for Loki to even think about fixing him. Still, he might as well give it a try. There was nothing left to lose.

"I did what I thought was right when I ended our relationship. I thought that it was best that we lived our separate lives because ever since I entered yours I've brought nothing but pain and destruction. You do not deserve that, you deserve love that doesn't come with these added extras. By ending it I thought that I could protect you, that you would no longer be in danger because I can't handle the thought of you getting hurt."

"You just don't get it do you?" Tony interrupted, walking forward. Loki frowned. Well that answered Tony's question. "There is no one else. The Chitauri are gone, yeah they could come back but not for a long time. Thanos is dead and buried. You don't need to blame yourself for everything. You never asked for Thanos to enslave you after you fell off the rainbow bridge." Tony met Loki's intense gaze and lowered his voice when he spoke again. "And you don't need to protect me, I don't blame you for bringing all this alien shit to Earth. You can't handle the thought of me being hurt, well maybe it's the same for me. Loki, if you ever get hurt it will drive me crazy. I will do anything possible...anything to keep you safe. When you were taken from the cell back in that cave and I heard your screams I almost broke my own bones trying to get to you."

His voice faded away and he closed his eyes for a second before reopening them. Resolutely, he stared at the floor, not being able to look Loki in the face again.

"I went back to Asgard."

Tony's heart thudded to a standstill for the briefest second. Asgard. Odin. Did that mean what Tony thought it meant? Was this only a goodbye? Was Loki being taken back to Asgard to face punishment for the crimes that so far had been mostly overlooked? He couldn't handle this. This couldn't be goodbye. He wasn't ready to say it. Though he was angry and hurt, he loved Loki and could easily forgive him. He understood Loki's reasons for ending their relationship and probably would have done the same if it was the other way around. And he too would have also found himself at a similar meeting like this, trying desperately to make amends. No. He couldn't lose Loki. He refused.

"Why?" He asked, voice shaky.

"I had to speak with the Allfather. I have to-"

Loki's words were cut off by Tony's lips crashing hard into his own, shutting him up with a kiss. At first he was stunned but soon relaxed into the familiar movement, their lips working gently against the others. Tony was first to break the kiss. He left their foreheads pressed together so they were eye to eye and close enough that they shared the same breath.

"Please don't say it. Don't tell me your leaving, Loki you can't."

A huff of laughter escaped Loki. "I am not leaving Anthony."

"Then...what?"

"Please don't freak out."

"Why would I?"

"I gave up my immortality."

Tony froze. He didn't breath, he didn't even blink. Loki searched his eyes desperately for something, anything that would indicate Tony's thoughts but they were blank. Utterly blank. Then suddenly Tony's hands were in his hair pulling him in for another searing kiss. Loki gasped into his mouth. It took far longer for them to break apart this time. They were both totally lost in the moment. It had been too long. Much too long since they had had their lips on the other.

"You're such an idiot," Tony murmured between kisses.

"Am I?" Loki whispered into his ear as Tony nipped and kissed his jaw.

"Yeah you fucking are but you're lucky I love you because otherwise you would suck living as a human. It's good you have me to help you."

Loki felt his heart swell and a smile blossomed on his face that lit up his eyes in a way that only Tony could cause.

"Indeed. And it's also lucky that I love you."

"Why's that?" Tony smiled.

"Because I'm the only one who can put up with your annoying habits without wanting to always hit you."

"You threw me out a window once."

"A moment I can see you will never forget."

"Not ever," Tony replied. "Now enough talk."

If Loki wanted to talk he was unable to because he was once again drawn into another kiss that didn't end until they were in the bedroom with the door firmly shut.

"What do you think is happening? Have they made up?" Rhodey asked impatiently, his ear pressed against the kitchen door.

A door slammed in the distance.

"I'm guessing yes," Pepper replied. "Now I would advise that we both leave before you are scarred for life. Trust me, you will wish you didn't have ears in a minute."

Realisation dawned on Rhodey's face and he nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes let's leave now!"

Terribly sorry for the delay. My school thought it would be fun to spring more mocks on us and double homework levels. Okay so everything's happy again, now there's only one more chapter and then the epilogue. Hope to see you there. Please review?! :)