Author's note: Just a quick note to say that due to time restrictions, I will probably not be able to reply to reviews as frequently as before (and you probably thought I was about to say 'not be able to update this story as often', but nooo… ;) ). Anyway, I hope you will still continue to review, since I will still be sitting here happily flailing while reading your comments; I just don't have the time as it is to answer them all, but pretty please do continue to let me know your thoughts. :D
As he shows up before Thor and Loki, hair still wet and with duffle bag in hand, he feels like the biggest moron that has ever walked the planet. He can't bring himself to look directly at Loki, but instead resorts to throwing a quick glance at the god when it seems like his attention is directed elsewhere.
To his surprise and relief, Loki looks surprisingly carefree and unembarrassed, as if the awkward incident in the baths earlier in the morning never happened. As if he's already forgotten about how he grabbed hold of Tony's hard-on like it was the most natural thing in the world. Which, as has already been made painfully clear, it actually is in Asgard, given their relative positions.
Maybe the god is only pretending, maybe it's just a show he's putting on, but if so, Tony is grateful for that much, especially considering that Thor is nearby. Because what would Thor have thought if he knew? If he had any idea of what had transpired in the baths? What his own brother had assumed and what actions those assumptions had driven him to?
"Ready to depart, my friend?" Thor says, interrupting Tony's thoughts. If he at all notices that Tony is looking tense, he makes no comment on the state of things. Probably, he has chosen to interpret it as mere apprehension in the face of the nausea-inducing dimension-skipping trip back home that's still ahead of them.
"Yeah," he says, glad he's able to produce at least that much of an answer, even if it's monosyllabic.
"Very well," Thor nods. "Then we should get moving. We need to be standing on Bifrost in order to make use of Father's medallion for transport; it has been crafted as to have the rainbow bridge as its only Asgardian teleportation point in order to make sure that all travellers have to pass Heimdall."
Without any further ado, they head off, Tony and Loki following the Thunderer as he leads the way out of the Halls and out into the surrounding city.
Even though it's only been three days, it still feels like an eternity has passed since he arrived here. So many things he had never expected have occurred, and it's probably a good thing that he didn't see them coming, or chances are he would have flat-out refused at Thor's first mention of any alien world visits. But at least it's a huge sense of relief to finally get to leave, not so much for his own sake as for Loki's. The god has had to deal with enough humiliation and trouble in these last few days to last him a lifetime.
He can't help but discreetly throw the occasional glance over his shoulder at Loki as they walk. Because despite the impressive and bustling surroundings they're right in the middle of, it's the familiar sight of the dark-haired god who's trailing a short step after them that's drawing his attention.
He tries to take some comfort in the fact that at least it doesn't seem as if Loki is trying to keep any more distance between them than usual or otherwise behaving any differently in Tony's presence. But still, his thoughts keep churning as they're walking past sky-piercing spires and fierce-looking warriors and stunning golden monuments, his brain only briefly registering their presence.
It's disconcerting how far they've slipped after everything seemed to be going so well between them. That Loki would think so little of him, even after all this time. And as uncomfortable as the prospect is, he knows that he needs to sit down and have a talk with Loki as soon as they're back home, and make it clear that these services are not part of what he expects from the god. Well, not that he expects anything, really, but most certainly not that.
The idea of bringing up the subject with Loki makes him wince. Because even though Tony Stark is a world champion when it comes to filling the silence with sarcastic remarks and witty one-liners and idle chatter, he's never been good at actually talking when it comes to these things. Important things.
And how do you even start a conversation like that? Oh, by the way, you remember that one time in the hot tub when you grabbed hold of my dick? Yeah, let's talk about that.
But at least Loki must have taken the hint already, given how Tony had immediately clarified matters, telling him that he did not want Loki to do any of the sorts. That has to be the reason he's looking so relaxed and unconcerned right now, relived in the knowledge that he was never expected to perform any of these duties, regardlessof how thoughtlessly Tony worded his request that Loki act like a slave in Asgard is supposed to.
So hopefully, this will soon be just like that foot massage incident and all that followed – an embarrassing memory to be sure, but nevertheless only a memory. At least this time, he has made his position on the subject clear, and Loki has obviously understood it too, which is a lot more than what could be said about the time when the foot rub happened.
But still, he knows that before he can allow the incident to become that mere memory, he needs to clear the air with Loki first.
So, once they get back home, he promises himself. Once they get back home, he'll talk about it with Loki and say the things that still need to be said.
There is a shiver of something unidentifiable tingling down his spine as he recalls the body pressed against his like a wet T-shirt, the hot breath on his cheek, shimmering green eyes boring into his, and the hand that-
Angry with himself, he pushes the mental image away. Perhaps it's no wonder Loki had assumed what he did, when Tony's one-track mind is constantly running away with him like this, letting his baser needs take the front seat. Surely he had immediately noticed Tony's physical response to him in the baths, and acted like an Asgardian slave was supposed to when faced with his master in such a state. And as neither his mind nor his body seems to be even in the slightest cooperative when it comes to the god, maybe he should be grateful that he didn't have one of those wet dreams too and started rutting against Loki in his sleep while he was at it.
Eventually, they reach the looming city gates, and as they pass through, Tony breathes a sigh of relief. Even if they're not back home yet, there is at least a massive wall separating them from all those people here that would want nothing more than to hurt Loki, to demean and humiliate him and see him suffer. And instil such fucked-up beliefs in him as to make him think he's supposed to offer Tony sexual services.
But in spite of his disturbing thoughts, the sight of those walls safely behind him makes him feel a little bit better, turns his mood a few notches towards the sunny end.
It doesn't take long before they're once more standing before Heimdall, who looks as if he hasn't moved an inch since last time they passed him, frozen in time and place. Thor exchanges a few words with the rainbow guardian, and he stands aside as they all pass beneath his watchful eyes.
Bifrost itself glitters and twinkles with a million colours as they stride out on the bridge, Tony meticulously avoiding looking into the gaping abyss below. He is about to ask Thor if it would be possible – or at all advisable – to chip off a tiny little piece of the sparkly material and bring it back home with him for research, but before he can open his mouth, Thor brings his medallion out from beneath his shirt and pulls Tony and Loki tight with one mighty arm.
There's a flash of blue and a terrible lurch of his stomach, and then the brilliance of the golden city of Asgard is gone, leaving only a fading afterimage on his retinas.
The journey back is every bit as stomach-flipping and gut-churning as it was the first time, and at the end of it Tony finds himself on all fours on the floor of his own living room, heaving and coughing like he's choking on his own inner organs.
It probably takes a good two minutes before he's able to stand up again, glad he hasn't coughed up a lung, coming face to face with two unfairly unperturbed gods staring at him like he's a curiosity at display at some freak show.
Tony pointedly wipes his hands on his clothes before smoothing down the front of his shirt. "Yeah, okay, so I'm a puny mortal not used to being turned inside out and then back again courtesy of this intergalactic space-travelling thing. Stop looking at me like I've suddenly grown a pair of antlers, okay?"
Thor unhelpfully responds by dunking a big hand against his back, almost felling Tony right back to the floor that he just go up from. "Do not worry about it, friend. This is a normal reaction among mortals and nothing to be ashamed of."
"Yeah, and if I've gotten any ruptured organs because of this little world-hopping, I'm sending the hospital bills straight to Asgard," he grumbles, trying to go for his usual flippant self as long as Thor is still present. He really doesn't want any questions from the god if something is the matter apart from the obvious.
Thor, however, merely clasps Tony's shoulders in a tight, distinctively manly grip. "I must thank you for making this trip on my brother's behalf, and for pleading his case before the Allfather," he says solemnly.
It looks like the big guy is almost on the verge of tears again, and Tony grimaces. He doesn't need any crying gods of thunder in his tower, not if he wants to risk having a violent storm of lightning crashing down over his head.
"No problems, Point Break, thanks for being a generous host and all that. And I realize now that Midgardian beer really does taste like horse piss in comparison." Well, at least he can grant Asgard that much.
Tony steels himself just in time before the Thunderer crushes him in a mighty embrace, and he can swear he hears his ribs cracking ominously from the ungentle treatment.
"I shall return as soon as I have news of my father's decision," he promises as he, after what feels like half an eternity, lets go of Tony who is immensely grateful for his newfound ability to breathe normally again.
Thor then turns to his younger brother and bestows a similar bone-crushing hug on him as well. For once, the dark-haired god doesn't wince or try to evade his brother's physical displays of affection, and Tony can even see how Loki's arms are moving upwards to wrap around Thor in a comparatively more cautious embrace.
Well, what do you know.
"Be safe, brother," Thor mumbles in his ear. And Loki's lips are moving as if they're saying something too; Tony can't make out any words from where he is standing, but it looks like Thor squeezes a little tighter in response.
Then the goodbyes are over and done with, and Thor prepares to depart to Asgard once more, looking resolute as he reaches for his magic amulet. The three of them stand in silence facing each other as the rune-covered talisman in Thor's hand starts to pulse with a blue light, spreading until it's enveloping the god in a glowing ghostly hue. A sudden bright flash follows that forces Tony's eyes closed, and when he opens them again, the place the thunder god was occupying only seconds ago is empty.
And Tony merely stands there staring at the blank spot on the floor, exhaling deeply, as the strain of what feels like a whole life-time slowly runs off him.
Yeah, he really could do with a vacation after all this.
Well, looks like The Talk will be happening after all… ^^
Please review. :)