Author's note: Poor Steve, I don't think he had any idea what he really signed up for when he agreed to this assignment. ;)
He doesn't encounter as much as even a whiff of spandex from the Captain until the next day, when Steve corners him in the kitchen, the look on his face reminiscent of that of a parent about to give a wayward teenager a long speech about socially acceptable behaviour. It's almost comical, the way he's all business and duty, though his discomfort with the situation can be spotted from miles away.
And it's pretty clear that the guy is upset as well, the way he's looking at Tony like he's done something really Bad and Naughty. He steels himself for an unpleasant lecture, not particularly wanting to hear what Steve has to say, because he can imagine most of it already. Truth be told, much of it he would probably have agreed on himself, if he had been on the outside looking in on someone in a similar situation. Because really, having sex with someone who is technically – at least by the definition of Someone Important – your slave, doesn't really come off as the epitome of consensual.
"Oh, good morning, Spangles, did you have sweet dreams?" he says cheerfully, putting on his best flippant I-don't-care-because-everything-is-fine-and-dandy façade, trying to act as if nothing is out of the ordinary.
He doesn't get a reply to that, as Steve – masterfully, as if he's been doing nothing else in his entire life – draws him up to his full height, fixing Tony with a steely glance. "Don't you have any shame, Stark?" comes the stern inquiry, and he can't help but wonder if the man has practiced the up-coming speech beforehand, or if he's about to go down the improvised route.
"Shame? Oh, sure I do." He shrugs. "I even felt a little bit of it that one time I was caught naked outside of-"
Steve cuts him off, apparently not in the mood to listen to embarrassing anecdotes. "You're taking advantage. You're using the situation. And what's more – you're using someone who's not in any position to say no." A finger is raised for every infraction, as if keeping tabs on his transgressions. "I really thought you were better than that," he intones with that annoyingly righteous voice that only Steve knows how to pull off.
And despite being well aware of how understandable it is, the accusation still rankles him. Especially considering how long he walked around with balls bluer than a freezing smurf without doing jack shit to Loki because he wouldn't dream of forcing himself on anyone like that.
Sure, he might have done some other things to the god early on that he's far from proud of in hindsight, and there are no doubt issues that he could have handled better even after those initial weeks when whatever grudges he had held against Loki had eventually dissolved into nothing. But if there's one thing that no one can accuse him of, it's taking advantage. He could have, of course, and Loki might even have acquiesced in the belief that he had no choice, and yet the thought had never even entered Tony's mind.
The sting of irritation grows into a vicious stab. Of course Steve would get offended by him having sex with a former super-villain turned slave. Or by him having sex with another man. Or by him having sex with someone he's not married to. Or by him having sex at all. Or by anyone having sex at all.
Perhaps he should keep this on a more, well, civilized level, considering that his conversation partner is a scrunched up prune like Steve, but his annoyance quickly wrestles his rational calm into submission.
"Taking advantage, huh? Is that what it looked like to you?" he lashes out, ill-hidden anger in his voice as he meets that chilly stare with one of his own. "That's funny, because while you were standing there in the doorway going all Peeping Tom on us, I would have thought you should have noticed one little detail. Or, should I say, not so little. Namely that raging hard-on Loki was sporting. You ever seen one of those before, huh?"
And oh, how he can see Steve tensing up at that, whether it is because Tony used a Dirty Word or because it reminds him of the indecent sight that greeted him the evening before. But he couldn't care less. "In any case, I think something like that would be kinda hard to miss, and also a pretty good gauge of someone's willingness, don't you think?"
Steve is looking positively crimson, but still not willing to give up. "Loki is your slave, at least according to Asgard's designation of him. How can something like that not be taking advantage?" he asks, the muscles in his arms tightening a little in indignation.
Tony sighs, his previous ire defusing a little. In a way, yes, he can definitely understand Steve. Probably, it would have been pretty much anyone's knee-jerk reaction – anyone who hasn't been through these weird months in the weird life of Tony Stark and personally experienced all the bizarre twists and turns along the way.
"Perhaps because I haven't been treating him like a slave," he says. "Loki is free to make his own choices. And if he wants to stop, we'll stop. I assure you, everything we've done has been with his full consent." He hesitates for a moment, because he isn't sure he wants to bring up any details in front of Steve, but he does it anyway. "In fact, it was Loki who instigated all this. Not me." And if he can't just see the doubt manifesting itself on the Captain's face at that in the form of narrowing eyes and tightening mouth and wrinkling eyebrows. "Yes, that's right, you heard me. Loki came on to me, not the other way around, alright?"
"Even so," the Captain acquiesces, though he still looks unconvinced. "It was still ill-considered of you to take him up on such an offer. Someone in his situation might well take this as an opportunity to get himself into the good graces of the person who holds absolute power over him. Ever considered that? That what you interpreted as willingness was just an act of self-preservation from someone trying to improve his own position?"
At least Steve is sounding a little less angry now, but still far from satisfied. And he still doesn't like the accusatory tone in there, as if Tony is enough of an amoeba crawling around on the very bottom of the moral ladder of evolution that he would use something like that to his own benefit. But how could he ever hope to explain everything to Steve – the misunderstandings, Loki's initial expectations, the miscommunication, and then the slow but steady development between them, the growing trust and affection, and how he's come to actually care about Loki?
But there aren't words to express any of that, even if he were to give a detailed account of everything that's happened since the god got dropped off on his doorstep like a mis-sent package without a return address. Steve won't understand, can't possibly understand – Loki's trust in him slowly unfolding, delicate and vulnerable like a sparrow held between one's palms, a thoughtless squeeze enough to crush it; the hesitant confiding and opening up, telling each other secrets few had ever had the privilege of hearing before; so many little but important things. For someone who has not experienced all this firsthand, it would be impossible to truly comprehend.
And he feels his anger run off him like water from a greasy raincoat. Because in the end, he supposes that he can't blame Steve for his assumptions, not really. The Captain is a good-hearted guy, showing concern for Loki's well-being like that, even though he has nothing to gain from it or any further reason to care other than it being the Right Thing. Certainly a lot more good-hearted than Tony had initially been after Loki came got dumped off at his tower.
He studies Steve's face, seeing the still lingering doubt. So he says the only thing that can really be said in this situation. "Trust me, this is nothing that Loki has been pressured into or doesn't actually want. Don't believe me? Then go ahead and ask him yourself."
Steve looks almost like he's on the verge of turning on his heel and doing just that, but if those were his intentions, they're halted as Tony speaks up again.
"Are you're going to put this in your report to Fury?" he asks, wincing inwardly at the prospect. Explaining himself to Steve is bad enough, but Fury would be even worse. And, unlike Steve, the ever-suspicious Director's main concern would not be whether Tony was taking advantage, but whether Loki was trying to use sex as a means of manipulating him for whatever diabolical plans a powerless and magic-deprived god might still try to pull off.
Steve turns another shade of red darker. "No," he manages, half choking on the word. "I do not consider this any business of SHIELD's."
And Tony feels himself relax a little bit. Okay, thank god for small graces.
There is an awkward silence following, and that's when Tony decides to bring up the matter that's been lingering in the back of his mind these last few days. The conversation is already uncomfortable enough as it already is, so he might as well speak up now that the awkwardness is at top levels.
"You know what the deal with Asgard is in regards to Loki's sentence, right?" he throws out, not waiting for an answer. "He's to spend two years as a slave before being upgraded to free person again."
"I'm aware," Steve acknowledges with a nod, seemingly relieved for the topic to change. "Why are you asking?"
Alright then. Here goes nothing.
"Because in case something should happen to me in the next couple of years – I don't know, like me getting kidnapped and dissected by aliens, or my Iron Man suit gaining a consciousness and violently rebelling against its master, or me getting stampeded to death by a horde of hot models desperate to gain the favours of America's supposedly most desirable bachelor – I don't want Loki running the risk of ending up with someone who might take his current status as an excuse to abuse him." He makes a pause, but if there's any understanding dawning on Steve as to where all this is going, he's giving no sign of it.
Alright, guess he has no choice but to lay down the final grand slam by himself, then.
"So I want to put it in my will that if I kick the bucket before Loki's sentence is up, he will be passed over to you."
And Steve's eyes turn wide as saucers. Giant saucers. "Me?," he sputters, almost choking on the word. "What… why – why me?"
Not the most elegantly poised question Tony's ever gotten, but predictable nonetheless. And the answer he gives is brutally honest, because there is no reason for anything else.
"Because I can think of no better person for that than you, Steve," he says simply.
And really, he can't.
"But I… I can't possibly…" The incredulity is dripping from every word as Steve struggles to express what he wants to say. "There must be others who… who could shoulder such a responsibility."
Tony shrugs. "Let's be reasonable here. How many people do you know that you could entrust with something like that? That you're certain would never do anything bad to him or abuse him in any way? And for the sake of argument, let's say it was a family member or a friend of yours instead of Loki, and you had to pick someone that would have unlimited power over that person, who would you feel comfortable picking for that assignment?"
Steve is silent for a while, but that's alright, because Tony knows his answer already. Nobody.
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying here, Captain. There is really no one. Except you. I would trust you for this."
He watches Steve's Adam's apple bob as he swallows. "You know, I don't think a will like that would even be valid here in America in the first place. You can't just… sign someone away to another person like that," he says, stating the blatantly obvious.
"It's not for the benefit of our American laws. It's for Asgard – they're the ones who are running the show regarding this. So no, I don't mean a will signed and approved by America's finest lawyers, but a pretty parchment for Thor to take back to Asgard, to make my intent clear and make sure that Loki gets to where he's supposed to be and not taken to SHIELD's dungeons to be tortured and experimented on. I'm sure Asgard and Thor would see to it that my decision is honoured, even if not a single person on this planet would care about it," he explains.
Steve looks pale, biting his lower lip.
Tony steps forward and gives him a friendly clap on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of throwing in the towel in the next fifty years at least, so all this is probably moot anyway. Just a safety precaution, that's all."
He locks his gaze onto Steve, their eyes meeting. "So what do you say, big guy? If you truly are that concerned about Loki not being abused or taken advantage of, this is your perfect chance to put your money where your mouth is and make sure it won't happen," he presses on, knowing the battle is won when he sees the resigned look on the other man's face.
There is a heavy sigh, but then Steve slowly nods. "Very well. Put me up as Loki's… keeper, then, if the need should ever arise."
Tony flashes him a broad grin. "Awesome. Knew I could rely on you, Capsicle."
And just in case someone is wondering – no, that agreement is of course never going to actually come into play. ;)
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