Eight hours after Tony descended to his lab, Tony walked back upstairs.

Feeling exhausted, he went straight to his bedroom and collapsed on his bed.

"Hello, again."

"Shit!" Tony jumped, sitting up. He turned to Loki, and blinked. "Why are you in my bed?"

"You gave me this," Loki held up the remote. "How long ago was it, ceiling voice?"

"Eight," Jarvis replied.

"Yeah, I got busy."

"You do that a lot."

"Don't complain, I did it for you."

"Me?"

Tony nodded, and laid down on his back. "I'm giving you proof. Tomorrow morning, you and me, baby."

"What are you talking about?"

Tony didn't answer.

"I am talking to you," Loki growled.

Silence.

He lightly punched Tony's arm. Tony frowned slightly, but didn't move. He had fallen asleep.

Loki sighed, and turned his attention back to Tony's tv.

"Sir, it is time to wake up."

Tony groaned, bringing his pillow up over his head.

"Sir, you are on a tight schedule. I highly recommend getting up."

"What time is it?"

"Five a.m."

"Fuck off, Jarvis."

"Sir, please get up."

Tony sat up and threw his pillow to the wall. "Turn the fucking lights on; the sun isn't up yet."

A second later, the room was dimly lit.

Tony got out of the bed, and took off his shirt and pants. He grabbed a suitcase that he kept in his closet, and grabbed a few pairs of pants and shirts, shoving them inside, before getting dressed.

When he turned back around, he immediately noticed a lump in the bed that shouldn't be there. "Jarvis? Who's that...?"

"That would be Loki, Sir."

"Loki? Wh-?" he shook his head. "I shared my bed with an evil Demi-God. That's great," he muttered to himself, walking over to Loki. "Loki, wake up," he lightly tapped Loki's shoulder, then ducked; hiding on the floor.

Loki shifted, making an incomprehensible noise.

Slowly, Tony rose himself to his knees, immediately meeting Loki's gaze, "don't kill me."

Loki rolled his eyes, and rolled over to his back, yawning. "You had better have good reason for awakening me."

"My proof. Come on, we're leaving."

"Leaving?"

"Yeah, come on. Grab your clothes and let's go."

Loki's eyes narrowed.

Tony sighed, and pulled the blankets off the bed, then froze. Loki's shirt and pants had somehow disappeared in the night. "Did you sleep like that?"

"Like what?"

"Naked."

"I am not naked."

"Close enough." Tony grabbed a few of Loki's shirts and jeans, throwing one of each on the bed, shoving the rest in his little suitcase. "Get dressed, we have to go."

"Sir, your helicopter is awaiting," Jarvis announced.

"Helicopter?" Loki questioned.

"Yeah, we gotta fly."

"Would your armour not be more efficient?"

Tony shook his head, "no. Come on."

Loki made a sound of protest, but got out of bed, and dressed himself.

"This whole being on time thing is a pain in the ass," Tony noted. "Jarvis, remind me not to ever do this, again."

"Duly noted."

"Where are we going?" Loki asked, once he was dressed and ready.

Tony grabbed the suitcase in one hand, and with his other, he grabbed Loki's hand, and beginning to lead him to the elevator, "the roof."

Once they were up on the roof, they got in the awaiting helicopter, and began flying towards the airport.

"You could have used your armour for this."

"Too tired," Tony snuggled into his seat, getting as comfortable as he could. "Sleeping."

A few minutes later, Loki shot Tony with his magic, waking him.

"Fuck!" Tony nearly yelled, slapping his hand on his cheek. "I'm not hard to wake up - stop doing that!"

"Apparently we have arrived."

Tony looked out the window; they were a few feet away from his plane. "Good, let's go." He grabbed his suitcase, jumped out of the helicopter, and headed off to his plane with Loki behind him. "When we get on here," he yawned, "be sure to look out the window."

"Why?"

"View," Tony mumbled, walking up the steps.

Without a word being said by anyone on the plane, Tony and Loki both sat down across the aisle from each other, and got comfortable. Within minutes, they were both asleep.

As the plane was beginning to get ready to land, Loki walked inside the cock pit, silently standing behind the pilots, watching.

"Loki," Tony whispered, getting out of his seat to quietly chase after him. He grabbed onto Loki's hand, and tried to pull him out.

Loki jerked his hand back, and gave him a look that clearly said 'fuck off.'

"You can't be in here," Tony mouthed.

Loki frowned, slightly cocking his head to the side.

Tony nodded to the door, and tugged on Loki's arm, again.

"Let go of me!"

The pilots jumped, and looked back at Tony and Loki. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, I know this is your plane, but we're trying to land, and -"

"I know, I know, we're leaving," Tony interrupted, glaring at Loki.

"You do not tell me what to do," Loki growled. "I have had enough of that."

"No one is allowed in here when they're trying to land. That includes you."

"As they said, it is your plane. You may be here if you please - and since you love me, you will have no problem allowing me here, as well. Am I right?"

Tony opened his mouth to object, but quickly closed it, taking a second to think. "I'll give you both five hundred dollars to never repeat that to anyone in any way," he offered the pilots.

They both looked at each other.

"A thousand, and you can keep your jobs."

"Deal," one said, while the other nodded.

"We have got to talk," Tony muttered, dragging Loki out. Without further argument, Loki followed.

"What?!" Loki hissed when the door was the closed behind them.

"What was that?!"

"Indeed, what was that? I am not going to give up and follow your senseless rules."

"You can't just go tell people that I love you."

"If it is true, what is the problem?"

Tony paused, taking a moment to think. What is the problem? He walked back over to his seat, and sat down."Thor. Thor said to stay low-key. Making people pay attention to you is not staying low-key. Do you want to get discovered? To go back to Asgard, or that silent aisle?"

Loki crossed his arms across his chest, saying nothing. His answer was already clear.

"I'm trying to help you. Unless you know someone else who can do that, you're Laurence - at least until Thor comes back, and Laurence is shy and doesn't talk. Now, come on," he stood up, and headed out of the plane. "Welcome to Italy."

"What is in here that needs our presence?"

"You'll see," Tony grinned, heading down the steps, walking towards the awaiting car.

"I am not going in there," Loki said.

"Oh, come on. You just flew in a helicopter and an airplane. I think you can handle a car."

Loki crossed his arms across his chest, not moving.

Tony sighed, and took his shirt off.

"What are you doing, now?"

"Shut up for a minute," Tony muttered, walking behind Loki. He rolled his shirt up and tied it around Loki's head, covering his eyes. He then grabbed Loki's hands, and led him towards the car.

"What are you doing?"

"Trust me."

Loki huffed his breath, but didn't argue.

Keeping one hand in Loki's, Tony moved behind him, and gently pushed his head downwards, "put your feet up."

Loki did as he said, and slid into the car. Tony followed, sitting beside him.

Tony gestured and mouthed for the driver to start driving. "Now, imagine we're back on the plane, flying. There's just a bit more turbulence. We're... uhh... running over birds."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "is that supposed to calm me?"

"Yes?"

"You are an idiot, Stark."

"You can call me Tony, you know. That is my name."

"I prefer Stark."

Tony rolled his eyes, "whatever."

A few moments later, they went over a fairly large bump in the road, and Loki's hand slammed down on Tony's knee, gripping him.

"Ow!" Tony nearly yelled.

Loki quickly released Tony's knee, and took in a few deep breaths.

Slightly worried, Tony slid his hand back in Loki's. "Are you okay?"

Loki didn't answer.

Tony used his free hand to side his shirt down Loki's face, letting it hang across his neck. "Was that making it worse?"

Loki stared straight ahead, remaining silent.

Tony leaned forwards, looking at him. His pupils were dilated. He looked... scared. Was he having a panic attack?

Tony did the only thing he knew what to do: he used the same technics that calmed him down when he was having a panic attack. He didn't have any music to play, so he started humming out the lyrics to the first slow song that came to mind: Love Song by AC/DC.

After a couple of verses, Loki glanced at him.

"Are you okay, now?" Tony asked.

"Now?"

"You just... had a panic attack or something."

"I am not weak enough to get panic attacks," Loki growled.

"I do, and I'm one of Earth's mightiest heroes. It's no big deal if Earth's most feared villain does, too. It's... life."

Loki scoffed, ending the conversation. For the rest of the car ride, he kept his eyes looking downwards, and held onto Tony's hand.

Tony made a mental note that for the rest of the trip, they would be sure not to use a car. They'd use helicopters, walk, ride bikes, or do anything else they had to.

"Congratulations," Loki crossed his arms across his chest as he stood staring at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, "you cannot even build a tower correctly."

"What? No, this -"

"You admire a falling tower. That is not impressive."

Tony sighed in defeat. Obviously it wasn't going to be quite as easy to impress a God. Next stop: China.

"It is a wall?"

"Yeah! All across China."

Loki turned to Tony and stared at him, "it is a wall."

"It was made by human hands, hundreds of years ago."

"You are proud of a wall."

"But -"

"It is a wall, Stark."

"Alright. This is the stonehenge," Tony announced as they arrived at the site in the United Kingdom.

"You brought me to see a bunch of rocks?" Loki rolled his eyes and immediately began walking away.

Deciding that man and nature made history wasn't the right path to take, Tony took Loki to Canada. "This is the CN tower. It was the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower for thirty some years, I think."

"There is a taller one."

"Yeah, the... Burj Khalifa."

"Then seeing this is useless, it is no longer special."

Tony stared at Loki as he walked back to the car, getting inside. Tony sighed and followed, instructing the driver to take them back to the airport so they could go to San Francisco.

"It is a bridge. We drove by many of those already."

"But this one is -"

"Still a bridge. Asgard's is more impressive."

"I guess you wouldn't be interested in the Channel Tunnel then?"

"No," Loki shouted as he walked away.

Tony sighed and followed, deciding to go to Arizona, next. Surely even Loki must find one of these interesting.

"It's..."

"Beautiful?"

"A pit."

Tony groaned and threw his arms in the air, retreating from the Grand Canyon.

Loki raised an eyebrow and followed.

"Mount Everest!"

"What is so great about this?"

"It's the biggest mountain on Earth. It's the fifth furthest point from the center of the Earth."

"Is that supposed to impress me?"

"Apparently not," Tony muttered.

"It is a waterfall."

"Yes! Victoria Falls."

"There are better ones in Asgard."

As Loki walked away, Tony stared at him. He was absolutely impossible to impress.

"Okay, this has to impress even you."

"What is it?"

"Parícutin."

"That means nothing to me."

Tony looked down at his pamphlet he got at the gift shop they passed through, "it says here that it's a cinder cone volcano... There's a village nearby with the same name... and it's covered in lava."

"It has erupted?" Loki questioned, sounding almost interested.

"Yeah, in 1952."

"Well, that is boring."

"Would you rather it erupt now?"

"Yes."

Tony sighed, shoving the pamphlet in Loki's hand, and walked away. "Impossible. Impossible."

"Mm... the Arctic you say?"

"Y-yes," Tony stuttered, shivering. He tripped over a piece of ice sticking out of the ground, and as he was about to hit his face off of the ground, Loki caught him and pulled him up to his feet.

"Can I know why we're here, yet?"

"A-A-Aur-aaaaaaaggh," Tony groaned, giving up on trying to talk, and threw his arms around himself.

"Are you dying?" Loki stared at Tony, amused.

"N-No. C-c-cold."

Loki rolled his eyes, "so far you have shown me humans lack of ability to build a straight tower, how you admire rocks, and how cold you get."

"H-how are you... n-not...?"

Loki frowned, "I do not mind the cold. Here," he took off his jacket and put it around Tony. "Now, why are we here?"

Trying to ignore the oddly appealing scent of Loki's jacket, Tony shook his head, "I-I... don't... I... Oh my god-d. Loo-ook," with his shaking hand, he pointed upwards at a bunch of dancing lights in the sky.

Loki's eyes curiously followed the direction Tony had pointed in. He stopped walking and stared at the colourful lights. "It is..."

"S-s-stup-pid?"

"No, you have got that covered quite nicely. This is rather... interesting."

Tony stared at him, mind-blown. He had actually managed to find something that Loki liked. He felt beyond accomplished... and cold... and things were beginning to get really dark.

"Stark?"

Tony slowly woke, trying to find more blankets. Suddenly, something was on top of him. He groaned and opened his eyes to see that it was a pile of blankets. He promptly spread them on top of himself and cuddled in a ball underneath them all.

"You're welcome," a voice muttered.

Tony peaked his head out from underneath the blankets to see who was there. To Tony's immense surprise, it was Clint. "Why are you in my bedroom holding blankets?" he questioned through a very groggy voice.

"I was hoping we could have some fun," he winked.

"I've always known you always had a thing for me, and trust me, I'm flattered that you do, but I don't like you that way. I actually don't like you at all."

Clint threw more blankets at Tony. "You were cold, jackass."

"How did you know that? Are you so into me, that you were stalking -" before Tony could finish his sentence, he went into an uncontrollable coughing fit.

"You're sick."

Feeling how sick he was, he groaned and disappeared back underneath the blankets.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

"So, what's with the cat?"

"What cat?"

"This one," Clint picked up the kitten and set it on the bed. It instantly jumped up on Tony and laid on his back. "It's been by your side since you came through the front door a few days ago.

"Days?" Tony mentally cursed. He had left Loki alone for days - again.

"I'll get Steve; he knows what happened," Clint said as he left, closing the door behind him.

Tony rolled over, forcing the kitten to jump off of his back. As he positioned himself in a comfortable position on his back, the kitten jumped back on top of him, cuddling up on his chest. "So, what's your story?" he asked the kitten. "You want me to think you love me so I'll feed you?"

The kitten simply meowed in response.

"Used by women, friends, gods and animals," Tony sighed. "At least you're kinda cute."

The kitten began purring, so Tony pet it, causing it to purr more. "You're worse than my car," Tony stated.

Suddenly, the door opened again and Steve walked in. "Hey, Tony. It's good to see you awake."

"Apparently it's been days?"

"How much do you remember?"

"Uh... Nothing. I was cold... that's it." Cold because he was in the Arctic with Loki - no big deal.

"You caught hypothermia. A strange man brought you back to the tower about -"

"What? Who?" Tony was more anxious to know what happened to Loki - and if the man who brought him back could be Loki.

"I didn't catch his name."

"What did he look like?"

"He had gray hair, a long gray beard -"

"Never mind.," that was definitely not Loki. "So, when was I brought here?"

"Three days ago. We brought in a doctor to examine you. You have a liver disease."

Tony groaned, "can I be alone?"

Steve nodded and headed for the door, "Clint and I will be back to check up on you later."

Tony sighed when he left. Liver disease. Great. Just what he needed.

The kitten jumped off of Tony and walked over to his head to playfully head-but him.

"You seen anyone else around here? Tall, slim... God, I wish you could answer me."

The kitten ran to the end of the bed and meowed, then looked upwards at the corner of the room. Tony's eyes followed. There was a camera... and it was definitely not Tony's usual camera he had hidden everywhere - this one was working, and looked pretty cheap. Clint and Steve were watching him. So much for being alone.

Slowly, Tony got himself out of the blankets and balanced himself with several things as he made his way to the wall and yanked the camera off of it, disconnecting it. He tossed it to ground, and slid down the wall; unable to hold himself up any longer. He brought his knees up to his chest, resting his forehead on the top of his knees. He felt nauseous, his head was killing him, his body ached, he was freezing cold, and he felt too weak to do anything; it was almost the worst he had ever felt.

Suddenly, he was being picked up. His head snapped upwards and he looked at who was carrying him.

Loki.

"What are you-?! Where did you-?!"

"Shut up," Loki hissed. He set Tony on the bed and ripped his shirt off.

"Loki?!" Tony coughed. "What -? I'm sick!"

Loki frowned, "I am trying to help you." He lightly placed his hands on Tony's chest. After a few seconds, he took them off, "how do you feel now?"

"Terrible."

Loki's frown deepened.

"What was that about?"

"I am trying to heal you.""You're doing a -" Tony sneezed, "- terrible job."

"I cannot simply snap my fingers and poof, fix all of your problems. I can only heal what I know how. Your disease seems to be causing a lot of problems..."

"You healed me before."

"I do not know how to fix the curse of being cold." Loki firmly placed his hands back on Tony, atop his liver, and attempted to heal him again.

This time, Tony moaned in response to Loki's magic.

Loki fought a smirk as he finished healing Tony.

When he was done, Tony sighed. "That was..."

Loki sat back, and enjoyed the alluring look on Tony's face. He had never healed another mortal before, and Tony's reaction to Loki's magic both times it had been used, was a lot more satisfying than Loki thought it would be.

"Uhh... What happened to that cat?" Tony asked, changing the subject.

"You like the cat?"

Tony nodded, "it was warm."

Loki grinned, and disappeared. Where he sat moments ago, was the same black kitten that had been with Tony for the past three days.

"Did you just..." Tony groaned and threw a pillow over his head. Of all things to have to deal with when he was sick - it had to be magic - and not the helpful kind.

The kitten – Loki – curled up beside Tony and started purring.

What the hell, was all Tony thought as he rolled onto his side and snuggled the cat, closing his eyes.

"OW!" Tony yelled as he woke up. He threw his hand onto his face, which had just been cut. He glared at the cat, who suddenly turned back into Loki. "What the hell was that for?!"

"You just rolled on top of me!" Loki yelled back.

"So you scratch my face?!"

"Well you ignored my hissing!"

"You scratched me! That's cruel; I'm already sick!"

"You are also extremely heavy to have on top of a mere cat!"

"Well excuse me for being human."

Loki huffed his breath and got off the bed, heading for the door.

"Why are you naked?!"

Loki stopped and turned his head to look at Tony from the corner of his eye. "Cats do not have clothes that I can keep while I shape shift."

"Where are your clothes?"

Loki shrugged, "your teammates have them."

"Why?"

"I gave you my clothes in the Arctic when you passed out, trying to ensure you didn't die. I know not what they did with them."

"You... hold on. If you can... then... were you that old guy who brought me back here?"

Loki nodded.

"And you've stayed by my side in the form on a cat?"

Loki didn't answer.

"Thank you," Tony said sincerely. No one else would have done that; not even Steve was staying by Tony's side too much: and spying did not count. The fact that Loki was evil, and he still stayed by Tony - even if he was only planning to use Tony - was really something. "I, uh... I appreciate that."

"You had better. After wasting an entire week of my life to show me mere rocks and crooked buildings, you force us to leave once you begin to show me something worth my while. You are in my debt: I did not have to save you."

Tony nodded, "I know you didn't. Thanks."

With that, Loki left the room. Curiously, Tony grabbed a bunch of blankets to wrap around himself, and followed. A moment later, a small black cat ran out of the kitchen, down the hall and into Tony's bedroom. Tony stared after him, then glanced over to the kitchen, and back to his bedroom door.

What was that all about?

He walked into the kitchen, but there was nothing unusual or off, so he headed back into his bedroom to find Loki sitting in the middle of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest, and blankets covering his lower half.

"I forgot to mention..." Loki muttered, "your teammates are spying on you."

Tony stared at Loki for a quick second before putting the pieces together: Loki just walked out of Tony's bedroom completely naked, and ran back in as a cat once he realized he was being watched by the other Avengers. He couldn't help chuckle slightly.

Loki shot him a death look.

"I'll deal with it," Tony laughed. He wondered around the floor, disabling every camera that wasn't his that he could find. With the help of the Loki kitten, he found and disabled them all, then collapsed onto the couch immediately after he was done, exhausted and freezing. He curled up in the corner with his blankets tightly wrapped around himself.

Loki changed back to his normal self and sat down at the other end of the couch, observing Tony.

"Why aren't you sick?" Tony questioned.

"I am a God. I do not get effected as easily as you do."

"Isn't weather something that happens everywhere? Is Asgard some temperatureless place, and you're just immune to all climates?"

"No," Loki shook his head. "I just do not mind the cold."

"I wish I was more like that."

"No, you don't."

"Don't I?"

"No."

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened and Loki immediately turned back into a small black kitten.

"Back so soon?" Tony asked without turning around.

"It's been a few hours," Steve stated. "We just came to see how you were."

"It must be hard to keep an eye on me when I disable all of your eyes."

"Tony, we only had to make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, well, I'm fine. You don't have to spy on me. Aren't you supposed to be above all that?"

Steve shrugged, heading into the kitchen, "you seem to think it's the solution to everything."

Clint popped himself down on the couch beside Tony, holding a bag of open cheezies. "So, where the hell were you that you caught hypothermia?"

"Why are you in my kitchen?" Tony shouted at Steve, ignoring Clint.

"I'm making you some soup. You need it."

"No, I don't."

Steve peaked his head out around the corner and gave Tony a pointed look. "You haven't eaten on your own in three days and your lips are turning blue."

"Then give me a cheeseburger."

"That's not healthy."

"Fine, give me pizza."

"How is that any better?"

"The only soup I have is tomato, and pizza has tomato sauce. It's equivalent."

Steve poked his head around the corner and held up a can, "I brought you some chicken noddle."

"Fuck," Tony cursed under breath. "I'm still not hungry."

"Hungry or not, you have to eat."

"Give me one of those," Tony demanded, eyeing Clint's cheezies.

Clint snorted, "not happening."

"Then get out."

"Hell no. I'm here with Steve."

"Cap, you can leave, too," Tony called out.

"If I don't make you soup, you won't eat. Unfortunately, I can't let you starve to death."

"I can make it myself." Tony threw his blankets off of himself, abandoning them as he got up and made his way to his kitchen. He began shivering immediately, but he tried his hardest to hide it.

The Loki kitty immediately got up and walked closely beside Tony, careful not to trip him.

"Stark, what are you -?!" Clint began.

"Sit back down," Steve ordered.

"I'm fine!" Tony protested. "If I need you, I'll let you know," Tony promised, dismissively.

"No you won't," Clint muttered.

"That's why we needed the cameras," Steve agreed.

"Call me in twenty minutes and make sure I'm not dead, then. I don't care, just leave."

"We don't want to be here any more than you want us here," Clint began.

"You could have fooled me. You aren't -" Tony cut himself off, pausing. He felt like he was about to end up in a coughing fit, and he needed a minute to contain himself. "You aren't needed," he finished, in a softer tone.

Clint rose from the couch and faced Steve, "let's just go then. He won't die, he's too stubborn."

Steve shot Tony a look that clearly stated 'I can see right through your act, I know you'll mess up.' before he left with Clint, leaving soup to boil on the stove.

Tony followed them to the elevator to make sure they left without doing anything else. When the doors closed and the elevator began descending, Tony let his guard down and collapsed onto his knees, then slumped down to the ground. He had completely used up all of his energy. He felt so exhausted, he could pass out - but unfortunately, he wasn't so lucky to actually do that.

Loki turned back into his normal self and picked Tony up, carried him back to the couch and set him underneath the blankets.

"Loki?" Tony breathed out.

"Hm?" Loki questioned as he made sure all of the blankets were covering Tony.

Tony didn't reply, so Loki headed into the kitchen. He grabbed the opened can that Steve had previously showed, and read the directions: Empty soup into saucepan and slowly add one full can of water, stirring constantly. Heat, stirring often. Season to your personal preference. Refrigerate unused portions promptly.

Steve had done everything, already.

Loki stuck his finger in the soup, getting a feel for the temperature. "Ríða," he nearly yelled, retracting his hand and shaking it in the air, before sticking it in his mouth.

"What did you just do?" Tony yelled from the living room, knowing that the tone of Loki's voice meant he did something bad.

"Nothing," Loki grumbled, searching Tony's kitchen for something to put the soup in. Eventually, he came across a bowl. He grabbed it, and began pulling out all of the drawers, looking for a spoon. When he found one, he poured the soup in the bowl, then brought it out to Tony.

"Why are you doing this?" Tony suddenly questioned, as soon as Loki walked in the living room.

"I need you," he answered simply.

"Why?"

"You have a special part in my plans."

"What are your plans?"

"Well..." he stood in front of Tony, handing the soup out to him.

Tony sat up, shaking his head, "I don't like being handed things. Set it on the table." Loki gave Tony an odd look, but did as he requested. "Thanks," Tony muttered as he leaned forwards, grabbing the bowl.

"I plan on making you mine."

"What does that mean?" Tony was positive he didn't want to know the answer, but that didn't matter; he had to know. He had to protect Earth from whatever it was Loki as planning.

"I suppose I can trust you... After all, if you ruin my plans, I will kill you."

"You can trust me," Tony confirmed as he nervously stirred the soup in his bowl.

"I'm going to get close to you," Loki whispered, sitting down beside Tony, "I am going to get so close, that you will not believe that my intentions could be anything but pure. I'm going to get every bit of information from your mind, and I'm going to use it to destroy you and everyone you care about; everyone that could stop me. I am going to tear you apart, because you are the key to getting to the world."

"So," Tony said just before he flooded his mouth with a spoonful of soup. "To get to the world... you need me. You can't do it without me."

"Do not twist my words, Stark. I can do it without you. It is only easier and much more entertaining for you to do all of the work and destroy your own self in the process."

"So, it's easier to carry me to bed and keep an eye on me and make me soup and put up with me all the time than it is to take over the world?" Tony paused, taken aback by his own words, "why am I saying that like it's hard to believe?"

"Tell me, Stark: would you consider ruling Asgard easier than making an Asgardian meal?"

Tony stared at his soup, thinking about it. Everything in Asgard was probably all magic based, and he didn't know how magic worked. He wasn't magical; he couldn't use it. That being said, if magic could impress humans... could science impress Gods? If he did it right, he could - no. No, no, no. He shook his head, trying to rid his mind of those thoughts. Tony was a genius. That meant he could figure out how to make a simple meal, without going batshit crazy and trying to rule a planet. With or without magic, he could find a way - even if he had to rub two sticks together to make a fire. "I guess it would be."

Loki nodded.

"So, I'm..." supposed to be in love with you - which apparently means being your slave - until you decide to use me in your plans to rule the world.

"You are, what?"

"I'm feeling better," he lied. "Must be the soup."

"Must be," Loki agreed unconvincingly. "I do have magic fingers."

Tony snorted, laughing, "I guess you do."

"Do forgive me, for this."

"Hm?" Tony looked over at Loki - only to see a brief flash of green, before darkness.