"I still can't believe how irresponsible this looks!" Steve said, slipping into the cab right next to Loki. He gave the driver directions back to the towers before continuing his mini-rant. "What were you two thinking?! Wait, I already know Tony wasn't thinking anything!"

Loki silently sulked, keeping his gaze out the window to avoid having to look at the captain's frustrated face.

"But I expected you both to still be there when I got back. I mean, you were with him, I trusted at least you would watch everything! You know," he continued, letting the steam out of system, "You have to be more careful! Those girls...you don't know where they're from. They could have some diseases you can never get rid of! Or you could get kidnapped! Or what if that woman recognized you earlier-"

"I'm sorry Steve. My deepest apologies, I won't leave the towers again, and I won't get too comfortable." Loki mumbled quietly. Whatever Steve was going to say next, he dropped that instant. That was the end of his lecturing, at least for Loki. He momentarily forgot how sensitive the frost giant was and how he should take it easy on him.

"It's fine. I'm sorry for just going off there," he sighed. "I was just so worried."

"Oh."

"Well...it's over now. You...still had fun today though, right?" he hoped not all of their day together was not so tragic to the other man.

"The majority," Loki finally faced the blonde. "But Tony abandoning us..."

"Hey. It's not really your fault." the captain clasped his shoulder reassuringly. "Pepper said she could barely keep him down. And Pepper...well, she's a pretty strong person."

The two settled in silence as the cab made it's way slowly through traffic. They watched people pass by on the streets, busy as ever. It was very interesting; no one seemed to ever sleep. While watching a particular group of young adults though, Loki decided to speak again.

"Steven..."

"Yes?"

Tony woke up to an empty bed and a pounding headache. Just like usual, he concluded, waiting for his vision to sharpen. The lights in his room turned on when he heaved himself out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He took a nice hot shower, some medicine for his head, and got dressed in his usual attire for staying home. It took him until he was squeezing toothpaste onto a brush that he remembered what exactly happened last night.

Oh shit.

Him and Loki were talking, weren't they? He was being stupid, managed to slip around Loki, got drunk, got laid. He had tricked the ultimate trickster. Played him like a ken doll and boom! And...he had left his two friends there. It was probably the first time both of them went clubbing and he left them to fend for themselves. Just traded them off for a pair of temporary women.

Oh shit. Tony was the worst friends in the world. He brushed his teeth as fast as he could and took another pill for good measure. With a sigh, he asked JARVIS if the two had made it home safely. When the AI responded positively, he relaxed a knot and left his room.

He was greeted by a real sight, one he couldn't pay a billion dollar to see, he bet. No one would believe him unless he took pictures.

The two women he had taken to his towers the night before were seated at his bar, chatting away with Loki. The male himself was perched on the counter, and the real sight to see. Crossing his long, bare legs, Loki rested one hand on his thigh. He was wearing no pants, just a pair of black boxers covered in skulls; Tony had bought it to match the tie he got for him. Moving up, he quickly noticed the frost giant was not wearing a shirt underneath one of his leather jackets.

The jacket was jet black and pure leather. It's collar was turned upward as if Loki came out of one of those cliche movies with a bad boy that stole ladies in the middle of the night. The two pockets on either side were nearly invisible if not for a small zipper in the corner. Tony bet the thing had interior pockets too. The jacket fitted his bare chest well though, unzipped only a quarter of the way, exposing a few light scars across his skin.

Loki's other hand held one of Tony's expensive bottles of scotch. This snapped Tony right out of his inspection and he raised his eyebrows as a question.

"The morn has arrived, Stark." Loki said, his voice...a little cheerful?

"What's going on...?"

"Oh! On my way out here to get breakfast, I ran into these lovely ladies!" Loki said in his jolly tone. "And since they are our guests here I invited them over for some quick merry-making before they continue on with their day. You've come at the right time, actually. We were just now talking about how lovely you are, Stark."

"Well, that's nice, but we're busy today, remember? We got that-"

"Don't be silly, Stark! We must be hospitable to our guests and not abandon them."

"Loki-"

"Oh my gosh, Tony," one of the girls spoke up, smiling wide. "You didn't tell us your room mate was sooo cute!"

"Such a gentleman." the other winked at Loki who reluctantly smiled back.

"Thanks...uh ladies-"

"Lady Scarlett and Lady Victoria." Loki finished for him, this time sending a black stare towards Tony. The latter signaled for him to leave the room for a second. Loki simply stared at him, acting as if he didn't understand.

"I hope you don't mind us talking for a second," Tony said eventually, walking out the room for Loki to follow. "Be right back!"

"What the hell was that, Lokes? You're crampin' my style, man." Tony said in a hushed tone, definitely not pleased. "Do you understand what a one-night stand is? Don't you guys have that on your planet?"

"Of course they have those on Asgard, Stark."

"Then why are they still here, Lokes? I thought we were bros!" Tony said, waving his hands animately as he spoke.

"'Bros'?! We are not brothers, Stark!" Loki snarled back, tone totally devoid of whatever fake tone he mustered minutes before. "First, we do not share the same parentage!"

"So!" Tony shot back, still keeping his voice hushed. "And that's not what it means-"

"Second, Stark," Loki continued on as if he never spoke. "A real brother wouldn't have left me there! He wouldn't have left me or Steven wandering around, scared that we lost you!"

Tony was finally quiet.

"Something serious could've happened to us, Tony! Something could have happened to me," Loki finally brought his voice back down to a whisper. "What you did was very Thor-like, Tony. He would do something like that, leave me alone when I shouldn't be, and just disregard it later. Please don't be like him again."

Tony nodded, letting the gravity of the situation fully sink in. He felt like a major douche bag, that's how bad he felt. The purpose of having Loki with him was to try to help him feel better, not worse. And he'd really have to drop some of his habits if he wanted to keep that goal. It would be hard, but the end goal was much more important. Goodness, he was just so irresponsible.

But then...something dawned on him. Did Loki...use his first name? And not his last? That was some improvement, possibly a milestone for them. He inwardly smiled at the fact that they were finally on first-name basis, but wanted to punch himself for how they got there. But he didn't mention the name to the other man, just in case it was just some type of slip of tongue and they hadn't gone anywhere at all.

"I'm sorry."

"Forgiven. Now, I think it's time for these ladies to depart." Loki started edging his way back.

"Hey...do you like them something?" Tony hesitantly asked. Loki bursted out in laughter for a quick moment.

"No," he said between breaths. "They bore me. I much prefer the company of the 'paperclip' as the creature is called. He's an observant fellow that does not make much noise."

Tony smiled.

A/N: Blah OOC. Anyway thank you for over 100 follows! I can't believe you guys find this so amusing. Cx

I enjoy the reviews, thank you. (: