disclaimer: i don't own the avengers, boo hoo :c

Chapter 12

Tony called his earlier cancelled "date." Natalie—Nat, or whatever that woman's name was—eagerly accepted the opportunity to meet up with him. She'd be a fool to turn me down. Women always came easily to him. It never ceased to amaze Tony of his ability to find willing bed partners with just a snap of his fingers. He was like a bright, radiating light and they were the moths helplessly attracted to him. They gave him their bodies, their kisses, and their unwanted shallow advances. They left him satisfied in one way and they sated some of his hungers, but they always left him feeling empty. Their transparent, superficial love was always unwelcome. That was only meant for the man they saw, the man that had charms, looks, and money. He'd given them a short moment of bliss and that was enough. Sex was all he was willing to give and take. By morning, he always wanted the women out of his tower.

He did not want to face Locke at home, at least not today. Tony knew he had to face his assistant eventually; you can't share the same kitchen and not run into each other. But right now, he needed to get something out his system and he refused to accept a certain attraction that had kept him distracted recently. So he had made the mistake of inviting "Nat" for dinner and now he was suffering from his bad decision. She chatted away about all sorts of meaningless things. A pretend look of interest sat on his face. Pepper would have seen right through it. Even Locke would have…

Damn you, Tony! Stop using your brain for once. Tony suppressed a sigh at his rotten luck. Thank god she's pretty at least.

Nat had blue eyes with long lashes and long hair in the unnatural blonde colour that so many women seemed to possess. And legs, dear God, her legs reached endless lengths. And soon they will wrap around me. Her mindless talk continued and he was eternally grateful when the waiter brought them their food. It wasn't because of hunger. He simply feared that his head might pop and explode if he had to listen to anymore of her shit.

"Another bottle of champagne, please." Tony smiled at her and gave a wink. In return, she giggled.

"Oh, Tony, you are so kind."

No, I just need a drink. Perhaps you'll be more alluring with alcohol in my veins. As if the waiter understood his need, a fresh cold bottle soon appeared. The good man poured it into their glasses while taking the already empty one from the wine cooler. Very efficient. That man deserves a good tip. Tony raised his glass. "A toast to dinner, so dig in." He drank half the glass before hers had even touched her red-painted lips.

Before there was time to finish his drink and refill the glass, she cut in, "May all our dreams come true." A bright, wide smile, full of white bleached teeth, was on her face as she said this. Tony nearly choked on his drink, but pretended nothing happened and started cutting into his steak.

He enjoyed the food. The meat was succulent and well-seasoned. There weren't too many vegetables as sides either. This blonde woman, however, barely touched her food and the salad she ordered wasn't much to begin with - just a few green leaves mixed with a motley combination of other vegetables. There were small pieces of bacon tossed in, which she meticulously plucked out, removing them from the greenery. What a waste. Bacon deserves better treatment than that.

Dinner was finished in relative silence with only the occasional chatter about current news items and other similarly boring subjects that failed to hold Tony's interest. The same dark-haired waiter returned, cleaning their table and removing the empty plates. "Would you like dessert?" he asked.

"Ooooh, yes please! Do you have anything with—"

Tony cut her off. "No, we wouldn't. You guys know where to send the bill, don't you?"

"But Toonnnyyy." His date pouted in what Tony was sure she thought was an attractive way, but failed miserably to his eyes.

God, woman, stop whining. Why did I ever think this was a good idea? He rolled his eyes. Reminder to myself to never take one-night stands to dinner. It's not worth it. I bet Locke would find this whole situation rather amusing. He'd probably laugh…

Fuck.

"You'll get your dessert," he commented, smiling smoothly at her as he got up from his chair. "Just not here." They left the place swiftly, hurrying to the car. Tony walked with the will to purge a certain thought from his mind, as if he could outrun his demons, and Nat—or was it Kat?—with the idea of sleeping with the one and only Tony Stark. He hoped she had the decency to be gone from his bed by morning.

The alcohol had done its work though. He felt a comfortable numbing buzz at the back of his head telling him everything was fine. His remark about dessert had worked wonders and there was a silence full of heated anticipation in the car. The blue eyes of the young woman next to him roamed his stature in both question and appreciation. Slowly, she shifted in her leather car seat and the hem of her black dress slid up an inch as her left leg brushed against his. Subtlety was obviously not something she practiced. It was evident in her eyes and her actions what she desired from him.

Tony smirked. Her way of seduction was crude and fast. She was years too young to understand the excruciating slow play of words, eyes, and soft touches like he did. Not that it mattered. Right now, he had no patience for a slow seduction. Tonight, all he craved was her soft body around his and the distraction of her warm flesh. He leaned toward her when the car slowed down, knowing this was their stop. He whispered in her ear, "You'll get your dessert very soon." Even without touching her, he was able to draw a soft sound from her lips. Her breath hitched in unison with her rapidly blushing face.

Their current play continued in the elevator, where slow tunes played in the background, elevating the mood slightly. Tony did not bother with idle talk as he placed his hand on the back of her neck, pulling her towards him and catching her fire engine red mouth. The kiss wasn't soft, but lustful and needy. She knew what she wanted and slid her mouth open, letting her tongue slowly tease his bottom lip. Her hands reached along his sides and up to the back of his neck where she dug her brown-polished nails into his short hair. Tony deepened the kiss and invaded her mouth, taking control. He flipped them so that her back pressed against the elevator wall, her lust-filled lips never leaving his, but only craving more and more. Long fingernails travelled down his spine, scratching his skin.

A 'ping!' sound interrupted them, signaling their arrival at the penthouse. She followed Tony out of the elevator, giving a loud giggle of joy at her surroundings. Please shut up! I don't need him to wake up.

Her arms clung around him in a sudden embrace and she kissed him on the cheek. Shit. She's way too affectionate for my tastes. At least she stopped talking but—

"Tony, your house is wonderful!" She exclaimed, eyes wide as she looked.

Great, it's getting to her head. "Yes, I expect nothing less for myself." He went towards the bar without her, hoping he could shut up this chatterbox with another drink or at least get a drink himself.

He was pouring a glass of scotch when she came up from behind and nibbled on his ear. "I'm ready for that dessert now," she murmured. Her voice was sweet and filled with lust. Her hands moved down his body and he let her.

Finally, a good idea from you.

"But first…"

No! You don't need firsts.

Teasingly, her hand reached further down along the hem of his pants. "First, I need to go to the bathroom."

You cruel bitch.

He did not make his dissatisfaction known. "It's in the hallway on the left side of the elevator. Be quick." He was left alone to finish his golden-coloured drink at the bar. This woman was letting things get to her head and invading his personal space with her unwanted affections. Those did not belong in this scenario; they were not lovers, just merely bed partners for a night. Why women always thought they would be able to get more from him than others did was a mystery of the female kind. They all knew—hell, everybody knew—his reputation and tastes in bed. Settling down was not involved. It was mindboggling as to why some of them still tried their weak attempts to "win" him over. He shook his head.

His scotch glass was now empty. Her leave was taking far too long for his liking, so he began to walk towards the hallway. She'd better be ready. He needed her now and not in an hour, when the alcohol would start to wear off. His eyes snapped open in dread as he heard a voice coming from the hallway.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? This is my private domain."

This was followed by a whiny voice calling out to him. "Tony!" Tony groaned and rolled his eyes. Great, just great.

"I do not take kindly to wailing women especially if they interrupt my sleep."

Yep. Tonight was going so well, how could things get any more perfect than this? Tony's mood plummeted as his frustration grew.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to, but, who are you anyway? And, Tony, where are you?" Nat's voice was rising with panic.

"I believe I was first in asking a question. Now, answer me." Tony recognised the tone in Locke's voice. He was clearly irritated and he could not blame the man for it. Nat was irritating, gorgeous, but irritating.

"She's with me." Tony turned the corner, entering the hallway where his one-night stand was trying to have an impossible discussion with his— Tony's brain yelled for an immediate shut down at the sight. All regular functions seemed to stop and he could do nothing but stare at the image before him.

Locke seemed like a stranger compared to his appearance earlier that morning. He had a clean, freshly-shaven face; all traces of the scruffy beard were gone from the man's visage and his blonde hair was cut shorter. The half-long hairs hung just above his shoulders, framing the definitively manly yet beautiful face. God…fuck, I did not just think that.

Locke narrowed his eyes, feeling uncomfortable under Stark's gaze. "Explain," he ordered.

"You washed your hair." What the hell, Tony. Get your shit together.

"Obviously. What is this feeble tramp doing here? I was sleeping and she dared to wake me with her noises of glee." Derision practically dripped from the word.

Nat remained silent, either impressed or threatened by the glare she was receiving from the blonde man. "Locke, this is the date you cancelled a few days back. Nat, this is Locke, my assistant."

Of course, this woman chose that particular moment to interrupt as she tried to defend herself in vain. "I am not a tramp!"

Locke raised an eyebrow. "You certainly look like one with your dress running up and your painted lips smeared. Or, pray tell me, is this the new way of dressing with elegance?" Derision level: rising.

She stuttered her response. "Y-You jerk! Tony! Do something!"

"Cease your whining, woman!" Locke growled. "You don't actually think he cares for you? He cares only as much as you care about his wellbeing and life."

"Hey! I care! Tony is—"

"Spare me your lies. You are far too transparent to try doing that."

It was like watching two cats fight and the big, hissing one was winning. Tony realised he had to get them to stop before they started demolishing the curtains. "Ok, now kittens. Stop fighting."

"See?" Nat spat petulantly at Locke, smirking. "He calls me a kitten, so he does care."

Tony had to put an end to this before the girl got anymore disillusioned. The situation was already getting out of hand and he might as well make the clean break now. "No, I don't care."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "But…you took me on a date."

"Yep, my mistake. I was just hungry. Now be a doll and get back into the living room or—"

"Leave right now," Locke commanded, aggravation ringing clearly in his voice as he interrupted Stark's sentence. He did not want this annoying woman in his presence any longer. His slumber would not be intruded upon for such a pathetic reason. If Stark thought he could leave the girl remaining anywhere in his vicinity, he was dreadfully wrong. She simply stood there, mouth agape, looking like a lamb ready for slaughter. Something told him that even this one had to annoy Stark to a certain degree.

"No, she doesn't have to leave," Tony said directly. He actually wanted her to stay.

Locke looked menacingly at the blonde woman for forcing herself upon his domain. "She is leaving."

"I…I will leave…" She was already retreating toward the elevator under Locke's effective and penetrating glare. "Tony, call me when he is gone, please? Bye."

Tony sighed heavily. No, I won't call you. There are better fish in the sea. "Locke, what the hell! You ruined my night again, cockblocker."

Loki stared back at him, the same menacing look still present even in his sleep-filled eyes. "If your companion were capable of decent silence or respect, I might have let her stay. It is not my fault that you brought such a lowly woman here. Surely even you must have doubts of her character. Now leave me be! I want to go back to sleep."

Tony could not help it. His frustration demanded a reply. "One, yes, she was horrible." Please, please stop looking at me. "Two, I don't care. I just wanted sex." He noticed Locke's glare diminishing. A look of tiredness washed over the man's face as he clearly tried to stifle a yawn. That was kind of cu…Stop looking at him, Tony. "Three, for the love of God, please stop cancelling these kinds of dates in my agenda just to annoy me."

Loki sighed. Why did humans go to such lengths trying to find sexual relief, even going so far as to wake him up from a pleasant slumber between soft blankets? Not to mention, Stark had been staring at him throughout the whole ordeal as if the situation itself wasn't enough. Really, he had shaved, washed, and cut his hair. What was so special about that? He stared back, trying to discern the different facial expressions on the brown-haired man before him. Frustration and confusion were the most evident in his brown eyes, but there was something else too, lingering along the edges. Loki could not put a name on it nor could he look away. Something in Stark's eyes held him captive.

Tony, on the other hand, saw Locke's demeanour change after his "date" left. His authority sunk low again and tiredness washed over the man's body. His gait now was almost calm and serene, with only his eyes remaining ever vigilant and observing. "Go back to bed, Locke."

Loki was indeed tired and wanted to sleep more than anything else, but to be told to go to bed like an infant? That was a step too far. "Do not tell me what to do, Stark." Even tired, Locke's voice held a commanding power.

"Stop twisting my intentions." Tony sighed, running a hand over his face. This was not how he wanted the night to go.

"Your intentions are to get rid of me."

"Yes…no." Which one is it, Tony? "Just go to bed, Locke. It's obvious you need sleep."

Tiredness dissipated from his assistant's face only to be replaced by a frown. Loki moved toward him and spoke threateningly. "You are still telling me what to do, Stark."

Tony backed off, not from fear but by another thought that crossed his mind. The way the man danced in front of him with his rather endearing tired look and threatening posture was…arousing. "I'm not…it's just that…" Oh screw this.

"That what, Stark!" The lingering emotion had risen in the inventor's eyes and Loki stared back, his own blue orbs gleaming with the chance to discover what it was. Slowly, he recognised the dull flame of desire staring lustily back at him from Stark's brown irises. He backed away from Stark by a footstep, asking himself one question. Why? That woman already left.

That was when Tony Stark's actions spoke louder than words.

Thank you for reading everybody! i hope you guys will always love this story.

Don't hesitate to leave some soul-food ( reviews)

lots of love, i dreamdragon

last but not least, thanks to sinister banana and swordmisstress for beta reading