disclaimer: i do not own marvel
Chapter 17
The next morning, everything returned to its normal routine. Well, as far as "normal" could be used to describe living in the heights of Stark Tower. Fresh coffee was brewed in the very early morning hours by Tony, who was still working in his lab. Even if he wished for sleep, the amount of coffee he'd drunk the day before would not let him, nor would his own excitement settle and decrease long enough for him to feel remotely tranquil. So he continued to work during the long hours of the night, only taking a break at five in the morning to make a fresh batch of the dark, caffeinated liquid.
Work had been wonderful that night, being fuelled by caffeine, a decent meal in his stomach, and a feeling of smug happiness. It made him feel energized enough to work without being interrupted by the sandman. All the fragments of the car's sturdy framework were complete. The only thing left to do was assemble them together into one strong whole. He had fitted the engine in the front part and, as expected, it fit absolutely immaculately. As he glanced at the blueprints floating around him, suspended in mid-air, nothing but a nod of contentment could be given - what he had designed would be sleek and stream-lined; it would attain mind-boggling speed in the blink of an eye. Unlike any other expensive or rare sports car out there, it run without slurping a devastating amount of fuel. It was going to be deadly silent on the road all while running on clean energy.
Pepper was going to love this idea. Not the sports car, but the idea behind it. Of course, she held no love for him driving in it while being in a drunken stupor, and looking back on event, he agreed with her. But speed had never been an issue for him; rather, it was his curse. He loved speed.
"Jarvis, are you ready to move the parts?" Tony asked while a heavy-duty robotic arm carefully removed the engine from its fitting.
"Yes, sir. All parts will be transported downstairs. Arrival and estimated assembly time is approximately one hour and forty-two minutes," announced the ethereal voice, a barely discernible tone of vexation in its voice.
Of course, that caught the creator's attention. "Something wrong there, Jarvis?"
"For once, I would like you to think through your ideas, sir. Transporting them in a service elevator is far from ideal." Jarvis knew he was correct on this matter. How could he not be? Stark should know this as well and somewhere deep down inside the man, he agreed. Given time, Jarvis had learned that humans, especially Stark, never did things in the most practical way. It was as if their adept minds were so stuffed with ideas and various thought processes that they could not see the simple and logical solutions in life.
Tony shrugged the comment off and took his empty mug. "Close down after me, Jarvis. I'm off for breakfast."
"Only breakfast, sir?" echoed Jarvis, who was currently saving all opened files and guiding the car parts downstairs with utmost precision.
"Of course I'm only going for breakfast. Why would you think otherwise?" asked the brown-haired engineer with a grin, knowing exactly what the A.I. wished to convey.
Tony entered the spacious open living room at precisely the same time a certain tall, blonde figure walked in wearing a dark bathrobe. Locke looked well-rested with no dark circles beneath his eyes, but his sandy-haired locks fell in a messy disorderly fashion, betraying the fact that he'd stepped out of bed only moments ago. However, the man's facial expression was different than normal. It looked less like a woman suffering from bad PMS.
"Had a good night's rest, your Highness?" Tony queried.
Locke's sleep-filled eyes glanced lazily towards the familiar voice, but before he could formulate an answer a yawn surfaced, one that he tried unsuccessfully to block from view with his left hand. Slowly, he opened his closed eyes, finally finding his mouth willing to talk. "Yes, I did," he finally answered. Step by step, he moved to the kitchen where upon arriva,l he opened a fridge now filled with a variety of products. He took out a plate of left-over sandwiches from the previous day, intent on not letting these carefully made treats go to waste. Slowly, he shuffled over to the dining table, placing the half-filled sandwich tray on the counter. As he pulled a chair out and sat down, a calloused hand held out a mug of warm coffee with milk, its aroma tingling his sense of smell.
Tony watched long slender fingers curl around the coffee mug and take it out of his hold. His dozy assistant inhaled the fumes curling upwards from the hot beverage before bringing it to his lips for what appeared to be a much-needed drink. Tony felt like he should say something, like good morning or something remotely similar, but he could not bring himself to break the unusually peaceful morning silence between them. Looking at the unruly blonde hair of his assistant, Tony opted for the next best thing. Gently placing his hand on the other man's head, he ruffled the soft irresistible locks.
Unexpectedly, Loki leaned into the comforting touch and sighed. As sudden as its unexpected but welcomed arrival had occurred, the hand left in a flash. Through half-shut eyes, he saw Stark quickly grab one of the sandwiches from the tray before taking a seat as well. Gradually, the course of his own reactions oozed into his mind. Loki all but fully blamed the motion on his half-awake state.
The tall ex-god of mischief and lies was the first to break the silence. "I have sent the corresponding documents, along with your answer, to Miss Potts. She was pleasantly surprised by your choice."
Tony remembered the files he'd been given with three options to choose open to him. He'd carefully looked over them all, comparing their worth for his company, the publicity they would be given, and any personal merit he might have in each option. Everyone wanted his attention for their own gain. Pepper had always carefully arranged each benefit, dinner, or opening night without his input. Locke had done similarly by sorting out the worst of the worst and removing all the bad choices. The difference between Locke and Pepper though was that, at the end, Locke had given Tony three files. He'd given Tony a choice. And well, that was a new experience for the genius.
The first option had been a benefit held at the Museum of Natural History. The raised cash would be used to fund an expedition to some dreadfully uninteresting place he'd never heard of in his life. The evening would be irritatingly boring and filled with meaningless talk and idle chit-chat.
The second was a conference about the impact of machinery on the environment. They would have him stand in the spotlight to give a meaningless, empty introduction speech. This, no doubt, would have been Pepper's choice. So naturally, it was not Tony's.
He chose the third option for a very simple, silly little reason. "Kids are fun. That's why I chose the children's hospital. At least they still know how to have fun, unlike the rest of the adult world, which is filled with a bunch of boring idiots."
"Well Stark, for once, I agree."
Tony cocked an eyebrow. "That kids are fun?"
"No, that people are stupid," answered Loki. His pale face carried a stoic expression like nothing really mattered. A snort escaped from Stark's mouth, followed by a smile and a genuine laugh. Loki could not help feeling rather amused himself.
"All right, I'm glad we agree." Tony did not want to ruin their good mood, but felt he had no other option. "Right now, I have other pressing matters for you to deal with." His tall assistant's half-smile that had been playing on his beautiful lips quickly faded at Tony's upcoming news. "Steve and Bruce are coming over tomorrow; it's an Avenger's national security sort of thing. They are staying here, so I need you to arrange rooms for them downstairs. Since there is a lack of furniture…" Tony stopped the waterfall of words streaming out his mouth and looked to Locke, hoping for a sign of positive reaction.
"Only Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner?" he asked with clear discomfort.
"Well, Thor is off with his scientist girlfriend for now and who knows where Legolas and Natasha are. I've designated a room for each of them when they eventually arrive. I also took the opportunity of having Jarvis sort out their personal preferences so that all you need to know is already on your laptop."
Loki felt a twitch forming in the corner of his eye, one obtained by pure aggravating annoyance. Heimdall was watching this. No doubt he and the other "gods" of Asgard were currently laughing at Loki and his fate. The God of Chaos, Mischief, and Lies reduced to this? He could do nothing to prevent the other Avengers from living here. Even worse was the fact that he would be made to live with Thor again. "Very well. It's not like I have a choice in the matter."
Tony honestly felt surprised regarding his assistant's answer. For reasons unknown, he'd expected a verbal tug of war from the man over this "invasion of privacy."
"Okay, glad that's out of the way," Stark said hesitantly as he rose from his chair. A part of Tony wanted to stay and keep Locke company; another part told him that this was an unwise choice and he should opt for getting the hell out before the shit hit the fan. Eyeing the stiff, darkening look on his assistant's face, Tony made the right choice and stood up. Yet he could not help the rush of guilt travelling through his body and he thought a small gesture of kindness might be appropriate.
"I'm going back to work. If you need anything, ask Jarvis." Big blue orbs stared at him with ruthless beauty and hot anger. "Locke?" Stark knew very well that he was the reason behind the shift in Loki's demeanour. He focused on the taller man, waiting for the outburst, but was surprised when his usually uninhibited and furious anger stayed at bay.
Loki had always known that sooner or later he would have to come face to face with the other Avengers eventually…and with Thor. It just happened to be sooner rather than the later he had hoped. This could even be seen as his own fault - his failure had led the Chitauri to scouting the nine realms. His failure had led those filthy creatures to Midgard and they were utterly persistent in their chase. He simply no longer had the will to feel such violent emotions regarding his fate. His mood spiraling downward rapidly, he replied, "What is it, Stark?"
With this, an ominous grin grew on the engineer's face. Tony saw the recognition dawn on Locke's face. It was a familiar, teasing, and devilish emotion that Locke had come to know all too well. "Honestly, I just wanted to give you a really good morning."
Loki's eyebrow arched. Had Stark not already wished him a pleasant morning and day, even greeting him as he did so while decimating anything "good" about the upcoming day after their shared meal? He saw no way for the other man to redeem himself after his awful news. Creating a second pleasing start was not an option according to Loki's calculations. Yet those glinting brown orbs stared intensely at him, telling him otherwise, while crossing the distance between them.
God, Tony loved seeing the emotions play out in Locke's blue eyes and witnessing all the thoughts flickering to life within them. Those orbs tried their utmost best at conveying an urgent message, but before it had any chance to reach its destination, Tony gave his reply, "With a kiss." His assistant's instant reaction was priceless. Jarvis had better save this footage because Tony would pay a small fortune for the opportunity to watch it on replay if only once.
Loki's eyes widened in sudden realization and his expression was reminiscent of a deer staring into the headlights of oncoming truck. The taller man skittishly looked around for an escape, but there was none and he was already plastered against the backside of the chair, pinned in place between Stark's arms. He looked like a dangerous animal in confinement, realizing there was no escape possible from where this situation was heading. As much as Loki wanted to hurt the brown-haired engineer, his body did not appear against this idea; rather it seemed to crave it.
Loki turned his head to face Stark, his vicious, defiant blue eyes looking up and catching the other man in their enthralling gaze. For the second time in that tumultuous week, a kiss was placed upon him. Oh, those lips that caught him. They were so soft and demanding, sending an alarming shiver up through his spine and stirring up long forgotten or ignored parts deep within him. The friction of those lips locked in battle was dreadfully delicious. A rough calloused hand caressed the curve of his long, pale neck and settled itself on the back of his head, nestling between his golden locks. That hand pulled him closer and closer, urging him to give in to his desires, that touch sent him sailing with a frightening want and a need for further heated touches and affection. Swept away by his rising emotions and combined with the teasing of a slick, skilled tongue begging for entrance, Loki caved. He granted the demanding appendage what it wanted and give into something finally admitted he wanted as well.
Their tongues met in an all-devouring havoc and Loki noted that Anthony Stark tasted bittersweet, like his coffee. Those warm brown eyes were now filled to the brim with lust, yet Loki felt that the other man was holding back. That was unacceptable, for no man should withhold anything from a god. As Stark tried to pull away, reaching out for a breath of fresh air, Loki's teeth caught his bottom lip and pale fingers clutched messy brown hair, making the other gasp out in a hiss. He nibbled on the man's reddened, kiss-worthy lips as his blood slowly set its course toward his nether regions.
Tony was lost as his plan began failing. Where had this gorgeous, poisonous man been hiding all his life? A hot hungry mess of teeth and tongue trailed down his neck while surprisingly strong hands pulled hard but carefully on his hair. Still set on his course of action, Tony planted a knee against Locke's chair, sliding it forward slowly.
Loki was fully aware of everything he did to the other man. His lust was like a blaze inside him. His want burned for something he had not had in a long time and was growing steadily every second. For now, there were no regrets as he bathed in the sensation that was his current priority. He found a soft, clean spot on Stark's neck - one not sullied by motor oil or sweat—a tiny pure spot on the otherwise sweaty, panting man in front of him. He bit down, sucking on the skin to leave a fierce mark. Loki looked back up in time to notice a smug grin on Anthony Stark's face, alerting him to the fact that something was not going the way he wanted it.
Tony caught those blue eyes filled to the brim with a delirious glare. Just a nudge more and his knee was where he needed it to be. Locke was still pinned to the chair underneath one of his arms, a bewildered mess to behold. That final nudge came along with a grin signaling that Tony now held the upper hand. Locke's head lolled back at the sudden pressure on his groin. Instantly, his assistant released his hold on Tony, eyelids fluttered at the aggravating strain and his mouth parted in a silent moan. The tides had turned and Locke no longer held the upper hand.
"Oops, look at the time. I really should be working now. Sorry." Tony casually removed his knee and arms from the chair, leaving Locke staring at him with half-lidded, confused eyes.
"What?" Loki managed to stumble out between erratic breaths.
"You better get back to work too. There's still a lot to do." With that, Tony turned and headed to the garage, knowing full well that there was a shitload of work to take his mind off Locke…for now. Twice, his assistant had left him longing for more. First, with a hot, passionate kiss and second, with a desire-laced, velvet voice. Never before had a well-articulated sentence sounded so seductive. This was supposed to be Tony's sweet, long-awaited revenge, but it didn't go entirely as planned.
Walking away wasn't the only hard thing.
Thank you lovely readers for taking time to read this story, i know that you guys are always patiently waiting for update's.
Feel free to leave a review, as always those things are brain-food.
And last but not least big thanks to sinister banana and swordmistress for being the betas!