dosclaimer i do not own marvel

Chapter 22

It was late in the afternoon when the good Captain returned from his dealings with S.H.I.E.L.D., bringing with him a certain long-haired Asgardian warrior who was currently invading the kitchen cabinets on a desperate quest for snacks and sweet goods. "Friend Steve! Where can I find those tarts that pop? For I am growing hungry."

"Sorry Thor, Tony's assistant Locke banned all sweets for now." Steve tried to explain how large quantities of sugar, caffeine, alcohol, or fat could be hazardous for a human body. Considering the way Tony always ate, there was concern for his well-being. Thor, being who he was, did not seem to grasp this concept. His blond-bearded face had a a mix of serious contemplation and childlike worry engraved on it.

"This assistant of the Man of Iron must wield great power to banish food and other consumables from this tower." He enthusiastically put his fist down on the table. "I would like to meet this warrior!"

Right now, the All-American hero was glad that most of the furniture commonly used had been reinforced. Any regular old table would have been split in half by such a force. "Locke's not a warrior, he just, well, it's his job to take care of Tony."

Thor frowned. "He is like a housemaid?"

Steve shook his head. "No, no, no, not at all. Locke makes sure that everything keeps running around here, more or less. He does all the work that Tony doesn't want to do, including keeping tabs on his health."

A crease between the thunderer's eyes betrayed that he was in deep thought over Steve's words. "This man carries a big responsibility on his shoulders; the Man of Iron does not lead a simple life."

The blond captain nodded in agreement. "I suppose he does if you put it that way."

"Who does what now?" Questioned Tony, jumping into the conversation and immediately granting a place in the discussion for himself.

"You're a difficult man, Tony," replied Bruce while cleaning off his glasses.

"We are discussing the worth of your aide friend, Tony. He seems to be an interesting man. Yet I regret his decision about the food for I was longing for some tarts that pop." Thor looked disheartened by the loss of the sugary snackfood.

"You and me both, Point Break," said the engineer, holding a smile on his face while inside him turmoil waged. Thor was here, and earlier than expected. Did he know Tony wondered who his assistant was? All coherent thoughts abandoned him when a familiar, yet unusually frantic voice came from the speakers.

"Get Anthony right now!" Before the strange and alarming call for help from Locke was fully formulated, Tony Stark was already outside.

Metal clasped around his foot, binding him in a recognizable red and gold pattern. His face held a serious stance of concern. After all, his tall, fair-haired assistant, Loki, was not one prone to ask for help. The fact that Jarvis immediately relayed the message on the open communication line running in Stark tower said enough. Their pleasant normal day was over. This was further confirmed by the eerie unreal sound they heard on the background. Whatever it was came closer as they heard Locke shouting to his companion.

"Bob, you better start running again. Stark, are you there?"

"Already suiting up." Whatever was roaming around on the other side of the phone connection was close enough to be recognized. Each of the Avengers could hear it before a loud crack killed of the connection.

Chitauri.

Bruce couldn't go, it was out of the question. Steve was already running off to get into uniform. Thor stood outside in his ever present battle armour, right next to Iron Man. Any sign of mirth on the Asgardian's face was gone. Now it stood deadly stern.

Thor looked at his metal-clad friend. "Let us go, Man of Iron." A hammer swung and thunder rang out in the skies above. The fastest of the Avengers took flight.

It did not escape the engineer's sharp mind that the broad-shouldered god knew where to go. Thor only appeared to be following him at first glance, but his keen senses could not be fooled by it. The look the blond-bearded man held on his visage was one Tony had seen before - Thor knew he was heading straight toward his brother.

The first movement Tony picked up on his visor was a short, bald man running as if his life depended on it - Bob. Thor managed to grab the exhausted man by his shoulders, steadying him and helping him stand up. The older man was completely out of breath but seemed to otherwise undamaged. "Are you unharmed, human friend?" asked Thor carefully.

In-between ragged breaths, Bob managed to speak. "Yes, I …. Not harmed.."

Iron Man landed in the mud, immediately asking the question laying heavy on his mind, "Where is Locke?" Inside the mask, and unseen by the others, Tony asked Jarvis to scan the area for other signs of life.

"Checking for vital signs and body heat signatures sir." Brown eyes widened, small wrinkles lining them with worry, as they followed the blue line of the scan from the inside. He looked around and even re-did the scan, but besides the three of them, he picked up no other heat signatures.

"He killed…one of them He told me to run..." Slowly, the older man with the big moustache got more air in his lungs, speaking with more clarity. Bob was able to stand up straight again, having regained his breath, though his heart was still racing like a bullet. "Still out there, Stark, he is still out there… he turned blue before he…"

Thor stared at Iron Man, having taken note of the concern in his fellow warrior's voice earlier. "He is alive, although I fear that I cannot give my aid. Man of Iron, you must go alone."

Loki is alive.

The thought filled him with relief and a sigh escaped him. Who would have ever guessed that he, a savior of the city, would ever feel glad to know a former villain intent on destroying and ruling, was alive and well? The other Avenger was staring at him. He could feel those honest piercing eyes drilling holes in his armour. "What's wrong, Point Break?"

"You worry for him," the broad-shouldered warrior replied.

"Of course I worry for him, I am his boss after all." He shrugged. "Sort of." Thor had a big goofy smile on his face that was entirely inappropriate, considering the fact that somebody was attacking here. Even Bob noticed it and shot the bulky blond man a weird look.

"You are his friend! This is good news!" Declared Thor enthusiastically, voice loud and booming. Bob shot Tony a look that clearly asked 'is this guy for real?' Tony could only give the older man a small nod.

"But you must be wary my friend, he is not wh…" The big Asgardian stopped talking, conflicted as to whether he should share his knowledge or not.

Tony decided to prick the Asgardian's thought bubble himself. "You still think of him as your brother, don't you?"

"Of course I do, it does not matter to me that he - !" Thor stopped and looked deadly serious at him. "You tricked me, Man of Iron." His blue eyes shot a warning glare to his comrade.

Stark snorted, shaking his head. "Stay here and wait for Cap. Ask him to get Bob to the nearest hospital. I will go after your brother. Do not tell the others, they're better off not knowing this." With that, he left. There were better things to do now then face an angry, tricked god.

"Jarvis, scan the area for movements." His suit would need cleaning for mud clung to his metal boots, their weight pressing them deeper into the earth with each step. A cold dead alien body lay in the wet earth, lifeless and limp. It had been a fast death, this much he could tell. How did it happen? It brought him back to Bob's words: he turned blue.

There was still a trail in the mud. Something or somebody had dragged itself away from this spot, off between the run-down shacks some would call home. Loki knew he was here; this hiding was deliberate. The other man refused to be found in this mysterious blue state, but the movement scan turned out to have no results. He started to perform another scan for heat signatures when an idea popped into his head. Back when Loki was "imprisoned" in the glass holding cell, his signature was inhumanly cold.

"Jarvis search for signatures below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. Show anything that is out of the ordinary." His warm brown eyes followed the scan, calmly resting on an area straight ahead of him. It stood out, highlighted, emitting an unusually cold temperature compared to the rest of the area. A deep chill sat in its center, a cold rarely seen even during the heart of winter.

Loki.

He approached slowly but steadily, faceplate still in place for whatever trouble may be laying ahead in the shadows.

"Stark." A voice came from the dark, laced with venom and contempt - Loki's voice - the audible sound of a crazy madman on the brink of snapping. And this insanity was Tony's to break in an attempt to reach the man hidden beneath it.

"Locke."

"You would do well to turn around and head back to that tower of yours," snarled Loki, almost as if it was an accusation. It was a dare toward the other man: accept it or face what was dwelling here.

"Yeah, not happening, not without you. So get out of there. The tower is your home, too." The light-hearted words rang with uncomplicated truth. The man in gleaming armour hoped they would be heard.

A rough laugh barked out of the darkness and the other man stirred in his hiding. "Home, Stark? Monsters like me have no homes. I neither belong in that tower nor anywhere else."

"You're not a monster, just a pain in my ass." Barely a few feet away from the shade in which his assistant was hiding, Tony stopped moving. He could sense the will of the other man, that deep warning chill running in the air, like a barrier keeping him from his goal, pushing him away from what he wanted. "Come out, will you? I promise not to run away screaming like a girl."

"You do not know what you ask, Stark," replied Loki. He slowly rose from his seated position. If this tiny ignorant insect wanted to see what foul thing he was, who was he to deny him the horrible vision? With an antagonizingly slow pace, the ex-god walked out of the dark covers of the shade, carrying himself with all the elegance of royalty.

What walked toward Tony was nothing like the monstrous image his brain had conjured. No fearsome pointed horns or antlers, no sharp snarling teeth, or a ruthless blue-scaled beast ready to strike at his defiance emerged. What stood in front of him was otherworldly, unreal, and beautiful.

Big fully red eyes, like the color of dripping blood, stared at him, filled with a variety of emotions. Those eyes explored him with anger, hate, and even a hint of doubt started crossing them as he gave no reaction at all. They stared at him, demanding a reaction. Cerulean blue covered his skin, but here and there, hints of other hues. No scales, horns, spikes, or other horrid blemishes could be seen from his viewpoint, but a myriad of swirling lines in a complex, natural design covered Loki's body. Tony's eyes traced them from behind the mask. The lines rounded and curved on an angled face, disappearing under the hemline of Loki's shirt. It took great strength of will for Tony not to imagine how he would look naked in this form.

Loki was a tall predator, all strong, lean muscles under blue skin. Piercing red eyes burned him from the inside out - mortal, alien, and godly.

The gold plate lifted automatically from his face and his breath frosted in the air as he spoke. "I told you before to use my name."

A malicious, catlike grin spread on Loki's face. His appearance was a heritage he still cursed, even if had not only saved his, but also the life of another. "Anthony."

The name was almost spat at him. This new alien Loki neared him now that his gold mask was removed and the cold air stroked his face. He stared at him, studying the lines and expressions of Tony's face like a stern judge. Tony blurted out the first thing that sprung alive inside his mind. "You have beautiful eyes, one of my favorite colours even."

"A fearless joker, that is what you are. Not even a decent bit in you knows when to stop." Yet Loki knew that eyes seldom told lies, not to him, the master of lies. The intelligent brown orbs of the engineer did not flicker or falter as he spoke. Their aim stayed steady and true, on Loki and nothing else.

A muddied golden-clad foot stepped forward, straight into the personal bubble of the blue-skinned man. It might have been an illusion, but Tony swore he could feel the temperature rise a fraction. "I don't see a monster at all. As a matter of fact, I'm quite turned on right now. It's very uncomfortable." Tony looked at the confusion running through those mesmerizing crimson eyes.

This mortal man was incredibly stupid, for who spoke out loud their longing for a vile Jotun such as him? And who dared to mean it? "No." Anthony did not want him, only what he saw, the idea of Locke. "You do not crave me. You lie without realizing it."

"Hell no, I don't care what or who you are anymore. It's way too late for that now. You're a cold-hearted stupid asshole, but I like you." Tony almost swallowed his last words, but it was sink or swim now that he had said it out loud. He severely hoped this whole thing would not blow up directly in his face. Two hands curled around his metal scaled neck, a warning signal. Pissed-off eyes stared at him with intent, burning with anger or something close to it.

"Fool, you still lie to me!" The cool, gold metal beneath his hands did not freeze under his touch, no matter how Loki willed it. "I should kill you here and now! It would be most merciful of me."

"You can't kill me," retorted Tony, swatting the blue hands away. Thankfully, no harm was done to him thanks to the suit's protection. That cold clasp would have left a burn otherwise. He inched closer, pressing in, a vague smile forming on his face. "You don't want to kill me."

The ex-god caught the doubt in those last words. Anthony was unsure of whether he would live or not when Loki cast his judgment, his words nothing but a bluff. Yet his own claim was nothing but a warning lie because inside Loki raged a dilemma. No longer could he muster up burning hate toward the other; the will to grab him by the throat and rip out the arc reactor was gone. It was nothing more than a dull, fading idea left in the back of his mind. This man had started to etch himself onto his heart. Rather than simply killing him and bringing a swift end, he wanted to pull the armoured engineer closer and ravish him with kisses, bites, and all those things that could draw out the sounds that made his blood boil.

Tony's gloved hand remained placed on the glacial hand, detecting the temperature. His thoughts had been accurate; the temperature had been rising gradually. The blue palm was still freezing and cold, but it could be touched by Tony's ungloved hand without leaving frostbite. "I want you to kiss me," voiced Tony, almost demanding and deadly serious. It was definitely a dare, a challenge he wanted the other to risk taking.

"Of all the humans I have ever met, you are by far the most arrogant, ignorant, and impulsive," Loki rejoined. His eyes roamed the sun-kissed skin of the other. Oh, how he wanted to fill that request gladly, but he had believed in the lies of others for too long to yield so easily. Still, there was something unseen and untold hanging between them. The leftover apprehension, still silent, caused friction in the air. "To ask this now, without knowledge of what kind of creature I truly am, is most ludicrous. This vile blue colour hides more than what your eyes see. It does not tell you of what great chaos I ha-….."

Tony rolled his eyes at the dramatic speech; it was like reliving Shakespeare in the park all over again. With the added height his robotic suit provided him, he was almost as tall as the other man. He might as well make it of good use now. "Shut up. You're just as stupid as I am, Loki." Tony did not want to wait for a vocal reaction; he actually feared what might come with this confession. The best way to shut another person up was always with a kiss.

Loki gasped as those soft, slightly pink lips locked around his. The pure human heat radiated off them like a furnace, scorching his dark-blue mouth where they touched. It was a desperate, silencing kiss, the kind that took his breath away and forced him to welcome its embrace. That mouth was strong, forceful, and inescapable, pushing away his glacial skin with each lingering caress. Loki could feel that flare of heat eating away at his cerulean blue cover, tearing it down piece by piece. Slowly, smooth, pale skin reappeared, accompanied by a flush of red that was no longer a sign of aggression or shame, just Loki's own devious need for this aggravating idiot of a man, the one who wanted him in all his inhuman glory.

They broke apart for just a short second to gather breath and urgently fill lungs with air. It was enough for a singular thought to press itself to the surface of Loki's mind, breaking free from the shackles of the body. Anthony had honestly wanted every part of him, holding full knowledge of what that meant. How could this have escaped him? It had laid beneath the waves of consciousness until it been teased into the open. Now it lay bare, ready to be thrown back into the sea of forgetfulness, or to be gutted, skinned, and eaten alive. Before the engineers lips sought him out again, he all but hissed out a question. "For how long!? For how long did you know who I was?" he accused.

"Does it even matter?" Tony replied, holding a pale-toned hand in his armoured grasp. All of that gorgeous blue had faded, revealing the familiar face of his assistant, whose blue eyes roamed his face in a most peculiar, almost possessive, way.

"No, it does not hold meaning any longer. There is only one unexpected thing now that remains," Loki replied, with something between a laugh and an evil grin lingering on his lips. It gave way to a very human expression on his face, one that made Tony Stark kiss him once more.

Again thank you guys for taking the time to read this, you're all wonderful.

Feel free to leave a review, i eat them as breakfast^^

special thanks to my beta for this chapter swordmisstress and tragic guardian!