Eighty Six

Loki's view

I was heartbroken when Thor gave me that envelope. The pictures seemed so unreal, but he assured me they were taken by Jarvis. Thor wanted to apologize for being drunk and being taken advantage of. He assured be he was really sorry, he didn't mean any harm.

I took one last look at the pictures of my beloved Tony kissing my brother before shoving them back in the envelope. I had nothing to say to Thor. I teleported away. I made a duplicate of the photos and teleported those to a safe location before appearing in on Tony, busy with a little box.

"You mind explaining that?" I growled at him.

"Explain what? Thor just had this." Tony asked confused, but opened the envelope anyway. I stood over him waiting for an answer.

"Who took these?"

"Thor says they were pulled off Jarvis's database. How could you do this to me?" I smacked him across the face. "I thought we loved each other?"

"This can't be real. This isn't me!" He stared at the photos in disbelief. "Loki, this isn't me. I do love you. I've even been working on a gift for you." He presented a small box tied with red ribbon. I had no time for this and magicked it away.

"Why would you do this to me? With my own brother?" I turned from him, tears in my eyes. He tried to put his arms around me, I shrugged him off.

"Loki, those pictures are forgeries. That never happened. Please, we can figure this out. Please talk to me." He plead, tears in his eyes.

"Tony, I need some space and some time." I said, brushing a tear from my cheek before disappearing into a black mist.

I had returned to Alfheim, where I felt safest. My Elvin friend and former lover, Îrben, welcomed me with open arms. He held me, softly smoothing my hair until the tears stopped.

"What's happened Loki?" He sat me down. I produced the envelope from the mists and handed it to him. Îrben opened it and flipped through the photos. "Oh, Loki. And I liked him too."

"I just can't believe he would do that. I thought he was the one. I can't believe I thought he was." The tears began anew.

"Loki, he seemed completely sincere while he was here. He genuinely was in love with you. What happened?"

"We were at a party with the rest of our team. He had a few too many drinks." I explained.

"May I?" Îrben asked if he could relive that moment through my eyes. Sometimes I envied the Elvin gifts. They were so different from mine. I didn't possess the mental powers that Elves did, the gift of reliving a moment by touching a person, or being able to know what a person is feeling or thinking. If I had the gifts of the Elves, I would know if Tony had betrayed me for sure. The only reason he was currently alive was that I had my doubts. Tony didn't seem to remember the incident, and Thor had been very upset with our relationship.

One of my prior relationships ended poorly because of my brother. He had outed myself and Fandral to the Allfather. The Allfather insisted it end immediately, as being romantically involved with a member of the same sex was forbidden of Asgardain royalty. We continued seeing each other behind everyone's backs until Thor reminded Fandral of Asgardain law. Fandral left me to avoid imprisonment. I sighed thinking back.

"Of course." I allowed Îrben to relive the moment through my eyes. He gently touched two fingers to each of my temples, guiding my forehead to touch his.

"It was a troublesome night, wasn't it?" He observed.

"Yes. Not everyone accepts us."

"You have made some friends, who care deeply about you."

"Yes, Natasha, Pepper and Bruce have been very supportive. I think they like seeing Tony not put himself in danger any longer."

"Tony doesn't seem like he meant to stray. He watched you all night to make sure you were safe. He defended you several times. Even as you were being led away by the small brunette haired woman, he watched you. He didn't look well in those final moments." Îrben broke away. "It seemed your brother was trying to keep you apart from him. I'd have to see inside his mind to confirm, but I have the strange feeling Thor is behind this. I've never liked that brother of yours."

"You know, he's not really my brother. I was adopted." I playfully joked. It was good to be with a good friend.

"Yeah, I know. Any suggestions to get close to Tony, so I can confirm this for you?"

"I've gotten close to him without his knowing before. He has an affection for cats."

"Cats?"

"They're four legged little beasts, they have an affection for humans. Are lap sized, have pointy ears and whiskers." I mimed for him. Îrben laughed. "Okay, I'll teleport you and shift you to something he would accept. But not tonight."

"Okay. Rest, Loki. We'll take of this tomorrow."