HUD: Well damn, these just keep getting shorter and shorter. I'm sorry, guys. But there's two videos in this chapter! :D

- Part 6: Black Eye -

Loki sat back down, now empty handed, staring at a rather shaky film clip. "Spirit, should I be concerned?"

"Most definitely not, sir. You are sure to remember this video."

"I suppose..." Loki answered. He nodded, settling back against Tony's swivel chair as he pulled the blanket he had fetched closer to him. "Proceed."

Loki was suddenly assaulted with noise, metal grinding metal and loud screams. He grimaced, unconsciously pulling the blanket closer to his nose. "Goddammit, fuck that guy!"

It was Tony, obviously, if the shaky HUD was anything to go by. He was falling or rolling (perhaps both?) and struggling to stay upright. "Why, of all days, does Doom decide to attack now?"

Loki was surprised to hear an answer: "Because it's a fucking Tuesday, Stark. Does it really matter? Just watch your back." It was Hawkeye, and he did not sound pleased. Tony's view cut over to a large building, which Loki assumed Clint was using for his vantage point.

"Need some back up?" Tony called. All his HUD was flashing red, but he ignored it. "I can be there in ten."

"No thanks, Flyboy. Just get your head in the game so I don't have to cover your ass. I almost got thrown from a fucking window!"

"Been there!" Tony quipped, and Loki could see the grin on his face from the indicator in the upper left hand corner. Loki would have been interested as to why Tony was recording the fight at all before his thoughts were interrupted. "It isn't really that bad."

"Haha, Stark. Shut the fuck up or I'll - "

"Enough." Captain America's voice cut through quickly, silencing them both. "Leave this com open for actual problems. More bots are coming in on my side, Hawkeye. I need a cover."

"On it, Cap!" Tony was rolling his eyes, and Loki couldn't help his grin.

"J, block that com for a bit. Only let them through if they're, like, dying or something," Tony grumbled. JARVIS answered affirmatively, and Tony set off into the foray again. Loki had been up close and personal with Doombots before, but something about seeing their red lifeless eyes shining in Tony's face set his blood on fire.

"J, where are they coming from?" Tony asked after bashing two together and shooting another in the chest. "There's no point in a fucking survival mode. I'll take out the nest."

"Directly ahead, sir, several hundred yards."

"The fountain?"

"Yes, sir. There are teleportation pads set up around it."

"You have to be fucking kidding me," Tony said, laughing. He blasted a few more before launching himself up. A bot grabbed onto his ankle, which he promptly shot in the face. Loki snorted.

Tony landed a few feet away from the fountain. He took two steps forward, only to crumble and drop to his knees. "Fuck, JARV. What is that?"

"Sensors...frequency...disrupt...sir...escape..."

Loki's grin fell off immediately. He remembered this day. It was almost two weeks after the night in Tony's penthouse. Loki had been keeping away purposely, deciding to watch from a distance. He had seen Tony everyday, gauging his interests and watching his routines. There wasn't much of one, but Loki still watched.

"Dammit, J. Get back online!" Tony's pained expression turned into distraught. He was trapped, down on one knee and entirely alone and vulnerable. He couldn't move until the frequency emitter was silenced - and dammit, of course there would be another twenty bots closing in. Tony was right next to their landing zone, after all.

"Hey, guys - a little help here!" Tony's call was met with static. He tried to move his head, arms, anything to get attention, but the crippling frequency was more than a worthy match. Loki's heart was in his throat. He had seen all this, from wherever he had been, waiting until he couldn't anymore. Which was so worth the surprise on Tony's face.

A Doombot had reeled back, ready to shoot Tony point blank in the Iron Man mask, when suddenly it wasn't standing anymore. Loki felt a little smug seeing his own scepter gorge through the heart of the bot. It whined a moment before growing still, the red eyes turning black. Video Loki unceremoniously tossed it to the side.

"Holy shit, you're here," Tony breathed. The god smirked, sunlight shining off of his horned helmet. Loki knew he was an impressive sight in full garb, but this was quite enjoyable. "Why?"

"I am always near, Stark," Loki answered. He tossed a few knives artfully behind him, never pulling his gaze from Tony. "I could request the same of you - as much as I enjoy you kneeling before me, I did believe your want of self preservation to be stronger."

"Oh it's ridiculously strong. I just dropped a quarter."

"In that mindset, I believe you ducked just in time for my scepter," Loki answered, teasing. Tony was grinning like crazy. "What ails you from standing?"

"A frequency emitter, most likely in the fountain, is keeping J from getting back online. I'm sort of stuck here," Tony said. Loki remembered wondering then why he had been so forthcoming with information. "Would you mind helping, just a little?"

"For what price?" Loki snorted at himself, shaking his head. He was more than willing to do it simply to keep the mortal alive, but he had been curious.

"Dinner with me, tomorrow night, in my penthouse. I'll cook," Tony answered immediately. Loki remembered being more than slightly distracted, and the evidence from the clear look of shock on his face didn't help. Tony grinned wider, if it were even possible, as he waited. It certainly wasn't long, because a lucky bot managed to take a shot at Loki and land it. The god was shaken from his surprise and took its head off with a quick sweep of his scepter. He had stumbled a moment, suddenly standing a bit closer to Tony than before. The genius managed to look up.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and Loki recalled being surprised all over again.

"...yes," Loki answered, tone quieter because of the proximity and emotion. Loki remembered the feeling to suddenly flee and not come back, but instead nodded. "I shall take care of the emitter. This will protect you." Loki had been shocked at himself for his actions, knowing why but not quite ready to admit them. He was somewhat pleased to see the same surprise he felt on Tony's face.

He watched himself step away and leave behind a shadow clone, one hundred percent real and ready to fight. In another quick motion he had disappeared, shielding himself invisible against the bots' scans and heading for the source of, well, everything, it had seemed. The fountain.

Tony watched until he couldn't anymore, looking up into the face of a perfect Loki copy. "Can you speak?"

"I wouldn't be very good if I did not, yes?" Not-Loki replied, grinning broadly. Tony rolled his eyes. "Although I am surprised at myself for this. Perhaps there is something to all this watching after all."

"Uh, what?" Tony asked. Loki's blood ran cold - did his clone seriously just practically out him? Granted that would explain a lot...

"Oh nothing!" It answered, waving a hand. A few bots crept up, falling as quickly as they tried to scamper away. "Just a few observations."

"Something tells me this has gone on far too long." The shadow Loki disappeared in a small swirl of green smoke, with real Loki taking its place. "I will not ask. You should be free."

"J, you there?" Tony asked tentatively. His bright honey eyes darted around the HUD, looking for any sign that his AI was there.

"Why, yes, sir. All operational. You should be able to stand." Tony was on his feet in seconds, grinning widely as he flexed his hands. He looked back at Loki.

"Thank you." The amount of emotion and sincerity in his voice hit Loki all over again, even through the distortion the suit created. He remembered being shocked, to say the least, then and even now. He knew from watching the videos how Tony felt about him, but he couldn't believe that he had missed cues this obvious. "Let's kick some ass together."

Loki opened his mouth to speak, expression coy, before something behind Tony caught his eye. "As much as I would love to stay, it seems today is not in our favour."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Sir, Agent Romanov and Agent Barton are rapidly approaching. I suggest disengagement before your project becomes common knowledge."

Tony looked frantic - Loki knew he wanted to reach out to keep him there, but it seemed there was more than his teammates approaching that prevented him. "Go - I'll keep them away."

Loki blinked before he nodded. "When should you expect me?"

Tony pulled his gaze from over his shoulder to look back. "Huh?"

Video Loki rolled his eyes, and Loki watched Tony grin. "My price for my aide. When shall I arrive tomorrow evening?"

"Seven," Tony answered. Loki nodded, and then was gone. Tony let out a heavy, shaky breath - the sound made the speakers crackle. "Damn that was intense."

"Stark! What the hell was - " The video ended abruptly. Loki blinked.

"How would he have known to record?" Loki muttered. He wasn't expecting an answer, but was certainly glad JARVIS gave one.

"Sir records nearly all the flights in the suits, should there be an abnormality."

"All a wonderfully constructed coincidence. Interesting," Loki mused. He tapped his chin lightly under the blanket, drawing his knees to his chest. "Play the next one, Spirit."

"Yes, Mr. Laufeyson." Loki nodded his thanks and waited. The screen flickered before Tony was there, sitting in his usual chair wearing his usual attire but sporting a rather unusual black eye.

"So, let's do some recap," the genius said. He grabbed something from out of shot. It was an ice pack wrapped loosely in a towel that he pressed to his temple. "I totally got sucker punched by Barton when we got back here. He said it was for my own good, to knock some damn sense into me, but I disagree." He rotated the pack and hissed. "If anything, now I know what I'm doing is right."

Tony was smiling brightly around his pain, and Loki felt anger swell within him. The black eye was still there, even darker, when he came by the next night. Tony had not said who it was from, just from the fight, and now Loki wanted to teleport to the Tower and hold Barton over a very long drop. He stamped it down as Tony continued.

"Loki's clone said watching. I was curious how he happened to be in the right place at the right time, besides just because he always is. I wonder if Loki has been keeping an eye on me. I haven't seen him in about two weeks, but I never did feel quite like I was alone," Tony said. He began to nod. "The more I think about it the more I think I'm right. Barton made a few good points too, aside from socking me in the face. But he's laid up in Bruce's medical bay, so I think I won."

Loki snorted. At least someone knocked some sense into him. Regardless of the time passage, Loki would have happily throttled Barton for a year old transgression. As is the mindset of a vengeful god.

"Natasha did, too. She, of course, sunk in on the bridge thing. Why didn't I fight Loki? Why didn't he fight me? All good questions that I was totally going to ignore, until she brought up something from today," Tony said, tapping his desk with his free hand. "When Loki was hit by that Doombot, he took a hit that was for me. When he stumbled forward, Natasha said from where she was it looked like he was protecting me, especially when he didn't step away after regaining his balance." He stopped tapping the desk, his one visible eye glinting.

"I think he's been watching me since that night, and today he had to act to protect me. Had the suit been out much longer, I would have been toast. But he stopped it. Why, you ask?" Tony spun lazily in his chair as he stroked his goatee. "Because he likes me, too. I really think he does. What reason did that clone have to bait me on? None, which is why I think it wasn't bait. It was the truth, coming out in a representation of Loki that he normally wouldn't say because he was suddenly too preoccupied with saving my ass."

Tony's grin spread. "I think I'm on to something, here. Something big. It's one thing for me to seduce Loki into liking me, and another entirely for him to figure it out on his own. Maybe he already did." Tony sat up straight suddenly, the ice pack he had lazily propped on his face falling to his lap.

"That's it! He already did, or does, I mean. He's been interested in me from the start, he said it himself when he couldn't control me with the Tesseract. I was curious, so he threw me through a window - to hide his own interested curiosity! That explains the ability for me to find him all those times. He wanted me to, and then again that night when I gave him the book!" Tony was on a roll, now, his eyes wide and dilated. His wide bruised eye was more than just comical and added to his manic glee. Loki couldn't help his grin, even as a sinking knot of despair settled into his gut.

"This explains the watching, too. He's unsure how to act, so he's watching me to see how I'm acting without him here. He's brilliant," Tony gushed. Laughter bubbled up in his chest, forcing him to toss his head back. "Oh, shit. This is wonderful. I'm not crazy, and I knew this wasn't one-sided, J, I just knew it. Oh man. Tomorrow is going to have to be perfect. I need to see Bruce! I need to learn to cook! I've got, like, thirty-four hours left!"

Tony scooped up his ice pack and slapped the desk, laughing harder than ever. Were Loki not used to such oddities, he would have been concerned for the man's sanity. But this was Tony Stark, and Loki was accustomed to nearly all manners of him.

"I'll be back, JARV. Cut the feed." The genius winked and the screen went to black.

Loki leaned back against the chair, not remembering exactly when he had sat up on the edge of his seat. He let out a shaky breath and sighed, hand covering his smiling lips. Leave it to Tony to figure out all of Loki's secrets in one afternoon, and all in one fluid action that he himself had not realized he was doing. Tony was right - Loki had been stepping forward to protect him, even subconsciously, making everything premeditated.

Loki shook his head - all laid bare because of one miscalculation. He should have known Tony would figure it out. He was a genius, after all.