"Brother!" Thor yelled out.
Loki stiffened and rolled his eyes. Him and Natasha had just arrived back from shopping, and after he insisted that she call Clint to tell him that she was going on holiday with him, she'd finally gone back to her room to make the call. However, his good mood from spending time with Nat had instantly evaporated.
"Hello, Thor." Loki replied in a monotone. He really didn't want to get into this now.
"Have you been out shopping?" Thor asked.
"Obviously." Loki said with another eye roll, holding up the shopping bags.
Thor ignored this. "Brother-"
"How many times must I tell you Thor, you are not my brother!" Loki exclaimed.
" And how many times must I tell you that you are! Are we really going to get back into this now?" Thor responded exasperatedly.
Loki scowled. "Fine then, I'll go. Unless you actually stopped me for a reason."
"I want to apologize, Loki." Thor explained.
Loki quirked an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
"Must you sound so skeptical?" Thor sighed. "I realize now that your relationship with Anthony is none of my business, and I apologize for interfering."
As pleased as Loki was to hear this, he knew that Thor didn't change his mind that easily.
"What made you change your mind?" Loki asked, his head cocked to the side.
Thor shrugged. "Anthony came and talked to me yesterday. He seems to truly care about you, and knows you better than you think."
Loki frowned. Tony went to Thor? He thought. Bastard…
"What exactly did he say to you?" Loki asked cautiously.
"Stuff about how his feelings for you are sincere and we talked briefly about your issues with Father. He also mentioned that you would feel more content if I approved of your relationship with him, which I now do. We also discussed Fandral-"
Loki's heart stopped beating for a second. Even now Fandral's name still gave him shivers. He was panicking, wondering what exactly it was that Tony had told Thor about him.
"…He told me that he had something to do with your hospitalization. Is this true Loki? Did he do something to you?" Thor continued, his brow furrowing.
Now Loki was annoyed. Tony didn't have any right to tell Thor that, even though he was right. "What? Oh that was nothing important…Speak of the devil, I might go see Anthony now actually. Thank you for your apology, Thor, I'll see you later." Loki said, his voice more fast-paced than usual, leaving a confused Thor standing in the hall as Loki spun around to enter Tony's dorm.
"Stark!" Loki growled, storming into Tony's room.
Tony looked up from his textbook, smiling when he saw it was Loki.
"Hey, how was the mall…" He trailed off, seeing the look of rage on Loki's face. "Oh shit, what did I do?"
If Loki's glares could kill, Tony would be dead a million times. "You talked to Thor." Loki said simply.
"Oh." Now Tony understood.
"You should've told me." Loki said, his eyes narrowed.
"See, this is exactly why I didn't tell you." Tony pointed out. "Look, it's not as if I betrayed your trust, I hardly told him anything."
"You told him that I would be happier if he approved of our relationship." Loki accused.
"Which is true." Tony stated.
Loki didn't argue. "You told him about my family issues."
"Hardly any of them. Plus, he's in your family anyway, so he kinda had a right to know."
Loki growled. "And finally, you told him about Fandral, which you had no right to do!"
Tony sighed. "Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that…"
"You think?" Loki spat. "I trusted you with that information, I didn't want anyone to know! The only reason Nat knows, is because she played a part in stopping it!"
"I know! But what was I supposed to say, Loki? I didn't even tell him everything!" Tony replied defensively. "I only did it to help you, okay? Because, believe it or not, I actually give a damn about how you feel!"
Loki huffed and leaned against the wall, giving up.
"Look," Tony sighed, standing up. "I'm sorry, okay? But I just don't want to keep on fighting with you over every single thing. So we both need to just accept what's happened and move on, deal?" He said.
"Deal." Loki agreed, lifting his eyes to meet Tony's.
"Good." Tony smiled. "Because I really don't want to muck this relationship up, which I'm kinda prone to doing, but I'm going to-"
Loki darted forward and silenced him with a kiss. It was only supposed to be a brief kiss, to shut Tony up, but it was the first time they'd kissed properly since Loki made the no-touching rule, and both boys were very into it, to say the least.
Tony's hand was tangled in Loki's hair, and his tongue was in Loki's mouth. Their bodies were pressed together, both of them moving in synch against each other. Tony was considering moving them to the bed, but was prevented from doing so when a beeping noise punctuated their make-out session.
Loki reluctantly removed his mouth, and pulled his phone out of his back pocket, thinking that whoever it was, they better have a damn good reason for interrupting. Of course, it was a text from Natasha.
Hey, I need help packing.
I'm slightly pre-occupied right now.
Obviously not, if you're replying to me.
Loki sighed. I was, but then a certain annoying redhead interrupted.
Interrupted what?
Stuff.
Are you with Tony?
Perhaps.
Oh I see…
Yeah…
I'll let you two get on with it ;-) Come over when you can.
Shut up.
Loki rolled his eyes and put his phone on silent, before glancing back at Tony, who was now sitting down on the bed looking bored.
"Sorry about that, Nat needed me." Loki apologized.
Tony perked up slightly, now that Loki's attention was back on him. "No, it's fine. She's practically a trained assassin, so I wouldn't want to ignore her either."
Loki smiled. "Hm, true. But you were looking pretty bored to me…"
"Then why don't you do something about it?" Tony smirked, pulling Loki onto his lap and reconnecting their lips eagerly. Their kisses were hungrier than before, and eventually Tony removed his mouth, only to place it on Loki's jaw and slowly kiss down his jawline, before reaching his neck.
Tony looked up for a moment, seeking permission from Loki to continue, and receiving a small nod in return. He gently pressed his lips to Loki's neck, before starting to nip at it slightly, eliciting a small moan from Loki. And Tony really liked that sound. So he began to suck on the same spot, causing Loki's head to roll back in pleasure, and allowing Tony to have more access to his neck.
And then Thor (for once) knocked on the door.
"Brother?"
With a mutter of; "Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!" from Tony, Loki rolled off his lap in a heartbeat, and flung his hair over his shoulders to cover the new red mark, hoping to make it look as if they were just having a normal conversation.
"Yes, Thor?" Loki snapped.
Thor pushed the door open, and held out Loki's shopping bags. "You left these in the corridor. I suggest you return them to your room before someone steals them." Thor explained, handing the bags to Loki.
Loki sighed irritably. "Yeah, fine. Thanks." He said, taking the bags from Thor, who promptly left, before heading back into his room to drop them off, closely followed by Tony.
"Well you've perked up considerably." Tony remarked with a grin.
Loki turned around. "Mm, I suppose I have."
"So whenever you're upset I just need to kiss you?" Tony asked with a smirk.
"It does seem to work." Loki nodded thoughtfully.
"I can live with that." Tony said, at the same time his phone buzzed.
He glanced down at it, his smirk turning into a look of horror.
"What is it?" Loki asked, concerned. "Is everything alright?"
"No, shit no." Tony cursed. " I'm supposed to be meeting Pepper in Grand Central Park right now. Shit!" He exclaimed again. "Look, I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I'll text you later, okay?"
Loki shrugged. "It's fine, tell her I say hi."
"Yup!" Tony called out as he left.
Loki sighed. Every time him and Tony were doing something together, someone would always come in and interrupt them. Every. Single. Time. And it was becoming annoying. But he would have to deal with it and get on with his life, meaning he would have to see Natasha and help her pack. He was betting, that by the time her and Clint got back they would be a couple, and she needed his help picking out her wardrobe.
"Tasha!" He yelled, strolling into her room.
Her room was a mess.
Clothes were strewn everywhere, and the only suitcases that were packed were the ones with typical things in, like linen, books and movies. All S.H.I.E.L.D students got moved around into different dorms after every holiday, so they had to pack up all their stuff. If they didn't want to take it home, there was a secure storage unit on campus for those who required it. Natasha, being an international student, left most of her stuff there, except for one suitcase, which she was currently struggling with.
"Thank god you're here." She said breathlessly. "I'm having a crisis."
Who'd have though that Natasha Romanoff, one of the strongest and most independent people in college, was freaking out over going away with a guy?
"What's your problem?" Loki tried to ask as calmly as he could.
"I don't know what clothes to take!" Nat whined.
With a sigh, Loki crouched down next to her. Whether she'd ever admit it or not, she cared about what Clint thought of her. Others be damned, but if Clint Barton didn't like her, Natasha Romanoff would be a mess.
"Okay, so do you know exactly where you're going?" Loki asked, snapping into his business mode.
"Miami." Nat replied.
"Okay then, so you won't be needing these…" He said, throwing a pair of track pants and some gloves and scarves to the side. "Or these…" He continued, this time discarding thermals. "And as for bikini's, I recommend this one." He finished, holding up an emerald bikini that matched her eyes.
Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. "What would I do without you?"
Loki smirked. "Let's not find out, okay?"
"Deal."
An hour, a suitcase and one exhausted Loki later, the two friends were reclining on Natasha's couch, discussing Natasha's current favourite topic; Tony.
"So," She started. "How was your afternoon with Tony?"
Loki scowled. "It was great. Until we were interrupted by you, followed by Thor, and then by Pepper."
Natasha raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? That sucks."
"Tell me about it." Loki muttered.
"So how did Tony feel about being interrupted?"
Loki shrugged. "He was annoyed when I started replying to you-"
"Wait, you were texting me in the middle of it?" Natasha cut in, outraged.
Loki frowned. "Well, yeah-"
"You can't just do that Loki! Have you never been in a relationship before?" She said, exasperated.
Loki gave her one of his infamous death glares. "Quite a few, thank you very much…"
"And did you ever start texting in the middle of sex?"
"We weren't in the middle of sex…"
"But still! How do you think this looks to Tony? You guys have had plenty of opportunities, but you just didn't seize them!" She ranted.
"No thanks to you! The first time, Libby and Amora walked in. The second time, you texted, then Thor walked in and then Pepper interrupted. So don't blame me for having a social life!" Loki explained angrily.
"You could've ignored me and you could've ignored Thor. And if you weren't so sensitive, you would've had an extra month with Tony." Natasha retorted.
Loki's eyes narrowed, that's when Natasha knew she'd stepped over the line.
"Okay, sorry, that was rude." She rushed to apologize.
Loki acknowledged this with a brief raise of his eyebrows.
"But come on, Loki! You've together for what, two weeks now? Since when did you wait two weeks to sleep with someone? The Loki I know would've done that within the first week!" She exclaimed, her eyes searching Loki's poker face. "So what are you afraid of?" She added softly.
There was a long silence and Nat was close to giving up on Loki when he quietly spoke up.
"He's Tony Stark, Tasha. What if I'm not good enough for him?" Loki said, finally voicing his concern. He'd been worried about this for a while, if he was honest. With Tony's reputation, there would be a high standard to live up to.
Natasha smiled. "Since when did your relationship sound like it came from a rom-com?" She joked. "But seriously. I've known Tony for two years, now, and he has never acted the was he acts around you with anyone, not even Pepper. He won't care about your performance, Loki, he'll care about the fact that it's you." Even Natasha was surprised at the sentimental stuff that was coming out of her mouth.
Loki groaned. "Since when did I worry about this kind of stuff? I'm not a romantic kind of person, what's happening to me?" He said theatrically.
She chuckled. "I think its because you looove him!" She quipped.
Loki snorted. "Yeah, sure. I don't do "love" and you know that."
"Not even with Tony?" She asked speculatively.
He couldn't answer that. "So what time's your flight?" He asked, trying to change the subject.
She rolled her eyes, she'd been expecting that reaction. " 9pm. But I have to be there by 7:30pm."
Loki checked his watch, it was only 5pm, though it felt much later. "Two hours. What are you going to do?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Probably go to the gym."
Loki pretended to be offended. "You're just going to ditch me?"
"No. You are going to go see Tony and ask him out, and when you get back you two are finally going to have sex." She said, very matter-of-factly.
"Tasha!"
"What? Now go, shoo." She said, gesturing for him to leave. "Oh, and here, I got you a Christmas present." She said, flinging and small package to him. "See you later!"
Loki groaned. "He's not even back yet!"
"Then go wait in his room naked!" She yelled as he left her room. He pretended not to hear her as he slunk back into his room and pulled out his phone.
Fancy seeing a movie tonight?
It was too cold for their planned afternoon stroll, so Pepper and Tony headed into a café instead.
"So," She said, after they'd ordered drinks. "How are things? I haven't seen you since…"
"Since we broke up, yeah." Tony finished for her. "Things are good, how about you?"
Pepper shrugged. "Fine, I'm heading back home soon."
"Tell your mother I say hello." Tony asked with a grin. Pepper's mother adored Tony.
"Sure." Pepper replied, rolling her eyes.
"Look, I've been meaning to ask about something you said on the night that we broke up." Tony began.
"What?" Pepper questioned.
Tony took a deep breath, not knowing whether he'd like the answer. "You said that you thought I liked someone else… Who was it?"
"I thought it was obvious. Loki, of course," Pepper looked at Tony's shocked expression. "Oh god, that wasn't who, was it? You like someone completely different, and now you think Loki likes you and I've ruined your friendship and I'm so sorry, I should watch what I say-"
"Pepper." Tony cut her off. "Calm down. You did nothing wrong."
"Then why do you look so surprised?" Pepper asked confusedly.
"I'm surprised that you were right, that's all." Tony smirked.
Pepper's jaw dropped. "I was? Does he know?"
Tony smiled. "Yeah, he does."
"And?" Pepper prompted.
"And what?" Tony asked, teasing her.
"How does he feel about it?" She asked, hitting his arm.
"God, you women are violent. First Natasha, now you?" Tony cried.
"Answer the question." Pepper demanded.
"Okay, okay. I asked him out, and he said yes." Tony answered with a grin.
"When?" Pepper interrogated.
"Towards the end of September." Tony said,
"You guys have been together for almost three months and you didn't tell me?" Pepper shrieked.
Tony looked uncomfortable. "Well, we got together for the first time then, but we kinda split up the next day."
Pepper shot him daggers. "You're kidding, right?"
"Yeah, I wish." He sighed. "But we got back together two weeks ago, and everything's going fine."
Pepper had calmed down by now. "You must really like him, then." She said.
Tony smiled. "Just a bit." He joked.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm glad you're happy and everything's good, but you never take me out unless there's a problem. So spill." She said. She knew Tony too well. Whenever they met up, it was either because she asked him out, or he needed something.
"You know me too well, Pep." He chuckled. "But yeah, there's one issue…"
Pepper nodded. "Come on, you can tell me. Is the sex awful?" She asked, as a joke.
Tony didn't laugh. "I wouldn't know. We've never had it."
Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"
Tony nodded. "We haven't done anything more than kiss."
"Do you want to?" Pepper asked,
Tony sent her a 'well, duh' look. "Obviously. I mean, have you seen the guy? He's like a walking sex bomb."
Pepper snorted. "Then why haven't you made a move or something?"
"Because every time I try to, something or someone interrupts us!" Tony explained irritably.
"Then why don't you just lock the door and tell anyone that visits to piss off?" Pepper asked.
"Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Tony replied sarcastically. "I'm fine with that, it's just that he insists on addressing everyone that appears."
Pepper frowned. "Does he want to have sex?"
Tony shrugged. "I think so, he initiates it, but then once someone comes along, he snaps out of it and the mood's gone. I mean, am I doing something wrong?" Tony worried.
Pepper burst out laughing. "I thought I'd never live to see the day that Tony Stark worried about his skills in bed."
Tony scowled. "Stop laughing, it's not funny."
Pepper sobered up. "Okay. Did you ever consider that that is the reason he's kinda shy?"
"That what is?" Tony asked.
"That you're Tony Stark, who's slept with more women than he can count?" Pepper reminded him.
He groaned. "They don't matter to me!"
"I know they don't, Tony. But admit it, you've left a pretty high standard for him to reach." She chided gently.
"So what do I do? Send him a card saying 'I want to fuck you and I know it'll be great'?" Tony quipped.
"No. You take him out to dinner and a movie, then you make your move." She advised him.
It was actually a pretty good idea, now that Tony thought about it. "Okay, fine. I'll ask him when-"
His sentence was cut short when his phone buzzed.
Fancy seeing a movie tonight?
Tony grinned. "He beat me to it." He told Pepper.
"What are you waiting for? Say yes!" She urged.
Anything for you.
It only took a few seconds for Loki to reply.
How sweet. Should I be expecting flowers later?
Roses. With a box of chocolates.
I look forward to it. Meet me at my room at 7pm? The movie starts at eight.
See you then, Laufeyson.
Tony put his phone down with a grin. "I need to go get ready for my date."
Pepper rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, yeah. Tell me about it later!"
"Sure will, Pep." He said, leaving some cash on the table and walking out.
"And be safe!" Pepper shouted after him, causing him to laugh.