From where he was standing outside, Tony could both see silhouettes and hear raised voices, none, of which, he recognized as Loki's. He presumed that the one standing up from behind the table and shouting was Odin, and that the woman to his left was Loki's mother, Frigga. But before he could get a closer look, the shouting ceased and Loki stormed out of the house, his green eyes venomous.

"Everything go okay in there?" Tony asked cautiously, painfully aware that this question could trigger a multitude of emotional responses.

Loki managed to calm himself down enough to bite back a spiteful response. "It was okay, though I suppose it will only get worse when I get back. I'm just- I'm just so sick of Odin thinking he can just control me like this! " He exclaimed, raising his voice towards the end of the sentence. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Sorry, by the way. You came here to see me, and you end up getting pulled into my family dramas."

Tony shook his head. "No, I came here to see if you were okay, which clearly, you're not. Don't apologize for showing emotion, babe."

Loki smiled softly, before taking his hand. "There's a park along here that I used to go to as a child, and it's usually fairly empty, if you want to walk there?" He suggested, inclining his head to the left.

"Yeah, sure." Tony replied, gently squeezing his hand and beginning to walk in the opposite direction of the house, so that no one in Loki's family saw them together.

"How's your mother, then?" Tony asked, knowing that her and Loki's relationship was by far stronger than his and Odin's, the mere fact that he called her mother, but didn't call Odin father, was proof enough of this.

Loki smiled softly to himself. "She's good. Odin was away for a few days, so I was able to spend some time with her before I was forced into being a social recluse."

"What did you guys do together?"

"Nothing much, really. We had in-depth discussions about medical science, she's a nurse, by the way, did some baking, went to the library-"

"So that's where you get your book nerdiness from!" Tony exclaimed with a teasing grin.

Loki didn't even bother to point out the fact that him and Frigga weren't related by blood, therefore he couldn't have genetically inherited any of her traits, but instead he simply just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess. We've always been the brains-before-brawn type, unlike Thor and Odin. The only sports I did as a child were martial arts, skiing and – please don't laugh at this – gymnastics." Loki said, cringing as he said it.

"I knew about the martial arts, well, how could I not, but you did gymnastics? Why didn't you tell me?!" Tony asked, his grin widening.

Loki sighed. "Because I still do it. Some of the defence classes I take involve me having to be reasonably flexible, and light on my feet. Natasha, Maria and Peggy do it with me, along with several others, some of which are guys. Clint did gymnastics too, for a while, but I'm not sure whether he still does it or not. And Thor tried it out for a week, but we prefer not to talk about that." Loki said, his lips quirking up into a small smile at the memory.

That was it for Tony. He had to sit down on a park bench because he was laughing so hard. "Are you serious? Thor did gymnastics? Thor?"

Loki chuckled. "Like I said, it only lasted a week. And for a good reason, too, I don't think the sports centre has recovered yet."

"I'm sorry, but I'm gonna need a minute." Tony declared, still in a fit of laughter. "Oh god, now I have the mental image of him in a leotard, someone get me bleach." He said, wrinkling his nose and sobering up.

"I would much rather you kept your somewhat erotic thoughts about Thor to yourself from now on." Loki frowned.

"Don't worry, that part of my brain is reserved for you, and you alone." Tony winked, reverting back into his normal, flirting self.

"Ever the charmer." Loki said, rolling his eyes as they walked further into the park., only to suddenly drop Tony's hand and disappear into a bush, completely out of sight.

"Er, Loki?" Tony called out. "Where'd you go?"

There was no answer, so Tony called out several more times, only to receive the same response; silence.

"That's cool, you know. Ditching me. It wasn't as if I wanted to spend time with you anyway." He continued to call out sarcastically. "I'll just sit here, by myself, fantasizing about Thor's legs-"

Loki's head popped out of a nearby bush with a disgusted look on his face. "Creep." He said, shaking his head. "Follow me." He sank back down into the bush and vanished again.

Intrigued, Tony followed him through the seemingly infinite maze of greenery, until he reached a leafy cave in a cliff, the kind of place you would only find if you looked for it carefully. It was reasonably wide and there was enough space for two people, though they'd both have to be kneeling, sitting or lying down in order to fit. Loki was already looking pretty comfortable when Tony managed to arrive, his back pressed against the cave wall and his legs straight out in front of him. Tony crawled in and took up the same position, except he was leaning against the wall opposite to Loki.

"Sorry about running off, I was just checking to see if this place was still here." Loki apologized. "I used to come here when I was younger, to read, write, or just to get away from my family. They always came looking for me, especially Thor, but no one ever found me here." Loki explained.

"Is this the part where you say that I'm the only person you've ever showed this place to and we get all emotional like in teenage novels?" Tony joked.

Loki glared at him, clearly offended. "Well if it's so stupid, then you can just leave."

"Sorry, sorry." Tony was quick to apologize. "I think it's sweet. I used to have a place like this when I was younger, this empty closet that I stuffed with cushions. I would just sit in there when my parents were fighting and just draw up plans for stuff. The butler and nanny could never find me." Tony told him.

Loki's glare vanished, and he reached for Tony's hand again. "Did your parents fight often?"

"Yeah, heaps. I inherited a lot of my father's qualities, a predilection to alcohol, parties, women and sometimes men, as well as his genius. To say my mother wasn't happy about those same habits would be an understatement. She cared about him deeply, and he hardly ever reciprocated her feelings. He was a business man and an inventor who had no time for his wife back home, so he spent his overseas trips with a different woman in his bed every night instead. It got to the point where the only thing they had in common, and the only thing they ever talked about together, was me. He drove her away too early on, and she never really came back." Tony answered as he ducked his head and frowned. It was common knowledge that he didn't like talking about his family, even less than Loki did, and seeing as he hadn't spoken about them in awhile, the topic began to bring up painful memories and emotions. He missed his mother, he didn't even get to say good bye to his father, and he had to bite down on his lip to stop a lone tear from snaking down his cheek.

"I know what you're thinking." Loki said softly, after a long pause.

Tony lifted his head. "And what would that be?"

"That you're going to turn into your father. That you'll let those habits get the better of you."

"What, and you don't think they will?"

"I know they won't." Loki reassured him.

Tony let out a harsh laugh. "Have you met me? You know what I was like before I started dating you, and even then…"

"That was not your fault, Anthony." Loki reminded him in a low voice. "And don't you dare argue with me about it."

Tony let out a frustrated moan. "Why do you have to be so perfect?" He complained.

"Oh, I assure you, I'm far from it." Loki said, just as his phone beeped.

"Let me guess… Natasha or Thor?" Tony asked.

Loki let out an irritated sigh as he read the message. "The latter. Odin wants me home immediately. He says it's been long enough. Gods, I can't even spend half an hour with you without him interrupting."

"Then we'd best be going, then." Tony said, spinning himself around, and sliding himself out of the cave, much to Loki's protests.

"No! I wanted to spend more time with you!" He whined, blushing as how needy he sounded.

Tony snorted at him. "I do love it when you get all possessive like that."

Loki just rolled his eyes,

Reaching out, Tony managed to pull a reluctant Loki out of the cave and to his feet. "Look, I wanna spend time with you too. But I'm kinda scared of Odin, and I don't feel like incurring his wrath."

"Fine then, we'll go." Loki scowled, and started to lead Tony back through the greenery. "But you do understand that I won't see you again until school starts."

"Well… There was one thing that I was going to ask you." Tony started hesitantly.

"Go on."

"Would you, er, like to come stay with me for a bit? Because I was thinking, we don't get much time to ourselves at school, and you're not happy here…" He trailed off, looking at Loki's startled expression. "But if you'd rather stay here, that's cool, we've only been together for a month-"

"Yes."

"-after all. Wait, you do?"

"Of course, you idiot." Loki said, rolling his eyes and struggling to repress the surge of happiness coursing through him. "What on Earth would make you think that I'd choose Odin over you?"

"Well, for one, he's not a narcissistic smartass…" Tony began with a smirk.

"Hm. That's true…" Loki teased. "Perhaps I should reconsider my visit."

Tony chuckled as they exited the park and began their way back to Loki's house. "You ready to face the family again?"

Loki scowled. "No. And now you've ruined my good mood, thanks a lot."

Tony just kept on smiling. "I'll make it up to you on the plane."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Promises, promises, Anthony." He took a deep breath as he walked up the front steps. "Would you rather stay out here or come in?" He asked, turning to face Tony.

"I would prefer to stay out here, but I have a feeling you'll need the moral support."

"Thank you." Loki said sincerely, bringing his hand up to cup Tony's chin, and pressing their noses together in a brief Eskimo kiss. "But remember, they do no know, and they will not know, that we are together. Okay?"

Tony nodded, not bothering to argue, as Loki opened the door and stepped inside.

He would've liked to have looked around properly, and have a closer look at the baby photos on the wall, but Loki had a different idea. "The sooner I get this over and done with, the sooner we can go." He murmured in Tony's ear.

The dining room was basically the same as when Loki had left, except that Frigga was absent. Borr and Bestla continued to look disappointed, and Odin outraged.

Thor and Jane stared wide-eyed at Tony. "Loki never mentioned you were visiting, Anthony." Thor remarked.

"I didn't know he was coming either." Loki replied, shooting the other couple a look that read; say a word about our relationship and I won't hesitate to kill you.

"And who are you?" Odin prompted Tony.

"I'm Tony, a friend of Loki's." Tony answered nervously. He'd only ever met the parents of one of his girlfriends (Pepper, of course) and it was just as terrifying as meeting the parents of your boyfriend they didn't know was your boyfriend.

"And why are you in my house?" Odin asked politely, but his eyes said otherwise.

Tony opened his mouth to reply, but Loki cut him off. "He's here to take me away."

Bestla spoke next. "And does your father allow this?"

Loki snorted. "Do I look like I give a damn about what my father allows? I'm nineteen, he's no longer responsible for me."

Bestla gasped as Odin stood up to reply.. "I will not tolerate you speaking like that in my house, boy!"

"Good, because in case you didn't hear; I'm already planning on leaving. Come, Anthony, I need your help to pack." Loki finished, turning around and stalking out of the room, as Tony followed him, admiring his audacity.

Loki had managed to pack without any interruptions; he'd probably stunned everyone downstairs into silence. Tony didn't say much about what he needed, except to bring warm clothes, togs, stuff for school work like his laptop and textbooks, and other necessities like toiletries and underwear. Tony waited patiently in the hallway as Loki disappeared into his parent's room to say good bye to his mother, who turned out to be asleep because the arguing earlier on had worn her out.

Loki didn't even bother saying good bye to the rest, he just continued walking right out of the house and towards Tony's car, with Tony right behind him.

They'd been in the car for about twenty minutes, and Loki couldn't help his growing curiosity about something that had crossed his mind several times since Tony's arrival. "So… What were you doing in Chicago anyway? Was it for the company?"

Tony averted his eyes and shifted awkwardly in his seat. "I-uh… Sort of. I got here on the company's plane."

Loki pursed his lips a little and a crease formed between his brows. "Oh yeah? What were you here for then, if not business?"

"Truth be told…" Tony bit his lip, unsure. "I only came to see you. You sounded miserable with your family, and I know how much you dislike spending time with them, so I thought I'd come and cheer you up."

A beat of silence followed this. "You came just for me?"Loki asked incredulously, the though barely occurring to him. He'd always assumed that Tony was just visiting him out of convenience, like on his way back from one of the Stark Industries weapons factories or something.

"Well, yeah. I missed you." Tony admitted quietly.

"Pull over, Anthony." Loki demanded softly.

"It was too much, wasn't it? I knew it, I should've just stayed away-"

"Anthony, please, just pull over." Loki repeated firmly.

Tony eased the car to a stop and lowered his gaze, refusing to meet Loki's eyes.

"Hey." Loki murmured, lifting Tony's chin up, so that they were now looking directly into each other's eyes. "I missed you too. And don't look so upset – I just didn't want you to crash when I did this." Loki said, pulling Tony closer and pressing his lips firmly to his boyfriend's. Tony relaxed immediately, and put a hand on the back of Loki's head. "Nobody has ever done so much for me before." Loki stated, pulling away. "It's not too much. It's just what I need."

Tony blinked a few times, still slightly shocked that Loki hadn't left the car because of the sentiment. "So… You don't want me to go?"

Loki sighed. "You know, for someone as smart as you, you're really quite thick sometimes. Need I demonstrate again?" Loki kissed Tony again, running his tongue over Tony's bottom lip before leaning back again.

Tony was grinning. "Still not quite clear on that… I might need a more detailed explanation."

"You're greedy," Loki admonished, but kissed him lightly anyway. "Now where exactly are we going?"

Tony smirked. "It's a surprise. You're not allowed to know until we get there."

"But how will the pilot know where to go if you weren't expecting me?" Loki questioned.

Tony kept quiet about the fact that he'd been hoping that Loki would say yes, and had told the pilot where to go due to wishful thinking. "He works for me, he'll know what to do." He lied. "We're almost here." Tony pointed out, gesturing to a rather conspicuous Stark Industries jet in private airfield up ahead.

Loki's eyebrows rose. "Wow. I can't believe you have your own plane!"

"Yeah… You get used to it after a while." Tony chuckled nervously, pulling over into the car park and throwing his door open.

Loki joined him by the plane, suitcase in hand, as the pilot walked down the stairs to greet them. "Mr. Stark, Mr. Laufeyson," He greeted, Loki looking shocked at the use of his name. "I have been advised not to mention where we are going," Loki pouted slightly. "And there are staff on board if necessary, but we will give you two time alone. The flight will take about two hours, though we can arrive sooner or later based on your preferences."

Tony smirked knowingly to himself. "This jet has the private bedroom, doesn't it?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

Tony turned to Loki as he gave his answer. "Then I think we can take the longer route."

The pilot smiled. "Of course, Mr. Stark. The jet awaits you."

Tony took Loki's suitcase in one hand, and Loki's elbow in the other, and half-pulled, half-dragged, Loki up the stairs, through the cabin and into the bedroom, slamming the door shut, not letting Loki have so much as a glimpse at the cabin.

"What-" Loki began, only to be silenced by Tony's lips crashing onto his, and strong hands pushing him onto the bed. Tony was lying on top of him, and their mouths separated briefly as he moved himself into a straddling position, but their lips were joined back together almost instantly afterwards. Tony's tongue nudged its way past Loki's lips and into his mouth, and Loki let out a low moan in response, tugging on Tony's hair in order to be a close to him as possible.

They parted again to catch their breath. Tony grinned at him. "I've been waiting all day to do that."

Loki smiled back at him. "I could tell. Now take your clothes off, I want you naked."

Heat pooled in Tony's lower stomach at the last part. He straightened up and pulled his shirt over his head, shivering slightly as one of Loki's cool hands planted themselves on his waist, soothing the heated flesh.

"There's no hurry. We've got three hours." Tony reminded him.

"Mm, but I want you now." Loki murmured. "And you better make good on that promise you made to me on the phone."

Tony dipped his head, and started to make a trail with his lips up Loki's jaw, pausing when he reached his ear to murmur; "Oh, I plan to..."

Thank you all for your wonderful comments! Please keep leaving them, they inspire me to write!

Where do you think they're going on holiday? If anyone gets it right I'll write a oneshot for them!

Shakespeare42: Wow... I can't express in words how much that comment meant to me! And you read this all in one night? Thank you! Your musing about the top/bottom issue was incredibly insightful, and has been the best advice that I have ever received, and I intend to take those words to heart when writing that scene.