They'd been in the air for the past two and a half hours or so, and after they'd managed to make one another orgasm, they'd spent their time idly discussing various, normal things before realizing that neither of them knew that much about each other. Sure, they knew each other's deepest, darkest secrets (and family issues), but little, trivial things like their favourite subjects and favourite animals were unknown to both of them. So the two of them had settled on a game to pass the time. It involved one of Loki's Christmas presents from Tony (several bags of sweets imported from London) and one person trying to throw a lolly from the bag into the other's mouth. If they were successful in catching it in their mouth, they got to ask their partner a question, and if they weren't, they would be the one answering a question.
"Do you speak any other languages?" Tony asked, having caught a jelly baby in his mouth.
Loki nodded. "SHIELD agents have to be fluent in at least two languages. I'm fluent in French, Spanish and Norwegian, and Natasha is teaching me Russian."
Tony was impressed as he threw a lolly at Loki, who caught it easily. "Wow. That's… impressive. I didn't know you could speak Norwegian."
Loki shrugged. "I was born in Norway. Favourite colours?"
"Red and gold." Tony replied. "But I thought you were from England?"
Loki threw another one at Tony, who failed at catching it. "I was born in Norway then taken to England with my biological family when I was five. I was placed in an orphanage when I was about six, before being adopted by Odin and Frigga when I was eight." He replied nonchalantly. "Favourite season?"
Tony looked surprised. "I thought you were adopted as a baby. Huh. Weird." He shook his head as if to change the information. "Er, probably summer. It meant hot girls walking around in bikinis." He smirked.
Loki let out an exasperated sigh, yet still managed to catch the next lolly. "You never grow up, do you?"
Tony grinned and shook his head, allowing his hair to fall over his eyes. "Nope."
"Anyway, speaking of hot girls… When did you realize you were gay?"
Tony looked thoughtful. "Hm. Probably when I was about fifteen and saw this really hot lifeguard at the beach and got a boner. I'd always found men attractive before, but I'd never been sexually attracted to a guy until then. From then on I didn't really mind who was in my bed, as long as they were hot."
"Glad to know I'm special." Loki huffed, crossing his arms
"Oh don't get all sulky with me. You know you're the first person who I've actually waited to sleep with. And it was totally worth it, by the way." Tony wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "So when was your first gay moment?"
"It's not my turn."
"True, but I want you to answer anyway."
Loki let out another sigh, a habit he only got into when he was around Tony. "I don't know. I guess I've always been attracted to both, and I didn't realized that not everyone felt that way until I was about fourteen. I don't really like to label myself by saying I'm bi, but it's easier to explain that way." He explained with a shrug.
"So was your first time with a girl or guy?"
Loki frowned. "Why are you so interested?"
"I just want to know who else I've shared this gorgeous body with." Tony smiled, running a hand up and down Loki's thigh.
"It was with a woman, and we were both sixteen. Fandral was only my third relationship with a man." He answered, his eyes darkening as he said his name. It had been two months, but even his name triggered bad memories of the library and the hospital that made him shiver involuntarily.
"Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of it or anything." Tony apologized quickly, having picked up on Loki's shiver.
"No, it's fine." Loki reassured him, whilst still looking slightly tense. "I just prefer not to think, or talk, about it."
Tony moved himself over so that he was closer to Loki on the bed. "You know that I would never do that to you, not in a million years. I may be known as a bit of a man-whore, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. If you ever feel uncomfortable doing something, or you want to stop, please just let me know! I want you to trust me, okay?" Tony told him, resting his hand on Loki's thigh.
"I know, I know." Loki smiled. "And I do trust you. With my life." He said, resisting the urge to tear up. It had been a very emotional day for him, what with the "teasing" from his family, Tony turning up at his house, Tony taking him away from his house, and now this? Loki didn't think he could take this many emotions in one day.
In order to avoid more heart-to-hearts (he didn't want to cry in front of Tony), Loki plucked another lolly from the bag and threw it at Tony. Even through he was caught by surprise he still managed to catch it in his mouth.
"Favourite animal?" Tony asked, doing a terrible job at hiding the smug smile that formed when he was successful in catching the piece of candy.
"Probably a wolf, or maybe a snake." Loki answered, preparing himself to catch another piece in his mouth.
He failed.
"What was high school like for you?"
Loki made a face. "I suppose it wasn't too bad. I did well in my classes, I had good friends, but life at home made it difficult for me to be happy, but you already know that. But I guess you want more interesting information, though."
Tony nodded in affirmative, so Loki continued.
"Let's see… I had my first kiss when I was twelve, I got my driver's license on my 16th birthday, I was known as a trickster, but I never got caught." Tony smiled at that. "My first time getting drunk was at a friend's party when I was 16, and was also the same night I lost my virginity, I wasn't part of the "cool" group but I wasn't a nerd either. Oh, and I worked part-time as a waiter and barista." Loki finished. "That's all, I guess." He shrugged, tossing chocolate into Tony's mouth, only for it to bounce off his nose and onto the floor. "Have you ever told anyone that you love them?"
Tony looked slightly taken aback at the question, but answered anyway. "Only once, to Pepper. But even then I don't think I actually meant it. You?" He responded anxiously. What if Loki's next question was if he loved him? What we he supposed to say? The truth? He'd always prided himself on his ability to hide his emotions carefully, something he knew Loki was good at too, but now? How could they have a relationship if they were both still too timid to even say those three words, no matter how much they meant them?
"I've never said it before. I don't see it as something to be thrown around." Loki replied. He was telling the truth. When he was a child Odin never told him that he loved him, although Frigga more than made up for it.
Tony nodded thoughtfully, letting out a sigh of relief inwardly as he lurched forward when the plane began to descend. "We're landing now."
Loki rolled his eyes at him. "I'd figured that out myself, thank you very much."
Tony ignored him and stood up to open the door. "Let's go wait in the cabin."
Loki followed him out, completely aware that he looked like he'd just had sex, and didn't miss the exchanged looks between the air hostesses. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going, or…" He trailed off expectantly.
Tony shook his head and gave Loki an infuriating smirk. "Nope. Not yet, at least. But wait another ten minutes and I will. "
The plane had arrived, and Loki was waiting in the car for Tony so that they could get on their way to wherever it was that they were going to be staying – Loki still had no clue where that . It was too dark to get a proper look outside, but Tony seemed to know where they were and looked pretty annoyed about it. He'd left Loki alone in the car for a moment while he went to talk to the pilot about their destination.
"Hey." Tony said, as he opened the car door, a frown on his face.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing. The pilot just took us to the wrong place, that's all." Tony replied, sounding rather bitter for someone that claimed nothing was wrong.
"So what are we going to do? If we're in the wrong place, then we can't exactly stay here, can we?"
"No it's just-" Tony sighed and ran his hand through his hair in a gesture of annoyance. "I guess I have to tell you where we are now, don't I?"
Loki nodded. "I suppose you do."
"We're currently just outside the town of Vail, in Colorado," Tony smiled when he saw Loki's eyes light up. "Yeah, I thought you'd like that. Natasha mentioned that you'd always wanted to go here, so I figured, why not? We have a holiday villa on the mountain anyway."
Loki beamed at him, but still wasn't quite sure what was wrong. "Where were we supposed to be instead?' He asked.
"Miami." Tony answered, but elaborated at Loki's confused look. "I was planning on taking you there so that you, Clint, Natasha and I could spent Christmas together, but the pilot didn't get the message I sent him asking if we could stop there before coming here." He explained with an apologetic shrug. "Sorry."
"You're apologizing? What for? I was just flown to my dream destination, on a private jet, to stay with the one person who makes me happiest, and you're apologizing?" Loki shook his head and chuckled. "Only you would do that."
"So you're not upset that you're not going to see Tasha?"
"No." Loki laughed. "I think her and Clint need some time alone, to figure out their feelings. Plus," he added, moving himself so that he was now straddling Tony in his seat. "I get you all to myself." Loki murmured, darting forward to peck his lips lightly.
Tony smiled, glad that Loki was happy. "You should laugh more. And kiss me more."
Loki grinned at him, resting his weight on Tony's thighs. He was squashed between the steering wheel and Tony, but he didn't mind. "I'm sure the latter could be arranged, if you behave." He winked, and Tony was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating because damn Loki was hot when he flirted. "Just get us to the villa first – we've already slept together on the plane, and I don't wish to do so on another mode of transport just yet." Loki chided gently, and rolled back into his seat.
"Fair enough." Tony agreed. "We're about forty-five minutes from the mountain, and it's currently nine-thirty. The house is stocked with food, but is there anything in particular that you need or want? Because we can stop off on our way there if we need to." Tony offered.
"No, I'm fine, thanks." Loki yawned. The two weeks of sleepless nights were beginning to catch up with him.
"Tired?" Tony asked as he began to drive.
"A bit." Loki replied, his eyes starting to flutter close. He was one of those people that fell asleep on long car rides or plane trips, and the fact that the events of the day had worn him out, did not help his fight against unconsciousness.
"You can sleep if you want." Tony said when he glanced at Loki. "I won't be offended."
Loki let out a murmur of thanks, and attempted to get himself into a comfortable sleeping position. He ended up curled up into a ball and leaning against the window. Sleep wasn't his intention, he only intended to relax for the rest of the drive, but his body had other ideas and it took him less than a minute to fall asleep.
They'd arrived at the villa about five minutes ago, but neither of them had left the car. Loki was still asleep, and Tony had no idea what to do. He could carry Loki in, but he didn't think Loki would appreciate being touched without his permission and Tony wasn't sure whether he was strong enough to carry him anyway. He could wake him up now, but Loki would most likely be in a bad mood with him for waking him up in the first place. Neither idea seemed to be a good one, and Loki wouldn't be happy anyway, so the least Tony could do was have some fun with his task.
Smirking to himself, he plugged his phone into the car and turned to volume up high before selecting Loki's least favourite song, Baby, by Justin Bieber, fast-forwarding to the chorus, and hitting play.
Loki woke up with a start, hitting his head on the car window and let out a growl. "Turn it off. Now."
Tony had his arms folded over the steering wheel and was too busy laughing uncontrollably into them to hear Loki.
So, Loki pulled out his phone from where it was plugged into the radio and threw it at Tony's neck.
It hurt.
A lot.
"Ow!" Tony cried out, instantly sobering up. "That hit my neck, you bastard!"
Loki folded his arms and glared at Tony. He didn't look as menacing as usual, probably because the way he had been sleeping had fluffed up his hair and made it stick up in random places. "I'm not the one crazy enough to wake me up with terrible music." He retorted angrily.
"I'm not apologizing. Your reaction was totally worth the bruise on my neck." Tony grinned, rubbing his neck gently.
Loki huffed. "I take it we're here, then?" He asked, looking out the window and making out the silhouette of a house in the dark in the distance.
"Yup." Tony replied, opening the car door and letting a blast of freezing cold air into the car. "Unfortunately, there's too much snow for me drive any further so we have to walk for a bit." Loki sighed, but followed Tony out into the cold anyway.
"Gods, it's freezing!" He declared, his teeth chattering and goose bumps starting to form. "I wish you'd told me to bring a jacket or something."
Tony smiled apologetically at him as he lifted Loki's suitcase out of the car, shortly followed by his own. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting it to be this cold. Come here." He opened his arms and pulled Loki close to him, sharing his warmth with the other teen by wrapping his arm around him protectively.
"Mm. You're warm." Loki informed him, as they trudged up the mountain.
"What can I say? I am pretty hot." Tony smirked, laughing at Loki's derisive snort.
"I really should've seen that coming, shouldn't I?"
"Hell yeah you should've. Massive ego, remember?" Tony reminded him, pulling a key out of his pocket to open the front door.
Loki let out a contented sigh as he stepped inside. The house was warm, Tony had some complicated tech application installed on his phone so that he could control certain aspects of the Stark houses from remote locations, and had turned the central heating on while they were driving there.
"Follow me." Tony ordered, walking up the stairs, Loki reluctantly following behind him. It looked like a lovely house, and awfully big for the three people that used to frequent it. It was all high ceilings and glass walls, and Loki would've loved to have a proper tour of it. All he had seen so far was the atrium, and a large fireplace in what looked to be the living room.
Upstairs was designed similarly, very modern and neat. Loki couldn't help but notice the bareness of the walls. There were no photos or paintings, it looked like no one had ever lived in the house before.
Tony noticed him looking and gave a sad smile. "We didn't ever spend much time here, it was only a holiday home because Howard preferred working in New York. But there was some stuff on the walls, though it was all taken down when my parents passed away." He explained. "It was too much of a reminder, you know?"
Loki turned his attention back on Tony. "I know." He replied softly. "Have you ever noticed the lack of photos and memorabilia of my family in my dorm?"
Looking back, Tony realized that Loki was right. He had no reminder of his family in his room. Which was odd, seeing as most students had a reminder of their lives back home. in some form or another in their dorms But before he could add anything else, Loki started talking again.
"So, where am I sleeping tonight?"
"The guest room." Tony answered with a serious face, resisting the urge to chuckle at Loki's pout. "Kidding, Loki. My room's right here." He said, twisting the doorknob of the door to his immediate right and pushing it open.
The first things Loki noticed were the posters. Unlike the rest of the house, (at least what Loki had seen of it, anyway) Tony's room was covered in various posters, ranging from bands to photos of friends, to even the occasional Playboy Bunny. Seeing the latter, Loki turned to Tony with a cynical smirk on his face, that just seemed to say; "Really?"
Tony's eyes widened, and a hint of pink tinged his cheeks as he rushed to tear them down. "You were not supposed to see those. I thought I'd taken them down." He muttered, hastily scrunching them up and throwing them in the bin.
"I'll admit, it's a bit off-putting, but what typical teenage boy doesn't have posters like that up in their room?" Loki said, folding his arms and smiling.
Tony shot him a skeptical look. "You don't."
"Yes, but I'm not your typical teenage boy, now am I?"
"Are you calling me typical? Because I can assure you, there is nothing average about this." Tony retorted, gesturing from his head to his toes.
Loki cocked his head and smirked. "Well, I certainly wouldn't mind you proving it."
"Would you now? And people call me the insatiable one." Tony tutted, though he was gradually moving closer to Loki.
"Because I'm only insatiable when it comes to you, darling." Loki reminded him.
"Should I be flattered?"
"Very much so. I make a lot of exceptions for you." He moved, so that him and Tony were now centimetres apart. "Especially when it comes to…" His eyes flickered down to Tony's crotch. "… that."
Tony smirked back at him. "I knew you found me irresistible."
"Only some parts." Loki said, tilting Tony's chin so that their mouths met. "Are you sure it isn't weird doing this in your bedroom? I mean, you spent time as a child here, won't it-"
"Trust me, this room's seen a lot worse." Tony reassured him with a laugh. "I spent a lot of time here after my parents died, and let's just say I was never alone at night."
"I certainly hope you've changed the sheets, then." Loki tried to frown but ended up smiling as he caught sight of a familiar photo on the wall, and pushed past Tony in order to get a better look at it. "Why am I on your wall?"
"Hm?' Tony spun around to see what he was talking about. "Oh, that." Tony said. The photo in question was taken by Jane and the end of the previous year, and it was the only photo of the whole group that Tony had. It was taken at the college's pool, and had Loki, Natasha and Maria smiling lazily on the loungers, while everyone else was in the pool. Steve had Peggy on his shoulders, Tony, Thor, Bruce and Clint where all mid-air as they jumped into the pool. It had taken Jane and the four boys far too many times to get the shot perfect. "I didn't even realize you were in it until now."
Loki made a non-committal noise. "I should get some photos of you and I up on my wall." Realizing he sounded a tad bit clingy, he quickly added; "As well as everyone else in our group, of course."
"We've got the entire holidays to take photos." Tony reminded him.
"So we're going to be one of those couples then?" Loki teased.
"No." Tony replied defensively. "You're going to start going on missions next year, I have to have something to remind me of you."
Loki's heart skipped slightly at Tony's assumption that they'd still be together next year. "Fair enough." He yawned, his shirt riding up as he stretched.
Tony's eyes ran over him worriedly. "Have you been sleeping properly lately?"
"Not really." Loki admitted.
Tony sighed. "Babe, you need to do something about that. Have you tried sleeping pills or something?"
"No." Loki hurriedly answered. "I just- I have a thing about sleeping pills."
Tony watched him curiously. "Okay, then." He responded. "Look, why don't you take a shower and get into bed while I get myself dinner from downstairs?" Tony suggested. "The bathroom's through that door." He told him, motioning towards to door on the opposite side of the room to the door they'd just came through.
"Yes, mother." Loki muttered, bending down to get his sleeping stuff from his suitcase. He heard Tony scoff as he left the room.
After an instant curry and a glass of water, Tony headed back upstairs to see how Loki was doing. To both his surprise and delight, Loki was curled up on the side of the bed closest to the door, sound asleep.
Quickly stripping himself from his clothes and putting on a fresh pair boxers and a singlet, Tony joined him, pleased to find Loki shirtless. Wrapping an arm around him somewhat protectively, Tony placed a gentle kiss on his neck and closed his eyes, looking forward to putting the second stage of Loki's Christmas present into action the following morning.
Hello my lovely readers!
1. I am so, terribly sorry about the long wait. I've been in really bad place, but that still isn't an excuse.
2. Colorado! Woo! Hm... I wonder what Tony's plan is...
3. Please leave comments! They make me so, so happy!
4. THOR 2. enough said. I'm seeing it tomorrow and I don't think I am ready for it. At all.