Chapter 2: According to Plan
Word-Count: 2,571
Characters: Loki, Thor, Tony Stark
Summary: Loki's intentions are made clear, though Thor and Tony are left unawares. Tony has no memory of the night before, leaving Thor confused and worried.
Warnings: Alcohol-related topics, mild sensual themes

A/N: So, there's some changes going on here on FFN that I'm not a fan of. My continuing to post this story here on FFN depends on what's going to happen with this site, and if I get anymore views/reviews on this story. I'm not whining for reviews, that's not my intent, (because I get plenty on DeviantART), I just don't want to keep messing with this website if I feel there's no point in it. Anyway, enjoy!

"That poor fool…" Loki smirked as he watched the last bit of Thor's cape disappear through the door. The night air seemed a little cooler, perched primly on the guardrail. Though the noises of the city far below were prevalent as ever, high above seemed quieter than it ought to be.

His eyes lingered on the door for a moment, taking in the moment, relishing in what he had done. Strangely, he felt unsatisfied. Everything went according to plan flawlessly. Easily. Perhaps a little too easily; there was next to no challenge.

His brother was entirely too trusting; too easy to forgive. He knew Thor wasn't going to come after him on the balcony, but he couldn't help but be mildly surprised at how simple it was for the god to drop his guard in Tony's presence-without Mjolnir clenched in his fist, no less.

Unfortunately for Odin's heir, who he thought he was enjoying a sudden tryst with was not Tony Stark. It was, indeed, the god of mischief himself under one of his clever, yet complicated illusions.

After a year's worth of confinement in Asgard, he finally escaped to Earth once more with vengeance on his mind; Vengeance against the Avengers, but more importantly, his brother. Despite his brother's insistence that going back home was for his own good, the humiliation he felt at the hands of the thunder god and the others was taken as a subjective blow.

Of course, he didn't possess the resources to cause nearly as much trouble as he did a year ago with the Chitauri. That, he realized, was a mistake he'd not make twice. He decided, instead to take things to a strictly personal level; to take a more passive-aggressive approach to his revenge.

That's where he got the bright idea to slip into the confines of the tower under the protection of his own magic. He stalked Tony to his personal lab and test room, and waited in secrecy until the genius engineer had drunk himself into a mild stupor. That's when he took action; as long as Tony stayed awake, Loki made sure that little glass of brown liquid stayed full. He could have easily used a poison, but those are easily traced. He was just fortunate that his victim couldn't survive the day without a vice.

It didn't take much more, but eventually a drunken Tony had finally collapsed backward on the room's only couch. His legs were draped over the arm rest and his arms were thrown above his head. He did not rouse when his security system was shut down, or when a copy of him materialized spontaneously next to him.

He walked out of the room and headed off in search of his brother.

It didn't surprise him in the least how well he had pulled off Tony Stark's character; he was, after all, the master trickster. The question at the time, however, was how long could he keep it up? The question now was should he keep it up? He wanted Thor's attention, and he was not afraid of getting caught. His brother wouldn't let anything happen to him, of course; but the punishment if—or rather, when he gets caught would be severe nonetheless.

This is what Loki wanted, though, for Thor to inevitably realize that he had once more fallen for such an obvious and personally mortifying trick at the expense of his friends. He wanted to place yet another scar on the god that had outshone him so many times before; another scar that will add to the many that he himself had inflicted with his deep-seated rage.

But all the scars he could cut into his older brother did not compare to the scars he bore. The hurt that he repressed within him achingly weighed his heavy heart further downward, threatening to sever it completely from his person until he was without one.

-S-

Thor stood straight-backed before a window, shifting his weight from leg to leg while blankly staring outward toward the sunlit cityscape. It was midday, and he had already been awake for a few hours. He assumed that Tony would be up by now, but unfortunately, the man in question was nowhere to be seen. The wait set his teeth on edge and made it hard to stay still.

He had to talk to Tony; he had to find out the reason behind what had happened in the kitchen. However, he couldn't even explain why he so willingly submitted, especially given that they weren't very familiar with each other. Since the Manhattan incident, they've seldom contacted one another; Tony was busy obsessing over his work, he safely assumed, while he, himself, was busy with Loki.

Loki. That little cretin was another issue he had to take care of.

Since his adoptive brother's ultimate, inevitable, and down-right tragic loss, Thor was the only one who had shown Loki any sort of sympathy. Thor bore the responsibility of comforting the emotional wreck, keeping the god from going off the deep end; a fact Odin made no effort to hide his disgust over.

His despair was well-hidden until the two gods made it to Asgard, and that was where the reality of what just happened truly, honestly hit him. His grief was so great, that he started losing control of his actions, managing to strengthen Odin's anger toward him.

If not for Thor's pleas, Loki probably wouldn't have lived much longer. Needless to say, the god of mischief proved to be most dangerous by his self, as well as with others, so he was confined in solitude, bound by the strongest of spells honed into thick links of chain, so as to prevent an escape or any illusions.

All that time, Thor did his best to reason with his brother, begging him to become good once more. Trying to convince him that he had everything he needed in Asgard; that what had happened was unnecessary. He was Loki's only source of comfort, staying at his side to quell the screams of despair in any way he knew how. But even then, the stricken god did well to express his deepest loathing toward his brother.

Thor was blamed for his brother's epic shortcoming, and even as Loki seemed to recover with time, the accusation never left his gaze. Of course, the god of thunder was lulled into a false sense of security. When he heard that Tony Stark was calling upon him for assistance, he trusted that his brother was stable enough to be left at home alone for at most a fortnight.

He had only been here a few days before Loki conveniently showed up right after the incident. He should have been more surprised, mad, even. But he wasn't. Instead he gushed selfishly, weakly over his problems.

Unfortunately now, with everything having happened, there was nothing the god could do. Tearing his gaze from the window, he firmly decided that he was going to try to search for Tony his self instead of waiting any longer.

Trudging down the hall, his ears caught the sounds of heels clicking against the floor. He caught a glimpse of Tony's assistant, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, walking farther up ahead. A flat, black square cradled in her arms stuck out oddly, and he glimpsed a Styrofoam cup held in the opposite hand. She must have come to deliver something to her boss, which would give him access to his desired destination.

Thor quickened his own pace until he had caught up with the ginger-haired woman, who smiled pleasantly at him. "Good afternoon," She said warmly, "Do you need to see Tony as well?"

"Indeed, yes," Thor responded, "But I know not where he is. Perchance I might follow you?"

Pepper stifled a giggle at the overly-dramatized speech, "Of course." She said, smiling all too broadly. "I have to deliver some important information, as well as his usual morning pick-me-up." She held the hand holding the cup up a little higher in indication of her meaning. "According to a text—or, message he sent me earlier, todays—uhm—hangover is particularly vicious. Hopefully, he's alright."

Thor didn't say much, but gave a nervous glance toward the young woman and a half-hearted shrug. He's seen Pepper rushing around the tower in those painful-looking shoes often times during the days he's stayed there, but they've never had much contact with each other one-on-one.

One thing he was definitely able to pick up on was that she was like a life-line to Tony. He depended on her for nearly everything; without her, he'd basically lose his head if it weren't attached to his neck. But this woman had such goodness in her, he could sense that.

"You know," Pepper began as they neared the door to Tony's workshop, "I've seen some incredible things working for Mr. Stark, but I never imagined I'd personally meet someone I've only read about in fairy tales."

Thor blinked, "Fairy tales?"

"Oh, of course I didn't mean to suggest your epics were mere children's tales," Pepper quickly recovered, stopping before the door to Tony's room. "I meant to say legends." The door clicked quietly, indicating that they had been granted entrance. The fair-faced woman glanced upward toward Thor before she stepped first through the threshold, "Not much of a talker, are you?"

"If it is not important to say, why waste breath?" The god responded rhetorically, following suit into the room.

In no time, Pepper was at Tony's side at the couch that he slumped in, handing him the cup she held. He looked a bit rough; tired and paler. He was so fixated on getting rehydrated that he hadn't acknowledged Thor yet.

"Thanks, Pepper, you're a life saver," Tony sighed gratefully, "Although, I feel like a ton of bricks has been dropped on me." He set his cup aside and leaning back all the way against the couch.

"I'm sure you do," Pepper responded soothingly, laying the folder she held next to her boss, "I need you to look at these sometime today, but please don't leave it for the last second."

He glanced down at the folder then back up at his secretary's retreating figure. It was then that he noticed Thor's company. He sat back straight with a puzzled expression, "How the hell did you sneak in here?" He asked.

"I let him in when I walked in," Pepper answered quickly, "We met in the hall, and he said he needed to speak with you."

Tony's attention was back on Thor, "Why didn't you just speak up?" He probed, standing up, "Cat got your tongue? Creep…"

"I do not see what a cat would have to do with…" The god grumbled.

"I'm going now," Pepper announced above the two other's voices, "Please try to play nicely." She smiled before turning to leave.

Without another word, Tony walked over to where his hologram computers stood. He started pressing glowing keys at what looked like random, bringing up various complicated pictures and charts. Unfortunately, what he had seen caused his brow to crease in frustration. Something was up with his system, and he couldn't figure out right-off what it was. Why in the world did he have to drink so much? He was sure that he would have had the issue figured out by now.

Once in a while, however, he'd steal a glance at the ever-silent god of thunder, wondering what caused him to go all inward suddenly.

"Seriously, Jupiter, what's with the melodrama?"

"Do not confuse me with that thinly-imagined pretend god," Thor said bitingly.

Tony raised an eyebrow at the comment, "Thinly-imagined, huh?" He scoffed, "Whatever you say."

The god exhaled loudly. Tired of playing games, he strode over to where Tony stood. He had to get to the bottom of last night, after all. "Pray tell…" He began slowly, fumbling his hands together and watching sheepishly.

The man in question's dancing fingers stopped executing commands on the hologram computer and his eyes were now fixed on the curiously nervous man before him. "Pray tell…what?" He asked just as slowly.

He stepped away from the glowing screen and folded his arms across his chest, bringing Thor's attention to the arc reactor glowing dully under his rumpled shirt. Tony could tell that something was seriously troubling the god and he was intrigued to know what it was. The only thing he could safely assume was homesickness.

Shifting his feet slightly, Thor opened his mouth to speak once more. "Do you have any recollection of…?"

"Of what? Use your words like a grown boy, it's not that hard!" Tony demanded, growing evermore impatient. There were things he'd like to get done (like a decent shower), and he couldn't spend all morning, or afternoon, or whatever time it was waiting on this muttering mess to gather his thoughts.

"…last night?"

The word was barely a whisper, but Tony had heard it clearly. "What happened?" He asked seriously, "I was not made aware that something had gone wrong."

"It was not…wrong…" Thor said delicately, casting his eyes downward momentarily, "After all, neither of us had any objections."

The realization of what the blonde brute had said dawned on Tony, and for a moment he was quite stunned. "U-us?" He stammered, wracking his brain for any sort of risqué scenario that involved the two of them together. Honestly, he couldn't fathom the thought. He surely didn't invite Thor to his home for sex, but he also didn't have a clear memory of anything the night before.

Still, he couldn't let such news throw him off for long. He quickly attempted to regain his composure and smiled. "You sure you didn't just imagine things?" He asked with a tell-tale weak chuckle; he wasn't feeling nearly as confident as he wanted. The thought of the brute fantasizing about him was strange, though a bit flattering.

Thor shook his head, "I am afraid not."

Tony took in the troubled god for a moment. He, himself was so very certain that nothing happened; that he was in the lab the whole night, right? But, Thor was convinced that something happened. This was all so confusing, and the genius found himself second-guessing himself, and he never second-guessed himself, especially over something so simple.

"Fine," He said finally, "Why don't you remind me?"

Thor looked a bit taken at the suggestion, "But is that not what I have been trying to do?" He questioned, becoming a bit irritated. He wondered if he should have even bothered bringing last night up at all.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but I mean, show me. Maybe it'll trigger some sort of repressed memory, and if not…" He paused for a moment for consideration, then shrugged, "Well, we can put this silliness behind us."

The god was silent briefly before he gave his answer. "So be it," He said quietly, "But…you will have to come for me, as that is how it began."

Chuckling, Tony advanced closer, "That sounds about right…I do like to initiate." He stopped mere inches from the taller man's face, "But, I'm not going any further than this."

The smell of stale alcohol took Thor right back to last night. He anticipated what was to come, feeling his heart hasten at the thoughts. The urge to turn away struck him, but he was frozen where he stood, with Tony's lips pressing against his once more.

A/N: That's it for this chapter! Let's see what happens while chapter 3 is being worked on. If I choose not to post it here when it's through, and if anyone here wishes to read it, just go to my DeviantART page. I'll post a notification when I've made my decision.