Everything was a blur. The noise sounded as if it was coming through a thick wall, and his nerves were dulled almost to the point of absolute numbness. His eyes were closed, something was placed against his nose and mouth, and he could scarcely feel the rough fabric of a sheet over his body, stopping right below his chin. There was a lot of movement, and for a while Tony had the biggest urge to puke. He didn't though, that was good. His breath was loud in his ears, and his own blood was rushing around in his head like cars down a freeway. His heart was skipping randomly around in his chest, and he knew for a fact his arc reactor was broken. He could just tell, in his bones that it was busted. Somehow. Tony didn't even understand why the arc reactor was broken. On second thought, why couldn't he respond to anything, why couldn't he move his body, why did everything sound and feel fuzzy?

Oh yea, he almost forgot.

That night had been another party at one of the rich fancy houses that belonged to a friend Tony couldn't remember ever meeting, but was referred to as a friend anyway. There was a lot of alcohol, and women. Don't forget the women. Lots of laughs, embarrassing moments, he would catch women's' eyes and see the smirk that played on their plump red lips.

That's what he scarcely remembered. All of these memories, mind you, were accompanied by a drink in his hand. Oh yea, now he knew what happened. He remembered now why he was riding in the back of an ambulance, with three or four paramedics constantly checking monitors, his arms and legs, and opening his heavy lids to see if his pupils reacted to light.

He drove home after the party, very much drunk off of his ass. He was in some deep shit with Pepper now.

His body was slow to responding to simple tests in the ambulance, and he could barely hear the muffled voices of the paramedics mutter: "don't know…bad signs…might not make it…"

His heart fluttered rapidly in his chest again, which was extremely painful, by the way, as his mind reeled on the idea of dying. I don't want to die like this just yet. He thought rapidly, his heart clenching to the thought of going in the back of an ambulance, in this painful way, without seeing his friends ever again. Faces flashed in his head.

Steve Rogers, always bright and chipper, bossing him around, getting teased. Bruce Banner, his favorite man out of the whole lot. They were brothers. They were science brothers. Thor, that crazy blonde who, he knew he was right, probably used his shampoo and conditioner to get that hair so flawless and wavy. Clint, the dorky archer who was always by Natasha's side, helping her with things she couldn't figure out. Running away whenever she would snap at him for thinking she was incompetent. Natasha, her sharp tongue, witty attitude, and deathly stare something Tony would wish to see instead of thinking of the way he was going to die.

He felt an IV drip inserted into his arm, and his heart fluttered into regular beats, not as painful as before, and his breathing evened out to almost peaceful. "Just keep him sedated until we get to the hospital." He heard a paramedic say.

The ambulance turned sharply to the right, and Tony almost thought he was going to be flung out of his gurney by the force of the turn. Hands were pressed onto his side and shoulder, and he was realigned safely back onto the bed. He heard the first paramedic holler angrily to the driver.

The sirens blared in his head painfully, and after a while the hum of the ambulance against the asphalt, the murmurs of the paramedics, and his own heartbeat was muted out, so only the siren could be heard, blaring in his head as loudly as possible. He slipped into unconsciousness with the sound echoing in his head.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

He came back with a loud gasp of air. The air was stale around him, and his body was covered by a warm, blue blanket. His head was propped up on a dull grey pillow, like someone left him there in case he wanted to wake up watching a TV show on the mounted TV in the corner of the room. Where was he? What happened?

Oh yea.

The accident, the ambulance. He must be in the hospital now. Everything hurt on him. He couldn't move his arms, his legs, his fingers even. The only thing he could move and tolerate the pain of was his neck and head. He closed his eyes a moment, and looked down at his chest. No light shone from the thin fabric of the hospital gown.

Shit.

He started to call out for help. This wasn't right. It was supposed to be glowing it was supposed to be WORKING. Before his voice could be heard, before the yell for help left his lips, he felt someone there already. A presence in the room that wasn't there before.

His breath came out choppy, and the presence in the room, which was sitting just out of eye shot, spoke. "It's good to see you're awake and working, Mr. Stark."

The voice was very familiar. It was so familiar it gripped his throat in an…in an icy grip.

He didn't look over at the form sitting in the chair next to his bed. He could tell it was sitting with a leg over the other. The form was sitting with his hands in his lap, with a cocked eyebrow, with a concerned gaze pinning on him. "I was worried you wouldn't make it through the night. But here you are."

The form stood up, the dark shadow of the man standing to his full, very tall and intimidating height. He was gracefully slender, with large shoulders and long fingers. His eyes were piercing green, and his hair was slicked down to his shoulders.

"Loki— uh…wh-." Tony began, trying to find his voice. This didn't make sense. Loki was in Asgarde right now. He was banished! Loki looked down at him from where he stood at the corner of the bed, next to Tony's feet. "Surprised? I guess you would have been. Seems my queries were correct." He chuckled softly to himself as he made his way across the room to the monitor beeping away.

"Vital signs are normal, happy to say." Loki said with a reassuring smile. His smile formed back into a simple thin line, but his eyes danced with mischief as he looked back at Tony, pinning his gaze.

"Why are you on earth?" Tony choked, feeling his heart flutter in his chest, and hearing the monitor give a short beep. Loki picked up the clipboard that rested on the nightstand next to Tony's bed, reading it. "I have told this to Thor many times before," Loki began, clenching his knuckles at having to mention his older brother, "I have many secret exits in Asgarde that not even Odin knows about. I wouldn't worry though; Thor knows of my whereabouts and is keeping me under watchful eye. Now you shouldn't be so rude to your doctor, Mr. Stark, wouldn't want me…making a miscalculation in your medication, now would we?"

Tony's jaw went slack. For once, he had nothing to say. No way in hell was he letting Loki take care of him. He wouldn't anyway. Loki would neglect him. He wanted a new doctor.

"I want a new doctor." Tony stammered out after having much difficulty to speak before.

Loki looked down at Tony with a wide smirk plastered on his perfectly pale face. "I was the only doctor available when you…dropped in, Mr. Stark. I am also the only doctor up to score on your medication and, I've actually checked with the other doctors and nurses at the hospital and they don't have the time to treat you. Looks like it's your lucky day!" He chipped in, a mocking smile growing.

Tony just stared in shock at Loki…no…at his caretaker, and felt himself seem to slip down into the bed more. "It's not glowing like it should." He finally murmured, feeling completely beaten up and exhausted. He hasn't felt this way since the end of the phenomenal battle between the Avengers and Loki the infamous. "Hmmm? Ah yes, well, seems your source of energy was busted very badly in the wreck you caused." Tony winces, biting his lip in guilt. That was the thing Loki was planning to do, eh?

"Sadly, this bloody hospital doesn't have the technology to remake your reactor, so your heart is connected to this here monitor," he patted the large machine beeping away next to Tony's head, "so it keeps your heart beating steady and the…shrapnel away from your precious heart." Loki smirked, putting the clipboard down on the nightstand again.

His voice went down to a gruff murmur as he leaned in to Tony's ear, totally sending quivering shakes down the millionaire's spine. "Let's keep this our little secret. But Loki Laufeyson sure knows a thing or two about energy and technology, and life forces. Don't worry, Man of Iron, you're reactor will be restored soon enough…that is…if the machine doesn't die out before then." He let out another deep, dark chuckle as he stood back up to his full 6'2'' height.

He patted Tony's covered leg before closing the door behind him as he left.

Tony sat up in the bed, his eyes widened and shaking just barely. This wasn't happening. This…couldn't be happening. Loki was in charge of keeping him alive! What were the odds of that happening? Was this some horrible karma getting back at him? Was there a shift in the universe that arranged this to happen? Was this finally karma getting back at Tony for almost destroying the nation and world with his weapons of destruction?

He sighed long and loud, dropping his head so his scruffy chin brushed against his collar bone. The emptiness of light in the room made Tony feel empty. He wasn't so used to not having the arc reactor's soft comforting glow always with him. He didn't feel right.

The machine beeped loudly for a second, making the millionaire flinch in his bed before having to relax himself to fall back into slumber. He couldn't do anything about it. His phone was probably destroyed in the wreck. He closed his eyes tight, wishing the gang would notice his absence soon enough to go looking for him.

Doubt flickered in his mind for a moment that the hospital already gave the call to the Headquarters….so everyone knew…and probably wouldn't be visiting anytime soon. They probably thought he was in a coma or something. He tried moving his arm up, but received sharp pain as his arm quivered violently in protest. God…what did he do to get this much pain in his body? Did he hit a tree? Did he flip the car? If so…how did he survive?

He fell asleep with panic fresh on his eyes, and nightmares flickering on his eyelids.

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tony woke up the next morning with his body aching in sharp pains. Loki was there when he woke up. "Ah, vital signs look good. How are you feeling Mr. Stark? Any pain I need to check on?"

Tony bit his tongue. Yes, there was some pain he was dealing with, but he wasn't going to tell Doctor Loki. He didn't want his help. He didn't ask for his help. Loki clicked his tongue, licking his dry lips a moment. "I will found out either way if you are feeling any pains, Man of Iron, but if you tell me you can spare yourself for getting scolded and a minor punishment."

Tony felt his cheeks flush red, and his head slumped against the pillow. "My legs feel like they're on fire." He let a moment pass as Loki moved over to his legs. "What happened to me? How bad was the…the accident?" Tony asked, his voice cracking at the memory of how he wound up in this bed.

Loki's eyes flickered over to Tony's but quickly shot down to his legs again, sighing and choking back a stammer. "Are you sure you want to hear?" He asked after a moment.

Tony nodded his eyes stinging with the threat of coming tears. He didn't know why he was getting the urge to cry; maybe it was because his mind was conjuring up the worst possible things right now.

Loki put his long hands delicately on Tony's legs through the bed sheets, and Tony hitched his breath through clenched teeth and he twitched from the pain. It felt like his leg was being coated with lava, and he could barely take it. Loki shook his head, "That's not a good sign."

"Tell me what ha-happened." Tony barked, choking back the pain in his voice.

Doctor Loki stood up fully, eyeing the millionaire through narrowed green eyes. "If you insist." He paced the room. "From the report the police gave me, you were speeding 30 miles over the speed limit down the I-540 at around 12:46 a.m. A car was pulling out into the intersection, legally, as you came crashing into its side. There was no passenger or child in the car, but the driver was flown from the vehicle as it rolled across the street. You were thrown through the windshield, rolling across the hood of your car and skidding across the asphalt for 20 feet before stopping at the curb. Your head hit the ground twice, and your ribs and legs were badly battered by the glass and metal from the other car. The driver…is in the hospital right now. Dying." Loki looked worriedly at Tony. "I have hurt and killed many people, Man of Iron, and I shouldn't be saying this, being in my position, but you killed someone. You killed someone because of your recklessness!"

Tony felt his body go slump on the bed as the story unfolded before him. Someone was dying, almost dead, because of him. Loki was right. The bastard was right. Tears spilled down his cheeks as his mind revealed what he had done, and what was to come. Loki stared at the crying, beaten and broken man before him, looking so vulnerable in the hospital bed. "Stop crying. You look like a child." Loki spat, his voice quavering as well.

Tony ignored his comment, letting the held in tears pour down his cheeks, wetting his hospital gown. "s-Stop." Loki stammered, shocked by what he saw before him. He moved up next to Tony's bed, looking down at him like he was dealing with a whining child and didn't want to handle it.

Tony shook his head, his throat choking on his own tears.

Loki narrowed his eyes, moving over and grabbing Tony's chin with one slender hand, lifting it up so he could catch his gaze. "I said stop it. Man of Iron, you're acting like a child. Face the penalties like an AVENGER, won't you?" Tony looked deep into the glistening, cold green glare of his Doctor, and suddenly the tears stopped flowing, and his face softened a bit. "I'm no better than the monsters I protect the city from." He murmured when Loki's hand brushed out from under his chin. He dropped his head back down, and he stared at his dead arc reactor in anger.

Loki bit his lip and walked back around to the other side, checking on the beeping machine as it measured Tony's heart rate. "Monsters kill without any emotion, Tony, believe me, I would know what a monster is. You are not a monster." He glared at Tony, tears wetting his eyes, "I'm more a monster than you will ever be."

Tony didn't understand why he wanted to comfort this ex criminal, but he did. His hands twitched underneath the bed sheets as he felt the urge to lean forward to bring the older man over to him. He resisted the urge, and watch as Loki stood with his back to him for a moment. He could hear the God's breath's come out choppy, thick with emotion.

"Ring the buzzer if you need anything." Loki stated before he walked out stiffly, slamming the door behind him.

Tony was left in silence, with the gloom of the morning light washing through the closed blinds. Loki just did something Tony thought he would never see, and that was his weak side. He let him see his vulnerability; he accidently opened up a void into his life that Tony half wished he never saw.

The man was a broken shell. His mind was in turmoil, his emotions churning and mixing in his mind and heart like a bag of snakes, writhing and hissing, churning with hostility and mistrust. He wanted people to think he was okay, especially Tony, who was his patient. He wanted Tony to know he wasn't affected by the battle that he lost. He wanted Tony to know that he didn't really lose. But he did lose. He lost so much more than the battle that day.

He lost his willpower. He lost his wanting to go forward, to show people what-for. And Tony felt sorry for him. He pitied the God of Lies. And he hated himself for feeling that way.

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The hands he held entwined with his own felt ice cold and…they shivered. "Stop acting like such a baby" He heard himself say to the form sitting in front of him. He was in his hospital bed, but he wasn't alone. There was someone sitting on the bed with him, sitting just at his legs, staring at him with hostile eyes.

Tony could see who he was looking at, yet he couldn't believe it. "I'm afraid I've lied to you, though Man of Iron" the form whispered, the green eyes that watched him dilated and tears slipped into his eyes. "This thing in your chest," his doctor reached out, putting the tips of his fingers delicately against the dead arc reactor at his chest, "I do not have the knowledge or magic to fix it. I lied to you, I shouldn't have."

Tony didn't react to his lie, because he expected much. His heart clenched and he heard the machine beep loudly next to him. His eyes narrowed the longer he gazed at Loki, and he clenched his hand around Loki's more, and he bit the inside of his cheek. "You are angry." Loki murmured in despair as he saw the look in Tony's eyes.

"No." Tony lied, feeling his throat close up as the realization of death dawned on him. Depression sunk into his head as he stared deeper into Loki's eyes. How much they resembled a beautiful green sea…like the Florida Gulf.

Loki's eyebrows furrowed closer together, and he grit his teeth together. Loki shifted on the bed, closing the distance on him and his patient, until Tony could smell the sharp mint gum on his breath. "Don't lie to me, Man of Iron." He hissed, his nose almost touching Tony's.

Iron Man felt the room heat up, and he sucked in breath through connected teeth, feeling his body heat up in embarrassment and arousal. Loki's gaze flickered down to Tony's lips before he met his eyes again. "I can see the look in your eyes, the way your body fidgets and tenses underneath me. You are aroused, yes?" His breath was a whisper, cascading over Tony's neck and body almost tantalizingly. Tony shook his head, biting his tongue.

He received a smirk in response. "You must understand you cannot lie to a Lies smith, Mr. Stark. You cannot fool me. I turn you on. This position we are in, the physical contact between our hands, the closeness of our bodies and lips, they get you excited. Do they not?" God damnit this man was torture.

Tony couldn't answer, his tongue wouldn't move, his lips couldn't form words, yet he didn't push Loki away as his doctor closed the gap between their lips. It was heated, intense. God this was wrong…but it felt so right. Tony felt the older man's arms wrap around him, in a delicate hold. The kiss intensified, as Loki forced Tony's head to lie against the pillow, making Tony practically pinned down.

Loki broke away from the kiss for a moment to mutter, "We don't have to Tony—." Tony lifted up his arms and dug his nails into Loki's buttocks, silencing his words. "Shut up." Tony murmured.

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

What the fuck was that?

He woke up later in the day, heat floating around the room, his forehead slick with sweat, his lips dry, his body aroused. That dream…what sparked that? His sigh was jagged and choppy, and he rubbed the sweat from his brow.

"Sleep well?" Loki asked from where he stood, over by the window. Jesus Christ that man was a shadow. No way was he here before! Tony flinched at his sudden appearance in the room, and closed his legs so his erection was harder to see through the sheets.

"Yea. Yea I slept fine." Tony replied, feeling sharp pains in his arms as he moved them back down to his sides. He was vulnerable, and he prayed the sheets covered up his sudden erection that sprouted from the dream he had. What was that about anyway? Loki? Kissing Loki. Yea. That's a funny one. Next maybe he can go announce his undying love for Director Fury.

His doctor turned around to face Tony, his body silhouetted by the light shining through the partly opened curtains. The only thing Tony could see was his eyes. And- they were glowing. His eyes were fucking glowing…like…bright emeralds. They looked moody, angry, confused, maybe even scared? Well, this was Loki, a very ruined (emotionally and physically) demi God forced to disguise himself on Earth.

"You were making noises in here, Stark. I thought something was wrong." His eyes flickered down to the floor, and he moved to the end of the bed. "I was wrong."

Tony felt his cheeks flush different shades of red. Did he…did he somehow (moan) talk in his sleep? He bit his lip in anxiety, which wasn't healthy, as his machine beeped frantically to the beat of his heart. Loki cleared his throat, his glowing emerald eyes going down to the clipboard he had in his hands. "I should be ready for the surgery." He stated.

Surgery? For what?

Loki cocked an eyebrow, mumbling something under his breath, noticing the billionaire's absence in reply (and his dumbfounded, thoughtless look). "To fix your Arc Reactor, dumbass. I have everything ready. I have the magic to keep you alive while my doctors work and try to fix it." He chewed on the end of his pencil, cutely (tony took note of this), and stuffed the clipboard under his arm. "All we need is your word. Are you ready?"

Tony felt his body grow hot and sweaty, and he fidgeted in the sheets, ignoring the pain he got. "I guess tomorrow I'll be mentally stable for surgery. What about…the rest of my body? Will it just heal normally or…?"

Loki grumbled to himself and checked the keyboard, "You have to be on pills in a little while, since you're going to be off the IV drip next week. Your legs aren't shattered, which is good, but you had some very bad tissue damage and you did break an arm. That will take time to heal. Your other arm is just badly scraped, probably asphalt burn."

Tony bit the inside of his cheek. He said weeks right? Wonderful.

Tony could hear the air shift in the room, as if it got thicker, more hostile. "You're easier to read than a preschool book, Stark. I can tell you're pouting over the thought of dealing with me for a couple more weeks. But remember, if it wasn't for me you'd have probably been in a coma…or dead. So. Let's try and make these weeks bearable?"

He furrowed his eyebrows at his patient, the glowing green eyes narrowing like lasers. Tony kept his gaze locked with Loki's knowing looking away only meant he was weak. "I never said I was pouting about being here. You're presence here has actually been bearable and I rather can tolerate it better than some of my 'superhero buddies'. But yes, doctor reindeer games I'm very pleased to be dealing with you for more than a week."

Loki paused at the door, his mouth a thin line and his eyes pinned on him in vague amusement. "Let me know if you need anything." He stated before closing the door. There was a moment where Loki stood there, leaning against the room door, gripping the clipboard to his chest, his eyes distantly gazing at something unimportant. Did Stark just…compliment him, in his own rude, cynical way? He sighed softly and closed his eyes a moment.

This was going to be a long, horribly wonderful week.