Chapter 1 - Haunted By The Thought Of You

Legerdemain (n)

1. sleight of hand.
2. trickery; deception.
3. any skillful, artful trick.

Tony stood with his hands on either side of the counter, cold water running down the drain. He cupped his hands underneath it, ignoring the shock of the iciness hitting his skin as he splashed it against his face. He gasped for air, reaching to the side for a towel as he looked up at his reflection in the mirror.

Loki stood behind him, grinning. Tony stood straighter, taking a deep breath. He wasn't scared this time and he didn't jump. He stared at the reflection for a moment and then cast a glance over his shoulder. He was alone in the bathroom. Of course he was. When he looked back to the mirror there was only him.

"I've got the CT scan results!" Pepper shouted from the other room.

"Yeah." Tony called back, drying off his face with the towel.

The first time he'd seen Loki was two days ago in the reflection of his Iron Man suit. Since then he'd been seeing him in the backs of spoons and the bottom of glasses – hell, he even saw his freakin' reindeer horns in the shadows.

"You know, it's about time." He said, leaving the bathroom and walking over to her on the other side of the office. "Because I have a bottle of champagne on ice –"

"You know what the doctor said. No alcohol until the results are in." Pepper chastised immediately.

He stepped closer to her and nuzzled her neck. "Well you'd better get them open then, because I'm in the mood for celebrating."

"Oh really?" She laughed.

"Mm-hmm."

"And what would we be celebrating?" She asked as she tore into the envelope.

"Well, you know, I did save the world." He said, walking over to the champagne and cracking open the bottle with a loud bang, ignoring that look she gave him, eyebrows in the air, that whole 'what do you think you are doing' look. He just gave a small smirk, turning his back on her and pouring the drinks as she scanned through the results. Ever acting indifferent to anything important.

"Well, I think you had a bit of help. The Avengers saved the world." She shot back while she flicked through the pages.

"I… I flew a nuke through an open portal into space." He said, two glasses in hand as he walked back over to her. "And I seem to recall trying to contact someone that didn't pick up their cell."

"Are you going to keep going on about that? You're fine."

She put the papers down and took the glass offered to her. "To saving the world."

"The results came back normal?" He asked, clinking his glass against hers.

"Yeah."

He gave a little crooked grimace, setting his glass down without drinking and flicking through the documents himself. "You know, I don't know why they can't just email this stuff like every normal person these days, I mean what, are we in the seventeenth century or something?"

"Well, they're confidential medical documents and I guess… emails can be hacked –"

"Oh yeah, because no one could just pick this up and walk away with it." He replied, cutting her off. She stayed quiet, staring at him. She knew him better than anyone. She knew that given the right amount of silence he'd end up blurting out whatever was on his mind and she was right.

"You know, I'm starting to think we should have done that MRI scan."

Pepper frowned, her eyes still trained on the back of his head. "But we agreed that the metallic field could interrupt the shrapnel in your body. Jarvis said –"

"Yeah, I know what Jarvis said." Tony snapped, throwing the papers back down onto the table and sweeping up his glass. On the surface of the champagne, Loki was gleaming at him, laughing at him. His eye twitched and he took a long gulp.

Pepper set her glass down. She was getting worried and when she was worried she was annoying. It was pretty sexy too, but still annoying. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no." He replied quickly, shaking his head. "It's just… I just think… I just like to be thorough, that's all." He finished feebly. One word about his hallucinations and she'd starting using words like 'post-traumatic stress' and 'psychiatrist' and the press would have a field day.

"There has been a security breech, sir."

If the interruption hadn't been so ominous, Tony would have thanked him for the change of subject. "Security breech? What do you mean a security breech?"

"There is an unauthorised person on the top floor."

Tony and Pepper shared a look. "Well who is it? I mean, how did he get in?" Tony asked, making his way toward the elevator.

"Wear the suit!" Pepper called after him. Tony just cast her a glance that said 'oh please, I don't need the suit'.

"Our system scans show it is Mr. Steve Rogers. Entry point unknown."

"Oh great…" Tony sighed under his breath, riding the elevator to the top floor. Hadn't they seen enough of each other already? What did the good captain want now, a lecture buddy?

The doors slid open and Tony stepped out, not even bothering to look in Steve's direction as the lights flickered to life. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the captain lounging on a chair but damned if he was going to claim one ounce of Tony's attention before he'd had a drink. His test results had come back clear, hadn't they? Maybe a drink was what he needed. "You know…" He began, bending down to reach for the scotch and scooping some ice into a glass. "Most people like to call. You know, phone ahead? Some people – and I know, this is crazy – some people actually wait to be invited before entering someone's home. I'm just saying…"

"Oh, but I was invited." Steve replied. Tony finally looked up at him. All biceps and blonde hair. He even managed to make casual wear look patriotic.

Tony almost immediately decided that Steve was drunk. Or maybe he'd overdosed on those steroids of his. Either way he was just slumped in the seat, legs wide apart. He was grinning widely. Had Tony ever seen him smile before? He didn't think so. Inwardly he was wondering how long it would take him to convince the captain to leave. Perhaps he should have worn the suit…

"Umm… no." He said, sweeping up his glass and stepping around to the front of the counter. "I'm pretty sure I'd distinctly remember inviting you round and I'm also pretty sure it's something I'd never do. Wait, what are you drinking?"

Whatever it was looked disgusting. It was a kind of murky black colour but at the same time it looked watered down. It definitely appeared to be something that should have been drunk out of a pint glass but Steve had opted for a tumbler and had thought it a good idea to add some ice.

"It's absinthe… and Guinness." Steve replied, his voice thick and croaky. He sounded ill. "It's actually quite fantastic. You should try some."

"Yeah, and maybe you should try… not having some?"

Steve tilted his head to one side, taking his time to enjoy another slow swig. "Is this your best attempt at hospitality?"

"Well you know, I kind of figured you were out winning wars or whatever it is that you do. And I'm busy, so…"

"Oh, I like this." Steve grinned, standing with his glass still in hand and walking up to him. Tony didn't flinch or appear in any way threatened, he just stayed casually propped against the bar and took a sip of his own drink. "You truly have no idea, do you?"

"Jarvis, detect Steve's alcohol levels." He rubbed his eyes, greatly resisting the urge to drag Steve outside and throw him from the top of the building. "…Jarvis?"

"He can't hear you." Steve grinned madly, swirling the vile contents of his glass around in his hand.

Tony frowned and actually set his glass down then, pushing past Steve and looking at the ceilings and walls. "What did you do? You wouldn't even know how to change a fuse. Is this SHIELD? Is that what this is about?"

Steve giggled to himself and took another large gulp. He made to put the glass down but thought better of it and drained its contents completely before arrogantly walking around the bar to pour himself another.

"Oh, SHIELD, please…" Steve taunted, eyes gleaming with life. Tony was leaning towards the steroids. "A self-confessed genius and that is the best your mind can come up with?"

"Well, I know you couldn't have done this. And as the poster boy for America I can't think who else you would be working for. But…" Tony paused, walking back towards the bar and grabbing his scotch, leaning on his elbows and staring hard at the blonde in front of him. Steve stared back just as intently. "The funny thing is that you managed to break in, completely undetected – which is near impossible, I might add – then you were picked up on the sensors and now that I'm hear Jarvis has been disabled again. So you wanted my attention… and you had the ability to come in and do whatever the hell you wanted and you just stopped for a drink?" Tony asked, his voice thick with sarcasm.

Steve's grin widened and that just looked so wrong on the stoic, serious Captain America. "It was a drink that was offered to me."

A slow smile spread over Tony's face and his eyes darkened, his body hardened and eventually he straightened up, smirking. There was no humour in his face though, he was preparing for a fight. "That's really funny because I seem to remember you being dragged off by Thor on a lead. So whatever kind of joke this is, I'm not buying it." He said, turning his back on the blonde and walking away. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Maybe drinking had been a mistake. Could this all just be a hallucination?

"Jarvis, get Pepper for me, tell her something's wrong."

"I told you, he can't hear you." Steve replied.

"Yeah? Well, I don't believe you!" Tony shouted, his ever-present mask of indifference cracking slightly.

Steve took another gulp and then left his glass behind, smiling almost apologetically. "This is because of those reflections isn't it? I was just having a bit of fun really. The suit. The mirror. The champagne…"

Tony swallowed, frozen to the spot. "It's not possible."

"Isn't it?" He asked, his voice alight with a type of thrill that had never graced Steve's dulcet tones before. "You know, I have trouble deciding on my favourite part…" Steve was standing right behind him now but Tony didn't turn around. The blonde leant over him, lips next to his ear, leaving the scent of Guinness and absinthe heavy on the air. "It could have been the part when good old Captain America suggested attaching a muzzle to Loki and no one questioned why. Or maybe it was the part when we all sat around a greasy table, awkwardly eating disgusting food while Captain Rogers was chained and gagged in prison, waiting for my dimwit brother to take him back to Asgard."

"Prove it." Tony demanded immediately, then hesitated. When he built up the nerve to turn slowly around, it wasn't Steve any more. The man before him was taller, paler and was, without a doubt, infinitely better company. Tony let out a slight laugh. He had to hand it to the guy, he was more clever than they'd given him credit for.

"Well done." Tony said, clapping sarcastically. Loki's eyes narrowed. "You don't think Thor will notice something strange when Steve starts spouting the national anthem?"

"Oh, I don't doubt it." Loki laughed, walking away and jumping to sit up on the bar, sweeping his drink back up as he did so. "As soon as they returned to Asgard his disguise would have failed. They already know."

Tony took his glass and sat in the seat Loki had originally been occupying. "So, why haven't they come back for you yet? They have the Tesseract, why are they letting you get away with it?"

Loki smirked as though they'd just got to the good part. "I have been to worlds they don't even know exist. I was gifted with ancient knowledge. They know not how to use it. Eventually Odin may be able to summon enough power for Thor to have another visit and if he has any hope of returning with me, he'll have to bring the Tesseract with him."

"So, what?" Tony asked, indulging Loki's fantasy. "You think you'll be able to steal it and then… what?"

"Oh no." Loki laughed. "Thor knows what your people planned to do with that power. The risk of bringing it back here is too great. They will have to search long and hard if they hope to find a way of capturing me now. Besides…" Loki murmured, his eyes darkening. "I have bigger problems to worry about than them."

"Well, I'm touched." Tony said, raising his glass as though toasting him and taking a sip. "Really, I feel honoured."

Loki paused for quite a while, trying to understand the train of thought. His smooth features slowly pulled down into a frown. "Why?"

"I'm just so flattered that you chose to spend your last night of freedom with me. Because you know if you're trapped here, it's going to be as a prisoner of war, right?"

Loki could hardly contain his glee. "That is foolishness. How could I be a prisoner of war when I am Captain America? The symbol of hope to all you petty mortals."

"Yeah, except you're not."

Loki could not resist the urge to show off. Sliding from the counter his features morphed and changed and once again he was the blonde pinnacle of justice America had fallen in love with, complete with the flashy patriotic suit. When he opened his mouth to speak, it was Steve's voice filling the room. "What's the matter, scared of a little lightning?" He said in a perfect imitation of what Steve had asked Loki while the three of them were in the plane together.

Tony scratched his face idly, trying to find a flaw in the façade. "You're not going to be able to keep that up."

"Keep what up, soldier?"

"Keep – no… no. Don't… he wouldn't call me that."

"Mr. Stark?"

"Well, yeah that's more like it. Wait, no, this is insane! There is nothing stopping me from just telling everyone who you are."

"Of course not. But how would you prove it?" He asked, changing back into Loki and looking like was having altogether too much fun. "Please don't tell me you're going to use those infallible machines. Machines that can't even detect someone walking in through the front door."

"Your DNA –"

"Is a perfect replication of the good Captain's." Loki interrupted.

Tony sat with his head slumped in his hand, just staring. "So, why reveal yourself to me?"

"I'm armed!" Came a woman's voice from the elevator as the doors slid open. Pepper. "So… so don't try anything!"

Author's Note: Please review! It makes the muses write faster ;)

It is the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always review.

Ehehehe.