Comments are greatly appreciated!
Also, for the whole experience, listen to "Don't Stop" by Innerpartysystem for the first half.
Then "I will wait" by Mumford and Sons for the second :)
Finally, I can't speak Norse. Or anything resembling it. So if I have massacred what I think might be Norse, please be gentle with me :(

The night had gone well enough thus far.
Another 'cutesy' publicity stunt that Fury had cleverly pulled out of his ass at the last minute to appease anyone who may have sustained property damage in the recent battle against Doom, who's ground zero had been Manhattan, yet again.
So, there they were gathered all decked out in their finest, a spectacle to be admired and ogled by the public. Again. Tony sighed and leaned back against the bar, fingers clicking on the tumbler, if for no other reason than to keep them busy.
Sure, he was used to this; the parties, the publicity, the Avengers being passed around like a basket of puppies.
But, since Loki, God, it was like they were domesticated.
He wanted nothing more than to go back to the penthouse, throw on Dexter, and make fun of Loki padding around in his slippers, even though secretly he was thrilled that Loki was actually wearing the slippers that he'd bought for him.

After the first few hours he had been poked at and prodded with questions long enough and did his very best to disappear into the crowd. But, since he was Tony Stark it didn't work so well.
And there had been that one douchebag who had not stopped yammering about getting a photo with him. And, not that Tony wasn't used to obliging but he was just so damned tired. He wanted to pluck his god out of the crowd and make a break for the doors but the one eyed glances from across the room said otherwise. And that alone pissed him off. He honestly didn't think the night could get much worse.

And then it did.

The douchebag became a bit more than just that. It was the swing heard round the world. And, honestly, Tony was not expecting that. It just wasn't something people did. People didn't take a swing at Tony Stark, it just didn't happen.
Well, except maybe Loki, but that was different.

He didn't give much, his face turned to the side a bit and he tasted blood. He snorted a laugh as he turned back to the douchebag, not about to retaliate in front of all these cameras. He was Iron Man after all. Every thought in his head went directly out the window when he turned back.
Wherever Loki had been a split second before didn't matter because suddenly he was standing directly behind the poor, unsuspecting douchebag.
He was in the well tailored suit that Tony had picked out for him, but right now, with that look on his face, it might as well have been the armor he wore when he showed up in Stuttgart the way that people backed away.

There were a number of reasons that you didn't swing at Tony Stark.

1. He was Tony fucking Stark.
2. He was Iron Man.
3. The Norse god of chaos was his shadow.
4. The Norse god of chaos was bat shit crazy.

So it was not really surprising when the guy was hauled off the ground and hurled to the bar, sliding down it's length. It would have been pure slapstick hilarity, except that as he went, a trail of blood followed and there were some nasty, bone crunching sounds that followed.
Loki appeared at the end of the bar, picked the guy up by his throat and dropped him on his ass. From the other end of the bar Tony held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Lokes."
He said slowly. The god didn't turn to him, he just kept dark eyes on the poor bastard on the floor.
"Lokes." Tony repeated, a little louder. "I'm fine."

"Kukhode." He spoke slowly to the man and then turned his gaze to Tony. "Klapp igjen."
Two years of living with Loki had given him some insight into the ancient tongue that Loki spoke and he knew enough to know that Loki had just told him to shut up.
Tony also knew that Loki was probably so angry he didn't even realize he was speaking in the ancient Norse.

"English, honey."

He turned back to the man sprawled in a painful looking position on the floor. "I called you a cocksucker." He explained.
Tony stifled a laugh at that.
The man had begun to slink away when Loki snatched him back and planted him firmly back on his ass.
"Mortal…let me tell you what the event that shall follow your ill conceived plan shall be."
The man gave a dumbfounded nod.

Loki continued in the sickeningly sweet voice that sent shivers up what was likely the entire room's collective spines, "You are going to kiss my gods be damned shoes and then you are going to beg Anthony Stark for his forgiveness."

The man gave another stupid nod and knelt forward as Loki stuck a perfectly shined shoe out for the guy.

"Loki…" Tony eyed him warily. "Give it up. He's terrified."

The guy had probably already pissed himself at this point. Loki cocked a brow at Tony.

"As. He. Should. Be." He spoke in a clipped, menacing tone.

And that was the moment when Tony knew he'd probably end off settling out of court for the bastard on the floor so he didn't sue him to shit.

They didn't make it to the penthouse. Hell, they didn't even make it to the car. When Loki's long hand had wrapped around the back of Tony's neck on the way out the door, he knew it was all over. The god pulled him into the hallway, hands pinning his shoulders against the wall. A pair of lips crashed against his, with bruising force and an evident air of possession. Territorial.

Delicious.

Moments later, the god exited the hallway with a genuine smirk on his thin lips. Tony followed a few seconds later, one or two dark red marks along his neck and he snickered to himself as he fumbled with his belt buckle.

"Damn chaos gods and their sex drives."

Tony couldn't help but smile, though. He stepped into the harsh lights of camera flashes and hustled into the car beside Loki, a smile still on his lips and a blush spread across his cheeks.

The soft laugh (that Tony would call giggling if he used words like that to describe Loki to the gods face, oh wait, he did) The soft giggle that came from the couch was followed by the soft padding of slippers across a tile floor.
"You are taking too long." He stated matter of factly, sidling up to the island in the kitchen and resting his weight on his elbows atop the tile.
Tony glanced over his shoulder as he plucked the steaming bag of popcorn from the microwave. Spoiled brat.

"Well, your worshipfulness, why don't you tackle the vile beast that is the microwave?"

Loki placed his hands in a folded position and rested a perfectly angular chin on said hands, eyeing Tony with a less than subtle smirk.

"No, no. I will not be doing anything to solve the problem. Exerting myself and all that. I'm just going to complain about it."

Tony scoffed and reached in the cupboards for a bowl.
"Of course. I should know that by know, huh?"

Loki pretended to think about that. "Mmm."Was the reply.

Tony turned and plopped the bowl on the counter, tore open the bag, and dumped the popcorn into it, snatching a kernel from it, yelping, and tossing it back. "Hot." He stated promptly.

"Indeed." Loki replied, his voice just dripping with sarcasm.
Tony pegged him with a very put on glare in response. His brows knit a little, as the look became something different. "Lokes."

Loki skirted his eyes away from the gaze. He knew exactly where this was headed and at the nick name the god lifted from his spot, turned on his heel, and headed back for the couch and Dexter, and Deb, and LaGuerta and all things outside the realm of reality-

Tony snatched him by the arm. "Ah, ah, ah. I don't think so."

Loki turned his head slowly and tried very valiantly to muster up a glare but it came off as something far less threatening. Far more 'I don't want to do this' than anything else.

Gods can we not do this..

Tony keeps his gaze soft. Inviting. It's the only thing that worked. Anything harsh, anything rising to a fight resulted in, well, chaos. And blood. And, generally, damage that ran over fifty grand.

"We….should talk about what happened tonight."

And that look, that look that Tony could never quite name, ghosted across those luminescent eyes. "But I do not want to."

What are you so afraid of, Chaos?

Tony gave him a signature half smile. "Yeah, but that's not what I said. I didn't ask."

Loki took a deep breath and shook his arm free of Tony's grip. "Better men have died for less."

Tony cocked a dark brow at him. "Oh, really? I'm sure they have, but I'm sure as shit they weren't better than me."

At that Loki faltered. Probably because, although he would never admit it, Tony was very much accurate. But he still scrunched his nose at the words and Tony knew that he had won the first round.

Nose scrunching was a definite sign of Loki's annoyance, but defeat.

"So. Tonight."
Tony headed for the couch, massive bowl in his grasp. He deposited the bowl on the coffee table and propped himself on one end of the couch, keeping a close eye on the god, his god, as he took a seat opposite him.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" he poked him with a toe, to which Loki actually did glare at him. He bristled, and then slowly relaxed.
The expanse between them, the opposite ends of the couch, seemed to grow smaller as the tension in his body subsided. "What a foolish question. You were there and therefore you know exactly what happened."

Tony shook his head lightly and reached for the remote between them. Another wave of relaxing and the expanse lessened once more. "'S not what I asked. Again."

He pointed at the god across the way with the remote, shaking it about emphatically as he spoke. "You, Silvertongue, have to stop avoiding my questions. Now: Wanna tell me what happened?"

Another shift, one long leg sliding up onto the couch, lining it almost entirely. "Well…what do you…." He paused and seemed to search Tony's face for his answer. He found nothing but an interested smile and eyes that smiled just as bright.

Stop looking at me like that, Anthony...

"What, pray tell should I have done?" His question was half way between biting and genuinely curious.

Tony smirked and flicked the television on, keeping a sidelong gaze on the god. "Lick my shoes, lowly mortal? Bit much don't you think?"

Loki actually cracked a smile, a small one, and his eyes shifted to the floor. "I did not say that."
Tony paused on HBO and nodded at Loki."Dexter."

"Dexter." Loki repeated, matching the lilt in Tony's voice identically.

"And no, you didn't. I paraphrased. Deal with it. So why the big show?"

Loki gave him a look that all but screamed, 'really?'

"Anthony. Three words. Full. Tilt. Diva."

Tony barked a laugh and drug a hand over his face peering at Loki through his fingers. Damn. "Yeah..right…"

He suddenly sat up straight and leaned an arm across the back of the couch, flashing another grin at Loki. "They should have called you the 'God of Avoiding Difficult Questions'."

More space closed between them. Okay, alright, progress.

"Alright...to be entirely honest…" And when Tony chuckled a bit Loki narrowed his eyes slightly. Okay, back track. "..I was not…thinking entirely…with my rational mind."

Tony gave a mockingly surprised expression. "You have one of those?!"

Loki sighed and pulled his leg up close to himself. Shit. More back tracking. More space between them.

"Alright. So you weren't thinking rationally. I made that assumption when you pitched that guy across the bar. But…more importantly….why didn't you stop…?"

Loki rolled his eyes and reached for the bowl, digging a long fingered hand into it and bringing back a handful within it. He picked away at the popcorn, taking a single kernel in those graceful fingers and of course, placing it gracefully into his mouth and munching away. "I think it is you who is being over dramatic now, Anthon-"

"Loki. You could have killed him."

Loki caught his eyes. And he actually appeared to shrink back a little…like he was…guilty.

"He..he laid his hands on you. I knew that you were not in a position to retaliate, so I did."
Tony folded his arms across his chest and spun around so he was sitting with his feet planted on the floor, but in the process, had moved a bit closer to Loki.

Better.

As he opened his mouth he placed a hand on the leg that had slid back down to it's previous position.
"Lokes…that's great and all. Real sweet of ya to defend my honor. Or my face. But that was…" he dipped his head down so he could catch the gods gaze, which hung low. "That was…'kneel mortal' Loki. And not the good kind. That was the Loki that hurled me out a window."

Loki brought his gaze up, just a bit.

Better.

Very, very slowly he brought the hand from Loki's leg to push the ebony locks out of his eyes. "Come on. Talk to me, Chaos."

Loki let the hand rest where it was. For now. "He needed to know that…you were.."
He trailed off and gave a little shrug.

"That I was yours. Right?"

Loki scrunched his nose.
Right.

The god of chaos sighed and finally pulled away from the touch. " You and I both know you would have done the very same thing."

So he was going to make him come right out and say it.
Tony sighed and placed the rejected hand on the back on the back of the couch as he turned to Loki. "Probably. But…I would have stopped. You….well, we need to work on that. And remember what I have always said…?"

Loki rolled those glowing emeralds and replied with the mantra Tony had him memorize a while back, "I protect you, you protect me, and we look out for ourselves."

Tony grinned and gave a nod. "So. No more commanding lowly mortals to lick your shoes, or any other strange fetishes you might have…"

For that Tony received a wide grin and had a pillow chucked at his face. That got him a genuine laugh.

Yes! Success!

The two had a mildly damaging pillow fight and after the popcorn met its end by being upended onto the tile floor, they settled back into watching the last few minutes of their show.

So, really, Tony wasn't expecting Loki to tap him on the shoulder, look him dead in the eyes and say, "I know it will take time for me. But, you know that, for you, I will keep trying."

Tony smiled wide and kept his hold on Loki's gaze. A moment later he slipped an olive skinned hand around the Loki's head, bringing them as close together as the laws of physics would allow. Stubble framed lips met ones of absolute silk and Tony shuddered at the feel of them. Loki's eyes fluttered closed, those beautiful lashes brushing gracefully against pale skin, his whole body coming alive at the touch as his own hand slid around Tony's waist. When Tony, spoke, he did so against that soft silk of Loki's lips.
"I know. And I will wait for you."