I have no doubts that this little story will have spelling, grammar, and other errors. Thing is, I honestly don't care. As long as they aren't too serious that it ruins the entire sentence or paragraph, it doesn't really matter to me. I upload for entertainment purposes, not to improve my writing, I have other sites for that.

On that note, I hope you guys enjoy this. For now it is rated T but the rating may go up during later chapters for language, violence, and, if I decide I want to, possible sexual scenes.

I DO NOT OWN ANY PART OF THE AVENGERS IN ANY WAY (though I wish I did)

Loki and Bruce 3

Loki had had no intentions of returning to Earth, yet there he was, climbing into the elevator of Stark Tower. To his utter surprise, he had no need of his infectious words to weasel his way out of his predicament. Thor must have had a moment of insanity, or pity, and decided to allow Loki to escape. However, there were, of course, conditions. If allowed to go free he was not to use any magic and he would have to complete some sort of service while there. The terms were not satisfactory but much better than the punishment he was to face on Asgard.

Loki scowled down at his Earth clothing, knowing that it diminished all illusions of intimidation. Granted, he did not look completely innocent in his black three piece suit, but it was nothing compared to his Asgardian attire he once wore.

A light ding sounded and the metallic doors slid open to reveal Tony's newly remolded penthouse. He could not help but be amazed at the speed Tony had managed to get the work done. However, it was not too shocking considering his wealth and genius mind. Although the wall had been mostly fixed, there was still somewhat of a dent in the flooring. Loki shuddered lightly at the memory of the giant Hulk handling him like a ragdoll.

"I'd say make yourself at home but I don't need this place looking like the moon," a mocking tone sounded. Loki glanced up and was greeted by Tony Stark who looked at him with partial annoyance and partial curiosity. The oddly behaved scientist approached the demigod without caution, causing Loki to feel a small painful stab. He missed being able to intimidate without having to say a word. Once again, he blamed his attire.

"No no, I would much rather enjoy the room the way it is. Especially your flooring, is that new?" Loki gave an unkind smirk.

"Yes it's relatively new. I heard you put your own personal touch to it too,"

Loki ignored the comment and allowed his eyes to graze over his new accommodations. That was when he realized something.

"Thor mentioned that Doctor Banner was living with you," he muttered.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

"Of course not, I was simply wondering where he was," Loki shrugged slightly. Tony gave a shrug of his own before plopping down on the couch.

"Well he's my lab partner not my kid so I don't check up and follow him all the time,"

"Thank God for that," a voice sounded behind them. Loki slowly turned to see the doctor entering the room, a few beads of sweat peppering his forehead. Bruce gave Loki a weary glance as he passed by.

"It's not like you go anywhere interesting anyway," Tony rolled his eyes, then raised a brow, "Did you take the stairs?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The elevator is faster,"

"Yeah, but I spend almost every minute of the day behind a desk and unfortunately, having a well exercised and strong body does not just magically happen," he reminded the billionaire. Loki couldn't help but internally chuckle. Not because he thought the comment was particularly funny, but mostly because he did not think the doctor really needed exercise. Even the God of Mischief had to admit that this human was well built.

"You sure? With my good looks the only explanation could be magic right?" Tony smiled humorously. Bruce shook his head. "So where were you?"

"Shopping,"

"Shopping?" Tony raised an eyebrow. He was obviously insinuating something, but Loki could not be sure what it was.

"Before you make a stab at my sexuality, why don't you come look at what I got first?"

"Alright… Holy shit. It looks like you went shopping in an alleyway with a guy in a trench coat," Tony smile appreciatively. He reached into the very large paper bag and pulled out what appeared to be some very advance looking weapon, one even Loki could not identify. As the two dug through the bag Loki noticed something rather curious. Every time their hands would brush ever so slightly, Bruce's cheeks would flush and he would pull away swiftly. Tony seemed oblivious to his partner's odd reactions and Loki was bewildered by them.

"None of them are complete," Tony noted.

"They are all thrown out prototypes. A retired government agent got a hold of them and has been selling them on the side. They all failed but I have a feeling it's is because they have never had people like us work on them. I figured that they may be good additions to your suit or maybe just toys. Either way, it gives us something else to do," Bruce suggested.

"Are you saying we haven't been doing anything?"

"Well…"

"I've made some very acceptable progress,"

"Let's face it Tony, there isn't such thing as a 'cure' for what I have. The other guy is part of me and always will be. I should be spending more time learning how to control him while in that state rather than fight against him completely,"

"Very inspirational Doctor, but I'm having way too much fun to give up so easily. Though, I wouldn't mind taking a break to have some fun with these,"

"Perhaps I could provide some assistance," Loki interjected. Bruce glanced up at him with uncertainty.

"What do you know about earth weaponry?" He asked.

"I had once planned to rule over the world. Do you think I would have tried such a thing without first learning about what I would be fighting against? Research is important to me and through it I have gained quite extensive knowledge of your weapons," Loki informed him, using a tone that suggested that he believed both Bruce and Tony should have already known all that. Truthfully, they knew they should have.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of our recent enemy having access to these types of devices," Doctor Banner said uneasily.

"I have to agree with Bruce," Tony was surprisingly serious about that, his mocking tone absent.

"Well what am I to do? You both obviously are going to be busy and according to Thor I am supposed to perform some form of service so why should I not help you?"

"Well," Bruce rubbed the back of his neck, "Because you tried to take over the world… Killed a lot of people… And almost killed many of my friends so…"

"To be fair, you nearly killed me," Loki reminded him, his eyes absentmindedly flickering to the dent in the floor. Bruce's cheek filled with red at this memory.

"That wasn't me," he muttered.

"It was the Hulk, I understand. Nonetheless, we both have killed people and that is in the past. I realize now that my judgment had been clouded by jealousy and a need for power and I made some unfortunate choices. Now I am here with rather harmless intentions and eventually you are going to have to come to trust me," Loki sighed. His fingers grazed over the cool gold handle of his cane, twirling it without much thought. Loki had decided that if he was going to be an "Earthling" he would belong to the higher class. Money was not a problem therefore he had indulged himself with expensive clothes and aristocratic accessories. Recently he had taken a liking to his cane. Perhaps it was a little out of date considering he had no limp, but the hunger for power within him had never left and somehow, looking the way he did, satisfied that beast for the moment. Tony and Bruce did not comment. Secretly, Bruce thought it was actually a rather attractive look and thought it suited him well.

"Yeah well I'm with Doctor Banner on this one. I might eventually come to accept that you aren't here to probe me or do whatever you aliens do, but for now you are staying away from the weapons. Actually, how about you just kinda stay away from my lab completely," Tony suggested not unkindly. Loki sighed. This was one type of argument he doubted he would win. Instead he would just have to be patient.

"Anyway! Why don't we all go out to eat something, I'm starving and we can make it a sort of welcoming dinner for Loki. You good with that Bruce?" Tony rested a friendly hand on his shoulder and once again, as he had done before, Bruce blushed lightly. Loki still could not quite understand what was happening, but did not bother to question it.

"Sure," Doctor Banner agreed with a tired smile, pulling off his glasses and tossing them on a nearby counter. Loki gave a simple nod and they left.

Tony decided that he was craving Italian so the three ended up in a small authentic Italian restaurant. The walls were lined with artistic portraits of mostly naked women and Loki could not help but be somewhat amused by this. Not that he was not used to nudity, but obviously not many humans were for there were many in the restaurant who would glance at the photos and look away quickly as if they were children. Obviously what was defined as taboo on Earth was very different than that on Asgard.

The three men were showed to a booth and were finally approached by their waitress. She was beautiful, as far as mortal women went, and Tony obviously noticed this. He flirted shamelessly. The woman was not immune to Mr. Stark's appearance nor his charm and instantly flirted back. Though Loki could tell he was loyal to Pepper and had no intentions of pursuing this woman. Bruce, on the other hand, did not seem to take it as innocently. Actually, he looked rather upset by the entire exchange.

Finally, however, the waitress was forced to leave and serve others, leaving them alone to talk amongst themselves.

"If Pepper only knew," Bruce tried to sound light-hearted and teasing but ultimately failed. Tony did not notice.

"She already knows how I am. She wouldn't be my woman if she didn't," he laughed, "Besides, it's all innocent. It's not like I'm having sex with them."

"True," Bruce shrugged slightly, still not happy. Loki's brow visibly furrowed. He honestly could not figure it out. Why would Bruce care so much about what Tony did? Why did he redden when they touched? Why… Oh!

Why had he not seen it before? These occurrences had been going on much longer than he had originally remembered. In fact, as he thought back to his imprisonment, Loki remembered that the doctor had had similar reactions. Considering the circumstances at the time he had not given it much thought, but now he saw it. Bruce Banner was in love with Tony Stark!

"Haha!" Loki shook with laughter. He was unsure what exactly provoked this sudden outburst, but he had a feeling it had to do with his newest discovery.

"Did I miss a joke? I hate missing jokes," Tony eyed him oddly.

"Apparently I missed it too," Bruce said.

"You… I… understand… Ha!" Loki pointed at Bruce and then slyly nodded at Tony. It took only seconds for Bruce to understand.

"Could I have a word with you? Outside perhaps?" Banner asked through clenched teeth, his face the shade of a cherry tomato.

"Something wrong?" Tony wondered.

"No, I just want to talk to Loki and I'm feeling a little bit tense. I think I just need some air," Bruce explained.

"Right, we don't need the other guy destroying the place. Go have fun," he shooed them off.

"You cannot tell anyone about… About…"Bruce trailed off once they were outside. Bruce's eyes flickered from face to face of every passerby. He was nervous.

"About your little crush on Mr. Stark?" He arched a brow.

"Shut up!" Bruce hissed.

"I don't see what there is to be afraid of. Granted, the relationship of two men is still alien to me, I do not see how it could be much different than a relationship between a man and a woman,"

"It's much different. Not everyone accepts that sort of thing. Besides, Tony can never know. It's really all very stupid and I am sure it will pass soon. I spend a lot of time with him and he is an attractive guy, it isn't that surprising that I should form a sort of attraction towards him," Bruce tried to sound casual.

"Have you, perhaps, talked to him about this?"

"Of course not!"

"Why not?"

"It's not that simple," he huffed.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Tony would not judge me, in fact it would probably be an ego boost and I would never hear the end of it. That's not the point though. The point is, he is involved with a woman currently and besides, he is not interested in.."

"In males,"

"Yes, to be perfectly blunt,"

"Well you can never really know until you try," Loki reminded him with a hint of kindness that he was not sure he possessed.

"Look, there isn't any point in talking to him. No one cares about the science nerd and his stupid crush," Bruce's gaze fell downwards for a moment as his words became sad. Loki had the sudden urge to reach out and comfort him. Luckily, his senses returned before he could work up enough bravery to do so.

"Tony might care,"

"I could completely ruin the friendship he and I share. Not many people are comfortable being around someone who has feelings for them in which they don't return. Granted, Tony may think nothing of it, maybe even be flattered at first, that does not mean things would not become incredibly awkward. I mean, if I walked up to you and told you I loved you, what would you do?" Obviously he was waiting for the expected answer. However, Loki could not bring himself to say it. Truthfully, the idea somewhat excited him. No one had ever admitted that level of affection towards him and the idea of it made his heart ache slightly.

"I do not know what I would do," he answered truthfully. Bruce's brown eyes were filled with confusion.

"You wouldn't simply walk away with disgust?"

"I do not see why I would,"

"But…" His brow furrowed deeply. Bruce stared at the demigod in front of him with bewilderment. He had expected him to laugh, to gag, to walk away with such disgust that he would never come back. That would have been expected. It would have hurt, but it would have been expected. Instead Loki had treated it casually, as if that sort of thing would leave him unfazed. Doctor Banner felt a small stirring in his stomach. With the knowledge of Loki's opinion of the idea of a homosexual, he viewed him in new light. Suddenly he was able to notice the beautiful pale blueness of his eyes, his amazingly perfect complexion, and his long black hair that he always kept sleeked back away from his face. In his very expensive suit and his noble looking cane he looked more like a prince than a demigod. Bruce felt a slow blush crawl to his cheeks.

"Is something wrong?" Loki asked, just the slightest bit of concern trickling into his voice.

"I… No," but his uncertainty was apparent.

"What is wrong?"

How was Bruce supposed to explain that the thing that was "wrong" was his sudden attraction for him? Granted, this could easily be explained by the fact that Loki was already undeniably attractive, even a heterosexual male would have to agree that he was above average, and his acceptance of Bruce's sexuality awoke that attraction. It was nothing more, right? So, then why did he have the sudden urge to close the distance between them and catch Loki in a passionate kiss? Hormones, he told himself, perfectly normal, nothing else.

"It's nothing. Your answer just surprised me, that's all," he shrugged, his hand flickering to his face where his glasses would normally be. He suddenly felt naked without them. He was used to having something to fidget with and somehow he felt protected by them. Without them resting upon his nose he felt like Loki could see everything.

"Right,"

"You don't believe me?"

"Your facial expressions suggest that your inner conflict goes beyond a simply surprising answer to a question,"

"I… Uh," Bruce shrugged, rubbing his forehead slightly before crossing his arms over his chest, "Well I could answer this maturely like an adult or…

"Oh what?" Loki raised a brow.

"Nothing, I just… Well when you answered my question the way you did I couldn't help but…" Bruce trailed off awkwardly. Loki knew what he was getting at, but he wanted him to say it. For some stupid unknown reason he wanted to hear the words.

"This is stupid, it's nothing to be ashamed of. What I was trying to say is that find you to be an attractive guy and your response to my earlier question brought the said attraction to the forefront of my attention," he let out a long breath of relief for having finally gotten that off of his chest.

Loki could not say that he felt particularly relieved. In fact, he felt rather tense but in an odd way that he was unable to explain fully. There was a fluttering in his chest that he had never felt before. It was sweet but almost painful. His heart raced slightly and no doubt his usually pale complexion had filled with blood.

"Well," he said smoothly, knowing that although inside he was crumbling almost to a mess, he would still be able to lie as if nothing was wrong, "For the record, Doctor Banner, as far as the men of this planet go, you are above the average by a measurable amount of points,"

"Thanks," Bruce rubbed the back of his neck again, something Loki noted as a nervous sort of twitch. In all honesty, it made him look rather innocent and… Cute? Would that be the proper word? He did not know, but it was all that came to mind.

"Shall we rejoin Mr. Stark?" Loki asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I'm sure he is wondering where we are by now," he sighed.

"How is your tension now? You aren't going to change in there and kill me are you?" The question was meant to be teasing, but deep down he was serious.

"You'll be fine as long as you don't piss me off too much," And if you stay away from me long enough for me to sort out my sudden chaotic emotions. Bruce thought to himself. However, he chose to leave that part out.

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