Title: I'll Always Come For You

Characters: Loki/Tony

Rated M for SLASH - later chapters, but soon, I promise

I don't own the characters!

- I'll Always Come For You - Chapter 3

"Loki's been kidnapped."

A few seconds ticked by, everyone still gaping at Tony, then again, everyone spoke at once. All of them demanding answers that Tony didn't have. He just rolled his eyes and went over to the computer tablet he had left on the table. He called up the projection screen and played them just the part of Loki leaving the lobby, as well as the footage captured by nearby cameras.

"No one thought anything about him walking out in the middle of the night wearing only pajama pants?" Clint asked incredulously. Tony gave him a look that clearly said, "I know, right?"

"I can't make out any of the details on the car, or the people. Isn't there a better shot of it?" Natasha asked, squinting her eyes at the floating screen.

"That's all I've got. JARVIS has enhanced it as much as possible, but that's it." Tony turned to Thor. "Any idea who'd want to take him, Blondie? One of your people, maybe?"

"There are none on Asgard who would act in such a manner. They would have had to have orders from the King to do this, and I do not think my father would allow this." offered the big blond man, looking decidedly casual in his long sleeve t-shirt and jeans. Even out of his armor, though, he was still an imposing figure.

"I need to get in my suit and see if I can't find him. If he's still in the city, I can track his energy signature." Tony patted himself on the back inwardly, for having JARVIS scan him early on. Something about Loki's magic made it very easy for the computers to read him. Like a homing device. He hadn't told Loki about it, but he figured it might come in handy some day. Guess today was that day, he thought.

Always known for her perfect timing, Pepper chose right then to make her entrance. She looked very put together for how early in the morning it was, and how quickly she had made it. Tony wasn't at all surprised at this.

"Tony, what is it? Is it Kaleb? Is he okay?" Pepper stopped and noticed the group standing around, staring at her. "Why is everyone here?"

Tony approached her, led her to the couch and sat next to her. "Kaleb is fine. It's Loki. He's been taken, and I need to go find him."

Pepper gasped. "Oh no! Tony, you go. I'll stay with Kaleb. Don't worry about a thing" She glanced up at the rest of the team. "You're all helping, right?"

"Of course." answered Natasha. "Loki is one of us now, part of the family. We're all concerned for him."

Tony smiled at this. It wasn't always the case, and it had taken a long time for them all to get here.

Tony hovered above his building, looking down helplessly at the Tesseract. So much had happened already. Loki's escape, the near crash of the helicarrier, Banner's freak out and subsequent disappearance, Loki's escape, Clint's recovery, Coulson' injuries...Loki's escape. Tony's mind reeled, but never strayed far from the object of his newfound obsession. What he wouldn't give for a few hours of downtime! Time to sit and think about exactly what was going on in his head. Was there something there, or was Loki no more than forbidden fruit?

He needed to stay focused though, he had shit he had to get done. Alien invasion and all that. But how could he when he was down there? On MY balcony, Tony marveled. Part of him resented that Loki had used his building to create this mess, but most of him secretly thrilled at seeing the god standing there, waiting for him. Watching him. Tony's heart beat a staccato rhythm behind his reactor, and he tried to tell himself that it was only fear causing it, though he knew he wasn't.

Denial was another of Tony's special talents, one he had honed for years, usually aided by alcohol. So it was easy to tell himself as he landed on the nearby platform and began walking out of his suit, that Loki was not, in fact, looking at him with the same hunger in his eyes as he knew was in his own. Both men stared each other down as they walked toward the entrances on either end of the building. Losing sight of Loki as he stepped through the doorway, Tony was able to clear his head a bit. This was the enemy, after all. And he was a particularly nasty one. Tony needed to get his suit and get out. Preferably alive.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki practically purred from across the room.

"Uh, actually, I was planning on threatening you." Tony's retort was not exactly as stinging as he had hoped, but at least it didn't involve him asking Loki out to dinner. A small victory, and he was rather proud of himself. Keep it up, Tony!

"You should have left your armor on for that." Damn. Why did everything this guy said go straight to the dirtiest parts of his brain? Every word the god spoke was pure sin.

Tony headed to the bar, where he knew his activation bracelets for the Mark 7 were stashed. He had a feeling he'd need them before this whole scene had played out. He also needed a drink. Badly. Thinking quickly, not smartly, Tony quipped about his suit seeing some mileage and Loki's "Glowstick of Destiny." Ah, nicknames. Yet another of Tony's specialties, and he was rather pleased with this one. Distracted by his own cleverness, his mouth spoke without his brain's help. "Would you like a drink?" Christ, Tony! This is not some hot woman in a bar you're trying to bed! Well, it was said now, and that devastatingly beautiful grin he had gotten in response to his question had made it all worth it, so he might as well just go with it. Unfortunately, Loki didn't take him up on the drink offer.

It wasn't until Loki mentioned his alien buddies, that Tony remembered exactly why they were here. He was on the clock! Tony spent the next few minutes pouring his drink, and pointing out to Loki exactly what was in store for him. He managed to slip on his bracelets when Loki wasn't looking, which made him feel decidedly less vulnerable. The god held his own, through their exchange, and Tony found himself enjoying goading him, though he knew it was a stupid thing to do. He was no match for Loki in this state, and he knew JARVIS needed more time for the suit. But, however smart Tony was, he was certainly no stranger to doing stupid things. Grabbing his drink, and heading around the bar to approach Loki, he made good on his plan to threaten.

"When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." he said, referring to his team.

"I have an army," sneered Loki, showing that even sneering can be attractive if done by the right person.

"We have a hulk." Tony replied easily, though he was still worried that Banner may not come back in time.

"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off." Loki voicing Tony's concern in such an offhanded way actually irritated him. Good, Tony needed to be angry. Anger was a much better reaction to Loki than what he had been feeling. Which was what, exactly? Tony didn't want to think about that now, so he just went with the anger.

"You're missing the point. There's no throne. There's no version of this where you come out on top." Tony walked slowly toward the source of his inner turmoil, though he didn't want to get too close. "Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you." Tony paused, enjoying how flustered Loki was becoming. "Because if we can't protect the earth, you can be damn well sure, we'll avenge it."

Tony's eyes grew wide then, because Loki's flustered expression turned positively predatory. His blue eyes bored right into Tony's brown ones, and he stalked toward Tony with animalistic intensity. Oh shit, Tony thought and he downed his drink. He should have made it a double, because damn that murderous gaze was going right to his crotch and making him question every moral he had ever believed in. It was suddenly very hard to breathe, and as aroused as Tony refused to admit he was, he was also starting to worry that he might not make it out of this in one piece.

"How will your friends have time for me," Loki growled. "When they are so busy fighting you?" And with that, he raised his scepter to Tony's chest. Tony almost laughed at the confused furrow of Loki's brow as the blade of the scepter clinked harmlessly against his arc reactor, but the seriousness of the situation made it easy to quell the urge to giggle. Loki attempted it again, with the same unfavorable result. His brow lowered more, and he muttered, "This usually works."

Tony's brain was was moving like marbles on glass, fast and in all directions at once. He instinctually fell back on just being the smartass that he was. "Well, performance issues...not uncommon, 1 out of 5-"

His retort was cut off when Loki grabbed his neck in a most unpleasant way and threw him across the floor. Damn, Tony thought as he struggled to breathe through his aching throat. He had forgotten himself for just a second, distracted by his own maddening reactions to Loki's proximity and how badly he wanted him even closer. Coughing, struggling to his feet, Tony sputtered "JARVIS, any time now." but his voice was weak. Probably not loud enough for his AI to hear.

No sooner had he stood than Loki was back at his side, hands gripping his face, squeezing and lifting him just off his feet. Tony gripped his leather covered arm in an attempt to...what? Stop him? Push him off? He knew he couldn't do either of those. Was he about to die? Was Loki going to kill him? And if he was about to die by this man's hands, how fucked up was it that all Tony could think of was how close Loki's face was to his. How sweet his breath smelled. How much he wanted to taste those poisonous lips.

"You will all fall before me!" Loki snarled in Tony's ear, causing his fear to overwhelm his misplaced lust once more. This was going to be bad. Very bad.

"Deploy." Tony managed to squeak out the command. Loki must have known what it meant because he lifted Tony even further, squeezing his throat even harder. "Deploy!" And with that, Loki thrust his arm and tossed Tony easily through the glass, sending him plummeting to the ground below.

Well shit, Tony thought as he fell, waiting on his suit to catch him, that certainly wasn't the way I was hoping it'd turn out.

If only Loki had taken that drink, Tony mused, shrugging off the memory. That day could have ended much differently.

"Tony? What now?" Pepper asked from her spot next to Tony on the sofa.

"Now I go and get him." Tony said with determination. "Bruce, you mind heading to my lab and working with JARVIS here. You start scanning one end of the city, I'll start on the other." Bruce nodded his consent. Steve decided to join him. The two hurried off to the lab, Bruce knowing exactly where to go, as he had spent much time there.

Thor stepped forward and spoke, his voice booming as always. "I will return to Asgard and seek counsel with my father. If those who took my brother are not of this realm, he may know where to begin our search."

Tony nodded. "Excellent idea. Hurry back." Then he looked to Clint and Natasha.

"We'll head over to headquarters and see if we can't get some of their resources put to good use." Clint offered. Natasha agreed and they headed out, followed by Thor who needed to head outside the city to use the newly repaired Bifrost to return home.

With everyone squared away, Tony leaned over to give Pepper a quick kiss on the cheek before he left. "Kaleb just ate, so he should sleep for a few more hours. In your down time, would you be a dear and replace the entire nighttime security shift? Get someone you trust on it. Those idiots let Loki walk right out the front door in the middle of the night wearing nothing but a pair of pants."

"Go, Tony. We'll be fine. I'll take care of the security. Go get your man back." Pepper practically pushed him toward the stairway that led down to his lab. Where he kept his suit. The suit that would hopefully lead him to Loki.

Thank you again for all the reviews and favorites/follows! BTW, I am pulling out my artistic license card and replacing some of the movie canon with my own version. Or as Adam would say, "I reject your reality and substitute my own!" In other words, Coulson Lives!