AN: Final chapter! Please subscribe to my account or follow me on Tumblr to keep up with more installments, including a couple of one-shots from other characters' POVs. Mind, they're not written yet, but they will be. The next part will feature more explicit scenes, so y'all on FF might get the implied sex version instead to avoid getting in trouble with FF's TOS. The full scenes will be available on my AO3 account for anyone who's curious.

This chapter came out waaaay longer than expected(~8.2k, the longest chapter yet), but I wanted to be sure to wrap up several things. There are still unresolved issues, but I want to explain them properly and do the characters justice in their actions, so they'll happen next installment. I apologize for anything left unclear. Feel free to ask if you're confused! I always appreciate the feedback; it often times reminds me of something I might forgotten myself in the whirl of doing so many things at once, so comments really do help!

This scene also made me hungry every time I edited it. Every. Damn. Time. And we're not even going to talk about how many times I rearranged events. Nope. Not even.

Chapter Summary: We've reached the end of one tale, but endings never fail to start new beginnings. Tony's also having enough of your shitty interruptions, Steve.

Chapter Ten: When Tomorrow Comes

The bedroom was dark and empty when Tony returned to it a few minutes after leaving Bruce to his thoughts. Not even bothering to hide his disappointment, Tony sighed and ambled over to his bed after a few calls of Loki's name gave no results or coaxed any gods out from hiding.

"Jay, Loki's location."

"Inspecting the guest quarters, sir. He appears to be drawing several sigils and looking displeased at the combination of blood with the shade of paint of the wall. I concur that it's a rather unpleasant color combination."

"Blood. On my walls." Good thing Loki was making himself at home, less good that that involved staining decor with bodily fluids. "His blood or do I have to arrange a discreet way to hide a body?"

"His blood, sir."

"Oh, okay. Well, that isn't much better, actually. Pull up a feed, will you?"

A live video projects onto the wall beside his door, showing Loki smearing a complicated design across the wall of a living area on seventieth floor. Every few seconds, he drags the first two fingers of his right hand through a deep gash on his left palm and continues drawing. He's bleeding on the floor too, and Tony's mind absently provides that the cleaning bill for that will not be fun or easy to explain.

Loki finishes and rubs palms together to transfer the blood across the entirety of his palms before pressing them both to the sigil. The lines flare as if lit in flame and then flicker back out within a second, but a few feet farther away, another sigil lights itself on the wall where there wasn't one before. Then another even farther away. And another.

"Sir, the sigils are appearing across several areas of the tower."

Smaller pictures of other cameras from around the tower appear stacked over the view of Loki, more appearing and disappearing sigils that travel in chains, cascading reactions that spread across - Tony notices all the important areas that require the most privacy are the ones experiencing magic intervention - dozens of rooms and floors and looking progressively less like embers and more like frost. Loki still stands in the same place with his eyes closed, but the skin of his hands starts to color a rich blue that creeps like a disease under the armor and soon expands to the visible column of skin of his throat and across his face. Tony twitches slightly when another sigil appears on the wall of his bedroom, ice that crackles warningly and fades before his eyes to leave no trace of its existence in the first place.

Finally, Jarvis reports that the designs have stopped appearing and that a slightly green-eyed - but managing it and even Jarvis sounds pleased at that - Bruce is on his way to Tony's floor right now. Loki moves back and stumbles weakly, coughing into the uncut hand while the other grasps a nearby table in his attempt to stay upright. Tony barely has time to ask Jarvis to open a line before Loki is standing again and glancing at his hand in slight disappointment. Clenching his fist, he holds it for a second and then shakes his palm open, pale skin cracking through cerulean flesh to return.

Then the bastard just straightens up, turns, and disappears into his fancy ball of golden fire. As in disappears from the whole tower.

Tony curses roundly. "And Steve complained about my style. J, where did he go?"

"No signatures register on any of my scanners in Stark Tower."

"Great. Having a mad god on the loose is really what I need right now." And there was the blue thing too that's still waving its issue in Tony's mind. "Any information on what frost giants look like?"

"No reliable eyewitness accounts, sir. Any claims are centuries old and likely adapted by the influence of other cultures mingling with Norse and the creation of the Eddas. Much information from before that time has been lost."

"Let's just assume snowman magic was to blame for that then. And add the surveillance captures of the sigils and Loki's Smurf form to the files."

"Already done."

"Great. Where's Bruce now?"

"Elevator, sir. Twenty seconds until he reaches your floor."

Tony walks out of the bedroom, meeting Bruce just as the elevator doors open. The doctor is openly agitated, eyes wide as he gives Tony a cursory glance over. "Are you okay?" He asks first, but Tony doesn't get out more than a nod in response before Bruce cuts in again and gestures behind himself. "What were all the-"

"Like my wall art? Thank God I didn't have to pay for them. I kind of like to see stuff I put money into, but then again, sometimes invisibility is the point of the thing, so-"

"Where's Loki? He did do those, didn't he? Remotely somehow?" Judging from the borderline volatile twitch under Bruce's right eye, Tony makes the decision that telling Bruce about Loki vanishing without a word is not the proper direction. Tony does rather want them all to stay on amenable terms for as long as possible. Lovers couldn't be depended upon for everything in life.

"I'd ask him myself, but he's kind of out of it at the moment. Blew a few circuits on overload is my guess. Was already drawing on the walls when I got back here, and then one blood sacrifice and some magic fingers later, there are pictorial viruses on my walls."

Bruce glances around again, not so subtly peeking back into the bedroom before looking to Tony. "Blood sacrifice."

"His own. No beings of earth were harmed in the making of creepy sigildry."

"Okay." He releases a breath that's far too controlled to be natural and draws his mouth into a thin line. "Getting less okay with the business of having a god around." Tony frowns and moves to step closer, but Bruce shakes his head and mirrors a step away from Tony. "Your tower, your rules, I get that; I'll follow along, but Loki doesn't play by other's rules. You realize that, don't you? He throws magic around the tower without warning, and then falls into a convenient stupor to avoid answering anything. Are you sure you want to trust him with anything remotely important? Your life and safety, for example?"

"I'm not overwhelmed with options here either." Tony defends with a bit more aggression than he'd intended. Pulling his jaw back, he looks away for a moment. "SHIELD is on my ass with a vengeance now. As dangerous as an alliance with Loki is, when I've got an entire secret government agency gunning for my recapture and torture, I'll go with the lesser of two evils and partner with an alien sorcerer."

He's not even going to touch the whole "trust" thing with a ten foot pole either. Trust can't be trusted. He trusted SHIELD and saw where that ended up. He trusted Agent Romanoff when she was the captivating Natalie and saw what happened there too. Maybe it was time to stop following trust and go completely from the gut. Keeping Loki close was safer than pushing him away. If his gut helpfully supplied that Loki was incredibly attractive as well, hey, all for the better.

"He saved my life getting me out of SHIELD. My chances were slim in there."

Bruce lets his eyes fall to the visible injuries along Tony's bared skin, the bruises on his jaw, fresh cuts littering a body that had already been put through enough hell before SHIELD came along. "Are you going to let a doctor look at those?"

"I have a doctor." Tony deadpans, looking straight at Bruce.

"Not that kind of doctor, Tony." Tension fades from the lines of his shoulders, but there is something like fire in his eyes when Bruce looks over the wounds. "But I guess you won't be going into any hospitals any time soon, so..." he gestures over to the couch; Tony takes a seat with Bruce settling on his left and the non-medical doctor gently takes Tony's right arm by the elbow and the wrist, rotating it slightly as he looks over all the evidence of Tony's treatment laid out as good as words on paper.

"Do I pass the test? Too stubborn to die?"

Bruce huffs a bitter laugh. "Death must either really like you or really hate you. Gotta be alive for some reason."

The inventor's eyes narrow slightly. His mouth lacks a filter to tell him it's probably not so good to ask, but... "You said once, back on the helicarrier, that you tried. You said you tried and you looked at me when you said it."

No adverse reactions, no looks of surprise or hesitance when Bruce nods and simply answers, "I did." The arm is put down and Tony's left is lifted for scrutiny next. Fingers gently prod the surrounding area of the burns while Tony swallows the wince that wants to contort his face. "On both accounts," the doctor continues, "saying and looking at you as I did."

"Why look at me?"

"When you were talking about living for a reason, it struck a chord. No one that talks like that hasn't questioned it before. Asked why they were here and what would be different if they weren't. Whether you actually tried it or not, you questioned. I looked at you because of that." His wrist is tested next, rotated lightly and with care.

"Hey, doc?" A non-verbal hum acknowledged him. "Did you figure out your reason?"

"Think I did. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here. And you wouldn't be either." Bruce smiles softly and puts Tony's other arm down. Leaning forward a little, he nudges Tony's elbows, nodding to Tony's shirt with a questioning look. Tony pulls it up to the bottom of the arc reactor and lays himself further back against the sofa cushions while Bruce checks each ribs for breaks or fractures. "You want revenge on SHIELD, don't you? For this?"

He hisses through clenched teeth with one rib on the left side, Bruce apologizing softly under his breath before going on to find at least three more sensitive spots. "Can you blame me?"

"Four cracked or bruised ribs, your scapula was shattered when you first showed up, moderate contusions over probably... thirty to forty percent of your body from the way you're moving, recent track marks on the inside of your arms, electrical burns... No, I don't blame you for wanting to in the slightest. But I will join you." Well. That was unexpected. The shock is so evident on Tony's face that Bruce even chuckles lightly when he sees it. "Fury's naming too many crimes as 'for the greater good', and they're not likely to stop unless they're taken down."

"It's like Torchwood all over again." Tony smirks, and Bruce shakes his head fondly as he stands.

"No alien robots though, please; I think I've had enough of that. The rest of your... plans, I don't know, but I'll help with SHIELD. Now get up and get some damn rest before I get the Other Guy to play your baby sitter."

Managing to avoid the bruises, Bruce coaxes Tony up with a hand under each of his arms and pushes him towards his bedroom with palms to his shoulder blades once he's standing. "Be gentle with me, doctor."

"Sex jokes in the morning. Don't make me lock your door." To be fair, Bruce had told him to go to sleep twice now in the past twenty minutes, but it wasn't like Tony would give in easily to even the Hulk. "And if you wanted gentle, you wouldn't be getting involved with a Norse god."

Tony opens his mouth again to say something, only to have Bruce give him one last shove into the bedroom doorway. "Talk in the morning! Sleep first!" He pulls the door shut, Tony grinning after him and listening the footsteps of the doctor retreating. The soft chimes of the elevator taking him back to his own personal floor follow, hurtling Tony's surroundings into startling quietude.

Releasing a breath, he turns back to the bed with its sheets rucked up after he'd climbed out of it not more than half an hour ago. The bathroom door was still open, condensate still fading from the mirrors, towels still in a pile beside the toilet. The whole room was quiet, save his breathing. Much more pleasant was the sound of Loki's purr as he laid out terms of business that had quickly dissolved to sealing the deal with a kiss. If Tony had the energy, he would have laid spread eagle on his bed and let his fantasies of those cool fingers and lips over every inch of his skin. Right now though, he just couldn't. Right now, he would have just been another guy jacking off to absinthe eyes that weren't there and muscles stretched taut under pale skin pressed against his own sun-kissed hide. The pleasure wasn't quite there for fantasizing about that at the moment.

A side trip to the bathroom gets him a couple of Valium washed down by a drink of water from the tap before he returns to the empty bedroom. He strips out of his jeans in favor of changing into pajama pants, leaving the shirt on as he crawls into bed and under the covers. On his side, the arc reactor is muted under crossed arms and covers just the way he'd grown accustomed to sleeping when Pepper complained about the light. Uncounted minutes are spent staring into the wall across from him, but as soon as he closes his eyes, it's too dark and living nightmares return before sleep even has a chance at dragging him down.

"I need light." Tony complains, flipping onto his other side to face the window. Jarvis silently filters in the soft white of a waxing half-moon, bathing Tony's vision in pure light even when his eyes are shut. It's the wrong shade for the fire of a nuclear bomb demolishing a warship and so he can't feel the suffocation of a dead suit hit by the EMP wave; it needs more purple to channel the Chitauri's electric weapons; his repulsors have more orange hues; the Tesseract boasts a blue so bright that it blinds, but none are the same as this lunar light, and it makes it soothing. It connects to nothing of his nightmares. It's peaceful.

With the grace of high-grade pharmaceuticals, he slips into a sleep of no nightmares, but strange images nonetheless of shadows of figures so large that the edges are incoherent lines at the edge of Tony's peripheral visions while disembodied voices bellow for what belongs to them.

xXx

Amber sunlight pulled Tony out of sleep come morning. He tossed to his other side and laid face down on the mattress a moment longer.

"Good morning, sir. It's 11:27 am and a suitable time to find something to eat, if I may suggest it."

"Right." His voice is muffled in the pillow before he turns just far enough to be intelligible. Too early to open his eyes though. "With the lack of real food for... how long was I gone?"

"Nineteen days including yesterday."

"You know what to order for lunch then."

"Of course, sir. Burgers have become tradition after your longer imprisonments."

That he was kidnapped enough for it to become a tradition was a bit exhausting, but obviously he wouldn't have let it become this way if he could have helped it.

Groaning in combined discomfort of aches and fading sleep, he turns onto his back again and glances to his open bedroom door where a figure stands in mostly shadow. Tony scrambles to sit up before he can recognize a face, cursing once he belatedly realizes it's only Loki, and then cursing somewhere that his mind categorized him as "only Loki", like "only a lion stalking me". Tony blames the Valium for the strange place his mind has gone. "Where have you been?"

"Recovering." Loki pushes himself up from the wall and steps a few paces further into the room. "There were a few beings I had need of visiting, and I did not wish for you to be unprotected in my absence."

"So the pictures on my walls were-"

"Protection wards to repel unwanted surveillance of any type."

Tony sighs, hauling himself upright, and sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment. "Thanks for the warning."

"I could not waste any more time. You must have realized your alliance with me sides you against Asgard as well."

"Hadn't really thought about it yet." He answers honestly. But now that he had... Fuck. No pressure there.

Vision swimming a bit as he stands, Tony stays still a moment to readjust all senses to the new position before turning to the god. Blue skin and armor has been replaced for his regular Aesir pale and what probably stands as "casual wear" to Loki, but is actually a pair of sharply pressed charcoal gray trousers, a dark green button-up shirt with gold pinstripes, and a vest in the same color as his trousers. Did he do anything low-key?

After mentally cursing himself a couple more times for the unintentional pun, Tony slips past Loki and into the kitchen. Way more attentive but no less tired as the sedative effects of the Valium were still dragging him down, Tony ran through ideas in his head as he heard the god walk up behind him.

"You're upset."

No shit. "I'm... concerned at where this puts us. And I'm hungry. More hungry than concerned right now. Do you know how long it's been since I've had food that didn't come from a needle in my arm?"

"Nineteen days, your servant said; yes, I heard him."

Tony rummages through the fridge without finding what he wants and so moves to hunting through the cabinets for bread and honey. He tosses a slice of bread in the toaster and then adds a couple more for good measure in case Loki wants any or if Bruce comes up. Given that it's almost noon anyway, the others in the building have probably already had breakfast though. Taking a place within view of the toaster, he pops the top off the honey jar, plucks an apple from the bowl on the counter, nudges Loki out of the way to get a knife from the drawer, and starts to cut a wedge from the fruit. It's a satisfyingly crisp sound plucking the flesh from the core, Loki unexpectedly quiet on the sidelines as Tony dips the apple slice in the honey. Sticky sweet amber drips from the fruit when it's pulled back, but Tony lifts it high enough to break the string and chases the end up to take a bite from the fruit.

"Hungry, Blitzen?" Tony holds out the jar when he catches Loki staring, but the god declines distractedly with a shake of his head, instead focusing on the honey drizzle when Tony returns the second half back into the jar and pulls back with markedly exaggerated leisure. Maybe Tony is performing with a bit more relish than usual, but he didn't have clean and proper eating habits to begin with. Having a little control back in his life after almost three weeks of hell is a nice reprieve too.

"I could feed it to you," he offers with an audible smirk that does get Loki to meet Tony's eyes, but only for a second before the slightly wider than normal pupils turn away to watch the toast.

"No need. I ate before my return."

"Ah, right. Mystery vacation. No need to tell me where you went or anything. Or why you turned blue when setting up sigils."

Loki's lips curl up. "My Aesir seidr, the flames of golden light that burnt the first of the wards, was consumed too soon to complete my task, so I was forced to use other sources."

"Like Jotunn magic."

Alight with surprise and maybe a little of intrigue, Loki nods. "I resisted my true heritage at first, but it has proven... useful. They are firmly in opposition of Asgard as well, which suits our purposes well. I hold quite a few bargaining chips with the Jotunns."

"So you disappeared to go off on a... diplomatic mission?"

"To phrase it so prosaically, yes. It cannot be just the two of us against the realm of gods and the human forces of Midgard. Fortunately for us, Odin's command of the armies of Asgard have made many enemies in its earlier time of battles and warring. They subdued the other realms or threatened them into submission, but it has only given the others time to build forces, plots, and hatred towards the Aesir. I can further wield their rage into the direction I wish and whenever I wish to exploit it." The god is barely suppressing preening, a self-satisfied smirk sitting at the edge of his mouth. Tony's mind is warring between kissing it away or biting it off. "Believe me, Stark, you will be glad for their assistance when the time comes."

Tony is not so convinced anymore. Way to trust the god of lies to lie. "You never said anything about warring against Asgard." That should have been a thing to mention earlier than three minutes ago.

"Of course not. Because I do not want a war against them. As long as I am out of their cells, they will hunt me down, and that will bring Asgard's force directly into disrupting our plans, but the other realms' armies, at my behest and after I've provided them with suitably dangerous information regarding Aesir tactics and weaknesses, will keep them too occupied to bother trying to find me. We will not be in the battles against them. We'll simply put others in between us and them."

"Can't fight Asgard, SHIELD, and the Chitauri gang all at once, so we make deals with the enemies of our enemies."

"Precisely. SHIELD gains priority as the most earthbound and imminent of our threats. There is time still before Asgard seeks me out, but the other realms must be in place before any of the Aesir's forces come. Then," a pause as his smile becomes more manic, almost bloodthirsty, "I may reap my vengeance on the ones that attempted to subjugate me."

Violence should not look so good on anyone. Tony had some serious issues with self-preservation.

Loki's gaze returns to Tony, glancing from the apple slice held in mid-air - Tony suddenly forgot he was eating in favor of watching Loki plot - to Tony's open mouth. "Are you lost, Stark?"

"Just kind of... Nothing. Er, no. Not lost." Just found. My match would be from another galaxy of all places.

Cutting another slice, he checks on the crisping toast, turning his back to Loki without even thinking about it. He turns the toaster off when the bread begins to brown too much, and dips his next apple wedge into the honey, raising it to his lips as he looks back to his company. A Loki that's much closer than Tony expected leans in and takes the bite of apple instead, making eye contact with Tony as he does.

Making a pleased hum, Loki chews as he straightens again and swallows, swiping a thumb across his mouth and then sucking off whatever he found. "Similar to some nectars on Asgard. I might prefer this though if only for your expression." Tony is well aware that he's staring but can't find it in himself to care all that much.

"I'm just imagining licking the honey off of other places." The engineer states casually and watches as Loki's eyes dilate further.

"SHIELD needn't be eliminated this day. Perhaps your ordeal has earned you a few hours' reprieve of troubles." He cautiously closes the small air pocket between them, watching for rejection that doesn't come as he takes the jar from Tony's hands, and sets it aside along with the remaining apple and the knife. "You mentioned other priorities earlier."

"I did. Got interrupted. Unacceptable way to leave things though." Tony willingly pushes aside any protesting voice in his head to grab Loki by the back of the neck and pull him down for a kiss right where they left off last night, no more messing around or slow build. Loki's hands settle on his hips, the unbidden memory of how much better it felt with skin on skin contact when Tony was wearing nothing but a towel. That was definitely a thing that needed to happen again but without the interruption next time. For now, he would have to cope with this outcome.

It doesn't take much coaxing to push Loki back against the counter, pressing deeper into the kiss, silently daring one another to go further, and only breaking for breath for a few seconds when they absolutely had to. A leg had wormed its way between Tony's again, and he was busy rutting against it when cool fingers slip under his pants to grip Tony by the ass and pull him closer. They both moan at that movement, and Loki gives a mischievous chuckle when he finds out he can control the cant of Tony's hips this way too.

He leans full body against Loki only to hiss in pain as cracked ribs shift into places they shouldn't be. Tony starts to pull back, but Loki prevents the movement and shushes him lightly. Hands, cold as snow and just as soothing to bruised flesh, slide under his shirt, tendrils of emerald magic seeping into his skin until the dull throb ebbs away to nonexistence. "Remember a god of magic beds you." Loki catches Tony's ear between his teeth as he maneuvers both of their bodies back to their previous position.

The inventor leans in run his tongue along the edge of Loki's jaw, blindly unbuttoning Loki's vest and shirt in single downward move. "There hasn't been a bed yet." He pulls the shirt tails from Loki's pants and shoves his hands under the fabric to feel the newly exposed skin of defined abs and beautifully lean muscle. There's no mistaking it; Loki may look thinner in comparison to Thor, but the mischief god is well-sculpted instead of built, worlds more attractive than a brick wall of a man.

The god's chuckles vibrates across Tony's skin. "That detail can be remedied very soon."

"I came in to the kitchen to eat, you know. That hasn't changed."

"If you so wish, you still can. I certainly would not be averse." Lips tickle his ear, the grin both audible and tactile as Loki leads, "I was not referring to the apple anymore either."

Such a delightfully suggestive purr draws Tony's attention, and he pauses for just a moment. Tempting... It's been a little while since he'd given a blow job to a guy - he may have been a playboy, but he didn't cheat when he was in a relationship, so Pepper had all his sexual attentions save the occasional stray eye that had definitely strayed to Loki. Maybe -

"Sir, I-" Jarvis starts, but Tony growls.

"Privacy mode. No visitors, anything that you're trying to say can wait twenty minutes." The AI cuts off, and Tony refocuses to Loki, pulling back enough to ghost their lips against one another. "Third time is not funny anymore." Loki hums in agreement, pulling an amused and sympathetic face that Tony decides really doesn't need to be there. They surge into a kiss, biting and hungry, hands pulling on one another, allowing little room to move away, but neither seems inclined to do anything of the sort anyway. Tony groans into Loki's mouth as agile fingers grip Tony's rear, rolling his hips forward against Loki's as their breath picks up. It only prompts Tony to press deeper into the kiss, tasting the soft sweetness of honey on Loki's tongue and the sharp spice of something entirely new that could only be described as wholly Loki.

"You promised me a release of tension once, Stark. I've come to take it." Loki says as they're forced to part for air again. Tony relocates to suck a mark in the hollow of Loki's throat as he slips one hand to the front of Loki's pants. A soft moan follows the gasp of breath and a throaty laugh as Tony cups his fingers around the generous tent.

"Like this?" Really, he could resist teasing, but why would he? At the nod, Tony grins and runs his palm along the clothed length. "Clones can't do it for you?"

"My clones are extensions of me. I know and see what they do as they know and see what I do. Everything is... predictable at the hands of my mirrors. With a partner," he groans as Tony dips his hand into Loki's pants and wraps bare fingers around hardening flesh. "Partners are surprising. Unpredictable."

"I can relate to that." Grinning, his other hand works to unzip the fly, pushing the pants and trousers down enough to release Loki's cock, the god hissing as air brushed against sensitive skin. He wastes no time in starting to stroke slowly, still licking and biting at the pale expanse of a long neck that was practically begging to be marked everywhere by Tony's lips.

"As I thought." Loki breathes.

"Hm?"

"Your skills lie in the delicate construction of mechanics and creations. It makes for-" he inhales again as Tony tugs just the right way, rubs against just the right spot, "talented hands." He finishes with a grin.

"Oh, my talents go far beyond just my hands." Tony presses his tongue flat to Loki's throat, traces the fluttering pulse just under the surface.

"I'm well aware."

"Shouldn't mages have talented hands too?" Loki hums an affirmative. "Prove it."

His laugh is coarse, vibrating against Tony's lips as the sound travels the god's windpipe. "I suppose you deserve it."

"Damn right I do."

Not even bothering to pull his hand completely from Tony's pants, one of Loki's hands simply slides around Tony's hip and down to grasp the bare length, setting a slow rhythm with an aching pressure pressing in all the right places. His other hand pulls up at the hem of Tony's shirt, pushing it until Tony is forced to raise his arms to take it off completely. They surge back together, mouths falling into sync with ease as Tony's pushes Loki's shirts back out of the way for a better view. He breaks the kiss just to drink in the sight, taking Loki's cock in hand again to watch how they both thrust their hips up into slick fists, twin chests heaving with breath.

Tony's free hand runs over Loki's chest with a kind of appreciation that stems from mixed parts of arousal and fascination with the form presented to him. Tilting his head, he nips and licks at the pale collarbone, tracing the lines of muscle stretched over an athletic frame, tasting sweat, and letting his mind blank out to relish in something over than the anxiety and pain and torture of the past months. Loki works Tony perfectly, shattering all other thoughts beyond the dopamine flooding his brain.

Those pleasing fingers had found their way into the back of Tony's pants again, regaining control of his movement. "Come, give me your hand." Hearing Loki so out of breath is obscenely rewarding enough that Tony obeys, releasing his hold. Loki pulls him closer until their lengths brush and wraps Tony's fingers around both of their cocks before settling his hand over Tony's. When Tony slides his hand, Loki's follows, but when Loki tightens his grip and slides down, Tony's hand is helpless to go elsewhere. Not that he would want it to go anywhere else. His fingers can't encompass the girth of both of them together, but Loki's digits would make a pianist jealous with their reach, so he easily covers what Tony can't.

Loki's mouth is right against Tony's ear, tongue darting out to trace his earlobe as they start to jerk each other off faster. "Is this to your liking now, Stark?"

"God, is it ever. Every part of you should be illegal." He pulls their hands up and down, panting against Loki's neck, his temple against Loki's jaw.

"Fortunately for me, legality is not one of your concerns."

"Hell no, it's not." Tony whines as a nimble fingers tease the head of his cock a moment before returning to fevered strokes. "I wouldn't be so close otherwise."

Loki squeezes Tony's ass, biting at his jaw. "Hold out a few moments longer, and I'll reward you later."

Promises of later already, is it? No complaints there, honestly. Still, Loki seems to be blatantly trying to get Tony to come first by way of teasing lips and rasping tones right there in his ear. Obviously, Loki is close himself, their hands are moving easier now with their combined slick, their movements growing steadily less patterned and more desperate, needing completion and finality, to feel something distinctly satisfying with no strings attached for just a few minutes in this slice of time with just the two of them.

Tony's breath hitches seconds before Loki's does, but they both twitch their hips towards each other at the same time and groan through waves of pleasure rolling through their bodies. Loki holds even tighter to Tony while the inventor bites down to muffle his noises into warmed flesh. He can't tell which one of them came first, but it hardly matters anyway as Loki is softly pulling their softening cocks through his fingers before the sensitization becomes too much.

"I'm still getting that reward later, right?" Tony husks a bit dazedly.

The softly purring chuckle is even deeper in its sex-roughened state. "Oh, yes."

"Good." Smiling a little, Tony indulges in a few more seconds of tactile exploration of Loki's chest before starting to pull themselves back together. He grabs a few paper towels and cleans them both up, tossing the towels in the trash can under the sink afterwards all without moving more than a few inches from the god. After putting Loki back in his trousers, he buttons up the shirt but leaves the vest undone for his own shits and giggles. Loki notices judging by the amused huff of air above Tony's head. He pulls his own hands from Tony's pants and tugs the elastic waistband back up to cover him. Nothing would be immediately obvious with a glance, but anyone with half a brain about sex could figure it out from the plethora of clues.

"Alright, unmute, Jarvis. What's the deal?"

"Doctor Banner and Captain Rogers seek entrance to your floor, sir. They're waiting in the elevator."

Ah. Oops. Well, there were a couple of ways he could handle it, but... "Ten seconds and open the doors. Let 'em think you did it. Put your sentience to use, baby." Turning back to Loki, he grabs the vest's lapels and pulls the god forward to allow their lips to meet again. One kiss becomes a second, deeper kiss, and within seconds, they're kissing each other breathless again, and Loki's hands have returned to what must be their favorite new resting place.

Biting cold of mint to taste, tang and heat of arousal in his nose, silky cotton clothing under his fingers all distracted him so thoroughly he barely heard an insistent throat clearing somewhere off to the sound and grunted in feigned annoyance. "Damn it, Jarvis, I said mute!" Loki tilted his head to instead bite at Tony's neck, almost throwing his focus off again before-

"Not Jarvis, Stark."

Ah, Steve's voice of disapproval. Just what Tony was hoping for.

Loki stopping groping him was not what he was hoping for. That probably should have meant less than Steve showing up, yet it was the lack of teeth scraping along his skin that annoyed him the most.

"Well, if you aren't the biggest cock block to ever-"

"Loki, would you mind taking your hands out of his pants?" Steve raises his voice to be heard over Tony's angry mutters. Well, less angry, more pretending to be extremely sexually frustrated right now as he lowers his heels back to the floor and turns after Loki slowly removes his hands, letting his fingers circle Tony's waist as the inventor pivots to face the new company.

Steve is looking more rigid than usual with Bruce donning a mixed expression of apologetic, morbid amusement, and slight discomfort at catching the compromising position. "Do you do this with everyone that saves your life? Show them how grateful you are?" As cutting as Steve is attempting to be, it doesn't hit Tony as hard as it should.

"I'm proud of you, Cap. Making sex jokes already." The glare he's given is really hard not to laugh at. "I wouldn't know. I spend so much of the time having to save my own ass. You could ask Brucie though, as he's the only other person working to keep me living."

"I'm not sleeping with Tony, before you ask." Bruce assures, seeing as how Steve tensed up and looked ready to spin on the doctor. "His point being that it's just Loki that he's... involved with and not for the sole reason of Loki saving him."

"The guy thing bother you that much, Steve?"

"I don't care that he's a guy." Steve snaps.

"Oh, really?"

"Even in the forties, not every guy out there kept a pin-up picture for comfort. It was the army; things happened, but no one talked about it, and as long as everyone involved kept quiet, it didn't have to be a problem for any disapproving superior officers. Not that I was involved." Aw, was the shock and intrigue on Tony's face that obvious to read? Maybe the shit-eating grin was a dead giveaway. Would have been interesting to discover that wholesome Captain America had trysts though. Oh, well.

"I do care," Steve continues, "that Loki is a bad guy that tried to kill you, me, actually killed dozens of people, harmed dozens more by proxy during the invasion, and thousands more could have been affected if he'd succeeded." The captain steps closer as he speaks, thumbs tucked into the waistband of his denim jeans, shoulders back in an authoritarian stance that really didn't look any different in his current civilian clothes than it did in the whole Captain America get up. Tony was just counting his blessings that the shield wouldn't be able to come into play here at all. "I care that you don't seem to be bothered by the fact that you almost died stopping him. I care that you lied to us the whole time, and I care that you're blinded right now because of whatever reason he gave or spell he cast to keep you from seeing that this is a very bad idea. Life-saver or not, he's dangerous, and he belongs in a prison."

"Dear Captain, I was subjugated to confinement for many months. It did little good to rehabilitate or contain me for long." Loki drawls from behind Tony.

"And no spells either; Jarvis would tell me. He's very invested in my safety." Yes, Tony programmed him that way in the first place, but programming gave way to actual sentience with time, and Jarvis came to actually care for Tony. Caring for Tony meant Jarvis stayed cared for himself, and Tony taking care of Jarvis meant they both stayed well protected. They'd warped each other quite well over the years. Pepper never had stopped complaining about the "temper tantrums" Jarvis had thrown when Tony was in Afghanistan.

The Captain's gaze is contemptuous as he scoffs, the mocking half grin that Tony had the misfortune of seeing earlier returning. "You think Jarvis could read magic signatures?"

"You have no idea what Jarvis can do. Or what I can do and have done. Good heroes don't hide deals with devils."

"Oh, I'm well aware you're not a hero." He ripostes. "I'm still trying to figure out what kind of man you are at all to drink your way through life and still think you're fit to put on a suit and call yourself a hero and protector. You're a vigilante that gets off on the attention."

Tony smirks. "I never called myself a hero; I said I was Iron Man. Everyone took that how they wanted. Good thing we got that cleared up though." No more misunderstandings.

On the other hand, Steve just insulted Tony, and that didn't fly too well. "Now get the hell out. Jarvis, revoke all of Captain Rogers' access codes and privileges. You've got one hour to clear out your shit or you'll experience firsthand what I am." Turning gentler, he nods to Bruce. "Doctor, enjoy your stay and call if you need anything. I'll be in my room, testing a theory of how to get a god to scream my name."

"With practice, Stark, and dedication. Though I do invite you to try." Loki tilts his head to acknowledge both human men, mischief flickering in his gaze as he makes eye contact with Steve at the same time as stepping up beside Tony with his arm around the inventor's waist, daring the soldier to say anything. "A pleasure meeting you, Doctor Banner. Though I anticipate seeing you again often."

Bruce nods with a thin-lipped smile, Steve glancing between the doctor and the other two men that were seconds from ignoring company and ripping each other's clothes off right here. "Doctor, you're not going to sit for this, are you?"

"Back off, Steve." Tony snaps. "The doc is capable of making his own decisions. He can leave or stay any time he wants. You're the one that's out of options. Read him his rights, if you will, Jarvis."

"Fifty-eight minutes remaining on your eviction grace period, Captain Rogers; after which, I am authorized to use lethal force appropriate to your resilience. I highly recommend vacating the premises beforehand or there will not be remains enough for even SHIELD to use as proof."

"Better run; my guard dog's unchained."

Steve's jaw sets again, but he doesn't move or speak otherwise.

"Fifty-seven minutes remaining." Jarvis supplies.

"Go, Steve. I'll be fine." The doctor nods calmly as Steve is becoming more agitated with anger.

"It's not about being fine! It's about standing around while Tony is harboring a murderer!"

"And what were you doing during the war?"

Steve's hard gaze snaps back at Tony's words. "I was saving lives, saving countries by taking out the dictators trying to rule them. People like Loki. Why are you helping him?!" Shoulders straightening, the soldier stops. "Or is he the one helping you, Stark?"

Tony keeps his face neutral. "Why would he be helping me?"

"From the start. He came to you. He offered you power and you said 'yes' for no other reason than because you did want it."

"Captain Rogers, I believe it would be wise to leave now. Before your threatening Mr. Stark forces me to shorten your grace period."

"You're insane."

"Forty-five minutes." It's been less than two since Jarvis announced a fifty-seven minute warning.

"I'm not going to let you go through with whatever you're planning." He's aiming his words at Tony, walking the metaphorical line of verbal threat without crossing into physical threat.

"You don't have to 'let' me, Steve."

"Thirty-five minutes. Further warnings will not be verbalized, but the timer will continue to count downwards at my own leisure, Captain."

The soldier glances to the ceiling and grimaces before stepping back towards the elevator. "Doctor Banner, are you staying?"

Bruce looks to Tony and back to Steve. "I am."

"Fury isn't going to tolerate this."

"SHIELD's reputation for keeping people contained is in the negatives. What makes you think I give a shit what Fury 'tolerates' when the only thing he's good at is bossing around people too good-natured to tell him no?"

A face that looks that pissed off hasn't been so rewarding in a long time. Mostly because Tony is surrounded by the very capable Bruce, a god capable of a variety of tricks and spells, and an AI that runs the entire tower. Jarvis can assume full control of any weapons in the building, and after all the close calls Tony has had, he doesn't limit firepower to hiding in the workshop anymore.

Steve doesn't even bother with goodbyes, just walks back to the elevator stiffly and stares until the doors close him in. "That was fun."

"Did you have to set up having Steve see you and Loki like that? Or was that your idea?" Bruce's question turns to Loki, but the god holds his hands palms out in mock surrender.

"I only took advantage of the opportunity draping itself on me."

"Oh, so I'm an 'it' now, am I?" Tony can't even fake offended; he's too high on getting all these things he wants. "You could have done a lot more either way here, Bruce. Taken Cap's side even."

"Already said I wouldn't. I don't care for the idea of you and Loki together, but I don't have to voyeur. I want SHIELD taken down a few."

Loki raises an eyebrow and looks to Tony. "They're losing their control already." The inventor says. "What little of it they had. This villain business is on the rise."

"What of the others SHIELD rightfully disperses of?" Loki questions.

"See, they're in my territory too if they're trying to take over stuff. Therefore, they're competitors and not business I tolerate." Tony would probably do a better job at taking them out than SHIELD would anyway, so this was A+ plan for everyone. Except SHIELD. But they're bastards anyway.

"You know Steve is right though. Fury is going to come around soon. You got out, Loki's on the loose, and he's not going to sit on all of that." Always reasoning, Bruce is. Tony is all the more grateful to be able to keep him around now.

"Good. Because I'm not going to sit around while he's prancing about either. He called me into a trap and threw me into 'interrogation' for almost three weeks. I'd like to shoot him in the face myself. Coulson too, the undead bastard."

Bruce blinks and furrows his brow. Ah. Forgot to mention that. "Coulson? I thought you killed him?" He looks to Loki.

"Stabbed, yes, but the cut was clean. Easy for your healers to mend unless he was ignored entirely for hours." Loki tilts his head. "Did you think him dead all this time?"

"I did." Bruce interjects with more than a little anger. Why wouldn't he? Coulson was one of the reasons they banded together. Of course Bruce hadn't found out until later than Steve and Tony did, but it was still a point of contention with Loki and a big motivator to get him the hell off planet earth.

"How long have you known?" He rounds on Tony.

"Found it in SHIELD's file a few days before they took me in. Buried pretty deep." Naturally, he was a bit preoccupied after that to tell Bruce even though he fully intended to. However, he also never thought that Bruce would side with him either. Things are suddenly looking up in the big plan. Two big powers on his side and plans for more suits waiting to be built down in his workshop, the chance of success is steadily rising to more acceptable percentages.

"Next time something happens like people not being dead, could you let me know a little sooner?" He looks peeved, but not angry, at least. Score one upside.

"I promise you'll be one of the first to know."

Sighing a little, Bruce glances to Loki once more, giving him an appraising once over - more "I've got my eye on you" than anything flattering - before turning back into the elevator.

Once the doors were closed, Loki steps in front of Tony's line of vision, long-fingered hands framing Tony's hips. "Do you have any immediate plans now, Anthony?" He's carefully shuttered, a hint of curiosity in his voice while his face is smooth of too much expression.

"Finishing my apple for one, followed by trying some toast. Maybe put some jelly on it if I feel adventurous."

Loki hums with a distinctly disinterested tone, looking down at Tony's still bare chest.

"Then I was thinking of dragging you back to my room with one hand and the jar of honey in the other."

Their eyes meet; the corner of Loki's mouth turns up at the edge. "Promising."

He slings his arms around Loki's neck, tugging him down a little to an almost kiss. "I meant it when I said I had a theory to test. You know, for science and all."

"If that's what you wish to call it."

"That's the best thing about science, Loks. As long as you write down the results, anything can be 'for science'." At least Tony has used that excuse plenty over the years. "It's the earth version of magic. You've already demonstrated magic's usefulness, so I'll just have to prove science's benefits."

Both grinning wider, they pull closer until their noses brush together. "I believe I can agree to test this feat."

Endnote: Last chapter! Thank you all so much for sticking around for the journey. Only been four months since I started this, but I've been overwhelmingly happy with how many have welcomed me into this fandom. I've made friends and met so many awesome people that make me smile every time I read their message. I look forward to sticking around for a while. Thank you again for reading and for all of your great reviews and comments both here and on AO3 and Tumblr (same username as on here) as well. I'm constantly shocked at the number of people, real people out there, that have read and liked my story here. It really does make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

TL;DR: Just me getting all sappy and thanking you awesome people for reading and reviewing.

Thank you for coming along with me. Keep in touch and I look forward to continuing this story later. ^^