St*rfucker

Loki Laufeyson and Tony Stark stun in Met Gala photos

#CoupleGoals! Tony Stark and Loki Laufeyson match at Met Gala

Shock as Tony Stark makes Loki Laufeyson SMILE on red carpet

Tony snorted. “Is it that newsworthy that I made you smile?”

Loki nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever done it on a red carpet.”

“That’s- that’s insane.” He chuckled. “So I really am special.”

They smiled as they leant back in their seat. Part of them regretted not taking more time off after the Met Gala, but they were excited to get back to the theatre, even if it meant getting a horrifically early flight back to London. Tony had said that he wasn’t going to join, but ended up joining last minute. Tourism, he said. Originally, after what had happened between them, Tony said he wanted space. That went well. Loki had been about to leave when Tony booked himself a ticket. 

“Are you heading straight to the theatre?” He asked. 

They shook their head. “Got a meeting with Mobius first.”

Tony hesitated. “He still hasn’t told you what it’s about?”

“Nope.” Why Mobius called a meeting with absolutely information on what it was about, Loki didn’t know. It was the worst thing he’d ever done. “I’m sure it’s fine. Then I’m heading to the theatre.”

“Can I come to the theatre?” He asked. 

They nodded. “Want to grab a coffee before?”

He smiled a little. “Sounds good.”

Tony put a movie on for the rest of the flight. Loki didn’t really watch it. They didn’t really care. The meeting was going to be harmless. They’d gotten great publicity from the Met, both them and Tony were on the best dressed lists across most of the tabloids, and they were getting great reviews in Cabaret. There was nothing to worry about. 

Once they landed, they headed back to Loki’s place. It was a mess, but they hadn’t really expected anything different. The clothes they’d abandoned in their rushed packing were just strewn everywhere, empty bottles were on the floor of the kitchen, an empty coffee tin sat on the counter as a makeshift ashtray. It was all a mess. 

“I missed my alarm,” they said quietly. 

Tony snorted. “Explains the headlines.”

They rolled their eyes as they held back a smile. “Yeah, I pissed Verity off. I’ll clean up tonight.”

Tony shook his head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“Do you want to come to the office or do you want to meet by the theatre later for a coffee?” They asked. 

“Can I come with?” He looked at them. “I think I’ll get lost otherwise.”

They smiled a little. “Yeah. No problem. I shouldn’t be long with Mobius.”

The office wasn’t far. Just a quick tube journey and a five minute walk. Luckily it was close to the theatre. They headed to the lift and went up to the seventeenth floor, and headed to the reception. It was a soulless building. White, grey, just dull. It was somewhere Loki avoided going. 

The waiting room was even worse. The grey sofas were as still as a board, and the most uncomfortable things to exist. The magazines on the table were dull, shallow, a reminder of a life that had slipped away from them. They sighed as they sat down, finding the waiting torturous. If they were being called into a mystery meeting, the last thing they wanted to do was wait. 

The first time they’d sat in there was just before Mobius had signed them. They’d gone for numerous informal chats, where it was mainly Mobius trying to convince Loki that there was hope. That there was a life for them after En Dwi. He hadn’t been wrong, but he hadn’t been right either. Sure, Loki had freedom that they’d never had before, but they were nowhere near as busy as they had been. 

Then they’d met Tony. The best thing to ever happen to them. What would’ve happened without Tony? God, they would’ve lost it. Losing Fandral would’ve been the final straw, they thought. They had Tony, though, their anchor, the one who kept them grounded, the one who gave them hope. The person who made them feel alive again. 

“Lokes.” There was a pause. “Tony. It’s good to see you both.”

Loki looked up to find Mobius walking towards them. He always looked the same in his suits. Always so put together, always so neat. “Hey,” they said. 

“Why don’t we go into the office?”

Fuck. They followed Mobius into the office, but it was worse when Tony didn’t follow. They knew that they had to do things alone, but it was harder without him. Mobius’s office was just as grey and white as the rest of the building. The window was obnoxiously huge, and the room was far too bright. They took a seat in the chair opposite Mobius’s, and the chair was obnoxiously hard. There was no comfort in it in the slightest. 

“How’ve you been?” Mobius asked once he was sat. 

Loki hesitated. “Fine.”

“The reviews are great, people love you in Cabaret,” he said. “The Met went well. People really like you at the moment.”

They hummed. “That’s good.”

“What happened the night of the Gala?” He asked. 

“Me and Tony had a little argument and he went back to New York early.” They shrugged. “Not a big deal.”

Mobius didn’t seem convinced. “There are rumours that you cheated.”

“I would never,” they replied. 

He shrugged. “Just a rumour. You looked a little rough going to the airport.”

“I was hungover and I forgot to set an alarm.”

“Heard that one before,” he replied. “I need you to do a test. Just to be sure.”

God, it never got any easier. When it first started, Loki thought that Mobius didn’t trust them. Maybe he didn’t, they couldn’t really blame him. After a while, they just got used to it. It was a part of the contract, after all. It wasn’t a trust thing, it was more a confidence thing, they thought. It didn’t make it any easier though. 

“Sure. Is that all?”

———

“That’s so bullshit. Why did you have to do a drug test? It’s bullshit.” Tony huffed. “I was with you, I would’ve noticed if you were coming down, or just- I don’t know. It’s such fucking bullshit.”

Loki shook their head. “Tony, it’s fine. It’s all part of the contract. It’ll come back negative and that’ll be it.”

He grumbled. “He better fucking apologise when it comes back negative.”

They smiled a little as they carried on doing their makeup. It was almost sweet how annoyed Tony was on their behalf. It was a nice reminder that they had someone in their corner, someone who believed in them. Even if he just sat in the corner of their dressing room clutching his coffee like an angry gremlin. 

“Lackey!” The door burst open and Brunnhilde walked in. “It’s good to have you back.”

They raised a brow. “Who are you and what’ve you done with Brun?”

“Can’t I be excited to see my co-worker?” She asked as she sat on the table. “How was the Met?”

“Good. How were the shows?” They asked. 

She shrugged. “Good. Dull when I didn’t have someone to piss off the entire time.”

They chuckled. “Glad I’m useful somehow.”

She looked at Tony. “You brought him back to London?”

“Eh, more like I wouldn’t let them leave without me,” he replied. 

She chuckled. “Fair enough.” She turned back to them. “Have you heard anything else from Thor?”

They shook their head. “He hasn’t tried anything since the Gala.”

“I told him to stop,” she said. “He’s hoping you get back into theatre so you’ll run into each other more.”

They snorted. “He’s so hopeful.”

“Anyway- why don’t we go for drinks tonight? Carol wants to see you both,” she said. “It’ll be nice.”

They looked at Tony who just nodded. They turned back to Brun. “Yeah, sounds good.”

She grinned as she walked out. Loki started plaiting their hair, ready for the wig. God, they couldn’t wait to not wear wigs again. They could see Tony looking at them through the mirror, but they didn’t look at him. They probably should’ve told him about Thor. Then again, it really hadn’t been their priority. 

“What happened with Thor?” He asked. 

“He was at the Gala, he tried to talk to me,” they replied. “I walked away.”

Tony paused. “Ah.”

They paused. “I know it sounds petty, but I can’t- I can’t do that again. He didn’t tell me that Frigga died. I found out online. He didn’t even- he didn’t talk to me. He just text me saying he was sorry. I wasn’t invited to her funeral, and he told me to get over it. When Odin leaked the adoption papers, Thor flew out to see me. He blew off a few events to help me, and I thought that he was still really my brother. Then I came out and he blocked me, said in an interview that I was just a junky desperate for their next fix, and that we hadn’t spoken in years because I stole from him at Frigga’s funeral.”

Tony was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, that’s a dick move from him. Lokes, if you don’t want to talk to him, I support you in that. Thor did something shitty, and he hurt you. He should respect that too.”

They shrugged. “We haven’t spoken in years. I don’t know why he’d want to start now.”

“You didn’t go to Frigga’s funeral?” He asked. 

“No. Photos of her funeral were released online, and that’s how I found out she’d died.” They looked down. “Even En Dwi said that that was a shitty thing to do. I think- I think that helped, weirdly. He does some shit things, but even he drew the line at that. He helped me a lot through that. Got me a grief therapist, made me take a break, he even talked to Odin about it. He tried to bury as much as he could about my adoption, and he tried to tell me about it before I found out from all the articles. He was a couple minutes late, but he still tried.” They took a deep breath. “I know he’s bad, and that none of that makes up for everything else he’s done- but he didn’t have to do any of that. He could’ve let me handle it on my own, but he didn’t, and I- I’ll never forget about that.”

Tony was quiet for a moment. “How old were you?”

“Fifteen,” they replied. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for what he did for me then. I mean- he stopped giving me drugs when he realised that I was using more than I should’ve been. I know that that’s- I know. He tried to keep me safe when I’d lost my family, and- I don’t know.”

“He left you when you stopped making him money.”

They chuckled bitterly. “I know. He was still my family for a while, when I lost Frigga and Odin. Fucking fitting that he left.”

“Then Mobius turned up?”

They nodded. “The moment En Dwi dropped me, Mobius got in touch. I ignored him for a while, but he kept going. He turned up at my house at one point. Verity had given him my address when I stopped talking to her. He believed in me when I had no one else. He’s- he’s great. He’s really fucking great. I know you’re annoyed with him right now, but- he’s just worried.”

Tony nodded. “I know. I know. I just- it’s so fucking frustrating to be asked if you’re drunk or high or something because we’re having a hard time.”

They sighed. “I know, but- shit happens. I haven’t taken anything, so- it’ll be fine.”

He smiled a little. “I know. I trust you.”

Loki hadn’t realised how nice it was to not feel guilty when someone said that they trusted them. For once, they weren’t betraying that trust, and they promised themself that they never would.