Chapter 3
Tony Stark awoke from a series of strange dreams when he tumbled down a waterfall in the last one. He woke up when he hit the water and sat up, gasping for breath. He was sitting on the bed. He looked around. He thought meeting Loki on an unknown planet was a dream, too. And that by some miracle, the villain seemed good... he had no idea what to make of it. Plus, thinking properly still gave him a headache, and he felt as if he had lived two lives and all those memories were mixed.
Loki had just walked into the room, carrying a tray holding a strange tea set. The tea was pleasantly aromatic and immediately perfumed the room. It reminded Tony of the tea he drank at home. That is, back when he was still drinking tea.
„Would you like some tea? It'll make you feel better,” he said gently.
„No, thank you. I better skip. It's poisoned,” he replied automatically, not knowing why.
„No, it's not,” he said.
„It is. It's got, um, wolfsbane in it. It was prepared by your sister... Lucille,” he explained, but even to him, it seemed unclear. How could he know such a thing? He had never met with any poisoned tea or anyone named Lucille. That struck him as a terribly antiquated and boring name. Loki didn't understand the implications of these words at first before he remembered Sherlock's visits to Allerdale Hall and smiled faintly. His spell worked.
„Please accept my apologies for the misunderstanding, but Lucille has been dead for more than 200 years. Maybe you'll remember that” he replied sympathetically, walking over to Tony.
„Oh...” he started to reply, but again the pain went through his head. He tried to fight it off, but he wasn't very good at it, so he clutched his head as if it might help. Loki placed the tray on the bedside table and sat beside him on the edge of the bed.
„It'll be all right,” and he put his hand on the hero's shoulder. He tried to calm him down, but he guessed it probably wouldn't be that simple.
„You died,” he said through his teeth in confusion. Scenes from a past life kept flashing through his mind, and he felt as if his head was about to explode into a million shards.
„I had to go back to Ásgard. There was a storm that night, a message for me. And if I didn't come back voluntarily, he'd come for me. And at the time, he had a different view of mortals than he does now. I don't want to think what he'd be capable of...” he began to explain when Tony interrupted.
„No. I don't mean that. Why... why did you tried to kill me?” he asked, broken.
„What?”
„In an attack on Earth. Back in my tower. You looked at me like you saw a ghost. And then when the magic thing with the spear didn't work, you grabbed me by the throat and threw me out the window... I still have nightmares from it,” he admitted, hurt.
„Oh,” he was at first speechless, but he knew he had to make some excuse. „That's the only thing I regret so far,” and looked down. It was true. It still bothered him.
„Then why can't I believe it?” and it was the first time he looked directly at him.
„I may be described by mortals as a god of lies and deceit, but to you, I would...” he began angrily, his voice breaking at the end.
„What? What would you never do? Lied? Congratulations, considerate done,” he replied rather irritably. After a long time, he let out all the anger he was suppressing. There was anger at Steve Rogers, too, but he didn't have him at reach.
„You mean when I impersonated a baronet two hundred years ago?” Tony was silent. His head was a mess. „Just so you know, I loved that life. No Ásgard, no dumb brothers who want to wrestle with the world,… Lucille was no prize, but it was workable. I could do anything. To be anyone,… I was free in my sense and happy at your side,” and he looked at Tony, whose face showed clearly the schism between it all.
„Then why don't I believe you,” he said after a moment, his words stabbing straight into Loki's heart like a sharp knife. „No evidence to go on? Nothing. After all this, how can I trust you?”
„Your words hurt me like the sharpest blade, but after all that you have a claim,” he replied, defeated with a hint of disappointment.
„Then prove me wrong,” he said, turning his large, hopeful eyes on him. It's hard to say what changed his mind. Whether it was the fact that he had saved his life now or the mixing of memories from two lives. With that, he even leaned over slightly, as if signalling.
„Tony?” he whispered, also leaning forward. Their lips met for the first time in that time. From first gentle and careful, the kiss gradually became one of lost passion. Passions that have been lost to both of them for over 200 years. At first, Loki was still reluctant until Tony sat in his lap and pulled him even closer.
He didn't know if it was the passion of his old memories or the power of the situation that made him want more and more. They only pulled away when they needed air. They breathed for a moment, their foreheads pressed together, neither of them knowing what would happen next. Tony finally decided to take matters into his own hands.
He kissed him again and pushed him into the pillows. He was on top of him and tried to undress him during fleeting kisses. His nimble fingers tried to get under his clothes, but he had no idea how. This style was completely unfamiliar to him. Loki smiled, and in an instant, they were surrounded by a faint green light that, when it faded, made them both naked. Tony was taken aback for a moment, before acknowledging that it had been much more effective, and proceeded to investigate the god's body. It was icy cold to the touch at first but gradually became incandescent. It wasn't as hot as the human one, but it was progress nonetheless.
Tony's hungry hands searched almost every corner of his body from head to waist, and he accompanied his work with a few small kisses. Loki pulled him close again, for though he was so close to him, he needed to be as close as possible. He kissed him hungrily, and when the Midgardian's hands found their way to his groin, he immediately spread his legs, giving him perfect access to his entire body.
During that evening, they had partly caught up with what they hadn't done in the long two hundred years. A lot of lost passion, and a small, tiny spell to remember this moment forever. With this, it looked like Tony had forgiven him for everything he'd done.
The following morning they awoke in one another's arms. Loki awoke first, and the sleeping sight of Tony warmed his heart. He no longer hoped to see such a thing. He smiled contentedly and gave Tony a tiny kiss on the lips. With this, Tony awoke. Slowly, he opened his still-sleepy eyes. His large eyes studied the figure before him. He would never dream of ending up in bed with a man and God at that. Not to mention he was on a totally unknown planet. Loki was about to say something when Tony yawned, closed his eyes again, and pressed closer to the god. He was still cold, but somehow he didn't mind. Loki hugged him and closed his eyes himself. Now he had his Sherlock, Tony to himself at last. And it looked as if no one was going to take him away from him.