one.
The cheers of the crowd when Tony Stark landed on the stage, dead center in the middle of the Stark Expo, were not enough to distract Loki from what he needed to do. He could feel the knife sheathed underneath his sleeve, ready to be taken out when needed. Had this been a normal target, he would’ve just thrown the knife at Stark and watch him drop dead. However, Loki was meant to make this assassination look like an accident or a suicide attempt. Which is why he had a syringe filled with potassium chloride tucked in his jacket pocket to poison Stark with.
“I’m not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace because of me,” Stark began once the Iron Man suit had been removed. Loki clenched his jaw as he watched Stark pace around in a suit that probably cost billions. This man had a massive ego for sure.
He continued babbling and Loki narrowed his eyes when Stark finished his speech. He went backstage and would soon go out to the crowd to walk around the expo himself. Perfect. Loki just needed to get close enough to Stark, pretend he tripped and inject Stark’s neck with deadly amounts of potassium chloride. Easy.
Loki walked around for a bit, scouting the area while he waited for Stark to reappear. There was hardly any security within the expo, they were mostly posted outside.
Stark must be quite confident with the capabilities of his suit.
“Mr. Stark! What can you say about the numerous inventions being presented in the expo right now?”
Loki glanced up, containing his smile when he found Stark being interviewed by a reporter. Ready to make his move, Loki put his hand in his pocket to get the syringe. Then suddenly a familiar face caught his eye and he bit back a scowl.
Sif. Great. It seemed it wasn’t only Loki who was after Stark.
Sif glided through the crowd, clearly making her way over to Stark as he wrapped up his interview. She wore that dreadful bracelet of hers that doubled as a taser if activated.
Chances were, she was paid to kill Stark and that couldn’t happen. Stark was Loki’s target, not some other assassin’s.
Frowning, Loki realized he had to take out Sif before he could take out Stark. He made his way to Sif before she reached his target and intentionally bumped into her, making her gasp and fall on him. He grinned and pressed the poison to her skin.
Sif’s eyes widened as Loki gave her a blank stare. The potassium chloride wouldn’t react immediately. He had ten seconds to get out before something happened and it would look like she merely fainted. Except, of course, she would be dead.
“He’s mine,” he whispered, letting go of her and walking away, tucking the injection back in his pocket. He counted to ten and sure enough there was a commotion to his left. Loki brushed his suit, giving Stark one last glance. His plan had been wasted on Sif and he needed to come up with a new one.
As Stark looked to see what the commotion was about, Loki sighed. Next time.
two.
Loki trailed Stark’s car to one of the government offices. Stark had been called to attend a meeting of some sort with regards to his Iron Man armor and Loki planned to intentionally crash his car into Stark’s car. Not the most subtle plan but it could surely pass as a complete accident. He planned to hit the side of the car Stark sat in so it was a sure death.
Loki waited for Stark to get outside of the government building. While waiting, he looked around and when he glanced up to one of the establishments, a familiar Clint Barton was waiting on top.
Oh fuck no.
Loki sat up on his seat and peered closer. Barton was glancing over at Stark’s car and that was all the confirmation Loki needed to know that Barton was after Stark too. If Barton was here... then his partner, Romanov, would not be far from the scene either.
Glowering at the sudden turn of events, Loki drove his car to where Barton was and ascended the flight of stairs to get on the same level as Barton. He cleared his throat and before Barton could even react, Loki threw a knife towards him and it pierced through his throat.
Barton’s eyes widened and he choked out a garbled, “What the—” before falling to his knees then landing on his face, the knife cutting deeper through his throat. Loki sighed in disappointment and walked over to pick up his weapon.
Then he could hear footsteps running behind him and he turned around just in time to duck out of Romanov’s raging attack. She breathed heavily at him, “What was that for? You weren’t even the target!”
Loki huffed, “You should learn not to mess with my stuff.”
Then he quickly killed her with his knife. He wiped his knife on his handkerchief. There was a reason he was one of the best, after all.
Making sure he left no trace, Loki left the scene. He glanced back at Stark’s car but it was no longer there. He sighed.
Next time.
three.
The next time Loki saw Stark was at the Grand Prix in Monaco because Tony Stark was a reckless idiot. He decided to participate in the race despite his lack of experience in the field of race car driving. If that wasn’t bad enough, he didn’t even take a single bodyguard with him. It was just Stark.
Which, of course, made it so much easier but it was also laughable.
Loki already had a plan in mind that composed of mirrors, blinding Stark and then a a Russian S4M. Loki also tweaked the gun so the bullet disintegrated after five minutes, leaving no evidence behind.
A simple job, really. That was, until a manic guy jumped onto the race track and whipped out... electric whips. The crowd began to scream when the guy began cutting race cars in half and Loki put his head in his hand. How many people were out to kill Stark, really? Loki, with his near-perfect aim, shot at the intrusive guy, hitting him right in the head.
Loki still had another bullet to use on Stark but when he looked around, Stark was disappearing into the crowd. Loki sighed in irritation. Next time.
four.
The fourth time Loki saw Stark was completely unintentional. He had gone into a fairly donut shop for a cup of coffee and saw Stark sitting down on one of the bar stools. Stark wore a suit and sunglasses, looking at a device in his hand, clearly unhappy with it.
Loki sat beside him, taking the chance.
“You look quite stressed,” Loki commented, setting his coffee next to Stark.
Stark looked up, tucking away the device that Loki did not recognize. He arched an eyebrow. “If you want a picture, I’m not really up for it.”
Loki gave him a small smile, “Not really. Just wanted to see if you were doing alright.”
With a grunt, Stark bit into his donut and squinted at Loki. “Why would you drop by for some small talk? Seems a bit suspicious to me.”
“Are you suspicious of everyone you meet?” Loki asked. Not that Stark didn’t have a point, considering he was talking to someone who was hired to kill him, after all.
Stark snorted. “I have every right to be. But you’re hot, maybe I’ll make an exception.”
“Well, that is certainly quite flattering,” Loki said.
Once Stark finished his donut, he gave Loki a once over and cursed, “Fuck it. My life’s short enough anyway,” he looked Loki up and down, “Wanna go over to my place and fuck?”
Loki raised an eyebrow, “Are you certain you are not drunk?”
“Certain as I can be, buddy. You up for it?”
Was Loki up for it? Definitely. This was the perfect opportunity to kill Stark. He would be invited into his home. He could kill Stark in private without any prying eyes. Plus, it wasn’t like Stark would be a bad lay either.
“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Loki agreed.
Stark grinned at him, “What’s your name?”
“Luke. Luke Smith,” Loki gave him a small nod, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Stark.”
Stark stood up. “Call me Tony. I don’t want you to call me Stark in bed, Luke. C’mon.”
Without replying, Loki followed Stark outside and they got into an Audi. Loki could not believe his luck. This was way too fortunate of him. Stark almost seemed carefree, but Loki could tell there was something bothering him. Not that Loki cared. He was just going to go in, kill his target before or after a quick lay, whichever was easier, and then leave.
They arrived in front of Stark’s house within a few minutes and Loki followed him inside. Stark was loaded, Loki knew that, but the house was simply amazing and almost everything was automatic.
“Welcome home, sir,” a voice greeted them when they entered. Loki frowned, trying to detect the source, but Stark waved it off.
“That’s just JARVIS. He’s my AI. Controls everything around here and shit,” Stark stopped in front of Loki and licked his lips, “The faster we get you out of those clothes, the better."
Loki shoved the information about JARVIS at the back of his mind. He’ll just have to find a way to disable the AI before he can make a move, then. In the meantime, he gave Stark a wicked smile and cocked his head teasingly. “You’ll have to get it off me.”
Stark growled lowly and shoved Loki against the wall, latching onto his neck then kissing all over. Loki moaned, closing his eyes. He wrapped his legs around Stark and then allowed himself to be carried over to a massive. Stark quickly took off his own clothes, frantic as though he could not wait any second longer. Loki did the same, stripping himself off any clothing.
Loki was pushed back on the couch and Stark kissed him, pushing his tongue inside Loki’s mouth. On instinct, Loki flipped them both around, wanting to take over. But all of a sudden, Stark gasped and his whole body jerked. He pushed Loki off, choking out a heavy breath.
“Fuck, fuck,” Stark gasped out, placing a hand on his arc reactor. Loki could see purple lines tracing from it that did not look very good. Stark stood, slowly walking over to a wall. “JARVIS, check the—check my blood. Toxicity level.”
A needle emerged from the wall Stark was holding onto and he pricked his own finger on it.
“Toxicity at 67%, sir,” JARVIS replied. Loki blinked, not sure what to make of it.
Stark took a moment to calm down before running a hand through his hair and giving Loki a pained look. “Shit, sorry Luke, I didn’t mean to freak out like that, we can still continue, of course. Just... maybe not with me on my back?"
Loki was about to agree. Of course, he would agree. He needed an excuse to stay here for longer.
“Tony!” a voice yelled from the entrance. Stark’s eyes widened and he ran over to Loki, shoving Loki’s clothes in his hands.
“That’s Pep. You should probably go. JARVIS can show you to the other exit. I promised Pep I’d stop with this shit, so. I’m sorry we had to stop.” Stark did look apologetic and Loki felt a pang of sympathy for the man.
“It’s alright,” Loki assured him even though it wasn’t. This was the third time he’d been interrupted by someone while on his mission to kill Tony Stark.
Loki put on his clothes then walked away, giving Stark one final glance. Next time.
five.
Loki attended Tony Stark’s birthday party. Not that he had received a personal invitation. The invitation was open to everyone, which was a stupid move on Stark’s part but Loki was not exactly complaining. He did not hesitate to approach Stark with a bright smile and a drugged drink. Stark already took him to his home, he would probably take a drink from Loki.
“Ah, Luke! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Stark greeted him, stumbling forward in his Iron Man suit without the helmet.
“It is your birthday, I would not miss it,” Loki chuckled.
Stark rolled his eyes, disbelieving. He was incredibly drunk but Loki did not hesitate to offer him the drugged drink.
Stark waved him away, though. “Hold on, I’m gonna... go give... a speech. Then we can share drinks!” he grinned, stumbling back onto the stage. Stark grabbed a mic and tapped it, “You know, the question I get asked most often...” he looked around the crowd, “Is ‘Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?’”
He paused for a moment, closed his eyes and then leaned forward “Just like that!”
“Alright, party’s over!” Stark stepped forward, looking ready to topple over. The crowd was focused on nothing else but him. “But the after party starts in 15 minutes! And... if anybody, if ever, doesn’t like it... there’s a doo—” he cut himself off by accidentally blasting a glass divider. The crowd erupted in cheers.
Loki blinked at the scene and took a glance at the glass he was to offer Stark. It seemed Stark was going to kill himself before Loki could. Stark began to make his way back to Loki.
“Hey! How’s the party?”
“None like I’ve ever seen...” Loki said honestly.
Stark giggled, “Yeah. So, where’s that drink you were offering, huh?”
Loki raised the glass that was drugged and handed it over to Stark. However, before Stark could put the glass to his lips, a girl approached them and grabbed his arm.
“Tony, you need to stop this,” the girl said, lifting the glass away from Stark, “You’re a wreck.”
Stark tried to reach for the drink but the girl held it away. “God dammit, Pep, this is the second time you’ve cockblocked me with Luke over here.”
Loki furrowed his eyebrows but gave Pep a small, awkward wave.
“This isn’t funny anymore, Tony,” Pep said.
“Whatever,” Stark shot back, sauntering away. Instead of being irritated that Stark didn’t die at Loki’s fifth attempt, Loki actually felt quite... relieved.
Loki watched him exit his own house then turned to Pep, “I can try to talk to him. But do throw that drink away. I saw one of the girls slip a drug into it.”
The drink was meant to kill Stark, not anybody else, after all.
Pep nodded, “I guess you can try. Tony never listens to me anyway.”
Loki nodded stiffly and watched her go throw the drink away. Next time.
+one.
Loki found Stark sitting on the edge of a cliff that overviewed the ocean. Stark was no longer in his armor but was instead in a tank top and jeans. A briefcase was set beside him which Loki assumed to be the armor. It was a peaceful sight and under different circumstances, Loki would consider this romantic.
However, he had a job to do. He would talk to Stark for a bit and then probably stab him with one of his knives that he always kept. This area was quite secluded. It would be the perfect place to kill someone and get away with it.
“Hello, Stark,” Loki began, sitting next to Stark.
Stark cleared his throat. “I told you to call me Tony,” he said, voice soft.
“Tony, then.” Loki stared at the ocean in front of them. “Do you mind if I ask something?”
“Shoot.”
“You have been acting quite...” Loki trailed off, unsure of what word to use.
Tony, thankfully, caught on. He let out a dry chuckle. “What? Reckless? You’d be surprised with the amount of people that have been saying that I’m being reckless recently.”
“Is there a reason?”
Tony fell silent then he looked away. “I’m dying, actually. So, I guess that’s reason enough.”
Loki’s heart shot up to his throat. Was Tony being metaphorical?
“What?”
Tony shrugged. “My reactor’s not gonna keep me alive much longer. Palladium poisoning. So, I’m dying, and I kinda just want to live my life before the death part happens, you know?”
Loki suddenly felt nothing but sympathy for this man beside him. He probably went to the Grand Prix to try something different during the last moments of his life. He probably hosted this birthday party it would be the last birthday he would be celebrating. And yet... everyone around him only saw his actions as reckless and never bothered to even ask why.
“I’m sorry...”
“Don’t be, it’s not like you wanted me dead,” Tony said. Loki grimaced at that but Tony continued to talk, “I owe you a lay, by the way. Since I... you know? Freaked out. That was because of the poisoning, by the way. My reactor has its moments. I shouldn’t really be jostled around much.”
“You do not owe me anything, Tony.”
“Yes, well... how about a date? Time’s ticking, might as well.”
Loki frowned at that. “Do not think like such. I am certain you will be able to find a cure with your intelligence.”
Tony snorted. “If I could, I would’ve. Come on. Just one date?”
Loki could feel the knife underneath the sleeve of his jacket and it felt so much heavier, so much colder. He felt it warning him that his actions from hereon after would stab him in the back if he didn’t kill Tony Stark now.
He smiled.
“I would love that.”
Next time, he told himself. Then he spared a glance at the genuine spark of happiness that flickered across Tony’s face and then he winced. Maybe never.