Snowflake

Time had passed, sleep had been had and so had food.

Tony's take on reality was still a foggy one. He had a hard time figuring out the proper time to sleep and as much as they had tried to help him, he felt lost in this weird alternate reality, that they had been caught in.

The stolen equipment proved even more useful to him than it had been to Natasha and Clint and soon, with the addition of some choice pieces of technology, they had their little lair decked out in all things necessary to keep them in the loop. It had felt good to bury himself in work, and he was more than proud when he could finally present them with his creation.

The outdated film projector up high in the back had been replaced and soon they were watching the news in brilliant HD on the big screen.

Even Loki could not help but be impressed.

That was until all four of their faces were featured and tales of the new super-villain syndicate were spoken.

It took them some seconds to realize, that this was actually directed at them.

Apart from mentioning the super-evil god Loki and two ruthless assassins they seemed to focus the most on the downfall of one Anthony Stark, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist.

Of course they did. They always loved it, when the big ones came tumbling down. His tower was shown, the lights dimmed and all power running into keeping the place secure.

And then there was Pepper. She covered her face as she tried to escape a couple of especially obtrusive journalists.

The second her hand went down to steady herself as she had tripped the frame was held. Tears could be seen and the scene was dubbed with no other words than "Shame of a co-conspirator".

It drove Tony mad to an extent, he would not have thought possible.

He was used to his own name being dragged through the mud at every given occasion. But no one, no one was allowed to lay a hand on his most trusted companion.

"We need to get her here with us."

Contained rage was evident in his voice, but he did not care. He might as well scream, no one could expect him to stand for this. No way in hell.

"And then what?", the Widow asked. "Then she won't be a co-conspirator, she'd be a super-villain like us."

"We'll bring them down, don't worry."

Clint. How could he sound so carefree? Oh, right. He did not have anyone to worry about. What right did he have to even speak about this?

Loki did not say anything. Well, he was probably used to being denunciated, from what they had heard. Still, the god wrapped a protective arm around Tony's shoulders and hushed him.

"You will have your revenge. Maybe it is time we got you to work, everything else will fall in line as it shall, you will see."

He offered one of the genuine smiles, that were so rare and precious that it could make everything right, and did so this time.

Tony's rage wavered and disappeared and he allowed himself to melt into Loki's embrace.

One last grudging glance at the screen showed footage of the fight against the Chitauri.

"The former Avengers, that had fallen in line with the corrupter Loki, had destroyed the efforts from within, rendering valiant Captain America unable to reach his full potential on the battlefield, as he was forced to stand up against his own, in this vicious fight for thousands of civilians' safety, here in the middle of New York. Thankfully, the First Avenger's spirit and-"

The blond bimbo on the screen was shut up by an emphatic gesture with the remote control, courtesy of Natasha Romanov, who did not feel like waiting for the next segment, most likely about to dub her the new communist threat or anything of that kind. She did not need that right now.

"Get me to work, you said. On what exactly? More security for the place?"

Tony could use the distraction.

"No, not that kind of work. This is more, a lot more important. You remember the Tesseract, right?"

Everyone tensed visibly. They remembered alright.

"I hid it in a pocket dimension, accessible only to me. I need a way to harvest its power, and I can not do that alone. Selvig also failed horribly, but he is no Tony Stark now, is he."

A sly smile graced his lips, but Tony did not fall for it.

"Flattery? Really? I think the opportunity to work with this thing will be rewarding enough, no need to lull me in, Silvertongue."

Loki winced slightly at the name, but regained composure quickly.

"What I was trying to say is, technology has failed the Tesseract. If anything, it had made it hostile. My magic together with your skill might achieve complete control of its might. We need a harness, that is strong enough to control the immense energy that lies within and allows us to withdraw just the amount we need. That is the hard part. We can make it do things, sure. But control, that is something different."

"But Selvig seemed to be doing alright, wasn't he? The portal-"

"The portal was the main function the Tesseract has. That was child's play. Tell it what to do and it will do so, with the help of the arc reactor in Stark Tower, not a problem. What we need is its pure energy, which it uses to create portals. It is its own energy source, but it is meant to use its own energy for means of transportation. So we have to trick it into giving us what we want, and that will be quite a respectable task."

"A challenge.", Tony added, a grim look of determination on his face. "I like challenges, bring it on."

"I also have a surprise for you. Follow me."

With this Loki got up and went towards the side entrance they knew to lead to an old basement none of them wanted to use, not even for storage. As Loki opened the door, though, there was the little shimmer about the edges of the doorframe and somehow all of them knew that if you entered, you would not find yourself in the dank and dark hallway that could be seen through the flimmering air.

"Go on, try it.", he urged them on, and they complied.

The result was physically uncomfortable, but all that was forgotten to Tony, as he recognized his home, his workshop.

"Are we...?", he turned around himself, dumbfounded. "Are we actually in Stark Tower? Or did you move this whole thing... Ah, I don't care what you did, it's perfect!"

Loki laughed at that, pleased that his surprise had gone over so well.

"So, I take it you have everything you need here. I suggest I start by introducing you to her, you need to know the basic functioning of the Tesseract, before I can let you tinker with her."

"Fair enough.", Tony nodded.

He was not prepared for what followed. Another portal was opened and when he opened his eyes after an impressive pull, that seemed larger in scale than any transportation he had endured by the hands of Loki, he saw what could best be described as void.

It did look like space, but there where no stars, there was not even darkness, nor light. It was an eerie feeling, one, his mortal mind was not made to comprehend.

Loki realised as much, shortly after they had entered and took his hand, gave him something to focus on.

"Follow me."

The voice made up all the space, which was not hard to do, since there was nothing else in it. The air seemed breathable enough, maybe Loki had done that for him. Probably, yes. But apart from that there was nothing, and when the voice had sounded, it had become the room they were in, in a weird way.

Suddenly the whole being-a-god thing about Loki seemed much more real and Tony wondered, if his own voice would have the same effect.

"Pudding.", he exclaimed and was rewarded with his voice, entwined with Loki's, being the essence of the room, before it faded into nothingness and left his focus shifting back on the other man, who eyed him curiously.

"Seriously, Stark?"

All Tony had to offer was a goofy grin. He got curious, so what.

The space's edged could not be made out by his human mind, but he reckoned it could not be that big. After all Loki had called it a pocket, so it was probably an interdimensional storage room at best. And in its middle there was she. He hadn't known the power source had a gender, let alone a personality, but after Loki was finished with his introduction, Tony could not help but feel overwhelmed by the scale of it all.

Mechanics he knew. Energy, he had come to know, through the creation of the arc reactor. Even gamma radiation he could handle, it all had set rules in which it could work. This was different.

This was magical, and he struggled to put his finger on exactly how he should be able to find a technological approach to it.

What Selvig had done obviously hadn't impressed Loki at all. So he would really need to step up his game.

High expectations. He liked to impress people, but with expectations such as these, that might just be impossible, and he did not like the feeling of struggling to keep up.

"So, you're a god.", he said instead and immediately felt stupid.

He was not rewarded with an answer. All he got was a raised eyebrow and a mocking smile.

"Out of your league already, futurist?"

"Well, yes. Sort of.", he admitted. No use veiling the truth in face of the liesmith himself. "I'll figure it out, eventually. Do you have anything to work with yet? About the technology and magic thing? Because that is what I am struggling with. How does it work, what makes it tick. Without knowing this, I can't really design anything."

"Hm. I think I might just have to start a little lower then."

Tony did not like the condescending tone in Loki's voice. But then again, he'd have to manage. He should be honoured to even be considered to be of use, should he not?

So he simply nodded a thanks.

"Let's head back then. We can do everything else in your lab."

"Workshop.", Tony corrected and followed meekly.

This was his childhood all over again and he could not help but frown at the connection his mind had made between Loki and his father.

The only difference being the fact that Loki was actually willing to teach him and believed in his inert abilities. Oh, and he sort of slept with Loki, that was different, too.

---

Tony had always been a quick thinker. Adopting new thought constructs had never been an issue. And as much as he enjoyed building car engines and the like, his mind had never had any troubles understanding abstract physical concepts. And now magic. The stuff had driven him insane in the beginning. But the more Loki talked about it, the more sense it made. And at some point Tony even jumped up and started tinkering away and when Loki was done with his explanation of a certain aspect that allowed him to channel magic, Tony presented him with his first magitechnical gadget.

"What does it do?", Loki asked mildly interested.

"It beeps when you use magic.", Tony could not help the beaming smile that had crept onto his face.

"That is all it does?"

"Don't be a buzzkill, Loki. This is not actually of any use. Well. Not of much use anyway. See it as a kind of stepping stone to something bigger. I now have somewhere to work from! Magic and technology, together. In this little thing."

This was exciting! Tony couldn't help but hop around a little, his limbs atingle with the strange sensation of accomplishment and he felt his pants tighten slightly at the feeling of pride- Wait, that wasn't right. Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-

That was actually quite an obnoxious sound, he might have to change that later. Loki laughed.

"At least it works, well done."

"Did you-... did you just turn me on with magic?!"

That was not cool.

"Obviously. It worked, too, did it not?"

"That's... you don't do that! It's... you know... violating.", he tried to look hurt, but Loki's crotch was too distracting. "Stop it!"

"I did, or do you still hear your little gadget? Everything now is only you.. your choice..you mortals like making your own decisions, don't you?"

That smug bastard and his stupid, sexy voice.

Tony growled at him, Loki replied with a feline hiss. That was awkward. Shouldn't this be awkward? Damn this was hot.

Tony did not waste time and approached the god. He wrapped his arms around the taller man's neck and crushed their mouths together. The kiss spoke of insatiable hunger and feral lust and neither of them seemed to mind the little beep that went off, as Loki palmed the others manhood through the fabric of his pants, his hand aglow with a lively shimmer that gave of a strange mixture of pulsating vibration and an intense tingly feeling.

Tony could not withhold the guttural groan that escaped his lips at the foreign sensation, that seemed to do all the right things to him. Bad things. His body was already bathed in heat and he could not get his clothes off fast enough.

"Fuck me, now!", he commanded, his voice dripping with lust and need. The energy that coiled in his groin demanded to be fed, pleasured, made to explode in a ball of white heat. He could not wait.

The smug look on Loki's face did not change that. If the god wanted to hear him beg, he would get it. He would get on his knees and beg for that cock, if the god demanded it so.

The god did not. He did however rid himself of his leather tunic and everything underneath and helped Tony with his belt, that his fumbling fingers had failed to open. Two strong hand slid in behind him and gripped his cheeks, lifting him up and onto the workbench, which Tony cleared of the usual clutter in a careless swipe of one arm, before he made a point in lying down, his feet propped up on the edge of the table, his knees spread wide. He offered himself to the man that towered above him in all his glory, and it felt good.

Loki seemed to be in a teasing mood, as he edged closer, let his leather-clad groin meet with Tony's naked skin. The man beneath him moaned at the sensation of cold leather on his own sensitive, heated flesh. The hardness underneath the fabric was maddening and he wondered for a split second, what it would feet like to be fucked like this, but the pants were way too tight to allow this kind of kinky games and besides, he wanted to see what would enter him. He longed for the sight of Loki's cock. Glorious, he thought briefly and had to snort at the thought of a glorious cock. But then again, he was talking about Loki here. If the label would fit anyone's genitalia, it would be that guy's.

The man in question proceeded to rub himself against him playfully, a mean smirk on his lips, as he watched Tony come undone at that simple touch.

Suddenly the hand was back on his cock, the same magic around it as before, and then there was the intense pleasure that made his mind tumble over and then, a stop-

"A magical cockring?! Are you serious?", Tony panted, as he smashed the frantically beeping device on the floor, where it broke and stilled.

"I would like you to have a little more...Stamina. I am used to longer loveplay, than you could provide, so far."

"Pff, it was always good enough to make you come."

"I did not want to hurt your feelings."

Loki's tone suggested otherwise, yet he leaned down, chests flush against one another's, and drowned Tony's complaints in a passionate kiss. When his tongue drove deeper into his mouth, however, there was a flash, a memory. The tiniest hint of gagging against something, and Tony freaked.

He pushed Loki away with as much force as he could muster and struggled to get off the table.

"Sorry, sorry..I need to.. air, I need air."

He did not know if Loki followed him or not, as he quickly threw on some clothes, a challenge with the raging hard-on he was still sporting, and hurried outside to the landing place.

As cold air hit his face he realized how hot he was, he must be glowing red. God, this was so embarassing. He rubbed his face angrily and found tears on the way. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He crouched down with the sudden need to be small, invisible, and burried his face in his knees. What the hell was happening to him.

Then there was Loki. He got down behind him and stroked his back, unsure of what to do, what had happened.

"I don't understand.", he uttered as softly as he could manage.

"It's nothing, I... Just now that... That had reminded me of something, something bad.. that's all."

"Is it something Fury did?", there was a trace of anger in his voice.

"Yes. Let's not talk about it, okay? I don't... I can't...", he heard his voice break against his will, and then there were more tears and he hated it so much.

Strong armed were wrapped around him and a cool hand pressed down on his forehead. Then he felt calm, as the unusual chill seemed to draw all the heat from him, all the troubled rage and fear that had accumulated and he was finally able to breathe again. They sat like this for a couple of minutes, until Tony felt strong enough to support his own weight and stand up. Loki arose next to him.

"I am so sorry, this should not have happened.", Tony apologized.

"It's alright. You mortals are so easy to break.", there was a melancholy in those words, that almost broke Tony's heart. Worry laced Loki's gaze, as it wandered over him, as if unsure, whether he was truly alright or whether he would break down again any second.

"I'm not broken! I'm just... there are still so many memories. You can't imagine."

Loki offered the saddest smile Tony had ever seen.

"Try approaching me with a needle in hand, then try saying that again."

Tony couldn't help but shudder at the implication. He had read about the myths, yet there were some he hoped had been fabricated over time. Sadly, this particular one did not seem to fall in that category.

He reached for Loki's hand and together they went back inside.

_

The sex they had was slow and gentle, all sweet and shallow kisses and light touches. Loki had taken the magical barrier off of him and it wasn't long until Tony clutched his shoulders and shuddered as he was driven over the edge by the slow rhythm and loving touch. It was the weirdest orgasm he ever had in his life, he decided. He had yet to decide whether it was good-weird or bad-weird, but it certainly did not feel wrong. Loki was not there yet, Tony could tell, and he helped him along with upward thrusts of his hips until he felt the body on top of him tighten, a shivering moan on his lips and a familiar warmth spilled inside of him.

They held each other close for minutes, sharing the intimacy to its full extent, until none of them could ignore that they were in fact still sprawled on a workbench any longer, so they slowl disentangled themselves from each other, got dressed and ready to rejoin their fellow super-villains.

They had shared more than bodily fluids today, and both of them knew, this was more than the mere need to escape from the horrors of their situation.

None of them was willing to put a name tag on it just yet, but they smiled at each other, and they knew.

Wordless understanding. As if the sudden deal with magic in his technology wasn't creepy enough.

Tony sighed.