The Devil You Know 2
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A/N: It's a lot easier to write this stuff when you're not worried about little things like plots. xD
Past Tense
Steve closed his eyes for a beat longer than a normal blink. “O-okay,” he said, bringing up a hand to wipe over his face. “You and Loki. You... and Loki.” As though saying it with different inflection somehow made the information easier to digest. Another long blink, this time accompanied by a head shake. “I mean, I knew you guys were hanging out, but - this is...” Steve gestured incoherently as his words petered out.
Tony smiled and sipped at his coffee. “What can I say? Not even the gods can resist me!” Tony was finding it hard not to smirk like a jackass.
Steve grimaced. “I'm sorry,” he sighed, offering Tony a cringing, guilty look. “I just - well, I didn't know you swung that way, is all.”
Tony shrugged and leaned back into a slouch. “Meh,” he replied. “I usually swing towards the ladies, but sometimes the breeze pulls me in the other direction.” He waggled his eyebrows at Steve, which earned him another grimace from the Captain. “I mean, there was this one time, with my roommate in college - ”
“Okay!” Steve interrupted shrilly. “Don't need to know!” His face was tomato red.
Tony chuckled wickedly in a way that echoed strangely of Loki. “Why, Captain, you're blushing!” Then something occurred to him, and he dialed down his smile a notch. “Oh. Oh. Different time period, and all that. I forget sometimes. Does this bother you? The guy-on-guy stuff?”
Not that it would change anything, but he was curious.
If anything, Steve blushed an even deeper red. His gaze skittered away from Tony, and he rubbed at the back of his neck. “Well, no, not exactly,” he stammered. “I mean, it's a bit of a shock and I'm a little uncomfortable, but I'll get used to it, I suppose.” He finally met Tony's eyes as he shrugged and said, “You're my friend. Truth is, I'm more concerned about the fact that it's Loki.” Steve's eyes fixed on a point over Tony's shoulder. “What about you, Thor?”
Tony fought the urge to jump in his seat. Trying to be casual, he looked over his shoulder and found Thor standing in the doorway, a long-suffering look on his face and a mug in his hand. Tony smiled, manipulating the corners of his lips like a marionette, and wished that Thor would stop showing up out of nowhere like that. Usually his bulk was hard to miss, and Tony had to wonder if Thor had gotten lighter on his feet or if Loki was altogether too distracting for his own good. He just prayed that Thor wasn't the overprotective-brotherly type, despite their earlier, obscenely awkward conversation.
“In all honesty, my good friend,” Thor replied, passing Tony to place the mug on the counter, “this is an improvement to my brother's usual... dalliances.” He glanced awkwardly at Tony as he said this, but there was no malice there. “After the scandal with Svadilfari, I've stopped being surprised.”
“Svathi-what now?” Tony grunted into his mug, deciding he was more curious than jealous. He suddenly wanted to know everything about Loki, down to the gritty details.
“Svadilfari,” Thor repeated idly, excavating a bag of Frito's and turning to leave. “He was a horse.”
Tony considered taking another sip of his coffee just so he could spit it across the table. Then he decided that Steve looked close enough to choking for the both of them.
“Hang on,” he said, grabbing Thor by the wrist as he walked past. Thor blinked down at him around a mouthful of Frito's. “You mean that myth is true?”
Thor looked up at the ceiling and made a noncommittal motion with his head. “More or less,” he answered.
Tony stared up at him for a moment before doubling over laughing. The wood of the table was cool against his nose and forehead. “Oh God!” he wheezed. “He's so not hearing the end of this!”
Tony found Loki in his office, booted feet resting on the edge of his desk as he perused a stack of books more quickly than should be physically possible. Tony walked up behind Loki and wrapped his arms about the Trickster's shoulders, leaning forward to nip at the graceful curve of an ear. Loki hummed under his breath and leaned back against Tony's chest.
“So.” Tony struggled to hold back a smirk. “Thor told me about you and Svafa-whatsit.” He waggled his eyebrows even though Loki could not see.
Loki did not look up, but his eyes stopped moving along the page. “Svadilfari?”
“Svadilf... yeah.”
The book dropped to the table, and Loki looked up at him with a purposely blank face. Tony made a note to himself to never play poker with Loki. “And?” he prompted, arching one delicate eyebrow.
Hmm. Trying to unnerve him, was he? Well, two could play at that game. Tony smiled against the shell of Loki's ear. Loki shivered. “And I want details.” He pulled back to watch Loki for a reaction.
Loki's face crinkled in disgust, and the Trickster scoffed and shrugged off Tony's arms. He turned back to the book. “Lech,” he muttered, almost affectionately.
“Oh come on. I'm just curious!”
“Too bad.”
“What was it like? Is it true, the whole 'hung like a horse' thing?”
“It was... proportional.” Loki held the book a bit higher and to the side than was necessary, though Tony caught a glimpse of a blush sprouting along his cheek before it disappeared. Tony smirked.
“So you were female, right? So what was that like? I mean, did he come up behind you and - ?”
The book snapped closed, revealing a scowling Loki with a face as red as a cherry. Loki swiveled the chair about to glare at the human. “Tony Stark, if you are really that curious, I can give you a vagina of your own.”
Tony immediately opened his mouth to protest and then stopped to think about it. That would be an interesting experiment. You know, for science.
Loki stared at him for a long moment before sighing and rolling his eyes. “Never mind. You would actually like that, wouldn't you?”
“Oh! That reminds me!” Tony chirped, ignoring the chagrined look on Loki's face. “You're probably the only person who can tell me this: what hurts more, childbirth or a kick in the nuts?”
Loki blinked at him for a long moment before sighing resignedly. “Childbirth, hands down. How can you even ask?”
Tony shrugged. “Well, how would I know?”
“Think about it,” Loki sighed, rubbing at his temples. “Childbirth lasts longer. Plus it's like pushing a bowling ball through the tip of your - ”
“Okay!” Tony held up both hands in a “stop” motion. “I get the picture!”
Loki's smile was absolutely wicked. “What?” he purred, leaning his chin on the palm of his hand. “I thought you wanted details.”
“About the sex, not the... aftereffects!”
“I really don't want talk about that, Tony. It was a long time ago. And a rather... uncomfortable topic, to say the least.”
Loki shifted in his seat awkwardly, and Tony watched his face. “Oh man. It wasn't your first time or anything, was it?”
“What? No!”
Tony let out a breath in a nervous laugh. “Oh, good, okay.”
Loki went back to his book and nonchalantly added, “My first time was with Seth.”
Tony blinked. “Seth,” he echoed to himself, knowing that he knew that name. His eyes widened. “Wait, Seth as in the Egyptian god, Seth?”
Loki blithely jotted something down as he answered, “One and the same.” He smiled softly.
Tony stared at Loki for a long moment, trying to decide how to process this. He could tease Loki about the horse, but the idea of Loki being with another god was... disconcerting.
He was Tony Stark, genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist, but as much as he liked to pretend to the contrary, he wasn't a god.
Loki lowered the book a fraction of an inch and watched Tony out of the corner of his eye. A smile curled along his face. “It's in the past, Tony,” he murmured. “And if it's any consolation, I dumped him.”
Tony opened his mouth to respond, but Loki grabbed a handful of Tony's shirt and pulled the human to him. It bent Tony at an awkward angle, but he did not mind as he pressed his lips to Loki's. The god's mouth was always cool against his, his tongue like a drink of water, and Tony closed his eyes to the sensations, breathing raggedly through his nose. He ran a hand over the familiar, perfect planes of Loki's arms and shoulders, before cupping the back of his neck. Loki allowed himself to be pulled closer and growled as he deepened the kiss.
Had Loki been like this with Seth, he wondered? Did he taste like ice and run long, clever fingers over skin and muscle? Or did he hesitate, green eyes large and beautiful and uncertain in the wake of new sensations? The thought that someone had been here before him, had already charted all this beautiful territory rankled in Tony in a way he could not understand. Loki was a god, he reminded himself; of course Tony wouldn't have been his first, but the thought of Loki belonging to someone else, even strictly in the past tense...
Tony's grip turned bruising in Loki's hair, around Loki's waist. Loki hummed appreciatively and smiled against Tony's lips. He pulled back to consider his human, his lips still twisted in a wicked curve.
Mine, Tony thought, and that frightened him.
Tony ran a hand along a finely chiseled cheekbone and wondered what was the matter with him.
Footnote: Remember how I said Seth will be in the next fic...? ;)
A/N: It's a lot easier to write this stuff when you're not worried about little things like plots. xD
Past Tense
Steve closed his eyes for a beat longer than a normal blink. “O-okay,” he said, bringing up a hand to wipe over his face. “You and Loki. You... and Loki.” As though saying it with different inflection somehow made the information easier to digest. Another long blink, this time accompanied by a head shake. “I mean, I knew you guys were hanging out, but - this is...” Steve gestured incoherently as his words petered out.
Tony smiled and sipped at his coffee. “What can I say? Not even the gods can resist me!” Tony was finding it hard not to smirk like a jackass.
Steve grimaced. “I'm sorry,” he sighed, offering Tony a cringing, guilty look. “I just - well, I didn't know you swung that way, is all.”
Tony shrugged and leaned back into a slouch. “Meh,” he replied. “I usually swing towards the ladies, but sometimes the breeze pulls me in the other direction.” He waggled his eyebrows at Steve, which earned him another grimace from the Captain. “I mean, there was this one time, with my roommate in college - ”
“Okay!” Steve interrupted shrilly. “Don't need to know!” His face was tomato red.
Tony chuckled wickedly in a way that echoed strangely of Loki. “Why, Captain, you're blushing!” Then something occurred to him, and he dialed down his smile a notch. “Oh. Oh. Different time period, and all that. I forget sometimes. Does this bother you? The guy-on-guy stuff?”
Not that it would change anything, but he was curious.
If anything, Steve blushed an even deeper red. His gaze skittered away from Tony, and he rubbed at the back of his neck. “Well, no, not exactly,” he stammered. “I mean, it's a bit of a shock and I'm a little uncomfortable, but I'll get used to it, I suppose.” He finally met Tony's eyes as he shrugged and said, “You're my friend. Truth is, I'm more concerned about the fact that it's Loki.” Steve's eyes fixed on a point over Tony's shoulder. “What about you, Thor?”
Tony fought the urge to jump in his seat. Trying to be casual, he looked over his shoulder and found Thor standing in the doorway, a long-suffering look on his face and a mug in his hand. Tony smiled, manipulating the corners of his lips like a marionette, and wished that Thor would stop showing up out of nowhere like that. Usually his bulk was hard to miss, and Tony had to wonder if Thor had gotten lighter on his feet or if Loki was altogether too distracting for his own good. He just prayed that Thor wasn't the overprotective-brotherly type, despite their earlier, obscenely awkward conversation.
“In all honesty, my good friend,” Thor replied, passing Tony to place the mug on the counter, “this is an improvement to my brother's usual... dalliances.” He glanced awkwardly at Tony as he said this, but there was no malice there. “After the scandal with Svadilfari, I've stopped being surprised.”
“Svathi-what now?” Tony grunted into his mug, deciding he was more curious than jealous. He suddenly wanted to know everything about Loki, down to the gritty details.
“Svadilfari,” Thor repeated idly, excavating a bag of Frito's and turning to leave. “He was a horse.”
Tony considered taking another sip of his coffee just so he could spit it across the table. Then he decided that Steve looked close enough to choking for the both of them.
“Hang on,” he said, grabbing Thor by the wrist as he walked past. Thor blinked down at him around a mouthful of Frito's. “You mean that myth is true?”
Thor looked up at the ceiling and made a noncommittal motion with his head. “More or less,” he answered.
Tony stared up at him for a moment before doubling over laughing. The wood of the table was cool against his nose and forehead. “Oh God!” he wheezed. “He's so not hearing the end of this!”
Tony found Loki in his office, booted feet resting on the edge of his desk as he perused a stack of books more quickly than should be physically possible. Tony walked up behind Loki and wrapped his arms about the Trickster's shoulders, leaning forward to nip at the graceful curve of an ear. Loki hummed under his breath and leaned back against Tony's chest.
“So.” Tony struggled to hold back a smirk. “Thor told me about you and Svafa-whatsit.” He waggled his eyebrows even though Loki could not see.
Loki did not look up, but his eyes stopped moving along the page. “Svadilfari?”
“Svadilf... yeah.”
The book dropped to the table, and Loki looked up at him with a purposely blank face. Tony made a note to himself to never play poker with Loki. “And?” he prompted, arching one delicate eyebrow.
Hmm. Trying to unnerve him, was he? Well, two could play at that game. Tony smiled against the shell of Loki's ear. Loki shivered. “And I want details.” He pulled back to watch Loki for a reaction.
Loki's face crinkled in disgust, and the Trickster scoffed and shrugged off Tony's arms. He turned back to the book. “Lech,” he muttered, almost affectionately.
“Oh come on. I'm just curious!”
“Too bad.”
“What was it like? Is it true, the whole 'hung like a horse' thing?”
“It was... proportional.” Loki held the book a bit higher and to the side than was necessary, though Tony caught a glimpse of a blush sprouting along his cheek before it disappeared. Tony smirked.
“So you were female, right? So what was that like? I mean, did he come up behind you and - ?”
The book snapped closed, revealing a scowling Loki with a face as red as a cherry. Loki swiveled the chair about to glare at the human. “Tony Stark, if you are really that curious, I can give you a vagina of your own.”
Tony immediately opened his mouth to protest and then stopped to think about it. That would be an interesting experiment. You know, for science.
Loki stared at him for a long moment before sighing and rolling his eyes. “Never mind. You would actually like that, wouldn't you?”
“Oh! That reminds me!” Tony chirped, ignoring the chagrined look on Loki's face. “You're probably the only person who can tell me this: what hurts more, childbirth or a kick in the nuts?”
Loki blinked at him for a long moment before sighing resignedly. “Childbirth, hands down. How can you even ask?”
Tony shrugged. “Well, how would I know?”
“Think about it,” Loki sighed, rubbing at his temples. “Childbirth lasts longer. Plus it's like pushing a bowling ball through the tip of your - ”
“Okay!” Tony held up both hands in a “stop” motion. “I get the picture!”
Loki's smile was absolutely wicked. “What?” he purred, leaning his chin on the palm of his hand. “I thought you wanted details.”
“About the sex, not the... aftereffects!”
“I really don't want talk about that, Tony. It was a long time ago. And a rather... uncomfortable topic, to say the least.”
Loki shifted in his seat awkwardly, and Tony watched his face. “Oh man. It wasn't your first time or anything, was it?”
“What? No!”
Tony let out a breath in a nervous laugh. “Oh, good, okay.”
Loki went back to his book and nonchalantly added, “My first time was with Seth.”
Tony blinked. “Seth,” he echoed to himself, knowing that he knew that name. His eyes widened. “Wait, Seth as in the Egyptian god, Seth?”
Loki blithely jotted something down as he answered, “One and the same.” He smiled softly.
Tony stared at Loki for a long moment, trying to decide how to process this. He could tease Loki about the horse, but the idea of Loki being with another god was... disconcerting.
He was Tony Stark, genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist, but as much as he liked to pretend to the contrary, he wasn't a god.
Loki lowered the book a fraction of an inch and watched Tony out of the corner of his eye. A smile curled along his face. “It's in the past, Tony,” he murmured. “And if it's any consolation, I dumped him.”
Tony opened his mouth to respond, but Loki grabbed a handful of Tony's shirt and pulled the human to him. It bent Tony at an awkward angle, but he did not mind as he pressed his lips to Loki's. The god's mouth was always cool against his, his tongue like a drink of water, and Tony closed his eyes to the sensations, breathing raggedly through his nose. He ran a hand over the familiar, perfect planes of Loki's arms and shoulders, before cupping the back of his neck. Loki allowed himself to be pulled closer and growled as he deepened the kiss.
Had Loki been like this with Seth, he wondered? Did he taste like ice and run long, clever fingers over skin and muscle? Or did he hesitate, green eyes large and beautiful and uncertain in the wake of new sensations? The thought that someone had been here before him, had already charted all this beautiful territory rankled in Tony in a way he could not understand. Loki was a god, he reminded himself; of course Tony wouldn't have been his first, but the thought of Loki belonging to someone else, even strictly in the past tense...
Tony's grip turned bruising in Loki's hair, around Loki's waist. Loki hummed appreciatively and smiled against Tony's lips. He pulled back to consider his human, his lips still twisted in a wicked curve.
Mine, Tony thought, and that frightened him.
Tony ran a hand along a finely chiseled cheekbone and wondered what was the matter with him.
Footnote: Remember how I said Seth will be in the next fic...? ;)