TITLE: Adamanteus

AUTHOR: Wynter Ravenheart

ARTIST: dumb-ways-to-live

PAIRING: A little bit of Steve/Tony and a lot of Loki/Tony

WARNING: Liberal use of Superhusbands [Steve/Tony] as a stepping stone for Frostiron, Hurt/Comfort

SUMMARY: Adamanteus: of hard steel, iron, not to be broken. After his exile from Asgard - temporary as it may be - the last place Loki expected to find any of the Avengers is Amsterdam, granted the last thing Tony wanted after his unexpected break up with Steve was to find out that Loki was still alive and kicking, and hosting a radio show. It's not surprising they would have similar tastes, neither that they would be intimately aware of each other's issues. Some people have got to find out that some bonds you just can't break.

A/N: Some people named inside are actually real. No harm or disrespect is meant to them, the only intent is to show this as a version of our world.

SUPER thanks to the following people: Qwanderer for beta-ing the first 2 parts [I'm horrible, horrible, no good writer and I didn't send the rest to her!] Hedwig-dordt for checking out my failed Dutch, I owe you something big! I've no idea what, but I do! Songofcatharsis for letting me pick up her brain for songs!

Speaking of which, if you want to check out the playlist for this fic, you can check out my Spotify: Adamanteus

Part I - Runaway Train

Tony washed his face again for the nth time that day, half of it was trying to stay awake and the other half was trying to watch the dirt he felt on himself, he had loved the bastard, he had truly and utterly loved the bastard, and what had he done? Had mocked him for it, had mocked his efforts at being a human being, or as close as Tony stark could be a human being.

He pounded on the reinforced glass again, his knuckles bruising from the force of the punch, even as his eyes refused to spill the tears he had wanted to.

'Stark men are made of iron.'

It was something Howard was always telling him as he grew up, but it was only recently that Tony had an inkling of what that meant, malleable under extreme heat, stoic, cold and unchanging but for age.

Tony rather thought he was more like glass, malleable under extreme heat, cold and glinting under normal circumstances and, depending on outside forces, breakable. Extremely and completely breakable.

He poured whiskey on the tumbler, the ice clinking on the sides, the strong smell of oak and alcohol teasing his nostrils, his mouth watering, and a powerful wave of 'WANT' going through his body like hot liquor.

He took the glass to his mouth, wanting more of the smelltastesmelltastesmell of the single malt. He had promised himself he wouldn't, wouldn't lose himself to alcohol again, not since the whole Pepper break up, not since Steve had found him almost lost to the world in the worst way possible. When that had happened, alcohol had been an escape he took to the extreme. Now it was a reminder that he couldn't always have what he wanted even if it was within' his grasp, including Steve. He had had him, and Steve had wanted to go away, that saying about letting the birds go? Utter bullshit.

With shaking fingers he put the glass away, the overpowering smell of oak still on his nostrils, but the smell of alcohol dissipating, thankfully. He reclined on his seat, looking out as the Amsterdam skyline passed him by, the plane's descent so soft that he couldn't even feel it.

There was a chime on the speakers before a soft feminine voice peeped in clear Dutch: Please fasten your seatbelts if you haven't already done so, Tony blushed, the warning clearly meant to him, we'll be arriving in Amsterdam in a few minutes, and the local time is 8am.

Tony groaned his internal clock was still around 2am.

Admittedly he had ran away when it happened, he couldn't deal with Steve right now, nor with Sharon or any other of Steve's buddies, had ran away and accepted the invitation Pepper had been pushing for the past six months: a chance to speak at the G8 - now G7 thanks to motherfucking Russia - summit, a chance to go head to head on world politics where he could make a difference.

Yes he was running away from New York, from Steve, from everyone currently and suddenly invested in his failed relationship. Fuck them all.

(~o~)

They landed with no problems, passing through customs and going directly to car rent, his luggage would be sent to the hotel he was staying for now, he planned to take the train to Brussels for the summit a week from now, time enough to get his internal clock sorted out. He had never taken the train before, but he needed a change of pace.

A few words with the lady upfront and he had his favored Audi, browsing through radio stations. No J.A.R.V.I.S. for now, he couldn't take his AI also talking about Steve, better someone who had no connection at all to him.

And you're listening to 102.1FM, your go-to Classic Rock radio! My name is Lukke Walker and we have a very unusual request from someone who will only identify themselves as Edwin. Tony spluttered as he turned on the radio, half his coffee spilling on the sidewalk as he turned in the last moment to the car window, .hell. Oh his AI would be in so much trouble if he had done what Tony thought he had done!

So Edwin's suffering from a broken heart, and would like something to cheer him up. He was going to kill J.A.R.V.I.S. I'm not gonna do that, Edwin, I'm gonna make you cry your heart out first, get those bad feelings out, then we'll work on fixing it, in my not-so-humble opinion, music makes everything better, including a broken heart.

The guy stopped talking as a pretty known tone started playing, Tony cursed as McCartney started singing Yesterday.

He was definitely going to kill J.A.R.V.I.S.

(~o~)

The current song was almost on countdown, Whitesnake blaring on the speakers, yet he still had almost two full minutes.

He picked up his phone, going through the new messages from some of his contractors, skipping all messages about SHIELD and HYDRA and how almost everyone had been pissed at him, well he had warned them! Peasants, the lot of them!

Loki breathed in and out slowly, donning the personage of Lukke S. Walker again, being the radio host for a capital in the so-called 'old world' had its perks, but changing mindsets when some of his old contacts actually needed his expertise, well it would've been easier with his magic than with willpower alone, but then Odin had pointed out that he relied too much on magic, and Loki had been trying to prove a point to himself here, punishment notwithstanding.

He turned to the technical table, upped the microphone, and lowered the song as countdown reached zero, his voice changing slightly from his usual tone, making it more pleasing to listeners, he began speaking in perfect Dutch with a bit of a German accent, and that was The Beatles with Yesterday then Joy Division with Love Will Tear Us Apart and we ended with Whitesnake's Fool For Your Lovin' and I do hope you're feeling a bit better now, Edwin! I debated between the next two songs, but decided to go with the more upbeat one, so I do hope you're grateful, because I got in trouble with my editor over this one! Here we are with Motley Crue's Don't Go Away Mad, Just Go Away. Here's hoping your broken heart's healed.

(~o~)

On the other side of the radio Tony laughed hysterically to himself, Steve had hated that song!

(~o~)

He spent the next two days waking up early so he could listen Lukke talk, the guy's voice was pleasing, it had a rhythm to it that made Tony relax, not to mention how he talked, full of himself and yet with enough irreverence and dark humor to make Tony laugh. There was a certain situation - an elder lady calling him, asking for a very specific song - that showed he was also respectful when prompted and when not dealing with idiots.

It seemed like someone Tony could talk to, someone he could - potentially - have an interesting conversation with, someone whose wit and sense of humor could keep his mind off more unpleasant things.

It was on the third day that Tony decided to see who was behind the voice; radio networks had sites now didn't they? They had to, if they wanted their DJs to be known, and who wouldn't want to be known? Admittedly sometimes he wished he wasn't, what with the fiasco in his love life, but sometimes, like The Summit, he could do wonderful things being well known.

He grabbed his phone, making a mental note to work on a better battery again, and clicked a few times, frowning at the screen and, after taking J.A.R.V.I.S. out of mute, ordering face recognition.

"That's consistent with one Loki Odinsson, sir."

"That's what I thought, wasn't he dead?"

"Thor Odinsson has mentioned the death of his brother in numerous occasions," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, a series of clips showing on Tony's phone, Thor saying over and over that Loki was dead, on the site it related 'Lukke' had been with the station for at least two years, on his spare time he liked to tell stories to children in the local library. Tony wondered - in the distant parts of his mind - if the children of Netherlands were all doomed to be evil.

On the radio Lukke was finishing with his programming, R.E.M.'s Orange crush playing before the advertising and then the other guy Tony didn't like took over, it was 9am, and Tony was still on his pj's. "Fuck!"

(~o~)

Loki stretched as he stepped out of the studio; he had promised his kids they could have the story behind The Devil's Trill, though he had his concerns if the explicit details of a real deal with the devil were appropriate for eight year olds.

"Say," a voice said in front of him, in perfect English, and Loki realized how lost in thought he had been not to see the man in front of him. "You wouldn't happen to know a tall, evil and alien conqueror, would you?"

Loki arched an eyebrow, looking at the red and gold bracelet on Stark's wrist. "If he happens to be purple, then yes, I do know him, if he happens to be green with a metal face then I'm terribly sorry, Stark, but Victor's not tall at all."

"Very funny Old King Cole, mind coming with me? I don't wanna cause a scene."

"If you can promise me that I'll be back in time for story time at the library, we can go wherever you want; I don't mind being seen with a handsome man." Loki said, deliberately batting his eyelashes and grabbing Tony's arm. Tony took a step back, his face going through puzzled thorough disgusted and ending on the awkward 'please-stop' motion.

Loki laughed, letting go of the man with a wicked grin and starting to walk in front of him, in a seemingly random direction.

It took half a second for Tony to catch up, his armored hand on Loki's arm this time. The trickster just gave him a relaxed smile, "relax, we're going to a nearby café, I'm hungry and you're paying."

"What are you doing here?"

"Working, obviously. If you're looking for nefarious reasons I'm not the one you should be talking to and by the way, you're incredibly late."

"Late for what?" Tony asked, gritting his teeth and resisting the urge to tighten his hand on Loki's arm, mostly because he knew it wouldn't do much to the alien god.

"I had a bet going on with one of my associates about when you 'heroes' would find out about my presence. I'm disappointed, even if I was proven right about your lack of passive surveillance."

"Associates?"

"Yes, we'll get to them in a minute, after we order," Loki said, entering the café up on Langebrugsteeg*, ordering a cappuccino for himself, along with the goat cheese sandwich, a slice of their sinful apple pie and another of the cherry tart. He grabbed his tray, weaving through the area full with sitting patrons and to the little deck: a tiny piece of land, surrounded by black iron, with comfortable seats, made of old wooden crates, with cushions on top, overlooking the river.

He grabbed his phone, sending a text to one of his associates before Stark joined him.

"How much do you know about the circumstances surrounding me, or was this a random encounter? I had heard through the grapevine you were going to the summit in Brussels."

"Last I heard you were dead on elf-land." Tony replied, keeping the conversation in English, least they scare one of the patrons.

"So you know nothing and this was a chance encounter," Loki summarized, arching an eyebrow and daring the hero to contradict him, which he didn't. "Fury's going to love this."

"Funny you should mention him," Tony said, indulging with coffee and superb made cookies, a moment later he felt his pocket buzz with the tone of his phone, with the way it buzzed he knew it was Fury.

"See, you better answer that." Loki pointed out, taking out his own phone and displaying his messages with Fury, Tony took it carefully, listening to the Director on the other line.

Loki smiled to himself, wondering what Stark would do, would he go to the deep end and demand his head like Barton would have done? Would Stark want to experiment on him like the ones in Russia had wanted to? Would he, wonder of wonders, leave Loki alone?

He wouldn't bet on the last one. He watched between one bite and another as Stark tried to control his temper so as not to shout with Fury, though he could understand, Fury had a particular way of dealing with things that made others lose their cool.

He was brought out of his musings by Stark giving him back his phone, his hands clenched in rage.

"So you're here for good?" He asked, glaring at Loki.

"No, I'm here on loan for the next two hundred years or so, after that enough time should have passed, in theory, to advance your civilization. Regardless of what happens, after that time I should go to Vanaheimr for some more consulting before being set free.

"Fuck, I don't believe this, you're left off with a slap on the wrist? After the stunt you've pulled?"

"I wouldn't say that, no, scot-free is not the way of Asgard, though my sentence does have some perks." He raised his steaming cup, glancing pointedly at the food around them.

"Jesus what the hell is wrong with Fury?!" Tony said, his voice slightly raised, he needed to get out before he did something he would not regret. He left some bills on the wooden crate, getting up and out of the establishment before he could re-think his actions.

Loki just shrugged, enjoying his mid-morning meal; he had time before he had to see the kids.

(~o~)

He got back to his hotel with a maelstrom of rage and madness running through his veins, he couldn't believe Fury had accepted the alien god, couldn't believe that the world-so-called-leaders would just accept the god back! And for what? To 'advance their civilization?' If the sort of advanced civilization Loki had talked about resembled in any way Asgard, then Tony wanted no part in it.

He opened his laptop, connecting his phone and ordering J.A.R.V.I.S. to call the tower. His rage only escalated as the first person he saw was Rogers.

"Tony? Where are you? Listen we need to talk-" Steve begun, and Tony had no time to notice the bangs under his eyes, how disheveled he looked.

"No, I need to talk, and it's not with you. Where's Thor?" Tony interrupted, glaring at the super soldier.

"Tony-"

" . ? Am I talking to the walls here? J.A.R.V.I.S. get me Thor!"

"He's on his way, sir. He was with Ms. Foster."

"I don't care if he was with his own fucking mother!" Tony shouted, adjusting the camera so he could pace in peace, he couldn't stay still. "I just got information on that crazy brother of his. Fuck it, where's the rest of the team?"

"I've also sent for them, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted before his creator could go on a rant, "ETA is two minutes on Thor, one on Ms. Romanoff and three for Messes Barton and Banner, I've also sent for Mr. Rhodes since he's on location."

That stopped Tony short for a moment, the inventor blinking owlishly at the laptop screen, at least some good news, he would call Rhodey later, after he finished with briefing.

"Tony, what is this about?" Steve asked again.

"I got information on Loki, information we should've known already."

"What information?" Natasha asked as she entered the living room, she glanced between the two men, from Steve's tired frame to Tony's enraged one.

"Let's wait for the others, Agent, I don't wanna repeat myself." Tony said, finally sitting on the bed and resting his head on his hands.

"Tony, what happened? Where are you?"

"I'm working, that's what I'm doing." Tony replied, his voice cold, brooking no argument. Steve was not one to be told no so easily, though, Tony could see his squared shoulders, his jaw setting for an argument, he had seen that same face a thousand times already and his instinctual reaction was to flinch from it, rather than engage.

"Tony-"

"Shut it, soldier." Tony snapped, at the end of his rope. "I don't want to talk about what happened, I won't talk about what happened. The only reason I'm even looking at you now is because I need to talk to the team as a whole, which you're a part of." The 'unfortunately' was left out, though he was damn well sure all the people currently listening were aware of it.

There was more to be said, but Tony wanted to be off the conference as soon as possible, and the discussion would take enough time already and keep his mind off-things. He sighed in relief to see Bruce, Clint and Rhodey walk in, with Thor right behind him.

"What is it, my friend?"

"Yeah, see Thunderstruck, funny thing happened earlier today. I met your brother at the city I'm in at the moment, he's hosting a radio show. What the hell's going on Thor?"

Tony watched in horror as Thor seemed to deflate in front of him, seemed to take on a weariness not his, a guilt that was not his, not truly.

"You've met Loki?" Thor asked, his shoulders sagging in what Tony choose to see as relief instead of grief. "Can you tell me where he is?"

"We're in Amsterdam right now, Thor. I shall be leaving in a few days, but... What the hell man?"

"This is Loki's punishment."

"What freedom and a good job?" Hawkeye said, staring at Thor as though seeing him for the first time.

"His magic free only because it has to be, his every step watched, building a kingdom he helped to destroy to start with, even if under duress. There's many things to be talked about, Iron Man, but I would need you here to explain some things, I'd rather have this conversation where none else could see us."

"He said he's been here for two years already, Thor. Did you know that?"

"I did, though I was not privy of where in the globe he was, that information was kept from me."

"Yeah, I noticed. But why wouldn't you tell us? I thought we were friends, Thor." Tony said.

"And what would you have done? Hunt him down and let him rot in a cell?" He ignored Hawkeye's mumble of 'it would serve him right,' he would not throttle his friends. "Your world-government knows about this, have always known about this. Loki is free to roam Midgard as long as he does not use magic upon another soul, as long as he aids the Council, he is free to call this world home for the time being."

"And if he does use magic on another person?"

"Then he'll be exiled from the world-tree and thrown to the mercy of those who grabbed him in the first place." Thor shrugged as if the matter was closed. "We were lenient because he was under duress from a bigger foe, but he has caused enough damage throughout Yggdrasil to be granted freedom."

"I'm sorry, is he not hosting a radio show in Amsterdam? What do you call that?"

"Loki is paying his due. Though Midgard has not suffered the most out of the nine, it has suffered enough due to Loki and due to your own ignorance of the Nine as to be granted the boom of Loki's knowledge first, if you had refused he would've been sent to Vanaheimr to help them, as they've been the one realm who has suffered more loss out of the Nine."

"So..." Tony said, still refusing to glance at anyone but Thor and Natasha.

"Director Fury knows he's on earth, the world council knows he's on earth, every so called secret agency that has dealings with the world council knows he's on earth and is using him to the best of their abilities, so what use would be in telling you he's here besides grudges and forceful exile from Midgard?" Thor said, though his voice did not change in volume, his tone was graver and graver, and more forceful as he talked, Tony couldn't help but think he was kinda bad at diplomacy, regardless of how well he liked Thor, his friend could be obtuse and approach diplomacy like a warrior.

"Is that everything for his 'incarceration'? Those are the only terms? No magic and help out the people?" Hawkeye said, staring at Thor.

"Those are the basic ones, yes, there's more but I was not privy, was not needed for that discussion."

"Who was, then? Who was privy to that discussion? Why did Tony have to tell us and not you?" His voice even, but Bruce still slipped his hand with the archer's, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"The World council, a few world leaders, Colonel Nick Fury from SHIELD, Lance Hunter from STRIKE and Eugène-Richard Gasana, President of the UN Security Council*."

They were all silent as they digested the sudden information. Everyone knew but them, the people they were supposed to protect, who they trusted to direct them as needed, knew and yet refused to say a word on such an important enemy.

"My-" Thor grimaced, in what Tony could call nothing but grief, and corrected himself, "Loki has been as contained as he can be, as a Mage."

"We're supposed to trust your word, Thor?" Tony said, he could feel his trust in Thor breaking, still unable to comprehend how his friend could keep such information from them, he needed more than Thor's word.

"Nay," Thor denied, knowing this would be something he couldn't just shrug off, Loki had hurt them deep, "trust Heimdall's watch, trust the device attached to him, made by your own technology, trust the sigil tattooed on his skin to monitor his magic. You can verify them yourself if you need to, my friend." He said looking directly at Tony.

"I'll contact him again, then." Tony said, unwilling to continue with the current conversation, they'd hash out the details out later, though Fury had already told him some, though how much of it was the truth was left to be seen. "You don't happen to know of any bets between Loki and Fury, do you?" He asked on a whim.

"I am no longer privy to Loki's life." Thor denied.

"Right, we'll talk when I get back then, I mean it Thor." Tony promised before ending the call.

(~o~)

The next day Tony greeted Loki again in front of the station, crossed arms and an arched eyebrow as the Trickster sighed at the sight of him.

"What do you want now, Stark?" Loki asked, clearly exasperated, well Tony could and couldn't blame him, on one hand he was the villain, on the other hand the guy had had the worst caller today, to the point where Loki had hung up on him, stating he took proper and well-worded requests, and he refused to talk to rude people. Well Tony wasn't planning on being rude today, not until he could figure out the trickster's game.

"Just talk, I promise." He said, giving his best press-smile and raising his hands in mock surrender.

Loki sighed, his mood sour, but nodded.

They walked at a leisure pace, in silence after the initial exchange ("I talked to Thor about your sentence" & "please shut up, we'll talk when we get there") and Tony realized that it might be a tad difficult to get information from Loki today than the day before, but hindsight was 20/20 as the saying goes.

They entered the same small cafe again, sitting outside again but in a seat closer to the river, Tony with an express and an assortment of oatmeal cookies, Loki with a late a croissant and beer bread. The Trickster absolutely unimpressed with his selection. "Talk."

"Right." Tony said, frowning slightly and wondering where he could start that wouldn't have Loki biting his head off, if either literally or metaphorically he had no idea.

"Talk, Stark," Loki sighed, mentions of his former family were a guaranteed mood killed, not that there was much to kill with in that bloody fantastic day.

"So," Tony started cautiously, adding a bit of sugar to his espresso and eyeing Loki's croissant. "I called Thor yesterday, and he told me some of your sentence."

"Thor knows nothing of my sentence." Loki said, not looking at Tony, his gaze on the bread.

"Right, he told me you still have your magic, but you're being watched 24/7 and helping build the NYC back? If that's the case why are you not at NYC?"

"As I've told you, Thor knows nothing of my sentencing." Loki said again, staring at Stark, the man was as curious as Fury had told him he would be, "my magic is not bound only because it cannot be, to bind it would be the equivalent of a lobotomy here in Midgard, but I cannot use it, not on another soul besides my own, and they use the broader aspect of 'soul' which means, roughly, every other material or immaterial being, be they living, dead, in-between or on another plane of existence, be they live breathing, akin to a tree, or dead and processed, such as the stools we're sitting on or the technology you so thrive with."

"Wow, impressive binding, like, you cannot use it at all?"

"I can use it on my person, and I can study it." Loki shrugged, as if his gift was not cut off from him by his own nature, "but if I use it on another thing, be they living, dead, spiritual or processed, then I'll be punished."

"Punished how?"

"I will not tell you that part, that's between me and the heads of your world."

"Right, right," Tony agreed, absent minded, he would have to pester Fury. "And New York? You can't actually help build anything all the way back here, you know?"

"Again, it's not to help, as you put 'build New York City,' it's helping build Midgard as a whole, Asgard being a sovereign realm composed of a whole planet, or what's left of it, does not recognize separate governments in just one planet, which is why the UN, SHIELD, STRIKE and the World Security Council had to step in as if they were the official representatives of Midgard."

"Which is why you're all the way back here?"

"Yes, I've been counseling SHIELD and STRIKE and CERN* for the past two years, they've learnt the hard way to listen to what I say and not second-guess everything."

"You've been with CERN? How come I never heard of it? And give me one contribution you've made to SHIELD!" Tony demanded, crossing his arms and looking at Loki, surely someone would have picked up on Loki's contribution.

"The fact you weren't able to find me even with all the hacking you've done since Hydra showed up on the radar is proof enough, also, Hydra itself. I've predicted their rise after six months of consulting. That was a year and a half ago, mind you, it took time for Fury and Hunter to relax in my presence and trust I know what I'm doing." Loki said, spirits lifted and, as odd as it sounded, he had Stark to thank for it.

"You're being oddly forthcoming,"

Loki shrugged, leaning against the iron fence, "I've got nothing to lose, Stark, and Fury trusts you enough, besides that's all information he could freely give you, if you asked, but you won't because you let your personal vendetta against him cloud your judgment."

Tony stared at him for a moment, trying to recall why being nice and non-confrontational with Loki was a good idea, the guy had no filters, and could zoom-in on the heart of the problem with a moment's glance. Not unlike Tony himself, actually.

"Of course," Loki continued after a moment, "I've taken some lengths to keep myself from using Stark Industries technology as much as possible, only using your analog versions when I have to use anything, so your construct had no backdoor to try and access or trace me."

"So when J.A.R.V.I.S. called the station...?"

"He did? When?"

"Four days ago, as Edwin." Tony smiled, disbelieving of the coincidence, if coincidence it was, he knew J.A.R.V.I.S. wouldn't keep a secret this big from him, it was not on his coding.

"Ah yes, that one, one of our interns picked up the call," Loki shrugged again, unconcerned, "we decided it was a good idea to do something about the 'broken heart disease' the listener was facing, therefore we offered some pseudo comfort songs."

"I feel like I should know that reference."

"I'm slightly disappointed that you haven't figured it out." Loki grinned, quickly hiding it with his cup of coffee.

"Come on give me another bone," Tony asked, crossing his legs and leaning forward, he knew that line. "Early Green Day? MXDX?"

"I'm offended in their behalf, Stark, really?"

"Oh come on, that song must've been older than the early 00's!"

"Mid 90's." Loki tried to smirk, but it quickly turned into a pleased smile, it wasn't many people that got his musical references, he started to tap the rhythm with his foot, "okay I'll only do this once, you better appreciate it!" He cleared his throat, starting to sing the middle of the song "She said it's cold, It feels like Independence Day, And I can't break away from this parade, But there's got to be an opening, Somewhere here in front of me, Through this maze of ugliness and greed."

He watched, more than pleased to see Stark's face light up in recognition, easily picking up the tune and carrying it though the song, leaving Loki as a sort-of backing vocal, but the god couldn't find it in him to mind, "And I seen the sun up ahead, At the county line bridge, Sayin' all there's good and nothingness is dead, We'll run until she's out of breath, She ran until there's nothin' left, She hit the end-it's just her window ledge."

Tony felt the smile tugging at his lips, it had been ages since he had listened to The Wallflowers, longer still since anything not anger-related had played on his workshop, he wondered why for a moment as the last month of his life flashed by him. Trying to talk to his lover only to be brushed off, trying to find something that would interest Steve in their lives, trying to help Barnes and even going to one of Wilson's meetings, only to see Steve out with Carter, instead.

He wasn't ashamed to say he tagged them, looking for a reason why Steve had apparently lost all interest in him and later on had J.A.R.V.I.S. tail Steve through the security cameras. Steve never kissed her, they never wandered into a hotel for a few hours, and he never even held her hand. But the look on his face, it spelled something completely different, it was the way Steve used to look at him.

He had tried to reach Steve again, asking after his paintings, asking him out in lunches, even, though Tony rarely ate lunch. Tony had gone out with him a total of twice a month, while he met Sharon at least three times a week, of course things came to a head, and of course Tony left. He didn't blame Sharon in the least - he doubted Steve had told her they were lovers - he blamed himself, he was a coward in relationships, he never quite knew how to act around people, how to make them like him or take a personal interest in him. Hell he was good at press conferences, at making corporates like him or - more accurately - the representative of Stark Industries, he never managed to transfer that skill to his personal life.

There was a red dot near him.

He slowly came out of his reverie and looked at the red ripe strawberry in front of him.

"I seem to have lost you there, Doom and Gloom."

"How do you even know the Rolling stones?" Tony asked, ripped from his bad memories as if by force, not that he would complain, he needed the distance.

"I work on the radio, Stark." Loki said, rolling his eyes.

"Say, would you mind checking in with me?" Tony asked, changing the subject and knowing he would have to go soon and he was loathe to lose Loki, he wanted the Deity on his radar, even if he apparently had SHIELD and a whole lot of people keeping him in sight, of course Loki had to make it difficult for him and not use Stark Tech, the asshole.

"I'm flattered, but I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment." Loki smiled, crossing his arms.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Tony said, shaking his head.

"You know, I'd call you Echo & The Bunnymen, but I've never actually kissed you before." He grinned sharply at Tony, enjoying the way the man gapped at him.

"How do you even know that reference?

"Again, I work on the radio, plus I had to do something while Odin and the World Council discussed my fate, ended up on Spotify and Wikipedia." Loki shrugged, drinking his latte, and eyeing the oatmeal cookies resting besides Stark. "Are you gonna eat that?"

"Yes!" Tony hissed, protecting his food from the bottomless pit in front of him. "Order your own."

The god had the gall to pout at him before giving Tony a shit-eating grin. "Fine, I'll also give your answer tomorrow during the show, then." He arched an eyebrow at Tony's mildly exasperated face.

"You must already have an answer, yes or no, why are you dragging this, it's a simple request?"

"I do, I just need to think of the proper song to play it to, if I'm being forced to meet you, then you'll have to listen to my show."

"You're an asshole." Tony said, pointing a coffee spoon at him before pointedly taking a cookie, smirking at Loki's puppy eyes, he had seen Thor's and Pepper's and even, in one memorable occasion, Rhodey's. Loki couldn't hold a candle to any of them.

(~o~)

Tony Stark cursed the day he met the Trickster as Anytime At All by The Beatles started to play on his phone, dedicated to one Edwin Verhogen. The Little Shit.

(~o~)

"You're an asshole." Tony said, as soon as he saw Loki exiting the building.

"You're quite welcome!" Loki grinned at him, and Tony had the impression of looking at a shark before the inevitable deadly attack, but Loki kept back from him.

"Yes, well, does that mean I get your phone number?" Tony asked, wiggling his eyebrows; it was incredibly easy to fall back on his old days and just flirt with Loki.

"As long as you don't give it to your cohorts, I don't mind," Loki shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets, "I need someone who gets my references anyway."

"I think I should be offended, but I'm making a point of ignoring it for now."

Loki grinned again, as sharp as a shark and just as deadly, to the point Tony had to stop himself from taking a step back, he had to remind himself that he was in this situation purely to get information out of Loki and to see what his plans were. "You should probably stop that," he grimaced, unable to hide his unease.

Loki just looked at him in blatant disappointment, the smile slipping from his face as if someone has washed it away, leaving the deity pouting at him. "You're no fun, Stark."

"You're creepy like that, Sharman," Tony said, picking up Loki's phone when it was offered, scrunching his nose at Apple Tech.

"I'm more of a Space Oddity, really."

"I'm gonna start calling you Ziggy Stardust."

"Please don't, Bowie looked much better with red hair than I ever did."

"The fact you recognize those references will never not be creepy."

"I'll trust your judgment on this issue." Loki shrugged, glancing at Stark through the corner of his eyes. It was, it was odd how easy it was to talk to Stark, he usually didn't have that sort of camaraderie with his enemies, if one could exclude Siff.

They walked to the same cafe as the days before, each lost in thought of things to do, of the lives they had to live, Tony thought it oddly soothing. Maybe he could make a friend out of the deity yet.

"You're here for the summit, right?" Loki asked as they sat once again in the cafe, a plate of assorted pastries between them. "I didn't think they would allow non-government officials there."

"They usually don't," Tony shrugged, washing down a bit of puffy pastry with coffee. "Stark Industries was invited due to our cutting edge green tech; everyone's interested in green tech as they should be, mind you. Pepper and one of my R&D managers was supposed to go, I decided to take some time out and come at the last minute."

"The thing with Edwin was real then?"

"I rather not talk about it, if it's all the same with you," Tony replied, looking away, Loki just nodded to himself, knowing that the matters of the heart were sensitive to begin with and unwilling to pester Stark on such subject.

"All right, give me a rundown of what's going to happen on the summit, green energy fields are interesting."

"What, a consultation, Mr. Odinsson?" Tony jeered, relieved.

"Please don't call me that, it's Walker." Loki grimaced, "and not a full consult, just tell me the basics if you don't mind. I can't very well do my job if you humans end up killing each other due to abrupt climate change."

"No details, just the general rundown."

Loki agreed easily, he didn't need the details, he needed to know if they had functional tech worthy of his attention. Tony did have it, and the two of them ended up discussing the pros and con of such machinery, ending up on a heated discussion of physics, math, environmental actions and Loki going on a rant mid discussion about humans being hopeless when it came to saving their own home, since they still didn't have the needed know-how to colonize other planets.

Tony watched, fascinated, that someone could still keep up with him, and it only took an alien from another realm to do it.