Title: The Last Goodbye

Summary: Tony thought his relationship with Loki was nothing more than a fling. When Loki gets too involved in his life and gets hurt, Tony realizes how much the god meant to him. How does one find the courage to say the words when it might just be the last? SLASH. Tony/Loki. RE-POSTED

oOo

Chapter 1 - Disagreements

(Olenyok River: Siberia, Russia)

Loki scowled as he stared at the harsh and unforgiving snow. He wished he wasn't immune to the biting cold and the numbing air, if only to dissuade him from following one foolish man that had been bothering his mind lately.

"Why do I bother?"

He had meddling a little too much lately. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. He was in too deep to simply walk away. The sad thing was that Tony didn't appreciate his efforts to change.

"I like you, Loki… but…"

"But what?"

"It's just that I can't trust you."

"Is that all?"

"Come on, Lo'." He sighed. "You're not exactly the honest type."

"You're not exactly honest either."

Suddenly, Loki heard shooting from below.

He stood up from his spot on the roof and slightly pushed open the warehouse skylight. He saw one man running to the very corner of the room while numerous armed men guarded him. The cowardly man hid behind the rebar, strewn about and pointing at different directions.

"You must be their target."

During his visits to the tower, Loki had overheard Tony discussing the location of an ex-convict named Lavrenti Radoslav to the other Avengers. There was even a moment that the billionaire suspected Loki was in league with the man.

It was insulting.

But Loki couldn't entirely blame him.

The man had every right to be suspicious, but Loki had hoped after everything they had been through, that the man would give him the benefit of the doubt. Loki had given it to him, so he found it strange why it was so difficult for Tony to return it.

"All you ever think about is your safety, Loki."

"That's not true."

"Really?"

"I care about yours."

"Why don't I believe that?"

There was more shooting and the door burst open. Loki saw the Captain take a step forward, knocking the majority of the armed guards off their feet. While the shooting continued, Lavrenti began his monologue.

Loki tuned him out until Tony spoke up.

He perked up at the sound of the man's voice. Loki leaned forward and rested his arms on the very edge and watched the scene unfold. This reminded Loki of why he liked the man so much. Tony was intelligent and sharp-tongued for a human.

The billionaire began to insult Lavrenti's scarred face, which made the situation highly entertaining.

Loki smirked, "Only you, Stark."

The young god's smile dissolved when the shooting resumed and the armed men surrounded the Avengers. Loki bit his lips when Tony flew into one of the crates. Tony was wrong about him. Loki did care, much to his annoyance.

"You've trusted me this far."

"Yeah," Tony snorted. "Call me stupid for that."

"I've always been honest with you."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Then what about that scuffle on the news? Mind telling me what's up with that?"

That had been three weeks ago.

He was never supposed to be involved in that situation if it wasn't for his stupid, selfless attempt at a heroic act. Loki had been lounging in his apartment when a news report came in about a burning building and trapped civilians.

Loki thought it was a good idea to help out.

"I was caught in it."

"Your signature magic was all over the place!" Tony screamed at him. "Shield thought it was you! I nearly got caught, did you know that? Before the bomb went off, they saw you take me away! They accused me of being manipulated by you, which I'm not."

"Stark…"

"Thor's accusations weren't any better either."

"I tried to help."

"They all died!"

Loki frowned at the memory. When he had gotten to the building, he didn't want to attract too much attention by completely extinguishing the fire. It would have been so easy, but he wasn't ready for that kind of change yet.

He hadn't known where to start.

When he had finally decided to just screw it and help out, Tony came into the picture.

That distracted Loki a lot, because he had not been expecting him. He had taken too much time deciding on whether he should stand next to Tony and help out or just leave the man to do his job.

"They all died, Loki."

Apparently, the idiot who started the fire had a bomb attached to him. It went off and the building collapsed, killing everyone inside. Loki made the easiest choice and saved Tony. If it hadn't been for him, Tony wouldn't have been there to argue with him.

"You didn't care, did you? You only saved me. That's now in my conscience. Why me? Huh? I didn't need your help. Not like that. Not when there are other people who need more help than I do."

"I saved you because you were important."

"Yeah, to you."

"Well, obviously."

"So their lives mean nothing to you." Tony chuckled bitterly. "Just because we share the same bed and be intimate on certain occasions doesn't make my life any more important than theirs."

"Humans die every day."

"Then you shouldn't have saved me. Don't you know the amount of guilt I felt, knowing I could've done something more if you hadn't taken me out of there? I risk my life for these people. That's my job. I don't need you to watch out for me."

"I do this because I want to."

"I don't want you to."

Loki kept his eyes glued to Tony, who flew about the room and avoiding bullets. No matter how angry they were at each other, Loki wouldn't wish anything untoward to happen to him.

Despite everything, he was still pretty enamored with the man.

He watched as Tony raised his gauntlets and shot one of the crates. It toppled over three of the armed guards. Tony dove down and picked Natasha up, propelling her towards the nearest men. Loki knew this would be over soon, because Lavrenti was quickly losing the battle.

"You gonna be honest with me?"

"I always have been."

"Loki, please."

"I told you," He sneered. "I've been honest with you."

"Then tell me where you were when that incident in Central Park happened."

"I was at my apartment."

"Bullshit!"

This was another reason why Loki followed Tony to Siberia. He had something personal against Lavrenti and how he wished he could wring his throat and watch the man's eyes roll back from his skull.

This man had forged his magical signature and framed him for that incident in Central Park. Everyone thought the same monster that terrorized New York had returned with a vengeance.

Loki was scammed.

"Stark, please."

"No," Tony growled. "I'm not listening to this."

"I told you it wasn't me."

"Stop! I don't want to hear it."

Sometimes Loki wondered why he even bothered with Tony.

They were a ticking time bomb. Some moments were exhilarating and great, but the next, they were at each other's throats. It was a strange chaotic relationship that Loki wanted to enjoy if it wasn't for Tony's lack of trust in him.

"Why don't you ever tell me what you're doing, Loki?"

"For the same reason you never tell me anything." Loki mumbled to himself. "We are more alike than you think, Stark."

Loki moved his head as a bullet went past him.

Apparently their attempt at negotiating for peace was brushed off. Loki relaxed again and watched the giant door blast open as Hulk entered the scene. The snow storm entered, making it a little difficult to see where everyone was. Hulk had managed to start an electrical fire by destroying the circuits near the crates.

Wonderful.

Lavrenti took off while everyone was distracted.

Loki sighed, "Here we go."

He stood up and brushed the snow from his eyes. He walked to the edge of the roof and watched Lavrenti take off in his car. The others caught on and started chasing him with another vehicle. More of Lavrenti's men got on their vehicles and started shooting and slowing down the Avengers.

"I can't do this."

"Excuse me?"

"You pop in and out whenever you like!" Tony raised his hands in exasperation. "There're no boundaries! You come in to play and I just fall for it, like yeah, we get to have some fun, I give you the fun… I let you in my life— hook line and sinker!"

"What are you implying?"

"You get it, right."

"Are you saying I coaxed you into this?"

"You could have."

"I didn't."

"You might have."

Loki kept track of the sparks and bullets, while Tony was very easy to see in his suit. The wind picked up and it was becoming more and more difficult to keep track of where everyone was. Loki scowled and teleported further ahead of the chase.

Tony was hit with an explosive, sending him into a mound of snow.

Loki gritted his teeth as more explosions erupted in the scene. Then Thor's lightning had to add to the already growing chaos.

"This is going rather horribly." Loki huffed.

Lavrenti and his men maneuvered their way through a maze of warehouses and managed to lose the Avengers in the distraction. Loki kept an eye on them. When he realized where Lavrenti was headed, Loki teleported and landed on the roof of another larger warehouse.

The young god watched Lavrenti and his men drive inside and barricaded the door. Loki pushed open the skylight and made note of the explosives and rebar inside.

Not a good sign.

Loki teleported back to the Avengers.

They looked completely exhausted. He wouldn't blame them if they retired after this. Loki's amusement was cut short when he saw a car hurdle towards him. Loki teleported out of the way, startled by how close it was to hitting him.

He saw Tony, Thor, and Hulk fending off the heavier blows while Natasha drove the vehicle with Clint and Steve trying their hardest to help out.

Loki wondered if he should help.

"Hulk, Thor!" The Captain called in desperation. "Go ahead without us and clear the nuclear warheads in the south! We don't have much time!"

The two immediately turned and started heading towards the south.

Loki gasped, "Nuclear warheads?"

"Stark, cover them!"

"On it, Cap!"

Tony flew by and attacked with precision. He killed eight men at once with a single bullet and proceeded to tank the rest of the vehicles alone. The men kept coming with bigger weapons; weapons that Loki recognized were some of Shield and Tony's creations.

"Do you remember our first time, Lo'?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Do you?"

"Yes, I remember." Loki frowned. "Why would I not?"

"I don't know." Tony shrugged, feeling a tad aggressive. "I just wanna know what your thoughts were. I mean, we both satisfied our selfish needs. The first time was great and exciting, some regrets here and there… then the second, third, fourth… then the fifth time I was drunk and desperate and you were there…"

"What are you implying?"

"I wanted you, you were there. The sex was great, don't get me wrong… I messed you up pretty badly, but nothing that you can't heal afterwards… and then you and I just left it like that…"

"Why are we speaking of this, Stark?"

"It's a fling."

"Don't say that."

Loki had enough. With a wave of his hands, he manipulated the stirring wheel of the vehicle Natasha was driving and pointed it straight towards the building where Lavrenti was hiding. Clint and Steve were pretty shocked, but Natasha had no idea how to explain it.

With another wave of his hand, Loki stopped the vehicle in front of the warehouse.

"Nat?" Clint asked.

"Don't ask me." She said. "Stark?"

Loki teleported back on the roof and stared at them from the edge. He watched Tony scan the building before confirming Lavrenti and his men were inside. The billionaire warned his three teammates to be careful not to shoot the explosives in the area.

They let Tony barrel through the door first.

Loki moved to the skylight he had opened and watched from there.

"It's definitely a fling."

"Is that what you think, Stark?"

"Isn't it?" Tony questioned. "I mean, look at it from my perspective. At the Gala, we sort of bumped into each other however intentional or unintentional you want it to be… then I invited your over and you agreed. Again, sex was awesome… and you and I part ways."

"So what?"

"What do —" Tony groaned and palmed his face. "You pop in and out when it's time for us to have fun. I don't know what else you want to hear from me. It's like… friends with benefits."

"Are you mad?"

"For thinking I kind of liked you? Yeah, probably."

"Are you saying you feel something for me?"

"Depends on your answer."

"I do not pop in and out whenever I feel like it. I do not want us to get caught."

"Don't give me that bullshit, Lo'."

Loki saw Lavrenti toss a grenade that the Captain managed to throw outside, destroying one of the cars that were previously chasing them. It exploded, shooting off debris everywhere.

The blizzard grew stronger, making it harder for men to stay on their feet. Some of the men were sent flying, including the other vehicles. Loki was sure Thor had something to do with it when he saw and heard lightning and thunder come from the south.

"Enough of this!" Lavrenti screamed. "Shoot them down!"

The Avengers braced themselves by the door just outside of the warehouse.

They had two things to fight off. The offending blizzard and the turret currently aimed at them. Good thing the door was thick and heavy to stop the bullets from penetrating. Loki saw the Captain gesture to Tony, who had more armour than any of them combined.

Tony moved in, but he was too slow.

One of his men shot off a grenade launcher and Tony wasn't able to dodge fast enough. His suit took the brunt of it and he was sent flying to a nearby shed. Loki bit his lips and ran to the edge. He waited, but Tony wasn't getting up.

Norns, should he help them?

"We can't get in there, Cap!" Natasha shouted. "We're severely outnumbered!"

"Stark!" Steve called through the comms. "Stark are you there?!"

Loki was too busy worrying about Tony that he didn't see Clint peek from the door and try to shoot the turret. The men were relentless and they kept firing in all directions. Clint was grazed and he accidentally shot the roof, causing the glass above to break.

Clint screamed.

He dropped his bow and held his bleeding arm. Natasha took advantage of the distraction and rolled over to his side to try and stop the bleeding.

Finally, the turret had overheated.

Steve went into action and threw his shield at the turret. It exploded and sent the man behind it flying. Clint pushed Natasha out of the way and cried, "I'm fine! Go help him!" The Russian spy cursed as she moved away from her partner and started shooting around her.

Little did she know, Lavrenti was hiding behind one of the crates.

The cowardly man shot her twice in the stomach. She fell to her knees and clutched the wound as she gasped for air. Clint cursed as he went inside to drag Natasha back into the cover of the blizzard.

Steve covered the two of them.

Loki's hands trembled as he saw blood on the white snow. He began to panic, wondering what decision he had to make. He could hear nothing but the ringing in his ears as time seemed to stop around him.

"You have trusted me this far."

"Yeah," Tony said. "But I can't put my life on the line for you."

"You do not know that."

When the blizzard died down a little and the rest of Lavrenti's men tried to box the Avengers in, Loki decided enough was enough. He raised his hand and his eyes glowed. Loki concentrated enough energy on their weapons and the tipped vehicles.

In one turn of a hand, they all exploded.

Smoke and dust mixed with the blizzard. It made it even harder to see where everyone was, but Loki knew it helped buy the Avengers enough time for an escape… or rest… whichever, Loki cared not.

One thing was for sure, he wasn't heartless.

Tony chuckled, "It's just impossible." He shook his head and laughed again. "We're… enemies. Frenemies? I can't put my life on the line for you and you're saying why not."

"It's not funny, Stark."

"It is."

"Why?"

"Can you put your life on the line for me?"

He did not answer the man then, but Loki knew what he would've said. Yes. He would gladly put his life above his own. And Loki had taken that as a challenge. He used magic temporarily glue Lavrenti and his men on their spots and momentarily threw away their weapons to a single corner.

It bought the Captain enough time to reach out to his friends to rescue them.

"We need to call for backup!"

"Shield's on their way." Clint said. "I sent a distress signal earlier."

"Great," Steve panted. "Natasha?"

"I'm fine." She groaned. "A little wounded."

"Come on." Steve moved the two injured assassins to another warehouse, far from the blizzard. Loki cancelled out his magic and let Lavrenti and his men go. He couldn't fully help the Avengers, not if he wanted to keep his cover.

He just hoped the three would think it's a minor inconvenience and a great luck on their part that this happened.

"Let's face it, Loki." Tony sighed. "We're both cowards."

Loki teleported inside the shed and started searching for Tony. There were broken crates everywhere. Slowly, Loki made his way over to the wreck and saw the billionaire stumble painful to his knees as he tried to get his helmet off.

The young god wasn't sure if he should announce his presence.

He didn't want to argue here of all places.

Suddenly, Loki felt a stir of energy in the air and felt an odd presence similar to his magical signature. Lavrenti, he silently cursed. Loki tried to pinpoint the source and realized it was the devices scattered all over the floor.

Another weapon made similar to his magic…

One was about to go off near Tony.

Loki raised a hand and his eyes glowed. A bright green flash enveloped Tony as a force field covered him. The device went off and exploded, activating the other devices. More explosions rang through his ears and he kept the shield up.

When it died down, the shed was left half of what it was earlier.

Now the blizzard was blowing inside.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Tony shouted as he managed to get his helmet off. "You're not supposed to be here!"

Honestly, who did this man think he was?

Loki glared at Tony, who was sitting on the ground looking like an idiot. Loki raised his hand and noticed the wince Tony made. With a shake of his head, Loki used magic to stop the blizzard from entering the half-destroyed shed.

He stared at Tony in anger, but it quickly died down when he noticed the state the man was in. The suit was totaled and Tony had numerous bruises and gashes on his face.

"Let me help."

"I'm fine." Tony stubbornly said. "Thanks anyways."

"You're bleeding."

"Look, I told you I'm fine." He said when Loki knelt in front of him and started to touch his face. "It's just a few scratches. No need to fuss. I'm serious."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "Who is lying now?"

"Fine, you win." Tony huffed. "The suits wedged tight and I can't get it off."

"Hold still."

"I must've broken my arm."

Carefully, Loki placed his fingers inside the dent of Tony's left arm and pulled. The mental groaned with ease as it peeled off. Tony groaned and hissed painfully. Blood dripped into the pavement.

"This will hurt."

Loki apologized as he dug his fingers on the metal again and pried the rest of Tony's suit. While Loki did so, Tony couldn't help but stare. Tony took a deep breath and sighed loud enough that Loki stopped what he was doing.

"About the things I said…"

"No." Loki frowned. "I will hear none of this."

"Come on," Tony grumbled. "Loki—"

"Stop talking."

The young god pulled the metal away and noticed a large piece of metal lodged in Tony's arm. Loki frowned and held Tony's arm tightly. He looked at Tony, who stared at his emerald eyes. While the billionaire was distracted, Loki pulled it out.

Tony swallowed his scream.

"Fuck!" He cursed.

With a wave of Loki's hand, he pulled out a healing stone from thin air. Tony pulled away from Loki, who easily held him in place. "Stop! No! No! Nope! Don't do it, Loki!" The young god frowned at the sudden outburst.

"Why not?"

"That's your healing stone." Tony mouthed. "If I remember, you told me that's the last one you have. You're not going to use that on me. So put that back wherever pocket dimension it came from!"

"Don't be silly! You're bleeding to death!"

"I'll heal. I'm serious!"

"So am I!" Loki shouted. "I am serious! I was always serious!"

"Loki! Stop it!"

"No!" He growled as a rush of emotions poured out of his mouth. "You've taken up too much of my time already! You listen to me! I've had enough of your abuse to last me a life time! I've allowed you liberties with me that I've never let anyone do! We fought, you shouted, you've hurt me with your words, and I've had enough! You will not have your say in this!"

Tony's eyes softened.

"Stupid human," Loki bit back a sob. "I am not letting you die."

Tony let Loki have his way.

Loki broke the stone in two and crushed it to heal the large gash. He moved on to the rest of Tony's injuries and minor scrapes. He even poked a few of his ribs to check if anything was broken.

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning and the sky darkened.

"Will you look at that?" Tony chuckled and joked. "Thor must be having a good time."

Loki ignored him, "Where else are you hurt?"

"Nowhere."

"Don't lie to me."

"That's kind of ironic coming from you."

Loki bit his lips as Tony's words came back to him. We're both cowards. Yes. They were. Why couldn't he just say it straight and be done with it. Loki's fists clenched and his eyes watered. Coward, he thought.

"Foolish man." Loki lowered his head.

There was silence between them and Loki was just about ready to give up.

"Right thigh."

Loki looked up and saw Tony looking away. At least that was something. Loki's hand drifted to Tony's leg and he pried off the armour. Another piece of metal was lodged in the man's thigh. Loki pulled it out as fast as he could and used the healing stone.

Suddenly, Loki felt something.

With his quick reflexes, he managed to teleport himself and Tony out of the way and onto the roof of the same warehouse where the rebar and explosives were. Tony gasped and panted when he saw the shed explode.

"Close call." Tony voiced. "Thanks."

The blizzard was coming to a stop, and the lightning began to recede as well. The sounds of gunfire were slowly diminishing and Loki hoped Tony's other friends had made it out. It also seemed like Lavrenti's men had gone south to the nuclear warheads.

"Where's Cap?" Tony asked.

"Out of sight." Loki mumbled. "Doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

The god glared, "I gave them plenty of time to escape. I know not where they went. Are you satisfied now?"

"A little."

The two of them were exposed on the roof. Little did they know, Lavrenti and some of his men hadn't fled the scene at all. They were still inside the warehouse. So when one of the men pointed on the roof, shots were suddenly fired.

"They're up there!"

"Fire!"

Tony and Loki were startled when bullets started coming from below. Loki wasn't worried about himself. He could handle bullets just fine, but Tony was too fragile for that. He pushed Tony to his feet and moved him out of the way.

Just when they thought they were out of danger, Loki's foot slipped and fell into a hole on the roof.

"Shit!" Tony cried out. "You okay?"

"I seem to be stuck."

"Can you break it?"

"I'll fall."

"Lavrenti and his men are out of ammo." Tony said as he slowly walked over to Loki, but stopped when the roof began to creek. "We can make it out alive, Lo', and we can talk this over at dinner."

"Oh shut up!" Loki glared. "I'm still mad at you!"

"You can be mad at me later."

"If I break this, we will both fall!"

Loki huffed and tried to pull himself up when he felt two sharp metals scratch his leg. He winced and stopped. Despite his ability to heal quickly, this would hinder him a great deal.

"What are you waiting for?!" Lavrenti shouted at his men. "Throw it!"

One of the men tossed a grenade at them.

Tony's eyes widened. That kind of grenade would take out the whole roof. He made the choice and went over to Loki and started pulling. The god may be strong, but he didn't want to find out just how much.

"Come on, Lo'!"

Tony pulled, but by the time Loki's foot was out, the grenade went off.

In that moment time had slowed, the snow stilled, and emerald eyes met brown ones. Loki made the quickest decision he had ever made in his life.

He teleported Tony out of the way.

oOo

Please review and tell me what you think.
Thank you!