AIIIIEEEEE I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON!1!111one!

So...I do have an excuse for why this took so long. But I don't feel like any sort of excuse could make up for the fact that I practically abandoned you lot for over a month. I'm so incredibly sorry! I haven't abandoned this story, I promise! I would just like to let you know that I do plan on posting a story in the category of Sherlock (BBC), and that's basically what's been keeping me occupied. Goodness, that sounds like an excuse. But I'll probably post it after I post this chapter.

I got the idea for this chapter from vanillavillain101. Thanks for the suggestion! I told you I would use it!

Tony woke up on the roof.

He wasn't sure how he got there, but he was well aware that it was morning and there was someone else next to him. Turning on his side, he found himself staring into a pair of green eyes. He was relieved to find that they both still had their clothes on, but since it was late summer and they had been lying in the sun he found that he was burning up.

"Good morning, Mr. Stark," Loki greeted, always so polite. Well, not always. But still.

"Morning Loki," he replied, sitting up. The God of Mischief followed. "I feel like I've just been stuck inside of an oven."

"I don't." Loki smiled coyly and Tony rolled his eyes. The two of them stood and walked back to the hatch, climbing down from the roof. They parted ways to change clothes, and then met halfway in the living room.

"Do you know where everyone is?" Tony asked, as the house was eerily quiet. Loki shook his head nonchalantly, sliding his hands into the pockets of his pants. Tony glanced around once more before shrugging. "Whatever. I need something to eat." Loki sat down on the couch as Tony walked into the kitchen, fixing himself coffee and a bowl of cereal. Although he was usually Satan himself before having his coffee, Tony found that he was wide awake. Which was very, very odd.

"Tony, there you are!" He looked up from his bowl and smiled a little at Clint, who was clad in swim trunks with a towel around his neck. "We've been looking for you! Pepper had to get Jarvis to open the pool, since you had been somewhere else. What are you doing in your clothes? It's the perfect day for swimming!" Tony didn't respond, for as soon as Clint had hold of a water bottle he dashed back outside.

Tony, with a smile, rolled his eyes and wandered out of the kitchen in the direction of his room. Loki was gone from the couch, instantly making Tony wonder where he'd gone. Had he decided he'd finally had enough of the Avengers and just left? For some reason, the thought wasn't as comforting as it should be.

The realization made Tony frown as he changed into his swim trunks. Shouldn't he be happy that Loki's gone? One less mouth to feed, for starters. Then there wouldn't be that constant intensity that arose whenever Loki was in the same room with a number of his teammates.

And yet, for some reason the thought of Loki not being around, no one to trade snide comments and insults with, made him feel a bit empty inside. And that was definitely not a good feeling, he decided. So what if Loki was gone? He didn't care. Liar, a voice whispered in his mind, but Tony shooed it away. He didn't care about Loki at all. Not as a colleague, friend, and most certainly not like that. Wrapping his own towel around his neck, Tony left the room with his mind set on the decision. He just wasn't going to care about Loki anymore.

Walking out into the backyard, all of those previous, rational thoughts were dismissed when he glanced at the pool shade.

The God of Mischief himself was stretched out on a pool chair, one ankle crossed over the other as he read. He was dressed in dark jeans and a button up shirt with rolled-up sleeves. Tony felt faint when he realized that some of the top buttons were undone.

Pull yourself together, you fool! He quickly scolded himself, and walked over to sit by Loki. He looked up and Tony felt exposed as Loki ran his bright green eyes over him. "Like what you see?" Tony asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Loki scowled and rolled his eyes, returning to his reading. His usually gelled back curls were messed up just the slightest bit, falling in his eyes. "You aren't going to swim?" Tony watched Loki's eyes shift over the book, eying the pool with distaste.

"I'd rather not. Swimming isn't exactly my...forte." Tony nodded a little.

"I can't really swim either," he knocked his knuckles against the arc reactor. "I usually just chill out in the hot tub." He stood and walked from the now reading Loki, taking a seat in the hot tub. The others knew better than to try and get him wet. All hell would break loose and probably result in a few broken limbs.

"Oh, brother," Thor's deep voice boomed, and Loki looked over the top of his book with only his eyes again. "I forgot to tell you, but Sif and the Warrior's Three are going to be visiting us today." Loki visibly stiffened, and he grimaced.

"Does that include Fandral?" Thor nodded, almost hesitantly, and Loki groaned, sinking in his seat. "Thor..."

"Don't be such a child, Loki!" Thor exclaimed, wading to the edge of the pool and resting his very large arms on it. "So what if Fandral has a small crush-"

"Thor," Loki cut in shortly, "the man is obsessed. He stalks me." Thor rolled his eyes.

"Now you are just being dramatic. Fandral admires you, brother. Most likely because you saved his life." Loki waved a dismissive hand and Tony's eyebrows rose. "Please brother, just...try not to pick a fight." Loki snorted and Tony chuckled to himself. Right, as if that were possible. "They should be arriving shortly." Thor turned away, and Tony didn't miss the scowl and hand gesture that Loki threw in Thor's direction. He didn't know about Earth, but Tony figured that on Asgard such a gesture was very offensive.

He spent the next couple of hours fooling around with Steve and Clint, which included occasionally splashing Natasha and Pepper, who were having "girl time" (a phrase that made Tony shudder) on the lawn chairs a bit farther away from the pool. Thor was sitting by Loki, obviously trying to get his brother to accept the fact that Fandral was coming from Asgard, whether he liked it or not. Loki had just shooed him away.

Then, a group of four burst through the back door, all clad in swimwear. The woman, obviously the leader, was striking, with long black hair and porcelain skin, but seemed unapproachable. This was very impressive, considering Tony's definition of unapproachable. Definitely Sif, judging by Thor's description. The man to her left was round with a head of long red hair and a matching beard. Volstagg. To her right was another man with awesome black hair and lips set into a grim line. Hogun. And behind all of them, trying to peek around Volstagg, was the great Fandral. He was blonde, of course, and looked like just the sort of playboy that would drive Pepper crazy.

Tony didn't really like the look of him, though. Something about Fandral just set the billionaire off. Loki, noticing the blonde before the blonde noticed him, quickly ducked from his chair and attempted to slip into the house undetected. He was doing a great job too, until:

"LOKI!" He was suddenly swept up into Volstagg's arms, almost disappearing in all that red and big. Steve was trying not to laugh while everyone else chuckled freely. Especially when Volstagg set a disheveled Loki down. Then, like a snake, Fandral had slithered up next to Loki and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. The trickster visibly stiffened, his eyes going wide.

Tony suddenly felt a pinch in his gut. A feeling that he couldn't explain. Or didn't want to, really. Loki was quick to teleport away from the blonde, but just as quickly as he got away had Fandral caught him again. Thor was watching with an expression that said I should intervene but this is wayyy too amusing. Steve's expression was borderline Intervene, while Clint was Amused all the way. The pinching feeling in his gut continued until he was sure that the arc reactor was messing with him again. He made a move to call Natasha, but before he could a sharp voice interrupted him.

"Will you just bugger off?" Tony looked over at Loki, who was staring fiercely at Fandral.

"Oh come off it, Loki," the blonde replied in a seductive tone, attempting to slide up next to the green-eyed God again. The latter quickly stepped away. Fandral huffed. "Don't be like that, Loki."

"Hey, why don't you just leave him alone?" The entire pool area went silent, and Tony felt a pair of wide green eyes lock on him. The words had escaped before he could've stopped them. Fandral narrowed his eyes at Tony. "He obviously wants you to go away."

Then, before anyone could react, Fandral had a sword tip at Tony's throat. This set everyone into action, but Tony held up a reassuring hand as he slowly climbed from the hot tub. Sif merely sighed as she slipped into the pool, as if she was thinking, Not again.

"Care to say that again, mortal?" Fandral spat, his eyes burning.

"Leave. Loki. Alone." Fandral brought his arm back. Oh well. Tony had a nice life. Sort of.

"Fandral, that's enough." Suddenly, a cold presence was standing next to Tony, almost blocking him. "There's no need to run your blade through my friend for no logical reason." Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. Did Loki just say the F word? Did he really just call Tony his friend? "Please, leave both of us alone." The sword clattered to the ground and Fandral huffed.

"Only because you asked nicely, darling."

"Now, can we please just swim like civilized people?" Steve asked from the pool. Slowly, everyone settled back into a relaxed position. Tony, in sudden need of some drinkable water, retreated into the kitchen. He heard another person enter the kitchen, but didn't turn.

"Why did you do that?" Tony looked over his shoulder at Loki before turning back around to pour the water.

"What? Stand up for you?" There was a small sound of confirmation. "The dude was bothering you. Thor obviously wasn't going to intervene, so I did." He turned, glass of water in hand, to find his vision full of bright green. He nearly dropped the glass of water.

"That was very brave of you," Loki murmured in a low, very arousing tone of voice. Tony was fighting just to breathe properly. If he leaned forward just a bit more, their lips would be touching. "But very stupid." His breath smelled like mint leaves.

"I'm not one to make smart decisions, Loki," Tony breathed, his heart pumping much faster than it should be. "You should know that by now." Loki chuckled.

"Perhaps." He felt a cold touch on his wrist and, looking into Loki's eyes, he could've sworn he saw a hint of desire lurking in the emerald depths. The eyes flickered to his lips for a split second and Tony really thought it was going to happen. Hell, he was pretty sure that he was hoping for it.

There was a smirk on those lips of his and then, just like that, he was gone. The kitchen door swung in his wake. The back door clicked open and closed. Tony struggled to regain his breath, then leaned back against the counter. His hand was shaking, and he quickly set down the glass. His heart was beating so fast that it was making the arc reactor fussy.

Tony really needed to sort out his feelings, or they just might be the death of him.

Okay, so, remember when I said no new stories until this is finished? I lied. If you all know the show Sherlock on the BBC, I'll be posting a story in that category. I really want to get it up before the premiere of series two...and I just said that in the note at the beginning of the chapter. I really need to pull myself together.

TWO WEEK BREAK BEGINS FRIDAY! MORE FREQUENT UPDATES (I HOPE)!

Once again, I apologize deeply for abandoning you guys. I so don't deserve you, if you're still with me.

An update to Kjærlighet ogSkjebne should be up soon (which is a really vague word...).

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