Chapter 18

One Year Later.

Tony opened his eyes to JARVIS's reassuring voice, telling him that it was mid-October, the sun was out and that his board meeting with several company investors was in exactly two hours. He lay there for a moment before turning to the side to see two familiar green eyes staring into his.

After a year he still treasured the sleepy, dishevelled look Loki had in the mornings. He had never expected that the God would still be here, he had been convinced that Loki would have left him by now, but he still woke almost every morning to be greeted by the same face. They didn't talk about it, but Tony knew that Loki was still as amazed to be here as he was that Loki had stayed.

Tony reached over and pulled the god into a sleepy kiss. They didn't speak, just enjoying each other in the silence for a few moments. After a minute Loki pulled away and stared into Tony's eyes again. Tony could see the hesitancy in his face and spoke up for him.

"I know the date, JARVIS just told me." Tony said lightly. Loki let out a small smile, still surprised with how easily Tony followed his thoughts. Back when he had been human they had always been able to follow each other's conversations easily but as time went on they only became better at reading each other's thoughts. The pair were now able to have full conversations without saying a word, communicating with slight raised eyebrows or twitches of the jaw. They also made jumps in conversation which no one else could follow but seemed only logical to the two of them.

"Yes, JARVIS informed me too." Loki said. "I had just wondered if you'd remembered."

"Of course I had." Tony said honestly, bringing one hand up to brush along Loki's jaw. Loki could see the hesitancy is Tony's face now, and though to most people the engineer would sound normal he could hear the pain behind his next words. "And now you have a decision to make."

Loki paused for a moment and let Tony's rough hands run lightly over his face. He could see his partner observing, taking in every detail of Loki he could in case Loki's answer was not the one he wanted. He could see Tony desperately trying to memorise his face in case they would have to part. Rationally, both of them knew that there was no real question of Loki leaving now, but Tony couldn't help but panic and worry.

Loki brought his own hand up and closed it around Tony's, stilling his movements. "I don't think it's possible for me to leave you now." He said quietly, before bringing Tony's hand up to his mouth to lightly kissing it, brushing his lips over the fingertips.

They looked at each other and smiled widely before going in for another kiss, this time their lips met much more enthusiastically and with far more feeling. Loki could feel the smile on Tony's face and revelled in it. Just over a year ago he would not have believed it possible that one day he would have someone to hold like this, and yet here he was with the most unlikely partner imaginable and feeling a contentedness very uncharacteristic of his past.

It hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows getting together though. SHIELD had put up a large resistance to Loki's remaining on Earth, Fury was especially suspicious of the short recovery time and sudden declaration of love for a certain Man of Iron. When Loki had revealed in questioning that he had been invited to live with Tony and planned to take the offer Fury had questioned every motive behind the decision, not letting Loki go for hours. Even when he was released SHIELD followed them for months, monitoring every move either of them made outside of what became their home in the tower. It was only after Natasha walked in on the two of them in a rather compromising situation that SHIELD agreed to stand down.

Tony had to deal with his fair share of issues with the press. After the fight at the café the whole world knew that Loki was back and most of the media called for his head on a stick. Fury had leaked some schtick about a rehabilitation programme and said that Loki was being monitored by the Avengers, even though by this point his formal punishment was over. It only took a couple more months for word to get out that Loki and Tony were suspiciously close. While beforehand the media had not taken much notice of who was who in Tony's love life suddenly the whole world was condemning Tony for his choice of partner in a way he had not had to deal with before. He was heckled in public, shunned from high society and even shares in his company went down, even though he wasn't CEO anymore.

Pepper had taken the news to heart a lot more than she let on, but Tony could see right through her, he had always been able to. She continued running the company from Miami, flying back once a fortnight or so for her usual checks on how Tony's latest inventions were coming along and how they could help Stark Industries, and how he was getting on in his part time role in the company. She was not surprised at who Tony had chosen (she always knew he had a taste for the exciting and/or dangerous) but was a little hurt that he moved on so quickly. The hurt healed though, and within 8 months she had started seeing someone else, but wouldn't tell Tony who. He was glad she was happy.

They had received some support however. Thor had been jubilant that his brother had found someone to anchor him, someone with whom he could have an at least semi-stable relationship. Tony had felt a little awkward revealing to Thor that he was regularly fucking his brother, but when the news came out Loki pulled Tony in for a very passionate kiss in full view. Thor had just laughed, and Tony was slightly insulted when Thor confessed that Tony was one of the safest sexual partners Loki had ever had. Thor had only been present for a few weeks however before disappearing back to Asgard, leaving them alone together in the tower.

Ellie had visited after a few weeks, timidly coming up to the penthouse of the tower and sitting on edge of the designer sofa in the grand surroundings. She had been genuinely pleased to see Loki again and to ask after how he was doing, and Loki was surprised to realise he felt the same about her. After a while Loki had passed round the alcohol and found Ellie much more willing to relax and be honest. It made him feel happy to hear her laugh again, and to hear her excitedly ask how his relationship was going the same way she had done before when he had been less intimidating. She also admitted while drunk to still being attracted to him, to which Loki just laughed and made a light joke about being a god. After she had sobered up and recovered from the embarrassment Ellie had begun to relax more around Loki and around Tony, and now she visited quite regularly, becoming quite good friends with both of them.

Thor had delivered the news to Asgard of Loki's recovery and of his decision to stay on Earth. Loki did not show his disappointment at the lack of celebration on Asgard for his recovery. He had been expecting nothing, but hated to admit that it still hurt to receive little support from his former home. Thor returned with news that Frigga was pleased and that he himself was jubilant, but his silence about Odin's reaction revealed it to be as apathetic as Loki expected. Tony had been able to see the hurt on Loki's face and had made sure to reassure him that night of exactly how loved he was here on Earth, both through his words and actions.

Because whenever these challenges became apparent, the god and the man found themselves always able to fall back on each other. After they were shunned or insulted or ignored they returned to their home, showing each other exactly how much they appreciated each other in some very creative physical ways. Every night they climbed into bed together, their doubts, worries and fears soothed as soon as they were with the other. Their kisses and touches and moans each confirming to the other that yes, this was definitely worth it; all of it. Tony had joked about the sex being as good once Loki was a god again but he was wrong: It was far better. They learnt to read each other's bodies' subtlest signals, knowing exactly where to press and what to do to bring out the other to ecstasy.

As partners and lovers they were able to cohabit in the same space easily. Both men were very independent, strong willed personalities and they had their own spaces, Tony his lab and Loki his own space for magical work that had been installed soon after his arrival. When first together they had been rather clingy, eager to spend as much time together as possible, but as time went on they established their own spaces in a far more healthy routine than either man would have originally thought possible. Both the trickster and the billionaire were known for having unstable and hazardous relationships and were both secretly shocked with how well they learnt each other's boundaries, loves and fears.

When they woke each morning and saw the face of the other each was reminded that they'd thought at one point they'd be alone forever, never finding someone with whom they would fit so perfectly, emotionally, physically, intellectually. And now, as they lay kissing in their monstrously large bed, tangled together amongst the expensive silk sheets, each knew that they were here to stay.

Ending this has been quite emotional for me. Thank you x