Summary: Majority of story is set during 'Thor'. After visiting Thor in New Mexico where he is being held by S.H.I.E.L.D, Loki decides to spend a bit more time on Midgard. He ends up in New York where he meets Tony Stark who offers to be his guide to New York. A friendship and eventual romance ensue.

Disclaimer: All the characters appearing in this FanFiction are copyright 'Marvel Worldwide, Inc', 'Marvel Entertainment, LLC' and their parent company, 'The Walt Disney Company'. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.

A Guide to New York

Tony was the first Avenger to arrive back at Stark Tower, having been relieved and instructed to go and treat himself to a strong drink since nearly falling to his death from the Chitauri portal. The others, however, had remained out in the streets of New York to help any citizens that had been affected by the attack, and to begin the clean up operation.

What the billionaire didn't expect to see on the floor of the party-deck, surrounded by debris and unconscious looking, was the God of Mischief.

Tony went into auto-pilot and went to help Loki up. "Jesus Loks, look what you've got yourself into."

The God's eyes blinked open and Tony was met with the familiar emerald-green of the orbs. Tony was however, not expecting to hear the strangled cry that fell from Loki's lips.

"Oh God Tony, what have I done?"

"Shhh, shhh. I've got you." Tony soothed, trying to take Loki into an embrace, only to be pushed away as the God whipped his head around, taking in their surroundings.

"Why are you helping me?" The God demanded, wiping frantically at the tears that had begun to stream down his face. "Take a look around you Stark! At your beloved tower! Look what I've done!"

Tony angrily gripped the God's shoulders. "I'm helping you Loki because I am aware that the person I met in that god-damned coffee house was not the same person who caused this." He pointed out the window to the destroyed New York cityscape.

Loki was lost for words but managed to let out a quiet "What?"

Loki outstretched one hand to grasp the leather shaft of Mjölnir and gave a firm tug, trying to free the hammer from its natural stone plinth. Even after using a second hand and exerting all his energy on pulling on the handle, it was clear that the legendary weapon was not going to come loose for the God of Mischief. A snarl escaped Loki's mouth as he realised that even now, as King of Asgard, he was still not worthy in the All-Father's eyes.

Loki stepped away from Mjölnir and looked to the skies, thinking. His inability to wield the hammer meant that he'd have to execute the rest of his plans to prove to Odin that he was Thor's equal and this would require a visit to Jötunheim to speak with Laufey, which he did not feel like doing at that moment. He quickly glanced around at the suit wearing mortal men who surrounded him before exiting the make-shift building this mysterious S.H.I.E.L.D. organisation had erected to confine both the Thunder God and his weapon.

Within a few minutes, Loki had returned to the site of the Bifröst link in the desert and had called on Heimdall. In a brief flash of light, the God of Mischief found himself in the familiar golden room of the Bifröst dome and face-to-face with the Gate Keeper.

"Such a brief visit to Midgard." Heimdall's voiced echoed off of the walls of the sphere.

Loki simply shrugged and paced in front of the entrance to the portal.

"Perhaps, but I have need to go there again. I desire to see a bit more of the realm my brother has been sent to as it has been sometime since I properly visited Midgard. So, Great Heimdall," Loki continued, the faintest sarcasm tainting his words, "in your wisdom, maybe you could suggest a more populous and…exciting settlement to visit compared to the desolate town Thor has ended up in."

"Mhmm," rumbled the Gatekeeper, eyeing Loki warily, "the City of New York. It is the most populous city of the country Thor was sent to."

"Waste no time then," Loki replied impatiently, "Send me there at once."

Heimdall did not rush to activate the Bifröst, however, and instead stared intently at the God of Mischief as if he were looking into Loki's very soul.

"It is strange." The Guardian of Worlds began. "The last time you were on Midgard, I was unable to see you. It was as if you were shrouded in a mist."

Loki raised an eyebrow questioningly. "And where is this going Heimdall? Are you accusing me, your King, of treachery?"

Heimdall uncharacteristically shifted his grip on his sword nervously before replying to The God of Mischief. "No…my Lord."

"Always look to yourself first, Heimdall. Maybe your powers of sight aren't quite what they once were." Loki said, taking a step closer to Heimdall and lowering his voice to just above a whisper. "But if what they say about you is indeed true, Gatekeeper, and you can still indeed see all, I don't doubt that you know that I know of the secret paths through Yggdrasil and therefore do not require the use of the Bifröst at all. You should be grateful that I am at least informing you of my leave and destination by using this gateway." The Prince of Asgard moved back to stand in front of the Bifröst's portal. "I also have need to visit Jötunheim when I return from Midgard. Let my words serve as a warning that there will be serious consequences if you are to question my actions again when I return. Now, do as I say and open the Bifröst."

Heimdall returned the Liesmith's steely gaze but gave a sigh as he put the gears of the Bifröst into motion and the God of Mischief disappeared into the tunnel of light.

Loki soon found himself on Midgard in a grassy and tree covered area which, unbeknownst to him, was actually New York's Central Park. He took a moment to regain his footing and briefly glanced down at his clothes. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to himself by wearing his usual Asgardian armour and regalia so breathed a sigh of relief when he realised he was still dressed in the dark green suit and Houndstooth scarf he had worn when visiting Thor.

He walked out of the park's wrought iron gates and eventually reached a street filled with shops with glass store fronts. Some shops were offering services such a 'shoe repairs' and 'key cutting' whilst other clearly served food and drink.

The sign above one of the mortal eateries caught Loki's eye; it read 'Books and Beans'. Intrigued by both the name of the business and the enticing smell coming from within, Loki found himself entering the glass doors of the building without much thought.

The walls of the bizarre mortal tavern were painted in different shades of brown with various words such as 'refreshing' and 'relaxing' overlaying the paint in large cream coloured print. A bar type area with stools, behind which the staff of the business operated machinery producing the deliciously smelling steaming brown liquid Loki had inhaled from outside the door, lay in front of the God whilst booths with dark leather seats could be find to his right. Separating the booths were large book shelves filled with all manner of reading material; novels, factual compendiums, maps and much more.

Loki was taken back by the premise of the business. He had often been ridiculed on Asgard for spending too much time devoted to his studies whilst Thor and The Warriors Three attended feasts and banquets, so the idea of books and food under one roof was something the God of Mischief found himself rather liking.
He strode to the counter where a list of beverages and food items was propped up. He waved over the blonde, female, apron wearing server behind the bar and pointed at a few items on the list to place an order. Loki then retreated to sit at one of the many empty booths, browsing through the reading material behind him as he waited for his food and drink to arrive.

The many guides to Midgardian locations attracted his attention; London, Paris, Rome, Berlin. It was, however, the most useful guide, the one for New York, which Loki plucked from the shelf, just as the server approached him with a tray.

She placed a cup of the brown liquid he had seen earlier, the mortal brew of 'coffee', on the table as well a slice of a rich, sticky cake. She flashed Loki a friendly smile and then made to turn around, to return to the bar, but the God of Mischief caught her arm before she could leave.

"Excuse me," Loki asked charmingly, living up to his nickname of 'silver-tongue', "I'm rather new to the area and was wondering, could tell me what exactly 'Books and Beans' means?"

"Ugh, well..." The girl stammered, caught off-guard by the unusual question. "The coffee your drinking is made from coffee beans so that's the 'Beans' part and we sell second-hand books here so that's the 'Books' part. We let people read any of the books on the shelves while their eating and if they want to keep it, they can pay for it when they leave." She finished, smiling and pointing to the guide in Loki's hand which, sure enough, had a price label reading $1.50.

Interesting, mused Loki before waving the girl away and returning to his reading. He put down the guide on the table, picked up a nearby fork and was about to try the cake when the door swung open and Loki was pulled out from his thoughts as the whispering of the customers in the eatery had completely stopped.

A man entered and walked to the bar to order. He was quite short, probably a good six inches shorter than Loki, judging by the fact that the man was almost the same height as the server whereas the God had towered over her, had dark hair and unusually shaped facial hair. He wore a light grey tailored suit, expensive, and sunglasses.

Loki returned to his cake until he could feel the eyes of the suited man bearing into him. The God of Mischief was about to look up to the bar to ask what the man's problem was only to find that the mortal had already sidled into the chair in front of him.

"Hello gorgeous." The mortal said, removing his sunglasses.

Loki snorted. "Is that your attempt at flirting?"

"Can't I just give a compliment?"

The God of Mischief angrily stabbed at his food. "I'm not interested."

The mortal man seemed to ignore Loki's comment. "I've not seen you here before."

"No, I'm new to the area." Loki was speaking bluntly, trying to shake off the bearded man.

The server came over and delivered a large mug of coffee in front of the mortal. "Thanks Rachel." The man nodded to the girl.

"So, you must be a model." Stated the mortal whilst staring at Loki as if he was carefully analysing every aspect of his physique. Loki simply glared at him and picked up his knife as a warning to the man that if he were to talk to The God again he might just get stabbed.

"Hey!" The man exclaimed in protest. "I'm just making an observation. Have you looked in the mirror recently? You were made for tailored suits. So what do you do?"

Loki sighed and put down the knife. He considered what he usually did on Asgard and thought of what the Midgardian equivalent would be. "I'm a...I'm a magician but I wasn't expecting an inquisition." He snapped.

"At least I'm not Spanish." Laughed the mortal but the joke was lost on Loki who returned a blank look.

Realising that Loki hadn't got it, the man asked, "Where did you say you came from?

"I didn't." Was Loki's curt reply.

"It must be Britain right? The accent's a giveaway."

"Yes." Loki lied, doing everything to try and stop the man's endless questions.

"And did you live in a very remote area? Bit of a sheltered up-bringing?

"Oh very."

"Ahhh, I see. So you're a magician." The man tried changing the subject again. "Kids parties, that kind of thing?"

"Oh, I'm a bit above that I think."

The mysterious mortal ended up interrogating Loki for total of half an hour, the God of Mischief only ever delivering brief answers, before telling Loki it had been nice meeting him, finishing his now cold coffee and leaving.

The female server from earlier came across to clear the table and couldn't help but ask Loki, "So, you know Tony Stark?"

"Actually, I've never met him before in my life." Loki replied, leaving enough money on the table to cover the coffee, cake and guide to New York and walking swiftly out of the door.

Loki thought over the conversation he had just had with this Tony Stark, it being very difficult to think of nothing else. It was very alien for Loki to be the subject of anyone's interest; usually that was the privilege of Thor. The God of Mischief could feel a migraine coming on so as he rubbed his temples, he decided to put off seeing Laufey for the night and return to the site of the Bifröst link.

Against his better judgement and despite the amount of will power it had taken to avoid going back to Midgard the minute he woke up the next morning, by the afternoon Loki found himself drawn back to Midgard in the hopes of seeing Stark again.

"I knew you'd come back. I'm impossible to resist." Tony said, already seated at the booth they had shared the day before in Books and Beans.

"Don't flatter yourself Stark."

"Ahhh, so you do know who I am?"

"Not at all, I simply learnt your name courtesy of our server."

"I see, so am I going to get your name today?"

"Nope."

"Hardly fair."

"Life isn't fair, Anthony, life isn't fair."

And so Loki found himself telling Stark how he knew this by speaking to the mortal about growing up with an older brother. In return, Tony told him of his contrasting experience of growing up as an only child. The pair did find a common ground though in the form of their less than perfect fathers.

Loki found himself becoming increasingly more comfortable around the mortal man and they spoke for hours until they were forced to leave on account of the café closing.

On their third meeting, Tony finally noticed what book it was that Loki was always reading when in the coffee house, the guide to New York , so Tony offered his services as a tour guide of the city. Loki declined three times before the mortal's pleading and eyelash fluttering became too much.

On the first day of their tour of New York they took the boat to the Statue of Liberty and sampled hotdogs from a traditional vendor.

On the second they visited The Met where, although he himself wasn't much of an art fan, Tony enjoyed studying Loki's face which showed pure appreciation and delight on viewing the works on the walls.

The next day they ate lunch at a Little Italy restaurant and Tony was beginning to see through the frosty interior of the mysterious man he was showing around as Loki cracked a smile at the jokes of the hilarious waiter who served them.

The fourth day consisted of Tony showing Loki around the uncompleted Stark Tower and discussing his plans for it. And whilst Loki still had no idea what Tony did for a living, it was obvious that the man was a billionaire.

In the evening they sat in one of the many living areas and watched a selection of Midgardian 'movies' which Loki could only describe as moving pictures shown on a huge screen. Tony noticed, however, the other man was strangely quiet throughout.

Unbeknownst to the billionaire, tonight Loki had decided to confront Odin about something that had happened on Jötunheim the day Thor was banished; his skin had turned blue like that of a Frost Giant when touched by one of the creatures. Loki had avoided speaking to the All-Father until now, fearing the worst.

Tony thought that Loki had finally got bored of him when he didn't show up on the fifth day. The billionaire was then caught off guard when he was confronted by a crying Loki appearing uninvited at the Tower the day after. Tony quickly ushered the other man indoors where he held him in an embrace for hours on the sofa. For once Tony didn't push with questions, waiting for Loki to talk in his own time.

Once his crying had been reduced to quiet sobs, Loki managed to explain that the reason he hadn't visited Tony the day before was because he had gone to speak with his father following something that had happened. Loki had then had his worst fears confirmed; he was adopted and his entire life had been a lie.

Tony just ran his hands through Loki's hair, much like a mother might do to a very young child, only speaking when he convinced Loki to stay at the tower for the night. He had the closest guest room to the master bedroom prepared and that's where his still nameless visitor slept.

The next day, Tony took Loki to see a Broadway show but the history behind Les Miserables, much like the popular culture Tony had tried to introduce Loki to, was lost on the taller man. Loki fell asleep halfway through the performance with his head resting on Tony's shoulder. It was clear to the billionaire that the reason Loki was still tired was from no doubt crying himself to sleep.

Loki was wakened the next morning by the sound of knocking, Tony's voice and the smell of eggs and toast coming from beyond the door.

"Wakey wake sunshine!" His host yelled. "I've made you breakfast and today we're going shopping!"

A few hours later, Loki found himself walking through several department stores and designer clothes boutiques. "I don't care what people say, money can definitely give you some happiness." Tony said as he explained to Loki how to use the credit card he had given him. "So please, spend however much, however you like."

In one particular shop, Loki called Tony through to the changing rooms to ask his opinion on a suit he was thinking of buying. Tony was left gobsmacked at the vision in front of him; Loki looked stunning to say the least. The dark of the suit matched the dark of his hair and the green silk tie highlighted his emerald eyes.

"Now please," Tony pleaded with the tailor, "Try and find me something that will make me look even half that good."

The next day, the pair visited Coney Island. The resort was well past its heyday but for Tony it was all about nostalgia and he was trying to share that warm feeling with Loki.

They rode on the coaster where Loki struggled to grasp the concept that people like the thrill they get from rides and rollercoasters.

At the Tin-Can Alley, following Tony's disastrous streak at the coconut shy, Loki managed to win a giant white unicorn the size and weight of the baby elephant. This prompted the billionaire to yell out "It's so fluffy, I'm going to die!" When Loki, once again, didn't get the reference Tony vowed that they were going to watch Despicable Me the minute they returned to the Tower.

At the end of the night, both men's hands were sticky from all the cotton candy they'd bought and eaten after discovering Loki's fondness for the sweet so they went down to the beach to wash their hands in the water. Loki told Tony that he'd never been to a beach like the one there in New York before so they took the opportunity to hunt for unusual shells and roll their trouser legs up to walk into the breaking waves.

Even if Loki did have fun at the resort, Tony agreed that tomorrow they'd do something more up Loki's street.

This eventually involved a trip to the Museum of Natural History where Loki eagerly pushed Tony up and down the corridors of exhibits like an excitable child. They spent hours in the building looked at every artefact at least three times before Loki was sure he'd take every last detail in. He was particularly fascinated by the many cases of taxidermy on display while Tony was a bigger fan of anything that didn't still have fur or feather attached. The taller man made sure to buy one of everything from the gift shop but gifted the miniature replica of the t-Rex skeleton to Tony as he'd seen him eye up the real thing earlier; no doubt planning to somehow get a hold of his own dinosaur skeleton for the Stark Tower atrium or party deck.

Upon leaving the museum but before going their separate ways, the two men made plans to meet up later the next evening to eat at Chinatown.

When they finally chose a Chinese restaurant to eat at the next night, Tony heard Loki laugh for the first time since he had met him; Tony had grabbed his chopsticks and placed them in his mouth to do, according to Loki, a very accurate impression of a walrus.

They spent the day purely at the Tower again. They watched more movies including several Disney ones because apparently Loki hadn't even seen those, which Tony found hard to believe. Half way through Beauty and the Beast, during the scene where the beast shows Belle his castle's library Loki spoke up for the first time in hours.

"I do love books." He had sighed into the pillow he was clutching.

"Yeh?" Tony asked, encouraging Loki to elaborate.

"At my family home we had quite the extensive library. There was nothing else I liked doing more than hiding myself away in the library for hours on end. I use to get quite a hard time from my brother and his friends for doing so though because they'd rather be outside going on adventures."

"What's your favourite thing to read?"

"Anything!" Loki exclaimed, the subject of books clearly exciting him. "Fact, fiction, anything!"

Tony scratched the facial hair on his chin. He was hatching a plan for tomorrow's activities.

"I know what we're doing tomorrow then." He finally said.

"What?" Asked the God.

"Oh no, you don't get to know Mr. It's a surprise."

"Stark." Purred Loki, it was the low tone of voice he used when he was trying to bend someone's arm.

"Nope! My lips are sealed!" Tony then switched off the DVD player and TV and threw a nearby cushion at Loki, narrowly missing the other man's face. "Now get to bed! Long day tomorrow."

The next day Loki was dragged up to a building by Tony where before going in, he had his eyes covered.

"Stark." Warned Loki.

"Oh shush. You'll spoil it."

"You know, I'm not really a fan of surprises or secrets."

"I don't care because I know you'll enjoy this. I put some thought into our destination today and won't lie; I was inspired by our film choice last night."

Tony then removed his hands from Loki's eyes and once they were use to the sudden brightness, Loki was able to take his surroundings. It was clear from the rows upon rows of books that they were in the New York Public Library and Loki had to use all his self control not to lose his dignity and hug every person in the library from sheer happiness.

"Thank you." He said, truly grateful for Tony to have taken him there.

After witnessing how Loki's smiled grew from ear to ear as he browsed the book in the library that day, before going to bed that night, Tony made a mental note to remember to transform one of the floors of the tower into a library the minute the upper floors were complete.

The pair walked in a comfortable silence through central park. This was their 20th 'date' as Tony would put it or 'meeting' as Loki would call it. The mortal had long finished the ice-cream cone he'd bought for himself but Loki was still nursing his, eager to savour the unusual flavour of the desert.

The God felt one of Tony's hands slipping into his own, making him feel uncomfortable. Loki couldn't remember the last time someone had held his hand and certainly not in this manner. It was intimate and alarm bells were going off in the Trickster's head. Have I allowed the mortal get this close to me without realising it?

"You know." The billionaire began. "We've been at this every day for two and a half weeks now and while I've gotten use to it and it tends to slip my mind, I still don't know your name. Are you ever going to let me in?"

The Trickster sighed.Surely it couldn't hurt letting the mortal know? Names have power, however, letting the wrong person know…Eventually Loki made up his mind to tell Tony and then was lefttodebate with himself about which surname to give himself; the one connected to the man who had lied to him his entire life or the one connected to his biological father. The small part of Loki that still acknowledged Odin as the man who raised him won."Loki. My name is Loki Odinson."

"Mhmm, Loki. " The bearded man mused happily, trying out the God's name on his tongue, "Very unusual."

To this Loki just mumbled something about his parents being off 'Scandinavian ancestry'.

"But see? That wasn't so bad." Tony squeezed his hand. "And now I don't have to worry about kissing a stranger."

"What do you mean kissing a strange-" but Loki was cut off by the feeling of Tony's lips over his.

After a few moments the mortal pulled away but the smile on his face was soon wiped off when he saw the look of absolute terror on Loki's.

Loki was usually a master of keeping his face as unreadable as a mask but for a second he'd accidentally shown his feelings. He was feeling terrible. At the kiss his heart could have swelled with happiness but the fear of letting someone get too close to him was all consuming. He had also planned to go and speak with Laufey tonight and if he was to execute his plans to destroy Jötunheim he wasn't sure he'd be able to see much more of Tony. The God had actually intended to slowly break things off with the mortal in the next few days but the kiss had only accelerated Loki's plan to stop seeing Tony. This hurt the God; the thought of never seeing Tony again honestly felt like a punch to the stomach for Loki, though he would never admit to this, and he had to do his best to stop his eyes from tearing up.

"Tony...I...I have to go." The God whispered.

"Loki, I'm sorry about the kiss. I just really like you but if you're not ok with that, it's fine. I wouldn't want to lose you as a friend." Tony stumbled over his words. Loki found the panic etched on the mortal's face heartbreaking.

"No, it's not that at all." Loki tried to explain. "I...really like you too...I just…I have somewhere else to be."

Tony sighed and put his hands into his pockets. "Is there someone else, Loki?

Loki returned a hurt look. "No, it's nothing like that all. It's just getting late and I really have to go."

The God then tried a weak smile to which Tony beamed; he seemed convinced.

"Tomorrow then?" The mortal asked eagerly.

"I'll see what I can do." Loki replied but was met with a raised eyebrow from Tony. "Fine, I promise."

"Better." Tony smiled, leaning in to give Loki one last peck on the cheek before turning away and calling over his shoulder. "Same time, same place."

The next day Tony found himself walking back to his under-construction tower alone, binning the pair of cinema tickets he'd had in his hands in a nearby trash-can. Loki, despite his promise, hadn't shown up.

Tony angrily gripped the God's shoulders. "I'm helping you Loki because I am aware that the person I met in that god-damned coffee house was not the same person who caused this." He pointed out the window to the destroyed New York cityscape.

Loki was lost for words but managed to let out a quiet "What?"

"Come on Loks. It doesn't take a genius to work a few things out." Tony sighed. "The Chitauri gave you that magical staff, right?" The God nodded. "So, if they gave you the ability to place mind control over people, who's to say they didn't place some magical-hypnosis-shit over you." Loki looked away. "Thor told me a few things as well. He said that when you were last in Asgard you choose to fall from the Bifröst. I don't think anyone who had lost the will to live and attempted suicide could find enough motivation and purpose to try and execute World domination. And one final thing," Tony continued to rattle off. "I saw the pictures; when you messed with Barton's head, his eyes turned this crazy blue colour. All the while we were dating I knew you to have these really intense emerald eyes yet when we spoke last, they were turquoise. All evidence points to, surprise surprise, Chitauri mind control."

Loki's eyes flickered back to Tony's angrily and the God seemed to analyse the man before him, as if trying to come up with something to say. All he managed was a mumbled "We were not dating."

"Oh quit getting all defensive, yeh we were."

At Tony's reply, Loki harrumphed and rolled his eyes. The pair then sat in silence for a moment before Tony spoke again.

"So, what did getting Hulk-smashed feel like?" He asked, in a slightly joking tone. Loki only returning an incredulous look. Tony shrugged and stood up, brushing himself off and extending a hand to Loki. "So, you coming?" The God took the hand and was pulled to his feet.

The Liesmith was a little unsteady on his feet so put his other hand on Tony's shoulder before replying. "Yes and don't worry Anthony, I'll go quietly as I don't suppose there'll be any getting out of this. Your agents of S.H.I.E.L.D better make me answer for my crimes before Asgard does though, as I don't fancy facing the All-Father anytime soon."
"Actually, I was thinking about the two of us getting out of the country for a bit. Away from the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D and the stress that rebuilding this tower is going to cause me and facing Odin is going to cause you. We could go anywhere we wanted; Indonesia, the Caribbean, the Australian Outback. Just preferably somewhere secluded and away from modern communication devices so S.H.I.E.L.D can't track us down. Then we just wait a few months for things to blow over, come back to New York and live Happily Ever After. Done."

Loki slipped his hand from Tony's shoulder down to his waist in a display of affection that the billionaire knew must have taken Loki a great amount of strength to be able to push away any remaining fear of letting someone get close to him to do.

"You're mad." The God whispered.

"To have irrevocable feelings for you and to be willing to put my neck on the line for you?" Tony leaned in to Loki and placed a gentle kiss on the God's lips. "Most definitely."

Tears once again began to fall from Loki's eyes but this time Tony was convinced they were from happiness.
"Anthony, I am sorry." Loki apologised, his sincerity almost out of character.
"I know, Loks." Tony replied, kissing the knuckles of the hand of Loki's he was holding. "I know. Now, let's get out of here before the others get back."

The End