Loki and Tony had been playing mind games with one another for months. It was one of Tony's best kept secrets. Considering how little he managed to keep secret these days, that was saying something. It was hard to live a double life when you lived with a group of heroes. Hell, it was impossible to live any life when you were surrounded by heroes. Tony felt trapped inside the never ending loop of "good". Everyone expected him to be a hero, and nothing else. If he heard Steve's speech about him for drinking one more time, he was seriously considering murdering him and hiding the body in Fury's basement.

Loki had been sent to live with Thor in a secluded place somewhere in Canada. Thor seemed to enjoy it, as much as the others constantly reminded him that it was supposed to be a punishment, not fun. Loki was surrounded by a magic barrier that allowed him to use his magic inside, but didn't allow him to leave. It was a well crafted cage with one of the best tortures anyone could have imagined for the god. Spending time with Thor was driving the god mad. Well, madder. So when Tony heard Loki's voice in his head one day, instead of freaking out, he decided to play a game. That game had continued ever since, keeping both men from going more insane than usual.

Today was Tony's birthday. Usually, it was all about what he wanted. Unfortunately, it had been a rough month for the Avengers. So instead of being greedy, Tony decided they needed a party for all of them. He could sacrifice one birthday to spend more time with people who hated his partying lifestyle. Yeah, that sounded fun.
He hosted the party on his privet jet, figuring that it would probably be the most private out-of-the-tower place they could enjoy themselves. He planned it all out, giving Fury a week's notice in advance. The world could save itself today, the Avengers were on vacation.

Everyone joined him except Bruce, who kindly declined due to the fact that he could kill them all so easily in such a small space. Tony stepped out into the stairs outside of the plane, feeling slightly disappointed that the only source of good conversation was absent. He waited for Thor to come last, fashionably late as usual. As he came down the stairs for one last look, Thor showed up with a flourish and he was not alone.

"My apologies, man of iron, but my brother insisted he be brought along," Thor said, keeping his hand on Loki. "The shackles seal his magic, but I cannot say he will be pleasant company."

"It's fine. No worries, Point Break." Tony tried and failed to hide his amusement. It was first time he and Loki had seen each other face to face since Thor had brought him back to Earth. "We needed a piñata anyway," he added.

"I am sorry to be... 'Crashing your party', Stark," Loki drawled, a slight smirk on his face. Loki's face gave nothing away of their secret mental rendezvous.

Tony cursed him internally for his superior acting then froze. "You didn't... did you just say what I thought you said?"

Both brothers looked thoroughly confused. Tony narrowed his eyes at Loki and stared at him suspiciously. "Either you just made a really lame pun, that I can't even fathom where you learned it from, or you threatened me."

Loki's eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. "I do not understand the question. What did I say?"

Thor was starting to look upset that his brother was already starting trouble before the party had even started.

"What the fuck ever," Tony muttered, throwing his hands in the air before spinning on his heel and giving a dramatic wave of his arms. "Welcome aboard Thor and his plus one."

Thor cheered up unreasonably fast and pulled Loki aboard. Tony caught the dark green eyes for a fraction of a second before Loki was pulled through the door. There was definitely some bivalence there, but mostly amusement and curiosity.

Tony turned with a smirk and took out a quarter from his pocket. Looking around at the airport once more, he brought the quarter to his lips and flicked it into the air. He was in the plane before it hit the ground.

To say the Avengers reaction was less than favorable, would be putting all too lightly. Loki admired Tony's bravery for laughing in their faces, but Tony had a quick tongue and he soothed their anger as quickly as it rose up. It was one more thing he admired the mortal for, among the other appealing attributes.

The party began in, mostly, high spirits as the plane took off from the ground. He leaned over and watched the Earth disappear below as the stricture around him shook and shuddered. It was quite impressive what the mortals could do these days. Loki smiled to himself and let Thor express enough wonder and amazement for the both of them. Unfortunately, Tony was not having any of that.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Loki replied smoothly.

"Well what do you think of my plane?"

Trust Stark to brag about his toys. "It is an interesting contraption," Loki said with another careful smirk, overly aware of the present company. "It is no where as impressive as one of your suits."

Loki watched as the inventor's eyes widened a fraction, his breath catching at the comment. An easy grin slipped on to Tony's face as he responded. "I can't fit all my guests in a suit, though. So I had to settle for this tin can."

Loki snickered but stopped abruptly when Clint looked over his chair to find Tony and saw him. The archer's glare could cut glass. Tony had a good enough sense to leave Loki to himself and entertain the group before they actually used him as a piñata. To amuse himself, Loki turned his gaze back to the window while listening in to their conversations. It was strange how his ears automatically picked out the more familiar voices. Namely, Thor and Stark.

"You did wear drapes!" Tony yelled over Thor's feverish denials. "There are drawings of it. Pics it happened, bro!"

Loki had no idea what the mortal was talking about, but it was pleasurable to listen to his voice in person rather than through the heavy filter around his dwelling. It had been his only company, other than his brother, for months now. It started as a means to escape, a way to fool the mortal into freeing him. It failed miserably when Tony simply started talking back to him. The mortal wasn't enthralled or captivated, he sounded bored and eager to talk to someone. So instead of whispering evil plans into Stark's ears, he quelled his own boredom as well.

After a while, others began to notice them laughing suddenly for no reason, or cursing at the air. It was the nature of the game to make one react visibly. Thus far, they were at a tie. Stark had an infuriating ability to make him laugh with comments on his fellow Avengers. Loki, however, had gotten rather good at amusing the man. Angering him also provided pleasing results.

Loki's thoughts were jarred when the 'tin can' wobbled. It was a wholly unpleasant feeling that was soon followed by more dramatic wobbling. His eyes refocused out the window that he had been staring at lost in thought, only to find his view now obstructed by dark clouds. He heard a curse from behind him and was suddenly pressed against the side of the plane as Stark pushed Into his space.

"Fuck me," he said, peering out the window. "I checked the weather before we left."

Loki tried to breath, ignoring the irregular heart beat that worsened the longer Stark hung over him.

"I blame Thor for this," The Widow said dryly.

"I did not—"

The plane jerked beneath them, sending Thor over into the archer's lap and Tony face first into the window. Loki caught him in his shackled arms, letting out a huff of surprise. "Are you alright?"

"I'm... fine," Tony replied stiffly. He remained in contact with Loki a moment more, seeming to be dazed. "I should probably..."

"Sir!" One of the pilots called over a speaker. "This is a bad one, everyone buckle up!"

"For fucks sake," Tony grumbled in response, launching himself out of Loki's lap with a hint of regret. Regardless of the current mayhem, Loki took note of the reaction for future reference.

"Everyone grab a chair for themselves and strap in. I'm gonna go see how they're doing." Tony flashed a reassuring grin. "Thor buddy, I said get your own chair."

Thor scowled and clambered out of Clint's lap to throw himself into the chair next to Loki. He cast a look of concern his way. "Are you well, brother? You seem flushed."

Loki snapped, "It is of no concern of yours what my complexion is doing. Focus on this storm."

Thor frowned at his speedy defense and decide not to comment on it. "There is little I can do from inside here."

"Then—"

There was another rattle before the plane suddenly twisted around them. There was a high pitched scream that Loki noted came not from the only female in the group, but from the archer. He was glad, at the least, that the mortal harboring the green beast was not aboard.

Tony reappeared from the small cabin door, looking calm and cheerful. Loki tensed, feeling rather than seeing, the waves of concern coming from him.

"It's all good everybody," Tony said, stumbling a little at another shudder. "It's just a little turbulence before we reach the end of the storm."

"A little!?" Steve shouted over a wail from the engines. "Tony, this is worst than that time I—"

Whatever time he was comparing this to was lost when the plane suddenly dove and twisted in the air. The motion lifted Tony from the floor and threw him heavily against the cabin's ceiling. The mortal slid down the wall, resting awkwardly in a half sitting position. Loki gritted his teeth, holding back a desperate call of concern. He couldn't, the others did not know how well the two of them had gotten to know one another over these months. He had no viable reason to express his worry in front of them.

Thor was out of his seat in seconds, bending down carefully to check on Stark. Something clicked under Thor's heavy hand and the weight of Tony's body. A small popping sound filled Loki's ears before a chunk was ripped from the side of the plane. The chunk, was apparently a door. The door that Tony's body had landed against, pushing some sort of mechanism to release it from its holdings. The door, that once gone, let Tony's body be sucked out from the plane in a single burst of stormy air.

Loki was out of his seat in a much shorter time than Thor could ever manage. He brushed past his brother, his eyes assessing the situation with a flicker.

"Thor, remove these shackles!"

Thor stared at him in confusion, torn between jumping from the plane to fetch Stark and complying with his brother.

"You will not be fast enough!" Loki shouted over the wind. "NOW THOR!"

When Thor made no move to assist him, Loki swore and dove from the plane himself.

The wind pulled his body past the wings of the plane, narrowly missing the flaps. He cursed again, relaxing his body so not to send himself spinning. He spotted Stark, already far behind and below. With a growl, Loki pulled his hands apart as far as he could. The shackles pulled at his flesh and his magic, leaving deep welts on both. He tore the bonds apart, screaming at the burning pain and the sudden rush of magic entering his body again. He instantly teleported to Stark, wrapping his arms and legs around the limp body.

"Stark!" He called out before the shackles suddenly snapped back together. His magic cut off as abruptly as it came.

"Stark!"

They were falling through the storm, rain and wind battering them through their decent. Loki began to pull on his shackles again, the pain worse than ever. They snapped more easily this time, but the time they remained free was shorter. He cursed and gave them a small push with his magic before they closed again. It had levitated them long enough to slow their fall slightly.

"Come on, Stark," Loki pleaded the unconscious figure. "You must have some sort of contraption on you."

Loki winced and tore his bonds again and again, giving them several short stops in the air. He could already see the ocean below them, arriving too fast for comfort. Loki looked at the pale face in front of him and pressed his forehead against Stark's clammy skin.

"Tony..."

The mortal shuddered and mumbled something. Loki felt a heavy weight lift from his heart as he felt the inventor awaken.

"Are we..." Tony began in a daze. His eyes snapped fully open. "Shit! We're falling!"

Loki grimaced and pulled, once again, at the bloody shackles. He gave another burst of magic, halting them for mere seconds before they returned to his wrists.

"What are you doing?!"Tony yelled in Loki's ear.

"Trying to save your sorry hide."

"You're hurting yourself!"

"It is much better this than dying," Loki snarled, ripping free once more. Tony rolled his eyes, a small frown forming on his face. He began to wriggle around in Loki's arms to slip a hand into his pocket, pulling out a phone.

"Really?" Loki called out, managing a sneer. "Saying goodbye to your woman?"

Stark have him a cold glare and dialed. "Jarvis?" He paused as the voice on the other end responded. "Yeah, I need you to commence protocol alpha ten. Like, now."

Loki frowned in confusion, giving them one more pause in the air. Tony nodded to himself and hung up. "Loki, you need to swing around to my back."

"What is the purpose of this?"

"Just do it you over sized wizard!"

Loki glared at him and twisted around the mortal's body, careful to keep his grip around Stark's neck loose.

"Hang on tighter," Tony commanded, reaching back and wrapping his arms under Loki's legs. Loki complied, pulling Tony tight against his chest. They continued to fall, the dark water rising to greet them.

"Any time now, Stark."

"We've only got one shot at this, so I have to wait."

"One shot at what, exactly?" Loki muttered into his ear.

Tony chuckled. "Don't you trust me?"

"No."

"Good, cuz neither do I," Tony said before his chest exploded with a bright light.

They hit the water fast at a slight angle. Loki hated to imagine what would have happened if they had simply plummeted into the dark waters. He held his breath and pulled Stark to the surface. Above them, the storm suddenly whisked across the sky as though a mighty hand came and simply brushed it away.

"Thor," Loki muttered to himself, keeping his arms firmly wrapped around Stark.

"He... couldn't have done that sooner?" Tony asked, his eyes half closed. There was something off about the way his face looked. His complexion was beyond pale, slipping into the realm of gray. There were deep shadows under his eyes and a slight twitch to his body.

"Stark, what is happening?"

"Oh," Tony said with a weak smile. "I'm just going into cardiac arrest."

"You are doing what?"

Tony chuckled weakly, his eyes closing. "Dying, Loki. I'm dying."

"Don't you dare die now!" Loki panicked, pulling Stark higher out of the water. "Not after all this."

"Give... three seconds to... start up again," Tony panted, his eyes rolling back. He body began to shudder in Loki's arms, causing the water to slosh around them widely.

"Tony!?"

Once again, Loki wrapped his limbs around Tony's body and tore his cuffs apart. He gritted his teeth with the force it took to keep them separate, just long enough to teleport them to the nearest piece of land. They hit the rocks harder than he would have liked, Stark's head bouncing off the stone. Considering he had to transport them without knowing where it was, it could have been much worse. For example, appearing in the rocks rather than on them.

The shackles joined again, leaving him powerless and weak. He eventually managed to unwrap himself from Tony, careful not to jar him too much. He was afraid to look. Afraid that the mortal was wrong, and that his reactor failed to come back to life. Fear was not something Loki was used to feeling and he wasn't handling it too well.

"Stark..."

He waited, keeping his eyes on the rain-slick rocks beside Tony's body. When he heard a soft wheeze, his eyes snapped to the pale face below him.

"We aren't playing buoys anymore?" Tony croaked.

Ignoring the question, Loki leaned down and touched his forehead gently, careful not to bleed on him. "You feel very cold."

"Really?" Tony asked, opening his eyes at last. They were bloodshot and watery. "Cuz you feel cold to me."

"Of course, I am always cold."

"How would I know? This is the most physical contact we've had so far." Tony smiled faintly until he caught sight of Loki's wrists. "Jesus Christ!" He cursed, sitting up too quickly. His eyes fluttered closed,his body keeling over and landing on Loki.

"You imbecile!"

"Don't be mean..." Tony groaned into his shoulder. "I was concerned."

"There is no need. It will heal quickly."

"Doesn't mean I can't worry about it."

Loki frowned, keeping himself from reading too deeply into those words. "Are you alright?"

"Fine..."

"Good."

"Great."

Tony let out a snort and nuzzled his face into Loki's neck. "So, when are we getting rescued?"

"Thor should already be here," Loki said, hoping his voice sounded calm. He wasn't use to this sort of physical contact. Today was full of new experiences.

"Wake me up when he does," Tony demanded, his voice growing soft. "I think I'm going to pass out again."

Loki nodded and shifted himself into a more comfortable position, slipping his arms around Stark's damp body. He cursed his own body for being naturally cold, another gift from the Frost Giants. He could give Tony no warmth this way. The lack of magic was also binding his healing abilities. The wounds remained bloody and sore as the time passed slowly.

Loki waited an hour before he started to acknowledge his growing concerns. Stark had gone from cold to feverish and Thor was no where to be seen. The thunderer should have found them as soon as he vacated the plane. He looked down at the bloody shackles and wondered if there was a more permanent solution for removal. Loki had a feeling that if he didn't heal Stark soon, he wasn't going to make it.

He shook the mortal gently in an attempt to wake him up. Stark groaned and nearly rolled off of Loki's lap.

"Careful," Loki reminded him gently. "I believe you have made yourself sick."

Tony opened his mouth and shut it again, only managing a small nod in agreement. Loki's frown deepened. It must be truly bad if the every talkative inventor could not bring himself to speak.

"I shall try to heal you quickly,"Loki said more to himself than for the benefit of Stark.

Tony tried and failed to protest properly, his limp arms flailing only a little. His words came out in a garbled, feverish voice. "Don't you... No... It's not like you... have to do anything."

"Silence," Loki ordered before readying himself for the pain. He clenched his jaw and tore the chains apart once more. They crumbled easily, but Loki could feel their power pulling the pieces together as soon as he broke free. He muttered a few well chosen words, forcing the power of the chains to slow for as long as he could hold out. Turning his attention to Stark, he began to run his fingers over the mortal's chest. Loki found his body covered in small bruises, several places of internal bleeding near the reactor, and a large concision in his skull. Loki decided it would be best to heal the most worrisome of injuries, just in case his magic failed to hold out.

Stark's large glassy eyes bore into him as he pulled as much magic as he could into his fingers, setting it lose in the mortal's body. "Don't kill yourself for me," Tony mumbled to him.

Loki smirked with more confidence than the felt. "I do not die so easily as that."

"You might if you keep wasting your magic like this. Plus, I'm not stupid," Tony added said before pointing to the broken cuffs. "Thor explained how those worked to me before."

Loki tensed, his eyes remaining on Stark's hairline instead of his eyes. "Did he now?"

"Yeah, he did. So I know exactly how much fucking damage you're inflicting on yourself when you do that."

"I shall be fine in time."

"'In time' doesn't matter," Tony snapped, getting fed up with the same defense. "You're hurting now."

"Enough with your pathetic, sentimental babble! You have no right to assume that your caring has any meaning to me!" Loki snatched his hands away from Stark's body, standing up quickly. The shackles snapped up from the ground, forming around his wrists once more. Loki scowled at them before finally meeting the mortal's eyes.

They were filled with pain, confusion, and something else. Doubt. Loki wondered what questions Stark felt were answered just then.

"I..." He began, feeling he should amend his words before things grew more confusing. Tony shook his head and tore his body from the ground with more speed than Loki expected. With a small wobble, Tony walked away from him and settled down on a rock closer to the water. After a long moment of silence, Loki concluded that that was the end of their conversation. If not the end of something more.