#veenae

It is rare for Loki to have Thor to himself for so long. His elder brother is very often off on adventures with his friends; hunting, sparring and so forth, so this occasion is truly one to relish. He finally has Thor where he wants him; on his back behind closed doors with no foreseen interruptions to keep Loki from making this encounter last as long as humanly possible.

Working down, Loki follows the muscle in Thor's neck to his pulse point and bites down gently, leaving a subtle red mark on the tanned skin. He pulls away only slightly, running his tongue over it before clamping his lips and sucking the already bruised skin into his mouth for a moment. Never one to dwell, he moves on. Normally, he would have gone right for Thor's chest, but today is special. He has time today.

So, Loki shifts from his position straddling Thor's hips and latched onto his left arm, sinking his teeth into the meat of his shoulder. He moves away quickly, and eagerly licks a line down the center of his arm, between his muscles, parallel to the vein that lines his bicep, where Loki bites down next. He smirks, feeling Thor's hips shift on the bed next to him and continues downward, admiring how taut and defined the muscles of Thor's arm are, leaving sloppy kisses every few inches or so until he reaches Thor's hand.

Grinning up at Thor, who is watching him with what Loki can only assume is desire mixed with rapt attention, he takes two fingers into his mouth, sucking on them as obscenely as he can, moving his tongue along the crease created where they are pressed together. Thor, who has been quiet all this time, lets out a small moan, punctuated by the subtle tensing of his muscles. Loki smiles and pulls his fingers out of his mouth, licking his lips deliberately slowly.

Ignoring Thor's erection, laying heavy and hard against his stomach, Loki allows his tongue to run the length of the indent on Thor's waist. He moves over, carefully dipping his tongue into Thor's bellybutton, tracing the shape of it and smiling at the groan that escapes Thor's lips at last. With wet lips, he mouths at the muscles on Thor's stomach, paying special attention to each dip and rise on the way up to his chest.

Pausing and having just a little mercy, Loki throws a leg over and settles himself on Thor's hips again, leaning forward to brush their lengths together as his lips meet over one nipple. He flattens his tongue and swipes at it until it hardens even further than it already had, his hand ghosting over Thor's ribs as it moves to brush over the other nipple. Thor moans again, his hips thrusting up minutely, and Loki pulls away for a moment, removing the friction Thor is seeking.

"Have I driven you mad yet, brother?" "You are wicked, Loki."

He grins, pushing himself up on all fours to place another kiss on Thor's parted lips. Not allowing any part of his body to even come near Thor's member, he shimmies down, kneeling between Thor's legs. Having just about had enough dawdling, Loki leans down and flattens his tongue, licking up the length of Thor's cock in one clean motion.

Thor shouts his name and Loki laughs to himself. How nice it is to have control like this, even for such a short while. Hands on Thor's thighs, Loki continues his ministrations, only licking and lightly sucking at the soft skin, not once taking any of Thor's length into his mouth. To a chorus of deep groans and throaty pleas, he catches out of the corner of his eye Thor's hands clenching into white-knuckled fists and pulls away.

Thor is trembling and Loki smiles down at him, smug and satisfied in a way he hasn't felt in some time.

With no further preamble, Loki straddles Thor's hips again and positions himself, sinking down onto Thor's member with nary a pause or grimace to be seen. When he looks down at Thor and smiles lazily, his eyes already half-lidded, Thor knows that Loki's little game is over. Loki only need swivel his hips and he is on his back, Thor's figure looming over him. He is inside Loki again in one movement, his fingers brutal on Loki's hips as he thrusts. Loki can only throw his head back and plead for more, just as Thor knew he would, just as Loki knew he would.

He comes just as he always does; from Thor's cock alone, and pants breathlessly as Thor finishes inside him, falling next to him on the bed. Utterly satisfied, Loki curls up next to him, laying a hand flat on Thor's chest in a possessive gesture that Thor mirrors by the arm thrown around Loki's back.

"I enjoyed myself tonight." "I'm sure you did." "You did not?" "I do not think I would be capable of restraining myself again." Loki grins devilishly.

2. After the whole debacle with Loki is over, Bruce hesitantly accepts Tony's offer to live in Stark Tower . Tony promises him the sun, the moon and several stars in the form of the Research and Design department and Bruce doesn't want to show it, but he's actually really excited. On the day he moves in, his incredibly modest little duffel bag slung over his shoulder, Tony excitedly drags him from room to room, pointing out various gadgets in development, sections of the house he should know and finally his own room. Bruce pivots in the center, taking in the plush looking bed, the expensive looking furniture, the huge television.

"It's sound proof, with black-out windows if you ever need to, you know, calm down."

Tony goes on; detailing the provisions he's taken for Bruce, until he notices that the other man hasn't said anything. Bruce is overwhelmed. No one's ever done anything like this for him before.

"Are you alright? I know it's a lot to get used to." "Yeah. I'm fine." "I'll let you rest, man. Come see me when you get bored."

Bruce watches with a smile as Tony turns to leave the room.

"Hey, Tony?" "Yeah, buddy. What's up?" "Thanks."

3. It’s nearly two weeks later that Bruce finds a synthetic solution of chemicals that he think might at least aid him in controlling his…condition. He tests it against the kind of gamma radiation poisoning he’s studied, but in the end Bruce realizes that he needs a specific kind of testing area so he can study his own condition with more specificity.

He goes to Tony hesitantly. Until this point, he hasn’t asked for anything of his own; he’s just worked with whatever was there for him. Tony’s board of stockholders and such don’t find his proposal very promising and they turn him down. Bruce accepts it, because Tony’s done so much for him already and he feels like maybe with a better proposal some day they’d say yes.

But when he enters the lab three days later, there’s a note directing him to a rarely used part of the building, and he has his testing area. Bruce blinks several times, not sure what to make of all this. But then; Tony. Bruce seeks him out in his workshop immediately.

"Hey, monster-man. What’s shakin'? "Thanks, Tony. You didn't have to--" "It's a valid idea, and you needed it. Don't worry about it, alright?" "Okay, but thanks anyway."

4. Bruce had never been one for romance. He was quiet and not exactly the Casanova-like character certain other people are even before his accident; afterwards, well...he didn't trust himself enough to get that close to anyone. Living at Stark Tower, he was around more people than he had been in a long time. It was a lot to get used to. Sometimes, he would take advantage of Tony's provisions to his room and just meditate for a while, completely lost in the absolute silence.

But there were drawbacks to that as well. Not one to form friendships easily and definitely not one to actively seek out Tony out of fear that he would be getting in the way, Bruce was just a little lonely sometimes. Of course, anytime he really got lonely, Tony would somehow show up with new schematics for Bruce to look at or a new problem he was needed to help solve. It made him feel wanted, and it kept his mind off darker, more dangerous things.

That is, until Tony kissed him.

They had been sitting at the kitchen table, where Tony had found Bruce sipping some tea my himself, brand new blueprints spread out in front of them and the tea forgotten on the kitchen counter. Bruce had just pointed out a slight improvement that could be made in the structural skeleton of the design and Tony had smiled, clapping hand to Bruce's back like he always did. But then, before Bruce had even thought to look away, Tony's lips were on his.

It hadn't felt wrong to Bruce. In fact, it had felt nice. He was surprised that he didn't feel tense at all, so he leaned into the kiss, putting a gentle, tentative hand on the back of Tony's neck. Tony being, well, Tony, Bruce found himself with a lap full of eccentric billionaire in a matter of seconds. With Tony's arms resting on his shoulders, Bruce shook his head.

"I'm not ready for this, Tony. I'm...sorry. It's not that it didn't...I'm just not..."

He looked away. Tony didn't like waiting; he wouldn't wait for Bruce. But Tony did something then that surprised him.

"S'alright. I kind of sprung that on you. I'll be here when you're ready."

Tony smiled that lazy, confident smile Bruce knew by now meant something far more than friendship to him and pressed a quick kiss to Bruce's lips before getting off him and turning to saunter out of the kitchen. Before he did, though, Bruce managed to speak up once more.

"Thanks for understanding, Tony."

5. The day had been going so well. Bruce was in the lab working on calculations and keeping one eye on Tony, who was building something he'd told Bruce was going to be "badass" when he'd finally perfected it. All of a sudden, there was a loud noise and Bruce was thrown against the wall closest to him. He blacked out for only a minute, and before he knew what was happening, he could feel the familiar changes start. No, he told himself. Stop. Calm. You can do this. He was breathing heavily when he saw Tony kneeling down next to him.

"Tony, get out--" "Now, you listen to me, Bruce. You can fight this. It's alright. There is no threat. Just calm down." "I can't, Tony. You have to leave!" "I'm not going anywhere. So if you're prepared to give up the fight, then you better be prepared to hurt me, maybe even kill me."

He leaned further down, taking Bruce's face in his hands.

"You can do this. Calm. It was only an accident, big guy. Everything is fine."

They sat there for nearly an hour with Tony whispering calming words and assurances while Bruce silently took deep breaths and tried to quell the rage inside him. In the end, when Bruce was certain that he wasn't going to change and hurt anyone, he shook. No one had ever been able to do that before. Trembling, Bruce allowed himself to be pulled into Tony's arms and laid against his chest, his eyes wide.

Soon enough, he was exhausted; his eyes drooping closed as Tony stroked his back.

"Thanks, Tony", he murmured.

1. All in all, Tony was not a patient man. He cared for Bruce a little more than he was willing to admit, though, so when Bruce had told him that he wasn't ready, Tony had listened. But the days were getting longer. Tony spent as much time with Bruce as he could; cognizant that he was perfectly content to just be in the same room as the other man, both working diligently on their own projects.

After Bruce's near-Hulk-out, Tony was with him nearly all the time. Sometimes, to Tony's embarrassment, he would find that Bruce had snuck off to be in his room, no doubt drinking that tea he loved so much and sitting in some yoga pose, working on his breathing. It wasn't that Tony wanted to be with him every second of the day, but---Okay, he did.

Tony did notice how kind Bruce was about the whole thing. He was always eager to hear anything Tony had to say, and for that, Tony cared for him even more. Maybe Bruce was only humoring him, but it meant a lot to Tony that Bruce hadn't just told him to fuck off. At the end of a very long day; a day where Tony had almost ran out of reasons to speak to Bruce and wound up insisting that he needed help on calculations he could've completed when he was in high school, Tony actually felt bad. He was taking advantage of Bruce's kindness.

"Thanks, Bruce."

Bruce glanced up from his paper and smiled.

"For what?" "For catching me. I never thanked you." "You mean...back...when we were fighting Loki?" "Yeah. I never said thank you." "Oh. Well, you're welcome."

He lays there, blinking numbly at the ceiling. He hasn't done anything to jeopardize his relationship with Steve, and it feels like a knife to the gut to know that Steve, as well as everyone he cares about, didn't have to think twice to accept that he would do something like that. For God's sake, he's changed. He pledged himself to Steve, he bought Steve presents for no reason, he made sure that he was in bed every night he could be...this thing he had with Steve was the most mature relationship he'd ever had, and it was over because of some rumor?

"JARVIS, what happened? What do they think I did?"

"Sir, it seems that there is a woman claiming that her pregnancy is a result of a night in your company approximately one month ago. She claims the two of you participated in a sordid affair while you were away in San Francisco."

One month ago. Tony remembered his trip to San Francisco very clearly. He remembered the calls to Steve every morning just to say hello before he went to the meetings he had to attend, the late night phone calls when Steve would just listen as he complained and then apologized for keeping him up, the days spent waiting just so he could get back to Steve's arms. There had been no woman. Tony had spent each night he was there in his hotel room or at business dinners, missing Steve.

Tony deals with the heavy weight in his chest in the only way he knows how, and by the time Thor arrives two days later, there isn't an ounce of alcohol left in the tower. Tony barely registers the blue eyes looking down at him or the strong arms that lift him and deposit him on his bed, but there's really only one word on his lips.

"Steve?"

"He is not here, Tony."

Everything goes black for a while, which Tony doesn't mind because at least it doesn't hurt anymore. When he wakes, he can't remember how he got into bed, until he shuffles into the kitchen and finds Thor there, staring daggers at him. Tony knows right away that he's spoken to the rest of the team and turns his back, head hanging. Thor is not like the others; he allows Tony to explain, and accepts what he says as the truth. What Thor cannot wrap his mind around is why the rest of the team is so sure that Tony did something wrong. When Tony has calmed down enough, he tries to explain, but how does one accurately describe such a long history of mistakes? Thor seems to understand anyway. He recounts the ill-advised pursuits of his own youth and promises to speak to the team on Tony's behalf.

Tony doesn't see the point.

A day later, Bruce shows up. He apologizes up and down while Tony remains stubbornly silent. It's when he asks after Tony's health that Tony lets himself cry into Bruce's chest. He'd never show that weakness to anyone, but Bruce understands. Bruce knows what it's like to reach rock bottom.

The others do not return.

Meanwhile, the lawyers Tony has on retainer work hard to prove that the child is not Tony's. Bruce keeps him strong through the ordeal, bringing him warm cups of tea instead of the alcohol he craves, making sure he eats, comforting him when he cries, while the papers slander his name. After two weeks and several appearances in court, all of which Tony refuses to attend, the woman consents to a paternity test and the results are published in the paper the next morning.

The child is not Tony's.

Tony doesn't feel any different; he'd known all along that it wasn't his. The apologies begin rather quickly. Pepper is the first to show up, trying to convince Tony that it was reasonable for them to assume the worst, given his past behavior. Tony nods and asks her to leave.

Clint and Natasha come next, together, and Tony reflects on how amazing it is that Natasha finally has some emotion other than anger in those eyes. He forgives them. He tells her that he thought she was smarter than that, a hollow smirk on his face, and she gives him that look that gives him goose bumps.

“He’ll come, Tony. Soon.”

Tony can’t decide if he wants to see Steve again or not.

When Steve does come, he comes quietly. There is no fanfare, no loud, embellished promises, no explanations. He walks in and sits across from Tony at the kitchen table and stares. Tony knows he is sorry. He knows that Steve is aware that he’s messed up on a monumental level. When Steve lets out a quiet breath and looks to the table, Tony knows he probably looks worse than he feels.

“How could you think that I would ever....How could you, Steve?”

Steve looks up again, and there are tears in his eyes. Tony resists moving, going to him, kissing the tears away.

“I’m so sorry, Tony.” “You left. You didn’t even tell me why.” “I know. I should’ve explained. I should have listened.” “But you didn’t.”

All Tony wants to do is forget about this entire incident. He still loves Steve. He knows that Steve loves him too, but he doesn't know if he has it in him to forgive Steve for just leaving like that. He'd done what everyone in Tony's life had done; abandoned him. And what made it worse is that Steve knew; he knew about Tony's commitment issues and what a huge step he was taking with Steve. He knew about Tony's childhood; about the long-held feelings of inadequacy, the desire to live up to the man everyone said his father was. Tony had told him everything. He can't think of anything else to say, so he just sits there and stares at Steve.

For the first time throughout this whole thing, Tony is angry. He stares at Steve and tries to convince himself that there was malice in his actions; that Steve left that way knowing that it would hurt Tony and not caring, but he can't do it. Steve would never knowingly hurt Tony. He'd made a mistake and Tony wanted to forgive him for it, but then...Steve hadn't exactly acted like he would've been willing to forgive Tony for his own mistake, had he made one.

"You weren't going to come back."

Steve doesn't answer, so Tony looks up and tries again.

"If I had made that mistake, slept with that woman...You wouldn't have forgiven me." "I don't know. I was so angry--" "It wasn't a question."

Silence. Tony regards Steve carefully.

Getting up, Tony walks around the table and looks down at Steve, who turns around in his chair and stares up at Tony with worried eyes. Tony puts his hands on either side of Steve's face.

"I love you. I don't know what I did to deserve you, and I promise I'll work harder to show you that this is the real thing, okay?" "No, Tony...I know it is. I know. I think I knew the minute I left you that I was wrong, but I didn't want to see it. I couldn't be wrong, because if I was, it would mean that I would lose you and I'm so sorry, Tony. I love you too."

And Tony had panicked, not even trying to meet Steve's eyes. His heart was immediately pounding in his throat, and he could sense the end of quite possibly the best relationship he'd ever had. It was too soon. He couldn't say it. Finally looking up at Steve, he opened his mouth out of obligation and tried, cursing and turning away when he just couldn't get the words out.

"It's okay. Tony, you don't have to say it back until you're ready."

He sat on the couch, the collar of his neatly pressed and entirely uncomfortable blue button down tickling his neck in a way that made him constantly fidget. Steve had been so gracious about the whole thing then, and every time he let those three words slip after that. Tony was never pressured. He was never asked when and Steve never even hinted that Tony's reluctance was going to hurt their relationship. Still, Tony knew it would weigh on Steve's mind eventually. He knew he l-l-l...Steve, but saying it; taking that leap was a huge step. Tony heard the elevator's telltale ding and stood, rubbing sweaty hands over his thighs in an effort to calm himself.

When Steve walked in, Tony couldn't really help the big smile that spread across his face. He met him at the door and kissed him sweetly on the lips. At Steve's inquiries, Tony put a finger to his lips, more nervous that he would sound frightened than worried he would spoil the surprise. He laced their fingers together, which he knew Steve loved, and led Steve further into the house, to the dining room and the table he'd painstakingly set.

He earned another little kiss from the taller man and led Steve to the table, making sure he was settled before pouring wine for both of them, regardless of the fact that it would probably do nothing to ease his nerves and wouldn't affect Steve at all, and serving dinner. They ate comfortably, laughing and just enjoying each other's company. Every minute that passed reminded Tony of what he was about to do, whether Steve knew it or not, and by the time Steve insisted on clearing the plates himself, Tony was nearly buzzing with anticipation, and a healthy dose of anxiety.

Steve returned in only a few minutes, thanking Tony again for the meal and bending to press a kiss to his lips, one hand lifting his chin. When he pulled away, Tony stood, this time lifting himself up on his toes to kiss Steve before could see how nervous he was. When they parted, Tony pushed Steve back into a chair and left the room, blowing a kiss with shaking hands behind him.

Before long, he came back with a single cupcake; literally the only edible result of his attempt to bake, with one lit candle in the middle. Tony sang to Steve with an overly loud and jovial voice, placing the cake in front of him and telling him to make a wish. Steve did, blowing the candle out and grinning up at Tony like he was a kid on his sixth birthday. They ate it together, Steve insisting that Tony have at least one bite, and when the remains lay on the table, Tony knew it was time. He stood again, taking Steve's hand and leading him out to the balcony.

"Tony, what's this all about? I appreciate everything you've done, but you're starting to make me a little nervous."

Tony laughed at the irony of that. He was sweating bullets, but Steve was nervous?

"I'm sorry about...all that. I've never really been the romantic type, but I just wanted to tell you...."

He took both of Steve's hands and looked right into his eyes, face almost comically serious. Steve smiled back at him, amused, but just a little cautious.

"I love you, Steve."

It was actually easier than he thought it would be, once he was looking at Steve and not himself in the mirror. His face relaxed right away and he smiled, putting his hands on either side of Steve's face.

"I love you. Steve, I love you. So much." "I love you too, Tony."

They kissed then, Tony hopping up onto his toes and throwing his arms around Steve's neck before Steve even had a chance to move, and when they broke apart, Steve smiled down at Tony.

The man in question comes out of their bedroom a few seconds later, walks calmly past Tony and his outstretched arms and squats, stuffing the shirts in his hand into one of the duffel bags on the floor. He zips it back up and stalks back into their bedroom, rummaging around in one of the drawers, as far as Tony can tell. Brow furrowed, he follows Steve into the other room and leans against the door.

"Did you get assigned to another mission or something?"

When Steve doesn't answer a second time, Tony knows something is wrong. He tries to step in front of Steve as he leaves the room and is pushed to the side. Steve isn't rough about it, but he certainly isn't kind. Tony follows on his heels.

"Steve, what the fuck is your problem?"

In the living room, a few feet from the bags, Steve stops and turns. He is angry, Tony can tell, but there is something else there as well. Tony's never really been able to read people, but if he had to guess, he'd say that Steve looked hurt, almost sad. He doesn't understand, so he just stares at Steve, waiting. When Steve crosses the few feet between them and stands only a couple of inches from Tony, staring down at him, Tony shrinks back. When Steve speaks, it's in a tone Tony's never heard him use before; quiet, distinct, cruel.

"Just tell me one thing, Stark. If you weren't going to be faithful, why the hell did you go through all the trouble of moving me in here? Making me feel like...like there was something different between us?"

Tony stares, mouth hanging open. Steve hasn't called him by his last name since before they got together, since before Tony had finally taken that leap and kissed Steve one day, mid-argument.

"Steve, I---" "You know what? Forget it. I don't want to hear it. I should've listened to everyone who told me that you'd never change. I should've known better."

Before Tony can even register that this is happening, too distracted by the tears in Steve's eyes and the bile rising in his stomach, Steve has turned away from him and is standing at the elevator, a bag in each hand. Tony stares after him, blinking numbly. When the elevator chimes, Tony snaps out of it and runs after Steve, holding an arm out to stop the elevator.

"Steve, I never--"

Steve holds up a hand and Tony stops.

"I'm not 'Steve' to you anymore. You can address me as Captain, or Rogers. Nothing else."

Tony's mouth fell open again as startled, confused tears formed in his eyes.

"But, Steve--" "Captain."

He frowned, and looked to the floor for a moment, arm still blocking the doors.

"Captain, I didn't--" "Let go of the door, Tony. Now."

He'd never heard Steve speak that way, or sound that cold. His heart pounding painfully behind the arc reactor, eyes wide and stomach flipping, Tony let go of the door and stood back. He was on his knees the minute the doors were closed. The misery washed over Tony immediately, and he sobbed in a way he hadn't experienced in a very long time. Pulling himself up off the floor onto the couch, Tony tried to figure out what was going on. Steve was everything; he made Tony a better person, told him when he was being a dick, somehow let Tony know that it was okay if he wanted to cuddle in the mornings without actually saying it....he loved Tony, so why was he leaving?

Fumbling for his phone, Tony dialed Bruce immediately, but it went right to voicemail. Bruce never did like keeping his phone on him. Tears still falling, hopelessly lost as to why Steve had left, he tried again. Clint didn't pick up either, his voicemail, still not set up after so long, picking up after several rings. Beginning to panic, Tony tried Pepper and her assistant picked up, telling Tony she was in a meeting. Finally, he gave in and tried Natasha. When her voice came over the line, Tony let out a sigh of relief, but before he could say anything, Natasha's cool, calm voice laid into Tony.

"How could you, Stark? You were always kind of low, but Steve never did anything to deserve what you did to him. You disgust me. I'll be there for you in combat, but nowhere else."

She hung up without waiting for a response.